1574 Boobracadabra.

by

I’m only infinitesimally familiar with El Goonish Shive, but the body change fetish is basically what I understand that comic to be governed by at its core. I don’t know if it is, that’s just the vibe I get from my very limited exposure to it. It comes up on various fetish websites from time to time, and I’ve always been intrigued by the look of it, but I’ve never been able to make myself read it. I like how the eyes are in it.
The idea of temporary body alteration is hardly a new one. It appears in media constantly, which supports the idea that if it were every really made available to us we’d all jump right in. Permanent modification is extremely popular, so temporary modification would make who ever figured out how to do it in a cost effective manner very rich indeed.
If Carol had magical powers she would absolutely abuse them. Especially if she alone had them. She’d spend at least as much time calling attention to herself as she would not. In some ways she’s a bit like Jessica. They both crave attention on some level, Carol has just learned to be more subtle about it. She’s shown that she’ll drop all pretense if she wants something though. Of course all the characters do that to one degree or another because all humans are that way to varying degrees. Nina doesn’t walk around in belly shirts half the time just because she likes a breeze. She’s showing off. Of the female cast members Jo is the least prone to attention seeking displays, but she is being, and has always been influenced by the other girls. The more they reinforce the idea that she is attractive the more she’s done things to accentuate it. She still wears her armor, but underneath she’s experimenting.
The boys aren’t the same as far as outward displays of sexuality because in our culture that’s generally not a thing. Men aren’t expected to know how to enhance their plumage, so generally they don’t. Edward is probably the most insecure, but he compensates with strength and anger. John primps, but in a way that’s trying to seem like he doesn’t. Thomas just sort of falls into whatever he wears. He did change his hair to suit Carol, so that shows how important it is to look like she wants at least. Mike tries to look managerial and professional in so far as a big fat guy is easily capable of being without constant effort. Reggie maintains his specific look and style almost completely because of his internal code of always presenting his version of his best self. Which is why you almost never see him out of his buttoned shirt unless he’s caused a personal disaster he has to deal with. Wes, of course, is always trying to do the best imitation of himself.
If everyone had magic it wouldn’t be special, which is why I think in the Harry Potter universe you don’t see a lot of cosmetic magic in everyday life. It seems like they are more okay with being who they are because they can be who they aren’t for limited periods of time if they so choose. So maybe they are more likely to be attracted to each other as people rather than as collections of parts. On the other side, Hermione does fix her teeth with magic, and as a muggle she was brought up in the more shallow muggle community, so her appearance is more important to her than some. Theoretically. It’s just as likely that Rowling just never thought about any of this stuff and its the nature of fans to delve deeper than the soil actually extends.

My grandpa had some sort of fainting episode today. At first they thought it was a heart attack, but as the day has gone on they think it’s more like that fainting thing I do sometimes. In any case they rushed him to Wichita to see what was up, and we didn’t know what had happened for sure. I mean we still kind of don’t, but it’s less scary than it was because he shows no signs of having had a heart attack.
I heard mom leaving this morning and I could tell it wasn’t in a way that was normal. I didn’t get up to find out though, because I needed to sleep, but I was disturbed. When I saw the state of the bathroom later I was further concerned. I went ahead and did my regular things though because they need to be done and not knowing for sure what was wrong is much easier to deal with than knowing. I couldn’t fix anything anyway so there was no point in disrupting my flow, but I was still plagued by the ominous signs. When I finally found out what had happened the supposition was that he’d had a heart attack and been revived. I had to take a few minutes after The Teen told me to compose myself. Even then my eyes were crying in spite of my composure as she talked to me later. It was one of those calm on the surface, but legs kicking wildly under the water things.
Rationally I accept that everyone will die, but until reality forces the issue I prefer to live in the now. It’s hard to do that after a scare. It’s not like I have a bunch of important things to tell my grandpa. What makes me sad is the idea of what everyone else will lose when he’s gone. All the stuff that I enjoyed with him, the stories he has. It’s sad to think of them not being told anymore.

Anyway, I have to cut this short. Stuff is going on that I can’t put off. I’ll be getting out the first patreon bonus comic soon, I’m just caught up in things at the moment. It’s partially finished. And I’m getting to the other stuff too, so no worries there. Sorry I can’t do it faster.

Teen Corner

Hello world, it is I, the teen. I have been meaning to post more often with Jackie but I keep forgetting. I am not really sure anyone bothers to read what I say on here anymore but I plan to start posting with Jackie regularly again, unless you readers aren’t interested in reading what I have to say then I will discontinue posting so feel free to leave me comments and let me know if you would like me to stick around. I will make sure to respond for once. Today was not my best day I spent the majority of it worrying about my grandpa and waiting for updates about for. He appears to be doing okay but just the scare and the thought of losing him really threw me off. I’m not super close to my grandpa but I have always enjoyed being around him and have good memories with him and I honestly don’t think this family could take the loss of him. The whole day I was on the verge of tears terrified I would get a call that he was gone. I know, way to think positively right? I’m just naturally prepared for bad things to happen at this point, until they happen then I freak out and lose my ability to think rationally. on the bright side the day went by and grandpa appears to be doing good so that has calmed me down a lot.Another thing that has me feeling not so calm is the fact that I start school in nine days. I should be excited because its my senior year, right? wrong. I am terrified and a bundle of nerves. I still don’t have a backpack or school supplies. I have no idea what my schedule is at this point because my school offers college classes that I signed up for but my ACT scores had to be a certain number and my English school was two points below what it needed to be. so that being said I have to take an accuplacer test and past that with at least a 90 to get into the classes I signed up for the main problem is my aunt has yet to get ahold of the people at the college so I can go take the test and I also have to order text books for the classes so I’m kind of screwed at this point. More than classes has me worried, I don’t know what I want to do after graduation. stay here, move away? I know I shouldn’t be worrying about that already but its what I’m naturally good at. as I have said before I am not ready to adult, I would honestly love to stall for another four years or so. my goal is to push my worrying aside a bit and enjoy my last year but I also need to worry enough to get scholarships filled out and so on. Jackie and I took a road trip to the store thanks to one of my close friends and her air conditioned car. we now have food to live on incase my aunt is gone for longer than expected. I picked up some hair dye on our adventure guess I’m going to go black cherry. yes that is a real color, it even says it on the box. with everything going on lately I thought a change would be nice and I’m sick of these blonde highlights. Jackie purchased the animated movie “The killing joke” which we are watching as we speak. I am actually excited to see it so far I’m enjoying it. anyways my interweb people if you are actually reading I’ll be going now so I can actually pay attention to this movie. Leave comments and let me know if you want “The teen corner” to stick around and post more often.

76 Comments

If I was a female of the same sex, I would want adjustable boobies for all occassions, A-cups for sport, B-cups for day-to-day and G-cups for when I need people to obey me.

I guess the one constant with being a G is the force to warp reality ;-)

Because of that comment, I now think of “G Force”, from the anime TV show, “Battle of the Planets”, in a strange, new way! O.O

Princess’ combat abilities would have benefited greatly if she had that sort of power, heck Zoltar would have been much more dangerous if s/he had the power of the G.

Heh, heh!
I really, really LIKE your idea!
[ I would watch] a year of episodes, where Princess + Zoltar both have the power of the G. :D

I’m reminded of in a Brandon Sanderson novel, there’s a shapechanging woman (who likes being scandalous). “What breasts should I wear with this dress? Large breasts? Small breasts? Extra-large breasts? Oh, you’re just jealous you can’t take yours off when you run.”

Its good that Carol is keeping abreast of changes in popular culture …

*face palm*
Hee, hee, hee.
[I apologize in advance]: Some will agree: it’s good not to be a couple of large boobs, sometimes.

Are you suggesting that we will be held cupable for racking up a large body of puns?

Sometimes, you just have to get those puns off your chest.

Stop it, stop it! Don’t you people realize Jackie hates puns? It’s true; he despises them, almost as much as he does breathing and drawing gorgeous women.

Let’s be fair, Carol. Anyone would pay monies to be able to change the size of your boobs at will. You’re just anteing in.

Glad to see your tradition of loltacular title construction continues with this one.

I’m sorry to hear about what’s happening to your grandpa, Jackie.
I had a similar experience with someone I know, recently.

I hope that things are going OK for you, + the Teen, + everyone else that’s involved in this situation.
Best Wishes to you guys.

The author of El Goonish Shive definitely has a strong interest in transformational stuff and it is reflected in some of his characters and story plots, but the comic is certainly more story-driven than fetish driven and is pretty much PG. It is a world where aliens exist and magic exists, but both have been pretty well hidden from the general public.

Though actually the current storyline is about whether certain magical stuff in the town has been so overt that it might cause a critical mass of people to believe in magic which would in turn cause magic to start failing to work. (Because apparently magic is shy)

He definitely is a world creator type, and I think a lot of his storylines come about from him thinking, hmm, I established this thing, but why does it happen like that instead of some other way? Oh what if it was this, what would that mean? And then coming up with an interesting story to illustrate these new facts about the world he’s added to explain this other thing.

Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve been reading it for a while, and it is more in spite of all the transformation stuff rather than because of it.

Easy (and easily reversible) transformations? Sign me up! Guaranteed boobs to play with, and no restraining orders. Could get weird if it lasted too long though. Anyone read Misfile? http://www.misfile.com/ Hope it’s okay to post this here. About as pg as EGS.

Yeah, for awhile I was worried it was gonna drive straight into fetish stuff, but even the in-comic resident fetishist has calmed down (and in terms of what was actually IN the comic, it was never graphic). I do like how Shive ties stuff in, like the recent arc where what I thought was a throwaway gag turned into part of the current plot. The weakest part of it today is a result of things he introduced early on that he was in no way ready to bring into the comic, so you’re kind of left with a few dangling plot threads, though I think Dan promised he’d finish those up eventually. It’s good and it’s only gotten gooder.

Re Tedd: It’s amazing how a positive, loving relationship mellows people out, isn’t it? Maybe I’ll find out what that’s like someday. :P

I’ve been reading, and re-reading, El Goonish Shive. Old comics are clearly not the best, neither in art, nor in punchlines (it used to have a “3 pictures” format, like a lot of newspapers comics, but it evolved to the full page format later on, when the story and art became better.

Overall, it’s nearly 15 years of archive panic you’re looking at, but it’s a very nice read. Sure, the author has this transformation fetish, and it is an easy/lazy way to produce cheap jokes, at least at the beginning. However, with time, story becoming better, art becoming real good (just ckeck the last pages for a quick glance, if you’re spooked by how the first ones look), a lot of characters are adorable, the story and setting are interesting, and really, I would recommend it heartily.

And, for those who would rather see transforming pinups, Dan Shive (the author) also happens to have a separate blog, where they are posted. And that’s explicitly to keep such gratuitous displays separate from the comig :)

So: Read El Goonish Shive, thank us later ;)

If I had to name a central theme of El Goonish Shive, it would be “identity.” That said, it definitely is PG-rated (more than this comic is, actually), and is quite strongly written IMO. If you ever have an afternoon to kill, I think you’d enjoy an archive binge, Jackie. :)

The thing about EGS (which is pretty PG by webcomic standards) is that the author seems to have this weirdly… impersonal interest in the sexual aspects. I mean, it clearly interests him, and it’s clearly the sexual component that interests him, and he doesn’t try to hide it like some cartoonists I could name (checks timepiece), but less than being turned on, it feels sometimes more like he’s an alien studying it. Kind of like Andy Warhol.

If these two want to find a real treasure trove, they should go to DA… or FA… or (I’m going to stop now before I dig myself too deep).

Seriously, though, they should hit up the furries. There’s a lot of overlap.

Also, I didn’t realize this until just now, but I’m pretty sure I wrote that comment after coming via a link from the EGS front page.

Dan (EGS author) has stated in old commentaries that during his early comic years he was still worried about readers being weirded out by the transformations, and overcompensated by having the characters react with horror and reaffirming that it was all very strange. Since then he’s become more relaxed about it and so have the characters, but I think he still wants to prevent it from interfering too much with the plot so references to sex are kept to quick jokes and backgrounds, with the storirs focusing on the psychological and physical effects of the magic/science.

Also it’s obscenely long so compulsive binge readers beware

It’s not THAT long. It’s getting there, but a few friends I showed it to recently chugged through the whole archive in less than a day. I don’t think it’s as long as, say, Girl Genius, let alone Schlock Mercenary.

I know. I wasn’t talking about the old strips, though; in fact, that attitude kind of makes them feel more perverse: “hey, here’s something that’s maybe sexual maybe not and AAAH AAAH SHAME BACKPEDAL.” More recent suggestive moments (especially the pinups) feel more like “look, hyu-mans, an interesting sexual thing!”

To Jackie, the Teen, and all your family, I hope your grandpa comes through alright. I am glad it was not a heart attack :(

To the Teen: I don’t think we mind if you post here. Sometimes a second perspective on things gives you more information. Besides, whether you notice it or not, sometimes the mere act of writing your thoughts helps clarify things and gives you a sense of peace :)

Thank you and I definitely love writing on here sometimes I always feel like I get a lot off my mind but I also don’t want to cost Jackie any readers that would be bad.

I read EGS pretty regularly. Other than initial chapters being…rough, its got some interesting things going for it. For starters, Dan Shive seems to have a penchant for coming up with interesting ways of ensuring even the most ridiculous aspects of his canon have some kind of explanation and rules to them. It also has remained reliably witty and strongly plot-driven, both things I can really get behind. If there is ever a webcomic I recommend to people these days, its either Between Failures, EGS, or Sleepless Domain. I like me my well-written characters, and all three deliver. Suffice to say, Jackie, if you can spare the time I think EGS will be worth it (bear with the sucky early parts though. They aren’t good but they’re nevertheless necessary for canon establishment)

I enjoy the teena adendum writing. As long as it doesnt interfere with schooling

Elgoonish shive is just plain a good story. It has a lot of gender fluidity and morphing. The story itself is pretty great scifi fantasy blend. If youve time for it its worrthh a read.

Pressed enter too quickly

Hope your grandfather improves.or great grandfather in unsure the age relationshop range la if posters

Hey! Wesley + Asel = weasel

I bet I am the first one to notice that (:

On topic though. @ The Teen – you can keep writing here. My guess is the majority of us come here for the comic but hearing from you is always nice nonetheless

Mmm, not even close. Archive crawl time. Incidentally, in German Esel (different spelling, same sound) means, ah, donkey.

Also- if you say the name, “Asel”, with a natural “A” sound, like in the word, flat, the name can sound like the word……uh,……well,……..!

I enjoy hearing of the exploits of the teen. I have been cursed with a long memory and even though I am as old as sand I remember being a teen myself.

As for being able to transform oneself I would love to be able to reverse the effects of time on my neck and shoulders. :)
Love the comic. I have developed a real fondness for most of the characters and even the ones I am not fond of I love the interactions with them and the others. Brilliant work.
cheers
~ulrich

If your into body transformation on a temporary basis, try Trying Human.

There are some 18+ parts, but it’s not the whole basis of the story

I hope your grandpa will be ok. I’ve been down that road before & it’s never easy.

As for the comic, I dont know if it’s just me, but I’d like to think that Nina would have a somewhat sexy raspiness in her voice kinda like Cricket Leigh.

I think what Carol wants is a button like they have in the ‘low-rider’ cars. Push it this way for low and slow, that way for scary…

I tried reading EGS a few years ago when it was all the rage. I guess I’m too old — it just didn’t click. Same with Homestuck, although my niece loves it.

To the Teen —
If you want to put off being an adult for a few more years, do what I did: go to college and get a useless degree. You get bonus points if you can take over the Dean’s Office a time or two, while you’re at it. You’ll then likely be forced to live with your parents (or in this case, Jackie) until the end of time — which I’m sure he’s looking forward to .

In my case, the parents ended up selling the house and leaving the country. Just to get me out of the basement, I’m sure.

I want to put off being an adult but I know I shouldn’t I just need to figure out what college I want to go to for sure I already have a career in mind I plan not to rush moving out either until I know I have somewhere to go and have a job. And even when I’m gone I’ll text Jackie everyday just to let him know the annoying teen still exists!

So…

Is the animated version of “The Killing Joke” very much different from the graphic novel?

Well, Bruce and Barbara are in a sexual relationship in it. Apparently DC feels that a mentor/mentee relationship or the fact she’s the daughter of his best friend are too subtle a reason for Batman to care about what happens to Batgirl.

Which is somewhat ironic, in that — going all the way back to her creation for the TV series — it was always Robin who was more interested in her.

That, and the fact that she’s the DAUGHTER of your best friend makes the relationship extra-creepy (cradle-robber!).

Once you get to the Killing Joke part, it’s fine. The problem is having to sift through a badly written 30 minute Batgirl focused addition first. I have to blame the writing, the voice actors are trying their damnedest, the animation is solid, and from an artistic standpoint even the composition is strong. It is some of the best framed dross I’ve seen in years. If not for the fact that the thing was guaranteed to sell units by having “The Killing Joke” on the cover, I’d accuse them of doubling down on the controversy inherit to the story for free publicity.

Well crap, I am pretty much Ed. I’m more an endurance/grit guy than what most think of as strength, but definitely come off as grumpy and all business…mostly because of insecurities about my “fun side,” if that makes sense. Basically, if I’m not *doing,* I feel useless.

yes, more teen corner. i have a daughter starting her senior year too, and it’s good to hear that she’s not the only one who hasn’t picked a college and planned her whole future. she’s very different from you in some ways, and very similar in others. it’s nice to get some insight from you that i might be able to use to help me understand my girl and how to help her as she grows up. thanks teen!

oh, and thanks jackie too, i very much love the comic and hearing about your life too. best of health to grandpa and all of you!

I’ll make sure to start writing more often when I have the time. Thank you to everyone who commented to let me know people actually read what I write sometimes.

Hey there teen absolutely love your corner and insight and would love to see more. And trust me my senior year…oh god my senior year I’m so old!…anyway my senior year I didn’t know what I wanted to do and didn’t even choose my college let alone major till the near last minute, so it’s pretty normal and stuff. Keep up the awesome work and you will do great ^^

Happy to know I have some fans hanging round I will definitely try to post more often thank you for commenting and thank you for the advice

To teen, if you are intirested in putting things off for a year or two, I would recommend getting a job, but one that would look good on a (later) college application and might let you explore possible career interests. One that I have recommended in the past is to go to your local fire department (it sounds like you are in a more rural area), and seeing if you can get them to pay for training (EMT, for example), if you will agree to work (or maybe volunteer, if they are footing the bill) for them for a year or two. I know there is a shortage of emergency personel (being a paramedic myself) and smaller departments I’ve worked with have done this frequently in the recent past around here. It’s not for everyone, but it would let you explore some options, probably get you some money in your pocket, and would look great on an application/future resume. Either way, good luck!

Oh ya that frustration ain’t fun. All the same, El Goonish Shive restored my faith in humanity. (Not really, but it was very refreshing after my family.)

Stuff like this really illuminates how weird my childhood was. I had pretty much no fantasies like this, and wasn’t much drawn to those of others. I guess that puts me more in the real world for possibilities, so I’m not hardwired to prefer something impossible or at least highly improbable, but. Eh.

Panel 1, bubble 4, “conceived” should follow the “I before E except after C” rule.

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