|
Post by Count Casimir on Feb 20, 2009 8:09:52 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Fhqwhgads on Feb 20, 2009 8:13:05 GMT
Ahhhhhh. Sweet, sweet drama. *drinks deeply*
|
|
|
Post by obscurity on Feb 20, 2009 8:15:22 GMT
I think Annie's social incompetence may be a factor here. Kat is the only person she talks to on a regular basis that's her age - and more importantly, Kat is one of the only people her age that she has healthy, normal social contact with. How would someone with that degree of social isolation react to something like this? I think anger's a perfectly reasonable response.
I think she's assuming that Mort knows about blinker stones due to his affiliation with the psychopomps, and extrapolating from there that he gave her the blinker stone as a shy, dishonest way of saying "I like you." The comment about him being 'just a ghost' doesn't ring genuine to me - she's saying it out of anger and shock as a way to further justify her emotion against him.
|
|
|
Post by Goatmon on Feb 20, 2009 8:18:19 GMT
So, that's a yes on Annie's terrible social skills.
I don't think she could have handled that with less grace.
|
|
Boxbot
New Member
Le robot terrible.
Posts: 14
|
Post by Boxbot on Feb 20, 2009 8:27:03 GMT
Well, look at it from her point of view, I want you to jsut think about the type of symbol she's been wearring around her neck.
If you didn't know what an engagement ring was, and just wore it around, how would that make you feel? I mean, it's a symbol that means she's "seeing someone," which not only is "staking a claim" to her as she says, but also pushing others away.
She does after all, only have one friend.
What if she sees this as a reason boys haven't been talking to her?
|
|
|
Post by edzepp on Feb 20, 2009 8:34:44 GMT
What if she sees this as a reason boys haven't been talking to her? Well, would most boys around her know what a blinker stone represents anyway? EDIT: Great job with the expressions today, Tom. I can imagine Annie saying her line through gritted teeth in the penultimate panel.
|
|
tetsamaru
Junior Member
Aspiring Manga-ka
Posts: 95
|
Post by tetsamaru on Feb 20, 2009 8:42:32 GMT
Hmm, i had a nice little movie reference lined up, lost it though. Kat, talk some sense into that girl!!!!
|
|
|
Post by Azeltir on Feb 20, 2009 8:48:51 GMT
Panel 3's sound effect is much less happy than "SLAM DUNKIN'!"
Does it strike anyone as odd that she seems even angrier than when Kat was GOP'd?
What has me the most surprised is that she didn't even give Mort a chance to speak for himself. That is never a good move, to accuse someone of something and then storm off without even verifying that your claims were remotely accurate.
Ben
|
|
|
Post by Goatmon on Feb 20, 2009 8:51:42 GMT
I think Annie's social incompetence may be a factor here. Kat is the only person she talks to on a regular basis that's her age - and more importantly, Kat is one of the only people her age that she has healthy, normal social contact with. How would someone with that degree of social isolation react to something like this? I think anger's a perfectly reasonable response. I think she's assuming that Mort knows about blinker stones due to his affiliation with the psychopomps, and extrapolating from there that he gave her the blinker stone as a shy, dishonest way of saying "I like you." The comment about him being 'just a ghost' doesn't ring genuine to me - she's saying it out of anger and shock as a way to further justify her emotion against him. That is not, under any circumstance, an excuse to throw around accusations and break off a friendship. Not without asking for an explanation first, at the very least. We have no way to know that Mort knows much about Blinker stones. And he certainly hasn't exhibited the sort of personality of a person who wants to force Annie into anything. Quite the contrary; He's shown himself to be a pretty easygoing guy, who's been nothing but nice to Annie and Kat. At worst, he has delusional hopes about a relationship with Annie. Even if that is the case, it doesn't merit Annie's response. The problem lies with Annie; She is a big-time control freak. It's been hinted at here and there; Her attitude at being criticized by Eglamore (after the bridge incident); She didn't hesitate to slap a god when Coyote visited the court; How (when Annie got pulled into Zimmyland) she demands they find Kat first; And you have to admit she enjoys having authority over Reynardine. Now she's gotten herself into a very awkward situation, involving someone she has no real control over, and her immediate course of action is to break off the friendship. Her only priority here is to bring things back in order, without any consideration for Mort "Because he's a ghost. As a medium, given what she knows, that is a pretty despicable thing to say. edit: wow, that's a pretty big post, huh?
|
|
|
Post by penguinfactory on Feb 20, 2009 9:00:37 GMT
It's always great to see Annie showing strong emotion. And kind of scary. Judging by the way these things usually go, she's probably going to regret giving back the blinker stone some time soon. (Also, Mort's expression in the fifth panel is priceless). To get into over-analysing mode, I wonder if some of how Annie is reacting, especially in the second last panel, is related to her apparent beef with the psychopomps. Maybe being around Mort reminds her of her mother's death. She could even be a little resentful towards him- as in, "why did he get to live on after death if Surma didn't?"
|
|
|
Post by obscurity on Feb 20, 2009 10:00:41 GMT
That is not, under any circumstance, an excuse to throw around accusations and break off a friendship. Not without asking for an explanation first, at the very least... (etc) I never meant to imply that Annie was in the right, just try and explain why she's doing what she's doing since it confused me a bit at first. Her issues are most certainly interfering with her judgment here, and her lack of ability to successfully regulate emotion makes sense with her unique upbringing taken into account. I'm not sure about Mort's position in all this, but I'm inclined to think that since he gave the blinker stone to her so casually, he didn't know anything about them. Had he known, he would have hemmed and hawwed his way through the gift-giving process. I still think the 'he's just a ghost' comment isn't genuine - it's just a projection on her part to lessen him, thereby lessening the emotion that comes with his actions. You make a good point about her control issues; and though this may have been mentioned before, I think that comes from living in Good Hope, where she was the only person who knew what was going on. Nonetheless, this controlling aspect has gotten her into trouble before, and remains a consistent character trait.
|
|
|
Post by Yin on Feb 20, 2009 10:00:52 GMT
The first thing I thought was 'she didn't slap him?'. Then I remembered- ghost=incorporeal=can't slap.
|
|
|
Post by todd on Feb 20, 2009 11:42:22 GMT
What if she sees this as a reason boys haven't been talking to her? Annie's never shown any interest in any of the boys at school, so I doubt that's running through her head. I do think that this is not one of her better moments. As others have pointed out, she makes no attempt to find out if Mort knew about the cultural significance of Blinker Stones (he's new to the Court, and might not have known when he sent it to her - and something that could conjure up a campfire was a logical gift to send to someone stranded in a cold, dark forest at night), and her lines in the next-to-last panel make it even worse. I hope that Kat will be able to talk some sense to her.
|
|
|
Post by murgatroyd on Feb 20, 2009 11:44:31 GMT
...Did Annie just relinquish her ownership of the blinker stone?
|
|
|
Post by todd on Feb 20, 2009 12:00:06 GMT
A thought I just had. In the immediately preceding chapter, Annie had learned about the crush that Reynardine had had on her mother - a crush which led to such things as his possession and murder of the young man. Is she mentally associating Mort's crush on her with Reynardine's attraction to Surma, with all the uneasiness that it brought her? Especially since both Mort and Reynardine are etheric beings.
|
|
|
Post by penguinfactory on Feb 20, 2009 12:24:50 GMT
A thought I just had. In the immediately preceding chapter, Annie had learned about the crush that Reynardine had had on her mother - a crush which led to such things as his possession and murder of the young man. Is she mentally associating Mort's crush on her with Reynardine's attraction to Surma, with all the uneasiness that it brought her? Especially since both Mort and Reynardine are etheric beings. That's actually a pretty good idea. I hadn't thought of it that way. Maybe it's not really Mort Annie is angry with at the moment
|
|
|
Post by tyler on Feb 20, 2009 12:41:08 GMT
Annie: You think it's funny that this is a couple thing? Now I have to marry a GHOST! I wasn't even planning on getting married! Boys distract me from mysteries and psychopomps! Why have you cursed me like this? WHYYYYY! I can't even have BABIES with a ghost! I don't see why she wouldn't be mad. Or maybe it's the spying thing. Wow. I was right and I was joking. Hah.
|
|
|
Post by jetaime on Feb 20, 2009 13:12:04 GMT
Looking back at comic 154 where she thanks Mort for the stone, he blushed profusely and said "Aw shucks, 'tweren't no big thing". Whether that indicates he knew it was given as a "love" gift, is unknown.
However, I'm still very disappointed in Annie. She should have asked what his intentions were in giving her the stone. Making assumptions, throwing a tantrum and saying unkind things doesn't seem up to her normal behavior. She may be a bit controlling, but she usually does let others have their say.
|
|
picaro
Junior Member
Dandy Highwayman
Posts: 66
|
Post by picaro on Feb 20, 2009 13:27:44 GMT
Does it strike anyone as odd that she seems even angrier than when Kat was GOP'd? I would have thought it was shock and grief rather than anger. She was also disoriented and confused. I too am interested in whether this means she's relinquished the stone's ownership. Maybe the "just a ghost" is a reference to Annie's need for physical contact (not in a romantic way perverts). But her father is missing, her mother is dead. If she wants any kind of relationship, platonic or otherwise (and I don't agree with the otherwise) I think she'd like a physical presence. If we were to get a little Freudian on this, the first romantic interest after losing her father would be a bit of a father replacement. And Anthony wasn't a huggy kinda guy from the impression I got. In short Annie needs hugs. Okay that wasn't quite what I meant. But really there is something deeper going on here. I'd like to tie this in with the Surma=not a ghost, why is Mort argument but I'm feeling a bit Scarecrow today. Final Final Edit: Could it be she's feeling guilty about "owning" Rey? "He's just a demon"
|
|
|
Post by menschenjaeger on Feb 20, 2009 14:18:42 GMT
Wow... Antimony distinguishes herself as the Boxbot of Interpersonal Relations.
She's got a lot on her mind right now, but OUCH.
|
|
|
Post by idonotlikepeas on Feb 20, 2009 14:35:02 GMT
My guess would be that this isn't generically about social skills.
We know she was in Good Hope for a while helping the Psychopomps escort the dead. Do you think this is the first time a post-living boy has been interested in her? How do you think it went last time?
|
|
|
Post by Azeltir on Feb 20, 2009 15:04:12 GMT
A thought I just had. In the immediately preceding chapter, Annie had learned about the crush that Reynardine had had on her mother - a crush which led to such things as his possession and murder of the young man. Is she mentally associating Mort's crush on her with Reynardine's attraction to Surma, with all the uneasiness that it brought her? Especially since both Mort and Reynardine are etheric beings. Damn fine idea, and I think you hit the nail square on the head. Ben
|
|
|
Post by Mezzaphor on Feb 20, 2009 16:05:50 GMT
Annie is clearly being irrational, what with her not giving the benefit of the doubt to the ghost-boy--with a crush on her and a history of eavesdropping--who gave her a gift with a creepy romantic subtext. (EDIT: Someone on another forum called me out on this, so I must clarify: If Mort isn't being underhanded, then there isn't anything objectively creepy about his gift. But as the recipient of the gift, the sudden realization that the gift was intended to mark her as Mort's girlfriend is going to seem creepy to Annie, regardless of Mort's intentions.) She could have given Mort more time to answer, but she's acting in anger, and she probably thinks Mort's failure to reply in the first two panels is as good as an admission of guilt. (Everyone else seems to be interpreting the first three panels as Annie's uninterrupted monologue, but I thought Annie was genuinely asking him a question in panel 2.) Annie's comment in panel 8 was a crap thing to say, regardless. something that could conjure up a campfire was a logical gift to send to someone stranded in a cold, dark forest at night The Guides could only visit Annie if something died nearby. Ketrak -- surely one of the busiest psychopomps -- was at the scene of the fly's death mere seconds after it expired. The death of the Shadow on the bridge -- which enabled Muut to visit Annie -- was simultaneous with Annie's fall off the bridge. While greeting Annie in the ravine, Muut seems to be implying that he came straight from the scene of the Shadow's death to visit her, and to deliver Mort's Blinker Stone gift. So, either Mort asked the Guides to give Annie a Blinker Stone sometime before she fell into the ravine, or he somehow learned of her fall the instant it happened and contacted Muut, asking him to deliver an appropriate gift, in the brief period of time before Muut went to escort the Shadow into the Aether. Really, the former sounds less stalker-ish.
|
|
snes
Full Member
BANNED
Posts: 164
|
Post by snes on Feb 20, 2009 16:32:13 GMT
Wow, I think Annie may have a few issues. I like todd's theory about her being afraid of the consequences of an etheric falling in love with you, but I think there's more to it than that. I think she may have personal issues with being in a relationship with someone and the notion that someone has tried to put her in one without her consent infuriates her.
I can't decide if Mort's face in panel 2 says "What is she talking about?" or "Oh snap, she found me out!" I really like his face in panel five. I think it's a safe bet that the chapter won't end until Annie apologizes.
|
|
|
Post by sebastian on Feb 20, 2009 16:40:22 GMT
To quote Kat from the end of "Red Return", "what a bit**!" The worst part is that is doing that to Mort. Of all the people she could be angry and snap at some of which would probably deserve it more, she choose to do it to Mort, what she plan to do for a bis? To kick a puppy?. Reynardine tried to kill her and she never treated him like that. This is definitely not your finest moment, Miss Carver.
|
|
|
Post by cannibalsmith on Feb 20, 2009 17:05:36 GMT
What the hell! She had a perfect zero drama score!
|
|
|
Post by sandjosieph on Feb 20, 2009 17:19:05 GMT
I like how scientific Kat is more accepting of Mort being a boy while Annie, who's training to be a medium, can only think of him as a ghost (of course, that may be just her anger coming through). This is probably why the Court is also training George and Andrew as mediums: Even though she has a more natural gift than those two, they were worried that her lack of social skills might interfere with her mediating abilities.
This may lead to one of those "Why didn't you tell me moments?"
Answer: You never let me...
EDIT: Alright, perhaps it's not Annie's social skills that are the problem the Court sees, but her own issues with the ethereal in general, as well as her need to be in control.
|
|
|
Post by petrockx on Feb 20, 2009 17:36:08 GMT
Maybe she's angry at mort because she thought he was trying to claim her similar to those two guides who were fighting over the dead boy in the hospital. She resents these beings trying to control her fate after watching them take her mother away.
Maybe she's sick of ethereal beings taking a liking to her, and wants more to do with earthbound companions, like kat and her father.
|
|
|
Post by sneakylemur on Feb 20, 2009 19:08:34 GMT
Annie's reaction seems totally understandable to me. She's been going around for months unknowingly wearing a symbol of romantic commitment to someone she has no feelings for. I think anyone would feel violated after that, especially someone with control issues.
As for Mort, I think he just assumed she would know what it meant. To learn that she didn't is probably very shocking. I think it was all an unfortunate misunderstanding, but I don't blame Annie for freaking out.
|
|
zoe
New Member
Posts: 21
|
Post by zoe on Feb 20, 2009 19:29:04 GMT
Ooh, I think having the force of Annie's slam demolish Mort's house of cards would have been perfect. Daww.
|
|