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      Welcome!   03/05/2016

      Welcome, everyone, to the new 910CMX Community Forums. I'm still working on getting them running, so things may change.  If you're a 910 Comic creator and need your forum recreated, let me know and I'll get on it right away.  I'll do my best to make this new place as fun as the last one!

ChronosCat

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Posts posted by ChronosCat

  1. Posted

    I'm not quite sure what to call the background in panel two. Light from on high? And what we see in panel three I would normally call "speed lines" but they don't actually represent speed here...

    Let's just go with "Yay for fancy line backgrounds in panels two and three!".

    6 hours ago, mlooney said:

    I agree, however that the last couple of strips have been rough, given that Diane has been all over the map vs her previous behavior. 

    So there has been a lot of discussion over the past few weeks about Diane being out of character. Perhaps you're right, but it wouldn't have occurred to me without you and Darth Fluffy pointing it out, and I'm still not entirely sure I see it.

    Sure, this is nothing like how she acted back when she was introduced or even around the time Grace started attending south, but this seems to me to be more or less in keeping with how she's been portrayed since Sister 3. In fact, her current erratic and occasionally over-the-top moods/actions are likely largely a result of Sister 3; I think the stress and pain over what happened (and what she learned) in that story have broken through her previous cool-and-collected exterior.

  3. Posted

    As a kid I received several second-hand books containing fairly early strips (I think the books were published in the 60s but had strips from the 50s). I don't remember Charlie looking younger or them talking like toddlers, but I do remember Shermy, Violet, and Patty. I also remember toddler-Linus, and that when Schroeder was introduced he couldn't talk yet but was already a master pianist. I also seem to recall that Linus was already drawn like the rest of the "older" kids when then-a-toddler Sally developed her crush on him.

  4. Posted

    I know that some of the Peanuts cast (like Linus and Sally) started out significantly younger than Charlie Brown, Lucy, etc., then grew up to almost the same age as the "older" characters. But was there actually any indication of Charlie Brown himself and those who started his age getting older?

  5. Posted

    2 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

    I got to say, the rate at which the comic crawls along throws you off. I know it's just days or weeks, but it feels much longer. It's a bit like M.A.S.H., where there's no way they crammed all of those shenanigans into the actual length of the Korean conflict.

    I haven't seen any MASH (besides the end of a few episodes back when they were playing it just before a show I was actually planning on watching), but my understanding is that while they claimed it was set in Korea, it was actually commenting on the Vietnam war. So perhaps it's best to think of the show as taking place in an alternate universe where Korea dragged on like Vietnam did in real life.

    As for EGS, while there are some periods in the comic's timeline that are strangely busy, I'm pretty sure it could all technically happen in the amount of time Dan said it did (well, if all the magic and soft sci-fi stuff could happen at all). I also don't think I've personally felt thrown off by the timeline, though I must admit the slow pacing does annoy me at times.

  6. Posted

    I didn't bring this up at the time of the first strip mentioning Nanase's character's backstory because I thought it would be too depressing, but my Grandmother died after falling down her basement stairs. I've been a lot more careful around stairs myself ever since. I also can no longer laugh at jokes about stairs, which makes the lighthearted way this story is handling the matter a bit annoying for me (on the other hand, I do find myself with a lot of sympathy for Nanase's character).

  7. Posted

    The information in this page was so little of a surprise to me that for a moment after reading the page I wondered why we needed this page. (Mind you, it was neat to see one of Noah's biological parents*, and that his left eye looks like a Uryuom eye.**) Then I remembered that recently Dan had mentioned he would be revealing something he'd known for years but had forgotten to reveal, which made me realize Dan never actually said before that Noah was a seyunolu or that he had antenna and an unusual eye; I had forgotten that until now that was just speculation that I had assumed to be true.

    * I initially assumed it was his mother, until Darth Fluffy pointed out that Noah never knew his mother. (I rarely follow the links under the comics, and I didn't remember that detail.) The fact that Noah's father also looked rather feminine certainly makes his comments about human assumptions about gender presentation hit harder...

    ** I had forgotten until Zorua pointed it out that we've seen Noah's left eye before and it looked human. And yet, Noah continues to hide it. I wonder if that's just habit, or if the method of disguise is unreliable? (My guess: it's an illusion spell cast by Raven, and it sometimes wears off.)

  10. Posted

    On 11/14/2022 at 2:41 PM, Darth Fluffy said:

    Minor concern; where is Noah living? I would presume he's still residing at Raven's house. Does that mean Raven is returning?

    I wondered if Raven went to visit Noriko, and might fill her in on details about Tedd.

    Do you mean returning to Moperville or returning to the school? Because we have no indication he's even left town.

    At any rate this seems like a good point to mention: I saw someone speculate (on Twitter, I think) that Raven was going to go to work at Moperville University (just as the main cast start attending). Dan's response implied they were on the right track (though he didn't outright confirm anything).

  11. Posted

    On 10/29/2022 at 3:01 AM, ijuin said:

    I think AD meant, whence comes the Y chromosome when a female gets transformed into a male form in EGS.

    Well, it is possible to have masculine features (including masculine genitals) without a Y chromosome.

    On the other hands one of the original purposes of the TFG was supposedly to help restore species with low numbers, so having the full range of common genetics seems like it would be a good idea...

  12. Posted

    So, the person Diane is avoiding is presumably Adrian Raven... I'm now suspecting an important part of this arc will be her finally talking with him about their relationship and trying to get to know him as her biological father rather than just her teacher.

    Which gives me a new prediction who the "brother" the title refers to is: Noah.

  13. Posted

    23 hours ago, ijuin said:

    The title “Brother” suggests to me that we may see something related to Tedd’s half-brother Van.

    The fact that this prologue/recap was about Diane suggests to me that the arc will be as well (particularly as Dan is hoping to make it a short arc, which presumably means not too many plot threads being covered at once). So I'm guessing it has to do with a brother of Diane (adopted or biological). (There's also the possibility that, in the spirit of the original "Sister" arc, thanks to sex-change magic Diane will wind up temporarily in the role of "brother" to someone.)

  14. Posted

    8 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

    I think Arthur would be OK. He's OK, Edward seems to cope. Grace got along with Adrian, and Adrian can be difficult.

    Arthur is very "the ends justify the means" (except for the part where he doesn't think the "justification" makes it morally right), while Grace is still trying to find a balance between pacifism and an urge to be a ruthless protector. In the short term working for Arthur could lead her to facing moral dilemmas she isn't prepared to deal with. In the long term, working for Arthur or someone like him could lead her to adopt a similar attitude, which I think would be unfortunate.

    Of course I'm basing this on her current attitudes and maturity; maybe after college she'd be in a more stable place mentally. On the other hand, is Arthur even going to still be in charge of the paranormal division of the FBI by the time the main cast get out of college? (He seems to want to retire again as soon as possible.)

  15. Posted

    On 9/28/2022 at 8:40 AM, Darth Fluffy said:

    Elliot as an agent might be a bad thing, although training could help. Grace seems to be a natural.

    Oddly enough I was thinking that Elliot might make a good agent, but the role wouldn't be a very good fit for Grace - and under a boss like Arthur or that snake-themed-woman (I forget her name) it could be very unhealthy for her.

  16. Posted

    Yay for fiery background in panel two! (Ah, it feels good to cheer for symbolic backgrounds again.)

    1 hour ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

    Eversince I learned about the Crusader Knights, the historic model for the Paladins, I've struggled to imagine how any similar group could avoid a similar fate.  Destruction or irrelevence.

    I haven't studied the Crusades in detail, so maybe I'm missing some reason why Crusaders/Paladins would be more likely to fade away than other cultural institutions, but based on what I do know:

    The trick is to have a culture which is fairly stable/stagnant (other than occasional wars and regime changes) over very long periods of time, such as imperial China, or (more relevantly) most generic fantasy settings.

  18. Posted

    On 9/16/2022 at 10:13 AM, Darth Fluffy said:

    The one that always bugged me was Disney's Pluto, a dog that acted like a dog (more or less) in a universe where animals were all anthropomorphic.

    I'm not well versed in "Disney Funny Animal" "canon", so maybe there are contradictions to this, but I always assumed Micky, Donald, Goofy, etc. were "people that look like animals" while Pluto was an actual dog. (If nothing else, they appear to have went with that idea in the original Duck Tales cartoon; in one early episode the "ducks" and other anthropomorphic characters are all referred to as "human"!)

  19. Posted

    I wasn't online yesterday (in fact I wasn't on the computer at all) so I didn't notice. However, ever since I returned to the forums a few years ago, I've noticed I occasionally couldn't access the forums; except for that one time it's always came back within a day or two. Hopefully, yesterday was just another random blip. (On the other hand, between that months long down time and the fact that last I checked it still wasn't possible for anyone new to sign up for the forums, I've been feeling like the forums are on borrowed time for a while now.)

  20. Posted

    8 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

    EGS is fantasy, not hard sci fi, but Dan goes some distance trying to explain it. That might be counterproductive. 

    On the one hand, some explanations aren't necessary and may make things less fun (most people hate midichlorians, for example). Furthermore, just explaining a lot about the setting can make people expect explanations for everything, and in a story with huge deviations from reality that just isn't possible. Also of course nerds like us will often then try to puzzle out those unexplained things, which (as in this case) may reveal things that don't make sense that maybe weren't so obvious at first glance.

    On the other hand, a well fleshed out world is easier to accept as "real", and learning about a detailed fictional world can be fun. It's also important that the author at least has a good idea in their own heads of how things work, so things don't get too inconsistent (it's rarely a good thing when an audience is wondering when a character got a certain ability and why they didn't use it when it would have been useful before - or worse yet, why they don't use it again).

    To complicate matters, how much needs to be explained varies depending on the story (and in particular, on how seriously one is supposed to take the story).

    I think Dan has a good feel for how much explanation to give these days* (and has for quite a while)**. The big problem is that the story has become more serious over the years (or at least, did so over the first few years), and Dan didn't really think the world of EGS through very well at the beginning, thus requiring lots of retcons to make the world make enough sense to suit the current tone - and some of those lingering bits of nonsense are too deeply entrenched in the worldbuilding to be easily retconned.

    * Although he does occasionally go overboard when trying to make sure the audience understands what he wants them to understand.

    ** Other than his bad habit of providing details of the magic system in the main story where it messed with the pacing, instead of in supplementary material where such optional info belongs.

     

    tl;dr: Explaining fantasy is not always a bad thing if done in moderation. Dan's problem is not that he explains too much, but that certain bits of worldbuilding he came up with twenty years ago don't hold up to scrutiny.

  21. Posted

    Last week I got TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection (a collection of the TMNT video games of the 80s & 90s). I've been playing it a lot since then, and really enjoying it.

    I played most of the included games as a kid, so this has been a great trip down memory lane. I was afraid they might not be as good as I remembered, but the ones I've played so far have ranged from "decent" to "really good". That said, the primary appeal of them was always and remains the classic TMNT elements; I can't imagine the collection would have a lot to offer someone who wasn't a TMNT fan.

  22. Posted

    On 9/10/2022 at 9:22 AM, ProfessorTomoe said:

    I am Lee Jackson in name only. I don't know what I am otherwise.

    On 9/10/2022 at 10:40 AM, The Old Hack said:

    I am an anti-existentialist inverse solipsist. I believe that I am made up but that everything else is real.

    Chronos Cat is a fictional character; however these days I post more as the creator of that character than as that character themselves. As such, you could say I'm Chronos Cat in name only.

     

  24. Posted

    On 9/10/2022 at 11:00 AM, ijuin said:

    Not only is she hot, but she is able and willing to lay down the smack on someone who threatens her, reversing the usual dynamic of “big male overpowers small female”, which is frightening to men who, like Rich, only feel safe when they can be on the dominant side.

    I wouldn't say Rich finds that frightening; more like it makes her even more hot to him. After all, he likes girls who can "crush" him.

  25. Posted

    On 9/8/2022 at 1:34 AM, Darth Fluffy said:

    Not at all common, but it is also possible to have a marriage annulled for failure to consummate in some venues, including Illinois in our world, counterpart for where Moperville exists. Proving this would be difficult, if contested.

    I thought of this after posting; I guess my "technically" depends on where you live (though on the other hand "failure to consummate" is only relevant if someone wants the marriage ended).

    On 9/8/2022 at 1:34 AM, Darth Fluffy said:

    I know what you mean, but that is a rather over-optimistic statement. First, in the negative sense, many couples can't have kids. Then, more to the sense you mean, many couples won't exercise effective prevention for a variety of reasons; reaction to birth control medication, religious reasons, stigma, fear, cost, ignorance, availability ... You should be aware that several strongly anti-abortion states are also trying to outlaw various means of birth control.

    You know what they call people who use the rhythm method of birth control, right? - Parents.

    Hmm. Perhaps "optional" wasn't precise enough a term. I probably should have said something like "not obligatory".

    That said, unless Lavender goes full human clone-form or is otherwise very careless about what form she takes, she and Edward aren't in danger of having children accidentally. (In fact, even if a non-human in a human clone-form would be fertile, based on what was said during the party about standard TF forms, that fertility would probably take days or weeks (I forget exactly how long it was) to kick in.)

    On 9/8/2022 at 1:34 AM, Darth Fluffy said:

    I was thinking more of the recreational options. In terms of making babies, the Uryoum egg seems to be the go to inter-species procreation MacGuffin for EGS.

    [snip]

    There are many more problems than these; creatures such as Grace and her siblings is straining the bounds of suspension of disbelief. They do better as a fantasy, with less scrutiny.

    Back to Lavender, it matters how deep her shape shifting goes. Can she form an actual womb that a fetus can attach to? Seems like shapeshifting would make pregnancy less inconvenient, and the birth majorly so.

    If the goal is recreation, I think Lavender would want to avoid creating a womb, or any other feminine body parts not required for she and Edward to enjoy the experience.

    As for shapeshifting helping with pregnancy, it might be able to help with some things, but it wouldn't change the fact that one was carrying around precious and sensitive "cargo" inside oneself. In fact, being pregnant would probably greatly limit the shapeshifting one could safely do (which would be its own sort of inconvenience); if nothing else one wouldn't be able to safely shift anything relating to the womb. (I remember that the TFG's safeties prevent or at least severely limit how it can be used on those who are pregnant.)

    As for the ability of Uryuom eggs to create hybrids of species very distantly related to one another, or possibly from separate planets (though that last bit is still up in the air after the Will of Magic's declaration), it's not something I would accept in a hard sci-fi story, and I still puzzle over why Uryuoms would have that ability (never mind how). Still, EGS is a fantasy story (that just so happens to borrow a few sci-fi tropes) and also theoretically a comedy; sometimes you just have to accept that parts of the story & worldbuilding are silly and don't really make sense, and move on.