Today, the temps awkwardly listen to their boss chew out their coworker for being a dumbass on the shared radio channel.
Transcript
The other temps stare awkwardly while Adam is reprimanded on the shared radio channel.
Talita: Those rails were built decades ago to support 20 kilo avians! These structures are not stable enough for you to climb!
She walks away to return to the job. Adam glares daggers at her back, cheeks flushed.
Later, the crew returns through the vehicle airlock.
SFX: BEEP BEEP BEEP
Talita vacuums the outside of her exosuit after hanging it up.
SFX: VVVVVVVVVVVVV
She absentmindedly tugs on her lower lip with her trunk lips as she works. To her right, Yao looks curiously at her bare antlers while putting on a pair of prosthetics resembling deer antlers.
88 thoughts on “Runaway to the Stars: Page 226”
Avalon Ranger
Omg Yao hiiiiii Yao<3
Love xer Rolodex of horns/antlers I would also have a Collection
Eldermage1
Damn, just noticing how buff Yao is. Like, xe have to be strong to do the work xe do, but like wow.
izimb
Xe looks like xe is about to blurt out “You know we can get rid of him for you”
bryn
Yao’s stare 🥺 i love it lol. I hope xey try talking to talita xe seems to be interested in her or think shes cool.. but Yao seems really shy! and who knows how long the positions – either of them – are gonna last, so time is sort of ticking on that front.
arf
Chewing a dumbass out on the open channel?
Well, that just means that everybody else now knows not to show their own dumbass qualifications by clambering up scaffolding intended for life forms a quarter of their weight. (Which is probably the angle any riposte from Clayton is likely to take. It may cut more deeply than it would normally if Talita is berating herself for getting distracted.)
Mind you…. what were the OHS risk assessments like for this work site? (Thinking of Col. Quaritch’s old school pep talk on the perils of Pandora, only involving the less animate)
Scolopendra
I’m a firm believer in “praise in public, chastise in private” *except* where life-critical safety is involved. Alex’s mistake is a foolish one but an understandable one; everyone needs to hear both how it’s dangerous AND how important it is given how chewing someone out openly is out of character. There are times when niceties *need* to be thrown away for safety and for effect, and this is one of them.
Alex, unfortunately, is probably going to have hurt of the butt and use the embarrassment of being dressed down as an excuse not to learn, but he also probably learn from a private Come to Jesus talk either. The public nature serves to make the danger important and obvious to everyone.
Felixscout
Hard agree. In 20+ years of the technical side of the entertainment industry when someone is about to do somehting dangerous there is a place to stop everyone, or pull them aside in small groups, and describe why we don’t do that.
And most people in Adam’s position would be chastened or appreciative or some mix of frustrated and getting it. Which gives one space to talk to everyone about it without naming names.
pan
I like Adam’s writing as an antagonist. It’s interesting that he’s junior/lower ranking to Talita, instead of the more traditonal superior/higher ranking antagonist role. He’s also just a guy, no super powers or anything. An annoying guy, but believable and well-written guy.
guest
From how Yao’s been staring at Talita every time xe appears I theorise xe thinks Talita is cool but is either too shy/awkward to say it or doesn’t see that it may be good to say it out loud. Xer description does say xe is quiet and prefers little social interactions on the job, so maybe that’s related. I personally feel like there are some gears spinning in that head abt Talita being a cool non-human with big antlers, and maybe it’d be good for Talita if Yao spoke up abt that? if I’m reading the situation right anyway
Sabella
Please Adam, tell us what slur for a Centaur is cooking in that pointy head of yours, I’m dying to know.
You know, if you didn’t already call Talita that slur between the top panels and returning to the airlock.
cabbage
I mean on page 91 he calls her a stripey sock puppet lol
Arcstone
She actually does have sort of a muppet show/alf kind of styling to her now that I think about it with her trunk nose mouth and all.
Peter Jensen
I’ll just leave this here:
https://www.tumblr.com/jayrockin/755663940357439488/imagine-the-possibilities-are-endless
Sabella
He’s got a look like he wants to go for something just a bit more hurtful.
cabbage
in a previous character questions section talita talks about never being sure if human staircases will carry her safely. very interesting contrast with a human temp assuming everything is made for them
dokki
Oh youre so smart holy fuck
folti
Well, that’s kinda expected, because the rest of the site, at least the parts he frequents are built to handle normal humans. While Talita never being a normal human, always had to deal with the good chunk of the local infrastructure not built to handle her size and weight.
Gar G
Well she spent her entire life around stuff that wasn’t built for her, whereas he… didn’t
Rad Internet Stranger
Yo Talita, I think xey want your antlers
Lilac
Yao the Noticer….
Talita Fangirl :)
Sorry, but “noticer” is a nazi dogwhistle. Look it up if you want
Jerach
I am so tired of them turning every mundane term they can think of into something terrible.
Lilac
Oh my god what the hell i did not know what the fick why do they take everything that sucks so much om so sorry Jesus christ
Lilac
*Fuck
Malachte
i love that most yao appearances is xem going ⚫.-.⚫
Rad Internet Stranger
Oh my god I wish I had your creativity with emoticons XD
thegriffin88
I know it’s hard but at some point you gotta put one of your four feet down about this jackhole, Talita.
the Inmara
We really, really want detachable antlers/horns.
kulupu Tela
dhe systems want antlers and/or horns!
Lezzlebit
I’m kind of surprised that Adam actually shut up and didn’t keep trying to argue back. I guess he realized that he was wrong on SOME level (as indicated by him blushing) but I would not be surprised if he still went to upper management and called out Talita for grabbing him. Sigh…
I do sliiightly question whether grabbing him was the absolute best move ever, but it’s not really fair to criticize Talita for doing a pretty harmless action in the heat of the moment before what could have turned into a VERY bad situation. And none of this would’ve happened if Adam acted reasonably anyways.
the Inmara
The expression on his face kinda says he’s planning on going over her head and lodging a complaint.
ThatDangElk
I get the feeling that he’s planning something else.
Artor
Agreed. Filing a complaint would be too close to the smart thing, and I don’t think Adam does smart. Ever.
Rad Internet Stranger
He’s giving “how dare you be right”
Arcstone
The karen stare.
forthebit
I think that’s related to Talita reprimanding him on the shared radio channel, which is emphasized in the transcript in a way that implies that that isn’t usually how reprimands are done in the field, and therefore might be extra embarrassing to him. Like your boss yelling at you in the middle of the cubicles instead of in their own office with the door closed.
aves
I think it makes sense that reprimands would usually be done on a one-to-one channel, but I *do* think that safety issues like this should absolutely be handled on the shared channel. That way everyone gets a reminder of the very real dangers of their workplace.
Makes sense that it would still embarrass (and piss off) Adam, but I think that’s an Adam problem, not a Talita problem. Though, unfortunately, it’s likely to *become* a Talita problem soon, going by Adam’s expression :/
forthebit
There’s a difference between a heated reprimand that everyone can hear aimed at an individual, and a professional statement (or extra safety training) aimed at a group (even if everyone knows who it’s really for). I agree that Adam is being completely irresponsible here, but Talita’s handling of it is very likely outside of company code, which is something she (arguably justifiably) is expected to adhere to as a direct supervisor.
Bip is also partly to blame, since their conversation likely resulted in Talita yelling on the shared channel by accident when she otherwise (probably) would have had the presence of mind to switch to private. But the choice to be embroiled with Bip in and of itself has been undermining her job for a while now. This is a messy situation all around.
JoB
> would have had the presence of mind to switch to private
That is, of course, assuming that there is an assigned “private channel” for every team member. Judging from Talitas control box, there aren’t enough channels available for that.
(… oh, and that “3” is mirror imaged …)
TheRebelSpy
Oh – I thought that she was shouting in the Bip-Talita channel, and therefore Adam couldn’t hear her. Then she yoinked him off the rails to save him.
forthebit
It’s easy to miss, but the *clk* before Talita says “Do you have a deathwish?!” was her changing to the shared channel. So that statement and everything after it was audible to the whole team.
Paul
The “Wrong radio channel” was because Talita was talking to Bip, who is secret, so he wouldn’t have heard her (the first time).
Chrisp
yeah speaking as a safety manager at an industrial worksite, she could definitely get in trouble for this. escalating straight to manhandling instead of an urgent verbal warning (no one but bip knows she at least tried on the wrong channel) and then chewing him out over a shared channel would be solid grounds for a complaint. adam is a terrible employee and a walking safety liability, but talita would look pretty bad here even with that context. being distracted on the wrong channel could potentially be considered negligent too, and its not like she can explain why she was doing so…
(not a criticism, i love how working with bip is becoming more and more of a focus for talita and it’s starting to interfere with her life in major ways. there’s an excellent slow boiling tension leading up to the inevitable running away to the stars here)
forthebit
I agree! We already know Talita is wishy-washy about boundaries, so I wonder if she tried to lay “no chatting during work hours” rules down with Bip off-camera and Bip just ignored them, or she just never bothered in the first place. Whether Bip apologizes for contributing to this situation with Adam will give some additional insight into Bip’s character, too.
Claire
Adam is going to be the final boss before the Runaway takes off from Dirtball. I can just smell it.
Hydrurgus
Mel is right there
Ruby
Not sure if Adam will escalate this. But I’m sure that he will be very grumpy this evening.
buam
Adam is definitely going to do something nasty, like spin the whole incident to Mel as Talita assaulting him, and I just know Mel is going to handle it poorly. Talita, girl, your workplace is toxic, get out of there!
Vinemaple
Again, begging everyone to SCROLL BACK UP and look at the LIGHTING on panel 1…
Jay’s done an absolutely INCREDIBLE job depicting glare and backscatter lighting, with just tones of gray and white and a little bit of texturing. Yeah, yeah, things are coming to a head with Adam, but Jay’s depiction of the lighting is so. Effing. Good!
Felixscout
It is very cool. Lighting is so essential in a visual medium.
Jackie
I’m surprised Adam ever got hired given his history. I can’t imagine whatever space worker insurance they have would just say ‘yeah this dude with a obvious history of major recklessness is fine to work in this very dangerous environment’.
Fallingfeather
I guess just because he hasn’t had a major, reportable incident yet. Can’t get a record of being an idiot if you’ve been stopped before disaster every time.
Vinemaple
My assumption is that he’s one of those “permanent temp workers,” who’s only able to find temp work because of personal shortcomings. My uncle was like that, he could only ever get substitute teacher jobs because he was extremely impulsive and never thought anything through. I also dated a former substitute teacher, she was a lovely and brilliant person, but far too gentle, shy, and autistic to wrangle a class of rowdy pre-teens.
But the temp agency will hire you if you’re like that, and send you out, and there’s often no interview with the actual employer. Many employers are willing to take a risk on someone like Adam for a short period of time, if they’re desperate for someone.
buam
People like Adam are pretty common in areas with high turnover and poor management. If the management is bad enough, they’ll grumble about the paperwork when someone gets injured, but they won’t fire anyone or enforce basic safety protocols.
Koumori
Is Talita unconsciously fiddling with her lower lip using her trunk? That’s an interesting variation on lip biting.
Light_In_The_Fog
Omg i think she is!!! I love that, I do that all the time, but i’d be doing it so much more if i could with my hands free lmao
Enai
I wonder if Yao is going to put their foot into their mouth next, like asking if they can have the antlers when they shed or something. Having your centaur friend’s antlers made into jewelry would be sick as all get out, but they barely know Talita…
Also, I hope Adam comes to his senses and grows at least a tiny bit of risk awareness. Maybe Dominic will talk to him?
godspeed
I don’t think Talita wouldn’t mind that much if Yao asked her that. There are shorts of her randomly gifting her shed antlers to Idrisah in a pretty uncerimonious way. (or Gillie? I don’t remember the comic 100% and can’t find it right now.)
Maybe there would be slight discomfort at first, but I am sure Talita knows that Yao really likes horns and antlers.
But maybe I am totally wrong and you picked something up I didn’t lol
godspeed
I don’t think Talita wouldn’t mind that much if Yao asked her that. There are shorts of her randomly gifting her shed antlers to Idrisah in a pretty uncerimonious way. (or Gillie? I don’t remember the comic 100% and can’t find it right now.)
Maybe there would be slight discomfort at first, but I am sure Talita knows that Yao really likes horns and antlers.
But maybe I am totally wrong and you picked something up I didn’t lol
Edit: Found the Link OVO
https://www.tumblr.com/jayrockin/655638370667692032/what-has-talita-done-with-her-shed-antlers-in-the
MutableAlias
pretty sure there’s also a doodle comic somewhere of Yao asking for her antlers and Talita’s like “sure”, but then cringes the next day when Yao has paired them with satanic imagery in xer outfit
Enai
Oo, thank you! I agree, if this comic is still canon, Yao could absolutely ask for the shed antlers and be gifted them, no sweat.
I just thought it might be a case of Talita being embarrassed by her centaur physicality, you know? Or maybe she eats them as a source of minerals, those are metabolically expensive to grow…
Ruby
Just pointing out that Yao uses xe/xem pronouns for reference. ☝️
Sabella
I don’t think xey’re bent like that. I think it’s more likely xey sympathize with Talita after getting tormented by Adam xemselves.
Enai
Probably. Xey seem pretty shy to me, xeir fashion is absolutely the loudest thing about xem. But still, real centaur antlers. Can tempt a person. Those’ll fall off in time anyway, won’t they?
Annie Moose
Adam is going to do something bad in retaliation… isn’t he? Like report to Mel or follow Talita when she eventually gets time to go to the Runaway? And then report to Mel?
Talita just told him what he did wrong though. She never called him names. Like idiot or fool.
This is why NASA has extensive mental tests for people to become astronauts. Adam would more than likely fail any test NASA would have.
Vinemaple
Adam would be the US Navy’s perfect fighter-pilot candidate… in 1990.
HAL9000
the devasting effects of top gun raises its head once more
buam
Adam would do well in the desert, I swear the Mojave attracts people like him like flies. (He would either be best buds with Machete Guy and Anger Management Guy or the three of them would get in a knife fight, no in between. Shotgun guy would definitely take him out though, Shotgun Guy doesn’t understand deescalation.)
EveryZig314
A planet with no atmosphere is in a sense a very large and intense desert.
forthebit
But she did physically grab him and then reprimand him on a shared comms channel instead of in private. There are plenty of job positions today where if a supervisor gives a public dressing down that could be considered embarrassing or emotionally traumatizing for an employee, in front of their peers, HR is going to get involved. Given the emphasis on the public comm channel and the other workers’ awkwardness in the transcription, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the complaint route that Adam chose to take.