Topic: WCDT - 6-10 September 2010 (1746-1750) (Read 111681 times)

jwhouk · « **on:** 05 Sep 2010, 19:00 »

The Question of the Week is the first Poll Topic of the week.

Oh, and UBMEOD = Useless Broom Made Entirely of Dicks.

zagraf · « **Reply #1 on:** 05 Sep 2010, 20:53 »

Face it, "UBMEOD" is the correct answer to any question in which it's presented as an option. It's like with the nerd-favourite question "Who would win in a fight?" If one of the options is "Batman," it doesn't matter who the other options are: Superman, Squirrel Girl, God...the correct answer is always Batman.

"But what if Batman's opponent had a UBMEOD?"

"...Shut up."

akronnick · « **Reply #2 on:** 05 Sep 2010, 21:13 »

Batman would simply take the UBMEOD away from his opponent, game over.

J · « **Reply #3 on:** 05 Sep 2010, 21:36 »

batman keeps a UBMEOD in his utility belt, so they cancel each other out

Carl-E · « **Reply #4 on:** 05 Sep 2010, 23:02 »

Actually, he keeps it just below his utility belt...

Ferahgo the Assassin · « **Reply #5 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 00:10 »

Second Faye-pants-Marten in a row and no Hello Kitty belt?

Jeph, I am disappoint.

akronnick · « **Reply #6 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 00:12 »

Can Sven possibly be a more gigantic horse's ass?

Quote from: Ferahgo the Assassin on 06 Sep 2010, 00:10

Second Faye-pants-Marten in a row and no Hello Kitty belt?

Jeph, I am disappoint.

Maybe Marten found a more suitable pair of pants before he left and is not actually wearing the Hello Kitty belt.

Kugai · « **Reply #7 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 00:21 »

"Cliff Notes" on Faye are more like an appendium to The Art Of War.

I think that this is leading up to a big 'The Talk' between Marten and Dora.

LeeC · « **Reply #8 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 00:22 »

Sven reveals some new info on Dora.

raoullefere · « **Reply #9 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 00:26 »

Well, this was unexpected (by me, anyway, 'cause I just know I'm going to need the qualifier)—Sven was actually paying attention. But is that all he knows? Marten, time to rack him (we know your mom has one of those things somewhere).

Also, any sane person knows not to discuss the Batman and anything involving penises at the same time. Big can of worms there. Large, somewhat rigid …like I said, don't do it. It's one of two important lessons I learned from reading Superdickery (which seems to be down right now).

Tergon · « **Reply #10 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 00:41 »

Wow. Not only is Sven actually being understanding and actually indicating he gives a damn about Dora beyond her capacity to physically harm him, he's giving Marten a good eye-open while actually getting a good comeback in the witty banter. Looks like the Asshole-Therapy he's been giving himself is actually taking effect. Good to see he does have a nice side, as suspected.

Also: Don't talk about Batman's penis. The man is a ninja, and a genius, and the goddamn Batman. He could be behind you, right now, with his dong out. He could be making violent love to you and YOU WOULD NOT EVEN NOTICE. Not unless he wanted you to, in which case you would never recover from the feeling. Why? Because he is the goddamn Batman. And if you talk about the Bat-Schlong-Diddly-Ong, you only tempt fate.

Kazukagii · « **Reply #11 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 01:02 »

Nice to see Jeph sliding some limelight in Sven's direction.

So now we've got some backstory on Dora's relationships (and who better to ask then her brother, smart foresight Jeph) and along with it some justification. After dating a myriad of cheating assholes it is only natural Dora would become suspicious of even the most meager slight. It also explains why Faye's "If you haven't fucked it up already" line had such a seemingly large impact on Dora: This is the first good relationship she's ever had, so messing it up would be devastating. As for Marten he's got a choice to make: Realize and understand Dora's tough past and try to work with her for the sake of the relationship, or jump ship at the sight of such a major storm on the horizon.

Also since the above paragraph was very sympathetic towards Dora, I'll play devil's advocate against myself and point out that no matter how troubled her romantic past, Dora had no right to fly off the handle at both Marten and Faye in such a vicious way. While Marten does have a big choice to make, Dora also has the burden or responsibility on her shoulders as well.

I think I can speak for everybody when I say things are starting to get interesting.

Blackjoker · « **Reply #12 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 01:19 »

I would like to point out that Marten was with Dora far before Sven and Faye were hooking up, more importantly Sven initially seemed more interested in the banging than the talking, hence cliffs notes wouldn't have been practical.

fifthfiend · « **Reply #13 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 01:20 »

Quote from: zagraf on 05 Sep 2010, 20:53

Face it, "UBMEOD" is the correct answer to any question in which it's presented as an option. It's like with the nerd-favourite question "Who would win in a fight?" If one of the options is "Batman," it doesn't matter who the other options are: Superman, Squirrel Girl, God...the correct answer is always Batman.

"But what if Batman's opponent had a UBMEOD?"

"...Shut up."

The correct answer is "Batman PS I'm a douche", because everyone who likes Batman is a douche.

akronnick · « **Reply #14 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 01:21 »

Quote from: Tergon on 06 Sep 2010, 00:41

Also: Don't talk about Batman's penis. The man is a ninja, and a genius, and the goddamn Batman. He could be behind you, right now, with his dong out. He could be making violent love to you and YOU WOULD NOT EVEN NOTICE. Not unless he wanted you to, in which case you would never recover from the feeling. Why? Because he is the goddamn Batman. And if you talk about the Bat-Schlong-Diddly-Ong, you only tempt fate.

Were we talking about Batman's penis? I thought we were talking about the Useless Broom Made Entirely Of Dicks.

Also Batman, being the Batman, would be able to put the UBMEOD to all manner of useful purposes. Even the Ocean trembles at the thought of the dick-broom wielding Batman.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #15 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 01:25 »

It can't be entirely an act. When she isn't scared, Dora's understanding and compassion are real.

HappyGrar · « **Reply #16 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 01:40 »

I find it really odd that, given her relationship history, Dora was so cool with playing along in comics 739, 740, and 741 . Then again, Dora's never been terribly consistent. People in real life aren't either. It's still kind of weird, though, as she's probably had to say those exact words to someone who had really hurt her.

JackFaerie · « **Reply #17 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 01:56 »

Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 06 Sep 2010, 01:25

It can't be entirely an act. When she isn't scared, Dora's understanding and compassion are real.

It's not that her being "a kind and good person capable of compasion and understanding" is an act, it's that her being a "chill and understanding"--ie, a relaxed, in-control person is an act.

Also, goddamn. Every time Sven and Faye come up on this forum, everyone always remembers a bizarre retconned version of their relationship where Sven was the cruel manipulative asshole and Faye was the pitiable victim, when that's pretty much THE OPPOSITE of how it happened. Yeah, it sucked that Sven had sex with Gina, and yeah, he knew it was a bad idea when he did it, but Faye had pretty much set him up to fail. She pulled all the strings in that relationship, and in the end I'd say her hurt was entirely through her own machinations. Sven had in fact been a selfish inconsiderate asshole in the past, but that was done with before he got together with Faye (and in large part because he was already getting emotionally invested in Faye).

To recap:

1. SHE kept coming over to his house to hang out, often not exactly invited, and butting into his life.
2. SHE was the one who made the first move on him when they had both been drinking.
3. She then rebuffed the SEVERAL moves he made to make it into something closer to an official relationship--she told him she expected it to be a one-time thing and basically scoffed at the idea of it being anything more when he inquired about their future plans, she turned him down for dinner and a movie, etc.
4. She continued to see him, all the while ignoring signs and suggestions that he was falling for her, and insisting that not only did he mean nothing to her except a roll in the hay, but that she didn't even want to hang out with him in public/with her other friends, treating him as a dirty little secret.
5. All the same she demanded that though it was not gonna be a relationship, he should not sleep with anyone else.

Quite reasonably, he refused to promise never to do so, although obviously Faye was free to leave when that happened. So he slipped and did, and Faye left as promised, and though it was dumb of him to do so, I'd say Faye mostly brought it on herself through her utter denial of both her own feelings, and Sven's feelings, and refusing to actually admit that he might be more invested in her than she wanted to think. (Any inimations of that on his part would be cut off bfore he even prperly started with "don't be silly, we all know you're just a womanizing jerk, so shut up and let me use you like a good uncomplicated sex toy".) I'd say she shot herslef in the foot there, although it's more like she handed a loaded gun with the safety off and a hair trigger to a man trying to regain the use of his hands after a lengthy paralysis, told him to aim at the target to her right and nowhere else, and then complained that he shot her in the foot instead.

If the genders were reversed, I don't think anyone would be treating her like the victim.

So please let's get over the shock that Sven may be acting like a decent guy who posesses feelings.

akronnick · « **Reply #18 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 02:08 »

I agree with JackFaerie. Faye did use Sven to fill certain needs, for the exact reason that the emotional stakes were low (at least that's what she convinced herself)

In the strip where Dora suggest she get a sex toy, she (jokingly?) suggested that a non-sentient Sven would serve that purpose well. When it turned out that Sven was a real boy with real feelings, or at least free will, the stakes got a lot higher.

Sven's still a gigantic horse's ass, though. It just happens that he's not (entirely) responsible for the way the arrangement (which was in no way shape or form a relationship, escept that it was) with Faye turned out.

Akima · « **Reply #19 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 02:37 »

Quote from: akronnick on 06 Sep 2010, 02:08

Sven's still a gigantic horse's ass, though.

It seems entirely in character that Sven wanted the CliffsNotes, instead of reading the book. Just call him short-cut boy!

Character development, Dora's back-story, Marten's pants... Tune in tomorrow folks, same bat-time, same bat-channel.

themacnut · « **Reply #20 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 02:37 »

No, Sven's a Villain! Pure VILLAIN I tell you!

Seriously, though, my take on the Sven-Faye fling is that Faye found out the hard way that she can't do casual/FB sex, no matter how much she may want to. It has to be within the context of a full romantic relationship, which at that point she was not able to handle either. She would have been better off with with a dildo. Or a RealDoll.

As for the latest revelation about Dora, well, now I'm REALLY worried for Marten having learned that. I've known women like Dora who run through a string of assholes, and if/when they start dating a decent guy, one out of two things tend to happen;

- they run the guy off with their baggage

- they get bored with the relatively drama-free relationship with the decent guy and cheat on HIM-usually with yet another asshole

It's rare that they actually manage to handle their own past-relationship baggage well enough to appreciate the guy and keep him around.

JackFaerie · « **Reply #21 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 02:49 »

Quote from: themacnut on 06 Sep 2010, 02:37

No, Sven's a Villain! Pure VILLAIN I tell you!

Seriously, though, my take on the Sven-Faye fling is that Faye found out the hard way that she can't do casual/FB sex, no matter how much she may want to.

Yeah, but she also used another person to find this out, and one who was far less ok with being in a casual FB relationship than she projected onto him. (Especially when the "no sleeping wth other people" totally took it beyond the bounds of FB/casual relationships without offering any of the benefits of real romantic committment.) Admittedly, like Faye herself, Sven didn't understand the full extend of his feelings until things were over, but the entire arrangement was her idea, and Sven was pretty much just going along with it because he was into her and this was the only option she provided. In which case I have far more sympathy for him than for her. It always felt like he was joking it all off, but basically was caught up in her and couldn't stand his ground to say "no, I don't want this if it's not a real relationship" because he didn't want to lose what he had. (And because due to his past exploits, it was hard for him to admit that just-fun sex with a cute girl wasn't "enough" all in itself--he was a guy after all, and that's what guys want!--and Faye certainly reinforced the idea that he should think that.)

akronnick · « **Reply #22 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 02:57 »

Quote from: themacnut on 06 Sep 2010, 02:37

As for the latest revelation about Dora, well, now I'm REALLY worried for Marten having learned that. I've known women like Dora who run through a string of assholes, and if/when they start dating a decent guy, one out of two things tend to happen;

- they run the guy off with their baggage

- they get bored with the relatively drama-free relationship with the decent guy and cheat on HIM-usually with yet another asshole

It's rare that they actually manage to handle their own past-relationship baggage well enough to appreciate the guy and keep him around.

Fortunately, Dora has Faye around to give her a swift kick in the ass if she starts to self-sabotage, or projects her baggage onto Marten, which she expressed he willingness and ability to do in Thursday's strip.

And if Faye doesn't get the job done, there's always Hanner-hulk!

raoullefere · « **Reply #23 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 04:07 »

Quote from: JackFaerie on 06 Sep 2010, 01:56

[snip]
4. She continued to see him, all the while ignoring signs and suggestions that he was falling for her, and insisting that not only did he mean nothing to her except a roll in the hay, but that she didn't even want to hang out with him in public/with her other friends, treating him as a dirty little secret.
5. All the same she demanded that though it was not gonna be a relationship, he should not sleep with anyone else.
[moar]

When Faye and Sven started their thing, I thought it was going to be good for both of them. And yes, Faye did everything you said, but, you seem to have forgotten this, when Faye tries to move things in a different direction, and then this lovely philosophy, followed by this. (yes, he's being funny, but it worked out that way, too, didn't it? And Sven didn't take the opportunity to try to make Faye redefine things if she wanted fidelity.) , this, and this. Even I would know* she's asking for some sign he gives a damn—his answer indicates otherwise.

I still think Faye chose Sven because she didn't think it could go anywhere, and she probably was unhappy that it did. But how can anyone save for some super-confident ball-buster who's damned and determined she and Sven will be an item, come hell or high water, face up to all that and not be a tad defensive? I wouldn't treat a dog like that, and I detest dogs. (Sorry, Shelby.)

Oh, yeah, what about this ? Actually, it's got nothing to do with my argument—I just noticed again how hot Hanners looks in the grip of a deathly illness. Again. Share and enjoy, I say.

*Way back when.

Taigan · « **Reply #24 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 04:44 »

Sven, the only thing you did really wrong with Faye was sleeping with that GIna Riversmith chick, and YOU KNEW IT WAS WRONG AT THE TIME!

How would "Cliff Notes" have helped that?

Graphite · « **Reply #25 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 05:11 »

Quote from: raoullefere on 06 Sep 2010, 04:07

Oh, yeah, what about this ? Actually, it's got nothing to do with my argument—I just noticed again how hot Hanners looks in the grip of a deathly illness. Again. Share and enjoy, I say.

Oh hey, a covert Pratchett reference! Completely did not notice that the first time round.

Mad Cat · « **Reply #26 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 06:19 »

The idea of Cliffs Notes on girls to help boys "manage" them, or just manage to bang them, is just the tiniest bit offensive to my feminist side.

Tergon · « **Reply #27 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 06:22 »

Quote from: Mad Cat on 06 Sep 2010, 06:19

The idea of Cliffs Notes on girls to help boys "manage" them, or just manage to bang them, is just the tiniest bit offensive to my feminist side.

Yeah, but fair's fair... Sven is a walking "Hey I want to fuck girls because I'm so awesome and guys are like that" stereotype. He's more than a little offensive to guys, in and of himself.

jwhouk · « **Reply #28 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 06:27 »

They're all broken.

Some (i.e., Dora) are just better at hiding it than others.

And remember, he used a cheat code, but you can only get the Bad Ending if you do that.

Graphite · « **Reply #29 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 06:33 »

Quote from: Tergon on 06 Sep 2010, 06:22

Quote from: Mad Cat on 06 Sep 2010, 06:19
The idea of Cliffs Notes on girls to help boys "manage" them, or just manage to bang them, is just the tiniest bit offensive to my feminist side.

Yeah, but fair's fair... Sven is a walking "Hey I want to fuck girls because I'm so awesome and guys are like that" stereotype. He's more than a little offensive to guys, in and of himself.

Fortunately, he's balanced by guys like Marten in the comic, so we know he's meant to be an exception and an individual, not just "how all guys are" or something silly like that. (Compare and contrast with the protagonist of, say, Least I Could Do.)

As far as Cliff Notes for potential dates, it seems less like a request for help in "managing" Faye, and more like a cry of "I had no idea what I was getting myself into in terms of emotional entanglements". But even so, there was really no reason for Marten to tell Sven anything about Faye's past - he was her friend, not his, and she shared the info about her father in a private talk with him, and it was pretty clearly a big deal for her to divulge. For Marten to tell Sven something that private, or even just to say, "Faye has some real trouble with relationships sometimes but I can't really tell you any more, so good luck with that", would probably have been a violation of the trust Faye placed in him.

Carl-E · « **Reply #30 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 09:06 »

Marten couldn't provide Sven with Cliff's Notes on Faye, aside from the reasons already mentioned. He was still going through the Big Book of Faye himself!

So this is what makes Jeph's writing so damn good - even when a character is introduced as a stereotype, we find out there's so much more to them - just like real peeplz!

Sven was introduced as a womanizer. He acknowledged as much. Makes an arrangement with Faye ("Fine with me!" shows up somewhere in Raoullefere's linked pages), but when it all blows to hell (as he knew it would), we get the one word frame... "awesome". There was a lot of shock and sorrow in that one word, with the most forlorn look Sven ever had. There's even more insight in the Kim Jong Il sledding incident. He knows he fucked up, he developed feelings, and can't cope.

[\rehash]

Sven doesn't need to blame Marten, he's dealing with it. Angus really did get a Cliff's Notes version of the BBoF, and it seemed to help some. That and, as Angus developed from "argument guy", he turned out to be a decent person, unlike the way Sven was developing.

I read this as a turnabout joke. That's all. Sven shouldn't have had to warn Marten about anything, Dora should've talked to him herself at some point. Like, a while ago. But she's a little too self-sabatoging to do so, and now it's blowing up. Sven's not close enough to them to notice it until now, or maybe he would have warned Marten, the way Marten warned Angus - vague, but helpful.

Anyway, time for more growth!

And JackFaerie, good to hear from you again. We need more insightful reminders, the past slips away too easily!

raoullefere · « **Reply #31 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 09:41 »

Quote from: Mad Cat on 06 Sep 2010, 06:19

The idea of Cliffs Notes on girls to help boys "manage" them, or just manage to bang them, is just the tiniest bit offensive to my feminist side.

I don't think management is the idea so much as not failing the test. That's what Cliff's notes are for, yes*? It's also what Sven did, and I'm fairly sure he knows it. Carl is right; that was quite a forlorn look.

*Unless you're a mindless prat who doesn't think your teacher has also read the Cliff's notes and anticipated that you may have failed to read the original text while he's wiring his exam. I'm fine with them as a guide, but not as a substitute, or would be, if I had anything to do with teaching lit, which I don't.

At least not after I made that person eat his, er, anymore.

themacnut · « **Reply #32 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 09:49 »

Quote from: Mad Cat on 06 Sep 2010, 06:19

The idea of Cliffs Notes on girls to help boys "manage" them, or just manage to bang them, is just the tiniest bit offensive to my feminist side.

You'd rather guys just blunder along absolutely clueless, as many guys do, and end up alone? I'm not even talking about getting girls in bed, I'm talking about guys who can't even carry a conversation with a girl, especially one they're attracted to. Or they say the wrong things and run the girl off. "Being yourself" doesn't work if yourself gets ignored by the opposite sex or is found repulsive by them. Such guys need some kind of help, right?

Graphite · « **Reply #33 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 09:52 »

That's not really what the comic's talking about at all though. This is a 'cheat sheet' to a specific individual.

Guys who can't carry a conversation with a girl could certainly use some guidance, preferably the sort that begins with, "First, join a social group with both guys and girls in it..."

snubnose · « **Reply #34 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 10:09 »

Where the *** did Sven get any of this information ?!?!?!?!?!?!? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ???

IMHO he's totally out of character.

P.s.: Ok, he's totally out of my idea of his character. Uh.

kaitco · « **Reply #35 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 10:12 »

Quote from: raoullefere on 06 Sep 2010, 04:07

Oh, yeah, what about this ? Actually, it's got nothing to do with my argument—I just noticed again how hot Hanners looks in the grip of a deathly illness. Again. Share and enjoy, I say.

You know, I went to the next comic after that link (1314, if you are lazy) and found it rather fascinating that, even in jest, Dora knew she would be able to tell if Marten had actually cheated on her. I call BS on this whole "Dora's past boyfriends were jackasses" stuff. There is no reason it needed to take 3+ huge arguments for her to realize what kind of relationship she had with Marten. There were plenty of opportunities for these revelations to come out before now, so I am slightly disappointed in Dora. Even when she saw that he still had the hots for Faye, Dora could easily see that Marten was not the same kind of jackass that she previously dated.

Tobimaro · « **Reply #36 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 10:12 »

Yeah, it would be nice to have notes on everybody that we have a relationship with. But, then again, those books are being constantly being rewritten, so most of the information would be useless.

bicostp · « **Reply #37 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 10:16 »

Quote from: snubnose on 06 Sep 2010, 10:09

Where the *** did Sven get any of this information ?!?!?!?!?!?!? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ???

My theory is they were both living at home (or at least in relatively close proximity as they are now) during Dora's abusive-goth dating years, so he's a firsthand witness.

snubnose · « **Reply #38 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 10:19 »

Quote from: bicostp on 06 Sep 2010, 10:16

Quote from: snubnose on 06 Sep 2010, 10:09
Where the *** did Sven get any of this information ?!?!?!?!?!?!? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ???

My theory is they were both living at home (or at least in relatively close proximity as they are now) during Dora's abusive-goth dating years, so he's a firsthand witness.

Dammit, I must still be asleep. Somehow I thought they where talking about Faye.

Carl-E · « **Reply #39 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 11:26 »

Quote from: kaitco on 06 Sep 2010, 10:12

You know, I went to the next comic after that link (1314, if you are lazy) and found it rather fascinating that, even in jest, Dora knew she would be able to tell if Marten had actually cheated on her. I call BS on this whole "Dora's past boyfriends were jackasses" stuff. There is no reason it needed to take 3+ huge arguments for her to realize what kind of relationship she had with Marten. There were plenty of opportunities for these revelations to come out before now, so I am slightly disappointed in Dora. Even when she saw that he still had the hots for Faye, Dora could easily see that Marten was not the same kind of jackass that she previously dated.

We realize thngs at different levels. It's one thing to have your BF spit out that he saw another girl's boob, accidentally. She acknowledges that he could never cheat on her, his head would 'splode. She knows this at a rational level, making a joke (one of the weirdest, most elaborate thought process we humans posess).

It's quite another to wake up with him in someone else's arms. She responds at an emotional (dare I say "irrational") level. And not just emotional, but fed up with cheating. People were using the term "lizard brained", it's at that basic a level. There's no connnection between the two!

I hate to say this, but it really does make the other insecure rants she's had more understandable. Not any more forgivable - any one of them should have led to a talk by now - but she's clearly repressing a lot.

I'm interested in finding out why she's held all this back, or in, or wherever. It's been four days, and what, an hour's passed?

Gonna be a LOOOOOOOOOONG night...

The Duke · « **Reply #40 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 11:34 »

Quote from: zagraf on 05 Sep 2010, 20:53

...the nerd-favourite question "Who would win in a fight?" ~~If one of the options is~~ Even if one of the options isn't "Batman," it doesn't matter who the other options are: Superman, Squirrel Girl, God...the correct answer is always Batman.

This seems more appropriate.

~~Schmorgluck~~ · « **Reply #41 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 11:46 »

Quote from: Graphite on 06 Sep 2010, 09:52

Guys who can't carry a conversation with a girl could certainly use some guidance, preferably the sort that begins with, "First, join a social group with both guys and girls in it..."

And then there are guys who have no more problem carrying a conversation with girls than with other guys, it's just that they don't have a mode for "conversation with someone I'm attracted to and I'd like to explore the possibilities with".

questionable_purpose · « **Reply #42 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 11:58 »

"We've been dating for..." is a nice touch in panel 3. Keep the speculation alive, I say.

Near Lurker · « **Reply #43 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 12:11 »

Quote from: Schmorgluck on 06 Sep 2010, 11:46

And then there are guys who have no more problem carrying a conversation with girls than with other guys, it's just that they don't have a mode for "conversation with someone I'm attracted to and I'd like to explore the possibilities with".

I think that's really what's meant when they say a guy "can't talk to girls." Really, if you got tongue-tied every time you were around a woman, whether or not you were trying/hoping to sleep with her, you couldn't function in society. You'd be a mess.

Border Reiver · « **Reply #44 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 12:59 »

Quote from: Kugai on 06 Sep 2010, 00:21

"Cliff Notes" on Faye are more like an appendium to The Art Of War.

I think that this is leading up to a big 'The Talk' between Marten and Dora.

Sun Tzu's or Machiavelli's version?

Both wrote books with that title, but Sun's has stood the test of time as a general insight into the operational arts better than Mach's.

raoullefere · « **Reply #45 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 13:11 »

Quote from: kaitco on 06 Sep 2010, 10:12

You know, I went to the next comic after that link (1314, if you are lazy) and found it rather fascinating that, even in jest, Dora knew she would be able to tell if Marten had actually cheated on her. I call BS on this whole "Dora's past boyfriends were jackasses" stuff. There is no reason it needed to take 3+ huge arguments for her to realize what kind of relationship she had with Marten. There were plenty of opportunities for these revelations to come out before now, so I am slightly disappointed in Dora. Even when she saw that he still had the hots for Faye, Dora could easily see that Marten was not the same kind of jackass that she previously dated.

I suspect the point is, at this juncture, that Dora's insecurity has nothing at all to do with who she's seeing, but with her own feeling of self-worth, or lack thereof. In other words, Marten may not be the same, but Dora is; she feels herself unworthy of fidelity, and thus is constantly waiting for things to go the way they must, even if she's not consciously aware of it. It is very possible Dora dates people she's 'sure' are going to demonstrate this to her, but made a mistake with Marten—on some level, Dora was certain Marten preferred Faye to her, setting herself up for the inevitable dumping when he or Faye or both came to their senses—after all, who would choose Dora over someone else? Only it didn't happen. Now Dora is stuck waiting for the shoe to drop, and at the same time in horribly unfamiliar territory. Hence the flare-ups escalating from "you got a haircut' to where we are.

It's strange, but true—people often prefer the familiar, even if the alternative is actually more pleasant. The phrase 'better the devil you know' is more far-reaching than many suspect.

Just my theory about Dora, but we shall see.

sitnspin · « **Reply #46 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 13:24 »

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=762

Jeph's comments on 762 are kind of humorous in hindsight

zagraf · « **Reply #47 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 14:23 »

Quote from: fifthfiend on 06 Sep 2010, 01:20

The correct answer is "Batman PS I'm a douche", because everyone who likes Batman is a douche.

See? See? Even Batman-haters agree that Batman always wins.

Wait, does that make fifthfiend a douche?

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #48 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 15:21 »

I would not have thought of Raoullaferre's theory but it's fascinating and makes sense.

First mention of Dora having hidden anxieties was strip 293.

daryljfontaine · « **Reply #49 on:** 06 Sep 2010, 15:34 »

Quote from: fifthfiend on 06 Sep 2010, 01:20

Quote from: zagraf on 05 Sep 2010, 20:53
Face it, "UBMEOD" is the correct answer to any question in which it's presented as an option. It's like with the nerd-favourite question "Who would win in a fight?" If one of the options is "Batman," it doesn't matter who the other options are: Superman, Squirrel Girl, God...the correct answer is always Batman.

"But what if Batman's opponent had a UBMEOD?"

"...Shut up."

The correct answer is "Batman PS I'm a douche", because everyone who likes Batman is a douche.

DO NOT DISPARAGE THE BATAWANG.

D

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