I don’t think Walky is actually mad about the nachitos; if he really wanted some he would walk over and grab a handful before Amber eats them all. I think being mad about losing the nachitos is him “being on brand,” and he is not actually upset.
I think he’s just focused on Amber. He came here specifically to game and instead of that he’s asking about what she’s doing, looking at her, while the game he wanted so much for his brand is in his hands. Kind of starting to think he just wanted to hangout with Amber. Even getting upset about something as arbitrary as nachitos is just an excuse to engage with her. As many mentioned at the start he had other options to seek for gaming.
Otl1973
I question that, since he was explicitly planning to leave with the Switch, and is only still there because Amber wouldn’t let him.
Sirksome
That feels a little naive to me. Maybe that’s what he wanted but I find it hard to believe he truly expected that he could walk away with an expensive piece of hardware. Plus he had other options, like Sal if he really wanted someone to loan him a console.
Otl1973
You’re reading things into the strip that aren’t there. In the Sept 1 strip, Walky said he wanted to borrow Amber’s because it was a “real Nintendo” – Sal just has a GameBoy. And on Sept 2 he promises to bring it back, and is clearly not thrilled that she won’t let him take it. The “walk away with an expensive piece of hardware” argument is silly – it’s not like he and Amber are strangers.
Sirksome
For one. This is all silly. Like dude is just slightly pressed about not gaming on the weekend. And if that argument isn’t valid why didn’t Amber let him leave with it?
Two. I don’t think I’m reading more into this than Walky is giving. He has agency, this isn’t a series of uncontrolled outcomes. He chose to come see Amber first. He chose to offer up his nachitos, and he’s chosen to get upset about her eating them.
I’m trying to give Walky credit actually because I don’t think he’d really be that upset a friend ate his chips, I think he just actually wants to see Amber and talk to her because up until fake girlfriend date their relationship was pretty cold, until she revealed she still likes him. I think that made him very happy and he actually wants to hang with her as friends because they have a lot in common. Cause ultimately he could just take his chips and leave.
Three. If I were reading too much into this I’d say he’s here because he knows he’s not into Lucy as much as he thinks he should be and pretending to care about his arbitrary gaming brand is just a convenient distraction from problems he doesn’t want to deal with. Which is his real brand because he said almost that exact thing and has done that several times, and he wants to fuck Amber.
TLDR: You don’t have to read all that. You’re probably right and I’m reading too much into it. Sorry.
Bash
I think he was originally just interested in the Switch, but now that he’s in Amber’s room he seems interested in her as well.
Nicoleandmaggie
Is this leading to Lucy or Dorothy walking in on them wrestling for chips? Though I’d personally be afraid of getting hurt. Amber’s got good reflexes.
Yeet
if walky was gonna try to wrestle amber for chips he’d be bound and gagged pretty fast and there’d be a whole new level of awkward upon the walking in on
that’s what he said, that’s not what he planned or expected. he can’t both leave with the switch and stay and share the chips. He was inviting himself over to hang out with Amber, and came up with a contrived rationalization. That’s generally fine.
Reason #123456789 why I’m glad not to be into dudes: Apparently they’re supposed to enjoy being in the vaguest of sexual settings with two women, one of them taken, whole they themselves are taken???
Azhrei Vep
One taken, the other his ex-..something. That didn’t achieve ex-itude on particularly pleasant terms. I’m mildly surprised she’s this cool with him at all.
Also he kind of already did his due diligence. I can imagine him walking back from the grocery store or however the kids buy their food these days thinking “this weekend’s gonna rule!” If only he knew the series of events would lead to such a sacrifice maybe he’d make different life decisions, like sucking up to Sal and Danny instead.
What if that was a fresh bag, intended for a weekend of hardcore gaming?
(Side note: what kind of animal eats nacho tortilla chips while playing on a borrowed console? You’re going to get oily flavor dust stuff all over it! That’s a surefire way to never be loaned things again. You have to think about the long game.)
“I am not invested in this information” is perhaps not the ideal title for a book, although admittedly I doubt anyone’s buying/reading Dumbing of Age compilation books without already being invested.
My special interest is videogames; I want to make my own game one day, and I love learning new things about how games make things work within it’s own world.
Awe that’s so cool!!! now I wanna hear more about this game you wanna make, if you don’t mind sharing. ?
Kyrik Michalowski
I don’t mind, though all I have at the moment is a list of elements and elemental combos that I want to include in the game, and an outline of the story. I need to get a hold of my copy of rpgmaker, and start working on the code.
Well, I love playing Worldle (worldle.teuteuf.fr) and its related games (Statele, Wheretaken, and Wheretaken USA), as well as Globle (globle-game.com). FreeRice has some in-depth geography games (play.freerice.com/categories) but they get a bit too fine-grained for me, sometimes. (Pun intended!)
So basically, I just love creating virtual maps online. I also play obsessively with the electoral vote maps over at the FiveThirtyEight blog, 270towin.
I used to paper my apartment walls with maps of all kinds. I still do, but the one I have by my bed — just showing all the countries of the world — is the one I love to look at while I am going to sleep. Naming all the countries and memorizing their shapes… it comforts me. Makes me happy.
Eh I think this as good a time as any, no worries. ?
Special interest? I’ve got lots, perhaps the biggest one at the moment being video game creation and coding. I’ve also loved science throughout my entire life, primarily physics and related sciences, I am (or used to be) very much like Dina for physics. I was the kid who would inject space and physics knowledge and pokemon into my veins.
Out of my special interests, my intense love of science right now feels, dormant? Or rather, not as strong as it used to be, I hope to regain my passion for it one day, and live like Dina with the thirst for science knowledge. ?
It means that learning can be just as overwhelming as sticking a straw in a fire hose! If you try to drink from it too deeply, you could get washed away in it! So we stick only a few straws in at a time, and then we can drink deeply and safely and fill our bellies with knowledge.
Yes, I concur. But like, the thing is, learning physics required no effort for me, and even provided energy precisely because it was a special interest. But not now, it seems, albeit the larger brain-worm that was a part of is still there, just dormant. It is my greatest hope to re-awaken my inner science love, my inner Dina, like that one day. ?
I’ve got a few, but I’m really into Gundam and insects/arachnids.
Also, I weirdly know a LOT of Barbie lore I don’t actually remember learning. Like, her middle name is Millicent. Why do I know this? I am not actually sure?
I like figuring out new ways of doing things above the individual level. So I like looking at how to organize and interact with human beings in terms of relationships, religion, politics, etc. and trying to figure out new and better ways of doing stuff. So I look at stuff like polyamory, polytheism, psychogeography, dingpolitick, relationism, et. al. and try to find lessons that are broadly applicable. The next thing I’m planning to learn about is polypolitanism.
Ohhh my dad had a few books of baby names and etymologies in his office, and as a kid waiting around for him, I read those books cover-to-cover.
To this day, it can be a nice unusual conversation-starter, like asking people about their names, or getting to tell a Michael that his name is a question.
Similarly I love coming up with character name gimmicks
For example My skunk triplet characters are named
Muffy
Mac
and Rori
After the scientific name “Mephitis Macroura
Ooh, yes! It’s especially fun to try to figure out where someone’s family is from based on their name. (For example, anyone whose name is full of ch, i, z, k, w, and j, is almost certainly of the Ibo tribe, and most likely migrated within the past 1-2 generations from Lagos, Nigeria.)
Laura
Uh oh… is that racist? It’s just, I’ve never misidentified an Ibo, and most folks I meet are happy to hear their ancestral group named and recognized.
Well, it sometimes can be? Like a lot of folks are multiracial who’s ancestors come from all over, and also sometimes the guess can just be born of stereotypes?
Like for instance, one of my professors had the surname Wong, which lots of people in the US assume is Chinese when she’s actually Indian.
No worries tho, just letting you in on a bit of multicultural context.
Laura
Yeah, you’re right. I should be more careful. D’oh! (Philly is such a recent-immigrant city, seems like everyone has a story to tell about their family’s national origin, and an itch to tell it. But that doesn’t prove true everywhere.)
134 thoughts on “Elaborate”
Ana Chronistic
like, what do you expect when you want to bum someone else’s stuff, accept the terms or don’t
Walky just mad his ass wrote a check his chips couldn’t cash
Kyrik Michalowski
I don’t think Walky is actually mad about the nachitos; if he really wanted some he would walk over and grab a handful before Amber eats them all. I think being mad about losing the nachitos is him “being on brand,” and he is not actually upset.
Sirksome
I think he’s just focused on Amber. He came here specifically to game and instead of that he’s asking about what she’s doing, looking at her, while the game he wanted so much for his brand is in his hands. Kind of starting to think he just wanted to hangout with Amber. Even getting upset about something as arbitrary as nachitos is just an excuse to engage with her. As many mentioned at the start he had other options to seek for gaming.
Otl1973
I question that, since he was explicitly planning to leave with the Switch, and is only still there because Amber wouldn’t let him.
Sirksome
That feels a little naive to me. Maybe that’s what he wanted but I find it hard to believe he truly expected that he could walk away with an expensive piece of hardware. Plus he had other options, like Sal if he really wanted someone to loan him a console.
Otl1973
You’re reading things into the strip that aren’t there. In the Sept 1 strip, Walky said he wanted to borrow Amber’s because it was a “real Nintendo” – Sal just has a GameBoy. And on Sept 2 he promises to bring it back, and is clearly not thrilled that she won’t let him take it. The “walk away with an expensive piece of hardware” argument is silly – it’s not like he and Amber are strangers.
Sirksome
For one. This is all silly. Like dude is just slightly pressed about not gaming on the weekend. And if that argument isn’t valid why didn’t Amber let him leave with it?
Two. I don’t think I’m reading more into this than Walky is giving. He has agency, this isn’t a series of uncontrolled outcomes. He chose to come see Amber first. He chose to offer up his nachitos, and he’s chosen to get upset about her eating them.
I’m trying to give Walky credit actually because I don’t think he’d really be that upset a friend ate his chips, I think he just actually wants to see Amber and talk to her because up until fake girlfriend date their relationship was pretty cold, until she revealed she still likes him. I think that made him very happy and he actually wants to hang with her as friends because they have a lot in common. Cause ultimately he could just take his chips and leave.
Three. If I were reading too much into this I’d say he’s here because he knows he’s not into Lucy as much as he thinks he should be and pretending to care about his arbitrary gaming brand is just a convenient distraction from problems he doesn’t want to deal with. Which is his real brand because he said almost that exact thing and has done that several times, and he wants to fuck Amber.
TLDR: You don’t have to read all that. You’re probably right and I’m reading too much into it. Sorry.
Bash
I think he was originally just interested in the Switch, but now that he’s in Amber’s room he seems interested in her as well.
Nicoleandmaggie
Is this leading to Lucy or Dorothy walking in on them wrestling for chips? Though I’d personally be afraid of getting hurt. Amber’s got good reflexes.
Yeet
if walky was gonna try to wrestle amber for chips he’d be bound and gagged pretty fast and there’d be a whole new level of awkward upon the walking in on
nicoleandmaggie
I mean, I wouldn’t be mad.
HueSatLight
that’s what he said, that’s not what he planned or expected. he can’t both leave with the switch and stay and share the chips. He was inviting himself over to hang out with Amber, and came up with a contrived rationalization. That’s generally fine.
Pylgrim
I think he was super invested in his whole “videogames+nachitos” shtick and feeling dejected he can’t have the whole thing.
NGPZ
Amber will surely beat the record, what with the Empress of Evolution there to help her ENERGIZE!!! ????☄️??
*plays “Pac Rainbow” on ROM hack*
Stephen Bierce
She’s a Nachi-ral.
Decidedly Orthogonal
Congratulations! When is the bundle of joy due? ?
Doctor_Who
Walky’s morning of playing video games on a dinosaur next to pantsless girls is less fulfilling than he expected.
Eyebrow
Any other straight dude would actually be smiling.
Liara
Reason #123456789 why I’m glad not to be into dudes: Apparently they’re supposed to enjoy being in the vaguest of sexual settings with two women, one of them taken, whole they themselves are taken???
Azhrei Vep
One taken, the other his ex-..something. That didn’t achieve ex-itude on particularly pleasant terms. I’m mildly surprised she’s this cool with him at all.
HueSatLight
only uncomfortable smiles count.
HueSatLight
^if
Rognik
I do wonder if he’s still wearing pants himself, or he’s liberated himself of that burden. When in Rome, after all…
Sirksome
You knew the deal Walky. Don’t write a check your nachito empty stomach can’t cash!
Angel
i’m sure his p arents will order him extra servings if they’re still on for dinner
UrsulaDavina
I have had a no good very rotten terrible day well several no good very rotten days in a row. This cheered me up a little thanks.
Laura
Here’s a cup of tea and a flower. ???
NGPZ
? Awe. Here, have a cookie ?
UrsulaDavina
Thank you!
Grayfinity
You could always get McNuggets later, my dude.
Thag Simmons
You know you can buy more chips Walky
UrsulaDavina
It involves him leaving the switch behind and he has a brand to maintain.
Sirksome
Also he kind of already did his due diligence. I can imagine him walking back from the grocery store or however the kids buy their food these days thinking “this weekend’s gonna rule!” If only he knew the series of events would lead to such a sacrifice maybe he’d make different life decisions, like sucking up to Sal and Danny instead.
Angel
imagine them being a limited edition flavor that no longer got stocked
Needfuldoer
What if that was a fresh bag, intended for a weekend of hardcore gaming?
(Side note: what kind of animal eats nacho tortilla chips while playing on a borrowed console? You’re going to get oily flavor dust stuff all over it! That’s a surefire way to never be loaned things again. You have to think about the long game.)
StClair
not thinking about the long game is also part of his “brand”.
RassilonTDavros
Dina’s last line here would make an excellent book title.
Thag Simmons
“I am not invested in this information” is perhaps not the ideal title for a book, although admittedly I doubt anyone’s buying/reading Dumbing of Age compilation books without already being invested.
General Tekno
It’s a hilarious title for the umpteenth volume in a series though for the irony factor.
C.T. Phipps
Walky, to you play, you pay.
🙂
Laura
I won’t be up long enough to wait the appropriate amount of time, but, should anyone be up for engaging in a question game, here’s the prompt:
Q. : What is your special interest? Or, in the alternative, what is something that you really love learning about?
Kyrik Michalowski
My special interest is videogames; I want to make my own game one day, and I love learning new things about how games make things work within it’s own world.
Laura
So cool! You’re a world builder!
Kyrik Michalowski
Thank you; if I ever finish my game I hope I can sell it on Steam. No idea if I’ll actually make a profit, but I want to do it anyway.
NGPZ
Awe that’s so cool!!! now I wanna hear more about this game you wanna make, if you don’t mind sharing. ?
Kyrik Michalowski
I don’t mind, though all I have at the moment is a list of elements and elemental combos that I want to include in the game, and an outline of the story. I need to get a hold of my copy of rpgmaker, and start working on the code.
Laura
Awesome, good luck! ?
Laura
(See, the alt-text.)
I LOVE maps. LOVE ’em! LOVE LOVE LOVE ’em!
milu
Ooooh. Share some of your favorites?? ?
Laura
Well, I love playing Worldle (worldle.teuteuf.fr) and its related games (Statele, Wheretaken, and Wheretaken USA), as well as Globle (globle-game.com). FreeRice has some in-depth geography games (play.freerice.com/categories) but they get a bit too fine-grained for me, sometimes. (Pun intended!)
So basically, I just love creating virtual maps online. I also play obsessively with the electoral vote maps over at the FiveThirtyEight blog, 270towin.
I used to paper my apartment walls with maps of all kinds. I still do, but the one I have by my bed — just showing all the countries of the world — is the one I love to look at while I am going to sleep. Naming all the countries and memorizing their shapes… it comforts me. Makes me happy.
NGPZ
Eh I think this as good a time as any, no worries. ?
Special interest? I’ve got lots, perhaps the biggest one at the moment being video game creation and coding. I’ve also loved science throughout my entire life, primarily physics and related sciences, I am (or used to be) very much like Dina for physics. I was the kid who would inject space and physics knowledge and pokemon into my veins.
Out of my special interests, my intense love of science right now feels, dormant? Or rather, not as strong as it used to be, I hope to regain my passion for it one day, and live like Dina with the thirst for science knowledge. ?
Laura
One straw in the fire hose at a time, sometimes, pal! ;-D
NGPZ
Pika pika? I do not know what that phrase means…
Laura
It means that learning can be just as overwhelming as sticking a straw in a fire hose! If you try to drink from it too deeply, you could get washed away in it! So we stick only a few straws in at a time, and then we can drink deeply and safely and fill our bellies with knowledge.
NGPZ
Yes, I concur. But like, the thing is, learning physics required no effort for me, and even provided energy precisely because it was a special interest. But not now, it seems, albeit the larger brain-worm that was a part of is still there, just dormant. It is my greatest hope to re-awaken my inner science love, my inner Dina, like that one day. ?
*plays “Unforgetting” by Devin Church*
Laura
…Probably you’ve already listened several times, but I always found the Feynman lectures on physics to be soothing bedtime reading.
“All of life is a process of fermentation.”
DailyBrad
I’ve got a few, but I’m really into Gundam and insects/arachnids.
Also, I weirdly know a LOT of Barbie lore I don’t actually remember learning. Like, her middle name is Millicent. Why do I know this? I am not actually sure?
Laura
Oh. Wow, so cool! Arachnids are so fascinating. And lovely, too!
Jamie
I like figuring out new ways of doing things above the individual level. So I like looking at how to organize and interact with human beings in terms of relationships, religion, politics, etc. and trying to figure out new and better ways of doing stuff. So I look at stuff like polyamory, polytheism, psychogeography, dingpolitick, relationism, et. al. and try to find lessons that are broadly applicable. The next thing I’m planning to learn about is polypolitanism.
Laura
Wow! So many cool new words for me to look up! Thank you! 😀
Hazel
I have a strange fascination with name etymology. I have other interests, but this is probably the weirdest one.
Leorale
Ohhh my dad had a few books of baby names and etymologies in his office, and as a kid waiting around for him, I read those books cover-to-cover.
To this day, it can be a nice unusual conversation-starter, like asking people about their names, or getting to tell a Michael that his name is a question.
Yotomoe
Similarly I love coming up with character name gimmicks
For example My skunk triplet characters are named
Muffy
Mac
and Rori
After the scientific name “Mephitis Macroura
All my characters have some kinda gimmick.
Laura
That is amazing!
Laura
Ooh, yes! It’s especially fun to try to figure out where someone’s family is from based on their name. (For example, anyone whose name is full of ch, i, z, k, w, and j, is almost certainly of the Ibo tribe, and most likely migrated within the past 1-2 generations from Lagos, Nigeria.)
Laura
Uh oh… is that racist? It’s just, I’ve never misidentified an Ibo, and most folks I meet are happy to hear their ancestral group named and recognized.
NGPZ
Well, it sometimes can be? Like a lot of folks are multiracial who’s ancestors come from all over, and also sometimes the guess can just be born of stereotypes?
Like for instance, one of my professors had the surname Wong, which lots of people in the US assume is Chinese when she’s actually Indian.
No worries tho, just letting you in on a bit of multicultural context.
Laura
Yeah, you’re right. I should be more careful. D’oh! (Philly is such a recent-immigrant city, seems like everyone has a story to tell about their family’s national origin, and an itch to tell it. But that doesn’t prove true everywhere.)
Yotomoe
o3o Sometimes I draw.
Also I like learning about animals. Been a biology nerd since I was a kid.
Laura