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Post by The Anarch on Mar 22, 2019 21:43:51 GMT
Okay, the poll is now closed (though the overall conversation might not be), and after 102 votes, we have our results!
In the number one position with 18 votes, it's Jack Hyland! Sure, almost all of their major interactions were under stressful, traumatic circumstances and even had the two of them at odds at times, but the shippers have spoken and they want those kooky Annie and Jack kids to get together someday. And why shouldn't they? Jack is more interested in Zimmy or Zimmy lookalikes and Annie seems to view him as - at best - the most okay of a poor lot, but love, uh . . . love finds a way!
Meanwhile, Jones takes up the second place spot with 17 votes! These two were obviously destined to be together despite the fact that Annie seems to view the nearly emotionless Jones as more of a parental surrogate than a love connection and the only real hint we've been given of any such interest was when Annie envisioned Jones naked . . . in the midst of a fever dream brought on by her dad trying to cut her soul out of her chest. The veracity of that may be a bit suspect, but hey, they'd make quite the stoic couple, eh?
Which brings us to third place, occupied by James Eglamore with 14 votes! Their relationship has been somewhat adversarial even at the best of times and Eggers has a definite hate on for the father that Annie adores beyond all reason, but that's just a great recipe for a good ol' complicated love/hate thing! It doesn't matter that sometimes they just feel like caving each others' heads in from time to time. The heart wants what it wants!
Honorable mentions go out to Donald Donlan and Kamlen, who received 11 votes each. One is adorkable and charming while the other is one of the few people Annie has actually showed any real romantic feelings toward, so maybe they both shoulda gotten more, but I personally voted for Jones even though there's only a very small chance it's actually her, so whatevs!
Due to getting very low numbers, no one else that got voted for really counts except for Boxbot, who gets a 10x bonus and is therefore our clear winner! WOOOOO!!!
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Post by Runningflame on Mar 23, 2019 8:29:00 GMT
In the number one position with 18 votes, it's Jack Hyland! ... Meanwhile, Jones takes up the second place spot with 17 votes! ... Which brings us to third place, occupied by James Eglamore with 14 votes! I read this whole post in an enthusiastic TV announcer voice.
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Post by saardvark on Mar 27, 2019 2:35:06 GMT
This page (last panel... the soft "oh") www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1446could be taken to imply that Annie suddenly realizes that she didn't have to pull secret Anwyn trick of feigning disinterest (which backfired badly!), she could have just asked Jack for a date directly. So maybe there was still some interest lingering at this point? (Of course, with Jack still in love with the Zim-ster, it was probably doomed to failure...)
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Post by foxurus on Mar 27, 2019 8:29:00 GMT
I'm rather surprised Jack is getting so many votes myself, as I'd personally consider him a definite non-starter. Save for when she first met him and maybe for a bit during the Torn Sea incident, all of Annie's interactions with him have not been the greatest to say the least. I've always figured the "colors" coming off of Annie were flames of annoyance and/or a burning desire for vengeance upon Jack, not any kind of attraction. And when she mentions him as a potential boy of interest in AitF, damn if she could not sound less interested, and she obviously only picked him as a default "best of the meh". But what do I know? I picked Jones, and the only real clue we have there takes place in a metaphor-heavy coma dream. Jack always felt like compulsory heterosexuality to me. The kind of thing where Annie felt like she was supposed to be interested in him because of societal archetypes but it was obvious she actually wasn't. The mechanical way she asked Jack if he wanted to kiss, and the look on their faces said it all. Annie looked half-dying, Jack's expression was so "Oh wow, you're just on autopilot right now, huh?" Given the fact that Jack was notably maturing in that chapter (and that showing Annie's flaws and more immature attributes was the subtext of the chapter), I feel confident taking his view of the situation there at face-value. I always thought the night went like this: Annie decides she should play hard to get with Jack, because that's what the Anwyn girl told her to do, and she likes the idea of trying out this whole flirting thing with someone. It fails miserably, and she's embarrassed about failing, but she didn't actually care about dating Jack so she doesn't really mind. But during their hours-long talk afterward, she does develop a crush. Notice the possibly disappointed "Oh, you're not staying? ..." And when she asks again for the kiss, it's genuine this time. I didn't read it as mechanical so much as prepared for rejection, and Jack's face seems like pity/sadness at realizing she has actually fallen for him.
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Post by speedwell on Mar 27, 2019 20:24:47 GMT
Jack always felt like compulsory heterosexuality to me. The kind of thing where Annie felt like she was supposed to be interested in him because of societal archetypes but it was obvious she actually wasn't. The mechanical way she asked Jack if he wanted to kiss, and the look on their faces said it all. Annie looked half-dying, Jack's expression was so "Oh wow, you're just on autopilot right now, huh?" Given the fact that Jack was notably maturing in that chapter (and that showing Annie's flaws and more immature attributes was the subtext of the chapter), I feel confident taking his view of the situation there at face-value. I always thought the night went like this: Annie decides she should play hard to get with Jack, because that's what the Anwyn girl told her to do, and she likes the idea of trying out this whole flirting thing with someone. It fails miserably, and she's embarrassed about failing, but she didn't actually care about dating Jack so she doesn't really mind. But during their hours-long talk afterward, she does develop a crush. Notice the possibly disappointed "Oh, you're not staying? ..." And when she asks again for the kiss, it's genuine this time. I didn't read it as mechanical so much as prepared for rejection, and Jack's face seems like pity/sadness at realizing she has actually fallen for him. I always wondered what the expression on Annie's face was when she said "no, I am not". www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=944 I had thought it looked like ruefulness but was probably intended to be a frown of "why would you think THAT". No, no, I agree now, it's clearly ruefulness.
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Post by netherdan on Mar 28, 2019 12:44:15 GMT
I have to point out that I'm relieved that Annie's "crush" wasn't the steam pressure. That should have been very crushing
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2019 14:35:48 GMT
Re-reading The Coward Heart makes me rather certain now that it's Kat, which is not exactly a revelatory thesis; here's the argument. 1) www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=777 -- Annie's eyes are closed; she might not know that it's Parley who is meant by "...gleaming heart of yours" (nor is she present when Jeanne addresses Parley as Coward Heart in their battle), and it is not clear if she is crying out of sheer pity for Jeanne; she was distraught, but not crying, after the first glimpse into Jeanne's story had concluded in Sky Watcher and the Angel. 2) www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=781 -- "a ghost shouldn't do that"; what does she mean? Trapping them? That's the closest possibility at hand, but maybe she meant something else (her comment would then also befit the final scene of Frühlings Erwachen). 3) www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=785 -- I've often read this interpreted as Annie not understanding that they're about to kiss, but given that she's shown to understand that very well before, and that it looks like she is averting her eyes both from Kat and the saints-in-love, perhaps they're cross with her for the wrong reason, the comparative shot in the first panel is intended, and Annie is simply trying to force herself to forget Jeanne's misapplied judgment and distract herself from "cowardice" with Work To Do. 4) The most damning evidence: the author's comments also mention visiting New York. By the way, there's a signature carved into the stone in the chapter's final panel. I've taken this to mean that more than a few couples have kissed on those stairs, which would also fit with reinforcing a rather staunch denial (if it is that). I think Kat would also reasonably fall under "forbidden" according to Annie's measurements, both generally and due to the specific circumstance that she's "taken" -- or rather, sufficiently and not excessively "forbidden" that playing coy about it is fair game (while still mortifying to say aloud). There's two other "odd girls' couples" where the two "opposites" clearly are in love with each other, but that by itself indicates nothing (they are both used for parallels and contrasts to the "main pair" alike), although the Zimmy/Annie swap in Spring Heeled seems to have been intended to show that these two are quite alike each other (just for a recent example,"snap her like a twig" is certainly how Zimmy thinks in confrontations, and would probably incur a Gamma-class slap if that was applicable -- "it was a joke, mate!") Besides, Annie pulls this stunt: www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1051 -- which need not at all indicate a crush, I think, but does indicate disguising her feelings for Kat, whatever they are; Red's bedside manner may have reminded her.
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Post by bedinsis on Mar 29, 2019 17:59:22 GMT
I am glad this thread exists. Before I didn't even get what was going on between Annie and Jack in the chapter Faraway Morning, and Tom's retrospective gave basically nothing, so this has been illuminating.
A question to folks: do you think it's possible that Tom intentionally had Annie say that she finds Andrew very handsome to eliminate him as a potential candidate for the crush? Otherwise he'd be a prime candidate(similar age, same profession, hangs out with her a whole bunch, been through a lot together, would be awkward to publicly acknowledge due to his relationship with Parley).
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Mar 29, 2019 19:48:14 GMT
other "odd girls' couples" Abstraction of how this comic overwhelmingly deals with character relationships as discreet pairs is the keystone for what I believe to be the strongest evidence of Antimony and Kat making the decision to choose to be with each other in the end. I've sometimes thought about doing a writeup but it would be less of a post and more of a thesis paper.
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Post by DonDueed on Mar 29, 2019 19:56:28 GMT
other "odd girls' couples" Abstraction of how this comic overwhelmingly deals with character relationships as discreet pairs is the keystone for what I believe to be the strongest evidence of Antimony and Kat making the decision to choose to be with each other in the end. I've sometimes thought about doing a writeup but it would be less of a post and more of a thesis paper. I'd say there's room for a different outcome. If Kat is indeed "The One Who Is To Come", Annie may end up in more of a "John the Baptist" role to Kat's messiah.
Tom has certainly been masterful at keeping us guessing, eh?
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