Dumbing of Age Book Eleven

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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September 20, 2023

Injury

by David M Willis on August 31, 2018 at 12:01 am
  • 01 - Flyin' to the Red

└ Tags: marcie, sal

Discussion (250) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. toby
    toby
    August 31, 2018 at 12:03 am | #

    ohhh nooo i want to find out what happened but i know itll break my dang heart :C

    • space
      space
      August 31, 2018 at 12:49 am | #

      Dear Willis,

      http://www.itswalky.com/comic/marcie/

      I have been waiting.

      • Stoodmuffin
        Stoodmuffin
        August 31, 2018 at 3:06 am | #

        For a while

        • Clif
          Clif
          August 31, 2018 at 4:05 am | #

          Well, speaking for myself, I’ve only been curious and waiting since the one where kid Marcie spoke. And that was just, um, a little earlier in the semester.

    • Jackson
      Jackson
      August 31, 2018 at 11:06 am | #

      I think we know.

      Starts with an L and ends with an eland.

      • toby
        toby
        August 31, 2018 at 5:18 pm | #

        I’d be surprised if it was Leland. They’re a bit older than in the previous flashback with him, and I feel like emphasizing him as the cause of Every Problem In Marcie’s Life would kinda feed the narrative that racism is just a couple bad apples doing shitty stuff and not The Entire Culture That Enables Them. I could get proven wrong in a couple strips though!

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          August 31, 2018 at 7:01 pm | #

          Was it even clearly racism in Leland’s case? I don’t recall anything specific – he could have been just a run of the mill elementary school bully.

          The school’s response definitely was, which put it cleanly in the “Entire Culture That Enables Them” category.

  2. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    August 31, 2018 at 12:03 am | #

    D=

    D= D=

    D= D= D=

    not red E

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      August 31, 2018 at 12:06 am | #

      Red is for panic attack flashbacks.

      • Yumi
        Yumi
        August 31, 2018 at 12:30 am | #

        Put it together. “Not red E”=”Not ready”

  3. adjudicus
    adjudicus
    August 31, 2018 at 12:03 am | #

    OHH FUCK

    • Inahc
      Inahc
      August 31, 2018 at 12:11 am | #

      indeed.

  4. Shiro
    Shiro
    August 31, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    Oh no oh no oh no :c My babies

  5. ShinyNeen
    ShinyNeen
    August 31, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    Man, these flashbacks really leave me feeling blue.

    • ShinyNeen
      ShinyNeen
      August 31, 2018 at 12:16 am | #

      Albeit a slightly different shade of blue, I think.

      • Clif
        Clif
        August 31, 2018 at 4:30 am | #

        Predicting the panels get progressively redder as time flies by.

  6. Fart Captor
    Fart Captor
    August 31, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    The most important thing to remember when engaging in autoerotic asphyxiation is to take safety precautions -_-

    • Darth Apatheus
      Darth Apatheus
      August 31, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

      JESUS!!!

    • Beef
      Beef
      August 31, 2018 at 12:05 am | #

      Hi you’re talking about children

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      August 31, 2018 at 12:05 am | #

      Gotta bite down on that lemon

      • Delicious Taffy
        Delicious Taffy
        August 31, 2018 at 5:26 am | #

        Who’s biting a lemon? I Google the phrase, but it just gave me dental advice.

        • Yumi
          Yumi
          August 31, 2018 at 3:35 pm | #

          It’s a BoJack Horseman reference.

    • Foxhack
      Foxhack
      August 31, 2018 at 12:17 am | #

      You’ve been a reader of this comic for how long and you still think making jokes like those about children is okay?

      • Fart Captor
        Fart Captor
        August 31, 2018 at 12:36 am | #

        I made a joke that requires acknowledging that teens masturbate. That’s all. If I could’ve thought of a way someone could injure their throat while pooping I might’ve gone that route instead and I would’ve seen it as equally not-sexual

        I only saw it as a thing people do that would be embarrassing to have result in hospitalization

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          August 31, 2018 at 12:40 am | #

          Marcie’s not a teenager though. She’s 12.

          • Fart Captor
            Fart Captor
            August 31, 2018 at 12:52 am | #

            That’s already far more thought than I put into it. Which I probably should’ve.

            idk. In retrospect I can’t blame anyone for interpreting it as something more gross than what I intended, so hopefully Willis deletes it because the joke wasn’t worth it

            Sorry everyone. I should’ve considered the context a bit longer there

            • Clif
              Clif
              August 31, 2018 at 4:38 am | #

              All I can say is that if you injure your throat while pooping, I have to believe that you’re doing it wrong.

          • Blazing Ace
            Blazing Ace
            August 31, 2018 at 1:03 am | #

            She’s also not real

            • Fart Captor
              Fart Captor
              August 31, 2018 at 1:05 am | #

              That’s …not actually relevant.

              • Blazing Ace
                Blazing Ace
                August 31, 2018 at 1:16 am | #

                I disagree. Making jokes about fictional characters is fine imo. It’s not like they have feelings.

                • Fart Captor
                  Fart Captor
                  August 31, 2018 at 1:44 am | #

                  Foxhack wasn’t objecting to me hurting anyone’s feelings, especially not the characters’

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              August 31, 2018 at 1:08 am | #

              I’m aware. I’m not sure why that means correcting a small bit of misinfo matters?

        • Inahc
          Inahc
          August 31, 2018 at 12:40 am | #

          aaactually in this flashback they’re only twelve.

          • Yumi
            Yumi
            August 31, 2018 at 12:44 am | #

            Twelve year olds masturbate too.
            Like, feelings about the joke aside, kids that age have a huge range of where they’re at in sexual development/exploration. I don’t think it changes the justification much that they’re 12 rather than 13.

            • Br44n5m
              Br44n5m
              August 31, 2018 at 4:46 pm | #

              Pretty sure a friend said they started at like 8 or 9, so yeah 12 is definitely a normal starting place. Still try to make sure a characters 16 before making sex jokes about them please

          • Alanari
            Alanari
            August 31, 2018 at 12:47 am | #

            Is that confirmed? I mean, this could have happened after the convenience store. She already has her hair straight and in the robbery flashbacks, it’s curly and short.

            • Yumi
              Yumi
              August 31, 2018 at 12:49 am | #

              Sal mentioned Marcie being 12 at the time of these events in comic. Also, they’re currently in their hometown (see writing on ambulance), not out of state like Sal was sent post robbery.

            • King Daniel
              King Daniel
              August 31, 2018 at 12:51 am | #

              In a previous strip, Sal mentioned that Marcie lost her voice around age 12, and Sal was 13 when the robberies took place.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              August 31, 2018 at 12:52 am | #

              Sal told Danny that she hasn’t sang since she was 12 (presumably because of Marcie losing her voice). The robbery was when she was 13. Also, Sal would most NOT have been allowed out of the house between the robbery and shipping her off unless her parents were with her, so I sure hope this isn’t post-robbery or she’s in for it when her parents find out.

            • Foxhack
              Foxhack
              August 31, 2018 at 12:53 am | #

              I think this might take place just before the robbery. I’m guessing this is one of the things that made her start to change her behavior into a more rebellious kind.

              • CJ
                CJ
                August 31, 2018 at 1:50 am | #

                I’ve thought for ages, that Sal robbed the store because she wanted to raise money to help Marcie.
                And even though Sal thinks it’s her fault, I wonder what actually happened.

                • Chris Phoenix
                  Chris Phoenix
                  August 31, 2018 at 6:02 am | #

                  Calling it now (thought it since the previous flashback): Marcie was being bullied, Sal tried to stick up for her, the bullies doubled down and did something that crushed Marcie’s throat.

    • Zee
      Zee
      August 31, 2018 at 7:54 am | #

      Nah that joke was hilarious nice

  7. shadowcell
    shadowcell
    August 31, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    Dumbing of Age Book 9: The Laughs Never Stop

    • HeySo
      HeySo
      August 31, 2018 at 12:39 am | #

      Coincidentally, also the title of The Joker’s auto-biography.

      I mean, the latter part. Presumably not the first.
      That’d be more Deadpool’s style than The Joker’s. 😛

  8. Beef
    Beef
    August 31, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    god DAMNIT willis please don’t make us wait too long for the full story D:

    • HeySo
      HeySo
      August 31, 2018 at 12:37 am | #

      Don’t worry, he’ll give it to us within 3 months.

      …comic time.

      Look forward to 2024!

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        August 31, 2018 at 12:45 am | #

        Barring the mother of all timeskips, 2024 is too optimistic – consider that we’re only about a month and a half into the semester now and that the comic’s been running for eight years, and a more likely minimum for when it’d be would be ~2034.

        This has been your irregularly-scheduled reminder of how webcomic time flows in Dumbing of Age. 😛

        • Marsh Maryrose
          Marsh Maryrose
          August 31, 2018 at 1:12 am | #

          As Needfuldoer pointed out some while ago, flashbacks have already messed with the traditional empirical method of calculating DoA time flow with regard to real-world time flow. And that was back when the flashbacks were few, and short.

          It is still possible to calculate the current DoA/real-world time ratio. But making any sort of prognostication requires making statistical assumptions about anomalies (flashbacks, time skips) for which we do not yet have statistically meaningful data sets.

          • Marsh Maryrose
            Marsh Maryrose
            August 31, 2018 at 1:24 am | #

            I meant to add this:

            tl;dr: It’s all a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff.

            • Clif
              Clif
              August 31, 2018 at 4:13 am | #

              Not having statistically meaningful data sets has never stopped us from dead reckoning before. I’m with King Daniel on this one.

            • LookingIn
              LookingIn
              August 31, 2018 at 4:34 am | #

              Can someone please tell The Doctor to stop messing with the timestream!!!!

              I swear, he’s a madman with a box at times…

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            August 31, 2018 at 8:11 am | #

            Do flashbacks really mess with it significantly? Even without flashbacks, some days have more going on and take up more time.

            The longest chapters so far were:
            Just Hanging out with my family
            The Only Dope for Me is You
            The Butterflies won’t fly away
            When God Closes the Door
            Glower Vacuum
            The Thing I Was Before
            Faz is Great
            Of Mike and Men

            A couple of those have flashback sequences of various lengths, but not all.

            I think chapters have generally been getting longer, but I’m not convinced flashbacks have a big role in it.

            Time skips are more unpredictable.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            August 31, 2018 at 9:05 pm | #

            The calculations will only get REALLY screwy if these flashbacks jump all over the place. If one chapter consistently covers one DoA day, they should still be in pretty good shape.

            The old figure was about 1 DoA day every 66.67 real-world days, but the last couple chapters were longer than that. Now that Of Mike and Men has wrapped, it’s probably a good time to break out the calculator, newspaper clippings, bulletin board, and red string and figure the timeline out again.

        • Rabid Rabbit
          Rabid Rabbit
          August 31, 2018 at 1:53 am | #

          I’ve been wondering how long we still have to go before we get to see Joyce’s reaction to Halloween. I was assuming about two more years, but then I heard that this flashback is pretty long, so I’m pushing my guess to three.

          • Schol-R-LEA;2
            Schol-R-LEA;2
            August 31, 2018 at 7:57 pm | #

            I guess Joyce is following the advice Miss Einstien gave to Miss Nishikinomiya: just table it until a better time arrives.

        • HeySo
          HeySo
          September 1, 2018 at 12:02 am | #

          To be clear, I was stating that 2024 was the absolute *earliest* possible date. Frankly, 2027 already seems overly optimistic, but y’never know what kinda timeskips we might get. Your estimate is probably more on point, though. 😛

  9. Yumi
    Yumi
    August 31, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    BABY

  10. BBCC
    BBCC
    August 31, 2018 at 12:05 am | #

    Dammit! I finally stopped screaming after this came up on Patreon!

    Welp, back to screaming.

    No, I’m still not sure if it’s because I’m happy to get answers or just…screaming because ow.

    • ShinyNeen
      ShinyNeen
      August 31, 2018 at 12:09 am | #

      Gotta process all of the emotions before it’s truly over.

      And this isn’t going to be a short ride.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      August 31, 2018 at 12:35 am | #

      Screaming is a reasonable respons

      • Clif
        Clif
        August 31, 2018 at 4:15 am | #

        Particularly if you’re helping out by screaming “Woop! WOOP! WOOP!”

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      August 31, 2018 at 1:48 am | #

      Just make sure you take some breaks from screaming so you don’t get hoarse.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        August 31, 2018 at 2:31 am | #

        I have water. I’m good.

  11. Nono
    Nono
    August 31, 2018 at 12:06 am | #

    I’m actually kind of dreading Carol’s next appearance in flashbacks.

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      August 31, 2018 at 12:07 am | #

      Linda?

      • MatthewTheLucky
        MatthewTheLucky
        August 31, 2018 at 12:08 am | #

        Her too.

        • newllend(henryvolt)
          newllend(henryvolt)
          August 31, 2018 at 12:12 am | #

          All shitty moms look alike to me to be honest.

          • Nono
            Nono
            August 31, 2018 at 12:21 am | #

            I actually had to go back through the tags to remind myself who Carol was, all I remembered was ‘terrible mum, not Naomi’.

            • newllend(henryvolt)
              newllend(henryvolt)
              August 31, 2018 at 12:38 am | #

              Who’s the most shit mom in DoA now that we brought it up? I’m thinking of 4 contenders and that’s Carol, Linda, Naomi, and Yuri.

              Personally I think Yuri comes last because she’s not really a bad mom to Faz but a shitty person since she had a helping hand in braking apart a family then holds resentment twords the child of that family because her new spouse has to pay child support for her.

              Then Carol and Linda would come a tie for second place making Noami #1 because honestly I think the anger I used to have for Eathen is now resurfacing twords her. That last Flashback she was involved in pissed me off.

              • Thorn
                Thorn
                August 31, 2018 at 12:52 am | #

                I’m quietly ruminating on the theory that Yur is an active member of the Korean mob that Blaine is a part of and that her resentment toward Amber runs deeper than simply the child support

                • Regalli
                  Regalli
                  August 31, 2018 at 1:20 am | #

                  Sometimes I hope. (I mean, based off Shortpacked she was probably from a mob family. If she got involved in the business then that means she has way higher access to resources with which she can kill Blaine.)

              • Nono
                Nono
                August 31, 2018 at 12:56 am | #

                It’s really a tie between Linda and Carol, mostly because of the extent of their influence. Carol’s part of a church community that echoes her beliefs, she has four kids, at least one of whom is just as toxic as she is, and another who’s only now undoing some of her brainwashing.

                On the other hand, Linda’s had that much more of a negative effect, with Sal lashing out by committing actual crimes. Unlike Carol, Linda also faces no real opposition since Charles doesn’t really defend their kids.

                I’d probably give it to Carol. Linda’s pretty bad but her problems are generally made worse because she had multiple children to play favourites with. Carol would be just as bad if John was her only kid.

                • LookingIn
                  LookingIn
                  August 31, 2018 at 4:40 am | #

                  Shaming your child into suppressing his sexuality is a tough crime to overlook…as much as Linda may be a shitty mom, Sal might be doing her crimes for the right reasons even if they are misguided. She’s a natural rebel, she would have done what she did despite her mother’s love.

                  Naomi willingly forces Ethan to try to be heterosexual and is doing her hardest to ensure that he stays that way. She is screwing up him internally and if he didn’t have Mike and Amber’s support he might have done the worst thing possible: kill himself.

                  I take treating your children differently over forcing your child to feel like crap for liking the same sex…sorry, but I do

                • thejeff
                  thejeff
                  August 31, 2018 at 8:14 am | #

                  It’s a common theory, but we don’t know Sal did the robberies for any kind of good reason.

                  I kind of hope she didn’t. Think it makes her journey more interesting than if she was being misguidedly altruistic all along.

                • BBCC
                  BBCC
                  August 31, 2018 at 10:38 pm | #

                  Linda makes Sal feel like crap for being black, so is that really better?

                  And everything we know indicates Sal’s a ‘natural rebel’ because it’s something she developed to push back against people like her parents treating her like crap. I see no reason to assume she’d still be a rebel if Linda were decent (especially since Charles is a shit father too).

              • Regalli
                Regalli
                August 31, 2018 at 1:16 am | #

                Unsure about Yuri – we still don’t know that much about her, including the very vital question of when her relationship with Blaine started and how old she was then. If it’s as bad as Amber fears, then honestly her being groomed is definitely a mitigating factor to me in how shitty she is as a person – anyone who groomed a teenager was gonna cheat on his wife regardless, and she wouldn’t have been equipped to see how fucked that situation was because teenagers or had as much power to refuse and avoid the shitstain. I’m also on the fence about her parenting skills (maybe Faz was lying when he said Amber was nicest to him, but we can’t tell now and her ‘you’ll never go to college because child support has robbed us of a future’ bit was out of line,) but really I don’t have much hope. (I make a similar ‘okay we know nothing and I don’t have much hope but there COULD be reasons’ thing for Billie’s maternal figures. Her dad’s clearly neglectful and awful and could not be garbage, but her mother might not have had as much choice in the matter. We just don’t have anything to work from there.)

                I put Carol, Linda and Naomi all on about the same level, same as Toedad with ‘Sir’ and Blaine. Their methods differ but the results are all so terribly screwed up as a result of their actions that determining a ‘worst’ is basically splitting hairs.

              • Drunk Mike
                Drunk Mike
                August 31, 2018 at 6:37 am | #

                One could argue she did Amber and Stacey a favor. If it wasn’t for her Blaine would be around a lot more.

              • Zee
                Zee
                August 31, 2018 at 7:59 am | #

                for me its
                1. Carol, because i cant stand brainwashy, super controlling religious parents who put their faith before their own kids, and i happen to be surrounded by the children of such folks
                2. Naomi and Linda tie in horribleness for me

  12. Regalli
    Regalli
    August 31, 2018 at 12:06 am | #

    Well I see we’re off to a good start with the emotional devastation.

    Also kudos to our Damnéd Overlord for those last two panels. Sal looks so small and traumatized and AUGH.

    • Sporky
      Sporky
      August 31, 2018 at 12:09 am | #

      I believe you mean damnèd, unless you meant it to be pronounced like “flambéed”.

      • UniqueSnowflake2
        UniqueSnowflake2
        August 31, 2018 at 12:15 am | #

        Oh dear, what a grave mistake!

        • Clif
          Clif
          August 31, 2018 at 4:18 am | #

          Damneed be he who cries enough.

        • Chris Phoenix
          Chris Phoenix
          August 31, 2018 at 6:06 am | #

          Slow clap.

      • Regalli
        Regalli
        August 31, 2018 at 12:21 am | #

        I can never tell accent line pronunciations apart, so yes! (Ah, rarely using them in English.)

        • Clif
          Clif
          August 31, 2018 at 4:26 am | #

          Let all cognincia know, by the authority invested in me by Emperor Norton, I hereby proclaim that the spelling shall henceforth be Engli`sh.

    • Regalli
      Regalli
      August 31, 2018 at 12:19 am | #

      Also, Important Timeline Notes!

      The ambulance says ‘Evansville’, which means this is still in Indiana and therefore pre-holdup. Probably not by too much, though, barring further details clarifying things.

      Most noticeable thing for me here actually is that while Sal’s hair appears to be shorter than present-day (though not dramatically,) it’s also straight. So that confirms she was straightening it while still living with her parents and wearing it curly during the holdup may have been a deliberate thing. Or she was due for an appointment and couldn’t get one for whatever reason. So yeah, fuck you Charles, you knew what a time commitment it was and made pointed comments anyway. (And given she does it because her parents prefer it that way, oy. That is a very long regular appointment for someone that young to sit for something she doesn’t care about personally but matters a lot to her parents. Fuck you, Linda and Charles.)

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        August 31, 2018 at 12:24 am | #

        Marcie lost her voice when she was 12, according to Sal. The robbery was when she was 13 (or close enough – regardless, she was in 7th grade). Then she was away for 5 years.

        Charles can go fuck himself.

        • Regalli
          Regalli
          August 31, 2018 at 12:43 am | #

          Oh good, we have a better timeline! Useful, thanks!

          Yeah if this were something she actually WANTED to do then it would be totally fine. Her time to spend and her money to have to budget it with once she was living on her own. But since it seems like she’s currently doing it out of inertia and trying to please those jackasses? Sal you could rock whatever hair you wanted, I say go nuts next time.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            August 31, 2018 at 1:27 am | #

            No worries! I remember Sal telling Danny that because I was like ‘Oooh, finally, an age!’

            And yeah, I guarantee that Sal relaxing her hair is not uninfluenced by ‘But you look so pretty when your hair’s long and straight’.

            Sal looked amazing with her curly hair and Charles can go take a flying fuck at the moon.

            • Regalli
              Regalli
              August 31, 2018 at 1:50 am | #

              A part of me is thinking she should shave it all off or get an undercut, and then I worry about how awful the parents would be over holiday breaks about it and don’t want her to suffer through more of that than she has to, and then I go back to the first part, realize they will be awful to her no matter what, and am back on ‘go for it Sal’. It’s a moot point because there’s no way with the timescale she would get a redesign THAT drastic, but still. Future older Sal who’s done giving a shit about what her parents think about her hair should experiment with it as much as she wants and know she’ll look awesome.

              • BBCC
                BBCC
                August 31, 2018 at 2:14 am | #

                Personally, I think it’d be great if she went natural. I think that’d be an excellent ‘fuck you’ to her parents. Mind you, her feelings may also be more complex than just her parents being shitty, so we’ll see if that comes up more.

        • Reltzik
          Reltzik
          August 31, 2018 at 1:52 am | #

          12 is also a 5th-grade age and Sal could be 13 when Marcie’s 12. I’m still thinking it’s going to happen pretty soon after this flashback.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            August 31, 2018 at 2:15 am | #

            I’m thinking Marcie’s very close to Sal’s age if for no other reason than we know she’s not 17 now (only characters 18+ get to be in Slipshines).

          • Zee
            Zee
            August 31, 2018 at 8:08 am | #

            The idea of 12 being 5th grade age is baffling to me

            • Reltzik
              Reltzik
              August 31, 2018 at 2:38 pm | #

              *7th* grade age. Grah.

      • Foxhack
        Foxhack
        August 31, 2018 at 12:56 am | #

        I mentioned this earlier but I’m guessing this is one of the reasons, if not THE big reason, that caused the change in Sal’s behavior, which eventually drove her to the robbery / stickup. Which means she might have cut her hair short and stopped straightening it as a form of rebellion…

        • CJ
          CJ
          August 31, 2018 at 1:55 am | #

          We saw her hair grow curly under stress before.

  13. Goki
    Goki
    August 31, 2018 at 12:06 am | #

    Man, didn’t any of these kids have a happy childhood? (Well, maybe Joyce)

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      August 31, 2018 at 12:08 am | #

      Willis didn’t spend time and effort making up all these sad and messed up backstories so his characters could be happy, okay?

    • not someone else
      not someone else
      August 31, 2018 at 12:12 am | #

      (honestly, does anyone not come out of childhood at least a *little* traumatized? the only people I’ve ever met who’ve said they weren’t tend to have a pretty long list of things that they have to specify “don’t count”)

      • Yumi
        Yumi
        August 31, 2018 at 12:14 am | #

        I feel like “happy” and “trauma-free” are somewhat different.

        • Cholma
          Cholma
          August 31, 2018 at 12:35 am | #

          I almost feel a little guilty being someone who can honestly say happy & trauma-free childhood. Never knew that was considered a rarity until several decades into adulthood.

        • not someone else
          not someone else
          August 31, 2018 at 6:40 pm | #

          Yeah, but I would also say that something like this particular thing (or at least what we know about it), seeing a friend get seriously injured, is the kind of thing that happens to a lot of people who wouldn’t necessarily qualify as full-on traumatized-as-children, y’know? Like, in order to go 18 whole years without even one serious bad thing happening to you you have to get pretty lucky.

          • Yumi
            Yumi
            August 31, 2018 at 7:17 pm | #

            Yeah, my point was just that you can have trauma in your childhood and still consider yourself to have had a happy childhood.

      • general band-aid
        general band-aid
        August 31, 2018 at 12:32 am | #

        I was a little traumatized, but not on the scale of these kids. We moved a lot and it made me insecure. I still had a good childhood with loving family and no drama.

        This story gets progressively less plausible as we pack more and more into these first couple months of college.

      • Alanari
        Alanari
        August 31, 2018 at 12:56 am | #

        No family-related trauma. I was groped by a stranger at 12 but apart from that, my childhood was fine. And since I completely suppressed the memory until I was 20something, I was a happy child.
        The day I finally remembered was pretty hard though.

        • Zee
          Zee
          August 31, 2018 at 8:18 am | #

          I dont remember much of my childhood before 11/12 so thats probably not a good sign. Beyond being molested by a childhood family friend i think my childhood was pretty normal. Then again, i almost started crying the other day because my friend called me slow (in the context of my computer taking too long to load up a game), which is something i used to get bullied a lot for because i have learning disorders and motor skills issues, so i guess im a little more traumatized than i thought.

    • DailyBrad
      DailyBrad
      August 31, 2018 at 12:16 am | #

      Dina seemingly gets on rather well with her parents.
      Joyce, well, ignorance was bliss and she had Becky.
      Walky, again, ignorance was bliss, but he also had a sister who had a really rough time, and another sister figure become a teen alcoholic, so that was maybe not a sweet gig, either.

      • MatthewTheLucky
        MatthewTheLucky
        August 31, 2018 at 12:31 am | #

        Dina almost certainly suffered from isolation and casual bullying, given that she’s struggled to get people to take her seriously and she’s developed markedly better social skills over the course of the comic despite it only being two months or so.

        • Inahc
          Inahc
          August 31, 2018 at 1:08 am | #

          I dunno, personally I suspect my own brain just wasn’t *ready* to parse social skills in high school. I somehow ended up with a good group of friends anyways, but most of my learning about humans happened in my mid and late 20’s. some of it in rather intense bursts.

          I didn’t really *suffer* from isolation, it just… was the only thing I’d known. *now* I can suffer from it, now that my brain actually wants to be social.

          then again, maybe things would’ve been different if there’d been more kids around when I was little. who knows. and Dina isn’t me.

        • Regalli
          Regalli
          August 31, 2018 at 1:27 am | #

          Based off how Dina seems familiar with the infantilization and ‘oh, you’re… special’, I suspect you’re right. Sounds in line with my childhood at least. (And while we don’t have a confirmed diagnosis that she’s neurodivergent, speaking from experience you can tell when you’re the Weird Different One and the other kids definitely treat you differently because they can tell too. Not having a diagnosis can actually make it worse, because you don’t have a name or reason for the Different.)

          • Zee
            Zee
            August 31, 2018 at 8:20 am | #

            Teachers probably contributed too, with the whole “special” treatment. They probably meant well, most people who give that treatment do i think, but just went about it in a really bad way

      • Regalli
        Regalli
        August 31, 2018 at 12:31 am | #

        Add in the way Walky’s crashing now and I’d say he probably wasn’t exempt from the emotional abuse, he just processed it differently (by writing their treatment of Sal off as her fault until he realized the treatment predated the holdup) and got it from a different angle (you are the Good One and must do as I expect of you or you’ll be a disappointment like your sister.) I also have no frame of whether Billie got any of that or if it’s her biological family’s neglect and abandonment that was the bigger problem.

        Sierra seems to have grown up in a loving, supportive environment that encouraged her to be herself even if she was socially atypical, though!

      • Conuly
        Conuly
        August 31, 2018 at 12:35 am | #

        Being the twin to an emotionally abused and neglected child is not really a healthy, happy situation. Plus, as pointed out, Walky doesn’t talk or act like somebody who had a happy childhood. His reaction to failing math can be summed up as “If I don’t succeed effortlessly, Dorothy will dump me because nobody loves a failure”. It seems funny that he said “My sister is black, but I’m ambiguously brown” until you realize that his sister perceives the parental favoritism as racist in origin (and given that they clearly don’t like her with unstraightened hair, she may be right on that front).

        Honestly, Sal’s the lucky one. She was sent off to boarding school, which means she was able to get away from that dynamic a lot earlier – and because she was the scapegoat, instead of the golden child, she had a vested interest in rejecting it entirely.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          August 31, 2018 at 12:42 am | #

          Can we NOT call the one who was the primary victim of emotional abuse, neglect and racism the lucky one?

        • CJ
          CJ
          August 31, 2018 at 1:58 am | #

          Your idea of being lucky implies that the school she was in was a better place that her parent’s house and I doubt that.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            August 31, 2018 at 2:16 am | #

            Her descriptions are ‘like prison’ and ‘it wasn’t as great a choice [between her school and juvie] as you’d expect’ so my money’s on reformatory.

        • Zee
          Zee
          August 31, 2018 at 8:25 am | #

          I believe the quote was “generically beige”, which i know because i use it for myself

    • Viktoria
      Viktoria
      August 31, 2018 at 12:17 am | #

      Dorothy, Joe, Danny, and Walky all seem to have had pretty good childhoods. Some of them ended up screwed up anyway, but they weren’t traumatized, which is a low but important bar.

      • Nono
        Nono
        August 31, 2018 at 12:22 am | #

        Eh, Joe has some serious issues with intimacy from watching his dad.

        • MatthewTheLucky
          MatthewTheLucky
          August 31, 2018 at 12:32 am | #

          And Danny’s parents never believed in him.

          And Dorothy and Walky’s parents believed in them too much.

          • Regalli
            Regalli
            August 31, 2018 at 12:51 am | #

            I think we can distinguish between Dorothy’s hangups (which appear to all be pressure that was self-inflicted, or at worst ‘We believe you can do whatever you set your mind to but you’ll have to work hard’ combined with how ridiculously rigorous academics these days are and a cultural devaluing of relaxation as a vital health aspect) and Walky’s issues (which, again, are from emotional abuse.)

            Dorothy’s parents support her in her goal to be president because it’s what she wants. Linda wants Walky to be a doctor/lawyer whether he wants to be or not because that’s what her son SHOULD be, and sees his goofball nature and interests as something he’ll grow out of and put aside in due course to be the Respectable Son.

        • Regalli
          Regalli
          August 31, 2018 at 12:33 am | #

          And Danny’s self esteem has clearly been flattened by his parents criticizing him and saying he won’t amount to much. Maybe not trauma, but certainly not nothing.

      • Conuly
        Conuly
        August 31, 2018 at 12:31 am | #

        Given Joe’s incredibly helpful advice to Joyce on dealing with an emotionally unsafe situation, I don’t think his childhood was that good. He’s 18 years old, and not particularly studious. This isn’t information 18 year olds normally have on tap unless they needed to figure it out in order to survive.

        • DailyBrad
          DailyBrad
          August 31, 2018 at 12:44 am | #

          Yeah, Joe definitely had some serious issues stemming from his dad’s infidelity and his parents’ divorce.

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        August 31, 2018 at 3:20 am | #

        I used to work as a volunteer in the local PCYC. I knew a kid there who slept on a mattress in the ceiling cavity because his father couldn’t get up there when drunk. I like not to trivialise that by using “abused” too freely.

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      August 31, 2018 at 12:46 am | #

      All happy kids are alike; each unhappy kid is unhappy in their own narrative-enhancing way.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      August 31, 2018 at 1:55 am | #

      Dorothy had a… studious childhood. Studious is happy, right.

    • Chris Phoenix
      Chris Phoenix
      August 31, 2018 at 6:12 am | #

      Carla probably had a pretty good childhood. Her parents are very supportive of her, and are wealthy.

  14. Axel
    Axel
    August 31, 2018 at 12:07 am | #

    I’m so ready.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      August 31, 2018 at 1:29 am | #

      I’M NOT

      • Clif
        Clif
        August 31, 2018 at 3:43 am | #

        Yeah. Curious but definitely not ready here.

  15. Kernanator
    Kernanator
    August 31, 2018 at 12:07 am | #

    Just coming straight out of the gate swinging, huh.

  16. Sporky
    Sporky
    August 31, 2018 at 12:08 am | #

    Ohhhh shiiiiiit. That’s a hell of a way to start Book 9.

  17. Kris
    Kris
    August 31, 2018 at 12:10 am | #

    Eh, I’m sure it’s fine. Not at all related to Marcie’s muteness.

  18. Cheshrin
    Cheshrin
    August 31, 2018 at 12:12 am | #

    THIS IS FINE

  19. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    August 31, 2018 at 12:13 am | #

    I had a theory at one point saying that Sal tried to rob a store to pay for Marcies medical bills and now that’s looking more likely. But now I’m even more curious as to how it was because of Sal that this happened, was it do to her being in a accident she caused or is it just survivors guilt. Regardless though, a lot of the tragedy that unfold because of this could have been avoided if we had Medicare for all for fucks sakes

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      August 31, 2018 at 12:25 am | #

      That’s a good question – is this ACTUALLY her fault, or is this survivor’s guilt?

      • CJ
        CJ
        August 31, 2018 at 2:05 am | #

        Given that this shitstain bully we saw in earlier flashbacks saw he could hurt Marcie without repercussions there is also the option that someone went for Marcie to hurt Sal.
        Or that Sal had the idea to some game which ended up with Marcie being hurt though it wasn’t something she caused, but feels responsible because it was her idea.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          August 31, 2018 at 2:17 am | #

          I’ve been pondering the possibility Marcie got hurt skating lately and that’s why Sal doesn’t like to skate anymore, because she blames herself (meanwhile, Marcie does NOT blame Sal and so does things like try to get her to join roller derby).

      • Emily
        Emily
        August 31, 2018 at 5:26 am | #

        Considering how quick Marcie was to assign blame for something that was only sorta Sal’s fault I kinda find it hard to believe she’d let it go if Sal actually was responsible for her suffering a crippling injury.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          August 31, 2018 at 12:20 pm | #

          That’s a good point.

    • Koms
      Koms
      August 31, 2018 at 12:27 am | #

      Oh I never thought of it that way. Also it seems Marcie may have gotten injured trying to protect Sal from someone? That’s why she’s feeling guilty? Either way, what a whiplash.

  20. tim gueguen
    tim gueguen
    August 31, 2018 at 12:14 am | #

    Yes, Sal, you shouldn’t have been playing with that Stark International MKIII Positronic Cannon.

    • abysswatcher1993
      abysswatcher1993
      August 31, 2018 at 12:25 am | #

      That is safer than anything created by Reed Richards.

      • Clif
        Clif
        August 31, 2018 at 4:46 am | #

        Point.

  21. Ivy
    Ivy
    August 31, 2018 at 12:17 am | #

    Holy shit, did Amber stab Marcy in the throat?

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      August 31, 2018 at 12:18 am | #

      If this was a joke, then for the record, I laughed.

      But just in case it was serious, I’m guessing no.

      • Clif
        Clif
        August 31, 2018 at 3:57 am | #

        Let’s agree to blame an out of control auto correct with identity issues

    • Inahc
      Inahc
      August 31, 2018 at 12:18 am | #

      what.

    • HeySo
      HeySo
      August 31, 2018 at 12:33 am | #

      “My fault, Marcie. My fault that I hold up a liquor store in a year, causing a girl to stab my hand during a temporal flux event, causing a feedback wave that redirects the injury back in time to hit your throat. In the future, I will be forever damned to wear gloves at all times so that you can never find out the truth, that your throat was injured in place of my hand.”

      Yeah, uhm. That seems like a completely plausible scenario you’ve got going on there..?

      • HeySo
        HeySo
        August 31, 2018 at 12:33 am | #

        ..in fairness, that’d be pretty par for the course for Shortpacked. 😛

  22. Terry
    Terry
    August 31, 2018 at 12:22 am | #

    There seems to be an art typo here. a drawpo? Sal had frizzy hair back then, not straight.

    • Pablo360
      Pablo360
      August 31, 2018 at 12:25 am | #

      Right, because we clearly know exactly what point on the timeline this is. That is obviously information we have access to.

      Either that, or Sal’s hair is an indication that this is NOT happening at exactly the same time as other Sal flashbacks.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        August 31, 2018 at 8:23 am | #

        Given the suddenness of her previous reversion to more natural, it’s quite possible her robbery hair was the result of shock or stress.

    • Conuly
      Conuly
      August 31, 2018 at 12:30 am | #

      I’m guessing that this is BEFORE she went rebel chick on her parents, back when she was still trying to look the way they wanted. That means straighteners.

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        August 31, 2018 at 3:30 am | #

        Does it? I thought she got it curled to please her mother, and prefers it straight herself.

        • George
          George
          August 31, 2018 at 3:56 am | #

          Nah, she frizzed up from shock at her grades, and just didn’t have time to straighten it back out.

        • Zee
          Zee
          August 31, 2018 at 8:32 am | #

          Linda’s racist, doesnt like sals kinky hair

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            August 31, 2018 at 10:44 am | #

            I don’t think Linda commented on the hair. That was Charles.
            Linda just completely ignored Sal.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              August 31, 2018 at 2:15 pm | #

              Yep, Charles is the one who insulted Sal’s hair. I mean, Linda’s pretty shitty too (still mad at how she referred to Marcie) but that one was on Sal’s dad, not her mom.

              • Zee
                Zee
                August 31, 2018 at 3:19 pm | #

                I really wouldn’t put it past her though

                • BBCC
                  BBCC
                  August 31, 2018 at 3:42 pm | #

                  Me neither.

    • Kernanator
      Kernanator
      August 31, 2018 at 12:33 am | #

      Yes, clearly you are only allowed to have one hairstyle for your entire childhood. No one ever changes their hairstyle more than once a year.

      • Cattleprod
        Cattleprod
        August 31, 2018 at 12:56 am | #

        That’s not what CinemaSins told me.

        (No idea if they’ve ever claimed that, but I’d 100% believe you if you said they had)

        • Kernanator
          Kernanator
          August 31, 2018 at 1:03 pm | #

          There’s a Rich Burlew quote I want to send to every person who automatically assumes that anything that confuses them is a sign the author made a mistake: “Rather than making assumptions that don’t fit with the text and then complaining about the text being wrong, why not just choose different assumptions that DO fit with the text? “

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            August 31, 2018 at 3:39 pm | #

            On the other hand, authors do sometimes make mistakes and running down blind alleys trying to reconcile them isn’t always profitable.

            I’m still wondering if Sal not being tagged in Amber’s most recent flashback panel is significant.

            • Kernanator
              Kernanator
              August 31, 2018 at 6:27 pm | #

              You are missing the point. I’m not saying that authors are infallible. I am saying that for some reason, when a reader encounters something in a work that they don’t understand, 99% of the time they immediately jump to the conclusion that the author fucked up rather than consider the possibility that they are the one who is making the mistake.

              • Conuly
                Conuly
                September 1, 2018 at 12:12 am | #

                Nah, you’re only seeing the people who bother to comment about it.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      August 31, 2018 at 1:57 am | #

      Drawpo? You, you mean like a drawing typo.

      Hmmm. Don’t like it.

      Maybe line-mistake? Picture error? Image mishap?

      Oooh! An artfart!

  23. lilyliv
    lilyliv
    August 31, 2018 at 12:23 am | #

    Predicted summary for this flashback: baby Sal and baby Marcie need lots of hugs.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      August 31, 2018 at 12:25 am | #

      I’ll start putting together the hug bomb.

      • Pablo360
        Pablo360
        August 31, 2018 at 6:29 pm | #

        The hug pile must never stop from getting taller.

  24. Pablo360
    Pablo360
    August 31, 2018 at 12:23 am | #

    I never realized how much I liked it when I didn’t know things.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      August 31, 2018 at 12:25 am | #

      Not knowing things was fine. Let’s go back to not knowing things.

  25. Bagge
    Bagge
    August 31, 2018 at 12:24 am | #

    Ah, finally the chapter where we dig into Amber’s traumatic childhood is over. Now lets… dig into Marcie’s and Sal’s traumatic childhood.

    …OK

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      August 31, 2018 at 12:24 am | #

      🙁

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      August 31, 2018 at 1:59 am | #

      I’m pretty sure this digging into Marcie’s and Sal’s traumatic childhood is going to intersect with Amber’s traumatic childhood.

    • JBento
      JBento
      August 31, 2018 at 7:50 am | #

      It’s the Damn You Oprah Willis show! You get a traumatic childhood! And you get a traumatic childhood! And YOU get a traumatic childhood! EVERYBODY GETS A TRAUMATIC CHILDHOOD!

      But at least in this version no-one (hopefully) is getting treated by hacks like Phil and Oz and Deepak Chopra.

    • Emperor Norton II
      Emperor Norton II
      August 31, 2018 at 1:54 pm | #

      Let’s not forget that last chapter also came with a side dish of showing a little bit of Ethan’s shitty child/early teenage years.

      And this chapter may well include showing some flashbacks of Danny’s parents being shitty to him.

      And next chapter, we’ll get to see Joe’s and Sarah’s worst childhood moments.

      So much to look forward to, right?

  26. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    August 31, 2018 at 12:24 am | #

    This is no time for a trip to Juggalo Island! Marcie needs help!

  27. Bathymetheus
    Bathymetheus
    August 31, 2018 at 12:24 am | #

    Looks like blood at the base of Sal’s neck. Which suggests she was in front of and facing Marcie – and quite close – when whatever it was happened.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      August 31, 2018 at 12:27 am | #

      I think that’s the shadow of her collarbone.

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      August 31, 2018 at 12:28 am | #

      I think that might just be how Willis draws clavicle

      • Bathymetheus
        Bathymetheus
        August 31, 2018 at 12:31 am | #

        That’s not how he draws adult clavicles. I have no idea whether children’s anatomy is different in that respect.

        • Yumi
          Yumi
          August 31, 2018 at 12:33 am | #

          Look at Walky here:
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/04-of-mike-and-men/wrongly/

          Doesn’t look that different.

          • Bathymetheus
            Bathymetheus
            August 31, 2018 at 12:42 am | #

            I see what you mean in panels 5 and 6, but 1 and 3 are more what I consider typical.

            I guess we’ll have to see if any reference is made to it later (where silence means it’s not blood).

            • Clif
              Clif
              August 31, 2018 at 4:52 am | #

              I now believe that Walky had blood on his clavical from the first kiss.

    • Bathymetheus
      Bathymetheus
      August 31, 2018 at 12:28 am | #

      Or I guess that might have got on her while she was trying to help. So actually not much of a clue.

    • Regalli
      Regalli
      August 31, 2018 at 1:34 am | #

      I was gonna say probably clavicle until I realized Marcie’s tagged in this strip, does not appear to be on-panel, and that blood was used to tag a character once already.

      I really don’t WANT this to be right, and her tagging to be either an oddity (like Sal being untagged in the last red flashback) or her in the ambulance, but. Yeah I’m worried right now.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        August 31, 2018 at 8:25 am | #

        Actually, purely by coincidence, the ambulance driver is also named Marcie. 🙂

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      August 31, 2018 at 2:13 am | #

      98% sure it’s not blood. Ambulance driver clearly states “her friend’s coming in with a throat injury”, but I don’t think Willis has ever drawn Marcie with any kind of scar on or near her neck. Secondly, if there had been blood enough to get on Sal’s neck, you would think there would be bloodstains on her shirt too.

  28. kitty
    kitty
    August 31, 2018 at 12:31 am | #

    ? how can they see sal in order to assume she related the the driver ?

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      August 31, 2018 at 12:32 am | #

      …he’s saying she’s not…Marcie’s…family…

    • Bathymetheus
      Bathymetheus
      August 31, 2018 at 12:33 am | #

      Family of the patient only allowed to ride in the ambulance.

    • HeySo
      HeySo
      August 31, 2018 at 12:36 am | #

      In circumstances where you see questions like that pop up, you should always assume there’s some kind of company/legislative/etc policy involved. In other words, they’re checkboxing data, not making assumptions about the specific individuals.

    • kitty
      kitty
      August 31, 2018 at 12:47 am | #

      i understand now also i have made an ignorant assumption and im sorry

      • Portland
        Portland
        August 31, 2018 at 12:17 pm | #

        I made the same assumption at first. I was super confused!

      • HeySo
        HeySo
        September 1, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

        Your last comment, in which you seem to be assuming criticism, definitely seems to fall under that expectation of yours, sure. 😛

  29. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    August 31, 2018 at 12:39 am | #

    Poor Sal.

  30. butts
    butts
    August 31, 2018 at 12:43 am | #

    WUH OH

  31. space
    space
    August 31, 2018 at 12:48 am | #

    Dear Willis,

    http://www.itswalky.com/comic/marcie/

    I have been waiting.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      August 31, 2018 at 9:10 pm | #

      Damn, only off by six days! That was pretty good.

  32. Varius
    Varius
    August 31, 2018 at 1:00 am | #

    Somehow, hairstraightening was involved in damaging Marcie’s throat.

    • Zee
      Zee
      August 31, 2018 at 8:35 am | #

      She dared Marcie to eat relaxer, didnt think shed actually do it

  33. Farmer_10
    Farmer_10
    August 31, 2018 at 1:41 am | #

    And we’re already off to a fun start

  34. Keulen
    Keulen
    August 31, 2018 at 1:47 am | #

    Oh shit. So now we’re gonna see how Marcie became mute, huh?

    • Delicious Taffy
      Delicious Taffy
      August 31, 2018 at 5:36 am | #

      Sal suggested they summon Adam Sandler, Marcie went along with it reluctantly. The ritual worked, and he showed up with his Click remote, hit the mute button, and then vanished into the aether.

      Or maybe something less stupid happened. We’ll probably never know.

  35. Delicious Taffy
    Delicious Taffy
    August 31, 2018 at 1:47 am | #

    Jeez, these kids are really committed to becoming professional football players. They’re taking the faked injuries thing a little too far, though. A gentle brush should only lead to them rolling across the field like a tumbleweed, not a needless hospital visit followed by several years of never speaking.

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      August 31, 2018 at 1:58 am | #

      Seriously? You post something like this??

      • Clif
        Clif
        August 31, 2018 at 3:51 am | #

        Meh. Seen much worse. Probably have posted much worse.

      • Delicious Taffy
        Delicious Taffy
        August 31, 2018 at 5:06 am | #

        The gag is that I’m undermining the characters’ tragic backstory, which drives a lot of their present-day interactions, by making it about something completely asinine.

        It’s probably not that funny, and that’s fine, but let’s not go overboard.

        • dethtolldotmid
          dethtolldotmid
          August 31, 2018 at 5:55 am | #

          It’s definitely not that funny.

          • Delicious Taffy
            Delicious Taffy
            August 31, 2018 at 6:21 am | #

            I was gonna make a Raidah joke at first, but then I remembered this is a flashback, so it wouldn’t have made any sense.

          • Zee
            Zee
            August 31, 2018 at 8:37 am | #

            it’s a joke about fictional characters, chill. If they were real kids then it would be fucked up

  36. Fire_daws
    Fire_daws
    August 31, 2018 at 1:53 am | #

    I’m around 95% sure that we’re not going to be told what went on, we’re going to see the aftermath not the cause.

    • Clif
      Clif
      August 31, 2018 at 3:54 am | #

      Maybe, but Willis usually gets around to a payoff. Sometimes much later, but still.

  37. Mr D
    Mr D
    August 31, 2018 at 1:57 am | #

    I asked this once before and I ask it again: How do you injure your throat in such a way that you damage your vocal chords but dont’ drown in your own blood???

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      August 31, 2018 at 2:05 am | #

      Cinnamon challenge.

      • Delicious Taffy
        Delicious Taffy
        August 31, 2018 at 5:21 am | #

        (Gone Wrong)

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      August 31, 2018 at 2:27 am | #

      Blind luck; weird stuff happens.

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      August 31, 2018 at 5:50 am | #

      She will obviously get blood in her lungs, but unless Sal waited a lot longer to get help than we can probably assume she did, it’s not likely to get near the point of drowning, unless whatever caused the damage came in through the carotid (in which case, she has other problems).

    • ischemgeek
      ischemgeek
      August 31, 2018 at 6:35 am | #

      Blunt force trauma can do it.

    • Agemegos
      Agemegos
      August 31, 2018 at 5:20 pm | #

      I reckon that a puncture from the front ought to do it. There are no significant blood vessels anterior to the larynx, and the trachea is not richly supplied with blood.

      Besides, I’ve seen someone drown in her own blood. It takes a while. She was still alive when the ambulance got there.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      August 31, 2018 at 9:12 pm | #

      She has to be intubated on the way to the hospital, but the ambulance just so happens to hit a pothole at that very moment.

  38. BenRG
    BenRG
    August 31, 2018 at 2:01 am | #

    So it all comes out. There is a reason for Sal’s guilt.

  39. Joe Helfrich
    Joe Helfrich
    August 31, 2018 at 2:53 am | #

    Really should have seen that coming.

  40. Stoodmuffin
    Stoodmuffin
    August 31, 2018 at 3:07 am | #

    Sal’s Amber moment.

    Oh fuck. I don’t know if I’m ready.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      August 31, 2018 at 4:03 am | #

      “Sal’s Amber moment”

      This why I predict that they’ll end up as good as sisters (maybe even therapy-buddies and I post that without a hint of humour). They’ve both got innocent blood on their hands due to matters arguably only partially under their control and they’ve both responded to it in remarkably similar ways.

      • Sporky
        Sporky
        August 31, 2018 at 5:39 pm | #

        They have that classic superhero nemesis thing where they have very different principles but are also very similar people.

  41. Ainara
    Ainara
    August 31, 2018 at 3:47 am | #

    Oh nice, I’ve been looking forward to this

    • Delicious Taffy
      Delicious Taffy
      August 31, 2018 at 5:20 am | #

      No, this is a flashback, so it’s in the past. You can’t look forward to the past, that would be silly.

      • Clif
        Clif
        August 31, 2018 at 11:22 pm | #

        The content of the flashback is in the past, but the flashback itself is mostly in the future.

  42. burntnorris
    burntnorris
    August 31, 2018 at 3:52 am | #

    *Spits out drink* Evansville Ambulance???

    I realized it took place in Indiana but that’s too close to home.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      August 31, 2018 at 4:04 am | #

      Maybe you can check out if the Walkertons live anywhere near you?

  43. JBento
    JBento
    August 31, 2018 at 8:01 am | #

    My vote is this is Leland’s doing, and Sal blames herself because the little shit probably said something like “your firend isn’t here to protect her now” or some crap like that.

    • JessWitt
      JessWitt
      August 31, 2018 at 8:17 am | #

      Yeah this has that Leland brat’s name plastered all over it.

  44. Nenja
    Nenja
    August 31, 2018 at 8:34 am | #

    Oh, this is really interesting! I wonder what happened.

  45. Portland
    Portland
    August 31, 2018 at 12:23 pm | #

    One thing that kind of strikes me with this is how the ambulance driver says “I didn’t want to leave her there alone.” If Leland (or anyone else) was involved, it sounds like they skedaddled before Sal called for help. I wonder if Sal’s parents knew where they were and are going to wonder when she doesn’t come home, or if they’re that oblivious they won’t even notice until they get a call from the hospital.

    • JBento
      JBento
      August 31, 2018 at 1:10 pm | #

      As long as they know where Walky is, it’s all good for them.

  46. Cyfarfod
    Cyfarfod
    August 31, 2018 at 1:12 pm | #

    My prediction is someone was picking on Marcie for being an illegal, potentially due to her singing a vaguely ethnic song, and Sal stepped in to stick up for her but also escalated things, which were counter-escalated and got Marcie’s windpipe mangled. PROBABLY by relative accident, i.e. shoving her without realizing she’d then fall onto a fence throat-first or something like that.

  47. Geeky Warrior
    Geeky Warrior
    August 31, 2018 at 2:22 pm | #

    Anyone else think that Marcie is going to require therapy or medical care that her family can’t afford? Thus causing Sal to take matters into her own hands and try to rob convenience stores to get the money?

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      August 31, 2018 at 9:16 pm | #

      There’s probably a delay before it gets to that point. The robbery doesn’t happen for at least another year or two, and it sure looked like her first attempt.

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        August 31, 2018 at 11:53 pm | #

        We know Sal robbed two convenience stores before she was sent off, and somehow I doubt Sal would’ve had the ability to rob a second store after the whole hand-stabbing thing went down.

  48. Beef
    Beef
    August 31, 2018 at 5:31 pm | #

    makes me think you’re right. She was probably “lucky” that she didn’t have to risk her family’s safety by going to the hospital. Sal attacked Leland’s throat and he probably went and did the same thing to Marcie causing permanent damage

    • Beef
      Beef
      August 31, 2018 at 5:31 pm | #

      I knew I’d screw that up, go me!

      • ValdVin
        ValdVin
        August 31, 2018 at 6:15 pm | #

        Eh, no prob–you got the point across. And now I think you might be right.

  49. Andrusi
    Andrusi
    August 31, 2018 at 7:16 pm | #

    Good for you, ambulance guy.

  50. Needfuldoer
    Needfuldoer
    August 31, 2018 at 9:25 pm | #

    No Muzak today?

    *Cues the Emergency! theme song on the hacked Muzak*

    (It’s a good show! If you ever catch it, watch the ambulance montages carefully. They had footage of a Ford and a Chevy ambulance and just stitched them both together at random.)

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