Questionable Content XVI: Yes, Butt

[Cikomyr2]

"Such a..." what, Aurelia?

[Wraith]

From what we've seen of Mrs. Augustus' love life, Elliot is at least as much her type as Clinton's....

[Taevyr]

Original appearance -- https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2804

Further appearance -- https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3716

this one is the one I first thought of for comparison. I always get a bit sad when I see what the art evolution has currently led to; I like that it's always changing slowly, but this particular stage needn't last too long for my personal taste.

And I really hope this won't lead to Ms. Augustus showing overly-overt signs of attraction to Elliot. Neither he nor Clinton should have to go through that.

[VoxRationis]

In retrospect, I should have foreseen this development.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Aurelia Cotta was the name of Gaius Julius Caesar's mother - and, since he legally adopted Gaius Octavian who was later Augustus, technically Augustus' grandmother.

Fun times.

[Cikomyr2]

Aurelia Cotta was the name of Gaius Julius Caesar's mother - and, since he legally adopted Gaius Octavian who was later Augustus, technically Augustus' grandmother.

Fun times.

Aurelius was a very distinguished plebeian* family name in ancient Rome, and daughter of these families were usually named in the feminine version of their family name (Julius Caesar's daughter and sister were all named Julia).

So there were a *lot* of Aurelia. The gens came from "Gold", which is why most adjectives in Latin languages referring to gold has "Aur" (hell, French for Gold is "Or")

*Plebeian in this case meant non-Patrician, but certainly did not meant non-nobility. Some of the most respectful and prestigious Roman families were Plebeian. Patrician status is just akin to "nobility with a lineage tracing back to a royal family of Royal Rome"

[Willie the Duck]

this one is the one I first thought of for comparison. I always get a bit sad when I see what the art evolution has currently led to; I like that it's always changing slowly, but this particular stage needn't last too long for my personal taste.

Okay, now we have two good examples. Good call both Taevyr and Max. I contend that it still isn't strictly a recent phenomenon that the older characters only look old when Jeph remembers.

And I really hope this won't lead to Ms. Augustus showing overly-overt signs of attraction to Elliot. Neither he nor Clinton should have to go through that.

No one here benefits from this situation, excepting maybe the audience (depending on how much they like embarrassment humor). That said, this is the kind of thing that could kill the Clinton-Elliot relationship without either of them doing something to make them unlikable. If Jeph was going for the 'will they or won't they, oh look I guess they won't' plot that their previous lack of real chemistry might suggest, this could be a way for him to do it (not a particularly rewarding one, so I'm not putting money on it). I'm just assuming that this is another 'wacky hijinks!' to get the sitcom episode up to the needed 22.

[DaFlipp]

At this point I'm starting to wonder if Jeph is going to just keep throwing more and more attractive and/or attracted people into Clinton & Elliot's orbit as the issue gets danced around, only to have Yelling Bird scream "AND THEN THEY ALL F***ED" and end with a heavily-censor-barred full panel announcing the end of the comic (or at least of that particular subplot/storyline).

[Keltest]

At this point I'm starting to wonder if Jeph is going to just keep throwing more and more attractive and/or attracted people into Clinton & Elliot's orbit as the issue gets danced around, only to have Yelling Bird scream "AND THEN THEY ALL F***ED" and end with a heavily-censor-barred full panel announcing the end of the comic (or at least of that particular subplot/storyline).

I thought Jeph discontinued Yelling Bird because he personally came to really dislike the mentality he had to be in to write that kind of strip?

[Max_Killjoy]

Okay, now we have two good examples. Good call both Taevyr and Max. I contend that it still isn't strictly a recent phenomenon that the older characters only look old when Jeph remembers.

I think it's just part of the broader issue with Jeph's characters tending to blur towards similar appearances as his art has drifted through various styles.

No one here benefits from this situation, excepting maybe the audience (depending on how much they like embarrassment humor). That said, this is the kind of thing that could kill the Clinton-Elliot relationship without either of them doing something to make them unlikable. If Jeph was going for the 'will they or won't they, oh look I guess they won't' plot that their previous lack of real chemistry might suggest, this could be a way for him to do it (not a particularly rewarding one, so I'm not putting money on it). I'm just assuming that this is another 'wacky hijinks!' to get the sitcom episode up to the needed 22.

I'm not a fan of lots of embarrassment/discomfort "humor", so these things get old fast for me.

[Taevyr]

I thought Jeph discontinued Yelling Bird because he personally came to really dislike the mentality he had to be in to write that kind of strip?

Yeah, If I'm not mistaken it was mainly that, and the fact that it had become rather repetitive

[Cikomyr2]

Yeah, If I'm not mistaken it was mainly that, and the fact that it had become rather repetitive

Totally understandable.

But oh man, did I laugh at Yelling Bird. And I don't even like cussing humour usually

[Willie the Duck]

Totally understandable.

But oh man, did I laugh at Yelling Bird. And I don't even like cussing humour usually

Yelling Bird works as its' own thing. Perhaps the foul mouthed iteration of Dinosaur Comics.

[Cikomyr2]

Yelling Bird works as its' own thing. Perhaps the foul mouthed iteration of Dinosaur Comics.

... I never enjoyed Dinosaur Comics.

but I accepted the fact that many people have different taste than me.

[Willie the Duck]

... I never enjoyed Dinosaur Comics.

but I accepted the fact that many people have different taste than me.

That's fine. I just mean any one of dozens of comics which use isolated semi-topical situations or places where a pseudo-rant makes sense. XKCD would be another place where it would work. Perry Bible Fellowship. Something like that. Even Something Positive where about 25-50% of the strips are not related to the ongoing storyline. I can understand why trying to write for Yelling Bird would be a hard orthogonal turn for Jeph and perhaps some other strip would find better use for the setup, is my point.

[DaFlipp]

I thought Jeph discontinued Yelling Bird because he personally came to really dislike the mentality he had to be in to write that kind of strip?

That makes sense, honestly that particular punchline was just on my mind anyway due to some recent archive-trawling.

[The Glyphstone]

I always thought YB was just his way of letting off steam, not something he did deliberately or felt obligated to include. It certainly felt like there was a tonal shift in the main comic after YB's end.

[Cikomyr2]

I always thought YB was just his way of letting off steam, not something he did deliberately or felt obligated to include. It certainly felt like there was a tonal shift in the main comic after YB's end.

Yes, exactly. I think I enjoyed YB because it was such a massive shift from the standard QC content, I found the whiplash absolutely hilarious.

It's like watching Alice in Wonderland in the original animation, and Alice suddenly lets out a cuss word in reaction of the Chescher Cat.

[VoxRationis]

Yelling Bird and company were an exaggerated form of the sort of transgressive humor which typified the earlier part of the strip's run. That sort of thing was very much in vogue in the 2000s.

[Keltest]

I'm not a fan of lots of embarrassment/discomfort "humor", so these things get old fast for me.

Im suddenly reminded that im quite in agreement with you.

[Wraith]

Is it weird that I'm actively hoping for Elliot to hook up with Aurelia Augustus? She's fun, and it would put an end to this excruciating charade where Clinton/Elliot think she doesn't know they're courting.

[Eldan]

Yeah, this entire story arc is just kind of unpleasant.

[Cikomyr2]

For me, the problem I have about Clinton is that he seems to entertain the possibility on an intellectual level without actually having some romantic or sexual drive toward Elliot.

Like... He acts like that girl whose male best friend is into her, and she basically says yes to dating him because "it seems the logical and nice thing to do" without having the actual emotion to justify that step. It usually dont end well

[Keltest]

For me, the problem I have about Clinton is that he seems to entertain the possibility on an intellectual level without actually having some romantic or sexual drive toward Elliot.

Like... He acts like that girl whose male best friend is into her, and she basically says yes to dating him because "it seems the logical and nice thing to do" without having the actual emotion to justify that step. It usually dont end well

Yeah, i think thats what gets me about this too. Its been exclusively "I am open to the idea of being gay or bi" and absolutely no "I am actually attracted to this man in particular." between them.

[Max_Killjoy]

For me, the problem I have about Clinton is that he seems to entertain the possibility on an intellectual level without actually having some romantic or sexual drive toward Elliot.

Like... He acts like that girl whose male best friend is into her, and she basically says yes to dating him because "it seems the logical and nice thing to do" without having the actual emotion to justify that step. It usually dont end well

Yeah, i think thats what gets me about this too. Its been exclusively "I am open to the idea of being gay or bi" and absolutely no "I am actually attracted to this man in particular." between them.

Frankly, this plot arc has come across more as Clinton thinking "I should be open to this if I'm a good person" and less as a matter of real feeling.

[Cikomyr2]

Frankly, this plot arc has come across more as Clinton thinking "I should be open to this if I'm a good person" and less as a matter of real feeling.

Which, you know, is NOT a bad point of view. But Clinton should also be honest with himself and not force it just for the sake of being a good person.


Like, a girl shouldn't "be open to sleeping with her best friend if she's a good person". That's not how this works.

[SaintRidley]

Is it weird that I'm actively hoping for Elliot to hook up with Aurelia Augustus? She's fun, and it would put an end to this excruciating charade where Clinton/Elliot think she doesn't know they're courting.

Well, she definitely knows now, at least.

[DaFlipp]

Yeah, i think thats what gets me about this too. Its been exclusively "I am open to the idea of being gay or bi" and absolutely no "I am actually attracted to this man in particular." between them.

I keep seeing this argument floated in these forums, and I don't know if people are forgetting this comic exists or if they just think it's insufficient as evidence that, when he actually sets his preconceptions aside, Clinton is actually attracted to Elliot (and not just men in general, the mental exercise was regarding Elliot specifically).

I'm just sayin', Clinton's face in the last two panels of that comic do not look like expressions of societal obligation.

[Kish]

Yeah, I don't think there's any ambiguity that Jeph means both the characters to be genuinely attracted to each other. Whether he's getting that across well is of course open to debate.

[Keltest]

Yeah, I don't think there's any ambiguity that Jeph means both the characters to be genuinely attracted to each other. Whether he's getting that across well is of course open to debate.

Its not even that. Its just a really bad case of "show, don't tell." We are told that Clinton is attracted to Elliot. There has been very little time devoted to looking at Clinton's feelings about Elliot, and a lot of soul searching about whether he is gay overall.

And frankly, absent the predetermined idea that Clinton is attracted to Elliot, this whole sequence changes wildly in tone. If you need to spend that much time thinking about whether you're superficially attracted to somebody, you probably arent.