Author Topic: Reference: Character Foreshadowing  (Read 23494 times)

Offline Serack

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Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« on: October 31, 2016, 05:33:39 PM »
I've heard Jim say that he deliberately seeds his books with little lines relevant to potential paths his characters could take down the road.  (Potential, because sometimes they have more than one potential path).  I thought I'd start a Reference Topic dedicated to this subject, grouped by character.  I don't have a copy of the books that I can copy/paste from so if anyone else can help provide excerpts for this stuff I'd appreciate it.

Butters
Line from Ghost Story where Butters pledged to train with the Edinjar (msp?) immediately after getting a fully functional light saber

Carlos
Per WoJ, he's the apprentice that was noticed by Harry in Summer Knight at the Council meeting

Fae Kings:
Line in Storm Front about Santa existing, and also about how nuts you'd have to be to try to trap him in a circle (a foreshadowing of capturing the Erlking in DB, as well as the eventual appearance of Santa in the series.)

Lea
Storm Front, Harry mentions he has a genuine Farie Godmother.

Molly
Lea attempts to bargain for Michael's first born in Grave Peril, hinting at her significance to the Fae Courts.
Quote from: Small Favor Ch. 1, Para 3
Molly Carpenter sputtered, spitting snow, and a round of hooting laughter went up from the children gathered around her.  Tall, blond, and athletic, dressed in jeans and a heavy winter coat, she looked natural in the snowy setting, her cheeks and nose turning red with the cold.

Thomas
Line from Chauncy about Harry having surviving family.
Line from Nic about Harry being Maggies youngest.



Minor Characters & Theories
Lacuna's nature
Fitz theory
« Last Edit: October 31, 2016, 07:46:48 PM by Serack »
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Offline Quantus

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2016, 06:07:02 PM »
Santa is also mentioned in Restoration of Faith:

Quote
She gave me a look of skepticism you can really only get from children who have recently gone through the sobering trauma of discovering that there is no Santa Claus. (Ironically, there is--but he can't operate on the sort of scale that used to make everyone believe in him. More modern living.)

This may not count as the sort of character foreshadow you are looking for, but there was Harry's odd sense of familiarity with Demonreach in SmF, as a foreshadow to his eventual claiming of it in TC.

Would Inner-Harry's wardrobe be considered foreshadowing, given that he does eventually get a black leather duster?  Speaking of him, he was thr first guy to say "No matter where you go, there you are" to Harry, before Uriel did later.  That reeks of foreshadowing, but I couldnt begin to guess what of. 



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Offline Second Aristh

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2016, 07:03:37 PM »
Murphy having Japanese swords above her fireplace in SK should probably count as foreshadowing.
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Offline Quantus

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #3 on: October 31, 2016, 07:21:13 PM »
Maybe Lea's mention of Molly as a worthwhile acquisition, back in GP?
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Offline Serack

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2016, 07:53:45 PM »
Santa is also mentioned in Restoration of Faith:

This may not count as the sort of character foreshadow you are looking for, but there was Harry's odd sense of familiarity with Demonreach in SmF, as a foreshadow to his eventual claiming of it in TC.

Would Inner-Harry's wardrobe be considered foreshadowing, given that he does eventually get a black leather duster?  Speaking of him, he was thr first guy to say "No matter where you go, there you are" to Harry, before Uriel did later.  That reeks of foreshadowing, but I couldnt begin to guess what of. 

Santa:  Restoration of Faith kinda seems redundant...  I'm considering it though.

Demonreach:  That was so in your face, and fulfilled the next book...  and as you say, less about the other characters... I dunno.

Id Harry:  Meh.

"There you are":  I'm considering a section of speculative foreshadowing, but that's a bit of a rabbit hole.  Considering the Molly/winter detail, the opening and closing sections of the books may be good places to mine for such things...

Murphy having Japanese swords above her fireplace in SK should probably count as foreshadowing.
More like a Chekov's squirt gun... Especially since her sword skill ended up being inferior to the task...

Maybe Lea's mention of Molly as a worthwhile acquisition, back in GP?
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Offline Griffyn612

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2016, 08:23:49 PM »
Bonnie: In Cold Days, Demonreach saying "another one", which hinted at Bob not being the first SoI he talked to that day before we knew what the parasite was.

Table: Lea's warning to Harry about the table.  It hints at the idea that Mab would want to sacrifice Harry on the table to claim his power. (Ties into theory that Thomas is her backup choice for Knight because he'd be the most compatible with Harry's power; Molly, his apprentice, might have been her backup backup)
« Last Edit: October 31, 2016, 08:39:38 PM by Griffyn612 »

Offline wardenferry419

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #6 on: October 31, 2016, 09:23:32 PM »
All of the Madeline mentions of reckless behavior prior to TC.
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Offline Mira

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2016, 09:30:57 PM »


You left out the big one in Dead Beat, Harry kind of praying for help from a Knight of the Cross when Cassius was playing tic tac toe on his chest and Butters and Mouse appear..

Offline Griffyn612

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2016, 09:37:18 PM »
More like a Chekov's squirt gun... Especially since her sword skill ended up being inferior to the task...
That's a bit unfair.  Nicodemus is said to be a super swordsman that only two Knights had survived.  Murphy defeated him.  Unless you think their fight outside the Carpenter house was staged on the off chance she might misuse the Sword.

Offline RobReece

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #9 on: October 31, 2016, 10:35:40 PM »
That's a bit unfair.  Nicodemus is said to be a super swordsman that only two Knights had survived.  Murphy defeated him.  Unless you think their fight outside the Carpenter house was staged on the off chance she might misuse the Sword.
I think it was precisely staged as an opportunity to cause the sword to be mis-used.

Offline Tami Seven

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #10 on: October 31, 2016, 11:15:26 PM »
I get the feeling that those frozen statues in Proven Guilty have a significance, maybe that hasn't been revealed yet.
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"Thomas doesn't fight back, not even for an instant. In the end, it's not common sense that pulls me back from the brink, or even fear of being devoured by the Shoggoth....It's the look of unshakeable trust in my Brother's eyes, even as my hands tighten around his throat."

Offline Griffyn612

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #11 on: October 31, 2016, 11:19:51 PM »
I get the feeling that those frozen statues in Proven Guilty have a significance, maybe that hasn't been revealed yet.
Time traveling Harry and someone else locked in ice to prevent PG Harry from realizing who they were! 

I mean, if we're spouting theories, that is.   ;D

Offline Tami Seven

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #12 on: October 31, 2016, 11:43:58 PM »
Time traveling Harry and someone else locked in ice to prevent PG Harry from realizing who they were! 

I mean, if we're spouting theories, that is.   ;D

True. Need to focus on the proven, not the assumed or guessed.
War Cry -
"Thomas doesn't fight back, not even for an instant. In the end, it's not common sense that pulls me back from the brink, or even fear of being devoured by the Shoggoth....It's the look of unshakeable trust in my Brother's eyes, even as my hands tighten around his throat."

Offline Griffyn612

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #13 on: October 31, 2016, 11:53:27 PM »
True. Need to focus on the proven, not the assumed or guessed.
Personally I wouldn't mind it being broken into two sections, Fullfilled Foreshadowing and Potential Foreshadowing.

Offline Snark Knight

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Re: Reference: Character Foreshadowing
« Reply #14 on: November 01, 2016, 12:08:13 AM »
"There you are":  I'm considering a section of speculative foreshadowing, but that's a bit of a rabbit hole.

For what it's worth, his landlady made some sort of 'there you are' comment when he saved her from the house fire in Changes.