GTS – Page 160 – Kidd Commander!

GTS – Page 160

by Aria on October 21, 2022 at 9:07 PM

why bother

Here’s one more reminder to get your patreon (or paypal) pledge set up before the end of the month if you’d like to get the next set of postcards!

Thanks so much for y’alls’ patience, dealing with the dead man’s estate has been a fucking nightmare but I’m trying very hard to keep updating. Pretty much constantly furious these days that he managed to fuck me over one last time, during a scene I’ve been looking forward to for actual years no less, but it tracks for this family I suppose. I promise we’re gonna get where we’re going sit tight

Transcript:

Ulrich:
Ahem –
You must. Be quite the sweet talker.

Toulouse:
I listened. Mostly. I counsel people all the time it’s my job.
I didn’t know it would,
I – I didn’t mean to. Do this.
But at some point you stonewalled me. All these little feelings are, recursive, they only get stronger.
I don’t think you need to- we don’t have to be, anything. But the sequence has gotten too short,you only have time to feel something and get paranoid.
We argue, we fail to save someone, it starts over.

Ulrich:
If – why are you just telling me this?

Toulouse:
You’re taking it so well. This conversation definitely would have gone better EARLIER in the one day we have.

Ulrich:
Why even DO this with me if you know I’m – like this?
If you know me so well why do you keep expecting me to be better??
I am a waste of your time.
What about –

Toulouse:
Phineas? Who comes out swinging as soon as she hits the ground?
And I’ve never even come close to changing anyone’s minds about Agatha, not really.
It’s all I can do to keep either of them from ending things on their own.
There has to be something about y’all I’ve missed, I just can’t get close enough anymore to learn what it is.
This timeline was doomed as soon as Phineas attacked Davis at the church. I’m sorry. I’m try-trying.
Thank you for coming. This might still be useful.

Ulrich:
What –
What are you doing?
(aaaa)
(AAAA)

marithness

oh SHIT

This is the worst one of the several possibilities I was imagining earlier. They’re looping and Tolouse is the only one aware of it, which means he’s seen everyone he cares about die dozens? hundreds? thousands? of times. It’s incredible that he’s holding himself together to the extent he is.

I’m guessing he is the one causing the loop, and that he’s about to do it again. Does he wish the timeline where Ulrich trusted him had gone forward, as doomed as the others but with at least that comfort? What’s the farthest he has let time play out? We saw him on Noon, narrating for us, we’ve seen some of his notebooks. New horrible thought, did they successfully escape Mothtown at least once and there’s some future disaster that convinced him to try again? Or is it that only some of them escaped? Phineas would naturally insist on as many redos as it takes, no matter what happens to her.

The only way to really progress is to have Ulrich’s help in convincing his next-loop self, and that’s clearly been tried and is now backfiring. Augh. Hand him a clue before you poof like a soap bubble, Ulrich-voices!

I love this kind of thing too; I can think of three animes that get into the same territory, all of them excellent, but of course none of them are like this. I have no idea where you’re going and it’s great.
Gay Kitty

Hmm! Uh oh!
Halogen360

Ohoho so we’re looping but we’re running out time in those loops?! Oooh and perhaps running out of loops in general. This is very fun, and somethings up with Agatha I guess? Very curious to see how this next page resolves itself just because I’m like feeling this anticipation as we’re building to something! Thank you for another delightful page!!
kaoinim

hee hee. all caught up again after falling off for a while. vay good comic
- Aria
  
  Glad to have you back!
Beach Fox

The thing that’s worrying me is that Tolouse is implying the duration of the loop is shrinking.
Which means he’s running out of time.
And getting desperate.
Chromoid

Toulouse’s words here make me feel almost certain this time loop doesn’t last very long. So it’s not a matter of the crew failing at/screwing up their long-term objectives. Something here in the caravan- likely before the next morning -causes this loop to occur. And it’s out of Toulouse’s control, clearly.

We’ve seen Agatha being attacked by Moth Grandma and something very spirit-like in the water. Davis being attacked by Phin in the church is apparently another doom trigger. I highly doubt it causes either of them to die outright, so instead I’m going to guess that what’s happening is a clash between deities. Phin/Agatha, being infused with the raw powers of Stars end up brawling with the local god-thing. The fallout causes everyone to die/disappear and somehow loops time back on itself. Only Toulouse survives with memories of the event because of his ties to said god-thing, which would actually suggest that the god-thing is NOT in control either and/or is suffering from a touch of corruption itself.

I love this puzzle. Looking forward to getting answers to my wild guesses!
Elkian

You know what just occurred to me? I’ve been thinking this timeloop is a god/’cities just aren’t corporeal some months out of the year’/Sprawl weirdness thing, but it makes much more sense if a person is rolling time back, over and over, to fix things. Toulouse being the only one to remember (possibly Noon? but it’ll be some time before we get their side, I think) certainly doesn’t seem like a coincidence. I was so focused on Pentamothstal Cult Town Fuckery that I forgot this might have been a deliberate choice by a character.