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At least, he was, and that was the idea...
Join Kieran and his friends as they are pulled into another reality that may or may not be real and are forced to confront their own identities, the nature of simulated universes and reality itself.
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A cute webcomic about fanservice, video games, and... love. Mostly video games, though.
BOOKMARK Click "Tag Page" to bookmark a page. When you return to the site, click "Goto Tag" to continue where you left off.
BUFFER WATCH
Comics are currently drawn and uploaded through:
It’s modified sign language. I mean, if you want a seperate word for everything wouldn’t a new word not on the spectrum of the words you said be even better?
Here’s a thing that has kind of flummoxed me in reading the comments tonight.
ASL has its own freaking grammar. Any translation you see of ASL into English sentences is just that: a translation. It could be translated into Danish, or Russian, or Yoruba, and it would still be a translation.
Willis chose to make the English translation of Sal’s signing follow Sal’s spoken speech patterns, and somehow this is a big freaking deal, and I kinda doubt he ever expected that. I certainly didn’t.
Marcie and Sal are not communicating in Signed Exact English. They are communicating in ASL. The words you are seeing on the page are a translation, not a transliteration. It’s not that big of a deal.
It’s a big thing because most people don’t know anything about sign, it isn’t part of their daily experience and they’ve never had to process any thoughts about the idiosyncrasies of sign. It’s not freaking out, it’s genuine curiosity about what accent transliterates to in sign, if anything. They have no data to even guess, so they ask.
It took me a second to realize Sal was signing. At first glance I assumed all of the blue dialogue was Marcie’s, then I noticed Sal’s hands were in signing-blue and the translation followed Sal’s speech patterns.
What would a transliteration of this conversation look like?
My sign is very beginner, but from my rudimentary knowledge, maybe something like:
You, me, with friends, future?
Yeah, maybe, same as Malaya with me friends, future.
Please, not say Malaya me same.
Look, I like similar women, ok?
All these parts of this conversation, I don’t like.
What’s really cool with ASL grammar is that it’s *spatial*. So like, Marcie can set up that the space to her upper right will represent Malaya, and then that space represents Malaya for this conversation. Marcie can gesture to encompass herself and the Malaya-space to mean ‘Malaya and me’. And Marcie can sign ‘same’ between the Malaya-spot and Sal, to instantly say that Malaya and Sal are similar.
Sal signs the word “friends” between where she and Marcie are standing, and gestures forwards into the future. “Possible?”
Marcie signs “Yes” and “maybe” with the facial expression shown to make it into “sure, possibly”. Marcie sets up where Malaya is in this conversation (by signing Malaya’s name in the air there). She encompasses herself and the Malaya-space to the sign “friends” over here, and encompasses herself and Sal to the sign “friends” over there, and signs “same” between those two friend-places.
Sal: “One request. Not same”.
….I don’t know enough slang to have any idea how to say “I have a type”. I could say “Women similar to you and Malaya, I like them” which would work, but ASL slang probably has something more specific.
Sal could put “this conversation” over here, sign “many parts”, collect all the parts and say “I don’t like these”.
….I *think*. Again, kind of a beginner over here, could be wrong and would welcome correction. But I do think this illustrates why it’s hard to directly translate ASL into English.
Marcie is mute not deaf. She knows what Sal sounds like when speaking. The part of the brain that processes hearing speech also processes reading sign. Marcie literally hears Sal sign with Sal’s voice.
Yes, especially as she also moved into signing when she had an argument with Marcie (don’t know the page but it started with her saying aloud ‘what do you mean you already did all the stuff’
ASL is its own language, with its own grammar. It’s probably easier to hold a conversation if both people are speaking one language, rather than two with different grammatical structures.
walls have ears and even if they are at the outside there is a lower chance to for nearby people to know about what is being talked if Sal also signs what she wants to say.
Unless she’s fingerspelling or signing English (which would be hard to understand by Marcie might get it based on signing with Sal a lot) no. My understanding is accents within ASL have more to do with minor sign variations and regional signs (things one region would spell out whereas another has invented a sign for it because it’s common, like a regional food).
That’s a yes. What is an accent if not “regional differences” in how you say things in the same language. Some signs are significantly different, so the difference between “you (plural)”, “Y’all”, and “yinz.” Then you have the ones that just differ in the angle of the hand or the direction of the movement, which would be more like what most people would think of as an accent.
I’m so happy that they are communicating and that this won’t affect their friendship in a major way. Now the questions are, is Marcie going to continue pursuing Malaya and how will that go? And will Sal and Malaya ever be anything other than 100% hostile to each other?
Seems like it will affect their friendship in a major way. I think that’s the point Marcie’s making when she says “probably in the same way I’m going to be friends with Malaya”. It’s difficult for a friendship to be balanced when one side wants something the other doesn’t. Doesn’t mean Sal isn’t going to try her best to stay friends anyway, of course!
Perseveration according to psychology, psychiatry, and speech-language pathology, is the repetition of a particular response (such as a word, phrase, or gesture) regardless of the absence or cessation of a stimulus. It is usually caused by a brain injury or other organic disorder. Symptoms include “lacking ability to transition or switch ideas appropriately with the social context, as evidenced by the repetition of words or gestures after they have ceased to be socially relevant or appropriate”,
Okay. Now I’m officially confused. Large buffers and buffer Marcies are always socially appropriate and any brain damage I may have accumulated from reading Lovecraft as a youngster is completely irrelevant.
This is in reference to the Buffer Watch, in the leftmost column, near the top, right under the HiveWorks logo, and also to the semantic ambiguity between “buffer” as “more buff,” and “buffer” as an actual buffer. I suppose I was trying (and apparently failing) to humorously imply that either Willis is somewhat obsessive about his buffer, or that I am, or perhaps both.
None of this matters, since the King in Yellow has already driven you insane.
Please, I’m not usually one to explore forbidden Chambers nor to name he who should not be names, but driving one insane is far less Hastur’s bag than his half brother’s.
Perseverating is to think excessively about the same thing over and over. Ruminating is another handy word for it, like the way a sheep (which is a ruminant) chews her cud over and over all day.
I ♡ words
3) She’s gotta be wondering whether or not that’s why Marcie did things like accompany her to school and Marcie doesn’t know the answer to them
4) Marcie keeps comparing her to Malaya
5) Marcie just said they’d still be friends the same way she’ll be friends with Malaya. I think Marcie meant ‘We’ll be friends despite my feelings’ but I’m worried Sal will take that as ‘We’ll be friends in the same amount of contact as I have with Malaya’ (i.e. less intimate than Sal and Marcie’s friendship was).
It certainly is a lot for Sal to process, but I think them talking it out will dispel any confusion before it starts. Although as people remind me, the title of this comic means I shouldn’t get my hopes up.
Talking doesn’t dispel confusion in this case. It’s a natural result of wanting feelings to be different from what they are.
Talking helps to minimize trust issues which is a great help in staying friends.
Just starting to wonder if it’s easier to be friends with people you’ve been in love with/ had a strong crush on when you are demi. I often noticed that there are people who find it normal to stay friends and others who think that’s impossible and just start to wonder if that might be part of the equation.
Demisexual/demiromantic. It is on the asexual/aromantic spectrum of sexualities. It essentially means you can *only* be sexually/romantically attracted to people you have a close emotional bond with (like for other sexualities, there is no guarantee you will feel attraction though even if you do reach that criteria).
If every person in the world is like a door to others, I’m a locked door. Attraction is behind the door. Everyone in the world can create keys and can open other doors, but the chance of the key working on any individual locked door is very very slim and the door will not open without the right key. I have had two crushes in my entire life because of this.
Allo (just means not aro/not ace) people could become attracted to more people than I ever have been, in a single day. In a single year, they could be attracted to 1000x more people than I ever have or more. They can develop crushes and lust after people from a first meeting.
I can’t. Without a close emotional bond, attraction… does not happen. In any form. I might visually be able to tell someone is supposed to be a 10 but it does nothing for me and I can’t tell apart 9s from 10s or 8s from 9s or 7s from 8s because I am not basing it off a feeling of attraction or a level of attraction.
The few possibilities I can think of are:
1) You are guaranteed to have been close friends first with no attraction so there is already a steady dynamic which you can just go back to if rejected.
2) You will get plenty of time between crushes because what’s a rebound alllowing all feelings to settle in between.
3) The attraction can and will legitimately go away if presented with a reason to no longer be attracted like with normal people. RIP feelings for my first crush but 5 year old me did not like your lying habits.
Re point 1 though, shit, when it does go south it feels like a betrayal of the pre-existing relationship. I’ve had that- I need to stay friends, you’re more important to me than just your role as romantic/sexual partner- but turns out that feeling wasn’t ACTUALLY reciprocated. And now I’m stuck questioning the motivations behind that initial close friendship. Was that real or was it just a prologue??
Actually my reasoning behind the question was: If sexual attraction is something that is less important than emotional connection, than lack of reprociation of sexual attraction might be less of an issue. There are loads of assumptions in that idea that, given your responses, might be very wrong.
They have similarities, and both have misjudged people before, but Sal is wayyyy more open to re-evaluating people than Malaya is, among other differences.
Geez, this is rough. Those panel 3 feels especially. Sal’s probably terrified she’s gonna lose Marcie over this, but also worried that she’s going to cause Marcie pain just by being around. And of course Marcie’s probably been struggling with these feelings for ages. It’s hard for both of them : (
I hope they can work this out. Being so close to kissing did definitely re-ignite things Marcie thought had gone dormant, but I hope that she can properly evolve those feelings into something else, now that it is out in the open.
If it makes you feel any better, your best friend isn’t changing. You’re just noticing their suffering for the first time in years because you are a bad friend. See? Isn’t that much better? *Delivered in the helpful Hyperion voice from the Borderlands 2 New-U station*
Replaying and tackling DLC for the first time, but when you said Hyperion I thought of the Hyperion sniper rifle that you get from a quest that belittles and mocks you whenever you get a kill, reload, and other things you’ll do during gameplay.
Am I the only one wondering how Sal’s g-dropping accent translates into ASL? How do you sign comparin’ instead of comparing? Does she mostly go through the motion for compare but not quite finish it? Google tells me that sign is like a football ref signalling a field goal while twisting both hands in a waggling manner. Or maybe she’s signalling present tense with the sign for now, which are kinda rocker-horns on both hands, horns forward, wrists up, moving down with a sudden stop at the end, and she’s abbreviating the end of that motion by… not stopping? Stopping early?
Seriously, how is that accent translating into ASL?
…. oh, wait, there’s drama and feels happening? Eh, not important, I’ve got a technical nitpick to focus on.
It’s a language used by human beings. It has accents. I don’t know what the accents of ASL are, and I wouldn’t assume a priori that they have any correspondence with the regional accents of (spoken) American English, but if it’s a language and it’s spoken by more than a handful of people, then it’s got accents.
Eh, I’m used to just assuming the accent whenever I read Sal’s dialogue. I don’t even notice it anymore, unless someone points it out. FI, I didn’t notice the accent until everyone turned it into a talking point.
It’s Sal. Sal has an accent. Sal’s talking, so she’s talking with an accent. I assume it would be even more so, if one is actually used to hearing her talk.
I’ve got a horrible feeling that panel 4 translates as: “No, probably not. Even if we do, it won’t be in the same way and with the same ease we used to have.”
FWIW, Sal, Marcie is saying that she’s into strong, assesrtive bad-girl personalities. That isn’t so bad.
If they can get through having their throats and hands sliced and still be OK, I think “You feel attracted to me but I’m really straight” isn’t gonna break it. Sal wants Marcie to be happy, even if it is a little weird in the short term, it can be OK.
It’s probably the kind of thing they’ll chuckle about in thirty years.
For those wondering, sign can definitely have regional accents, and in fact there is a distinct “southern” accent. (having to do with chin and chest touching, I think? I can’t identify this one myself)
Amazi-Girl/Amber when asserting herself, possibly. Probably the closest to Malaya in build out of most of the cast, throws a good punch and talks some mean sass.
-Black hair.
-Feisty.
-Can throw a punch.
-Have boned at least one dude canonically because they thought it would be fun, without much regard for their well-being.
Different
-Sal has been shown to have genuine concern for others
-Malaya is quick to disdain people she sees as frauds, which seems like a lot of people
-Sal owns a motorcycle, Malaya seems weirdly obsessed that the only reason Sal could do this is to show off. If Mal wants one so bad she could just buy one.
-Sal is very straight, Malaya has hinted that she has some kind of body dysmorphia.
-One owns an iguana named Fuckface.
Marcie, please stop comparing your best friend (and secret love) since forever with the very rude girl you’ve meet three months ago and you’ve always said to just feel a physical attraction for her. It’s really annoying and offensive
I like that they are talking about it and that Marcie realizes she has a thing for Punk hardass black girls. I hope Sal is understanding and still loves her friend even if she isn’t attracted to her in that way
Sal. This is Marcie who has always born the brunt of the fallout of your aggressive tendencies. This is Marcie who has always stuck with you no matter what and whom you have repeatedly failed. This is Marcie for who you would do anything and Marcie who you owe. Now that you understand, you could put your own strong feelings of distaste aside and let Marcie know that in private you will do whatever she wants for as long as she wants. Of your own free will you could make Marcie, who you love, happy for awhile.
Is this a good idea? No, not at all!!! But do it for Science.
Seriously? No. Just no.
Sex out of obligation with someone you have no sexual interest in and even physical distaste for is just creepy. And since Marcie’s a decent person she’ll care that Sal’s grossed out by it. It won’t make her happy. If anything will, this would poison their friendship.
Here's an entertaining cite at the bottom of the first page
Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 20h
JUST IN: Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan moves to dismiss federal criminal case against her for allegedly helping immigrant hide from ICE. Her lawyers say she's protected by official acts & judicial immunity and 10th Amendment. Doc: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Where did Hollywood go so wrong? I thought movies were supposed to be an escape from reality, a chance to put your worries aside and not have to think about any underlying ideas or concepts. Well, not anymore.
theonion.com/you-can...
It's not a new argument, of course, but Chesterton dismissed it effectively in 1908.
"You will hear everlastingly... this argument that the rich man cannot be bribed. The fact is, of course, that the rich man is bribed; he has been bribed already. That is why he is a rich man."
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com ⋅ 1d
Hawley dismisses Trump lining his pockets with his memecoin: "Listen, I think nobody believes that Donald Trump can be bought. I mean, what does Donald Trump need more money for?"
wilbur, savvy enough to know he's in a comic strip but still not a great actor, awkwardly lifts a muffin up into frame so that we, the audience, understand that he has a muffin right now, which is very important narratively, but he's not really selling it well as an organic, human action
confirming that the reason there's been no Galaxy Version female characters in Blokees until now is that they felt they needed to make Round Lady Thighs For Ladies
It's #webcomicday? We have a special day???
Well, my name is Pat McHoarney and I draw 69 Mouse-Ear Blvd, a multigenerational story about women who all have sexy legs and probably other features. There was a grandmother, but she wasn't hot and so she died off-panel.
Elizabeth Holmes is in prison for defrauding investors through her blood-testing company, Theranos. Her partner, Billy Evans, is now trying to raise money for a company that describes itself as “the future of diagnostics.” nyti.ms/3FbtZm9
Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 20h
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com ⋅ 1d
Pavel
@spavel.bsky.social ⋅ 10d
The New York Times @nytimes.com ⋅ 5d
preternia @preternia.com ⋅ 3d
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man it’s funny how that southern accent translates, eh
Although the scar on her hand does give her a slight lisp.
“If someone with one arm speaks with sign language is that a speech impediment or an accent?”
Here might be your answer Krillin.
It’s modified sign language. I mean, if you want a seperate word for everything wouldn’t a new word not on the spectrum of the words you said be even better?
DBZ:A fan, I see.
god do we all just have one brain cell between us or what
It appears so.
Dumbing of Age Book 10: Do We All Just Have One Brain Cell Between Us or What
But for that to work, butts would have to become a DOA character.
I would be okay with this.
They’re not?
They are the sole protagonist.
heck sh’yeah i am
No, Butts Disease is a recurring character in all of Willis’ works.
Just because butts is Patient Zero, doesn’t make him a character.
Sue has a tag. Cholma doesn’t have a tag but has made a cameo appearance. Willis has the power to reach across the fourth wall.
Dumbing of Age Book 10: Willis has the power to reach across the fourth wall.
What I said, but with Caps.
Here’s a thing that has kind of flummoxed me in reading the comments tonight.
ASL has its own freaking grammar. Any translation you see of ASL into English sentences is just that: a translation. It could be translated into Danish, or Russian, or Yoruba, and it would still be a translation.
Willis chose to make the English translation of Sal’s signing follow Sal’s spoken speech patterns, and somehow this is a big freaking deal, and I kinda doubt he ever expected that. I certainly didn’t.
Marcie and Sal are not communicating in Signed Exact English. They are communicating in ASL. The words you are seeing on the page are a translation, not a transliteration. It’s not that big of a deal.
It’s a big thing because most people don’t know anything about sign, it isn’t part of their daily experience and they’ve never had to process any thoughts about the idiosyncrasies of sign. It’s not freaking out, it’s genuine curiosity about what accent transliterates to in sign, if anything. They have no data to even guess, so they ask.
It took me a second to realize Sal was signing. At first glance I assumed all of the blue dialogue was Marcie’s, then I noticed Sal’s hands were in signing-blue and the translation followed Sal’s speech patterns.
What would a transliteration of this conversation look like?
My sign is very beginner, but from my rudimentary knowledge, maybe something like:
You, me, with friends, future?
Yeah, maybe, same as Malaya with me friends, future.
Please, not say Malaya me same.
Look, I like similar women, ok?
All these parts of this conversation, I don’t like.
Please chime in, people with more ASL knowledge.
What’s really cool with ASL grammar is that it’s *spatial*. So like, Marcie can set up that the space to her upper right will represent Malaya, and then that space represents Malaya for this conversation. Marcie can gesture to encompass herself and the Malaya-space to mean ‘Malaya and me’. And Marcie can sign ‘same’ between the Malaya-spot and Sal, to instantly say that Malaya and Sal are similar.
There would also be a ton of facial expression required, it does everything that your vocal inflection would do in a spoken language.
So on further thought, maybe it looks like:
Sal signs the word “friends” between where she and Marcie are standing, and gestures forwards into the future. “Possible?”
Marcie signs “Yes” and “maybe” with the facial expression shown to make it into “sure, possibly”. Marcie sets up where Malaya is in this conversation (by signing Malaya’s name in the air there). She encompasses herself and the Malaya-space to the sign “friends” over here, and encompasses herself and Sal to the sign “friends” over there, and signs “same” between those two friend-places.
Sal: “One request. Not same”.
….I don’t know enough slang to have any idea how to say “I have a type”. I could say “Women similar to you and Malaya, I like them” which would work, but ASL slang probably has something more specific.
Sal could put “this conversation” over here, sign “many parts”, collect all the parts and say “I don’t like these”.
….I *think*. Again, kind of a beginner over here, could be wrong and would welcome correction. But I do think this illustrates why it’s hard to directly translate ASL into English.
Thanks! Most of what I learned about signing was from Linda on Sesame Street, so take that as you may.
It’s not really easy to find written ASL lessons, probably at least in part because it’s so reliant on context and space.
This is so cool! Thank you for explaining this in such detail.
The idea of a spatially-based language was a mind-blown moment for me.
This is excellent! Thumbs up!
i had no idea about any of this! this has been a great learning experience, thanks!
Marcie is mute not deaf. She knows what Sal sounds like when speaking. The part of the brain that processes hearing speech also processes reading sign. Marcie literally hears Sal sign with Sal’s voice.
oh dang I didn’t know ASL had Southern twang
TheMoreYouKnow.gif
(granted, that might be what Malaya was doing)
[inb4: late bc Firefox is refreshing for some reason and Chrome wasn’t set up]
(also idgaf)
yall just got BUTTSNIPED
(nobody cares)
better than buttwiped?
“Butts niped”?
Nips butted?
I don’t know anything of ASL. Is Sal really signing “If Ah got one request”?
I suspect that Marcie’s just seeing it that way, since Sal usually speaks with that accent.
Why is Sal signing anyway? It’s not like Marcie’s deaf.
I think it got too emotionally heavy for her to say the words out loud.
Yes, especially as she also moved into signing when she had an argument with Marcie (don’t know the page but it started with her saying aloud ‘what do you mean you already did all the stuff’
In addition to emotional heaviness, there’s also the point of being semi-private by speaking a language most people don’t know.
Of course, that leaves the possibility of those who do know accidentally listening (or in this case, watching).
ASL is its own language, with its own grammar. It’s probably easier to hold a conversation if both people are speaking one language, rather than two with different grammatical structures.
walls have ears and even if they are at the outside there is a lower chance to for nearby people to know about what is being talked if Sal also signs what she wants to say.
Unless she’s fingerspelling or signing English (which would be hard to understand by Marcie might get it based on signing with Sal a lot) no. My understanding is accents within ASL have more to do with minor sign variations and regional signs (things one region would spell out whereas another has invented a sign for it because it’s common, like a regional food).
i really hope it’s possible to have an accent in ASL, that would be unironically awesome
I know drunk slurring is possible. It’s also incredibly hilarious.
Only inasmuch as there are some minor regional differences in certain signs.
That’s a yes. What is an accent if not “regional differences” in how you say things in the same language. Some signs are significantly different, so the difference between “you (plural)”, “Y’all”, and “yinz.” Then you have the ones that just differ in the angle of the hand or the direction of the movement, which would be more like what most people would think of as an accent.
ASL is a language. Ergo, it has accents.
Playlist…
I’m so happy that they are communicating and that this won’t affect their friendship in a major way. Now the questions are, is Marcie going to continue pursuing Malaya and how will that go? And will Sal and Malaya ever be anything other than 100% hostile to each other?
Seems like it will affect their friendship in a major way. I think that’s the point Marcie’s making when she says “probably in the same way I’m going to be friends with Malaya”. It’s difficult for a friendship to be balanced when one side wants something the other doesn’t. Doesn’t mean Sal isn’t going to try her best to stay friends anyway, of course!
I do not think that there could have been a more insulting thing she could have said to Sal.
Also what is her type? Brash girls?
People who only see her as a friend?
Kick-ass girls.
People who aren’t into her.
ouch
Dark-skinned, outwardly kinda rude, definitely kickass.
…
wait this is tagged “malaya”
also is marcie just a buffer version of the marcie from peanuts and am i the last person to notice
It’s more obvious when you go back to the Walkyverse version.
It’s come up before.
Buffer?
*runs up*
what about a buffer
Still eleven weeks, not that anyone’s perserverating or anything.
Perserverating?
Hold on while I consult Google…
Perseveration according to psychology, psychiatry, and speech-language pathology, is the repetition of a particular response (such as a word, phrase, or gesture) regardless of the absence or cessation of a stimulus. It is usually caused by a brain injury or other organic disorder. Symptoms include “lacking ability to transition or switch ideas appropriately with the social context, as evidenced by the repetition of words or gestures after they have ceased to be socially relevant or appropriate”,
Okay. Now I’m officially confused. Large buffers and buffer Marcies are always socially appropriate and any brain damage I may have accumulated from reading Lovecraft as a youngster is completely irrelevant.
This is in reference to the Buffer Watch, in the leftmost column, near the top, right under the HiveWorks logo, and also to the semantic ambiguity between “buffer” as “more buff,” and “buffer” as an actual buffer. I suppose I was trying (and apparently failing) to humorously imply that either Willis is somewhat obsessive about his buffer, or that I am, or perhaps both.
None of this matters, since the King in Yellow has already driven you insane.
Please, I’m not usually one to explore forbidden Chambers nor to name he who should not be names, but driving one insane is far less Hastur’s bag than his half brother’s.
Pedant. There is enough insanity for everyone.
You get a mania, and you get a mania, and…
^Worst. Oprah giveaway. EVER.
Maybe a misspelling. There’s a word “perseverating,” but I don’t remember what it means.
Abdul Alhazred would know. You might consult his works.
Perseverating is to think excessively about the same thing over and over. Ruminating is another handy word for it, like the way a sheep (which is a ruminant) chews her cud over and over all day.
I ♡ words
“Perserverating” is a word that means “I shouldn’t try to type long words when I’m three-quarters asleep.”
More buff.
Marcie is just now realizing she has some very deep-seated identity issues.
So is it a personality type? tough tomboy? or an aesthetic type she is referring to? dark hair tan skin, taller than marcie?
“Why not both?”
Tall, dark, and beautiful.
Long… tan… and handsome!
Tall, dark, and short-tempered.
People who hate everyone else who is her type.
Ah yes, emotional Sal. We see you so rarely. We miss you dearl- and she’s gone.
Ooh, let’s see if I can count them all
1) Learning Marcie wants to bang her.
2) She doesn’t want Marcie back
3) She’s gotta be wondering whether or not that’s why Marcie did things like accompany her to school and Marcie doesn’t know the answer to them
4) Marcie keeps comparing her to Malaya
5) Marcie just said they’d still be friends the same way she’ll be friends with Malaya. I think Marcie meant ‘We’ll be friends despite my feelings’ but I’m worried Sal will take that as ‘We’ll be friends in the same amount of contact as I have with Malaya’ (i.e. less intimate than Sal and Marcie’s friendship was).
It certainly is a lot for Sal to process, but I think them talking it out will dispel any confusion before it starts. Although as people remind me, the title of this comic means I shouldn’t get my hopes up.
They’re doing alright so far!
Talking doesn’t dispel confusion in this case. It’s a natural result of wanting feelings to be different from what they are.
Talking helps to minimize trust issues which is a great help in staying friends.
Just starting to wonder if it’s easier to be friends with people you’ve been in love with/ had a strong crush on when you are demi. I often noticed that there are people who find it normal to stay friends and others who think that’s impossible and just start to wonder if that might be part of the equation.
Remind me what demi is, cause I might have opinions here
I believe it’s short for demisexual. I’m not ready with a definition, but it’s easier to look up if you have the whole word.
Only experiencing attraction once an emotional connection’s been formed.
Demisexual/demiromantic. It is on the asexual/aromantic spectrum of sexualities. It essentially means you can *only* be sexually/romantically attracted to people you have a close emotional bond with (like for other sexualities, there is no guarantee you will feel attraction though even if you do reach that criteria).
If every person in the world is like a door to others, I’m a locked door. Attraction is behind the door. Everyone in the world can create keys and can open other doors, but the chance of the key working on any individual locked door is very very slim and the door will not open without the right key. I have had two crushes in my entire life because of this.
Allo (just means not aro/not ace) people could become attracted to more people than I ever have been, in a single day. In a single year, they could be attracted to 1000x more people than I ever have or more. They can develop crushes and lust after people from a first meeting.
I can’t. Without a close emotional bond, attraction… does not happen. In any form. I might visually be able to tell someone is supposed to be a 10 but it does nothing for me and I can’t tell apart 9s from 10s or 8s from 9s or 7s from 8s because I am not basing it off a feeling of attraction or a level of attraction.
…i can’t figure out why generally only forming attraction to close friends would make things easier
The few possibilities I can think of are:
1) You are guaranteed to have been close friends first with no attraction so there is already a steady dynamic which you can just go back to if rejected.
2) You will get plenty of time between crushes because what’s a rebound alllowing all feelings to settle in between.
3) The attraction can and will legitimately go away if presented with a reason to no longer be attracted like with normal people. RIP feelings for my first crush but 5 year old me did not like your lying habits.
Re point 1 though, shit, when it does go south it feels like a betrayal of the pre-existing relationship. I’ve had that- I need to stay friends, you’re more important to me than just your role as romantic/sexual partner- but turns out that feeling wasn’t ACTUALLY reciprocated. And now I’m stuck questioning the motivations behind that initial close friendship. Was that real or was it just a prologue??
Actually my reasoning behind the question was: If sexual attraction is something that is less important than emotional connection, than lack of reprociation of sexual attraction might be less of an issue. There are loads of assumptions in that idea that, given your responses, might be very wrong.
But this conversation is so much fun; lets point out all the ways you and her are alike~
Appropriate gravitar etc,
Well, this is a heck of a way to celebrate Gay Wrath month.
God they both look so sad it’s heartbreaking
Sal and Malaya are the same.That’s why they hate each other.
You take that back.
They have similarities, and both have misjudged people before, but Sal is wayyyy more open to re-evaluating people than Malaya is, among other differences.
Sal doesn’t go out of her way to antagonize EVERYONE.
Geez, this is rough. Those panel 3 feels especially. Sal’s probably terrified she’s gonna lose Marcie over this, but also worried that she’s going to cause Marcie pain just by being around. And of course Marcie’s probably been struggling with these feelings for ages. It’s hard for both of them : (
I hope they can find a way forward.
Awwww, Twu Fwiends
Your avatar makes your post 1000% better.
It does, it truely does
Agreed.
Really impressive she can sign the accent.
I hope they can work this out. Being so close to kissing did definitely re-ignite things Marcie thought had gone dormant, but I hope that she can properly evolve those feelings into something else, now that it is out in the open.
Finally Sal is pointing out important stuff. Marcie now has to do plan B, which we all what it is.
“Wanted: My best friend not changing so much so quickly.”
If it makes you feel any better, your best friend isn’t changing. You’re just noticing their suffering for the first time in years because you are a bad friend. See? Isn’t that much better? *Delivered in the helpful Hyperion voice from the Borderlands 2 New-U station*
Read it in GLaDOS’s voice, followed up with a wry insult like “It is fortunate for everyone that you don’t have any friends left to disappoint”
Anything suitably passive aggressive works. Hyperion is in my head cause of the recent replaying of Borderlands 2’s DLC.
Replaying and tackling DLC for the first time, but when you said Hyperion I thought of the Hyperion sniper rifle that you get from a quest that belittles and mocks you whenever you get a kill, reload, and other things you’ll do during gameplay.
“Wanted: My best friend not having feelings I didn’t know they had, that I don’t know how to process.”
Am I the only one wondering how Sal’s g-dropping accent translates into ASL? How do you sign comparin’ instead of comparing? Does she mostly go through the motion for compare but not quite finish it? Google tells me that sign is like a football ref signalling a field goal while twisting both hands in a waggling manner. Or maybe she’s signalling present tense with the sign for now, which are kinda rocker-horns on both hands, horns forward, wrists up, moving down with a sudden stop at the end, and she’s abbreviating the end of that motion by… not stopping? Stopping early?
Seriously, how is that accent translating into ASL?
…. oh, wait, there’s drama and feels happening? Eh, not important, I’ve got a technical nitpick to focus on.
Dumbing of Age Book 10: Drama’s Not Important, I’ve Got a Technical Nitpick to Focus On.
I think that’s just Marcie translating the accent, not a specific sign.
Oh, hey, maybe I’d know if I was the only one wondering that if I’d READ THE OTHER COMMENTS before posting. Doy.
gravatar-appropriate
I wondered the same thing, then realized the translation is a direct feed from her thoughts…
Hmm… can one have an accent in sign language?
there’s “hearing” accent which just means comically slow and sometimes the correct signs are placed at the wrong location of your body or something.
It’s a language used by human beings. It has accents. I don’t know what the accents of ASL are, and I wouldn’t assume a priori that they have any correspondence with the regional accents of (spoken) American English, but if it’s a language and it’s spoken by more than a handful of people, then it’s got accents.
Can we just assume, after so many years around Sal, that the accent is what Marcie hears in her head when Sal signs.
That’s about what I was figuring. Kinda like how you can read a text message or post in a person’s voice if it’s familiar enough.
or as an image I saw once put it:
Prof. Farnsworth: “GOOD NEWS, everyone! I’ve invented a machine that makes you read everything in my voice!”
Damn you. As soon as I saw “GOOD NEWS, everyone!” I had his voice stuck in my head. :/
Eh, I’m used to just assuming the accent whenever I read Sal’s dialogue. I don’t even notice it anymore, unless someone points it out. FI, I didn’t notice the accent until everyone turned it into a talking point.
It’s Sal. Sal has an accent. Sal’s talking, so she’s talking with an accent. I assume it would be even more so, if one is actually used to hearing her talk.
Sal’s sign language also has a southern accent?
I’ve got a horrible feeling that panel 4 translates as: “No, probably not. Even if we do, it won’t be in the same way and with the same ease we used to have.”
FWIW, Sal, Marcie is saying that she’s into strong, assesrtive bad-girl personalities. That isn’t so bad.
If they can get through having their throats and hands sliced and still be OK, I think “You feel attracted to me but I’m really straight” isn’t gonna break it. Sal wants Marcie to be happy, even if it is a little weird in the short term, it can be OK.
It’s probably the kind of thing they’ll chuckle about in thirty years.
For those wondering, sign can definitely have regional accents, and in fact there is a distinct “southern” accent. (having to do with chin and chest touching, I think? I can’t identify this one myself)
Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be compared to someone like Malaya either.
DoA Book 9: There’re Multiple Aspects Of This Conversation That Ah Do Not Enjoy
So, who else in the cast could be her type ?
Carla and possibly Sydney.
Amazi-Girl/Amber when asserting herself, possibly. Probably the closest to Malaya in build out of most of the cast, throws a good punch and talks some mean sass.
Troubling thought: Asher.
That’s…. hmm. Hadn’t considered that.
We’ve also seen Marcie express an interest in Sayid.
Same-
-Black hair.
-Feisty.
-Can throw a punch.
-Have boned at least one dude canonically because they thought it would be fun, without much regard for their well-being.
Different
-Sal has been shown to have genuine concern for others
-Malaya is quick to disdain people she sees as frauds, which seems like a lot of people
-Sal owns a motorcycle, Malaya seems weirdly obsessed that the only reason Sal could do this is to show off. If Mal wants one so bad she could just buy one.
-Sal is very straight, Malaya has hinted that she has some kind of body dysmorphia.
-One owns an iguana named Fuckface.
Sal’s hair is brown. Hence all the comments Joyce makes about it looking like chocolate.
Brown Eyed Girl by ‘Smiler’ van Morrison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfmkgQRmmeE
Marcie, please stop comparing your best friend (and secret love) since forever with the very rude girl you’ve meet three months ago and you’ve always said to just feel a physical attraction for her. It’s really annoying and offensive
THANK YOU.
How does Sal sign with a southern accent?
Sal’s mouth in frames 1, 3, 5, 7 – Parabola Of Scorn
I like that they are talking about it and that Marcie realizes she has a thing for Punk hardass black girls. I hope Sal is understanding and still loves her friend even if she isn’t attracted to her in that way
Malaya’s Filipina, not black.
Shrug then Punk Hardass Dark skinned girls then I Suppose.
Sal. This is Marcie who has always born the brunt of the fallout of your aggressive tendencies. This is Marcie who has always stuck with you no matter what and whom you have repeatedly failed. This is Marcie for who you would do anything and Marcie who you owe. Now that you understand, you could put your own strong feelings of distaste aside and let Marcie know that in private you will do whatever she wants for as long as she wants. Of your own free will you could make Marcie, who you love, happy for awhile.
Is this a good idea? No, not at all!!! But do it for Science.
Seriously? No. Just no.
Sex out of obligation with someone you have no sexual interest in and even physical distaste for is just creepy. And since Marcie’s a decent person she’ll care that Sal’s grossed out by it. It won’t make her happy. If anything will, this would poison their friendship.
What the frick man
Yea uhhhhhh……..thats kinda gross ngl
That’s a yikes from me dawg.
Yeeeeah, that’s a really awful idea on multiple levels.
I love that her accent carries over in ASL. It’s adorable.
A “physical” type sure, but I don’t see a personality resemblance at all Marcie.
Standoffish, aggressive women who have no clue that Marcie is into them.
How does one sign “Ah” instead of “I”