She needed to tell him one way or the other. Yeah, the group is close, but life DOES move on. Gaming groups DO break up. That’s just how life works. Maybe we’ll see them come back together for a reunion game some time, but this is a very normal thing to happen, even if it can be a gut wrenching feeling.
Honestly, this page’s hover text is the best way to describe the situation: at least she told him. Do you know how hard it can be to tell someone you’re going away for a long, long time? I’ve actually skipped out on talking to people after I moved because I’m just not a very brave person in that respect. Mel, at least, is trying to make sure he knows. She’s probably just nervous about talking to him in person about it.
(This is also a great reason to run online games. I’ve been running online games for friends in Canada and in other parts of the U.S. for around one or two years now. It runs a bit differently, but it’s still fun.)
And it’s the way she told him that stinks. Given their close relationship, she owed him a better explanation than an email.
Of course, Mel has shown herself in the past to be a bit of a coward, so I suppose it’s nothing surprising. That doesn’t make it any less of a rotten way to tell him, though.
I can get what you’re saying. It DOES stink. She SHOULD have approached him in person. But she doesn’t need to be vilified for this. It’s not right, but it’s something she CAN talk about with Sam later still. It’s recoverable. And as I’ve said elsewhere, she’s probably nervous about telling Sam in person because– Well, what were we reminded about a few strips earlier? “Evil Sam.”
So, yeah: she should have done this in person, but I can completely understand why she’d choose to do it this way.
Very undeserved for Sam. At least he now knows who he’s dealing with. If I were him, I wouldn’t spend a cent in sending Christmas wishes to New York…ever! Good riddance, I say!
Just because someone moves away doesn’t mean you’re not friends anymore. They can still keep in contact, especially with our super-connected world.
And can you blame her for not wanting to talk to him in person about this? Besides the normal nervousness associated with telling someone “Hey, I’m moving away for good and I won’t be able to play in your game,” this is SAM. Didn’t Charlie just point out a few strips ago that Sam gets REALLY obsessive about girls in his games? “Evil Sam?” I doubt Mel wants to talk to him face to face about this given that bit of history.
I can understand the thought of, “we may be far away, but still be friends” thing, but I still think she should of said something. Personally I can’t really do friends over distance things because it feels strange to me and less like friends and more like just random acquaintances. She’ll most likely show up again later, but until she visits around the group again she’s just going to be a old friend that maybe he talks to once in a while.
Did I miss some reason for indignation? Does Mel somehow owe it to Brian not to pursue her career? That she did it by e-mail/text is a little sucky, but they had a rocky relationship anyway.
I think a lot of people (including the author based on the general mood and facial expressions) feel like this should have been an in person discussion. You can tell Mel wants to but doesn’t know what to say. And you can tell Sam really wishes she’d told him instead of him getting it second hand. It feels like a breakup rather than her leaving the gaming group, breakups *should* happen in person…even if it’s awkward as hell.
Wax_eagle got it in one I think. While I don’t mind an email if it’s someone who’s just kind of a ransom in my game, if it’s someone I consider a close friend, then an in person discussion is more appropriate. No one is dating Mel shouldn’t pursue her career. They’ve just objecting to how the farewells are being made
Also… Brian?
I believe that’s Sam.
It’s possible this is a Self Insert Moment, but… eh. Doesn’t seem like it. Sam’s never really felt very Self-insertion to me.
I’ve had to move far away quite a few times in my life and I’ve never once not told my friends in person. The only reason not to do it in person is if they really mean that little to you. just leaving or not telling them in person is a very crappy bridge burning thing to do.
Having had to do it myself on more than one occasion, yes I fully understand how difficult it can be.
But if you have any kind of backbone, you do it anyway because your friendship deserves that respect.
Don’t even get me started on close friends/family members who make big and important announcements via text message, or who only ever communicate through Facebook!
I see that mel is still a coward, i doubt that changing city will change that for her.
The problem is that you can’t keep running forever, if she insist in not confronting thigs someday something will confront her, like it or not, and it wont be nice.
Hope she “man up”, decide to be a better person and give a proper farewell to sam and the group.
I don’t think her “running” has anything to do with moving to New York.
She’s figuratively running from any sort of emotional confrontation; the fact that she informs Sam that she is leaving by email instead of something more personal seems to be considered an act of cowardice by several commenters here (myself included).
Honestly I think Mel was always a terrible friend anyway, and Sam should have hit the breaks hard on that relationship the second she kept dating Grey after their little altercation.
Sadly it seems like no matter how much of an ass she is to him, he just keeps trying in earnest to be her friend. Have a little self respect dude! She’s a toxic element in his life, and the less contact he has with her the better.
Sam didn’t deserve this. I had been hoping she changed her mind and deleted the email, so she could talk to him in-person.
Sam has grown over time, but Mel hasn’t, and once again she has done something very hurtful. Perhaps it is best that she is leaving, for both the group and Mel herself. She’s a poor friend as is, but hopefully she will learn to be a better one.
She may very well try to patch things up before she leaves, but (like in real life) it is sometimes best to let certain people drift away for good. It’s clear she didn’t think much of Sam (or the group) to begin with if she decides to leave the group via email, knowing how supportive they are of everyone.
My advice to Sam would be to simply let the friendship with her die, and make no further attempt to continue it regardless of whether she ever returns or not. Be polite, but Sam and the group will be better without.
There’s just some bridges that aren’t worth rebuilding.
For crying out loud… at least pick up the phone and CALL him Mel! It’s one thing to pursue your career, it’s another to inform your friends by a bleedin’ text.
Meh. He was a friend but mostly a gaming friend. I don’t see where they were together much outside of gaming. Not to mention the last time he went all Evil Sam. Talk to the mind flayer, Sam. You got issues.
I’m behind, I’ve been dead, and it took ages to find some diamond dust.
If this means Mel will be written out, I’m glad. I stopped liking her as a character ages ago. Making excuses for her roid raging ex, having an attitude that was just horrible, as well as being a poor example of how to handle emotional stress. She just became a total Tool.
I’m sure many will tell me I’m wrong, or stfu, but I just don’t like her as a person anymore.
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HOVER-TEXT: SHARING IS CARING!
I understand how Mel could feel trepidation in the prospect of telling Sam this, but this still feels like a really low blow.
She needed to tell him one way or the other. Yeah, the group is close, but life DOES move on. Gaming groups DO break up. That’s just how life works. Maybe we’ll see them come back together for a reunion game some time, but this is a very normal thing to happen, even if it can be a gut wrenching feeling.
Honestly, this page’s hover text is the best way to describe the situation: at least she told him. Do you know how hard it can be to tell someone you’re going away for a long, long time? I’ve actually skipped out on talking to people after I moved because I’m just not a very brave person in that respect. Mel, at least, is trying to make sure he knows. She’s probably just nervous about talking to him in person about it.
(This is also a great reason to run online games. I’ve been running online games for friends in Canada and in other parts of the U.S. for around one or two years now. It runs a bit differently, but it’s still fun.)
“She needed to tell him one way or the other.”
And it’s the way she told him that stinks. Given their close relationship, she owed him a better explanation than an email.
Of course, Mel has shown herself in the past to be a bit of a coward, so I suppose it’s nothing surprising. That doesn’t make it any less of a rotten way to tell him, though.
I can get what you’re saying. It DOES stink. She SHOULD have approached him in person. But she doesn’t need to be vilified for this. It’s not right, but it’s something she CAN talk about with Sam later still. It’s recoverable. And as I’ve said elsewhere, she’s probably nervous about telling Sam in person because– Well, what were we reminded about a few strips earlier? “Evil Sam.”
So, yeah: she should have done this in person, but I can completely understand why she’d choose to do it this way.
Very undeserved for Sam. At least he now knows who he’s dealing with. If I were him, I wouldn’t spend a cent in sending Christmas wishes to New York…ever! Good riddance, I say!
Just because someone moves away doesn’t mean you’re not friends anymore. They can still keep in contact, especially with our super-connected world.
And can you blame her for not wanting to talk to him in person about this? Besides the normal nervousness associated with telling someone “Hey, I’m moving away for good and I won’t be able to play in your game,” this is SAM. Didn’t Charlie just point out a few strips ago that Sam gets REALLY obsessive about girls in his games? “Evil Sam?” I doubt Mel wants to talk to him face to face about this given that bit of history.
I’d still send her presents.
I can understand the thought of, “we may be far away, but still be friends” thing, but I still think she should of said something. Personally I can’t really do friends over distance things because it feels strange to me and less like friends and more like just random acquaintances. She’ll most likely show up again later, but until she visits around the group again she’s just going to be a old friend that maybe he talks to once in a while.
Double handy in the third panel? Edgy.
Did I miss some reason for indignation? Does Mel somehow owe it to Brian not to pursue her career? That she did it by e-mail/text is a little sucky, but they had a rocky relationship anyway.
I think a lot of people (including the author based on the general mood and facial expressions) feel like this should have been an in person discussion. You can tell Mel wants to but doesn’t know what to say. And you can tell Sam really wishes she’d told him instead of him getting it second hand. It feels like a breakup rather than her leaving the gaming group, breakups *should* happen in person…even if it’s awkward as hell.
Wax_eagle got it in one I think. While I don’t mind an email if it’s someone who’s just kind of a ransom in my game, if it’s someone I consider a close friend, then an in person discussion is more appropriate. No one is dating Mel shouldn’t pursue her career. They’ve just objecting to how the farewells are being made
Also… Brian?
I believe that’s Sam.
It’s possible this is a Self Insert Moment, but… eh. Doesn’t seem like it. Sam’s never really felt very Self-insertion to me.
I feel like there’s a filthy filthy joke waiting to be made here, but I’m way too tired to come up with one.
Sam certainly shares some of my traits (for that matter all of the cast does, in little ways) but no, he was never a 100% self-insertion.
100% Self-Insertion is my bluegrass Marilyn Manson cover band, FYI.
People don’t understand how hard it is to tell a friend, or a group of friends, in person that you’re leaving. That’s my honest opinion.
I’ve had to do it. Multiple times. Yeah, it can be hard to do, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s the right way to do things.
I’ve had to move far away quite a few times in my life and I’ve never once not told my friends in person. The only reason not to do it in person is if they really mean that little to you. just leaving or not telling them in person is a very crappy bridge burning thing to do.
Having had to do it myself on more than one occasion, yes I fully understand how difficult it can be.
But if you have any kind of backbone, you do it anyway because your friendship deserves that respect.
Don’t even get me started on close friends/family members who make big and important announcements via text message, or who only ever communicate through Facebook!
I see that mel is still a coward, i doubt that changing city will change that for her.
The problem is that you can’t keep running forever, if she insist in not confronting thigs someday something will confront her, like it or not, and it wont be nice.
Hope she “man up”, decide to be a better person and give a proper farewell to sam and the group.
What is Mel ‘running from’, exactly? She applied to a job in New York City and was accepted.
I don’t think her “running” has anything to do with moving to New York.
She’s figuratively running from any sort of emotional confrontation; the fact that she informs Sam that she is leaving by email instead of something more personal seems to be considered an act of cowardice by several commenters here (myself included).
Honestly I think Mel was always a terrible friend anyway, and Sam should have hit the breaks hard on that relationship the second she kept dating Grey after their little altercation.
Sadly it seems like no matter how much of an ass she is to him, he just keeps trying in earnest to be her friend. Have a little self respect dude! She’s a toxic element in his life, and the less contact he has with her the better.
Wow.
Sam didn’t deserve this. I had been hoping she changed her mind and deleted the email, so she could talk to him in-person.
Sam has grown over time, but Mel hasn’t, and once again she has done something very hurtful. Perhaps it is best that she is leaving, for both the group and Mel herself. She’s a poor friend as is, but hopefully she will learn to be a better one.
She may very well try to patch things up before she leaves, but (like in real life) it is sometimes best to let certain people drift away for good. It’s clear she didn’t think much of Sam (or the group) to begin with if she decides to leave the group via email, knowing how supportive they are of everyone.
My advice to Sam would be to simply let the friendship with her die, and make no further attempt to continue it regardless of whether she ever returns or not. Be polite, but Sam and the group will be better without.
There’s just some bridges that aren’t worth rebuilding.
For crying out loud… at least pick up the phone and CALL him Mel! It’s one thing to pursue your career, it’s another to inform your friends by a bleedin’ text.
Meh. He was a friend but mostly a gaming friend. I don’t see where they were together much outside of gaming. Not to mention the last time he went all Evil Sam. Talk to the mind flayer, Sam. You got issues.
I’m behind, I’ve been dead, and it took ages to find some diamond dust.
If this means Mel will be written out, I’m glad. I stopped liking her as a character ages ago. Making excuses for her roid raging ex, having an attitude that was just horrible, as well as being a poor example of how to handle emotional stress. She just became a total Tool.
I’m sure many will tell me I’m wrong, or stfu, but I just don’t like her as a person anymore.