210

Teachin’
Posted on January 24, 2015 by David M Willis

210 thoughts on “Teachin’”

  1. Anthusiasm

    Ahh! Personal growth! *runs away*

    1. SUGauthor

      It burns!

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        I would see a urologist about that…

        1. David

          Personal growth in that area is hardly unexpected.

        2. No Name

          Yes, but when it burns, there’s something wrong.

        3. NotFred

          Hahaha Xuriel rules 🙂

        4. John V

          Did you say “urologist” or “neurologist”?

      2. Tacos

        Well that’s never a good thing…

  2. Heather

    Someone please translate!

    1. Doctor_Who

      “My hovercraft is full of eels.”

      1. otusasio451

        “Do you want to come back to my place – bouncy-bouncy?”

        1. carl320

          I will not buy this tobacconist, it is scratched.

        2. Dr. Smart

          “A giant ear of corn ate my lunchbox

        3. brumagem

          I believe you are in league with the butcher.

        4. Cholma

          A nudge is as good as a wink to a blind bat! Nudge nudge, know what I mean?

        5. marr

          This is an ex-parrot!

        6. Jen Aside

          “Your mom for a PENNY!”

        7. nothri

          They aren’t actually talking. Things just devolved into a nasty slap fight.

        8. Screwball

          Say no more, say no more, nudge nudge, wink wink…

        9. Dibullba

          That or they are trying to do ninjutsu to each other…

        10. Halloween Jack

          Right, then, stop the sketch, this is getting too silly.

      2. J42

        He wants you to turn, and look into the camera.

        1. Thomas

          Is that everything? It seemed like he said quite a bit more than that.

    2. kodra

      First panel is a sarcastic “so what?”

      Second panel is “She wants to learn”

      Third panel is a defiant “I’m teaching her sign language”

      Fourth panel:
      I think Marcie is saying “I don’t care what you say”
      Not sure what Sal is signing

      Fifth panel is “Don’t care”

      1. Crazy Dina

        Thank you!

      2. David

        Man, and here I was thinking that David was most likely doing the equivalent of Monty Python or Charlie Chaplin emulating German: basically language-reminiscent gibberish. γνῶθι σαυτόν I guess.

        1. Farmer_10

          It’s actually a rap battle with some really explicit lyrics.

        2. No Name

          Willis is better than that. At least where ASL is concerned.

      3. Screwball

        Cool, thanks. I tried learning, but kept hitting myself. Daniel the Human somewhat knows “yes” (fist shaking up & down like it’s headbanging) & “no” (shaking fist side to side) from a long camping event he did where he was in the same group as a deaf kid. He also knows “I’m watching you” from the Meet the Parent movies, but we’re not sure that counts…

      4. Deanatay

        Didn’t need to know that, though. What you need to know is, they’re having a ‘private arguement’. Just like when a Hispanic mother says something slightly provocative to her daughter, then their conversation suddenly switches to Spanish and becomes quite loud and intense for a few minutes. Then they stop, and you ask, “What’s wrong?”, and she answers, “Nothing! It’s a private argument.”

        1. StClair

          and anyone in the vicinity who knows Español gets a blistering earful.

      5. Bliisk

        Yay marcie and malaya bonding

        1. -Sentinel-

          And Sal doesn’t like it! I’m thinking she’s a bit possessive of Marcie.

        2. drs

          Or she doesn’t want Malaya becoming more integrated into their group, because Malaya.

        3. merbrat

          That, and probably not wanting Malaya to understand when she signs something to Marcie about Malaya. Sekrit Language and all.

      6. Dellaran

        Is the art actually good enough to infer the sarcasm and defiance? (Wouldn’t surprise me, because I know others have complimented Willis on the clarity of his ASL– I just want to know how impressed I should be. 🙂 )

    3. Lokitsu

      Marcie:”Klaatu barada niktu!”
      Sal:”Puluu see bagoomba!”

  3. Emperor Kiva

    ………

    1. Gigafreak

      All excellent points

      1. Sambo

        You deserve recognition for that

  4. otusasio451

    Wait, so Malaya…listened to someone?

    1. Avery

      Pretty sure that didn’t involve “listening”.

  5. dailybrad

    I guess Malaya’s a quick study.

    1. Ailorn

      It’s pretty easy when the only sign you know is “dont care.” It works in all situations 🙂

      1. MiaKitty

        I’ve always been partial to ‘Whatever’

        1. coru

          I know that sign, I lived through the 90s!

      2. Screwball

        Add “Don’t know” to the start of that & Daniel the Human would be happy. He’s been known to throw that at people at times…

        “Don’t know, don’t care…”

  6. Jen Aside

    https://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/FIGHT/3456/1

  7. Plasma Mongoose

    It’s confirmed, Marcie is the reincarnation of Shiva! 😀

    1. Emperor Kiva

      And I’m Motaro. Mwahahahahahaaa

      1. Flimsyfishy

        MORTAL KOMBAT!

    2. cesium133

      Robot-hand Shiva, the most badass of all the gods.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        Better than Cyborg even. ^_^

        1. Joseph

          Plasma Mongoose, wasn’t your avatar Fire Lord Azula before? Where did she go?

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          She went where so many of my gravatars went before, into storage, if you want to know which gravatar I’m using today, just click on my name. ^_^

        3. Crazy Dina

          Huh, that makes sense – you update your name-link to match that day’s gravitar, so it’s already cross-refrenced! Smart.

        4. Plasma Mongoose

          People has requested I do this before so for the last few days I have started doing so.

        5. Screwball

          Smart idea. Nicely done…

        6. Deanatay

          Aww, I wanted to see Azula… 🙁

        7. No Name

          Be patient, she might come up.

        8. Plasma Mongoose

          I have used the laid back Azula grav a few time over the past couple of years, so chances are, I will use her again.

      2. gwalla

        Mecha-Shiva Mecha-Shive

  8. cesium133

    Not sure if Sal should be so worried, since it seems “don’t care” is the only sign Malaya knows or needs to know.

    1. Jon P

      It’s basically her entire vocabulary.

      1. Jen Aside

        You’d think she’d learn all the swears, tho

        1. Screwball

          Would you be willing to teach her them? I’d be tempted to teach he something like “bunnies” & tell her it’s a curse… 😛

        2. Gigafreak

          You mean like this?
          http://i.imgur.com/Y1upDGs.png

        3. Screwball

          Yep. spot on… 🙂

  9. dmaxx

    Well, i aleast think this is one of the more “quiet” arguments in forever on DoA 😛

  10. Doctor_Who

    Dina watches the two of them from the sidelines, then approaches.

    “Not bad, but when two deinonychus’ sparred for dominance, it probably looked more like this…” (makes claws with her hands and flails wildly at the air for several seconds).

    Sal: “That’s not what we were doing!”

    Dina perfectly signs “Don’t care” and walks away.

    1. herb derb

      This is now part of my headcanon

    2. MiaKitty

      Headcanon? If this isn’t tomorrow’s strip I will be heavily disappointed.

    3. StClair

      Win.

  11. Idon'tcarenomore

    As the hovertext said….”assume argument”

    I’ll go further, I will assume Sal is maybe angry because now she and Marcie cant ‘talk’ unseen or un-understood or something…
    Also, I’m assuming Sal is amazed Marcie listened to her.

    1. Jen Aside

      I seem to recall she at least felt concerned someone could read ASL before she actually knew if they did

  12. Emoroffle

    I think Sal is upset she’s not special anymore.

    1. newllend

      Aaah that’s so cute, someone wants attention.

    2. Gangler

      I think it’s more that she objects to how fully Malaya’s incorporating herself into their social group.

      If Marcie’s teaching Malaya how to sign, she’s probably not just barely tolerating Malaya while she waits for Malaya to buzz off somewhere else.

      It also presumably means Malaya and Marcie have been hanging out without Sal at some point, which would probably mean the group’s more tightly meshed than their nightly skate sessions have lead Sal to believe.

      Especially when Sal’s been so incredibly vocal about her feelings towards Malaya, it puts Sal in an awkward position if Malaya’s here for the long haul, continually hanging out with Sal due to their mutual friends.

      Maybe there’s a lesson in that.

      1. OrtyBortorty

        So you think Sal is thinking “you can’t be friends with her, I’m not friends with her?” That makes me empathize more with Marcie, but I’m still trying to figure out the sign language…

      2. Bagge

        It’s indeed more than how Malaya is incorporating herself in the group – it is how Marcie is inviting her in. And they do Roller Derby together and Malaya is glad to have Marcie on the team.

        If Sal wants to have Marcie all for herself she has a problem.

        1. Adam Black

          Thats how Sal might see it; … but that would mean Sal is using Marcies muteness as a tool to social isolate someone, without considering the Privilege/ right she takes for granted to be understood

        2. Bagge

          I think that might be one of the topics under discussion in panel four.

        3. Screwball

          I for 1 can see an advantage to not only teaching Malaya, but the rest of the Roller-Derby team sign language. It’ll allow them to more efficiently communicate in game, while making it harder for the other team to work out the tactics about to be used & therefore planning a counter-attack…

          Guess I did learn some stuff while at the Decepticons…

        4. Spencer

          Sal does seem pretty starved for affection. I can see why she’d have a problem with her best, and really only friend, hitting it off with Malaya of all people.

  13. Keroshino

    Welp, looks like Marcie and Sal are having a “Sign-Off”

    1. Marc in MN

      “Sign off, bro! Me and you!”

    2. tyersome

      I’ve got to hand it to you, I think you’ve really put your finger on it …

      1. Screwball

        I gotta put my hands together too, if they are having a sign off then Keroshino might have a better grasp of the situation than some of us…

        1. tyersome

          Yep, Keroshino pretty much nailed it … its a cute-ickle tiff (well actually its a png but whatevs …)

    3. Safgaftsa

      This is Marcie and Sal, signing off.

  14. Fireball Jutsu

    Hot damn, Malaya is learning stuff. On her own. Without a huge push.

  15. ChocolateRat

    It’s sweet that Malaya is learning sign language just to be able to talk to Marcie.

    1. Keroshino

      I actually like the idea of Marcie being the only person to be kind to Malaya.

      1. ChocolateRat

        Marcie seems pretty patient and understanding so I could see it happening. It could be cute.

        1. brumagem

          My Marci-laya headcanon is just like Billy-Ruth, except without the suicide and depression and alcoholism and stuff (like, marginally healthy).

        2. Gangler

          I hate to be the guy who jumps there so quickly, but maybe Malaya and Marcie could end up together in the Dumbiverse?

          Malaya’s orientation is pretty vaguely defined, but a google search is bringing me “bisexual” for Marcie. They could be compatible. I bet they’d be a fun couple.

        3. John

          All of the Squad 48 girls – Marcie, Mandy, Grace, Sierra, and Guns (who hasn’t made it across) – were apparently bi in the Walkyverse, so should be in the Dumbiverse as well. And last Bi Visibility Day, Marcie made an appearance in flashback, and Willis made a comment to the effect that he wasn’t going to out her when she was five years old.

          I don’t know how the hell Malaya’s sexuality’s gonna work in a universe without sapient gynoids.

        4. Gangler

          I don’t think Walkyverse Malaya was ever robosexual or anything like that. She was still very early in the whole “Discovering my orientation” process. The story ended before she had any confidence in how she swung beyond the fact that she liked her current partner.

          She could reasonably have a number of orientations without contradicting her Walkyverse experiences. The big point is that it seems she’s not attracted to very many people, but I bet that’s true of many people of all manner of orientations.

        5. MiaKitty

          Malaya did try going for girls with Leslie, though. One kiss and she was disappointed it did nothing for her. One could argue that perhaps it was just that she wasn’t really into Leslie, but could like other girls, but this is questionable given how much she seemed to genuinely like Leslie. Of course, it could just be that her relationship with Leslie wasn’t romantic, and she misinterpreted it as being such because she wanted it to be…

          There’s a lot of area to cover, is basically what I’m saying.

        6. Gangler

          Really on its simplest level, Leslie didn’t do it for Malaya sexually. You can read a whole lot into that if you want to, but nothing’s set in stone there.

          In the more general sense, Malaya was never attracted to most men or most women, though she has on one occasion experienced sexual attraction for somebody who presented as a woman.

          I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of area to cover though. She could be nearly any orientation and neither her experience with Leslie nor the rarity of her sexual attraction would contradict that. She doesn’t need to justify her sexual incompatibility with Leslie before she can be for example a Lesbian. She could even be somebody like Robin who’s usually attracted to men on the rare occasions when she’s attracted to anybody, but in one universe found a woman who worked for her.

        7. Historyman68

          In another way, Leslie Bean isn’t A Lesbian but in a way (in the Walkyverse) represented The Lesbian.

        8. John

          I just really don’t grok Malaya’s sexuality. I’m not sure what it is about Ultra Car that turns her crank where Leslie doesn’t, if it isn’t the robotness. I realize that being attracted to someone of one gender doesn’t mean that you’re attracted to everyone of that gender, but I find it weird that she couldn’t figure that out until she actually kissed Leslie. And then there’s the Multiplex crossover, and I’m not sure how canon that is.

        9. Crazy Dina

          @John, maybe Mayla’s into Ultra Car because she doesn’t want anything from Mayla except to enjoy being evil together. Everyone else Mayla got used to probably took advantage of her then threw her away. She built an empire on that, which is how she sustained herself, but then Ultra Car came along and they had fun together. When Ultra Car put up with Mayla, it was because Ultra Car liked her for her, and Mayla could recognize herself as liking Ultra Car for Ultra Car back.

        10. Paul

          I don’t know how the hell Malaya’s sexuality’s gonna work in a universe without sapient gynoids.

          Remember, Carla in this universe is Robocar from the Walkyverse. She is asexual, just like Robocar was. The relationship could play out pretty much the same here, minus the extension that could diddle her from across the street.

  16. GoogerGeiger

    That looks like some Dragonball Z shit.

    1. newllend

      I don’t know, haven’t seen anyone get shot with a beam straight into the sun yet

      1. Pantheon the Mantheon

        It might happen after about 20 strips of taunting and people standing around with distressed faces thinking to themselves “How can I beat them? They’re too powerful” before any attacks are actually used.

        1. Kelly

          Naw, that is the anime. This is a comic, so it would be like the manga, which wasn’t anything like that bad.

    2. Kennerly

      No, not Dragonball. Those are clearly ninja hand signs. This is Naruto. No doubt a flashback is imminent showing what great friends they were as children and how Marcie lost her voice.

      1. Gangler

        “Why did you kill them all Marcie?”

        signs “To test my power”

        Zoom in on her voicebox doing a bunch of red and black swirly stuff.

        1. brionl

          Oooh, maybe she’s not mute at all, but she has the same super power as Black Bolt!
          She’s got the million decibel voice and things explode when she talks.

        2. Opus the Poet

          Except that the maximum sound pressure you can have at sea level standard conditions is 194.09 dB, with a variation of vacuum to 2 atmospheres pressure. BTW that is loud enough to knock down buildings.

        3. Opus the Poet

          Forgot the link http://www.makeitlouder.com/Decibel%20Level%20Chart.txt

        4. Screwball

          I’d say she could have a built in Vocal Resonance Blaster like I do, only malfunctioning, but that would involve her being a fellow Minicon Pretender…

          …And we all know there aren’t any any alien robotic life forms wandering your planet, right… }:P

        5. tyersome

          You must not be familiar with American politics …

  17. Joe

    Oooh! Oooh! I know that second panel! It’s “learn”!
    It’s one of like 3 or 4 signs that I actually remember.

  18. TSB

    Malaya is going to major in linguistics to learn to be rude and snotty in as many languages as possible.

    1. Corvidium

      I’m so sorry but that’s not even remotely related to the point of linguistics

      1. Carriethedragon

        Better than Walky majoring in telecommunications cause that’s kinda like television.

      2. TSB

        Malaya will be so disappointed when she finally figures that out.

      3. gwalla

        But it is pretty much the first thing any language student learns on their own…

  19. The Wizard

    I love this so much, and I don’t even know why!

    1. newllend

      Aaah that’s so cute, someone wants attention.

      1. The Wizard

        Feed me, feed me! My tummy needs more attention!

  20. newllend

    Its lazy

  21. Rodimiss

    Out of the whole fanbase, there’s gotta be one person who knows sign language… right?

    I mean I just started taking a class on it, but I highly doubt my expansive knowledgebase of “I can say my name and my favorite color” is applicable to this argument.

    1. MiaKitty

      Panel 2 Marcie is saying learn. Panel 3, my best guess is that she’s signing “Teach” and then “Sign”, indicating that she’s teaching Malaya? But I’m not even remotely sure about that, it’s been a long time since I was able to put my ASL to any use and the motions aren’t quite right. Panel 4, I’m not sure what Marcie is saying, but Sal is signing “Mean.” She could be referring to Malaya’s attitude? And, Panel 5, obviously it’s been covered that Malaya is signing “Don’t care” XD

  22. Tommy Blackjack

    Marcie seems happy that she has someone else to talk to, Sal is upset at losing exclusive rights. C’mon Sal!

    1. Gigafreak

      Yeah, it’s kind of cruel to not let your best friend be able to communicate with anyone else.

      Even if it is Malaya.

  23. Van Jealous

    You got to hand it to Marcie!……..Seriously!

    1. Jackson

      She won’t knuckle under in this debate!

      1. Bagge

        Sigh. Again with the puns. I swear, give you a finger, you take the whole hand.

        1. Allen Tor

          Maybe you gave them the wrong finger.

        2. Bagge

          So you are saying I should search for the middle ground?

        3. saltchocolate

          That’s a good rule of thumb.

        4. Screwball

          …And if you have a good grasp of the situation, it’d always handy to pass on the info…

        5. Yet Another Laura H.

          Ah, the perils of digital life…

        6. tyersome

          Yes, things are getting rather … disjointed …

        7. Willoughby Chase

          Take this one instead

        8. Allen Tor

          That’s what a little birdy told me.

  24. Bagge

    Malaya in the last panel is just perfect. She’s got the perfect phrase and she is going to use it for everything it’s worth!

    1. Ed

      Well, when all you’ve got is a hammer…

  25. Plasma Mongoose

    Panel 2 Marcie: “I am searching for…”
    Panel 3 Marcie: “…an acupuncturist with tunnel vision.”
    Panel 4 Marcie and Sal: “CATFIGHT!”
    Panel 5 Malaya: “This monocle is defective.”

    …and they say that ASL is hard to learn. 😛

    1. Cheryl

      lmao

    2. Allen Tor

      So who are you today? It like a Rule 63 L, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do a Rule 63 character before.

      1. Allen Tor

        *looks like a Rule 63 L…

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          I have used a Rule 63 character before, Steve Jobs in fact.

          Also I occasionally use crossdressers/TKNK(oToKoNoKo) as gravatars.

      2. Plasma Mongoose

        Today’s character is Shinobu from A Certain Scientific Railgun, if you or anyone else wants to know more about whatever gravatar I happen to use on the day, they can now check out the link on my name.

        1. Allen Tor

          Thanks. That’s pretty useful actually. Now I just have to figure out why Shinobu looks like L.

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          The hair’s the main reason no doubt.

  26. Van Jealous

    You’ve got to hand it to Marcie!……..Seriously!

    1. Cheryl

      AH see what you did thar

      1. Van Jealous

        “YOU’RE NOT MY SUPERVISOR!…Oh…wait…who IS my supervisor?”

  27. brumagem

    I like this new way of animating the arms without actually animating the arms.

  28. Zane

    Oh no, their arms are turning blue! They must have caught argyrosis.

    1. Opus the Poet

      No, they are moving so fast that they are experiencing blue shift at near relativistic velocities!

  29. Rabid Rabbit

    Good to know Sal can actually speak ASL, and not just read it.

  30. Nena

    I wonder when we will get the back story about Marcie.

  31. AnvilPro

    Marcie’s shirt isn’t working against Sal!

    1. blackhat64

      I keep expecting it to say “SHUT UP SHINJI” like Dale’s shirt from QC.

    2. Screwball

      It does eventually, it just Sal shifts into sign language mode instead. She’s not saying a word, she’s signing them…

  32. Heavensrun

    I think Sal’s jealous.

    1. Zaxares

      Yeeeep. Basically, the impression I’m getting is that sign language has always been her “thing” with Marcie. Something only the two of them share. Now that Malaya’s learning it too, it makes Sal feel a bit like she’s not Marcie’s special friend anymore.

      1. Delimann

        “special friend” mhm sure

  33. Ed

    After looking at some of the previous strips, I noticed that, out of the 4 people in today’s strip, only Marcie and Malaya do roller derby. So it would make sense for them to bond and be friends. Sal could probably be a bit more understanding.

  34. A Scientist

    Oh man, now I need to read more comics which involve heated arguments in sign language. The medium is simply amazing for conveying emotion.

    1. Gangler

      I hear there was an issue of Hawkeye recently done entirely in sign language, shortly after Clint was redeafened.

      I dunno if anybody argued during it, but could be worth looking into.

      1. gwalla

        IIRC there was an argument with his brother.

  35. Jason

    No joke, I actually watched a deaf couple arguing in the train station today. It went something like this.

  36. maxyai

    Now I’m glad I voted for Malaya. I like her. Yea! 1 percenters.

  37. ShaggyDonahugh

    I think Marcie’s shirt has finally become an important part of her wardrobe. If she ends that by pointing at it, then I will have enjoyed this very very much lol

  38. DarkoNeko

    Alternatively, those looked like pretty awesome kung-fu moves.

  39. Marvelman

    What is it exactly about Malaya that Sal doesn’t like?

    1. Charles Phipps

      Sal doesn’t like being nasty to people, I imagine. She’s a fairly cool girl, sans authority or bullies while Malaya IS a bully. She’s just a small young woman, which is not the traditional appearance of such.

      1. Gangler

        Malaya’s a tad abrasive, but we’ve never seen her bully anybody. She doesn’t really give that much attention to anybody. Mostly hangs out in her own corner with her friends being unpleasant.

        Closest incident I can think of is when she got a little bit over-excited about giving the beatdown to Amazigirl, but it’s not like she’d gone and proactively sought that out. There’s never been a situation where Amazigirl just wanted to be left alone and Malaya kept harassing her.

        I’d think that would be a pretty key component of bullying. Like when Sarah’s just trying to eat lunch or hang out at the mall with her friends but Raidah and the gang won’t just let her be.

    2. Kris

      Malaya seems a tad ungrateful and openly indifferent so that’s annoying. She hasn’t had much screen time but we can assume Sal hangs out with her off screen and knows about other annoying character traits. I actually don’t know why Sal’s upset she’s the one who told Malaya to learn sign language. Or is she mad that Marcie’s the one teaching her?

      1. TheOthin

        If Sal didn’t think Malaya would actually do it, it sounds like she was just telling her she should learn to berate her for not doing it.

        1. Gangler

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/fun-2/

          Looking at the precise interaction, it seems worth noting that Marcie was probably saying something really positive and nice. Sal’s beratement deflected the conversation away from a path where she’d be expected to translate it.

          I don’t wanna say she’s been sabotaging their relationship, but in light of how she reacted when Malaya actually started learning that’s sort of what it looks like.

        2. Rex Vivat

          Like most of Marcie’s relevant signs, that one was translated in the strip name.

          https://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/FUN

    3. Paul

      In Shortpacked!, Malaya was a misanthrope who didn’t care what effect her actions had on other people. She was a very dislikable character there.

      1. Gangler

        I assume Sal hasn’t been to the Walkyverse, so that’s probably not it.

    4. DarkoNeko

      I think Sal just doesn’t like not having Marcie all for herself.

      1. DarkoNeko

        (cont.)

        Note : I haven’t read the other webcomics those chars appeared (yet), so my judgement may be sorta impaired, BUT the way I see it :
        * Marcie is Sal’s oldest (they met at as kids) and probably only real friend
        * ASL was probably what Sal considered their secret language, just for the 2 of them.

  40. Anon

    Looks totally like a battle between two androids with many metal arms.
    Sweet.

  41. Kris

    For some reason I can’t help imagining their aggressive sign language eventually escalating to a silly slap fight.

  42. Alexx

    Great, now I can’t help thinking of Marcie in a fighting game, using multiple blue energy arms to fight.

  43. Pinja

    This is basically Jojo

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Marcie has a stand? O_O

    2. gwalla

      Marcie can’t speak because her vocal cords were permanently scarred from yelling “AAAAAATATATATATATATATATATATA” too loud.

  44. Bliisk

    marcie x malaya otp

  45. Boospookum

    I am hard of hearing, fluent in English and ASL – and it warms my heart to see more of Marcie (and Sal!) signing. 😀 Imagine that getting the articulation of the fingers and hands right would be mighty difficult, but I praise you all the more for it. Thank you for your representation of the signing population, sir, and keep up the good work!

    1. Boospookum

      My first time actually posting something here and my gravitar is… that. I weep.

      1. Solenoid

        It’s a good grav for if someone says something horrible and you’re in disbelief, necessitating a verbal smackdown. (Note: Your personal definition of horrible, not Mary’s.)

      2. Bagge

        There is a lesson in there somewhere. “We don’t chose our gravatars (unless we sign in and can pick whatever we want”).

        1. Crazy Dina

          Even if you enter 20 fake emails into the system. -_- (Seriously, do you know how many emails I tried? I even tried All.Hail.Dina@Dina.Dina and didn’t get a Dina. I finally just generated All.Hail.Dina@gmail.com cause I WANTED A DINA!!!!! (Also, I have a special message sent out to anyone who emails me at that address, so go ahead.) ^.^

  46. s

    why do people like mike but hate malaya (unbelievably more than mary, according to the current poll)?

    1. 3oranges

      And why do all they all have names that start with M? I guess Marcie’s cool enough to think Willis doesn’t have anything against the letter, but only barely.

      1. Crazy Dina

        M = W*(180°)

    2. No Name

      The poll asks for “favorite”, not “least favorite”. Since Mary had more screen time, there are more people who like Mary (as a villain or otherwise) than Malaya.

    3. Suitora

      Well, it’s that more people chose them as a favorite.

      Mike is a jerkass, but in Shortpacked!, he’s more “jerkass with a heart of gold”. So, when people see Mike being a jerkass, they equate him with Shortpacked Mike’s behavior. Plus, when Mike’s being a jerk, he’s usually got some scheme going on that ends in the ensuance of hilarity. Plus, your mom’s been voting for him.

      Malaya doesn’t really have much notoriety other than as a bongo, like Mary.

      (I voted Becky[pre-bi erasure], Amber, and Jocelyne)

      I hope Jocelyne appears in later story arcs. I kind of dislike Carla as a character, and it’s extremely hard to relate to her.

      1. Crazy Dina

        LOL. My mom BETTER NOT know Mike!

    4. takashid

      because mike’s a dude, and sexism is a thing that exists

      1. gwalla

        Yeah, pretty sure that’s part of it. Abrasiveness in guys is a lot more tolerated.

  47. el fly

    Muda muda muda muda!

    Ora ora ora ora!

    1. DarkoNeko

      Wryyyyyyyyyyy

  48. Dragon

    Hey! I’ve got an idea! Sal can be an ASL translator for deaf/mute people, those jobs (so I hear, anyway) are pretty lucrative. No need for Calculus and Algebra, already got a second language down. She’s pretty much set. 🙂

  49. fantasyfreakvi

    Panel 3 kind of looks like they’re fighting Dragon Ball Z style.

  50. Brady Kj

    I use sign language all the time at work, but I couldn’t make heads or tails out of these signs until I read someone else’s interpretation. Willis, do you think you could incorporate arrows into your drawings without making the pictures too cluttered? Sign language without movement is gibberish.

    1. Miles

      Probably the point, its like an argument where both parties are yelling at eachother and no one understands what they’re saying. Only difference with it being in ASL is that its quieter and honestly looks cooler.

  51. Crazy Dina

    Also, neither one can be louder than the other. They can stop listening, but they can’t raise their volumes.

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