[374]That seems...highly coincidental

[edzepp]

Doesn't it though.

And Parley goes for the finisher.

[popo]

I bet that Smit will turn out to be the best medium of them all. Look at those eyebrows. They hold power.

[Mezzaphor]

Up until now, I had assumed there was a connection between the position of Medium and the ability to see the Guides. Based on Jones' description, it doesn't sound like there is any such connection.

[mudmaniac]

mezzaphor said:

Up until now, I had assumed there was a connection between the position of Medium and the ability to see the Guides. Based on Jones' description, it doesn't sound like there is any such connection.

I dunno. I would think that some of the creatures of the forest may not be corporeal. Additionally, Mort did mention her being spiritually attractive. i think that trait helps when mediating with etheric creatures.

PS: I'm curious what kinda sword move would judo flip a person like that. Parley Parley rocks.

[todd]

So now we know why there's been such a long gap between Surma leaving the school and the Court training new mediums. I hope the people at Gunnerkrigg didn't let themselves become too complacent during the lull in relations with the forest.

[Boksha]

That... doesn't look like a sword manoever at all. Unless you call tripping someone and elbowing them in the gut in mid-air a sword manoever.
And yes, Parley does rock. So much.

[nikita]

I guess they don't teach purely traditional stuff, but just do whatever works best.. which seems to include throws But that's a good thing. Many martial arts are focused to specific attacks like karate (striking) or judo (throws, grappling, joint locks) etc.
If you want to defend yourself in the real world, you have to use all attacks possible and not just the few ones that karate/boxing/judo teach.

I guess Parley managed to grip his hip and lift and throw him over her shoulder. The problem is, that it's really risky. If her opponent didn't drop the sword, he could stab her in the back.
(It "fits her personality" though)

[AluK]

If Gunnerkrigg has/had one specific person to do the mediating job, it's logic to speculate that the Forest probably has/had one, also. My wild guess? Reynardine.

[penguinfactory]

aluk said:

If Gunnerkrigg has/had one specific person to do the mediating job, it's logic to speculate that the Forest probably has/had one, also. My wild guess? Reynardine.

No, no.... Anthony Carver! DUN DUN DUUUUN!

....Okay, yeah, Reynardine seems like a likely choice.

[Boksha]

They didn't specifically mention that there can be only one medium. Jones is talking about "mediums" and "they" and Annie calling Parley, Smith and herself "candidates" just means that not all 3 might turn out to be suitable. (I think she mentioned there's 3 because that might indicate that there's not a shortage of people suitable as mediums, in which case it'd be extra weird for the Court not to have one for so long)

Nikita: yeah, that sounds a bit more likely than what I thought happened. The wikipedia pages about german swordmanship did mention that a good part of medieval swordfighting, especially when armour is involved, does consist of wrestling and punching moves used to put the opponent in a situation where it's easier to stab down. (as armour is quite hard to pierce without powerful stabbing)

[Tenjen]

Movies would have us believe only the swords were involved. Most sword combat involved engaging the entire body.

[dragonmage06]

The plot thickens again. Maybe the Court makes decisions by playing rock-paper-scissors. That's how I do it

[rc5]

Maybe they have a super-special coin with a tree on one side and a building on the other.
*flip*

[zingbat]

Speaking of sides... do the sun and moon in the first panel look like the ones in the first "Treatise" bonus page to anyone else? And! The second one was all science-y on Kat's side and forest-y on Annie's side. Tom's been dropping hints about this theme the whole time!

[popo]

actually the sun and moon appear in both treatises. I wonder why the moon is for tech and the sun is for nature?

[thecheshirecat]

Popo, that is pretty weird indeed, seeing how in the beginning of the comic the forest was portrayed as a dark place (and probably still is), while the bridge leading to the court is all filled with lights in order to ward off the glass eyes men, who are actually afraid of the light.

By the way, in my opinion Parley's going to be the weakest contestant for the role of medium, seeing how she seems to have the physical advantage. (So the other contestants probably have the mental one)

[Tenjen]

a healthy mind cannot live in an unhealthy body.

[thecheshirecat]

Please explain

[popo]

I think what he is saying is that just because Parley has the physical advantage doesn't mean she's gonna have the mental disadvantage, and that her physical skill would seem to show that she is pretty smart. I think that Annie is gonna have more raw talent with the supernatural than the other two, but they can probably do all the other stuff (sword fighting, being super awesome, handling themselves in a social situation...) better than her for now.

I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore.

[cenit]

Arghh, I like to join the thread earlier, but couldn't be helped.

Swords: I think that the idea of that particular style was to be very practical, and not necesarily look elegant; that could explain Parley's move. And she rocks

Mediums: I think that the fact that they're in the middle, enables them to have both etheral and tech qualities; for example Annie can see the Guides, but also understands the world of technology; she doesn't have super-etheral abilites or super-techs abilities; she's in the middle.

Interesting point: Is the fact that Annie seems to have and advisor on each end, Rey helps up knowing and understanding about the forest, and Kat gives tech support. Also she has two little friends from each side, Robot and Shadow 2 (you can also include being somewhat involved in a test from Gillite to Court (fairies), and from Court to Gillitie).

and one a side note... I don't see Rey being a medium in anything...looks more comfortable in his role of free agent-currently giving support to Annie.

[popo]

Annie also has a little friend in the middle (or maybe spiritual, which is sort of separated from the tech and nature): Mort. So far he's given Annie advice on the Annan Waters, and probably knows even more than he's let on.

[Boksha]

thecheshirecat said:

By the way, in my opinion Parley's going to be the weakest contestant for the role of medium, seeing how she seems to have the physical advantage. (So the other contestants probably have the mental one)

In this case she had the physical advantage by acting quickly and making the right move at the right time, which is something that may prove useful to mediums as we saw in the previous chapter. Annie's quick decision to go after the boy even after he got swallowed by the flames ended up settling the matter.

[fr4tbrn]

One thing that I noticed is how in the right side of the top panel (or 2nd panel, I don't know how you'd classify that top bit) that there are very few representatives for the forest, yet there are many humans. Hmm...

[Tenjen]

Annie does have more interaction with both sides of the forest already and a lifetime of dealing with the seemingly extraordinary.

We dont know parleys and the other fellows experiences are, but i guess its almost purely training and tuition.