Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

Faye catches Marigold reading Slash

2 (2.4%)

Tai WROTE "Quidditch Field Idyll"

3 (3.7%)

WILL YOU SIGN MY NETBOOK

4 (4.9%)

"It's really good though!"

0 (0%)

Wanna come to dinner?

1 (1.2%)

Marigold has no idea, does she?

24 (29.3%)

Novel Euphemism

10 (12.2%)

It's got lots of potential!

0 (0%)

B-but yea, TONS of potential!

4 (4.9%)

You have to show people WHY it's sexy.

4 (4.9%)

Ron... and SNAPE...

16 (19.5%)

I give up.

14 (17.1%)

Total Members Voted: 70

[Kugai]

Marigolds problem stems from the fact of her nature.  Being a socially inept shut in with no real interaction with others makes it difficult for her to have any real frame of reference in order for her to improve her writing.  Tai may just be the individual who could change all that with a little patience.

Anything beyond that is up to Jeph.


 

[steveb]

And true to life, she is, I think, a really good, worthwhile person. I like Marigold. But she's got deficiencies.

Me too,

I think the reason I like Marigold is that I recognise many of my own deficiencies in her.
I remember being like that (heck I remember being asked out by a gay guy once and not realising that was what had happened till years later).

One of the good things about QC is that almost everyone has faults, just as in real life. Marigold has more than her fair share, even as a Mari-fan I feel she needs to get a grip sometimes. I hope Jeph lets the character develop a bit.

[Carl-E]

I guess the type of idiot(who happens to be a fangirl) I'm thinking of is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-crjyRhRkA

Bet you can't get through the whole video without wanting to punch someone in the face (I sure couldn't).

Meh, it was tolerable. 

I have intelligent children.  I've lived through much, much worse than that without needing wanting to give punches. 

[innermoppet]

You know the thing is, it's pretty obvious Marigold is a virgin. I would be surprised if she's done as much as kiss a boy. When I look back at the stuff I used to write when I didn't know about sex... oh it was baaaaad. Because I had no knowledge base for what I was writing. My guess is that Marigold knows next to nothing about sex and has never bothered to enlighten herself. She needs a Hello Kitty vibrator and a copy of The Secret Garden, stat.

[hannahsaurusrex]

I thought it was noted that her first kiss was with Angus?

I've noticed that people usually have a rebellious phase in high school followed by a hedonistic stage in college. Time and intensity of phases may vary, but people are usually as "grown up" as they'll be after it.

Marigold never really had a rebellious phase where she told the world in some way "I'M HERE IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"

Tai meanwhile, is engaged in full throttle hedonism telling the world "I DO WANT I WANT, beeyotch!"

Marigold joining the gang was a step towards maturity, but ironically, Tai teaching Mar-bear to throw caution to the wind would make them both become more mature. Marigold learning to let loose, Tai being able to unwittingly mentor. I really think this pairing (friends or otherwise) is really awesome for both of them.

And let's be honest for so many bisexuals, there hasn't been ONE non-dream lesbian scene. This isn't pandering, this is equality!

[squishything]

I have intelligent children.  I've lived through much, much worse than that without needing wanting to give punches. 

Wait, just to get this straight: are you saying intelligent kids have a greater propensity for this annoying-ass behaviour than stupid kids? Because these kids look pretty stupid.

[akronnick]

Yes.

One must be intelligent to be really stupid...

[Kugai]

Then explain Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell.

[peterh]

Right after reading what happened to this thread, I can be found right next to the genever.

Anyone want some?

[jwhouk]

On a different note - anyone else notice that Tai's been in Dora's closet?

The evidence is here.  Time to arrest the miscreant and throw her in prison. 

Then we can get the "Girls in Prison" arc going - you can thank me for the mental images later.

You know, it wasn't until you said something that I noticed that...

I bet Jeph copied that look after doing all his work with the book and didn't even realize it.

[jwhouk]

Some things are most easily explained by the hypothesis that it's just a fictional comedy with things exaggerated for comic effect. However, this explanation is too boring for us to accept it just because it's true.

Quote of the week, right here.

[jwhouk]

Then explain Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell.

You just did.

[peterh]

Some things are most easily explained by the hypothesis that it's just a fictional comedy with things exaggerated for comic effect. However, this explanation is too boring for us to accept it just because it's true.

Quote of the week, right here.

Agreed, that *is* a gem. Sig material, in fact!

[St.Clair]

You know the thing is, it's pretty obvious Marigold is a virgin.

Yeah, I agree (with this, and most of the rest of what you wrote... maybe not the Hello Kitty vibrator).  You can pretty much imagine what she imagines:  they both hug and kiss and rub against each other, with everything soft-focus or pixelated out, and then they both orgasm (at the same time, of course).  It just happens.  Because.  That's sex, right?

(I do give her at least a 50/50 chance of knowing what an orgasm is/feels like, from the, uh, "single-player game.")

[akronnick]

Then explain Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell.

Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell, if given an IQ test, would no doubt score quite highly, probably 140 or higher.

Their problem stems from their inability to emotionally accept facts that they intellectually already know.

This leads to a stressful mental state called cognitive dissonance.

Because they are intelligent, they have a highly developed imagination.

Their cognitive dissonance leads them, and their intelligence allows them, to spin wild stories and conspiracy theories that to a disinterested third party sound really, well, stupid.

[jwhouk]

Now I think you just described Nancy Pelosi...




Okay, I think I've been hanging out in the DISCUSS!!! Forum too much now...

[Odal]

Marigolds problem stems from the fact of her nature.  Being a socially inept shut in with no real interaction with others makes it difficult for her to have any real frame of reference in order for her to improve her writing.  Tai may just be the individual who could change all that with a little patience.

Anything beyond that is up to Jeph.


 

No way.  Plenty of social people suck at writing.  It's simply a matter of being able to put yourself in the seat of a reader and a writer at the same time.  Marigold seems to be a pretty rare case.  I think most people who write were probably inspired by someone else they read and probably the way that writer used words to make sense.  Marigold apparently reads things without considering how it was written and expects to just brain-barf onto a page and make gold.

[tomart]

Marigold could learn by doing (IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN)

I think Marigold would benefit from life experience in general. The girl is heartbreaking, because she's clearly been bullied into basically inverting on herself and never interacting with people except through the Internet.
And true to life, she is, I think, a really good, worthwhile person. I like Marigold. But she's got deficiencies.

Which is why I've come to really want Tai and Marigold to just fuckin' go for it. Marigold needs to take more chances/have more opportunities presented to her, and even if they turn out bad, like Angus, then at least she's had the experience...

Another vote for Marigold's exploratory and maturational experiences, i.e., ecchi QC!  
  Interesting that there are MANY votes in this thread in favor of Mari-Tai doing it, from all genders and orientations...    

Fanservice!

[iduguphergrave]

You know the thing is, it's pretty obvious Marigold is a virgin.

Yeah, I agree (with this, and most of the rest of what you wrote... maybe not the Hello Kitty vibrator).  You can pretty much imagine what she imagines:  they both hug and kiss and rub against each other, with everything soft-focus or pixelated out, and then they both orgasm (at the same time, of course).  It just happens.  Because.  That's sex, right?

(I do give her at least a 50/50 chance of knowing what an orgasm is/feels like, from the, uh, "single-player game.")

I'd say the chances of her knowing what an orgasm feels like are better than 50/50; I'm like Marigold in a lot of ways (but I'm a better writer, I promise), and by the time I'd graduated high school I was pretty adept at the....er.... "single player game" (to use your term, which I like lol).

I'm also sure that having watched/read copious amounts of porn (a lot of yaoi is just porn), and being a college graduate, she knows the mechanics of sex, she's just a crappy writer who can't describe it very sexily.

Having said that, the thing she's probably most ignorant about when it comes to sex is how it feels; emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. Her expectations regarding her first sexual experience are probably ridiculously high.

[Prince of Space]

I'm also sure that having watched/read copious amounts of porn (a lot of yaoi is just porn), and being a college graduate, she knows the mechanics of sex, she's just a crappy writer who can't describe it very sexily.

I agree.
Which makes me even less convinced of why she wouldn't get 'and they kissed and it was sexy' isn't the way to write things.   Usually aspiring fanfic writers mimic other fanfic writers' work (though she could be reading the wrong ones).   But so far she's only been writing for herself anyway (I think?), so of course she'd only write what she knows pleases her.

And to reference someone else's post, we know she knows what an orgasm(or at least sexual pleasure) feels like as she was 'dehydrated and masturbating furiously' right after Angus expressed he wasn't interested.   

[LeeC]

this may have been discussed already but

prediction for next week:  Marigold reveals her lack of romantic and sexual experience, perhaps Tai pulls a Dora and smooches her.  Or Marigold goes all emo that she's never had romance or sex so in a surprise move ask's Dale out.

and then they all fuck!  

[Is it cold in here?]

Her expectations regarding her first sexual experience are probably ridiculously high.

Which is why it should not be with a playa like Tai. Have we ever heard Tai say she loved any of her partners?

[Is it cold in here?]

And to reference someone else's post, we know she knows what an orgasm(or at least sexual pleasure) feels like as she was 'dehydrated and masturbating furiously' right after Angus expressed he wasn't interested.   

Now there's a question. What if Momo-tan *wasn't* making it up?

[raoullefere]

I may have missed someone covering this, but I get the idea many of you critiquing Marigold are forgetting something rather fundamental—I problem I see in, ah, emerging writers all the time. Since Marigold knows the scene is sexy, she thinks others should know that, too. The part she's not getting is that other people reading her words don't understand what they describe in the same way she does. Since it's obvious to her that Harry and Ron kissing is sexy*, it should be obvious to them, too. Put another way, she's laboring under the belief her audience understands her thoughts and reactions in a way that is frankly impossible to them for the simple reason that they are not Marigold.

Once she gets that, then I think Marigold's inexperience will still hinder her, and I agree (as I stated earlier) that I don't think she's reading the best material to teach her how to bridge the gap (Tai's "inevitable clefts" included), but she's got to understand that everyone is not her first.

*Which is more than I can say for myself. Much more. For better or worse, the films have more or less fixed Ron Weasly as Rupert Grint for me, and sexy is simply not one of the adjectives I tend to apply to him. I know he's heartbroken.

[iduguphergrave]

Her expectations regarding her first sexual experience are probably ridiculously high.

Which is why it should not be with a playa like Tai. Have we ever heard Tai say she loved any of her partners?

She had pretty intense feelings for that Bailey girl as evidenced by these two strips: http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=727 and http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=765 . The latter strip kinda carries the implication that Tai originally started being polyamorous as a coping mechanism for being shot down. And as we've seen of late (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1595), she's starting to get tired of the emptiness of emotionless sex.



A bit off topic - I can't figure out how to turn words into links to the comics so I don't have to keep adding lengthy URLs to my posts. Could someone help me?  Thank you!

[Is it cold in here?]

Square bracket, URL=, the URL without the http prefix, close square bracket, link text, square bracket /URL close square bracket.

[Prince of Space]

And to reference someone else's post, we know she knows what an orgasm(or at least sexual pleasure) feels like as she was 'dehydrated and masturbating furiously' right after Angus expressed he wasn't interested.   

Now there's a question. What if Momo-tan *wasn't* making it up?

Somehow, I got the vibe that she wasn't.  Though it's an awfully weird thing to do when you're depressed about a boy not liking you...so my 'vibe' is probably off.

[MollyEmerald]

Errgh!
Tai is just so cute and Marigold is just so cute and they both just need some good snugglin' in my opinion! But I think Jeph has done a pretty solid job in establishing kind of a lack of romantic energy between them. So i know it won't happen but dang I just want them
Both to find loves! 

[pwhodges]

I can't figure out how to turn words into links

Quote a post that does it, and you'll see.

[url=http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=345]comic 345[/url]
gives:
comic 345

The http:// is actually part of a full URL, and is best included.  (I used a trick to make the example visible.)

[iduguphergrave]

Is_it_cold_in_here? and pwhodges, thank you very much! 

[jwhouk]

Square bracket, URL=, the URL without the http prefix, close square bracket, link text, square bracket /URL close square bracket.

Or, better:

Code: [Select]

[url=http://putthewebsitenamehere.com]Text you want to link to[/url]


[Dr. ROFLPWN]

I may have missed someone covering this, but I get the idea many of you critiquing Marigold are forgetting something rather fundamental—I problem I see in, ah, emerging writers all the time. Since Marigold knows the scene is sexy, she thinks others should know that, too. The part she's not getting is that other people reading her words don't understand what they describe in the same way she does. Since it's obvious to her that Harry and Ron kissing is sexy*, it should be obvious to them, too. Put another way, she's laboring under the belief her audience understands her thoughts and reactions in a way that is frankly impossible to them for the simple reason that they are not Marigold.

Once she gets that, then I think Marigold's inexperience will still hinder her, and I agree (as I stated earlier) that I don't think she's reading the best material to teach her how to bridge the gap (Tai's "inevitable clefts" included), but she's got to understand that everyone is not her first.

*Which is more than I can say for myself. Much more. For better or worse, the films have more or less fixed Ron Weasly as Rupert Grint for me, and sexy is simply not one of the adjectives I tend to apply to him. I know he's heartbroken.

I think I tried to elucidate this earlier in the thread, but you explained it much better and I completely agree. She sees what's going on in her head, and doesn't ralize that the reader can't.

[Loki]

And then Harry kissed Ron and it was very sexy.

Later on, everybody kisses everybody else!

[Carl-E]

Awww, you spoiled it! 

[Prince of Space]

I may have missed someone covering this, but I get the idea many of you critiquing Marigold are forgetting something rather fundamental—I problem I see in, ah, emerging writers all the time. Since Marigold knows the scene is sexy, she thinks others should know that, too. The part she's not getting is that other people reading her words don't understand what they describe in the same way she does. Since it's obvious to her that Harry and Ron kissing is sexy*, it should be obvious to them, too. Put another way, she's laboring under the belief her audience understands her thoughts and reactions in a way that is frankly impossible to them for the simple reason that they are not Marigold.
.

I think I tried to elucidate this earlier in the thread, but you explained it much better and I completely agree. She sees what's going on in her head, and doesn't ralize that the reader can't.

I concur.  I backed this up earlier with " But so far she's only been writing for herself anyway (I think?), so of course she'd only write what she knows pleases her."   

Though I don't completely agree with her inexperience hindering her if she truly wanted to be a good writer.  I wrote some racy stuff way back before I'd even *ahem* gotten busy.  I also read a lot of fanfics by other writers who I'm pretty sure hadn't done the nasty either.  With the help of porn/the Internet/other writers, it was pretty easy to at least feign with writing what it was like (obviously *everyone* comes together, and during you see an elaborate display of fireworks).   But on the other hand, I was writing for myself AND other people.  I also put my stories out there to be critiqued, so..
 If she's only writing for herself, I could see why she writes like this.

[Thatar]

Then there's the whole question of why Tai, presumably an Eng. Lit. grad student, would find JKR's laundry-list-dull writing style appealing in the first place...  

I figured she wrote this when she was younger... most of these fics, at least according to stereotype, are written by high schoolers.

And according to QC, this still is something Tai wouldn't hesitate to write. If you'd ask me. Butts.

Oh noes! I've read through all 1790 comics! D:
Bad feelings. But it sure was fun.

[Akima]

A bit off topic - I can't figure out how to turn words into links to the comics so I don't have to keep adding lengthy URLs to my posts. Could someone help me?   Thank you!

Others have answered with the appropriate syntax for creating a link. In terms of the process to achieve it:

• In another window/tab, navigate to the page you want to make the target of the link, and copy its URL
• Return to the forum-post edit-box where you're working up your reply
• Highlight the word you want to make a link (double-click on it works for me). Let's say the word is "fanfiction"
• Click on the Insert Hyperlink button. Your word will then look like this:  [url]fanfiction[/url]
• Insert an equal sign after the first "url", thus:  [url=]fanfiction[/url]
• Paste the URL of the target page after the equal sign: [url=www.fanfiction.net]fanfiction[/url]
• Click the Preview button to make sure you've got it right.
• Test the link from the Preview to make sure you've linked to the page you intended, and not something embarrassing that was lurking in your clipboard...

[The Duke]

And that's just not fun for anyone.

Are you kidding me? Anyone else want me to pass some popcorn around? I have plenty.

Edit for the new comic: See guys, it wasn't so bad. Gosh.  

Welcome to the forum and may God have mercy on you.

Love your avatar, by the way.

Then again, maybe Tai will slap a ho for being needy and wanting to cuddle and shit, because Tai the Stone Cold Pimp got no TIME for that, she has a LIBRARY TO RUN

Best post in this entire thread.

Hell, I'd put it in the running for best in the forum.

[Akima]

Since Marigold knows the scene is sexy, she thinks others should know that, too. The part she's not getting is that other people reading her words don't understand what they describe in the same way she does. Since it's obvious to her that Harry and Ron kissing is sexy*, it should be obvious to them, too. Put another way, she's laboring under the belief her audience understands her thoughts and reactions in a way that is frankly impossible to them for the simple reason that they are not Marigold.

Once she gets that, then I think Marigold's inexperience will still hinder her, and I agree (as I stated earlier) that I don't think she's reading the best material to teach her how to bridge the gap (Tai's "inevitable clefts" included), but she's got to understand that everyone is not her first.

Words of wisdom. It is hard work to make the reader see and feel what the author has in mind at the best of times, and erotic fiction carries the additional burden that a scene that turns on one person, squicks another out entirely. Inexperience is a problem, but experience of sex doesn't translate easily into good writing about it either; one assumes that Laurel Hamilton is not a virgin, after all. Either way, it is easy to slide into a hideous combination of tedious mechanical description, and semi-coy purple prose. I nearly included a quotation from a story I wrote at the age of eighteen* as an example, but it would just be too embarrassing...

I believe that reading the work of good authors is fairly essential to learning to write. So far Marigold's reading has seemed to be restricted to JKR (good story-telling, banal prose style), manga (not well-written IMHO especially in translation), and fan-fiction (...). Not promising. Mind you, one needs to read many good authors to avoid the dangers of writing pastiche. I adore Raymond Chandler, but have a dreadful tendency to start mimicking his slightly overwrought descriptive style, without a gramme of his talent.

*A completely original detective/adventure story set in Shanghai circa 1935 featuring a not-at-all self-insert plucky young Chinese heroine, and an American hero who bore no resemblance whatever to a certain fedora-wearing archeologist. Just been rereading it. It's so bad...

[St.Clair]

There there, it's okay.  *pats*  We all have our Old Shame(s).
(And sometimes not even that Old...  )

[jwhouk]

On a different note - anyone else notice that Tai's been in Dora's closet?

The evidence is here.  Time to arrest the miscreant and throw her in prison. 

Then we can get the "Girls in Prison" arc going - you can thank me for the mental images later.

I just peeked back at that strip - the title is "I Have That Sweater". So she hasn't only stolen it from Dora's closet, but she's actually broken down the fourth wall and stolen it from Jeph's closet.

WAY too meta.

[Carl-E]

Either that, or he's speaking for the reader - we all  have that sweater in our closet...

...and considering the target audience of the early comic, that may well have been the case!

[Dliessmgg]

His target audience were kidnappers? 

[jwhouk]

His target audience were kidnappers? 

(Hands Dliessmgg one Internets)

[jwhouk]

Moment of the Week:

Faye catches Marigold reading Slash    - 2 (2.9%)
Tai WROTE "Quidditch Field Idyll"    - 3 (4.4%)
WILL YOU SIGN MY NETBOOK    - 3 (4.4%)
"It's really good though!"    - 0 (0%)
Wanna come to dinner?    - 1 (1.5%)
Marigold has no idea, does she?    - 17 (25%)
Novel Euphemism    - 8 (11.8%)
It's got lots of potential!    - 0 (0%)
B-but yea, TONS of potential!    - 4 (5.9%)
You have to show people WHY it's sexy.    - 3 (4.4%)
Ron... and SNAPE...    - 15 (22.1%)
I give up.    - 12 (17.6%)

Total Voters: 68

[raoullefere]

Either that, or he's speaking for the reader - we all  have that sweater in our closet...

...and considering the target audience of the early comic, that may well have been the case!

Now Carl, you know that's not true. After all, you had to trade all your pullovers in for cardigans a few years back—it's all part of being a GOM.

[Carl-E]

It's all fleece now anyway. 

[ershnuff]

Tai's explanation of why "And then Harry kissed Ron and it was very sexy" fails as a descriptive sentence sucks. I would've said something more along the lines of...

"One of the major points of fictional writing is description and immersion. There is very little description and immersion to be had in 'and it was very sexy'. To assume that it's obvious that something is sexy is foolhardy due to the fact that this conclusion is dependent upon the reader, whereas more colorful descriptions enhance the experience and mental image. The more vague and presumptuous you become with your writing the more of a failure your writing becomes."

Unfortunately though, that wouldn't have been very funny. I'm pretty sure Jeph chose his dialogue for the potential of teh lulz, not finding a logical explanation as to why Mariogold's choice of words is bland.

[Olymander]

"One of the major points of fictional writing is description and immersion. There is very little description and immersion to be had in 'and it was very sexy'. To assume that it's obvious that something is sexy is foolhardy due to the fact that this conclusion is dependent upon the reader, whereas more colorful descriptions enhance the experience and mental image. The more vague and presumptuous you become with your writing the more of a failure your writing becomes."

If her eyes didn't glaze over first.  Part of the issue is, I'm not completely sure that she really wants criticism, or learning, here.  I suspect her thoughts might run more along the lines of "OhMyGodTaiWritesFanFicThatILove;I'mGoingToShowHerMine;She'llTellMeIt'sTheBestThingEver;I'mGoingToGetDiscovered;EEEEEEEEE!"  She may be looking for some criticism, but I'm not sure that she isn't convinced that her writing is fundamentally sound, and that she "just needs to fix a few little details."  Having Tai read it was more of a "getting validation from an author I like" rather than an actual request for criticism.  It's easily argued that if she had been looking for true criticism, she could have taken a creative writing class, or asked for some sort of peer review.  Then again, peer review might not have been entirely valuable... some of those peer reviewers can be rather vicious and unhelpful...

[Border Reiver]

Either that, or he's speaking for the reader - we all  have that sweater in our closet...

...and considering the target audience of the early comic, that may well have been the case!

Now Carl, you know that's not true. After all, you had to trade all your pullovers in for cardigans a few years back—it's all part of being a GOM.

Not true, my pullover is good thick wool.  It's warmer when I'm on the porch yelling at the kids to get off my lawn in the winter.