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Post by jda on May 21, 2021 14:43:16 GMT
Cool thing I found elsewhere:
Wikipedia says, on Finnish mithology:
One of the challenges Lemminkäinen faced was a character named Surma.[3] Surma was a terrible beast which embodied sudden, violent death and guarded the gates of the Tuonela to prevent escape. Surma is often described as being a large dog with a snake-tail and can turn people into stone (with a stare). An often-used Finnish metaphor is surman suuhun "into Surma's mouth", as if the victim was mauled to death by Surma.[4]
Uh. So Surma is a dog.
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Post by todd on Jun 9, 2021 2:59:20 GMT
I've been rereading some of the chapters of "Gunnerkrigg Court" lately (in the book version), and noted some passages that took on new meaning in light of later developments.
1. In "The Fangs of Summertime", Jones states that she's never encountered anything quite like Ysengrin's condition. The Headmaster replies that coming from her, that worries him; now that we know that Jones has been around since before there was life on Earth as we know it, I can see why he'd be so concerned by her statement.
2. In "The Medium Beginning", Jones introduces Parley and Andrew to Mort, and later calls him "Mortimer". It now feels like foreshadowing of her role in Mort's past.
3. Not quite foreshadowing, but still amusing in light of later developments. In Chapter Eighteen, "S1", when Annie and Kat discover Jeanne's shrine, they speculate that Jeanne had fallen to her death off the bridge and that Diego had built the Tic-Tocs in order to rescue others from a similar fate. Rereading this passage now that we know where the Tic-Tocs really came from.... At least the girls got the purpose of the Tic-Tocs right, just the wrong inventor.
4. And, on a much darker level, in "Fire Spike", Anya saying that the Court is certain that Coyote would never entrust Ysengrin with his powers....
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Post by todd on Jun 9, 2021 12:39:49 GMT
One other thing I noted. In "Ties", Brinnie is wearing similar make-up to Surma.
(Which stands out all the more in light of the unsuccessful attempted date in the MicroSat chapter's flashback. Anthony keeps getting entangled with etheric women wearing make-up.)
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Post by jda on Jun 10, 2021 5:21:35 GMT
One other thing I noted. In "Ties", Brinnie is wearing similar make-up to Surma. (Which stands out all the more in light of the unsuccessful attempted date in the MicroSat chapter's flashback. Anthony keeps getting entangled with etheric women wearing make-up.) SO, that's why Tony finds that make up "sexy". It reminds hm of Brinnie. |
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Post by aline on Jun 10, 2021 10:39:29 GMT
One other thing I noted. In "Ties", Brinnie is wearing similar make-up to Surma. (Which stands out all the more in light of the unsuccessful attempted date in the MicroSat chapter's flashback. Anthony keeps getting entangled with etheric women wearing make-up.) SO, that's why Tony finds that make up "sexy". It reminds hm of Brinnie. "You remind me of our common friend I rejected because she had a crush on me but I didn't want to go out with her" is hardly a sexy thought. Also lots of teens wear make-up. |
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Post by pyradonis on Jun 10, 2021 14:28:06 GMT
SO, that's why Tony finds that make up "sexy". It reminds hm of Brinnie. "You remind me of our common friend I rejected because she had a crush on me but I didn't want to go out with her" is hardly a sexy thought. Also lots of teens wear make-up. Maybe it's more that he thinks that, on Surma, the makeup actually looks good. |
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Post by todd on Jun 10, 2021 23:31:36 GMT
A further note on Brinnie. In "The Thousand Eyes", when she meets Annie and Kat, she lists "Sigrdrifa" among her names. Sigrdrifa is the name of a Valkyrie whom Sigurd awakes in the "Sigrdrifumal", a poem in the Poetic Edda; she is apparently a variation on the figure of Brynhild.
In the "Sigrdrifumal", when Sigrdrifa is awakened, she says "Hail to thee, day! Hail, ye day's sons! Hail, night and daughter of night!" (the Lee M. Hollander translation, University of Texas Press). In "The Thousand Eyes", when Brinnie appears in Anja's house, she says "Heill dagr, heill dags synir, heil nott ok nipt!", which looks like an Old Norse version of those same words. One more sign of how Tom has done his homework for the webcomic.
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Post by todd on Jun 12, 2021 1:02:50 GMT
The Gunnerkrigg Underground symbol in "Red Returns" is modelled on the London Underground symbol; the main difference between the two is that the red circle on the London symbol has been changed into a "G".
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Post by mturtle7 on Jul 2, 2021 21:58:47 GMT
Tom just tweeted the three "moral of the story" panels from this page today, with the caption "Coyote Wisdom". Also today, he put up this page. It is just now hitting me that Coyote's three morals - "Be Careful What You Wish For!", "You Reap What You Sow", and "Do Not Be a Dead Goose In a Bush Next To A Lake!" - weren't just a joke. Loup/Ysengrin made reckless wishes, is reaping what he sowed, and is clearly about to find out just how much it sucks to be Coyote's "dead goose in a bush next to a lake" (that is to say, the gullible temporary form he takes while trying to experience death)!!!
On a related note, I went back to look at the scene where Loup talked to Coyote after eating the goose bone, and finally noticed this: |
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Post by jda on Jul 5, 2021 7:35:47 GMT
Tom just tweeted the three "moral of the story" panels from this page today, with the caption "Coyote Wisdom". Also today, he put up this page. It is just now hitting me that Coyote's three morals - "Be Careful What You Wish For!", "You Reap What You Sow", and "Do Not Be a Dead Goose In a Bush Next To A Lake!" - weren't just a joke. Loup/Ysengrin made reckless wishes, is reaping what he sowed, and is clearly about to find out just how much it sucks to be Coyote's "dead goose in a bush next to a lake" (that is to say, the gullible temporary form he takes while trying to experience death)!!!
On a related note, I went back to look at the scene where Loup talked to Coyote after eating the goose bone, and finally noticed this: SO, Loup's mind is released into the Ether when he dies? |
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mzpx
Junior Member
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Post by mzpx on Jul 5, 2021 20:29:30 GMT
I've just been rereading the comics from the past year, and others may have made this guess already, but what if the first Kat, the one who did lose Annie, was already the mecha-goddess by the time she met the Norns? It seems like the appointments need to be made by 'higher beings', and without Annie, Kat wouldn't have had Brinnie make the appointment, so she had to become a very special being on her own. In this theory, Kat is destined to become the mecha-goddess in all timelines, but the Norns don't want to tell her just yet, because it's not, well, time for that. They know she would worry about it and they want to spare her that worry. Not sure how this gels with my other theory about Muut showing up right after Annie surviving the fall just so that he can start the whole process of her becoming a psychopomp (he tells her about Jeanne and gives her the blinker stone) for mecha-Kat's beyond-robots, as it would mean that the original mecha-Kat and her beyond-robots wouldn't have a psychopomp, as their Annie never survived. Which sounds unstable, maybe that timeline collapses right after Kat initiates the first loop? [Edit: that would explain why she's also saving herself] [Edit2: in a way she never would have been able to do it on her own - just what dark road led her to the Norns the first time..?] |
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Post by SilverbackRon on Jul 7, 2021 0:59:01 GMT
Here is a Cool Thing which I have noticed on rereading this comic: Whenever I read a page and if below it Tom has put a little note for his/our amusement, I now hear it in his voice when I read it. Having listened to all the Comic Retrospectives that he has made so far, I now can hear his voice clearly, and that makes the extra notes even better.  |
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Post by najmniejszy on Jul 7, 2021 12:38:07 GMT
I've just been rereading the comics from the past year, and others may have made this guess already, but what if the first Kat, the one who did lose Annie, was already the mecha-goddess by the time she met the Norns? It seems like the appointments need to be made by 'higher beings', and without Annie, Kat wouldn't have had Brinnie make the appointment, so she had to become a very special being on her own. Why though? It was Anja that contacted Brinnie, and she could have done so without Annie |
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Post by pyradonis on Jul 7, 2021 14:07:10 GMT
I've just been rereading the comics from the past year, and others may have made this guess already, but what if the first Kat, the one who did lose Annie, was already the mecha-goddess by the time she met the Norns? It seems like the appointments need to be made by 'higher beings', and without Annie, Kat wouldn't have had Brinnie make the appointment, so she had to become a very special being on her own. Why though? It was Anja that contacted Brinnie, and she could have done so without Annie Kat only spoke to Anja about all of this after Annie brought her to her. But yes, this could also have happened without Annie present.
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mzpx
Junior Member
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Post by mzpx on Jul 7, 2021 20:16:33 GMT
Why though? It was Anja that contacted Brinnie, and she could have done so without Annie Kat only spoke to Anja about all of this after Annie brought her to her. But yes, this could also have happened without Annie present.
Sure, yeah, it's possible, it's only a hypothesis after all. Although.. The first Anja would never have seen the Tic Toc, she never would have found the underground lab, Arthur would never have pointed out the significance of the Tic Toc etc. etc. So the course of events would need to have been very different. Plus, rereading the chapter makes it clear how much Kat shuts out the outside world when she's worried/upset - even our Kat who has Annie, Paz, lots of other friends (of all kinds from Parley to Winsbury) and loving parents (it's only Don and Anja that she would be almost certain to still have without Annie, Annie has really helped her come out of her shell). Paz notices the issue, then Annie pushes her (a lot) until she explains what the problem is. Kat never even considers confiding in anyone, including in Anja, so if she eventually does ask for her help to reach Brinnie and the Norns, it would be under very different circumstances. |
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mzpx
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Post by mzpx on Jul 9, 2021 20:11:06 GMT
Someone must have noticed this already, but it's still cool: Coyote seems to be staring at his strength-stripe here when he's asking for a story about his incredible strength. |
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Post by mturtle7 on Jul 13, 2021 8:37:21 GMT
In Chapter 32, Annie gets Basil to tell Kat there's a " mad fairy uprising" as one of her many convoluted friendship-repairing schemes. A moment later, Red bursts into the room and rudely yells at Kat, insulting her, but also telling her to be Annie's friend again - Annie immediately shows up to push her out of sight again. Until now, it never occurred to me that Red was there because SHE was supposed to be the "mad fairy uprising" in Annie's original plan. |
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Post by Gemminie on Jul 21, 2021 17:09:04 GMT
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Post by speedwell on Jul 21, 2021 22:47:11 GMT
What a wonderful way to express the "rubedo" stage of the alchemical process  |
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Post by Gemminie on Jul 22, 2021 14:43:31 GMT
What a wonderful way to express the "rubedo" stage of the alchemical process I had to look that up, but yes, that would definitely be a "reddening" process! |
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Post by mturtle7 on Aug 6, 2021 2:46:51 GMT
What a wonderful way to express the "rubedo" stage of the alchemical process I had to look that up, but yes, that would definitely be a "reddening" process! Hold up, 'scuse me; I believe you two meant to post this to the "Truly Terrible Gunnerkrigg Jokes" thread? |
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Post by mturtle7 on Aug 6, 2021 2:49:58 GMT
*ahem* anyway, what I actually came here to say was: On page 1299, Smitty comments on how lucky Annie & Parley were to survive their first encounter with Jeanne together. SMITTY comments on how "lucky" they were during a scene HE WAS IN. Goddamn it, Smitty. You know perfectly goddamn well whose luck that was, and it sure as hell wasn't Annie's. |
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Post by maxptc on Aug 6, 2021 3:17:55 GMT
*ahem* anyway, what I actually came here to say was: On page 1299, Smitty comments on how lucky Annie & Parley were to survive their first encounter with Jeanne together. SMITTY comments on how "lucky" they were during a scene HE WAS IN. Goddamn it, Smitty. You know perfectly goddamn well whose luck that was, and it sure as hell wasn't Annie's. Yeah, and I also assume just being good freinds with Smitty is a passive luck bonus. |
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Post by blackmantha on Aug 14, 2021 19:36:26 GMT
All the way back after the first year, #303 is a set of photo's. Check out number four. It has a seam running down the center of its face. |
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Post by speedwell on Aug 22, 2021 21:04:05 GMT
I didn't exactly "just notice" this, but I was reading a post where our real friend imaginaryfriend linked this page for the scene at the bottom (it isn't divided into panels exactly). Once again I noticed that the man and woman were clearly Loup imagining himself in those roles. I hadn't really thought deeply about it because I knew Loup was off his head and Annie wasn't having any, but this time I was super squicked out by the idea that Loup was hitting on Annie in a very unsubtle and obnoxious way. Not to mention that he doesn't even imply but says straight out that he is prepared to satisfy her (ahem) desire for company of a non-man, non-woman, presumably non-humanoid sort. I am going to have to go peel my eyebrows off the attic insulation now. |
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Post by jda on Aug 23, 2021 0:42:46 GMT
I've just been rereading the comics from the past year, and others may have made this guess already, but what if the first Kat, the one who did lose Annie, was already the mecha-goddess by the time she met the Norns? It seems like the appointments need to be made by 'higher beings', and without Annie, Kat wouldn't have had Brinnie make the appointment, so she had to become a very special being on her own. In this theory, Kat is destined to become the mecha-goddess in all timelines, but the Norns don't want to tell her just yet, because it's not, well, time for that. They know she would worry about it and they want to spare her that worry. Not sure how this gels with my other theory about Muut showing up right after Annie surviving the fall just so that he can start the whole process of her becoming a psychopomp (he tells her about Jeanne and gives her the blinker stone) for mecha-Kat's beyond-robots, as it would mean that the original mecha-Kat and her beyond-robots wouldn't have a psychopomp, as their Annie never survived. Which sounds unstable, maybe that timeline collapses right after Kat initiates the first loop? [Edit: that would explain why she's also saving herself] [Edit2: in a way she never would have been able to do it on her own - just what dark road led her to the Norns the first time..?] So, wild guess with no basis: The Kat that took said Dark Road did what she had to do: become God. However, due to she fully understanding the Universe and Time's nature, she went a bit crazy, and a lot of mad, full circled back in time and.. became Coyote. |
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Post by pyradonis on Aug 23, 2021 11:36:45 GMT
So, wild guess with no basis: The Kat that took said Dark Road did what she had to do: become God. However, due to she fully understanding the Universe and Time's nature, she went a bit crazy, and a lot of mad, full circled back in time and.. became Coyote. Shouldn't that go into the wildspec thread? |
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Post by shinkaii on Aug 24, 2021 6:51:26 GMT
All the way back after the first year, #303 is a set of photo's. Check out number four. It has a seam running down the center of its face. I was around fourteen when I started reading GC for the first time and this page creeped me out so much that for a while I had impression that GC was a horror comics. Well, I wasn't so far off considering all the Loup body horror that is happening right now lmao Interesting to note that some time after Coyote gave Annie his tooth he binded her hand so she wouldn't tell anyone, including Ysengrin, about it. So at that point he already knew taht it would be YS who kill him instead of Rey, so he made sure YS didn't knew about the knife to leave Loup in the dark about it as well. It's kinda obvious but I JUST NOW put two and two tohether. |
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Post by warrl on Aug 24, 2021 17:32:58 GMT
Worth noting that the penalty is explicitly if she tells "anyone in the forest" - apparently it's okay to tell folks in the Court.
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Post by mturtle7 on Sept 1, 2021 17:08:51 GMT
I didn't exactly "just notice" this, but I was reading a post where our real friend imaginaryfriend linked this page for the scene at the bottom (it isn't divided into panels exactly). Once again I noticed that the man and woman were clearly Loup imagining himself in those roles. I hadn't really thought deeply about it because I knew Loup was off his head and Annie wasn't having any, but this time I was super squicked out by the idea that Loup was hitting on Annie in a very unsubtle and obnoxious way. Not to mention that he doesn't even imply but says straight out that he is prepared to satisfy her (ahem) desire for company of a non-man, non-woman, presumably non-humanoid sort. I am going to have to go peel my eyebrows off the attic insulation now. Bit late on replying to this, I feel a bit obligated to point out that "non-man, non-woman" does not necessarily equal "non-humanoid." Both gender and biological sex are actually pretty wildly diverse among us humanoids! So like, while Loup's come-on is obviously still gross, it's probably not gross in that particular way you're probably thinking of. Your poor, exhausted, eyebrows will thank me, I'm sure. |
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