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This book has 224 full-color pages and includes all five chapters of Year 12! A foreword by Steve Horton! 24 bonus strips! Strip commentary! Unused/rejected strips! Select from 11 unlocked character magnets or grab them all!
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“MOVE THE PLOT ALONG”
…
“TOWARD ME”
had a dude yell like that when I was doing PoGo, absolutely no idea he was talking to ME bc he was twenty feet away and shouting a general “HELLOOOOOOO” and people shout on their phones outside all the time and also I was busy looking at MY phone
turns out he wanted to walk past me
when I was standing on the sidewalk between two wide, unimpeded grass areas
like
“Excuse me, may I pass” is so hard to say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Clearly he wanted your attention for his ego’s sake. It isn’t enough for you to just move, he wanted you to say something so he knew he had your attention because he is a big deal in his own head.
Oh, look! It’s Mike’s sister.
Was this meant to be directed at my comment? I am confused by it.
I guess it’s a comment on your mildly-cynical insight into that guy’s psyche?
Maybe, after all I was going for mildly cynical so at least that part checks out.
I think it’s actually a reference to the fact that Booster is the “replacement Mike” and this is their sister, and it just got threaded accidentally
you were…pogoing? like on a stick? on the sidewalk? and the guy who wanted to walk on the sidewalk, and NOT on the grass, is somehow the problem here?
oh, pokemon go
that makes much more sense
i was so confused
I mean, using a pogo stick on unpaved ground is just unsafe, better keep that to the sidewalk than risk getting hurt.
Imagine, pogoing on some grass like a commoner. It offends my noble pogo sensibilities.
I thought it had something to do with the best possum in the Okefenokee.
We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us.
CARLA
Unfortunately a few months away from Carla Awareness week, but I guess it comes early some years.
Ultra Car Awareness Week is in October. Carla Awareness Week is every week!
It’s Carla Awareness Eternity.
Every month is Carla Awareness Month
The Dutch are a festive people.
Excuse me, but ever week, is, “Carla Awareness Week”. You’re welcome.
Every week is Carla awareness week.
Your desire for something does not obligate people to give it to you, Carla.
Carla: THAT DOES NOT COMPUTE.
It’s like we forget she’s a spoiled rich kid…
“Spoiled” is for common trash. Carla is privileged.
No, this is Carla, so it’s, “entitled”.
she should just start some kinda twitter/insta where she posts ‘thirst traps’ or something troll-ish that’d get baited and ppl talking to her
tho personally i’dr ather have attention from actual friends/spend time with them than expect a rando to talk to me XD
Doesn’t mean she can’t try; it means she is likely to try harder, as seen above.
Booster’s twin looks so cute! Idk what it is, but their design looks precious to me!
That is a very nice hair cut and shirt. Also anybody who can ignore Carla can put up with anybody so that’s a plus.
the hairstyle is pretty cute on them, and plaid /gingham shirts/tops are nice
Looks like the LTT Plaid Flannel.
…
lttstoredotcom
Her thousand yard stare certainly works for her; it makes her look interesting and serves to deter unwanted attention, at least it deters that from most people. Carla is definitely not most people, something I am sure she would be happy to admit.
Little does Carla know but that is actually just a cardboard cutout. Nice plaid shirt though.
It’s more like Carla is the cardboard cut out, because she literally only has this shtick. I thought that’s what you were saying at first when I saw the phrase.
It’s her security self-preservation tactic.
Do we know who that person is and I’m just blanking or are they a totally innocent bystander?
Almost certainly Booster’s twin. I am pretty sure we have not been graced with a name yet.
I was hoping the name would be in the tags but it’s not. Damn you, Willis.
I’m sure her appearances will be retroactively tagged once she’s named in the comic.
We can make some assumptions based on their appearance, but no, we know basically nothing about them.
It would be funny if this wasn’t actually Booster’s twin, but some person that just looks very similar to Booster but is unrelated. We are just assuming stuff based on a design.
It’s obviously Mike’s sister.
It’s got to be…
Red Herring!
Iunderstoodthatreference dot gif.
They’ve appeared in a couple previous strips and got Carla’s attention for not giving her any attention, but that’s about it. And yeah, on the balance I agree they’re probably Booster’s previously-mentioned but so far unnamed twin sister.
Previous strips?
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-13/01-bring-me-to-life-drawing/emphatically/
And the day before that:
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-13/01-bring-me-to-life-drawing/supremacy/
Is this Booster’s sibling? Why does this person not get a tag?
No name yet.
Boostette.
Second-stage.
Ronni
Because they have yet to be named.
I think people are just calling her that because she looks Boosterish and we know Booster has a sibling.
Yeah. Also, Willis will backfill tags after the name has dropped, I believe. He did that when Jennifer changed from Billie, IIRC.
Faz’s shadowy appearances during the abduction arc were only tagged after his big reveal too, and he was already an established character.
It’d be a hell of a twist if they aren’t Booster’s sibling.
Assuming Booster was like that before college, and I were their sibling, I would take great pains to make sure to get away form them in college.
So this must be their older sibling, and Booster intentionally came to the same school because that is The Asshole Thing To Do.
I think they are twins, fwiw
It would explain how they’re so good at not noticing Carla at all. Her behavior literally doesn’t register when you’ve had a Booster your whole life.
They’re fraternal twins, like Sal and Walky.
I’m wondering if we’re about to be introduced to a new deaf character.
Or she might be strongly introverted. I have an alarm on my watch permanently set at 17:00 to remind me to go home from work, ever since recently-married me got a call from his wife at 19:00 or 20:00 asking if he was planning to come home that day. I hadn’t noticed that the office had emptied at the end of the workday, because I was busy thinking.
She might have both.
I wish they got a tag even if it was something generic/anonymous, I’d like to go back and see what other strips this person was in.
Their only other appearances so far were two strips in Leslie’s class, with Carla, Jennifer, and Ruth.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/supremacy/
https://www.dumbingofage.com/emphatically/
Maybe they’ll finally get named this chapter…
Hasn’t said anything yet.
CARLA CARLA CARLA CARLA CARLA CHAMEEEEELEONNNNNNN…
This post just won the Internet.
She just won’t go,
She just won’t go-o-o,
Ignoring is easy when your Booster’s sister, it seems,
So Carla screams,
Her name she scre-e-eams.
You know what? I ship them. As the relationship stays exactly like this. Carla x Booster’s twin. The ship that will last!
I like this idea. I’m going with this headcanon until actual proven impossible
Still too early for a pie though.
lol one person being desperate for anothers attention def doesn’t seem healthy and might be borderline stalking after some point
Most ship dynamics aren’t healthy irl it’s just for fun
This.
Boosister: “Sorry, but my sib’s ego has made me invulnerable to your attack.”
Boosister, I love that.
“Huh, wonder who that was.”
That made me smile. Thank you.
How long will it be before this character gets a name.
Sister
thought that was booster for a second
MAYBE THEY’RE SIBLINGS
If they’re lucky, they make it the rest of the comic.
“My sibling also goes here. Mercifully, I have been able to avoid their social circle’s drama. It’s wack.”
Yeah, as soon as they get a name it’s over for them. Tolerating Carla antics is getting off easy compared to what any regular named character has to deal with. If they’re lucky they’ll keep this cushy cameo gag role and not have to suffer any emotional or social turmoil.
not sure how long they’ll appeara for but apparently they are in the next strip according to the blurry patreon preview tho it might remained untagged til someone talks to them/uses their name and acknowledges them
Carla is very good at keeping her bongohood cartoonish enough that we still love her.
No we don’t.
Speak for yourself
lol irl this behavior would be kinda obnoxious , i’m not confrontational but if someone was in my face like this i’d prolly either yell at them or be liek “please stop harassing me/i’ll report you” even if it’s not technically harassment in a setting full of obnoxious teens but if an adult stranger in public suddenly did this i dont’ think they should be surprised if they get pepper spraeyd
Going directly from indifference to discharging a chemical weapon is pretty steep escalation. I think we should all be surprised.
Pepper spray does a body good. Builds character.
ppl have shot at others for less, although outside of a college environment, most ppl probably wouldn’t come across this kinda situation where they could literally just leave/run away if they felt unsafe versus just some teen being obnoxious/attention seeking
It’s a comic strip. There’s gonna be some slapstick.
Only because we’re the audience.
Carla would be insufferable to deal with in person.
That describes half the cast, too.
If I knew her IRL I would sort her as “interesting, but never going to be my favorite person.” She seems to be rather fun to know, as long as you feed her positive attention and stay out of the splatter zone.
I have enough leftover love from SP! that true disdain is not really possible. Still waiting for her to hit Ethan with a pie tho
Notice how her eyes move once the sign is introduced… I wonder if she’s hard of hearing?
In re-reading the previous 2 strips, plus this one, yeah, that was my first impression, too. Or, alternatively, just possessing really good attention focus, and not easily distracted by random Carlas.
it was a bit odd that she didn’t get in front of her because most ppl wouldn’t see a sign from the back even with peripheral versus there also being a crowd off screen of every one else but her staring at carla lol
I’ve been assuming she was hard of hearing or Deaf this whole time, I didn’t realize others hadn’t been.
Beyond “rule of funny”, I figure a deaf person would have noticed Carla’s antics by now.
Not saying that not!Booster isn’t deaf, but this feels more like a sort of active ignoring than anything.
Carla transcends auditory sensory reception
I have not had a good day thus far, and if someone did this to me they would be eating their own shoe before the day was over.
Joke’s on you, Carla’s a masochist.
Have a better day tomorrow. Particularly if that’s a low bar.
Thank you, and yeah the bar is undergroundvat this point. Clearly I need to stop reading the news, it only makes my day worse.
I 100% support that decision. Cutting down on news is self-care
i imagine someone like carla IRL wouldn’t do this considering she’s openly(?) trans, so most trans ppl wouldn’t risk getting attacked even if she’s that desperate for attention, other than annoying someone half her age i can’t imagine anyone lgbt presenting would even think of irritating an adult stranger
One of the things to remember about Carla is that she’s not just trans.
She’s also the daughter of uber-wealthy gig-economy industrialists who, despite all of that being the worst possible people in existence, are also actually good parents somehow.
Her family literally has “fuck you and the government you rode in on” money. That sort of status and the word “restraint” rarely go together…
Trans invisibility is a thing, and Carla’s way of coping does not include coping.
So, a political attack would probably fail, or at least do you more damage than it’s worth.
Carla is tall, well-muscled, athletic and generally fit. She could do serious damage responding to physical attack.
Carla has impenetrable self-esteem, so don’t bother with a verbal attack.
Carla is a pretty good engineer and quite creative. Her response to a serious prank could leave you hors de combat for a week, and everybody around you would be cheering.
It seems her only weak spot is people that she cares about. And I would not want to probe that spot — see above.
Carla’s also dedicated to non-violence, preferring sweet, sweet pranks. Her response to Mary was a laser show spelling out her name and getting her to pie herself.
Carla also doesn’t have anything like impenetrable self-esteem, she’s just got a really good facade propped up around it – as we saw pretty clearly back in the Mary sequence.
Her privilege likely feeds into it by insulating her from some of the worst consequences of being trans, but it’s been pretty clear all along her asshole behavior is a defense mechanism, not her natural state. It’s easier if people hate her for behaving like a jerk than for being trans.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/antagonize for the reason.
Good thing she’s fictional I guess
I wonder if Carla is attracted to them or not, or if she’d feel like this regardless.
I don’t think Carla is attracted to anyone but herself. I could be wrong, but we have no evidence that Carla has any romantic interest in anyone, let alone someone she has never met.
Carla seemed into getting denigrated by Malaya.
Romantic, I am unsure, but she did definitely find Malaya attractive, largely when she’s being a shit. Carla’s definitely demonstrated a masochistic streak in that fashion.
(Not that she’s into just any degradation, though. She has zero interest in Mary and her transphobia. She does have standards.)
“step one: find a woman. step two: show your appreciation by being annoying. step three: when she smiles at you, throw a pie at her. step four: courtship over.”
👀 pie throwing when??
When I first came here, people insisted Carla was ace.
you can be ace and still have a relationship like dina (though she might be more demi leaning, or just a sex positive/neutral ace. )
She in all likelihood is, but you can be attracted to someone without necessarily wanting to have sex with them. Asexuality is a spectrum, for sure.
She is. She’s not aromantic and does like girls.
She is. Ace and homoromantic, as she was in the Walkyverse. Probably sex repulsed too.
I think Carla is attracted to a challenge.
She’s ace so if she was ever gonna be attracted it wouldn’t happen this quick. Unless, i mean being specifically and only attracted to people who ignore you in some vague ethereal way is pretty ace
I’m not sure if I think Twoster is deliberately ignoring Carla, or if she’s deaf. But either way, I’m pretty sure the ambiguity is all part of her plan.
I appreciate the name of “Twoster”! In my headcannon (boom), this is now the name of this person.
it’s possible she’s deaf, it was speculated last time too, although other than her hearing aids turned off now, idk if leslie has made accommodations /it would’ve probably been on during lessons unless she can read lips and/or leslie or a classmate was able to take notes and give them to her so she can understand the lesson
Kudos to Booster’s sister(?) for the ability to ignore Carla without being deaf. Also, I agree with Ruth, Carla absolutely deserves laryngitis. Although I worry what she would do to make up for it while she has it.
I realize that the word “narcissist” gets thrown around like a frisbee nowadays but damn if the shoe fits
JFC Carla smoke a blunt or something and CTFO
I am wondering now if this is intentional or if “Twister” is maybe def or something.
Carla’s had her moments, but in general is a shitty person. Harrassing strangers and yelling at them because they aren’t paying you attention is something you’d expect from a toddler, not a college kid.
She strikes me as a bit of a Mike in that, like Mike, her schtick doesn’t quite fit the rest of the strip
it is obnoxious but at least she hasn’t grabbed her by the shoulders yet or anything tho kinda weird for her to be holding the sign behind her rather than in front lol
Ahh, deaf twin.
Boosister is adorbs. Adorbs adorbs. And I fucking love that she’s more butch than her sibling.
I do wonder if Boosister is literally deaf though.
“Two-ster” or “Twoster.” 🙂
probable Sanchez twin.
Carla, just play as a tank in an MMO. You’ll get showered with attention from all the mobs, and rampant narcissistic attention-seeking behavior is kind of expected from tanks.
The healer is either sobbing or playing one-handed and probably not wearing clothes, of course. The DPS is staring at their hot bar instead of dodging AoE markers, because despite maining a single class for three years, they somehow haven’t developed muscle memory for their actions.
As someone who has played both tank and healer on a regular basis, most DPS players can kiss my ass. Not all, mind you, just most of them.
As a Summoner main in Final Fantasy XIV Online: Free Trial Including etc., most DPS can kiss my ass as well. I’m not even a Good Player, the DPS callout was aimed firmly at myself ffs, but how fucking hard is it to comprehend “The giant green woman with the same team marker as you is your stack partner. If you don’t stack with her, you both die and we wipe.”?
I also play/played FF XIV, my ex-gf got me into playing it with her. I would still be playing with her if my internet didn’t suck so much. I told her if we can get a better internet plan then I would pay for some more time so we could play together again. Fingers crossed we can get a decent internet plan here; one that doesn’t crap out multiple times a week.
At this point, I’m convinced that high-speed wi-fi is almost a human right. How the fuck did we exist for so long without the ability to connect to the hive mind, and how are we wasting it so fucking badly?
Resting Dull Surprise Face
Someone who is non-literally deaf is completely unable to hear literals.
I am not memeing panel 6… I am so not…
Animated countdowns? You’ve outdone yourself again, Wiigii.
Fine. I’ll do it myself.
Oh nelly, das a masterful edit ( •o•)
It felt like an appropriate thing to brandish.
Hmm, Boosister is wearing a green wristband that she was also wearing in her last appearance. Some kind of disability aid maybe? Or just a bold fashion statement?
A Booster Proximity Alarm to warn of danger. If only Carla could be added also.
Smartwatch? Joyce has one.
Definitely a smartwatch. Same one she was wearing in earlier appearances.
Carla you’re yelling at someone who doesn’t even have a character tag they’re not worth it.
Why is Boosister standing unmoving in that spot? She’s right in front of a passage.
maybe she’s waiting for someone? i don’t think she’s blocking the door /too/ closely tho if anything carla’s flailing around would be worse for someone just trying to pass by
She went to get a snack and temporarily left her character paused in game.
She’s thinking about something and is unaware of the doorway, or the walls for that matter.
She’s the immovable object to Carla’s unstoppable force.
Sometimes people stand places until they’re asked not to.
She’s waiting for the main character to make enough progress for her quest icon to pop up
Oh, Boosister is back! And Ruth! And that gal, what’s her name again?
Who is that redhead again? The one in the glasses.
Ruth, duh.
Right, of course. The femur-taker. No one else who could possibly fit that description.
Why do I think Carla could successfully be distracted for hours by deploying a sufficiently lifelike scarecrow?
a mirror would be better if she loves herself that much, since scarecrows can’t interact. versus something with trained eyes on her like some weird ai bot lol
a pool of water is traditional, but a mirror is probably much more portable.
She would be as red and terrible as the dawn! All would love her and despair!
But I will remain Carla and go into… uh, where am I going again?
Yay, Carla! It’s about time we shifted focus back to our protagonist, instead of all these side characters!
ngl i woudln’t mind a carla spinoff, maybe we’d get to see a bit more nuance and heart to heart moments instead of her acting cartoonishly obnoxious (well i say cartoonishly buti can eaisly imagine the 15 year olds in high school i knew acting like this)
If it meant we never saw Carla again in this comic, I support this plan wholeheartedly.
She can come back when she’s passed the maturity of a toddler.
Nobody’s ever accused a teenager of being immature.
I completely agree! More Carla!
Either boosister is deaf or well practiced in the art of tuning shit out.
Honestly could be both. It would be pretty funny if like she knew how to lip read/has a hidden hearing aid, and/or at least noticed these antics or attempts to get attention but just cannot give a fuck. She’s saving her energy or attention for more important people.
(I once knew someone who would turn off their hearing aid before dealing with less than great uncles or aunts which is a hell of a life hack, especially since said family members blathered on so much and loved to complain to the point they never noticed).
yeah i have seen amusing anecdotes/quotes like “you guys aren’t worth the battery” must be inconvenient but it’d be great as a bonus to literally tune out the world
For me, being able to ignore the existence of people trying to harass me was an essential life skill for getting through secondary school. Heinlein and “the cut direct.”
XD Ahhh Carla has met her match!
Both Booster and their twin have succeeded at not giving Carla what she wants. Booster refused to try and analyze Carla, and now the twin is refusing to acknowledge Carla. Truly the twins are a formidable force against Carla and her shenanigans.
imagine if they did somehow end up hooking up tho ,that’d be quite something lol
return of boosister. love how carla has her own sign. XD; it’d be hard to not ignore her/make eyecontact accdientally. be hilarious if we somehow learn she’s been deaf this whole tim e and keeps her hearing aid turned off most of the time
Either Booster’s twin sister is deaf, or she’s really good at ignoring people trying to get her attention like Carla here.
Possibly both.
Booster has learned her well.
She’s apparently not been driven suicidal or homicidal by Booster’s cutting insights. There are only a few possible ways she could have survived to this point without those. Not having flaws is not a likely option. I’d also wager “separated at birth” is unlikely because she’s here. I can only think of three other ways. She doesn’t look like she can beat Booster up that badly.
“i’m not the center” if anything that’d be exhausting, idk how popular extroverts can do it if someone always wants their attention /help/etc (tho if she’s fixated on “”)
wonder if there’s parallels between her and jennifer being ‘head cheerleader’/queen bee type ppl where she saw something similar and wanted to, or having a bad high school experience and compensating for it/making up for it or so (though if anything after her and ruth i’d think carla would wanna avoid anything that’d come close to acting like jennifer)
I have no idea how extroverts manage to deal with more attention. I have a hard time being the focus of people, even among my friend groups. I don’t mind saying a few things around my friends, but being the focal point makes me uncomfortable. That’s with my friends, people I have known for years and I trust with my life; I can’t handle being the focal point of a stranger/ of strangers, it causes my blood pressure go up and sends my anxiety into overdrive.
Kyrik, you are clearly open to receiving feedback. Carla is not, and thus Carla is not daunted by any of it. She’s more immune to criticism than Amazing Girl.
Doesn’t really seem to be any parallel there. She’s deliberately cultivated a rep as an asshole rather than trying to build up a social circle of followers.
So. Like. Has Carla always been this one dimensional or am I just remembering the time she owned Mary?
She’s shown more depth before, but I think people develop a “what have you done for me lately” approach to characters sometimes and only remember their more recent appearances, which, is kind of understandable with a long-running comic with a big cast, especially one like Carla who isn’t really a fixture compared to many of the others. Like I haven’t checked, but I’d bet that Danny has had 2-3 times her appearances and he’s still well behind Dorothy, Walky, and especially Joyce.
But yeah, we’ve seen her have more meaningful conversations with Sal, Ruth, and Malaya before, she just seems especially stir-crazy these days, maybe since there has been a lack of drama in their wing post-Halloween.
She’s always had a lot of one-off “annoying Carla” moments, so this isn’t really out of line.
It’s come up twice now, so it’ll be interesting to see if this thing with her and Boosister turns into an actual character arc.
She tries to keep people the people around her from seeing any depth to her character. It works on the readers too.
Carla has been defeated.
Remember, everyone, whatever else Carla is, we should remember one of the most important factors in her upbringing.
She’s the daughter of a family of absurdly wealthy gig-economy industrialists. Not sure when her family got all that money, but suffice to say that she’s not lacking in funds.
Oh, and perhaps uniquely among the DOA casts, she seems to be actively on good terms with her parents. So she has full access to all the power that her family’s wealth can bring.
In that context, a LOT of this stuff makes a lot of sense…
Yeah, of the cast, Dorothy and Dina are I think the only ones outside of Carla I remember liking their parents in the main cast. Sarah’s sort of a question mark, same with Jacob.
Most everyone else is either lacking one or both parents, has monstrously bad parent situations like Amber did or Ethan does with his mom, or has more mundanely awful relationships like Danny’s parents, who just kind of shit on him constantly but don’t step it up to grander manipulation like Linda Walkerton, etc.
she seems to care about her parents, though depending on how big the company is/long she’s grown up with it, while she can be obnoxious/grating (usually on purpose) i never rly got ‘rich kid vibes’ (like how jen’s just handing out 20s) to where her parents would’ve been too busy so they pay some kinda group closer to her age if not the staff to babysit and fawn over carla , tho makes me wonder how parents would react to any of their kids over 12 that would be like “ppl arent payin attention to me!”
C A R L A
And LOL, for a split second I really thought that was Booster.
Booster has a sister?
Booster has a twin sister, yeah, at least, pretty sure they’re a sister. Booster does for sure have a twin, in any case, they’ve mentioned that before.
Yep, and my fanon name for her is Boo!sister.
it kinda weirds me out how in the last 4 panels Boosister is like, just staying in place without moving, in the middle of the hallway. So I want to assume she’s ignoring Carla on purpose. Doing her best to empty her mind and not look Carla’s way
idk, once I froze like this reaching for the butter in a grocery store (a crowded grocery store, right before Christmas, when everyone’s trying to buy butter for cooking and baking). For about a second I was panicking about what butter to get, then I realized a decent amount of seconda later that I was just standing there, arm in the fridge, blocking everyone’s way (then I grabbed my 2 lbs of butter and got outta there. As far as I know no one even said anything to me
Or sometimes I’ll just realize I’ve been standing or sitting somewhere and not absorbing anything. So I mean, it happens
looks like there’s light but nobody’s home
I empathize with this nameless prop; I too will react to unwelcome strangeness by no-selling until it goes away
It’s okay Carla, you can have my attention
Did Carla provoke Ruth into evolving into a different kind of pokemon?
I see two possibilities about Sis-ster. 1. She’s deaf/hard of hearing, which would explain her lack of acknowledging Carla both here and in Leslie’s class, but wouldn’t explain why she was in class seemingly without any accommodations that let her actually receive the lesson. Or 2. She’s *extremely* adept at ignoring other people when they’re being annoying and trying to cause problems, which would make a lot of sense growing up in the same household as Booster.
extremely good comic but also! this comic very much broke my rss feed because of the alt text having an unescaped < in it, so willis if you see this, would very much appreciate you changing that to a < (and also there's something about the way it's configured that at least on thunderbird means the actual comic doesn't show up in the feed? but that is far from an urgent problem, i can just click through)
Yup. It causes an XML parse error. Borked my RSS reader and the W3C RSS Feed Validation page.
The final panel is very very good
This is like Daisy in Mario Kart. Beep beep! Hi I’m Carla!
If Booster’s twin can’t hear Carla because she’s deaf, I would assume she has an interpreter for Leslie’s class. This would mean Carla hasn’t noticed the person standing in the room signing in previous classes.
As this is Carla, this would be totally believable.
I think some deaf people can read lips very well and may not require an interpreter. Or perhaps Leslie has already given this person her notes in advance. I confess I don’t know how these situations are usually handled. Were there any deaf students at your school?
Not in classes I had, but from interacting with d/Deaf people in general (and just…life), my understanding is that lip reading is nowhere near effective enough, certainly not to the point you’re suggesting. An academic discussion is going to likely be less predictable then situations where lip reading can be enough to get by. There will likely be less common, possibly unfamiliar terms included. In a discussion-based class rather than pure lecture– which is what Leslie seems to aim for– there is also the issue that it’s not just the teacher who would need to be within one’s direct site and enunciating clearly, but also all the other students in the room.
If Leslie had already given her the notes beforehand– well, again, this doesn’t seem like that kind of class. Giving prewritten notes to a student can be an accommodation– in fact, it might go along with an interpreter for some d/Deaf students– but alone doesn’t seem like it’d work here.
If she has hearing aids, I imagine that would increase how much exactly she could get from lip-reading, and it’s possible she could have them turned off/down when not in class/before it starts. Still seems like it wouldn’t be enough for fully accessibility.
Anyway, I don’t even necessarily think that she is d/Deaf, but since a few people have suggested it, I was thinking about it. If that does turn out to be the case, I do think the most logical extension would be that Carla failed to notice the interpreter.
Lip reading isn’t 100%. In perfect conditions, you can only get about 60% of what’s said. She would need an interpreter for whatever is said that isn’t on the notes and she’d be missing the discussion parts if there’s no interpreter.
Random comment: Carla’s comically downturned mouth in that last panel reminded me of one of my favorite differences between UK and USA English, namely that in the UK they think a frown is in the forehead.
They need to keep their mouths free, so they can suck themselves off every time they needlessly comment “nice school shootings” at Americans.
Well, that comment sure went there, didn’t it.
I’m in the USA and I also think a frown is in the forehead, I’m surprised to learn that’s not the norm here! But now I’m trying to figure out what I’d call the downturned mouth and I’m drawing a blank – a pout? ALSO a frown?
Who is this character? Have we seen her before?
Oh, that’s Carla.
XD 10/10
Understandable that you could miss them – they tend to be quiet, keep to the background.
New hypothesis: Possible Sanchez Twin is a hallucination, nobody except Carla has interacted with/at her.
Uh, yeah. Hope you don’t have any plans of staying around here with comments like that.
This was supposed to go to a transphobic comment that apparently got flagged out of existence before I finished typing.
Carla, though?
Right. There was a reason I really don’t like Carla all that much.
Ah, Carla. My favorite character. Doing what she loves to do best. Making sure people pay attention to Carla. Or at least trying. 🙂
Rule 63 Booster is unamused by Carla’s shenanigans
my final name bet before we potentially get dialogue from her tomorrow (thanks blurry patreon preview): Rosa Sanchez.
i have no factual basis for this prediction i just think it’s cute.
What if… Booster is their own twin, like a photon is its own antiparticle.
Since we know Booster is non-binary, therefore their nameless twin must be Wave Function?
Charge Carrier?
Elecra?