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Post by Uncle Putte on Jul 27, 2009 16:41:11 GMT
Haw. I suppose Jack's gotten de-sensitized. I'd wager what you've dubbed Zimmingham isn't a passing experience, but something some unfortunate people wind up taking life-long souvenirs from. Perhaps the experience was powerful enough to cause poor Jack to lapse into experiencing episodes similar to Zimmy's.
Ah, well. Here we go with the wild speculation again.
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Post by pepoluan on Jul 27, 2009 17:07:26 GMT
With the exception of Dobranoc Gamma And this page. And this page. And this page. Don't forget this one, which albeit is not a direct continuation, is totally meaningless if not coupled with the preceding chapter. That's what I meant by "the next page" (really should've written "bonus page") Hmmm... now to venture about what will happen in the bonus page: I'd wager some *squee*so*sweet* moment where Annie hugs Rey.
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Post by Casey on Jul 27, 2009 17:13:33 GMT
Allright, I guess you have a point. Though I hope all the work it took to prove me wrong was worth it.
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Post by Goatmon on Jul 27, 2009 17:38:30 GMT
he still had enough composure to be snarky about the flowers. I am impressed. Jack has now achieved villain status. That's reaching a bit, isn't it? All he did was get a little too close, physically, and then backed off as soon as Reynardine appeared. He hasn't really done anything to qualify as a genuine antagonist, really. More than anything else, he just seems to be a half-crazed kid who is just desperate for answers and doesn't know who he can trust. And after this I doubt he'll be able to keep his composure for much longer. Poor Jack.
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Post by ckneller on Jul 27, 2009 17:55:17 GMT
I don't see anything bipolar about jack's reaction, if we assume he's seen worse than rey in birminghell, understands that he's endangering his life by continuing his interrogation, and is simply acting in self-preservation when he backs away. Why do we make that assumption? I don't recall anything from Annie's trip to suggest there is worse in [whatever-you-call-it] than a body-possessing, shape-shifting, murdering demon. Just GOPing nobodies. Zimmy's world is "only as real as you let it be". Even if Jack didn't overhear that bit, Reynard doesn't even give you the choice. And I'm not just talking about Jack's reaction on the last page, but the roller coaster of the whole conversaton. The fact that he comes back to his normal snarky personality when the danger is apparently defused isn't really all that unusual either, and is at worst a coping mechanism for stress (stress being a normal reaction to having your life suddenly threatened). It's just my interpretation of the art and dialog that his mood swings are more dramatic than other, rational minded people in the Court, even under pressure, and I suspect more influence than just stress. Though after repeated readings, I'll concede that the comment is not so unusual for Normal Jack. But the rest of the conversation was not Normal Jack (as we think we know him from one prior meeting). On another note, we don't even know that Jack hasn't been sleeping. He never says that, and the rings around his eyes appeared immediately after the incident as they are now. Can't say for certain why Annie's eyes recovered, except the difference between their two experiences was ZxG's guidance.
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Post by Casey on Jul 27, 2009 18:15:11 GMT
Well firstly, there are things in Zimmy's head other than just nobodies... ( Example 1, Example 2). Secondly, all those colorful descriptions you give of Reynardine... Jack doesn't know any of that. All he knows is that a white wolf appeared behind him. He might even think it's another hallucination. Thirdly, and I've said this before, recently... Tom said in the Questions to Tom thread that the dark circles under Annie and Jack's eyes after the incident at the Power Station indicate only that they were worn out from the experience. Same thing with Annie's eyes at the end of Ch. 8. Therefore it stands to reason, if Tom is consistent, that Jack's eyes here mean that he is not sleeping. And nothing more, until there's some direct evidence for it.
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Post by Per on Jul 27, 2009 18:35:22 GMT
I'm with those who think Jack's reaction is ominous; freaking out would have been a sign of health. Semi-villain indeed.
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Post by ckneller on Jul 27, 2009 18:44:04 GMT
Well firstly, there are things in Zimmy's head other than just nobodies... ( Example 1, Example 2). Granted, but we didn't see them in "Power Station". Secondly, all those colorful descriptions you give of Reynardine... Jack doesn't know any of that. All he knows is that a white wolf appeared behind him. He might even think it's another hallucination. I was building off this theory, but coming to the opposite conclusion: I think Reynardine is common knowledge among students and staff now, as well as the fact that he's under Antimony's control. So an encounter would be uneasy, yes, but probably not quite as terrifying. Thirdly, and I've said this before, recently... Chiiilll, Winston. I can't know everything you've ever said. ... Tom said in the Questions to Tom thread that the dark circles under Annie and Jack's eyes after the incident at the Power Station indicate only that they were worn out from the experience. Same thing with Annie's eyes at the end of Ch. 8. Therefore it stands to reason, if Tom is consistent, that Jack's eyes here mean that he is not sleeping. And nothing more, until there's some direct evidence for it. I would argue it means he is still "worn out from the experience", but Jack said nothing about sleep. My original post was not about Jack's eyes, or sleep habits, but his mood swings (add your own link to any conversation with Zimmy) and Rey's extreme reaction to Jack (above just protecting Annie) compared to his reaction to Zimmy at the science fair. Jack gazed long into the abyss, and the abyss gazed back into him.
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Post by Ulysses on Jul 27, 2009 21:01:55 GMT
I think in Monday's strip Jack will either be like "Whatever, I saw scarier stuff than you in the nightmare city", or blah blah blah not important because it's wrongEee, I win a cookie. Jack was barely phased by Glowing-Eyes Rey With Kung-Fu Grip. Guy must have seen some truly awful stuff inside Zimmy's mind. I'm a little confused about this being the end of the chapter, but it makes sense, I guess. We've had action, romance, plot and character development, and Tom leaves us with a zillion more questions than before. It's a classic GKC chapter and I enjoyed it, even though the title only applied to the first 2 strips
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Post by wanderer on Jul 27, 2009 21:40:15 GMT
Well firstly, there are things in Zimmy's head other than just nobodies... ( Example 1, Example 2). Granted, but we didn't see them in "Power Station But we weren't watching Jack. We don't KNOW what he saw, but we do know there are plenty of freakier things than just the nobodies in there. In one of the recent discussion threads, I pointed out that Zimmy says she sees the nobodies ALL THE TIME. They are NORMAL for her. Even when she hasn't lost control of her abilities. Recall that she and Gamma first mistook the other kids for being some of them. They are not why she's afraid of losing control and ending up in sunny Birmingham. We don't know what Jack saw, but we do know there are things in that place that no one should have to see.
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Post by Mishmash on Jul 27, 2009 21:58:55 GMT
We know Annie, like Gamma, has the ability to dispel Zimmy's nightmares. So while Annie's power is weaker than Gamma's (she could only make the nobodies disappear while Gamma pulled them out of the city completely) it might be that we saw no monsters in Power Station because Annie was with Zimmy.
Jack however was on his own the whole time, so he could have seen any number of things terrifying enough to make him go a little potty.
I loved this chapter, can't wait to see what is in store next.
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qmarx
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by qmarx on Jul 27, 2009 22:31:32 GMT
Odds of this coming back to bite Annie later: approximately 24%
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Post by bisected8 on Jul 27, 2009 23:07:33 GMT
I think you're being optimistic, qmarx. No one who can "calm" down that quickly isn't going to form a plan of some sort. I'd be like a pyromaniac ignoring a free can of petrol, or a schizoid being offered a job in a one man antarctic research lab and declining; it would make them sane.
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Post by ckneller on Jul 28, 2009 0:36:11 GMT
Wanderer, my point exactly. We don't know, so there are a number of Schroedinger's Cats we may consider to be the cause of Jack's behavior and Rey's reaction thereto.
Mishmash, good point.
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Post by TBeholder on Jul 28, 2009 3:54:50 GMT
Seems that since Zimmingham, nothing can phase him too much. Jack is not afraid of becoming werewolf! He was already bitten by Captain Obvious during his trip in ZimTown. and Jack having zero reaction, followed by Annie and Rey having zero reaction to Jack having zero reaction, seems like a let-down. That was a whole lot of tension to build up, just to go nowhere with it. Sorry... I love Tom's work as much as anyone, but no one can like EVERY page... I actually kind of agree. I wouldn't talk about "zero reaction", but the resolution of this situation is a bit of an anti-climax (there actually wasn't a resolution. Jack just walked away). Even so, note that at this point it's still a significant twist. Anticlimactic, yes, but Tom rocks. there'd be a cure for poor Jack. They would have to confront what happened to him, and find a way to help him. But didn't they? Indirectly. I think he's just a disturbed kid that hasn't been sleeping and needs Zimmy to explain what the fudgecakes happened. Of course, maybe he's a horror fan and really has fallen for her. He looks like a guy who suddenly woke up in the unknown part of town half a season after his last non-blurred memory... and found himself absolutely sober, which in itself affects him like a mallet applied to the forehead. Rey: bringing people to their senses, one overheated head at a time. I just remembered Rey's reaction to Zimmy in "Two Strange Girls". Is Jack carrying some residual trace of Zimmy's "demon" aura- or whatever it was that made Rey react that way to her? But not on Annie (and possibly Kat)? IMHO he demonstratively abhorred her and called her "demon" just because he looked in that microscope too. Once. ;D
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Post by Seth Thresher on Jul 28, 2009 4:10:29 GMT
Hokay, this is what I'm reading from this.
Jack was a strange character from the first moment we met him. He knows his way around the court, spends most of his spare time exploring. If we've learned anything about the court, it's that it's a very, VERY strange place. I believe that he has a sort of thick skin to begin with.
That being said, there is something special about him as he was the only "normal" who was taken to Zimmingham. This obviously... disturbed him to some degree - you could see him sweating like a pig, eyes wide open with surprise/fear/exhaustion, and a seeming inability to even speak (which Annie seemed to be sharing, she was pretty quiet there).
Now, he's recovered from the initial shock, but now looks even more bedraggled than before. He's smiling and carrying on. He has friends he'll catch up with soon! But he's seen Annie, and he knows that he has a connection with her. He has no idea what happened to him on that rooftop by the lake. One minute he's with the gang, getting wet in the mysterious rain, the next he's thrown into a violent and disturbing reality, and then thrown out again, and he's felt like crap ever sense. He is naturally curious, and he needs to know what happened.
Since that time, he's weathered out a bit, he doesn't have the Thousand Yard Stare anymore, but you obviously see that messy uniform. I wouldn't say that he's a "villain". I would say that he REALLY wants to know what happened. He lets his face down for a sec in the first panel, then puts the cool mask back on again. He'll get his answers sooner or later. He already knows what class she's in, that's a lead enough for a boy like him.
Meanwhile in Reyland, he is still being defensive-and-fatherly-but-in-a-wolfy-sort-of-way. (Dafbiawsow? Daf-bee-aw-sow?)
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Post by Snes on Jul 28, 2009 4:27:37 GMT
The bonus page is never a direct continuation of the action or scene that ended the main chapter. Don't be argumentative. I was just pointing out that there is a next page in the chapter. Whether or not it follows up on Annie and Rey wasn't my point.
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Post by mudmaniac on Jul 28, 2009 7:56:18 GMT
Jack is well on the road to becoming dang nasty evil.
I betcha he's gonna kidnap Gamma for his nefarious schemes shortly.
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Post by pepoluan on Jul 28, 2009 20:13:45 GMT
Too many things happened in this chapter. Not enough loose questions got answered, while a lot of new questions reared their collective head... And the new chapter most likely will not start until Monday. Tom IS evil Edit: Yay me! Just realized now I got two stars! Yay!
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Post by todd on Jul 28, 2009 22:09:50 GMT
And the new chapter most likely will not start until Monday. At earliest. For all we know, Tom might decide to have another intermission or extra bonus page.
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Post by zingbat on Jul 29, 2009 7:39:06 GMT
A quick note: the word is actually "fazed" (or "unfazed"), not "phased" (or "unphased"). As in, "Jack appears unfazed by the appearance of an enormous wolf."
~The More You Know...~ (*inspirational music*)
/spellingmonkey
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Post by todd on Jul 29, 2009 10:35:40 GMT
Unfortunately, spelling errors of this sort are common on the Internet. (Another all-too-common example is "loose" for "lose".)
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