NP Comic for Saturday, Jan 20, 2024

[Darth Fluffy 338]

NP Comic for Saturday, Jan 20, 2024

In the commentary, Ashley gets the blame, but they are both thinking about it. Should say "Of course their minds go there."

Kevin states an obvious thing they've done before, and probably should have thought of. He offered a good suggestion! WoD at the bottom of the commentary is that Kevin, not Tedd, said that because sticks are easy to draw. This I can believe.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,619]

 

Ashley urgently needs an outlet for her naughty thoughts & fantasies.

Can we reboot somthing like the Benny Hill show and make her a writer?

 

[Darth Fluffy 338]

1 hour ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Ashley urgently needs an outlet for her naughty thoughts & fantasies.

Can we reboot something like the Benny Hill show and make her a writer?

In the earliest comics, Tedd is a horn dog and Elliot is not far behind; Sarah and her hammer are the voice of moderation. In short order, the tone of the comic changed. It came out over the years that Tedd's girlfriend, Grace, did not know what sex was; apparently all they do is cuddle. Sarah complained that Elliot took no initiative in their relationship, meaning, in context, that Elliot was not taking things further. (He did more in one scene with Nanase while they were still dating than he ever did 'on screen' with Sarah). Elliot and Ashley get into situations where they are attracted to each other, then decide to put things off. The only overt relationships that I can recall are Ellen and Nanase, and possibly Diane and Lucy (not counting older adults, such as Edward and Lavendar).

That Grace and Tedd may only be cuddling might be why she is comfortable shipping Tedd and Elliot.

Sarah seems conflicted that Elliot shows initiative with other people; from Elliot's perspective that 'she's like a sister', it makes sense.

Justin and Luke seem to do little more than hang out in the store occasionally. They don't know each others habits yet (Luke explaining why he parked in the parking garage and walked over).

Ashley doesn't seem to want her fantasies to actually happen, and is mortified when they do. If she's a good match for Elliot, it is in part because he does not seem threatening to her. She doesn't want an outlet.

This whole comic feels like it needs to get laid, no?

At least Adrian is getting some action every now and then.

[Amiable Dorsai 70]

One of my hoped-for storylines  would be for Grace and Lavender to have a long talk about the Uryoum "birds and bees."  

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,619]

 

Uryoum Birds and Bees?

Do they lay brood parasite eggs like Cuckoos?

Do they have a hive with only one breeding queen?

I never really understood the "Birds & Bees" metaphor because most human reproduction has little to do with either. 

 

[Darth Fluffy 338]

'Birds & Bees'

Bees are extremely weird. They essentially have three sexes. A single female egg laying queen - in many species she can be capable, and kick starts the colony, but even there, once established, she turns into an egg laying machine. Male drones that contribute sperm one time that the queen then stores for the rest of her life. They do no work in the hive, they don't sting, so they can't defend, they even need assistance eating. Then they mate and die. At least in the case of honey bees, the sexual function is basically subverted; it is supposed to shuffle the gene pool, but the queen mates with siblings as the swarm from a single hive. Then there's the nominally female worker bees, that basically do everything for the hive. Again, honey bees - queens and workers come from the same female larvae. Which they become is determined by what they are fed; larvae that become queens are fed 'royal jelly' which promotes them. I have never seen a detailed write up on how this happens; but the workers are involved; the royal jelly is produced in their bodies in a fashion analogous to honey. So functionally, they are a third sex that the hive needs.

It gets weirder. One distinct ingredient of royal jelly is pollen. Plant sperm is required to produce a bee queen.

Oh, the workers can also lay eggs. These become drones. I do not know if only workers, not queens, can produce drones.

The hive as a composite organism uses a subverted sexual process to clone itself.

 

'Birds & Bees' in EGS

Roaisol seyunolu - bird and bee. Might well be prone to eating relatives from the bee side of the family.