ChronosCat

It's Dan plotting out the preliminaries for his new cult movie project, Talk Club.
Rule One: Do not fight about Talk Club.

April 6:
2002 - Sarah, Elliot, and Tedd all turn into squirrel people. Grace does too, but that's nothing new.
2005 - The fate of the Alpha Quadrant is sealed by an Idle Jedi.
2010 - Grace and Tedd dress up as rabbits.
2011 - Noah asks Justin about a Fire Thing.
2012 - Sarah falls out of bed.
2015 - Ashley shouts out that she's from California.
2016 - Tara and Andrea say goodbye to Nanase & Cheerleadra. Meanwhile, Grace looses Karma.

April 6:
2002 - Sarah, Elliot, and Tedd all turn into squirrel people. Grace does too, but that's nothing new.
2005 - The fate of the Alpha Quadrant is sealed by an Idle Jedi.
2010 - Grace and Tedd dress up as rabbits.
2011 - Noah asks Justin about a Fire Thing.
2012 - Sarah falls out of bed.
2015 - Ashley shouts out that she's from California.
2016 - Tara and Andrea say goodbye to Nanase & Cheerleadra. Meanwhile, Grace looses Karma.

April 6:
2002 - Sarah, Elliot, and Tedd all turn into squirrel people. Grace does too, but that's nothing new.
2005 - The fate of the Alpha Quadrant is sealed by an Idle Jedi.
2010 - Grace and Tedd dress up as rabbits.
2011 - Noah asks Justin about a Fire Thing.
2012 - Sarah falls out of bed.
2015 - Ashley shouts out that she's from California.
2016 - Tara and Andrea say goodbye to Nanase & Cheerleadra. Meanwhile, Grace looses Karma.

I suspect if you had some sort of "gender-meter" that you could point at someone and it would tell you objectively what gender-category best fit them, it would place Ellen outside or between the "male" and "female" categories (in whatever category "gender-meh" was labeled as). However gender is such a personal issue that I think how a person chooses to label themself (or not label themself) is far more important than what a gender-meter would tell you - and not just because there's no such thing as a gender-meter.
Magus is extremely insistent he's male - so much so that I'm sure he's not gender-meh, and is somewhat insecure about his gender or how people perceive his gender; it's also clear gender has been a source of conflict in his life. This leads me to suspect two possible scenarios: Magus identified as female as a child and still feels female inside, and is trying to convince himself he made the right choice, OR Magus has always identified as male but no one respected or believed that and when he finally got the chance to transition he had to come up with some sort of justification for why he was doing so. I'm not sure which is more likely.
Either way, Magus clearly currently wishes to be referred to as male, so until/unless that changes I intend to use male pronouns for him.

I suspect if you had some sort of "gender-meter" that you could point at someone and it would tell you objectively what gender-category best fit them, it would place Ellen outside or between the "male" and "female" categories (in whatever category "gender-meh" was labeled as). However gender is such a personal issue that I think how a person chooses to label themself (or not label themself) is far more important than what a gender-meter would tell you - and not just because there's no such thing as a gender-meter.
Magus is extremely insistent he's male - so much so that I'm sure he's not gender-meh, and is somewhat insecure about his gender or how people perceive his gender; it's also clear gender has been a source of conflict in his life. This leads me to suspect two possible scenarios: Magus identified as female as a child and still feels female inside, and is trying to convince himself he made the right choice, OR Magus has always identified as male but no one respected or believed that and when he finally got the chance to transition he had to come up with some sort of justification for why he was doing so. I'm not sure which is more likely.
Either way, Magus clearly currently wishes to be referred to as male, so until/unless that changes I intend to use male pronouns for him.

Today in future history:
April 3, 2024. I finally perfect my time machine. But due to using artificial diamond in the central unit instead of a real one, I misjump several years back in time and the central unit burns out. To make matters worse, the first time I wait around long enough to attempt to warn myself I arrive just a moment too late. Maybe I will be luckier six years from now.

I think Nanase might have a problem with it as well and not just Ellen going to another school.

Well, it's not as detailed as I'd like, and it wasn't where I first heard it (as I wasn't even reading EGS at the time), but back in 2004 Dan said that the Omega form was not a legion form. We know it's not a form she got from the TFG since she was surprised by it, so by process of elimination it has to be one the forms she was born with.
EDIT: Actually come to think of it, I don't think we saw Grace showing surprise at the form. Still, she chose the Jeremy form earlier in Painted Black when breaking into the Nest, and Tedd had never seen the Omega form prior to her using it when mopping in the After Party, which I think does support my assertion that Grace didn't know she had the form.

Wow, this is at the worst end of the range of possibilities I predicted - and that's before we get to the part where we learn Magus doesn't trust Ellen to make her own decisions. (He knows Tedd has the TFG, so it should be pretty obvious even without knowing about Tedd's newest powers that it would be easy for Ellen to assume male form. Sure the TFG's effects are temporary, but it can be re-applied, and at any rate the fact that she has yet to even assume male form once when it is in her power to do so should go to show that having a male form isn't a high priority for her if it's something she has any interest in at all.)
I have a suspicion that Magus is actually quite conflicted about this issue and is doubling down on his prejudice in an attempt to justify his previous decisions and actions. This reads to me more like someone who is trying to convince themselves of their arguments than someone who is perfectly confident in what they're saying. Of course that only provides some hope he might be able to change, it doesn't help anything in the mean-time. (Edit: Come to think of it, it might just make things worse in the mean time.)
On a lighter note, yay for starburst background in six! (Although actually the image of smiling Terra in panel four lifts my spirits far more than a cool background in an unhappy panel.)
It would be rather nicely ironic to have Mr. "I Became A Man To Be Stronger" beaten by the super-powered female form of someone who spends most of his time in male form...

Wow, this is at the worst end of the range of possibilities I predicted - and that's before we get to the part where we learn Magus doesn't trust Ellen to make her own decisions. (He knows Tedd has the TFG, so it should be pretty obvious even without knowing about Tedd's newest powers that it would be easy for Ellen to assume male form. Sure the TFG's effects are temporary, but it can be re-applied, and at any rate the fact that she has yet to even assume male form once when it is in her power to do so should go to show that having a male form isn't a high priority for her if it's something she has any interest in at all.)
I have a suspicion that Magus is actually quite conflicted about this issue and is doubling down on his prejudice in an attempt to justify his previous decisions and actions. This reads to me more like someone who is trying to convince themselves of their arguments than someone who is perfectly confident in what they're saying. Of course that only provides some hope he might be able to change, it doesn't help anything in the mean-time. (Edit: Come to think of it, it might just make things worse in the mean time.)
On a lighter note, yay for starburst background in six! (Although actually the image of smiling Terra in panel four lifts my spirits far more than a cool background in an unhappy panel.)
It would be rather nicely ironic to have Mr. "I Became A Man To Be Stronger" beaten by the super-powered female form of someone who spends most of his time in male form...

Wow, this is at the worst end of the range of possibilities I predicted - and that's before we get to the part where we learn Magus doesn't trust Ellen to make her own decisions. (He knows Tedd has the TFG, so it should be pretty obvious even without knowing about Tedd's newest powers that it would be easy for Ellen to assume male form. Sure the TFG's effects are temporary, but it can be re-applied, and at any rate the fact that she has yet to even assume male form once when it is in her power to do so should go to show that having a male form isn't a high priority for her if it's something she has any interest in at all.)
I have a suspicion that Magus is actually quite conflicted about this issue and is doubling down on his prejudice in an attempt to justify his previous decisions and actions. This reads to me more like someone who is trying to convince themselves of their arguments than someone who is perfectly confident in what they're saying. Of course that only provides some hope he might be able to change, it doesn't help anything in the mean-time. (Edit: Come to think of it, it might just make things worse in the mean time.)
On a lighter note, yay for starburst background in six! (Although actually the image of smiling Terra in panel four lifts my spirits far more than a cool background in an unhappy panel.)
It would be rather nicely ironic to have Mr. "I Became A Man To Be Stronger" beaten by the super-powered female form of someone who spends most of his time in male form...

Yeah, it was a thoughtful, well written story (or so I thought at the time; it's been years since I read it) but some of the world building was depressing. One thing that always stuck with me though was the idea that giving people the ability to change their forms easily would not necessarily end prejudice and discrimination, it might just change how they are applied and who suffers the most from them.

My bet is on him having been assigned female at birth, and using magic to change sexes later in life, but not bothering to change his legal name.
At any rate, note how he says that "people in this universe might find [the nickname Magus] less strange than my actual name", with emphasis on the "this" in "this universe". This implies that whatever the explanation is, people in his own universe wouldn't find it strange.

Susan was willing to play the game, at least in part, because the transformations that would happen to her would be outside her control.
But now she must chose a temporary transformation.
She must make that choice knowing that it is her choice alone.
She must make that choice knowing that the others around her know that it is her choice alone.
If you go into someone's home for a meal, you eat what you are served.
If you go to a pot-luck or buffet, your choices are limited to what has already been prepared and presented.
But if you are handed a menu, then the servers, the kitchen staff, and anyone who sees your dishes being presented knows that you have asked for that specific meal.
It can, at times, be difficult to publicly admit "I want this".

So it's confirmed, Catalina and Rhoda are both switches.  :-)

Well, he's a possibility too - but only if DGB stored his statue form in the warehouse, which given his track record seems like a poor choice to make. I think it's more likely he'll wake up in a secret prison somewhere, attempt to break free, and if successful track down Magus in a later story.

It is hard to imagine oneself in such a predicament as Magus was in, and who knows who he might have left behind that he felt desperate to return to, but, while I certainly wouldn't classify myself as a hero, I would like to think I would have either tried to find another way to contact Elliot and Ellen to ask for help (Pandora taught him to foul up machines and amplify emotions; use the same discipline that he needed to learn magic to figure out a way to foul up Tedd's machines in a pattern that shows intelligence and amplify Tedd's curiosity until she figures out someone intelligent is trying to make contact), or accept one's fate instead of violating Elliot and Ellen and risking Sirleck gaining a mage as a host.  That said, Magus has certainly revealed himself to be a very nuanced person in this arc.  He still qualifies as a villain in my mind.,
Plus, I think that Elliot will make sure Ashley and Ellen are gotten to safety once he as verified that Magus means them no further harm, but that look on Elliot's face promises an eventual beat down is imminent.

The Hawk has hatched. Little mice better beware. (Wait, Pandora says he's going to "grow". This being EGS we can't rule it out, but I doubt she meant the "grow" literally. So does that mean he's going to get even more powerful? Was she referring to something else besides returning to the physical plane when she talked about him "hatching"? Or did she over-complicate her analogy for the sake of drama?)
Also, I knew Sirleck wasn't boss material (at least from a combat perspective).
Ding dong the witch vampire is dead!
Sirleck is creepy, and she wasn't expecting him to suddenly appear. I'm sure if the battle had lasted long enough for her to help, she would have.
Or at least a red flag that Magus knew Sirleck was planning on possessing him, and was prepared.
Incidentally, this more-or-less confirms the theory that when Magus seemingly-accidentally hinted to Sirleck that he'd be a good host, he knew exactly what he was doing. This guy is crafty (which, actually, is a little surprising for an Elliot).

The Hawk has hatched. Little mice better beware. (Wait, Pandora says he's going to "grow". This being EGS we can't rule it out, but I doubt she meant the "grow" literally. So does that mean he's going to get even more powerful? Was she referring to something else besides returning to the physical plane when she talked about him "hatching"? Or did she over-complicate her analogy for the sake of drama?)
Also, I knew Sirleck wasn't boss material (at least from a combat perspective).
Ding dong the witch vampire is dead!
Sirleck is creepy, and she wasn't expecting him to suddenly appear. I'm sure if the battle had lasted long enough for her to help, she would have.
Or at least a red flag that Magus knew Sirleck was planning on possessing him, and was prepared.
Incidentally, this more-or-less confirms the theory that when Magus seemingly-accidentally hinted to Sirleck that he'd be a good host, he knew exactly what he was doing. This guy is crafty (which, actually, is a little surprising for an Elliot).

The Hawk has hatched. Little mice better beware. (Wait, Pandora says he's going to "grow". This being EGS we can't rule it out, but I doubt she meant the "grow" literally. So does that mean he's going to get even more powerful? Was she referring to something else besides returning to the physical plane when she talked about him "hatching"? Or did she over-complicate her analogy for the sake of drama?)
Also, I knew Sirleck wasn't boss material (at least from a combat perspective).
Ding dong the witch vampire is dead!
Sirleck is creepy, and she wasn't expecting him to suddenly appear. I'm sure if the battle had lasted long enough for her to help, she would have.
Or at least a red flag that Magus knew Sirleck was planning on possessing him, and was prepared.
Incidentally, this more-or-less confirms the theory that when Magus seemingly-accidentally hinted to Sirleck that he'd be a good host, he knew exactly what he was doing. This guy is crafty (which, actually, is a little surprising for an Elliot).

Okay, we've learned these new things in today's comic:
Magus paid attention in class at Battle Mage University (BMU). Magus qualifies as a Hunter in the Moperverse Ashley can scream at least as loud as Screaming Girl and that girl being chased by the vampire Susan killed at the mall. Some of the windows on the second floor do have glass in them (or did) Magus just knocked around a bunch of crates containing magical items that are no longer inactive. But that's probably not going to be a problem or anything, is it?

It's confirmed, Ellen was able to fight back because she's just that awesome. Er, I mean because she was born from magic. (And yes technically it's just speculation in-comic, but the commentary implies she's right about the "born from magic" idea.)
Meanwhile, Sirleck looks even more creepy than usual in the last two panels, but a lot less imposing. Seen from that angle, he looks like the sort of JRPG monster you can beat in two or three turns at most if you're the proper level for the area. ...Which is rather appropriate since I expect Magus is about to trounce him.

It's confirmed, Ellen was able to fight back because she's just that awesome. Er, I mean because she was born from magic. (And yes technically it's just speculation in-comic, but the commentary implies she's right about the "born from magic" idea.)
Meanwhile, Sirleck looks even more creepy than usual in the last two panels, but a lot less imposing. Seen from that angle, he looks like the sort of JRPG monster you can beat in two or three turns at most if you're the proper level for the area. ...Which is rather appropriate since I expect Magus is about to trounce him.

I like the 1st bonus strip on Patreon best.