9chickweedlane | Chin Hands

2-13-2023

I don't remember if Edda and Amos were living together when Mary visited her. I do know that Edda was worried that Amos would see Mary and fall in love with her all over again. Either Mary stayed with Edda and Amos at their place, and also met Seth while visiting him at his place, or else Mary stayed with Edda and Seth and spent several days in Seth's home.

In theory, she would have shared at least one meal with Seth and had a fair amount of conversation. And surely Edda would have mentioned that Seth was her dancing partner and room mate, and would have also mentioned if she'd ever dated Seth. And she also would have mentioned (no doubt repeatedly) that she and Amos were together.

Because unless I'm remembering very wrong Mary didn't just visit for a day. She stayed with Edda. It was multiple days. Edda not mentioning being in a relationship with Amos, Edda not clarifying her relationship with Seth, doesn't make sense.

Seth's opening bit of conversation is helpful to people who aren't long term readers/aren't unhealthily obsessed with this comic. It establishes that they know each other, it establishes how they know each other.

I guess Mary's question establishes that Edda and Seth never dated but I don't know... that that... needs to be established. I also don't know why Seth plays coy pretending he doesn't know what "an item" means unless he's just... steering the conversation back toward reality (she stayed with him and Edda, she should know their relationships).

It's, I don't know, interesting-I-guess that he identifies as "gay" while also being married to a homophobic asshole of a woman who was unrelentingly cruel (and homophobic) to his then-boyfriend. It's verging on "homosexuality is a CHOICE" for me. I wouldn't be as wary of his personal label if he hadn't cheated on his live-in boyfriend with a woman; gotten engaged to that woman while still living with a man who though they were still dating; continued being engaged to a woman who was cruel and abusive toward his recent ex; married a homophobic dickbag of a woman; refused to ever talk to his recently-dumped long term live-in boyfriend over all of this AND if this entire story line hadn't kicked off June 1st. Happy Pride Month, everyone!

Seth has an established pattern of qualifying his gaity with the fact that he has been attracted to women in the past but he's far more attracted to men. The "far more attracted to men" thing is why he never put the moves on Edda (until they put the moves on each other? it was baffling??). Which really kind of... makes it feel even more like "gay is a choice," you know? He chose to be gay then he chose to have wild sex in a bath tub with a hot homophobic Argentinian ballet dancer and get married to her (with neither of their families attending for some reason).

So.

He's established himself as gay to her along with a snarky little comment, like he's trying to hold back her slutty slut ways and keep her from rubbing slut all over him. But... why? Unless Edda called him previously and asked him to come intervene instead of just like... leaving? Unless Edda called him at some point to complain about her slutty slut ex friend who tried to seduce her husband by asking for his autograph and then trying to dance with him at a public place where people gather to dance together?

And the judgement in that statement! "I see you're up to speed on what "gay" means, unlike Edda who was constantly groping me and propositioning me."

And Seth, who just introduced himself to her as a big ol' gay, is at a tango salon... why? Just who is his dance partner and how shockmazed and humiliated will Mary be when sexy sexy ballet dancer cis woman Fernanda Jons swivels her way in?

Mary, if only you were woman enough then you too could have seduced a pasty music nerd with poor hygiene OR a gay ballet man.

Sadly you're just a single adulterer destined to be forever alone... as every single person in this strip is apparently eager to demonstrate.

Some people have made fun of Mary's position in the second panel, the hand thing she's doing. She'd been resting her chin on the backs of her linked hands previously, though, and it's a pretty typical gobsmacked exaggerated motion. Like she'd been leaning forward, cleavage on display, then sat up straight. From Chin Hands to Appalled. It would work better if her previous position had been illustrated more clearly. What's more concerning is the way they're just kind of like bobbing about unmoored to any kind of physical constraint like "height" or "distance from each other" or "distance from the table" or "existence of the table."