Editing 3057: Excusing Yourself

{{comic
| number    = 3057
| date      = February 28, 2025
| title     = Excusing Yourself
| image     = excusing_yourself_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x334px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = The most awkward part is when you have to pause to put on your shoes before you continue rolling out the door.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by AN EXTREMELY POLITE BOT - Please continue to tidy up the explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic revolves around different degrees of 'politeness' to leave a gathering, various scenes replicating the end of a social event, possibly a dinner party, but with different outcomes.

The first panel shows [[Megan]] sitting at a table with [[White Hat]] and [[Ponytail]]. She suddenly realizes how late she's 'kept them up', and how she needs to go somewhere early in the morning. Despite this and the fact that sleep is essential{{Citation needed}}, she stays and offers to help tidy up the house before she leaves, possibly the most polite you can be in this situation, as it does not suggest the reason for leaving is related to the quality of the gathering and suggests she would stay longer if not for other obligations.

The second panel shows [[Cueball]] at the same gathering, who says that he must leave due to the fact that he is tired and must sleep. This is considered less polite, as he does not offer to help clean up the way Megan did, and indirectly implies the gathering is no longer entertaining enough to merit staying up; or just that he is ''too'' tired to fully comply with social niceties, in an understandable manner.

Even less polite is the trickster and classhole [[Black Hat]], in the third panel, who excuses himself in typical Black Hat fashion. Instead of him saying that he alone is tired, he says that EVERYONE looks tired ''and'' bored. This is very impolite, especially in a social setting, yet it's still not as rude as he ''could'' be; by claiming a lack of interest from everyone present, he makes his departure less about his own desire to leave and more about the fact that the gathering has (allegedly) served its purpose.

The final panel is as wide as three panels, and shows (as three points in time, depicting the unfolding action) Megan kicking the table, sending the chair tipping backwards and dumping her onto the floor. She then proceeds to roll away from the table, and presumably outside the house. This is rude on multiple levels: she does not give the hosts any chance to wish her goodbye, provides no excuse as to why she is leaving (as if it should be obvious), actively makes more mess by spilling the drinks on the table, and draws significant attention to herself all the while. Moreover, it is a health risk as she may sustain a concussion from such a fall pictured in the comic where the head directly impacts the floor, unless she has {{w|Uke (martial arts)#Ukemi|specifically practiced}} {{w|Stunt#Practical effects|such manouevres}}.

The title text adds to the general awkwardness of having to excuse yourself, when Megan has presumably realized that she has forgot to put on her shoes, and has to stop rolling to put them on before continuing. This interaction is also unusual since in the United States (where Randall resides), hosts are unlikely to request their guests to remove shoes at a house party [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/most-americans-are-shoes-off-at-home/ despite a majority opting to not wear shoes in their own homes]. Therefore, there's a reasonable likelihood that Megan would have had her shoes on already, and would not encounter this issue.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Caption above the panel:]
:Ways to leave a social interaction:
:[An arrow pointing towards the right is shown below the caption. Caption above arrow:]
:Less polite

:[First Panel: From left to right, Ponytail, White Hat, and Megan are sitting at a table with half-full glasses on it. Megan is looking down at her phone.]
:Megan: Oh, gosh, I can't believe how late I've kept you up! I have to wake up early, so I should really go soon.
:Megan: Can I help tidy up?

:[Second Panel: White Hat and Cueball are sitting at a table (only the right half is shown, so Ponytail may be presumed to be in the left chair as in the first panel), on which there are half-full glasses and a plate.]
:Cueball: It's been great, but I'm tired and need to sleep.

:[Third Panel: White Hat and Black Hat are sitting at a table (again, Ponytail may be in the left chair), with two plates and a half-full wine glass at White Hat's spot. Black Hat's arm is resting on his chair.]
:Black Hat: We're about done having fun, right?
:Black Hat: Everyone looks bored.
:Black Hat: And tired.

:[Fourth Panel: Ponytail, White Hat are sitting at the table. Megan is shown in a sequence of actions within the same frame.]
:[Action 1: Danish kicks the table at which she was sat, spilling the drinks on it, while simultaneously pushing her chair backwards, to topple it:]
:''Kick''
:Megan: Bye.
:[Action 2: Megan and her chair crash to the floor, with arm flung back<!-- to cushion her fall?-->.]
:''Crash''
:[Action 3: Megan tumbles away from the position she fell in, either in a backwards or sideways roll.<!-- very debatable whether she's now positioned in/out of the frame, twisting over on her back, or still side-on and partly inverted, her shoulders/head temporarily the only contact with the floor. -->]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]