252

A move
Posted on August 27, 2016 by David M Willis

252 thoughts on “A move”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    *signs* “burn that bridge when come”

    “Dang gurl, that’s some X-TREEM self-lovin’ there.”

    *signs* “fuck you”

    “we’ve been over that“

    1. Ana Chronistic

      DANG IT LINK http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/fuck/

      1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

        These ASL jokes always leave me wondering if I’ve gotten the joke or not. And Ana, I think you’re just making me more confused.

        Like, the motion clearly looks like masturbation. But is the joke that she actually said “ima gonna masturbate alot” or is it, as you imply, that she said something mundane that just HAPPENS to look like “Ima gonna masturbate alot”?

        I blame my public school for not offering ASL as a language option. I pretty sure I would have gotten more out of that than the German I ended up taking instead. Not that German isn’t lovely, but I have never once used it as an adult except for the occasional hilarious German swear word.

        1. butts

          Nope, Marcie’s definitely talking about flicking her Leslie Bean.

        2. Terry

          LeslieBean, it’s exactly what it looks like. ASL often uses pantomime to clarify things. Generally speaking, if there is an easier way to “say” something, signers will make use of it. In this case, she indicated the object in question, then demonstrated what she intended to do with it. Ah, such a beautiful language 😛

        3. Disloyal Subject

          German does have some rathe wonderful swears.

        4. EvolutionistX

          This is the internet! You can read German blogs and newspapers! I have to run ’em all through Google Translate when I want to read them.

        5. Furie

          I took it as slipping a hand between her legs from behind to simulate parts she wasn’t born with, and playing the part as if she were the protagonist of a 90s comedy.

        6. Kitty

          I took ASL in high school. Unfortunately I’ve forgotten a lot of it because I was never able to practice. But I can guarantee we never learned any of these signs!

        7. trlkly

          In general, the signs for sex things look like what they are. Especially the more vulgar terms.

          Plus, Willis wouldn’t leave it untranslated if it didn’t mean what you think it means. And then there are all the context clues besides, since Sal is clearly responding as if it means what it looks like.

          In fact, pretty much all of what we understand Marcie saying comes from Sal’s (or possibly Marcie’s) reactions.

        8. Spaz

          I, personally, wouldn’t be wanting to masturbate alots, but that’s just me.

        9. Arian

          I think that’s what you do when you like this alot, except when you like that alot more.

    2. Spenser

      Did you watch the Tick pilot too?

      1. EvilMidnightLurker

        Watched it (because of course, have you seen my avatar?), loved it.

  2. miados

    awkward conversation that is unlikely to be spied on

    1. butts

      Please. You don’t need to know ASL to recognize that last sign.

  3. AnvilPro

    Marcie’s got everything under control, so long as they play out exactly as she plans and doesn’t deviate from the plan

    1. butts

      Her fallback plan’s pretty solid, though.

      1. Deanatay

        Indeed, it’s been the fallback plan of lovers since the dawn of humanity.

      2. Cerberus

        I dunno, seems a little wet to me.

  4. Doctor_Who

    Isn’t it like midnight? Where would you even find an alpaca and a case of marmalade at this hour?

    1. inqntrol

      Sure there are grocery stores open 24 hours.

    2. nobodybasically

      The ongoing adventures of Pinky and the Marcie?

      1. Orion Fury

        I’d read that.

      2. Deanatay

        “The same thing we do every night, Pinky – frigg off to Malaya’s picture.”

    3. TheAnonymousGuy

      honestly Marcie could just use plan N. invite Malaya over and have her “accidently” walk in on her naked – full frontal – like casually going to the bathroom for a shower style with zero cover up. than when she’s looking at you all shocked just stand there with the “What’s the matter?” smirk. 1 of 2 thing will happen
      1 – she stutters from embarrassment and walks away to another room
      2- she bolts

      1. Idontcarenomore

        Only thing wrong with that plan:
        1. Malaya doesn’t embarrass. She embarrasses.
        2. Malaya doesn’t bolt. She attacks.

        1. Disloyal Subject

          In the right context, aggression can be a very very good thing.

      2. Historyman68

        Malaya’s smart. No way she’d think that’s an accident.

      3. Caitlyn

        And doesn’t Marcie live with like 10 people?

  5. Moblin Umbrella

    Ask her to Becky if she’s a lesbian that usually works

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Does Becky even have gaydar or only closet exploding powers?

      1. WhoWasI

        It turned out that Becky did correctly guess that Billie had a secret girlfriend instead of a boyfriend, so maybe both.

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          But it didn’t work on Joyce. But maybe she was ignoring what she didn’t want to see.

        2. Historyman68

          Crushes can get in the way of gaydar. Been there.

        3. Cerberus

          She did straight up say she was seeing what she wanted to see with the signs (which were mostly based on Joyce being scared of men because of the assault).

      2. Skizz

        Nope, Becky just has zero closet sense, she would do the crazy think and simply ask Malaya.

        1. Bagge

          Which would hide Marcie’s involvement pretty well…
          “Hi, I am Becky and am a lesbian, and also I’m into girls. I wonder – since I am a lesbian – if you also are a lesbian? I’m not hitting on you by the way since I already have a GIRLfriend (isn’t she great) but since I am a lesbian I wonder if you perhaps also are one”

        2. Deanatay

          *Becky walks up to Marcie, pinching her busted nose to keep it from bleeding*

          “Yer oud o’ lug, kid, sowwee.”

      3. Kitty

        She has the power of “unafraid to ask.”
        “Hey, I’m Becky, know anyone around here into girls?”

  6. Hilzabub

    That’s a surprisingly versatile response to a lot of things.

  7. dailybrad

    Marcie sure uses some colorful language with her hands.

    1. miados

      i dont know if all of that was technically sign language.

      1. March

        There’s a lot of signs that are region-specific slang, same as spoken language, and aren’t likely to be seen in any official dictionary. For example, the local slang sign for Pittsburgh here in the Baltimore area is…well. I imagine Pittsburgh’s sign for us is just as mean.

        That last sign is pretty self-explanatory though.

        1. Jordan

          I’d love to learn more about stuff like that.

        2. Kitty

          It makes it very confusing. People will also develop personal shorthand for names and such as well.

      2. Doctor_Who

        If it was, then I can proudly say that there’s at least one phrase in sign language that I understood instantly.

        1. March

          I shouldn’t have to say congratulations, but judging from some comments on this comic, it appears I do.

        2. Orion Fury

          I only know two, ‘apple’ and ‘more’.

        3. Disloyal Subject

          Always a good combination.

        4. Orion Fury

          Try having a kid that learned them first, and you were unaware that their preschool was teaching it to them.

        5. Nono

          I’m not into vaginas so I didn’t, sadly.

      3. Leorale

        Sign language is very expressive and very blunt. 🙂

      4. Terry

        Actually, a lot of sign language isn’t “technically sign language.” In the pursuit of clarity, a lot of gestures are used that other native signers will understand but that aren’t actually official signs. For instance, there are certain signs that can be used as modifies to intensify the rest of a sentence, but don’t have a direct translation; there are signs that convey entire concepts but (again) don’t have a direct translation and aren’t in any book that you will ever find; and then there are the multitude of gestures that are just made up on the spot that may or may not make use of actual signs. In the case of the comic, Marci indicated the female anatomy and then just showed what she intended to do with it. It’s a lot simpler than actually forming a sentence with the individual signs.

        1. EvolutionistX

          Verbal language does this, too. Take inflection/intonation. We don’t specifically mark the vocal inflections used in a question, nor do dictionaries cover the various ways tonal inflections change the meaning of sentences, but it’s still an important part of meaning. And, of course, people use made-up words invented specifically for the situation at whatever hand. 🙂

          Human communication is more than just symbols.

        2. Dorje Sylas

          Geeky mirth: Only the Elcor announce their intonation when being translated, because the subtleties of their body language is hard for non-Elcor to pick up on.

    2. Fart Captor

      She is hilarious! I love how she doubles down on the last panel and just further emphasizes that she will be doing this furiously.

    3. WhoWasI

      Colorful as in blue language? (Willis’ choice of signing hand color takes new meaning at least for this strip.)

  8. Some1

    Questing of Age

    Everyone seen in the last installment (minus Hank) arrives at Hawaii over a volcano where a fairly large castle sits in an airplane flown by Robin.

    Robin: Roz…you gonna be okay?

    Roz: Aw you do care!

    Robin rolls her eyes.

    Joyce: We need to get going.

    Everyone parachutes out of the airplane and floats down to the ground.

    They hit the ground and run towards the castles main entrance. Before they can reach the door however, Ross jumps down from the top of the castle and lands in front of them.

    Joyce: Ross!

    Ross: I will not allow further insolence.

    Becky: Why are you helping her dad! She’ll kill us all!

    Ross: Carol will bring the world to a new golden age, an age of perfection, an age where I am king…and you will know your place.

    Becky: Is that what you truly believe.

    Ross: It’s what I know.

    Becky turns to Joyce

    Becky: You guys move on, I’m going to deal with him.

    Joyce: I can’t let you fight this sociopath by yourself!

    Becky: I’m not giving you a choice…go.

    Nobody moves.

    Becky: I SAID GO!

    Everyone besides Becky runs into the Castle.

    Becky runs at Ross and throws a flying kick at his head. Ross grabs her foot and slams her to the ground.

    Ross pulls out a shotgun, but Becky punches up and knocks it out of his hand. It gets kicked into a lava flow, and melts away.

    Ross: Foolish little girl!

    Becky backflips away from him, and releases an energy ball at him, which he dodges.

    Ross: Now, my daughter, know the true wrath of the toe fighting style!

    Ross unleashes a series of powerful punches and kicks at Becky, which she barely manages to dodge. The final kick connects, and sends her flying.

    Ross walks up to Becky and picks her up by the neck.

    Ross: See what happens when you defy me.

    Becky: Go to hell.

    Ross: You first.

    Before Ross can deal the finishing blow, a fist comes out of seemingly nowhere and hits him in the face. Ross gets knocked over.

    Becky gets dropped and looks up to see Hank.

    Hank: That was for my daughter you son of a bongo.

    Ross: Even you…EVEN YOU WOULD DEFY US!

    Becky: Hank, you came back.

    Hank: I decided I couldn’t miss this. Together?

    Becky gets to her feet and into fighting position.

    Becky gives a wide grin

    Becky: Together

    Meanwhile Joyce looks behind her in the dark hallways.

    Jocelyne: Joyce, we need to keep moving, Becky will be fine.

    Joyce: Right!

    1. Bagge

      “Becky gives a wide grin”

      – you know that signals a good part of the story.

    2. SgtWadeyWilson

      For a second there I pictured a castle sitting inside an airplane, then I realized that, while awesome, was insane. That’s when I reread the sentence correctly.

      I do wonder what it would take to make a castle plane though…

  9. Durandal_1707

    Hey, if Malaya doesn’t work out, perhaps she could bond with Carla over their shared interest in Russian orchestral music.

    1. Durandal_1707

      (yes, I know that Khachaturian was actually Armenian)

    2. foamy

      Dark horse ending: Marcie ends up with Leslie. :v

  10. inqntrol

    Who knows sign language? What did she “say”?

    1. David M Willis

      we might need to have a talk

      1. miados

        the only question is how……. innocent should we assume they are

        1. Doctor_Who

          Do children read this comic? Perhaps like Riley they have mistaken Dina for someone their age.

        2. EvolutionistX

          An extremely large number of people read this comic, so odds are that at least one of them is a child. However, in my experience, children tend to have bad typing/spelling skills. (I mean “children” in the sense of “people between the ages of 2 and 12,” not “everyone under the age of 18,” as most teenagers I’ve met have very good typing skills.)

        3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Up on the stage, Riley wonders why that security guard is talking about drowning her sorrows by pigging out on cereal.

      2. Emperor Norton II

        “You see, when a woman is aroused, she might want to get alone and…”

        1. Fart Captor

          “Now, when a woman has been …frustrated for a while, she may need some alone time to just really go to town on her snatch.”

        2. Emperor Norton II

          In which case, I would recommend this.

          In fact, I can personally recommend it too. I bought it for my wife, and trust me, that thing works!

        3. Disloyal Subject

          I wondered how long it would take something to dethrone the Magic Wand.

        4. Roborat

          My wife has a magic wand. Apparently she is the only woman on the planet who doesn’t use it as a sex toy. She is actually on her second one, she killed the first one, it actually managed to catch fire.

        5. Plasma Mongoose

          She needs to “sponge her clunge”

        6. Arianod

          In unrelated news, I was just re-watching some episodes of Moyashimon yesterday ^^

        7. Plasma Mongoose

          Good show, both seasons.

        8. Arianod

          Yeah.

        9. Cerberus

          “When a hand and a genitalia love each other very much…”

      3. motorfirebox

        You’re gonna have to explain this stuff to the twins eventually, might as well start practicing now

    2. Valerie

      She made a hole that’s shaped like a certain body part, then started pushing her fingers into the hole.

      1. Emperor Norton II

        To me, it looks more like she made the shape of when the lips are split, then rubbing her fingers against her vulva, focusing on the clitoris.

    3. Jed!

      Okay, so the first panel looks like… some kind of canoe? And I guess she’s paddling on it? I don’t know, this is all too confusing…

      1. Nono

        First panel I think is just her ushering people in. Willis tends to use the light blue arms for when people are actually signing in motion.

        1. Jed!

          I worded that poorly. I meant the first of the two panels inqntrol seemed to be confused by, by which I mean the third to last panel.

        2. BrokenEye, The True False Prophet

          Oh, I thought she was just turning into a cyborg

    4. Leorale

      You don’t need quotes around “say”, ASL is a language and you can say stuff in it. Or you can sign stuff in it. Anyway she said that she’d go on a lovely picnic in the park and play checkers to keep her mind off things.

      1. Bagge

        And on said picnic she wanted to “pluck” a “flower”.

        1. Emperor Norton II

          Botany is such a fascinating subject!

    5. a snow mous e

      As a gayish male virgin, it also took me a bit to interpret the sixth panel (although I guessed that panel 5 was Malaya’s vagina, which was almost correct), but eventually I realized it was probably what female masturbation looks like.

      But yeah. If you’re not in the habit of seeing females naked it’s not necessarily an obvious gesture. There’s a lot going on

      1. Kitty

        I knew how guys masturbated before I’d ever seen a guy naked. I feel like that’s something you can just kind of learn about.
        But then I guess female masturbation is not a subject that gets a lot of mainstream attention.

        1. Cerberus

          Nope.

          Honestly, it’s honestly shocking how many high school kids taking my Bio classes hadn’t even heard of the clitoris before.

    6. trlkly

      And I’m gonna answer the question seriously, since I know a little ASL.

      In the third panel, she says “know.” My assumption was that she said “I don’t know” or possibly “How do I know?” but we only saw the most important sign.

      The next signing panel is “vagina” followed by the sign for female masturbation, which Marcie repeats several times for emphasis, with a determined look on her face. So basically she says “I will masturbate my pussy furiously.”

      My guess is that Willis added the sign for vagina to make it more clear, as she could have just used one sign.

      And, yes, I did have to look up those last two. For all I knew, it was all one sign. Neither came up in my ASL books.

  11. Mr. Random

    ⠠⠠⠊⠄⠇⠇ ⠋⠊⠛⠥⠗⠑ ⠊⠞ ⠕⠥⠞ ⠎⠕⠍⠑⠓⠕⠺⠲

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      ⠠⠝⠕⠞ ⠎⠥⠗⠑ ⠺⠓⠁⠞ ⠽⠕⠥ ⠺⠗⠕⠞⠑ ⠞⠓⠑⠗⠑

      1. RIP12081990

        Just a hint from someone who was temporarily blind for a few months when they were younger it seriously looses something when the dots are not raised

        Also for those who can’t read Braille

        Mr. Random: I’ll figure it out somehow.

        Plasma mongoose: Not sure what you wrote there

    2. TheGrammarLegionary

      ⠠⠽⠕⠥ ⠍⠑⠁⠝ ⠘⠦⠋⠊⠝⠛⠑⠗⠘⠴ ⠦

      1. TheGrammarLegionary

        And following RIP12081990’s lead:
        “You mean “finger”?”

        (I seriously hope I wrote that right…)

    3. HeroHog

      http://www.brailletranslator.org/

  12. Cheshrin

    Just masturbate all your problems away! That always works!*

    *Disclaimer: Does not actually always work.

    1. Doctor_Who

      Only about nine times out of eight.

      1. SgtWadeyWilson

        *Insert inappropriate Sonic Screwdriver pun here.*

  13. Fart Captor

    OH MY

    1. miados

      oh the plus side since it wasnt talked about in an auditory fashion it isn’t likely to have been “overheard” by people around the pair so should remain fairly private.

      1. Bo Lindbergh

        A private conversation is one that’s all about privates, right?

      2. Kitty

        I feel like signed conversations are actually eavesdropped on more, because the movement grabs the eye and watching a signed conversation is basically the equivalent of listening in. Though they might not know what they’re saying, this one would probably raise some eyebrows.

    2. Disloyal Subject

      Okay, Becky needs to start watching George Takei videos.

  14. Cephalo the Pod

    Is anyone else finding this a weird, anticlimatic way to end a Book? Especially one as intense as this?

    1. Dana

      I don’t know, Marcie seems to be saying she’ll climax one way or another.

      1. Fart Captor

        :V

      2. Spencer

        ayy lmao

      3. Deanatay

        *snerk* You fell right into that one, Cephalo.

  15. lia47

    I didn’t know Marcie could DJ!

    1. Thevoiceoftreason

      More like VJ.

      1. Arianod

        Instant Win!

      2. Deanatay

        Whoa! She’s good enough to get on VH1?

        IN THE EIGHTIES???

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          At least she wouldn’t talk over the music.

  16. Commodore Jeep-Eep

    Oh, I know that feeling; although I’m more in Jocelyne’s camp here, if you know what I mean.

  17. Leorale

    Yay, we just learned a new word in ASL!

  18. Valerie

    I love how Willis illustrates sign language. I only know a few signs, but the way he shows it makes it so much easier to understand than done other drawings I’ve seen. Thanks for being awesome, dude!

    1. David M Willis

      Hooray!

    2. Dara

      This strip is how I learned “I wanna hit that.”

  19. John

    Weirdly, Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian is playing on my stereo right now.

    1. Peter

      Weirdly, the adagio from Spartacus (also by Khachaturian) was just on my playlist.

  20. Weebles

    So… what does her sign language say today?

    Is there an easy way for people who don’t interpret ASL to check up on what is being said, or just, go by context interpretation as best you can?

    1. Fart Captor

      You don’t need to know ASL for this one. Its pretty much the same thing you’d do if you were simply miming what she’s saying.

    2. Kernanator

      I’m…not sure that those last couple panels are official sign language.

      I mean, it could be, but I’m thinking they’re a little more… colloquial, shall we say?

      1. TheKelliestKelly

        I don’t know about the very last sign but you will find the one prior to it in ASL dictionaries.

    3. Bagge

      She says she has a “pearl” she wants to “polish”.

      1. Emperor Norton II

        Jewelry is such a fascinating subject!

        1. a snow mous e

          Eh, I’m not into pearls. More into… hydrothermal vents, I suppose.
          To be honest, I’m not very sexual. Not big into genitalia, more into furry fetishes — hooray for e621 — I guess I’m weird though.
          Is that some variety of asexuality, where fetishes are arousing but sex is more intimidating? Or did I just screw up my adolescence by looking at fetish art instead of porn?

        2. Deanatay

          Norton has such a vast spread of learning interests…

        3. Emperor Norton II

          Yay, someone spotted it!

      2. Kamino Neko

        But Pearl will only let Rose polish her!

        1. Bagge

          Not according to my fanfic, she won’t.

          “Why, Peridot, of course I could use your help with fixing the washing machine… and what strange, gem power might have berefted us of our pants?”

        2. Kamino Neko

          Bah, Peridot is Amethyst’s!

          (So is Pearl.

          And Greg.

          And Vidalia.

          Amy’s my all purpose ship, really.)

        3. Cerberus

          Honestly, all the gems are kinda super poly.

        4. Spencer

          Lapidot!

          It’s canon. I’ll fight this.

    4. trlkly

      I answered this above. But a quick recap. The signs we see are “know” “vagina” and “female masturbate.”

  21. Foxhack

    … Oh she means to herself.

    1. Bagge

      Well, it IS plan B.

  22. Doopyboop

    So, something I’ve never mentioned, my mom is partially deaf and fluent in ASL. My dad learned it and taught myself and my cousins certain naughty things because he’s got a sick sense of humor. So I recognize that first sign immediately. My friend flashed it once to our deaf neighbor to see her reaction, she covered his hand and ‘tut’ted him. I’m bad at ASL myself, I know a few spelling things, pretty, ugly, shit (thank my dad again), cat, dog and toilet.

  23. Nono

    Panel 3 is basically ‘I know’, I think.

  24. quietpeas

    If Malaya’s sexuality is the same as it was in Shortpacked Marcie’s probably out of luck.

    …Have Malaya and Carla met yet?

    1. Thevoiceoftreason

      Malaya wouldn’t like Carla in this world. She only has two hands.

    2. Fart Captor

      Yes they have.

    3. Jason

      If it’s the same, then really it’s Malaya who’s out of luck. (And yes they have.)

    4. Reltzik

      Well, going by Shortpacked, Malaya might be curious enough to give it a try a few times before kicking Marcie to the curb. So not so much out of luck, as not going to get nearly as lucky as she hoped.

    5. Cerberus

      Honestly, how Malaya’s sexuality translates to the real world is immensely fascinating to me.

      Like, is she functionally ace, but just with like a prosthesis fetish or something? Is she demiromantic demisexual, hence why she only really found that spark with someone she knew for awhile and had formed a friendship with? Is she grey-ace or is she even ace spectrum at all?

      I’m really enjoying the “not a relationship” with Marcie, because I think Marcie coming out to her in some fashion or another about her interest might prompt some sudden introspection for Malaya leading her to question what she is and really open the door for Dina, Carla, and her to talk about ace issues.

  25. Thevoiceoftreason

    So what’s she saying in panel 1 and 3?

    1. Fart Captor

      Nothin’. When someone is signing, one or both hands have that stylized blue outline look like in the last couple panels.

      (Which is a brilliant way to distinguish signing from ordinary hand gestures, btw)

      1. Emperor Norton II

        But in panel 3, she does have the blue outline.

        And she is saying “I know!” as in “I -know-, this is really awkward for me!”

  26. JessWitt

    A tarantula fight seems like an odd way to deal with a brush-off but you do you, Marcie. Watch out for spider bites.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      [Insert rant against blood sports. Or ichor sports.]

  27. Emperor Norton II

    OK, ASL and masturbation references aside, this strip shows Sal in a much better light than the previous one.

    How, you ask? Well, I’ll answer that with a question: How many times do you see Sal saying anything snarky or negative about Malaya?

    None. Absolutely none. And why is this? Because Sal wants Marcie to be happy. Sal does care about Marcie, even if the last strip showed her to be somewhat tone-deaf to Marcie’s issues.

    So when the question of Malaya comes up, Sal is now deliberately not acting like Malaya is the worst in the world. Instead, she is having concerns about her friend’s happiness. Sal realises that Marcie will be happier if she gets in a romantic relationship with someone, and that is what matters here.

    You’re tone-deaf and you have blind spots, Sal… But for Marcie, at least, you can be a pretty damn good friend when you want to!

    1. Spencer

      I’m not unconvinced that Sal just wants Marcie to either bang Malaya and stop hanging out with her, or for them to just not work so Marcie will give up. Either way she goes back to spending all her time with Sal.

      Sal wants Marcie to be happy, I just think Sal’s definition of that happiness involves a lot of me-time.

      1. Fart Captor

        I don’t know. Sal has a lot of anger and can be rather grouchy, but she actually tried to make nice with Malaya, who is insufferable. She offered an olive branch, even though it slapped right out of her hands, Sal let it go.

        I’d say that she’s being genuinely supportive here.

        1. Spencer

          Sal’s attempts at being nice involved calling Malaya a cumstain, act like she was doing Malaya a favor by spending time with her, trying to force herself into one of Marcie’s relationships, and when all that failed she tried to beat the shit out of her.

        2. Emperor Norton II

          That was before she learned what Malaya really wanted, though. The strip that Fart Captor links to, Sal has just learned about Marcie’s intentions, and she is doing a complete 180.

          She -immediately- stopped provoking Malaya further. She simply says “Marcie is yours for the night. Be good to her, ‘kay?” I almost got a whiplash reading that strip the first time, that’s how quick she turned around.

        3. Spencer

          Yeah it sure is weird that Sal suddenly stops feeling threatened by Malaya’s presence when she finds out Marcie wants to bang her.

        4. Idontcarenomore

          Not thinking that Sal stopped be threatened -more like jealous. Until Sal discovered that Marcie really really woant Malaya’s body….Sal wants Marcie to be happy – so she backed off.

        5. Deanatay

          Sal’s not threatened by a sexual rival, she was threatened by a rival for Marcie’s friendship. Sal knows what her relationship with Marcie is, and likes it the way it is.

        6. Cerberus

          This. It’s also a thing where she didn’t get along with Malaya as a person (and she still doesn’t) and she’s jealous of the amount of time Malaya was getting to spend with Marcie, but she’s also a good friend. She wants Marcie to be happy even if it’s with someone she doesn’t see the worth in and is willing to do anything to support even if that means biting her tongue and doing her best to be genuinely civil instead of picking a fight “civil”.

          We see that in this comic:
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/erase/

          She really hates Malaya, but Marcie is way more important to Sal and so she’ll try for her.

          Honestly, in general I agree with the Emperor, this is a really good comic for demonstrating that these two are really good friends that deeply care for each other and that Sal is genuinely a good friend when she isn’t feeling lonely and disconnected.

        7. Spencer

          I mean, we’ve still seen Sal get annoyed that Malaya is taking up her time with Marcie even after finding out the “reason” Marcie hangs out with her.

          Sal is fine with Malaya after she finds out Marcie wants to bang her, but expresses frustration when it’s suggested that Marcie could befriend her. That, to me, is suspicious.

        8. Cerberus

          Well, as she said “no, ah ain’t gonna do that”.

          It’s a limitation of her friendship. I dunno, I view it as essentially: Ugh, I can’t stand that prick, I wonder why my friend spends all their time with them and… what, they’re dating? Oh… oh… ah crap, yeah, I need to show my respect to this or I’m gonna lose my friend for good.

        9. Fart Captor

          I thought that “ain’t gonna do that” was referring to what Marcie wanted from Malaya.

          Also, Spencer: you saw how well Sal’s attempt to befriend Malaya went. Those two rub each other entirely the wrong way. Even still, I think attempting it was entirely Sal’s idea. If it wasn’t, I can’t find when that happened.

        10. Spencer

          It was Sal’s idea, and it was something Sal did because she needed to insert herself into Marcie’s time with Malaya.

        11. Fart Captor

          That is the key point I disagree with you on. You keep making it sound like wanting to be able to spend time with her friend (without butting heads with Malaya) is some kind insidious, inappropriate thing.

          I don’t know if that’s how you mean it (I have definitely interpreted people’s words as far more negative than intended before), but that’s how its been coming across to me.

        12. Spencer

          You are mistaken, yes.

          The last year and a half of Sal’s panel time has shown her be actively resentful of Marcie growing closer to Malaya. She was mad that Malaya was learning sign language. She propped herself against the wall moping while Marcie and Malaya skated around. She decided to learn to “get used to” Malaya because Sal’s opinion of Malaya matters for some reason.

          I’m saying Sal is a bit of a jerk sometimes, not that she’s a stalker.

        13. Fart Captor

          Ah, that I can see. There was definitely some petty jealousy / possessiveness when Marcie started hanging out with Malaya.

          Hopefully, if things don’t work out with Malaya, Sal will be able to hold in the “OH, THANK GOD” at least until she’s out of the room. Sympathy will make a mad rush to get to her mouth first, but it could be close.

        14. Fart Captor

          I didn’t say she did very well at it. She got off to a horrible start, and only did worse and worse until Marcie showed up and calmed them both down. But she tried. And frankly, I think Malaya deserves just as much blame for that fight, because she was the one who escalated from shoving to punching Sal right in the face.

          And I don’t see how she was “forcing” her way into anything. The original problem was that Sal and Malaya were already butting heads when all three of them were hanging out together. Even when Sal only thought Marcie liked Malaya as a friend, the fact that she liked Malaya mattered enough to her that she tried to find a way to get along with Malaya, so that Marcie (who has multiple jobs and not a lot of free time) wouldn’t have to choose which of her friends she wanted to hang out with.

          Sure, Sal is really, really bad at being nice, but she’ll get better with practice.

        15. Emperor Norton II

          OK, I just have to say one thing: The specific type of shoving that Sal did there, grabbing Malaya and smacking her up against the wall: It’s violence. It is simple, pure violence. Maybe not particularly heinous violence, but still violence. Followed up with a threat of more (and more serious) violence, which in this situation is fair for Malaya to assume is being a serious threat.

          At that point, punching back is hardly an escalation. It’s responding in kind.

        16. Spencer

          Also this.

          Sal is totally to blame for that entire encounter the same way Amber was totally to blame for her encounter with Sal. Even in Amber’s case, where Malaya technically made the first move, she still showed up with the intent to provoke violence and gleefully did so.

        17. Fart Captor

          Point taken. I am a bit biased against Malaya here. I was able to like her in Shortpacked, but I’m not quite there with this version of her.

        18. Emperor Norton II

          Hey, I feel you, Fart Captor. I really don’t like Malaya either. She’s entitled and spoiled and arrogant and makes my blood boil with her mere presence…

          …Which is exactly why I try to ensure that I treat her fairly in my comments. I’ll gladly judge her for what I think is fair to judge, but no more.

        19. Fart Captor

          They’re both angry people, prone to violence, so I could just as easily picture Malaya starting a similar fight for equally stupid reasons. And from that, my brain decided that she shouldn’t see being shoved as such a big deal. Knowing you have a bias does not always mean you will manage to compensate for it.

          I stand behind my other points, though

        20. Spencer

          Sal wasn’t doing anything for Marcie’s sake. It was about getting more time with Marcie because she has nobody else to connect with. If she could learn to tolerate Malaya then she could involve herself more often instead of leaning against the walls while Marcie has fun with Malaya.

          Even if Malaya was the sweetest, most compassionate human being on the planet, her personality wouldn’t matter. The actual important bit is that she’s taking up Sal’s time with Marcie.

        21. Emperor Norton II

          The first paragraph, I agree with.

          However, the really interesting point, though, is that Sal actually stopped looking at Malaya as a “competitor” for Marcie’s time. Now, it’s true that she should simply have realised she doesn’t have a monopoly on that time, but Sal still at least reckognises that fish gotta swim, women gotta get laid. And -that- is why she did that 180 spin in attitude towards Marcie spending time with Malaya.

          And it’s this fact that she no longer considers Malaya to be “competition for friendship” that makes me secure in believing that she is genuinely hoping that Marcie gets a satisfactory (in every possible way) result of her crush on Malaya.

        22. Spencer

          If Sal has accepted that Malaya isn’t going away and she need to respect that, that’s fine.

          But Sal immediately pulling a 180 when she finds out it’s about sex, that’s what makes me suspicious. It lead me to believe that Sal’s expectations of this is that Marcie will bang Malaya and then go back to spending all her time with her.

        23. Fart Captor

          While I agree Sal doesn’t like that she’s not getting as much Marcie time as she used to, I just don’t see her consciously wanting Marcie’s relationship to fail. I don’t see any solid evidence for interpreting her actions as consciously selfish.

        24. Spencer

          If I am right, I don’t think it’s about Sal wanting Marcie to be unhappy, it’s that Sal wants Marcie to be happy with her.

        25. Cerberus

          I think she wants Marcie to be happy and knows that dating her is not something she can provide so to stand in the way of Marcie’s ability to date would be monstrous.

        26. Spencer

          I believe Sal is empathetic enough a person that she wouldn’t actively root for things not to work out, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she would be happy that they didn’t, the way you express joy when a friend exits a bad relationship. Like if Ethan started dating Mike, Amber probably wouldn’t be happy about that, and that wouldn’t make her a bad friend.

          I mean, just two days ago we’ve seen that Sal isn’t always the best at reading Marcie when she used that precious time together she wanted so badly to call her a sellout. Is it impossible that Sal’s shortsightedness would extend to a relationship that she disapproves of?

        27. Emperor Norton II

          I think I am agreeing with your point of view, Fart Captor.

          Sometimes I can be optimistic too. 😉

        28. Fart Captor

          Huzzah!

        29. Derek

          “tried to make nice with Malaya”?? by calling her a cumstain and comparing her to menstruation?? yeah real NICE, I’m surprised Malaya didn’t fall to her knees with adoration

        30. Fart Captor

          I am aware of how bad a job she did. If Sal were a diplomat, we would be at war with pretty much everyone.

  28. WhoWasI

    Judging by the last panel, I think this is something Marcie needs to take care of URGENTLY.

    1. Fart Captor

      She lives in a crowded studio apartment, so it’s no wonder! She probably barely gets any privacy at all

      1. WhoWasI

        Assuming some or all of her roommates are women, that means LOTS of “visual simulation” and little opportunity for “release”.

        “Run for your lives, she’s going to blow!”

        1. Nightsbridge

          She’s bi, so the gender probably doesn’t help need for release anyway.

        2. WhoWasI

          Yeah, that just makes it worse.

          A friend phrased it well a while back: “Being bi doubles your frustration! Twice as many to want but can’t have.”.

  29. Nonagon

    That took me a moment. Teehee.

  30. Joe

    Careful Marcie, you’ll give yourself a friction burn if you go that intense.

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Sometimes it’s worth it.

      1. Rich

        Relevant?

        http://www.ohjoysextoy.com/shing/

        1. Disloyal Subject

          I’d say a two week burn edges out into ‘not worth it’ in most cases.

  31. altalemur

    that is maybe the best ASL i’ve seen in comic form. (and i don’t just mean explicit signs, but doing the blue-shade of the arm holding a sign over the more transparent hand to show movement, rather than just wavy lines around a single sign. it shows movement well.)

  32. 6Qubed

    so I looked up “sabre dance” and…

    DEAR GOD KID YOU’RE GONNA GET FRICTION BURNS

    1. Gandalf007

      Sabre Dance is probably a reference to the Masturbating Bear sketches from Conan O’Brien’s show. It always played whenever he started, well, you know…

      (Also, 250+ comments and nobody got this? Color me surprised.)

  33. motorfirebox

    I love how the reflections in Marcie’s shades act as stand-in pupils, so we can see what her eyes are doing.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      Oh hell to the yes. I mean, I’ve noticed it, but I haven’t -noticed- it, if you know what I mean. Absolutely great effect. Well done, Willis!

  34. NinjaZaku

    Knowing ASL makes marcie’s comics much more entertaining.

  35. Undrave

    “Damn Marcie! You sign to your mother with those hands?!”

    “Ah so you’ll take time to have a conversation with yourself?”

  36. Heavensrun

    Do Robin’s voters know that her rallies are apparently popular haunting grounds for desperate lesbians?

    1. Nightsbridge

      Since Daisy and Leslie are here, you’re still right, but I think that Marcie is bi.

      1. Spencer

        Marcie is indeed bi.

    2. Bagge

      I think we start to understand the motivation of a part of her voter base.

      Which make me question if an affair with Leslie will happen, and if that somehow makes it to the public, how much of a problem that will really be for her career.

      Reporter: “And in shocking news, the family platform anti-gay representative was recently found in bed with a female college teacher.”
      Robin: “Yeah, but we are both HOT GIRLS!!!!”
      Voters: “SHE SAYS IT LIKE IT IS!!!”

    3. David M Willis

      It’s a known phenomenon: http://www.advocate.com/election/2016/7/22/male-escorts-are-making-killing-closeted-gay-republicans-rnc

  37. JonRich

    What’s going on with those gloves? They keep being on her hands, off her hands, switching hands….

    1. Emperor Norton II

      They don’t go on and off. It’s just slightly harder to spot them when Marcie’s hands are turned blue to indicate ASL speech. Look closer, and you will still see the lines.

      1. JonRich

        Oh, that’s what’s going on—-I meant the turning blue, it looked a bit like gloves to me. I’m not the most observant of people……

        Also, love the name, Emperor Norton II! Are you from San Francisco?

        1. Emperor Norton II

          I am not, but in honour of Joshua Norton I, I proclaimed myself emperor of the Internet a few years back. I mostly make grand but ineffective proclamations, give out Imperial Internet Points as needed (Officially twenty-eight times better than normal internet points), and generally try to steer the internet into becoming a better place.

        2. Emperor Norton II

          Oh, and one more thing: I learned about Emperor Norton I from the Sandman story, if that means anything to you.

        3. Tyler Durham

          Ditto. That was a fantastic issue, and it led me to look further into his story. The man is fascinating.

  38. zombycow

    i take it that that was sign for “Rub so hard that a genie might come out”

  39. Idontcarenomore

    Looks very much like Sal’s pants are falling off in panels 4 and 7, damn are they low-riders 🙂

  40. Reltzik

    C’mon Marcie. There’s an ap for figuring out whether your orientations are compatible.

    ….. and a few dozen more aps beyond that.

  41. newllend(henryvolt)

    Well we all know how that’s going to end.

  42. Bagge

    You should always have a good plan B.

  43. Bagge

    I suppose Marcie could also drag Malaya to an almost-empty office by her bowtie, snipe at her for an hour and then throw her tits in her face. That could work.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      Throwing tits in my face certainly works on me, so I see no flaws with this plan.

    2. Cerberus

      “snipe at her”? Is Malaya supposed to be Tracer in this analogy?

  44. Bagge

    Marcie: “[Sal doesn’t want us to have se…]”
    Malaya: “HAVE A PIECE OF THIS… HAVE ALL PIECES OF THIS!!!!”

    1. Emperor Norton II

      Oh gods, best plan ever!

    2. Spencer

      I can legitimately believe that Malaya would go along with a relationship entirely to spite Sal.

  45. Eldritch Gentleman

    It’s both adorable and a bit disconcerting to see the usually calm Marcie look so freaked out XD

  46. Keulan

    Not the worst backup plan I suppose…

  47. Crumplepunch

    She’s going to play a banjo solo that you won’t believe.

  48. AlexDenton

    Thanks Willis, for teaching us sign language 8D
    I’m sure my aunt will be impressed with those XD

  49. Commodore Jeep-Eep

    Honestly, I’m surprised you don’t get more women who have sex with women fetishizing ASL speakers; if you were the sort who’d creep on disabled folks like that, the dexterity training there would be attractive to them.

    1. Cerberus

      The thing about people who fetishize identities is that they tend to be the last people you’d ever want to sleep with. Friends with prostheses say that prosthetics fetishists are the most dehumanizing fucks you’ll ever meet and trans women almost all have horror stories about being approached out of the blue by a chaser.

      1. Commodore Jeep-Eep

        That’s what I’m getting at, yes. Ugh, I hate chasers, technophile or sexual. Ugh.

  50. wynne

    I’ve gotten into the Deaf West production of Spring Awakening, and hoo boy did that help with the ASL today.

    Diverse media, kids! It’s useful in all sorts of ways!

  51. HeroHog

    I love the integration of ASl without an ASL to Text translation. It makes you research it and learn some. My wife is partially deaf (as a post without her hearing aids) and we have learned to finger spell (I’m better than she is actually), count to 10 and some word/phrase signs (she knows more of these than I do). This helps me expand my knowledge and brush up on what I know. Thanks!

  52. Silly Name

    … I don’t think anybody needs to learn ASL to understand what that means. XD

    1. Zatar

      Someone was genuinely asking up above

  53. David Liao

    I only just now realized that Malaya looks like Sal. I wonder if that’s occurred to Marcie or Sal.

    1. SgtWadeyWilson

      I disagree. In passing, their skin tones and hair colors seem similar, but Willis does draw them quite differently. His style tends toward abstraction, but each of his characters is still quite distinct.
      t
      Sure, I could still be wrong, but usually Willis is better than that kind of cliche. Plus, Malaya is hot, so why does Marcie need some big sit-com plotline to be attracted to her?

    2. Fart Captor

      I’m pretty sure Malaya’s sweet badonk illustrates one of many significant differences in their appearances

    3. Cerberus

      Honestly, Sal being hot may actually have been a thing that’s come up before in their friendship:
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/fuck/

  54. Willoughby Chase

    Odds on Leslie and Marcie?

    1. Cerberus

      Technically not a student at the university, so the only skeevy thing would be the age difference (with Leslie probably being in her early 30s and Marcie being 18).

      1. WhoWasI

        Better odds on Marcie and Daisy, but ONLY if Malaya was an absolute no. Both appear to be “very much in need”. Daisy even wanted Ruth’s number after all the bad things Billie said about her. (Or because of those things?)

        Willis has Daisy at the rally for some definite reason, but I doubt that’s the reason.

  55. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    (George Takei voice) Ohhhh myyyy.

    Panel 1: There’s awesome Sal back. Good. Asking questions about something important to Marcie, offering an opportunity for her to expand on things and ask for advice if she needs to even if it’s about a person she really doesn’t like.

    I really like good friend moments when they show up in the comic. They’re hella heartwarming.

    Panel 2: Oooh, that place. Yeah, that’s always a fun place to be in. The whole, does this person even actually like girls, much less me, question. It’s why it’s sometimes better to just rip off the bandaid and tell someone, though admittedly that can be dangerous, especially for queer folk, given the potentiality for violence or social rebuke.

    Growing up queer in Indiana? And also subject to the “fiery latina” stereotype? I can see why Marcie would be hesitant about bringing it up. Especially since she might need to take extra time telling her due to Malaya still learning the ropes of sign language.

    But oof, that face.

    Panel 3: Oh, Sal. I really like seeing Sal with Marcie, because it brings out a lot of her softer side owing to how she’s able to relax thanks to the long history. And so we get a lot of thoughtfulness as she examines her own question and assumptions. And that leads nicely to…

  56. Cerberus

    Panel 4: I really like this. It’s blunt, cutting to the chase, but it’s caring as well. It’s a really good thing to think about even if it’s awkward as preparing for the possibility of rejection allows you to more healthily process negative emotions after said rejection. Especially as crushes in one’s head have a way of expanding into fantasizing about lives together before you’ve even managed to ask them out.

    Panels 5-7: Oh my. Now I know the sign language for “furiously masturbate all my frustrations out”.

  57. starkruzr

    Do we know why Marcie doesn’t talk? Didn’t someone (Sal, maybe) mention her not actually being deaf, earlier?

    1. Reltzik

      Sal said that, yes.

      We don’t know why, but we have a flashback panel of child-Marcie able to talk, so she wasn’t born mute.

      …. is mute a derogatory term? I hope not, but that’s the kind of thing I tend to mess up, so maybe?

      1. trlkly

        I know it’s preferable to the old term, “dumb.” And I also know that deaf people hate it, but that has more to do with enforced vocal-only instruction–where you had to learn to speak and lip-read and were not allowed to sign. This is considered extremely detrimental nowadays, as it can cause severe cognitive delays that cannot be made up. It just takes too long, and deaf kids need to be speaking as early as they can.

        While googling for any definitive guide, I did find someone who is not deaf but can’t speak, and she says she’s perfectly fine with “mute.” Just don’t use it for deaf people.

        There was also a suggestion to use “non-verbal,” but, since “verbal” means “having to do with words or speech,” I’m not sure that’s the best term. I mostly hear it in regards to children with autism who have not picked up the concept of language.

        1. Jay

          Non-verbal can refer to people who are unable to speak but able to communicate with signing or reading/writing. Plenty of autistic people use it in that way. I have never heard it used for someone whose reason for being unable to speak is physical, though.

  58. Jamey Jim

    Kinda random, but does Willis know sign language or does he just look up the signs?

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