El Goonish Shive

Every big bookstore where I live have some place where you can sit and relax. Maybe not sofas, but some benches or comfy/puff chairs are nearly guaranteed.

I think I know one think we all have that takes up our time like that. *Gestures to This Very Wiki*

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And NP is grinding on with Pandora over-doing the tempting.

Oh, they got ranks now? I'm a sucker for anything "S Rank".

Dopants: He meant what he said and he said what he meant, a Ninety is faithful 100%.

Yet again, Pandora talks and I nod and go, "Sounds about right." We already know from more credible sources that magic functions on an XP-gain level-up system, and Pandora - earlier in this very conversation - identified Sarah's spell as being far more demanding in energy and skill than Sarah is actually capable of.

Sure, she could be lying about Sarah being a hopelessly impotent Muggle, but given that Sarah's been a hopelessly impotent Muggle for pretty much her entire character history to the point of it being an active motivation for her, I'm willing to believe it.

So Sarah needs to grind this spell if she wants to have any hope of ever having magic if and when Moperville's ambient magic well dries up.

edited 4th May '15 12:05:55 PM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently liveblogging Haruhi Suzumiya and revisiting Danganronpa V3.

I don't know if there's an actual official rank system that she's referring to here, or if she's flippantly using terms that Sarah would understand. It could easily go either way.

I mean, I'm sure there is a rank system, but knowing Mr. Verres it's probably more complicated than just E through S.

No mention of Sarah doing other things to build magic ability, like using the watches or taking up Greg's classes. Granted, the spell is probably more efficient, and more fun to use.

Still not clear whether pre-awakening spells show up in spellbooks- that fact alone is going to affect how much she can tell or hide from Mr Verres.

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Greg's no longer teaching classes, and the watches might not be able to gain the user XP.

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But the watches do use the user's own magic potential, according to Tedd- though Tedd could have been wrong, given that this was before he knew about the ambient magic. Theoretically, if using your own magic energy builds your potential, the watches should help.

And yeah, I'd forgotten Greg retired- though, it hasn't been established whether Elliot, Nanase or Justin would be capable of teaching the techniques to others... Really, I don't get why Sarah never tried to take those classes- it seems like it would have been one of the most logical ways to get closer to having magic, or at least have a chance at defending yourself against giant angry hedgehogs.

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I'm pretty certain it's the latter.

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."

It's also possible that the watches just use a really weak spell. To use this completely arbitrary ranking system, maybe the spells on the watches are Rank E or lower. Using them to rank up would be like trying to get really buff muscles by bench-pressing two pounds of weight.

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.

Sarah's a pudgy nerd who can barely manage gym class. She probably hears, "Spend several hours per week doing extensive physical exercise and after a few years, you might be able to cast your first spell," and gives up immediately because that sounds equal parts impossible and agonizing.

Especially if she has to do it under the tutelage of her boyfriend's ex.

Like most nerds, Sarah wants a power fantasy, not an exercise regiment. She wants infinite cosmic power now, or at least, easy. She wants a radioactive spider-bite, not Iron Fist's years of training and discipline.

edited 5th May '15 7:36:10 AM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently liveblogging Haruhi Suzumiya and revisiting Danganronpa V3.

Hey, you get promised magic, you want some easy solutions.

Dopants: He meant what he said and he said what he meant, a Ninety is faithful 100%.

Comic!

NP!

Creed of the Happy Pessimist:Always expect the worst. Then, when it happens, it was only what you expected. All else is a happy surprise.

That spell Elliot described seems to accomplish the same thing regular reading does...

edited 6th May '15 5:43:34 AM by DeathsApprentice

Trust you? The only person I can trust is myself.

Think of Pandora like Doctor Who? He's the Doctor, not Doctor Who, what a rookie mistake, Pandora!

Once again, Shive, pointing out what you did with your own work like that doesn't make you subtle or funny. It just comes off a bit desperate.

On the bright side, Ashley finally told Elliot why a bookstore isn't a great idea. Also, given what she's seen already, that question was coming from Ashley sooner or later. Let's see if Elliot has the common sense to just say "I'll explain it later" and not just discuss it in public.

@20266 If you're going to be oblivious to grammar for comedy, you have to try harder than that.

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.

Let's just tread water for a comic.

For the record, the joke in panels 4 and 5 has made me groan and shake my head when other webcomic artists have done it (looking particularly at you, Randy Milholland), and Shive didn't do it any better. I'm not saying pulling off that joke well is impossible, but I do find it telling that nobody has made me laugh with it yet.

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.

Sarah starts to realize Pandora might not be super sane.

Trust you? The only person I can trust is myself.

As an aside, I love Pandora examining her fingernails in the previous strip.

Like getting dirt in them or needing to file them is actually something she needs to be concerned with.

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Now I kinda want to know how old Pandora it. A full millenia perhaps? Or just a full millenia since the last reset? That is an lot of of time. When was she born? Where? How? And why did she stop reseting? What was she like when she was sane? Did Raven know what she was like when she was sane? Why am I asking so many questions all of a sudden?

Writer, or something. And... a button? 🖲️

I think she's about 6-8 centuries old.

If she was over 1,000, she would have stated that rather than saying she's "hundreds" of years old. She also says she's been calling herself 299 for a few centuries, indicating about 3-4 centuries have passed since she turned 300.

edited 8th May '15 10:32:37 AM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently liveblogging Haruhi Suzumiya and revisiting Danganronpa V3.

Well, we've known for years that she's past the two-century "sanity limit" mark - this comic notes that Raven is that old by himself (Pandora has noted that he's desired to fight and kill for centuries). Even if you assume that she had Raven pretty soon after her last reset (Jerry came out in an adult-enough body when we last saw him, less than a year after his reset, so it's presumably possible), she's certainly past the crazypants point even if she's just trolling Sarah.

Her precise age is an interesting question, but I think it's mostly academic (what's the practical difference in the current situation if she's 400 years old or 1000?). What I think is a more interesting question is, just what forms of madness does she have? Megalomania is a pretty obvious one, but there might be other ones going on.

But since folks are putting in guesses, I'll throw out about 650 - I'm guessing that Raven is somewhere around 500, and I suspect that Pandora had him no later than when she was 150, if only for the fact that I have to imagine that getting together with someone long enough to have a kid would be much easier if one isn't cuckoo bananas.

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.

The fact that Raven might be vulnerable to insanity makes me wonder if there's anything Elves can do... Presumably they can't reset, but can die permanently under the right circumstances. Now I'm wondering if there's someone who runs around "dealing with" all the insane elves that must eventually exist. Alternatively, could a pseudo-reset or other way of retaining sanity be achived through magic?

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There's been no sign that elves go insane in the same way as immortals. Remember, we know exactly why immortals go insane: Increased power, precognition, and boredom. Elves aren't constantly increasing in power in the same way, so they probably don't have to worry about it.