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 Post Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 1:45 am 
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A lot of people seem to forget, that this is dialogue. Written language is supposed to follow the "rules". Stuff that is spoken, does not necessarily follow that. People say things...oddly when talking at times.

Speaking happens in real time. You want to get across to the other people what you mean at that moment. You can't go back and edit it.

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 Post Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 3:38 am 
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Dodger77 wrote:
GUIGUI wrote:
endplanets wrote:
Zoe is so good at drugs that not only did she catch the dragon she got it to follow her around. So good at all the drugs.

Did I miss something about Zoe and drugs? I have no idea what you are talking about.

"Chasing the Dragon"

I keep forgetting that expression exist. Thanks.

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 Post Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 8:29 am 
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Zillatain wrote:
Speaking happens in real time. You want to get across to the other people what you mean at that moment. You can't go back and edit it.

no but we can make Pete go back and fix wrong use of their/they're/there and misspelled words. ;)

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 Post Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:35 am 
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Dodger77 wrote:
GUIGUI wrote:
endplanets wrote:
Zoe is so good at drugs that not only did she catch the dragon she got it to follow her around. So good at all the drugs.

Did I miss something about Zoe and drugs? I have no idea what you are talking about.

"Chasing the Dragon"

Ok, but the "dragon" was only mentioned AFTER drugs, and it was visible before being mentioned so even that couldn't be misinterpreted. She could have mentioned it off panel, but I think that ruins the joke. Just a coincidence then.

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 Post Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 4:59 am 
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serif wrote:
Ah, but dialog trumps all. You only need to ask yourself, "What would this character say?" and not "What would be grammatically correct?" Turns out, you should be lecturing Zoe's father about grammar.


No. I'm a professional translator. Just no.

Zillatain wrote:
A lot of people seem to forget, that this is dialogue. Written language is supposed to follow the "rules". Stuff that is spoken, does not necessarily follow that. People say things...oddly when talking at times.

Speaking happens in real time. You want to get across to the other people what you mean at that moment. You can't go back and edit it.


When you write spoken dialogue, you will avoid some words that are too fancy for that character. But you do not cheapen the language. Even if "people could talk like this in real life," it isn't real life - it's written dialogue. The reader won't hear it in a spoken conversation, he will read it. It is jarring to see errors.

And so for that reason, Pete obviously does not include errors people might make in real life. For example, people might speak too fast and leave out a word that should be in there - maybe something that changes the context completely. A writer doesn't include such a mistake for realism. Unless it's so that another character can point out a mistake.

Writing "and I" here was Pete's mistake, not the characters.

I wouldn't write a comment about it in the reaction forum. But since people bring it up, I reply.

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 Post Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:39 am 
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Silverwalker wrote:
No. I'm a professional translator. Just no.

And I'm a published writer.
Silverwalker wrote:
When you write spoken dialogue, you will avoid some words that are too fancy for that character. But you do not cheapen the language. Even if "people could talk like this in real life," it isn't real life - it's written dialogue. The reader won't hear it in a spoken conversation, he will read it. It is jarring to see errors.

I actually agree with you to a point, here. I'm so thankful that dialectic phoneticization has fallen out of favor. And we do clean up many grammar errors in writing, mostly because the reader is more aware of them when reading, and anything that gets in the way of the story is a problem.

But, when it comes to very common errors in language use--and this one is very common indeed--it is only disruptive to the highly grammar-conscious among us, and we're generally accustomed to hearing many people speak this way. I tend to be against completely sterilizing grammar usage in dialog, and for this particular construction I normally would respectfully disagree with you.

However, having just reviewed what I know about Zoe's father, I discovered a reference to him being an English teacher, and now I'm completely of the opinion that this is an error that ought to be corrected. :torg:

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 Post Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 7:35 am 
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And I'm a blah blah blah (none of our titles matter).

This is Pete's own creative work, so it flies either way. Just nip his typos and leave the dialogue choices to him :)

I remember when Weird Al's Word Crimes song came out. There were so many linguists out there (incl. University profs) writing blog posts on why he was wrong. So annoying. Just enjoy the show :)

Why can't we all be chill like Stephen Hawking?

(I'm obviously a linguistic hippie)

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 Post Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 11:43 am 
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serif wrote:
Ah, but dialog trumps all. You only need to ask yourself, "What would this character say?" and not "What would be grammatically correct?" Turns out, you should be lecturing Zoe's father about grammar.

*sends Grammer Gorilla to visit Zoe's father*

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 Post Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2020 12:07 pm 
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i am loving this right now, this is the wholesomeness we need right now. thanks Pete. Happy Zoe makes me happy. Torg and Zoe together definitely make me happy. We all knew it would come someday, but I'm glad you didn't pull a Fry and Leela and never really bring it to fruition. And it also makes for a whole new breadth of storylines involving their relationship drama and comedy lol

the Trevors are just icing on the cake. Too bad Zoe's anima didn't get to come back with them. I'm sure it and the Trevors would be best friends (or more?)

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 Post Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2020 3:01 am 
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That's a good attitude for Zoe's dad to have. Especially considering that if he pried more, she'd have to get into the fact that thanks to time-jumping through the history of another dimension, they literally don't know how old they are now. And nobody wants to introduce math into a family reunion

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 Post Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:43 am 
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serif wrote:
Ah, but dialog trumps all. You only need to ask yourself, "What would this character say?" and not "What would be grammatically correct?" Turns out, you should be lecturing Zoe's father about grammar.


See, and the thing is, only in writing (not actual dialog) do people overcorrect themselves to the point of being grammatically incorrect, where they think using "me" is not ever correct.

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 Post Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:33 pm 
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tube_rat wrote:
Ewe hawl lol. Thank you pete.
Yay trevors. If we have to take a hiatus, this is a good spot.

Frankly, this is where the comic should've been when Pete announced he was retiring the first time. All major plot threads are tied up, the gang are in a relatively good place emotionally, their enemies are gone, and their are no major mysteries left.

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 Post Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 3:43 pm 
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zhecht wrote:
All major plot threads are tied up

They are in fact so tightly tied up that the omega pillar is starting to crack.

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