Manic Pixie Dream Girl

[Imp_Emissary]

She brings a switchblade to work? God damn.

Now I'm sad that Name Game is gone from Escapist.

Is Grey trying to confess to why LeeLee really left? Like when OJ wrote that book? I hope not.

Seriously though, I have never seen Erin as a pixie.

Now, if you called her a Manic Imp Dream Girl....

That could work.

 

[Malignanttoe]

Meh

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Okay. Erin Stout.

Manic? Check.

Pixie? Uuuuuh... No.

Dream Girl? I... don't think so. Not too interested in meeting or interacting with someone who's still on the mend from an extended time spent (or still being spent) seeing fictitious characters, interacting with them and generally proving how tenuous her grip on reality and expected social mores is.

I mean, I kinda preferred Erin before this whole mess. She was quirky, but not aggressively so. Sorry, Mr. Carter, but I have to admit I've been getting Tim Buckley-isms, lately. Not sure if want.

A character who's unhinged for the sake of being unhinged is not fun. RIDICULOUS QUIRKS, ROFFLECOPTER does not make for fun character development.

But that's just me, of course. Keep at it, I can only hope the character's eventually going to reach some sort of happy medium.

 

[Entitled]

I think you'll find before it was a trope, it was coined by a film scholar who wrote a small essay on why Kirsten Dunst's character in Elizabethtown was kind of a sexist portrayal of women that is actually really pervasive in our media. It was always meant to be a pejorative term. Of course, MPDG have superficial traits like eccentric fashion sensibilities and unpredictable behaviour, but the original MPDG is this chick:

Of course the meaning is warped and obscured over time because people make presumptions and don't understand the original definition, and I understand if you decide to side with those people, but I think it's important to adhere to the preestablished semantics of the terms used in a discussion, especially when the discussion pertains to something as polemic and delicate as sexism.

We were specifically talking about the TVTropes page, with the MPDG trope description on it, and whether or not Haruhi fits it. That before it was a trope it was also an insult, has nothing to do with it.

A few decades ago, "Space Opera" meant trashy, shallow sci-fi, and it was used in pair with "horse opera", meaning trashy, shallow western. But as it turns out, if you use the term objectiely, and not as an insult at sci-fi shows that you don't like, it turns out that it's stereotypes (unscientific, fantasy-like setting) still describe something, a genre, that can be done well.

It's the same case with most tropes, genres, and similar categories. They can all be used as insults with the implication that it was done badly, but they eventually either lose all meaning, like Mary Sue, that is nowadays applied to every competent or likeable character, as fans try to insult each other's favorite characters, or end up dropping the insult part and become tropes that can be at least semi-objectively categorized, like Space Opera.

 

[Farther than stars]

Am I the only one wondering why Erin has a butterfly knife on hand?

 

[Skeleon]

Eh, the recent story arcs (and this comic itself) kind of undermine the whole cute, quirky thing Erin had going in the past. While, yes, I suppose that is the joke, I find it mostly just sad.
Speaking of TVTropes, isn't there also a trope for comedic, light-hearted webcomics going a "dark and depressing"-route? It would seem that Critical Miss is no exception there, at least for a while.

 

[BX3]

Hope this is just a one off, and not the start of another huge tangent involving a personal journey of self-discovery, only vaguely reminiscent of the videogame related humour that the comic is typically associated with and read for, by a base of loyal and easy-to-displease fans who talk in run on sentences.

So like the Sonic fanbase? Great... another community I have to hang my head in shame at being associated with. I've already got, like, 5.

Am I the only one wondering why Erin has a butterfly knife on hand?

You know what makes it worse? Whether she brings one to work every day or she brought it because of the new girl, neither implication is less terrifying!

I think everyone's taking this strip a bit too seriously. I don't think it's supposed to be part of any story arc. It's not supposed to be one of the "gritty realistic" strips like before.

Obviously, but hey, Escapist gonna Escape.

... that sounded better in my head....

 

[disgruntledgamer]

And this is different from every other girl how.... Oh never mind I get it.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Who gave here a butterfly knife? I don't think she's safe to carry even a butter knife! Stopping dangerous things to the crazy person!

 

[antipunt]

Stay classy Erin..

stay classy

 

[2xDouble]

Strangely, I expected another crossover with LeeLee... oh well.

 

[ace_of_something]

EDIT: Okay my mouse is broken so that post was incomprehensible. Nothing to see here. Sorry everyone.

 

[Plucky]

So wait, Erin basically has multiple personality imaginary friends based on videogame characters, a resolution that could probably be described as something of a mix between Donny Darko and Fight Club.....and then she practically screamed homicidal tendencies by sticking a knife out....?


Chances are the new character was there because Sharon thought Erin's plug was going to get pulled or something....she looks adorable though.

 

[AbstractStream]

Aw, Erin is so nice and approachable.

 

[Evil Smurf]

And we've confirmed Erin is now a *****.

No son, Erin is the *****, and Mrs ***** to you.

 

[Blunderboy]

And we've confirmed Erin is now a *****.

No son, Erin is the *****, and Mrs ***** to you.

Firstly, the word son doesn't really work on people older than you.

Secondly, she's really not the *****. She's just plain unlikeable now.

 

[BX3]

And we've confirmed Erin is now a *****.

No son, Erin is the *****, and Mrs ***** to you.

Firstly, the word son doesn't really work on people older than you.

Secondly, she's really not the *****. She's just plain unlikeable now.

"Now?"

You've got high tolerance levels.
Reading Critical has always been like watching the anime "Black Lagoon" for me. Love the series, but there are many times I don't care for the main character.

 

[Grape_Nuts]

I hope the octopus hat girl has some kind of counter attack for the next strip. Maybe a headbutt or an uppercut... anything?

 

[thepyrethatburns]

This is turning into almost a comical kind of 'you can't please everyone' situation.

You make a story arc to flesh out the characters - people post that it's too slow, boring and not games-focused enough.

You spend a few weeks putting out game/game-industry focused strips - people say it's disjointed and want to know how Erin's story continues.

You make ONE new none games-focused strip - people start crying that it's not games-focused again AND they don't understand Erin's character.

I'm glad I'm not you!

OT: Love Erin, love the comic, love the octopus hat

I think the problem is more:

We had a storyline which says that these antics are not played for laughes and that she has ... Dun, dun, dunnnnn... SERIOUS ISSUES!!!

This makes strips like these problematic because we were supposed to take Erin's actions seriously then. Thusly, pulling a butterfly knife with a blade about as large as her head on a new co-worker is no longer wacky antics but Erin continuing to be a danger to everyone around her.

Thusly the problem. In real life, most of us would have difficulty seeing the joke in this and, since we're now supposed to take such strips as drama, the reaction becomes confused. It may well be that trying to do drama with Erin was this strip's "miscarriage moment" but what has been done can rarely be undone.