21-03-12 Whatever you say Layla

[Stonefoot]

"You don't have to be a pitiless sociopath to work here, but it helps."

You might be surprised to find out how much silliness can happen with the darkest of humor.

Quoting an exceptionally important person (if only to me), that is myself: "Humor is like chocolate, often the best is dark."

Oh the other hand.... (la... la, la, la [sings]) I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK. I... (uh, what's the line? Oh yeah!) I'm just a lumberjack, from a poor family.... (Isn't that a different song? OK, this isn't a song, but at least I remember it:
Probable, possible, my black hen.
She lays eggs in the relative when.
She doesn't lay eggs in the positive now,
Because she's unable to postulate how.
- from A Space Child's Mother Goose.)

[The Nick]

That's your response to me saying that I'm so tired of everyone disagreeing with me? Thanks.

Yes.

My response to 'everyone disagrees with me' is 'I don't always disagree with you.'

Exciting.

[Aquila89]

Exciting? What?

['J']

i've never understood why some people just can't seem to stand having anyone disagree with them about some things.

[Aquila89]

I very much can stand some people disagreeing with me on some things. What I'm tired of (in the sense of "fatigued") is everyone disagreeing with me on everything. I thought I'm a part of some kind of a community here. But I'm not; I'm always alone with my opinions.

[Error of Logic]

You're not entirely alone here, you know.

['J']

having people disagree with you does not make you any less a part of the group. you still participate in the conversations (which is really all we do here) and nobody wants you gone or anything. having your own thoughts doesn't make you any more alone than anyone else.

the group would be pretty damn boring if everyone agreed all the time.

[Lighthawk]

I very much can stand some people disagreeing with me on some things. What I'm tired of (in the sense of "fatigued") is everyone disagreeing with me on everything. I thought I'm a part of some kind of a community here. But I'm not; I'm always alone with my opinions.

In addition to what the unseen one said, I think part of that is your kind of the most visible of the...lets call it Morally Outraged viewpoint. You've been providing that view longer and more consistently than anyone else I can think of, though others have made similar comments to yours. As such, when someone feels the need to disagree, you're a prime target to argue against, because your views are well known and it's pretty likely you've made such a moral commentary recently to grab hold of as a starting point for the argument/debate.

[TCampbell]

Aquila, I understand and sympathize with the feeling that you're alone in your opinions. We've all been there.

But there's really not a logical case to be made about why a strip should go in a different direction. Giz, Dave and I talk about story logic a lot-- you have no idea how much debate goes on before we decide on certain installments, and a lot of it is centered on "would they do that?" But really, the reason we're doing the Doompanties storyline instead of, say, a story where the awkward Chloe of the previous story tries and fails to win Dio's attention is just that the Doompanties idea interested us more. We've had a lot of fun with the "innocence/monstrosity" dichotomy of Eerie Cuties, and lately we've been leaning more toward the "monstrous" side of the coin (even as we and Cassandra work diligently to show a bit more tenderness in Magick Chicks' hardened antiheroes, while keeping them recognizable).

I'm a firm believer in seeing through a project once it's started. Also in the old standby, "If you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one." I know neither of those facts are going to satisfy you, but that's sort of my point. (I notice, with some amusement, that after we spent nearly a year fielding complaints that Faith Abbott was too bitchy, now there are milder complaints that she is no longer bitchy enough. Not generally from the same people, but still.) My threshold for how immoral a character can be and still be sympathetic is pretty high, and I think the others on the team feel the same, and I think that's unlikely to change. Chloe's not herself and "Doom!Chloe" has crossed a moral line for sure, but I can still see where she's coming from. I can't relate to her blitheness about murder, but I can relate to the emotions motivating her current crusade.

If the series really has become more of a negative part of your life than a positive one, on balance, then taking a step back from it is probably a good idea. This is all supposed to be fun. Dave, Gisele, Cassandra, Shou and I are trying to make people's lives better, not worse, in our quiet, "few minutes per day" way.

All that said, the "innocence" part of Eerie Cuties is going to reassert itself somewhat in a couple of upcoming installments, in a way that may surprise some readers. We still have the Doomparty coming up, but you got to mix up the ingredients a little.

[Aquila89]

having people disagree with you does not make you any less a part of the group.

I think it does, if everyone disagrees with me all the time. Then I'm not a part of any group, I'm just a whiner. That's how I feel anyway.

Well, thanks for the kinds everyone, and I guess I will quit. Or at least try to. Old habits die hard.

['J']

consensus of opinion is not the be-all-end-all of a 'community'.

[Artemisia]

Aquila,

A year ago, I was in the same position as you. . .and being far worse than you are now. If you need to take a break, or just a break from commenting, I certainly understand, but understand that you aren't alone in disliking how things are going right now, but as T pointed out, it will be swinging back again later. I learned to just enjoy the ride. I stopped commenting regularly until recently because I needed some time to calm down. I didn't disappear. I just moved to the General Discussion threads for a while, and once I confronted the worst part of what was upsetting me, I felt better.

[The Nick]

having people disagree with you does not make you any less a part of the group.

I think it does, if everyone disagrees with me all the time. Then I'm not a part of any group, I'm just a whiner. That's how I feel anyway.

Well, thanks for the kinds everyone, and I guess I will quit. Or at least try to. Old habits die hard.

Blah, disagreement is awesome. Have you seen how many times I've posted controversial stuff and people disagreed with me? It's happened.

And sometimes, I self-censor and don't say things, but nobody is upset at dissenting opinions so long as they're reasonable and well-presented.

[Aquila89]

The problem is that my dissenting opinion is that if the characters are kilers, the strip is ruined. (Please, don't respond to that, I'm very tired of arguing over it). And if I think the strip is ruined, I can't be the part of a fan forum, can I?

[Artemisia]

Then, if you feel that the strip is ruined because the characters have become killers without actually having them becoming killers, then thus is your opinion, and if that is how you feel, I am sorry to see you go, but I understand.

I remember hearing from a lot of people via IM who were furious over the Layla/Brooke storyline and who quit reading because they felt that not having the characters come out lesbian ruined the strip. Perhaps I am just optimistic, but I felt that the writing team did not close the door to someone coming out in the future, but just not at that point.

What has gone on with Cerise and Callie has made me happy and glad that I waited.