Ménage à 3 IV: It's All Coming to a Head

[Eldan]

Hm. That explains a lot, then. Even just getting a learner's license involves a lot of hoops and money (medical examination, first aid course, written exam in traffic rules, handing it to your local administration so they can check if you're an actual citizen, etc. etc.). I know a lot of people who just didn't bother to get one until their mid-twenties when they needed one for a job.

[Avilan the Grey]

Hm. That explains a lot, then. Even just getting a learner's license involves a lot of hoops and money (medical examination, first aid course, written exam in traffic rules, handing it to your local administration so they can check if you're an actual citizen, etc. etc.). I know a lot of people who just didn't bother to get one until their mid-twenties when they needed one for a job.

Exactly, plus driver ed is what? The equivalent of $80 an hour? It's the cost in SWeden.

[Kato]

Exactly, plus driver ed is what? The equivalent of $80 an hour? It's the cost in SWeden.

Yeah, driver ed is freaky expensive... at least in Germany, too.


So... Apparently getting drunk also makes Gary lose his shame. Like, entirely. Even if that stewardess was very politely keeping away he knew she was there...
Also, did Gary in the last panel realize what I think he realized?


sidenote: What happened in the last panel of the latest DC?

[Domochevsky]

Yeah, this must be a private flight. The entire plane for themselves and some crew, with free access to fruity alcoholics. Also, bonus score for Mile High Club references being made in-comic as well now.

(Admittance: I have no idea what this Mile High Club is. I presume it's a movie. >_>)

[Traab]

Yeah, this must be a private flight. The entire plane for themselves and some crew, with free access to fruity alcoholics. Also, bonus score for Mile High Club references being made in-comic as well now.

(Admittance: I have no idea what this Mile High Club is. I presume it's a movie. >_>)

Not sure if you are kidding, but the Mile High Club is made up of people who have had sex while in a flying plane. Hence, being a mile high. And yeah, private plane huh? That does explain things. lol

[The Succubus]

sidenote: What happened in the last panel of the latest DC?

Chloe looked to her left at what she thought was a window and thought she saw Pandora outside. She then realises it's actually a mirror.

[datalaughing]

It suddenly occurs to me that this could be very bad for Gary. We know from previous experience that when you go somewhere with Senna, Senna isn't particularly concerned about how you're going to get home again.

[Wraith]

We know that he ends up in Paris with Sandra, as well as Senna, and she's nicely paid now. Given how warm her happy-to-see-you attitude was, she'd probably be enough of a friend to spare him a plane ticket.

(Admittance: I have no idea what this Mile High Club is. I presume it's a movie. >_>)

I honestly thought that this was an international expression.
Apologies if it was too ambiguous for you guys who have other first languages; I assure you, had you recognised the phrase the first time round, it would have been pure comedy gold. Honest.

[Kato]

And yeah, private plane huh? That does explain things. lol

She said in the last comic it was a private jet... but it still seems weird of Gary to act like that. Then again, alcohol and stuff.

Chloe looked to her left at what she thought was a window and thought she saw Pandora outside. She then realises it's actually a mirror.

Ah, so that star was the metaphorical penny dropping..? I assumed something like that but it just... looked kind of weird?


On a side note, is it just me or has Ma3 become... more safe for work. Not entirely but that speech bubble probably isn't there by coincidence and back when we had the "It' impossible for DiDi not to be seductive" comics it also was quite harmless.
(Then again, I don't know why showing nipples is more erotic than showing... well, people having sex or other body parts but still)

[The Glyphstone]

I'm half wondering if this is going to turn out to be a huge, bizarre dream sequence for Senna, waking up on landing to find Gary still ranting about Transformers or something.

That, or it's real and Gary will, upon sobering up, drop into unbreakable catatonia.

[Traab]

I'm half wondering if this is going to turn out to be a huge, bizarre dream sequence for Senna, waking up on landing to find Gary still ranting about Transformers or something.

That, or it's real and Gary will, upon sobering up, drop into unbreakable catatonia.

I dont think gary would have a break down anymore. He has seen hot women nude, he has had sex with hot women, several of them. He has progressed quite a bit from the early days of the comic where a fully clothed yuki sitting on his face was enough for him to black out.

[Felius]

On another note, I do think that Senna might mean to give him exactly the same on the hotel...

[Werewindlefr]

I think today's strip might be the last I read from this comic. I know it's not entirely confirmed that Gary is too drunk to consent and that Sienna is more in control (but it's more or less how it feels here). However, this is a murky and controversial strip at best. I was reading this comic for the sex-positive mood, but now it's making me ill-at-ease at best.

[Dragonus45]

So am i the only person who has noticed that this is kind of a very date rapeish scene? Not that i think that Gary is entirely unwilling but it is straddling a line.

[Eldan]

Given the comment before yours? No. And it's making me feel uneasy, too.

[Traab]

Its two drunk people going at it like, well, two drunken people. Gary might be drunker, (he is) but she aint exactly stone cold sober. Hell, in the last comic she wanted two more of those drinks, and both have those little drunk squiggles with their speech.

[Werewindlefr]

Its two drunk people going at it like, well, two drunken people. Gary might be drunker, (he is) but she aint exactly stone cold sober. Hell, in the last comic she wanted two more of those drinks, and both have those little drunk squiggles with their speech.

That's the issue, though: it feels like Sienna is not so drunk that she is unable to consent, but it's clearly implied that Gary is. The degree of drunkeness does matter. Because it's not entirely clear to what degree each of them are able, or not, to consent, I'm having a nuanced reaction to it: it's controversial, somewhat murky, and makes me feel ill-at-ease. It doesn't belong to a light-hearted, fun comic strip series because it's not easy to dismiss that something very wrong is being made fun of.

If this was a more serious comics about sexuality (such as QUILTBAG), they could have explored the implications and the different sides of what happened with the attention it deserves. Here, it just feels like the sort of stuff Extra Credits criticizes all the time: lazy writing, that doesn't realize the implications of the narrative.

In other words: if Gisele doesn't want to enter the waters of controversial topics and gray morality, she should take care to steer away from them. Sexuality is a subject full of reefs.

[Olinser]

Keep in mind as well that while it is stupid and naive, Gary isn't actually really aware that he was drinking, or that he is drunk. He may very well be putting it down to a fear high.

[Traab]

That's the issue, though: it feels like Sienna is not so drunk that she is unable to consent, but it's clearly implied that Gary is. The degree of drunkeness does matter. Because it's not entirely clear to what degree each of them are able, or not, to consent, I'm having a nuanced reaction to it: it's controversial, somewhat murky, and makes me feel ill-at-ease. It doesn't belong to a light-hearted, fun comic strip series because it's not easy to dismiss that something very wrong is being made fun of.

If this was a more serious comics about sexuality (such as QUILTBAG), they could have explored the implications and the different sides of what happened with the attention it deserves. Here, it just feels like the sort of stuff Extra Credits criticizes all the time: lazy writing, that doesn't realize the implications of the narrative.

In other words: if Gisele doesn't want to enter the waters of controversial topics and gray morality, she should take care to steer away from them. Sexuality is a subject full of reefs.

And the way I see it is you are looking too deeply into it. Its supposed to be a funny comic where gary and senna get drunk and have wild monkey sex on a jet plane. Had it been written with clear implication of her trying to get gary drunk to take advantage of him then I would agree. It just seems to me she got him a drink to calm him down, which turned into three, she joined in, and they both lost control. To the point where she wasnt even aware her world getting rocked wasnt garys (total lack of) skill, just the plane landing.

[TinyMushroom]

I'm not sure how I feel about leaving for a week of two and coming back to even more characters getting smashed and having sex because of it. (I find it kind of a lazy reason to have two characters getting it on, not to mention the issues with Senna giving him alcohol despite him specifically telling her not to.)

[Shadow of the Sun]

I dont think gary would have a break down anymore. He has seen hot women nude, he has had sex with hot women, several of them. He has progressed quite a bit from the early days of the comic where a fully clothed yuki sitting on his face was enough for him to black out.

You're forgetting that Senna is, to my knowledge, a non-operative transsexual.

That might be enough to cause a breakdown.

[t209]

Yeah, this must be a private flight. The entire plane for themselves and some crew, with free access to fruity alcoholics. Also, bonus score for Mile High Club references being made in-comic as well now.

(Admittance: I have no idea what this Mile High Club is. I presume it's a movie. >_>)

All I know is that you get point for every mile you fly and able to stay in lounge (Me and my family usually rested in lounge after return trip from Burma to America).
edit: Reading Wikipedia about "Miles High Club" (NSFW). Sorry about the mistake.

[Coidzor]

We know that he ends up in Paris with Sandra, as well as Senna, and she's nicely paid now. Given how warm her happy-to-see-you attitude was, she'd probably be enough of a friend to spare him a plane ticket.

I'd say that her habit of ceasing to care after she's gotten what she's wanted is very likely part of why he's still in Paris.

I dont think gary would have a break down anymore. He has seen hot women nude, he has had sex with hot women, several of them. He has progressed quite a bit from the early days of the comic where a fully clothed yuki sitting on his face was enough for him to black out.

He's about to get raped because he can't say no unless the narrative rescues him before they get to a room.

Who knows? Maybe Sandra is the person who rescues him and he's stuck working off that debt?

I think today's strip might be the last I read from this comic. I know it's not entirely confirmed that Gary is too drunk to consent-snip-

He's drunk. Therefore he's too drunk to consent. But that's not nearly as much of an issue (in terms of the narrative) as his inability to stand up for himself, express himself, or say no.

[Benthesquid]

All I know is that you get point for every mile you fly and able to stay in lounge (Me and my family usually rested in lounge after return trip from Burma to America).
edit: Reading Wikipedia about "Miles High Club" (NSFW). Sorry about the mistake.

You're thinking of various rewards programs, generally called Frequent Flier Miles.

[Werewindlefr]

And the way I see it is you are looking too deeply into it. Its supposed to be a funny comic where gary and senna get drunk and have wild monkey sex on a jet plane.

It stops being funny when it touches on the "rape is comedy" trope. I have no respect for the "it's just entertainment" excuse.

[Dragonus45]

And the way I see it is you are looking too deeply into it. Its supposed to be a funny comic where gary and senna get drunk and have wild monkey sex on a jet plane. Had it been written with clear implication of her trying to get gary drunk to take advantage of him then I would agree. It just seems to me she got him a drink to calm him down, which turned into three, she joined in, and they both lost control. To the point where she wasnt even aware her world getting rocked wasnt garys (total lack of) skill, just the plane landing.

Well did you ever consider that if this gender was reversed and gary was a woman it would be considered much less of a "funny comic" . I'm trying to judge this strip from a perspective that doesn't find even a hint of rape funny.

[Wraith]

Well did you ever consider that if this gender was reversed and gary was a woman it would be considered much less of a "funny comic" . I'm trying to judge this strip from a perspective that doesn't find even a hint of rape funny.

While in this example I would agree, I think the current application to Gary and Senna depends on how you read the previous strip.

To me, it didn't read like Gary was getting more and more confused and disorientated, but instead as he drank more his confidence was increasing. At the very beginning he was too terrified to even move and hold a conversation with Senna.
After a couple of drinks, he relaxes enough to start sharing his pass times and hobbies with her. After a couple more, he opens up personal details about his failed relationships to date. After seven, it genuinely looks to be like he has pulled her into his lap - Senna's speech seems to be as much surprise as anything, and he gave her 'such pleasure', again which I read in a domineering sense.

He's even lucid enough to recognise what he's doing, because he knows that it's a new experience ("Didn't do this with Sonya") so his perception and memory seem to be unimpeded.

Okay, admittedly "get drunk and your sex life will improve" is not a particularly good moral for any story, but my interpretation is a long way away from "Gary is too drunk to consent and Senna is taking advantage of him".

[Traab]

It stops being funny when it touches on the "rape is comedy" trope. I have no respect for the "it's just entertainment" excuse.

But its not rape. Its two drunk people having sex with each other. Or do you think every couple that hooks up at the bar at last call should be arrested? Had this been a scenario where one or the other was sober, I would be more willing to go along with your view. But they arent. They are both hammered and horny.

[Benthesquid]

But its not rape. Its two drunk people having sex with each other. Or do you think every couple that hooks up at the bar at last call should be arrested? Had this been a scenario where one or the other was sober, I would be more willing to go along with your view. But they arent. They are both hammered and horny.

But Gary didn't choose to be drunk. He pretty clearly was unaware of what it was that he was drinking.

[John Cribati]

But its not rape. Its two drunk people having sex with each other. Or do you think every couple that hooks up at the bar at last call should be arrested? Had this been a scenario where one or the other was sober, I would be more willing to go along with your view. But they arent. They are both hammered and horny.

Consent is a dodgy thing, but generally speaking, people who are under the influence of a mind-altering substance are not considered able to give consent.

And sex without consent is the very definition of rape.