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I’m gonna kill her.

I go the Poison, I’ll meet you after the comics over. Sooner if she meets Anthony.

got sorry

No, hold the poison…. She’s not worth it…
*turns away with head held high and hugs both Ike and Rhonda*

*still holding myself from strangling her* just…. want to know how this all will turn out.

given Ike is more feline than equine in his natural and hybrid forms, plus the who “manticore are deadly” thing, i doubt Ike would have much luck with female Buggane’s.

and i think i’m going to like Ike’s Stepdad.. obviously he must really be in love to put with Ike’s mom, but he also seems to be a nice guy.

Mythical creatures aside, this is a very serious thing I have with my mom. Not in public of course, but racism in relationships is strong within her.

“Do you not see what happened to your uncle? He married someone white (we’re Asian) and they divorced. So did your aunt with a black man. They are just not compatible with our lifestyle.”

“I don’t think dating/liking/loving a white guy is going to turn out well. You should find another Asian boy. We have the same values!”

I love my mom, of course, and these words happen once every year or so, but it’s something that bothers me each time it comes up. I feel sorry for Ike, especially since this must have happened quite frequently in the past.

Well, seeing Ike’s utter surprise in response to Rhonda’s initial flirting, he probably haven’t had to suffer this directly pointed against any partner of his before. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lynn has told him this many times over anyway…

“You should find another Asian boy. We have the same values!”

I take it that an answer along the lines of “if we did, this discussion wouldn’t even happen” would be too offensive … ?

Haha, yea. I don’t know if this is common in other families, but if I said something like that I’d probably be disowned in a worse-case scenario, or bitchslapped in a best case. But I wouldn’t say things like that to anyone, anyway.

I’m not mad at my mom for saying these things, but sometimes her traditional “values” are just not relevant anymore, especially since we’re living in a Western society.

She’s much MUCH better than my neighbor’s mom, though. When my neighbor was dumped, his mother asked my mom if I could be his girlfriend. Arranged marr– uh- dating! I agreed with my mom that she was expecting and wanting TOO much out of society.

Aw, geeze, Horace reminds me of the sane, polite spouse/child who’s almost always with the customer having a hissy fit in a store, and how utterly embarrassed they are when they try to do damage control.

“I know you’re hideous.” Oof, Kory, you might be creating one of the worse mother-characters of all time.

I can’t wait for Lynn to encounter Mary Finn. You know, the matriarch of one of the oldest and most respected families in the society of the Avalon and someone to is, herself, the offspring of an inter-species marriage and the mother of two visibly cursed sons whose differences she just accepts as part of who they are.

That would be fun to see.

I’m more waiting for her to meet Alec. It could be rather fun.

Actually, I’d suspect that apart from Alec’s attitude clashing with Lynn’s, the meeting wouldn’t have issues on species purity, as both Lynn and Alec are pure bred.
Of course, with the bugbear radar, such a meeting could well take some time to have the chance to occour.

I’ma slap a bitch.

But seriously though, consider where she’s come from. At one point, Ike’s mom had a relationship with a feline species (Manticorne) and as a result had a crossbreed child and no husband to help her through it.

Then, the only person that seemed to be steady with her is another buggane, and now she has two healthy children with him. Perhaps it’s not because of ‘tradition’ that she wants Ike to date a buggane, but because she doesn’t want him to be alone like she was?

Yeah, I can see Lynn’s logic, but it is so clearly logic that will lead to long-term harm that it’s downright painful to see at play.

I can almost see it if I squint. She insists on calling him by a “proper buggane name.” She objects to him being with a feline, because maybe that means he’s closer to his own more feline side. Maybe she doesn’t want Cyan and Lee to be close to some nebulous culture, she wants Ike closer to their example of a proper buggane household. She’s doing everything she can to basically temper the disadvantage she gave him through her choice of partner by forcing him to identify with the side of the family people don’t shy away from. She’s just…doing it very wrong.

Damn it, I didn’t want to feel sympathy for her.

None of that really excuses the fact that she’s being a straight up bitch though. These are things she could have pulled Ike aside to tell him but instead broadcasts it to everyone.
I’d be surprised if we don’t see the repercussions of her conversation choices in the next page or two…Mostly through Rhonda if she at all decides to react verbally.

Rhonda, I know exactly what you should do:

1) Pat the little brother’s head,
2) Smile at the husband,
3) Give Ike a big old smooch right on the lips,
4) Give Ike’s mom the finger while walking away, dragging Ike bodily if necessary.

1 & 2 are definitely good. 3 is questionable. 4 is definitely no.

Seriously? Rhonda has the higher moral ground here. There’s no need for her to debase herself by purposefully antagonizing Ike’s mother. Sure, Ike’s exasperated with his mom, but that’s something between the two of them. Don’t be an asshole just become someone else is a jerk. People will appreciate you more for it.

Rhonda, why did you have to apologize? You did nothing wrong. Ike, run and hide and elope with Rhonda…

Oh, *wow*. That’s a whole new level of … something. Not quite sure how to word it politely.

Anyone need a halberd all of a sudden?

A halberd is insufficient.
What is needed is a relatively unremarkable, blood and gore caked, silver hammer.

I have one of those…
Minus the gore so far, but the Hammer of Justice trembles with suppressed indignation and rage!
(I am actually an armourer/skilled craftsman in RL…I have a workbench covered with hammers of all sizes and shapes.)

-Badger-

Not a silver hammer. A blocky short handled hammer made of Uru metalm with an enchantment on it that you must be worthy of it to even be able to lift it.

Closer, yes. :)

My dishing hammer is made from a 4 pound sledge.
Not impossible for most to lift.. But its a heavy thing.

The Hammer of Justice is also a World of Warcraft reference.
(I have a Tauren paladin..Don’t really play alliance side.)

-Badger-

Lynn, dearest, your son has already met someone who has been able to see – and push – past every issue that he has. Now, a quick perusal of a map tells me that there are a number of short piers within easy reach of your location – why don’t you take a nice long walk off one?

Horace: That’s actually a good idea. You always feel better after a swim, don’t you dear?

Greenwood, your suggestion for what Lynn should do is somewhat useless, since bugganes have gills.

Reminds me of a line from the computer game “Tachyon: The Fringe”…

“Next time you feel like dropping in, keep walking until you get to the pier, and then drop in.” (Imagine that being said in Bruce Campbell’s voice. The awesome is strong with this one.)

My boyfriends parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses… I’m not a JW and he’s not one anymore. I know that feel, Rhonda. It’s mildly terrible to know that when I marry the love of my life I’m never going to be approved of by his parents.

Some people are toxic, this is an unfortunate truth and it is best to live far away from them. There are books written about this. Too bad he has a toxic mother, I’ve known some people with toxic mothers, and it is a horrible situation.

Oh my god his mom is the worst.

But, reading about this, makes me wonder more about how she screwed Ike’s father. Did he cover his identity with magic or something?

She looks…so horrified. I would be surprised and HAPPY if my son has found a nice girl that looks past his unusual-ness. Good job, Horace; be the good guy. I think Rhonda will like you

Now I’m curious about a few things. Are inter-species relationships a common thing, or are they frowned upon? Do bugganes in general tend to be more “purist” than most other species, or is that just Ike’s mom? Just judging by some of the reactions, Lynn’s behavior seems to be rude but not entirely unexpected by the ones that know her.

Also I find it darkly ironic that the name of this one is “Kill them with kindness” and most of the comments are about the terrible things people want to do to Ike’s mom. Get with the message, people.

Clearly she’s grown more racist over time. Sad, but it happens. More interestingly, her overbearing nature and presence in Ike’s life could easily have lead to him not finding “nice buggane girls” appealing. It’d be interesting to find out if that’s the case.

The really sad thing here is that I completely sympathize with Ike. Lynn happens to have this issue in common with my own mother. Then again, “not in OUR family” racism isn’t all that uncommon in my region. I was just shocked because my mom didn’t seem racist (or ethnic purist or whatever) until it became personal instead of theoretical. I can easily imagine the mix of anger, embarrassment, and disappointment Ike is feeling at his mom’s behavior.

Here’s the crazy part: I still don’t really “hate” Lynn. I certainly don’t like her very much right now, but I’m willing to give her a chance to show some redeeming qualities.

Honestly, killing with kindness works in these situations. As someone who has a family that is Christian (sorta) on my mom’s side and atheist (for sure) on my Dad’s side, we “killed them with kindness” at every family dinner for years. One by one, even the ones who hated us have started to talk and even make friendly overtures. It works. You just have to wait a while. Try it Ike, and you won’t be disappointed at how fast your mother (harridan is a descriptor) at first backs off, and is then confused. Arguing with her is just bringing you down to her level.

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