NEW VOTING INCENTIVE! MORE VOLUME TWO!
Volume Two cover pics keep on coming, so…
VOTE FOR PUCK AND KEEP THE STUPIDITY ROLLING!!!
ALSO…
I recently put a bunch of work into updating the PDF collection of voting incentive images, and the results are finally assembled! This new PDF volume contains all the voting incentives from 2011 all the way to 2017 (including some that never even ran) in a print-ready high resolution! That’s almost 200 pages of stuff! So if you’d like to buy a copy, please do!
As for this comic…
Tyler refers to the ‘junior prom’ coming up. That’s what I’m going to call this event for this arc but honestly, I’m just using the term because I think it’s a phrase that Americans are most familiar with.
I have yet to encounter a Canadian school that runs something called a junior prom. In fact, around these parts, the term ‘junior’ means something entirely different. Stateside, ‘junior’ refers specifically to students in their third year of high school (grade eleven). Around here, ‘junior’ refers to students in grades nine and ten, as opposed to the ‘senior’ grades, eleven and twelve.
I have yet to encounter a Canadian school that runs an actual ‘junior prom’. Rather most schools (like mine) will run a semi-formal dance for all grades simply called ‘the semi-formal’. In practice, it’s basically junior prom without all of the prom trappings. But in an attempt to not confuse my American readers (who account for 90% of my readership), I’m calling this thing a junior prom. Even though it might not actually mean that Daphne and Tyler are in grade eleven. Although they probably are. Though if they were, in Ontario schools, that would make them seniors.
And now I’m confused.
Footnote: Daphne’s line in panel one is an homage to Ghostbusters, but in looking up that line, I discovered that Ray Stanz erroneously cites his source! He says it’s Revelation 7:12, but it’s NOT! It’s Revelation 6:12! Dude had me running on a wild goose chase. For shame, Ray. For shame.
WHAT DID YOU DO RAY?
It just … popped in there.
This post makes me wish I could upvote comments.
So let this suffice. 😉
OK, cool.
I was kind of wondering after reading this with a bit of snark, if seems like a wasted opportunity for Daphne to spike the punch. But then, it seems to be her forté to go for the mayhem that lies of the beaten path.
Unlike Tyler’s soon to be realized hypothetical ego.
Nah, the spiked punch will not occur. We’re going in weirder, less traveled directions.
Well, that might depend on what she spiked the punch WITH. Alcohol, yes, trite, hackneyed, beneath her. On the other hand, if the punch was spiked with something else, that would be possibly more worthy of her time.
Not that I’m SUGGESTING this effect, just noting something more interesting that “surprising drunkenness that isn’t much of a surprise”. 😉
I don’t know of *anything* that is “below” Daffy, bar n€crophilia and folk dancing. 😛
Spiking it with laxatives and ipecac would be something she would do… (I may have done this at a party once. I’m surprised I survived the raging, vomit-mixed roars of my former friends as they chased me down the hall. It was worth it though.)
I’m never inviting you to anything.
Me, either.
Today’s word of day: Hypothetical.
@Bunmi
I am hypothetically confused.
Is Daphne going to kiss Tyler or slap him ?
He hypothetically kisses her, and she responds by hypothetically slapping him.
@Wyvern
And then they … ummm ummm ummm
(kat’s imagination goes X-Rated – hypothethically)
It’s a good word.
Taylor closes his eyes and tries to kiss Daffy, but he misses and hits Phloebles. Serendipity. (A much better word, right, Mr. English Teacher?)
Uh, no. I’m sure Tyler would consider it serendipity, but Phoebe wouldn’t.
Hey, I wouldn’t either, but if I went out running and found a hundred dollar bill, it would be serendipity for me, tragedy for whoever lost it, and a matter of utter indifference to the currency. (unless hundred dollar bills enjoy fluttering about. I wouldn’t know.)
And now for Canada’s favourite Web based drama, “Let’s Ask ElectricGecko.”
In today’s episode an American fan obsessed with Cheech & Chong asks, “Dear 120v based ElectricGecko, will the hot dog guy grace book two’s cover or are his appearance fees to exorbitant?”
Maybe? I’ve already got one shadowy figure in the form of Satan. I didn’t want to overdo that trope. Maybe we could just see the Hotdog Guy’s arm? I’m not sure.
Why is there a TeaPot on the Family Room Bookshelf ?
Is it a “Canadian-Thing” ?
I don’t know. Ask my wife. She collects teapots. They’re everywhere.
So it’s not 3D modeling reference?
??? I’ve never (sadly) used 3D modeling reference for anything. I wish I could. I might not suck as much if I did.
@EG
I think it’s Mrs. Potts.
She’s a secret voyeur.
There’s making the guy work for it, and then there’s the conversational equivalent of waving a .44 Magnum in his face and saying “you’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do you, punk?”
Conversation isn’t fun unless it’s a covert form of psychological torture, right?
I found out in High School that when a guy I didn’t care for started hitting on me, if I made a face like I just bit into a wormy apple (wrinkled nose, asymmetric mouth) , it worked great as a preventative. I have no idea what it did to their pathetic male egos, and don’t care much. When a guy I did like, like my bf ,started talking to me, not necessarily hitting on me, if I looked alert and obviously paid attention to what he was saying, even nodding occasionally, it encouraged them. Of course some of the worms asked me out, anyway, but I just told them that I would be washing my hair.
Guys can be willfully blind to all but the clearest of dissuading signals. So a guy will certainly read a girl’s alertness as a sign of interest. That said, they’ll also read a neutral, blank expression as a sign of interest, and sometimes (as you discovered) even read a wrinkled nose and an expression of clear disgust as a sign of interest. You were smart in not trying to cushion the force of your distaste. It’s always better to be clear in your disgust when dealing with men.
Oh, believe me, I was (and am) clear. I am told that I was known as “Frigid Frieda” by some of them. One of them actually asked me if I preferred other girls. I just made a “Psh” noise and said, “Compared to what?”
I like the cut of your jib.
It’s not always willful. Some of us are just too socially stupid to pick up all but the most obvious signs.
It’s not always willful. But I’ve known a lot of guys who will inexplicably default to interpreting almost all behaviors as “She digs me.” I’ve always erred on the side of interpreting everyone’s actions and words as signs that they actively DISlike me. Even when they explicitly say otherwise.
JIBS snicker snicker
(cat has no idea what everyone is talking about, but when they laugh, he laughs, so as not to be thought a fool)
@Susan
I figured all this out six lives ago.
By then, it was too late.
Boo Hoo……….
“I wouldn’t go out with you if you were the last guy alive in Texas.”
“But if all the guys in Texas were dead and I was in Louisiana, you would go out with me?”
“No, I would have cut my throat.”
“So, if you didn’t know that all the guys in Texas were dead, and I asked you out, you might go?”
“”No, I would first need to wash my hair.”
Strange how often that works when nothing else will.
Will Tyler alias Taylor wear a white sport coat and a pink carnation to the prom?
Now THAT’S a song I haven’t heard in a long time. A long time.
I hear this music playing in the background: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzD_yyEcp0M
(“Friends” by Marshmellow & Anne-Marie).
Truly that is the saddest some in the friendiverse.
Speaking hypothetically, of course.
—
I was hearing different music tho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUb3YCPm4bY
Advice for Tyler: Just grow a pair, ask her out, admit your feelings, and if she rejects, suck it up, and realize that at least you have an awesome friend. Would it suck if she rejects you? Oh, hell to the yeah, but at least you made your play instead of living in a horrible “What if?” Schrodinger’s Cat nightmare.
You, sir, speak like a true gentleman.
Thank you, Sir. Seriously, though, he needs to collapse this uncertainty waveform, it’s inherently unstable and could destroy this universe. Uncertainty cannot maintain. Right now, they are both dating and not dating, and it’s liable to lead to a situation where they aren’t together in any form. Scientific fact.
Agreed.
As Tyler says “yes (male egos are fragile) I notice that the glow/aura thing around him changes from purple to gold-orange. Do those mirror people’s moods? (Or their level of fear, going from an “all clear” to HOLY CRAP AMBER ALERT WE (the metaphorical people in his head) ARE GONNA DIE! OR BE FORCED TO STEAL A CARTOON CHARACTER AGAIN. I DON’T REALLY KNOW WHICH IS WORSE!
Color auras are vaguely coded. Kind of. The intensity of the aura definitely connects to the intensity of the emotion. As for the colors, red is always anger, or irritation. (The soft aura around Daphne in panel 3 is red, indicating annoyance.) Yellow inclusions in the aura usually mean panic. Pink(ish) auras usually connote love or tenderness or contentment. All the other colors are used mainly to vary the palette and create visual interest. Each comic usually sticks within a certain color grade so as to not create eye strain.
Okay, so in this instance it’s a mixture of annoyance and fear (which would make sense). Interesting…
She’s a female dog person, so…… WHAT A BITCH!
Well, I guess it’s a scientific fact.
Jackals are kind of dogs, I guess.
I just realized her shirt reads “Edge Lord in training”. Took me way too long to notice the last part…
I can’t say I’m too surprised about her saying “bad idea to ask her out” (given her personality). I am curious, however, if he’ll actually get her to the dance or if he’ll just ditch it.
Yeah, I have a serious problem with Daphne’s shirt designs: graphics that look cool on actual shirts are actually too busy or finely detailed to actually be visible in the comic. This shirt design originally had the ‘in training’ written in bright magenta, along with a cool metallic effect on the ‘Edgelord’ lettering, but all of that made the shirt look weird in the comic. So I simplified the design, but it’s still kind of illegible.
Daphne’s shirt actually frightens me a bit. I mean, if she is only in training I shudder to think what she will be like once her training is complete and she reaches her full potential.
and yet someones going to be jealous if he starts looking elsewhere
You know it, brother. You know it.
If the male in question is in the “friend zone,” oh, yeah. Otherwise, it’s more like, “Did you hear that Marigold is going to the dance with Vladimir? Poor thing, she must have been desperate to go.” (accompanied by many giggles from my girlfriends)
Daphne and Tyler’s weird pseudo-dating relationship is based on one I’ve witnessed occur in high school many a time. It’s not even the ‘frustrated guy in the friend zone’ trope that has become a target of such ire lately. Rather, it’s sort of two people mutually stuck in each other’s friend zones and kind of interested but kind of scared. It’s like two planets of a similar size orbiting each other. But like you hint here, there’s often a rather marked sense of ownership going on in these friend-type pseudo-relationships, and I’ve seen both guys and girls get suddenly very possessive when a third party enters the mix.
I actually prefer being stuck in someone’s friend zone at all times, so that way there’s always someone of the opposite sex to ask stupid questions without being embarrassed because they think I’m trying to flirt badly. I ask a lot of stupid questions where these things are concerned.
Yeah, it’s a useful resource, I suppose.
I don’t mind having guys as friends. But the minute they ask me to go out, I’m all, “I’ve already got a boyfriend. By the way, never speak to me again, mmmkay?”
Having spent all 6 years above elementary in one friend zone or other, this whole arc promises to be rather cringe-worthy for me. In fact, I was the guy who didn’t do anything with my peers until 12th grade. Never went to any kind of Prom and just as glad. Of course, I never met a girl like Daphne either.
This prom arc, I guarantee, will play out differently than the usual prom arc. So it may be less cringy than you’re thinking…
We have an old saying where I grew up that covers a “girl stringing you along” situation like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABXtWqmArUU
(Granted, she isn’t his lover, but the premise is still sound.)
Just spent lunchtime binge-viewing “Phoebe and Her Unicorn” archives. Here’s an idea. Have “Marigold Heavenly Nostrils” guest in the strip and zap Daffy. Hilarity would ensue! Well, I would be laughing. 😛
Daphne . . . there is such a thing as taking cynicism and sarcasm and hipness too far . . . even Captain Negri has been known to make a personal decision . . .
One can take cynicism and sarcasm too far. I’m living proof of it. Every statement I now make is expressed in such a cadence that it sounds sarcastic, and even I am not really sure whether I’m being sincere or not.
I don’t think my school had a Junior Prom. Pretty sure most places either have just Prom where all high school grades are welcome, or it’s Senior Prom serving as a last hurrah for students in their final year. Of course, even if Junior Prom is more common than I realize you still could have dropped “Junior” and it still would have made sense to American audiences.
I just went with ‘junior prom’ because it seems to be a term I see most bandied about to refer to the concept of the formal dance for non-graduating students. How often real junior proms occur, I have no idea. Everything I know about American schools I’ve learned from movies and TV shows. So … not very accurate.
The early seasons of Saved By The Bell were pretty accurate. I miss the days where I could stop time on a whim.
Most accurate depiction of high school I’ve seen in recent years (and I speak as a guy who lives high school every single day) was in the recent ’21 Jump Street’ remake. It didn’t play on the old, tired tropes. In fact, it refuted the old tropes and made the twenty-something cops completely misread their surroundings by sticking to the old, tired tropes. It was (in tone, at least) the closest to my personal experience. Though not the drug-dealing gym teacher part. I haven’t seen that yet. (Not saying it doesn’t exist. Just saying I haven’t seen it.)
We had a “Spring Dance” that non-graduating students could attend. Graduating ones, sure, but Seniors can do anything. It;s in the Constitution, somewhere between not quartering troops on civilians and limiting Presidents to two terms.
I went with Denny Murphy when I was a junior. He was a Senior, so that was cool.
She wants him to grow a back bone and she does it by destroying his confidence. Sound like some thing a girl would do. I am sure she would be pissed off if he when to the prom with someone else. I think he should because then maybe she would get that clip off her shoulder long enough to she wants to be more than friends with him. Every time i see a woman trying to control a man it makes me think “if only he could see though the illusion”. Because it is a illusion of control and that is all a woman can ever have over a man. All the callus behavior is just a cover because the are scare of being alone just like most men. For the ones that are too tough and “don’t need no man” they just end up bitter and try to poison young women because of it. Loving someone and being loved adds years to your life and improves your quality of life. As for teenagers well they are idiots and are still learning about how to interact with the people around them.
Don’t look at me, I have been in love and living with with the same man for going on eleven years. If he feels controlled, he hasn’t ever complained. Well, about that. 😛
Teens ARE idiots. They’re lovable idiots, in my opinion, but they’ve still got a lot of learning to do. And Daphne is going to learn a fair bit in this story arc, I promise.
Ooh, more foreshadowing.
Bumper sticker I saw a while back: “Teenagers! Quick, go out and rule the world while you still know everything”
@EG
By the time the ARC is over, I’ll bet Susan LIKES Daphne.
Or the Aliens will have taken over the Earth.
It’s kind of a Coin Toss.
Aliens, maybe. Susan liking Daphne? Never.
Word.
Hey, do Daphne and Taylor go to the same school that Colin teaches at? Obviously she can’t be in a class he teaches (…I assume there’s some sort of rule about that?) but the sight of Col trying to manage a school dance is [words fail me]
Yes. Yes, they do go to the same school that Colin teaches at. And will Colin supervise the dance? Yes. Yes he will.
MORE foreshadowing. *orders popcorn*
Tyler is very brave. That girl’s tongue is sharper than New York cheddar cheese. 😉
Tangy!
I was once told by somebody I know very well that my tongue is sharper than a #11 scalpel blade, but he is weird about surgical tools. I mean, who else keeps a sponge forceps in a dry tube stand in his kitchen to grab things out of the frying pan? And a Kelley hemostat in his pocket in the summertime to squash mosquitoes? The man has more knives than IKEA.
I’m hypothetically confused @-@
P.S We just call it Prom
Well then, at least it’s got the ‘prom’ word in there so everyone kind of knows what’s going on.
When I was a Senior, I told Randy McHenry that I would go to the Spring Prom with him, then cancelled because Joey Donnely asked me. Randy reproached me, saying that I had said I would go with him and that “Prom” stood for “Promise.” I told him that it did not, it was short for “Promenade” and to have a nice life. Hee hee
@Susan
OMG
What? Life is a gamble. Make sure you get as many face cards as you can 😛
@Susan
Randy McHenry prolly ended up as a Serial Killer due to you.
(or a democrat)
Actually, he is a car salesman at a Toyota dealership. I saw him at the Country Club just a couple of months ago. “Evening, Doc. Susie.”
“Evening, Randy. Oh Cheyanne, what a cunning dress, it has such a slimming effect.”His wife is fat, and so is he. If he has killed anybody, we haven’t heard of it.
Is Daphne just in her defensive mode or is she just not into this kid?
The ether in that response… ouch.
I would say ‘defensive/offensive’ mode is Daphne’s standard way of being. Any actual affection for anyone else is hidden under miles of hostility.
Sackcloth is not black. It is somewhere between beige and brown.
I’m assuming they had a different Bible grade of sackcloth. I also think they’re talking about being INSIDE the sack, but maybe I’m off in my Revelation interpretation. It’s possible. I’m not really buds with the J-man.
I never heard the Jr-Sr thing in high school myself. We just called people “#-graders”.
There was “Jr. High school” (Grades 7-8), but that’s about it.
US-only terms like “Sophomores” are so foreign to me that even with all their mention in US-sourced media like movies and TV shows, I’m never 100% sure what they mean.
Mind you, I’m willing to bet most US high schoolers ALSO don’t know what “sophomore” means literally… or they wouldn’t be so proud to call themselves that. 😛
It’s all very complicated. But Americans REALLY like those terms and use them A LOT.
We think it makes us sound sophisticated and grown up. Or at least our teens.
My take was always that it was about drawing deep dark lines between people, like “OMG, you’re going out with a FRESHMAN! We’re SOPHOMORES! Be more aware of your status!”
You’re ALL just students! Relax! >_>