23-11-17 I like to be flexible

[Vitocap]

I love Sonya so much. She's so my favorite character.

The last strips had been really boring, I didn't even feel like writing anything. Thank goodness, Sonya returned! Every time she appears, the level of fun goes up. If there was a fun-meter attached to the comic, with every appearance of Sonya it would jump up ten pegs.

[Opus the Poet]

Sonya is likely trying to maintain she's bi so she doesn't scare off guys. I can't believe she's that dense otherwise.

[Spidrift]

She’s stuck with fragments of a socially conservative mind-set and a bunch of clumsy stereotypes. She can’t be a “lesbian”, because lesbians are weird and not respectable, and probably have to wear dungarees or something, and she doesn’t want to be like that. It’s not so much stupidity as cognitive dissonance. Mind you, it’s insanely persistent cognitive dissonance — i.e. it’s a really tired joke by now.

[uzivatel]

The name may make some sense, but it still sounds weird and artificial (plus I was under the impression that the musician Angel identifies as male pretty consistently).

Sonya is likely trying to maintain she's bi so she doesn't scare off guys. I can't believe she's that dense otherwise.

She seems to be perfectly fine with male partners.

[brasca]

No. That is a single gag that just gets deliberately s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out, and is explicitly “Not to be confused with Overused Running Gag”. However, the latter only applies if the writers acknowledge that the gag is being overused...

No. Sorry. This is just a weak and illogical running gag.

And if it didn’t come up you’d have an equal number of people complaining about the missed opportunity for a joke.

I had a feeling Angel would change the name, but thought it would be something like The Fallen Angels.

[Spidrift]

And if it didn’t come up you’d have an equal number of people complaining about the missed opportunity for a joke.

Possibly. But pandering to idiots is pointless.

I had a feeling Angel would change the name, but thought it would be something like The Fallen Angels.

Continuity can be valuable in itself.

[gormadoc]

It feels like filler for some of us because we already know that Angel is gender fluid, but if someone had only been reading Ma3 they wouldn't know that. This makes me believe that it will somehow be relevant to the plot and they only added the long-running joke in order to shoehorn the information into the gag-a-day format.

[worldshaking00]

Sonya's need for drama is currently focused on giving as much pain to Zii as she can legally get away with. Playing bass seemed just a hobby to her, but one that got her closer to Zii (and then to Angel once Zii threw her away like a used tissue). Angel takes their band seriously, or it seems at least much more seriously than the humdrum 9-5 job they have. Once she has gotten her revenge, or feels like she has twisted the knife enough for one reason or another, I wonder if she'll tire of Angel and their Electric Toyz and music altogether. Angel might not put up with her drama if it spills into a non-Zii related area. Also I wonder if Sonya will make a pass at Angel? It might satisfy an itch Sonya develops.

[Spidrift]

Actually, we don’t know that Sonya is entirely focused on inflicting a direct and painful revenge on Zii. We’re all assuming that, because sure, it’s totally in character for Sonya, but all we’ve seen her do so far is quit the Troublemakers (i.e. walk away from the person who hurt her) with one flamboyant gesture, and go off to sign up with Angel.

It’s possible, if unlikely, that she’s decided that success is the best revenge, and also possible that she could be distracted into that approach. She said from the start that joining Zii’s band sounded like fun, and she clearly enjoys the stage performance thing. (A room full of people watching her admiringly as she throws dramatic shapes? Sonya Heaven!) She might even be smart enough to realise that Zii will have a lot of trouble getting the Troublemakers back into functional shape now, so if she and Angel can pull ahead as a successful band in the meantime, Zii will be satisfyingly humiliated.

Bonus points if the Electric Toyz cover REM’s “Living Well Is The Best Revenge” at the first opportunity. All your sad and lost apostles hum my name and flare their nostrils...

[LegendaryKroc]

Haha! Well, that is a super low bar, and I think it is safe to say this side of the Pixie-verse easily overcomes it, even on its worst day (which isn't today, old joke notwithstanding).

True, but that's suckitude for you. In great enough amounts, anything even a little less sucky becomes more tolerable by comparison. (See, 2015's Fant4stic and how people started being nicer to Tim Storey's efforts after it was released.)

If I were in a mood to criticise, I'd complain about that old chestnut falling again and still not cracking from overuse, and maybe for this strip having the feel of needless filler.

And I'd have to agree, really.

In other words, I'm on the edge of my seat for the hopefully plot-moving-forward Saturday strip, hopefully with 100% fresher humour.

[worldshaking00]

All three seem to be appropriate responses to expecting amazing plot advancement.

Also, Happy Thanksgiving to the US readership.

[brasca]

These 2 are quite the odd couple. Angel is gender fluid, but prefers men while Sonya identifies as a woman, but is bisexual (albeit in denial). Maybe Angel will be the first person to explain that to her.

[OllieOrOlly]

Though, seeing how Zii is the "heroic" counterpart, I can't quite figure out which side to support...

Oh, FFS. This isn't a bloody sports match. You aren't required to "support" anybody. Just break out the popcorn and sit back.

Angel has been established as a Prima Donna who got mad at Zii for screwing a guy she/he fancied, except Angel (to my knowledge) hadn't actually revealed they had feelings for the person, so their rage at Zii was perhaps a deflection of remorse from themselves.
So, Angel is a melodramatic and apparently violent person who holds unreasonable grudges, while Zii is a narcissist with basically sociopathic disregard for anyone or thing when she can satisfy her lust and ego; is this what TVtropes would consider "Evil vs. Evil?"

How about "Idiot vs. Idiot"? Or, more likely, "Human Being vs. Human Being"?

"FFS?" Did I say supporting either band is a "requirement" for everyone, my pedantic quotifier?! I was voicing my thoughts about a major plot point and my own preference to having a *team* to care about when the plot point is essentially a contest - not a "bloody sports match" but a competition all the same.

Idiot vs. Idiot or Human Being vs. Human Being don't work for my dumb joke, so no, neither option.

Haha! Well, that is a super low bar, and I think it is safe to say this side of the Pixie-verse easily overcomes it, even on its worst day (which isn't today, old joke notwithstanding).

True, but that's suckitude for you. In great enough amounts, anything even a little less sucky becomes more tolerable by comparison. (See, 2015's Fant4stic and how people started being nicer to Tim Storey's efforts after it was released.)

Haha! Perhaps, although that example is quite the "your mileage may vary" type of situation; I was an adolescent when Tim Storey's version came out, and it had enough colour and movement for my primitive brain, aha, so I didn't ever "hate" those movies, however, Fant4stic was a joyless drudge with only a couple decent scenes (which were only decent because they were stolen from better sources).
Yet, others find the pre-reboot versions worse because they admire the ambition, as misguided and poorly executed it was, of the reboot.

Double post merged. The DAMNed

[Brux]

*opposes the use of the tired "not a lesbian" joke*
*does a 180*
Continuity can be valuable in itself.

Make up your mind

[Spidrift]

These 2 are quite the odd couple. Angel is gender fluid, but prefers men while Sonya identifies as a woman, but is bisexual (albeit in denial). Maybe Angel will be the first person to explain that to her.

Oh, DiDi (of all people) reminded her of the word years ago, and it’s pretty clear that she has the vocabulary. Insofar as Sonya’s “not a lesbian” fixation makes any sense as more than a tired comedy catchphrase, it’s clear that her issues are emotional, and not something that can be shifted by a mere explanation. You can’t argue someone out of a position with logic if it wasn’t logic got them there in the first place.

Sonya’s confusion should (logically) stop when she accepts that the world is bigger and more nuanced than her old system of categories allow, and that she can be a lesbian — or, as she is, bisexual — and still be her highly feminine, widely liked self, and that conventional respectability doesn’t have to matter to her. Which, actually, Angel might help with, because Angel is a walking lesson in blurred categories and defiance of convention.

*opposes the use of the tired "not a lesbian" joke*
*does a 180*
Continuity can be valuable in itself.

Make up your mind

“Can be”, not “is always”. And it’s the difference between continuity and stasis.