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Stature

Story Sunday November 12, 2017

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29 minutes ago, Stature said:

http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2422

I am only confused that this is a Sunday comic, no less. Yay unexpected?

However, it's just few hours before Monday comic time. Maybe the title is generated automatically?

So, Ashley was taken care off quickly, as if planned ... well, it probably was planned, her being there was expected. And she doesn't have enough experience to hide when she sees suspicious light (or what she saw). And, the fact she was put to sleep is at least little argument for Magus being friendly, if they later get to point where it matters - it could've easily be fireball.

Now, either Sirleck will take Ellen with Elliot, or they leave her there sleeping as well, and possibly sleeping too hard for Nanase's calling to wake them. Hmmm ... Nanase doesn't have doll for Ashley, but she can try to contact Ellen by doll and then try to wake her up.

Also, is this confirmation Magus is specifically wizard and not just magic user? Wait, we already know that.

(Also, Ellen DOES have blonde beam, meaning there WAS something specific on FV5 considering Dan felt the need to mention it.)

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Was I supposed to hear Magus cast the "Sleep" spell on Ashley the same way Dr Orpheus cast it on his daughter whenever he wanted to avoid those awkward teenager/single parent/necromancer talks?

And can we get a close up color picture of Sleepy Ashley?

 

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2 hours ago, hkmaly said:

So, Ashley was taken care off quickly, as if planned ... well, it probably was planned, her being there was expected. And she doesn't have enough experience to hide when she sees suspicious light (or what she saw). And, the fact she was put to sleep is at least little argument for Magus being friendly, if they later get to point where it matters - it could've easily be fireball.

Yeah, even with Magus's dialog in the last two panels it certainly seems like Magus is trying to not do any harm, and probably hints that he does have a plan.

2 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Now, either Sirleck will take Ellen with Elliot, or they leave her there sleeping as well, and possibly sleeping too hard for Nanase's calling to wake them. Hmmm ... Nanase doesn't have doll for Ashley, but she can try to contact Ellen by doll and then try to wake her up.

Well see what Wednesday brings, but the fact that Sirleck didn't immediately jump to Magus(Elliot) might mean that Sirleck's waiting for Magus to touch the diamond. So that would rule out the idea of Ellen being left unconscious with Ashley. Again though it might change on Wednesday.

3 hours ago, hkmaly said:

(Also, Ellen DOES have blonde beam, meaning there WAS something specific on FV5 considering Dan felt the need to mention it.)

Dan might be talking (typing) silly, and might be thinking "I just did an NP demoing a number of Ellen's spells, the readers will surely guess that it doesn't have to specifically be the FV5 beam, the other beam based spells still mimic the TFG"

Of course, that's what I think Dan's thinking because that's what I'm thinking. ;)

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55 minutes ago, partner555 said:

Oh dear. I hope nothi is going to happen to Ashley.

Well, gentleman would catch her, but I don't think she will hurt herself too much falling to sleep on flat floor.

... or did you though about vampires possibly visiting? Or Sirleck?

48 minutes ago, Scotty said:

Yeah, even with Magus's dialog in the last two panels it certainly seems like Magus is trying to not do any harm, and probably hints that he does have a plan.

More like "as little harm as possible", but at least something.

49 minutes ago, Scotty said:
3 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Now, either Sirleck will take Ellen with Elliot, or they leave her there sleeping as well, and possibly sleeping too hard for Nanase's calling to wake them. Hmmm ... Nanase doesn't have doll for Ashley, but she can try to contact Ellen by doll and then try to wake her up.

Well see what Wednesday brings, but the fact that Sirleck didn't immediately jump to Magus(Elliot) might mean that Sirleck's waiting for Magus to touch the diamond. So that would rule out the idea of Ellen being left unconscious with Ashley. Again though it might change on Wednesday.

Sirleck may also just wait for Magus not paying attention, but yes, waiting for touching the diamond would be safer - Magus doesn't have anyone who knows him, but Elliot does ; and who knows what would the diamond do when Elliot would touch him possessed by Sirleck.

Still, they MIGHT leave Ellen here. Sirleck may be able to survive some time without host or may have someone else ready ... hmmm ... but yes, most likely they will take Ellen with them.

On the other hand ... there may be some limit how long is safe to be possessing Ellen ... and if that's getting close, leaving her HERE would be safer than dropping her somewhere on way and creating a track.

53 minutes ago, Scotty said:

Dan might be talking (typing) silly, and might be thinking "I just did an NP demoing a number of Ellen's spells, the readers will surely guess that it doesn't have to specifically be the FV5 beam, the other beam based spells still mimic the TFG"

Of course, that's what I think Dan's thinking because that's what I'm thinking. ;)

Assume what you want, I already asked :)

(Ok, Dan is unlikely to answer, but it's worth try)

 

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I'm almost certain that Sirleck is waiting for the diamond. The point that convinced him to help was that no one knew about Magus at all, so no one would miss Magus when Sirleck takes him. Magus didn't frame it that way, of course, but that was obviously Sirleck's real motivation. Taking Magus when it would mean Elliot's permanent disappearance would negate that.

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5 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

More like "as little harm as possible", but at least something.

59 minutes ago, Scotty said:
4 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Now, either Sirleck will take Ellen with Elliot, or they leave her there sleeping as well, and possibly sleeping too hard for Nanase's calling to wake them. Hmmm ... Nanase doesn't have doll for Ashley, but she can try to contact Ellen by doll and then try to wake her up.

Well see what Wednesday brings, but the fact that Sirleck didn't immediately jump to Magus(Elliot) might mean that Sirleck's waiting for Magus to touch the diamond. So that would rule out the idea of Ellen being left unconscious with Ashley. Again though it might change on Wednesday.

Sirleck may also just wait for Magus not paying attention, but yes, waiting for touching the diamond would be safer - Magus doesn't have anyone who knows him, but Elliot does ; and who knows what would the diamond do when Elliot would touch him possessed by Sirleck.

Magus-Elliot already isn't paying attention. He turned toward Ashley to throw that spell and kept talking to her to the end of the page. That's less time than Sirleck needed to get in position to possess the butler--and the butler was looking right at the old man Sirleck had to be possessing up to the time he collapsed. All aberrations have to show their monstrous forms before attacking--but obviously not long before in the case of Sirleck.

And I'm still not buying the blonder beam theory. Magus had blond hair in his last body, and he's merged with Elliot. That's just as reasonable a justification for having blond hair.

Assuming Magus-Elliot hasn't just made a fatal mistake, what happens next should depend on what his "next step" really is. If he really means the final step is to touch the dewitchery diamond, he's being naive, overconfident, or both. Just naive if he expects Sirleck to just let him go--criminally naive if he expects Sirleck to stop the vampires now. Overconfident to think his magic will be enough to get into a facility for storing dangerous magical objects without Sirleck's wealth and expertise in bribery. Also overconfident if he's sure he can take on Sirleck and the vampires now.

Anyway, there are a lot of alternative paths for the plot to proceed on from here. Here's my initial selection:

  • Sirleck possesses Magus-Elliot now and immediately sets for whatever bolt-hole he's prepared. The rest of our heroes have to find him.
  • Sirleck doesn't try to possess yet Magus-Elliot right now and they proceed to Sirleck's next step somewhere else. Meanwhile, of course, the vampires are doing their thing.
  • Magus-Elliot does perceive Sirleck trying to possess him in time, or M-E has some kind of magical force field (like Greg) that Sirleck didn't expect. Sirleck either gets killed or flees. And quite possibly Magus-Elliot sets the Dunkel residence on  fire in the process. In that case Magus-Elliot will have to get Ashley and Ellen out if he can't stop the fire and/or the house collapsing. Of course, the Echo is in the garage and is also totaled.

This is also an excellent point to switch scenes, leaving us in suspense for more than two days about what happened next.

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17 minutes ago, Douglas said:

I'm almost certain that Sirleck is waiting for the diamond. The point that convinced him to help was that no one knew about Magus at all, so no one would miss Magus when Sirleck takes him. Magus didn't frame it that way, of course, but that was obviously Sirleck's real motivation. Taking Magus when it would mean Elliot's permanent disappearance would negate that.

Why would Sirleck be really interested in that diamond? Because of a sense of honor to Magus? Remember how Sirleck complained about how big a bribe he had to give a guard for Elliot to get to the Dewitchery Diamond before? Sirleck wants to be rid of Magus, by stealing his body, by killing him, or by simply giving the annoying snot what he wants so he won't have a reason to bother Sirleck any more.

The facility where Elliot touched the diamond before has probably updated the security--or the diamond has been taken to another facility by Top Men. Either way, it would be more difficult and more dangerous to get to it now, and Sirleck would know it. Sirleck would only go through with it if he feels that Magus is now too dangerous to cross.

Edited by Tom Sewell
Further thoughts.

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Let me rephrase: I think Sirleck is waiting for Magus to use the Diamond, because that will produce a body that he can steal without anyone missing it. Sirleck doesn't care at all about the Diamond, but he does care about not drawing a manhunt onto his trail when he takes his next long term host.

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8 minutes ago, Douglas said:

Let me rephrase: I think Sirleck is waiting for Magus to use the Diamond, because that will produce a body that he can steal without anyone missing it. Sirleck doesn't care at all about the Diamond, but he does care about not drawing a manhunt onto his trail when he takes his next long term host.

As opposed to just stealing another body without anyone else around, especially two people with dangerous powers.  Well, Sirleck has been stupid enough to target an Immortal's son and think he would get away with it, so, okay, maybe.

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I'm going to stick with my personal theory that Sirleck has abandoned his initial plan to claim Magus in favor of weakening (via the vampires) and then claiming Raven.  A host that won't likely die for a very long time just seems to me to be a target Sirleck can't pass up.

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4 minutes ago, Stormtalon42 said:

I'm going to stick with my personal theory that Sirleck has abandoned his initial plan to claim Magus in favor of weakening (via the vampires) and then claiming Raven.  A host that won't likely die for a very long time just seems to me to be a target Sirleck can't pass up.

Interesting theory, possibly true. I wonder if Sirleck knows Susan is a Slayer and already where Raven is. And I wonder if Sirleck knows that Pandora is Raven's mother. She's rather interested in Raven, of course, and lately, in Susan  and Diane as well. Think she might be hanging at the mall too?  If she isn't, think Jerry isn't watching Susan and Diane like his life depends on it?

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From how Voltaire told Sirleck about Raven, it looks like he let Sirleck assume that Raven is the offspring of either Helena or Demetrius.  He definitely left out mentioning Pandora at all -- and of course, none of the other immortals are aware of Jerry being in the mix.  Voltaire seems to be setting Sirleck up for a fall, presumably via Pandora (and may also be setting her up for a forced reset as well).

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3 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Assuming Magus-Elliot hasn't just made a fatal mistake, what happens next should depend on what his "next step" really is. If he really means the final step is to touch the dewitchery diamond, he's being naive, overconfident, or both. Just naive if he expects Sirleck to just let him go--criminally naive if he expects Sirleck to stop the vampires now.

The strategy with vampires always sort of was to let Helena and Demetrius destroy them. Sirleck might not even HAVE way to stop them, if he does, he's not telling Magus.

Naive Magus is, yes.

3 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Overconfident to think his magic will be enough to get into a facility for storing dangerous magical objects without Sirleck's wealth and expertise in bribery.

The facility diamond used to be in REALLY had minimal security. Even windows were missing. Of course, it IS possible they moved it somewhere more secure now ...

3 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Magus-Elliot does perceive Sirleck trying to possess him in time, or M-E has some kind of magical force field (like Greg) that Sirleck didn't expect. Sirleck either gets killed or flees. And quite possibly Magus-Elliot sets the Dunkel residence on  fire in the process. In that case Magus-Elliot will have to get Ashley and Ellen out if he can't stop the fire and/or the house collapsing. Of course, the Echo is in the garage and is also totaled.

... seriously ...?

3 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

This is also an excellent point to switch scenes, leaving us in suspense for more than two days about what happened next.

Agree.

1 hour ago, Tom Sewell said:
2 hours ago, Douglas said:

Let me rephrase: I think Sirleck is waiting for Magus to use the Diamond, because that will produce a body that he can steal without anyone missing it. Sirleck doesn't care at all about the Diamond, but he does care about not drawing a manhunt onto his trail when he takes his next long term host.

As opposed to just stealing another body without anyone else around, especially two people with dangerous powers.  Well, Sirleck has been stupid enough to target an Immortal's son and think he would get away with it, so, okay, maybe.

Another body wouldn't be wizard. Sirleck wants the unique opportunity to possess wizard who has noone who would be looking for him.

47 minutes ago, Stormtalon42 said:

I'm going to stick with my personal theory that Sirleck has abandoned his initial plan to claim Magus in favor of weakening (via the vampires) and then claiming Raven.  A host that won't likely die for a very long time just seems to me to be a target Sirleck can't pass up.

I think claiming Raven would be risky even if weakened by vampires. But maybe Sirleck thinks it's worth the try. In which case, not sure how he convinces Magus to go near. Unless his plan is to go for the diamond, THEN possess Magus and THEN go for Raven, to give vampires enough time to weaken him.

32 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

I wonder if Sirleck knows Susan is a Slayer and already where Raven is.

No. It's not like he could give the vampires Ellen's phone so they can contact him.

32 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

And I wonder if Sirleck knows that Pandora is Raven's mother.

No. You can smell it clearly. If he would know Pandora is Raven's mother he would shit himself.

32 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

If she isn't, think Jerry isn't watching Susan and Diane like his life depends on it?

What do you mean "like"?

He is definitely watching them after Pandora explained him how important it is.

EDIT: Another possibility: What if Sirleck ALREADY stole the diamond and put him somewhere near? Magus couldn't do it because he lacks body, but Sirleck DO have body. Several of them during the course of action actually. The diamond could already be in Ellen's car.

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45 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

The facility diamond used to be in REALLY had minimal security. Even windows were missing. Of course, it IS possible they moved it somewhere more secure now ...

Well, that could have just been a joke at the time. But retconning, perhaps, the real security could have been magical wards which the bribed guard took down. Having missing windows could be intentional, making the place look deserted. Nothing important going on here, nossiree.

47 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

EDIT: Another possibility: What if Sirleck ALREADY stole the diamond and put him somewhere near? Magus couldn't do it because he lacks body, but Sirleck DO have body. Several of them during the course of action actually. The diamond could already be in Ellen's car.

Could be. But we really don't know if Sirleck has any more magic than his basic powers as a body thief Abberation.. If that's the case, trying to steal the diamond out of any place set up to hold very secret and dangerous magical artifacts would be a very risky thing to try. And, as I believe I pointed out before, measures should have been taken after the incident. And, of course, Edward would have been informed. If Sirleck doesn't already know about Edward by now, it's amazing he's been able to survive this long living so nearby. Or unliving so nearby.  

Yes, I'm going to keep doing the life-or-unlife bit.

 

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7 hours ago, hkmaly said:

... or did you though about vampires possibly visiting? Or Sirleck?

Sirleck doing something, and even if he doesn't, Ashley is alone and vulnerable.

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3 hours ago, hkmaly said:

The diamond could already be in Ellen's car.

That would fit with Ellen(Sirleck) just getting home a moment ago if several hours had passed since the end of school, might even explain the rush Ellen(Sirleck) was in to get Nanase the message and leave, oh wait, It was a 3 hour trip to the facility...although was that 3 hours round trip, or 3 hours there, 3 back for a total of 6 hours? 3 hours round trip might be doable, or maybe Sirleck moved it closer while possessing the butler?

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"Your friends will be okay."

That's interesting.  If he's talking to Ashley, it means he's not planning to replace Elliot; if he's talking to either of them, it means (at least he thinks) Ellen is still alive.  (Granted, the latter was kind of obvious from a Doylist perspective, but it was possible that this would ultimately require some extremely exceptional circumstance in-universe.)

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Just now, WR...S said:

"Your friends will be okay."

That's interesting.  If he's talking to Ashley, it means he's not planning to replace Elliot; if he's talking to either of them, it means (at least he thinks) Ellen is still alive.  (Granted, the latter was kind of obvious from a Doylist perspective, but it was possible that this would ultimately require some extremely exceptional circumstance in-universe.)

I think he's only talking to Ashley, but referring to both Elliot and Ellen being returned unharmed.

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I'm still a little surprised that Elliot wasn't transformed.

Of course Magus' promise may not be proof against Sirleck keeping his hold on Ellen saying, "I am altering the deal.  Pray I do not alter it any further."  Though to be honest, I don't think  Sirleck intends to occupy Ellen on a long-term basis.  His target ought to be either either Magus, once he is split from Elliot (a body nobody would miss) or Raven. (a near-immortal host who might be able to sustain Sirleck indefinitely).  I expect that Sirleck intends to enlist Magus against Raven and posses Raven if it works, and Magus if it doesn't.

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2 hours ago, WR...S said:

If he's talking to Ashley, it means he's not planning to replace Elliot

Unless...

Possibly Magus has worked out a justification for retaining Elliot's body--and his powers. Not permanently, but just, you know, until he's cleaned up the mess he's made, or made sure Sirleck really will release Ellen before it's too late, or... Who knows how long it will be necessary? For the greater good, of course...

And even if Magus hasn't worked out a justification yet, there's still time for him to work out one. Wonderful opportunity for debates, external, internal, and intramural--the last within Magus-Elliot between the two personalities, or perhaps more than two personalities. Here's an example in canon which could be somewhat similar to how Dan might present such an intramural debate. Or shoulder angels and devils. Or like Susan's Logic, Curiosity, Nature, and Nurture. Or floating heads. Or with avatars in imaginary scenes like the way Dan has so often dressed up instant messaging.

 

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It is quite possible that Magus may not be able to separate from Elliot even if he wants to.

All we know or think we know about the process Magus wants to complete to have a body of his own is that the Dewitchery Diamond is needed for it. But is that all that is needed?

Here are some reasons why Magus may not be able to separate from Elliot:

The Diamond  Is Unavailable

The diamond could have been moved to another secret location. It could have been stolen by someone else. It could have been destroyed by now, either deliberately or by accident. It could be more than adequately guarded.

Pandora Is Unavailable

Pandora might have to do something to complete the process, something Magus doesn't know about. If Pandora resets, she may (probably won't) remember what that was. Certainly won't remember if she's dead.There may still be a way to separate Magus from Elliot after some research, some work, some danger, and most important, some luck. Pandora's direct participation might not be necessary, only some macguffin(s) that Pandora was withholding knowledge of. Maybe as simple as "Close your eyes and click your heels three times while saying 'There's no place like home'."

The Diamond Has Been/Gets Destroyed

Well, just get Abraham to make another one, right?

Anyway, particularly if Magus really is an alternate-universe Elliot like Second Life Ellen, would it really be so terrible for them to stay blended? Complicated, for sure, especially if Terra comes world-hopping to look up her missing boyfriend.

 

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1 hour ago, Vorlonagent said:

or Raven. (a near-immortal host who might be able to sustain Sirleck indefinitely).  I expect that Sirleck intends to enlist Magus against Raven and posses Raven if it works, and Magus if it doesn't.

I really doubt Raven is the ultimate host for Sirleck, for one, Sirleck's plan for distracting Helena and Demetrius involves having a large number of aberrations attack Raven with the intent to kill him. Some think that Sirleck expects Raven with survive the attack but be left weak enough to not be able to resist possession, but I think there still too much risk involved, also the fact that Raven's too high profile in the Immortal circle, Jerry knew about him how many others would? So possession might get noticed and even considering Raven's behaviour, his charity work and teaching job, if any of that changes for any reason, it might raise suspicion.

Sirleck needs a host that can fly under the radar, his hosts in the past were probably such that they fit his own personality so anything he did or could do would just appear to others as the host just going about they way they always did. Magus gave the tempting offer that he's a complete nobody in this world but with the ability to do things others can't, so it would make sense for Sirleck to want to take possession of Magus.

The flaw in Sirleck's plan for possessing Magus, even after splitting himself from Elliot, is it's very likely Elliot would attempt to interfere with Sirleck's plan. Heck the whole this so far has the potential of the Main Eight getting in the way along with Edward, Helena and Demetrius, Jerry2.0 and Pandora as well once word got out.  Magus probably has his own plan for dealing with Sirleck as well once he has his own body so it's probably not going to end well for the body snatcher.

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