Tilly, I've decided not only to keep you on, but to entrust you with carrying out one of my most valued projects.
Go to the zoo and do not return until you have counted every hair on every animal there.
If you don't, well, I'll just tell my mother you didn't work out.
Very well, Ms. Birch, I accept you as my assistant on condition that you obey all the household rules.
You must keep your body and skin at the same level of bacterial sterility as Winslow's at all times.
Hmm... closest thing to a last-name we have for Tilly... should we pronounce it Key-Hoe-tick, or quick-soh-tick?
"How would it look to my superiors?"
"... like they'd made a terrible mistake that wasted everyone's time and money."
I see one potential way of winning over Hannelore. Tiffy said she doesn't currently have any lodging nearby, but will soon. Perhaps she could take over "Juicy's" lease.Getting rid of "Juicy" - now there's a task.
I see one potential way of winning over Hannelore. Tiffy said she doesn't currently have any lodging nearby, but will soon. Perhaps she could take over "Juicy's" lease.
Getting rid of "Juicy" - now there's a task.
I see one potential way of winning over Hannelore. Tiffy said she doesn't currently have any lodging nearby, but will soon. Perhaps she could take over "Juicy's" lease.
Getting rid of "Juicy" - now there's a task.
TILLY: "Mister Forty-Seven? I have a contract for you. Normal rate and the utmost discretion, as always."
Exactly. No-one ever advanced their career by demonstrating their management has a problem with their "New clothes".Who did in fact point out a problem with his clothes... (1230) (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1230)
I'm rather reminded of Sven's Intern.
Ms. Birch, how would you like to be in charge of an entire organization?
Put together the papers and planning for my new venture, a legal defense fund for victims of my mother.
I know several forum members have mentioned fear of Beatrice's wrath as a reason Tilly can't take no for an answer, but shouldn't she have mentioned that by now? To gain Hannelore's sympathy, if for no other reason. Instead Tilly just refuses to leave until Hanners gets worn down by sheer persistence, which casts doubt about just how badly it would go for her if she failed, in my mind at least, and also makes her much more annoying as well.
Exactly. No-one ever advanced their career by demonstrating their management has a problem with their "New clothes".Who did in fact point out a problem with his clothes... (1230) (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1230)
I'm rather reminded of Sven's Intern.
Y'all need to chill. Tilly is delightful.
Y'all need to chill. Tilly is delightful.
Tilly has made it crystal clear that her loyalty is to "what the company told me to do, even when it doesn't make sense and is clearly unethical", which absolutely rules out keeping her. The foremost qualification of a personal assistant is they have to be loyal to the person they're assisting, not third parties.
Hannelore can never, ever, ever trust Tilly. Ever.
Y'all need to chill. Tilly is delightful.
Tilly has made it crystal clear that her loyalty is to "what the company told me to do, even when it doesn't make sense and is clearly unethical", which absolutely rules out keeping her. The foremost qualification of a personal assistant is they have to be loyal to the person they're assisting, not third parties.
Hannelore can never, ever, ever trust Tilly. Ever.
Welcome, new person!
Nice to see Hanners going into passive aggressive mode for this.
Also tentative hope for the idea that misnaming Tilly is going to be a running gag for this arc.
Welcome, new person!
I'm curious, do you get a notification any time somebody posts for the first time? You're always right on the ball to welcome them.
Y'all need to chill. Tilly is delightful.
Tilly has made it crystal clear that her loyalty is to "what the company told me to do, even when it doesn't make sense and is clearly unethical", which absolutely rules out keeping her. The foremost qualification of a personal assistant is they have to be loyal to the person they're assisting, not third parties.
Hannelore can never, ever, ever trust Tilly. Ever.
Nice to see Hanners going into passive aggressive mode for this.
And 93 minutes to shower! I hope her father gave her some kind of space age hygienic chamber because that's a lot of water to be going through.
and/or ablations...
exfoliations...
(etc, etc)
Red flags:
“Hi! I’m nominally here to serve you but refuse to respect your express wishes except in way I deem fit for me!” Gets right up my nose; can understand this spawning passive-aggressive in response by calling her Taffy etc.
“Hi! I already have and am using a disturbing level of personal detail on you that most people might normally only entrust to a spouse/partner!” (Or at least Facebook?) Maybe I’m foolishly old fashioned, the way some people heedlessly share Every Life Detail online, but I find this repulsive and insulting.
“Hi! I’m here to work your mother’s will upon you!” Do I need to explain this one? Even in the best case scenario where this plot forces Hanners to sustain enough spine to either genuinely bend Taffy to her will or (in defiance of all comedic convention) actually dismiss this “loveably” whackadoodle intrusion, we still get a HannerMom steepled-fingers “Excellent-everything-is-proceeding-as-I-have-forseen” reaction shot.
And, possibly triggery:(click to show/hide)
And 93 minutes to shower! I hope her father gave her some kind of space age hygienic chamber because that's a lot of water to be going through.
A 93 minute bathing process probably doesn't mean 93 minutes of continuous water usage. A sensible person turns things off while scrubbing then turns on to rinse etc. It probably also includes other elements of morning ablutions.
And 93 minutes to shower! I hope her father gave her some kind of space age hygienic chamber because that's a lot of water to be going through.
A 93 minute bathing process probably doesn't mean 93 minutes of continuous water usage. A sensible person turns things off while scrubbing then turns on to rinse etc. It probably also includes other elements of morning ablutions.
And when was the last time Hannelore was described as a sensible person?
Which may involve headphones and scented candles...
A 93 minute bathing process probably doesn't mean 93 minutes of continuous water usage. A sensible person turns things off while scrubbing then turns on to rinse etc. It probably also includes other elements of morning ablutions.
To add to this, carefully avoiding wasting excess water is exactly the sort of thing an OCD person might do. If you have developed a precise bathing ritual that is followed to the letter, there is no reason that wouldn't include the repeated turning on and off of the shower.
Its going to be rather fun when Hanners turns up at the coffee shop with Tilly in tow. What is Dora going to make of someone parked in the shop all day taking up a table? To be acceptable Tilly will presumably need to be regularly consuming coffee, possibly to the extent of total caffeine overload by the end of the working day.
Tilly is all too humanly infuriating to be a robot.
If you're a new QC character and you aren't detested on the forums within about half a dozen appearances, then you've probably been mute.
If you're a new QC character and you aren't detested on the forums within about half a dozen appearances, then you've probably been mute.
Hm, not sure, previous characters to my recollection never were that detested, except maybe for Renee and to a lesser degree Brun.
Gotta say I don't like the misnaming thing. It really makes me feel sorry for Tilly, because I've personally been there and it's belittling. That sort of thing's a common bullying tactic (look who started the trend! I mean, look!) and I'm unamused by the number of people who find it, well, amusing.
I mean, yeah, Tilly's not all in the right here but people can be socially awkward.
Gotta say I don't like the misnaming thing. It really makes me feel sorry for Tilly, because I've personally been there and it's belittling. That sort of thing's a common bullying tactic (look who started the trend! I mean, look!) and I'm unamused by the number of people who find it, well, amusing.
I mean, yeah, Tilly's not all in the right here but people can be socially awkward.
Hanners has repeatedly stated why she doesn't need a personal assistant, while Tilly has repeatedly ignored what she's saying. Yeah, Tilly is in a bad situation, but she's definitely making it worse by not listening to what Hanners is saying.
Let's face it, Hanners is rarely someone to outright confront anyone. She has to get pushed repeatedly to get to the screaming someone down stage. She's using what she has at her disposal and in this case its undermining someone who is doing the exact same to her.
Some people say you have to fight fire with fire, personally I prefer fighting it with water.
Welcome, new person!
I'm curious, do you get a notification any time somebody posts for the first time? You're always right on the ball to welcome them.
I miss a lamentable number of new people. I hope they feel welcome anyway.
Gotta say I don't like the misnaming thing. It really makes me feel sorry for Tilly, because I've personally been there and it's belittling. That sort of thing's a common bullying tactic (look who started the trend! I mean, look!) and I'm unamused by the number of people who find it, well, amusing.
I mean, yeah, Tilly's not all in the right here but people can be socially awkward.
Hanners has repeatedly stated why she doesn't need a personal assistant, while Tilly has repeatedly ignored what she's saying. Yeah, Tilly is in a bad situation, but she's definitely making it worse by not listening to what Hanners is saying.
Let's face it, Hanners is rarely someone to outright confront anyone. She has to get pushed repeatedly to get to the screaming someone down stage. She's using what she has at her disposal and in this case its undermining someone who is doing the exact same to her.
Some people say you have to fight fire with fire, personally I prefer fighting it with water.
I seem to recall twice when Hannelore did something against Marigold's objections. First there was that time she cleaned her apartment and the other when she grounded her from video games. And if you're argument is that was for Marigold's own good (which it was) then Beatrice can use that same justification... if she was even looking for justification.
I kinda want the running gag for this storyline to be everyone mistakenly calling her Taffy, just with her quietly correcting them and she gets more and more resentful about. At the end of the story, Tilly reports back to Beatrice, who calls her Taffy and boom! Tilly explodes and goes on a rant at her boss."My name is Homer Simpson! [two guards rush in, restrain Homer, and drag him away] Oh, you're a dead man, Burns. Oh, you're dead! YOU'RE DEAD, BURNS!!!"
I'm still trying to decide if Tilly gets fired or promoted to Beatrice's own PA.
Gotta say I don't like the misnaming thing. It really makes me feel sorry for Tilly, because I've personally been there and it's belittling. That sort of thing's a common bullying tactic (look who started the trend! I mean, look!) and I'm unamused by the number of people who find it, well, amusing.
I mean, yeah, Tilly's not all in the right here but people can be socially awkward.
Hanners has repeatedly stated why she doesn't need a personal assistant, while Tilly has repeatedly ignored what she's saying. Yeah, Tilly is in a bad situation, but she's definitely making it worse by not listening to what Hanners is saying.
Let's face it, Hanners is rarely someone to outright confront anyone. She has to get pushed repeatedly to get to the screaming someone down stage. She's using what she has at her disposal and in this case its undermining someone who is doing the exact same to her.
Some people say you have to fight fire with fire, personally I prefer fighting it with water.
I seem to recall twice when Hannelore did something against Marigold's objections. First there was that time she cleaned her apartment and the other when she grounded her from video games. And if you're argument is that was for Marigold's own good (which it was) then Beatrice can use that same justification... if she was even looking for justification.
How the hell did you get to that point from what I said?
My point was that from the off, Tilly was undermining Hanners by continually explaining on how she was a good PA, despite Hanners repeatedly saying she hasn't. Even to the point of Hanners asking if she would have to call the police to have Tilly removed, the PA kept saying she was there to do her job. Now, she might have been hired by Beatrice but its Hanners who ultimately decides for herself if she wants a PA. Because its classic Beatrice to know what is best for her daughter, even though she doesn't really know anything about Hanners.
Hanners repeatedly misnaming Tilly is a pointed response. Because Hanners is the not the kind of person who berates someone, shouts at them or belittles them with any malicious intent. If she shouts, its because she's been pushed too far. If she takes someone down a peg or two (like her mother during her last visit), its by playing them at their own game. If Beatrice sent someone that is suspected to be something of a manipulator, Hanners is going to fight back as best she can and if that means misnaming a PA sent by her mother, so be it. Because it sends a message to her mother.
Prediction: at some point, Hanners will refer to Tilly by her correct name. At which point, Tilly will reflexively respond with "It's Taffy." :roll:
It's the shoes. I've never seen Hannelore wear heals and don't think she can.In a shop - where you are on your feet all day and constantly twisting and turning around and changing direction? OK, I don't wear heels and never have, but it sure feels like a recipe for screaming ankles to me. Does anyone who does wear heels want to disagree and correct me?
That said... Has anyone thought to try to sell 'Coffee of Doom' branded aprons to Dora? From what I've seen, they need protective clothing in that place!
If you're a new QC character and you aren't detested on the forums within about half a dozen appearances, then you've probably been mute.
Hm, not sure, previous characters to my recollection never were that detested, except maybe for Renee and to a lesser degree Brun.
I guess you weren’t here when May was introduced then. There were people who absolutely despised her. Bubbles had a few fanatical detractors also.
On the other hand, Corpse Witch didn’t get a whole lot of hate when she was first introduced. Draw whatever moral you like from that.
Maybe Hanners just needs to give Tilly a sock...?
Maybe Hanners just needs to give Tilly a sock...?
Could be a bad move. Servants who receive that sort of token can easily become even more monomaniacally devoted to you!
Nice to see Hanners going into passive aggressive mode for this.
Also tentative hope for the idea that misnaming Tilly is going to be a running gag for this arc.
It's the shoes. I've never seen Hannelore wear heals and don't think she can.In a shop - where you are on your feet all day and constantly twisting and turning around and changing direction? OK, I don't wear heels and never have, but it sure feels like a recipe for screaming ankles to me. Does anyone who does wear heels want to disagree and correct me?
If test #1 for Tally was "Pick out suitable dress for the day ahead" I'd say that was an abject failure. Suitable for the executive head of the coffee shop chain who doesn't spend time on the shop floor maybe.
It's the shoes. I've never seen Hannelore wear heals and don't think she can.In a shop - where you are on your feet all day and constantly twisting and turning around and changing direction? OK, I don't wear heels and never have, but it sure feels like a recipe for screaming ankles to me. Does anyone who does wear heels want to disagree and correct me?
If test #1 for Tally was "Pick out suitable dress for the day ahead" I'd say that was an abject failure. Suitable for the executive head of the coffee shop chain who doesn't spend time on the shop floor maybe.
I am not even sure Tilly drew heels. Just the way the perspective is makes it seem like drawing-Hanners is up on her toes. However exposed ankles and the top of your feet is a really, really bad idea in a job that involves hot liquids.
As far as wearing heels in that kind of environment, unless they were tall narrow heels it wouldn't be so bad. The big thing is how much support you have. With narrow heels you're putting most of your weight on the front half/toes and if your job involves standing all day that's going to be a big pain. Wearing chunky, low heels like I prefer or wedges means good foot support.
It's the shoes. I've never seen Hannelore wear heals and don't think she can.In a shop - where you are on your feet all day and constantly twisting and turning around and changing direction? OK, I don't wear heels and never have, but it sure feels like a recipe for screaming ankles to me. Does anyone who does wear heels want to disagree and correct me?
If test #1 for Tally was "Pick out suitable dress for the day ahead" I'd say that was an abject failure. Suitable for the executive head of the coffee shop chain who doesn't spend time on the shop floor maybe.
I am not even sure Tilly drew heels. Just the way the perspective is makes it seem like drawing-Hanners is up on her toes. However exposed ankles and the top of your feet is a really, really bad idea in a job that involves hot liquids.
As far as wearing heels in that kind of environment, unless they were tall narrow heels it wouldn't be so bad. The big thing is how much support you have. With narrow heels you're putting most of your weight on the front half/toes and if your job involves standing all day that's going to be a big pain. Wearing chunky, low heels like I prefer or wedges means good foot support.
Honestly, the outfit just shows how useless and incompetent Tilly actually is, because she is literally unable to conceive of anything outside the corporate world.
The Taffy thing got pretty old for me and now I think Hanners is being kind of an ass even if Tilly is a much bigger annoyance. Although I believe the reason why I simply don't find it funny anymore is because of some co-workers. It's astonishing how many, after year and a half, still can't get through their skulls that my name is Rodrigo and that Rodriguez is a last name... It doesn't matter that I have a friggin nametag right on my chest.My surname is excellent bait for that kind of teasing, and in HS the assistant manager at my part time job was not a nice person (a co-worker asked, "From what, distemper?" when we learned she'd passed away a few years later). I just ignored it - as in not responding when she told me to do something using her little nickname. It actually broke her of the habit.
So yeah, Hanners. It's Tilly.
It's the shoes. I've never seen Hannelore wear heals and don't think she can.In a shop - where you are on your feet all day and constantly twisting and turning around and changing direction? OK, I don't wear heels and never have, but it sure feels like a recipe for screaming ankles to me. Does anyone who does wear heels want to disagree and correct me?
If test #1 for Tally was "Pick out suitable dress for the day ahead" I'd say that was an abject failure. Suitable for the executive head of the coffee shop chain who doesn't spend time on the shop floor maybe.
I am not even sure Tilly drew heels. Just the way the perspective is makes it seem like drawing-Hanners is up on her toes. However exposed ankles and the top of your feet is a really, really bad idea in a job that involves hot liquids.
As far as wearing heels in that kind of environment, unless they were tall narrow heels it wouldn't be so bad. The big thing is how much support you have. With narrow heels you're putting most of your weight on the front half/toes and if your job involves standing all day that's going to be a big pain. Wearing chunky, low heels like I prefer or wedges means good foot support.
Honestly, the outfit just shows how useless and incompetent Tilly actually is, because she is literally unable to conceive of anything outside the corporate world.
Maybe she misunderstood Hanners' job. Her mother is, after all, a high-powered executive; and I doubt Beatrice bothered to inform her that Hanners is an minimum-wage employee in a tiny coffee-shop, not a manager/executive in a chain or something. And, she chose pretty much exactly what Hanners chose to wear for her 'interview' : http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1707
To Tilly, Hanners' work wouldn't make a lot of sense - she's richer than the average Saudi Prince, she doesn't need a minimum-wage job.
Also, I'm really bothered by the whole Taffy thing. It's one thing to get confused once, but Tilly said her name for no less than three times. I don't think it's Hanners' being an ass on purpose, it's her not perceiving Tilly as a person - just like her mother.
Also, I'm really bothered by the whole Taffy thing. It's one thing to get confused once, but Tilly said her name for no less than three times. I don't think it's Hanners' being an ass on purpose, it's her not perceiving Tilly as a person - just like her mother.
A bit late to the show here, but:If you're a new QC character and you aren't detested on the forums within about half a dozen appearances, then you've probably been mute.
Hm, not sure, previous characters to my recollection never were that detested, except maybe for Renee and to a lesser degree Brun.
I guess you weren’t here when May was introduced then. There were people who absolutely despised her. Bubbles had a few fanatical detractors also.
On the other hand, Corpse Witch didn’t get a whole lot of hate when she was first introduced. Draw whatever moral you like from that.
Thanks, no I was around, I just didn't recall May being that loathed, at least not after she re-appeared in physical form. Bubbles maybe had few detractors but was AFAIK more or less universally liked here, no?
Anyway, doesn't really matter, as always I have confidence in JJ coming up with an interesting storyline.
Unrelated to The Tilly Situation: anyone else digging Hannelore's just-out-of-the-shower Sonic the Hedgehog hairstyle?
Probably because in her first panel of her first appearance, Tilly did introduce herself to Hannelore (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3606).
I'm somewhat disturbed by Tilly's reaction to "should we kill her" being "if you do I won't be able to help you hide the body". Less the joking (I HOPE), more... just how many death threats has Tilly heard if she has a ready quip about it?
If you're a new QC character and you aren't detested on the forums within about half a dozen appearances, then you've probably been mute.
Hm, not sure, previous characters to my recollection never were that detested, except maybe for Renee and to a lesser degree Brun.
A bit late to the show here, but:
Jeph kinda just sucks at introducing new characters in a way that makes them likeable. It's not one of his strengths.
...
Jeph kinda just sucks at introducing new characters in a way that makes them likeable. It's not one of his strengths.
Yeah, it's like she's channeling Faye or something...
It's almost as though this is one of those situations where neither of them is one hundred percent in the right.I can't put any of it on Hannelore. She owes Tiffy no debt of courtesy. Tully's like a telemarketer who won't stop calling or a peddler who won't take his foot out of your door. She has far more coming than a mangled name.
Tilly has made it crystal clear that her loyalty is to "what the company told me to do, even when it doesn't make sense and is clearly unethical", which absolutely rules out keeping her. The foremost qualification of a personal assistant is they have to be loyal to the person they're assisting, not third parties.
Hannelore can never, ever, ever trust Tilly. Ever.
Fine, Hannelore can't trust Tilly, but if she dismisses her she probably knows what her mother will do next. Regardless of Tilly's fate another PA would be sent so it's better to employ her, but keep her at arm's length.
And there seems to be a lot of snap judgment's of Tilly. She's definitely an abnormal person, but that doesn't mean she's a sociopath. Hannelore and plenty of others in this strip have some psychological problems of varying degree too. Perhaps Beatrice screens prospective assistants for just this kind of behavior.
. . . .
Now, Tiffy is following the same pattern, and in fact is acting in almost the exact same way as May - Show up completely unannounced, harass the likeable character, and force them to either deal with a massive inconvenience or put up with an annoying, unhelpful companion for a short period of time. (It's almost uncanny how similar they are, in fact.)
If the pattern holds true, we will soon learn or see something sympathetic or humanizing about the character (The Tilly/Taffy thing comes to mind,) then we'll either learn some kind of Tragic Backstory or else something Tragic But Not Backstory will happen that will make the character really sympathetic and earn them forgiveness for being a pain in the butt earlier, and then they'll settle in to a more regular swing and develop some actual rapport once they start acting outside of the first person they're introduced with and once they're no longer being shoehorned into the interaction with the Likeable Character.
The fourth panel was the one that really put the nail on the coffin for me... There's no way in hell I would spend more than 15 minutes (let alone 23!) with such a mindless individual. I can't even feel sorry for her at this point.
Maybe Hanners just needs to give Tilly a sock...?
The fourth panel was the one that really put the nail on the coffin for me... There's no way in hell I would spend more than 15 minutes (let alone 23!) with such a mindless individual. I can't even feel sorry for her at this point.
What if she's lead into a back room of CoD and the whole main cast are there holding goblets and chanting "Gooble gobble. Gooble gobble. One of us! One of us!" What then?
I'm sure it has been remarked before, but Dora has become darn near unrecognizable.
I have to admit, I'm starting to wonder myself where this is going.
Maybe Hanners just needs to give Tilly a sock...?
My first thought after reading this was "Does giving someone a sock have some sort of symbolic signifigance?".
She isn't a person, really? I find that disturbing.Also, I'm really bothered by the whole Taffy thing. It's one thing to get confused once, but Tilly said her name for no less than three times. I don't think it's Hanners' being an ass on purpose, it's her not perceiving Tilly as a person - just like her mother.
Taffy really isn't a person, she's a corporate drone. And Hanners needs to not perceive Taffy as a person in order to not be taken advantage of by Taffy, who is basically Beatrice in a passive-aggressive "nice" persona instead of an aggressive "dominant bitch" persona.
If Hanners doesn't want to give it a try, she should just send her away, but treating her as less than a person? It's just not really funny
If Hanners doesn't want to give it a try, she should just send her away, but treating her as less than a person? It's just not really funny
As mentioned previously, though, Tilly is treating Hanners as less than a person too. She seems to be seeing her as an objective, a task, a nut to crack, not a real person who might find this all very uncomfortable.
As for casual death threats, though, they've been a staple of QC, since, uh, comic #4 (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4).
The ER physician will most certainly treat it as a life-threatening injury - provided you make it to the ER in time. Midsummer and out in the boondocks, you might not make it out to the county road to meet the aid car (if you had enough of a cell signal to call 911) before it goes septic.As for casual death threats, though, they've been a staple of QC, since, uh, comic #4 (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4).
She only threatened wounding in that comic, not killing.
Granted, if you stab someone and then poop in the wound, you are doing your best to give them a nasty infection which might -- I say, might -- eventually kill them, but I can't agree that it counts as an actual death threat.
Yeah dogg someone who is explicitly trained to see to your every need, has been nothing but unfailingly polite and subservient, and whom you agreed to give a chance definitely deserves to be dehumanized and threatened with death lol
Y'all hate on Beatrice, but at least she doesn't try and make these kinds of justifications, damn
I'm pretty sure that Hannelore calling her 'Taffy' is supposed to be some kind of running joke in the same vein as Mr Burns seemingly neurological inability to remember Homer Simpson's name.
I'm sure Toffee won't mind.
Especially with the leap from Tizzy to Matilda."Tilly" is most commonly a diminutive of "Matilda," (https://www.behindthename.com/name/tilly) so that's actually a return to formality.
It is exceedingly difficult to imagine any plot twist that could make Taffy sympathetic or humanizing, given that she literally demonstrates that she has no respect for boundaries unless backed by force and is, in fact, a terrible PA whose "careful research" has not included the slightest familiarization with what the person she is "assisting" needs or wants. She pretty much openly admits that her actual job is to force Hannelore to become the way her mother wants.I'm in such strong agreement with you. Various people on the forum have expressed concern for her wellbeing, if she returns to her employer as a failure. I recognise that this is valid, but in Hannelore's position, I wouldn't it worry me even a little. Maybe if Tilly were just a little bit considerate of Hannelore's wishes, then I'd be concerned for her, but as it stands I am not.
I'm beginning to think Beatrice didn't send Tilly here because Hannelore needs a personal assistant, but rather because she just needed some way to get rid of her....
Is that Marigold with the cut & dyed hair on the far left?!
Edit: had to back up to #3425 to find the most recent Marigold appearance (unless I missed one) and: no, false alarm. Even if the head shape differences are change in art style, I forgot about the distinctive moles above her jaw. Neeevermind.
It's not Marigold. It's Bleminda. (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3126)
An explosion is approaching. And I don't mean the espresso machine.
Maybe Hanners just needs to give Tilly a sock...?
My first thought after reading this was "Does giving someone a sock have some sort of symbolic signifigance?".
It's from Harry Potter. Giving a house elf (a kind of slave) an article of clothing sets it free.
Another certain forumite checking in.I can. Political pundits, CEOs, and lobbyists.
Tizzy reminds me of a telemarketer who won't quit calling or a peddler who won't get his foot out of your door. They very deliberately take advantage of most people's hesitation to suspend good manners. It's too damn bad (as opposed to "sorry"), but I feel no pangs of regret for violating social norms when dealing with people who are themselves violating social norms by invading my privacy in the first place.
Matilda's behavior is indefensible. I can't think of anyone other than a telemarketer or a foot-in-the-door peddler who would think otherwise.
I'm beginning to think Beatrice didn't send Tilly here because Hannelore needs a personal assistant, but rather because she just needed some way to get rid of her....
I'm beginning to think Beatrice didn't send Tilly here because Hannelore needs a personal assistant, but rather because she just needed some way to get rid of her....
What? The cannon isn't working?
I agree with brasca on the "seize her destiny" thing because Beatrice sent Tilly there to groom Hannelore for business. Regarding Tilly not correcting Hannelore if she got mad and called her Taffy, I think that would require Hannelore's personality to be much closer to Beatrice's, which thankfully it isn't.Beatrice flat out says that Tilly is there because Ellicot-Chathams need assistants (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3607).
It's not Marigold. It's Bleminda. (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3126)
I wonder if the joke will be that she finally gets Bleminda's name right.
By 2030 all of the current main characters will have been retired, and Bleminda and Melon will be the primary characters.Jeph did do one strip of the characters in middle age... In 2030 (assuming comic time == calendar time)
Maybe Hanners just needs to give Tilly a sock...?
My first thought after reading this was "Does giving someone a sock have some sort of symbolic signifigance?".
It's from Harry Potter. Giving a house elf (a kind of slave) an article of clothing sets it free.
The stupid thing is that i have seen that movie more times than i can count and still did not get it until I got back tonight and read Pilchard123's response. I must be slowing down.
By 2030 all of the current main characters will have been retired, and Bleminda and Melon will be the primary characters.Jeph did do one strip of the characters in middle age... In 2030 (assuming comic time == calendar time)
- Dora will be the high side of 40, and wondering why she no longer feels as free and easy with the kids working in the shop as she used to.
- Marten and Claire - not going to go there
- Marigold and Dale have 3 kids and have disappeared from the strip
- Bubbles is still running the shop, with Sam as a key employee.
feel free to continue folks...
- Marten and Claire - not going to go there
I must know. What happens to Marten and Claire?!
EDIT 2: also also, wasn't it against the forum's rules (and enforced, IIRC) to misspell a real person's *or* a character's name? I didn't know it included a "I don't like this character, so I can do that" clause.
I must know. What happens to Marten and Claire?!
EDIT 2: also also, wasn't it against the forum's rules (and enforced, IIRC) to misspell a real person's *or* a character's name? I didn't know it included a "I don't like this character, so I can do that" clause.
It's not Marigold. It's Bleminda. (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3126)
I wonder if the joke will be that she finally gets Bleminda's name right.
By this time she's probably just giving her name as "Bleminda".
And I'm honestly surprised that so many people failed to recognize her. This is, what, her fourth or fifth appearance? She's practically a regular character now. In a few years she'll be promoted to the main cast. By 2030 all of the current main characters will have been retired, and Bleminda and Melon will be the primary characters.
By 2030 all of the current main characters will have been retired, and Bleminda and Melon will be the primary characters.Jeph did do one strip of the characters in middle age... In 2030 (assuming comic time == calendar time)
- Dora will be the high side of 40, and wondering why she no longer feels as free and easy with the kids working in the shop as she used to.
- Marten and Claire - not going to go there
- Marigold and Dale have 3 kids and have disappeared from the strip
- Bubbles is still running the shop, with Sam as a key employee.
feel free to continue folks...
- Marten and Claire - not going to go there
I must know. What happens to Marten and Claire?!
Jeph did do one strip of the characters in middle age...
OK, so I was all ready to jump on the "hate Tilly" bandwagon, but today's comic actually made me change my mind somewhat.
Why? Because of the way she reacts here.
Tilly is jumping over a counter, which to me reads less as a "she's overeager" and more like "she's so desperate to 'help' that it's becoming unnerving". In a vacuum, it would be a cute little moment, but she's jumping the counter in a *complete one-eighty* to what she was doing a second ago. Yes, she was told by Dora to not be behind the counter, but she obliged, and after like a few seconds, she seems to have completely ignored, disregarded or forgotten it.
To me, it doesn't read as overeager behaviour. To me, it reads like an automatic response of a kind that's more than a little disconcerting. I know I'm probably reading too much into it, but such drastic shifts of behaviour for a minor reason suggest to me that she's been brainwashed, or abused (and not in a comedic way), or otherwise forced to "help" Hannelore to the exclusion of everything else. This is one step beyond "comical" to me, especially considering who her employer is. Tilly was never funny to me, but now her downright Pavlovian responses are more chilling than anything. YMMV.
Incidentally, in a world with super-technology, with sapient AI and basically on the verge of the Singularity (or beyond it, depending on what we don't see), people like Beatrice are still in power. Beatrice is not merely a "bad rich person", she is implied to be able to do whatever she wants. Yeah, do NOT sign me up for a future like this.
EDIT: also, I know Hannelore is a popular character, but as much as I dislike Tilly, the reactions to her seem like a "we know this person, so we'll hate that other person", which is a reaction I (in my opinion) have seen in the forum before. I will be very happy if this new character goes away soon, because she's annoying and not interesting, but I still think getting someone's name constantly wrong just because they were forced upon you is a shitty thing to do. I understand Hanners' reaction, but that doesn't mean I like it. And I don't like how it's apparently played up for comedy's sake. It's still not funny, to me personally.
EDIT 2: also also, wasn't it against the forum's rules (and enforced, IIRC) to misspell a real person's *or* a character's name? I didn't know it included a "I don't like this character, so I can do that" clause.
might have been a guest strip now I think of it...Jeph did do one strip of the characters in middle age...
Wait, when was that?
OK, so I was all ready to jump on the "hate Tilly" bandwagon, but today's comic actually made me change my mind somewhat.
Why? Because of the way she reacts here.
Tilly is jumping over a counter, which to me reads less as a "she's overeager" and more like "she's so desperate to 'help' that it's becoming unnerving". In a vacuum, it would be a cute little moment, but she's jumping the counter in a *complete one-eighty* to what she was doing a second ago. Yes, she was told by Dora to not be behind the counter, but she obliged, and after like a few seconds, she seems to have completely ignored, disregarded or forgotten it.
To me, it doesn't read as overeager behaviour. To me, it reads like an automatic response of a kind that's more than a little disconcerting. I know I'm probably reading too much into it, but such drastic shifts of behaviour for a minor reason suggest to me that she's been brainwashed, or abused (and not in a comedic way), or otherwise forced to "help" Hannelore to the exclusion of everything else. This is one step beyond "comical" to me, especially considering who her employer is. Tilly was never funny to me, but now her downright Pavlovian responses are more chilling than anything. YMMV.
Incidentally, in a world with super-technology, with sapient AI and basically on the verge of the Singularity (or beyond it, depending on what we don't see), people like Beatrice are still in power. Beatrice is not merely a "bad rich person", she is implied to be able to do whatever she wants. Yeah, do NOT sign me up for a future like this.
EDIT: also, I know Hannelore is a popular character, but as much as I dislike Tilly, the reactions to her seem like a "we know this person, so we'll hate that other person", which is a reaction I (in my opinion) have seen in the forum before. I will be very happy if this new character goes away soon, because she's annoying and not interesting, but I still think getting someone's name constantly wrong just because they were forced upon you is a shitty thing to do. I understand Hanners' reaction, but that doesn't mean I like it. And I don't like how it's apparently played up for comedy's sake. It's still not funny, to me personally.
EDIT 2: also also, wasn't it against the forum's rules (and enforced, IIRC) to misspell a real person's *or* a character's name? I didn't know it included a "I don't like this character, so I can do that" clause.
jfc. No.
No. No. No. No. No. To ALL of this, 'No'. Please let us not make the creepy stalker, Taffy, into a sympathetic character. And yes, a stranger who comes into someone's life randomly and then will NOT leave once said person has made clear that they do NOT want this stranger around them is the definition of stalker and is one of the primary reasons restraining orders exist.
Atm, Taffy is using two of the main weapons in a creeper's arsenal; 1.) Gaslighting("no, no, Hannelore. Remember you want me to be here cause I'm useful(according to me). Why are you all of a sudden acting like you don't?") and 2.) Banking on the fact that the person they're stalking hates confrontation, is embarrassed that they're in this situation to begin with and/or won't set aside "decorum" and blow up on them like they deserve.
This is a serious issue that thousands deal with everyday but I guess we'll ignore our collective skin-crawling and treat it as cute and funny cause Taffy's klutzy and she calls Hannelore ma'am or some shit. >.>
might have been a guest strip now I think of it...Jeph did do one strip of the characters in middle age...
Wait, when was that?
later...
Indeed it was. (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=475)
I'm beginning to think Beatrice didn't send Tilly here because Hannelore needs a personal assistant, but rather because she just needed some way to get rid of her....
What? The cannon isn't working?
Yes, please. First thing Monday morning wouldn't be fast enough.- Marten and Claire - not going to go there
I must know. What happens to Marten and Claire?!
They split up.
Everyone thought it was for the best...
Yeah, that apparently only goes for characters the mods care about. Or nicknames other characters use are okay also, even if they're malicious? Who knows.EDIT 2: also also, wasn't it against the forum's rules (and enforced, IIRC) to misspell a real person's *or* a character's name? I didn't know it included a "I don't like this character, so I can do that" clause.(click to show/hide)
jfc. No.
No. No. No. No. No. To ALL of this, 'No'. Please let us not make the creepy stalker, Taffy, into a sympathetic character. And yes, a stranger who comes into someone's life randomly and then will NOT leave once said person has made clear that they do NOT want this stranger around them is the definition of stalker and is one of the primary reasons restraining orders exist.
Atm, Taffy is using two of the main weapons in a creeper's arsenal; 1.) Gaslighting("no, no, Hannelore. Remember you want me to be here cause I'm useful(according to me). Why are you all of a sudden acting like you don't?") and 2.) Banking on the fact that the person they're stalking hates confrontation, is embarrassed that they're in this situation to begin with and/or won't set aside "decorum" and blow up on them like they deserve.
This is a serious issue that thousands deal with everyday but I guess we'll ignore our collective skin-crawling and treat it as cute and funny cause Taffy's klutzy and she calls Hannelore ma'am or some shit. >.>
EDIT 2: also also, wasn't it against the forum's rules (and enforced, IIRC) to misspell a real person's *or* a character's name? I didn't know it included a "I don't like this character, so I can do that" clause.
Yeah, that apparently only goes for characters the mods care about. Or nicknames other characters use are okay also, even if they're malicious? Who knows.
6- Write English. There are many non-native English users here, so we don't expect grammatical perfection and consistency of spelling. But please, no 1337-speak, ALL CAPS, or excessive use of smileys :evil:, marquees, fancy fonts and colours and such; and please try to spell people's (and characters') names right - it's only polite. Oh, and Internet memes or image macros? Passé. There is nothing exciting or new about any of them, and they just make people sigh when they see them.
Do you think you can be PA to an Ellicott-Chatham without paying your dues first?
Prove yourself. Spend two years and show me you can bring order to the life of someone living in chaos.
Your assignment is named "Pintsize".
I agree with the opinion I saw on the Subreddit that Tilly isn't actually a very good PA. Why isn't she out buying Hannelore's new 'phone? Why isn't she exploring the town and spending time learning new ways to do her "boss's" bidding by identifying locations and persons of interest? Hanging around Hannelore like a love-struck puppy is not good PA behaviour! I'm wondering if she is actually a hopeless loser who no-one wants hanging around ECI's HQ and Beatrice is using Hannelore as garbage disposal. Alternately, maybe she's the daughter of a senior board member who wants her to have a 'responsible' job but lacks the actual ability to do so; Beatrice used the Dilbert Principle - 'Promote' her to a job where she can do no damage other than to herself.
He'd be making videos of her doing unspeakable things with integrated circuit modules within two weeks.Quote from: imaginary HanneloreDo you think you can be PA to an Ellicott-Chatham without paying your dues first?
Prove yourself. Spend two years and show me you can bring order to the life of someone living in chaos.
Your assignment is named "Pintsize".
I'm beginning to think Beatrice didn't send Tilly here because Hannelore needs a personal assistant, but rather because she just needed some way to get rid of her....
What? The cannon isn't working?
She already tried the cannon. And the sharks. Both with and without lasers. But Tilly keeps coming back....
I think that things are going in the direction that I first speculated towards the start of the arc. Tilly is going to be so annoying and intrusive that Hannelore won't be able to tolerate her for a whole morning, let alone 48 hours. She'll be fired and on her way back to Beatrice with a blistering performance review of the sort that can be summed up as "goodbye career".
IMO it is only then, with her career in ruins and the very real possibility that she's about to have a protracted period of unemployment, will we meet the real Tilly and find out what Jeph wants to do with her. I can see three possibilities:Yeah, there's the possibility that she may just shrug and walk away if fired but, somehow, that would be an anticlimax. I can't see Jeph going that way.
- She's actually quite nasty and, when fired, proceeds to be very verbally abusive to Hannelore: "This is what your mom really thinks of you, you defective failure!"
- Hannelore had been 'last chance saloon' and, facing the total ruin of her dreams, Tilly breaks down and ends up under Winslow's guard to ensure that she doesn't do anything stupid;
- Tilly doesn't have much pride; we have a wholly skin-crawlingly embarrassing moment when she begs for her job and even offers 'personal services' in exchange for mercy. As well as tugging Hannelore's heart-strings, it makes one wonder just how bad things at ECI might be.
P.S.:
I agree with the opinion I saw on the Subreddit that Tilly isn't actually a very good PA. Why isn't she out buying Hannelore's new 'phone? Why isn't she exploring the town and spending time learning new ways to do her "boss's" bidding by identifying locations and persons of interest? Hanging around Hannelore like a love-struck puppy is not good PA behaviour! I'm wondering if she is actually a hopeless loser who no-one wants hanging around ECI's HQ and Beatrice is using Hannelore as garbage disposal. Alternately, maybe she's the daughter of a senior board member who wants her to have a 'responsible' job but lacks the actual ability to do so; Beatrice used the Dilbert Principle - 'Promote' her to a job where she can do no damage other than to herself.
The mods are perfectly capable of applying common sense (in situations like the current one)And of course in this case getting the name wrong is 'canon' as I believe the saying goes, so I submit that for the moment, no matter how iffy the spelling, and how large the tally of mis-spellings is, Tilly/Taffy for comic effect is reasonably fair game.
... You can't apply population averages to individuals.
If Tilly had been male, they would have been arrested three strips ago...
To me, it doesn't read as overeager behaviour. To me, it reads like an automatic response of a kind that's more than a little disconcerting. I know I'm probably reading too much into it, but such drastic shifts of behaviour for a minor reason suggest to me that she's been brainwashed, or abused (and not in a comedic way), or otherwise forced to "help" Hannelore to the exclusion of everything else. This is one step beyond "comical" to me, especially considering who her employer is. Tilly was never funny to me, but now her downright Pavlovian responses are more chilling than anything. YMMV.
jfc. No.
No. No. No. No. No. To ALL of this, 'No'.
...
This is a serious issue that thousands deal with everyday but I guess we'll ignore our collective skin-crawling and treat it as cute and funny cause Taffy's klutzy and she calls Hannelore ma'am or some shit. >.>
Maybe Hanners just needs to give Tilly a sock...?
<snip snip>
Yeah, given that my comment was all but ignored but someone "quoting" Dobby's line after it has been liked off the planet - I don't think you were alone!
(Or maybe I'm just not well liked!! Sob!!!!) :wow:
... You can't apply population averages to individuals.If Tilly had been male, they would have been arrested three strips ago...
I thought the first post was rather insightful - don't know whether we'd agree on much in our politics, but its always refreshing to see someone using their headmeats for its intended purpose. Certainly can't be said for all people in discussions around gender/social justice issues.
Second post seems like your forgetting your own (sensible) stance, though. I guess it's pretty rare for someone - regardless of their gender - to be arrested for stalking without someone else pressing charges against them first. The impact of stalking is in the mind of the victim, and most definitions require a pattern of behaviour rather than a single action - without additional information, it's not easy to for a cop passing by to determine at a glance whether someone is being stalked (unlike, e.g. witnessing a burglary, theft or assault).
So no, I don't think a male Tilly would have been arrested by now, all other things being equal.
As a hypothetical, I would also have been willing to bet small sums that "he" would have received less sympathy and fewer posts on this forum attempting to justify "his" behaviour.
On a separate note and out of sheer curiosity, what was it about my very short post, one sentence long, that prompted you to make the effort to look into my profile for other posts?
My apologies if I'm trying to explain to you stuff that you already know by heart:
There's people who display that kind of behaviour deliberately, and it is part of the abuse they wreak on others. Yes, they may have been abused themselves in the past, but note that some habitual abusers are very well-versed in turning this into a tool to get their victim to postpone insisting on their boundaries being respected
If Tilly had been male, they would have been arrested three strips ago...
Tilly, I'm going to get arrested on purpose in a demonstration at the military base. I won't do well in jail without someone there to help. I need you to be my personal assistant on the inside.
Get yourself arrested today, and wait in jail until I arrive.
Maybe Hanners just needs to give Tilly a sock...?
<snip snip>
Yeah, given that my comment was all but ignored but someone "quoting" Dobby's line after it has been liked off the planet - I don't think you were alone!
(Or maybe I'm just not well liked!! Sob!!!!) :wow:
If it helps, I first figured you meant "a punch upside the face" rather than "an article of clothing. I (thought I) was deliberately misinterpreting it with the Dobby allusion.
If Tilly had been male, they would have been arrested three strips ago...
Or, male or female, if they'd been in an environment less built around boundary violations than the Questionable Content universe.
Hannelore would have to assert herself to get Tilly arrested, and probably have to take multiple steps like getting a trespass warning letter and/or a restraining order and waiting for Tilly to violate it.
Which leads to a remarkably mean idea.Quote from: imaginary HanneloreTilly, I'm going to get arrested on purpose in a demonstration at the military base. I won't do well in jail without someone there to help. I need you to be my personal assistant on the inside.
Get yourself arrested today, and wait in jail until I arrive.
Apologies for double-post & wall of text - Allow me to make an idiot of myself trying to 'mediate' here:To me, it doesn't read as overeager behaviour. To me, it reads like an automatic response of a kind that's more than a little disconcerting. I know I'm probably reading too much into it, but such drastic shifts of behaviour for a minor reason suggest to me that she's been brainwashed, or abused (and not in a comedic way), or otherwise forced to "help" Hannelore to the exclusion of everything else. This is one step beyond "comical" to me, especially considering who her employer is. Tilly was never funny to me, but now her downright Pavlovian responses are more chilling than anything. YMMV.
My apologies if I'm trying to explain to you stuff that you already know by heart:
There's people who display that kind of behaviour deliberately, and it is part of the abuse they wreak on others. Yes, they may have been abused themselves in the past, but note that some habitual abusers are very well-versed in turning this into a tool to get their victim to postpone insisting on their boundaries being respected
What happened in the past to a stalker/abuser always matters less than their stopping their shit, right now.
(Yes, personal experience, btw - though mine was so brief & comparatively harmless that I hesitate even mentioning it knowing what others here have gone through. It wears you down into a shadow of yourself in a matter of weeks. Even if you're a six-foot, 180 pounds guy - I remember considering changing my ringtone because my old one made my heart race. I remember almost giving up trying to explain to my family why they please neverever tell this person anything about my whereabouts, don't accept any letters, messages or gifts for me and the feelings of shame and confusion and the fear that they'd think I was the one going crazy. I remember my steadfast belief in my sanity becoming frazzled.)
Note that I'm not saying you're wrong for seeing Tilly the way you do - I'm just saying that it looks a bit like you're trying to make sense of abusive/boundary-disrespecting behaviour from within a normal-person view of interpersonal interaction. Not only is that nigh impossible, that view can be insanely frustrating to someone who experiences stalking/abuse, because a lot of abusers are the world's leading experts in making their abuse appear to bystanders superficially like normal interactions. This can be part of the abusers strategy of isolating their victim socially and cutting them off from their emotional support - the freaked-out, emotional person struggling to explain how a superficially harmless and mundane interaction brings them close to tears of rage is always in a worse position explaining themselves than the ostensibly calm, concerned person they're freaking out about. If the victim is rebuked and believes they were over-reacting this can seamlessly lead into heavy-duty gaslighting and other shit that' hard to come back from. I acknowledge not knowing who Tilly is in Jeph's mind - let's just say that if I saw someone behaving like this, I wouldn't consider it a red flag so much as 1982 Red Army parade.
TL; DR - Way I see it, this is less about what you post, or how you view the interaction, but about the past interactions some of us had and that your view reminds us of those bad experiences, of how difficult it was to convince our friends & loved ones that we're not going batshit, and that the harmless person we're freaking out about is not harmless at all. That's not your fault - it's just ... bad memories, k?
P.S.: Your gut-feeling of 'feeling disconcerted' - for a lot of people, the first time they had that feeling marked the point when they should have run like hell. Best advice I ever got from a head-doctor was "Trust your instincts in situations like this".jfc. No.
No. No. No. No. No. To ALL of this, 'No'.
...
This is a serious issue that thousands deal with everyday but I guess we'll ignore our collective skin-crawling and treat it as cute and funny cause Taffy's klutzy and she calls Hannelore ma'am or some shit. >.>
Solid copy & and agree on the message in general - but I'm pretty darn close to a 100% sure that oddtail is not trying belittle or downplay a serious problem and/or bad experiences of others. It'sfrustratingexhausting/horrifying/crazymaking/horrible when 'normal people' with their wonderful normal-people-view of social interaction don't 'get' why you're freaking out about that 'harmless' dude/girl, why your face is flushed, why you're close to tears or even shouting at them and why you can't finish your own goddamn' sentences. I remember having that normal-people-view of social interaction, and I remember how I lost it.
Bearing all that in mind: He is not the 'enemy', IMO.