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Post by Max on Dec 20, 2010 8:00:34 GMT
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snuggly
New Member
The last man on earth sat in a room. There was a knock upon the door.
Posts: 28
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Post by snuggly on Dec 20, 2010 8:01:02 GMT
That's not disturbing at all!
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Alex
Full Member
Posts: 165
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Post by Alex on Dec 20, 2010 8:02:31 GMT
Wait, WTF? Does the last panel make sense to anyone?
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snuggly
New Member
The last man on earth sat in a room. There was a knock upon the door.
Posts: 28
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Post by snuggly on Dec 20, 2010 8:03:48 GMT
Ketrak. Duh.
Or it may be a symbol of the drain of Surma.
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Post by edzepp on Dec 20, 2010 8:04:03 GMT
Nightmare? Bad memory? She woke up somewhere horrible? I have no idea what that Skull is.
The way the white turns to black as it hits that panel is ominous. And red panel borders too.
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Post by Max on Dec 20, 2010 8:05:46 GMT
It looks like a skull. Or maybe a shriveled up set of female reproductive organs?
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allec
Junior Member
Posts: 62
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Post by allec on Dec 20, 2010 8:05:53 GMT
Anthony has feelings!
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noako
New Member
Posts: 34
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Post by noako on Dec 20, 2010 8:06:00 GMT
Oh look, he did have matters to attend to. Anthony doesn't seem to take the "daughter-killing-wife" thing very well. Seems Annie was right in ch 6. "Perhaps I did something to displease him... Or he wants nothing more to do with me"
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Post by Eversist on Dec 20, 2010 8:06:55 GMT
I think the skull is just a nice, unpleasent way of ending the flashback, with a symbol of Surma's impending death.
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Post by edzepp on Dec 20, 2010 8:07:11 GMT
Oh hey, curved bottom corners. End of flashback scene.
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allec
Junior Member
Posts: 62
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Post by allec on Dec 20, 2010 8:08:10 GMT
Funny, I get the feeling I've seen that skull somewhere before.
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Post by scatter on Dec 20, 2010 8:08:15 GMT
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Post by Max on Dec 20, 2010 8:09:02 GMT
I think the skull is just a nice, unpleasent way of ending the flashback, with a symbol of Surma's impending death. But why an animal's skull? For that matter, what animal does that belong to?EDIT: Ninja'd by scatter.
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Post by noblemanofreason on Dec 20, 2010 8:14:17 GMT
Firstly, I wonder if Annie has ever felt she has been outright ignored by her father. Judging from the look on her face, she hasn't.
Secondly, if this is a flashback, I would say Annie has always guessed, and feared, that she had something to do with her mother's death, especially due to the way Anthony acted, and her mother's words.
Finally, what is with the skull? Any idea what animal it belongs to? It is certainly not human. Good one scatter. A possible clue that coyote is involved in this? Wouldn't be too surprised. Although I'm not saying he did anything directly.
Edit: Just noticed Tom's comment. Any idea what he meant by the "still".
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Post by edzepp on Dec 20, 2010 8:15:24 GMT
Coyote.
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Post by hurston on Dec 20, 2010 8:16:13 GMT
Well spotted! I asked Tom whether Surma's death was somehow down to one of Coyote's gifts on Formspring, but apparently it wasn't.
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Post by Amethyst on Dec 20, 2010 8:25:07 GMT
I had a feeling when I first saw it that it was a coyote skull. Can't tell you why. Maybe somewhere in my education it successfully permeated my brain, or maybe I just matched the shape with the head of Coyote as I knew it. Disturbing indeed. If it's still part of her dream (hard to say since the darkness, I assume refers to her waking, or at least passing out of that particular dream), then maybe she just subconsciously recognized Coyote's handiwork.
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Post by Snes on Dec 20, 2010 8:26:42 GMT
Anybody notice the red around Anthony's eyes? Perhaps he's been crying? Or just staying up too late?
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Post by fronzel on Dec 20, 2010 8:27:19 GMT
The way the middle panels are laid out makes it look like it's doing that thing where a single image is split between multiple panels and that Anthony is standing between two Annies. Does that count as a mistake?
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Post by Eversist on Dec 20, 2010 8:35:46 GMT
I think Anthony is passing her, on the way to the door.
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Dentrala
Full Member
"I absolutely did not expect thiiiissss!!"
Posts: 156
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Post by Dentrala on Dec 20, 2010 8:36:31 GMT
Anthony has definitely been crying. And the first thing I saw about the skull was the shriveled uterus. There's the possibility of both of these being what he was trying to convey - I'm thinking Surma got her powers from Coyote with the flaw of dying and passing it on at childbirth?
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Post by Alexandragon on Dec 20, 2010 8:36:57 GMT
WTF*2?!!! Have Anthony hated Annie and what is here doing Coyote's scull?! Have Antony any deals with them?!!!!
Also: He has cried!
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Post by fronzel on Dec 20, 2010 8:45:50 GMT
I think Anthony is passing her, on the way to the door. Yeah, I know, but if you look at both panels at once, he appears to be standing still with two etc.
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Post by dante on Dec 20, 2010 8:51:27 GMT
Edit: Just noticed Tom's comment. Any idea what he meant by the "still". Surma says "He still loves you very much." Since Antimony has no reason to believe that he hasn't stopped loving her, the "still" would not make sense to her. It has implications that her father now, instead of merely loving her, loves her despite something that she has done.
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Post by mikeymikemikey on Dec 20, 2010 8:59:35 GMT
Somehow, I get the sense that Tony's expression in panel 3 is probably worse than the veritable death glare in panel 2. There must be all sorts of rage, despair, and unpleasant mixed feelings playing across his face as he tries to keep them in control. Probably why he walked out, lest he fails to do so and unloads on a small child--his own daughter--he's already looming over and is likely intimidated as much as she is confused.
Given that, I can understand why Surma wanted to reassure Annie. Even if, in retrospect, the "still" might have caused more uncertainty than reassurance in the long run.
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Post by blulink on Dec 20, 2010 9:43:02 GMT
I don't know why I am more creeped out by Anthony's face and reaction to Antimony entering the room than that skull in the corner but there is a very unsettling feeling about it all.
The skull and panel seem more like Coyote saying hi in his own way. However, a parent acting in such a way to their child is so upsetting.
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Post by christopher on Dec 20, 2010 9:55:23 GMT
I don't know why I am more creeped out by Anthony's face and reaction to Antimony entering the room than that skull in the corner but there is a very unsettling feeling about it all. The skull and panel seem more like Coyote saying hi in his own way. However, a parent acting in such a way to their child is so upsetting. That's because Surma was more or less lying when she said Anthony still loved Antimony. He's angry, resentful, that this little girl is taking the one bright thing that makes him feel alive. Of course the above is pure speculation.
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Post by binarytears on Dec 20, 2010 9:59:03 GMT
I take Tom's comment "Annie always wondered about the "still" to mean that the skull was something Annie perceived at that moment. Just after her mother said "He still loves you very much" It also suggests she perceived it as a frozen image. A first manifestation of her abilities, perhaps? Not a very comforting vision.
Has anyone pointed out that this 'having a child kills the bearer of the fire' thing may operate all down the line? Meaning, Annie at some point will have to face the same decision Surma faced. If 'the fire' can only occur by inheritance, then the choice is to pass it on before getting too old to have a child, or remain childless - and thus take the fire away from the world when you die of old age. Pretty f'ing bitter position to be in.
Also, to what degree was The Trickster/Coyote involved in setting up this deal originally? It isn't funny at all.
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Post by noblemanofreason on Dec 20, 2010 10:53:04 GMT
The idea that the "fire" is inherited from mother to child has been mentioned before. Tom hasn't really confirmed or denied it. The closest he's ever said anything about it was when he misread a question on form spring (Is Antimony's mother dead instead of Is Surma's mother dead) and replied something along the lines of "Of course, that's the whole point of the story". Later on he realised his mistake and changed the answer to just yes, saying it actually wasn't important. This can go either way in terms of arguing one theory over another.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about the theory. On the one hand, it would give us a good idea where the story is going. On the other, just about everything Tom has revealed either meets or exceeds our expectations for the story, and the theory just feels too easy to fit in, not that I wouldn't mind too much.
Also, while this is just wild spec, I'm starting to wonder if their is a connection between Anthony and Coyote, as they seem to be stark opposites (logic and chaos respectively). Probably just me thinking way to much about Gordon Halloway from The Longest Journey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Journey). Brilliant game by the way if you can get a copy of it.
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Post by penguinfactory on Dec 20, 2010 10:59:41 GMT
Hey so Anthony was an asshole (at least some of the time).
I think the skull is a segue back into the current time. It's probably the first thing Annie saw when she woke up. Either that or Coyote turned into a skull to scare her.
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