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Post by saardvark on May 17, 2022 0:53:06 GMT
goshdarnittoheck Also if we had a caddyshack groundskeeper vs gopher (or coyote vs roadrunner) situation for the next few pages I wouldnt have minded. Yeah, Loup should have run off instead saying "Meep meep!" with his feet in a squashed circular blur beneath him.... (just kidding...)
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Post by saardvark on May 17, 2022 0:50:43 GMT
Snare didn't work, and now the dog-gone god-dog is a gone dog? Clearly time for spankies! dog-gone god-dog is a gone dog try saying that 5 times fast! spankies for the creators of clever tongue twisters?
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Post by saardvark on May 11, 2022 17:48:26 GMT
You know, this is the very first time Kat has interacted with Loup, Ys or Coyote....
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Post by saardvark on May 11, 2022 10:41:17 GMT
But... is Annie aware that Jerrek is Loup??? Could she be planning to trap both of them??? Ha, yes! Lana uses the bismuth manipulator to entrap Jerrek, while Annie stabs Loup as he rushes past chasing Rey! (Nah, too quick & easy...)
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Post by saardvark on Apr 30, 2022 14:23:11 GMT
Well, the teeth look like they were borrowed from Florence Ambrose. well, she is a wise, gentle and kindly (Bowman's) wolf....so Clippy's just being smiley and friendly, right?
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Post by saardvark on Apr 29, 2022 17:40:31 GMT
Do we have any reason to belive Loup can't be in more then one place at a time? It's a power Coyete had. Loup could even be monitoring Renard at this very moment by looking thru the animal's eyes.... who do seem to be watching rather intently (last panel). Of course, he is a carnivore who speaks like a human, which many forest animals would naturally find strange and worth keeping an eye or two on....
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Post by saardvark on Apr 29, 2022 17:23:58 GMT
But her and the computer is basically one in the same in terms of the ethers contract system and maybe even the familiar system that Rey is now under and why he can use some of Annie's fire abilities. Kat is using any ability of the computer and she's constantly upgrading it, it would seems which indirectly increases her powers Thanks for reminding me of the contract system! Let's consider what contracts Kat has:
She certainly owns her computer and anything spun off from it, such as remote-manufactured, teleported gizmos.
I would think she also owns those tools she just made for shaping the Bismuth goo. Standard contract for owned objects.
I fear she also owns the NP, or at least their bodies. How could it be any other way? She created the computer, she created the tools to create them, she ultimately created the bodies and gave them life... or something similar to life. This is one of many reasons I sometimes bring up the modified contract the Arbiter gave her, modified from Annie's contract of ownership of Renard. I'm certain we still haven't seen the last of the repercussions from that! Whether she only owns the bodies or also the people... don't know.
Then there's the arrow. She was cautioned to be careful with that thing. She signed a new contract, supposedly taking responsibility for it, as she couldn't do the NP mind transfer/creation thing without using the arrow. But we don't really know what all the arrow can do, and we've seen no sign of how well protected it is. Who knows how that will all play out? I seem to remember something about severe consequences for letting bad things be done with the arrow.
To your point, I agree that Kat and her computer should be considered together, since she is its creator and clearly holds the contract of ownership over it. If she uses her computer or derivative tools to do what she's doing, I agree that it counts as her.
I just hope Omega hasn't hacked her computer it or convinced it to help him with bad activities or anything like that! Also, that the court doesn't fully understand Kat and her computer and their combined capabilities. That seems like it would be... bad.
Yeah, there are parts of the contract stuff that still bother me... it seems Kat got in trouble for (1) transfer the contract of ownership of the wolf stuffed doll (occupied by Renard) from Annie to Arthur www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2150since use of the arrow in transference can apparently negate contracts www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2151(2) using a single use contract a multiple way (transfer of ownership of both a toy and Arthur's mind) www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2154(3) transfer of ownership in such a way as to end up owning a living (sentient) mind (transfer of Arthur's mind into the lifeless shell Kat "owned" as its creator) www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2154They got around (1) with original owner Annie's OK. www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2156They got around (2) by a rewrite of the contract into a multi-use form www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2159But its not obvious (3) was ever resolved. As others have suggested, it would seem Kat "owns" all the NPs = living minds, quite "illegally" (from a Salsamel point of view). Serious implications lurk about in dark corners..... possibly with severe toothy consequences... www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2160
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Post by saardvark on Apr 27, 2022 17:31:02 GMT
So far we had just one arrow. This escalated quickly... maybe Kat has been throwing the arrow into the Norn's time pool again, like she did with the mecha-toucan (TicToc)...
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Post by saardvark on Apr 27, 2022 17:17:19 GMT
Each arrow is a NP prove me wrong *Leans back and drinks from cup* since each NP has an etheric arrow connection via Kat's transfer process, you might be right....
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Post by saardvark on Apr 27, 2022 17:14:35 GMT
I love to overanalyze this comic; sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm wrong, and I love both situations (who doesn't love being right, but even when I'm wrong there's some kind of cool surprise involved). So chapter 85 is called "Snare," and the title page image involves a number of parallel arrowlike objects, in bright green, shown ascending from lower left toward upper right, if their arrowheads are any indication of movement direction. The edges of the arrowheads often meet each other or the points or sides of other arrows, so the front of this volley of arrows has a jagged, sawtooth appearance with no gaps between the arrows. The arrow shafts are evenly spaced. The green color of the arrows definitely evokes Diego's arrow, as well as Kat's small device that she based on it, both of which emitted a green light when in operation. The title "Snare" in combination with green arrows suggests Diego's arrow even more strongly. But there has only ever been one Diego's arrow, and there is now no Diego to make more. I suppose it's not impossible that he created more of them during his lifetime and that the Court has kept them hidden away. What would the Court need a volley of Diego's arrows for? Well, there's a wild speculation I've had for a long time that the Court would want to reestablish a border against the Forest and would need to sacrifice someone else they considered expendable to create it. I've considered it unlikely since there was no movement in that direction and especially since there wasn't really a Forest anymore. But now that we know that the Court plans to relocate to another place and pursue its goals apart from the Ether, perhaps they plan to create another kind of barrier. After all, we know they want to work in a place where the Ether won't interfere with them, but there's been no suggestion of how they plan to keep the Ether away. Are they going to target actual beings, perhaps some of the characters we know, in order to turn them into a barrier against the Ether? Whom will they target? Annie? All the characters with etheric abilities? The tree people? The New People? Maybe the psychopomps? And who's going to fire those arrows? The only people we know with that kind of archery skill are Janet and, to a lesser but still significant degree, Winsbury. How would the Court get them to do this? Perhaps by deception? Or maybe the arrow image isn't something that will actually happen in the chapter but is an illustration of something that will be imagined or talked about as a possibility. Or maybe it'll just be seen as a decorative but evocative motif. At any rate, Chapter 85: "Snare." What will be snared, and how, and why? If the Arrow is Ethereally connected to NPs, what if Loup is already "snared"? Trapped by Jerrek, like Jeanne by the waters. this would work if Jerrek existed as an (arrow connected) NP before he was invaded by Loup ... he might still be just Loup taking the guise of an NP, rather than possessing one.
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Post by saardvark on Apr 25, 2022 17:49:25 GMT
Robot is interviewing for a job. His interviewer is Mr. Smith. Smith: "What is your greatest weakness?"
Robot: "Answering the semantics of a question while ignoring the pragmatics." Smith: "Could you give me an example?"
Robot: "Yes, I could." Smith: "Tell me something about yourself."
Robot: "I am a robot." Smith: "What's your greatest strength?"
Robot: "I am willing to perform services in exchange for currency." Smith: "What do you know about our company?"Robot: "You give currency in exchange for services." Smith: "Why should we hire you?"Robot: "I am currently unemployed." Smith: "Did you bring your references with you?"Robot: "I tried, but they were busy." Smith: "How do you take criticism?"Robot: "Verbally or in writing." Smith: "What gets you up in the morning?"Robot: "An alarm." Smith: "What's the one word that defines you?"Robot: "Pronoun." Later that day, Robot started his job at the Verizon Customer Service call center. ha! I smiled muchly. Welcome to the forum, tokamak. I hope your fusion is under control. (Magnetically, of course.)
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Post by saardvark on Apr 25, 2022 17:42:30 GMT
oh dear, if even *BOXBOT* thinks you have a problem.... You've fallen victim to one of the classic blunders: never confuse Robox with Boxbot. AARGGGH! I am undone! How could I have erred so abjectly.....
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Post by saardvark on Apr 23, 2022 0:21:34 GMT
oh dear, if even *BOXBOT* thinks you have a problem....
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Post by saardvark on Apr 23, 2022 0:19:35 GMT
But as maxptc noted, there is also her double-strike in bowling. The archery, OK, may be possible. EXTREMELY difficult, but just possible. The double-strike, on the other hand, is virtually impossible - the amount of momentum, frontspin and sidespin yould have to put on the ball (making it strike, bounce off the back, and then skid to the side, hop to the next lane, and strike again?) would probably burn a hole in the lane, maybe even the Earth's crust! Might even violate physics... I always thought that meant two strikes in a row (i.e. she got a strike on the previous frame and she got a strike again on this frame). Annie's statement "I didn't realise it was possible to get two strikes with one throw" just indicates that she doesn't understand bowling and is confused by the terminology. Of course, it's still an impressive accomplishment, but not supernatural. I think it is definitely not two strikes in a row, but rather two strikes with one throw (as Annie notes): www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1631
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Post by saardvark on Apr 22, 2022 12:04:19 GMT
all the enemies in the game will just befriend Annie ... and the next time Kat plays the game and manages to battle to the end, she finds the Uber-boss is now.... Annie!
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Post by saardvark on Apr 22, 2022 0:21:18 GMT
On etheric abilities, Janet has supernatural archery aim (splitting Winsbury's arrow), kind of a minor ability, but it might count? Are we sure that's supernatural? Maybe she's just very, very good at it. But as maxptc noted, there is also her double-strike in bowling. The archery, OK, may be possible. EXTREMELY difficult, but just possible. The double-strike, on the other hand, is virtually impossible - the amount of momentum, frontspin and sidespin yould have to put on the ball (making it strike, bounce off the back, and then skid to the side, hop to the next lane, and strike again?) would probably burn a hole in the lane, maybe even the Earth's crust! Might even violate physics...
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Post by saardvark on Apr 21, 2022 0:05:04 GMT
Lana is jealous of Jerrek in one way or another. Is it that she wishes she were that close to Annie? Or is it just that Jerrek's gotten closer to a human faster than Lana has, despite the fact that Lana did all that "research" (reading manga) beforehand, engineered her body to look just so, etc.? What will we see next chapter? This was a very Loup-ful chapter. I wonder ... we've heard about the Court moving to somewhere else, but maybe we'll see some of that going on? We haven't seen the other folks Annie's age for a while. How are they being affected? Margo and John, Janet and Winsbury, none of them seem to have any sort of etheric abilities, so will they go with the Court to its new non-Ether digs? I'm sure that neither Paz nor Annie are going, which means Kat isn't going, but what about the others? Will this breakup the Class of ... Unspecified Year? Will Omega tell them who should go and who should stay? Will we finally see Omega now that it'll almost be anticlimactic when it happens? Will Omega look like an iMac? An old-style daisy-wheel printer? Boxbot? Or maybe after thinking it over (and finding out Jerrek was actually trying to keep her safe) she decides she likes him after all, but now he's getting along with Annie and.... On etheric abilities, Janet has supernatural archery aim (splitting Winsbury's arrow), kind of a minor ability, but it might count? Which could potentially cause a sad parting, or minor revolt against the Court's wishes (either Winsbury staying behind with exiled Janet, or Llanwyn carving out an exception for his daughter).
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Post by saardvark on Apr 18, 2022 12:57:43 GMT
Classic love quadrahedron Quadrahedron? It's at least a sexahedron! (Loup-Ys-Coyote-Jerrek + Firehead + Lana).
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Post by saardvark on Apr 15, 2022 7:55:55 GMT
Loup is loup-sing, er, losing it for the red haired girl.... and just how little does she know (panel 3)?
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Post by saardvark on Apr 14, 2022 14:34:20 GMT
Jerrek, I don't know much about romance, but I don't think that is how you hold hands with a girl. Yeah it's not exactly smooth, but it appears to have got the job done, and amicably as well. Sometimes 'good enough' is exactly that... sometimes clumsy and uncertain is endearing in its own way.....
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Post by saardvark on Apr 10, 2022 2:03:36 GMT
"You could only be an observer, even if you actively took part in that system. [...] There would be no free will, no spontaneity or agency." Think perfectly describes Jones, Jones is the omega device that Kat sent back in time to the dawn of the world. or Jones is Omega uploaded into an indestructible NP.....
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Post by saardvark on Apr 7, 2022 12:27:57 GMT
Only Jerrek didn't scruff his hair before looking back, but then it obviously isn't necessary for him.
I don't think the gesture means quite the same thing with Jerrek though... though there are definite similarities. In Annie's case, I see it as the physical manifestation of her dropping a "persona" she had adopted to try to manipulate Jack. She's making a significant "course change" and rethinking things. In JerreLoup's case, he is mentally confronting and analyzing a "way of living" that he finds absurd - a dead end. So he's reflecting on a course he doesn't think should be taken. Still, they're both contemplating a significant change.
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Post by saardvark on Mar 30, 2022 9:26:57 GMT
Jerrek with the blushes again... pretending to be an NP is "humanizing" Loup in interesting ways. Is part of Coyote's plan to get Loup to care about the silly ants?
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Post by saardvark on Mar 23, 2022 11:16:30 GMT
Unless the slugs boinking wasn't the "event" and they were actually sending Tony and Surma to boink town cause they determined that was a necessary precondition to their desired macrostate of creating the Robot Goddess. Interesting but Robot goddess uses the etheric tech, to the best of my reading that's antithetical to what the Court wants. ...and yet the Court apparently needs a large supply of etheric-energy to accomplish its current plans of... moving? setting up the new Court? finishing Omega? The Court seems to have a love-hate-need-reject relationship with the Ether... it needs lots of etheric energy to... get away from the Ether? Contradictions abound....
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Post by saardvark on Mar 17, 2022 19:59:53 GMT
Brought to you by the man who first thought of putting a hat on Aata, sponsored by My Insomnia TM, inspired by the debate over Shell being attractive or not: Here's a thread for totally major changes in the superficial appearance of Gunnerkrigg Court characters! What would Shell look like with different hair and some runway makeup? Here's one possible look: <button disabled="" class="c-attachment-insert--linked o-btn--sm">Attachment Deleted</button> (If anyone else wants to do Shell let me know and I'll upload a "bald" and/or blanked hair template 2x size.) yeah, sure, upload a bald template! Im not sure I'll do a makeover, but Im sure there are other budding fashionistas out there that will give it a try...
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Post by saardvark on Mar 4, 2022 15:55:33 GMT
Is that ether that is dripping upwards? Has Kat built some hybrid ether-tech device that allows her to make ... trees? She's pressing a green button - may be nothing, but green for "make plants" or maybe "apply green arrow tech" (could also just be green = go)? Interested to see where this goes....
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Post by saardvark on Mar 4, 2022 12:55:42 GMT
And the barren Court rebirthed the Forest: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing the might of the old woods. And the Angel saw that it was good. Katalysis 1: 11-12
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Post by saardvark on Feb 28, 2022 16:58:21 GMT
Lana's expression in panel 1 cracked me up, love it. the steaming mega-pout!
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Post by saardvark on Feb 21, 2022 16:50:47 GMT
Extreme close-up of Jerrek's face, with bloodshot eyes and little red rings – very, very reminiscent of Loup's eyes. Deep shadows over the top half of his face, accentuating the eyes even more. Some various cracks and smudges visible too. Is this literally visible, or is this only visible to someone who can see into the Ether just a little bit? Or would someone able to see into the Ether have seen even more? The treens leave, yelling some invective only once they're in the distance. So did they recognize Loup in Jerrek's eyes? (Have they ever actually seen Loup?) Or did they just recognize something dangerous and powerful? It's not entirely clear how much of the Ether the tree people can see. I think Loup let a just fleeting glimpse of a part of himself leak out, enough to indicate that he is way more than the mild NP that he seems, and that "more" is dangerous and powerful and emphatically not something they want to mess with. Its possible Lana doesn't even see this doom-face, since she is off to the side.
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Post by saardvark on Feb 14, 2022 12:37:15 GMT
...
As an aside, here we see a bunch of totems staged with new bodies and the creepy medical tech from Cardiff. Which lends credence to the theory that the fairy's spirits really are stored in totems.
So how are the hollow fairies created? Does Coyote pick some newborn fairies to be hollow, split out their spirits, put them in totems, and hand those over to the court? That seems... cruel. Or something. Not right.
Yet, I also can't picture the court being able to create fairies, hollow or not.
Anyway, I have no answers here, just looking for old mysteries that might be related to the light/dark light mystery.
One more disturbing facet of the hollow fairy thing: Coyote laughed bigtime when Annie tried to explain how the court used DNA sequencing to create the empty bodies for the forest expatriates. Was this just general mockery of how the court does the easy part, or a hint that this is NOT how the bodies are created? I'd feel better if we knew what happened to the Foley students later in life!
The court grows (or otherwise acquires) bodies. The court knows how to put spirits into those bodies. The court has a stash of totems with spirits in them somewhere. The court does experiments with the ether. The court finds putting mechanical consciousness into human bodies to be distasteful. I feel like this all forms a pattern I can't quite see yet.
If the Court can grow whole bodies, would think they could have grown Tony his hand back, making Kat's success at that, or even her growing NPs not such a big deal. But since they were interested in her bio-grow limb replacement methods, that might suggest they are not fully responsible for the fairy-grow tech. (?)
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