Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

WCDT: 2411-2415 (25-29 March, 2013) Weekly Comic Discussion Thread

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Masterpiece:
I was a bit annoyed by Jephzibahs chicken-out of the entire Claire situation (they really didn't talk about it in the car? COME ON!), but I liked todays comic.

And there's still a comic tomorrow.

Shogouki:

--- Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 28 Mar 2013, 14:17 ---Male here. Thought Dale in 1895 was creepy and out of line.

--- End quote ---

I certainly don't disagree with you, I think that if I were in Marigold's shoes I would be quite unnerved.  I just get the feeling that there is no malicious intent so much as him simply being unaware of how his behavior seems to others and that the way things go between them isn't entirely one sided. 

I love the way Hannelore interpreted the situation though.  :laugh:

Loki:
Okay, since genders were requested, I am male and I don't really get the hate on Dale.

I understand that what he is doing might be considered rude in real life, but I think some of his behavior counts as an "acceptable break from reality"(tm) that one might expect in a comic.

I think what he really does is simply teasing Marigold about how childish she is to hate him on account of being a different faction. When asked what she doesn't like about Dale, she doesn't even say anything like "He behaves inappropriately and creeps me." When he meets her in a dark alley, she isn't even bothered. She says "he is a jerk because he is playing Alliance".

Regarding 1895: Hannelore recognized he was flirting. Granted, in his own very weird way by stating how much less hardcore than him Marigold is, but I would still count it as flirting.

Incidentally, Marten also thinks their rivalry can be considered flirting.

You must also not forget that he was the one who came to Marigold offering a truce. He is behaving "in character" in a "weird gamer"-ish way full of tropes.

1) He recognizes her as a WorthyOpponent (TvTropes link).
2) He presents a challenge to her. The challenge is accepted.
3) He gauges her "power level" (by repeatedly sending guild mates to their virtual deaths  :-D)
4) He executes a direct attack himself.
5) He loses.
6) He recognizes his defeat and asks for a truce.
7) He backs down when she refuses at first.


So.
Is what he is doing childish? Maybe. Depends on whether he really believes this rivalry stuff or whether he is going with it as a pretense to interact with Marigold.
Is what he is doing creepy? Apparently, Marigold doesn't think so.
Could he be doing it better? Maybe. Then again, probably the easiest way to interact with Marigold is in-game.
Does he mean evil? I definitely don't think so.
Are his glasses annoying? Hell yes.

Truec:

--- Quote from: Shogouki on 28 Mar 2013, 14:01 ---
--- Quote from: jesslc on 28 Mar 2013, 13:12 ---
--- Quote from: Sassafras on 28 Mar 2013, 06:19 ---That he went out of his way to insert himself into her life and annoy her repeatedly just because she was rude to him once doesn't help, it makes him look like a grudgy douche.

--- End quote ---

This is exactly why I don't like Dale!

The way he repeatedly came up to annoy her, and particularly the way he often invaded her personal space when he did so... I found him very creepy. I know that Marigold's behaviour to him was pretty awful too but that doesn't make his behaviour acceptable.

I'd be curious to know if there's a gender difference between the sides of thoughts on Dale's behaviour... Because as a woman, if any stranger or relative stranger invading my personal space like that, I would be seriously creeped out. Unwanted attention like that just sets the warning bells ringing.  If on the other hand he had said the same insults to her from across the room/at a normal distance for a stranger, I would (probably) have been fine with Dale.

Angus did keep coming back and annoying Faye - true. But he wasn't ever like this:
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1895

That's not flirting. That's creepy and being a douche.

--- End quote ---

I think a lot of it probably comes down to the competitiveness in them.  They both think of themselves as hardcore gamers and the way they first met could be interpreted by Dale as a throwing down of the gauntlet.  There is often a lot of competitiveness between players who play their faction seriously in WoW, especially on PvP servers.  I also kind of think that they've both been growing somewhat attracted to each other and neither of them seem to know how to express that in a healthy way.  It seemed to me that they act towards each other in a way that's very reminiscent of the tsundre personality trait (Basically a character who is unable to express their affection for another in a way other than being seemingly hostile or insulting) that is pretty popular in anime right now.  And since Jeph seems to be quite a fan of anime himself I wondered if that might have something to do with the way Dale and Marigold act towards each other.

And the Gendo villain vibe is pretty strong in that strip as well.  Just noticed his shirt!

--- End quote ---

I must respectfully disagree.  If Jeph's been trying to set up anything between Marigold and Dale, it was done poorly, as all he's accomplished is to make Dale look like a creepy stalkerish douchebag who can't see Marigold in a public place without immediately jumping down her throat, whereas Marigold, for the most part, only responds once he's already in her face.  It's less tsun-tsun and more "I don't like you and want you to go away".

On the other hand, I can easily see Dale being interested in Marigold, but he's interested in the "oh wow a girl with the same interests as me exists this is amazing and I will immediately begin courting her by being annoying" way that I'm told many male gamers actually do, but that I still relegate to fiction written by people who aren't gamers, or want to pretend they're a better class of gamer, or are embarrassed about being gamers, because real people do not act like that.  So pretty much the exact feelings I had about Marigold until Jeph fleshed her out and made her interesting.

Dammit, he's doing it again!  He's set up a character for me to hate and then he's going to make him interesting and nuanced with a backstory and interactions with other interesting characters!  Damn you Jeph Jacques, why am I not allowed to hate your characters?

"Warning - while you were typing..."

Blargh!  Truec smash puny forum software!

Akima:
Coke and Pepsi both taste completely disgusting. Fizzy soft-drinks are a rip-off. Even at supermarket prices, Coca Cola costs more per litre than petrol (roughly A$2 per litre in the largest, cheapest-per-litre plastic bottles; more than double that in some sizes). And it is 99% water; the stuff that comes out of the tap for $2.13 per kilolitre.

Didn't Marigold one-hit Dale's rogue? Yes, she did (however unlikely that is in MMO combat, which is usually tediously protracted). He deserved for 1895. and 1771 too. Peace-pizza is a good idea. No meat or cheese on mine, Dale.

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