Rhoda

> Diane thinks I shouldn't hide, but I just want them to leave me alone.
>
> Rhoda talking to Justin

**Rhoda** is a student at Moperville South High School and a naturally powerful magic-user with a strong affinity for size change magic. She is friends with some of the main cast, principally Diane and Grace, and is dating Catalina. Rhoda spent most of her high school years as a sweet, shy, sensitive character. She was prone to crying when something went wrong and reliant on Diane, on whom she then had an admiring crush, to fix her problems and provide her with approval. However, she is more recently developing in confidence. Rhoda is short, which affects her perspective on larger people and things - this may underlie both her magical affinity for size change magic and her initial lack of personal confidence. Rhoda gained fans when still a very minor character, and has assumed greater prominence during the course of the comic.

## History

### Early appearances

Rhoda became Diane's history tutor some time during early high school and they became friends.

Rhoda first appeared in the comic when Diane asked Nanase to sit with them.

Later Rhoda ran out of the classroom crying and went to a bathroom because she had left her homework at home. At the bathroom she met Grace, who was also crying because she had learned about the Holocaust on her first day at school. Diane found them and told Rhoda how to deal with her homework situation. After that Rhoda became Grace's history tutor and Grace became Rhoda's math tutor.

After Abraham's attack Carol Brown was interviewing Rhoda for TV when Pandora appeared behind them. Many people asked her about it and she changed to her old look to avoid unwanted attention. After the fire summon attack she hugged Justin and called him kindred spirit as he was also dealing with strangers approaching him because he was temporarily famous.

### Boar encounter

On May 12th, while taking pictures in the park, Rhoda was chased by a boar. Pandora gave Rhoda a magic mark and Rhoda unknowingly made the boar bigger and stunned it with her new spell. She then fled up a tree. Rhoda was saved by Catalina, who scared the boar away with repeated camera flashes and loud whistling. They were interviewed on TV by Carol about the attack.

After this, Rhoda and Catalina entered into a relationship, which they kept hidden for the sake of Rhoda's friends, although Diane at least figured it out on her own and (possibly later) Lucy as well and Lucy even started to be nicer to Rhoda due to that. In addition, Grace was apparently privy to their relationship, and Elliot and Ellen guessed it.

### Escape From The Mall

Before Halloween, when Rhoda and Catalina were at the mall together, Catalina turned into a catgirl because of a magic mark given by Pandora. They fled into a dressing room to avoid being noticed Catalina asked Rhoda to shrink her in order to hide her while sneaking out. Rhoda managed to shrink Catalina's clothes with her using a new spell. Then Rhoda made herself taller in order to fit Catalina in her pockets. On the way out Rhoda saw Diane and Lucy so she disguised herself. The disguise spell created a link that caused all spells affecting them to transform both of them as long as it was active so they became shrunk catgirls of half their normal height. They were seen by Kitty, who chased them. Rhoda made Kitty's jacket sleeves bigger to distract her. After Rhoda and Catalina made it into a dressing room their spells ended. Pandora (who during this episode realised that Rhoda was far stronger both in character and magical power than she had previously realised) made a spellbook for Rhoda along with a note about her and Catalina's magic. Rhoda worried that the spell she used on Kitty might have unpredictable effects.

### Coming out to Diane and Lucy

When Diane and Lucy began their relationship, Rhoda finally came out to them. When they said they already knew about her relationship with Catalina, Rhoda became angry as she had been in the closet because of them, but she was still happy for them and decided to go on a double date.

### *Fable* dream

At an unknown time a unicorn pulled Rhoda into a magical shared dream with other people, including Catalina, Susan, Jay and Grace, in order to look for royalty for an unknown purpose. The dream was a parody of the video game series *Fable* and Rhoda was cast as the hero of melee weapons. At the beginning she was a monk. She was assigned to carry out a ritual and Susan was assigned as her bodyguard. Rhoda's temple was attacked by an evil cult and Susan was immobilized as the game mechanics changed to a cutscene. Rhoda renounced her monkhood to fight the cultists and drove them away. After Rhoda left the temple, the seer (who looked like Arthur) recruited her. He wanted her to stay at his place but Rhoda wanted to go to a pub and Susan gave her a bag of gold to pay for it. At the pub she tried to order whiskey but Catalina intervened to change the order to beer and water. Rhoda asked her to show her the town. While they were walking around the town Rhoda called Catalina an angel and noted that they were on something resembling a date. Then they kissed. When Rhoda returned to the seer Catalina followed her. The seer turned out to be working with the cult that attacked the temple in order to use Rhoda, Susan and the other heroes for a wish ritual. Then the unicorn showed up and told the dreamers what he was doing. Then he saw that Rhoda is royalty and asked her who she is in the waking world but she didn't know as she wasn't a lucid dreamer. To stop the unicorn from interrogating Rhoda, Jay woke herself up, ending the shared dream.

### Growing confidence and powers on the edge of revelation

Rhoda and Catalina, returning from a late movie date, encountered Camdin, Luke and their friends, who came towards them when Luke detected magic. Spooked by the approach of four hooded figures, the couple ran into an alley and implemented an 'emergency plan', in which Catalina assumed a clawed cat-woman form and Rhoda enlarged her, scaring away the wannabe superheroes.

Grace already had strong suspicions of Rhoda's (and Catalina's) mark-derived powers from information provided by the Emissary of Magic in dreams starting in the Squirrel Prophet storyline, but wanted waking-world confirmation. She was very keen to share information about herself and become closer friends with Rhoda and Catalina, and felt that their possession of magic powers would enable this. Other members of the main group were also interested in making contact with friendly magic-users.

Grace, Justin, Susan and Diane discussed finding out more. Diane, underestimating Rhoda's independence, decided that there was no chance Rhoda could have magic powers without discussing them with her. Susan speculated to Catalina about an affinity for cat magic, expecting to provoke a revealing reaction, but also underestimated Catalina's ability to keep a secret. Justin and Grace approached Luke to use his aura sight on the couple (without giving Luke enough information to realize that they were talking about the two people he had run from the previous night), but Luke turned them down (also without giving them enough information about his 'monster' encounter to identify Rhoda or Catalina).

Rhoda, unaware of the swirl of curiosity around her, checked that Catalina was OK after the encounter with Camdin and practiced her assertiveness, intimidating a lunch-queue bully and talking back to a teacher. Diane and Lucy were dumbfounded to hear of the lunch queue incident.

## Relationships

### Catalina

Rhoda met Catalina when she was attacked by the giant boar and together they drove away the boar. They started dating but kept their relationship secret because of Rhoda's friends. Catalina has shown trust in Rhoda's judgement and leadership, perhaps contributing to Rhoda's growing confidence.

### Diane

Rhoda became Diane's history tutor earlier in high school and they have been friends since then. Rhoda had great admiration for and reliance on Diane; a romantic aspect to her feelings was implied by Rhoda's tendency to blush under Diane's attention and by Lucy's jealousy, and confirmed in non-canon comics. Since starting her relationship with Catalina, Rhoda has (at least largely) got over her crush on Diane, but still hangs out with her and Lucy at school. Rhoda kept her relationship with Catalina secret for a time partly because of Diane's past homophobia. Diane was slow to update her estimation of Rhoda and their relationship, seeing Rhoda as a dependent for longer than she actually was.

### Lucy

Rhoda and Lucy are both friends with Diane. Lucy used to be jealous since both were attracted to Diane. Rhoda kept her relationship with Catalina secret partly because Lucy's jealousy came off as homophobia but when Lucy realized that Rhoda is in a relationship with Catalina she became nicer to her. Like Diane, she underestimated Rhoda and patronizingly referred to her as a puppy.

### Grace

Rhoda and Grace first met when both went to a bathroom to cry. Rhoda became Grace's history tutor and Grace became Rhoda's math tutor. Grace became angry for Rhoda when Catalina kissed Elliot, showing not only that she cares for Rhoda but also that she knew about Rhoda's relationship with Catalina. Grace learned of Rhoda's magic mark in her prophetic dreams and has been eager to share magical confidences with her, but has held back, wanting waking confirmation of Rhoda's magical awareness and because of doubts about whether they really have that level of mutual trust and what the consequences might be.

### Nanase

Rhoda knows Nanase from school. She admired Nanase and may have found her attractive - she blushed at a compliment from her and upon seeing her kissing Ellen, trusted her choice in friends and understood Diane's attraction to Nanase before Diane did.

### Justin

Rhoda also knows Justin from school. She embraced him as a kindred spirit when they were both troubled by school gossip having appeared on the television news following supernatural incidents

### Pandora

Rhoda received her magic mark and spellbook from Pandora, who recognizes her as a highly talented magic-user and a non-boring mortal.

## Magic Abilities

Rhoda has exceptional natural magical power. She has been recognized as "royalty" by a visitor from the first half of the universe, which suggests she is comparable with Nanase and above most other natural magic-users (including at least Elliot, Ellen, Diane and Jay) for inborn magical potential.

Pandora has given Rhoda a magic mark that allows her to enlarge and/or shrink things or creatures. Pandora later described it as an S-class spell.

Rhoda's first use of this spell was responsible for the creation of the giant boar in Death Sentence; an initially normal boar she unwittingly enlarged until its tusks were over her head.

Grace's prophetic dreams in Squirrel Prophet showed Rhoda either enlarge her clothes or shrink her body during her sleep. It's not clear what was the first use of her spell she noticed: it could've been something like Grace's dream or she might have resized some item. She's now aware she can resize both people and items, but we are not sure if she realized she enlarged the boar.

When she resizes food and someone eats it, the person will start to resize as well. Initially, she could only resize one thing (or person) at a time. She also knows (or assumes) her ability is connected to the mark she has.

She has only told Catalina about her power, and possibly showed it to her soon after discovering it herself. As part of Escape from the Mall, she shrunk Catalina and made herself taller, but those were not the spell Pandora initially gave her: she Awakened and Pandora didn't notice. The former was her third spell and only differs from the first by also affecting clothes.

Her second spell (in order that she noticed them) seem to be make herself taller - but normally taller, not bigger: her mark spell would resize everything in same ratio, which would make her look weird. It also affects her clothes.

A fourth spell was discovered during "Escape From the Mall" and allows her to change her own appearance in order to disguise herself.

## Clothing and hair styles

 Datei:Rhoda's looks.png
Rhoda has two different looks: one with her hair down, a choker necklace and a fitting, often midriff-revealing t-shirt (with zip-up top over it for warmth if necessary), her alternate look involves a ponytail, glasses, and a high-necked sweater. Because Rhoda's first-published sweater appearances were unnamed and unspeaking, and she was introduced as a named character with the choker look, she was initially considered two characters: Rhoda and **Shy Girl**. The two being one character was explained in the EGS Main Story Comic for 2010-12-27.

According to in-universe chronology, Rhoda used the Shy Girl look originally, in and out of school, but adopted the choker look in school after joining Diane's group. She reverted to Shy Girl for a while, which she explained as being to avoid recognition when she was gossiped about after appearing on television. However, she gradually resumed more of her newer look (especially when with Catalina), perhaps as her confidence increased.

Rhoda's hair can reflect her mood. As well as the ponytail when full Shy Girl, she has recently been drawn with atmospheric changes to her loose hairstyle. The default depiction has one out-turned point on each side of the main hair. When she is in a low mood, her side points may droop, disappear or be hidden by the foreground. When she is happy, excited, hopeful or showing her power, they perk up. In extreme depictions (as with other characters) she may be shown with extreme hair, such as many side points or fully rising up like a flame.

## Trivia

Upon close inspection of Rhoda's earliest appearance within the in-comic chronology, one can see two girls and a boy in the background which appear to be Diane and Lucy seducing a boy into giving them money. If this is what it seems, Dan has made the first in-comic chronological appearance of the all of the three members of Diane's gang before Rhoda joined it to have been during freshman year, and this is shown all within the same panel.

Dan has confirmed on the EGS sub-reddit that Rhoda is named after Rhoda Morgenstern, Valerie Harper's character from the 1970s TV sitcoms *Mary Tyler Moore*, and later *Rhoda*.

## Gallery

RhodaMark2.pngRhoda's magic markRhoda.gifShy Girl.pngRhoda wearing her second look
## References

1. ↑ 1,0 1,1 1,2 EGS Main Story Comic for 2008-01-29 ("Squirrel Meets Puppy")
2. ↑ Vorlage:910-link
3. ↑ EGS Sketchbook Comic for 2013-12-01
4. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2010-12-29
5. ↑ 5,0 5,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2010-12-29
6. ↑ EGS Sketchbook Comic for 2006-06-30 ("Good First Impressions")
7. ↑ 7,0 7,1 7,2 7,3 7,4 EGS Main Story Comic for 2018-09-14
8. ↑ 8,0 8,1 8,2 8,3 EGS Main Story Comic for 2018-09-17
9. ↑ 9,0 9,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2004-12-08
10. ↑ 10,0 10,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2008-02-01
11. ↑ 11,0 11,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2008-01-25
12. ↑ 12,0 12,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-11-09
13. ↑ 13,0 13,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2010-01-21
14. ↑ 14,0 14,1 14,2 EGS Main Story Comic for 2010-12-27
15. ↑ 15,0 15,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2010-12-22
16. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-10-24
17. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-10-25
18. ↑ 18,0 18,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-10-27
19. ↑ 19,0 19,1 EGS:NP Comic for 2017-02-15
20. ↑ 20,0 20,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2012-02-10
21. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-10-28
22. ↑ 22,0 22,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-10-31
23. ↑ 23,0 23,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-11-01
24. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-11-11
25. ↑ 25,0 25,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2012-08-06
26. ↑ 26,0 26,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-05-15
27. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2017-10-27
28. ↑ 28,0 28,1 28,2 28,3 EGS Main Story Comic for 2018-10-26
29. ↑ 29,0 29,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-11-22
30. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-12-09
31. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-09-07
32. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-09-23
33. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-09-02
34. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-09-22
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36. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-10-14
37. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-10-28
38. ↑ 38,0 38,1 38,2 38,3 38,4 38,5 EGS:NP Comic for 2016-11-09
39. ↑ 39,0 39,1 EGS:NP Comic for 2016-11-07
40. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-11-04
41. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-11-28
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44. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-12-16
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46. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-01-18
47. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-01-23
48. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-01-25
49. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-02-01
50. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-02-08
51. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-10-24
52. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-02-10
53. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-02-17
54. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-02-20
55. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-02-24
56. ↑ 56,0 56,1 56,2 56,3 EGS Main Story Comic for 2018-10-29
57. ↑ 57,0 57,1 EGS:NP Comic for 2021-01-09
58. ↑ 58,0 58,1 58,2 EGS:NP Comic for 2021-01-12
59. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2019-08-28
60. ↑ 60,0 60,1 EGS:NP Comic for 2020-01-15
61. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2019-12-16
62. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-01-08
63. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-01-10
64. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-01-22
65. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-01-31
66. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-02-07
67. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-02-10
68. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-02-19
69. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-03-11
70. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-03-17
71. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-03-21
72. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 06-2020-02
73. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-12-10
74. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-12-08
75. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2020-12-19
76. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2021-01-05
77. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2021-02-14
78. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2021-01-26
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80. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2021-01-30
81. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2021-09-17
82. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2014-08-12
83. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2020-07-31
84. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2020-08-12
85. ↑ 85,0 85,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2020-08-17
86. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2021-06-07
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91. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2021-09-03
92. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2021-09-08
93. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2021-06-21
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95. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2021-08-23
96. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2021-08-25
97. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-11-28
98. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2007-06-19
99. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2008-02-05
100. ↑ EGS Sketchbook Comic for 2014-08-22
101. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-09-25
102. ↑ Commentary of EGS Main Story Comic for 2018-10-26
103. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-11-21
104. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2019-06-12
105. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2019-06-14
106. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2021-09-10
107. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2004-12-13
108. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-01-03
109. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2018-09-19
110. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2021-04-30
111. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2014-03-31
112. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-09-16
113. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2014-08-11
114. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-09-09
115. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-09-14
116. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-10-05
117. ↑ 117,0 117,1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2006-06-28 ("Love Cares Not for the Woes of Logic")
118. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2006-07-17 ("EGS-Con 2006 - Part I")
119. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2006-08-26 ("EGS-Con 2006 - Part XVIII")
120. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2018-08-24
121. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-03-26
122. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2018-08-22
123. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2018-08-31
124. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2021-08-18
125. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2018-10-26
126. ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2021-09-24
127. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/elgoonishshive/comments/9o8zz8/for\_whom/e7uglf8/
128. ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2019-09-30