Check Displeased

ep. 24 | 1.16 Linemates

In 1.16 Bitty gets put on the first line with Jack, and Sekrit and Tomato break down why Jack has such a problem with it -- he wants to fuck his dad, is that what the blog post is suggesting? -- and why Bitty should even care. Join in for a scintillating breakdown of how this strip is structured and what the vlog element is even doing here. We also get back to the comic's foundation myth via references to "Einhardt" and goons, and complain about Senor Bun. Less thematically important but kind of exciting: Jack's cheekbones make their debut in this strip.

 

Read along with us: 1.16 Linemates | Blog

ep. 23 | SUPER SPECIAL EPISODE! Oppositional Fandom: South Park & Check, Please!

Summer's hottest podcast is Check Displeased, and this episode has everything: truly incredible episode guest jovishark, a deep and fascinating dive into fandom ethics and the personal joys and costs of participating in fandom, at least three references to Bill Hader, South Park hockey classic "Stanley's Cup," and Sekrit's so-controversial-and-yet-so-brave suggestion that what really brings Check, Please! and South Park together is their shared libertarian ethos. Seriously––even if you're not a South Park fan, you should listen to this one. 

 

Watch along with us: "Stanley's Cup," South Park season 10, episode 14. Hit us up if you need a link.

ep. 22 | HS 4: Butts

One comic into the new semester, were you already getting sick of the plot of Check, Please? Come on down to the bottom separatist commune, where Sekrit and Tomato dig into how the pacing of this comic makes no sense, and why the comedy-writing structure is solid but the jokes, not so much. Why are hockey asses so huge? Why are we told over and over again that Jack's ass specifically is very huge ... but it's never drawn like it is? How many ways are there to attempt to say that you think Jack is a bottom without using the words "Jack is a bottom"? This episode covers that ample territory. Also, yes, Homestuck is a topic of discussion. This podcast will never be secretary of state and we're okay with that.

 

Read along with us: HS 4: Butts | Blog

 

ep. 21 | 1.15 Lardo

Kicking off Bitty's second semester at Samwell, Sekrit and Tomato meet one of Check Please's most important and allegedly bro-iest characters! A rousing discussion about fine art, dicks, identity, Lardo's lack of on-page burping, the comic's use of a notable queer women's haircut ritual in service of gender conformity, and the ironic detachment of hipster fashion (such as it is) follows. Plus, we start thinking about whether Check Please is misogynist - for a certain value of misogyny. 

 

Read along with us: 1.15 Lardo 

ep. 20 | Weird OMGCP fanfic

It’s Check Displeased, but--! Nearly 60 percent of voters wanted an episode about weird fanfic, so here's our longest episode yet, all about that. Sekrit and Tomato define "weird fanfic" by first defining typical Check, Please! fanfic, then discuss a few of their favorites across the weird Check, Please! fanfic spectrum. Then, even though nobody voted for it at all, they get into some of their own past and future OMGCP fanfic. No ridicule or sporking, just reveling in absurdity. If this episode is bad, it's not our fault.

Read along with us:

Mon Petit Chou | 225k; Jack/Bitty, Tater/Parse; rated E; a/b/o + mpreg

Surface | 18k; gen; rated M; OD

call me son (one more time) | 27k (incomplete); Bob/Kent; rated E; dubious consent et al

what is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter? | 3.5k; Jack/Bitty; rated M; murder + gore

H-E-Double Hockey Sticks: Long John Silver's | 6k; PBJ; rated E; mpreg + group sex

Guesthouse Best House | 27.5k; Jack/Bitty et al; rated E; addiction

Lysistrata? I Hardly Know Her! | 15k; Jack/Bitty; rated E

get the wine pairings | 10k; Jack/Bitty; rated M; daddy kink

elegy for the over-medium egg | 20k; Jack/Bitty, Jack/Shitty, Shitty/Lardo; rated E; trans issues + adultery

tumblr was always garbage: rumaki | 1.5k; Jack/Bitty; rated G

ep. 19 | 1.14.5 Winter Screw

Is this strip canon? Who's even read this strip? Does this strip count for anything? Based on the amount of time Tomato and Sekrit spend actually discussing what happens in this slightly lackadaisical strip, the answer to all of these questions appear to be "Who cares?" Luckily, there's plenty of other important stuff to chew on: How much does it matter that Jack cosplays as his dad whenever he wears a suit? Will Jack die of CTE before Bitty graduates with his MFA? What have we learned over the past twelve weeks about how to make a podcast? 

Read along with us if you own a copy of Check, Please! Year One and probably also Check, Please! #Hockey but neither of us owns that so we're not 100% sure. 

ep. 18 | 1.14 The Closet Story - II

In this actual final installment about the first semester of Bitty's freshman year of college -- as opposed to the conceptual last installment, a Kickstarter bonus strip, coming next episode of Check Displeased -- Bitty comes out to Shitty, and Shitty takes it in stride. Shitty, the protagonist of the comic. Three cheers for Shitty! Make love to me, Shitty! How would you like a list of all 10+ Check, Please! coming out arcs? Also, Sekrit and Tomato discuss how this comic is maybe kind of homophobic -- for a certain value of homophobia.

Read along with us: 1.14 The Closet Story - II

ep. 17 | 1.13 The Closet Story - I

Ransom and Holster want to set Bitty up for the Winter Screw, and they know just who Bitty will love: a lady who bakes! Sekrit and Tomato discuss this strip's visual foreshadowing, Jack's reaction (or lack thereof) to Bitty's obviously gay character design, and the limitations of coming out narratives. Thus begins Check Please's first iconique arc, in which we discover Bitty's greatest secret - that he apparently hovers anxiously over his pies the whole time they're in the oven? 

Read along with us: 1.13 The Closet Story - I

Check out this very important oral history project about a question mark with a cowlick! 

Also, help us pick our special episode! Vote **here** until Sunday, until July 12.

 

ep. 16 | 1.12 Samwell vs. Yale - III

Sometimes your internet cuts off for hours and you wander all over your apartment complex begging for a connection like alms just so you can pretend you updated your podcast on time. Anyway, that's nothing compared to Bitty and Jack's simultaneous suffering in this episode! We also meet Bad Bob in the flesh, dive into cruelty and luck, and discuss the best ways to deal with Jack's sulky baby personality flaw (drugs and/or spanking?). 

 

Read along with us: 1.12 Samwell vs. Yale - III

Check out this very important oral history project about a question mark with a cowlick! 

Also, help us pick our special episode! Vote **here** until Sunday, until July 12.

 

ep. 15 | 1.11 Samwell vs. Yale - II

WELCOME BACK

After a brief hiatus while winding down the 2019-2020 school year, Tomato and Sekrit are back with an all-new episode, in which Bitty scores a goal in a hockey game, and ... actually, that's pretty much everything that happens. Some nice visuals here, which we get into, along with the background info on the 2013 Yale men's hockey team you've been eagerly anticipating all podcast. Also: Isn't every shot a lucky shot?

Read along with us: 1.11 Samwell vs. Yale - II

Also, help us pick our special episode! Vote **here** until Sunday, until July 12.