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' in ways to leave a gathering, showing 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]]. Megan expresses surprise at how late she's 'kept them up', and mentions that she needs to go somewhere early in the morning. Despite this and the fact that sleep is essential,{{Citation needed}} she offers to help tidy up the house before she leaves. This is considered the most polite way to leave, as it suggests that they're leaving, not because they don't enjoy the company, but out of necessity. It expresses concern for the well-being of the host (saying that she's kept them up), and even implies that she'd lost track of time because she'd been having such a good time. Offering to help tidy up, despite being tired, is additionally courteous.

The second panel shows [[Cueball]] at the same gathering, saying that he must leave due to the fact that he is tired and must sleep. This expresses the same sentiments as Megan's own statement, but in a much more blunt and terse way, and without offering to help clean up. Such an exit is acceptable to most people, but not excessively polite. 

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. Saying that people "look tired" can be taken as an insult, and claiming that "everyone looks bored" simultaneously suggests that the gathering is boring ''and'' that everyone present is either too impolite to hide their boredom, or simply unable to. Claiming to speak for everyone in expressing boredom is arrogant and insulting to both his fellow guests and the hosts. 

The final panel shows three points in time, depicting an unfolding action. [[Megan]] (in a re-hash of the original panel) kicks 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 the kind of maneuver one might see in an action movie, as someone tries to escape danger (or capture). In addition to being abrupt, disruptive and potentially damaging (since it clearly knocks over things on the table), this exit sends the message that she's desperate to escape as quickly as possible. It is also 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 maneuvers}}.

The title text adds to the general awkwardness of having to excuse yourself, when Megan has to stop rolling to put her shoes on before continuing. This would not be universal, since it is not the general practice in the United States for guests to remove their shoes in someone's home.{{Actual citation needed}} But if such were the case, then pausing in the middle of such a dramatic escape would really water down the impact, forcing her to remain in the company of people she'd just dramatically tried to get away from.

==Transcript==

:[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 the back of 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: Megan 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]]