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Yay! Its back again! I stagger my reading of it to Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday cause there aren't enough good webcomics on those days, so I am not the best person to lead a real time discussion, but it really needs a thread. So in Monday's we see the mysterious return of the dark figure. (linky)

Who is starting to sound really, really desperate.

Also, is it just the art upgrade, or does Ellen's green ray seem more... jeeze, what is a same word to use? Powerful? More powerful then usual?

Edited by wingedcatgirl on Oct 10th 2025 at 12:46:21 PM

MousaThe14 Writer, Artist, Ignored from Northern Virginia Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Writer, Artist, Ignored
#16101: Jul 25th 2014 at 5:04:23 AM

Anti-climactic, annoying, and wtf, Justin?

The Blog The Art
Elfive (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#16102: Jul 25th 2014 at 5:07:12 AM

It's not an anticlimax yet. Grace is not done talking.

tricksterson Never Trust from Behind you with an icepick Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Never Trust
#16103: Jul 25th 2014 at 5:27:51 AM

[up][up][up]I vote clueless.

Trump delenda est
PapercutChainsaw Since: Jul, 2010
#16104: Jul 25th 2014 at 5:30:04 AM

The last thing Luke said to Justin WAS about Grace... Justin's just a bit pessimistic and thought that Luke was just being friendly to try and get to her through him. Justin probably thought he was reading the signs right up until Luke said that, then decided he was wrong after all.

In conclusion: Don't blame Justin. Justin needs a hug.

And not to worry, I'm sure Grace and Sarah will be pulling as many strings as they can to get those dorks to ask each other out. (Can't wait to see Grace trying to talk to a terrified Luke).

3DS Friend Code: 0018-0767-4231
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#16105: Jul 25th 2014 at 7:43:31 AM

String-pulling can just as easily have the opposite effect. Playing matchmaker and being an obvious Shipper on Deck has the risk of making Luke feel too creeped out for anything to happen.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Discar Since: Jun, 2009
#16106: Jul 25th 2014 at 7:51:30 AM

Well, if they limit the playing Cupid to just "He's obviously interested in you and terrified of Grace," that will get the ball rolling better than more proactive methods.

Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.
32_Footsteps Think of the mooks! from Just north of Arkham Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Think of the mooks!
#16107: Jul 25th 2014 at 8:12:27 AM

I was about to mention, this is what happens when one of the guys in question keeps asking about some third party (and the suggestion is that Luke has kept asking Justin about Grace). I don't think Justin's being clueless at all - when the strongest signals that Luke's sending are interest about Grace (granted, the interest isn't of a romantic nature, but Justin has no way of knowing that at this time), it falls completely on Luke as to why Justin would miss it.

So I vote "Justin is clueless, and it's Luke's fault for said cluelessness."

If Grace tries to Dope Slap Justin, I hope he responds in kind. She's operating with much less context than he has.

Also, as the person who actively doesn't want Justin to end up with Luke, I approve.

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.
piearty Hello world! from The clouds Since: Oct, 2009
nomuru2d Gamer-turning-maker from Port Saint Lucie, FL Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
32_Footsteps Think of the mooks! from Just north of Arkham Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Think of the mooks!
#16110: Jul 25th 2014 at 9:14:01 AM

@16108 Ah, you weren't around when I first discussed this.

In short, I don't trust Luke. I don't like that he's working for some nebulous organization, that his introduction involves him deliberately hiding things from Justin, that he's deliberately in a stalker position regarding Justin's abilities, and that he was trying to get out of the entire situation as much as possible.

I do want to see Justin happy. I just think that he could do much better than Luke.

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#16111: Jul 25th 2014 at 9:28:43 AM

Eh, his "nebulous organization" loans each other pizza money and considers $25 to be enough money to risk venturing into danger. They're probably just a bunch of college geeks with a few neat abilities.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Elfive (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#16112: Jul 25th 2014 at 9:34:42 AM

All great secret societies begin as a bunch of teenagers and twenty-somethings in a basement.

MrAHR Ahr river from ಠ_ಠ Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: A cockroach, nothing can kill it.
Ahr river
#16113: Jul 25th 2014 at 10:25:09 AM

Now JUSTIN, they could be poly amoroustongue

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Ninety Absolutely no relation to NLK from Land of Quakes and Hills Since: Nov, 2012 Relationship Status: In Spades with myself
Absolutely no relation to NLK
#16114: Jul 25th 2014 at 12:26:37 PM

[up][up] End that way, too.

Dopants: He meant what he said and he said what he meant, a Ninety is faithful 100%.
32_Footsteps Think of the mooks! from Just north of Arkham Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Think of the mooks!
#16115: Jul 25th 2014 at 1:12:53 PM

Not true, a bunch of great secret societies end as a bunch of old guys reminiscing "the good old days" and drinking while doing goofy ceremonies.

Still, I don't care if all that we've seen of this mysterious group is effectively negotiating the barter of pizza for CCG cards. It's not like most evil organizations are solely about kicking puppies, eating kittens, and making bunnies blow up for sport. Even the most evil realistic organization is going to discuss mundane things like who owes what for dinner.

I'm just inherently distrustful of nebulous organizations that act a bit stalker-like. I'd like Justin to get together with someone who doesn't have a hidden agenda. Someone who's clever and makes everything better by his mere appearance. One who shares many of his interests (like comics or Pokemon). One who doesn't necessarily agree with everyone but yet somehow brings out the best in the people he interacts with. I could go on, but I think folks get what I'm hinting at here.

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.
MrAHR Ahr river from ಠ_ಠ Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: A cockroach, nothing can kill it.
Ahr river
#16116: Jul 25th 2014 at 1:14:23 PM

It could just be a group of kids who think they're the hero of this story.

Read my stories!
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#16117: Jul 25th 2014 at 1:27:58 PM

Still, I don't care if all that we've seen of this mysterious group is effectively negotiating the barter of pizza for CCG cards. It's not like most evil organizations are solely about kicking puppies, eating kittens, and making bunnies blow up for sport. Even the most evil realistic organization is going to discuss mundane things like who owes what for dinner.

No, the most evil realistic organization takes the pizza out of their expense account, because $25 is pocket change even to low class. One of Luke's cited reasons for not wanting to go in is because $25 is a lot of money to him; then, he changes his mind when they offer to absolve him of a $50 debt, netting him a $25 profit.

Only students and homeless people are so poor that $25 is a world-shattering amount of money to them, which means Luke is almost certainly either a high school or college kid, nothing fancy. Meanwhile, his mystery superiors are apparently loaning him money to buy pizza, something an employer wouldn't be doing but your frat would. Oh, and they conduct evil conspiracy business over cell phones in the parking lot outside the place they're infiltrating.

These guys are completely unprofessional, make deals on ridiculously small sums of money, and just altogether conduct themselves more like a random bunch of college kids than any secret evil organization.

edited 25th Jul '14 1:36:01 PM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Discar Since: Jun, 2009
#16118: Jul 25th 2014 at 2:55:36 PM

Is Luke college age? I thought he was a high-schooler like the rest.

Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.
PapercutChainsaw Since: Jul, 2010
#16119: Jul 25th 2014 at 3:20:42 PM

At the risk of changing the subject, I've been thinking about spell resistance and what we know of it.

1. It seems to be impossible for a person to be "enchanted" by two spells at once.

2. Some magic causes permanent transformations that do not count as enchantments.

3. Every human has their own inherent level of magic resistance. When a person is enchanted, their resistance is increased by a certain amount depending on the spell.

4. In the case of the TF gun, the forms carry enough resistance to make the zap-ee immune to future TF zaps while transformed. The watches, however, will replace each other's transformations, probably indicating a lower resistance. We have not yet seen how watch and TFG gun transformations interact.

5. The effectiveness and duration of an enchantment are affected by factors such as physical health, food intake, willingness and awareness of the spell being cast.

Okay, who's got more?

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Daremo Misanthrope Supreme from Parts Unknown Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: If it's you, it's okay
#16120: Jul 25th 2014 at 3:55:15 PM

As I thought, Justin has once again neglected to prepare a spell of 'Detect Gay' today. Perhaps Grace has a scroll of 'Instant Detect Gay' she could lend him.

[up]Where are you getting 4 from?

edited 25th Jul '14 3:56:51 PM by Daremo

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.
PapercutChainsaw Since: Jul, 2010
#16121: Jul 25th 2014 at 4:21:06 PM

I seem to recall that the NP strips did a series explaining that TF beams would not affect a target that was already transformed (which may be why Ellen's V5 beam failed against Tengu), whereas Sarah using the cat form watch caused her short hair morph to be undone.

3DS Friend Code: 0018-0767-4231
Discar Since: Jun, 2009
#16122: Jul 25th 2014 at 4:37:04 PM

I think Tengu just has insane magic resistance. Jerry noted that her clone form wouldn't have worked either, and that wasn't enchanting the target.

Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.
JackAlsworth Since: Jul, 2009
#16123: Jul 26th 2014 at 6:18:50 AM

Mild topic change: it felt like most of the discussion about the transgender mark centered around Rich and Tedd. Seems to me like the most likely candidate is Sam.

(Apologies if someone already brought that up and I didn't see.)

edited 26th Jul '14 8:16:01 AM by JackAlsworth

Elfive (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#16124: Jul 26th 2014 at 7:22:39 AM

I had it pegged for Sam in-between the reveal about him and the comic after "whoops". Now I think it's Tedd.

edited 26th Jul '14 7:22:56 AM by Elfive

PapercutChainsaw Since: Jul, 2010
#16125: Jul 26th 2014 at 3:38:42 PM

I considered Sam, but I was thinking that it might not be the most appropriate power that Pandora could give him, since it doesn't seem to be the main thing that he defines himself by. Something related to his pockets (Bigger on the Inside? Portals to a Pocket Dimension?) might suit him better (as well as being a bit more unique and interesting for the audience).

Then again, Sam getting the transgender mark and transforming Tedd suggests that helping other people get through their own struggles with their gender identity is an important part of who Sam is, which would be consistent with how he behaved towards Tedd.

Although... the arc so far is suggesting that Tedd might in fact be a powerful magic user, and something about him was causing things like Mr Verres' magic detector to fail, just as it caused Luke's spell to malfunction. So, we really do't know what Tedd is capable of at this point.

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