Ahh, I get it. Johnny and his gang are literally retarded. THAT'S

you have got to be fucking kidding me, like honestly zach.

>>91126809
I didnt even read the whole thing when I typed this. I didnt think it could get worse and then it fucking did, we'll never get through with this chapter

This was good once, wasn't it? I remember it being good.

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The whole drag and fictional genitalia fiasco in paradox space really showed his true colors.

>>91127076
This comparison should show the middleground he tried to settle for, the pixelated censor over the weird genitalia. It actually enhanced the joke.

But then he soiled it.

>>91126778
This kind of horseshit is everywhere and does nothing to move the plot along, it's just a tip of the fedora to snowflakes.

>>91126778
I understand what Zack was aiming for but frankly it comes off as RJ being incredibly naive and portraying nonbinary-ness as a choice. I'm insulted as a reader by this.

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>>91128257
>portraying nonbinary-ness as a choice

>>91128315
I'm not advocating for it, I'm saying that's how contradictory it is. I thought the point of that nonsense was that it was involuntary.

my problem is RJ always had two characteristics, never talked as far as I remember and has shade face.
You want RJ to be referred to as their/they, fine, it can be that Johnny's not sure or never asked or checked or anything resembling a quick punchline. We don't need to get into the gender politics of tertiary characters

>>91128343
I see your bait. You can't fool me.

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>>91126778
THAT´S IT!!!!
I´m out, I am tired of this motherfucking shit.

>>91128257
in johnny's narrative it's rj having a special moment of self-discovery in the name of metal music

it's a "choice" insofar as they chose to act on that self-discovery

This page reads as virtue signaling not character development.

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YOU ARE NOT A SYSTEM, YOU ARE A SINGULAR PERSON.

Fuck the singular they, and fuck this gay world for supporting it.

Katharevousa is the true way

>>91128438
This post reads as virtue signaling not conversation development.

I'm just bored and done with this comic already. I don't remember when we were dealing with the main plot. I don't remember what the main plot is anymore. Isn't it "What is Max's deal with the trash worm?"

HAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAHAAAA
I was just going to come here and say that I had left the comic for a month or two and reading it all at once was actually pretty good and I didn't feel any of the pacing issues. Now this. HAAAHAHAAAAA

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>>91128449
>Fuck the singular they, and fuck this gay world for supporting it.
Singular they in the face of ambiguous gender is proper English whether you like it or not.

You can whinge all you want about people choosing to identify as having an ambiguous gender but they at least chose the correct grammar for it rather than inventing "xir" "xhan" "thor" bullshit.

>>91128532
I was taught in my AP English 3 class that he/him/his was the proper gender neutral pronoun. This was 6 years ago.

>>91128532
A person is either he or she, or if that person is determined to be special, it.

>>91128532
It's actually "he" but English isn't always something that has official ways of going about it. If our generation choses "they" overwhelmingly then that's how the language is because that's how people speak.

>>91128569
Your AP English 3 class was wrong, or had its own rules separate from that of most of English stretching back to Shakespeare's age.

>>91128586
Like I said you can whine all you want about how people gender themselves but the fact of the matter is, "They" is the proper gender neutral pronoun for a person whose gender is not known. "It" is highly discouraged under all circumstances because it carries connotations of a lack of personhood, as you well know already.

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>>91128532
He is the unknown gender, and the male form of all IE languages is used when there is a mixed group of people.

That's how it is.

They is never singular, as it is literally, properly literally, PLURAL.

>>91128598
Yeah, that's true as well. I'm still waiting for the word "unironically" to be an actual word.

>>91128532
>Singular they in the face of ambiguous gender
It's not "ambiguous gender" what these people are after. A man or woman cloaked from head to bottom is ambiguous. What drives these dolts is a genuine and honest delusion that they're somehow outside the male-female dichotomy, like they could grow a third chromosome or something.

>>91128635
Wrong.

Feel free to look it up. Which source do you prefer? Oxford? AP style guide? Merriam-Webster? Or do you have some superior arbiter of the English language that somehow trumps all the above?

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>>91128639
It's truly true, and also verily true, but I will never accept it for me myself, as I am in the love of the oud tongue.

The English language is the retardest language of they all, if Feewings can be a illegitimate (here meaning legitimate ;)) argument in its implimentative use

>it's "their", not "his"
>immediately calls RJ 'em

comic dropped.

>>91128683
>It's not "ambiguous gender" what these people are after.
Irrelevant. Grammatically it is not known whether RJ is a he or a she, so they're a they. Pure and simple. End of discussion.

>>91128532
Technically, the traditional gender neutral article in the English language is "that".

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>>91128684
I guess I were mistook.

TRLY SRY, my mine man.

You done taught me good how trly fucked we been since vikingr tim

>>91128713
That's not the point. It's not a matter of, "it's not known whether RJ is a he or she", but rather, "it is known that RJ doesn't want to be either a he or she."

>>91128712
Its them. The cousin took them to a concert.

Okay, bigger problem here, does being nonbinary just make you a gremlin? RJ looked completely normal in the flashback, but after they returned fron the concert they just look stupider.

>>91128746
>>91128694
You know, people used to express moral outrage about (You) being used as a singular pronoun much the same way you are now.

http://allthingslinguistic.com/post/146771865157/next-time-someone-complains-about-singular-they

You're not doing anything special or witty by throwing this tantrum, and certainly nothing new. What's particularly annoying is that you don't ACTUALLY care about grammar, you're just using it as a way to seem 'objective' about what's ultimately a political disagreement.

>>91128634
I'm not even that anon who had a problem with "they." It's the one who gets pissy when it's called he or she. If it doesn't like being called it, maybe it should consider going by the term that's an accurate reflection of its genitalia.

>>91128868
>I'm not even that anon who had a problem with "they."
You clearly do, otherwise you wouldn't choose to incorrectly apply the pronoun "it" to a person. If you ever held a position as an editor of anything, you would know that- depending on the style of the publication you're working with- you could use "they", or you could use "he/she", but virtually never "it".

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>it's a /co/ argues about pronouns episode

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>>91128863
Actually, I'm just a linguistic Purist who hates bastardization, or perceived bastardization in this case.

It's why the northern Englishes are my favorite, as they are the most conservative dialects, retaining the most Anglicisms.

I couldn't care less about Nonbinaries. Fags gonna fag.

>>91128952 #
Nah mang, you're reading too much into this. I know they is correct. I'm not debating that.

I'm just saying if someone wants me to treat them special in how I refer to them, that person is going to be an it until it gets its head out of its ass.

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>>91129104
>Then why do you care so much about what I use colloquially

I don't. I'm fully aware persons don't speak as they write. I use, what I believed at the time to be, the neuter they conversationally often.

>>91128988
>Actually, I'm just a linguistic Purist who hates bastardization
Then you better start using old English.

>>91129139
Old English is just a bastardization of Indo European.

It's why I'm studying Lithuanian. Then I can finally be KANGZ

>>91128854
I have no idea and honestly it's so funny

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>>91126778
I hate how everyone is too busy arguing about if Non-binary people should be allowed or not and overlooking the more glaring issue f Zack being an extremely shitty writer given he wasted AN ENTIRE FUCKING PAGE ON THIS STUPID JOKE.

>>91128712
If you use "'em" to be short for anything but "them", you've been using it wrong.

>>91129184
It's impossible for time to be wasted in the pursuit of knowledge, anon.

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>>91129206
I can't even be mad, that gave me a chuckle you cheeky shit.

Oh look Max and his dad are in the crowd scene

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>>91126778
>m-maybe it's a joke
>he's going full SJW on his twitter, literally just to spite 4chan
Alright

>>91126778
Did this ruin a potential character?

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>>91129247
That's cute.

It almost reminds me of ol PNat

>>91129260
Zach is a nice boy who can't think for himself, anon.

He's talented and witty, but he's allowed that to be eaten away by shitty fans. Now his art is bland, and his characters little more than a Token Menagerie

>>91129184
This horse has been beaten to death. At least the non-binary shit is something new to get angry about with this comic.

>>91129247
Also the lead singer is probably the grabby claw lady who crushed the train.

>>91129297
Nah. RJ can hardly be considered a character unless they'll be getting a more active role from now on and I kinda hope not.

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>>91129326
That's fair I guess, I guess I was hoping people would continue cuz I don't give a shit about his views contrary to his writing that still makes me mad.

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>>91129363
>they'll

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>>91129297
No, RJ's been non binary for a while, which was fine.

Honestly, it's better that it's an incidental character trait than something that's made a big deal out of, or was.

I honestly had no problem with inclusivity 5 or so years ago, but I've started to actively cringe at it now that it's so clearly an empty signal against perceived or actual bigotry.

It doesn't even seem like a loving representation of these different characters, but rather a fuck you to people who hate them.

>I put a Moslem girl in a veil in the background of my comic, take THAT racists
>I made sure to put at least one IR couple in the background of every scene just in case people would ever think I'm a racist

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>>91129486
It should be clear that I'm not talking about PNat here.

Zack is not a rabid SJW like, say, Dave Willis, he's just catering to what his fans want.

Zack is very nice.

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>>91129485
Tell me which they are then, smug anime poster

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>>91129557
Boipucci

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WELP TIME TO DROP THIS PREACHING PIECE OF SHIT LITERATURE

>>91129895
Senpai, 2 seconds in google tells me that's a fake image. Why are you pushing it?

>>91129895
>/v/
out

>>91128968
Nobody notices Max and his dad on the background
They're literally almost right behind RJ
Only >>91129247 noticed

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On the one hand, this was a hamfisted and largely pointless page when the comic already has serious pacing issues. On the other hand, I'm enjoying all the asspain it's caused.
>>91129920
>Senpai, 2 seconds in google tells me that's a fake image. Why are you pushing it?
Manufactured outrage doesn't spread itself, you know.

I'm genuinely pretty happy with the inclusion of a nonbinary character and think it's cool that Zack is doing that but

>this was a hamfisted and largely pointless page when the comic already has serious pacing issues

Yup, agreed. Not the time or the chapter, from a storytelling perspective it was one of many terrible choices made this chapter as Zack continues to lose touch with the story he's trying to tell but I still appreciated it desu

>>91131061
It's been known that they're a non-binary trash bag this entire time on the character page, for years I think.

This entire page is just another example of how Zack can't control himself anymore and no longer can just show, but has to tell his readers about everything to earn brownie points for diversity

>>91128854
They're also transblack and started wearing facepaint after the concert

>>91131132
>Black face is okay if you say you're trans race.
Literally became a parody on its own accord.

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>>91129486
>tfw I was the one in the stream way back when that asked what RJ's gender was
>Zack's timid deadpan answer was "RJ defies gender"
>tfw that was a great joke
>this page now

>>91127076
The whole being a Homeshitbag showed his true colors

>>91128684
>The English language has no official regulating body and thus no definitive right or wrong.
The English language is a fucking joke.

>>91131129
Diversity can pass for quality when people are to afraid to criticize it legitimately.

>>91128257
>implying that's not the MOST accurate way to describe it.

>>91128634
>shakey
>knowing a lick of Enlglish
The cunt was awful and just pleb baited with pretty sounding made up words. Shakey was a joke. That he's a corner stone now tells you something.

>>91129895
Is this tweet real. I don't know if I want it to be or not. There's a war of wills as to which out come would be more amusing but less horrifying.

When is pic related gonna happen and with which characters.

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>>91134363

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>>91134363
>Isabel's new spirit can flip things
>she makes like Jean and starts flipping characters' sexual preferences

>>91129551
>Zack is not a rabid SJW
>>91129260

>>91134927
>she flips someone's gender to make a trans chadacter a boy or girl
Was this the true reason behind the flipping power

>>91134383
"did you just assume my sexuality"

>>91128634
"He" actually is gender neutral. Only "she" implies gender.

Weird, and not how people use it now, but accurate. That's why god is referred to as "He." It implies ambiguity. It makes sense from a storytelling standpoint, but in hindsight it should have been the other way around.

>>91128694
I love and hate you, fellow English major.

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>>91126778
I don't know if anyone will pick on Zack for it, but did you guys notice that this page is EXACTLY what nonbinary/transexuals are against?

I mean, the idea that you can just chose it; control it. If he was really nonbinary he wouldn't need some sort of show to enlighten him on who he is. Zack is treating nonbinary with the same logic that a kid choses to be a car after being impressed. Why people aren't shitting on him for that?
Hell, that's not even the first time he did something like that.. remember the "try to control your gayness" page?

Oh, and by the way, is the vocalist of that show the agent that broke the train? kinda looks like her.

Cody getting a cute boyfriend WHEN

>Webcomic that barely updates with one page a week now
>Waste a page on this bullshit

Somebody tell me when the plot starts moving again.

Zack needs to learn about fucking pacing.

>>91134071
>Delete

Learn how to recognize tweets from the fake tweet generator.

>>91131640
In the same vein the funny bandname on the t-shirt is now called back to, just to suck the humor out of it. I expect other background gags to be similarly ruined over the coming years.

>>91138517
Most of his fans who want "representation" haven't put that kind of thought into it. They're mostly teens interested in being morally correct, as they see it. They want to be explicitly told about these things. They largely don't identify as these things and most of the ones that do only chose these things to rebel/see themselves as more virtuous/court attention. These aren't the kinds of people who have put deep thought into their sense of self.

>>91138588
He's not unaware: he pads these things because

A. Running longer = stable incone
B. Padding time = more time to actually figure out where he's going

It's not a coincidence that this keeps happening in webcomics. It's a way to cope with the schedule and benefit financially. And it always, always leads to the comic's inevitable demise.

I miss pretrain paranatural. Getting rid of the book spider was a bad move.

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>>91138828
Book Spider had to die so we could have Breakdancing Turtle. He's hip and fresh, yo!

I've been mulling over this page since yesterday and trying to think of a better way to write this that wouldn't make me groan to see.

I feel eventually RJ's gender would have to come up and it would probably be even weirder to have other characters just accept it without any question or confusion, but I think what bothers me most is something an anon last thread pointed out: the whole top row of panels comes across as one of those Moral Lesson cartoons where everyone is fine stopping the entire flow of the story to dispense a hamfisted explanation of this suddenly very important issue.

Some ideas for making this more natural:
1. Don't have Johnny use the word "nonbinary", have him say something like "RJ is too cool/metal/whatever for gender" or something that reads more like he's ok with it because it's subversive and not because the author thinks he needs to be well-informed of this niche identity
2. Have Ed ask a more general "what is this guy's DEAL" question, leading Johnny to tell RJ's origin story in a way that's not so focused on the gender issue and more on how much the concert changed him, strengthening the punchline image of RJ post-concert while also explaining the gender change as a part of the experience.
3. Just leave the origin story for later, have Ed pause in consideration of Johnny's correction and shrug it off because he's heard of stranger things and/or realizes there's more important shit than dwelling on it right now. Could even lead to a future virtue-signalling scene where Johnny and/or RJ expresses surprise that Ed accepted it so easily and allow for the explanation at a time when there's not already so much shit going on.

I don't know lads I ain't a pro writer but if I'd had to do it I think I'd do it like one of those. Middle school is when a lot of kids really start acting out and try to find an identity that feels right for them so I don't feel like RJ being nonbinary is out of place, but this page feels like it is.

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>>91139001
We no longer Read or Die.

>>91139001
I don't think Zack ever pretended to be "hip" or "with it." Lesbian muslims aside.

>>91139077
The best way to change this page is to erase it. Honestly, would RJ even correct people on that bullshit? i mean, he doesn't looks like the type of person that would go "use my chosen pronouns, you bigot!".

If i were to do it, i would simply make Johny and his friends use 'they/it' (because they know) while everyone else uses 'he' without being confronted like that. No need to explain further.

>>91138826
>more time to actually figure out where he's going

Does he really need any more time? Hitball was drawn out to hell.

THIS IS STILL THE HITBALL CHAPTER

>>91138828
>>91139001
I have to wonder why the fuck Eightfold got replaced so early in the story.

>>91139507
>THIS IS STILL THE HITBALL CHAPTER
Nah you're fucking with me. Really?

>>91139795
Yes really.

>>91139663
To give Isabelle personal drama, probably. Maybe he realized paper powers are a bit OP and decided to work with something that requires a little more creativity. Maybe both.