My Assistant
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#1
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![]() In the name of the moon ![]() Group: Moderators Posts: 10,337 Joined: 30-November 06 From: MO Member No.: 125 Gender: Female |
Jan 19 2008, 09:04 PM
I know what all of you fans of this comic are thinking. “You bitch! How dare you bash Marry Me!” Now before you start getting your torches and pitchforks ready, at least let me say my peace. Marry Me is definitely not the worst webcomic I’ve reviewed; there’s a lot that are even worse like Dominic Deegan or Questionable Content. Personally the art isn’t too bad even though the faces can get a little weird looking at times.
The thing that hurts this comic is the writing. Bobby Crosby is making an unique move by turning the script into a webcomic and hopes that it gains enough popularity to be noticed and made into a movie. He’s got the first half down, it’s pretty popular though I don’t see why because frankly my dear Scarlet, I don’t give a damn about anyone in this comic. The plot starts off half way interesting in a dorky romantic comedy kind of way: Stacia, a burnt-out pre-nutzo Britney Spears-like pop diva, who’s so romantically frustrated with all her failed relationships who only wanted her for her fame that when she sees a man in the audience of one of her concerts holding a “Marry Me” sign, she brings him on upstage, gets a priest from the audience, and has him marry the both of them on the spot. Now the twist is that her new husband (Guy) was holding the sign for his lesbian best friend (Parker) who is the real fan and had to go pee while this all happened. Doesn’t seem all that realistic, but given that Stacia is an impulsive, emotional, occasionally not that bright girl who seems to live in her own little world since she’s been under her daddy’s thumb her entire life, I can see why she’d do something so rash and believe everything would turn out alright until the real world comes crashing down on her. Besides, it has the makings of a good satire on the world of pop music and the stars that inhabit it. Sad to say that any potential for satire is thrown out the window for your run-of-the-mill, anime-style, romantic comedy where a “forced” marriage is involved. I’m sure now that there’s someone screaming, “There’s no man-smut, no wonder you didn’t like it.” Bzzz, wrong answer. The thing is that I actually do like romance, not that sappy Sweetest Day crap, but genuine love and affection, it makes me feel happy for the people involved even if they don’t share the same genitalia. The problem is that there is no romantic let alone any kind of emotional tension between Stacia and her new “husband”. Everytime they talk to each other, it comes off like a kid interviewing the prom queen for his grade school news paper. Maybe if Guy actually had something resembling an actual personality beyond nice and listens well he might not be so damn boring. Hell, I don’t even know where he stands with the whole marriage. Does he want out? Does he want to try? Is he only playing along long enough to poke her, dump her ass, and gather his fifthteen minutes of fame? All he does is ask her questions, play the nice guy, and follow her to Africa when she doesn’t want to face her father. The man hardly has a will of his own; the only reason played along with the “marriage” was that he didn’t want people to think he was gay. We can argue that this is more of Stacia’s story than Guy’s, but you must remember this is suppose to be a romantic comedy and one character can’t do all the work. Even telling her to grow a pair and face up to daddy would've made him somewhat interesting even if it totally backfired and we get to relieve the lie detector scene in Meet the Parents. While Stacia gets the better hand in the personality department, Crosby makes a horrible mistake by trying a little too hard to make her likeable. It's the Hollywood type of effort they use to make a female character likeable. You know, when they decide that turning her into a total saint (the kind that works with kids, doesn’t get angry, and loves marriage and puppies) is a better alternative than giving her great personality. In Stacia’s case, not only does she gives 97% of her profits to charity she has multiple charity centers (and one in Africa dedicated to her late mother who she doesn’t even remember.) Charity is wonderful, but maybe it’s just me, but it seems a little out of character when Stacia has proven to be at times out of touch with what's going on and is prone to doing stupid things on a whim as well as being on her charity-hating and domineering father’s short leash. And I get the feeling she was kind of the spoiled, favored child who lived a very charmed life thanks to her daddy’s money; so to me this doesn’t seem like that she'd be the kind of girl that would selflessly give away so much money because she “doesn’t need it.” Hell, I bet you any money Crosby’s going to make either one or both of our potential lovebirds a virgin (I’m going with Stacia on this one). Hate to say this, Crosby, but this kind of effort hurts you more than it helps. The more I think about this, the more I’m coming to terms that Crosby might’ve been taking notes from his artist, Remy’s, work No Pink Ponies for ideas. Both have that struggling mid-twenty romantic couples who act like shy teenagers, a cast that pretty much doesn’t have much personality, both try too hard to make one of their main characters likeable (Remy with Cute Comic Book Guy and Crosby with Stacia), and the only characters who get any real characterization are the cute, dark-haired lesbian chicks. While I do like Parker, I just can’t shake the feeling how much the she reminds me of Maureen (No Pink Ponies): spunk, dark hair, play for the other team and are in love with main female of their series who they gain the friendship of, but will never have. It’s a sad thing, if Crosby and Remy put as much effort into the characterization of the rest of the cast as they did their lesbians, they have a webcomic I'd leave alone. Anyway MM fans, I hope this rant goes through safely and doesn’t get me into too much trouble. And remember if you’re going to burn any effigies over what a meanie I’ve been, my apartment faces the inner complex, not the outer. -------------------- "Bad times don't last, but bad guys do."-Scott Hall
Yes, I'm one of those. |
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#2
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![]() Flipping the fuck out ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Group: Members Posts: 4,133 Joined: 29-June 07 Member No.: 140 Gender: Female |
Jan 28 2008, 06:35 AM
The idea behind this comic really does sound pretty cool. It's too bad that every character but the singer seem to be thrust into the background for no particular reason. As a writer myself, I can understand the want to just focus on one character (it's a hell of a lot easier) but the plot really calls for knowing both of them.
As for the art, it reminds me of those comic excerpts they had in the beginning and end of the W.I.T.C.H series books. As a side note, am I the only one that looked at the 'dedicated to her late mother' page and thought the guy in the last panel looks like Tai from the second season of Digimon? -------------------- "Ye cats, those televangelists from the '90s were right all along!"
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#3
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![]() In the name of the moon ![]() Group: Moderators Posts: 10,337 Joined: 30-November 06 From: MO Member No.: 125 Gender: Female |
Jan 28 2008, 12:32 PMQUOTE (Mysty @ Jan 28 2008, 08:35 AM) The idea behind this comic really does sound pretty cool. It's too bad that every character but the singer seem to be thrust into the background for no particular reason. As a writer myself, I can understand the want to just focus on one character (it's a hell of a lot easier) but the plot really calls for knowing both of them. As for the art, it reminds me of those comic excerpts they had in the beginning and end of the W.I.T.C.H series books. As a side note, am I the only one that looked at the 'dedicated to her late mother' page and thought the guy in the last panel looks like Tai from the second season of Digimon? Parker kinda does now that I think about it. Interestingly enough I got a responce from Crosby himself and he complained that he was confused with parts of my review and didn't like how I spelt stuff wrong (like the singer's name). So I e-mailed him, asking what confused him and tried to clear up what I guessed he didn't get. Then he gets all mad at me because I didn't bother to read through all the comment pages to get the answers about Stasia's past and why she loves charity so much, that the comic "isn't done yet" so I shouldn't bitch about Guy not doing anything, how I don't like "realistic and likable characters", and that my idea of how Marry Me had potiental of being a satire on pop stars, celebrity marriages, and love itself is "boring" compared to his idea. I was going to send him a responce that it would be convient for him to make a bio and\or FAQ page for those who don't want to dig through the comments, that he's had over 50 pages of story and that's plenty of time to give Guy some description instead of just making him the fly on the wall, and that "boring" is in the eye of the beholder, but the I remembered how he accused me of "how I obviously enjoy wasting his time", I decided against writing back to this prat. To tell you the truth, I'm really starting to hate webcomics. Sure there's a few gems, but most of them are crap and their creators are more dillusional than most fanfic writers. -------------------- "Bad times don't last, but bad guys do."-Scott Hall
Yes, I'm one of those. |
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#4
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![]() Flipping the fuck out ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Group: Members Posts: 4,133 Joined: 29-June 07 Member No.: 140 Gender: Female |
Jan 28 2008, 12:39 PM
There are a few webcomics I like, most notably Wonderland, which is admittedly a parody on fandom and Mary-Sues. Maybe there should be some kind of test you need to take before being able to post your webcomics on the internet.
Edit: Whoops, Wonderland link went wrong. Fixed it. This post has been edited by Mysty: Jan 28 2008, 12:40 PM -------------------- "Ye cats, those televangelists from the '90s were right all along!"
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#5
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![]() In the name of the moon ![]() Group: Moderators Posts: 10,337 Joined: 30-November 06 From: MO Member No.: 125 Gender: Female |
Jan 28 2008, 09:14 PMQUOTE (Mysty @ Jan 28 2008, 02:39 PM) There are a few webcomics I like, most notably Wonderland, which is admittedly a parody on fandom and Mary-Sues. Maybe there should be some kind of test you need to take before being able to post your webcomics on the internet. Edit: Whoops, Wonderland link went wrong. Fixed it. I'll check it out. Looks cute. -------------------- "Bad times don't last, but bad guys do."-Scott Hall
Yes, I'm one of those. |
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#6
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![]() Kuhahahaha! ![]() Group: Moderators Posts: 16,329 Joined: 25-July 05 Member No.: 18 Gender: Male |
Jan 28 2008, 10:57 PM
That Wonderland comic looks like ass, to be honest...
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#7
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![]() Flipping the fuck out ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Group: Members Posts: 4,133 Joined: 29-June 07 Member No.: 140 Gender: Female |
Jan 29 2008, 04:01 AMQUOTE (Shmeckie @ Jan 29 2008, 02:57 AM) Eh, the drawings do look pretty bad in the beginning, but unlike bad webcomics, they actually *gasp* IMPROVE! And while it can get a bit fangirlish at times, the writing isn't half bad. Winry Rockbell getting toted around in a carriage by a group of drooling fanboys is honestly one of the funniest things I've seen in webcomics The author, Ehren, automatically gets extra points because she has another site in which she takes Mary-Sue fics (mostly from the Harry Potter fandom) and rips them apart. This post has been edited by Mysty: Jan 29 2008, 04:31 AM -------------------- "Ye cats, those televangelists from the '90s were right all along!"
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#8
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![]() Kuhahahaha! ![]() Group: Moderators Posts: 16,329 Joined: 25-July 05 Member No.: 18 Gender: Male |
Jan 29 2008, 01:45 PM
The later ones still look like ass...
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#9
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![]() Flipping the fuck out ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Group: Members Posts: 4,133 Joined: 29-June 07 Member No.: 140 Gender: Female |
Jan 29 2008, 02:47 PM
Well, I suppose some things that look like ass ARE more fun to look at than others.
This post has been edited by Mysty: Jan 29 2008, 02:49 PM -------------------- "Ye cats, those televangelists from the '90s were right all along!"
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#10
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![]() Kuhahahaha! ![]() Group: Moderators Posts: 16,329 Joined: 25-July 05 Member No.: 18 Gender: Male |
Jan 29 2008, 04:47 PM
Also, I'm failing to see the funny in it. Hell, I'm half tempted to do a CR on it, myself...
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#11
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![]() Flipping the fuck out ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Group: Members Posts: 4,133 Joined: 29-June 07 Member No.: 140 Gender: Female |
Jan 30 2008, 04:04 AM
Eh, you could if you want, suppose, but it really doesn't have that much of a following and the author herself isn't extremely crazy or thinks she's the next great artist as far as I can tell. I defend her writing, but with most things I like, I'm not the one to go to if you want an opinion
It doesn't even have rabid fans that are usual to stuff you do. Unless those entries in the site guestbook count. But I've come to the conclusion that anyone who has enough time to write in a site guestbook anymore needs to be shot dead. Of course, I know you don't give a shit what most people (including me) say, so whatever. This post has been edited by Mysty: Jan 30 2008, 06:25 AM -------------------- "Ye cats, those televangelists from the '90s were right all along!"
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#12
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![]() Kuhahahaha! ![]() Group: Moderators Posts: 16,329 Joined: 25-July 05 Member No.: 18 Gender: Male |
Jan 30 2008, 10:22 PM
If it's a total unknown, then fuck it.
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#13
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Newbie ![]() Group: Members Posts: 7 Joined: 8-April 08 From: Arcadia, CA Member No.: 201 Gender: Male |
Apr 8 2008, 05:10 PMQUOTE (Yaoi Huntress Earth @ Jan 28 2008, 01:32 PM) Interestingly enough I got a responce from Crosby himself and he complained that he was confused with parts of my review and didn't like how I spelt stuff wrong (like the singer's name). It's a proven fact that anyone who calls her Stacia has no brain in their head. Basically every retarded comment on the site includes the word Stacia. QUOTE (Yaoi Huntress Earth @ Jan 28 2008, 01:32 PM) So I e-mailed him, asking what confused him and tried to clear up what I guessed he didn't get. Then he gets all mad at me because I didn't bother to read through all the comment pages to get the answers about Stasia's past My e-mail began like this: ---------------------- Why did you just repeat almost everything you said in your "review"? And almost everything I'd say to you in response would just be repeating things I've said a million times in the comments pages on my site to similar wrong assumptions like yours and criticisms that mostly are just nonsensical. ----------------------- That's not getting mad at you for not bothering to read through the comments. QUOTE (Yaoi Huntress Earth @ Jan 28 2008, 01:32 PM) and that my idea of how Marry Me had potiental of being a satire on pop stars, celebrity marriages, and love itself is "boring" compared to his idea. Another part of my e-mail: ------------------ "The story has some really great potiental to be a great satire on pop divas and how the media loves to hound them until they fall while taking a more biting look at celebrity marriages" That sounds incredibly unoriginal and boring. It sounds like you just got it in your head that Stasia is Paris Hilton and you liked that and wanted a story about Paris Hilton (for SOME REASON) and then as you read further and saw that she wasn't like Paris Hilton, you thought, "No, that's wrong! Why is he making these mistakes in the writing and incorrectly making Stacia not like Paris in some ways?! I want to read about Paris Hilton, not some nice girl who gives almost all her money to charity!" Buy a tabloid or something. ------------------- QUOTE (Yaoi Huntress Earth @ Jan 28 2008, 01:32 PM) but the I remembered how he accused me of "how I obviously enjoy wasting his time", I decided against writing back to this prat. See, this is your problem, you can't comprehend the written word and you misread almost everything (either that or you're a liar). I said that I love wasting my time, not that you love wasting my time: ------------------ Anyway, it's really a waste of time talking to you, but I obviously love wasting my time. ------------------ QUOTE (Yaoi Huntress Earth @ Jan 28 2008, 01:32 PM) To tell you the truth, I'm really starting to hate webcomics. Not nearly as much as I hate them. At least I don't waste my time reading them like you do, though. I instead waste my time with pointless crap like this. |
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#14
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![]() What, me worry!? ![]() Group: Admin Posts: 10,659 Joined: 24-July 05 From: Maim Street, U.S.A. Member No.: 1 Gender: Male |
Apr 8 2008, 06:44 PM
Well, you sure saved your reputation on this forum, Bobby Crosby! And it only took you about two and a half months to get to this. I guess Yaoi Huntress Earth must have been pretty far down on the list of people you had plans to argue with on a public message board because they made the horrible mistake of paraphrasing what you said in an e-mail.
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#15
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![]() In the name of the moon ![]() Group: Moderators Posts: 10,337 Joined: 30-November 06 From: MO Member No.: 125 Gender: Female |
Apr 8 2008, 08:33 PMQUOTE Why did you just repeat almost everything you said in your "review"? And almost everything I'd say to you in response would just be repeating things I've said a million times in the comments pages on my site to similar wrong assumptions like yours and criticisms that mostly are just nonsensical. ----------------------- I did because you said you didn't understand what I was saying in your first post. So I just tried to clear it up as best as I could. The problem is that most people aren't going to want to dig through a bunch of comments to get the answers they need. It would be more usefull if you either did a separate bio page for the cast or an FAQ. The thing is that just because you know something about the character doesn't mean the audience will. They will make their own assumptions with the clues you give them. And since they don't know the jist of who she really is, you can't get annouyed at them for guessing the wrong thing. You say Stasia was raised middle class, but you've given no clues or anything to make us think that. I'm not saying dumb it down or give them their life story in one shot; just let us know in some way. It's a balance. QUOTE ------------------ -------------------"That sounds incredibly unoriginal and boring. It sounds like you just got it in your head that Stasia is Paris Hilton and you liked that and wanted a story about Paris Hilton (for SOME REASON) and then as you read further and saw that she wasn't like Paris Hilton, you thought, "No, that's wrong! Why is he making these mistakes in the writing and incorrectly making Stacia not like Paris in some ways?! I want to read about Paris Hilton, not some nice girl who gives almost all her money to charity!" Buy a tabloid or something. It has more to do with the fact that Stasia was shown from the start as a silly girl who lives in her own little world and does things on impulse without a thought of what the repercussions will be (like her marriage to Guy, dragging her friends (including her very pregnant sister) away on a spur of the moment flight to Africa because she was too scared to face her father, and the fact that she didn't even know which state she got married in) and gets angry when no one takes her seriously. If she can't even care enough about her sister's safety because she does want to face her father, how can she care about all those charities she does? And then she's made into some world-aware saint who wants to help poor people and breast cancer victims. While I'm sure there are plenty of out-of-touch girls who'd help their fellow man, I don't think they'd go as far as Stasia does (giving 97% percent of her profits to charity and such.) I can understand her wanting to fight breast cancer, even for a mom she never knew. To me it felt like it was an attempt to make her likeable then a geniune part of her personality. QUOTE Anyway, it's really a waste of time talking to you, but I obviously love wasting my time. ------------------Then why did you write to me? -------------------- "Bad times don't last, but bad guys do."-Scott Hall
Yes, I'm one of those. |
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#16
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Newbie ![]() Group: Members Posts: 7 Joined: 8-April 08 From: Arcadia, CA Member No.: 201 Gender: Male |
Apr 8 2008, 08:33 PM
It's not paraphrasing when you say someone said the opposite of what they said. It's either a lie or proof of massive reading comprehension problems. Almost everything she says proves that, though.
This post has been edited by Bobby Crosby: Apr 8 2008, 08:50 PM |
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#17
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Newbie ![]() Group: Members Posts: 7 Joined: 8-April 08 From: Arcadia, CA Member No.: 201 Gender: Male |
Apr 8 2008, 08:50 PMQUOTE (Yaoi Huntress Earth @ Apr 8 2008, 09:33 PM) The thing is that just because you know something about the character doesn't mean the audience will. The response to almost everything you say is that the story's not over yet. I could go on and on about that, but you wouldn't understand. It's like reviewing a movie after the first two acts. Which is possible, but not when you act like it's over already and you're wondering why the male lead never did anything of interest. QUOTE (Yaoi Huntress Earth @ Apr 8 2008, 09:33 PM) If she can't even care enough about her sister's safety because she does want to face her father, how can she care about all those charities she does? All of their minds were too clouded with the marriage stuff to even think about Janny's pregnancy. That will be addressed shortly in the comic. QUOTE (Yaoi Huntress Earth @ Apr 8 2008, 09:33 PM) I can understand her wanting to fight breast cancer, even for a mom she never knew. Her mom didn't have breast cancer and Stasia fights all cancer and a million other things. "Anyway, it's really a waste of time talking to you, but I obviously love wasting my time." QUOTE (Yaoi Huntress Earth @ Apr 8 2008, 09:33 PM) Then why did you write to me? Are you serious? Read my quote again -- I OBVIOUSLY LOVE WASTING MY TIME. That's why. I don't understand your confusion. Also, I didn't write to you. I made a comment on some other site of yours where you originally posted this review, then you sent me a long e-mail and I responded. You also apparently took down that review and my comment on the other site. Can't find it now. This post has been edited by Bobby Crosby: Apr 8 2008, 08:53 PM |
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#18
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![]() What, me worry!? ![]() Group: Admin Posts: 10,659 Joined: 24-July 05 From: Maim Street, U.S.A. Member No.: 1 Gender: Male |
Apr 8 2008, 11:01 PMQUOTE (Bobby Crosby @ Apr 8 2008, 09:50 PM) Are you serious? Read my quote again -- I OBVIOUSLY LOVE WASTING MY TIME. That's why. I don't understand your confusion. I'm not trying to speak for YHE, but I'm assuming she thought that was sarcasm, since that's the first thing that came into my mind. That really isn't the kind of thing you'd expect someone to say seriously. If you are serious, then congratulations on your adorable personality quirk. -------------------- |
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#19
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Newbie ![]() Group: Members Posts: 7 Joined: 8-April 08 From: Arcadia, CA Member No.: 201 Gender: Male |
Apr 9 2008, 12:55 AM
How could I not be serious? I'm here, aren't I? I'd have to be one of the stupidest people ever born to even attempt to justify my presence here and say it's anything other than a waste of time. Anyway, 100% serious.
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#20
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![]() Duchess of Fab ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Group: Members Posts: 1,451 Joined: 30-October 07 From: Cruel Britannia Member No.: 163 Gender: Female |
Apr 9 2008, 01:05 AM
Just a little word of advice- People here don't tend to care if you think we're being stupid/mean/not getting it. It's humour. Deal with it.
-------------------- Hooray! That's almost like being gay, except even gayer!~ The Hutch
My new life philosophy is WWRD? (What Would Rorschach do?) Whenever a problem arises I shall punch someone, say 'hurm' and rant about whores and liberals. |
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