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Poll

Further complications for Clinton and Elliot?

Clinton falls hard for May when he sees her in her new chassis.
- 3 (6.7%)
Brun professes her attraction to Clinton and/or Elliot, and announces intentions to persue one/both of them.
- 13 (28.9%)
Emily asks Clinton if he's still interested in dating her.
- 7 (15.6%)
Roko asks Clinton or Elliot out.
- 6 (13.3%)
Elliot asks Renee to go on a practice date with him.
- 3 (6.7%)
Padma comes back after a breakup/divorce and rebounds hard to Elliot.
- 3 (6.7%)
Sven is not a mooch.
- 10 (22.2%)

Total Members Voted: 44


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Author Topic: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)  (Read 21342 times)

Gyrre

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #100 on: 27 Aug 2020, 20:48 »

I am so very glad I take a late lunch.

Not sure I'd ever live it down [1] if any of my coworkers saw me scrolling down to that last panel.



1. I never realized what an odd phrase that is until I typed it out on my phone just now.
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chris73

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #101 on: 27 Aug 2020, 20:55 »

Quote
There's no need to call her a b*tch.

She stops acting b***hy I'll stop calling her a b**ch

I mean she seriously won't be happy unless there are strippers involved? This is exactly what I'm talking about with convicts, they're never happy with what they're given, they always (and I mean always) want more

Wants a new body, gets the money for a new body (even a top of the line body) but still not happy until strippers are involved

An ex-con will now have a superior (possibly) body than most robots that haven't broken the law but hey its alright because really shes a good person deep down
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Reaver

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #102 on: 27 Aug 2020, 20:56 »

Quote
There's no need to call her a b*tch.

She stops acting b***hy I'll stop calling her a b**ch

I mean she seriously won't be happy unless there are strippers involved? This is exactly what I'm talking about with convicts, they're never happy with what they're given, they always (and I mean always) want more

Wants a new body, gets the money for a new body (even a top of the line body) but still not happy until strippers are involved

An ex-con will now have a superior (possibly) body than most robots that haven't broken the law but hey its alright because really shes a good person deep down

It's a webcomic, there is going to be a punchline at the end of the page, the punchline is strippers.

You're using a gendered insult when there doesn't need to be one.
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chris73

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #103 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:00 »

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You're using a gendered insult when there doesn't need to be one.

Its ok because deep down I'm a good person so everyone will forgive me
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Gyrre

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #104 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:02 »

All forms of sexual labor, including stripping, are ethically risky under capitalism, or any regime where the possibility exists that someone might be driven to such labor solely because it's the only way they can survive. What's important isn't whether money changes hands, but whether the person is genuinely free and consenting. "This is the only way I can stave off starvation and/or homelessness" does not count as consent for this purpose. In principle, the gender of the strippers doesn't matter, though in practice, the majority of sex workers are women, so it's a feminist issue.

The few strip clubs I've been dragged to are literally the most depressing places I've ever been to. This statement includes 11 family funerals including those of four grandparents.

I'd wager the 'I'm doing this so I don't starve' combined with the creepy leering old dudes and the broke-ass losers "tryin' ta get with" the strippers are the reason for that deressing atmosphere.

As someone who used to work in a club many years ago, I can tell you that most of the women worked there because they chose to. There were a couple that I knew that worked because of a bad situation, but even they changed after a while of working.

The inherent truth of a club is that it is a con game. Even the strippers who don't initially run the game eventually reach a point of doing so because it is economically viable in an extreme sense. The men, gullible mooks that they are, are paying for a fantasy. The women are milking that fantasy as closely as they can without violating the law, raking over a bundle of cash. I've worked at places with house fees and without, but it is typical for a woman who knows how to run the con well to bring home 1k-2k a night in cold hard cash. A lot of them cheat on their taxes as well. Three to four nights a week, or more. One woman I worked with told me she had made well over a 100k the previous year (1993).

Those are the numbers if they are just running the game. If they take it farther and set up dates with clients or allow clients to do things in the rooms, they can easily make more. If they are travelling headliners, it's even more money. That is why a lot of porn stars do strip clubs in their down time, they make more money travelling the clubs than they do per movie, even the 'stars'.

Is there a dark side? Yes, there are always a small number of women who had mental or substance issues. The thing is, they don't last long because they can't run the con well. Or they try to and get caught by the law.

I have been out of the game for a very long time, but if you had walked into a club back in the 90's and tried to reason with one of the strippers, they would have laughed you out of the place. To them it's a way to control men and get paid. I was even conned by them initially. I had been working at Arby's when I was 18 and a pair of women came in around 2 AM (LSS, it was an Arby's in a 24 hour truck stop). They persuaded the night supervisor to give them free food if they flashed their tits. I managed to get one of their numbers and she led me down the path of working in the club she was in. Then when she found someone with a better cash flow, I was history. Strippers are mercenary to the core.

That amount is strictly contingent on one of the key cornerstones of good business; location location location.
I'd imagine strippers in a dive(?) strip clubon the 'bad side of the tracks' in OKC  are taking home less than a stripper from a high-endclub in OKC. And both probably aren't taking home as much as strippers from either coast. Literally or comparatively (accounting for cost of living and such).
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Gyrre

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #105 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:04 »

Quote
You're using a gendered insult when there doesn't need to be one.

Its ok because deep down I'm a good person so everyone will forgive me

Or forget you.

(removed by moderator) are  a dime a dozen online and IRL. Please work on whatever issue(s) you have. Possibly consider another line of work.

EDIT: typo-fix; 'dime' not 'die'. No threat intended.
« Last Edit: 28 Aug 2020, 00:28 by Gyrre »
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"Broken swords and dragon bones scattered on the way back home."

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chris73

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #106 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:16 »

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Possibly consider another line of work.

Quite arrogant of you to decide what line of work I should be in don't you think? I could ask you what experience you have in Corrections that makes you such an expert to be able to decide something like that (but really I don't care about your opinion) I will say though that maybe you should walk a mile in my shoes before you pass judgement on me

Join up with Corrections in your country, walk the floor, deal with the prisoners, take the abuse, worry if the threats will be carried out, work the holidays, work the nights, wonder if this will be the day someone blindsides you, break up the fights, do the at risk on rape victims, console the bereaved, explain verbally what they can't read, listen to the complaints, wonder what diseases the urine, shit, semen, blood or phlegm on your clothes contain, look up someones asshole to see if they're hiding anything up there and the paperwork, don't forget the paperwork

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Sorflakne

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #107 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:21 »

Huh, what do you know.  Strippers showed up after all.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #108 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:25 »

Quote
Possibly consider another line of work.

Quite arrogant of you to decide what line of work I should be in don't you think? I could ask you what experience you have in Corrections that makes you such an expert to be able to decide something like that (but really I don't care about your opinion) I will say though that maybe you should walk a mile in my shoes before you pass judgement on me

Join up with Corrections in your country, walk the floor, deal with the prisoners, take the abuse, worry if the threats will be carried out, work the holidays, work the nights, wonder if this will be the day someone blindsides you, break up the fights, do the at risk on rape victims, console the bereaved, explain verbally what they can't read, listen to the complaints, wonder what diseases the urine, shit, semen, blood or phlegm on your clothes contain, look up someones asshole to see if they're hiding anything up there and the paperwork, don't forget the paperwork

Why are you here on a discussion forum if you don't care about anyone's opinion but your own?????
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Farideh

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #109 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:32 »

Guys, can we please take it down a notch? Things are getting very heated here
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chris73

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #110 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:36 »

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Why are you here on a discussion forum if you don't care about anyone's opinion but your own?????

Where did I say I don't care about anyones opinion?

I said I didn't care about Gyrres opinion. As soon as someone says something like "I disagree with your opinion therefore you should consider another line of work even though I have no idea what its like to work as a (insert occupation here)"  I lose all interest in their opinion because its such a tired, cliched thing to say
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chris73

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #111 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:38 »

Guys, can we please take it down a notch? Things are getting very heated here

Fair enough
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #112 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:40 »

Huh, what do you know.  Strippers showed up after all.

Strippers are like wizards, they show up when they are needed most!
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Gnabberwocky

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #113 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:55 »

I was not expecting any of this from Beepatrice. She's normally so..."reasonable" feels like the wrong word. I guess "clean?" That's not quite what I'm going for, but you get my point.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #114 on: 27 Aug 2020, 21:56 »

Global Moderator Comment Point 1, I am uncomfortable with the temperature here. Point 2, we have had women with long proven histories of not sweating the small stuff who have told us that having sex-based insults used even against a fictional character interferes with their feeling welcome. Point 3, we have some ex-con members who don't deserve to be insulted.

I don't think the description of endless demands fits May. She's barely accepting the gift, and the strippers were a punch line. It certainly does not fit the former correctional officer I corresponded with when she was in prison. She got released to homelessness without even nominal gate money, and by dint of effort I may never learn the extent of put herself through CDL school and is working 14-hour days to support her kids.
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Gnabberwocky

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #115 on: 27 Aug 2020, 22:19 »

I'm a teenager living in a mostly white community, far enough away from the nearest prison that I don't even know where it is. I can't hope to understand who's right and who's wrong in this situation. What I can understand is this:

Getting angrier makes you less and less likely to get your point across. As the argument heats up, the participants tend to cling closer and closer to their opinions. If you want a discussion to be considered a civil debate and not a frothing flame war, you have to de-escalate.

I've been seeing more and more heated arguments on the forums. I joined because I thought it was a place where I could talk to others about a comic without the usual internet problems. By all means, feel free to share your opinions, but for everyone's sake, please do so in a civil and respectful way.
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Tova

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #116 on: 27 Aug 2020, 22:21 »

New comic's up, and, um, yeah. There it is, a new comic.

Yep. You're right, it's a comic.

And it is new. Kinda. I mean, it's more of what we've already seen in terms of behaviour and ideas, so probably reactions will be pretty quiet. Still, can't wait to read them when they arrive.

*waits patiently*
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #117 on: 27 Aug 2020, 22:36 »

Quote from: Gnabberwocky
By all means, feel free to share your opinions, but for everyone's sake, please do so in a civil and respectful way.

Global Moderator Comment Yes, please. I urge new people to look at the debates in Akima's posting history. She is passionate, uncompromising, and creates mutual respect in every argument she's in.

Global Moderator Comment Now that expectations are clear, the next gendered insult will be deleted, and the next personal exchange will get the thread locked.
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brasca

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #118 on: 27 Aug 2020, 22:51 »

It would seem that Beepatrice has some aptitude when it comes to organizing strippers.  Maybe they’re coworkers from her sex toy testing job.
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BenRG

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #119 on: 27 Aug 2020, 23:12 »

Well, that's another comic  that likely was funnier in Jeph's head than it's turned out to be. Oddly enough, the thing that breaks it most for me is May's meme sunglasses. It gives the panel an unfinished feel or that Jeph is trying to be one of the 'cool kids' and not really understanding how.

So, overall, yeah, I'm with panel 3 Roko on this one.

I was not expecting any of this from Beepatrice. She's normally so..."reasonable" feels like the wrong word. I guess "clean?" That's not quite what I'm going for, but you get my point.

Yeah, it's a bit OOC and feels crowbarred in to justify the 'joke' in panel 3.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #120 on: 27 Aug 2020, 23:53 »

So, overall, yeah, I'm with panel 3 Roko on this one.

Same.  :-\
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Y

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #121 on: 28 Aug 2020, 00:27 »

What if those aren't strippers but body-positivity coaches instead?
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #122 on: 28 Aug 2020, 01:18 »

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You're using a gendered insult when there doesn't need to be one.

Its ok because deep down I'm a good person so everyone will forgive me

Global Moderator Comment The Internet judges what you display on the screen, though. Take note of the criticism.
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Gyrre

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #123 on: 28 Aug 2020, 01:28 »

The following is meant solely in response to today's comic and not directed at any forummite or previous comment in this thread.

If I had the self confidence for it, I'd quit my stressful job and become a male stripper.
I'd probably be on my feet about the same with the dance practice, though.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #124 on: 28 Aug 2020, 01:45 »

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The Internet judges what you display on the screen, though.  Take note of the criticism.[/gmod]

This was sorted hours ago, please stop trying to reignite the situation.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #125 on: 28 Aug 2020, 04:46 »

It just hit me that May is the same character as Ouiser Boudreaux in Steel Magnolias.  She feels, with possibly sufficient justification, that life has taken a dump all over her and continues to do so no matter what happens to her.  She's got a maximum-force Good Thing happening to her and doesn't know what to do because she wants that new body desperately, but she's terrified something will go wrong and she'll be stuck, still, in the junk she's wearing now, AND she doesn't understand what the protocol is for showing proper gratitude to the people making all this happen.  So now she's conjured the party-scene-image, and will likely make an idiot of herself, which will get her thrown out of the shop and therefore reinforcing her negative expectations.  Roko is right, and Roko's mistake is going along with this at all.

But what in the world has happened to Beeps (look at her eyes in panel 2 of 4340 - she's never been so sneaky before)?  Will she make a play for May?  Or try to get May to find a body Beeps finds ... interesting?
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chris73

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #126 on: 28 Aug 2020, 05:08 »

Quote
She feels, with possibly sufficient justification, that life has taken a dump all over her and continues to do so no matter what happens to her. 

Apart from meeting up with and taken in by Dale, being friends with Momo, having a job, getting free (or heavily discounted) body work from Bubbles and Faye and getting a a whole heap of money from strangers
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #127 on: 28 Aug 2020, 06:36 »

I am still just happy that May is experiencing happiness on her terms. Not a vision of happiness someone else told her she needs to have. Clearly trauma runs deep in AI just as with humans. (As we've seen with Bubbles.) It's gonna take more time to heal. And I think *really listening to her* like Beeps did here is a great step in that direction. Showing her she can become a person of her own making.

Also the strippers were clearly set up as a way to assuage the specific fear of seeming poor in a "rich" shop. She busted in with a display of wealth and power. Overcompensation? Yes. But it got her in the door.

If, IRL, a person is being hurt by actions by someone like May, absolutely they can cut her out of their life. People are under no obligation to keep a relationship that is toxic to them. But this comic is a beautiful example of what to do if you decide that the person is worth the effort. QC is good people doing their best. And it's my favorite thing and why I love this comic dearly.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #128 on: 28 Aug 2020, 06:39 »

Quote
She feels, with possibly sufficient justification, that life has taken a dump all over her and continues to do so no matter what happens to her. 

Apart from meeting up with and taken in by Dale, being friends with Momo, having a job, getting free (or heavily discounted) body work from Bubbles and Faye and getting a a whole heap of money from strangers

I don't feel that there is a margin of generosity where she ceases to be deserving.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #129 on: 28 Aug 2020, 06:46 »

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I don't feel that there is a margin of generosity where she ceases to be deserving.

Just saying that her life isn't as bad as she thinks it is but then maybe thats part of the narrative shes built up for herself
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #130 on: 28 Aug 2020, 06:57 »

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I don't feel that there is a margin of generosity where she ceases to be deserving.

Just saying that her life isn't as bad as she thinks it is but then maybe thats part of the narrative shes built up for herself

Her body is quite literally disintegrating.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #131 on: 28 Aug 2020, 07:10 »

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Her body is quite literally disintegrating.

Yes and thats sad however that doesn't take away everything else thats good in her life
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #132 on: 28 Aug 2020, 07:18 »

Both Chris and SpanielBear make good points. However, I think that, whilst Chris is correct that May has many blessings for which she should be grateful, I do think that he's ignoring the degree to which the psychological consequences of her physiological condition impacts on her ability to appreciate those blessings. Yes, she has many good things in her life. Unfortunately, she also has a great number of bad things in her life and one or two absolutely terrible things. Unfortunately, as with most humans, the bad outweighs the good.

It is all very well to wag your finger and tut-tut about her ingratitude but her situation makes it impossible for her to fully appreciate it. I find it odd that Chris, with his experience, isn't more aware of the way that negative psychological pressures can make people cynical, disruptive and outright obnoxious, even  when they have every possible rational cause to want to be otherwise and modifies his expectations accordingly.

That said... Yeah, May is a brat who enjoys being the rowdy teenage class clown a bit too much. That's definitely one of the major negatives of who she is.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #133 on: 28 Aug 2020, 08:48 »

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I find it odd that Chris, with his experience, isn't more aware of the way that negative psychological pressures can make people cynical, disruptive and outright obnoxious, even  when they have every possible rational cause to want to be otherwise and modifies his expectations accordingly.

That said... Yeah, May is a brat who enjoys being the rowdy teenage class clown a bit too much. That's definitely one of the major negatives of who she is.

I'm aware of it but people still make their own choices and May, to a large degree, chooses to act the way she does
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #134 on: 28 Aug 2020, 09:22 »

May's cynicism is holding her back, as I see it.

I wonder if she's the new Faye, reminding forum people of seriously unpleasant incidents with people from their past. Faye showed more attempts to get better (while remaining stuck).
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #135 on: 28 Aug 2020, 10:13 »

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I don't feel that there is a margin of generosity where she ceases to be deserving.

Just saying that her life isn't as bad as she thinks it is but then maybe thats part of the narrative shes built up for herself

Chris, I am a little concerned about how much spite you seem to have directed to a fictional AI.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #136 on: 28 Aug 2020, 11:22 »

In this instance, as well as with some others, I can feel for May. I don’t know what her life was like before gaol, but I can understand being a bit prickly and suspicious h here. Anyone who has been shat on enough by life, or abused can.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #137 on: 28 Aug 2020, 11:54 »

Honestly, my primary concern with this comic is whether those strippers are being paid out of the fundraiser money.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #138 on: 28 Aug 2020, 12:13 »

Perhaps Beeps knows them from her job. Also, I seem to vaguely remember the male stripper showing up previously in the comic, but I don’t remember when it was.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #139 on: 28 Aug 2020, 13:07 »

Perhaps Beeps knows them from her job. Also, I seem to vaguely remember the male stripper showing up previously in the comic, but I don’t remember when it was.

Just because Beeps works at a sex toy company, does not mean that the people who work there are also strippers lol

Also dang I wish when MY body is falling apart/becoming crap I can just buy a new one DX<
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #140 on: 28 Aug 2020, 15:27 »

As someone who used to work in a club many years ago, I can tell you that most of the women worked there because they chose to. There were a couple that I knew that worked because of a bad situation, but even they changed after a while of working.

The inherent truth of a club is that it is a con game. Even the strippers who don't initially run the game eventually reach a point of doing so because it is economically viable in an extreme sense. The men, gullible mooks that they are, are paying for a fantasy. The women are milking that fantasy as closely as they can without violating the law, raking over a bundle of cash. I've worked at places with house fees and without, but it is typical for a woman who knows how to run the con well to bring home 1k-2k a night in cold hard cash. A lot of them cheat on their taxes as well. Three to four nights a week, or more. One woman I worked with told me she had made well over a 100k the previous year (1993).

Those are the numbers if they are just running the game. If they take it farther and set up dates with clients or allow clients to do things in the rooms, they can easily make more. If they are travelling headliners, it's even more money. That is why a lot of porn stars do strip clubs in their down time, they make more money travelling the clubs than they do per movie, even the 'stars'.

Is there a dark side? Yes, there are always a small number of women who had mental or substance issues. The thing is, they don't last long because they can't run the con well. Or they try to and get caught by the law.

I have been out of the game for a very long time, but if you had walked into a club back in the 90's and tried to reason with one of the strippers, they would have laughed you out of the place. To them it's a way to control men and get paid. I was even conned by them initially. I had been working at Arby's when I was 18 and a pair of women came in around 2 AM (LSS, it was an Arby's in a 24 hour truck stop). They persuaded the night supervisor to give them free food if they flashed their tits. I managed to get one of their numbers and she led me down the path of working in the club she was in. Then when she found someone with a better cash flow, I was history. Strippers are mercenary to the core.
Thanks for this perspective. It seems to address some concerns while raising others. It does seem to confirm my feeling that getting anywhere near this business, in any capacity, isn't a great idea.

May obviously feels differently. The strippers might just be an ephemeral punchline, but if not, I don't see how this could turn out well. She's covering up her insecurity with a display of vulgarity and bravado. I sympathize with the desire to do this - I don't feel entirely comfortable in an upscale fashion mall either (but really, the "fancy-assness" of this store is probably mostly in her head - lots of AIs have bodies, not just the 1%). However, this tactic is likely to further alienate her from the broader community that she's still trying to reintegrate into. She needs to realize that she belongs in this store as much as anyone else. I'm surprised that Roko is going along with this, even reluctantly.
« Last Edit: 28 Aug 2020, 15:32 by Beast_Reborn »
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #141 on: 28 Aug 2020, 15:33 »

Roko probably saw this option as the lesser of two evils: either 'allow' the strippers, or have May dig her heels in even further.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #142 on: 28 Aug 2020, 15:58 »

All forms of sexual labor, including stripping, are ethically risky under capitalism, or any regime where the possibility exists that someone might be driven to such labor solely because it's the only way they can survive. What's important isn't whether money changes hands, but whether the person is genuinely free and consenting. "This is the only way I can stave off starvation and/or homelessness" does not count as consent for this purpose. In principle, the gender of the strippers doesn't matter, though in practice, the majority of sex workers are women, so it's a feminist issue.

The few strip clubs I've been dragged to are literally the most depressing places I've ever been to. This statement includes 11 family funerals including those of four grandparents.

I'd wager the 'I'm doing this so I don't starve' combined with the creepy leering old dudes and the broke-ass losers "tryin' ta get with" the strippers are the reason for that deressing atmosphere.

As someone who used to work in a club many years ago, I can tell you that most of the women worked there because they chose to. There were a couple that I knew that worked because of a bad situation, but even they changed after a while of working.

The inherent truth of a club is that it is a con game. Even the strippers who don't initially run the game eventually reach a point of doing so because it is economically viable in an extreme sense. The men, gullible mooks that they are, are paying for a fantasy. The women are milking that fantasy as closely as they can without violating the law, raking over a bundle of cash. I've worked at places with house fees and without, but it is typical for a woman who knows how to run the con well to bring home 1k-2k a night in cold hard cash. A lot of them cheat on their taxes as well. Three to four nights a week, or more. One woman I worked with told me she had made well over a 100k the previous year (1993).

Those are the numbers if they are just running the game. If they take it farther and set up dates with clients or allow clients to do things in the rooms, they can easily make more. If they are travelling headliners, it's even more money. That is why a lot of porn stars do strip clubs in their down time, they make more money travelling the clubs than they do per movie, even the 'stars'.

Is there a dark side? Yes, there are always a small number of women who had mental or substance issues. The thing is, they don't last long because they can't run the con well. Or they try to and get caught by the law.

I have been out of the game for a very long time, but if you had walked into a club back in the 90's and tried to reason with one of the strippers, they would have laughed you out of the place. To them it's a way to control men and get paid. I was even conned by them initially. I had been working at Arby's when I was 18 and a pair of women came in around 2 AM (LSS, it was an Arby's in a 24 hour truck stop). They persuaded the night supervisor to give them free food if they flashed their tits. I managed to get one of their numbers and she led me down the path of working in the club she was in. Then when she found someone with a better cash flow, I was history. Strippers are mercenary to the core.

That amount is strictly contingent on one of the key cornerstones of good business; location location location.
I'd imagine strippers in a dive(?) strip clubon the 'bad side of the tracks' in OKC  are taking home less than a stripper from a high-endclub in OKC. And both probably aren't taking home as much as strippers from either coast. Literally or comparatively (accounting for cost of living and such).

You are most likely correct. I would make an educated guess that even in areas where strippers can't pull that kind of money, they are still very likely to be making much more than the average wage in that locale. I can only speak to what I know based upon the region I was in at the time, although I did work multiple clubs (some good, some bad) before I moved on to a more normal work environment.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #143 on: 28 Aug 2020, 22:46 »

Chris, I am a little concerned about how much spite you seem to have directed to a fictional AI.

I'm not. I'd say it's actually kind of normal.

QC is very much a character-driven strip. While not every character is fleshed out (hello, Melon!), many of them are fairly complex. Many (most?) people on this forum spend a lot of time talking about them and their actions as if they were real people. Disliking a particular character is just the flip side of the affection that forum regulars display toward characters like Bubbles.

Or to put it another way, if you're upset that someone intensely dislikes a character you kind of like, how is that any different? If you feel a character is "just a fictional AI," shouldn't you be largely indifferent?

Fictional characters, in QC or in books, push our buttons because they remind us of people we've met in real life. We are, in a way, talking about the real people whose reflections we see those fictional characters.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #144 on: 29 Aug 2020, 00:07 »

QC is very much a character-driven strip. While not every character is fleshed out (hello, Melon!), many of them are fairly complex. Many (most?) people on this forum spend a lot of time talking about them and their actions as if they were real people. Disliking a particular character is just the flip side of the affection that forum regulars display toward characters like Bubbles.

It's not a matter of whether someone likes or dislikes any particular character, it's a matter of degree (in either direction).

People come here and express emotions towards QC characters every day. It's only when the level of emotion reaches an unusual level that this attracts specific comment.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #145 on: 29 Aug 2020, 01:46 »

I blame Pintsize, his donation was Canadian dollars.
To be fair, they are Canadian Strippers and they said Sorry immediately to the store clerk.
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chris73

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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #146 on: 29 Aug 2020, 02:58 »

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Chris, I am a little concerned about how much spite you seem to have directed to a fictional AI.

May very much reminds me of a lot of the prisoners I deal with day to day.  The entitled ones, the ones who blame all their problems on everything but themselves, that actively resist all efforts to help, its extremely...tiring to deal with them, to try help them

As an example literacy and numeracy is a big problem in our prisons and we have many programs so you'd think it'd be a simple deal to get the guys on the courses to help themselves but no its like pulling teeth.
First there are the guys who say they want to do the courses but only say that so they can be transferred to the "softer" units and then say they won't go. Then there are the guys that're only attending the courses because they need it for their parole and then actively play up on the course thereby making it harder for the few who do actually want to learn (and then kick up a fuss and make complaints when they're removed from the course) there are also the ones who insist on one to one tutoring because its the only way they learn  and of course don't forget the ones who go just so they can transfer contraband to other units via the other prisoners

May has gotten a rough deal with her body breaking down for sure however her actions are what got her there in the first place (if I remember correctly) but since then shes been taken in by Dale, made friends with Momo, has Roko on her case (in a good way) and now had a substantial amount of money given to her for a new body and every step of the way shes made it a struggle for everyone and, IRL, thats just really tiring and frustrating

Personal anecdote time, a case prisoner of mine was a couple of weeks away from being released so his case manager and probation officer were trying to find a bed for this guy (he had no one and his family wanted nothing to do with him) so it probably was going to be with the Salvation Army however they also needed to find a bed for this guy so do you think this guy was appreciative of how many people (minimum of four different departments by this time) were trying to sort something out for him, of course not because he wanted to know right there and then and, in his words, "if you (meaning me) don't sort it out I'll just commit another crime and come back to prison"

« Last Edit: 29 Aug 2020, 03:08 by chris73 »
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #147 on: 29 Aug 2020, 13:59 »

Except May didn't act entitled to the fundraiser. I vaguely remember she opposed the idea at first, and instead of acting like it was just what she ought to have and demanding more, she refused to believe in it.

That said, I would find her frustrating to deal with in real life, especially if I'd had to deal with similar people before.
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #148 on: 29 Aug 2020, 14:38 »

Chris, would you care to reflect on why it is you think that so many prisoners end up this way?
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Re: WCDT Strips 4336-4340 (25th-29th, August 2020)
« Reply #149 on: 29 Aug 2020, 17:20 »

Chris, would you care to reflect on why it is you think that so many prisoners end up this way?

Interesting question. May committed a crime so shes a convicted criminal but is she a criminal

Generally speaking most criminals can be categorized as selfish, with no empathy, manipulative and with no thoughts given to long term planning

I'll have to wait until tonight to answer it fully as I'm on night shift at the moment so I'll be able to answer the question properly (and I dislike typing on a phone)
« Last Edit: 29 Aug 2020, 17:28 by chris73 »
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