Winona runs a werewolf shelter with partner in crime, Odile in the Gothic city of Merlot. One day they take in an injured vampire, and soon unravels many of the dark secrets of Merlot.
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
Shaderunners
Alex Assan, Lin Darrow
A ragtag band of bootleggers open a speakeasy for bottled colour in the greyscale city of Ironwell.
All Known Alternatives
Karolina 'Kajotko' Jankiewicz
Akane has only one way to get back home: collect the 42 keys to parallel worlds. Eri and Ben are just trying to get through the summer before university. When a magical key turns up in an old spare set, all three are forced to change their plans and fast.
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
Guilded Age
T Campbell, John Waltrip, Florence Machina
Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
Hemlock
Josceline Fenton
A witch accidentally marries a monster, and now she and her familiar has to navigate life around her monstrous husband and her even more terrifying in-laws.
No End
Erli, Kromi
A queer romance about people attempting to build lives in a cold, post-apocalyptic world ravaged by hordes of undead.
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May or may not be tangoing with Covid (fuck off, I’m fine), so I didn’t bother reading any of yesterdays comments. Whoever Booster’s-potentially-not-sibling is (I think they mentioned a sister at some point?), I adore and applaud the way they’re handling Carla right now.
More to your point, I’m curious whether this is an intentional snub, if she’s(?) not paying attention regardless, or if there’s something else going on.
That said, I don’t think anyone really has a responsibility to care even a little bit just because some random is being the loudest kid in class. It was really common in my schools to just let the loudmouth be loud and carry on as normal. They’d eventually settle down, so it’s not like anything was super disrupted.
I doubt Booster would have warned their sibling (if this is Booster’s sibling) beacuse I doubt Booster cared enough to acknowledge Carla. I would personally acknowledge Carla for many reasons foremost its polite to do so and I don’t want to be on her radar to be pranked.
She knows full well the world doesn’t revolve around her. She just pretends otherwise as a way of seizing control of the narrative – the best defense is a good offense, she figures.
She knows much of the world loathes the fact she exists so she rubs their collective faces in it. Look at her “completely ridiculous” revenge on Mary last semester.
she’s entertaining as a chara, but irl she’d prolly be exhausting to be around esp if you’re also that age. Though i think some ppl might also get into physical fights if she prodded them enough (not that i condone violence but plenty of ppl will start fights over nothing), or try to deflate her by being like “Sorry, my crippling depression and anxiety is too overwhelming to appreciate anyone right now” I’d assume carla would have empathy for ppl like that in a social circle but if someone that’s fairly a stranger says that i’d think most ppl would wanna keep their distance
Dangit anon, you used the chara shortening yesterday on the thread that started with “a wild Booster appears” and now I’m default reading it like its short for Charizard rather than character today.
Well, she’s a cartoon character, and doesn’t exist in real life, so it’s kind of moot. Dumbing of Age features exaggerated, larger-than-life characters. It’s a bit more grounded than Shortpacked, but not by as much as I think some people think.
(That said, I really struggled to like Lucy for a while because she reminded me of a former roommate, so I do understand not being about to separate a character from one’s associations.)
Personally I’d see us being friends. I like having friends that actually like themselves. (I have had to deal with a lot of self loathing from people who would get angry with me for being confident and that’s not a good friendship fit for me.)
Funny thing*, narcissists only present as liking themselves. As we see here, there’s a void of insecurity inside them that demands constant attention and/or approval.
It is possible to both like oneself AND be insecure. The human brain contains multitudes. Also, Carla is a ‘narcissist’ in much the same way someone who prefers a tidy home is ‘OCD’, which is to say, not.
As I said below: IMO she didn’t act like one in the past, which is why it’s weird that she is now. (And “because it’s funny” is not, still IMO, good or sufficient reason.)
I was initially annoyed about purposely making noises in the hall during the prank wars but that’s cause of my own highschool trauma, otherwise I love her
She’s great in the sense she’s an asshole but also has a heart of gold
Tbh i can’t really bring myself to hate anyone in this comic except the intended villains. And amber/mazi. I’ve tried and I’m just never gonna grow past that one i guess.
They’re all just dumbass teens/early 20somethings doing dumbass shit. As an early 20something i also do dumbass shit, so i get it. They’re not awful they’re just learning
That’s not a hockey jersey. It’s a jersey-styled long-sleeved shirt. The only Leafs jersey with grey sleeves is their retro reverse, and that doesn’t have neck laces, elbow stripes, or sleeves that are grey all the way around.
Also, it would suit Willis to introduce a deaf character other than member-of-the-weirdo-cult-that-is-Jennifer’s-current-dorm, just for all the potential Marice shenanigans.
I liked ‘Boosis’ when I first saw it — but it has since fallen a bit flat. I am switching to mentally referring to Booster’s Sister by your label ‘Sooster’. Please award yourself one internet.
Whatever the reasons behind Boosister’s not responding to Carla’s demands, it’s not Boosister’s responsibility to give Carla the external validation she craves.
Or, in the words of another famous badasse redhead,
“Not everything is about you, Mulder. This is my life.”
Don’t think she even needs a reason. No offense to Carla but if someone in the class was obnoxiously talking about how awesome they were I wouldn’t be paying much attention to them either. If Carla wants engagement from Boosister she should maybe introduce herself and ask to talk.
That or they may literally be deaf which thus Carla doesnt know everything and thus encourage Carla to learn ASL, to show her supremecy then only to find outt they primarily use LSE. Thus again Carla does not know everything.
Meh, all I could find was the twin does exist and I guess she once played a Nintendo Switch. A Switch that apparently wasn’t cleaned an entire winter break.
One peave about Carla’s Carla please refer to Leslie as Proffesor, or Dr.Bean if she has her PhD or Leslie if she has allowed their name. i hate when students use teacher it seems juvenile and kind of shows a lack of respect.
Also this is a peave of mine it doesn’t reflect on all educators. I just think it seems more proffesional at a collegiate level to use said titles or first names since we all are adults.
Also I am not European so the title of Professor is used for staff regardless of training hence MAs and PhDs may use the title of proffespr while I know in other parts of the world Proffesor is a title onto itself.
Huh, I never realised that “professor” is used differently in the US. (According to wikipedia, “professor” is how it’s used in this context, but “Professor” would be the same as how it’s used in other countries.)
Also, whilst there is definitely an unconcious gender bias in how professional women tend to be called by their first name whereas men get their title (it primarily is an issue amoungst medical doctors, but academics get it too), Leslie did start her first class with “you can call me Leslie”.
No it’s not that, it’s that she’s literally aiming at being juvenile in that moment. “Teacherrrr” is a childish and tropey thing to say and she’s doing it on purpose.
Dr. Thomas “Tommy” Oliver managed to get a doctorate in paleontology by the age of 25, as well as a teaching job. And this is after he spent basically all of high school fighting monsters in a giant dragon robot. If he can do it, Leslie can.
some college professors might not care. or maybe it’d just sound a bit silly calling her Ms/Dr. Bean (surprised that name wasn’t changed for this comic versus shortpacked)
i wonder if she has bad peripheral vision too b/c carla did wave her hand too even if not super ‘in your face’ (at least from that angle), so unless you’re trained for that, it’d be hard to not ignore that if only looking for a second and making an annoyed face before looking away
Dunno, but if she’s really Booster’s sister I wonder if her not noticing Carla is involved in Booster’s ability to analyse others. Maybe Boosister was the quiet child no one was able to understand except her sibling.
I wonder if Carla, like Joyce, is being moved from “funny character quirks” to “needs psych evaluation”. As a comic strip punchline she’s kind of funny, but imagine being in a classroom where a complete stranger, older than the age of six, starts acting like this…
Maybei t’s not to the same extent as Jennifer’s parents but while carla seemingly likes/gets along with her family, maybe their jobs being so “important” and basically being the in universe equivalent of Apple(?), that she still had some times where she didn’t get to spend too much time with them growing up so she became a bit of an attention seeker but not crossing the line of ‘acting out’
I’m not saying it’s impossible that she’d have managed her transition without being avaluated, but I do find it unlikely. It’s a process that tends to require lots of therapy and evaluation to make sure that the person really does want to transition.
Carla defends herself from bigotry by putting up an obnoxious front so she can control the discourse around her. If people dislike her for what she does (something she can control), they won’t have the mental bandwidth to hate her for who she is (which she can’t control).
We’ve seen hints at who she is behind the mask, for example back when she was trying to soothe Ruth’s depression.
…well, with a certain amount of “also she just has fun doing this” tossed in…
But the problem with that mindset is that it’s a very aggressive form of defense. It’s basically like a pre-emptive first strike. And while I’m sympathetic to her desire to pre-empt any assholes that do go after her, I also sympathize with those with no desire to deal with Carla’s attitude being forced to, like if they’re in a class with her and she won’t put the brakes on.
True. That her obnoxiousness is a defense mechanism doesn’t make it not obnoxious.
But it’s something we should consider when trying to understand the character.
I feel like you’re being sanist, and ignoring the context that Carla is in your face and annoying because people hate that she exists and would expect her to be perfect otherwise. She acts this way in response to an overwhelming power dynamic, and it lets her maintain control and relative safety. Just let her have this.
We are to presume that Carla got outed by a magazine, right? Maybe she learned that [i]any[/i] attention, even notoriety, can be turned into a positive experience if you just believe in yourself hard enough, or at least, that’s what she tells herself.
She was in Time, I believe, but I don’t think that was specific outing. She was a news story, probably well beyond that. It was her case that Jacob’s brother was involved with that won some unspecified level of trans rights in Indiana.
wait ,why does ruth’s top have those criss cross strings? seems like it’d come undone in the laundry or rip apart unless it was a a bigger size for her chest and ahe sewed it together a bit closer (tho i suppose there are weirder/more impractical fashion tops lol)
Originally the jerseys were made out of wool and had the drawstring so you could loosen it to get it over your head or helmet and then tighten it afterwards. With modern materials, the drawstring is mostly just for show or because of tradition.
I think it’d mostly done because it makes the hockey jerseys more distinctive, imo.
It’s a jersey-styled shirt. The Leafs have never had a jersey like that (though they did have one matching the jersey Ruth wore on her date), and some shirts are made to look similar to jerseys with neck laces.
I was gonna say, if memory serves Roz got reprimanded by Leslie for taking pretty much the same tact as Carla is. I don’t get why Leslie now approves of students saying “I have nothing to learn and am better than you” when she didn’t last semester?
Well, so far Carla hasn’t said she’s inherently better than some homeschooled religious kid because that kid doesn’t already know this stuff (but is trying to learn). Nor has she shouted Leslie down on the subject.
I mean, I think this is setting up a “Since you already know all this…” trap, but different students call for different approaches.
To be specific, the strips I’m referring to are here and here. This was before Becky re-enters the strip and Roz goes nuclear in making an ass of herself (and a certain drum-based word filter got introduced as a consequence of the comment section that day).
Hmmm. This does really look like Leslie reacting differently to the same situation. Could be a lot of reasons. Maybe she learned something from the Roz situation and decided that dressing down the know it all students isn’t the best approach to teach the material? Maybe Carla just has more swag and pulled off being arrogant with more charisma?
I think that scene with Roz was also farther into the semester and Leslie’s had more of a chance to know where she stood. They’d already had the thing with Robin and the sex tape.
Leslie also almost certainly knows Carla’s trans, which adds a different take to it. There really is stuff in the class that Carla will know better from personal experience than Leslie does. Which wasn’t really true of Roz.
Honestly, I hope Leslie doesn’t give Carla a pass just because she’s trans. Carla undoubtedly knows a lot about gender, well more than most. But she’s definitely also got her blind spots that stem from being a child of supportive billionaires…on top of the whole “still either 19 or 20 and thinks she knows more than she does” that’s common to everyone at that age.
If I remember correctly, Carla’s family is responsible for getting an anti-transgender law overturned in some landmark legal case. So, like, she does have a bit more of a justification to her “I know more than the rest of you” stance than Roz did.
The difference is that she actually does know things that the teacher doesn’t and has studied this on her own time out of necessity and not just to feel like she’s right on twitter. It’s entirely possible she doesn’t have that much to learn, or that the only parts she would struggle with are the intersectionality between gender and race.
I suspect there’s still a lot of other stuff she’d need to learn. Or learn on a deeper level. You don’t necessarily understand how sexism really works in society just because you’re a woman, even if you’ve got a head start over men.
Or as others have said, how it all intersects with poverty.
In total fairness to Roz (which is a weird sentence to type, but still), Roz only said “I had to evacuate after the fire alarm got pulled, but I don’t need the textbook for this class so it’s fine.”Leslie then pressed her on it, to turn that statement into a teachable moment. Four consecutive strips were spent on it! It just seems weird that this was worth making a point about during the previous batch of students, but apparently not worth even bothering with now. More than that, even, since Leslie is now encouraging someone declaring “I already know everything about this course.”
AND YET, in total fairness to the storyline, the parallel is so absolutely identical in phrasing between Roz and Carla (right down to someone else declaring that Roz/Carla thinks she knows everything about the course already and Roz/Carla claiming they don’t need their textbook) that I assume it was done deliberately and we’ll see the tonal dissonance addressed eventually. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth thinking about in the meantime!
Wait, no, I was wrong, it’s already been answered that Carla is exempt from believing that she has any growth or learning to do! Which is…kind of an obnoxious trait, in a comic where literally every character is meant to be coming of age and correcting misconceptions and growing as a person and etc etc.
And it’s frustrating, because I LIKE Carla! I have no problem with her being full of herself! Hell, I don’t WANT her getting “comeuppance” for being self-absorbed, because it’d be tonally weird and uncomfortable for that to happen just because she has self-confidence! But it feels like a cheapening of her as a character if she’s purposely written stepping on the same rakes that other characters did, in a college class, where she’s meant to be encouraged to keep learning, but somehow she has an everything-proof force field that exempts her from learning and her professor of all people encourages this and ajh-JWmkf;f,,.;l’;3,IOPKJnm;,l this doesn’t REALLY matter but it rubs me the wrong way regardless!!!
Boosters sister is the opposite to booster, refuses to engage with everyone on any level but like boosters attempt to engage on every level fails at this
ppl yesterday in the comments were mentioning it’s possibly booster’s sister, or someone that happens to look a lot like them
other than nonbinary being a fairly new concept in their universe i’d assume carla would’ve researched others besides the one she transitioned to/identifies as. and idk how close malaya was but she did introduce herself to booster as “she/they/whatever” so maybe she used some gender neutral pronouns around carla
Based on the “gender is bullshit” conversation Carla had with Malaya, I feel like it’d be really weird for Carla to have a problem with someone being non-binary or using pronouns other than he or she.
I used to wear my hair exactly the way Carla is wearing her hair here. She’s got it all at the best length, which in my case is a pain in the ass to maintain because of how fast my hair grows.
(Eventually I got sick of bangs and grew them out. I keep thinking of going back to them. This strip tempts me. A lot.)
While I’ve previously found her entertaining and/or refreshingly to-the-point (engineer, problem-solver), her behavior in these last few strips is hitting on all the reasons why I am DONE with narcissists, especially rich ones.
IMO, people who actually have good self-esteem just… have it. They don’t require (or loudly demand) external validation.
One of those “if you have to say something, you actually aren’t” things.
And in the past, Carla has (IMO) demonstrated that sort/level of self-esteem. Which makes her current behavior… kind of bizarre, arguably out of character, and apparently just for the sake of some low-effort comedy.
I don’t like it. More of the Carla we had before, please.
I seriously just think she’s joking??? I do the same thing, it’s more like a defense mechanism rather than genuinely believing it. You say because you don’t believe it
Carla must stop to be so obsessed with the mystery new girl or people will start ship them. Oh no…. it’s to late… I ship them! I see Carla try harder and ardent to gain her attention without results and start to question how great she is. I see the doubt growing in her mind!
1) Carla is fundamentally a good person, but stars and stones, I’d hate to have to deal with her every day. Making everything about her is super obnoxious.
2) I think it’s interesting that Leslie isnt pushing back on Carla the way she did for Roz. Carla being Trans most definitely means she knows more about gender studies than most folks, but she’s also got supportive parents who are incredibly rich. One of the big things we know Leslie emphasized last semester was homeless LGBT folks, an area she undoubtedly knows more about than Carla.
Yeah, there are definitely things Carla will learn, but there’s also more she knows about that Leslie would only know academically than was true for Roz.
There are far worse things a transgender child can be than self obsessed. (Dead, suicidal, depressed, impoverished…) I assume they simply live her unconditionally and don’t think of her as someone to put up with.
From how Carla responded to Ruth threatening to rat her out to her parents (hiding in her room) for being obnoxious (trying to tell joyce that becky and dina had s3x), I’m guessing they probably don’t see this side of her as much
Yeah, I really hope that Leslie’s setting Carla up for a humbling.
I mean, it’s not a great look for a teacher to do that, but it’s a hell of a lot better than validating and approving of a student’s unabashed narcissism and self-obsession like today’s comic appears on the surface to be.
Carla’s antics can be fun, but really only if there’s no victims (…beyond Mary). And that’s generally been the case so far, but it’s gotten REAL close to that line, and once she goes over it, the antics can quickly go from “amusing” to “exhausting”…
Carla’s antics are extremely low-stakes, completely victimless, and entirely devoid of harm. “Humbling” her would be completely ridiculous and would make Leslie come across as downright childish.
I feel like a “humbling” in the sense of “look, you’re a college sophomore. You don’t know as much as you think you do”, is very much part of the job description for a college professor. Getting Carla to recognize that isn’t childish at all, it’s what she’s here for.
I really hope so. Carla’s antics are occasionally amusing and I appreciate that there are layers to her character, but good grief she can be super annoying. I think it’s entirely possible for Leslie to humble Carla in a gentle teachable moment way, and that there are multiple intersectional angles to tackle it from. Both socioeconomic class and race both seem like good ways to remind Carla that while she may know a lot about the trans experience, she 100% is still a very privileged person.
(tilts head) Oh, this is what passes for crush behaviour in Carla’s annoying-people-counts-as-scial-interaction worldview, isn’t it? She might as well be pulling her pigtails on the playground right now.
she seems to want attention in general in this instance at least as opposed to eyeing a freshman and being like “oh they’re cute i better try to impress them” which might not rly be a first impression thing on her end considering she’s asexual (even if she expressed a bit of interest in malaya not sure how it’d go other than a bit of physical affection unless she’s willing to engage more intimately like dina did but she did seem a bit repulsed when Dina/Becky told her)
Someone is citing the MA constitutional provision explicitly allowing the state to impede federal marshals enforcing the fugitive slave act, DAMN the average citizen is radicalized
you’re laughing. the largest antebellum plantation house burned down & there are brides who will not get to spiritually absorb the poisoned spectral energy of the land for their big day, & you’re laughing.
Me if I ever see Tony Hawk: Hey you’re Tony Hawk the famous skateboarder. That’s right I recognise you. Won’t be able to get any content out of this will you, you piece of shit
How to read all 28 issues of my Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane run on Marvel Unlimited:
1: The first four issues were published as the miniseries "Mary Jane."
www.marvel.com/comics/serie...
today in #9chickweedlane i learned we have to be shown children learning and relearning what sex is, for Reasons, even though they already clearly know and have prepared nuanced questions about it!
also that Gran must hate, if she's still alive, how Old Juliette is the same but with gray hair
one of my favorite things is when a commenter explodes WHEN DO THESE CHARACTERS GET THERAPY but directed towards a character who canonically has a regular therapist
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btw if you're one of those rando bluesky weirdos who doesn't know me but sees me in the wild being sarcastic and don't know i'm being sarcastic because you haven't taken like 30 seconds to, like, maybe look at my user profile or something, keep walking, you're not going to score internet points here
Dana Simpson 
preternia @preternia.com ⋅ 2d
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No one cares, Carla…
“EVERYONE CARES!”
Carla is THAT student.
Somebody once asked Carla what her spirit animal was. She answered Ferrari.
And she was right.
Carla cares enough to compensate for everyone else.
She: “WITNESS ME”
They: “MEDIOCRE”
(I would draw this but eh)
Carla had better be careful. She’s only a few more outbursts away from Oompa-Loompas singing.
“Look at me!”
/Arin Hanson
Booster’s Twin uses Silence!
It’s extremely effective!!!
Speaking of turn based battles, today’s Dina’s birthday in comic, and to celebrate I’m releasing a really special dinosaur-themed game today!!!
Stay tuned!!!
Progress so far:
https://twitter.com/NGtheWelllerman/status/1582235124287950849
It’s goddamn fantastic.
Ohh
welp looks like it might be coming tomorrow
hopefully Dina doesn’t mind a slightly belated birthday gift
Aaaaannd…. DONE!!!!
https://gx.games/games/v5xb5y/totally-dumb-dino-cards-/tracks/88ec830e-b870-45c9-85ff-cc017c4c9bf3
This does not count as a late birthday gift and you cannot prove otherwise!
https://gx.games/games/v5xb5y/totally-dumb-dino-cards-
THIS is the right link!
I know it’s obnoxious, but it’s also really cute, Carla’s expressive pouting about all this.
She’s got the same energy as a cat determinedly getting up on the counter and huffing quietly and angrily every time you move them off said counter.
Yeah, they need to not be on the counter, but they’re beautiful and important.
Agreed.
So true
It’s not cute when Walky or Joyce do it, so I don’t find it cute when Carla does it.
it’s cute when all of them do it
Yep. It’s a webcomic, we could stand to lighten up a little bit sometimes.
I agree, she’s friggin’ adorable here, as per usual. Love some Big Personality Carla.
I agree. :3
Carla is added “fuck you”.
May or may not be tangoing with Covid (fuck off, I’m fine), so I didn’t bother reading any of yesterdays comments. Whoever Booster’s-potentially-not-sibling is (I think they mentioned a sister at some point?), I adore and applaud the way they’re handling Carla right now.
If well-wishes would be welcome, you have mine.
If not, please ignore.
And my axe.
And my …
Oh, wait! That’s not mine. How did that get there?
Anyway, get better.
More to your point, I’m curious whether this is an intentional snub, if she’s(?) not paying attention regardless, or if there’s something else going on.
That said, I don’t think anyone really has a responsibility to care even a little bit just because some random is being the loudest kid in class. It was really common in my schools to just let the loudmouth be loud and carry on as normal. They’d eventually settle down, so it’s not like anything was super disrupted.
Calling it now, Boosister was specifically warned to avoid interacting with Carla at all costs.
Has Booster interacted with Carla I cannot remember and if they have.
[Booster psychoanalyzing everybody in the room]
Carla: Ooh! Oooh! Me next! Do me!
Booster: No.
I doubt Booster would have warned their sibling (if this is Booster’s sibling) beacuse I doubt Booster cared enough to acknowledge Carla. I would personally acknowledge Carla for many reasons foremost its polite to do so and I don’t want to be on her radar to be pranked.
Maybe they’re just quiet in general. Booster talks enough for two people
“This is my emotional support egomania.”
Carla’s got a long semester ahead of her.
well, maybe by the time she fully graduates she’ll learn the world doesn’t revolve around her
…and then she inherits her parents company/becomes the next Ruttech CEO and her ego will skyrocket back up
She knows full well the world doesn’t revolve around her. She just pretends otherwise as a way of seizing control of the narrative – the best defense is a good offense, she figures.
She knows much of the world loathes the fact she exists so she rubs their collective faces in it. Look at her “completely ridiculous” revenge on Mary last semester.
The context makes me feel happy when she gets self important.
I don’t understand people who hate Carla.
(and I don’t really need to, so take it somewhere else, friends.)
Cosigned
Triplicated with great vigor.
she’s entertaining as a chara, but irl she’d prolly be exhausting to be around esp if you’re also that age. Though i think some ppl might also get into physical fights if she prodded them enough (not that i condone violence but plenty of ppl will start fights over nothing), or try to deflate her by being like “Sorry, my crippling depression and anxiety is too overwhelming to appreciate anyone right now” I’d assume carla would have empathy for ppl like that in a social circle but if someone that’s fairly a stranger says that i’d think most ppl would wanna keep their distance
Dangit anon, you used the chara shortening yesterday on the thread that started with “a wild Booster appears” and now I’m default reading it like its short for Charizard rather than character today.
Boosister
Well, she’s a cartoon character, and doesn’t exist in real life, so it’s kind of moot. Dumbing of Age features exaggerated, larger-than-life characters. It’s a bit more grounded than Shortpacked, but not by as much as I think some people think.
(That said, I really struggled to like Lucy for a while because she reminded me of a former roommate, so I do understand not being about to separate a character from one’s associations.)
Personally I’d see us being friends. I like having friends that actually like themselves. (I have had to deal with a lot of self loathing from people who would get angry with me for being confident and that’s not a good friendship fit for me.)
Funny thing*, narcissists only present as liking themselves. As we see here, there’s a void of insecurity inside them that demands constant attention and/or approval.
* not actually funny.
It is possible to both like oneself AND be insecure. The human brain contains multitudes. Also, Carla is a ‘narcissist’ in much the same way someone who prefers a tidy home is ‘OCD’, which is to say, not.
^^^
As I said below: IMO she didn’t act like one in the past, which is why it’s weird that she is now. (And “because it’s funny” is not, still IMO, good or sufficient reason.)
I was initially annoyed about purposely making noises in the hall during the prank wars but that’s cause of my own highschool trauma, otherwise I love her
She’s great in the sense she’s an asshole but also has a heart of gold
I hope she gets a story about her soon
We aren’t getting a story about her now?
But there’s other people in this story! That are taking valuable attention away from Carla!
REMOVE THEM AT ONCE
Ms. Bean, send them to the dean’s office and have them expelled!
Bits aren’t storyline’s!!!!
Serious answers: I guess I hope it’s more meaningful than bits and where her stuff isn’t just compliments to other storyline’s
Her schtick is endearing in small doses, but it wears out its welcome kinda quickly.
Maybe Carla can have some more character development this semester, as a treat.
Eh, she’s a lil annoying but fun
Tbh i can’t really bring myself to hate anyone in this comic except the intended villains. And amber/mazi. I’ve tried and I’m just never gonna grow past that one i guess.
They’re all just dumbass teens/early 20somethings doing dumbass shit. As an early 20something i also do dumbass shit, so i get it. They’re not awful they’re just learning
I obviously agree with you. I enjoy her, she’s cute and bold and smart!
There is a surprising amount of cleavage for both overalls and a hockey jersey
Sometimes, a cleavage must occur to maintain The Balance.
Carla is just that amazing, she contains multitudes!
That’s not a hockey jersey. It’s a jersey-styled long-sleeved shirt. The only Leafs jersey with grey sleeves is their retro reverse, and that doesn’t have neck laces, elbow stripes, or sleeves that are grey all the way around.
Is she just that good at not reacting to Carla?
Or is she deaf?
If she’s Booster’s twin, she’s had a lifetime masterclass of Ignoring Your Shit.
*applause*
I think the person in question may be deaf even if they can read lips Carla does not seem to be facing their eyeline when she speaks.
Also if there is an interpreter I am pretty sure Carla has not noticed or they use their phone or laptop or the classmate hasn’t shown up until now.
Also, it would suit Willis to introduce a deaf character other than member-of-the-weirdo-cult-that-is-Jennifer’s-current-dorm, just for all the potential Marice shenanigans.
that’s possible but her head is turned in both panels so she’s looking at /acknowledging something/someone else maybe
She’s probably deaf, i don’t know for sure yet of course.
Carla’s look of genuine pride in being called “added value” just tickles my funny bone, like this is just some classic sitcom goofiness.
She’s so cute. :3
Added value? Sounds taxing.
I liked ‘Boosis’ when I first saw it — but it has since fallen a bit flat. I am switching to mentally referring to Booster’s Sister by your label ‘Sooster’. Please award yourself one internet.
It’s okay, Carla! I know you’re added value! You’re the most added value possible!
(also she’s super hot in panel 4, damn girl)
(Okay good, someone else noticed.)
Real talk, when isn’t she super hot?
She’s baseline very hot, but super hot is only on special occasions when the light fully reflects her magnificences.
Whatever the reasons behind Boosister’s not responding to Carla’s demands, it’s not Boosister’s responsibility to give Carla the external validation she craves.
Or, in the words of another famous badasse redhead,
“Not everything is about you, Mulder. This is my life.”
(I say this as a fellow external-validation craver.
Not everything is about me.)
Don’t think she even needs a reason. No offense to Carla but if someone in the class was obnoxiously talking about how awesome they were I wouldn’t be paying much attention to them either. If Carla wants engagement from Boosister she should maybe introduce herself and ask to talk.
That or they may literally be deaf which thus Carla doesnt know everything and thus encourage Carla to learn ASL, to show her supremecy then only to find outt they primarily use LSE. Thus again Carla does not know everything.
Now I gotta scrub through Booster’s archive to see if they ever hinted at their twin being deaf.
Meh, all I could find was the twin does exist and I guess she once played a Nintendo Switch. A Switch that apparently wasn’t cleaned an entire winter break.
Well thanks for taking the time to do so
LSE = Spanish Sign Language
(just in case anyone else wonders)
Exactly.
Added value but how much is negligible.
Fine just throw another not-entirely healthy ship right into my head, why don’t you
I know right!?
XD Oh lord. Yeah, Carla needs her attention fix.
She’s added value like how Joe was added value. As use as an example. I’ll give Carla she’s a bit more of a positive example, but…
Panel four Carla = through the roof value.
A good source of 3 vitamins and minerals.
Weird that my comments go I nto moderation when I use my iPhone, but not my iPad.
One peave about Carla’s Carla please refer to Leslie as Proffesor, or Dr.Bean if she has her PhD or Leslie if she has allowed their name. i hate when students use teacher it seems juvenile and kind of shows a lack of respect.
This ship has long sailed.
* Carla’ behavoir
**allowed the use of
***I
Also this is a peave of mine it doesn’t reflect on all educators. I just think it seems more proffesional at a collegiate level to use said titles or first names since we all are adults.
Also I am not European so the title of Professor is used for staff regardless of training hence MAs and PhDs may use the title of proffespr while I know in other parts of the world Proffesor is a title onto itself.
Huh, I never realised that “professor” is used differently in the US. (According to wikipedia, “professor” is how it’s used in this context, but “Professor” would be the same as how it’s used in other countries.)
Also, whilst there is definitely an unconcious gender bias in how professional women tend to be called by their first name whereas men get their title (it primarily is an issue amoungst medical doctors, but academics get it too), Leslie did start her first class with “you can call me Leslie”.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/gender/
Leslie’s always been pretty lax about formalities in her classroom. I doubt it bothers her overmuch.
Gasp. You think Carla sounds juvenile? How could that be.
She’s always been such a formal and dainty lady in the past.
I know she’s not it’s just something that annoys me thus the whole rant.
No it’s not that, it’s that she’s literally aiming at being juvenile in that moment. “Teacherrrr” is a childish and tropey thing to say and she’s doing it on purpose.
For the memes.
Leslie’s 24, 25? Not impossible to get a PhD at that age but she’d have to be pretty laser focused for it.
Dr. Thomas “Tommy” Oliver managed to get a doctorate in paleontology by the age of 25, as well as a teaching job. And this is after he spent basically all of high school fighting monsters in a giant dragon robot. If he can do it, Leslie can.
some college professors might not care. or maybe it’d just sound a bit silly calling her Ms/Dr. Bean (surprised that name wasn’t changed for this comic versus shortpacked)
And today is when I realised that her name is Les Bean.
I don’t agree.
Not once in all my 10 years at uni have I ever heard any of my lecturers referred to by their surnames or title….
… Granted I am in Australia where we’re more likely to call someone “oiconga” than use honorifics..
Is she deaf?
That’s not a joke, I’m genuinely wondering if she’s deaf.
I was just wondering that as well.
Must one be deaf to ignore Carla? I’d argue Carla is making enough of a fuss even a deaf person would notice.
i wonder if she has bad peripheral vision too b/c carla did wave her hand too even if not super ‘in your face’ (at least from that angle), so unless you’re trained for that, it’d be hard to not ignore that if only looking for a second and making an annoyed face before looking away
Either deaf, or really good at ignoring somebody who wants to be the center of attention in a room.
Dunno, but if she’s really Booster’s sister I wonder if her not noticing Carla is involved in Booster’s ability to analyse others. Maybe Boosister was the quiet child no one was able to understand except her sibling.
So, are we allowed to name this ship before we even know Boosister’s name or know a single thing more about her?
I think that, morally, we have a duty to. Maybe “Added Value”? IDK how ship names work nowadays.
Ship Name: Teacherrrrrrrrr
I wonder if Carla, like Joyce, is being moved from “funny character quirks” to “needs psych evaluation”. As a comic strip punchline she’s kind of funny, but imagine being in a classroom where a complete stranger, older than the age of six, starts acting like this…
Sometimes a person is Loud without “needing psych evaluation”, and we don’t need to go that route all the time, sometimes.
Maybei t’s not to the same extent as Jennifer’s parents but while carla seemingly likes/gets along with her family, maybe their jobs being so “important” and basically being the in universe equivalent of Apple(?), that she still had some times where she didn’t get to spend too much time with them growing up so she became a bit of an attention seeker but not crossing the line of ‘acting out’
It couldn’t possibly be any kind of defense mechanism related to being trans.
Noooo of course not. Don’t you know that you’re not allowed to consider the history of any character in DoA before making judgements about them?
History? That’s when all the bad stuff happened, so American culture dictates we forget it so we won’t have to feel bad for two seconds.
She’s totally not joking, this is definitely not a defense mecchanism, and we should take this very seriously!
The stakes could not possibly be higher.
Definitely smells of Narcissism.
I’m not saying it’s impossible that she’d have managed her transition without being avaluated, but I do find it unlikely. It’s a process that tends to require lots of therapy and evaluation to make sure that the person really does want to transition.
Carla defends herself from bigotry by putting up an obnoxious front so she can control the discourse around her. If people dislike her for what she does (something she can control), they won’t have the mental bandwidth to hate her for who she is (which she can’t control).
We’ve seen hints at who she is behind the mask, for example back when she was trying to soothe Ruth’s depression.
Aye, that does seem like what she does…
…well, with a certain amount of “also she just has fun doing this” tossed in…
But the problem with that mindset is that it’s a very aggressive form of defense. It’s basically like a pre-emptive first strike. And while I’m sympathetic to her desire to pre-empt any assholes that do go after her, I also sympathize with those with no desire to deal with Carla’s attitude being forced to, like if they’re in a class with her and she won’t put the brakes on.
True. That her obnoxiousness is a defense mechanism doesn’t make it not obnoxious.
But it’s something we should consider when trying to understand the character.
Yeah, that strategy is built on a foundation of “they’re going to have a negative opinion of me anyway, but at least I can control the reason why!”
Other people hating you isn’t a foregone conclusion, Carla. :\
If other people hating someone isn’t a foregone conclusion, then how come [all of recorded human history]?
Nah, it’s just lived experience.
I feel like you’re being sanist, and ignoring the context that Carla is in your face and annoying because people hate that she exists and would expect her to be perfect otherwise. She acts this way in response to an overwhelming power dynamic, and it lets her maintain control and relative safety. Just let her have this.
We are to presume that Carla got outed by a magazine, right? Maybe she learned that [i]any[/i] attention, even notoriety, can be turned into a positive experience if you just believe in yourself hard enough, or at least, that’s what she tells herself.
She was in Time, I believe, but I don’t think that was specific outing. She was a news story, probably well beyond that. It was her case that Jacob’s brother was involved with that won some unspecified level of trans rights in Indiana.
wait ,why does ruth’s top have those criss cross strings? seems like it’d come undone in the laundry or rip apart unless it was a a bigger size for her chest and ahe sewed it together a bit closer (tho i suppose there are weirder/more impractical fashion tops lol)
It looks to be a vintage style jersey, which would have laces at the neck. Not sure why, but that’s how they were cut back in the day.
Originally the jerseys were made out of wool and had the drawstring so you could loosen it to get it over your head or helmet and then tighten it afterwards. With modern materials, the drawstring is mostly just for show or because of tradition.
I think it’d mostly done because it makes the hockey jerseys more distinctive, imo.
Eh, pretty sure that’s just a Leaf’s jersey. They got drawstrings on ‘em. Don’t know if this link will work but here’s what one looks like:
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=FCwhDPCE&id=D6FCAF59CD9FDE48E8657C4312BDE7DE75B79D36&thid=OIP.FCwhDPCEYG_zyGGRjaoCXwHaHw&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi5.walmartimages.com%2Fasr%2Fa6b75462-a917-47b8-ac46-72459197e096.a6cb62ac0fc451b28e7659bf736c72a6.jpeg&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR.142c210cf084606ff3c861918daa025f%3Frik%3DNp23dd7nvRJDfA%26pid%3DImgRaw%26r%3D0&exph=1960&expw=1872&q=leafs+jersy&simid=608027542668469791&form=IRPRST&ck=4E5DDA5EB7EC564E6358B5C52709E657&selectedindex=31&vt=4&sim=11
i’m used to only seeing ‘drawstrings’ on shirts like those that have hoods/more practical but yeah, nice detail/commitment to accuracy then lol
It’s a jersey-styled shirt. The Leafs have never had a jersey like that (though they did have one matching the jersey Ruth wore on her date), and some shirts are made to look similar to jerseys with neck laces.
It suits her, either way.
I wear shirts with those criss cross strings! They’re a lot more comfortable than my regular shirts and help support my bust.
Alright now they’re just purposely ignoring Carla.
(or looking for something [or someone {HOW DEEP CAN THESE BRACKETS GO}])
[[[(((… All the way down …)))]]]
No mention of Roz today, even though Carla is basically running some of her lines?
This ain’t about her.
I was gonna say, if memory serves Roz got reprimanded by Leslie for taking pretty much the same tact as Carla is. I don’t get why Leslie now approves of students saying “I have nothing to learn and am better than you” when she didn’t last semester?
It’s been like five seconds. Let’s at least let class start before we decide Leslie’s completely changed her mind on stuff.
Well, so far Carla hasn’t said she’s inherently better than some homeschooled religious kid because that kid doesn’t already know this stuff (but is trying to learn). Nor has she shouted Leslie down on the subject.
I mean, I think this is setting up a “Since you already know all this…” trap, but different students call for different approaches.
To be specific, the strips I’m referring to are here and here. This was before Becky re-enters the strip and Roz goes nuclear in making an ass of herself (and a certain drum-based word filter got introduced as a consequence of the comment section that day).
Hmmm. This does really look like Leslie reacting differently to the same situation. Could be a lot of reasons. Maybe she learned something from the Roz situation and decided that dressing down the know it all students isn’t the best approach to teach the material? Maybe Carla just has more swag and pulled off being arrogant with more charisma?
I think that scene with Roz was also farther into the semester and Leslie’s had more of a chance to know where she stood. They’d already had the thing with Robin and the sex tape.
Leslie also almost certainly knows Carla’s trans, which adds a different take to it. There really is stuff in the class that Carla will know better from personal experience than Leslie does. Which wasn’t really true of Roz.
Honestly, I hope Leslie doesn’t give Carla a pass just because she’s trans. Carla undoubtedly knows a lot about gender, well more than most. But she’s definitely also got her blind spots that stem from being a child of supportive billionaires…on top of the whole “still either 19 or 20 and thinks she knows more than she does” that’s common to everyone at that age.
If I remember correctly, Carla’s family is responsible for getting an anti-transgender law overturned in some landmark legal case. So, like, she does have a bit more of a justification to her “I know more than the rest of you” stance than Roz did.
The difference is that she actually does know things that the teacher doesn’t and has studied this on her own time out of necessity and not just to feel like she’s right on twitter. It’s entirely possible she doesn’t have that much to learn, or that the only parts she would struggle with are the intersectionality between gender and race.
I suspect there’s still a lot of other stuff she’d need to learn. Or learn on a deeper level. You don’t necessarily understand how sexism really works in society just because you’re a woman, even if you’ve got a head start over men.
Or as others have said, how it all intersects with poverty.
Excuse you, Roz was using Carla’s lines, which is why they hit badly.
From Carla they’re good and perfect, like Carla is.
This!
Yes, that is a fair rebuttal.
We’ll have to see if Carla keeps pressing, like Roz did.
In total fairness to Roz (which is a weird sentence to type, but still), Roz only said “I had to evacuate after the fire alarm got pulled, but I don’t need the textbook for this class so it’s fine.” Leslie then pressed her on it, to turn that statement into a teachable moment. Four consecutive strips were spent on it! It just seems weird that this was worth making a point about during the previous batch of students, but apparently not worth even bothering with now. More than that, even, since Leslie is now encouraging someone declaring “I already know everything about this course.”
AND YET, in total fairness to the storyline, the parallel is so absolutely identical in phrasing between Roz and Carla (right down to someone else declaring that Roz/Carla thinks she knows everything about the course already and Roz/Carla claiming they don’t need their textbook) that I assume it was done deliberately and we’ll see the tonal dissonance addressed eventually. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth thinking about in the meantime!
Wait, no, I was wrong, it’s already been answered that Carla is exempt from believing that she has any growth or learning to do! Which is…kind of an obnoxious trait, in a comic where literally every character is meant to be coming of age and correcting misconceptions and growing as a person and etc etc.
And it’s frustrating, because I LIKE Carla! I have no problem with her being full of herself! Hell, I don’t WANT her getting “comeuppance” for being self-absorbed, because it’d be tonally weird and uncomfortable for that to happen just because she has self-confidence! But it feels like a cheapening of her as a character if she’s purposely written stepping on the same rakes that other characters did, in a college class, where she’s meant to be encouraged to keep learning, but somehow she has an everything-proof force field that exempts her from learning and her professor of all people encourages this and ajh-JWmkf;f,,.;l’;3,IOPKJnm;,l this doesn’t REALLY matter but it rubs me the wrong way regardless!!!
Whoops, wrong email
Boosters sister is the opposite to booster, refuses to engage with everyone on any level but like boosters attempt to engage on every level fails at this
Carla wants more!!!!!
(I ship it)
(I know Carla is asexual but is she aromantic?)
(If that’s the case I friend ship it)
If Carla is consistent with Walkyverse! Ultra Car, she is not aromantic.
Then back to the ship until otherwise!!!!
did carla just got volnteered for ta?
Don’t tell Sal.
Panel 4 is my favourite panel of the entire comic thus far.
Odd. Booster didn’t get a tag. Also Carla is about to learn about pronouns.
Who said that was Booster?
ppl yesterday in the comments were mentioning it’s possibly booster’s sister, or someone that happens to look a lot like them
other than nonbinary being a fairly new concept in their universe i’d assume carla would’ve researched others besides the one she transitioned to/identifies as. and idk how close malaya was but she did introduce herself to booster as “she/they/whatever” so maybe she used some gender neutral pronouns around carla
Based on the “gender is bullshit” conversation Carla had with Malaya, I feel like it’d be really weird for Carla to have a problem with someone being non-binary or using pronouns other than he or she.
Uh, do you not know who Carla is?
Perhaps they mean “other people’s pronouns?”
Maybe?
If not, Carla will be glad to inform them.
But seriously, if they took that character to actually be Booster, then the comment sort of makes sense, since Booster isn’t a “her”.
I do think it’s interesting that this person was initially a gender neutral freshperson and is now “her”.
I used to wear my hair exactly the way Carla is wearing her hair here. She’s got it all at the best length, which in my case is a pain in the ass to maintain because of how fast my hair grows.
(Eventually I got sick of bangs and grew them out. I keep thinking of going back to them. This strip tempts me. A lot.)
For being an engineer it’s odd that Carla built her sense of self-worth on the foundation of quicksand…
You build your self-worth on the foundation you’ve got.
While I’ve previously found her entertaining and/or refreshingly to-the-point (engineer, problem-solver), her behavior in these last few strips is hitting on all the reasons why I am DONE with narcissists, especially rich ones.
The number of people who think “being obnoxious and pleased with oneself” is the same as “actual narcissism” is weirdly high.
But if we don’t pathologize good self-esteem, how will we keep the other poppies from getting too tall?
Liking yourself is wrong because I don’t like myself and i envy you /s
(sorry for the accidental flagging, i was trying to hit reply on mobile)
Of course, the number of people who think “being obnoxious and pleased with oneself” is the same as “good self-esteem” is also weirdly high.
Did I say “good self-esteem”? Weird, must be in invisible ink.
IMO, people who actually have good self-esteem just… have it. They don’t require (or loudly demand) external validation.
One of those “if you have to say something, you actually aren’t” things.
Continuing, after further reflection:
And in the past, Carla has (IMO) demonstrated that sort/level of self-esteem. Which makes her current behavior… kind of bizarre, arguably out of character, and apparently just for the sake of some low-effort comedy.
I don’t like it. More of the Carla we had before, please.
I seriously just think she’s joking??? I do the same thing, it’s more like a defense mechanism rather than genuinely believing it. You say because you don’t believe it
It’s ok, Carla. I used to show me off to my teachers too, because I got good grades and I was a good children.
she’s dressed like mario, all she needs is a hat and mustache and it’s complete.
She also needs to be about half her current height, to get fully in-character.
Carla must stop to be so obsessed with the mystery new girl or people will start ship them. Oh no…. it’s to late… I ship them! I see Carla try harder and ardent to gain her attention without results and start to question how great she is. I see the doubt growing in her mind!
A very overdue foil to Carla. Thank Willis.
1) Carla is fundamentally a good person, but stars and stones, I’d hate to have to deal with her every day. Making everything about her is super obnoxious.
2) I think it’s interesting that Leslie isnt pushing back on Carla the way she did for Roz. Carla being Trans most definitely means she knows more about gender studies than most folks, but she’s also got supportive parents who are incredibly rich. One of the big things we know Leslie emphasized last semester was homeless LGBT folks, an area she undoubtedly knows more about than Carla.
Yeah, there are definitely things Carla will learn, but there’s also more she knows about that Leslie would only know academically than was true for Roz.
Sweet Jeezus, how do her parents put up with her?
What a weird thing to say.
She knows they love her unconditionally, so they’re exempt from the Carla Schtick.
Probably because the alternative is abandonment. Would you stop “putting up with” your kid if they were obnoxious as a teen/young adult?
There are far worse things a transgender child can be than self obsessed. (Dead, suicidal, depressed, impoverished…) I assume they simply live her unconditionally and don’t think of her as someone to put up with.
From how Carla responded to Ruth threatening to rat her out to her parents (hiding in her room) for being obnoxious (trying to tell joyce that becky and dina had s3x), I’m guessing they probably don’t see this side of her as much
Yeah, I really hope that Leslie’s setting Carla up for a humbling.
I mean, it’s not a great look for a teacher to do that, but it’s a hell of a lot better than validating and approving of a student’s unabashed narcissism and self-obsession like today’s comic appears on the surface to be.
Carla’s antics can be fun, but really only if there’s no victims (…beyond Mary). And that’s generally been the case so far, but it’s gotten REAL close to that line, and once she goes over it, the antics can quickly go from “amusing” to “exhausting”…
Carla’s antics are extremely low-stakes, completely victimless, and entirely devoid of harm. “Humbling” her would be completely ridiculous and would make Leslie come across as downright childish.
I feel like a “humbling” in the sense of “look, you’re a college sophomore. You don’t know as much as you think you do”, is very much part of the job description for a college professor. Getting Carla to recognize that isn’t childish at all, it’s what she’s here for.
Particularly when someone is claiming that they know everything there is to know about Gender Studies because they’re trans.
She’s got a hell of a leg up, certainly, through her personal experience. But that does not mean she knows even most of the course.
She handled it pretty well when Roz thought the same thing.
I really hope so. Carla’s antics are occasionally amusing and I appreciate that there are layers to her character, but good grief she can be super annoying. I think it’s entirely possible for Leslie to humble Carla in a gentle teachable moment way, and that there are multiple intersectional angles to tackle it from. Both socioeconomic class and race both seem like good ways to remind Carla that while she may know a lot about the trans experience, she 100% is still a very privileged person.
/jk
No, Carla, you’re just a diminishing return. Value is filling your slots with something else other than your main ability.
/jk
(tilts head) Oh, this is what passes for crush behaviour in Carla’s annoying-people-counts-as-scial-interaction worldview, isn’t it? She might as well be pulling her pigtails on the playground right now.
she seems to want attention in general in this instance at least as opposed to eyeing a freshman and being like “oh they’re cute i better try to impress them” which might not rly be a first impression thing on her end considering she’s asexual (even if she expressed a bit of interest in malaya not sure how it’d go other than a bit of physical affection unless she’s willing to engage more intimately like dina did but she did seem a bit repulsed when Dina/Becky told her)
Maybe the student not paying attention to Carla is really they/them and now the joke’s on Carla, who called them “her”
That would be quite an interesting counter to the assertion that she knows everything.
Boosister is my favorite character so far.
Until this person speaks, I will believe they are a giant chicken in a Booster costume. Willis would go for the Animaniacs deep-cut-slash-pun.