197

Clawin’
Posted on December 10, 2016 by David M Willis
SPECIAL HOLIDAY SALE EVENT THINGAROONIE magnetset1Every* order I get in the online store this week, lasting from last Monday to the end of Sunday two days from now, will get a free character magnet included!  Just thrown right in there.  You can't choose your magnet -- it'll be random -- but, hey, free character magnet!  Buy a book?  Free magnet!  Buy a buttload of books?  Free magnet!  Buy magnets?  STILL A FREE ADDITIONAL MAGNET. So, yay! *does not include buying the links to Joyce and Walky! comics, because i can't throw a magnet into an email

197 thoughts on “Clawin’”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “yup, nothing like a beer after a long, hard day of filibustering and cold-calling for campaign donations”

    1. Nono

      I’m not sure why but the concept of Robin drinking beer is so weird. Considering she spent virtually of SP! with sugar being her inhibitor lowerer instead.

      1. Ana Chronistic

        just occurred to me that they could just talk while standing over a beer, nothing about drinking anything

        WOO WEASEL-WORDS

        1. Geneseepaws

          Over a beer.
          Robin: Leslie, you may be wondering Why I have hung you by your wrists, suspended you over this large copper vat of beer? Whheelllll, I said talk over beer, I meant we should talk, you should be over the beer. Muwahahahah!
          Rats! I forgot to take your shoes off first, please try to keep them out of the beer.

      2. Needfuldoer

        Hopefully she doesn’t subsist on sugar and laundry detergent this time around.

        Unless this actually is Shortpacked! Robin, mid-blackout from the Cadbury egg cereal.

  2. AnvilPro

    Robin won the first election by taking every single voter out for a beer

    1. tim gueguen

      Unfortunately it was 3 guys who somehow managed to vote for her 52,000 times.

      1. UltraKyrie

        Her entire congressional district is 52,000 Dawson/Tyler/Taylor clones.

        1. HMH

          So, 90% of America by land area?

    2. Doctor_Who

      These are some counties in Indiana where that might be possible.

      I mean, that’s still a few thousand beers, but it’s Robin, she has an event horizon for a digestive system. Wouldn’t be surprised if her liver is made out of dark matter.

    3. Historyman68

      Similar to the Cookie Lyon method of drinking every voter under the table.

  3. Nono

    Well at least she didn’t suggest Sierra Mist.

  4. Pigeon Pollyx

    hmmmmm?

    1. TheAnonymousGuy

      this couldn’t possibly lead anywhere (wink, wink)

  5. lia47

    nice

  6. miados

    is she dense, flirting, or both?

    1. Dana

      I’m going with both.

      1. ety

        I’m am also going with both.

        1. gkheyf

          and so is robin! =3

      2. Disloyal Subject

        Seconded.

    2. Fart Captor

      Definitely both. Probably doesn’t even realize she’s flirting

      1. Deanatay

        SOOOO TSUNDERE

  7. Doctor_Who

    For Robin, I imagine “Beer” is short for “Root Beer Float”.

    Which I approve of, because root beer floats are delicious, and we could achieve world peace if me made sure that they were the only beverages served at summits and treaty negotiations.

    1. BBCC

      Yuck! Pop!

      Any chance we can add milk to that list? And/or juice?

    2. Nono

      But what if we have a diabetic leader?

      1. BBCC

        Again – water, juice, milk.

      2. Dana

        Diabetic leaders deserve assassination.

        1. Thursday Violist

          But not the diabolic oner, right?

    3. Tawdry Quirks

      Root beer floats are certainly delicious, but I think a cider float would be even more amazing, or at least in the form I heard someone else describe. It was Strongbow (Austin Eastciders original is a fine substitute) with sea salt caramel gelato. I unfortunately never seem to have both of the required components on hand at the same time, so I’ve never tried this concoction.

  8. Architex

    Has Robin ever had alcohol?

    1. Doctor_Who

      Alcohol is fermented sugar, so probably.

      1. Leorale

        There are many super-sweet alcoholic drinks out there for her to enjoy. Maybe something with a tiny umbrella in it, that’s how you know it’s fancy.

      2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        And your liver uses water to convert it back into sugar.

  9. ety

    DAAAATE!

  10. Dana

    Drunk consent isn’t consent, Robin!

  11. shadowcell

    Robin used Leer!

    it’s ambiguously effective!

    1. Pablo360

      Wait, leer isn’t a damaging move, so it can’t have effective—”dragged offstage with a crooked cane”

  12. Stephen R. Bierce

    *plays “Cocktails For Two” on the hacked Muzak*

    1. Doctor_Who

      Since it’s Robin, I’m gonna assume the Spike Jones version.

  13. BBCC

    Well then.

  14. Shiro

    Robin NO. Don’t you see that glower? Maybe suggest something a little…LESS overtly date-like???

    1. Dana

      Seems to be working though. The last panel is sort of “I’m still mad, but I’m confused about why or who at.”

    2. Fart Captor

      Talking over a beer (or coffee) can be a friendly gesture, not just exclusively a romantic one, especially when it’s someone you

      You can meet in a neutral, public location full of people, and unlike getting food, either of you can just pay and leave at any time. And if there’s unpleasantness or drama, neither of them gets embarrassed in front of people they know, like what might happen if they just talked here in Leslie’s office.

      1. Fart Captor

        That first paragraph was supposed to end with ” especially if it’s someone you don’t know well”.

        I’m don’t proofread good when am sleepy

    3. thejeff

      Actually I think the “overtly date-like” is what’s saving her. It’s keeping Leslie off balance and not letting her rational part retake control.

  15. Ragnarok101

    Robin….wow, the sheer lack of self-awareness is terrifying.
    And then I remember she was just like this in SP. Except this version actually has power.

    Congrats Willis, you’ve made me afraid of one of my favorite characters. Well done.

    This actually isn’t sarcasm, I must clarify. I’m legitimately impressed.

    1. sun tzu

      The SP version had even MORE power. It’s just that it was played for cartoony laughs.

    2. T Campbell

      Honestly, she’s a lot LESS scary to me like this, because she’s showing a glimmer of awareness that she might’ve hurt the feelings of this woman whose opinion she cares about without knowing why.

      Leslie was right to shut down her seduction attempt and kick her out of the classroom, but she’d be wrong to kick her out again now. Robin’s mind is open. This is a TEACHING OPPORTUNITY. What Leslie says today might actually prevent another anti-LGBT bill in Congress next year. If she grasps that, then accepting Robin’s invitation is the only moral option she has.

      1. T Campbell

        (Although once she agrees to go somewhere with Robin, the rights and wrongs of the next few hours get murkier.)

      2. John

        Like I said yesterday: It’s time for Leslie to call Robin on her crap and teach her some things she wasn’t expecting to learn.

        1. Pablo360

          😉

      3. Emily

        Nah, members of oppressed minorities are not in fact morally obligated to go out for a drink with their oppressors.

        1. trlkly

          Ordinarily? No. This particular situation? Yes, for the reasons already stated. Going out with her improves the lives of LGBT people in the whole country, at the cost of one LGBT person being uncomfortable for a while. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

          This, BTW, is why I say you are like Roz. All full of liberal passion, which is good, but a lack of consideration for the nuances. That’s why Joyce was an enemy to Roz, rather than an opportunity. And why Roz got mad when Joyce had her epiphany.

          Yeah, Robin sucks. But she’s also an opportunity. She’s at the point where she might possibly be changed, and we do indeed have a moral imperative to try and cause that change.

          If not, then all our protests are just us shouting about our superiority, rather than trying to change minds. We aren’t actually trying to make the world any better.

        2. Commodore Jeep-Eep

          Oh wow, a liberal cishetsplaining how we should deal with the folks who literally thing we should be nice to the folks who use creating the situations that kill us for the sake of ‘persuasion’. How completely unexpected/s.

        3. Anowan

          Yeah, putting up with the ones who threaten us and try to convince them that they are wrong is mostly an ally job.

        4. Lailah

          Unclear if you’re being sarcastic but it really should be. I mean it’s not, but it should be, with the probable exception of just toxic misogynists (Since so many are women and it is actually playing into the problem for men to tell them to fuck off.)

        5. Positron

          While potentially beneficial to the cause, I don’t think it would be reasonable to say that Leslie is *obligated* to accept. That same logic leads to demanding that people out themselves, rather than letting people decide what’s best for themselves. Leslie didn’t make Robin a homophobe, so she isn’t *obligated* to fix it. It would be nice, but you shouldn’t make it her *responsibility* to do so.

        6. Li

          > ally talking down to actual marginalized person and telling them how to deal with bigotry

          > calls someone ELSE Roz

        7. Lailah

          As one of them gays she’d be talking over, I more wanted to give Roz a medal, which is something that makes this even more ironic.

        8. Li

          Yeah, I mean I’m also in that group and I like Roz a lot, but the irony of this person doing the only thing I think she’s ever been fairly criticized for (and it was way overblown) was too good for me not to comment. 🙂

        9. Lailah

          I’m pretty sure Roz literally offered a drink to her oppressor (Dotty).

          I know y’all hate Roz, but this is getting comical.

        10. Pablo360

          I still fail to see how Dotty was an “oppressor.” She did not actually DO anything at that point.

          Also we all know how THAT offer turned out, so maybe not a good example.

        11. Lailah

          She was. However, it was on one specific ground. She had openly and baldly stated that she was judging Roz for her sexual activity. That’s both broadly misogynist in general (those standards are always levelled unfairly at women – heck, the worst she thought about Joe was that he was an idiot, and he was rather an equal participant in the proceedings), and specifically leveraging things /Roz herself/ is dealing with.

        12. Lailah

          I mean, Cishet white man talking about why we have to be teh supar nice to fragile cishet white women when they’re just barely managing to not be assholes is also noted. But LEslie didn’t do the right thing because of your ~teaching moment~. Leslie did the right thing because she is a teacher who is literally being paid to do the exact thing she did. Her emotional labor is covered (And probably has some support for this covered, given that it’s the willisverse) And that emotional labor isn’t covered with Robin. Nor are the benefits that high, as she’s basically a mercenary.

        13. Uncertainty Moth

          She has every right to get rid of Robin post-haste.

          However, there’s a great opportunity here that I really hope she doesn’t ignore.

        14. Clif

          A great opportunity for slipshine you mean?

        15. Shiro

          Nuance? That’s real rich coming from you, given that my main association with you is the time I picked out one single line from a post that dismissed Joyce’s survivor status to call out, and you threw a shitfit at me and acted like I was calling the whole post invalid.

  16. UltraKyrie

    Well, this appears to be heading in a positive direction. For now, at least.

    1. UltraKyrie

      Assuming that Robin genuinely wants to learn things here of course

      1. Fart Captor

        I think she does.

        It remains to be seen if she’ll still be so receptive when she finds out that “you’re a horrible bigot supporting laws that hurt people” is one of those things

        1. UltraKyrie

          Yeahhhh this thing could go pretty well or realllllly badly.

        2. Pablo360

          Either way at least one of them is going to bed feeling awful tonight. Damn you, Willis.

        3. Uncertainty Moth

          My money’s on both, fwiw

      2. DaveM

        More than likely one of her aides/flunkies advised her to go back and try to patch things up before it becomes a (minor) publicity failure. Given Robin’s staggeringly high lack of self awareness (combined with her lack of empathy and general narcissism) I predict this will be a train-wreck.

        1. Leorale

          I dunno, I think if an aide sent her, she would’ve said so. She’s remarkably open about having highly political motives. She didn’t mention it, so I think she’s going on her own steam.

        2. Cerberus

          Which makes it impressive that she managed to shake off her aide/flunkies especially as I imagine he’s keenly aware of how much damage she can get up to on her own and unsupervised.

        3. Bagge

          Heh, I hope we’ll have a strip with the aide and the bros desperately searching for her.

          “Search the doughnut store. Search the cafeteria (she’s not talking to the students, is she? For the love of God, someone monitor her twitter account”.

        4. Reltzik

          I’m imagining him arguing against this statement quite vigorously.

          “NO. I do NOT know how much damage she can get into on her own. I’ve seen SOME of the damage she can do, but we’ve yet to find the worst she’s capable of. I…. I have nightmares, sometimes…”

        5. Bagge

          “Well, OK, but she just gave you the slip again.”
          “NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! FIND HER BEFORE SHE TALKS TO A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WITH AN INTERNET CONNECTION”

        6. Deanatay

          …Leslie has a smartphone…

        7. DaveM

          You all make very good (and quite funny) points. If Robin has indeed “gone walkabout” and is “loose on the campus” (too borrow two phrases from Yes Minister), then I imagine her aides are already calling party headquarters to arrange the leaking of a story about a bomb threat or a possible terrorist cell, anything to keep whatever she says (or does) off the front page. 🙂

        8. Jhon

          I wonder if Robin’s handlers have considered putting a locator app on her phone. (Nah, because less drama.)

        9. Shade

          She probably would also still have her serious politician hair.

  17. Lan

    Oh jeez why is it that Robin TRYING is one of the most adorable things I’ve seen all month?

    1. Positron

      Taken in isolation, this strip makes her look like an adorable would be friend and/or romantic entanglement who may have offended Leslie but wishes to make good. Once you pull in the context of her politically campaigning against Leslie’s human rights it gets a bit messier though…

  18. Thursday Violist

    No! Don’t do it! Don’t fall for her deceptions! You need to maintain your self-righteous rage

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Let the hate flow through you!

  19. Derek

    Yanno I think this was actually Roz’s real goal: to make Robin connect with a real queer person and make her realize her actions are hurting real human beings

    1. BBCC

      Leslie said that was the plan, so I suppose this is just…..delayed results?

  20. L!ghtn!ng

    I have shipped Robin/Leslie for so long since the SP days that even if this ends badly for them both, I can’t help but to squee at today’s comic 😀

    1. BBCC

      Oh good, I’m not the only one who holds on to Walkyverse ships despite recognizing they’d be awful and unhealthy in this verse.

      1. L!ghtn!ng

        Not alone!

        1. BBCC

          Mine was Mike and Amber. Now granted, they’re hardly a paragon of healthy relations over in Walkyverse, but here they’d just be toxic.

          Also Leslie/Robin.

          Ah well, I still got Ken/Lucy I guess.

        2. Nicolas

          Ken/Lucy is probably the sweetest ship possible.

        3. Clif

          Mike/Amber was heartwarmingly toxic in the other universe.

      2. Fart Captor

        I’m expecting hundreds to be injured in the ensuing trainwreck but I am nonetheless excited to watch it

        1. BBCC

          Same.

      3. John

        Not a big fan of Robin/Leslie in either universe, honestly, but I have to admit that a big part of the reason I’m rooting for Billie/Ruth is that they were the Walkyverse OTP I didn’t know I had until it was too late.

        1. BBCC

          Billie/Ruth are pretty great in Walkyverse (and they would have been here, had both been healthy – I am stubbornly believing that.)

      4. thejeff

        Hell, they were awful and unhealthy for a long time in SP! too. How long was it before Robin even bothered with Leslie’s name?

        This could work out as well, but it’s got a long way to go.

        1. Pablo360

          Prediction: By the end of the night, Robin will call Leslie “my lesbian” at least once.

        2. Reltzik

          I’m imagining her announcing at a campaign rally, “The lesbians love me. They love me.” A la Trump.

        3. Pablo360

          Now I hate her again. Get out of here with your extended metaphor comparing a reboot of one of the best characters in Shortpacked! to one of the worst humans alive.

  21. Fart Captor

    Yeeesss Robiiiin listen to that voice telling you to try and understand what you did wrong and listen to Leslie!

    If it starts telling you to smooch Leslie all over, that’s not your conscience, but take it into consideration anyway

  22. Idontcarenomore

    And it begins again.

  23. Keulan

    This could be Leslie’s chance to get Robin to realize how terrible her politics actually are.

    1. Victor Riley

      Unfortunately, that situation never actually happens. One of the reasons we aren’t supposed to talk about politics or religion, is that no one ever really wants to change their positions like that, so they hold fast to them, even if logic tells them otherwise.

      So, conversations like that really only breed resentment and hostility, no matter how professional or understanding the participants act.

      1. Jess

        Well, it does happen -sometimes-. Whether or not it happens often enough to make up for all the emotional labor that goes into it……..is another story. And of course it doesn’t just happen over one conversation, so that’s something to keep in mind too.

        Semi-relatedly, I have to laugh at the matching icons here — it’s like an internal argument.

      2. Fart Captor

        Not easily or quickly, but it absolutely can and does happen.

        And even if you can’t noticeably change someone’s mind, you can have a moderating effect, or wear down their resistance a little, making them a little less likely to completely dismiss the next person. Having been exposed to someone who seems normal that believes something they thought was absurd can cause them to look a little less unkindly at it the next time.

        Especially if the conversation is between people who respect and/or admire each other. Robin’s crush on Leslie will make her much more willing to re-examine her views than she normally would be.

        1. Falcon

          Speaking from personal experience, it can and does happen to me and my friends…at least in law school. Just today I showed a friend that Russia’s hacking during the election is not a liberal conspiracy theory. And as an Obama supporter, I’m grateful for people highlighting flaws I’m less likely to notice in him, such as his failure to recognize the Armenian genocide.

          People have their own inner sense of the truth. Sometimes they’ll experience life changing events that’ll drastically alter the way they think. But when we talk, it shifts by increments. Our world view affects how we filter and perceive information. But every honest outreach is a precious thing, and I feel it would be a waste to let it wither under our cynicism.

      3. Leorale

        You can totally change people’s minds, if you do it right, and you get at the person’s core values, and they’re ready, and the stars align with Jupiter or whatever. Talking in person is the main way that people change their minds, with many conversations over time. (That and discovering that it concretely harms somebody whom they actually care about.)

        Online interactions do not have this effect, those makes people more entrenched, like you said, the vast majority of the time. Gotta be face-to-face.
        Some people will stop liking you, too.
        Good luck.

      4. UltraKyrie

        Considering it’s Robin, and how she’s talked about her platform and constituency in previous comics, it doesn’t seem too far out of the question in this case that she could have that realization.

      5. Cerberus

        It can happen, but it’s hard. But one of the ways that can change is knowing people personally who are affected by those things. We saw that with Joyce with Becky and Dorothy and Ethan and in Hank with Joyce and Becky.

        And the fact that “for unknown reasons”*, Robin feels herself caring a lot about the opinions and life experiences of a college teacher in a way she hasn’t any other group of affected liberal types.

        As such, this could penetrate through, though it might involve a lot of really ugly, thankless, and possible entirely fruitless emotional labor and revealing painful memories on Leslie’s part.

        *Leslie’s adorable and delectable.

        1. BBCC

          Yeah, it really depends on what people respond to. Some people respond best to written arguments, so the internet CAN help those people. Others do better face to face. Some don’t see it until people they like are affected and it whacks them over the head. Some respond best to values arguments that they consider important.

        2. Cerberus

          Yup, and some just need to feel like their bigotry is unsupported by society at large and separated from friends who encourage them continuing to go down a bigoted path.

          The methods of digging someone out of a bad way of looking at the world are myriad if not incredibly depressing and intense at the current moment.

        3. Falcon

          We liberals apparently value and embrace diversity. Diversity in ways people think and evolve their world views tests how far we’re willing to go when this idea travels outside our zone of personal interest.

        4. BBCC

          Okay, see, I realize this isn’t what you meant, but lately I’ve heard ‘diversity of thought’ being used as a code for ‘you shouldn’t tell people they’re bigoted, because then YOU’RE the intolerant one for not putting up with their intolerance’ and so now my hackles are up.

          That said, I’m like 99% sure you mean people grow and change and understanding how that works and the ways people think are important for understanding them, and that does contribute to diversity, because everyone has a different perspective, which I do agree with so….bah. Fucking brain.

        5. Fart Captor

          Yeah, I’ve seen that crop up a lot lately, mostly in that kind of awful context. Although usually it’s “diversity of ideas“, because they’re focusing on different conclusions, not different perspectives, and trying to gloss over the fact that some of those ideas are objectively terrible.

        6. BBCC

          Oh good, someone else has heard the ideas thing too, it’s not just me.

        7. Falcon

          Diversity of conclusions should be a side effect, not a goal. People of differing perspectives will of course come up with different conclusions, and some of those conclusions will be terrible ones. A rich, healthy discussion occurs when these perspectives and ideas are compared, examined, even clashed with to determine their merit.

          When someone says “respect my beliefs”, I instinctively lose some respect for them. I hear it as “I only want an echo chamber, even if it’s for a delusion”. Beliefs are strong when they are tested.

        8. BBCC

          Yeah, no, ‘Marginalized Group X deserves to be treated as subhuman because Bigot Logic Y’ is not a conclusion I’m willing to legitimize by treating it like a serious idea that deserves respect. Some ideas DO deserve to be dismissed out of hand.

          Respect for beliefs can also mean things like ‘don’t argue rudely’ or ‘don’t be a dick to me for them’ which I’m (usually) happy to comply with. Bigotry and things that put lives/health at risk are the exceptions. You do not get to piss on people and then start bawling for respect when people point out it isn’t raining (general ‘you’ here).

        9. Cerberus

          Or our personal safety or mental health. Emotional care work may be deemed feminine and thus unimportant and not difficult, but it’s incredibly draining and can be dangerous to one’s health if given to an abuser.

          Similarly, reaching out to someone who is looking to identify marginalized group members to attack can put yourself in a wanna-be fascist’s attention or otherwise be thrown away and treated like garbage.

          One thing that defines those that value diversity and empathy is our willingness to reach out, but it is also the vulnerability that is used to attack us.

          Our willingness to show our pain means people trying to use our pain against us (see the groups who try and find people who admit to suicidal ideation so they can try and harass them to suicide), our willingness to reach out and see the other person’s point of view can be used to try and drag us into normalizing fascism or morally monstrous actions, and our willingness to see the good in everyone can be used to trap us in time sinks with abusers who only want to see us hurt or subjugated.

          It’s a delicate balancing out, figuring out your resources to reach out and who is worth trying to save and who you need to cut out of your life for your own good.

          And I’m speaking as someone who used to believe I could reach out to anyone and paid dearly for that ignorance and naivety as those I tried to help used my empathy as a means to try and control or hurt me.

        10. BBCC

          Exactly. You can’t help people who don’t want help. And you have no more obligation to tolerate someone who actively wants you dead and is willing to put policy in place to make it happen than you do someone talking about finding a weapon to kill you with.

        11. Falcon

          I haven’t paid as dearly as you appear to have, but I know trolls and time sinks, yes. There’s a limit to the amount of time, energy and resources we can muster, and I’m not going to waste time if I sense it’s a waste of time.

          I’ve seen some remarkable things lately though. A Catholic, strongly pro-life classmate we worked with for an immigration project was receptive, even curious about my polygamous friend. A super redneck conservative in my Constitutional Law class started out advocating electricity as not a necessity in this day and age (in a city case where a company cut off electricity without notice) and seemingly seriously saying that poor minorities were lazy and weren’t looking for jobs. Midway through the semester he grew quiet in class, and we learned he reached out to a gay black student because all the cases we were studying (Romer, Lawrence, Brown, Loving, etc) and the perspectives we were airing had affected his perspective. It’s been heartening.

      6. timemonkey

        Robin seems to follow the platform of ‘what’ll get me votes’ rather than actually believing in the actual things she’s promoting. Before Joyce called her on it I doubt she’d ever even considered the effect the things she’s saying actually have on people.

        1. Needfuldoer

          This, exactly. Robin is selfish; the fact that the things she says has an effect other than gaining her attention just doesn’t register.

      7. John

        I don’t think Robin really believes in her political positions. She takes them not because she truly believes that gay people are subhumans who don’t deserve rights, but out of pure mercenary political expediency. She thinks that’s the position she needs to take to get re-elected, and, in the House, the election cycles are so short that everything is always all about the next election.

        That doesn’t say a lot for her basic decency as a person, but it does mean that swaying her politics isn’t necessary a matter of changing her beliefs, but just of awakening whatever flickering spark of conscience she has left down in the depths of her bartered-away soul, and showing her that the positions she’s taking for the sake of expediency are hurting real people, maybe people she respects, people she likes, people she cares about. Maybe people she wants to bang. Maybe even herself.

        1. John

          s/necessary/necessarily/

        2. foamy

          Actually, I think that if Robin is adopting the position purely out of mercenary political scheming, an appeal to moral rectitude is going to go absolutely nowhere. You’d need to engage on its own ground and sell a position change as advantageous to her re-election chances.

          Good luck.

        3. Commodore Jeep-Eep

          Honestly, the fact that’s doing it for mercenary reasons just makes her more contemptible, and increases the reasons why she should ber told to fuck off.

        4. Heavensrun

          Eh, I disagree. She’s probably been living in the conservative bubble, which means she is far enough removed from the consequences of the policies she’s supported that she can push it out of her mind.

          I think she needs to hear Leslie’s story more than anything precisely because of that.

        5. Deanatay

          Agree. Often, the mercenary political angle is taken simply because the politician has no personal stake in the issue, so his moral weathervane is guided solely by the prevailing wind. Give Robin a reason to care, and her opinions may change.

        6. John

          Especially since, as Shortpacked! readers know and Roz at least has reason to suspect, Robin does in fact have a very personal stake in LGBT rights.

        7. vlademir1

          At least in the US, it’s hard not to have to sell out on some of your own views/beliefs in order to have the power to make actual change in other areas you care about because the party line platform is kinda requisite for a lot of the getting elected to and keeping the office long enough to effect the changes you believe need to happen and make them stick.

        8. Fart Captor

          That’s true pretty much everywhere, but none of the things we’ve seen about Robin’s policies or actions while in office suggest she’s even tried to any real good while in office.

      8. thejeff

        Logic and professionalism are usually the worst ways to change prejudice. “You can’t reason someone out of something they didn’t reason themselves into.”

        Emotional connection on the other hand works pretty well. The biggest reason public opinion on LGBTQ people has changed as fast as it has is that as more LGBTQ people are out and open, more people know them and realize they’re just people. It’s a lot easier to hate LGBTQ people as an abstract than to hate your neighbor’s kid or that nice man at the office. It doesn’t always work, of course, but it’s got a far better track record.

        As for Robin, it’s even simpler – she’s queer herself, obviously attracted to Leslie and almost certainly in denial about both. Getting her to realize that will do more to shake up her world view than any logic or professionalism.

  24. Jay Eff

    Leslie: “…um, what kind of beer?”
    Robin: “Busch Beer!”
    Leslie: “Busch…?”
    Robin: “Hey, don’t misunderestimate the Busch! It’s the working man’s beer.”
    Leslie: “Misunder.. What??”
    Robin: “For the man who works hard to put food on his family.”
    Leslie: “But we’re not men!”
    Robin: “Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.”

  25. Victor Riley

    Resist! Resist, Leslie! Don’t fall for her charm!

    1. Fart Captor

      No, use it! Get that intern’s name!

      1. Emily

        Use her and lose her.

        1. Commodore Jeep-Eep

          Try to avoid the screwing bit tho, she’s too selfish to make a decent lay.

  26. Rukduk

    What kind of beer? Cause I would advise saying no if it isn’t a dunkel.

    1. Aoshima

      Good taste, sir.

    2. John

      Ellen or Elliot?

      1. Gamaran Sepudomyn

        If that was the case, it would be served with a can of red herring, and I don’t think many people would enjoy that combination.

      2. Roborat

        Brownie.

  27. JessWitt

    Another glower spotted! Let’s see: Marcie, Billie, Dorothy, now Leslie.

    And I’d like to hope this won’t end in inebriations but that might not be so.

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Leslie can’t possibly be as much of a lightweight as the Walkerton twins.

    2. Deanatay

      Again, there’s hardly a vacuum of glowers here – there seem to be plenty of them!

  28. brionl

    Are those Skeletons out, or in the Closet?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9TihfWOcaw

    1. brionl

      Does Galasso’s serve beer?

      1. Fart Captor

        This is a very important question that I was pondering myself

        1. inqntrol

          If only students came to his restaurant he probably wouldn’t serve since the legal drinking age in the U.S.A. is 21,but I’m sure adults also come by to eat at him and for that he sure serves beer.

        2. BBCC

          …There are 21 year old students at IU. Most degrees last about 3-4 years, so the stereotypical college student is from 18-22.

        3. foamy

          That the drinking age in the States is 21, and all the various cultural tics that’ve come about as a result, never cease to amaze me.

      2. David M Willis

        Mother Bears Pizza, which is what Galasso’s is based on, installed a bar area in their restaurant as of my last visit. I took photos just in case I needed it for later.

        1. PlainMarie

          Does MBP also have a comically tyrannical owner? Just asking.

        2. Dr. T

          I’ve never met the owner, so I don’t know. They did just “conquer” the Smokey Bones building on the other side of town in order to open a second location, so taking over more territory is in their plans (though that building had been empty for at least 4 years, probably more, so it was an uncontested invasion).

  29. Yotomoe

    Beer?
    Why not wine? Robin’s like School on Sunday’s

  30. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    Panel 2: Contrite, hurt, for a second it isn’t all a game because she hurt someone she feels close to, even if she doesn’t realize the very queer reason she feels close to her.

    It’s an opening.

    Panel 4: And we see Leslie’s resolve to do that which is healthy for her, to not try and go after that which she knows is bad and toxic for her… just slip right into the garbage pail.

    That answer is also an opening, an invitation that there is a story to tell and that Robin might just get to hear it.

    Panel 5: That pout. She notices really strongly the implied yes in that tone, but also the invitation if she dares.

    Panel 6: And she dares. It’s about as tempting an offer as you can throw down. Not just because of intimacy and alcohol, but because…

    Well, if you’re marginalized, you don’t get many trustworthy openings with a congresscritter to state your life experiences, and certainly not ones with those who openly pass laws marginalizing you. So, the opportunity presented is one that I’m going to guess is to tempting for Leslie to pass up and hold firm against.

    The chance to tell her story where it might do some good, make it so one less ideologue in the state is committed against her human rights, maybe even create a partial ally? It’s a risk, but a hard one to say no to.

    And it’ll end in disaster, in Leslie being raked through the mud of her dignity, because even if things go the best in her and her libido’s imagination, there’s still a whole machine of Robin’s and party for her that won’t take kindly to any “change of heart”, especially if that change of heart is paired with a sudden sexuality discovery that won’t play well with the fundie crowd.

    But perhaps in some ways, it might be worth it. For all the heartbreak that will inevitably follow.

    1. Bagge

      Yeah. This is two very different temptations and two very different opportunities, all in one. Leslie is navigating dangerous waters, but the fish might be worth it.

      I also love how Robin drops the flirty facade for a little while and opens up. “…what did I do to hurt you?”

      The sad part is that however this goes on, she will have cause to ask that again and again. Robin doesn’t want to hurt Leslie, but she will.

    2. Reltzik

      And before the party machine gets its say…. which will be very bad, but even before then… Leslie will have to deal with minimization x 10^googolplex.

      “Yeah, okay, I’m supporting the veep-elect’s idea for a federal religious freedom bill, but that’s just how the system works. Tit for tat? Us versus them? I scratch their back, they scratch mine? It’s just words on paper, it’s not like anyone gets hurt by it…”

      1. Deanatay

        I know you’re trying to say that Leslie will have to deal with a LOT of minimization (and I agree, your point is valid and strong), but the math side of me still thinks it should be ten to the _negative_ googolplex, since you’re talking about extremes of minimization.

        I know, I’m a math pedant, I’m a horrible person.

        1. Reltzik

          Nonono, “minimization” is the exponent (which is negative by default), and we’re multiplying that exponent by ten to the positive googolplex.

        2. Uncertainty Moth

          Oh good, there are more of me.

    3. Annika

      Cerberus, I just want to say that I think your comments are really insightful and eye opening for me, as someone who doesn’t struggle with this kind of oppression. They help me better understand and support my LGBT+ friends and partners. Thank you!

      1. StClair

        Same. Plus, they’re just great analysis of the comic.

  31. Eldritch Gentleman

    As Nora Valkyrie would say.
    “This! Is! HAPPENING!”

    1. Deanatay

      “Wait, what’s happening?”

  32. BenRG

    So, it’s confirmed, then: Robin is attracted to Leslie. She isn’t able to fully articulate or understand it but the feeling is there. I wonder if Leslie is willing to give her a chance?

  33. Lulu

    As much as I like Shortpacked Robin and Leslie romance, I would prefer Leslie to get some nice fresh girl, like a new character, in this continuity than getting on with Robin, question is if author is capable of doing that and by doing that meaning to disappoint many Robin/Leslie fans from that other webcomic.

    1. Greenygal

      He’s been either avoiding or minimizing the major ships from the Walkyverse, so he’s certainly capable of it. Whether he’s going to…is a question we’ll have to wait another few months or years to have answered.

  34. Dariu55

    “What…. kind of beer?”

  35. Adj

    …my yuri sense is tingling…

    1. Bagge

      Funny coincidence. So does Leslie’s and Robin’s

      1. Emperor Norton II

        Is that what tingling parts are called these days?

  36. Bagge

    Smooooooth, Robin.

  37. Bagge

    Robin is saying everything – EVERYTHING – Leslie desperately hoped to hear last night. This is a fanfic coming true “I never thought it would happen to me…”

    But that was last night.

  38. Reltzik

    Do it, Leslie!

    ALCOHOL CAN ONLY MAKE THINGS BETTER!

    ;P

  39. DarkoNeko

    I’m not quite sure I *want* this to go anywhere, but Leslie student hours probably finishes in 5 minutes soooo

  40. Commodore Jeep-Eep

    Tell her to go fuck herself, she’s only interested in getting laid.

  41. Scott John Harrison

    If they did go out drinking – I am fairly certain this would lead to a pornographique.

  42. Vulcanodon

    Paging Admiral Ackbar…

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      She can’t handle firepower of that magnitude?

  43. AGV

    Would it be too bad if the beers had consequences?

  44. Toes14

    Three hours and 5-6 beers later, back at Leslie’s condo . . . angry sex

    (Sorry, that’s on slipshine & you have to pay for it!)

  45. Lyingcat

    This comic makes me want to print out 8000 copies of the wedding from SP, use them to build a nest, crawl inside it and never leave.

  46. JBento

    Dear commentariat,

    I come bringing the gift of a youtube clip you may find amusing. It will not solve your problems, it will not make this less of a shit year, but it might just make you chuckle.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8riSMKPaOTQ

  47. Liliet

    so I hope it’s not just me who 1) finds Robin adorable here and 2) keeps thinking she’s actually Roz because of her hairstyle

    1. PlainMarie

      The same for me! Why is she looking so cute and likable, dammit?

      1. Makkabee

        When fascism comes to America, it will be wearing a Sailor fuku and sexy nerd glasses.

    2. a snow ʍousɐ

      I know, the first strip I seriously thought Roz was just dressing up like her sister to get Leslie’s attention.

  48. Reltzik

    WILL Leslie compromise or rationalize her principles and/or anger?

    WILL this ship somehow emerge from the sunken depths?

    TUNE IN TOMORROW, when we check in on Sal and Amber!

    1. JBento

      Same Willis time, same Willis channel!

      Tananananananananana.

  49. Nope

    ASK HER THE NAMES

    FOR GODS SAKE

  50. Alex

    I’ve seen no reason to believe that Robin actually believes in or cares about her party’s homophobia (or, well, anything else) as more than just a means to remaining in office. This is horrible, of course, but I would think this is quantitatively different to, I don’t know, Mike Pence. Or Joyce’s mother. Or Joyce’s mother’s church.

    1. Alex

      So that said, I don’t really see any advantage for Leslie coming out of this. Ideologues very occasionally change their mind. Opportunists need a better offer.

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