Shortpacked! by David Willis
Toys are serious business.
Convention appearances:
Calgary Expo Calgary, AB: April 26-28
Phoenix Comicon Phoenix, AZ: May 23-26, 2013
BotCon San Diego, CA: June 28-30
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego, CA: July 18-21
SPX Bethesda, MD: September 14-15
Phoenix Comicon Phoenix, AZ: May 23-26, 2013
BotCon San Diego, CA: June 28-30
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego, CA: July 18-21
SPX Bethesda, MD: September 14-15
Multiplex
Sorcery 101
Templar, AZ
The Transformers Wiki
Hail to the Slash
80 page GIANT
Axe Cop
The Book of Biff
Butt-Taco
Comics Curmudgeon
College Roomies from Hell!!!
Diesel Sweeties
Dinosaur Comics
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Dresden Codak
Fans!
Fleen
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Girl Genius
Girls with Slingshots
Goats
Hark, a vagrant
Hijinks Ensue
Intrepid Girlbot
Legend of Bill
Medium Large
Not Invented Here
Octopus Pie
Overcompensating
Penny Arcade
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Power Nap
Questionable Content
Real Life
Rob and Elliot
Bad Machinery
Schlock Mercenary
Sheldon
So Far Apart
Something Positive
Two Lumps
Wapsi Square
Wonderella
Wondermark
Frumph.NET
Sorcery 101
Templar, AZ
The Transformers Wiki
Hail to the Slash
80 page GIANT
Axe Cop
The Book of Biff
Butt-Taco
Comics Curmudgeon
College Roomies from Hell!!!
Diesel Sweeties
Dinosaur Comics
Dr. McNinja
Dresden Codak
Fans!
Fleen
Gastrophobia
Girl Genius
Girls with Slingshots
Goats
Hark, a vagrant
Hijinks Ensue
Intrepid Girlbot
Legend of Bill
Medium Large
Not Invented Here
Octopus Pie
Overcompensating
Penny Arcade
PhDcomics
Power Nap
Questionable Content
Real Life
Rob and Elliot
Bad Machinery
Schlock Mercenary
Sheldon
So Far Apart
Something Positive
Two Lumps
Wapsi Square
Wonderella
Wondermark
Frumph.NET
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“Mayala” totally means “complete bitchface” in Filipino, does it? |=p
Maybe this will wake Robin up to how much damage she’s caused.
I think she was already aware of that.
No, she wasn’t. She shrugged it off and went right back to fo shizzle skittlefests. She’s even tried talking to Leslie at work, which implies that she thinks Leslie should forget about it.
What? I’m sorry but I can’t abide by that reading of the character. This is just how Robin deals with her problems. It doesn’t mean that she is underestimating how much she’s screwed up, it just means she doesn’t want to lose Les, which is understandable considering it was her first real relationship.
that seems a bit harsh. First of all their is a difference between wanting someone who you really care about to forgive you of something and wanting them to pretend like nothing has happened. Second, I think think Robin does realize how much she has hurt Leslie, or at least somewhat, she is just really bad with people. And shrugged it off? Since then Robbin has been all mopey and despondent.
Actually it implies that she still likes Leslie and would like to talk to her.
Also: What’s wrong with you?
Dude, you’re totally right, if someone fucks up the LAST thing they should do is try to make amends. I mean obviously, the best thing for robin and leslie to do is just let this thing fester and turn into resentment until it completely ruins their lives. You’re so right ridureyu, and not a troll at all.
The skittleshizzle fests lost their appeal to her currently. She’s not happy, constantly depressed and is trying to talk to Leslie just to work things out. You’re assuming that she wants Leslie to forget everything because you have a prejudiced opinion of Robin because apparently she kicked your puppy.
or that she thinks she can make amends. She was completely out of her mind when it happened after all. It’s as much a legit part of her character as Hank Pym-Wifebeater.
so you mean a totally legitimate part of her character, right? TOTALLY. Right?
also, yeah, considering her normal peppiness, this is Robin’s version of “life is pain.”
Sheesh, some people have such specific expectations of what characters should do to make screw ups ‘ok’
When you’ve hurt someone and you try to talk to them afterward, that’s not necessarily a sign that you don’t understand how badly you’ve fucked up, or that you think that they should just forget about it. It can just as easily mean you want to make amends or apologise again, but Leslie hasn’t given Robin the chance to prove which it is.
In Leslie’s case, she is still too hurt to be around Robin until she heals a little. But Ridureyu, your concept of Robin’s motivations is incompatible with her character and your assumption here reveals that your worldview is misguided. It’s very immature to be offended when someone who has hurt you tries to talk to you – before even finding out what they want to say.
“Malaya” means “free” (as in liberty) in Filipino.
(it’s not a common first name though. We tend to have more Western or Spanish names)
No, I mean in THIS universe!
HURR 8?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia#Etymology
It obviously meant something like “land of mountains” in Sanskrit, which is clearly hyperbole… but still sort of funny. At least funnier than “free one”.
perhaps it means Wesley?
Malaya’s showing off what she wants to do to Leslie?
Don’t stick your tongue out unless you intend to use it!
Is Leslie gay in this universe?
ROFL
ihateyousomuchrightnow
That’s crazy talk. Why would she be gay? Malaya said she was gay, not Leslie.
Next you’ll start saying something about that other universe Ethan (who totally smiled at a GIRL!)
No, clearly, it is Jason who is the gay one here.
Is that some Dumbing of Age trolling? I’m afraid I don’t get the reference
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/news/ethan-is-gay/
Dun Dun DUN!
This!
Malaya is giving me serious “liking” whiplash
daaamn
seriously, is it wierd to feel betrayed by a fictional character? I defended that little bitch not two days ago, what does it say about me that I’m hurt by this?
Everything she is doing is completely justified.
i made a similar post below to this same effect, but how is it justified to be a total dickbastard to someone you don’t know for a situation that doesn’t concern you, she should just pursue leslie and not make it a bitchy thing.
She is showing caring,k genuine interest in Leslie.
And she is helping serve Robin what she deserves for betrayal.
As an aside, Robin needs to wake up to what a horrendous monster she has become. Maybe Malaya can help.
Ridureyu, since I can’t hit reply to yours here it is.
She’s not being nice to Leslie, she’s being manipulative. It shows a deep lack of understanding that you are interpreting her actions as nice. Obviously Leslie is going to be seeing it like that but that’s because she doesn’t have our out of character knowledge. Also, even if someone “deserves” comeuppance, that doesn’t make it okay for someone else to be rude if they’re not the injured party.
Wow you REALLY hate Robin don’t you! I guess it’s just a difference of opinions. I agree that Robin has been an idiot, but I still really like her. I don’t mind if Malaya pursues a relationship with Leslie, but if part of the reason is to spite Robin, I think much less of Malaya.
Is it really so wrong to try and date the girlfriend of a famous person who was recently cheated on?
I mean yeah, she’s rubbing it in Robin’s face, but still.
its totally the face-rubbing that’s the problem though
i wouldn’t mind her at all if she was just flirting with leslie, but she’s being a bitch about it and that sucks
also robin didn’t cheat on leslie but whatever
I was gonna say… does Miss BitchFace even know Leslie and Robin dated? She -just- asked if L was even gay. That tongue thing is probably based off the sex film she made with Senator Manchild.
Malaya knows, Ken said it in the last strip right before Malaya ran off to talk to Leslie.
Ken told her yesterday. That’s how she got interested in Leslie in the first place.
I don’t see how she could. I’m thinking the tongue stuck out is just Robin’s imagination.
…”Robin didn’t cheat on Leslie”? Uh… yes, she did.
If I remember right, Leslie was the one who discovered the “bang a dude” entry on Robin’s bucket list, and tearfully told her to go do it.
So, although Robin was being a very bad girlfriend to go ahead with that despite how badly it would hurt Leslie, I can see why someone might not consider that cheating.
Ridureyu, Robin is hardly a horrendus monster, a fuckup yes, but hardly a monster. She made a stupid mistake and essentially had no control over her actions. She is owning up to her mistakes and is accepting all of the pain that comes with it, but why does malaya need to come along and twist the dagger? why can’t she just pursue leslie without making a scene? It’s neither fair nor productive for anyone.
Robin has been consistently ruining lives since the strip began. Even when it was “funny,” look at the crap she pulled on Amber – and got away with it!
Now it’s all coming back to haunt her, and people want her to get off scot free because she looks cute. And they do it by demonizing a kind, caring person.
A kind, caring person who just so happens to bash her roommates, everyone who works in a certain business, and someone she doesn’t even know over the fact they happened to have sex and record it. I like Malaya, but her behavior towards Robin really is blatant bitch territory. And reading through these comments so far… I just can’t help but feel like you have a really warped view of relationships and psychology.
Robin’s fucked up a few times, and she certainly did hurt Leslie. But she I don’t recall a moment in this webcomic where she behaved in a way that was actually immoral. (Sure, morality is a matter that is subjective. But I can’t think of any ethical reasoning to call her immoral.)
Oh wait, a-derp. I’d already forgotten Ken pointing out the past relationship in the last strip. But still, this tongue sticking out doesn’t seem to have anything to do with retribution or thinking Robin did anything wrong. It seems more like a “ha ha,” or still a simple “I don’t like you.”
She never did anything to amber out of anger or hatred, in fact, everything she has done has been with the best of intentions, misguided though they may be, as opposed to the purposeful antagonization being done by your so-called “kind and caring person”
Amber’s life got significantly better thanks to Robin’s nuttiness. Unless you believe her past rewrote itself due to the drama tag
Ridureyu What is your problem with Robin? She’s not a heartless bitch as your making her out to be she’s felt upset over what happened with Jake she genuinely loves Leslie and has been heart broken over hurting her so badly.
I don’t get how she’s “Ruining Lives” either.
What a two-faced little bitch.
Quick vote, who here hates Malaya now?
Everyone
I’m liking the hate, though.
Oh! I do, I do, I do, I do, I do!
If I say it a bunch of times, does my vote count as that many people? Cuz it should.
Well, that IS the best gravatar for what you just said…
and now I hate her too. I was hopeful she would be a good one, but now I kinda hope Leslie or Robin knocks her teeth in
Fo ‘Rizzle!
Seriously…how long’s Robin gonna put up with this before she Semmes out and breaks her face?
Or just Mike. Which would be entertaining as hell.
Maybe I’m just being unduly optimistic, but…I don’t.
Yeah, I really like Malaya so far, though there’s not much to go on yet except that she is a slacker and she thinks cheating on your girlfriend and then posting a video of it on youtube is a bad enough offense to merit the raspberry.
The only character in this comic I dislike is Robin. (I used to really dislike Amber, but she’s gotten more tolerable.)
Two problems with this statement.
1: Robin didn’t cheat. She broke up with Leslie before having heterosexual sex, good god it’s getting tiring to see people saying she cheated.
2: Malaya didn’t even know Leslie liked girls until she was told. She has virtually no idea Robin and Leslie used to date. Her Robin-hate is solely based on the fact Robin had heterosexual sex and recorded it, other than that she didn’t even realize anybody knows who Robin is/was. And considering her reaction to being told about Robin’s accomplishments, odds are good that none of it stuck at all.
Malaya was told by Ken that Leslie used to date Robin. She knows.
I generally disliked Robin for how she treated Lez that got Les to “let her go” and off she does is post a sex tape in youtube (don’t care if you intend it to be private, no decent girl posts a sex tape on youtube for so-called private viewing pleasure. Robin had time to go get cadbury eggs, set up a camera for sex, upload it, and make world peace but not enough time to run to your nearest store to grab a USB and a sticky note? Please.)
But all that makes Robin *interesting*. In the same way Malaya’s doing now as interesting. She already has an abrasive personality, couple that with what she made assumptions of based on the information given, I do understand her somewhat, not necessarily how she puts what she knew into action.
If you recall Robin’s Cadbury mania lasts for weeks or months at a time. After all her entire original campaign for the House was conducted under the influence. So she went out, got Cadbury eggs, ate them, THEN everything went to hell.
Which makes it even worse now doesn’t it?
Post Cadbury eggs and she’s still able to get all the stuff done (including the whole World Peace thing) but not enough to get a USB stick and a sticky note or maybe decide to upload your amateur porn in mediafire instead of youtube.
Cadbury Eggs Rush is no excuse for bad decisions, Robin made a bad decision and she’s got to live with the consequences of it along with acknowledging that it was her fault that she got that mess to begin with.
You know what, I was pretty indifferent to Malaya before and have to say this makes me like her more. On an un-related note: am I the only person who has thought, since the introduction of the character that Malaya is basically “asian Robin”?
I agree with you on everything you just said
Disagree on the Asian Robin bit, shes too “down” when it comes to normal interactions.
Also I don’t see her doing important things later on which is Robins shtick.
You’re all just doing that out of latent homophobic tendencies. I see nothing wrong with Malaya’s behavior here.
yup, thats exactly the case, we hate her cuz she’s gay. nevermind that half the freakin’ cast is gay, and most of what has been seen of malaya has made her seem like a nasty little person, and the negative comments have been coming since her debut. no, its all about the homophobia.
ALSO: ethan should totally dump drew and hook up with leslie while drew gets malaya and robin gets faz.
What?
Also, in no way is Malaya like Robin. She’s not hyper, she seems lazy. She’s not nice, she’s intentionally bitchy.
This gay man would like to say you do not represent homosexuals. By and in large most would find this behavior at best childish.
Personally, I find it a bit “bitchy” myself, and certainly manipulative and mean spirited. Poor Les.
As a lesbian who is slightly misandric (my therapist and I have been working on that) I can’t say that I see anything other than either a messed-up or trolling attitude here. Sometimes it’s hard to tell. Anyways, I don’t know if Malaya is doing anything wrong here or not; it’s not obvious whether she’s genuinely interested in Leslie or just wants to hurt Robin.
Robin herself is similar to a girl I know, except gay – she’s generally very cheery and hyperactive and unpredictable, which makes her fun to be around, but she’s also a bit socially awkward and sometimes does drugs, both of which mean she’ll accidentally hurt people.
I retain my dislike of her; it has been unmoved since her introduction.
She mooches off her friends, looks down her nose at people who work at toy stores while being unemployed, is a general jerk to her friend while he tries to help her out, is mean to most of the cast, and gets in the way of the couple we’re supposed to want to get back together?
I mean, I could hate her, but instead I’ll just shake my head at Willis for creating such a shallow hate magnet.
She’s at the top o’ the list for me.
She does have a major jerkass streak, but I haven’t found a good reason to truly hate her thou, I reserve my judgement for later.
She is the worse parts of Old Amber, Robin, and Faz.
Her first appearance was the old Amber: “Leave me alone, I don’t want to actually get involved in anything.
Then we had ADD Robin: “Ooh, something shiny that I want to play with”
Now we have smug Faz: “She’s mine now”
Not sure I *can* like this character.
what a little Bitch, she’s like roz and mary and amber’s negative traits all rolled into one
OH NO! POOR ROBIN!
I do like her face in the last panel, though.
I’m making it my new gravatar. Right after I made this one too…
SO MANY AWESOME FAAAAAAAACES TODAY
Willis sure has been making a load of fun faces in the last few comics.
I think some people are gonna have fun with those blank bubbles.
I think you’re right.
Yes, it’s horribly horribly obvious, but someone was going to do it eventually. Why not me?
http://img593.imageshack.us/f/shortpacked.png/
+1, dear sir/madam.
Sir, and thanks.
I had to resize that first bubble like five times before the whole phrase would fit.
that was hilarious
Everything now makes perfect sense.
DUN DUN DUNNNN! Right on a friday! Damn you Willis!
So, new theory, she is not actually in the closet, she’s just a bitch.
Or, both.
I think it’s pretty clear that at the very least, she’s not yet out to her parents. She may or may not be out to anyone else, but M. Bison certainly didn’t seem to be aware.
It’s not like E. Honda is alone there. Remember Robin pined for Ethan for ages, so Sagat continues longing for Malaya’s attention.
Malaya is too dumb to live. If she were a little more aware, she’d know that Robin is more than a slut from a sex video. Don’t pick on the chick with superpowers. Sarah Palin found that out the hard way.
Come to think of it, does anyone really know what Robin can do? Mike, sure, and probably Leslie. I think Thad once mentioned that she was a war hero.
But do any of the other main characters know? Or is their Transformers and My Little Pony filled world that insulated from reality?
Faz learned firsthand, and Amber might have learned about Robin from Mike. The others, though, remain ignorant of Robin’s power.
Well, we know for sure that Malaya DOESN’T know, unless Robin demonstrated super-powers in the sex vid, which seems unlikely.
Thing is, Robin’s powers don’t really help her much in this arena. Even if it were her style, whisking Malaya to Soviet Russia without a passport, or just tornado-punching her, would slash her already low odds of reconciling with Leslie by a factor of ten.
(“Soviet Russia.” Man, it’s getting late. You know what I mean, though.)
In Soviet Russia, the internet posts you!
maybe if she runs around the world fast enough she’ll travel back in time and she can drop her in Soviet Russia
Robin can time-travel as well? Holy Shit!
Y’know, the possibility of superpowers making an appearance in that video had never even occured to me. Now…I kinda want to see it.
You’re only interested in a sex video if it has superpowers in it? How jaded are you?
This is your brain on Internets.
The internet has got to be like 40% porn by now, maybe more. If I were interested in watching every dirty video recorded off a webcam, I’d never get anything done, and be really sore. Also, I’d probably be a much bigger fan of Roz.
If it got on youtube, it must be pretty dang tame anyway. But the addition of superpowers could at the very least make it unique.
Well, since Roz took Leslie’s side and Robin isn’t doing lesbian stuff currently, we WERE down on our quotas for lesbians and characters we’re meant to hate.
(Though so far I don’t think she’s proven herself to be that bad yet.)
This actually makes me like Malaya more – it serves Robin right to see Leslie with someone else, after all it was Robin who cheated!
Didn’t Leslie break up with Robin before the heterosex happened?
Let’s put it this way: their breakup was entirely, 100%, Robin’s fault.
Yes that’s true, but I still have a hard time referring to an act that occurred after the breakup “cheating”.
When your significant other is saying “I need to sleep with somebody NOT YOU” with conviction, that’s not much better. Especially when she then makes a videotape. Close enough to cheating to hurt like it, technicalities on the name aside.
THEY WERE ON A BREAK!
No but seriously, I was relatively indifferent to potty-mouth Malaya before this, but now that she’s possibly a lesbian I suddenly find her in my good graces, whatever that says about me.
Anyway, anything that creates TENSION between Robin and Leslie is A-OK with me, because I’ll always be hoping for their reconciliation, and if there’s no tension, all that’s left is for them to slowly grow apart, which is heartbreaking.
So, go go go, foulmouthed Asian plot device! (Although if you grew into your own complex lesbian character I would be similarly pleased.)
I’ve been in enough relationships to have been cheated on, and to basically have this happen without the video. … This is NOT cheating. And having experienced both, I highly prefer the latter to the former. Seeing as then the person at least has the decency to let you know and end it first.
True that. It’s not like Robin’s suffering in a karmic vacuum here. Kinda bitchy way to say “I have her now”, but still justified.
It really isn’t. Yes, Robin fucked up. Yes, leslie deserves to move on with her life. Yes, robin should see the repurcussions of her thoughtless actions. However, it really isn’t cool for people to rub salt in wounds for no reason, i just wish everyone would lead there own lives without having to boost their own happiness by hurting others. Not to mention, if leslie had seen this, i doubt she would take it well.
No, I think Robin deserves exactly what she’s getting.
she deserves to deal with the repurcussions of her actions, not to have somone presumptiously judge her and make her feel unneccesarily bad about herself
No this is just cruel. She doesn’t “deserve” this. She lost leslie already and she knows that. And now she’s being tortured by the fact that she hasn’t gotten over it, but leslie has. And she might just find someone else.
And its clear Malaya knows this. she’s being a bitch. But she is a VERY interesting character. And I would liek to see where this is headed.
Even if *she* deserves it, she doesn’t deserve it from someone who had nothing to do with the incident.
Treat others how you want to be treated, even if they are due for poetic justice (which Robin’s already been getting in spades).
And that is the reason I pity anyone foolish enough to date you.
So Leslie’s just a tool in Robin’s karmic comeuppance?
Everyone who’s hating on Malaya, try looking at it from her perspective:
You’ve just met a new person and been stricken with a powerful instant crush. As you and this radiant creature walk along, chatting happily, out of the corner of your eye you spot the cruel two-timing skank who broke your crush’s heart by cheating on her and posting a video of her tryst on YouTube. How do you, Malaya, feel about Robin at that instant?
See, if THAT were what was going through her head, she wouldn’t be sticking her tongue out like a five-year-old. This isn’t about Malaya having a crush on Leslie and wanting to defend her honor. This is about a bitch rubbing it in another girl’s face.
Can’t it be a bit o’ both?
Her expression is saying, “Look at what you did, Robin. You broke her heart. You runied her. I will make this poor lady feel better. You need to think about your wrongs.”
I dunno, nothing bitchy about that!
Now, that’s just silly.
Her expression’s not saying any of those things.
-airfox
You are seriously horrible at empathy and understanding people’s expressions. Perhaps you have Asperger’s. *pushes glasses up on nose*
Don’t insult asbergians by ascribing said behavior to it. Please
…
That’s the dumbest thing you’ve posted today. And that takes work. What are you, twelve? My god, when ROBIN is showing more emotional maturity than the posters on this board, I get worried.
Apologies. It was meant to actually be a satire of his own behavior but was an uncalled blow to people with Asperger’s.
that’s totally not the face. can you read facial expressions? SHE’S STICKING HER TONGUE OUT. that means she’s going hahahaha sucker. she’s not being saintlike “oh i’m saving her.”
Ah, yeah, just what I said below, only cleaner.
Pretty sure that neither of us can see things from her perspective. After all, we haven’t penned the character.
She was snippy even before showing up to the store, so now we can sit back and see how she acts from this point.
It doesn’t help that stereotypical asian females in western media are generalized as martial artists or huge witches. Wonder what we’ll see here?
Is that why rumor has it that Kono Kalakaua is being killed off in the season finale of Hawaii Five-0? (I actually heard that Grace Park is…cough…getting tired of living in Hawaii and wants to “come home” to the mainland)
…Am I the only one who feels bad for Ken? Nobody remembers the poor kid. Also, he’s probably the extremely-bad-at-taking-hints type. I see awkward moments in the future.
Yeah, Blanka’s gonna be upset about this, I think.
Who?
you know, Guile!
I thought his name was E. Honda.
You mean SubZero? …oh no, now I’m terribly confused
I feel bad for Ken. He’s only had a few strips with dialoge but seems like a genuine nice guy.
yeah, I kinda feel bad for Ryu too.
I think Sydney Yus is completely obsolete. Syndey was Starscream–Malaya is Galvatron!
dude, sydney yus was barely waspinator
1) I was being charitable–to Waspinator.
why univerrzzze hate sszzzydney yusszzs?
C’mon, now, TRY to see it from Malaya’s perspective.
She had nothing but contempt for Robin, whom she regarded the way most people regard Paris Hilton. And THEN she learned that this sweet, wonderful girl– whom she seems to have spent most of the day with– was Robin’s ex, and exactly why they split up. Love Robin or not, you gotta admit, any second-hand account focusing on that little drama makes Robin look like a pretty rotten human being.
AND THEN she sees Robin looking at the both of them as if to say, “What is New Girl doing with my woman?”
I don’t think Malaya’s little nyah-nyah is unprovoked at all. Robin’s damn lucky not to be getting worse treatment from people who’ve known Leslie a lot longer.
Relying on a quickly told second-hand account of events to make a judgment about a person you’re meeting for the first time that day is pretty low. And then to not only make that judgment, but act on it in the cruelest way possible? That’s almost Mike-esque.
“The cruelest way possible?” Is Malaya’s tongue an agonizer ray?
Or maybe you mean going after Les? I don’t think she’s doing that to spite Robin specifically. She gave Les a huge smile before she knew anything about her.
I actually meant the combination of the two. I don’t see how you can really take either act in isolation. But that’s just me an my interpretation.
Plus I have a massive girl-boner for Robin. Even her Cadbury Cereal-fueled debauchery couldn’t make me mad at her.
“Is Malaya’s tongue an agonizer ray?”
If so, I don’t hold out much hope for her and Leslie’s relationship.
I don’t think mike half-asses his cruelty like that, I think he meticulously researches minute details about a person’s life and uses those details to crush them mercilously. just like he crushed your mom…for a nickel
…with his penis.
Oh no, I agree. That’s why I said “almost Mike-esque”.
Actually, considering she had only a short time at the store, she did her research pretty well. She is very Mike-like:
She intentionally calls Robin a slut, without being willing to hear her out, and uses her sex tape mistake to humiliate her.
She finds out that Robin and Leslie used to date.
She immediately drops Ken, who is trying to get her a job and take care of her, for Leslie.
She uses Leslie to get at Robin even more.
It’s not as elaborate as Mike’s plan to ruin Ethan and Amber’s friendship, but he had a lot more time to implement that and this little harlot is going to do a similar amount of damage with less time and effort.
I have been willing to give her the benefit of doubt if she hadn’t been a bitch from her very first panel.
Rather “I MIGHT have been willing…”
I think Malaya will be an interesting character and a great source for drama, but she has a LOT of growing to do from what we’ve seen of her so far. The tongue jab was childish and an attempt to spite someone she barely knows. She didn’t just make a play for Leslie, she made sure Robin was watching and would be hurt by it.
Between Ken’s obvious feelings and this development, I have a feeling Malaya is going to be the human avatar of the drama tag
The comments section has a tendency to violently hate any new character who does anything remotely bad to an established character, it seems. Roz being a prime example of this.
The tolerance for assholery from characters who were around in 2005/2006, on the other hand, is significantly higher.
I have nothing against new characters, if they have a redeeming quality. I liked Roz. Sure her views on the world are different than mine, but at least she’s open and honest about them. Also, yeah, we give some of the older characters passes on some things because everyone makes mistakes and nobody’s perfect. Robin deserves to feel pain at what she’s done, though, and I do believe she is.
All that being said, Malaya has been a spoiled brat since she we first saw her. Someone basically guaranteed her a job when she’s out of work and needing income, and she’d rather stay a mooch. Strike one. She’s not aware enough of her surroundings to know or care who represents her in government, even when that representative was a *very* public figure (her fight with Palin would have made the news for several days at least), Strike two. She’s behaving extremely childish in her pursuit of Leslie, making Les more of a trophy or prized toy than a person. Strike three.
Sorry, but I’ve yet to see anything good from her. As of right this moment, I can’t like her. Whether that changes or not has to come from her changing a lot.
Spent most of the day with? She just ran up to introduce herself in this strip…
My problem is… to me, at least, it feels like that’s saying “It’s okay to do bad things to bad people.” I would feel bad for Paris Hilton if someone took her ex and then rubbed it in.
Let’s try looking AT Malaya’s perspective first, that of a newcomer whose opinion of a coworker is based entirely on one failure that has nothing to do with her. Sure, it’s far from Robin’s only failure. All of the ones we’ve seen to date, however, are between Robin and some party that would probably not appreciate Malaya’s attitude.
The child needs to learn her place.
<3
I wonder… maybe Malaya already knew Robin and is carrying a grudge…
I don’t think it’s so much as a “What’s the new girl doing with my woman” rather “Oh no she’s moved on and I have not! I CANNOT HANDLE THIS”
more old characters less new ones? and are we ever going to get a weeklong strip series devoted to McAwesome’s ?
Batman jokes. Jokes about Superman renouncing his American citizenship. Jokes about the cast changes at THE OFFICE and/or TWO AND A HALF MEN. Ultra Car getting an oil change. The Royal Wedding. Autobiographite. The usual.
Oops. I misread you there. I halfway expect some McAwesome’s strips by now.
The “I’m stealing your ex, and you can’t stop me” look. With Robin going “NOOOO!” in her head.
Anyone who complains about Malaya is a homophobe.
and a racist?
Maybe. She’s almost dark enough.
But s acts too white and American, though. Not wanting a job? Cursing? Those are white, American traits.
So… anyone who doesn’t like her personality, as portrayed thus far, is a homophobe because… she’s gay?
And also, automatically, a racist because her skin is dark? This is incredibly short sighted thinking
You know, people of other races and orientations are capable as being just a hateful and terrible as white straight people. It doesn’t make you a monster to dislike one person who has different traits.
Although, the fact that you decried racism, and then immediately went on to describe all Americans as people who, without exception, swear like crazy and avoid working tells me that you’re either a dope, a child, or a MASTER of satire.
I’m trying to decide whether to ban you or not. Ridureyu, that is. I mean, either you’re super overeager to label other people terrible things, or you’re trolling. And neither is particularly fun to have around.
Dude, Willis. Read through only Riduryu’s comments, ignoring all of the others. Notice a lack of actual debate or reasoned points? Judging by the progressively more insulting posts that thing is clearly a troll. Send it back under yon bride from whence it came.
Hey, uh… I hope you all know that _I_, at least, was being facetious. (As resident ebil consurbative, I’m hardly going to be the one to assume that someone who dislikes a character who happens to be of a different race is automatically a racist, now am I?)
Willis, the guy is trolling.
Vas?
So wait, we’re not allowed to complain about any gay characters without being labeled a homophobe? Then who the hell are we allowed to complain about anymore? M. Bison? Dude doesn’t show up enough to complain about. We can complain about Amber but that’s old hat now. Ninja Rick is awesome.
When 90% of the main cast is gay, you’re going to end up complaining about a gay person.
Also, Malaya is a bint. So nah nah.
Ninja Rick is also gay. Unless he thought Faz was a girl which is sort of understandable.
Linkara/Ninja Rick OTP!
I never understand why they always call the term for hatred/disgust of homosexuals as homophobia, a phobia is an irrational fear that the sufferer cannot help suffer from, unless the subtext of using this term is ultimately give people labelled as this an excuse for their attitude towards homos.
Oh! I get it, you’re trying to be funny.
This cigarette would smack you upside the head for that if he could.
you can’t just make generalizations like that. it’s not fair.
Don’t be foolish, Robin isn’t a homophobe and she clearly hates this chick. Plus some troll implying Kisai is a homophobe just makes me laugh.
Malaya’s hatred for Robin and Malaya’s (apparent) desire for Leslie NEED NOT be related things.
Does Malaya even KNOW Robin and Leslie were together? Or are some of the readers merely INTERPRETING it that way because a) they have comfused what they know with what the characters know – a common failing – or b) They just want to hate on Malaya?
Oh crap, it was in the last comic, and I forgot it. Well, crap, I haz a stoopid.
I still say it need not be “Malaya is going after Leslie JUST to spite Robin.” Spiting Robin might just be the icing on the cake. MMMmmm, tasty, tasty icing.
She’s like all traits I despise in a person rolled up into one.
Was this intentional? If so, bravo.
I love this girl.
She’s so upfront about the way she is.
I don’t think rapidly changing the way she acts towards other people is upfront.
She’s two faced because she happens to be nice to Leslie?
Some people happen to be nice to only certain people. And if you want to know someone better, you can’t be a jerk right off the bat anyway. I don’t think that’s two faced. She makes it clear when she likes someone, and when she doesn’t. She doesn’t pretend to be nice while resenting or disliking someone. That’s what I mean by upfront.
Except her reasons for liking or disliking someone upfront seems to be petty and shallow (see: reaction to Amber). I don’t see her being nice as genuine either, though that part there is a difference of opinion.
She’s definitely shallow.
But I like that’s upfront about that as well. I just like that she’s upfront about who she is, and isn’t apologetic about who she is. There’s a difference between someone being good (although I doubt she’s totally evil), but I can still like her while knowing she’s no role model.
I dunno. I feel like she’s up front to people who will tolerate it and is being manipulative and insincere to those she hasn’t established grounds that it’s okay to do that with. Difference of opinion I suppose.
We’ll see. So far I don’t like Mayala, but it could just be shades of gray. Maybe her bitchiness is more a cover for self esteem issues or something. Insufficient data.
I do feel sorry for Ken. I hope he doesn’t go postal from being constantly ignored.
Here’s an interesting question: What if Mayala really is a terrible petty spiteful selfish person who plays with Leslie just to hurt Robin whom she doesn’t like? Okay, now add onto that: What if Robin is the only person who sees the truth of it?
I’ll admit that I like Robin, especially after she stopped harassing Ethan. She’s ditsy and kind of dumb, but she’s actually one of the funnier characters. And I do think that she generally means well. The cheating plus the video is really awful, especially when combined with some things she said. I don’t mean to excuse that, but was she really in control of herself at the time? I honestly don’t know how that whole thing works.
That would be predictable and trite, and Willis is well beyond such things. I have faith that he made the right decision.
There isn’t a single idea out there that hasn’t been done billions of times before. What makes things fun and interesting is how different people work with those ideas. I have full confidence that if Willis decides to go that route–we will enjoy every minute of it.
“Was she really in control of herself…?” is the kind of thing people say to excuse a drunkard who beats his spouse.
I’m totally with you on the Robin front. I <3s her to death. But your logic here is a little fuzzy.
that’s not a valid analogy though. we’ve only seen her eat cadbury egg cereal twice at this point. the first time, she came to as a congresswoman and was surprised by the fact that such a huge event happened without her recollection. the second time she got into a big fight with leslie.
you can’t claim that she had any kind of history of ruining lives when she’s on a sugar high. she just does unpredictable things. and who’s to say that even “sugar high” robin wanted to break up with leslie. i don’t think she really intended to leave her. she was just at her wit’s end and thought that banging a dude would bring up some epiphany. leslie didn’t see it that way.
i’m not saying that robin trying to bang a dude was a bright idea. and since it didn’t work, it obviously wasn’t one. i don’t even think leslie should have shrugged it off. fighting about it was necessary. i just think that leslie should have considered the circumstances and at least TRY to make amends with robin.
On the other hand, this wasn’t the first time she’d gone on a cadbury bender, either. Maybe she didn’t have any way to anticipate what exactly she’d do under the influence, but she did know from experience that binging on cadbury creme eggs can cause her to have unpredictable behavior and memory loss. That’s not a state that a responsible person would have risked while still hoping to patch things up with Leslie.
Just because you’re a happy drunk most of the time doesn’t excuse the one time you get loaded, your wife says the wrong thing at the wrong time, so you break her jaw in six places. You “weren’t in control of yourself” is not a valid excuse for that kind of behaviour.
Also, I never did claim that Robin has a history of ruining lives. Ever. When under the influence of a mind-altering sugary snack or otherwise. I said she did it once. And that her state of mind doesn’t excuse her actions.
Leslie was hurt by it, and as someone who’s been cheated on, I can relate to how she must have felt. I was never angry at Robin for what happened, I felt bad for her. But I felt more bad for Leslie.
I’m not gonna question the question of her culpability with a ten foot pole.
But I do think your idea’s pretty neat. Malaya is obviously kinda nasty: Even if she genuinely likes Leslie I can totally see her behavior towards Robin getting more and more out of hand until Robin goes completely off her rocker.
I’m not gonna TOUCH the question of…
I’m obviously not proofreading my comments.
I am loving Malaya more and more with each day. I do not get the hate for her at-all.
If she ends up being related to Robin…
Well, there’s my fill of seeing a woman being called a bitch for the day. And to think, I didn’t even have to read comments on a youtube video!
Yeah, every time this comic shows a strong, independent, competent woman, people crawl out of the woodwork, filled with hate.
I’m a fan of Robin. I enjoy Amber, especially her new direction. I have a soft spot in my heart for Leslie. But Malaya is a bitch.
No one came out calling Amber a bitch when she started acting strong and asserting her independence from Ethan.
Malaya’s come out of nowhere and has so far not acted in a positive way at all. She complains about everything, and made a point of letting Robin know that she (Malaya) is aware her (Malaya’s) actions will bother her (Robin). That’s petty and unnecessary.
If you actually consider a conniving, complaining, underhanded little bitch to be “strong, independent, competent”, then you’ve met nothing but bad examples of humanity on either side of the gender divide, and you have my pity. “strong, independent, competent” is what Amber is becoming. These words do not describe a woman who whines about everything and won’t go out and get a job. Malaya so far has NOT been a good example of a good person, let alone a good woman.
… you do remember that Amber just sold her second-born child for a management position, and then concealed her promotion from her best friend, right?
Oh, yes, quite! However, I don’t expect her to actually -do- it. This is Galasso we’re discussing. The man is practically ADD with some coocoolander mixed in. He tried to get his daughter to copulate with a horse to make a race of centaurs, after all. And expected it to -work-. Amber’s got his number…
Let’s see. In her first appearance, Malaya is unemployed, living off other people’s rent money while she sits around and plays video games. She shows utter disinterest in getting a job to support herself, even when a job opportunity is literally handed to her on a platter; and now that she’s actually got the job, all she can do is whine about how much she feels it is beneath her to work.
Tell me more about this ‘strong, independant’ character you like so much.
i’ll give you strong and woman, but how is malaya independent or competent? up to this point, she’s been mooching off a bunch of people she doesn’t respect. in fact the only person she possibly respects is leslie, but for all we know her love is superficial. she doesn’t know anything about her! the only reason i’d say she’s strong is because she’s unparalleled in her stubbornness.
Yeah, you guys have articulated pretty well what was bugging me about her.
“For all we know”? 0_o I don’t see how her love can be anything -but- superficial at this point, if you want to call it love. They JUST MET. “Oh, wow, you’re cute and gay and I love your hair!” is not Twu Wuv.
Malaya is not strong, she’s whiney. She’s not independent, she mooches off her friends. She’s clearly not competent because she’s been unemployed for 6 months.
Just want to make something clear, someone not being able to get a job=! incompetent. While questionable she wouldn’t jump on any open job, there’s a lot of reasons people have difficulties with being hired–not because they’re incompetent.
I’m all too aware of that, considering how much I’ve been on the job market the past few years. However, and this entirely my interpretation, the lack of a job is from a lack of trying, not because of the difficult job market.
At least Amber’s relationship with Mike is looking pretty sound about now.
God, I think I’m in love. See the way she moved in there. That’s downright predatorial.
Dammit, Malaya, I was prepared to like you. I was looking forward to Leslie healing and maybe having a good relationship with a decent human being. Slut-shaming Robin is all kinds of not ok.
I hope Malaya meets Mike soon.
Now that she’s a thorn in Robin’s side, I think he’ll leave her alone, just like he left Faz alone for a while when Ethan asked him to hurt him for a favour
Instant. Dislike.
oh Oh…….
Every time a female character shows strength, independence, or determination, people come out in droves, filled with hate.
I’m trying to figure out if the copypasta indicates sincere trolling, or just laziness in generating your own venom.
I’m thinking the latter.
Malaya: The Most Polarizng Character of 2011 XD
Why is everybody tripping balls about the personality aspects of various fictional characters. I understand (and am involved in) developing connections with the story, but the intensity of all this is (to put it mildly) disorienting.
DW makes a living entertaining, infuriating, and otherwise stimulating readers. For nickels, if the readers are mothers. And with his penis.
Jokes aside, ease up, people! Malaya’s being underhanded, Robin’s being shocked, Leslie is oblivious.
(Also, I’m curious as to why Robin is merely shocked? I’d be enraged. Unjustly so, but my first emotion would be more WTF than OMG.)
(Also also, I’ve never met a Pinay named “Malaya.” I do know it means “free” or “independent” in Tagalog, though. Would her McAwesome’s counterpart be named something like Mahal (expensive) or “Mahigpit” (strict.) Curious.)
I’ve never gotten why people get upset when the ex sees new people. It doesn’t matter anymore. She’s not seeing you.
Come to think of it… have we ever seen Robin really angry? Ever?
I don’t believe we have. Huh.
When the Axis of Whatever hurt her friends.
@taekwondogirl: Right. Good catch.
It may be irrational, but it happens. Anger’s probably more common than surprise, generally.
that makes sense on a rational level but since when are people rational. A bad break up can be similar to a death in the family, especially if they were a huge part of your life and it was your fault in the first place. frankly, i’m kind of sad that i’ve never been with anyone that’s had that affect on me. the greater the sadness the greater the potential for joy.
And because this post is such a downer, i feel i must add: FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCEEEE!!!!
“frankly, i’m kind of sad that i’ve never been with anyone that’s had that affect on me.”
That is, to me, a bit like saying you’re kind of sad that you’ve never been with anyone who was willing to shoot you in the balls with a rubber slug.
Trust me, it’s not worth it.
The uh, heartbreak thing. Not the shot in the balls thing. -That- just goes without saying.
I think that the point is that s/he feels that they have not had enough emotional attachment to feel that way, not that they have never had that balls-shooting experience
Lol. I consider myself a very happy man without ever having experienced that sadness. I don’t see why I should lose any sleep over hypothetical happinesses I haven’t experienced.
You’re right of course, it is by nature an irrational emotion. This doesn’t diminish the fact that it’s an irrational emotion I do not understand. A whole lot of emotional reactions aren’t exactly rational, but they still manage to be within the realm of my understanding. That’s the distinction there.
I’ve never had a relationship go for more than a year and a half though. Maybe there’s some number at which I become territorial? I don’t know. There’s a whole lot of life ahead of me. I’m sure I’ll find it all in time.
at the risk of sounding like a hippy, it’s all about the journey man.
Malaya I will kill you.
With killing.
Until you are killed.
WTF!?!
What…?What…?What?What?What?
They know each other?
She was Malaya Manly, wasn’t she?
She totally was, I’m calling this.
And also distantly related to Sarah Palin. And Sydney Yus.
Come now, a relationship with Jake Manly would explain her being a bitch to Robin like this and going after Leslie.
Well, actually the her being a bitch explains her being a bitch to Robin, but the going after Leslie part…
Fuck you Malaya! Fuck you fuck you fuck you!
Damn, girl moves fast.
Ha. Malaya is my new favourite character. She’s single-handedly making me more interested in reading the comic, as unlike the rest of the cast, she actually seems like the kind of person I’d want to be friends with in real life. I’d been growing a bit bored with Shortpacked lately, and having a character like that around really gets me more immersed.
Forget all the haters – I’m hoping Malaya becomes a mainstay.
Oh, so you’d actually enjoy being friends with a two-faced little witch. You just said a lot about your character with that one statement. When you meet the person that gives you your “Doormat” tattoo, claiming you as their property, tell them I said “Hi” and “HA-HA!”
This isn’t two faced at all… She doesn’t like Robin, she does like Leslie. She blatantly shows that she doesn’t like Robin, to Robin’s face. She’s not hiding it from Leslie, either. She just isn’t making a big spectacle of it. That’s the exact opposite of being two faced, that’s being blunt, to the point, and honest. If you’re gonna bash her at least call her something she actually is.
Considering she’s turning away so Leslie can’t see it, I’d say she is hiding it from her.
That looks more like looking back than turning back. And Leslie is still right there looking at her.
They were walking forward. I’d say this was a quick turnaround that was maybe a second at most, so I doubt Leslie caught it.
Really? You want one of your friends to spend six months mooching off you, refusing to get a job when the opportunity presents itself, all the while showing utter contempt for the job that you’re using to support her freeloading ass?
Your definition of friendship makes me worry for you.
But she got the job…
…because Ken caught her during her escape attempt and begged her to stay, at which point she agreed to stay one day. But hey, now that she’s totally ditched him (notice how she treats her friends) to cuddle up to Leslie and spite Robin, she may have found something that could convince her to lower herself to work here.
I’m not defending all her actions, I like her, but she has a piss poor attitude. Just pointing out she didn’t refuse to get the job is all…she did end up with it.
She did end up with it because she was shamed into it. And was originally just going to do it for one day. At this point, she’ll probably stay on.
Tch. I said friend, not room-mate. There’s a very bold line separating those two things that unfortunately a lot of people seem to miss and end up getting burned as a result.
Malaya just seems all-around awesome. She seems like someone who knows what she wants and is willing to do what she needs to do in order to get it. She also seems quite open about her feelings and doesn’t have a problem with being rude, which is a big step up from the passive-aggressiveness displayed by certain other characters that everyone seems to love for some unfathomable reason.
Essentially she just seems fun to have around. No moral judgement required.
How does she seem fun to be around? She seems to be entirely negative about everything except apparently Leslie.
I can’t fathom people who are interpreting her like that. She seems like all she’d do would be bitch. I’d imagine she’s friends with the people she’s living with because there’s no way they’d tolerate someone who’s *just* a roommate to mooch off them for six months.
It’s a subjective thing. Taekwondogirl said she seemed like the kind of person SHE’D be friends with. Not you. Not everybody likes the same kind of person. Her liking someone doesn’t mean you have to.
Oops. Replace “taekwondogirl” with “red letter day”. My bad.
Geeze, why is everyone hating so much on either Malaya or Robin? Why can’t we all just chill and enjoy the ride? I brought popcorn.
You know…why do we hate Malaya, but we like Mike? Malaya obviously has a mean streak, but I wouldn’t be friends with someone I knew was a cheater, either.
I wouldn’t stick my tongue out at them. I’d be civil because that’s what adults do in public–It shows that one is petty and silly. At the same time, Mike isn’t really a nice person and everyone loves him
I don’t like half of the people I enjoy reading about, but I still like reading about them. I’m honestly curious to see what this character does.
Mike tends to get a free pass because his antics are so over the top that he takes firm refuge in audacity. Raping somebody while singing the TMNT theme song is something no person would ever conceive of doing in real life, but Malaya’s actions here are realistic enough that they evoke a much stronger reaction in people. It’s the same reason people were going after Amber when she and Mike started dating.
She doesn’t know Robin is a cheater (she isn’t anyway). She knows they dated at some point and no longer are.
Has Ken/Dhalsim been talking about his co-workers to his roomies? Malaya’s look indicates she knows a bit of history if only the most basic about Leslie and Robin as (used to be, now currently no longer together).
Oh wait, Ken already did mention this to her last strip.
Does that mean she’s making that face to Robin due to the sex tape. Though from what I can infer from Ken is that they broke up due to the sex tape. So I guess that’s what Malaya assumes too. Hence the face.
Heh, yeah. I’d forgotten about Ken telling her, too. I think she just doesn’t think much of Robin and that she’s sorta pulling a “nah nah nah nah nahhhh~” at her, not that it really has to do with bad blood between Robin and Leslie. But hell, could be wrong.
HAHA I told you all yeeeeaah…ok…Now everyone has a right to feel sorry for Robin. That new girl is gonna get beat up if Robin get’s angry. Or maybe maybe she will turn into emo robin where she just sits around sad. Or maybe she’ll leave the store. AUGH I don’t know. I just know that something exciting is about to happen. May not happy today, maybe not tomorrow. BUT SOON!
if she leaves the store, she can pursue her life-long dream: stand-up comedy!
wait, that was ethan.
The strip was great, but I must admit the title “Yoink” was even better
Yoink indeed. I agree with the fact of Malaya being really negative. Sure, Robin screwed up, but she’s genuinely sorry and obviously heartbroken. Malaya is treading on thin ice here. Someone’s bound to crack. Maybe Les will see what’s happening and do something! (I can but dream…)
Leslie really is not showing that much intrest in Malaya. It seems to me to be little more then here just being nice like she is to everyone. If anything I think Malaya hitting on her might bring her back to the only person she ever loved and may only Date Malaya to make Robin jealous.
I think Leslie’s too sweet to do it for those reasons.
Faz will have to work hard to regain his “most hated character” badge.
For me, Faz had already taken a backseat to the loathesome Roz. Now he’s in third place.
Non-serious theory here, just because the comments seem to be primarily about “I hate Malaya” and “I hate Robin”.
Malaya isn’t crushing on Leslie, she’s interested in Robin. Either she knows more about her than she lets on, or when she saw the famous video she was very impressed.
By flirting with Leslie, Mayala is:
A) Signaling her sexuality to Robin
B) Trying to make her jealous
C) Setting up a potential manage a trois, that Willis will illustrate in all its glory because he loves us.
Like I said, totally non-serious. Still, we can always hope.
I heartily approve of this theory. Especially the threeway part of it.
Hear, hear!
I still don’t like Mayala. I don’t like the kind of person she is revealing herself to be. I do think she is interesting. But, if I knew her in real life, I wouldn’t be friends with her.
She met Robin and took an immediate dislike to her. OK, I can live with that. Sometimes people just don’t like other people.
She met Leslie and took an immediate liking to her. Again, nothing wrong with that.
She found out Leslie and Robin used to date. She abandoned Ken to spend time with Leslie. So far, still reasonable.
She slyly sticks her tongue out at Robin as if to say, “Nayyh, nayyh, I’ve got her you can’t have her.” Which tells me that although she is interested in Leslie due to her immediate attraction, she is equally or more interested in spiting Robin. It is the, shall we say, icing on the cake.
I’ve known people like this. People who can’t start a relationship without first informing their new SO’s ex and lording an already uncomfortable situation over them. I’ve never found people who act like that to be worthwhile people to have as friends.
Of course, I don’t read the strip just for the heroes. The vilians are interesting as well.
Theno
… but the phrase “icing on the cake” indicates something that adds to the enjoyment of something but isn’t crucial. Cake would still be enjoyable without icing. Flirting with an attractive, friendly woman would still be enjoyable without spiting her ex who you happen to not care for.
It can also be used as an ironic way to say “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.
I like Malaya. She does what she wants, and says what she wants. She saw a girl she was interested in and went for it. People calling her a bitch are off. The only issue I have with her is how she’s treating Ken.
I don’t care about Robin. As far as I’m concerned, Robin deserves whatever she gets. She’s a terrible person and deserves to suffer, imo.
Doing what she wants and saying what she wants would be more positive if she wasn’t a parasite who heaped scorn on her friends while mooching off of them.
Stupid drama tag.
I swear, this comic is getting hard to read.
Also? Robin did something dumb while heavily intoxicated for a long time.
MALAYA is taking advantage of Leslie to be a bitch to Robin. She didn’t do anything until Ken mentioned Robin and Leslie used to be together. biiiiiiiitch.
I am completely with you. I keep coming back because I’ve been reading for so long, and I still WANT to have fun. But… it’s not really fun to endure all this drama. And I agree with everything you said about Robin. She was more drugged up than someone on LSD – she literally has no memory or knowledge of her actions. She knows only that she wanted to change the world for the better. We can’t blame her.
She was more drugged up than someone on LSD – she literally has no memory or knowledge of her actions. She knows only that she wanted to change the world for the better. We can’t blame her.
“It says here you killed three people in cold blood. How do you plead?”
“Innocent your honour, I was so drugged up I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“Fair enough, case dismissed.”
Yeah, not buying it.
mental incompetence
Mental Incompetence covers mental health issues, such as schizophrenia, bipolar, alzheimers and the like. Drug taking is a voluntary action.
Drunk people sometimes don’t remember what they did. Drunk drivers are held accountable and blamed if they cause a crash. Drunk people go to jail for starting fights. Drunk people are blamed for throwing up on the rug at a party or starting stupid arguments.
Robin chose to do it, knowing the results were unpredictable, so has to accept those results. When it turns out she hurt someone, she is to blame.
Read yesterday’s strip again. She took an immediate liking to Les, THEN found out about her history.
I’m kind of enjoying the roller coaster of public opinion, here.
“Man, Malaya is kind of a bitch.”
“Oh, she’s a lesbian! That’s great, I love lesbians.”
“Wait, she’s a bitch lesbian? How’s that possible?”
In my case, her interest in Leslie was the first time she showed any aspect of her character beyond being a bitch. And then it was revealed that, nope, her flirting with Leslie was because she’s a bitch.
I don’t know, sticking your tongue out at someone who you know is the ex of the nice, cool person you’re (possibly) interested in, doesn’t seem like a ‘bitch’ move. I know quite a few people who’d love to do a lot worse to the ex of their current love interest.
It’s not a huge deal, true. But we have a pattern of behavior now. She called Robin a slut within 30 seconds of meeting her. She’s been mooching off her friends for 6 months. She insulted them when they tried to help her. And all this within 4 comics. Her sticking her tongue out at Robin with NO reason to just proves that even her interest in Leslie is based partly on being able to hurt someone else.
I disliked her before it was mainstream!
It it considered bad to kind of like Malaya *without* doing it just because one has a hatred of Robin or a misguided belief that she cheated on Leslie? I think she’s just a rather interesting Miss Snarky that’s shown up and is just beginning to stake her place in the comic, and she looks like she’s going to be a spiffy new spanner in the romantic works around here which should shake things up interestingly.
I already liked her. What she’s doing to Robin is just icing.
And I’m quickly growing bored.
I like Malaya – she may not be a perfect person: ie not wanting to get a ‘menial’ job (she may have a PHD for all we know of her so far and be a job snob) – but she’s not a bitch.
She hasn’t been leading Ken on as far as we know, she’s just his roommate, no indication they’re old schoolfriends or the like.
She doesn’t like Robin, but who would if all you knew about her was her sex tape (and how many people only remember govt. officials when they screw up?).
I never really like Robin and Leslie together, Robins ‘revelation’ seemed far too forced to me (not the writing, as in Robin was forcing it on herself), and more based off Robin trying to prove a point than har actual feelings for Leslie.
And even if it did develop into genuine love, they still broke up – Robin has no right to dictate to Leslie who she can and can’t see anymore: she lost any say in Lesley’s life when she said Leslie was holding her back.
People regret breakups, and can wish they never happened, but regret doesn’t mean they’ll get back together or that you’ll like who they move on with.
Robin’s not trying to dictate who Leslie sees -yet-. It is possible this is what will happen but as of now, you’re kind of projecting that.
Also, usually if a political figure is involved in a sex scandal, people remember that it was a politician. Malaya didn’t even do that, just that there was a sex tape. Kind of indicates that she really doesn’t care about anything outside her world.
Ah, I wasn’t very clear – I meant the dictating in reference to the comments indicating certainty of Robin winning Leslie back – there were a couple that indicated “she can’t go out with Malaya, Robin’s still in love with her” sort of thing.
Aha, yeah. I’m with you on that.
Malaya will burn. With actual fire. Soon. She thinks she’s gonna move in her and screw with everyone for kicks. Then she will meet Mike. Nobody out assholes Mike. Nobody.
I expect it will end with Malaya in tears and begging for death. And then Mike will do her mom right in front of her. For a nickel.
This, right here.
I have to say that I’m not a fan of what Malaya is doing either–even though Robin messed up… Can’t wait to see where this goes!
Ouch she seriously seems to dislike Robin.
And on the other side we got to know something else about Leslie.
I just had a thought… what if Malaya was connected to Sydney Yus in some way, and this was all part of an elaborate but eventually failed plot to destroy Robin and Shortpacked! again?
Probably not, but still… this whole swoop in and steal what Robin wants so blatantly looks suspect.
The question is, what’s upsetting Robin more right now- that some other girl is hitting on her ex, or that the love polygon is getting even more convoluted?
Poor Robin.
Malaya is now on the top of my most hated Shortpacked characters to top Roz and Sydney Yus.
I really just can’t digest this character. I just can’t.
She is just… WAY OVER TOO CONVENIENT.
I know this is a web-comic and all, so “convenient stuff” has to happen in order to make it fun. I’m aware of that.
But this is kind over the top.
We’re introduce to a new girl character who happens to appear in the most convenient moment to create drama:
A) Robin and Leslie are fighting against each other. In fact, it’s Leslie who just doesn’t forgive Robin. The worst that could happen here is that Leslie starts dating again.
B) This girl JUST HAPPENED to be lesbian, and JUST HAPPENED to automatically like Leslie.
C) Blanka is interested in her, so it’ll create a lot of drama for Birdie to find out that she is really a lesbian.
…
I don’t know, it’s just… way forced.
Mayhaps the effects of pulling the “Drama” Tag are beginning to snowball?
Also, it violates quantum superposition of lesbians. You can’t have more than one in the same place at the same time. You wouldn’t believe what a problem that is around here.
It’s science!
Almost as forced as the using two different Street Fighter name jokes in the same post!
It’s a story, not real life. Of course it’s going to feel contrived; you only get to see things that are relevant to the plot (well, not counting Batman comics which are awesome). So you don’t see any of the build up. It’s also been a bit of time since the latest show-down between Leslie and Robin.
She might be bisexual, not just lesbian. It’s amazing how many people automatically think that it’s one or the other with no middle ground.
Everyone’s assuming Ken’s attracted and interested in Malaya, but why? Because he’s being nice while getting someone who’s mooching off him to maybe pull her own weight? Yeah, that’s totally a set up for unrequited love.
Aw, HAAAYUUL NAW!
It has to be said.
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!
Malaya is so evil now.
What will Robin do?
I know Robin has fucked up, yes, but this felt like a sting in my heart. What a bitch D:
Oh no you di’int!
I thought I disliked Malaya yesterday.
It’s like Faz-level hatred now.
Yep … nobody will read this 240 some posts down but whatever.
Why is nobody mentioning that Malaya is the opposite of Robin?
She’s lazy instead of hyper. She’s sailor-mouthed instead of fo’shizzling it up. She’s scheming instead of spontaneous. Etc etc etc.
She’s just evil Robin. She probably won’t get very far with Leslie once there is a peak behind her curtain. Sex pun not intentional.
Or Leslie will enjoy her company, because she is friendly and complementary but doesn’t remind Leslie too much of Robin.
Really, being the polar opposite of Robin doesn’t mean that she’s evil, because Robin, like most people, is not some epic paragon of good, and in fact has a pretty even split of positive and negative traits. Malaya has different shortcomings, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she has more – or that she doesn’t have a different set of virtues to complement those vices.
I actually pointed it out a few posts ago. :p
The plot has thickened.
Oh the thickening.
;_; Leslie nooooooo~!
Having reviewed, Malaya’s appearences, I’ve figured out why I don’t like her.
She’s not that funny.
I can handle Mike’s douchery because it’s almost always clever, complicated and/or outrageous and usually comes with a completely cutting line. I don’t need my comic characters to be moral or sane; just funny.
Malaya is just openly rude to people (specifically Ken and Robin) without proper justification. When your friend tries to help you find work, you don’t bitch and belittle them for it. You don’t randomly call people racists and you don’t call people you just met sluts to their face, even if it might be true (Not that it is in this case. Having sex with one guy (only the second person she’s ever had sex with) does not make Robin a slut whether it was taped or not).
That being said: I hope she sticks around because I love watching train wrecks. Where is Mike? Please, God, Where is Mike!?
I actually thought it was pretty funny when she called Robin a slut. Funny is highly subjective.
Waiting to do the exact opposite of what you want him to do
I’m a little late to the party, but I just read the 3 strips I missed this week.
Am I wrong in assuming the reason Malaya hates Robin and the whole sex tape thing is that she was fucking a GUY?
At least I can say that her attraction to Leslie is genuine, what with the big never-before-seen SMILE, and all, but I think that any wooing of Leslie that she does is gonna be covertly driven by her hatred of Robin, thus, tainted.
Yay for an entire site trying to fight one troll.
*goes to get rope to tie Leslie and Robin together until they’re talking to each other again*
Is anyone else disinterested in this current development? Amber becoming Assistant Manager and trying to avoid telling Ethan about this development was a lot more interest then “Lawl Lezbianz”.
Seriously, this wouldn’t be bad if it wasn’t simply materializing out of nowhere. Who is this person? What is their motivation? Why should I care? Hell, the only reason I know about Ken is he’s been popping up in the TMI strips.
This whole “Leslie gets a new love interest” angle is fine and dandy…if it weren’t so forced. I seriously have no fucking idea who this bitch is and I’d rather not “Fill in the Blanks” with assumptions considering I’ve never was aware this person existed a week ago.
Remember Leslie’s introduction to the strip? Seriously, her name is a joke. Leslie Bean. And you’re complaining about this being forced?
Willis managed to take Leslie and flesh her out into a character people clearly care deeply about, as indicated by all these posts. Give it some time.
Come on threesome! Girl on girl on girl….Yeah. You know it’ll happen.
I have always hated Robin, so even if Malaya turns out to be the really horrible person everyone already thinks she is then I will still be happy that Robin got a little bit of comeuppance from Malaya. (that sentence flowed better in my head but thats the gist of it) Also more Leslie in the comic is awesome
I just realized something… Willis is trolling us, and has been since the Drama Tag was pulled. I bet he’s sitting there, reading all these comments with a huge, shit-eating grin on his face, thinking “dance, puppets, DANCE FOR ME!”
You’re only just now figuring this out?
Tsk.
If nothing else, Malaya sure works as comment bait, this comic strip alone has generated over 300 commenst so far…
And nearly half of them are about the comic, rather than insulting other posters, calling them trolls, trolling, counter-trolling and expressing exasperation about trolls and counter-trolls.
I honestly don’t know how anyone has formed an opinion about Malaya yet. We have an awfully limited data set for her.
Trolls are getting trickier in their quest to provide themselves with lulz. It’s not always so easy to tell a troll from an over-opinionated asshole like it was last century. In those days, trolls just did stupis shit and spammed commenst repeatedly and you just needed to hit the IGNORE button. I miss those days sometimes.
Knee-jerk reactions, mostly.
Woah….i caught up, I started reading short packed when Willis did the guest strip for Jeph, I can totally say im a fan though i love his storylines, drawings, insatiable need for transformers, and his love of batman!
Ahh I remember when I did that, but refused to allow myself to read anymore Shortpacked until I’d read the entire backlog of Roomies and It’s Walky, that was some fun-filled procrastination.
Ok this is what I gather we agree from a biblical scale flood of comments
so Robin SEEMS to be being hatted by Malaya for no APPARENT reason. MOST of us do not like Malaya AT THIS TIME because of her apparent attitude toward, pretty much, everything. And whether blaming Robin FULLY for her whole cheating while intoxicated situation, and in turn feel bad for her now, is open to opinion.
…”hatted”? Nah. Giving Robin a hat is waaay too nice a thing for Malaya to do.
Hahaha. Ok, that you got me on.
You know what they say- hatters gonna hat.
I so fucking own.
http://www.blanklabelcomics.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9067
I totally win SO hard.
Isn’t there some saying about inviting the devil into your home, or in this case, toy store? I’m guessing that Robin is going to regret this idea.
Hokay, so, here’s my take on Malaya. (It’s roughly 3 AM right now, so forgive me if this rambles a bit)
Malaya seems a bit younger and less mature than your average SP! cast member. Odds are that she gets her info from a motley assortment of less-than-reliable sources *coughINTERNETcough* and forms her opinions based off of that info. She also seems to be type that will act “tough” because that is “cool.”
So, basically, what I’m saying is that Malaya is young, possibly poorly informed, a bit quick to judge, and probably a might immature. Only time will tell if this winds up being the case.
Robinnnn.
D ;
TAKE BACK YOUR WOMAN.
Malaya starts dating Leslie, Meets mike, cheats on Leslie with mikes penis, Amber kills Malaya and Mike. Happy story-arc?
I thought I could like this new character Akuma brought in. Even though she was lazy, and moving in on Leslie, I could still like her. And then she stuck her toungue out to taunt Robin. That made me hate her. I mean seriously shes taunting her out of spite.
Robin’s look of horror is one of the funniest reactions to a stuck-out-tongue there has ever been, well done Willis.