(If having RSS issues, updated info at bottom of commentary)

--

Both eating and having cake

If not Diane, SOMEONE would have stopped Hope from spilling any more beans about Lucy's spell, and I didn't want to prevent that. I feel it's in-character, and Diane not doing it just so we'd get to hear it would be too much cheating.

Hope mumbling with subtitles is the right amount of cheating.

No breaking things!

I mentioned in the previous commentary that I'd been tempted to have Lucy break something of considerable sturdiness in order to hint at this spell.

That “fine control” detail in panel four is why I’m glad I never gave in to that. Given this information, it would imply she intended to cause that damage.

It’s a decision I made because of Pandora’s intent for the spell. Pandora would NOT have given a spell that might accidentally hurt Diane to the person she intended to protect Diane.

I also like the contrast this has with Justin's spell and the intent behind that.

Recharge

I didn't really have anywhere for Ellen to be the last few pages, and this explanation for her not being on-panel amused me. It also felt right for her. She might have more social energy than Elliot, but not that much more. Between guests, the small room, and people she's not used to? Yeah, this adds up.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

--

RSS Stuff

As mentioned in Monday's commentary, dealing with bots has resulted in some RSS feed readers not working. You can contact me to let me know what feed reader you're using, and I can pass it on to tech in the hope that it can be gotten working.

A temporary alternative RSS option that was pointed out to me is that my Tumblr has an RSS feed, and it can be tailored to be comic specific updates.

Tumblr RSS: Story - EGSNP - Sketchbook

This is imperfect, as the links it provides go to the comic announcements on Tumblr. If simply looking for reminders of the comics updating, however, it is an option.

If notifications in some form is good enough, the comic's Patreon can be subscribed to for free, which should give at least some notifications of updates via mail.

I don't want to sound like "our RSS feeds might be broken, but if you reward me for that," hence the emphasis on free. It might just be EGSNP notifications if free, but that starts up again Thursday next week.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience. It sounds like measures taken against bots are an ongoing issue for RSS readers.

EGSNP will return next week on Thursday (the 22nd). My apologies for it taking a bit.

- Diane's somewhat unique interpretation of "nerd". Basically "someone who values technical knowledge or trivia over people," though she doesn't assume others mean that anymore.

Nonetheless, Diane failed to communicate because she made a vague gaming reference (a girlfriend reference to her, but still), and Jay called it nerdy. Valuing vague references over communication is the sort of thing Diane would criticize, so that's unintentional salt on the wound by Jay right there.

- When last we saw Lucy

- Second to last spell Pandora ever gave someone

You. Have NO idea. How many times I've almost randomly revealed this.

Sort of.

Ever since the start of The Legend of Diane, there has been the thought "maybe I'll have Lucy do a thing that essentially reveals this." I say "essentially reveal" because the exact thoughts usually involved her breaking something, and it being a bit odd that she could break such things.

The focus of the stories never really made that work, so I only ever subtly hinted at it.

Given what I've decided since then, I'm super glad I didn't include any of those moments, and I'll explain why in the next commentary!

(Not that it's an enormous spoiler, but it would be a spoiler.)

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

There was a Sunday sketchbook! Next sketchbook schemed for Halloween.

RSS Feeds

Recently, a step taken to deal with bots affected the RSS feeds. Specifically, it's prevented RSS feed readers from accessing them.

I've been told rules can be made to allow individual readers. Please contact me with what feed reader you use (as in its name and domain used), and I'll request an exception be made.

We might be able fix this for every feed reader at some point, but for now, I would appreciate recommended feeds to whitelist. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Actual comic commentary!

- What happened with Jay (start of Pandora's flashback)

- What happened with Jay (Hope recalling the flashback and mostly summing it all up on one page). From Part 12 of Hope.

- The additional consequence of Jay being in a coma

- Panel 3, along with the explanation about the descriptions being what Jay thinks.

For anyone wondering why it took until this page for Jay to apologize, it's because Jay can read a room. She's doesn't always ACT on being able to read a room, but she did this time, and that meant not interrupting Diane and Hope finally getting their feelings out there. It took some sort of catalyst for them to do it, and Jay's confusion turning out to be that catalyst. She let them make the most of her panicked conclusion jump.

Many characters!

I wanted to actually show people, talking or not, after the many panels of the world around Diane and Hope being ignored. This meant that, even with the reused image, this page took me a bit.

I also wanted Hope's confused face, though it's a little different from what I wanted. I think it's funnier if she's not looking at anyone, but when I tried to do that, it instead looked as though Jay were her focus. For clarity, I shifted her gaze to Diane.

I don't think what Diane said was that confusing, but I can imagine hearing that and having a "sorry, could you repeat that?" moment due to the sudden density of it.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

So, THIS is the comic in which Diane says she told her sister and her parents she was dating Lucy the same day it began, but Diane is perfectly disguised by a wig and sunglasses in that comic, so maybe you want the previous page first.

The page AFTER she says she told them is also relevant for an aunt / "we agreed to think of each other as sisters" moment.

- Diane talking to Noah about avoiding her father, Adrian Raven, in the Father Storyline.

Worst. Example. Ever.

Diane would actually be one of the worst examples possible for this if not for the exceptions that are her biological father and keeping magic a secret. That's enough to give her a very general idea of how Hope most (Hope's situation is EXCEPTIONALLY unusual), but she should not have, in fact, led with "if anyone."

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

- Diane is informed of potential vampire slayerosity in Part 4 of So a Date at The Mall (a griffin told her, so you know it's legit).

- In Part 5, Diane calls it "Garbage" (in spite of a griffin having told her!). Then a vampire happens.

- Nanase explains the whole deal with magic weapons to Diane. This REALLY should have happened in a sixth part, but apparently, past me decided a vampire attack and a significant discussion with griffins fit nice and neatly together in a single part.

Diane was later at the mall when a whole... Swarm? Calamity? Some amount of vampires attacked. However, she was given her spell before then, so it was only her feelings after that first vampire incident that mattered.

Symbolic isolation

I chose to visually isolate Diane and Hope in this moment for a couple of reasons. I'll leave it up to future me to decide if that was the right call, as that jerk will have the benefit of seeing proper backgrounds and other characters pop back in.

Probably be real smug about it, too.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

- Tedd explaining the spell (which was just referenced in the previous commentary, but hey, convenience)

And THAT'S where it came from.

Which probably isn't shocking, because of course Pandora would have done something like this after learning Diane was her granddaughter, but BEHOLD! Confirmation! And most likely cookies!

Except, probably, for that "second to last part," but we'll get to that.

EGSNP

I've settled on some behind the scenes things for the next EGSNP storyline, and it will begin ASAP. I will announce when, well, ASAP.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

- Diane totally using the spell without realizing it

- Jay thinking "the bard" while delivering pizza

- Tedd witnesses Diane accidentally using the spell

- Diane jumping to a similar conclusion

- Jay no like mental nonsense

I originally wrote a calmer, accepting response for that last panel.

Then I remembered this was Jay, so conclusion jumping and dramatic pointing happened.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

- Casually floating Nanase gets in trouble with a physics teacher (from Party Fashion way back in 2005?!)

- "Half the school's seen you floating around!" (Diane to Nanase during Part 4 of Family Tree)

- "For gossip is fun!" (from near the end of The Legend of Diane)

Jay wasn't really Jay when she first appeared. I liked her design enough that she became Jay.

'Round these parts, however, we keep past canon! We just recontextualize it as necessary. In the case of "Jay the gossip," that recontextualization was one of Jay's self-serving masks (as in presentation of personality and behavior, not literal or magic).

Not that the mask aspect is going to instantly placate Diane.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

- Learning of the break in

For an explanation of where the heck Susan was going, the canon EGSNP storyline Masks has the answer (and the next EGSNP storyline will elaborate further!).

Authorial intent was that when Hope said "something," she meant in a "we didn't have specific plans" way. I didn't consider making that indisputably clear worth it, and I'm not terribly concerned about people assuming otherwise.

Also, it's abundantly clear they were going to end up book shopping, lack of specific plans be darned.

There is an explanation for why the plan was for Thursday and not right after finals on Wednesday. It's not a huge twist or massively important detail, but I feel it's a question that should have an answer. The alternative is Sarah putting off seeing Hope again for no known reason. I don't like that option, so it will get a quick answer later.

And by quick, I mean an EPIC TALE spanning multiple parts! Or one to two panels in which someone's curious about why and Sarah answers. Either/or.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

- Rhoda seen by Jay, though not known to be Rhoda by Jay

- Four pages later when Hope totally reveals that was Rhoda

- "We are so going book shopping"

I don't know what accessibility options for reaching things in stores could exist (aside from asking for assistance). All I know is I've been asked by many a stranger in stores to help them reach things. Which I'm happy to do and feel good about doing (YAY I HELPED), but this isn't about me.

Not usually about me, anyway. I did recently have to use a box of cereal as a makeshift tool to reach another box of cereal.

Part of me wants to suggest some sort of cart with a built-in stepping stool, but another part of me doesn't want to get in trouble when that idea goes horribly and predictably wrong.

What lurks below

"I must illustrate everything hidden by the word balloons" is not something I tend to think while making comics. This was made abundantly clear when I rediscovered the Picasso-esque absurdities lurking beneath the word balloons in the original version of panel two. Not wishing to take the time to un-Picasso it, I made the word balloons in this version of the panel the exact minimum sizes they had to be to conceal the unintentional cubism beneath.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

- The moment before the pretend throwing of a couch (and the next page with the actual throwing of the pretend couch)

- Mr. Dunkel, magic attorney

- Tedd does want Jay there for SCIENCE!

- Epic foreshadowing of texting with Susan by way of Diane doing something on her phone

I don't know how Mrs. Dunkel's hair actually works in a three-dimensional space, but I now know that if you draw it without enough height, everything goes wrong. I believe I adequately fixed it in this final version, but the original height I drew it at just looked sad. It was though a pat on the head had gone wrong, or a humid day had a vendetta against her, or she'd gotten the black suit from Spider-Man 3.

Just sad, sad hair.

Anyway, I DO know how her hair works in a two-dimensional space, and she will attack with it if or her family are threatened.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

Pandora's granddaughter, everyone.

There's a simple explanation for where Ellen has been: I wanted the scene to focus on the others so I contrived a reason for her to be out of the room.

I MEAN, she was preoccupied with something not at all contrived, and we'll learn what that thing was Wednesday!

But what if there's a leopard?

This is tangential and I've posted a less edited version of it elsewhere. I believe the stress issue it talks about was a major contributing factor to this page being delayed, however, and that the conclusion I reach will help me make healthier choices in the future. Given it might also help others, I feel it worth sharing:

I don’t want to eat when stressed, and I think I know why.

I'm most stressed when I'm unable to be proactive. A situation is outside of my control, and I'm waiting for something to happen, something to change, something to end. The waiting feels like there's a looming threat. My instincts tell me to avoid being vulnerable, to be on guard.

Basically, I go into “but there’s a leopard out there!” mode.

Eat? No! There’s a leopard out there! Get some sleep? Um, LEOPARD? Relax for a bit? LEOPARD!

But in most situations, it doesn't make sense to stay on edge while waiting for some metaphorical cat to make their move. One of the most proactive things I can actually do in such situations is take care of myself.

Sleep? A bit tricky. Relaxing? Also a bit tricky. Eating proper meals at sensible times of the day? Generally doable, and it helps with everything else.

Feeding yourself: It’s the responsible, proactive thing to do.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

- Hatred of humans

I'm thrilled that I found the opportunity to show Voltaire's resentment this way. I'd been trying to find a natural place for him to monologue this nonsense.

There's no one he'd talk to about this! Sure, Voltaire's not above monologuing to himself somewhere (such as when magic not-changed), but I didn't want to do that.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon

"I mean, it's not even fire or fighting type. That would be worth getting out of bed for! In real life, anyway. It's my least favorite of the gen five starters. Sure, grass type might bore the less enlightened, but there's so much utility to it! And its hidden ability, contrary! Sure, its competitive viability is questionable, but games are for FUN!"

Practice Flee!

I actually wonder if hypothetical immortal two has a point. What he's proposing is potentially dangerous (I assume ankle injuries the most probable negative consequence), but how often when in actual need of fleeing are circumstances going to oblige with a smooth flat track to run on? Even sidewalks and streets have shifting elevations and potential unevenness. Maybe proper fleeing really is a thing to be practiced?

Cutaways

I increasingly have to remind myself that I can use cutaways to convey things. It's something I potentially forget even if I've done it on the same page.

"Ugh, I want to convey that Hope is now confused by Pandora helping at all, but how do I explain that without it being clunky?"

"Didn't you just write three hypothetical immortals hypothetically reacting to Rhoda in danger?"

"I don't see what THAT has to do with anything."

It's actually weird that I need to be reminded. I essentially write cutaways to convey things at the drop of a hat even when I'm not writing comics.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

I have no idea who Celes from Final Fantasy VI is or what outfits she might have worn. There is absolutely no chance any such outfits worn by a 16-bit character would have warped my young mind in any way.

What Changed

This page was delayed, and it's because there was something missing. Though I knew something was missing, I didn't know what exactly it was, and it took me a while to figure it out:

Hope's conclusion isn't any different from what Rhoda already thought had happened.

In the canon EGSNP storyline Escape From The Mall, Rhoda ended up getting a rather long note from Pandora (actual reading of it starts here). For convenience, I'm going to include the entirety of the note after the rest of the commentary (I was going to put it right here in the middle of the commentary, but YE GODS was that a long note!).

The note revealed to Rhoda that Pandora was also the creepy girl who appeared with her on the news at the end of Sister 2.

Basically, Rhoda never believed that Pandora was a purely benevolent being, yet Rhoda remained grateful and wanted to thank her all the same. That's what was missing from Rhoda meeting Hope, and there are so many reasons I think it's important to include.

Now, in the previous page, Rhoda tries to rationalize to Hope why Pandora didn't do more. That might seem strange if Rhoda assumed "sink or swim" all along. My clever explanation covering for past me is that Rhoda was saying that because Hope was upset, and not because Rhoda actually felt Pandora would have done more to save her.

And my clever explanation covering for present me is Rhoda decided it would be best in the long run if she just came clean about her honest feelings.

BAM! As airtight as quality food storage containers!

Anyway, here's the note that Pandora fit on a piece of paper that I definitely would have drawn larger had I written it all in advance and actually looked at it.

Pandora's Note to Rhoda (Retyping this was FUN!)

To Rhoda.

I am a being commonly, and uninventively, known simply as an immortal. It was I who appeared with you on the news, and I who bestowed upon you a magic mark in order to save you from the wild boar.

Admittedly, it was my intent that you would shrink the boar, but first magic usage by reflex makes fools of most mortals, and it worked out okay thanks to your cat.

As it turns out, you are a remarkably potent magic user. Shrinking and growing to the extremes you can with the control you can is a rare talent, and you have power to spare.

Your mark vanished because you no longer need it. You have awakened!

As you use your magic, you will gradually get more and more spells. Detailed descriptions of those spells will appear in this book, though I'm afraid I can't prevent the book from being overly detailed and confusing. At the very least, you will know when you have a new spell.

Assuming you wish to master this magic and gain new spells, I recommend playing with your cat. She has a mark now, and if you play enough, she might awaken as well.

PS - You might find it worrying that I gave yo magic, but know that you are the source of your own magic. I simply gave you access to it, and it is without alignment. It is as good or evil as how it is used.

Doing things with your magic that you don't agree with can even cause spells to misfire or behave strangely, so you're advised to follow your conscience anyway.

--

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

Sketchbook - Just Who is Tri-Squirrel?!

--

- Start of Death Sentence and the encounter with the boar (and Rhoda in glasses!)

- Catalina to the rescue

"I did a good thing!"

"I... DID do a good thing, right?"

"Wait wait wait what exactly did I do?!"

--

- Saturday EGSNP

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

- Previous failing at personal space

"How could I possibly take ten percent of her confidence?"

"I don't know, but that's probably for the best. The ability to drain confidence would be terrifying."

I had difficulty writing this scene before I realized that modern day Rhoda would simply not hold back in this moment.

--

- Thursday EGSNP

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

- Saved from the boar

- Previous silence between Hope and Diane

- When last we saw these three

I considered whether I should bother clarifying when this was happening. I decided not doing so might give the vibe that the awkward silence of the first four panels had been going on for one or more hours, so I figured I probably should.

--

- Tuesday EGSNP

Part 10 begins Wednesday, September 2nd.

- When first we saw Vladia in this arc

- When last we saw Vladia

What, you thought I forgot about Vladia? I didn't forget about Vladia. YOU forgot about Vladia! Except, you didn't forget about Vladia, did you? You were wondering where Vladia was? Vladia was in the other room observing everything. THAT'S where Vladia was. Vladia was there to watch and learn!

She might not have learned what Bishop was hoping for.

Anyway, speaking of Wednesdays, this was originally going to be Wednesday's page, but I felt it worked better to cut away to somewhere else between Monday's page and this page.

Granted, I could have just unleashed a narration box saying "FIVE MINUTES LATER," but I prefer the approach of cutting away to somewhere else to keep people from wondering if everyone just teleported out of the room in panel one.

--

- Thursday EGSNP

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)

- When last we saw Saou talking with Mist (and Po) 

- Voltaire and Saou having a nice, friendly chat (when last we saw both of them)

- Po failing to see auras

It's only natural to want one's guard to be guarded. If their guard isn't guarded, who can say their guard will be able to guard them? Ideally, there's a chain of guards guarding all the guards, though for that to work, the guarding eventually has to loop around to the first person being guarded, ultimately making everyone a guard for some other guard.

Bodyguard.

Moving Things Around

It's no longer the norm for me to write a page at the last minute, but this is one such page. Sort of, anyway. I had this moment already partly planned, but wasn't sure where to put it. While working on the intended page for today, I realized that I really wanted to have something else between it and the previous page.

This decision happened right about lunchtime, so... Yeah, the day I made this turned into a bit of a scramble. I'm reminded of why I've been endeavoring to prevent such late starts.

--

- Tuesday EGSNP

- HD of this page on Patreon (members only for two days, then public)