yes, st. mo debate has survived the past few years without a coach of any kind. it’s possible! just... not with the best results. (they haven’t broken in four years)
and we’re introduced to a very sports manga-esque part of the comic! ate max teaches alex (and you!) about the primary debate format of IDeA, british parliamentary.
most of the debaters in this round are nameless background characters but shoutout to my friend aina for making an appearance! im fond of making my real-life debater friends have little cameos in the comic. (good luck to going up against rock domingo tho...)
if point ma'am were to be a live action or an animated series, who would you want to cast as your characters and why? :)
omg that is the DREAM. my wish that that the actors are true-hearted and not sell-outs like some other actors in this country..! that is, if it ever happens, but i do doubt it hahaha :’)
the page regarding rock’s introduction doesn’t include japanese characters just for nothing! the page is almost a complete reference/homage to this page from the rose of versailles:
spot the difference, i guess!
the first run of PM!!! didn’t use the k-12 system, which i think made it feel rooted in the past. ive updated it to give it a more current feel. dont get me wrong though; junk junk k-12!!!!
julia domingo, like several in the comic, IS based on someone....dont ask me who.
i dont think i’ve mentioned it before, but st. monica’s nickname “st. mo” is a nod to st. sc/holastica’s nickname “st. s/cho.” st. mo isn’t based on scho tho! st. monica college is based on my old high school :-)
socializing is an important aspect of debate! it’s important to make connections with other schools, even if they’re technically your rivals. this is what pau attempts to do; alas, everyone she tries to talk to brushes her off with being too busy for grands
this is because she tried to talk to competitors for grands! st. mo is not a competitor. to debate in grands your institution needs to gain a certain number of points throughout the season and only then can you join grands. st. mo hasn’t been a part of grands in about four years.
teachers deserve higher salary! st. mo is an exclusive private catholic school and yet it doesn’t treat its teachers well :/
what max says to alex is true! just because you’re good at english doesn’t make you a good debater. this was once the comment given to my seniors at a tournament from an adjudicator (and we come from a school known for its english speakers)
bloomspring is definitely based on w/oodrose. in the comic, they’re an elite group of all-girl debaters. idk if wr still debates; last i heard their admin shut them down :( but what do i know! ive been out of the circuit for long so idk a lot of stuff
“observe” means to watch a debate round. theyre not going to carefully scrutinize someone. maybe.
again point maam borrows from real life! my first debate experience was at IDeA Grands, the final tournament of the IDeA (interscholastic debate association) high school debate season, and the tournament alex is at right now.
IDeA (and Grands) is a real thing! it’s the primary high school debate association in the philippines. it is mostly metro manila-based. they host tournaments as well as an educational how-to-debate event every year.
alex’s experience is based on mine! Grands is usually held during summer vacation, and i joined my school’s debate club near the end of the school year. i thought it was a mandatory event; turned out the only people to go were me and the VP (shout out to you enzo!)
alex doesn’t know she’s having a panic attack--she’s not diagnosed--but she does know something is happening, and it happens frequently, so she has her own routine that professionals call “deep breathing” (but alex doesn’t know it’s a thing!)
sovereignty is apparently separate from sovereign rights. iunno either. IR was never my strong point.
i once did an english translation of the first run of point maam’s issue 1, and it DESTROYED ME that pauline’s conyo taglish was lost in translation
that’s it for this week folks! as always, our askbox is always open! i would love to hear your feedback!
I felt Alex's pain(?) or shutdown (?). I have been called annoying out of the blue and with no explanation as to why and how I could "fix" it. The thing is, that sticks with you and affects your whole outlook from then on. Some people can't really gauge how much impact their actions could potentially have on another person, and could just be outright rude and confusing. Bottomline, these first pages really struck something. Thank you! Can't wait for more Point, Ma'am! 😊
thank you so much! as someone who’s experienced it too, i get how you feel. i’m so glad that you found something to relate to in my komiks! thank you for reading!
first blog post! we talk about the update’s content, the reboot, and upcoming komikon!
in this first update we see something previously unseen in the original run of point maam: alex’s childhood!
i do admit that many characters have traits based on myself, including alex. what happened to alex actually did happen to me, and is one of the sources of my anxiety. i thought deriving from real life would make alex’s Origin Story more relatable
also: is that the same ophelia whom we know as rock’s debate partner in the original run? who knows!!!!! find out SOON!!! (ok maybe not so soon)
next: komikon! it’s later this month. yes, i will be tabling with some friends! yes, point maam will be for sale as physical copies! i hope you can attend and support my gay debate komiks!
that’s all for now folks! i’ll see you next update! xoxo, marsie <3
gelo and julia have a beloved pomeranian named aragog (the domingo family are big potterheads). maki has an askal dog. pau has a persian cat. and max is fond of bringing back beetles she finds whenever they go back to the province
did you know that there’s a full-blown fire emblem POINT, MA’AM!!! AU, with worldbuilding and a plot and everything? send me a message if you want to read the master doc i lovingly wrote
How would the characters react to praise? criticism? (It could be beyond on their debate performance or skills)
alex - very shy, blushes and stutters with praise; gets teary-eyed with criticism--the harsher it is, the more tears there are
rock - externally accepts the praise, but internally demands herself to do better; with criticism, tells herself that she knew it and micro-analyzes all the mistakes she made
gelo - glows with praise and accepts it wholeheartedly; shrugs off criticism and calls them “haters”
Do the members of the debate team have personal catch phrases or words that they tend to overuse a lot in their statements?
pau, like a lot of debaters, says the word “right” every five seconds in speeches. rock is fond of using b/o s/eo’s iconic buzzwords (”shackled” etc). kurt doesn’t necessarily have a catchphrase but he has watched, studied, and analyzed about 6 or so hours of trump’s speeches and other videos, and tries his best to mimic his speaking style in debate speeches, much to pau’s chagrin.
What are the clothing or style preferences of the debate team (outside school or debate ofc)?
this is actually an interesting question to me (i do love fashion), and i’ve dreamt of making a fashion zine of sorts to showcase what the PM!!! characters would ideally wear! so maybe i’ll save the answers to this question for that project :-)
Hi ate! I love PM, I just recently purchased them via gumroad and I'm very excited for the reboot. In terms of music genre, what are the music preferences of the debate team? Who's more likely to listen to K-POP? Thank you po!
thank you so much for supporting point maam! it means a lot to me!
alex - looooves old opm like eraserheads, apo hiking, etc
rock - definitely a kpop stan. do not ask me about this further i do not know anything about kpop
gelo - showtunes. only showtunes. his favorite musical is Cats
