Source
r/gunnerkrigg•
statix37

Subreddit Re-Read, Chapter 4: Not Very Scary

Hi! Welcome to the fourth installment of the r/gunnerkrigg re-read of Gunnerkrigg Court. Here, we go back to read and discuss the comic's archives from the beginning, one chapter at a time, to remind us of past events and better understand the story. New threads go up around 10am EST on Tuesdays and Thursdays (usually) and the newest will always be stickied.

Read Chapter 4

Watch Tom's video

Has re-reading this chapter given you renewed insight on a certain character? Do you feel there's any foreshadowing or interesting bits that relate to the story later on? What important developments happened in this chapter? How does this chapter relate to the story as a whole? Did anything happen here that you forgot about or forgot was important until now? Did Tom's video teach you anything new?

Besides discussing the chapter, I also welcome any feedback regarding the re-read series.

Posted Feb 2, 2016, 10:33 AM UTC · edited

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statix37OPI can't believe they let me be in charge of something.•

A short little chapter this time, but we get to meet two of my favorite characters for the first time, Mort and Paz!

We also get our first look at the Dulce et decorum est engraving, which pops up again every now and then. I missed this detail my first read-through. Per Wikipedia:

Dulce et Decorum est is a poem written by Wilfred Owen during World War I, and published posthumously in 1920. The Latin title is taken from the Roman poet Horace and means "it is sweet and honorable...", followed by pro patria mori, which means "to die for one's country"

Tom sure is good at this foreshadowing thing. He didn't write the chapter where we learn about Mort's backstory until years later.

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Neurokeen•

If you haven't read Owen's poem, do. It's a classic, and the imagery is pretty intense.

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SmartAlec105GNU Terry Pratchett•

Dammit. Now I'm starting to tear up because I started thinking about Mort again.

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statix37OPI can't believe they let me be in charge of something.•

I know. He's my favorite :(

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IndorilMiara•

Paz! Such a cutie. It's almost amazing to me that this is the same Paz we know now. It almost seems like at this time Paz was intended to be a one-off character.

And wow the comic was a lot sillier back at the beginning, wasn't it?

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statix37OPI can't believe they let me be in charge of something.•

Doesn't mean she was necessarily a one-off, she could well have been planned as a recurring character but wasn't fully plotted out yet. Or this could be deliberately planned character development - Paz comes to the Court as the skittish little Spanish girl in a new country/environment but gets stronger as she becomes more comfortable and finds purpose with her animals. I'm sure Tom would like us to believe something near the latter :)

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IndorilMiara•

Paz comes to the Court as the skittish little Spanish girl in a new country/environment but gets stronger as she becomes more comfortable and finds purpose with her animals.

I'd much rather believe that too, it's a charming notion. I think it's just in this chapter more-so than the previous three that it struck me how much the tone of the comic and the way the characters behave has changed so dramatically.

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statix37OPI can't believe they let me be in charge of something.•

You make a good point. Winsbury is also a different character when we meet him than he is later in the strip. This could be two issues though: only seeing a small sample, and people simply change from year to year at that age. Even year 7 to year 9 in school is time to mature a lot.

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LamenardoFlame Shadow•

I wonder if Paz was chosen simply to allow us to see Annie could speak Spanish? Because the very next chapter, we learn she also speaks a little Polish. Are there any others she can speak? I can't remember if she speaks French.

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Gotolei12a - never forget•

Tom said a few times on the Formspring that the only other ones are Spanish and Polish, but here we see her speaking ancient Egyptian.

Probably those are the only other two she knows fluently enough to speak sentences in, but who knows how many bits and baubles she's picked up over the years.

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LamenardoFlame Shadow•

Perhaps ancient Egyptian is considered a dead language, and doesn't count? I dunno.

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Neurokeen•

So one thing that didn't quite click before was a big reason Annie was never frightened of Mort: She was already quite familiar with the psychopomps and how that whole thing works.

Also, given how Annie has worked out in the comic since, I just can't imagine her doing Bonsai. It seems totally out of character for her.

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LamenardoFlame Shadow•

ooooh. Good point. I always thought Annie was just naturally a very stoic girl, but nope, she's used to it. Same with Janet, she would have grown up inside the Court, so that's why she also didn't react. Whereas Paz I believe has no prior experience with etheric beings?

I imagine the Bonsai was probably a class project, since sword fighting was taught to the mediums, and bouncing around in space simulated adventures is also a class. Probably to train the students, Karate Kid style.

Plus, Annie was a weird kid who had weird hobbies, who grew up in a big hospital and had weird education. I can imagine her being given bonsais as a way to keep the kid quiet, occupied, and focused.

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Gotolei12a - never forget•

Would be a really obscure Chekhov's Gun, but I wonder if the Bonsai practice will come in handy for Ms. Forest Kid some day.

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LamenardoFlame Shadow•

Which Ms Forest Kid?

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Gotolei12a - never forget•

Annie.

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LamenardoFlame Shadow•

Did anyone else ever think that was a horribly mean trick to play on Paz? I mean, spiders, jump scares, aliens...that's one thing, but a clown after for your eyes? Not cool, Annie. That's a line you don't cross. (joking. Mostly.)

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LamenardoFlame Shadow•

Interesting to note Annie became Annie right away to Mort. Isn't she usually Antimony or Carver to all nonfriends?

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nonpareilpearl<3 Coyote•

Others might know this, but for those that don't the clown is basically saying "What beautiful eyes you have, Paz. Mind if I take them?"

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