Kinda sucks for Jennifer that she let her walls down enough to talk about her dork interests with Asher only to build them right up again and then some.
Asher does seem to genuinely like dorks. Another point in his favor (A +5 on top of the +50 he got for having Amber’s dad removed from the narrative)
but consider blaine was starting at like -1000000
(disclaimer, yes, i know asher got sal sent to boarding school, am not actually interested in quantifying doa character morality)
I mean, I think we can also acknowledge that although Ross is fucking terrible, Blaine’s motivation for killing him was not at all sympathetic, and doing it in front of all of his daughter’s friends so his daughter can get there just in time to watch him die is a lot worse than how Asher did it.
HueSatLight
Asher’s motivation for killing Blaine was to silence a potential witness. If people want to talk about how great Asher is for killing Blaine because rEaSoNs, then let’s give Blaine the same benefit.
or, hear me out, maybe being a cold blooded murderer is a character flaw.
Li
Is that what Asher’s motivation was?
Also what are you hoping to accomplish here? IniquitousKing can correct me if I’m wrong but that footnote about liking Asher even more here seemed designed to specifically ward off “but he killed Ross!” comments.
Thomas
Maybe Asher was merely a link in a chain reaching back to his mob boss granddad, who actually ordered the hit. That makes him an accessory. He probably didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Has anyone ever considered that option?
Li
+1
This seems like a more accurate read on what few facts we actually have at the moment.
HueSatLight
how many people do you think are in the “killing Blaine LOL” groupchat?
HueSatLight
was he left in the “doing organized crime” groupchat from before he started school?
HueSatLight
what I’m saying is him being notified probably means he was more involved than just hearing about it after the fact. Maybe the cops would have killed Blaine anyways, but the text implies he looped himself in to make sure it was done.
James
That’s more or less literally a plot point, yeah.
HueSatLight
if there’s another plausible explanation for Asher going from supposedly “out of the crime business” to in what looks like a chat with a dirty cop, getting notified of a hit, I don’t know what it is. But I’d like to hear an alternate theory fleshed out.
Yeah, my read on that whole situation was that Blaine showed up, threatened Asher to pull the fire alarm. Asher went to gramps, told him what was up, letting him know that Blaine was 4000% out of control and no longer useful to the organisation. Then maybe they make a trade and maybe they don’t, but either way Asher goes ahead and pulls the fire alarm, we see what Blaine does, if it’s the kind of shit it’s clearly going to be (because the fire alarm was the activation for the kidnapping plan), then Blaine gets removed at the next reasonable opportunity.
Mark
It’s nice to know I’m not alone on this one.
thejeff
It’s not clear exactly where in the sequence Asher informed gramps. It could have been only after the kidnappings were over and Blaine was in custody, which is kind of my suspicion. I also suspect Asher was more directly involved – like gramps had him set it up, which is why he got the notice when it was done.
spriteless aunty
I imagine Blaine was also pinned for stealing the money that Asher is using to pay for college.
yeah, we don’t know, but MY read on the situation is that the text that said “Done” was like Grandpa was the cat presenting the dead bird and expecting praise for it: “Didn’t I avenge you and your friends so well?” Grandpa decides how much and in what ways the Organization helps Asher, Asher doesn’t.
I consider it a lot, but it’s a minority opinion around here. I would say the different theories say more about people’s head-canons about Grandpa and Asian Criminal Organizations than about Asher’s character as presented in the strip.
Bruno
We have a lot of unresolved questions about what Asher’s role in killing Blaine was and why he participated. Since Blaine sucks, Asher gets benefit of the doubt for now, as far as I’m concerned, although future revelations could change my opinion.
I’m not in favor of any murders (including state-sanctioned ones) but murdering for Reasons (and not just because you’re blowing a fuse) is better than just blowing that fuse. That’s just My Humble Opinion.
Let’s go with, “no.” Misrepresenting what someone is saying to make them seem bad is intellectually dishonest and somewhere on the scale of abusiveness. There are less hostile ways to disagree with a person that don’t turn a disagreement with an idea into a personal attack.
Li
“Abusive” is pretty intense. Like I think HSL’s response was hecka jerky, but abuse is a big word that we shouldn’t throw around.
Considering the toy came out fifteen years ago, Ethan was only three years old back then. If he ever owned it, someone must have bought it for him. So this is more Ethan knowing the entire Transformers back catalogue by heart. I seem to recollect that Willis himself is not that fond of Transformers who represent characters from other franchises, but that stance may have changed.
Thomas
Also, TF Wiki is totally a thing that Ethan has read back to front and sideways. It’s not like he owns every Transformer toy ever. That’s not true of Willis, so it’s probably not true of Ethan either. They make choices in what they purchase.
I can guarantee my fundie mom has never heard of “fisting” and would think it meant punching someone. Actually I’m gonna ask her if she knows what it is.
David DeLaney
plz report back, starting with involuntary hilarity level experienced
Star Wars names are always stuff like “Sep Boobah” or “Arnax Conralto”.
someone
Onan Solo
Decidedly Orthogonal
Han(d) Solo
When the suns set, Luke is a Nightwalker
Chewie
Yo “Judge me by my size do you?” da.
And for the ultimate in racist undertones Darth Vader. Literally “Black Daddy” who uses force to have his way with people.
Yeah, Lucas is pretty bent for sharing all this in a kids’ movie.
The fact that they thought “jizz music” would be a good name for the genre played by the cantina band will never not be funny.
Thomas
Yes, but consider how “jazz” has the exact same double meaning. The music is named after the other thing. (While “funk” is named after the effect of a whole bunch of people dancing and sweating profusely in a small room.)
But it seems a little less direct than you’re implying? “Jasm” inspired “jazz”, meaning vigor, and then the genre took its name from that. Also, “jazz” and “jasm” aren’t homographs the way the musical and sexual definitions of “jizz” are… so it’s a bit more blatant for jizz music than jazz music. Still an interesting parallel, though.
How bad is it that I really, really want him to dump Jennifer and be with Ethan instead? In what shape that would take. Normally I do not really get shipping. But I just like characters who seem to do each other good interacting.
“Transformation” isn’t a trademark, but Transformers is, and saying that Transformers transform would allow a competitor to argue that it’s no longer a trademark, but merely a descriptor of what they are/do. Trademarks and IP are weird beasts. Kinda like how they wouldn’t use the name Bumblebee for a Beast Wars bee toy.
192 thoughts on “Converted”
Ana Chronistic
also bc saying a Transformer transformed sounds kinda wack
AGV
If anything it’s redundant and everyone knows what you mean when you say that a vehicle is convertible
Chaucer59
Not a weirdo. Just a dork. A sexy, emo dork.
Sirksome
Jokes on them again. Weirdos are hot.
Dara
Asher: Into Weirdos
Thor
Occasionally literally.
Jamie
Do you have even one counterexample.
Pylgrim
They call them “weirdos”, I call them “worth knowing”.
shadowcell
Dumbing of Age Book 14: Of Course I Know Who Kit Fisto Is
clif
We have a winner.
DailyBrad
Ethan being dorky is hot.
Also, Kit Fisto appreciation is one of Jennifer’s hotter qualities.
Aura
Honestly it’s her most attractive feature
IniquitousKing
Kinda sucks for Jennifer that she let her walls down enough to talk about her dork interests with Asher only to build them right up again and then some.
Asher does seem to genuinely like dorks. Another point in his favor (A +5 on top of the +50 he got for having Amber’s dad removed from the narrative)
HueSatLight
Blaine got Becky’s dad removed from the narrative, so he’s absolved of his wrongdoing by whatever metric you’re using.
crys
but consider blaine was starting at like -1000000
(disclaimer, yes, i know asher got sal sent to boarding school, am not actually interested in quantifying doa character morality)
IniquitousKing
Oh, I never said it absolved Asher, just that he went up in my books for it.
A +50 to Amber’s dad for deep sixing Toedad still isn’t making a dent in the low negatives he’s in.
HueSatLight
how many + for getting Mike killed?
HueSatLight
Does Lester Bradford get even more + for killing Blaine, since he’s the one who physically shot him?
Needfuldoer
So does he just so happen to have the same surname as Mary, or are they related somehow?
Bruno
I mean, I think we can also acknowledge that although Ross is fucking terrible, Blaine’s motivation for killing him was not at all sympathetic, and doing it in front of all of his daughter’s friends so his daughter can get there just in time to watch him die is a lot worse than how Asher did it.
HueSatLight
Asher’s motivation for killing Blaine was to silence a potential witness. If people want to talk about how great Asher is for killing Blaine because rEaSoNs, then let’s give Blaine the same benefit.
or, hear me out, maybe being a cold blooded murderer is a character flaw.
Li
Is that what Asher’s motivation was?
Also what are you hoping to accomplish here? IniquitousKing can correct me if I’m wrong but that footnote about liking Asher even more here seemed designed to specifically ward off “but he killed Ross!” comments.
Thomas
Maybe Asher was merely a link in a chain reaching back to his mob boss granddad, who actually ordered the hit. That makes him an accessory. He probably didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Has anyone ever considered that option?
Li
+1
This seems like a more accurate read on what few facts we actually have at the moment.
HueSatLight
how many people do you think are in the “killing Blaine LOL” groupchat?
HueSatLight
was he left in the “doing organized crime” groupchat from before he started school?
HueSatLight
what I’m saying is him being notified probably means he was more involved than just hearing about it after the fact. Maybe the cops would have killed Blaine anyways, but the text implies he looped himself in to make sure it was done.
James
That’s more or less literally a plot point, yeah.
HueSatLight
if there’s another plausible explanation for Asher going from supposedly “out of the crime business” to in what looks like a chat with a dirty cop, getting notified of a hit, I don’t know what it is. But I’d like to hear an alternate theory fleshed out.
Dara
Yeah, my read on that whole situation was that Blaine showed up, threatened Asher to pull the fire alarm. Asher went to gramps, told him what was up, letting him know that Blaine was 4000% out of control and no longer useful to the organisation. Then maybe they make a trade and maybe they don’t, but either way Asher goes ahead and pulls the fire alarm, we see what Blaine does, if it’s the kind of shit it’s clearly going to be (because the fire alarm was the activation for the kidnapping plan), then Blaine gets removed at the next reasonable opportunity.
Mark
It’s nice to know I’m not alone on this one.
thejeff
It’s not clear exactly where in the sequence Asher informed gramps. It could have been only after the kidnappings were over and Blaine was in custody, which is kind of my suspicion. I also suspect Asher was more directly involved – like gramps had him set it up, which is why he got the notice when it was done.
spriteless aunty
I imagine Blaine was also pinned for stealing the money that Asher is using to pay for college.
Fred
yeah, we don’t know, but MY read on the situation is that the text that said “Done” was like Grandpa was the cat presenting the dead bird and expecting praise for it: “Didn’t I avenge you and your friends so well?” Grandpa decides how much and in what ways the Organization helps Asher, Asher doesn’t.
Fred
I consider it a lot, but it’s a minority opinion around here. I would say the different theories say more about people’s head-canons about Grandpa and Asian Criminal Organizations than about Asher’s character as presented in the strip.
Bruno
We have a lot of unresolved questions about what Asher’s role in killing Blaine was and why he participated. Since Blaine sucks, Asher gets benefit of the doubt for now, as far as I’m concerned, although future revelations could change my opinion.
Opus the Poet
I’m not in favor of any murders (including state-sanctioned ones) but murdering for Reasons (and not just because you’re blowing a fuse) is better than just blowing that fuse. That’s just My Humble Opinion.
Decidedly Orthogonal
Let’s go with, “no.” Misrepresenting what someone is saying to make them seem bad is intellectually dishonest and somewhere on the scale of abusiveness. There are less hostile ways to disagree with a person that don’t turn a disagreement with an idea into a personal attack.
Li
“Abusive” is pretty intense. Like I think HSL’s response was hecka jerky, but abuse is a big word that we shouldn’t throw around.
Taffy
lmao
nobodybasically
There is no way Ethan’s mom would let her son buy a toy called a “Kit Fisto” considering her backwards beliefs on his sexuality.
On the other hand, maybe his insistence on the term “converted” has given her false hope regarding his future.
Nevermaker
Alternatively: maybe she doesn’t know what fisting is…I hope.
Thomas
Considering the toy came out fifteen years ago, Ethan was only three years old back then. If he ever owned it, someone must have bought it for him. So this is more Ethan knowing the entire Transformers back catalogue by heart. I seem to recollect that Willis himself is not that fond of Transformers who represent characters from other franchises, but that stance may have changed.
Thomas
Also, TF Wiki is totally a thing that Ethan has read back to front and sideways. It’s not like he owns every Transformer toy ever. That’s not true of Willis, so it’s probably not true of Ethan either. They make choices in what they purchase.
Comic.phile
I can guarantee my fundie mom has never heard of “fisting” and would think it meant punching someone. Actually I’m gonna ask her if she knows what it is.
David DeLaney
plz report back, starting with involuntary hilarity level experienced
C.T. Phipps
Ethan: Why are you not running away?
Yotomoe
Kit Fisto will never not sound like a weird fetish character to me.
Li
I wonder how many Weird Star Wars names that could be applied to!
Needfuldoer
Star Wars names are always stuff like “Sep Boobah” or “Arnax Conralto”.
someone
Onan Solo
Decidedly Orthogonal
Han(d) Solo
When the suns set, Luke is a Nightwalker
Chewie
Yo “Judge me by my size do you?” da.
And for the ultimate in racist undertones Darth Vader. Literally “Black Daddy” who uses force to have his way with people.
Yeah, Lucas is pretty bent for sharing all this in a kids’ movie.
someone
Elan Sleazebaggano
Azhrei Vep
It’s not a fetish name, but no discussion of Star Wars names should go without a reminder of Master Ima-Gun Di from Clone Wars.
He did not survive the episode in which he first appeared.
PedanticJerkass
Kit Fisto, just chilling out, enjoying some jizz in the cantina.
Needfuldoer
The fact that they thought “jizz music” would be a good name for the genre played by the cantina band will never not be funny.
Thomas
Yes, but consider how “jazz” has the exact same double meaning. The music is named after the other thing. (While “funk” is named after the effect of a whole bunch of people dancing and sweating profusely in a small room.)
a/snow/mous/e
Interesting… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_(word)
But it seems a little less direct than you’re implying? “Jasm” inspired “jazz”, meaning vigor, and then the genre took its name from that. Also, “jazz” and “jasm” aren’t homographs the way the musical and sexual definitions of “jizz” are… so it’s a bit more blatant for jizz music than jazz music. Still an interesting parallel, though.
zee
I mean he’s fine as hell so it works out. As a Caribbean gal I take him as an apology for jar jar
Steve
Ethan is Willis during the dance phase portion of Spider-Man 3, isn’t he?
Nono
Well Ethan had a commanding lead, but I think Asher is taking this set in this round of flirtennis.
v.gay.person
BLESS
Jo_cubstar
Ashers face in panel 3 is so cute. He looks so endeared
Vanessa
This is quite adorable.
Queezle
How bad is it that I really, really want him to dump Jennifer and be with Ethan instead? In what shape that would take. Normally I do not really get shipping. But I just like characters who seem to do each other good interacting.
Queezle
That is an awkward Gravatar for this particular comment. Oh well..
milu
No no, it was perfect actually =D
anonymsly
I agree! He’s listening attentively and either taking it in, enjoying Ethan’s (muted?) enthusiasm, or both. It’s adorable.
BBCC
Maybe he’s INTO weirdos, what then?
NGPZ
*plays Transformers G1 Season 2 OP on hacked muzak just because*
Suet
Transformation isn’t a trademark nor it can be genericized, really. Adora transforms, so do Sailor Moon and Danny Phantom.
Someone better be fisto’d by tonight.
Betsumei
“Transformation” isn’t a trademark, but Transformers is, and saying that Transformers transform would allow a competitor to argue that it’s no longer a trademark, but merely a descriptor of what they are/do. Trademarks and IP are weird beasts. Kinda like how they wouldn’t use the name Bumblebee for a Beast Wars bee toy.