Gah! Evil Girlfriend!

[UnicornEmily]

Okay, Mark's girlfriend is one ANNOYING person. Just from that one panel of today's strip, I can tell that I will loathe her. Bleh!

Is ly-geek-thropy catching, by any chance? Could somebody bite her really hard, even if it isn't? (Hopeful look.) Please?

[Tetramorpheus]

My reaction was slightly less intense the first time I read it... then glancing back, I saw the small white dog-rat nipping at her, and my estimation of her character dropped about fifty points. The slippers were just icing on the cake.

Not to mention a massive, manipulative mean streak a mile wide.

Yeah, that...

[Xaq]

I believe that's EXACTLY the reaction Alina was going for.

[UnicornEmily]

Well, I certainly hope so, because that's the reaction that person deserves! (Shudders.)

[Threnodist]

Is ly-geek-thropy catching, by any chance? Could somebody bite her really hard, even if it isn't? (Hopeful look.) Please?

<slips on lab coat>
<lecture mode active>
Sadly, ly-geek-thropy is one of the weaker strains of the lycanthropic family of infections, in that it requires a relatively high raw intelligence quotient as well an appreciation for art (in terms of both prose and pictographic imagery) and math (which is to say, game mechanics). Since all of these characteristics are relatively rare in individual humans, ly-geek-thropy has a small pool of potential infectees.

Mark's girlfriend, for example, demonstrates a classic anti-geek profile by her slavish adherence to popular trends (colors, clothes, conversational topics, social activities, etc.) and distaste for creating anything original.

<lecture mode deactivated>

Still, there's nothing quite like the thrill of 'freaking the mundanes', as Mark will discover soon enough...

"You're doing WHAT?"
"I'm defending the land of <static> from an attacking horde of spidersquids!"
"You're playing that satanic game, aren't you!"
"No, the spidersquids worship Ningobble, but our cleric's god has brought his avatar into the fight to keep Ningobble's avatar busy while we deal with the spidersquid generals..."
"EEEK! I'm hanging up now and praying for your soul!"<click>
"Aw, c'mon, Sarah's character's already got that covered..."

[UnicornEmily]

Hee hee hee! That sounds like fun!

My husband managed to shock all his coworkers when he told them that not only does his wife play D&D with him, but all the other D&D players in his group are girls, and friends of his wife's! They were all even more startled recently, when they found out that his wife is the current DM of their group. I love being weird.

[JmcV]

once upon a time i was in a tabletop campaign with all female players (the gm was male though). it wasn't like boy players weren't allowed. it just so happened that the entire player base ended up being female. i know that gamer type girls are somewhat more rare than gamer type boys but the rarity of a girl gamer seemed so much less obvious to me when surrounded by them constantly. so imagine my surprise when a friend of mine invites me to join his d&d campaign and the room literally goes silent when he and i come in...because EVERYONE at the table was expecting a boy and not a girl. i totally stunned them for 2d4 rounds. ^^

[Khayankh]

I don't mind her, actually. Mark doesn't seem that old, and she seems to know him well.
Playing Devil's Advocate: your boyfriend, who does NOT ditch you, is totally inaccessible, seems to be spaced out and vague...and cancels his date with you. He was also out all last night, you don't know where...
If Mark has been a good/loyal/caring boyfriend in the past (seems likely, given he's a sweet guy, worrying about kobolds and stuff), girlfriend is getting the idea that something is WRONG (in capitals) with her guy and she has no idea what. Things I might be thinking in her place (because I worry about people like this): is he on drugs? is there another girl? did she sleep at his house last night? is a family member dying? is he sick, possibly with an STD? do I have the STD? is he mentally ill? should I call him again, or will he just be annoyed? if I don't call him, will whatever he's dealing with get worse?
I don't think she's evil, just mundane and concerned. *he* sure seemed startled by his infatuation with dorkhood. I'm guessing his confessing to her that he's been gaming and roleplaying and stuff is going to be a big, painful moment. He's going to have to admit it to her eventually...you can't hide it forever.
yes, I am the daughter of a Concerned Jewish Mother, and I enter Jewish Mother mode over other people sometimes. I'd be up all night calling repeatedly, too, don't worry.
And what is this hating-of-small-dogs? Would you rather she had a huge dog that did not fit comfortably in her house and would never have enough room to play? Do you have a deep loathing of affectionate, cuddly animals? <pets small, fluffy dog who really needs a haircut at the moment, if anyone cares>

[SickandCute]

yeah, to be fair, last time my boyfriend staed out all night I screamed at him down the phone and told him if he didn't get his jerky self back home he'd be sleeping on the sofa-bed for the next three weeks.

Don't jump to conclusions people. She seems the annoying type, but what if our preconceptions are going to be played with ? Maybe she's actually quite nice, just not a geek.

[Thunderhowl]

However, one must take into account the old school geek's lingering hatred and distrust of the so-called "normal" person. Before you younger geeks were emancipated by us older geeks, we were often the butt of jokes, and objects of hatred and ridicule, rather than people admired for their interesting and cool hobbies.

It seems we are split into two camps, the camp that thinks the g/f will dump Mark as a freak for enjoying a perfectly acceptable pastime, and the camp who believes that she'll be amused and accepting of his "ly-geek-thropy" and was merely worried about him and his welfare.

I am in the first camp because of his reluctance to tell her about the cool new friends he has made. I hope I am wrong, and that he's just being paranoid, but only Alina, and possibly xaq know for certain.

[Tom the Fanboy]

OoooooooOOOH!
Our first line is drawn!
I think/hope that she doesn't dump him and he comes clean with her after the full moon passes.

We have to wait and see what he does when the moon isn't out/full. If he turns his back on the gang and turns into even more of a mundane in an attempt to resist the geekery then she could become a kind of heroic villain. Doing her best to help her love resist his "curse".

It's too early for me to get a good theory, I've got too many possibilities in my head.

[JmcV]

I think people have a hatred of "yappy" dogs, and most often small dogs get stuck with that one. usually it's because their barks are far more high pitched than other dogs and hurt the ears a lot more. it SEEMS like big dogs are more willing to shut up after a few barks than smaller dogs, but then i'm probably more likely to ignore the barking of a big dog because it isn't so ear-splittingly high pitched that it will give me a headache after the first 3 barks.

also: small dogs, especially ones that look like mark's girlfriend's dog, have rather recently (as in, the past couple of years) become associated with ridiculously airheaded, snotty, and pretentious women, who are more concerned with clothes and makeup than with important matters. i rather suspect that one Paris Hilton is behind all of this. so when you get a woman who has a paris-esque dog, is in the middle of obsessive self-grooming and has at least a couple of mirrors on-hand, and who says that her idea of a fun day with her boyfriend is spending a few hours at the shopping mall...well, it's not exactly a big surprise to get the "ewww, evil girlfriend" reaction.

who knows, perhaps she was just being extra-snippy because the full moon signals a special time for her as well...but instead of the unholy hunger for cheetos it's an unnatural craving for unicorn flesh http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/03/07

[Narf the Mouse]

See? Evil.

[Al Ray]

Hmmmm, I really don't know which camp I would pcik, both seems equally vaild. Therefore, I propose the wishful thinking camp, where-in the g/f turns out to be mildly or more interested in Geekness and might want to join her boyfriend in his pursuts from time to time. It would make for some interesting dynamics, wouldn't it?

[Lunaroki]

Ack! No! Mark must dump the evil girlfriend and hook up with Sarah! Those two have chemistry going on! ^_^ I'd vote for him hooking up with Abbie but he's a little bit freaked by her. Besides, she's mine!

[DrunkenPrayer]

It's a fact* only scary old women and scary young women own those type of dogs. If she had something cool like a lab or a collie that would be alright.
Actually this is all bringing back memories of an ex that used to make fun of my Games Workshop-ing.




*By fact I mean loosely held stereotype.

[Khayankh]

I have a small fluffy dog and I don't think I am scary or unintelligent. Well...I'm scary while debating, that's how I got onto the varsity team, but I'm not an airhead. I don't have a poorly-trained, minimally-cared-for yippy dog, I've been good about socializing Charlie and he's a little angel. (coos) Aren't you, marshmallow-face? I would never get a collie...yes, they're nice dogs, but I don't have a big enough house and I don't like the idea of trapping a big dog in this small space. Collies also *shed*, and given my organizational skill I don't need a dog who can help me make a mess...
Returning to the subject of the girlfriend, I don't think she's a geek at all - however, that doesn't make her evil. I think she's just concerned and likes him, and I don't think she's a bad person for not being interested in stuff like D&D. My sister thinks D&D is stupid, that doesn't mean she hates me and that doesn't mean I think she's dumb. Now, when she talks about lipgloss for HALF AN HOUR STRAIGHT, then I think she's dumb...but I've spent as much time talking to her about geeky stuff, so we're even. Maybe sharing a house with an airhead makes you tolerate them more, and I'm biased. She's probably going to have to split with him at some point, either because he accepts his geekhood and they have very different interests or because he tries to hide who he is, keeps secrets, and acts suspicious enough that she gives up.
On the other hand...the girlfriend reminds me of my sister, who I would love even if she were Paris Hilton, and her dog reminds me of my dear little furball.

[JmcV]

Stereotypes exist because, at least to some degree, they are true some of the time. If there weren't any inkling in a basis of fact, there wouldn't have been enough for the stereotype to make its way in to popular belief. Obviously stereotypes get exaggerated, expanded upon, and over-used, to the point where there are very few people who actually meet all of the criteria of a certain stereotype. I've only ever met one blonde woman who was really and truly as stupid as all of the "dumb blonde" jokes, and in fact a couple of the smartest people I know happen to be naturally blonde. However, even though I know of quite a few people who break the "dumb blonde" stereotype, it still doesn't stop me from being aware that the stereotype exists.

You have obviously demonstrated that you and your dog don't meet the paris hilton stereotype. Your dog isn't yippy and you yourself aren't an airhead. We don't know yet if mark's girlfriend's dog is yippy, but from the style of her wardrobe, the number of mirrors lying around, and her list of favoured activities, i'm getting the feeling that she meets the airhead stereotype. That doesn't mean that all people with small dogs meet that stereotype. I just think that THIS one does, and it's not JUST the dog that makes me think that. The dog was just the straw that broke the camel's back.