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Dora belching during one of her lines.

3 (4.5%)

Hannelore picking her nose when she thinks the camera's not on her.

18 (26.9%)

Faye getting on a laughing jag.

3 (4.5%)

Marten breaking into a rendition of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"

18 (26.9%)

Pintsize quoting Shakespeare

5 (7.5%)

Emily suddenly being very serious

18 (26.9%)

Claire's voice suddenly changing mid-line.

1 (1.5%)

Other (please state)

1 (1.5%)

Total Members Voted: 64

[snubnose]

Gah. 

I know this is supposed to be funny, and yes its a free comic I dont pay anything for, but ...

Seriously, Sven makes a regular three year olds look like a social interaction genius in comparison. He makes milder cases of autism look like superior in respect to social interaction. Right now he is a kind of Mr Bean of social interaction, and I really dont like the Mr Bean variant of humor, I find it very painful to watch. I already wasnt in the fanclub of Sven before - and right now I wouldnt mind him getting shot out of a big cannon to somewhere else, anywhere but in the comic. 

Especially I have no clue how this storyline will ever revert to anything substantial. To me this situation seems to be like the show Dexter: the concept sounds interesting on paper, but in the implementation, they never actually managed to make Dexter actually turn more human and thus - actually interesting. He kind of stayed the same until the end, losing again and again any social ability he seemed to have gained before, never actually turning into a real person one could relate to. Thats how Sven is ever since the breakup with Faye, and right now he's doing his "I am oblivious to basic social protocols" trick at full throttle.

Ugh.  Sven flanderization.  Yuck.

Hey, you said the same I said, but with much less words ! Yeah, thats whats happening.

[anahata]

One interpretation which vaguely makes sense for me is that this is the first time Sven has met somebody he actually cares about. There's some ironic rule of life that says "relationships" are easy until it really matters, then suddenly you go all stupid.

Even so, I'm finding it hard to believe that all his years of philandering have been so uniformly easy for him that he didn't actually learn anything.

[Loki]

I, for one, really love the painting in the background.

I realize that not all readers may enjoy seeing the painting, and am a bit surprised it has not yet been wildly discussed back and forth.
Have we ever seen that painting before? Has it always been so beautiful? Depending on how many in-universe months have passed, it might have changed.

I really enjoy the broad strokes, though, giving the painting its individuality. Makes me realize that such paintings exist in real life, you know?

[Is it cold in here?]

a regular three year old

I think you're on to something. Sven looks like a case of arrested development.

[TinPenguin]

Sven's development HAS been arrested. For most of his adult life he's been paid to write awful garbage songs (and not even the good kind of garbage that takes talent to write). His good looks have always been able to get him a girl for the night (but only one night, once the charm wears off). He's never had to work for wine, woman or song. I think he has always been this clueless. It has simply been hidden behind his arrogance and laziness.

I don't deny this has all been flanderised, though.

[Thrillho]

I don't see how this is at all out of character for Sven. If I remember rightly he has never mentioned having an actual relationship or being in love and he's spent his whole adult life just banging random women and writing shitty country music. I see no reason why he would be savvy enough to know anything about this.

[iduguphergrave]

When did Sven and Steve start hanging out?

This is what's bugging me. Have they ever even met before this?

[NilsO]

I, for one, really love the painting in the background.

I guess they are at the Horrible Revelation, as usual. The sight of a psychedelic pattern may affect a drunken person in unpredictable ways, enhancing the alcoholic experience. The Tequila Monster will be revealed when they look at the painting. I guess this is how the Horrible Revelation got its name.

I think Sven's lack of social antennas regarding serious romantic relationships has been firmly established by now. Sven needs to mature. Steve is perhaps not the best counselor regarding women, but in this case he is way more mature than Sven.

[GarandMarine]

Sven's development HAS been arrested. For most of his adult life he's been paid to write awful garbage songs (and not even the good kind of garbage that takes talent to write).

Writing country music is not a sign of arrested development. Like as not it's one of the biggest music markets in the States and has a massive amount of turnover, no matter how we like to make fun of it.

[Tova]

I'm with the incredulous crowd. It's not that I can't believe that he isn't "savvy" enough or whatever. But he's acting like a parody of himself.

My willing suspension of disbelief has collapsed.

[Nyithra]

The only explanation I can think of for this is that Sven might not have even known that Faye had a boyfriend until he confronted her. Also he probably spent a lot of time alone fantasizing about how things would go down and he got bitchslapped with reality.

However his wonder at how things didn't work out in his favor seems like going a little too far to me. Even if he's never been in a relationship of his own are we really supposed to believe he's never seen something like this go wrong, even if it was just on a TV show?

[Arancaytar]

Is this character anti-development? I remember Sven being way less shitty the last time he was in a storyline. Less shitty when he first appeared, even...

[Nyithra]

He's stopped hooking up with people, which other than playing music publicly seemed to be what his life revolved around. I'm guessing this led to a lot of introspection that turned out pretty badly.

[Loki]

Also known as "the echo-chamber of one's own thoughts".

[Akima]

When did Sven and Steve start hanging out?

Just so, especially to the "I got girl trouble" level.

I concur with the appreciation of the abstract painting on the wall behind them.

[Chelicerate]

For those confused by why people are reacting strongly to this latest comic: It appears that Jeph had revealed tomorrow's comic today. This is now fixed. If you are seeing the "I got girl trouble" comic, lots of people's attitudes in this thread probably look oddly strong.

[Thrillho]

Huh, weird. I thought that was a bit of an abrupt transition. At least I know what tomorrow ill bring - Sven being an asshole!

[Mr_Rose]

Okay, yeah, seeing the actual correct strip for today… doesn't actually lessen future!Sven's stupidity at all, so there's that.

[cesariojpn]

Huh, weird. I thought that was a bit of an abrupt transition. At least I know what tomorrow ill bring - Sven being an asshole!

Actually, the misplaced strip was much better timing wise TBH. Todays correct strip almost seems like a lame cold opening.

[Thrillho]

Huh, weird. I thought that was a bit of an abrupt transition. At least I know what tomorrow ill bring - Sven being an asshole!

Actually, the misplaced strip was much better timing wise TBH. Todays correct strip almost seems like a lame cold opening.

Hard to really say that when we saw the other one first.

[Neko_Ali]

It isn't that Sven wrote country songs, it's that he wrote horrible, hackneyed country songs off his cuff that people over paid him for. He was openly contemptuous of the whole process, but not enough to turn down the buckets of money that they threw at him, apparently.

It really does seem that Faye is the first thing in Sven's life that hasn't just fallen into his lap. It's something he wants, and he hasn't just been handed it on a platter with little to no effort on his part. And I keep saying 'it' for a reason, because it's not really Faye he wants, but the idea of something he wants but can't have. According to the way he acts and what Dora has said in the past, he very much has a case of arrested development. He's never had to grow up. Now he's starting to. He has that same mentality of a 13 year old who's romantic knowledge is based on movies and is totally self-centered. So I really see this as being a learning and growing arc for him. He just needs someone, and Steve is apparently elected, to let him know that's not how life works.

[Rghfrgl]

Sometimes stuff gets uploaded out of order and it's confusing, but in this case I think once yestedays got uploaded todays could have just been dropped and nobody would have been the wiser.

[Is it cold in here?]

Writing country music is not a sign of arrested development.

Agreed. But getting paid for nothing but lazy garbage in any genre can be a cause of arrested development.

[KOODustin]

...did Jeph miss TWO comics...because when did Steve talk to Marten?

[Aziraphale]

...did Jeph miss TWO comics...because when did Steve talk to Marten?

I'm guessing it took place "off-screen", as it were. Marten's last appearance was talking to Tai about Emily, and Steve's last appearance was with the cereal elf AI thingy.

[cesium133]

I assumed it was a reference to Marten's drunkfest a while back, though I don't know how long ago that was in comic time.

[FunkyTuba]

I guess I was wrong about that whole "latent desire" thing, which is probably for the best.

[Nyithra]

Yeah the correct strip being posted today doesn't change my opinion much.

[Kugai]

All he wants is a Beer and a quiet evening.


Not likely to happen.

[Zebediah]

Steve could try for a quiet evening at home... except he never knows what kind of AnthroPC is going to pop out of the beer bottle after he opens it.

[cesariojpn]

Steve could try for a quiet evening at home... except he never knows what kind of AnthroPC is going to pop out of the beer bottle after he opens it.

An anthro-PC version of Yelling Bird?

[jwhouk]

I didn't get a change to see the "replaced" comic, so I have no idea what's going on. 

[Chelicerate]

Yesterday's misplaced comic is now up.

[GarandMarine]

The proper strip for yesterday is not helping Sven at all.

[Mr. Doctor]

Wow. I just can't believe Sven. Are people like that seriously walking around the streets? 

[hedgie]

Wow. I just can't believe Sven. Are people like that seriously walking around the streets? 

I've had the misfortune of encountering many who were even more self-absorbed, and far more dangerous.

[GarandMarine]

Yeah. That's the scary part. Sven isn't that bad.

[Madmartigan]

Oh dear lord.

The delusional douche is strong with this one.  The Dark Side sways him. 

Nah, he's too dumb for that.

Seriously, one comic just summed up why Dora got so screwed up. 

[Border Reiver]

Come on, compared to that Dora's just fine. 


Questions, comments, queries , problems, bitches, rude gestures and/or remarks

[DSL]

Writing country music is not a sign of arrested development. Like as not it's one of the biggest music markets in thru country ...

That's not the claim. The claim is that Sven's never had to work very hard for anything, including finding a market for his lousy (never mind the genre) lyrics or getting a femme du jour or whatever else his little heart desires, and this whole business of not being able to immediately get what he wants just because he wants it, is new territory for him.

In a way, Sven's the mirror-universe Marten: They share the essential personality trait of not really knowing what they want, for the opposite reasons: Marten's desires are dashed and Sven's fulfilled before either has even fully realized what those desires are.

[Jazzmaster]

I am not sure what people are saying when they say this isn't like Sven. Sven has a history of being manipulative and having terrible ends to relationships. When he and Faye were sort of FwB, he cheated on her. The only reason he wants to get back with her is because he is craving the experience of a real relationship, which means he is still all about meeting his own needs.

Don't believe me, read some of his early arcs.

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=676
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=680
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=682
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=797

Even with this "evidence", I'm still having trouble accepting this.

The thing is, being "manipulative" implies you know what you're doing.  It implies you are perfectly aware of not only how the system works, but your own role in it and how you can turn things toward your favor.  In this strip for example, Sven teases us with his thorough understanding of how to build and maintain attraction.  In fact, it's only a couple of strips prior that Faye warns Hannelore about how good he is at seduction. 

Given all the implications of examples of Sven's thorough amount of experience with women throughout a decent portion of the comic, this current Sven is just very difficult to accept.  I guess all I can really say is that I'm somewhat surprised, and a little disappointed.  I knew he had "changed" since Faye, but I reckoned that it'd be a positive change.  I figured that his FwB with Faye would teach him the errors of his ways, and that he'd resolve to dial back on women and live a progressively better single life.  At the very least, the conclusion of his date with Hanners here (and the strip immediately afterword) suggested he had it in him to charm women genuinely without being a total asshole about it.

Is he really so self-absorbed that he thinks Angus is the "bad guy" and that he needs to "save" Faye?  Or is he really just ruminating on how he could manage to seduce her yet again?  Can we expect him to be enough of a douche to attempt it if/when Angus moves into the city?

(click to show/hide)

Find out next time...

[hedgie]

That's not the claim. The claim is that Sven's never had to work very hard for anything, including finding a market for his lousy (never mind the genre) lyrics or getting a femme du jour or whatever else his little heart desires, and this whole business of not being able to immediately get what he wants just because he wants it, is new territory for him.

Especially since it isn't just country music Sven is writing, its terribad pop-country that nobody with two neurons to rub-together would willingly listening to, and is probably used to torture prisoners in Gitmo… but he makes boatloads of money from it.  You're right, it's absolutely about Sven's inability to deal with situations where things don't just "go the way he wants", especially when he's out of his emotional depth.  Something like Romantic love for him, compared to what he's used to, is like the difference between dropping someone into the ocean 3m from shore, and the difference between dropping them into the Marianas Trench.

[Smallest]

When did Sven and Steve start hanging out?

This is what's bugging me. Have they ever even met before this?

I assume Steve just gives off some kind of pheromone.

[Nyithra]

I didn't get the impression that Sven was acting manipulative, more that he wanted something and expected it to be handed to him. After the 'date' he had with Hanners, I find his approach with Faye at the very least a character regression.

[TRVA123]

Given all the implications of examples of Sven's thorough amount of experience with women throughout a decent portion of the comic, this current Sven is just very difficult to accept.  I guess all I can really say is that I'm somewhat surprised, and a little disappointed.  I knew he had "changed" since Faye, but I reckoned that it'd be a positive change.  I figured that his FwB with Faye would teach him the errors of his ways, and that he'd resolve to dial back on women and live a progressively better single life.  At the very least, the conclusion of his date with Hanners here (and the strip immediately afterword) suggested he had it in him to charm women genuinely without being a total asshole about it.

Is he really so self-absorbed that he thinks Angus is the "bad guy" and that he needs to "save" Faye?  Or is he really just ruminating on how he could manage to seduce her yet again?  Can we expect him to be enough of a douche to attempt it if/when Angus moves into the city?

I completely agree with you, this current arc just does not quite fit the Sven character previously established.

I also thought that Sven was more perceptive when it came to other people, if a bit amoral. If anything I would have expected his [attempted] seduction of Faye to be... not completely ham handed and jerkwaddy.

[cesariojpn]

Wow. I just can't believe Sven. Are people like that seriously walking around the streets? 

You obviously have not worked retail.

[Mlle Germain]

I agree with all the people saying yesterday and today that this is veeeery immature for Sven, negative character development and also kind of out of character. Probably the disappointment has temporarily switched off part of his brain and that's why he's acting like this.
When he started off saying he loved Faye, I still thought it was in cute and emotional and honest (in a rather good way), but I didn't think that he was expecting Faye to do anything but reject him. It is this expectation that makes it immature and unfair towards Faye.

Edit: Fixed typo

[ZoeB]

Affairs of the heart make fools of us all - unknown.

[Thrillho]

It is very difficult to ascertain the veracity of quotes found on the internet - Abraham Lincoln

[NilsO]

When did Sven and Steve start hanging out?

This is what's bugging me. Have they ever even met before this?

Sven is Dora's brother. Dora and Marten had a relationship. Marten is Steve's friend. That is three degrees of separation, which is a lot less than the hypothetical maximum of six degrees of separation. In all probability they have met off-stage before, even if they have had no interaction before in the series. They certainly are aware of who the other is.

What can happen now? Probably they will get drunk, perform some bonding rituals, and talk about women. Standard male behavior. Somehow, things need to get more interesting. Perhaps Dora and Faye drop in by chance? Faye certainly needs a drink after a rough day.

EDIT: Sven and Faye were friends with benefits. Faye and Steve have known each other for a long time. That is just two degrees, but still a less likely path, as Faye tried to keep Sven apart from her other friends.