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oh DAMN
I don’t think anyone was expecting Amber to say it.
This is the second time she’s said it.
Oh. Right. Forgot about that.
But this time she means spiritually replacing, not just warm-bodily fill-a-room-ily.
Look at me joyfully making up words-ily.
I’ve always believed that a command of English means making it do what you want.
bigly
The English language is a very precise… thingie.
When I was a kid, my father and I devoloped a philosophy called “dumptism”, after Humpty Dumpty- specifically as portrayed in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass. Humpty Dumpty, in that book, was a proponent of the view that words should mean what you want them to mean. “The question is, who is to be master.” We never actually bought into our philosophy, but it was a fun running gag.
say shit ’bout amber i dare your skinny ass
The way Booster responded to Carla, I think they know better.
I thought Ruth said “no”?
I think if it was Ruth it would have been shouted and there wouldn’t have been that silent panel between the “No” and the rest of what she said.
Booster had time to squeeze in a quick analysis before Ruth shouted “No”, but he wisely withheld. Amber’s glare told him… t’would be bad.
(They.)
Yeah, thanks, I’m terrible at that.
Booster said no. They realised it feeds into Carla’s ego much like a certain soon-to-be-ex-president
That’s not fair. Carla’s ego is at least backed up by practical achievements in awesomeness, rather than wholly imaginary achievements propped up by an army of paid sycophants and lawyers.
Does anyone think Ruth saw that Booster look at Amber next, and so she stopped it to protect her?
think that Ruth saw Booster*
Yeah, I think Ruth saw what was coming and hit the brakes before the conversation hit that truck.
I actually like this interpretation. Whether Booster was actually gonna do it or not is debatable, they definitely eyed Amber and thought about it and I dig the idea that Ruth wasn’t even gonna let them entertain the thought. Based on the next strip, I don’t think they were going to, but only because they wanted to take corner Amber personally and take a deeper dive which is…ugh….ew.
I don’t think they would have said anything to Amber just bc she looked up, even if Ruth was making sure. Booster seemed to be retorting only at that point, and Amber only felt safe to comment once Ruth put the kibosh on things.
Wonder if they actually discuss anything or if Ruth is out of spoons yet 🤔
Plus i don’t think booster would have said anything about amber given they know she has something diagnosable and serious. There’s a difference between giving surface level reads and talking about someone’s mental illness
Facts: We don’t know who said “No”.
Theories (thus far)
Booster – Refusing to engage Carla to deprive attention
Ruth – Halting Booster’s assault to protect Amber
[Others] – I’m posting this late and haven’t reviewed the newest of the 300+ messages.
?(New?)?
*AMBER* said no. She is the only one currently practiced at confronting Mike(inherhead), and we know she and Amazigirl stand up to bullies.
Further Support: All other Booster dialogue was visually connected to Booster. Booster looks surprised after the No was said, like Booster was interrupted. Ruth also didn’t jump back in right away, so she didn’t ‘have the floor’ so to speak, which is why the pause before she told Booster to shut up. Finally, before frame cut, first someone out of panel says ‘no’, then the camera cuts to a close in, introducing Amber into the dialogue but without more new dialogue, just a side-eye look from Amber, and Booster looking surprised. It wouldn’t make sense for the view to include Amber before, “So you *are* replacement Mike,” if she hadn’t already said something. “No.”
I don’t recall Amber/Amazi-Girl really interacting with Carla much for her to be invested enough to interject on Carla’s behalf. Booster and Amber seem to be looking at each other bc she’s next “in line” and waiting to see what happens. Amber just happens to say her piece once the threat of analysis is gone.
Further evidence: the word balloon seems to be eye-level-ish to Carla, while Amber is seated
Negating my evidence by typing that w/o double-checking, GO ME SUPER ARGUMENT MAKER
Damn Amber, we were all thinking it, at least I was, but actually saying it is kinda harsh.
Also Booster, don’t do one for Amber, missing a femur would be a better fate than what she would do to you. Maybe Ruth and Amber can double team Booster.
Only if all three of them consent to it.
“all three of them”…?
-Amber, Ruth, Booster?
…
-Amber, Amazigirl, Mike-shade?
Or did you mean all 5?
-Ambazigike, Ruth, Booster?
Bert: “Who let the Two-Headed Monster play Santa Claus?!”
Ernie: “Aw, c’mon, Bert! He said he’d never been in a play before! I mean they said it. Both of him said it.”
– Muppet Family Christmas
One head plays Nick, the other Krampus. Perfect!
… hot.
accurate, though
Going from femurs to the proverbial bone, are we?
*Gets out archaeologist’s toolkit*
Okay, I’m ready to put some things in a museum.
After the shit they just pulled, Booster had it comin’.
Notice how Amber says it after Carla got “No.”
She realized the moment Booster decided to give the response that would be most frustrating instead of directly cutting.
Oh wow, I didn’t realize that. Thanks for enlightening me!
It did have a very “I’m whatever you don’t want me to be.” vibe to it.
I agree, because it would just hurt Amber even more, and I had initially believed they’d have enough tact not to do that. That belief has since faded.
That being said, Amber has repeatedly insisted that nobody’s qualified enough to deal with the mess that is her brain, so a part of me kinda wants them to try just so they can be completely fucking wrong for once. That might end up hurting them more than losing their femurs.
Maybe, but everything Booster has said since they entered the room has been at least kinda harsh.
Also, Booster would have to know who Mike is to feel any kind of harshness from this. All they (should) know so far is that Mike is dead and what they just did is what Mike would have done.
Unless, of course, Booster has a closer relationship to Mike than we would expect.
This is where Booster whips off their mask and turns out to have been Mike all along.
Probably not, but it’s made more plausible by this performance.
And t[he]y would have got away with it too, if it hadn’t been for all those pesky kids in Amber’s head.
Ok so Booster is they, and Mike is he. So what is the singular pronoun for that? Amber has remained ‘she’ while containing Amber/Amazigirl/ImagiMike. Carla remains singularly ‘she’, unless she is referring to herself with the royal ‘we’. If Booster/Mike is actually just the one person inhabiting the appearance of two bodies, so do we respect the possibly deceptive construct of Booster’s ‘they’ do we default back to Mike’s ‘he’ with the mask off, or, or… I dunno. [Yes all this disturbing s*** is all just s*** disturbing. I don’t actually subscribe to the BM theory]
Also, other pet theory: Booster is so called, because they is boosting Mike’s spirit back up, out of the underworld.
Oh yeah, and Booster clearly doesn’t do harsh.
I’m kinda glad he’s an asshole like everyone else
They, and asshole might be over-stating things a bit, at least this early. Shit-stirrer might be more accurate.
Yep
I love the panel change between Walky’s face. It’s is very pleasing to the eye.
So much for “Walky is smart. Walky is making sure he keeps his mouth shut,” though.
A necessary and unloved role: the catalyst. I like Booster.
Sorry, but this is exactly what’s been bugging me about this comic lately: Characters being used as plot devices instead of being allowed to act like real people.
Also, catalyst or no, what Booster’s doing is abusive, presumptive and cruel. It sucked when Mike did it, too.
Aaah, THAT would be the point.
More Amber trauma.
*Sigh* Checks out.
Also Ruth isn’t tagged for some reason, at the moment at least. Once Willis fixes that this comment will be out of the loop.
Yeah, even on the best of nights policing the tag section for accuracy is a thankless job. But tonight, the tag section is ruthless.
I see what you did there, and I both hate it and love it.
“Towards his weekly meeting with The Unknown!”
“I’d like a pizza to go, no anchovies.”
Amber please, every time we get the comments off that train, you have to bring it up.
Maybe YOU’RE the new Mike.
And seriously, I know this has been a long day for you American-type Pokemon, so again – good luck and godspeed.
As much as it might be a dick move, Amber does have a point, he’s like an off-brand Mike. Still telling people what they don’t want to hear, but doingnso with a smile rather than a scowl.
*they
It’s also an unknowingly cutting remark that shut them up. Telling a NB person that they’re an off-brand? Oof, even if unintentional.
I don’t get it.
1. I don’t believe this myself (i.e. I support people)
But the idea of n.b. as off-brand is, I think, like “oh you’re not a REAL {gender}”. That said, (likely showing my ignorance to be removing all doubt as to being a fool) I’d have thought off-brand as an insult would apply more to trans, rather than n.b., since n.b. don’t id as a specific brand (gender-box). Although, slowly pondering my way through it more, I suppose if someone switches up their gender portrayal regularly because they are n.b., then whichever way they show on a given day could be prone to insult.
Nasty business that, being human. Always too many assholes around. Really hope this didn’t insult or hurt anyone. It was meant as an exercise to try and achieve understanding for myself, not as a way to cause hurt (even ignorantly).
“American type Pokémon”- I like that. I think I’ll answer everything with my name.
“Rainhat!”
AMERICA used ELECTION
AMERICA is confused!
It hurt itself in its confusion!
The presidential election is really 50 state elections in a trenchcoat.
Well, it is the United States. United being a loose term at times.
The Untied States.
Americans of the world, untie!
We have nothing to lose but our shoelaces.
A loose confederation of sovereign states was the original idea.
There was never one unified original idea behind the US. This sort of disagreement (“The United States is” vs “The United States are”) has been central in our history from day 1.
It was the original idea of the Continental Congress.
And the government based on the Articles of Confederation that used that idea lasted less than a decade. It failed, quickly and obviously.
While you have referred to it as a failure, that doesn’t give the continental congress the credit it deserves. Yes it ended, but it did so without violence, and with the successful birth of another government that has persisted for over 200 years. As well, it was the continental congress that started with the declaration of independence then produced the constitution, which was the blueprint for the new government. One so well structured that it allowed for the rapid adoption of a bill of rights, and has continued to allow for amendments without too much difficulty even to recent times (1992, 27th Amendment. Delaying pay raises for congress).
n.b. Not a citizen or resident of U.S.A. so take with a grain of salt from a worried friend.
Agreed. That was more aimed at the idea of a “loose confederation of sovereign states” being a failed idea.
Haha, predicted it!
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-11/01-this-bright-millennium/sobstory/#comment-1504714
You did indeed call it, I have to give it to you.
For this very good work of deduction, We hereby award you one (1) Imperial Internet Point.
Not to be confused with a metric Internet Point.
Or a Republic Internet Point.
Aw, I really wanted to hear their hot take on Carla.
IT was the take. Not acknowledging Carla is the whole point to hurt her the most.
On the surface, that’s a decent read of Carla and clear jab back at her, establishing that Booster’s aim here is to hurt not actually to analyze. Or at least to score points.
Looking a little deeper though, it’s much more surface level read than any of Booster’s other comments. Going any deeper than that would have to dig into why Carla acts like the egocentric asshole she very definitely is not. Which leads directly to Carla being trans.
Outing someone like that may be a line Booster won’t cross.
Does Booster even know Carla is trans? Everyone else seems to know (except Joyce), but Booster just got here so they might not yet.
I think Amber’s reaction is a very clear indication that Booster was trying to troll Carla. I also think Carla hasn’t done anything to deserve the way people have treated her this chapter, and it’s starting to feel like less a fun cute joke and more something meanspirited and unfair to her character.
As I said, on the surface level it’s a decent jab at Carla’s surface presentation and that may well be all Booster saw or was trying to do.
It’s not something that would really hurt Carla though, because it doesn’t go any deeper than that surface, unlike some of their other reads.
Lol I wanted them to do Carla too.
But I’m really hoping they stop here…
“Hurt me”, says the masochist.
“No”, replies the sadist.
The joke (in short form) that came to mind for me.
And, given what we know of Carla’s proclivities… even more accurate.
I’d like to see a Carla-centric storyline, we don’t really know much about her
The Nega-Mike
Amber has become Aware.
Booster’s hair looks like it could exist in reality, they’re a terrible replacement Mike.
Yeah, Booster is not setting themselves up to be very popular around here. For somebody so ridiculously perceptive, they haven’t spotted the value of tact.
TBF, tact isn’t necessarily that useful in this crowd.
(Source: About 25% of the archives.)
Only 25%? That seems low.
I pulled the number out of my, erm, hat, but I’m sure it’s pretty high.
Most of the comics in the archives don’t have tact failing, because most of them don’t even have people attempting tact.
Funnily enough I’m getting some real middle child vibes out of them. Always with an (unasked for) observation, not caring about reading the room, etc.
As a middle child, I think the stereotype is more that we’re mediators and tactful negotiators, skillful at seeing all sides of a problem and avoiding conflict.
Also that we’re often forgotten (which may or may not lead to a drive to fix that, which is what you and Booster are referencing here). The ‘PAY ATTENTION TO ME’ gene is stereotypically even stronger in youngest kids.
But there are way more than four kinds of people on earth, and your mileage may vary.
They seemed to have enough tact to not psychoanalyze Carla, thank the gods. I don’t think Carla would’ve been thrilled.
Carla *wants* attention, though. That’s why she’s an asshole.
Outside of being Mary, the worst thing you can do to her is ignore her.
I thought the joke was that Carla is immune to other people’s criticisms of her, and instead eggs people on for the attention, so Booster refusing to psychoanalyze her was actually their way of pointing out that aspect of her.
Granted, it’s not like Carla would mind having that pointed out.
Ahh, that definitely makes more sense than the worst case scenario I had in my doom-and-gloom noggin.
That’s the joke, but that’s not actually Carla. Carla plays the asshole so people will hate her for the superficial presentation that she doesn’t really care about instead of reaching the parts that would actually hurt.
This Booster either misses completely or deliberately avoids commenting on.
Only Amazi-Girl is immune to criticism.
I’ll be impressed if Booster aims that lazer psychoanaliser on themselves.
Easier to pluck the mote from your neighbor’s eye than the plank from your own.
“You see a lot doctor. But are you strong enough to point that high-powered perception at yourself?” -Agent Clarice Starling
“Pop psychological analysis based on surface-level first impressions is sophomoric at best. You clearly have a desire to intimidate everyone in the room, making you little more than a polite bully. Maybe the reason you needed to change rooms wasn’t your gender identity, but because everyone got sick of your bullshit.”
“Tact is just not saying true things. I’ll pass.”
-The Tao of Cordellia
Someone needs to stir the shit, and Booster’s got a big spoon.
How long before Booster trudges off alone, sulking about how nobody appreciates his important role in pointing out their flaws and why won’t anyone like them?
Crap, ‘their’, my bad.
I suppose that’s one way to make them Worse Than Mike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K48DykcSos
If you give me your attention, I will tell you what I am:
I’m a genuine philanthropist — all other kinds are sham
Each little fault of temper and each social defect
In my erring fellow creatures, I endeavor to correct
To all their little weaknesses I open people’s eyes;
And little plans to snub the self-sufficient I devise;
I love my fellow creatures — I do all the good I can —
Yet everybody says I’m such a disagreeable man!
And I can’t think why!
To compliments inflated I’ve a withering reply;
And vanity I always do my best to mortify;
A charitable action I can skillfully dissect;
And interested motives I’m delighted to detect;
I know everybody’s income and what everybody earns;
And I carefully compare it with the income-tax returns;
But to benefit humanity however much I plan
Yet everybody says I’m such a disagreeable man!
And I can’t think why!
I’m sure I’m no ascetic; I’m as pleasant as can be;
You’ll always find me ready with a crushing repartee
I’ve an irritating chuckle, I’ve a celebrated sneer
I’ve an entertaining snigger, I’ve a fascinating leer
To everybody’s prejudice I know a thing or two;
I can tell a woman’s age in half a minute — and I do
But although I try to make myself as pleasant as I can
Yet everybody says I’m such a disagreeable man!
And I can’t think why!
I’m really not okay with a cis person telling an ENBY person to “shut up.”
Yeah, even when they are being an asshole and need to be told.
To paraphrase Carla, being trans or non-binary doesn’t mean you can’t be an asshole.
And it also doesn’t mean people can’t be (rightfully) pissed off at it.
As an enby I’m in agreement on this. Booster needs to cool it
It’s not like Ruth is telling Booster to stop talking about gender or something — Ruth is correct that Booster is giving unsolicited zingers that may make everyone in the room feel vulnerable and small. Booster’s gender doesn’t enter into the fact that they’re likely stomping on emotional landmines, and that’s not a super cool thing to do right now.
(Ruth may be kind of a hypocrite for protecting people’s feelings when she was doing far worse last semester, but either way, she’s in the right at the moment.)
I don’t see what being cis or non-cis has anything to do with telling someone to stop being an asshole
I’m really not okay with the PERSON WHO’S GENDER DOESN’T MATTER B/C THEY’RE BEING AN ASSHOLE. Spouting off digs at people to prod at their psychology without their consent and verbally stabbing victims of kidnapping and assault.
Sorry but your gender doesn’t give you a pass, all people regardless of pronouns, gender or whatever deserve to be told to shut up if they’re being assholes to other people, especially if those people never consented to their prodding.
THIS.
I’ve heard “but i’m trans!“ as a “this will shut you up“-reply to a completely unrelated topic and let me tell you, she was an asshole. Which never had to do anything with her gender.
Yes, transphobia sometimes shows up in places we don’t expect it, but this is not it.
Everyone has a right to be a person with boundaries and feelings.
This would be problematic if Booster had been talking about ENBY rights or something, and would be told to shut up by a cis person.
But this situation had nothing to do with anyone’s gender.
Being a minority does not, in fact, give you a free pass to be an asshole.
Or if it does, I’d be happy to take advantage.
THANK YOU!
Ugh…I hate that mentality so much “Yeah I was being a colossal douchecanoue but I’m -insert thing here- so you’re actually wrong if you call me on it”
Normally I’d be on board with this sentiment, but cis and enby are fairly irrelevant in this interaction. I’d say that Ruth AS AN R.A. has a duty to get this meeting back under control and rein in the outsider who’s making half her charges feel uncomfortable. That’d be true no matter the gender identities of the people involved.
Or is there some aspect to this I’m missing? I can be pretty dense about this stuff.
Yeah, until Ruth finishes going through what little essential business she has she’s technically holding them all in the room. Once she’s finished people would feel less obligated to stay if they just wanted to walk out and to have to deal with this, or treat it like a party game if they were into it. But until she ends the meeting she’s responsible for them being there.
If you believe being a minority grants you a pass for people to not tell you to shut up when you are being an asshole, then by logical deduction you must be fucking stupid, to put it politely.
this is a bad take
Well, my original comment is coming from a perspective of how, historically, the voices of marginalized groups have been silenced, *especially* if those voices were saying something that threatens the dominant group.
And is anything Booster said actually *wrong?*
(Also, while I don’t want to make assumptions, I noticed that Booster’s skin is coloured darker than some other characters who are coded as white. That could add another dimension to them being “silenced” by Ruth.)
Yeahhhh this isn’t a NB vs. cis thing at all. Or a colour thing. This is just being an asshole and people obviously not responding well to said person being an asshole.
I could be at a wedding and point out that the bride has a visible tramp stamp and get rightfully thrown out for it.
Being a minority is not a license to be an asshole.
It doesn’t matter if it’s wrong or right, it was not consented to.
Perhaps since Booster seems to have been assigned male at birth, they should be more aware of how consent works?
See this knife cuts both ways.
Ruth explicitly asked Booster to “suss [her] out” a couple of strips ago. I’ll agree that the other characters didn’t ask for Booster’s opinion, however.
And I do NOT think that whatever gender someone is assigned at birth should inform the rest of their lives.
And I dont think their gender identity should shield them from their piss poor behavior. Seems you only want to have certain things count.
Ruth was sarcastically but literally asking for it. Rachel didn’t, but it’s at least acceptable in framing because she was the aggressor in the previous conversation that led to this. Calling out Roz isn’t great, but it’s also kind ofJoyce is where this starts to get uncomfortable because she just voiced confusion.
Walky is where this hits full asshole mode, as while it’s silly he’s clearly voicing a lack of consent here and Booster charges right on ahead. It’s nowhere near the more incisive comments they made re: Carla, Rachel, or Joyce, but seriously I’m pretty sure there’s some ethical problems here that would be just as relevant to a future psychologist and their ability to read an individual.
You literally said that your gender may mean you get to run around hurting people and they aren’t allowed to say No.
“But MY bigotry is different!”
What a coincidence. So is mine.
I mean, have you seen Wiilis’s Martians?
Plenty have called you out already. To add another point, for a lot of people they are quite happy to have their perceived gender at birth inform the rest of their lives. As for actual gender (which is far more nuanced), I suspect you meant *gender exhibited at birth* should not *have* to inform the rest of someone’s life. However, the entire point of recognizing people’s declared gender, anywhere on the rainbow, is so that it /can/ inform that person’s life, when they want it to/when appropriate.
That said, as has already been covered, being a minority does not provide a license to be an ass.
Wait. We need a licence now?
Not to disagree with your actual point.
Technically, but it’s just a formality.
Not even a formality. It’s a mail-in club. Just send a s.a.s.e. and fifty USD to their website via gopher (your choice of which) and in 6 to 8 weeks you too can have your own Genuine* Ass Club membership card[*].
*Ass Club provides no guarantees or indemnities for being an ass. Before being an ass talk to your doctor. Being an ass is not recommended for elderly, people with heart conditions (plural only), those with green thumbs or two left feet, or those who have access to oxygen or a keyboard connected to the internet. Ass Club Card is not water proof. Do not apply Ass Card to your own or another persons Ass. If Ass Card is destroyed a replacement ass card can be torn off the roll.
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a hundred times: Ruth was engaging in self-destructive behaviour after being bullied in front of a crowd. If Booster is sharp enough to make all these calls about people and their backstories/traumas, then they’re definitely sharp enough to realize what Ruth was doing and that this would be a dick move.
The question now becomes: Which do you prefer? A person grappling with some pretty severe mental health issues being continually bullied and having their authority undermined, with one of the bullies proceeding to bully other people in the room without their consent? Or a Cis person telling an Enby bully to shut up AFTER they’ve targeted multiple people?
Knowing how consent works is important regardless of any gender you’re assigned at birth.
And is anything Booster said actually *wrong?*
I’m gonna give you a hint here: yes, actually. That’s why it’s hurtful. Because devoid of context and empathy, it’s just random snippets of whatever private embarrassing gossip you can suss out about a person rather than their actual experiences. It’s treating people like a miserable little pile of secrets rather than a person, and makes them feel small and stepped on.
A feeling which I’m sure- if it helps you understand- a queer woman abuse survivor has a lot of experience with, as Booster pointed out. Now I’m sure they have their own shitty life story that causes them to do this, and I’m sure we’ll figure out what it is, and maybe they’ll be lucky and it won’t feel like their fingernails are being pulled out slowly to talk about it. But more likely they’re just 18 and just now learning this “not being a raging dickwad about the neat thing you can do” thing and will get reamed by a professor in three years or something.
exactly.
Also, diagnosing people on first impression is completely unprofessional.
I am a professional educator, but even if i’ve taken care of a child for years, i am NOT allowed to throw around potential diagnoses because i am NOT a psychiatrist etc.
Assuming they get to diagnose strangers IS a hurtful thing to do, Booster.
Nobody asked for it (except Ruth kinda), and you are just not qualified.
Yes, it is unprofessional. They are, in fact, not a professional. And if they are not aware that everything has consequences, I’m sure they will soon learn.
I wonder who Ruth will call on to psychoanalize her next.
And is anything Booster said actually *wrong?*
Irrelevant. Booster has run the hall meeting (for a hall they don’t live in, BTW) completely off the rails. A lot of that is on Ruth; she should have just kicked Rachel out the meeting instead of rising to the bait but no one else in that room invited Booster to “analyze” them. It got to the point where someone felt the need to shout out instructions on how to get them to stop.
Ruth is the RA. It is entirely appropriate for her to get the meeting back on track by telling them they need to shut up.
Booster could have easily shut themselves up. They chose not to.
The thing is: Being accurate, does not make it more okay to say these types of things. Being accurate does not make it more defensible or justified. And it avoids the initial point and problem to make it about whether Booster was wrong.
This isn’t about Booster’s gender or race or accuracy, Booster is being told to shut up for now harassing a bunch of people that didn’t ask for their opinion. Lucy, Walky, Joyce, Roz and Rachel did not ask for it. Ruth wasn’t truly asking either, she was being self-destructive, but I can understand making the mistake or willingly doing it if you think it will actually help. Going past Roz though to anyone who dared speak was going too far.
This isn’t a moment of cis oppression against nonbinary people. This is an RA doing their job by telling the person being an ass to knock it off. It also will stop Booster digging themselves a bigger hole because this is not how you make friends with people.
Listen, take it from me, an actual enby: no.
Being a member of a marginalized group does not excuse you from bad behavior. Worse, you make it harder for others of us in our struggle for equality. Ever heard the phrase “shanda fur die goyim?” It’s a Yiddish phrase used in the Jewish community to express embarrassment at a fellow Jew doing something particularly heinous in front of non-Jews. Similar concept.
So, again, no.
Its easy. Booster isnt being told to shut up because of their identity. Theyre being told to shut up based on their actions.
And in this case, those actions are disrupting a floor meeting as well as hurting peoples feelings, even risking to cause emotional/psychological harm.
Also, this is just my personal experience of course, but I think the great majority of non binary people wish to be treated equally to everyone else. This includes being called out on bad behavior.
Still a bad take. Previous assholery does not justify present assholery in an unrelated situation. Assholes of any status shouldn’t need to be told to stop being assholes, but here things have always been.
To paraphrase Walky back when he first learned of Ruth and Billie:
www(.)dumbingofage(.)com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/labcoats
Consider some friggin’ nuance.
Welp. That link had me fooled. Those parentheses looked like something else to me.
Enby here. I find that a pretty whack line to draw, since that would mean only Carla here, as far as we know and I remember, could call Booster out for their shitty behaviour.
This is one of those things that’s messy – If “Shut Up, Booster” becomes a “Shut Up, Wesley” type meme then sure, it’s bad. But we’ve got to be able to treat enby people as people – that is, the same as we would anyone else in the same circumstances, if what we’re dealing with isn’t their enby-ness.
And replying to what Booster just did with “Shut up” is quite normal. That shit they said (and especially saying it publicly, to a bunch of folks who didn’t ask for it) was super rude.
See, the problem is, now I want there to be a “Shut up booster.” meme. Just because I thought “Shut Up Westley” was hilarious.
Okay, as an enby myself, I’ll engage with this. I’m pretty sure you’re not saying that a real life cis person should never tell a real life enby to shut up under any circumstances, so I’m not going to try and say anything on that front.
I disagree with you. (Incoming TLDR!)
Entirely meta: yes, you could point to a parade of trans or otherwise oppressed characters being written in a way where it is acceptable for a cis person to yell at them, to view them as being unreasonable or annoying or abrasive, and that’s a good point about how queer characters are used in fiction.
I don’t see that as being the case here, because the comic has a whole cast of characters, cis or otherwise, routinely pulling shit and then being told off. There’s no exclusivity to Booster being told off in this, and more importantly, I don’t think Ruth screaming ‘shut up’ is in any way meant to be seen as Good or Reasonable. It reads like she’s lashing out as fast as possible as angrily as she can because she wants them to STOP, and it’s an understandable emotional response but not narratively framed as the morally right thing to do. She’s drawn to look furious and at the end of her rope, and her snapping at them is an obvious stress response- something Ruth is prone to do when she’s under pressure, something that feeds in to the bad reputation of abuser she made for herself, and nothing that’ll do anything good for her except maybe get Booster to pause a moment.
So, I think there’d be an argument if the enby character was not only our only trans/enby rep but also being constantly snapped at while written to be unlikable and pretentious, and the people screaming at them shown to be completely justified in their outbursts, but until that is the case I think we’re good.
@Ivy (in case the ordering of comments makes it unclear), Of all the responses I think I like this one the most. I think you explain the original sentiment better than the OP did, but also explain why the sentiment is probably off-base in this specific instance. I did see some other good points made, but a lot of them were also phrased rudely which is not really what this discussion needed more of.
I’m glad to see the responses to this post. As someone who is black I REALLY am irked when my race is used as a reason to see me different or not wanna be confrontational. It’s kinda condescending. I’m still a person. If I’m overstepping or being a dick feel free to tell me to shut up. If we disagree feel free to argue.
On that topic I’m sick of people acting like someone’s identity is limited to their race, gender, and sexuality. Sure things are bad for enby people in terms of how people treat them. But the “cis person” you’re referring to is a bisexual girl dealing with depression, separation anxiety, heavy medications and had both her parents die. Like…I really wish we’d stop defining people BY their “other”ness because now it’s resulting in the reverse. A lack of empathy for someone who ticks none of the boxes on our little checklists. I know “Straight white males” who’s lives have been WAY harder than mine because of a tough home life or bad financial situation or medical issues that simply don’t effect me. I’d REALLY prefer people not feel as if “other” people shouldn’t be held to the same standard as person you’ve determined to not be “other”. That’s the opposite of progress. That’s just bias backwards.
Yotomoe marry me
Yotomarry?
Sheesh, take a guy out to dinner first. You gotta wine and dine me. Except I don’t drink so you should lemonade and serenade me instead.
Thank you, that’s a super insightful comment!
Too often i’ve seen people engage in oppression bingo, and trying to shut each other up by claiming to be subjected to more oppressions.
We should start listening to people because they are PEOPLE.
Yes, intersectional discriminations always play a role, but we often forget that everyone else is PEOPLE too.
Bias backwards is Saib. Other than that, Yotomoe, you’re pretty damn smart for a human.
Very well said. I hope I can teach my children the same nuanced view of people.
Thank you for this.
Just because you’re a minority doesn’t give you a pass to be a jerk to other people.
This is way too specific in context to make it about their gender, at least I’d think so
Carla’s character is a direct refutation of your stance. Non-cis and non-het people can still definitely be assholes. They deserve that opportunity. It doesn’t make them immune to criticism.
Only Amazigirl is immune to criticism.
As much as I’m enjoying this and don’t think it’s quite as malicious as other people do, the shut up definitely warranted here
It may not be malicious but it is definitely tone deaf.
amber got the last word.
Amber’s got the most perceptive comment of the last three strips.
Amber said what we were all thinking.
Of course Booster has no desire to feed Carla’s “need for attention”. Why reinvent the wheel?
I figure it’s about not Outing her
The floor already knows, other than the wilfully ignorant like Joyce.
Booster wouldn’t know that everyone else knows though I agree their “No” was about not giving her attention.
I think the “No.“ was the summary of their assessment of Carla’s character 😀
Does the floor already know? There are only a few people that it’s been made clear know – Sal, Ruth, Billie, Mary, Malaya. Have we seen anyone else reveal it?
It’s kind of a weird case, since the Ruttens are public figures and the information is out there, but it’s not that likely random teenagers would follow that closely.
But everyone already knows Carla’s an egomaniac and an asshole tho lol
But they don’t know why.
I think that is over-stating Carla’s character. To be fair, she *is* pretty awesome, but she is not a bully. She gives as good (actually better) than she gets. She does not run around picking on rando’s.
Booster didn’t do Carla because this is about establishing a power dominance over all of the other floor members. Booster is methodically going to control and dominate their surroundings.
Carla can’t be broken so she’s uninteresting.
Which is itself interesting considering how often physicists want to analyze opposing forces.
That and Carla has the resources to crush Booster like a bug and they’re smart enough to know that.
The question is: Does -Booster- know about Carla?
Yeah, Walker introduced her by mentioning her parents own Zoomer and also as her wanting attention so They probably put 2 and 2 together and realized
A. Carla feeds on attention, rather good or bad
B. Even though she probs wouldn’t bring her parents into it, Carla’s pockets run deep
The last we needed was a replacement Mike.
Not because we needed to replace Mike (we didn’t) but because we didn’t need a Mike at all.
Yes we do need a Mike, there must be someone who is blatantly unlikable in order to make other characters look better. With a Mike, life are balanced, as all things should be.
We already have Mary.
Mary’s not a foil, just an antagonist. She spurs character development only in the sense that she keeps the plot moving.
Mike is a force of nature. The conservation of Mikeness is a universal constant. If you destroy one Mike, another will spontaneously arise to take his place.
Well known phenomenon.
How unrealistic is it compared to the rest of the Dumbiverse for Mike to have set this up in case of his death?
Not very. Honestly, this is my headcanon now.
Funny, I thought the meaning of all this was that we always need a Mike to die for our sins. The more you know.
So you’re saying that Jesus is Mike
In my headcanon one of them is a fictional character while the other is real, but your mileage may vary.
Okay, continuing on with the “how insightful is Booster, actually”…
vs Walky: I mean, you’ve been talking with him all day and like half your interactions spell this out. You’re not WRONG, but it’s hardly challenge mode.
vs Lucy: Again, not wrong but also not very difficult.
vs Carla: Walky all but explicitly said she’s an attention… er, hound? Yes, attention hound, let’s go with that. And “no” isn’t all that insightful anyway.
vs Amber: *file not found*
* “how insightful is Booster, actually” SCORECARD
vs anyone she hasn’t gotten to yet: 403 Forbidden
Anyone they haven’t gotten to yet.
I suspect we do not have the entire background on what happened between Booster and their old roommate.
My brain is telling me its something to do with this type of behavior and maybe their roommate snapping and choosing not to use their name or pronouns in anger? Bad move but maybe?
I kinda like the idea that it has nothing to do with their last roommate being a bigot and them being so annoyed and even possibly emotionally damaged by Booster being a jerk all the time that the tried to get Booster get kicked out the room
That’s impossible. There’s nobody better than Walky.
NOOO ONEEEE
HIDES LIKE WAL-KY, MIC-DROPS LIKE WAL-KY
IN AN EATING MATCH NO ONE NOMS NUGGIES LIKE WALK-Y~!
HE’S ESPECIALLY GOOD AT BUTTTACCOOOS!
MY WHAT A GUY THAT WALK-YYYY!
What about Reginald, Duke of Thingley?
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlwaysSomeoneBetter
“You wanna drink, you wanna lecture us, you want more bear claws, you wanna smoke, you wanna masturbate, and you’re scared that we’ll figure out you’re actually just a Krieger clone.”
Perfect time for Ruth to put the breaks on this, yikes.
It would probably be better if she put the brakes on it, but this is Ruth we’re talking about…
Honestly I’d go with the former.
Booster is being pretty awful and I’m not really looking forward to having them as a main character. 🙁 They’re probably gonna grow and learn yada yada but in the meantime it’s gonna be rough to sit through. I’d feel really exposed and violated if someone did this to me when I was just sittin in a meeting.
Yeah, I’d hate for Booster to take the spotlight instead of the well-centered characters who don’t have huge issues in their lives and mindsets like…
…
…
…well, Becky and Dina, I guess.
Um.
Hmm.
Sal? I guess Sal counts right now…
Well, at least on the bright side, the last few unnecessary potshots are based on things that someone could have reasonably figured out just by being present during that awkward conversation earlier.
On the other hand, Jesus Christ, Booster, do you even have an off-switch? Like, I can’t even figure out why they did this. They don’t seem to take any pleasure in it with anyone other than Rachel and Roz, and they don’t seem abundantly eager to show off, so I’m assuming they think they’re helping? Only other explanation I can think of is that Ruth asked for it and everyone other than Ruth pissed them off, so this is their way of backhandedly getting revenge. Or they’ve got some kind of philosophical argument coming up, like “Everyone’s an asshole, and it’s my duty to tell them upfront why they suck so they can stop being assholes and I don’t have to deal with their bullshit anymore.” Regardless…yeesh.
As I said in another comment, I’m getting middle child syndrome here, but I’ll admit it’s an off-cuff guess and hey, I’m no better than Booster there.
I personally have a defense mechanism when I perceive someone who is vulnerable is under scrutiny and visibly uncomfortable. I’d probably do a similar thing, like, seeing Ruth, who is clearly hurting from something suddenly thrust into the centre of attention, I would do something incredibly annoying/attention seeking/vulgar so (negative) attention is now on me.
On the other hand. Gd psych undergrads. Smh
Irl example:
Jackhole: * asks trans friend what genitals she has*
Me: *goes into a very detailed description of my vag and proceeds to ask very specific questions about their own shape, colour and smell*
I’m not invited to many family gatherings tbh
You are wonderful
I think I love you.
holy moly Joyce
36 Nachitos bags
got water with that?
oh by the way, Ruth
your ego started all this
I blame Rachel more
Considering what we know about Amber, is there anything Booster could say that could really hurt her? I feel like she’d relish the outside confirmation of all of the terrible things she believes about herself. Maybe if they told her that blaming herself for every bad thing that happens is giving herself too much credit, and that she needs to be nicer to herself, then that would set her off.
“Your fanfictions aren’t that good”
‘Stucky is a bad ship’.
“StarkWidow is the true ship”
Anything positive really would set her off
You will inevitably become your father.
Alternately – Which one are you? There’s so little difference it’s hard to tell.
Booster isn’t trying to hurt anyone. Mike preyed on people’s insecurities to hurt them. Booster is trying to tear down the lies people tell themselves and/or the masks they hide behind. Neither Carla or Amber have these issues, which is why they weren’t addressed.
And yet he bulldozes past consent and is hurting people, theres nothing constructive or helpful about “ Lol serious middle child energy”
(They.)
If I do dumb things or say a comment that was true but was tactjless, I’d want to get called out on them. Why should people give me a pass on being an asshole just because I didn’t intend to be one?
That’s like saying every helicopter parent gets a pass because they had good intentions.
I should have been more clear; I was not trying to give Booster a pass on what they’re doing, simply distinguishing their intent from Mike. In his flashbacks, we saw Mike nearly use his manipulative powers for good, but even Willis admitted that Mike had gone too far to earn a redemption arc. I think this is Willis’ attempt to remedy that. Booster is very intentionally a Mike reboot, but one that has the potential for good. I think the fact they are being a total ass right now, while irl is very much unacceptable, is Willis trying to establish this as fast as possible. Booster may not be the Mike these characters deserve, but is still the one they need.
Honestly, on a personal level, i’d prefer Mike.
Like, Mike is a jerk but at least that’s something everyone, including him, understands.
People who are jerks but think they’re doing it in everyone’s best interest are tiresome because when you call them out they try to turn it on you. Especially armchair psychologists.
I hope Mike wasn’t killed off because Willis thought Mike was irredeemable. He was a frustrating but interesting character and I would’ve loved to see him get some fleshing out. He seemed to hint at it a bit but nothing really came of it. I loved seeing his and Amber’s relationship in ShortPacked! and was interested to see how Willis was gonna defang him while keeping him sharp.
If Booster is smart enough to make those comments, Booster’s bright enough to know that they hurt. “I was only trying to help them understand themselves” is bullshit, Booster is not a psychologist and they didn’t ask for this.
I’m not saying that their intent is to hurt people, but that’s what Ruth’s afraid of, which is why she’s telling Booster to shut up. And considering what they’re saying to everyone else, Ruth is right to expect that from Booster, whether or not they actually would.
Amber would agree with the outside confirmation, but it would still damage her. The last thing she needs is more reinforcement of her worst fears about herself.
so we’re just getting rid of the fourth wall entirely, huh
Seriously, right? This is so very hard on my suspension of disbelief – yes, even moreso than having an amateur superhero – that I’m really hoping there’s some kind of explanation coming. Like, they have sort of backstory that makes these sort of bulls-eye dart throw analyses from an apparently second-semester psych major who only met some of these people a few hours ago so very on target.
Sure, Mike was doing this kind of thing once in a while as a younger kid, but Mike was doing it with people he’d apparently known for a while, and that’s different.
So I’m hanging on to the idea that there’s some kind of backstory here which makes this make sense, because however good it may’ve looked in the script, it is wow not working for me.
A lot of it is just stuff Walky told them paraphrased and delivered rudely.
I’m not saying I’m happier about it than you are, but I don’t see what backstory could be presented that would be any easier on my sense of disbelief, at least
Like, I think it would be stranger if there WAS some complicated secret reason
Neither do I! I don’t see how this is made to make sense. But I’ve been reading since early Shortpacked! and Willis is a pretty good storyteller, generally, and I’m hoping he has something and will surprise me in a good way.
DoA Season 2: Take Down the (4th) Wall!!
The question is not why Booster is doing this. The question is why is Willis doing this. Why does the author feel he needs a character to do what Booster does? The point of Booster is they are accurate about the fundamental problems these fictional people have. And tell the reader. He’s like the drawn version of the omniscient third-person narrator. It seems an odd turn for the strip to take.
My guess is Willis feels it’s been too long since he’s been damned, and he misses it.
Wow, Booster took the When You’re Evil song to heart and went for heavy hits. Also, there’s a new video by Daria Cohen.
I mean.
They Mike not be?
If they’re Mike, it was good of them to meet Amber earlier and give her a heads up. You know, just to Warn’er.
I’m a bit late to the party and like real confused at exactly what brought this on? It’s almost like Booster couldn’t stop if they wanted to. I’m a little scared for them.
I’ve been tempted to joke that an inability to stop once they got started is the price they paid for their mind-reading powers, but it’s a pretty dumb joke, tbh.
Interesting possibility. Good observation!
I wonder if Booster has autism or a similar condition that makes them bad at reading social situations. That would explain their inability to stop until blatantly told.
Seems unlikely- neither I nor any other autistic peron I’ve ever talked to could have come up with all these devastatingly accurate character analyses unless we’d had several months or even /years/ to observe our victims.
That’s a good point.
“Replacement Mike” charges a quarter for doin’ your mom.
They have a booth with a sign saying “Brainfuck your mom: 5 cents. The Doctor is |In|.”
The Doctor is [In] (your Mom).
Donning our tinfoil hats, if Booster were a surgically altered Mike in witness protection, enjoying delivering painful truths from the safety of a new identity – how would he/they interact with Amber?
And how is Booster reacting to Amber?
Mission impossible mask Mike.
1: Unlikely. If Mike were placed in Witness Protection, he’d be shunted off far, far away from the college. There doesn’t seem to be much reason to keep him in the same area, especially since his parents would also probably need to enter Witness Protection.
2: But going with the tinfoil for a moment? Probably a lot like Booster has already: Like Amber is a giant pile of gasoline soaked tinder piled atop oiiy rags next to a nuclear warhead.
Not that Mike is/was against hurting people, of course. But he’s a sportsman, damn it, he’s not going to do it recklessly and carelessly!
Mike was a sportsman in that he’d watched a few minutes of pro-wrestling before deciding he’d try to suplex the neighbor kid.
Okay this is really based on nothing but if Booster normally acts like this around people I wonder if there’s more to the situation with Booster’s old roommate? This is admittedly a huge reach but I could see someone lashing out at Booster with their old name or term Booster didn’t like to try and get back at them for the harsh and unwanted psychoanalysis. It was probably just a throw away line to justify Booster switching rooms but it’s something to think about.
Could’ve been intentional deadnaming/misgendering, which, no matter the circumstances, is NEVER ok, it just isn’t. But I’ve ALSO noticed even people in the comments misgendering Booster, especially when they’re upset at his actions, so it could’ve been accidental; which is still not cool.
And I just realized Willis might’ve named them ‘Booster’ because they think they can use philosophy to ‘boost’ others.
You know the thing where when you correct someone’s spelling you inevitably make a typo? Yeah. I agree with you, but this is funny.
Well, if you need to practice using pronouns in an unfamiliar way but don’t want to ruin someone’s day when you fuck it up, a cartoon character is a safe person to practice on….
You would think. I’ve seen some very bad responses to mistakes in discussions….
Then again I’ve seen morons try to defend mistakes “isjusa drawing not real”, so….I can see where the rage comes from.
“You know the thing where when you correct someone’s spelling you inevitably make a typo?”
It’s called “Muphry’s Law”. And no, there is no typo in the previous sentence.
I’ve also heard it called “Grznt’s Law of Pedantfy”
Upset at *his* actions huh? Lol
Sure, deadnaming and misgendering are always always always asshole things to do.
And people around their 20’s, when pissed off, aren’t unknown to act like assholes as revenge against people who are pissing them off.
Booster’s gonna have some damage. Everyone in the comic does, yes, literally, everyone, they’re all fucked up dumbasses/assholes in one way or another. It’s, well, kinda a theme…
Dina is perfect though
I’d like to tell you you’re just wrong.
I’d like to tell you why you’re wrong, but you are not, so I’ll just get into the parade and Walk like an Eocene-ian.
Amber has the best take of this entire sequence.
Change my mind.
Why would I want to change your mind?
You’re right!
You should change your mind every 300,000 thoughts or 3 months.
I’ll go one step further. Booster is the DoAverse reboot of the drunk ‘Nice Mike’ from the Walkyverse. This is Willis’s way of telling us this.
She’s definitely saying what I’ve been thinking for some time now. Not that I don’t like Booster, but they’re sorta taking the place of Mike right now, though a bit nicer.
Booster goes into his magic psychic mind vault for intel on Amber, sees everything, and just explodes
Did you just accidentally misgender Booster? Not cool.
I’m not on patreon but that preview panel is giving me ProZD vibes
King Dragon sends his regards
IT’S MY ASS-KICKING OUTFIT bongo
God DAMN Booster.
Mike would be so turned on right now.
Mike Is turned on right now.
There is a knocking sound coming from his grave, wood against wood, freaking out the undertaker walking by.
Wow, and they continue to be an asshole.
Is it just me or are the colors weird here, especially towards the right side of the strip? Like Ruth looks washed out. I feel like something is up.
Well I looked at the strip on another screen and it doesn’t look like that anymore, so nevermind I guess lol.
Is Booster going to have any friends?
^quite a question
Yeah, I’m a little worried that poor Booster might have torpedoed their social prospects right out of the gate.
“So you ARE replacement Mike.”
“Oh, not at all. I’m MUCH worse.”
Friggin’ called it.
Oh God, that’s depressing
So, Mike and Booster are two incarnations of the Endless?
Disparagement, a more sophisticated version of Destruction?
Okay, Booster, calm down. I know that this is fun but you need to stop before people’s heads start exploding! Rachel is already kind of close!
Amber though…? I don’t know what’s in her head and neither does Booster. I wonder if they genuinely want to help her, based on their expression in that last panel.
what if booster’s twin was mike
what if they’ve been getting the inside scoop the entire semester
and saw the opportunity when they found out where they were getting transferred
i’m not great at conspiracies but i tried
Booster has a twin sister and Amber doesn’t seem to know them, so not likely.
apparently i missed the sister bit, i only remembered “twin”
whoops
Damn it Booster, don’t sink the Walky/Lucy ship before it even leaves the harbor.
I don’t understand the Booster love in the comment section. Everyone being entitled to their own opinion of course, but all I’ve seen is Booster throwing out reads left and right, regardless of whether or not the subject consented. That’s not fun, that’s cruel. Obviously Walky wasn’t comfortable with it, yet Booster insisted on reading him anyway. I don’t see someone being witty or clever, all I see is an arrogant jerk who thinks they’re smarter than everyone else in the room and needs to prove it
I think it’s one of those situations where people love them as a character, not as a person.
It is pretty shitty. But a lot of the characters of this comic have a shitty to good and funny ratio where they’re shitty sometimes and fun and normal other times. With luck booster will fix their ratio after this genuinely dickish last few strips.
I mean, i personally can find them enjoyable since there are no real life consequences to it, same with how I loved mike. It’d be annoying in real life but here it’s just fun, especially since a lot of this is stuff I’d want to say to the characters. Maybe I’m a bit of a hypocrite because of that, maybe a touch of internalized misogyny since I find Malaya and Anna annoying, but whatever, they’re fun to me. And I’m also a psych undergrad so that’s part of it, though i keep my analyses to myself and I’m really the only person I analyze anyway. I am curious though, Booster love seems to be the unpopular opinion so, were you under the impression that it’s popular or were you questioning why anyone loves booster at all?
Booster hate at this point seems to be the popular opinion, but in the last few days of comments (before things ACTUALLY hit the fan) I’ve been wincing, and everyone else has been ‘I love them!’
Personally, I enjoy Booster’s analysis, but it is more about narrative catharsis rather than based on morality. Based on morality this whole thing is a MAJOR YIKES and I completely understand why people hate it and agree that it absolutely is not an okay thing to do and after Roz, it absolutely did go too far to just start doing it to everyone that spoke.
Like up until Roz, I can understand. Maybe you think you are helping Ruth or miss how self-destructive she is being, okay, mistakes happen. Then Rachel makes a comment at you, okay, maybe that annoys you or you think you know why she is doing it, so you ask. Then Roz tries to interject unnecessarily so you call her on that too. Everything past that is a breathing through the teeth sharp intake of ‘why didn’t you stop’.
Booster’s gonna catch some hands if they’re not careful with that.
Why DIDN’T you read Carla, Booster? I’m genuinely curious to know what your take was on her.
“you go out of your way to piss off everyone you encounter so people will hate you for being annoying instead of being trans” is way too obvious for Booster to even reach for that low-hanging fruit.
… Huh. I wonder if Booster is doing something similar? Though whether it’s deliberate or subconsciously I couldn’t say.
Because if Booster was an all-knowing sage, they’d know that all Carla wants is just attention, and by not giving it to her it’d be more cutting than anything else they could actually do.
Booster has already met Carla twice and that’s enough for them to know that this is one brain you should avoid prying into unless you’re being paid and paid well!
That WAS Booster’s read on Carla. Carla wants attention, so Booster won’t give it to her.
Maybe they are witness protection Mike hiding in plain sight?
No. Simply goddamn no. Amber does not say that.
She’s really only ever had two friends, she thinks she’s responsible for the death of one (Mike), her other friend holds her responsible for the death of Mike and so she lost that friend.
Under no circumstances does she use the term ‘Replacement Mike’.
No. Nein. Not a bit.
Its the nastiest thing she can say to herself.
Other than being disruptive does Booster have any ground to work with to say that Lucy can do better? Is it just a low opinion of Walky and that he shouldn’t be pursued by anyone?
I’m also curious as to how I should read Lucy’s “I can help you”, does she mean with Walky’s difficulty handling emotions, or litterally “If I say anything I’ll shift the target to me and you won’t have to say lalalal anymore.”
Booster’s opinion of Walky is pretty contemptuous for someone doing them a favor.
I mean, they’ve been with Walky all day and lucy’s obviously a sweetie. Anyone could tell she could do better
But like… can she really? Wally is funny, good-natured, attractive, intelligent, and has money.
He’s a little silly sure, but he’s like an 8/10 partner generally.
I’d give him a 7/10 because he is supportive of, values and listens to his partners despite his general level of immaturity but yes, Lucy could do better. She could also do a lot worse. Walky has growing to do still mostly related to filtering what he says better, so he really would not be to my tastes at all, but he’s not bad, he’s just not great either. For a partner, he does tend to step up and push himself to be better though, which Booster wouldn’t know as that’s not a trait you can cold read easily I would think.
I was irked by that statement from Booster too. All of their prior comments were essentially observations, but their remark to Lucy was really a judgment call. Who are you to say what a person’s value is? Or to cast aspersions on somebody’s preferences/types? Just because somebody is unambitious in life, or dumber, or uglier, doesn’t mean that they’re a failure or lesser, and it doesn’t mean that somebody who is “superior” is faulty for liking or loving somebody who isn’t “on their level”.
Man booster was doing so well with the people they were meeting until now. Now they’re gonna be ‘the asshole who psychoanalyzes people after a sentence and then tries to rudely announce their secrets” instead of anything else.
I think Booster’s comments actually indicated they weren’t a nice person throughout this journey.
People just ignored them.
Does anyone else feel like the “Walky doesn’t know how to genuinely deal with emotions” has become a sort of walking (no pun intended) joke at this point? There are definitely still times that we’ve seen him not take things seriously that he should – and times, especially early on, where he’s been oblivious – but he’s also confronted his emotions several times in healthy, self-aware ways, and he’s shown himself to be pretty aware and considerate of the emotions of others.
And like, his “lalalalala” thing here kind of highlights the absurdity of what Booster’s doing to everyone in a way that suggests he’s perfectly aware of his shortcomings and just doesn’t want to hear about them from a stranger in front of everyone
Walky tends to be aware of the feelings of others but he has not always been shown to be considerate of them (he made fun of Joyce WITHIN EARSHOT early on and part of his growth with Sal was recognising she was being mistreated and being more considerate of her).
He doesn’t know how to just get through feelings without verbally doing the equivalent of a keyboard smash though and he doesn’t know how to cope with feelings of stress/anxiety, often becoming avoidant, or fear/discomfort, slipping into making jokes that may make it all worse. He might be less avoidant now since he knows it doesn’t help, but negative feelings are still something he clearly struggles to deal with.
I’m beginning to wonder if Booster chose their major based on the fact they’re aware they have trouble reading the room and decided to study something related to reading people. Of course this isn’t a fool proof plan as it turns out in preventing messing up. I mean the fact they just kept going like a train with no breaks until explicitly told to shut up by Ruth makes me wonder what the issue is there with them. It’s like they were compelled and couldn’t stop as soon as they got into the swing of things.
Granted it does make me wonder too if Booster has any lingering issues about how their roommates transphobia affected them. Trying to make themselves disliked for other reasons.
Or heck maybe they’re trying to be a common enemy for the dysfunctional dorm. Though that’s a bit too selfless for a complete newcomer.
Damn, Booster, maybe pace yourself a bit.
Sure the comic needs a new asshole character but at least Mike kept that shit reined in. Try to make your mean shit a little more “precision strike” and a little less “scorched earth” or people won’t keep you around longer than one conversation.
Honestly Booster is the first major character I would, if I met them in real life, actively avoid future interaction with.
Well put. Even Hannibal Lecter established a rapport with Clarice Starling before calling her a rube.
Really?
I can see that, depending on how we characterize “major character”. (Mary, for instance, doesn’t have an entry on the cast page and so could be argued to not qualify for “major”.)
..yunno I’m sure Willis isnt doing this on purpose but why are most of the non binary characters assholes?
Possibly because he wants to portray a non-binary character who isn’t a perfect saint?
Some media (especially from cishet creators) that features NB or trans characters will erase any flaws for fear of angering someone or being called transphobic. I think Willis is making a conscious effort to create nuanced and flawed characters regardless of their gender expression.
Remember Carla’s question to Ruth of “everyone else in this dorm acts like a little shit, why do I have to be a perfect angel just because I’m trans?”
Winner winner, chicken dinner.
I’m not saying they can’t have flaws, but pretty much every NB character bar jocelyn is an asshole. Malaya and carla are just assholes, and are intentionally so, and now booster who can very clearly see that no one else besides Ruth asked for the psycho analysis and airing out their issues publicly without any care for how anyone else feels.
No issue with these characters having flaws. That’s fine, but when it seems like the majority of the NB characters are intentionally causing problems without care for others it feels disheartening as a NB person myself.
Having flaws is ine thing, but when they all seem to be intentionally being assholes it just seems like a pattern.
Again from what I know of Willis this is not intentional. And I do appreciate that hes willing to show “NB people can be assholes too but that doesnt detract from their identity”,
I dunno, I’m not trying to do a callout post or anything, it’s just sometimes you see shit and wonder if it’s a pattern and I hope at the very least booster proves remorseful. Itd be better than what would happen were it carla and malaya.
I rambled a bit sorry
I don’t think their assholish-ness is associated with their NBness in particular – a LOT of Willis’ characters have douchey sides. I think it makes it easier for him to tell stories about them that way. He doesn’t really do ‘role-model’ characters.
Oh, I have my own issues with Roz being depicted as the “problematic Cancel Culture Twitter leftist” when she’s a) basically the only activist POC character in the comic, b) one of the only leftists in the comic who actually DOES activism. Willis kind of likes to put her in this position where Becky, the white girl, just sort of constantly shittalks her, and we’re supposed to see Becky as being at the disadvantage in that dynamic. And then Dorothy, another white girl, goes and lectures Roz about how problematic she’s being.
Roz has been campaigning for Planned Parenthood in Indiana. She put herself in the line of fire with that sex tape. Seriously, Dorothy and Becky don’t really do *shit*.
I have a problem with people declaring one instance of a character type to be THE instance of that character type; I used to follow a webcomic (which, sadly, ended with the creator’s death) where the first human who appeared was evil, therefore “All humans are evil.” Didn’t give the comic a chance to show the 99% NOT evil humans.
Willis rebooted the universe that was predominantly white characters (except Walky and Sal) and has GRADUALLY been injecting non-white and non-cis characters as the plot can allow as a counterbalance. Heck, look at Billie being retconned as half-Chinese. Yes, it would be cooler if there was a more representative cross-section of races and personalities. No, it would be jarring to just shove them all in for the sake of having them.
* 99% of humans who were NOT evil
tho some of them were prob 99% not evil, I suppose
They can be written however Willis wants, obviously. I guess after Carla, Malaya and now Booster, it’s also not unimaginable that some people might want some less abrasive representation.
That’s due to most of the characters being assholes. The comic’s not called “smarting of age”.
Although *that* raises the question, why are most of the characters assholes? Yes it’s a drama, but it still seems like people are perpetually at each others throats over one thing or another.
Drama and humor.
Who isn’t an asshole in this strip?
Blowjob Cat
That’s an unfair comparison. How can you be an asshole when you’re an impressionist sculpture lacking the right anatomy?
I’unno, take another look at it’s ‘lips’
Dina?
Let’s say that being an asshole means not sufficiently considering or valuing the feelings of the other people around you.
Non-assholes might be Lucy, Dorothy, Ethan, Jocelyne, Joyce, Dina, probably Sal, arguably Danny and Jacob. Also tertiary characters like Agatha and Sierra. I’m probably missing some.
Leslie isn’t an asshole either, despite terrible romantic taste, ie, being into assholes.
I wish there were more non-assholes tbh, as I relate to nice people and really don’t love hanging out with ascerbic characters, but Willis loves ’em.
Snoop is best not asshole
The cat at Dina’s/Sarah’s party? TOTAL asshole, and showed it, too
It feels worth mentioning that willis also came out as nb. Idk if that changes anything in this conversation, it just like it could add a different perspective or something
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Fair enough. Still cant help but feel the connections in my own head
To be fair, everyone in this comic is an asshole to some extent (except Ethan and Dina) so intentionally making non binary characters different would kinda defeat the point of inclusion
How did I not see that coming …
Wow, Rude. Booster’s nothing like Mike
Booster with that strong Pusha T energy
Okay, Ruth was literally asking for it. And Rachel and Roz were metaphorically asking for it with their selfish comments. But just publicly embarrassing these other random people by laying their shit out there? I was worried that Booster was going to wind up being too perfect, but he’ll fit in just fine here.
*They
If Booster is smart enough to nail all these calls based on their limited experience with everyone, they’re definitely smart enough to realize Ruth wasn’t actually asking for it and was just engaging in some self-destructive behaviour after being attacked. They knew opening their mouth would be a dick move, and they ran with it gleefully.
Seriously, why is this so hard for people? Is Willis going to have to pull a Never Satisfied and just start deleting comments? Because I wouldn’t mind that. I’m a binary trans girl but it’s still getting upsetting.
Right? I’m cis but it’s still upsetting to see. I get that it’s accidental and can be hard for some people but it’s starting to feel malicious, it’s almost always in comments criticizing them. Like criticize the character that’s fine but it’s not hard to put some thought into using the right pronouns
I think Willis has already started deleting some. The one yesterday where someone intentionally misgendered Booster because they didn’t like them got deleted, thankfully. I’m all-aboard the Booster hate train, but that kinda shit just outs people as transphobes and we don’t accept their kind here.
There’s a lot of things I don’t appreciate about Willis, but I can definitely get behind actions like that.
IMO, if someone isn’t reading close enough to have clued in on the pronouns by now, they’re probably not going to have an informed opinion on the character and/or comic. IMO.
You don’t have to read closely, both Walky and Joyce have point blank said “this is booster, they use they/them pronouns”
It’s still easy to slip if you’re not used to thinking that way. I think I’ve seen a couple who used “they” in one place in a post and “he” in another.
I’ve been wondering if maybe the problem is the ratio of comments to content. Booster hasn’t been around that long or had a lot to say. But there have been loads of comments about them. A bunch with genuine mistakes where people just haven’t been paying attention. But then more and more, perhaps because other people, having read those (even with the corrections) gets stuck in their head and then trips them up because the comments are more recent and prevalent than the content.*
*At least for the people who having done it genuinely wish for an edit button to take it back.
You’re right. My apologies to all
Ayep, replacement Mike all the way. I hope they die too. One less asshole in the world will not make me mourn.
Mike never died. He just regenerated into Booster and if they die they’ll regenerate into another.
Mike confirmed as a time lord.
I wonder what Amber means by replacement Mike. I mean from a meta perspective we know what she means by that, but like. That’s an odd thing to say in real life about a dead friend.
Does she feel guilty? Is Booster making her sad by reminding her of Mike? Is she trying to distance herself from Mike’s death by saying “well there’s a new Mike now. This person will fill this role.” ?
And no one can say Amber is wrong.
So, so incredibly awful.
I don’t just mean it’s a terrible thing to do, but practically speaking, too. Who is going to change their behavior for the better when you lay the law down like that? I reckon half the room is going to double down exactly Because he tore into their flaws, for everyone to hear. He’s trading results for showing off.
*They
Not intentional, of course.
Sorry, Carla. No narcissistic supply for you.
The last few panels have reminded me, all over again, why I am not nostalgic about my university days.
Yeah, Amber’s totally right here. What an asshat fucking move. If I can Booster this really quick, my vibe from Booster is they are… kind of mean? I don’t really get much of a personality from them yet. They just sort of randomly started being cruel to people.
And no, Roz wasn’t asking for this. Frankly, nobody asked for this—except Carla, who was asking for attention and acknowledgement and then got an edgy “no” because gotta upset everyone I guess.
I guess my vibe of Booster is “they don’t like anyone here and don’t want to be in this dorm”. Which is a weird take.
Also, I’m kind of tired of Carla just being talked about as a narcissist when her habit of seeking attention from everyone has major “doesn’t really have any friends and wants to feel known” energies that feel very familiar to me. Carla didn’t do anything to deserve Booster’s smartass little “haha, no attention for you” remark.
I… don’t *like* this. I don’t like how Willis keeps treating nonwhite and nonbinary and trans characters, I don’t like how we seem to be expected to go, “Oooh, we hate Booster but loved Mike, what a commentary” when no, I disliked Mike to an almost unfair degree and really hate Booster (and Leslie’s current also nonwhite gf) being put into his role, I don’t like how unrealistic Booster feels right now (again, is the point here that Booster just wants to be gone? Why are they HERE). I don’t like how many people in the comments are misgendering Booster. I don’t like how Carla’s “narcissism” is being treated in this arc when all she’s done is try to be included in things even if it’s a joke.
And I really, really don’t like how Roz is constantly treated in this comic because IT’S GETTING REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE. She has a vitriolic hatedom in these comments sections, she’s constantly being put in positions where we’re supposed to root for Becky and Dorothy to own her like she’s some privileged white Chapo Chaphouse bro or whatever—I feel like at some point Willis decided to turn his main activist character into a parody of Mean Leftist Twitter and totally disregarded everything else about her identity, including everything she’s risked and sacrificed, so that Becky can always have maximum clout against someone who seems to just be trying to do the right thing. Roz isn’t a Twitter leftist, she’s a Planned Parenthood volunteer with a lot of complicated intersections of privilege and non-privilege. She was right about Becky’s volunteering, and everyone in the comic and the comments treated her like some irrational jerk for it at the time, but we’re supposed to still see her as this mean bully after she was 100% vindicated by what went down.
I’m just really, really frustrated with this.
I think Willis means well and also is getting really carried away and isn’t treating half of his characters like characters anymore. Booster feels like the latest victim of that. I want this comic to go back to not treating half its cast like disposable extras whose personalities can shift or exaggerate wherever needed to enable Willis to make a point.
I love this take.
It really put into words what have been bugging me for quite a while with this comic
Now THIS is a good take.
That “you can do better” line killed me
RIGHT!?
Everyone remember how Joe had a website rating girls and all the other characters were mad at him, and there was an arc where he sorta realized that was awful and did his best to reverse course in an act of contrition and people sorta forgave him? Sort of a redemption arc.
Lots of opportunity for Booster to learn his keen insight should also work in conjunction with a mirror. It will be a good narrative.
Hard agree.
quick reminder that Booster uses they/them pronouns
Oh! Damn. My kingdom for a n edit feature. Or at least an un-misgendering feature!
Maybe it’s because I started reading this comic after that arc had mostly wrapped up, so I could just binge through the angy, but I don’t think I minded Joe’s bullshit quite as much. He was being a douchey little fratbro, but he also didn’t actively mean any harm and his slap came swiftly. His slow character growth has actually been one of my favourite parts of the comic.
Booster though? Maybe it’s because I’m reading it in real time so the angy has more time to seep in, but they appear to be acting maliciously. Dumbass McHorny is always less aggravating to me than Spiteful Assbutt.
Joe spent years talking about fixing girls with his penis and using alcohol to get threesomes before we got to see any of that character growth. And he’s done some backsliding since.
We’ve only had about 5 minutes worth of Booster. I wouldn’t judge them too much based on this. We’re going to find out more about them eventually. Probably not too long – at least by this comic’s standards.
It really doesn’t matter that Joe didn’t “mean” any harm. It does matter that he tried to make it right.
Booster setting themself up for a similar jolt of redemptive reality.
What the fuck, Booster? With Ruth, it was insightful and genuinely a good and useful thing to do, but all of this has been a gross and selfish indulgence.
Lot of misgendering Booster today. Feels like we can be cautious about that whether we personally like them or not.
There really has been, hasn’t there. It’s not a great look, honestly, and I sorta expected better from folks here.
Yeah that’s honestly why I’m surprised by it.
A lot of it has been accidental, and people have either corrected themselves or someone else has politely corrected them.
Damn it Ruth, they haven’t even gotten to Mary yet! Couldn’t you just hold out for another minute?
I think Booster just doesn’t know how to stop once they get going. Which is a familiar feeling and therefore probably a bad instinct for them to follow.
Oh damn so THAT’S the purpose of Booster being similar to Mike but not quite like him – Part of Amber’s arc with dealing with the loss of Mike and how to see others for more than just surface level traits, and Booster having an arc of establishing themselves as more than just “Nicer Mike”
Wait, why will they not do Carla? I like Carla, I want to see more
Because they could correctly read that Carla wanted it for the attention, so they read her without reading her.
That being said there can and should always be more Carla.
I’m not really sure I like this side of Booster. Sure, Ruth outright invited them to psychoanalyze her, and Rachel responded to them aggressively. But everyone else… that’s a lot of pretty dang rude things to say to people, especially when you’ve presumably only known each of them for about three minutes apiece.
There’s a lot of characteristics which define people as a whole; not just our most embarrassing faults. Walky isn’t JUST his emotional immaturity, nor Ruth ONLY her desire to control her life, nor Joyce her shaky identity. Booster is basically just standing there and saying, “Hey, I’ve finished my judgement of you all; now I’m going to share your worst attributes with the class.” In a way, it kinda reminds me of how Mike crashed the Gender Studies class after Dorothy and Walky started getting together.
Booster might be a bit more amiable, might not have Mike’s perpetual scowl… but it’s arguable that Mike’s hurtful actions were done with intent to push people to be better. Booster’s cavalier attitude, combined with his change of expression in the last strip, makes me feel like he’s just really enjoying this and carrying on because his assumptions are all on the nose, without regard to the feelings of others.
Amber might be right. Meet the new Mike, same as the old Mike.
Dammit, their. Sorry.
You started out good! This is good practice!
Take comfort in that, if you were to play a drinking game whose only rule is “take a shot every time someone accidentally uses the wrong gender for Booster”, you’d be dead of alcohol poisoning halfway through the comments.
A lot of people just aren’t used to using the term for individuals, we’re dealing with decades of habits here, no one’s doing it maliciously (well, probably), it’s just something folks need to work on.
In some psycho disciplines, the student has to undergo therapy or psychoanalysis.
I’m sure Booster will come out Peachy!
Okay… Booster lost some points.
When someone “invites” you to analyze them… they don’t ACTUALLY want you to analyze them. We don’t normally want to be analyzed, unless we’re in therapy. And it’s still going to be tough to hear (which why therapy is tough). But they’re not in therapy… and Booster is still a student.
Read the room.
Bit semantics since everyone gets what you mean, but this isn’t psychoanalysis. I don’t think you can describe this as any sort of discipline at all – in the first place, psychoanalysis is a form of therapy, at least nominally intended to help the patient(though many would argue, myself included, it does not do a good job of that), and Booster is not helping anybody. It’s just a psychology-enhanced round of insults, with the added bite of truth.
-And they probably did read the room. Which is what makes this more egregious. They, completely aware of the likely future outcome, and having all but confirmed it as the room got louder and more chaotic, decided to go with it anyway.
kill them booster
Wow, you’re making friends fast, Booster.
It wouldn’t be so devastating if they weren’t right about everything, especially Carla.
I liked Mike Better
We gonna talk about the way Booster made their analysis of Lucy also into a burn on Walky?