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Post by todd on Apr 5, 2010 22:25:34 GMT
The Court superiors dismantled Kat's anti-grav ship, shouqi. Yow! That's the first I ever heard about that. I don't think that we're going to see Kat tag along, in any case; we've already had a precedent in several chapters of Kat having to be left behind on some of Annie's adventures (Chapters Twelve, Fourteen, Twenty, and Twenty-six come to mind). I think that this chapter will fall into the same category.
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Post by warrl on Apr 5, 2010 23:00:30 GMT
It's definitely not a literal two-edged sword; it's a knife. It's far too short to be a sword. Plus, I'm pretty sure it's only got one edge. It might have two, but it's still a knife. It might metaphorically be a two-edged sword, though. Actually, Tom said it was a short sword. Short swords and long daggers do kind of overlap or run together. The shortest sword listed on Wikipedia under " Shortsword" is the cinquedea, with a typical total length of 15 inches but some were shorter. Roughly speaking, a short sword has a total length greater than 12 inches and a blade length less than 30 inches. It can be single or double edged, pointed or not, and almost certainly does not have a hilt that encourages two-handed use. The Tooth pretty clearly is within that range. Although it would not surprise me if the thing also turns out to be a longsword. Both the classic European longsword and the Japanese katana have blades in the 30-to-40-inch range and sufficient hilt for two hands, while being well balanced for single-handed use.
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Post by evilanagram on Apr 5, 2010 23:00:58 GMT
Something occurred to me: Rowing isn't that hard. Even before I joined a crew team in college, I could row a boat reasonably well for a pretty good distance, and I'm not all that strong. I'm not sure if that boat has a lot more drag than most, but the boy needs to suck it up. Two quick points on this: One, Jack hasn't eaten or slept in God knows how long, and Two, see if you can find in the old threads where I and some other folks calculated just how far it appeared to be from the shore to the station, because my recollection was that it was pretty damn far. Those are both good points. And I just noticed that the ripple pattern on the water suggest he's still rowing. Just looking at panel 2 (where the man-made lake stretches to the horizon) makes me think the whole "let's row to the power station" idea is a little inadvisable.
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Post by philistine21 on Apr 5, 2010 23:39:25 GMT
I bet the spider's name is Cecil Belvedere VIII. He comes from a long line of spider-gentlemen and has decided to stick around with Jack so that they can go traveling together in hot air balloons. The symbol on his back is a snowman because, in addition to being gentlemanly, he's also quite festive. ^ I support this theory ^ ;D ;D ;D
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Post by linnabean on Apr 6, 2010 0:23:10 GMT
I bet the spider's name is Cecil Belvedere VIII. He comes from a long line of spider-gentlemen and has decided to stick around with Jack so that they can go traveling together in hot air balloons. The symbol on his back is a snowman because, in addition to being gentlemanly, he's also quite festive. ^ I support this theory ^ ;D ;D ;D i love love love this theory.
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Post by Per on Apr 6, 2010 0:26:58 GMT
Can Cecil have a monocle that stays aloft for a moment whenever he does a flip-take?
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Post by philistine21 on Apr 6, 2010 0:38:41 GMT
A closeup of the spider on Jack's face. P.S. I didn't draw this.
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Post by linnabean on Apr 6, 2010 1:47:58 GMT
Perfect!
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Post by fuzzyone on Apr 6, 2010 5:12:14 GMT
On the topic of the Tooth... I actually don't think we've seen the blade itself. I think we've seen it in its sheath... Seen here, I see a strap looped over what appears to be a guard, that's fastened to another part of the blade. That appears to be a safeguard to keep the blade from accidentally sliding free of the sheath. The shape of the sheath, if that is what it is, suggests one edge. It also has what appear to be straps wrapped around it, in addition to the cord one might use to tie the blade to one's self.Granted, they're made by Coyote, so it's possible the black bands are capable of withstanding the mighty edge of the keenest blade... But I still think it looks like a sheath. Just my thoughts on things.
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Post by kermittheforg on Apr 6, 2010 7:56:38 GMT
^This is what I was trying to convey in my earlier post. The boy's running on empty. He's probably going to collapse sometime this chapter. I suspect that's why Jack wants Annie "and the wolf" along. Or he figures he only needs to run faster than them if things go wrong.
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Post by cazador on Apr 6, 2010 10:41:27 GMT
^This is what I was trying to convey in my earlier post. The boy's running on empty. He's probably going to collapse sometime this chapter. I suspect that's why Jack wants Annie "and the wolf" along. Or he figures he only needs to run faster than them if things go wrong. that's going to happen...
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Post by Ulysses on Apr 6, 2010 14:43:03 GMT
Yikes. Annie's hair reminds me of an umbilical cord... I hadn't realised it was what connected her astral body to her physical body, though. Probably didn't realize it because we've never actually seen her in both states at the same panel. A most interesting discovery though. It does look like that, doesn't it? It actually curls around behind her though, and doesn't connect. Unfortunate, as that would have been pretty cool, however fairly nonsensical. Edit: Unless it's attached at the very tip, but I think that's just a coincidence, it was meant to follow the line of Annie's hair and was put close enough to look like it connects.
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Post by linnabean on Apr 6, 2010 15:09:44 GMT
I think her hair is attached to the etheric hair. That's just the way it looks to me, and its makes sense as a sort of anchor to her physical self.
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Post by Casey on Apr 6, 2010 15:40:24 GMT
I didn't notice this until I looked at the page again and read some of the on-page comments, but the ether-phase Jack silhouette thing (see pg. 614) is back again...
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Post by La Goon on Apr 6, 2010 15:43:23 GMT
Wait, I just noticed that Annie's etheric hair is also tied into a ponytail. I hadn't thought that the state of her physical hair would have such an influence on her etheric form. Does this mean that Annie's physical hair is actually important to her essence?
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Post by Mylian on Apr 6, 2010 16:38:11 GMT
Something occurred to me: Rowing isn't that hard. Even before I joined a crew team in college, I could row a boat reasonably well for a pretty good distance, and I'm not all that strong. I'm not sure if that boat has a lot more drag than most, but the boy needs to suck it up. If he's making Annie do the work, he can at least not let his oars drag. He's rowing. The ripples left by the oars are not those of being dragged in the water. Compare it to the wake of the boat. It's definitely not a literal two-edged sword; it's a knife. It's far too short to be a sword. Plus, I'm pretty sure it's only got one edge. It might have two, but it's still a knife. It might metaphorically be a two-edged sword, though. Tom said on formsprig that it's a short sword. I do agree that it looks like it only has one edge though. [/quote] It's in a sheath. See the strap around the hilt holding it on? We can't see the blade there, so we don't know if both edges are sharpened or not. But it would help if I read all the pages of a thread first.
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Post by Refugee on Apr 6, 2010 17:21:48 GMT
the ether-phase Jack silhouette thing (see pg. 614) is back again... Thanks for linking that, I couldn't find it. Jack is gray, like Reynard's body.
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Post by violet on Apr 6, 2010 17:40:43 GMT
Well, it would look like that, wouldn't it?
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llogg
New Member
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Post by llogg on Apr 6, 2010 18:10:39 GMT
regarding Annie's hair being important to her etheric self, there's a reason Coyote calls her Fire-Head Girl, I'm sure.
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Post by TBeholder on Apr 6, 2010 18:30:21 GMT
Interesting points here: Annie now acts on what can be construed as a request for help, instead of waiting for direct one. Jack's ether-sight may be reactive - turns on when something happens. Which may be a sign that his condition is dangerous not only for him. By the way. Did Mrs. Sutton saw Jack like that? I wonder what reasons Annie has to not mention that spider to Jack. To make him freak out even harder? Besides, he didn't ask. Jack knows he got some sort of a problem, for now it's enough. I wonder if Annie could get that spider off of Jack But then, the interaction goes both ways. She could use blinker to blast it, of course. But she have no idea whether the spider is a source of this problem or only its manifestation, let alone consequences. Maybe what composes the spider should return to Jack, or something. This is the point where Rey comes out and says "OH can you see me too??" and creeps him out. ;D Just out of curiousity, what do you think would happen if the etheric spider decided to launch itself at the Annie's etheric form? Freaked out panic and larger-than-needed wall of fire? I think there's definitely a romantic subtext here. The whole thing--passing off a note, meeting late at night, going out on the lake in a boat, Jack's "maybe we should..." comment--has lots of potential. Yeah, a twisted parody on a romantic pattern. I love it. ;D Something occurred to me: Rowing isn't that hard. Yeah, but it's a rubber boot sort of vessel and poor chap didn't eat... Perhaps there is an etheric current, whatever that might be, flowing outward from the station? Or sucking in? Jack clearly needs help, and on some level he's aware of it, and he's invented an excuse It may be due to nature of his problem, not character. He tries to ask for help, he says something stupid.
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Post by warrl on Apr 6, 2010 19:40:53 GMT
Interesting points here: Annie now acts on what can be construed as a request for help, instead of waiting for direct one. Jack's ether-sight may be reactive - turns on when something happens. Which may be a sign that his condition is dangerous not only for him. By the way. Did Mrs. Sutton saw Jack like that? I wonder what reasons Annie has to not mention that spider to Jack. To make him freak out even harder? Besides, he didn't ask. Jack knows he got some sort of a problem, for now it's enough. But then, the interaction goes both ways. She could use blinker to blast it, of course. But she have no idea whether the spider is a source of this problem or only its manifestation, let alone consequences. Maybe what composes the spider should return to Jack, or something. I would recommend, as a precaution, that Antimony should flat not mention the spider or any hint that Jack has a problem. (Unless something happens to make attacking the spider the only apparent viable option.) She should instead zip off etherically and ask Mrs. Donlan to collect Mr. Eglamore (and an etheric-minded adult who has experience with Zimmy, if there's one available) and meet her and Jack at the power station. Or at the abandoned office building on the way back. THEN, when that meeting occurs, work on dealing with the spider. I consider Eglamore's ability to protect Annie against Jack in a spider-driven rage - without hurting Jack - significantly superior to Reynardine's. And someone with more etheric experience - particularly with things from Zimmingham - might provide useful abilities or information.
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Post by Per on Apr 6, 2010 21:20:34 GMT
Why not just talk to the spider?
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Post by warrl on Apr 6, 2010 21:23:05 GMT
Why not just talk to the spider? If she starts talking to the spider, it won't have to be particularly intelligent to realize that it has been observed and go into a more hostile mode - either defensive hiding, pre-emptive attack, or "I'm going to be evicted soon, I better do what I can NOW". Any of which could be bad news. It would have to be a great deal more intelligent than that to understand her, let alone answer.
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Post by shouqi on Apr 6, 2010 22:09:33 GMT
I figure she could ask Kecrak (spelling?) about the spider.
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Post by todd on Apr 6, 2010 22:19:49 GMT
I figure she could ask Kecrak (spelling?) about the spider. Except spiders aren't insects; they're arachnids. They're thus outside his territory (beyond providing him with a lot of business when they catch insects). Turning Jack over to Eglamore, Jones and the rest might not be such a good idea - in light of Jack's present paranoia about the Court, he'd probably see it as an act of betrayal, and behave even more dangerously than before.
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Post by evilanagram on Apr 6, 2010 22:44:44 GMT
Why not just talk to the spider? If she starts talking to the spider, it won't have to be particularly intelligent to realize that it has been observed and go into a more hostile mode - either defensive hiding, pre-emptive attack, or "I'm going to be evicted soon, I better do what I can NOW". Any of which could be bad news. It would have to be a great deal more intelligent than that to understand her, let alone answer. I'm sure Cecil Belvedere VIII would be quite the skilled conversationalist. Can Cecil have a monocle that stays aloft for a moment whenever he does a flip-take? Of course. Why else would you even bother to be a gentleman-spider?
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blue
Junior Member
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Post by blue on Apr 6, 2010 23:09:04 GMT
Kat needs to hurry up and get a boyfriend. If it was her with a blinker stone she'd have broken it in half and iron man'd them over the the power station faster than you can say "I wonder why reynardine hasn't commented on that whole spider thing."
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Post by warrl on Apr 6, 2010 23:27:11 GMT
Turning Jack over to Eglamore, Jones and the rest might not be such a good idea - in light of Jack's present paranoia about the Court, he'd probably see it as an act of betrayal, and behave even more dangerously than before. Oh, no, I did not mean to turn Jack over to the adults. Annie needs to do the tough ethereal bits. She's the most ethereally powerful person we've seen in the Court (except for maybe Reynardine, who still has a predator's perspective), and she has Coyote's Tooth. I want others there for: * Physically securing Jack (without hurting him) - Eglamore. I don't think Annie's ready to do ethereal surgery while simultaneously defending herself against physical attack. * Ethereally securing Jack (without hurting him) - Mrs. Donlan, and others who have worked ethereally (primarily with Zimmy). * Anaesthetic - Gamma. 'Nuff said? * Advice - primarily Reynardine and Zimmy, but also everyone else.
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Post by Per on Apr 6, 2010 23:30:55 GMT
Why not just talk to the spider? If she starts talking to the spider, it won't have to be particularly intelligent to realize that it has been observed and go into a more hostile mode - either defensive hiding, pre-emptive attack, or "I'm going to be evicted soon, I better do what I can NOW". Any of which could be bad news. It would have to be a great deal more intelligent than that to understand her, let alone answer. So far the spider seems more like an evil prop than a thinking entity, because it just sits there. On the other hand, Annie has a history of favouring a diplomatic and straightforward approach, so if she/the comic is going to write the spider off as an abominable demonspawn that is only to be precautioned against rather than approached, I'm expecting this will be somehow acknowledged.
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Post by warrl on Apr 7, 2010 0:35:55 GMT
If she starts talking to the spider, it won't have to be particularly intelligent to realize that it has been observed and go into a more hostile mode - either defensive hiding, pre-emptive attack, or "I'm going to be evicted soon, I better do what I can NOW". Any of which could be bad news. It would have to be a great deal more intelligent than that to understand her, let alone answer. So far the spider seems more like an evil prop than a thinking entity, because it just sits there. On the other hand, Annie has a history of favouring a diplomatic and straightforward approach, so if she/the comic is going to write the spider off as an abominable demonspawn that is only to be precautioned against rather than approached, I'm expecting this will be somehow acknowledged. Thing is, she can set up a situation that favors her, and THEN attempt the diplomatic approach. I have no objection to "talk to the spider"; it's "talk to the spider when I have almost no preparations in place for how it might react" that is a bad idea.
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