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Post by marcador on Jan 5, 2011 17:42:39 GMT
Thanks, jayne!
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Post by jayne on Jan 5, 2011 17:51:47 GMT
ETA: How do you link to something without just posting the URL??! You can type [ url=http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=349] Page 349 [ /url] (without the spaces in the url tags): Page 349 Up in the top right corner of this screen, just above the first message, there a "reply" link that opens the message screen. In that, there's a ton of buttons in the "Add Tags" section, including how to add a youtube, blockquote, hyperlink, etc. You can use those instead of typing if you prefer.
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jandor
Junior Member
Posts: 50
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Post by jandor on Jan 5, 2011 17:55:25 GMT
It does raise the question where the other students & staffs Etheric abilities come from... I wonder if any 'pure' human has natural Etheric ability?
(mostly thinking of Anja, and the Valknut using girl.)
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anisky
Junior Member
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Post by anisky on Jan 5, 2011 18:04:18 GMT
Thank you, Jayne!
I saw the URL button in the "Add Tags" section, but it just did [ url ] [ /url ] (without the spaces of course) when I pressed it. I had no idea you could do url=http://whatever.
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Post by Elaienar on Jan 5, 2011 18:35:13 GMT
So does that make Anthony's naturally cold nature a motivator for Surma? Maybe she was hoping to dillute the fire further with his personality ... somehow. Or just hoping that with a super-reserved dad Antimony wouldn't grow up getting overexcited and setting things on fire. I actually thought about that and left it out, largely because it would cast Surma in an extremely negative light. If that was the case and Annie (and Anthony) found out about it, she'd flip. Do you think so? Given that Coyote seems to think that Antimony is going to have a child despite what she's just heard, I'd say there's a strong possibility that procreation is inevitable in Surma's line. And if that is so, I don't think her choosing the best possible father for her child could be a bad thing. I mean, imagine if she'd wound up marrying Eglamore, who may actually think that Antimony is Surma.Sides, I didn't say that was the only reason she picked him. From what we've seen, Anthony isn't exactly unattractive. ;D
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Post by djublonskopf on Jan 5, 2011 18:46:17 GMT
This development makes the incident in Chapter 16 a little more interesting. In that fire is dangerous, covers everything, grows . . . in retrospect, this might be serving dual duty as a standalone story and as foreshadowing . . ..
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Post by theweatherman on Jan 5, 2011 18:54:52 GMT
Well Annie is a fire elemental nao. I never would have guessed this ever, nobody did. Well played sir.
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Post by paxjax123 on Jan 5, 2011 19:17:46 GMT
Also, it just occured to me that this may be the last chapter for two whole weeks
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Post by the bandit on Jan 5, 2011 19:30:48 GMT
"Medium abilities", are no more magical than "ham sandwich making abilities". As Jones explained way back when, it's just a matter of temperament and mindset. Yeah, pretty much. 'Medium' seems to be a position within the Court analogous to a diplomat or spy, rather than some sort of inherited trait. Misinterpreting common colloquial "medium" for "Court Medium" will result in needless argumentation. Yin was not referring to a position within the court. Annie's ability to naturally see and communicate with the psychopomps and the dead ("medium abilities") seems more magical than ham sandwich making abilities to me, whether they're simply a by-product of her elemental descent or not. It is, however, correct to assert that her openness to the ether is not an automatically selected-for trait of a Court Medium.
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Post by gumbamasta on Jan 5, 2011 19:35:05 GMT
Yes, indeed. But we do know so many true things that turn out to be wrong. I think we can be 99.9999999% sure Anthony is Annie's actual, biological father. Tom said so, Jones believes it, Anja, Eglamore and Donald believe it, and Annie looks and acts like him. At this point, if it turns out anyone else IS Annie's actual, biological father... well, I'd assume Tom's computer got hacked and someone messed with his file before I'd go along with it. I'm just saying that I would'nt be surprised if the one or the other would be true... Heck, I would'nt be if it turns out that both of these statements were true.
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Post by Refugee on Jan 5, 2011 19:35:32 GMT
I think we would all do best not to speculate too much on the mechanics of human/fire elemental reproduction. In Stardust, Yvaine is both a star and a beautiful woman. I'm fine with just accepting this as "it just is" I've just finished rereading Pratchett's Thief of Time, in which Time is personified, is loved by a human, and has a (bipartite) child. Even Granny Ogg, the greatest midwife that's ever been, grants this birth was somewhat unusual. Fire, it appears, is jealous, hence the expression, "Fight fire with fire." More to the point, the fire there was an emotional fire, masked by denial. Annie being a fire elemental may well be all that allowed her to understand what was going on.
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Post by jayne on Jan 5, 2011 19:44:36 GMT
I think we can be 99.9999999% sure Anthony is Annie's actual, biological father. Tom said so, Jones believes it, Anja, Eglamore and Donald believe it, and Annie looks and acts like him. At this point, if it turns out anyone else IS Annie's actual, biological father... well, I'd assume Tom's computer got hacked and someone messed with his file before I'd go along with it. I'm just saying that I would'nt be surprised if the one or the other would be true... Heck, I would'nt be if it turns out that both of these statements were true. I'm confused...which two statements?
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Post by Dvandaemon on Jan 5, 2011 19:50:22 GMT
Thanks to this I was thinking of laying with a Fire Elemental while I was freezing my *ss off in P.E.
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Post by gumbamasta on Jan 5, 2011 19:59:57 GMT
I'm just saying that I would'nt be surprised if the one or the other would be true... Heck, I would'nt be if it turns out that both of these statements were true. I'm confused...which two statements? The statement that Anthony is her father and mine that he isn't. Also, is it just me or does anybody else keep imagining Mark Hamill doing Coyote's voices?
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anisky
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by anisky on Jan 5, 2011 20:14:44 GMT
More to the point, the fire there was an emotional fire, masked by denial. Annie being a fire elemental may well be all that allowed her to understand what was going on. I wonder if it's a coincidence that Annie's first task in helping the Psychopomps was to aid someone who died of a fire? I wonder if that's their "specialty" ("they" being Surma and Annie)? Of course, Jeanne's death doesn't seem to have anything to do with a fire, but on the other hand, Surma didn't help her for whatever reason. Come to think of it, do we have any idea why Surma didn't help/wasn't able to help with Jeanne? Surma spent a long time as a student at Gunnerkrigg Court, and presumably years there as Court Medium as well, and it seems she didn't get so much as her name. Annie, on the other hand, is 13 (I think?), has been there 2 years, and has already gotten huge amounts of backstory on her. I wonder what that's about? Jeanne's ghost has been down there for a long, long time. Might there be some reason the psychopomps/the Court (I forget which) didn't ask Surma to help with her? Did she only come to their attention recently for some reason? So many questions there... Also, this might have been brought up before, Rey said the reason the psychopomps didn't come for Surma is that there was "nothing to take." But didn't Annie say that she had to take Surma herself (I can't find the page where she said that, but it was something like that). If there was nothing there, what did Annie escort? In general, I'm not sure it's accurate to refer to Annie herself as a "fire elemental." Coyote has said that he suspects that her *ancestors* were, but that's rather different.
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anisky
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by anisky on Jan 5, 2011 20:16:40 GMT
Also, is it just me or does anybody else keep imagining Mark Hamill doing Coyote's voices? No... I must admit I've never imagined that. To me, Mark Hamill's voice seems too... earnest to be Coyote.
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Post by jayne on Jan 5, 2011 20:49:41 GMT
Also, is it just me or does anybody else keep imagining Mark Hamill doing Coyote's voices? No... I must admit I've never imagined that. To me, Mark Hamill's voice seems too... earnest to be Coyote. Not Luke!!
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Post by Max on Jan 5, 2011 20:51:27 GMT
Also, is it just me or does anybody else keep imagining Mark Hamill doing Coyote's voices? Some people on /co/ have pointed out that he sounds Mark Hamill's JokerDamn it, Jayne... ;D
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mike
Junior Member
"Fighting evil improves the children's moral character."
Posts: 58
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Post by mike on Jan 5, 2011 20:52:10 GMT
More to the point, the fire there was an emotional fire, masked by denial. Annie being a fire elemental may well be all that allowed her to understand what was going on. I wonder if it's a coincidence that Annie's first task in helping the Psychopomps was to aid someone who died of a fire? I wonder if that's their "specialty" ("they" being Surma and Annie)? Of course, Jeanne's death doesn't seem to have anything to do with a fire, but on the other hand, Surma didn't help her for whatever reason. I suspect Annie helping the boy may have given Tom an opportunity for a bit of foreshadowing. I'm not sure I'd read anything more into it than that... I get the feeling that the reason Muut asked Annie to help with Jeanne was simply convenience. When Annie fell into the ravine and was carried to the Forrest shore by the Tic-Tocs, Muut recognized it as the first chance the Psychopomps had had to get to Jeanne. Annie was the first person in the living realm that they could communicate with (at least not for the purpose of escorting their soul to the ether) who had gotten close enough to Jeanne to get her attention. Annie just needed a little something extra... Fair question... Perhaps it was the "nuts and bolts" part of Surma (her memories, skills, intellect, etc.) that needed escorting, while her "heart and soul" was what transfered to Annie. It kinda makes sense to me that those "colder" parts of what make up a person would be preserved as well... Perhaps the Psychopomps take an all or nothing view of crossing over, so taking just a part of someone doesn't make sense to them. Hey-- it's a theory... I never said it was a good one.
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coyotagoat
Junior Member
Helluva poker face.
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Post by coyotagoat on Jan 5, 2011 21:16:36 GMT
Wait wait wait hang on. I think I'm missing something... in the second panel, is the ether-figure that isn't fire-head-girl Coyote, or (the only other possibility) Jones? The sentence seems innocuous enough to be either of them to me, but if it's coyote I'm wondering why he's not a LAUGHING ON LINE-craftian horror (exactly what it sounds like), and if it's Jones ("wandering eye") my speculationometer will go through the roof. Or I dunno, the text bubble seems to be colored like Coyote's. Blar. XP
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Post by jayne on Jan 5, 2011 21:19:27 GMT
Wait wait wait hang on. I think I'm missing something... in the second panel, is the ether-figure that isn't fire-head-girl Coyote, or (the only other possibility) Jones? The sentence seems innocuous enough to be either of them to me, but if it's coyote I'm wondering why he's not a LAUGHING ON LINE-craftian horror (exactly what it sounds like), and if it's Jones ("wandering eye") my speculationometer will go through the roof. Or I dunno, the text bubble seems to be colored like Coyote's. Blar. XP That's Coyote talking in panel 2... it looks like he's grinning so much, both sides of his smile met!
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Post by TBeholder on Jan 5, 2011 21:21:29 GMT
I'm actually glad she's not a phoenix/part phoenix. Seemed too hokey. This wasn't said. Nothing except this was "some manner" of a fire-related creature. Anything from a phoenix to salamander to efreeti is still an option. Dragonkind is straight out because they seem to be well-known to the Court and she would receive at least minimal training and/or warning. I always liked 'fire elemental' as an explanation for what she is. How DID that first union go? Scary thoughts. It was a very fiery affair! (thwack! oww) Also, ol' good magic, you know? The Court has alchemical symbols on every wall. Didn't anyone here read E.T.A. Hoffmann? I'm pretty disappointed. (in the Old Goat voice): Let this be a lesson for you, kids: if you'll read w...dia too much, you'll misspell twice in a row the word present in your own link. I'm sort of tickled by the fact that today's page once again answers a question without REALLY answering it. It's Coyote? It's Gunnerkrigg? No, no, just checking. Sooo... does this mean that Surma often flew into rages that'd have made any rampaging monster proud of her? ;D Doesn't look like this, but i got a sudden feeling that if she threw " shoulda zapped him!" easily, and given her expression, maybe Eggers saved Hyland Jr. from much more unpleasant injuries than inflicted. So, anyone willing to do some fanart of Annie as a fire elemental? Since you invoked dun-djinns already, find an illustration with a female efreeti, from Al-Quadim or not. All and any of them are HOT. ;D I think he's fairly pleased with himself. He's figured it all out and he's right, right Jones? *Jones gives a slight nod* ;D Who likes to see their crude imitations?..
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Post by jayne on Jan 5, 2011 21:22:20 GMT
If Annie is part fire elemental... she shouldn't get in trouble for the fire show in the bridge since that's simply her true nature revealing itself. She should be taught how to control it... which might be a good reason for her not to go on vacation. (I still don't think she's going anywhere!)
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kyo
New Member
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Post by kyo on Jan 5, 2011 21:50:48 GMT
A very interesting page... Hmm, if Annie does get taught to use any fire-based etheric skills magic (calling it what it is ), can we expect Laser Annie to become canon? Le gaspe. It would be helpful to know how soon after birth Surma's mother died. Surma managed over a decade, so it would be interesting if we could see any change in the post-natal lifespan over the generations. I can imagine the generations immediately after the fire elemental dying during/after childbirth, so if there is a change Annie might be human enough to survive! (or go into a coma )
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Post by zylonbane on Jan 5, 2011 22:29:42 GMT
That creature wasn't fire, it was the fire alarm. Even that may be too literal a reading. It could have been all his repressed memories. Misinterpreting common colloquial "medium" for "Court Medium" will result in needless argumentation. Yin was not referring to a position within the court. When has GK used the term "medium" to mean anything but the Court position? Perhaps you should let Yin speak for herself instead of presuming to speak for her. Now then, regarding this strip, in light of what we now know, does that mean Eglamore anticipated something like that might happen, or is he just crazy prepared?
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Post by Max on Jan 5, 2011 23:16:55 GMT
If Annie is part fire elemental... she shouldn't get in trouble for the fire show in the bridge since that's simply her true nature revealing itself. She should be taught how to control it... which might be a good reason for her not to go on vacation. (I still don't think she's going anywhere!) As much as I agree that Annie will likely remain at the Court for the summer (storywise, it would feel kinda weird to have Annie leave), I wonder if having her remain on campus against her will would be a smart idea, given the current amount of fury she feels toward it right now. Good way to build up a lot or resentment in someone who has a lot of power. That creature wasn't fire, it was the fire alarm. Even that may be too literal a reading. It could have been all his repressed memories. I'm pretty sure it was the fire, given 353. Now then, regarding this strip, in light of what we now know, does that mean Eglamore anticipated something like that might happen, or is he just crazy prepared? I'm pretty sure it's the latter. Instant shield generation sounds like handy skill to have.
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Post by todd on Jan 5, 2011 23:23:18 GMT
The Court could always keep her in a fireproof room and put something in her food that suppresses her etheric abilities.
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Post by fronzel on Jan 5, 2011 23:24:56 GMT
Now then, regarding this strip, in light of what we now know, does that mean Eglamore anticipated something like that might happen, or is he just crazy prepared? No reason to think that the purple thing was specifically an anti-fire measure. As a Dragon Slayer I'm sure he's ready for all kinds of things. "I'll be there in less than five seconds."
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Post by Max on Jan 5, 2011 23:25:05 GMT
The Court could always keep her in a fireproof room and put something in her food that suppresses her etheric abilities. Kat wouldn't stand for that. She cook up a way to bust her out.
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ryos
Full Member
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Post by ryos on Jan 5, 2011 23:28:56 GMT
Like a magnet, or a medium...NOW. Something that's bothering me. Coyote says the passing of the fire spike and subsequent death of the mother is "fate of [Annie's] kind". Can we assume that this refers to the human hybrid, and not the original fire elementals? A creature that can only have one child per couple is going to experience exponential population decline and rapidly go extinct. (Actually, that particular mutation would never survive natural selection, if we assume evolution applies to magical creatures.) Anyway, a further dilution of the fire spike with human blood explains why Annie does not seem as proficient with etherics as was her mother.
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