hkmaly

I'm curious how many politically-significant people around the world just died. Might not be that many. Sirleck wouldn't be only aberration choosing safety in relative anonymity. True. Or, more simply, he can get the hearing part as next spell soon.

I don't think he will be angry if it would be AFTER he hears from Arthur that it was necessary. Edward will definitely talk both to Tedd and Arthur. We are not sure which one would be first ... OR if the first talk will go over all topics or some will be avoided. This is the "how to start" situation, and there might be call from Arthur soon that they need to secure artefacts immediately, so maybe Tedd starts talking with Edward but won't get to the important parts ...

Sounds very harmful. However, I don't think it's pure Danish. Unless you want to say that Danish perfected it, but ... wouldn't that contraindicate that law?

The run-on almost got me. Although, those puppies would be forever and always be the "wet dogs". And who knows does not like wet dogs. Who are you calling wet dog? You know that saying "Give a bunny a cookie..." I've baked more that thousand cookies (well, with Grandma's help) and still no bunny ...

I'm not sure why. Obviously, the middle ground includes Jews, genderqueer people, the disabled and people of colour to not be exterminated, but I really don't understand why they should have greater right to live in peace than the nonthreatened people. (Oversimplifying situation is "great" way how to avoid serious discussion. Luckily, even your oversimplification left me way out. Of course, serious discussion about this is out of topic here, but even in extreme cases like Nazis versus Jews giving one side everything they want just because their feeling of being persecuted is justified is NOT the way to reach equality. In fact, in this case it's already confirmed by what happened AFTER Jews got too much of what they wanted. On the other hand, yes, preventing extermination of one side is something which needs to be done quickly and not patiently wait it out.) Wouldn't help. If noone would show up instead of the teacher, you wouldn't learn anything either. Unless you already had a great teacher and he was taking turns with the idiots, what you really should wish for is at least one non-idiot teacher. ... might have something to do with how hard it is to recognize actual quality. Often it doesn't happen until years after that person death, which is usually too late to grant him membership of anything. Actually you mentioned *two* criteria. High enough score and wanting in. Granted, it's pretty hard to get rid of that second criteria, but there are lot of people who would score high enough but are not members because they don't see the point of it.

Not surprised in the least. Just waiting for them to try it with people.... To try ... or to publish it? The first time through is always going to be the hardest. Lots of trial and error, with the emphasis on the error, Of course. Next time it will possibly be just 200 attempts. I don't think we are READY to try on humans. ... of course, there were lot of researchers who didn't waited until being ready. Some even succeed.

I was hoping for the whole "working together to save humanity" thing... People's capacity to work together and unite against shared enemy is only surpassed by their ability to forget about it and start infighting the moment the shared enemy is destroyed. I can see the people with various ethnicities, after solving some hard problem together, celebrate together that they are big step closer to the time they finally won't need to be together. I think there are REALLY lot of stories like that. It's the suspension of disbelief stuff. FTL travel, replicators, colonization of galaxy, telepathy, fine, but you can't expect average viewer just 50 years ago to believe people of different color can kiss. That was too much. (Some still thinks it's too much.) That's what I thought too, though ideology divides might still exist. I didn't said it will SOLVE the religion issue. I'm not even sure it will HELP with it. It also won't completely solve gender issue, as gender is not just question of physical body. Been there, done that, over a decade ago! One success from 460 attempts ...

Yes., unfortunately. I don't think she would give up prematurely even normally. With Energizer and Honey Badger? No way. Not speaking about the fact that Energizer is mind-bending transformation Susan is probably OK with ...

On a ship you appreciate the lack of waves even more. I'm very interested in those ocean puppies. I'm already on 100%, my suspicion can't increase more. Let's hope that almost* no one in the were house actually dies. *I won't be too upset if Sirleck happens to die AFTER leaving Ellen but before it can latch on to anyone else. He can die even before leaving Ellen if it doesn't hurt her. Watches? The thought that he was admiring her breasts occurred to me, but I figured if he wanted to do that he had plenty of opportunity earlier, and now wasn't really the best time. However him being surprised by them after crossing her arms does make sense, and fits well with the timing and their expression. ... right. Agree, this makes sense. Also, he stopped crossing afterwards. Did he not liked it? ... is Sirleck first EGS character having serious dysphoria? If they can grant marks, then I'd be very worried about the spell she gets since it uses one of the old systems and Magic said transformation spells from those systems are not safe. Not ALL of them, just some. Also note that just being around magic push Ashley closer to awakening a bit. Seems Sirleck isn't really trying to study magic. He probably needed to to make himself aberration but apparently he stopped after that. Opened two and still alive I'm pretty sure Arthur will realize the problem quite soon, so "just tonight" and "before DGB can realize" will be roughly same estimates. However, I would expect more than three even before ANYONE of this group will leave ... if not, then Dan is just simplifying his work by not being realistic. I don't think there are THAT many immortals on Earth in EGS universe. On the other hand, more than one Pandora makes sense. Most likely. And one of those boxes with "This side up" not up could become angry soon ...

I suspect members of those groups would find it laughable to even suggest we're anywhere near that point, and say we need to do a lot more equalizing before there's any chance at more of a common identity. Ohhhhh, OF COURSE they will. Even not actively favored, just not suffering makes harder to see reason to rush. Meaning, we lack anyone capable to evaluate it fairly. It's hard to find middle ground when noone is standing on it. We have a much more pressing deadline than that. The Sun goes nova in only a handful of billion years. We've to to get off this rock by then ... what makes you think that we can't leave this rock still divided? In fact, people of different nationality / ethnicity / whatever colonizing different planets makes VERY good sense. (People of different sex / gender colonizing different planets does not, although I wouldn't be THAT much surprised if, say, lesbians would take some medical research and want to try that live without men. Depending on how good that research would be, it may even WORK.) That SHOULD at least take care of the skin color problem, yes. It might also have big influence on the religion issue.

Depends on the cat, depends on the pet. Some are too cutie patootie to be a jerk They are just preparing an opportunity.

Well, technically, but lot of people don't consider "both groups went extinct" as valid solution of their differences. And remember we have deadline. Yes. That's the "ensure that all groups get fair treatment" I was speaking of. Or at least it's SUPPOSED to be about fair treatment. As long as we are equalizing some groups, those groups are being separated by those equalizing schemes. Definitely. But politicians can build career on that equalizing schemes better. And sometimes it has quicker results - question is if those are correct results. Of course, fair treatment is necessary. But at some point, we need to say that the treatment is already fair enough and we need to stop equalizing and start on common identity. Now, are we at that point already? I suspect that's very loaded question better not discussed here. (Also, different countries will have different answers to that question.)

I think it is inevitable. The US "melting pot" has done it for previous racial and cultural divisions. There's no reason why it won't work with women and the current set of protected minorities. The big difference is the current set are trying a different strategy. For reasons you state, that strategy may not be successful. If not successful, equality may not occur until sometime after failure is understood, accepted and some other approach emerges. maybe even what worked before. The part I'm afraid of is the "failure is understood". I'm not sure there is upper limit on how long THAT could take.

I prefer to let Americans speak for the US system but I can with confidence state this of Denmark: misogyny is still alive and rampant, and so is racism. We have made some progress against the former, not so much against the latter. But in neither case is it simply a matter of 'clearing it out.' It is an ongoing struggle against a growth more like kudzu than merely mowing down corn. Every gain must be fought for and afterwards jealously guarded so we will not lose it again. Changing a society is a struggle of generations and lifetimes and sometimes the opposing forces tear deep chasms in the fabric that binds it together. *sigh* Racism is to divide people by color of their skin. So far, I see very few attempts to stop that: most activists and "anti-racism" politicians prefer to divide people by color, then ensure that all groups get fair treatment. Sure, looking at how unfair treatment some groups are currently getting, ensuring fair treatment for all seems worthy goal, but I have strong suspicion that it is not really helping us to get rid of racism ... and looking at what politicians are doing, balancing all groups seems harder than originally expected. Assuming they are really trying. Botched attempt can make the racism worse. It's definitely not inevitable, unfortunately. But we can hope.

It could be painful even if she wouldn't, like if Ashley would hit something while running. On the other hand, shrunken individual are pretty durable under EGS rules. Maybe even biting Ashley would be just painful. Of course, while Ashley with Shrink is in potential danger, it's not as big danger as Catalina would be if she still was mouse. Did she really NEED to? Seems pretty clearly implied.

She definitely doesn't. Now, you can argue that she could, but she's definitely not doing it.

They explained this a little while ago. Magus isn't sure how much of this Elliot will remember, so he needs someone to explain it to him once they separate. Thus, Ashley. As if the explanation couldn't wait for later. She would need some time to calm down before explaining in way which makes sense anyway. what could Ashley actually do? I think Magus- who has claimed to be more powerful than Nanase- is more planning on defending himself via his own magic if that comes to pass. I think it's more hoping that Ashley's presence will prevent Elliott- who would be understandably angry following Magus getting his own body- from attacking him before he can explain. I think Magus wants Ashley nearby to keep her from causing trouble (leave in car awake, she calmly tries to contact someone) or getting into trouble (leaving in car with sleep spell, maybe not a good idea). Actually having there as a distraction for Sirleck if he tries something, I don't quite see. There as a person to calm Elliot down and relate Magus' intentions, yeah, that sounds about right. Leaving her awake alone would obviously not be good idea, but I don't think she can get into that many trouble sleeping in car in middle of night. And, as I said, she is unlikely to calm Elliot successfully in this state. I was expecting it's more to prevent Elliot to try some revenge later - like, I totally expected Magus will put Elliot to sleep immediately after splitting. But, maybe he wouldn't want to risk creating Elliot in coma who can put other people to sleep. Somehow. Magus is not going to cast any long spells. So far all spells he casted were combat spells quick enough to not be distracted DURING casting them. Well, obviously. But so far it seems she's more likely to activate something by mistake than take advantage of random opportunity. But maybe she WILL get naturally calm later. Or at least stop panicking. Might take a while until she would be able to calm whole mob. But just few calmed doctors in hospital during hurricane or other natural disaster could help a lot.

Given her reaction to the possibility of clothing malfunctions, I think Ashley would enjoy that (at least in a safe setting like this). Yes. She would however be in minority. Susan would definitely object and it's possible she insisted on some underwear.

He was surprised she found him. He KNOWS she existed. I don't think Edwards need to know any specific alternate universe at all - just having idea how alternate universes work would be enough for him to assume that if General Shade Tail exists in that universe Grace can't. She need not be present for consequences to occur. Example: when Ellen related her experiences, one or more of the characters might have voiced suspicions or misgivings. That would count as a consequence even if they never meet her again. Yes. ESPECIALLY given who Nioi was. And that's still assuming good intentions (although also failure to screen the memories before implanting - I would actually assume Nioi KNEW what she's implanting, or at least that the Ellen in that universe turned out ok). Deliberate misuse of such power could make Ellen programmed killer. I am certain it could somehow be construed in that way though I am having some trouble seeing it. Especially considering the marks are based on the people's desires and/or innate talents. Ashley explicitly COULDN'T be marked with some transformation because she would resisted it. While still not ideal that Pandora doesn't ask for consent and actually doesn't even explain what she did, it's likely very hard to mark someone with spell they wouldn't like. On the other hand, there are famous cases of powers originally though to be fantastic then proving to be curse ... Yes ; even if the monster forms instincts weren't overpowering the human mind inside (which seemed to be what happened with werewolves), the mind embracing them or going insane from being permanently forced into such condition is simpler explanation than the young soul stuff. Hard to say if second life helped or hurt (and hard to say if that would be realistic, so leaving it open is probably best) but I would say Ellen would need some time to became her own person in ANY case. Second life memories probably did helped regarding various female-specific knowledge Elliot obviously lacked, although I would expect there are other ways Ellen could obtain such knowledge. (Like, ask her mother. Or Nanase.) Can you give some example of how you think second life changed Ellen "for worse"? Yes, that would be better ... except it's implied this was NOT tried before. Also there is no "we", seems like Nioi's own idea. The message at the end of the dreams is WAY too late. At that point, the original Ellen doesn't really exists to give any consent. Which reminds me that while not solving everything, even showing Nioi having doubts about it afterwards and voicing that "this was likely only opportunity for both Ellen and Kaoli" angle would be better. "Great - Gotta Go!" is not good. The Old Hack don't want to repeat himself so I'll try: even assuming what Nioi did was the best available course of action (which it might), the comics should STILL acknowledge that it was only best available because other, better courses were not possible - as opposed to them not existing. It's not realistic to expect heroes never do anything wrong. Attempts of those usually ends up caricatures and bad stories. But heroes should ACKNOWLEDGE there is problem, not pretend it's ok. It's villains who are sure they didn't do anything wrong.

Technically, neither. They were merged gradually during multiple "dreams", but without any choice on her part. Only part she almost rejected was seduction of Archie. So, definitely no "less violation". Especially if you take into account sex was included - the fact that Ellen experienced sex without consenting to it raises all sort of red flags. I still think the story is better this way, but if Nioi is supposed to be good character, she's not doing it well. (For comparison, Grace also didn't deserve what she got ... but it was Damien's fault and Dan apologized.)

It still might be said that even if Nioi's belief wasn't accurate, what she did to Ellen was still pretty instrumental in Ellen becoming a unique individual compared to Elliot, those other memories gave her experiences that Elliot never had and so she was able to draw on both Elliot's memories, and those she gained from the second life to create her own identity. Another way to put it would be if Ellen didn't have the second life dreams, she might have spent most of the time trying to just be the opposite of Elliot, not defaulting to decisions he'd make. That might have ended up getting her into some trouble, but with the second life memories, she could think about what Elliot might do, compare it with what SL Ellen might do, and maybe even come up with something completely different. In relationship with Nanase, she had lot of opportunities to rebuild her personality on better foundation than "not Elliot" ... however, it's true that second life give her something to build that on even before, and it is possible her start with dating Nanase wouldn't go so well without that ... More likely Lord Tedd isn't exactly stable ... if there would be two Tedds, they would refer to them differently ...

While I agree that Nioi's word isn't enough to be sure people with souls too young for their body go insane, it has occurred to me that if it was true it might explain why all the Dewitchery Duplicates Abraham encountered before Ellen were monsters. (Or to be more specific why they acted like monsters. This is assuming Abraham didn't actually kill any "monsters" who were harmless and/or had a normal human mind in a cursed body.) This is assuming not only that Abraham didn't actually kill any harmless "monsters", but also that there were any people seeking to undo "harmless" curse with the dewitchery diamond to start with, not speaking about possibility there were just few cases of Abraham waking up total. Sure, Ellen didn't exactly displayed sane behaviour after being split, but she was in lot of stress and assuming she dies in month. And she got much better even BEFORE getting the second life.

Surprised? No. She just still feel the need to snarkly comment it. ... it's even more naughty if it follows the reasoning of inspiration, that is if the handkerchief is only piece of clothing Ashley has. BTW, regarding responsible camera angles ... well, that or magic (tvtropes link warning).

If Ashley were to touch the Dewitchery Diamond there would suddenly be a second Ashley there capable of casting a "calm" spell... There's also a whole lot of other artifacts she could get into especially if Elliot and Sirleck-possessing-Magus square off. Oh yes, Ashley with calm spell, we speculated about this when she has the spell cast on her didn't we? Of course, this assumes they will bother taking Ashley with them as opposed to let her sleep in car. Do they NEED her for anything? ... hmmm ... maybe as distraction for Elliot after he's split? Not-Tengu was not aberration. He just resisted the spell. Oh, definitely: if he releases Ellen voluntary, which I just said he will do, she will be drained but alive. I think her being magic user won't help her.

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. I really hope so, but some people ARE so naive. Agree with both. It would be cool to have Ashley get some powers, but most likely, she's really there just to provide someone Magus can talk to and say everything the readers need to know. Just because Nioi thinks so doesn't make that true. He doesn't deserve it, and after all the talk about aberrations being impossible to cure? Unlikely. Sure, there was also all the talk about immortals not being able to have kids, but THIS would turn EGS darker. It would mean all those aberrations main characters killed could be saved. He would totally voluntarily release a healthy body with some mostly useless magic in exchange for healthy body with lot of useful battle-ready spells (Magus).