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Heliotrope posted:She hasn't just 'hosed up', she's done reckless dangerous things multiple times and constantly flouts school authority even though she's been warned about it several times. Holy poo poo, it's like she's the protagonist of a piece of fantasy fiction or something! Why she wasn't chosen is a mystery that is supposed to be mysterious in the same way that the joke two days ago was a joke and not someone's magical powers loving with time. The most notable thing she's done is surviving the events she's been involved in. Interacting with the forest is inherently dangerous. As the headmaster pointed out, not many people would survive spanking a God, but that was exactly the reaction Coyote expected to provoke by shoving his nose up a 12-year-old-girl's skirt, and was exactly as "accidental" as the other time Ysengrin attacks her. She's converted Renard from a friendly demon the Court can barely contain to a servant who cannot disobey her. She's also literally the first person from the Court allowed in the Forest at all since her mother left. She's been invited and stayed the summer (which is only an "issue" because her father literally abandoned her two years in a row). She's been chastised for getting too comfortable around Ysengrin because she gets along too well with him and forget that he's unstable. Someone else might not have that problem because they would likely be unable to interact with him on a level other than sheer hostility, which I'm sure is a great place to be with your opposite counterpart. I'm sure they won't forget he's potentially unstable enough to harm them because getting beyond that lever of communication with him is itself an extraordinary achievement, and not being able to do it makes him more, rather than less, likely to harm them, since he actually will want to do so. Which, again, is not the case with Annie, which is really really unique. Her flouting of the rules basically amounts to ignoring her detentions and copying homework, and the Court may not (probably does not) even know about the homework. Most of her outright reckless actions occurred before she was offered her candidacy even! Everyone's shocked because she's amazing at the job already despite being a child, and the other candidates have not even demonstrated a capacity for it. Smitty's power is theoretically helpful, but it's not like he's already been doing the job.* No one knows if they'll do jack poo poo to an actual, literal god. They're passing up a prodigy, and everyone knows it. Also I doubt the decision regarding the medium has anything to do with her mother's death. The same fate will befall her if she has a child, which has gently caress-all to do with whether or not she goes to the Forest. If anything, they'd better have a good sex-ed program as she goes through her teenage years. Edit: *Which is why one of the potential reasons for picking him is literally that the Court may prefer that the job of enabling communication with the Forest go to someone who can't do it. Also they might be playing right into Coyote's hands. Now Annie will be unoccupied, pissed off at the Court, and even more motivated to stick her nose into business they don't want her involved in. Like Jeanne and the Power Stations. Hodgepodge fucked around with this message at 12:00 on Feb 13, 2013 |
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Feb 13, 2013 11:42
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Froodulous posted:I was curious how much volume 2 was going for considering how elusive it is and... Wait for Topatoco to restock.
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Feb 13, 2013 12:01
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My speculation: last time, as Annie noted, the headmaster didn't seem to care about the proceedings at all. It's also been referenced that the humans look down on the forest creatures as savage and inferior. Even though Annie is obvious as a mediator because she's naturally open-minded, emotionally detached (when she wants to be), and ether-compatible, the Court is not at all interested in forging relations with the Forest. Their goal is to figure everything out, including the ether, and Coyote is an opponent of that purely by being a product of mythology. They want to become God, not parlay with a god. Annie would never cooperate with their interests, so it makes no sense to involve her. Of course, I doubt Smits and George will be eager to act as the Court's hands, being friends with Annie and so acutely aware of the Court's more gruesome histories.
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Feb 13, 2013 13:05
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Maybe they just don't want someone who's going to die the first time a condom breaks.
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Feb 13, 2013 13:17
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Worth noting that "that guy" (who is he?) said that he was sure "they'd" pick Annie, which implies that this is more then just the headmaster posturing and flexing his power.
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Feb 13, 2013 13:30
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I think that what it's all about is the difference in perception as to what makes for a good medium. Jones recommended Annie because she thinks the person who is best suited for the job is the person who is most effective at communicating with the forest. Of the three candidates, Annie is clearly the leader there, attack by Ysengrin or not. The headmaster and whoever else is behind him, however, think that the job of the medium is to represent the interests of the Court. Of the three candidates, Smitty is best at this; his powers would be likely to predispose him towards thinking positively of order, and he has a tendency to go with the flow rather than speak up. Neither Parley nor Annie would be as easy to pressure into taking any particular position. Thing is, a diplomat really should be both of those things, so neither of them is exactly wrong. They're just putting different levels of priority on the different aspects of the job. Jones is naturally looking at the aspect of the job that is more neutral, whereas the headmaster is looking at the aspect that is most beneficial to the Court.
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Feb 13, 2013 15:03
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I like the minor parallel with the headmaster deciding that the matter is settled before the other party has the chance to form a proper response.
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Feb 13, 2013 15:09
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Froodulous posted:I was curious how much volume 2 was going for considering how elusive it is and... This kind of thing is generally caused by bugs in automated re-pricing mechanisms. MikeJF fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Feb 13, 2013 |
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Feb 13, 2013 15:17
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So in the one panel where its just Annie and Rey, he nudges her. Is it a comfort thing or is it him signalling her to speak up and object? The facial expression on this page are very well done at conveying the confusion and pain the whole thing has brought out. Bravo, Tom.
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Feb 13, 2013 15:40
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Krabkolash posted:So in the one panel where its just Annie and Rey, he nudges her. Is it a comfort thing or is it him signalling her to speak up and object? Judging by Rey's expression, its a comfort thing, considering shes holding back her emotions pretty hard.
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Feb 13, 2013 15:44
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Conot posted:Judging by Rey's expression, its a comfort thing, considering shes holding back her emotions pretty hard. Her having trouble holding back emotions is pretty indicative in and of itself, given that this is Annie, supreme lord of repressing and keeping a poker face.
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Feb 13, 2013 15:48
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MikeJF posted:Her having trouble holding back emotions is pretty indicative in and of itself, given that this is Annie, supreme lord of repressing and keeping a poker face. She's been a lot more relaxed about that for a while now, though - I think the last time she went all robot king-blank on us was for a short (one page) period when her dad phoned in.
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Feb 13, 2013 15:58
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I have a feeling Annie's going to get a job or new responsibility, but will be told of this in private. This whole thing reminds me of how Ron/Hermione got prefect badges and Harry didn't get anything.
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Feb 13, 2013 16:05
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The picking of Smitty came as a shock, but naming Parley as the potential future Protector sure is cool! She won't even need to fly - she can just teleport everywhere! Then when Annie's daughter inevitably ruins everything, Parley will be there to teleport in and save her. That said, the reactions are priceless. It's clear the Headmaster is not giving a poo poo. Headmaster is totally not interested in this situation!
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Feb 13, 2013 16:10
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Brannock posted:I have a feeling Annie's going to get a job or new responsibility, but will be told of this in private. This whole thing reminds me of how Ron/Hermione got prefect badges and Harry didn't get anything. Yes, I don't see her being totally useless to the court. In some way they have something planned. The Parley as future Jeanne theory has me worried, though.
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Feb 13, 2013 16:10
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I really like the direction this has gone. Annie's turn at medium was something the characters had counted on for most of the story, and now we get to see them cope with shock and disappointment (and their new responsibilities). This is a much better way to complicate the characters' lives than we'd see out of something like Walking Dead. Good work.
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Feb 13, 2013 16:34
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Hopefully it means we'll see more of Smitty and Parley, as before they were just her fellow students in medium training, whereas now they are technically members of the Court like Jones or that guy (the one in the green suit). Plus I never get tired of bip.
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Feb 13, 2013 16:50
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builds character posted:Maybe they just don't want someone who's going to die the first time a condom breaks. I am ashamed to admit this got a full-on guffaw out of me. It looks like they're setting up for SOMETHING on Friday, whether it's the headmaster going "And ANOTHER thing, miss Antimony..." or the Forest folks flipping out. They've been kind of quiet!
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Feb 13, 2013 16:52
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Brannock posted:I have a feeling Annie's going to get a job or new responsibility, but will be told of this in private. This whole thing reminds me of how Ron/Hermione got prefect badges and Harry didn't get anything. They'll ask her to be a spy, and then Coyote will ask her to be a double agent. Or perhaps she really will be medium, and Smitty is just the public face, or puppet-medium. Most likely it'll be nothing, but at least so far she hasn't been banned from any future tea parties with Coyote and friends.
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Feb 13, 2013 16:54
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Up for grabs.
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Feb 13, 2013 17:22
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Hodgepodge posted:(Annie loving up a million times in training is why they call it "training," so he probably has some specific reasoning behind picking Smitty). The protector has to be hopelessly in love with the medium because [nefarious black science]. (nobody loves Annie)
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Feb 13, 2013 17:33
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I can't wait to see Coyote's reaction to all this. And I'm assuming that's what we're going to get on Friday, barring an unexpected outburst from someone else.
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Feb 13, 2013 18:12
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Brightman posted:They'll ask her to be a spy, and then Coyote will ask her to be a double agent. Or perhaps she really will be medium, and Smitty is just the public face, or puppet-medium. Most likely it'll be nothing, but at least so far she hasn't been banned from any future tea parties with Coyote and friends. Yes, but this might be more of a neutrality action then a giving Annie a break, Coyote, and possibly Ysengrin depending on how many of his memories are left, would object to Annie being disallowed to visit the forest. e: The headmaster is actually a giant matchmaker, assigning the role of medium and protector to couples who he'd like to see together. When Surma defied his shipping chart by going with Anthony he takes it out on Annie by building her up to being medium only to then give it to his new OTP Paritt (Parley/Smitt) Arianya fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Feb 13, 2013 |
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Feb 13, 2013 18:46
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Renaissance Robot posted:The protector has to be hopelessly in love with the medium because [nefarious black science]. [Chibisoma]
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Feb 13, 2013 18:58
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I doubt the headmaster has some benevolent master plan for Annie. We've all seen how little he respects the inhabitants of Gillitie Wood. This seems like a giant middle finger to Coyote.
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Feb 13, 2013 19:04
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Leovinus posted:I doubt the headmaster has some benevolent master plan for Annie. We've all seen how little he respects the inhabitants of Gillitie Wood. This seems like a giant middle finger to Coyote. I'd agree. Just look at how little of a poo poo the headmaster gives. Everything he's doing is probably in favor of the Court's interests and nobody else's.
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Feb 13, 2013 19:33
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If nothing else it's going to be interesting how Coyote and Smitts and Parley interact, we've only really seen Coyote around Jones and Annie and at diplomatic meetings, I'm looking to see if he has a different performance planned for our new medium.
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Feb 13, 2013 19:41
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Protocol7 posted:I'd agree. Just look at how little of a poo poo the headmaster gives. Everything he's doing is probably in favor of the Court's interests and nobody else's. And I also agree that Annie wouldn't make for a very good medium. You're supposed to have a friendly standing with the forest (which is difficult to say at the moment) but you're also supposed to act in the Court's best interests, and that's just not something I think Annie is cut out to do.
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Feb 13, 2013 21:11
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Conot posted:e: The headmaster is actually a giant matchmaker, assigning the role of medium and protector to couples who he'd like to see together. When Surma defied his shipping chart by going with Anthony he takes it out on Annie by building her up to being medium only to then give it to his new OTP Paritt (Parley/Smitt)
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Feb 13, 2013 21:14
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One bit of  among all the chaos—is this the first time we've seen Eglamore refer to Annie as anything other than "Carver"?
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Feb 13, 2013 21:17
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Angry Avocado posted:That doesn't really say much, "not giving a poo poo" is the only emotion the headmaster is capable of having. He actually gave Annie a nice smile when he talked about her surviving Coyote's spanking. I don't think he's a megalomaniacal evil dude or anything. Although he was an rear end to Annie's parents and Co (then some dude punched him out, who was that guy?).
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Feb 13, 2013 21:25
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Hodgepodge posted:He actually gave Annie a nice smile when he talked about her surviving Coyote's spanking. Totally forgot about that. Also forgot that the headmaster is the same age as Kat and Annie's parents, probably because he's loving grey. Which brings up the question, why is the headmaster loving grey? Does he hate the forest and nature so much that he never goes outside?
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Feb 13, 2013 21:43
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Hodgepodge posted:I don't think he's a megalomaniacal evil dude or anything. Although he was an rear end to Annie's parents and Co (then some dude punched him out, who was that guy?). That guy who was a jerk wasn't the headmaster, it was Jack's father.
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Feb 13, 2013 21:47
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^^ Oh? My bad. My impression has been that his job is actually super-stressful. He's not only grey, but has worry lines that make him look way older than he is. Clearly his job in the court goes beyond overseeing the school.
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Feb 13, 2013 21:47
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Brightman posted:Why is the headmaster loving grey? Does he hate the forest and nature so much that he never goes outside? Maybe he's a robot.
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Feb 13, 2013 21:51
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Another thought: Nobody's actually said anything bad about Annie, her abilities, or her record yet. All the headmaster has said on the subject is "Smitty is the medium. No, not Annie. Smitty. Yeah, I know, it's bonkers, but trust me. It's Smitty." It's possible that all this means is Annie has been granted another important Court/Forest relations job, or some Court position, which the Court decided was a better fit for her than Medium. Everybody settle down and let the man finish.  e: For the record, if it is something like this, they might not even get around to telling her until after the ceremony is over, quietly, in private. Hope that doesn't mess Annie up too badly. 
loquacius fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Feb 13, 2013 |
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Feb 13, 2013 22:14
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Penguissimo posted:One bit of Beats that time he called her Surma. That was awkward. Edit: Meant to imply that it is kind of a relief to see that Eglamore's thinking of Annie more as her own person instead of a duplicate of her mother and I'm thinking about this too much. Lock Knight fucked around with this message at 22:40 on Feb 13, 2013 |
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Feb 13, 2013 22:17
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Brannock posted:That guy who was a jerk wasn't the headmaster, it was Jack's father. Oh, well...his daughter is still in their class, so he's probably not too much older than their parents...maybe...unless Janet is also a robot. Maybe he's like Red and those students, and he's actually doing cool, zany stuff in the etheric plane all the time and being boring and grey otherwise.
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Feb 13, 2013 22:48
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Well, I think that the name Carver implies that he was seeing her less a duplicate of her mother, and more of "That man's spawn". So in a way Eglamore switching to any might be that he decided to let bygones be bygones. Oh, and regarding Surma and Eglamore, there's a neat little thing in this. I don't know if it's the same thing in England, but where I am from, there's a superstition against gifting a knife to someone. It must be traded or purchased, even if it's only for what there is in the receiver's pockets, because it otherwise severs, or rather cuts, the relationship between the parties. Which would be kind of tragic and ironic there.
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Feb 13, 2013 22:53
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I half think with all this speculation it will end up being something completely mundane, like Annie simply not being old enough for the job. Smitty/Parley are what, 16 or 17? They're old enough to go face off against dangerous forest gods of their own accord, but Annie is still young enough to need a parent or guardian to sign a permission slip for her and the court is supposed to be responsible for her safety and well being. Kind of hope that whatever is in store for her, the headmaster has her best interests at heart so he doesn't seem entirely bad. Mostly though I'm just waiting for more Coyote faces and comments
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Feb 13, 2013 23:18
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