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Post by Daedalus on Apr 20, 2015 18:29:36 GMT
Nope. She's never treated Rey (or anyone) this way. She protected him and treated him like a person (chapter 6). She's never really been unable to share her feelings, she just had very few people she was comfortable doing it with. Shortly after she became friend with Kat, she cried about her mum and talked about her father and her worries (chapter 6). Coyote came along a long time after that. She didn't brush away the subject of her parents, she was rather curious to learn things she didn't know about most of the time. She would suppress feelings most of the time, yes, but like a normal person who doesn't like to cry in front of other people. Not like a mad girl about to be taken to the mental hospital. Uh, she treated Rey similarly to this a number of times throughout the early chapters.
There was a point where he spent half a chapter unable to speak because she made him shut up and then forgot about it.
Another instance where she told him to be quiet? When he was giving her some crap about taking a photograph of other mother and father from Kat's parents.
her mother and father have always been her kryptonite. It's what always pushed her over the edge and made her lose her composure. Like, learning about why her mother died is the entire reason she fled to the forest for an entire summer. She just can't handle that stuff very well.
And now she can't avoid it, she can't run from it, she can't tell it to be quiet and go away. And so she's shutting down and dealing with it the only way she can.
And you're overlooking that younger Annie and younger Anthony were extremely similar, and that Tom even drew parallels with the way they spoke and acted during the chapter showing Anja, James and Anthony as kids.
Further, during Microsat 5 we see that, when dealing with emotions she doesn't know how to handle, Annie was behaving very similarly to Anthony as a kid when he was going through the same kind of stress.
Even Coyote has mentioned that she subdues her feelings a lot more than her mother did, because of how much like her father she is.
If you think Annie's being really out of character or that this behavior is out of nowhere, you're demonstrably wrong. Sorry! is sort of correct - after Annie came out of her shell and got to know Kat and Rey, she never acted like that again. But you're also right, because of course this is just showing aspects from younger Annie that we haven't seen for a while. I think you're correct that mind control would not do justice to the emotional aspects of the story. I also think that, with mind control, Annie could never have admitted that she was about to break down like a 'complete fool'. What I do think is possible, however, is that Anthony could influence her emotions etherically. Nothing as refined as full mind control, but he could be pushing her to be less stable, and to be more controllable*. Because while this disassociation and breakdown is exactly what I would expect Annie to do if her father returned and mistreated her like he has here, this is much more sudden and drastic than I would have anticipated. *stifling her fire, one could say. |
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Post by pxc on Apr 20, 2015 18:46:12 GMT
Uh, she treated Rey similarly to this a number of times throughout the early chapters.
There was a point where he spent half a chapter unable to speak because she made him shut up and then forgot about it.
Another instance where she told him to be quiet? When he was giving her some crap about taking a photograph of other mother and father from Kat's parents.
her mother and father have always been her kryptonite. It's what always pushed her over the edge and made her lose her composure. Like, learning about why her mother died is the entire reason she fled to the forest for an entire summer. She just can't handle that stuff very well.
And now she can't avoid it, she can't run from it, she can't tell it to be quiet and go away. And so she's shutting down and dealing with it the only way she can.
And you're overlooking that younger Annie and younger Anthony were extremely similar, and that Tom even drew parallels with the way they spoke and acted during the chapter showing Anja, James and Anthony as kids.
Further, during Microsat 5 we see that, when dealing with emotions she doesn't know how to handle, Annie was behaving very similarly to Anthony as a kid when he was going through the same kind of stress.
Even Coyote has mentioned that she subdues her feelings a lot more than her mother did, because of how much like her father she is.
If you think Annie's being really out of character or that this behavior is out of nowhere, you're demonstrably wrong. Sorry! is sort of correct - after Annie came out of her shell and got to know Kat and Rey, she never acted like that again. But you're also right, because of course this is just showing aspects from younger Annie that we haven't seen for a while. I think you're correct that mind control would not do justice to the emotional aspects of the story. I also think that, with mind control, Annie could never have admitted that she was about to break down like a 'complete fool'. What I do think is possible, however, is that Anthony could influence her emotions etherically. Nothing as refined as full mind control, but he could be pushing her to be less stable, and to be more controllable*. Because while this disassociation and breakdown is exactly what I would expect Annie to do if her father returned and mistreated her like he has here, this is much more sudden and drastic than I would have anticipated. *stifling her fire, one could say. Agree here, I think there is some sort of ether-science augmentation going on but at the core it is just their broken parent-child dynamic. To what end, it's not yet clear. But in one sense it doesn't matter, the end is not going to justify the means. |
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Post by Refugee on Apr 20, 2015 19:39:46 GMT
Only half way through the comments, so no surprise if I've been multiply ninja'd, but this gets so close to what I'm seeing I have to say: "A complete idiot." compare "You idiot." "You're so stupid." What does everyone think Kat's reaction should be to this? Press her harder or back down and see what she does next? "'Have to...' what, Annie? What do you 'have to' do?" would be enough, I think. And even that may not be necessary. When I look at Kat in the last panel, I am also thinking of Annie's reaction when Jones demonstrated her smile. Something unsettling is happening on Annie's face. Kat may not have to do anything at all but wait. Annie's mask is not as sturdy as she thinks. I really think Kat should press Annie on the Renard situation. Whatever Anthony's intentions, this isn't her call to make and Annie needs to be called on that. This is exactly Annie's call to make. Oh, others should step in if she decides to sacrifice Renard to her Father, but: She is the sole hand on that leash and it is her responsibility to hold it well. She needs to remember that she isn't a powerless little girl anymore with no responsibilities. And that shirking those responsibilities can be harmful to everyone around her as well as herself! Exactly. This is exactly what I've been trying to say since this chapter opened. This is why I have no patience with trying to cast this chapter in terms of abuse or neglect, of law or magic. This is Annie's Test, so much more important than the tests and homework she cheated on. Those cheats are what have brought her to this point. Not only has her cheating made her administratively vulnerable, but they resulted from the same flaw in her character that now puts Renard at risk: a willingness to throw others away to preserve her mask. People have remarked on Annie's similarity to Anthony's face when he refused to ask that girl out. (And he, too, clenched his fist so hard his nails marked his palm.) This is the breakthrough that Parley was able to achieve, the battle with himself that Anthony lost, and that Annie "must" now win: to break free of her coward heart, and let herself look like a fool for the sake of another. === Where are all the grownups? people are asking. Watching, I'm pretty sure. Proctoring the test. === Incidentally, I am looking at a couple of other webcomics currently dealing with issues of control: Freefall, where Florence, a lupine AI, has just had her "direct command" safeguards turned off, over the objections of her world's rulers; and possibly 6 Gun Mage, where it looks like a girl who is bound by a contract that allows others to treat her like a pack mule has just been signed over to a group of freedom fighters. Exactly what the circumstances are is not yet known, but I think the Pennygun gang is going to come to the place where they will have to emancipate someone they need--with no guarantee that she will stay with them if they do. |
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Post by atteSmythe on Apr 20, 2015 19:46:37 GMT
 More parallels... Wow! Her hands are held in exactly the same pose - right hand with pinky and index fingers separated, left hand held together, even though the view is different. |
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Post by The Anarch on Apr 20, 2015 19:51:49 GMT
I don't know how to untangle that then. The mask was off while she was in the forest. Naked Jones (hnng) gives her the mask, which is presumably her make-up. As I said, the makeup is very likely a physical embodiment - a totem, of sorts - of her emotional mask, but it wouldn't be the mask itself. The mask seen in Divine is a representation of the way she walls herself away, keeps secret the parts of her she wishes to keep secret, and the makeup is simply a single aspect of that. She takes the mask off under the tree with Kat because that represents how she let herself completely go at that point during the real event, crying and expressing how much she missed her mother. She puts the mask over the homework she's copying because she's hiding the fact that she's cheating as well as controlling the anxieties associated with it. The mask breaks when Zimmy insults her father because of the strong feelings she has about him busting through, and showing how fragile her mask (and thus her control) can be where he is involved. It's a big ol' metaphor, and the makeup is just a part of it. |
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Post by Refugee on Apr 20, 2015 19:54:39 GMT
I don't know how to untangle that then. The mask was off while she was in the forest. Naked Jones (hnng) gives her the mask, which is presumably her make-up. As I said, the makeup is very likely a physical embodiment - a totem, of sorts - of her emotional mask, but it wouldn't be the mask itself. The makeup is also part of Surma's legacy to her. How that affects your above points, all good, remain to be seen. |
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Sadie
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Post by Sadie on Apr 20, 2015 21:27:46 GMT
(snip) She is the sole hand on that leash and it is her responsibility to hold it well. She needs to remember that she isn't a powerless little girl anymore with no responsibilities. And that shirking those responsibilities can be harmful to everyone around her as well as herself! Exactly. This is exactly what I've been trying to say since this chapter opened. This is why I have no patience with trying to cast this chapter in terms of abuse or neglect, of law or magic. This is Annie's Test, so much more important than the tests and homework she cheated on. I completely agree with you on this from a story-telling point-of-view. It's only from an in-character view-point where I have a different perspective. Specifically with this here -- The thing about this, for me, is that it turns a situation born organically from the interaction of several different people's goals, actions, and lies -- into a staged chess match, set into motion supposedly for the purpose of testing the emotional mettle of this one child. It doesn't cast any of the adults in Annie's life in a good light, where they'd rather drag a 14 year old through the emotional wringer just to see if she'd stand up for herself when push came to shove than interact with her like a person who's been given adult-level responsibilities. Again, when we're talking story-telling, yes, of course this is Annie's test, and how it turns out will forever change her character and the story. It doesn't have to have been artificially arranged by the characters for that purpose and I think that would... well, not weaken the story, but give a different spirit to it. Annie's important to her fictional world, but she's not the center of it. It's more believable that other people in her life - Jones, Eglamore, the Donlans, etc - are naturally focused elsewhere. Maybe I'm reading you wrong on meaning to imply that this test was all staged, but I keep getting the feeling from a lot of your comments that you're hoping for a sort of AH-HAH! moment where Kat metaphorically pulls back a curtain to show Anthony Carver proudly applauding Annie's newly achieved maturity -- the only thing he wanted all along. |
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Post by gunnerwf on Apr 20, 2015 21:37:16 GMT
I think we may get more info about the Mask thingy and her make-up this chapter
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Post by Refugee on Apr 20, 2015 21:52:15 GMT
Maybe I'm reading you wrong on meaning to imply that this test was all staged, but I keep getting the feeling from a lot of your comments that you're hoping for a sort of AH-HAH! moment where Kat metaphorically pulls back a curtain to show Anthony Carver proudly applauding Annie's newly achieved maturity -- the only thing he wanted all along. Not really, no. I simply mean that Annie, and most of the students at the Court, are allowed to play out their decisions with minimal supervision. They are monitored, particularly the ones like Annie, because they are so potentially dangerous--but they must make their own decisions and suffer the consequences thereof. Heck, they may not even rescue Renard, since he is bound to Annie as a result of actions he now regrets. The only reason the Court would stop or constrain Annie is if she does something that threatens the Court or its goals. I do not think that Anthony is waiting to step out of the wings to applaud Annie's success--although I considered that. He, too, is a student of the Court, and is bound up in this, and must live out the consequences of his actions. |
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Post by Refugee on Apr 20, 2015 21:54:42 GMT
All that said, there is something fishy about Mr. Carver showing up to teach his daughter's very advanced biology class with no warning. The more I look at all this, the stranger that is. Not going to speculate about it though. I'll wait and see.
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Post by aline on Apr 20, 2015 22:06:20 GMT
Uh, she treated Rey similarly to this a number of times throughout the early chapters. There was a point where he spent half a chapter unable to speak because she made him shut up and then forgot about it. I remember that. She *was* very controlling of him, when she still thought of him as an evil demon. But now she's giving him away. www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=108In my eyes the magnitude of it doesn't compare. It is a sensible topic to her, but show me which kid wouldn't run screaming at the thought that they killed their mother? On other less hurtful occasions, we've also seen her interested discussing her parents ( www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1010 ). She's obviously hurt to have lost one and been abandoned by the other, but it's not like she snaps every time they're mentioned. I remember that too. But neither young Annie nor young Anthony were ever shown behaving like on today's page. They are quiet and somewhat withdrawn in public, but in private they seem quite ready to share their feelings with the people they trust: www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1011www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=92But suddenly she's so far beyond the edge that she's coming back from the other side, as Pratchett would put it. I'm just missing a link here. Annie's breakdown is far too sudden and extreme to feel believable to me, even with her dad jumping in by surprise. Again, it's just how I feel. I understand that others feel differently. |
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Post by ninjaraven on Apr 20, 2015 22:22:31 GMT
Thinking back to Divine, and the nature of Zimmy: Zimmy makes unreal things real. And she established in Divine that she was poking around in Annie's dreams/subconscious. Could the bone-spears be her father's literal intervention, or were they actually merely a representation of her father's influence on her desire to control her emotions?? The connection between Zimmy, Annie and Tony at the point of Zimmypunch impact might have given Tony insight into Annie's cheating (and also taken Tony's hand by accident, as the representative became reality due to Zimmy's presence). Wonder if Tony was dreaming and then woke up with a split lip, and a shattered hand...
I suspect the bones, like the mask, are self-imposed, not mind control. They are Annie's coping mechanisms, and they are slowly killing her. However, if those bones were indeed "real" (it's so hard to tell with Zimmy involved what is real!), and if Annie can master the bones, could she possibly shut down her etheric self at will?? That would be a cool/freaky combo!
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Post by OrzBrain on Apr 20, 2015 22:24:47 GMT
Explain why breaking down like a complete fool is worse than what you're doing right now.
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Sadie
Full Member
I eat food and sleep in a horizontal position.
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Post by Sadie on Apr 20, 2015 22:30:11 GMT
Maybe I'm reading you wrong on meaning to imply that this test was all staged, but I keep getting the feeling from a lot of your comments that you're hoping for a sort of AH-HAH! moment where Kat metaphorically pulls back a curtain to show Anthony Carver proudly applauding Annie's newly achieved maturity -- the only thing he wanted all along. Not really, no. I simply mean that Annie, and most of the students at the Court, are allowed to play out their decisions with minimal supervision. They are monitored, particularly the ones like Annie, because they are so potentially dangerous--but they must make their own decisions and suffer the consequences thereof. Ah, I get you now. I agree with you, but I think most of the forum users (myself included) want to believe that the adults that care about Annie are slightly less inclined toward the 'bacteria in a petri dish' approach that the rest of the Court is into. How right or wrong we are remains to be seen. I'm pretty solid on the position that the only adult with any motivation to rescue Renard from Anthony would maaaaaaybe be Eglamore, only because he doesn’t like Anthony and wouldn't like him being in ownership of a demon just on principle alone. I don’t think Jones would like it, but I also don’t think she’d move from her position of non-interference in this case. Everyone else, the Donlans included, didn’t want Annie having Renard in the first place. The upper echelons of the Court ESPECIALLY didn’t want her having him. And if that is exactly what all this is…? /speculation |
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Post by Refugee on Apr 20, 2015 23:16:15 GMT
I think most of the forum users (myself included) want to believe that the adults that care about Annie are slightly less inclined toward the 'bacteria in a petri dish' approach that the rest of the Court is into. ... The only reason the Court would stop or constrain Annie is if she does something that threatens the Court or its goals. And if that is exactly what all this is…? /speculation The problem, I think, is that people like Antimony--or Surma, or Anthony, or Kat and her parents, or if it comes to that the Zimmy-Gamma dyad--is that as their power grows, it becomes more and more difficult to control them. "Win his love", says the King's wizard Emuin, referring to Tristan, a naive, seemingly helpless being who simply cannot be constrained by force. "That is, in binding dangerous things, always wisest." Something like that obtains here. The most the Court can do is to let Annie have her own way and form her own friends, allies, and enemies, while hoping that the friends and allies have more influence than the enemies. Bad things happen when they do that--but much worse happens when they do otherwise. This is why they haven't tried to force Annie into detention--not because they are careless, but because if she will not follow the rules, they have no alternatives short of imprisonment or execution. |
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Post by antiyonder on Apr 20, 2015 23:22:51 GMT
I disagree. If they could be convinced of the severity of the situation (ie Anthony hasn't already talked to them and misled them), they'd absolutely fight against Tony for Annie's sake. I think. Honestly, I was too focused on the "guardian" and not enough on the "fighting for Antimony" part. Mr. Donlan would probably be the one person Anthony would listen to and Eglamore does not like Anthony. They would likely stand up for Antimony, given that they know (of the actions and the severity) what is going on. However being Antimonys legal guardians? I don't think so. Unfortunately though, his unwillingness to be critical towards Anthony (even mild criticism) would suggest that things would have to get even worse for Annie in order for Donald to consider that Anthony might be seriously wrong. |
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quark
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Post by quark on Apr 20, 2015 23:27:01 GMT
[snip] This is exactly what I've been trying to say since this chapter opened. This is why I have no patience with trying to cast this chapter in terms of abuse or neglect, of law or magic. It still is abuse, though. No matter if it's a test or not, Anthony is abusive and has been neglectful towards his daughter. Jeanne's anger at Parley's coward heart was an important catalyst for Parley and Smitty, but she was still murdered. We're talking different layers, here, and I finally get why you're insisting that 'this isn't abuse, this is important for Antimony'. Yes, of course it's important to Antimony's development as a character that she finally is confronted with her father and faces the consequences for her actions (and we wouldn't want to have it any other way), but this doesn't mean that he isn't abusive. Excellent observation. You put it perfectly. This would mean the others know that they're side-characters in Annie's story, and confronting her abusive father is her test. Which would be out of character for everybody, except maybe Jones (who knows she's an observer to all of human history) and Coyote, who knows that he's fictional. |
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Post by calpal on Apr 20, 2015 23:30:23 GMT
Aaand next page, Annie passes out and gets put back in a hospital.
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Post by Refugee on Apr 20, 2015 23:32:20 GMT
Unfortunately though, [Donald's] unwillingness to be critical towards Anthony (even mild criticism) would suggest that things would have to get even worse for Annie in order for Donald to consider that Anthony might be seriously wrong. Donald has only spoken of Anthony in the past. But now Anthony is an immediate threat to two people who are important to Kat, and possibly to Kat herself. I think Donald will listen. |
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Post by ctso74 on Apr 20, 2015 23:35:37 GMT
I'm still not sold on mind control. However, those do kind of look like the "bones" from Divine. Maybe. I'd never thought to connect the "bones" with the "mask" before. The former seemed like something Tony was doing remotely, while the latter was a metaphor, like so much of Divine. Maybe, the "mask" was a metaphor, but for whatever procedure was being done to Annie's elemental. The boniness of this page might be something, that can't be explained by complicated gut-wrenching angst. Stylized representation of head-splitting trauma, or is Tony trying with his left hand now? If that is Anthony, and the "mask" has something to do with him suppressing the Fire Elemental, it reminds me of something people noticed during Divine. When the "mask" broke, it broke near where Jeanne ethereally cut Annie. What if what Anthony did in Divine would have "worked", and his insufficient knowledge about Annie's Annan Water alteration, is what caused the coma? Forgive the wild spec and wild alliteration. |
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Post by antiyonder on Apr 20, 2015 23:39:37 GMT
[snip] This is exactly what I've been trying to say since this chapter opened. This is why I have no patience with trying to cast this chapter in terms of abuse or neglect, of law or magic. It still is abuse, though. No matter if it's a test or not, Anthony is abusive and has been neglectful towards his daughter. Jeanne's anger at Parley's coward heart was an important catalyst for Parley and Smitty, but she was still murdered. We're talking different layers, here, and I finally get why you're insisting that 'this isn't abuse, this is important for Antimony'. Yes, of course it's important to Antimony's development as a character that she finally is confronted with her father and faces the consequences for her actions (and we wouldn't want to have it any other way), but this doesn't mean that he isn't abusive. This. Yeah suffering is a part of human life and does make one strong, but that doesn't mean instant justification for every behavior towards a person. Sure there's no doubt that Annie will become stronger as a result, but that doesn't mean that the narrative should treat Anthony's behavior as being in the right. Unfortunately though, [Donald's] unwillingness to be critical towards Anthony (even mild criticism) would suggest that things would have to get even worse for Annie in order for Donald to consider that Anthony might be seriously wrong. Donald has only spoken of Anthony in the past. But now Anthony is an immediate threat to two people who are important to Kat, and possibly to Kat herself. I think Donald will listen. I don't know. I mean he knows that Anthony left Annie at Gunnerkrigg Court without a way to contact him or a way to contact any other adult figures in case she needed help and doesn't seem to consider that a serious problem. Hard to say what would be the sure red flag. |
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Post by youwiththeface on Apr 20, 2015 23:54:20 GMT
I do wonder if maybe the way Annie's acting now is what the result of the bone laser surgery would've been if it had been successful and/or Zimmy hadn't interfered. Maybe Anthony decided to come down to Gunnerkrigg because he figured he wouldn't be able to complete it if it he wasn't there, doing it in person and making sure no rogue factors were there to intervene.
In that case, I don't know if I'd say that if something like that was going on that it wipes her personality and just makes her do what she's programmed to do as much as it blocks her off from her inner fire, from the elemental part of her she inherited from Surma. It was after Zimmy freed her fire from the bones that Annie was able to break her mask and toss Zimmy across the room, after all. If her fire is locked away inside her, her near outburst on this page could've been it trying to break out.
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Post by Eversist on Apr 21, 2015 0:40:27 GMT
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Post by arkadi on Apr 21, 2015 0:46:21 GMT
Holy crap I think I was right about the mind control. You and I both, mate. I knew there had to be something going on, on top of Annie's daddy issues. Carver, you son of a bitch. Also, if Tony has, say, empathy deficiency problems (to avoid saying outright he's a bloody sociopath  ) which seems likely, his ideas of love might be rather different from mundane ones. So far, everything we've seen of Carver's behavior suggests that he's autistic to some degree: in fact, he reminds me a lot of some people I know who suffer from Asperger's syndrome. People with that condition have a hard time understanding and dealing with others, and they have a tendency to become control freaks. And I know at least two such people who were terribly abusive to their children, in a way that was frighteningly similar to what Carver is doing to Annie. So yeah. ( Note: edited 23/4 because of unfortunate phrasing that caused offence to some forum members) |
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Post by TBeholder on Apr 21, 2015 0:47:00 GMT
But suddenly I'm beginning to warm up a bit to the idea that a lot of what was going on from Zimmy's perspective in Divine could have been metaphorical, rather than literal. Shhh. The inquisition may burn you at the skate for doubt in the Divine Headpigeon. As in the bones may not actually have literally been Anthony's direct doing, Was there any reason to assume it somehow was? and could have been some representation of Annie's conflicted pain regarding her father, once again popping up here to cause her pain. Why not the quite obvious from the Microsat, instead? Was it confirmed anywhere that Annie learned how to put on makeup from her mother? Or just indirect hints? IIRC, no, but Surma used to have the same, so... I mean, every time (twice so far) when she was exposed to her father influence, she had no makeup on. Actually, this happened more than twice. Another (slightly milder) breakdown happened during "Annie in the Forest" Part 1. It makes me think really hard (again) what the **** was the relationship between Surma and Anthony about. Sure as hell wasn't just love. I posit that there's no such thing as "just love" and request to elaborate. Also, if Tony has, say, empathy deficiency problems (to avoid saying outright he's a bloody sociopath ) Let's say outright: what's wrong with that?  This would be an extremely stupid move if it were true, and it would cheapen everything that's happening here.  Actually, he and the Donlans are really into doing fantasy cosplay, so he never took it off. He got there so quickly, because they were posing for pictures by the Forest. The mystery is solved! |
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Post by ninjaraven on Apr 21, 2015 2:35:11 GMT
Explain why breaking down like a complete fool is worse than what you're doing right now. What happens if you can't get up again after you've broken down? What do you do then? Will others discard you in your weakness, deciding you're not worth the effort? Might some turn and devour you, having waited for the opportunity to present itself, some trying in their own way to break you down? Annie's had so few relationships in her life - each is a precious support pillar whose crumbling she fears terribly; she doesn't dare to test them by putting her full weight on them in dependence. I wonder how the psychopomps have played into Annie's current emotional status - they were the closest things she had to friends while at Good Hope, and she clearly felt betrayed by them with respect to her mother. |
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Post by guitarminotaur on Apr 21, 2015 2:55:59 GMT
I don't know how to highlight just the relevant quote from TBeholder's excellent post yet, but I just thought I'd express my amusement at the idea of being burned at the skate.
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Post by pxc on Apr 21, 2015 3:07:20 GMT
Explain why breaking down like a complete fool is worse than what you're doing right now. What happens if you can't get up again after you've broken down? What do you do then? Will others discard you in your weakness, deciding you're not worth the effort? Might some turn and devour you, having waited for the opportunity to present itself, some trying in their own way to break you down? Annie's had so few relationships in her life - each is a precious support pillar whose crumbling she fears terribly; she doesn't dare to test them by putting her full weight on them in dependence. I wonder how the psychopomps have played into Annie's current emotional status - they were the closest things she had to friends while at Good Hope, and she clearly felt betrayed by them with respect to her mother. From this perspective her mother betrayed her more than any of them by doing so little to prepare her for what was coming. |
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elebenty
Junior Member
Better than bubble wrap.
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Post by elebenty on Apr 21, 2015 3:41:23 GMT
What does everyone think Kat's reaction should be to this? Press her harder or back down and see what she does next? Since Rey is out of commission, Zimmy's not close by, and Kat can't see the etheric, I'm hoping she will plant a seed of doubt over whether Tony-in-the-classroom is really her father. Even if it is truly him, the curiosity may be enough to get Annie to "look" for Tony with the blinker stone. I don't know if his intentions would be visible (a la the Voldemort face on Jeanne in the last panel here), I just hope it is enough to make Annie realize there are other modes available than "obey." Forgive the wild spec and wild alliteration. B-but that's my favorite part! |
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Post by machival on Apr 21, 2015 3:52:54 GMT
I'm still not sold on mind control. However, those do kind of look like the "bones" from Divine. Maybe. For those wondering if it's bones or tears, note how the background shifts and distorts over the course of panels 2-4, only to be back to normal in panel 7 (the next panel after four that shows the same background elements). The distorting of the backround imagery is more consistent with the imagery used in this chapter to convey Annie's mental state than the imagery surrounding the bone-lasers (which was typical ether-vision). The spikey things themselves are also terribly flat and basic, unlike what we usually see with ether-vision objects. One could further make the argument that if any bone lasering was going on, neither kat nor annie have any reason to see it (kat can't look, we can reasonably certain annie isn't looking), and ether-vision content has previously required that some character be viewing the ether-content for the audience to view it. Given the imagery established in this chapter and Tom's prior use of Ether-vision, I think we can be reasonably certain that the bones interpretation is reaching for something that isn't there. edit: further, it's notable that the spikey things are encroaching on antimony in panels 3 to 4. If she was under the influence of the bone lasers, wouldn't they have already entered her? |
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) which seems likely, his ideas of love might be rather different from mundane ones.
