[357] Sniff Snorff

[popo]

Yay, we get to know his name.

I wonder why he chose that guide. I guess it was the less scary pick.

[Yin]

And that seems to be the end of the flashback. Mallt looks oddly gentle here.

[Mezzaphor]

The lower left-hand corner is rounded. The previous flashback's beginning and end were marked by similar rounded corners, so it looks like we'll rejoin Kat and Annie on Monday's page.

[todd]

I also wonder why Martin chose Mallt over Moddey - but at the same time, I wonder if it matters so much. It's possible that the truly important thing was not which Guide he chose, but that he chose at all. Until Annie became involved, Martin was hiding, apparently imprisoned within his own fear and (presumably) sub-conscious guilt; because of Annie, he's been able to step out of his prison and move on.

I also noticed the signs that the flashback is over. (I wonder if Kat will ask Annie about Martin's choice, for those of us still wondering "Why Mallt and not Moddey?".)

[Boksha]

Even without that rounded bottom left corner, the final panel has "SCEEEEEEEENE CHAAAAAAAAAAAANGE!!!" written all over it.

[cenit]

....I actually don't care why he chose Malty...the thing is that he needed to make a decision.


AND KAT BETTER ASK ANNIE WHAT HER MOM TOLD HER OR I'M GONNA GET ALL MAD HERE

....sorry, but I want to know what Surma said to her!!!

[cenit]

quick side-note. I was watching the whole thing again, and from the way Martin was holding the "salamander" I think that maybe he was palying with a lighter...maybe something like a Zippo which wouldn't turn (off?) if he dropped it.

Just a tought

[ceezedby]

todd said:

I also wonder why Martin chose Mallt over Moddey -

Considering what happened the last time he dealt with a freaky creature (the salamander), maybe not so surprising

I'm also guessing we'll never find out directly what Surma told Annie, though Annie might hint at it to Kat perhaps. Tom's good at keeping secrets

[pulvissolaris]

I think Martin just found more comfort in choosing a guide who at least looks human, old crone or not.

[cenit]

ceezedby said:

todd said:

I also wonder why Martin chose Mallt over Moddey -

I'm also guessing we'll never find out directly what Surma told Annie, though Annie might hint at it to Kat perhaps. Tom's good at keeping secrets

not fair

[todd]

A parent whispering a secret to his or her child that nobody else (including the audience) ever learns often occurs in this kind of story.

In Norse mythology, Odin whispered something in the ear of his son Balder, after Balder was killed by Hoder and Loki and laid out on the funeral pyre. Nobody except for Odin (and possibly Balder) knew what that was, though Odin had a habit of winning at riddle-games by asking his opponent that. (It's been speculated that Odin was whispering something about the rebirth of the universe after Ragnarok, but that's just a theory.)

In the animated series "Gargoyles" from some years ago, Titania (the Fairy Queen, borrowed from "A Midsummer Night's Dream") whispered something in the ear of her half-human daughter Fox. "Gargoyles" fans since then have speculated what it was, and even besieged the creator of the series, Greg Weisman, with numerous questions about it. Greg has refused to tell anyone what Titania whispered to Fox, saying that he doesn't think that any answer could live up to their expectation.

I wonder if Tom is now going to be similarly pestered with questions about what Surma told Annie - and if he'll take a similar stand, that Surma's words are best left to the imagination.

[Mezzaphor]

cenit said:

quick side-note. I was watching the whole thing again, and from the way Martin was holding the "salamander" I think that maybe he was palying with a lighter...maybe something like a Zippo which wouldn't turn (off?) if he dropped it.

Just a tought

I agree, it even clicked like a lighter. One has to wonder, though, how he managed to burn the hand he was holding the lighter with.

[pulvissolaris]

Couldn't "Chk Chk" also be the sound of a match being struck? The whole shape of the thing - with the huge head and slender body just says "match" to me.

Ultimately, however, this is wholly irrelevant. He somehow managed to burn down his house, the poor guy.

Another thought on Martin's choice: Mallt refers to his father as her "friend". Does that mean a deeper connection of the male side of the family to her? I mean, the two female family members went with the mutt, the male ones went with the crone.

[popo]

I think when she refers to Martin's father as her 'friend', she just means that he belongs to her.

[todd]

pulvissolaris said:

Ultimately, however, this is wholly irrelevant. He somehow managed to burn down his house, the poor guy.

Yes, that's what matters. Whether he was playing with a match or lighter is less important.

[ultrabluesky]

I feel so silly - I had no idea that Mallt was a woman . . . oops.

[fr4tbrn]

What nobody has pointed out, however, is that when Annie and Martin hold hands, his hand is burnt. But when Martin and Mallt hold hands, his hand is not. Hm.

[popo]

I am pretty sure that is because Mallt is a guide to the afterlife, and Annie is a medium who projects reality.

[fr4tbrn]

Yeah, but you'd think now that he's fully "dead" and going to the afterlife, that he'd just stay burnt.
Also, when she hugs him, the burnt-faced-ness (SO a word) goes away.

[popo]

If he still has any denial or not-knowing-ness (also a word) about his death, or if he prefers looking normal, then it wouldn't be odd for him to keep his form. As for why Annie's hugs reform him, while holding hands burns him, I don't know. Maybe she has magical hugs.