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What?

10 (33.3%)

Yes

6 (20%)

No

8 (26.7%)

ONE MONTH TILL X-MAS?!

2 (6.7%)

Don't celebrate it.

4 (13.3%)

Total Members Voted: 30

Voting closed: 28 Nov 2021, 17:01

[shanejayell]

Here's hoping Claire finishes venting....

[Tova]

Welcome to this week's Weekly Character Disparagement Thread.

[shanejayell]

New comic up.

AWWWWWW. I love Faye and Bubbles.

[Farideh]

Poor Claire. She has complicated opinions about her barista job. Hiding under the blankets until the freakout passes and she has a clearer head sounds like a good idea to me.

[Tova]

She needs time to process her emotions; and at the same time, this is exactly what she needed.

[Oenone]

IMO this is more my problem with Claire (and Faye) as characters — they explode their feelings all over the place and make them a group problem. That to me is a bigger issue than Claire’s treatment of her lil bro.

[Tova]

IMO this is more my problem with Claire (and Faye) as characters — they explode their feelings all over the place and make them a group problem.

I think what you're describing there is called "friendship."

Here, this might help you:

The power of a good support network

[DaiJB]

I'm a little uncertain here - does Claire's SOB come from a place of gratitude or despair? Is she saying "thanks guys for thinking about me" or is it "thanks guys for pointing out that I have to settle for a shitty service industry job instead of the job I really wanted"?

( I like how so many of Claire's friends are involved in the surprise - Faye and Bubbles (Union Robotics) give her a cake (baked and decorated by the Secret Bakery) in honour of her new job at Coffee of Doom    )

[Tova]

This simple act of support and positivity about her job has released her pent up negative emotions about herself.

[Is it cold in here?]

I was utterly delighted to see Bubbles happy.

[St.Clair]

I'm a little uncertain here - does Claire's SOB come from a place of gratitude or despair? Is she saying "thanks guys for thinking about me" or is it "thanks guys for pointing out that I have to settle for a shitty service industry job instead of the job I really wanted"?

( I like how so many of Claire's friends are involved in the surprise - Faye and Bubbles (Union Robotics) give her a cake (baked and decorated by the Secret Bakery) in honour of her new job at Coffee of Doom    )

IMO:
She's been winding herself up for the past few strips, ever since she left her mother's house, and this is a sudden release of all of that tension (in response to an earnest gesture of support from people who care about her and want her to be happy).

[Scarlet Manuka]

I'm a little uncertain here - does Claire's SOB come from a place of gratitude or despair? Is she saying "thanks guys for thinking about me" or is it "thanks guys for pointing out that I have to settle for a shitty service industry job instead of the job I really wanted"?

Our answers probably say more about us than about the strip. But I did read it more naturally as the second one - or more precisely, despair at the fact that her friends don't get it, and while they mean well they are inadvertently rubbing salt in the wound. If you are already feeling depressed, the idea that the people who profess to love you really don't understand you or hear you at all can be a powerful multiplier.

But really, it could go either way. It depends on how deeply Claire is stuck in her own head, and how well she can understand theirs.

[BenRG]

It's so good to have friends there when your own strength (and sanity) runs out.

[Farideh]

Here's my interpretation, for those who are interested in reading it:

• Claire graduates and tries to find a job in her chosen field. So far so good
• This doesn't exactly go as smoothly as she'd hoped. Bit of a downer
• In the meantime she becomes a barista, which is a step down in her own eyes but at least it's work experience. So, a bit better
• Then: shock announcement! Her mother is a successful VTuber! Yikes!
• And her mother also dumps on Claire's 'in between' job
• Now Claire doesn't know how to feel, but she's feeling pretty down about the way her career is going
• Home again. Surprise cake is a surprise, and Faye and Bubbles' positive vibes throw Claire's emotions all over the place. After all, THEY think it's good to work at CoD, so why isn't she more grateful?
• And there come the waterworks

Quite the rollercoaster in my opinion.

[DSL]

Our answers probably say more about us than about the strip ....

I've thought that for years, sometimes wondering if other forumoids were reading the same strip I was.

[Prestwick]

Here's my interpretation, for those who are interested in reading it:

• Claire graduates and tries to find a job in her chosen field. So far so good
• This doesn't exactly go as smoothly as she'd hoped. Bit of a downer
• In the meantime she becomes a barista, which is a step down in her own eyes but at least it's work experience. So, a bit better
• Then: shock announcement! Her mother is a successful VTuber! Yikes!
• And her mother also dumps on Claire's 'in between' job
• Now Claire doesn't know how to feel, but she's feeling pretty down about the way her career is going
• Home again. Surprise cake is a surprise, and Faye and Bubbles' positive vibes throw Claire's emotions all over the place. After all, THEY think it's good to work at CoD, so why isn't she more grateful?
• And there come the waterworks

Quite the rollercoaster in my opinion.

She's going to be so confused, plus her desire to be negative about her current and future prospects will be fighting any positive impact others may be having on her. So her head will be like a washing machine on full spin cycle right now.

[Tova]

Our answers probably say more about us than about the strip ....

I've thought that for years, sometimes wondering if other forumoids were reading the same strip I was.

Yeah, it's been noted before. For example:

someone: it sounds like there is at least a little bit of projection involved. Now, as was broadly discussed here during the Marten-Dora-breakup arc, the comic is our collective Rorschach chart, so of course you are welcome to do so. But by talking about characters like this, yo are hurting feelings of people in real life who like that character. Please try and be more attentive to that, okay?

[Farideh]

New comic.

Yep, Claire is feeling all the feels. Good on her and her support group for talking her through it. Yay for friendship!

[Tova]

I wonder how many serious strips there have been that ended with a throwaway joke about Pintsize.

[Farideh]

Quite a few?

[shanejayell]

I continue to be amused at how fucking TALL Bubbles is...

[Gyrre]

I continue to be amused at how fucking TALL Bubbles is...

Her and Charsi from The Dreadful are what I based the holomatter avatar for my OC Trebuchet on.


EDIT: Yes, that model actually transforms. Beastmode in the link because the pic is huge and I don't feel like fighting it to resize The beastmode head and neck become a BFG in botmode.

[DaiJB]

Pottery class? Pintsize is really getting enthusiastic about using those new fingers!

That is encouraging... OR very, very worrying, I can't decide     

[BenRG]

I suspected that Claire just needed to let all that emotion out. She's not exactly one for healthy outlets - She tends to lash out in some way or try to turn things around.

Honestly though, I suspect that she's always had this Dream and she'd always imagined that graduating was the penultimate step. It turns out that the road is a lot longer than that, as Faye suggested.

Pottery class? Pintsize is really getting enthusiastic about using those new fingers!

That is encouraging... OR very, very worrying, I can't decide 

He's seen the film Ghost and has wrongly assumed that doing pottery always includes having sex.

[Tova]

Quite a few?

I'll be honest, I was half-expecting/hoping that some archive-fu forumite would leap in with, "There have been eleven, and here they are in chronological order."

[Gyrre]

Pottery class? Pintsize is really getting enthusiastic about using those new fingers!

That is encouraging... OR very, very worrying, I can't decide 

He's making artisanal b0ngs and hookah.

[Farideh]

Quite a few?

I'll be honest, I was half-expecting/hoping that some archive-fu forumite would leap in with, "There have been eleven, and here they are in chronological order."

I might have a look at some point, but it does depend on your definition of a 'serious strip', and do you count 'jokes from Pintsize' as well?

[traroth]

All evil comes from the way Claire announced to her mother she had a job. The whole terse "by the way I got a job" thing conditionned everything that came after. If she had announced it by making a complete statement, like "I got a job, but it's not yet what I want and I'm still looking for the job of my dreams. But at least it pays the bills", her mother's reaction would have bean completely different and the drama would have been avoided.

[DaiJB]

Pottery class? Pintsize is really getting enthusiastic about using those new fingers!

That is encouraging... OR very, very worrying, I can't decide 

He's making artisanal b0ngs and hookah.

I'm expecting at least one oversized pottery dildo...

[Marco]

(...) and the drama would have been avoided.

And condemn the sitcom writer to end his life in starvation? No way!

[Tova]

I might have a look at some point, but it does depend on your definition of a 'serious strip', and do you count 'jokes from Pintsize' as well?

Honestly, I was just joking around. I wouldn't expect anyone to trawl through the archive to collect those, unless you have an awful lot of time on your hands. In which case, do something else, like a pottery class. 

But for the record, by serious I meant emotionally raw and honest like this one, and a joke either about or by Pintsize would definitely count.

All evil comes from the way Claire announced to her mother she had a job. The whole terse "by the way I got a job" thing conditionned everything that came after. If she had announced it by making a complete statement, like "I got a job, but it's not yet what I want and I'm still looking for the job of my dreams. But at least it pays the bills", her mother's reaction would have bean completely different and the drama would have been avoided.

Something something hindsight something 20/20 vision.

[cesium133]

Something something hindsight something 20/20 vision.

Any time traveler knows that hindsight is 50:50.

[Farideh]

New comic.

It's a nice jug. Doesn't pottery take quite a while to cool down though? It seems weird to me that it came out of the kiln the same day. Then again, I base this on the fact that I watched season 1 of 'The Great Pottery Throw Down' several years ago. It was one of the most mellow competitions that I ever saw. The contestants kept helping each other, which I thought was awesome.

[St.Clair]

I am excited for Pintsize!  He gets to demonstrate his growing skill at pottery and his understanding of the practical requirements of a sex toy.  Bravo!

[SmilingCat]

He forgot to mention that a proper fuckjug also requires a non-abrasive insert in the mouth to avoid injury.

[Scarlet Manuka]

He forgot to mention that a proper fuckjug also requires a non-abrasive insert in the mouth to avoid injury.

Knowing Pintsize, the toenail clippings jug does have one. Probably for the express purpose of disturbing his housemates as they try to figure out why.

[hedgie]

Pottery class? Pintsize is really getting enthusiastic about using those new fingers!

That is encouraging... OR very, very worrying, I can't decide 

He's making artisanal b0ngs and hookah.

Or he has more nefarious uses for the toenail clippings.

[Tova]

Probably purely for the joy of inducing the following reaction: "Pintsize, nice work, that's a really nice po-ooohhhhuuurrrrghghghhghgh!"

[Gyrre]

New comic.

It's a nice jug. Doesn't pottery take quite a while to cool down though? It seems weird to me that it came out of the kiln the same day. Then again, I base this on the fact that I watched season 1 of 'The Great Pottery Throw Down' several years ago. It was one of the most mellow competitions that I ever saw. The contestants kept helping each other, which I thought was awesome.

It does. Perhaps he's been going for a while now?

[John Allenson]

One, I'm glad Claire had the support-space to have a a (brief) meltdown.  It actually is healthy to express and then let go of anxiety.  (And both Faye and Bubbles had gone through much worse coping mechanisms in the past.)

Two, the pot looks nice.  I do appreciate Pintsize having some personal development and outside interests.  He does seem to have settled on a pearl necklace and colourful shorts as his personal fashion.

[BenRG]

Yeah, "Fresh out of the kiln" is probably an exaggeration for emphasis of how recently it was finished. That said, maybe Pintsize's chassis can tolerate higher heat levels than human skin.

Just one question: Why would anyone want somewhere to store their toenail clippings? I probably don't want to know the answer but it is also something that I kind of would like to have known before I add to a collection of items that I understand can be used in magic.

[traroth]

"Surprisingly tasteful" is maybe the most offensive thing Bubbles ever said.

[Tova]

hot take

[oddtail]

Yeah, "Fresh out of the kiln" is probably an exaggeration for emphasis of how recently it was finished. That said, maybe Pintsize's chassis can tolerate higher heat levels than human skin.

Just one question: Why would anyone want somewhere to store their toenail clippings? I probably don't want to know the answer but it is also something that I kind of would like to have known before I add to a collection of items that I understand can be used in magic.

Maybe not their own toenails, but one use for *other* people's toenails is to build a ship: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naglfar

[Prestwick]

New comic.

Yep, Claire is feeling all the feels. Good on her and her support group for talking her through it. Yay for friendship!

Indeed! Thank goodness for support networks!

[Wombat]

From my experience taking pottery classes, things generally cool down in the kiln. If you open the kiln while it's still too hot, you'll ruin the pottery. You can get things the day they come out of the kiln.

ETA: Also, Pintsize should be proud. A jug like that is hard to make.

[zmeiat_joro]

New comic.

It's a nice jug. Doesn't pottery take quite a while to cool down though? It seems weird to me that it came out of the kiln the same day. Then again, I base this on the fact that I watched season 1 of 'The Great Pottery Throw Down' several years ago. It was one of the most mellow competitions that I ever saw. The contestants kept helping each other, which I thought was awesome.

Looking it up, I remember watching the brick episode, I think?

[shanejayell]

Not what I expected. Good? *lol*

[Gnabberwocky]

ROBOT DONG 

[Farideh]

Listen to the turkeys, for they speak truth!