My gaming group used to joke about NPC townsfolk realizing that they’re suddenly in COLOR, which means that player characters are somewhere around, and reacting with appropriate fear/panic.
If you don’t watch it already, I recommend Epic NPC Man on Youtube (it’s been out for ages, now, so there’s a pretty good backlog). Most of it is exactly this sort of humor–the NPCs in a videogame dealing with the weirdness that comes from being NPCs in a videogame.
Everyone is the hero of their own story. Except for me. I can’t confirm it, but I am pretty sure that I am just the muggle character that occasionally shows up as the comedic relief between key plot points in my friend’s secret magical adventures.
Here’s my prediction: Asma does ultimately end up with Alice because Jennifer isn’t romantically interested in Alice, and this results in a split between Jennifer and Alice that results in Billie getting back together with Ruth who unceremoniously dumps whats-his-face.
I have no bias here due to being a Billie/Ruth fan I swear
More likely referring to emotional turmoil over biological, probably distress over Alice not showing and thus prompting Asma to realize “Oh fuck I’ve caught feelings.”
External problems: Cops, genocide, politics in general, trying to live
Internal problems: Feeling like she made a fool of herself trying to ‘casually’ connect with Alice. Possibly also anxiety over her sexuality, depending whether that’s a thing she already knew about and is comfortable with, which is unclear at this time.
Oh so is Asma in denial about being attracted women? With all the gay characters in the comic I sometimes forget heteronormativity is still supposed to be the standard like it is in the real world.
Trying to set up a bowling date with a girl makes me think she’s probably aware of it, but it seems very likely that she’s never actually dated anyone before.
I thought she meant anxiety or something like that. But if it’s an Egyptian River situation, it could add a new dimension to her saying that it’s “all been a mistake”.
And if *that* is her problem, she bloody well deserves someone better than Alice ^^u
I think she’s more just stressed and embarrassed, she set up a hang out with two people she don’t even like to get to know a new crush who’s name she doesn’t have. They didn’t work out, there was a misunderstanding, and I think she realized what a bad idea the scenario is and it’s feeling some type of way about it. Imma need some more concrete evidence before I believe the “Asma had internalized homophobia/is struggling with the sudden realization she’s gay” train
Yeah this feels like the actual thing. It’s not some sort of crippling identity crisis as much as it is “I did something with people I don’t like that much and it was a complete waste of time because I didn’t even see the cute girl I was hoping to talk to, and now I’m feeling utterly humiliated that I even tried.” Feels like since we’re getting the comic slowly people are just picking *the* most dramatic conclusion from today’s update.
I am going to be honest, it feels strange to me that Asma is getting a character arc. She was always an ancilary character – one that was sometimes there but never really part of the larger story line or dynamic. Her suddenly getting an entire arc afte over 15 years in just seems off some how? It feels like if Filch suddenly become a POV character halfway through the Half-Blood Prince. I not complaining, as I am enjoying the story and its a treat to get more of her snarky humor and attitude, and I don’t belive it is breaking any narrative rules to include her more (even though the cast is already pretty full – we haven’t seen Ethan if forever). There is something about it that just feels off about it – I have no idea what.
I don’t see why that would be?
It’s a pretty well-trod path, with long-format stortelling, to give focus to a smaller character and investigate more about what’s going on with them in an arc.
Less so in a story that is a single book or movie, where the narrative needs to be tighter and more focused.
But in a daily comic strip still going after 10+ years, the writer is very likely going to become interested in stories and side characters that didn’t have the same attention at first.
yeah and im all for it
after all Dina was once just a side character
and who knows? Asma may also wind up being someones most favorite in the world :’)
I suspect it feels weird because it wasn’t really the plan. I think we’re still in territory where Asma strips are being inserted into the buffer after the chapter was mostly done, which isn’t ideal but it’d feel worse if after her role in the protests, she just disappeared back into the chorus making an appearance a year, especially since she’s the most prominent member of the cast representing the group most directly affected by the real world thing the protest was a stand-in for.
It would be nice if we knew more about Asma. We know she’s a Muslim and wears a hijab when not sleeping in her room, we know she was at the anti-genocide protest so she probably cares about that a lot, and we know she likes girls, specifically Alice. And apparently she assumed Joyce and Dorothy would know who Alice was by a kinda vague description of her that would also apply to other girls like Sal. I guess my point is that I’d like to see more of her backstory in the future so I can better figure out how I feel about her as a character.
I’ve got IBS and my first thought in the last panel was that all the stress had given Asma an upset stomach. I agree that it’s more likely emotional turmoil but if it turns out Asma has IBS I called it.
In case anybody was confused, a little birdie told me that Asma’s “internal problem” is diarrhea. She’s lactose intolerant and absentmindedly ate some dairy, and now her inside guts are being evil at her. It’s not anything to do with religion or gayness (two things very foreign to this comic), it’s mozzarella.
Honestly with everything going on right now, I kinda expected a harsher valentines day.
And… huh. Is this a queer awakening? I was under the assumption that she realized she had a crush on Alice and was just, acting on that information. But I can’t think specifically of what might have made me think this, and this does seem to imply otherwise. Unless the internal problem is just “didn’t want to deal with having a crush right now”, i guess
I like how, just three days ago, when I picked up on Asma’s “never should have”s in regards to “this very situation” and suggested that Willis might be signaling that they’re planning an arc in which Asma has a conflict with her restrictive religion vs. the fact that she’s queer, and that the end result would be her learning to ditch the hijab and be more like her new white atheist friends, people jumped on me for making shit up out of nothing.
.
And yet, here we have once again unscarved Asma – something that is culturally VERY personal and shocking to see; sort of like seeing someone in their underwear – laying in her bed, biting her lip, while she holds that very hijab, talking about how her external problems have now created an internal problem.
.
I mean, yeah, you can say that I’m making shit up about nothing, but Willis has been a writer for a long time and they’re laying the symbolism down thick here. All we know about Asma is (1) she works at the front desk, (2) she’s Muslim, and sees her faith as a source of strength, (3) she’s dedicated and works hard, and (4) she has the hots for Alice. If the source of conflict ISN’T her sexuality vs. her faith, then this is a misdirect. Not to mention, the entire basic theme of Dumbing of Age is essentially, “Everything that you grew up to believe is basically wrong, especially religion and heteronormativity, so let loose and fuck already so we can put you on Slipshine.”
.
Granted, I don’t really have a problem with that in general – I’m here, aren’t I? – except for the fact that (1) we’re walking the same path as has been walked MANY times before, and (2) this isn’t Christianity, but a completely different faith system, one which Willis did not grow up in and presumably has little experience with, outside of what they would have absorbed as an outsider. Trying to have a good critical take on this culture is *already* a minefield, even if Willis didn’t come from a background that already had plenty of stereotypes and misinformation about Islam.
.
This is a minefield. As an outsider, being able to know which preconceived notions are accurate, which are exaggerated, and which are slightly inaccurate in *specific* ways, is extremely difficult, as the religion, culture, and race are so strongly intertwined, the line they’re walking is so precarious that if they screw it up, they’re essentially turning part of DOA into anti-Islamic racist propaganda.
.
I, as a practicing Christian, am A-OK with Willis, an ex-Christian, having his characters become disillusioned with their faith and go into great detail why they no longer are Christian. I’m not sure how I’d feel if I was a Jewish person and they were telling me why I shouldn’t be Jewish, or if I was Muslim and he was telling me why I shouldn’t be Muslim, especially if the model Jew or Muslim character was a bit of a stereotype. And at this point, it’s kinda too early to tell what Asma is *for sure*… but she started as a bit of a stereotype, and what I’ve seen so far hasn’t convinced me that she’s left that zone.
.
It can be done, but it’s hard. Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s The Book of Mormon is such a good work because of all the legwork in understanding LDS culture inside and out, being an accurate enough satire that latter day saints could see that this wasn’t an imaginary version of Mormonism being poked at, but legitimate points being made.
.
I guess the TLDR is – it seems obvious that we’re going down the Joyce/Ethan/Becky/Jocylene path for Asma. I just hope that Willis knows what they’re doing, and specifically that they’re *right now* diving deep into understanding Islam from Islamic sources, so that this doesn’t start getting white-preachy.
I was born and raised Muslim and yeah, I connect with your thoughts a lot.
It does seem a bit like damage control for the disruptive way that Joyce/Dorothy came to be – the whole “sucking energy away from a genocide protest” point got lost because oooh Alice crush oooooh. Asma feels shoehorned.
Asma could still be very much queer and Muslim, but the way US brought up now seems more to paper over the fallout of Joyce/Dorothy. And yeah, if this leads to a “no longer hijabi” arc, that paper is just too thin. Like yeah, for me queerness did play a part in my distancing myself from Islam, but it WASN’T just that and even now my relationship to Islam is complicated. At least Joyce went through a lot to have her faith tested – having Asma break just over one crush especially when her faith likely connected her to the protest she felt so strongly about falls flat.
I think it would be good to get to the point where Asma unambiguously articulates what exactly her worries are because if it’s completely unrelated to her faith as the majority of the comments would have it, then I don’t think it’s good writing to portray it in such a way that it can be read as related to her faith. (and personally I find it rather unlikely that it is not related simply because Islam does have things to say on the subject of dealing with lustful feelings, chastity, dating and relationships and if the character’s identity and relationship with Islam is based on NOT being concerned with those then it would perhaps be better to just not even go there – that is to say, if one wanted to write a queer relationship where one of the parties is a muslim, then we’ve already seem the way to do it – Sayid style – assuming he’s muslim and not non-muslim arab – it doesn’t come up because it’s irrelevant to him or what he does. but that’s not what seems to be happening her with Asma’s arc to date. Especially, IMO, especially tellng is the mirroring now of her anger at “putting herself in this position” which i still read as much more about her own decision to try to meet alice for “kissy time” than anything joyce or dorothy did.*
*that said, yes, I understand that this is a personality trait that can occur with any religion and even no religion, so long as one believes that there are certain principles that one agreed to adhere to and to deviate from them is wrong, and it’s just incidental and unrelated to Asma’s faith, or perhaps the cause and effect is reversed and asma chose to practice as she does because she valued those aspects first and foremost
94 thoughts on “Problems”
NGPZ
no bowling and sad Asma on anotha lonely Valentines Day
waaaaaaaaaa TT~TT
Throwatron
oh shit thanks for reminding me to put stuff out for valentine’s
butting
I’m not expecting anyone to come down the chimney
but if you’re suggesting that I should put some chocolates out anyway, just in case…?
Throwatron
If you just start leaving flowers and chocolate around, who knows? You may find a lover. But you also may find ants.
clif
But we all know which is more likely.
the Lurker
What are you trapping? And what do you use for bait?
Sirksome
That’ll teach her to act selfishly!/s
Taffy
I choose to be normal and say Asma’s so valid for deciding to lay back down after that
StClair
On this, we fully agree.
clif
On the other hand, I’m not sure we’re prepared to deal with a normal Taffy. It just seems wrong somehow.
Reltzik
Taffy is so weird that even being normal manages to weird us out.
RassilonTDavros
The existential dread of realizing you’ve become plot-relevant.
apocryphascribe
The horror of it all.
StClair
My gaming group used to joke about NPC townsfolk realizing that they’re suddenly in COLOR, which means that player characters are somewhere around, and reacting with appropriate fear/panic.
km
At best, the PC’s loot all their chests, cupboards and barrels. And hopefully buy out the local tavern.
At worst, it means the demon king is going to destroy their town to motivate the PCs.
Steamweed
“I don’t WANT to be part of someone’s tragic backstory!” :O
Freemage
If you don’t watch it already, I recommend Epic NPC Man on Youtube (it’s been out for ages, now, so there’s a pretty good backlog). Most of it is exactly this sort of humor–the NPCs in a videogame dealing with the weirdness that comes from being NPCs in a videogame.
TrueSurvivor
Everyone is the hero of their own story. Except for me. I can’t confirm it, but I am pretty sure that I am just the muggle character that occasionally shows up as the comedic relief between key plot points in my friend’s secret magical adventures.
Throwatron
it’s an underrated niche to occupy.
Searcher
Hey, plucky comic relief is good, you’ve got a solid 50-50 chance of making it to the end.
IntangibleMatter
Here’s my prediction: Asma does ultimately end up with Alice because Jennifer isn’t romantically interested in Alice, and this results in a split between Jennifer and Alice that results in Billie getting back together with Ruth who unceremoniously dumps whats-his-face.
I have no bias here due to being a Billie/Ruth fan I swear
Shakes
I live to see whats-his-face dumped to make way for the return of Billie.
Victor Mortimer
Why? Ruth is bi, Billie/Jennifer is bi, no reason he can’t be involved too.
zee
Jason in the cuck chair
ResRam
But I LIKE whatshisface!
He seems much better for Ruth, too. Dry, resigned toleration instead of drunken drama.
Cameron Stone
As someone who also has no bias i can confirm this theory as sound.
clif
I anxiously await the Ruth is cheating on Jason meltdown.
Andy
Can it be with Alice, Asma, or both? Would Jennifer then notice?
Sean Smith
I kind of like what’s his face.
Savail
(Can someone explain the last panel to me? Is this an “Aunt Flo came early” joke? Sorry, I am quite dense.)
Rebecca
More likely referring to emotional turmoil over biological, probably distress over Alice not showing and thus prompting Asma to realize “Oh fuck I’ve caught feelings.”
John Campbell
Asma appears to be lamenting having added romantic travails to the existing genocides and fascist raids and so on.
Tan
External problems: Cops, genocide, politics in general, trying to live
Internal problems: Feeling like she made a fool of herself trying to ‘casually’ connect with Alice. Possibly also anxiety over her sexuality, depending whether that’s a thing she already knew about and is comfortable with, which is unclear at this time.
Tan
Relatable AF
ZombieKyrik
When are we going to get back to Carla? I miss her god-like arrogance, and beauty.
ZombieKyrik
Did I say god-like arrogance? I meant to say confidence, and charm. :P
clif
No, no. You had it right the first time.
Km
And the daughter of war profiteers! Cute war profiteers!
Suet
I got 99 problems
ㅤ
but I started one
ㅤ
I hereby declare cheese slices to be the food of single people… WHERE’S ROSE
NGPZ
don’t forget the crackers :9
and i don’t mean white people either i mean actual crackers XD
Needfuldoer
Especially if you’re planning a trip to the moon with your dog.
Cameron Stone
Oh so is Asma in denial about being attracted women? With all the gay characters in the comic I sometimes forget heteronormativity is still supposed to be the standard like it is in the real world.
Thag Simmons
Trying to set up a bowling date with a girl makes me think she’s probably aware of it, but it seems very likely that she’s never actually dated anyone before.
Arianod
I thought she meant anxiety or something like that. But if it’s an Egyptian River situation, it could add a new dimension to her saying that it’s “all been a mistake”.
And if *that* is her problem, she bloody well deserves someone better than Alice ^^u
zee
I think she’s more just stressed and embarrassed, she set up a hang out with two people she don’t even like to get to know a new crush who’s name she doesn’t have. They didn’t work out, there was a misunderstanding, and I think she realized what a bad idea the scenario is and it’s feeling some type of way about it. Imma need some more concrete evidence before I believe the “Asma had internalized homophobia/is struggling with the sudden realization she’s gay” train
DashWallkick
Yeah this feels like the actual thing. It’s not some sort of crippling identity crisis as much as it is “I did something with people I don’t like that much and it was a complete waste of time because I didn’t even see the cute girl I was hoping to talk to, and now I’m feeling utterly humiliated that I even tried.” Feels like since we’re getting the comic slowly people are just picking *the* most dramatic conclusion from today’s update.
TrueSurvivor
I am going to be honest, it feels strange to me that Asma is getting a character arc. She was always an ancilary character – one that was sometimes there but never really part of the larger story line or dynamic. Her suddenly getting an entire arc afte over 15 years in just seems off some how? It feels like if Filch suddenly become a POV character halfway through the Half-Blood Prince. I not complaining, as I am enjoying the story and its a treat to get more of her snarky humor and attitude, and I don’t belive it is breaking any narrative rules to include her more (even though the cast is already pretty full – we haven’t seen Ethan if forever). There is something about it that just feels off about it – I have no idea what.
Kim
I don’t see why that would be?
It’s a pretty well-trod path, with long-format stortelling, to give focus to a smaller character and investigate more about what’s going on with them in an arc.
Less so in a story that is a single book or movie, where the narrative needs to be tighter and more focused.
But in a daily comic strip still going after 10+ years, the writer is very likely going to become interested in stories and side characters that didn’t have the same attention at first.
NGPZ
yeah and im all for it
after all Dina was once just a side character
and who knows? Asma may also wind up being someones most favorite in the world :’)
Thag Simmons
I suspect it feels weird because it wasn’t really the plan. I think we’re still in territory where Asma strips are being inserted into the buffer after the chapter was mostly done, which isn’t ideal but it’d feel worse if after her role in the protests, she just disappeared back into the chorus making an appearance a year, especially since she’s the most prominent member of the cast representing the group most directly affected by the real world thing the protest was a stand-in for.
CT Phipps
Yep. Since Booster is now a main character that means ONE OF THE CHARACTERS MUST DIE.
Will it be Ruth? Rachel? Sarah?
*DUM DUM DUM*
Hayesan
She is one of my favorite lesser characters who now getting more Spotlight time
maneyan
This… feels weirdly intimate to see her without the hijab. For half a second, I almost wanted to look away.
Yotomoe
Does feel a bit like I’m intruding.
CT Phipps
I wonder if this is implying Asma is having a queer awakening.
YourCousinJay
Given this whole interaction I feel like we’re a bit beyond that. Like she feels pretty solidly awake
CT Phipps
Maybe. But this is all related to Alice.
Thing 2
Ohhh, pink and purple *and* green. Where are we going with these colours?
I hear you, Asma, I do. But it’s OK.
Kyulen
It would be nice if we knew more about Asma. We know she’s a Muslim and wears a hijab when not sleeping in her room, we know she was at the anti-genocide protest so she probably cares about that a lot, and we know she likes girls, specifically Alice. And apparently she assumed Joyce and Dorothy would know who Alice was by a kinda vague description of her that would also apply to other girls like Sal. I guess my point is that I’d like to see more of her backstory in the future so I can better figure out how I feel about her as a character.
darkoneko
so t his week’s Valentine is about Asma after all
Noisy
I’ve got IBS and my first thought in the last panel was that all the stress had given Asma an upset stomach. I agree that it’s more likely emotional turmoil but if it turns out Asma has IBS I called it.
Taffy
In case anybody was confused, a little birdie told me that Asma’s “internal problem” is diarrhea. She’s lactose intolerant and absentmindedly ate some dairy, and now her inside guts are being evil at her. It’s not anything to do with religion or gayness (two things very foreign to this comic), it’s mozzarella.
Amara
Even the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry, as someone once said. And truly, mozzarella is the most treacherous cheese.
Zamperla
ASMA…. NO….. the betrayal of the guts.
(My guess is period, stress can lit bring one on early. Or make you skip one. Would anyone like a free uterus.)
Stormtide Leviathan
Honestly with everything going on right now, I kinda expected a harsher valentines day.
And… huh. Is this a queer awakening? I was under the assumption that she realized she had a crush on Alice and was just, acting on that information. But I can’t think specifically of what might have made me think this, and this does seem to imply otherwise. Unless the internal problem is just “didn’t want to deal with having a crush right now”, i guess
saltchocolate
I’ll say it: Damn you, Willis!!!
Dot
Lotta people figuring out they’re gay these days
BorkBorkBork
I like how, just three days ago, when I picked up on Asma’s “never should have”s in regards to “this very situation” and suggested that Willis might be signaling that they’re planning an arc in which Asma has a conflict with her restrictive religion vs. the fact that she’s queer, and that the end result would be her learning to ditch the hijab and be more like her new white atheist friends, people jumped on me for making shit up out of nothing.
.
And yet, here we have once again unscarved Asma – something that is culturally VERY personal and shocking to see; sort of like seeing someone in their underwear – laying in her bed, biting her lip, while she holds that very hijab, talking about how her external problems have now created an internal problem.
.
I mean, yeah, you can say that I’m making shit up about nothing, but Willis has been a writer for a long time and they’re laying the symbolism down thick here. All we know about Asma is (1) she works at the front desk, (2) she’s Muslim, and sees her faith as a source of strength, (3) she’s dedicated and works hard, and (4) she has the hots for Alice. If the source of conflict ISN’T her sexuality vs. her faith, then this is a misdirect. Not to mention, the entire basic theme of Dumbing of Age is essentially, “Everything that you grew up to believe is basically wrong, especially religion and heteronormativity, so let loose and fuck already so we can put you on Slipshine.”
.
Granted, I don’t really have a problem with that in general – I’m here, aren’t I? – except for the fact that (1) we’re walking the same path as has been walked MANY times before, and (2) this isn’t Christianity, but a completely different faith system, one which Willis did not grow up in and presumably has little experience with, outside of what they would have absorbed as an outsider. Trying to have a good critical take on this culture is *already* a minefield, even if Willis didn’t come from a background that already had plenty of stereotypes and misinformation about Islam.
.
This is a minefield. As an outsider, being able to know which preconceived notions are accurate, which are exaggerated, and which are slightly inaccurate in *specific* ways, is extremely difficult, as the religion, culture, and race are so strongly intertwined, the line they’re walking is so precarious that if they screw it up, they’re essentially turning part of DOA into anti-Islamic racist propaganda.
.
I, as a practicing Christian, am A-OK with Willis, an ex-Christian, having his characters become disillusioned with their faith and go into great detail why they no longer are Christian. I’m not sure how I’d feel if I was a Jewish person and they were telling me why I shouldn’t be Jewish, or if I was Muslim and he was telling me why I shouldn’t be Muslim, especially if the model Jew or Muslim character was a bit of a stereotype. And at this point, it’s kinda too early to tell what Asma is *for sure*… but she started as a bit of a stereotype, and what I’ve seen so far hasn’t convinced me that she’s left that zone.
.
It can be done, but it’s hard. Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s The Book of Mormon is such a good work because of all the legwork in understanding LDS culture inside and out, being an accurate enough satire that latter day saints could see that this wasn’t an imaginary version of Mormonism being poked at, but legitimate points being made.
.
I guess the TLDR is – it seems obvious that we’re going down the Joyce/Ethan/Becky/Jocylene path for Asma. I just hope that Willis knows what they’re doing, and specifically that they’re *right now* diving deep into understanding Islam from Islamic sources, so that this doesn’t start getting white-preachy.
Creatrix Tiara
I was born and raised Muslim and yeah, I connect with your thoughts a lot.
It does seem a bit like damage control for the disruptive way that Joyce/Dorothy came to be – the whole “sucking energy away from a genocide protest” point got lost because oooh Alice crush oooooh. Asma feels shoehorned.
Asma could still be very much queer and Muslim, but the way US brought up now seems more to paper over the fallout of Joyce/Dorothy. And yeah, if this leads to a “no longer hijabi” arc, that paper is just too thin. Like yeah, for me queerness did play a part in my distancing myself from Islam, but it WASN’T just that and even now my relationship to Islam is complicated. At least Joyce went through a lot to have her faith tested – having Asma break just over one crush especially when her faith likely connected her to the protest she felt so strongly about falls flat.
km
I think it would be good to get to the point where Asma unambiguously articulates what exactly her worries are because if it’s completely unrelated to her faith as the majority of the comments would have it, then I don’t think it’s good writing to portray it in such a way that it can be read as related to her faith. (and personally I find it rather unlikely that it is not related simply because Islam does have things to say on the subject of dealing with lustful feelings, chastity, dating and relationships and if the character’s identity and relationship with Islam is based on NOT being concerned with those then it would perhaps be better to just not even go there – that is to say, if one wanted to write a queer relationship where one of the parties is a muslim, then we’ve already seem the way to do it – Sayid style – assuming he’s muslim and not non-muslim arab – it doesn’t come up because it’s irrelevant to him or what he does. but that’s not what seems to be happening her with Asma’s arc to date. Especially, IMO, especially tellng is the mirroring now of her anger at “putting herself in this position” which i still read as much more about her own decision to try to meet alice for “kissy time” than anything joyce or dorothy did.*
*that said, yes, I understand that this is a personality trait that can occur with any religion and even no religion, so long as one believes that there are certain principles that one agreed to adhere to and to deviate from them is wrong, and it’s just incidental and unrelated to Asma’s faith, or perhaps the cause and effect is reversed and asma chose to practice as she does because she valued those aspects first and foremost
Doopyboop