169

Late shift
Posted on September 29, 2015 by David M Willis

169 thoughts on “Late shift”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “Ah got, like, friends out the WAZOO. They’re like ROACHES. Care ta squash a few?”

    1. Ana Chronistic

      (I know it’s supposed to represent motion, but Marcie looks a bit Phantom Limb-y here)

      1. AgentKeen

        But Sal’s the one with an arch.

        1. Ana Chronistic

          this one?

      2. Reltzik

        I like to think she’s wearing these weird pale blue glow-in-the-dark gloves that come up past her elbows.

        (And now you can’t unsee it.)

        1. Matt

          “Two by two, hands of blue.”

        2. Clif

          Shush. Are you trying to get the network to cancel the comic after only one season?

        3. Disloyal Subject

          Can’t stop the signal.

        4. Someone

          Well if a season is around a year, were about to season 5 now

        5. LiveWire

          Or if it’s a year in comic time, we’re still in Month 1.

        6. MichaelHaneline

          As huge of a fan of Firefly as I am, in retrospect I’m actually REALLY glad they canned it before Joss could ruin it.

        7. extremist343

          Oh that’s easy what will be really hard to unsee is the motion sensitive material that her gloves are made of that turns pale blue only when her arms are moving and is completely transparent when her arms are still.

      3. Max

        The cross-over none of us were expecting. Hoping deep down, but not expecting

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      You have friends coming out of your wazoo? That sounds jolly painful. 😛

      1. Dean

        Surely the idea is to have them going into your wazoo.

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          Only “beneficial friends” should be allowed to enter your wazoo.

    3. Someone

      Ah so your theory is that Sal has plenty of friends, they’re all just very tiny. Well it makes more sense than the Walky and Sal had their grades switched theory.

      1. Someone

        Its really the only way Marcie could squash Sals friends. Unless she had a giant hammer or something.

  2. otusasio451

    Yessssss, Sal, YESSSSSS. COME TO THE LIGHT SIDE OF THE FORCE. WE HAVE COOKIES.

    1. inqntrol

      OY!Get your own advertising method,the Dark Side already ha the cookies thing.

      1. Ryan

        The light side uses white chocolate chips.

        1. otusasio451

          WITH MACADAMIA NUTS. If you’re not allergic or adverse to them.

        2. Disloyal Subject

          Ick. Black robes look good on anyone anyway.

        3. Ghostforge

          I know right? heck, they even make Mickey flippin’ Mouse look badass!

        4. John

          How is Mickey Mouse’s ordinary wardrobe not badass? He dresses like Sal!

        5. Plasma Mongoose

          And black is so slimming. ^_^

        6. HMRC4EVR

          Given Sal and Walky’s parentage there might be some uncomfortabalness running around in robes no matter the color.

      2. Miss Teddy

        The dark side may have the cookies, but the light side has the milk!

    2. Someone

      The dark side has cookies too. Unfortunately there oatmeal raisin, mwahaha!

      1. Justin

        nuh uh. oatmeal is too healthy. they have like, double fudge, sugar cookies, redvelvet, high calorie sorta things

        1. maxyai

          Send me to the dark side then!

        2. Wire Segal

          But those are tasty…
          They have double fudge, sugar, red velvet cookies… but they all have raisins.

        3. No Name

          Hey I like raisins!

        4. Disloyal Subject

          So do I, but not in cookies.
          Looks like I’m stuck with gray, as usual.

        5. Dean

          The dark side has CAROB.

        6. -Sentinel-

          Of course they are tasty! The Dark Side is all about seduction and sin.

        7. otusasio451

          Gooood, GOOOOOOD! Let the diabetes FLOW through you!!!

        8. Plasma Mongoose

          I used to love Lane’s Oatmeal Cookies for many years until they were discontinued over a decade ago, they were simple but enjoyably moreish when you also have gingernut cookies with them.

    3. Stephen R. Bierce

      *plays the Frozen Fudgies jingle from the G.I. Joe cartoon on the Muzak*

    4. jeffepp

  3. LeslieBean4Shizzle

    What we need to have is for Becky to walk up and be like “huh” at the way Joyce is practically drooling over Sal.

    1. Wire Segal

      I think of it as a Leslie-Robin kinda relationship. Robin’s straight with a notable exception.

      1. Mr Ak

        Argh! It’s all about bangin’ with you people, isn’t it?

        1. Wire Segal

          Well… uh…
          *ships it*

        2. Someone

          GOSH DARN IT PEOPLE! MUST THE HANKEY PANKEY BE THE ONLY DARN THING YOU THINK ABOUT!

        3. Plasma Mongoose

          If Willis draws it, there will be a porno version of it somewhere.

        4. Yotsuyasan

          …which is likely also drawn by Willis.

        5. Deanatay

          It’s like his very own subset of Rule 34!

      2. timemonkey

        Robin’s not straight and never was. She just didn’t want to admit it.

      3. drs

        But Joyce has two notable exceptions. Just that neither of them is Becky.

      4. John

        Walkyverse Robin has at least three “exceptions” that she’s admitted to or demonstrated in-comic. She’s not “straight with an exception”. She’s “bi and not comfortable with it”. Like Danny, but less so.

        (Or “kinda indefinably queer”, as she put it. I think she came up with a more refined form of her identity after that, but I don’t remember what it was.)

        And I think most of Joyce’s problem is that she learned how to act towards your platonic best friend from a girl who wants to bang her like a screen door in a hurricane.

        1. TsunamiJane

          “And I think most of Joyce’s problem is that she learned how to act towards your platonic best friend from a girl who wants to bang her like a screen door in a hurricane.”

          THIS.

        2. Screwball

          Indeed…

        3. Spencer

          Willis talked on his tumblr how Robin thinks “generally indefinably queer” describes her better than bisexual, as she feels more comfortable and relaxed being attracted to guys than girls.

          Actually, I liked reading that. It helped normalize some other stuff for me.

  4. Mada

    A WILD JOYCE HAS APPEARED.

    SAL ATTEMPTS TO USE PUSH.

    1. inqntrol

      PUSH IS INEFFECTIVE

      1. Grantimusmax

        WILD JOYCE USED CLOYING OPTIMISM

        1. otusasio451

          IT’S NOT VERY EFFECTIVE

          SAL USED NICOTINE CLOUD

    2. Ana Chronistic

      I don’t know that Joyce could ever be categorized as “wild” tbh

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        WILD synonyms: uncontrolled, unrestrained, out of control, undisciplined, unconstrained, uncurbed, unbridled, unchecked, chaotic; uninhibited, extrovert, attention-seeking, unconventional; wayward, self-willed, ungovernable, unmanageable, unruly, rowdy, disorderly, riotous, lawless; rarecorybantic

        I’m certain that at least one of these fits Joyce.

        1. podian

          Only “extrovert”.

        2. No Name

          I was thinking “rarecorybantic”, but only because it looks like such a fun word to say.

  5. Funhouseinabox

    Love how Sal doesn’t look pissed. Her eyebrows kinda have a “deadpan” look.

  6. poppaboo2electricboogaloo

    I can’t tell, is Marcie moving her hands really fast in that second panel or does she actually have long blue gloves on?

    1. Aislashu

      Panel 3 has nothing on her arms so I’d say it’s motion indication.

    2. Schpoonman

      The blue hands are Marcie signing. In the fourth panel you can see most of her right arm, doesn’t look like she’s wearing anything larger than cut-offs.

      1. Aislashu

        I totally meanrt panel 4, not three. x.x;

        1. Clif

          I just assumed it was the blue shift in the light due to the speed of her hands. It would have been a red shift if they were going the other direction.

    3. Random832

      I think at this point it’s more just to clearly indicate the fact that she’s doing sign language. I don’t think we’ve ever seen anyone else’s hands like that no matter how fast they’re moving.

      They’re her speech bubbles.

      1. poppaboo2electricboogaloo

        So what you’re all saying is that she’s the Flash.

        1. Jepmz

          1st panel is 6 seconds
          2nd panel is 12 seconds
          3rd is 6 seconds

          She clearly has enough time to allow her arms to dangle and for Joyce to run up to the conversation. If all three are the Flash, Joyce would instantly die from internally impacting Sal’s hand

    4. TheGrammarLegionary

      She’s actually hunting River Tam… Been an interesting few days for the Serenity. Crashed into another ship near Persephone, blue boxy thing captained by a guy with a bowtie and an accent. Apparently he likes taking cover as a teacher.

  7. Aislashu

    Now the real question: Has she REALLY been picking up double shifts, or is she lying and really spending all this time with Malaya?

    1. JessWitt

      No, the REAL real question is if there are any job openings at Marcie’s place, particularly for a plucky redheaded lesbian runaway?

      1. Dean

        I’m just curious about what kind of job Marcie has.

        1. JessWitt

          That too!

        2. Bicycle Bill

          Likewise.  I highly doubt that it’s waitressing or any other job that requires customer interaction.

      2. Kryss LaBryn

        Certainly if there actually are extra shifts to pick up, it sounds like a good place to start.

        However, somehow I think this is sort of the college equivalent of “Sorry, honey; I have to stay late at the office again tonight…”

      3. NotPiffany

        That’s what I was thinking. If Marcie (and coworkers) are picking up extra shifts, her boss may be willing to hire another person. Plus Marcie’s probably in a non-customer-facing position, which might be an extra bonus for a young woman who doesn’t want to accidentally run into her dad.

    2. Leorale

      The bags under her eyes and her ability to live independently suggest she’s telling the truth. Maybe she could use a roomie named Becky to split the rent.

      1. No Name

        Just because she spending her time with Malaya doesn’t mean she’s doesn’t mean she’s getting a lot of rest during this time.

    3. Proxiehunter

      I’m pretty sure she’s been double shifting Malaya.

      1. Aislashu

        “Can you feel what sign I’m making? How about now? What if I use both hands?”

    4. Eric

      The second was my assumption.

    5. Bicycle Bill

      Getting back to the original question, I would say that this is related to a job, not to hanky-panky with whomever.  In the first panel, Marcie is making the sign for “work”; although I think she would have been showing two fingers with the right hand (“double work”) to indicate a double shift.

      And in the third panel, that is the sign for “friend” or “friendship”.

  8. Rocketboy1313

    I appreciate the difficulty of depicting a language that requires motion in a medium that is … not motion.

    Good job, I hope this has helped to make you more creative. And not a source of frustration.

  9. AgentKeen

    Not shown: Joyce had actually already gotten a couple blocks away before this happened.

    (I know, I know, she was just off-panel, but it’s funnier in my head this way).

    1. inqntrol

      I thought only Dina has teleporting powers.

      1. Opus the Poet

        No, Dina has the hide-in-plain-sight feat with tons of ranks in Hide. Joyce has the Teleport spell loaded in 3 slots a day.

        1. Dean

          Dina has a prestige class feature that gives her a circumstance bonus to Hide checks when there is an open door nearby.

        2. John

          Joyce also has minor creation on her spell list.

          She’s a divine caster, obviously.

  10. TrueVCU

    Sal’s got friends like Walky’s got passing grades HEYOOOOOOOOO

  11. gkheyf

    it’s cool to find out that when sal lifts her hand she can summon joyce’s head

    1. detective boomwolf

      I wonder if different hand motions summon different heads. Like if she flips someone off, does Malaya’s head show up?

    2. Someone

      COME TO ME MY MINION!

      1. JessWitt

        Apt avatar is apt.

      2. inqntrol

        Imagine if Galasso had control over the Minions from Despicable Me.

        1. gkheyf

          the next kickstarter?

  12. Explosions

    LOVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or something close to that may be what Joyce is getting at

  13. Mr. Random

    A random Joyce appeared. It used Tri Smile.
    …it’s not very effective.

  14. caesaria82

    Hahahahahahaha. Amazing.

  15. LiaHansen

    SAL/JOYCE ARC SAL/JOYCE ARC

    1. BenRG

      Very possibly and, I think, one that may have a few surprises.

  16. Romanticide

    If Marcie was my friend I am sure I would miss her too… she does have a point though

  17. 3dGuard

    Joyce: “Did someone say we should be friends!”

  18. Heavensrun

    Double shifts, eh? Sounds like Marcie’s workplace might need to hire someone…

    1. Ancestral Hamster

      That would adversely effect quarterly profits, thus angering shareholders. So no new hires.

    2. BenRG

      Either that or ‘double shifts’ is code for ‘pre-marital hanky-panky with Malaya’ and Sal hasn’t been read in on that secret yet.

      1. 3-I

        In which case, Marcie’s relationship might need to hire some- wait no

  19. Sophia

    I love this one. lol

  20. Cerberus

    I don’t think Marcie’s as enamored of the “I have and only need one friend” life as Sal is.

    1. Idon'tcarenomore

      Agree.
      Marcie looks tired. Maybe she is working double shifts, that and time for Malaya would be about her limit.

      When younger a good friend of mine wandered away from our friendship, for the companionship of another who was more of a party animal that I was at the time. I missed her, took time to adjust. So I know how Sal feels.

      That’s when I got 2 friends 😉

    2. Spencer

      I don’t think it’s necessarily that Sal only wants one friend, but that Marcie is the only person she feels safe calling her friend.

  21. Cheryl

    ROFL Joyce

  22. newllend(henryvolt)

    Well I guess one Joyce is already to many, new discussion hey Marcie can you or can you not hook up our friend Marcie with a job?

  23. hikaru

    not that friend.

  24. Arianod

    It’s… it’s Overly Attached Joyce!

    1. Doctor_Who

      That famous image is actually probably the closest a human being has ever come to imitating Joyce’s smile.

      1. Arianod

        Not sure whether that’s disturbing or Extremely Disturbing.

        1. extremist343

          It’s super-mega disturbing. A whole new class of disturbing.

  25. tim gueguen

    More Marcie is always appreciated.

  26. NF

    It would be funny if Sal actually took Joyce under her wing. For like a whole day she’d be (poorly) emulating Sal, everyone else would be wondering if Joyce was taken by pod people, and Sal would give up after she compares something Sal is trying to teach her to some Christian pop culture thing.

    1. BenRG

      I do think that the time has come for Sal to actually talk to Joyce about how she’s always pestering her and her feelings about it. Joyce isn’t stupid and she isn’t socially unaware and would actually ease off if Sal asked her to do so. The problem is that Sal isn’t comfortable with interacting with people outside of her tiny circle and typically tries a strategy of avoidance and antisocial behaviour to try to drive them away. Unfortunately, Joyce simply doesn’t get it; she needs to be told.

      The thing is? I have a sneaking suspicion that, if they get to actually talking, Joyce and Sal may have a lot of surprises in store for each other. Neither of them will get what they want from the conversation but they may get things that they need.

      Possibility: Joyce will be hanging out with Sal in town, learning more of her real like (as opposed to the cool illusion), so ToeDad can’t find her in campus when she returns.

  27. Badgermole

    Cue Joyce popping in a lollipop cigarette and following Sal around all day.

  28. Idon'tcarenomore

    Probably would be the only way to get rid of Joyce though.
    Throw her on back of bike, pick up a six-pack, and cruise.
    If possible, go to a bar, play pool, pick a fight with about 3 big people.
    Get arrested.
    Joyce will never bother you again.

    1. hikaru

      she would try so hard to accept it and probably explode but tbh shed probably stick around

    2. Bagge

      It would backfire spectacularly. Joyce would politely deny the sixpack, introduce herself to everyone in the bar and immediately get adopted as the cutest queen of the drunk ever. When the fight came she would have an entire squad of bodyguards.

      1. StClair

        This.

  29. Skizz

    OhMyJeepersWeWouldBeSuchGreatFriendsWeCouldGoRidingOnYourMotorbikeAndICouldHelpYouStopSmokingAndFindRoomInYourHeartForJesus!!!!

  30. 6Qubed

    I can see Joyce making that face while busting through Sal’s bathroom door with an axe

    1. Jen Aside

      The Joyceing

      1. Bicycle Bill

        And if she does it again, would it be the Re-Joyceing?

        1. inqntrol

          HERE’S JOYCE!

        2. Ana Chronistic

          no, here

  31. Bagge

    Even if Sal is grumpy about it they actually do a good job communicating a tough issue. Sorry Sal, you don’t have exclusive rights to Marcie.

    Friends let friends brush their hair, right?

  32. Lapin

    Please hang out with that poor child just she gets a Reality Check on the idea that Cool People in College with Motorcycles also spend their time studying, sleeping, and doing their laundry.

  33. BenRG

    The really funny bit about this strip is that Sal knows Joyce well enough to be able to intercept her interjection without looking at her!

  34. Pink Freud

    Joyce comes from out of f**king nowhere…

    1. neeks

      Given her current relationship status and level of sexual repression, an orgasm certainly would be unexpected.

      Or was that not what you meant? 😉

      1. Pink Freud

        Haha it’s what I meant now!

  35. neeks

    Sal: friends? Ah got loads of–
    Joyce: 😀
    Sal: not you.

  36. BenRG

    In a way, it is sad but inevitable that Marcie is beginning to draw away from Sal in this manner. However, the fact is that their lives are starting to diverge. Marcie is right to say that Sal needs to widen her circle to avoid isolation. Of course, for Sal, friendship equals vulnerability. She’s naturally nervous about lowering her defences in that manner.

    Joyce can be overwhelming sometimes but she is, ultimately, a good person and you have to push her really hard to make her act in a truly malicious manner. Thoughtless behaviour is another matter altogether and is something of Joyce’s interpersonal behaviour vice. Of course, that’s a risk with anyone.

    I’m thinking that Sal could do worse than at least get to know Joyce better.

  37. DarkoNeko

    Joyce heard that from 100 meters away and teleported.

  38. Kilo

    Headcanon: Marcie signs really quickly, so that her arms are literally blueshifting.

    1. HMRC4EVR

      Maybe she’s a member of the Power Rangers in this universe and she’s getting ready to Shift into Turbo…or something.

  39. Spencer

    I’m guessing a part of Sal’s frustration with Joyce is that, as far as she’s aware, Joyce is a huge fangirl over her for superficial reasons.

    1. BenRG

      Then again, on what other basis does Joyce know Sal? She’s too skilled at hiding behind emotional walls for anyone to know her except in the form of the superficial illusion of the cool uber-rebel that she presents to the world.

  40. Deanatay

    “Ah said ‘FRIENDS’. Not ‘adulators’ or ‘worshipers’.

    Ah got too many a’ those already.”

  41. Ryek Hvek

    “Hey Marcie, watch me pull a rabbit out the side of this panel!”

  42. Deanatay

    Willis (or anyone else who knows this area): Are rents high around IU? I live in a college town in CA, which also popular among retirees. Rent is VERY high here. It sounds like Marcie’s gotta work pretty hard to keep above water there?

    1. Ars Linguistica

      Nah, Bloomington is by far the best place to live in Indiana, but it’s still surrounded by that near-unbroken wasteland of corn and soybeans. You can’t compare it to California. Personally, my rent about doubled (for a similar situation) when I moved from B-town to Northampton, an even smaller college town. So you can see Western Mass. is desirable enough for a much higher cost of living, or QC is just a far more popular webcomic.

  43. OnyxIdol

    I just realized, I have the same problem as Sal.

    1. Clif

      Joyce wants to be closer than you feel comfortable with?

    2. Roborat

      You have disembodied heads attached to your hand?

  44. hof1991

    So, Marcie is working at a place that needs someone to cover hours? And might need a roommate? And all Joyce hears is an opportunity to get closer to Sal? Come on Joyce, all the plot devices are installed and ready to go.

  45. Pat Myers

    Sal already has one friend. Any more would be *exhausting*.

  46. Sunny

    Does this mean we can start shipping Becky and Sal? Friendshipping them, that is.

  47. Blackbird

    This will hopefully lead to more Sal/Carla interaction. We are pleased.

  48. 3-I

    I still feel like Marcie’s being a little mean here. I mean… With practically no warning she’s kind of just stopped hanging out with Sal entirely. And she’s REALLY not trying to, and it feels like that’s just happening because of Malaya.

    I know it’s understandable and reasonable and human, but. Being friend-dumped sucks.

    1. timemonkey

      She’s not being friend-dumped, she has a life that doesn’t completely revolve around Sal. It’s not her fault Sal refuses to make other friends to occupy her when she’s busy.

  49. B.D

    My cat does that. Somehow he acts like both Sal AND Joyce here, at the same time.

  50. Miles

    Ok who taught Joyce how to teleport?

  51. Spencer

    I’d love to see some strips with Sal and Marcie speaking together solely in sign language.

    The way Willis works the illusion of movement with Marcie’s sign language is genuinely rad.

  52. Shadow12000

    Does nobody else find it weird that Joyce either has bleached the entirety of her mouth, or wears a white triangle on her face?

    1. jjX

      I know people with smiles that wide.
      They scare me.

      1. potatoaddict

        Neoteny; It doesn’t always work out.

    2. No Name

      Eyebrows in this universe are symbiotic creatures that fly off when their host is experiencing great emotion. I think Joyce’s triangle smile fits right in.

  53. potatoaddict

    While everyone’s rather terrified of Joyce’s next-to-telepathic awareness of an issue she could possibly be involved with, I just want to say that I like the lines under Marcie’s eyes. Tis a nice touch to detail, to convey that her routine’s leaving her rather wrecked. I can empathise with that.

  54. Nena

    I think Sal has been hurt and betrayed a lot and therefore has trouble trusting others.

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