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Post by the bandit on Oct 12, 2009 14:07:35 GMT
How do we know this? (I was in Spain during the laser cow vs. young's monument part and feel like i missed something) Chapter 18 combined with information midway through chapter 23, plus inference and hints by Tom in this chapter.
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Post by Aris Katsaris on Oct 12, 2009 14:20:12 GMT
We know that one -- Anthony Carver, mentioned several times in the comic, and confirmed by Tom that it has been answered thusly and definitively in the comic.
A much better question would be "Why was Surma's relationship with Eglamore broken, and how did she end up with Anthony?"
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Post by Casey on Oct 12, 2009 14:28:16 GMT
bandit's right.
In Ch 18 we see S1 fighting Bullbot, and it is explained that they are acting out a grisly choreographed play, to avenge Jeanne's death. We are introduced to Diego as being the inventor of the Court's robots.
In Chapter 23 in the holosim we are shown Diego again, with a superimposition of S1, and we are shown Sir Young, with a superimposition of Bullbot. Annie and Rey look at each other meaningfully, and we are meant to infer that the "duel" was Diego's way of pretending to kill Young as revenge for Jeanne's death (though we still do not know, even today, if it was an action or an inaction on Young's part that Diego blames him for.)
In the current chapter, we are shown how the laser cows, also built by Diego, ignore the weeds around the monument to Sir Young. We know from 'S1' and again from 'Blinking' that all robots of the Court seem to have a built-in awe/love/infatuation with Jeanne (or her portrait, in this case) and the laser cows give us the impression that they all also have a built-in disdain, or worse, for Sir Young.
This conclusion COULD be seen as speculative, but for me, it's nothing more than connecting the dots.
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Post by nikita on Oct 12, 2009 14:39:48 GMT
Oh okay.. thanks! I guess I must have been heavily distracted when reading page 585.
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Post by Mylian on Oct 12, 2009 15:39:13 GMT
Wow. We figured out one, and we figured out one, but nobody put them together to get two.
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Post by Casey on Oct 12, 2009 16:12:46 GMT
Wow. We figured out one, and we figured out one, but nobody put them together to get two. Exactly so, Mylian, and well put. How could we have overlooked that?? I think I usually think of a dryad being a spirit associated with trees or with a specific tree in some cases, but I never thought of a dryad being able to turn -into- a tree, which makes perfect sense. When Kat sat on the rock in front of that tree, we commented on how unlikely it was that she would sit in front of the very tree that was "possessed". We postulated that "the spirit" could possess any tree in the park. We never thought to, as you put it, add one and one, and realize that Marcia was in fact "the spirit" that was "possessing" the trees! Now here's a semi-related question that I've been wondering. If Marcia thought there was an actual emergency with her trees when Matt banged on the door--if she thought there was real, legitimate danger to her trees (or to kids nearby, if she happened to be worried about that), why did she physically run to the fire/ride with Bob instead of using her tree-teleport ability to get there faster? Possible explanation: she didn't know which trees were on fire and didn't want to "jump" into a tree that was actually on fire. Counterargument: If she's connected to the trees thusly, how did she not "know" that the trees weren't actually on fire? Possible counter-explanation: The dryad ability just doesn't work like that. This is Tom's version of dryadism so only he could say exactly what it does and doesn't entail. So yeah, even though we suspected Marcia of being a dryad since the beginning, I don't think any of us really grasped the extent of what a dryad in the Gunnerverse actually was, or what it could do. Therefore I really like this chapter... even though the answer was in front of us, it was still more complex than we realized!
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Post by zingbat on Oct 12, 2009 16:42:07 GMT
It was only Hamadryads that were each tied to one specific tree. I think that dryads were connected to the trees of a region in general. I read that as "Hamadryas", and now I'm picturing Marcia & Bob as baboons. : )
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Post by Mishmash on Oct 12, 2009 17:12:48 GMT
Okay admission time - I read panel 5 too fast and thought it was Bob saying "Yes I am" and was like "What a twist!". Then I read the next panel and realised "Oh okay, I guess it actually would make no sense for Bob to be a dryad." I am silly and should learn to read slower!
In other news, Marcia as the dryad in the penultimate panel is so cool guys. So. Cool. This chapter is so full of badass, it is fast becoming my favourite (catching up with Coyote stories)
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mike
Junior Member
"Fighting evil improves the children's moral character."
Posts: 58
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Post by mike on Oct 12, 2009 17:14:01 GMT
Well, she didn't realize that Janet had shot one of her trees with an arrow, either. Being "connected" to the trees doesn't necessarily mean she's aware of what's happening to them all the time. Perhaps her senses are like ours, and only effective when she's actually in the same environment as the trees.
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Mar
New Member
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Post by Mar on Oct 12, 2009 17:48:58 GMT
This chapter is so full of badass, it is fast becoming my favourite (catching up with Coyote stories) I second that. So very much.
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Post by Snes on Oct 12, 2009 17:55:01 GMT
This is a little confusing to me: Marcia is a dryad, meaning she was once a resident of Gillete Wood. But wouldn't she have to pass The Test to leave the wood and enter the Court? Doesn't part of The Test entail giving up your old body in favor of a basic human body? How is she still able to use her dryad powers as a human?
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Post by Aris Katsaris on Oct 12, 2009 18:03:32 GMT
Not necessarily. Back in the 2nd chapter, Basil the Minotaur was from Crete, and as far as we know he never lived in Gilletie Wood at all. There's nothing demanding that Marcia ever was a resident of Gilletie Wood.
And Brinnie was a Valkyrie -- another mythological creature that was never a resident of Gillete Wood.
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Post by Ulysses on Oct 12, 2009 18:45:04 GMT
Can't believe we didn't work that out. Once again Tom pulls off a twist that should never have been a twist. He is a clever, clever man.
Something that I wasn't particularly interested in before but now feel warrants an answer: how did Bob and Marcia meet? You don't exactly run into dryads every day, even in the Gunnerverse. My suggestion is that Marcia - being a mythological creature - has been working for the Court for a long, long time, and one day Bob gets brought in to help her. At first she resents him but he auto-loves her because he has a strange thing for trees, and eventually she sees that he's an awesome guy. I posit that this happened about 25 years ago. That's probably Wild Spec but I felt it was relevant to the page, maybe :S
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Post by the bandit on Oct 12, 2009 19:15:00 GMT
As she began to fall in love, Martha would secretly inhabit the trees to which Bob was attending, just to be close to him...
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Post by Ulysses on Oct 12, 2009 19:19:56 GMT
Somebody who can write should turn this into a fanfic. The second chapter should be called "Leaf me alone!"
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Post by wynne on Oct 12, 2009 19:45:04 GMT
This chapter is so full of badass, it is fast becoming my favourite (catching up with Coyote stories) I second that. So very much.Hey, it's already bad-assed its way to the top of my favorite chapters. Since no one else has pointed this out: Bob tipping his hat absolutely adorable! Squee!
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Post by Casey on Oct 12, 2009 20:08:42 GMT
In addition to Marcia not necessarily having to have come from Gillitie, "The Test" that Joiz is referring to is specifically for Gillitie residents who want to give up their original form and become human. Marcia isn't a human... she's still a dryad. I imagine that she came over from Gillitie on her own accord without taking the test, just as Reynardine did in the past as well. Alternatively, depending on how long dryads live, she could have been on "the Court" side of the Annan Divide since its formation. I think the first scenario is more likely, but still.
My point is that while you're correct that The Test is administered to Gillitie residents who want to give up their bodies and attend Gunnerkrigg Court as a human to learn to become human, The Test doesn't necessarily have to be the only way that a resident of Gillitie comes to be in the Court. I think that idea runs contrary to the opinion held by a few people that Gillitie and Gunnerkrigg are in a state of war. But only time will tell which side of that argument will bear itself out.
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Post by katybee on Oct 12, 2009 20:14:32 GMT
Mad props to everyone who guessed right! I've given up trying to guess, and just go along for the ride!
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Post by Casey on Oct 12, 2009 20:17:13 GMT
Someone in the on-page comments pointed this out: Is Annie not wearing makeup in the first panel? She was wearing makeup in the last panel of the previous page. Is this sort of like Kat's magical color-changing hairband?
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Post by Robo Alchemist on Oct 12, 2009 20:19:38 GMT
I think a lot of us just go along for the ride. I just go along and go crazy over any...ahem.."alchemy" things I catch Tom putting in.
and it's probably just the lighting, or something Casey.
Also, I just had a thought about Bob snickering back at the meeting in Fangs of Summertime. He wasn't just snickering because Rey mentioned gardening, it was because his own wife has the same ability Ysingrin has, so of course the controlling of trees wouldn't be anything amazing or frightening to them.
Tom's been dropping us hints, and we've failed to notice!...or maybe people have noticed and I'm not active enough on here to tell.
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paracelsus
New Member
Dreams must be heeded and accepted. For a great many of them come true.
Posts: 22
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Post by paracelsus on Oct 12, 2009 20:40:44 GMT
Did not see this one coming! Excellent job Tom, your comic keeps surprising me. Today I was showing one of my friends your book and I think I got him hooked. After he was finished reading the first 6 chapters, he was like, "How come no one else writes like this?" As for what I enjoy most about this page, its a tie between Dryad-Marcia and Bob's face when Annie asked Marcia if she was a Dryad. He's freaking out just a little bit.
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Post by Jiminiminy on Oct 12, 2009 22:07:40 GMT
This page reminded me of this page, in the cat being out of the bag regards. But there is no purple bubble thing in this situation.
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Post by Uncle Putte on Oct 12, 2009 22:13:22 GMT
Ah. I wonder if she was an old dryad already when she met her mate. Or perhaps dryads age as men do, here. Either way, I can't say I'd seen this one coming, as usual.
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Post by todd on Oct 12, 2009 22:23:05 GMT
Someone in the on-page comments pointed this out: Is Annie not wearing makeup in the first panel? She was wearing makeup in the last panel of the previous page. Is this sort of like Kat's magical color-changing hairband? I think that Tom sometimes just leaves the make-up out when it wouldn't show up properly in the picture (Annie being too far away from the reader, or something like that). I doubt that this is anything deeper than the tendency to draw characters faceless or with minimal-type faces when they're in the distance. And maybe he'll correct the mistake with Kat's hairband color when this chapter is converted into book-form.
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Post by fuzzyone on Oct 12, 2009 22:31:05 GMT
True, Tom does often fix mistakes when things go to print. For instance, I asked him about How Robot, on his return, knew to call Annie by her full name, as we do not see her introduce herself. And if she Didn't, how did the Forrest creature controlling Robot know to call her that...
Those with the book know that he changed that line to "Hello, my little friend..." Which is also a tip, as we know Robot calls Annie 'Mommy'.
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Post by Rasselas on Oct 12, 2009 23:40:44 GMT
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cathect
New Member
At last the birds take off.
Posts: 10
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Post by cathect on Oct 13, 2009 0:54:32 GMT
Treehugging in Gunnerkrigg takes on a whole new meaning.
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Chrome
Full Member
The Shiny One
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Post by Chrome on Oct 13, 2009 1:14:30 GMT
That might be the problem people have with the chapter that Tom was predicting - it's too straightforward.
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Oct 13, 2009 1:28:57 GMT
I just had a thought about Bob snickering back at the meeting in Fangs of Summertime. He wasn't just snickering because Rey mentioned gardening, it was because his own wife has the same ability Ysingrin has, so of course the controlling of trees wouldn't be anything amazing or frightening to them. You may be right about what Bob was thinking but Bob might have been underestimating Ysengrin at that point. Assuming Ysengrin has powers like Marcia's (and Ysengrin's demonstrated that he can manipulate tree like Marcia does when she grabs kids, so it's reasonable to assume this until we see more evidence) we can see Ysengrin's always merged with tree and takes tree with him wherever he goes like a mobile loci. That means he's never separated from his power like Marcia can be. It should also mean he can never be cornered or captured because he can always move through another tree. It also would mean you can never outrun or outmaneuver Ysengrin in the forest. Even hiding from him would be impossible if he can smell as well as look out from the trees. We don't see Bob's reaction after Ysengin's attack; likely he is no longer laughing. A dryad's powers answering the mind and instinct of a wolf would be a fearsome thing indeed. Beyond that, Eggers is familiar with Marcia and yet appeared to think that he could sever Ysengrin's arm (or at least damage it) with a swing of his huge sword. Eggers may never have fought a dryad-like being before or perhaps Ysengrin's abilities lend more damage-resistance than Eggers expected. Ysengrin also said that he had powers over the trees (plural) so I wonder if that means he can manipulate more than one tree at a time. If ether's true Ysengrin may have stronger powers than Marcia.
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Post by todd on Oct 13, 2009 1:32:57 GMT
That might be the problem people have with the chapter that Tom was predicting - it's too straightforward.Yes - that was why I was hesitant about the teachers turning out to be the culprits. Winsbury and the others suspect that openly before Kat volunteers to become bait - so there's no surprise when it turns out that the teachers *are* responsible. Unless Tom was going for a double twist here - the readers are expecting, since the characters openly suspect it, that the teachers aren't behind the abductions, so it's a surprise that they are. (Most of the readers even suspected - correctly - that Marcia was a dryad.) Unless Tom's got a big surprise revelation planned for *why* Marcia abducted the children in the next few pages....
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