PTC 18-06-19 Back in art school

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Spidrift
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Re: PTC 18-06-19 Back in art school

Post by Spidrift »

True enough, but it still makes Ramona look dumb and just a little bit sleazy. I mean, comedically sleazy, yes it's funny, but it's also legitimate to say that the comedy here is largely built around people being a bit awful - even the initially nice-seeming ones.
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Spidrift
"Brevior vita est quam pro futumentibus negotium agendo."
-- Motto of Hogshead Publishing of fond memory, and wise words to set your Foes List by.
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jish55
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Re: PTC 18-06-19 Back in art school

Post by jish55 »

Spidrift wrote:
Thu Jun 20, 2019 11:10 am
True enough, but it still makes Ramona look dumb and just a little bit sleazy. I mean, comedically sleazy, yes it's funny, but it's also legitimate to say that the comedy here is largely built around people being a bit awful - even the initially nice-seeming ones.
Oh I know, it's why I hope she doesn't do something stupid she regrets, because she's been my favorite character so far for actually being a decent individual in the MA3 verse. Then there's her boyfriend who, if she does go down the rabbit hole every other MA3 character seems to go down, would be really terrible for him.

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Spidrift
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Re: PTC 18-06-19 Back in art school

Post by Spidrift »

I must say, though, a comic with a fairly unengaging plot so far, which resorts to character awfulness for its jokes, and which can't even supply much gratuitous fan service... isn't as appealing as classic Ma3.
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Spidrift
"Brevior vita est quam pro futumentibus negotium agendo."
-- Motto of Hogshead Publishing of fond memory, and wise words to set your Foes List by.
Avatar misappropriated from the wonderful XKCD.

OllieOrOlly
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Re: PTC 18-06-19 Back in art school

Post by OllieOrOlly »

Spidrift wrote:
Tue Jun 18, 2019 10:47 am
And Ramona continues to juggle the (hormone-enhanced) idiot ball with grim determination.
OllieOrOlly wrote:
Tue Jun 18, 2019 9:35 am
Regardless, it is hardly surprising that in an "everyone is at minimum bi" world that Felix apparently had a boyfriend at one point, but that somewhat makes his overt flirtation at Ramona earlier a tad more perplexing - and it already was a head scratcher due to being unprofessional.
I don't see why him flirting with girls is perplexing. His dialogue here implies that he's bi, tending hetero, which makes it entirely natural.

I'd really enjoy it if Felix turned out to have got this job pointer from Gary, then interrogated Gary in fine detail about the people involved, and walked in cold-bloodedly prepared to flirt the crap out of Ramona and drop hints about live-action yaoi to seal the deal. I mean, that boyfriend back in college could be a complete fiction. Having a character who's a smart, manipulative nigh-sociopath would be such a pleasant change. But no, this is Pixietrix; stupidity isn't just the norm, it's mandatory.

(Unless the character is so messed up or sex-crazed that they act stupid despite nominally being smart. Full props to Peggy for ducking that responsibility most of the time, I guess. I wonder if we'll be seeing less of Ruby here than we might hope; now she's got a lot of her hang-ups sorted out, she has no excuse for acting particularly stupid, so she may no longer fit in the setting.)
I think it was perplexing to me because of the stereotypes I have in mind - in that, it is typically the "ultra straight dude bro" who flirts so strongly, which is what Felix seemed like. Maybe the "sensitive bisexual" is a regressive stereotype or something like that, but that's the perception that was first presented to me a long time ago.

Also, to split hairs, there have been characters that are smart, manipulative nigh-sociopaths... except they were merely using their intellect to get laid, nothing more.
Felix could be the first to use some conniving tactics for career reasons, rather than temporary fulfilment of lust. While not necessarily hereditary, his sister, Tracy, turned out to be horribly manipulative (granted, in an asinine, ultimately unsuccessful way, but still), so perhaps Felix is the smarter version of her?

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Spidrift
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Re: PTC 18-06-19 Back in art school

Post by Spidrift »

OllieOrOlly wrote:
Thu Jun 20, 2019 12:22 pm
I think it was perplexing to me because of the stereotypes I have in mind - in that, it is typically the "ultra straight dude bro" who flirts so strongly, which is what Felix seemed like.
Depends where you find your stereotypes. The artistically sensitive, graceful, sexually ambivalent type who flirts the crap out of anyone receptive and who’ll probably shag anything cute with a pulse is hardly unusual in history (Lord Byron) or fiction (Captain Jack Harkness). Heck, see Matt, of this universe. I tend to expect less flirting, or at least much less effective flirting, from ultra-straight male characters, because they’re rarely depicted as having the sensitivity required to get it right.
Also, to split hairs, there have been characters that are smart, manipulative nigh-sociopaths... except they were merely using their intellect to get laid, nothing more.
If you mean Matt — yes, he was sometimes quite smart. However, he could also make a complete effing idiot of himself when the hormones or the insecurities kicked in. And he didn’t have to use his smarts to get laid, because he looked like Matt.
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Spidrift
"Brevior vita est quam pro futumentibus negotium agendo."
-- Motto of Hogshead Publishing of fond memory, and wise words to set your Foes List by.
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OllieOrOlly
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Re: PTC 18-06-19 Back in art school

Post by OllieOrOlly »

Spidrift wrote:
Thu Jun 20, 2019 2:00 pm
Also, to split hairs, there have been characters that are smart, manipulative nigh-sociopaths... except they were merely using their intellect to get laid, nothing more.
If you mean Matt — yes, he was sometimes quite smart. However, he could also make a complete effing idiot of himself when the hormones or the insecurities kicked in. And he didn’t have to use his smarts to get laid, because he looked like Matt.
I really didn't mean Matt, not in the slightest - I was referring to Lynn and that one sleazy boss of Amber and Dillon (whose name escapes me).

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Spidrift
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Re: PTC 18-06-19 Back in art school

Post by Spidrift »

Lynn wandered close to the line sometimes, but she didn't strike me as sociopathically bad. And Nathan didn't strike me as that smart. (He just had money, and new how to abuse it.)
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Spidrift
"Brevior vita est quam pro futumentibus negotium agendo."
-- Motto of Hogshead Publishing of fond memory, and wise words to set your Foes List by.
Avatar misappropriated from the wonderful XKCD.

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