|
|
Post by wies on Aug 12, 2020 7:03:54 GMT
Intrigued by the "younger than ususal", does this mean they got visits from the older Kat in the future, or since this is a loop, Kat discovered the Tic-Toc's origin only when she was older in the earlier loops and went to them? |
|
|
|
Post by madjack on Aug 12, 2020 7:06:06 GMT
That 'must have already happened' line explains Anja's knowing smile, I guess? Edit: Intrigued by the "younger than ususal", does this mean they got visits from the older Kat in the future, or since this is a loop, Kat discovered the Tic-Toc's origin only when she was older in the earlier loops and went to them? I think it means that this is the first of many visits in this timeline, so Kat's got a lot of work to do in the future. |
|
|
|
Post by arf on Aug 12, 2020 7:09:38 GMT
"Hmm, a little younger than usual."
That might be a hint as to where to start this conversation.
Also a hint that Brinnie's going to become a regular feature (even if it's in the background with Becky)
I like UrdKat's little shoulder cape.
|
|
|
|
Post by arf on Aug 12, 2020 7:12:42 GMT
I wonder what Anja's prior dealings with the Norns have been? Clearly not direct, or she wouldn't have been surprised by their appearance (unless it's a 'recent' thing).
|
|
|
|
Post by blahzor on Aug 12, 2020 7:21:27 GMT
she went once awhile ago in the future a few times
|
|
|
|
Post by Fishy on Aug 12, 2020 7:21:44 GMT
Just wanna mention I appreciate the Norns appearance changing between panels depending on who's speaking.
|
|
|
|
Post by blahzor on Aug 12, 2020 7:22:45 GMT
I wonder what Anja's prior dealings with the Norns have been? Clearly not direct, or she wouldn't have been surprised by their appearance (unless it's a 'recent' thing). or maybe stories Brinnie have told or the tick-toc's directed her to books about tem |
|
|
|
Post by Eily on Aug 12, 2020 7:51:18 GMT
Intrigued by the "younger than ususal", does this mean they got visits from the older Kat in the future, or since this is a loop, Kat discovered the Tic-Toc's origin only when she was older in the earlier loops and went to them? I interpreted it as several visits in several timelines, but your interpretations also make sense. I'm guessing we won't have a straight answer though; the Ether basically runs on mystery and ambiguity so I'm expecting just enough information for the story to make sense, but no more than that. I'm wondering how much Anja actually knew, and how much is an educated guess. Did she just deduce from the facts that Kat "obviously" sent the Tic Tocs through time, and she needed help with that that she needed to have some help from the Norns, and therefore it must have already happened, or did she already know that Kat had some history with them? I doubt it's the latter, since she first got confused when she learned that Kat created the Tic Tocs. |
|
|
|
Post by arkadi on Aug 12, 2020 9:04:13 GMT
Well, so far the Norns seem friendlier than nearly every other etheric being we've met so far. I wonder what kind of deal Kat will get from them.
|
|
|
|
Post by King Mir on Aug 12, 2020 9:55:54 GMT
I interpreted the several visits as several timelines too.
It seems Anja's approach is "time problems? lets consult a time god." followed by the thought: "will they talk to us? they probably already did!" I think it might have been possible for Anja to pick the wrong time manipulating entity, but since she's the same person in each timeline, she would almost always think of the same entity. It would be plausible that instead of consulting the Norns, Kat prayed at a shrine to Chronos in at least one variant timeline, and I'm not sure what would prevent that. Anja knowing Brinnie really makes the Norns the most likely entity to consult. The possibilities here that I can thin of are 1)there are few enough timelines that Kat has not consulted any other entities, because the probability of doing so is low. 2) Kat is fated to consult the Norns, so timelines where she consults Chronos without consulting the Norns do not exist, even if the number of timelines is very large or infinite, 3) Kat does consult Chronos, and he helps her too sometimes, 4) Kat does try to consult Chronos in some timelines, but some etheric convention means only one pantheon will actually help her, and that's the germanic Norns.
Note: I'm not actually sure that Chronos would be the right God in the Greek pantheon to consult, but the point is the same regardless of alternate deity.
The other thing this page reveals is how the Norns seem to perceive time. They apparently have memories of other timelines, which the refer to in the past tense. It's uncertain if they remember all other timelines, or a subset. They therefore probably have experience with other time loops, but they may or may not know how this one ends and if it ends at all. The choice of past tense here weakly suggests that maybe they remember a subset of timelines, because that's more similar to our experience of time; if the Norns said "you come to us many times" that would more strongly emphasize their difference, and therefore that they are aware of all timelines.
|
|
|
|
Post by ekimie on Aug 12, 2020 11:15:45 GMT
Maybe the Norns do not perceive time like we do. More like all time is happening at the same time somewhere.
The tic-tocs are already in the past of the Kat we journey with. Therefore the Norns know about it and have seen a Kat about it, the future that has to happen yet for this Kat has already happened for them Norns? Because it is at the same time for them, instead of 'first happens this, then happens that' as our time works.
|
|
|
|
Post by Gemminie on Aug 12, 2020 13:14:57 GMT
Intrigued by the "younger than ususal", does this mean they got visits from the older Kat in the future, or since this is a loop, Kat discovered the Tic-Toc's origin only when she was older in the earlier loops and went to them? The latter is how I interpret it. I suppose it's possible that the Norns don't experience time linearly, but even if Urd were talking about visits from older Kat in the future, that seems like very strange wording. So it sounds to me like she's talking about multiple timelines. And this raises the question of why Kat's younger in this timeline, meaning that she's come to the Norns earlier than she has in other go-rounds. Could it be that Loup's trick only happens this time, so the existence of two Annies spurred Kat to look into this sooner rather than later? I wonder what Anja's prior dealings with the Norns have been? Clearly not direct, or she wouldn't have been surprised by their appearance (unless it's a 'recent' thing). or maybe stories Brinnie have told or the tick-toc's directed her to books about tem That's the simplest answer to this one, I think. Brinnie probably mentioned them at some point during the years they were in school together. I interpreted the several visits as several timelines too. It seems Anja's approach is "time problems? lets consult a time god." followed by the thought: "will they talk to us? they probably already did!" I think it might have been possible for Anja to pick the wrong time manipulating entity, but since she's the same person in each timeline, she would almost always think of the same entity. It would be plausible that instead of consulting the Norns, Kat prayed at a shrine to Chronos in at least one variant timeline, and I'm not sure what would prevent that. Anja knowing Brinnie really makes the Norns the most likely entity to consult. The possibilities here that I can thin of are 1)there are few enough timelines that Kat has not consulted any other entities, because the probability of doing so is low. 2) Kat is fated to consult the Norns, so timelines where she consults Chronos without consulting the Norns do not exist, even if the number of timelines is very large or infinite, 3) Kat does consult Chronos, and he helps her too sometimes, 4) Kat does try to consult Chronos in some timelines, but some etheric convention means only one pantheon will actually help her, and that's the germanic Norns. Note: I'm not actually sure that Chronos would be the right God in the Greek pantheon to consult, but the point is the same regardless of alternate deity. The other thing this page reveals is how the Norns seem to perceive time. They apparently have memories of other timelines, which the refer to in the past tense. It's uncertain if they remember all other timelines, or a subset. They therefore probably have experience with other time loops, but they may or may not know how this one ends and if it ends at all. The choice of past tense here weakly suggests that maybe they remember a subset of timelines, because that's more similar to our experience of time; if the Norns said "you come to us many times" that would more strongly emphasize their difference, and therefore that they are aware of all timelines. Yes, given that Anja knew Brinnie, I think the most obvious line of reasoning would have been what you describe. "This explains the Tic-Toc showing us to the Tomb with the ancient robots in it," Anja seems to have thought. "But Kat doesn't know how to make that happen yet. That means that sooner or later she's going to learn how. But how will she learn? Oh wait, Brinnie mentioned the Norns more than once. And this would be a great excuse to see her again; I miss her!" It seems unlikely to me that Kat, with her logical approach to everything, would think of praying at a shrine as a solution to her problem. But who knows; in other timelines perhaps there aren't two Annies (or perhaps none at all), so she's older when she realizes that Annie has to be saved. She might not go to Anja with her questions and might come to the conclusion of trying to contact some mythological time-related entity, given that she's personally met other mythological entities. But then there's the question of how. Contacting the Norns through Brinnie is quite possibly the most direct line to a time-related entity (or set of entities) available to Kat. King Mir's final point is also interesting. Their use of the present perfect tense does imply that there are timelines that they don't yet know about, although I suppose they could be using it just as a means of expressing their perception of time in language that seems natural to their guests. |
|
|
|
Post by Alkazar on Aug 12, 2020 13:31:56 GMT
Even the highest Norse gods were never on such familiar terms with the Norns as Kat is. Another hint of the might of the entity she will become.
|
|
|
|
Post by ctso74 on Aug 12, 2020 13:38:22 GMT
If the Noms speak whatever language their audience does, I wonder which language is the worst to discuss time travel with? I can only imagine, that they have problems with tense no matter the language, but some languages must make them want to bast their heads against the longhall wall.
In case it hasn't been explicitly stated: It's rather pleasing, that one of the few times the main characters sought help from a human adult, it not only works out well, but we get story development. Maybe, we should assume they get help from their parents all the time, but it's not story relevant, so Tom never shows it?...
|
|
|
|
Post by verrenox on Aug 12, 2020 13:52:00 GMT
Okay, there is a really important panel on this page (I think, at least) that tells us how time travel works in the GKC universe.
The Norns see future, past, and present, and characters from different realities have identical counterparts. This would make sense that there are Norns in each alternate reality as well. In addition, as far as I know the Norn's in typical mythology don't have the ability to see other dimensions/realities. So then, if the Norns have met Kat many times and as Anja claims, this has already happened to the Norns, time travel in the GKC world does not create a divergent timeline. It's more of the Doctor Who self-fulfilling prophecy kind of time travel.
|
|
|
|
Post by pyradonis on Aug 12, 2020 16:19:33 GMT
Well, so far the Norns seem friendlier than nearly every other etheric being we've met so far. I wonder what kind of deal Kat will get from them. Hey, Mort was an Etheric being as well. |
|
|
|
Post by warrl on Aug 12, 2020 17:07:36 GMT
In case it hasn't been explicitly stated: It's rather pleasing, that one of the few times the main characters sought help from a human adult, it not only works out well, but we get story development. Maybe, we should assume they get help from their parents all the time, but it's not story relevant, so Tom never shows it?... He showed Donald helping Kat build her skycycle to rescue Annie. (Granted, as far as we know Kat didn't ask for his help - he just showed up and started helping.) |
|
|
|
Post by imaginaryfriend on Aug 12, 2020 22:59:10 GMT
Well, so far the Norns seem friendlier than nearly every other etheric being we've met so far. I wonder what kind of deal Kat will get from them. Hey, Mort was an Etheric being as well. Mort did try to scare people. He didn't really do it in a mean way but that still makes the Norns friendlier. They haven't tried to scare, eat enslave or kill anyone at all (so far). |
|
|
|
Post by blahzor on Aug 13, 2020 2:37:28 GMT
the tic-toks are never in the future, they are only ever in the past or present
|
|
|
|
Post by Gemini Jim on Aug 13, 2020 2:51:32 GMT
Seems like the most likely possibility is that the Norns can see the future as well as the past and the present at the same time. There's some definite Time Lord/ River Song vibes from these three.
Worst case scenario is, this is an Re:Zero situation where time has to keep looping until a solution is found for the Tic Toc/ Annies/ Loup problems.
Kat is "younger than usual" this time around because it took longer in the previous loops.
|
|
|
|
Post by King Mir on Aug 13, 2020 5:21:54 GMT
Hey, Mort was an Etheric being as well. Mort did try to scare people. He didn't really do it in a mean way but that still makes the Norns friendlier. They haven't tried to scare, eat enslave or kill anyone at all (so far). Basil was quite friendly once he got over being startled. Not every day someone agrees to be your show and tell project. But yeah, taking Kat as an old acquaintance is an interesting take. I guess this follows from literally being your own likeness, as much as from being entities of fate and time. |
|
|
|
Post by gpvos on Aug 13, 2020 14:48:34 GMT
They haven't tried to scare, eat enslave or kill anyone at all (so far). "So far" are the operative words in that sentence. |
|
|
|
Post by frogspawned on Aug 13, 2020 16:53:25 GMT
They haven't tried to scare, eat enslave or kill anyone at all (so far). "So far" are the operative words in that sentence. They will always have had done, eventually. |
|
|
|
Post by Runningflame on Aug 14, 2020 1:15:06 GMT
While y'all are discussing the nature of time and whether the Norns are as friendly as they appear, I'm just grinning at the cute tiny Katface peeking over the edge of panel 2.
|
|
|
|
Post by csj on Aug 14, 2020 6:07:54 GMT
#NotAllNorns
These three might be relatively benevolent or at least benign, but the same cannot be said for all the others - in mythos at least.
jǫtunn gonna jǫtunn
|
|
|
|
Post by pyradonis on Aug 14, 2020 8:30:41 GMT
Hey, Mort was an Etheric being as well. Mort did try to scare people. He didn't really do it in a mean way but that still makes the Norns friendlier. They haven't tried to scare, eat enslave or kill anyone at all (so far). True, but Mort did it because it was important work.  (Also I'm sure the Norns could tell you things scary enough make your hair turn white.) |
|
|
|
Post by ekimie on Aug 14, 2020 16:05:54 GMT
Mort did try to scare people. He didn't really do it in a mean way but that still makes the Norns friendlier. They haven't tried to scare, eat enslave or kill anyone at all (so far). True, but Mort did it because it was important work. (Also I'm sure the Norns could tell you things scary enough make your hair turn white.) Yes this ^ Personally I dont feel Mort can be counted with anything etheric BAD. He did it because he had been told it was a very important job. He was a kid who'd believe anything he was told about the afterlife. It's like telling your 4 year old to wake up her dad with ice on his belly
|
|
(Also I'm sure the Norns could tell you things scary enough make your hair turn white.)