BarGamer~
I always assumed he didn’t eat him so much as…bit him maybe? Weakened SGV and strengthened himself, but I never thought SGV was down for the count.
I also kinda wonder exactly what SGV’s currently capable of, but I’m inclined to think that it’s not much. Assuming he’s not a total moron he would have just struck first and monologued later, unless he was incapable of doing so. But then, we wouldn’t have much of a comic if he did that now would we? 😉
Honestly, I don’ think SGV was EVER capable of much, physically. Think about it. He never attacked anyone in the story about the hyena gods. He’s the voice dripping poison, could convince you to do terrible things, but I don’t think he’s capable of physically messing with things.
http://www.diggercomic.com/?p=726
What Shadow ate was an extremity, stretched thin and sent by SGV to act remotely because he couldn’t leave his base.
And since they are conclusively both demons, he can probably do more than talk, since Shadowchild could move physical objects and eat people’s souls.
You know what’s messed up? The fact the any manner of unpleasantness could be happening to Ed off-screen. We’re not seeing the entirety of SGV’s body, and we have no idea how long it can reach. And it isn’t stupid.
If I remember correctly, Gods can’t interfere with Digger… so does that go for demons as well? As Helriz The Kitsune and Jiyambi said, SGV hasn’t done anything to Digger so far so maybe he can’t actually do anything?
…but as Rhio2k pointed out – that still leaves Ed 🙁
@Lindale: Gods can’t interfere with Digger’s destiny and can’t “see” her…but I don’t think it’s been implied that more direct smiting and hurling of thunderbolts types of interference wouldn’t work.
I’m thinking maybe cold servants in front of Ed, which would also explain the whimper and the lack of movement. Of course, Sweet Grass Voice’s presence would also explain it….
I don’t know if Digger can be hurt by SGV physically or not. Surely SGV will try to harm her mentally first. Its MO has always been about getting into the minds of its victims, not harming them per se but convincing them to do great harm. Psychological torture – getting you to do it to yourself. *shudder*
Smack him, Digger! Tunnel 17!!
@ Coyoty: Your avatar is better than mine. /jealous
hah. How ’bout, “Fixing the literally ungodly MESS you made when you hijacked my tunnel?” Followed, maybe, by an indignant pickaxe?
But Digger’s course is surely wiser…if she’s not in his face, SGV won’t eat her straight off; he’ll be more willing to toy with her for a bit. Or snipe at her. Whichever, both, either…
It’s true that SGV’s primary attack mode has historically been temptation and twisting, rather than physical attack. I’m not sure what powers demons have, but we’ve seen SGV tempt, and we’ve seen Shadow “eat the shadows on [x]’s heart.” Those seem related, I think, in that the shadows would probably also be the places where temptations could “get in,” so to speak. (At least for me, it’s definitely the shadowed places that lead me astray 🙁 )
And we’ve already established that Digger has hardly any shadows on her heart — she’s very much *Digger,* practical, well-intentioned, honorable-because-that-works (dishonorable building practices lead to buildings that fall down; it’s kinda noticable in the long run), and consistently willing to believe the best of people and try to see things from their perspectives. About the only temptation I can see having a good shot is “I can send you home to your family” — and she’s already resisted that one once to do what she thought she was obligated to do.
I wonder if SGV is stronger the closer you get to the heart? I’m also wondering if we’ll get to see Helix again since SGV sort of just called out Digger’s family with the “Ancestor’s stink” comment?
ummmm…..do we know what happened to Helix, exactly? ‘Cause he clearly interacted with SGV at some time. Although SGV sounds more pissed than pleased – so maybe he didn’t come off too well in his previous interaction with wombat-kind.
And I wonder if SGV’s power is limited to tempting, or if he can manipulate any sort of negative emotion. People do Really Bad Things out of fear and anger, as well as for personal gain.
I’m beginning to suspect SGV didn’t go down quietly when they bound the former He-Is, if he remembers Helix. He was at least aware of who trapped him there.
@Gramina: yes, But may I refer you to my comment in the previous page… Digger’s not the one I would go for if I was in SGV position. And Ursula’s villain have always tended to be at least partially genre savvy
and @Barry: what? Can’t you just see “cooking with Digger” as a viable spin off from this? With guess stars such as Boneclaw Mother showing us a dish that’s been in the family for a long time (23 years up until her accidental death, to be precise) and the Shadowchild, with a new recipe for sock. episode one; Wombat Rock Cakes: Delicious, nutritious, LONG shelf life, and handy in cave-ins if you need to shore up the walls or beat the rats to death before they eat all your candles.
Digger: *Darnit, Grandpa!*
or
Digger:*And that’s why you don’t hang out with your long deceased ancestors – the old thing smell gets everywhere, and its impossible to clean!*
Somehow, Ed’s whimper here ultra-expressive, at least to me.
Think about it: Ed is facing the being that, in his culture, represents the Ultimate Evil. This would be equivalent to a Christian coming face-to-face with Lucifer Himself.
I just hope that Ed is able to realize that SGV is directly or indirectly responsible for literally everything – from gender inequality to his intense personal losses – that is bad or unfair in Ed’s life, and that Ed can use this to convert his fear to anger (and thus not be paralyzed into inaction).
@TekServer: Ed is also facing a very long drop from a narrow perch. I don’t think it helps to face down the Devil if you must do so from something so precarious.
@ Old Prof. Otter : Yes, that was an Intentional homage.
@ TekServer : Coming face to face with Lucifer would not invoke fear, rage or disgust according to most traditional sources. Lucifer is the Morning Star, canon states he was god’s right-hand-being, a seraphim, the highest rank of angel, and the most beautiful of all seraphim. Cannon states Lucifer is so beautiful that any mortal who saw him directly would have no free will and would be forced to fall to his or her knees (“Their” is not a gender neutral singular pronoun dammit! It’s for groups only!) In worship of It (traditionally beautiful are gender neutral) . He is stated to be the only angel that will use this cheap trick on mortals. Hence the term “Get behind me Satan” : To look upon it is to lose free will, but as it must announce its presence before appearing personally the above instruction is a valid defence. Likewise: anyone who looked upon the face of God directly or to hear his voice would die: hence why Moses only sees the small of Yahweh’s back when reserving commandments and why god relies on his official messenger Gabriel and his press spokesthing Metatron. The idea of the face of a deity whipping the mind of anyone unfortunate enough to look upon it goes back far further than either our Ursula or Lovecraft. Likewise, although Lucifer is stated in most cannon to be beautiful, the same cannot be said for may angels whose descriptions tend to involve far too many heads, faces (not all of the human, nor necessarily on heads) eyes, (not all of them in faces) limbs or wings (not all of them attached my normal means) to be pleasant to look at. The sheer Lovecraftian nature of the cannon description of Merkabah and Thrones still scare the pious bejesus out of me: there is a reason why the traditional first words of a biblical angel to a mortal are :” Be not afraid, and do not worship me.”
And as for Ed… normally I’d doubt the ability of such a clear cut woobie to harness fear and anger that way. But in his case, if it meant defending someone he loved, I’d not put anything past him. My BIG worry is that now Boneclaw Mother had clearly won outside, The People may be coming down the tunnel as we speak and he may do something stupid to protect a certain one of them…
Excellent points! Lucifer wasn’t called “Lightbringer” for nothing, one supposes …
Allow me to rephrase my evaluation of Ed’s emotional state by comparing rather to a well educated Christian (or at least someone, such as yourself even, who is well-versed in the canon of Christianity – I can’t remember if you have identified yourself as Christian or not. For the record, I am Catholic, though perhaps a bit more open-minded than most of my fellows … ) who is about to come face to face with Lucifer, and knows exactly what (s)he (I find this version of the gender neutral pronoun to be slightly more efficient, at least from a simple “number of characters typed” perspective) will be facing.
And you’re right, Ed is not the rage type, though I have no doubt his bravery – as defined by his ability to overcome his fear to protect those important to him – is unparalleled.
@TekServer: I identify myself as “a very unorthodox Baptist”; but my father is an Irish catholic so even though mum instead I be raised as a Baptist I’m up to speed on catholic practice. Thankfully the Baptist church in the UK has always been a little more open minded than it’s originator in the US, but I’m still considered a little odd for trying to argue that genesis chapter one is an extended metaphor for the big bang and evolution (insects and fish of the sea, then birds, Then beasts of the land, then man.. looks a lot like life starting in the sea, moving on to invertebrates, then dinosaurs, then megafuna then man), and I once derailed an entire Sunday sermon openly saying I think the garden of Eden story is a retained folk memory of the trauma of the Younger Dryas stadial forcing the abandonment of hunter-gathering and the start of farming in the near-east, made all the more telling in that in Islam the forbidden fruit of Eden is special identified as wheat.
And as for Ed… If he considers Digger to be his family or a daughter subsume (which he clearly does hence my repeated panic when faced with Ed/Digger shipping), I’d not put it past him to kill, or at least try to, for her. Yes, his courage is primarily shown by how well he has coped with what life as thrown at him without it making him bitter, and that no mean feat, but he IS a predator and a convicted killer. The fact Ursula’s been drawing him cuter and cuter in the last few panels strikes me a suspicious, she did the same thing to Shadowchild right before she took a bite out of SGV. To thrown in another christen analogy Alsan: a good lion, but by no means a tame or safe one.
Well, that’s it. This is the end. Two, maybe three pages tops until they’re both dead and the story’s over.
Sweet grass voice, alive and kicking and rearing bite.
I love how Digger can still show sarcasm in a tense situation and worry for Ed’s safety while having to face off an ancient evil.
*wipes iced tea off monitor*
Oh you awful, horrible little artist.. My sides hurt so much now. Hee hee..
Big, nasty, snakelike… thing. I don’t like it.
http://topwebcomics.com/vote/10180/default.aspx
Oh, that does not look good. I hope Digger has a plan.
WTH? I thought Shadowchild ate that guy.
I thought ShadowChild ate this guy, and became ShadowTeen?
Bits of him/it. I think Shadowchild only ate a bit.
BarGamer~
I always assumed he didn’t eat him so much as…bit him maybe? Weakened SGV and strengthened himself, but I never thought SGV was down for the count.
I also kinda wonder exactly what SGV’s currently capable of, but I’m inclined to think that it’s not much. Assuming he’s not a total moron he would have just struck first and monologued later, unless he was incapable of doing so. But then, we wouldn’t have much of a comic if he did that now would we? 😉
Honestly, I don’ think SGV was EVER capable of much, physically. Think about it. He never attacked anyone in the story about the hyena gods. He’s the voice dripping poison, could convince you to do terrible things, but I don’t think he’s capable of physically messing with things.
Could be wrong though!
http://www.diggercomic.com/?p=726
What Shadow ate was an extremity, stretched thin and sent by SGV to act remotely because he couldn’t leave his base.
And since they are conclusively both demons, he can probably do more than talk, since Shadowchild could move physical objects and eat people’s souls.
I expect a confrontation between SGV and Shadowlescent.
You know what’s messed up? The fact the any manner of unpleasantness could be happening to Ed off-screen. We’re not seeing the entirety of SGV’s body, and we have no idea how long it can reach. And it isn’t stupid.
If I remember correctly, Gods can’t interfere with Digger… so does that go for demons as well? As Helriz The Kitsune and Jiyambi said, SGV hasn’t done anything to Digger so far so maybe he can’t actually do anything?
…but as Rhio2k pointed out – that still leaves Ed 🙁
A cup of flour! Who knew Digger was domestic?
@Lindale: Gods can’t interfere with Digger’s destiny and can’t “see” her…but I don’t think it’s been implied that more direct smiting and hurling of thunderbolts types of interference wouldn’t work.
Rephrasing my comment from the last strip: Oh crap, it’s HIM again.
Hmm. Not so much snakelike as VERY birdlike. Kind of reminds me of depictions of prehistoric birds with long necks. The peacock’s shadow?
cra*itycr*pcr*p! Digger, don’t be distracted too long!
“Why, of course my ancestors stink. They are long dead for one. You have to do better than that.”
I’m thinking maybe cold servants in front of Ed, which would also explain the whimper and the lack of movement. Of course, Sweet Grass Voice’s presence would also explain it….
*hackles rising* Get ‘im Digger!!!
I don’t know if Digger can be hurt by SGV physically or not. Surely SGV will try to harm her mentally first. Its MO has always been about getting into the minds of its victims, not harming them per se but convincing them to do great harm. Psychological torture – getting you to do it to yourself. *shudder*
Smack him, Digger! Tunnel 17!!
@ Coyoty: Your avatar is better than mine. /jealous
hah. How ’bout, “Fixing the literally ungodly MESS you made when you hijacked my tunnel?” Followed, maybe, by an indignant pickaxe?
But Digger’s course is surely wiser…if she’s not in his face, SGV won’t eat her straight off; he’ll be more willing to toy with her for a bit. Or snipe at her. Whichever, both, either…
It’s true that SGV’s primary attack mode has historically been temptation and twisting, rather than physical attack. I’m not sure what powers demons have, but we’ve seen SGV tempt, and we’ve seen Shadow “eat the shadows on [x]’s heart.” Those seem related, I think, in that the shadows would probably also be the places where temptations could “get in,” so to speak. (At least for me, it’s definitely the shadowed places that lead me astray 🙁 )
And we’ve already established that Digger has hardly any shadows on her heart — she’s very much *Digger,* practical, well-intentioned, honorable-because-that-works (dishonorable building practices lead to buildings that fall down; it’s kinda noticable in the long run), and consistently willing to believe the best of people and try to see things from their perspectives. About the only temptation I can see having a good shot is “I can send you home to your family” — and she’s already resisted that one once to do what she thought she was obligated to do.
This should be interesting…
I wonder if SGV is stronger the closer you get to the heart? I’m also wondering if we’ll get to see Helix again since SGV sort of just called out Digger’s family with the “Ancestor’s stink” comment?
That stinky ancestor is Helix, right?
Helix: “I’ll have you know that i have always been attentive in regards to my personal grooming!”
Er, Shadow? Shadow? Now would be a really good time to show up. Really. Deus ex machina or not, really not caring at this point.
ummmm…..do we know what happened to Helix, exactly? ‘Cause he clearly interacted with SGV at some time. Although SGV sounds more pissed than pleased – so maybe he didn’t come off too well in his previous interaction with wombat-kind.
And I wonder if SGV’s power is limited to tempting, or if he can manipulate any sort of negative emotion. People do Really Bad Things out of fear and anger, as well as for personal gain.
If I ever find myself in a situation where someone angry is asking me what I’m doing at my current location, I’m going to quote this page.
I’m beginning to suspect SGV didn’t go down quietly when they bound the former He-Is, if he remembers Helix. He was at least aware of who trapped him there.
Yeah, okay, I was wrong, it IS sgv 😛
Not quite as elegant an alibi as Bogey’s:
“I came here for the waters.”
“What waters? We’re in the middle of the desert!”
“I was misinformed…”
Then again, Digger’s never seen “Casablanca”……. 7@=Q
@Gramina: yes, But may I refer you to my comment in the previous page… Digger’s not the one I would go for if I was in SGV position. And Ursula’s villain have always tended to be at least partially genre savvy
and @Barry: what? Can’t you just see “cooking with Digger” as a viable spin off from this? With guess stars such as Boneclaw Mother showing us a dish that’s been in the family for a long time (23 years up until her accidental death, to be precise) and the Shadowchild, with a new recipe for sock. episode one; Wombat Rock Cakes: Delicious, nutritious, LONG shelf life, and handy in cave-ins if you need to shore up the walls or beat the rats to death before they eat all your candles.
Digger: *Darnit, Grandpa!*
or
Digger:*And that’s why you don’t hang out with your long deceased ancestors – the old thing smell gets everywhere, and its impossible to clean!*
Somehow, Ed’s whimper here ultra-expressive, at least to me.
Think about it: Ed is facing the being that, in his culture, represents the Ultimate Evil. This would be equivalent to a Christian coming face-to-face with Lucifer Himself.
I just hope that Ed is able to realize that SGV is directly or indirectly responsible for literally everything – from gender inequality to his intense personal losses – that is bad or unfair in Ed’s life, and that Ed can use this to convert his fear to anger (and thus not be paralyzed into inaction).
It’s a new month! Go vote — ! http://topwebcomics.com/vote/10180/default.aspx (Digger’s starting off in the thirties–!)
@TekServer: Ed is also facing a very long drop from a narrow perch. I don’t think it helps to face down the Devil if you must do so from something so precarious.
I think Ed will save Digger in the end…
BunnyRock: reminds me of Pratchett’s dwarf bread. Good as a weapon, and as a replacement for cart wheels.
@ Old Prof. Otter : Yes, that was an Intentional homage.
@ TekServer : Coming face to face with Lucifer would not invoke fear, rage or disgust according to most traditional sources. Lucifer is the Morning Star, canon states he was god’s right-hand-being, a seraphim, the highest rank of angel, and the most beautiful of all seraphim. Cannon states Lucifer is so beautiful that any mortal who saw him directly would have no free will and would be forced to fall to his or her knees (“Their” is not a gender neutral singular pronoun dammit! It’s for groups only!) In worship of It (traditionally beautiful are gender neutral) . He is stated to be the only angel that will use this cheap trick on mortals. Hence the term “Get behind me Satan” : To look upon it is to lose free will, but as it must announce its presence before appearing personally the above instruction is a valid defence. Likewise: anyone who looked upon the face of God directly or to hear his voice would die: hence why Moses only sees the small of Yahweh’s back when reserving commandments and why god relies on his official messenger Gabriel and his press spokesthing Metatron. The idea of the face of a deity whipping the mind of anyone unfortunate enough to look upon it goes back far further than either our Ursula or Lovecraft. Likewise, although Lucifer is stated in most cannon to be beautiful, the same cannot be said for may angels whose descriptions tend to involve far too many heads, faces (not all of the human, nor necessarily on heads) eyes, (not all of them in faces) limbs or wings (not all of them attached my normal means) to be pleasant to look at. The sheer Lovecraftian nature of the cannon description of Merkabah and Thrones still scare the pious bejesus out of me: there is a reason why the traditional first words of a biblical angel to a mortal are :” Be not afraid, and do not worship me.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkabah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrones
And as for Ed… normally I’d doubt the ability of such a clear cut woobie to harness fear and anger that way. But in his case, if it meant defending someone he loved, I’d not put anything past him. My BIG worry is that now Boneclaw Mother had clearly won outside, The People may be coming down the tunnel as we speak and he may do something stupid to protect a certain one of them…
Excellent points! Lucifer wasn’t called “Lightbringer” for nothing, one supposes …
Allow me to rephrase my evaluation of Ed’s emotional state by comparing rather to a well educated Christian (or at least someone, such as yourself even, who is well-versed in the canon of Christianity – I can’t remember if you have identified yourself as Christian or not. For the record, I am Catholic, though perhaps a bit more open-minded than most of my fellows … ) who is about to come face to face with Lucifer, and knows exactly what (s)he (I find this version of the gender neutral pronoun to be slightly more efficient, at least from a simple “number of characters typed” perspective) will be facing.
And you’re right, Ed is not the rage type, though I have no doubt his bravery – as defined by his ability to overcome his fear to protect those important to him – is unparalleled.
@TekServer: I identify myself as “a very unorthodox Baptist”; but my father is an Irish catholic so even though mum instead I be raised as a Baptist I’m up to speed on catholic practice. Thankfully the Baptist church in the UK has always been a little more open minded than it’s originator in the US, but I’m still considered a little odd for trying to argue that genesis chapter one is an extended metaphor for the big bang and evolution (insects and fish of the sea, then birds, Then beasts of the land, then man.. looks a lot like life starting in the sea, moving on to invertebrates, then dinosaurs, then megafuna then man), and I once derailed an entire Sunday sermon openly saying I think the garden of Eden story is a retained folk memory of the trauma of the Younger Dryas stadial forcing the abandonment of hunter-gathering and the start of farming in the near-east, made all the more telling in that in Islam the forbidden fruit of Eden is special identified as wheat.
And as for Ed… If he considers Digger to be his family or a daughter subsume (which he clearly does hence my repeated panic when faced with Ed/Digger shipping), I’d not put it past him to kill, or at least try to, for her. Yes, his courage is primarily shown by how well he has coped with what life as thrown at him without it making him bitter, and that no mean feat, but he IS a predator and a convicted killer. The fact Ursula’s been drawing him cuter and cuter in the last few panels strikes me a suspicious, she did the same thing to Shadowchild right before she took a bite out of SGV. To thrown in another christen analogy Alsan: a good lion, but by no means a tame or safe one.