story Story: Monday May 1, 2017

[Scotty 1,061]

http://www.egscomics.com/?id=2342

Of the 2-3 times Elliot's read his spellbook, Ellen's read hers 5 times.

Ok maybe Ellen's read hers more than that, but she's probably nowhere near Nanase when it comes to studying it. And I still think Nanase reads hers maybe every day, she just doesn't always read over old spells to see if they've gained any new features.

And so any guesses one what Elliot just got? New girly spell? Or finally got a manly spell?

[Circe 32]

22 minutes ago, Scotty said:

http://www.egscomics.com/?id=2342

Of the 2-3 times Elliot's read his spellbook, Ellen's read hers 5 times.

Ok maybe Ellen's read hers more than that, but she's probably nowhere near Nanase when it comes to studying it. And I still think Nanase reads hers maybe every day, she just doesn't always read over old spells to see if they've gained any new features.

And so any guesses one what Elliot just got? New girly spell? Or finally got a manly spell?

I've said it before, but this always amazes me.  If I had a magic spell book that occasionally added new spells to itself (automagically of course), I would be checking said spell book at least once a day.  Or twice.  Or hourly.

My guess is that the spell is at least not-specifically-girly.  We were told that Elliot needed to start liking the non-girly spells so that Magic would believe he was satisfied with that type of spell, and the "vrm" moment occurred after he decided he liked being sexy as a cheerleader-themed heroine, so it seems logical that we're about to see what Magic now thinks Elliot wants and that whatever that is would not require turning into a girl.

Now given that EGS is One Big Awkward Moment, it would be totally consistent for the new spell to turn him into a girl anyway just to get the WTH reaction from Elliot.  Naturally that will be followed by a wall o'text exposition to explain why Magic = boobs for Elliot!

[Sjmcc13 42]

Am I the only one hoping the new spell is a modification of the super hero secret identities to create one of the recent pinups, you all know the one

[mlooney 3,417]

Sceptical Elliot is sceptical.  Last panel.

[Sjmcc13 42]

35 minutes ago, mlooney said:

Sceptical Elliot is sceptical.  Last panel.

He knows how much of ellen's personality comes from his after all. 

[Scotty 1,061]

8 minutes ago, Sjmcc13 said:

He knows how much of ellen's personality comes from his after all. 

For all we know, the last time Elliot saw or heard anything about Ellen reading her spellbook was when she got her Copy spell. Elliot probably felt that Ellen would show him any new spells she got, but at the same time Ellen's probably held back on showing him anything until he read his spellbook first.

[Stature 96]

Thursday morning, new spell, Elliot must have gotten more new refined non-superhero attributes. All of those mess-ups.

Yes, perfectly normal.

[hkmaly 490]

5 hours ago, Scotty said:

http://www.egscomics.com/?id=2342

Of the 2-3 times Elliot's read his spellbook, Ellen's read hers 5 times.

Maybe. Nevertheless, I consider highly likely she also have new spell and will be surprised by it.

5 hours ago, Scotty said:

Ok maybe Ellen's read hers more than that, but she's probably nowhere near Nanase when it comes to studying it. And I still think Nanase reads hers maybe every day, she just doesn't always read over old spells to see if they've gained any new features.

I think the proper term is skimming. She doesn't actually read it but skims over it to see if there is something new. And yes she does it at least weekly, probably multiple times per week.

5 hours ago, Circe said:

I've said it before, but this always amazes me.  If I had a magic spell book that occasionally added new spells to itself (automagically of course), I would be checking said spell book at least once a day.  Or twice.  Or hourly.

First week maybe. I'm sure it wouldn't take me long before lowering the frequency to weekly. I HOPE I wouldn't lower it below that, but ...

5 hours ago, Circe said:

My guess is that the spell is at least not-specifically-girly.  We were told that Elliot needed to start liking the non-girly spells so that Magic would believe he was satisfied with that type of spell, and the "vrm" moment occurred after he decided he liked being sexy as a cheerleader-themed heroine, so it seems logical that we're about to see what Magic now thinks Elliot wants and that whatever that is would not require turning into a girl.

Agree. Although not girly doesn't mean not awkward, maybe there is some other misconception - wait, wouldn't Elliot get CAT-related spells now?

2 hours ago, Scotty said:

3 hours ago, Sjmcc13 said:

He knows how much of ellen's personality comes from his after all. 

For all we know, the last time Elliot saw or heard anything about Ellen reading her spellbook was when she got her Copy spell. Elliot probably felt that Ellen would show him any new spells she got, but at the same time Ellen's probably held back on showing him anything until he read his spellbook first.

I don't think so. Also, I think he DID read his spellbook after that (like, shortly after that) - generally, I think that unlike Susan, who didn't realized she should, Ellen and Elliot were reading or at least skimming their books more often than we were shown, just to not find anything new. Except Elliot was only reading his when Ellen reminded him or he noticed she's reading her. And it's possible the last case was months ago.

(Well ... unless Ellen looked if she got guardian form in her book after Family tree. That's probably not months yet.)

[Don Edwards 548]

Given that these spellbooks apparently go into great detail, having a separate log containing the last few words of each page might well make it quite easy to detect when ANY change is made - and approximately where, if a new spell always starts a new page.

[hkmaly 490]

34 minutes ago, Don Edwards said:

Given that these spellbooks apparently go into great detail, having a separate log containing the last few words of each page might well make it quite easy to detect when ANY change is made - and approximately where, if a new spell always starts a new page.

1) That's a big IF

2) Considering the spellbooks are apparently DELIBERATELY hard to read, I wouldn't be surprised if they would be ALWAYS changing - like, not the actual content, but adding and removing not important words here and there, and maybe spacing or stuff like that and reordering sections, making the pages always end with something different. Note that Nanase likely have lot of experience reading her spellbook and she missed change anyway.

(But maybe she's not that good or the change was recent.)

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

So Ellen demonstrates that she is not letting Elliot determine her choices by dressing exactly like Elliot?
Ok, not the craziest thing I've read in this comic.

As for the gnu spell? 

It involves Spam,

[hkmaly 490]

3 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

So Ellen demonstrates that she is not letting Elliot determine her choices by dressing exactly like Elliot?
Ok, not the craziest thing I've read in this comic.

Therefore fashion battle.

She remembers being Elliot and having exactly same fashion taste as him. Sure, she also remembers her second live, and apparently estrogen makes you more aware of what you wear (ok, maybe it's because other people are looking at girls more), but she is still likely to dress same or similar as Elliot if she doesn't focus on it (I'm sure her T-shirt must have different size in several places to fit, so it's not exactly same).

[Tom Sewell 268]

Ellen hasn't dressed in really feminine clothes very much. She was embarrassed to wear that strapless, tight, short dress in Grace's Birthday Party. I think the only other time she wore something like that was in MV5, and I'm thinking it was to emphasize her femininity in a situation which dealt with turning females to males. Being female is the very first difference between Elliot and Ellen.

However, Second Life Ellen isn't shown wearing sexy or even clearly feminine clothes much, either, maybe only in the flashback to sleeping with Archie. So neither set of Ellen's memories seems to feature feminine fashion. In fact, Elliot is the one who actually picked an outfit because it "looked cute."

There's also the fact that Ellen lives on an allowance and that the Dunkels are far from well off. Edward had to fix a lottery for them so they could support Ellen as well as Elliot. And Ellen didn't work a summer job, so she didn't get that extra pocket money. Ellen's magic doesn't include conjuring clothing like Elliot's magic. Her clothing budget is limited.

 

[Circe 32]

9 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Agree. Although not girly doesn't mean not awkward, maybe there is some other misconception - wait, wouldn't Elliot get CAT-related spells now?

I was thinking the same thing....and maybe that's how things will be awkward.  Goth catgirl, anyone?  Or imagine catgirl Heidi - Ellen would be gleefully throwing her a ball of yarn to play with. 

[Scotty 1,061]

3 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Ellen hasn't dressed in really feminine clothes very much. She was embarrassed to wear that strapless, tight, short dress in Grace's Birthday Party. I think the only other time she wore something like that was in MV5, and I'm thinking it was to emphasize her femininity in a situation which dealt with turning females to males. Being female is the very first difference between Elliot and Ellen.

But the conversation Sarah and Elliot had, that Sarah flashbacked to in MV5 suggests that Ellen wears sexy outfits more often than we've seen, though the really skimpy clothes like that sweater dress over short shorts would be more rare. I do agree though that Ellen still defaults to what Elliot likes fairly often, we do know she has other styles of clothes, but it doesn't seem to vary much and still looks like something Elliot could wear. I'm not even entirely sure if Ellen owns any sexy outfits, the sweater dress she wore in MV5 was Nanase's, as was the large neck shirt she wore back in New and Old Flames, her and Nanase ended up swapping back later, and the skimpy dress she was wearing when her and Grace were planning the birthday party was one she got for Grace. Heck, I'm pretty certain that the white with light coloured sleeves shirt that Ellen and Nanase swapped is the same shirt that Elliot bought when he was first transformed and needed something to wear to school, the black sleeved version we see Ellen with later might have been bought at the same time since Elliot thought he was stuck as a girl for a month, can't wear the same outfit every day. I don't doubt that Ellen's bought herself new clothes at some point, most likely any summer clothing would have been her choice (maybe with the help of Nanase) but it does seem like a lot of the sexy stuff is Nanase's.

I do wonder if the awkwardness that Elliot spoke of in the MV5 flashback was Ellen asking Elliot to morph sexy outfits for her, we know that the clothing morphs last for about a day so she could wear them on a date or to school an not worry about wardrobe malfunctions, though I guess one way to avoid Ellen's morphed outfit from suddenly morphing back into Elliot's shirt and pants and being too loose, Elliot could morph into Ellen, put on her cloths, then morph the clothes into something else that would still fit Ellen even if the enchantment wore off.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

6 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Ellen's magic doesn't include conjuring clothing like Elliot's magic.

True.

But Elliot can conjure clothing as part of the transformation.   And, if I remember correctly, the clothing remains stable for over a day.

The Dunkel Duo wakes up in the morning.  Ellen tells Elliot what she wants to wear that day.  Elliot transforms into Ellen wearing the aforementioned clothes.  Elliot removes that outfit and returns to the default Elliot form (NOT https://egspinups.tumblr.com/post/159098661985/double-magical-review-hijinks-elliot-had-gotten-a ).  Ellen may then dress in an original fashion statement every day.

I know this possibility has been discussed before.  But Dan has never used it in the comic (other than one time Ellen asked for a superheroine costume before her date with Nanase...)

[Tom Sewell 268]

3 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

As for the gnu spell? 

Summon Wildebeest, of course.

3 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

It involves Spam

And...........Spam?

[hkmaly 490]

14 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Ellen hasn't dressed in really feminine clothes very much. She was embarrassed to wear that strapless, tight, short dress in Grace's Birthday Party.

She was embarrassed but wore it anyway. And that wasn't JUST feminine but also skimpy.

15 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

However, Second Life Ellen isn't shown wearing sexy or even clearly feminine clothes much, either, maybe only in the flashback to sleeping with Archie.

She isn't shown much period. And if she is - like in the singing or the frame after sex with Archie - we only see TOP of the clothes, which doesn't really say much.

10 hours ago, Scotty said:

I'm not even entirely sure if Ellen owns any sexy outfits, the sweater dress she wore in MV5 was Nanase's, as was the large neck shirt she wore back in New and Old Flames, her and Nanase ended up swapping back later, and the skimpy dress she was wearing when her and Grace were planning the birthday party was one she got for Grace. Heck, I'm pretty certain that the white with light coloured sleeves shirt that Ellen and Nanase swapped is the same shirt that Elliot bought when he was first transformed and needed something to wear to school, the black sleeved version we see Ellen with later might have been bought at the same time since Elliot thought he was stuck as a girl for a month, can't wear the same outfit every day. I don't doubt that Ellen's bought herself new clothes at some point, most likely any summer clothing would have been her choice (maybe with the help of Nanase) but it does seem like a lot of the sexy stuff is Nanase's.

She definitely doesn't OWN lot of clothes, and when buying stuff she likely thinks about being able to wear it often, which may eliminate lot of sexy clothes. However ...

10 hours ago, Scotty said:

I do wonder if the awkwardness that Elliot spoke of in the MV5 flashback was Ellen asking Elliot to morph sexy outfits for her, we know that the clothing morphs last for about a day so she could wear them on a date or to school an not worry about wardrobe malfunctions, though I guess one way to avoid Ellen's morphed outfit from suddenly morphing back into Elliot's shirt and pants and being too loose, Elliot could morph into Ellen, put on her cloths, then morph the clothes into something else that would still fit Ellen even if the enchantment wore off.

... I agree with the idea of Ellen wearing transformed clothes. Probably not into school, also it will not always be so much sexy, but I think the superhero costume wasn't only thing she asked Elliot to morph.

Hmmmm ... also, idea: what if instead of manipulating with clothes Elliot simply changes to Ellen in specific clothes and Ellen then copies him? That would not only eliminate the risk of wardrobe malfunction, it would also allow Ellen to switch to normal clothes at will by ending the copy spell. Except ... how long will the copy spell last? Maybe clothes transformed by Elliot are more durable.

 

[Tom Sewell 268]

3 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

Hmmmm ... also, idea: what if instead of manipulating with clothes Elliot simply changes to Ellen in specific clothes and Ellen then copies him? 

Ellen has never copied anyone who wasn't female. Including Brownie. This doesn't mean Ellen couldn't but even if she can, the importance of her own identity as a female could raise issues. Come to think of it, it already has, at Grace's Birthday Party.

BTW, I thought the reason why Ellen's zap of not-Tengu didn't work might have been that not-Tengu was male, but her copy spell has never shown a visible beam.

[Cpt. Obvious 73]

14 hours ago, Circe said:

I was thinking the same thing....and maybe that's how things will be awkward.  Goth catgirl, anyone?  Or imagine catgirl Heidi - Ellen would be gleefully throwing her a ball of yarn to play with.

Yes please! Catgirl Heidi and a big ball of catnip infused yarn!!!
 

[hkmaly 490]

20 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

31 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

Hmmmm ... also, idea: what if instead of manipulating with clothes Elliot simply changes to Ellen in specific clothes and Ellen then copies him? 

Ellen has never copied anyone who wasn't female. Including Brownie. This doesn't mean Ellen couldn't but even if she can, the importance of her own identity as a female could raise issues. Come to think of it, it already has, at Grace's Birthday Party.

She would be copying Elliot while Elliot is in her own form. That should be female enough.

20 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

BTW, I thought the reason why Ellen's zap of not-Tengu didn't work might have been that not-Tengu was male, but her copy spell has never shown a visible beam.

I'm sure that was her FV5 beam and not-Tengu resisted it.

17 minutes ago, Cpt. Obvious said:

Yes please! Catgirl Heidi and a big ball of catnip infused yarn!!!

Catgirl Heidi might come pre-catniped, just as normal Heidi includes the "any outward signs of drunkennes are purely for show" bit.

(Also, seconding that yes)

[Scotty 1,061]

19 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

BTW, I thought the reason why Ellen's zap of not-Tengu didn't work might have been that not-Tengu was male, but her copy spell has never shown a visible beam.

She was mainly trying to transform Not_Tengu, maybe thinking it would stun him the same way it stunned the goo, not entirely sure what would have happened if she succeeded, a FV5ed Not_Tengu would probably still have been difficult to fight.

Jerry knew about Ellen's copy spell, but he likely didn't know about Ellen's lack of desire to use it on males. So his attempt to make it clear that Ellen should use her spell on Nanase's guardian form was just to ensure that she had that idea to do that, not leaving the snow angels for her to notice wouldn't have increased the chance of her trying to copy him.

8 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

25 minutes ago, Cpt. Obvious said:

Yes please! Catgirl Heidi and a big ball of catnip infused yarn!!!

Catgirl Heidi might come pre-catniped, just as normal Heidi includes the "any outward signs of drunkennes are purely for show" bit.

(Also, seconding that yes)

Thirded.

[Tom Sewell 268]

Hmmm. Would Ellen's using her copy spell on Elliot qualify as an opening for Magus to regain his body?

[Scotty 1,061]

3 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

Hmmm. Would Ellen's using her copy spell on Elliot qualify as an opening for Magus to regain his body?

I don't know, I don't think so though since the beam is invisible and it transforms her and not the target. Also the copy beam requires Ellen to be in close range so might not be enough room for Magus, and the copy beam might not even have the same level of energy that Magus needs to push him into Elliot.

[hkmaly 490]

1 hour ago, Scotty said:

She was mainly trying to transform Not_Tengu, maybe thinking it would stun him the same way it stunned the goo, not entirely sure what would have happened if she succeeded, a FV5ed Not_Tengu would probably still have been difficult to fight.

Stun and possibly confuse (or make him lost focus). Also, it's possible she just wanted to attack him SOMEHOW, no matter if it will actually be effective.

1 hour ago, Scotty said:

Jerry knew about Ellen's copy spell, but he likely didn't know about Ellen's lack of desire to use it on males.

It IS possible Ellen would overcome that lack of desire in situation like this.

54 minutes ago, Scotty said:

1 hour ago, Tom Sewell said:

Hmmm. Would Ellen's using her copy spell on Elliot qualify as an opening for Magus to regain his body?

I don't know, I don't think so though since the beam is invisible and it transforms her and not the target. Also the copy beam requires Ellen to be in close range so might not be enough room for Magus, and the copy beam might not even have the same level of energy that Magus needs to push him into Elliot.

While technically open, I agree that it's unlikely. I would also add that Magus was not exactly around recently, because of justified worry Pandora would notice him.