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Scotty

Story: Friday February 10, 2017

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1 hour ago, Dabat said:

There's a type of freaking out that's so deep that often other people can't tell there is anything major wrong. I've seen in in cancer patients, their whole world is (or might be) so suddenly and rapidly falling apart that they can't process it. They just go about their life doing what little they can, with whatever control they have, until they can process it into words.

So basically, Tedd is in a state of emotional shock, where the full emotional weight is compartmentalized away from the "logic" part of her mind?

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4 minutes ago, ijuin said:

So basically, Tedd is in a state of emotional shock, where the full emotional weight is compartmentalized away from the "logic" part of her mind?

Kind of. For me it was an inability to express myself, and not wanting to attempt to do so until I knew more, rather than locking it away. I just ignored what i couldn't deal with and concentrated on what I could. I can't honestly speak for Tedd, or anyone else for that matter, though.

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1 hour ago, The Old Hack said:

Ah. Yes. I can see that. This sounds frighteningly plausible in Tedd's case. I am very glad she has Elliot to support her.

Elliot is also possibly the best person for Tedd to confide in, in this situation. Aside from them being best friends for half of their lives so far, Elliot is also the only person Tedd knows who would truly understand the whole genderfluid mindset--Elliot has experienced voluntary male/female transformations, and has recently accepted the girl side as part of self rather than alien.

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2 hours ago, ijuin said:

Elliot is also possibly the best person for Tedd to confide in, in this situation. Aside from them being best friends for half of their lives so far, Elliot is also the only person Tedd knows who would truly understand the whole genderfluid mindset--Elliot has experienced voluntary male/female transformations, and has recently accepted the girl side as part of self rather than alien.

I could see an argument being made for Grace, but she'll love Tedd no matter what, and would tell her so. "Do whatever makes you happy" doesn't help much when even Tedd doesn't know what will make her happy.

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41 minutes ago, Wanderer said:

Wait, wait, wait... Elliot doesn't know about Tedd's mark? He thinks Tedd still uses the watches? Why hasn't Tedd ever told Elliot about the mark?

This is only the Monday after the date with Ashley; the only possible chance Tedd would have had to mention the mark was when everyone was talking with Mr Verres in the aftermath.  And, well, no way in hell would Tedd have wanted to discuss that in front of dad....

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59 minutes ago, Dabat said:

A could see an argument being made for Grace, but she'll love Tedd no matter what, and would tell her so. "Do whatever makes you happy" doesn't help much when even Tedd doesn't know what will make her happy.

Hmm, I don't see Grace really having a "genderfluid" mentality so much as an "agender" mentality. What I meant was that Elliot is the one person who could possibly relate to Tedd's internal struggle over what gender to be. Ellen has had a bit of gender dysphoria too, but she chose to go for fem and not turn back, so to speak, whereas Tedd and Elliot have wrestled with the question in more of a back-and-forth manner.

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48 minutes ago, ijuin said:

Hmm, I don't see Grace really having a "genderfluid" mentality so much as an "agender" mentality. What I meant was that Elliot is the one person who could possibly relate to Tedd's internal struggle over what gender to be. Ellen has had a bit of gender dysphoria too, but she chose to go for fem and not turn back, so to speak, whereas Tedd and Elliot have wrestled with the question in more of a back-and-forth manner.

That was exactly my point. Grace will want Tedd to be happy, and will love her no matter what. But for all of Grace's good intentions this is something she can't relate to. Elliot can.

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9 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

But are they are the only ones who know about this secret private conversation venue? Well, Ashley knows, obviously. Who else might come upon them, perhaps overhearing some of the secret private conversation?

If this is the same location as the Dec. 31, 2013 through Jan. 13, 2014 comics, then Elliot and Tedd are standing right outside one of the Girls' washrooms -- and it doesn't look like either of them have checked to see whether anyone is inside or nearby, this time.  Often schools also have a Boys' washroom either in the same hallway or just around the corner. 

It seems to me like a really, really, really bad location choice for this conversation. 

Though I don't think Dan is going to have anyone overhear them.

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32 minutes ago, Asari said:

If this is the same location as the Dec. 31, 2013 through Jan. 13, 2014 comics, then Elliot and Tedd are standing right outside one of the Girls' washrooms -- and it doesn't look like either of them have checked to see whether anyone is inside or nearby, this time.  Often schools also have a Boys' washroom either in the same hallway or just around the corner. 

It seems to me like a really, really, really bad location choice for this conversation. 

Though I don't think Dan is going to have anyone overhear them.

Mens and Womens restrooms are usually close to each other to share the same plumbing arrangements. This is also why the drinking fountains are usually close to a restroom.  This makes a good visible clue if you're searching for a restroom in an unfamiliar building and the restrooms aren't very obviously marked.

Since Moperville North is actually based on The Shive's actual high school in Naperville, Illinois, He might well be basing this place on the real thing. Since this takes place in the morning before classes start, few students should be upstairs. It's already established that early-arriving students usually gather in the cafeteria or by the lockers next to the cafeteria, so it should be safer than most other places which aren't likely to be locked.

It's still a public place, though, so it doesn't offer more absolute safety than the blind spot in the mall bookstore where Elliot transformed for Ashley. The Shive is in fact free to introduce an unrevealed witness to that later, just as The Shive is free to let Elliot and Tedd to talk for a week or more about Tedd's crisis with no (apparent) witnesses.

You know, if he doesn't get a full-time-gig as a monster slugger, Elliot should consider becoming a therapist.

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3 hours ago, Dabat said:
4 hours ago, ijuin said:

Hmm, I don't see Grace really having a "genderfluid" mentality so much as an "agender" mentality. What I meant was that Elliot is the one person who could possibly relate to Tedd's internal struggle over what gender to be. Ellen has had a bit of gender dysphoria too, but she chose to go for fem and not turn back, so to speak, whereas Tedd and Elliot have wrestled with the question in more of a back-and-forth manner.

That was exactly my point. Grace will want Tedd to be happy, and will love her no matter what. But for all of Grace's good intentions this is something she can't relate to. Elliot can.

The thing is though, Grace has been instrumental in Tedd learning about being genderfluid and figuring out what she's been feeling and such. Sure gender doesn't matter for Grace as her attraction to Tedd isn't physical attraction, but mental attraction. But at the same time, Grace will be concerned about the reasoning for Tedd doing this and the fact that Tedd hasn't told Edward of this decision, I'm really hoping that Grace picked up on Tedd's request to not tell Edward about her mark and magic insight as Tedd being worried about how he'd react to it. Grace would not want to see a wedge driven between Tedd and Edward.

As for Elliot, yes he's Tedd's best friend, but I don't see how he could understand Tedd's situation any better than Grace, Tedd as far as we know, hadn't ever confided in Elliot about why she likes girl forms as much as she does. Yes, we recently saw Elliot accepting his female forms, but I don't think that translates into "I fully understand why Tedd does this now!" because they are completely different situation, Elliot wasn't the one being bullied about his appearance, or has a parent that shows disapproval beyond the type of outfit Cheerleadra should have. Elliot's seen this, but I don't think he knows just how much it was affecting Tedd. I think Elliot would want Tedd to talk to her dad first about this just like Grace would. I think Elliot would believe that if Tedd decided to remain a girl and not tell Edward, only bad things could happen when Edward did find out. Edward once described Elliot as being Tedd's voice of reason. I hope we see Elliot continue to be that.

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11 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Attention:  The eighteen year old dangerous rarity kid at MNHS.  You must now chose exactly what you want to be for the rest of your life.  The window of opportunity for you to make this selection could close at any time without warning.  Whichever option you choose has advantages and disadvantages.  Will you regret the decision you make (or fail to make) tomorrow?  Next week?  Next year?  In ten years?  Twenty years?

 

It's ridiculous to demand that kind of decision from kids on any issue.  But we do it on many issues already.  For which job do you wish to apply?  What kind of job training do you wish to take?  Do you want to apply to college?  To which schools will you send an application?  What will be your major and minor?  Are you considering military service?  In which branch will you serve?  Are you a compulsive liar?

 

they actually ask the first question of noncis children irl, with the added question of whether or not it is worth giving up reproductive capabilities for possibly the rest of their lives also

shit's all real and heavy yo

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17 hours ago, The Old Hack said:
19 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Wait. His mark should be working even without ambient magic.

Some marks would. Tedd has very, very little direct magic of her own without the ambient magic to help her, which makes it different.

1) Really or does she just THINKS she has little own magic?

2) Gauntlet. Seriously.

17 hours ago, The Old Hack said:

Tedd's problem is what she wants her default body to be.

Obviously. But note that she already has pretty good idea how to make permanent change device.

To repeat: loss of ambient magic is hardly problem. Magic reset, without knowing details of dangerous rarity, is.

16 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

That makes me wonder why Voltaire didn't just try to kill Tedd, but there might be some Immortal Rule against killing Seers, or simply that just killing Tedd wouldn't be as interesting.

Tedd spent lot of time in Edward house, which is full of all sort of protections. Voltaire already complained that getting anything done is HARD. It's possible he wasn't able to attack Tedd directly. Alternatively, he NEEDS Tedd but in bad state.

11 hours ago, The Old Hack said:
11 hours ago, Dabat said:

I can't be the only one who wants to give Tedd a big hug right now and tell her it's all going to be ok. Dysphoria is literally indescribable to someone who has never had to live it. The thought of being granted a 'treatment' (don't know what else to call it) like Tedd's mark and then being told my every use is risking it's loss would be devastating to me.

You are not alone. Tedd has had her entire rug of dreams and ambitions yanked away from under her and she has to deal with this on top of everyone else. What is strange is not that she is making plans for a worst case contingency but that she is dealing as calmly with it as she is.

I'm not sure about the dysphoria but I definitely want to give her hug due to the lost of her dream of making magic available to everyone.

 

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7 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

To repeat: loss of ambient magic is hardly problem. Magic reset, without knowing details of dangerous rarity, is.

To clarify: It does not matter what WE think. Tedd thinks the danger is real. That means, for all practical intents and purposes, that to her it is.

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17 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

It's very credible that Tedd would be quite depressed over having to choose what sex he'd be stuck as, and worrying how this would affect his relationship with Grace and his Dad and Elliot and maybe Sarah. I'm wondering why The Shive decided to address this right now, especially in a Friday comic. Friday comics are supposed to imply more to come, and this one seems to imply a lot more discussion about these issues coming up.

Tedd won't be stuck in either sex - the TFG will still work, as it isn't magic. But apparently in Tedd's mind, being a boy temporarily turned into a girl isn't the same thing as being a girl, and vice versa. She recently (Saturday evening) gained the ability to actually change sex, not just have a temporary enchantment, and now she's aware of a risk that she'll lose that - and pursuing her other ambitions would significantly increase that risk. Perhaps, even, already has.

12 hours ago, Dabat said:

I can't be the only one who wants to give Tedd a big hug right now and tell her it's all going to be ok. Dysphoria is literally indescribable to someone who has never had to live it. The thought of being granted a 'treatment' (don't know what else to call it) like Tedd's mark and then being told my every use is risking it's loss would be devastating to me.

Tedd using her mark, in and of itself, does not increase the risk. Particularly if she carefully keeps separate populations of "people who know male!Tedd" and "people who know female!Tedd" with minimal overlap. What increases the risk is increasing the number of people who have access to magic. Increasing the number of people who know about magic, probably increases the number who will stumble onto a way to access it, and so is to be avoided but isn't as big a deal as, say, handing out magic watches on a street corner.

I'm very slightly genderfluid centered on gender-neutral. I've had mild dysphoria for as much as half an hour at a time, maybe a half-dozen times in my life. (Twice since I learned enough to recognize it for what it was.) There is no way I consider this comparable to what a trans person deals with, but let me tell you, it still sucks.

19 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

But note that she already has pretty good idea how to make permanent change device.

In a magic reset, everything Tedd currently knows about magic may suddenly be wrong.

She'll have an easier time learning the new ways than most people, but she had to actually see his own permanent-sex-change spell in action before she thought she knew how to make a permanent-change device. And she might not (probably wouldn't) have that spell after a reset.

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I don't believe Tedd's thinking very clearly.  She said she is at school as a girl because she wants to decide whether she'd rather be stuck as male or female.  The problem is she is in a very boyish form and wearing boy's clothes - so everyone is going to treat her as though she's a boy.  

IRL when a person is considering sex reassignment, the doctors typically have them dress and live as their desired gender for an extended period of time.  This is intended to help them get an idea what it will be like before they permanently alter their body.  Tedd has kind of turned this on its head - she's altered her body but is going to school as a boy!

My guess is that her emotions are getting in the way of her thoughts.   She also does not have an option to go to school as a girl, unless she went as someone else.  Maybe Sarah would agree to a switch for a day or two?  I'll bet that Ashley would do it but a) Tedd doesn't know her that well yet and b ) Elliot would be weirded out by it. :)

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3 minutes ago, Circe said:

IRL when a person is considering sex reassignment, the doctors typically have them dress and live as their desired gender for an extended period of time.  This is intended to help them get an idea what it will be like before they permanently alter their body.  Tedd has kind of turned this on its head - she's altered her body but is going to school as a boy!

What seems strange to me about that, is the fact that females have no issue with wearing clothes that males could wear. Like in terms of cross dressing, a male could wear a skirt and it'd be enough to be considered out of place by most people (unless they're in Scotland and it's a kilt, or course), females can wear pants, a button up shirt, a suit, whatever and no one would reasonably question it, for a female to really be considered cross dressing, they'd have to really make themselves physically look male. Back when MNHS was dealing with school uniforms and Susan was considered cross dressing by wearing the uniforms assigned to the male students, I found that to be really odd because it really wasn't any different than what she normally wore to school and no one considered her cross dressing then.

So why would a person considering gender reassignment have to be compelled to wear dresses?

Yeah, Tedd does seem to be relying on change blindness to avoid getting caught, but that's probably more to do with the desire to not get caught and have her dad find out.

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It's not the wearing dresses per se so much as it is being thought of and treated as the desired gender. Tedd should spend some time in public (away from school) in "enhanced-girly" mode--as long as she has boobs and curves that are clearly not fake, and does not openly tell anybody not-in-the-know that she is the same person as male Tedd, then almost nobody would suspect who she was.

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4 minutes ago, ijuin said:

It's not the wearing dresses per se so much as it is being thought of and treated as the desired gender. Tedd should spend some time in public (away from school) in "enhanced-girly" mode--as long as she has boobs and curves that are clearly not fake, and does not openly tell anybody not-in-the-know that she is the same person as male Tedd, then almost nobody would suspect who she was.

That would give a skewed perception of things though, being anonymous would give a false sense of how others would react, at least it would at this point in time. Going to school where a number of people know you is going to be a completely different experience. A decision like this would be easier going into college than being halfway through senior year. At least with going into college anyone who might have known Tedd from high school can be told that she made the transition over the summer (to avoid suspicion of magic) and it's unlikely that everyone that knows of Tedd would end up going to the same college so it would be like getting a new start. As it is, Tedd would have to deal with Tony and others like him and that may be hard on her.

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2 minutes ago, Scotty said:

That would give a skewed perception of things though, being anonymous would give a false sense of how others would react, at least it would at this point in time. Going to school where a number of people know you is going to be a completely different experience. A decision like this would be easier going into college than being halfway through senior year. At least with going into college anyone who might have known Tedd from high school can be told that she made the transition over the summer (to avoid suspicion of magic) and it's unlikely that everyone that knows of Tedd would end up going to the same college so it would be like getting a new start. As it is, Tedd would have to deal with Tony and others like him and that may be hard on her.

I think you have it backward. Now, Tedd should be going full-female in places where she is not known to be male, to see if she wants that experience normally once she goes on to college.

Going full-female to high school where lots of people know him, would give a skewed perception of what college will be like if she "transitions" over the summer.

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2 hours ago, The Old Hack said:
2 hours ago, hkmaly said:

To repeat: loss of ambient magic is hardly problem. Magic reset, without knowing details of dangerous rarity, is.

To clarify: It does not matter what WE think. Tedd thinks the danger is real. That means, for all practical intents and purposes, that to her it is.

2 hours ago, Circe said:

I don't believe Tedd's thinking very clearly.

I think if Tedd would be thinking logically, based on information she has, she would only fear the magic reset AND would not consider it imminent.

However, she apparently does NOT think logically, so your (Old Hack's) note about danger being real for her is true.

13 minutes ago, Don Edwards said:
15 minutes ago, Scotty said:

That would give a skewed perception of things though, being anonymous would give a false sense of how others would react, at least it would at this point in time. Going to school where a number of people know you is going to be a completely different experience. A decision like this would be easier going into college than being halfway through senior year. At least with going into college anyone who might have known Tedd from high school can be told that she made the transition over the summer (to avoid suspicion of magic) and it's unlikely that everyone that knows of Tedd would end up going to the same college so it would be like getting a new start. As it is, Tedd would have to deal with Tony and others like him and that may be hard on her.

I think you have it backward. Now, Tedd should be going full-female in places where she is not known to be male, to see if she wants that experience normally once she goes on to college.

Going full-female to high school where lots of people know him, would give a skewed perception of what college will be like if she "transitions" over the summer.

I would say that ANY perception you would be able to get in few days without legal change would be skewed. Tedd has much more options than people considering sex reassignments, but getting unskewed perception in single day is not among them.

That said, she definitely should try the enhanced-girly anonymous option. But even the school experience may not be completely useless - perhaps by trying multiple skewed options she would get something close to realistic perception.

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5 hours ago, Scotty said:

...why would a person considering gender reassignment have to be compelled to wear dresses?

That is a good question, but I think institutional sexism in the standards of care is beyond this thread.

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1 minute ago, banneret said:

That is a good question, but I think institutional sexism in the standards of care is beyond this thread.

So, I just asked a friend of mine who's trans-female and currently in the transition process if her doctor had suggested she wear girl clothes for a while:

Quote

Couldn't. Didn't have the clothes or anything. Also that doesn't necessarily help. Some people think they might be and try that but they figure out that they aren't but like cross dressing. Which is fine too.

Besides. Clothes don't have a gender.

She agrees that Tedd wearing those clothes would be because she didn't want her dad to know.

Apparently copy/pasting from Discord retains text formating, hehe.

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11 hours ago, Don Edwards said:

I think you have it backward. Now, Tedd should be going full-female in places where she is not known to be male, to see if she wants that experience normally once she goes on to college.

Going full-female to high school where lots of people know him, would give a skewed perception of what college will be like if she "transitions" over the summer.

Letting people know that the girl Tedd is the same person as the boy Tedd will only result in said people reacting to the trans-ness rather than to specifically Female Tedd.

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