El Goonish ShIVe: Damn It, Dan, Stop Teasing Us!

[DaLucaray]

...I also strangely like the idea that Tedd gets his lab and funding... and it's in the same building as Doctor Germahn and we see him(for the first time in years) and his crew in canonocial situations asside characters in Tedd's dealy.

I feel like seeing Doctor Germahn & Co. in canon is just... wrong.

[Southern Cross]

Actually, Dr Germahn & Co. have already appeared in canon- he's the source of those radio watches that Tedd gave to his friends during the "Painted Black' storyline.

[Vinyadan]

I would like Germahn to be canon, but only if he and his entourage stay as comic relief and plot expedients, or if their character growth is handled fast and without making them broody. I am scared of new characters being added with neverending introspection trips.

[Rater202]

I think if we keep the character development from out of canon and only ignore the Fourth Wall bits, we should be fine.

and as cited, Germahn apparently made the Top Secret Government Radio Watches, so that just makes it more likily that he and Tedd might have labs in the same building.

Honestly "It's not about the money, it's about having cool things to play with!" describes a good chunk of Tedd's motivation, so seeing him interact with a fellow Chaotic Good Mad Scientist would be nice. If only every now and again.

[Douglas]

...Ok then.

So, what wild speculation do we have for what other ancient artifacts are going to activate and show themselves?

[Rater202]

So... Ashley's a Wizard.

that's nice.

There's no way in hell that her copying spells from Elliot and Ellen will backfire horribly.

[Southern Cross]

As per the latest strip:

Spoiler

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ASHLEY'S A WIZARD! OK, a weak wizard, but still...

And no, we still don't know what Ashley will scream about.

[Vinyadan]

Nice page, much funnier and more interesting than the ones about Elliot & Magus.

I would have had the speech balloon in panel 4 point outside the panel for the sake of clarity, though.

[Calemyr]

First Reaction: Huh? Deadpool's in this comic?

Second Reaction: Great, a talking wand. That can at a glance determine what modern wandcraft failed to do with Tedd...

Final Reaction: So she's a wizard. Yeah. Of course she is. Why did I ever think we were going to have a normal perspective character? Even Sarah has magic now! And so the last of Elliot's suitors prove to have magic potential. This is getting to Dragon Ball Z levels: if you're not a Saiyan, you're irrelevant, so now everyone's turning out to be Saiyans.

Could be interesting, I'll admit, and I was rooting for an "Ashley in the House of Horrors" side arc, but I must admit I'm disappointed. I really didn't want her to be a mage in any sense, but to be the "normal" (in some sense, anyway) person who has to resolve problems in creative ways. Like kicking a soccer ball at a gryphon knight before she could talk some sense into it. Now...

[Qwertystop]

Holding out hope that "wizard" as used by the wand is terminology overlap with some long-gone system and it's not at all the same as the current "wizard".

[Rater202]

First Reaction: Huh? Deadpool's in this comic?

Second Reaction: Great, a talking wand. That can at a glance determine what modern wandcraft failed to do with Tedd...

Final Reaction: So she's a wizard. Yeah. Of course, she is. Why did I ever think we were going to have a normal perspective character? Even Sarah has magic now! And so the last of Elliot's suitors prove to have magic potential. This is getting to Dragon Ball Z levels: if you're not a Saiyan, you're irrelevant, so now everyone's turning out to be Saiyans.

Could be interesting, I'll admit, and I was rooting for an "Ashley in the House of Horrors" side arc, but I must admit I'm disappointed. I really didn't want her to be a mage in any sense, but to be the "normal" (in some sense, anyway) person who has to resolve problems in creative ways. Like kicking a soccer ball at a gryphon knight before she could talk some sense into it. Now...

Dude, it has been long established that literally, everyone has some potential to learn magic and that once you know it, all you have to do to get powerful and learn more magic is keep casting your spells and otherwise practicing magic.

The rarest kind of wizard was established in the last segment of the arc to be ridicloulsly common, if only when you're looking at the actual number instead of the percentile.

It had previously been established that Ashley had affinities and personality traits that made her compatible with a ridiculous number of transformation spells and it was only Ashley's kindhearted nature that prevented Pandora from marking her with the most disruptive ones,so it's not like the idea of Ashley having magic cameout of nowhere.

Besides, EGS i heading towards the "Unmaksed World" trope and Tedd's dream of giving kiterally everyone magic. If everyone has magic, than magic is what's "normal." And being the only person in the castto have absolutly nothing magical until recently, if she joins the cicle, she still has the normal perspective.

And that's assuming that the Wand isn't calling every magic user a Wizard the same way that the Griffon's immediatly assumed that Nanase was a princess intead of merely a strong mage: For all we kno, under the system of magic it's familiar with, only Wizards had enough magical energy to sense, leaving her still functionally a normal unless they let her keep the wand.

[Calemyr]

Dude, it has been long established that literally, everyone has some potential to learn magic and that once you know it, all you have to do to get powerful and learn more magic is keep casting your spells and otherwise practicing magic.

The rarest kind of wizard was established in the last segment of the arc to be ridicloulsly common, if only when you're looking at the actual number instead of the percentile.

It had previously been established that Ashley had affinities and personality traits that made her compatible with a ridiculous number of transformation spells and it was only Ashley's kindhearted nature that prevented Pandora from marking her with the most disruptive ones,so it's not like the idea of Ashley having magic cameout of nowhere.

Besides, EGS i heading towards the "Unmaksed World" trope and Tedd's dream of giving kiterally everyone magic. If everyone has magic, than magic is what's "normal." And being the only person in the castto have absolutly nothing magical until recently, if she joins the cicle, she still has the normal perspective.

And that's assuming that the Wand isn't calling every magic user a Wizard the same way that the Griffon's immediatly assumed that Nanase was a princess intead of merely a strong mage: For all we kno, under the system of magic it's familiar with, only Wizards had enough magical energy to sense, leaving her still functionally a normal unless they let her keep the wand.

Not exactly: anyone can become a mage, but not everyone has an affinity that makes them particularly effective at it. And actively becoming a mage requires a kick-start, so having the potential to use magic isn't the same as being a mage. The vast majority of the populace (including potential seers) are completely dormant.

Unlike Susan, Diane, or Sarah, Ashley doesn't just have an affinity that makes the kickstart easier, she's a full-blooded wizard. So they took the Circle's last remaining muggle and turned her into a wizard. I suppose I see the point, as Tedd was the Circle's only wizard but lacked the ability to actually cast anything. Bringing in an actual wizard fills a hole in the roster, but still... Given that exposure to the sentient wand is likely all that Ashley needs to get her own kick-start, this means the only character in the Circle who doesn't have magic is Grace, the oft-mentioned most powerful mortal in Moperville...

Is it that wrong to want a single non-caster in the group? Someone who's not one dramatic last stand away from unlocking a plot-critical spell when they need it? Someone who is actually limited to normal means to solve problems? I'm not saying this is a deal breaker. EGS has done things that bother me far worse than this and I still follow it, but I am disappointed. Not a lot, mind you, just enough to sigh and say "of course they had to do that" and move on.

More importantly, am I the only one who thought "Deadpool" when they saw the... thing... in the crate?

[Fyraltari]

More importantly, am I the only one who thought "Deadpool" when they saw the... thing... in the crate?

To each his own:

[Calemyr]

To each his own:

Heh. Nice.

Actually, thinking about it a little further, I have to admit that this twist has interesting possibilities. The wand's presence in the Mousetrap means that, under classic EGS rules, it was likely inert to the point of uselessness. That it's awake and vibrant now suggests that it is indeed from another era. If it awakens her, this means that Ashley is tied to an older school of magic, one older than even Maniac Pandora was present for, meaning there is probably next to nobody with expertise in it. If the wand takes it upon itself to be Ashley's teacher, she goes from "Elliot's cute girlfriend" to a genuine asset when dealing with reawakened magics, actually adding something to the story rather than just homogenizing it. (And, I gotta admit, having someone even crazier than Tedd learning transformation magic could be fun.)

I will miss muggle Ash, but if this is what Dan's working towards I won't be so disappointed.

[Rater202]

Just pointing out, Ashley is still literally the only member of the circle(If she's in the circle,) who did not have any exposure to magic until well after the story started.

Her exposure to magic began with catching Elliot in the stairwell.

Meanwhile, Tedd grew up with his Dad the FBI Wizard who's job is to deal with aliens and has had alien magitech forever, Sarah and Elliot both have exposure to that and Elliot has Animestyle martial arts, Nanase and Susan both got magic in France, Justin has Anime Martial arts, Grace is Grace and Ellen is Ellen.

Even if Ashley gets magic, she's still got the closets of any of the main characters to pure No-maj PoV.

...And strictly speaking, we've known that she was probably gonna get magic eventually. It's not canon, but Hanma did flat out state that with the crowd she hangs out with, Ashley getting spells of her own was inevitable.

[Vinyadan]

Seers are not ridiculously common. 1/10⁶ isn't common. They are numerous, but still rare. They are described as a rarity by the whales, and as rare by the emissary of magic. But this is just a matter of proper semantics.

Personally, I am happy with this development. It was surprisingly fast. We didn't get years of an immortal running around, damming magic and marking people, while the main characters do absolutely nothing. If I were Dan, I would probably rearrange EGS around Ashley, giving her "Lab Chief Tedd" as Q. I'd then leave the rest of the cast as background until they actually have some role in a story, other than being told a recap. Elliot can be Lois Lane. Much less baggage to carry around.

[Calemyr]

Seers are not ridiculously common. 1/10⁶ isn't common. They are numerous, but still rare. They are described as a rarity by the whales, and as rare by the emissary of magic. But this is just a matter of proper semantics.

Personally, I am happy with this development. It was surprisingly fast. We didn't get years of an immortal running around, damming magic and marking people, while the main characters do absolutely nothing. If I were Dan, I would probably rearrange EGS around Ashley, giving her "Lab Chief Tedd" as Q. I'd then leave the rest of the cast as background until they actually have some role in a story, other than being told a recap. Elliot can be Lois Lane. Much less baggage to carry around.

Crap... if Tedd is Q, that makes Elliot a Bond girl. I'm having a real hard time not smiling at that thought.

... I mean... imagine it: the classic Bond opening with silhouettes of women behind the credits? All of them being Elliot. Cheerleadra, Mild, Goth, Heidi, among others, with brief moments for Elliot (still in silhouette) to resume his male form to catch his breath before going back to casting. And a lengthy pantomime argument with Tedd over when he gets a turn...

Double-0 Ashley: The Mage Who Zapped Me

[Lamech]

I admit I too am leery about Wizard Ashley. OTOH, Dan has much improved in writing. And this is fiction were coincidences like this happen all the damn time.

[Rater202]

I am amused to no end that Ashley's first instinct with a magic wand is to throw it at the bad guy.

[Vinyadan]

The funny thing is that we don't know if it's a bad guy. For all we've seen, the wand could be a mass murderer, and the robot could be a janitor.

[Fyraltari]

Considereing the golem's reaction to being thrown into an unknown environment is to worry aout the passed out girl in front of it, I say there's a good chance it's not a bad guy.

[Whispri]

So is Kevin made of wood?If so, could he have been sealed within the dewitchery diamond/crystal?

[Fyraltari]

So is Kevin made of wood?If so, could he have been sealed within the dewitchery diamond/crystal?

I don't think so, the diamond was made in medieval time and Kevin has clearly been around recently enough to know modern american english. Note that Dan points out that the wzy the magpie talks is supposed to indicate that is recent too.

Which raises two questions:

Do Kevin and the Magpi originate from the same magic system?

When was the last switch? Are there people (most likely Raven but Maybe Mr. Verres) familiar with it that could explain it to Tedd?

There are also the questions of:

Where and when does that golem come from and how dod it get to america (assuming it's not native, I don't know how big Native Americans were on statues)?

Did the destrcution of the Diamond free Abraham? If not what happens to him? Is he dead?

[Qwertystop]

Given that Kevin is meant for teaching, he might have a magic translation thing going on, and the mangled faux-Old English was while it was still tuning (or the language he spoke the last time he was active, with the translation triggering on physical contact).

[Rater202]

I don't think so, the diamond was made in medieval time and Kevin has clearly been around recently enough to know modern american english. Note that Dan points out that the wzy the magpie talks is supposed to indicate that is recent too.

Which raises two questions:

Do Kevin and the Magpi originate from the same magic system?

When was the last switch? Are there people (most likely Raven but Maybe Mr. Verres) familiar with it that could explain it to Tedd?

There are also the questions of:

Where and when does that golem come from and how dod it get to america (assuming it's not native, I don't know how big Native Americans were on statues)?

Did the destruction of the Diamond free Abraham? If not what happens to him? Is he dead?

Abraham wakes up when something is created by the Diamond separating someone from a curse.

Presumably, he has woken up again, though the diamond's destruction means that he no longer has to seal himself back in stone.

We'll probably find out what happened with him later, once things settle down. I mean, he was arrested when last we saw him so unless hey were using him as a "somebody touched the diamond alarm" he's probably not in a position to come and do anything and even if he was getting places takes time.

[TaRix]

Do Kevin and the Magpi originate from the same magic system?

When was the last switch? Are there people (most likely Raven but Maybe Mr. Verres) familiar with it that could explain it to Tedd?

There are also the questions of:

Where and when does that golem come from and how dod it get to america (assuming it's not native, I don't know how big Native Americans were on statues)?

Did the destrcution of the Diamond free Abraham? If not what happens to him? Is he dead?

Well, the (now previous) magic system was apparently in place a very long time, as Pandora had to consult past-Pandoran memories about magic switching.
I'm betting the golem is one of Heka's, and so was probably created in Egypt. It probably got carted from there by tomb-raiding archaeologists and such.

[Calemyr]

Well, the (now previous) magic system was apparently in place a very long time, as Pandora had to consult past-Pandoran memories about magic switching.
I'm betting the golem is one of Heka's, and so was probably created in Egypt. It probably got carted from there by tomb-raiding archaeologists and such.

Indeed. Heka was startled that it was Pandora's last incarnation that had a front row seat to it. So, even giving or taking a couple centuries, it was far enough back that any immortal old enough to be one generation removed from the event would have to be a raving loon. So, we're talking a long run for the EGS-style magic.

Given Abraham's spells when he first arrived, magic clearly exists to translate languages, and that would be a vital ability in a sentient training wand. The olde schoole speech was most likely an affectation intended to sound ancient and mysterious, and failed utterly.

As for the Magpie, I can see two options. One, it was a modern creation that either used outdated techniques or required unsustainable levels of ambient magic to function. Remember that the diamond is contemporary, after all, but only functions so readily because it is in Moperville - anywhere else and it would require a decently powerful mage to get it to trigger at all. The other is that the Magpie is not contemporary and the choice of words was just a translation convention that Dan felt the need to comment on. In either event, it wasn't until the new era that there were nearby magical artifacts strong enough to trip its sensors.

Spoiler: Irrelevant Sidestory

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All this talk of magpies reminds me of a D&D campaign I once played in, where I played an operatic vigilante known as the Magpie. Er, no, that's not quite right. The Magpie! Okay, that looks about right. By day he was a Russian-esque bartender, and by night he adventured as the scenery chewing swordsman. Ah, the sheer ham of it was glorious. As a result, mentioning the mechanical magic mugger brings a nostalgic grin to my face every time.

[Qwertystop]

As for the Magpie, I can see two options. One, it was a modern creation that either used outdated techniques or required unsustainable levels of ambient magic to function. Remember that the diamond is contemporary, after all, but only functions so readily because it is in Moperville - anywhere else and it would require a decently powerful mage to get it to trigger at all. The other is that the Magpie is not contemporary and the choice of words was just a translation convention that Dan felt the need to comment on. In either event, it wasn't until the new era that there were nearby magical artifacts strong enough to trip its sensors.

Three: It's modern and has some other design flaw that makes it not useful, such as poor target selection or not letting go of things after it's found them.

Four: The artifact that hunts for other artifacts is in the warehouse full of artifacts because it's working exactly as it's supposed to.

[Southern Cross]

Actually, from what happened in the last strip, it not only has poor target selection but has trouble determining whether it can actually carry the item in question.

[Mith]

I get a feeling that with the ruling of "all magic systems are go.", things that may not have been constructed well enough to work with any one system can now work with interesting side effects.