Characters / Gunnerkrigg Court – Gillitie Forest

Main Index

Annie & Kat | Annie's Inner Circle | Parents & Court Staff | Other Students | Gillitie Forest | The Founders of the Court | Other Characters

Ysengrin

The "Very Nice Man" who is neither. Ysengrin is a wolf who was given a humanoid tree body by Coyote that he can shape into weapons. Along with these arms, he has complete control over the trees of Gillitie. He acts as Coyote's right-hand-man and until chapter 41 serves as the Medium for Gillitie Forest.

He's a little antagonistic towards humans and The Court. How much of this is the result of his encroaching madness, and how much is due to his own wonderful personality, remains to be seen. Either way, he demonstrates "We against Them" approach and styles himself as a "general."

Apparently, he's much smarter and more reasonable than he appears. His behavior at the parley between the Court and the Wood is that of a simple-minded brute; however, according to Jones, this is just the animal kingdom's version of diplomacy: posturing and baring teeth. Ysengrin also possesses enough cunning to plant evidence of Court interference in the Forest, then wait some months before "discovering" it and pressing charges against the Court. Then he flips out... but this turns out to be a ruse: his roaring attack covers a subtle sabotage attempt.

Ysengrin's name derives from that of the wolf Isengrim (the more common spelling), the authoritarian villain of a cycle of medieval French folktales starring Reynard the Fox (see Reynardine in Gunnerkrigg Court – Annie's Inner Circle).

---

Associated tropes:

• Ambiguous Situation: Coyote tells Annie that she has now seen three sides of Ysengrin: A violent and barely controlled animal man, a beautiful spirit and a crippled old wolf. This is how others see him, how he sees himself and how he truly is. While the first represents how others see him, Coyote is intentionally vague about which of the other two sides Ysengrin fits.
• Amulet of Dependency: He has spent so much time in his Powered Armor that he's practically crippled without it.
• Animalistic Abomination: After ripping apart Coyote and swallowing him, ends up becoming a fusion of himself and the latter.
• Assimilation Backfire: He devours Coyote's power, but it proves too much for him to handle, allowing Loup to take over.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The animal world runs on this logic, and Ysengrin is no exception. The other animals admire and fear him because he can kick all their asses, and he admires and fears Coyote for the same reason.
• Ax-Crazy: At least partly due to Coyote's influence
• Berserk Button: Anything that could even vaguely be interpreted as human disdain for ethereal beings.
• The Berserker: In the traditional sense; when Ysengrin gets pissed off, he gets really friggin' pissed off. To the point that he can't even really remember what he precisely did, even before Coyote eats the memory of it.
• Blood Knight: He seems to enjoy scrapping, a huge grin on his face all the while.
• Canine Companion: In a sense, to Coyote. Their relationship often feels more like a dog who remains loyal to his abusive owner.
• Cannibalism Superpower: He eats Coyote, gaining more of Coyote's power in the process and even taking on aspects of Coyote's appearance.
• The Dog Bites Back: Despite Ysengrin's utter loyalty to Coyote, his boss doesn't treat him with much respect, and has been secretly devouring Ysengrin's memories over time, further driving him to madness. The second Coyote transfers his strength to Ysengrin, Ysengrin uses it to chomp down on Coyote's throat and tear him apart. Then it turns out this was an aversion, as murdering Coyote, absorbing his powers and using them to attack the Court was really a twisted way of proving Ysengrin's love for him.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Since strength and reputation are everything in the animal world, Ysengrin gets pretty pissed when people look down their nose at him in one way or another, which is the main reason he doesn't like humans. He hides the fact that his body is withered and atrophied from his powered armor for specifically this reason.
• Driven to Madness: Something Coyote has been doing to him as a hobby.
• Ear Ache: He's missing an ear, which was bitten off by Coyote in their first meeting after Ysengrin insults humans.
• Easily Forgiven:
  • After he snaps and tries to kill Annie, the next time he meets Annie, he explains that not only does he have no memory of this, similar things have happened to him before. He then states he would never intentionally try to hurt her, and she instantly trusts him again, enough to ride on his shoulder like old times. Annie and the others do seem to determine that something is up with Ysengrin prior to this when he attends the Medium announcement ceremony, so it isn't completely out of the blue.
  • Justified in that at least part of the quickness was to spite Coyote, who had clearly engineered the whole situation.
  • Later zigzagged when Coyote agrees to give Ysengrin his strength, upon which he doesn't even wait for Coyote to finish speaking before killing him. The twist comes when Loup reveals Ysengrin did so as a dark way of expressing his love for Coyote.
• Fusion Dance: After swallowing Coyote he fuses with him to become Loup.
• Godhood Seeker: His greatest wish is to wield the powers of a deity, so that he can show humanity just how weak they really are and wipe them out. Coyote eventually sets up a situation that delivers the first half of his wish.
• Hidden Depths: It's unclear whether due to Ysengrin's role, some personal issues, or deliberate Obfuscating Stupidity, but all the Court's people see is either a roaring bloodthirsty maniac or Coyote's quietly growling right hand lapdog. Once they are out of hearing range, he's keen, sensible, and very good at concise motivational speeches — he pulls all the right levers at the right time so accurately that even the bewildered Antimony (far from a perfect social animal) can only look at him and heed.
• Hypocrite: There are some contradictions about him that hasn't been explained and it is in part due to his insanity. Loup claims that he hates humanity and that he wanted to show them just how strong Coyote was, but his spirit claims that he didn't intend to attack the Court until he learned how monstrous it was. Ysengrin, if he hates humanity, at least respects it greatly, but his only friend is human. Furthermore, he claims humans are weak, but he himself takes the form of a human, he wears clothes over non-existent genitalia in the style of humans, and he transforms his wooden hand into spears and polearms based on ancient and medieval designs. Again, all this is partly explained by the insanity Coyote pushed him towards, but his true feelings are buried beneath many layers of self-control and isolation and corrupted by denial and hatred.
• Incendiary Exponent: Ysengrin by himself is scary. Ysengrin while on fire? Badass.
• I Owe You My Life: Towards Coyote.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He and Annie become much closer through her visits and eventually summer in the forest. He's not such a bad guy when he isn't angry.
• Kill All Humans: He despises the human race, and according to Coyote, he would gladly kill them all given the chance. Mostly because he loves and respects Coyote so much that he cannot stand the fact that Coyote places humanity above himself.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Coyote has apparently been erasing things from Ysengrin's mind for some time now. Which might be part of the reason for his weakening sanity.
• Love Martyr: Ysengrin loves Coyote, despite acknowledging that Coyote doesn't give a flying flap about him. Overall, Ysengrin has not fared well for his involvement with Coyote.
• Minor Injury Overreaction: Ysengrin and the “Spankies!” (though it turns out to be a ruse).
• Monochromatic Eyes: Solid green. Rather fitting given how much he envies and hates humanity for the attention Coyote gives them.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Has this sort of reaction when he calms down and realizes he tried to kill Annie.
• Odd Friendship: He eventually warms up to Annie, after she spent a summer in Gillitie.
• Oh, Crap!: When Ysengrin looks like he's about to crap his Powered Armor, you know the fecal matter is flying toward the rotational cooling device at terminal velocities.
• Orcus on His Throne: According to Loup, Ysengrin was angered that Coyote was never using his powers to destroy the Court, and was hoping that one day Coyote would give him his strength so that he could take Coyote's powers for himself and smite the Court.
• Pet the Dog: Shown in chapters 26 and 31.
• Pride: Ysengrin is a very prideful being, according to Coyote. Which is why Coyote's theory that human belief is the only reason beings such as Coyote and himself even exist galls him so much.
• Shape Shifter Weapon: He has control over trees and wood, which allows him to fashion his suit into weapons as suits him.
• Stern Teacher: Completely humorless, but ultimately proves to be one of Annie's better mentors.
• Undying Loyalty: To Coyote, despite the way his boss treats him. Then subverted when Coyote transfers his strength to Ysengrin and Ysengrin immediately rips into Coyote with his teeth like a rabid dog. Then double subverted when it's revealed his actions were an insane way of expressing his love for Coyote.
  • This was actually a roadblock to Coyote's plans. While Ysengrin coveted Coyote's strength for his own he ultimately could never bring himself to actually kill Coyote if he ever had the chance. It took Ysengrin coming to care for someone else more than he did for Coyote to be willing to kill the latter.
  • Ysengrin ultimately develops this for Annie as well. To the point that he comes to care for her more than he did for Coyote, which led to him killing the latter partly to keep her safe.
• Tough Love: Tends to show this attitude toward Annie, mixed with Sink or Swim Mentor. Notably when he breaks her blinker stone because he believes it is holding her back.
• The Unfavorite: Coyote constantly treats Ysengrin like dirt, clearly favoring fellow trickster, Renard. It didn't stop Coyote from purposefully allowing Renard to be trapped by the Court, though. It turns out that Coyote had originally intended for Renard to be the one to kill him and take his power. When Loup reveals this, his expression and tone make it clear that Coyote was not happy about Renard's lack of interest in the idea (due to being infatuated with Surma), which may have been why he allowed Renard to be trapped. Ysengrin is even the unfavorite to his own split personality Loup. Loup constantly sings the praises of Coyote while being utterly contemptuous of Ysengrin.
• Unstoppable Rage: While he has his flares of temper, Chapter 39 shows Ysengrin when he absolutely loses it, and his rage is a truly unstoppable and terrifying sight to behold.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Ysengrin doesn't have much use for Renard, and the feeling is decidedly mutual, but he was clearly angered when he found out the Court had tricked Renard into being captured, and even more so when he learned that Coyote already knew and did nothing about it. It says a lot about how much Ysengrin cares about Renard that he actually calls out Coyote over leaving Renard trapped in the Court.
• Walking Spoiler: A lot about his role in the larger picture is a spoiler. Some notable examples being the fact Coyote has been manipulating Ysengrin for years and breaking Annie's blinker stone.
• Yandere: Loup claims that Ysengrin's love for Coyote was a twisted one. He loved Coyote so much he ended up resenting Coyote for not being the ravager of humanity he believed Coyote should be. So he killed Coyote after gaining his strength and absorbed him to become what he thought Coyote should be. Loup claims that Coyote was fully aware Ysengrin felt this way due to eating Ysengrin's memories.
• Yes-Man: He's perpetually kissing up to Coyote. Coyote himself notes that Ysengrin loves him very much, though Ysengrin isn't blind to Coyote's shortcomings.
  • It later turns out that the feeling might have just been him trying to survive, since the first thing Ysengrin does upon becoming stronger than Coyote is maul him.
• Zen Survivor: Barely survives without the armor and gives advice to only those he deems worthy.

Coyote

The Coyote — the mythological trickster god. Though hailing from America, he considers the entire world his home; he came to Britain to join Renard in spreading mischief. He's since become the ruler of Gillitie Wood, and Ysengrin's superior.

Ysengrin's body and powers were gifts from Coyote, as are Renard's. The Glass-Eyed Men are also his creations. The common thread in all of these is that, though Coyote is very powerful, he's not omnipotent, and he's too scatter-brained to use that power well.

Over twelve years ago, he took an interest in Surma; later, he took an interest in Antimony (who he initially mistakes for her mother), and offered her a standing invitation to Gillitie. He also wants to bring his cousin Reynardine back to Gillitie — by force if necessary. His ultimate goal — aside from the lulz — is a mystery.

So far, he acts quite amicably towards the Court. Though not outright evil, he's vain, largely unconcerned with the consequences of his actions, and capable of unexpected acts of lewdness or violence when he wants to prove a point. He seems to enjoy nothing more than to talk about himself, or hear others talk about him.

According to Jones, "Coyote is no liar. Therein lies the danger." His promise of safe passage can be trusted, but his advice must be handled carefully.

---

Associated tropes:

• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: First he tries a threatening attitude to get Annie to tell him stories, but she doesn't believe he would really attack her. Next step is to cry and whine while rolling on his back. Annie isn't too impressed, but Ysengrin is mortified.
• Ambiguous Situation: It's not really clear whether Coyote is truly dead or merely being restrained within Loup. Despite having been messily devoured and assimilated with Ysengrim, he has made several appearances as himself, seemingly without having suffered any ill effects. The fact that he claims not to exist in the first place just makes the situation even more confusing.
• Animalistic Abomination: Even when not in the Ether, he looks very off. He is very much 'not' just a coyote, with a nature beyond comprehension and reality bending powers beyond comprehension.
• Art Shift: A walking one. Coyote rarely is drawn the same way twice, and his body often contorts and twists. He has been drawn in a realistic style, abstract, and cubist all within panels of each other. When he narrates, the art becomes stylized and unreal.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The animal mindset dictates that devotion and admiration goes to whichever is strongest, morality be damned. Coyote knows this and exploits it like crazy; he can do whatever he wants to the other animals in the forest, including Ysengrin, but his power means he'll always have their devotion.
• Bad Boss: He manipulated Renard into being captured and imprisoned by the Court for somewhere in the area of twenty years and he instigated Ysengrin's attempt on Antimony's life and then erased Ysengrin's memory of the event, something he's done more than once.
• Batman Gambit: Subverted. He tried to run one on Ysengrin from at least the very moment they met Antimony. Coyote's actually a Death Seeker that believes dying is the only true mystery left for a being of his power so he tried to set it up that Renard would kill him but when that got ruined he chose Ysengrin instead and simply waited until he could provide the wolf with a sufficient motivation to want to kill him, which he got with Annie. When Annie encounters a fragment of his essence from after his death and Loup's creation said fragment reveals that he knew exactly what was going to happen and was counting on Loup being such an unstable psychopath that it would force Annie into a position where she would have to kill Loup as part of Coyote's Death Seeker plans. It all falls apart when Loup falls in love with Lana instead of Annie and resolves to be a better person as a result.
• Becoming the Mask: In Chapter 62 "And Then Coyote Said..." Coyote tells a very long story to Smitty and Parley about the time he pretended to be a dead goose in a bush by a lake. He pretended for so long that he came to believe he was a dead goose ("My poor goose wife!"). After 100 days he remembers he isn't a dead goose — nor a bush nor a lake! He returns to his magnificent self and rather ominously ends the story with "and then I was bored".
• Berserk Button: Not getting his way, as per his Psychopathic Manchild tendencies. When Annie is forced to cease her activities in the Forest, thus not being around to entertain him, Coyote comes to the Court and knocks over a building! He is also displeased with Loup not following the plan he had in mind and responds by eating Loup's girlfriend right in front of him.
• Beware the Silly Ones: His threat to Antimony here and, much earlier in the story, his treatment of Ysengrin here.
  • And then there's his reaction to Annie being unable to visit the forest due to Anthony.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Coyote only ever does things to amuse himself. To this end he is willing to hurt and betray his "friends" and colleagues, even with moon-poking power and dictatorship over the entire woods. Examples include manipulating Ysengrin into trying to murder Annie, and then eating Ysengrin's memory of the event. On the other hand, he's very generous with sharing information, constantly laughs and jokes at what should be Berserk Buttons to any other dictator, and his reaction to a farce of an official meeting between ambassadors?
  Coyote: ...Party. Party. Party! Par-tay! Par-Tay! PARTY-AY!
  Minions: YAY!
• Cheshire Cat Grin: Constantly. The grin only gets even bigger in Coyote's Etheric form, where it extends past his mouth and down his entire body (if a writhing mass of tentacles, eyes, and yes, teeth, can be called a body).
• Crazy-Prepared: He leaves a fragment of his essence in the Court to be found and brought back to him after he is absorbed by Ysengrim. Annie tricks Loup into consuming it, which summons Coyote free of Loup's influence. His purpose for this is not yet clear.
• Death Seeker: According to Loup. Coyote wanted to die because he considered death to be the last great mystery, one greater than anything his immortal existence had to offer. Loup claims this is why Coyote gave Ysengrin his strength even though he knew (from devouring Ysengrin's memories) that Ysengrin wanted to kill him and take his power. He originally wanted Renard to be his killer, but Renard wasn't interested (due to falling for Surma) something which clearly agitated Coyote.
• Deity of Mortal Creation: The Physical God claims that he was created from the power of human imagination, absorbed into the Ether with their deaths. However, some other etheric entities find the notion outrageous.
  Coyote: [Human intellect] causes man to stumble through the world forever asking questions. What is this? What is that? Why is this? And where he does not find an answer, he places one there himself! He sees a mountain crumble and says, only a god can do this, and so I am born!
• Dimension Lord: Identifies himself as one with "ether", one with reality, and when people die they go not to an afterlife, but return to him.
• Didn't See That Coming: Coyote's plan to force Annie to kill Loup — and, thus, destroy Coyote himself — hinged on arranging for Loup (as Jerrek) and Annie to fall in love. However, the supposedly-omniscient trickster god never anticipated the possibility that Loup would end up falling in love with someone else, namely Lana.
• Dirty Coward: When Annie encounters a fragment of Coyote from after his death he actually admits this of himself. He couldn't bring himself to ask Annie to just kill him outright for his Death Seeker agenda, knowing how much it would hurt her if he did ask, so he engineered Loup's creation to force her into a situation where she would have to kill him instead.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Coyote enjoys defiance, but keep in mind that he is a god.
• Easily Forgiven: Even though Coyote is wiping Ysengrin's mind of all the worst thing he's done to him, Ysengrin is still aware his boss is a terrible, cruel, manipulative being. In spite of it, Ysengrin's unquestioningly loyal to him. Antimony also continuously is playful and happy around the Coyote, even though he's made repeated attempts on her life for his own amusement. This is ultimately subverted, however, as the moment Coyote grants Ysengrin both his power and his memories, Ysengrin devours him whole.
• Eldritch Abomination: Coyote's etheric form looks like a whirling storm of eyes and teeth that surround a starry void. He resembles a living fractal.
• Everyonehas Standards: A Living Memory of Coyote from after his death actually bemoans his own selfishness for once when he reveals that he engineered Loup's creation to force Annie to kill the hybrid because Coyote couldn't bring himself to ask Annie directly to kill him. He knows it's going to break Annie's heart to do it and he hates it.
• Exact Words: Coyote made a promise to leave the Court alone. He did not, however, promise that he wouldn't lend powers to other beings like Reynard who have made no such promises. The Court is terrified of this prospect and rightly so, given that Ysengrin launches an assault on the Court almost immediately after getting the ability to do so.
• Eyes Do Not Belong There: Coyote has an eye on his chest and on each of his shoulders and thighs, which are occasionally seen to turn to look at people. His etheric form is also seen to be partly made up of an infinite number of glowing eyes; the rest of it is rows upon rows of endless, glittering teeth surrounding a starry abyss.
• Feel No Pain: Coyote only feels pain if he chooses to. On the other hand, he often chooses to, simply because he thinks it's funny.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He was apparently an ordinary coyote before human imagination made him a god.
• Fusion Dance: His ultimate fate alongside Ysengrin (see above).
• Gods Need Prayer Badly: Coyote's abilities are powered by the ether, which in turn is fueled by the imagination of mankind. This is why he can barely be said to exist, and would be a normal coyote at best without it. Mind you, this is explicitly stated to be only Coyote's theory, with as of yet no definitive proof of it being the actual truth of the world; Annie expresses disbelief towards it, and while Jones doesn't confirm nor deny it, she still speaks of it only as "Coyote's theory".
• Humanity Is Insane: As part of his explanation on why he doesn't exist.
  Coyote: He does not see an animal looking for a meal, he sees the power of a god behind it, a power that has bested him! This is the curse of man! He is forever deceived by his mind! It causes him to not see a stone when it is just a stone. Instead his diseased mind sees a weapon or a symbol. The shape of a woman.^note  The next chapter is the reveal of Jones' past where she compares her immortal, indestructible self to a stone (it's not a perfect metaphor since "a stone can be broken") A spark of inspiration!
  Annie: You see human intellect as a disease?
  Coyote: How could it be anything else?!
• Humans Are Flawed: He loves humans, but he's not above cracking jokes at their expense.
  Annie: Let's hope we teach you responsibility, too.
  Coyote: HAHAHA! Responsibility! A fine word and one of the last you'll learn as a human!
• Humans Are Special: Coyote loves humans so much because they are responsible for his existence and could be considered the strongest race of all since their imagination powers the ether. Or so he thinks, at least; it remains to be seen if he is indeed correct about this.
• Immortal Immaturity: Coyote does whatever he wants to whoever he wants, regardless of how anyone is going to feel about it, and most of the time without their permission. He also has No Sense of Personal Space, often wrapping himself around someone or pressing his head right onto theirs (to say nothing of the nose).
• It Amused Me: He seems to have little to no concerns in life, like when Renard was tricked by Surma; he knew it was happening, he just thought it'd be more FUN to see what happened. He's also incredibly blunt when he's telling you something — unless he thinks impenetrably enigmatic talk will be funnier.
  Reader: Does Coyote only do things for his own amusement?
  Tom: Only.
• It's All About Me: Coyote enjoys hearing stories about himself, also loves telling stories about himself, and on one occasion calls Antimony to the forest for this very reason:
  Coyote: You see, this is an important matter! I am bored! You will tell me stories!
  (Beat)
  Antimony: Stories.
  Coyote: Yes! Stories about me! I'm ready now. You may begin!
• Jerkass: Don't be fooled by Coyote's jolly attitude. He's still not above putting someone's life in danger for a prank and then laughing about it afterwards. Not surprising, given that he's one of the original Trickster Gods.
  • Chapter 39 showcases him in this role as one long Kick the Dog moment for him. His unrelenting emotional and mental abuse of Ysengrin, up to and including eating Ysengrin's memories, isn't funny at all.
  • Chapter 43 reveals that Coyote goaded Renard into stealing a human body and offered reassurances to Renard's concerns that the process could kill the man.
• Jerkass Gods: He's a god and he's an asshole. Coyote only cares about himself and it shows.
• Jerkass Has a Point: When Coyote comes to the court to have Annie return to the forest he points out to her father that despite his concerns over her safety in the forest she is embraced and protected while Anthony's actions have pretty much shattered her, though on the opposite hand, he conspicuously left out those times when Antimony wasn't embraced and protected by the denizens of the forest, such as when Ysengrin tried to murder her or when Coyote himself threatened to cut off her hand if she told anyone about the tooth he gave her.
• Just Eat Him: Considers doing this to mankind, but forgoes it as there'd be no point and no one would laugh. Antimony would be sad, and wants her to be happy because it makes him happy.
• Kick the Dog: Constantly to Ysengrin and even Annie has wound up on the receiving end of plenty of cruel antics Coyote has engineered. But his cruelest act so far is the whole situation with Loup. Coyote engineered Loup's creation in order to bring about someone so dangerous that Annie would have no choice but to kill him and subsequently two dear friends of hers. And a memory Coyote left behind tells her he resorted to this because he was too much of a coward to ask her to kill him outright, knowing it would break her heart to have to do it. Coyote himself shows a very rare tinge of regret at what he's forced Annie into and actually bemoans his own selfishness for once because of the line he's crossed. He eventually outright taunts them over it. Then it gets worse: when Loup instead falls for Lana instead of Annie, Coyote's response is to eat Lana and then try to attack the "god" who created her (but when he doesn't know who created her, he attacks what he perceives to be the most powerful being in the court: Zimmy.)
• Large Ham:
  • When he's in the mood. Which he very often is.
  • The hammiest ham that ever hammed, scene one.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Right here. His etheric form also extends beyond the comic's normal borders.
• Living Memory: Even after his apparent death, Antimony is occasionally able to talk to him via the items he left behind. He claims that he really is dead, but he left a flash of memory behind so that he would be able to see what would happen afterwards.
• Magic A Is Magic A: Among other things, when he gives away powers to others, he literally gives them away; unable to use them until he decides to take them back. See also Power at a Price below.
• Mad God: Though he's probably Crazy Sane then truly insane. Just remember, "Coyote never lies. Therein lies the danger."
• The Mad Hatter: Being a god and all, he has an excuse.
• Manipulative Bastard: Loves toying with humans and forest creatures alike. He's also been routinely wiping Ysengrin's memory, slowly driving him mad in the process, either to keep his loyalty or just for giggles.
• Morality Pet: Antimony seems to be his but it is played with. He isn't above getting her wrapped up in his demented actions, which have put her in genuine danger. He also shows some fondness for her, and treats her better than he treats even Ysengrin and Reynardine. He has also revealed truths that people close to her have gone out of their way to hide, which was not done out of malice on his end. And the danger he puts her in has always come from choices, either hers (the binding on her hand) or others (exposing her to Ysengrim's berserk rage).
• The Nicknamer: Refers to Annie as "Fire Head Girl", Jones as "Wandering Eye", and Anthony as "Broken Man".
• No Indoor Voice: He seems to shout everything, and only lowered his voice when he accidentally depressed Annie by bringing up her mother. Though it makes sense for him to have no indoor voice, since he's hardly ever indoors.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Coyote will always be uncomfortably close while you speak with him. Always. Even in your dreams.
• The Nose Knows: At one point he reveals that he has a really good sense of smell by determining that Parley and Smitty had recently been intimate with one another just with his nose.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Coyote comments on the fact that he calls the Court cowards, yet he himself is forcing Antimony to kill him once and for all through Loup since he's too cowardly to ask it of her directly.
• Not So Omniscient After All: Coyote can be The Omniscient if he chooses to be, but since Prescience Is Predictable, and that would be boring, he usually chooses to block it out. But even without full omniscience, he is still good at planning things. He planned for Antimony and a variant of Ysengrin, Loup, to have a doomed romance, with Antimony being forced to kill him. He didn't expect Loup to fall for a random Court robot over Annie.
• Oh, Crap!: After giving Ysengrin his strength, Coyote looks absolutely terrified when the first thing Ysengrin does with it is sink his teeth into Coyote's throat.
• The Omniscient: Coyote could know everything if he chose to. But since Prescience Is Predictable, and that would be boring, he usually chooses to suppress it.
• Only Mostly Dead: Coyote wanted to experience death and claims to be dead, but he left behind a bunch of memories that can have experiences and interact with people. Given his history and awesome power, it seems likely that he only stays as dead as he chooses to.
• Orcus on His Throne: Much of the tension between Ysengrin and Coyote arises because Ysengrin feels that Coyote should be using his incredible power for conquest and intimidation, rather than just goofing around in the forest all the time.
• Perpetual Smiler
  • Complete with More Teeth than the Osmond Family. The effect is... unsettling at times.
  • You know Coyote is displeased when he stops smiling.
• Pet the Dog: In Chapter 20, when Annie looked sad thinking about her mother, he stopped goofing around and told her how much Surma was loved by the people of the forest.
  • In general this is how he acts around Annie. He has revealed information that she quite honestly has to know that those around her have gone out of their way to keep from her, helped her deal with the bombshell that her heritage is the reason her mother died by letting her stay in the Forest for the summer, and even made her the medium of Gillitie Woods when the Court disregarded her as a choice for their medium.
• Physical God: He has limits, but his powers are so vast it's quite hard to tell what they are. He's the one who cut the gorge between the Court and the Forest, and once he pulled the moon from the sky to show it to Annie. One of the few things we know he cannot do is create a soul from nothing. In general, he is limited far more by his short attention span and chaotic nature than any true top end to his power.
• Power at a Price: Not to himself, but the powers he gives away are often imperfect; Reynardine's body possession leaves the subject dead afterward while Ysengrin's power over the trees gradually weakened his actual body, both effects not present when Coyote used them himself.
• Power Copying: In his side comic it's shown he used to appear as a normal Coyote and gradually developed his current appearance by casually willing himself to match or exceed the attributes of other etheric canines.
• Prescience Is Predictable: Being as powerful as he is, Coyote knows a great deal on some level, but since knowing so much is boring, he usually chooses to not know much of what he knows.
• Reality Warper: Coyote can reshape trees (and give this power to others, as he did with Ysengrin), stop time, shrink the moon and pluck it out of the sky, turn his teeth into swords sharp enough to cut shadows off the floor (then replace those teeth with random rocks he finds on the ground) and alter his own body in any way he sees fit, and it's suggested this is only a tiny fraction of what he can do.
• Smug Super: Coyote may well be the most powerful character in the comic, and is endlessly delighted to let everyone know it. This combined with his thrill-seeking personality also means it's nearly impossible to get under his skin, as he treats insults or even outright attacks against him as just another joke.
• Spanner in the Works: Anytime the Court tries to do something that will have a negative impact on Annie Coyote can be counted on to screw it up.
• Trickster God: One of The Tricksters from ancient mythology.
• Trickster Mentor: He has become this to Antimony.
• Villainous Breakdown: When he learns that a minor character he never anticipated messed up his plans, he is enraged and decides to eat her.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: In every form and shape you can imagine.
• Was Once a Man: Coyote claims that he only exists because a delirious human saw a hungry coyote as a deity instead of just an animal looking for a meal.
• Wham Line: "My secret... is this... I. DO NOT. EXIST!"
  Annie: ... Can I go home now?
  Coyote: Hahahahaha NO!
• Wild Card: It's not clear what his plans are beyond giving Renard his abilities, assuming he even has any. Most of the time he'll just dispense a few bits of wisdom even though he should know everything about the Court and presumably Jeanne. Or goad Ysengrin into attacking Annie.
• Will Not Tell a Lie: According to Jones, he doesn't lie. Though that just means he won't tell a direct lie. He's perfectly happy to just leave out information, or phrase his statements in such a way as to be completely meaningless. (Reference, his answer to the question of "What is Gunnerkrigg Court?").
  Jones: Coyote is no liar, therein lies the danger.
• Willfully Weak: It's made clear on several occasions that Coyote could do whatever he wants if he really wanted to and no one could stop him outside of maybe another God/Goddess like being. The reason he doesn't is because he finds it too boring to stack the deck in his favor, its for this reason that despite being fully capable of being all knowing Coyote never used this ability because he finds it more interesting to not know what's going to happen.
• Xanatos Speed Chess: Engaged in a bit of this for his Death Seeker plan. His initial idea was to get Renard to kill him but Surma ruined that idea. So he decided to use Ysengrin instead which hit a wall because of the wolf's Undying Loyalty. After years of trying to find a way to get Ysengrin to kill him he suddenly found the key to success when Annie grew close to him. While he didn't engineer Ysengrin's love for Annie he was all too happy to work it into his plans by relying on Ysengrin growing to care for her more than he did for him to the point he would kill Coyote to keep Annie safe.

Loup

A new god of the forest, created after Ysengrin defeated Coyote with his own strength, then absorbed him. He physically resembles a mixture of Coyote and Ysengrin, but claims that he is no longer entirely either one.

---

Associated tropes:

• Animalistic Abomination: As the fusion of Ysengrin and Coyote he definitely qualifies. He's even more this than Coyote since being part Ysengrin makes him look more like an actual animal.
• Art Shift: Much like Coyote before him, Loup delights in shapeshifting and appearing simply... "wrong".
• Be Careful What You Wish For: What Ysengrin wanted more than anything was Coyote's strength. He regretted it.
• Becoming the Mask: He infiltrates the Court in the guise of a New Person called Jerrek, but soon gets so into the part that he sets aside most of his initial goals for doing it.
• Berserk Button: As he's a part of him, questioning Ysengrin's love and kindness towards Antimony really upsets him.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Starting almost immediately after Loup is introduced, the power struggle between him and the Court's mysterious leadership becomes the primary overarching focus of the plot.
• Body Horror: Like Coyote, his body constantly warps and shifts like a living mural, but he has the more "organic" appearance of Ysengrin, which often leads to this. There is also the fact that he often loses artistic cohesion versus the rest of the comic around him, especially when angry.
• …But He Sounds Handsome: Loup may not be Coyote any longer, but has at the least inherited Coyote’s infinite self-regard whenever speaking about him.
• Cheshire Cat Grin: You thought Coyote's was bad? Loup's is worse.
• Enfante Terrible: Loup is a newborn god, and sure enough, he often behaves like a pouty, tantruming toddler, especially when rebuked.
• Gilded Cage: His offer to Annie in a nutshell. She stays with him and she can have anything she wishes for (Her friends from the Court to join them, freedom from her emotionally cut off father, for the psychopomps to release her from her debt to them).
• Hair-Trigger Temper: He's much quicker to anger than Coyote or even Ysengrin, and only becomes worse as time goes on and his own shortcomings become clearer to him.
• I Hate Past Me: In contrast to the self-regard and praise he has for Coyote, Loup has nothing but contempt for Ysengrin, calling him a useless and miserable wolf.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: As a mix of the supremely self-confident Coyote and the self-effacing, worshipful Ysengrin, Loup's egomania is only matched by his insecurity. Unlike Coyote, he also tends to react violently towards anyone who doesn't treat him with absolute deference at all times.
• Love Redeems: While living as Jerrek, he falls in love with Lana and gives up his attacks on the Court.
• Meaningful Name: It simply means "wolf" in French.
• The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: While interacting with Antimony in disguise, he blames his constant crushing over her on the fact that he has shape shifted himself into the form of a young boy.
• Mood-Swinger: His personality is a mix of Coyote's manic good cheer and Ysengrin's emotional instability and deep-seated rage. It's not to his benefit or honestly, anyone else's.
• Nightmare Face: Loup reveals a truly terrifying one at the mere implication that Ysengrin's love for Antimony wasn't real.
• Perpetual Smiler: Loup's face, much like Coyote's, is locked in a perpetual grin unless he's extremely upset at something. Unlike Coyote, however, where it (mostly) came across as him enjoying a joke at others' expense, Loup's smile comes across as good cheer that barely masks his constant manic - and occasionally homicidal - energy.
• Person of Mass Destruction: He combines Coyote's god-like powers with Ysengrin's antipathy for the Court, and uses this to cause massive destruction across the Court when he first manifests, only breaking off when the robots put a stop to his attack with a magical energy barrier.
• Powers as Programs: Much like Coyote, he can give away his abilities... but unlike Coyote, has has no interest in it. In fact, he wants all of his powers back, including the one Coyote bestowed upon Reynardine. Why? Because it should be his again.
• Psychopathic Manchild: He's even more unhinged than Coyote and uses his powers irresponsibly. Justified, as Coyote intended Loup to be an expendable pawn, and easily hated by the one meant to kill him.
• Reality Warper: Loup isn't more powerful than Coyote, but he's willing to do what Coyote could but wouldn't. The only reason the Court isn't demolished within ten minutes of his creation is because he abruptly decided not to.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes are red, and his sclerae are severely bloodshot.
• Scary Teeth: When he makes his Nightmare Face, he grows an extra set of teeth. In fact, his teeth have teeth.
• Sanity Has Advantages: Well "sane" may not be the best word to describe him but he's far more dangerous than either Coyote or Ysengrin for this very reason. He has the most dangerous parts of the two (Coyote's Physical God power and Ysengrin's legendary temper) but none of the traits that kept those qualities in check (Coyote's goofball personality and Ysengrin's inability to keep said temper under control). This means he's an incredibly vicious Reality Warper who can fly off the handle at any provocation but unlike Ysengrin he has both the power to do what he wants and enough self-control to not be Blinded by Rage.
• Shame If Something Happened: Claims to share both Coyote and Ysengrin's love for Antimony, so promises to never harm her as he demands she stay with him in the forest. When she refuses, he makes it clear that the Court's barrier can't actually protect them from him, and he doesn't promise the same protection for everyone she cares about that live there.
• Smug Super: Has all of Coyote's power, none of his restraint. Unfortunately for him, while he's got Coyote's power, his predecessor hid some important memories in the Court, and now the Forest is suffering for it.
• Split-Personality Takeover: Ysengrin is currently trapped in his own body while Loup is in control.
• Terms of Endangerment: Calls Antimony "my love" when she meets him face to face.
• That Man Is Dead: When Antimony asks if Coyote is really dead, he confirms it. He also claims that Ysengrin is dead. Antimony realizes this isn't quite true when Loup slips up by saying Ysengrin's love for her is unaltered and true (as opposed to "was").
• Time Master: Locks the Forest in time so he can have a conversation with Antimony... which lasts for several months for both of them simply because he can. There is the ulterior motive that putting the Forest in stasis stops it from degrading without the knowledge Coyote had and Loup lacks, but thanks to Loup's personality it comes across as him being a Troll as much as it is a safety measure... and then it turns out that he yanked one Antimony from a different timeline and shoved her into another, so now there's two of her running around at the same time. Or maybe yanked both of them from other timelines and sent the "original" Annie somewhere else. It's not at all clear what exactly is going on.
• The Unfettered: Ysengrin, when lucid, was very patient and reserved in his actions and it's clear that Coyote was very forward-thinking, whereas Loup gives the impression of acting on impulse. As Antimony notes, the one thing that Ysengrin and Coyote had that Loup doesn't is limits.
• Unstoppable Rage: Like Ysengrin, Loup has quite the temper if his buttons are pushed. Antimony claiming that Ysengrin's feelings for her were manipulated by Coyote has Loup go completely off the handle. He unleashes a truly terrifying Nightmare Face and declares that Ysengrin's love for her was real and that he'd tear her apart if she implied otherwise again.
• Walking Spoiler: His mere existence means that something has dramatically changed in the Forest and in the series generally.
• Yandere: Towards Antimony. His initial meeting with her has him constantly saying how he loves her and threatening to kill her if she doubts that it's genuine. While it's not initially clear what kind of love he has for her he does make it clear that he wants her with him regardless of her wishes, going so far as to threaten the Court to coerce her to stay with him. After meeting and falling in love with Lana he mostly drops this aspect.
• Your Days Are Numbered: He encounters one of Coyote’s memories, which tells him that while he doesn’t currently understand Coyote’s plan, he will eventually appreciate it - and then he will die.

<Snuffle>

A fairy living in Gillitie. Her friend is a jackalope who decides to become human. In an unprecedented move, the Court and Forest mediums arrange for them to still be able to see each other, opening up visits from Gunnerkrigg to Gillitie and vice versa.

---

Associated tropes:

• Good with Numbers: A variant. She is not good with numbers, but she is good with patterns. After her friend shows her a Rubik's cube, she quickly figures out that it can be solved in "ten and ten and ten" turns.
• Interspecies Friendship: Her main relationship is with a rabbit/jackalope, and later on, a human.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: Her main conflict in her introduction chapter is her anguish over her friend wanting to become a human and move to the Court.
• The Unpronounceable: Her real name is *sniff in* *sniff out* *sniff out*, transcribed as <Snuffle> (she was named by a rabbit, after all). The humans decide to just refer to her as Snuffle.

Tree elves

In general

• Earthy Barefoot Character: They live in the forest, in tune with nature, and in general, they all walk around barefoot.
• Green-Skinned Space Babe: They all have green skin and hair.
• Green Thumb: Some can freely shape plants, often using this ability to weave trees into houses.
• Pointy Ears: They all have pointy ears.

Kamlen Anwyn

• Nice Guy: Kamlen is one of the only members of his family to be nice to Annie from the beginning. He also notices her trying to hide her wrist bind, and gives her something to cover it up.

---