Achewood Thread 12: Hey, Look! We're Back! What Happened?!

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > BSS: Bisexual Super Son > Achewood Thread 12: Hey, Look! We're Back! What Happened?!

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trilobite terror: Oct 20, 2007; BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

A Wizard of Goatse posted:

Is it actually a problem that Teodor isn't a party organizer for Microsoft? I guess a focussed, motivated T is less of a clear negative for the world than say Lyle or Pat with a mission but with a million bucks and a high-pressure job doing the kind of bullshit he's shown any interest or talent in he'd still be the same anxious little dork convinced he's blowing his chance to be a great artist who bangs celebrities, still lacking any real spark.of greatness beyond the occasional meal he spent 12 hours cooking.

He's never really doing without anything, his poverty manifests in the form of 'whoops I forgot to do the one afternoon of work I need to pay rent this month, again' contrasted to say Lyle who's always scraping by on grindingly awful minimum-wage food service rather than the idle fantasy version. He's just existentially dissatisfied in a way nothing real can fulfill and disinterested in the rewards sustained effort can offer. Holding down a job does suck, why do it if it can't pay for anything you need

there�s a version of Teodor that has a steady coding job or engineering or middle-management job, or a decent retail gig at like Costco or an Apple Store or whatever, and a 401k and is just as lonely and unhappy and unfulfilled as broke Teodor is.

# ? Jan 13, 2024 21:00

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# ? May 24, 2024 00:23

theironjef: Aug 11, 2009; The archmage of unexpected stinks.

SacrificialGoat posted:

I don't think it's an accident that Onstad's middle name is Todd.

If it was that would be very funny. I would love the story of how his parents accidentally gave him the middle name Todd.

# ? Jan 13, 2024 21:04

Nessus: Dec 22, 2003; After a Speaker vote, you may be entitled to a valuable coupon or voucher!

Android Blues posted:

This is funny and a great plot engine, but it's also reflective of an anxiety that almost all the characters share in one way or another. Ray is just a more fantastical version of the story, the person for whom all these scattershot gigs actually pay off, living in the world where the thing he paid attention to for three months in 2012 actually did make him rich. Teodor is the grounded version where he halfway does a thing, fails or backs out of it, then goes back to looking for the next thing that can pay the bills for a little bit.

I mean hell I have that anxiety and I'm actually doing fine at my own reasonably-stable-if-not-super-high-paid job so I Get It.

Another factor is that Ray actually sold his soul, but his drug-addicted squirrel homie told him how to get out of Hell.

# ? Jan 13, 2024 21:12

Chas McGill: Oct 29, 2010; loves Fat Philippe

It's funny how the only already wealthy character sold his soul.

# ? Jan 13, 2024 21:26

moot the hopple: Apr 26, 2008; dyslexic Bowie clone

Being in trouble is a fake idea

# ? Jan 13, 2024 21:28

withak: Jan 15, 2003; Fun Shoe

"Todd" isn't a real middle name.

# ? Jan 13, 2024 21:28

panko: Sep 6, 2005; ~honda best man~

havent been on the new strips, did teodor canonically fumble penny? seemed like he got a happy ending in 2014

# ? Jan 13, 2024 21:28

davidspackage: May 16, 2007; Nap Ghost

withak posted:

"Todd" isn't a real middle name.

It's short for TODD!!! TODD!!!!

# ? Jan 13, 2024 21:30

drrockso20: May 6, 2013; Has Not Actually Done Cocaine

Android Blues posted:

Yeah, I mean, I think all of these are somewhere around right. Teodor isn't a bad guy, the problems that keep him in his rut are just mundane and un-dramatic. He can't concentrate on one thing for very long and he's afraid of committing to a career because he has a lingering sense that he's "meant" to do something creative, but lacks the drive to follow through on that ambition either because, again, he can't concentrate on one thing for very long.

One of the recurring motifs in Achewood for most of its run is the characters findings harebrained gigs that might be able to lift them out of poverty without having to work a 9 - 5, then ditching or forgetting about those gigs after they lose their sparkle. It's almost like the default Achewood plotline - a character finds a way to make money that seems funny or interesting instead of soul-crushing, does it for a little bit, then realises it isn't viable or gets bored of it or has to talk to the KKK on the phone.

This is funny and a great plot engine, but it's also reflective of an anxiety that almost all the characters share in one way or another. Ray is just a more fantastical version of the story, the person for whom all these scattershot gigs actually pay off, living in the world where the thing he paid attention to for three months in 2012 actually did make him rich. Teodor is the grounded version where he halfway does a thing, fails or backs out of it, then goes back to looking for the next thing that can pay the bills for a little bit.

Ray's presence in the cast I think does a lot to keep that recurring aspect of the comic from getting tiring or overly depressing like that kind of thing does in a lot of other series, since theoretically his nigh infinite money supply is always a potential solution to the rest of the cast's financial woes so it never gets too serious

# ? Jan 13, 2024 21:35

panko: Sep 6, 2005; ~honda best man~

drrockso20 posted:

his nigh infinite money supply is always a potential solution to the rest of the cast's financial woes so it never gets too serious

# ? Jan 13, 2024 21:48

theironjef: Aug 11, 2009; The archmage of unexpected stinks.

panko posted:

havent been on the new strips, did teodor canonically fumble penny? seemed like he got a happy ending in 2014

Penny, Polly, and Molly are all in the Onstad vault, and will be released never. Tina's characterization of "mean brassy diva" is enough to get her into the occasional arc like this one.

Ultra Peanut is in the vault too but everyone agrees that's okay and good actually.

# ? Jan 13, 2024 22:53

Deathlove: Feb 20, 2003; Pillbug

Molly showed up in one of the 12 Days of Achewood strips. But she did not seem long for the relationship.

# ? Jan 13, 2024 23:42

trilobite terror: Oct 20, 2007; BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Divorced Beef

Venom Beef

# ? Jan 13, 2024 23:47

moot the hopple: Apr 26, 2008; dyslexic Bowie clone

panko posted:

havent been on the new strips, did teodor canonically fumble penny? seemed like he got a happy ending in 2014

He seems too immature for a relationship. This entry from his blog shows him fumbling another girl from Ray's parties who was interested in him. Notice how it's all his own insecurities and self projections that drives him off. He becomes totally judgmental and has a completely uncharitable read on these other people just because he feels out of his element.

Teodor's Blog posted:

How do I not see these things?

I met Shannon at Grass last night, that new nightclub with the sod floor and eleven-dollar drinks. She looked good, and she already had a cocktail, so I got an Amstel from the bar and we sat in a quietish corner to talk. She's training for a marathon, she likes that convertible Jaguar, she's looking for a bigger place, she's not much for cooking, etc. She looked great, in some new jeans and a black turtleneck sweater with fresh running shoes. I had on a Livestrong jersey and olive cargo shorts with flipflops, playing it upscale casual. Not that it mattered. All she could talk about was her law career plans and different countries she had visited that I had not visited, like France.

About two and a half Amstels in (I remember looking at the meniscus on #3 and thinking HELP) a few of her friends showed up, probably on cue. It wasn't any of her friends from Ray's, it was a bunch of Jennifer Aniston clones and even a couple guys in blue work shirts and loosened ties. It slowly dawned on me that I had no business there, particularly when the guys shook my hand with those no-contact eyes that say "I already forgot you." I went to the can, drained my beer, tipped the attendant a buck, and ducked through a thick bar crowd on my way out. My last glance was of her completely immersed in her Banana Republic set, giggling and looking healthy.

I shuffled pretty despondently over to Ray's, pitying myself for being the object of a rich girl's slumming. I was pretty sour, so I just hung out in the kitchen and had some Cookie Crisp. Later I went into the living room and tried to read a coffee table book about limousines, but just got depressed and went home.

# ? Jan 14, 2024 00:05

Android Blues: Nov 22, 2008

He definitely sucks there but I also get it. He feels deeply inadequate due to his poverty and feels people in a higher economic stratum could never respect him. He's bitter about it, but it comes from a place of, "Teodor cannot afford to go to France and he thinks that makes him some kind of terrible little garbage guy in this woman's eyes."

It's really good character writing, apart from anything else. Despite the fact that he's a funny little bear man it's deeply human.

# ? Jan 14, 2024 00:10

ullerrm: Dec 31, 2012; Oh, the network slogan is true -- "watch FOX and be damned for all eternity!"

Android Blues posted:

He feels deeply inadequate due to his poverty and feels people in a higher economic stratum could never respect him.

so he�s nice pete without the murder then

# ? Jan 14, 2024 00:13

drrockso20: May 6, 2013; Has Not Actually Done Cocaine

Like I said Teodor needs therapy more than anyone in the main cast, like sure Roast Beef has the more powerful depression but his is the loud and obvious kind, Teodor's is the quiet and insidious kind that winds up culminating in doing something horrible that puts you on the Evening News

# ? Jan 14, 2024 00:22

Android Blues: Nov 22, 2008

ullerrm posted:

so he�s nice pete without the murder then

I mean, his thing is not that he hates these people. He wants to be like them, can't be, and consoles himself by insinuating that they're shallow and he's smart. But fundamentally in this blog he's painfully image-conscious and trying his best to fit in, then convinces himself that he isn't fitting in and runs away. The bitterness is just him washing down the self-loathing. I think it's more sad than anything.

# ? Jan 14, 2024 00:32

moot the hopple: Apr 26, 2008; dyslexic Bowie clone

Android Blues posted:

It's really good character writing, apart from anything else. Despite the fact that he's a funny little bear man it's deeply human.

I don't really want to go too hard in on Teodor here since it's a blog from years ago so maybe he's changed. I agree that it is a nicely written character piece where you're supposed to question the author and see through his self-justifications and bullshit. If it were written today, it may seem incel-y, but Teodor at least doesn't have that seething entitlement and seems mostly held back by self-loathing if anything. Like I said, I think it's just an immaturity thing and hopefully he grows up and doesn't have to do this exhausting mental calculus of status and face every time he comes across someone with different life experiences.

# ? Jan 14, 2024 01:56

Zefiel: Sep 14, 2007; You can do whatever you want in life.

I did not like the Penny arc and I am glad it did not (visibly) culminate in a Canon "happy ending" for Téodor because I think we should not romantice/ normalize young dudes dithering through life until the manic pixie girl of their dreams waltzes in and makes everything right. (The other big example is Scott Pilgrim)

# ? Jan 14, 2024 02:25

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

i legit had no idea how many achewood fans were six sigma adherents until this teodor discussion

# ? Jan 14, 2024 02:33

panko: Sep 6, 2005; ~honda best man~

Zefiel posted:

I did not like the Penny arc and I am glad it did not (visibly) culminate in a Canon "happy ending" for T�odor because I think we should not romantice/ normalize young dudes dithering through life until the manic pixie girl of their dreams waltzes in and makes everything right. (The other big example is Scott Pilgrim)

this is definitely true and even at the time the story rang extraordinarily hollow, especially as a diminishing return after the already suspect cornelius finds love arc, but also I think a lot of posters itt are projecting personal baggage on teodor

# ? Jan 14, 2024 04:00

Strange Cares: Nov 22, 2007

Stringent posted:

i legit had no idea how many achewood fans were six sigma adherents until this teodor discussion

That's that business cult that tells c-suites to run their companies like an assembly line at a Motorola plant where all the workers have pretty bad lives, right?

# ? Jan 14, 2024 04:45

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Strange Cares posted:

That's that business cult that tells c-suites to run their companies like an assembly line at a Motorola plant where all the workers have pretty bad lives, right?

that's the one i was thinking of yeah

# ? Jan 14, 2024 06:03

Nessus: Dec 22, 2003; After a Speaker vote, you may be entitled to a valuable coupon or voucher!

panko posted:

this is definitely true and even at the time the story rang extraordinarily hollow, especially as a diminishing return after the already suspect cornelius finds love arc, but also I think a lot of posters itt are projecting personal baggage on teodor

The point where I figured at least one of 'Onstad' or 'Teodor' were inveterate corny douchebags about this stuff was "She has to think. That's her sustenance."

Great insight, Mr. Orezcu

But hey! We're pretty much back to the original form at this point. Weekly format seems to be treating the gentleman well, though I wonder how well this is gonna work if he runs out of his pre-pack backlog.

# ? Jan 14, 2024 06:19

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Wait, Six Sigma is real and NOT a parody thing from 30 Rock? :psyduck:

# ? Jan 14, 2024 06:58

MisterBear: Aug 16, 2013

Jerusalem posted:

Wait, Six Sigma is real and NOT a parody thing from 30 Rock?

Nope, very much a real thing and heavily associated with GE of Jack Welch�s time as well - which is part of the joke.

# ? Jan 14, 2024 09:23

Strange Cares: Nov 22, 2007

I�ve read the Wikipedia page for six sigma now and reread the past two pages and I gotta say, you nailed it, good slam.

# ? Jan 14, 2024 18:11

Rand Brittain: Mar 25, 2013; "Go on until you're stopped."

Zefiel posted:

I did not like the Penny arc and I am glad it did not (visibly) culminate in a Canon "happy ending" for Téodor because I think we should not romantice/ normalize young dudes dithering through life until the manic pixie girl of their dreams waltzes in and makes everything right. (The other big example is Scott Pilgrim)

how to tell someone you haven't read Scott Pilgrim

# ? Jan 14, 2024 19:24

Pershing: Feb 21, 2010; John "Black Jack" Pershing
Hard Fucking Core

Deathlove posted:

Molly showed up in one of the 12 Days of Achewood strips. But she did not seem long for the relationship.

I really, really, really don't want to read a 'Roast Beef and Molly get divorced" arc. That would just be so sad.

# ? Jan 14, 2024 19:58

moot the hopple: Apr 26, 2008; dyslexic Bowie clone

Pershing posted:

I really, really, really don't want to read a 'Roast Beef and Molly get divorced" arc. That would just be so sad.

Me neither, but that strip over Christmas does make it seem like its circling the drain

# ? Jan 14, 2024 20:33

Youremother: Dec 26, 2011; MORT

Chris wearing a shirt that says "IM THE GUY WHO'S DIVORCED/PLUS I GOT DEPRESSION"

# ? Jan 14, 2024 20:46

trilobite terror: Oct 20, 2007; BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Zefiel posted:

(The other big example is Scott Pilgrim)

lol nope

# ? Jan 14, 2024 21:31

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

My teens were roast beef, my twenties were Teodore, and my 30�s are Ray.

# ? Jan 14, 2024 21:57

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

MisterBear posted:

Nope, very much a real thing and heavily associated with GE of Jack Welch�s time as well - which is part of the joke.

Strange Cares posted:

I�ve read the Wikipedia page for six sigma now and reread the past two pages and I gotta say, you nailed it, good slam.

"Formal Six Sigma programs adopt an elite ranking terminology similar to martial arts systems like judo to define a hierarchy (and career path) that spans business functions and levels."

:psyduck:

# ? Jan 14, 2024 23:01

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Six Sigma is a decent set of principles that got turned into basically self parody by the people that imploded GE and the general 80�s corporate cult machine.

# ? Jan 14, 2024 23:13

Zefiel: Sep 14, 2007; You can do whatever you want in life.

Rand Brittain posted:

how to tell someone you haven't read Scott Pilgrim

The "Judas Priest Friday" achewood makes a cameo. :colbert:

# ? Jan 14, 2024 23:38

Strange Cares: Nov 22, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

"Formal Six Sigma programs adopt an elite ranking terminology similar to martial arts systems like judo to define a hierarchy (and career path) that spans business functions and levels."

It is some absolute clown shoes stuff

# ? Jan 15, 2024 00:55

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

moot the hopple posted:

Me neither, but that strip over Christmas does make it seem like its circling the drain

it's been circling the drain from the jump, if the blogs are anything to go by

Ugly In The Morning posted:

My teens were roast beef, my twenties were Teodore, and my 30�s are Ray.

same, and my 40s have seen me become the guy whose peter gets sucked by Teodor in the back of that van

# ? Jan 15, 2024 01:44

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# ? May 24, 2024 00:23

moot the hopple: Apr 26, 2008; dyslexic Bowie clone

I chose to forget the High School arc like it never happened and hope Onstad never gets to such dark place in his life again

# ? Jan 15, 2024 02:14

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > BSS: Bisexual Super Son > Achewood Thread 12: Hey, Look! We're Back! What Happened?!

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