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Post by Glim Glam on Feb 1, 2017 15:10:02 GMT
Nope, there's no possible way this could go wrong, no siree!
I think the best case scenario here is that Annie has just become a full-time Psychopomp. That is definitely not something she would have wanted, but she sacrificed her freedom for Smitty's life. Maybe it also means something far more sinister than "you're in our employment now" and she's literally become their slave. Maybe she'll even have to give up her life on Earth altogether!
Once Coyote and the Court find out about this, they will be none too happy. In fact, it is very much possible that Coyote has been silently watching this all this time and will appear at any minute now.
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Post by arkadi on Feb 1, 2017 16:02:20 GMT
Well, At least they aren't mincing words. The bastards.
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Post by atteSmythe on Feb 1, 2017 16:04:05 GMT
Part of the ship, part of the crew
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Post by fia on Feb 1, 2017 16:12:08 GMT
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Post by darlos9d on Feb 1, 2017 16:20:40 GMT
Even in the face of all the Jeanne stuff that just came to a climax, this seems kind of abruptly overdramatic. Was there any strong hints before this chapter that the psychopomps wanted to gain some kind of control over Annie? Because it feels like they've been looking forward to this kind of opportunity, by the way they're acting about it.
Like lisanela said, their behavior feels really dickish all of a sudden. Not insomuch as they want something in return for saving somebody who was "supposed" to die, that seems like the kind of standard life/death balance concerns that psychopomps would have. Rather, them just being like "YOU BELONG TO US" after the fact feels a bit over the top. It's one step away from sinister maniacal laughter. Up until now they have, in the few times they've showed up, felt at least moderately sympathetic in attitude. Now they're being overbearing. But perhaps I missed some cues.
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Post by TBeholder on Feb 1, 2017 16:26:58 GMT
Once Jeanne became the guardian of the Annan putting an alarm down there would be problematic. Diego's pretty smart but if he did put a "Jeanne's been freed" alarm on the arrow it would probably ring in his workshop, and the Court doesn't monitor that (that we know of). Assuming they bipped down there then they shouldn't have set off the one alarm we (and they) know about, unless they carelessly do so on the way back. Which is still possible, though they've managed a lot of "sneaking around at night" activity without the Court being the wiser (unless it only acts when the students get clumsy - not because they broke the rules, but because they didn't do a good enough job of covering up their rule-breaking). You both forgot about that tracking thing.
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Post by Nnelg on Feb 1, 2017 16:31:08 GMT
I wonder...
What happens next should Kat offer to take Annie's place?
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Post by fia on Feb 1, 2017 16:33:46 GMT
Even in the face of all the Jeanne stuff that just came to a climax, this seems kind of abruptly overdramatic. Was there any strong hints before this chapter that the psychopomps wanted to gain some kind of control over Annie? Because it feels like they've been looking forward to this kind of opportunity, by the way they're acting about it. Like lisanela said, their behavior feels really dickish all of a sudden. Not insomuch as they want something in return for saving somebody who was "supposed" to die, that seems like the kind of standard life/death balance concerns that psychopomps would have. Rather, them just being like "YOU BELONG TO US" after the fact feels a bit over the top. It's one step away from sinister maniacal laughter. Up until now they have, in the few times they've showed up, felt at least moderately sympathetic in attitude. Now they're being overbearing. But perhaps I missed some cues. Not to mention they may have intentionally manipulated Anthony into almost killing Antimony. Evidently they want her soul =_=; which is SUPER CREEPY
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Post by seedmagnesium on Feb 1, 2017 17:37:04 GMT
Hold up a sec. Where'd the knife go? Weren't they saying pages ago not to remove it, which agrees with some of the amateur medical knowledge from this forum? It wasn't there last page either, before the psychopomps started to heal him. So what's up?
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Post by fish on Feb 1, 2017 17:39:50 GMT
Even in the face of all the Jeanne stuff that just came to a climax, this seems kind of abruptly overdramatic. Was there any strong hints before this chapter that the psychopomps wanted to gain some kind of control over Annie? Because it feels like they've been looking forward to this kind of opportunity, by the way they're acting about it. Like lisanela said, their behavior feels really dickish all of a sudden. Not insomuch as they want something in return for saving somebody who was "supposed" to die, that seems like the kind of standard life/death balance concerns that psychopomps would have. Rather, them just being like "YOU BELONG TO US" after the fact feels a bit over the top. It's one step away from sinister maniacal laughter. Up until now they have, in the few times they've showed up, felt at least moderately sympathetic in attitude. Now they're being overbearing. But perhaps I missed some cues. Not to mention they may have intentionally manipulated Anthony into almost killing Antimony. Evidently they want her soul =_=; which is SUPER CREEPY There's still no confirmation those were actual psychopomps. Anthony is a super n00b in etheric affairs and there are enough creatures out there looking to trick deseperate men. However, now that Annie has sold her soul and will presumably spend more time with them, we might get clarification on this matter.
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Post by fish on Feb 1, 2017 17:41:29 GMT
Hold up a sec. Where'd the knife go? Weren't they saying pages ago not to remove it, which agrees with some of the amateur medical knowledge from this forum? It wasn't there last page either, before the psychopomps started to heal him. So what's up? It disappeared along with Jeanne's sword on page 1782. The transition isn't perfect, but if you look closely you'll notice the dagger dissolving in the first panel.
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ST13R
Full Member
Quiet little mouse
Posts: 171
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Post by ST13R on Feb 1, 2017 17:42:22 GMT
Hold up a sec. Where'd the knife go? Weren't they saying pages ago not to remove it, which agrees with some of the amateur medical knowledge from this forum? It wasn't there last page either, before the psychopomps started to heal him. So what's up? It faded when Jeanne did, and Parley indeed seemed to know that you shouldn't remove foreign objects, as it will lead to heavier bleeding. [Haha, fish beat me to it]
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Post by cartographer7 on Feb 1, 2017 17:52:11 GMT
The curious thing here is not that Smitty's wound was a real, physical, killing blow, but that Annie's cheek cut was something less-than-physical. After rereading chapter 8, my guess is that Annie was asleep and subconsciously in the ether. Her mind drifting across the river in a dream (perhaps affected by the presence of her new blinker stone) would explain how Jeanne cut her in the Ether, as well as explaining why Kat's arrival made her vanish, instead of getting them both killed.
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gergle
Junior Member
Posts: 51
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Post by gergle on Feb 1, 2017 17:56:35 GMT
Of course, then the price would have been the inability to keep this incident secret. This is so not secret. If this isn't tripping alarms the Court didn't even remember it has, they're doing it wrong. There shouldn't be any alarms. All record of Jeanne, the plot to entrap her, and all actions that night, were covered up, erased. To have some sort of alarm system, ties you back to what happened. Alarm goes off, questions start getting asked. What does the alarm mean, who is it supposed to alert, why, how, and by whom was it set?
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Post by fish on Feb 1, 2017 17:57:02 GMT
The curious thing here is not that Smitty's wound was a real, physical, killing blow, but that Annie's cheek cut was something less-than-physical. After rereading chapter 8, my guess is that Annie was asleep and subconsciously in the ether. Her mind drifting across the river in a dream (perhaps affected by the presence of her new blinker stone) would explain how Jeanne cut her in the Ether, as well as explaining why Kat's arrival made her vanish, instead of getting them both killed. I had the same thoughts on that. This is my head canon until proven otherwise. Welcome to the forum!
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Post by Glim Glam on Feb 1, 2017 18:19:08 GMT
I wonder... What happens next should Kat offer to take Annie's place? I'm pretty sure the Psychopomps would say something along the lines of: "We are not interested in your services. It is Antimony who we want."
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Post by goldenknots on Feb 1, 2017 19:27:57 GMT
The curious thing here is not that Smitty's wound was a real, physical, killing blow, but that Annie's cheek cut was something less-than-physical. After rereading chapter 8, my guess is that Annie was asleep and subconsciously in the ether. Her mind drifting across the river in a dream (perhaps affected by the presence of her new blinker stone) would explain how Jeanne cut her in the Ether, as well as explaining why Kat's arrival made her vanish, instead of getting them both killed. Doesn't look that way. Her clothes are normal color in that sequence.
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Post by Zox Tomana on Feb 1, 2017 19:58:58 GMT
After rereading chapter 8, my guess is that Annie was asleep and subconsciously in the ether. Her mind drifting across the river in a dream (perhaps affected by the presence of her new blinker stone) would explain how Jeanne cut her in the Ether, as well as explaining why Kat's arrival made her vanish, instead of getting them both killed. Doesn't look that way. Her clothes are normal color in that sequence. I went to the Word of Tom thread and used the Forum-Search link to look up stuff about Jeanne and Annie's cut. It seems Jeanne really was in fact there, but that she retreated when Kat showed up because apparently there could be consequences for her being on the wrong side of the ravine. Heck, Tom even said stuff like "the guys in charge" when asked about who would punish Jeanne for being on the wrong side. So... couldn't find anything solid on the nature of Annie's wound (besides "it's an etheric cut") and why it's etheric while Smitty's is so physical but... Does seem that there may be consequences from Court higher-ups for the release of Jeanne, that they may have ways of knowing what is going on down there. I could see this as being something the very highest echelons know about. (Echelons which Jones be not part of, mind you, as she doesn't know who Jeanne was, and further shown by her being unaware of what the Headmaster was thinking by appointing Andrew). After all, you don't just create a rage ghost and set it to defend your turf and then tell absolutely nobody about it. That's just asking for future generations to go "hey, maybe we should do something about that rage ghost so we can do stuff at the bottom of the ravine?" I think our crazy kids have incurred more than just the assholery of the psychopomps.
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Post by zaferion on Feb 1, 2017 20:21:45 GMT
One other possible interpretation of "you belong to us now" that I haven't seen mentioned yet: What if she now belongs to them in the same way that everyone else does? They didn't come for Surma because she didn't belong to them. She wasn't in their jurisdiction, because her essence as a fire elemental was passed on to Annie instead. But what if that essence now does belongs to them, the same as any other mortal's soul? What would that mean for Annie? And for any children she might have? Well, in that light, she just sacrificed her choice/ability to have any children: a life for a life. Her lineage ends with her. I think I'm going to subscribe to this theory. Because it's still dramatic and something everyone (or at the very least Kat and Parley) will fight to undo and it doesn't require Antimony to leave the Court like if she became a full-fledged psychopomp.
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Post by snowflake on Feb 1, 2017 20:37:35 GMT
The most important question, which seems to have escaped everyone's mind: what will be Blue's new name?
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ST13R
Full Member
Quiet little mouse
Posts: 171
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Post by ST13R on Feb 1, 2017 21:15:39 GMT
The most important question, which seems to have escaped everyone's mind: what will be Blue's new name? Well, Annie and Kat call her Blue, but not to her face, just in case. Though I'd laugh my ass of if Annie was all like: "Your name will be.." *Achoo*. With her nickname ending up being 'Bless you'. (and this somehow being plotrelated )
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fanofts
Junior Member
Watching gunnerkrigg.fandom.com
Posts: 64
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Post by fanofts on Feb 1, 2017 21:23:43 GMT
Was there any strong hints before this chapter that the psychopomps wanted to gain some kind of control over Annie? Page 338 from Chapter 16 A Ghost Story had the pomps telling Surma "come now, you knew it was inevitable. Sooner rather than later, yes, dear?"
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Post by yuechan on Feb 1, 2017 21:30:51 GMT
Well, in that light, she just sacrificed her choice/ability to have any children: a life for a life. Her lineage ends with her. I think I'm going to subscribe to this theory. Because it's still dramatic and something everyone (or at the very least Kat and Parley) will fight to undo and it doesn't require Antimony to leave the Court like if she became a full-fledged psychopomp. Actually, pretty sure it was stated somewhere in the Word of Tom or one of those question/answer places That the reason none of the Guides came for Surma was because there is something the Guides get from the souls that they help pass, and whatever that was, Surma no longer had because it had already PASSED TO ANNIE (via the flame or whatnot) and that's why it had to be Annie who took her into the ether. Considering how the Guides have been trying to get Annie to join them for awhile now, this is whole coercing her is not shocking, but makes me very angry all the same. My poor baby! I honestly hope she finds some way to get back at them, because they totally deserve it.
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ST13R
Full Member
Quiet little mouse
Posts: 171
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Post by ST13R on Feb 1, 2017 22:31:45 GMT
Actually, pretty sure it was stated somewhere in the Word of Tom or one of those question/answer places That the reason none of the Guides came for Surma was because there is something the Guides get from the souls that they help pass, and whatever that was, Surma no longer had because it had already PASSED TO ANNIE (via the flame or whatnot) and that's why it had to be Annie who took her into the ether. Rey mentions it in-comic as well.
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Feb 1, 2017 23:31:48 GMT
Doesn't look that way. Her clothes are normal color in that sequence. I went to the Word of Tom thread and used the Forum-Search link to look up stuff about Jeanne and Annie's cut. It seems Jeanne really was in fact there, but that she retreated when Kat showed up because apparently there could be consequences for her being on the wrong side of the ravine. Heck, Tom even said stuff like "the guys in charge" when asked about who would punish Jeanne for being on the wrong side. Maybe Jeanne fled because the Mecha Angel was coming and Tom couldn't hint at that without spoiling too much too soon. We never saw the gang arrive to free Jeanne, but I assume Jeanne never had the chance to see Kat before Blue pulled her into an illusion.
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Post by zbeeblebrox on Feb 1, 2017 23:34:29 GMT
She got Pomp'd
I'm tentatively siding with the people who think someone has noticed this. Not necessarily the Headmaster, but perhaps someone above him. If there was ever a time to finally explore who the "Court" part of Gunnerkrigg Court really is, defeating the mid-game boss seems like the best one. I don't think it will be immediate though
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Post by psybershadow on Feb 2, 2017 0:10:08 GMT
GUYS. I THINK TONY'S GOING TO TAKE ANNIE'S PLACE WHEN HE FINDS OUT!
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Post by todd on Feb 2, 2017 0:27:11 GMT
Does seem that there may be consequences from Court higher-ups for the release of Jeanne, that they may have ways of knowing what is going on down there. I could see this as being something the very highest echelons know about. (Echelons which Jones be not part of, mind you, as she doesn't know who Jeanne was, and further shown by her being unaware of what the Headmaster was thinking by appointing Andrew). After all, you don't just create a rage ghost and set it to defend your turf and then tell absolutely nobody about it. That's just asking for future generations to go "hey, maybe we should do something about that rage ghost so we can do stuff at the bottom of the ravine?" Sir Young said that they would remove all trace of Jeanne and the Court's scheme from the records, without any hint that they'd secretly pass it on to their successors. So I suspect they made it a complete secret, which would die with them Perhaps they simply never considered the possibility that future generations would want to set up experiments in the ravine, or anything else that could involve problems with Jeanne or even discovery of her existence. (And they might want to keep word of it from even reaching their succcssors - how could they be certain that some future Court administration wouldn't develop enough of a conscience and moral backbone that it would decide to set Jeanne free? Granted, the Court probably picks its future leaders based on those who share the Founders' "Ours is a high and lonely destiny"-type philoosphy, but you can never be certain.)
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Post by arf on Feb 2, 2017 0:30:30 GMT
If the clip that Green Guy handed back to Annie was the very important thing that Tea was talking about, I wonder if/how it will help get Annie out of this predicament? (Note also, the way that page fades out, rather like a spirit passing into the ether?) The situation is creepy enough to remind me of this:
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Post by bgb16999 on Feb 2, 2017 0:51:49 GMT
One other possible interpretation of "you belong to us now" that I haven't seen mentioned yet: What if she now belongs to them in the same way that everyone else does? They didn't come for Surma because she didn't belong to them. She wasn't in their jurisdiction, because her essence as a fire elemental was passed on to Annie instead. But what if that essence now does belongs to them, the same as any other mortal's soul? What would that mean for Annie? And for any children she might have? I like that idea. However, it doesn't seem to fit with Annie's line in the previous page: "I'll do what you want." It could be that once Andrew eventually dies, she will have to be a psychopomp for the amount of time Andrew lived after today. But, again, I feel like that would be too easy, since she won't have to pay the price during the course of the story.
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