Lot on her mind
Also, the website was having some Resource Limit issues and spotty availability earlier. Hopefully that’s been sorted out.
(My thanks to redditors on /r/islam for assisting me with Mina’s dialogue and the Quran quote in the background.)
Juggled a few different options for how the "Kiss Scene" played out over the course of the last few months as it built up to this bit. Mina was the one to kiss Todd in some of the iterations, but it never really felt right to me for her to do that.
Yeah, kinda saw something along those lines coming. The question now is will there be an explanation, or the ever looming “we’ll talk about it later”
Ooh, or there could be unresolved silence & fleeing…that’s always awkward.
My hope is that he’ll immediately and genuinely apologise and back waaay off on anything beyond a professional relationship until she decides to make a move, and even then act only in response until it’s clear what she’s comfortable with.
Because all other roads lead to their potential future romance being doomed.
Also, I hope Selkie didn’t see that. That’s the last thing anyone needs, I think, including Selkie herself.
I predicted Todd getting smacked but eh, close enough.
For real though. Even if she seems to like you a lot… you need to wait for a confirmation.
He just went in, which some girls like (apparently…) but not all ladies
Well, I can tell you for a fact, that I have yet to find a girl who is secretly waiting for me to just get up there and kiss them.
I’ve tried and failed about 4-5 times over the past decade, and now I’m too scared to try it again.
Most guys I’ve been with seem to waited for me to make the first move (and I think they liked it 😉 )—with the exception of one…but we were flirting like crazy, staring into one anothers’ eyes, and we were in his bedroom at the time of the kiss. None of the kisses were “surprises.” They all happened on first dates (if we both liked each other) except for one time with a guy I dated in college. Once again, it was in his bedroom after I admitted having feelings for him and getting teased like hell for it. XD
I never got involved with anyone I worked with… Came close to it with a boss, but then I quit.
She reacted like that not because of what he did but where he did it. She would get into trouble for dating the parent of one of her students.
This seems like it probably has more to do with a difference in cultures than it does with their societal relationship (teacher, parent of a student she teaches).
I think it’s all of that (teacher-student’s parent, culture, religion, divorce), and more (she is attracted, as is he).
This is a very good follow-up to the previous strip though. I hope there are explanations, not horrified flight.
I doubt it has much to do with her being Muslim. In the US, Muslims come in all forms (like our Christians), and the way she dresses and the way she behaves already makes it clear shes not super conservative about her religion. I’ve known a couple ladies like her. One didn’t even wear anything special on her head or any other part of her. She looked just like any other woman in the office. She’d sometimes go to a mosque, take part in the holidays, and not eat seafood, but that was about it. The other was a feminist, and sent her sweet little boy to preschool with my daughter.
It strikes me Minna is being protective of her job and her student as it could really hurt BOTH. If I was in her shoes, I’d do the same thing (even if Todd looked like Johnny Depp and the sweetest man alive), and I’m not at all religious.
She may also be being protective of Todd (he is just one mistake away from a serious sexual harassment charge) and her own reputation – which is imposed by one’s family, friends and social circle rather than derived from our personal religious views. We don’t really know much about her life, do we? Or did I forget some exposition somewhere (I do that sometimes).
“I doubt it has much to do with her being a Muslim”
Really? Then what’s your take on the huge block quote from the Quran in the background of this page?
Curious! I missed that. Is it her or him thinking it though? Because he could just as easily be misinterpreting her reaction as religious. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next page.
Indeed. She certainly seemed interested in a romantic relationship, but suddenly kissing a Muslim girl is jumping about 7-8 steps more than with a non-Muslim.
If nothing else, that was not the time nor place.
Yep. Quite a natural response.
I’m very glad to see this.
Me, too!
Liking someone and assuming that they like you in the same manner does not give you permission to kiss said person without asking… especially in a public place. This could go all kinds of bad.
I mean, a kiss on the cheek may have been excusable, but on the mouth… definitely not.
In a professional setting, any touching really is a dangerous thing considering their relationship and it could easily get her fired. Also, Todd’s daughter could really be anywhere. Having a 5 year old, I can tell you that kids are not predictable in these kinds of situations. It would have been smarter to talk things out after all this was over (with the principal) and wait until the school year was done before acting on it. But what fun would that be? 😉
Todd has been Quorrected. Had to happen sooner or later.
Hmmm. According to The Google, “astaghfirullah” means “I seek forgiveness from Allah”. Unless this is used idiomatically, that would imply that she feels her feelings/desires are inappropriate, not Todd’s actions.
Someone with more insight into this, please reply. Thanks
Shid. That wasn’t intended as a reply.
The reddit post linked above gives the meaning(s).
Yes, that’s the literal definition. Astaghfirallah can have a lot of connotations. It’s also used sometimes to comment on others’ actions. But in this case, I think the artist/writer did a good job of conveying that Mina isn’t condemning him from a self-righteous point of view; she’s quite conflicted, and the expression seems like her reaching for space and a minute to sort through her scrambled thoughts and make a decision. Maybe she’s irritated too. Of course, my understanding of her is limited because I haven’t read the comic before, lol.
Hey I remember that username! Thanks again for the advice. 😀
(-is Strawberrycocoa)
Anytime! 🙂
This comic has always had awesome, dimensional characters, but it warms my heart to see a female character behave in a healthy realistic manner during an ill-placed and ill-timed “hero” kiss.
I totally ship these two—by the way—but this is another case where Todd isn’t thinking clearly before taking action. While Minna has a right to angry fireworks as her job just got placed at risk, hopefully she uses restraint given Selkie is just around the corner. But maybe not as she seems to be a passionate character, too—and there are obviously lots of feelings there between the two. (Grabs popcorn)
Dammit. I was hoping this wouldn’t happen. People were whining so much in the last set of comments that I wanted an author-endorsed IT’S OKAY, GUYS, FUCKING RELAX ALREADY.
Oh well. 🙁
Pretty sure the commenters have been leading the direction of this comic for a while now. I doubt the principal would have been anything more than a comic relief character if it hadn’t been for the commenters complaining about him. Sucks too, he was funny when he was first introduced.
Do you think the same commentary would have happened if I had drawn Mina with a smile and a receptive gaze during the kiss panel? If I had drawn her leaning in to it or staring into Todd’s eyes before hand?
Also, nobody complained about the principal until he acted directly against the best interests of the attacked student/protagonist. Also, as a point of interest, here is a link back to a strip immediately before this storyline took place, foreshadowing a general sense of sketchiness in the Principal’s conduct. Prior to that the only thing he was really guilty of (excluding the illegal termination, which was not at that time revealed to have been an illegal act) was trying to pin the blame for the Shirt Theft on a kid who APPEARED guilty of the act based on circumstance.
I think that some of the commentary would’ve happened so long as Todd didn’t ask. Because for some reason Tumblr has decided that any romantic encounter not involving a robotic dialogue beforehand is going to be OMG ASSAULT.
I think it certainly would have helped for some on the fence folks to have Mina look all crushy back at Todd though, or for Todd to have sort of paused and they exchange a look or something. People are occasionally inferring that he forced himself on her (obvious to me that he *didn’t*) but I dunno.
The principal was just a generic douchebag, though, until he acted against the protagonists. All we saw of him was a generic grumpy dude who fucked things up, which alas is so common in the world that there’s no need for people to get up in arms about it. But once he started going all racist and super dodgy and shitting all over Selkie and her dad’s circumstances…well, he transcended Douchebag and evolved into Bigoted Head-Up-Ass Hater Who Refuses To Listen To Reason Even When It Kicks Him In The Nuts. It takes a special breed of person to further bury their head in the sand and rage even when an entire committee brings all their bullshit to light.
Kinda lead him on a bit. She made it pretty known she was interested in him. I understand she’s worried about her job, she’s well within her right to be upset about that. Possibly losing her job, that is. She should have kinda maybe stopped him and given him her stance long ago.
I get she’s only just now realizing this is a bad idea, I realize she didn’t think he’d up and kiss her in such an inappropriate place, but I mean she was sending him a lot of signals.
Todd is wrong for being a damn idiot and kissing her on school grounds. I mean, are you even thinking about the repercussions of what you’re doing? Mina’s job, Selkie’s school life… hell people may think the whole bit with the principal was a charade because Todd looks very bad here.
Mina is wrong for only just now realizing perusing a relationship with her students father was a terrible idea and she should have shut this down long ago.
Seriously? How exactly did she peruse a relationship with Todd? What did she do to him? Give him long, meaningful stares? Send him kisses? Invite him for a drink? Hold hands with him?
She talked to him over the phone a few times, invited him out for a school matter concerning his daughter and complimented him for a job well done. How is that ‘leading on’ about starting a relashionship? Isn’t it normal people talking about normal matters? They were just getting to know each other! If it is impossible for two people to get a little friendlier without one of them assuming that the other one WANTS to start a relationship RIGHT NOW, something is very wrong with the world.
And how could she stopped him if she really just wanted to get to know him a little better before trying anything? Should she randomly say ‘don’t kiss me yet’?
Well, something is very wrong with the world then. Deal with it.
Will sure do! As Todd and other Todd-like people should deal with being slapped and dumped.
Well I guess given what the readers have seen it’s leading. I mean, I assume it was obvious since her cafe friend mentioned how obvious she was, as well as Jessie… I mean, Todd certainly thought she was into him. And she dressed herself up for their ‘meet up’ which seemed a lot like a date… She was upset Selkie was there. I mean, the only time I,wear makeup is when I’m trying to impress someone. Now that doesn’t mean that’s why she did it, but most girls I know tend to lean that way.
All I’m saying is she gave signals that I, as a girl, would express intetest and that most men tend to read them that way. Girls are weird and hard to understand sometimes and I think we are a little too hard on men sometimes… We can be very unpredictable and moody. I know that most people Will take offense to that but all the women I’ve ever been friends with and myself included are moody as hell. Sometimes the tiniest thing upsets me. A lot of the times I read into things too much and get offended. Women are more emotional creatures in a lot of cases.
You made some excellent points. And yes, Minna did things that indicated she was interested. Some men might get it, some may need more signs.
However, the interest Minna expressed does not justify Todd’s actions. In other cultures, even looking and smiling at a man might be seen as ‘leading on’. I would expect from a smart, open-minded man like Todd to be a lot more cautious and able to understand that not all people think identically.
I honestly don’t see what Minna could have done differently if she wanted to get to know him slowly in order to start a relationship with him IF it turned out she liked him A LOT.
Mina’s next lines should be something along the lines of “NOT NOW! NOT HERE!”
Told you so. Come on Todd what part of she’s wearing a hijab did you not get? It’s not a fashion statement, it is a commitment to a standard of conduct, a symbol of modesty, privacy and morality.
The hijab made it rather obvious that she wasn’t the ‘kiss-a-person-I-barely-know’ kind of woman, but it would have been a shitty move even if she didn’t wear one. Not all women want to be kissed like that, he simply should have made sure beforehand. I know girls that would have slapped Todd in the same situation.
A slap is lenient. Full on knee to the groin is what you’d get if you’d tried that on me.
The funny thing is that a hijab literally is a fashion statement for some people. Or at least, it’s just “what women wear” in some countries in the same way that skirts are worn in the US. It’s not always a religious thing, although yes, it derives from a religious context.
That said, it’s a *pretty good guess* that in the US, someone wearing a hijab is Muslim.
I gotta ask… What’s she calling him? (Google Translate, unsurprisingly, isn’t helping)
My source on “astaghfirullah” is a reddit thread I made asking Islam practioners for dialogue help.
http://www.reddit.com/r/islam/comments/2pq9wm/question_from_a_nonmuslim_seeking_help_with/
As one of the commentors put it, “Literal Translation : ” I seek forgiveness from God ” but usually used in the lines of God damn it.”
My presumption from the thread replies is that it is not used to literally ask forgiveness, much like “God damn it” is not literally asking God to cast someone down to hell.
I would say it is more accurately used as “Lord have mercy!”. I took it to indicate she’s more shocked than angry at him.
Also, an Arab would deform astaghfirullah somewhat, since nobody swears in litterary Arabic. I’m not sure about a Turk, I assume you’ve done your research.
Islam, as far as I know, doesn’t say anything about kissing, so it could be seen as an acceptable form of courtship. Of course, it is sinful for a man and a woman to be alone together when they aren’t related or married, so Mina and Todd are already breaking religious rules.
The bigger issue, I think, for Mina would be that a Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a non-Muslim man. That probably makes it hard for her to even consider a romance with Todd, even though she is attracted to him.
This is not a reaction due to a cultural thing as so many people are assuming. Obviously it could be with some women, but not Mina. The problem is that he’s doing this in public, in the school, with parents, kids, and faculty everywhere – Todd is essentially risking her job with his action. I’m sure Mina would have gladly reciprocated in a private, non-professional location.
Thanks for asking! I am interested to see what happens next! I love these kinds of storylines.
And so two fail to become one…
Blushing doesn’t mean “come on and get it”.
Also I’m really glad this possibly means they won’t get together. I’m rooting for Andi still. She deserves a second chance for something she expresses regret for.
I hope Andi finds peace and gets to adopt her daughter. I also wouldn’t mind if she and Todd became good friends and he also found out about his child. However, I would hate for them to end up together as it isn’t realistic, and I don’t think people who betray on the level she has deserve second chances with the person they hurt. Maybe as friends, but not as lovers. Old patterns tend to return too quickly.
I can see Todd and Andi “together” in the same way a divorced couple with a child (i.e. Amanda) is – they still deal with each other, they might celebrate the child´s birthday or Christmas together for the child´s sake, they make major decisions about the child together, but they aren´t “involved” in any way.
Looking forward to seeing her play out… Internal strife is something I think you’ll be fantastic at writing, especially given your dedication to research into other cultures.
More so, because I hope it ends as I expect it might, and I’m looking forward to seeing the dots connected as we get there.
Oh, this pleases me.
Haha, people attacking the site…
I dont know how Todd could have assumed otherwise since she looks like a hooker with that red lipstick.
Dropping the C-Word just to spite me, twice, one of which was after I explicitly asked you to not do it again, now this.
You’re on the moderated list now, I’m done with this.
Looks more like a clown.
*throws hands in air* Go Mina! Todd is out of line on so many levels, I’m glad to see you standing up for yourself!
Todd, you’re an idiot. A well-meaning idiot but still an idiot.
Well it was worth a shot.