• Announcements

    • Robin

      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!
Sign in to follow this  
Pharaoh RutinTutin

Story Friday December 07, 2018

Recommended Posts

Just now, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

This is an aspect of Grace I would like to see explored.

It's probably the same side of Grace that's had Tedd figured out since day one. The side that saw past the glasses.

Just now, Drachefly said:

Seems like there's a third way: have Tedd find a procedure acceptable to his sponsors to invite Sam to be a test subject.

Possible. Though I'd imagine it'd be related to what's stated below.

Just now, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Most importantly, Sam must find out about this procedure and invitation through an actual accident.

Grace mentioned that it would be a loophole if Sam found out about magic and Tedd's ability to change a person's sex and such (either by spell or TFG) but she's pretty clear that she can't do any nudging to make Sam find out.  Sarah would wind up in the same boat as well if she finds out about Sam herself, she couldn't be like "OMG I gotta introduce you to Tedd, he can help you!" cus that's the same as what Grace was thinking and the same consequences would apply. 

Sam would basically have to run into Tedd as Tedd is transforming or at least see Tedd as male one moment, then female the next, similar to how Ashley discovered Elliot. Sam did come really close at the card tournament 2 weeks earlier though, hmm, I wonder if Rich and/or Larry are at the tournament this time around, maybe later Sam could overhear one of them mention how it didn't look like Tedd changed sexes this time around, and Sam get's curious.

1 hour ago, Don Edwards said:

That would not be necessary. Heck, they could advertise for test subjects. (They probably wouldn't, there's still a significant "keep it secret" faction.)

And see above, because if they were to use test subjects, they'd probably pick from their own list of trusted individuals and not let Tedd chose.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Why did Dan set up another card tournament at Salty Crackers when Sam isn't going to show up? Doesn't seem likely that there will be any progress towards the discovery of Sam's secret at the card tournament.

As long as the discovery of Elliot transforming by Ashley has been raised, maybe Sam will catch Elliot transforming? Not necessarily into Cheerleadra; Ashley really likes "Rose Elliot".

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just now, Tom Sewell said:

Why did Dan set up another card tournament at Salty Crackers when Sam isn't going to show up? Doesn't seem likely that there will be any progress towards the discovery of Sam's secret at the card tournament.

The idea was that Grace thought the only chance she'd be able to talk to Sam was whenever he was at the comic shop and Sam had apparently been showing regularly enough to the card tournaments that Grace was sure she'd catch him tonight but was wrong. As the little narrative blurb at the top says, the tournament is underway so I don't think there's much danger of Dan turning this into Squirrel Prophet 2....

Hey...wait....Luke's probably participating again right? And in Squirrel Prophet it was made apparent that the only person that Luke didn't look at was Sarah, which means Luke looked at Sam, what if Luke could also tell that Sam was a trans (and didn't say anything then because it would be uncool and not unlike Luke's experience at the other comic shop) but maybe Luke slips up during a match between him and Sarah and reveals Sam's secret thinking that she already knew?

23 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

As long as the discovery of Elliot transforming by Ashley has been raised, maybe Sam will catch Elliot transforming? Not necessarily into Cheerleadra; Ashley really likes "Rose Elliot".

Don't know how likely this would be, if Sam is the one that messaged Elliot, he seemed convinced by Edward's fake Cheerleadra sighting to believe that Elliot isn't Cheerleadra, and the best chance for Sam to discover Elliot's secret would be to do what Ashley did, except with the intent on proving that Elliot can transform. So, at the moment, I don't see any reason Sam would actively search out Elliot, and what are the chance he'd accidentally bump into Elliot and Ashley during another walk through a public place while transformed.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

And now we see Grace's internal dialogue.

Sooo ... we saw Susans, Elliots, Sarah's, Pandoras, Dianes, Graces ... did I forgot anyone?

7 hours ago, Scotty said:
10 hours ago, Drachefly said:

Seems like there's a third way: have Tedd find a procedure acceptable to his sponsors to invite Sam to be a test subject.

Possible. Though I'd imagine it'd be related to what's stated below.

7 hours ago, Scotty said:

And see above, because if they were to use test subjects, they'd probably pick from their own list of trusted individuals and not let Tedd chose.

Initial test subjects would obviously be Tedd, Grace and Sarah. They already were experimented on AND have background checks done.

Not sure if they HAVE any list of people for experiments like this, but it would certainly take some time to allow additional subject AND would require background check.

7 hours ago, Scotty said:

Sam would basically have to run into Tedd as Tedd is transforming or at least see Tedd as male one moment, then female the next

4 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

As long as the discovery of Elliot transforming by Ashley has been raised, maybe Sam will catch Elliot transforming? Not necessarily into Cheerleadra; Ashley really likes "Rose Elliot".

No, that wouldn't help. Neither transform using any device - they are using magic. So, even if he accidentally finds out, it would still require another accident to reveal either that they have tech able to replicate that OR that they might be able to teach him magic.

3 hours ago, Scotty said:

Hey...wait....Luke's probably participating again right? And in Squirrel Prophet it was made apparent that the only person that Luke didn't look at was Sarah, which means Luke looked at Sam, what if Luke could also tell that Sam was a trans (and didn't say anything then because it would be uncool and not unlike Luke's experience at the other comic shop) but maybe Luke slips up during a match between him and Sarah and reveals Sam's secret thinking that she already knew?

Another option is just that the arc is supposed to address not just Sarah and Sam, but also Luke and Justin, and there will be progress with THAT happening. In fact, there already WAS info about that.

... but, yes, it's named Secret of Sam ...

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

Hey...wait....Luke's probably participating again right? And in Squirrel Prophet it was made apparent that the only person that Luke didn't look at was Sarah, which means Luke looked at Sam, what if Luke could also tell that Sam was a trans (and didn't say anything then because it would be uncool and not unlike Luke's experience at the other comic shop) but maybe Luke slips up during a match between him and Sarah and reveals Sam's secret thinking that she already knew?

Interesting idea, but it depends on Luke being able to sense Sam is trans. Given that he didn't pick up on Justin being gay, that kind of seems out of Luke's ballpark.

However, I have a thought: What if Sam is marked? Pandora was still in full Marker Mode at Salty Crackers during Squirrel Prophet. It might be even more likely if Pandora marked Sam after Luke did use his spell on Sam and found nothing. Why? Because it would be mischievous, of course.

Luke wouldn't even have to be involved now for the secret to come out. All that would be needed for circumstances where Sam really, really wants to change his physical gender to whatever is appropriate to the situation. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
23 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

Interesting idea, but it depends on Luke being able to sense Sam is trans. Given that he didn't pick up on Justin being gay, that kind of seems out of Luke's ballpark.

However, I have a thought: What if Sam is marked? Pandora was still in full Marker Mode at Salty Crackers during Squirrel Prophet. It might be even more likely if Pandora marked Sam after Luke did use his spell on Sam and found nothing. Why? Because it would be mischievous, of course.

Luke wouldn't even have to be involved now for the secret to come out. All that would be needed for circumstances where Sam really, really wants to change his physical gender to whatever is appropriate to the situation. 

If Pandora had marked Sam, he probably would have used the spell on accident by now because there'd have to be plenty of opportunities for him to wish he could change his form which would trigger the spell...although again, if that message to Elliot was from Sam, maybe the "sorry, nevermind" might actually be Sam saying "figured it out myself" rather than "looks like I was wrong about you being Cheerleadra", but then Sam shouldn't have had any problem hugging Sarah or any other physical contact.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
11 minutes ago, Scotty said:

...but then Sam shouldn't have had any problem hugging Sarah or any other physical contact.

Oh, I can think of a few problems. Given what Dan has showed us of Sam, how many people know he's physically a girl? Sam told Sarah he felt more like himself at Salty Crackers than anywhere else, which seems to be a pretty good indication it's the only place he's sure no one knows he's really physically female. And Sam took off his fake beard before he got home, wherever home is, which probably indicates despite being twenty Sam still lives at home, or has housemates who know him as her. In fact, since Sam is supposed to be a girl, his roommate(s) would probably be female.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 minute ago, Tom Sewell said:

Oh, I can think of a few problems. Given what Dan has showed us of Sam, how many people know he's physically a girl? Sam told Sarah he felt more like himself at Salty Crackers than anywhere else, which seems to be a pretty good indication it's the only place he's sure no one knows he's really physically female. And Sam took off his fake beard before he got home, wherever home is, which probably indicates despite being twenty Sam still lives at home, or has housemates who know him as her. In fact, since Sam is supposed to be a girl, his roommate(s) would probably be female.

That doesn't really mean anything though if Sam found himself to have the ability to shift back and forth like Tedd could, he'd just shift when he's out at the comic shop or on a "date" with Sarah, then shift back before he got home, and if the change is subtle enough the chance of anyone noticing would be extremely low, Sam could even get rid of the beard and claim he felt like shaving for a change.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Scotty said:

That doesn't really mean anything though if Sam found himself to have the ability to shift back and forth like Tedd could, he'd just shift when he's out at the comic shop or on a "date" with Sarah, then shift back before he got home, and if the change is subtle enough the chance of anyone noticing would be extremely low, Sam could even get rid of the beard and claim he felt like shaving for a change.

Yes, once Sam gets used to using his powers. However, this is El Goonish Shive, so of course it wouldn't be that simple.

If you haven't read it yet, you might check out Boku no Futatsu no Tsubasa for some examples of possible complications along the same line.

Edited by Tom Sewell
missing pesky preposition

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Scotty said:

If Pandora had marked Sam, he probably would have used the spell on accident by now because there'd have to be plenty of opportunities for him to wish he could change his form which would trigger the spell...

Definitely.

Pandora herself said that market people are likely to use their spell by accident close after marking.

2 hours ago, Scotty said:

although again, if that message to Elliot was from Sam, maybe the "sorry, nevermind" might actually be Sam saying "figured it out myself" rather than "looks like I was wrong about you being Cheerleadra", but then Sam shouldn't have had any problem hugging Sarah or any other physical contact.

2 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Yes, once Sam gets used using his powers. However, this is El Goonish Shive, so of course it wouldn't be that simple.

He might have some trouble controlling his powers, although this being El Goonish Shive it wouldn't be so serious. However, in such case, wouldn't he be even MORE likely to try to contact Cheerleadra?

2 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

And Sam took off his fake beard before he got home, wherever home is, which probably indicates despite being twenty Sam still lives at home, or has housemates who know him as her. In fact, since Sam is supposed to be a girl, his roommate(s) would probably be female.

If he has any. I mean, if he lives with his family, he may easily have own room, but, like, just room.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Most of this discussion of the possibility of Sam being marked, assumes that his mark-spell would be something related to sex changing.

Possibly Pandora noticed he was really hungry, and gave him the ability to materialize hamburgers (really good ones, by Sam's standards... or maybe by Pandora's) at will.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Don Edwards said:

Possibly Pandora noticed he was really hungry, and gave him the ability to materialize hamburgers (really good ones, by Sam's standards... or maybe by Pandora's) at will.

... hamburgers which actually help with hunger might be S-level spell, considering how griffins reacted on fact Nanase's fairy dolls have persistence. Not speaking about that little thing called first law of thermodynamics.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
19 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Why did Dan set up another card tournament at Salty Crackers when Sam isn't going to show up?

Aside from this allowing for the fakeout of Grace planning to "talk" (or smile) at Sam only to have him not show up, I'm pretty sure it's probably Dan's intention that Salty Crackers hosts card tournaments regularly (in fact I get the impression they have one every Friday).

18 hours ago, Scotty said:

Hey...wait....Luke's probably participating again right? And in Squirrel Prophet it was made apparent that the only person that Luke didn't look at was Sarah, which means Luke looked at Sam, what if Luke could also tell that Sam was a trans (and didn't say anything then because it would be uncool and not unlike Luke's experience at the other comic shop) but maybe Luke slips up during a match between him and Sarah and reveals Sam's secret thinking that she already knew?

Luke has the power to sense magical auras; there's no indication he has any other magical sight powers. And I doubt what gender one is or whether one is trans has an effect on one's magical aura.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just now, ChronosCat said:

Luke has the power to sense magical auras; there's no indication he has any other magical sight powers. And I doubt what gender one is or whether one is trans has an effect on one's magical aura.

I didn't mean to suggest that Luke would magically see that Sam was trans, but during the act of "looking" maybe Luke noticed some things about Sam that others might not at a glance, lack of an Adam's apple, maybe the pocketed shirt didn't hide Sam's breasts as well as he thought or something.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Scotty said:

I didn't mean to suggest that Luke would magically see that Sam was trans, but during the act of "looking" maybe Luke noticed some things about Sam that others might not at a glance, lack of an Adam's apple, maybe the pocketed shirt didn't hide Sam's breasts as well as he thought or something.

There are plenty of guys who don't have a prominent larynx, and some girls who do. And man boobs aren't exactly unknown.

A bigger reason for Luke not to be interested in Sam in Squirrel Prophet is that it takes place the day before Voltaire called Cheerleadra "Elliot Dunkel" at the mall. Luke's "mission" is to find Cheerleadra, and that was his primary interest in Justin before he actually met Justin in person. After finding himself attracted to Justin, an extremely masculine man, Luke would likely show even less interest in a somewhat androgynous and not particularly attractive "man" (Sam).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:
12 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Not speaking about that little thing called first law of thermodynamics.

Like all the other laws of physics, it's more like a polite suggestion in the Moperverse. Just ask Mr. Bluel or Dr. Physics Professor.

Yes, but so far it seems that the more laws of physics is spell breaking, the harder it's considered to be.

5 hours ago, ChronosCat said:

Luke has the power to sense magical auras; there's no indication he has any other magical sight powers. And I doubt what gender one is or whether one is trans has an effect on one's magical aura.

However, there are hints that he got power to sense magical auras when actually wanting power to recognize gays. Or, possibly, homophobes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this