Did Candi tell you not to see me anymore? 2-27-2012

[esther_eisenhauer]

I think a simple, "Pffft. No. Why would Candi care? She's totally over you." would wonderfully suffice. Katia's been straight-forward and honest the whole time. Why stop now?

Tell him Katia!

YUS! THIS!

[RDrd]

I think a simple, "Pffft. No. Why would Candi care? She's totally over you." would wonderfully suffice. Katia's been straight-forward and honest the whole time. Why stop now?

Tell him Katia!

YUS! THIS!

Seriously, that's about all she can say. So I'm hoping that hte next page will be particularly satisfying.

I don't know. I get that within the context of his history it looks bad but fishing for salve to dab on that wounded pride isn't that unusual a thing to do in this situation. Keeping in mind that on a regular day he would've just flatout accused Candi of coming between them with an addendum about how she's blatantly still not over him I don't know if I'd consider it a step back. If the phrase is usually "Two steps forward one step back" I think that he just only took one step forward this time. Sometimes progress and growth is just one step at a time.

It's really hard to say two steps forward as Alex doesn't seem like he's grasped ANY lesson that's been laid before him. He's continuing to dodge responsability for his douchey actions; he expects the world to work as how he thinks it does. So it actually is one step forward in that he starts to have an epiphany...then right back to square one as he pulls a piece of contradictory idiocy out of his ass making his epiphany invalid somehow.

His pride shouldn't be what was wounded, salve on "It wasn't my prowess" would have been "Cheating on my girlfriend was a dick move, I can see why she wouldn't trust me after that". He's not looking to heal his pride, just avoid having to feel guilty. Although it wouldn't surprise me if he is trying to weedle her into saying "Ah, yes, I have fallen desperately in love with you but your jealous ex is keeping me from you because she wants you for herself, you are just that attractive you lusty hunk of masculinity". And don't forget that this page came after him revealing that he thought sleeping with Katia would "attach" her to him, and he did it despite knowing he was in a relationship so couldn't be with her and left her right after without answering her questions, which is really cruel considering what he thought. (thankfully she was not attached to him)

One step forward, one step back isn't progress. It's ending up where you started. This is still him refusing to take responsibility or acknowledge his faults. Again, it's not that he treated Katia badly/he acted like a dick that means she's not interested- Candi is just getting in the way. He's not asking because he's aware that he treated Candi like shit and any reasonable person would warn her friends off getting involved with him, he still thinks that he was in the right. That isn't "salve for the ego", it's trying to find justification for his messed up worldview.

[ShadeTail]

There are several things his question could mean, but my money is on, "Candi is trying to keep other girls away from me so she can have me all to herself, because she isn't over me yet." I think that's what he wants it to be, because *he* isn't over *her*.

[esther_eisenhauer]

There are several things his question could mean, but my money is on, "Candi is trying to keep other girls away from me so she can have me all to herself, because she isn't over me yet." I think that's what he wants it to be, because *he* isn't over *her*.

This as well. Oy. Fucking. Vey. There is not a facepalm epic enough for how stupid he's still being.

[BenjaminT]

One step forward, one step back isn't progress. It's ending up where you started. This is still him refusing to take responsibility or acknowledge his faults.

I see what you're saying and it's true as far as it goes...but I think others see it as progress in another way. One step forward, one step back IS progress when you've previously made a habit of taking two steps backward with nary a single step forward.

A lot of people were predicting a full onslaught of slut shaming and defensiveness. This is definitely a step or two forward from that. To me he's coming across as a boorish idiot rather than a total asshole. Perhaps I'm taking his last question more sympathetically than I should, but I will really be surprised if Starline has Alex actually lash out at Katia, Candi or even Linda at this point. He is still a judgmental prick with a lot of stupid assumptions but so far he has been letting Katia correct him on those assumptions as he tactlessly asks them rather than attacking her or even simply dismissing her as wrong. Would he have let Candi or Linda get that far in the past? How do you see him handling a similar conversation with either of them? Pretty much the same or better or worse than he acted here?

[BenjaminT]

There are several things his question could mean, but my money is on, "Candi is trying to keep other girls away from me so she can have me all to herself, because she isn't over me yet." I think that's what he wants it to be, because *he* isn't over *her*.

That doesn't make sense when she called him previously pissed at how he had treated Katia. It was only because of Candi that he repaired his relationship with Katia in any way. Besides, I don't think he sees Candi that way. He's said as much to Linda in the past.

I'm guessing he's still a bit dumbstruck that Katia is neither interested in him nor all that upset with him either (I think if she had acted in either of those ways it wouldn't have surprised him so much). Then it suddenly occurs to him that Katia might be acting neither interested or mad because Candi was being a protective mother bear again. That would make sense to him and would jive with his past beliefs about Candi's character. He can picture Candi getting hurt or getting mad but vengeful is something he specifically didn't see as Candi's style.

[Dukat]

He is still a judgmental prick with a lot of stupid assumptions but so far he has been letting Katia correct him on those assumptions as he tactlessly asks them rather than attacking her or even simply dismissing her as wrong. Would he have let Candi or Linda get that far in the past? How do you see him handling a similar conversation with either of them? Pretty much the same or better or worse than he acted here?

I think the difference between how he handled Candi and Linda in the past as opposed to how he's handling Katia now isn't progress. It's that he felt self-assured that both Linda and Candi were more invested in their relationship and dealings with him than he was with them, so he could leverage being an asshole and get away with it. In this situation, the shoe is on the other foot. He's more invested in trying to get something going with Katia than she is in him. His bullying won't work here. It won't get him what he wants, so he's not as comfortable slipping into it. At his heart, Alex is a coward, and I think this just proves it.

[gangler]

I don't know. I get that within the context of his history it looks bad but fishing for salve to dab on that wounded pride isn't that unusual a thing to do in this situation. Keeping in mind that on a regular day he would've just flatout accused Candi of coming between them with an addendum about how she's blatantly still not over him I don't know if I'd consider it a step back. If the phrase is usually "Two steps forward one step back" I think that he just only took one step forward this time. Sometimes progress and growth is just one step at a time.

It's really hard to say two steps forward as Alex doesn't seem like he's grasped ANY lesson that's been laid before him. He's continuing to dodge responsability for his douchey actions; he expects the world to work as how he thinks it does. So it actually is one step forward in that he starts to have an epiphany...then right back to square one as he pulls a piece of contradictory idiocy out of his ass making his epiphany invalid somehow.

I think our disagreement lies at the starting point prior to the two steps rather than where he ended up. If he stopped dodging responsibility for his douchey actions and had that epiphany you speak of then that would pretty much be it. No more steps to take. The journey of a thousand miles that starts with one step would be complete. He did, however in my eyes start that journey today. I don't see how anything he's said today in any way contradicts how well he's been handling this in comparison to his history. We've never seen him handle not getting his own way this civilly before. Not a single time. That he drops a douchey remark into the end of the interaction just means that this is still Alex and not some Alien body-snatcher. He has not grown beyond douchery yet. Doesn't mean he hasn't grown.

[DDR_Ninja]

I think a simple, "Pffft. No. Why would Candi care? She's totally over you." would wonderfully suffice. Katia's been straight-forward and honest the whole time. Why stop now?

Tell him Katia!

XD METSU HADOUKEN!

Seriously, though. I don't know which meaning Alex intended here, but either way, he's displaying just how far out of touch with it he *REALLY* is.

[disappears]

[ShadeTail]

There are several things his question could mean, but my money is on, "Candi is trying to keep other girls away from me so she can have me all to herself, because she isn't over me yet." I think that's what he wants it to be, because *he* isn't over *her*.

That doesn't make sense when she called him previously pissed at how he had treated Katia. It was only because of Candi that he repaired his relationship with Katia in any way. Besides, I don't think he sees Candi that way. He's said as much to Linda in the past.

You're right, Alex said that to Linda, but I'm pretty sure that he was lying. More to himself than to Linda, but even so. I think the real reason he tries to keep tabs on Candi and tried to stop her from moving on was because he hasn't gotten over her yet. He probably doesn't realize it, since he's such an oblivious twit. But somewhere inside, he wants Candi to still be pining for him because he's still pining for her.

[Weltall84]

I don't know. I get that within the context of his history it looks bad but fishing for salve to dab on that wounded pride isn't that unusual a thing to do in this situation. Keeping in mind that on a regular day he would've just flatout accused Candi of coming between them with an addendum about how she's blatantly still not over him I don't know if I'd consider it a step back. If the phrase is usually "Two steps forward one step back" I think that he just only took one step forward this time. Sometimes progress and growth is just one step at a time.

It's really hard to say two steps forward as Alex doesn't seem like he's grasped ANY lesson that's been laid before him. He's continuing to dodge responsability for his douchey actions; he expects the world to work as how he thinks it does. So it actually is one step forward in that he starts to have an epiphany...then right back to square one as he pulls a piece of contradictory idiocy out of his ass making his epiphany invalid somehow.

I think our disagreement lies at the starting point prior to the two steps rather than where he ended up. If he stopped dodging responsibility for his douchey actions and had that epiphany you speak of then that would pretty much be it. No more steps to take. The journey of a thousand miles that starts with one step would be complete. He did, however in my eyes start that journey today. I don't see how anything he's said today in any way contradicts how well he's been handling this in comparison to his history. We've never seen him handle not getting his own way this civilly before. Not a single time. That he drops a douchey remark into the end of the interaction just means that this is still Alex and not some Alien body-snatcher. He has not grown beyond douchery yet. Doesn't mean he hasn't grown.

Actually all evidence has shown he hasn't grown at all, so the "step forward, step back to square one" analogy holds firm. He's still walking around with "Alex vision" and has not stopped to think his way of thinking might be flawed or at the very least admit he's made a series of mistakes and hasn't had the balls to hold himself accountable.

When most people cheat on someone, and realize this and feel truely guilty, they usually try to make amends. In such Alex should have apologized to Katia for "leading her on", and then go deal with the revelation Linda started the seed to Katia is was avaiable to cover up she was cheating on him at the AAA party.

However he just muttered excuses, and left not really concerned about Katia's state of mind, or the fact he wronged her. No he left her in confusion and went to go deal with Linda. While he had the right to ascertain if Katia was right about Linda and confront her; he flubs it because he'd then have to admit he was a cheater too; so instead he allows the "open relationship" for real more to avoid having to fess up he's no better, than face the truth and get things out in the open between them. All he did was give himself an excuse because he couldn't corner Linda like he'd usually want because it would fall back to him admitting he was no better, especially since he only had Katia's word (which we know as true he does not) as ammo so Linda had all the cards in that fight so he wimped out to save face rather than seek the truth and set things properly.

Now he approaches Katia as if his sins against her were washed away by the fact he "now" is avaiable; only Katia's not putting up with that crap; and he's obviously not happy she's turning him down. He even has the audacity to ask if someone's telling her to "not date him", especially his ex whom he wronged the worst out of any of the three women he's scorned in this comic. (I added Linda to the scorned list simply because his douchey attitude obviously had a hand in making Linda finding straying an appealing thing)

Alex still hasn't learned jack; he still has not learned any real lessons; only new ways how to dodge holding himself accountable. Just because Alex hasn't pulled any of the slut-shaming or mega guilt-tripping tactics he's used before here, doesn't mean he's learned anything; he just can't use those tactics here, as he has no ground to gain by it. He actually hasn't been handling this "well" as you put it, he's still stumbling, and fishing for some angle to come out on top or get the desired outcome "he" wants as opposed to "how it really is". Being civil and not absolutely floundering doesn't equate to "handling it well" as Alex is still peppering his actions with nuances of his dumbassness.

Alex hasn't really started any journey of enlightment, even if he attempted the start, he's still at the starting line, which is still "having not moved from zero to one" yet and meaning no real development. As it is, since we haven't seen him actively try to "fix his problems" properly, he's not even at any suitable starting line to start such a journey you've alluded too.

[gangler]

So a "Step forward" to you is if he'd come into the conversation and just suddenly had a paradigm shift and realized that he's a complete asshole douche, stopped dodgeing responsibility and being a jerk, and somehow through what I can only assume would be divine intervention shed his ignorance and be filled with a wealth of knowledge and information he's never had before.


Yes, he's still ignorant. Yes, he's still a jerk. Yes, he's still a douche. Yes, he still dodges responsibility. He's still the same person he was five minutes ago. Doesn't mean this isn't a step in the right direction. Just means it's only a single step. I don't know about you, but I don't generally get where I'm going in less than a couple hundred steps. They're small. Not talking about lunges or flight or motor-vehicle rides. Talking about a step. He was one place in life, and now he's a metaphorical half a foot to the left of that. Not at the other side of town where he needs to be. Just a solid six inches to the left of where he's been so far.

[Weltall84]

So a "Step forward" to you is if he'd come into the conversation and just suddenly had a paradigm shift and realized that he's a complete asshole douche, stopped dodgeing responsibility and being a jerk, and somehow through what I can only assume would be divine intervention shed his ignorance and be filled with a wealth of knowledge and information he's never had before.


Yes, he's still ignorant. Yes, he's still a jerk. Yes, he's still a douche. Yes, he still dodges responsibility. He's still the same person he was five minutes ago. Doesn't mean this isn't a step in the right direction. Just means it's only a single step. I don't know about you, but I don't generally get where I'm going in less than a couple hundred steps. They're small. Not talking about lunges or flight or motor-vehicle rides. Talking about a step. He was one place in life, and now he's a metaphorical half a foot to the left of that. Not at the other side of town where he needs to be. Just a solid six inches to the left of where he's been so far.

I don't disagree, it does take quite a few steps sometimes to just set yourself up to go into the right direction. I don't mean to make it sound like Alex needs "divine intervention" or jsut unnaturally come to the conclusion of where he's gone wrong. I'm very aware from personal experience, stepping onto the right path, and the many branches is not easy. It's just in my eyes I don't even see Alex having done the "pre-steps" to be going in the right direction. So far we haven't seen him going in the "right direction", which I admit is a variable that is often based on personal preferance. To me the right direction for Alex is to self-admit "he's not as awesome as he thinks he is", as well as start apologizing to the people he's wronged because of his actions, as well as come clean to Linda and then break it off with her instead of continuing the farce he's created to hide the fact he's also a cheater and unreliabile boyfriend.

Right now I just see Alex skirting things as he always has, and right now since Katia's pretty much turned him down he's fishing for info about "what Linda did" to undoubtedly have ammo to attack her and "vindicate she was cheating on him so it's okay I ended up cheating too" mostly likely.

However this is just my opinion and I welcome Alex to do something in the comic to change it; so far nada, zip, zero, zap. Maybe right now I just feel it's too soon to say Alex is going in any right direction as the right direction to me has not become clear yet. Maybe his current plans will lead him there, just right now I don't see it.

[BenjaminT]

Right now I just see Alex skirting things as he always has, and right now since Katia's pretty much turned him down he's fishing for info about "what Linda did" to undoubtedly have ammo to attack her and "vindicate she was cheating on him so it's okay I ended up cheating too" mostly likely.

That seems like a lot of mind reading to me. You don't have to be fishing for info in order to attack her to be curious who your g/f was making out with. He probably realizes he gave up the right to attack at this point...but that doesn't stop the curiosity. Honestly it'd be hard for me to resist asking, too.

He already knows she cheated on him. I don't see how he'd assume that knowing who it was with would give him more ammo or vindicate him any more than he already has attempted to.

[BenjaminT]

BTW, I came across this image and immediately thought of Alex not being over Candi.