During this year’s Christmas, a friend of mine got mugged and had his nose broken while on the way to buy pot and prescription pills from his drug dealer. I’d have to say his Christmas was a lot worse than anything these guys are talking about.
Aww, that doesn’t seem so bad, but I don’t know if she’s about to continue the story with a sad ending.
If that’s the case, I’d suppose hers is the saddest story so far; you can’t be mad at kids for doing exactly as they always got to do without having been told they were supposed to do differently. Well, you can’t get mad at anyone for that, actually.
waa waa waa, I got all the gifts I wanted and was very happy and someone who was upset hit it from me so as to not upset me. It was the worst Christmas ever.
Nah, it’s gonna continue, “I mean, it could’ve been worse, because the rest of that day was actually really awesome and we had Christmas dinner with the family and all was love and happiness. The end.”
But what if that was actually genuinely her worst Christmas? Maybe not everyone has had some huge trauma that happened to fall on a holiday? Maybe normal “bad things” are still bad, and people still deserve sympathy for going through them? And maybe, just maybe, this is a snapshot indicative of a larger unhealthy relationship between a child who just wanted to be a child, and a man who continuously had unrealistic expectations of her?
True. Taking your point into context I can look back and easily say which was my worst Christmas but I have not had any that I could say were bad. If I was playing this game I would feel a bit of a twit having to say what I think of as ‘worst’.
And to be entirely fair, being old enough as a child to be aware of problems between your parents, but not old enough to really understand them, while having to disguise that from your younger siblings… That’s not really a fun thing to deal with as a kid. Is it life ruiningly bad? No. But it’s still a pretty heavy topic to deal with for what, a 10 year old?
…I kinda hope it doesn’t go that way. I’d love to see a Stepdad in a story that turns out to be actually a pretty cool guy and he was just unhappy that he missed getting to see that magical moment that happens when the kids first open the present.
My own personal Christmas Tragedy probably wouldn’t seem like a big deal to anyone who hasn’t lived with birds for years, but it broke the holidays for my family anyway.
Whew! As soon as I read “stepdad”, I got chills down my spine. Glad it didn’t turn out any worse than this. Sorry, stepdads, I was being prejudiced. (And the “abusive stepdad/-mom” trope is maybe a little overused.)
Funny thing is. Most fairy tales originally used to simply be Mom and Dad, but the evil parent was later changed to Step-parent to make the stories less disturbing and offensive.
Speaking as a stepdad, yeah, it’s kind of annoying that the trope is overused. There is, after all, usually a good reason why the original couple separated. And aren’t most adults likely to be more careful about selecting a new partner who will be introduced to an existing family?
Come to think of it, the “evil step-parent” trope is kind of an implicit argument against ending a bad relationship through divorce.
Many adults are careful. But there does appear to be a very real, statistically-supported “Cinderella Effect”, where stepparents are overrepresented in child homicide and abuse statistics, and children are more likely to suffer abuse and mistreatment from stepparents than from biologically-related parents.
That said, the vast majority of stepparents don’t abuse their stepchildren in any way, and I’m sorry for any attached stigma to you (or other “good” stepparents).
Well, biological parents tend to imprint on their children as babies, and then can go for many years on the don’t-kill-the-screaming-poop-machine hormones. Stepparents come in later when the child is less helpless and thus less cute, and therefore have more choice in how they relate to that child.
In other words, any type of parent can be generally awful to everybody, but biological parents have a hard time being especially awful to their kids, and stepparents don’t have as much of a block there.
Wonder if the hitman will ever drop in on these guys and TRULY give them a Christmas to complain about for years to come… given that they would actually survive the encounter.
what started as possibly my best Christmas, quickly turned into my worst. i was 7 years old and had last seen my father when i was 3. i could barely remember him but on Christmas day when i ran down stairs with my mother my father popped out from behind a couch and shouted “Merry Christmas” i rushed over to hug him not noticing my mother rushing to the phone. apparently he was very drunk, broke a restraining order…and also a window….to get into her house. so not long after seeing my father for the 1st time that i can remember…he was arrested. good times…
On step-parents: My mom divorced my dad, breaking his heart. I was VERY happy to discover he’d eventually remarried. My stepmother loved him til the day he died, probably still does. My biological parents are both dead; she’s still alive, and if/when she finds someone else to love, I wil be happy for her.
tl;dr: My stepmother is my favourite parent.
On worst Christmas ever: if the worst Christmas ever was that you were disappointed because something was almost perfect, but just not quite, that is STILL your worst Christmas ever. Same deal for nonChristmas days. Comparing them with those of others, doesn’t invalidate them, though it invites people to feel it does. It’s also generally depressing talk.
tl;dr: Your worst Christmas is still YOUR worst Christmas. Comparing to others is silly.
These aren’t bad stories exactly. And they give insight into the characters which, if I can keep it straight for long enough, could come in handy later on. Buuut I have to admit that after reading some of the stories told in the comment sections of the first page of the characters “challenge” they just pale by comparison to a great degree.
Part of me feels compelled to tell my own story of holiday hell, but a more prudent side is telling me not to air my family’s dirty laundry.
During this year’s Christmas, a friend of mine got mugged and had his nose broken while on the way to buy pot and prescription pills from his drug dealer. I’d have to say his Christmas was a lot worse than anything these guys are talking about.
unless the comic’s current story ends with the father shotgunning the wife, or leading into a spiral of arguing and divorce.
Divorce isn’t so bad. It is practically a tradition in my family.
…Santa could’ve been an alien, bent on the destruction of the human race.
That’s a whole ‘nother webcomic.
Santa could be controlled by an alien and is repelled only by NERF. Why do you think they’re into weapons manufacturing?
This comic COULD use a bit more Bun-Bun. Every comic could.
Premature dewrapallation is a problem for many middle-aged men. The solution is to have a professional wrap your package.
The key is tightness of the knot.
If you’re unable to unwrap your package after three hours, seek assistance.
Aww, that doesn’t seem so bad, but I don’t know if she’s about to continue the story with a sad ending.
If that’s the case, I’d suppose hers is the saddest story so far; you can’t be mad at kids for doing exactly as they always got to do without having been told they were supposed to do differently. Well, you can’t get mad at anyone for that, actually.
I knew it… Santa is a ninja.
waa waa waa, I got all the gifts I wanted and was very happy and someone who was upset hit it from me so as to not upset me. It was the worst Christmas ever.
oops, HID it from me. Typo.
I suspect more drama in continuation of that flashback.
Nah, it’s gonna continue, “I mean, it could’ve been worse, because the rest of that day was actually really awesome and we had Christmas dinner with the family and all was love and happiness. The end.”
But what if that was actually genuinely her worst Christmas? Maybe not everyone has had some huge trauma that happened to fall on a holiday? Maybe normal “bad things” are still bad, and people still deserve sympathy for going through them? And maybe, just maybe, this is a snapshot indicative of a larger unhealthy relationship between a child who just wanted to be a child, and a man who continuously had unrealistic expectations of her?
True. Taking your point into context I can look back and easily say which was my worst Christmas but I have not had any that I could say were bad. If I was playing this game I would feel a bit of a twit having to say what I think of as ‘worst’.
And to be entirely fair, being old enough as a child to be aware of problems between your parents, but not old enough to really understand them, while having to disguise that from your younger siblings… That’s not really a fun thing to deal with as a kid. Is it life ruiningly bad? No. But it’s still a pretty heavy topic to deal with for what, a 10 year old?
Actually, if this is going where I think it might be going… this is probably going to be the winner, I’m afraid.
The stepdad scared Santa off the roof, put on his coat, and was never seen or heard from again?
Stepdad beat the living shit out of mom later.
…I kinda hope it doesn’t go that way. I’d love to see a Stepdad in a story that turns out to be actually a pretty cool guy and he was just unhappy that he missed getting to see that magical moment that happens when the kids first open the present.
If it helps, my stepdad is a great person. So is my real dad. Yay for parents who manage to split up more or less maturely!
Big ups to my stepmom, who reads this comic and the comments every day.
Lucky! I wish *my* mom were a Starfleet captain.
My own personal Christmas Tragedy probably wouldn’t seem like a big deal to anyone who hasn’t lived with birds for years, but it broke the holidays for my family anyway.
Rest in peace, Blubu.
Whew! As soon as I read “stepdad”, I got chills down my spine. Glad it didn’t turn out any worse than this. Sorry, stepdads, I was being prejudiced. (And the “abusive stepdad/-mom” trope is maybe a little overused.)
Funny thing is. Most fairy tales originally used to simply be Mom and Dad, but the evil parent was later changed to Step-parent to make the stories less disturbing and offensive.
Speaking as a stepdad, yeah, it’s kind of annoying that the trope is overused. There is, after all, usually a good reason why the original couple separated. And aren’t most adults likely to be more careful about selecting a new partner who will be introduced to an existing family?
Come to think of it, the “evil step-parent” trope is kind of an implicit argument against ending a bad relationship through divorce.
Many adults are careful. But there does appear to be a very real, statistically-supported “Cinderella Effect”, where stepparents are overrepresented in child homicide and abuse statistics, and children are more likely to suffer abuse and mistreatment from stepparents than from biologically-related parents.
That said, the vast majority of stepparents don’t abuse their stepchildren in any way, and I’m sorry for any attached stigma to you (or other “good” stepparents).
“And aren’t most adults likely to be more careful about selecting a new partner who will be introduced to an existing family?”
Nope.avi
Well, biological parents tend to imprint on their children as babies, and then can go for many years on the don’t-kill-the-screaming-poop-machine hormones. Stepparents come in later when the child is less helpless and thus less cute, and therefore have more choice in how they relate to that child.
In other words, any type of parent can be generally awful to everybody, but biological parents have a hard time being especially awful to their kids, and stepparents don’t have as much of a block there.
Yeah, this doesn’t bode well for the long-term prospects of this family.
Wonder if the hitman will ever drop in on these guys and TRULY give them a Christmas to complain about for years to come… given that they would actually survive the encounter.
what started as possibly my best Christmas, quickly turned into my worst. i was 7 years old and had last seen my father when i was 3. i could barely remember him but on Christmas day when i ran down stairs with my mother my father popped out from behind a couch and shouted “Merry Christmas” i rushed over to hug him not noticing my mother rushing to the phone. apparently he was very drunk, broke a restraining order…and also a window….to get into her house. so not long after seeing my father for the 1st time that i can remember…he was arrested. good times…
On step-parents: My mom divorced my dad, breaking his heart. I was VERY happy to discover he’d eventually remarried. My stepmother loved him til the day he died, probably still does. My biological parents are both dead; she’s still alive, and if/when she finds someone else to love, I wil be happy for her.
tl;dr: My stepmother is my favourite parent.
On worst Christmas ever: if the worst Christmas ever was that you were disappointed because something was almost perfect, but just not quite, that is STILL your worst Christmas ever. Same deal for nonChristmas days. Comparing them with those of others, doesn’t invalidate them, though it invites people to feel it does. It’s also generally depressing talk.
tl;dr: Your worst Christmas is still YOUR worst Christmas. Comparing to others is silly.
Uh, is this as bad as it gets in their world? Not exactly an episode of The Wire.
These aren’t bad stories exactly. And they give insight into the characters which, if I can keep it straight for long enough, could come in handy later on. Buuut I have to admit that after reading some of the stories told in the comment sections of the first page of the characters “challenge” they just pale by comparison to a great degree.