THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: Mr_Rose on 10 May 2020, 18:54

Title: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Mr_Rose on 10 May 2020, 18:54
So the week opens with ultimate discussion of ultimate sports so I thought we could get in on the fun.
Feel free to post you alternate suggestions below


Comic for Monday (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4261)
Comic for Tuesday (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4262)
Comic for Wednesday (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4263)
Comic for Thursday (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4264)
Comic for Friday (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4265)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Stoon on 10 May 2020, 18:56
While there's no chess with swords, there is such a thing as chess boxing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: shanejayell on 10 May 2020, 19:01
Beat me to it.

How do you delete a thread?
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Method of Madness on 10 May 2020, 19:58
I took care of it :)

Also: Ultimate Frisbee of Ultimate Destiny
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Sorflakne on 10 May 2020, 22:27
My favorite game I learned in the last year is Orcish Murderball.  Imagine, if you will, a field of combatantsplayers, playing a game that is half melee, half soccer, and half dodgeball rolled into one.  People are armed with foam boffer swords and shields, and you score by getting a ball in the goal like in soccer, obviously, but you cannot touch the ball with any part of your body, only your weapons and shield can move it around, and if you can manage it, you can pick up the ball with your weapons to bat it around, or do a volleyball setup with a teammate to send it flying.  Any time a ball hits you, for any reason (swatted at you, rolling on the ground, bouncing off the wall or off another player, etc), you go take a 15 second resurrection.  Multi-kills are possible if a swatted ball bounces right.  Oh, and there are not one, not two, but THREE balls in play.  Finally, this being a melee, the opposing team can kill you if you get too close or deep into their side of the field, necessitating a rez.  It is a very chaotic, very fast game that requires good situational awareness and reflexes, and loads of communication and ad hoc strategy between maintaining a line and either sending balls at the goal or using them to take out members of the other team.

While there's no chess with swords, there is such a thing as chess boxing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing)
Human combat chess is a thing. (https://combatchess.fandom.com/wiki/Human_Combat_Chess)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 11 May 2020, 02:40
Ultimate Soccer, played on a three-dimensional playing field with the players having to scale a steep 12-foot embankment to get to the penalty/goal area. Also, there are catwalks over the sunken play area enabling flanking and leapfrog plays.

Ultimate Frisbee because I'm a TRON fanboy.

That aside, does today's strip read to anyone else like something Jeph found himself thinking of and he had to get out of his system before he actually continued this arc's plot-line?
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: zisraelsen on 11 May 2020, 07:23
I'm pretty sure that's how we got this gem (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3722). Its how cursed phrases tend to propagate.

Also, Ultimate Motorsports is just a traffic jam.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Autistic Vulture on 11 May 2020, 08:15
Also, Ultimate Motorsports is just a traffic jam.


Ultimate Soccer, played on a three-dimensional playing field with the players having to scale a steep 12-foot embankment to get to the penalty/goal area. Also, there are catwalks over the sunken play area enabling flanking and leapfrog plays.

As if there isn't little enough scoring in soccer already.

Ultimate Hockey isn't necessary.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Mordhaus on 11 May 2020, 09:55
Quote
Ultimate Chess is Chess but both players have swords

Do you think your Wu-Tang sword can defeat me?
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Penquin47 on 11 May 2020, 10:32
Ultimate Calvinball.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Mr_Rose on 11 May 2020, 11:01
Ultimate Solitaire uses four decks and needs a playing surface the size of a regulation ping pong table.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Pilchard123 on 11 May 2020, 11:10
Also: Ultimate Frisbee of Ultimate Destiny

Is that the one with good guys, bad guys, and explosions as far as the eye can see?
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Case on 11 May 2020, 14:05
Ultimate Meditation
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Mr_Rose on 11 May 2020, 15:01
Ultimate Mornington Crescent has wormholes to the Paris metro and New York subway systems, but only if you’re using the Fosbury-Smythe bylaws.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Thrillho on 11 May 2020, 15:58
This felt like a very old-school QC. Just some weird riffing on a concept.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Zebediah on 11 May 2020, 16:07
Ultimate bowling: the bowling balls must be made of stone that the players must quarry by themselves on-site and then shape into a ball using only a hammer and chisel. Also the pins are explosive, so you usually need a new ball after every frame.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: awkwardness on 11 May 2020, 16:50
is it wrong that I'd watch each of those sports as they'd be much more fun than the current sports that we have?

...sadly, the only sport able to air is cornhole.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 11 May 2020, 16:56
This felt like a very old-school QC. Just some weird riffing on a concept.

It is very much old-school QC, and I appreciate it.

The only thing about it, as I always find with these, is that even though you can see Jeph has taken care to make each quip completely in character, it still reads to me like Jeph riffing on a concept rather than ping-pong between different people.

I also don't think there is a single character he hasn't at some point given that 'looking up at the ceiling while cracking wise' expression. It makes the characters that little bit more homogeneous.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Autistic Vulture on 11 May 2020, 18:42
The only thing about it, as I always find with these, is that even though you can see Jeph has taken care to make each quip completely in character, it still reads to me like Jeph riffing on a concept rather than ping-pong between different people.

The quips may be completely in character, but why would we expect to see Emily, Claire, and Hannelore talking about sports in any way?  (Then again, why would we expect Emily to behave in a way we expect?)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Zebediah on 11 May 2020, 18:48
Comic’s up. Everybody loves Bubbles.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: shanejayell on 11 May 2020, 20:08
Comic’s up. Everybody loves Bubbles.

Bubbles, however, doesn't like weed. Scent, anyway...
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Torlek on 11 May 2020, 20:19
I'm with you, Bubs. God I hate the smell of that stuff so much.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Gyrre on 11 May 2020, 20:58
The only thing about it, as I always find with these, is that even though you can see Jeph has taken care to make each quip completely in character, it still reads to me like Jeph riffing on a concept rather than ping-pong between different people.

The quips may be completely in character, but why would we expect to see Emily, Claire, and Hannelore talking about sports in any way?  (Then again, why would we expect Emily to behave in a way we expect?)
They are all high.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 11 May 2020, 23:04
Panels 4 and 5 in today's comic are so amazingly sweet. Firstly we have Hannelore's sad kitten eyes in panel 4 and then the hug tree in panel 5!

I imagine that Hannelore was physically fighting her own fears for a few moments there but this is something that she desperately wanted. Then you have Bubbles's reaction in panel 5. I'm wondering if she's finally allowing herself to admit that she's finally got friends and a life and is surrounded by people who value her!

In their own ways, Hanners and Bubbles are both finally tasting freedom.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 12 May 2020, 00:26
You know, I still don't really believe last week's speculation that QC might be wrapping up soon, but today's strip sure does feel that way.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Cornelius on 12 May 2020, 01:40
The last panel would make for a good ending.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 12 May 2020, 01:41
The last panel would make for a good ending.

Nah, too few people in the group hug!
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Case on 12 May 2020, 02:12
I'm with you, Bubs. God I hate the smell of that stuff so much.

I don't hate it (quite the opposite, in times long past), but I agree it's a very ... assertive ... odor.

Reminds me of the owner of an (unofficial) Dutch coffee-shop I met in the mid-90s who suffered rashes all over his hands - in his opinion, from handling the stuff daily. The Shop was ominously called 'Harm'.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Meander on 12 May 2020, 03:01
Bubbles with that Big Mom Energy.  I love them all so much.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 12 May 2020, 04:05
The Shop was ominously called 'Harm'.

That is marketing genius.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Autistic Vulture on 12 May 2020, 04:52
Anyone else notice a parallel between today's strip and 3403/3404 (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3404)?
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Cornelius on 12 May 2020, 09:13
The Shop was ominously called 'Harm'.

That is marketing genius.

Harm or Harms (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l75IsBWvpng)? Major difference  :-D

Personally, I can't stand the smell - gives me a head ache, so I stay away from the stuff as much as I can.

Anyone else notice a parallel between today's strip and 3403/3404 (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3404)?
There is some resemblance.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Theta9 on 12 May 2020, 09:25
Reminds me of the owner of an (unofficial) Dutch coffee-shop I met in the mid-90s who suffered rashes all over his hands - in his opinion, from handling the stuff daily. The Shop was ominously called 'Harm'.
"Dutch Coffee Shop"? Is that what we're calling dispensaries now?  :claireface:
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 12 May 2020, 10:19
You know, I still don't really believe last week's speculation that QC might be wrapping up soon, but today's strip sure does feel that way.

Nah, for QC to wrap up, at least 2 things would have to happen more or less simultaneously:

1) JJ would need to be creatively feel done with QC
2) JJ would need to have found another source of steady income besides QC (or, alternatively, the income from QC would need to have dried up)

Now, granted, both of the above may be true already, but I haven't gotten that impression.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: zisraelsen on 12 May 2020, 12:13
Claire apparently gets really affectionate when she's high. (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3873)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Case on 12 May 2020, 16:45
Reminds me of the owner of an (unofficial) Dutch coffee-shop I met in the mid-90s who suffered rashes all over his hands - in his opinion, from handling the stuff daily. The Shop was ominously called 'Harm'.
"Dutch Coffee Shop"? Is that what we're calling dispensaries now?  :claireface:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeeshop_(Netherlands)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 12 May 2020, 17:08
Nah, for QC to wrap up, at least 2 things would have to happen more or less simultaneously:

1) JJ would need to be creatively feel done with QC
2) JJ would need to have found another source of steady income besides QC (or, alternatively, the income from QC would need to have dried up)

Now, granted, both of the above may be true already, but I haven't gotten that impression.

I would agree that they aren't both true.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: St.Clair on 12 May 2020, 17:25
This set of strips, along with the recent get-together at Renee's, have been an excellent reminder of why I generally don't like parties.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Theta9 on 12 May 2020, 17:43
"Dutch Coffee Shop"? Is that what we're calling dispensaries now?  :claireface:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeeshop_(Netherlands)
Apparently so!  :-D
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: awkwardness on 12 May 2020, 18:49
I'm going to be "that guy" and say that I actually think that Tai has a weed problem as she's always quick to smoke it no matter what the occasion.

I know it's "acceptable" nowadays, but she's way too quick to do it and doesn't care where or when she does it. A lot of her actions makes me think that she really is an addict who can't stop and uses her job and closeness to others who are happy to smoke with her to cover that up.


*I'm from the worst drug-infested city in Massachusetts so have seen it firsthand in too many people over my lifetime...sorry.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tarnum on 12 May 2020, 19:29
I can see Dora talking about a car accident, forgetting about Faye's history for a moment. But I would expect Faye to have a moment of thinking "WTF did you just say?" before realizing she meant nothing by it. It kinda seems Jeph forgot about Faye's past.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: hedgie on 12 May 2020, 19:34
I'm going to be "that guy" and say that I actually think that Tai has a weed problem as she's always quick to smoke it no matter what the occasion.

Perhaps.   But then again, if you remember Dora's parents, Tai's use will probably register as "normal" to her (Dora), and even if it is an issue will just be dismissed.

Then again, I figure that Tai's young, and will probably grow out of it.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 12 May 2020, 19:36
Maybe.

This is all prompted by a new comic, in case anyone else was wondering.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: shanejayell on 12 May 2020, 20:03
On the plus side, I think Faye and Bubbles will match up well in abstaining from drugs.

Unless you count Bubbles's tea sniffing.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 12 May 2020, 23:19
Dora's coffee mug is interesting, isn't it! I wonder if the picture was inspired by her first sight of Mieville one morning when he was hungry and she'd been lying in?

Jeph's notes on today's strip is also interesting. It's unusual for any character except Marten to reflect his anxieties (Hannelore is usually deliberately exaggerated to absurdity as a kind of vaccine for his mind, IMO). However, here we have Faye reflecting his concerns about addiction and the harm that chemical habits can cause. We'll see about Tai. I think that it is most like a sort of a reflex habit thing she does whether or not she even wants to at this point.

Off topic, Jeph is working on a new regular strip: Shelter in Place. I won't reveal too much as it's a Patreon exclusive at the moment and I consider that to be a kind of information embargo. However, I think that I feel safe reposting his project summary in his announcement post:

Quote
You may have noticed I haven't been putting up bonus comics the past couple months- I've been working on something a little different instead. It feels kind of weird to be writing QC these days, since it exists in its own world where there's not a pandemic, and I felt the need to write something a little more grounded in OUR reality. That's what this comic is about!

Nothing seems set in stone at the moment; I don't even know if SiP is even more than 'yellow light - let's think about this' at the moment.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: FonnLath on 12 May 2020, 23:59
Kinda disappointed in the comic lately
has alot of potential for story but more often the creator turns to another "LEL WEED" strip

and as a trans girl, kinda saddened that most of it revolves around claire, like the creators tryna redefine her character from
a quirky nerd who happens to be trans, to a stoner who happens to be a quirky nerd
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Case on 13 May 2020, 02:48
The Shop was ominously called 'Harm'.
Harm or Harms (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l75IsBWvpng)? Major difference  :-D

Pheeew - pretty sure it was 'Harm', but that was a quarter century ago ... But yeah, I figured it was the owner's surname (it was one of those turn-your-livingroom-into-a-salesplace affairs, as opposed to the classic Dutch coffeeshop (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeeshop_(Netherlands)) with a storefront that actually sells coffee and tea on the side).

P.S.: That link ...  :-\
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 13 May 2020, 05:09
The Shop was ominously called 'Harm'.
Harm or Harms (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l75IsBWvpng)? Major difference  :-D

Pheeew - pretty sure it was 'Harm', but that was a quarter century ago ... But yeah, I figured it was the owner's surname (it was one of those turn-your-livingroom-into-a-salesplace affairs, as opposed to the classic Dutch coffeeshop (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeeshop_(Netherlands)) with a storefront that actually sells coffee and tea on the side).

P.S.: That link ...  :-\

More likely first name I think. 'Harm' is a very common first name in the Neterlands. It's meaning in English may be a happy coincidence, or maybe the owner was well aware of it and picked it partly because of it, who knows...
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 13 May 2020, 05:16
Kinda disappointed in the comic lately
has alot of potential for story but more often the creator turns to another "LEL WEED" strip

and as a trans girl, kinda saddened that most of it revolves around claire, like the creators tryna redefine her character from
a quirky nerd who happens to be trans, to a stoner who happens to be a quirky nerd

Welcome, new person!

I agree that lately not a lot has been happening in QC, but I feel like a lot has been part of setting up new storylines. JJ has a history of planning narratives pretty well, so I am pretty hopeful. Most of the setup seems to have been around Brun, and now around Marten/Claire and possibly around Tai.

Today's comic seems too...deliberately addressing weed use to be just a one-off.

As for your assessment on Claire, I can't say I see that the same way. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this only the second time CLaire has gotten high, and only for a very specific reason this time (i.e. graduating)? To me that hardly qualifies as trying to redefine her as a stoner, at least at this point. Of course it's possible that JJ takes it into that direction as Claire could be susceptible to weed addiction due to some anxieties she may have. If so, perhaps the narrative could develop into not so much about Tai having a problem herself, but about Tai being an enabler/facilitator.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Zebediah on 13 May 2020, 05:43
Up until now, Claire’s main vice was her unwelcome meddling in other people’s affairs. So what’s the problem with her acquiring a new and less annoying vice? I doubt she’ll ever achieve Tai’s level of drug use, and the one of the points of today’s comic is that even Tai has cut back.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Thrudd on 13 May 2020, 09:24
.....
I agree that lately not a lot has been happening in QC, but I feel like a lot has been part of setting up new storylines. JJ has a history of planning narratives pretty well, so I am pretty hopeful. Most of the setup seems to have been around Brun, and now around Marten/Claire and possibly around Tai.
.....
I'll just pipe in with my anxiety in that his creative energy is going into this new project and QC is coasting on neutral.
Oh there is still direction and as you pointed out an eventual series of destinations have been mapped out but the drive just doesn't seem to be there at the moment.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 13 May 2020, 10:12
I can see Dora talking about a car accident, forgetting about Faye's history for a moment. But I would expect Faye to have a moment of thinking "WTF did you just say?" before realizing she meant nothing by it. It kinda seems Jeph forgot about Faye's past.

Welcome, new person!

I wondered about that too.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: FonnLath on 13 May 2020, 12:25

As for your assessment on Claire, I can't say I see that the same way. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this only the second time CLaire has gotten high, and only for a very specific reason this time (i.e. graduating)? To me that hardly qualifies as trying to redefine her as a stoner, at least at this point. Of course it's possible that JJ takes it into that direction as Claire could be susceptible to weed addiction due to some anxieties she may have. If so, perhaps the narrative could develop into not so much about Tai having a problem herself, but about Tai being an enabler/facilitator.

well second time as an event, though each event in the strip is spread over several pages, making it more of a story point
and between that ive had a literal TON of negative interactions with stoners thus giving me a negative outlook on recreational drug use, and
that im trans and LOVED claire being introduced as a wholesome person just trying to lvie a normal life at the start and dont approve of that
things turned for the worse to damage that image
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: hedgie on 13 May 2020, 12:59
I suppose that there must be some dissonance here, but then again, I live in a university town in California, where weed is legal.  I don't touch the stuff, myself, due to the effects it has on me, but I'm used to people casually smoking it in public.  Honestly, I see it as just "normal", like when Hanners still smoked cigarettes.  TBH, it was the drunks that annoy me more.  Before the lockdown, I'd leave bars by about 8pm just to avoid the kids coming in and getting obnoxious.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: cesium133 on 13 May 2020, 13:06
I'm with Bubbles on this. I don't care if people smoke marijuana, but dear god does that stuff smell horrible.  :psyduck:
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: St.Clair on 13 May 2020, 13:10

As for your assessment on Claire, I can't say I see that the same way. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this only the second time CLaire has gotten high, and only for a very specific reason this time (i.e. graduating)? To me that hardly qualifies as trying to redefine her as a stoner, at least at this point. Of course it's possible that JJ takes it into that direction as Claire could be susceptible to weed addiction due to some anxieties she may have. If so, perhaps the narrative could develop into not so much about Tai having a problem herself, but about Tai being an enabler/facilitator.

well second time as an event, though each event in the strip is spread over several pages, making it more of a story point
and between that ive had a literal TON of negative interactions with stoners thus giving me a negative outlook on recreational drug use, and
that im trans and LOVED claire being introduced as a wholesome person just trying to lvie a normal life at the start and dont approve of that
things turned for the worse to damage that image

So, for you, she's gone from someone you like and/or identify with, to one of "them"?
Yeah, I see how that would be unpleasant.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: FonnLath on 13 May 2020, 13:19
So, for you, she's gone from someone you like and/or identify with, to one of "them"?
Yeah, I see how that would be unpleasant.

well little bit identify with, but also that she was introduced as just wanting to fit in as normal, as opposed to all the negative perspectives the far left and right portray trans
as being
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: shanejayell on 13 May 2020, 17:01
WEll, with weed being legal in Canada, it also doesn't bother me.

Also I don't mind the scent, in small doses...
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 13 May 2020, 17:48
Completely out of context and not from this week, but I didn't feel like creating a thread just for this silliness.

How Pintsize deals with self-quarantine (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2254)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: shanejayell on 13 May 2020, 17:57
Another strip where you can't tell if Pintsize is joking or not.  :-o
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Autistic Vulture on 13 May 2020, 18:38
Wow.  A callback to a strip that ran sixteen (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=134) years ago.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: shanejayell on 13 May 2020, 18:43
New strip up.

:D

Yet another thing Marten and I had in common.

(Is it wrong I'd like to see a in-universe D&D club?)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 13 May 2020, 20:27
It saddens me that I never met a girl like Clarissa during my school years.

... also, in reference to strip 131, I don't see pencil-and-paper RPGs as something immature, something that should be outgrown. D&D specifically, maybe, since it's not a very good rules system despite its overwhelming popularity, but not RPGs in general.

Done properly, a RPG session can be a sort of collaborative storytelling experience. Done badly, it can be a mindless exercise in rolling dice and collecting imaginary loot. Most games tend to be somewhere in between.

As for me personally, no, I haven't played since college. But that's entirely because I never found a group again of like-minded players.

This also applies to my boardgames. I haven't played a proper wargame since high school, because I didn't run into any opponents. I did run into Euro board game players here and there in the decades since, but right now I've got two bookshelves full of games of varying weight, from Carcossone at one end to High Frontier at the other, and no one who plays locally.

Not that you're going to see groups getting together during the pandemic, of course.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Torlek on 13 May 2020, 20:40
(Is it wrong I'd like to see a in-universe D&D club?)

Given they're in Northampton, said club would probably exclusively play AD&D (but ironically) because they believe it is the "pure" way to play the game.

But there's been an absolute sea-change in the perception of board games and (to a lesser extent) RPGs over the last 15 years that's correlated with the mainstreaming of nerd culture. There's also been a huge growth in the quality (production values and marketing, there's still plenty of horrible playing games) in a lot of games too. The ones that are more likely to require an adult level of cognitive ability look sleeker now and less like spreadsheets.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 13 May 2020, 22:52
The ones that are more likely to require an adult level of cognitive ability look sleeker now and less like spreadsheets.

Back in the day, wargame rules followed an unpleasant to read outline format, organized in a X.X or even X.XX heading format. One of the problems with High Frontier is that the rulebook still follows that format, despite being published in 2011.

Quote
6.1 ROCKET MODIFIED THRUST (Acceleration). Your modified thrust sets how many burns you may enter per turn, and how big a world you can land on without lander fuel (6.4C). It is calculated before your rocket moves, and is applied for its entire move. Use a blue disc in your Acceleration Track (2.4A) to show your modified thrust for this turn.

When I first started playing games, the rulebooks for the serious games were all like that, and I just kind of took it for granted that it was the "right" way to organize a rulebook.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 13 May 2020, 23:27
When you think about it, Clarissa is a merger of Claire (nerdy and awkward) and Faye (assertive and aggressive). Because of the fact that Jeph's footer note confirms that she and Marten had briefly flirted with being a thing, I'm wondering if Jeph is telling us that Marten has a 'type'!

Meanwhile, I suspect that Tai is making up in her head all these possible things that Marten could have been pressured into doing that he's covering up with an obvious self-conscious lie!
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: TinPenguin on 14 May 2020, 01:51
Not that you're going to see groups getting together during the pandemic, of course.

In fact, I know several people who've been playing D&D via Skype* while in lockdown.

*other online telecommunication services are available
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 14 May 2020, 01:57
That's something I'd like to see: Competitive esports RPing with face cameras and a 'narrator mode' where the GM or player can address just the spectators.

DM (Narrator Mode): "Alas! For our heroes don't know that they're walking into a devilish trap!" *Sadistic giggle*
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Gyrre on 14 May 2020, 02:09

As for your assessment on Claire, I can't say I see that the same way. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this only the second time CLaire has gotten high, and only for a very specific reason this time (i.e. graduating)? To me that hardly qualifies as trying to redefine her as a stoner, at least at this point. Of course it's possible that JJ takes it into that direction as Claire could be susceptible to weed addiction due to some anxieties she may have. If so, perhaps the narrative could develop into not so much about Tai having a problem herself, but about Tai being an enabler/facilitator.

well second time as an event, though each event in the strip is spread over several pages, making it more of a story point
and between that ive had a literal TON of negative interactions with stoners thus giving me a negative outlook on recreational drug use, and
that im trans and LOVED claire being introduced as a wholesome person just trying to lvie a normal life at the start and dont approve of that
things turned for the worse to damage that image
As a QA line inspector, I can very much relate to the negative experiences with stoners (and other drug-addled sorts). Suffice it to say that following simple rules (generally regarding PPE) is quite difcicult for some of them. Unfortunately, we're too short-handed on my shift at the moment to simply just can all of them.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 14 May 2020, 02:28
I'm a little disappointed he's too embarrassed (or whatever) to admit his DnD past.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 14 May 2020, 02:45
I'm a little disappointed he's too embarrassed (or whatever) to admit his DnD past.

I agree; Tai isn't likely to mock him. She's more likely to drag him back into the shop screaming: "One of us! One of us!"
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: oddtail on 14 May 2020, 02:50
I'm a little disappointed he's too embarrassed (or whatever) to admit his DnD past.

I agree; Tai isn't likely to mock him. She's more likely to drag him back into the shop screaming: "One of us! One of us!"

For me it's not even whether Tai would mock him. It's that he seems to think people who play D&D are lame or something? And I find that mildly annoying.

I think my perception is due to the flashback implying (to me) that he wasn't an avid player, he was someone who was roped into playing and just tried it at one point. Which is fine by itself, but "oh nooooo, I played D&D, no one must EVER KNOW" doesn't exactly paint him as the RPG geek type.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Case on 14 May 2020, 03:41

As a QA line inspector, I can very much relate to the negative experiences with stoners (and other drug-addled sorts). Suffice it to say that following simple rules (generally regarding PPE) is quite difcicult for some of them. Unfortunately, we're too short-handed on my shift at the moment to simply just can all of them.

Go on, by all means - please tell me exactly how you feel about 'sorts' like me.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tyr on 14 May 2020, 03:43
I think my perception is due to the flashback implying (to me) that he wasn't an avid player, he was someone who was roped into playing and just tried it at one point. Which is fine by itself, but "oh nooooo, I played D&D, no one must EVER KNOW" doesn't exactly paint him as the RPG geek type.

Except he was PRESIDENT OF THE D&D CLUB (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=134)... So clearly he liked it once he tried it.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: oddtail on 14 May 2020, 04:19
I think my perception is due to the flashback implying (to me) that he wasn't an avid player, he was someone who was roped into playing and just tried it at one point. Which is fine by itself, but "oh nooooo, I played D&D, no one must EVER KNOW" doesn't exactly paint him as the RPG geek type.

Except he was PRESIDENT OF THE D&D CLUB (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=134)... So clearly he liked it once he tried it.

Objection withdrawn =D
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Welu on 14 May 2020, 05:02
An observation I've made is it seems Americans will use grades instead of saying "when I was 13" and I always have to look up the related age. Not something I've seen people in my neck of the woods (Ireland/UK) do, we would say the age. I'd have to think for a second to remember which school year applied.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 14 May 2020, 05:38
An observation I've made is it seems Americans will use grades instead of saying "when I was 13" and I always have to look up the related age. Not something I've seen people in my neck of the woods (Ireland/UK) do, we would say the age. I'd have to think for a second to remember which school year applied.

Even after having lived in the US for almost 13 years, this still trips me up, because phrases like 8th grade or 9th grade just don't automatically translate to a certain age....9th grade is 3rd year of middle school, correct? So about 14-15 years old then?
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 14 May 2020, 05:43
I'm a little disappointed he's too embarrassed (or whatever) to admit his DnD past.

Interesting, my interpretation of the comic seems to be different from several others here.

To me he's not embarrassed about his DnD past itself, he's embarrassed because that's the thing he was peer-pressured into, in other words he let perceived 'geeks' pressure him into doing something, instead of the perceived 'cool' kids.

I don't read it at all as being embarrassed about playing DnD by itself.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: TinPenguin on 14 May 2020, 05:59
I agree. I don't think he's ashamed of playing D&D; he was quite relaxed and open (even a little proud, perhaps) about it in #134 (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=134). It's that he doesn't think being peer-pressured by some of the lowest in the high school social hierarchy will earn many cool points with Tai, who he knows has done far crazier things than he has. He is probably wrong about that.

For what it's worth, if playing a tabletop RPG is the worst thing you've ever been pressured into, I'd consider that a mark of respect.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 14 May 2020, 06:05
Yes, you're right. It could well be that he's embarrassed that he was peer-pressured into something that's not at all subversive.
Title: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Zebediah on 14 May 2020, 06:14
(Is it wrong I'd like to see a in-universe D&D club?)

Given they're in Northampton, said club would probably exclusively play AD&D (but ironically) because they believe it is the "pure" way to play the game.

But there's been an absolute sea-change in the perception of board games and (to a lesser extent) RPGs over the last 15 years that's correlated with the mainstreaming of nerd culture. There's also been a huge growth in the quality (production values and marketing, there's still plenty of horrible playing games) in a lot of games too. The ones that are more likely to require an adult level of cognitive ability look sleeker now and less like spreadsheets.
Given that I am likely the only person here who is actually in a D&D group in Northampton: This misses the mark by a fairly wide angle. :D

My group is actually more representative of your second point. The DM is a department chair at Smith and most of the players are either tenured professors or fairly high in the Smith College administration. So it’s not just a game for hopeless nerds any more.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 14 May 2020, 06:17
My group is actually more representative of your second point. The DM is a department chair at Smith and most of the players are either tenured professors or fairly high in the Smith College administration.

I wonder if the students realise that their uncool peers with their uncool pastimes are the ones likely to grow up to hold the educational destinies of the cool kids' children in their hands?
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: hedgie on 14 May 2020, 07:24
There's also the strangeness of webcomic time.  Given the age of the comic, by some reckoning, Marten was a teenager in the '90s, or at least an analogue of them back when D&D was all for nerds and "losers".  Now, in today's real-life world, it's a pretty mainstream pasttime. 
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 14 May 2020, 07:37
I agree. I don't think he's ashamed of playing D&D; he was quite relaxed and open (even a little proud, perhaps) about it in #134 (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=134).

“I kind of outgrew it” isn’t pride. It’s viewing the game as something only children play. Also, QC isn’t always consistent; I suspect the way Jeph views Marten and his history now is a bit different from 16 years ago.

A little rant here - in high school I was the GM for a group (Traveller / The Fantasy Trip / GURPS, not D&D), and one of the players was a pain. Among other things, he was prone to throwing temper tantrums if things didn’t go his way. He once rage-quit a dungeon crawl because he put pretty much all his STR into a lightning bolt and rolled a miss. He wasn’t the worst player I ever encountered, but he was the worst I played with regularly.

After college he said he didn’t play games anymore because he “outgrew them.” So while Marten is hardly a condescending a-hole like that guy, it’s a phrase with strong negative connotations for me.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 14 May 2020, 08:47
In my personal experience, many people seem to use the term 'outgrew' even when they simply mean their interests changed over time, so for me the term doesn't have the negative connotation.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Raptorofwar on 14 May 2020, 09:22
Wow. "Swords" guy and you instantly think fighter? D&D is unique in that the "cleric" is an excellent way to the death of your enemies. There's also nothing stopping you from being a cleric wielding a sword and in full plate armor.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Thrillho on 14 May 2020, 09:44
Did I read right that we are discussing comic 131?

A point in the comic when Faye routinely punched martin and the characters threw hard Rs at each other?

I don't think we should put too much stock in 2020 Jeph's view or even 2020 written Marten's.

Also the characters are only graduating now so Marten is what, 23 now at most? I don't think everybody has grown up to own their nerd nerdhood by then. Some never do.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Theta9 on 14 May 2020, 09:49
Wow. "Swords" guy and you instantly think fighter? D&D is unique in that the "cleric" is an excellent way to the death of your enemies. There's also nothing stopping you from being a cleric wielding a sword and in full plate armor.
When I played AD&D, clerics could only use blunt weapons (typically a mace) - no edged weapons allowed.
Apparently the game has changed since 1987.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 14 May 2020, 09:49
Also the characters are only graduating now so Marten is what, 23 now at most? I don't think everybody has grown up to own their nerd nerdhood by then. Some never do.

It's my understanding that Claire was a graduate student, so she and Marten are probably closer to 25
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Thrillho on 14 May 2020, 10:02
I was still an asshole when I was 25 too and will say that when I am 40 about me now

I.e. people change
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 14 May 2020, 10:41
Also the characters are only graduating now so Marten is what, 23 now at most? I don't think everybody has grown up to own their nerd nerdhood by then. Some never do.

It's my understanding that Claire was a graduate student, so she and Marten are probably closer to 25

I'm not sure if we ever got an age for Marten, but Claire was 24 when she was interning at the library, so I'm assuming that it is now at least a year later and she is at least 25.

According to a timeline created at some point, which I believe to be reasonably accurate, Marten was born in 1981 and about 2 years had passed in the first 3000 comics or so, which put comic 3078 around October 2005 (which would put Marten at 24 at that point). Assuming the passing of time has been more or less at the same pace plus a time jump around comic 3100 (I'm too lazy to actually work on the time line myself), I would put it another 1-2 years further in the future  or so, so Marten is probably 25-26 at the moment. Just guessing here though.

Edit: I found that timeline here (https://external-preview.redd.it/ZbqO2VcoIhaA4AdASD4DTykJwu8slwmZQ9r9KPd_XRI.png?auto=webp&s=6b39f1a9c96a360b3b972553a997f6f4f0d414c2)

But looking at it again, some of it is off. For example. it has put Marten moving to Northampton in summer 2003 and meeting Faye in November 2003, but that can't be correct, because in comic 2332 Pintsize mentions he was Marten's only friend in Northampton for 2 years before he met Steve.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter. I kinda want to make a QC timeline myself, but at the same time I know I don't have the time to actually do it.....
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Zebediah on 14 May 2020, 11:16
Is that April’s timeline? The problem, as I recall, is that she was trying to reverse-engineer some consistency into a timeline that Jeph had never bothered to make consistent.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 14 May 2020, 11:19
In my personal experience, many people seem to use the term 'outgrew' even when they simply mean their interests changed over time, so for me the term doesn't have the negative connotation.
Often they do mean it in a highly negative way, particularly if we're talking about subjects generally perceived as childish.

If you read the strip, it's explicitly stated that D&D is only for smelly virgins.

In the story from my personal history, there was no question what he meant. IIRC he said he didn't play games anymore because he "grew up."
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Mr_Rose on 14 May 2020, 11:56
It’s funny tragic that most often when people say they grew up it actually means they’re as immature as ever but they’ve changed the things they tell themselves and each other they like to fit a mould called “adult” that is sold in the form of lifestyle magazines and self-help books.  :psyduck:
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Nepiophage on 14 May 2020, 12:06
An observation I've made is it seems Americans will use grades instead of saying "when I was 13" and I always have to look up the related age. Not something I've seen people in my neck of the woods (Ireland/UK) do, we would say the age. I'd have to think for a second to remember which school year applied.

I think if you just add 6 you get the rough answer
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 14 May 2020, 12:58
In my personal experience, many people seem to use the term 'outgrew' even when they simply mean their interests changed over time, so for me the term doesn't have the negative connotation.
Often they do mean it in a highly negative way, particularly if we're talking about subjects generally perceived as childish.

If you read the strip, it's explicitly stated that D&D is only for smelly virgins.

In the story from my personal history, there was no question what he meant. IIRC he said he didn't play games anymore because he "grew up."

Yes, sometimes people (like your personal example) do mean it in a negative way. I was merely commenting that somebody stating they "kinda outgrew something" does not by definition imply they are embarrassed, find it childish, or otherwise look at it negatively.

As for that strip, I don't see anything even resembling an explicit statement that D&D is only for smelly virgins. All I see is Faye who implies that Marten may have quit playing D&D out of fear of ending up a smelly virgin.It doesn't even mean Marten, JJ, or Faye actually think that.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: sitnspin on 14 May 2020, 13:13
An observation I've made is it seems Americans will use grades instead of saying "when I was 13" and I always have to look up the related age. Not something I've seen people in my neck of the woods (Ireland/UK) do, we would say the age. I'd have to think for a second to remember which school year applied.

Even after having lived in the US for almost 13 years, this still trips me up, because phrases like 8th grade or 9th grade just don't automatically translate to a certain age....9th grade is 3rd year of middle school, correct? So about 14-15 years old then?

Ninth grade is the first year of high school. Elementary school is K-5. Middle school is 6-8. High school is 9-12. Some  place have Junior High which divides things differently.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Theta9 on 14 May 2020, 13:50
Ninth grade is the first year of high school. Elementary school is K-5. Middle school is 6-8. High school is 9-12. Some  place have Junior High which divides things differently.
I went to school in the Los Angeles and Seattle areas, and both were arranged thusly:

K-6 = Elementary School
7-9 = Junior High School
10-12 = High School

Also having been born in the summer, I started kindergarten at age 5 and graduated high school at age 17.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Torlek on 14 May 2020, 13:58
School divisions in the United States are all over the place. By and large, it seems to break down based on school population and necessary building sizes.

My elementary (primary) school was K-8 (5-13 y.o. for me) and high school was 9-12. I've seen middle schools broken out for 4-6 and 5-8 and junior highs broken out for 6-8 and 7-9 and even independent kindergartens bundled in with some Pre-K functionality. High school years are typically more uniform since there is a specified division between primary and secondary education but I've seen large schools that will section 9th grade off in its own building or a separate campus entirely while the 10-12 school will be labeled the Senior High School. Using age makes less sense than using grade because of the edge cases of particularly gifted children (we had a 10 year old in my high school pre-calculus class, but math was all he was taking advanced courses in) and children that are held back for whatever reason (poor performance, mental development issues or the particularly frustrating cases where the parents make the child repeat a grade or don't start them in school until a year later so they'll be stronger in athletics).

Now what's Byzantine is the way British schools are divided up.

Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 14 May 2020, 14:02
Right, so even within US not entirely consistent. Not to mention the concepts of freshman/sophomore/junior/senior also still trip me up sometimes.

For reference, I'm use to:
elementary school: 6 years, generally talked about as grades 3-8 (1st and 2nd grade are kindergarten)
middle education (i.e. middle and high school, we don't split those concepts): class 1 to class 4-6 (length depends on level of education)
higher education: college/university, typically started after 5-6 years of middle education (for college) or 6 years (for university). And no, the equivalent of colleges in the Netherlands are not quite the same as universities
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 14 May 2020, 17:53
I was still an asshole when I was 25 too and will say that when I am 40 about me now

I.e. people change

At some point, maybe you should stop considering your former self an asshole for the crime of not living up to your current standards. Please be a smidge kinder to yourself.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: shanejayell on 14 May 2020, 20:25
Also?

CHIIIILLL..... 

:D
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 14 May 2020, 22:59
You know, Dora, Claire and Clinton should get someone to start recording this spontaneous Tik-Tok dance so they can post it to dance music. Call it "CoD Style", "Put a (Coffee) Ring on It" or something. It could be their big break!

Also, Claire? That's really unfair. Just because you (because of a sibling's perception filters) can't see that Clinton has chill doesn't mean that he has none! I'm actually quite sure that his handling of his friendship with Brun has demonstrated a lot of chill, as has his ability not to be confused to the point of disorientation by the times he's spent with Emily!
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Near Lurker on 14 May 2020, 23:01
I was still an asshole when I was 25 too and will say that when I am 40 about me now

I.e. people change

"You are a goddamned idiot.  And I'd like to prove this mathematically if I may.  Take your current age.  Now subtract ten years from it.  Were you smart back then?  Of course you weren't.  You were a goddamned idiot.  Fact of the matter is, you're just as big an idiot today, it's just gonna take you ten more years to realize it. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwlTqu0UY7c)"

(...then add ten to your age, and find that you've let one of your animators take over your company with his weird moe fairy tale show.)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 14 May 2020, 23:24
I'll grant that Clinton is not objectively chill. Oh, sure he's handled things like Millie's pass gracefully, and talked out his feelings with Brun, but he's still prone to things like hiding behind Elliot when charged by strange robots.

HOWEVER.

He's about 472% more chill than Claire. Claire is routinely not chill. I cite Claire and her super-anxiety over test results, her reaction to not getting a perfect score, freaking out over whether she'd screwed up her relationship by offering some friendly advice, and, oh, her general tendency to meddle. Stress is something she does.

If Claire is allowed to declare herself chill, Clinton is as well, and it's rude of her to exclude him from a celebration of chillness.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 14 May 2020, 23:29
Excluding your bro from the chill party is not chill!
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Thrillho on 15 May 2020, 02:35
I was still an asshole when I was 25 too and will say that when I am 40 about me now

I.e. people change

At some point, maybe you should stop considering your former self an asshole for the crime of not living up to your current standards. Please be a smidge kinder to yourself.

I much appreciate your compassion, Tova. I was using an inefficient shorthand to get across my point rather than indulging in self loathing in that post.

However I do need to be kinder to myself and am working on that in therapy.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: JoeCovenant on 15 May 2020, 02:47

Aye - this isn't making me like Clair any more than I already don't... :(
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: St.Clair on 15 May 2020, 04:05
So, people (can) change, but Clinton is apparently not allowed to?

Nice gatekeeping there, Claire.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 15 May 2020, 04:07
So, people (can) change, but Clinton is apparently not allowed to?

Of course not! He's her brother! Life constants have got to stay constant and people really aren't happy when those things do change.

Seriously, though, this is just sibling rivalry spite. Nothing more interesting or unusual than that!
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: St.Clair on 15 May 2020, 04:13
Right, so everyone should still be calling Claire by her deadname and fussing when she doesn't dress/present like Clinton's brother.

Too serious?  :meh:
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: BenRG on 15 May 2020, 04:49
I think that you've just illustrated why families of transfolk have to work really hard, a transition all of its own. Furthermore, still viewing her brother as the uptight nerd who had a tendency to get a bit threatening with her romantic interests represents a totally different challenge with almost no commonality at all. So, yeah; red herring with a dash of strawman mixed in.

Too serious?  :meh:

No, but it was a bit accusative and escalating too far and without good reason.

Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Thrillho on 15 May 2020, 05:43
Global Moderator Comment Let's tread lightly shall we.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Cornelius on 15 May 2020, 06:23
I do hope that we'll see some reaction from Clinton. I know it's Claire's party and all, but the last time my brother pulled something similar on me, I walked away and went home. It's not funny.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Case on 15 May 2020, 07:04
I'm ... confused.  :psyduck:
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: jwhouk on 15 May 2020, 07:18
Ninth grade is the first year of high school. Elementary school is K-5. Middle school is 6-8. High school is 9-12. Some  place have Junior High which divides things differently.
I went to school in the Los Angeles and Seattle areas, and both were arranged thusly:

K-6 = Elementary School
7-9 = Junior High School
10-12 = High School

Also having been born in the summer, I started kindergarten at age 5 and graduated high school at age 17.

It's even weirder here in Mesa - K-6, 7-8, 9-12 are the breakdowns.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 15 May 2020, 08:16
So, for you, she's gone from someone you like and/or identify with, to one of "them"?
Yeah, I see how that would be unpleasant.

well little bit identify with, but also that she was introduced as just wanting to fit in as normal, as opposed to all the negative perspectives the far left and right portray trans
as being

Belated welcome, new person!

I heard from a lot of trans people that they were relieved and pleased to see a respected and be-foibled character who was trans, instead of "The Trans Character" as they were used to from other places.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: DSL on 15 May 2020, 08:19
Claire has zero chill about Clinton's lack of chill.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 15 May 2020, 08:37
Right, so everyone should still be calling Claire by her deadname and fussing when she doesn't dress/present like Clinton's brother.

Too serious?  :meh:

St.Clair,

I'm lost. What are you responding to and why do you think it goes in that direction?

The last few times I got this confused it was because someone had (wisely) deleted posts but the replies were still there.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Theta9 on 15 May 2020, 08:57
I went to school in the Los Angeles and Seattle areas, and both were arranged thusly:

K-6 = Elementary School
7-9 = Junior High School
10-12 = High School

Also having been born in the summer, I started kindergarten at age 5 and graduated high school at age 17.

It's even weirder here in Mesa - K-6, 7-8, 9-12 are the breakdowns.
It gets weirder. A couple years ago I drove a school bus in the Forest Grove/Cornelius school district (just west of Hillsboro, Oregon) and their breakdown is:
K-4 elementary - at least four schools in the area
5-6 Tom McCall Upper Elementary
7-8 Neil Armstrong Middle School (I'm so jealous!🤢)
9-12 Forest Grove High School
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Theta9 on 15 May 2020, 09:01
(For real, I never got to go to a school named for anyone cool... or anyone at all for that matter. Every school of mine was named for the area it was in.)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 15 May 2020, 09:10
Right, so everyone should still be calling Claire by her deadname and fussing when she doesn't dress/present like Clinton's brother.

Too serious?  :meh:

St.Clair,

I'm lost. What are you responding to and why do you think it goes in that direction?

The last few times I got this confused it was because someone had (wisely) deleted posts but the replies were still there.

I believe that was a response to BenRG's post in which he sort of said that to many people, their siblings are not really "allowed/supposed" to change, which seems to have been taken as allowing Claire's behavior w.r.t. not allowing Clinton changing. That in turn seems to have been taken to another level by posting s/t like "what if Clinton/we would not allow Claire's changes".

Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 15 May 2020, 09:42
I do hope that we'll see some reaction from Clinton. I know it's Claire's party and all, but the last time my brother pulled something similar on me, I walked away and went home. It's not funny.

^This. CLaire's behavior here is simply unacceptable to me.
Clinton (3 years younger, btw) has shown in the past to be supportive, protective, and AFAICT respectful towards CLaire, and quite respectful in his interactions with other cast members like Brun and Emily as well.
Claire makes fun of him (fine), has been meddlesome in his affairs (not fine and rightfully called out on it), and now is simply disrespectful and downright mean to him. Not cool at all.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: cesium133 on 15 May 2020, 10:09
(For real, I never got to go to a school named for anyone cool... or anyone at all for that matter. Every school of mine was named for the area it was in.)
The schools I went to (elementary and junior/senior high school) were both named for a state senator from the 1800s.

The junior/senior high school has since been closed and replaced with a consolidated high school called "Mountain Ridge," which is impossible to pronounce without sounding like a hillbilly.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Theta9 on 15 May 2020, 10:38
(For real, I never got to go to a school named for anyone cool... or anyone at all for that matter. Every school of mine was named for the area it was in.)
The schools I went to (elementary and junior/senior high school) were both named for a state senator from the 1800s.

The junior/senior high school has since been closed and replaced with a consolidated high school called "Mountain Ridge," which is impossible to pronounce without sounding like a hillbilly.
I would give up a testicle to have gone to a school named for Neil Armstrong.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Gyrre on 15 May 2020, 13:18

As a QA line inspector, I can very much relate to the negative experiences with stoners (and other drug-addled sorts). Suffice it to say that following simple rules (generally regarding PPE) is quite difcicult for some of them. Unfortunately, we're too short-handed on my shift at the moment to simply just can all of them.

Go on, by all means - please tell me exactly how you feel about 'sorts' like me.
Firstly, it should be noted that I didn't say "all" or use any blanket statements. Secondly, it should be mentioned that we have and had employees that actually used pot responsibly (i.e. didn't become a hazard to themselves and only smoked a little on break) [1].

Being that we work with food[2], constantly having to remind the same small handful of people to where their hairnets and/or beardnets or reminding them that they need to wash their hands after touching their faces[3] ~5x more often than everyone else gets pretty annoying pretty fast. Especially when they start acting like I'm 'the man' and I'm 'just keeping down' instead of trying to help them remain employed. For some of them, it doesn't matter how diplomatic I'm being [4]. Granted, that one is more likely to do with those individuals' temperaments.
The singular upside of the new owners deciding to drop the temp service [5][6] is that we don't have to deal with the bottom-of-the-barrel temps we were getting anymore[7]. Now if only we could get rid of the cokehead who keeps coming in hopped up on that mixed with whatever else.[8] The only reason she's even still employeed in the first place is because she's she's sleeping with her supervisor[9] and he's also a cokehead. His unwillingness to enforce the rules for the last decade also happens to be the reason why it's generally such a pain in the ass to enforce the rules (for the rest of management and myself).

[1] Naturally, this doesn't include the guy who stumbled in high as balls, hopped on his forklift and promptly backed into one of the concrete safety posts, narrowly missing one of the palletizers.
[2] A now pat response that I should really just get printed on some shirts.
[3] Or one of the other upteen thousand things grown-ass adults shouldn't have to be told or reminded about literally every day (short of a disibility).
[4] Samples include: "Oh hey, you're beardnet fell" (it didn't fall, I watched them pull it down). "Oh [name here] looks like you forgot your hairnet. It happens, I forgot mine earlier." (May or may not have legitimately forgot it. It was a struggle with some.)
[5] the reason we're short-handed rn.
[6] The new owners were getting tired of the steadily increasing number of customer complaints and bad/wasted product. The temps got the blame.
[7] Unable or unwilling to follow instructions, unwilling to follow proper procedures, general insubordination (not my call on that one), and generally shitty attitudes toward being expected to actually work. Many of them were also rather bad at actually showing up to work. Unfortunately, it was the temp service that was unwilling to work with those who had extenuating circumstances (we lost at least 10 really good temps to that).
[8] Results in tachycardia, confusion, excessive sweating, mild paranoia, and general anxiety. May or may not also be the cause of a number of cognitive dysfunctions. All of her other issues (includes severe auditory processing issues and mild hallucinations) are from all of the other hard drugs she took too much of for however long.
[9] They both make painfully obvious and one of the few rumors at work that I'll actually believe.


But, of course, this is all hearsay. And, since no names of any sorts were used, this is innactionable by HR  :wink:
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: St.Clair on 15 May 2020, 13:30
I do hope that we'll see some reaction from Clinton. I know it's Claire's party and all, but the last time my brother pulled something similar on me, I walked away and went home. It's not funny.

^This. CLaire's behavior here is simply unacceptable to me.
Clinton (3 years younger, btw) has shown in the past to be supportive, protective, and AFAICT respectful towards CLaire, and quite respectful in his interactions with other cast members like Brun and Emily as well.
Claire makes fun of him (fine), has been meddlesome in his affairs (not fine and rightfully called out on it), and now is simply disrespectful and downright mean to him. Not cool at all.

To be fair, when first introduced, Clinton was not respectful or chill in his interactions with cast members (Hannelore comes to mind).
More recently, however, he has shown definite signs of improvement (IMO).
In the same timeframe, Claire has mostly been shown freaking the F out over stuff - by her own admission, and mostly over little things like her entire future, so... *shrug*
So... maybe I am taking it a bit too far, but I'm irritated by what could be construed as hypocrisy, gatekeeping, and/or not granting others the same respect and consideration one would want for (and has been shown to) oneself.

tl;dr - pot, kettle.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Scarlet Manuka on 15 May 2020, 15:24
Not that you're going to see groups getting together during the pandemic, of course.
In fact, I know several people who've been playing D&D via Skype* while in lockdown.
*other online telecommunication services are available
Indeed, our group at work has switched to using a Teams call for discussion and Roll20.net for the mechanics. It's not as much fun as being in the same room and rolling proper dice, but it works prety well.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: TheEvilDog on 15 May 2020, 20:01
<Comes back into the WCDT after spending some time away from its insanity>
<Sees that the WCDT thread has never changed>
<Leaves a la Abe Simpson>
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 15 May 2020, 20:17
I'm frankly more irritated by this snap judgement of the posters in this thread than I have been of any other single post in WCDT in weeks.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Dolphin Jack on 15 May 2020, 20:55
Ultimate bowling: the bowling balls must be made of stone that the players must quarry by themselves on-site and then shape into a ball using only a hammer and chisel. Also the pins are explosive, so you usually need a new ball after every frame.
Its tradition, sculpting in mine and carry up to aley. a team has the rule, if you drop the ball carrying up, you make everyones next ball. King sysifus always wanted to play bowling, but no team wanted his bad co-ordinated, until this team captain saw his benefit. They never were high score, so the lower score because the crued ball didnt care, and more fun for them. (sorry broke apostrofe)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 15 May 2020, 21:17
That's something worthy of note about Clinton. He's exemplary in his support and understanding of his sister.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 15 May 2020, 22:53
Totally. And whatever you might think of Claire, she and Clinton do know and understand each other. They are there for each other. This is just typical sibling verbal teasing between them. I've recently got more used to the idea that people who didn't grow up in that kind of environment might not see it for what it is, and might take it more seriously than is truly warranted.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: hedgie on 16 May 2020, 05:53
Not just siblings giving each other shit.   I think that they might be a little more similar in terms of personality than either is willing to admit.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 16 May 2020, 14:36
Totally. And whatever you might think of Claire, she and Clinton do know and understand each other. They are there for each other. This is just typical sibling verbal teasing between them. I've recently got more used to the idea that people who didn't grow up in that kind of environment might not see it for what it is, and might take it more seriously than is truly warranted.

Well....I do have 6 siblings and have plenty of experience with sibling teasing and rivalry. I didn't mean to imply that Claire needs to be chastised. But, still I don't think it's cool how Claire is acting towards Clinton, especially given the fact she's not a teenager but about 25 now.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 16 May 2020, 16:00
I didn't mean to imply that Claire needs to be chastised.

That surprises me because you described her behaviour as "disrespectful" and "unacceptable."
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Reaver on 16 May 2020, 23:20
Claire you're gonna have to leave your own Chill zone, you are like the most unchill of the unchilled, you are the anti chill lmao
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Gyrre on 17 May 2020, 13:19
I do hope that we'll see some reaction from Clinton. I know it's Claire's party and all, but the last time my brother pulled something similar on me, I walked away and went home. It's not funny.

^This. CLaire's behavior here is simply unacceptable to me.
Clinton (3 years younger, btw) has shown in the past to be supportive, protective, and AFAICT respectful towards CLaire, and quite respectful in his interactions with other cast members like Brun and Emily as well.
Claire makes fun of him (fine), has been meddlesome in his affairs (not fine and rightfully called out on it), and now is simply disrespectful and downright mean to him. Not cool at all.

To be fair, when first introduced, Clinton was not respectful or chill in his interactions with cast members (Hannelore comes to mind).
More recently, however, he has shown definite signs of improvement (IMO).
In the same timeframe, Claire has mostly been shown freaking the F out over stuff - by her own admission, and mostly over little things like her entire future, so... *shrug*
So... maybe I am taking it a bit too far, but I'm irritated by what could be construed as hypocrisy, gatekeeping, and/or not granting others the same respect and consideration one would want for (and has been shown to) oneself.

tl;dr - pot, kettle.
They're siblings. It's pretty realistic from that standpoint.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Andy147 on 17 May 2020, 13:30
Also the characters are only graduating now so Marten is what, 23 now at most? I don't think everybody has grown up to own their nerd nerdhood by then. Some never do.

It's my understanding that Claire was a graduate student, so she and Marten are probably closer to 25

I'm not sure if we ever got an age for Marten, but Claire was 24 when she was interning at the library, so I'm assuming that it is now at least a year later and she is at least 25.

According to a timeline created at some point, which I believe to be reasonably accurate, Marten was born in 1981 and about 2 years had passed in the first 3000 comics or so, which put comic 3078 around October 2005 (which would put Marten at 24 at that point). Assuming the passing of time has been more or less at the same pace plus a time jump around comic 3100 (I'm too lazy to actually work on the time line myself), I would put it another 1-2 years further in the future  or so, so Marten is probably 25-26 at the moment. Just guessing here though.

Edit: I found that timeline here (https://external-preview.redd.it/ZbqO2VcoIhaA4AdASD4DTykJwu8slwmZQ9r9KPd_XRI.png?auto=webp&s=6b39f1a9c96a360b3b972553a997f6f4f0d414c2)

But looking at it again, some of it is off. For example. it has put Marten moving to Northampton in summer 2003 and meeting Faye in November 2003, but that can't be correct, because in comic 2332 Pintsize mentions he was Marten's only friend in Northampton for 2 years before he met Steve.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter. I kinda want to make a QC timeline myself, but at the same time I know I don't have the time to actually do it.....

Judging by Thursday's comic he was in 9th grade after element 118 was named Oganesson, which in our universe at least happened in November 2016.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 18 May 2020, 05:45
I didn't mean to imply that Claire needs to be chastised.

That surprises me because you described her behaviour as "disrespectful" and "unacceptable."

I see what you mean. I guess to me the word 'chastise' means a severe (verbal, usually) punishing, which I don't always find warranted even if I find certain behavior by itself unacceptable. For example, if somebody doesn't pick up their dog's poop, I find it unacceptable but I don't find it warrants chastising, but instead just a simple "hey, please pick up after your dog". Not sure if this makes sense, maybe only to me, ha!  :-)
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 18 May 2020, 05:59
That's interesting, because I would think of a simple "hey, please pick up after your dog" as chastising, whereas describing something as "unacceptable" sounds to me much more serious. So in your example, I'd find it warrants chastising, but ... okay, actually I'd find that unacceptable as well. I am pretty unimpressed by people who don't pick up after their pets.

Anyway, this is not the first time that I have interpreted the weight of words people use differently than intended!
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: dutchrvl on 18 May 2020, 06:06
That's interesting, because I would think of a simple "hey, please pick up after your dog" as chastising, whereas describing something as "unacceptable" sounds to me much more serious. So in your example, I'd find it warrants chastising, but ... okay, actually I'd find that unacceptable as well. I am pretty unimpressed by people who don't pick up after their pets.

Anyway, this is not the first time that I have interpreted the weight of words people use differently than intended!

Maybe it has to do with how some English words/expressions are taught to us in the Netherlands, some of what I was originally taught I'm sure still lingers in my brain despite having lived in the US for so long now!
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Tova on 18 May 2020, 06:09
It could be. But then, I am pretty sure I've had these kinds of conversations with other native speakers of English, including other Australians. It probably depends heavily on the context in which you've previously seen those words used.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: pwhodges on 18 May 2020, 09:42
The OED has "Reprimand, rebuke" and "Punish (esp. corporal)" as alternate threads of meaning for "chastise".  It shows no preference, neither by period nor by territory.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 19 May 2020, 23:24
I am delighted that Hannelore realized that she wanted a hug and was able to receive one. Yay!

Also Bubbles demonstrates the importance of balance.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Wingy on 21 May 2020, 10:46
Also Bubbles demonstrates the importance of balance.
I was hearing Bub's gyros whine the entire time it was just Emily swinging...
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: fatemaster on 04 Jul 2021, 00:14
I have to disagree with what they are calling Ultimate soccer, in junior high we played soccer with 90 people and 6 balls that was clearly what ultimate soccer should be.
Title: Re: WCDT 4261-4265 Mon 11th to Fri 15th May 2020
Post by: Pilchard123 on 06 Jul 2021, 10:25
D'you have to shout?