Line #20 Headscratchers/Sinfest


1	* After constantly asserting that the devil basically controls the world, and that demons exist for the sole purpose of corrupting people, out of the blue we're expected to believe that [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2009-10-25 demons are a poor, innocent, unjustly oppressed minority]], for no reason other than to make us feel sorry for Fuchsia?
2	** He only controls certain aspects of the world, namely the corporate sector. The things he doesn't control are pretty open with their hatred for demons. Remember that during that time, Fuchsia was in the middle of her character development, trying to change her ways. At that point, IIRC, she was in the AntiVillain / PunchClockVillain stage of her change. Those who are familiar with redemption tropes know that things like that can be very discouraging to those seeking it.
3	** Also, the Devil controlling anything doesn't mean his underlings get anything out of the deal. He's the Devil, after all. He's not very nice.
4	** Just look at when Fuchsia and Blue try and unionise... he's basically a good boss so long as they do what they're supposed to, but a very bad one as soon as someone steps out of line even slightly.
5	** It's also been shown that some, if not all, of the devils were once human. So it can be a somewhat literal example of selling your soul to get ahead, but it doesn't always work.
6	** Even in the 2009 strips, "bomfed" women were analogous to prostitutes - hence both demonised and victimised by society (The first "bomfing" occurs in the 2007-07-08 strip, where D-Man enthralls three unsuspecting women merely to assert dominance over the main characters). Later strips have developed this theme, and while it is certainly true the devil girls are one of many instruments used to spread corruption, it seems few of them had much choice in the matter (and many are effectively slaves). Fuchsia was certainly a reluctant convert.
7	* Ezekial and Ariel [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2000-05-06 were bleeding all over Crim]] [[FridgeHorror in the "Dig" arc?]]
8	** They almost certainly weren't. Angels might bleed glitter (or they might have been faking that time) but it's not where they get the Glitter Points they give out.
9	* [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-03-04 Strip #4198 "Divinity School"]] is pretty weird. Is it just a metaphor? A throwaway AlternateUniverse? After the Li'l E {{Retcon}}, it's conceivable that this is a {{Retcon}} (and thus perhaps a WHAMEpisode) too, but it's probably more a BizarroEpisode.
10	** I wasn't really sure at first either but re-reading it I think it's a flashback.
11	*** It's definitely a flashback. Blue and the Devil are both children. There's a later flashback where Blue's classmates graduate from Divinity School, but Blue is out of the ceremony because of all Fs in her report card. The young Devil comes to console her over it. (There's no evidence that the young Devil was behind any of Blue's Divinity School problems. The young Devil was just being nice to her.)
12	** It could be a flashback from the start, with the brown haired boy as jesus, the blue haired girl as fuchsia pre-bomf, and the red-skinned boy as well, satan.
13	** Maybe the blue-haired girl was, well, Blue. Her StartOfDarkness, maybe?
14	** Criminey himself once said to Fuchsia [[FridgeBrilliance "You weren't always a Devil girl"]] seems like that applies to more than just Fuchsia.
15	* So, Fuchsia and Blue, all the appearances of a steady relationship there. Suddenly, Criminy. Fuchsia turns 'good' for Criminy, leaving Blue behind. Am I the only one bothered by the implications, here?
16	** What they had was, as I saw it, though I might be wrong, and Blue may have seen it that way, not a steady, lesbian relationship, but a relationship of friendship. Their lesbian relationship was less a loving relationship and more of a co-workers relationship, which has such antics as responsibility for their jobs.
17	** Much developed since the flashback strips of their days as club waitresses: (especially 2013-08-11). Vulnerable and exploited, Fuchsia looked up to Blue as a friend and protector, followed her lead in going to the mansion and becoming fully enthralled (in spite of her evident distaste for the job, seen at 2016-05-29), and remained inseparable partly out of love, but also out of Stockholm Syndrome. Criminy immediately pressed the right buttons with her on their first meeting, by reminding her that she was not always a demon and she still had the power to choose good (2009-01-11). As the early Sisterhood strips emphasised, Fuchsia left the mansion as much for herself (if not more) than for Criminy.
18	* I guess this has been talked about before, in this page, but my question is more specific and different. Why is Seymour evil because of his actions on bad behaviour? Sure, he is a jerk, and he has proven it more than once ,and he is also sexist, conformist and an extremist, but how is he supposed to know that Fuchsia is trying to reform? I mean, all he saw was a succubus he has verified as evil before trying to seduce a friend of him (acquaintance?) and, in turn, driving him in hell. Sure there were hints about their love and her reformation. Oh, I guess he should have guessed it... we are talking about the guy who does not see Jesus when he is in front of him.
19	** He should have seen it coming via the changes in Fuchsia's attitude and approach. When she was evil, her approach and conduct was aggressive and proactive. During her change, her attitude became more defensive/reactive, not actively seeking trouble. Of course the big issue here is his HeelFaceDoorSlam, which is actually a very evil thing to do to someone actively seeking redemption.
20	*** Again,seymour is not sharp.You except him to notice such things when he could not notice Jesus on the street?Not to mention that,you know,the scene he saw could give everyone the wrong idea,especially someone who is neither sharp nor sensitive(which are things we knew about him before bad behavour).
21	* Why would Slick [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2011-04-27 jump off a cliff because he realised he's just a cartoon?]] Shouldn't he have known he'd therefore just end up relatively unharmed in a [[ImpactSilhouette Slick shaped hole?]]
22	** Honestly, I don't think he was attempting to commit suicide, since that wasn't a cliff at all... I think he was PURPOSELY jumping into the lethe because he couldn't deal with the knowledge.
23	* Satan isn't worried about the Apocalypse? Why? Even if the Book of Revelations in the Bible is wrong, shouldn't he worry about the whole "your greatest minions will fall and God will lock you in a cage for all eternity" thing? I wouldn't put it passed God given how he is represented in the comic. The page I refer to is [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2001-03-15 this.]]
24	** There are other strips where he even actively asks for the Apocalypse. The way he expresses about it sounds more like a kill switch than a final battle between Good and Evil.
25	*** Also, Satan is the embodiment of Pride. Of course he is not worried about the apocalypse, he is too proud to believe he could lose.
26	* Who is in Nique's current fanbase? Judging by the portrayals of her fans in the comics, I assumed that most, if not all, of her initial fans were men who are only interested in her body, except for that one young lass who is a diehard fan of hers. If that is true, most of them would have probably left after she completely cut fanservice out of her acts. Since Nique now focuses on hating the patriarchy, I would guess that the majority of her current fans would be members of the Sisterhood, but, since the Sisterhood is actively against men bothering women and Nique's remaining implied-male fans throw tomatoes at Nique and otherwise heckle her as she preforms without retribution, I doubt that the Sisterhood follows Nique either.
27	** As a broader question, what exactly was Monique's act before? Previously, it seemed to consist of her standing on stage and shaking her ass. Now it seems to consist of her standing on stage and insulting the audience while being pelted with tomatoes.
28	** It was shown as a type of poetry slam the whole time (Slick and Squig got in on the act more than once). And I'd say, most likely there were people there for more than just 'Nique's routine, so now instead of being silent, they're actively booing her. Also, plenty of people will stick around a fandom after they've decided it sucks SPECIFICALLY to heckle the remaining fandom. I see no problem with her previous dudebro fans hanging around just to hate on her because she changed, no she sucks.
29	* Ok, maybe I'm the only one having trouble figuring this out, but is Devil Slick a separate entity or is he an avatar of Slicks darkside? The main reason I ask, we see Devil Slick doing various things that are implied to be affecting real Slick, but half the time they seem to be closer to independent entities. I don't know if I'm just not getting it or if maybe someone has a clearer explanation or if Tat himself maybe hasn't decided yet.... I'll admit part of it is that it feels like the development Slick got sort of got erased or backtracked heavily so I'm just trying to get my head around it.
30	** I sort of see it as a sort of psychic link, mixed with a bit of recovering addict. Slick!Prime is still advancing, but when his will is weak, Devil!Slick can be freed and indulge. So Devil!Slick is sort of a homonculus of Slick!Prime, a separate entity, but linked to his mind and soul.
31	** In the mirror universe, Sleaze / Devil Slick seems to be an entity in its own right, and the strips of recent years would seem to imply that all human characters (even Monique) have a demonic side, which a successful "bomfing" causes to merge permanently with their normal aspect. Slick's inept "bzomfing" seems to have created a Jekyll / Hyde situation, with Sleaze able to take control at intervals based on how well (or how badly) Slick is managing to control his own baser instincts (Note that in the 2012-09-14 strip, Slick goes into "Sleaze mode" simply by looking at some particularly exploitative online porn. He seems, at the time, unaware of what is happening.
32	* Okay, am I supposed to side with Monique in [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2013-03-07 this]] strip? Because in the next strip, 'Que is shown depressed and needing a hug and what not, while Slick is shown more or less pathetic... while Slick is right. 'Que needs to tone it down, bashing people on head telling them how evil and bad they are, while at the same time totally blowing off the one guy who still supports you and tries to give you advice is not cool.
33	** I think it's kinda showing that she is becoming more two-dimensional, though in the opposite direction than she used to be.
34	** Actually yes, you are supposed to side with her, because she IS right. She was at a poetry thing and people threw shit at her because of what she said. Sure people can get 'riled up', but that is NO EXCUSE to throw shit at her. And telling her she brought it on herself is wrong, and when you've been hurt, you sort of want your friends to stand by your side and understand. Slick is WRONG here because people ASSAULTED Monique for what she said. Which is WRONG. No matter WHAT.
35	*** It's made clear that Monique knows that she's openly antagonizing her audience. She's doing it INTENTIONALLY. She has no right to try and throw a pity party when they react poorly.
36	*** Question: Has ProducePelting been a thing in the comic before the Sisterhood arc took over? If it wasn't, then I agree with the condemnations on the audience. If it was, then I think it's sanctimonious to act like they're doing it just because she's talking about feminism and The Patriarchy, because it's been the standard reaction to terrible performances and if Monique's ability to discuss the topic is anything like the author's, then I'd view the ProducePelting reaction par for the course.
37	*** IIRC ProducePelting is not a new thing or exclusive to Monique, but I could be wrong. However, seeing what ''else'' has happened in the story, for much smaller reasons, it feels like people are taking in comics term relatively small thing and making it much bigger. In earlier strips, Slick would be often treated ''much'' worse and suffer much more. Furthermore, there should be noted that before the event she essentially told the audience to go fuck themselves. She intentionally insults and antagonizes her audience (which begs the question, why are they coming to see her and why does she go to them?), then is "surprised" that they get angry (and reach in typical comic strip fashion). Furthermore, there also the fact that she refuses to see that Slick might be ''concerned'' for her. They used to be friends, two people who had fun together. Now, Slick can't even talk to Monique because Monique sees Patriarchy everywhere, even where it isn't.
38	*** She doesn't "go to them". She's a celebrity who regularly performs at that club. She goes there because ''it's where she works''. That's really what the issue is: the audience knows damn well what material she does and they know they won't like it, but instead of just not attending her performances, they continue to go there specifically ''because'' they want to punish her for taking her act in a direction they don't like.
39	*** It's been pointed out somewhere else that the way Monique and her fans act toward each other is a parallel to Tatsuya Ishida and the strip's detractors since the Sisterhood took over: both acts now seem to consist of the creator bashing the audience over the head with feminist tracts and insulting those who don't like it, while the fans of both continue reading it despite hating how it's going. The intended allegory is probably that the creators of both works will not stop their work for some detractors and they can screw off if they want them to change. From Monique's perspective, at least, I think it's an idea that if she stops her act, she'll be letting the jerks in the audience have their way. From at least her, it's an act of rebellion against the Patriarchy, which does make sense. The main issue is I think Tatsuya Ishida is severely stereotyping his strip's audience by saying that any dissenters are perverts who just want to see tons of fanservice again. While I don't doubt that there are detractors like this, I really don't think this is even the majority. I think the solid majority of the strip's detractors have reasonable complaints about the strip's writing, or fully support feminism, but wish it wasn't the new focus of the strip, or at least wish it was done less anvilliciously. I think that's the main issue with both acts and the strip Slick was probably trying to make: even if you're making a good point, people probably won't want to hear it if you're just relentlessly beating them over the head with it, and if you ''know'' that the people you do it to react badly and/or violently, then it's at least partially your fault for smacking the beehive like that.
40	*** I saw it as both were right, to an extent (but both were mangling the message). This is a version of an actual argument between other feminists. The argument of "is being cautious and aware of your safety just an appeasement to your opponents?" has gone back and forth for a long time. Some feminists say limiting what you say or do out of fear of reprisal is tacitly approving of the patriarchy. Others say you have to pick your battles and try to win the game on inches. Neither are exactly wrong, but finding a middle ground is difficult, not to mention it can dissolve to hot-tempered name calling if it's not done delicately.
41	*** I think it can be simplified; is it preventing you from reaching your goals? Are your goals to persuade people, or to force them to change things? If it's the former, you need to not alienate your audience. If the latter, then that begs the question of how oppressed you can be if you can force your "oppressors" to do what you want. There's also the false binary of "feminists vs. opponents", where "opponent" is anyone who's not a feminist. That sort of rhetoric not only alienates non-feminists on its own, it promotes an adversarial feminist mindset where a persuasive one is often more appropriate. I've even seen feminists who said, in effect, that it was either the aggressive approach or nothing at all. They didn't even acknowledge that a less hostile advocacy existed.
42	*** Oppressed enough that ''asking to be treated equally is not effective''. Listen to yourself, your argument is that someone who openly resists oppression and gains any concessions by doing so, is not oppressed at all! By your logic, since women got the right to vote in 1920, that means that they were retroactively never really denied the right to vote; since segregation is illegal today, that means black people were retroactively never forced to ride in the back of the bus. And by extension, that means the unfairness that oppressed groups experience ''today'' doesn't count as oppression because they ''technically'' have the option to resist, even if openly resisting means being "too angry" or "too hostile" and serves as an excuse to continue dismissing them ''while also denying that the oppression exists because it doesn't cater enough to the comfort of the oppressor''.
43	*** How is that relevant to Monique's performance? It's performance art, she was expressing her own feelings in her own space. To borrow a quote, "If you ask someone nicely to stop hurting you, they'll say you don't sound hurt; demand that they stop hurting you, and they'll shut your mouth."
44	*** Part of the problem is that the soft handed approach was tried for quite a while, and it didn't do a whole lot. Consider that the fight for Women's Suffrage in the U.S. started basically at the birth of the nation in 1756, and after numerous back and forth attempts to give them the right to vote, only got the 19th Amendment in 1920. Now compare some of the issues that have become accepted as clearly wrong since feminism started becoming more aggressive in the 60s and 70s. An aggressive platform DOES have merits. It just needs to be tempered with reason.
45	*** Which misses my secondary point; if aggressive methods are so effective, ''how oppressed were those women in the first place''? Women in the UK basically got suffrage for asking; men died by the millions in [=WWI=]. Yet suffragates are the ones who "fought" for the franchise. Heck, suffragettes [[http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/suffragettes.htm occasionally]] [[http://www.johndclare.net/Women1_WhyViolence.htm committed]] what would now be considered acts of ''terrorism'', and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iARHCxAMAO0 still]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO_X4DkwA_Q break]] laws (specifically, the fire code) to silence "Them"[[note]]There's evidence many of those protesting didn't even know who was halving the talks or what they were about, since they were still talking about incest at the second talk, six months later.[[/note]]. Which leads to the next question; how "effective" do feminists need to get? What productive purpose do things [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvYyGTmcP80 like]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWuLVtH6vgM this]] have? And if "Big Red" is so isolated, why did Jezebel, the most popular feminist website, have an article lauding her without mentioning the whole "mocking suicide" thing?
46	*** Secondly, while some feminists do have the "Us vs Them" mentality, most do have a clear idea of who the "opponents" are. They might not like people who are simple apathetic to the cause, but they do not view them as active antagonists.
47	*** That "aggressive/Us vs. Them" mentality is exactly what I was referring to. And as for the target identification, I refer you to the second Big Red video above. And the harassment Erin Pizzey got for trying to bring attention to male abuse. And the fact that critics of feminism, even mild ones, have been blocked on several UK mobile networks and web filters. Feminists online have been complaining about [[DoggedNiceGuys friendzones and nice guys]] and [[http://fedorasofokc.tumblr.com/ fedoras on dating sites]] [[http://movethefuckoverbro.tumblr.com/ men taking up "too much" space on public transit]]. And that's a popular tumblr. I can go on. Heck, feminism regularly asserts that M>F rape and abuse are generally condoned in western society, which is manifestly false. Well, depending on whatever a given feminist's definition of "rape culture" is this week.
48	*** At least in terms of the friendzoning and the space on public transit- those are all symptoms of the overarching problem of women's needs, wants, and comfort being seen as secondary to those of men. Men make themselves as BIG as they can, women make themselves as SMALL as they can... There's a lot of symptoms, and those are a few, and some people want to focus on treating the symptoms to create even the slightest bit of change now, because treating the actual disease is such a huge problem.
49	* Am I the only one who thinks that Tatsuya Ishida pretty much described himself in [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2013-03-23 this]] strip?
50	** I think it shows that Slick would be more inclined (or less afraid) to do good things if things didn't bite him on the ass all the time.
51	* Okay so this is me trying to keep out of as much social justice of both sides, but why is it that the Devil is running something that only negatively affects one half of the population? I mean this is the devil we are talking about, and not the one who's a misunderstood okay guy. No this guy is apparently really evil. But so far what he's done has only affected one side of the earth's population, and the guys seem to be well off. Ignoring the obvious social justice logic of that men are evil women are saints and the whole "The devil is the cause of all evil in the world including subugation of women" bit that actually takes away from the message. Isn't the evil devil... well? Evil? He is going to screw over everybody, stuff like that?
52	** The ways in which it negatively effects men is much more subtle, but it's there. The patriarchy keeps men and women alike locked in - as Xanthe has described, "[[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2011-10-09 rigid gender roles [...] an untenable situation that leads to discontent [and] alienation]]" - and [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2011-12-20 men are not allowed to do or like things that are considered "girly"]] - lest they be [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2013-04-28 outcast]] and looked down upon. He encourages the line of thinking that men are expected to be pillars of rational thinking, and [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2013-04-02 reject emotions]] as [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2011-10-16 emotions are a sign of weakness]]. (Meanwhile; The Sisterhood [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-05-20 rejects the notion]] - for contrast.)
53	*** Well thanks for letting me know. That helps clear up some stuff in a sense. Which brings me to the next question, why is he being subtle about about Men's issues while still being in your face about women's?
54	*** I think this one does work because the way it hurts men ''is'' more subtle in real life. The way it hurts women is more noticeable because they're the ones being "actually" hurt by it. On the opposite side, many believe that misogyny is not in the inherent nature of men, especially in enlightened times like nowadays, and that it is taught to males as children, whether it be by their parents or guardians, the media, or their culture. It is not as easy to see these issues, or to take the men's side of things, because men are conditioned to be the aggressors in the equation. Of course, it doesn't help that these issues are rarely brought up in the strip at all, instead portraying men as AlwaysChaoticEvil, but the issues ''are'' there.
55	*** One of those issues is that society encourages everyone to ignore men's problems, including men themselves, and to prioritize the well-being of women. For example, men are more likely to be victims of violent crime, including murder. More likely to be erased as rape and abuse victims, even by law. In fact, they can be blamed for their own abuse under the assumption the women is acting in "(pre-emptive) self-defense". And there's actually good evidence indicating that men make up as many [[http://www.genderratic.com/p/836/manufacturing-female-victimhood-and-marginalizing-vulnerable-men/ rape]] and [[www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm abuse]] victims as women, or at least significantly more than most people think. Even many feminists use InsaneTrollLogic to claim that men are never the "real" victims of sexism, they just get the "side effects" of sexism targeted at women. It's not "less subtle". ''Everyone's just trained not to notice''.
56	*** "Side effects" isn't the right word, but it ''is'' the effect of institutionalized misogyny that negatively impacts men. When anything feminine is considered inferior to males and masculinity, the only way for men to establish that they are indeed male and thus superior, is to reject femininity as much as possible. When abuse against men is dismissed or erased, it's because the experience of being victimized is seen as feminine (ie, weak, helpless, powerless, fragile) and diminishes his worth as a man. The perception of male = strong literally depends on the perception of female = weak, it's only logical that the line of thinking that says women are inferior refuses to entertain the notion that a woman, a creature inherently helpless and weak, could possibly harm a "real" man. Men can be victims of sexism and misandry, but it's rarely active denigration of maleness at the core of the issue; more often, it's that manhood itself is seen as being corroded by a man's feminine qualities, and when we characterize victimization as feminine, the only conclusion to draw is that if a man is a victim, he's not "really" a man. It's a complicated issue.
57	** Within the mythology of the comics, the outlook for men who profit by D-Man's machinations is bleak indeed: a short lifetime of dubious pleasure laced with cruelty and exploitation, followed by irrevocable damnation in which the "lucky" few will get "bomfed" and end up doing menial work, and the rest will be buried in lava and stabbed by vengeful succubi for all eternity. The fact that some of those succubi may even have been the very prostitutes and strip club employees that said men will have abused on their way to Hell adds a probably intentional irony (Blue certainly seems to love her job, and not without reason). The whole thing is ultimately a self-sustaining, self-defeating vicious circle for both women and men, which only D-Man is genuinely profiting from.
58	* Considering that Tatsuya mocks Slick's misunderstanding of UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2013-05-15 here]], are there more than a few pages where it's passed? Ever since it became feminist we've seen some new female characters, but all they seem to talk about is how men are such sexist pigdogs--so they're still talking about men for the most part. It's good Tats is passionate about feminism. But he isn't going to let it die down. So, it's between Lil'E and Feminism now.
59	* I think I have nearly all my questions answered. But why is there a train of thought that Xanthe a deconstruction of radical feminism? I can understand the idea that she might be a deconstruction seeing as she herself is cold, uncaring, does not want male allies, cries about no male allies, has friends that cry "Kill all men", seems to run her tricycle off the tears of men whether their suffering is deserved or not, and is actively different from the old lady running the feminist movement, and seems too young to fully understand that feminism is not causing death, destruction, pain, misery of anyone. I can get that, the last bit about her being too young may be a sign that she's a deconstruction, but I don't think she is a deconstruction as she is missing the vital part of deconstruction and parody; awareness. So far no one has called her out on her actions, pointed out what she is doing is crazy, or even brought some realism to what she is doing. It could just be me not seeing it or being a cynic, but I'm a bit wary of the idea that she is a deconstruction, if she is, let's hope the awareness starts and people on the good side start calling out how crazy she is acting or what she is saying.
60	** I think the inconsistent messaging lends fuel to the notion that the author is actually going somewhere with all this and is just taking his sweet time getting there. Like someone else said above, I really hope so.
61	* So with the introduction of the White Matrix from the dark skin Sisterhood member, does that mean it's now White Males who are to blame for the problem of the world in Sinfest?
62	** Sort of. Feminism, black feminism especially, frequently addresses the concept of intersectionality - that is, how different groups of people can be oppressed in different ways. So the 'Patriarchy Matrix' is a metaphor for how men as a group oppress women as a group, while the 'White Matrix' is about how white people (both male and female) as a group oppress non-white people as a group. Similar situations for heterosexual / non-heterosexual, able-bodied / disabled and so on. This naturally puts heterosexual, able-bodied white men (and so on) at the top of the pile because they suffer the least or no oppression.
63	* I feel bad for laughing at this but why did Baby Blue make a news story about the feminists blowing up a Mom n'Pop doll factory? I mean, yeah, that's bad, but arguably it's worse that they attack a factory that could be full of people which they did. It's like they are trying to undersell the attack by making the factory itself more wholesome. I found it kind of silly. Maybe it's because Devils like angels can't die so attacking [[DoubleStandard a doll making cottage with a half a dozen human workers at most is worse than attacking a factory that could have dozens of devil workers.]]
64	** Isn't it because The Devil was expecting her to write the opposite of what he was saying? To make the sisterhood look bad? BlatantLies, anyone?
65	* Is the latest comic mocking the aborition debate with "Life starts in the womb?" thing, or what?
66	** I don't know. But I do know that was the most funniest think ever. If only for how insane idiotic that logic was.
67	* Okay, I'm wondering, as of the latest comic who are we supposed to root for? The Feminist girls? Or Slick? If we are meant to root for the Feminist girls, why? Slick seems actually pretty damn miserable, wishing for a time retcon seems like a serious thing now doesn't it? Wasn't Monique created by god as a companion for Slick? Hasn't Slick tried to change only to get shot down multiple times by nearly everyone? Who are we supposed to root for?
68	** Slick ''still'' doesn't know about Devil Slick either, so he's even more screwed over than he knows. That whole thing confuses me. Sometimes it seems like Devil Slick is something possessing Slick, sometimes Devil Slick goes off and does things independently while Slick is asleep. What exactly is he supposed to be?
69	*** It's why I find it so hard to root for any characters, it's just confusing, and Slick really seems to get the shit end of the stick always, are we supposed to laugh at that?
70	*** the Author seems to subscribe to the Charlie Brown belief that making a the main character miserable is supposed to be funny.
71	*** Well then. It's only funny for so long, does anyone find what's happening funny?
72	*** Just the author.
73	** I don't really think you're supposed to be "rooting" for anyone. Sure, Slick is trying to be better, but he's not very good at it yet. I don't see this as much different from older comics where he'd try to be smooth, but fail miserably. And the Sisterhood is fighting for a good cause, but are still not entirely likable characters (Xanthe especially). I don't think that's on accident.
74	* Okay... So... there is now a new [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2013-09-06 comic]] out, where Fangirl is going through her daily life, and she finds something online going "What about the men? Patriarchy hurts men too! Men Men Men! ME! ME! ME!" Is... Is Tats just going to go back on what he's said in previous comics about how "Yes the Patriarchy hurts men too because it keeps them locked on ridged gender roles!" Or what? I wouldn't even note this if this was ignoring your own words. What is this comic? Is this mocking the Fangirl's life? Is it a Feminist thing? What is this? What do people even think of this?
75	** I think the bigger question is this: what does she mean by "hitting peak dudebro"?
76	** It's mocking the MRAs who decide to derail the discussion and make it all about the men. It's not poking fun at men who suffer at the hands of the patriarchy, but rather, it's poking fun at those who refuse to discuss and acknowledge the suffering that women go through because of the patriarchy.
77	*** You might want to tell the likes of Michael Kimmel, Warren Farrell, Jennifer Newsom, and [[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jensiebelnewsom/the-mask-you-live-in roughly 2,000 people]] that feminism's remit doesn't actually include men's issues. Because they, and everyone else who discusses "toxic masculinity", disagrees with you.
78	** ...And now she's going through some kind of HeroicBreakdown. Wah-wah. By the way, does the patriarchy affect men in a bad way at all? Because I'm pretty sure that not every single guy in the world is a JerkAss.
79	** Increasingly, people - men ''and'' women, MRA, feminist and other - ask why a "gender equality" movement has almost exclusively acknowledged the problems of only one gender. Feminism's response is generally to portray them as people trying to "derail" discussions of women's problems, as if it were impossible to discuss both. I've seen feminists ''start'' discussions of [=MRAs=] and their claims, only to declare it "derailing" when they're corrected and contradicted. Note how our pal above assumes that [=MRAs=] necessarily haven't suffered themselves, and that they necessarily refuse to acknowledge that women have problems too, and that they're all men, all of which are wrong. [[note]]Also, some feminists have actively ''broken the law'' trying to silence [=MRAs=] and others who were trying to have their own talks about men's issues, not "derailing" anything.[[/note]] Note that Xanthe literally ''runs her trike on her symbolic indifference to men's issues'', so the strip is sending, at best, a ''very'' mixed message.
80	*** It's not "indifference to men's issues". "Male tears" isn't shorthand for "tears shed by men suffering from issues that negatively impact them", it's "tears shed by men who interpret the empowerment of women as discrimination against men". If you've ever seen the "But I'm A Nice Guy" aka "Feminazi Stole My Ice Cream" meme, those are the tears in question.
81	* There's a new comic now, where Monique is still enduring the wrath of her haters, when her shadow starts looking like her if she was a demon and hands her a pitchfork, which (probably) shapeshifts into a microphone. Is Monique starting to realize that maybe her efforts are futile and the only way to get rid of a-holes like her audience is to DoUntoOthers (as in unleash her wrath on them)?
82	** Not quite. She was realizing that rather than using her words to educate she was using them to seek vengeance. She did not notice her shadow until she started aggressively walking closer to the edge of the stage - closer to the audience. Whatever she was going to do before she noticed her shadow... it wasn't going to be nice.
83	* Isn't it weird that no one in the comics is questioning the presence of the Sisterhood? If I'm not mistaken, they just popped out of nowhere some time ago and now they're infiltrating the comic hogging the spotlight. And what happened to that green demon girl that gave Slick his SuperpoweredEvilSide? Did she just disappear altogether? Is she even aware of the damage she has done? Where's LaserGuidedKarma when you want it to happen?
84	** That would presume that women in Sinfest can be capable of being guilty, even on their own. She's not in because she wouldn't fit in with the Sisterhood or the Patriarchy Stuff, apparently Evil Slick is just there to help Tats state his political points. Just like questioning the Sisterhood. Monique couldn't go "Um. This just happened. And you just appeared out of nowhere, where are you from? Do you live around here? Care to explain to me why it looks like the Matrix?" Because questioning the Sisterhood, where it came from, and it's validity would probably undermine it in universe, and if Tats truly believes in the Sisterhood, he won't let that happen.
85	** To be totally fair, I don't think it's really fair to expect Absinthe to be punished for what happened to Slick, since there's no evidence that she even knows it happened. Also, her later characterization paints her as not being nearly evil enough to inflict this sort of thing on somebody intentionally.
86	** Actually, I'm not referring to Absinthe, there was actually [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-04-01 another green demon girl]] who gave Slick his SuperpoweredEvilSide, and she showed up before Absinthe.
87	* Going off of the last headscratchers, what about the 1 million men Monique has sent to hell? What about them? How come they are rarely mentioned anymore? Or is AMillionIsAStatistic in effect here?
88	** They were men, so by this comic's logic they were going to hell just for existing anyways
89	** Has it ever been explained just how Monique tempted men to hell in the first place? Why did they go to hell? Did they sell their souls for girlfriends as hot as Monique? Did they damn themselves for experiencing lust?
90	** Assuming that the Devil was telling the truth about Monique damning so many men, why would he do so in the first place? Wouldn't it make more sense to leave her be so she would continue to get more souls for hell?
91	* So there's this [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2013-10-06 comic]] with Evil!Slick walking around his mirror world and comparing the regular world (which is colorful and filled with people) with the mirror world (which is dark and empty). In fact, even the strip club in the mirror world is practically a ghost building. Is this the part when Evil!Slick starts thinking "nobody likes me"?
92	** If it is don't expect it to last long.
93	* As of [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2013-10-15 the latest comic]], Tangerine has run into the Sisterhood and is gleefully cutting into a practice dummy labelled "Douche Bag". So is she ObliviouslyEvil? Has Ishida really fallen so far that he is willing to use an EnsembleDarkhorse in this underhanded manner? I mean, what's next? Is Lil' E gonna be labelled dudebro? At this point, it wouldn't surprise me.
94	** New rule of Sinfest. If it exists, he will use it with the sisterhood.
95	** It got worse, she's being offered a place in a the Sisterhood. Expect her to join them in fighting off the evils of "teh menz"
96	** Dear bloody God, is Tats set on ruining the few likeable things left in Sinfest?!
97	** Considering Tangerine has a habit of just going along with whatever seems like fun at the time, then horribly mangling it and applying it wrong, this could very well turn out to be a sort of misguided extremism realisation for the Sisterhood. She did it for Seymour and Lil' E.
98	** So it's possible that Tangerine will make the Sisterhood realize, "Oh my god, we're assholes!". Hmm, I'd like to see how that will turn out. Also, based on the big sister/little brother relationship Tangerine probably has with Lil' E, I have a feeling that if the Sisterhood tries to rip on him the way they do with other guys, they're all going to be on the receiving end of Tangerine's sword (if you catch my drift).
99	*** Actually, many real feminists have a tendency to rationalize extremists by saying they're misguided. Or just saying that they don't count as feminists, or aren't representative, or ''their'' feminism is about equality.
100	*** Well, when you put it like that, I guess it all just boils down to whether Lil' E is regarded as a dudebro or not. So, would he really be considered a dudebro? No, right? Also, should we really consider Tangerine and Lil' E as bad guys based on their recent actions?
101	* Anyone notice the Voltron references showing up lately? If Seymour fantasizes Jesus doing...stuff with the Voltron Force, does that mean Tats is something of a Voltron fan (but not as much as Seymour)?
102	* Should Slick's SuperpoweredEvilSide be considered a spoiler anymore?
103	* I've heard talk that Tats has taken his comics to his forums so only his registered followers can read them now. Is this true or just a rumor?
104	** I was wondering why it hasn't been updated for two days. Of course, I was hoping that it meant he was ending the comic.
105	** It's back.
106	** And now it's down again.
107	** To answer the actual question, that's just a rumor. Tat's was just having some bad website issues and the forums were the only place stable enough to keep updates posted for a while.
108	* When did the reading boy, can't remember his name, get turned into a frog?
109	** Criminy got turned into a frog a few strips before the one you probably just read by one of Fuchsia's incantations. Word of advice: when you see a new plot thread, backtrack to see if it's mentioned anywhere else.
110	* Is Tangerine aware that she technically threatened a man who politely asked how she and the Fembot were doing? I mean, this is Sinfest so clearly the man had some evil intentions if I understand the logic of male characters in this comic, but what on grounds is "How do you do?" worthy of having a sword pointed at you?
111	** Honestly, I chalk that one up to poor word comprehension on Tangerine and Maverick's part. They may have thought he meant "How do you do what you do?". Or maybe Tangerine just got through some offscreen Sisterhood brainwashing.
112	** I love how "posing dramatically because the feral devil girl and the recently-sentient machine don't understand the question" becomes "two women totally threatening to kill a man for no reason" in the minds of people who obviously do not get the joke. To answer your question: no, she is not, because she wasn't threatening him. She was demonstrating.
113	* I think someone brought up a good question involving the reality zone, Demons cease to exist and all that. But robots seem to gain sentience in the reality zone. Wouldn't they become, I don't know, more robotic? Slower, longer processing time and all that.
114	** Also if the Reality Zone is SOOO pro-feminist....why doesn't the Sisterhood all collectively go there and Stay there?
115	*** Probably because if they retreat to the Reality Zone, they'll see it as a retreat. They also won't be able to free more women from the Patriarchy, since they're outside that realm completely. In short, settling in the Reality Zone would mean losing the war, and the Sisterhood would never allow that.
116	* Why don't the Sisterhood try to use the Realityzone to their advantage? Do they just become useless in it because of the lack of apparent oppression there? What is the reality zone anyway? A [[DeusExMachina easy way of getting out of a story?]]
117	* Why doesn't the devil order a hit on the sisterhood? If he is the epitome of evil and the sisterhood is bothering his business why hasn't he tried a hit man he has some vague connection with death so it shouldn't be too hard. I'm not asking to have the sisterhood killed off nor do I want that to happen, but I would like an explanation on why he hasn't tried this especially since he's a villain with good publicity and THE DEVIL a cover up wouldn't be too hard.
118	** He usually scrambles all forces to attack them when they do make a move on his operations, but is probably hampered from finding and destroying their bases by the fact that they seem to enjoy the protection of witchcraft. Though why he tolerates their agents opening anti-patriarchy lemonade stands in public areas is a mystery.
119	* The revelation that the Sisterhood know how to create an antidote for Bomfing. This troper is 99% sure that this has ''never'' been mentioned or hinted at before in the strip's history; assuming that it's not just an AssPull (i.e., Tats just came up with the idea to resolve this series of strips), [[FridgeLogic it raises several questions:]]
120	** Jesus un-Bomfs a character in the short [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2007-05-27 Makeover]] set. And several other strips, such as [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2011-04-03 this]] suggest that holy water cures Bomfing.
121	** If the Sisterhood had a cure for Bomfing the whole time, why haven't they been using it more often?
122	** If the Sisterhood know about Bomfing and how to cure it, why are they content to let people who have been Bomfed (like Tangerine and Slick) remain so while not even trying to explain what happened to them? This especially applies to Slick, who pretty obviously doesn't know that he was Bomfed. You'd think that letting him know he has a treatable condition would be the sensible move.
123	*** My guess at least for why they don't use it on tangerine, is they either don't know the difference between a born demon(one that died and went to hell) and a bomfed one, therefore they aren't sure it would even work. Or they don't see her as a threat or ill and have more use for her as a demon since she's on their team. As for slick my guess is either misandry or he's too out of focus for them to care.
124	*** Alternate possibility for Tangerine is that she's not evil, and doesn't care to be unBomfed. But this is probably right about Slick.
125	** Why aren't the Sisterhood telling the general public about this? If the Devil and his corporation are so bad, you'd think telling the population that they were turning other people into Devils (often against their will) would be helpful to the Sisterhood's cause.
126	** What are we supposed to make of the fate of the devil guy who was turned into a frog? We've seen strips that portray him as a regular human before, implying that he was turned into a devil. However, instead of receiving the cure, he was turned into a frog against his will (similar to how Bomfing can turn people into devils against their will). Now, to be fair, it's entirely possible that Fuchsia didn't know the Sisterhood had an actual cure for Bomfing (she's the one who called the Sisterhood for help with the Fembot, but it's not stated what kind of help she was expecting; maybe she just expected general assistance), but it makes the entire incident comes across much HarsherInHindsight. Is this going to be addressed?
127	*** The devil guy was originally the human owner of one of the runaway Fembots. There was no indication when he was Bomfed (or otherwise turned into a devil). He was actually unBomfed before awakening at the Lethe and being tricked into turning himself into a frog and leaping into the Lethe.
128	*** It has been revealed that people in Sinfest can "self-bomf" when their outlook on life becomes sufficiently tainted, such as by despair, in the case of Fuchsia (2016-05-29). Presumably cruelty and lust can do the same, or allow a demonic spirit (such as Sleaze) to assert temporary dominance over a body. Indeed, frog-guy bears a distinct resemblance to the john in "Bomfstitution" (2013-11-24) who also had a dual aspect.
129	* Is Monique bisexual or lesbian? I originally assumed the former, but now I don't know.
130	* How many years did it take the Devil to realize the Lil'E was his son, rather than an annoying stalker munchkin fanboy?
131	** It probably didn't take him very long after their original meeting. Big D knows he has a kid and Lil'E is in Wickedpedia, so it probably didn't take much more than a quick search to get his identity. Whether or not he actually cared until the Lethe incident is up for interpretation though.
132	* Was Slick ever actually Approved for Selling his Soul?
133	** [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2004-11-27 Apparently, yes.]]
134	* Where does the impression that Monique has anything to regret about losing her relationship with Slick come from, other than the fact that the relationship existed? As far as she knows, he never liked her for anything but her looks, and I can't recall him ever openly admitting he cared about her for anything else. When Slick basically drops a [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Tone_argument logical fallacy]] on her to side with her critics, he was laying out that he was part of the problem that she was trying to fight. She was literally, physically oppressed by a bunch of men for expressing displeasure that she felt oppressed by men, and then one of her oldest friends, a guy, tells her that it's her own fault because she didn't diminish her anger for the comfort of the men who were oppressing her. That is an awful thing to say to someone that you're supposed to actually care about. Slick isn't a bad person, but he's a crappy friend to Monique.
135	** So, you somehow missed all the moments the two had that didn't have Slick trying to get into Monique's pants? The times where they just sat beside each other and basically shot the breeze? The times where one was in a depressed slump and the other tried to cheer them up? How Slick had spent a fair amount of time before the Sisterhood showed up trying to become the sort of person Monique would want to be with? How you came to the conclusion that "As far as she knows, he never liked her for anything but her looks, and I can't recall him ever openly admitting he cared about her for anything else" is beyond me unless you started reading the comic around 2011 and never went further back. Also, Monique wasn't expressing displeasure with being oppressed by men, (And the idea of a character who used her sex appeal to LITERALLY make heads explode being oppressed by men is already pretty laughable) by the time Slick even brought up the conversation Monique was blatantly INSULTING her audience (and by extension the Critics who were against the changes made to Sinfest). Not to mention Slick's advice was to try and be more subtle with the whole thing. Finally, one fight from well intended, albeit badly timed, advice and Monique basically cut off all contact with Slick on her end, but somehow Slick is the crappy friend?
136	*** Not to mention Monique has been shown to See and Knows Devil Slick is a separate Entity from Slick....and does Jack Shit to help or even inform him of the fact that he's Demon Possessed....
137	*** Because the times when Slick wasn't trying to get into Monique's pants were ''moments''. Getting into her pants was always his end goal. When the comic drastically changed perspectives, obviously that arc changed, but the ongoing conflict in their relationship was that Slick never actually attempted to be with Monique in a serious way-- ''that was how the arc kept moving''. He tried to make himself more appealing, he hit on her constantly, and it was never any secret that he wanted her, but he never actually tried to be with her in a way that wasn't disrespectful. '''And that is what makes him a crappy friend'''. His friendship with her had an ulterior motive at its core, and no matter how sympathetic his situation and personality are, it's not real friendship. And, yes, Monique being literally physically threatened onstage because she changed her act ''is'' oppression. It doesn't matter that she ''used'' to shake her ass to the audience's delight-- which was not oppression because she was choosing to do that of her own free will; she might regret it now, and she might reject that reasoning based on an oppressive social framework (female success comes only from pleasing men), but she was not oppressed at that point because she was in full control of her actions. She's a performance artist and it's her prerogative to perform the way she wants; when the men in her audience ''attack her'' because she ''isn't'' shaking her ass, that's pretty much the definition of oppression. Monique's performances were ''never'' intended to please her audience, they were a vehicle for ''her'' self-expression, and so it is oppression for her audience to try to punish her for refusing to obey them.
138	*** And that justifies not letting him know he's possessed How? No matter how you put it, she aided and abetted everything Sleaze does by doing Nothing to help get rid of it.
139	*** Because he's ''not possessed'', Sleaze is not a separate entity that controls Slick, Sleaze is a visual representation of Slick's toxic aspects, and it's ''not her responsibility to save him from himself''. The whole point is that he can't see it within himself, but she can, because she's the one who actually has to deal with it. You can't have it both ways: if she's a bitch for calling him out for saying she needs to capitulate to her shitty audience (ie, showing Sleaze's values), then she can't be a bitch for ''not'' calling him out on it later. The whole Squig anti-porn arc is designed to show that actually rejecting your inner demon is something you can only do through personal effort, and as much lip-service as he pays to the idea of being a better person, Slick hasn't actually taken those steps, and you can't blame Monique for not trying to save him from something that he's already shown he's not yet ready to confront. It's not her job to know him better than he knows himself and fix him, and the idea that it ''is'' her job is everything the comic is trying to speak out against. And even if it was: why should she try a ''second time'' to make him realize he's being shitty? He already blew her off once and sided with the men in her audience who harass her for not sexualizing herself for their pleasure (ie, stuff Sleaze is into), why should she try again? Even if he believed her (which he almost certainly wouldn't, because the whole point is that he ''thinks'' he's gotten rid of Sleaze already), do you think that would make him re-examine himself? Or would he defend himself by accusing Monique of being too demanding or overly-critical? Slick's not a victim of possession for Sleaze for the same reason Monique is not a victim of oppression for her ass-shaking performances: because they're both acting of their own volition. The only difference is that Slick is in denial.
140	*** Except that we Saw Sleaze get implanted in Slick by Someone Else. Meaning he Didn't Exist until "Mint" Shoved him In. And Slick didn't Tell her to stop with what she's doing, just make it less confrontational. At that point All Monique was doing was insulting the audience, you know the people who Paid to see her. And then ditched him because he gave advice she needed to hear but didn't want to hear. Plus it's not like Monique is any better when it comes to objectifying people. Look at almost every instance of her relationship with Absinthe. It's always about what MONIQUE wants. Not once has she Ever considered Absinthe's feelings. She constantly tells her to ditch work, which considering she works for the DEVIL could get her killed or demoted back to the strip club. And don't get me started on when she was Literally at the Patriarchy's Main Controls and rather than take a bat or spill coffee on it, she used it to troll Slick. It's at that moment I realized she doesn't give a Shit about Changing anything, and just wants to use the existence of the Patriarchy as a excuse for her Shitty Behavior. Thinking back, Slick should be GLAD he didn't end up with a petty, shortsighted petulant brat like Monique. And Absinthe needs to find a nice girl who sees her more than just as a prize to be won.
141	*** Now you're just bashing on Monique for the sake of bashing on Monique, but okay: if you're going to interpret Sleaze as a literal construct that has no connection to Slick and is simply a demon that was implanted into his sweet, innocent, perfect little snowflake heart, then how would Monique even know that was a problem? ''She's dating a devil-girl'', she obviously doesn't have a problem with devil-folk, and Sleaze's behavior is entirely a reflection of Slick's. For Monique, who had nothing to do with it (unless you're going to find some way to make Hell itself her fault, which wouldn't surprise me at this point), how would she even know the difference? Monique ''has a devil-self'', she knows it exists and it makes her seriously uncomfortable because she doesn't like the side of herself that she knows it represents. Why ''shouldn't'' she assume that Sleaze is the same type of dark reflection that hers is? Either way, the point still stands: ''it's not up to her to save him from his own demons just because she's a girl he likes''. Also... regarding Absinthe... she's a devil girl. We know from Fuschia that rebellion against the devil is a good (if costly) thing for devil-girls....because he's ''the devil''. Hate on Monique if you think she's a crappy character, fine, but if you're going to argue about the politics of the comic, reducing her down to only the qualities you don't like just to use her as a strawman really diminishes every point you're making.
142	*** Also the "he just wanted her to make it less confrontational" bit has been addressed, multiple times. It's called "tone policing", and it's Slick admonishing Monique that she needs to prioritize her rude, abusive audience's comfort over her own self-expression. They paid to see her self-expression and that's what they got, she doesn't owe them (or Slick) anything just because they're men who pay attention to her. They can stop doing that whenever they want to, but they choose to keep paying attention just so they have something to get mad about. Kinda like the trolls who read Sinfest just to hate on it.
143	*** "Sleaze is not a separate entity that controls Slick" Have you REALLY not been keeping up with the freaking comic? This has recently, as in before these posts were made, LITERALLY been what has been happening! Sleaze can now take over Slick, do what he wants, and then switch places to leave Slick to deal with the fallout! (and that's not getting into the comics that had Sleaze try to physically drag Slick into the mirror world) In addition, HOW is he a reflection of Slick?! Slick's been busting his hump for years trying to be a better person despite the world constantly kicking his face in for even trying! Sleaze is reflective of aspects of Slick that stopped being driving bits of his character since even before the Sisterhood takeover! Finally, one can bring up the tone policing all you want, but when part of your act is aimed at openly insulting a large segment of your audience, getting upset that they don't take kindly to it is a kind of stupid one doesn't see too often.
144	*** Sleaze ''isn't'' a separate entity, and he ''doesn't'' control Slick. Monique, Squig and Slick ''all have dark sides''. They take different forms and manifest in different ways, but they all have one, they all act independently, and they all express their original selves' darker thoughts and emotions that they're trying to move away from. That's what the "Bro Hug Your Dark Side" arc is about. That's the thing with Slick, he hasn't been busting his hump for years to be a better person, he's been busting his hump to ''look'' like a better person because he thinks that's how he'll win back Monique. There's a difference and it matters.
145	*** Yes he is, and yes he does. There have been comics that literally show Sleaze basically hijacking Slick's body and causing trouble, only to leave when he's about to get into trouble and leave Slick standing around wondering what happened. Something neither Squig or Monique's dark sides have ever done. It's rather hard to "bro hug" your dark side when said dark side is more actively malevolent than Squig's, and much more unhelpful than Monique's.
146	*** Sleaze and Slick aren't different people, it's one guy and his dark side. Sleaze doesn't control Slick the way you're thinking, Sleaze is Slick's total lack of impulse control personified, which is why Slick doesn't have the capacity to hold Sleaze back. There's certainly some amount of outside influence, but being that Sinfest is a preachy alt-right comic that wants to diminish Slick as the author's self-insert so Xanthe can take his place, the point is that Slick is a guy who says he wants to be better but is too wrapped up in his own flaws to improve. They're not intended to be separate people any more than any other character and their own dark side.
147	* Who are the characters [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2017-01-08 exploring this humongous wreckage]]?
148	** The next date indicates that they are two of the sisterhood.
149	* It seems as if Squigley is always wasting time on the assembly line, and probably stalling it, decorating the drones. Why does he still have his job?
150	** Because it's a comic and watching him decay psychologically from working a dead-end assembly line job would be miserable to read?
151	* I don't get why we're supposed to feel bad about the prostitute girl from the '''Good-Bye Porn''' arc. Rather, I do, but there's a conspicuous absence of Pimp Sam having any direct control over her. The ''implication'' is that she's essentially been trafficked, but it shows a whole stretch of time where she didn't actually object to anything she was being told to do. She judges Squig for watching porn and admonishes him to tell other porn actresses that he's sorry for not appreciating what they go through, but she's not telling him anything that would mean she wasn't staying of her own volition. Not "I felt I couldn't", or "I was scared to leave" or "he threatened me" or "I thought he loved me", just mindless obedience. I get that we're already supposed to infer that she's been abused, but she's leaving that part out of the story she tells Squig, so what's he supposed to take away from this? "If a porn actress regrets her own actions in hindsight, it's your fault"?
152	* Why are the senators on the Woke TV channel acting like the prostitutes? Are we supposed to feel that Amber and the feminists are exploiting them? Or did Tatsuya just lose track of his metaphors again?
153	* A bit of Fridge Logic: in Sinfest-land, prostitution and strip clubs are legal and federally funded, since Uncle Sam is the pimp that controls it all. In the real world, the horrific abuses of trafficking victims come about because the trafficker depends on the victim's silence and compliance to keep everything quiet enough to avoid attracting the wrong kind of attention. This is a world where hookers are displayed in broad, sober daylight in big, brightly-lit storefront displays, there's no need for a pimp to have that kind of control over his girls. It also makes prostitution in Sinfest a ''government job'', and I don't even know where to start with that.

Context Headscratchers / Sinfest