[2177] Like a telephone line

[bedinsis]

That's pretty insensitive, Eglamore

[madjack]

Perhaps it's for a reason though: I predicted they'd get along badly but maybe he's doing it deliberately as a running verification on whether it's her or not since he knows how Surma would have reacted under the same needling?

[noone3]

Annie is now phonebooth. She is not amused.

[imaginaryfriend]

Trivia: The city that I grew up in had party lines as an option to the late 1970s. We did not have one but the family that previously occupied our house did, but it was shared only with the immediate neighbors. They probably had it since the house was built in the post-war boom.

[zbeeblebrox]

"Party lines" is way too fun a phrase for what sounds like an extremely annoying thing

[philman]

Wow, That Guy is pretty rude.

[csj]

Be polite, mister pterygium colli

[imaginaryfriend]

Jul 22, 2019 7:52:08 GMT zbeeblebrox said:

"Party lines" is way too fun a phrase for what sounds like an extremely annoying thing

It probably was annoying compared to a private line but that was the only way for a lot of middle-lower and lower-middle class people to afford a phone. Also it was the only service available in remotely peopled rural areas short of paying for the installation and upkeep of your own line. Lots of people had to walk to the nearest pay phone if they wanted to make a call, or negotiate with a neighbor for use of theirs. Also, it should be noted that the pay phones weren't always in the safest of places.

[edit] It should also be noted that apparently some people did have a lot of fun snooping on their neighbors. [/edit]

[merry76]

Jul 22, 2019 7:57:15 GMT philman said:

Wow, That Guy is pretty rude.

I dont think he was rude. Remember he is crazy overprotective of annie, her being the daughter he wasnt allowed to have, and looking exactly like her mother and all.

This expedition is probably very dangerous, and I guess he wanted to do it with people who can armwrestle monsters instead of half fire elementals who probably go *squish* if they tried that. He and his apprentice can probably be hit by a gun and go "that smarts, dont do this again - or I will get actually angry"

[Sauzels]

Hey Eglamore




Shut up

[imaginaryfriend]

Epiphany: The multiple timelines in the Gunnerverse could explain why all the characters are Eglamore.

[Eily]

Oh, a variation of the four point spell. So that guy was actually Harry Potter all along. Glad to finally be able to give him a name.

[ohthatone]

Annie:"I'm beginning to see why mother broke up with you."
Honestly can't tell if Jimmy Jims is trying (and failing) at banter with Annie. I guess i don't want to think he's just being a dick.

i'm really hoping for some kind of understanding between Annie and Eglamore. There's always a weird tension between them.

[madjack]

Jul 22, 2019 13:47:13 GMT ohthatone said:

Annie:"I'm beginning to see why mother broke up with you."

I'm half waiting for this exact line to be dropped. Fireworks incoming.

[tustin2121]

Imma just say that I'd love to be able to clap my hands and have a floating pointer thingy tell me which way north is, if only because it'd be fun to play with if not exactly useful all the time.

Then again, maybe I'll just take Kat's floating computer screens instead, because it too could probably make a floating pointer thing to point north, and be considerably more useful to use on a daily basis.

[Gemini Jim]

Jul 22, 2019 7:29:30 GMT noone3 said:

Annie is now phonebooth. She is not amused.

Yes, well this is also a phone booth.

[imaginaryfriend]

Jul 22, 2019 13:47:13 GMT ohthatone said:

Annie:"I'm beginning to see why mother broke up with you."
Honestly can't tell if Jimmy Jims is trying (and failing) at banter with Annie. I guess i don't want to think he's just being a dick.

i'm really hoping for some kind of understanding between Annie and Eglamore. There's always a weird tension between them.

I think the smile he's making in panel #7 isn't a cruel one but Ol' Eggers is making a huge mistake with this bit of banter/backhanded compliment.

That style of banter is pretty common and he probably shares it with a number of coworkers and a number of his students. When things were going well with Surma he probably talked with her in this way too so he's making the assumption that Antimony is like Surma and Antimony banters with some/all of her friends in a similar fashion, therefore by engaging in it now (even though he knows that he doesn't have that sort of comradery with Antimony) he's initiating a more cordial tone. What he doesn't know is that Anthony makes/has made cutting remarks to Antimony in the past in all seriousness, and that Antimony would probably react more like Anthony than young-Surma-pre-Jimmyjims breakup. I think he knew but has forgotten that Antimony overheard some/all of what he said when arguing with Anthony about Antimony's capabilities to handle herself when going to the Wood to answer the signal sent up by "Loup," or he figures Antimony would be socially adept to interpret it as a peace offering/de facto truce.  There's a tiny bit of something like coercion with a gambit like this, in that there really isn't a convenient face-saving way for Antimony to decline this offering of detente without overreacting to his playful banter, thus either throwing the peace-offering back in his face or cold-shouldering him.  Even if she just pointedly ignored this overture an uninvolved third party might consider that to be petty or childish of her under the current life-and-death circumstances where they need to work together.  It would at least seem unprofessional, I think.  I doubt he sees what he's doing as coercive, though he may consider the circumstances pressuring her to go along as improving his chances for success and a challenge she could rise to by being mature enough to put any differences behind them.  Besides, he thinks he is paying her a compliment... and to be fair to Eggers he is, but he is not expressing it in a way that she can immediately understand, especially under stressful circumstances.  People are complex and kids are people.  Eggers has been teaching long enough that he should know that, but it's also true (though perhaps not fair) that whoever is the more emotionally mature individual and/or whoever's better at communicating has to adapt their approach to whoever's worse at it... but maybe he's been using a singular strategy all these years and just passing off any students who didn't/couldn't respond to it to other teachers (like Don).

[Runningflame]

Huh. I wouldn't have figured Charisma as Eglamore's dump stat... maybe he just got a 1 on his diplomacy roll.

[TBeholder]

Charmed. I'm sure.
socksbot
From “Very Noble” to “Not total Dead Weight”: a Guide to Complimenting by James Eglamore.
22 Jul 2019 | 5:35 AM

Rohit
Is the compass the simple trick or the sly comment?
22 Jul 2019 | 11:31 AM

YazzyDream
Eglamore really knows how to talk to the ladies, huh? LAUGHING ON LINE
22 Jul 2019 | 12:49 AM


Jul 22, 2019 7:06:37 GMT madjack said:

Perhaps it's for a reason though: I predicted they'd get along badly

Right. Have a Gunnercookie!

Jul 22, 2019 7:06:37 GMT madjack said:

maybe he's doing it deliberately as a running verification on whether it's her or not since he knows how Surma would have reacted under the same needling?

Maybe. They probably didn't bother to tell everyone what they learned from Dropletcharney creature.

Jul 22, 2019 13:47:13 GMT ohthatone said:

Annie:"I'm beginning to see why mother broke up with you."
Honestly can't tell if Jimmy Jims is trying (and failing) at banter with Annie. I guess i don't want to think he's just being a dick.

Heh.
BenRG
Look at it this way, Annie: Your mum's decision-making has just been vindicated. Tony may be a socially retarded asshole but he's still nicer than Jimmy-boy here!
22 Jul 2019 | 12:54 AM

[pyradonis]

See, he has a compass with him! Told you so!

[mturtle7]

To review, for those who might be wondering:

Eglamore and Annie have never, ever, gotten along well at all, despite some of his best efforts. This has been true for quite a long time, and while it's partly because of his painfully obvious relationship issues, it's also because they have kind of a difference in personalities which she finds rather insufferable. Mr. Eglamore is very chivalrous, kind of a jock, and tends to encourage people to see rule-breaking as a competetion ("It's only a problem if you get caught! wink wink nudge nudge"), and that would seem to rub Annie the wrong way, Surma or not. Meanwhile, he mostly just seems confused about what on earth her problem with him is, but he still really wants to protect her as a Surma proxy, and the combination of those two things tend to make him put his foot in his mouth sometimes - this would, ah, appear to be one of those times.

[Gemini Jim]

I'm still waiting for things to start going wrong. Like, Eggy and Annie will march forward with their compass and a plan, and find themselves back where they started ("Aren't those our footsteps?")

Because it will turn out that WispWorld is one of those M.C. Escher drawings, overlaid on a Mobius strip, which has been tossed randomly into a labyrinth within a maze of twisty little passages.

[arf]

Jul 22, 2019 13:47:13 GMT ohthatone said:

Annie:"I'm beginning to see why mother broke up with you."
Honestly can't tell if Jimmy Jims is trying (and failing) at banter with Annie. I guess i don't want to think he's just being a dick.

i'm really hoping for some kind of understanding between Annie and Eglamore. There's always a weird tension between them.

Annie and Eglamore: Always together. Forever apart.

[pyradonis]

Jul 22, 2019 22:48:01 GMT mturtle7 said:

Mr. Eglamore is very chivalrous, kind of a jock, and tends to encourage people to see rule-breaking as a competetion ("It's only a problem if you get caught! wink wink nudge nudge"), and that would seem to rub Annie the wrong way, Surma or not.

Which is funny in a way, seeing as she is breaking rules all the time. The only thing that changes over time is whether she about being caught or not.

but he still really wants to protect her as a Surma proxy, and the combination of those two things tend to make him put his foot in his mouth sometimes - this would, ah, appear to be one of those times.

Actually I do not see him at fault of anything on that page. Wearing a clip-on instead of a regular tie in the forest is very sensible. Jones' weird comment is the only problem here (she probably wanted to try out something she heard somewhere).

[todd]

Jul 22, 2019 22:48:01 GMT mturtle7 said:

and tends to encourage people to see rule-breaking as a competetion ("It's only a problem if you get caught! wink wink nudge nudge"),

I still suspect that's a reflection of the Court policy - they want people who are good at rule-breaking and covering up their tracks because those skills will come in handy when they become Court staff (all the way back to the original members who committed murder and - almost - successfully covered it up - and the nature of the one leak meant that their act was only discovered long after they were dead).

[Gemini Jim]

Jul 23, 2019 12:39:07 GMT todd said:

Jul 22, 2019 22:48:01 GMT mturtle7 said:

and tends to encourage people to see rule-breaking as a competetion ("It's only a problem if you get caught! wink wink nudge nudge"),

I still suspect that's a reflection of the Court policy - they want people who are good at rule-breaking and covering up their tracks because those skills will come in handy when they become Court staff (all the way back to the original members who committed murder and - almost - successfully covered it up - and the nature of the one leak meant that their act was only discovered long after they were dead).

There are really only two in-universe Watsonian explanations for the "very hush hush" and other obvious "secret" signs we've seen.

1) We are seeing the Court through Annie's eyes, and whenever a sign gets snarky, she's showing us what she's thinking when she sees a normal "do not enter" sign.

2) the Court is giving subtle clues to the curious, and the one who follows the clue is following "Court policy."


Of course, there is a third, Doylist explanation - Tom is just being silly - but the second explanation would fit the above theory.

[pyradonis]

Jul 23, 2019 14:53:49 GMT Gemini Jim said:

Jul 23, 2019 12:39:07 GMT todd said:

I still suspect that's a reflection of the Court policy - they want people who are good at rule-breaking and covering up their tracks because those skills will come in handy when they become Court staff (all the way back to the original members who committed murder and - almost - successfully covered it up - and the nature of the one leak meant that their act was only discovered long after they were dead).

There are really only two in-universe Watsonian explanations for the "very hush hush" and other obvious "secret" signs we've seen.

1) We are seeing the Court through Annie's eyes, and whenever a sign gets snarky, she's showing us what she's thinking when she sees a normal "do not enter" sign.

2) the Court is giving subtle clues to the curious, and the one who follows the clue is following "Court policy."


Of course, there is a third, Doylist explanation - Tom is just being silly - but the second explanation would fit the above theory.

My personal theory right now is that these signs are put up by robots, who just expect everyone, like themselves, to follow orders.

[alevice]

Jul 22, 2019 22:48:01 GMT mturtle7 said:

To review, for those who might be wondering:

Eglamore and Annie have never, ever, gotten along well at all, despite some of his best efforts. This has been true for quite a long time, and while it's partly because of his painfully obvious relationship issues, it's also because they have kind of a difference in personalities which she finds rather insufferable. Mr. Eglamore is very chivalrous, kind of a jock, and tends to encourage people to see rule-breaking as a competetion ("It's only a problem if you get caught! wink wink nudge nudge"), and that would seem to rub Annie the wrong way, Surma or not. Meanwhile, he mostly just seems confused about what on earth her problem with him is, but he still really wants to protect her as a Surma proxy, and the combination of those two things tend to make him put his foot in his mouth sometimes - this would, ah, appear to be one of those times.

Annie sadly still seems to have a fit with him. I know Eglamore isnt the best at handling these situations but she keeps treating him as Adults are Idiots

[rimwolf]

Jul 23, 2019 8:49:05 GMT pyradonis said:

Actually I do not see him at fault of anything on that page. Wearing a clip-on instead of a regular tie in the forest is very sensible. Jones' weird comment is the only problem here (she probably wanted to try out something she heard somewhere).

He could have said "Here, take off that necktie and put on this clip-on", instead of invading her personal space. That's what's wrong with what he did, and what Jones is calling him out on. Jones' comment is an exaggeration, yet that's literally what he did with the tie.

[Nnelg]

Did nobody else notice that Eggers just got the two Annies mixed up? I'm pretty sure she did.