V
Full Member
I just think it's a pity that she never wore these again.
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Post by V on May 2, 2021 18:39:19 GMT
I've been rereading some parts lately and I'm uncertain of the origin of this line: Ms. Jones said everyone here has a special skill, so I bet this is yours. Did she really? The closest I can find is You may find that many students here have skills which are extra normal in nature. (emphasis mine). The question that lead to this answer is "And that makes any of us better suited to mediation than other students?" so I'm not sure how Annie inferred that the "other students" are covered by that same answer. It seems to me what Jones is saying is quite the opposite. There are not many other pages inbetween that and #505, one relevant exception perhaps being Parley's abilities haven't exactly manifested yet, but chances are good. which could, however, mean both "chances are good that she has some (or hasn't)" or "she's paranormal for sure but chance is we will never know in what way". Is Annie bending the answer to suit her better? I hope she wouldn't be referring to something that happened outside of the comic with such quite crucial information.
Some further context: - Word of Tom has it that "Does everyone in GC have a special Power/Talent/Ability of some kind, or are the people with powers a minority?" = "Nah", the notoriously ambiguous answer to any question of this form.
- I am aware that by far not everyone has etheric abilities. But the examples of Donald or Janet show that you can be just as extraordinary even in the "technological" direction, or something from neither of the two worlds.
- In "The Torn Sea" we saw a number of people tagged with "disruptive abilities" and others left out, but the same page shows that Paz was skipped despite her abilities being known, just because they were not considered disruptive to this goal. On the other hand, the same page seems to affirm that there in fact is a "special skill" column in the student records.
I'm sure this must have been discussed to depth before but I don't know where to look. I tried the obvious discussion page of #505, but nobody seemed to be surprised by that statement back then. Maybe someone will know from the top of their head. Or we can just collect what else is known in this subject. |
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Post by foxurus on May 2, 2021 18:46:32 GMT
James was collected from his parents by the Court, seemingly without them really knowing what the Court was about. We haven't seen him do anything outside of his knightly abilities, right? Why do you guys think he was pegged? Or did the Court send out flyers or something?
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Post by silicondream on May 3, 2021 4:49:25 GMT
James was collected from his parents by the Court, seemingly without them really knowing what the Court was about. We haven't seen him do anything outside of his knightly abilities, right? Why do you guys think he was pegged? Or did the Court send out flyers or something? Presumably they were browsing through the annals and went "Okay wait huh? is this even legal? I mean they're...time travel? time travel would explain...okay it wouldn't explain that. Sweet magic ring though. We definitely need to anticipate this guy." Heh. Have a look over here! Tent pegs! |
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Post by frogspawned on May 3, 2021 11:56:20 GMT
Word of Tom has it that "Does everyone in GC have a special Power/Talent/Ability of some kind, or are the people with powers a minority?" = "Nah", the notoriously ambiguous answer to any question of this form. My interpretation of this, at least, would be that the people with powers are not a minority and that not everyone at GC has a special power/talent/ability.
In other words: Most people have something very special about them, but not everyone does.
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Post by pyradonis on May 3, 2021 13:44:30 GMT
James was collected from his parents by the Court, seemingly without them really knowing what the Court was about. We haven't seen him do anything outside of his knightly abilities, right? Why do you guys think he was pegged? Or did the Court send out flyers or something? Who knows, maybe he has some very rare blood group that lends itself well to gain superpowers... |
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Post by Daedalus on May 3, 2021 15:00:19 GMT
I always interpreted it as -- anyone who is there is *extraordinary* somehow, but doesn't necessarily have an inborn power. Either by being a gadgeteer genius (like Kat), having the potential to become the next Court Protector (like Eggers), impossibly good aim (like Janet), having great hair (like Winsbury), etc.
I saw it like superhero comics. Everyone who's in the Justice League is *super* somehow, but only some of them were born with their abilities. Others invented devices which grant them powers. Others trained to the peak of human potential.
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V
Full Member
I just think it's a pity that she never wore these again.
Posts: 168
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Post by V on May 3, 2021 15:31:06 GMT
I always interpreted it as -- anyone who is there is *extraordinary* somehow, but doesn't necessarily have an inborn power. Either by being a gadgeteer genius (like Kat), having the potential to become the next Court Protector (like Eggers), impossibly good aim (like Janet), having great hair (like Winsbury), etc. I saw it like superhero comics. Everyone who's in the Justice League is *super* somehow, but only some of them were born with their abilities. Others invented devices which grant them powers. Others trained to the peak of human potential. That's exactly what I think, I could not say it better. |
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Post by warrl on May 3, 2021 20:34:45 GMT
Some further context: - Word of Tom has it that "Does everyone in GC have a special Power/Talent/Ability of some kind, or are the people with powers a minority?" = "Nah", the notoriously ambiguous answer to any question of this form.
The question has the flaw of the excluded middle. Possible: people with special power/talent/ability are not a minority, but are also not everyone. Also, if the truth is that everyone has a special power, talent, or ability, but only a minority have something that would be termed (specifically) a special power, then either a firm yes or a firm no would be misleading. Janet's demonstrated archery skill is beyond natural. It's a special power, talent, or ability. And Willy is able to keep up with her. |
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Post by aline on May 4, 2021 13:07:52 GMT
I am aware that by far not everyone has etheric abilities. But the examples of Donald or Janet show that you can be just as extraordinary even in the "technological" direction, or something from neither of the two worlds. I think every kid picked by GC has at the very least the potential to develop skills of interest to them. Parley was selected because her mom had special talents, if memory serves. Then we have kids who are children of the adults working there. Do they all qualify by default? It would make sense, at least from a practical point of view. Even if they end up very ordinary, presumably the Court also needs people who take care of paperwork, organize meetings and do other things that don't require extraordinary ability in either science or magic. |
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Post by exterminatecake on May 4, 2021 16:50:06 GMT
I tend to think of it as "while not everyone in the Court is special to begin with, attending the Court makes them special eventually." Just existing in this school seems to confer some sort of special ability, whether it's through education on areas that most of the world wouldn't have access to, or outright modification of someone's skills or body.
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Post by Gemminie on May 4, 2021 18:52:25 GMT
I tend to think of it as "while not everyone in the Court is special to begin with, attending the Court makes them special eventually." Just existing in this school seems to confer some sort of special ability, whether it's through education on areas that most of the world wouldn't have access to, or outright modification of someone's skills or body. At the absolute very least, they need people to perform essential functions who won't bat an eye when something weird happens. It's not as if they can really hire from most of humanity. "And this is Jones, who's indestructible and immortal, and possibly not human. And over here is Cvet; she's a Rogat Orjak, hi Cvet. Oh, and this is Todd, from Accounting. Got all the files matter-transmitted from the old office yet, Todd? So, that's it for the tour; any questions?" |
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Post by imaginaryfriend on May 4, 2021 19:10:29 GMT
Coyote dwelling in proximity might have been drawing out hidden specialness and making known specialness even more special.
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Post by lurkerbot on May 4, 2021 22:45:35 GMT
I tend to think of it as "while not everyone in the Court is special to begin with, attending the Court makes them special eventually." Just existing in this school seems to confer some sort of special ability, whether it's through education on areas that most of the world wouldn't have access to, or outright modification of someone's skills or body. At the absolute very least, they need people to perform essential functions who won't bat an eye when something weird happens. It's not as if they can really hire from most of humanity. "And this is Jones, who's indestructible and immortal, and possibly not human. And over here is Cvet; she's a Rogat Orjak, hi Cvet. Oh, and this is Todd, from Accounting. Got all the files matter-transmitted from the old office yet, Todd? So, that's it for the tour; any questions?" I generally agree (and I love the tour guide monologue), but let's not overlook the fact that the Court also has squads of robots to do many mundane and essential chores. Except when they're being co-opted for shield duty or covertly becoming living beings, of course. |
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Post by todd on May 4, 2021 23:44:16 GMT
but let's not overlook the fact that the Court also has squads of robots to do many mundane and essential chores. Except when they're being co-opted for shield duty or covertly becoming living beings, of course. Or, even before that, when Robot was getting them to make pilgrimages to Jeanne's shrine. |
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Post by silicondream on May 5, 2021 3:04:29 GMT
I tend to think of it as "while not everyone in the Court is special to begin with, attending the Court makes them special eventually." Just existing in this school seems to confer some sort of special ability, whether it's through education on areas that most of the world wouldn't have access to, or outright modification of someone's skills or body. Also, the Court is not easy to find, as Jones tells us. If you've even found out about it, let alone decided to attend, you may have what it takes. Have we ever seen anyone refused admission to the Court, for lack of potential? Have we seen anyone removed from the Court for incompetence? Jeanne was removed, and Annie's been threatened, but in both cases it was mainly for social transgressions rather than for mediocrity. Even Boxbot is allowed to remain on Court grounds. Provisionally. The way I see it, the Court allows anyone to find their speciality--anyone at all--but achieving it may demand any amount of commitment. Failure to commit is the only way to get expelled, and the Court may still find a use for you on the way out the door. Although, dun dun dun, you might not enjoy it very much. (The same is true for the Forest, perhaps; they just tend to devour their failures rather than instrumentalizing them.) |
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Post by Gemminie on May 5, 2021 3:52:07 GMT
At the absolute very least, they need people to perform essential functions who won't bat an eye when something weird happens. It's not as if they can really hire from most of humanity. "And this is Jones, who's indestructible and immortal, and possibly not human. And over here is Cvet; she's a Rogat Orjak, hi Cvet. Oh, and this is Todd, from Accounting. Got all the files matter-transmitted from the old office yet, Todd? So, that's it for the tour; any questions?" I generally agree (and I love the tour guide monologue), but let's not overlook the fact that the Court also has squads of robots to do many mundane and essential chores. Except when they're being co-opted for shield duty or covertly becoming living beings, of course. Thanks!  I'm not sure you'd want robots doing some essential functions, though, such as accounting, HR, office management, secretarial work, etc. I'm just imagining business correspondence written by GC robots. "Dear Ms. Carruthers, we would be happy to host the event in Meeting Room 64C, but it cannot be on Thursday, as there is a secret meeting about the future of Antimony Carver at the time in question in that room – very hush-hush, you know." |
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V
Full Member
I just think it's a pity that she never wore these again.
Posts: 168
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Post by V on May 5, 2021 6:34:33 GMT
Also, the Court is not easy to find, as Jones tells us. If you've even found out about it, let alone decided to attend, you may have what it takes. Thanks! I quite forgot about that bit and had to look it up. Page 1119, right? So summing up, if we replace "not easy" by "it doesn't happen" [1] [2] [3] it would seem to be canonically confirmed that every student is either personally approached by the Court (or Jones for that matter), converted from a Forest inhabitant ( on Court's arrangement), or a relative to some employee. So each student would actually have a concrete reason, which may or may not a priori be being unnaturally good at something, and which we may or may not know, but there always is one. I'll take that for the answer. Nevertheless, with regard to the opening question, I think we agree that even though Annie was right about this, it was not Jones we heard it from. |
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Post by pyradonis on May 5, 2021 8:17:58 GMT
(The same is true for the Forest, perhaps; they just tend to devour their failures rather than instrumentalizing them.) |
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V
Full Member
I just think it's a pity that she never wore these again.
Posts: 168
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Post by V on May 14, 2021 10:37:12 GMT
For anyone interested, this was hiding in plain sight. I must have made at least ten different search queries on this topic on the formspring archive, but suddenly this pops up in a completely unrelated dive: They each have certain traits that would allow them to be sutdents there, but they are not all etheric. (emphasis mine). So it would seem confirmed that there aren't exceptions, at least among sutdents (sic)! |
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I'm not sure you'd want robots doing some essential functions, though, such as accounting, HR, office management, secretarial work, etc. I'm just imagining business correspondence written by GC robots. "Dear Ms. Carruthers, we would be happy to host the event in Meeting Room 64C, but it cannot be on Thursday, as there is a secret meeting about the future of Antimony Carver at the time in question in that room – very hush-hush, you know."