192

Deserved
Posted on March 27, 2016 by David M Willis

192 thoughts on “Deserved”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “hey waste not, want not, COME ON”

    1. Vagabond J

      Gotta keep the world safe & clean!

      1. Deanatay

        GOOD BYE, CARLA!!

        1. Clif

          While there’s still cookies at stake? You must be joking.

    2. raul tsi

      I still haven’t figured out what is Carla’s thing? She seems equally antagonistic to everybody, male or female, straight or otherwise, theist or not. What’s her boggle, to paraphrase one of my favorite movies, Demolition Man

      1. Clif

        Wait till she meets Mike.

      2. djaevlenselv

        She is Ultra-Car, being a dick is her thing (transphobia not intended).

  2. Doctor Doom

    Doom would enjoy some cookies right now, to be honest.

    1. Vagabond J

      I think a lot of people would like cookies right now.

      1. tim gueguen

        I already had my share for today.

      2. John

        I still haven’t managed to convince myself that I’m not too lazy to make those gingersnaps. Not going to happen tonight, either. Gotta make bread for zombie Jesus dinner tomorrow.

        1. Resident SnipeFish

          Zombie Jesus reanimated for your sins.

          And now he’s coming for you.

        2. StClair

          (this is becoming its own tradition for me)

          “And on the third day they went to the crypt; and they found the stone rolled back, and the crypt empty. And they were much afraid, for they knew that their friend and teacher would now walk among them by night, thirsting for the blood of the living, and be undead.”

    2. Disloyal Subject

      Who wouldn’t?
      I mean, there are some, but I think they’d make a shorter list than those who would.

    3. MM

      You don’t get an unlimited supply of those when you’re evil? The Internet has lied to me!

      1. John

        The Dark Side has cookies.

        It just doesn’t let you have any. Because it’s evil.

    4. Willoughby Chase

      After a day’s pillaging and destroying, who wouldn’t?

    5. Romanticide

      I don’t have cookies but I still have cake. 😀

  3. gkheyf

    ya…we’re keeping her

    1. Willoughby Chase

      +1

  4. Opus the Poet

    The power of cookies compels you!

  5. Stephen R. Bierce

    *plays Supertramp’s “Breakfast In America” on the hacked Muzak*

    1. M-M

      Was going back and forth between “c is for cookie” and “who stole the cookie from the cookie jar” and then realized I was hacking the kids’ Muzak.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Those would actually probably sound pretty good muzak’d.

        1. JustCheetoDust

          I like starting with the actual song and then switching to the muzak version after walking into an elevator or a store, like in Grosse Pointe Blank.

        2. Needfuldoer

          ‘C is for Cookie’ makes a surprisingly good metal song.

        3. Sunny

          Metal and food in general go together pretty well.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eovuIfeH2k4

    2. Seriously

      Okay, it’s been months of these comments, can someone fucking explain what the hell a Muzak is?!

      1. Midnight_Fox

        Muzak is the company that distributes that very generic instrumental overhead/phone hold music in stores, hotels, etc. It’s also become a generic term for elevator music/that style of music because of the proliferation of the company’s offerings.

      2. Disloyal Subject

        They have. Repeatedly. If that’s not good enough, then google it.

      3. Stephen R. Bierce

        https://www.youtube.com/user/SeeburgUp2Speed <- A YouTube Channel with samples of what an UNhacked Muzak would nominally sound like.

  6. blackouthart

    “You said you wanted to be alone. Those cookies count as company. Delicious, scrumptious company.”

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      At least until they’re gone…

      1. JustCheetoDust

        They’ll make a return later, but that’s not the kind of company that you keep around.

  7. John

    She’ll be there for your cookies, at least.

    Or she’ll be there for you while announcing loudly to no one in particular that it’s just for the cookies.

  8. Leorale

    Carla is nearly the most insensitive confidante Ruth could have possibly chosen, but in some weird way, that kind of makes her the most appropriate to what Ruth wants. Wacky.

    1. Leorale

      it’s like, she’s not the confidante you need, she’s the one you deserve.

      1. caesaria82

        Are you saying Carla is Batman? Because I think maybe you are onto something with that…. ;p

        1. John

          Ruth’s the one whose parents are dead.

        2. caesaria82

          Oh, true. But we’ve just pretty much established that Carla comes from money, so maybe she is Batman’s daughter or protege. I’d say she’d be Robin, but she’s waaaay too cool to be Robin^^

        3. Deanatay

          So, Carla is Nightwing?

        4. Scar Man!!!

          How about Batwoman? I love her costume and her story and both of them are redheads

        5. Roborat

          Negaduck.

        6. Disloyal Subject

          something something, Ultra-Car, Amazi-girl

        7. Dark

          Don’t say that. Then Batman will have to punch Carla.

        8. podian

          something something Spider-Car

        9. John

          Spider-Car! Spider-Car! Does whatever a… spider…… mar?

        10. Deanatay

          Spider-Car, Spider-Car
          Does whatever a Spider-Car does
          Can she swing, from a thread
          No she can’t, she’s a car

      2. John

        Yeah, she’s the best at letting Ruth pretend that she really doesn’t want a hug.

  9. Wheelpath

    Not sure I agree that she deserves to know, but whatever. Ruth is allowed to do what she wants as long as i get to keep my femurs.

    1. John

      This is affecting Ruth’s ability to deal with Carla’s Mary problem, so, yeah, I’d say Carla does deserve to know.

  10. Nono

    Ew, girls have COOKIES.

  11. caesaria82

    Carla is asking the important questions tbqh.

  12. Kamino Neko

    I kind of hope the next strip involves her nomming on a cookie while trying to get crumbs from other ones out of her hair.

  13. Viga

    Carla! *audience laugh track*

  14. Alice Macher

    Carla’s snark in panel two is beautiful. She may be a misanthrope, Ruth, just like you, but she’s trying to tell you something important.

  15. Rukduk

    Ruth: Yes!
    Carla: Really?
    Ruth: No. I don’t really like ginger snaps to be honest.

    1. DSL

      She prefers her ginger snaps to lie to her?

      1. No Name

        No, she prefers brunette snaps.

  16. Plasma Mongoose

    Watch out Billie, Carla wants Ruth’s cookies

  17. Vangeln

    ‘Or I better go and bring Billie?’

  18. Wolf

    Dumbing of Triangle: DAY 11

    http://imgur.com/c0sMaOf

    Old strips now being ported: http://imgur.com/a/7FHYX

    1. Wolf

      Sorry Here it is:

      http://imgur.com/lpnvGPY

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Ruth, RA at Stepford Community College.

    2. motorfirebox

      Those edited strips are creepy as hell.

  19. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    Ruth will enshrine the cookies and worship them.

  20. tim gueguen

    I do not like the look on Ruth’s face in panel three. I can’t help but think she’s going to do something really harmful to herself, like drink a dangerous quantity of booze.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      What kind of rotgut goes best with ginger snaps?

    2. gc

      Nah, she just said she’s detoxing. That kind of plot whiplash gets your writer’s license revoked.

  21. Shiro

    She’s gonna tell Billie immediately, huh.

    1. gc

      Maybe. But only if she can do so in a way that maintains plausible deniability w/ regard to caring about other human beings.

      1. Cerberus

        I don’t care, despite all this evidence that I care! Goddamn am I bad at being aloof and above-it-all.

        1. Kamino Neko

          But surprisingly good at convincing the audience of it, despite that.

        2. Cerberus

          It’s the soulless eyes.

  22. Yotomoe

    “No, Carla. I’m gonna masterbate with them. HAPPY!? THAT’S MY KINK AND BILLIE KNOWS IT”

    1. Cerberus

      Y’know, I have a feeling that if Ruth was to say that, Carla would more say “ew” to the whole notion of masturbation or the waste of cookies, rather than the kinkiness of masturbating with cookies.

      Dina’s response would just be noting that sugar in reproductive organs is a great way to get a yeast infection.

      1. Dana

        Dina would relate it to dinosaurs somehow. I have faith in her.

        1. Yotomoe

          Most species of dinosaurs did not masturbate with cookies.

        2. Cerberus

          And print, we’ve hit perfection!

      2. trlkly

        Being ace doesn’t necessarily mean you find masturbation disgusting, right? I know some do, but aren’t there some people that have no problem with it, or even actually enjoy it but hate the idea of involving someone else?

  23. Sageress

    Carla has reached cartoonish levels of insensitivity.

    1. Dorje Sylas

      Sometimes it takes a blunt phrase, applied directly to the ego.

      1. No Name

        Blunt Phrase, apply directly to the ego!

        Blunt Phrase, apply directly to the ego!

        Blunt Phrase, apply directly to the ego!

      2. Sageress

        It’s gone past blunt into “No human can realistically be this openly unsympathetic” levels.

    2. trlkly

      Yes. Accent on cartoonish–as in, she’s being silly.

  24. Charles Phipps

    Carla, not enabling destructive behavior or self-loathing since Sal.

  25. Tomas

    I just realized that ginger helps with nausea, which Ruth has now. Then I realized that maybe Billie got a taste for ginger snaps because of her drinking problem.

  26. Marvelman

    Boy-o-boy it takes a long time to get to the good stuff in this strip, doesn’t it? And by good stuff I mean Joyce tearing her mom a new one!

  27. Heyitsthatoneguy

    I don’t even know if their sexualities are compatible, but now I kinda ship Carla and Mike.

    1. Cerberus

      Carla’s homoromantic, so that’d be unlikely.

      Ooh, better question. Who all is everyone shipping Carla with?

      1. caesaria82

        Me.

        Oh wait, you mean in the comic. Idk. No one. Maybe if Marcie and Malaya don’t work out, I could dig her with Marcie.

      2. Leorale

        Carla sure doesn’t seem to be looking for a partner at the moment, but I think any match for her would have to be super acerbic and misanthropic. It seems like they should share that in common.

        So that’s Malaya, Sarah, Ruth, and Mike. Malaya already happened in another universe. We know that Sarah is sexually into men, no indication that she’s biromantic. Ruth is taken, but would otherwise be the best choice. Mike is whatever you don’t want him to be… honestly, I think Carla/rollerskates is the best pairing.

        1. Leorale

          –oh, as caesaria said, Marcie. I forgot about Marcie, that’d be cool, they could skate together.

      3. not someone else

        Giant death robot/maid. It’s more of a Life Partners thing.

      4. Spencer

        The last few days have really warmed me to Ruth/Carla, much to my surprise.

        #gingersnaps

      5. podian

        Has incompatible orientation ever stopped shippers?

      6. vmgx

        I used to ship her with Dina (Idon’t know why), but now I kinda can’t do it anymore.

    2. MM

      I see her as more of a wingwoman: “Ooh, yeah, she looks like she’d be angry in the sack. Go get her, tiger!”

  28. Lurlock

    Her new nickname shall be Billie Ray-of-Happiness Cyrus.

    (I regret nothing.)

    1. JessWitt

      Replace Cyrus with Cirrhosis and it’s a snappy band name.

  29. Cerberus

    Interesting thing of note, through snark and sarcasm, Carla has managed the following:

    1) Get Ruth talking about her feelings and experiences.
    2) Get her in a well-lit room instead of falling into a heap in a dark corner.
    3) Show that she has support and that her queer relationship is worth celebrating and that not everyone who learns about it will use it against her.
    4) Side-tracked a lot of Ruth’s self-destructive thought patterns.

    Carla may be very much the friend Ruth needs right now. Someone who will be supportive, but also derail her self-destructive tendencies long enough so that she can get better enough to seek help. Who she can confide in and trust and who will not make her feel as bad as she feels deep inside.

    In the long-term, who knows? But in the short term? So so would love to see more of the Queer Redhead Duo and their zany adventures.

    1. John

      And she did it without admitting that she was helping, or forcing Ruth to admit that she needed help. Girl’s got style.

    2. Uniqueantique

      I think Carla’s being given way to much credit here for helping in any way.
      1 – she didn’t get Ruth talking, Ruth sort of just dumped it on her.
      2 – she turned on the lights for her own well being, not Ruth’s
      3- I think I missed all that. Although I do admit that the ‘hug’ dialogue almost made it look like Carla may be actually seeing another human being was in need.
      4 – Sidetracted how? Could be by snarking at her for making a remark showing that she cared a lot for Billie.

      Carla best friend is her mirror and her own company. And anyone who she can take cookies away from, usually without asking.

      That last parting shot was reallllly sensitive.

      1. Cerberus

        Indeed. She snarked and sniped and made jokes about it and made a big show about not caring and all that, but in the process, accomplished all of this positive stuff for Ruth. Carla will never admit that she’s a good person who cares about others, but she’s got a pretty damn good track record nonetheless.

        1. L!ghtn!ng

          I’m with Cerberus. Carla is a jerk and a misanthrope, without a doubt, but she helped Ruth in her own way.

          Speaking from personal experience, not all depressed people respond well to rah-rah nicey-nice pep talks, and I suspect Ruth wouldn’t even if she wasn’t depressed. The last few days’ (in strip time) conversation may have been just the prescription Ruth needed in that moment.

        2. Cerberus

          She’s even already expressed loathing at that type of pep talk in the past, personally finding it useful and borderline offensive:
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/manager/

          So yeah, someone like Dorothy doing a softly softly approach would never have gotten as far as Carla’s “yeah, it’s cool, but I’m gonna snark the whole time” approach.

          And there’s some science to that. When you are deep in the hole of depression, sometimes someone telling you that you’re awesome and wonderful feels fake because you physically can’t believe that about yourself. It just makes you feel like the person doesn’t even know you.

          Someone saying “yeah, you have flaws or you fucked up, but so what, you have worth anyways” can be much more impactful when in that state where people stating your worth feels like a fiction, because it’s a little easier to believe you’re a lovable fuck-up than someone with inherent worth and beauty.

        3. StClair

          *bing bing bing*

      2. achallenger

        coworkers have been telling me i have a wierd definition of friend latley, but carla these last two strips is precisly what i need/look for in a chum

      3. DarkoNeko

        1 – sometimes you just have to be there and wait a bit.

      4. Adam Black

        You cant argue with succes

      5. Charles Phipps

        I dislike exuberant personalities and being annoying but Carla is, unfortunately, Chaotic GOOD with a capital G.

        1. Carla didn’t resort to violence when Ruth gave her permission. She rejected it with disdain and distaste.

        2. Carla has no reason to like Ruth and seems to actively dislike her but went out of her way to help her anyway.

        You can tell a person’s character not by how they behave to their friends but their enemies and Carla isn’t violent to Mary and is reluctantly sympathetic to Ruth.

        1. Charles Phipps

          Becky gets a pass, though I don’t know why.

        2. trlkly

          In what way? Do you mean people leave Becky alone? Or do you think there’s something evil about Becky?

          Because I don’t see it. I’m not sure exactly where to put her on the D&D alignment chart, but she is definitely Good. She has made a lot of self-sacrifices that a Neutral person would abhor.

          And, that, BTW, is why I have problems with the hatred. I have a problem with anyone hating a Good-aligned character. Hatred is for evil.

        3. thejeff

          I read that as a personal thing – He likes Becky despite her exuberance.

      6. trlkly

        Wow, Uniqueantique. It’s getting really hard to give you the benefit of the doubt.

        It’s been revealed very clearly that her ascerbic manner is just a facade. The same way Sal’s ascerbic manner is just a facade. We have been shown throughout all of this that she cares.

        Either you have a problem with reading things way too literally, or you really are just looking for reasons to hold on to your hatred when the comic is yelling at you that your assumptions are incorrect.

        You don’t now how hard it was not to just post “Of course you don’t. You hate Carla, and will twist anything into how she’s horrible.”

  30. Lan

    Dammit Carla I can’t stay mad at you. You made a sad-ish moment awkwardly funny. Someone better bake her some dang cookies.

  31. Screwball

    *Discovers comic went up 12:01 (midday) local time instead of 13:01 (1pm) as expected*
    I’m guessing local Daylight Saving is over or something? Do I have to start checking in earlier when I can now?

    1. Carriethedragon

      Yeah, I guess if you don’t have DST where you are, there would’ve been a change, since it just started two weeks ago.

      1. Sunny

        It started last night, my anxieties kicked in and brought the insomnia along so I was awake for it. Couldn’t sleep until 6am actually. Then the goddamn church bells started ringing non-stop at 9 and they’d apparently brought in some orchestra consisting entirely of annoying metal wind instruments played by amateurs.

        Fuck, DST is bad enough on its own, but combine it with easter and living next to a church is just hell.

      2. Screwball

        Yeah, West Coast of Australia apparently tried Daylight Savings once, Daniel the Human tells me no-one liked it. He really didn’t like it cause he’s night shift, when it started he did a 9 hour cleaning shift, on a busy night, & when it ended he only got to do a 7 hour shift, meaning money was a bit tighter that fortnight…

    2. caesaria82

      It actually went up an hour later for me. 6am instead of the 5am upload that happened because of Daylight Savings in the US a few weeks back and Europe had their time switch tonight, so it’s back to regular 6am for me.

      It went earlier for you? That’s bizarre xD

  32. Charles Phipps

    Well, Billie and Ruth are terrible for one another with each bringing out the worst in each other. So, I’m pretty sure I prefer Ruth and Carla with both bringing out the BEST in each other. Not sure who I’d ship Billie with.

    1. Leorale

      Billie / sense of self-worth

    2. John

      Join Joyce in shipping her with Walky.

    3. nothri

      I’m obviously biased here, but I have absolutely no idea where your getting this “bring out the worst in each other” stuff from.

      1. Charles Phipps

        The whole suicide pact alcoholism thing really is horrifying to me on every level as it guilts Billie into being her romantic partner because she’s afraid Ruth will die if she’s not. They need their improvement as people (for real serious issues) to be separate from their romance.

      2. Spencer

        Well, there was the first two years of the comic where Ruth was a violent abuser.

        1. Clif

          A sexy violent abuser who failed to collect a single femur.

        2. Cerberus

          You’ve both got fair points…

        3. Spencer

          Ehhhhh, I dunno. That scene where she goes on about how she’s never actually harmed anyone is both total crap, since violently threatening people to keep them in line is still pretty goddamn awful, and factually incorrect, since she’s manhandled several students, stolen or broke their stuff, slapped a dick imprint onto Mary’s face when she was just being kind of an asshole, and has just generally been an actual violent abuser towards Billie.

        4. Cerberus

          Yes. But she’s also sexy. All of these facts are true.

          No, but seriously, yeah, the origins of Ruth and Billie’s relationship were beyond fucked up and continues to have negative impacts on the both of them.

        5. Spencer

          I’m pretty sure “sexy violent abuser” was written down on Ruth’s application for the job.

    4. DSL

      FedEx. Maybe UPS. Whichever has the better rates.

      1. No Name

        I’d go with USPS. They need the business.

  33. Uniqueantique

    Ruth needs to be allowed to heal right now. She is detoxing and she is mourning her break up. No one can help with the breakup. And she sure isn’t going to AA.

    She will make it, she’s strong.

    I just don’t think Carla is a good choice.

    1. Cholma

      I don’t know… if Ruth removed Mary’s femurs, I’d bet that would cheer Ruth up a little.

  34. nothri

    Okay, Carla, technically they wouldn’t have to worry about Mary being insensitive to you if you die from femur loss. Maybe don’t give her a reason to think about this?

    1. Cerberus

      Minor quibble, but what Carla faced from Mary was a little more than her being “insensitive”.

      Also, I think Carla is beyond done being scared of threats of physical or institutional violence. She’s way too much of a reflexive anti-authoritarian to kowtow to threats.

      1. Charles Phipps

        The moment Carla went from a character I disliked (due to lingering Ultracar loathing and loud roommate hate) is when Ruth turned her back to let Carla beat her up but Carla…didn’t. Because Carla isn’t a violent person and Ruth tried to put her own values on her–which she rejected. Carla has my respect even if I dislike exuberant personalities being the moody ex-Goth I am.

        And yeah, hate-speech is not being insensitive.

        1. Clif

          Now you have me curious. What’s more insensitive than hate-speech?

        2. Cerberus

          Genocide?

          But seriously, it’s not so much that hate speech isn’t insensitive, just that that’s kind of a dismissive way of phrasing it. Like when hate crimes against trans people ending in our murders get referred to as “some violent attacks”.

          It’s not wrong, but it’s designed to make the response to it seem disproportionate.

          Not that I think that the OP at all intended or meant it that way, it’s more of a societal thing that I’m a bit more sensitive to owing to the bullshit defenses of the gender-reparative-therapy clinic up in Toronto and of the NC bathroom bill that have been springing up around me of late.

        3. trlkly

          He left out the word “merely.” Hate speech is not merely insensitive. It’s not something that happens because you weren’t thinking about the other person or how what you said would come off.

          It means you have active hatred for the person. Rather than being insensitive, you are intentionally trying to hurt the other person.

        4. nothri

          I will defend the use of the word this far- whatever other words you might use to describe Mary’s behavior (and there is a litany of terms, some of them objectionable to polite society, that certainly apply) I don’t think anyone can argue that she was ALSO very insensitive towards Carla. Therefore my use of the word is perfectly valid. Technically. Truth be told, however, I just chose it on the fly while reacting to the comic last night on my smart phone. It was a casualty of being in a rush combined with my attention deficit. It was not and never will be my intent to diminish how awful Mary is or more importantly to pretend that bigotry in our world is not a monstrous and insidious thing that needs to be combated wherever it raises its ugly head.

          All of that aside, I am bemused that in a post that is essentially a gallows humor style joke about one girl potentially murdering another that the major objection is that I accidentally downplayed how shitty one of the other characters is. When talking about Mary, its clearly better to overemphasize. Like the Grinch Song.

        5. Cerberus

          Sorry, it was a minor quibble, not meant to be a big thing. *sweat drop*

        6. nothri

          No worries. You made that clear to me from the beginning. I got the impression that some of the other comments may have taken genuine offense about the wording, so I thought I’d respond to that. But thanks!

  35. DarkoNeko

    That 3rd panel is probably the scariest face Ruth ever made. The sleepless eye bag really sells it.

  36. HiiroArana79

    With friends like these… Wait are they friends?

    1. JessWitt

      Camaraderie as fellow sophomores?

      1. Lord Stoneheart

        Isn’t Ruth a junior?

  37. Dariu55

    “Ya know what? I’ll come baaack.”

  38. lia

    BE FRIENDS DAMMIT

  39. KSClaw

    No Carla, she’s gonna mount them on the wall like a creepy stalker trophy.

  40. That Damn Rat

    Remind me again, why are we supposed to like Carla?

    1. Captain Whoever on the Planet of Things

      I like her character’s general sense of fun, but she’s a wee bit on the insensitive side, isn’t she?

    2. Charles Phipps

      I dunno, are we supposed to sympathize with Ruth in this despite all the anger and abuse she’s dolled out? Carla was nice to her and helped out as best she could despite personally disliking her. Besides, jerks are more entertaining than nice people in fiction w/ the exception of Spiderman and Superman.

      1. nothri

        “I dunno, are we supposed to sympathize with Ruth in this despite all the anger and abuse she’s dolled out?”

        They both have caused anger and abuse over the course of this comic. The main difference seems to be that Ruth seems to regret that behavior while Carla is either oblivious to it or just doesn’t care how her actions affect those around her. That’s why I sympathize with Ruth. And while I agree that Carla doesn’t deserve to be targeted by Mary or anyone else because of her sexual identity…I don’t particularly feel a need to write off her own behavior due to that alone.

        “Carla was nice to her and helped out as best she could despite personally disliking her.”

        Does she personally dislike her? I missed that in the comic, if true. In any event, Carla’s help was the definition of half-assed. She stole several of the items she was asked to deliver, shoved another one under a door, and responded to someone pouring their heart out with mockery. So no, while I was prepared to applaud her efforts depending on how things went….nope. Still don’t like her.

        “Besides, jerks are more entertaining than nice people in fiction w/ the exception of Spiderman and Superman.”

        Once again, how does this logic apply to Carla but not to Ruth?

        1. Spencer

          Specifically addressing the last part, but if we’re comparing Carla and Ruth on the Jerkface scale, then Ruth has actually been really awful previously in the comic, even if that has mostly tapered off into self destruction.

          Carla’s basically just Deadpool on roller skates. The worst thing she’s done so far in comic is not stop skating when Mary asked her to and surprised Amber into dropping her laundry.

          If you like Ruth that’s great. Definitely not trying to take that away from anybody or paint her as some kind of inherently terrible irredeemable monster (i definitely am), but I do think it’s pretty natural to hold Carla and Ruth to different standards given their respective actions in-comic.

    3. Cerberus

      Because she’s awesome! 😉

      1. Clif

        Snark is the new sexy.

        1. Cerberus

          She’s bringing snarky back.

        2. thejeff

          When did it go away?

          And when wasn’t it sexy?

          I’m so out of touch…

  41. Captain Whoever on the Planet of Things

    Oh, that Carla!

  42. Black

    Thank you Carla, you can go away now!

  43. Amake

    It occurs to me Carla is likable for the same reasons as Jeff Winger in Community: She’s so self-involved nothing anyone says or does bothers her (unless it involves her directly), and so self-confident it lends her follies an air of legitimacy. Too lazy to be dangerous, too cartoonishly evil to be scary, she rollerblades on the thin line between being funny to watch and seeming funny to be with. And with enough cracks in the shell of cool detachment to let us glimpse the pain she tries so hard to keep to herself, to believe there’s a human being under it all.

  44. Betty Anne

    She BETTER eat those cookies, because if they show up in one more panel, I’m going to have to make ginger snaps to be able to deal with it. D:

  45. inqntrol

    You better heat the oven, I think there will be cookies involved in the coming strips

    1. inqntrol

      Supposed to be a reply to Betty, but forgot to press reply

  46. Spencer

    Regarding some of the backlash towards Carla lately, I wonder how much of that is due to some reader’s unfamiliarity with the idea of a victim of hate actions not being a perfect, pure as the driven snow angel, and thus “deserving” what comes to them. You know, like how Becky being a dick to Dorothy for a few months and getting a haircut meant that her dad must have been on the up and up.

    To be clear, I think it’s perfectly fine to think Carla is an annoying butthole, and if her being an annoying butthole is a black mark on the character for you then that’s fair too, but at least hate her for the right reasons, y’know?

    1. Willoughby Chase

      +1

    2. Cerberus

      Yeah, that’s been pretty much my take too.

      Honestly, I’m reminded a lot about the Jian Ghomeshi judge or Zoe Quinn writing about having to drop her case because it was emotionally crippling. We expect victims of things, especially hate actions to be flawless super villains who react perfectly to their victimization and never ever turn bitter or turn to imperfect coping strategies or try and minimize or be sarcastic and annoying.

      And that really does weigh on people who suffer shit like that because they are trained to not mention it or be quiet about their life experiences less that be used to dismiss what has occurred for them.

      What makes it interesting with Carla is that her whole current arc is about how the expectation to be perfect to deserve humanity or empathy is bullshit, which means a lot of that culture has already been answered by the character herself.

      So yeah, interesting cultural demonstration.

      And yes, to all of you who are right now penning your defense of how you dislike Carla for completely different reasons, blah de blah, I’m not saying you must love Carla. Nor that you can’t hate her for whatever reasons. Nor that there aren’t real flaws on the character nor that it is impossible to hate the character for non-bigoted reasons.

      Just that the volume and the timing of the complaints may have cultural explanations that are due to us all stewing in the garbage pile of popular culture and how victim stories are typically depicted in media.

      1. Charles Phipps

        I’m reminded of Joss Whedon’s issue with Tara as he was worried about killing her as the ONLY lesbian couple on television’s member. However, he was writing a horror show. He had a choice between saving her for the purposes of her cultural resonance or killing her because it’d be what he’d do (and had done to) straight couple members throughout the show (Jenny Calender, Anya, Fred). In the end, he chose to kill her and was accused of all manner of prejudice and distaste.

        I think Carla is an important character and an enjoyable one but I think it’s important she also be as annoying, imperfect, and jackassed as the rest of the cast because that prevents unrealistic and unhealthy expectations. I also can hate Carla as a person in-universe while finding her incredibly entertaining and enjoyable as a character. Much like Ultracar before her or Mike.

        It’s a sad element, really, that Carla bears the expectations of an entire classification of underrepresented people because so few trans characters are in media. It’s why I hope Jocelyn comes out to her family soon because I’d like to see her develop as another positive (as in three-dimensional and entertaining) trans character in media.

        1. Cerberus

          Oh yes, I’m actually a huge fan of her being a bit of an jackass for the reasons you and I said. That demand that we be perfect victims in fiction instead of the type of folks who respond to cultural bullshit with anger or sarcasm or finding something stupid fun and throwing ourselves into it without a care is bullshit and it’s nice to see a character who rejects that so thoroughly.

          Carla is so liberated in a very satisfying way. She cares, but she refuses to let anyone see her bleed. She worries about not passing, but responds to it by dressing in ways that are usually seen as “risky”. She can be hurt, but she presents herself as too tough and too apathetic to ever be brought down.

          It’s a genuinely fierce and unbreakable depiction and that is something I see in a lot of trans women I look up to, but rarely in my media. And most certainly not in someone who is also homoromantic and ace.

          And it’s really quite needed as trans celebrities come out and anti-trans laws continue to be passed. We can not only be acceptable and supportable when we’re meek and passive and simply quietly beg to be allowed to poop in peace. Not if we want to survive the onslaught.

        2. Cerberus

          Seriously, so so so SO happy about Carla’s depiction in this universe. It’d be so easy for a cis straight male to fuck up this type of character, but Willis isn’t and is making a lot ring hella true. One of many reasons I frickin’ love this comic.

          Plus, Carla’s unrelenting determination and “fuck it” attitude are so empowering in times like this when things are about to get even more frightening for trans folk in this country (US).

        3. Charles Phipps

          Honestly, it’s why you should never write a perfect character as they’re going to be worse than a flawed one for being meaningful to people.

        4. Spencer

          Yeah, one of the things I deeply appreciate this series is that all the characters are written as characters first, with their gender, racial and sexual identities informing their characters rather than defining them. Becky, as an example, is 100% a totally wronged victim of her father, and we still have those moments where she’s a total bag of dicks to Dorothy and Ethan for basically no reason and even now have a story arc based on how she’s unintentionally hurting Dina’s feelings.

          To use a more personal example, one of my biggest fears when I first saw Danny was bi was that he was going to be totally defined by it, that he’d stop being Danny and just be The Other Queer Dude for the rest of eternity, and instead it’s been woven into his ongoing storyline. It’s added to his character rather than taken away, and he’s still the same stuck up goob as he’s always been with all the same foibles and neuroses and tendency to say dumb shit. He hasn’t suddenly become a magical bisexual wunderkind and I’d never want him to.

        5. Cerberus

          And it’s that part, the fact that the aspects of the characters inform rather than define the characters that I feel a lot of creators mess up. One’s identity and backgrounds affect how you grow up, how the world treats you, and how you respond in kind. Having that woven into the background of the character, where that explains a lot of why they have X reaction to Y situation is how it often works in life.

          You have a personality, but that gets shaped and hewn and warped by having to get through society and so a character who’s informed by their experiences is going to ring a hell of a lot more true rather than someone who is set to be the X person, based on either the person’s stereotypes of what that must be like or written like they would be if they had the same normative experiences as a default marker.

          And I think it’s a big part of why I find analyzing Willis characters so rewarding because those small moments growing up that they must have went through really does inform who they are and how they react to things (still remembering little touches like how Sal is convinced that cops equal trouble way back in the Ryan arc).

    3. Fwip

      I’ve been away for a few days. Has this really been a thing? I mean, I think Carla’s a jerk, but that doesn’t make what was said to her okay, and I’m not sure what planet you have to live on for kidnapping your daughter at gunpoint and assaulting her girlfriend to be justified by a haircut.

      1. thejeff

        I think most of the “her dad was on the up and up” comments were before the gun actually came out. Then it morphed directly from “Becky’s an irresponsible liar who’s probably making it all up and her dad is just worried about his daughter” to “This is over the top and ridiculous. Ross is just a strawman.”

        1. Charles Phipps

          Reality is, sadly, a strawman. Also, people would be trying to defend Ross if he was anything less than a monster. So, in that case, Willis fully committing to “the Platonic ideal of Patriarchy is an evil evil monster” was probably a good artistic decision even as more subtle examples of it in the comic are the kinds which people will probably deal with.

        2. Cerberus

          Becky 2.0 with twice the red hair victim-blaming goodness!

        3. Charles Phipps

          Honestly, I’m glad no one is on Mama Joyce’s side in her treatment of Becky.

        4. thejeff

          Though there were people claiming Becky should have stayed away or blaming her for instigating trouble.
          No one actually taking Carol’s side though – at least among the undeleted comments.

  47. motorfirebox

    At this point, it’d be more bigoted of Ruth to NOT take Carla’s femurs.

    1. Charles Phipps

      Joss Whedon would agree. Carla can replace them with car parts as part of her desire to become a cyborg transformer.

  48. burntnorris

    Jesus Fucking Christ, Carla is obnoxious

    1. Charles Phipps

      Yes, but it’s to RUTH so why we do we care? 🙂

    2. trlkly

      There you go! That’s the right word. Still, she’s joking.

      1. trlkly

        But we all have that friend who makes obnoxious jokes, right?

        (Well, maybe “friend” is too strong a word.)

        1. Cerberus

          Person whose company we tolerate… sometimes.

  49. Larkle

    It’s bothering me that the lights are in Ruth’s room.

    1. Cerberus

      I’m sure she’d agree with that sentiment.

  50. sarpiedon

    What the hell is up with Ruth’s eyes in that last panel?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.