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Last one was absolutely incredible. I was leaping super fast and super high like a ninja through a giant Costco (and I mean GIANT, like 10x bigger than any I had ever seen). One point I leaped so high that I made on to a platform that was like a room hidden in the roof, where I found Dpug Rattman or someone preparing for the apocalypse or something (he had a fully stocked store fridge and everything).
I was in complete control of my moves too, and I felt this kind of energy pulsing through my body the entire time I was moving! Also there were these moments were time just seemed to slow down, and one were I shot straight across the concession area perfectly!!!
I even managed to pay for what I got at the end, which included an odd magazine and a box of TV cookies which my aunt had somehow got hooked on.
Overall, a very bizarre and amazing experience!!!!
oh my god that’s an amazing dream!!
i don’t often do crazy shenanigans like that in my dreams, maybe i should play videogames?? (i had to look up Dpug Rattman)
i love the dream-logic of knowing someone’s ready for the apocalypse because, like, their fridge is full XD
My guess was kinda post hoc after I had the dream.
The fridge looked like it was stolen from an isle in a convenience store or something. Also there was a rack full of chip bags. The suggestion of apocalypse preparation was the first product of my heuristic in seeing stockpiles this advanced and incredibly hidden from view.
Also, just curious, what’s the story behind your alias? Is it a reference to the Hawaiian underworld diety by any chance?
oh wowwww do you know i’ve never searched for it anywhere, not even on wikipedia?!
i guess one reason is i’m not all that social online, i mostly just roam and lurk.
most days this is the only online space i actually interact in. so, idk, i’m not led to think of my pseud all that much.
also, no, it’s a nickname i also have offline that’s actually a riff on my last name! sorry it’s kind of a non-story lol. i do like stories about online aliases, for many people they’re sorta like that slightly embarrassing tattoo you got when you were 19 and now you just gotta own ^^
well fuck, there’s also a song by a brazilian popstar called “Milu”, it has 300M views lol ok
I think you are right. At the same time, Sal mistaking it for more than just an innocent date, when that’s all it really is, would be meaningful as a plot point.
I don’t trust him either. I don’t hate him, necessarily, but I sure as hell don’t trust the guy who had a man assassinated to cover up his involvement in a crime.
As for why he’s here… it’s a sporting event? I dunno, he doesn’t really need a reason. Plus he and Jennifer both grew up with two of the people on the team.
Just another reminder that if Asher stealing his grandfather’s money to pay his way through college in spite of his grandfather’s wishes (information that Blaine even blackmailed Asher over!) came out, Asher would very likely be dead himself. The Mob doesn’t tend to play around with people who steal large sums of money from them.
He shouldn’t have stolen the money then. Not in an ethical sense. Who really gives a shit if you steal from criminals? But it’s just a really stupid thing to do if it puts your life at risk. It’s not really a justification if you created the situation where someone has leverage over you.
Sure, but it’s not like he had a whole lot of options for getting away – gramps was already pressuring him to join the family business (and we know he was “disappointed” when Asher declined), and what little we know of child!Asher implies that he probably didn’t have the best home life, either. If that’s the case, I can’t exactly fault him for wanting out, even if he ended up Dumbing his way of going about it.
I think he’s “doing the wrong things for the right reasons” with questionable morals. He says he wants to leave the family business, but he’ll still call in favors. He’ll eventually get a redemption arc, or he’ll end up as DoA’s Michael Corleone.
Like others have said, he hasn’t really earned trust or derision yet.
Blaine being dead is, overall, a good thing. However, Asher didn’t kill him because he was a piece of human garbage; Asher killed him because he knew too much. We have no reason to believe he wouldn’t do this to anyone who knew enough about him that they could even potentially expose him.
When you date someone, you tend to learn things about them. Jennifer is a reporter, and as off-base as her speculations can be (hello, “Amazi-Sal”) she still has a very inquitive nature and it’s likely she’ll see something she wasn’t supposed to. Furthermore, as a reporter, Jennifer can easily make things known to large numbers of people. She, moreso than others, could very easily become a “liability.” The longer she dates him, the more danger she is in.
I mean, even if his reason for killing Blaine was just because Blaine’s a monster, ordering a man shot in a hospital bed still doesn’t make you the good guy, at best that makes you an anti-hero.
Even if that is Asher’s rationale, Jennifer’s apparent lack of alcoholism after the time skip means such escalation of danger might take much longer than usual for her.
Asher FREELY ADMITTED he took the money to Sal. That’s not something to do if you’re trying to keep anybody from knowing too much. BLAINE was actively blackmailing him with the info. I know Jennifer is very good at bad decisions but she’s not QUITE good enough at bad choices to not realize publishing something that will get Asher dead in a ditch is a bad idea.
Oh, Jennifer’s absolutely smart enough not to publish something that would get Asher killed. The question is whether Asher would trust her not to do it. Just knowing too much is enough to make her a potential liability in Asher’s eyes, whether or not she intends to publish.
“Just knowing too much” just isn’t true or he wouldn’t have told Sal. I think it depends who knows, how they know and what they intend to do about it. Blaine was an active threat, but he doesn’t have any problem with Sal knowing.
The cop was mob. At best, Asher used old ‘family friends’ to be notified when Blaine was shot. At worst, he told said family friend to do it. Most likely, imo, is he texted grandpa to turn on channel 8 (or whatever) news and grandpa texted him to let him know when the inevitable happened. Because seriously, if Asher didn’t call in to let gramps know, it was only a matter of time. That shit made state news.
I don’t really have links to share, but it’s been brought up several times that Blaine is part of a mob, and I think we found out Asher was part of the same mob shortly after we met him. There’s a flashback of Mike figuring it out as a kid, and another one of him telling Amazi-girl (after he fell off a balcony) that some of the cops are “on the take.” At this point it’s pretty well established.
Or, as I suspect, Gramps told him to contact Lester and have him handle it.
I doubt he could have done it on his own – even if Lester would have taken an order from Asher without confirmation, he would have checked in at some point and Gramps would have learned about it. But I also suspect would have wanted to push him to do it, keeping him tied to the family.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, even if he had no mob association or implied connections to Blaine’s death (which a lot of people actually really like him for) he still sold Sal out and setup that kidnapping scenario. He’ll always choose to sace his own skin even if he’s not really malicious or “evil”. He’s already done it twice, one more and it’s a pattern. It’s really convenient there’s always an excuse for him too. I may be wrong about him but I haven’t seen anything redeemable yet.
Now that all this information has been laid out, I first thought “Oh Asher is dangerous,” but then I thought, actually maybe he is not that bad. It seems Blaine was blackmailing him and he really didn’t know how to get out of that without risking death – but as soon as he figured out a solution (have Blaine killed), he used it. I don’t think that what someone said above about him being ruthless to have someone threatening him killed is accurate. Self-defense (having someone killed who would potentially do something to have you killed, and is also threatening others) is not aggression.
It’s probably not very surprising that shit can happen at troublingly young ages, but lets choose to be idealistic about the world we live in. I feel like it’s a situation where they could’ve had a thing but missed out on it and it’s both their faults and they both know it. Like in a perfect world where Sal didn’t rob a convenience store and/or Asher didn’t rat her out, maybe they both just made slightly better choices, they’d be dating right now. But Sal knows she can’t trust him and that’s why she hans this tension when looking at him. He did admit to her that he stole his tuition money. A smart enough person can put some connections together.
I mean, ‘a thing’ doesn’t have to be age inappropriate. They were like….11 or 12. “A thing” probably means they hung out and skated together and sometimes held hands. Maybe even a middle school first kiss. Big whoop.
Pffft. I’m so old now I’ve forgotten something like that would even be considered anything at all when you’re that young. It would be really funny if Sal is staring at him like that because she’s thinking about that one time they held hands in 5th grade!
I don’t remember the exact language for that, but it’s possible that was just Walky misinterpreting a more casual relationship – or the events leading up to the robbery for that matter.
Even the way he described it sounded pretty casual – “I think they might have had a thing? As much as you CAN have a thing when you’re like eleven or twelve anyway.”
My money’s on they hooked up before he got with Billie. Or, even more drama, he’s hooking up with sal on the down low. Doubt that one’s it but it would be fun
That doesn’t really seem like Sal. I could maybe believe Asher and she hooked up once before the time skip since they were both checking each other out, but Sal doesn’t seem like the type that would be cheating with somebody or be their side chick or whatever the kids are calling it. Especially not with the guy dating essentially her step-sister. And frankly I don’t think Asher really ranks high on the scale of guys Sal would bang at least not in the present. He’s got looks, but I actually think Danny would have a better chance than him.
Looks like flat-track derby, if today’s panel 1 (and the overhead view of the lineup for the start of the jam from Tuesday’s installment, ‘Slowpokes’) are anything to go by.
1) The comic is appearing in duplicate form for me right now, which is odd.
2) Foreground redhead’s smile terrifies me for some reason, despite the Triangle Smile being just fine.
I mean, we know a ton of kids-from-the-future in a ton of universes went back in time to try to rescue their friends, and that a large number of them wound up in the wrong pasts, so that’s vaguely plausible. At the same time, though, I personally think that person looks a lot like Carla, and it seems unlikely to me that any version of UC or Carla would have kids. I think Foreground Redhead is probably related to Carla somehow, though.
I don’t think Carla’s a natural redhead, drawing from Patreon strips showing her childhood (haven’t read them, but from what I remember of the preview panels showing her, she was blonde as a kid); that might weaken the “Carla’s Relative on the basis of hair color” theory.
Up to 15 and at least 5. You need 5 players for a jam (which I guess is the equivalent of like, a quarter or an inning) and if you have extra you can switch players out between jams. I’m sure only the five players we’ve already met (Sal, Carla, Slamber, Marcie, and Malaya) will matter narratively.
I really appreciate this strip cuz I read on Wikipedia that the pivot could do this, but I had trouble imagining what switching the star would look like. I assumed that star was a sticker and had no idea how you could get it off one helmet and on another quickly enough to keep playing. This makes more sense
A cloth helmet cover, like on the early brain-buckets made for cycling. They were basically just molded high-density foam (think ‘styrofoam on steroids’) and used a stretchable lycra cover instead of the hard-shell plastic on today’s versions.
Noticed Amber’s number is 113 — which is the same number that keeps cropping up as an Easter egg in all the various Pixar movies. It refers to the classroom (A-113) at the California Institute of the Arts used by John Lasseter, Brad Bird, and others.
I posted that theory a few days ago but I don’t think it’s made it though moderation yet (there were a ton of links, since I was talking about everybody’s). I’ll add in addition that if the “A” from Amazi-Girl’s crimefighting outfit is added (in its orginal position) to her clothes here, it would indeed read “A113”!
It seems you haven’t read willi’s previous comic “Shortpacked.”
Go to the comic’s site, check the left sidebar for the tag cloud, and click “transformers” which brings you to… 18 pages, 16 comics per page, tagged “transformers”.
Marcie’s 71, the year her namesake was introduced in Peanuts.
Carla’s 87, the year Ultra Car was originally conceptualized.
I think Sal’s 93 because that’s when she started showing up in sketches.
Not sure what Malaya’s 11 refers to. These are all half-remembered from when their character models went up on Twitter, and thanks to its transient nature I haven’t found them again yet.
I think it’s some (sloppy) blue face-paint to make Amazi-girl’s mask, considering the tagging. Surprised that when she spoke a couple strips back it wasn’t the blue text bubble, though.
Maybe she can’t do the deep-Batman-voice thing while derbying, because it’s low and growly and would get lost in the noise in the court and make it hard for teammates to hear.
In that youngster’s defense, I had to look up who Fred Savage was, and it turns out I haven’t seen a single thing he’s been in. I recognise a few popular titles, but that’s it.
1- Slamber is a fucking delightful name and so is the almost manic grin on her and Sal’s faces. They still get to be badasses together ;A; I’d ship it if Sal wasn’t Voice-of-Willis confirmed straight. And Malaya knows they make for a good team which… makes her more competent than I thought?
2- Asher, what are you even doing there? “Jennifer going to support Sal” is something I could maaaaybe buy, but them appearing there together…? This match has been turned into something plot-heavy isn’t it. We have two different words for “free” in Spanish: “Gratis” as in “free food” and “Libre” as in “not jailed”; and the “As Long As It’s Free” title is giving me #Vibes I can’t define.
??? I am finding it baffling that people are actually confused by why Asher is there. Asher is Jennifer’s boyfriend and likely her ride there and back. It isn’t that uncommon for partners to take someone places… and hang out with them there or to just go with them to stuff sometimes??? Like, Jennifer probably gets a lift from his practically everywhere because he has a motorcycle and looking cool matters to her.
I mean, I’d be readier to believe Asher likes roller derby than Jennifer (for some reason?) But even if it’s a coincidence they’re there together, I expect their appearance wasn’t done just to fill panel space. So it’s more of a “what consequences this is going to bring?” wondering.
… Well, that, and that I don’t trust either people in that couple :’)
Yeah, I know /o/ But Willis doesn’t just stick titles on randomly – They go from “relevant to the overall feel of the narrative” during the chapter at minimum, to “relevant to as many characters on the arc as it can fit”.
agree, agree. i was responding to Thag whose comment i took to (maybe) mean “don’t think about it too hard, it’s just a reference to the song either way” =)
Well y’see, when you have a romantic partner, you tend to take them places with you because you enjoy their company and sharing experiences with them. Typically, this is referred to as a “date”.
Seriously how is it confusing that Billie took her boyfriend somewhere with her?
To Roller Derby, tho? I can’t remember her ever expressing an interest on it. At most, she was aware of hockey because Ruth was masochist enough to stick with the Leafs.
Amber is to Sal’s right, which means Sal is looking past Amber to see Asher and Jennifer. Hope she doesn’t drift to the right and into Amber’s skating line
This is already very fun for a storyline about a sport that I know nothing about! (Which is to say: all sports.) Is there a ball involved in all this? /jk
This is a much better Sal-Malaya interaction than yesterday. Sal relaying relevant information, Malaya concocting strategy as team captain / pivot and assigning Sal and Amaziber to execute it. Yesterday we just had defensive bickering and Malayasplaining, neither of which are productive.
I’m surprised Amazi-Girl has a roller derby name that’s a pun on “Amber”. I’m not going to speculate as to it’s significance or whether it’s good or bad, I’m just surprised.
Yeah so, this is something I’ve been wondering ever since we saw that Jennifer was dating Asher. Does she not know about his part in screwing up Sal and Walky’s childhoods, or does she just not care?
Probably does not know. Sal worked it out. Asher had to tell Walky. Jennifer didn’t even know she had held up two stores according to one of the first strips Sal showed up in, so she likely knows even less than Walky did.
Yeah, but when Wally saw them together, did he not TELL her? Like, “Hey, just so you know, that guy’s a huge asshole, so you might want to think twice about dating him?”
Other than the infractions that send people to the penalty box (Power Jam!), the basics aren’t that bad, but it’s much easier to understand if you can watch it happen.
I was waiting for the strip that explained if the jammer and pivot symbols were the normal sleeves or if they had been painted onto the helmets. I highly appreciate the detail, even if the story forced Willis to draw sports.
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THROW HER INTA SLAMBER
…
for asSALt and battery
THAT’S SLAMAZI-GIRL DAMMIT
This!!!
Just what Sal needs. More distractions.
*plays “RE” by zeroSCAR on Voxola PR-76*
well since this derby thing begun, all I can hear is the battucada playing the speed of noise by Total Fucking Destruction…
link
sick tunes, both of you. cheers \m/ d-_-b \m/
Thanks!!!
Great to see you Milu! Care to share more delightfully dark dreams? If you share yours, I’ll share mine!
kinky! i don’t always remember mine, but i’ll definitely tell you next time i get a Vision From Yonder as i like to call them.
(i’m just messing with you)
do tell me yours though =)
Last one was absolutely incredible. I was leaping super fast and super high like a ninja through a giant Costco (and I mean GIANT, like 10x bigger than any I had ever seen). One point I leaped so high that I made on to a platform that was like a room hidden in the roof, where I found Dpug Rattman or someone preparing for the apocalypse or something (he had a fully stocked store fridge and everything).
I was in complete control of my moves too, and I felt this kind of energy pulsing through my body the entire time I was moving! Also there were these moments were time just seemed to slow down, and one were I shot straight across the concession area perfectly!!!
I even managed to pay for what I got at the end, which included an odd magazine and a box of TV cookies which my aunt had somehow got hooked on.
Overall, a very bizarre and amazing experience!!!!
oh my god that’s an amazing dream!!
i don’t often do crazy shenanigans like that in my dreams, maybe i should play videogames?? (i had to look up Dpug Rattman)
i love the dream-logic of knowing someone’s ready for the apocalypse because, like, their fridge is full XD
That was my first guess. Why else would someone have a hidden living arrangement in the roof of a Costco?
wait you mean that was your guess inside your dream, or once you’d woken up and thought back on it?
personally i think keeping loads of perishable stuff inside a fridge is bad survivalism
My guess was kinda post hoc after I had the dream.
The fridge looked like it was stolen from an isle in a convenience store or something. Also there was a rack full of chip bags. The suggestion of apocalypse preparation was the first product of my heuristic in seeing stockpiles this advanced and incredibly hidden from view.
Also, just curious, what’s the story behind your alias? Is it a reference to the Hawaiian underworld diety by any chance?
oh wowwww do you know i’ve never searched for it anywhere, not even on wikipedia?!
i guess one reason is i’m not all that social online, i mostly just roam and lurk.
most days this is the only online space i actually interact in. so, idk, i’m not led to think of my pseud all that much.
also, no, it’s a nickname i also have offline that’s actually a riff on my last name! sorry it’s kind of a non-story lol. i do like stories about online aliases, for many people they’re sorta like that slightly embarrassing tattoo you got when you were 19 and now you just gotta own ^^
well fuck, there’s also a song by a brazilian popstar called “Milu”, it has 300M views lol ok
where’s yours from?
Glad you asked!
Wagstaff is a character from a game I play. He’s an inventor who embodies my curiosity and will to benefit the world with the power of science!
If you look carefully, you’ll find that I use a subtle reference to his background whenever I play music here!
Oh he’s here for some reason…..I don’t trust Asher. That is all.
Neither do I
funny to hear that from a Jennifer Avatar
Neither do I but in this case it could be an innocent date with Jennifer. Probably isn’t, but it could be.
Narrator: It was not.
Chekhov’s date. Of course this is meaningful. DYW is too economical to include characters at random.
I think you are right. At the same time, Sal mistaking it for more than just an innocent date, when that’s all it really is, would be meaningful as a plot point.
Tell that to the time Willis unexpectedly threw Amber’s mom Stacy in a bar with Leslie for a single strip, catching everyone by surprise, and then never brought it up again. (And everyone was speculating as to what it could mean at the time, too!) Sometimes Willis likes to put in a red herring or two, keep us on our toes.
Wasn’t completely a red herring. It was a hint that Stacy hadn’t gone home and would show up again the next day – this time with Richard.
I don’t trust him either. I don’t hate him, necessarily, but I sure as hell don’t trust the guy who had a man assassinated to cover up his involvement in a crime.
As for why he’s here… it’s a sporting event? I dunno, he doesn’t really need a reason. Plus he and Jennifer both grew up with two of the people on the team.
Just another reminder that if Asher stealing his grandfather’s money to pay his way through college in spite of his grandfather’s wishes (information that Blaine even blackmailed Asher over!) came out, Asher would very likely be dead himself. The Mob doesn’t tend to play around with people who steal large sums of money from them.
He shouldn’t have stolen the money then. Not in an ethical sense. Who really gives a shit if you steal from criminals? But it’s just a really stupid thing to do if it puts your life at risk. It’s not really a justification if you created the situation where someone has leverage over you.
What’s the world coming to when a godfather can’t trust their own grandchild?
Sure, but it’s not like he had a whole lot of options for getting away – gramps was already pressuring him to join the family business (and we know he was “disappointed” when Asher declined), and what little we know of child!Asher implies that he probably didn’t have the best home life, either. If that’s the case, I can’t exactly fault him for wanting out, even if he ended up Dumbing his way of going about it.
I think he’s “doing the wrong things for the right reasons” with questionable morals. He says he wants to leave the family business, but he’ll still call in favors. He’ll eventually get a redemption arc, or he’ll end up as DoA’s Michael Corleone.
Like others have said, he hasn’t really earned trust or derision yet.
Come on, what could possibly make Asher untrustworthy? I mean, outside of the time he likely called a hit on someone?
He called a hit on BLAINE, surely that’s a tick in his ‘good deed’ column?
Blaine being dead is, overall, a good thing. However, Asher didn’t kill him because he was a piece of human garbage; Asher killed him because he knew too much. We have no reason to believe he wouldn’t do this to anyone who knew enough about him that they could even potentially expose him.
When you date someone, you tend to learn things about them. Jennifer is a reporter, and as off-base as her speculations can be (hello, “Amazi-Sal”) she still has a very inquitive nature and it’s likely she’ll see something she wasn’t supposed to. Furthermore, as a reporter, Jennifer can easily make things known to large numbers of people. She, moreso than others, could very easily become a “liability.” The longer she dates him, the more danger she is in.
I mean, even if his reason for killing Blaine was just because Blaine’s a monster, ordering a man shot in a hospital bed still doesn’t make you the good guy, at best that makes you an anti-hero.
“Good. Bad. I’m the guy with the guy with the gun”
Even if that is Asher’s rationale, Jennifer’s apparent lack of alcoholism after the time skip means such escalation of danger might take much longer than usual for her.
Asher FREELY ADMITTED he took the money to Sal. That’s not something to do if you’re trying to keep anybody from knowing too much. BLAINE was actively blackmailing him with the info. I know Jennifer is very good at bad decisions but she’s not QUITE good enough at bad choices to not realize publishing something that will get Asher dead in a ditch is a bad idea.
Oh, Jennifer’s absolutely smart enough not to publish something that would get Asher killed. The question is whether Asher would trust her not to do it. Just knowing too much is enough to make her a potential liability in Asher’s eyes, whether or not she intends to publish.
“Just knowing too much” just isn’t true or he wouldn’t have told Sal. I think it depends who knows, how they know and what they intend to do about it. Blaine was an active threat, but he doesn’t have any problem with Sal knowing.
Wait, you mean he bribed a cop?!?!
The cop was mob. At best, Asher used old ‘family friends’ to be notified when Blaine was shot. At worst, he told said family friend to do it. Most likely, imo, is he texted grandpa to turn on channel 8 (or whatever) news and grandpa texted him to let him know when the inevitable happened. Because seriously, if Asher didn’t call in to let gramps know, it was only a matter of time. That shit made state news.
Honestly, I didn’t even know a mob existed in DoA! Care to point me to some key comics to full me in?
I don’t really have links to share, but it’s been brought up several times that Blaine is part of a mob, and I think we found out Asher was part of the same mob shortly after we met him. There’s a flashback of Mike figuring it out as a kid, and another one of him telling Amazi-girl (after he fell off a balcony) that some of the cops are “on the take.” At this point it’s pretty well established.
Or, as I suspect, Gramps told him to contact Lester and have him handle it.
I doubt he could have done it on his own – even if Lester would have taken an order from Asher without confirmation, he would have checked in at some point and Gramps would have learned about it. But I also suspect would have wanted to push him to do it, keeping him tied to the family.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, even if he had no mob association or implied connections to Blaine’s death (which a lot of people actually really like him for) he still sold Sal out and setup that kidnapping scenario. He’ll always choose to sace his own skin even if he’s not really malicious or “evil”. He’s already done it twice, one more and it’s a pattern. It’s really convenient there’s always an excuse for him too. I may be wrong about him but I haven’t seen anything redeemable yet.
Now that all this information has been laid out, I first thought “Oh Asher is dangerous,” but then I thought, actually maybe he is not that bad. It seems Blaine was blackmailing him and he really didn’t know how to get out of that without risking death – but as soon as he figured out a solution (have Blaine killed), he used it. I don’t think that what someone said above about him being ruthless to have someone threatening him killed is accurate. Self-defense (having someone killed who would potentially do something to have you killed, and is also threatening others) is not aggression.
He’s the one character in the cast I don’t think I have a solid read on yet.
Slamber would be an excellent nickname if she decides to become a pro wrestler. Or play POGs professionally.
And here come the Pog Champs….
Or join a roller derby team.
Oooh, “Slamber”! I like it.
Also I sense we’re about to get a flashback to Sal’s past with Asher.
aw man slamber is a GREAT roller derby name!! i hope we get to see what everyone elses are. i LOVE roller derby!!!
I also approve. Good derby name. REALLY good derby name!
So something definitely happened with Sal and Asher over the timeskip?
Maybe, but they’ve got so much history, it needn’t have. She’d probably be given pause regardless.
Walky thought they had a thing before she was sent away (as much as its possible to have a thing at 12-13), so,…..maybe?
It’s probably not very surprising that shit can happen at troublingly young ages, but lets choose to be idealistic about the world we live in. I feel like it’s a situation where they could’ve had a thing but missed out on it and it’s both their faults and they both know it. Like in a perfect world where Sal didn’t rob a convenience store and/or Asher didn’t rat her out, maybe they both just made slightly better choices, they’d be dating right now. But Sal knows she can’t trust him and that’s why she hans this tension when looking at him. He did admit to her that he stole his tuition money. A smart enough person can put some connections together.
I mean, ‘a thing’ doesn’t have to be age inappropriate. They were like….11 or 12. “A thing” probably means they hung out and skated together and sometimes held hands. Maybe even a middle school first kiss. Big whoop.
Pffft. I’m so old now I’ve forgotten something like that would even be considered anything at all when you’re that young. It would be really funny if Sal is staring at him like that because she’s thinking about that one time they held hands in 5th grade!
It would be, but sadly I doubt that’s it.
I don’t remember the exact language for that, but it’s possible that was just Walky misinterpreting a more casual relationship – or the events leading up to the robbery for that matter.
Even the way he described it sounded pretty casual – “I think they might have had a thing? As much as you CAN have a thing when you’re like eleven or twelve anyway.”
My money’s on they hooked up before he got with Billie. Or, even more drama, he’s hooking up with sal on the down low. Doubt that one’s it but it would be fun
That doesn’t really seem like Sal. I could maybe believe Asher and she hooked up once before the time skip since they were both checking each other out, but Sal doesn’t seem like the type that would be cheating with somebody or be their side chick or whatever the kids are calling it. Especially not with the guy dating essentially her step-sister. And frankly I don’t think Asher really ranks high on the scale of guys Sal would bang at least not in the present. He’s got looks, but I actually think Danny would have a better chance than him.
D’aww. Jennifer came to watch and be supportive.
Oh, this is different.
come on and slamber
and welcome to the jamber
one hopes she’s not thrown off by the track’s camber
Looks like flat-track derby, if today’s panel 1 (and the overhead view of the lineup for the start of the jam from Tuesday’s installment, ‘Slowpokes’) are anything to go by.
Or by the rhythm or the timbre
Timber. Tamber. Let’s call the whole thing off.
Bring on the Cole Porter.
I hate to say this because any mention of Cole Porter is enjoyed, but the brothers Gershwin wrote that one.
Cole Gershwin’s middle name was Porter.
What?
You say Porter, I say Gershwin
btw tomatoes are technically marsupials
That answers that. Lol
Don’t lose your nerve now, Sal.
I’m seeing the alt text plainly visible below the strip, yesterday’s isn’t doing that.
1) The comic is appearing in duplicate form for me right now, which is odd.
2) Foreground redhead’s smile terrifies me for some reason, despite the Triangle Smile being just fine.
Ah, no, formatting error’s gone now. All that’s left is Terrifying Smile Of Doom Person.
They will consume my soul.
And if anyone wants exposure to the Double Terrifying Smile Of Doom, managed to get a screenshot. Because I’m weird like that
https://m.imgur.com/gallery/Eoyv8aN
That’s odd. I actually got that too, but one of them displayed as a missing image with the alt text.
That’s Becky and Kaitlin’s daughter from an alternate universe.
Actually, with the massive grin and apparent tooth-plate, she could be from a timeline where Becky and Joyce produce a daughter.
Don’t tell Becky, or we’re gonna see her on the next episode of Loki.
I mean, we know a ton of kids-from-the-future in a ton of universes went back in time to try to rescue their friends, and that a large number of them wound up in the wrong pasts, so that’s vaguely plausible. At the same time, though, I personally think that person looks a lot like Carla, and it seems unlikely to me that any version of UC or Carla would have kids. I think Foreground Redhead is probably related to Carla somehow, though.
I don’t think Carla’s a natural redhead, drawing from Patreon strips showing her childhood (haven’t read them, but from what I remember of the preview panels showing her, she was blonde as a kid); that might weaken the “Carla’s Relative on the basis of hair color” theory.
It’s not the hair color that makes me see a resemblance, it’s their facial features.
Awww, they came to see Sal skate.
I would totally buy that one crowd member as Carla’s mother.
I would as well. Looks just like her!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought that, although I’d kind of expect her to be more dressed up.
That was the vibe I got too from her, glad I’m not the only one.
(Just let me focus on the theoretical supportive parent to my favorite roller derby destroyer.)
Don’t buy people’s moms. It’s impolite.
Exactly. You should make them pay you. One nickel to be precise.
I thought the moms were paid a nickel? Or was that just Mike and Jennifer doing that?
It’s never been entirely clear which way the nickels go.
Maybe he uses the nickels from some moms to pay the other ones.
Sometimes they use woodpeckers instead.
Please also do not pay people in woodpeckers. They’re not legal tender and it’s probably a felony somehow.
Maybe, but I’ve seen people in the comments go on about nickles all the time.
One roller derby name down! *some number* to go to! How many players are on a team…?
Up to 15 and at least 5. You need 5 players for a jam (which I guess is the equivalent of like, a quarter or an inning) and if you have extra you can switch players out between jams. I’m sure only the five players we’ve already met (Sal, Carla, Slamber, Marcie, and Malaya) will matter narratively.
Gotcha covered:
Malaya: Malady
Carla: Starla
Sal: Salacious
Amber: Slamber (Slamazi-Girl!)
Marcie: SBD (Silent But Deadly)
I was thinking “Salamangler” and “Marcieless”.
MaSlaya
Carlup&die
I got it!
EMBER!
SALty!
MARCenary!
MALAYA Repulsa!
And last but not least, stARLA!
I vote for Salamangler!
Oooo I like ‘Marcieless’
I really appreciate this strip cuz I read on Wikipedia that the pivot could do this, but I had trouble imagining what switching the star would look like. I assumed that star was a sticker and had no idea how you could get it off one helmet and on another quickly enough to keep playing. This makes more sense
A cloth helmet cover, like on the early brain-buckets made for cycling. They were basically just molded high-density foam (think ‘styrofoam on steroids’) and used a stretchable lycra cover instead of the hard-shell plastic on today’s versions.
So whose idea was it to come and be supportive?
Yeah, whose bright idea was that?
WHAMB BAMB THANK YOU AMB
Really wanna download FF14 job and action icons and cobble together a really niche joke.
This is much better captaincy from Malaya
I continue to be increasingly glad that I took the time to read about how roller derby works a few days ago!
Noticed Amber’s number is 113 — which is the same number that keeps cropping up as an Easter egg in all the various Pixar movies. It refers to the classroom (A-113) at the California Institute of the Arts used by John Lasseter, Brad Bird, and others.
Wait a fuckin’ minute
Pixar Walkyverse movie CONFIRMED
I posted that theory a few days ago but I don’t think it’s made it though moderation yet (there were a ton of links, since I was talking about everybody’s). I’ll add in addition that if the “A” from Amazi-Girl’s crimefighting outfit is added (in its orginal position) to her clothes here, it would indeed read “A113”!
Didn’t notice that before. That’s interesting.
I would have thought it’s more likely a reference to its frequent use in Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye and Lost Light.
I don’t think Willis is much into Transformers, though. Definitely not enough to know something so specific and use it as a reference.
It seems you haven’t read willi’s previous comic “Shortpacked.”
Go to the comic’s site, check the left sidebar for the tag cloud, and click “transformers” which brings you to… 18 pages, 16 comics per page, tagged “transformers”.
They were clowning Kella =)
Willis tweets about Transformers ALL. THE. GODDANG TIME
All the protagonists’ numbers are meaningful references to something relevant.
Marcie’s 71, the year her namesake was introduced in Peanuts.
Carla’s 87, the year Ultra Car was originally conceptualized.
I think Sal’s 93 because that’s when she started showing up in sketches.
Not sure what Malaya’s 11 refers to. These are all half-remembered from when their character models went up on Twitter, and thanks to its transient nature I haven’t found them again yet.
Okay, Malaya must be #11 because that’s when she was introduced in Shortpacked!. (I could’ve sworn it was earlier than that.)
Well thank you TK421 fo leaving your post. Now there is another number I will never not see.
“Slamber”
I love it
Is Amber… crying? Mascara running?
I think it’s some (sloppy) blue face-paint to make Amazi-girl’s mask, considering the tagging. Surprised that when she spoke a couple strips back it wasn’t the blue text bubble, though.
Amazi-Girl didn’t start doing the Blue Voice until about one and a half (real-life) years after her introduction – it started out as a way to throw off Danny, specifically, from figuring out that she shared a body with Amber.
(Amazi-Girl has also used regular speech bubbles on more recent occasions; this incident is one example that comes to mind.)
Maybe she can’t do the deep-Batman-voice thing while derbying, because it’s low and growly and would get lost in the noise in the court and make it hard for teammates to hear.
A couple of years ago, I worked with a young guy who looked just like Fred Savage. When I told him that he said “Who?”
In that youngster’s defense, I had to look up who Fred Savage was, and it turns out I haven’t seen a single thing he’s been in. I recognise a few popular titles, but that’s it.
I didn’t know who he was until I looked him up as well. I’m pretty sure the only thing he’s been in that I’ve seen is The Princess Bride.
Was the the princess in that, or was he the bride?
He was the The.
Slamber!
ngl it sounds way better than Amazi-Girl
1- Slamber is a fucking delightful name and so is the almost manic grin on her and Sal’s faces. They still get to be badasses together ;A;
I’d ship it if Sal wasn’t Voice-of-Willis confirmed straight.And Malaya knows they make for a good team which… makes her more competent than I thought?2- Asher, what are you even doing there? “Jennifer going to support Sal” is something I could maaaaybe buy, but them appearing there together…? This match has been turned into something plot-heavy isn’t it. We have two different words for “free” in Spanish: “Gratis” as in “free food” and “Libre” as in “not jailed”; and the “As Long As It’s Free” title is giving me #Vibes I can’t define.
I know, right! Moxy ahoy!!!
I WISH WE HAD GOTTEN TO SEE MORE OF THIS MATCH ;A;
??? I am finding it baffling that people are actually confused by why Asher is there. Asher is Jennifer’s boyfriend and likely her ride there and back. It isn’t that uncommon for partners to take someone places… and hang out with them there or to just go with them to stuff sometimes??? Like, Jennifer probably gets a lift from his practically everywhere because he has a motorcycle and looking cool matters to her.
Or — and here’s a really wild theory — maybe Asher enjoys watching roller derby.
Yeah! Maybe he’s not there with Jennifer. Maybe Jennifer’s there with him.
I mean, I’d be readier to believe Asher likes roller derby than Jennifer (for some reason?) But even if it’s a coincidence they’re there together, I expect their appearance wasn’t done just to fill panel space. So it’s more of a “what consequences this is going to bring?” wondering.
… Well, that, and that I don’t trust either people in that couple :’)
He’s there for the same reason as everyone else. Because the plot requires it.
It was written.
The provisional title for the storyline included the word “revenge”, so I’m going with libre.
Both titles are lyrics from ‘Bad Romance’
but surely the actual words in the title are significant as well, not merely as a reference to the song.
Yeah, I know /o/ But Willis doesn’t just stick titles on randomly – They go from “relevant to the overall feel of the narrative” during the chapter at minimum, to “relevant to as many characters on the arc as it can fit”.
agree, agree. i was responding to Thag whose comment i took to (maybe) mean “don’t think about it too hard, it’s just a reference to the song either way” =)
Well y’see, when you have a romantic partner, you tend to take them places with you because you enjoy their company and sharing experiences with them. Typically, this is referred to as a “date”.
Seriously how is it confusing that Billie took her boyfriend somewhere with her?
To Roller Derby, tho? I can’t remember her ever expressing an interest on it. At most, she was aware of hockey because Ruth was masochist enough to stick with the Leafs.
Amber is to Sal’s right, which means Sal is looking past Amber to see Asher and Jennifer. Hope she doesn’t drift to the right and into Amber’s skating line
Oh no Sal, don’t get distracted. Otherwise she’ll be on the receiving end of a tirade from Malaya.
But there’s hot people over there.
But are they fakey?
Honestly kinda
just look at them.
Très fakey.
Sal may get distracted by Asher’s presence and lose… SAL! GO GO GO!!!! STAY FOCUS!
This is already very fun for a storyline about a sport that I know nothing about! (Which is to say: all sports.) Is there a ball involved in all this? /jk
If a ball appears on the track, the refs need to tweep a time-out.
Depends on if it’s a bludger, or the snitch.
Pretty sure that some of the characters are enjoying it and having a ball.
This is a much better Sal-Malaya interaction than yesterday. Sal relaying relevant information, Malaya concocting strategy as team captain / pivot and assigning Sal and Amaziber to execute it. Yesterday we just had defensive bickering and Malayasplaining, neither of which are productive.
I’m surprised Amazi-Girl has a roller derby name that’s a pun on “Amber”. I’m not going to speculate as to it’s significance or whether it’s good or bad, I’m just surprised.
If she’s still wanted for questioning, it’s easier to fly under the radar by not using the famous alias.
It may have been Amber driving when they signed up, too. The cheek blushes are present in the “we came to enlist” strip.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-9-comic/01-flyin-to-the-red/enlist/
Yeah, it’s Amber who signed up, and it’s “Amber” who plays, so far as anyone but Sal knows. But it’s Amazi-Girl who’s driving.
Ah, split personality. German philosophers knew the phenomena quite well.
Considering the situation, it’s not a wonder Amazi-Girl has the wheel!
LET’S – GO – SLAM – BER!!!!
Considering the teams’ colors, I keep expecting all the players to combine to form Devastator!
I wonder if Sal’s gonna put more force into . . . attack? tackle? I know not . . . then she intends.
I don’t really understand the rules of roller derby, but did that one girl take off her helmet to reveal a second helmet?
The star symbol is on a cloth covering over the helmet so it can be passed to the pivot – making her into the jammer.
aw crap
Face-plant in 3-2-1…
lol #113 niiiiiiiice
Yeah that’s Amazi-Girl for sure.
No blushes = Maise is driving.
Blushes = Amber is driving.
Bear behind wheel = bear is driving how can this be?
The bear is a double dipper.
The expression is what sold me.
Girl in panel 2 has Johnny Joestar’s hat.
I wanna know everyone’s derby names! Also, where are the older ladies? Is this a college league?
Yeah so, this is something I’ve been wondering ever since we saw that Jennifer was dating Asher. Does she not know about his part in screwing up Sal and Walky’s childhoods, or does she just not care?
Probably does not know. Sal worked it out. Asher had to tell Walky. Jennifer didn’t even know she had held up two stores according to one of the first strips Sal showed up in, so she likely knows even less than Walky did.
Yeah, but when Wally saw them together, did he not TELL her? Like, “Hey, just so you know, that guy’s a huge asshole, so you might want to think twice about dating him?”
Besides the fact that Asher is there, Jennifer looks so cute 🥺 I love her with short hair.
Poor Jammers
Man, i just looked up the rules for Roller Derby and I can’t comprehend it.
Other than the infractions that send people to the penalty box (Power Jam!), the basics aren’t that bad, but it’s much easier to understand if you can watch it happen.
I was waiting for the strip that explained if the jammer and pivot symbols were the normal sleeves or if they had been painted onto the helmets. I highly appreciate the detail, even if the story forced Willis to draw sports.