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Post by Stately Buff-Cookie on Feb 8, 2013 14:40:58 GMT
I was.. right? About something? What. That's the biggest shock of all here. Someone as stupid as me shouldn't be RIGHT.
For Antimony, this might be a good thing. She's still pretty young, and there's no saying who the medium is can't change later. It would be unusual for it to be a lifetime appointment. Give her some time to gain some life experience before she goes about being a mediator for the court. Get some more perspective. Give her time to calm down and free time to tackle her personal issues. Coyote and Ys aren't the best influences, and Treebark has already proven to be a source of harmful advice for Antimony. We just have to avoid a drama fire breaking out (a literal one at that), and we're good.
That saaaaaid.
The job of the Court's medium seems more like it should be called "Coyote Handler". The best one to be a handler for Coyote is Antimony. She knows his tricks and his stories. Coyote also blatantly favors her. Then again, Smits could surprise us.
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Cleo
Junior Member
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Post by Cleo on Feb 8, 2013 15:00:03 GMT
I think something else might be going on here and I think it's between Coyote and Reynardine.
I'm not sure what... but I have a feeling Coyote wants a little private chat with his cousin and has set up this little illusion for Rey's eyes only.
I await Monday to be utterly, utterly mistaken.
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Post by Mitth'raw'nuruodo on Feb 8, 2013 15:00:17 GMT
Yet another hypothesis proven correct by the Grand Admiral. (If you were wondering where I was, the siege of Coruscant was severely eating into my time.) If anyone else would like to know how the rest of the series will play out, do not hesitate to ask, for I am a tactical genius.
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Post by La Goon on Feb 8, 2013 15:30:19 GMT
Reynardine in the two last panels made me chuckle. I imagine he's thinking something like "What are they on about? Can they really be that slow, or is this some kind of joke? Does any of the others here find it funny?".
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Post by caseykoons on Feb 8, 2013 15:39:06 GMT
I wonder if we're seeing a recreation of an entire Court.
Kat is on her way to becoming a far more benevolent God of Robotkind, successor to Diego.
Parley, as many have mentioned would make a good dragon slayer.
Andrew does seem level-headed, and potentially a good medium. Although, Surma was a bit of a temper-head in her time in the role and the Court didn't seem to mind it then. Hard to say what sort of temperment is good to straddle the Court and the Forest. We don't have many diplomats for animals, gods and demons.
And then there's Jones. A bit of a wild card, neither the true Ally of either side but a watchful third party. Perhaps Jones has selected Annie to serve as her 'replacement.' A third will to contend with the other two without pledging loyalty to either.
Imagine it. A new class with Professor Kat Angel of Robots teaching Double Physics, Dragon Slayer Parley rocking some Bip-fu, Medium Smitty handling forest politics and mysterious red-haired Annie messing with everyone and everything as she see's fit.
Bip!
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Post by exdevlin on Feb 8, 2013 15:41:06 GMT
I expect to see Andrew's eyebrows go skyhigh in Monday's strip. I could actually see it in my head as I read the announcement.
That took me by surprise. Maybe the court wants his 'make everything boring' ability to calm things down, make the forest dwellers less 'unruly', as Jones put it.
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Post by ravenswd on Feb 8, 2013 15:44:11 GMT
Tom, of course, has to twist the twist. Does time seem frozen in that last panel? Coyote? Everything about the dialogue seems really, really stilted here. But given that Smitty seems to cut off in the second to last panel, I think maybe you're right about time being frozen. I thought it was a beat panel at first, too, but Tom would have changed their expressions if that were the case. I'm guessing that the conversation is really stilted because someone is altering reality. Their speech sounds rehearsed because they're not actually speaking freely - someone is manipulating what they're saying. My other theory is: Tom is reading all our crazy fan theories and giggling to himself.
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Post by Xan on Feb 8, 2013 15:54:52 GMT
I don't think their reaction can be explained by inertia from their expectations. Too long a scene.
Okay, so I subscribe to two theories:
1) Smith's power is rewriting reality to make the "right" choice the actual one, on the basis of it being right.
2) Coyote is overriding something. Either rewriting reality again, but that doesn't seem like something he would do, or.. Maybe the trio has an altered perception/memory and actually heard the headmaster say "Antimony Carver"? Then it would be interesting to see who else "heard" the same thing. Or maybe it was what he actually said and Coyote is messing only with Rey (and the readers).
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Post by warrl on Feb 8, 2013 15:59:56 GMT
And then there's Jones. A bit of a wild card, neither the true Ally of either side but a watchful third party. Perhaps Jones has selected Annie to serve as her 'replacement.' A third will to contend with the other two without pledging loyalty to either. Imagine it. A new class with Professor Kat Angel of Robots teaching Double Physics, Dragon Slayer Parley rocking some Bip-fu, Medium Smitty handling forest politics and mysterious red-haired Annie messing with everyone and everything as she sees fit. From that description, it doesn't sound like Antimony is successor to Jones... more like she's successor to Coyote.
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Post by elppa284 on Feb 8, 2013 16:19:08 GMT
Wouldn't Coyote be more pleased with this? After all, he's tried to persuade Annie's sympathies towards the forest in the past. If Annie isn't the medium, then Coyote can take advantage of this and try to get her more on his side.
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Post by kalechibki on Feb 8, 2013 16:27:59 GMT
I expect to see Andrew's eyebrows go skyhigh in Monday's strip. I could actually see it in my head as I read the announcement. This cannot be more shocking to him than George-y proclaiming her previously un-believable love for all things boring. My guess is that we only get half an atmosphere eyebrow raise. To the scene itself: There's something else at work here. Jones clearly is trying to help Annie grow up for her new responsibilities. Jones would play it straight with Annie - if she had pushed the court's patience beyond all reckoning, she would have said so rather than saying she was pushing their patience and to dial it back. And no matter how long is between 40 and 41, Annie promised to dial it back. Though I must admit - I wonder who would win in a tete-a-tete of Smitty v Coyote. Would Smitty's power of order trump Coyote's wildness, or would Coyote just overwhelm the poor boy? Or would there need to be a third person to tip the scales...
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Post by atteSmythe on Feb 8, 2013 17:00:01 GMT
Smitface ruined the ceremony! *shakefist* I came here to say exactly that!
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Post by wanderer on Feb 8, 2013 17:00:24 GMT
Wellp. That's an odd choice. Amusing how it took them so long to realize it. More amusing how readers are desperately scrambling to come up with crazy theories to explain that other than "it's funny."
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Post by atteSmythe on Feb 8, 2013 17:03:54 GMT
YO, ANNIE. I'M REALLY HAPPY FOR YOU. IMMA LET YOU FINISH, BUT SMITTY IS ONE OF THE BEST MEDIUMS OF ALL TIME. Of all time!
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Post by eightyfour on Feb 8, 2013 17:22:53 GMT
So here I was smiling to myself when people were going crazy for the last few pages with speculations about Annie not being chosen as Medium... welp. But Smitty makes sense in retrospect. The court would want someone who can represent their interests and I can see how they might consider Annie to be unreliable in that aspect.
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Post by Max on Feb 8, 2013 17:27:12 GMT
I can't help see this as a potential tactical move against the forest. The Court has been willing to use the medium as a tool against the forest, and who knows what effect Andrew's powers would have against the chaotic nature of the forest. This would also explain the scene where Jones endorses a medium. Jones, being a neutral and logical person, chose someone who would best fit the role of a medium, but the Court had their own agenda, and went against her recommendation.
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Post by 0o0f on Feb 8, 2013 18:57:45 GMT
I'm kinda hoping we'll see some Coyote-Andrew interactions now.
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Post by lunarluminesce on Feb 8, 2013 19:09:15 GMT
I'm kinda hoping we'll see some Coyote-Andrew interactions now. Yes...I would love to see how calm and orderly Andrew deals with chaotic Coyote. Would Coyote find him too boring? Will Andrew's gift and personality allow him to hold his own? And, I would be interested to see how he handles Ysengrin and his temper too...
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Post by diztrakted on Feb 8, 2013 19:21:31 GMT
My other theory is: Tom is reading all our crazy fan theories and giggling to himself. That's not a theory. That's a fact of life. I didn't guess Smitty in particular, but with all the buildup I would have been very surprised if Annie had been chosen. I personally think that Annie was Jones' recommendation. The court chose Smitty either as a weapon (per Max's comment) or simply because of the three candidates he remains the most impartial towards both parties, as is his nature. Heck, I would probably choose Smitty if I was the court, knowing only what we know of their position.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2013 19:22:20 GMT
Wellp. That's an odd choice. Amusing how it took them so long to realize it. More amusing how readers are desperately scrambling to come up with crazy theories to explain that other than "it's funny." Mostly because there's something fishy going on here. Even if the first syllables are the same, would all three young adults really carry on with that conversation for that long? Why does Andrew stop in the middle of that sentence? Why do the three hold their expressions afterwards? Reynardine looks equally puzzled and turns around. Why wouldn't a calculating entity like the Court inform the medium beforehand? This whole ceremony seems awfully dramatic. What is Reynardine so "proud of" earlier if not being selected as a medium? Why would the Court go against Jones' advice (be it Annie or Parley)? Tom's set up big ol' plot threads and far-reaching storylines and surprised us before...but the way the comic built this up, I find it very hard to believe that it was all for a simple carpet-yank gag. Something's going on here. Either the Court changed their minds last minute for some big reason, or...some other crazy thing. If I were inclined to throw two more darts at the board, the possibility of this being connected to either Zimmy or the Robots hasn't yet been posited.
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Post by Per on Feb 8, 2013 20:14:57 GMT
Why wouldn't a calculating entity like the Court inform the medium beforehand? This whole ceremony seems awfully dramatic. I thought Lightice had a good point about informing the candidates beforehand. If you're giving out an award or announcing the result of a contest, you might get away with a surprise announcement (and even then you might want to drop a hint to make sure the winner will even be attending the ceremony and not battling robots, depending on circumstances), but things are different if you're assigning a job title. Obviously if you don't want to undermine the new medium from the get-go, you're not going to hint at any uncertainty that they're the right person for the job. So if there's nothing going on here except an extended double-take, it makes the Court administration seem a little bumbling. Or it's just another case of seeing the forest as a nuisance and who really cares, which seems a little strange though because hey there's a canine deity in the room.
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Post by Lightice on Feb 8, 2013 20:45:56 GMT
Obviously if you don't want to undermine the new medium from the get-go, you're not going to hint at any uncertainty that they're the right person for the job. Yeah, this is the thing that baffles me. Because what I'm expecting Smitty to respond is something in the lines of: "Who? Me? But wasn't Carver supposed to get the job?", which is not exactly a promising start for a career. What the Headmaster did is bad form, no matter how you look at it. I'm feeling that there is some kind of deliberate malice at play, but I can't think of the reason or even if it was the Headmaster's own idea or not.
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Post by dante on Feb 8, 2013 21:48:53 GMT
Smitface ruined the ceremony! Ha, that was the conclusion I immediately jumped to, too. Everything in its place, everything as it should be.
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Post by snuffa on Feb 8, 2013 23:16:00 GMT
I was.. right? About something? What. That's the biggest shock of all here. Someone as stupid as me shouldn't be RIGHT. For Antimony, this might be a good thing. She's still pretty young, and there's no saying who the medium is can't change later. It would be unusual for it to be a lifetime appointment. Give her some time to gain some life experience before she goes about being a mediator for the court. Get some more perspective. Give her time to calm down and free time to tackle her personal issues. Coyote and Ys aren't the best influences, and Treebark has already proven to be a source of harmful advice for Antimony. We just have to avoid a drama fire breaking out (a literal one at that), and we're good. this is true, but do keep in mind that (remembering the coyote's "when") her life expectancy is something like 30 to 35 years, of which last 10 will be spent bedridden. so technically speaking she only has a few more years left before permanent disability
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Post by 0o0f on Feb 8, 2013 23:25:48 GMT
I'll admit, it is kind of strange how they keep going for so long before they seem to realize what the headmaster actually said. It could just be that Tom wanted to drag the joke out, but my first impression was that something fishy's going on. Well, we'll probably find out on Monday.
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Dentrala
Full Member
"I absolutely did not expect thiiiissss!!"
Posts: 156
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Post by Dentrala on Feb 8, 2013 23:58:16 GMT
Well this has been a joke around the MSPA forums for several updates back, but I image-fied it. You're welcome.
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myzelf
Junior Member
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Post by myzelf on Feb 9, 2013 0:09:38 GMT
Man, I thought it would be Parley.
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bingli
Full Member
creepin' creepin'
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Post by bingli on Feb 9, 2013 3:58:24 GMT
SMITFACE! Why didnt I think of that o_0 Thinking about it now...makes sense. Point of the Medium is to be a mediator and liaison between things. Annie's behavior is more instigating and willful. They need someone who will listen to the court. Also, a lot of the whole legacy of Surma having been the medium before is behind the expectations of Annie becoming future medium. However, we don't even know if Surma's mediuming ended up with good consequences or not. We already know that her deceit led to at least one murder by Reynard. They imprisoned him, but at what cost? I think that eventually we will learn about the reason why Surma left and lost contact with once close friends like Anja and Donnie. I think it is more complicated than Surma not wanting them to see her suffer. The relationships are complicated. Anja clearly loved Surma but didn't visit though she know her friend was dying. Surma and Tony lost contact with court friends for whatever reason yet sent Annie to go to school there. I want to see Brinnie get involved as result of this change of events! And I'm excited to see Smitty interact with Coyote and Ys! XD EDIT: SPELLING ERRORS WHY
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bingli
Full Member
creepin' creepin'
Posts: 104
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Post by bingli on Feb 9, 2013 4:01:47 GMT
Well this has been a joke around the MSPA forums for several updates back, but I image-fied it. You're welcome. GENIUS
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Post by Ophel on Feb 9, 2013 14:06:20 GMT
Heheheh. Oh boy... Actually, I'm fairly pleased with this outcome. Also, glad to see someone right. XD Edit: But wait until Smitters bores the hell out of you, Coyote! Actually, this better demonstrates how I feel about today's comic. Yeah, I'm the guy who has no input and just shows up to do pretty much this.
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