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Ron Chan | RCCC C25 @rondanchan.bsky.social ⋅ 19h
Comics Outta Context 
⚧️ @comiccontext.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
kate bush’s husband @airbagged.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
Tony Breed ✶ it finally feels like Spring (it’s August) @tonybreed.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
The Orion @gettheorion.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
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Don Cardenas
not if she can’t make a giant cartoon hand and its incredibly dexterous fingers pop out of her chest
It’s Carla, how much you wanna bet she couldn’t?
I thought it was Malaya
What evidence do we have that Carla is not bionic?
Actually, in the earlier David Willis comic Carla is known as Ultra Car. Ultra Car looks like Carla. Here is her bio:
Ultra Car was created to be an interstellar vessel for the Martian War of ’04, but her artificial intelligence was transferred into a smaller hybrid hatchback chassis shortly thereafter. A breakthrough in technology, she was the prototype for a series of intelligent cars which are increasingly filling the roads.
Now she’s been put into the body of a rollerskating humanoid robot. She still hates humans and possesses the same bruised ego, both of which has made her an obvious partner for Malaya. A partner of some sort, anyway. They’re still figuring it out.
ahhhh we finally have a reason for the name
I learned something today! About iguanas!
Something that an ex-girlfriend of mine who had an iguana never mentioned to me, but then, she didn’t name him like that, so it’s not like it was likely to come up.
Ironically I never really questioned it until now.
Me neither, I just though “Sure that is a name the Malaya would pick alright, makes sense no further questions” and that was that.
We do not question The Malaya.
haha exactly. i just thought that is just the exact level of “idgaf“ attitude i’d expect from Malaya
+1, I’m delighted. I just thought it was Malaya being rude omg
Same.
Oh yeah me too, I’m like way happier about it now.
[Citation Found]
I think it first came up in a bonus strip.
Nope. It was part of Shortpacked!
Fuckface lore! But I have questions: What is the tale of when Malaya got Fuckface? Did she name him that at first, or was she surprised when he went blue?
Carla had (has?) a crush on her, that counts as a something.
Had I think. Looks like she’s working on Charlie now
Not ‘working on’. Charlie herself has confirmed they’re dating.
you can have a crush on several people tho ^^ so who knows ^^
An interest in her, maybe not to the level of a crush. Based on how she reacted when Joe and Malaya hooked up, and when she clued Malaya into Marcie’s crush.
I learned something about iguana’s today. Thus, today is a good day.
From what I understand Carla’s not much into fucking of any kind. If Malaya were her ex they’d know that.
I’m not sure I understand your comment. Charlie was asking if Malaya was her ex, what does that have to do with Malaya knowing what Carla’s sex preferences are or not?
Malaya says “Don’t fuck me.” in the first panel. She means that in the “don’t inconvenience me by compromising my possession of Fuckface that violates the rules.” I chose to interpret that more literally for humor.
I mean, that’s how Carla clearly interpreted it, so.
She’s biting her lip in fear and all
Yes, if I were translating a better phrasing would be “don’t fuck with me”
That’s what I thought she said. My brain must’ve done a page load.
“Don’t fuck me over” is what I landed on.
Same. Malaya doesn’t want Fuckface too be too much of an open secret.
Why am I hearing this to the tune of “Hey, Look Me Over”?
I’m leaning more towards “don’t fuck me over”, but yeah.
I never hear that phrase without it being in Sarah Connor’s voice
“Don’t fuck me on this.”
“Don’t screw me on this.”
“Don’t screw me now.”
“Don’t fuck me over.”
“Don’t screw me over.”
Also is Charlie’s question a reference to Shortpacked or It’s Walky?
I’ve kind of figured through comment context some characters were couples like Walky and Joyce. I think Carla was actually a robot based on art I’ve seen. Alt text also implies Malaya and Carla were a thing, maybe.
The Carla thing is complicated. Once upon a time in the Walkyverse (sounds like a weird animated Sergio Leone movie but I digress) there was an Ultra Car, an automobile with an AI, created by Joe and his significant other Rachel (I said it was complicated). At Ultra Car’s request, it was made into a gynoid, a female presenting robot. In the Dumbiverse, Ultra exists as a fictional character, specifically the star of a short lived animated series. Carla grew up idolizing the character and patterns her life after her. She even dyes her hair, wears glasses and roller skates in emulation of Ultra. I suspect the name Carla was selected as a reference too.
Joe’s significant other, Rachel, not to be confused with Joe’s significant, Other Rachel.
“Carla” is her middle name. Full name is “Ultra Carla Rutten.”
(i’m totally making that up but it’s my headcanon so there.)
How did i not realize the CARla thing yet???? LOL
CARLA RUTten
CAR LARUT
ULTRA CAR
Malaya and Ultracar were a couple in Shortpacked!, yes.
Carla still had a thing for Malaya and clearly does desire romance, even if she thinks physical intimacy is gross.
I thought Carla was chasing after Booster, and settled on Charlie?
TOO MANY NAMES! TOO BIG A CAST!
Carla and Booster have never interacted.
All their interactions have been about Carla’s anxiety in approaching Charlie. (Almost feels like some variant on the Bechdel test.)
If you mean romantically, then no. Carla was never chasing Booster and didn’t settle for Charlie. Carla is canonically into women, which IRL can sometimes extend to nonbinary people, but frequently does not and in this case we have seen no sign of it.
Carla still seems at least a little into Malaya, who’s several months into not identifying as a woman and publicly using they/them pronouns, so there’s that sign of it at least.
That’s valid. I had forgot she actually was kinda into Malaya early on (and certainly still is.
Carla is ace romantic I believe from shortpacked.
Assuming she and Ultracar share the same QUANTUM CONSCIOUSNESS.
Ace as in asexual or as in very capable?
Yes.
That is correct.
I believe Davis said those carry over yes.
My favorite webcomic author, Will Davis. Creator of the famous comic Overstocked?, very active in the Cabbage Patch Kids fandom, always tweeting about exotic foods.
Snorting in bed trying not to wake my husband
This Carla, going by some of her comments about liking pretty girls being mean and stepping on her, could mayhaps be a kinky ace. (Many such cases.)
But yeah, she’s been stated to be an Ace Lesbian in specific :33
Blue-headed horny lizards and multiverse ex’s….
“The More You Know…”
It does take some time but Charlie does eventually notice things
I’m still not 100% convinced that she isn’t doing a bit, to support Carla’s assurances to Malaya and have a bit of fun with her own reputation at the same time.
I am very glad Charlie’s got a continued presence. I enjoy her and Carla’s dynamic quite a bit.
Panel 2 Charlie is great. Clearly, having lizards on your head is just a thing that sometimes happens when you’re Charlie.
As a Charlie I can confirm this to be true (genuinely, except it was a wild Goanna and they considerably heavier and less chill than iguanas). Has also happened with spiders (multiple), the python that lived under my house, and ceiling mice.
Okay, I gotta hear the Goanna story.
Me too, how does one get a goanna on their head that’s wild!
Really mess up criminally in the Magellenverse
https://magellanverse.com/
The creator of the comic is a transAustralian, and updates are intermittent since she transitioned, also one of the heroes is codenamed Go!ana. Hence the link to the comic.
The Goanna story boils down to
> Camping with lesbians
> Kiwi dyke had a little dog
> Goanna was on her car
> Dog went for the Goanna (who was much bigger than the dog)
> No one wanted to get between the two
> I have no sense of risk and went to pick up the dog
> Goannas will climb whatever is nearest and tallest
> It jumped from car to my backpack
> Everyone screaming
> Didn’t know it was on me until its tongue stuck out against my ear
> Calmly, but quickly walked to a gum for it to climb
I wouldn’t have been as keen to get close to it if it was fully grown, and was lucky not to get cut up by the claws. I just felt like a heavy weight and thought someone had grabbed me to pull me away
TIL that “goanna” and “iguana” have the same linguistic origin. :O
I like seeing Charlie’s perception in this moment! She might not register everything one would expect, but she does pick up on some things.
See, you think that Charlie is just being absent minded, but what’s happening is that she’s accidentally tapping into other universes.
Everything Some Places Occasionally.
Like outside this off-brand Racoocoonie situation, there’s a lot more retail than you’d expect.
… wait would that mean Fuckface is the one with relationship insights?
New headcanon: Charlie is a Primary (12 Monkeys (the show, not the movie)).
Ha, thank you alt-text! I completely forgot about that relationship.
after seeing how cute that 4th panel is i now need a spin-off series for the adventures of charlie and fuckface
Honestly I never noticed, but yeah, fuckface is smiling notably more than in any comic before.
Charlie can observe other timelines, it’s just like Donnie Darko
The main reason why Charlie is so distracted. She’s got heavy responsibilities for keeping the timelines straight (people, no, but timelines, yes) and multiverse healthy. Booster’s keen perceptions are focused on people in their social circles, but Charlie’s keen perceptions are focused elsewhere.
so there’s a reason for the name!
Charlie is alarmingly observant for somebody who didn’t notice a lizard on her head.
Booster and Charlie seem to share similar keen social perceptions. That is, once Charlie is paying attention to _this_ timeline instead of others.
“Not in this universe, anyway.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing!”
And this is why you should check the alt text before making jokes.
I see insightfulness runs in the family.
Also, now I’m imagining Charlie as the protagonist of a detective series. Sort of a Columbo* type where her mannerisms mean people habitually underestimate her – until she offhandedly asks exactly the right question at exactly the right time to bring the whole case to a close.
*I have never actually seen an episode of Columbo, I just know it from memes.
I have seen all of them (I think; might have missed a few). But indeed, they follow the same format, and it goes just like that. His famous phrase is “Oh, just one more thing.”
(it’s still difficult for me to watch Princess Bride without seeing Grandpa as the detective Columbo.)
Every time I watch The Great Muppet Caper and Peter Falk appears and launches into a stream of nonsense about a glass slipper factory to Kermit’s increasing bemusement, I half expect it to end “Oh, just one more thing, Mr the Frog…”
Hah! Yes, exactly!
Head canon is now that it’s actually the same character. Just an older retired Columbo being nice to his grandson.
And at virtually the same time (the two films wrapped in December ’86, but the Princess Bride shoot started a month or two earlier) he was hanging out with acrobats and fallen angels in Berlin.
Columbo wasn’t a character, he’s just Peter Falk doing Peter Falk things on camera. Truth.
Or in the other universe, hopefully. Last I read they were still a thing.
Maybe in another universe
Dammit, that was practically what the alt text said :c
No worries! Just means you’re thinking in the right direction.
Name explanation too funny to keep in bonus strip only.
FAAACE!!!
Carla’s never mentioned having an ex in the strip.
That said, I somehow doubt it would be Malaya in this context
I think it’s both A, a reference to Shortpacked, and B, noticing that Carla very much does like Malaya.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/03-faz-is-great/friendly/
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/03-faz-is-great/crowds/
Ah, there’s the Booster in Charlie.
…that sudden boost of clarity.
Malaya: Ha! Carla WISHES!
Carla: … It’s true, I do.
I feel like Charlie isn’t stupid, just… slow. She takes time to fully grok the situation before acting. To paraphrase one of my favorite authors, “she can think her way through a brick wall, if you give her time.”
Dangit! I wanted to hit reply but hit the report comment. My apologies! Please disregard!
Reply: Who is the author? I like that quote.
Tolkien.
It’s Gandalf of course: “You don’t know much…if you think old Barliman is stupid…He is wise enough on his own ground. He thinks less than he talks, and slower; yet he can see through a brick wall in time…”
Actually, my quote was from Robert Jordan’s Wheel Of Time, describing Perrin.
Interesting. Jordan referencing Tolkien? Or a more common idiom than I though?
Ah, I have not read those texts! I must look into correcting that.
“Is that some blue paint on your face, or are you happy to see me?”
Hahaaaaaa. Pick up on maybe one nonverbal social cue in a thousand, and it’s always the most awkward one.
well, is she ?
So Charlie can see thru timelines
Fuckface amplifies her autism superpowers ^^
She only seems absent-minded because she devotes a huge portion of her brainpower to rotating pictures of sea animals in her brain.
Honestly better that most people do with their brains.
seems like charlie’s more perceptive than people are giving her credit for
“… unless it’s with an extending robot hand from across the room”
Probably a one night stand or something and Malaya wasn’t interested in going any further.
When decorating, one can never have too many nightstands.
Not for lack of trying on Carla’s part!
Yeah, Carla! Is Malaya, like, your ex or something?
charlie you can’t acknowledge the fourth wall/alternate universe like that
Just realized Carla and Malaya are looking at each other from across the strip 🥰