El Goonish Shive

Charlotte and Diane were an unforeseeable consequence of being present for a major crisis. They're Tengu's fault.

Ashley, however, is just being given information freely. She's Elliot's fault. His first mistake was being careless enough to let her see him transform, his second mistake was not going immediately to Mr. Verres to have it covered up, his third mistake was sharing yet more information with her freely.

At least, if I was a shadowy government agent dedicated to preserving the secrecy of magic, that's how I'd see it.

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

That is a good point. Elliot should have gone to Verres to inform him information leaked. Of course, he himself doesn't care about all this secrecy stuff, which is why I say Verres shouldn't have trusted teenagers.

His choices were apparently "trust teenagers to keep everything secret, while also telling the government everything" or "let the teenagers get snapped up by a black-ops government magic squad," according to NP.

Did Tedd get a model update in NP? He looks a bit different.

Also Verres abilities to do anything in this regard is a bit... limited. His former boss going for the Cover Up Via Insanity routine and being "promoted" doesn't help either.

edit: Tedd has some serious elongated neck troubles.

edited 22nd May '15 4:10:59 PM by stevebat

Apocalypse: Dirge Of Swans.

It's not really Mr. Verres's job to deal with this stuff anymore. Anyway, Ashley already saw Elliot transform. What are they supposed to do, wipe her memory with one of those little flashy pen light thingies? I'm pretty sure they don't have those.

Rhymes with "Protracted."

Or if they do, it's been forgotten.

They broke through the fourth wall and used one on Shive to make him forget the devices existed, so that they would never get used again in the comic.

Expergiscēre cras, medior quam hodie. (Awaken tomorrow, better than today.)

Story comic.

They actually kick you out of the bookstore if you read there? Most of the ones I go actually have places for you to sit.

Depends on the staff. Usually they don't care, but sometimes they do.

Oh dear, this was good! XD

I like to read Ashley's hair in the second-to-last panel as the headcrab's silent "flat what" at Ashley's slip.

Regarding Elliot's suggestion, I'm hoping that this indicates that he's starting to become a bit more comfortable with intimacy. It isn't much, but I suspect that he would have been less comfortable with transforming in order to titillate Sarah. That said, it's entirely possible that I'm simply forgetting him having done something similar with her, or over-interpreting his actions here.

My Games & Writing

No, you're right. He was noticeably hesitant when he was making out with Sarah, needed to transform, and she suggested they "have some fun with it." She clarified that she just meant he should try to look like her (though I think she might have been testing the waters for something pervier, and backed down), but he was a little freaked out at the idea.

Here, it's his suggestion. Even if nothing actually happens, it's a step towards being healthier and more open about his own sexuality.

And, on NP, Ashley deals with labels and oversized signs.

@20333 It really depends on the bookstore. I remember (and miss) Borders, and they would set up several comfortable places for you to chill out and read - I think the philosophy was "people are going to do it anyway; if we make them feel welcome while doing it, they'll be more likely to buy here". The Barnes & Nobles I've been in, though, tend to discourage it - some just make it so that there's nowhere comfortable to sit unless you're in the cafe area (where you're explicitly not allowed to bring books into unless you've paid for them), but others actively police for that kind of activity.

@20335 Except for panel 5, the brain-eating tick seems pretty aggressive in that strip. This is what happens when Expressive Hair is combined with unfortunate character design (I bet if she just removed those hair hooks, it'd be much less Fridge Horror).

For Elliot becoming more comfortable with the idea of sexuality in general, and his own in particular... well... maybe, but I'm doubtful. Keep in mind that Sarah was repeatedly shown to be uncomfortable with Elliot's transformation, and it's quite reasonable to assume that what we saw on-panel was not the only manifestations of it (just like how we haven't seen all of Elliot's actions and derring-do on-panel).

Maybe Elliot would have been as comfortable with Sarah as he seems to be with Ashley if Sarah had been more comfortable with the process. I mean, the idea that he's growing more comfortable with his own sexuality is reasonable; I just think it's too premature to say that for sure.

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.

Hey, just caught the headcrab thing.

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

@20330 I'd have to spend time searching, but I think it was heavily suggested that, for certain situations, the "magical FBI" (or whatever the agency is called) has amnesia spells to contain witnesses that won't play ball and who could reasonably risk The Masquerade. I seem to recall them being a "last resort" option because memory gaps tend to lead people to investigate said gaps, which makes it more likely to see something get exposed.

@20339 I suspect that, for all my other comments and thoughts on various issues in the comic, that will be my legacy as a commenter upon EGS.

Eh, I could do worse.

EDIT: I didn't want to just make a comment without anything to really add beyond this thought, but Tobias just nails it in the post below.

edited 26th May '15 8:22:39 AM by 32_Footsteps

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.

It's usually a matter of quantity. Bookstores don't have a problem with you taking some time, maybe sit down for 10-20 minutes, sample a few books, see which ones might be good for a purchased. That's cool. Sometimes they even have a coffee shop set up in the store as well.

But if you've been there for hours and are clearly not interested in buying anything and just came by to read all the books for free, the staff becomes less okay with that.

It's the difference between grabbing a free sample at the supermarket, and grabbing the entire plate. The reading area is not an invitation to freeload.

And misses the point spectacularly.

The problem isn't that Ashley should totally define herself by labels. The problem is that "I don't like labels!" is the default answer for bisexual characters, and she is one of those. Explain it however you will, it doesn't change the fact that an artistic choice was made to contribute to bi-erasure by writing yet another bisexual who refuses to be labelled such.

When the criticism is with a Doylist choice, no amount of Watsonian justifying can fix it.

edited 26th May '15 7:10:10 AM by TobiasDrake

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

Seriously considering making this my sig.

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

Speaking of sexualities and labels... am I the only one who reads Elliott as asexual?

edited 26th May '15 8:18:08 PM by SalFishFin

Huh, I hadn't considered that. That's possible! All we know is that he has a libido, but that doesn't preclude him from being asexual.

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

I once heard someone describe it as being like when you're hungry but don't feel like eating anything in your fridge.

@20343 Well, I personally don't read Elliot that way, but it's a reasonable theory, and it wouldn't be out of left field if it turned out to be true.

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.

I think he's heterosexual, just not as intensely as most guys. I'm the same way so take it for whatever you think it's worth.

Trump delenda est

Honestly, Elliot just comes off to me as highly principled and disciplined.

Elliot has a lot of preconceived notions about Hollywood True Love combined with a tendency to be highly judgmental of himself. He has a libido, but he shames it away at the first opportunity because he thinks his sexuality makes him a bad person.

This is a guy who reacted to a sex dream that wasn't about his girlfriend with "I AM HISTORY'S GREATEST MONSTER!" One might argue that had much more to do with the "not a girlfriend" part except that Sarah reports Elliot's a cold fish in that department too.

I wouldn't say he's asexual. He is, however, heavily repressing his sexuality.

edited 27th May '15 7:37:40 AM by TobiasDrake

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

Yeah, I know people like that. Except Elliot doesn't have the excuse of Catholic guilt.

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