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Scotty

Story: Monday July 18, 2016

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http://www.egscomics.com/?id=2215

And thus ends the tragic backstory of Pandora, the Immortal who loved too much to let go.

I get the feeling that Adrian is likely the only person that will be able to convince Pandora to reset. Know how Immortals died, it wouldn't be as hard on him as it would be for anyone else to lose a parent, he's gotta be aware that she's become increasingly unstable over the years and would rather have a reset mother that would only know him as if she'd read a note about him than to see her end up hurting many innocent people.

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Some questions answered, some questions unanswered.

Yet, I still do not actually feel her 'true' dark side shining through. The fur smock is a nice touch, though.

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1 hour ago, Scotty said:

http://www.egscomics.com/?id=2215

And thus ends the tragic backstory of Pandora, the Immortal who loved too much to let go.

I get the feeling that Adrian is likely the only person that will be able to convince Pandora to reset. Know how Immortals died, it wouldn't be as hard on him as it would be for anyone else to lose a parent, he's gotta be aware that she's become increasingly unstable over the years and would rather have a reset mother that would only know him as if she'd read a note about him than to see her end up hurting many innocent people.

Actually he might not have noticed her change, or discounted it, or just plain denied to himself it was happening.  Me, my Mom and my siblings didn't recognize the signs of my Dad's Alzheimers' until it was too late, but in hindsight we could see them.  Pandora's changes could have come on gradually enough that Adrian just didn't see them, and to him she acted pretty much as she always had.  She also may not have shown him her dangerous, insane side, especially if she was still acting out of love.  I don't remember if she ever showed her mutated, "The Thing" side to Adrian, like she did to Magus.

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54 minutes ago, CptNerd said:

Actually he might not have noticed her change, or discounted it, or just plain denied to himself it was happening.  Me, my Mom and my siblings didn't recognize the signs of my Dad's Alzheimers' until it was too late, but in hindsight we could see them.  Pandora's changes could have come on gradually enough that Adrian just didn't see them, and to him she acted pretty much as she always had.  She also may not have shown him her dangerous, insane side, especially if she was still acting out of love.  I don't remember if she ever showed her mutated, "The Thing" side to Adrian, like she did to Magus.

The only time she was together with him that I remember was during his stay in the hospital. Back then she did not show her nightmare side though she did sort of go Galadriel Dark Queen near the end.

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2 hours ago, CptNerd said:

Actually he might not have noticed her change, or discounted it, or just plain denied to himself it was happening.  Me, my Mom and my siblings didn't recognize the signs of my Dad's Alzheimers' until it was too late, but in hindsight we could see them.  Pandora's changes could have come on gradually enough that Adrian just didn't see them, and to him she acted pretty much as she always had.  She also may not have shown him her dangerous, insane side, especially if she was still acting out of love.  I don't remember if she ever showed her mutated, "The Thing" side to Adrian, like she did to Magus.

Well, I'm sure he's aware of the change now.

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I would guess Adrian never saw the darkest aspects of Pandora until he was well into adulthood.
Unless, of course, she used that form and attitude as a tool for his training.
But he is aware of just how dangerous she is now, and this was probably not a recent discovery on his part.

So Adrian is aware that his mother is a potential threat to just about everyone.
What can he do about it today?
What could he have done about it in the distant past?
What could he have done about it in the recent past?
What will he be able to do about it in the foreseeable future?

I'm thinking that in the earliest days, Adrian would have be unable to do anything significant to stop or control his mother.

In later years, I'm guessing that "can they stop my mother" was a thought when he trained various individuals and teams.  Perhaps he thought Noriko and Edward might have been pat of a team that actually could have faced Pandora.  The thought may have occurred to him while considering training Noah and Grace, only to be quickly extinguished by the memory of Noriko and Edward.

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1 hour ago, Leninade said:

Good.

 

Maybe, just maybe, we can get back to the story for the actual cast who the readers are invested in at some point instead of faffing off with the Mary Sue Immortal brigade.

I mean, it's only been two years since the last time we even saw half of them, much less since they did anything plot relevant.

Ah. Then end part of "So a Date in the Mall?"  Not one but 3 immortals were doing things plot relevant.

Also, I repeat, Voltaire, Abner, and Sirleck are dead men walking, with the possible exception of Abner.  Messy, bloody and guts ever where dead men.

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6 hours ago, The Old Hack said:
7 hours ago, CptNerd said:

Actually he might not have noticed her change, or discounted it, or just plain denied to himself it was happening.  Me, my Mom and my siblings didn't recognize the signs of my Dad's Alzheimers' until it was too late, but in hindsight we could see them.  Pandora's changes could have come on gradually enough that Adrian just didn't see them, and to him she acted pretty much as she always had.  She also may not have shown him her dangerous, insane side, especially if she was still acting out of love.  I don't remember if she ever showed her mutated, "The Thing" side to Adrian, like she did to Magus.

The only time she was together with him that I remember was during his stay in the hospital. Back then she did not show her nightmare side though she did sort of go Galadriel Dark Queen near the end.

Pandora herself might not have told Adrian about the rules of Immortals when he was young, but I have to believe that somewhere between the age of 44 (when Pandora would have turned 200) and present time, Adrian would have learned about them, he certainly knows about the guide and empower rule, and Jerry's surprise that Susan, Sarah and Grace didn't know about the 200 year reset rule suggest that it should be common knowledge to those who know about Immortals.

I dunno, maybe Adrian's surprise when Pandora came to visit after 14 years suggests that he thought she might have reset back then. But then he didn't mention anything so I dunno. Definitely that conversation they had and Adrian's comment "This won't end well" should be an indicator that he's well aware that she's unstable.

3 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

I would guess Adrian never saw the darkest aspects of Pandora until he was well into adulthood.
Unless, of course, she used that form and attitude as a tool for his training.
But he is aware of just how dangerous she is now, and this was probably not a recent discovery on his part.

So Adrian is aware that his mother is a potential threat to just about everyone.
What can he do about it today?
What could he have done about it in the distant past?
What could he have done about it in the recent past?
What will he be able to do about it in the foreseeable future?

I'm thinking that in the earliest days, Adrian would have be unable to do anything significant to stop or control his mother.

In later years, I'm guessing that "can they stop my mother" was a thought when he trained various individuals and teams.  Perhaps he thought Noriko and Edward might have been pat of a team that actually could have faced Pandora.  The thought may have occurred to him while considering training Noah and Grace, only to be quickly extinguished by the memory of Noriko and Edward.

There's probably not much he himself can do about it, he may have already tried to convince Pandora to reset, maybe his last attempt was 14 years ago. I'm still not entirely sure, but I think Edward might know about Pandora, maybe not as the creepy child he saw in the woods, but as the adult, when Adrian realized she was involved in the incident at school, he stated "you didn't warn me, you didn't warn Verres, you let it happen". Of course Edward is a VIP in the world of the paranormal according to Jerry so it might have been a default, if there's any sign of trouble, call Verres deal. Still if no one knows that Pandora is Adrian's mother, I'm wondering if Adrian's intentionally holding back that info because he thinks it might affect how people would deal with Pandora.

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I don't know how many immortals are out there and how long they have been (having no end doesn't mean they don't have a beginning), but I would be quite surprised there weren't more cases like Pandora's during humanity story.

3 hours ago, Leninade said:

Maybe, just maybe, we can get back to the story for the actual cast who the readers are invested in at some point instead of faffing off with the Mary Sue Immortal brigade.

I mean, it's only been two years since the last time we even saw half of them, much less since they did anything plot relevant.

You're new around here, aren't you? First because you thing readers are only invested in the main 8 (just reading the fora tells otherwise), and second because you seem to have no patience with webcomic time. Please, don't talk as if you represent or know the point of view of all or most readers of this comic.

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34 minutes ago, exterminator said:
3 hours ago, Leninade said:

Maybe, just maybe, we can get back to the story for the actual cast who the readers are invested in at some point instead of faffing off with the Mary Sue Immortal brigade.

I mean, it's only been two years since the last time we even saw half of them, much less since they did anything plot relevant.

You're new around here, aren't you? First because you thing readers are only invested in the main 8 (just reading the fora tells otherwise), and second because you seem to have no patience with webcomic time. Please, don't talk as if you represent or know the point of view of all or most readers of this comic.

I myself wondered for most of the past year or so since I started reading the comic if Dan was ever going to have another T-minus moment with Sirleck and/or Magus or just in general revisit Magus making another attempt to get Ellen to zap Elliot. Once Sirleck had appeared in So a Date, I was like "Ohh we're gonna get some more now!", and when Sister 3 was finally announced, it pretty much confirmed that Magus is going to try again. Dan does appear to be trying to tie up a bunch of loose ends as well as give insight to various characters, we all wondered about Pandora's motives for not resetting, there's been plenty of speculation about her age and it's been confirmed that she's not as old as some of us thought, she's only 156 years older that Adrian, the question now is, how old is Adrian?

Anyway, as far as main 8 panel time, Squirrel Prophet mainly focused on Tedd, Grace, Sarah and Justin, with a short appearance from Ellen and Nanase. So a Date focused on Elliot, Ellen and Nanase, and now Sister 3 looks like it'll at least have Elliot, Ellen and Susan, if there are any school scenes then it's very likely we'll see the entire main cast in this arc.

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1 hour ago, Scotty said:

Still if no one knows that Pandora is Adrian's mother, I'm wondering if Adrian's intentionally holding back that info because he thinks it might affect how people would deal with Pandora.

IF magical insiders are not aware of Adrian's relationship to Pandora, then I don't think he is withholding that information because of how they would treat her.  It would seem more likely that he might fear how the magic community would treat him if his parentage became general knowledge.

I say IF because I honestly don't believe that he is hiding that fact.  At least not from everyone.

And if I may. There is a thread specifically for  Discussions regarding Pacing, Scheduling and Fanservice at the top of the General Discussion forum.

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4 hours ago, Leninade said:

Good.

 

Maybe, just maybe, we can get back to the story for the actual cast who the readers are invested in at some point instead of faffing off with the Mary Sue Immortal brigade.

I mean, it's only been two years since the last time we even saw half of them, much less since they did anything plot relevant.

Quit being an ass. we've waited YEARS for Pandora's back story arc.

Well, okay, a year in my case but i'm new here.

Also not a Mary sue. Power alone doesn't make a character such, a Mary sue is such because their traits are disproportionate and inappropriate, with no depth or substance. basically the opposite of the immortal four, since, aside from the newbie not having a past yet, those four have very real limitations, pasts that matter to how they behave, and internaly consistent motivations and behaviors.

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Once again, Dan has shown us another side of what at first glance is a completely odious character. Pandora's tragic origin is, I think, the topper, but Susan, Diane, Mr. Raven, and others all were first introduced to us as unpleasant people, but they got more interesting and sympathetic as we came to learn more about them. Even Larry seems to be rethinking things.

Exceptions to this include Damien, Sirleck, and Rich. I don't hold out much hope for any of them.

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3 minutes ago, Amiable Dorsai said:

Exceptions to this include Damien, Sirleck, and Rich. I don't hold out much hope for any of them.

Well Damien is dead and Sirleck is on the dead man walking list if he touches Adrian.  Or even tries to touch him.

Oh, and I'm calling this now.  The near the end of the Sisters III arc, Pandora is going to "let go of Blaike" and reset her self.  In a comic page full of the feels.

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1 minute ago, Amiable Dorsai said:

Once again, Dan has shown us another side of what at first glance is a completely odious character. Pandora's tragic origin is, I think, the topper, but Susan, Diane, Mr. Raven, and others all were first introduced to us as unpleasant people, but they got more interesting and sympathetic as we came to learn more about them. Even Larry seems to be rethinking things.

I'm starting to think, depending on how things go between Diane and Susan, we may have to start refering to the main cast as the Main 9, it certainly wouldn't seem fair to keep Diane in the second string while Susan is a headliner.

 

3 minutes ago, Amiable Dorsai said:

Exceptions to this include Damien, Sirleck, and Rich. I don't hold out much hope for any of them.

I would hope you're not holding any hope for Damien, considering he's dead. Though I guess if you think about it, Damien was created to fulfill a prophecy, so the tragedy here is that he was conditioned by his creators that he was some sort of god, in another reality Damien is probably a superhero.

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And while I'm at it. Arcs named "Sister (number) have Ellen as a central role in them.  Ellen and Elliot are the center pieces of the arc title page.  While it's just an assumption, but one backed up by history and hints, Ellen and Elliot are going to be the central characters of at least one part of this arc.   Obviously Diane and Susan are going to be the central characters of the other arc.  I'm not seeing Dan bringing in sisters to non central characters to a major arc.  It could happen, but I'm not seeing it.  The only other known sets of sisters are Grace and Vladia , Nanase and Akiko, and Mrs. Kitsune and Noriko.  Of that set Mrs. Kitsune and Noriko would be my bet as a possible, with Grace and Vladia being a distant 2nd.  There is no metaplot reason for Nanase and Akiko to play a major part in this.  

 

Damn there are a lot if red lines in this post.  Need to add Kitsune to private dictionary for Project X.  (For the creature, not the EGS family, for what it's worth.)

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3 hours ago, mlooney said:

Ah. Then end part of "So a Date in the Mall?"  Not one but 3 immortals were doing things plot relevant.

Also, I repeat, Voltaire, Abner, and Sirleck are dead men walking, with the possible exception of Abner.  Messy, bloody and guts ever where dead men.

The Moderator: 'Leninade' was one of the posters who made the environment so very toxic in the old days. I have renewed his permaban and will request of the admins that they do not allow him to register a new account.

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28 minutes ago, The Old Hack said:

The Moderator: 'Leninade' was one of the posters who made the environment so very toxic in the old days. I have renewed his permaban and will request of the admins that they do not allow him to register a new account.

Don't freaking scare me like that.  A wall of red text is not often a Good Thing attached to one of your posts, and normally is a Bad Thing.

 

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Oh man, Raven in that second panel. It must have been really hard growing up with an increasingly maddening and demanding mother. She always wanted the best for him, but after his father's death, I don't think there was much cozy warmth to their familial bond.

On a similar note, I wonder if half-immortals age at a normal human rate?

 

1 hour ago, Amiable Dorsai said:

Once again, Dan has shown us another side of what at first glance is a completely odious character. Pandora's tragic origin is, I think, the topper, but Susan, Diane, Mr. Raven, and others all were first introduced to us as unpleasant people, but they got more interesting and sympathetic as we came to learn more about them. Even Larry seems to be rethinking things.

Exceptions to this include Damien, Sirleck, and Rich. I don't hold out much hope for any of them.

That's a really good point - I've always put it down to Dan learning how to write characters more complexly sympathetically as he was writing the comic. Susan's growth into a likable character felt to me like early-Dan just didn't know how to write without relying on stereotypes, and later-Dan fleshed the character out as he grew into more skill as a writer. But I think it's clear with Pandora at least that this "reveal" was intentionally paced out and placed where it is.

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We have no information on how quickly Elves reach adulthood, but given that Adrian's "true form" appears to be in the equivalent of his thirties at most, I think that Elves do not naturally age beyond that.

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