Do you mean making a face that looks like Optimus?
Or a face that Optimus makes?
Also, if you’re feeling extra detailed with it, which Optimus and which version of said Optimus?
Ah, I remember when Optimus was young and inexperienced and had a chin, and Megatron was just a head in a building, and Starscream had a bunch of clones representing his personality, including a girl one which maybe implies he’s trans in more ways than one.
When Optimus had a mouth that didn’t look weird
All I’ve learned from being exposed to transformers media is that they should stop giving Optimus a mouth. Masked up only, it’s such an improvement
Oh my cheese I hadn’t thought of how Galasso’s Shortpacked lack of knowledge about reproduction would play off against the Dumbiverse version of Amber.
Honestly I would read that to indicate that every Pepsi is ok, rather than simply a double negative… If no Pepsi is not acceptable, the opposite is every Pepsi is acceptable. XD
its the one that says the constitution doesn’t cover everything and that there could be inalienable right the founding fathers didn’t think of, or that would exist as society changes and time goes on.
Because it’s really hard to do anything with it. You really can’t use it legally to establish a right, since you could make the same argument for literally anything.
Damn, you poor people. I can grab one for about about a buck fifty at most grocery stores. Except for the one solid week a month when they’re all out at once.
Here (south Florida) the stores (including Costco) always carry Hecho en Mexico Coke (sugar and in glass) – but pricier than “regular”. We also get (US) sugar Coke in 2 liter bottles, but usually only around Passover.
Well yeah, I am poor, like “$14 in my account to last me indefinitely” type poor. Soda is like $2 now and it’s starting to price me out of drinking it (overall win for my health, but it’s still a bad omen). And most of the grocery stores here don’t carry it, outside of the ones way on the complete opposite end of town.
Here in deepest FOA, my local Wal-Mart sells Mexican Coke, plus we have a couple of Mexican grocery stores. I wasn’t terribly impressed, but maybe it’s just a case of what you’re used to.
I also miss just plucking sassafras twigs from the tree and chewing on them all day. (Instant root beer flavor!) But apparently sassafras oil has some health concerns to it now.
I stopped really drinking soda when I was twelve, but I always preferred Coca Cola to Pepsi. I think it might have been, in part, low stakes tribalism, though. These days, I’ll have an occasional sip of soda, but I don’t enjoy much more than that, so I haven’t tested it out recently.
My mother is 65 and won’t even admit to liking coke (despite choosing it twice in two different taste tests).
She is not young, she doesn’t protest, though she apparently thinks she’s too cool for a minivan.
If I recall correctly, regular Coke is ‘Coke Classic’ whereas Diet Coke is actually diet New Coke, so that might be the reason. Whereas Coke Zero is diet Coke Classic.
Generally, Coke Classic has less sweetener than Pepsi/New Coke, allowing more of the caffeine flavor (ie bitter like coffee) to seep through. That’s the ‘sharpness’ of Coke Classic. See also the ‘bite’ of Barc’s rootbeer.
I tried Diet Coke once and it tasted like it had diluted washing up liquid in there to me, but that was in the 90s. It put me off.
Also up until I was about 7 I didn’t understand why anybody liked fizzy drinks. I’d kinda had a permanent cold for the first chunk of my life, with accompanying sore throat, and drinking things that feel like sandpaper going down hurt. Getting a bit of a break from that was nice…. (Currently on the same cold I had since May… My body’s bad at shaking them. But the antibiotics cleared up the side-helping of pneumonia I got to enjoy late May/early June so it’s kinda fine?)
Now when I want one, I tend to order a pint of orange and soda water. Or if I really want something sweet, pineapple and soda water.
I’m so sorry you have been sick for so long, Miri!
*Sends you a pot of hot black tea with honey (preferably raw local wildflower honey) and fresh lemon, boiled up with a clove of fresh garlic and a chunk of fresh ginger root.*
(Other remedy recipes call for something more peppery, but I don’t want to exacerbate your sore throat. Lots of honey!)
Yeah. I’m guessing Amber and Amazi-Girl will both have their friendships with Sal and Danny trashed by the end of the evening. Folks are often unforgiving of damage done by alters.
Coca-Cola hasn’t used kola extract since 2016, probably because climate shift made it harder to grow the trees the nut comes from. The caffeine content of the raw nut is usually between 2-4%, so the loss of the extract from the Coca-Cola recipe can easily be compensated for with caffeine from virtually any other source.
Other hand, I’m not sure they should be allowed to keep using the name, given that neither of the substances it’s named for can be found in the soda today.
I used to not like any cola, the drank a few times since it was all that was available beside plain water, then got a big time without it and remarked something: it’s not only an acquired taste, but a taste you have to acquire anew each time you spend enough time without drinking it. Result: I prefer to have plain water at room temperature, even that room is a car parked for eight hours in the sun that have some coke (but water has to be in something else that a plastic bottle).
This is the happiest we’ve seen Amber in a long time! Someone asked about one of her special interests, insisted even, and is actually letting her talk about them. Beautiful to see, weird that it’s Sal’s disconnected goofball dad.
Shortpacked-Amber reaching across the multiverse to get revenge against Sydney. Assuming they were even personally enemies in Shortpacked, I can’t remember.
Sydney was everyone’s personal enemy in Shortpacked who worked at Shortpacked.
And Amber was a superhero, thus necessitating a nemesis. So at least in a meta way I think it works. (I know Sarah Palin was Robin’s direct Axis of Something counterpart.)
Iirc, Sydney thought they were the nemesis of everyone in Shortpacked (on account of getting laid off after Christmas sales season), but nobody particularly remembered who Sydney was.
Actually I think it means she’d prefer Pepsi Nitro. The only soda infused with nitrogen for a smooth and creamy finish that appeals the discriminating transformer.
Hm, I think I’d assume Pepsi was okay. I don’t know why. Maybe I’d think the bottom dialogue in panel three was meant to be the takeaway. Maybe I’d think, “This person has other things to think about right now. They will accept the soda.”
I’m’a make a prediction, here. Not based on anything other than what we’ve seen so far, and probably super, super wrong, but it’ll still amuse me if it is in any way correct.
Off-panel, Chuck is reacting with the exact level of Lovecraftian horror that one would expect, wondering what he hath wrought, and hoping that enough laudanum will suppress the dreams. Meanwhile, Linda is going full denial, tuning Amber’s actual speech out so she can focus on ‘what’s important’ (which certainly is NOT skin-color, however would you get that idea?).
Thus, when the party breaks up, Chuck and Linda have utterly disparate viewpoints. This leads to an argument, that escalates quickly, in part because Linda is so used to Chuck just going along with her wishes. Eventually, she crosses a key line, and says something ~blatantly~ racist, lacking any plausible deniability.
At that point, things spiral, until they announce they are getting a divorce. Linda, somehow blaming Lucy for everything and seeking solace, runs across Carol, who suggests she come to a community faith meeting to ‘get some perspective’. This leads to a mirror of the Reagan-era alliance between Southern racists and far-right religious zealots, and thus the Evil Mom Alliance is born.
Unlike the EDA, the EMA focuses on legal shennanigans, harassment and action by proxy, inciting protests against perversion on campus and “Woke Ideology”; they also tap into the local right-wing student groups (most of whom are former fratbros of Ryan’s) to invite demagogue speakers to campus. A smear campaign is launched, suggesting that Lucy (among others) is an “affirmative action admission” that should have her admission re-reviewed. Linda taps into her old relationship with the Dean to help push things along and at least prevent an official retaliation.
Meanwhile, Chuck and Hank meet up in a bar, they bond over drinks and some incidental similarities, and wake up sharing a motel bed; they look at one another uncertainly, before gently holding hands. Somehow, Robin ends up officiating their mutual second marriage.
Willis spending ten years writing a complex, nuanced story about growing up and changing as a person and grappling with religion and sexuality and family, all so he can lure in an audience and spend the next six months subjecting them to Transformers sex lore.
Yeah his face here is so animated and attentive. Not something we’ve really seen with Lucy. Of course some of that could be the chaos in which he’s currently engaged, but I don’t think that’s all of it. Oof.
Willis is the closest thing to a transformers expert I know so I am just going to accept all that information as factual and not look into it any further
You fools. Don’t you see you’re playing into these soda distributors hands?! Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, Coke, RC, Shasta, Diet Rite. It’s all the same crap. They want you to fight, to identify with their brand so you go out and buy more their bullshit carbonated, corn syrup, sugar water! They sit in their ivory tower raking in profit from our petty spats cause they know trying to innovate in the soft drink industry is a fruitless endeavor. No one would normally drink mango, or fucking ginseng infused horse piss unless they felt they were getting one over on the other guy’s nearly identical crap. Say no to soda war profiteering!
Technically Dr Pepper isn’t a cola as it has no kola nuts.
That’s how they won a lawsuit against Pepsi back in the day who felt the names were too similar.
“You see, Charles, I put on the transformers costume and mix and mingle with other people in similar suits. It’s a whole convention full of likeminded people! It’s not sexual. Although I do have lots of sex while I’m wearing it.”
Wow ok I was expecting a simple explanation of mpreg or something like that, I underestimated Amber’s power level. (I realize what it says about me that I immediately assumed the pregnant Transformer in the image was male.)
Wait, so then what’s a protoform like they had in that one epsiode TFP where Starscream clones himself? Also, are the transformers coming out of the ground a spontaneous autogensis thing, them being created by the All-Spark or Primus (who is kinda Cybertron in away), or are they sprouting from seeds or spores of somekind? There are different (apparent) sexes of transformers. Are they getting the seeds via sexual reproduction? I have so many questions I don’t want to have but my love of scify and biology is too strong.
Protoforms have always been a weird deal since they were introduced in Beast Wars. They’re often treated as unactivated blank slates that can be anything but we also have clear evidence of past lives.
Prime/Animated both show protoforms as the beginning of the transformer lifecycle. But Beast Wars shows Rampage having been previously activated before he was made a protoform and RID gives us Autobot protoforms who were remade into Decepticons but can still recall their autobot memories.
Basically protoforms aren’t necessarily baby transformers but rather transformers in some sort of a heavily malleable state.
Can’t tell if Amber is trolling or this is real TF lore. AFAIK Willis has sure never mentioned any of this on Twitter and it’s exactly the kind of thing he’d discuss. (Which is to say anything I know about Transformers I got second-hand via Willis.)
Because a robot society is a fictional thing that doesn’t exist. I dunno, I just think building new robots seems a fun thing to explore. Turns out they don’t do that. Yes, I do understand a fictional world is more interesting if it allows us to explore real-world problems from a different angle. But also, robots building new robots!
They don’t frown on building new robots — they manufacture them as quickly as they can, because they need to win wars. It’s just that since they’re not born the “regular” magical way, there was a time they weren’t considered equals.
to be honest if the old traditional way of breeding is jumping off the rocks of cybertron like dwarves then other methods can look like playing god or frankenstein.
And I dont see difference between pepsi and cola so pepsi is ok
I feel so bad for Sal. Do they approve of Danny at LEAST partially because he’s a sweet little white boy nerd? Yes. Was it still getting Sal approval and interaction she had never gotten from her parents, as well as the fact that Sal sincerely likes Danny and got to introduce them to her parents. Granted, her parents also used the opportunity to pat themselves on the back for their shitty parenting BUT I think Sal was still enjoying some of the benefits. Finally, she was the center of attention for their parents. And in a GOOD way.
…And then Walky comes in with Amber to torch the whole dinner as part of a lesson about racism. Which is clearly not going to plan. Linda didn’t magically forgive Amber just because she was white. When Walky does try to go ‘See?! Lucy’s so much better than Amber!!”, I think his parents are just going to be confused about who his girlfriend really is. Linda may even ask to talk to the manager. Amber and Walky have now hogged all of the attention for shenanigans when Lucy and Walky could have arrived together and proven themselves, if not flip off Linda and Charles themselves if they did microaggressions which Sal would have helped them with.
This was so poorly thought out and I hope Sal will be alright by the end.
While you’re probably right about the direction, I do think its worth keeping an open mind about the possibilities here. I can see two less likely, but still possible alternatives:
1: Linda and Charles pull Walky aside to ask him what happened to Lucy, and the main reason they haven’t yet is that they’re having trouble dealing with Amber’s… Amberness.
2: Linda/Charles call out Walky on this obviously not being serious. They probably don’t understand *what* the actual motive is, but they know that this isn’t sincere, and aren’t shouting Amber down because… well, one part her Amberness, and one part them wanting to be sure.
Again, you’re most likely right about this going horribly wrong or horribly right, but we’re still mid-scene, sometimes Willis surprises us.
Yeah, I’m getting lots of sibling feels for Sal in this whole arc. And Sal is trying so hard to be sincere and vulnerable — but then comes Walky shenanigans, Sal gets covered up, no more attention left for Sal.
It’s been like a literal minute.
That is way too short to say whether or not this plan will work.
Yes, it’s a terrible plan, but not necessarily because it won’t highlight the parent’s racism and treatment of Sal.
We need more time to say whether or not that part of the plan will fail or not, especially since Linda is the main force behind that behavior and the last things she did was snap “Charles!” two strips ago.
I choose to remove the quotation marks and take your newly-modified comment about Linda snapping Charles in the most violent way possible. She has broken the man in half and there’s nothing you can do to convince me you weren’t the one who said it first.
See, Sydney, this is why you’ll never be a successful supervillain. You should tell her, “You are not worthy of Coca-Cola! You will drink Pepsi, and you will hate it! But you will drink it anyway! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Now I’m wondering if there’s any tangible difference between the two composition-wise. Some kind of dietary restriction against one but not the other (sugar doesn’t count, literally just drink less of it).
Pepsi is sweeter initially, Coke has a more complex aftertaste. They fought a whole war about it back in the 70s and 80s, as memorialized in Billy Joel’s 1989 hit We Didn’t Start the Fire.
I meant something more like “Turns out Pepsi contains certain [science word] that causes people with [fairly rare allergy] to can’t drink it syndrome, but Coke doesn’t have that”.
cocaine is also what provided the pep in pepsi. I believe the difference is the acids used. Coke is supposedly all phosphoric acid, and pepsi is mostly phosphoric acid, but some citric acid, which is included as “natural flavors” in the ingredients list.
Amber’s info-dumping habit hits a little close to home, here. When to rein that tendency in was one of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years.
Those are the Junkions, I believe. And I’m guessing they were already pre-built or something and were just hiding underground? I dunno, my Transformer knowledge is decades out of date. XD I was actually under the impression that all new Transformers were constructed, so what Amber said in today’s strip is all-new to me!
if i was their server, i would either love or hate amber, it would entirely depend how busy we were. slow day? this is my favorite table, tell me more. slammed dinner rush? shut the fuck up and order.
I guess this kind of thing just happens to franchises which are around for decades on end. Keep trying to one up previous iterations. And if they can’t do that they’ll try to at least make it weirder.
Really, nobody noticed the bit in panel 3 about it being bad to treat people worse just because they’re different? Just slid it right through and kept talking. Amber is too good at this for Walky’s wacky hijinks.
I noticed for sure- honestly the most interesting part of today’s comment to me for sure. This is actually good conversation and I wish the characters would talk about it
If you order a Coke, and they ask if Pepsi is okay, it’s probably because they don’t serve Coke products at all in that restaurant. I.e. your choice will be Pepsi (or some other Pepsi product like Sierra Mist or whatever) or tea or water or nothing at all.
That’s why I always say “I’d like a cola, please”. Doesn’t stop some of the denser ones from asking if Pepsi is okay, and I don’t have it in me to say “Yes, that’s why I said ‘cola’ and not ‘Coke'”, but it helps about as often as not.
If I want a cola but Pepsi isn’t okay, I’ll just ask for something the fuck else, becaues I’m not about to escalate the situation over a fucking beverage.
Amber slowly rises from her chair, turns to Sydney with a frosty expression, and says, quietly, “no, Pepsi is not OK. Bring me a Coke. NOW.” She turns away, sits back down, and resumes her discourse as if nothing has happened.
Sydney backs away slowly, thinkinig furiously where is the nearest Coke, because at last he has seen true power.
so where do the protoforms factor in? Are they the things that grow like daisies? Also, when is the spark infused? Do you put the spark in the protoform or does the protoform grow with one inside and it waits for some trigger to animate it?
Loading ...
Meanwhile, Galasso is just off-panel carefully taking notes. Finally, someone explaining how reproduction works!
Either that, or making a face like Optimus when Sari explained it to him.
Do you mean making a face that looks like Optimus?
Or a face that Optimus makes?
Also, if you’re feeling extra detailed with it, which Optimus and which version of said Optimus?
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:Sariprime.jpg
Ah, I remember when Optimus was young and inexperienced and had a chin, and Megatron was just a head in a building, and Starscream had a bunch of clones representing his personality, including a girl one which maybe implies he’s trans in more ways than one.
When Optimus had a mouth that didn’t look weird
All I’ve learned from being exposed to transformers media is that they should stop giving Optimus a mouth. Masked up only, it’s such an improvement
Oh shit, I forgot about this!
“A” Galasso’s ALT-text?
This store is merely the first step in his plan of global domination. In time, all will be Galasso’s.
Eventually it will become impossible to build anything but more Galasso’s.
Oh my cheese I hadn’t thought of how Galasso’s Shortpacked lack of knowledge about reproduction would play off against the Dumbiverse version of Amber.
“Ma’am, this is Galasso’s.”
HEY alt-text
also, NO Pepsi is NOT acceptable!
Don’t let my mother read that.
no pepsi is not acceptable? double negative that means pepsi is acceptable
Honestly I would read that to indicate that every Pepsi is ok, rather than simply a double negative… If no Pepsi is not acceptable, the opposite is every Pepsi is acceptable. XD
Ce n’est pas un Pepsi
Why commas matter? Or simple pedantry?
Commas have no rights. Commas are NOT protected under the constitution.
You’re forgetting the 9th Amendment though.
How can I forget what I never knew?
its the one that says the constitution doesn’t cover everything and that there could be inalienable right the founding fathers didn’t think of, or that would exist as society changes and time goes on.
I wonder why they glossed over that one whenever I took that dopey “Constitution Test” back in fifth grade.
Because it’s really hard to do anything with it. You really can’t use it legally to establish a right, since you could make the same argument for literally anything.
Still, it would be really handy to keep in mind. I don’t trust the people in charge not to downplay it for controlling reasons.
“We don’t need no education”
…said the US education system.
“We don’t need no gun control” said the GOP
Real sugar Pepsi is better than HFCS Coke. I wish they still sold it (and Mountain Dew Throwback) in 2 liter bottles.
You know they make real sugar coke too right? You just need to look outside of the land of corn.
$25 per bottle plus shipping isn’t worth it for a Coke
Damn, you poor people. I can grab one for about about a buck fifty at most grocery stores. Except for the one solid week a month when they’re all out at once.
Here (south Florida) the stores (including Costco) always carry Hecho en Mexico Coke (sugar and in glass) – but pricier than “regular”. We also get (US) sugar Coke in 2 liter bottles, but usually only around Passover.
Well yeah, I am poor, like “$14 in my account to last me indefinitely” type poor. Soda is like $2 now and it’s starting to price me out of drinking it (overall win for my health, but it’s still a bad omen). And most of the grocery stores here don’t carry it, outside of the ones way on the complete opposite end of town.
Here in deepest FOA, my local Wal-Mart sells Mexican Coke, plus we have a couple of Mexican grocery stores. I wasn’t terribly impressed, but maybe it’s just a case of what you’re used to.
what ever happened to the hurricane bottles
Look for Coke bottles with yellow caps around Passover. They make that version with sucrose and sell it for the same price as the HFCS formula.
I miss mecca cola…
I also miss just plucking sassafras twigs from the tree and chewing on them all day. (Instant root beer flavor!) But apparently sassafras oil has some health concerns to it now.
I’m guessing health concerns to it then too, just not known ones.
Well, yeah, but hopefully not enough to matter for a kid who just likes to chew twigs all day.
It is not acceptable that there is no Pepsi.
No tuna. Cheeseburger!
No Transformers. Pepsi!
Galasso’s routinely has weirder people than you. It’s a pizza joint.
Im gonna be honest
I didnt read all that
I did. Loved every bit of it! ☺️
It’s worth reading
Happy for the Transformers though. Or sorry that happened
Gotta have our exposition _somewhere_. Very important to the plot!
i’m sure it’d be great to listen to on a podcast
Plot twist: Amber infodumping about it is going to make walky crush on her again and suggest a polycule for real lol
Hell, it’s making me crush on her, and I’m nowhere near as closer to her as Walky is.
Amber gravatar weird but possibly appropriate for this comment.
i know she has a small livestream following so who knows maybe despite her privacy and stuff she’s internet famous as a robotic themed vtuber or so XD
Fuck yeah Amber! Show us your raw Autistic Resonance!!! 🤘😈 ✌️😎
*plays “Torture Dance Song” from JoJo Golden Wind on hacked muzak*
I prefer Coca Cola actually. Pepsi is for people who are young and hip and like a little protest in their soft drink.
I stopped really drinking soda when I was twelve, but I always preferred Coca Cola to Pepsi. I think it might have been, in part, low stakes tribalism, though. These days, I’ll have an occasional sip of soda, but I don’t enjoy much more than that, so I haven’t tested it out recently.
Or it might have been because Coke is good and Pepsi is rubbish.
Eh, colas all taste like soap to me. Sunkist or gtfo. (AFAICT, it’s the only caffeinated orange soda.)
My mother is 65 and won’t even admit to liking coke (despite choosing it twice in two different taste tests).
She is not young, she doesn’t protest, though she apparently thinks she’s too cool for a minivan.
Weirdly, I personally like Coke better as far as regular soda, but Diet Pepsi is leagues ahead of Diet Coke for me. Not sure why.
If I recall correctly, regular Coke is ‘Coke Classic’ whereas Diet Coke is actually diet New Coke, so that might be the reason. Whereas Coke Zero is diet Coke Classic.
Generally, Coke Classic has less sweetener than Pepsi/New Coke, allowing more of the caffeine flavor (ie bitter like coffee) to seep through. That’s the ‘sharpness’ of Coke Classic. See also the ‘bite’ of Barc’s rootbeer.
I tried Diet Coke once and it tasted like it had diluted washing up liquid in there to me, but that was in the 90s. It put me off.
Also up until I was about 7 I didn’t understand why anybody liked fizzy drinks. I’d kinda had a permanent cold for the first chunk of my life, with accompanying sore throat, and drinking things that feel like sandpaper going down hurt. Getting a bit of a break from that was nice…. (Currently on the same cold I had since May… My body’s bad at shaking them. But the antibiotics cleared up the side-helping of pneumonia I got to enjoy late May/early June so it’s kinda fine?)
Now when I want one, I tend to order a pint of orange and soda water. Or if I really want something sweet, pineapple and soda water.
I’m so sorry you have been sick for so long, Miri!
*Sends you a pot of hot black tea with honey (preferably raw local wildflower honey) and fresh lemon, boiled up with a clove of fresh garlic and a chunk of fresh ginger root.*
(Other remedy recipes call for something more peppery, but I don’t want to exacerbate your sore throat. Lots of honey!)
Or a hot toddy with black tea and rum.
Danny finally realizing Amazi-girl and Amber aren’t quite the same person.
oops, not meant to reply here. I can’t drink cola anymore, so root beer when I’m having a soft drink.
Yeah. I’m guessing Amber and Amazi-Girl will both have their friendships with Sal and Danny trashed by the end of the evening. Folks are often unforgiving of damage done by alters.
I’m reminded of this comic:
https://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1063
Which is sad, because Amazi-Girl actually does like them both and enjoys having friends.
Coca-Cola has neither coca nor cola, and therefore sucks by default for being a lie. Yes, the coke is a lie.
Pepsi-Cola, likewise. What the heck is pepsi supposed to even be?
Doesn’t it still contain cola nuts? They contain loads of caffeine.
Coca-Cola hasn’t used kola extract since 2016, probably because climate shift made it harder to grow the trees the nut comes from. The caffeine content of the raw nut is usually between 2-4%, so the loss of the extract from the Coca-Cola recipe can easily be compensated for with caffeine from virtually any other source.
Other hand, I’m not sure they should be allowed to keep using the name, given that neither of the substances it’s named for can be found in the soda today.
I used to not like any cola, the drank a few times since it was all that was available beside plain water, then got a big time without it and remarked something: it’s not only an acquired taste, but a taste you have to acquire anew each time you spend enough time without drinking it. Result: I prefer to have plain water at room temperature, even that room is a car parked for eight hours in the sun that have some coke (but water has to be in something else that a plastic bottle).
Peptic acid?
That’s just dilute Hydrochloric acid.
Wild how much if a war it is when the only difference is that coke is a fraction less sweet. Both are undrinkable without rum or lime juice anyway
(team GinsengUP Cola flavor)
Pretty sure coke is sweeter.
There used to be just a fraction of cinnamon in Coke that wasn’t in Pepsi. I could taste the difference.
Amber is practically glowing right now.
This is the happiest we’ve seen Amber in a long time! Someone asked about one of her special interests, insisted even, and is actually letting her talk about them. Beautiful to see, weird that it’s Sal’s disconnected goofball dad.
I have a feeling I know why he asked, and I don’t like it.
Shortpacked-Amber reaching across the multiverse to get revenge against Sydney. Assuming they were even personally enemies in Shortpacked, I can’t remember.
Sydney was everyone’s personal enemy in Shortpacked who worked at Shortpacked.
And Amber was a superhero, thus necessitating a nemesis. So at least in a meta way I think it works. (I know Sarah Palin was Robin’s direct Axis of Something counterpart.)
My memory of Shortpacked is hazy enough that I can’t recall if Sydney’s big push was before for after Amber moved away.
Iirc, Sydney thought they were the nemesis of everyone in Shortpacked (on account of getting laid off after Christmas sales season), but nobody particularly remembered who Sydney was.
I’m learning so much, keep going Amber
If someone responded to me asking “Is Pepsi ok” by explaining transformers reproduction lore in detail I’d assume Pepsi is not ok.
Actually I think it means she’d prefer Pepsi Nitro. The only soda infused with nitrogen for a smooth and creamy finish that appeals the discriminating transformer.
Hm, I think I’d assume Pepsi was okay. I don’t know why. Maybe I’d think the bottom dialogue in panel three was meant to be the takeaway. Maybe I’d think, “This person has other things to think about right now. They will accept the soda.”
I’m baffled anyone would assume anything. I’d just keep repeating the question.
I think this might be the most Amber has smiled since Mike died. I’m not used to it.
Well, one can’t argue that Amber isn’t going all the way with the plan, that’s for sure…
You know, given what Amber has been summoned to do, this is the most effective way of going about it I can think of.
I’m still laughing. Beautiful. Poor Sydney.
Yee, her autism powers make her perfect for this! 😁😋
I’m’a make a prediction, here. Not based on anything other than what we’ve seen so far, and probably super, super wrong, but it’ll still amuse me if it is in any way correct.
Off-panel, Chuck is reacting with the exact level of Lovecraftian horror that one would expect, wondering what he hath wrought, and hoping that enough laudanum will suppress the dreams. Meanwhile, Linda is going full denial, tuning Amber’s actual speech out so she can focus on ‘what’s important’ (which certainly is NOT skin-color, however would you get that idea?).
Thus, when the party breaks up, Chuck and Linda have utterly disparate viewpoints. This leads to an argument, that escalates quickly, in part because Linda is so used to Chuck just going along with her wishes. Eventually, she crosses a key line, and says something ~blatantly~ racist, lacking any plausible deniability.
At that point, things spiral, until they announce they are getting a divorce. Linda, somehow blaming Lucy for everything and seeking solace, runs across Carol, who suggests she come to a community faith meeting to ‘get some perspective’. This leads to a mirror of the Reagan-era alliance between Southern racists and far-right religious zealots, and thus the Evil Mom Alliance is born.
Unlike the EDA, the EMA focuses on legal shennanigans, harassment and action by proxy, inciting protests against perversion on campus and “Woke Ideology”; they also tap into the local right-wing student groups (most of whom are former fratbros of Ryan’s) to invite demagogue speakers to campus. A smear campaign is launched, suggesting that Lucy (among others) is an “affirmative action admission” that should have her admission re-reviewed. Linda taps into her old relationship with the Dean to help push things along and at least prevent an official retaliation.
Meanwhile, Chuck and Hank meet up in a bar, they bond over drinks and some incidental similarities, and wake up sharing a motel bed; they look at one another uncertainly, before gently holding hands. Somehow, Robin ends up officiating their mutual second marriage.
Thus Endeth The Prediction.
Prediction, schmediction. I think you just recited the plot of Left Behind.
Willis spending ten years writing a complex, nuanced story about growing up and changing as a person and grappling with religion and sexuality and family, all so he can lure in an audience and spend the next six months subjecting them to Transformers sex lore.
Brilliant and I am here for it!
Next Slipshine.
Transformer slipshine where Carla is the transformer (for multiple reasons)
Butt of course. Carla is all about Transformers, after Ultra Car. Of course.
the long game…
Charles: Who else is aroused?
Sal: Believe it or not.
David, too. It’s a family thing.
Walky looks happy and engaged so I’m gonna keep my crusade that I think they should get back together.
i read that as “engorged”
Spoilers? 😏
I’ll save that description until AFTER lunch.
Yeah his face here is so animated and attentive. Not something we’ve really seen with Lucy. Of course some of that could be the chaos in which he’s currently engaged, but I don’t think that’s all of it. Oof.
I hope ‘transgressive’ was a Transformers pun.
If it wasn’t, it’s transformed into one now.
It was sort of hidden in there. A pun in disguise if you would.
Willis is the closest thing to a transformers expert I know so I am just going to accept all that information as factual and not look into it any further
Wise you are.
Yeah, I mean he’s THE Transformers Stan.
I mean, one could look it up on the Transformers wiki, but Willis almost certainly wrote whatever one would find.
Are we in danger of Walky falling back in love with amber after this? His smile has me worried!
You’re just having fun, aren’t you.
there’s NOTHING funny about Transformers lore, this is all Serious business >:I
Oh gosh walky’s gonna fall in love with her. I expected walky and Lucy to end but not like this
Even if Walky did fall for her, I can’t imagine Amber being willing to reciprocate due to her own eff’d upness.
I do not know any transformer lore or background. This is unironically fascinating to me.
Can I have a Baja Blast zero please?
Black Cherry Real Sugar Pepsi was Best Pepsi.
My wife has spoken.
Your wife has good taste.
Then why isn’t she drinking Dr. Pepper?
Because she has good taste.
I like Dr Pepper? Pika pika? 😮
You fools. Don’t you see you’re playing into these soda distributors hands?! Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, Coke, RC, Shasta, Diet Rite. It’s all the same crap. They want you to fight, to identify with their brand so you go out and buy more their bullshit carbonated, corn syrup, sugar water! They sit in their ivory tower raking in profit from our petty spats cause they know trying to innovate in the soft drink industry is a fruitless endeavor. No one would normally drink mango, or fucking ginseng infused horse piss unless they felt they were getting one over on the other guy’s nearly identical crap. Say no to soda war profiteering!
I like Dr Pepper when i in the mood for a cola but not too much caffeine 😄
Technically Dr Pepper isn’t a cola as it has no kola nuts.
That’s how they won a lawsuit against Pepsi back in the day who felt the names were too similar.
It’s also a complete fucking fraud. What, I’m supposed to believe that billions of cans and bottles and Chapsticks have a doctorate?
*Plays “Coke is the Drink of the Death Squads” on the hacked jukebox…*
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O7GXdfJ2nxE
Cherry coke comes close, though! Cherry vanilla coke is awesome too.
(Hypocritical, I know. “I am vast. I contain multitudes.” As Whitman said. Or something like that.)
Cherry Vanilla Coke Zero is the best, fight me.
“You see, Charles, I put on the transformers costume and mix and mingle with other people in similar suits. It’s a whole convention full of likeminded people! It’s not sexual. Although I do have lots of sex while I’m wearing it.”
Wow ok I was expecting a simple explanation of mpreg or something like that, I underestimated Amber’s power level. (I realize what it says about me that I immediately assumed the pregnant Transformer in the image was male.)
Yesterday’s pregnant transformer? Yep, Scorponok’s a guy.
Also, they were very nearly a Single Gender Race, so your odds would be pretty good anyway!
lol I missed that Amber said it was canon! Love that for him
And Walky instantly requested mpreg pics
And I thought the Spider-Man and TMNT mythos was fucked up and weird…and I found out about the time Spider-Queen Assaulted Peter Parker the other day.
is this referring to ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’, the hit Broadway musical????
SYDNEY!
Amber is very knowledgeable!
Just maybe needs to answer about Pepsi. XD
Wait, so then what’s a protoform like they had in that one epsiode TFP where Starscream clones himself? Also, are the transformers coming out of the ground a spontaneous autogensis thing, them being created by the All-Spark or Primus (who is kinda Cybertron in away), or are they sprouting from seeds or spores of somekind? There are different (apparent) sexes of transformers. Are they getting the seeds via sexual reproduction? I have so many questions I don’t want to have but my love of scify and biology is too strong.
Protoforms have always been a weird deal since they were introduced in Beast Wars. They’re often treated as unactivated blank slates that can be anything but we also have clear evidence of past lives.
Prime/Animated both show protoforms as the beginning of the transformer lifecycle. But Beast Wars shows Rampage having been previously activated before he was made a protoform and RID gives us Autobot protoforms who were remade into Decepticons but can still recall their autobot memories.
Basically protoforms aren’t necessarily baby transformers but rather transformers in some sort of a heavily malleable state.
Thank god he stopped her before she started explaining Kiss Players.
What is a Kiss Player?
You could google it, but I recommend you don’t. And yeah, I could explain it but I don’t want to be responsible for doing that to someone.
You should have warned me more strongly. Basically looks like pedophilic transformers.
Transformers but they have to make out with little girls.
oh gods
Not sure what it says about me that I would willingly hang out with Amber.
Oh Lucy…you left Walky to the wolves and you don’t even know it. It’s joever
I hope Willis gives her something nice in the plot down the road
Go Team Garbage!!!
Yet another one of my DoA ship sinks…
I cannot cheer for your happiness
Wow I did not know any of this! I naively assumed that transformers were all built (or rebuilt).
100%, I was gonna comment here: “Ma’am, this is a Galasso’s.”
Then I thought to check the hovertext……
And then you posted it anyway. Checkmate, atheist.
Let the record show Willis thought it first. And me (reviews notes) at best fourth.
Omg, she’s talking about The Swarm. I want to hang out with Amber and talk Transformers. Esp if we’re discussing the Marvel G1/G2 era. That’s my jam.
Can’t tell if Amber is trolling or this is real TF lore. AFAIK Willis has sure never mentioned any of this on Twitter and it’s exactly the kind of thing he’d discuss. (Which is to say anything I know about Transformers I got second-hand via Willis.)
Also a little disappointed in a robot society that frowns on building new robots.
Why should a robot society be free of all the dipshit bigotry us organics are addicted to?
Because a robot society is a fictional thing that doesn’t exist. I dunno, I just think building new robots seems a fun thing to explore. Turns out they don’t do that. Yes, I do understand a fictional world is more interesting if it allows us to explore real-world problems from a different angle. But also, robots building new robots!
Like in STTNG with Data’s daughter.
“I was unaware, Captain, that crew members needed to ask your permission before procreating. Have I missed something?” (Paraphrase)
They don’t frown on building new robots — they manufacture them as quickly as they can, because they need to win wars. It’s just that since they’re not born the “regular” magical way, there was a time they weren’t considered equals.
A-ha! Thanks for clearing that up! Makes good sense as a story.
She’s my favorite
Ma’am, this is Gallasos.
lol i thought sydney was fired? tho surprised she wasn’t like “Well you’re getting X anyways”
“They”, IIRC.
absolutely not, pepsi is a travesty
I don’t think asexual reproduction is a sexual crime; it’s a physics crime surely.
That’s the longest amount we’ve heard from Amber. I hope this place serves Crystal Pepsi.
I’ve changed my mind, this plan actually rules
of course it’s ok. Pepsi is better.
to be honest if the old traditional way of breeding is jumping off the rocks of cybertron like dwarves then other methods can look like playing god or frankenstein.
And I dont see difference between pepsi and cola so pepsi is ok
I feel so bad for Sal. Do they approve of Danny at LEAST partially because he’s a sweet little white boy nerd? Yes. Was it still getting Sal approval and interaction she had never gotten from her parents, as well as the fact that Sal sincerely likes Danny and got to introduce them to her parents. Granted, her parents also used the opportunity to pat themselves on the back for their shitty parenting BUT I think Sal was still enjoying some of the benefits. Finally, she was the center of attention for their parents. And in a GOOD way.
…And then Walky comes in with Amber to torch the whole dinner as part of a lesson about racism. Which is clearly not going to plan. Linda didn’t magically forgive Amber just because she was white. When Walky does try to go ‘See?! Lucy’s so much better than Amber!!”, I think his parents are just going to be confused about who his girlfriend really is. Linda may even ask to talk to the manager. Amber and Walky have now hogged all of the attention for shenanigans when Lucy and Walky could have arrived together and proven themselves, if not flip off Linda and Charles themselves if they did microaggressions which Sal would have helped them with.
This was so poorly thought out and I hope Sal will be alright by the end.
While you’re probably right about the direction, I do think its worth keeping an open mind about the possibilities here. I can see two less likely, but still possible alternatives:
1: Linda and Charles pull Walky aside to ask him what happened to Lucy, and the main reason they haven’t yet is that they’re having trouble dealing with Amber’s… Amberness.
2: Linda/Charles call out Walky on this obviously not being serious. They probably don’t understand *what* the actual motive is, but they know that this isn’t sincere, and aren’t shouting Amber down because… well, one part her Amberness, and one part them wanting to be sure.
Again, you’re most likely right about this going horribly wrong or horribly right, but we’re still mid-scene, sometimes Willis surprises us.
Walky literally obstructing Sal in yesterday’s strip was pretty symbolic, wasn’t it.
Yeah, I’m getting lots of sibling feels for Sal in this whole arc. And Sal is trying so hard to be sincere and vulnerable — but then comes Walky shenanigans, Sal gets covered up, no more attention left for Sal.
It’s been like a literal minute.
That is way too short to say whether or not this plan will work.
Yes, it’s a terrible plan, but not necessarily because it won’t highlight the parent’s racism and treatment of Sal.
We need more time to say whether or not that part of the plan will fail or not, especially since Linda is the main force behind that behavior and the last things she did was snap “Charles!” two strips ago.
I choose to remove the quotation marks and take your newly-modified comment about Linda snapping Charles in the most violent way possible. She has broken the man in half and there’s nothing you can do to convince me you weren’t the one who said it first.
Man Sal came here to see what it would be like if he got along with her parents and Walky came here to see what it would be like if he didn’t.
This strip is topical because of SDCC.
Pika pika?
GEEK SHIT.
😋 Sounds like a delicious time!
Phrasing
See, Sydney, this is why you’ll never be a successful supervillain. You should tell her, “You are not worthy of Coca-Cola! You will drink Pepsi, and you will hate it! But you will drink it anyway! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
That’s the big reveal when the customer takes their first sip, right? Lull them into thinking they’re getting Coke right up until that moment.
Now I’m wondering if there’s any tangible difference between the two composition-wise. Some kind of dietary restriction against one but not the other (sugar doesn’t count, literally just drink less of it).
Pepsi is sweeter initially, Coke has a more complex aftertaste. They fought a whole war about it back in the 70s and 80s, as memorialized in Billy Joel’s 1989 hit We Didn’t Start the Fire.
I meant something more like “Turns out Pepsi contains certain [science word] that causes people with [fairly rare allergy] to can’t drink it syndrome, but Coke doesn’t have that”.
Originally, that special ingredient was coca leaves (cocaine plant).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola
cocaine is also what provided the pep in pepsi. I believe the difference is the acids used. Coke is supposedly all phosphoric acid, and pepsi is mostly phosphoric acid, but some citric acid, which is included as “natural flavors” in the ingredients list.
Fascinating!
Amber’s info-dumping habit hits a little close to home, here. When to rein that tendency in was one of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years.
Hi, Sydney.
Galasso’s has Pepsi instead of Coke? I knew that guy was evil, but I didn’t realise he was quite THAT bad.
I knew nothing of all of these….
“I regret all my life’s choices”
Cursed strip.
Panel 4: so “Spike” means “dick”, got it.
(someone say the line)
What line?
the one that was put in just to get a PG rating instead of the dreaded G.
“Shit happens.” “Shit?” “Happens.” “Shit happens…”
I really thought Transformers came from some space junkyard. Growing up like fungus, mushrooms…
Those are the Junkions, I believe. And I’m guessing they were already pre-built or something and were just hiding underground? I dunno, my Transformer knowledge is decades out of date. XD I was actually under the impression that all new Transformers were constructed, so what Amber said in today’s strip is all-new to me!
if i was their server, i would either love or hate amber, it would entirely depend how busy we were. slow day? this is my favorite table, tell me more. slammed dinner rush? shut the fuck up and order.
If it helps, they don’t seem to have come in during a particularly busy time.
I guess this kind of thing just happens to franchises which are around for decades on end. Keep trying to one up previous iterations. And if they can’t do that they’ll try to at least make it weirder.
It’s nice to see Amber genuinely enjoying herself for a moment.
Twenty years ago, this is how my own kid and her friends followed Pokémon. Couldn’t shut them up.
And to think, there were only like 386 Pokémon at the time. Now we’re up to 1008, and I pity the unpreparents whose kid is about to Start™.
Now you’re talking about my grandson…
Willis finally allowing himself to get this off his chest. It’s been a long while since Shortpacked.
LOL remembering a few strips back when Amber was all “I’m just gonna sit quietly and look at my phone.”
Now do DC/Marvel crossover slashfic.
And, hey! I predicted Sydney would be there! Will we get the rant+Linda asking for the manager?
Is there something specific to Marvel/DC slashfic I should know about? I’m basically looking for an excuse at this point.
You mean you never heard about the Hulk/Supergirl slash?
I’ve never heard of the any slash at all.
Really, nobody noticed the bit in panel 3 about it being bad to treat people worse just because they’re different? Just slid it right through and kept talking. Amber is too good at this for Walky’s wacky hijinks.
I noticed for sure- honestly the most interesting part of today’s comment to me for sure. This is actually good conversation and I wish the characters would talk about it
Fools. This is Sydney’s comic. Even if she hasn’t appeared for four years. Victory is inevitable and will be sweet.
To be honest, and servers should know this, NO! When I order a coke, Pepsi is never ok.
If you order a Coke, and they ask if Pepsi is okay, it’s probably because they don’t serve Coke products at all in that restaurant. I.e. your choice will be Pepsi (or some other Pepsi product like Sierra Mist or whatever) or tea or water or nothing at all.
That’s why I always say “I’d like a cola, please”. Doesn’t stop some of the denser ones from asking if Pepsi is okay, and I don’t have it in me to say “Yes, that’s why I said ‘cola’ and not ‘Coke'”, but it helps about as often as not.
If I want a cola but Pepsi isn’t okay, I’ll just ask for something the fuck else, becaues I’m not about to escalate the situation over a fucking beverage.
Ma’am, this is Galasso’s.
ngl Amber looks hot in panel 4. She’s so confident and in her element.
Confidence is sexy, and anyone who disagrees is fragile.
Amber slowly rises from her chair, turns to Sydney with a frosty expression, and says, quietly, “no, Pepsi is not OK. Bring me a Coke. NOW.” She turns away, sits back down, and resumes her discourse as if nothing has happened.
Sydney backs away slowly, thinkinig furiously where is the nearest Coke, because at last he has seen true power.
so where do the protoforms factor in? Are they the things that grow like daisies? Also, when is the spark infused? Do you put the spark in the protoform or does the protoform grow with one inside and it waits for some trigger to animate it?
i love the lore of sci-fi based on licensed toys so so very much
“Ma’am, this is a Galasso’s.”
Alright fine I’ll read the transformers wiki entry on reproduction you got me willis.
Seems like that would make it awkward when the Autobots met Sparkplug and Spike.
“You named your son WHAT?!”