[S.T.O.R.Y. 4/26/02] A not-so-cunning plan

[Chaos Priest]

http://www.egscomics.com/d/20020426.html

Another aspect of Anime Style Martial Arts: all practitioners will at some point make an absolute mess of their relationships. This can be seen in Elliot's example here, Ellen's and Nanase's current problems, and the founding of the school itself.

I think I know what went wrong with Elliot's plan. Well, besides the whole chickening out thing. He was going to try and pretend to be stupid and oblivious concerning Sarah's attraction to him, when in reality he was only one of those things.

[Nightranger]

Don't forget Justin! He joined Sensei Greg's class about the same time he got a crush on Elliot, didn't he?

[SleepyOrigami]

I wonder why Nanase seems a little possessive of Elliot in her last line here if in the end she really didn't care if Elliot left her or vice versa. Maybe it is an act for appearance sake? Then again we don't figure out the true nature of Elliot and Nanase's relationship until several strips later so it could have been to keep the dramatic tension going.

As far as ASMA goes, I wonder if having overly complicated/troubled relationships is a way of gaining experience. The Sensei didn't discover the secrets of this style until after his relationship went bad. Maybe this gave him a mental boost/link to the magic power source used in ASMA. Complicated relationships are almost as much a part of anime fighting as overly dramatic dialog IMO.

[rista-liehna]

Don't forget Justin! He joined Sensei Greg's class about the same time he got a crush on Elliot, didn't he?

Worse. He joined because he had a crush.

[The Old Hack]

I wonder why Nanase seems a little possessive of Elliot in her last line here if in the end she really didn't care if Elliot left her or vice versa. Maybe it is an act for appearance sake?

It might also have been a subtle "get moving instead of shillyshallying, twit" prod, I suppose.

[Chaos Priest]

I was thinking about Justin, but I wasn't sure if he counted as he isn't actually in a relationship. But then again, as has been pointed out he definitely is on rocky romantic ground with his feelings for Elliot. Plus now that I think about it he also had the potentially disastrous make out session with Susan, and then there is the huge mess with him and Melissa.

Really, Justin just might be the most experienced practitioner of this particular aspect of ASMA.

[ChibiCarrera]

Really, Justin just might be the most experienced practitioner of this particular aspect of ASMA.

Well of course he is! That's been the plan all along, has it not?

[ChronosCat]

== Spring, 2006 ==

Chronos: That's a lot of conversation.

== Dec, 2008 ==

Crystal: I wonder how long Elliot was ignoring Sarah's attempts to get his attention, and if Nanase was right about its' effect on her self-esteem?

<speculation on little evidence> If it was a long time, and Nanase was right, could this have been part of what led to her developing her "ordinary girl" persona (which we know is not her entire character)?

Of course, the text of this filler could be used as an argument against that speculation, (specifically "Sarah... is not dependent on Elliot for defining who she is..."), but it's a matter of interpretation whether that statement would apply to this speculation. If one assumes that statement doesn't apply, then one could extend the speculation further - perhaps Dark Sarah either was never interested in Elliot or gave up on him quickly, and due to this she never had the loss of self-esteem EGS Sarah had, resulting in the more confident persona we see from Dark Sarah...?</speculation on little evidence>

[nitpicking]

Main Sarah is actually remarkably self-confident.

[Melvar]

Main Sarah is actually remarkably self-confident.

That is true. [mustard=wild_speculation]Also, Dark Sarah might be a cover for lack of the same.[/mustard]