Yes, they were. Was that mentioned in the other books or just coincidence?

I don't think Guppy's being killed off, because another character is and I think the spoilers would have said. But it sounds like he's being written out and I can't get any information on it. I think he's just going to leave, in which case I'll just have him based somewhere else doing the same thing.
And he is Bound for the next week, because I realised last night that he's going to overtake his canon. Oops.