THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: shanejayell on 29 Oct 2017, 22:35
-
New comic up!
Nice to see Marten and such again. And yeah, I COULD see Faye tying Sam to a drill press...
-
Lots of answers in today's comic. Sam wasn't lying about playing hookie, it actually was taco night! Faye didn't take the tip that mohawk-bot left Sam! It was a drill press that Sam jump-tackled earlier! Marten and Claire still exist!
-
So that settles one argument as to whether Sam was playing hoodie.
I’d like to suppose the previous storyline segues into a story about Jim and Veronica’s domestic life.
-
The Bean/Reed Family Dinner - Proof that, in the QCverse, there ain't no such beast as 'normal'! Poor Jim must despair as he increasingly realises that there is absolutely no prospect of his life fitting into quick and easy categories anymore; he's just got involved with too many completely unique and hard-to-categorise personalities!
Seriously, I find myself wondering if this week is the time when Veronica helps Jim realise that Sam isn't just 'having fun'. Rather, she's seeking out experiences that she feels that she needs because the ones presented to her so far all seem lacking in some way. I think that she's one of those personalities who really, really don't fit into 'average' boxes. As much as she needs a general education, her mind-set and aspirations are most unlikely to lead her to a 'normal' degree or job. She's a unique spirit with a unique perspective on the world and I think that she's heading for a unique outcome.
On an artistic level, It's pretty clear that Jeph struggled with the opening panel and I can see why. You've got five characters at a relatively difficult angle all at different points from the 'camera' AND which need to be fit around scenery in the right way. FWIW, he managed quite well although I think that the table's legs are too short.
So that settles one argument as to whether Sam was playing hoodie.
It's 'hooky', not 'hoodie'. 'Hoodie' is what Marten is wearing.
[EDIT]
Another possibility for this week's strips is that we're going to have a little Veronica-Claire and Veronica-Marten interaction. Not only will this let Jeph catch up with what Veronica's been doing recently, she's the obvious 'narrative poke' to get Marten and Claire talking about the next step in their relationship.
-
A drill press is a horrible thing to tie someone to.... a metal chair is much more secure.
-
A drill press is a horrible thing to tie someone to.... a metal chair is much more secure.
Eh, I’ve seen some freestanding presses where, apart from the drive, the major component is a 3" dia. steel column bolted to the floor. It’d be about the same as tying someone to a lamp post or telephone pole.
A chair is much less likely to be fixed to the floor, for one.
-
Yes, in a commercial shop, I'd expect to see drill-presses bolted down, so one would make a pretty secure hitching post.
The grey streaks are multiplying in Veronica's hair. By contrast Claire seems to have age-regressed suddenly. Claire and Sam seem to be drinking the same, as do Marten and Jim, Veronica stays classy with a glass of red wine. I hope they're at least going to have a salad with their tacos, and otherwise the table looks awfully bare. It's a pretty big table too, an eight-seater. Did Jim and his ex entertain a lot, I wonder, or does Veronica plan to?
FWIW, he managed quite well although I think that the table's legs are too short.
I'm not sure that the table-legs are too short, but perhaps they look as if they are because they are so massively thick. The dining plates look barely twice as wide, so I'd put the legs at over 100mm square. By contrast, the legs of the chairs look too thin and rickety. It looks slightly odd too that the glasses in front of Sam and Jim look larger than those in front of Marten and Claire, despite their being closer to the "camera". Still, it's a bold and effective establishing shot.
-
The grey streaks are multiplying in Veronica's hair. By contrast Claire seems to have age-regressed suddenly. Claire and Sam seem to be drinking the same, as do Marten and Jim, Veronica stays classy with a glass of red wine. I hope they're at least going to have a salad with their tacos, and otherwise the table looks awfully bare. It's a pretty big table too, an eight-seater. Did Jim and his ex entertain a lot, I wonder, or does Veronica plan to?
These are all excellent questions.
Regarding Veronica, she is in her mid- to late-50s, I think and I suspect that, with her conscious move of career to home-maker and surrogate mother for Sam, she's less reluctant to let her age show, something positive, IMO at least. However, she's still Mom and, consequently, I could imagine that she would offer the 'children' (Marten and Claire included) soda first!
As for the tacos, squinting at them, it looks like there may be vegetables in the filling. Being a middle-class Californian woman, I can't see Veronica not making every meal at the house healthy!
Finally, with respect to the dining room table: it's big but not unusually so. It was likely selected simply for its utility and how well it fit into the dining room space more than any specific purpose in mind. That said, with the size of Veronica's surrogate family (she could easily have Faye and possibly Mrs Bean around for a sufficiently large family gathering such as Sam's birthday or Thanksgiving) then extra space would be useful, even though Sam and her school-friends would be more likely to be sitting on the couch, spilling juice and getting cake crumbs on the upholstery!
-
As for tacos, there is such a thing as Californian tacos, it seems, which are dripping in fat and fried, so whilst they contain lettuce, they may well not be healthy in the slightest. Took a while for my partner to realise that her stepmom hadn't produced regular tacos, as neither of us are American!
-
Apparently, Veronica scarfed down her tacos right quick. She's already wiping her mouth with her napkin, and has an empty plate, before the others are halfway through. :)
-
One possible explanation for Veronica finishing her meal first: It's entirely possible that she had less on her plate than the others to start with. She'd rather have that glass of wine than another taco - and she's at an age where she needs to choose one or the other if she's not going to gain weight. I'm about the same age as her and I've had to cut back on the amount I eat also.
-
Beat me to it, Zebediah.
Maybe the table looks large to me, because I'm used to family meals where all the dishes, and the bucket of rice, are placed in the middle of the table, and the diners help themselves.
-
Beat me to it, Zebediah.
Maybe the table looks large to me, because I'm used to family meals where all the dishes, and the bucket of rice, are placed in the middle of the table, and the diners help themselves.
So the tip was $2 and she got it directly from punkbot, interesting that Jeph chose to clear that up.
I agree with the above posters that the first panel seems somewhat off, but to me it's more the overall 'look' of the place. Wondering if those floors are meant to be hardwood? Overall it all appears very minimal, almost industrial...
Btw, for some reason it did not occur to me earlier that Veronica is about 14-15 years older than Jim, yay for her!
-
One possible explanation for Veronica finishing her meal first: It's entirely possible that she had less on her plate than the others to start with. She'd rather have that glass of wine than another taco - and she's at an age where she needs to choose one or the other if she's not going to gain weight. I'm about the same age as her and I've had to cut back on the amount I eat also.
It could also be a case that because she was/still is a world famous dominatrix, Veronica had to maintain a certain weight, especially if her gear was custom fitted for her. So it could be that over the years because of her work and her diet, Veronica simply has less of an appetite than everyone else.
Addendum - this isn't a criticism, but there really isn't much point in having a poll and letting people pick all the options. It kinda defeats the point of the poll...
-
Somehow I also got the vibe that Veronica might have been sipping the wine to avoid a natural inclination to hold forth on the relative virtues of tying someone to a chair versus tying them to heavy machinery.
(edit: nature -> natural)
-
So the tip was $2 and she got it directly from punkbot, interesting that Jeph chose to clear that up.
The $2 was from the earlier strip (3594, These things happen), where Sam said she had $2 for a robot arm.
-
On an artistic level, It's pretty clear that Jeph struggled with the opening panel and I can see why. You've got five characters at a relatively difficult angle all at different points from the 'camera' AND which need to be fit around scenery in the right way. FWIW, he managed quite well although I think that the table's legs are too short.
Don't push too hard on Jeph for that panel. A genius like Da Vinci, facing a similar issue, put all the characters in the same side of the table!
-
Another Veronica empty plate theory. Everyone else seems to be chatting so maybe they're eating a lot slower. Sam's plate is the fullest and she's just finishing telling the story of her day.
When I first looked at today's strip, I was so confused about why Marten and Claire would be having dinner with Sam and Jim. Took me a few seconds to even see Veronica and remember the connection.
-
So the tip was $2 and she got it directly from punkbot, interesting that Jeph chose to clear that up.
The $2 was from the earlier strip (3594, These things happen), where Sam said she had $2 for a robot arm.
Ah that's also an option, you're right. I guess it's unclear whether Sam meant that the 17 is what she now has in total, or if that was the total she made from doing the spray. Given the coincidence in amount, you're probably right in how it was intended though.
-
Welcome, new people!
-
Ah, the innocent young age where you consider $17 dollars to be a small fortune...
-
Ah, the innocent young age where you consider $17 dollars to be a small fortune...
Nowadays 14-yr olds are really not impressed with $17...I think it's part of the fact that Jeph's is still new with writing a non-adult character, and as such sometimes gets the typical behavior not quite right. For example, the skullmaster-stuff with Sam (the playing skullmaster and jumping on Faye's bed, not the mask itself) I would normally not expect above age 11 or so. In fact, most of the time Sam to me comes across as 10-11 year old instead of 14. Same with considering $17 a nice amount of money.
Of course there are always latebloomers who display more childlike behavior until well in their teens (or later!), so in that sense Sam is not THAT unusual.
Alternatively Jim did well teaching Sam the value of money, and she isn't jaded yet by these small-ish sums. I like that one actually.
-
My take was that Sam was excited at the idea that not only would someone pay for her scribbles, but that someone would tip her for them too. The amount of money involved isn't nearly as important as the respect it implies. (I know I was walking for clouds for a week after the first time I saw my own writing in print.)
-
Another Veronica empty plate theory. Everyone else seems to be chatting so maybe they're eating a lot slower. Sam's plate is the fullest and she's just finishing telling the story of her day.
When I first looked at today's strip, I was so confused about why Marten and Claire would be having dinner with Sam and Jim. Took me a few seconds to even see Veronica and remember the connection.
Another possibility is that Veronica is one of those who tend to have a few at a time. My brother and mother are like that with tacos, would rather make one or two before going back, while others get a plate full, and still others heap it up.
As for what's on the Tacos, judging by the table, it seems that the fixings are in the kitchen rather than on the table...
-
Somehow I also got the vibe that Veronica might have been sipping the wine to avoid a natural inclination to hold forth on the relative virtues of tying someone to a chair versus tying them to heavy machinery.
Agreed. Veronica is the only one at the table professionally qualified to comment on various methods of bondage, and she's very intentionally not going to say a damn thing.
Also, Sam is a woods and pond kid, not a mall girl. This will influence her attitudes toward money.
-
I'm not fond of the way Jim is talking to his daughter. It reminds me too much of my mother, always assuming the worst when it comes to my and my sibling's interactions with other people outside the family. "They're not going to like that." "I don't want you getting in their way." "No, they don't want you to be over there." Even in situations where the other party has made it perfectly clear that they don't mind or they're happy to have us over, it's always "no, no, no, they're going to hate it." Always seeing the worst in their own kid! I feel the need to go into that strip and give him a piece of my mind!! :x
...Sorry... Apparently helicopter parenting is a trigger of mine...
-
Ah, the innocent young age where you consider $17 dollars to be a small fortune...
Nowadays 14-yr olds are really not impressed with $17...I think it's part of the fact that Jeph's is still new with writing a non-adult character, and as such sometimes gets the typical behavior not quite right. For example, the skullmaster-stuff with Sam (the playing skullmaster and jumping on Faye's bed, not the mask itself) I would normally not expect above age 11 or so. In fact, most of the time Sam to me comes across as 10-11 year old instead of 14. Same with considering $17 a nice amount of money.
Of course there are always latebloomers who display more childlike behavior until well in their teens (or later!), so in that sense Sam is not THAT unusual.
Alternatively Jim did well teaching Sam the value of money, and she isn't jaded yet by these small-ish sums. I like that one actually.
Sam reminds me a lot of my son. He's wholly immersed in his own imaginary world half the time, and enthusiastic about whatever he's into at the moment. (For example, about ten minutes ago he got home from school and immediately launched into a five-minute monologue about the robot horror story he's dreamed up for novel writing month.) And socially he's probably about two years behind the normal curve for kids his age, much like Sam. (I was too. Still am.) So I don't find Sam the least bit implausible. If Sam was a real person she'd be my son's best friend.
-
"This is a drill. This is ONLY a drill. If it were a torture device you'd be in a LOT more trouble..."
-
As for the tacos, squinting at them, it looks like there may be vegetables in the filling. Being a middle-class Californian woman, I can't see Veronica not making every meal at the house healthy!
While likely true for when she cooks - Taco Night has been a thing Sam did with her dad since before he met Veronica. I can see Veronica taking over most of the cooking, but Taco Night is Jim's night to cook because it's a thing with his daughter, and Veronica wouldn't interfere with that.
-
New comic up!
Kinda want to pinch Martin's nose or flick his ear. Just vaguely annoyed with his attitude. Again, because I absolutely know where he's coming from, and it IS really kind of an immature/insecure way to think about the situation.
My dad's a hopeless bachelor, but not for lack of trying, and that's meant inviting a lot of women into his life for a couple years at a time, and a few of these have involved single moms.
As a late generation nest leaver of 23-24 at the time, having two children enter the family and having a dynamic with my dad I never did was kind of unnerving to me. The older of the two boys was very sporty, and very keen to play catch, wrestle, all the things that the much more shut-off, physically disabled and shy shut-in child I was at his age refused to do. I did feel jealous, and I wasn't the best role model at first at the time because of the resentment. It took some serious growing up to not be selfish about it, and let my dad have that new relationship, and be a good brother for the short period that we were a family unit.
So I hope Martin steps up. The hike was good, but I could see him being an avoider over this, if only because I know I sure as hell was.
-
Dare I hope the comic will tackle the central conflict set up way back in comics 1-3?
Probably easier to flick back to the Faye/Bubbles storyline.
-
I'm overanalyzing authorial intent, obviously, but "Whiny Baby" "Marten is kind of a fuckboi sometimes" and "Marten..." being the author comments for it really, really rubs me the exact wrong way.
Marten is a super chill character because where others see a rut, Marten has dug a trench. He can be a really solid place of emotional support for others because of it, but is super bad at handling shit that would force him to overextend his position. It's largely the whole character right there.
So the conversation goes, as I interpret it; "I am feeling uncomfortable in a way I find it hard to deal with even though I acknowledge it is very silly" "Here is a mature adult way to fix it" "I am joking about my obvious shortcomings because I want comfort rather than solutions right now" then Claire gets grumpy and lets go of his arm and gets very pouty and you get those author notes.
I kind of resent calling him a fuckboy over it. You're attacking a characters' source of emotional security, and they get emotional validation from healthy sexual relationships. He's treating familial angst with romantic validation. That's... that's not being a fuckboy, or what a fuckboy is. He's not treating his anxiety by sabotaging his relationships, flirting with other women, sleeping around. He couldn't even find satisfaction in hookup sex when he was single. He's trying to find validation in his otherwise healthy, committed relationship.
I'm not disagreeing that it's a bad thing if he keeps doing it, or it keeps being a problem for him. It's also good conflict for the character! This will probably be a really enjoyable storyline and bit of character growth. I just find the author commentary extremely offputting.
-
You can kind of see where Marten is coming from though.
He never had the conventional childhood. Parents divorced when he was kid because his dad realised he was gay. Mother is a world famous dominatrix and though Veronica tried to shield him from the more.... esoteric, shall we say, aspects of her career, it did leak through.
Now he's watching his mother begin to become a part of a new family and of course he's going to feel a little left out. It probably doesn't help that he's watching his mother try to be a more "normal" kind of parent than she was with him. I'm not saying Veronica was ever a bad parent, but it seems like she's taking a different tact with Sam than she did with Marten. And yeah, Marten might resent that. Especially when there hasn't been that much interaction between Jim's family and Marten, which might heighten the feelings of alienation. How many times has Jim spent time with Marten?
This definitely feels like its going to become a problem later on.
-
How many times has Jim spent time with Marten?
What about those times he ran into him dating his ex?
-
How many times has Jim spent time with Marten?
What about those times he ran into him dating his ex?
I can only imagine how that conversation might go now.
Jim: "Hey there Martenerino, how you doing there kiddo?"
Marten: "Oh fine. Did my mom send you over or were you looking to talk to my ex? Because she's over in Amherst with her girlfriend."
Jim: "....Well this has just turned awkward...."
Marten: "Just?"
(And yes, I am aware that's overly blunt for Marten, but it seems appropriate)
-
You can kind of see where Marten is coming from though.
He never had the conventional childhood. Parents divorced when he was kid because his dad realised he was gay. Mother is a world famous dominatrix and though Veronica tried to shield him from the more.... esoteric, shall we say, aspects of her career, it did leak through.
Now he's watching his mother begin to become a part of a new family and of course he's going to feel a little left out. It probably doesn't help that he's watching his mother try to be a more "normal" kind of parent than she was with him. I'm not saying Veronica was ever a bad parent, but it seems like she's taking a different tact with Sam than she did with Marten. And yeah, Marten might resent that. Especially when there hasn't been that much interaction between Jim's family and Marten, which might heighten the feelings of alienation. How many times has Jim spent time with Marten?
This definitely feels like its going to become a problem later on.
I really would like to see Marten be proactive, and bond with Sam and Jim. Kind of a vicarious "I fucked up, I wanna see this person do better than I did," kinda feeling. Marten has a way of sliding past problems that don't have immediate problems till someone finally calls him out on it, and he's forced into a resolution, for better or worse. Engaging in a relationship with Claire was the first time he's ever proactively made a choice to really change something he felt unhappy with, but it was also extremely spur of the moment. He should be doing a little bit more.
I like where Bubbles/Faye are at right now. I'd love to see Marten take center stage again and really address some of these issues. Practically EVERYONE else is in therapy or support for their issues in this cast, but Marten hasn't remotely considered his own issues could use more help than charming himself into think he can just muddle through stuff. He really does have a problem with trying too hard for the homeostasis that comes easiest to him.
-
Lets not forget that November begins tomorrow, which traditionally means the Thanksgiving Turkeys are going to have a relationship to react to.
So lets hope that its going to be something positive for the last Thursday in November.
-
Well let's keep in mind there's more effort involved in this than you might think. Marten knows what Veronica used to do so stories about his childhood will require some editing especially when Sam's around.
-
"It's so attractive when a man dodge emotional labour"
I know, right? Almost as attractive as when a woman belittles a man for the emotional stuntedness caused by society's, which includes her, expectations of him.
Yeah, that street goes both ways lady. :grumpypuss:
-
"Marten is kind of a fuckboy sometimes"
NOOOOOO, REALLY???
Just SOMETIMES?????
I would NEVER HAVE GUESSED
(http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/mobile/000/009/993/tumblr_m0wb2xz9Yh1r08e3p.jpg)
TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY by this SHOCKING REVELATION
Seriously though, is this the Marten + Consequences plot arc? I'm here for that.
-
Like MrNumbers and Castlerook I do understand where Marten is coming from here; his relationship with Veronica has never been as good as he would like and his childhood never as normal or, frankly, as healthy as it should have been. Might he even feel a little upset that Sam is getting what he didn't?
That said, Claire isn't entirely in the wrong. One of Marten's biggest flaws (something that left him climbing a personal and emotional mountain when he decided to start a relationship with Claire) is that he doesn't like emotional effort. He is, as Faye once put it, very passive in many ways and prefers to deal reactively with problems. He wants others to take the initiative, not him. Or, failing that, hope that his problems just go away.
Do you remember what he asked the doctor after Faye tried to drink herself to death? "She's going to be okay, right?" He wasn't talking about Faye's physical condition or even her mental condition; he was asking if she was going to 'go back to normal'. It is to his credit that he's handled the fact that the answer was 'no' but it is still very difficult for him and this is a flaw that he's going to have to learn to confront.
-
I thought it was quite clear that Marten was joking around in panel 3, and Claire's responses in both 3 and 4 seemed like overreactions to me. However, it's possible that previous interactions between them that have not been shown in-comic have caused her both to notice Marten's tendencies in this area and to start getting tired of them...
-
Somehow I also got the vibe that Veronica might have been sipping the wine to avoid a natural inclination to hold forth on the relative virtues of tying someone to a chair versus tying them to heavy machinery.
I had a similar thought, although I pictured her thinking about other equipment in a workshop that might be better suited for such a purpose.
As for the uncluttered dining room and table, I must admit I know people who tend to live in rooms like that. No special hobbies or other activities at home other then TV, eating and napping. A well filled but unread book case appears the be the standard solution. Or a house big enough to have a dining room that is just that. I decided years ago not to move to anything bigger than my present apartment for opposite reasons; I have a certain horror vacui that tends to fill my space with pretty much everything I do. Bigger house just equals more mess...
(and of course there are the economics of drawing; remember Jeff's remark on drawing a fully fleshed out secret bakery? (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1845))
-
I thought it was quite clear that Marten was joking around in panel 3, and Claire's responses in both 3 and 4 seemed like overreactions to me. However, it's possible that previous interactions between them that have not been shown in-comic have caused her both to notice Marten's tendencies in this area and to start getting tired of them...
Indeed. And there's no reason to suppose there might not be a period of dramatic tension in their relationship, even if it is the one that finally lasts for him after that's resolved.
-
Marten's inability to deal with emotional conflict is a huge aspect of his character.
Claire's overreactions to anything that upsets her world perspective are also part of her character.
Talk to each other, children.
-
I've often said that the remaining character arc for Marten is for him to learn to be proactive about his future and I'm wondering if this is what Jeph is starting rolling now.
Maybe Marten and Claire will have a "frank discussion" that will leave Marten realising (probably after Faye rubbing his face in the fact that Claire is correct) that he has to start plotting a path forwards. This could take a long while to bear fruit but this may be the starting point. I'm hoping for at least one strip where Marten is agonising over it and one of his friends points out to him the irony that he is procrastinating about handling his tendency to procrastinate.
FWIW, I think that it will be an emotional trial for Marten to really move forwards and it will test Claire's own personality and her relationship with him to deal with this constructively.
-
Somehow I also got the vibe that Veronica might have been sipping the wine to avoid a natural inclination to hold forth on the relative virtues of tying someone to a chair versus tying them to heavy machinery.
I had a similar thought, although I pictured her thinking about other equipment in a workshop that might be better suited for such a purpose.
As for the uncluttered dining room and table, I must admit I know people who tend to live in rooms like that. No special hobbies or other activities at home other then TV, eating and napping. A well filled but unread book case appears the be the standard solution. Or a house big enough to have a dining room that is just that. I decided years ago not to move to anything bigger than my present apartment for opposite reasons; I have a certain horror vacui that tends to fill my space with pretty much everything I do. Bigger house just equals more mess...
(and of course there are the economics of drawing; remember Jeff's remark on drawing a fully fleshed out secret bakery? (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1845))
Yeah you're probably right in your reasoning, makes sense not to want to draw too much unless necessary.
By the way, in the comic you linked, I just realized that that guy in the first panel is probably meant to be the initial version of Jim?
-
I thought Claire was a bit harsh. I mean, Marten was just making conversation that it was bothering him, he was't like lamenting about it. And while yeah his sarcastic comment about being emo might be annoying that's his personality so like don't date him if you don't like it?
But I'm wondering if this set up is leading us to learn something about Claire's personal life.
She really reminds me of a friend of mine. Except my friend's Dad isn't missing and her brother is younger and she isn't trans. But like the bro/sis relationship, the piercings, how she jokes and laughs and how she treats men in a relationship? SPOT ON for the bad and the good.
-
Ah, "emotional labor"...just one more reason Why Men Suck.
-
Ah, Marten. It has to be said that of the whole cast, he's probably changed the least.
Good and bad.
-
Ah, "emotional labor"...just one more reason Why Men Suck.
While I don't disagree that that is one of the (stereo)typical qualities of men that suck, unfortunately women suck just as hard as men (or just as little, in my opinion), just because of different (stereo)typical qualities... :roll:
-
I thought Claire was a bit harsh. I mean, Marten was just making conversation that it was bothering him, he was't like lamenting about it. And while yeah his sarcastic comment about being emo might be annoying that's his personality so like don't date him if you don't like it?
But I'm wondering if this set up is leading us to learn something about Claire's personal life.
She really reminds me of a friend of mine. Except my friend's Dad isn't missing and her brother is younger and she isn't trans. But like the bro/sis relationship, the piercings, how she jokes and laughs and how she treats men in a relationship? SPOT ON for the bad and the good.
Yeah I'm with you on this. Marten made it pretty clear that he was being facetious and actually seems perfectly aware that he has to be proactive about it. This seems like a setup to dive a little deeper in some of Claire's emotional spectrum and underlying reasons for possible chips on her shoulder (e.g. with regards to her cheating father who she seems to not have contact with anymore). Possibly one of the reasons why her parents' marriage didn't work out (prior to her dad cheating I mean) was a lack of emotional labor by her dad and instead chosing the 'easy' route of infidelity.
-
I assume the comments previously in the thread quoting Marten being a "fuckboi" are referring to the author's comment at the bottom of the comic image. For the record, this now reads "Marten is kind of a dipshit sometimes".
-
I assume the comments previously in the thread quoting Marten being a "fuckboi" are referring to the author's comment at the bottom of the comic image. For the record, this now reads "Marten is kind of a dipshit sometimes".
(http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/c0/c05a2be72ba98e91654001547183a9cdb7f5ac206d30934a03a37ee34390e9d0.jpg)
Seriously, huge difference in tone. "Marten is a general dipshit" is way different to "Marten is this specific kind of dipshit", and it's nice to see the edit get made.
-
"It's so attractive when a man dodge emotional labour"
I know, right? Almost as attractive as when a woman belittles a man for the emotional stuntedness caused by society's, which includes her, expectations of him.
Yeah, that street goes both ways lady. :grumpypuss:
Welcome, new person!
With Marten being from California I'm going to guess that his mother was more of an issue than society was. We know she can be overbearing.
Thing is, he's been out on his own for years and while I respect and acknowledge the difficult work involved the fact is he's responsible for his own life now.
-
There's no doubt that Marten is able to survive by himself, but there's a difference between surviving and thriving.
Any time he's experienced growth during the comic has never come from him, but from an external action. He's never learned to do that.
Let's be brutally honest here, Marten and Veronica never had the conventional parent/child relationship. When Dora and Marten broke up, Veronica flew out....and embarrassed and belittled (to a degree) Marten and comforted Dora. When Marten went to his father's wedding, Veronica did an impromptu upskirt shoot at dinner, while Marten was there with Claire.
Granted, Marten has put up with his mother and her antics his entire life and is perhaps used to it. But now, his mother is starting a new life with what could be a new family and its perhaps painful to see his mother act so differently than she did with him. It could be a sense of betrayal for Marten, like "Why did I have to go all through that for my childhood and Mom is just sitting there, sipping wine like its nothing."
Marten is not someone who can deal with rapid change, and can be quite resentful towards it, for example his father regarding the divorce and his coming out. Its the change in Veronica that is affecting Marten and it raises the potential question of "Why her and not me?"
-
Typical woman, trying to fix a problem when the man clearly wants to talk about his emotions.
I don't think Marten's the only fucker in that convo.
-
Jeph did say once that he's never written an argument where one person was 100% right.
One of the key themes of the comic is screwed-up people meeting other screwed-up people and slowly, painfully, and inefficiently helping each other get better.
-
It looks slightly odd too that the glasses in front of Sam and Jim look larger than those in front of Marten and Claire, despite their being closer to the "camera". Still, it's a bold and effective establishing shot.
Except that somehow Marten and Claire look like kids.
-
Well, they're certainly acting like kids.
-
Jeph did say once that he's never written an argument where one person was 100% right.
One of the key themes of the comic is screwed-up people meeting other screwed-up people and slowly, painfully, and inefficiently helping each other get better.
I dunno, I feel like Marten was 100% in the right to be pissed about Dora rushing to Pintsize to reveal all the types of porn Marten'd ever looked at.
-
"Samantha, be less of a pain in the ass." Nice to see some Bubbles/Marten bonding!
-
I wonder if Bubbles is gonna talk to Marten about her developing feelings for Faye.
-
That was a nice scene.
It occurs to me that Bubbles really doesn't HAVE anyone she'd be comfortable enough to talk about stuff with involving Faye. At least not in her current social circle.
Possibly have her visit the robot community center and end up discussing it with Winston?
-
That was a nice scene.
It occurs to me that Bubbles really doesn't HAVE anyone she'd be comfortable enough to talk about stuff with involving Faye. At least not in her current social circle.
She's pretty comfy with Emily and Claire, it seems (though the former probably wouldn't give the most helpful advice).
-
Ah, Pintsize, how I've missed you. #comicrelief
-
So, we know what we're doing this week: Jeph is catching us up on how Marten is reacting to all the changes in the group since the time skip.
I quite liked this conversation because of how easy it is. Marten as a character has many problems but prejudice has never been one of them. To him, Bubbles is just his room-mate, not a seven-foot tall killing machine. He's even got used enough to her for her size to no longer intimidate him! It's also in character that he assesses the level of Bubbles' welcome by how it benefits others. That's another character quirk of his.
FWIW, I have to agree with Marten here: A romance between him and Faye would have been a road flare - Hot, spectacular and ultimately short lived, not leaving behind anything viable in its wake.
Of course the real reason why Bubbles is welcome is she knows just the right way to disable Pintsize without killing him. With luck, the constant negative reinforcement will eventually alter his behaviour!
I wonder if Bubbles is gonna talk to Marten about her developing feelings for Faye.
I don't think that Bubbles is ready to admit it aloud to herself just yet, except in unguarded moments, let alone discuss it with someone else. On the other hand, I can see Faye talking to Marten about how he knew Claire was the one and applying that to her own feelings.
-
bLeRf!
(had me in stitches)
-
"It's so attractive when a man dodges emotional labor" Wow, a trait that can be just as easily applied to both sexes, suddenly the basis of a sexist accusation? I really don't think "Not wanting to be the one to attempt to establish a relationship" is in any way a male-exclusive trait...
-
I've been thinking about panel 5. I suspect that Bubbles has never heard the phrase 'Rad' before but, thinking about it, it definitely applies to Faye. Her spontaneous smile also tells me that she's decided that it fits her best friend very, very well! :-)
-
"...an amazing pair of bLeRf" :laugh:
So it's back to the panel-beater for Pintsize - I suspect he will have to get a new chassis soon simply because of metal fatigue...
-
Maybe he's made of some shape-memory alloy, like a tiny T-1000 Terminator... He's got a military chassis, anyway.
-
No shape memory - he's had to be beaten back into shape previously.
-
"It's so attractive when a man dodges emotional labor"
"Emotional labor" and "emotional intelligence" were invented by feminists to guilt men into thinking that emotions are somehow better than real labor and real intelligence.
-
That's some severe casual violence right there, though.
(Two Days later: Union Robotics)
"I'm getting sick of being the smallest robot around here. I need a new chassis!"
"Whatya have in mind?"
"I dunnno... (leer) Maybe something In proportion to something else you made me not too long ag... bLeRf!"
-
"It's so attractive when a man dodges emotional labor"
"Emotional labor" and "emotional intelligence" were invented by feminists to guilt men into thinking that emotions are somehow better than real labor and real intelligence.
Fair warning, that kind of thinking does not go down well around here.
There's no need to belittle anyone to raise another.
Emotional maturity is a vital part of being in a relationship and with dealing with change. Neither party was in the right in Tuesday's comic; Marten came off as whiny and childish, Claire came off as snappy and judgemental. Neither attitude is healthy, both on a personal level and in a relationship.
-
No shape memory - he's had to be beaten back into shape previously.
His internal components are incredibly resilient, tough. I'm sure my PC won't survive that amount of smashing (not mentioning being stuffed with meat products).
-
This line of questioning sounds familiar to me. Whenever someone asks about your feelings for someone, they're bound to make a move on them
-
"Emotional labor" and "emotional intelligence" were invented by feminists to guilt men into thinking that emotions are somehow better than real labor and real intelligence.
Men (including myself) have been guilted into thinking emotions are better than other qualities? That's news to me... :roll:
Also, I resent the implication that physical labor and knowledge/logic-based intelligence (which is what you meant, right?) are considered 'real' and other types are not. Various types of intelligence or labor are just that, different forms that are not superior of inferior to one another.
-
That was a nice scene.
It occurs to me that Bubbles really doesn't HAVE anyone she'd be comfortable enough to talk about stuff with involving Faye. At least not in her current social circle.
She's pretty comfy with Emily and Claire, it seems (though the former probably wouldn't give the most helpful advice).
Or Hannelore, although she also probably wouldn't be the best to offer helpful advice.
-
I don't recall ever seeing the apartment from this angle before. They have a TV?!
Also, I'm amused that no one seems to be questioning how Pintsize is hanging from the ceiling like that.
-
"It's so attractive when a man dodges emotional labor"
"Emotional labor" and "emotional intelligence" were invented by feminists to guilt men into thinking that emotions are somehow better than real labor and real intelligence.
Pretty sure I first ran into "emotional intelligence" in the psychology world, and Claire has a legitimate concern about whether her romantic partner will hold up his end of navigating their own emotional issues. And she's also open to criticism about not having brought it up in a skilled way.
Oh $#! it just hit me. Are you Million Dollar Belt Sander again?
-
Why did Pintsize have his head crushed for talking about boots, gloves, skis or earstuds?
*is puzzled*
-
Because its better to be safe than sorry and just stop Pintsize when he opens his mouth. If its by forceful compression, well thats just the way chassis deforms.
-
Marten as a character has many problems but prejudice has never been one of them.
Hm, I would probably rephrase that as : "Marten, while not flawless, has many good qualities, including not being prejudiced".
Marten has been one of the most consistently empathetic, kind, and openminded characters in the comic since day 1, and I don't really consider him to have 'many problems'. He is by no means flawless of course, but apart from being very passive about his life choices (but not with Claire), he does quite well in both his work and personal life, no? He doesn't unnecessarily hurt, backstab, or judge, is not prejudiced, is a good listener who always offers reasonable advice, is generally honest, nonhurtful good sense of humor in general (doesn't take himself too serious).
I just don't see him as having many problems to be honest.
-
I wonder if Bubbles is gonna talk to Marten about her developing feelings for Faye.
I think that to the extent she knows what they are, she just has.
-
I don't recall ever seeing the apartment from this angle before. They have a TV?!
Also, I'm amused that no one seems to be questioning how Pintsize is hanging from the ceiling like that.
Pretty sure we've seen Pintsize do that before, though not for a long time; I'd assumed that the green hand/feet things could also be suction cups.
Certainly a strange angle, considering how much of the apartment we've seen before, though a TV has been mentioned before. Don't think they hooked Winslow up to one, so probably just in the first few comics, which makes me surprised that the TV's lasted this long if it rarely gets used. I'm presuming that their washing baskets are on the sofa, with the opening nearest us being the door, and the other one some kind of pantry/cupboard/similar - or maybe the loo, not entirely sure where that is.
-
Ah, Marten. It has to be said that of the whole cast, he's probably changed the least.
Ah Marten, the Zathras of our cast of characters.
-
Certainly a strange angle, considering how much of the apartment we've seen before, though a TV has been mentioned before. Don't think they hooked Winslow up to one, so probably just in the first few comics, which makes me surprised that the TV's lasted this long if it rarely gets used. I'm presuming that their washing baskets are on the sofa, with the opening nearest us being the door, and the other one some kind of pantry/cupboard/similar - or maybe the loo, not entirely sure where that is.
That's the kitchen! The bathroom is the closest door to us in panel 2. why do I know this.
I don't think we've ever seen the TV before because it's usually up against the fourth wall while the sofa gets centre stage. Jeph's definitely trying out some interesting new things with angles lately.
-
Also, I'm amused that no one seems to be questioning how Pintsize is hanging from the ceiling like that.
No-one questions ANYTHING about Pintsize any more - and that's the bulk of his continuing appeal.
He's the resident deus ex comedia.
-
New comic. And eeeeeew.
-
:lol: :-D :lol: :laugh: I had NOT considered that. Poor Faye.
-
Fair warning, that kind of thinking does not go down well around here.
crimethink!
-
Time to resurrect a phrase I coined a while back:
"As frustrated as Claire's comb"
-
Just imagine how bad it was when it was super long!
-
In today's strip we learn something important: Sharing hygiene facilities is never easy, especially if your room-mates don't clean up after themselves! Still, Faye seems to have a history of bathroom-related bad luck. Remember that time she fell into the bowl because Angus left the seat up? She should be getting used to the fact that the bathroom is a minefield for her without her glasses on!
Meanwhile, I honestly think that this is the first time that I've ever seen Claire just relaxed and doing leisure stuff on her own. I also find it very age-indicative in some ways.
-
"Emotional labor" and "emotional intelligence" were invented by feminists to guilt men into thinking that emotions are somehow better than real labor and real intelligence.
With regard to "emotional intelligence" at least, that is simply drivel. The term was invented, and popularised, by men, in terms of general success in life, without reference to gender. Would I be right in thinking that you have not read Daniel Goleman's book (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_Intelligence)?:
"Although the term first appeared in a 1964 paper by Michael Beldoch, it gained popularity in the 1995 book by that title, written by the author, psychologist, and science journalist Daniel Goleman. Since this time, Goleman's 1995 analysis of EI has been criticized within the scientific community, despite prolific reports of its usefulness in the popular press." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence)
It could have been worse, Faye. Claire could have black hair.
-
Spider hair, spider hair
You can find it anywhere
In the bed, shower floor,
Makes Faye mad, hear her roar
Look out, here comes the spider hair....
-
"It's so attractive when a man dodges emotional labor" Wow, a trait that can be just as easily applied to both sexes, suddenly the basis of a sexist accusation? I really don't think "Not wanting to be the one to attempt to establish a relationship" is in any way a male-exclusive trait...
I couldn't agree more. It appeared clearly in one of the first QC comics, by the way
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=9
-
"It's so attractive when a man dodges emotional labor"
"Emotional labor" and "emotional intelligence" were invented by feminists to guilt men into thinking that emotions are somehow better than real labor and real intelligence.
I can't see why feminists would need to do that.
-
It's interesting how highly compressed Jeph's updates are. Look at what we got this week:
- Monday - Jim still really isn't happy with the way Sam has imprinted on Faye;
- Tuesday - Marten still has problems with change and Claire can still be snippy when people don't meet her standards;
- Wednesday - Marten has got over his initial fear of Bubbles; Bubbles still feels a bit of an intruder in her biological friends' lives;
- Thursday - Faye and Claire are still butting heads a little.
As we can see, so far it has been 'character status update week'.
Now, I find myself wondering who the short blonde with glasses Jeph has been teasing on his Twitter feed may be. My guess is that she is either someone from the State government's regulatory agency, come to making sure that Union Robotics is maintaining certain standards or she is a relative/old college buddy of one of the main cast who is about to return to their lives and break its current equilibrium. IMO, this would be ideal for Marigold or maybe Tai.
"It's so attractive when a man dodges emotional labor"
"Emotional labor" and "emotional intelligence" were invented by feminists to guilt men into thinking that emotions are somehow better than real labor and real intelligence.
I can't see why women would need to do that.
In order to understand RMc's point, you need to realise the unstated part of their argument: "Women are inferior and can only gain equality through intellectually fraudulent claims of having their own criteria of intelligence and strength that are different from those used by men."
-
As for tacos, there is such a thing as Californian tacos, it seems, which are dripping in fat and fried, so whilst they contain lettuce, they may well not be healthy in the slightest. Took a while for my partner to realise that her stepmom hadn't produced regular tacos, as neither of us are American!
Adding a bit of yellow mustard to the mix will also change the color. Especially if it's white meat. Though, I'd recommend a pinch of mustard powder per pound of meat if you're not found of prepared mustard.
-
In order to understand RMc's point, you need to realise the unstated part of their argument: "Women are inferior and can only gain equality through intellectually fraudulent claims of having their own criteria of intelligence and strength that are different from those used by men."
Thank you. My point was to force him to stand to what he is implying in an explicit manner. :)
-
The cadence of this delivery, especially the "you may have heard the shriek" reminds me of something else, but I can't put my finger on what.
Also I have a hard time believing a shriek wouldn't have had Bubbles kicking in the bathroom door, ruining another door frame.
-
Good idea, Faye. If you don't nip behaviour like that in the bud tight there, you'll clean up after them forever. (Makes sense Claire doesn't, though; she moved in with Marten right out of her mom's house)
-
Interesting. Speaking as someone in a household of two longhairs, Claire doesn't have that long hair. For that much shed in the shower, either she's spending a LOT of time in there or she's not cleaning up after washing it. Sure, we have earlier evidence of Marten having shower sex, but post wash seems most likely. It's not like it's hard to get the hair out, anyway!
-
At the moment, mine is only shoulder length, but I still shed like that. Granted, I am the sort who ignores the drain until it gets clogged. My hair is thick, and there is quite a lot of it, and when I *do* clean it out, it's more like a tribble than a spider.
-
Redheads shed hair. A lot.
And Bubbles must have been out of the apartment, since the Faye Threat Protocol would have been activated. (She wouldn't have bothered with the door, she'd have gone straight through the wall.)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Maybe one redhead with shoulder length hair sheds more than one person with ~waist length and one with ~classic length hair; I guess she does wear it down a lot. Seems extreme for one or two days shed in the shower, though; it can't be a gradual buildup, else it would have been noticed before getting to the fist-sized bundle stage, mainly by clogging the drain. Guess it depends how much it's up, how much she looks after it, brushes it etc..
The shower's one of those over bath types, right? So that'll funnel the hair down much quicker than a cubicle type shower only one, where it'll get stuck on the wall for a while, which will speed things up.
-
... It's not that redheads shed more, it's that because her hair is a different colour it's obviously hers. If it was black-or-brown when wet, and composed of short bits it could have come from anyone or built up from more than one person. Everyone sheds hair, this is a fact. When one has had hair down, there's less shedding in the shower, because it falls out on stuff - on clothes, on the ground, etc., during the day (this is why CSI shows love looking for hairs and checking for the root, because human hair shedding is like pet hair shedding, just we don't sleep on our favourite jumpers the day before we want to wear them). If it's been up, or braided, all that comes out at once. Another time lots comes out at once is when people whose hair likes being washed once-twice a week wash their hair. For wash-every-day people, there's a little bit a day when loose hair comes out, but if one washes once a week, the hair that hasn't fallen out (it was just loose, it was tangled or tied back, etc) all comes out at once. So, if Claire's a wash-once-or-twice-a-week hair type, then yeah.
What I don't understand is why nobody's learned the trick for not getting hair in the drain, or pulled Claire aside and explained it at some point (especially as Claire didn't exactly grow up with female beauty routines being shoved in her face). It's not -that- hard, and there's usually enough that you see it to take with you and put in the trash. I know it's not exceedingly common knowledge, because I had to get my parents to intervene with a landlady on my behalf when she wouldn't rent to me because I had long hair and she was terrified of it clogging the drain, but still, it's something most people who take more than ten seconds and 2-in-1 on washing their hair have at least figured out for themselves. Then again, most QC people have short hair, so...
(In case it's a mystery to people here - when you have hair that's more than about 10cm long, the hairs that shed when you wash it tend to get caught on your hands or stick to you, and you can just stick them on the wall and take the hairball with you when you're done. They don't get near the drain, and all you need is a tiny bit of tile or glass (tile is better) and the water/steam will hold it there until the hair dries. Now, maybe Claire does know this and just forgot to snatch it up because she was distracted, but Faye's reaction makes me suspect this was not the first time.)
-
@kallibean
I don't think it was your method, Faye mentioned that the Hairspider was at her feet (granted, could have washed down), and also, I'm curious.
I've never heard of the "stick the hair to the wall" thing, but usually you have kind of a net/sieve in the drain where all that hair lands, and can be cleaned up afterwards. Anything that'll clog the drain is caught, so I was assuming that Claire just didn't clean up after herself.
-
@swapna
They only stick while there's moisture around, and since Faye's shower was long enough afte Claire's for Claire to have dry hair and be settled in with headphones, it could well have fallen down after being forgotten, especially if the fan is hardwired to the light or something which causes the residual humidity to be very quickly removed from the air.
And yes, drains don't tend to be open holes. But hair is pretty thin, and it's a lot more difficult (and usually more disgusting to the touch, ugh) to yank it out of the drain than it is for it to not get to the drain in the first place. Unless you're talking about something that's placed over the drain specifically for catching hair and is removed per instance, like a dryer lint filter? That, we don't generally have here, hence the wall method.
-
Who read this thread, realized they haven't cleaned the drains in a while, then promptly did so?
Who realized they are a disgusting mess?
-
This conflict isn't over. If Claire really does shed a lot like she says, Faye's gonna be finding her hair all over the apartment.
Wait 'till she find's one of Claire's hairs in her morning cup of coffee. Hilarity will ensue, that's for certain.
-
More fun camera angles from Jeph: yay!
Spider hair: ewwwwwwwww....
-
@swapna
They only stick while there's moisture around, and since Faye's shower was long enough afte Claire's for Claire to have dry hair and be settled in with headphones, it could well have fallen down after being forgotten, especially if the fan is hardwired to the light or something which causes the residual humidity to be very quickly removed from the air.
And yes, drains don't tend to be open holes. But hair is pretty thin, and it's a lot more difficult (and usually more disgusting to the touch, ugh) to yank it out of the drain than it is for it to not get to the drain in the first place. Unless you're talking about something that's placed over the drain specifically for catching hair and is removed per instance, like a dryer lint filter? That, we don't generally have here, hence the wall method.
yeah, I was talking about drain filters (amazon has a reasonable selection, although i'd stay away from the fine nets, and go for the stainless steel thingies with holes punched in them). I never had a problem with clogged drains or yucky stuff inside the drain.
-
Honestly, the only reason Faye noticed is because it nudged against her foot. So who knows how many days/weeks that thing was accumulating before it broke free and 'attacked' Faye.
I imagine Claire is just careless about it, and Martin being an ex-bachelore doesn't particularly care all that much about shower hygene, He and Faye have always had relatively short hair, so this wasn't even a problem to look out for.
Adjustments will be made.
-
Who read this thread, realized they haven't cleaned the drains in a while, then promptly did so?
Who realized they are a disgusting mess?
I am a 30YO in a house full of 18-22 college guys. The level of disgusting that is established in this house is epic. I've given up any attempts to keep this place clean beyond the basic minimum. Shorthairs in the shower are just a fact of life now. It only gets strange when they're an unnatural color, like purple or green.
-
As a long hair living with a short hair, I can say length is only part of the equation for shedding. Individual long hair strands might be more noticeable if left but there is definitely more short hair around the place in general in this house. I guess it's the combination of whatever your body chemistry means for hair shedding and the cleaning diligence of what does shed.
-
This conflict isn't over. If Claire really does shed a lot like she says, Faye's gonna be finding her hair all over the apartment.
Wait 'till she find's one of Claire's hairs in her morning cup of coffee. Hilarity will ensue, that's for certain.
Not as far as the coffee, but I suspect that this is the start of a relationship in the comic starting to sour. Its a small thing but it could potentially be something that snowballs.
-
If history is any indicator in this comic, the start of The End was when Claire moved in.
-
Conflict doesn't always lead to an ending - it can lead into a period of learning, reassessment, and reconciliation, leading to a renewed and possibly strengthened relationship. In other words: growth.
History can take us only so far - the characters (and Jeph!) have come a long way since the early days of the comic; and older characters can be expected to react differently from their younger selves..
-
Conflict doesn't always lead to an ending - it can lead into a period of learning, reassessment, and reconciliation, leading to a renewed and possibly strengthened relationship. In other words: growth.
History can take us only so far - the characters (and Jeph!) have come a long way since the early days of the comic; and older characters can be expected to react differently from their younger selves..
I would certainly agree with you were any other characters involved but considering that Marten is directly involved, I'm going to have to disagree. There have been multiple discussions at length about Marten and the fact that he hasn't shown any growth, because he's never had to. He's flittered with choices, hummed and hawed about decisions, but ultimately the Marten of 2017 is still largely the same as Marten of 2003 and the Marten of 2010. That's Marten's role, to serve as the universal constant while everyone changes and grows around him.
I imagine that the hair is just the beginning as Claire and Faye spend more time sharing the apartment with both of them radically different personalities and how they deal with people. Add to that that while both of them care about Marten, neither Claire or Faye are that friendly towards each other.
If things do get worse and they go to Marten, I get the feeling that Claire will be the loser by a wide margin.
-
Who read this thread, realized they haven't cleaned the drains in a while, then promptly did so?
Who realized they are a disgusting mess?
I am a 30YO in a house full of 18-22 college guys. The level of disgusting that is established in this house is epic. I've given up any attempts to keep this place clean beyond the basic minimum. Shorthairs in the shower are just a fact of life now. It only gets strange when they're an unnatural color, like purple or green.
My condolences, and I hope it gets better. I'm not spotless, but the place isn't a biohazard. Mostly. :venonat:
Mommas, don't let your babies grow up, to be messy.
Because they're risking disease, and they'll never be clean
So make them at least nod at hygiene.
-
Look out, it looks like Matchmaker Claire may be about to spring into action.
-
Maybe our next strip, or one coming relatively soon, will be Marten and Claire talking about their conversations with Faye and Bubbles and putting two and two together.
-
Can't see this backfiring in any way shape or form. :roll:
-
Conflict doesn't always lead to an ending - it can lead into a period of learning, reassessment, and reconciliation, leading to a renewed and possibly strengthened relationship. In other words: growth.
History can take us only so far - the characters (and Jeph!) have come a long way since the early days of the comic; and older characters can be expected to react differently from their younger selves..
I would certainly agree with you were any other characters involved but considering that Marten is directly involved, I'm going to have to disagree. There have been multiple discussions at length about Marten and the fact that he hasn't shown any growth, because he's never had to. He's flittered with choices, hummed and hawed about decisions, but ultimately the Marten of 2017 is still largely the same as Marten of 2003 and the Marten of 2010. That's Marten's role, to serve as the universal constant while everyone changes and grows around him.
I imagine that the hair is just the beginning as Claire and Faye spend more time sharing the apartment with both of them radically different personalities and how they deal with people. Add to that that while both of them care about Marten, neither Claire or Faye are that friendly towards each other.
If things do get worse and they go to Marten, I get the feeling that Claire will be the loser by a wide margin.
I have to say that you're drawing a very long bow from perfectly-normal-roomie-quibble -> major conflict -> them deciding to get Marten involved of all people -> Marten choosing one side over the other. They are all pretty significant leaps.
As much as we all love to see a nice juicy bit of drama.
Actually, the most likely leap is the getting-Marten-involved bit, and that's because he's actually calm and clear-eyed in such situations. Regardless of his inability to grow himself.
-
Geeze Faye. If you keep feeding Claire things like that she's going to burst.
-
Oh, geez. She's going to try hooking Faye up with Steve, isn't she?
:claireface:
-
Oh, geez. She's going to try hooking Faye up with Steve, isn't she?
:claireface:
I don't think anyone knows about Steve's past as Secret Agent Man except Marten.
-
From the smile on Claire's face in the last panel, I think she's going to set Faye up with bubbles.
-
New comic
Que me dropping my phone, saying "gaddammit", and being greatful for my late lunch and an empty breakroom.
-
From the smile on Claire's face in the last panel, I think she's going to set Faye up with bubbles.
Oh my. That makes so much sense.
-
If ever there was a time to animate this so Claire winks at the readers this would be it.
Just hope this doesn't backfire like it did with Clinton and Emily.
-
Took me longer than it should've to get this comic. Bravo, Jeph. Brav-F***ING-O. lol
O, but Claire gets no points for holding her tongue. That was pure self-preservation, right there. :lol:
-
Took me longer than it should've to get this comic. Bravo, Jeph. Brav-F***ING-O. lol
Same here. But I just got up...
So Claire is totally aware of the situation, now.
-
So, here we learn two important things about human interaction:
- Confirmation bias is a thing - Remember that Claire is already a Faybles shipper, so there is actually not as much significance to what Faye is saying than we're being presented. However, from Claire's perspective, she's hearing just what she wants to hear!
- Familiarity breeds contempt - Or, more accurately, it creates neat little categorisations in our mind that stops us from thinking about friends in new ways. For Faye, Bubbles is her best friend and business partner. The fact that she's just described her as ticking several attraction and ideal relationship partner boxes literally has not occurred to her!
Overall, I'm sure that not going 'SQUEEE!' was literally the hardest thing that Claire has ever done. As frustrating as it is, though, I need to caution her to patience. This is definitely something that Faye and Bubbles need to do in their own time; remember how interfering nearly ruined her relationship with Clinton!
It is nice to see Faye and Claire just getting along. They have a rocky relationship really and really press the wrong buttons with each other in a lot of ways but they do have common ground and, so long as they make an effort, they can manage.
-
Not into Bros?!? Awwww! (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1949)
-
Oh, geez. She's going to try hooking Faye up with Steve, isn't she?
:claireface:
I don't think anyone knows about Steve's past as Secret Agent Man except Marten.
Well, Cosette does, at least after Torturas latest visit. (3428) (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3428)
-
While reading today's comic I imagined the Bros offscreen in panel 4 sadly chanting, "BrosBrosBros :("
-
The gentlest way for Claire to break that is to just casually mention: "You do know you just described Bubbles, right?"
That said, the good (well, it's at least "not problematic") ship Faybles hasn't launched yet, Claire... don't sink it while trying to get it out of port.
-
Speaking of firefighters... In panel 2, Faye is picking up Claire's book. And in panel 3, she turns it sideways. What kind of book is that?
Must be an atlas...
-
The gentlest way for Claire to break that is to just casually mention: "You do know you just described Bubbles, right?"
Worst. Idea. Ever.
-
Anyone else think the artwork for this strip looks a bit off?
Like... someone trying to draw in J.J.s style but not quite getting it?
Claire in panel one and Claire and especially Faye in panel two look really 'off'.
And Claire's close-ups in 3 and 4 look like quite deviation to 'model'.
I know everyone has changed as the strip progresses, but this seems a very obvious alteration
(Maybe it's just the 'close-up' thing, maybe it's the 'no glasses' making her eyes look different... but even her chin looks sharper...)
-
I don't recall ever seeing the apartment from this angle before. They have a TV?!
Also, I'm amused that no one seems to be questioning how Pintsize is hanging from the ceiling like that.
Plunger boots(?)
-
I don't recall ever seeing the apartment from this angle before. They have a TV?!
Also, I'm amused that no one seems to be questioning how Pintsize is hanging from the ceiling like that.
Plunger boots(?)
A long way back, Pintsize told the others that the main gripping mode of his appendages is suction cups so, yes, he can walk on ceilings.
-
Friday is pure shipper bait
-
Interesting. Speaking as someone in a household of two longhairs, Claire doesn't have that long hair. For that much shed in the shower, either she's spending a LOT of time in there or she's not cleaning up after washing it. Sure, we have earlier evidence of Marten having shower sex, but post wash seems most likely. It's not like it's hard to get the hair out, anyway!
Her hair looks curly though. My ex had reasonably long hair, but it was curly and thick and blocked my drain every month even though she didn't shower there more than once a week.
Who read this thread, realized they haven't cleaned the drains in a while, then promptly did so?
Who realized they are a disgusting mess?
Ah, I knew I was a disgusting mess well before this thread. And I live with someone who has hair that goes past the waist, so the drains in my bathroom are a place I don't go without a flaming torch and some sort of chainsaw.
Friday is pure shipper bait
Isn't that just storyline progression in a story about relationships?
-
Oh Faye. *lol*
-
Just to take the opposite stance, for once: Faye never expressed any interest in women. Even when she noticed Bubbles' booty, she still didn't. So there is nothing sure about how things will end up. It could end in a nightmare: could their friendship survive a move by Bubbles met by rejection from Faye?
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3475
-
Friendships do survive. Almost 20 years ago, I finally worked up the courage to ask a friend out when we were meeting for coffee. She wanted to tell me how she found someone (also a friend, and now her husband). It was awkward and painful at the time, but bonds endure.
-
I am a 30YO in a house full of 18-22 college guys. The level of disgusting that is established in this house is epic. I've given up any attempts to keep this place clean beyond the basic minimum. Shorthairs in the shower are just a fact of life now. It only gets strange when they're an unnatural color, like purple or green.
My condolences, and I hope it gets better. I'm not spotless, but the place isn't a biohazard. Mostly. :venonat:
Mommas, don't let your babies grow up, to be messy.
Because they're risking disease, and they'll never be clean
So make them at least nod at hygiene.
Sadly, my experience is that most moms fail epically in teaching their boys to be clean. Moms may fight the good fight during their sons' younger years, but once the boys reach the teens years, the household succumbs to a kind of entropy (and unspoken agreement) where moms don't go in their teen boys' room without a hazmat suit, if at all, and the boys generally confine the mess to their rooms. Then when or if those boys move out, they don't clean their own place much unless a woman they want to bang is coming over, if then.
Even if they appear to have succeeded in raising non-messy boys, those boys tend to slack off on the cleanliness once they move out. So again, their bachelor pads end up messy. Doesn't help that many boys learn to tune out their moms' nagging at a fairly early age, and so these moms often throw up their hands and just do the cleaning themselves. Few moms find a clever way around that problem.
As for the Faybles ship, I must echo traroth and fire more torpedoes at it by saying Faye has shown no sexual interest in women, and her showing some admiration for Bubble's physique is not the same thing. If anything, Bubbles' feelings are far stronger in that regard, and may not be, and most likely won't be, reciprocated.
-
Faye showing no interest in women before doesn't mean not having any.
And not showing any in the strip doesn't mean not expressing any.
Do we even consider Bubbles, as an AI, on as binary a basis as being female?
And as a comic with a big focus on sexual minorities, I think that Faye discovering a curiosity in genders outside of cis males fits in pretty well as character development - I know I personally didn't explore other genders until relatively late in life, and I'm currently with an agender person and a genderqueer person.
-
Just to take the opposite stance, for once: Faye never expressed any interest in women. Even when she noticed Bubbles' booty, she still didn't. So there is nothing sure about how things will end up. It could end in a nightmare: could their friendship survive a move by Bubbles met by rejection from Faye?
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3475
Yeah, I'm with you here. I understand all the shipping and wishful thinking, both on this forum and in-comic, but Faye so far has shown only heterosexual tendencies towards romantic relationships, while Bubbles appears to be/identify as female in every way that matters.
I find it therefore somewhat odd that Claire is all in a tizzy with the possibility of Faybles, because she knows all these things as well and knows that Faye's romantic preference is highly unlikely to change. Bubbles being an AI barely matters, she still is for all intents and purposes, female.
-
Faye showing no interest in women before doesn't mean not having any.
And not showing any in the strip doesn't mean not expressing any.
Do we even consider Bubbles, as an AI, on as binary a basis as being female?
And as a comic with a big focus on sexual minorities, I think that Faye discovering a curiosity in genders outside of cis males fits in pretty well as character development - I know I personally didn't explore other genders until relatively late in life, and I'm currently with an agender person and a genderqueer person.
Is there a small possibility that Faye has romantic interests in females? Sure, but it's not very likely based on what we know of her.
Whether Bubbles as an AI is binary is of course an open question, but so far all AIs in-comic have shown a very clear binary tendency towards identifying with a gender.
Of course there is also the question of the level of romantic involvement one could choose. With an AI, perhaps a romantic involvement would not necessarily involve sex, but still include all other aspects.
Anyway, personally I don't think Faybles is likely to happen. I think it's more likely to develop into a storyline where Bubbles addresses her feelings, some conflict/drama might arise, and Bubbles may discover that the feelings for Faye may not necessarily be romantic, but may have developed due to Faye being more-or-less her 'savior' (for lack of a better word) as well as the first person she feels capable of emotionally opening up to.
-
I find it therefore somewhat odd that Claire is all in a tizzy with the possibility of Faybles, because she knows all these things as well and knows that Faye's romantic preference is highly unlikely to change. Bubbles being an AI barely matters, she still is for all intents and purposes, female.
Mostly this is because Claire's shipping filter works solely on 'they look cute together' and nothing else. Look at her reaction to Clinton and Elliott: There is no reason to believe that Clinton is even slightly queer and yet she SQUEED loud enough to send Bubbles into Red Alert at the thought of him and Elliott together.
That aside, I suspect that Claire's personal history has left her with a profound awareness of closets and the subconscious pressures to engage in externally 'normative' behaviour.
-
By no means am I saying Faybles (let's roll with that word) will fail. I'm only saying what we usually read on that forum, which is largely based on little hearts, little flowers and cute unicorns is not the only option. Bad things happen, even to good people. Sorry to be the killjoy, here.
But maybe they will fall in love and be happy ever after, who knows?
-
From the smile on Claire's face in the last panel, I think she's going to set Faye up with bubbles.
I was going to make a "Super Mario Bros" reference thanks to that last panel, but I guess this makes a lot more sense...
-
*If* Claire want to do something (and I'm not sure of that), she could open up to Bubbles about that little chat she had with Faye. But that could really be risky if things go south later...
-
Speaking of firefighters... In panel 2, Faye is picking up Claire's book. And in panel 3, she turns it sideways. What kind of book is that?
Must be an atlas...
All the best books come with maps.
And, um, contours.
-
Speaking of firefighters... In panel 2, Faye is picking up Claire's book. And in panel 3, she turns it sideways. What kind of book is that?
Must be an atlas...
All the best books come with maps.
And, um, contours.
That cover looks almost old enough for membership in the Grand Army of the Republic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Army_of_the_Republic). IIRC, the Smiff Library where Claire works has one of the world's premier collections of Victorian porn, does it not?
-
Faye showing no interest in women before doesn't mean not having any.
And not showing any in the strip doesn't mean not expressing any.
Do we even consider Bubbles, as an AI, on as binary a basis as being female?
And as a comic with a big focus on sexual minorities, I think that Faye discovering a curiosity in genders outside of cis males fits in pretty well as character development - I know I personally didn't explore other genders until relatively late in life, and I'm currently with an agender person and a genderqueer person.
I assume this goes back to the comic a while back where Pintsize wasn't disturbed by the fact that he essentially ended up docking with another male set AI but was disturbed that he didn't recognize the gender settings of the AI until after the fact...
-
Oh yeah, this comic. (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=347) It would be interesting if Jeph got into AI genders again. I wonder if it's more intricate now than how it was initially described.
-
Much as I adore the good ship Faybles, I have to ask- how much is Claire aware of Bubbles' feelings (or proto-feelings) at all? I can't remember any specific interaction where it was raised, but I may be wrong.
However, I can think of one well-built, caring non-bro single guy that Claire has encountered recently.
Guys, what if she's thinking of Elliot?
-
I think Claire's shipping of Bubbles and Faye has far more to do with Claire than either of the two people in question.
And bros might be muscular (I think "swole" is their term of trade), but they never strike me as particularly heroic.
-
You'd be surprised how flexible people's sexuality can be.
For ease of a cis-hetero world that likes things simplified, I label myself gay if the situation comes up. But what isn't said but is truth is that I'm also open to relationships with transgender males regardless of their transition status, and even simply women with very traditionally 'masculine' features, least as how I read them. It took me till the age of about 28 before I could even come to terms with that idea, after being out of the closet as a homosexual male pretty much the moment I have puberty driven thoughts.
So yeah, the cliche "Everyone knows but me" cliche can happen, even late and life, and even to people who seem to have solidly established themselves somewhere on the Kinsey scale, only to find they're rather further in one direction than they've ever let on, or even knew themselves.
-
The gentlest way for Claire to break that is to just casually mention: "You do know you just described Bubbles, right?"
That said, the good (well, it's at least "not problematic") ship Faybles hasn't launched yet, Claire... don't sink it while trying to get it out of port.
Welcome, new person!
The gentlest but dropped onto Faye's obliviousness also the most dramatic. I have a clear mental picture of Faye's facial expression after hearing that.
The information we have about AI gender identity goes back to a time when Jeph was thinking of the AIs quite differently from the current world-build. If it's still valid, though, Bubbles can switch her gender identity at will in her configuration settings. Then her presentation is something she can change with a trip to the store or some work in the shop.
-
Muscly and heroic, and no longer in dangerous work. Bubbles.
Or... Elliot?
That would be a hell of a swerve by Jeph if so!
On the side - Claire has been particularly annoying this week; the attitude with Marten, hair-ball in the shower and back to her shipping prying poking nonsense. She caused problems before but she just can't help herself. It's even more dangerous considering Bubbles has over time found Faye to be the one person she can completely trust and open up to, and Claire egging Bubbles on to make a move could end in rejection and the complete personality destruction of Bubbles. Or it could go well.
-
The gentlest way for Claire to break that is to just casually mention: "You do know you just described Bubbles, right?"
That said, the good (well, it's at least "not problematic") ship Faybles hasn't launched yet, Claire... don't sink it while trying to get it out of port.
Welcome, new person!
The gentlest but dropped onto Faye's obliviousness also the most dramatic. I have a clear mental picture of Faye's facial expression after hearing that.
The information we have about AI gender identity goes back to a time when Jeph was thinking of the AIs quite differently from the current world-build. If it's still valid, though, Bubbles can switch her gender identity at will in her configuration settings. Then her presentation is something she can change with a trip to the store or some work in the shop.
That is a gender ethics can of worms that I don't think Jeph is willing to open, and the fact that the one partner that Pintsize has been known to have was deeply attached to their Male gender enough to be offended that Pintsize didn't realize it means that a shift isn't so easy. Pintsize might be a dumb ass, but it seems like AI's very much have adapted gender identity as a natural set up as much as any human who has an innate sense of their own gender.
Then again, there's gender-queer, and gender fluid people so maybe I'm just putting my foot in my mouth. But somehow I feel like it'd be too easy an out, and a big snub to Claire and other people all around if Bubbles had such an easy way to side step a gender issue.
-
Meanwhile, I'm still getting frustrated that no one changed the "30rd" in the thread title.
Don't bite your tongue too much, there, Claire. You might lose your sense of taste...
-
Speaking of sexual preferences it would be nice to see Faye's sister and mom show up again. Faye's mom interacting with Pintsize and/or Veronica could be very interesting.
-
I move that Claire's new name be branded "The Shipyard".
-
Well, it's better than "The Dry Dock".
-
What's the worst that could happen?
(https://media.giphy.com/media/PzLTijqGSS81O/giphy.gif)
-
My condolences, and I hope it gets better. I'm not spotless, but the place isn't a biohazard. Mostly. :venonat:
Mommas, don't let your babies grow up, to be messy.
Because they're risking disease, and they'll never be clean
So make them at least nod at hygiene.
My mom cleaned houses up until I was in high school. If we couldn't find/afford a babysitter during the summer, we went to work with Mom, each received a list of chores, and were allowed to watch TV if the task was deemed to be done well enough. If it wasn't good enough, we had to do it again until it was. Being that that was about the only way we got to watch cable TV, it was a pretty good motivator.
-
The gentlest way for Claire to break that is to just casually mention: "You do know you just described Bubbles, right?"
Technically, Claire was the one who did the describing, not Faye. A slightly different wording is all you need to fix it, though. Something like "You do know that description fits Bubbles, right?"
-
You'd be surprised how flexible people's sexuality can be.
For ease of a cis-hetero world that likes things simplified, I label myself gay if the situation comes up. But what isn't said but is truth is that I'm also open to relationships with transgender males regardless of their transition status, and even simply women with very traditionally 'masculine' features, least as how I read them. It took me till the age of about 28 before I could even come to terms with that idea, after being out of the closet as a homosexual male pretty much the moment I have puberty driven thoughts.
So yeah, the cliche "Everyone knows but me" cliche can happen, even late and life, and even to people who seem to have solidly established themselves somewhere on the Kinsey scale, only to find they're rather further in one direction than they've ever let on, or even knew themselves.
I posted about this before, but I feel it bears repeating. I too, considered myself pretty much straight for most of my life, never really gave it much thought, then after breaking up with my boyfriend of 10 years at 28 I started to come to terms with the fact that I had more than just an aesthetic interest in women. Now I'm 31 and quite comfortable with calling myself bisexual, so yes, it can and does happen.
That being said, I noticed Jeph has taken a lot of care to keep things ambiguous - not regarding Bubbles' feelings, I think those are pretty clear, but Faye's: her apparent obliviousness to Bubbles' interest on one hand, little details like her blushing and smiling at the memory of Bubbles calling her beautiful (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3589) on the other. Just a reaction to getting a compliment from one of her closest friends, or more? Time will tell, but it's clear Jeph wants us to wonder.
-
Re: AI gender:
https://twitter.com/jephjacques/status/926585884606128129
And, while this is totally trolling...
https://twitter.com/jephjacques/status/926506741495459841
-
Guys, what if she's thinking of Elliot?
Elliot isn't retired from being a bouncer. He's still a bouncer.
So no.
Edit, regarding Faye's previously demonstrated inclinations toward sexual relationships with other women, or lack thereof: you do know romantic relationships don't need to be sexual, right? Just sayin'.
-
Re: AI gender:
https://twitter.com/jephjacques/status/926585884606128129
And, while this is totally trolling...
https://twitter.com/jephjacques/status/926506741495459841
Actually, except for rare extremes, most sexual scientists think EVERYONE is bi. So, yeah. :-D
-
Edit, regarding Faye's previously demonstrated inclinations toward sexual relationships with other women, or lack thereof: you do know romantic relationships don't need to be sexual, right? Just sayin'.
Who is this replying to, out of curiosity? Because I think everyone in this thread knows that.
-
...
Actually, except for rare extremes, most sexual scientists think EVERYONE is bi. So, yeah. :-D
Uhmmmmh - They do? :-o
-
It's a continuous spectrum; very few people are exactly at one end or the other (even of those who think they are).
-
It's a continuous spectrum; very few people are exactly at one end or the other (even of those who think they are).
Yeah, I knew that, but I always assumed "being bi" to be a wee bit different from ... y'know ...
<whisper> turning your head for all the butts ... </whisper>
-
A lot of bi people have a preference for one gender or another, actually. :) It's not always a 50/50 deal. (If that's what you were referring to.)
-
A lot of bi people have a preference for one gender or another, actually. :) It's not always a 50/50 deal. (If that's what you were referring to.)
No, I meant that if everybody except for the Kinsey 0s and 6s were bi, shouldn't there be a lot more people who openly identify & live as 'bi'? Your number on the K-scale is one thing, how you live and what you identify as is another is what I meant? (obviously the terms overlap, but are they identical?)
-
I imagine that at K1 the attraction to same-sex is fairly rare and easy to rationalise away unless the person is particularly receptive to the idea or the attraction to that person is so overwhelming that it cannot be ignored or misunderstood.
-
A lot of bi people have a preference for one gender or another, actually. :) It's not always a 50/50 deal. (If that's what you were referring to.)
No, I meant that if everybody except for the Kinsey 0s and 6s were bi, shouldn't there be a lot more people who openly identify & live as 'bi'? Your number on the K-scale is one thing, how you live and what you identify as is another is what I meant? (obviously the terms overlap, but are they identical?)
It’s called “bi erasure” — bisexual people don’t exist and if they do they’re weird freaks who can’t achieve fidelity because they would still be attracted to the other gender (the one their partner doesn’t have) and so be inspired to cheat relentlessly.
Or, that’s how they are commonly portrayed in media (when they are at all), so most bisexual people either ignore half of their preference or deliberately don’t express themselves as such when they are looking for a partner.
The worst part is that publicly bisexual people regularly get harassment and abuse from both “straight” and “gay” individuals and groups, because they “won’t pick a side” are “secretly gay|straight and pretending” and worse which I will not repeat here.
-
Sometimes people don't know they experience attraction for a particular gender. I've read a bunch of anecdotal stuff about how a lot of bi and pan women didn't realise their finding other women aesthetically pleasing was attraction for a long time, due to the different socialisation of girls and boys. It's much more acceptable for women to compliment each other than it is for men, without people thinking there's something sexual or romantic to it. I've heard a lot of stories about women saying they confused liking a woman's body shape or outfit for wanting to be like them when they really wanted to be with them.
Women also are given more leeway socially for experimentation which can lead to, "I'm a straight woman who sometimes gets romantic or sexual with other women." Not that anyone is obligated to identify a certain way due to their experiences.
Plus regardless of gender, a lot of people think being bi or pan is just a step on the way to realising you're gay. Especially for men who get a lot of judgement for experimenting and exploring their sexuality. There's a lot of pressure to know who you are and have that identity be rigid. Experimenting and exploration, if done at all, is supposed to be something done when you're young and if you don't get that chance, you might never discover that part of yourself or feel safe or comfortable enough to do so. Even though getting to know yourself is a lifelong process.
Identifying as bi or pan isn't as simple as, "Oh, I've been interested in more than one gender at some point. Guess I'm [identity]."
The Kinsey scale is widely referenced but it's very based in the gender binary, which can complicate and confuse things even more.
-
Speaking of sexual preferences it would be nice to see Faye's sister and mom show up again. Faye's mom interacting with Pintsize and/or Veronica could be very interesting.
If memory serves (my archive-fu fails me), didn't Faye say her mom was Baptist fundamentalist?
If so, hopefully she's become a recovering fundamentalist (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z2aeDPsrAaQ) by the time she shows up.
Disclaimer: above link contains serious discussion of the Christian religion interlaced with comedy and ADHD.
EDIT: Additional disclaimer: link will hilariously horribly offend members of the Westborro "Baptist" "Church".
-
It's a continuous spectrum; very few people are exactly at one end or the other (even of those who think they are).
Yeah, I knew that, but I always assumed "being bi" to be a wee bit different from ... y'know ...
<whisper> turning your head for all the butts ... </whisper>
You know how some folks that are bi have a gender preference? It's sort of like that, except the gender preference is quite dominantly pronounced.
-
Speaking of sexual preferences it would be nice to see Faye's sister and mom show up again. Faye's mom interacting with Pintsize and/or Veronica could be very interesting.
If memory serves (my archive-fu fails me), didn't Faye say her mom was Baptist fundamentalist?
If so, hopefully she's become a recovering fundamentalist (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z2aeDPsrAaQ) by the time she shows up.
Disclaimer: above link contains serious discussion of the Christian religion interlaced with comedy and ADHD.
EDIT: Additional disclaimer: link will hilariously horribly offend members of the Westborro "Baptist" "Church".
Actually, she said that they weren't very religious Faye And Religion (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=232).
-
On the other hand Faye's mom took the Baptist rules against alcohol seriously and holds the church as an important anchor in life.
-
As someone who grew up getting a Catholic schooling and then married someone who had an actually secular schooling, each person's definition of very religious or not can be very subjective. School life was praying three times a day, but at home, religion wasn't talked about and neither encouraged nor discouraged so I felt like my family wasn't very religious. Then long after realising I was atheist, I learned there's schools where you don't start the day by praying? Huh? :psyduck:
-
Speaking of sexual preferences it would be nice to see Faye's sister and mom show up again. Faye's mom interacting with Pintsize and/or Veronica could be very interesting.
If memory serves (my archive-fu fails me), didn't Faye say her mom was Baptist fundamentalist?
If so, hopefully she's become a recovering fundamentalist (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z2aeDPsrAaQ) by the time she shows up.
Disclaimer: above link contains serious discussion of the Christian religion interlaced with comedy and ADHD.
EDIT: Additional disclaimer: link will hilariously horribly offend members of the Westborro "Baptist" "Church".
"God spreads grace like a 4-year old spreads peanut butter - he gets it all over everything!" - Thanks, I had forgotten that X-tians could be funny. :laugh:
-
At the risk of sounding horribly naive & sheltered:
A lot of bi people have a preference for one gender or another, actually. :) It's not always a 50/50 deal. (If that's what you were referring to.)
No, I meant that if everybody except for the Kinsey 0s and 6s were bi, shouldn't there be a lot more people who openly identify & live as 'bi'? Your number on the K-scale is one thing, how you live and what you identify as is another is what I meant? (obviously the terms overlap, but are they identical?)
It’s called “bi erasure” — bisexual people don’t exist and if they do they’re weird freaks who can’t achieve fidelity because they would still be attracted to the other gender (the one their partner doesn’t have) and so be inspired to cheat relentlessly.
Or, that’s how they are commonly portrayed in media (when they are at all), so most bisexual people either ignore half of their preference or deliberately don’t express themselves as such when they are looking for a partner.
The worst part is that publicly bisexual people regularly get harassment and abuse from both “straight” and “gay” individuals and groups, because they “won’t pick a side” are “secretly gay|straight and pretending” and worse which I will not repeat here.
That's ... all manners of daft & cruel! :cry: :x
Sometimes people don't know they experience attraction for a particular gender. I've read a bunch of anecdotal stuff about how a lot of bi and pan women didn't realise their finding other women aesthetically pleasing was attraction for a long time, due to the different socialisation of girls and boys. It's much more acceptable for women to compliment each other than it is for men, without people thinking there's something sexual or romantic to it. I've heard a lot of stories about women saying they confused liking a woman's body shape or outfit for wanting to be like them when they really wanted to be with them.
Women also are given more leeway socially for experimentation which can lead to, "I'm a straight woman who sometimes gets romantic or sexual with other women." Not that anyone is obligated to identify a certain way due to their experiences.
[...]
You know, that's sort of how it feels for me, albeit very rare & attenuated - I 'get' that type of same-sex attraction, as in: Having heard my 'inner commenter' going: "Gee, I'm wondering if your looking at that guy-butt is really due your finding it 'aesthetically pleasing', Mr. JustanArtCritic, or if ..." (Yes, sometimes I'm having discussions with people in my head - all sorts of interesting folk in there, don't judge me!), but if you'd put a guy and a gal with cute butts in front of me, there'd be no competition or confusion at all.
Which is why I figure that I might be a Kinsey 1.05, or even a 1.18, but don't really see myself as 'bi'. Not even 'bi-curious', truth be told. And I wouldn't apply the label to myself, not even in private - not out of fear of public reprisals (though yes, I'm not curious about that part - Maybe I'm a bit naive, but I'm not daft. Most of the time, at least ...) - but because I always figured that 'bi' belongs to the people who make that choice for themselves. Like: "Kinsey is the type of food you might find interesting at any point in your life - straight, gay and bi are where you invite your sweetheart for dinner"
Not 'Euwwwh', more like ... respect for other kids toys belonging to them? (I grew up with a baby sister. Toy-ownership was a very important part of our upbringing ...).
I wasn't aware of bi-erasure and ... yeah, that's nasty shite. :-\ And all manners of stupid.
-
they’re weird freaks who can’t achieve fidelity because they would still be attracted to the other gender (the one their partner doesn’t have) and so be inspired to cheat relentlessly.
Well, by the same token, clearly straight and gay people can't be faithful either, because they'd be instantly attracted to all of the half of the human race who are of the category they fancy...
Riiiight...
-
Sad to say, there are straight people who use something akin to that reasoning as an excuse for their infidelity - they just can't help themselves. Men (in my experience) do this a lot, though I've encountered women who use this kind of reasoning too.
People also use that excuse for even worse behavior.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
People also use that excuse for even worse behavior.
"There will always be war"
"If I don't do it, someone else will - so where's the harm in me being the one who profits?"
...
-
Speaking of sexual preferences it would be nice to see Faye's sister and mom show up again. Faye's mom interacting with Pintsize and/or Veronica could be very interesting.
If memory serves (my archive-fu fails me), didn't Faye say her mom was Baptist fundamentalist?
If so, hopefully she's become a recovering fundamentalist (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z2aeDPsrAaQ) by the time she shows up.
Disclaimer: above link contains serious discussion of the Christian religion interlaced with comedy and ADHD.
EDIT: Additional disclaimer: link will hilariously horribly offend members of the Westborro "Baptist" "Church".
"God spreads grace like a 4-year old spreads peanut butter - he gets it all over everything!" - Thanks, I had forgotten that X-tians could be funny. :laugh:
You're welcome (^-^)
BTW, Mark Lowry is mostly a comedian and a lot of his earlier stuff can be found on YouTube. He's also the same guy who sings the parody of 'Livin' La Vita Loca' titled 'Livin' for Deep-Fried Okra'.
-
Ah, bi/pan erasure, so insidious that you even get it within the LGBTQAI+ community.
And then of course the judgement of poly relationships too...