Gunnerkrigg Court: the teenaged years?

[todd]

At present, Annie and Kat are (and have been since the start of the webcomic) children or pre-adolescents, aged around 11 or 12. But Tom's hinted at times that the characters will gradually age, so it's likely that they'll be teenagers later on in the story.

I confess to being curious (and mildly apprehensive, at times) over how that will be done. A lot of "Gunnerkrigg Court" so far has struck me as revolving around the themes and conditions of childhood. The school is a mysterious, creepy enormous place, and many of its adult residents (such as the man in the cherry tree room in Chapter Six and the recruiting officers that came for Zimmy and Gamma) have an almost blurred feeling about them - the way that a child might see authority figures, strange and threatening. Annie's inner troubles are child-themed, revolving around the loss of her mother (a child's nightmare).

So what happens when our leads become adolescents? Will the atmosphere of "Gunnerkrigg Court" be able to adapt itself to this alteration? So far, Tom's shown himself to be a very good storyteller, one whom I believe would be capable of making such an adaptation and handling it convincingly. (And this isn't the first time that such a thing has been done: the Harry Potter series has also moved its protagonist from childhood to adolescent and allowed the concerns of the story to change accordingly.)

One feature of adolescence is rebellion against one's parents or authority figures, and I think that there is a good possibility of this theme to work its way into the story. Annie's father has abandoned her, and at present, her response was one of grief and loss. But when she gets older, will she go from being sad about it to being angry? It certainly seems feasible. (For that matter, what if Annie finds out what the connection was between Surma and Reynardine, and it turns out to reveal a dark side to her mother that she finds very disturbing?) Also, she is already having difficulty getting along with one of the authority figures in the school: Mr. Eglamore. Chapter Nine makes this clear, particularly in her response to his suggestion that what she did wrong was getting caught breaking the school rules rather than actually breaking them, and in her keeping secret from him her past link to Robot. Could things get even worse after Annie enters her teens? We will have to see.

The other obvious feature of adolescence is the hormones issue. So far, I doubt that Annie's going to start noticing boys (as I've mentioned before, she has a strongly asexual tone to her character, as shown in her response whenever Kat talks about her crush on Eglamore), even after she becomes a teenager - unless, of course, it's treated as part of the "healing process", like the scene in Chapter Six when she finally starts to cry over Surma's death. (Though I recently began wondering if there'll wind up being a clash between two boys over Annie, as an echo to that of Anthony and James over Surma.) Kat having a boy-friend, on the other hand, I can easily imagine.

But we'll just have to wait and see.

[AluK]

I think that Annie's relationship with Mr. Eglamore will get way worse before it gets any better. The two of them must overcome their issues with the other. Then they may develop an interesting friendship, as, probably, James knew Surma very well.

By the way, on a semi-unrelated side-note, it's just me or young Eglamore had that look of a problem-student? You know, the one who attends the classes but barely has any interest on them. The detached boy.

[Myrani]

By the way, on a semi-unrelated side-note, it's just me or young Eglamore had that look of a problem-student? You know, the one who attends the classes but barely has any interest on them. The detached boy.

Not just you... he does look like he might have been the detached sort of boy in the classroom, the really smart one who doesn't have much in the way of motivation to show his intelligence. Perhaps because class didn't challenge him enough from the beginning.

I'm wondering what'll happen about Anthony as time progresses... As the story sits now, in lesser hands it could have the unfortunate potential to gradually turn into one of those tired old adolescent-reuniting-with-daddy dramas, but we have more faith in Tom than that.

Also, just a side note about Annie and her apparent lack of crushes: I was pretty much the same way about it at her age, and so I don't tend to see it as being asexual, personally. I never really had any crushes, partly because I couldn't be bothered, and partly because there wasn't anyone around who I liked enough in that way.

[waruitanuki]

Personally, I think it will be interesting if Annie starts getting affected by hormones. I think the discrepancy between her normally logical and rational behavior and the nervousness and sort of lose of control that comes with puberty hormones would create an interesting dynamic. And if she doesn't get affected by hormones at all, I'd find that a little hard to believe. Obviously we've got all these ghosts and Guides and robots and shadows and things running around, but the characters all seem believable human on some level.

Off topic edit: What's up with the Google ads on this page? They're all about eating disorders.

[alexthegreater]

Its Antimony not anorexia.

[todd]

Yes, maybe I was too quick to assume that Annie will remain uninterested in boys as an adolescent - particularly since we know how much she takes after Surma, who did fall in love with and marry Anthony.

Of course, neither of the two boys that we've already met at the school seem like viable candidates. Sullivan's John has (at present) far too little characterization to be a worthy partner for our lead, and as for Winsbury, I certainly can't imagine Annie wanting to go out with him (which is just as well, for a reason that begins with a "J" and ends with an "anet").

Of course, there's always Mort - though the fact that he's a ghost means that dinner dates are definitely not an option, unless it's a table for one. (Or unless it turns out that ghosts can eat.) In light of the expression on Kat's face when she found out about his crush on Annie in Chapter Nine, of course, I can easily imagine her happily setting the two of them up.

[rastarogue]

I think that Tom will handle adolesence with the same amazing storyutelling we have come to expect from him.
I expect Annie to have some hormonal urges, but I do not think/hope that they will become the center of the story for more then a chapter.

[owl]

I dunno. Annie really does seem asexual....I have a hard time wrapping my head around her having hormonal issues. I think its more likely that her NOT having hormonal urges will become perhaps the focus of a chapter.

[trevor]

I think this story would flourish with an older Annie as it has with her at present. Her character will continue to grow and become more fascinating, and we will begin to see the details that have not become obvious yet.
Regarding Annie's apparent asexuality, I think it is more likely due to her age, and her current emotional state, which is still pretty much blocked out by concealed grief. There's no room for romantic interest in her emotional capacity, and it may be a long, long time before she is able to get around her grief, or possibly even increase her emotional capacity to fit new emotions as necessary

[trevor]

Also, she may ignore guys, but they are unlikely to continue to ignore her.
I expect Annie will handle this situation just as gracefully as all the others she's been through so far.

[todd]

trevor said:

Also, she may ignore guys, but they are unlikely to continue to ignore her.
I expect Annie will handle this situation just as gracefully as all the others she's been through so far.

Yes, given how pretty Annie is, I certainly wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the boys in her class start noticing her once they enter puberty (unless her ever-so-serious-beyond-her-years attitude scares them off - which it probably might).

And I agree that it would be a lot of fun to see Annie handling that.

[Aspen d'Grey]

I think she'll move away from the asexual kind of attitude we've seen her in so far... After all, she does put on makeup (although, that might be because of her mother- see Alchemy thread) so she might display some interest.

[julieth]

I think Kat's going to be friends with boys rather than going out with them. She seems like she'd worry that she's not pretty enough to get a boy (she's already touchy about her nose).
I also think it would be interesting if Gamma got dates and Zimmy didn't. Face it, Zimmy's not exactly a romantic dream...but it would show a new dynamic to their relationship, especially since they're so devoted to each other.
Random spectutation, all of this.

[aoeniac]

I think I'd rather have the comic continue in a timeless sort of manner. That is to say, no matter how many days Tom makes comics, the characters never grow up.

[Yin]

But then they'd never have any real character development

[aoeniac]

Adolescence is probably the most interesting part of life, in retrospect.

[La Poire]

aoeniac said:

I think I'd rather have the comic continue in a timeless sort of manner. That is to say, no matter how many days Tom makes comics, the characters never grow up.

I really hope this is not the case, and I doubt, considering the plot of the comic, that it is. The comic is largely story-driven, and passage of real time is essential to keep the story believable (which is not the same as realistic). For something like Calvin and Hobbes, it's okay to have Calvin remain six years old forever even though time seems to pass, as the focus is not really on Calvin but on being six years old. For anything with a real, continuous storyline and character development, passage of time is a necessity. Not that this would have to make a great impact of the story, everything we've seen so far could probably have happened in a month (although I doubt it). Aside from this, apparently Annie & co will change dorms next year, which is evidence that next year will in fact exist.

[waruitanuki]

aoeniac said:

Adolescence is probably the most interesting part of life, in retrospect.

Sweet monkey Christ, I hope not.

I agree with La Poire. You can't have a real story with any sense of continuity if no time actually passes.

About Annie being "asexual," first I'm going to have to needlessly nitpick about terminology. Sorry, I can't help it. Annie is not asexual. Or at least I assume she won't be budding, or reproducing through binary fission. Though I guess she does look a lot like her mom, so maybe... Nah, that belongs in the wild speculation thread. Anyway, she's almost certainly sexual. The sex in question being "female." Again, sorry about that.

As far as her current (lack of) feelings towards the opposite sex, she could just be a late bloomer. It's not necessarily a matter of her personality, it could just be that she's prepubescent.

[monkeybucks]

I agree that Annie will end up having crushes and everything. Really, it is probably either because she is still growing up, or that she is going through a phase. Otherwise though, I'm not sure that she will be too popular with the boys. Firstly she might be seen as a little wise for her age, which could either scare them off, or make her a little picky. And secondly, let me tell you the pale skin and red hair look isn't exactly popular right now! Haha. No really though, I'm sure she will end up finding the perfect man. What I hope it doesn't turn into is a big "ohmigosh lyk totally bob dumped me kat ohnoes wat do i doooo"

[yeochild]

They are aging, but I don't think they're doing it very fast. I wouldn't think that more than a month or two has passed since Annie arrived at the school. So Tom prolly won't have to deal with adolescent Annie for at least a year or two in our time.

[mrw]

Here's some scenarios I can picture, based on my impressions of the characters so far: Of course this is all just tongue-in-cheek ;D

Annie is already too mature for crushes, and when puberty hits she handles it with the same cool level-headedness that she has everything else. She enjoys going on "dates" with Mort, where she can let her guard down a bit.

Kat runs into heartbreak fairly quickly, with her first same-age crush rejecting her because he's intimidated by how much smarter and lively she is than he. But she recovers quickly - her spirit is too strong to keep down for long.

Annie and Kat's friendship goes through a tough period as Kat reacts emotionally to Annie's gentle and well-intentioned attempts to make her feel better. "How can you say that?? You've never even HAD a boyfriend!!" Annie in turn gets a bit frustrated with Kat's inability to see the situation logically. But she's patient as always, and cooler heads prevail.

Janet and Winsbury continue to keep their relationship a secret, thoroughly fooling everyone around them. Janet's awesomeness intimidates most other possible suitors, and Winsbury deviously arranges unfortunate mishaps for those remaining, leaving them looking like fools in Janet's icy green eyes.

Zimmy and Gamma are avoided by most everyone, which suits Zimmy just fine. Gamma develops a crush-from-afar on a nice boy (perhaps Sullivan's John?), but never acts on it because she realizes her true devotion is to Zimmy's welfare. She is way too giving to put herself first.
Zimmy does find herself the object of a naive wannabe goth boy's attention (who thinks she's just putting on an act), but she brings a quick end to that by luring him alone somewhere and scaring the everloving bejeezus out of him. Zimmy is highly amused. Gamma not so much.

[clyon]

I think I could probably picture something really heavy going down (as an end to a chapter), and then Tom pulling a "3 years later" kinda deal on us. Know what I mean?

as a side note I absolutely adore Calvin and Hobbes. </ot>

[Uglyhead]

I wonder how Mort will be handled. I get the feeling that you probably stop aging when you're a ghost, and as Mort acts pretty young, the little guy may be left behind as everybody else grows up.

[julieth]

I asked Tom on the "ask Tom" thread (how appropriate), and he said that the characters will definately age, so there's that put to rest...

[yeochild]

Ignore my last post. Apparently they're halfway through their first year and will soon be going onto the next.

I don't see Annie as ever being any more or less rebellious than she is now. When her plans and ideals are at odds with those of the teachers, she doesn't even seem to register it as a problem. But she would never do something because everyone else doesn't: "don't fix what ain't broke".

As for her finding love, it'll probably take at least another year or two. And it almost certainly won't be with Mort; though it'll be fun to see how the little guy reacts when she introduces him to her new boyfriend.

[todd]

mrw said:

Annie is already too mature for crushes, and when puberty hits she handles it with the same cool level-headedness that she has everything else. She enjoys going on "dates" with Mort, where she can let her guard down a bit.

I like that notion myself. (Dates with a ghost, as I said before, can be interesting; for one thing, dinner dates will probably be out of the question since I doubt that ghosts eat, even at Gunnerkrigg Court.)

[mrw]

yeochild said:

As for her finding love, it'll probably take at least another year or two. And it almost certainly won't be with Mort; though it'll be fun to see how the little guy reacts when she introduces him to her new boyfriend.

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply she would fall in love with Mort, more that she would humor him as a friend and spend time with him. I think he'd appreciate her taking time for him. That's why I put "dates" in quotes.

Todd, I liked your analysis at the beginning of this thread. I doubt we've got anything to worry about as the aging progresses, though. I don't think we'll lose the Annie we love. Tom wouldn't do that to her. (well, I don't think he would...)

[julieth]

Minor character speculation:
Zimmy's gonna be a problem teen, of course, as is Winsbury...I think in terms of rebellion, they'll be the worst.
Paz is going to be popular with the boys...note the pretty spanish eyes.
Winsbury and Janet are going to probably start dating for real soon. I kind of view their relationship as something not that serious (When you're 11 or 12 you don't really "date" as such), but I can see them getting serious when they're a bit older, like 15 or so.

[Ben²]

Continuing on that idea, I kinda get the feeling that Janet and Winsbury would be a great couple. And not just because they're kinda similar.

See, what I'm getting at is this: even though they are generally unpleasant and unlikable, none of it will affect their relationship. Against all odds, they will share an amount of trust and compassion for each other that everyone will be jealous of. They don't just deserve each other, they will be inseparable through all plights.

[La Poire]

I bet Winsbury and Janet will have the kind of relationship where they try to outdo each other, and even when their relationship becomes common knowledge they'll keep acting as enemies in public.