04/30/2010 [DMFA#1111] Fluids, Fashion, and certain Canadian Artists.

[Turnsky]

Granted not all fashion designers are gay, they just dress like it. 

[Suwako]

It's all about how you wear it, Daniel, all about how you wear it! 

and you wear it gay.

[Tapewolf]

Abel seems happy enough with the idea that Dan thinks he's gay.  'Course if I was playing Abel's game, letting people think whatever they want to think if it makes them go away has some definite prospects.

[Nino]

I like Abel's pose in the last panel. Seems sort of different than the 'typical' poses Amber does... maybe it's just me but the face angle is unusual (in a good way). Also that little pink tongue is adorable =p

[Turnsky]

Abel seems happy enough with the idea that Dan thinks he's gay.  'Course if I was playing Abel's game, letting people think whatever they want to think if it makes them go away has some definite prospects.

psychologically i'd say it was more an 'eggshell' personality going on here, regardless of the reasonings, Abel doesn't like people to get too close/get to know him. Ergo, he throws up different messages as to his truer self.. Meanwhile Dan's a tad more honest in how he is.

[Bjalf]

Granted not all fashion designers are gay, they just dress like it. 

They're not gay? Lies! Lies and slander!

Abel seems happy enough with the idea that Dan thinks he's gay.  playing Abel's game, letting people think whatever they want to think if it makes them go away has some definite prospects.

Well, people are going to think whatever they want, anyway. And the more you deny it, the more they will believe it. When you next get to work in the morning, say "I'm not gay!" loudly to nobody in particular, and see what happens. This will probably not work for the self-employed.

[InsanityRequiem]

Darn you, Abel! You look extremely cute in the last panel!

I just wanna play with that tongue-tip.

[Baal Hadad]

Um...I do NOT know what Dan means....

And "fluids," Abel...?   

<.<

>.>

Do I even want to know...?

(I'm surprised he's letting Dan think he's gay--I don't know why he is....)

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

Do I even want to know...?

I'd like to know what "fluids" he speaks of......  For all we know it could be just sweat....

[psilorder]

Abel seems happy enough with the idea that Dan thinks he's gay.  playing Abel's game, letting people think whatever they want to think if it makes them go away has some definite prospects.

Well, people are going to think whatever they want, anyway. And the more you deny it, the more they will believe it. When you next get to work in the morning, say "I'm not gay!" loudly to nobody in particular, and see what happens. This will probably not work for the self-employed.

hmm, .....making themselves think they might be gay?

[terrycloth]

Dan... you wore a *dress*. For years. NOW you're worried? Oh, right, now you have a girlfriend. 

Neeevermind.

[Vanvidum]

Abel's stutter in the second panel was interesting... "Wait, you think I'm gay too?"

Good recovery though.

[AmigaDragon]

Abel seems happy enough with the idea that Dan thinks he's gay.  'Course if I was playing Abel's game, letting people think whatever they want to think if it makes them go away has some definite prospects.

Though you'd want to be sure whether they themselves are gay or not.

Also that little pink tongue is adorable =p

Gotta love that lazy tongue.

I'd like to know what "fluids" he speaks of......  For all we know it could be just sweat....

Are you sure it's not TMI?

[Jairus]

Abel's expression in panel two... I'm not sure what to make of it. Hm...

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

You know, we've all seen Dan wear dresses in the past with little compunction about it. Why suddenly all the fuss about "gay" clothes?

[AmigaDragon]

Those were disguises (whether he initially wore them all intentionally or not in the first place).

[Caswin]

I like Abel's pose in the last panel. Seems sort of different than the 'typical' poses Amber does... maybe it's just me but the face angle is unusual (in a good way). Also that little pink tongue is adorable =p

That's exactly what I was thinking.  I like it.

[candide]

First, I want to state clearly, for the record, that this is not a statement against Amber.  I am absolutely certain that she knows everything that I'm about to say.

I'm saying it to engage in some education and consciousness-raising:

I am gay.  That is not my lifestyle, it's my orientation; it's a description of who/what I find attractive, and who I fall in love with.  If you think about it, what/who you find attractive is more of a mental-reflex than a conscious act.  And, you never find love; love finds you. 

My lifestyle is, like your lifestyle, how you've chosen to live day-to-day based on your circumstances.  My spouse of 17 years and I live a "gay lifestyle" that involves:

• doing laundry;
• feeding our 2 cats;
• scooping the litter boxes;
• emptying and refilling the dishwasher not nearly as often as we should;
• during the warmer months, mowing an acre of sod
• trying to find some time to squeeze in a fun adventure into the Catskills

And, at the beginning of this month, we spent a week cutting down 16 fatally damaged trees with our new electric chainsaw.
Our house is a mess.  He & I don't have much fashion sense.

So, to summarize:  gay is not a "lifestyle," it's a description of how one reacts romantically.

Gay men & women almost-universally react to the phrase, "your lifestyle," as an insult.

===End-Consciousness-Raising===

Now, given what I just said, let's add it to Amber's excellent storycraft plus her social-awareness-acumen. 

Okay.  Now let that sit for a bit.

Okay, you with me?  Good.  So then ... Dan telling Abel, "It's cool and all that you want to express your lifestyle and all," should come across as an insult-masking-as-openmindedness directed at Abel.

And pulled off well, I might add.  Excellent dialog-fu, Amber!   

[RandomMetaphysics]

Huh. Seems Abel has forgotten all about his little to-do list.
Too ba-- *doink*
Shenanigan... senses... tingling.

[Scow2]

I think Dan has only become Gay-aware because he recently became more MANLY! Before, he was comfortable in a dress/"gay" clothes because he had an effeminate build. Now, he has muscles, and cannot be seen in such flamboyant outfits. What he needs... is METAL PLATING! ...and a trenchcoat. And sunglasses. And...

[Baal Hadad]

EDIT: Please delete this post.

[Zuki]

So I really don't like this side of Dan. It makes me sad that he's being so judgmental of Able. I know he doesn't trust him because he's a demon and everything but...really? This shows a bit of a darker side of Dan that I didn't think he had.

[Baal Hadad]

So I really don't like this side of Dan. It makes me sad that he's being so judgmental of Able. I know he doesn't trust him because he's a demon and everything but...really? This shows a bit of a darker side of Dan that I didn't think he had.

I don't know if I'd call it dark, but it certainly comes as a surprise after learning that his best friend Jyrras had a CRUSH on him and he reacted better....

Or is it simply that Jyrras was his friend, and "that's different," and his "a bit" answer to Abel's question of whether he was upset about it was closer to what he's saying here...?

[LigerJet]

Dan doesn't like Abel.  Ergo, he's acting like an arse to him.  That's my theory.

[Bjalf]

So I really don't like this side of Dan. It makes me sad that he's being so judgmental of Able. I know he doesn't trust him because he's a demon and everything but...really? This shows a bit of a darker side of Dan that I didn't think he had.

Nooo, I don't really see it as "dark". Or even particularly judgemental.

I see it as Dan just criticizing Abel's taste in clothing. And the "lifestyle" is not neccessarily being gay, as in "sleeping with other men guys", but more behaving in a (stereotypical) gay manner.

Abel is definitely giving off a "vibe", and the clothes are a big part of it.

[iceick]

You know, we've all seen Dan wear dresses in the past with little compunction about it. Why suddenly all the fuss about "gay" clothes?

It wasn't a dress it was a battle robes.

[Congo Jack]

You know, we've all seen Dan wear dresses in the past with little compunction about it. Why suddenly all the fuss about "gay" clothes?

It wasn't a dress it was a battle robes.

That was female clothes, not gay clothes. Two big differences.
Dan probably mind less wearing dress, because it's simpler to prove that you aren't woman, that you aren't gay. At last resort, you can take your clothes off, in first case. In secong - not so much.

[candide]

Seriously, though, I can't speak for Amber, but I'm pretty sure she does know all that.

*sigh*
I knew someone was going to do this.

If you reread the first sentence of my post, you'll see that I say, in bold letters, that I, too, am absolutely certain that she knows everything that I wrote.

Really, you quoted the rest of my post, why not those first two lines?

Seriously,   And it's clear from the fact that Dan doesn't want "the gay" "running over" onto him that it is a masquerade.  That makes it realistic, since a lot of people do that, but it's a shame that they do....

People don't want to be seen as bad or intolerant, but if they are phobic, how can they hide that?  How many times have you heard "not that there's anything WRONG with that...."?

Exactly!

That's why I'm convinced that Amber intentionally put the word, "lifestyle," in Dan's mouth, to reveal a less-than-pleasant side of his character.

===PERSONAL=ANECTODE===
[Not a statement about Amber, you, or anyone else on this forum.]
I went to grad-school in a pretty, "we are sooo tolerant and multicultural," town.  People were always okay-with-teh-gay... in theory.  But when that theory plants itself on the living room sofa and goes:  "<waving>Hi There."   --- they'd change their tune real fast.
===PERSONAL=ANECTODE===

As you said, Baal, it makes the scene that much more realistic.  Well written, Amber, very well written!

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I knew someone was going to do this.

And yet you seem so surprised... ;-]

[VAE]

  But when that theory plants itself on the living room sofa and goes:  "<waving>Hi There."   --- they'd change their tune real fast.

This is so like Daryil!