Darth Fluffy

NP Comic for Tuesday, Oct 31, 2023 Hmm. In either the before the change or after the change magic, Kevin makes no sense. What exactly is he? Physically, he is a stick, painted like a traditional stage wand. This makes a little sense, because as a seer, Arthur is a 'wand maker'. But Tedd has long since demonstrated that wands don't have to actually be stick shaped. He does not duplicate the function of 'normal' wands, he is not enabling the caster to use himself to cast a spell via the magical energy he stores. A normal wand would have to be a recording of the spell it can cast, so that's not unlike Kevin, but Kevin has much more knowledge than a specific spell, and can reason about them. This is not wand-like. He's more like a spell book, albeit an open ended one that is not about specific spells. Like if you took spellbook-like knowledge and made a pod cast about it. But even then, not a scripted podcast, more like segments a responsive program that would show short training segments to address specific queries, and even beyond that, incorporated an AI that assesses need and selects the segments. All without having much of a clue about polity and social interaction. And then, he has odd capabilities, like speaking. Why and how? There are alternatives to speaking, he could be telepathic maybe, or create a text display in the air, or have a readout on the side. But clearly, he is speaking and several people hear him at once. He has no apparent sound interaction hardware. Yet he speaks and hears. If this is trivial to do in the EGS universe, why don't all wands have an instructional feature to tell people what they are for and how to operate them? He can't see the video game being played, but he is aware of people and where they are. He has almost no social sense, but he 'tilts himself politely'. Where did he get that notion? And he hovers. That seems like a powerful feature, the kind of thing you'd want to build into lots of stuff, yet we haven't seen many magic items that hover. We've seen people hover, but will was involved. Kevin essentially has no will of his own, other than his teaching purpose; he 'sleeps' when he's not teaching. So why does he hover? It seems that it would use a lot of magic power to do so. It would shorten his useful life if he is using stored power. Is he dependent on ambient magic energy? Is he vampyric? Can Ashley even power him, if he is? Presumably, he is a wand because Arthur is a wand maker, but he has more in common with a spell book than a wand, and he is ambulatory like a golem. He should have been some other kind of object: Teddy bear Brass frog (I'd say a Barbie style doll, but that's too much like the fairy dolls, would be confusing in the comic) A magician doll with a top hat A cell phone app A vinyl record you have to play, but the audio is responsive like Kevin, and the record keeps spinning and does not end until your session is done. An augmentation on a cat or dog A head set with a microphone Kevin also appears to learn. In terms of AI, this is nontrivial; it seems that Arthur is skilled beyond just magic. Gotta say, still not a fan of the character, Kevin. Not seeing that he brings a lot to the comic.

Two cats meet

She's thinking of him!

Poignant self-reference, except, they obviously make a living cartooning.

NP Comic for Saturday, Nov 11, 2023 Ashley is beside herself.

Cats are seeing things that aren't there in the universe you are in. Bets are off if it exists in the multiverse the cat inhabits. (That's how they walk through walls.) You wouldn't say cats are very sound oriented if you ever tried to call one. However, they do sense the can opener.

NP Comic for Thursday, Nov 9, 2023 The change in magic with less power but greater flexibility appears to have greater ramifications than they were aware of. They can combine spells. Nanase doesn't quite get to tell us what her new spell was. The limitations of AI shown in a harsh light. Fox is now programmed for a task, and has no sense about when it is appropriate. (Imagine if she had the strength, and did not understand not to fold the human with the clothes. Sky Net, here we come.) Also, Kevin is aware of his obsolescence, but is oddly capable of meta reasoning about it. I wonder if he can modify his curriculum to take changes into account or if it is hard coded. He is apparently able to understand that it has changed.

Kevin is puzzled by Ashley's behavior. This means he can sense that she is holding Grace. Does he see an image of this, or is he sensing what they are doing by sensing their thoughts, of is he aware of the movement of mass, or . . . ? The commentary says, "Kevin understands very few of Ashley's interests.". I think that Kevin's lack of understanding and therefore empathy is a hindrance to performing his function properly. Also, why is he 'politely inclined' if he is not saying anything? Inclined from what, if vertical is not the default, and he should be in default, no?

Explorer has conquered The Foot. Pretty good for a cat loaf.

I recall Grace shrinking down to sit with Ashley when she was shrunk at the party. Perhaps this is the first time Ashley has seen Grace shrink while she (Ashley) remained full size. I find it odd that Ellen's news is news. It seemed evident that Lavender chose her appearance. I don't think Tedd is upset. I'm seeing him as stunned because he was blindsided. Ellen does not talk in detail about her 2nd life - to the point where she is also getting fuzzy on the details. I wonder how real it was. Was it a shared dream, or was it an actual life in another universe that she was remembering? Ellen might be somewhat surprised that her memories are relevant. OTOH, I think she should have been genre savvy enough to know that they'd be relevant, and she should know that she was given the nose beep because it would be helpful in sorting herself out. Maybe she should be a little skeptical in the sense 'Does this actually apply?'.

the 'Wand of Caffeine' must be used judiciously; long term dependence can lead to health issues.

Definitely not. Elliot and Catalina have the cat forms, they are the ones who should have laser eyes (in those forms). Notice Tedd changed into female form when everyone else is gone (presumably Grace is asleep). Seems kind of random. Also conspicuously absent is any internal dialog about Tedd's reaction to Elliot's female form frontal real estate as other than an 'ethical dilemma. Consider, it wouldn't even be a dilemma if it was unworthy of other consideration, and this is Tedd, albeit more mature; there should be some reaction.

"Plotting out my day." "What are you planning to do?" "That information is on a need to mew basis."

Wyatt?

Elliot has been gender meh, they are clearly not gender meh in this situation. Dan is rewriting Elliot as the girly one. Grace is an odd case. She has been mostly unaware of sexual issues; it's all about cuddling and being friends. She wants Tedd and Elliot to cuddle, but might react differently if they took it further. Would she be jealous? Hard to say. What Grace and Tedd have going on seems non-sexual. She seems ace, but romantic. Cuddling with clothes on is a thing. Still, hard to imagine Tedd being turned off by lady Elliot. Ashley is the one most likely to be hurt by a misstep. OTOH, I can see her being OK with a poly relationship. I guess it depends if this is a one-off embarrassing foot note or a new direction.

Preventive marking, so the huge cat that would fit it doesn't stop by.

A cat at its natural habitat. A box.

I think actually getting to participate would give her some stability.

NP Comic for Thursday, Nov 2, 2023 Having magic gave mousey, short Rhoda confidence (well, magic, and a girlfriend). Magic has so far made Ashley more neurotic. Maybe when she gets some power, that will change.

Morphine is closely tracked as a controlled substance, so the distribution bogs down. Glad you figured it out and are feeling better.

Kevin scenarios: Tedd is baking, needs to stir batter, uses Kevin. Kevin objects, but is not heard through goopy batter. "If we cut Kevin in half, do we get two smaller Kevins, two partially functional Kevins, or does Kevin die? . . . hmm, . . . Scientific method!" "What are you doing?" "You can't see?" "Uhm, no?" "It's nothing." "It feels funny." "Don't worry, it won't hurt" "You sure?" "I promise. I won't feel a thing" Kevin goes on a date with Peg, but takes offense when she is short with him.

Re: Is it perfect? No. - Kevin might disagree. Re: Can it be annoying? Yes. - Just a bit, eh? Re: Did Kevin need to be so rude when introduced? - Seriously does not know any better. Can't really blame him for not being something he's not. Re: Character growth? - Have not seen much of that. He started out rudely, but was also cowardly comedy relief. He is now more or less performing his function, depending who he's talking to. He works better with Tedd, who he says doesn't need him ("graduated") than with those who could use the training. Seems poorly designed, no? Re: Does if smell faintly of Deus Ex Machina? Absolutely - Faintly? Re: Will it be used as a mouthpiece for the author as an alternative to drawing long sequences of lab or library research? Probably. - True. Re: The plot twist where Tedd relies too heavily on Kevin leading to a spectacular and explosive failure practically writes itself. - True.

I'm missing the reference. Are you referring to Teddy Ruxpin? I had kids the right age for this toy, and I had a curious but not compelling interest, and they never asked for it. I had a stuffed chimp when I was a toddler, about my size, and had a vinyl face, ears, hands, and shoes (possibly rubber). I was terrified of it, I think it hit the 'uncanny valley'. Even more nightmare inducing. I watched Mark Wilson's Magic Land of Allakazam every Saturday morning. I don't think this item would have been frightening for me. Good point. He could have been a dial-up service. This would be amusing. What would you hear if you played it backwards? They believe they are the center of the universe, they see things that aren't there, and they fit into impossible places . . . My favorite was the brass frog. Can Tedd transfer Kevin's functionality to another object? Giving it more power shouldn't give it new functions. If that worked, we'd program computers by hooking them up to the distribution lines with no transformer. You are absolutely correct. That occurred in one of the movies when Scrappy came back as the villain. Is Kevin in Tedd's custody? His assignment was to train Ashley, it seemed that he was left in her care. Even so, he may stay at Tedd's, since Tedd is involved in the training, and that occurs at his house.

Nobody has mentioned "Way too cute." in panel 2. High quality ship fuel, if you ask me.

They have a stilted caring relationship. My interpretation of the last panel is that Edward is glad that Tedd has friends he is close to.