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Mission
Posted on April 23, 2023 by David M Willis
3 DAYS left in the Dumbing of Age Book 12 Kickstarter! This book has 224 full-color pages and includes all five chapters of Year 12!  A foreword by Steve Horton!  24 bonus strips!  Strip commentary!   Unused/rejected strips!   Select from 11 unlocked character magnets or grab them all! Pledge today!

250 thoughts on “Mission”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “MOVE THE PLOT ALONG”

    …

    “TOWARD ME”

    1. Ana Chronistic

      had a dude yell like that when I was doing PoGo, absolutely no idea he was talking to ME bc he was twenty feet away and shouting a general “HELLOOOOOOO” and people shout on their phones outside all the time and also I was busy looking at MY phone

      turns out he wanted to walk past me

      when I was standing on the sidewalk between two wide, unimpeded grass areas

      like

      “Excuse me, may I pass” is so hard to say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

      1. Kyrik Michalowski

        Clearly he wanted your attention for his ego’s sake. It isn’t enough for you to just move, he wanted you to say something so he knew he had your attention because he is a big deal in his own head.

        1. Clif

          Oh, look! It’s Mike’s sister.

        2. Kyrik Michalowski

          Was this meant to be directed at my comment? I am confused by it.

        3. jflb96

          I guess it’s a comment on your mildly-cynical insight into that guy’s psyche?

        4. Kyrik Michalowski

          Maybe, after all I was going for mildly cynical so at least that part checks out.

        5. Ohmsford

          I think it’s actually a reference to the fact that Booster is the “replacement Mike” and this is their sister, and it just got threaded accidentally

      2. sdrainbow

        you were…pogoing? like on a stick? on the sidewalk? and the guy who wanted to walk on the sidewalk, and NOT on the grass, is somehow the problem here?

        1. sdrainbow

          oh, pokemon go

          that makes much more sense

          i was so confused

        2. Psychie

          I mean, using a pogo stick on unpaved ground is just unsafe, better keep that to the sidewalk than risk getting hurt.

        3. a/snow/mous/e

          Imagine, pogoing on some grass like a commoner. It offends my noble pogo sensibilities.

        4. ValdVin

          I thought it had something to do with the best possum in the Okefenokee.

        5. Stanistani

          We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us.

  2. Jonah Sanville

    CARLA

    1. Thag Simmons

      Unfortunately a few months away from Carla Awareness week, but I guess it comes early some years.

      1. bcb

        Ultra Car Awareness Week is in October. Carla Awareness Week is every week!

        1. Doctor_Who

          It’s Carla Awareness Eternity.

      2. Alongcameaspider

        Every month is Carla Awareness Month

        1. HueSatLight

          The Dutch are a festive people.

      3. Stephen Nedland

        Excuse me, but ever week, is, “Carla Awareness Week”. You’re welcome.

      4. Pickman

        Every week is Carla awareness week.

  3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    Your desire for something does not obligate people to give it to you, Carla.

    1. Steamweed

      Carla: THAT DOES NOT COMPUTE.

      1. Needfuldoer

        It’s like we forget she’s a spoiled rich kid…

        1. Decidedly Orthogonal

          “Spoiled” is for common trash. Carla is privileged.

        2. Stephen Nedland

          No, this is Carla, so it’s, “entitled”.

    2. Lily

      she should just start some kinda twitter/insta where she posts ‘thirst traps’ or something troll-ish that’d get baited and ppl talking to her

      tho personally i’dr ather have attention from actual friends/spend time with them than expect a rando to talk to me XD

    3. Kyrik Michalowski

      Doesn’t mean she can’t try; it means she is likely to try harder, as seen above.

  4. Bittersweet

    Booster’s twin looks so cute! Idk what it is, but their design looks precious to me!

    1. True Survivor

      That is a very nice hair cut and shirt. Also anybody who can ignore Carla can put up with anybody so that’s a plus.

    2. Angel

      the hairstyle is pretty cute on them, and plaid /gingham shirts/tops are nice

      1. Needfuldoer

        Looks like the LTT Plaid Flannel.

        …

        lttstoredotcom

    3. Kyrik Michalowski

      Her thousand yard stare certainly works for her; it makes her look interesting and serves to deter unwanted attention, at least it deters that from most people. Carla is definitely not most people, something I am sure she would be happy to admit.

  5. True Survivor

    Little does Carla know but that is actually just a cardboard cutout. Nice plaid shirt though.

    1. Meagan

      It’s more like Carla is the cardboard cut out, because she literally only has this shtick. I thought that’s what you were saying at first when I saw the phrase.

      1. Needfuldoer

        It’s her security self-preservation tactic.

  6. Nathan

    Do we know who that person is and I’m just blanking or are they a totally innocent bystander?

    1. Jamie

      Almost certainly Booster’s twin. I am pretty sure we have not been graced with a name yet.

      1. Walky_Talky

        I was hoping the name would be in the tags but it’s not. Damn you, Willis.

        1. Needfuldoer

          I’m sure her appearances will be retroactively tagged once she’s named in the comic.

    2. Thag Simmons

      We can make some assumptions based on their appearance, but no, we know basically nothing about them.

      1. Sirksome

        It would be funny if this wasn’t actually Booster’s twin, but some person that just looks very similar to Booster but is unrelated. We are just assuming stuff based on a design.

        1. Clif

          It’s obviously Mike’s sister.

        2. Needfuldoer

          It’s got to be…

          Red Herring!

        3. Opus the Poet

          Iunderstoodthatreference dot gif.

    3. Nerrin

      They’ve appeared in a couple previous strips and got Carla’s attention for not giving her any attention, but that’s about it. And yeah, on the balance I agree they’re probably Booster’s previously-mentioned but so far unnamed twin sister.

      1. Clif

        Previous strips?

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-13/01-bring-me-to-life-drawing/emphatically/

        2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          And the day before that:
          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-13/01-bring-me-to-life-drawing/supremacy/

  7. PASchaefer

    Is this Booster’s sibling? Why does this person not get a tag?

    1. tim gueguen

      No name yet.

      1. jeffepp

        Boostette.

        1. Mark

          Second-stage.

        2. Rose by Any Other Name

          Ronni

    2. Thag Simmons

      Because they have yet to be named.

    3. Dana

      I think people are just calling her that because she looks Boosterish and we know Booster has a sibling.

      1. Jamie

        Yeah. Also, Willis will backfill tags after the name has dropped, I believe. He did that when Jennifer changed from Billie, IIRC.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Faz’s shadowy appearances during the abduction arc were only tagged after his big reveal too, and he was already an established character.

      2. Thag Simmons

        It’d be a hell of a twist if they aren’t Booster’s sibling.

    4. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Assuming Booster was like that before college, and I were their sibling, I would take great pains to make sure to get away form them in college.

      So this must be their older sibling, and Booster intentionally came to the same school because that is The Asshole Thing To Do.

      1. CrimsonStorm

        I think they are twins, fwiw

      2. shanunu

        It would explain how they’re so good at not noticing Carla at all. Her behavior literally doesn’t register when you’ve had a Booster your whole life.

      3. Needfuldoer

        They’re fraternal twins, like Sal and Walky.

      4. Mark

        I’m wondering if we’re about to be introduced to a new deaf character.

        Or she might be strongly introverted. I have an alarm on my watch permanently set at 17:00 to remind me to go home from work, ever since recently-married me got a call from his wife at 19:00 or 20:00 asking if he was planning to come home that day. I hadn’t noticed that the office had emptied at the end of the workday, because I was busy thinking.

        She might have both.

    5. CrimsonStorm

      I wish they got a tag even if it was something generic/anonymous, I’d like to go back and see what other strips this person was in.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Their only other appearances so far were two strips in Leslie’s class, with Carla, Jennifer, and Ruth.

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/supremacy/
        https://www.dumbingofage.com/emphatically/

        Maybe they’ll finally get named this chapter…

    6. Opus the Poet

      Hasn’t said anything yet.

  8. Kitschensyngk

    CARLA CARLA CARLA CARLA CARLA CHAMEEEEELEONNNNNNN…

    1. Aoinfinity

      This post just won the Internet.

    2. Daibhid C

      She just won’t go,
      She just won’t go-o-o,
      Ignoring is easy when your Booster’s sister, it seems,
      So Carla screams,
      Her name she scre-e-eams.

  9. Sirksome

    You know what? I ship them. As the relationship stays exactly like this. Carla x Booster’s twin. The ship that will last!

    1. Dinajoyce

      I like this idea. I’m going with this headcanon until actual proven impossible

    2. HueSatLight

      Still too early for a pie though.

    3. Angel

      lol one person being desperate for anothers attention def doesn’t seem healthy and might be borderline stalking after some point

      1. zee

        Most ship dynamics aren’t healthy irl it’s just for fun

        1. RassilonTDavros

          This.

  10. tim gueguen

    Boosister: “Sorry, but my sib’s ego has made me invulnerable to your attack.”

    1. DailyBrad

      Boosister, I love that.

  11. morhek

    “Huh, wonder who that was.”

    1. True Survivor

      That made me smile. Thank you.

  12. Thag Simmons

    How long will it be before this character gets a name.

    1. Risky

      Sister

    2. Qube

      thought that was booster for a second

      MAYBE THEY’RE SIBLINGS

    3. Bladeglory

      If they’re lucky, they make it the rest of the comic.

      “My sibling also goes here. Mercifully, I have been able to avoid their social circle’s drama. It’s wack.”

      1. Sirksome

        Yeah, as soon as they get a name it’s over for them. Tolerating Carla antics is getting off easy compared to what any regular named character has to deal with. If they’re lucky they’ll keep this cushy cameo gag role and not have to suffer any emotional or social turmoil.

    4. Lily

      not sure how long they’ll appeara for but apparently they are in the next strip according to the blurry patreon preview tho it might remained untagged til someone talks to them/uses their name and acknowledges them

  13. Dana

    Carla is very good at keeping her bongohood cartoonish enough that we still love her.

    1. shrub

      No we don’t.

      1. zee

        Speak for yourself

    2. Lily

      lol irl this behavior would be kinda obnoxious , i’m not confrontational but if someone was in my face like this i’d prolly either yell at them or be liek “please stop harassing me/i’ll report you” even if it’s not technically harassment in a setting full of obnoxious teens but if an adult stranger in public suddenly did this i dont’ think they should be surprised if they get pepper spraeyd

      1. Mark

        Going directly from indifference to discharging a chemical weapon is pretty steep escalation. I think we should all be surprised.

        1. Taffy

          Pepper spray does a body good. Builds character.

        2. Angel

          ppl have shot at others for less, although outside of a college environment, most ppl probably wouldn’t come across this kinda situation where they could literally just leave/run away if they felt unsafe versus just some teen being obnoxious/attention seeking

      2. Caro

        It’s a comic strip. There’s gonna be some slapstick.

    3. Needfuldoer

      Only because we’re the audience.

      Carla would be insufferable to deal with in person.

      1. Nono

        That describes half the cast, too.

      2. Mark

        If I knew her IRL I would sort her as “interesting, but never going to be my favorite person.” She seems to be rather fun to know, as long as you feed her positive attention and stay out of the splatter zone.

    4. Dday

      I have enough leftover love from SP! that true disdain is not really possible. Still waiting for her to hit Ethan with a pie tho

  14. Caro

    Notice how her eyes move once the sign is introduced… I wonder if she’s hard of hearing?

    1. Steamweed

      In re-reading the previous 2 strips, plus this one, yeah, that was my first impression, too. Or, alternatively, just possessing really good attention focus, and not easily distracted by random Carlas.

    2. Angel

      it was a bit odd that she didn’t get in front of her because most ppl wouldn’t see a sign from the back even with peripheral versus there also being a crowd off screen of every one else but her staring at carla lol

    3. Bittersweet

      I’ve been assuming she was hard of hearing or Deaf this whole time, I didn’t realize others hadn’t been.

      1. Wraithy2773

        Beyond “rule of funny”, I figure a deaf person would have noticed Carla’s antics by now.

        Not saying that not!Booster isn’t deaf, but this feels more like a sort of active ignoring than anything.

    4. shoopdawhoop

      Carla transcends auditory sensory reception

  15. Kyrik Michalowski

    I have not had a good day thus far, and if someone did this to me they would be eating their own shoe before the day was over.

    1. DailyBrad

      Joke’s on you, Carla’s a masochist.

      1. Clif

        Have a better day tomorrow. Particularly if that’s a low bar.

        1. Kyrik Michalowski

          Thank you, and yeah the bar is undergroundvat this point. Clearly I need to stop reading the news, it only makes my day worse.

        2. milu

          I 100% support that decision. Cutting down on news is self-care

    2. Angel

      i imagine someone like carla IRL wouldn’t do this considering she’s openly(?) trans, so most trans ppl wouldn’t risk getting attacked even if she’s that desperate for attention, other than annoying someone half her age i can’t imagine anyone lgbt presenting would even think of irritating an adult stranger

      1. Wraithy2773

        One of the things to remember about Carla is that she’s not just trans.

        She’s also the daughter of uber-wealthy gig-economy industrialists who, despite all of that being the worst possible people in existence, are also actually good parents somehow.

        Her family literally has “fuck you and the government you rode in on” money. That sort of status and the word “restraint” rarely go together…

        1. Allison Branford

          Trans invisibility is a thing, and Carla’s way of coping does not include coping.

        2. Mark

          So, a political attack would probably fail, or at least do you more damage than it’s worth.

          Carla is tall, well-muscled, athletic and generally fit. She could do serious damage responding to physical attack.

          Carla has impenetrable self-esteem, so don’t bother with a verbal attack.

          Carla is a pretty good engineer and quite creative. Her response to a serious prank could leave you hors de combat for a week, and everybody around you would be cheering.

          It seems her only weak spot is people that she cares about. And I would not want to probe that spot — see above.

        3. thejeff

          Carla’s also dedicated to non-violence, preferring sweet, sweet pranks. Her response to Mary was a laser show spelling out her name and getting her to pie herself.

          Carla also doesn’t have anything like impenetrable self-esteem, she’s just got a really good facade propped up around it – as we saw pretty clearly back in the Mary sequence.

        4. thejeff

          Her privilege likely feeds into it by insulating her from some of the worst consequences of being trans, but it’s been pretty clear all along her asshole behavior is a defense mechanism, not her natural state. It’s easier if people hate her for behaving like a jerk than for being trans.

      2. HueSatLight

        http://www.dumbingofage.com/antagonize for the reason.

    3. shoopdawhoop

      Good thing she’s fictional I guess

  16. DailyBrad

    I wonder if Carla is attracted to them or not, or if she’d feel like this regardless.

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      I don’t think Carla is attracted to anyone but herself. I could be wrong, but we have no evidence that Carla has any romantic interest in anyone, let alone someone she has never met.

      1. drs

        Carla seemed into getting denigrated by Malaya.

      2. DailyBrad

        Romantic, I am unsure, but she did definitely find Malaya attractive, largely when she’s being a shit. Carla’s definitely demonstrated a masochistic streak in that fashion.

        (Not that she’s into just any degradation, though. She has zero interest in Mary and her transphobia. She does have standards.)

    2. crys

      “step one: find a woman. step two: show your appreciation by being annoying. step three: when she smiles at you, throw a pie at her. step four: courtship over.”

      ? pie throwing when??

    3. BarerMender

      When I first came here, people insisted Carla was ace.

      1. Lily

        you can be ace and still have a relationship like dina (though she might be more demi leaning, or just a sex positive/neutral ace. )

      2. DailyBrad

        She in all likelihood is, but you can be attracted to someone without necessarily wanting to have sex with them. Asexuality is a spectrum, for sure.

      3. Yumi

        She is. She’s not aromantic and does like girls.

      4. BBCC

        She is. Ace and homoromantic, as she was in the Walkyverse. Probably sex repulsed too.

    4. Mark

      I think Carla is attracted to a challenge.

    5. zee

      She’s ace so if she was ever gonna be attracted it wouldn’t happen this quick. Unless, i mean being specifically and only attracted to people who ignore you in some vague ethereal way is pretty ace

  17. RassilonTDavros

    I’m not sure if I think Twoster is deliberately ignoring Carla, or if she’s deaf. But either way, I’m pretty sure the ambiguity is all part of her plan.

    1. Steamweed

      I appreciate the name of “Twoster”! In my headcannon (boom), this is now the name of this person.

    2. Angel

      it’s possible she’s deaf, it was speculated last time too, although other than her hearing aids turned off now, idk if leslie has made accommodations /it would’ve probably been on during lessons unless she can read lips and/or leslie or a classmate was able to take notes and give them to her so she can understand the lesson

  18. Kyrik Michalowski

    Kudos to Booster’s sister(?) for the ability to ignore Carla without being deaf. Also, I agree with Ruth, Carla absolutely deserves laryngitis. Although I worry what she would do to make up for it while she has it.

  19. Qube

    I realize that the word “narcissist” gets thrown around like a frisbee nowadays but damn if the shoe fits

  20. Cmasta1992

    JFC Carla smoke a blunt or something and CTFO

  21. Sirksome

    I am wondering now if this is intentional or if “Twister” is maybe def or something.

  22. MisterJinKC

    Carla’s had her moments, but in general is a shitty person. Harrassing strangers and yelling at them because they aren’t paying you attention is something you’d expect from a toddler, not a college kid.

    1. shrub

      She strikes me as a bit of a Mike in that, like Mike, her schtick doesn’t quite fit the rest of the strip

    2. Angel

      it is obnoxious but at least she hasn’t grabbed her by the shoulders yet or anything tho kinda weird for her to be holding the sign behind her rather than in front lol

  23. Chaz

    Ahh, deaf twin.

  24. not someone else

    Boosister is adorbs. Adorbs adorbs. And I fucking love that she’s more butch than her sibling.

    I do wonder if Boosister is literally deaf though.

    1. Steamweed

      “Two-ster” or “Twoster.” 🙂

      1. HueSatLight

        probable Sanchez twin.

  25. Taffy

    Carla, just play as a tank in an MMO. You’ll get showered with attention from all the mobs, and rampant narcissistic attention-seeking behavior is kind of expected from tanks.

    1. Taffy

      The healer is either sobbing or playing one-handed and probably not wearing clothes, of course. The DPS is staring at their hot bar instead of dodging AoE markers, because despite maining a single class for three years, they somehow haven’t developed muscle memory for their actions.

      1. Kyrik Michalowski

        As someone who has played both tank and healer on a regular basis, most DPS players can kiss my ass. Not all, mind you, just most of them.

        1. Taffy

          As a Summoner main in Final Fantasy XIV Online: Free Trial Including etc., most DPS can kiss my ass as well. I’m not even a Good Player, the DPS callout was aimed firmly at myself ffs, but how fucking hard is it to comprehend “The giant green woman with the same team marker as you is your stack partner. If you don’t stack with her, you both die and we wipe.”?

        2. Kyrik Michalowski

          I also play/played FF XIV, my ex-gf got me into playing it with her. I would still be playing with her if my internet didn’t suck so much. I told her if we can get a better internet plan then I would pay for some more time so we could play together again. Fingers crossed we can get a decent internet plan here; one that doesn’t crap out multiple times a week.

        3. Taffy

          At this point, I’m convinced that high-speed wi-fi is almost a human right. How the fuck did we exist for so long without the ability to connect to the hive mind, and how are we wasting it so fucking badly?

  26. StClair

    Resting Dull Surprise Face

  27. Clif

    Someone who is non-literally deaf is completely unable to hear literals.

  28. Suet

    I am not memeing panel 6… I am so not…

    Animated countdowns? You’ve outdone yourself again, Wiigii.

    1. Taffy

      Fine. I’ll do it myself.

      1. Suet

        Oh nelly, das a masterful edit ( •o•)

        1. Taffy

          It felt like an appropriate thing to brandish.

  29. Peep

    Hmm, Boosister is wearing a green wristband that she was also wearing in her last appearance. Some kind of disability aid maybe? Or just a bold fashion statement?

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      A Booster Proximity Alarm to warn of danger. If only Carla could be added also.

    2. Rotunda

      Smartwatch? Joyce has one.

    3. Hof1991

      Definitely a smartwatch. Same one she was wearing in earlier appearances.

  30. Reed

    Carla you’re yelling at someone who doesn’t even have a character tag they’re not worth it.

  31. BarerMender

    Why is Boosister standing unmoving in that spot? She’s right in front of a passage.

    1. Angel

      maybe she’s waiting for someone? i don’t think she’s blocking the door /too/ closely tho if anything carla’s flailing around would be worse for someone just trying to pass by

    2. Plain Marie

      She went to get a snack and temporarily left her character paused in game.

    3. Mark

      She’s thinking about something and is unaware of the doorway, or the walls for that matter.

    4. HueSatLight

      She’s the immovable object to Carla’s unstoppable force.

    5. Taffy

      Sometimes people stand places until they’re asked not to.

    6. shoopdawhoop

      She’s waiting for the main character to make enough progress for her quest icon to pop up

  32. APW

    Oh, Boosister is back! And Ruth! And that gal, what’s her name again?

  33. Rognik

    Who is that redhead again? The one in the glasses.

    1. Raen

      Ruth, duh.

      1. Rognik

        Right, of course. The femur-taker. No one else who could possibly fit that description.

  34. Nothri

    Why do I think Carla could successfully be distracted for hours by deploying a sufficiently lifelike scarecrow?

    1. Angel

      a mirror would be better if she loves herself that much, since scarecrows can’t interact. versus something with trained eyes on her like some weird ai bot lol

      1. StClair

        a pool of water is traditional, but a mirror is probably much more portable.

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          She would be as red and terrible as the dawn! All would love her and despair!

        2. Plain Marie

          But I will remain Carla and go into… uh, where am I going again?

  35. Allison Branford

    Yay, Carla! It’s about time we shifted focus back to our protagonist, instead of all these side characters!

    1. Angel

      ngl i woudln’t mind a carla spinoff, maybe we’d get to see a bit more nuance and heart to heart moments instead of her acting cartoonishly obnoxious (well i say cartoonishly buti can eaisly imagine the 15 year olds in high school i knew acting like this)

      1. Shaith86

        If it meant we never saw Carla again in this comic, I support this plan wholeheartedly.

        She can come back when she’s passed the maturity of a toddler.

        1. Taffy

          Nobody’s ever accused a teenager of being immature.

    2. Carla's #2 Fan

      I completely agree! More Carla!

  36. Heather

    Either boosister is deaf or well practiced in the art of tuning shit out.

    Honestly could be both. It would be pretty funny if like she knew how to lip read/has a hidden hearing aid, and/or at least noticed these antics or attempts to get attention but just cannot give a fuck. She’s saving her energy or attention for more important people.

    (I once knew someone who would turn off their hearing aid before dealing with less than great uncles or aunts which is a hell of a life hack, especially since said family members blathered on so much and loved to complain to the point they never noticed).

    1. Angel

      yeah i have seen amusing anecdotes/quotes like “you guys aren’t worth the battery” must be inconvenient but it’d be great as a bonus to literally tune out the world

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      For me, being able to ignore the existence of people trying to harass me was an essential life skill for getting through secondary school. Heinlein and “the cut direct.”

  37. BBCC

    XD Ahhh Carla has met her match!

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      Both Booster and their twin have succeeded at not giving Carla what she wants. Booster refused to try and analyze Carla, and now the twin is refusing to acknowledge Carla. Truly the twins are a formidable force against Carla and her shenanigans.

    2. Angel

      imagine if they did somehow end up hooking up tho ,that’d be quite something lol

  38. Lily

    return of boosister. love how carla has her own sign. XD; it’d be hard to not ignore her/make eyecontact accdientally. be hilarious if we somehow learn she’s been deaf this whole tim e and keeps her hearing aid turned off most of the time

  39. Keulen

    Either Booster’s twin sister is deaf, or she’s really good at ignoring people trying to get her attention like Carla here.

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      Possibly both.

    2. Amós Batista

      Booster has learned her well.

    3. Some Ed

      She’s apparently not been driven suicidal or homicidal by Booster’s cutting insights. There are only a few possible ways she could have survived to this point without those. Not having flaws is not a likely option. I’d also wager “separated at birth” is unlikely because she’s here. I can only think of three other ways. She doesn’t look like she can beat Booster up that badly.

  40. Angel

    “i’m not the center” if anything that’d be exhausting, idk how popular extroverts can do it if someone always wants their attention /help/etc (tho if she’s fixated on “”)

    wonder if there’s parallels between her and jennifer being ‘head cheerleader’/queen bee type ppl where she saw something similar and wanted to, or having a bad high school experience and compensating for it/making up for it or so (though if anything after her and ruth i’d think carla would wanna avoid anything that’d come close to acting like jennifer)

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      I have no idea how extroverts manage to deal with more attention. I have a hard time being the focus of people, even among my friend groups. I don’t mind saying a few things around my friends, but being the focal point makes me uncomfortable. That’s with my friends, people I have known for years and I trust with my life; I can’t handle being the focal point of a stranger/ of strangers, it causes my blood pressure go up and sends my anxiety into overdrive.

      1. Some Ed

        Kyrik, you are clearly open to receiving feedback. Carla is not, and thus Carla is not daunted by any of it. She’s more immune to criticism than Amazing Girl.

    2. thejeff

      Doesn’t really seem to be any parallel there. She’s deliberately cultivated a rep as an asshole rather than trying to build up a social circle of followers.

  41. Bryy

    So. Like. Has Carla always been this one dimensional or am I just remembering the time she owned Mary?

    1. DailyBrad

      She’s shown more depth before, but I think people develop a “what have you done for me lately” approach to characters sometimes and only remember their more recent appearances, which, is kind of understandable with a long-running comic with a big cast, especially one like Carla who isn’t really a fixture compared to many of the others. Like I haven’t checked, but I’d bet that Danny has had 2-3 times her appearances and he’s still well behind Dorothy, Walky, and especially Joyce.

      But yeah, we’ve seen her have more meaningful conversations with Sal, Ruth, and Malaya before, she just seems especially stir-crazy these days, maybe since there has been a lack of drama in their wing post-Halloween.

      1. thejeff

        She’s always had a lot of one-off “annoying Carla” moments, so this isn’t really out of line.

        It’s come up twice now, so it’ll be interesting to see if this thing with her and Boosister turns into an actual character arc.

    2. HueSatLight

      She tries to keep people the people around her from seeing any depth to her character. It works on the readers too.

  42. Amós Batista

    Carla has been defeated.

  43. Wraithy2773

    Remember, everyone, whatever else Carla is, we should remember one of the most important factors in her upbringing.

    She’s the daughter of a family of absurdly wealthy gig-economy industrialists. Not sure when her family got all that money, but suffice to say that she’s not lacking in funds.

    Oh, and perhaps uniquely among the DOA casts, she seems to be actively on good terms with her parents. So she has full access to all the power that her family’s wealth can bring.

    In that context, a LOT of this stuff makes a lot of sense…

    1. DailyBrad

      Yeah, of the cast, Dorothy and Dina are I think the only ones outside of Carla I remember liking their parents in the main cast. Sarah’s sort of a question mark, same with Jacob.

      Most everyone else is either lacking one or both parents, has monstrously bad parent situations like Amber did or Ethan does with his mom, or has more mundanely awful relationships like Danny’s parents, who just kind of shit on him constantly but don’t step it up to grander manipulation like Linda Walkerton, etc.

    2. Angel

      she seems to care about her parents, though depending on how big the company is/long she’s grown up with it, while she can be obnoxious/grating (usually on purpose) i never rly got ‘rich kid vibes’ (like how jen’s just handing out 20s) to where her parents would’ve been too busy so they pay some kinda group closer to her age if not the staff to babysit and fawn over carla , tho makes me wonder how parents would react to any of their kids over 12 that would be like “ppl arent payin attention to me!”

  44. Bobcat

    C A R L A

    And LOL, for a split second I really thought that was Booster.

  45. AGV

    Booster has a sister?

    1. DailyBrad

      Booster has a twin sister, yeah, at least, pretty sure they’re a sister. Booster does for sure have a twin, in any case, they’ve mentioned that before.

    2. ValdVin

      Yep, and my fanon name for her is Boo!sister.

  46. DarkoNeko

    it kinda weirds me out how in the last 4 panels Boosister is like, just staying in place without moving, in the middle of the hallway. So I want to assume she’s ignoring Carla on purpose. Doing her best to empty her mind and not look Carla’s way

    1. Axel

      idk, once I froze like this reaching for the butter in a grocery store (a crowded grocery store, right before Christmas, when everyone’s trying to buy butter for cooking and baking). For about a second I was panicking about what butter to get, then I realized a decent amount of seconda later that I was just standing there, arm in the fridge, blocking everyone’s way (then I grabbed my 2 lbs of butter and got outta there. As far as I know no one even said anything to me

      Or sometimes I’ll just realize I’ve been standing or sitting somewhere and not absorbing anything. So I mean, it happens

  47. foducool

    looks like there’s light but nobody’s home

  48. goggleman64

    I empathize with this nameless prop; I too will react to unwelcome strangeness by no-selling until it goes away

  49. Carla's #2 Fan

    It’s okay Carla, you can have my attention

  50. Plaaaa

    Did Carla provoke Ruth into evolving into a different kind of pokemon?

  51. TerribleTransit

    I see two possibilities about Sis-ster. 1. She’s deaf/hard of hearing, which would explain her lack of acknowledging Carla both here and in Leslie’s class, but wouldn’t explain why she was in class seemingly without any accommodations that let her actually receive the lesson. Or 2. She’s *extremely* adept at ignoring other people when they’re being annoying and trying to cause problems, which would make a lot of sense growing up in the same household as Booster.

  52. Pinkie

    extremely good comic but also! this comic very much broke my rss feed because of the alt text having an unescaped < in it, so willis if you see this, would very much appreciate you changing that to a &lt; (and also there's something about the way it's configured that at least on thunderbird means the actual comic doesn't show up in the feed? but that is far from an urgent problem, i can just click through)

    1. kaitou

      Yup. It causes an XML parse error. Borked my RSS reader and the W3C RSS Feed Validation page.

  53. BOOSTER SHOT

    The final panel is very very good

  54. Sibre

    This is like Daisy in Mario Kart. Beep beep! Hi I’m Carla!

  55. Yumi

    If Booster’s twin can’t hear Carla because she’s deaf, I would assume she has an interpreter for Leslie’s class. This would mean Carla hasn’t noticed the person standing in the room signing in previous classes.

    As this is Carla, this would be totally believable.

    1. Blue

      I think some deaf people can read lips very well and may not require an interpreter. Or perhaps Leslie has already given this person her notes in advance. I confess I don’t know how these situations are usually handled. Were there any deaf students at your school?

      1. Yumi

        Not in classes I had, but from interacting with d/Deaf people in general (and just…life), my understanding is that lip reading is nowhere near effective enough, certainly not to the point you’re suggesting. An academic discussion is going to likely be less predictable then situations where lip reading can be enough to get by. There will likely be less common, possibly unfamiliar terms included. In a discussion-based class rather than pure lecture– which is what Leslie seems to aim for– there is also the issue that it’s not just the teacher who would need to be within one’s direct site and enunciating clearly, but also all the other students in the room.

        If Leslie had already given her the notes beforehand– well, again, this doesn’t seem like that kind of class. Giving prewritten notes to a student can be an accommodation– in fact, it might go along with an interpreter for some d/Deaf students– but alone doesn’t seem like it’d work here.

        If she has hearing aids, I imagine that would increase how much exactly she could get from lip-reading, and it’s possible she could have them turned off/down when not in class/before it starts. Still seems like it wouldn’t be enough for fully accessibility.

        Anyway, I don’t even necessarily think that she is d/Deaf, but since a few people have suggested it, I was thinking about it. If that does turn out to be the case, I do think the most logical extension would be that Carla failed to notice the interpreter.

      2. BBCC

        Lip reading isn’t 100%. In perfect conditions, you can only get about 60% of what’s said. She would need an interpreter for whatever is said that isn’t on the notes and she’d be missing the discussion parts if there’s no interpreter.

  56. Uly

    Random comment: Carla’s comically downturned mouth in that last panel reminded me of one of my favorite differences between UK and USA English, namely that in the UK they think a frown is in the forehead.

    1. Taffy

      They need to keep their mouths free, so they can suck themselves off every time they needlessly comment “nice school shootings” at Americans.

      1. Uly

        Well, that comment sure went there, didn’t it.

    2. Dal Niente

      I’m in the USA and I also think a frown is in the forehead, I’m surprised to learn that’s not the norm here! But now I’m trying to figure out what I’d call the downturned mouth and I’m drawing a blank – a pout? ALSO a frown?

  57. motorfirebox

    Who is this character? Have we seen her before?

    1. Yumi

      Oh, that’s Carla.

      1. NGPZ

        XD 10/10

      2. StClair

        Understandable that you could miss them – they tend to be quiet, keep to the background.

  58. HueSatLight

    New hypothesis: Possible Sanchez Twin is a hallucination, nobody except Carla has interacted with/at her.

  59. NGPZ

    Uh, yeah. Hope you don’t have any plans of staying around here with comments like that.

    1. NGPZ

      This was supposed to go to a transphobic comment that apparently got flagged out of existence before I finished typing.

  60. shoopdawhoop

    Carla, though?

  61. John

    Right. There was a reason I really don’t like Carla all that much.

  62. WillowD

    Ah, Carla. My favorite character. Doing what she loves to do best. Making sure people pay attention to Carla. Or at least trying. 🙂

  63. ESM

    Rule 63 Booster is unamused by Carla’s shenanigans

  64. Caro

    my final name bet before we potentially get dialogue from her tomorrow (thanks blurry patreon preview): Rosa Sanchez.

    1. Caro

      i have no factual basis for this prediction i just think it’s cute.

  65. Adam Black

    What if… Booster is their own twin, like a photon is its own antiparticle.

    Since we know Booster is non-binary, therefore their nameless twin must be Wave Function?

    Charge Carrier?

    Elecra?

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