Gunnerkrigg Court 8: Thrown for a Loup

[smuchmuch]

That seems very possible. I have wondered for a while if Loup "dying" when he find Coyote's plan may not have been something sort of metaphorical. Like Loup will change in away so radical he won't be loup anymore.
(Weither it s alway intended that way or the author just changed plans mid arc tho, who knows...)

[WanderingMist]

New theory: Annie, just trying to explain why she thinks she can trust Jerrek and think of him as only Jerrek, tells him the story of Coyote and the dead goose. This unlocks Coyote's memories and brings Coyote turning Jerrek/Loup into him. And that is how Annie kills Loup.

Loup already has Coyote's memories though. Ysengrin's too. Coyote only hid two specific memories from Loup. The location of his fang, and the memory of knowing what he hid.

[Devlerbat]

Ah, never mind. This is why she kills him. Understandable.

[sihnfahl]

Socially Awkward Loup/Jerrek is Socially Awkward Loup/Jerrek.

[137beth]

Ah, never mind. This is why she kills him. Understandable.

I would not be surprised if Annie defied Zimmy's and Coyote's prophecies and didn't kill Loup.

[Devlerbat]

I would not be surprised if Annie defied Zimmy's and Coyote's prophecies and didn't kill Loup.

Honestly, I think, for Annie and Loup specifically, that can work out since while Annie isn't obsessing over the prophecy, she isn't dismissing it out of hand nor is she fully convinced it is set in stone. That is probably the best course for actually defying a prophecy since trying too hard to defy tends to be how they happen, but if you just act like you never heard it then you are still on the same script that the prophecy was written. Which, I think, is why Kat's prophecy is going to happen. She just dismissed it out of hand as meaningless nonsense and then stopped thinking about it. She is very much still on the same script she was when Annie was told that prophecy.

Admittedly I am not really sure if any of this makes sense or if I have my thoughts straight on this.

[da_chicken]

I don't know if the comics ever mentioned it, but in folklore it's often said that Coyote's favorite stories are the ones where he died.

[Willie the Duck]

I would not be surprised if Annie defied Zimmy's and Coyote's prophecies and didn't kill Loup.

I don't know if the comics ever mentioned it, but in folklore it's often said that Coyote's favorite stories are the ones where he died.

Looks to me like she may have killed him by completing his story, making Coyote want to split back out and discuss it.

[eee]

That was unexpected.

[Ionathus]

OH. Oh my.

Do we think this is another "memory Coyote", or has he truly returned??

Loup/Jerrek's face does not imply that he was expecting this outcome...

[137beth]

So

Spoiler: New page

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the guy who always wants to be surprised by everything now says he knew what would happen. Maybe this is like when he erases his own memories of stories about himself so he can re-expereince them for the first time: he knew what would happen to Loup from the beginning, but he temporarily made himself not know so that he could be entertained watching it play out.

[Ionathus]

*new chapter title is posted*

And I knew this would happen! :D

[137beth]

That was unexpected.

Nuh uh, it was totally expected, because Coyote knew it would happen!

[Rodin]

Spoiler: New page

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I would ordinarily complain about running a joke into the ground, but I got a serious laugh out of this one. I've missed Coyote!

[Devlerbat]

I am beginning to think that they just said the correct words to make this message trigger, but the thing that Coyote "knew" would happen isn't actually happening.

[wingnutx]

I really wanted her to use the tooth.

[geoduck]

I am beginning to think that they just said the correct words to make this message trigger, but the thing that Coyote "knew" would happen isn't actually happening.

It might be that it was supposed to be Annie and Loup who fell in love.

[eee]

Coyote is a manipulative so and so.

But we KNEW he was a manipulative so and so.

[137beth]

I feel like Coyote's message (possibly pre-recorded) falls flat. Loup likes Annie now, but the person he really loves is someone other than Annie. And Annie can get along with Loup now, but she probably loves other people more.

If Loup really is turning over a new leaf, then Annie is going to try to avoid killing Loup. Maybe the next page is going to be Coyote saying "lol, you thought I'd let Loup be nice so you wouldn't have to kill him, well I'm now activating the 'make Loup go on a killing rampage' spell so all the character development he just got is undone and you have to kill him." But that would feel kinda cheap to me.

[DaFlipp]

I feel like Coyote's message (possibly pre-recorded) falls flat. Loup likes Annie now, but the person he really loves is someone other than Annie. And Annie can get along with Loup now, but she probably loves other people more.

If Loup really is turning over a new leaf, then Annie is going to try to avoid killing Loup. Maybe the next page is going to be Coyote saying "lol, you thought I'd let Loup be nice so you wouldn't have to kill him, well I'm now activating the 'make Loup go on a killing rampage' spell so all the character development he just got is undone and you have to kill him." But that would feel kinda cheap to me.

We'll see how things go, but my impression was that it's *supposed* to be falling flat. Coyote is ever-so-confident that things played out exactly as he thought, and had absolutely no idea Loup would get over his Annie-crush and fall for someone else.

On a narrative level, it makes a certain amount of ironic sense that a chapter that began with multiple iterations of how "Coyote Knew This Would Happen" would, in fact, be about him absolutely *not* knowing exactly how things would happen! And then the question becomes - will Coyote (or possibly just a shadow of Coyote?) take being wrong in good humor? Or will he be a poor sport? Woe betide everyone in the surrounding area if it's the latter...

Spoiler: My (probably incorrect) prediction

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My prediction: He is utterly delighted to have been truly surprised by something for the first time in ages... and then the Court's latest machinations go into full swing, he dismissively says "Oh, *that* I saw coming," and poofs out of existence while the rest of the cast is stuck dealing with whatever's happening next.

[DaFlipp]

It also just occurred to me how justifiably furious Renard might be about all this. After everything he went through with Surma, here Coyote is again, pulling the strings to set up a doomed "romance" between someone who trusts him and a (pseudo-) mortal. Hell, it even began the exact same way, with Coyote "helpfully" offering a "gift" that immediately gets abused by the recipient in a way that angers the Court and repulses the one they love.

Either Coyote learned nothing from Renard's fate, or he *did* and simply used that to set up an even *more* painful confluence of events (which, thankfully, did not come to pass quite as planned). Not to mention that Renard lost his body* as part of this particular scenario!

*Now that Loup's turned over a new leaf, it'll be interesting to see how permanent that was.

[Rodin]

No matter where we go from here, this is the most engaged I’ve been in ages. This is great stuff, and seeing Coyote taken off-guard is extremely unexpected. We’re clearly off the tracks which throws all the predictions about Coyotes tooth out the window. Whatever plan Coyote had, it’s not going to happen the way he wanted.

And I am here for it.

[P. G. Macer]

Gee, Coyote is not happy about Jerrek and Lana…

[137beth]

Given his past statements that he likes being surprised, I would think he would like this. Maybe it's time for a chapter called "137beth didn't know this would happen."

[wingnutx]

Half baked theory:

Spoiler

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Coyote goes after Kat. Antimony is forced to use the tooth. Coyote says this was the real plan all along!

[Rodin]

So here's a question...

Has Coyote ever met Kat? Loup has I'm pretty sure, but Coyote doesn't seem to have been aware of what is going on while he's part of Loup. Did Coyote ever meet Kat prior to getting Louped?

I'm trying to think of a time they did and coming up blank. If they've truly never met, that's kind of an incredible facet of the story to keep under the radar. Kat appears as this eldritch being to anyone who is viewing her through the ether, but if Coyote has never been around her and didn't know what she was...

[eee]

So here's a question...

Has Coyote ever met Kat? Loup has I'm pretty sure, but Coyote doesn't seem to have been aware of what is going on while he's part of Loup. Did Coyote ever meet Kat prior to getting Louped?

I'm trying to think of a time they did and coming up blank. If they've truly never met, that's kind of an incredible facet of the story to keep under the radar. Kat appears as this eldritch being to anyone who is viewing her through the ether, but if Coyote has never been around her and didn't know what she was...

No. I've been watching ever since it began to seem that Kat was much more than she appeared, and at no time has Coyote set eyes on Kat. The closest they've come was when Coyote saw the time traveling Tic-Toc and swatted it. Hopefully he won't try to do the same to her.

[eee]

Oh jeez. Oh jeez. Oh... jeez.

(fingers crossed)

[Errorname]

I don't think either Coyote or Ysengrin met Kat. She wasn't even in attendance at that big meeting scene where they were first introduced I don't think.

[eee]

No blood. No body. He swallowed her. Well, that's rude.

Kat doesn't see Etheric. Coyote's going to show up and to her he'll be just a mangy coyote, if anything at all.