FB Status: It’s Sort of Complicated
February 13, 2017
2:59 am
I figure they’ve probably got one of those dynamics where they call it “hanging out” because neither one has actually cared to evaluate how invested they are, but for all intents and purposes it’s functioning a long-term committed relationship.
Commander is looking extra handsome in these strips today!
Damn, they’re both looking good.
They both clean up rather nicely.
But not Jared. Jared cleans up to look like a wet Jared.
Ditched the chops and goggles for a fancy night on the town.
But if what if he needs to improve his night vision?!
He’s putting himself in a vulnerable state just for her.
I bet they’re in his pocket anyway.
He keeps spare muttonchop sideburns in his pocket?
…Wait, you DON’T?
Doesn’t everybody?
I have a special pocket for mine. Don’t want to get them confused with my keys like that one time.
Trying to start your car with your muttonchops, that had to be an interesting time.
Nah, it was the key to their apartment. Once the mutton chops were out though, the only thing they could do was put them on and punch the door open.
Sounds like somethin’ th’ Cmdr’d do
His chops will grow out at in a few seconds when he activates his manlyness powers.
That’s actually really sweet.
I am going to be 100% honest, when I first saw the strip I thought you’d forgot them. Then my tired, working an extra overnight shift this week brain made the connection.
But… that raises uncomfortable implications though, and doesn’t mesh with what we know of him as a person.
Why is he willing to make himself vulnerable for Jonesy, who likely doesn’t even care if he wears his goggles or not, but he previously was unwilling to do the exact same thing for his ex wife and the mother of his two children who actually did care about it? That’s a pretty asshole sort of move on his part, isn’t it?
What changed to make this behavioral shift possible? We haven’t really seen him undergo any real character development that would explain this, or seen him experience events that would motivate him towards possible or implied character development that happened unseen offscreen. There’s nothing even remotely presented to the reader to explain the inconsistancy of his attitude and behaviors between these two points in time. What gives?
This is either a plot hole that fails to explain how we got to A from B; a retcon which rewrites the canon of the story; or it’s showing us a huge personal failing of his and massive hypocrisy and double standards that someone really should call out to him. Personally I don’t any of those options sounds all that great. :(
There were pictures of him taking off his goggles for his ex-wife. http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/every-girls-crazy-for-a-sharp-dressed-man He clearly is willing to do it for special occasions.
But that would imply he didn’t think her sister’s wedding was a special occasion, which is exactly the problem.
http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/he-just-doesnt-like-talking-about-himself
Hence my complaint. This explanation only serves to raise questionable implications about him secretly being kind of a jackass.
Now, personally I imagine Coela just responded off the cuff to an unexpected question. See, artists, like all creators, make mistakes and create inconsistancies. And sometimes when called on it, they come up with clever explanations to manage those inconsistencies.
But if the new explanation itself raises even more questions than you started with… well, maybe it’s better to not answer a question at all than to give an answer that muddies the waters.
Or maybe it makes more sense in the long run to just admit to artistic goofs (we all human, we all make them, it’s okay! really!) instead of try to explain them away. I dunno! And I am not trying to make personal judgements or be offensive here. Genuinely curious and trying to figure stuff out here.
It’s also possible that the incident with Maddy’s sister’s wedding is the exact reason he’s not wearing them now – he remembers what a sore spot it was for her in the past and doesn’t wanna risk that issue cropping up again. That wedding would have been several years ago, after all.
Or his relationship was already turning sour at the time and he didn’t care about it quite enough to remove the goggles by then. Remember, shortly after he and Jonesy met, he admitted that he’d just finished working through an exceptionally salty time in his life as a result of the divorce.
It’s not a plot hole or broken characterization. It’s just missing context (as it should, considering that strip was just showing us one-off moments in time) and takes place several years later.
I know I act subtly different in certain ways than I did five years ago. Not surprising that the Commander’s the same.
In fact, the fallout with his ex-wife is probably the EXACT reason he has absolutely no motivation to label his relationship now. A bad breakup can most definitely cause a behavioral shift, especially when it comes to future relationships.
Nyzer said everything that I was about to say. The Halloween Mixer may have been when they were still deeply in love while the sister’s wedding thing may have been when the relationship was going south.
It could also have been just a “Pokemon Gym” jerk moment or one of a dozen other reasons. Stuff happens. All of us play the asshole card at some point.
OR, if we go with your theory, we can just acknowledge that decent people act like jerks sometimes, also people change (and can mellow) over time, and sometimes life/relationship stress can ruin a relationship even when you both have the best of intentions.
Or…you could be reading too much into it. Because honestly, in that outfit, B would look like a pretentious asshole if he wore the goggles…and I think it’s a little odd to presume that he doesn’t have a well-developed fashion sense.
It wasn’t a goof, I made a conscious decision not to give him the goggles because
a) I think of him as a reasonably fashionable guy who likes to be well dressed for the situation. Like, he shows up looking appropriately dressed for the event, not ostentatiously attention-grabbing, more like the fashion advice columnists for The Art of Manliness put his wardrobe together.
b) That particular event would have happened at a time when he and his ex weren’t getting along and probably just fighting for the sake of fighting all the time
c) he’s an unreliable narrator and it’s hard to say whether that even actually happened or he was just yanking Jones’ chain because he didn’t wanted to go into the emotional infodump that is why his marriage failed.
I considered putting the goggles on him, and went as far as to include them in the sketch, but left them out when I inked it because I ultimately decided it was more important that he looks like he’s cleaned up to impress his date than communicate that he’s stubbornly refusing to take off his goggles.
Clearly, Jonesy should be wearing the goggles lol
Oh shit so he is an unreliable narrator ?
Wonder how much stuff he’s fluffed in the strip…
Consider this: Everyone is an unreliable narrator. We all have our own stories we’re trying to fit ourselves into.
Dude, it’s his sister’s wedding that’d probably have a few VIPs attending due to her being his sister. I doubt that things like terrorism’s completely gone away in the Commander’s general timeline area.
I was going to make this point – perhaps there was a credible security risk he was worried about.
After all, a random night on the town or even a Halloween party won’t get the same sort of publicity and explicit schedule and location people could use to plan an attack ahead of time.
weddings, in my opinion, are way too overly-exaggerated in terms of protocol. it doesn’t have to be an event in which you dress up all fancy and be all stiff and everything. it should be perfectly acceptable to dress in a dr. rockso outfit, complete with an inflatable cup. but that’s just how i see it. to be honest, i just feel that weddings aren’t made special by what you wear. they’re made special by who you’re marrying.
Im starting to wonder if you guy’s have a sibling…who your actually close with.. Why did it not occur to you that maybe he discussed the goggles with his sister, that she said it was okay? He isnt hanging out with his sister alone, its a large attendance of people.. She may have even told him to wear them without him asking, knowing that it would make him more comfortable. Because for some people, their wedding’s arent just about them, its a family gathering, and making your sibling comfortable at that family gathering is right up there with the cake being just the way you asked for it.
If the commander was my brother, his goggles would be a welcomed sight, and not a sign of disrespect to me, nor would I take it as a sign that he was not comfortable around me. I would expect him to show up as him, with all the trimmings..
Fact of the matter is, we dont know what happened at that wedding, why he chose to wear them, aside from maybe needing to enhance his night vision.. His sister could be the type of person who may play random pranks on him where night vision may be required. Or it could be like from Wreck-It-Ralph where the end wedding had all the soldiers pointing guns at the darn window. (Given that this is a Comedy comic, that seems the more likely reason.)
I went to friends’ wedding that was a barbecue in a backyard and involved the bride and groom leading opposing factions in a silly string war. It was outside and there was also a torrential downpour and a garage full of booze. Everybody – bridal party included – wore sneakers. And yet there were also fancy dresses and suits. sometimes a wedding is a mishmash of dress codes.
I can honestly say that my own brothers, father, and step-father stand a 90% chance of actually being armed whenever I get married. They would agree with commander. The more important the event= more important to be armed. Whether that means possibly needing night vision to hunt a man that said “no” or a zombie apocalypse the world may never know. I’ve just decided to have a gun check at the door, like when they take coats at fancy places but for weapons. I just know someone’s gonna bring a cannon and I am not even joking O.o Long story short, a sibling has known you longer than a lover. His sister probably gives 0 cares about the goggles and has already accepted them as a quirk with him.
Also, keep in mind as a Manly Man, he hates being TOLD what to do/how he should be. From what we know, his (ex) wife had Expectations of him…*her* idea of what he should be and what was appropriate. A similar situation is if he expected *her* to wear revealing clothing at all times and got irate when she chose to dress herself. There’s an old saying, “A woman marries a man thinking he’ll change; a man marries a woman thinking she won’t”. Jones takes him as he is, no expectations, no requirements…he appears to regard her the same. With that level of comfort, it’s easier to push one’s boundaries because it’s *your* choice, not a requirement imposed on you.
Doesn’t he pretty strongly imply that he’s dressing up for himself there and enjoying it, rather than it being something for the wifes benefit?
He plainly said that he enjoyed wearing the fancy suit, it’s strongly implied, looking at the picture, that the both of them were enjoying each other’s company and totally owning the look they gave together.
He is a time traveling super soldier it’s possible he already learned the appropriate lesson.
That’s the sweetest thing
I’m guessing the 5 o’clock shadow sets in before he even rinses his face?
I’m surprised the chops are still gone, he must’ve had a stern talk with them about behaving for the night.
*Commander dressing in front of mirror*
*Close-up shows mutton chops starting to grow back*
Commander: *angrily shouting* HEY!
*Mutton-chops quickly shrink back into face*
Commander: That’s better!
THAT’S WHAT IT WAS
I was wondering why the Commander was looking extra-spiffy and super attractive this time(heh) around.
He is channelling his inner Brando, as is only right.
He shaved his sideburns, so he looks more polished.
I’m sure Jared trusts him, but if the Commander put his very large hands near my face, I would be concerned for the turn my health was about to take.
not a matter of trust for a guy like Jared. it’s more of a matter of childlike innocence to a level that only Jared could achieve.
HAH, “Turn”
I actually thought that was like alternate universe Jonesy and Commander for a second. They both just looked to fancy.
Now we need Jared taking Mr. Fish and the pigeon out for Valentine’s day XD Could you imagine him just chucking boxes of chocoates into his mouth!
Whose mouth? His own, the pigeon’s or Mr. Fish’s? All three mouths? For Mr. Fish, Jared would have to buy a LOT of chocolate…
Clearly they’re just friends. Friends with benefits.
Specifically, the benefits of being in a stable and committed romantic relationship.
“Friends with benefits” has always been a weird concept to me. You’d think that friendship itself was a benefit. Especially considering how many loveless marriages/relationships there are.
This is why I prefer the term “spicy friend”
<3 That's amazing.
I like "friends with benefits" as it seems to clearly imply "a benefit not present in all friendships" rather than that friendship itself is without benefits. :D However, the term has been poisoned somewhat for me by people using that to mean "not-actually-friends who fuck and don't need to be considerate of each other's feelings – because apparently the only feelings that exist between people who have sex are deep romantic ones". -_- -_-
So I certainly don't have a problem with your nitpick, I'm all about the nitpicking.
I’m gonna use tha from now on. Thank you.
In any case, as a time traveler, Rock is doubly aware that collapsing a quantum state into a defined outcome never ends well.
Holy shit you #Brilliant #MagnificentBasterd
Using quantum mechanics as a means of defining interpersonal relationships.
AT LAST A MATHEMATICAL MODEL THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO EMOTIONAL STATES of sapients and sapient decision making and its effects on the chemisty of the constructs that support/anchor them.
Ive always understood that why we feel what we feel actually followed certain guidelines beyond “It just is”. A logic and reason of their own that does not; in point of fact, resemble Logic and Reason as these concepts are usually understood.
This may very well be the brick joke to end all brick jokes:
http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/set-facebook-to-its-complicated
Nope, not even close. 8-Bit Theater had a brick joke that went 9 years. And it was planned that way.
I mean, its gotta be at least an honorable mention for the double whammy.
8-Bit Theatre WAS a brick joke. The whole thing.
they look amazeballs wut
man every week I come here, and especially recently your twitter has made clear that slumps suck, and I try to write something that captures how much I appreciate this comic and they way you do things and being able to engage however one-sidedly with how you see the world, and how COOL you are with your terminatorness and unicornity and desert viking husband apocalypse wedding, super fucking cute overwatch ships and it never sounds like anything other than effusive praise from a random internet stranger.
so here’s some effusive praise from a random internet stranger =p
AND YOUR PIGS
I’m willing to bet they didn’t agree to get dressed up but they both took some time to get a lil fancy for the other without going overboard. Also what’re Jared’s plans for Valentines Day?
Probably a couple hours of Overwatch with his online gaming girlfriend. Either that or asking the team skull girl from a few weeks ago out on a date.
Personally, I’d think that was a step up. Then again, the way Jared was sniping at Red makes me wonder how much better he is.
Man, Commander and Jones look amazing in this comic.
Also, just realized that Jared’s face is a lot bigger than I thought if Commander’s large hand can’t completely cover Jared’s entire face.
Is this the first time we’ve ever seen Jones with her hair down? I think it might be. Things must be getting serious. :-) The Commander’s handling of Jared is great.
It took me entirely too much time to track it down, but this technically also counts: http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/i-dont-blame-her-man-bras-are-not-easy-to-wash
The missing comma in that URL makes the title 10x funnier!
So is Jonesy in such insane denial of the relationship that she’s just standing there pretending not to hear Commander tell jared this stuff right in front of her?
Or she’s in agreement and just a little less prone to grabbing Jared by the face – I’m pretty sure Commander’s ability to short-circuit drama with exactly the right amount of force is one of the things she likes about him.
My cousin has that kind of status. Functioning long-term committed relationship that doesn’t fit any kind of label people try to project onto it. Only time it becomes complicated is when people corner her and demand she put the relationship into words. The complicated part is when she does that it ends up sounding like she’s in a free style poly-open relationship available for a one night stand. Which she isn’t.
Commander and Jones are basically in a mostly platonic romantic more-than-friendship. They mainly hang out and enjoy each other’s company, but also have deeper feelings but don’t want to turn it into a full-on commitment because 1) Jones can’t decide on anything if she actually attempts to but does OK if she just lets things roll and 2) Commander isn’t really ready to “replace” his ex-wife but knows that he won’t be getting back with her and that Jones is his type. They are sort of committed but not really, though this particular strip makes me think Commander wants to be but only so much.
At least, that’s what I get from it.
She has non-jean pants and something other than a white T-shirt. He’s wearing a brown leather jacket and a shirt.
Like, holy shit. That’s the most dressed up I’ve seen either of them.
Then you must have missed http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/every-girls-crazy-for-a-sharp-dressed-man
Props to both of them for demanding it not be rushed – sure, they *could* be going farther, but they’re both more than happy as they are, so why push it and risk a trainwreck?
And lets not forget, Jones is THE QUEEN of abandoned projects and commitments, she’s had more hobbies than you can count, probably jobs too. Calling it anything, anything at all may well trigger that response in her.
I can see their wedding day now “do you Jones, say you will probably hang out with Rochard Lobster at times, probably till whenever?”
That… that is perfect.
I’m totally Jared in this comic.
Okay, now having seen commander without chops, I finally get what you meant about seeing your dad without a beard coela. I simulatneously love this because he cleans up so good, and hate it because its just wrong! He doesn’t look like commander and I hate it.
I love this strip. This strip made my day. My energy levels have tanked, my creativity with it (I have a baby, and I love him but I MISS SLEEP) and this? This perked me up so that for a few minutes, I feel closer to my old self again.
And now, dammit, I’m going to go buy not-Valentine’s chocolate for my actual husband (the way things have been going, I’m not tempting fate by putting a joke not- in front; our relationship is great but Murphy has been fucking with me lately).
Coela: I hereby award you three ram’s heads to do with as you see fit. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Horned_Soay_ram_close-up.jpg (I chose this one because for some reason he reminds me of Commander.)
Methinks “the most chill and drama free relationship I’ve ever had” sums it nicely. And if Commander dress as the Beast and Jones as a modern Belle, I would suspect that it going serious(er). I might be wrong. Or not. Besides, he pulled up the “R” word.
R for Relationship.
But… I like labels! They help me know what foods are in what cans!
I feel like Commander is about to snap Jared’s neck if he doesn’t agree in that last panel.
And it’d be so easy…
honestly it’s hard of me to think of any scenario where Commander would intentionally injure Jared, he’d probably just feel completely terrible about doing it for a bunch of reasons, heck I bet even if Jared was turned into a ravenous flesh eating zombie the Commander would be pretty hesitant to do anything lasting in terms of violence(and not just because he probably can get his hands on several different kinds of zombie cure)
*blush* Whoa… Commander’s pretty good lookin here.
Wow, Commander looks ten years younger without the chops/goggles.
Hey, this is basically me right now!
One of these days, I hope to see the story of how Commander lost that tooth. Because I’m sure it’s a great story.
It might have been that time he tried to get a picture of himself walking away from an explosion and stood too close.
http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/cherry-cherry-sweet-caroliiiiine
Yeah, I thought of that, but the tooth was already missing before that happened.
Only thing I can think of is that it was intentional. I mean, the guy’s literally had his guts restuffed (at least once). They can pretty much fix anything at that point.
It took me a moment to recognize Jonesy like that. Hot damn.
You removed Commander’s sideburns…
…and now he’s hotter.
I don’t understand. How? How this is a thing? The opposite of that is what is supposed to be the thing. Mind = blown.
Commander without the mutton chops?
Makes me wonder… have he and Jack Morrison ever substituted for each other?
I just got Jonesy’s shirt as a Valentine’s day present from my parents, so that makes me happy. Also, hi there, FTWLTR. :)
Wow, can’t even recognize her when she’s all dressed nice.
Better bring a razor on the date. He’ll have a beard by 10.
I genuinely didn’t recognise him at first without the goggles!
i will admit… this mostly makes me wonder if jared will ever find… well… a female counterpart. i dunno if he is mature enough to date, but he would definitely do puppy love very adorably, and goofily.
i want to see the jared crush now. OH MY GOD I WONDER IF SHE WOULD BE A TRAINER. or maybe we just see jared go speed dating….
part of me also wants to see more of jareds secret base that he lives in. assuming he lives there still. where is it anyway? DOES HE LIVE JUST OUT BACK IN THE HILLSIDE BEHIND THE WORK PLACE!? oh my god so many questions about jared i have now. can he get his base expanded? CAN HE GET A CAVERN MANSION AND HAVE A JOKE ABOUT SWEEPING OUT GEODUDES AND ZUBAT?! oh my god.
can we just get exposition on jareds life and how he is doing. there is so much potential in jared. where does mr fish sleep?….. i need to stop thinking, i’m asking too many questions.
Jared already has a girlfriend.
WAIT WHAT.
when did this happen? WAS IT DURING THE END OF THE WORLD!? god dammit i always miss things during the end of the world.
That reminds me. Do we know who Jared’s Internet Girlfriend is yet?
Yes, she’s one of those obnoxious tools who claims to have slept with your mother after shooting you in the face while playing Halo.
Would be an intriguing twist if her claims were true.
So it would be interesting to you if YOUR mother (as in the woman who birthed you) slept with an underage FPS gamer?
I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about the lineart in this page that looks notably different from the usual. I like it.
Daaaaaaamn, looking good :D
A Shroedinger relationship. They might or might not be going out but they won’t know it until the check and they Really don’t want to check.
Wait wait wait. The Commander and Jones are a thing? How have I never noticed this before?
There’s the cuddling on the couch and at the Christmas party, the time they talked about sleeping in the same bed, the time he brought her on his family survival dome adventure, the time they told Angel if they hook up with each other they don’t need to worry about going home with creeps, The time they were on a date while he was in his anarchy suit, The one where he caught her a mammoth after he told her he was going to catch her a mammoth, the time he beat himself up for his own coffee to impress her, and the time they made out while they were arguing about Jem and the Holograms. It’s low key, but it’s there haha
To be fair, something would have caused him to go beat himself up for his coffee the first time anyways, and that doesn’t seem like the kind of thing he’d be using to impress her out of the blue.
But also yes, all that other stuff.
I didn’t get the coffee thing either until she spelled it out just now and I looked back and saw the mouseover text is “we all peacock in our own way.”
Damn! They look hot! Since I discovered this comic years ago my obsession with manly men skyrocketed! Now I shall patiently wait and hope for a Gladiolus cameo…
Not sure how much this applies to this particular page but I just realized: “The punchline is machismo” is funny because it so rarely ever is. Usually the setup is machismo.
I like how the colors of their outfits are switched to the colors that the other one usually wears. Brown jacket and jeans for Jonesey on Rock, and red and black for Rock on Jonesey. Was this on purpose? Because I love it.
as someone with a very jonesy type track record, breaking out the nice jeans does mean something. however i have no interest in evaluating that something.
What is Jones’ track record with commitment? Like, I seriously want to know. Have we ever heard anything about that before?
Every time she’s ever mentioned any interest she’s ever had, the story ends with her dropping it two weeks later. Her etsy candle shop, her roller derby career, her cooking classes, her woodworking classes, her roomba that she bought as a pet because she couldn’t commit to a real animal, she’s got a million oddball skills and life experiences because she doesn’t stick with anything.
We’ve heard about it before, pretty consistently. In the words of the Commander, she’s like a human Swiss Army knife of survival skills.
Some kids, a minivan and a down payment on a house later… nah it’s cool they just really like hanging out with one another. Grandkids come along, other children are going to college and they just then start to acknowledge they miiiiiight just be more than friends chilling out. :P
I kinda wonder if we ever will get a strip explaining how did the commander lose that tooth.
I understand everything now. Rock Lobster was synthesized from Jack Morrison’s DNA. Why does he act the way he does? Gabriel Reyes and Jesse McCree are also possible parents.
I love this. I love it so much.