El Goonish ShiVe: Look! Squirrel!

[Vinyadan]

Box: "Hi. I'm alive. I've lost 99.9% of my power and every memory that isn't vital to my core identity and current self-image but I'm alive... I'd have visited Adrian first but I don't remember where his house is."

"So, I see some monster hunters and wizards. Neat! I have a proposal that could interest you: have you ever heard of Werewolves?..."

[Rater202]

"So, I see some monster hunters and wizards. Neat! I have a proposal that could interest you: have you ever heard of Werewolves?..."

I imagine that her granddaughter, descendant, godson, friend who she swore a vow too, practical goddaughter-in-law, person who godson is emotionally dependant on, and their assorted friends and relations are important enough to her that she'll remember who they are.

[Vinyadan]

What I meant was that the 1% of her memories she has left would comprise their identities, but also that she really, really hates werewolves, but not that she already had them exterminated.

[Rater202]

What I meant was that the 1% of her memories she has left would comprise their identities, but also that she really, really hates werewolves, but not that she already had them exterminated.

I imagine that she has most of her memories. It was a refreshing, not a reset, and she'll still be fundamentally the same person.

She traded most of her power an enhanced intellect for becoming saner.

I just think a good gag would be if she remembers almost everything she needs to but not minor details. She remembers everything about her son Adrien except for where in town his house is, for example.

[Forum Explorer]

I imagine that she has most of her memories. It was a refreshing, not a reset, and she'll still be fundamentally the same person.

She traded most of her power an enhanced intellect for becoming saner.

I just think a good gag would be if she remembers almost everything she needs to but not minor details. She remembers everything about her son Adrien except for where in town his house is, for example.

She also didn't do it properly. We know she intended to do a refresh, and likely started whatever process would be needed for it, but we have no idea what the consequences would be.

That being said, I'd be sincerely surprised if she didn't end up having most of her memories.

[Rater202]

She also didn't do it properly. We know she intended to do a refresh, and likely started whatever process would be needed for it, but we have no idea what the consequences would be.

That being said, I'd be sincerely surprised if she didn't end up having most of her memories.

The Will of Magic said she succeeded in refreshing, so, I assume she's more or less the same person just less powerful and less able to bend the rules.

[Dire Moose]

Boy to girl transformations... I remember reading this back in 2006, wishing I could do that. It took too long for me to realize it was actually possible to turn myself into a pretty girl without magic or mad science. Though hormones definitely did help.

[RowenMorland]

I forget, did the ambient magic energy buildup get used up when Pandora cast that anti-abomination spell?

[Rater202]

I forget, did the ambient magic energy buildup get used up when Pandora cast that anti-abomination spell?

No. She was using her own power to cast the spell that forced the other Immortals to cast the spell, and each individual immortal used their own power when forced to cast.

The Ambient energy is stil there, and even if it had been used up Pandora was forcibly refreshed before she could show Raven how to undo the "dam" causing it so it would have eventually built up again regardless.

Tedd, meanwhile, is a "Font" of magical energy as one of the powers being a seer, which implies that, like the sourcerers from Discworld, Tedd actively generates magic instead of storing it up or manipulating background energy. Considering that Tedd's aura is strong enough to overpower every other aura and blind people with auravision with Tedd's location looking like a flash of light, Tedd just standing there should mean the ambient magic in the basement should be higher than average.

[Gnoman]

I have to wonder if the author is reading this thread, since he addressed the ambient energy question in today's strip.

[JeenLeen]

No. She was using her own power to cast the spell that forced the other Immortals to cast the spell, and each individual immortal used their own power when forced to cast.

The Ambient energy is stil there, and even if it had been used up Pandora was forcibly refreshed before she could show Raven how to undo the "dam" causing it so it would have eventually built up again regardless.

To nitpick, according to this comic the spell she cast forced Immortals (who didn't have enough power themselves) to use ambient power to cast the kill-abominations spell, but her own power filled in any gaps. So if a weak immortal was in a low-magic zone, Pandora's own power fueled most of the spell.
So it probably did help the ambient energy problem some, but not a lot. The Immortals who are following Elliot around probably ate up a good chunk of it when they were forced to cast it.

Also, I though it was implied that Pandora already told Raven what to do. I remember some comic that ended with him upset with her, but stating something like "of course I will help." I thought it was implied that she explained the details to him off-panel. But I can't find that comic so I don't know for sure.

[Celestia]

To nitpick, according to this comic the spell she cast forced Immortals (who didn't have enough power themselves) to use ambient power to cast the kill-abominations spell, but her own power filled in any gaps. So if a weak immortal was in a low-magic zone, Pandora's own power fueled most of the spell.
So it probably did help the ambient energy problem some, but not a lot. The Immortals who are following Elliot around probably ate up a good chunk of it when they were forced to cast it.

Also, I though it was implied that Pandora already told Raven what to do. I remember some comic that ended with him upset with her, but stating something like "of course I will help." I thought it was implied that she explained the details to him off-panel. But I can't find that comic so I don't know for sure.

"I forget where exactly I established it most recently, but no, the magic clog was never fixed. It presumably CAN be fixed, but no one presently around knows how, so there's still excess ambient magic energy."

This seems to say the opposite. I think Pandora reset before she got the chance to tell Raven how to fix it.

[Lissou]

Yeah, it's Dan after all. Anything relevant will happen not just on-panel, but in many more panels than necessary (if you could say it happening on panel is "necessary" in the first place). We're talking about an author who regularly feels like he needs to summarize stuff that is already on-panel in case readers have forgotten. It's unlikely something like this would have been skipped.

[Vinyadan]

Wow, this is the second page that oddly reminds me of some sort of multiple-choice graphic adventure with talking heads commenting on what would happen if you do something.

[Rater202]

What are the odds that when Grace is feeling better, she just switches to half-squirrel form so she doesn't have to put pants back on?

[Ibrinar]

About the current comic (https://www.egscomics.com/comic/party-127), I never got people that hyperfocus on specific works and know all the little details and quotes about it. I spend much of my time consuming stories but there is so much to consume that I never repeatedly read/watch the same thing

[Celestia]

About the current comic (https://www.egscomics.com/comic/party-127), I never got people that hyperfocus on specific works and know all the little details and quotes about it. I spend much of my time consuming stories but there is so much to consume that I never repeatedly read/watch the same thing

I'm the exact opposite. I'm not sure how someone can claim to like something and then just...forget half of it. I mean, how could it not make a bigger impression on you? How can you even say that you liked it if you only bothered to watch/play it once? All the best works always have small details and foreshadowing and such that simply can't be picked up on an initial run. There's always something new to find. It's like looking at a painting for five seconds and then telling people it's your favorite one.

[DeTess]

I'm the exact opposite. I'm not sure how someone can claim to like something and then just...forget half of it. I mean, how could it not make a bigger impression on you? How can you even say that you liked it if you only bothered to watch/play it once? All the best works always have small details and foreshadowing and such that simply can't be picked up on an initial run. There's always something new to find. It's like looking at a painting for five seconds and then telling people it's your favorite one.

But I could authoritatively state that it's better than all the other paintings I looked at for five seconds, couldn't I?

I get where you're coming from though. There's a series of books I've read that I know hide a lot more secrets, waiting for me to read them again, but I also want to finish reading this other big series I'm currently working my way through. And once I'm done with that, I should maybe finish the Wheel of time. Basically, whenever I have to pick between a new thing or an old thing, I tend to prefer the new thing. That wasn't always the case, when I was a kid (god, that sentence made me feel old) I tended to rewatch, reread and replay all the things.

[Celestia]

But I could authoritatively state that it's better than all the other paintings I looked at for five seconds, couldn't I?

Touché.

[Qwertystop]

I'm the exact opposite. I'm not sure how someone can claim to like something and then just...forget half of it. I mean, how could it not make a bigger impression on you? How can you even say that you liked it if you only bothered to watch/play it once? All the best works always have small details and foreshadowing and such that simply can't be picked up on an initial run. There's always something new to find. It's like looking at a painting for five seconds and then telling people it's your favorite one.

Well, while some things have stuck with me in detail, often the reason I like something is less about the details and more about the general emotional impact. There's books I've read and reread, and enjoyed while doing so, but the small details slip away because I just don't have a very precise or particularly good memory. Some things stick, other things don't. My sister remembers details a lot better than me – I swear, she can quote the whole script of The Parent Trap in time with the movie as it plays, and I wouldn't put it past her to do the same while it's not playing. There's things where I know I liked the details and can't for the life of me remember what they are the next week. Some of it, I remember if I go back to reread, but I couldn't have called it up without the book in front of me. I read the entire Wheel of Time series twice in quick succession (some of the books a third time, after a delay, but that reread petered out) and almost everything in it is a blur, but I can guarantee, if I went back to read a third time, it'd all feel familiar and I'd remember how various events ended once I got to how they started.

Whether something made an impression, and the resolution of that impression, are two different things. There's games I've played through many times, but even if every plot beat is familiar as I play, I'd probably miss some if I was trying to write out a list any time I'm not playing. I don't have the memory to plan my routing ahead in a Metroid game, for example; each playthrough is on the same formula as the last, composed primarily of "okay, check every door I haven't been through yet that I can get through now". They must be enjoyable, or I wouldn't be replaying them, but it doesn't stick.

[Lord Raziere]

I'm the exact opposite. I'm not sure how someone can claim to like something and then just...forget half of it. I mean, how could it not make a bigger impression on you? How can you even say that you liked it if you only bothered to watch/play it once? All the best works always have small details and foreshadowing and such that simply can't be picked up on an initial run. There's always something new to find. It's like looking at a painting for five seconds and then telling people it's your favorite one.

Hm. I seek new things all the time. rewatching something is boring and repetitive, and I often see similarities in other works to another thing. so to me, I'm constantly searching for something that stands out from most stories. I do rewatch things but only when I feel enough time has passed that it feels somewhat fresh to me that when I read it, I'm not able to expect everything. its also why I go for long stories over short ones because if I go for a shorter story I know how it goes if I ever come back to it too soon and thus my brain just naturally goes "why watch/read it? there is nothing new there" while there is a ton of stuff in a long story that I can miss therefore if I go back to it there will be tons of things that will surprise me.

like I only rewatch if I'm sure I want to see it again, which speaks highly of somethings quality if I do so. in Raziere-view, being interested enough to watch it once means I've heard its good and probably will be. if I watch it twice, that means my brain has naturally gravitated me back to it in some way that I pick it over trying to something new to expand my view of stories and how they are written as well as worth looking at despite knowing how it ends, which means its REALLY good if it withstands the test of time to see it again. like media today is so large and endless and that even the things you see once need a vast amount of filtering so that you get something good, if something is given the honor of being seen twice or more when there is a million other things I could be seeing? thats an exclusive club that thing is getting into, when seeing something at all is something I filter for, I don't have time to see bad things, if I see something, I'm making sure its good beforehand.

so its like, sure I might rewatch something, but it has to be memorable enough that I want to even after time has passed and some distance has been gotten.

Edite: sidenote, this "what is nerd" discussion really makes me want to go into the story and tell Diane that her subjective negative view of a term does not negate other peoples positive use of it, that she does not own the term, and that this entire semantic discussion is the stupidest nerdiest thing ever and she is one for caring enough to argue the point, because this kind of thing is the exact thing nerds argue about all the freaking time. it just makes me so annoyed and angry, I hate the concept of subjectivity so much sometimes.

[Lissou]

Nowadays I'm trying to experience new things. So many books I haven't read yet, so many shows I haven't watched. But if I like something enough, or if I'm going back to a series and need to catch up, I could consume media I've already consumed. It's just not my priority right now.

[Forum Explorer]

Edite: sidenote, this "what is nerd" discussion really makes me want to go into the story and tell Diane that her subjective negative view of a term does not negate other peoples positive use of it, that she does not own the term, and that this entire semantic discussion is the stupidest nerdiest thing ever and she is one for caring enough to argue the point, because this kind of thing is the exact thing nerds argue about all the freaking time. it just makes me so annoyed and angry, I hate the concept of subjectivity so much sometimes.

This whole 'what is a nerd' discussion really makes me want to drop the freaking comic. This is flat out boring and why have we spent a full week on it?

[Qwertystop]

This whole 'what is a nerd' discussion really makes me want to drop the freaking comic. This is flat out boring and why have we spent a full week on it?

Character development and/or introduction of existing traits for Diane to the other characters and the readers, same as why she's at the party at all.

[Kish]

I think it's more that this has been brewing ever since Diane got moved to the level of "major character" where she can't actually have a serious character flaw, like looking down on "uncool" people for purely snotty reasons. She'd been previously established as regarding nerds with contempt and the idea of being one with horror, so some post hoc justification was needed.

The ADHD part is--also pretty common for Dan, it seems--him doing something autobiographical with "this is a thing I've been told about my own behavior."

[Vinyadan]

This whole 'what is a nerd' discussion really makes me want to drop the freaking comic. This is flat out boring and why have we spent a full week on it?

Lol, wait until they break out the Magic cards

I personally am more or less OK with it, we now have a new label for Tedd, and Dan also managed to say something about himself. More importantly, we have no other ongoing plot being stalled (which I guess is actually a huge weakness, if you don't like this one, but I never had a problem with the birthday party either, although I remember people raging over it. The Magic tournament? THAT did bore me).

[Lissou]

This whole 'what is a nerd' discussion really makes me want to drop the freaking comic. This is flat out boring and why have we spent a full week on it?

That's... actually par for the course. Heck, there have been times I missed a page and didn't notice until months or years later when I re-read the archives.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Okay, I'll bite. It's been pointed out that a lot of people do nerdy things without being nerds. I think "nerd" is just a label that means that those activities are important enough to you to be a part of your identity. Same way that there's a difference between playing games and being a "gamer".

What do you guys think?

[Fyraltari]

I think "nerd" used to mean someone who does uncool thing but since then those things became culturally acceptable while still being associated to the term and now it has lost any meaning.

[Kish]

I think it's more that this has been brewing ever since Diane got moved to the level of "major character" where she can't actually have a serious character flaw, like looking down on "uncool" people for purely snotty reasons. She'd been previously established as regarding nerds with contempt and the idea of being one with horror, so some post hoc justification was needed.

I was wrong here; her character flaw has been folded, spindled, and mutilated but the intention is that it remains a character flaw. My apologies (if Dan reads this).