12/09/2011 [DMFA#1269] - Alice? What are you doing here?

llearch n'n'daCorna · December 09, 2011, 03:43:15 AM

Heh. Beeees.

And yes, I have a turtle plushie of that size, too. Question is, is Amber's a turtle or a tortoise? That's always a big difference...

icarus · December 09, 2011, 08:10:14 AM

it looks to be a turtle, to me. what with the flippers and all.

Mao · December 09, 2011, 08:15:18 AM

That is most certainly not Alice.

I said that it would improve my view of Abel a bit here if he actually helped Jyrras. I concede. Now I just think he's a butthead *most* of the time. I still dislike him, but even I can't fault how he handled that. Particularly when considering that Jyrras realy isn't in any condition to take snark or being shut out. He was really going out on a limb here and for once Abel has come through. Do I believe he fits the trope of 'Jerk with a heart of gold' yet? No. I still think he's a jerk, but at least now he's a jerk who might have a chance to get his head straight. All because of a confused and worried Roo-Rat.

As for Jyrras, I hope he gets over his fears and doubts and continues to explore and try and understand himself. Even if it turns out that he's jumped the gun on this, he's smart. He'll learn from it and think more carefully. If, and I consider this more likely, this is just the first step of many of understanding himself fully then I honestly hope that he can keep opening up to people like this, not only Abel. I know he's already done that with Dan and several of his other friends, but the magnitude of this one was far beyond that (though I'm not downplaying how hard it is to 'come out' to your friends and loved ones).

Also, it's totally a turtle. *checks to make sure the MLP:FIM cast isn't about to all shout 'Tortoise!' at him*

justacritic · December 09, 2011, 08:26:33 AM

Not bad Abel, not bad, though I wonder about your life if you've slotted it in between total slaughter and binge eating. This is a rather good answer to a difficult question without the appearance or taste of lies people tell themselves or other people. Then again turtle or tortoise, it doesn't matter too much here, after all it's a reptile with a huge shell on it's back, call it whatever you like except in an academic paper and last time I checked we're not an academic paper (thank goodness for that). I wonder if Amber's bees will give good honey during the summer...

Alondro · December 09, 2011, 08:44:52 AM

*Charline reads Abel's mouth-words* Genocide? But that's my To-Do list's A-1 priority item! Well, maybe it's only bad in Furrae. I'm just exterminating humans. No one cares about those things.

Also, that is just a turtle. Not a magically-powered steampunk-helicopter tortise. TAAAANK!!

Surzsha · December 09, 2011, 05:15:50 PM

That's all we needed to hear, Abel. Now if we can just get the rest of the world to see that...

On the flip side, I'm sure Amber knows the difference between a turtle and a tortoise, though if she can provide some photographic proof then we can finally settle this case once and for all.

Also, BEEEEES!

llearch n'n'daCorna · December 09, 2011, 06:02:52 PM

Quote from: icarus on December 09, 2011, 08:10:14 AM
it looks to be a turtle, to me. what with the flippers and all.

It looks like a turtle to me, too; the reason I ask is the company that made mine (www.squishables.com) also makes tortoises (amongst (many) other things). And my son is convinced that his one is a tortoise, even though it has flippers (which tortoises don't, being a land animal, unlike turtles; the latter only visit to lay eggs) and a flat shell.

So it's a regular question, rather than any sort of confusion on my part. It's always nice to know what someone else thinks about these things...

Amber Williams · December 09, 2011, 06:37:01 PM

The one I drew was a turtle, but I do own a squishable tortoise as well. For the sake of plush dolls, I tend to not differentiate between turtle/tortoise if it means me getting another one for my swarm.

Gabi · December 09, 2011, 09:35:50 PM

They're both called "tortuga" in Spanish.

Hmm... a swarm of chelonians?

ArchTeryx · December 09, 2011, 10:13:07 PM

Quote from: Alondro on December 09, 2011, 08:44:52 AM
*Charline reads Abel's mouth-words* Genocide? But that's my To-Do list's A-1 priority item! Well, maybe it's only bad in Furrae. I'm just exterminating humans. No one cares about those things.

Also, that is just a turtle. Not a magically-powered steampunk-helicopter tortise. TAAAANK!!

And before you realize it, ponies are going to invade Furrae, thanks to one of Twilight's teleport spells going all wonky. Oh, dear, watch their heads explode when they meet Mab for the first time...

Nocturne of Night · December 09, 2011, 10:21:10 PM

Amazing job on Abel's part. Sensitive, yet honest. And wiser than most of us, imo.

It's funny, but I actually agree with Jyrras' theory: I feel Abel's character trope is "Jerk*** Facade" as opposed to "Jerk With a Heart of Gold" given the turmoil of his life. Considering just about every person Abel has ever gotten close to (save for Mink) either betrayed his trust or died, the shell makes sense. I'm not really sure how much of it is meant to prevent harm to others (Destania's "advice" comes to mind) or how much is his own inability to tolerate the harm he thinks he has caused (quite possibly both), but he once was a not-jerk, a really long time ago. I think Abel had given up on the idea of being close to another for whoever's sake, but now he is reconsidering. Imo what we're seeing here is the breaking of a shell more than the softening of a stone heart.

I would give anything to see Amber's off-panel to involve the line "COVERED IN BEEEES" next comic.

Dragon_FoxTS · December 10, 2011, 12:08:21 AM

Mmmm... Eating bacon 8 times a day sounds like a good day.

Cooking bacon 8 times in one day sounds horrible though.

And there is no way to just cook it all at once, and have it last long enough to make 8 meals / snakes out of it.

icarus · December 10, 2011, 07:45:09 AM

Quote from: Gabi on December 09, 2011, 09:35:50 PM
They're both called "tortuga" in Spanish.

Hmm... a swarm of chelonians?

kinda like how mice and rats share "nezumi" in japanese? which boggles my mind almost as much as tortuga for both turtles and tortises. they're different species, how could you give them the same common name aaaaaaa

Attic Rat · December 10, 2011, 02:45:09 PM

Amber's couch made a stinging retort!
Okay, I've got THAT bad pun out of my head.

Considering Abel's own past, I'd guess he's probably still carrying a little emotional baggage around, but a guy who's lived through all of that might have some seriously deep insights. He could grow up to be a sort of sarcastic jerk guru on a mount top somewhere.

justacritic · December 10, 2011, 03:59:52 PM

Quote from: Attic Rat on December 10, 2011, 02:45:09 PM
Amber's couch made a stinging retort!
Okay, I've got THAT bad pun out of my head.

Considering Abel's own past, I'd guess he's probably still carrying a little emotional baggage around, but a guy who's lived through all of that might have some seriously deep insights. He could grow up to be a sort of sarcastic jerk guru on a mount top somewhere.

Last time I checked that job pays well, and for the holidays *insert typical feline growl here*

Infranscia · December 11, 2011, 08:53:35 PM

I actually understand that whether a particular type of *checks name* chelonian is called 'turtle,' 'tortoise,' or 'terrapin' often depends on the country. Looks like 'tortoises' are generally considered the land type in any case, though.

It's probably a good thing that Abel is backing off of claiming to have the answer, particularly from saying he definitely doesn't know everything. For one thing, he'd probably open himself up to trolling... Not to mention that a lot of stuff is probably even more confusing in places like SAIA. You know, emotional Succubi thinking things are a good idea at the time and whatnot.

To the MOOOOOOOOOOON! *brick'd*

Gabi · December 13, 2011, 08:03:12 PM

Quote from: icarus on December 10, 2011, 07:45:09 AM

kinda like how mice and rats share "nezumi" in japanese? which boggles my mind almost as much as tortuga for both turtles and tortises. they're different species, how could you give them the same common name aaaaaaa

Actually, the words "turtle" and "tortoise" each refers to a number of different species. What changes from one language to another is how far you go before you generalize and use a word for a whole group. Of course, you can still distinguish between species by using compound names (like "tortuga de mar" for sea turtle) or, if all else fails, scientific names.

That doesn't stop me for being surprised at how the Chinese have grouped sheep and goats into a single word (羊： yang).

Naldru · December 13, 2011, 10:20:25 PM

The cattle family (Bovidae) includes sheep, goats, antelopes, yak, bison, buffalo, and cows in addition to many other animals. Since we include all of these in the term cattle, the Chinese grouping sheep and goats doesn't sound so unusual.

Gabi · December 14, 2011, 01:06:57 PM

The bovidae family does not include all antelopes, some of which belong to the family antilocapridae.

But I get the "same family" part, which is probably why they call all bovines 牛 (niu). They usually seem to stop at subfamilies when picking single-word names.

lilpuppy23 · December 14, 2011, 05:59:47 PM

Quote from: Gabi on December 13, 2011, 08:03:12 PM
That doesn't stop me for being surprised at how the Chinese have grouped sheep and goats into a single word (羊： yang).

Which is why we use prefix characters:
(绵 = Cotton)羊 = Sheep
(山 = Mountain)羊 = Goat

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In response to the comic, I think Amber needs to get a new couch, especially if it is filled with bees. A couch full of bees usually implies not good things.