VALENTINE’S DAY VOTING INCENTIVE IS HERE!
I take no responsibility for this one. This is a concept hatched by one of my fine patrons on Patreon and then promptly seconded by a few other fine patrons, so I felt compelled to draw it. I totally did not actively choose to draw this image due to its inherent fun factor. And the fact that I wanted to draw it. Totally nothing to do with me.
As for this comic…
I am not a motorcycle guy. I’ve never been a motorcycle guy. And I know that, historically speaking, motorcycles were awesome American symbols of virile bad boy awesomeness, but I kind of suspected that the ensuing decades of quinoa-eating, enviro-friendly, safety-conscious hipsterism had lessened the motorcycle’s once mighty appeal in the eyes of people today.
But there is a guy where I work. This guy rides a motorcycle. Some female co-workers were talking about him and I said, “He seems like a nice guy, but I don’t know about the whole motorcycle thing. Seems a little…”
“Hot?” the one woman offered.
“Sexy?” the other suggested.
“Hot and sexy?” the first continued. “Because it is. Motorcycles are sexy and hot. And you’re just jealous.”
She wasn’t wrong.
And I guess the motorcycle still has a little bit of its magic left.
Did Derek even come to Prom?
As Pat wrote a couple of weeks ago, not vanilla.
You go Hannah; go hard or go home! Or, I guess, go home, then go out again and go hard.
If you ask me, he looks a little old for prom. But then again, he also looks like the kind of guy who fails grade eleven English four or five times, so…
Just how many dates *did* Hannah have for the prom?
Her arrangement with Derek is obviously post-prom. Which means she is still a ‘one guy’ girl. The one guy just changes, depending on the hour.
I’ve never understood how the American “grade school” system works. Do pupils simply continue at whatever grade they are up to, until leaving at a pre-determined age (about 40, in Olivia Newton-John’s case)?
Well, the Canadian grade school system, which is pretty similar to the American one, has students in high school (ages 14-18) taking a whole bunch of mandatory and optional credits over their four years. In the Ontario system, students take eight courses a year and need to earn 30 credits in order to complete high school. If you fail a course, you need to take it again. And again, if need be. Until students reach the age of 21, that is. At that point, they’re kicked to the ‘adult education system’.
Calling it a “Canadian grade school” might be confusing for some since actually education is a provincial jurisdiction. So there are really as many systems as there are provinces.
Sure. But they’re mostly similar. Some of the smaller provinces even just follow the larger province’s curriculum. When you’re comparing it to, say, the British system, all the provinces are roughly analogous. There’s differences, sure, but not big ones.
Sorry about the double post, wordpress was sending me an error message so i thought that it didn’t register.
WordPress always sends an error message on my site right now even though the post works just fine. Sorry about that. If I could fix it I would.
Was he *riding* a beater?
Possible. Teenage rebels generally don’t have the funds to buy new.
The rebel might ride a Rebel (Honda) or that might be too much on the nose.
I guess if you have the option of going to your third or fourth prom it could loose some of the magic.
As a high school teacher who is on his fifteenth prom, I can attest to the fact that it does indeed lose some of the magic. Though the fact that it’s a first prom for most of the kids there does always infuse the event with a certain energy that never goes away.
Buying new is lame.
A real biker works on his hog and knows every nut and bolt.
Those scars on his knuckles aren’t from papers cuts while opening his soy latte*.
(*he enjoys a choco double pump)
What the heck is a choco double pump?
*gasp!*
Coffee with a double shot of chocolate!
Have you guys not discovered the Dove™ Dark Chocolate and Almond creamer?!
Sounds … sweet. And caloric. I can’t afford drinking something like that. My coffee is usually low calorie and largely joyless.
Maybe he made that crazy side car UFO bike from MAD MAX.
A motorcycle is like a horse, only more practical because you can park. On a horse or a motorcycle, you are in control of something powerful, therefore you are powerful.
Being inside a car is different. Most cars are too practical to count as personal power multipliers, even if from a practical standpoint they can carry more than a motorcycle. You need something both powerful and impractical to be flaunting personal power.
This is not logical but humanity is not logical.
I think you nailed it on the head. Impracticality is key to cool manliness, just as impracticality is key to fashionable femininity. Why are we so impractical a species?
Coincidentally, motorcycles are even MORE impractical in Canada due to the fact that you can’t safely ride on them for six months of the year.
I had a teacher that rode every day, rain or shine or snow. He got t-boned when he was on vacation in the US – on a perfectly sunny day.
ps: I went to Westdale in the late 80s so you could probably guess of whom I am talking…
I didn’t go to Westdale in the late 80’s, so sadly I do not know of whom you speak.
Really, you can’t ride them safely any time of year. There are two kinds of motorcycle riders: The ones who have wrecked, and the ones who are going to.
Harley’s engines are obsolete–they’re so jiggered to barely meet pollution regulations that they won’t run on regular gas–and even some fans will admit they’re dinosaurs.
But my brother the deranged biker claims that the real reason some women are hot for Harleys is the characteristic vibration rate of the V-twin engine. 🙂
From my experience, women (and men) under the age of 50 are no longer hot for Harleys, whatever the reason. The dude my female coworkers were cooing over, by the way, rode a BMW sport bike. Though it’s a bit of a “chicken and egg” thing, I guess, because few dudes under 50 want to ride a Harley.
I dunno. Whatever the engine is doing, I think the specific romanticism of the Harley is a baby boomer thing, built on a strong foundation of Easy Rider and Steve McQueen. But even thirty-somethings don’t recognize those names anymore. And the Harley is on the ropes.
But chicks still like motorbikes? That’s O.K. I’ve got my song parodies and the Dirty Mug.
Daphne is slowly leaning she is no where near as ‘bad’ as she thought she was.
While I’m sure young blokes do ride motorbikes, where I live in Australia, you’re more likely to find the over 50s riding bikes like Harleys and such.
Right about Daphne. And yeah, in Canada right now, Harleys (like in Australia) are solely for old guys. Harley Davidson has actually done tons of work trying desperately to get some of the young hipster types to buy into the Harley mystique, but none of it’s worked. I’m guessing Derek drives a Kawasaki or one of those cool sports bikes. Those are the new cool for the younger generation.
I have seriously come across a Harley Davidson bicycle. A bicycle. With Harley Davidson on it. Either there’s a cyclist out there with a great sense of humour and a printer, or Harley Davidson figures get ’em young on the bicycles, then move up to the motorcycle.s
Well, better than the business plan of “Get em while they’re old,” which has been Harley’s motto for the past three decades.
Meh. I always taught my son that Crotch Rockets will get you there fast, but a Harley gets you there in style.
Grandpa style, maybe. Though I could see it coming back. My prediction: Harleys will become ‘retro cool’, but only AFTER the company folds. That’s the way hipsters work. The company will die, and only then will the hipsters embrace the product, and start small cottage industries of ‘lovingly restoring vintage Harleys to their former glory.’ And maybe some rich hipster beardo in Portland will buy the rights to the name and start manufacturing small batch custom-made Harleys for the new era, and…
I can see it now.
Harley does, in fact, have a bicycle line.
You mispronounced “Ducati” me lad; it’s the *other* single-throw-crank-powered two-wheeler. The only thing better would be a custom-built road racing machine, as seen in Bruce Brown’s “On Any Sunday”, especially the bits shot at Laguna Seca’s corkscrew.
This arc has been an amazing revelation both to and about Daphne. We (the readers) have always seen Daphne the way her family and Tyler see her: as a precocious, faux-world-weary smartass. Now that we get to see her with her peers, it’s pretty obvious that Daphne’s a bit of a sheltered nerd. Hannah’s got way more game than her and I realized tonight that even Tyler showed up to prom with friends while Daphne arrived with her parents. I guess the question now is what Daffy does with her newfound revelations about Tyler and her budding friendship with Hannah. In short: fantastic writing EG.
Thank you. And yeah, you really summed it up perfectly. From my experience, if you find a kid who excels at non-kid things like credit card fraud and pyramid schemes, that kid usually does not excel at being a kid.
I feel really called out by this for some reason…
If this girl becomes an author, I’m guessing that her books will center around 50 shares of blotch, or 50 sexy grays on hue.
You Canadians seem to be so free, so liberated, so. ….. two sides of a coin.
Well, we did establish that she can see vague shapes and colors. So I’m pretty sure she can see at least twenty-two shades of gray. Maybe as many as forty?
Ever since my uncle let me ride in his bike’s sidecar, I’ve been into motorcycles. And even though he’s no longer around, that love has remained.
I hope to one day own a Harley like one of the ones he had, but right now, that’s a little bit outside this freelancer’s income.
Well, then you will be another old guy on a Harley. Cuz that’s what happens: you only have enough money in your later years to really indulge in a motorcycle.
Not my cousin, but he kind of inherited the bikes when his dad died shortly after we finished High School. But he’s the exception rather than the rule. 🙂
Well, there’s always the option of a life of crime… but it might end abruptly…
Hannah had to sneak out of the house to go to the prom?
She’s going to sneak out of the house for the after-party…
Nah, that’s above board. It’s the after party that is sneak-requiring.
My my, looks like Daphne’s the open criminal, Hannah the hidden ‘Ms. Big.”
Hannah is a WYSINWYG.
😀
Daphne is learning the value of having reliable friends. This is an educational night for her.
Somebody’s gotta teach her something, right?
Indeed. As @Lokitsu said, fantastic writing.
I got error 520 (relayed through Cloudflare) when posting the above two replies, it might be that some sort of update on your server messed up some configuration or some interoperability? I’m using Android, Dolphin V12.1.5, I can test stuff if you tell me what to test (including in a variety of browsers on Android, Ubuntu and Debian).
I’m getting the same thing every time. Just a weird thing that’s happening ever since my host updated the PHP. Only seems to happen when posting comments, though the comments do go through and post. Wish I could fix it, but … That’s above my pay grade. And beyond my abilities.
Daphne, not everyone has access to a fashion designer at home. And not all of everyone’s friends went to Prom.
Hannah’s an interesting character.
Hannah is bucking for her own webcomic.
Well, if I gave her one, it would probably mean this one would stop. So … probably not? Though it would be interesting…
All in all, I like the crowd you’ve got. Hannah’s a fine addition, but it’s Puck, the Ancient Fairy of Lore. Not Hannah, Teen Terror.
For one thing, Daph wouldn’t have a role.
Oh, Daphne could do something, I’m sure. Occupy the ‘neurotic wacky friend’ role?
“Oh, Daphne could do something, I’m sure. Occupy the ‘neurotic wacky friend’ role?”
As opposed to . . . man I don’t know how to describe her role. I am not good at lit. And, of course she’s just so Daphne.
Daphne’s role, to be honest, would best be defined as “The Calvin”. The Calvin must be a cynical, misanthropic child who is comically world weary for his or her age. Said cynical misanthropy must, by nature, be a defense meant to disguise a deep-seated vulnerability, because when push comes to shove, the prickly child is still a child, and very uncertain of his/her place in the world. Daphne is The Calvin.
And I only now realize how derivative my writing is. But whatever.
Daphne doesn’t seem to spend much time openly reflecting on having been abandoned by her bioparents.
That’s a thing that happens, and Puck has been a loving if flawed mother ….(like most moms…)…. but at some level, does Daphne remember “So long sucka” ?
Some people remember painful events and resolve to not to let the same happen to others; others remember painful events and conclude that since the world sucks the only thing to do is get your shot in first. Daphne may have been in the 1st group and genuinely surprised to see another point of view….and that it can be held by someone as fun-loving as her.
I roll with an electric motorcycle. Quiet like the night (not completely silent, there’s a pitch I can hear at least a block away). And the feeling of sweet electric torque kicking your lungs into your spine as you take off from the line.
The only thing they’re bad at is long trips. I can plug it into a standard wall socket, but the charge time is in hours. There’s a guy who has crossed the USA from north to south and east to west (and then four corners), but that took some special modding for faster charging. (PS: Full disclosure, the chip in my hand isn’t black just yet).
You are an environmentally responsible rebel.
Hannah can see the real world better than Daphne.
No argument there.
We’re impractical because it serves as a display of muh powah! You have conquered Maslow’s pyramid. You can walk about with ruffles and sequins and 8 inch heels, because all the worker ants and drones hold YOU up, so no need for you to be practical. Hence to display it demonstrates to onlookers that You’re the top!
You’re the Coliseum! (apologies to C. Porter)
You get this. To a scary degree.
Daphne and Hannah are both really developing into very interesting characters in this story arch. You’re going to have a challenge with future use of Hannah, given how wild she seems to be for a blind girl.
Remember: things that are perhaps slightly improbable or crazy in a comic need not be shown. Sometimes they can just be mentioned.
Can you put Derek on the character list please?
I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think we’re going to see more of Derek any time soon. He will probably be a one-off. Though crazier things have happened.
New February votey; that’s some good cheesecake 🙂
Hello Phoebe AND hello Emily
I am glad you approve. I am actually proud of this one.
To quote Phoebe: “RAAAAWWWR!”
@Justin
B-E-S-T C-H-E-E-S-E-C-A-K-E E-V-E-R
Don’t let the Cheesecake Factory hear you say that, dude. They have a mean legal team.
Phoebe as a catgirl; it just gets better and better. It looks like a catfight on the voting page. Will we get to see your other catgirl character again?
Emily the Cat Girl will almost certainly reappear at some point in time. She won’t likely be any more than a background character, but … yeah. Reappearance at some point in time guaranteed.
Sir, that voting incentive is one production of “Cats” that I whole-heartedly approve of. Bravo!
Slightly less nightmare-inducing than the movie version?
IT’S OFFICIAL !!
Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an Early Spring this year – Huzzah !
Of course this auspicious news, delivered annually on CANDLEMAS, is left to me.
Despite his “fearsome” reputation, SalemCat is afeared of a great many things – including Marmota monax.
SPRING IS COMING !
Harley Davidson actually have a range of modern 500-750cc twins and a new range of larger modern machines about to hit the showroom floor, they’ve known they need to change since the 1970s.
Harley Davidson have marketed bicycles since the early 20th Century.
Hipsters ALREADY obsess over obsolete Harleys, provided they are expensive enough and sufficiently unobtainable; hipsters are ALL ABOUT conspicuous consumption!
Those dang hipsters. When will someone stop their madness?
Hey Emily, Phoebe has an actual tail….
@Ben
But in Emily’s defense, it’s not really a Cat’s Tail.
Seems like an unfair advantage, really.
Wasn’t “ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE” depicted in Canada?
I really don’t remember. Maybe? It seems like a more American trope, really.
Hannah: “No he didn’t ‘come to prom’ wearing that. He’s not a student here. He’s going to the community college on the edge of town.”
Daphne: “…”
Hannah: “Me not fitting the innocent little helpless blind girl trope is really breaking your mind, isn’t it? You probably don’t even know what a Key Party is, do you?”
Daphne: “… I can Google that once I get home… but I don’t know if I should.”
Hannah: “Probably not.”
I’m not going to either.
Then we’ll leave it that I have made an artfully subtle implication that Hannah parties harder than the hypothetical PG-13 rating of your comic would abide. ^_^
…Or that she knows way more about the 1960s than a regular 21st century teenager has any right to.
Well, your implication is likely not wrong.