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Post by speedwell on Mar 3, 2021 15:10:55 GMT
Despite my reservations on this, it is a good way for the Annies to understand each other: just merge them together. Only if at one point they get separated again. Because if not, you have simply destroyed these two similar yet separate personalities and they, at least, will never have the possibility of learning anything from this experience. I am aware the fused Annie can still learn from this of course, but there can be no understanding each other any more.
Also, if this should stay permanent, the Annies should have really, really been asked if they even wanted this. It would not even be undoing something that has happened before (like certain transporter malfunctions on Star Trek), because Annie was shifted, not split.
I suppose it is not impossible that they are not only not "made whole", but actually shifted AND merged. In other words, you would have to undo the merge before undoing the shift(s) to get them back to how they "should" be.
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Mar 3, 2021 15:49:18 GMT
I see a red haired girl and she's been plaited back Not twins anymore and it's kinda whack I see the elves run by dressed in their summer clothes What happened only Zimmy knows
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Post by bedinsis on Mar 3, 2021 15:52:28 GMT
Annies: fused Me: con-fused
If this is how the multiple Annies plot are gonna be concluded I find it too convenient a solution. Just have Zimmie magic away the problem.
I also note that last chapter was Zimmie interacting with the Omega device and she remains central in this chapter, so this can be seen as Book 9, Chapter 1, Part 2 more than Book 9, Chapter 2. Which would make the multiple Annies plot something contained within one book. And the fact that we are at the start of a book makes me think it possible that Mr. Siddell is trying to make each book self-contained, so this is the prime time to shake up the status quo.
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Post by ctso74 on Mar 3, 2021 15:57:10 GMT
Clearly during their arguing, the two Annies broke into a dance battle, and accidentally did a Fusion Dance. I suppose it's good they did the DBZ version, instead of Steven Universe one. Otherwise, she'd be flame-colored and 3 meters tall. We've all been there. Wednesdays, am I right?
This could simply be temporary, and Zimmy's way of pointing out, that Annie has been having this argument inside herself all along.
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Post by Corvo on Mar 3, 2021 16:05:36 GMT
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Post by fwip on Mar 3, 2021 16:26:37 GMT
I think you all are jumping to conclusions, there are some important alternative hypotheses to be considered here. Perhaps the Annies aren't fused, but just mixed. Next page we'll see Courtnie wearing brown pants with the purple top. Or maybe Fannie finally snapped and murdered Courtnie and took her clothing. Who knows?
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Post by bedinsis on Mar 3, 2021 16:31:22 GMT
Or maybe Fannie finally snapped and murdered Courtnie and took her clothing. Somehow I doubt that is the case.
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Post by atteSmythe on Mar 3, 2021 16:52:52 GMT
No problem at all! Barely an inconvenience...
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Post by Corvo on Mar 3, 2021 17:02:52 GMT
Or maybe Fannie finally snapped and murdered Courtnie and took her clothing. Somehow I doubt that is the case. No, no. I think fwip might be onto something there. There are precedents.
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Post by Gemminie on Mar 3, 2021 17:51:55 GMT
Time for Kat to get another existential crisis. I am not sure I like this. We ended with the annies in the midst of a conflict that has been brewing for quite a while, and now it is suddenly resolved? Without her own doing? It makes me wonder why Tom split Annie if it has no impact. But well, maybe I am too quick here. I will see how this develops. Also Annie split soon after Loup fused...so time for Loup's splitting? This makes me wonder even more: is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? I am feeling the same as you two. This can't just be it...can it? I'm really hoping this is either not real or temporary. Not to mention that just fusing both Annies would mean that there will forever be a timeline where Annie never came back from the Forest.
I feel the same. Annie was split/shifted for a narrative purpose. It doesn't feel to me as if that purpose has been served yet. But we'll see: this may be an illusion, or a temporary condition, or there may be more to it than we think. I'm kind of leaning toward that third option: I think that this is a further development, rather than an undo button. We may find out that the two Annies are still there, mentally, and/or even ethereally. For example, when we see Annie in the Ether, there may still be two of her there. Or, perhaps, one of her is always in the Ether, while the other is always physical, and they can switch. This would allow action in two places at once. Or, as another possibility, what if the two Annies can now split and fuse as they wish? Perhaps not into three or four, but perhaps they can be one or two at will? Another possibility I've thought of is along the "this is temporary" line: what if this only lasts as long as the two of them can get along? Perhaps if they start to disagree, they'll split apart again, and they'll only be able to get back together if they can settle their differences. I've been noticing that over recent chapters they've been speaking and acting in unison, and I've been wondering whether they would spontaneously merge someday, but I didn't imagine Zimmy/Gamma being involved in that. Maybe they'll split apart right away, in the next few pages, but this has taught them that they can merge if they can simply get it together. But this could have the same result as the above: they would be able to split or merge at will, if they can get control over this. I have no idea what this means about alternate timelines or realities. They might be virtual in the quantum mechanical sense, where they only exist if there's an observer to interact with. Perhaps if the Annies tend toward being permanently merged, the other timeline will remain virtual and never come into real existence. But obviously I don't know. I had remarked on the two Annies' outfits when we first saw them in this chapter; they were quite well designed, distinctive and fitting their characters, highlighting their differences. Now it turns out that there was a narrative purpose to that: we can instantly see that the two outfits have been merged, telling us that the two Annies have as well. But ... two hairclips have become one, while there's still only one necklace! Where is the other hairclip? What about the Law of Conservation of Hairclips, which I just made up?
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Post by Angry Individual on Mar 3, 2021 17:53:03 GMT
Oh hey! Do I get cookies for half guessing that something was going to happen to Annie? I had a very strong feeling that only one of them was going to walk away from this and... I guess I was right! Sort of!
Are cookies even a thing anymore? What year is it?
Either way, I am personally okay with just one Annie back.
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Jota
Junior Member
Posts: 51
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Post by Jota on Mar 3, 2021 18:31:52 GMT
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caber
Junior Member
Posts: 77
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Post by caber on Mar 3, 2021 18:42:30 GMT
What- I can't even... I'm going to go lie down now...
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Post by gpvos on Mar 3, 2021 18:43:16 GMT
Congratulations on your 200th post!
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Post by gpvos on Mar 3, 2021 18:45:20 GMT
Zimmy announced this with "and I know something that will help Carver understand herself a little better", so there is a high likelihood of this happening only in Zimmyspace and thus being temporary.
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Post by mturtle7 on Mar 3, 2021 19:22:37 GMT
Well, add me onto the list of everyone who's incredibly confused and shocked by this page. Holy CARP I did NOT see that coming. And I don't know how to feel about it, now that it's happened...I'm all sad for Annie and angry at Zimmy and happy for Annie and grateful to Zimmy and...my feelings are even more mixed than Annie's clothes right now. In a way, I don't think this entirely came out of nowhere or anything. A few people already mentioned how Zimmy already said she was gonna do something for Carver, but it's also pretty important to bear in mind where we left off with Carver and what exactly her problem is ("can't she learn to do both?"). So, I think even if this turns out to be permanent, there IS a reason for it and it IS a good thing for Annie. But...yeah. Like I said, lots of mixed feelings for me right now.
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Post by gpvos on Mar 3, 2021 20:16:47 GMT
Annie: oh no, my friends will totally make fun of me for this colour combination.
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Post by saardvark on Mar 3, 2021 21:08:07 GMT
I see a red haired girl and she's been plaited back Not twins anymore and it's kinda whack I see the elves run by dressed in their summer clothes What happened only Zimmy knows brilliant! If I may very humbly suggest some minor mods to fit the cadence of the original (even) better: I see a red haired girl and she's been plaited back They're not twins anymore and it is kinda whack I see the elves run by dressed in their summer clothes What's really happened here only Zimmy really knows...
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Post by phantaskippy on Mar 3, 2021 21:27:18 GMT
The conflict isn't ended, it's just gone from external to internal.
Now they understand each other better, likely because they have all the memories now.
The two Annies were the two versions of her life that she was constantly torn between, wanting both but not knowing how to gain both, if that were even possible.
Now she has the experiences of both worlds, and can make an informed choice.
If only we could live out a multiverse of our own choices before deciding. . .
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Post by Gemminie on Mar 3, 2021 21:53:52 GMT
Annies: fused Me: con-fused If this is how the multiple Annies plot are gonna be concluded I find it too convenient a solution. Just have Zimmie magic away the problem. I also note that last chapter was Zimmie interacting with the Omega device and she remains central in this chapter, so this can be seen as Book 9, Chapter 1, Part 2 more than Book 9, Chapter 2. Which would make the multiple Annies plot something contained within one book. And the fact that we are at the start of a book makes me think it possible that Mr. Siddell is trying to make each book self-contained, so this is the prime time to shake up the status quo. I don't know, of course, but I don't think the multiple-Annies plot is concluded or magicked away. On the one hand we have the theory of Jota and gpvos that this is a temporary illusion, that they're not really merged in reality but rather only in a Zimmy illusion so they can see what it feels like to share the same mind. On the other hand, we have my various theories that they're really merged, but the multiple-Annies situation isn't resolved, only changed. Perhaps they're both there inside their shared brain, but they're only merged as long as they're not fighting, and as soon as they come into conflict again, which they inevitably will, they'll split again. Or perhaps one of them has been moved into the Ether, while the other is physical, and they can switch (the clothing symbolism seems to argue against this, though). Or perhaps there are still two of them in the Ether but only one in the physical world. Or maybe something else that nobody's thought of.
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Post by storyteller on Mar 3, 2021 22:52:45 GMT
Hmm- I really did not expect this. But I do like it from one aspect: One of the major details that kept coming up for me is that both the Annies assumed they knew the rules of Zimmyham. That they knew how to fix the Zimmy problem. They really didn't - and it ended when Zimmy calmed down by herself. Though for similar reasons I personally don't want this to be permanent. Random chaos causing problems works fine. Random chaos fixing stuff isn't.
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Post by fia on Mar 3, 2021 22:54:31 GMT
I was shocked/startled, and then amused, and now I'm sad.
For the following reason: Annie being one person now means – she still has to totally die if she has a kid, (can't leave her sister-self to care for the child), and she's an only child again, and she still has to face the psychopomps, maybe alone, maybe appeal to Loup for them to get rid of the obligation.
I guess the one positive is they don't have to fight over friends and romantic interests and clothes, and their mom's necklace.
Now as for whether this is permanent – I'm guessing mostly. I think it sort of is. In alchemy, the idea of the union of opposites is key to the purification of the elements and the eventual production of the philosopher's stone. Jung likens this to a psychological process of achieving higher levels of consciousness or self-realization. (Incidentally, I just taught Heraclitus in my ancient philosophy class today, and he too is obsessed with opposites inhering together in unity).
I imagine Zimmy has just helped Annie reconcile herself for a second or possibly third time (for of course, the process is repetitive – Annie first had a crisis by fighting with Renard and needing to flee to the forest to process her anger and grief, maybe that was a 'split' or 'shift' of sorts, resolved by spending time with Khepi and the other elves; and then when her father came back there was a literal split within herself, between her desire for self-control and her passionate fire spirit, an actual dissociation, resolved with the help of Ysengrin and continuation by Renard and Kat; and now a split has happened with herself again, by way of Loup's intervention, in her relationship to her own self-loathing, her relationship to her father and her mother and different processing of grief over these relationships, and now it has been at least initially resolved by Zimmy (along with earlier and initial help by Kat, Parley, et al, with the underground bunker thing they had them do)). I suspect Tom won't try this plotline again myself, but I could be wrong, and maybe the two Annies still exist. I expect though that, just like with Coyote and Ysengrin being gone and turning into Loup, this might be permanent.
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Post by beaukm on Mar 3, 2021 23:15:17 GMT
Only if at one point they get separated again. Because if not, you have simply destroyed these two similar yet separate personalities and they, at least, will never have the possibility of learning anything from this experience. I am aware the fused Annie can still learn from this of course, but there can be no understanding each other any more.
Also, if this should stay permanent, the Annies should have really, really been asked if they even wanted this. It would not even be undoing something that has happened before (like certain transporter malfunctions on Star Trek), because Annie was shifted, not split.
I suppose it is not impossible that they are not only not "made whole", but actually shifted AND merged. In other words, you would have to undo the merge before undoing the shift(s) to get them back to how they "should" be. You are now making me imagine the math concept of 'Order of Operations', but for the Annies, and I'm about to McFreaking lose it
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Post by todd on Mar 3, 2021 23:54:25 GMT
Zimmy announced this with "and I know something that will help Carver understand herself a little better", so there is a high likelihood of this happening only in Zimmyspace and thus being temporary. I'd wondered if that might be it, after rereading the chapter. As others have pointed out, resolving a major problem in the comic as a side-effect of the latest development in Zimmy's story does seem awkward from a storytelling point of view. (Though that might have been Tom's intention, for reasons we'll learn later on....)
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Mar 4, 2021 1:33:03 GMT
I'm hoping the bonus page at the end of the chapter will be Antimony announcing to Anthony that she's only one person again...
...and then just as the news sinks in, in the last panel "SPROING" there's two Antimonies again.
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Post by blazingstar on Mar 4, 2021 2:43:15 GMT
Also, if this should stay permanent, the Annies should have really, really been asked if they even wanted this. They were literally asked if they wanted this. They couldn't decide. Although, I agree with you, it IS rather cruel for Zimmy to decide for them. Maybe it's not a permanent fix after all.
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Post by blazingstar on Mar 4, 2021 2:44:32 GMT
What- I can't even... I'm going to go lie down now... This was my EXACT reaction. And because I'm not a DBZ fan, it didn't even register for me what had happened until I visited the forums and saw the title of this thread!
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Post by apache on Mar 4, 2021 3:55:39 GMT
Looks like Zimmy fixed the timeline. Watching Annie's dad realize she's one person again is going to be...interesting. >
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Post by Gulby on Mar 4, 2021 5:37:20 GMT
I'm really fine with any narrative decision of Tom so far, and this one is no exception because, even if it's unexpected, it will serve the story, or so I believe.
The only thing that bothers me right now, but that reaaaaaally bothers me and that nobody has pointed out so far, is that one of them is still 6 months younger.
SIX. FREAKING. MONTHS. As a teenager.
Like, it's a decade of development, physically and psychologically, for adults. It stresses me out greatly.
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Post by jda on Mar 4, 2021 5:57:07 GMT
This makes me wonder even more: is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? Well. Im afraid theyll be caught in a landslide, no escape from reality that Surma is just part of the past, and theyll face Tony as just Annie.
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