Questions to Tom #2

[theoldwolf]

1. Was Hyland about to be as crude as might be supposed? That strikes me as odd in the framework of the strip.

2. "Etheric Energy" seems very common within Gunnerkrigg Court. Why do the students, both past and present, see people in Surma/Annie's house as being "freakshows"? Aren't they used to this sort of thing?

[Max]

Two questions:
- What is the nature of a medium? Is it an innate ability, or is it a skill to be learned? I had assumed the latter, since the Court is training mediums, but a lot of people on the forums are talking about them as if they are a separate category of person.

- Am I correct in thinking, based on Hyland's comments, that Brinnie was once in Chester house but got moved?

Thanks.

Also, I noticed that this question thread is quite a bit longer than the old one was when people decided to move to this one. Do you want someone to create a new one, or should we stick with this.

[Tom Siddell]

Apr 1, 2009 19:12:36 GMT theoldwolf said:

1. Was Hyland about to be as crude as might be supposed? That strikes me as odd in the framework of the strip.

2. "Etheric Energy" seems very common within Gunnerkrigg Court. Why do the students, both past and present, see people in Surma/Annie's house as being "freakshows"? Aren't they used to this sort of thing?

1, Yup.

2, Division of science and etheric, etc. A lot of the comic is based on it.

[Tom Siddell]

Apr 2, 2009 3:38:30 GMT Max said:

Two questions:
- What is the nature of a medium? Is it an innate ability, or is it a skill to be learned? I had assumed the latter, since the Court is training mediums, but a lot of people on the forums are talking about them as if they are a separate category of person.

- Am I correct in thinking, based on Hyland's comments, that Brinnie was once in Chester house but got moved?
1, Anyone can learn to be a diplomatic medium, but it's better to have some kind of etheric skill, in this case.

2, No. Brinnie is still in Chester. That's why she had to leave early, because their schedules are different.

Thanks.

Also, I noticed that this question thread is quite a bit longer than the old one was when people decided to move to this one. Do you want someone to create a new one, or should we stick with this.

[ferrusdominus]

Tom Seems to be in a generous mood with answers. So ill just ask:

Is Surma a Psychopomp?

[biggerj]

I, too, shall be daringly direct:

Is Mr. Thorn Thor?

[Tom Siddell]

Apr 3, 2009 8:20:45 GMT ferrusdominus said:

Tom Seems to be in a generous mood with answers. So ill just ask:

Is Surma a Psychopomp?

No.

[Tom Siddell]

Apr 3, 2009 8:50:08 GMT biggerj said:

I, too, shall be daringly direct:

Is Mr. Thorn Thor?

No.

[Azeltir]

This is playing a little like Twenty Questions, but: is Mr. Thorn a Dragon Slayer?

Ben

[Tom Siddell]

He was introduced less than 24 hours ago. There are more pages to the comic in the future.

[penguinfactory]

Apr 3, 2009 16:10:57 GMT Tom Siddell said:

He was introduced less than 24 hours ago. There are more pages to the comic in the future.

This is probably treading into plot territory, but has Coyote arrived at the Woods at the time that all of this is happening?

[digikitty]

Is Hyland related to Winsbury at all? (or do they just share similar personalities?)

[ceallaso]

I know this is a little off-topic, but Tom, this is why you can't have a "Questions to the Author" thread that lets everyone talk about the comic. I'm sure everyone appreciates it, but then they start asking you questions you don't want to answer, and not answering makes them suspicious, and it takes the fun out of the whole thing. I don't mean to tell you what to do, and I'm sure you've realized all this, but I thought I'd bring it up anyway.

But this is a question thread, so I'll ask: How are you? Have things been well? Is your "real" work looking like it'll come along soon, or is there still a lot to get done?

[Azeltir]

Apr 3, 2009 20:54:23 GMT ceallaso said:

I know this is a little off-topic, but Tom, this is why you can't have a "Questions to the Author" thread that lets everyone talk about the comic. I'm sure everyone appreciates it, but then they start asking you questions you don't want to answer, and not answering makes them suspicious, and it takes the fun out of the whole thing. I don't mean to tell you what to do, and I'm sure you've realized all this, but I thought I'd bring it up anyway.

If you haven't noticed, most of the rest of the people who write in this thread deeply appreciate Tom's answers when they come - they do not "take the fun out" of anything. If you don't appreciate this dialogue between creator and fandom, that's cool, but I don't understand why you'd want Tom to stop it.

Anyway, thanks for your responses Tom. Even your "Read And Find Out" 's are entertaining to read.

Ben

[ceallaso]

I meant taking the fun out of it for Tom himself, and I wouldn't have him stop; as I had implied (if not outright said) before, I'm not one to tell him what to do. It's not about me wanting him to stop, it's about wanting him to think about stopping for his own sake. No need to get defensive about the whole thing.

[Max]

Would you ever consider doing a comic in the style of this drawing of Zimmy from your DeviantArt account? Cause that would be awesome.

[preus]

Apr 4, 2009 0:11:30 GMT ceallaso said:

I meant taking the fun out of it for Tom himself, and I wouldn't have him stop; as I had implied (if not outright said) before, I'm not one to tell him what to do. It's not about me wanting him to stop, it's about wanting him to think about stopping for his own sake. No need to get defensive about the whole thing.

'for his own sake'? Like you know what how he feels about answering questions. He's quite a stoic person, and it's pure speculation what his feelings are about almost anything. If you have some special insight into the inner Tom, please share it with us. If not, kindly STFU. If anyone's taking the fun out of it, it's you.

[Tom Siddell]

Not helping, Preus. This topic ends here.

[Azeltir]

I'm hoping by topic you mean what we were just discussing, and not this thread, so I'm going to ask my next question.

I've observed one of your uStreams, and it was really cool. Is there any chance of you announcing those earlier in the week, or at least the previous day?

Ben

EDIT: Also, do you plan on linking to the steams' finished work from your main page?

[preus]

'm sry

[Tom Siddell]

Apr 3, 2009 19:54:05 GMT penguinfactory said:

Apr 3, 2009 16:10:57 GMT Tom Siddell said:

He was introduced less than 24 hours ago. There are more pages to the comic in the future.

This is probably treading into plot territory, but has Coyote arrived at the Woods at the time that all of this is happening?

Yes.

[Tom Siddell]

Apr 3, 2009 19:56:32 GMT digikitty said:

Is Hyland related to Winsbury at all? (or do they just share similar personalities?)

No.

[Tom Siddell]

Apr 4, 2009 2:49:39 GMT Max said:

Would you ever consider doing a comic in the style of this drawing of Zimmy from your DeviantArt account? Cause that would be awesome.

Yes I would consider it.

[Tom Siddell]

Apr 4, 2009 16:24:40 GMT Azeltir said:

I'm hoping by topic you mean what we were just discussing, and not this thread, so I'm going to ask my next question.

I've observed one of your uStreams, and it was really cool. Is there any chance of you announcing those earlier in the week, or at least the previous day?

Ben

EDIT: Also, do you plan on linking to the steams' finished work from your main page?

I'll try to announce them as soon as I know I'll be doing one. As was the case for the last one, I didn't know I was going to do it until five minutes before I started. I might announce a stream on the main page though, if I know ahead of time I'll do one. If whatever comes from the stream is worth looking at I'll link it somewhere. Probably Twitter.

[biggerj]

Does Ties take place before or after Gillitie and Gunnerkrigg began their 'permanent exchange program' (the 'program' Aly and the Suicide Fairies were involved in)?

Did either of Aly's parents go to Gunnerkrigg Court as kids?

Have any members of Gunnerkrigg Court's faculty ever become residents of Gillitie via the 'exchange program'?

Has anyone uninvolved with Gunnerkrigg Court ever become residents of Gillitie via the 'exchange program'?

If the answer to the previous question is 'yes', which is more common: Gunnerkrigg students/faculty becoming residents of Gillitie, or people outside of Gunnerkrigg doing so?

[alteseisen]

What accents do the main cast have? We know Surma and Annie's, but what about Anthony, Anja, Donald, Eglamore, Kat, and Jones? Right now I'm just giving them all (except Anja) an Estuary English accent, and somehow I doubt that's correct.

[Ulysses]

Apr 6, 2009 7:15:19 GMT alteseisen said:

What accents do the main cast have? We know Surma and Annie's, but what about Anthony, Anja, Donald, Eglamore, Kat, and Jones? Right now I'm just giving them all (except Anja) an Estuary English accent, and somehow I doubt that's correct.

I want Eglamore to be Scottish

Also, a question:

Are any of the characters based on people you know?

[duohimura]

Hm... not sure if this has come up before or not, but...

Why is there a plaque in the school that reads "Dulce et Decorum"? The full line where that phrase comes from translates out to "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country," which seems... like a very grim sort of message for a school to have hanging around. Is it just another of the Court's eccentricities, or is it hinting at a past war or something, where that sentiment was used to recruit? (Though I'd understand if you didn't want to answer that one due to spoilers) Or is it just a convenient thing to have in a part of the school where the resident ghost likes to hang out?

[Miri]

A matter of fangirlish curiosity (because they're just that cute):

How old were Anja and Donald when they got married?

[nikita]

Hey Tom,
I saw the last ustream and noticed that you're using a pencil-style brush. Is that a dual brush or a brush with some other kind of structure?