you really gonna tell sal there’s something she can’t make look cool and badass? sal can make apples to apples cool and badass. sal did make apples to apples cool and badass.
One time I saw what could be best described as a ‘rat rod cruiser’. It was an older v-twin (think Harley), but with fading paint and rust, and it had a homemade sidecar that was pretty much just a galvanized steel washtub or horse watering trough on wheels. That was pretty cool.
Hopefully Sal didn’t wreck the bike, just had to park for the winter. Maybe she can get a dual-sport with studded snow tires! Something like a Honda XR600L or Suzuki DR650.
Uh-oh! There’s a story a-brewin’!
Place yer bets:
Simple accident or Ghost Rider commandeered her ride and left it a flaming wreck after a battle with Dr. Octopus!
Or Sal *is* Ghost Rider, the bike just appears when she really needs it, and she and her Penance Stare are going to make Garbage Roof muuuuuch less fun.
My sexual experience tells me that a good turkey sandwich is just as if not more satisfying, and takes way less work. And if you you try to tell me I just haven’t had the “right” experience, my eyes gonna roll out the door.
One of my romantic partners is much more impressed by sex, and has a drive to rival the Energizer Bunny. But he still decided that blue ballsing himself was worth a zero-sex relationship with me and friendship with three other people he’s massively attracted to. And he’s never got so hung up on chasing any of his romantic or sexual partners that he disregarded his friends, either.
So I dunno… Still pretty not understandable to me. Honestly I have no idea how anyone could get horny enough to ditch someone they’ve been friends with for a decade. *Shrug*
Regalli
Decade and change. Sal and Marcie definitely looked under ten in their first flashback together. The awkwardness last time they were in a strip together was all about the ‘Marcie had a crush on Sal for years, things are Slightly Weird now’ anyway. Sal is at least abstractly fine with Marcie hooking up with Malaya if that makes Marcie happy, and has made pretty clear attempts to be civil to Malaya even if she can’t manage genuinely friendly against Malaya’s insistence Sal is totally fake.
And add me to the Confused Ace line. I have a libido but like. In about the same way I sometimes want to play a favorite video game.
BBCC
They were five when they first met, so about 13 years.
Leorale
For some, sex feels like a biological imperative, like thirst. Masturbation can help a lot to take the edge off, but the prospect of going without sex forever would be more than a disappointment, they can have full grief.
Thirsty people do destroy relationships that they deeply value for a shot at slaking their thirst. (Not saying it’s right, just that it’s a behaviour that has been observed.) I hope you and your Energizer Bunny have found good ways around that sexuality mismatch.
seikodelic
See, the fact that they’ve been friends since they were kids tells me this was on its way out anyway. People change as they grow, we drift apart. Marcie isn’t ditching Sal for Malaya. She’s making an effort to meet and befriend new people, and it so happens Sal is less important than she once was. Frankly, Marcie gives me the impression that she’s almost fed up with Sal’s nonsense, but maybe I’ve been interpreting the shine on her goggles as eyerolls.
And Sal is still, to at least some extents, financially dependent on her parents. (If only in college tuition. I suspect she keeps as much money as she can somewhere Linda can’t access it after Linda already stole from her, but for a college student – or any 18-year-old in this economy – it’s not nearly enough for a lawyer.)
BBCC
The closest thing she has to lawyer money is being friends with Carla.
Regalli
And I suspect if Carla heard about Linda trashing Sal’s motorcycle because she asked for help, it’d be less ‘here’s $200 for the consult’ and much more ‘The Rutten Heiress shows up on their doorstep as flashily as humanly possible and immediately begs her Dear Friend Sal to join her on the family’s winter vacation at their private chalet in the mountains that may or may not exist, because she so misses the company of her peers.’ And then what do you know, every subsequent break Carla ALSO has plans involving her bosom chums including Sal! The whole break! Funny how that works. You wouldn’t want to pass up a networking chance like that, would you, Linda?
… I would seriously love to see Carla vs Linda though.
BBCC
I want it so badly. I have multiple fic ideas centred around that concept.
Regalli
She’s the perfect opponent. So much bombast. So much social clout even Linda can’t object. So totally, genuinely likes Sal.
BBCC
I dunno which I want more – them to see Sal with someone who meets all their social clout standards or is otherwise ‘too good’ for Sal (Tony, Carla, Danny) or someone they would HATE just out of spite (Marcie, Asher, etc.) So many ships, so little time.
Regalli
Have you considered the Roller Derby Polycule option?
BBCC
Sounds like a bloodbath.
But yes.
Geneseepaws
…watchin’ the ships roll in
Then I watch them roll away again
FacelessDeviant
She doesn’t need to physically wreck it. All she needs to do is to stop paying for insurance for it.
And well, since its a crime to drive uninsured, its probably something that Sal wants to stay far away from.
BBCC
I doubt she was ever paying for the insurance. Sal’s not gonna let her have control over something she cares about again and I doubt Sal went to all the effort to get a motorcycle license and pay for a brand new one and not be able to pay for insurance herself.
That’s not really what’s going on with Sal and Marcie. Marcie pretty clearly likes Malaya in addition to being attracted to her. And her break with Sal before was not about Malaya at all, but about Sal fighting and costing her her job.
But more importantly, valuing sexual pleasure over friendship might be shallow, but a friend who wants to keep you from having sex is too controlling to be much of a friend.
Not that Sal was ever really doing that – she was trying to keep Marcie from having other friends, but was actually okay when she learned she wanted sex with Malaya, so I’ve got no idea where that idea came from. Mind you, gatekeeping her friends is shitty in itself, but she’s gotten past that as well.
I think she was OK with Marcie having other friends in theory but in practice she was used to Marcie always being there for her, waiting for her to be ready to hang out, unless she was working etc, and Marcie making other friends bothered her more than she would have anticipated.
thejeff
She talked often about how they only needed each other, no one else, and then changed her whole attitude towards Malaya when she found out Marcie wanted sex with her.
I love how they talk about Billie like she’s another sibling.
*gasp* oh noes! What happened to the motorcycle?! So many friends will never get motorcycle rides now! The entire floor will be devastated! (except Malaya)
142 thoughts on “North Star”
Ana Chronistic
dude you really think Sal has a motorcycle trailer to haul your shit there
Doctor_Who
Of course not, there’s no way to make a motorcycle trailer look cool and badass.
Regalli
Where there’s a will (and paint with which to put flames on the side) there’s a way!
Pablo360
you really gonna tell sal there’s something she can’t make look cool and badass? sal can make apples to apples cool and badass. sal did make apples to apples cool and badass.
Needfuldoer
One time I saw what could be best described as a ‘rat rod cruiser’. It was an older v-twin (think Harley), but with fading paint and rust, and it had a homemade sidecar that was pretty much just a galvanized steel washtub or horse watering trough on wheels. That was pretty cool.
Hopefully Sal didn’t wreck the bike, just had to park for the winter. Maybe she can get a dual-sport with studded snow tires! Something like a Honda XR600L or Suzuki DR650.
Octopus Ink
Uh-oh! There’s a story a-brewin’!
Place yer bets:
Simple accident or Ghost Rider commandeered her ride and left it a flaming wreck after a battle with Dr. Octopus!
Doctor_Who
Sorta both. She got into an accident, but it was with Ghost Rider.
Luckily, he was at fault and has good coverage because all the biggest insurance companies are headquartered in Hell.
Geneseepaws
That made me laugh
Because it’s true
And then I cried, … Because it’s true
Gerg
Also it’s January in Indiana, not exactly prime motorcycling weather
Bicycle Bill
Bingo!! You don’t see people using skis or operating snowmobiles in the summertime for much the same reason.
Needfuldoer
Where’s there’s a will, there’s a way. Never underestimate the drive to hoon!
Dean
The motorcycle got lost in Sal’s hair. Sometimes she thinks that she can hear it revving faintly, but it might just be the wind.
Geneseepaws
Depends on the mufflers – could be tinnitus
Lingo
It’s become the Amazi-Cycle.
Pongles
My guess is that she forgot where she parked it and won’t admit it.
Ana Chronistic
Or it got left at the crime scene and it’s too far to walk but she has too much pride to ask for a lift (and no account to ask for a Lyft)
Quinn
Or Sal *is* Ghost Rider, the bike just appears when she really needs it, and she and her Penance Stare are going to make Garbage Roof muuuuuch less fun.
Slartibeast Button, BIA
Her motorcycle uses RuTech nanotech so it appears when she wants like Iron Man’s suit in the later movies.
Keulen
I was gonna guess it broke down or was stolen, but the Ghost Rider idea sounds much cooler.
Bogeywoman
*fingers crossed* she sold it to help amber pay for tuition #fuckyoumum
Spriteless Girl
Wow my first thought was she sold it to help Marcie.
showler
Or sold it to pay Amber’s tuition.
Chris
How many years before we find out what happened?
Lanie
My vote is approximately 17 real world months.
clif
Outstanding questions:
What is Mike’s status?
Is there homicide in Dorothy’s future?
Where is Sal’s bike?
abysswatcher1993
I guess either Linda destroyed the motorcycle, or Sal is still pissed that Marcie values more sexual pleasure over friendship.
Cmasta1992
Sex done right is pretty awesome so this is understandable. Even if it’s Malaya
He Who Abides
. . . .
Maybe it’s my utter lack of libido, but your statement makes zero sense to me.
SystemOfEleven
My sexual experience tells me that a good turkey sandwich is just as if not more satisfying, and takes way less work. And if you you try to tell me I just haven’t had the “right” experience, my eyes gonna roll out the door.
One of my romantic partners is much more impressed by sex, and has a drive to rival the Energizer Bunny. But he still decided that blue ballsing himself was worth a zero-sex relationship with me and friendship with three other people he’s massively attracted to. And he’s never got so hung up on chasing any of his romantic or sexual partners that he disregarded his friends, either.
So I dunno… Still pretty not understandable to me. Honestly I have no idea how anyone could get horny enough to ditch someone they’ve been friends with for a decade. *Shrug*
Regalli
Decade and change. Sal and Marcie definitely looked under ten in their first flashback together. The awkwardness last time they were in a strip together was all about the ‘Marcie had a crush on Sal for years, things are Slightly Weird now’ anyway. Sal is at least abstractly fine with Marcie hooking up with Malaya if that makes Marcie happy, and has made pretty clear attempts to be civil to Malaya even if she can’t manage genuinely friendly against Malaya’s insistence Sal is totally fake.
And add me to the Confused Ace line. I have a libido but like. In about the same way I sometimes want to play a favorite video game.
BBCC
They were five when they first met, so about 13 years.
Leorale
For some, sex feels like a biological imperative, like thirst. Masturbation can help a lot to take the edge off, but the prospect of going without sex forever would be more than a disappointment, they can have full grief.
Thirsty people do destroy relationships that they deeply value for a shot at slaking their thirst. (Not saying it’s right, just that it’s a behaviour that has been observed.) I hope you and your Energizer Bunny have found good ways around that sexuality mismatch.
seikodelic
See, the fact that they’ve been friends since they were kids tells me this was on its way out anyway. People change as they grow, we drift apart. Marcie isn’t ditching Sal for Malaya. She’s making an effort to meet and befriend new people, and it so happens Sal is less important than she once was. Frankly, Marcie gives me the impression that she’s almost fed up with Sal’s nonsense, but maybe I’ve been interpreting the shine on her goggles as eyerolls.
Foxhack
I don’t know if Linda would destroy her adult child’s personal vehicle.
I mean, it’d just open her up to a lawsuit or worse.
Regalli
Unfortunately, you need money to sue.
A not-insignificant amount of money.
And Sal is still, to at least some extents, financially dependent on her parents. (If only in college tuition. I suspect she keeps as much money as she can somewhere Linda can’t access it after Linda already stole from her, but for a college student – or any 18-year-old in this economy – it’s not nearly enough for a lawyer.)
BBCC
The closest thing she has to lawyer money is being friends with Carla.
Regalli
And I suspect if Carla heard about Linda trashing Sal’s motorcycle because she asked for help, it’d be less ‘here’s $200 for the consult’ and much more ‘The Rutten Heiress shows up on their doorstep as flashily as humanly possible and immediately begs her Dear Friend Sal to join her on the family’s winter vacation at their private chalet in the mountains that may or may not exist, because she so misses the company of her peers.’ And then what do you know, every subsequent break Carla ALSO has plans involving her bosom chums including Sal! The whole break! Funny how that works. You wouldn’t want to pass up a networking chance like that, would you, Linda?
… I would seriously love to see Carla vs Linda though.
BBCC
I want it so badly. I have multiple fic ideas centred around that concept.
Regalli
She’s the perfect opponent. So much bombast. So much social clout even Linda can’t object. So totally, genuinely likes Sal.
BBCC
I dunno which I want more – them to see Sal with someone who meets all their social clout standards or is otherwise ‘too good’ for Sal (Tony, Carla, Danny) or someone they would HATE just out of spite (Marcie, Asher, etc.) So many ships, so little time.
Regalli
Have you considered the Roller Derby Polycule option?
BBCC
Sounds like a bloodbath.
But yes.
Geneseepaws
…watchin’ the ships roll in
Then I watch them roll away again
FacelessDeviant
She doesn’t need to physically wreck it. All she needs to do is to stop paying for insurance for it.
And well, since its a crime to drive uninsured, its probably something that Sal wants to stay far away from.
BBCC
I doubt she was ever paying for the insurance. Sal’s not gonna let her have control over something she cares about again and I doubt Sal went to all the effort to get a motorcycle license and pay for a brand new one and not be able to pay for insurance herself.
leaf
Walky would know if Linda destroyed it
thejeff
That’s not really what’s going on with Sal and Marcie. Marcie pretty clearly likes Malaya in addition to being attracted to her. And her break with Sal before was not about Malaya at all, but about Sal fighting and costing her her job.
But more importantly, valuing sexual pleasure over friendship might be shallow, but a friend who wants to keep you from having sex is too controlling to be much of a friend.
Not that Sal was ever really doing that – she was trying to keep Marcie from having other friends, but was actually okay when she learned she wanted sex with Malaya, so I’ve got no idea where that idea came from. Mind you, gatekeeping her friends is shitty in itself, but she’s gotten past that as well.
Miri
I think she was OK with Marcie having other friends in theory but in practice she was used to Marcie always being there for her, waiting for her to be ready to hang out, unless she was working etc, and Marcie making other friends bothered her more than she would have anticipated.
thejeff
She talked often about how they only needed each other, no one else, and then changed her whole attitude towards Malaya when she found out Marcie wanted sex with her.
Reltzik
1) What Leaf said.
2) Sal’s willing to ride with Danny and Joyce and others.
I’m guessing it’s some problem from hanging out with AG.
Reltzik
Addendum:
3) The Forest gang wouldn’t stop fangirling over it every time she appeared in public with it.
Spencer
I don’t know why Walky thinks Billie’s being elusive. She’s right there in the first panel.
Kyrik Michalowski
Nope, she isn’t tagged, clearly that is a doppelganger.
Cattleprod
Billie should sue, no one else can have black hair and a yellow shirt.
Doctor_Who
Her lawsuit against Frieda is currently pending.
MacareuxMoine
and Billie got moved to a different building and has therefor no business at this center desk.
Keulen
I’m glad I wasn’t the only person who thought that looked like Billie.
Kyrik Michalowski
I hope the alt text is in fact a Queen reference because that would make my day.
Unrelated to that, can I say how much I love Sal’s hair?
Stephen Bierce
You can have a Queen reference. So says the Muzak hacker.
Needfuldoer
As a treat.
Rheinman
I want to ride it where i like.
thejeff
Don’t see how it could be anything else.
No fat bottomed girls in today’s strip though.
LiterallyJustSomeGuy
I love how they talk about Billie like she’s another sibling.
*gasp* oh noes! What happened to the motorcycle?! So many friends will never get motorcycle rides now! The entire floor will be devastated! (except Malaya)
Foxhack
She basically IS the third Walkerton sibling. Remember how she defused the Amber situation with their parents (before they said eff this because her dad was murdered in the hospital)?
ADLegend21
Did it get destroyed in the chase?
BBCC
Nah, it was fine last we saw it: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-10/03-when-it-crumbles/i/
Jamie
Clearly we need a “sal’s motorcycle” tag.
tim gueguen
More likely their mom found out she was paying for the insurance on it, and had it cancelled.
BBCC
I think Sal knows better than to put anything she cares about in the hands of her mother, even if her mother didn’t know about it.
Reed
i’m just staring at their new hairstyles. love the new post quarantine long hair looks.
Bagge