2) Listen, I’ve seen enough of David Kaye’s YouTube channel to say Megs definitely watched a shitton of Earth media on the journey from Cybertron. Somewhere along the way, he decided he needed a rubber ducky of his very own. Somewhere in the galaxy, they make those sized for Predacons.
Which actually ties into my answer for 1, really. (Said answer is Shakespeare.) Clearly the Predacons like human media a whole lot more than they’re willing to admit. The entire Beast Wars could’ve been prevented if they had had DVDs instead of video signals or streaming.
Cause Waspinator Universe’s Butt-Monkey?
TV Tropes warning… https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ButtMonkey
I used to be 1 of the ‘Cons Butt-Monkeys, but then I went AWOL. Now I live with Daniel The Human…. I’m still the Butt-Monkey… ?
People didn’t hate Waspinator, it was the universe that hated him. As noted by Screwball above, Waspinator was the ButtMonkey of the series. More than that, the specific line in question is actually a meme reference.
Actually, people, specifically the writers, did hate Waspinator, and that’s how he ended up as the buttmonkey. Hizzz speech pattern wazzz a pain in the azzz for the writerzzz, due to the time it ate up, but they had to have him appear regularly, because ‘toy’…so they scrapped him early on in each appearance.
Then the writers and the audience liked the running gag, so Waspy ended up being a popular character.
pretty sure the only good blaine ship is BlaineXMyocardial Infarction
RicardtheDragoon
Fair enough. Blaine X CVA (Cerebrovascular Accident) might cause Blaine to get, of all things, sympathy. Not that he’d notice in the worst case.
Mr D
Please. we all know the only ship that won’t have people feeling abd for that asswipe is BlaineXBullet-to-the-head.
Michelle J. Caboose
How about BlaineXFatal bout of explosive diarrhea?
Maybe even a three-way ship: BlaineXfboedXFlesh-eating bacteria…
Nah, you’re right… That’s too good for him.
Khyrin
Nah. Shrieking Explosive Diarrhea, The not-at-all Silent-killer. The remains will look a lot like refried beans and cherry pie filling.
Needfuldoer
I’m gonna have to go with Blaine x Wood Chipper.
Regalli
Mine is Blaine x A pig farm in the middle of the night, whose owners have an Understanding with the mob. If Joe’s Dad thinks he has actual mob ties again, may as well take advantage of those.
Needfuldoer
No reason those can’t go hand-in-hand! The pigs might even appreciate their dinner coming in bite-size pieces.
Given the way Amber bailed on him when he stood up to her teacher for her, I’m beginning to get the terrible feeling that Amber is going to be the one to turn Mike evil.
Wraithy2773
Maybe? But keep in mind that Amber mentioned that it was her dad that insisted on her fighting her own battles. He might be putting 2 and 2 together and realizing what Amber’s dad is, especially since he stated he wasn’t coming… but he’s here after meeting the asshole.
Well do the math. Mike wasn’t going to Amber’s party. Then he meets Blaine. Mike is all smiles and wanted to know everything about what Blaine was doing at the school even when Blaine kept trying to shut down the conversation, and before Mike could have known Blaine was a turd. All of a sudden, Mike wants to go to the party. He gets to the party, discovers that Blaine’s not going to be there, and is disappointed and says he miscalculated. I suspect it’s because he wanted to be around Blaine.
(To clarify, I meant my last sentence in that post as a reference to that “Stacy’s mom” song, invoking the situation of a teen crushing on a peer’s parent, rather than my own views of Blaine.)
adjudicus
Though Mike’s facial expression screams “hostility” and “resentment”. I think he comes across as far more expressive in these flashbacks than in present day, suggesting he was less likely to mask his facial expressions, and as such they’re a pretty good gauge of what he’s thinking at the moment, and I’m pretty sure if he DID have a crush on Blaine he’d have a different facial expression in panel 3.
Also in yesterday’s strip, I’m pretty sure he was just making conversation, or whatever Blaine said piqued his interest, but YMMV. Also, if he had a crush on Blaine, I’m pretty sure he’d be smiling all the way, but in the second to last panel he kinda has a… neutral face, which makes his ensuing smile in the last panel be more about the party and less about making a good impression.
Anyway I’m pretty sure the miscalculation was not realizing HOW much of a nerd Amber and Ethan are.
I realize most of this comes down to different interpretation of their facial expressions and mannerisms and whatnot, so YMMV for this whole thing I guess
woobie
I thought it was “what an ass”, then “seriously, he denigrates his own child? I’ll make her sound more popular.”
No clue as to the miscalculation yet.
I honestly don’t believe that Mike is crushing on Blaine, but the chapter *is* entitled Of Mike and men.
So I dunno.
But he didn’t really seem fazed by Amber’s Dad not being there. It’s only when he realizes how lame the party is from his perspective that he admits to miscalculation.
I also need only look to my right to see Robin and Batgirl, Ninja Turtles, Miraculous Ladybug, and Rey from Star Wars on a shelf, so maybe I’m not the guy to ask.
I really need to catch up on Ladybug. (For all the years I followed that show waiting for an actual show to materialize, I’m terrible at actually watching a TV show these days.)
I know Amazon gift card is supposed to be a fast shitty “I didn’t have time to get you a real gift” gift, but my own reaction to such a gift is much the same as Amber – glee. I like to shop for myself and giving me that gift makes me happy.
Yeah, I think he’s seen enough to know comics and Transformers before this, but those are both things that get you ‘and here’s the very specific tiny hole in my collection’. Amazon’s a way better option than guesswork and an Optimus Prime she already has, or the Green Lantern movie action figures.
(I have no idea what year this strip takes place in, but on the other hand those shitty action figures warmed shelves until at LEAST 2013-2014, which currently sounds about right. /still bitter GLTAS was buried because of that movie’s toy line flop/ Also I found a Dragon Ball Evolution figure of Yamcha in like a CVS in November 2016, so there will always be somewhere where you can find a truly unlovable toy.)
Exactly, my sister knows I’m into fantasy, sci fi and fantasy. But she has no concept of what specific parts of such same that I actually like. As a result she once gave me the Twilight books. (you can see the problem there)
My brother got a bit luckier when he got me a Dracula funko figure 😉
Personally I’d be much happier if they just gave me a gift certificate so I can buy something I actually like.
Regalli
My family knows my tastes pretty well, but they can’t actually keep track of what books I have. So we’ve had a couple times at Christmas where I’m like ‘yes, this book IS perfect for me… which I know because I’ve had a copy for over a year.’ Which fortunately is an easily enough fixed thing and only minorly awkward, but is still amusing when it happens.
The act of giving gifts isn’t exactly about value. If you’re going that way, most valuable gift to give is cash. I mean, Batman knows this: https://youtu.be/-Rq6kHBo8AM?t=59
It’s also about knowing what the other person wants and demonstrating that. That’s why Amazon Gift Cards are (generally) seen as the lowest form of gift: They don’t demonstrate any knowledge of the other person because they can be used to buy just about anything, and they’re not as useful as cash of the same amount.
…the “generally” in there is because, in your case, they do demonstrate knowledge of you. But just saying why it’s a trope :).
Depending on context, it can also be an easy, “There, I fulfilled my social obligations without having to care what you want or like, fuck you, don’t ask for anything else.” kind of gift. Again, obviously not in LeslieBean4Shizzle’s case, but it happens.
Needfuldoer
On the other hand, gift cards are great to give when you know someone’s hobbies or what they collect, but either don’t know much about the subject yourself or aren’t sure what they’re missing from a set.
Personally, I’d rather get a gift card than a duplicate or something I can’t make good use of.
BBCC
That’s basically what I’m thinking Mike was going with. As opposed to say, Linda sending Sal a prepaid cash card.
I never see an Amazon Gift card as a bad gift, in part because I don’t have a lot of disposal income. When I get a gift card like that, it feels like a bit of spending freedom. I don’t feel obligated to save it toward groceries or put it into savings like cash. I can buy myself whatever I want with it, and it doesn’t feel like wasting money because I can’t spend it anywhere else (even though one _can_ buy practical things on Amazon, but for whatever reason, I still don’t feel like I have to).
I suppose I might feel differently about it if I had more spending money more often. But gift cards in general are like “You have guilt-free permission to spend X amount on something that just makes you happy”
Such a present would have definitely solved some issues I had my past birthday like three weeks back.
Friends and family asked me what I’d like for my birthday. I told my parents exactly four book titles to choose from, for the others – sister and friends – (in case they were at a loss of ideas – though I’m honestly happy about nearly anything as long as there’s some kind of thought about me or my interests behind it) I sent an amazon wish-list, which accumulates all kind of different stuff, some more expensive than others (in case people wanna get together for a present), some other more cheaper things being Ghibli-socks or e.g. a book about muscle atonomy. Simply stuff I’d like, but didn’t want to exactly buy now.
I always feel weird providing it, as if I’m asking for only those things, but oh well.
The list should simplify things. What it did was:
My sister, a friend and a sister-friend-group (meaning, three sisters I’m friends with) all ordered the same book. Well, the one friend bought two books (of the three book-series I had on my list), so the others were like “Okay, we’re gonna take ours back and get you the third part.”
Having a wish-list should’ve prevented something like that, but the friend-group bought the book in a bookstore, my friend did order it from amazon, but it seems not over the link I provided, and so my sister, who ordered it too, could still see that it was on the list.
It is, on the one hand, a kinda sad situation (because it was the newest item on the list), but, on the other hand, it’s pretty damn hilarious too.
But I do believe an amazon gift card would’ve been ‘more effective’ as a present in my case.
I actually solved this particular conundrum by maintaining five separate lists on Amazon, none of which contain the same items. I have my Doctor Who list, my Manga list, my Video Game list, and a general list, meaning that I can give a few less tech-savy individuals a list that only they are shopping from. Plus, I keep one final list – a private list of things I’m planning to buy myself.
It helps.
She seems surprised to have gotten a gift at all, which makes sense given that she both hasn’t had opportunities to develop the sort of easy entitlement to gifts that comes with regular birthday parties (that is to say, it’s a reflection of her lack of social experience), and the fact that this was rather clearly noted as not really being a birthday party, which means she may not have expected formalities to be addressed on either end of the engagement.
But yeah, as noted, gift cards are the universal gift- they’re inexplicable, in that direct cash is always* better, and yet they’re given as a gift because cash is seen as being too lacking in formality. Combine that with the lack of familiarity implied by not giving a more carefully selected gift, and the lack of “oooh, what did you get me” appeal of funds, and gift cards have a sort of tropey nature to them. In short, they feel less like a birthday present, and more like a company bonus; that is, more focused on the formalities than the sentiments.
Certainly, there’s nothing at all wrong with gift cards as a gift and, generally, they are better than some random junk, no matter how carefully selected (though one can argue that direct gifts are typically better for children, since they lack proper appreciation for money or perspective on spending it). Or at least, they are until you really think about the fact that you’re getting a gift card instead of cash, and how weird that actually is.
*Unless you got the gift card on discount, and thus were able to “create” extra money over what you would have given in cash.
I appreciate gift cards. The “fast shitty I didn’t have time to get you a real gift” gift for me would be one of those things from the gift table at (one of the few remaining) department stores at Christmas time. The identically packaged wallet, shaving kit, nose hair trimmer, pen-and-pencil set, DIY fingernail-maintenance (doesn’t really rise to the level of “manicure”) set … that sort of thing. Designed to be put in the junk drawer and forgotten by both recipient and giver before it reaches its failure date.
142 thoughts on “Amazon”
Doctor_Who
Discussion topics:
1) Who is your favorite and why is it Dinobot?
2) Megatron’s rubber duck: theories and ships
3) Alternative inexplicable accents for Ravage
4) Why universe hate Waspinator?
Ana Chronistic
5) Tigatron and Airazor got cheated
not someone else
That’s a rant, not a discussion. No one could possibly dispute it. 😐
LookingIn
I do. A pacifist autobot/maximal? No thank you.
Nojh
Amazingly appropriate avatar for the above comment.
Reltzik
Yeah, but they came back as super-powerful Tigerhawk, and NO WAY would that character get tossed under a bus in the same way.
No way at all….
Ana Chronistic
wait, were they gems?
oh
OH
ok I feel better now maybe?? ;p
Schol-R-LEA
Which one cheated? I didn’t even know they were a couple…
Regalli
2) Listen, I’ve seen enough of David Kaye’s YouTube channel to say Megs definitely watched a shitton of Earth media on the journey from Cybertron. Somewhere along the way, he decided he needed a rubber ducky of his very own. Somewhere in the galaxy, they make those sized for Predacons.
Which actually ties into my answer for 1, really. (Said answer is Shakespeare.) Clearly the Predacons like human media a whole lot more than they’re willing to admit. The entire Beast Wars could’ve been prevented if they had had DVDs instead of video signals or streaming.
AutobotDen
3) French. Because “Le Chat Noir”.
Kamino Neko
He looks nothing like Adrien, though.
Screwball
Cause Waspinator Universe’s Butt-Monkey?
TV Tropes warning… https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ButtMonkey
I used to be 1 of the ‘Cons Butt-Monkeys, but then I went AWOL. Now I live with Daniel The Human…. I’m still the Butt-Monkey… ?
LookingIn
People hate Waspinator? I loved him!
I actually didn’t like Dinobot, I felt that he took away character development from the other four.
HeySo
People didn’t hate Waspinator, it was the universe that hated him. As noted by Screwball above, Waspinator was the ButtMonkey of the series. More than that, the specific line in question is actually a meme reference.
Kamino Neko
Actually, people, specifically the writers, did hate Waspinator, and that’s how he ended up as the buttmonkey. Hizzz speech pattern wazzz a pain in the azzz for the writerzzz, due to the time it ate up, but they had to have him appear regularly, because ‘toy’…so they scrapped him early on in each appearance.
Then the writers and the audience liked the running gag, so Waspy ended up being a popular character.
HeySo
@Doctor_Who
I gotta say, you really nailed those discussion points!
Thanks for the laugh. 🙂
Reltzik
5) Noncanonical pairings of pre-quantum-surge Optimus Primal’s “primejets on” line with presence of the Silverbolt and why this is heresy.
*drops this debate-grenade and flees before people can start arguing*
ValdVin
I don’t Transformers, but anyone who casually drops “The Magnificent Ambersons” in a webcomic forum gets an upvote.
Zee
I read that as Megatron’s rubber duck I’m sorry
Zee
***dick I need to proofread
Ana Chronistic
“so, no Pin the Tail on the Ass
hole Dad?”Dibullba
I mean we could FedEx the tail to Blaine. Which I guess means that I am would ship the tail to Blaine…… TailXBlaine= OTP
butts
pretty sure the only good blaine ship is BlaineXMyocardial Infarction
RicardtheDragoon
Fair enough. Blaine X CVA (Cerebrovascular Accident) might cause Blaine to get, of all things, sympathy. Not that he’d notice in the worst case.
Mr D
Please. we all know the only ship that won’t have people feeling abd for that asswipe is BlaineXBullet-to-the-head.
Michelle J. Caboose
How about BlaineXFatal bout of explosive diarrhea?
Maybe even a three-way ship: BlaineXfboedXFlesh-eating bacteria…
Nah, you’re right… That’s too good for him.
Khyrin
Nah. Shrieking Explosive Diarrhea, The not-at-all Silent-killer. The remains will look a lot like refried beans and cherry pie filling.
Needfuldoer
I’m gonna have to go with Blaine x Wood Chipper.
Regalli
Mine is Blaine x A pig farm in the middle of the night, whose owners have an Understanding with the mob. If Joe’s Dad thinks he has actual mob ties again, may as well take advantage of those.
Needfuldoer
No reason those can’t go hand-in-hand! The pigs might even appreciate their dinner coming in bite-size pieces.
butts
so THIS was what made Mike
Keulen
And here I thought it would be a confrontation with Blaine that did it.
egg
did he just?? show up to Fight amber’s dad, or what
Tacos
More like look out for her.
David Doty
Given the way Amber bailed on him when he stood up to her teacher for her, I’m beginning to get the terrible feeling that Amber is going to be the one to turn Mike evil.
Wraithy2773
Maybe? But keep in mind that Amber mentioned that it was her dad that insisted on her fighting her own battles. He might be putting 2 and 2 together and realizing what Amber’s dad is, especially since he stated he wasn’t coming… but he’s here after meeting the asshole.
Reltzik
…. actually, I’m getting the sense that Mike’s CRUSHING on Blaine. Amber’s dad has got it going on.
adjudicus
…what.
Reltzik
Well do the math. Mike wasn’t going to Amber’s party. Then he meets Blaine. Mike is all smiles and wanted to know everything about what Blaine was doing at the school even when Blaine kept trying to shut down the conversation, and before Mike could have known Blaine was a turd. All of a sudden, Mike wants to go to the party. He gets to the party, discovers that Blaine’s not going to be there, and is disappointed and says he miscalculated. I suspect it’s because he wanted to be around Blaine.
(To clarify, I meant my last sentence in that post as a reference to that “Stacy’s mom” song, invoking the situation of a teen crushing on a peer’s parent, rather than my own views of Blaine.)
adjudicus
Though Mike’s facial expression screams “hostility” and “resentment”. I think he comes across as far more expressive in these flashbacks than in present day, suggesting he was less likely to mask his facial expressions, and as such they’re a pretty good gauge of what he’s thinking at the moment, and I’m pretty sure if he DID have a crush on Blaine he’d have a different facial expression in panel 3.
Also in yesterday’s strip, I’m pretty sure he was just making conversation, or whatever Blaine said piqued his interest, but YMMV. Also, if he had a crush on Blaine, I’m pretty sure he’d be smiling all the way, but in the second to last panel he kinda has a… neutral face, which makes his ensuing smile in the last panel be more about the party and less about making a good impression.
Anyway I’m pretty sure the miscalculation was not realizing HOW much of a nerd Amber and Ethan are.
I realize most of this comes down to different interpretation of their facial expressions and mannerisms and whatnot, so YMMV for this whole thing I guess
woobie
I thought it was “what an ass”, then “seriously, he denigrates his own child? I’ll make her sound more popular.”
No clue as to the miscalculation yet.
Clif
I honestly don’t believe that Mike is crushing on Blaine, but the chapter *is* entitled Of Mike and men.
So I dunno.
But he didn’t really seem fazed by Amber’s Dad not being there. It’s only when he realizes how lame the party is from his perspective that he admits to miscalculation.
drs
“I gave up a date with the quarterback for this?”
Zee
Hey Willis how do I delete someone elses post?
DailyBrad
You know what? Fuck it, I’d be down.
I also need only look to my right to see Robin and Batgirl, Ninja Turtles, Miraculous Ladybug, and Rey from Star Wars on a shelf, so maybe I’m not the guy to ask.
Regalli
I really need to catch up on Ladybug. (For all the years I followed that show waiting for an actual show to materialize, I’m terrible at actually watching a TV show these days.)
Tim
The second season is on Netflix and is very good!
DailyBrad
Yeah, season 2 is ongoing so not all of it is on Netflix yet, but season 2 has definitely taken what was good about season 1 and made it even better.
Mr D
Ninja turtles? *sneer*
DailyBrad
*hisss*
drs
When you want to do the right thing for maybe the wrong reasons and have to suffer Transformers instead.
LeslieBean4Shizzle
I know Amazon gift card is supposed to be a fast shitty “I didn’t have time to get you a real gift” gift, but my own reaction to such a gift is much the same as Amber – glee. I like to shop for myself and giving me that gift makes me happy.
BBCC
Plus I’m not sure he’s known them very long at this point. He may not know her well enough to be sure what to get her and what she has.
Regalli
Yeah, I think he’s seen enough to know comics and Transformers before this, but those are both things that get you ‘and here’s the very specific tiny hole in my collection’. Amazon’s a way better option than guesswork and an Optimus Prime she already has, or the Green Lantern movie action figures.
(I have no idea what year this strip takes place in, but on the other hand those shitty action figures warmed shelves until at LEAST 2013-2014, which currently sounds about right. /still bitter GLTAS was buried because of that movie’s toy line flop/ Also I found a Dragon Ball Evolution figure of Yamcha in like a CVS in November 2016, so there will always be somewhere where you can find a truly unlovable toy.)
Liliaeth
Exactly, my sister knows I’m into fantasy, sci fi and fantasy. But she has no concept of what specific parts of such same that I actually like. As a result she once gave me the Twilight books. (you can see the problem there)
My brother got a bit luckier when he got me a Dracula funko figure 😉
Personally I’d be much happier if they just gave me a gift certificate so I can buy something I actually like.
Regalli
My family knows my tastes pretty well, but they can’t actually keep track of what books I have. So we’ve had a couple times at Christmas where I’m like ‘yes, this book IS perfect for me… which I know because I’ve had a copy for over a year.’ Which fortunately is an easily enough fixed thing and only minorly awkward, but is still amusing when it happens.
Wraithy2773
The act of giving gifts isn’t exactly about value. If you’re going that way, most valuable gift to give is cash. I mean, Batman knows this: https://youtu.be/-Rq6kHBo8AM?t=59
It’s also about knowing what the other person wants and demonstrating that. That’s why Amazon Gift Cards are (generally) seen as the lowest form of gift: They don’t demonstrate any knowledge of the other person because they can be used to buy just about anything, and they’re not as useful as cash of the same amount.
…the “generally” in there is because, in your case, they do demonstrate knowledge of you. But just saying why it’s a trope :).
BBCC
Depending on context, it can also be an easy, “There, I fulfilled my social obligations without having to care what you want or like, fuck you, don’t ask for anything else.” kind of gift. Again, obviously not in LeslieBean4Shizzle’s case, but it happens.
Needfuldoer
On the other hand, gift cards are great to give when you know someone’s hobbies or what they collect, but either don’t know much about the subject yourself or aren’t sure what they’re missing from a set.
Personally, I’d rather get a gift card than a duplicate or something I can’t make good use of.
BBCC
That’s basically what I’m thinking Mike was going with. As opposed to say, Linda sending Sal a prepaid cash card.
Benwhoski
I never see an Amazon Gift card as a bad gift, in part because I don’t have a lot of disposal income. When I get a gift card like that, it feels like a bit of spending freedom. I don’t feel obligated to save it toward groceries or put it into savings like cash. I can buy myself whatever I want with it, and it doesn’t feel like wasting money because I can’t spend it anywhere else (even though one _can_ buy practical things on Amazon, but for whatever reason, I still don’t feel like I have to).
I suppose I might feel differently about it if I had more spending money more often. But gift cards in general are like “You have guilt-free permission to spend X amount on something that just makes you happy”
Zee
Listen money is also a great gift. That’s like, the best part of being a teenager. Old people in your family give you birthday/Christmas/etc money
Coma
Such a present would have definitely solved some issues I had my past birthday like three weeks back.
Friends and family asked me what I’d like for my birthday. I told my parents exactly four book titles to choose from, for the others – sister and friends – (in case they were at a loss of ideas – though I’m honestly happy about nearly anything as long as there’s some kind of thought about me or my interests behind it) I sent an amazon wish-list, which accumulates all kind of different stuff, some more expensive than others (in case people wanna get together for a present), some other more cheaper things being Ghibli-socks or e.g. a book about muscle atonomy. Simply stuff I’d like, but didn’t want to exactly buy now.
I always feel weird providing it, as if I’m asking for only those things, but oh well.
The list should simplify things. What it did was:
My sister, a friend and a sister-friend-group (meaning, three sisters I’m friends with) all ordered the same book. Well, the one friend bought two books (of the three book-series I had on my list), so the others were like “Okay, we’re gonna take ours back and get you the third part.”
Having a wish-list should’ve prevented something like that, but the friend-group bought the book in a bookstore, my friend did order it from amazon, but it seems not over the link I provided, and so my sister, who ordered it too, could still see that it was on the list.
It is, on the one hand, a kinda sad situation (because it was the newest item on the list), but, on the other hand, it’s pretty damn hilarious too.
But I do believe an amazon gift card would’ve been ‘more effective’ as a present in my case.
LeslieBean4Shizzle
Ah yes – this story sounds familiar. ^^
I actually solved this particular conundrum by maintaining five separate lists on Amazon, none of which contain the same items. I have my Doctor Who list, my Manga list, my Video Game list, and a general list, meaning that I can give a few less tech-savy individuals a list that only they are shopping from. Plus, I keep one final list – a private list of things I’m planning to buy myself.
It helps.
HeySo
She seems surprised to have gotten a gift at all, which makes sense given that she both hasn’t had opportunities to develop the sort of easy entitlement to gifts that comes with regular birthday parties (that is to say, it’s a reflection of her lack of social experience), and the fact that this was rather clearly noted as not really being a birthday party, which means she may not have expected formalities to be addressed on either end of the engagement.
But yeah, as noted, gift cards are the universal gift- they’re inexplicable, in that direct cash is always* better, and yet they’re given as a gift because cash is seen as being too lacking in formality. Combine that with the lack of familiarity implied by not giving a more carefully selected gift, and the lack of “oooh, what did you get me” appeal of funds, and gift cards have a sort of tropey nature to them. In short, they feel less like a birthday present, and more like a company bonus; that is, more focused on the formalities than the sentiments.
Certainly, there’s nothing at all wrong with gift cards as a gift and, generally, they are better than some random junk, no matter how carefully selected (though one can argue that direct gifts are typically better for children, since they lack proper appreciation for money or perspective on spending it). Or at least, they are until you really think about the fact that you’re getting a gift card instead of cash, and how weird that actually is.
*Unless you got the gift card on discount, and thus were able to “create” extra money over what you would have given in cash.
DSL
I appreciate gift cards. The “fast shitty I didn’t have time to get you a real gift” gift for me would be one of those things from the gift table at (one of the few remaining) department stores at Christmas time. The identically packaged wallet, shaving kit, nose hair trimmer, pen-and-pencil set, DIY fingernail-maintenance (doesn’t really rise to the level of “manicure”) set … that sort of thing. Designed to be put in the junk drawer and forgotten by both recipient and giver before it reaches its failure date.
Zee
Fucking
Amazon gift cards are the best gift. Only thing better is just straight up asking to see my wish list and buying off that
Inahc
so… wait, he actually wanted Blaine time? :/
Laladoria
I think he wanted to be there to either look out for amber or to give Blaine a hard time after he heard what Blaine was saying about her.
Inahc
that does seem more likely. although, this *is* mike, so it’s hard to tell.
HeySo