Containment Random Thoughts & Questions

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asperhes said:
Chris has always believed that dating is a step-by-step levelling up process. You start as acquaintances, then become friends, then move on to dating, then become sweethearts. Chris spent weeks talking to Catie before their first date. By this time he had become smitten with her and assumed they'd be together forever, but (I'm guessing) this is only because Catherine didn't put any roadblocks in the way, for the sake of the trolling experiment. In a normal situation, a woman would have sent out signals to get Chris to back off from his marriage fantasies. Catie was "nice" to Chris, but this doesn't mean she was willing to say anything that would have caused Chris to get discouraged. I'm sure he put out feelers every step of the way, and saw nothing but green lights. Catie never said "I love you" like Julie did, but she never said, "You're moving too fast, you need to back off." At least, not until Applebees had been accomplished. Chris made assumptions he had no evidence for, but a normal woman would have corrected him very quickly. Catherine was deliberately trying to be nice and polite to Chris, to contrast Jackie and Kacey, but the drawback to this was that Chris thought she was a sure thing. So the 97% on OKCupid was only a first step. Then Chris had to go through his checklist to get to the bonus round, and from his perspective this was going as planned.

This is speculative, but I'm pretty sure this is what the Catherine emails and texts will reveal, based on what we've already seen. Maybe he was pushy at the bowling outing, but I want to see the earlier correspondence for context.
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It probable that you're right - although I'm also sure that there will be further claims that the Catie trolling is a 100% accurate simulation of what would happen if Chris dated a non-troll woman (and thus proof that Chris is a danger to all women, etc). Hopefully we'll get the bowling date and the setup eventually.
 
Absinthe said:
It probable that you're right - although I'm also sure that there will be further claims that the Catie trolling is a 100% accurate simulation of what would happen if Chris dated a non-troll woman (and thus proof that Chris is a danger to all women, etc). Hopefully we'll get the bowling date and the setup eventually.
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Right, but the overcommitment is something he tends to do with everyone. Real women like Wallflower and Megan. Bitchy trolls like Kacey and Jackie. Nice trolls like Ivy, Julie and Catie.

I am usually really on board with the idea that it's not fair to compare how Chris acts with trolls, who are fake women designed to make him act a certain way, and how he would act with normal people. But pledging his undying love early on? I don't think that is just part of his attitude.

I think it comes from this:
1. He really, really wants a sweetheart. One that he is with forever.
2. He has been on the sweetheart search for more than a decade and almost made no progress.
3. He doesn't see a lot of difference between women. They are all very similar in his mind.

So why wouldn't he "fall in love" right away? Is he really going to leave some girl who will have him and spend another decade looking for another girl who is virtually the same in his mind? He has the sense to recognize he will stay with a girl as long as she will have him. So for him every interaction with a girl is like that rare time where you meet someone or go on a first date and think right away "Wow, this person is amazing. I could really fall for them".

He doesn't have the sense to realize when to say it.
 
Absinthe said:
It probable that you're right - although I'm also sure that there will be further claims that the Catie trolling is a 100% accurate simulation of what would happen if Chris dated a non-troll woman (and thus proof that Chris is a danger to all women, etc). Hopefully we'll get the bowling date and the setup eventually.
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Well, spergs gonna sperg. If they come here to sperg about it, I'm hopeful people will set them straight.

However, Chris didn't handle the Wallflower turning him down with much tact either.

I hope people have the sense to know that Chris isn't a danger to women. However, he is crossing lines, even in situations we didn't manufacture, like with the Wallflower.
 
Marvin said:
Well, spergs gonna sperg. If they come here to sperg about it, I'm hopeful people will set them straight.

However, Chris didn't handle the Wallflower turning him down with much tact either.

I hope people have the sense to know that Chris isn't a danger to women. However, he is crossing lines, even in situations we didn't manufacture, like with the Wallflower.
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The Chris Mace Carol aside, people sperging over Chris have been funnier than Chris himself for a long time.
 
Did Chris enjoy PVCC at all? It seems that it wasn't much fun for him apart from trying to get a sweetheart and anime attacking his Dean.

Given just his record with dealing with life, did Bob +Barb actually think he was ready to deal with a community college and all the "stress" that such a place would entail? Or, in the alternative, did they just decide PVCC was a reasonably priced place where they could get Chris out of the house for a little while?
 
LollysStokeWorth said:
Given just his record with dealing with life, did Bob +Barb actually think he was ready to deal with a community college and all the "stress" that such a place would entail? Or, in the alternative, did they just decide PVCC was a reasonably priced place where they could get Chris out of the house for a little while?
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There's not much stress at a community college. Not any more than high school, anyway.

It was probably a stab at getting Chris something for his resume other than "scared a kid at wendy's once".
 
LollysStokeWorth said:
Did Chris enjoy PVCC at all? It seems that it wasn't much fun for him apart from trying to get a sweetheart and anime attacking his Dean.

Given just his record with dealing with life, did Bob +Barb actually think he was ready to deal with a community college and all the "stress" that such a place would entail? Or, in the alternative, did they just decide PVCC was a reasonably priced place where they could get Chris out of the house for a little while?
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Bob and Barb really wanted to ignore his autism as much as they could and hoped for a mainstreaming miracle. Public high school was willing to deal with this illusion from them, but PVCC was the glass ceiling for his mainstreaming. It took him 6 years to get a 2 year degree, he had no job or any outside distractions that would have prevented him from getting it in 2 years. He was just too stupid and lazy to handle all the work. Chris should have been guaranteed to get into any VA state school after completing his associates*, but he didn't even try, Why do you suppose that is?

*that's how it works in VA, if you graduate from a virginia community college you are guaranteed admission to one of the VA's state colleges. See here for more info.
 
TaterBot said:
About that 97% match on okCupid: it's obviously a set-up, carefully manufactured by Catie to catch Chris's attention. Has that point ever been copped to by Catie, or dawned on Chris?
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Eh, Catie still isn't a troll, in canon.
 
TaterBot said:
uh riiight. okay. ;)
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Oh no, I don't mean troll canon. We'll admit someone as a troll as soon as it's apparent she's a troll.

I mean in Chris canon. Chris hasn't accepted she's a troll yet. Like, I bet if she showed up again, he'd accept her completely without question. He might not even ask her any questions about the leaks. (I mean, he might, but she's met him IRL. Chris folds like a house of cards when a girl is standing in front of him IRL.)
 
lipitor said:
Bob and Barb really wanted to ignore his autism as much as they could and hoped for a mainstreaming miracle. Public high school was willing to deal with this illusion from them, but PVCC was the glass ceiling for his mainstreaming. It took him 6 years to get a 2 year degree, he had no job or any outside distractions that would have prevented him from getting it in 2 years. He was just too stupid and lazy to handle all the work. Chris should have been guaranteed to get into any VA state school after completing his associates*, but he didn't even try, Why do you suppose that is?

*that's how it works in VA, if you graduate from a virginia community college you are guaranteed admission to one of the VA's state colleges. See here for more info.
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One of those 6 years he was suspended for (through his own stupidity, but not really academic incompetence). He changed his major at one point too. That probably excuses at least one year. He still took a long time, but probably only a year or two more than he should have, not 4 more.

The college admission guarantees all have GPA minimums, to be fair. Although a bunch are 2.5 and Virginia State only asks for a 2.0. There is a good chance Chris achieved that. UVA, which is the most local one for him, has a 3.4 GPA requirement. That seems less likely. Any other university would be over an hour from Chandler headquarters.

As for whether Chris should have attended PVCC, I don't see why not. He got through it. Learned some stuff. Passed some courses. An achievement he can claim. Could have helped him get a job if he had grown the desire to get one.

I don't see the argument why his parents shouldn't have let him do it. If he had flamed out, I would see it, but he muddled through.

A 4 year degree would be a lot more to ask. It would have required him taking much more challenging courses. And paying a lot more per year. Maybe Bob would have considered it had Chris really kicked ass at PVCC, but after his mediocre performance, it probably didn't seem like a good plan.
 
timtommy said:
One of those 6 years he was suspended for (through his own stupidity, but not really academic incompetence). He changed his major at one point too. That probably excuses at least one year. He still took a long time, but probably only a year or two more than he should have, not 4 more.

The college admission guarantees all have GPA minimums, to be fair. Although a bunch are 2.5 and Virginia State only asks for a 2.0. There is a good chance Chris achieved that. UVA, which is the most local one for him, has a 3.4 GPA requirement. That seems less likely. Any other university would be over an hour from Chandler headquarters.

As for whether Chris should have attended PVCC, I don't see why not. He got through it. Learned some stuff. Passed some courses. An achievement he can claim. Could have helped him get a job if he had grown the desire to get one.

I don't see the argument why his parents shouldn't have let him do it. If he had flamed out, I would see it, but he muddled through.

A 4 year degree would be a lot more to ask. It would have required him taking much more challenging courses. And paying a lot more per year. Maybe Bob would have considered it had Chris really kicked ass at PVCC, but after his mediocre performance, it probably didn't seem like a good plan.
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Eh, making him take CADD was stupid. They should have made him take something that actually perhaps could have bettered his life. Perhaps criminal justice...:lol:

After PVCC they stopped bothering pushing him to achieve something with his life. Not saying Chris was ever good at being a functioning member of society, but letting him act like an infant playing with toys all day for a decade certainly has only made him more detached from reality.
 
LollysStokeWorth said:
Given just his record with dealing with life, did Bob +Barb actually think he was ready to deal with a community college and all the "stress" that such a place would entail? Or, in the alternative, did they just decide PVCC was a reasonably priced place where they could get Chris out of the house for a little while?
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PVCC was just another day care center for Chris instead of a place of learning
 
lipitor said:
Eh, making him take CADD was stupid. They should have made him take something that actually perhaps could have bettered his life. Perhaps criminal justice...:lol:

After PVCC they stopped bothering pushing him to achieve something with his life. Not saying Chris was ever good at being a functioning member of society, but letting him act like an infant playing with toys all day for a decade certainly has only made him more detached from reality.
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What program would have been better?

I see the logic of CADD. If we imagine someone with similar interests as Chris, but less weird and incompetent, they might be successful with CADD. Technical, a little creative, doesn't require a lot of people skills. I could see why Bob would hope that an 18 year-old Chris would figure some shit out about the world and how to act in it and be able to use CADD. Instead he went in the opposite direction.

If nothing else, it would have taught him some skills like web design and computer graphics that even a guy who plays with legos in his parents house might be able to make a few bucks off of from free-lancing.

I guess I think that if I were Chris' father at 18, I couldn't just assume he would be a lifelong fuck-up. I would have to look for his potential for personal growth and push him in that direction. I see why sending him to the local community college to learn CADD would look like the right direction. It is easy to say that Chris was an awkward, incompetent, weirdo at 18, and is still the same awkward incompetent weirdo today, so he is incapable of change or doing anything with his life. But lots of 18 year olds suck at life, and figure out how to stop sucking at life. I don't think it is irrational for someone to have hope for an 18 year-old Chris, particularly his father who is going to see him in a more positive light than the rest of the world.

Did it work out? Well, he eventually got the degree, but didn't do anything with it. And what would have happened if he hadn't sent him? It is hard to imagine any answer except an extra 6 years of sitting around all day not doing anything worthwhile.
 
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