WCDT - October 24th to October 28th, 2022 (strips #4901 to #4905)

[shanejayell]

GROUNDED.

Uh, I thought Marten was being supportive, ma'am....

Added poll, 2 votes per user.

[Tyr]

my take on the poll is Web Personalities 24/7 + Marten and Claire Go to Cubetown= Marten ends up Tronned, has to interact with the cast as a vTuber avatar for a few weeks.

[BenRG]

Regarding the poll, I voted for 'Marten and Claire in Cubetown' and 'Other'. I suspect that the 'B' plot whilst Marten and Claire are in Cubetown will be the others (especially Hannelore and Faye) deal with the possibility of their permanent absence.

[St.Clair]

I was gonna make a new thread for the mommmic, but I didn't have any ideas for a poll. 

[Farideh]

New comic.

No Veronica, it's not good to tattle to your son's partner just because he made a comment about your step-parenting skills. Fight your own battles, please!

On another note: am I the only one who thinks of sunflower seeds whenever they see Veronica's hair? It's something about the light stripes and the way she tends to wear it up.

[Gyrre]

I very much doubt Yay is ready for romance.

Though, when they are and if they do get into a relationship, would it count as poly?

[shanejayell]

I very much doubt Yay is ready for romance.

Probably! I just chucked that in.

[BenRG]

Looks like Sam is determined to earn that 'Pesky Younger Sister' badge in this arc!

[Y]

Now if Claire is involved, will this lead to a "Who has been a naughty..." later on?

[traroth]

Parenting is war?

[Perfectly Reasonable]

Dang. Now I want to go reread Sun Tzu with that notion in mind.

( just look how his kids turned out )

[Wingy]

Yay has already picked out their future partner (and yes, it would be poly, if you only consider the existence of multiple physical units).

[shanejayell]

Yay has already picked out their future partner (and yes, it would be poly, if you only consider the existence of multiple physical units).

Who? I clearly missed that.

New comic! Yay, Sam's NOT grounded.

[Farideh]

Sam and Marten have a decent sibling relationship.

[Tova]

Marten is still grounded.

P.S. I only just read Jeph's text below the comic and realised he beat me to it.

[Gyrre]

it_can_be_two_things.gif

[Tova]

it_can_be_two_things.gif

?

[Farideh]

it_can_be_two_things.gif

Gallant and vindictive?

[ihaveavoice]

I like how Marten and Sam have slipped so easily into a sibling dynamic now. They could very easily (tbh almost definitely IRL) never have developed one due to their age difference and life situations when their parents got together - it's not like they're constantly together to build that kind of comfort with each other, even if Sam has long considered Marten frog-worthy.

[Dr. ROFLPWN]

[shanejayell]

Emmett: EXPERT ON CANADA.

Or not.

[badbum61]

#4905? Did we miss one?

[Farideh]

Emmet is the closest thing to an expert on Canada as they currently have

Huh, yeah. It seems like Jeph skipped a comic, or he messed up the numbering.

[Gyrre]

it_can_be_two_things.gif

?

There's a GIF of this clip

[Hairy Joe Bob]

I hope we go to Cubetown. Or maybe we get a Cubetown spin off!

[Tova]

it_can_be_two_things.gif

?

There's a GIF of this clip

Sure, but was there some relevance to the comic or some post in this thread?

Also, today's strip: PRONOUN CONFUSION.

[Akima]

From now on I will announce on my birthday that I have been renewed for another season. Also, how do you speak in ArbItrAry cApItAlIzAtIOn?

[Gyrre]

it_can_be_two_things.gif

?

There's a GIF of this clip

Sure, but was there some relevance to the comic or some post in this thread?

Also, today's strip: PRONOUN CONFUSION.

I've honestly forgotten now. I'm guessing it was in regards to whatever Jeph had bat you to the punch on? Either that or someone else deleted their comment.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

Also, today's strip: PRONOUN CONFUSION.

When two named female characters talk about another character using pronouns...

[JimC]

So help this old b*****d out, what does lore men in this context? Its surely not the dictionary definition is it?

[David F]

So help this old b*****d out, what does lore men in this context? Its surely not the dictionary definition is it?

My son uses the term regularly when talking about the backstory of games he likes to play.  Basically, any information that the writers have added about the history of a place or (in this case) a person, especially the interesting/explody bits.

Comic #4710 title text uses it in this sense, and the comic itself should give you some idea from context: https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4710

[Mr_Rose]

So help this old b*****d out, what does lore men in this context? Its surely not the dictionary definition is it?

Actually? Pretty much. At least the first one. The bird thing is unrelated.
Emmet has been involved in more shenanigans than most heist movies and reflexively denies everything even when they haven't actually done anything wrong.

[Farideh]

From now on I will announce on my birthday that I have been renewed for another season. Also, how do you speak in ArbItrAry cApItAlIzAtIOn?

I might do that too. Usually I just say something like 'I have managed to stay alive for another year!'

[Torlek]

Emmett and Cosette must never meet, all the bad luck rushing to that one point would implode the universe.

[DaiJB]

From all of our previous encounters and now this latest one, here is my take on Emmett:
Emmett seems to be accident-prone (disastrously combined with a near-total lack of concern with the idea of self-preservation), has only a hazy understanding of the concept of other people's personal property, near-zero impulse control, yet with a highly inventive and experimental-oriented mindset.
In other words, Emmett will either have a successful life in innovation and invention and become world-famous for some stupendous discovery OR die young and messily.

[de_la_Nae]

emmett, yay!
and now presenting
THEM
*pulls back curtain, a revealing multiple toy cars driving wildly on a track, half the wrong way, all the cars are on fire, also Melon is playing a hurdy-gurdy*

[St.Clair]

From all of our previous encounters and now this latest one, here is my take on Emmett:
Emmett seems to be accident-prone (disastrously combined with a near-total lack of concern with the idea of self-preservation), has only a hazy understanding of the concept of other people's personal property, near-zero impulse control, yet with a highly inventive and experimental-oriented mindset.
In other words, Emmett will either have a successful life in innovation and invention and become world-famous for some stupendous discovery OR die young and messily.

So what you're saying is that if Cubetown still exists (on this planet, in this dimension, in a recognizable form) in about ten years, and Emmett is in a similar state...

[hedgie]

They're a doom magnet, and maybe this lady is still available to see if there's a curse that needs to be removed.

[Gyrre]

Poor kid!

Emmett may need to enroll in some sort of Eastern martial arts (anything with a strong focus on stances) and start playing videogames.

It helped me and my younger brother with coordination.

[Storel]

Out of curiosity, which martial arts have a strong focus on stances? I haven't heard that used as a way to differentiate them before.

[traroth]

Emmett's life is one huge uninterrupted adventure.

[BenRG]

Emmett really is a kid who has adventures, aren't they? It isn't really bad luck or stupidity. They get bored and I have a feeling that their parents really give them too much freedom and latitude. They're sort of Sam without caring guardians. I'm not saying that Emmett's mother doesn't care, it's just that she's much slower to examine what they're doing and her concerns are all triggered by the wrong things such as who they're with being a bad influence (Sam) rather than monitoring the things that they are absorbing from social media that seem to be the real issue here.

Sam is a girl who rushes out into the wilderness to see what she can find.

Emmett is a teen who watches TicTok videos and then tries all the most dangerous 'challenges' because it seems interesting.

[Tova]

Sam took the Summon Emmett Feat, I guess.

[ihaveavoice]

Also, today's strip: PRONOUN CONFUSION.

When two named female characters talk about another character using pronouns...

They literally always have to use pronouns to talk about another character? Unless they're gonna be all, "John is cross with us. John is in the woods. Something has happened to John, but John will not explain."

Can someone explain the "PRONOUN CONFUSION" joke? The characters all seem to know they're talking about Emmett and not someone else.

[Tova]

Also, today's strip: PRONOUN CONFUSION.

When two named female characters talk about another character using pronouns...

Fine, I will elaborate.

“My best friend Emmett is from Canada! They…”
They as in Emmett not as in Canada. An easy one. After completing the sentence and backtracking.

“…can give you tips on how to navigate their…”
They as in Canada not Emmett. Also easy but requires backtracking once you get to the end of the sentence.

“My Dad’s always anxious about Emmett because of their chequered past…”
Probably their as in Emmett but it could legitimately refer to Dad and Emmett, so ambiguous.

“their rich and unique culture.”
From context presumably their as in Canada's this time, but could be their as in Emmett's, or it could be their's as in Dad's and Emmett's…

Nothing dramatic really, just my little joke.

[Wombat]

Also, today's strip: PRONOUN CONFUSION.

When two named female characters talk about another character using pronouns...

Fine, I will elaborate.

"My best friend Emmett is from Canada! They..."
They as in Emmett not as in Canada. An easy one. After completing the sentence and backtracking.

"...can give you tips on how to navigate their..."
They as in Canada not Emmett. Also easy but requires backtracking once you get to the end of the sentence.

"My Dad's always anxious about Emmett because of their chequered past..."
Probably their as in Emmett but it could legitimately refer to Dad and Emmett, so ambiguous.

"their rich and unique culture."
From context presumably Canada this time buy could be Emmett, or it could be Dad and Emmett...

Nothing dramatic really, just my little joke.

Yes, pronouns are often less clear than repeatedly using someone's name, but we make do.

If Emmett used he/him pronouns, part of the sentence would have read, "My dad's always anxious about Emmett because of his checkered past..."-- Emmett's past, or Sam's dad?

If Emmett had a sibling, and Sam started off talking about both of them and then used "they/them/their," all the stuff about how that could refer to Canada would hold true.

If those scenarios were the case, would you have made the same joke? Because I get sometimes needing to seek out clarification when pronouns are used and it's not clear who they're referring to, but as someone who uses "they/them" pronouns and has had a number of people over the years flat out decline to refer to me correctly because it was "confusing," I find the joke to be not very funny.

[Tova]

Yes, pronouns are often less clear than repeatedly using someone's name, but we make do.

Yes of course, I don't suggest otherwise.

I did get momentarily confused. Sorry. That's just how it was.

I would find refusing to use the correct pronoun for that "reason" to be obnoxious and rude, just to be clear.

[Mr_Rose]

So, Veronica's face in the last panel? Pretty much exactly what I looked like by the end of that saga.

In another continuity they would be Dennis the menace, except Dennis's shenanigans only rarely involved heavy machinery....

Emmett and Cosette must never meet, all the bad luck rushing to that one point would implode the universe.

Unless it's like multiplying negative numbers? Put them together and they somehow end up owning several casinos in Vegas...

[Perfectly Reasonable]

I meant to suggest a mutant version of the Bechdel test (there are several) if that's any help.

Who is to blame for pronouns anyway? We may never know. Proto-Indo-European seems to have had them.

If the cat's owner has rabies, Emmett-mom will definitely need rabies treatment. It takes several shots and is expensive, so hopefully it can be avoided.

Soy milk should not be given to cats. It isn't good for them.

[hedgie]

If those scenarios were the case, would you have made the same joke? Because I get sometimes needing to seek out clarification when pronouns are used and it's not clear who they're referring to, but as someone who uses "they/them" pronouns and has had a number of people over the years flat out decline to refer to me correctly because it was "confusing," I find the joke to be not very funny.

I'm pretty sure that wasn't the intent there.  Even though the singular "they" has a long history in the English language, and even though I am someone who uses it personally, I'm really not a fan.[1]. I only use it for myself because nothing better has come along and become widely adopted.

[1] Obviously, when referring to others, I'll use whatever their preference is out of respect[2] and decency
[2] Unless that other person in question isn't the sort who respects my pronouns out of malice and/or general dickishness.    In that case, I am petty enough to say "fine, two can play at this game, you're an 'it'"
[3] I'm forgiving if people forget or just don't necessarily think