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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 23, 2016 0:05:34 GMT
So...anyone want to rerun nikita's script (or re-implement a similar script) to see what the most discussed strips are more than five years later?
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 22, 2016 23:57:53 GMT
Anyone who would eat a party hat is clearly a monster.
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 21, 2016 10:57:48 GMT
It could be that being in the ether is an unnerving experience for Kat, in contrast to Annie, who is normally comforted by it (when she's not seeing a giant mecha).
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 21, 2016 10:55:39 GMT
Anyhow, even though it looks like Kat and Annie are about to win, it's not over 'till it's over. There are plenty of ways things could go wrong, even briefly, that would allow Jeanne to get another stab in at Parley. What if the elf guy immediately attacks Kat upon being unlocked (could he short-circuit her with his water powers?) Based on page count, I'm guessing that there are still at least a dozen-ish pages left in this chapter, so there will be some additional delay before Jeanne can be brought into the ether. It won't be long in archive or book form, but it could be awhile for those reading only three pages a week. I partially called it. Maybe. Also, Telegram for Daedalus ! Telegram for Daedalus! Thine presence hast been requested yonder in another thread!
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 21, 2016 1:02:59 GMT
WORDS I don't log in often, but I wanted to weigh in on Quicksilver as it's also one of my favorite-if not the favorite-chapter I've read in what has overall been an excellent webcomic.
Now, I can't claim to know why you in particular liked it, but I know what drew me to it so strongly.
First off, it was a very tightly woven narrative from beginning to end. Each part of the story helped to build on Reynardine's character. Nothing felt like it dragged or seemed unnecessary. Every piece that we were given, each action, each bit of dialogue furthered the progression of this small story, piece by piece flowing naturally into the next. Tom did an excellent job of knowing just what to show in order to get the gist of the plot across while trusting his readers enough not to feel the need to explain to us as though we wouldn't be able to infer ourselves. It very much felt like this is how Rey would typically act in these situations, without any out of place exposition dumps or forced reactions.
Second, while it may not have been a huge chapter in the grand scheme of things relating to the overall story, it was a rather significant chapter in terms of significance for character development for Rey. It reminded us how he started out as a semi-antagonist of dubious morality. It exploded something a lot of other stories wouldn't. It went into his guilt over almost killing Annie, his progression into a fiercely protective father figure towards her, the difference between his and Hetty's motivations (his was a desperate-albeit misguided and reprehensible-bid for freedom vs her petty vengeance).
It even showed a bit of progression in his connection to Jim-from one of mistrust and aggression to a friendship over a shared regret.
So it might not have been a huge chapter for the plot, but it was a rather huge one for Rey.
You've given a great analysis here of Chapter 43, but it's actually one of my least favorite chapters. However, my computer's about to die, so remind me to explain my reasons tomorrow morning. Sorry. It's like way past the day after you wrote this. I KNOW YOU CAN HERE ME! TELL ME WHY YOU ARE SO AGAINST ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHAPTERS!
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 21, 2016 1:00:34 GMT
I wonder...what would happen if Zimmy met Coyote? Would the two of them together generate a far larger illusory world than normal, entrapping the entire forest and court in Zimmyville? Or would Coyote be able to prevent her from snapping. Or would he enter her world just for his own amusement? The last one sounds the most likely to me, anyhow.
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 19, 2016 8:01:04 GMT
Dang, missed getting the first thread by a few seconds! How did you--how did you--beat me to it?!?
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 18, 2016 6:02:48 GMT
If it wasn't for the fact that we saw a Tictoc in the present-day in Chapter Eleven, I'd have supposed that they all left the Court, never to return, after rescuing Annie in Chapter Eight with a tone of "Our work here is done" - that their whole purpose had been purely for that moment. Though, from a storytelling point of view, it would seem strange that something that significant in the early chapters would fade out like that so early in the story. So I assume that they'll have to come back at some point. Well, they predate the Court (according to the robots), so I expect that the real meaning behind the tic-tocs, if it is ever revealed, will be connected either to the origin of the Court, or to the Court's "real objective," whatever that is. Considering that Ysendrin lied about the timing of when he found the tic-toc in the forest, I wouldn't be surprised if Ysendrin knew considerably more about the tic-tocs than the Court (or at least the lower-level Court employees). Maybe now, or soon, Ysendrin will trust Annie enough to tell her what really happened after Kat rescued her in chapter eight. While they can track the students through food, the precense of tic-tocs wouldn't necessarily give the Court any additional information on Annie et. al.'s actions, since they don't even know where the tic-tocs come from, and haven't been able to capture one. Or, at least, Anja doesn't know where they come from. I suppose it's possible that someone higher up in the Court hierarchy knows more about the tic-tocs than the low-level Court employees. Well, not only does Anja not know where they're from, the Robots have stated that Diego didn't make the Tic-Tocs, so it's possible even the Founders had no idea what was up with the Tic-Tocs. It's possible, yea. It's also possible that the founders did find out, but kept it hidden from future generations for some reason. Or that the founders didn't know what the tic-tocs were, but subsequent Court researchers have discovered more about them and just kept it secret from all but the top people of the Court. No matter what, there's a whole lot more that we don't know, which certainly makes this story more exciting
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 17, 2016 20:02:47 GMT
Were there threads for the Annie in the Forest strips?
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 17, 2016 19:59:04 GMT
Also, I don't think the council of douchebags that put her down there in the first place left a record of their actions. In fact, according to my admittedly flawed recollection, they actively strove to erase any knowledge of it. Except Diego, who regretted his actions, and left a living record in his robots. Which makes me wonder if the modern day Court will do anything to punish Annie, Kat et al. Do they know anything about the original episode to make them want to keep Jeanne imprisoned in the ravine? We know the Court can track the students through their food, that the bridge is lined with tic-tocs, maybe the Court isn't intervening because they see no need to. Perhaps the response will be "You've removed the rage ghost? Oh well done. We don't know where she came from but she certainly was a PITA". **ducks** While they can track the students through food, the precense of tic-tocs wouldn't necessarily give the Court any additional information on Annie et. al.'s actions, since they don't even know where the tic-tocs come from, and haven't been able to capture one. Or, at least, Anja doesn't know where they come from. I suppose it's possible that someone higher up in the Court hierarchy knows more about the tic-tocs than the low-level Court employees.
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 17, 2016 1:07:52 GMT
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 16, 2016 17:05:39 GMT
Kat: You know Annie, it's really weird when you move stuff like that... Annie: Said Robot Cthulhu... Kat: The Kall of Kathulhu!
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 16, 2016 15:45:56 GMT
I absolutely love how Kat is completely awed by what Annie is doing, when just a couple pages ago Kat was underwhelmed by the ether and Annie was awed by Kat. There skills compliment each other perfectly.
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 16, 2016 2:55:35 GMT
WORDS I don't log in often, but I wanted to weigh in on Quicksilver as it's also one of my favorite-if not the favorite-chapter I've read in what has overall been an excellent webcomic.
Now, I can't claim to know why you in particular liked it, but I know what drew me to it so strongly.
First off, it was a very tightly woven narrative from beginning to end. Each part of the story helped to build on Reynardine's character. Nothing felt like it dragged or seemed unnecessary. Every piece that we were given, each action, each bit of dialogue furthered the progression of this small story, piece by piece flowing naturally into the next. Tom did an excellent job of knowing just what to show in order to get the gist of the plot across while trusting his readers enough not to feel the need to explain to us as though we wouldn't be able to infer ourselves. It very much felt like this is how Rey would typically act in these situations, without any out of place exposition dumps or forced reactions.
Second, while it may not have been a huge chapter in the grand scheme of things relating to the overall story, it was a rather significant chapter in terms of significance for character development for Rey. It reminded us how he started out as a semi-antagonist of dubious morality. It exploded something a lot of other stories wouldn't. It went into his guilt over almost killing Annie, his progression into a fiercely protective father figure towards her, the difference between his and Hetty's motivations (his was a desperate-albeit misguided and reprehensible-bid for freedom vs her petty vengeance).
It even showed a bit of progression in his connection to Jim-from one of mistrust and aggression to a friendship over a shared regret.
So it might not have been a huge chapter for the plot, but it was a rather huge one for Rey.
You've given a great analysis here of Chapter 43, but it's actually one of my least favorite chapters. However, my computer's about to die, so remind me to explain my reasons tomorrow morning. Sorry. Chapter 43 is also one of my favorite chapters. I'm not entirely sure why, as I said above, since it's an emotional reaction. I concur with intotheether in that it tells us a lot about who Reynard is as a person. He not only views being bound in a very different way than Hetty, but he has a fundamentally different view of humans. Hetty views humans as disposable ("you had a powerful body, what do you care about the one human life you took to get it"), in contras with Rey. Moreover, Quicksilver is the culmination of a very long shift in Rey's personality. Early on, Rey views the wolf body as a prison. For much of books two and three, Reynard is trying to be helpful to Annie, but he still tries to seem like a trouble-maker. He makes sexually suggestive or otherwise inappropriate comments about Parley and Annie's classmates, which occasionally lands him in the "naughty zone." tty By the time of Quicksilver, though, Reynard has changed considerably. He has become the adult of the situation, patiently trying to nudge Hetty in the right direction (until it's clear she is planning on killing Adam and Annie, at which point he puts his foot down.) We then get to see how far he's come since before chapter one, with a different perspective on his killing of Daniel. It's not the first time we've heard about him killing someone at the Court, but I enjoyed seeing it from Reynard's perspective instead of Coyote's or Eglamore. And in the end, we get to see how much Eglamore has changed as well. At the start of the comic, Eglamore seemed to share the views of the Court. He attacked Reynard on sight, was highly suspicous of forest creatures, and is determined to prevent Annie from leaving campus. By chapter 43, however, he is able to hang out in a calm manner with the creature he once called a demon. We don't know if Eglamore has truly forgiven Reynard the way Annie has (and it would be understandable if he hadn't, given that Rey has hurt Eglamore a lot more than Annie). But we don't need to know. All the more impressive is that we learn how much Eglamore has changed in just one page. The chapter also got me to think about why Rey wants to remain under Annie's (or Kat's) control. As Reynard himself points out in his conversation with Hetty, the only reason he is allowed reasonably free range within the Court is because the Court leaders know he is under her control. Without the toy trap, the Court would probably want to keep him locked up like they did before Annie's arrival. Of course, Rey had already refused Annie's offer to go live in the forest. While both Reynard and Coyote state that his love for Annie is what keeps him in the Court, I started to suspect around this point that Rey is also somewhat afraid of Coyote. We've only seen a glimpse of how Coyote abuses Ysendrin, and Rey knows his cousin better than anyone. (I might have reached this speculation earlier in the story, but I didn't have as much time to speculate as you did since I read the first 59 chapters for the first time in four days). By contrast, Hetty would probably prefer the forest. Her joy in tormenting others would allow her to fit right in with Coyote, and many of the fairies. As intotheether said above, I think the chapter benefits from not providing excess information. We don't know anything about Hetty's origins, but we don't need to. The story works just fine without knowing. So...now that you've had a few days to recharge your computer, mind telling us why you dislike one of the most awesome chapters in Gunnerkrigg Court? Oh, and unrelated, this is my 50th post. Rank up!
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 12, 2016 3:21:37 GMT
I can't wait to be proven utterly and completely wrong. I swear that's half the reason we frequent this forum Heh. After I discovered and binge-read this comic a few weeks ago, one chapter that stuck out to me was 43: Quicksilver. I'm not sure why it grabbed me, since in the grand scheme of things it seems comparatively uneventful, but I liked it. So I decided to read all of the threads for chapter 43, from the speculation about the title page to the revelation that it was Eglamore all along. And dang, were a lot of y'all wrong about a lot! There were predictions that Adam was an evil Court scientist who was performing cruel experiments on Hetty, that Hetty be a regular character in future chapters, that Hetty would possess the needles Rey had been carrying (since needles have "eyes"), that Hetty was actually Coyote in disguise, that Hetty was actually Bud in disguise, that Hetty was actually Zimmy trapped in a doll, that the house which turned out to be Eglamore's was Brinnie's house, that the house was the home of Daniel's ghost, that Reynard never really meant to hill Annie, and that Reynard did mean to kill Annie and still wanted to this late in the story. And probably some others. Your wrong-ness is preserved eternally! Just as mine shall be!
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 10, 2016 4:17:55 GMT
"All those psychopomps must have thought that I was a dolt." "...so I killed them. Problem solved." I've got to admire that kind of direct solution to one's problems. Like Hetty, Jeanne has solutions Anyhow, even though it looks like Kat and Annie are about to win, it's not over 'till it's over. There are plenty of ways things could go wrong, even briefly, that would allow Jeanne to get another stab in at Parley. What if the elf guy immediately attacks Kat upon being unlocked (could he short-circuit her with his water powers?) Based on page count, I'm guessing that there are still at least a dozen-ish pages left in this chapter, so there will be some additional delay before Jeanne can be brought into the ether. It won't be long in archive or book form, but it could be awhile for those reading only three pages a week. My current guess is that this chapter will end with Jeanne's defeat, either just as or immediately before Annie emerges from the arrow and prepares to take Jeane and her lover onwards. Next chapter will probably involve the Final Records of Jeanne and the elf, and the rest of the book will be the fallout from Jeanne's removal. I can't wait to be proven utterly and completely wrong.
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 9, 2016 11:56:36 GMT
So... is the fight about to be over, or will there be a catch once Kat opens the lock? WEEKEND CLIFFHANGER!
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 7, 2016 12:49:28 GMT
I really hope we get to see the undoing of this lock from Annie's perspective, if only because it would look way more awesome than Kat's. Awww, darn.
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 6, 2016 5:12:50 GMT
The few times when we've seen both Parley and Rey on-panel at the same time have just been illusions created by Blue (or Coyote). Or Tom. *gasp* you mean Tom is also Parely in disguise?!? No wonder she's beating Jeanne so easily right now: Parley is the author!
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 5, 2016 13:12:47 GMT
I really hope we get to see the undoing of this lock from Annie's perspective, if only because it would look way more awesome than Kat's.
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 3, 2016 22:16:56 GMT
Aha! So that's why Rendard isn't with the others in the fight with Jeanne: Rey is actually Parley in disguise! The few times when we've seen both Parley and Rey on-panel at the same time have just been illusions created by Blue (or Coyote).
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 2, 2016 22:39:06 GMT
This is the wrong thread, because of the great comic renumbering; you want the one numbered 774. Most seem to think they're Ysengrin, Young and Steadman. Only three posts ago? Must be pretty recent, since oh....old thread.
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 1, 2016 23:20:34 GMT
Well, since no one else seems to want to make it.... EDIT: Huh, how do I get the forums to display it at full size? Right now if you click on it you see the image's normal size, but in the actual post it is shrunk considerably Just drop it on Imgur. You don't need an account, although having one makes things a bit easier. Don't think you can do that when you've added the file as an attachment? You could upload it to some external image host and then direct link it in here if you want it in full size. And attachments aren't visible for those not logged in to the forum. Actually, when I logged out I could still see the attachement. However, I have now replaced it with a proper embedded image. Thanks keef !
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 1, 2016 23:16:36 GMT
Got it! Thanks keef for showing me how to embed it properly.
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Post by bgb16999 on Dec 1, 2016 1:58:07 GMT
Well, since no one else seems to want to make it....
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Post by bgb16999 on Nov 29, 2016 23:15:58 GMT
I hope not! And I don't think we are. The story has never really been focused on the protagonists teaming up to fight a physically powerful "villain." This fight with Jeanne may be the toughest fight they've had yet, but it isn't the end of the story. It's the beginning of a book. It's not going to end with Jeanne being taken into the Ether and everything else instantly getting resolved.
Since this fight is happening in the very first chapter of the book, I expect that most of book seven will be about the ramifications of putting Jeanne to rest. Does Jeanne's removal actually help the Court in a way Annie and the others didn't anticipate? Does it create an existential threat to the Court instead? How do the leaders of the Court react when they find out about Jeanne? What about Kat's parents, or Anthony? Even though it's been foreshadowed for a long time, I don't think taking Jeanne into the ether will really resolve much in the way of the story's real conflict. This is the set-up for the main plot of book seven and beyond. I suspect that there will be unintended consequences of Jeanne's passing, and the adults on one side of the river or the other won't be too keen on the outcome.
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Post by bgb16999 on Nov 28, 2016 20:26:39 GMT
So is anyone gonna put party hats onto Parley and Jeanne as Parley bip-stabs the ghost?
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Post by bgb16999 on Nov 27, 2016 2:28:03 GMT
While I think that the Court's leadership would almost certainly like to deal with Annie somehow, I don't think it would try killing her unless its method could simultanesously kill Reynardine and thus keep him from exploiting his freedom (knowing the Court's take on Rey, they'd probably be expecting his likely response to possess, then abandon, practically every person in the Court, then run back to Gilltie when he'd done so to report that the Court is no more - though I think it unlikely that he'd do something like that). And I suspect by now it wouldn't dare anything against her for fear of angering Coyote again so that he'd show up and knock down more buildings. (Short of figuring out some way of neutralizing Coyote - and maybe Ysengrin and everyone else in Gilltie Wood.) Even shutting her up in a fire-proof cell would be dangerous. It must be all the more a frustration for them, since in the immediate aftermath of Anthony's return and laying down the law, Annie had become so submissive as to be "de-fanged". It must have seemed to them like the best solution - Annie's will to investigate the strange goings-on in the Court and meddle had been removed. But, short of putting something in her food, I don't think they could succeed at that again. Hmm, I wonder... The first step to getting rid of Annie would probably involve re-imprisoning or killing Rey. Ideally, from the Court's perspective, they could deal with him while Annie and Kat are occupied with something else. Uh oh, where's Reynard now? Annie, Kat, and almost every human they can trust not to side with the Court is busy dealing with Jeanne, and Reynard is back in the Court! He better be watching his back right now. I don't think that the Court is using this particular moment to attack Rey, simply because it would require them to be aware that Annie, Kat, Parley, and Smitty are all occupied. If they knew what the protagonists were doing right now, I'd imagine capturing Reynard would be a lower priority for the Court than stopping Annie from freeing Jeanne. Still, in the future, Reynard may need to be careful for his own safety whenever he isn't around Annie, Kat, or the others.
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Post by bgb16999 on Nov 27, 2016 1:30:28 GMT
Rey's conversation with Hetty came after Annie's return from the forest, so I got the impression it was still in effect. His verbal defense of Annie against Hetty's accusation is to say that the Court wouldn't allow him to roam freely without Annie forbidding him from going to Gilitie Forest. If Annie had actually lifted the ban already, I'd expect Rey would have just told Hetty instead. I could easily be wrong though. Good point. I could try and twist it enough to think the Renard/Hetty conversation was referring to Annie initially ordering Renard to never attempt an escape and Renard didn't tell Hetty that Annie rescinded the order. But I admit it is really big stretch. A better straw to hang onto is whether Annie's order's were rescinded when she transferred ownership to Kat. Hmm, I hadn't really thought about that. Or rather, I think I had headcanon'd that Annie's orders did transfer over, but looking back my headcanon isn't really supported by the text. We don't really know what the transfer involved, aside from Annie handing Kat the doll with her eyes closed. Thanks for pointing that out. Agreed. Also, the Court does seem to value some of their employees as tools at least if not as people. Attempting to kill Annie, regardless of their success, would be a good way to lose the support of Kat, Parley, Smitty, Eglamore, Anja, Donald, Anthony, and possibly others. And the Court knows at least some of that. Yes. Short of the Court trying to rewrite history as they did with Jeanne and try to somehow make everybody forget that Annie ever existed. And we don't know exactly how they succeeded in doing that with Jeanne, and whether it woud work with Annie. I don't think they had any sort of memory-erasing etheric power. Diego seemed to remember what he did to Jeanne up until his death, and Sir Young's final record seemed to recall sacrifices he had made. I suspect that the wiping out of Jeanne's memory was accompished through mundane means. Namely, i)The founders destroyed or deleted all paper and digital records of her (except for the recording Diego hid in the robot). ii)They did not verbally pass on the story to their students/successors. iii)The founders all died eventually. And it didn't work, since some records concerning what they did to Jeanne were preserved by Diego. If they wanted to make everyone forget that Annie ever existed, I'm not sure they could do so short of killing everyone who knows Annie (including Coyote).
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Post by bgb16999 on Nov 25, 2016 16:20:16 GMT
I believe Annie lifted Renard's ban on escaping when she came back from her Summer in the Forest and Renard stayed so he could be with Annie. I don't know if this freedom remained after his ownership was transferred to Kat, but I want to think it did. I hope the story continues long enough to see whether Annie stays in the Court and what Renard does if she leaves the Court. Rey's conversation with Hetty came after Annie's return from the forest, so I got the impression it was still in effect. His verbal defense of Annie against Hetty's accusation is to say that the Court wouldn't allow him to roam freely without Annie forbidding him from going to Gilitie Forest. If Annie had actually lifted the ban already, I'd expect Rey would have just told Hetty instead. I could easily be wrong though. While I think that the Court's leadership would almost certainly like to deal with Annie somehow, I don't think it would try killing her unless its method could simultanesously kill Reynardine and thus keep him from exploiting his freedom (knowing the Court's take on Rey, they'd probably be expecting his likely response to possess, then abandon, practically every person in the Court, then run back to Gilltie when he'd done so to report that the Court is no more - though I think it unlikely that he'd do something like that). And I suspect by now it wouldn't dare anything against her for fear of angering Coyote again so that he'd show up and knock down more buildings. (Short of figuring out some way of neutralizing Coyote - and maybe Ysengrin and everyone else in Gilltie Wood.) Even shutting her up in a fire-proof cell would be dangerous. It must be all the more a frustration for them, since in the immediate aftermath of Anthony's return and laying down the law, Annie had become so submissive as to be "de-fanged". It must have seemed to them like the best solution - Annie's will to investigate the strange goings-on in the Court and meddle had been removed. But, short of putting something in her food, I don't think they could succeed at that again. Agreed. Also, the Court does seem to value some of their employees as tools at least if not as people. Attempting to kill Annie, regardless of their success, would be a good way to lose the support of Kat, Parley, Smitty, Eglamore, Anja, Donald, Anthony, and possibly others. And the Court knows at least some of that.
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