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(Source) (Source) (Source)

Name: Grace Sciuridae Birthdate: March 9 Sun Sign: Pisces

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Hi Dan, I have a question about FV-1. Every time FV-1 has been shown, it appears to reduce the amount of muscle mass on its target, correct? Meanwhile, when Grace assumed the MV-1 form, it appeared to have no effects on her muscle/fat distribution, aside from making her flat-chested. If these statements are correct, then why does FV-1 (minimum changes) affect its target's muscle mass (similarly to MV-2), while MV-1 (minimum changes) does not?

Prepare yourself for the most honest and down-to-earth answer of all time (and I’m not being sarcastic when I say that):

Drawing is hard.

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Counterpoints - http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2482

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I love this form so much?!!

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Story comic

EGS:NP

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EVEN MORE Speculation about Magus...

Admittedly, I was really tired when I started writing this.

In Monday’s comic, Magus elaborates on why he feels the need to “fix” Ellen by transforming her into a man while she’s unconscious.  He...actually makes some good points, although his proposed solution is definitely just...no.  We won’t know until Wednesday why he feels the need to transform Ellen so urgently, without even giving her time to regain consciousness.

One thing that stands out to me is how obvious it is that Magus is projecting his own experiences onto Ellen.  The line, "Ellen has been stuck in a form that isn't who she...who he is because of me.  I know how that..." makes this clear.  

Before anyone says, “Well, maybe Magus resents being ‘stuck’ in a male form”, it’s also very clear from last Friday’s comic that Magus identifies as male, and is more comfortable in a male form than a female form: “I am not having this conversation again!  I don't have to justify who I am to anyone!  I am a man!  It's part of who I am!"

So the line about knowing how it feels to be stuck in a form that isn’t who you are... At first I thought that could just be how he felt while he was stuck in the spirit plane.  But I think it makes more sense if he’s referring to a point in time in his life where he was stuck in a female form, or pressured to remain female for an extended period of time.  That’s what these lines seem to allude to: “I am not having this conversation again!  I don’t have to justify who I am to anyone!”

Logically, this most likely took place at some time before the incident with Terra, where he got trapped in the main universe.  But then I started wondering, What if this was while he was trapped in the spirit plane?

OK So as I’m writing this, I realize that the linchpin of this theory is “eyeballing” whether Magus physically looks more like Elliot or Ellen, and there’s about a 100.00005% chance that he’s just supposed to look physically identical to Elliot, but just for fun I will continue

I was looking through the archives, and I think that there are only 3 instances where shadow Magus appeared using the current character models:

In this panel, yep, he just looks physically identical to Elliot as far as I can tell.  Although maybe he looks a little shorter than Elliot?  I can’t tell if that’s true, or if it’s just because he’s wearing his belt high.  I suspect the latter.

(EDIT)

OK so I don't know why I'm coming back to add to this post that wasn't a good idea in the first place!  I'm 100% certain that the "theory" in this post is totally wrong, and Magus was always just supposed to be physically identical to Elliot.

Well, one thing I realized now is that, technically, it is possible that Magus was not completely flat-chested in this shot.  We've seen what small breasts look like in Dan's art style before, that one time Tedd went to school in her female form.  If you have small breasts, it is possible to appear flat-chested in certain poses-- including the pose shadow Magus takes in the image above.  

So to prove my point (and just for fun) I took a picture of myself dressed a little similarly to Magus.  Bear in mind: While I do not identify as female, I am not on testosterone, and I have breasts, though they are small.  I also did not wear anything underneath the shirt, so this is not due to the effects of a binder, sports bra, or undershirt.  The angle of the pose isn’t quite right, but I hope it gets the point across:

(Sorry, it's a terrible image... I look like a mess, and feel embarrassed because I didn't tie my tie correctly ^__^;)

(Also, the only edit I made to this image was to remove the company logo on the shirt)

So if you have small breasts and extend your arms like Magus did, you pretty much appear flat-chested.  Therefore, it is *technically* possible that Magus was not completely flat-chested in this shot, but given what is known about Dan's character design preferences?  Very, very unlikely that Magus wasn't flat-chested and physically identical to Elliot here.

(END EDIT)

But here, Magus looks kind of short, and his face looks quite round.  The fact that he has a define jawbone line makes me assume that it’s just the angle-- afterall, Ellen rarely ever has a jawbone line drawn, and instead just has a smoother curve from her ear to her chin.  But it could just be because he’s clenching his jaw?  

Same here.  I know, I'm probably wrong about this, and shadow Magus was probably supposed to be physically identical to Elliot.  But in these two shots, I think Magus kind of looks more androgynous than Elliot does.

Here’s a comparison of Elliot and Ellen’s faces:

Their faces are almost identical, but Elliot’s is noticeably less round, with a pointer chin and more defined jawbone.  Ellen’s cheeks are visibly rounder than Elliot’s, giving her a more feminine appearance.

Unfortunately, all appearances previous to Part 7 “An Unkindness” are not using current character models.  Unless I’m forgetting something, the most recent appearance of Magus prior to Part 7 “An Unkindness” is this one:

I assume he is supposed to look like Elliot.  However, because the character models were less precise than they are currently, it’s really hard to tell whether he is supposed to look like Elliot or Ellen.  All I can say is that his face looks round, but... both Elliot and Ellen’s faces looked round, so that doesn’t mean much.

Still, just for the sake of fun and speculation, I think it’s an interesting design choice that shadow Magus wore a cape that, for the most part, obscured his chest.  Sure, his body looks a lot less curvy than Ellen’s, but maybe he was always just less curvy than Ellen was?  We know that alternates can have different body types from each other.

The obvious counterpoint to the above panel is that first image of shadow Magus included (his final appearance as shadow Magus).  It’s a clear shot of him with a flat chest.  Although I suppose he could have been binding, or is it possible that Pandora showed him how to cast temporary enchantments on himself?

Actually, now that I think about it... In Monday’s comic, Magus makes reference to “default forms”, so he is at least aware of the possibility of default form changes.   So I’m guessing that people in Magus’s universe normally use magic that changes one’s default/base form in order to change sex.  That would be more sensible than using an enchantment that could be removed at any time.

But then, it’s curious that Magus had to change the effects of the Dewitchery Diamond before using it.  That makes me suspect that he had an enchantment on himself before touching it, and he had to modify its effects to make sure that he wasn’t separated from a “male form” enchantment.  I’d think that, if he had a default form change, he wouldn’t have to do that.

So maybe he really did have a male form enchantment on himself right before Sirleck-Ellen zapped him into Elliot’s body.  Maybe, while in the spirit plane, he lost the default form change that he used to appear male, and had to use temporary enchantments to take on a male appearance at times.

OK, this theory is so full of holes, it’s giving me trypophobia!  Surely, I jumped to conclusions about a hundred times too many.  But I thought it would be fun to share anyways.

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mzminola

Plan CM involved endangering Raven, which pushed Pandora into extreme action. When Voltaire reacts to Magic’s decision [http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2462], he adds “But after what Pandora’s done? Immortal law will change...and we will be demigods among men once more.” 

Yep, I remember that!

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Ghosts Of Comic Criticism Past (Story comic)

Options (EGS:NP)

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draconicnoble

On Sirleck's end, he wanted to use the aberration mercenaries to distract the immortals so that Magus could get his body back, so that Sirleck could possess him in turn.

That’s true, but I’m curious if that’s all somehow part of Voltaire’s master plan to change immortal laws so he can become a demigod, effectively.

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Following up on this post:

So the possibility that Voltaire gave Magus the ability to change sex is pretty much debunked at this point.  The commentary of today’s comic confirms that sex changes via magic are commonplace in Magus’s universe, so Magus wouldn’t need the help of an immortal to gender transition.

It’s interesting though; it appears that there is still some type of discrimination against trans people in Magus’s universe.  Or, should I say, “effectively trans” people, since I get the feeling that words like “transgender’, “identity”, “dysphoria”, etc... might not even exist in Magus’s universe.

More speculation about "Elliots and Ellens"

Here is more speculation I had about the character Magus, and how he got trapped in the main universe in the first place.

Keep reading

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draconicnoble replied to your post:

More speculation about "Elliots and Ellens"

I like the idea that voltaire might be dabbling in other universes, as it presents interesting questions, but I don’t think plan CM has anything to do with Magus. The plan, from what I can tell, was to have Sirleck pay a bunch of aberrations to attack Raven, presenting one last obvious case that magic exists, thus causing the change. If you carefully reread what Voltaire is thinking in that last link of yours, you’ll see what I mean.

You definitely make a good point.  I honestly don’t remember everything about the details of Voltaire’s plans... but is it possible that getting Sirleck to pay a bunch of aberrations to attack Raven was just one part of “Plan CM”?  Maybe Voltaire plotted for Magus to work together with Sirleck in the first place?  Just speculating...

The one detail that stands out to me is how the message “Bon Voyage” appeared right before Magus got trapped in the main universe.  Since “Bon Voyage” is French, just like the name Voltaire, maybe it’s a hint that Voltaire is responsible for trapping Magus in the main universe.  Or it could mean nothing...Who knows?

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More speculation about "Elliots and Ellens"

Here is more speculation I had about the character Magus, and how he got trapped in the main universe in the first place.

So way back in the day,  we know that someone sabotaged Magus’s shield, trapping him in the spirit plane of the main universe.  It’s remains a mystery who did this, and what their motive was.  Maybe note-worthy that the French phrase “Bon Voyage” appeared right before Magus got trapped in the main universe.

And, to recap, the most recent comic reveals that Magus is transgender, with the birth name “Ellen, and used magic to take on a male form.

In “Elliot and Ellen”, Elliot brings up the idea of an immortal using their powers to give transgender people the ability to change sex.  Ellen argues that this would be a terrible idea, ultimately because immortals are not the allies of mortals, and are more like tricksters who view humans as playthings.

In “The Other Dunkel”, we catch a shot of the immortal with the French name “Voltaire” attacking Magus from behind after he first entered the spirit plane.

We’ve seen Voltaire take on another form, when he first contacted the griffins of the “other” universe.  This shows that Voltaire can take on other forms, and may have possibly been able to enter Magus’s home universe.

And we know that Voltaire’s “Plan CM (Complicated Mess” involves Sirleck, and presumably Magus too.

So, now, here is my theory: What if everything involving Magus thus far was part of Voltaire’s master plan?  What if Voltaire, using another form, gave Magus the ability to change sex, then sabotaged his shield, trapping him in the main universe?  It could connect a lot of plot threads which appear to be random and disconnected, and shed some light on “Plan CM”.

Curious what anyone thinks about this.

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Every moment that foreshadows Magus being transgender

The commentary of last Friday’s comic confirms that the decision to make Magus transgender was not a recent development, but planned from at least 11 years ago.  I was digging through the archives and found evidence from even earlier than 2007 that Magus is transgender.

6/17/05: The narrator obscures Magus’s gender by referring to him using the pronoun “it” instead of “he”.

5/1/07: Pandora refers to Magus using the pronoun “it” instead of “he” again: “...Made to hide far from its quarry”

5/5/07: Pandora teases Magus by referring to him as a “princess” and “damsel in distress”.

5/26/09: “You would so be a man in my universe.”

5/10/17: Part 15, titled “Elliot and Ellen”, involves discussion of transgender-related terms like “dysphoria” and “identity”, and how they relate to Elliot and Ellen.  The title of this part alludes to the most recent Part 24, titled “Elliots and Ellens”, which reveals that Magus is transgender.

Disclaimer: A lot of these hints involve using “it” as a pronoun instead of “he”, or implying that Magus is “”really a girl””.  Obviously, it is not OK to misgender trans people by using the wrong pronoun, or suggesting that trans men are “”really” female”.  Bear in mind that these comics are over a decade old, and Dan has come a long way in understanding transgender topics.

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Tedd Verres Appreciation Post 2: Electric Boogaloo

Some of you may remember my first Tedd Appreciation Post.

It’s quite likely a lot do not because it was seriously a few years ago.

Also I said “I’m sorry and this won’t happen again“ and ended with

But the thing is, the thing is that there’s more

There’s always more Tedd to appreciate, and I am going to have to make myself a liar, because I’m totally doing it again.

Anyway, let’s get to appreciatin’.

Of course, now I can update my previous statement of “Everyone’s favorite gender fluid mad scientist that also has some weird thing about magic that can’t quite be figured out yet.” to “Everyone’s favorite gender fluid mad scientist seer.”

And Tedd can continue being amazing.

As always, El Goonish Shive belongs to Dan Shive

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http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=916