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Post by faythofdragons on May 23, 2012 22:03:25 GMT
I don't think they're whitelegs. In the Fourth Treatise, the white spider Annie is holding looks a lot like (aside from color, obviously) the green spider Zimmy flaps off on page 1037. The whitelegs are more spindly looking, I think.
Edit: Actually, nevermind, I went back and looked at the chapter with the whitelegs, and they're shaped similarly. They're just solid white instead of shaded.
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Post by descoladavirus on May 23, 2012 22:10:10 GMT
Wow. I theorized fingers because of how they look indented in places and arranged kinda like fingers would be if you were using them as a stabbing tool. I don't necessarily claim that is EXACTLY what is going on, but I think its possible of course. I did think of birch trees for a moment, especially since we've seen one before that looks similar. While it could have something to do with Anthony I don't think he'd do something like this to his own daughter, he does love her according to Surma in the flashback, and it seems like Surma and Annie are the two people for whom he drops his "mask." It would appear that the fire elemental is at heart, Annie. As for the elemental being smaller/thinner than the one we previously saw. Maybe that flame passed on from Surma has to grow to full size again inside Annie. Like a phoenix reborn from its ashes it has to grow from a chick back into a full bird. Also note that even that elemental was thin Also notice here that Coyote paused before saying she was "calmer" than Surma. I think he was going to say "less fiery" but that's just my speculation. Calmer or fiery that means that the fire elemental aspect of Annie is diluted somewhat by her father. As for the cause of all this I just can't speculate. If it is Jeanne she picked a fine time to attack, though maybe its just some lingering effect of the cut. If its Coyote or Ysengrin they don't stand much to gain by attacking their diplomatic connection to the court. It could be related in part to either, or none. I love the suspense in Tom's work, its really what keeps me reading. This break brought to you by Coffee.
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Post by faythofdragons on May 23, 2012 22:29:08 GMT
I honestly think that this is something Annie constructed for herself to keep her elemental side at bay.
I'm also guessing that she got the mask from her father, since he also maintained a straight face despite inner turmoil, as evidenced by the fingernail marks on his palm after the Brinnie incident. I'm just assuming that the mask wasn't able to contain enough of the fire elemental for Annie's taste, so she built herself a cage.
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unrequited
Junior Member
Tormentor of the Heart, close friend of the Spleen
Posts: 74
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Post by unrequited on May 23, 2012 23:08:04 GMT
I think they may be Ice, representing Annie's "Ice Queen" persona she puts out for most people, and the fire elemental is her true self that she hides.
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Post by ischaldirh on May 23, 2012 23:28:10 GMT
Remember that the mask was given to Annie (in the dream, anyways) by Jones, in the forest. After re-reading that scene in Fire Spike, one page in particular stuck out: 825: "You put many people in danger today. Not just your friends, but everyone at the court, because you let your emotions get the better of you." (In an unrelated note, Jones threatens Coyote earlier in this sequence.)
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Post by ischaldirh on May 23, 2012 23:36:21 GMT
I think they may be Ice, representing Annie's "Ice Queen" persona she puts out for most people, and the fire elemental is her true self that she hides. I doubt they are ice. They're too grey, and look very dry. I'm also doubting spidersilk as well. They may be lumpy, but they are also very straight. There's none of the droopy-ness you might expect from a strand of spiderweb, unless it were pulled very taut. Wood or bone are still possibilities; also, perhaps stone? Regardless, WHAT they are made of isn't really relevant for anything beyond predicting the next page... and these pages have been pretty unpredictable. However I do think we've found the source of Annie's collapse. If Zimmy can remove the spears somehow, I suspect Annie will regain consciousness. As to the source of the spears themselves... well, only Tom and God know the answer to that right now.
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Post by arf on May 24, 2012 1:07:04 GMT
Whatever those things are, I'm sure all will be revealed on friday, as Zimmy allows her gaze to follow them up... and up ... with increasing astonishment... until... next monday!!
(Or elemental looks up and sez 'Oh hi Zimmy! I was just getting into the groove of my new quintaphonic sound system*!")
(... current soundtrack, a muted 'plplplplplplplplplplpl...')
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Post by TBeholder on May 24, 2012 2:45:42 GMT
but to ME, those long white things actually resemble what I imagine axons (a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that typically conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's cell body.) might look like. [...] The funny picture omits insulation rings which is kind of the whole point (and get some nasty problems) - it's not a wire, it's a relay chain. But hey, at least you're not pasting wikipedia around, it's a good sign. For some reason I had the idea that maybe Annie's etheric attractiveness wasn't something she got from her mum, but her dad. " All the people of the forest". For that matter, fire elementals as such seem to be well-liked. As far as symbolism goes for proof, the 4th treatise also has Jeanne's sword planted firmly in a heart. A heart surrounded by a colour wheel very similar to the one around Annie's wrist a couple of pages back. It's like on the scheme what we saw in Give and Take. And yeah, everything related to Jeanne is a big stab to the "hearts" of lil' golems. Speaking of the Treatise, though - Annie holding a spider seems to be the most relevant part right now. I thought they looked like tree branches, but that didn't look quite right (not to mention it makes NO sense) The fuel for that fire? Do they look at all like over-sized strands of spiderweb to anyone else? The five pieces of white spider silk are a cobweb. But it's, uh, pretty hot here. And closer to the heart of the matter it's even hotter, probably. I sort of get the impression that the mask is certainly something she inherited from him, just as the fire itself she got from her mother. Also notice here that Coyote paused before saying she was "calmer" than Surma. I think he was going to say "less fiery" but that's just my speculation. Calmer or fiery that means that the fire elemental aspect of Annie is diluted somewhat by her father. Or contained. Which perhaps is what they need, but may be crippling as well as protective. Ah, symbolism. ;D The fire elemental had a mask, but it was made of fire too. Not the same. We didn't see Surma rolled in all these symbols, so maybe all the fiery ladies had this - or maybe the porcelain mask is indeed unique for Annie. Remember that the mask was given to Annie (in the dream, anyways) by Jones, in the forest. New theory: Jones is a (half) Tungsten elemental.
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Post by saritawolf on May 24, 2012 3:18:19 GMT
*delurk*
Annie's pregnant. She's pregnant, isn't she?
*relurk*
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maximkat
Full Member
Look at my face, my face is amazing
Posts: 111
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Post by maximkat on May 24, 2012 3:26:09 GMT
New theory: Jones is a (half) Tungsten elemental. My vote is for Titanium
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Post by GK Sierra on May 24, 2012 4:15:11 GMT
Remember that the mask was given to Annie (in the dream, anyways) by Jones, in the forest. After re-reading that scene in Fire Spike, one page in particular stuck out: 825: "You put many people in danger today. Not just your friends, but everyone at the court, because you let your emotions get the better of you." (In an unrelated note, Jones threatens Coyote earlier in this sequence.) Yeah. When Carver flips her lid, she's pretty much a walking thermobaric weapon. I think that alone is the reason Jones is trying to give her a thicker skin.
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Post by Max on May 24, 2012 5:56:24 GMT
I have a pretty hard time believing that Annie is pregnant.
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gary
Full Member
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Post by gary on May 24, 2012 9:52:45 GMT
Annie's pregnant. She's pregnant, isn't she? She's 14. I really, really can't see it. (Disclaimer: Yes, plenty of girls are pregnant at 14 but it would be a realy dark twist in what is usually a relatively lighthearted comic. Especially since the girls romances so far have been strictly immature, cute, hand holding kids fantasy kind of stuff.)
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Kriselia
Junior Member
But she smells wonderful!
Posts: 87
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Post by Kriselia on May 24, 2012 13:17:46 GMT
Yeah true, but it seems a little strange that there's one type of etheric being all the others find extra attractive. But it could explain why Annie didn't see any genuine fire elementals around the forest, maybe they've all ended up diluted like Annie from having kids with other types of beings? Besides, the idea of Antony being a human shaped ether-magnet makes me chuckle ;D It's like on the scheme what we saw in Give and Take. And yeah, everything related to Jeanne is a big stab to the "hearts" of lil' golems. Speaking of the Treatise, though - Annie holding a spider seems to be the most relevant part right now. Yeah the spider is looking mighty meaningful, does it represent a person? Zimmy? Will Annie release Zimmy into the wild? Naw, I'm going completely off the rails now. No way would Zimmy be a spider.
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Post by Georgie L on May 24, 2012 19:26:23 GMT
For some reason I really didn't want that to be what was hurting Annie. I guess I just like Coyote and want to forget that he can be a bastard. :( His godhood seems to have a rule that he is unable to lie (but he is very good at omitting facts or presenting truths from technically correct but misleading angles.) If anything this makes him an even greater trickster and even harder to know when you're caught in a trap. Besides all that, I'm not convinced it's Coyote. Why would the scar be present and a focus at the start of the chapter if it isn't in some way to blame? As for Jones and the mask, this seems to be all symbols so I'd say that Jones didn't give her the mask, she most likely asked her to not show her full self to the forest (for fear of ????) and this has been represented by Jones giving Annie's mask to her. If Jones were to have 'gave' her the mask for the first time why would it be appearing in a flashback inside a dream?
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Post by goldenknots on May 24, 2012 19:34:39 GMT
Friday's will give us a big clue as to what's going on, but so ambiguously as to fuel even more feverish speculation...
I'm wondering if this isn't something Antimony's doing to herself, and she needs to get a swift kick in the rear to stop hiding and fess up, to herself and to Kat (for the homework), the way Parley had to do a rapid reboot over her feelings for Smitty.
So Zimmy's in there to wake her up, by whatever means.
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Post by Georgie L on May 24, 2012 19:37:26 GMT
Very plausible golden.
It seems Tom always loves building us up to a chapter that answers many questions then knocks us down with a chapter that presents a million more. He is a tricky fellow.
As for the whitelegs and spiders, it seems they are a part of Zimmies powers that manifest when they are active, but apart from when she loses control I don't believe they can escape her.
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Post by descoladavirus on May 24, 2012 20:37:06 GMT
Yeah true, but it seems a little strange that there's one type of etheric being all the others find extra attractive. But it could explain why Annie didn't see any genuine fire elementals around the forest, maybe they've all ended up diluted like Annie from having kids with other types of beings? Besides, the idea of Antony being a human shaped ether-magnet makes me chuckle ;D It's like on the scheme what we saw in Give and Take. And yeah, everything related to Jeanne is a big stab to the "hearts" of lil' golems. Speaking of the Treatise, though - Annie holding a spider seems to be the most relevant part right now. Yeah the spider is looking mighty meaningful, does it represent a person? Zimmy? Will Annie release Zimmy into the wild? Naw, I'm going completely off the rails now. No way would Zimmy be a spider. I think its more likely you won't find fire elementals in a place that doesn't have a lot of naturally occurring fire. Especially not in a place full of things that can burn.
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Post by goldenknots on May 24, 2012 21:23:49 GMT
I think its more likely you won't find fire elementals in a place that doesn't have a lot of naturally occurring fire. Especially not in a place full of things that can burn. Not for very long, anyway. :)
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Post by ischaldirh on May 24, 2012 22:32:03 GMT
As for Jones and the mask, this seems to be all symbols so I'd say that Jones didn't give her the mask, she most likely asked her to not show her full self to the forest (for fear of ????) and this has been represented by Jones giving Annie's mask to her. If Jones were to have 'gave' her the mask for the first time why would it be appearing in a flashback inside a dream? Of course. I never assumed the mask being given to her by Jones was a literal thing. There's so many symbols in this story - and IRL dreams tend to be heavily laden with symbols. Combine the two and you have symbols representing symbols... symbolception!
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Kriselia
Junior Member
But she smells wonderful!
Posts: 87
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Post by Kriselia on May 25, 2012 1:26:19 GMT
I think its more likely you won't find fire elementals in a place that doesn't have a lot of naturally occurring fire. Especially not in a place full of things that can burn. Hm, depends how literal the "fire" part in the elemental is. Would a fire elemental need a firesource to exist? Because there's not many places in the world constantly on fire. As an extension, would they light things around them on fire? And if they're actually literally on fire then sex with a human seems pretty close to impossible.
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Post by negativeproximity on May 25, 2012 1:58:40 GMT
I like the idea that this is all revolving around the guilt annie feels about copying kat's homework.
If that's the source of all of this, some of us are going to be feeling rather silly.
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Post by TBeholder on May 25, 2012 2:23:42 GMT
I'm wondering if this isn't something Antimony's doing to herself, and she needs to get a swift kick in the rear to stop hiding and fess up, to herself and to Kat (for the homework), the way Parley had to do a rapid reboot over her feelings for Smitty. So Zimmy's in there to wake her up, by whatever means. Quite likely, though i'd rather bet on a failed magical experiment as the immediate reason. As an extension, would they light things around them on fire? Blinker stone, at least, allows to be very selective about this, so why not a specialized magical creature? And if they're actually literally on fire then sex with a human seems pretty close to impossible. Probably both were magicked up to the eartips, so why not, even not counting flames being very choosy.
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