Gillie can do realtime calls with the transit authorities because they're stationed at a hub wormhole, so the lag is only as long as it takes light to reach Dirtball's high orbit. Meanwhile, it took about the length of the previous conversation for Idrisah's parents to be alerted that Idrisah declined the video forum invite and for their re-invite to reach her on this page.
Transcript
Idrisah: I wouldn’t know what it’s like to grow up apart from my own species. But I don’t think avoiding them is a good strategy in the long run.
Idrisah's laptop sounds out a ringtone again. She quickly slams it shut. Talita grins sardonically.
Talita: Do you ever take your own advice?
Idrisah: Shut up.
Gillie gets up from the computer and stretches, then sits down on the arm of the sofa next to Idrisah.
Idrisah: (ASL) Finished work?
Gillie smirks.
Gillie: (ASL) Wasn’t working. That was the wormhole transit authorities. The vessel’s been declared active. Does Bip have a flight plan yet?
26 thoughts on “Runaway to the Stars: Page 160”
max
it’s very fun seeing just how different talita’s body language is from most other centaurs after the last couple pages! went on a wiki walk through the worldbuilding and side comics and yeah, she’s very much picked up human facial expressions and such with grinning and third eyelid expressions! that’s gotta make talking to centaurs hard, huh?
Solidago
Neat to see Tali doing a clear human tooth smile while not centaur trunk smiling at all.
S0glet
Taltia goes full smirk mode. Using only 1% of her power
S0glet
Also, Gillie doing the `^’
Adrienne
Someone mentioned the Oil and Water comic recently, and I just realized that Idrisah is wearing the same sweater in that comic as she is here! I love that
40
Gillie Sillie
Westleydraws
i love talita’s smirk in the 3rd panel with tht one tooth point poking out
Arcstone
❤gillie foot thumbs❤
Mintaka
Gillie’s body type makes me feel seen. (Minus the cat genes)
Ave Zancuda
I love the dynamism when drawing faces!. From as endearing to as silly as possible!
theplushfrog
Gillie’s toes doing the little cat paw stretch!!!
Lamprey
heehee, the mischief embiggens…
Hunter
I love Talita’s little smile in the last panel x3
Athelind Llewellyn Long
And her smirk-grin in panel 3!
trash
I don’t know a whole lot of sign language but the wormhole sign is really cool I can tell it’s supposed to be a ship entering something tunnel adjacent
Light_In_The_Fog
I wonder where Jay Eaton got that sign from? Looking online I can’t find any sign for wormhole in asl dictionaries, and the videos I can find with people talking about wormholes in asl just have it fingerspelled. (Jay if u read this I’m genuinely curious)
Jay Eaton
It’s one of the only ones I’ve made up.
Momo
it’s cute! I could definitely see them creating a unique sign for it after it because a real mainstream thing and not just a sci fi concept in their world
JoB
Either that, or ASL fancies the namesake actual worms to have devil horns 😉
Eldermage1
Gillie’s expression in panel four is just so perfect, smug cat girl supremacy
Zuorai
Talita toothy grin and wide eyed smile :]]]
creetur
Noticed that Gillie does the splayed out toes when she stretches, like how irl cats do.. beenie weenies
Zuorai
Beeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnsssssssssssss wtf
Gar G
“Do as I say, not as I do” moment xD
Vinemaple
Yep! Serves Idrisah right for giving advice like that!
I also don’t think it would be particularly useful to Talita to try and make contacts with her own species… if I was her, I’d wait till I found someone who seemed likely to look beyond her clanlessness and uncanny body language, maybe some really countercultural spacer Centaurs or something. Or maybe the Centaur Dadaists? Although I’ve noticed that humans, at least, who affect weirdness tend to be shockingly basic in their attitudes toward other humans who are naturally weird.
Chase Wanderstar
Which sadly makes sense, as within the bounds of any given culture (human or otherwise, I would assume), there’s only a finite number of ways to be normal, but a much larger number of ways to be “weird”, and someone who is weird in one way may not necessarily care much for someone else’s personal brand of oddity.