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mlooney

Story Monday, May 25, 2020

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Here is.

OK Pizza girl aka Jay is Smoke, who got the smoke form from Camdin.  She wanted to meet up with Tedd for some reason.  Still not thinking she an antagonist, but I could be wrong here.   Also shown, Diane has a spell or spell like power.  

And Jay is a gamer, just to round things out.

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This is not the first time someone with some power, but a low level of esoteric knowledge, tries to be clever and arrange an accidental meeting with someone from the inner circle

I really don't know what to think of this Jay person, so far

But there is something bothering  me

Even with the public displays like the fight at the mall, the Cheerledra appearances, and Arthur's comments on television, a lot of normals don't believe the weird stuff

There is a lot of magic, alien tech, and other spooky stuff secretly scattered about Moperville, and often in the hands of the young people

The young people with this power can not go to their parents or teachers for advice or guidance

The scene seems to be set for a charismatic leader to arrive and guide these adolescent adepts into a cult-like society

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11 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

 

The scene seems to be set for a charismatic leader to arrive and guide these adolescent adepts into a cult-like society

I suspect that would trigger a major action by DGB as soon as they heard any thing about it.

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58 minutes ago, mlooney said:

I suspect that would trigger a major action by DGB as soon as they heard any thing about it.

About the only action by DGB that wouldn't make things worse would be to do a full reverse and instead of hiding everything, give parents and children alike genuine information. They could probably get away with just the bare essentials, as long as they were upfront that "Hey, this is the part we're sure won't make things worse to tell you."

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4 minutes ago, Haylo said:
1 hour ago, mlooney said:

I suspect that would trigger a major action by DGB as soon as they heard any thing about it.

About the only action by DGB that wouldn't make things worse would be to do a full reverse and instead of hiding everything, give parents and children alike genuine information. They could probably get away with just the bare essentials, as long as they were upfront that "Hey, this is the part we're sure won't make things worse to tell you."

I would not rule that out as an action by DGB given that magic isn't on the top secret list of things any more.

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How the heck does Jay know that Tedd Verres is the Tedd Verres?

Well, as Mlooney said, she's a gamer. She thinks of Diane as "the Bard" and Grace as "the Druid", gamer clichés as old as the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons. I can picture Jay as one of the nerd girls playing a Xena game in the back room of the comic store when Susan and Catalina visited it during the last spring break in "Hammerchlorians". So, if she's a regular there, she could have started out seeing Tedd as a weird, possibly trans gaming nerd, and then witnessed some weirdness there.

Or, if Jay really likes to gossip, she'd also like to snoop to pick up even more gossip opportunities. There was plenty of gossip about Grace at MSHS, so Jay could have picked up that "Tedd Verres" was supposed to be Grace's boyfriend. There's a chance, maybe, that Jay just wants to see if "Tedd" is a boy or a girl--and that whatever sex Tedd is, to see the person Jay and maybe most others at MSHS was imaginary.

But Jay is a wizard by EGS definition: She can learn other people's spells. That's high-level magic. It kind of implies some high-level ancestry.

Consider this: What if Voltaire wasn't entirely insincere when he told the other Immortals they should change the rules so they could protect their own families? What if Voltaire actually has family he wants to protect?

 

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6 hours ago, mlooney said:

OK Pizza girl aka Jay is Smoke, who got the smoke form from Camdin.

I'd be curious how she knows Camdin, and if this connects her to Luke. Would not be surprised if she met him gaming.

Maybe Luke spotted her aura, and that's how Camdin met her.

She might be the Shadow Guy they're talking about in this comic.

 

6 hours ago, mlooney said:

And Jay is a gamer, just to round things out.

Appears to play D&D in particular. Her references make the most sense in that context. Druid animal form and bardic persuasion. But she wasn't put off by a 'bardic spell' wouldn't be learnable.

She should know Justin, if she's a gamer. She'd have seen him around school.

 

7 hours ago, mlooney said:

She wanted to meet up with Tedd for some reason.

Seems that since she's a wizard, she either wants to acquire his knowledge and spells, or size up the competition, maybe both.

 

7 hours ago, mlooney said:

Still not thinking she an antagonist, but I could be wrong here.  

If she had a benign interest in meeting magic folks, she knows three of them are there. That's not what she wants. She is specifically not open about who and what she is, she is choosing to hide that she is Smoke.

Check the face in panel 2. And her complaint? "I'm inconvenienced by the people Tedd chooses to hang out with." Her world revolves around her. An easily solvable difficulty; she could've just asked to meet Tedd.

Panel 5 is downright ominous. Look at the background. Her face is downcast, and that's one grim frown. She looks like someone who is hurt by imaginary hurts, like they somehow conspired to inconvenience her.

Panel 7 is foreshadowing trouble. I'm not connecting the dots, but she's not saying this in a positive way.

Basically, I see, "You stepped on my imaginary puppy, you fiends! I will have my revenge!"

 

7 hours ago, mlooney said:

Also shown, Diane has a spell or spell like power.  

... but has not awakened.

 

1 hour ago, Tom Sewell said:

How the heck does Jay know that Tedd Verres is the Tedd Verres?

How does she know Tedd Verres at all? If she knows of Tedd Verres I doubt it's a common name.

 

1 hour ago, Tom Sewell said:

Well, as Mlooney said, she's a gamer. She thinks of Diane as "the Bard" and Grace as "the Druid", gamer clichés as old as the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons. I can picture Jay as one of the nerd girls playing a Xena game in the back room of the comic store when Susan and Catalina visited it during the last spring break in "Hammerchlorians". So, if she's a regular there, she could have started out seeing Tedd as a weird, possibly trans gaming nerd, and then witnessed some weirdness there.

Or, if Jay really likes to gossip, she'd also like to snoop to pick up even more gossip opportunities. There was plenty of gossip about Grace at MSHS, so Jay could have picked up that "Tedd Verres" was supposed to be Grace's boyfriend. There's a chance, maybe, that Jay just wants to see if "Tedd" is a boy or a girl--and that whatever sex Tedd is, to see the person Jay and maybe most others at MSHS was imaginary.

All plausible.

'Liking gossip' does not seem to fit her demeanor, she's not an airhead, and has likely figured out that gossip is unreliable. I'm guessing she specifically likes gossip because it feed her deeper interests; it can and probably has already led her to magic users she can copy.

FWIW, The very first ed. D&D had neither Bards nor Druids, only the core four; fighter, magic user, cleric, and thief. I'm pretty sure about those names, too.

 

1 hour ago, Tom Sewell said:

But Jay is a wizard by EGS definition: She can learn other people's spells. That's high-level magic. It kind of implies some high-level ancestry.

From the little we've seen, she seems pretty good, but in EGS a 'wizard' by definition can learn other peoples spells. I don't think the title alone implies a level of skill though. Ashley was described as a wizard. Got to start somewhere.

I'd have to reread some comics to concur, but I think you're on the right track with ancestry. I bet she doesn't know that, though.

 

1 hour ago, Tom Sewell said:

Consider this: What if Voltaire wasn't entirely insincere when he told the other Immortals they should change the rules so they could protect their own families? What if Voltaire actually has family he wants to protect?

Maybe it's because I just don't like him, but I'm not buying it.

 

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3 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

Maybe it's because I just don't like him, but I'm not buying it.

Gee, that would be as unthinkable as say Luke Skywalker being Darth Vader's son, or Rey being the granddaughter of Palpatine. I'm not really married to this theory, but it has potential, especially if Dan keeps on using Jay. Jay wouldn't necessarily know anything about her connection to an Immortal, since they all seem to be shapechangers. 

 

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44 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

FWIW, The very first ed. D&D had neither Bards nor Druids, only the core four; fighter, magic user, cleric, and thief. I'm pretty sure about those names, too.

Real first ed D&D (AKA OD&D) didn't have thieves, they were added in the 1st supplement, Greyhawk, which also added paladins.  The core 3 classes were Fighting Men, Magic User and Cleric.

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47 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I'd have to reread some comics to concur, but I think you're on the right track with ancestry. I bet she doesn't know that, though.

 

One theory that I read on the Discord Server is she is Arthur J. Arthur's daughter or granddaughter.

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1 minute ago, mlooney said:

Real first ed D&D (AKA OD&D) didn't have thieves, they were added in the 1st supplement, Greyhawk, which also added paladins.  The core 3 classes were Fighting Men, Magic User and Cleric.

Ah, I had the boxed set with the thin book and the really crappy dice. I have never again seen pointier D4s. Given that d&d was developed out of fantasy war gaming, it makes sense that a class that is oriented toward solo action and dungeon crawl would be an add on. I started in 1979 - 1980, purchased it at Wargames West in Albuquerque. I'm guessing you've been at it longer.

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1 minute ago, mlooney said:

One theory that I read on the Discord Server is she is Arthur J. Arthur's daughter or granddaughter.

I'd put my money on "granddaughter" with her mom being Sybil. So is she spying for Arthur, or going rogue?

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Just now, Darth Fluffy said:

I started in 1979 - 1980, purchased it at Wargames West in Albuquerque. I'm guessing you've been at it longer.

I started playing D&D in 76

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55 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I think I heard of it in '76. It was not a thing at school yet.

I started playing before Greyhawk was released.  I was a teenage wargamer before I started playing D&D.

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1 hour ago, Tom Sewell said:

I'd put my money on "granddaughter" with her mom being Sybil. So is she spying for Arthur, or going rogue?

Well it's possible for her to be AJA's daughter that happened very late in life for him, resulting in his whole "life I created by accident" thing.  Part of the reason for this theory is, of course, she was named for his middle initial, "J".

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If this Jay is Arthur's granddaughter...

And considering Arthur's preference for keeping secrets...

This would fit too neatly into my Unguided-Gifted-Youth-Herded-Into-Cult fear

She comes from a magical background and has NEVER been told anything useful about it

What she has accidentally seen or caused herself only made her scared and confused

Instead of growing up with the message "This is a gift and responsibility that must only be used to help others" she is left thinking "I am a freak and a monster and must use this for my advantage and protection on my own because anyone else would fear or hate me if they knew"

At this point, if Arthur was to reveal the truth to her, the resulting reaction could easily be disastrous

"You KNEW!  Why didn't you TELL ME?  Can't I trust ANYONE?"

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Oh NO, Dan, you can't cut our speculations out like dissipating smoke! Outright jumping at a chance to do a task is suspicious at worst!

5 pizzas but no drinks? Yeah, Diane, that's a-plenty. Wonder if those were cut into squares... plus what would be the classes of the other 8?

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Ordering the drinks from the pizza place is more expensive than if Tedd had prepared the drinks in advance (e.g buying a couple of cases of soda from the market).

5 large pizzas for 10 teens sounds about right (at least, half a large was what I would eat when I was in high school), though I am slightly surprised at the lack of any side items.

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13 hours ago, mlooney said:

OK Pizza girl aka Jay is Smoke, who got the smoke form from Camdin. 

13 hours ago, mlooney said:

Also shown, Diane has a spell or spell like power.  

Nice to have it confirmed but no surprise, was already assuming that.

8 hours ago, mlooney said:
9 hours ago, Haylo said:
10 hours ago, mlooney said:

I suspect that would trigger a major action by DGB as soon as they heard any thing about it.

About the only action by DGB that wouldn't make things worse would be to do a full reverse and instead of hiding everything, give parents and children alike genuine information. They could probably get away with just the bare essentials, as long as they were upfront that "Hey, this is the part we're sure won't make things worse to tell you."

I would not rule that out as an action by DGB given that magic isn't on the top secret list of things any more.

I think it would be the action by DGB even BEFORE. I mean, sure, Elliot was Tedd's friend, but I think at least during the time Edward was director, DGB would behave similarly with ANY family who's not-yet-adult kid would get powers or be affected by magic in way they can't clean up.
And no, kidnapping Ellen was not considered clean-up solution.

10 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

The scene seems to be set for a charismatic leader to arrive and guide these adolescent adepts into a cult-like society

... however, specifically in this case, I would suspect DGB would try to steal the whole cult.

5 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:
13 hours ago, mlooney said:

Still not thinking she an antagonist, but I could be wrong here.  

If she had a benign interest in meeting magic folks, she knows three of them are there. That's not what she wants. She is specifically not open about who and what she is, she is choosing to hide that she is Smoke.

Check the face in panel 2. And her complaint? "I'm inconvenienced by the people Tedd chooses to hang out with." Her world revolves around her. An easily solvable difficulty; she could've just asked to meet Tedd.

Panel 5 is downright ominous. Look at the background. Her face is downcast, and that's one grim frown. She looks like someone who is hurt by imaginary hurts, like they somehow conspired to inconvenience her.

Panel 7 is foreshadowing trouble. I'm not connecting the dots, but she's not saying this in a positive way.

Basically, I see, "You stepped on my imaginary puppy, you fiends! I will have my revenge!"

I don't see it's about revenge. She's just planning how to use them, possibly to get to Tedd. Agree with the rest however.
 

5 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:
13 hours ago, mlooney said:

She wanted to meet up with Tedd for some reason.

Seems that since she's a wizard, she either wants to acquire his knowledge and spells, or size up the competition, maybe both.

She's wizard and she describes Tedd as wizard. She may not know what the distinction means in EGS universe, but she guessed correctly and she definitely wants to acquire Tedd's spells.

6 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:
8 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

But Jay is a wizard by EGS definition: She can learn other people's spells. That's high-level magic. It kind of implies some high-level ancestry.

From the little we've seen, she seems pretty good, but in EGS a 'wizard' by definition can learn other peoples spells. I don't think the title alone implies a level of skill though. Ashley was described as a wizard. Got to start somewhere.

Actually, Ashley was described as exceptionally untalented wizard, implying that USUALLY wizards are more powerful. Still, not every wizard is as powerful as Tedd or agent Wolf, or has as strong ancestry as Nanase. It's possible her parents are not magic users BUT have magic ancestry and when those ancestries met result was wizard.

5 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:
6 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

Maybe it's because I just don't like him, but I'm not buying it.

Gee, that would be as unthinkable as say Luke Skywalker being Darth Vader's son, or Rey being the granddaughter of Palpatine. I'm not really married to this theory, but it has potential, especially if Dan keeps on using Jay. Jay wouldn't necessarily know anything about her connection to an Immortal, since they all seem to be shapechangers.

... ok, what movie was Ray being the granddaughter of Palpatine spoiler to?

1 hour ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

If this Jay is Arthur's granddaughter...

And considering Arthur's preference for keeping secrets...

This would fit too neatly into my Unguided-Gifted-Youth-Herded-Into-Cult fear

She comes from a magical background and has NEVER been told anything useful about it

What she has accidentally seen or caused herself only made her scared and confused

Instead of growing up with the message "This is a gift and responsibility that must only be used to help others" she is left thinking "I am a freak and a monster and must use this for my advantage and protection on my own because anyone else would fear or hate me if they knew"

At this point, if Arthur was to reveal the truth to her, the resulting reaction could easily be disastrous

"You KNEW!  Why didn't you TELL ME?  Can't I trust ANYONE?"

Arthur prefers to keep secret but also consider live he's created responsibility. I think he would tell her more about magic than Nanase's mother to Nanase ...

... and, BTW, Nanase doesn't trust her mother but otherwise ended up quite well. And I'm sure her mother would intervene in some way if Nanase would think of herself as monster and freak. Because she WOULD know.

(Also, the answer is "No, you can't trust anyone, I'm glad you understood it so clearly, it's important lesson.")

1 hour ago, Stature said:

5 pizzas but no drinks? Yeah, Diane, that's a-plenty. Wonder if those were cut into squares... plus what would be the classes of the other 8?

I'm not sure it's everything. Also, maybe they already have the drinks? I would assume you order the pizza to have it fresh and warm, but you can just have cola in fridge.

4 minutes ago, ijuin said:

Ordering the drinks from the pizza place is more expensive than if Tedd had prepared the drinks in advance (e.g buying a couple of cases of soda from the market).

Yes. And in fact, I didn't knew pizza places SELL drinks.

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So, as Jay thinks to herself in the last three panels:

"Meeting the wizard will have to wait."

Does she mean Tedd?  Because in the next panel Jay thinks she shouldn't show "her" the smoke spell she'd learned. I guess Jay could mean she shouldn't let Grace know, but if she means Tedd here, she expects Tedd to be a girl. But she's never met Tedd, and Tedd is only the Tedd to the paranormal community that Jerry spoke of so long ago--and then only because he's known to be Edward's son.

In the last panel, Jay thinks that while Tedd doesn't go to MSHS, Diane and Grace do. Jay seems pretty determined, perhaps already considering plans how to learn more from Grace and/or Diane.

However, who hangs around Grace and Diane at MSHS? Let's see: Justin (Awakened); Nanase (Used to float around openly); Rhoda (Awakened and then some); Ellen (Dragon power!); and Lucy, who hasn't shown any magic but looks almost as tall as Justin. Interesting possibilities.

12 minutes ago, Stature said:

5 pizzas but no drinks?

Earlier Diane offered to help with the food and Jay said "Good plan. This isn't even all of it." Although Dan didn't draw both loads, it's implied. Also, this is similar to what happened when Tedd accepted the pizzas from Matt Cohen during Grace's birthday party.

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37 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

"Meeting the wizard will have to wait."

Does she mean Tedd?

Certainly. It's Tedd she wanted to meet.

I'm not sure why would she think Tedd is "her", though. Only two people have this misconception - Arthur and Van.

(Most people are under misconception that Tedd is boy. Only few know the truth of him being genderfluid.)

37 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

I guess Jay could mean she shouldn't let Grace know

Could also be Diane, but yes, from the context it's most likely refers to Tedd.

37 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

However, who hangs around Grace and Diane at MSHS? Let's see: Justin (Awakened); Nanase (Used to float around openly); Rhoda (Awakened and then some); Ellen (Dragon power!); and Lucy, who hasn't shown any magic but looks almost as tall as Justin. Interesting possibilities.

Interesting indeed. And lot of opportunities for her to get more spells if one of them is not careful.

Hmmm ... did she already acquired Nanase's hair color spell or would she need to watch Nanase to CAST it and not just have it on her?

 

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3 hours ago, hkmaly said:

I don't see it's about revenge. She's just planning how to use them, possibly to get to Tedd. Agree with the rest however.

 

 

3 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Yes. And in fact, I didn't knew pizza places SELL drinks.

Selling drinks at food establishments is pretty much ubiquitous in the US. It is a high profit item, a little syrup, water, and a cup. The only places I can think of that don't sell drinks are specialty food vendors with carts on street corners, which are only common in larger cities.

Free water used to be a universal option. Within the last several years, I've gotten confused looks occasionally when I ask for water, "You mean bottled water?", usually on the person who can't add two numbers without the cash register.

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, hkmaly said:

 ... did she already acquired Nanase's hair color spell or would she need to watch Nanase to CAST it and not just have it on her?

Tedd has to see the spell being cast. She probably has the same mechanism.

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