[2856] "Kat! I have to go!"

[imaginaryfriend]

I don't think that was a successful push... I think Antimony was backing away and then the scene started to transition again...

Comic up at least 2min early.

[blahzor]

Good reaction reflexes Annie. You talked instead of dodged

[arf]

"Gotta go. Muut to meet, rage ghosts to encounter, fairies to pick up, and all that."

[arf]

Actually, I'm more surprised that Rey let this through than by Annie's lightning reflexes. Seems like a scripted event.

[philman]

Oct 30, 2023 7:28:41 GMT arf said:

Actually, I'm more surprised that Rey let this through than by Annie's lightning reflexes. Seems like a scripted event.

My thoughts too, in whoever's reality this is this was always going to happen, it seemed like the girl with the black hair realised that Renard and Annie had noticed her in the last couple of pages, and now she is manifesting robot from chapter 7 to neutralise Annie?

[laaaa]

Oct 30, 2023 7:24:06 GMT blahzor said:

Good reaction reflexes Annie. You talked instead of dodged

Indeed really poor reaction, but to be fair, this must have been a really traumatizing moment for Annie. The knowledge that you should have died at that moment, that an alternate you HAS died in this moment, that indeed, this being kinda a memory, might mean that this is a scripted event that will play out no matter what, that Zimmy's distortion might cause it to play out without Kat's intervention... I would have freaked out too. I'm not surprised she's NOT currently burning Robot to smithereens. I AM kinda surprised she's not screaming "KAT, HELP" though... although I guess the distortion might be causing a defeatist sort of mentality. She was unable to react before, why br able to react now?

[blahzor]

I dunno Annie should have still had a attack of opportunity. Classic DnD campaign. She started with some good rolls and just has been rolling 1's and under 5's since rolling that 19 for Insight on how to get out of the desert

[imaginaryfriend]

I think Antimony may initially freeze for a moment (panel 1) but judging by the last panel of the previous page that may be understandable. Robot-with-wooden-arm (Rwa) somehow moves from 5m or more away to within reach of (almost touching) Antimony before Renard can react. Sure, talking to Kat is unnecessary but it does seem that she's backing away at the same time, as the distance between Rwa and Antimony is about the same while Rwa is stretching towards her (twisting to his left) with his left arm fully extended. In panels 4-5 the distance has increased some more though Antimony's right foot and right arm are still back, as if she's not walking, while her hair (panel 5) is moving towards Rwa as if blown by the wind or dragged back by inertia (as if accelerating).

[guntherkrieg]

He is there to protect her from the Terrible Secret of Space

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E0ot9iJm_k

[Corvo]

So pushy, even the ground is going out of its way to avoid him.

[Gemminie]

The distortion-reconstructed Robot-with-wooden-arm has apparently moved far more quickly than it appeared he was, because Renard barely has time to get out a "What the –" before this apparition is right there upon them. Annie has apparently whirled around and seen "Robot," and hey, it's a good thing that Annie politely tells Kat that she must needs sign off at this juncture rather than, say, running away or something, because she wouldn't want to be rude.

At that point the perspective becomes truly amazing. First we're looking up from the ground as the wooden arm reaches out toward Annie. Then we've got some kind of very striking fish-eye-lens or convex-mirror type of perspective effect where the line of bridge lights curves up and away. It appears as if "Robot," shown lunging toward Annie, isn't actually touching her, but rather that she's backing away from him. Renard and a line of New People (we see at least 11 of them) are apparently unable to reach her in time, or perhaps aren't sure what to do. They're shown as silhouettes, so there's no knowing where that black-haired one is. Then in our final frame it appears that Annie has taken a misstep off the bridge as she backs away, as we're seeing this from a viewpoint far below the level of the bridge, but still with that curved perspective. And that's where we leave things, with Annie just falling off the brink.

What is even going on? Annie isn't being pushed off the bridge here; she's backing away and falls off, so that's not the same thing that happened before. This place has strong associations for Annie, of course, so it makes sense that some vestige of her fall from the bridge would make an appearance. But there are some other pretty intense bridge-related incidents that she could have remembered, such as practically setting the whole thing on fire, or running for her life after Ysengrin ate Coyote (this last one would make the most sense, as she was moving from the Forest side toward the Court side as she is now). But there are other differences as well – Renard is able to talk, and is in wolf form (a form we hadn't even seen yet in chapter 7); also, the bridge fall incident took place near the Court end of the bridge, whereas here it looks like they're still right in the middle of the bridge, possibly still closer to the Forest side.

Could Annie have stepped off the bridge deliberately? She chooses to tell Kat that she has to go, meaning that she realizes she has to devote her full attention to this situation, so is she doing this on purpose to force a change of scenario (Annie has vastly more control of her Ether abilities than she did back in chapter 7, and she knows this is a distortion as well, so she may not be too concerned about the fall killing her)? Is this some idea she has to test the black-haired NP, to see whether she does something about this situation? Or conversely is the black-haired NP doing this, to distract Annie from looking more closely at who she is?

[Gemminie]

Oct 30, 2023 9:21:29 GMT guntherkrieg said:

He is there to protect her from the Terrible Secret of Space

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E0ot9iJm_k

Wow, super deep Internet cut! That's great! I remember listening to that song back in 2000 or 2001. I sometimes reference it. Most people don't get it.

[ctso74]

Is this wobbliness a scene transition, or merely Annie freaking the hell out?
I'd imagine she'd find reliving this stressful. PTSD, Post-Temporal Stress Disorder?

[Gemini Jim]

Oct 30, 2023 8:30:37 GMT blahzor said:

I dunno Annie should have still had a attack of opportunity. Classic DnD campaign. She started with some good rolls and just has been rolling 1's and under 5's since rolling that 19 for Insight on how to get out of the desert

She failed her spot check on Robot.



"How can there be a Robot? I have Reynardine's Faithful Watchdog."

"But you never actually cast the spell, so now there's a Robot, OK?"

[blahzor]

Now that Annie is falling into blackness will she cast firebolt... into the darkness

[pyradonis]

Speech bubble shape and color say it's Renard speaking in panel one, but the arrow seems to be pointing to the robot and not Renard. Strange.

Oct 30, 2023 7:28:41 GMT arf said:

Actually, I'm more surprised that Rey let this through than by Annie's lightning reflexes. Seems like a scripted event.

Same thought here. He saw the robot when it was still farther away, so why doesn't he react, unless the GM forbids him from reacting.

Oct 30, 2023 8:30:37 GMT blahzor said:

I dunno Annie should have still had a attack of opportunity. Classic DnD campaign. She started with some good rolls and just has been rolling 1's and under 5's since rolling that 19 for Insight on how to get out of the desert

Attacks of opportunity are triggered when an enemy moves out of your reach, not into.

[drmemory]

"Kat, Help! Send Bird!" might have been more useful, in the moment.

[Sky Schemer]

Oct 30, 2023 17:07:53 GMT pyradonis said:

Oct 30, 2023 8:30:37 GMT blahzor said:

I dunno Annie should have still had a attack of opportunity. Classic DnD campaign. She started with some good rolls and just has been rolling 1's and under 5's since rolling that 19 for Insight on how to get out of the desert

Attacks of opportunity are triggered when an enemy moves out of your reach, not into.

Also, she's unarmed so she doesn't threaten adjacent squares.

Rey, OTOH. Bad dog! Er, wolf. Er, fox.

[TBeholder]

Oct 30, 2023 8:30:37 GMT blahzor said:

attack of opportunity.
Classic DnD

Pick one.

[rabbit]

I wonder if all of this travel - metaphorical or not - is Zimmy's way of evading Coyote. After all, I think the last time we saw Zimms was when the CoyoteLoupocalypse fell on her and Gamma. Is Zimmy avoiding Coyote by moving through time (memories) rather than space (physical movement)?

On a related note, when Annie says "Kat, I have to go!" does she mean 'I need to go way from this place' or 'I need to go away from this time'? --recall the bridge incident is a dividing point in Annie's personal timeline.

Hrmmm - rabbit must chew cabbages, he has much to consider.

[TBeholder]

Oct 30, 2023 7:28:41 GMT arf said:

Actually, I'm more surprised that Rey let this through than by Annie's lightning reflexes. Seems like a scripted event.

Oct 30, 2023 8:45:10 GMT imaginaryfriend said:

I think Antimony may initially freeze for a moment (panel 1) but judging by the last panel of the previous page that may be understandable. Robot-with-wooden-arm (Rwa) somehow moves from 5m or more away to within reach of (almost touching) Antimony before Renard can react. Sure, talking to Kat is unnecessary but it does seem that she's backing away at the same time, as the distance between Rwa and Antimony is about the same while Rwa is stretching towards her (twisting to his left) with his left arm fully extended. In panels 4-5 the distance has increased some more though Antimony's right foot and right arm are still back, as if she's not walking, while her hair (panel 5) is moving towards Rwa as if blown by the wind or dragged back by inertia (as if accelerating).

Or, indeed, scripted and moves “just quickly enough” no matter what.

[imaginaryfriend]

Oct 31, 2023 4:32:51 GMT TBeholder said:

Oct 30, 2023 7:28:41 GMT arf said:

Actually, I'm more surprised that Rey let this through than by Annie's lightning reflexes. Seems like a scripted event.

Oct 30, 2023 8:45:10 GMT imaginaryfriend said:

I think Antimony may initially freeze for a moment (panel 1) but judging by the last panel of the previous page that may be understandable.

Or, indeed, scripted and moves “just quickly enough” no matter what.

I suppose the real question isn't the what but the why. If it's scripted or if the individuals within the event have some agency in the moment, either way there does seem to be some evidence (in the way that Robot-with-wooden-arm moves) that there would have been a predetermined outcome if Antimony hadn't fled... and it may be the case that she winds up at the bottom of this Annan anyway. If that's the case I think it's strong evidence that this whole event is from Antimony's subconscious. Even though she'd been back across the Annan bridge a number of times since she fell, and the result of the fall wasn't that bad anyway thanks to the birb(s), the fall was still trauma. Even if effectively forgotten trauma will leave a trace. I think it's similar to what happens to Zeta on the regular, though Zeta's traumas apparently were other people, occasional spiders/insects, and herself (which, as I've speculated before, suggests an age range where her powers probably manifested).

There are other possibilities for the event, or factors that could be an influence, but I think we've pretty much covered the bases.

[pyradonis]

Oct 30, 2023 20:02:29 GMT Sky Schemer said:

Oct 30, 2023 17:07:53 GMT pyradonis said:

Attacks of opportunity are triggered when an enemy moves out of your reach, not into.

Also, she's unarmed so she doesn't threaten adjacent squares.

Annie knows martial arts, I'm sure she took an appropriate feat.