Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT: 11-15 June 2018 (3761-3765)
fayelovesbubbles:
--- Quote from: HughYeman on 14 Jun 2018, 07:09 ---I say the following knowing full well the degree to which I am projecting. I'm probably off-base.
I'm disquieted by this strip, and since the other night I've been trying to figure out why. I think it's because I'm convinced that Bubbles is not as calm as she seems. She is torn apart inside, and devoting most of her mental energy to putting on a calm exterior. And that shit will come out sideways somewhere down the line.
For reasons why I feel this way, see my post from last night. We've seen many examples of her fear of anyone being hurt because of her, her self-loathing, her violent attempts to isolate, her fear of being laughed at, and the anger she turns on herself for having presumed to live like a normal person. I'm sure that she was grappling with all that when she entered into verbal combat with Pintsize. She was cornered, and she was full of fear, and she had to show the world that she wasn't afraid of him. So her emotional landscape was nothing like what she let show.
In short, she needed to be seen to win that fight, but in reality no one won. She's roiling inside. Don't believe me? OK. "Ta." "Ta"??? Who says "Ta"??? That sounds forced and artificial, even for Bubbles. She's straining to sound all cazh n' shit.
Again, I know my experience isn't everyone's. I envy people who can engage in this sort of confrontation and not come out of it feeling like they've been dunked in acid. It's just that there are reasons why I identify with Bubbles so strongly, and if I'm not completely wrong about her, then her emotional problems will be every bit as much of an obstacle to their relationship as Faye's. Faye is afraid of people leaving her, and deep down she fears that she will be the reason they leave. Bubbles is afraid of people being hurt because of her, and that fear makes it hella convenient to retreat into that comfortably cold mantle of the freak who should never have dreamed of being anything but alone.
--- End quote ---
I'm like Bubbles too. I don't anticipate a Faye coming along to save me anytime soon.
pwhodges:
--- Quote from: HughYeman on 14 Jun 2018, 09:16 ---Wait, so Brits still use it? I was under the impression that it was something that only the oldest people would say without irony, and that younger people would only say it theatrically.
--- End quote ---
This old Brit uses it without thought; but I suspect that many of my peers would think it undignified, something which only younger people would use...
SpanielBear:
--- Quote from: HughYeman on 14 Jun 2018, 09:16 ---
--- Quote from: Wagimawr on 14 Jun 2018, 08:28 ---
--- Quote from: HughYeman on 14 Jun 2018, 07:09 ---"Ta." "Ta"??? Who says "Ta"???
--- End quote ---
Some Brits do. Short for "Thank you", at least in the context I've heard the Beatles use it :laugh: probably not what Jeph was going for here. In this case probably a terse "ta ta!" as in "goodbye" as in "get out of my hand you little weasel".
--- End quote ---
Wait, so Brits still use it? I was under the impression that it was something that only the oldest people would say without irony, and that younger people would only say it theatrically.
--- End quote ---
This (31 year old, but I have siblings still at uni) Brit has used it unironically and heard it used frequently. It may be more a northern thing, but I haven't even seen that much of a divide. Pretty much just a general casual thanks.
Examples:
A
"Cuppa tea?"
"Ooh, that'd be lovely, ta!"
B
"Here's your pint."
"Ta."
C (alternate usage, doubled up as a casual goodbye)
"I'm just popping to the shop, back in a mo."
"Ta-ta!"
(Hmm, I don't actually know the linguistic root of that last one. To google!)
(Edit: A brief Google gives me a variety of possibilities. The most common explanation is it is just baby talk like da-da that we ended up using as we got older. Then there are suggestions it could have celtic roots, particularly as a varient is "Ta-ra", as in the old Irish city. And finaly, my favourite, a suggestion that it, like many british words, was adopted as part of our magpie appropriation of languages during the empire and that it comes from Swahili. Hakuna Matata.)
HughYeman:
--- Quote from: SpanielBear on 14 Jun 2018, 11:37 ---
--- Quote from: HughYeman on 14 Jun 2018, 09:16 ---
--- Quote from: Wagimawr on 14 Jun 2018, 08:28 ---
--- Quote from: HughYeman on 14 Jun 2018, 07:09 ---"Ta." "Ta"??? Who says "Ta"???
--- End quote ---
Some Brits do. Short for "Thank you", at least in the context I've heard the Beatles use it :laugh: probably not what Jeph was going for here. In this case probably a terse "ta ta!" as in "goodbye" as in "get out of my hand you little weasel".
--- End quote ---
Wait, so Brits still use it? I was under the impression that it was something that only the oldest people would say without irony, and that younger people would only say it theatrically.
--- End quote ---
This (31 year old, but I have siblings still at uni) Brit has used it unironically and heard it used frequently. It may be more a northern thing, but I haven't even seen that much of a divide. Pretty much just a general casual thanks.
...
--- End quote ---
Well this is fascinating. I have no recollection of having heard it in real life. Either I am even less observant than I think, or it simply isn't in use on this side of the pond.
fayelovesbubbles:
I'm on the same side of the pond and have heard people say ta ta, so YMMV. I figure "ta" is just a cute way to shorten it. It didn't strike me as weird in any way.
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