|
|
Post by Eversist on May 29, 2020 22:17:36 GMT
And now we wait over the weekend, to get an explanation for the temporal tomfoolery. I'm sure, Tom doesn't plan out the timing of these teases. Though, it sure seems like it, sometimes. I don't know about Tom, but if I were doing a three-pages-a-week comic I would definitely be thinking in terms of three-page blocks. Whether I left the third page in a cliffhanger would depend on the flow of the story, but I would certainly be aware of it. It might be interesting to go back through the archive to determine whether the Friday posts were more (or less) likely to be cliffhanger-y than other days. To do it right you'd have to rate each page without knowing its posting day, though. And deciding what counts as a cliffhanger/tease is pretty subjective, especially when you know what happens next. Hmm.
I thiiiink Tom has said in the past the only purposeful page planning he does is chapter having an even amount of pages (if you count the bonus)...? So that the new chapter title pages land on the right-hand page in the books. And I think he's outright claimed that he doesn't purposefully put cliffhanger pages over the weekends. I cannot rustle up my sources though, sorry. I feel it's more a coincidence more often than not, and when we call it out, we're noticing/assigning it "cliffhanger-ness" because it's Friday, not the other way around.  And if you think about it, with updates three days a week... that's a pretty big chance of leaving *something* narratively hanging for the weekend. I just want more of the story, so every day feels like a cliffhanger to me. Hah. |
|
|
|
Post by Runningflame on May 29, 2020 23:03:41 GMT
Yeah--if either Monday or Wednesday's page had posted on a Friday, we would've called it a cliffhanger just the same. I feel like this page is less of a cliffhanger than either of those, in that it doesn't introduce a big twist: Kat's in the middle of an explanation and we've paused for a joke; her explanation will continue on the next page.
|
|
|
|
Post by DonDueed on May 29, 2020 23:47:12 GMT
Man, I absolutely cannot wait to see what Tom has to say in the retrospective video for this chapter. I hope Marigold has some good questions in mind. Heck, maybe Tom could let us submit some question suggestions too!
|
|
|
|
Post by maxptc on May 30, 2020 0:30:05 GMT
So I dunno how I feel about Kat having started this whole situation. I mean at least partially, this all happened because a bird started growing/taking root right? www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=276So like, what's up with your bird taking root and probing stuff Kat? Kinda getting worried. |
|
|
|
Post by mturtle7 on May 30, 2020 1:23:49 GMT
So, is the Bootstrap still in play? It's sort of an indirect Bootstrap, if Annie gave her enough of a description to inspire her to make designs for the bird. I think the discovery is the realization that "gosh golly, I built the thing which saved Annie!" Welp, looks like I was in fact completely off base in that post I made on the last page thread! Haha, sorry about that.
On a related note, I'm really enjoying the sensation of being repeatedly, completely, blindsided by every single page for the past week. I wonder how long this is going to keep up?
|
|
|
|
Post by basser on May 30, 2020 1:39:14 GMT
You know actually now that I think about it, Kat already knows exactly how she's going to send the bird back in time, else she wouldn't have said "they are all this same robot" - time travel robo-bird duplication is way too complex and outlandish a theory for her to have jumped to that first. So she knows what's about to happen. And she don't like it much.
I reckon she had an idea for a way to screw with the flow of time, found either the concept or the technique existentially and/or morally uncomfortable, built herself a bird to avoid thinking about it, then saw what she'd made and was like "ah shit".
|
|
|
|
Post by jda on May 30, 2020 2:07:47 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by netherdan on May 30, 2020 4:14:46 GMT
Narrator: "Have you been scanning the skies for excitement?" Seductive Whisper: "Wings away..." Narrator: "Looking for something cute to tickle your fancy?" Seductive Whisper: "Birds of a feather..." Narrator: "You can count on Winger to connect you with your aviary dream." *A Tik-Toc joltingly winks to the camera, in a frighteningly twitchy manner* Narrator: "Hurry. Time's not the only thing ticking." I don't mean to kink shame, but things may be getting weird in the timestream. And now we wait over the weekend, to get an explanation for the temporal tomfoolery. I'm sure, Tom doesn't plan out the timing of these teases. Though, it sure seems like it, sometimes. Oh God! And the Tic-Toc wink is an aperture mechanism but somehow the production of the ad managed to make it seem "flirty" |
|
|
|
Post by netherdan on May 30, 2020 4:33:50 GMT
I feel it's more a coincidence more often than not, and when we call it out, we're noticing/assigning it "cliffhanger-ness" because it's Friday, not the other way around. And if you think about it, with updates three days a week... that's a pretty big chance of leaving *something* narratively hanging for the weekend. I just want more of the story, so every day feels like a cliffhanger to me. Hah. Yeah--if either Monday or Wednesday's page had posted on a Friday, we would've called it a cliffhanger just the same. I feel like this page is less of a cliffhanger than either of those, in that it doesn't introduce a big twist: Kat's in the middle of an explanation and we've paused for a joke; her explanation will continue on the next page. Yeah, you need a cliff to hang before you call it a cliffhanger so it naturally happens when the expected gap is bigger than usual |
|
|
|
Post by Nnelg on May 30, 2020 5:35:09 GMT
Hmm, when was the last time Kat did that? I think it was fixing the golem. But before that, it was the Antigrav device.
I've always suspected that Kat's got a "Spark" power, where she can make machines that are physically impossible. I wonder if she just realized this by accidentally inventing time travel...
|
|
|
|
Post by imaginaryfriend on May 30, 2020 14:51:21 GMT
Hmm, when was the last time Kat did that? I think it was fixing the golem. But before that, it was the Antigrav device. She also built her computer. I strongly doubt she built it from scratch except for a few key parts, but I also strongly doubt she built the Toc entirely from scratch (except for a few key parts). She used her mom's notes on matter transference and Diego's arrow as opposed to her own notes from when she was younger. It sure sounds like she didn't make this Toc for any particular purpose aside from enjoyment, though. Hopefully next comic we'll learn what making the Toc led her to discover. |
|
|
|
Post by gpvos on May 30, 2020 17:23:59 GMT
Okay, Kat has invented time travel, or will so soon. Can I put in an order for a time machine? It needs just two buttons: jump forward 47 and 71 hours.
|
|
|
|
Post by Gemini Jim on May 30, 2020 18:41:26 GMT
Okay, Kat has invented time travel, or will so soon. Can I put in an order for a time machine? It needs just two buttons: jump forward 47 and 71 hours. If jumping forward is all you need, what you need is general anesthesia, not a time machine.  |
|
|
|
Post by netherdan on May 30, 2020 19:22:11 GMT
She also built her computer. I strongly doubt she built it from scratch except for a few key parts, but I also strongly doubt she built the Toc entirely from scratch (except for a few key parts). She used her mom's notes on matter transference and Diego's arrow as opposed to her own notes from when she was younger. It sure sounds like she didn't make this Toc for any particular purpose aside from enjoyment, though. Hopefully next comic we'll learn what making the Toc led her to discover. Okay, Kat has invented time travel, or will so soon. I'm pretty sure the discovery was that she invented time travel for some reason, possibly to spy on the Court's past without interference, and consequently at some point had to (or will have to) choose between saving Annie and [here be wildspec] keep their current timeline or choose not to save Annie and prevent the whole Loup war (which probably had more than 1 casualties). And to actually know this she must have figured out how to receive information from the past, or at least decrypt said information stored in Anja's computer, hear me out: The dead Tic-Toc rooted itself into the shore and started building an antenna, so it probably sent information somewhere before Ysengrin destroyed it. That somewhere was most likely Anja's computer since Kat's didn't exist at the time. So either the newly built Tic-Toc had, upon activation, instantly filled up its log archive with its entire history via a trans-temporal internet connection to his other instances scattered through time, or, more plausibly, retrieved said log from Anja's computer sent by its very last instance. Either alternative presents yet another bootstrap paradox because the robot bird now has all the information on its own actions before they even happen, so where did the information come from? PS: I hope Annie somehow talks to Kat about Coyote's motivation for this whole plan so she realizes that she can't prevent Loup being born and letting Annie die will only makes things worse |
|
|
|
Post by Igniz on May 31, 2020 3:29:21 GMT
Kat's been sending the same robot to the past over, and over, and over... At this pace, it could turn out that Diego's robots are actually based on her designs.
|
|
|
|
Post by arcuna on May 31, 2020 13:57:36 GMT
The dead Tic-Toc rooted itself into the shore and started building an antenna, so it probably sent information somewhere before Ysengrin destroyed it. That somewhere was most likely Anja's computer since Kat's didn't exist at the time. So either the newly built Tic-Toc had, upon activation, instantly filled up its log archive with its entire history via a trans-temporal internet connection to his other instances scattered through time, or, more plausibly, retrieved said log from Anja's computer sent by its very last instance. Either alternative presents yet another bootstrap paradox because the robot bird now has all the information on its own actions before they even happen, so where did the information come from? Ooh good catch! What if the Tic Toc actually had no time-travel abilities when Kat built it, but as soon as she switched it on it received a signal sent through time by the Tic-Toc-turned-transmitter at the shore? This signal could contain info about everything the Tic Toc found in the past, including info on how to send it back in time, meaning Kat hasn't actually sent it back yet but knows precisely what she has to do. This is nuts! (And, again, a proper bootstrap paradox  ) |
|
|
|
Post by migrantworker on Jun 1, 2020 8:37:42 GMT
(...) The dead Tic-Toc rooted itself into the shore and started building an antenna, so it probably sent information somewhere before Ysengrin destroyed it. That somewhere was most likely Anja's computer since Kat's didn't exist at the time. (...) Which could also explain how the shield protocol was put into the robots without anybody realising: that too was Kat's doing. (I mean, it will turn out to be.) Once she gained access to her mother's computer to upload data onto it, she might as well have tried to get some data from it. And which bit of information would your future self like to have access to, knowing that there will be a supernatural attack on your home? The past Kat (i.e. as shown on that page) would not know about her future self's actions yet, so she didn't even have to lie. |
|
|
|
Post by pyradonis on Jun 1, 2020 10:53:50 GMT
(...) The dead Tic-Toc rooted itself into the shore and started building an antenna, so it probably sent information somewhere before Ysengrin destroyed it. That somewhere was most likely Anja's computer since Kat's didn't exist at the time. (...) Which could also explain how the shield protocol was put into the robots without anybody realising: that too was Kat's doing. (I mean, it will turn out to be.) Once she gained access to her mother's computer to upload data onto it, she might as well have tried to get some data from it. And which bit of information would your future self like to have access to, knowing that there will be a supernatural attack on your home? The past Kat (i.e. as shown on that page) would not know about her future self's actions yet, so she didn't even have to lie. Actually, I hope that's not the case. It would not be very satisfying if every remaining mystery would just be explained with "Kat did it via time travel." |
|
|
|
Post by mturtle7 on Jun 2, 2020 18:03:51 GMT
Which could also explain how the shield protocol was put into the robots without anybody realising: that too was Kat's doing. (I mean, it will turn out to be.) Once she gained access to her mother's computer to upload data onto it, she might as well have tried to get some data from it. And which bit of information would your future self like to have access to, knowing that there will be a supernatural attack on your home? The past Kat (i.e. as shown on that page) would not know about her future self's actions yet, so she didn't even have to lie. Actually, I hope that's not the case. It would not be very satisfying if every remaining mystery would just be explained with "Kat did it via time travel." Aw come on, that's not every remaining mystery! The shield protocol is clearly strongly related to Kat and the robots, so it's not that shocking for her to have done something there with time travel. And there's still plenty of mysteries out there that are nowhere near as directly related to Kat: Annie's weird psychopomp/seer/medium status, the purpose of the Court & their designs on Annie, the Omega device, the Seed Bismuth, the purpose of Coyote's remaining gifts (tooth & lake water), etc. |
|
|
|
Post by pyradonis on Jun 3, 2020 7:22:47 GMT
Actually, I hope that's not the case. It would not be very satisfying if every remaining mystery would just be explained with "Kat did it via time travel." Aw come on, that's not every remaining mystery! The shield protocol is clearly strongly related to Kat and the robots, so it's not that shocking for her to have done something there with time travel. And there's still plenty of mysteries out there that are nowhere near as directly related to Kat: Annie's weird psychopomp/seer/medium status, the purpose of the Court & their designs on Annie, the Omega device, the Seed Bismuth, the purpose of Coyote's remaining gifts (tooth & lake water), etc. The shield seems related more to Anja than Kat, after all, it is Anja's shield. |
|
|
|
Post by wies on Jun 3, 2020 10:27:30 GMT
When I saw that shield, it reminded me of this page. It is also confirmed by Tony that it is Anja's shielding technology. So I agree with pyradonis here. |
|
And if you think about it, with updates three days a week... that's a pretty big chance of leaving *something* narratively hanging for the weekend.
)
