Heartwarming / El Goonish Shive

NP & Sketchbook

• This. Just think about it: Tedd could choose ANYONE for his bridge crew. He could have tons of different women in short skirts and Star Trek shirts, but instead he wants them all to look like Grace. Aw.
• Being single is not the same as being alone.
• This strip.

Sister

• These strips at the end of the Sister plot arc are both a heartwarming and awesome moment for Elliot. Why do you think Ellen is so protective of everyone? Keep in mind that just before this, Ellen thought that she was going to die and had told Elliot that she was going to do nothing but cause trouble for him, yet he still sticks up for her.
  • It's also touching that Tedd's dad is genuinely confused that the kids think he's going to harm Ellen; he's going to do his job sure but there's no way he's letting an innocent get hurt if he can help it.
  • Susan's reaction to this is to go "this is who I've been calling an insensitive jerk?"
• Elliot's parents never once even question if Ellen is their daughter and should live with them, completely disregarding the weird circumstances in which she came to be. Once they know who she is, they immediately start to treat her as their child.
• "Goodnight, sister."

New And Old Friends

• One of the kids at the comics store, who has been using the word "gay" as an insult in front of an increasingly-enraged Justin, finds out that Justin is gay — and feels bad, apologizing for his hurtful words. "I'm not out to bash you or anybody else for being different. The X-Men have taught me better than that."
• "Mereow?"

Painted Black

• Towards the end of the Painted Black Arc, Grace thinks she's going to die. Her final words? "I love you Tedd!"
• At the very end of the same arc, when Grace and Elliot return home safe, and Tedd embraces them both with tears in his eyes.
• The final strip in the Painted Black Arc: Mr. Verres is on the verge of waking Grace and Tedd up for sleeping together until he hears Grace whimper in her sleep. He opts to tuck them in instead, knowing that Grace needs that emotional closeness right then.

Shadows After Dark

• The conclusion of "Red Alert" for a lampshaded example.
• A little while after this depressing scene comes this.

Grace's Birthday Party

• The comic with Tedd's birthday presents for Grace deserves mention on this list.
• Part IV of Grace's Birthday Party could be listed as a whole. Especially the final page.
  • This page (where Susan runs into Justin in the basement) deserves a special mention. Doubles as a Moment of Awesome for Susan, as she pushes all her own grief and worries aside for the time being to be there for a friend.
• This strip where Susan comforts Justin after he reveals the story of his traumatic outing and his unrequieted crush on Elliot.
  Justin: ...I'm alone, and I just don't see that changing...
  Susan: You're not alone, Justin.
  Justin: Huh?
  Susan: You have Nanase, Ellen, Tedd, Grace, Sarah, me, and even Elliot. You haven't known all of us for very long, but we're all your friends. Being single is not the same as being alone. It may suck that you can't be romantic with the one you love, but you have people who care about you, and they like you for who you are.
  • Also, the aftermath of the Big Damn Kiss. It really shows just how good their friendship is for those two. Susan manages to help relieve a little of Justin's worries, and Justin helps Susan on the path to overcoming her own issues.
    • Let's not forget the role of the Demonic Duck here. He felt bad about playing that prank on Justin earlier after he learned what it meant for him, and now, knowing what emotional state Justin was in, actively prevented a situation that might have ended in even more pain and confusion. He said he wanted to make it up to Justin, and Justin came out there without damaging a friendship or getting hurt again. Way to go, Duck!

Hidden Genesis

• When Nanase is stressing out about coming out to her strict mother, she has a small rebellious outburst that causes her to be denied dessert. However the door creaks open and her little sister slips her some cookies on the sly.
  Nanase: Best. Cookies. Ever.

Sister II

• Tedd standing up for Susan by cross dressing with the school uniforms in support of her. It takes a little bit of analysis to realize just how awesome of a moment this is for Tedd. First, other strips make it clear that he's not naturally outspoken or social and even borders on social anxiety when it comes to being in public. But this is particularly pronounced in his shame over looking girly, and everything about this moment indicates that he is throwing off everything that comforted and protected him from that fear, and leaving himself completely vulnerable to stand up for his friend. First, he mentioned earlier to Elliot that one benefit the gendered uniforms brought was that everyone could instantly tell he was a guy by what he was wearing; now he's wearing a girl's uniform and and ignoring ridicule from all around him. Second, the whole purpose of his glasses is to help make his face more manly. It's telling, then, that he takes his glasses off right as he stares directly into the crowd and shouts them down to leave Susan alone. Susan's reaction seals just how touching a moment this is for her.
• Doubles as a Tear Jerker. Near the end of Sister II, as Angel!Nanase has Abe in her grip, she makes her tell him what he promised, but not what he said. She reminds him that he promised to protect innocents, and, despite being born of the Dewitchery Diamond, Ellen was an innocent. The look on Abe's face as he realizes that he can't harm Ellen (especially since he was very reluctant to do so in the first place), and his exclamation of relief just pulls at the heartstrings, especially when he instantly swears not to harm Ellen when told to.
  Abraham: You're...right... Oh, thank God, you're right!
• A part of the drama in the story has been of Nanase being afraid to come out, to her family in particular, and the difficulties that this has caused, including insisting that the relationship be kept secret. When her partner's life is in jeopardy, however, she literally risks her life to save said partner; this is not, however, the Heartwarming Moment itself. Later, while she lies in the hospital, recovering from her brush with death, her partner by her side and in tears, and having just being told that it may be months before she can again use magic, having burnt herself out in defense of the one that she loves, we have the following exchange between her and her partner:
  "Small price to pay. You're alive, that's all that matters."
  "I... You know what I want to say, but I know you wouldn't want me to say it in public..."
  "I love you too, Ellen."
• And then in later strip, when Nanase thinks her mother is okay with her lesbian relationship... but subverted as it turns out she just doesn't take it seriously, thinking they'll eventually grow out of it.
  • And her next line immediately after that. She is able to put her disagreement aside and remember that her daughter could very well have died that evening.
  Nanase's Mother: Shh... We have all the time in the world to argue.

Bringing Silly Back

• The second last strip of Hammerchlorians storyline: Susan runs up and hugs the soon-to-be-dead Immortal Jerry. It ends with both of them in tears, as well as any and all who read it. Especially since Susan really Hates Being Touched.
• How can you possible not want to give Noah a hug?
• "I know she's not real. She's like some weird magic, semi-autonomous puppet thing...But I like her."
• "Dex, you and I are gonna get along just fine!"

Q&A # 5

• The last line in this comic, which is better in the shy/It's Not You, It's My Enemies context: "There will be dancing."

9001% Serious

• This page shows Nanase's mother genuinely happy that shy, little Tedd has a girlfriend; yet again proving that while Nanase's mother may be Jerkass-ish in certain ways, she still has her moments.
• This comic. To see the formerly shy Tedd so firmly defend what was essentially a big string of screw ups is rather smile-inducing.
  • Especially his choice of words: "I am NOT sorry you exist! If you're the result of my mistakes, then they were the best mistakes I ever made!" Awwwww...
  • Also touching is Grace's reaction to coming back to find her boyfriend hugging another girl: hugging them both and ignoring the situation completely. Granted, it's not a surprise but it's still sweet.
• This comic. Ellen and Nanase. That is all.
  • "This is the fifty-sixth day we've been together." "You know how many days we've been together?" "...Maybe."
• Ice cream.

Summer

• Although it's probably going to come back to bite them, Susan telling her boss that Elliot knows Cheerleadra in order to get him hired is an excellent contrast to her normal Spock behavior.
  Elliot: What the hell, Susan? I thought you were smart.
  Susan: You're my friend. He wasn't going to hire you. I wanted to help.
• Susan's adorable face when she is explaining why she loves Star Trek. Doubles as a Funny Moment when she realizes that the review is still going.
  • On the next page, Susan bitterly asks if he thought her fangasm was funny, but Elliot states that he liked it because she expressed such passion.

The Dawn

• Elliot's brief summary of what went through his mind when Ellen was created by the Dewitchery Diamond. It was an unbelievably disorienting experience for Ellen, but for Elliot...
  Elliot: I've never been this confused before.
  Ellen: Oh, sure you have. What about after you touched the diamond?
  Elliot: That was pretty simple, actually.
  Ellen: Really. The spontaneous creation of a female twin with all of your memories. That was simple.
  Elliot: "She's family. Help her." Not that complicated.
• Susan being protective
  Susan: Mean girls? What mean girls? Who's been mean to you?!
• Susan entering a full-on Crush Blush mode is dangerously adorable.
• When Ashley and Elliott get together, adorableness ensues.
• When Susan discovers that Tom's friendly overtures towards her were actually part of his attempts to manipulate her into asking him out, she calls him out on it, takes him down a peg and completely obliterates his attempt at justifying his actions. After the altercation, Sarah asks her if she's okay. Susan's reaction: spontaneous hugging.
  • It's made even more adorable when you compare it to her earlier attempt to get over her aversion to friendly physical contact.
• Susan insisting to Ashley that Ashley not seeing through Tom as easily as Susan did does not make Ashley an idiot or mean that she deserved to be fooled.
  Susan: People are vulnerable to treachery. It doesn't make you an idiot if Tom deceived you. It makes him a jerk. The only reason I saw through him so quickly was because he choked after I told him I didn't want to date anyone, and even if I hadn't, he'd still be the jerk.
  Ashley: There were clues that he was lying to me. I should have...
  Susan: You are not to blame! The person who lied to you is! They're the jerk! They're the idiot for lying and not having meaningful relationships! That is not your fault!
• Near the end of the "Identity" arc, when Diane receives Susan's thank-you message and realizes: "This is from my sister." Her expression in the last panel combined with the realisation is what really sells it.

Pandoras Box

• A subtle one in this comic. George, who usually is completely apathetic, gives advice to Sarah in their game (while several people have been treating her with derision for "pretending" to be a geek chick), and he does it without being condescending or mean. It's understated but there.
  • Earlier in that arc, George gives Grace some fairly useful relationship advice as well.
  • And then later, *Tensaided* of all people sticks up for Sarah and lays a well-deserved but decidedly proportionate smack-down on Larry.
• "There's a name for it..."
  • Tedd's ecstatic over the realization of his being gender fluid.
• Pandora gave Tedd a magic mark, apparently. Granted, it was without any permission similar to Dex, but why did she do it? Because it was "nice" and he's her grand god-son.
  • This is taken to the next level a few arcs later, as she's undergone a Heel Realization, but realized that Tedd is a wizard, just a very specialized one who can't cast spells, vowing to find out precisely what he is.

Sister III - Catspaws

• Pandora legitimately loved Blaike with every fiber of her being and couldn't bear the thought of reducing him to a chapter in a memoir; instead she turns into an utter Mama Bear towards their son to honor her beloved's memory.
• Pandora protects her family. That goes beyond her son. 'nuff said.
  • As an extension, Pandora offering to help Sarah awaken because "I like her."
• When Susan is confused and upset about finding out about the possibility of Diane being her sister, Ellen makes this amazing statement, complete with Call-Back.
  Ellen: You're not the only one who's confused right now, Susan. Diane's spent her entire life with her adoptive family. She loves them very much, but she's spent her whole life not knowing anything about her biological parents. And then she finds out about you. On top of that, she finds out about vampires, and how you have that in common. She feels that whirlwind the same as you, Susan. That makes it simple. She's family. Help her.
  • Elliot is a wonderful friend.
  • And Grace is a wonderful person. Who brings out Elliot's "Wonderful friend" side that much more.
• Not only does Sarah take the time to ask Box what's wrong, she gives her support after hearing why Box is so upset. Said Immortal gives her a big hug afterwards, because she really needed it.
  Box: I'm going to talk to my son on Saturday. Can I tell you how it goes after I do?
  Sarah: Uh, sure, no problem, Box.
  Box: [smiles sadly] ...You're a good friend, Sarah.
• Immediately after this, Pandora goes to Tedd to tell him what he is to the best of her knowledge, that he'll keep his abilities regardless of whether magic changes or not, and that he's done incredible things with what he has. You know, in her own... unique, way.
  • When Tedd exercises a bit of Fridge Logic regarding his parents' fear that their enemies might target him, Pandora gives him a heartfelt speech laden with in-character Reality Subtext that also doubles as something of a Motive Rant.
    Pandora: You are not a parent! You want what's best for your son. You want to be there and protect him at all times, but you can't. Even if you're there, he has to stand alone. He has to be able to protect himself. Keep himself safe. And you prepare him for that, help him achieve independence, all while trying not to push him away but every year it's harder and harder to stay focused and be who he needs you to be and he needs you but maybe you need him more you can't let go but you need to let go he needs you he doesn't it's not that... it's not that simple.
  • And then Tedd says that he respects Pandora's reason for not resetting, helping Pandora get control of herself again.
  • Pandora has Tedd put the base-form gender-flip spell from the mark she gave him on a wand and then use the wand to cast the spell on herself. Tedd - who'd decided to keep that spell secret from his dad because his dad wasn't very accepting - does so, blushing fiercely ... and Pandora says, with zero judgment or irony, "Excellent! Very good, Tedd!" when the spell goes off without a hitch. Tedd's smile at that is just lovely.
  • Pandora being motherly and sending Tedd up to bed because it's a school night.
  • Pandora resolving to, once the current crisis is resolved, find a way to "refresh" and get the benefits of resetting while still keeping her emotional connections to her family.
• Sarah is freaking out of her "date" and Elliot is not helping. Then Ashley shows up and when Sarah spazzes in front of her, informs her "You don't have to label it."
  Sarah: This one. This one gets it.
• Susan and Diane start out their meeting actually getting along pretty well.
• The Reveal that Pandora will indeed retain most of her memories and emotional connections post-reset.
• The Will of Magic decides that severely changing its rules is a terrible idea, and instead decides to accommodate magic’s reveal to society. In other words, Tedd’s dream of giving magic to everyone is back in action!
• While Magus/alt!Ellen's reasoning about our Ellen's feelings about being female is wrong, it's clear that he genuinely believes she needs his help and he's going to make sure she gets it. It's also clear that he adores Terra, alt!Tedd who is a cis female battle mage against societal norms, and is heartbroken that her dream is out of her grasp.
• The Talking Weapon wand coming to Ashley's aid.
• Arthur feeling responsible for his creation, Kevin, and letting him stay with Ashley.
  • Why does Arthur decide to pursue Magus? "He has made a young woman cry, Sybil."
• In the aftermath, Noah has a Freudian Slip and calls Raven "dad" - Raven, now sporting a Beard of Sorrow, immediately embraces Noah and calls him "son".

The New World

• Apparently, every time someone tries to start a rumor about Rhoda, there's a bunch of people ready to defend her.
• Diane telling a younger Lucy that she's beautiful.
• Diane planning to adopt at least two kids when she grows up, obviously wanting to help them like her parents did when they adopted her and her sister.
• Rhoda's joining the trio: she was Diane's history tutor, and Diane wanted to help get her out of her shell a bit and get used to the attention boys were giving her and learn to deal with them. Diane even makes sure to tell her that she thinks that Rhoda is already cool.
• Diane blatantly calling out the boys who lied about sleeping with her in the cafeteria in an attempt to get people to doubt the rumors about her (since the guys knew that they lied, and they'd then be suspicious of the other liars), and thus Lucy by extension.
• One girl comforting her friend, who was worried that she wouldn't like her anymore when she learned that she wasn't a virgin.
• Diane realizes not only that Lucy has feelings for her, but that she returns those feelings as well.
• Rhoda revealing that she's dating Catalina to Lucy and Diane, who already figured it out.
• Diane apologizing to Justin for her earlier mistreatment of him.
• Grace comforting Tedd and Sarah when they're reminded about Pandora's reset at the card tournament.
• One of Pandora's last acts before her reset was to give Sam a magic mark that allows him to match his internal and external selves and go back to normal, as well as a note explaining the ability and how it might get harder soon.
• "Hi, Elliot! I complimented Grace while she was feeling emotional." Also counts as a Funny moment since it involves Elliot walking in on Sarah, Tedd and Grace in a pile on the floor, but mostly Heartwarming because in pretty much any other story this would have led to hilarious misunderstandings... but in EGS at this point the characters are close enough, and comfortable enough around each other, that everyone just accepts that Grace just gets tackle-huggy when she's emotional and that this might sometimes lead to people in awkward positions on the floor.
• What Liz has to say when she learns Ashley is afraid of letting Elliot see the stories she writes:
  Liz: Yeah, your stories are weird from a conformist dork view, but if Elliot can't accept you at your weirdest, then he doesn't deserve you. Don't start thinking bad about yourself because of what some guy might think.
• Elliot's faith in and respect for law enforcement is quite touching, if a little naïve.
• Grace reassuring Ashley that her fantasies aren't that weird.
  Ashley: So I'm no weirder than soccer?
  Grace: Exactly!
  Ashley: Thank you.
• Tedd is nervous about letting Diane see her as a girl... and then Elliot hugs her.
  Elliot: You're perfect just as you are.
• Elliot hugs her a second time when seeing her glasses.
• Ashley likes snuggling with Elliot.
• Ashley and Elliot reassuring each other that You Are Better Than You Think You Are.

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