Douglas

I'm sure this yelled admonishment won't be misinterpreted at all. There is zero chance that Magus will think Ellen is angry about him not turning her back into a man.

Her waist looks about normal to me. Are you sure the line you're looking at isn't the edge of her jacket's pocket?

Ground, not floor. Elliot knocked Magus out the window and then flew after him. They're both outside now, probably in the parking lot.

Well, ummmmmm... His intentions are good? That is, he believes that what he intends to do is good. Whether that belief is correct is quite another matter, and depends on whether he intends to ask for Ellen's opinion and consent before doing it.

Well, ummmmmm... His intentions are good? That is, he believes that what he intends to do is good. Whether that belief is correct is quite another matter, and depends on whether he intends to ask for Ellen's opinion and consent before doing it.

The second half of the commentary makes it clear that it is indeed Ellen holding Sirleck in the last panel, and also that it's a metaphorical visualization rather than what's literally happening.

The second half of the commentary makes it clear that it is indeed Ellen holding Sirleck in the last panel, and also that it's a metaphorical visualization rather than what's literally happening.

It would not surprise me if Magus anticipated Sirleck's double cross, so that Magus's plan is to touch the diamond, pretend to be unwary to lure Sirleck into leaving Ellen, and then fight him.
I mean, really, Magus's final approach for getting Sirleck's help was to beg politely. He'd have to be some combination of extremely ignorant about aberrations and/or stupid to think that had any possibility of working, and he did it while specifically emphasizing how he fit the exact requirement that Sirleck considers most important for his new host. It could have just been desperation and coincidence, I suppose, but that pitch fits suspiciously well and Magus had plenty of time to think about how to approach the conversation in advance. I would find it very believable that Magus was deliberately manipulating Sirleck.

My bet for the remaining part of plan CM: Pandora comes back, reduced but functional, in time for the debate on changing Immortal law. The fact that she refreshed rather than reset then somehow allows her to play an integral part in stopping Voltaire. Perhaps she'll even argue for a different set of changes that Voltaire hates even more than the current laws.

All seers will be made aware of magic, how the new system works, and how to teach it to others. They don't need to find people who already have magic, they can just start teaching. Lesson 1 would be "this is how you, as a non magic user, can get magic." The current system has ways for any random guy to become magical without Immortal help - Edward made a big deal of this when arguing with Tedd after Not-Tengu - and I see no reason to expect the new system to be different in this regard. The ways of acquiring magic would be different, but there would still be some. And all seers would get magically informed about exactly what they are.

Temporary or not, transforming people without their consent is Not Ok. I expect Susan's first piece of advice to be to remove the word "unsuspecting". Anyone who plays this game needs to know in advance what they're getting into, at least in general terms, and to be able to end it for themselves at any time if they change their mind (which may be advice piece #2).

The meaning I understood from that declaration was that Pandora would replace "the world where magic users must hide" with "a world where magic is used openly", thereby lifting the restrictions on what Raven is allowed to do. That idea is completely unrelated to a magic reset.

The meaning I understood from that declaration was that Pandora would replace "the world where magic users must hide" with "a world where magic is used openly", thereby lifting the restrictions on what Raven is allowed to do. That idea is completely unrelated to a magic reset.

I think you've got a misconception here - as I understand it, there is no "partnership" involved. A human does not pair with a parasitic creature to become an aberration, the human all by himself becomes a parasitic creature that is an aberration. Sirleck - the creepy mask thing itself, not the body it happens to be on right now - used to be a human, and willingly sacrificed his humanity to become said creepy mask thing.
Sirleck happens to be a particular kind of aberration that exhibits its parasitic nature by taking control of human hosts, but that's not a general trait of all aberrations.

I'm wondering if Rhoda's going to focus too much on the final "it will be mutual" sentiment, resulting in shrinking both of them out of their clothes. That would certainly heighten the hijinks factor.

I'm wondering if Rhoda's going to focus too much on the final "it will be mutual" sentiment, resulting in shrinking both of them out of their clothes. That would certainly heighten the hijinks factor.