hkmaly

I was going to say that Ashley might've not now how background characters are handled in NP as she never was in that position, but you're right, she should've read the handbook. She's being sassy and playful, which is a hot combo. Agree.

Technology being principally easy to understand is how it differs from magic ; I would say that where he comes from they DONT have much technology. Magus could try his Calm spell again, but I suspect Elliot's magic resistance would be far too strong for that, and trying to use it on him would end up having the opposite effect of pissing him off. I think Elliot's resistance is NOT so big ... however, calming him with spell would still likely backfire by making him more pissed after the enchantment would end. Yes. ... yes. And surprisingly, she didn't lied. I mean, her convincingly explaining how Ellen would be cared for and generally ok would match what I was implying with the "misguided henchman", except given how it turns out she didn't even needed to lie about it. Ellen REALLY ended up in extremely good position given the circumstances, and Pandora was almost clairvoyant and could see most of it. I can even imagine her SHOWING Magus something - like, Mrs. Dunkel saying something about how would she like another child, Edward Verres taking care of someone else (actually, how he took care of Grace could be enough) or even point out how Elliot would be totally ideal partner for Nanase if only he was she. It's quite possible that Magus couldn't be killed at all in the form he found himself on, he didn't require food or sleep after all. I don't see him just accepting his fate working out well in the long run because he could very well have been driven insane by the constant torment from either being alone or harassed by Immortals and that could have made things a lot worse had he decided to make his return to the physical realm after 10-15 years of it. ... that IS a good point. Aaand a point Pandora could easily make. Magus: "Your plan is crazy!" Pandora: "Ok, I'll wait till you will be crazy enough to try anyway." Magus: " ... wait." Note that Elliot is afraid of "loosing his cool", aka. give in to the anger, and Magus could have similar issues. He could be afraid of what he will do when more torture erodes his self-control.

All too much sense. It does strange things to the human mind to spend your time in complete isolation. Escape from that, no matter how strange the company, fills an essential need. It is difficult to see how he could have reacted otherwise. I suspect it would be related to Stockholm syndrome ... That is the key. The lesser of two evils is still an evil. It's rather like Grace and Adrian versus the boar -- killing the boar was evil, but it had to be done. A good, emotionally healthy person will try to find some other way, and when there is none, they'll di what needs to be done, but feel bad about it. Yes. Very good example. My assumption would be that he had tried everything he could think of, had tried more and more desperately, and had simply failed. Sometime, like with the boar, you wind up with there not being a better way. Note that the whole dewitchery diamond plan was Pandora's, and contained LOT of informations about our world. Magus's options to learn anything else were limited, which includes stuff like how machines work ; just using his "foul up machines" ability might easily get dangerous, remember that even simple lighbulb can explode - and hurt someone unlucky. It took him months do get desperate enough to actually go with plan like this. What makes you think Magus didn't tried? Voltaire was apparently torturing him, but Helena and Demetrius could simply try to KILL him. And it probably wouldn't take them long to find out how. As far as we know, Magus only had three options: Pandora's plan, running and hiding forever or to die. Even Elliot might choose Pandora's plan in such case, especially if Pandora convinced him enough. Remember he's a misguided henchman for a charismatic super villain waiting to happen. Despite Elliot's face, I don't think he's the type who would attack Magus now. He is ready to defend if Magus would do something, yes, but attacking him while monologuing? I think there could easily be plenty of time for either Magus or Ashley saying something to calm Elliot down. Of course, another question is if Elliot would let Magus go or attempt to capture him and turn to DGB. ... what about Abraham? Captain, the Chekhov's reading on the plot value of these artifacts are going off the scale. The plot canna take any more, Captain, she's gonna blow! I dunno, I think at one might reveal itself before we're done with the warehouse scene. Though perhaps only reveal itself to the readers... I also expect something will happen with those artefacts in this scene. Also, probably involving Ashley. But it make take a while ... like, Magus seem in mood to talk for several pages ... Ellen is already unconscious ... and the fragments are unlikely to have so strong effect, even if they are not completely inner. However, what about the core of the diamond? Or, yes, the other artifacts.

That first part was reply to Tom Sewell, sorry for confusion.

The thing about how the Gryphons were able to get to this half of the world was that the point of entry was a specific location. Nioi however, could create a portal back to her universe anywhere she threw a portal pearl down. I think that might be a key difference between another side of one universe and a completely alternate universe. It is possible that the Griffins KNOWS how to create portal to different universe but are not able to actually do it, while Magus can. However, Nioi would certainly be better if someone had means to contact her I can believe that Magus is older than Elliot, considering he's spent nearly 3 years stuck in the main universe and it didn't seem like Magus and Terra were 9th graders when they were having their training match. It's also apparent that Lord Tedd is older than our Tedd so it can be safe to assume that Lord Tedd's universe as well as Magus' and SL Ellen's are roughly 2 years ahead of the main universe. No dragons AND no magic came up in Ellen's dreams and no Uryuoms came up in what Magus was speaking about. I don't think those were same universes. Also, we saw Tedd in Ellen's dreams and he didn't looked as Terra, although in Tedd's case that may not be so important clue ... I agree with the time difference though. Both Magus and Lord Tedd seem to be adult in their first appearance, while our heroes become adults just recently.

I wouldn't count on anyone else except another esoteric scholar gryphon being precise about the distinction between a different dimensional plane and a different side of the same one. Edward Verres totally would. And Magus himself is studying magic university ... If Magus have no idea how to get back, it's either Griffins or someone needs to visit Heka.

Pandora redeemed herself. Aberrations are unable to ever return to normal state. I think the likehood of that happening to major EGS character is lower than one of them dying. However, that doesn't completely rule out we will see it - I can imagine it as NP story, with some not-major character as POV character ... possibly even Sirleck.

He could potentially disrupt the trail even more. He could use the method above while leaving a live body, not a dead one. Then have medical authorities pick up the 'amnesiac'. That way he isn't even leaving a trail of corpses behind. Vary the two methods a bit so there is no clear pattern and he will be exceptionally hard to trace over time. ... yes, also this, assuming he has some estimate of when his host dies. True. While we don't know how long he was possessing the old man, decades seem more likely for this reason. Seems that just setting the passing of wealth is taking him more than one year ... The butler might easily assume aging twice as fast as normal is caused by unhealthy livestyle.

I had always thought that Pandora was being over dramatic for the sake of seeing how people would react, she was very vague about what the egg and hawk was, kinda like the fortune teller or prophet, they focus on particular aspects of people and feed just the right information so that the person acts in ways that end up fulfilling those prophecies. I had also thought that the egg was referring to Magus and the hawk was Sirleck having succeeded in possessing Magus, but since that's off the table now and I doubt Magus is going to go be doing anything threatening now, maybe the hawk is something even more dangerous, like how the magic system has been opened up with all sorts of unknowns. Or maybe Voltaire is the hawk? Magus was the egg. EDWARD (and agents Cranium and Wolf) was the mice who was supposed to grow and become hawk. Probably not, at least in my headcanon. But, as always, it's up to The Dan. Unless Dan specifically talks about it in comics, which is unlikely, it will be left open. Just because we are unlikely to ever MEET another body snatcher, doesn't mean they don't exists. The Moderator: I would much rather insert unnecessary spoiler space than fail to do so and let people be spoiled. Of course. If anythink, I'm surprised you didn't need to before. If it's even POSSIBLE for them to have progeny. However, genetically unrelated (as much as possible, which isn't that much) people might turn to same kind of vampire because of shared inspiration and be counted as "same kind" in that regard. Maybe AU "Ronin" was the one that set up Magus' "accident" for AU Tony? It would be definitely funny if after speculations about evil masterminds it would turn out that Magus's accident had similar reason. However, if it WAS such case, they likely didn't expected how well it will work ... He MIGHT've been afraid of Elliot not really being in mood to listen if he would explain himself, but that's just another reason why to not hang around. However ... I don't think Elliot will be unconscious for long. Ellen, sure, but Elliot should get to his senses pretty soon. Pandora might've already told him enough about getting to his home universe that getting body was only thing preventing him from going ... or not, obviously, in which case there is question how he PLANS to get help. He might find out that Raven and Tedd are his best chances, but he likely doesn't think so yet. Zero. He's from actually different universe, griffins are from second half of the main one.

Well we don't exactly have that much choice of manly male main characters ... in fact, I'm not sure who is supposed to play the game. Well, ok, Tedd certainly wouldn't miss that, and maybe Noah, but both are normally quite androgynous ... It probably would be that sexy for me, but it's just fair, girls also need their fun. And it might be easier to follow the rules.

Just because physical objects blocks SIRLECKS line of sight doesn't mean it blocks line of sight of fairies - especially nearly omniscient ones as Pandora. Even Magus, well ... Sirleck is surprised, but Magus is NOT. It's possible he checked beforehand or simply was prepared to look funny if Sirleck wouldn't be there, but it's also possible he CAN see him through that wall. Aaand, Pandora almost certainly can see Magus through the ceiling here ... Even single year would be probably more than most others, and by possessing the victim he can disrupt the trail ... like, travelling to different state to meet someone from third state, dropping the body there and travel to that third state.

Exactly. Dan denying planning something in advance just means that he is not consciously aware he planned it. It was totally foreshadowing, even if not intentional. I was going to suggest she actually spends that much time on beaches but it was March, so ... ... anyway, Diane spending time in a tanning bed? No surprise.

... do people really read comics thread before comics? ... 1. That's not new. Unless Terra is really irresponsible. 2. Anyone who passed at least two semesters of that Battle Mage University would, probably. 5. ... this page is totally cliffhanger. It's not in the comics itself (the title of comics is date), just on twitter, AND he can be named Magus even if he's a Magus (actually, does The Magus make sense if it's degree?). It was obvious when Sirleck lost the surprise and instead became surprised himself. Agree. Ashley, panic quietly, Magus may need to concentrate on spellcasting. True. And she DID stopped quite quickly. Ok Ashley, you are excused for now, but try to work on it, you have until fifth date. ... I was going to say something about her stopping dating Elliot, but 1) I wouldn't wish that 2) Elliot wouldn't wish that 3) Susan wouldn't wish that 4) They really matches together 5) I have strong suspicion she ENJOYS those dates. She will probably be annoyed if nothing happens during date. We still don't know why the lights are on and if the guard is still alive. Also, Ashley didn't awakened yet AND she's still looking as herself.

Good point, Diane probably did at least tried the sun. Come to think about it, did we ever saw Adrian in color? Hmmmmmm ...

https://egspinups.tumblr.com/post/172044057249/goonmanji-2-98-color-hd-i-was-peer-pressured I think the pink hair one is second best (after the "primary" one). And I think Susan IS spending time outside "in the sun" ... but she's always covered.

Personally I am SO tired of extreme transformations with no real story. I realise that some people like that kind of thing and more power to them, but a huge part of why I read this comic is story and character and I would like to go back to these two. Well this IS NP. As long as there is story and characters in main story, there is place for weak stories, pop culture references and various transformations in NP. Just ... it really needs the variety.

Agree. The other two are just too much.

Dan responded to our tweets about it: Ah, the "I shouldn't say anything because I will be saying it later" response ...

I think Magus just hoped he will recover quickly enough. True mastermind doesn't NEED to read Sun Tzu or Machiavelli, as everything in those seems obvious to him And yes, Grace didn't shown much of strategical thinking ... unless you count this one which might've been influenced by Magus. On the other hand, noone else in this comics shown much either ... even Voltaire's plans are somewhat lacking.

She wants to kill Sirleck and just punch Magus. Also, I think that her "wasn't much I could do at first" ... like, I think she wasn't able to stop him zapping Elliot yet. It's not like she would be telling Sirleck limits of her control is it? She only got more control later, and possibly tested it with that raccoon. Nah, he doesn't need to be in his full form to battle Sirleck ... he had no problem putting Ashley into sleep just few seconds after getting ANY body, so he likely is quick to recover. Pffft. Colonel Sanders barely registers as a speed bump. No, the final boss is whatever Lord Tedd is getting ready to fight. Agree. Most special-forces types tend to be at the very least bright and definitely cagey and resourceful. You may be underestimating both Rambo and Special Forces soldiers. I saw Rambo. However, you are probably right about special force soldiers in general. Still, not AS intelligent as scientists.

I didn't get the impression it was a question of "evilness". Ed Verres says that Vampires give up "humanity and compassion" (or something like that) to become what they are. It's the "giving up humanity" art that I find myself focusing on. Ok, I'll reword it. While Vlad was just partially human, I would argue that he didn't gave up his humanity completely. The humanity and compassion he was showing after being transformed to Vladia was not caused by Ellen's beam, it was his own. Well, her own. Except Tedd's experience with Magic suggests it doesn't have a flair for the dramatic... Her experience suggest that Will of Magic doesn't have a flair for dramatic, it just looks that way. Dan specifically commented that he's leaving the question of existence of some deity deliberately open. Hmmm ... that's possible. Sirleck used to be human and might still be human enough for FV5 to work on her, but it DEFINITELY wouldn't cure him. I also don't see why it should give him arms. I agree that his form would look even more disturbing ... although I'm not sure how exactly. I hope Magus will kill him immediately. There were enough points about how aberrations can't be cured, our gang trying anyway would really be just plain stupid from them. We don't actually know he has no access to the spirit plane. It's possible he has some sort of spell, wand, or ally that can see into, enter, and/or influence that plane. Or planes; one option for Immortals being able to hide from each other would be a wide array of similar but slightly out of phase spiritual planes.... Verres might have some way to visit or see spirit plane ... however I don't think the whales exist on the spiritual plane. Not the one immortals, Magus and Sirleck are on. And the way immortals hide from each other is unlikely to be related to multiple spiritual planes, as in that case even fresh immortals would be able to do that and in fact get completely lost there. And note that Pandora is ultimate authority on what is she allowed to do under the laws But yes, seems that this is the general way how it's interpreted. Most likely, the risk of killing host is only thing protecting him from Immortals AND on top of that not every immortal considers killing host by killing Sirleck violation of the laws. Pandora herself only got Sirleck to help Magus by threatening him. She might bluffed, but it's also possible she WAS able to kill him. Possibly because the old man was already dead ...

He MIGHT be able to plead ambiguity just because the immortal rules are judged by themselves. I don't believe his plead would be successful otherwise.

Vlad(ia) wasn't so "evil" before transforming nor so "good" afterwards. Why should transforming Sirleck into female aberration cure him? While FV5 beam shouldn't be able to do that, it's not "impossible" in general. ... or Will of Magic's flair of drama. I'm still waiting if there is something about that in her spellbook. Sirleck is not exactly expert on magic. Still, I'm not sure why Dan though it's good idea.

If you get first five doing that executed, the rest will probably stop. She's getting her info from anime.

Note that Abraham had trouble distinguishing her aura from Elliots. It's her magic energy which has similar feel as the diamond and hard to say how much it matters ...