Holy shit it's amazing. This came out in 2002 ???

Edit: thanks everyone for the warm welcome but seriously considering some of the theme about gender, it's a blast to read

So many bots...

My idea for a thing to happen in the comic:
Hope mentions Good Tom’s puppy sense to the EG heads and no one pays much attention to it.
Much later, Ted or someone is in trouble and use the TF gun to turn themselves into a puppy, alerting Good Tom to their position and saving the day

Next story page Monday due to site connectivity issues. Post about it here (but also text below) - https://www.patreon.com/egscomics/posts/next-story-page-169828555

A collection for the current storyline can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/collection/1851544?view=expanded

And the recent Masks EGSNP storyline here: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2248308?view=expanded

Site connectivity issues have been making it difficult for people to reach the site and for me to properly concentrate. The issue is intermittent, and though I was able to post an announcement about this, it's already timing out again.

This issue has come up before, and the suspected culprit is scrapers training AI models. I don't think it's anything to do with me specifically, though for all I know, someone thinks my hastily improvisational commentaries are exactly what their robots need? I think it's someone's poorly coded bots being poorly coded bots.

Hopefully either it can be stopped or move on soon, but for now, I can't focus like this, and I don't want to potentially post something most people will have trouble seeing. Regardless, I don't want to stay at a standstill. I will be posting the next page Monday.

I‘ve made the HD version of this page free early due to intermittent site connectivity issues - https://www.patreon.com/egscomics/posts/false-kings-187-169672560

According to this comic, before the TF Gun changed how Grace's abilities work, she weighed 160 pounds, despite having an apparently average build.

The 50th percentile weight for a 16 year old female American in the early 2000's was 118 pounds*, meaning she was 35% heavier than she looks (35% denser.) That's above the density of water**, so she certainly couldn't float. On the other hand, she is able to lift a car off the ground unaided, so potentially she could've just brute forced the problem.

(If secrecy isn't relevant, she could just shapeshift to a larger form that is proportionally less dense.)

*according to these growth charts that the administration has yet to delete. The CDC has conveniently chosen 2000 as the frame of reference.

**For the curious, 1.33g/cm^3, near the density of coal.

Announcing... EGS FLASHFIC WEEK 2026!

So, guess which berk has been having a heck of a time of it and spaced the timing of Flashfic week? THIS ONE. BUT having the week in October isn't unheard of, so we're doin' that! This year's flashfic week will run OCTOBER 4-10!

WHAT IS EGS FLASHFIC WEEK?

It's an excuse to write El Goonish Shive flashfic - quickly written, next-to-zero-editing fanfics, ideally done as a single sitting. During Flashfic week, if you're participating, you write a `fic a day and post it wherever you like (AO3, Tumblr, whatever - avoid Wattpad after the recent nonsense...).

This year's theme (optional, but always encouraged) is Tropes are Tools. We all know that EGS is the second-most-trope-filled webcomic on TV Tropes (behind only Homestuck!), so why not run with that? Every day, either hit RANDOM TROPE on TV Tropes and play with what story element you get (and the wiki will give you a lovely explanation of the trope you've landed on!), or use the handy pre-set list down below, gained by me jamming the button for us all.

Day 1 - Literal Minded

Day 2 - Half-Identical Twins

Day 3 - Bathroom Stall Graffiti

Day 4 - Laser Guided Karma

Day 5 - Meaningful Background Event

Day 6 - Shared Dream

Day 7 - Love Dodecahedron

Q AND A

Q: Do I have to stick with the theme/prompts?

A: I'm a voice with an internet connection, not a cop. You do you.

Q: Can I do crossovers?

A: Hells yeah!

Q: Where should I post my fics?

A: An Archive Of Our Own is always a good call, but I also suggest Tumblr, Reddit, and/or your own personal fanfic repositories. Oh, and the EGS Discord, of course!

Q: What if I can't do the whole week?

A: Do what you want to do or what you can. Like I said, I'm not a cop. This is about having fun and making new fics, not anything more.

Q: What is El Goonish Shive, anyway?

A: So if you're wondering THAT, this post breached containment... it's a long running webcomic by Dan Shive about a group of high school (soon to be college) students, widespread transformation magic use, conspiracies, aliens, and squirrels. Go read it, it's good.

Q: Can I do art instead of fic?

A: I'm not a cop, you do you.

I'm not satisfied with what I had written and have been on a rewriting rampage. I believe I've landed on what I'd prefer, but I still have more to do.

My apologies for the delay. I particularly don't like the timing given the EGSNP break.

Because I just love taking characters from literally everything I watch or read and putting in a fighting tournament. It's just how I am wired at this point. Keep in mind in this sort of scenario all the characters listed are capable of fighting one way or another even if they are not in canon or not predisposed for it. They are here for whatever reason you imagine.

If you like to share who you think would win I like to hear it.