[11 Oct 11] You taste like math

[Alice Macher]

And once again we see Joss Whedon's influence on T's writing.

[Kamino Neko]

I love the first quote. So much.

*dramatises it, as envisioned by Neko*

*Strikes a pose* 'Secret identity!' *gets no reaction* ... *grabs Alice by collar, gets well in her personal space* 'Secret. Identity.'

*lets go of Alice*

*Takes a bow*

Sorry for using you for that, Alice. You just happened to be, eh, at hand.

[Alice Macher]

...My pleasure, I guess. But next time, if we're doing a nude scene, I want more money.

[Tamar]

Clearly, the "Secret identity" line is spoken by Lisa. No one must know she's actually the Thunderbolt Trickst--


Oops

[Valerie]

Clearly, the "Secret identity" line is spoken by Lisa. No one must know she's actually the Thunderbolt Trickst--


Oops

I'mma be so super-happy if it's that.

[MagicalScientistD]

I've read P&A for years and I'm somewhat interested in reading Quiltbag. However one thing that has always bothered me about P&A is that the characters don't seem to match their age. It always felt like adults playing as high school students. Maybe its because I'm closer in age to high school, but I never thought the characters were representative of real high school students. Anyway, I understand it is T's interpretation, I'd like to see how things go with college-aged characters.

[Valerie]

I think part of it is that they were in a private school. From what experience I've had (Catholic school until 8th grade, public school after), well... It's not really a secret that the education tends to be better at private schools, and knowledge certainly isn't everything, but I can honestly tell you that most of the eighth-graders from the Catholic school were more mature than a lot of the ninth-graders in the public schools. I assume it's related. *shrugs*

[Mr. Brightside]

The first line makes me fervently hope there are actual superheroes in this comic.

...probably not. But a guy can hope.

[Tamar]

I think part of it is that they were in a private school. From what experience I've had (Catholic school until 8th grade, public school after), well... It's not really a secret that the education tends to be better at private schools, and knowledge certainly isn't everything, but I can honestly tell you that most of the eighth-graders from the Catholic school were more mature than a lot of the ninth-graders in the public schools. I assume it's related. *shrugs*

That, and the characters who got the most "screen time" were for the most part of above-average native intelligence (in the cognitive sense): Penny, Aggie, Sara, Stan, Karen, Marshall, Duane, Katy-Ann, Charlotte. So their vocabulary and diction would reflect that to a certain extent, even making allowances for "realistic dialogue in fiction is unrealistic." Similarly, with regard to the least cognitively intelligent characters--Lucy, and especially Bob and Elmer--their speech reflects that.

Jack's diction isn't as polished as the other main recurring characters, but that's more a reflection of his "street" roots. (Stan, of course, comes from the same background, but we can assume that given his "Climb to the top" attitude, he's made efforts over the years not to drop his final "g"s, say "ain't," and such.) As for Rich, while we're not meant to see him as an academic high-achiever (even a secret one), I wouldn't call him slow either. For him, I'd say his dialogue's a combination of average intelligence and street background--one which, of the three amigos, he's always embraced the most enthusiastically, even if he isn't quite the "scary bad boy" he wants people to think he is.

Michelle is something of an anomaly, because while she's slow in certain respects, she isn't, as far as we know, exactly in danger of flunking out, and her vocabulary and grammar aren't significantly worse than that of Penny and Sara.

[RiddleMeThis]

That "There's something missing in me" line sounds like Cyndi. Oh god is Cyndi back?

[Valerie]

That "There's something missing in me" line sounds like Cyndi. Oh god is Cyndi back?

Oh God, is Cyndi back? X3

[CEOIII]

That's something I've been meaning to ask: Is this set after P&A ends, or is it set during that six-year gap between the official comic end and the coda?

I don't think we're getting superheroes in Quiltbag (unless it's like those "real heroes" activists I've read about; people putting on costumes and going out to do volunteer work and such); what it probably is is someone comparing being in the closet to having a heroic secret identity. In both cases, it's best to hide it from loved ones so they don't get hurt.

Granted, there's a big diff between some supervillian kidnapping your mom and your mom screaming at you "I DISOWN YOU, PERVERT SINNER!" but still.

[Alice Macher]

It's not so much the "There's something missing in me" bit that makes me think of Cyndi. It's what comes after it.

Compare "That ineffable quality that makes everyone else in the world stupid."

to:

Because I have...trouble relating to people, really feeling what they feel. Sometimes they all seem so stupid.

and:

Most people are so stupid.


...Suddenly I am very afraid. *Locks brain so Cyndi can't pick away at it*

[Tamar]

Hnnngh. Well, I know many people, including Alice, will disagree with this, but if Cyndi really must come back, I hope she's a...re-envisioned version thereof. "Missing Person" was phenomenal, yes, but what the P&A/Quiltbag 'verse really doesn't need is a second "Hannibal" story. Sorry, that's just how I feel.

[CEOIII]

Yeah, if Quiltbag has to have a villain, that villain should be more Charlotte than Cyndi. Someone who doesn't approve of all the freaks, not someone trying to "push people into the pool".