Topic: WCDT 2932-2936 (6th to 10th April 2015) (Read 41160 times)

CaptainFish · « **Reply #150 on:** 07 Apr 2015, 21:23 »

This is even easier than pushing Momo's belly button.

Truec · « **Reply #151 on:** 07 Apr 2015, 21:25 »

Quote from: SubaruStephen on 07 Apr 2015, 20:44

I wish I could go into an old-timey barber shop and ask for a Popular Men's Haircut.

But you need hair for that...

I wish I could go into an old-timey barber shop.

tywren · « **Reply #152 on:** 07 Apr 2015, 21:28 »

Quote from: Gladstone on 07 Apr 2015, 21:13

Of course, Emily only looks concerned in that last panel. But deep down, you know she's thinking "No plan survives first contact with the enemy"? Oh, Herr Moltke, how little you knew... and trying to suppress a maniacal giggle.

it's "No plan survives first contact with the Emily", don't worry, common mistake.

TheBiscuit · « **Reply #153 on:** 07 Apr 2015, 21:32 »

Quote from: zmeiat_joro on 07 Apr 2015, 20:43

The date went well, then. At least that's what I'm taking away from what's happened so far.

About as well as it can go for people who just don't connect at all.

Kugai · « **Reply #154 on:** 07 Apr 2015, 22:06 »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qYbVQu7YAQ

Rghfrgl · « **Reply #155 on:** 07 Apr 2015, 22:34 »

Kosh is here!

hedgie · « **Reply #156 on:** 07 Apr 2015, 22:35 »

The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the Clintons to vote.

Kugai · « **Reply #157 on:** 07 Apr 2015, 23:01 »

You are not ready for Emily

hedgie · « **Reply #158 on:** 07 Apr 2015, 23:16 »

If you go to Emily, you will die.

BenRG · « **Reply #159 on:** 07 Apr 2015, 23:36 »

So it starts! Clinton's self-esteem and self-image are both too weak and his desperation to impress Emily too strong for him to resist the slightest suggestion about anything that she may want/like. Of course, as this is Emily, there is no guarantee that these things will even approach being sensible!

So, we know where the tattoo and new dress style came from. We can only speculate about the black eye and puke right now. However, I'm sure that they will have the same basic origin: Emily vaguely suggests something and Clinton immediately charges in to apply it, desperate to please her. This will include strange dining choices and attempting to beat up guys that vaguely annoy her.

What's the bet that, tomorrow (in-universe) that Emily will confide in Claire that her brother is a little too strange for her? She'll give him another shot because he's a cute kind of weird. Claire 's reaction would be priceless!

Reaver · « **Reply #160 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 00:00 »

Clinton noooooo

TinPenguin · « **Reply #161 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 01:21 »

Clinton, you basically already have that haircut.

~~rfrank dodelijk~~ · « **Reply #162 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 02:02 »

terrible drawings today, apart from the barber who is the most human looking human to feature in qc for a looooooong time.

Endellion · « **Reply #163 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 03:14 »

Quote from: Kugai on 07 Apr 2015, 23:01

You are not ready for Emily

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_p73PZIDQuA

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #164 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 07:02 »

Quote from: Rghfrgl on 07 Apr 2015, 22:34

Kosh is here!

Kosh has always been here.

chaospersonified · « **Reply #165 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 07:26 »

That wide-eyed blank look in Clinton's eyes... I'm now thinking tattoo is possible. I underestimated the power of feminine suggestion.

Cattus · « **Reply #166 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 08:14 »

I originally thought that it would be cute to see Clinton and Emily together. Now I see that it's like sending a lamb to the lion. Not that Emily is intentionally harmful or destructive but she has no control or filter over her thought processes and says and does whatever comes to mind. Clinton has no basis for determining that this is not normal girl behavior. I now suspect that Clinton went along with every whim and thought Emily voiced - tattoo, skinny jeans, Doc Martens, new glasses, new hairstyle and then Emily (who has no control mechanism) got drunk, pissed off a patron who pounded Clinton when he defended her and then she threw up on him at the end of an altogether "delightful" evening. Poor guy.

BenRG · « **Reply #167 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 08:30 »

Quote from: Cattus on 08 Apr 2015, 08:14

I now suspect that Clinton went along with every whim and thought Emily voiced - tattoo, skinny jeans, Doc Martens, new glasses, new hairstyle and then Emily (who has no control mechanism) got drunk, pissed off a patron who pounded Clinton when he defended her and then she threw up on him at the end of an altogether "delightful" evening. Poor guy.

"Still better than my first ever date! -- Marten Reed

Pilchard123 · « **Reply #168 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 10:23 »

Still a better love story th- *glurk*

osaka · « **Reply #169 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 11:19 »

Hurricane Azuma confirmed and touching ground.

Man, Clinton is jaded. He's in "MUST. CONFORM. PETITIONS. OF. PRETTY. GIRL. IN. SUNDRESS" mode. He's staring deep into the nothingness.

CM_albion · « **Reply #170 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 12:59 »

Know, see, i was looking forward to watching Clinton the dickwaffle spend a week suffering.

but 3 days in and this isn't as fun as i'd hoped.

goddamnit.

i'm beginning to feel sorry for him. it's like watching a dumb puppy fail, there's no humor here.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #171 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 13:39 »

Interview with Jeph discusses Faye's support group and treatment of minority characters.

foolsguinea · « **Reply #172 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 17:56 »

Clinton, no. This is not what first dates are for.

explicit · « **Reply #173 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 19:12 »

Quote from: foolsguinea on 08 Apr 2015, 17:56

Clinton, no. This is not what first dates are for.

First dates are for awkward eye contact.

Rghfrgl · « **Reply #174 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 19:25 »

Quote from: foolsguinea on 08 Apr 2015, 17:56

Clinton, no. This is not what first dates are for.

Hey, maybe he's looking for a nice lady to give him orders.

SubaruStephen · « **Reply #175 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 19:28 »

Quote from: Rghfrgl on 08 Apr 2015, 19:25

Quote from: foolsguinea on 08 Apr 2015, 17:56
Clinton, no. This is not what first dates are for.

Hey, maybe he's looking for a nice lady to give him orders.

Marten knows someone... but she's currently seeing an owner of a bakery.

Schwungrad · « **Reply #176 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:08 »

Emily's face kinda looks like she is afraid of the things she set in motion. I can imagine her doing this face in the ER, after Clinton has fallen down a stairs or gotten food poisoning on the restaurant where they went to eat on their date. Her face seems to say "oh no, is this my fault? Does this ruin our date? Will he be OK?"

Clinton's face, meanwhile, says "I am going to a place I have never gone before, and whence I may never return, and I am afraid of it. I have to keep staring straight ahead, because the moment I let my eyes stray, I will turn back and run". It is the face of a soldier going into his first battle; the face of an emigrant boarding the ship to Australia.

~~valkygrrl~~ · « **Reply #177 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:11 »

Quote from: Schwungrad on 08 Apr 2015, 20:08

Clinton's face, meanwhile, says "I am going to a place I have never gone before, and whence I may never return, and I am afraid of it. I have to keep staring straight ahead, because the moment I let my eyes stray, I will turn back and run". It is the face of a soldier going into his first battle; the face of an emigrant boarding the ship to Australia.

tl:dr Love is a battlefield

SubaruStephen · « **Reply #178 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:25 »

Comic time!

So it IS a tattoo.

Gladstone · « **Reply #179 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:29 »

...and THAT'S how Jeph made everyone feel sorry for the (formerly) creepiest character in the comic.

Still, wow. A power outlet tattoo is something I might consider if I had a prosthetic hand, but this is clearly beyond Clinton's comfort zone and it's gone from awesome (in Friday's strip) to deeply, deeply sad. And not pathetic-sad either. Although also that.

Penquin47 · « **Reply #180 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:33 »

Clinton's right, he only has himself to blame, but... a power outlet? Really? Poor Clinton needs a hug and a redo on the "How to Deal With Girls" lesson.

Truec · « **Reply #181 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:37 »

I don't wanna be that guy who says mean things about single parent families, I'm sure Mrs. Augustus did the best job she could with her kids and was a wonderful mother.

That said, we have here an example of a young man who DESPERATELY could have used a strong adult male role model in his formative years.

Carl-E · « **Reply #182 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:40 »

Quote from: SubaruStephen on 08 Apr 2015, 20:25

Comic time!

So it IS a tattoo.

Yeah, I was wondering if it was, or if Emily had just drawn it on at some unfortunate point in the date.

I'm also suspecting the red spatters on his shirt are from a nosebleed. Hard to tell...

~~valkygrrl~~ · « **Reply #183 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:43 »

Quote from: Truec on 08 Apr 2015, 20:37

I don't wanna be that guy who says mean things about single parent families, I'm sure Mrs. Augustus did the best job she could with her kids and was a wonderful mother.

That said, we have here an example of a young man who DESPERATELY could have used a strong adult male role model in his formative years.

Because only men who were raised by single mothers have ever gotten tattoos to impress women?

Schwungrad · « **Reply #184 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:43 »

I think a power outlet tattoo really fits Clinton's personality (and his robot hand). Though a USB socket might have been even better.

Gladstone · « **Reply #185 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:44 »

Quote from: Penquin47 on 08 Apr 2015, 20:33

but... a power outlet? Really? Poor Clinton needs a hug and a redo on the "How to Deal With Girls" lesson.

Quote from: Schwungrad on 08 Apr 2015, 20:43

I think a power outlet tattoo really fits Clinton's personality (and his robot hand). Though a USB socket might have been even better.

I've never experienced the traumatic loss of a hand, but if I did, and if I was able to replace it with a prosthetic hand on the technological level of the QC-verse, then I might actually consider poking mild fun at myself and my condition with a somewhat-lighthearted tattoo showing off that I was a "cyborg." Maybe. Obviously I can't really know for sure, but I can guess. But Clinton isn't as casually easygoing as I imagine myself to be. Sure, he's not ashamed of his injury, and he's definitely not shy about displaying his cybernetic replacement, but one thing Clinton is definitely NOT, is casually-lighthearted about it. He's proud of his hand and somewhat confrontational about it (as demonstrated by his refusal to wear a flesh covering), but a jokey tattoo completely destroys that image. He is going to regret this for a long, long time.

This comic actually hurts to read.

(Edit: And I know I joked about his getting a tattoo earlier this week and in the last thread, but seeing it play out in the comic has changed my mind, and I'm not very happy with the direction this storyline went.)

jwhouk · « **Reply #186 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:46 »

Whatever website it was that gave him dating advice needs to be taken down.

I think he'd have a pretty good case against them, myself.

Gladstone · « **Reply #187 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:49 »

Quote from: valkygrrl on 08 Apr 2015, 20:43

Quote from: Truec on 08 Apr 2015, 20:37
I don't wanna be that guy who says mean things about single parent families, I'm sure Mrs. Augustus did the best job she could with her kids and was a wonderful mother.

That said, we have here an example of a young man who DESPERATELY could have used a strong adult male role model in his formative years.

Because only men who were raised by single mothers have ever gotten tattoos to impress women?

And no fathers have ever raised their kids wrong or given bad advice!

SubaruStephen · « **Reply #188 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:50 »

Quote from: Schwungrad on 08 Apr 2015, 20:43

I think a power outlet tattoo really fits Clinton's personality (and his robot hand).

Nah, one of these would fit his personality better:

Ya know, 'cause he can be a bit of a knob sometimes...

Aziraphale · « **Reply #189 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 20:53 »

Poor bastard.

I like seeing another side to Clinton; he's coming across as a more nuanced and sympathetic character in these last several strips. Hopefully Jeph does the same with Emily. She isn't unsympathetic, but she's been awfully one-note.

Kugai · « **Reply #190 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 21:07 »

Oh dear

Clinton, you poor bastard.

Laughing my ass off here

joran · « **Reply #191 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 21:11 »

This doesn't even make sense. Clinton wasn't ever into Emily, it was just Claire/Marten's offhanded suggestion/tease that he ask her out. Why does he want to impress her? Why does she care about tattoos and undercuts all of a sudden? This woman drunkenly cut her own hair off one day. Just...doesn't seem in character for either.

I also realized that the comic is really into characters who have no experience in sex/relationships these days. I'm thinking early days Marten, Steve, Faye, Dora, Sven to Marigold, (Dale?), Claire, Clinton, Emily. As the comic is aging up the characters are aging down in terms of experience, if not maturity. I'm gonna let Tai and Hannelore cancel each other out because I figure they showed up early and around the same time.

Elder Sign · « **Reply #192 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 21:24 »

To me, this whole arc smacks of "Hey, these are the two weirdest characters in the strip right now, let's shove them together, watch it all go to hell, and then point and laugh!", both in-universe (Claire and Marten being mean and messing with Clinton and Emily for kicks) and out-of-universe (Jeph deciding that they must suffer to make a few punchlines).

I'm not looking kindly on this storyline, since I have plenty of experience with being the odd/bookish person in the room/class/group and getting messed with relentlessly because others found it "funny". So no, I'm not getting a kick out of this one. If this is Jeph's way of backhandedly making me (and others) sympathize with Emily and Clinton, well, it's working.

On top of that, the contrast between relationships could not be any more stark. Claire and Marten get a hundred strips of relentless saccharine overkill; meanwhile, Faye and Angus are no more, Dale and Marigold get no screen time, Dora and Tai get one brief strip of one argument, and Emily and Clinton get used as the butt of jokes. Gee, I totally can't tell who the author's favourites are ...

jheartney · « **Reply #193 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 21:25 »

One of the mysteries of humanity is the way that different individuals, in combination, bring out bits of one another that otherwise may never be seen. In my own experience I've seen this in many many interactions. In some ways i become a slightly different person each time I'm interacting with many people I know. In some cases, there may be incurable awkwardness and clumsiness, while in others, there's confidence, or loquacity, or shyness. I may become a nerdy raconteur, or a bemused but mostly silent observer, or many other unexpected personalities. The passage of time doesn't seem to affect it much, either. Seeing an old acquaintance, I slip into the same mental place I was with them years earlier. I don't think I'm the only one this happens to.

Jeph is a good enough observer of humanity that he picks up on this. We've all seen how doormat Marten transformed into a suave and confident man-about-town when in Claire's company. I don't think this is bad writing; to the contrary, it's something that really happens, and it's a sign that the two could have a nice future together. They complete each other and turn one another into better people.

Clinton and Emily's personal chemistry is looking just dire. She becomes even more of a space cadet, and he becomes a complete kneebiter who makes terrible choices. It's difficult to watch, honestly. Maybe they'll find a way through all this to stop going to wherever mental space they send one to, but it's not looking hopeful.

Warning - while you were typing 2 people took the thread in another direction entirely. You may wish to dump your post.

Aziraphale · « **Reply #194 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 21:28 »

Quote from: joran on 08 Apr 2015, 21:11

This doesn't even make sense. Clinton wasn't ever into Emily, it was just Claire/Marten's offhanded suggestion/tease that he ask her out. Why does he want to impress her? Why does she care about tattoos and undercuts all of a sudden? This woman drunkenly cut her own hair off one day. Just...doesn't seem in character for either.

I also realized that the comic is really into characters who have no experience in sex/relationships these days. I'm thinking early days Marten, Steve, Faye, Dora, Sven to Marigold, (Dale?), Claire, Clinton, Emily. As the comic is aging up the characters are aging down in terms of experience, if not maturity. I'm gonna let Tai and Hannelore cancel each other out because I figure they showed up early and around the same time.

Character dynamics. Any time you have a differential in experience (including, but not limited to, romantic experience), you have the potential for a more interesting story; there's potential for conflict, learning, humor, and quite a bit else. If everybody was perfectly and evenly matched, things would likely get old quick.

You also have to bear in mind that not everyone has the same experiences at the same time, then factor in age (some of these characters are younger than others, don't forget), and general nerdiness/geekyness (it made a difference for some of us, y'know).

Regarding the dynamic of their relationship so far: sometimes things start well and go to shit. And sometimes things get off to a shaky start -- as they've been doing here -- and end up quite well. It's a bit early yet to be writing the post-mortem for Emily and Clinton as a couple, or to second-guess what this means for either character's growth as the whole thing unfolds.

jheartney · « **Reply #195 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 21:33 »

Quote from: joran on 08 Apr 2015, 21:11

This doesn't even make sense. Clinton wasn't ever into Emily, it was just Claire/Marten's offhanded suggestion/tease that he ask her out. Why does he want to impress her? Why does she care about tattoos and undercuts all of a sudden? This woman drunkenly cut her own hair off one day. Just...doesn't seem in character for either.

I can totally see it. Clinton has a high opinion of himself, combined with zero actual experience with dating. Of course he wants to do a well with it as he possibly can, regardless if whatever feelings he might or might not have for Emily. Stupid pride, combined with completely losing his sense of self when he gazes into those big brown eyes. Emily is no more realistic in her expectations than Clinton, and has a tendency to be totally into random things (frogs, muskrats, tatoos, whatever), at least for a short time. A trainwreck follows.

Rghfrgl · « **Reply #196 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 21:47 »

Well...as weak willed as he's being overall I'll give him credit for one thing.

He's looking right at that needle. I'm not the tattoo type, but if I were I'd be tense and looking the other way.

Though I guess maybe getting a hand blown off puts that kinda thing in perspective.

vforvancouver · « **Reply #197 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 21:50 »

So it was a tattoo. Damn, I stand corrected. Might as well disguise my scar with a tattoo.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #198 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 21:55 »

It's the week for painful webcomic reading. Gunnerkrigg Court has been hurting even more than this arc.

The expression on Emily's face is cute but more than a little alarming.

Medwin · « **Reply #199 on:** 08 Apr 2015, 22:02 »

Quote from: joran on 08 Apr 2015, 21:11

This doesn't even make sense. Clinton wasn't ever into Emily, it was just Claire/Marten's offhanded suggestion/tease that he ask her out. Why does he want to impress her? Why does she care about tattoos and undercuts all of a sudden? This woman drunkenly cut her own hair off one day. Just...doesn't seem in character for either.

Well Emily is very smart and she was in a class with Clinton. So he may have had an odd fascination for her, plus dates are suppose to let you get to know one another. Going on this date he might discover things about her that he finds attractive.

Anyway, here is the strip about her project.

Side note, I honestly didn't think Clinton was that creepy he was just... passionate.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Poll

So, what DID happen to Clinton's arm?

Author Topic: WCDT 2932-2936 (6th to 10th April 2015) (Read 41160 times)