Chapter 79 ("Find Yourself") Wrap-Up

[Gemminie]

This was a very confusing chapter. There were revelations here, but they were buried under layers of misdirection and confusion. But this chapter also showed Tom pushing the envelope with innovative storytelling techniques, which is one of the brilliant features of GC. I just thought I should try to pull everything together, for my own sanity the benefit of everyone – and of course, this being a forum and all, anyone can chime in with their additions, so it's win-win. This is going to contain spoilers for anyone who hasn't read the comic through chapter 79, so go read the chapter if you haven't already.

Threads leading into this chapter:

• Annie has worn her makeup since the beginning of the story. Before she died, her mother Surma gave it to her and showed her how to put it on. Her makeup seems to serve her as sort of an emotional security blanket in tough times.
• When her father Tony returned from parts unknown, surprising everyone except perhaps some Court administrators who didn't see fit to spread the word, he immediately devastated every aspect of Annie's emotional support system, including forbidding her to wear makeup and having her remove it in a most humiliating way. She used her blinker stone in a hastily improvised ritual to split off the rage she felt as a separate entity, delaying having to deal with her feelings until Ysengrin destroyed her blinker stone. Since then, though, she has learned how to access the Ether without it and has recovered somewhat from the emotional blows she suffered. She has learned about why her father behaved as he did, and her relationship with him has improved somewhat since. Whether she's recovered from splitting off a piece of herself has been left unaddressed.
• Annie saw it as her responsibility to enter the Forest after Loup's arrival and attack on the Court, so, leaving everything behind and with only Jones to back her up, she went in to face this strange and powerful creature. She may not have expected to come back alive, and when Loup took Jones out of the equation, she may have been even more uncertain about her survival. It wasn't until the end of her conversation with Loup that he told her that months had passed in the outside world while they were talking, and it wasn't until she returned to the Court that she learned that Loup had somehow split her into two copies of herself.
• One Annie, whom Tom calls Court Annie, had only been in the Forest for minutes from her perspective, but then Loup appeared, not even identifying himself. This "Ysengrin" told Annie to go back to the Court, refusing to even talk to her. Unaware that there was another copy of herself talking to Loup, she returned, evidently having failed in her mission and lost Jones. She moved in with her father Tony, whereupon she insisted on wearing her makeup again.
• The Annie who had been talking to Loup returned from the Forest and is therefore called Forest Annie; there was some initial conflict between the two of them, but in the end they accepted each other's existence and have acted more or less like twin sisters. Tony invited Forest Annie to live under his roof with himself, Court Annie, and Renard. But the two Annies quickly noticed something unusual: Tony, who has never been able to open up emotionally around Annie, could do so when alone with Forest Annie, whereas this was not the case with Court Annie. They have tried an experiment in which Court Annie dressed up as Forest Annie, but Tony seems to have seen straight through it. It appears to be an inability, rather than a choice, because he subtly made an effort to open up to her after seeing how much effort she'd gone to, but it was too difficult for him.
• Zimmy has helped Annie deal with a metaphysical crisis before. Her unique situation is a significant handicap for her, but it also allows her to sense and do things that aren't easily explained.
• A being known as Arbiter Saslamel, who concerns himself with metaphysical contracts of ownership between people and their belongings, sensed that the Annies had been "shifted," meaning that they aren't in their timeline or timelines of origin. He seems to have assumed that that is also the reason why there are two of them, stating that Loup has the power to create alternate timelines, so he leaves them with that pat explanation, even though it doesn't explain why both of them seem to be "shifted." Brinny later made the same observation and the same assumption. The Norns, however, deny that Annie's duplication problem has anything to do with temporal affairs.
• Loup has banished the tree people from the Forest, and the Court has accepted them and assigned them some building or buildings to live in. These dwellings are apparently near where the Chester House students, including Zimmy and Gamma, are living.

This chapter begins with a cityscape, under dark skies. Either this is in Zimmy's hellscape unofficially called Zimmingham, or the weather in the Court has changed dramatically recently, as it has seen clear skies for quite some time now. Indications are that it's Zimmingham, though, as we see later. Running through the empty streets is Zimmy, who looks behind herself as if someone or something is chasing her. Coming out of a passageway, she encounters the Annies and Renard, with no explanation as to how or when they entered this area – do they know they're in Zimmingham? Do they think they're still in the Court? Are they even perceiving the cityscape around them in the same way that Zimmy is (and we are, presumably)? That remains unexplained.

Renard warns the Annies not to touch her, but they just tell him to calm down and help Zimmy to her feet. It seems that Zimmy's being chased by some tree elf teens, who think she's some sort of demon. Annie tries to convince them to leave Zimmy alone, but one of them unexpectedly jumps on her, and Zimmy has an anxiety attack that sends at least the Annies into some deeper layer of Zimmingham. If they didn't think they were in Zimmingham before, they certainly think so now.

It seems as if Renard is stuck in his two-legged toy form, and that the Annies can't communicate with him as they've been able to since chapter 71. They soon find the elf kids, trying to fend off some of the "Nobody" people of Zimmingham. Annie is able to dispel these illusory denizens and tries to explain what's going on, but it quickly becomes obvious that some of Zimmy's feelings, mostly her self-loathing, is somehow influencing the elf kids, which they find confusing, as they're saying things out of context that they don't understand. But in the black space behind the panels of the comic, we start to see something. It's the figure of Gamma, who seems to be unconscious or falling.

Then the comic panels seem to "fall away," as if they're cards on a table, revealilng Gamma behind them. She's in a black void of some sort. She opens her eyes and sees Renard there with her. He asks her what's going on, as he doesn't understand, and Gamma explains that Zimmy's "being dramatic again" and that everyone they see in Zimmingham is made up of pieces of either Annie or Zimmy. The image of Renard we've been seeing is really just a part of Annie. She says that Zimmy's having a flashback to a traumatic incident from before she and Gamma met, when a group of teenagers chased her and beat her up, and she's reliving it with elements from her surroundings, apparently including images of the tree elf kids. Gamma says that Zimmy's punishing herself like this because she believes she deserves it. However, she also says there's nothing they can do to help the Annies but hope they don't go to the toy store, which of course they do.

The toy store has in the past been the place where they found Gamma, who was usually the key to calming Zimmy down and getting out of Zimmingham, but this time things are different; the Annies have too much input into the scenario. In the toy store, lying on the pile of plushies, they find not Gamma, but a vision of Surma, their mother, as she appeared back in Good Hope Hospital, lying there as if lying on a hospital bed. Forest Annie quickly rushes to dispel this illusion, as it obviously can't really be her; she's dead. Both Court Annie and "Renard" are upset about this, but Court Annie rounds on Forest Annie with anger, while "Renard" just continues to be shocked.

The two Annies begin to fight, and we start to see what the real difference between the two of them is: Court Annie is far more devoted to her mother, clinging tightly to her memory, while Forest Annie sees that as unhealthy and wants to let go of her. Court Annie accuses Forest Annie of wanting to forget Surma, while Forest Annie thinks Court Annie's overdevotion is harming her relationship with their father.

The panels fall away again, and Gamma explains that Zimmy's self-hatred is infecting the Annies and making them find the things they hate about themselves and each other. She says Zimmy feels as if she doesn't deserve to be happy, because of something very bad she did before she and Gamma met, something she hasn't shared the details of with Gamma. Gamma says that everyone has dualities within them, including Kat, who would have gone down a dark path if not for Annie; because of Annie, Kat's outlook is better, and she'll help lead the Court in a better direction, but Zimmy can always see the dark path too, and that's what's got Zimmy so scared of Kat.

Then we see Tam, one of the elf kids, thinking to himself about this strange black space they're in. He seems not to be able to see Gamma or Renard, and Gamma shushes Renard to keep him quiet so Tam doesn't notice them. Are they in some kind of telepathic space? Gamma has exhibited telepathic abilities in the past, so that wouldn't be terribly surprising. But this image of Tam morphs into Zimmy, who has apparently calmed down some; the flashback is over. Zimmy is afraid the Court will take Gamma away from her, now that they've made some kind of device that allows them to see the Ether, and it somehow involves Zimmy and Gamma.

Renard all but apologizes for everything bad he's said about Zimmy in the past. Now that he understands her better, he wants to help her as Annie does. And Zimmy says she knows something she can do to help Annie understand herself better. They say goodbye, and the visions of Zimmingham disappear in streaks of color. Finally, we see Zimmy and Gamma sitting on a wall, watching the four tree elf kids we've been seeing in a courtyard below, some of them playing ball, some of them just talking, all of them seemingly oblivious to anything that's happened. Encouraged by others we don't know, Kellin goes up to Rob and gives him a drink, and the two of them talk.

But behind Zimmy and Gamma we see Annie – one Annie, wearing an outfit that appears to be a fusion of the outfits that Court and Forest Annie were wearing when last we saw them. She looks dazed, as if waking up from a dream. Refocusing on reality, she sees Zimmy and Gamma, then Renard. Renard says he can explain, but Annie says she understands. She thanks Zimmy.

In the bonus page, Annie is in Court Annie's room in their house. She puts away her makeup in the drawer of her vanity.

So many questions! First of all, when did the Annies and Renard actually enter Zimmingham? Did they not perceive themselves as being there until after Tam jump-attacked Zimmy?

Where exactly were Gamma and Renard? Some kind of telepathic mind-space that she usually shares with Zimmy, but in this case Renard was there for some reason? And why was Tam there? Perhaps Gamma could sense some of the real Tam's thoughts, because he was nearby?

Were Gamma and Zimmy on that wall the whole time? Maybe Zimmy saw the teens enter the courtyard, and didn't know they were going to do that, causing her flashback? She emotionally pushed Gamma away because she felt she deserved to be chased and beaten up, even though it was a memory.

Were the tree kids actually involved in the flashback at all? It doesn't seem as if they remember a single thing about it. Maybe only their appearances were copied into the vision. Their behaviors were pretty much just like teens-chasing-Zimmy until the Annies got involved, and suddenly they paused for thought in between bouts of hating Zimmy. That was probably Annie's influence.

Why does Gamma think the Annies shouldn't go to the toy store? When Zimmy goes there, she sees a reassuring vision: Gamma herself. But how did Gamma know that the reassuring vision they would see would turn into a point of contention? Maybe she's just that telepathic?

And then, finally, the big question. How exactly can Zimmy, a non-god, just undo something that Loup, a god, did to Annie? Is Zimmy that powerful? I don't think she is; I think instead that what we thought Loup had done to Annie wasn't true. We thought Loup had created an alternate timeline, or perhaps more than one, and pulled an Annie out of it, but now I don't think so. I think the Arbiter and Brinny both saw that the Annies were "shifted" out of their home timeline and assumed that there were two of them for the same reason – when in fact it was for a different reason. My opinion, anyway, is that they appeared "shifted" either because of the way that Kat saved her life using time travel (chapter 77) or because of some other reason. And I think Loup did something much simpler to Annie to split her into two: he took advantage of a faultline he could see in her personality, similar to faultlines that we all have. He simply split her in half using a natural splitting point, giving each of them her own physical body. He didn't need godlike power to make that happen. In fact, it may be something that Annie could have done to herself, with or without a blinker stone – oh wait, she kind of did split herself already. But am I right? I guess we'll see as we go on.

[maxptc]

I'm gonna need two or so days to process all this to make a proper response, but you deserve a well done. This summary is a thing of beauty, like seriously.

[saardvark]

Mar 12, 2021 6:24:18 GMT Gemminie said:

So many questions! First of all, when did the Annies and Renard actually enter Zimmingham? Did they not perceive themselves as being there until after Tam jump-attacked Zimmy?

Where exactly were Gamma and Renard? Some kind of telepathic mind-space that she usually shares with Zimmy, but in this case Renard was there for some reason? And why was Tam there? Perhaps Gamma could sense some of the real Tam's thoughts, because he was nearby?

Were Gamma and Zimmy on that wall the whole time? Maybe Zimmy saw the teens enter the courtyard, and didn't know they were going to do that, causing her flashback? She emotionally pushed Gamma away because she felt she deserved to be chased and beaten up, even though it was a memory.

Were the tree kids actually involved in the flashback at all? It doesn't seem as if they remember a single thing about it. Maybe only their appearances were copied into the vision. Their behaviors were pretty much just like teens-chasing-Zimmy until the Annies got involved, and suddenly they paused for thought in between bouts of hating Zimmy. That was probably Annie's influence.

Why does Gamma think the Annies shouldn't go to the toy store? When Zimmy goes there, she sees a reassuring vision: Gamma herself. But how did Gamma know that the reassuring vision they would see would turn into a point of contention? Maybe she's just that telepathic?

And then, finally, the big question. How exactly can Zimmy, a non-god, just undo something that Loup, a god, did to Annie? Is Zimmy that powerful? I don't think she is; I think instead that what we thought Loup had done to Annie wasn't true. We thought Loup had created an alternate timeline, or perhaps more than one, and pulled an Annie out of it, but now I don't think so. I think the Arbiter and Brinny both saw that the Annies were "shifted" out of their home timeline and assumed that there were two of them for the same reason – when in fact it was for a different reason. My opinion, anyway, is that they appeared "shifted" either because of the way that Kat saved her life using time travel (chapter 77) or because of some other reason. And I think Loup did something much simpler to Annie to split her into two: he took advantage of a faultline he could see in her personality, similar to faultlines that we all have. He simply split her in half using a natural splitting point, giving each of them her own physical body. He didn't need godlike power to make that happen. In fact, it may be something that Annie could have done to herself, with or without a blinker stone – oh wait, she kind of did split herself already. But am I right? I guess we'll see as we go on.

Here are a few ideas (most probably wrong!):

I agree, Zimms and Gamms were just sitting on the wall, watching the kids play, when Zimms had a flashback to the mean Birmingham(?) kids who bullied her long ago.  Gamma gets pushed away cuz Zimmers wants to "beat herself up", so Gamma - having seen this play out before, decides to catch up on some zzzzs she is always so short of.   The Annies and Rey happened to be nearby and got sucked into the "memories played out in Zimmingham" scenario, probably due to their etheric sensitivity.  The elf kids weren't actually sucked in, but rather their personalities were "borrowed" to put into Zimmingham characters that were also partly Zimmy's (and also Annie's, accidentally) projections onto them. Gamms and Rey are transposed into the ether, or what the ether looks like, warped thru Zimmy's perception.  I think Zimms and Gamma were in it briefly just after they visited Annie, in a dream apparently, in Divine: 
last panel of:
www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1053
and
www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1054
I think both Zimms and Gamma can read minds to an extent:
www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1042
and have come to know Surma is the one person who Annie misses most and brings the most comfort and reassurance to her. Since Gamma is that person for Zimmy, the "real" Gamms infers that if the Annies go into the toy store to find Gamma, since they are also partly "driving" the scenario too, they would instead find Surma, and that would lead to, at a minimum, much confusion ("but you're dead!") and possible hurt (mother, found and lost once again).  

As for how Zimmy did what she has done, and exactly what that is... very uncertain on that!

[Gemminie]

Mar 12, 2021 17:20:26 GMT saardvark said:

Here are a few ideas (most probably wrong!):

I agree, Zimms and Games were just sitting on the wall, watching the kids play, when Zimms had a flashback to the mean Birmingham(?) kids who bullied her long ago.  Gamma gets pushed away cuz Zimmers wants to "beat herself up", so Gamma - having seen this play out before, decides to catch up on some zzzzs she is always so short of.   The Annies and Rey happened to be nearby and got sucked into the "memories played out in Zimmingham" scenario, probably due to their etheric sensitivity.  The elf kids weren't actually sucked in, but rather their personalities were "borrowed" to put into Zimmingham characters that were also partly Zimmy's (and also Annie's, accidentally) projections onto them. Gamms and Rey are transposed into the ether, or what the ether looks like, warped thru Zimmy's perception.  I think Zimms and Gamma were in it briefly just after they visited Annie, in a dream apparently, in Divine: 
last panel of:
www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1053
and
www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1054
I think both Zimms and Gamma can read minds to an extent:
www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1042
and have come to know Surma is the one person who Annie misses most and brings the most comfort and reassurance to her. Since Gamma is that person for Zimmy, the "real" Gamms infers that if the Annies go into the toy store to find Gamma, since they are also partly "driving" the scenario too, they would instead find Surma, and that would lead to, at a minimum, much confusion ("but you're dead!") and possible hurt (mother, found and lost once again).  

As for how Zimmy did what she has done, and exactly what that is... very uncertain on that!

I like your ideas! What you describe is very plausible for how Gamma knew that going to the toy store would be bad. And you're right, the black void space from chapter 38 looks and seems to function enough like the one in chapter 79 that they could be the same. As for what exactly Zimmy did, and how, yes, that remains to be seen. I hope we find out more soon. Right now I'm thinking that Loup did something to Annie that he always intended to be temporary, and Zimmy just ended it early, but again, it's hard to confirm that now.

Edit: I also like your idea about why Gamma appears to be unconscious when we first see her in this chapter – Zimmy pushed her away, so she simply fell asleep, since she's always short on sleep. Then Renard popped in and woke her up.

[oddodddodo]

Post number one!

I had to come to this discussion board because I had no idea what had happened. I'm probably twice the age of most readers of this comic, so I had no idea what "Dragonball Z" is, and so of course I didn't understand that the Annies had fused. I'm grateful to everyone on this discussion board for explaining something that must have been super obvious.

When I saw Annie looking at her hands in a daze, and Renard saying "I can explain," the only thing I could think was that Annie's "ownership" of Renard had been severed. Which is not what happened. But actually it does raise a question. Which Annie did Renard belong to, and is he still her familiar now that the two Annies have merged?

Another thing I noticed was that Renard's fur when he is in the ether has little glyphs around the edges (see pages 2418 and 2424 for closeups). Probably just decoration, but it just occurred to me that it would be really cool if they were a code of some sort. It would be great if Tom had come up with a way of hiding a message in plain sight, in Renard's fur.

In some of the earlier discussion of this chapter, some readers said they were underwhelmed by the easy wrap-up of the two-Annies theme. But let's be patient; we may not be done yet with it. Also, I personally thought Annie's very understated reaction to the "fuse" was just right. We saw the side of her that is just like her dad, who also doesn't want to have long conversations about his emotions.

[saardvark]

Mar 12, 2021 18:05:52 GMT oddodddodo said:

Post number one!

I had to come to this discussion board because I had no idea what had happened. I'm probably twice the age of most readers of this comic, so I had no idea what "Dragonball Z" is, and so of course I didn't understand that the Annies had fused. I'm grateful to everyone on this discussion board for explaining something that must have been super obvious.

When I saw Annie looking at her hands in a daze, and Renard saying "I can explain," the only thing I could think was that Annie's "ownership" of Renard had been severed. Which is not what happened. But actually it does raise a question. Which Annie did Renard belong to, and is he still her familiar now that the two Annies have merged?

Another thing I noticed was that Renard's fur when he is in the ether has little glyphs around the edges (see pages 2418 and 2424 for closeups). Probably just decoration, but it just occurred to me that it would be really cool if they were a code of some sort. It would be great if Tom had come up with a way of hiding a message in plain sight, in Renard's fur.

In some of the earlier discussion of this chapter, some readers said they were underwhelmed by the easy wrap-up of the two-Annies theme. But let's be patient; we may not be done yet with it. Also, I personally thought Annie's very understated reaction to the "fuse" was just right. We saw the side of her that is just like her dad, who also doesn't want to have long conversations about his emotions.

welcome to the forum, unusual extinct bird!

there are some older folk here (myself being one! almost retirement age...). GC seems to have quite a diverse fanbase.

I suspect that both Annies owned him (both could command him to do tricks), so the merged Annie is likely the owner, still.

I don't think anyone has tried to track down those glyphs/runes... might be a worthwhile project!

[DonDueed]

Mar 12, 2021 6:24:18 GMT Gemminie said:

And then, finally, the big question. How exactly can Zimmy, a non-god, just undo something that Loup, a god, did to Annie? Is Zimmy that powerful? I don't think she is; I think instead that what we thought Loup had done to Annie wasn't true. We thought Loup had created an alternate timeline, or perhaps more than one, and pulled an Annie out of it, but now I don't think so. I think the Arbiter and Brinny both saw that the Annies were "shifted" out of their home timeline and assumed that there were two of them for the same reason – when in fact it was for a different reason. My opinion, anyway, is that they appeared "shifted" either because of the way that Kat saved her life using time travel (chapter 77) or because of some other reason. And I think Loup did something much simpler to Annie to split her into two: he took advantage of a faultline he could see in her personality, similar to faultlines that we all have. He simply split her in half using a natural splitting point, giving each of them her own physical body. He didn't need godlike power to make that happen. In fact, it may be something that Annie could have done to herself, with or without a blinker stone – oh wait, she kind of did split herself already. But am I right? I guess we'll see as we go on.

Wildspec o'the Day:

The Annies were never actually split at all.  Loup just created the illusion that two Annies existed, an illusion that affected both Annie (singular all along) and anyone who interacted with her.  All the effects, such as Tony's differing response to each "copy" and Saslamel's confusing "shifted" explanation, derive from the illusion rather than any actual differences.

Zimmy just dispelled the illusion.

[Gemminie]

*facepalms self* I just realized something. Tony can only open up when alone with one other person. Except Annie. He's never been able to open up with her.

Because there were always two of her there.

Forest Annie and Court Annie were always there. She was always literally "of two minds" about how to deal with her memories of her mom. Loup didn't have to do much to split her into two Annies.

After Loup split her, he could open up with Forest Annie, but not Court Annie. This is probably simply because she insisted on wearing the makeup that made him uncomfortable. In a way, he was seeing both Annie and Surma. (This does not explain why the Chapter 78 experiment didn't work, in which Court Annie removed her makeup, though. Although it kind of worked. Slightly.)

I'm dying to find out how he'll react to Annie now.

[blazingstar]

Mar 12, 2021 22:51:02 GMT Gemminie said:

*facepalms self* I just realized something. Tony can only open up when alone with one other person. Except Annie. He's never been able to open up with her.

Because there were always two of her there.

Forest Annie and Court Annie were always there. She was always literally "of two minds" about how to deal with her memories of her mom. Loup didn't have to do much to split her into two Annies.

After Loup split her, he could open up with Forest Annie, but not Court Annie. This is probably simply because she insisted on wearing the makeup that made him uncomfortable. In a way, he was seeing both Annie and Surma. (This does not explain why the Chapter 78 experiment didn't work, in which Court Annie removed her makeup, though. Although it kind of worked. Slightly.)

I'm dying to find out how he'll react to Annie now.

We brought this up in the forums, but it seems to have been disproven because: 

• If his problem were "there are always two Annies and they're connected by a psychic link", then his social anxiety should have been affected by BOTH Annies equally
• C!Annie took off her makeup and still wasn't treated like the other Annie
• To our knowledge, Tony is not etherically talented nor has any awareness of the psychic link between the Annies (he is equally ignorant of the exact mechanism bonding Annie to Renard)

Many forum users (including me) concluded that the difference lies in the 6 months between them. Either he sees F!Annie as "a new Annie I don't have to feel guilty about" or there was a big argument between Tony and C!Annie that affects their relationship. 

[Gemminie]

Mar 13, 2021 0:06:16 GMT blazingstar said:

Mar 12, 2021 22:51:02 GMT Gemminie said:

*facepalms self* I just realized something. Tony can only open up when alone with one other person. Except Annie. He's never been able to open up with her.

Because there were always two of her there.

Forest Annie and Court Annie were always there. She was always literally "of two minds" about how to deal with her memories of her mom. Loup didn't have to do much to split her into two Annies.

After Loup split her, he could open up with Forest Annie, but not Court Annie. This is probably simply because she insisted on wearing the makeup that made him uncomfortable. In a way, he was seeing both Annie and Surma. (This does not explain why the Chapter 78 experiment didn't work, in which Court Annie removed her makeup, though. Although it kind of worked. Slightly.)

I'm dying to find out how he'll react to Annie now.

We brought this up in the forums, but it seems to have been disproven because: 

• If his problem were "there are always two Annies and they're connected by a psychic link", then his social anxiety should have been affected by BOTH Annies equally
• C!Annie took off her makeup and still wasn't treated like the other Annie
• To our knowledge, Tony is not etherically talented nor has any awareness of the psychic link between the Annies (he is equally ignorant of the exact mechanism bonding Annie to Renard)

Many forum users (including me) concluded that the difference lies in the 6 months between them. Either he sees F!Annie as "a new Annie I don't have to feel guilty about" or there was a big argument between Tony and C!Annie that affects their relationship. 

I'm in favor of the "big argument that happened off-camera during the six-month gap" theory. But the fact remains that he still couldn't open up to Annie before there were literally two of her.

[lurkerbot]

Mar 13, 2021 0:26:29 GMT Gemminie said:

Mar 13, 2021 0:06:16 GMT blazingstar said:

Many forum users (including me) concluded that the difference lies in the 6 months between them. Either he sees F!Annie as "a new Annie I don't have to feel guilty about" or there was a big argument between Tony and C!Annie that affects their relationship. 

I'm in favor of the "big argument that happened off-camera during the six-month gap" theory. But the fact remains that he still couldn't open up to Annie before there were literally two of her.

Couple of thoughts:

1) I've always thought that Tony made a big effort (for him) to reach out to Antimony before she left the Court to confront Loup for the first time (and was subsequently split immediately afterwards). Antimony's reaction seems to imply that she took it that way.

2) The argument theory certainly has merit given Court Annie's more, shall we say, assertive attitude. However, this doesn't explain why Tony didn't treat her like Forest Annie when she disguised herself. Either Court Annie didn't adjust her behavior enough or Tony was sensitive enough to pick up on the distinction between the two beyond disguised appearance and/or behavior. Or there's still something else going on entirely.

So, hmm. I hope we'll get more of an explanation as the story continues to unfold.

[DonDueed]

Mar 13, 2021 0:57:31 GMT lurkerbot said:

So, hmm. I hope we'll get more of an explanation as the story continues to unfold.

Will we, though?  Now they're merged, will there be any opportunity to discuss the differences between them when they were "shifted"?

It will be interesting to see whether the reintegrated Annie has the clam-up effect on Tony.

[arf]

As a familiar, Rey has often been depicted as being an etheric 'conduit' between the Annies, so I think Rey certainly has got some insights into what happened. I also think the reconciliation between Rey and Zimmie played a part.

As an amusing aside, the merging of the Annies involved a certain 'clash of the clothes', which I now find is celebrated by 'chromaflair' paint.

[saardvark]

Mar 13, 2021 1:35:51 GMT arf said:

As a familiar, Rey has often been depicted as being an etheric 'conduit' between the Annies, so I think Rey certainly has got some insights into what happened. I also think the reconciliation between Rey and Zimmie played a part.

As an amusing aside, the merging of the Annies involved a certain 'clash of the clothes', which I now find is celebrated by 'chromaflair' paint.

I never thought I'd ever say this, but wow - that is really cool paint!

[maxptc]

Mar 12, 2021 6:24:18 GMT Gemminie said:

So many questions! First of all, when did the Annies and Renard actually enter Zimmingham? Did they not perceive themselves as being there until after Tam jump-attacked Zimmy?

I kinda think the chase was part of Zimmingham, and they just didn't know they were there yet. I think.

Mar 12, 2021 6:24:18 GMT Gemminie said:

Why does Gamma think the Annies shouldn't go to the toy store? When Zimmy goes there, she sees a reassuring vision: Gamma herself. But how did Gamma know that the reassuring vision they would see would turn into a point of contention? Maybe she's just that telepathic?

I figure with the level of knowledge Zimz has from punching Father in the face she and Gams would know Annie is gonna see Surma in the Toystore of hope. The different reactions may have been a surprise, she could have just figured "oh dear this will end poorly". I'd think that about most people going into that type of magic room.

Mar 12, 2021 6:24:18 GMT Gemminie said:

And then, finally, the big question. How exactly can Zimmy, a non-god, just undo something that Loup, a god, did to Annie? Is Zimmy that powerful? I don't think she is; I think instead that what we thought Loup had done to Annie wasn't true. We thought Loup had created an alternate timeline, or perhaps more than one, and pulled an Annie out of it, but now I don't think so. I think the Arbiter and Brinny both saw that the Annies were "shifted" out of their home timeline and assumed that there were two of them for the same reason – when in fact it was for a different reason. My opinion, anyway, is that they appeared "shifted" either because of the way that Kat saved her life using time travel (chapter 77) or because of some other reason. And I think Loup did something much simpler to Annie to split her into two: he took advantage of a faultline he could see in her personality, similar to faultlines that we all have. He simply split her in half using a natural splitting point, giving each of them her own physical body. He didn't need godlike power to make that happen. In fact, it may be something that Annie could have done to herself, with or without a blinker stone – oh wait, she kind of did split herself already. But am I right? I guess we'll see as we go on.

You know that sorta tracks. If it takes any sort of major power to split the timeline, and Loup is struggling with his powerlevel, it could be less "impressive magic" and more "what a mean trick". I always just figured he made two Annies who didn't belong out of one Annie who did so neither belonged in this timeline, but he may have done less then that.

[mturtle7]

Holy cow, that was an amazingly well-made summary Gemminie ! One thing I'd like to add, though, that I think you must have missed: when Zimmy is pretending to herself that she's Tam within the black void, she/he actually starts commenting on some of the romantic drama happening between all the elf kids: Rob fancies Kellin, Kellin may or may not reciprocate that feeling, and Tam likes Lise even though he's Rob's friend & she's Rob's sister. She/he actually tries to apply the drama to the situation fabricated by Zimmy, noting how Rob only started this chase to impress Lise, and how it shouldn't make her feel any safer but she might actually like it anyway. Then later, apparently back in the real world, we see Rob and Kellin clearly flirting with each other (blushing, grinning, etc.) while Lise and Tam have fun playing soccer football in the background. So that's a pretty good indication that in addition to their appearances, their personalities and some of their memories were also copied over, enough so that they act at least partially like their real-world selves.

[shadesight]

First post as well. I think this chapter will have brought lots of interest to the forum, because Tom is a magnificently engaging storyteller but this is a weird chapter. The whole double-Annie thing has been weird and confusing - in some ways, I think, deliberately. Tom is a cunning man who loves his tricks and his long games, I think.



Gemminie, that was a fantastic summary!  Of particular note to me: 

A being known as Arbiter Saslamel, who concerns himself with metaphysical contracts of ownership between people and their belongings, sensed that the Annies had been "shifted," meaning that they aren't in their timeline or timelines of origin. He seems to have assumed that that is also the reason why there are two of them, stating that Loup has the power to create alternate timelines, so he leaves them with that pat explanation, even though it doesn't explain why both of them seem to be "shifted." Brinny later made the same observation and the same assumption. The Norns, however, deny that Annie's duplication problem has anything to do with temporal affairs.

Much of the fanbase had homed in on the "timeline" idea, and it stuck with them, but this was, I think, a red herring.  Annie was never shifted in time, only in position - there was only ever one Annie, but parts of her were stuck in two different places.  One of the dimensions in which she was shifted may have been time, and that by a duration of six months, but I'm not convinced that means a different timeline.  Either way, this having been neither Saslamel's department nor the Norns' specialty was not especially clear to either of those parties.

I don't think Zimmie fused Annie - I think Annie did, and I think Zimmie, who carries about her a region where space is malleable and the mind is vulnerable, helped her to do so - perhaps by accident.  Maybe helping Annie and doing something so healing is what helped pull Zimmy out of beating herself up.

Also, Coyote is a god.  I am not certain that Loup is.

[speedwell]

Mar 13, 2021 15:24:19 GMT shadesight said:

First post as well. I think this chapter will have brought lots of interest to the forum, because Tom is a magnificently engaging storyteller but this is a weird chapter. The whole double-Annie thing has been weird and confusing - in some ways, I think, deliberately. Tom is a cunning man who loves his tricks and his long games, I think.



Gemminie, that was a fantastic summary!  Of particular note to me: 

A being known as Arbiter Saslamel, who concerns himself with metaphysical contracts of ownership between people and their belongings, sensed that the Annies had been "shifted," meaning that they aren't in their timeline or timelines of origin. He seems to have assumed that that is also the reason why there are two of them, stating that Loup has the power to create alternate timelines, so he leaves them with that pat explanation, even though it doesn't explain why both of them seem to be "shifted." Brinny later made the same observation and the same assumption. The Norns, however, deny that Annie's duplication problem has anything to do with temporal affairs.

Much of the fanbase had homed in on the "timeline" idea, and it stuck with them, but this was, I think, a red herring.  Annie was never shifted in time, only in position - there was only ever one Annie, but parts of her were stuck in two different places.  One of the dimensions in which she was shifted may have been time, and that by a duration of six months, but I'm not convinced that means a different timeline.  Either way, this having been neither Saslamel's department nor the Norns' specialty was not especially clear to either of those parties.

I don't think Zimmie fused Annie - I think Annie did, and I think Zimmie, who carries about her a region where space is malleable and the mind is vulnerable, helped her to do so - perhaps by accident.  Maybe helping Annie and doing something so healing is what helped pull Zimmy out of beating herself up.

Also, Coyote is a god.  I am not certain that Loup is.

I think one very underestimated message in this story in particular is that gods are not infallible, not invariably all-knowing, not entirely altruistic, not reliable, and for the most part, not even trustworthy. In the back of my head I carry a grain of salt shaped like a baseball bat. Engraved on it is "Gods lie."

[saardvark]

Mar 13, 2021 15:24:19 GMT shadesight said:

First post as well. I think this chapter will have brought lots of interest to the forum, because Tom is a magnificently engaging storyteller but this is a weird chapter. The whole double-Annie thing has been weird and confusing - in some ways, I think, deliberately. Tom is a cunning man who loves his tricks and his long games, I think.



Gemminie, that was a fantastic summary!  Of particular note to me: 

A being known as Arbiter Saslamel, who concerns himself with metaphysical contracts of ownership between people and their belongings, sensed that the Annies had been "shifted," meaning that they aren't in their timeline or timelines of origin. He seems to have assumed that that is also the reason why there are two of them, stating that Loup has the power to create alternate timelines, so he leaves them with that pat explanation, even though it doesn't explain why both of them seem to be "shifted." Brinny later made the same observation and the same assumption. The Norns, however, deny that Annie's duplication problem has anything to do with temporal affairs.

Much of the fanbase had homed in on the "timeline" idea, and it stuck with them, but this was, I think, a red herring.  Annie was never shifted in time, only in position - there was only ever one Annie, but parts of her were stuck in two different places.  One of the dimensions in which she was shifted may have been time, and that by a duration of six months, but I'm not convinced that means a different timeline.  Either way, this having been neither Saslamel's department nor the Norns' specialty was not especially clear to either of those parties.

I don't think Zimmie fused Annie - I think Annie did, and I think Zimmie, who carries about her a region where space is malleable and the mind is vulnerable, helped her to do so - perhaps by accident.  Maybe helping Annie and doing something so healing is what helped pull Zimmy out of beating herself up.

Also, Coyote is a god.  I am not certain that Loup is.

welcome to the forum, shadesight!  Most relativistic of you to make note and use of the fact that time is a dimension as well. If Zimms carries malleable "space", perhaps she carries malleable time as well, and  could help move F!Annie (or help Annie to) thru the 6 month spatio-temporal "offset" Loup put on her... and thus rejoin C!Annie.

[drmemory]

Impressive summary!

A couple thoughts:

The Interpreter never actually said that the contract was with one of the Annies that were present. He said it was between a girl and her stuffed toy. www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2149

The Annies volunteered that it was them. Confusion ensued, and that's when the Arbiter said they'd been shifted. Probably. Note that "interpreter" can mean one who translates or one who interprets! I agree with those who have expressed skepticism about the accuracy of the information provided by the Interpreter - even if he didn't lie he may not be conveying exactly what was said by the Arbiter.

Anyway, the Arbiter knew that the contract was between a girl and her stuffed toy. He doesn't seem distressed at all that there is more than one Annie. Quite the opposite - he treats them as one entity throughout. Implying that in a very real sense, they are both the real Annie. Whether Loup forked the world to create an Annie to send back or forked the world to create an Annie to talk to doesn't matter all that much - "which is the real Annie" is a meaningless question (if my theory is right, of course).

www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2156 singular phrasing - "if the original owner agrees".

When the Arbiter gave them a new contract with Renard as a familiar to Annie, he was made a familiar to the Annie, no qualifications, and so they both had the same new relationship with Renard.

The metaphysics page www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2161 is really interesting. The Arbiter points in the general direction of the Annies and says "Well, Miss Antimony, It seems that you have been shifted out of your timeline and brought here". Then he and Kat go into a little side discussion about timelines and such, and Kat freaks because there could be a timeline where Annie never came back from the forest.

He then looks at a piece of paper on his clipboard and says "Well, it seems that neither of them should be here". Hmmm. This page is where I get suspicious that he may be an unreliable narrator, but I can't quite figure out which part he is misleading them about, or why. I mean, either he lied here, or the Norns lied later, right?

At least part of this whole scene took place on a metaphysical plane. Consider how sometimes he's holding a clipboard (Clippy!) and sometimes a scroll. In one place, it's a sheaf of papers to be rolled up. What is that he's holding, anyway? Book of Fate? Scroll of Destiny? Interface to some sort of Godly knowledge base? It spewed out an EULA so it has to be evil!

Anyway, he looks at his Godlodex (Godly Rolodex) and sees that neither of them should be here, whatever that means. www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2162 Naturally, he doesn't explain, and has to go. It sure would have been nice if he had explained what he meant by the word "should", at least!

What I'm trying to say is that there is one real Annie altogether, and anything else that we see is shenanigans. One Annie in all the little kid Annie flashbacks, one Annie on the bridge, one Annie in two places at once due to "shifting", one Annie putting away her makeup just before The Mind Cage starts. All the same "spirit" or "soul" or however you want to think of it. I'm talking about the spark that even Coyote, wonderful as he is, can't create from nothing.  www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1470

So I'm still leaning towards Zimmy trickery here - something she is doing to allow them to share their perspectives and  experiences since the shift. The Annie putting away her makeup may or may not be a merger of Cannie and Fannie and if it is, it may or may not be real and/or permanent.

OT: I've been having trouble putting links in replies, so tried something different this time.  Hope it works!

[Gemminie]

Mar 13, 2021 9:03:13 GMT mturtle7 said:

Holy cow, that was an amazingly well-made summary Gemminie ! One thing I'd like to add, though, that I think you must have missed: when Zimmy is pretending to herself that she's Tam within the black void, she/he actually starts commenting on some of the romantic drama happening between all the elf kids: Rob fancies Kellin, Kellin may or may not reciprocate that feeling, and Tam likes Lise even though he's Rob's friend & she's Rob's sister. She/he actually tries to apply the drama to the situation fabricated by Zimmy, noting how Rob only started this chase to impress Lise, and how it shouldn't make her feel any safer but she might actually like it anyway. Then later, apparently back in the real world, we see Rob and Kellin clearly flirting with each other (blushing, grinning, etc.) while Lise and Tam have fun playing soccer football in the background. So that's a pretty good indication that in addition to their appearances, their personalities and some of their memories were also copied over, enough so that they act at least partially like their real-world selves.

Yes, you're totally right that I missed that -- this means that either Zimmy grabbed some of their actual personalities/memories to make the Zimmingham versions of them, or she grabbed onto some of Tam's actual thoughts/feelings and ran with them, or perhaps both.

[Gemminie]

Mar 13, 2021 15:24:19 GMT shadesight said:

First post as well.

Welcome!

I think this chapter will have brought lots of interest to the forum, because Tom is a magnificently engaging storyteller but this is a weird chapter. The whole double-Annie thing has been weird and confusing - in some ways, I think, deliberately. Tom is a cunning man who loves his tricks and his long games, I think.

Yes indeed, quite a weird chapter, inviting lots of discussion!

Gemminie, that was a fantastic summary!

Thank you!

Of particular note to me: 

A being known as Arbiter Saslamel, who concerns himself with metaphysical contracts of ownership between people and their belongings, sensed that the Annies had been "shifted," meaning that they aren't in their timeline or timelines of origin. He seems to have assumed that that is also the reason why there are two of them, stating that Loup has the power to create alternate timelines, so he leaves them with that pat explanation, even though it doesn't explain why both of them seem to be "shifted." Brinny later made the same observation and the same assumption. The Norns, however, deny that Annie's duplication problem has anything to do with temporal affairs.

Much of the fanbase had homed in on the "timeline" idea, and it stuck with them, but this was, I think, a red herring.

Including me! I had thought for a long time that alternate timelines explained both why they didn't belong and why there were two of them. But then the story started looking at why she didn't belong in this timeline and ignoring why there were two Annies. That started confusing me. And then this chapter happened.

Annie was never shifted in time, only in position - there was only ever one Annie, but parts of her were stuck in two different places.  One of the dimensions in which she was shifted may have been time, and that by a duration of six months, but I'm not convinced that means a different timeline.  Either way, this having been neither Saslamel's department nor the Norns' specialty was not especially clear to either of those parties.

Saslamel was confused, and the Norns may or may not have been confused; they're just not very forthcoming.

I don't think Zimmie fused Annie - I think Annie did, and I think Zimmie, who carries about her a region where space is malleable and the mind is vulnerable, helped her to do so - perhaps by accident.

That's a very good point; Zimmy may just have shown Annie the way, and Annie may have merged herself.

Maybe helping Annie and doing something so healing is what helped pull Zimmy out of beating herself up.

Well, it looks to me as if Zimmy was already recovering from her self-flagellating flashback by the time she decided to help Annie out.

Also, Coyote is a god.  I am not certain that Loup is.

Another good point. Although it depends on what the exact definition of "god" is in the Gunnerverse, and we don't know it. In the sense that he has fantastic powers, sure. But on the flipside, he's not a being about whom stories have been told (within the millieu); he's a step or two removed from that. So a case could be made that he isn't technically a god in the same sense as Coyote.

[DonDueed]

So, Gemminie, when can we expect to see your detailed summaries for Chapters 1 through 78? 

[bedinsis]

Mar 13, 2021 0:06:16 GMT blazingstar said:

Mar 12, 2021 22:51:02 GMT Gemminie said:

*facepalms self* I just realized something. Tony can only open up when alone with one other person. Except Annie. He's never been able to open up with her.

Because there were always two of her there.

Forest Annie and Court Annie were always there. She was always literally "of two minds" about how to deal with her memories of her mom. Loup didn't have to do much to split her into two Annies.

After Loup split her, he could open up with Forest Annie, but not Court Annie. This is probably simply because she insisted on wearing the makeup that made him uncomfortable. In a way, he was seeing both Annie and Surma. (This does not explain why the Chapter 78 experiment didn't work, in which Court Annie removed her makeup, though. Although it kind of worked. Slightly.)

I'm dying to find out how he'll react to Annie now.

We brought this up in the forums, but it seems to have been disproven because: 

• If his problem were "there are always two Annies and they're connected by a psychic link", then his social anxiety should have been affected by BOTH Annies equally
• C!Annie took off her makeup and still wasn't treated like the other Annie
• To our knowledge, Tony is not etherically talented nor has any awareness of the psychic link between the Annies (he is equally ignorant of the exact mechanism bonding Annie to Renard)

Many forum users (including me) concluded that the difference lies in the 6 months between them. Either he sees F!Annie as "a new Annie I don't have to feel guilty about" or there was a big argument between Tony and C!Annie that affects their relationship. 

In addition, Tony had no problem talking to Donald over a couple drinks, even though Annie was present through the blinker stone.

[pyradonis]

Mar 13, 2021 21:16:29 GMT DonDueed said:

So, Gemminie, when can we expect to see your detailed summaries for Chapters 1 through 78? 

I once did that for chapter 72, but that ain't got nothing on this one here.

[imaginaryfriend]

I think that this Antimony is not the same Antimony (Courtnie) that I figure said some stuff to Anthony about Surma that Anthony can't get over. This current Antimony (probably) remembers saying those things but also knows what it feels like to have those things said to her, and also what it is like to live with her father having not said those things, therefore she can and most likely will choose to not go that route again.

That said, that won't stop him if he wants a reason to distance himself from her badly enough.

[Gemminie]

Mar 13, 2021 21:16:29 GMT DonDueed said:

So, Gemminie, when can we expect to see your detailed summaries for Chapters 1 through 78? 

Ha! Perhaps when I have about a solid month to myself. Maybe when I feel it's in good enough shape I'll share the link to my GC notes document, which is over 120K words currently. I do think a lot about this stuff. Then there's the one I've got about the flowers in Animal Crossing. And the one about Tolkien's Middle-Earth.

[Gemminie]

Mar 14, 2021 13:18:38 GMT bedinsis said:

In addition, Tony had no problem talking to Donald over a couple drinks, even though Annie was present through the blinker stone.

Yes, there really isn't any clear evidence that Tony's got any sort of ethereal sight or sense. The vague theories I've got about Tony seem to center around the notion that he's only at ease when he's alone or with a maximum of one other person – or when he feels he is, at least. When he feels as if there's more than one other person around, he shuts down. It's not ethereal; it's emotional.

Court Annie with her makeup on might remind him too much of Surma, meaning that he feels that he's not just in Annie's presence but Surma's as well. She looks a lot like her mother did at her age, especially with her makeup on, and Tony knew her back when they were both that age. She probably even acts a lot like Surma did at that age. Of course, why wouldn't the same be true for Forest Annie? Well, there's a vague notion in my head that maybe Court Annie is clinging to Surma's memory more, so she acts more like Surma did at her age? But that's vague; what does that even mean?

So it's pointing back (for me, anyway) to some kind of argument Court Annie must have had with Tony during the six months that we weren't watching them. I guess it doesn't have to have been an argument, but we know there was one, about the makeup. There might have been more interactions that could have led to how Tony acts around Court Annie, and they weren't necessarily all arguments. A lot of them just might have given him Surma flashbacks or the like, constantly reminding him that she's simultaneously gone and, somehow, standing right there (so he doesn't feel as if he's alone with one person). But wouldn't the same associations form with Forest Annie, then? Over time, perhaps, but I don't get the impression that six months have passed since Forest Annie's return.

So what will happen, now that there's just one Annie? Can he tell that something's different? I'm betting he can. Not only does he see only one of them, but she's not going to be acting exactly like either Annie. Or so I think. We'll see.

[blahzor]

I think Tony has some sort of ethereal sensitivity since his journey just that he can't explain it and no longer trying since Zimmy punch

[badchemistry]

Mar 13, 2021 17:43:40 GMT drmemory said:

The Arbiter points in the general direction of the Annies and says "Well, Miss Antimony, It seems that you have been shifted out of your timeline and brought here". Then he and Kat go into a little side discussion about timelines and such, and Kat freaks because there could be a timeline where Annie never came back from the forest.

He then looks at a piece of paper on his clipboard and says "Well, it seems that neither of them should be here". Hmmm. This page is where I get suspicious that he may be an unreliable narrator, but I can't quite figure out which part he is misleading them about, or why. I mean, either he lied here, or the Norns lied later, right?

At least part of this whole scene took place on a metaphysical plane. Consider how sometimes he's holding a clipboard (Clippy!) and sometimes a scroll. In one place, it's a sheaf of papers to be rolled up. What is that he's holding, anyway? Book of Fate? Scroll of Destiny? Interface to some sort of Godly knowledge base? It spewed out an EULA so it has to be evil!

Anyway, he looks at his Godlodex (Godly Rolodex) and sees that neither of them should be here, whatever that means. www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2162 Naturally, he doesn't explain, and has to go.

[/div][/quote]


So, about this; Technically speaking, Annie in general shouldn't be alive. She was supposed to have died on the bridge, back when the tiktok's saved her. I forget exactly what chapter this originally occurs in, but this is actually alluded to in the Norn's chapters.

Now, it isn't ever said "annie should have died", but considering the bridge height Annie originally falls from, the fact Jeanne definitly tries to kill Annie, the fact Annie is 'shifted', and the context of the entire lead up to the Norn chapter - It is highly likely Annie isn't supposed to be here in general because she's supposed to be dead. (I also have a theory this might play into the Afterlife Guides, as they CLEARLY think she belongs with them, helping spirits cross over. This likely might be because she's supposed to be dead, herself!)

If such is the case, then in theory, yes - There is a timeline where Annie shouldn't have gone into the forest at all and confronted Loup - The one they are currently in.

So it isn't so much he lied, he just wasn't telling the entire truth, either.

This also explains why the Norn's could not assist; While saving someone from death, and creating an infinite time loop as the Norns explain in regards to the time device Kat makes, WOULD likely create a temporal issue and a divide in timelines, it isn't exactly an issue of breaking a temporal rule or affair guide - It's just creating more scenarios, as we see the Norn's explain in the chapter - "You've come to us many times, Kat." And even go on to allude the first time, Annie was already dead, thus perhaps driving Kat to create the time loop in the first place!

Okay, now on to Loup!

Loup isn't a God; He is the remnants of a God. He is only pieces, and even so, it is important to note not even Coyote can create new entities - Even as powerful as he is.

Therefore, it's highly doubtful Loup did either.

What, imo, happened;

Annie literally was split emotionally down the middle. She even did so prior in the chapters with Tony coming back to the Court, to herself, to an extent. It was probably even easier for Loup to do so, and Loup therefore took the pliant and more easy going, even cowardly portion for HIMSELF to deal with, thinking he could bully that version - And he did. And I say cowardly, because there very much is a side of Annie that avoids her problems, her emotions, and this is also the part that drives her to be a bit of a busy-body; By focusing on everyone elses issues, she does not have to confront her own.

The other parts, the stubborn parts that cannot let go of Surma, that hold on to grief, anger, and so on? Those parts were sent away once again - This time back to the Court, and to Tony. As a side note, this might likely be why Tony could not get along with Courtnie, but did with Forest Annie; Forest Annie rapidly became symbolic for personal growth, but this was in fact a red herring - The reality is that Forest Annie was simply the parts of Annie that were easier to deal with for Tony, because he did not have to face the trauma he inflicted on Annie, which is very present and profoundly expressed in Courtnie.

Anyway, moving on.




Because all the two Annie's are, are the emotional halves of Annie's trauma and personality, Zimmy, who isn't a God, but can certainly amount to in-universe God-like power (which I think might be a purposeful dichotomy of the trope 'flourishing with great power, in a human body' we sometimes see in other media), was able to reform or heal the two sides.

As Zimmy is what Zimmy is, she basically creates a reality where form, shape, and time is malleable and flowing - A perfect space for confronting emotions and rejoining the Annie's. We actually see Zimmy go through this herself, in the same chapter, but in a way that shows Zimmy might actually be more emotionally mature than Annie; Zimmy confronts and communicates her problem and emotions to Gamma, they converse, they talk through, and Zimmy is able to end Zimmingham on her own! Which is huge development for this character!

Furthermore, Gamma remarks that the Annie's should not go into the toy shop; Not because it is dangerous, but because it will reveal what is most comforting - Ex. Surma. For Zimmy, this would be Gamma.

Obviously, seeing this source of trauma and grief immediately causes strife between the two Annie's; Which is to be expected, because they actually are the warring inner parts of the OG Supposed to be Dead Annie. Therefore because they are literally the same person, and because of the Laws of Zimmingham, they could be reformed -

Furthermore, this is symbolic of trauma healing in Annie's life; By finally accepting her mother's death, her own 'stuckness', her own split, is also beginning to be healed. Perhaps not all the way, as we still see a 'fused' Annie, instead of an entirely new Annie, but still the sides of her are healing nonetheless. The makeup at the end of the chapter is also symbolic of acceptance, but that's pretty obvious - It isn't putting away the makeup, it's simply placing it for safe keeping, to be revisited when needed, but it isn't meant to be held onto all the time or used as a tool to cover her real face aka emotions.


(Also; Hi! I'm a new forum member, though I've been reading since nearly the beginning all those many years ago! It's nice to meet y'all! I'm on mobile, otherwise I'd link to all the pages I am thinking of, though most are admittedly linked in this thread already!)