[1413] Someone else...

[aaroncampbell]

Regarding these other students.....it doesn't look like any of them have papers stuck to their arms. I mean, we see at least 3 different unknown students getting papered, so it's not like it was just Annie and the gang. Anyone whose power the robots deemed disruptive to their plan got stuck, so shouldn't that be a big red flag to someone? At the very least, shouldn't Annie, Jenny or Jack be making an inventory of the everyone's abilities (that is, whomever hasn't been restricted with the papers) to see what they've got available to use?

This line of thinking immediately brought to mind the line, "Why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place?"  And then I went a little overboard and had to write out the whole scene.  I have no regrets:

Annie:   Why won't my flames work?
Jenny:   Your fire-type abilities have been temporarily suspended all afternoon, love.
Jack:     We sent a drone to Rey to go get help, but I don't know what they'll do when they get here.
Annie:   Who is this girl? Are we enemies? Why am I in Zimmingham? Where's Kat?
Jack:     Let me 'splain. Wait; there is too much. Let me sum up:
             Kat is attaining godhood in little less than half an hour. So all we have to do is get there,
             break up the mad science experiment, save Kat and Paz, and make our escape. After I rescue Zimmy.
Annie:   That doesn't leave much time for dilly-dallying.
Jenny:   You just shot a spark from your finger. That's wonderful!
Annie:   I've always been a quick healer. What are our liabilities?
Jack:     We're not quite sure where we're going. And the ship had...60 bots.
Annie:   And our assets?
Jack:     My brains. Jenny's witchcraft. Your protagonist-ness.
Annie:   That's it? Impossible. If I had a month to plan maybe I could come up with something, but this?
Jenny:   You just lit your hair, love; that doesn't make you happy?
Annie:   My being the main character, his brains and your apprenticeship witch skills against 60 rogue robots,
             and you think a little hair-flamage is supposed to make me happy? Hmmm?
             I mean, if we only had a range weapon, that would be something!
Jack:     Where did you put that gun Chekhov had?
Jenny:   In some panel a dozen or so pages back, I think.
Annie:   Why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place? [sigh]
             What I wouldn't give for a [insert conveniently appropriate piece of defensive clothing/armor here].
Jack:     There we cannot help you.
Jenny:   Will this do? [reveals said defensive clothing with a flourish]
Jack:     Where did you get that?!
Jenny:   From our games teacher at school. It fit so nice, he said I could keep it.
Annie:   Alright alright, help me up.
             Now I'll need to call my blinker stone back eventually.
Jack:     Why? You can barely use it!
Annie:   True, but that's hardly common knowledge is it? (Thank you.)
             Now, there may be problems once we're in the thick of things.
Jack:     I'll say! How do I find Zimmy? Once I do, how do I find you again? Once I do, how do we escape?
Jenny:   Don't pester her; she's had a hard day.
Jack:     Right, right; sorry.

And if you don't know what movie this is from, you REALLY need to go rent The Princess Bride. It's a classic for a reason! 

[arkadi]

It's always hard to tell in Zimmingham, isn't it? But I think that's the real Gamma and she's simply found her way to the toy store: just because we could see a fence in the previous shot, it doesn't necessarily mean that she was trapped wherever she was. Still uneasy about the others, though. If a fake Kat could fool Annie, there's no telling how many of these students could be nobodies too...

[Daedalus]

Oct 1, 2014 15:11:40 GMT pasko said:

Oct 1, 2014 13:35:16 GMT Daedalus said:

Because when we saw her location earlier, she appeared to be locked in without any stuffed animals.

www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1406


EDIT: ahh, I was ninja'd by Ophel.

Yes, I think that, since the first time nobody realized that Kat wasn't the real Kat, Tom dumbed down the story letting us know Gamma's real whereabouts.

I disagree - we have been given just enough info to have a healthy debate. It seems to me like Tom played this one perfectly. Plus it would be a bit...repetitive to have exactly the same 'oh it's [person] oh wait no' again.

SPOILER: Click to show

Sorry for bad grammar; cracked screens make proofread

[aaroncampbell]

Oct 1, 2014 16:04:17 GMT aaroncampbell said:

Annie:   What I wouldn't give for [insert a conveniently appropriate piece of defensive clothing/armor here].
Jack:     There we cannot help you.
Jenny:   Will this do? [reveals said defensive clothing with a flourish]
Jack:     Where did you get that?!
Jenny:   From our games teacher at school. It fit so nice, he said I could keep it.

I know it's bad form to quote oneself, but I had to mention: after I wrote this, I immediately pictured something like this page going on again, except with Jenny, and it made me laugh. Somewhere in the distance, another doorknob falls to the ground.

SPOILER: Click to show

Also, when I had Jack say "Where did you get that?!" I almost had him thinking, (And where were you hiding it?)
I was intentionally vague about what type of defensive clothing/armor she might be wearing, but given the various discussions and theories about their degree of intimacy, I thought it would be a funny shock to Jack. Whatever she'd be wearing, it would have to fit nicely given her contour-hugging clothing!

[mariposa]

ALSO, did anyone notice how MANY MORE stuffed animals seem to be surrounding Gamma than last time?!?! Seems to me to be further evidence that she is feeling pretty freaked out and vulnerable right now.

[Daedalus]

Oct 1, 2014 16:04:17 GMT aaroncampbell said:

Regarding these other students.....it doesn't look like any of them have papers stuck to their arms. I mean, we see at least 3 different unknown students getting papered, so it's not like it was just Annie and the gang. Anyone whose power the robots deemed disruptive to their plan got stuck, so shouldn't that be a big red flag to someone? At the very least, shouldn't Annie, Jenny or Jack be making an inventory of the everyone's abilities (that is, whomever hasn't been restricted with the papers) to see what they've got available to use?

This line of thinking immediately brought to mind the line, "Why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place?"  And then I went a little overboard and had to write out the whole scene.  I have no regrets:

Annie:   Why won't my flames work?
Jenny:   Your fire-type abilities have been temporarily suspended all afternoon, love.
Jack:     We sent a drone to Rey to go get help, but I don't know what they'll do when they get here.
Annie:   Who is this girl? Are we enemies? Why am I in Zimmingham? Where's Kat?
Jack:     Let me 'splain. Wait; there is too much. Let me sum up:
             Kat is attaining godhood in little less than half an hour. So all we have to do is get there,
             break up the mad science experiment, save Kat and Paz, and make our escape. After I rescue Zimmy.
Annie:   That doesn't leave much time for dilly-dallying.
Jenny:   You just shot a spark from your finger. That's wonderful!
Annie:   I've always been a quick healer. What are our liabilities?
Jack:     We're not quite sure where we're going. And the ship had...60 bots.
Annie:   And our assets?
Jack:     My brains. Jenny's witchcraft. Your protagonist-ness.
Annie:   That's it? Impossible. If I had a month to plan maybe I could come up with something, but this?
Jenny:   You just lit your hair, love; that doesn't make you happy?
Annie:   My being the main character, his brains and your apprenticeship witch skills against 60 rogue robots,
             and you think a little hair-flamage is supposed to make me happy? Hmmm?
             I mean, if we only had a range weapon, that would be something!
Jack:     Where did you put that gun Chekhov had?
Jenny:   In some panel a dozen or so pages back, I think.
Annie:   Why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place? [sigh]
             What I wouldn't give for a [insert conveniently appropriate piece of defensive clothing/armor here].
Jack:     There we cannot help you.
Jenny:   Will this do? [reveals said defensive clothing with a flourish]
Jack:     Where did you get that?!
Jenny:   From our games teacher at school. It fit so nice, he said I could keep it.
Annie:   Alright alright, help me up.
             Now I'll need to call my blinker stone back eventually.
Jack:     Why? You can barely use it!
Annie:   True, but that's hardly common knowledge is it? (Thank you.)
             Now, there may be problems once we're in the thick of things.
Jack:     I'll say! How do I find Zimmy? Once I do, how do I find you again? Once I do, how do we escape?
Jenny:   Don't pester her; she's had a hard day.
Jack:     Right, right; sorry.

And if you don't know what movie this is from, you REALLY need to go rent The Princess Bride. It's a classic for a reason! 

I cannot like this post multiple times. The universe is unjust.

[Daedalus]

Oct 1, 2014 12:50:14 GMT zimmyzims said:

Daedalus, arrange a poll: is it Gamma or a nobody?

Poll is up, now.

[TBeholder]

Oct 1, 2014 12:25:56 GMT Ophel said:

You're right. I'm becoming less rational as this goes on than I realised.

If it's any consolation, this may be a sign that you're starting to understand Zimmyworld.

Oct 1, 2014 12:50:14 GMT zimmyzims said:

4. At least most of the others are real, but when Annie touches Gamma, "GOP!", and she's gone!

No, if Gamma is a nobody, she was imagined by Annie herself. Thus, only Jack or Jenny could pop the bubble.

[Daedalus]

Oct 1, 2014 18:41:50 GMT TBeholder said:

Oct 1, 2014 12:50:14 GMT zimmyzims said:

4. At least most of the others are real, but when Annie touches Gamma, "GOP!", and she's gone!

No, if Gamma is a nobody, she was imagined by Annie herself. Thus, only Jack or Jenny could pop the bubble.

Technically it's possible she stems from someone else's mind, and if so, my vote's on Jenny. But who knows.

[keef]

My initial reaction was: Too easy.. But I'm so gullible, she looks exactly like the first time(more childish than outside Zimcity), and Tom's comment: I vote Yep

[todd]

Of course, we may be taking it for granted that the Nobodies will be involved this time. It's always possible that Tom decided that he didn't have anything new to do with them, anything to further develop them past "Power Station", and so he'd just leave them out of this chapter and use newer horrors (like whatever the Seraph robots are turning into) instead.

Unless he does plan to explore the "advanced Nobodies" (that is, the ones who appear like people such as Kat, rather than the regular Nobodies with gaps where their faces should be) further - though there are so many other things in this chapter already that I don't know whether there'd be room for that. (Certainly if the Nobodies are present, they'd have to be the "advanced" kind, since nobody we've met in Zimmy's world this chapter has the missing features that regular Nobodies have.)

[thedoctor]

Oct 1, 2014 11:01:57 GMT Ophel said:

It's just that, when it comes to these things, more often than not, Gamma ends up being a nobody. Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised id the only one who isn't a nobody is Annie. And even then, I dunno.

I guess guilty until proven innocent with me. Just... I'm preparing to witness worse things to come.

What do you mean by "more often than not"? We've only been to Zimmingham twice, right? 

Also, was anyone else's first thought on seeing that last panel "Aww, poor poor Zimmy"?
Hey check out this page, first panel; anyone else notice the little toy soldiers guarding her? So cute!

[nero]

It looks like the real Gamma to me. She has those stuffed bears around her. She might be scared because this visit to Zimmingham has become more dangerous. She might be aware of the presence of the ship creature and thats why she's keeping away from everyone.

[SilverbackRon]

I think Gamma is extra freaked out this time because this isn't a "normal" trip to Zimmingham.  She has seen real world antagonists actually manhandle Zimmy, which clearly made Zimmy mad as hell.  Of course she couldn't understand the conversation in English about the Ether Siphons around the ship, but I bet she can feel the extra power of this ultra-bad trip.

[Ophel]

Oct 2, 2014 2:25:59 GMT thedoctor said:

What do you mean by "more often than not"?

When it comes to similar situations such as this in fiction in general, I mean.

[philman]

Oct 1, 2014 16:04:17 GMT aaroncampbell said:

And if you don't know what movie this is from, you REALLY need to go rent The Princess Bride. It's a classic for a reason! 

Renting a movie? What is this? 2005?

[todd]

Some more detailed thoughts on the "who - if anybody - is a Nobody here?" question, and its various possible answers.

1. EVERYBODY (INCLUDING ANNIE) IS A NOBODY: The least likely, in my opinion. For one thing, I don't think that a Nobody masquerading as Annie would be able to communicate with Reynardine through the Blinker Stone. Also, from a storytelling point of view, I don't see the point - Tom's pulled big surprises before, but always with a reason for them. Having it turn out that, instead of seeing how Annie and her fellow students are dealing with this problem, we're seeing what a group of Nobodies pretending to be them are doing (and with the entire crowd being Nobodies, meaning no one around to deceive) - I can't see how that could be anything other than a cheap "gotcha!" moment. (Unless Tom was using it to make a revelation about the Nobodies - that they aren't the malevolent obstacles that they appeared to be in "Power Station" - but with so much else going on in this chapter, that would make the story too complicated.) The "Annie" of "Spring-Heeled Part Two" turning out to be Zimmy had a narrative point - but this one wouldn't.

2. THE MISCELLANEOUS STUDENTS ARE NOBODIES: Possible, though not necessary. (Their being shown in silhouette form or with faces turned away could simply mean they're bit characters and so Tom isn't giving as much attention to drawing them as he is to the major characters.)

3. GAMMA IS A NOBODY: The most likely of the three theories (though I voted "not enough information to decide" in the poll). If Tom's going to use again the notion of a familiar figure being a Nobody in disguise, he's not going to simply repeat the "Nobody passing itself off as Kat" scene from "Power Station". By itself, it wouldn't have as much shock the second time around, since this time we know that Nobodies can take on the full appearance of actual characters rather than simply faceless people, as we didn't before. There'd have to be something more added to it - but something which would, again, make good storytelling sense. Having the "Gamma" that Annie and her classmates discover and then bring to Zimmy, hoping that this can return things to normal, keeping her safe through all manner of dangers that stalk this nightmare city, turn out to be a "Nobody" impostor at some critical moment - maybe just as it looks as if the two will be united and the spell broken - could do just that, with the horrified realization for Annie and the rest that now they've got to look for the real Gamma all over again - and by now, there might not even be enough time.

But we'll have to continue reading each new page as it comes out to see what happens.

[Jelly Jellybean]

Oct 2, 2014 3:57:55 GMT nero said:

It looks like the real Gamma to me. She has those stuffed bears around her. She might be scared because this visit to Zimmingham has become more dangerous. She might be aware of the presence of the ship creature and thats why she's keeping away from everyone.

But Annie knows that Gamma is supposed to go to the toy store when separated from Zimmy, Annie has seen Gamma laying in the pile of stuffed animals, and Annie wants to find Gamma.  I don't know if Gamma is real or not, but Annie may be projecting her desire to find Gamma, like she had previously projected her desire to find Kat, and Annie's subconscious is filling in the details.