04-06-13 Agreeing to do this - end of vol 5

[Milnoc]

Maybe do some modelling?

['J']

hmm, senna decided to groom gary into a male supermodel under the pretext of doing something for sandra. now that would be a twist.

[John Matrix]

Okay, when I first saw the title and the number of responses I thought "So Erik is joining in the orgy? Fuck this strip." Happy to see that wasn't the case, though it's going to be challenge to plausibly explain this.

On an unrelated note, Tite Kubo isn't a troll. He's a bad writer. Learn the difference.

['J']

i have no idea who that is

[Bambikles]

EDIT: Tite Kubo is Bleach's mangaka.

Wow Didn't see that coming. Brilliant.
Now the timeline has just exploded. When exactly does this take place comparatively to Sandra's spin-off ?

I join those who think that Gary went to make some nude drawings for Sandra, but I wonder if he really did improve ? He has drawn Didi and Yuki, but does he have drawn them enough to actually have become good at drawing women ?

I'm also kind of surprised by the good vibes that come from Senna and Sandra's interaction. What happened between them to make an abrasive relationship at least neutral and almost friendly ? Even before Sandra worked for Senna, feelings were not very warm.

And what for did Sandra needed Senna's approval in bringing Gary ? Does this take place in her flat ? So much questioning, this gonna be interesting.

*Typical Broadway music*
Garyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy iiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Pariiiiiiiiisssssssssssss !!!!!

[Gil Hamilton]

Sandra may be building a portfolio at this point. If we'd ever seen Gary with a camera, I'd happily guess that he was being brought in to photograph her. As it is, I'm mostly assuming that Sandra needs some line art for some reason-to-be-explained. But photography is still just possible - versatility of the artistic eye and all that.

Sure, he's not an industry professional. But he'll work cheap, he comes recommended by friends, and like I said, Sandra may prefer a trusted friend-of-a-friend for her first fully nude shoot.

It's not like Senna is in charge of these things, though, and besides, Sandra is Domenico's project. Do you think the powers-that-be whom Senna works for are going to send a jet out to fly a nobody from Montreal to Paris to do work for them, sight unseen, simply because Senna asked them to?

Furthermore, when you factor in the overhead of flying him to Paris and his room-and-board while there, is he really cheaper than hiring a local actual industry professional (which Paris has an ample supply) who is almost certainly likely to do a better job at with whatever? Alot of people get job offers based on knowing someone, but this is a bit extreme, even for that. After all, this isn't a mom-and-pop operation here; any company that can afford to fly someone from Paris to Montreal based on one of their employee's whims probably requires actual credentials before they are hired to do worth for them. And if it's photography, why wouldn't Domenico be involved, what with him being the photographer and all?

More to the point, even if Sandra was looking for any kind of artist, why would she prefer Gary? She doesn't know Gary. Gary is the roommate of one of her coworkers, whom Sandra at best knows by second hand descriptions does art and Sandra doesn't have any clue whether or not he's any good or not. And even if for some bizarre reason Sandra did want Gary to do art for her, you've read "Sandra on the Rocks"; no one gives a rat's ass about what Sandra wants and are barely tolerating her because their boss insists on it. You could argue that Domenico made it happen, but given the huge ego of the guy, do you honestly think he would tolerate Sandra asking for a nobody from Montreal doing work on his project?

[zaprzapb]

Like I posted before, this might be some kind of plot device to get Gary out of Montreal for at least a few days or more while Zii and Didi are left alone in the apartment with their "feelings" and they can't use Gary as a buffer to their Unresolved Sexual Tension. In the meantime Zii is trying to patch things up with Erik and keep the band together long enough for it to survive until the first gig. Or the creators could do an asspull and nothing bad happens to Zii because Erik is a Relationship Sue for Zii and he will forgive her.

[Milnoc]

Hmm.

Senna trying to make Gary comfortable by being naked.

Sandra trusting only Gary to help her out.

Either Sandra wants Gary to draw her naked, or Sandra wants Gary for a nude scene.

Any other possibilities?

[Spidrift]

This has something to do with Sandra's website, right?

Actually, that's quite possible. It's a known concern for Sandra, and Gary is supposed to be vaguely tech-literate. I reckon that the first step then is Gary getting some photos for it, though.

Now the timeline has just exploded. When exactly does this take place comparatively to Sandra's spin-off ?

Loosely.

I join those who think that Gary went to make some nude drawings for Sandra, but I wonder if he really did improve ? He has drawn Didi and Yuki, but does he have drawn them enough to actually have become good at drawing women ?

Everybody who's seen his work, even from early days, seems to think it's at least promising, and he's been working with Yuki, who clearly knows the field a bit, and studying with her father. I can believe that he's pretty competent by now.

I'm also kind of surprised by the good vibes that come from Senna and Sandra's interaction. What happened between them to make an abrasive relationship at least neutral and almost friendly ? Even before Sandra worked for Senna, feelings were not very warm.

Possibly booze intervened? They evidently got on okay that night they spent on the tiles together.

I dunno. Maybe it's just that neither of them can be bothered to bear grudges. Ma3 is largely about crazy chicks vs. the world, after all, and if they don't hang together, they'll just hang separately.

And what for did Sandra needed Senna's approval in bringing Gary ?

Senna has doubtless told Sandra that Gary is her hot (if much-deferred) date, and reinforced the claim by being the one with Gary's home address. "You want to take your clothes off in front of my Gary? Okay, if you ask nicely..." Sandra may be smart enough to recognise that this is a highly dubious claim at best, but why argue? She's getting what she wants. Meanwhile, Senna gets to tell Gary that he's getting this free trip to Paris by her consent, so he'll feel obliged to act nice to her.

It's not like Senna is in charge of these things, though, ...

You know that, I know that... Senna may be putting her own spin on the matter to Gary and Sandra, though. Sneaky little cat, that one.

Do you think the powers-that-be whom Senna works for are going to send a jet out to fly a nobody from Montreal to Paris to do work for them, sight unseen, simply because Senna asked them to?

Jokes aside, who says that anyone sent a private jet? One or more of these three people could probably muster the cost of an economy class ticket from Montreal to Paris, given sufficient incentive. Details TBD in a later strip.

Sandra seems to be going behind Domenico's back here, certainly, but maybe the fun of dealing with Tatiana has made Sandra think about back-up plans. And I'll bet that if Senna ever ran into Tatiana, the blood flowed in the gutters; that'd give Senna a motive for helping Sandra, in fact.

Furthermore, when you factor in the overhead of flying him to Paris and his room-and-board while there, is he really cheaper than hiring a local actual industry professional (which Paris has an ample supply) who is almost certainly likely to do a better job at with whatever?

If this is running without Domenico's knowledge, getting in a trusted outsider with nothing to lose in the industry might actually be a good idea. "You'll never work in this town again!" "Uh, okay..."

Alot of people get job offers based on knowing someone, but this is a bit extreme, even for that.

Shrug. In the end, it's a four-panel gag strip. At least Gary hasn't made the trip at supersonic speeds.

[zaprzapb]

Well the creators are going to have to give some kind of explanation for this otherwise it would come across as an asspull. But we probably won't get that explanation until well into the next volume.

[Storm-forge mystique]

What... what... what?

...Andrew Hussie, eat your heart out.

['J']

asking why senna came to the door naked is like asking why the earth orbits the sun; there is a technical and scientific explanation, but really that's just what it does.

[Krendall]

I guess this answers my question on whether spin-off characters will appear in the main comic again.

So do you take into account what's happening in those spin-offs when you include those characters or are those comics considered a different world now?

[Storm-forge mystique]

I'm guessing it's a world Gary's about to join.

[brasca]

Well this is all certainly unexpected. I kept wondering who would end up in the book end and thought Erik would be too obvious so it would probably be Zii or possibly one of the new players seeing as how complicated things can get, but I did not expect it would be Gary with Sandra and Senna. I don't know what I'm anticipating more the next book end or how Gary ended up agreeing to do this and why Sandra and Senna are working together since they didn't part on the greatest terms. At least Sandra is still at work or so it would seem. I'm not sure how this timeline fits with Sandra on the Rocks.