Nayl

I'm finding Elliot the most interesting part of this segment.  Panel 2-3 is basically "wtf is this?" while taking a defensive stance.  Panel 5, he's checking on Ellen.  Panel 6, he's finished making sure his girlfriend and sister are nominally ok, and that expression is all, "Do I hit you first, or should I wait for you to monologue some more?"  Its reminding me a lot of Ellen's expression while "holding" Sirleck.  

Just wanted to comment on the level of art that Dan is putting out these days.   What jumped out at me from this particular strip is the composition and flow of the first four panels, as the focus and perspective shift to emphasize the interchange between Ellen and Sirleck.  I'm always impressed with the way Dan draws, but this set of panels was just something else.  

Just wanted to comment on the level of art that Dan is putting out these days.   What jumped out at me from this particular strip is the composition and flow of the first four panels, as the focus and perspective shift to emphasize the interchange between Ellen and Sirleck.  I'm always impressed with the way Dan draws, but this set of panels was just something else.  

Just wanted to comment on the level of art that Dan is putting out these days.   What jumped out at me from this particular strip is the composition and flow of the first four panels, as the focus and perspective shift to emphasize the interchange between Ellen and Sirleck.  I'm always impressed with the way Dan draws, but this set of panels was just something else.  

I think it closes the loop on the internal dialogue with what amounts to a decision by all of Pandora, not just the two subsets represented by Empathy and Chaos.  If you track the sequence, when Tedd leaves, the dialogue starts as Empathy appears, followed by Chaos.  What's particularly fine about this whole sequence is that it combines aspects of multiple personalities and the devil/angel-on-your-shoulders trope without being limited by either conceit.  What I came away with was the sense that this is an abstract representation of Pandora's inner process, what the roiling, unstable emotional core of her looks like when it looks inward.  Empathy and Chaos are not at war, they are having a discussion, indeed, they finish each others sentences at a few points.  The shift back to Pandora actual at the end signifies resolution and decision in a very neat, show you don't tell you way that adds dimension and tone to what is being conveyed.  

Dan = sneaky
I didn't see it until about the fourth time I read this strip, the Pandora who speaks at the end is the one who has been standing silent in the background throughout.  

Ditto the comments about panel 8.  The intense amount of mutual support and bonding between these two is both giving me all the feels and making me really fearful for Pandora.  
Also, this conversation has now lasted over a month real time.  I was pondering when it started that we might get to the big vampire hoedown by Christmas.  Maybe Easter?

The continuing development of Pandora's character is really becoming my favorite thing in EGS.  The constant struggle with the self she's come untethered from over centuries of manic isolation, her various aspects dividing and combining with increasingly less control.  Very nice.

It occurs to me that all of this may be a clue as to what Elliot's new spell is.  His awakening and initial experiences in magic have all been about gender swapping, and magic has required him to become not just tolerant of swapping genders but enthusiastic about it to the point that the potential loss of this ability is causing him distress.  The new spell has something to do with vision, and Elliot mentioned the word "highlight."  I'm thinking he's going to be able to see people's "actual" gender in the form of an aura.

pm = private message, which is what sets Elliot off on her current introspection jag when she decides to check for them.

"Character is what you are in the dark."  
Elliot has been dividing her life for the past year(?) between sleeping as a woman and waking as a man.  When she sleeps she communes with the koan of her dreams, and paints the walls of her subconscious with a landscape that is shifting, over time, from what it was when he was only him.
The pm has dropped into her waking mind like a stone in a pond, and the ripples continue to draw her thoughts deeper.  She does not swim these depths with ease, it is closer to  a struggle for her to move here.  The effort of it renders her supine, and then takes half her breath as she drops to a whisper while speaking a truth to herself about who she is become.  It is a revelation, a truth not anticipated, and it advances on her like a great wave.  
This is why her main expression is worry shading into fear.   She does not fear judgement - her blood family is accepting to the point of indifference, her friends are literally every color of the rainbow, and her girlfriend actually really digs her difference.  This is  about identity, and that very uncomfortable sensation as you discover that its not at all simple.

Hi.  I just wanted to point out that this particular installment really points up how much Dan's writing and overall scripting has improved from the beginning, along with his art.  I've always seen this strip in terms of fantasy archetypes - Elliot is a paladin, Tedd a wizard, and so on.  Elliot has always been compelled to do the right thing, and has always struggled a bit with just what that means.  This strip is another step in his journey to finding and defining his cause, and its got some huge implications.  Remember Tedd's argument with his dad about magic?  I'm guessing Elliot is going to have a similar "discussion," and possibly we will finally get some exposition (which as I recall Mr. Verres is a fount of) on what Mr. Verres really thinks about the whole gender bending thing.  I continue to suspect that Mr. V's attitude about Tedd is a little more complicated than "that's just wrong!"  and I look forward to seeing that explored.

Hi.  I just wanted to point out that this particular installment really points up how much Dan's writing and overall scripting has improved from the beginning, along with his art.  I've always seen this strip in terms of fantasy archetypes - Elliot is a paladin, Tedd a wizard, and so on.  Elliot has always been compelled to do the right thing, and has always struggled a bit with just what that means.  This strip is another step in his journey to finding and defining his cause, and its got some huge implications.  Remember Tedd's argument with his dad about magic?  I'm guessing Elliot is going to have a similar "discussion," and possibly we will finally get some exposition (which as I recall Mr. Verres is a fount of) on what Mr. Verres really thinks about the whole gender bending thing.  I continue to suspect that Mr. V's attitude about Tedd is a little more complicated than "that's just wrong!"  and I look forward to seeing that explored.