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Comics are currently drawn and uploaded through:
or, however many in a set since for what reason I assume three and that’s prolly wrong but even five seconds’ worth of research will send me down a Wikiwalk-style rabbithole from which I may never emerge
Wait, wait, Amber’s talking to toys that are actually out at retail, rather than toys the author had every reason to expect would be out when the buffered strip caught up to reality, but ended up still not being released?
Oh, I figure sufficient warning into the mix (and I should have been clearer on that). Dina is shown to be working on her interaction skills and is very much into observing other people when she doesn’t know what to do.
I just mean, is Amber on the self-loathing spiral to such an extent that the accepted comfort gesture (which has of course done wonders before) doesn’t help her much, no matter how Amber recognizes Dina’s outreach effort.
And the uke. He can perform songs, just the right tone and volume of background music, and also stings. He’s a one-man musical score accompanying Joe’s arc.
*some bullshit quote about the mom you deserve vs the one you need that sounds cool at the end of a movie but doesn’t make very much sense in the long run*
I think it kinda does though.
Amber has many many flaws but she deserves to be loved. The mother she has is one that can provide her with kindness and compassion. That Amber doesn’t think she’s worth being loved is another issue.
But right now what she needs is her space to be able to process everything that’s happened to her.
i straight up woke up this morning and then was like “ethan’s jewish he can’t do bacon OH NO. OH NOOOOOOOO” but i didn’t have time to hop on the computer and say anything so i just lived in that consciousness today until i found other things to be self-conscious about
thankfully y’all stepped in and brought to existence TURKEY BACON. is there such a thing as tofu bacon? do i want to know??
Now I wanna know what Amber’s (off-panel) communications with Stacy have been like since Frosh Family Weekend.
Was anything at all said re Danny? Amazi-Girl? I know Stacy has her own things to workout, but introverted, depressed college freshmen not keeping lines open with parents is a thing. (Don’t ask me how I know.)
Man. Amber’s eyes are so wide in that last panel. Also, Stacy’s face in panels 2 and 3 are really expressive. She clearly wants to help Amber but doesn’t know how and she feels guilty about that because she can tell that Amber is hurting. Also, damn but Danny is just getting all of the good egg points today. Keep it up at this rate Danny, and within 3 days (in comic time) you’ll probably be considered at least a good egg if not a saint by everyone in the hall. Well, everyone but Mary. But she doesn’t really count that much as far as everyone else is concerned.
This strip reminds me, I just ordered a $50 mtg deck for $40 from eBay. I’m excited, you can’t even buy the deck in stores anymore and if you bought all the cards separately today it would be like $60+ dollars… aaaand you guys don’t care.
I’m always glad for people when something that’s really great for them happens. I find their enthusisam very engaging. So yeah, that’s amazing for you, and yay!
Don’t play mtg anymore, but I know enough to realize that what you found is a super good deal. It’s awesome that you’re expressing your excitement so openly on the internet. Keep doing you and enjoying the things you enjoy, random stranger, don’t let other people get you down! Enjoy your new deck, be sure to get some cool sleeves for it, and have fun playing. (^u^)
It’s called Plunder the Graves, it’s the G/B Meren Commander deck. It was part of the Commander Anthology that came out recently, that’s where the guy I’m buying it from got it apparently. Don’t know if he’s selling all of the decks separately or just the ones he doesn’t want.
Last year I found a complete boxed copy of the CD-ROM version of the original System Shock after years of looking. $100 for it when it goes for upwards of twice that usually — that’s assuming you can find one, as even incomplete copies are incredibly rare.
It’s one of my prize possessions, alongside my copy of The Warriors for PS2 and the complete Japanese editions of the PS1 King’s Field trilogy.
Speaking of good deals, Humble Bundle has $300 worth of Doctor Who RPG books on sale for $15, currently. 17 books, a coupon, and the Doctor Who: Legacy game, all for a tiny fraction of the price. Even if you’re not into tabletop games, the books all have a ton of show info packed into them.
Doctor Who RPG? As in the old RPG from back in the day? (I wanna say it was called Time Lord? Also I think the guys who worked on it wrote at least one book for the VNAs)
Probably not. There’ve been a couple of Doctor Who RPGs. Time Lord, as you say. One from FASA back in the 80s and a recent version from Cubicle 7. This looks like the new one.
Expensive enough I won’t get one for myself, but juuust low enough I could swing it if it wouldn’t make me feel guilty to buy a toy I just wanna look at. Alas!
Okay, so Ethan, you hug the shut out of Amber right damn now, and Danny, you hug Stacy. Then Stacy hugs Ethan, while Amber hugs Danny. Finally, Stacy hugs Amber while Danny hugs Ethan. It’s the perfect plan.
Unless Dina shows up in the middle. Then everyone will have to start over
Is this your plan to get Danny and Ethan to hug? If so, I like it. Could be worse things for Danny (now that we know he’s self-knowingly bi) to become better friends with Ethan.
One thing that Amber cannot deny, no matter how hard she tries, is that she is a nerd and a geek in all the best ways! Ethan is smart to use that their common collectables obsession as a wedge!
BTW, in some ways, Amber has a lot of Peter Parker’s nature. I wonder if she’s ever tried the wise-cracking extrovert style for Amazi-Girl rather than try to mimic Batman’s brooding anti-social introvert? I know that this might sound like enabling but I think that would be healthier for her.
I’m sure there’s a German word for it, but I’m pretty sure what mike did was an superposition of helping and not helping. Like schrodingers friend or something.
I do like the description of Mike as a catalyst though. He doesn’t create peoples problems, he just brings them to the forefront.
This. Like, the origin is definitely Blaine, but Mike walked up and poured a hell of a lot of gasoline on an already volatile situation and modeled an absolutely terrible method of support for Stacy that preceded the blow-up.
He may be a lot of things but he’s not… safe as a friend.
Does this mean that Dumbiverse Amber is another Transformers fan like Ethan, and not the Ninja Turtles fan that she is in the Walkyverse? Bummer, dude…
And yes, I am aware that someone can be a fan of more than one thing; I just haven’t seen anything TMNT-related with her, and she’s willing to speak to Ethan over a Transformer. Although perhaps I’m jumping the gun; maybe the notion that he’s willing to part with something precious to HIM means more than what that figure in and of itself means to HER.
In any event, as a fellow shellhead, I hope she shows some love towards the TMNT in this universe.
Love that Danny has been on the lookout for Amber and that he and Ethan have a plan in place for her return. This isn’t a spur of the moment thing, but something they spent time setting up. Before she can go from the lobby to her room, the trap is sprung and they have her interacting.
I swear, I must’ve been standing near a monkey’s paw or something when I told myself that I wanted a Nautica and that it was the only way I’d start buying Transformers toys.
I like how Danny understands that right now, Amber doesn’t need her boyfriend (or are they exes now? I forgot) but who she realy needs is her best friend
Amber (in her Amazi-Girl persona) had a paranoid freakout and broke up with him when she saw him hanging out with Sal, but after she reconciled with Sal she decided that Danny was better off without her and has avoided him despite Danny’s best efforts.
Sort of same. While I don’t *hate* them, I do get the overpowering feeling that I will contaminate the things that I love and never be able to enjoy them again if I engage with them in a particularly bad mental state.
Yeah, she’s seemed mostly just proud of him as she’s witnessed his growth and more convinced of the good her making that difficult choice was for him. Plus, they seem to be remaining decentish friends.
OT: … just once I’d like to wake up to my government not trying to kill me…
Okay, self-pity aside, let’s dive into this one.
Panels 1-2: I feel so bad for Stacy here. What Amber said was brutal to her, hitting her on all the self-victim-blaming buttons most people who survive abuse hit themselves with. A sort of “is there something wrong with me for not seeing how bad he was going to be”. A mistrust of trusting anyone again.
Like, there’s a reason she’s stood in shock there for a minute or two. Because on top of all that, it’s also a direct blow on her reticent choice to trust a man again. Like, yeah, it’s Joe’s dad who’s admittedly pretty terrible, but it was also hinted at a while back by Amber that Stacy doesn’t date much at all and avoided dating anyone until Amber was an adult just to make sure she didn’t suck her back into something bad again.
Plus, it’s just heartbreaking as a parent. Her own kid thinks of herself as a monster and claimed that her support of her is a sign of her poor taste in people. Like, how do you even begin approaching that as a parent? It’s a rough one.
And like, I also just feel bad for Stacy. She clearly deeply cares about Amber’s well-being and took some major risks to keep her safe. Like, leaving a violent abuser? That can easily be deadly, especially when you have someone as willing to violate boundaries and “show up” somewhere as Blaine.
And she did that to protect Amber. That’s huge and she’s trying to be there as best she can during Amber’s breakdown here.
The tragedy is that she is just fucking up the execution of what Amber needs in this particular moment. She’s thinking it’s a “down in the dumps, needs some sugar and a positive mom” situation when it’s a clinical depression and worsening DID situation.
And she’s completely in the weeds on that, not least because Amber is very closed off about what is going on internally at any given point.
And this lashing out has devastated her, hit her in her own triggers and fears and insecurities. And it’s broken her and from what Amber has inferred, it doesn’t sound like she’s got a robust social support network at the moment. It’s very likely she’s going home to cry alone or worse yet, reaching out to Joe’s dad who’s not likely to be a great help on this.
I dunno, I just want her to be safe and okay.
Panel 3: Oof, and again, that battle to want to be there but not sure you are welcome again. It’s rough. Also A+ Danning by Danny.
Panel 4: And again, the instincts? The instincts and intention of Stacy are so good. Even after she was hit with some nasty victim-blaming, her first instinct is to do right by her daughter and she tries to recruit Danny to help out. Like, I just want to take her out to a coffee and tell her about psychological resources and the value of a good therapist.
And Danny? Oh Danny continues to be wonderful, recognizing his own presence could be triggering or negative and immediately reaching out to someone more trusted who can help. It’s quick thinking and problem-solving and not in a “I must be the one to fix everything” way he was earlier on, but in a much more mature and aware way. Like, he’s growing into one hell of an awesome dude and I’m so proud of him.
Panel 4: Crawling into yourself when that’s the worst thing for you. I’ve been there. I’m fighting against it right now after the Health Care vote and Trump statement on trans soldiers. Amber’s on a bad road right now and needs real help if she can get it.
Panel 5: As Scar Man says, in that state, it’s hard to relate to interests that normally excite one. Like, I get into a state where anything fun becomes like ash and I end up bouncing through ninety different things until I can find something I can disappear into for a bit.
And that brings up something I’m terrified about here. Amber is barely in communication, but it’s all so very numb. Like she’s interacting with intensity at points, but when left on her own, it’s all muted, which makes me worry a lot that she’s in a hellish fugue state and terrified of letting the Amber alter function because she believes all it can do is bring pain and death.
Even here, it’s not squeeing over the toy, it’s a really muted response about it being expensive. Like, maybe this is just me projecting, but my fugue states tend to be the most dangerous and it’s when I need someone just keeping an eye on me to make sure I don’t do something unfixable the most.
OT: Hey. I can’t even tell if you’re talking about the whatever-the-fuck-is-happening-with-the-Republican-“health”-bill or the trans ban on the military or whatever other shit Republicans came up with. In any case, *support*. 8(
On the other hand, new experiences: bet you never thought you’d be rooting for cancer in a fight, did you? Ok, to be fair, YOU probably aren’t, because you’re nice and all. *I*, however, totally am.
On the last panel: is it just me and my poor eyesight, or does Amber have twinkly eyes there?
Oh there’s a very dark part of my brain that’s hoping for some of those celebrating senators to backpat their way down a long flight of stairs. So tired of “civil, respectable” culling of my human rights and right to live.
John McCain had his chance at life and he quite possibly just screwed over millions. I say cancer can take the old man. This bullshit was always simmering under the surface, but it got the lid knocked off and pushed to the forefront when he nominated that crazy lady as VP, and all of the sudden political insanity, conspiracy, and bigotry were allowed to be worthy of our attention, our consideration, and even our acceptance in some cases. I say this, knowing full well that there is hatred in my heart, let that tumor take him soon. Unless this Senate bullshit fails. Then let it take him immediately after that.
Wait, what did I miss? Last I checked, McCain voted to debate the Health Care Repeal Bill, then voted against it. And he’s criticized Trump’s transgender ban.
He voted to debate it, as you say. Then voted against at least one version, but there will be other versions offered. That first vote greatly increases the chance that something will get passed, which then can rewritten completely in conference with the House and possibly pushed through. It’s not a done deal by any means, but this was an important step forward (well, backwards really, but you know what I mean). Without that motion to proceed to debate, they couldn’t continue.
McCain also made that big speech yesterday about getting back to bipartisanship and doing things in “regular order” and the old traditions of the Senate. Today he voted against a motion to send the healthcare legislation to committee to be worked on by both parties in that exact traditional way. McCain does a lot of grandiose talking and criticizing and then reliably votes the party line.
Both the BCRA + Cruz Amendment and the full repeal versions of the bill failed procedural votes. So at this point we have no idea what the final version that will be given to the Senate to vote on will actually look like. There will be some cuts to Medicaid and the marketplaces but it’s anyone’s guess as to how deep they’ll be.
*sympathy* What Mitch McConnel and John McCain did was sick and inhuman. And Trump’s doing to possibly as many as 11,000 military personnel is sick. And from a logistics stand point (since apparently the only way to convince these assholes is through cynical calculations), a nightmare for the military. Hundreds of trans soldiers are open about the fact they’re trans. It will take anywhere from six months to two years to replace them with properly trained individuals. And now there’s going to be paranoia for closeted trans individuals currently in the military about who they can actually trust, which means unit cohesion and ability to actually function properly is going to go down. Plus, now there will be a long legal battle over this. In addition, even conservatives in Congress didn’t consider banning trans individuals from enlisting. They still were assholes because they didn’t want to pay for extra medical needs but still. Commanders are upset because they’ve seen trans soldiers in the field are just as effective as quote on quote “normal” soldiers, and 18 other countries allow trans individuals to serve in the military without any problems. And it’s not just field officers but people very high up (just not joint chiefs of staff high up) that are pissed about this. Hopefully it gets overturned by a federal court like that damn travel ban did. And the Senate? They really expect to hammer something out in 20 hours of debate? Shame just shame.
…I’m sorry this was supposed to be comforting and I’m just ranting aren’t I? I’m just…I’m frustrated. My friends are going to be hurt badly if Obamacare gets replaced by that Trumpcare abomination or even just repealed. A family member of mine in Michigan will most likely die without it. I’m currently in Michigan so I gave both Senators a call at their office asking them to vote no after this debate happens because otherwise my cousin will die, because he has preexisting condition from brain damage he suffered as a child and no one would insure him before Obamacare. I just, I just want to make it all go away so the people I love will feel better, and I can’t and it’s driving me insane!!! I’m sorry. But I, I need a safe place to speak and I won’t get that here in Michigan.
You have all my sympathy, all my support, and I just want to let you know that I, and many others like myself, are trying to help. I just…feel like I can never do enough. I’m sorry.
I’m worried so much about him. He’s 37 but his mind is trapped at 8 or 9 when some bastard bashed his head into a wall. One of his legs doesn’t work properly because the muscle won’t function right, he can’t see very well, and he has a lot of memory problems. Every time I see him I leave crying because there is no way he’ll ever get better, and there’s nothing I can do to help. He’s been a part of my life since I was six. I just…I don’t want to lose him, because every year I hope there’s a medical breakthrough that will allow him to…to grow up and maybe experience a bit of what life should be, instead of trapped inside his house with his mother by his own mind. I just…I just don’t understand why anyone would want to do something like this to people like him or be so callous as to let it happen. I’ve always thought, no matter how things were, that people are born good and turn evil or turned into monsters. But now, now I just don’t know. How much of their souls did they lose, to be able to kill people with penstrokes for the sake of political philosophy?
Omg, Cerberus senpai relates to me! Yeah, the Healthcare thing scares me too just as a midlling-functioninf mentally ill straight-passing cisman with a cancer survivor dad and ill family members. I can’t begin to imagine what the new military policy does to add to the shittiness for you.
Anyway, God it’s not even when I’m feeling bad this year that I’ve been avoiding what I like. For some reason no matter what I’m feeling these days, I have an aversion to catching up on shows I know I like. I can only watch YouTube and read fanfiction.
that box set makes almost no sense to me. Sure, guys like you can love everything in it and I acknowledge there are probably lots of others like you, but it’s a minority compared to group A who would be like “AWESOME! Check out this box full of Late G1/Early G2 homages…who’s this purple Blurr with fans?” and then group B (like me) who would be “FINALLY! A real Nautica toy from the comic I like…why do I have to buy all these weird repaints to get at her?”
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“…and… you took her out of the box…”
It’s like I don’t even know you anymore!
NRFB! NEVER REMOVE FROM BOX!
…… but then how are you supposed to play with the toy?
Play?
TOY?!?
It’s like you’re talking Swahili…
What about: You cannot transform, pose, and display your robot properly in it’s plastic and cardboard prison.
Lakini basi unapaswa kucheza na hilo jinsi gani?
(Shukrani, Tafsiri ya Google.)
Ethan and Amber are apparently of the opinion toys are meant to be played with. (Or, at least as SWW mentions displayed as if they are.)
I want that Nautica. Problem is, it’s the only figure in the set I do want. It’s a conundrum.
You say conundrum. They say, brilliant sales strategy.
You say conundrum. Ebay says free money.
I have approximately $3k in pre-moving day profiteering experience that says the other two figures are in fact a sinkhole
or, however many in a set since for what reason I assume three and that’s prolly wrong but even five seconds’ worth of research will send me down a Wikiwalk-style rabbithole from which I may never emerge
What can I say, except “You’re…
Don’t get you’re knickers in a twist.
damn you, now it’s stuck in my head
It won’t get stuck in mine; I don’t know the reference!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79DijItQXMM
You’re welcome!
Stuck in you’re head.
I spy bags under Ethan’s eyes. I hope he’s doing ok
Are we sure that isn’t just how he’s usually drawn?
You’d probably have bags under your eyes too from spending so much time trying to find a Nautica on Ebay.
(Spongebob timecard) Thirty six years later…
Having them over your head trumps having them under your eyes.
i interpreted them more as the sort of desperate eyes for hoping it’ll work
there are times you want to help but know you’re not the person to help them.
Nautica is the person to help.
At least until they make a Rung toy. Rung would clear this right up.
I take it back. I just read the latest issue, and Nautica says:
“Effervescent hedges bestow cosmic secretions upon my granular milk wives.”
Not even Rung could possibly say what Amber needs to hear better than that.
Wait, wait, Amber’s talking to toys that are actually out at retail, rather than toys the author had every reason to expect would be out when the buffered strip caught up to reality, but ended up still not being released?
If that were the case, then Ethan did some awesomesauce black market trading for the prototype of an unreleased model. Willis wins either way.
(…. that was part of a set. On the black market. And the set cost only 100 dollars. On the black market.)
Ethan is a good friend. Not the friend Amber deserves, but the friend she gets anyway.
Good job, Danny.
Agreed.
The only other person she needs is Dina
How likely that Dina is one inch off-panel and Amber doesn’t see her?
Seriously, though, if Dina’s there, how would Amber respond to sympathy via physical contact?
Without sufficient warning? Probably not well right now.
Oh, I figure sufficient warning into the mix (and I should have been clearer on that). Dina is shown to be working on her interaction skills and is very much into observing other people when she doesn’t know what to do.
I just mean, is Amber on the self-loathing spiral to such an extent that the accepted comfort gesture (which has of course done wonders before) doesn’t help her much, no matter how Amber recognizes Dina’s outreach effort.
Well, there’s a door right there, so pretty likely.
That Danny’s a good egg.
Agreed OMG
It’s the hat. The hat has turned him into a good egg. Mr.Willis don’t get rid of the hat please.
It will turn out the good-eggness was within him all along.
He just had to click his ears together three times…
And the uke. He can perform songs, just the right tone and volume of background music, and also stings. He’s a one-man musical score accompanying Joe’s arc.
gah the sudden mood whiplash is messing with my mind. o-o
That’s the DoA tagline
*plays “Europa and the Pirate Twins” on the hacked Muzak*
Haven’t heard that one in a while.
*some bullshit quote about the mom you deserve vs the one you need that sounds cool at the end of a movie but doesn’t make very much sense in the long run*
I can’t even remember whether Gordon said Batman was the hero Gotham deserves or the one it needs.
I double-checked and man have people explained the heck out of it.
So am I the only one who liked that batman quote?
I always thought it made perfect sense.
i feel like that makes more sense if it’s a comparison between the mom you deserve, the mom you need, and the mom you have
Eh. Figured they were just riffing on Dylan.
“Your debutante just knows what you need
But I know what you want”
I wore a Nautica undershirt to work yesterday. Didn’t cost nearly that much.
Danny is too good for this world…..
Or at least he would be if he wasn’t staring at his (ex-?)girlfriend’s Mom’s bodacious rack.
Nooooooo Stacy :c Nooooo Amber :c Nooooo Danny :c
…yes Ethan?
(Nooooo Ebay scalpers >:C)
Ethan is the best egg
This strip is so precious and sweet I may faint.
She’s the mom Amber deserves but not the one she needs? Wait, that doesn’t make sense.
I think it kinda does though.
Amber has many many flaws but she deserves to be loved. The mother she has is one that can provide her with kindness and compassion. That Amber doesn’t think she’s worth being loved is another issue.
But right now what she needs is her space to be able to process everything that’s happened to her.
aww, what a good dan
Ethan: A student who is spending one hundred dollars on a way to open up a conversation with a friend in dire need of a safe talk.
That’s committed friendship right there.
And though I have no evidence for it, I wouldn’t be completely surprised if Danny had chipped in.
*wipes a tear away* he’s such a good bacon
All aboard the bacon-egg ship.
AYE AYE CAP’N
Oh, but wait – does Ethan keep kosher or not?
I mean, probably, considering Wonderbread is kosher.
Turkey bacon.
There’s such a thing? Sounds heavenly.
It is a thing, it’s not that great if you are familiar with pig bacon.
Beef bacon is very tasty. Turkey bacon is like cardboard.
i straight up woke up this morning and then was like “ethan’s jewish he can’t do bacon OH NO. OH NOOOOOOOO” but i didn’t have time to hop on the computer and say anything so i just lived in that consciousness today until i found other things to be self-conscious about
thankfully y’all stepped in and brought to existence TURKEY BACON. is there such a thing as tofu bacon? do i want to know??
To be fair, he still gets to keep the toy after using it as a conversation opener, but yeah. Ethan is awesome.
I was under the impression that Nautica was a gift for Amber.
They will have shared custody.
Now I wanna know what Amber’s (off-panel) communications with Stacy have been like since Frosh Family Weekend.
Was anything at all said re Danny? Amazi-Girl? I know Stacy has her own things to workout, but introverted, depressed college freshmen not keeping lines open with parents is a thing. (Don’t ask me how I know.)
Man. Amber’s eyes are so wide in that last panel. Also, Stacy’s face in panels 2 and 3 are really expressive. She clearly wants to help Amber but doesn’t know how and she feels guilty about that because she can tell that Amber is hurting. Also, damn but Danny is just getting all of the good egg points today. Keep it up at this rate Danny, and within 3 days (in comic time) you’ll probably be considered at least a good egg if not a saint by everyone in the hall. Well, everyone but Mary. But she doesn’t really count that much as far as everyone else is concerned.
Rachel might also take some winning over.
Stacy is not the mom Amber needs. She’s the mom Amber deserves.
It’s a good thing she’s not the mom Amber THINKS she deserves.
Pretty sure she’s not the one she deserves either, sadly.
This strip reminds me, I just ordered a $50 mtg deck for $40 from eBay. I’m excited, you can’t even buy the deck in stores anymore and if you bought all the cards separately today it would be like $60+ dollars… aaaand you guys don’t care.
I’m sorry, I’ll see myself out.
I’m always glad for people when something that’s really great for them happens. I find their enthusisam very engaging. So yeah, that’s amazing for you, and yay!
Don’t play mtg anymore, but I know enough to realize that what you found is a super good deal. It’s awesome that you’re expressing your excitement so openly on the internet. Keep doing you and enjoying the things you enjoy, random stranger, don’t let other people get you down! Enjoy your new deck, be sure to get some cool sleeves for it, and have fun playing. (^u^)
What sort of deck? What colour(s)?
It’s called Plunder the Graves, it’s the G/B Meren Commander deck. It was part of the Commander Anthology that came out recently, that’s where the guy I’m buying it from got it apparently. Don’t know if he’s selling all of the decks separately or just the ones he doesn’t want.
Plunder the Graves? I don’t know a whole lot about MtG, but…that sounds poetic and badass as hell.
Argh, Meren. Such a pain to stop.
Last year I found a complete boxed copy of the CD-ROM version of the original System Shock after years of looking. $100 for it when it goes for upwards of twice that usually — that’s assuming you can find one, as even incomplete copies are incredibly rare.
It’s one of my prize possessions, alongside my copy of The Warriors for PS2 and the complete Japanese editions of the PS1 King’s Field trilogy.
Speaking of good deals, Humble Bundle has $300 worth of Doctor Who RPG books on sale for $15, currently. 17 books, a coupon, and the Doctor Who: Legacy game, all for a tiny fraction of the price. Even if you’re not into tabletop games, the books all have a ton of show info packed into them.
Doctor Who RPG? As in the old RPG from back in the day? (I wanna say it was called Time Lord? Also I think the guys who worked on it wrote at least one book for the VNAs)
Probably not. There’ve been a couple of Doctor Who RPGs. Time Lord, as you say. One from FASA back in the 80s and a recent version from Cubicle 7. This looks like the new one.
Stacy and Danny may not be the close ones who are welcome, but they sure are the close ones who care and help. That’s a really hearthwarming strip.
Danny should go to Amber and reveal he’s seen the light. He’s got a new identity and they travel across the country together, eviscerating rapists!
Out of curiosity, how expensive is a Nautica toy by itself on Ebay?
There’s a wide variety of prices, but the average seemed to be about 50 bucks.
Expensive enough I won’t get one for myself, but juuust low enough I could swing it if it wouldn’t make me feel guilty to buy a toy I just wanna look at. Alas!
Danny, don’t sleep with Stacy. That’s where this is going. You know it.
What suggests that?
Huh?
l’m so glad for the support network they’re building up.
Okay, so Ethan, you hug the shut out of Amber right damn now, and Danny, you hug Stacy. Then Stacy hugs Ethan, while Amber hugs Danny. Finally, Stacy hugs Amber while Danny hugs Ethan. It’s the perfect plan.
Unless Dina shows up in the middle. Then everyone will have to start over
Dina’s already there, the sneaky little ninja.
Careful, there.
And Sal hugs…
“Nope.”
Fair enough
Is this your plan to get Danny and Ethan to hug? If so, I like it. Could be worse things for Danny (now that we know he’s self-knowingly bi) to become better friends with Ethan.
(And I mean that, romance or not.)
The plan is hugs
huuuuuuugssss
Ethan, coming to the rescue with the power of Shared Interests!
Danny: slightly more sensible than the last time he met one of Amber’s parents.
Can’t believe I’m jealous of Ethan.
I’m always jealous of Ethan.
Just not because of the toys.
Oooh, Ethan’s got connections, I see. I still can’t find that set in my area (grumble, grumble stupid Tennessee ToysRUs….)
Maybe he knows someone at a very strange toy store?
i want to give stacy a bear hug
Smart move by Danny.
Brilliant move by Ethan. Like, next-tier move. Those are some friendship chops.
But was it Nautica who coordinated this whole thing, I wonder…
The challenge for him was that the auction that he accepted included Fastlane.
No.
One thing that Amber cannot deny, no matter how hard she tries, is that she is a nerd and a geek in all the best ways! Ethan is smart to use that their common collectables obsession as a wedge!
BTW, in some ways, Amber has a lot of Peter Parker’s nature. I wonder if she’s ever tried the wise-cracking extrovert style for Amazi-Girl rather than try to mimic Batman’s brooding anti-social introvert? I know that this might sound like enabling but I think that would be healthier for her.
I don’t think so mainly because when you are an introvert that isn’t naturally outgoing it would be tiring as all hell to pretend to be.
…….
……. so are we all agreed that we can blame Mike for Amber lashing out like this?
I was going to blame Amber’s psychological issues, but you can consider Mike a catalyst.
I’d blame Blaine, but Mike as a trigger point sure.
Stacy didn’t really help either.
I’m sure there’s a German word for it, but I’m pretty sure what mike did was an superposition of helping and not helping. Like schrodingers friend or something.
I do like the description of Mike as a catalyst though. He doesn’t create peoples problems, he just brings them to the forefront.
He doesn’t create people’s problems, he just exploits them.
This. Like, the origin is definitely Blaine, but Mike walked up and poured a hell of a lot of gasoline on an already volatile situation and modeled an absolutely terrible method of support for Stacy that preceded the blow-up.
He may be a lot of things but he’s not… safe as a friend.
Did Danny just play Ethan and Amber like a ukulele?
Danny: (dramatic riff) DUN DUN DUNNNNN
but the mom she deserves
I was wondering how long it would be before someone dropped the obvious line.
Damn, you people are slipping.
A goddamn set they won’t ship to your fucking house!
Huh? That’s a stupid move for a retailer.
Not all heroes wear capes.
That’s an Owl City song about how great his dad is.
Score zero for tact today, DarkoNeko.
“Not all villains wear capes” would be Amber’s version
Does this mean that Dumbiverse Amber is another Transformers fan like Ethan, and not the Ninja Turtles fan that she is in the Walkyverse? Bummer, dude…
And yes, I am aware that someone can be a fan of more than one thing; I just haven’t seen anything TMNT-related with her, and she’s willing to speak to Ethan over a Transformer. Although perhaps I’m jumping the gun; maybe the notion that he’s willing to part with something precious to HIM means more than what that figure in and of itself means to HER.
In any event, as a fellow shellhead, I hope she shows some love towards the TMNT in this universe.
in which Danny enlists boyfriend’s help
She’s the mom Amber deserves… But not the one she needs right now.
I’m sure someone else above has already done the Dark Knight reference, but I couldn’t resist the obvious comment on panel two.
Love that Danny has been on the lookout for Amber and that he and Ethan have a plan in place for her return. This isn’t a spur of the moment thing, but something they spent time setting up. Before she can go from the lobby to her room, the trap is sprung and they have her interacting.
I swear, I must’ve been standing near a monkey’s paw or something when I told myself that I wanted a Nautica and that it was the only way I’d start buying Transformers toys.
Danny, I’m sorry for enjoying on reading all the mean comments directed at you back in the day. You’re golden!
I like how Danny understands that right now, Amber doesn’t need her boyfriend (or are they exes now? I forgot) but who she realy needs is her best friend
Amber (in her Amazi-Girl persona) had a paranoid freakout and broke up with him when she saw him hanging out with Sal, but after she reconciled with Sal she decided that Danny was better off without her and has avoided him despite Danny’s best efforts.
She’s lucky. When I’m in that kind of state, I instinctively hate all my geeky interests.
Sort of same. While I don’t *hate* them, I do get the overpowering feeling that I will contaminate the things that I love and never be able to enjoy them again if I engage with them in a particularly bad mental state.
Yeah, that sounds more like what I was trying to get across anyway
Anyone else notice that ‘Nautica’ is included in the list of cast tags for this strip?
Remember, this comic is drawn by a noted Transformers nerd. Some of those plastic robots mean more to him than actual physical people.
If Dorothy could see how Danny has grown recently, she’d kick herself in the arse. (or at least she should)
Irony: It probably took their break-up to make it happen
Logical Fail: Still doesn’t mean they’d get back together.
I don’t think she would considering she broke up with him specifically because he needed to do more growing on his own.
And she wanted a more attractive boy toy.
Or maybe she wanted someone who actually believed in her dreams.
Yes, that one. It’s sad that we’re this far in and people still don’t get that.
Yeah, she’s seemed mostly just proud of him as she’s witnessed his growth and more convinced of the good her making that difficult choice was for him. Plus, they seem to be remaining decentish friends.
I’d say mostly amicable acquaintances more than friends yet.
Comic Reactions:
OT: … just once I’d like to wake up to my government not trying to kill me…
Okay, self-pity aside, let’s dive into this one.
Panels 1-2: I feel so bad for Stacy here. What Amber said was brutal to her, hitting her on all the self-victim-blaming buttons most people who survive abuse hit themselves with. A sort of “is there something wrong with me for not seeing how bad he was going to be”. A mistrust of trusting anyone again.
Like, there’s a reason she’s stood in shock there for a minute or two. Because on top of all that, it’s also a direct blow on her reticent choice to trust a man again. Like, yeah, it’s Joe’s dad who’s admittedly pretty terrible, but it was also hinted at a while back by Amber that Stacy doesn’t date much at all and avoided dating anyone until Amber was an adult just to make sure she didn’t suck her back into something bad again.
Plus, it’s just heartbreaking as a parent. Her own kid thinks of herself as a monster and claimed that her support of her is a sign of her poor taste in people. Like, how do you even begin approaching that as a parent? It’s a rough one.
And like, I also just feel bad for Stacy. She clearly deeply cares about Amber’s well-being and took some major risks to keep her safe. Like, leaving a violent abuser? That can easily be deadly, especially when you have someone as willing to violate boundaries and “show up” somewhere as Blaine.
And she did that to protect Amber. That’s huge and she’s trying to be there as best she can during Amber’s breakdown here.
The tragedy is that she is just fucking up the execution of what Amber needs in this particular moment. She’s thinking it’s a “down in the dumps, needs some sugar and a positive mom” situation when it’s a clinical depression and worsening DID situation.
And she’s completely in the weeds on that, not least because Amber is very closed off about what is going on internally at any given point.
And this lashing out has devastated her, hit her in her own triggers and fears and insecurities. And it’s broken her and from what Amber has inferred, it doesn’t sound like she’s got a robust social support network at the moment. It’s very likely she’s going home to cry alone or worse yet, reaching out to Joe’s dad who’s not likely to be a great help on this.
I dunno, I just want her to be safe and okay.
Panel 3: Oof, and again, that battle to want to be there but not sure you are welcome again. It’s rough. Also A+ Danning by Danny.
Panel 4: And again, the instincts? The instincts and intention of Stacy are so good. Even after she was hit with some nasty victim-blaming, her first instinct is to do right by her daughter and she tries to recruit Danny to help out. Like, I just want to take her out to a coffee and tell her about psychological resources and the value of a good therapist.
And Danny? Oh Danny continues to be wonderful, recognizing his own presence could be triggering or negative and immediately reaching out to someone more trusted who can help. It’s quick thinking and problem-solving and not in a “I must be the one to fix everything” way he was earlier on, but in a much more mature and aware way. Like, he’s growing into one hell of an awesome dude and I’m so proud of him.
Panel 4: Crawling into yourself when that’s the worst thing for you. I’ve been there. I’m fighting against it right now after the Health Care vote and Trump statement on trans soldiers. Amber’s on a bad road right now and needs real help if she can get it.
Panel 5: As Scar Man says, in that state, it’s hard to relate to interests that normally excite one. Like, I get into a state where anything fun becomes like ash and I end up bouncing through ninety different things until I can find something I can disappear into for a bit.
And that brings up something I’m terrified about here. Amber is barely in communication, but it’s all so very numb. Like she’s interacting with intensity at points, but when left on her own, it’s all muted, which makes me worry a lot that she’s in a hellish fugue state and terrified of letting the Amber alter function because she believes all it can do is bring pain and death.
Even here, it’s not squeeing over the toy, it’s a really muted response about it being expensive. Like, maybe this is just me projecting, but my fugue states tend to be the most dangerous and it’s when I need someone just keeping an eye on me to make sure I don’t do something unfixable the most.
OT: Hey. I can’t even tell if you’re talking about the whatever-the-fuck-is-happening-with-the-Republican-“health”-bill or the trans ban on the military or whatever other shit Republicans came up with. In any case, *support*. 8(
On the other hand, new experiences: bet you never thought you’d be rooting for cancer in a fight, did you? Ok, to be fair, YOU probably aren’t, because you’re nice and all. *I*, however, totally am.
On the last panel: is it just me and my poor eyesight, or does Amber have twinkly eyes there?
Oh there’s a very dark part of my brain that’s hoping for some of those celebrating senators to backpat their way down a long flight of stairs. So tired of “civil, respectable” culling of my human rights and right to live.
So sorry, Cerberus and Rukduk. *Gesture of support*
John McCain had his chance at life and he quite possibly just screwed over millions. I say cancer can take the old man. This bullshit was always simmering under the surface, but it got the lid knocked off and pushed to the forefront when he nominated that crazy lady as VP, and all of the sudden political insanity, conspiracy, and bigotry were allowed to be worthy of our attention, our consideration, and even our acceptance in some cases. I say this, knowing full well that there is hatred in my heart, let that tumor take him soon. Unless this Senate bullshit fails. Then let it take him immediately after that.
Yeah, the only thing McCain might actually do that I’d be willing to praise him for now is collapsing dead right on the Senate floor.
Wait, what did I miss? Last I checked, McCain voted to debate the Health Care Repeal Bill, then voted against it. And he’s criticized Trump’s transgender ban.
He voted to debate it, as you say. Then voted against at least one version, but there will be other versions offered. That first vote greatly increases the chance that something will get passed, which then can rewritten completely in conference with the House and possibly pushed through. It’s not a done deal by any means, but this was an important step forward (well, backwards really, but you know what I mean). Without that motion to proceed to debate, they couldn’t continue.
McCain also made that big speech yesterday about getting back to bipartisanship and doing things in “regular order” and the old traditions of the Senate. Today he voted against a motion to send the healthcare legislation to committee to be worked on by both parties in that exact traditional way. McCain does a lot of grandiose talking and criticizing and then reliably votes the party line.
Both the BCRA + Cruz Amendment and the full repeal versions of the bill failed procedural votes. So at this point we have no idea what the final version that will be given to the Senate to vote on will actually look like. There will be some cuts to Medicaid and the marketplaces but it’s anyone’s guess as to how deep they’ll be.
*sympathy* What Mitch McConnel and John McCain did was sick and inhuman. And Trump’s doing to possibly as many as 11,000 military personnel is sick. And from a logistics stand point (since apparently the only way to convince these assholes is through cynical calculations), a nightmare for the military. Hundreds of trans soldiers are open about the fact they’re trans. It will take anywhere from six months to two years to replace them with properly trained individuals. And now there’s going to be paranoia for closeted trans individuals currently in the military about who they can actually trust, which means unit cohesion and ability to actually function properly is going to go down. Plus, now there will be a long legal battle over this. In addition, even conservatives in Congress didn’t consider banning trans individuals from enlisting. They still were assholes because they didn’t want to pay for extra medical needs but still. Commanders are upset because they’ve seen trans soldiers in the field are just as effective as quote on quote “normal” soldiers, and 18 other countries allow trans individuals to serve in the military without any problems. And it’s not just field officers but people very high up (just not joint chiefs of staff high up) that are pissed about this. Hopefully it gets overturned by a federal court like that damn travel ban did. And the Senate? They really expect to hammer something out in 20 hours of debate? Shame just shame.
…I’m sorry this was supposed to be comforting and I’m just ranting aren’t I? I’m just…I’m frustrated. My friends are going to be hurt badly if Obamacare gets replaced by that Trumpcare abomination or even just repealed. A family member of mine in Michigan will most likely die without it. I’m currently in Michigan so I gave both Senators a call at their office asking them to vote no after this debate happens because otherwise my cousin will die, because he has preexisting condition from brain damage he suffered as a child and no one would insure him before Obamacare. I just, I just want to make it all go away so the people I love will feel better, and I can’t and it’s driving me insane!!! I’m sorry. But I, I need a safe place to speak and I won’t get that here in Michigan.
You have all my sympathy, all my support, and I just want to let you know that I, and many others like myself, are trying to help. I just…feel like I can never do enough. I’m sorry.
I’m so sorry about your cousin. 8(
I’m worried so much about him. He’s 37 but his mind is trapped at 8 or 9 when some bastard bashed his head into a wall. One of his legs doesn’t work properly because the muscle won’t function right, he can’t see very well, and he has a lot of memory problems. Every time I see him I leave crying because there is no way he’ll ever get better, and there’s nothing I can do to help. He’s been a part of my life since I was six. I just…I don’t want to lose him, because every year I hope there’s a medical breakthrough that will allow him to…to grow up and maybe experience a bit of what life should be, instead of trapped inside his house with his mother by his own mind. I just…I just don’t understand why anyone would want to do something like this to people like him or be so callous as to let it happen. I’ve always thought, no matter how things were, that people are born good and turn evil or turned into monsters. But now, now I just don’t know. How much of their souls did they lose, to be able to kill people with penstrokes for the sake of political philosophy?
Omg, Cerberus senpai relates to me! Yeah, the Healthcare thing scares me too just as a midlling-functioninf mentally ill straight-passing cisman with a cancer survivor dad and ill family members. I can’t begin to imagine what the new military policy does to add to the shittiness for you.
Anyway, God it’s not even when I’m feeling bad this year that I’ve been avoiding what I like. For some reason no matter what I’m feeling these days, I have an aversion to catching up on shows I know I like. I can only watch YouTube and read fanfiction.
And today, all those people claiming that Asshole In Charge wouldn’t come for the LBGQT community are suddenly oh-so-silent…
https://twitter.com/choochoobear/status/890363768215150593
that box set makes almost no sense to me. Sure, guys like you can love everything in it and I acknowledge there are probably lots of others like you, but it’s a minority compared to group A who would be like “AWESOME! Check out this box full of Late G1/Early G2 homages…who’s this purple Blurr with fans?” and then group B (like me) who would be “FINALLY! A real Nautica toy from the comic I like…why do I have to buy all these weird repaints to get at her?”
Ah, it is a Transformer? That makes more sense, I couldn’t understand why they were talking about a clothing line.
C’mon, Amber, Nautica misses you. She’s been worried about you. Maybe, you could tell her how you’ve been feeling?
I am just here to comment that I just lost 48 hours of productive time reading this webcomic from the start.
Goddamit.
Danny’s pure goodness in DoA and pure Dannyness in the It’s Walky rerun are going to lead to some kind of crisis on infinite Dannys situation.
Danny and the Discon Dilemma?
…it’s a really good set, though!
That is an adorable Ethan popping out of the side there. What a sweet looking face!!
OK, this is more about the strip from two days ago but I’ve been re-reading the archives and just hit this one:
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/03-when-god-closes-the-door/sugar-2/
Amber feeling better after getting some sugar in her has been mentioned before. It was over a year ago, so I didn’t remember, but there it is.
Tag-team support system!