[S.T.O.R.Y. 4/14/02] Rules of engagement

[Chaos Priest]

http://www.egscomics.com/d/20020414.html

Sarah might be incredulous in the fifth panel concerning the fantasy-ish sounding rules, but I wanna know why The Sensei felt the need to put those other two in. We know for a fact that Nanase can use magic and she has used it for combat. Likewise for some reason The Sensei was under the impression that Elliot actually could summon inner demons. Both of those rules are things that Nanase and Elliot might have gotten reputations in the dojo for. So does that imply that Nanase has a reputation for low-blows? And Elliot has a reputation for, um... breast punches? Or would his reputation be something more along the lines of something Happosai was known for

It also makes me wonder if that is the case how they managed to get those reputations in the first place. Well, they used to be a couple. so it could be that some of the other students overheard some conversation between the two and mistook the mention of... certain actions... for martial arts techniques they'd use when practicing in private*.

*Please note that I am well aware that Nanase and Elliot never went that far. That was a joke. I swear, the first person that tries to state that I'm wrong and those two never went further than making out in the movie theater is going to get smashed by a concrete donkey.

[The Old Hack]

*Please note that I am well aware that Nanase and Elliot never went that far. That was a joke. I swear, the first person that tries to state that I'm wrong and those two never went further than making out in the movie theater is going to get smashed by a concrete donkey.

You are wrong and they never went further than making out in the movie theater.

[Tricia]

*secretly replaces the concrete donkey with a stuffed bunny*

[Puffs]

*secretly replaces stuffed bunny with a cactus that's on fire*

Proceed.

[Nightranger]

You know, I second Sarah in the third panel.

[Chaos Priest]

*Please note that I am well aware that Nanase and Elliot never went that far. That was a joke. I swear, the first person that tries to state that I'm wrong and those two never went further than making out in the movie theater is going to get smashed by a concrete donkey.

You are wrong and they never went further than making out in the movie theater.

Grrr...

*pulls a lever, dropping a burning cactus onto The Old Hack*

Huh? Well, I guess if it's some form of punishment that's all that really matters, but what the heck happened to my concrete donkey?

[The Old Hack]

Grrr...

*pulls a lever, dropping a burning cactus onto The Old Hack*

OUCH OUCH OUCH! Whatever happened to the good old 16-ton weight and the jarring chord?

[Melvar]

You know, I second Sarah in the third panel.

Why, can't do it yourself?
Muhahaha! bunny.number.inflexible_legs++;

[BtEtta]

but what the heck happened to my concrete donkey?

I dropped a banana bomb on it.

[rista-liehna]

*Please note that I am well aware that Nanase and Elliot never went that far. That was a joke. I swear, the first person that tries to state that I'm wrong and those two never went further than making out in the movie theater is going to get smashed by a concrete donkey.

You are wrong and they never went further than making out in the movie theater.

Actually, it was in the car outside the movie theatre. ^^

... Please don't set me on fire.

[ChronosCat]

== Spring 20006 ==

Chronos: Nanase knows magic? Elliot has "inner demons" he can use to his advantage? Sounds interesting - too bad Gregg won't allow their use.

== Nov 2008 ==

Crystal: It's interesting this would appear to be Sarah's first encounter with the idea of magic being real.

Sarah might be incredulous in the fifth panel concerning the fantasy-ish sounding rules, but I wanna know why The Sensei felt the need to put those other two in.

That too.

[The Old Hack]

You are wrong and they never went further than making out in the movie theater.

Actually, it was in the car outside the movie theatre. ^^

... Please don't set me on fire.

*kicks off burning cactus with a grunt, inadvertently launching it in rista-liehna's general direction* Owowowowowwwww. Anyone got a fire extinguisher and a pair of tweezers?

[Berpol]

Actually when I was reading this strip first I was wondering a bit about what magic she was disallowed to use. It is only later that we see that she can fly. If I remember correct that is also the only combat worthy spell she has.
It was always hard for me to distinguish which of Nanase's abilities is "pure" magic and what is "only" Amime Style Martial Arts.

[Melvar]

Actually when I was reading this strip first I was wondering a bit about what magic she was disallowed to use. It is only later that we see that she can fly. If I remember correct that is also the only combat worthy spell she has.
It was always hard for me to distinguish which of Nanase's abilities is "pure" magic and what is "only" Amime Style Martial Arts.

That's because it's supposed to be hard to distinguish, since there is no true boundary. We just got told they're basically different variants of the same power.

[Berpol]

Now I know that too. And looking back over the different strips I realize that we see only three of Nanase's spells:

• Flight
• Faerie doll (with glitter)
• An improvement of her multiple images - not copying her moves but making them more independant

Even though she seems to regularly use flight - following Elliot, at school, fighting Vlad - it seems she didn't get any other transportation spells, only sneaky ones.

Was it ever stated in the online comic that Elliot doesn't really summon inner demons or was it only in the book?

[The Old Hack]

I feel that a far more urgent question is this: what in the world happened to Chaos Priest's concrete donkey?

[Berpol]

I feel that a far more urgent question is this: what in the world happened to Chaos Priest's concrete donkey?

It got banana-bombed by BtEtta so I guess it is currently covered by half burned squishy banana paste.

[Raging Mouse]

This thread needs a flaming sheep strike. *Pulls out the radio*

[The Old Hack]

This thread needs a flaming sheep strike. *Pulls out the radio*

Send for the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch!

[Chaos Priest]

Was it ever stated in the online comic that Elliot doesn't really summon inner demons or was it only in the book?

I think that was just in the book. I kinda wonder though if Dan always planned to go nowhere with that or if he just decided to drop it later. It's probably for the best he did drop it though. I mean, what kind of inner demons would Elliot summon anyway? Most of the things one would normally consider to be personal demons wouldn't be to useful to physically summon. Quick, come to my aid representation of addictions! Stike the enemy my self doubts and loathing! Help with out with this date surpressed sexual urges!

Well, I guess summoning a physical representation of his violent nature would be pretty handy in a fight at least.

[Acolmuno]

Was it ever stated in the online comic that Elliot doesn't really summon inner demons or was it only in the book?

I think that was just in the book. I kinda wonder though if Dan always planned to go nowhere with that or if he just decided to drop it later. It's probably for the best he did drop it though. I mean, what kind of inner demons would Elliot summon anyway? Most of the things one would normally consider to be personal demons wouldn't be to useful to physically summon. Quick, come to my aid representation of addictions! Stike the enemy my self doubts and loathing! Help with out with this date surpressed sexual urges!

Well, I guess summoning a physical representation of his violent nature would be pretty handy in a fight at least.

I thought it meant that he summoned other people's inner demons, not his own.

[Chaos Priest]

While I could see that as being useful when confronting somebody it still seems very much outside the scope of what he was capable of at that point. Nanase can make illusions of herself using ASMA, but she has to use magic if those illusions are going to be able to do anything other than precisely mimic her movements, such as talk or move independently. Going into somebody else's mind and making a representation of their inner demons, even if it was simply illusion, seems to me to be something that would be far to complex and powerful for ASMA techniques to handle.

Now it might be possible the summon inner demons thing came from him using illusion techniques to make himself look like a demon. Even Justin is capable of that much at least, as seen when one of Duck's friends mcked Yu-Gi-Oh cards. That seems to me to be the most likely source of the "summoning inner demons" thing if it were to be retconed to today. Dan only knows what he meant by it back then.

[The Old Hack]

I mean, what kind of inner demons would Elliot summon anyway? Most of the things one would normally consider to be personal demons wouldn't be to useful to physically summon. Quick, come to my aid representation of addictions! Stike the enemy my self doubts and loathing! Help with out with this date surpressed sexual urges!

Well, I guess summoning a physical representation of his violent nature would be pretty handy in a fight at least.

Hrm. On one hand... some quite decent and social people may at times have some very nasty personal demons to struggle with that they just never let out. On the other hand... I am not sure that this breed of nastiness belongs in EGS, properly speaking. It doesn't seem to fit the tone.

[nitpicking]

Dan mentioned here in the forums that he intended the "inner demons" thing to be real at the time, but retconned[1] it out when the direction of the strip changed.

[ChibiCarrera]

Dan mentioned here in the forums that he intended the "inner demons" thing to be real at the time, but retconned[1] it out when the direction of the strip changed.

Isn't that what always happens? Haha