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Post by artezzatrigger on Jul 17, 2015 13:19:47 GMT
The fact that its not Coyote's Tooth is at least slightly less terrifying. Soul mutilation under your own power certainly sounds more easily fixable than being rended by the magical fang of an eldritch creature.
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Post by ctso74 on Jul 17, 2015 13:20:56 GMT
qu'est-ce que c'estShe certainly can't seem to face up to the facts, is tense and nervous and can't relax :3 Worst of all, she keeps setting her bed on fire. I'm as surprised as everyone else that it's not Coyote's Tooth, but just a normal pair of scissors. I think that people were assuming it would be Coyote's Tooth largely from the "Chekhov's Gun" approach - that the tooth would have to play some important role in the story, or why would it be included at all? (It's changed things for Shadow2, certainly, but that might not seem large enough.) I've always thought it might be something even larger than Annie's split. When a group of teenagers are carrying an Etheric tactical nuke, it weighs on the mind. Or, instead of a nuke, would it be more a vorpal blade? |
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Post by Onomatopoeia on Jul 17, 2015 13:30:20 GMT
Annie overreacting like I said she was doing all along. Fancy that.
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Post by ctso74 on Jul 17, 2015 13:31:04 GMT
I am having bad flashbacks (can't be premonitions as this has already happened) of Annie amputating the elemental part. i.e. not cutting her hair but actually cutting the elemental itself. I kow symbolicaly they seem equivelant but symbols and actually seeing her taking scissors to the elemental aint really the same. Allow me to get a bucket and find a corner to whimper in. The fact that its not Coyote's Tooth is at least slightly less terrifying. Soul mutilation under your own power certainly sounds more easily fixable than being rended by the magical fang of an eldritch creature. The parallels to "cutting" keep adding up. If this was out of context and she had said, "I can't deal with this right now", I would have assumed she was about to self-harm. I wonder how graphic this is about to get. I rather like the idea of her using the blinker as a storage device; part of herself, separate from herself. |
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Post by Daedalus on Jul 17, 2015 13:56:23 GMT
She looked in the mirror and used the second person. Does this mean that the Elemental was already an independent being, and we just hadn't seem it manifest before?
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Post by alexsl on Jul 17, 2015 14:53:33 GMT
My understanding is that she is meant to be talking to herself - she can't deal with who she is now (how deep she has dug herself with her cheating and hiding?). So reboot the system from a checkpoint three years earlier, hair, clothes and all? Not sure why that would mean removing the elemental, although admittedly she didn't know about that part of her before she came to GC. Anyway, the last few pages suggested she separated the fire to become less angry and more ... submissive? But now her speech suggests a different interpretation, disgust at herself.
This is probably all easier to follow in book form, when one doesn't have two days to establish an interpretation that may get turned over with the next page...
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Post by nero on Jul 17, 2015 15:22:41 GMT
I guess she can't deal with both her sadness and her anger taking over. I think we'll see her ether self use the scissors. When Renard shows up I wonder how much more heart wrenching it can get.
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QuotePilgrim
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Post by QuotePilgrim on Jul 17, 2015 15:27:30 GMT
She looked in the mirror and used the second person. Does this mean that the Elemental was already an independent being, and we just hadn't seem it manifest before? Nah, when talking to themself in front of a mirror (or in any other situation, really), anyone would use the second person. That simple. Of course, it could be the case that the elemental was always an independent being, but the use of the second person doesn’t really hint at that. --- I knew that Annie would’ve used regular scissors to cut off her elemental side. I would say "called it" but, well, I never actually mentioned it here in the forums. |
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Post by stef1987 on Jul 17, 2015 15:40:43 GMT
I don't get the last 2 panels, did the blinker stone teleported in her hand, and then suddenly changed into the scissors?
I mean it's kinda weird that it suddenly changes hands.
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QuotePilgrim
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Post by QuotePilgrim on Jul 17, 2015 15:48:43 GMT
I don't get the last 2 panels, did the blinker stone teleported in her hand, and then suddenly changed into the scissors? I mean it's kinda weird that it suddenly changes hands. After reading your post I thought maybe Tom was distracted when drawing those panels. You know, these things happen. But I looked again at the page to be sure and, actually, what is happening is that in the second panel, we’re seeing Annie’s image in the mirror, so the scissor appears to be in her left hand, when in reality it isn’t. |
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Post by edzepp on Jul 17, 2015 15:52:39 GMT
She opens with her left, picks it up with her right, and the Blinker is in her left hand. The last panel is the mirror image.
And considering the circumstances, this is way more rational a reaction than I would have imagined.
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Post by hypixion on Jul 17, 2015 16:09:21 GMT
Well, that's pretty hardcore.
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Post by Trillium on Jul 17, 2015 16:21:53 GMT
I don't get the last 2 panels, did the blinker stone teleported in her hand, and then suddenly changed into the scissors? I mean it's kinda weird that it suddenly changes hands. After reading your post I thought maybe Tom was distracted when drawing those panels. You know, these things happen. But I looked again at the page to be sure and, actually, what is happening is that in the second panel, we’re seeing Annie’s image in the mirror, so the scissor appears to be in her left hand, when in reality it isn’t. Tom pays a lot of attention to detail. |
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Jul 17, 2015 16:45:25 GMT
I guess she can't deal with both her sadness and her anger taking over. I think we'll see her ether self use the scissors. Which may be all fire-ish and rage-y? Which would mean that the "personal demon" is more Antimony than the shell that's walking around. And that's too bad because I was looking forward to seeing her wrestle that personal demon... wondering if it was street fighting or there was going to be a ring involved and if they'd sell tickets, and if so what rules would apply (greco-roman, MME, WOW) and who might officiate (Jones? Janet's Dad?) and what the penalties might be if there was a foul... |
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Post by Trillium on Jul 17, 2015 16:57:38 GMT
We have been seeing this event as a memory through the elemental’s POV. I think this makes her more than just a facet of Annie. It also shows Annie rejecting the elemental in favor of dealing with her father as well as the fallout from years of breaking a lot of rules.
Cutting ties is a theme that has been running through the whole Gunnerkrigg Court story from the start.
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Post by eyemyself on Jul 17, 2015 17:20:03 GMT
She looked in the mirror and used the second person. Does this mean that the Elemental was already an independent being, and we just hadn't seem it manifest before? Not necessarily. I talk to both of my chronic illnesses in the third person when they become severe enough that they are interfering with my ability to function and have a normal life. Like Ys, I find it helpful to externalize the aspects of myself that hold me back as a way of dealing with them more effectively. That last panel of Annie staring in the mirror tearfully saying "I can't deal with you right now" pretty much sums up my emotional response to having ongoing, back to back MS flares over the past few months. Those emotions get in the way of getting shit that needs to be done, done and use up precious energy that I absolutely need for other things. If I could cut the anger out and put it in a box until my health stabilizes and I had the energy, time, and resources to deal with it... Man, if only. I don't get the last 2 panels, did the blinker stone teleported in her hand, and then suddenly changed into the scissors? I mean it's kinda weird that it suddenly changes hands. The scissors didn't change hands, the first image is us looking at Annie, the second is us looking at her image in the mirror. That is why the scissors seem flipped. |
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ysca
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Post by ysca on Jul 17, 2015 17:33:13 GMT
She looked in the mirror and used the second person. Does this mean that the Elemental was already an independent being, and we just hadn't seem it manifest before? I don't think so. I think she's seeing her anger as a separate creature, and she's cutting it away to keep it separated until she can deal with it. It's actually a pretty normal, albeit not entirely healthy, response to something extreme happening. Of course, as we've seen all over this comic, Annie is terrible about dealing with her big emotions. |
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Post by youwiththeface on Jul 17, 2015 17:44:45 GMT
Annie overreacting like I said she was doing all along. Fancy that. Considering her history this is an undereaction if anything. Nothing's burning yet. Well, looks like this wasn't some grand master plan of Annie's but an action taken out in a moment of passion like I suspected. I wonder....has Anthony been acting purposely dickish to get this kind of reaction from her? Maybe he figured she'd have better luck separating herself from the elemental than he did, but she probably wouldn't agree to it if he just asked (which is why he didn't ask if he could friggin' operate on her) so... |
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Bill
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Post by Bill on Jul 17, 2015 19:02:21 GMT
Not the Tooth. What a relief. It appears that this is intended to be temporary, that Annie cut out her emotions, her fire, so that she wouldn't damage the situation any further. Her relationships still got stressed, but Anthony is not in the hospital or the morgue, nothing burned down or exploded (yet), no relationships got near-broke in an emotional overreaction, and Annie didn't run away again ... so I guess it worked as intended. I think she plans to re-integrate after a few weeks to calm down and stabilize both herself and the situation. ...And then, as someone else suggested, she can use that giant room for some serious fire practice.
Relatedly, I'm slowly learning why Fire Spike is still legendary around here as the most painful chapter prior to Tony's return. I had the advantage of the ordeal lasting minutes instead of weeks, but while reading it (and thinking back on it) I saw pain, distress, and strained relations, yes. But nothing broke. There was nothing that looked like it could not be overcome by some kind words and/or a few days. Thus, I did not feel the pain then-readers evidently did. In the current situation, things[mostly Annie] actually broke. In Fire Spike, you could be sure that the end of the tunnel was just around a corner or two, even if the light was not visible until Ysengrin comforted her. Here, it was a full two chapters before we could be sure the tunnel had an end at all, and said end is still probably in chapter 54 or 55. Because sometimes people don't ever heal from abuse or self-mutilation.
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QuotePilgrim
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Post by QuotePilgrim on Jul 17, 2015 20:02:53 GMT
After reading your post I thought maybe Tom was distracted when drawing those panels. You know, these things happen. But I looked again at the page to be sure and, actually, what is happening is that in the second panel, we’re seeing Annie’s image in the mirror, so the scissor appears to be in her left hand, when in reality it isn’t. Tom pays a lot of attention to detail. Paying a lot of attention do detail does not prevent someone from making mistakes, you know. I can’t think of any examples off the top of my head, but I do remember people on the forums pointing out a few mistakes he made, which he then fixed. And, to be honest, I think he only pays as much attention to detail as the average writer does. The readers are the ones who seem to analyze (over-analyze, mostly) every little thing. |
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Post by Daedalus on Jul 17, 2015 21:37:31 GMT
Tom pays a lot of attention to detail. Paying a lot of attention do detail does not prevent someone from making mistakes, you know. I can’t think of any examples off the top of my head, but I do remember people on the forums pointing out a few mistakes he made, which he then fixed. And, to be honest, I think he only pays as much attention to detail as the average writer does. The readers are the ones who seem to analyze (over-analyze, mostly) every little thing. He pays a lot more attention than many other writers of webcomics I read (notable example: the Foglios). This can be seen by the fact that, when we traders overanalyze everything, all of the little details still hold together into a cohesive whole. |
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QuotePilgrim
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Post by QuotePilgrim on Jul 18, 2015 2:02:08 GMT
He pays a lot more attention than many other writers of webcomics I read (notable example: the Foglios). This can be seen by the fact that, when we traders overanalyze everything, all of the little details still hold together into a cohesive whole. Well, I don’t read a lot of webcomics, so I was thinking about authors in general. Because essentially all webcomics are self-published, I think that the average quality of their writing is almost certainly vastly inferior than traditionally published works, like novels for instance. If a novel writer doesn’t pay a lot of attention to detail, they’re probably not going to get published at all. I honestly can’t think of a novelist I have read that I would say pays noticeably less attention to detail than Tom does. You could say I am comparing two completely different media, and you’d have a point. However, I can also think of a few traditionally published comics/manga whose authors pay at the very least as much attention to detail as Tom does. Fullmetal Alchemist’s author Hiromu Arakawa, for instance, is simply amazing in that aspect. I guess that all depends on your frame of reference, after all. If you compare Tom to all the webcomic authors, then sure, maybe he pays far more attention to detail than all of them combined. I don’t know a lot of webcomics, but Tom’s certainly the best webocomic writer I know of. Webcomic authors are not who I am comparing him to, though. I am comparing him to authors in general, regardless of medium, because I think that’s a fair comparison to make. That way, I can say for instance that he’s not quite as good as Stephen King, but is actually pretty close to him on my favorite authors list. And I'm pretty sure (some) people will start throwing stones at me for this, but I think Tom Siddell is a far better writer than John Green is. (Even then, I wouldn’t be so sure to say he pays more attention to detail than John.) |
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Jul 18, 2015 5:01:50 GMT
He pays a lot more attention than many other writers of webcomics I read (notable example: the Foglios). Well, I don’t read a lot of webcomics... Phil Foglio draws Girl Genius, the steampunk fantasy webcomic set in an alternative past Earth where children are born without shins and any facial symmetry is purely coincidental. Or in other words, he has evolved his own very distinctive art style. Somehow it is good anyway. Unlike Mr. Siddell, Phil is not a one-man-band; he shares writing credit with his wife, Kaja, and colors are done by Cheyenne Wright. Since of his early involvement in the SF fan community and his work for Dragon magazine and through regular convention appearances Phil has become an icon of geekdom par excellence. If they gave knighthoods for geek culture in America, Phil would have one of the first order with stars and triple spray-cheese clusters. |
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Post by TBeholder on Jul 18, 2015 6:34:06 GMT
The parallels to "cutting" keep adding up. If this was out of context and she had said, "I can't deal with this right now", I would have assumed she was about to self-harm. Er... what? (backs off slowly) |
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karl
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Post by karl on Jul 18, 2015 7:06:13 GMT
I'm kind of thinking that after realizing that her temper is a problem, what Antimony should have done is to find an fire and explosion-proof (henceforth called "Antimony-proof") room where she could rage all she wants without actually harming anyone (given that the fire does not harm herself). Also she could train her fire-abilities there as well which would provide a convenient excuse for her.
Heck, actually exploding now would have been the better solution in the long run. The dorm should be empty, with the exception of Renard, who would hopefully be fine, and a couple of metallic fools.
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Post by sakyru on Jul 18, 2015 8:12:29 GMT
Regarding the elemental's connection to Annie via her hair, I haven't seen/maybe missed out discussion about this page: gunnerkrigg.com/?p=984Was it ever answered or discussed what kind of difference it made to have her hair forcefully seperated from her body in the ether? It didn't seem to effect the elemental in any way, so maybe cutting it away makes it different due to Annie's intention, and because it is the act of cutting it away with a foreign object? |
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Post by zbeeblebrox on Jul 18, 2015 9:32:43 GMT
Surprise surprise, drama takes place in the FRIENDS apartment.
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Post by stclair on Jul 18, 2015 9:44:39 GMT
If thine eye offend thee...
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Post by keef on Jul 18, 2015 10:21:43 GMT
Wait, what is she going to do with the blinker stone though? Is she going to put her elementality in the stone? She might be remembering this.I'm as surprised as everyone else that it's not Coyote's Tooth, but just a normal pair of scissors. I think that people were assuming it would be Coyote's Tooth largely from the "Chekhov's Gun" approach - that the tooth would have to play some important role in the story, or why would it be included at all? (It's changed things for Shadow2, certainly, but that might not seem large enough.) Actually I thought it would be logical an etherical (hair)cut would be done with an etherical knife. Almost every time this comes up Jones and Jeanne are named as Chekhov targets for the giggleblade. If thine eye offend thee... ..switch the channel? Kudos to everyone who suggested she cut her hair on her own initiative, eating crow here... |
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Post by kelantar on Jul 18, 2015 13:59:36 GMT
I'm kind of thinking that after realizing that her temper is a problem, what Antimony should have done is to find an fire and explosion-proof (henceforth called "Antimony-proof") room where she could rage all she wants without actually harming anyone (given that the fire does not harm herself). Also she could train her fire-abilities there as well which would provide a convenient excuse for her. Heck, actually exploding now would have been the better solution in the long run. The dorm should be empty, with the exception of Renard, who would hopefully be fine, and a couple of metallic fools. Something she can't do any damage to, eh? "Ms. Jones, would you mind coming here for a second? And wear this mask of my father's face..." |
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