Oh, that adds another dimension to Jack going a little insane.

What is her angle being so chatty about all this? Is she being swayed?

Huh, wondering now how much (if any) of this is true. She spins a good yarn though.

As long as Zara keeps blabbing Zimmy gets more information- "Jenny WHO?"

THERE it is. And I don't mean the romantic nonsense. =_=

So witches confirmed as scum of the earth?

Wow, she’s just spilling everything

Omg. So that's how they do it and why Jack's crazy? "It's a little harsh on Jack, sure, but he has no idea." Super harsh and very exploitative.

She is spilling all the tea???? necessary or not

"oh yeah you probably know about this system we use to syphon power from you through Jack, and he's miserable for it. It's all Jenny's fault, btw." What's your angle here, Zara?

More complicated, OK, but WHY are you telling all of these? For what purpose???

Yap yap yap..... I want Zimmy to squish her.... but she's revealing so much useful information!

Honestly Zimmy should just delete her at this point

Ok, I’m 99.9% sure that Zara has all her wits about her and this is a carefully constructed story. I just can’t guess what it’s intended to accomplish.

It's harsh on *Jack*!? This crew continues to become somehow more distasteful. And still suffer from high school drama nonsense. That's not even going to come close to making them relatable... or what happens to them tragic. I bet you that the system can still function without Jenny... so... take out Jake and you neutralize everyone else. Or take out Zimmy, I guess, but that *would* be tragic.

Harsh on Jack...how? And how come he has no idea? Oh jeez, this is probably so bad actually lmao

This one certainly won't elicit any strong reactions from the comment's section.

Not so huge if she's still using him.

Wow, she talks alot.

I get the feeling Jenny only likes Jack for his power. I for one like the witches less and less.

Please, Z, do something!

Omg no wai

Oh! Neat! They’re even worse than I thought they were. That’s….that’s real neat.

Either is she lying or she spilled the beans, the tea and the whole restaurant

Those witches are bitches

This lady be PLOTTING and SCHEMING To what end I do not know

And with both Jack and Zimmy unaware, the one that can cut the source and hold everyone hostage is Jenny Very Sauron (in LotR lore, the rings are build like that : they tap into both Eru's Song and Morgoth's Malice, with the corruption from Mrgoth being intercept by the One Ring, and replaced by Sauron's backdoor control, with Morgoth unaware So Zimmy is Morgoth, Jenny is sauron, Jack is the ring of shadow, and the other witches are the nazguls And omega is Saruman: noticing the thing and coming at it from another angle, then getting tricked

siphon is the whitelegs. user with the external2 is noa, because noa has become a mere attachment to her symbol which sources directly from the system. user with the external1 and external1 subsystem iiisss...who, i wonder? perhaps zara? i'm guessing the users with externals are those with no innate magic ability. wow does that mean if noa's symbol is cut off from the system, then she dies? no system, no symbol, no noa? yikes. geez i want magic ability too but not like this. shell was a sign (Chapter 83: Page 23) some people reeeallly don't like that others have magic and they don't. like...deal with it?

also i'm guessing zara's constant blabbing is so zimmy doesn't feel the need to see into her mind. this way, zara controls the information.

Yeesh Zara you're making it worse! • Annie and Zimmy unite in hearing "jargon jargon (magi)technobabble jargon" • This "genius system" relies on an unstable, immature mortal's unconscious connection to an unstable, immature, and now guilt-free god who just learned she could end this whole scheme by disconnecting (IE erasing memories/emotions) or just killing Jack and his buddies. How efficient: the witches are harmless/dead and Zimmy flexes enough reckless power to show why she must be stopped.

She's so full of it. I wonder if Zimmy can sniff out the manipulation.

girl what the fuck

"So would killing one of you reduce the strain on Jack?" "Why yes, why do you ask?"

go away rosa he's supposed to be with aNNIE

Just spilling all the tea, isn't she?

The cursed evil mastermind soliloque!

out of all the diagrams that have ever been presented and chatted about throughout the comic why is this the one that i immediately understood

Zara is treating Zimmy to a full soap opera. Still can't decide if she let slip what she shouldn't have, or is doing it on purpose.

girl WHAT are you ON ABOUT (same, panel 3 zimmy, same)

Harsh on Jack… how, exactly?

Missed opportunity for a lowercase zeta letter.

OK, that's the manipulative sociopath we've learned to know and love. That's reassuring in a way.

Does it mean that two people in the team are not magic users? Nora is probably the double enhancer user, but there's two people who do not have enhancers.

By the way, Jack is channeling your energy to us. We use your power to kill anyone who tries to interfere with the system I just described. Isn't it wonderful? As long as we can find a way to harness your power before you die, we don't care what happens to you!

Looks like Zimmy is only now learning why her ESP (Etheric Service Provider) has noted abnormally high activity. Poor Jack, I wonder if the syphon is making his condition worse.

This is going to end with Annie and Jack getting together, isn't it? Either that, or a hint they might get together in the future, after the comic ends.

Uh... Since when? Then again, Zara and rosa are roommates, so I guess if anyone would know about Rosa crushing on the coven's leader's only-her-boyfriend-because-he's-useful, it'd be zara

just kill her Zimmy she's prattling

Teens!

1.) If there is all this raw energy to take advantage of, Annie, Parley, and Kat might find a way to charge up, too. I'm so curious to see what that would look like, especially since Annie's power has doubled with her becoming one person again! 2.) Jack and Jenny might be splitsville, soon. I'm biased because I'm a girl who like girls, but I don't really get why Rosa would like someone as creepy and unpleasant as Jack when she has way cuter friends.

._.

The coven continues to be the worst people. Why did anyone tolerate them before, they must have been bewitched. By these...bewitches.

Poor Jack. Right now he's being kinda evil obviously, but he's clearly mentally not okay. In general, seems like he has had the worst outcomes for the least. Tragic character really.

Holy carp! Jenny is screwing up Jack's head, maybe slowly driving him insane. She's the reason he's twitchy and angry, and he doesn't know it. And still they think they're the good guys?

Straight up channeling exposition ghost here. I mean interpreter.

Okay, now Zimmy knows that if she wants to get rid of the witches, she can just take down Jack and/or Jenny.

Yeah, I see Zara is all about the School of blabbermouth manipulation - when you give out tons of occasionally sensitive but seemingly unimportant info in order to make your opponent relax and start considering you some ditzy silly girl who can't keep friends' secrets at best. Zara is building both rapport and trust between herself and Zimmy, while giving out little blips which paint Jenny in a certain view. Zimmy better check that head of hers manually, or she'll fall for it. Zara had the coldest calmest eyes possible while watching Jack's attempts to murder Kat. She was also powering him. Also Rosa never seemed to have romantic feelings for Jack, but she was always on her guard around him. She's also the most independent among Jenny's witches. Perhaps she's not keen on using Jack as a syphon, and her expressions are born out of worry. Which could be used, but we'll see.

I'm beginning to think that "Currently Doing Exposition Girl" is not being as thoughtless as we first thought. I think this is deliberate so that Zimmy gets a full rundown on how others are using her. That or she really is as socially blind as she seems to be.

They're using Zimmy's power without her knowledge or permission. They're inflicting strain on Jack without his knowledge or permission and possibly exploiting his affection under false pretenses. This all seems horribly unethical.

Welp, if Jenny ever did at all

Wow... J2 stands for jerk.

So even Jack's unaware he's being used, yet she thinks Jenny had the decency to tell Zimmy?

meanwhile, Zimmy: wtf are you even talking about

omg They're using Jack as a conduit and don't care if it's burning him out. That's cold.

Seems like unreliable testimony, unless Rosa having a crush is useful in some way.

Zara didn't come off as so naive that she would sing the whole thing to someone who might very possibly not like the music. MAYBE she's angling for a direct line to all that yummy Zimmyness herself.

... Wow, Zana is pretty cutthroat isn't she.

So I think we can now decisively conclude that these are the baddies.

Don’t act shocked, Zimmy; you’ve lied to and manipulated Gamma when it was convenient for you.

If any of the interpersonal stuff is true, Rosa expresses her crushes in the oddest way..

Zara and Cvet could become best friends. Also: why is Zara explaining to Zimmy what she's sure she already knows?

Oh she is absolutely planting some seeds here. Girlie has been planning this for a while. Guaranteed she made it so Zimmy grabbed her. Question is, whose side is she on? Zimmy’s for real? Jack’s? Kat’s? Rosa’s? Annie’s? Is she just a wild card?

I feel really bad for Jack, he has been used by omega and his girlfriend. He probably thought he found someone accepting. I mean he still isn't my favorite for what he was trying to do to kat but still.

Oh boy....here it comes..

Well, that explains so much. Five Little Witchypoos; Taking more and more. One witchy talked a lot; And then there were four.

Zara lays out the network for Z. Z develops her targeting folder.

God, Jenny is a real power hungry viper, isn't she? Her friends and her boyfriend are merely tools for her to achieve the stuff she wants

Good lord, shut up already. It's like listening to the overly chatty woman who gossips about all the neighbors.

lol shes such a little shit stirrer. I wonder why she dropped the bit of lore about Rosa having a crush on Jack when that DID NOT seem to be the vibe AT ALL. I mean, maybe I’m misinterpreting Rosa’s longing glances but it definitely seemed to me that she was actually just getting weirded out by his increasingly obvious mental instability. And why does Zimmy need to know about it??

Oh okay this is something else

WOW ok so she actually is evil I love it :D

Oh shit, Jack got some soul-sucking witches on his back.

What?! WHAT?!

Either Zora is a master manipulator herself or has zero clue on how to keep her mouth shut. Given that sly look at the end of page 3291 I'm thinking the former.

"These weirdos gotta go." - probably Zeta

Wow! So much makes sense now! Jack is literally a jack to the system!

Oh. Oh. This will spectacularly implode.

Adventures in Zimmy being unable to give less of a shit.

TMI

Z is obviously the power source: Zanaibarbarian Ritualistic Dance! BOOMSHAKALAKA!

Dang, really spilling the tea

Ah, confusing the anger out of someone. Usually works.

I've lost track of who is manipulating who.

Zimmy should not know anything about this, as Jenny said when she and Jack were talking about her final thesis. She‘s messing with Zimmy, but why?

Okay, so she DID like Jack at first. That’s …. Less bad, I guess?

Dear god. The witches really are like evil! Infinite fractal backstabbing using only ends in full death.

Are we sure her name isn't really Clarissa?

Tom: "Just in case you were wondering, yes. Jenny and her whole crew are just absolutely evil. No redeeming qualities, no mitigating circumstances, just awful people who think they're the heroes." Us: "Thanks Tom, but we got that back when they admitted to wanting to gank our girl Kat unprovoked. Keep cooking though, it's gonna be so satisfying to see their uppance come."

Omg Jenny is crazy

Zara and Jenny continue to get worse… Why is she spilling all this info though? I wonder if any of this affects gamma?

wait... is that why Jack looks like he aged 30 years?

This little conniver is throwing Jenny under the bus. Zimmy’s wrath will come down squarely on Jenny, leaving Jack and the rest of the gang alone… MAYBE.

Clearly she's up to something. Liberating them all from Jenny? Or something darker?

Rosa has a crush on Jack?! Time for a reread, to see if there was any evidence of it, because that would make her the weak link. Or is this part of the “plan”, that Zara is supposed to follow? (ngl I still think Jack is Annie’s secret crush, that Annie 2 referenced)

Zara, your teacup seems to have a leak...

Oh, so it's okay as long as Jack has no idea what is being done to him. Surely you know how offensive that is.

Ok wow, I already didn't like these witches but now it's on

Jenny has to die now. I really thought she actually loved Jack.

Every time I think there might be a glimmer or reason within these witches, they seem determined to show a new layer of psychotic terribleness.

The more I learn about Jenny, the more I hate her.

I think I mostly understand the diagram. Curious though about the broad system and then the external stuff. I'm going to guess Zara and Rosa are the first two users, with Sylvie and Noa as the next two. I'm not sure which is which though. Sylvie has been presented as a last resort where as Noa hasn't, despite her complex and horrifying situation. Her making a new body to support her symbol (which might Be her?) and then puppeting her old um. Dead body? So is she the more complex one, or is it Syvie who we haven't learned about yet. It seems Zara is playing up the dramatics to distract Zimmy.

Holy shit. This is the most heinous lore dump I can remember.

So basically everyone is "borrowing" Zimmy's Netflix...

Still genuinely have no idea whether she's being manipulative or just oblivious. (I guess it could be both??)

What is this girl going for? I feel like she's making zimmy turn against Jenny but not the rest... that does seem reasonable, i mean, for her

Ask not for whom the Jack swoons. He swoons for Z.

she sucks so bad i love her

Jeeeeesus, what a psycho!

JACK DOESN'T KNOW?!?!?!

Their "friend" group is more toxic than I thought. So it really is Jenny doing this for her own sake and nothing else.

Oh,yeah, they are TEENAGE witches, alright.

Zeta's face in that third panel certainly in line with the audience's.

oh dang

Even though so much of this is new to Zimmy, I have a feeling she knows enough about what she's hearing to be sure Zara is either making crap up or has the wrong idea about more than one thing at least....

Zimmy: "...I dont know who any of these people are, I dont subscribe to your intra-friendgroup drama."

Yeesh. The more time we spend with this group the more I hate them.

Aight nvm she's probably ragebaiting

Did Zara took a truth serum?

"It's a sacrifice Jenny is willing to have Jack make. And that's how you know we're good people!"

What is girly doing

She is pulling the dramatics a bit far.

Is Zara usually this... Talkative?

... This feels like a distraction. It might even be true, though.

Gotta hand it to the murderous manipulator, she's really selling this.

hmmmm. on one hand, if we take this at face value then it explains a lot abt what on earth Jenny's been up to with Jack. On the other hand, it is weird that she's just dropping all this out of no where, it's gotta be some kind of distraction. Who knows how true it is.

This seems....performative. Watch out, Zimmy!

Oh, this can backfire in so many ways. Or not. But given how angry Z looked in the last panel, my money is still on tactical nuke.

Boy can she sure yap, lije God DAMN!

BURN HER!

Now that I think about it, Rosa seems a bit like his type too.

WHAT

Oh so thats why Jack is looking worse and worse over time. They're pulling a ton of energy to power of this through him.

"We hope Zara keeps her wits about her..." - Jenny

This is a little bit like openly admitting to God that you're mooching cable off of Him "but it's all good, the landlord gave us the hookup, he said it was all cool"

i cant decide if she's being dumb, or it's all not true (and will be part of a revel like "nope audience that theory is wrong") or it's PARTIALLY not true. in either flavor of it not being true tho... i cant imagine what the benefit would be. like unless something the coven wants would happen if zimmy removed jack's connection? (or she tries to.)

Well, that explains why Jack is such a wreck. I've suspected for a long time that Jenny was just using him to get to Zimmy.

oh

I know! I know!

Meanwhile, Rosa: I feel like murdering Zara. Jenny: I know right?! Jack: Huh, I thought it was just me.

So.. Zara's been whammied to be forthcoming, I suppose? Or she wants to be turned into petunias.

Ah. So Jenny is the magical equivalent of a gold digger

Evillll

... Okay, there's a lot of cracks showing in this group... She DOES realise what she's saying, doesn't she... Oh dear. I can't tell the line between that being honest AND manipulative. Oh boy...

I don't see Noa anywhere in that diagram. Noa devised her own system

My lord, she's a complete idiot. How horrifyingly dangerous.

Okay, less blabbing their secrets in a way that'll get them all killed, more targeted at Jenny specifically. Especially if the siphon doesn't actually need Jenny to work it...

i figured zara was some sort of stalker, but the implication that she might not have her own magic is much different layer to the character

There's something very funny about watching someone digging their own grave so thoroughly.

Lol what in the world...

Gadddamn this info dump is a lot to process. Although I always suspected Jenny was deceiving Jack in some manner… Buuuut I also think there is something REALLY IMPORTANT that Jack isn’t telling Jenny, and I’m not sure if she knows or not. Something Omega told him

Hypothesis: Maybe it is not Rose who has a crush on Jack? Could the hidden agenda behind this whole exposition be "please, all-powerful one, rescue the guy I secretly like from being driven mad and squeezed dry by his manupalative girlfriend" - while still maintaining a sliver of plausible deniability in case Jenny should be listening? (Or is she trying to achieve the same rescue to help her best friend Rose - two witches splitting off from the pack?)

I'm still thinking Zimmy has mind controlled Zara into trusting her and telling her everything

Oh, she's ABSOLUTELY baiting Zimmy. Probably assumes Zims will be jealous of Rosa being supposedly into Jack; regardless of if that's actually true, she figures she'll get a reaction from it. I'm also fully expecting Zara to pull an Ozymandias at the end of all this.

Do you seriously think I'd explain my masterstroke if there remained the slightest chance of you affecting its outcome? I did it thirty-five minutes ago.

So... Jack is basically an unsecured network port and Jenny hacked herself in to give everyone else free wifi...

is it just me or are these witches actually just horrible people?

Oh... I'm wondering.. is that what Omega told Jack? About the Siphon??? It would make sense for Jack to be upset about it, but I fear he might also have something else he wants here.

She's laying her manipulations on a bit thick, isn't she?

And her pose in the last panel would seem to show she has a crush on him too... And she wants to siphon off what he's got to give Not sure if he's very lucky, or in a really problematic place

I can't believe there are three people on the comments who believe Annie is going to end up with Jack. 1. Reread the in the forest side comic. When the elf girl asks Annie if she has a love at home Annie without any hesitation immediately says Kat with a serene look on her face. When the elf girl clarifies that's she means a ~boy~ Annie literally runs through a list of boys in her head, the first four not even being human. Jack is the first one who is a human boy her age, who she choses with a shrug. 2. Annie tells Jack that she was only flirting with him so she could reject him to get back at him for trapping Renard at the power station. 3. Jack was trying to murder Kat recently invoking Annie's rage. 4. The Only time we've ever seen Annie jealous of a romantic relationship is when she first sees Kat and Paz kiss. Shes scared Kat will leave her. She didn't care when Jack first introduced Jenny, and she didn't care when Loup said he was with Lana.

so that's the energy vampires everone on tiktok's talking about

Gotta say, I love the witches. Utilitarian, realistic, focused, very self centered. No nonsense. It’s really fun to see their relationships unfold.

Their selfish little coven, fueled by stolen power, murders innocents with impunity to protect said power. Is Kat going to kill Zimmy to prevent her from squishing the coven?

Got to be some kind of spell or drug on her making her just say everything she's thinking.

This is one way to address Shel’s insistence that it’s not far some people can use magic and some can’t, I guess

Poor Zimmy just keeps getting exploited for others benefits. First the court, then the ship, now the witches ????

Everyone in the comments wondering about Zara - she knows exactly what she's doing. :)

This girl is a certified yapper.

That's a lot of drama

I honestly feel a little bit bad for Jack, though I have a bit of suspicion that she is lying

Her body language when she talks about Rosa says to me that these are deliberate histrionics. Is she trying to supplant Jenny as head witch by manipulating Zimmy into taking her out?

So is Jenney interested in saving the person Zimmy or the energy source known as Zimmy?

Wow... she really is a blabbermouth

I think she knows exactly what she is doing, coven coup

I have to wonder if this is Zara's attempt to manipulate Zimmy into going after Jenny... Maybe this is the start of a hostile takeover? Not like any of these witches seem particularly loyal to one another.

Looks like Rosa will break the link to save Jack in the end. But my high bet is that Jenny is going to die at the hands of her own people.