El Goonish Shive: Difference between revisions

** Hints dropped at Ellen taking up drinking were later explained away because the creator didn't like the direction it would take. Thus, the hints are stuffed back in the refrigerator... "[[Lampshade Hanging|behind the]] [[Red Herring]]".

** The "Lord Tedd" arc will presumably pick up again some day, but it's more or less indefinitely on hold because the author realized he introduced it too early.

** [[Opposite SexGender Clone|Ellen]] and [[Half-Human Hybrid|Grace]]'s math teacher pretends to [[Awesome By Analysis|deduce facts about his new students]], and concludes that "the end result appears to be a duplicate squirrel of some sort." The girls are rather shocked about how close to the mark he is until he says he was just messing with them and it had all been [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2007-12-17 gibberish]. Then again, this ''is'' [[Academy of Adventure|Moperville High]], so he may well have been lying/unknowingly magical.

* [[Actually Not a Vampire]]:

* [[All Cheering, All the Time]]: A sketchbook entry [http://www.egscomics.com/sketchbook/?date=2010-11-11 explains] why "Cheerleadra" is an awful superhero concept.

** There's also repeated references to [[Super Smash Bros.|"Super Smash Goons Melee"]].

** Used to great effect when Nanase encounters one of the guys she dated before she came out.

{{quote|'''[[Hollywood Nerd|Gary:]]''' I don't mean to be rude, it's just I used to think you didn't want to go on a date with me because I was too geeky.<br />

''BEAT''<br />

** "Verres" in Uryuomoco is "Bolloc" ([[Don't Explain the Joke|he is]] a [[The Men in Black|cover-up specialist]]). It's also the French word for "Glasses" (though technically it only refers to the lenses).

** In another comic, Susan [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-05-26 explains] "where the hell that sword came from" in a comic from [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-12-05 nearly eight years before].

** [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-02-13 After] [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-03-27 nine years], the [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2011-01-10 COAT OF SOLITUDE] returns.

* [[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp]]: [[Averted Trope]] -- Dan—Dan decided to concede and call his not-exactly-a-vampire thing a "vampire" because he knew the readers would accuse him of trying to pawn a vampire off as something else.

* [[Calling Your Attacks]]: What else would you expect from "Anime Style Martial Arts"? Elliot and Ellen do this on several occasions--inoccasions—in [[Gratuitous Japanese]] no less. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] when Elliot wanted a do-over after he forgot. And [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2004-02-18 mocked] once.

* [[Cast of Snowflakes]]: Dan's had to come up with lots of new designs for extras recently.

* [[Cat Scare]]: Parodied and [[Justified Trope]] at once -- Jeremyonce—Jeremy defending his territory is not a critter to be trifled with.

* [[Cerebus Retcon]]: Dan is famous for this [[Trope]]. Before this series developed [[Cerebus Syndrome]], many hyper-zany elements were present in the story, and now that the series has become more serious, Dan is having fun going back and deconstructing lots of the ridiculousness of the earlier strips. The self-deprecatingly titled "[[Star Wars|Hammerchlorians]]" arc is devoted to one particular instance of this.

* [[Cerebus Syndrome]]: The Painted Black arc was the turning point. [[Word of God]] states that he is going to attempt to undo/turn this down in upcoming arcs. Ironically, the "Bringing Silly Back" is (self-admittedly) more serious in some ways than previous arcs.

{{quote|'''Elliot''' and '''Sarah:''' (a synchronized [[Face Palm]]) ''[[Oh Crap|Aw crap!]]''<br />

'''Susan:''' [http://www.egscomics.com/?date{{=}}2008-05-05 What? Did I say something wrong?]<br />

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: Hedge, among others. Noah was even worse -- heworse—he showed up, gothic [[Useful Notes/Fonts|font]] and all, and then... completely vanished. For years.

* [[Children Forced to Kill]]: {{spoiler|Susan and Nanase}} when, during a class-trip to France, they wind up being targeted by an aberration. He's not technically human, but he LOOKS human - mostly - and while {{spoiler|Nanase}} does most of the fighting, it's {{spoiler|Susan}} who ends up having to kill him - with an ax, even. Unsurprisingly, she was somewhat traumatized, and the storyline that featured the flashback culminated in an Immortal decrying the irresponsibility of the two French Immortals who originally equipped the girls for the battle, while giving them no apparent alternative save dying at the hands of the aberration. Apparently, they could have simply informed the French Government's anti-supernatural-creature-squad instead, but elected to drag two pre-teens into a battle in order to 'recruit them for the fight against evil'. [[Omniscient Morality License]], anyone?

** Tedd can fool Will and Gill without even meaning it -- theyit—they call him an impostor when they see him without his glasses. On the other hand, those are really big glasses, they have never seen him without them and they seem not to know what glasses are (instead assuming they ''are'' his eyes) [[Fridge Brilliance|which would make sense if, as shapeshifters, they never need glasses since they can shapeshift to correct or modify their vision]].

** [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2006-01-16 Justin], of all the crew, is the first to wonder if using the TF gun on a female results in a male form with generous... er... gentlemanly parts.

* [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique]]: Magic apparently drain users at various rates. Spells too powerful to handle may overtax even well-trained magic users, possibly even [[Brought Down to Normal|removing their magic for months at at a time.]]

* [[The Dark Side]]:

* [[Distant Reaction Shot]]: [[Space Is Noisy]] now -- courtesy of [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2008-05-07 Catalina] and [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2011-12-09 Raven].

** Genderbent Sarah also has one of these moments [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2006-01-09 here.]

* [[Doing inIn the Scientist]]: At first, the plot was fairly silly all transformation weirdness was due to the Transformation Gun, an invention of [[Teen Genius|Tedd's]]. Then it was revealed to come from Uryuom technology. Then ''that'' was revealed to be based on magic, a fundamental form of energy which had already cropped up in earlier storylines.

* [[Doing inIn the Wizard]]: In a way. Magic has actually become ''more'' prevalent after the Sister 2 arc, but it's also become less silly and more systematic. See [[Cerebus Retcon]] above.

* [[Don't Try This At Home]]: The commentary for [http://egscomics.com/?date=2011-05-06 this] comic goes out of its way to inform readers of the potential hazards of using a sleeper hold.

* [[Even the Girls Want Her]]: Female Variant Number 5 is meant to cause this.

** [[Innocent Fanservice Girl]]: Grace, who initially didn't understand that nudity embarrasses people, or that shapeshifting can be [[Squick|Squicky]]y to those unaccustomed to it. [http://egscomics.com/?date=2008-05-19 She catches on eventually.]

** [[Sensual Spandex]]: [http://egscomics.com/?date=2003-12-29 Uryuom clothes] give a considerable protection and are made for shapeshifters. The net effect, however, is that three [[Action Girl|Action Girls]]s have to wear outfits guaranteed to remain skin-tight in all and any circumstances. Later Grace starts to wear this [http://egscomics.com/?date=2011-04-01 just in case]. And that's ''before'' adding [http://egscomics.com/?date=2011-05-23 some fun poses]. And [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2012-05-21 combine in costumes] that underscore this.

* [[Flight]]: Many characters are capable of this. Nanase, in three different ways: wings in her fairy form, magical levitation in normal form, and {{spoiler|wings in her "angel" form}}. Grace -- levitationGrace—levitation, though only in Omega form. Nioi -- magicNioi—magic. Vlad -- wingsVlad—wings plus levitation. Immortals (so far, all) -- either magic or it's an inherent quality. {{spoiler|Elliot -- while in his superhero form.}}

* [[Freak-Out]]: Susan ''wasn't'' amused to discover what the hammers were made for -- andfor—and what they in fact do. Of course, that being in the presence of an Immortal, she just {{spoiler|caught an [[Instant Sedation]] spell in the face and got spaced out}} for her efforts.

* [[Fun with Subtitles]]: "[See? I can speak the alien language of the Uryuoms.]" (subtitles: Translated from TAKE A WILD GUESS.)

* [[Gender Bender]]: The entire main cast, at least once. They even did this as a theme for a ''birthday party''. Ellen is a special case, since she's an [[Opposite SexGender Clone]] of another main character with all the memories of the original, ''and'' she has the innate ability to turn men into women. Pretty much anything in the EGS universe will get your gender bent, including [http://www.egscomics.com/sketchbook/?date=2010-09-28 fixing a toaster.]

*** This issue was [http://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/?date=2009-12-15 explored] in rather disturbing ways in one of the Q&A sessions.

** [[First Law of Gender Bending]]: EGS, while not as casual or frequent about it as ''[[The Wotch]]'', certainly pays the Law its dues. According to the rules governing the comic's main sex-changing [[Applied Phlebotinum|phlebotinum]], only male-to-female sex changes can be made permanent (pregnancy); female-to-male sex changes, even of someone trapped by pregnancy (for whom it's only even possible afterwards), cannot exceed a 30 day time limit. The second time a boy - the main character - is turned into a girl the device breaks, leaving "her" stuck for the full thirty days; the attempt to circumvent this creates an [[Opposite SexGender Clone]] and the permanent ability to change sex at will, something the rules of magic eventually ''force'' him to do on a regular basis.

** [[Second Law of Gender Bending]]: Largely averted, despite all of the constant [[Gender Bending]]: Elliot has no interest in remaining female for long and considers his gender-bending [[Power Incontinence]] distasteful, Justin specifically rejects the idea even though it would make him sexually compatible with the object of his unrequited affection, Ellen accepts it without expressing any preference (though there are hints that the [[Loss of Identity]] associated with [[Opposite SexGender Clone|Opposite Sex]] [[Cloning Blues]] was a sore point until she got a new set of memories).

*** It's touching in Vlad/Vladia's case. There's nothing kinky about her accepting the change -- forchange—for the first time in her whole life normal people aren't terrified by the sight of her, so she's willing to accept ''any'' form provided it's human, which her old, male form decidedly was not. And given that her one attempt to use her supposed shapeshifting powers was a painful, near-death experience she's not about to experiment even given the chance.

*** The curent theory is that Elliot will acquire new female forms again and again until he really likes one of them -- thenthem—then again, it was [[Chivalrous Pervert|Tedd]]'s idea. Between {{spoiler|flying around as a [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|superhero]]''ine''}} and {{spoiler|ogling [[Perky Goth]] form in a mirror}}, he may have found this already.

*** Later, when Elliot develops the power to morph his clothes and appearance along with his gender his female forms tend to end up wearing girly outfits because he apparently just can't help visualizing them that way.

** [[Opposite SexGender Clone]]: Ellen.

** Sensei Greg is an imposing 6'10'' (208 &nbsp;cm) but is a perfectly decent guy.

*** So decent, that he is bothered by not being a "traditional" perverted anime sensei.

* [[Good Is Not Nice]]: Raven is a strict disciplinarian, quite caustic and doesn't suffer fools gladly. He's also a ruthless fighter, and won't hesitate to risk his life to protect his students.

** Grace had a [http://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/?date=2009-12-03 Jamie Hyneman 'stache] as a part of a ''[[Myth BustersMythBusters]]''-themed filler arc.

** Sarah is [http://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/?date=2009-11-12 shown with one] when playing as [[Super Mario Bros.(franchise)|Mario]].

* [[Hard Head]]: Lampshaded [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-08-14 here]. Upon learning that he was knocked out by a [[Tap on the Head|blow to the head]], Elliot starts worrying about brain damage, but Tedd tells him he's overreacting.

* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-04-26 Making fun of hacks] and unnecessary [[Exposition|expositionsexposition]]s (aside of the last panel, see the chapter's name).

** The Elliot/Nanase dilemma, at least, is neatly resolved with [[Opposite SexGender Clone|Ellen]].

** Grace wouldn't be Grace without this. "Legally, it does (make me an adult)! You can do all ''sorts'' of things with me!"

* [[Kamehame Hadoken]]: As a practitioner of "''anime-style'' martial arts," it's no big surprise that Elliot (and [[Opposite SexGender Clone|Ellen]], who "inherited" his abilities) uses a variety that emits short-range force blast. He needs to have free hands to do it.

* [[Life Drinker]]: The monster in France was a former human who achieved immortality by draining the lives of young women.

* [[Look Behind You!]]: "Is that a demonic duck of some sort?" Subverted -- thereSubverted—there really ''is'' a demonic duck of some sort {{spoiler|1=except [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2005-02-23 during the strike]. Or his [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-07-10 high school reunion]. Or [http://www.egscomics.com/sketchbook/?date=2006-07-14 vacations]}}.

** Knowing that {{spoiler|Adrian Raven}} is half-human and half-immortal, {{spoiler|Abraham}} managed to draw only one conclusion, and mostly wrong one. The prospect of facing said immortal's reaction after he'd beaten her child within a hair's breadth of death somehow escaped his attention in all this haste... Isn't it surprising -- wheresurprising—where all those heavy boots flying toward his butt came from? And it's still ''not'' enough for her.

* [[The Masquerade]]: At least two -- withtwo—with magic and Uryuoms, and [http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?arcid=54comic/2007-01-12 people aren't always allowed into both at once].

* [[Meaningful Name]]:

** Also, Grace's last name, Sciuridae, is the scientific name for various species of squirrel. In addition, her codename is "Shade Tail," a rough translation of "Sciuridae."

** Tedd's last name, "Verres," is French for "glasses" and translates into Uryuom as "Bulloc" which is appropriate to his father's cover-up jobs.

* [[The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body]]: About halfway. [[Gender Bender|Gender Benders]]s [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2006-02-22 face] the consequences of the new hormonal status and reactions on pheromones, whether they are comfortable with this or not. But [[Shapeshifting]] does not turn the subject mentally in a cat, guinea or squirrel. On the other hand, both innate and artificial [[Shapeshifting]] have ''some'' safeguards.

** This trope is explored more seriously in the "Grace's Birthday Party" arc, when Susan allows herself to be gender-bent specifically to find out whether being male really does make people act like [[Jerkass|Jerkasses]]es. (Answer: {{spoiler|nope. Evidently [[Freudian Excuse|her dad]] had no excuse for his jerkiness.}})

* [[Mix-and-Match Critters]]: Uryuoms' eggs work this way producing [[Hybrid Monster|Hybrid Monsters]]s, thus Here There Be Chimerae. And [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2004-03-10 then], part-lespuko chimerae.

* [[Mood Whiplash]]: [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2011-10-07 Oh dear god.] What started out as an arc based on [[Genki Girl|Grace]] and [[Mad Scientist|Tedd]] going on a double date with Ellen and Nanase to keep Tedd's mind off of science ended up by {{spoiler|showing that Tedd has a version of [[Evil Counterpart|Lord Tedd's]] [[Red Right Hand|mechanical arm.]]}}

** Jerry the Immortal is also one of these.

* [[Mysterious Parent]]: All that's known about Tedd's mother is that she's somewhere in Europe, and that there's some [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-01-28 bad blood] between her and her sister Mrs. Kitsune.

** To a lesser extent, Susan's father. It's eventually explained that he left after being caught in an affair, which was the root of Susan's [[Does Not Like Men|ultra-feminist]] tendencies.

* [[No Pronunciation Guide]]: Subverted. When Grace and Ellen start school, we're not only told how to pronounce "Sciuridae"<ref>"Skwur-uh-dey"</ref> but also "Dunkel".<ref>"Duhn-kel"</ref>.

'''Ellen:''' That crazed look could have meant ''[[Wild Teen Party|any number]]'' of things.<br />

* [[Paper-Thin Disguise]]: Parodied; aliens avoid detection by wearing T-shirts with phrases like "Homo sapiens."

* [[PietaPietà Plagiarism]]: [http://egscomics.com/?date=2011-05-19 Grace and a guy she just knocked out with a sleeper hold].

* [[Please Get Off Me]]: "[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-03-29 I appreciate your affection], but I need to breathe"

* [[Please Put Some Clothes On]]: The [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-07-19 standard response] to Grace's early nudism. Playing with the trope -- shetrope—she actually takes it as people thinking she's ugly.

{{quote|'''Mr Tensaided:''' ''([[Sunglasses Atat Night|wearing dark glasses]])'' Hello, Mr. Anderson. Welcome to the video store.<br />

{{quote|'''Elliot''' and '''Sarah:''' (a synchronized [[Face Palm]]) ''[[Oh Crap|Aw crap!]]''<br />

'''Susan:''' [http://www.egscomics.com/?date{{=}}2008-05-05 What? Did I say something wrong?]<br />

* [[Romance-Inducing Smudge]]: Subverted when {{spoiler|Ellen}} goes to wipe a smudge off Nanase's face and she freaks out because {{spoiler|she was having trouble admitting her attraction to Ellen, and moments like that only made it more awkward.}}

*** Mr. Raven also [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2008-02-27 clearly has fangs], while hardly cute -- thoughcute—though Amanda could argue about the latter.

** [[Cuddle Bug]]: Grace and Ellen occasionally fall into this -- theythis—they hug someone all the time, while [[The Glomp]] was performed ''not'' by one of them only twice: by Nanase (to Ellen) and Catalina (to Tedd). In the Second Life it was said to be fairly typical for a greater chimera. As to Ellen, at least Justin [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2007-08-10 thinks it's pretty normal for girls]. Or she's just that uninhibited.

*** Much to his chagrin, Tedd gets this at times when he's wearing his glasses.

{{quote|'''Grace:''' But why did her [[Power Makes Your Hair Grow|hair grow]]?<br />

** [[Tangled Family Tree|Attempts to build a genealogy tree]] for Ellen in several diferent, but equally ripe with [[Mind Screw]] ways. She's an [[Opposite SexGender Clone]] created by a magical artifact in conjunction with [[Gender Bender]] [[Magitek]], but those around her keep trying to describe her parentage with traditional mother/father roles. For example, Ellen could be considered the daughter of Elliot and Tedd. Elliot's the mom because Ellen came from him and Tedd's the dad because he made it happen. Or she's a daughter of Elliot and Dewitchery Diamond, so one can discuss which is her "mom" and which "dad", etc. Turned serious with [http://egscomics.com/?date=2005-06-06 this strip].

** [[Painful Transformation]]: Sometimes -- seemsSometimes—seems to depend on specific forms and method.

*** Boy-to-[[Catboy]] was [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-08-23 painful but not quite incapacitating] with an early model and acceptable with TF gun -- Sarahgun—Sarah complaining about [[Catgirl]] incident mentioned every possible problem but this. Human-to-human ([[Gender Bender]] or normal female to female v5) is "[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2003-05-13 Wait -- I feel more jiggly than I should...]."

* [[Shipper on Deck]]: Sarah, with Nanase and Ellen. Interesting because she's essentially returning the favor: Nanase helped Elliot get together with her. Grace is just as enthusiastic about pairing them up. In fact, the only person who doesn't like the idea is Tedd, who considers Nanase his "ugly cousin" -- he—he can't handle the thought of her being in a relationship with ''anybody''.

* [[Shoo Out the Clowns]]: If they can't be milked for drama, they're gone. At present, this means the Hammers are gone, and Greg is closing his dojo. Also leads to [[Doing inIn the Scientist]] with both Hammerspace and Anime-Style Martial Arts being explained by magic.

** Sarah draws [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2003-04-17 comics] -- something—something about [[Author Guest Spot|a squirrel-boy character named Dan]].

** This seems to have decreased somewhat lately, as Ellen and Nanase only appeared 12 times (together or alone--Nanasealone—Nanase appeared 6 times alone, Ellen appeared 2 times alone, and they appeared together 4 times) in the latest mini-arc (which has lasted for 43 strips). Today's spotlight stealer might instead be Justin, though Elliot beat him by 2 strips (31-29). Susan was becoming this during Hammerchlorians, but has had 4 appearances since then.

* [[StraightInvisible Gayto Gaydar]]: Justin, and also {{spoiler|Nanase.}} There are no flamboyant stereotypes to be found in this comic.

* [[Stupid Sexy Flanders]]: Any straight [[Gender Bender]] becomes bisexual for the duration. A certain male-to-female setting - which can also be used on women - will, {{spoiler|for 48 hours}}, make you extremely attractive, even to people who normally don't like girls. Not to mention the [[Stupid Sexy Flanders]] overtones of [[Gender Bender|Gender Benders]]s in the first place. Even without gender-bending, Tedd is ''[[Running Gag|constantly]]'' getting this; Justin once joked that he shouldn't worry about ''gay'' men being attracted to him. Also, while removing his glases was enough to make V5-ed Elliot blush:

* [[Sudden School Uniform]]: Due to [[Webcomic Time]], the uniform policy Moperville North announced in March 2005 and abolished in January 2010 was really in effect for ''two and a half days''.

* [[Sufficiently Analyzed Magic]]: Tedd is attempting to treat magic just like any other area of the (mad) sciences -- physicssciences—physics, chemistry, robotics, etc. So far, we've seen him trying empirical testing of transformation spells, running numbers instead of hoping that things "just work", and so forth. {{spoiler|It's heavily, heavily implied that "Lord Tedd" resulted in one timeline when he forgot the value of friendship in lieu of obsessing over magic-turned-science -- and thus, power -- to the exclusion of all else.}}

* [[Sword Cane]]:{{spoiler|Raven}} has this, but carries it only when expecting serious trouble.

* [[This Is for Emphasis, Bitch]]: ''Melissa'', [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2011-04-26 of all people.]

{{quote|'''Justin:''' This is messed up on so many levels. I'm guessing [[Dysfunctional Family|you don't visit your cousin and uncle that much]]?<br />

* [[To Be Lawful or Good]]: Happens to [[Anti-Villain|Abraham]], an ancient wizard who created the [[Green Rocks|Dewitchery Diamond]] intended to remove terrible curses like [[Werewolf|lycanthropy]]. And turned out to have the [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|rather severe drawback]] of splitting a cursed individual into the original and [[The Virus|an embodiment of the curse adept at spreading the curse to others]]. [[My Greatest Failure|Unable to destroy the diamond]], Abraham swore to [[The Atoner|dedicate his life to]] killing these cursed forms, which were generally vicious and powerful monsters ([[Didn't Think This Through|having failed to consider things like cosmetic magic]]). So he awakens from self-imposed suspended animation, sensing that the diamond has been used again. He is horrified to learn that one guy had used the diamond to cure himself of a [[Gender Bender]], accidentally creating an [[Opposite SexGender Clone]], so the latest cursed form he's sworn to kill is an innocent teenage girl -- butgirl—but [[I Gave My Word|feels compelled to go through with it]]. {{spoiler|In the end, Nanase is able to convince Abraham not to murder Ellen, reasoning that following the letter of his oath would violate the spirit of his oath, since it was made with the intention of protecting innocent people.}}

* [[Too Much Information]]: ''[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-08-20 Fine, whatever!]''

* [[Wall of Text]]: [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-07-08 "No, seriously, what's the plan?"]

* [[Willfully Weak]]: {{spoiler|Mr. Raven}} is {{spoiler|half immortal}} and very powerful -- butpowerful—but not allowed to interfere with mortal events. Mostly. [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2009-06-18 Unless you're stupid enough to press his] [[Berserk Button]].

[[Category:WebcomicWeb Comics]]