Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

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TwoWayStar
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by TwoWayStar »

lordoffiling wrote:
Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:16 am
I’m wondering what you all were like at eleven, in terms of understanding the world around you and making decisions.
Every strip with Abbey, I marvel at how much and how many people will rip apart this fictional 11-12 year old for being "stupid". I wonder this every single time dude.

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Castamir
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by Castamir »

BlairFan wrote:
Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:25 pm
Ah, yes, the pain oft being merely human, I have often felt that myself. I wish I had an easy answer for that. Perhaps Abby needs to slow down enough to contemplate, and then realize that her fate isn't nearly as dire as she thinks now. :-?
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Your logic is about the same as an orphanage kid wondering "what's the big deal in having a mommy and daddy?".
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Fluffy
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by Fluffy »

Thing is, Abby has the comparison between being human and a succubus; and - for some idiotic reason - seems to think living as a Hellspawn, forever hunted by would be demon slayers (whether mortal or heavenly), causing men to die horrific deaths - oh, and having big boobs - beat being a normal human any day.

Abby sees being a succubus as little more than fun and games; and doesn't want to see it for the true Hell it actually is - preferring to see a normal human life as being the real Hell on Earth.
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Swiftwinged Doom
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by Swiftwinged Doom »

Which is honestly how such Faustian tales as this gain any ground. Mortal men and women being ungrateful for the bounty they have in their own lives and grasping at Infernal power as a means to rise above, ultimately undone by their own hubris and avarice.
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brasca
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by brasca »

TwoWayStar wrote:
Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:53 pm
lordoffiling wrote:
Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:16 am
I’m wondering what you all were like at eleven, in terms of understanding the world around you and making decisions.
Every strip with Abbey, I marvel at how much and how many people will rip apart this fictional 11-12 year old for being "stupid". I wonder this every single time dude.
Agreed. Aside from that sex talk with Chloe and Pandora they and Teddi have sheltered her from the darker side of being a succubus. If she knew she wouldn't be nearly so eager.

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Kisai
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by Kisai »

brasca wrote:
Tue Jan 23, 2018 2:07 am
Agreed. Aside from that sex talk with Chloe and Pandora they and Teddi have sheltered her from the darker side of being a succubus. If she knew she wouldn't be nearly so eager.
Don't be so sure. Most (4 year old) children can't pass the marshmallow test ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_ ... experiment ), and the way Abby acts, seems like she still wouldn't pass it.

10-12 year olds tend to not see the long-term consequences of their actions (there are adults who still don't,) and even if Abby wanted to be a Succubus, and Chloe and Teddy were cool with it, there would be something else she wants because she's not old enough. Give an inch, take a mile. Next time she probably finds a potion that ages her 8 years and still retains an A cup.

Judanas
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by Judanas »

There is also seemingly a large amount of hero worship in it. I mean, for a comparison - How many people at 11 would do almost anything to be a member of X-Men? The X-men are regularly hated by the public, hunted by giant robots, the government and religious fanatics; suffer attempted genocides or recruitment into terrorist cells by fellow mutants and suffer trauma and pain on a regular basis.

On the other hand: They get cool superpowers and get to do impressive things and most importantly, feel special.

X3N0-Life-Form
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by X3N0-Life-Form »

TwoWayStar wrote:
Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:53 pm
lordoffiling wrote:
Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:16 am
I’m wondering what you all were like at eleven, in terms of understanding the world around you and making decisions.
Every strip with Abbey, I marvel at how much and how many people will rip apart this fictional 11-12 year old for being "stupid". I wonder this every single time dude.
Back then I didn't make life-altering decisions, I was too busy trying to figure out how the world worked - teenage confident stupidity kicked in a few years later, and the truly face-palming moments happened much later.

Abby doesn't seem to be interested in understanding the world at all, and I'm not sure how much of that can be blamed on being raised by her older brother since we haven't seen their daily life before Chloe's arrival. To me, the problem isn't so much that Abby is stupid or ignorant by itself, it's a combination of different things : it's how this ignorance is portrayed and what consequences it can have on those around her; it's the dissonance between moments where she is shown to be sharp & quick-witted (especially early on), and moments where she shows face-palming short-sightedness and ignorance; it's showing her bawling her eyes out from emotions in certain circumstances, and her quasi-sociopathic tendencies regarding her brother's various predicaments.

What are we supposed to make of her ? Is she supposed to be a lovable klutz with a lucky streak ? Is she a sharp kid capable of manipulating the older folks around her ? Is she a kid sidekick to the older characters ? Right now she just kinda comes off as a teenage Jar-Jar Binks, plowing through the plot characterized only by what the latest cheap joke can be gotten out of her, while being immune to consequences due to either her young age and/or her simple-mindedness.


tl;dr: Abby is more of a punchline than a consistent - nevermind believable, teenage character.


EDIT
How many people at 11 would do almost anything to be a member of X-Men?
That's a good question. At 7 or 8, I certainly would have liked to have super powers. At 11 ? I don't know, it is right on the doorstep of puberty, it's also a point where kids are supposed to be somewhat aware of the world around them, while also being before hormones really start to kick in.

With actual beings with superpowers living with you ? Yeah, hero-worship makes a lot of sense. Like I said before, her attitude in this particular strip makes sense, I just think her scattershot characterization undermines what should be an emotional moment.

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Fluffy
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by Fluffy »

Not to mention that we've never seen Abby characterized as a little girl looking up to an older sister; just a little girl obsessed with having a larger rack and being envious of Chloe's bust size. But now, we're supposed to believe that Abby's idolized her all this time and did all this recent stuff to be more like her?

I'm sure Abby cares about Chloe, but I'm not buying the her spiel for a second. Given her track record, this is just Abby trying to talk Chloe out of being a responsible adult so Abby can get her way - which is something kids that age are prone to do.
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Judanas
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by Judanas »

X3N0-Life-Form wrote:
Tue Jan 23, 2018 9:13 am

That's a good question. At 7 or 8, I certainly would have liked to have super powers. At 11 ? I don't know, it is right on the doorstep of puberty, it's also a point where kids are supposed to be somewhat aware of the world around them, while also being before hormones really start to kick in.

With actual beings with superpowers living with you ? Yeah, hero-worship makes a lot of sense. Like I said before, her attitude in this particular strip makes sense, I just think her scattershot characterization undermines what should be an emotional moment.
I think that's really the perfect age for it to be a major question, as you are starting to get aware enough of the world to understand that the issues in your life are actual issues, not just how the world is. It's a lot of why the X-men or Harry Potter is popular, the idea that something can come and take you away from your mundane issues (An absent father, a missing mother) and take you to a world of excitement and wonder and most of all...tell you that you are special. Right now Abby is staring down the stripper glitter covered letter to join the XXX-men, the idea that things could be different and make her special. She's not thinking of succubi in the terms of sex (Nor, I imagine was she thinking of large breasts in that sense. More in the sense that people with a large bust get attention/are treated as special) but in terms of the changes and what it could mean to her as being different to most other kids.

I honestly find this response rather believable, from my experience with kids of about that age.

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Master of 7s
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by Master of 7s »

Hindsight is 20/20. Anyone criticizing Abby for being "stupid" is grossly overestimating how intelligent they were at her age.

A normal human brain doesn't even fully develop until somewhere close to the age of 25, and the frontal lobes or the "pre-frontal cortex" is the last thing to develop. Impulse control, critical thinking, long-term planning, logical analysis and other associated traits all stem from that part of the brain. So the fact that Abby is behaving in such a self-centered, short-sighted, illogical manner is perfectly consistent with the fact that she, as with all developing children, is essentially functionally retarded due to an underdeveloped brain.

Children who consider the consequences of their actions beforehand are the exception, not the norm, and expecting a child to behave rationally just means you've never been around kids.

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Fluffy
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by Fluffy »

The difference is, Abby has been repeatedly exposed to the very real dangers of a supernatural life. Her very life had been in danger more than a few times (the most recent only being a few strips ago when Gabrielle held a sharpened needle to her throat in a very clear warning on what would happen to her if she didn't play ball). And Abby *still* wants that dangerous life because she only wants to focus on the assumed awesomeness of being a succubus instead of the dangerous realities that come with it.

It's one thing to fantasize at that age; but, usually when a kid is shown the consequences of certain actions/behaviors/choices, a smart kid will usually change their mind or, at the very least, start showing some doubts on their misguided reality (examples - staying up past an established bedtime, or watching a scary movie they've been forbidden from watching, etc). Abby just ignores the negatives outright because they don't coincide with her self perceived reality. And, in all honesty - you'd have to be an especially stupid child to still want to do something even after your life - and the life of your self proclaimed idol - was threatened as a result of that choice.
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MissMadness
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by MissMadness »

As a teacher who has worked with plently of kids. I can say this, Abby is acting normal for a kid her age, but only one who has been getting their way for far too long and the consequences of their actions haven't stuck. Which lets face it, Abbey has gotten off basically scotfree for the all the things she's done including dying. So in her mind, if some terrible happens it will fix itself pretty quickly. It's not surprising that she's become such a horrible little grimlin. I'm not sure how anyone expects her to critically question things when the world has been justifying her poor behavior.

Continuity
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by Continuity »

I am amused, and somewhat astonished, that no one has really mentioned that

a) Abby took the succubus blood in order to gain some chest development (which did not apparently work)
b) Chloe has just informed Abby of the secret ingredient and procedure required to achieve that development as a succubus.

What is Abby's next move, do you suppose?

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Cortez
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Re: Dangerously Chloe 22-01-18 Tears of Pain

Post by Cortez »

Fluffy wrote:
Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:38 am
Most pre-teen girls I knew growing up wanted to wear makeup before the age of 16, stay up past a certain hour, go places without parental supervision or needing a curfew, etc. You know, mundane things they were in no way ready for.

Even given the supernatural element of this comic; what 11 year old in their right mind would want to willingly condemn their souls to Hell, just for the chance of having a massive rack (Abby's entire reason for injecting herself with the succubus/reaper blood, in the first place)?

Also, most real life young girls aren't obsessed about getting big racks like Abby is here.

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