There's ghosts at your heels and fairy tale worlds ahead. What do you do? Jump down the rabbit hole!
2 Slices
RJ Morel
After a case of mistaken identity, will awkward Daisuke find help from excitable Mamo, or will his love life be thrown completely off track?
Paint the Town Red
Windy, Winter Jay Kiakas
Winona runs a werewolf shelter with partner in crime, Odile in the Gothic city of Merlot. One day they take in an injured vampire, and soon unravels many of the dark secrets of Merlot.
Slightly Damned
Chu
Rhea Snaketail returns from the dead, befriending a Demon who falls in love with an Angel. The afterlife ain't what it used to be!
Mac Hall
Matt Boyd
The legendary early-aughts webcomic that inspired a wave of webcomic creators.
Guilded Age
T Campbell, John Waltrip, Florence Machina
Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
Blindsprings
Kadi Fedoruk
Tamaura, wrested into a world 300 years in the future, must find a way to save the magic fading from her country.
Beeserker
TJ Cordes
This comic is about a robot powered by bees, but it's also about the kind of people who think filling a robot with bees is a good idea, and why they're wrong.
Countdown to Countdown
Velinxi
Iris Black is a self-proclaimed inventor with the curious ability to bring his drawings to life, and yearns to find a space where he can use his powers freely.
Fantomestein
Beka Duke
Desperate for companionship, Frankenstein's Monster pretends to be the Opera Ghost. A grave mistake.
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
The Otherknown
Lorian Merriman
Chandra is a 12-year-old accidental time traveler with a reluctant new dad, who happens to be a member of a feared galactic crime syndicate.
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
BOOKMARK Click "Tag Page" to bookmark a page. When you return to the site, click "Goto Tag" to continue where you left off.
BUFFER WATCH
Comics are currently drawn and uploaded through:
It’s not praise so much as acknowledging that the strip has set the bar rather high for horrible characters. Not wanting to escalate things makes him one of the nicer antagonists in the strip.
He still hasn’t done anything antagonist-y yet. What’s present-day Asher done so far?
1) Got stalked by Walky and Amber
2) Admitted his guilt and tried to apologize
3) Got punched in the face
4) De-escalated the situation.
Like I said before, he may still turn out to be a douchebag later, but right now he’s basically in Sal’s category and ought to be given the benefit of the doubt. No one is the same person as an adult as they were at 13.
To be clear, I only meant it as historical antagonism; currently we know little about him, and absolute worst-case scenario, I hold less of a grudge against him than Leland (regardless of however Leland actually turned out).
Yeah, he’s obviously a racketeer hip deep in evil deeds, and his grandfather is the head of the mob that Blaine works for. Blaine is organising the Bad Browns to set Toedad free to kill Becky and Dina at Asher’s direction, and bankrolled by Asher, who thinks it’s going to be funny.
“bankrolled by Asher, who thinks it’s going to be funny.”
I’m going to be honest, with that as the motivation, I now definitely want him to be the overarching villain of the series. ..that said, we all already know the final boss is Galasso (or possibly a plot-twist Faz, a guy in a cheese mascot outfit, or a guy in a Soggies outfit), so it’s a moot point.
Well, Sayid’ll save the day in the end [with some credit somehow uncertainly going to Mike], so it’ll be okay regardless.
Asher doesn’t say anything about going to the authorities or reporting Walky or anything like that.
The non-bluffing part of the threat is beating Walky up, not pressing charges. (Of course, Asher doesn’t know that Amber would clean his clock if he tried to hurt Walky, but Walky doesn’t want to rely on that either.)
My guess is Asher does feel guilty. He lets Walky’s punch slide as he understands that impulsive reaction. But he is unwilling to take any more shit than this for something that happened in the past. As far as he’s concerned, he’s cleaned up his act and refuses to let the past haunt him. He’s over it. This is his mental state.
I hope this little blast from the past makes him reflect on that guilt a little, realize the matter isn’t really settled after all, and that he should try to make peace with Sal the way she did with Amber.
But keep in mind that he’s familiar with Sal, and so:
1) Presuming Sal isn’t aware that he sold her up the river, which is something that we don’t know whether or not is true yet, then apologizing to her for that is really more about assuaging his own guilt than it is giving her any closure. If she knows, or he at least thinks it’s more likely she knows than doesn’t, it makes sense for him to apologize for her sake. But he could just as easily rationalize that if she doesn’t know, not knowing means he doesn’t have to hurt her again by letting her know. I am not saying this is a moral or immoral rationalization one way or the other, but I’m saying that from his perspective he could easily convince himself of that.
2) Since he and Sal were friends, and (literal!) partners in crime, he presumably knows damn well what she’s actually capable of. He also has no reason to know that she’s suddenly turned over the new, extremely recent non-violent leaf which she has. So, trying to interact with her in any way, given that he may be on the same character arc of putting his worse impulses in the past, inevitably leads to the very real possibility that she reacts as badly or worse than Walky did, except Sal is a genuine threat to Asher on multiple levels. First, we don’t know the statute of limitations on the things that he’s done, and Sal may be aware of things he’s done that he otherwise didn’t even have a chance of ever facing justice for. Second, getting into a fight with Sal would be one more way to backslide into a life where he’s getting into trouble and derailing his future life and potential. Third, and I fucking stress this,he has literally no reason to believe that Sal isn’t a legitimate danger to his health or literally his life. Last time he saw her, she was turning over a corner store and took a freaking hostage at knife-point. It was his fault that that happened; he was into bad shit even worse than Sal was; but, that’s more reason for him to know damn well what the consequences might be for his actions, even if he actually does mean well and genuinely feels guilty.
It’d be awfully cathartic for Asher to go bare his soul to Sal, both for him, the audience, and maybe Sal, herself. But in terms of Asher acting the way a rational fucking human being acts, especially considering his background, of course the most sensible and desirable thing for him to do would be to never see Sal again and leave well enough alone.
Yep. He might know about Sal’s motive (money for Marcie). He wasn’t there for the rest (clerk giving her an out, hostage-taking, hand stabbing, reform school…).
He likely still knows about it though, even if he didn’t see it personally.
OTOH, I’m not sure he should realize how much of a badass Sal is now, just based on what he knew at 13.
And if he’s really thinking of Sal as a serious threat if she finds out he called the cops on her, maybe he shouldn’t have told Walky that in the first place.
Hm, but your first point doesn’t really hold water considering he just told Walky to tell Sal about it, sort of. I mean he told Walky to tell Sal he’s sorry, he just doesn’t wanna do that face to face?
So my guess here (since yesterday or so) is that Asher has gone through anger management therapy or something like that. I don’t think he’s aying “walk away” so much as a threat, but as a way to give Walky advice that he himself has received on how to handle an angry situation.
A lot of other clues seem to point in that direction to me as well. His talking about how he’s turned over a new leaf, his rapid and complete confession, that sort of thing.
Actually I can see that. He did even handle the previous moments very clinically. I previously read it as distant or brash due to lack of care over it after so long and it working out somewhat okay but it could also be he is used to analyzing things like this very clinically from treatment of some sort
That’s probably true. He may have still faced some consequences from the first robbery. At the very least, the behaviors that led to him robbing a store and/or selling out Sal must have affected other aspects of his life. Anger management and/or therapy wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
While the exact nature of his regrets is an open question, Willis drew Asher the way he did in panel 4 for a reason we are not currently privy to. Willis wanted his readership to see a reaction on Asher’s face that was not for Walky or Amber’s benefit for a reason.
You don’t know how much I love you
But I love you like the sun
I’d like to put my arms around you
And we could run run run Runaway
Let’s run run run Runaway–Starship, circa 1978
The answer, of course, is that the one with the mask ALWAYS gets to be on top, like the Batman/Superman slash fiction that so engrossed Joyce. (When both parties are wearing masks, like Batman & Robin, it’s the one with the biggest mask, obviously. I’m not sure about menages au trois and up tho.)
I actually disagree. I think this relationship could be very good for both of them actually. It would give Amber an outlet to talknthroigh her issues insteadcof relying solely on amazigirl and Walky has already given her pretty solid advice about getting help and would be a reminder of someone caring about her other than Ethan and Danny someone who gets her better and he has already helped her work through somr things with sal sort of So did Ruth.
She can help Walky Mature annd become less self centered and is already sort of pushing him to work harder but shes noy as driven as Dorothy is.
We are talking about that woman who is about to make out with her ex because said ex just punched someone right? That’s messed up, even without all that stuff that makes this situation extra complicated for walky.
Threatening violence is generally the sane option when someone punches you for something that happened years ago and expresses an intent to continue punching you.
I would call it “natural,” but I wouldn’t call it “the sane option.” If you’re really in the right and your opponent is, as is Walky, literally on the verge of tears, a diplomatic tone and an appeal to let it go before you make a scene is definitely a lot more sane than a menacing glare and a clear threat of serious harm if they don’t drop it.
Asher’s words/actions here would be, if anything, a clear provocation for someone with any real intent to fight.
That’s predicated on knowing the person you are dealing with is rational which is a heavy assumption when you’re first conversation in years involves them assualting you.
Is it even a threat? I mean, dude just got punched in the face, there’s only so much assault he can reasonably ignore before either hitting back or reporting them. Telling them to just walk away is basically the best advice he could give here.
Yeah, actually, it’s arguably a pretty clear “I will defend myself if you hit me again” statement. Not the best for deescalation, but Asher’s not Walky’s therapist.
This. What the hell else do the rest of you do when some guy just hit you in the face? Bake him cookies? Not immediately fighting the person who just hit you is the right thing to do, but the inevitable next step is to indicate to them that they should not continue hitting you. That isn’t even macho bullshit, that’s the sensible reaction for a person in a civilized society.
That’s even more laid back than what 70% of all people would probably do when hit in the face by an almost-stranger. Most would hit back. And it would be self defence.
That, strictly speaking, isn’t necessarily true. Depending on the laws of your jurisdiction, unless there are really strong Stand Your Ground laws, if you hit somebody when they are not actively posing a threat to you then you are not covered by self-defence under the law. For something to be considered self-defence, the onus would generally be on your legal representation to prove that you had reasonable grounds to presume that you were in physical danger.
So, if Asher were to immediately hit back as soon as Walky hit him, or while he would have been in the process of hitting him, he would be in the clear on self-defence as long as he also did not excessively retaliate beyond the point where Walky considerably posed a threat. So basically, Asher could presumably drop Walky in one hit, given that Walky is an actual cupcake, and he might still be on the hook if you couldn’t convince a jury that Asher actually believed Walky was a legitimate threat to his well-being. If he went any further, he’s done for.
What Asher does here is 100% the right thing, both ethically, but also legally. As soon as Walky is done hitting him the first time, and not pressing the attack, it’s really hard for Asher to claim self-defence. Retaliation, strictly speaking, is not defensive. Especially when you consider that, in a court of law, Asher comes off looking a lot worse than Walky, even more so considering that the Walkertons would likely spring to actually get Walky decent representation, which they presumably never did for Sal.
But tl;dr self-defence isn’t as easy to rely on as most people think, and you’ve gotta be really careful, especially if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t look like they’d be in danger in a fight, whether that’s actually fair or not.
-Still don’t trust Asher, but I want to see more of him anyway. That is some quality character writing.
-So if this is what Amber considers foreplay, I wonder if there’s more efficient way to start it. Say, there’s some kind of sketchy crash test dummy that Walky/Other Love Interest can punch in the face whenever Amber wants to get in the moond.
I do not trust Asher, but panel 4 is an intriguing expression. I have to wonder.
I also am curious if Walky will pass the message on, or if Asher will seek Sal out. I don’t know what the hell to make of this guy yet, he’s been a roller coaster so far.
I am glad things are (relatively speaking) going better than they could have gone, but yeah, what next for Walky, Asher, and Sal? Or Amber, for that matter, given she has roller derby with Sal, and may spill the beans if Walky can’t.
Walky’s also got more ammo to confront his mom and dad, something that’s been built towards for a while now given the hair saga and the care package BS.
I’m kinda hoping there’s a meeting between Sal and Asher now, maybe get the air cleared about it. Not have them be FRIENDS again, or anything, but just sort of help lay the past to rest, you know?
Also I mean, story wise it would be interesting no matter how it goes down, and we’re all horny for that here lol
I’m not really sure what more Sal backstory there is to learn here. We might learn what Asher was up to, but it sounds like Sal didn’t know any of that, so it’s not likely to show much of her.
We haven’t seen her flashing back to the fallout of the robbery. I’m waiting on that. Even though I’m fairly sure Linda and Charles will make me see red.
I’m hoping that expression means that although he was working towards better Asher either didn’t realize how much towards better he already came or needs to keep progressing towards when he sees the impact his past self had. It could be it’s all sinking in now.
I really like how nuanced asher is in like, six panels. I like the dude. Self aware to know he did something regrettable, and took a punch that he felt was deserved, and then finally diffused the situation in a way walky- previously non-violent- would walk away from. Love it.
Now. I’m not calling Asher a good guy, not by any means. But from what I can tell he seems to really be trying to turn his shit around. He knows he messed up and he took a well deserved punch without retaliating at all. Props to him.
He apologized for ratting Sal out but said the blame what happened to her was on their mother.
People are viewing that in a bad light but to me the says that he’s sorry that he did narked on her in the first place and not because she got punished for it. Which is…well I don’t know what to make of that.
“I was a fucking idiot kid and I really regret it. But your parents are a couple of twisted, abusive, racist pigs, and they’re adults who should absolutely know better, and you didn’t even question it for years because they were good to you, specifically, and it seems like that’s what you’re really mad about, so that’s absolutely not on me.”
I don’t think there is anything strange on button the blame on the parents. They are to blame. It was their decision, not Asher’s. I mean, sure, they took that decision as a consequence of Asher’s actions, but it is not a predictable, inevitable decision that would naturally arise out of the situation. It is, in fact, a very unusual decision, parents aren’t expected to just send their child away when they misbehave.
If Sal had been in jail or killed then, yeah, I can see how this would be his fault. these are “natural” consequences of have the cops called on you, specially if you are black. But that is not what happened.
Not to mention that Asher was 13 himself, he was also a kid with no notion of what he was doing. Not that different from Sal robbing a store and taking someone hostage. But her parents weren’t 13, they knew what they were doing and what they did was really shitty.
Ok so since my comment yesterday using my new email never went through, here i am still using my old email. (Thanks David Willis. I would really appreciate it if you would approve of my new email.) Also I have changed my commenting name. I used to be ‘pl0x’. This is part of my social transition as non-binary person. Thanks for reading my PSA.
Anyway wow this Asher guy. I would not get along with him. He’s like Sal but even more of a lone wolf. The confidence is too much. Also that apology was not a good one. He made his actions seem trivial, resulting in Walky’s anger. The punch was deserved.
Most people really underestimate how much it hurts hitting someone with a solid punch, especially if it isn’t something you’re spent a lot of time and effort practicing. Hands are actually not meant for hitting stuff, they’re meant for holding the tools we use to hit stuff even better.
Walky just learned that justice is a big turn on on women, and gay men too. I mean, there’s Joker (the Persona guy, not the evil clown), Naofumi, Emiya Shirou, Batman… ok, Batman shouldn’t be emulated. He doesn’t want to talk about his failed wedding.
The day before the wedding she walked out because Bane (via her friend Holly) planted the idea in her head that he can’t be happy and be Batman at the same time.
I know this is waaaaaaaay too much to ask for, given that Walky is Walky even on his best day, but I kind of hope Walky is too amped up about Asher and Sal to easily fall into a make-out session with Amber. I’d rather have Walky rambling to himself and trying to sort out what the hell just happened and what it means for his relationship with Sal and his parents and if they should really be sucking face right now even though he really wants too, oh god it’s all messed up, while Amber tries to engage in a make out session, then have Walky and Amber fall back into their Garbage Roof mentality. I’m not absolutely against Amber/Walky, but that decision by Walky to put Sal first and focus on other things, even with some pining for Amber, was some good growth for Walky. And I don’t want Amber’s self-destructive vengeance horniness to be so easily enabled.
Like I said, I know that’s way too much to ask. I’m not expecting it. But I kind of wish.
I like that David makes a point of showing that people who are not used to punching actually hurt themselves nearly as much as their target with an impulsive attack. (key examples: Joyce and now Walky).
I have multiple takes on essentially the same formula of joke here, every one is at least a bit distasteful so…
*reads alt-text* What? Amber is going to knock Walky out so she can masturbate while staring at him?
*reads alt-text* What? Get the robot in Walky? Amber may be surprisingly receptive to that if the robot is Starscream.
*reads alt-text* What? Walky is going to choose to “become one” with all humanity?
*reads alt-text* So they’re off to drink orange Tang?
*reads alt-text* So Walky is being used by his mom in a stupidly complex plan that makes less sense the closer you consider it…? Damn that reminds me I need to go read IW! Here’s a reward for everyone who read all those.
True dat. There’s a reason why bare-knuckle boxers and other contact strikers do NOT like punching the head. The skull is a VERY hard object, and you’re just as likely to injure or break your own knuckles hitting it.
If Asher is actually regretful, as implied by that last panel of him, why did he just drop this bomb on them like it was no big deal? Why is he telling them this at all?
The person he really owes an apology to is Sal but instead of seeking her out to apologize or keeping it to himself, he dumps it on Walky and says to pass it along. The whole thing strikes me as both cowardly and entirely about making himself feel better.
Also, he doesn’t strike me as the sort of guy who has a lot of the requisite skills and necessary language for adequately apologizing for his own massive fuck-ups. There is certainly a more tactful way to express “I’m genuinely sorry I egregiously fucked up the life of the person dearest to you,” but there is no entirely tactful way. That’s a big fucking thing that you generally don’t expect people to forgive you for, especially when you get blindsided by someone related to that colossal fuck-up randomly stalking you at your school.
That might also be a possibility. He certainly would never have known Walky to be the type of person who…y’know…takes any kind of risks or initiative to do anything without being literally forced.
Because it’s long ago in the past that all the emotional value for him is long gone (I’ve no doubt that he spent quite a while regretting it quite badly – it might have even been the cause of something of a Heel Face Turn for him). So, it didn’t automatically occur to him that it would be quite an emotional blow for Walky.
Well, it makes sense to apologize to/through Walky, since Walky sought him out. He hasn’t seen Sal in 5 years, likely has no idea where she is or how to get in touch with her other than through her parents which would be a horrible idea.
But his attitude towards the whole thing does seem very casual, like it’s no big deal. “Sorry for the prank I pulled when we were kids.” And then deflecting the serious consequences off onto her parents – which is fair, but still.
To me the biggest thing is he does not know if Sal would want to see him again. Seeking her out to apologize in person if he thinks she chose to send her brother instead of confronting him herself would be ignoring her implied wishes about how to handle this and more about him than her.
To me, the lasting consequence of this encounter will be the realisation that she isn’t a unique monster. She is as much a victim of circumstance and human malice as any other person. Most importantly, she isn’t the only person out there whose response to emotional turmoil is violence directed at the source!
Oh, hey, I wasn’t paying attention to the clothes before. I like how Walky’s wearing a yellow stripe while snapping and punching someone (just never snap as hard as that you could, Walky)
The first 2 Shinjis in Wikipedia are footballers (soccer players); the 3rd is from Neon Genesis Evangelion . . . but if that’s the one, I still don’t get it.
Is Asher so cocky that he DIDNT think Walky was going to take a swing at him?
Given Asher’s reaction and feeble head-snap, Walky’s punch was not a very solid one. But still, what made him think that a five-finger sandwich wasn’t coming his way?
The fact that Walky is generally non-violent, spent most of his childhood adding to Sal’s torment and honestly did not seem very torn up about them being separated back near the beginning of the comic. Like he had honestly no reason to believe that Walky gave a single damn and especially not enough to throw a real punch.
Another possibility for last panel: seeing Walky showed him how much someone hasn’t changed and worked passed the past. He’s making progress now but the throw back of what if juxtaposed with the show that the actions had longer ranged consequences then he previously thought can show both how far he’s come and how far others couldn’t. Walky’s catching up now. If only he could do he same with maths (p.s. tell him Amber, before he realizes he can punch girls too).
My new name and email has now been approved by this website. And now for a genuine thanks. Thanks David Willis, I am glad you don’t think I’m an evil new commenter.
I was panicked that my 7-year-old might freak out during the face melting scene in Indiana Jones but she said "I guess he shouldn't have opened that" as seriously as possible and I've been crying laughing for 10 minutes
look i have a lot to say about this beetle bailey strip okay
anyway, nobody's hands reach their own crotches while their arms are fully extended, so plato only has to bend his elbows like 10 degrees to put his hands on his hips
not a lot to say about this mary worth other than i was curious how you make vegan lasagna and i looked it up and received psychic damage from three-to-four different revulsions/phobias
today in #9chickweedlane i learned that despite being ostensibly new yorkers, the characters in this strip sure like to talk about british royalty all the time
For April's second bonus strip, we see ROBIN in an unused strip that would've run April 16! But didn't! Read this bonus strip and hundreds of previous at the Dumbing of Age Patreon: patreon.com/dumbingofage
and remember you can always pledge up to read tomorrow's strip right the eff now
CBS on the cardinals: "One thing we know they're not doing is checking Instagram because their devices have all been confiscated. I believe the kids call it rawdogging."
if you want to know my secret to finishing 6 strips in two days, it's -- you know it -- autism and blaring NES Ducktales Moon Theme nonstop for 36 hours, but i repeat myself
WEEKLY WEDNESDAY @tfwiki.net PIC TWOFER!
It's nigh two minutes on two Generation Two toys that are too expensive, the unreleased Laser Cycles SOUNDWAVE and JAZZ! Man I hope we get a Legacy-molded Soundwave bike someday, but I ain't holding my breath.
youtube.com/shorts/v_S44...
Bill Corbett @billcorbett.bsky.social ⋅ 11h
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com ⋅ 3d
Loading ...
well, it worked for Hermione and Ron…?
Amber has her priorities straight.
You gotta what ? XD
Make out a little.
As you do.
Fist smashing leads to tongue lashing, everyone knows that, PFFFT!
Asher really has cleaned up his act. He was mad about being punched but he held it in, and even looks legit regretful
Eh, don’t go falling over yourself praising the guy yet. Maybe he just realized escalating the situation would only make things worse.
That’s an improvement.
It’s not praise so much as acknowledging that the strip has set the bar rather high for horrible characters. Not wanting to escalate things makes him one of the nicer antagonists in the strip.
He still hasn’t done anything antagonist-y yet. What’s present-day Asher done so far?
1) Got stalked by Walky and Amber
2) Admitted his guilt and tried to apologize
3) Got punched in the face
4) De-escalated the situation.
Like I said before, he may still turn out to be a douchebag later, but right now he’s basically in Sal’s category and ought to be given the benefit of the doubt. No one is the same person as an adult as they were at 13.
Thank you and co-sign.
To be clear, I only meant it as historical antagonism; currently we know little about him, and absolute worst-case scenario, I hold less of a grudge against him than Leland (regardless of however Leland actually turned out).
Yeah, he’s obviously a racketeer hip deep in evil deeds, and his grandfather is the head of the mob that Blaine works for. Blaine is organising the Bad Browns to set Toedad free to kill Becky and Dina at Asher’s direction, and bankrolled by Asher, who thinks it’s going to be funny.
“bankrolled by Asher, who thinks it’s going to be funny.”
I’m going to be honest, with that as the motivation, I now definitely want him to be the overarching villain of the series. ..that said, we all already know the final boss is Galasso (or possibly a plot-twist Faz, a guy in a cheese mascot outfit, or a guy in a Soggies outfit), so it’s a moot point.
Well, Sayid’ll save the day in the end [with some credit somehow uncertainly going to Mike], so it’ll be okay regardless.
He’s more or less bluffing. He has a record, Walky doesn’t. He knows who they’ll be more likely to believe if Walky says Asher started the fight.
Asher doesn’t say anything about going to the authorities or reporting Walky or anything like that.
The non-bluffing part of the threat is beating Walky up, not pressing charges. (Of course, Asher doesn’t know that Amber would clean his clock if he tried to hurt Walky, but Walky doesn’t want to rely on that either.)
Where is it even implied he has a record?
he *did* rob a store. Not confirmed he was arrested, but odds are higher of him having a record for something than Walky.
So… Asher is Sal’s male equivalent?
My guess is Asher does feel guilty. He lets Walky’s punch slide as he understands that impulsive reaction. But he is unwilling to take any more shit than this for something that happened in the past. As far as he’s concerned, he’s cleaned up his act and refuses to let the past haunt him. He’s over it. This is his mental state.
I hope this little blast from the past makes him reflect on that guilt a little, realize the matter isn’t really settled after all, and that he should try to make peace with Sal the way she did with Amber.
That way he can get punched by both of them.
But keep in mind that he’s familiar with Sal, and so:
1) Presuming Sal isn’t aware that he sold her up the river, which is something that we don’t know whether or not is true yet, then apologizing to her for that is really more about assuaging his own guilt than it is giving her any closure. If she knows, or he at least thinks it’s more likely she knows than doesn’t, it makes sense for him to apologize for her sake. But he could just as easily rationalize that if she doesn’t know, not knowing means he doesn’t have to hurt her again by letting her know. I am not saying this is a moral or immoral rationalization one way or the other, but I’m saying that from his perspective he could easily convince himself of that.
2) Since he and Sal were friends, and (literal!) partners in crime, he presumably knows damn well what she’s actually capable of. He also has no reason to know that she’s suddenly turned over the new, extremely recent non-violent leaf which she has. So, trying to interact with her in any way, given that he may be on the same character arc of putting his worse impulses in the past, inevitably leads to the very real possibility that she reacts as badly or worse than Walky did, except Sal is a genuine threat to Asher on multiple levels. First, we don’t know the statute of limitations on the things that he’s done, and Sal may be aware of things he’s done that he otherwise didn’t even have a chance of ever facing justice for. Second, getting into a fight with Sal would be one more way to backslide into a life where he’s getting into trouble and derailing his future life and potential. Third, and I fucking stress this, he has literally no reason to believe that Sal isn’t a legitimate danger to his health or literally his life. Last time he saw her, she was turning over a corner store and took a freaking hostage at knife-point. It was his fault that that happened; he was into bad shit even worse than Sal was; but, that’s more reason for him to know damn well what the consequences might be for his actions, even if he actually does mean well and genuinely feels guilty.
It’d be awfully cathartic for Asher to go bare his soul to Sal, both for him, the audience, and maybe Sal, herself. But in terms of Asher acting the way a rational fucking human being acts, especially considering his background, of course the most sensible and desirable thing for him to do would be to never see Sal again and leave well enough alone.
Asher called the police before Sal took a hostage, not the other way around.
Yep. He might know about Sal’s motive (money for Marcie). He wasn’t there for the rest (clerk giving her an out, hostage-taking, hand stabbing, reform school…).
He likely still knows about it though, even if he didn’t see it personally.
OTOH, I’m not sure he should realize how much of a badass Sal is now, just based on what he knew at 13.
And if he’s really thinking of Sal as a serious threat if she finds out he called the cops on her, maybe he shouldn’t have told Walky that in the first place.
he called the police without even knowing she was gonna rob the place.
Hm, but your first point doesn’t really hold water considering he just told Walky to tell Sal about it, sort of. I mean he told Walky to tell Sal he’s sorry, he just doesn’t wanna do that face to face?
This is good. Acknowledging regrets without letting them consume you and be an excuse to let others dump on you is a fine balance.
So my guess here (since yesterday or so) is that Asher has gone through anger management therapy or something like that. I don’t think he’s aying “walk away” so much as a threat, but as a way to give Walky advice that he himself has received on how to handle an angry situation.
A lot of other clues seem to point in that direction to me as well. His talking about how he’s turned over a new leaf, his rapid and complete confession, that sort of thing.
To be clear, I don’t have any idea what Asher is really like from this short scene, I just get the impression he’s reading off a mental sheet.
Actually I can see that. He did even handle the previous moments very clinically. I previously read it as distant or brash due to lack of care over it after so long and it working out somewhat okay but it could also be he is used to analyzing things like this very clinically from treatment of some sort
That’s probably true. He may have still faced some consequences from the first robbery. At the very least, the behaviors that led to him robbing a store and/or selling out Sal must have affected other aspects of his life. Anger management and/or therapy wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
I doubt he did for the first one, but I’m sure he did for other young-teen delinquency
While the exact nature of his regrets is an open question, Willis drew Asher the way he did in panel 4 for a reason we are not currently privy to. Willis wanted his readership to see a reaction on Asher’s face that was not for Walky or Amber’s benefit for a reason.
Chekhov’s
gunexpression.So the question is what trope is in use here: smoking is cool cigarette smoking villain?
I bet the second one.
Welp, someone called it dead on.
I~~~ did!
Well, technically I called banging, but “make out a little” sounds like foreplay to me.
I think she means “bang” but is only ready to admit that to herself in bite size pieces.
All told, that actually went pretty well.
No one got stabbed or arrested!
We really need to raise our standards…
And Walky and Amber get makeouts. And Walky can honestly say to himself that he was willing to take on a guy who could kick his ass for Sal’s Sake.
The making out was always going to happen.
I had some serious concerns for a while, but the past few strips alleved them.
I think Walky broke his wrist.
You don’t know how much I love you
But I love you like the sun
I’d like to put my arms around you
And we could run run run Runaway
Let’s run run run Runaway–Starship, circa 1978
Summer’s coming and it’s gettin’ warmer…
So, mask or no mask?
Walky threw the punch, he gets the mask this time.
Sounds fair to me. Does he get to be on top too?
The answer, of course, is that the one with the mask ALWAYS gets to be on top, like the Batman/Superman slash fiction that so engrossed Joyce. (When both parties are wearing masks, like Batman & Robin, it’s the one with the biggest mask, obviously. I’m not sure about menages au trois and up tho.)
I know this ship is really not good for either of them but god dammit i want them to make out so much
I actually disagree. I think this relationship could be very good for both of them actually. It would give Amber an outlet to talknthroigh her issues insteadcof relying solely on amazigirl and Walky has already given her pretty solid advice about getting help and would be a reminder of someone caring about her other than Ethan and Danny someone who gets her better and he has already helped her work through somr things with sal sort of So did Ruth.
She can help Walky Mature annd become less self centered and is already sort of pushing him to work harder but shes noy as driven as Dorothy is.
We are talking about that woman who is about to make out with her ex because said ex just punched someone right? That’s messed up, even without all that stuff that makes this situation extra complicated for walky.
Is it really that messed up? That punch was 100% justified, and really hot.
But IS Walky her ex? Were they in a relationship to begin with? My read was them getting into each other was interrupted before it really got going.
Pushing him to work harder? By changing his grades for him?
No by reminding him to be a better brother and to actually tale initiative to improve himself from garbage good
They’re gonna go do a naughty.
Your avatar is creepy.
Your avatar is creepy. >:C
And then, in the throes of passion, Amber screams, “Asher! Oh Asher!”
Or Walky does. Or both.
Legit lol’ed.
The middle frame makes Amber look like her brain is on fire.
Due to the trees, I can see that.
Next Slipshine: Walky Performs Another Sex (and this time involves adrenaline boners)
Walky Performs Another Sex: Or, How He And Amber Got Kicked Out of The Emergency Room At The Hospital
Not a big fan of Asher defusing the situation via transparent threat, but at least it didn’t get any worse… yet.
Threatening violence is generally the sane option when someone punches you for something that happened years ago and expresses an intent to continue punching you.
I would call it “natural,” but I wouldn’t call it “the sane option.” If you’re really in the right and your opponent is, as is Walky, literally on the verge of tears, a diplomatic tone and an appeal to let it go before you make a scene is definitely a lot more sane than a menacing glare and a clear threat of serious harm if they don’t drop it.
Asher’s words/actions here would be, if anything, a clear provocation for someone with any real intent to fight.
That’s predicated on knowing the person you are dealing with is rational which is a heavy assumption when you’re first conversation in years involves them assualting you.
Dammit, that should be ‘your’.
Is it even a threat? I mean, dude just got punched in the face, there’s only so much assault he can reasonably ignore before either hitting back or reporting them. Telling them to just walk away is basically the best advice he could give here.
Yeah, actually, it’s arguably a pretty clear “I will defend myself if you hit me again” statement. Not the best for deescalation, but Asher’s not Walky’s therapist.
This. What the hell else do the rest of you do when some guy just hit you in the face? Bake him cookies? Not immediately fighting the person who just hit you is the right thing to do, but the inevitable next step is to indicate to them that they should not continue hitting you. That isn’t even macho bullshit, that’s the sensible reaction for a person in a civilized society.
That’s even more laid back than what 70% of all people would probably do when hit in the face by an almost-stranger. Most would hit back. And it would be self defence.
“And it would be self defence.”
That, strictly speaking, isn’t necessarily true. Depending on the laws of your jurisdiction, unless there are really strong Stand Your Ground laws, if you hit somebody when they are not actively posing a threat to you then you are not covered by self-defence under the law. For something to be considered self-defence, the onus would generally be on your legal representation to prove that you had reasonable grounds to presume that you were in physical danger.
So, if Asher were to immediately hit back as soon as Walky hit him, or while he would have been in the process of hitting him, he would be in the clear on self-defence as long as he also did not excessively retaliate beyond the point where Walky considerably posed a threat. So basically, Asher could presumably drop Walky in one hit, given that Walky is an actual cupcake, and he might still be on the hook if you couldn’t convince a jury that Asher actually believed Walky was a legitimate threat to his well-being. If he went any further, he’s done for.
What Asher does here is 100% the right thing, both ethically, but also legally. As soon as Walky is done hitting him the first time, and not pressing the attack, it’s really hard for Asher to claim self-defence. Retaliation, strictly speaking, is not defensive. Especially when you consider that, in a court of law, Asher comes off looking a lot worse than Walky, even more so considering that the Walkertons would likely spring to actually get Walky decent representation, which they presumably never did for Sal.
But tl;dr self-defence isn’t as easy to rely on as most people think, and you’ve gotta be really careful, especially if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t look like they’d be in danger in a fight, whether that’s actually fair or not.
Indiana is a Stand Your Ground state.
We have analysed your defensive capabilities as being unable to withstand us. If you defend yourselves you will be punished.Thoughts:
-Still don’t trust Asher, but I want to see more of him anyway. That is some quality character writing.
-So if this is what Amber considers foreplay, I wonder if there’s more efficient way to start it. Say, there’s some kind of sketchy crash test dummy that Walky/Other Love Interest can punch in the face whenever Amber wants to get in the moond.
It has to be with the right person. Mike considered it foreplay when Amazigirl tackles him and that got wound the heck in quick.
That’s right, Walky, righteous fury! You’re a vigilante now! Or at least a sidekick, anyway!
1. Of course Amber is turned on by people being punched, because of course she is.
2. Your SO being turned on by you punching someone is what’s typically called a Red Flag.
3. Anyway, incoming Slipshine.
re 2: It is. It really, really is.
have you ever experienced a fight or flight response? they dont call it “the 3 Fs” for nothing.
Fight, Flight, and Fornication.
Amber: “Quick, Walky! To the Garbage Roof! (sotto voce: I hear there’s a new Loft Bed up there we can use)”
And yep, right on cue for Amber and turned on.
Oh, Walky, honey.
I do not trust Asher, but panel 4 is an intriguing expression. I have to wonder.
I also am curious if Walky will pass the message on, or if Asher will seek Sal out. I don’t know what the hell to make of this guy yet, he’s been a roller coaster so far.
I am glad things are (relatively speaking) going better than they could have gone, but yeah, what next for Walky, Asher, and Sal? Or Amber, for that matter, given she has roller derby with Sal, and may spill the beans if Walky can’t.
Walky’s also got more ammo to confront his mom and dad, something that’s been built towards for a while now given the hair saga and the care package BS.
This has been a really good arc so far.
That panel has me more sure than I was that he’s legit. I’m hoping so.
I’m kinda hoping there’s a meeting between Sal and Asher now, maybe get the air cleared about it. Not have them be FRIENDS again, or anything, but just sort of help lay the past to rest, you know?
Also I mean, story wise it would be interesting no matter how it goes down, and we’re all horny for that here lol
That sounds like it has potential for more Sal backstory and therefore, there can be NO POSSIBLE downsides to this option!
Full speed ahead!
BBCC is the horniest of all of us 8V
I’m curious as to where and how Sal became… if not friends, acquainted with Asher. And how she got mixed up with CRIMES.
I’m not really sure what more Sal backstory there is to learn here. We might learn what Asher was up to, but it sounds like Sal didn’t know any of that, so it’s not likely to show much of her.
We haven’t seen her flashing back to the fallout of the robbery. I’m waiting on that. Even though I’m fairly sure Linda and Charles will make me see red.
That panel definitely helps. I still don’t trust him.
Asher in that second-to-last panel seems… so sad, to me.
I think that he might be worried that Walky will tell Sal and that might open up a new can of worms.
I’m hoping that expression means that although he was working towards better Asher either didn’t realize how much towards better he already came or needs to keep progressing towards when he sees the impact his past self had. It could be it’s all sinking in now.
There’s little point to any of this if he doesn’t tell Sal. He told Walky to tell Sal he said sorry.
To the victim that is true but changing for yourself is important too. It means he won’t make more.
Sure, but my point was that he told Walky to tell Sal. Makes no sense that he’s worried Walky will tell Sal.
He specifically told Walky to tell Sal sorry for it, so being worried that Walky will tell Sal doesn’t seem to ring true to me.
yeah, they’re gonna Bang Hard.
(credit to whoever said it)
I really like how nuanced asher is in like, six panels. I like the dude. Self aware to know he did something regrettable, and took a punch that he felt was deserved, and then finally diffused the situation in a way walky- previously non-violent- would walk away from. Love it.
Also amber jfc you trash fiend you
Like. He’s not a good person by any stretch of the word but you can tell he’s trying to turn it around
Now. I’m not calling Asher a good guy, not by any means. But from what I can tell he seems to really be trying to turn his shit around. He knows he messed up and he took a well deserved punch without retaliating at all. Props to him.
“You are bad guy, but this does not mean you are bad guy.”
He apologized for ratting Sal out but said the blame what happened to her was on their mother.
People are viewing that in a bad light but to me the says that he’s sorry that he did narked on her in the first place and not because she got punished for it. Which is…well I don’t know what to make of that.
“My narking was wrong and not-funny. Your parents sending your sister way for five years is fucked up.”
“I was a fucking idiot kid and I really regret it. But your parents are a couple of twisted, abusive, racist pigs, and they’re adults who should absolutely know better, and you didn’t even question it for years because they were good to you, specifically, and it seems like that’s what you’re really mad about, so that’s absolutely not on me.”
I don’t think there is anything strange on button the blame on the parents. They are to blame. It was their decision, not Asher’s. I mean, sure, they took that decision as a consequence of Asher’s actions, but it is not a predictable, inevitable decision that would naturally arise out of the situation. It is, in fact, a very unusual decision, parents aren’t expected to just send their child away when they misbehave.
If Sal had been in jail or killed then, yeah, I can see how this would be his fault. these are “natural” consequences of have the cops called on you, specially if you are black. But that is not what happened.
Not to mention that Asher was 13 himself, he was also a kid with no notion of what he was doing. Not that different from Sal robbing a store and taking someone hostage. But her parents weren’t 13, they knew what they were doing and what they did was really shitty.
Walky and Amber. Giving new meaning to the word id-iot.
Ok so since my comment yesterday using my new email never went through, here i am still using my old email. (Thanks David Willis. I would really appreciate it if you would approve of my new email.) Also I have changed my commenting name. I used to be ‘pl0x’. This is part of my social transition as non-binary person. Thanks for reading my PSA.
Anyway wow this Asher guy. I would not get along with him. He’s like Sal but even more of a lone wolf. The confidence is too much. Also that apology was not a good one. He made his actions seem trivial, resulting in Walky’s anger. The punch was deserved.
I cannot believe that even using my old email still requires approval.
Amber was born in the wrong world. If she’d be born in some fantasy barbarian land her blood knight tendencies would be right at home.
They day the difference between a comedy and tragedy is the right protangonist
Of course, he hurt himself more than the dude he punched. But, Amber can give him lessons. Or his sister.
She can give him his sister?
Most people really underestimate how much it hurts hitting someone with a solid punch, especially if it isn’t something you’re spent a lot of time and effort practicing. Hands are actually not meant for hitting stuff, they’re meant for holding the tools we use to hit stuff even better.
Which is why if you don’t have tool, punch the soft parts. Gut punching someone doesn’t hurt nearly as much.
Ah yes, a world where Walky doesn’t have super strength. His hand is gonna smart.
Sympathy pains for his parallel universe self.
And good job everyone who thought Amber was getting a justice/violence boner
Walky just learned that justice is a big turn on on women, and gay men too. I mean, there’s Joker (the Persona guy, not the evil clown), Naofumi, Emiya Shirou, Batman… ok, Batman shouldn’t be emulated. He doesn’t want to talk about his failed wedding.
Oh wait did Salina leave them at the Isle? I heard that they were getting married but damn did it go that wrong?
The day before the wedding she walked out because Bane (via her friend Holly) planted the idea in her head that he can’t be happy and be Batman at the same time.
Where it says “justice” do you mean “violence”?
I know this is waaaaaaaay too much to ask for, given that Walky is Walky even on his best day, but I kind of hope Walky is too amped up about Asher and Sal to easily fall into a make-out session with Amber. I’d rather have Walky rambling to himself and trying to sort out what the hell just happened and what it means for his relationship with Sal and his parents and if they should really be sucking face right now even though he really wants too, oh god it’s all messed up, while Amber tries to engage in a make out session, then have Walky and Amber fall back into their Garbage Roof mentality. I’m not absolutely against Amber/Walky, but that decision by Walky to put Sal first and focus on other things, even with some pining for Amber, was some good growth for Walky. And I don’t want Amber’s self-destructive vengeance horniness to be so easily enabled.
Like I said, I know that’s way too much to ask. I’m not expecting it. But I kind of wish.
So are the tears in Walky’s eyes because of how messed up this whole situation is, or because he hurt his hand when he punched Asher?
A little of column A, a lot of column B.
One eye for each reason!
ASHER: “Damn… I forgot how weird that family all are!”
I like that David makes a point of showing that people who are not used to punching actually hurt themselves nearly as much as their target with an impulsive attack. (key examples: Joyce and now Walky).
1) oh wow Asher was affected.
2) IT IS TIME FOR THEM TO BONE.
I suspect Willis enjoyed the dialog line “Run away, Walky. Run away.”
I have multiple takes on essentially the same formula of joke here, every one is at least a bit distasteful so…
*reads alt-text* What? Amber is going to knock Walky out so she can masturbate while staring at him?
*reads alt-text* What? Get the robot in Walky? Amber may be surprisingly receptive to that if the robot is Starscream.
*reads alt-text* What? Walky is going to choose to “become one” with all humanity?
*reads alt-text* So they’re off to drink orange Tang?
*reads alt-text* So Walky is being used by his mom in a stupidly complex plan that makes less sense the closer you consider it…? Damn that reminds me I need to go read IW!
Here’s a reward for everyone who read all those.
…thank you!
You know, maybe before Walky and Amber make out they should get his hand checked to make sure he didn’t break anything punching Asher.
True dat. There’s a reason why bare-knuckle boxers and other contact strikers do NOT like punching the head. The skull is a VERY hard object, and you’re just as likely to injure or break your own knuckles hitting it.
There is a reason why people wear gloves and boxing
And why bare-knuckle boxers [used to] favour body blows.
If Asher is actually regretful, as implied by that last panel of him, why did he just drop this bomb on them like it was no big deal? Why is he telling them this at all?
The person he really owes an apology to is Sal but instead of seeking her out to apologize or keeping it to himself, he dumps it on Walky and says to pass it along. The whole thing strikes me as both cowardly and entirely about making himself feel better.
Because they were the ones trying to scope him out.
Also, he doesn’t strike me as the sort of guy who has a lot of the requisite skills and necessary language for adequately apologizing for his own massive fuck-ups. There is certainly a more tactful way to express “I’m genuinely sorry I egregiously fucked up the life of the person dearest to you,” but there is no entirely tactful way. That’s a big fucking thing that you generally don’t expect people to forgive you for, especially when you get blindsided by someone related to that colossal fuck-up randomly stalking you at your school.
I think he thinks they’re investigating him on Sal’s request, rather than on her behalf.
That might also be a possibility. He certainly would never have known Walky to be the type of person who…y’know…takes any kind of risks or initiative to do anything without being literally forced.
Naturally he would. You don’t expect other people to be doing anything as half-arsed as Walky and Amber had going on here.
Because it’s long ago in the past that all the emotional value for him is long gone (I’ve no doubt that he spent quite a while regretting it quite badly – it might have even been the cause of something of a Heel Face Turn for him). So, it didn’t automatically occur to him that it would be quite an emotional blow for Walky.
It’s sort of human of him to behave like that.
Well, it makes sense to apologize to/through Walky, since Walky sought him out. He hasn’t seen Sal in 5 years, likely has no idea where she is or how to get in touch with her other than through her parents which would be a horrible idea.
But his attitude towards the whole thing does seem very casual, like it’s no big deal. “Sorry for the prank I pulled when we were kids.” And then deflecting the serious consequences off onto her parents – which is fair, but still.
To me the biggest thing is he does not know if Sal would want to see him again. Seeking her out to apologize in person if he thinks she chose to send her brother instead of confronting him herself would be ignoring her implied wishes about how to handle this and more about him than her.
I find it very hard to get a read on him. No idea what’s actually in his head now.
To me, the lasting consequence of this encounter will be the realisation that she isn’t a unique monster. She is as much a victim of circumstance and human malice as any other person. Most importantly, she isn’t the only person out there whose response to emotional turmoil is violence directed at the source!
Well said!
… I just hope they don’t bang on the dinosaur.
Not to worry—it’s plush, and it won’t make much noise no matter how hard they bang :-).
Don’t pre-judge Dina. She may permit it if she can watch and take notes.
Oh, hey, I wasn’t paying attention to the clothes before. I like how Walky’s wearing a yellow stripe while snapping and punching someone (just never snap as hard as that you could, Walky)
Bad Amber! Don’t reward bad behavior!
Brave Sir Walky ran away, Bravely ran away away…
When danger reared its devilishly handsome head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled…
I really wish this went differently.
“If the choice is between being a tiger and being a worm, consider this: When was the last time you saw a worm-skin rug?”
— 2nd Technician Arnold J Rimmer
I never got that quote, people kill worms with nothing but a boot and a whim
Rimmer is also kind of an idiot.
I believe the technical Term is “Smeghead’.
“pulling a reverse shinji”
I did not understand that reference.
The first 2 Shinjis in Wikipedia are footballers (soccer players); the 3rd is from Neon Genesis Evangelion . . . but if that’s the one, I still don’t get it.
Shinji from Eva’s constantly telling himself “mustn’t run away.” The opposite of what Walky and Amber are saying/doing.
Is Asher so cocky that he DIDNT think Walky was going to take a swing at him?
Given Asher’s reaction and feeble head-snap, Walky’s punch was not a very solid one. But still, what made him think that a five-finger sandwich wasn’t coming his way?
The fact that he could press charges or get him kicked out of school for doing so?
I’m pretty sure Asher was thinking nothing of the kind. Do teens really think like that today? Especially ex-criminal types.
The fact that Walky is generally non-violent, spent most of his childhood adding to Sal’s torment and honestly did not seem very torn up about them being separated back near the beginning of the comic. Like he had honestly no reason to believe that Walky gave a single damn and especially not enough to throw a real punch.
Another possibility for last panel: seeing Walky showed him how much someone hasn’t changed and worked passed the past. He’s making progress now but the throw back of what if juxtaposed with the show that the actions had longer ranged consequences then he previously thought can show both how far he’s come and how far others couldn’t. Walky’s catching up now. If only he could do he same with maths (p.s. tell him Amber, before he realizes he can punch girls too).
My new name and email has now been approved by this website. And now for a genuine thanks. Thanks David Willis, I am glad you don’t think I’m an evil new commenter.
Be careful when biting your lip when running Amber, wouldn’t want to have an accident and hurt yourself.