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Post by ctso74 on Jan 27, 2017 14:32:00 GMT
I think that the "price" isn't the Guides getting something from Annie in return for their own benefit, but that their intervention would come with an inevitable cost in some way by its nature - and that this might even be why they're not supposed to get involved in the affairs of the living. (To illustrate this, I read a fantasy book some years ago where a person is talking about the cost of magic in such terms as "If you steal a pie, someone else goes hungry.") Just what the cost would be I don't know - maybe someone in another part of the world dying who might have lived but for Annie's request. Maybe the loss of Andrew's abilities, making him an ordinary student henceforth. Whatever it is, we shall probably find out soon - at least, if Annie and Kat ask what it is rather than just agreeing to pay it and finding out afterwards. Yes, there is a series I loved called xxxHolic that was basically all about what the price of a wish often was, especially that the cost of sacrificing oneself was often very high because it incurred a cost also on the person one was sacrificing oneself for. This might be a different take on matters than what is going on here. The most obvious price Annie could pay is becoming a psychopomp – but this might be a life gig, that's a big deal. Or it's possible she'd have to give something up that we do not know about yet. Maybe give up some important memory or power. Or, well, maybe this whole Philosopher's Stone thing will come in to play. I love me some xxxHolics! Muut saying, that Annie knows the price, makes me think it's her becoming a psychopomp. Unless there's a flashback story coming our way. Healing an Etheric wound could come with an interesting cost. His ability to love? His "luck" power becoming "unluck"? A random person he knows dying? I wonder if we'll know soon, or if they'll all just yell for them to do it, and we discover it slowly through Andrew's POV. |
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cb3
New Member
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Post by cb3 on Jan 27, 2017 14:37:29 GMT
I thought Annie was going to try to cut a deal, looks like she isn't keen on the cost though.
I was also looking at expressions thinking that I bet she can't play poker for toffee.
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cb3
New Member
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Post by cb3 on Jan 27, 2017 14:41:09 GMT
And for those worrying that with Jeanne disappearing into the ether GC was heading for it's final stages, I can see a whole new arc opening up here.
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Post by Zox Tomana on Jan 27, 2017 14:42:06 GMT
"It seems to us that she risked the lives of others in this task."
And her own life you bird-brain! And those other lives chose to get involved willingly. And even if you don't owe Annie anything for whatever daft reason, what about these others who chose to help? Sure, maybe you don't in all the strict technicalities of your code, but surely a group of people willingly risking their lives to do a job that isn't theirs deserves more than just "Thanks, y'all!"
Also, I'm on TeamAnniePomp as regards the price.
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Post by shadow3 on Jan 27, 2017 14:44:51 GMT
Did anyone else notice how Annie's eyes darken slightly in the last panel?
Ominous symbolism.
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Post by OrzBrain on Jan 27, 2017 14:50:02 GMT
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Post by Refugee on Jan 27, 2017 15:35:35 GMT
"And the world continues to spin."
So if they don't take Smitty...the world spins a little less?
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Post by Glim Glam on Jan 27, 2017 16:41:07 GMT
Have we been given any indication on what the "price" might possibly be? Probably not. Still, if the Psychopomps can heal someone for a price, but they didn't heal Surma, then that indicates that the price must be quite high indeed. I assume it's something like "A life for a life", so if Smitty's life is saved, someone else is going to have to die instead.
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Post by atteSmythe on Jan 27, 2017 16:58:36 GMT
I'm trying to keep in mind that Robot is present for all of this. Angel of Life just took on the Angels of Death
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arzeik
Junior Member
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Post by arzeik on Jan 27, 2017 16:59:09 GMT
Next page, Annie: "But I was saving those £100 to cover a 0.1% of my room's wall with posters..."
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Post by Glim Glam on Jan 27, 2017 17:12:51 GMT
Next page, Annie: "But I was saving those £100 to cover a 0.1% of my room's wall with posters..." As funny as that would be, it probably won't happen. Even though Gunnerkrigg Court does have plenty of comedic moments, it usually takes things a bit more seriously than that. |
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Post by Eversist on Jan 27, 2017 20:38:55 GMT
I also initially thought becoming a guide, but I wonder how that's gonna relate to them saving a life in return (if that ends up being it). Is it literally just a trade? Or does Annie get, like, one life-saving chance when she initially becomes one? Or is it more like she'll have the ability, but there are consequences to herself/within the bureaucracy of ROTD or whomever?
Also, are the psychopomps overworked and constantly trying to recruit? And like others said, does she remain at school/as forest medium? Can't wait to see what happens. I wonder if Annie's gonna try to still get out of it, and have it backfire.
Can't wait for next week.
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Post by mordekai on Jan 27, 2017 21:16:49 GMT
If the price is Annie's life or something similar... well, it wasn't a pleasure to meet you, psychopomps. Say hello to Very Pissed Kriemhild Gretchen Eldritch Horror Robot Cthulhu Machine God Elohim Kat... |
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Post by Zox Tomana on Jan 27, 2017 21:39:31 GMT
I was just looking back over some of the areas we've had Guides in before, and this scene with Ankou seems like a relevant thing to look at regarding all the debate about Annie being in trouble about Final Records, and the following pages help illustrate the separation between the ROTD and Guides. And with Ankou urging Annie to work for them here, I really do think Annie is going to have to trade service with the Guides for Andrew being healed. In a way, that would be her life for his. She might not *die*, and she might not take her position as a Guide for some time, or she might simply start as a local Guide for Gunnerkrig/Gillitie... but she would be trading in her own choice of fate to give Andrew the opportunity to live. |
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Post by intotheether on Jan 27, 2017 21:56:06 GMT
I'm trying to keep in mind that Robot is present for all of this. Angel of Life just took on the Angels of Death Indeed. Muut should watch his step. With so much belief fueling Kat, her power has increased tenfold:  Credit to rosencrantz for the original image. |
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ST13R
Full Member
Quiet little mouse
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Post by ST13R on Jan 27, 2017 22:14:57 GMT
Clearly, Annie has asked Muut before on kissing her boo boo better, which was awfaul since he has a beak for a mouth. Some price to pay for a bit of healing. Really though,I feel like there should be hints on what this 'price' is, somewhere in one of the previous 60 chapters, but I really can't think of any, and now I am annoyed by myself. :x For now I 'm kinda guessing, like others mentioned, someone else's lifespan needs to be shortened dramaticly, to ensure the world continues to spin. |
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Post by Runningflame on Jan 27, 2017 23:16:27 GMT
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Post by todd on Jan 28, 2017 0:22:00 GMT
I doubt that the price will be Annie becoming a Guide (or if it is, that she'll do it) from a narrative point of view. Annie becoming a Guide would most likely mean her "ascending" into their nature, ceasing to be a human (even a human with etheric abilities and some fire elemental ancestry), and leaving the Court behind. (Indeed, as a Guide, she'd be forbidden to get involved with events in the waking world, which would rule out continuing to live at the Court all the more).
But since we've still got several chapters to go (since this is the opening chapter of the next volume), the story can't write out Annie. Unless, of course, this is another big change (even bigger than the end of Jeanne's haunting the river) and the comic will move on without her (presumably ignoring the opening statement that the story's set during Annie's time at Gunnerkrigg). Is that possible? One of the chief unresolved arcs is the robot religion, where Kat has a larger role than Annie does; that could continue without Annie being still around. I'm not so sure about some of the other unfinished threads, though.
I think it likelier that the price will be something else (unless the transformation into a Guide doesn't take place right away) - though just what, we don't know yet.
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Post by Storel on Jan 28, 2017 0:58:28 GMT
Well, so much for a code, oh honorable psychopomps. I suppose all those times you said "We don't interfere in the affairs of the living", you forgot the second half of that statement-"....unless it directly benefits us." If their price is for Annie to become a psychopomp... do psychopomps qualify as "living" creatures? Maybe their reasoning is "We don't interfere in the affairs of the living -- but if you stop living and join us, this won't be an affair of the living anymore, just an affair of us Guides." I doubt that the price will be Annie becoming a Guide (or if it is, that she'll do it) from a narrative point of view. Annie becoming a Guide would most likely mean her "ascending" into their nature, ceasing to be a human (even a human with etheric abilities and some fire elemental ancestry), and leaving the Court behind. (Indeed, as a Guide, she'd be forbidden to get involved with events in the waking world, which would rule out continuing to live at the Court all the more). Hmm, true. I think it likelier that the price will be something else (unless the transformation into a Guide doesn't take place right away) - though just what, we don't know yet. That's a possibility. Perhaps the price is that she commit to eventually becoming a Guide and become a sort of "apprentice Guide" now? |
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Post by Sky Schemer on Jan 28, 2017 6:15:35 GMT
No wonder she's pissed. She only got that hair clip back like eight or nine pages ago.
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Post by TBeholder on Jan 28, 2017 6:45:10 GMT
An enigmatic answer.Presumably they want her to become a psychopomp officially. Also, Tom's a wonderful human being for including a link to the "BAP" page. question might be, what would happen to her in case she agrees. Would she lose her role as forest medium? What would the court say to have an official psychopomp student But she already is, according to RotD. and how would her father react? Anthony still doesn't know that Annie technically is one and Surma was. huh, Annie knows the price, eh? does that mean she tried to make the bargain before to save her mom? what price was so steep she wouldn't pay it to save her mom? This kind of thing would be a life for a life, wouldn't it? Or year for year. But it's the other most obvious answer. Tom would probably use something trickier. For one, there's "elemental essence stops cheating death like this" possibility. Eh who needs boring doctors and Court technology when you can get 'pomps to heal in return for the price? That's way better than getting in trouble for doing risky stuff without adult supervision. My hunch is that Andrew's wound is at least partially etheric. If so, then a)Annie would probably be able to tell that Smitty's wound is partially (or entirely) etheric, and b)A Court medical doctor would be of no help whatsoever in saving Andrew's life. Annie told Parley to wait because (I suspect) she knew that teleporting to a doctor wouldn't help. Quite possible. But also, Annie often misses something. She may just err on the side of what she knows much like her father did. |
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Post by freedomgeek on Jan 28, 2017 9:50:28 GMT
Don't accept the contract Madoka!
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Post by bgb16999 on Jan 28, 2017 15:35:20 GMT
(unless the transformation into a Guide doesn't take place right away) Hmm...what if the price is that she will become a psychopomp after she dies? That would almost seem too easy, since it would mean we wouldn't have to explore the ramifications of Annie's sacrifice during the story (it would just be something that happens 70ish years after the story ends). Anthony still doesn't know that Annie technically is one and Surma was. Anthony knows that Surma had some involvement with the afterlife guides, though we don't know how much of the details he understood. |
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Post by fish on Jan 28, 2017 17:32:58 GMT
What if healing Smitty would mean another person would die before their time in his stead. And now Annie is debating whether to condemn a random stranger to death or not. (The answer is no, Annie.)
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Post by freedomgeek on Jan 28, 2017 18:13:51 GMT
What if healing Smitty would mean another person would die before their time in his stead. And now Annie is debating whether to condemn a random stranger to death or not. (The answer is no, Annie.) Hey, from a purely utilitarian perspective Smitty is more likely to do good for the world with his powers than the average person. |
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Post by fish on Jan 28, 2017 21:10:36 GMT
What if healing Smitty would mean another person would die before their time in his stead. And now Annie is debating whether to condemn a random stranger to death or not. (The answer is no, Annie.) Hey, from a purely utilitarian perspective Smitty is more likely to do good for the world with his powers than the average person. Yeh, good luck living with the knowledge you condemned a completely innocent, uninvolved person to death on the basis of statistics. Applied utilitarianism is scary. |
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Post by todd on Jan 29, 2017 0:17:58 GMT
What if healing Smitty would mean another person would die before their time in his stead. And now Annie is debating whether to condemn a random stranger to death or not. (The answer is no, Annie.) This seems more likely to be the kind of price to pay than the "Annie has to become a Guide"that so many are speculating on. Not necessarily the specific price, but more the category of whatever Muut is speaking about. The way they're talking about the price suggests that this isn't some kind of "deal with the devil"-type bargain (which I'd be more likely to expect if they were speaking with Coyote), but part of some inexorable etheric law, a law that the Guides have to abide by and can't change - an impersonal law like gravity. Something along the lines of "If you bring water to this place, you might be drying up the countryside somewhere else." (And while "no" is a good answer to that specific term, from a narrative point of view, Annie may have to say "yes", given that, as we've discussed, the most likely consequences of Smith's death - i.e., the Court's response - would likely make it difficult to continue the comic in a recognizable form.) |
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Post by saardvark on Jan 29, 2017 0:49:22 GMT
Would she lose her role as forest medium? What would the court say to have an official psychopomp student But she already is, according to RotD. Their (RotD) rating Annie as a pomp may only reflect that she has worked in that capacity before, guiding her mother and Mort. The pomps themselves may not consider Annie a full-fledged member of their troop yet. She doesnt know proper pomp procedure yet, for one thing (or at least forgets a lot of the details). Which also raises the question - what manner of being *are* pomps? They aren't immortal, they are at least part etheric, with some demigod-like characteristics. Would Annie be a new kind of pomp, being part mortal, or are there others like her? Is it her fire elemental/etheric side that gives her the ability to be a pomp? |
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Post by bgb16999 on Jan 29, 2017 1:31:13 GMT
Hrm, how about this possibility:
Smitty must permanently give up his powers and live as a normal human.
On the one hand, this "price" might seem anticlimactic, in that it would eliminate the potential for a "difficult decision" by the protagonists as to whether it is worth it. Having Smitty alive without extra luck seems obviously superior to having him just die here, at least without an additional catch.
However, if this is indeed the price, it would neatly explain why it is so rare for someone to escape death (since only an etheric-powered individual can do it, and someone can only do it once). It would also explain why Surma wasn't able to evade death, since she had already effectively given her power to Annie. And it might give us the opportunity to see a new Court Medium without Smitty having to die.
A slightly more likely (IMO) possibility is that Parley will need to give up her powers, or possibly both Parley and Smitty.
I don't really think either of those will be the entirety of the sacrifice needed to keep Smitty alive. However, I don't think it will be "someone else has to die," because that seems to obvious. And, on a personal note, I hope we don't end up with a rehash of my least favorite Euripides play (Alcestis).
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Post by todd on Jan 29, 2017 2:36:53 GMT
And it might give us the opportunity to see a new Court Medium without Smitty having to die. Which would probably take a while, though (short of a time skip). The Court would have to search the students' ranks for new potential mediums, then train them (Andrew and Parley's medium classes took at least a year and a half - probably more than that, since I doubt they'd just begun when Ysengrin and Coyote visited the Court in Chapter Fourteen). |
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