The groan centaurs produce when distressed is below human hearing range, so the snapping and tooth chattering is the most obvious aspect of their stress response to us.
Now for your regularly scheduled emotional whiplash:
The RttS book now funding on Kickstarter!! It's happening! Come get a book here!: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ironspike/runaway-to-the-stars?ref=4sxo1x
Transcript
She lies down on her pillow, grimacing as the shiver begins to chatter her teeth again.
Talita: Ugh… I’m not snapping because I’m angry, I…
Bip: I know you aren't angry. You sound miserable. This mic doesn’t pick up infrasound but I can hear it vibrating the desk.
Talita: I wish I’d just cry instead.
Bip: Frankly, I think eye lube leakage is a far weirder stress response.
Talita's jaw pries itself open again, and her voice becomes shaky.
Talita: Whatever… It doesn't matter which I do, I'm still a pathetic freak…
Her teeth snap together again with a loud CLACK and another infrasonic groan sends a vibration through the dresser. Bip's avatar looks upset, unsure of how to respond to her self-loathing spiral.
Bip: Talita, you are… THE most profoundly xenosocialized person I’ve ever met. I think it's a testament to your fortitude that you're as well adjusted as you are.
103 thoughts on “Runaway to the Stars: Page 265”
Jordan Aster
You can see both her tongues.
holly...!
i’m really glad bip is kind when it matters. a lot of snarky characters are just written as total assholes instead.
Finch
Bip to the rescue! Talita fell through the Talita Plinko and landed in the Bip bin XD
Phasma Felis
I wonder if Bip’s friendship and advocacy would carry weight with the other centaurs, since they have a lot of experience with centaurs in general; or if their association with a pirate clan would make them instant anathema.
furubatsu
Being associated with a Pirate’s AI behind her boss’ back might count more towards the “Talita is dangerous and unstable” side of the scales to them I’m afraid.
Archieve
It’s also pretty Important for Bip to not make their presence known, the ship marked to leave to parts unknown back to a mysterious owner that now still has an operating AI nobody was informed of could raise so many inconvenient questions.
Maned Wolf
bruh moment
Frankie
I love that Bip is a great friend for a moment like this. They’re brash enough that I probably wouldn’t expect them to say something just to “be nice,” but they’re also observant and perceptive enough to see what others might not. A good source of a truth you might struggle to accept about yourself.
Gar G
I mean they have a point…
Anonymous
Thank goodness, someone who knows both centaur and human body language and can actually understand Talita without her explaining! “I know you aren’t angry. You sound miserable.” Just took me out, the simple validation that Bip understands what she means after so much miscommunication from others makes me emotional.
$ilverware
It’s so painful how Talita clarifies that she’s not angry 🙁 both cetaurs and humans fear she’s gonna bite them, that would leave mental scars yeagh
Also, I like how Bip is the right person to comfort her. They’re not judgemental and they have a wast knowledge of centaurs, being in their ship and such
clover
I need to give her a hug
Coldest Lew
Finally somebody said it.
ryttyr
I love that Bip is genuinely caring for her
Gheesfellow
Bip, you beautiful piece of software!
arf
It briefly puzzled me how Talita is able to carry on a conversation while her teeth are chattering and snapping like that.
Of course, centaurs don’t speak with their mouths!
kblonski
In the first close up panel with Talita’s squinty eyes, isn’t the the centaur sad face? Then the next panel immediately goes into “human” sad face
Smooti
Ohhh Talita : (
Love the subtle thing of her looking more cartoony around the centaurs , but then in this moment the more detailed art emphasizes her centaur-ness. Never gets to be one, never gets to forget she is one.
PostMortem7581
Congratulations on the Kickstarter!! RttS is the kind of thing artists in the future will cite as their inspirations. It certainly inspires people a lot already!
Poor sweet Talita. I’m sure Bip will provide her with some much needed comfort. I’m glad she has a social support network, even if it is a bit small.
Kencf0618
Excellent therapeutic response!
milk4evertoasted
my eyebrows furrowed and i frowned a little and my eyes stung a little like oh god the most autistic alligned experience ever I’m gonna sob
Fallingfeather
I love how (in an artistic/storytelling sense) in the final panel, Bip’s point is emphasized by Talita STILL using her nictating membranes to mimic a human “sad” facial expression, trying to mimic our faces even when she’s crying her eyes out. (metaphorically)
Athelind Llewellyn Long
And Bip is MIRRORING that in Panel 5 with their cartoon eyes!
Noodlederg
[points] glasses dent caught in 4k
Junebug
The situation talita is in right just feels so so brutal, she cant even express her stress without feeling like shes doing it “wrong”. Trying to reassure bip that shes not angry because of how she gets misinterpreted by both humans and centaurs now. Just wanting to cry instead because thats a much more familiar expression of distress to her being surrounded by humans growing up. Can only imagine how trapped and out of place she constantly feels, feeling betrayed by her own body and hurt by peoples reactions to things she cant control. This page absolutely made me cry btw, talita better get a hug ASAP!!!
Anon
It is interesting how she sees even not crying as a flaw 🙁
I hope someone would tell her that voiceless scream of agony is a very human crying reaction as well. She even did the posture like a human, head down and holding with her hands!
Vinemaple
I’m so glad that people are noticing this aspect of it!
bug
panel 3 feels like the most “alien” (like other centaurs) we’ve ever seen talita look, while bip affirms her centaur mannerisms… and the moment passes immediately when she voices her species dysphoria. that really got me
MyUniverseinaBox
Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry
forest @ swifty's hq!
i adore that it looks almost like bip is trying to pat talita through the bottom of the screen. i know that might just be positioning but it made me smile
EEF PATTIES CHICKEN
How do we submit questions? Is that only possible at certain times?
Jimmy answerer
Yes, reader question time is between chapters. Won’t be too long now, just write it down and save it for later!
Zidane
For character Q&As? Its usually announced in the page description as a chapter nears its end, thats when theyre accepted
Vinemaple
It’s all on the same document, go back to the page before the last AMA, it’s the same link
bramble
Oh god, of course the RTTSverse has a word for “socialized in a different sophont species’ cultural context” – which makes Mel’s failure to grasp the implications and consequences of Talita’s upbringing all the more hurtful.
goose
bipppp oh my god i love their response 🙁 and talita this will pass babes it will be okay 🙁 her ruffled feathers/fur 🙁 bip’s comment reminds me of the scene from uhh the lego movie. just in tone. ughhh the talita plinko continues on
Maned Wolf
I NEED a good looking lego minifigure scale talita, it’s now my pipe dream
Jackie
Im so glad to see how uh… “Human”, Bip actually is. With the pre-comic content I mostly saw just a chaos gremlin, which was fun dont get me wrong but I love seeing their more caring side now. It’s quite sweet 💙
New question (hopefully new. I try to not repeat but my memory is a wet fart sometimes): do AIs have trouble with cross species issues too? Like if fully bugferret socialized AI was suddenly thrust into a fully human environment. Or do they adjust fairly easily, or even very easily if they have enough downloadable resources? Idk if Bip (and I suppose Calcery) is unique in seeming to be very multi sophont educated/socialized?
fishfacedterror
i wonder if the other centaurs could hear/feel that subsonic wail, or if their building is too far away from talita to hear/feel it; another potential peg in the talita plinko machine 🙁
as an aside, im kinda lowkey hoping that once the titular run away to the stars happens the centaurs end up putting mel in the plinko for all her various neglects. she has been able to manipulate talita into a submissive role/taking on dangers that she shouldn’t have to, but i dont think that sort of behavior is going to fly with the Gwailers. something along the lines of “you let someone do WHAT to her antlers and get away with it!?” or “what kind of fucked up sleep schedule did you have her on!?” maybe verengt and her clan wont ever truly get along with talita, but itd be nice if they got some justice for talita, even if its just a byproduct of protecting themselves.
fishfacedterror
*THEY for mel, dammit. time for me to go into the plinko
Chase Wanderstar
Don’t beat yourself up, friend, we all make mistakes. To err is human, and centaur, and bugferret, etc. Besides, Mel isn’t real, this is the comments section of a comic book, it’s a low-stakes environment.
halley
for verengt too btw
fishfacedterror
THEY for mel, dammit. time for me to go into the plinko
Fantia
Bip, I love you more and more with each page ❤️
Some incredibly powerful emotion going on this page, both with the expressions and the dialogue. Bip looks so soft and gentle despite being a 2D worm, and that last panel with Talita’s huge pupils and bristled feathers, just,, ough, so raw. And the fact that she feels the need to explain she’s not angry despite snapping her teeth.. and that she wishes she’d have the human stress-response instead.. ouch my heart.
WayanayaW
Waugh,I’m so sorry Talita, you can’t even process your feelings naturally without it feeling alienating ;o;
Thank you Bip for being a solid friend I’m looking forward to how this conversation moves forward…
(and congrats Jay on the rapid success of the Kickstarter! Wow!)
Vinemaple
I am actually extremely jealous of Talita right now…
Claire
Jealous how?
Boyshorts
I think I get it. Having someone knowledgeable there who can definitively tell you it’s not your fault you’re so messed up.
j
overcome with love for both fluffy miserable talita finally being understood and for bip being so matter of fact and kind :”””””””’ also. brings to mind the scene in which talita receives a hug from idrisah and gillie, and how her misery looked so different there. while it was maybe just a result of it being a different kind of distress, it definitely makes you think about how much talita probably mediates her expressions on a conscious and unconscious level to avoid making even her closest friends uncomfortable :(((((((((
Athelind Llewellyn Long
I think a lot of neruodivergent folks will relate to that. I certainly do; I’ve spent a lifetime wondering if I’m using the appropriate facial expression at any given moment.
Rose
BIP TO THE RESCUE!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
iisaw
Fun fact: There are several medieval pipe organs that have pipes that produce subsonic frequencies, and the music written for them uses the low frequency notes to give more “impact” to the piece.
Tyrone
Ah! The famous “brown note”. =)
ilvos01
I thought humans could hear subsonic ranges, just not consciously?
So humans wouldn’t go “what’s that weird noise”, but more like “what’s that weird feeling I’m getting”. (Which they would then start to associate with Talita’s stress and possibly make an inferral about something supernatural)
the Inmara
That’s not hearing it, though. That’s feeling it. By definition, an infrasonic noise is one that doesn’t get picked up by the ears. But the rest of the body feels and reacts to it.
iisaw
Fun fact: There are several medieval pipe organs that have pipes that produce subsonic frequencies, and the music written for them uses the low frequency notes to give more “impact” to the piece.
eden
additional fun fact, since spiders and tarantulas don’t have ears, they “hear” by feeling vibrations!
AnaKaye
Bip to the rescue with the best and most accurate assessment of Talita that anyone could possibly make.
Dimitri
Ouch, the pain of feeling like you can’t even be physically upset in the “right” way… That’s really rough. Even as I empathize it’s like, you know, I do still have tear ducts. Poor Talita 🙁
moonbarking
Can I say that its absolutely miserable that what seems like the only naturalized centaur gesture of emotion Talita can do is expressing anguish. The one thing that cannot for a moment be misconstrued by centaurs. Something completely out of her control and can’t be taught. And probably why she’d prefer tears instead…
Ty Bip you are absolutely the best being to have there in this situation!
K
That’s not technically true, there are a few moments when her trunk curls up in a centaur smile in some earlier chapters.
aron
she did also do a centaur “laugh” earlier in the comic (it’s a quick head movement), Bip comments on it.
Falconette
Oh? What page, if I may know?
Silly/Billy
It was sometime in heavy water I think, where Bip and Talita were working outside (same place as the roof destruction by Talita iirc)
Briar
This page: https://www.runawaytothestars.com/comic/rtts-page-168/
c Senaru
I don’t have the link handy but within the last hour I was looking through Jay’s RTTS tag on tumblr and saw an ask along these lines and unless I’m wildly misremembering, Jay said that Talita does have natural Centaur emotions which express when she’s more tired/stressed / etc, such as happy trunk and angry S trunk for example. That, on top of other responses we’ve seen like the I think a huff laugh earlier, the way she cries, and in one instance a sort of bark bellow + angry S in response to a character she cared about being mistreated (Won’t spoil who in case you’re a comic only reader and not a world info digger like me haha)
Basically she intentionally suppresses her natural emotional responses, something she learned very early on to fit in with those around her as a kid, and now she has species dysphoria* , the poor thing.
*I hope that’s the right spelling*
Adrienne
BIP WITH THE STEEL CHAIR… OF FRIENDSHIP !
I actually smiled at that last panel. Insert old man having a heart attack meme
un_pogaz
Oh, Bip pays a compliment; today is a milestone.
Joke aside, Talita have such a good friend in the presence of Bip. They came into her life like a shooting star, but it’s amazing how quickly they established themself as a trusted friend.
creetur
Bip to the rescue <3… as sarcastic as they can come across, they're very sincere when they need to be, think that's why I like em so much
Archieve
Responsible sarcastism is refreshing, I’m used to the trait being written as a maladaptive coping mechanism that prevents characters from forming connections and being supportive.
Vinemaple
^^^This so much.
Teod
I klick on the Kickstarter and it’s already funded five times over.
Adrienne
And now six times barely an hour later. This page put a tear in my eye and that news put another… In this world where art feels appreciated less than ever thanks to billionaires and Silicon Valley tech bros, humanity craves art and creativity and storytelling as much as our ancestors did. Fellow backers, we are placing our handprints side by side on the walls of a cave… wah!