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M Sipher @msipher.bsky.social ⋅ 6h
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that sounds familiar
if only the only boarding school in Tennessee I knew of wasn’t that one then I could be more helpful pinpointing the (fictional, for reasons) school Sal attended, but ain’t no way she got a Southern accent THERE
also I either lived in a safe town and/or was surprisingly oblivious bc I never once felt threatened wandering around places I’d never been before
We saw her school uniforms. Avalon High opened a satellite campus in Tennessee. It wanted a conservative corner of the country because it’s stuck in the past.
Dang Yankees don’t understand The South Will uhn, ..Always be stuck in the past.
Given her mentioning of the landscape, I’m assuming more on the eastern end of Tennessee. If it was near a metropolitan area, maybe Knoxville? Her dialogue here makes it sound like she wasn’t in a super remote / rural area if she had multiple bars to explore.
In the South they just call Southern Comfort “Comfort”, because why specify the region when you’re there? It’d be like specifying Chicago-style pizza at a pizzeria in Chicago.
Sadly, Sal didn’t have a good fake ID so she never found any.
What if you’re in Chicago and want some other style of pizza?
I should probably know better than to ask questions about pizza in here, but whatevs.
I actually grew up in Chicago not knowing about Chicago-style pizza. I guess my parents didn’t like it and I didn’t have much social life. Home pizza was Eduardo’s (flat, rectangle cuts, good), school (flat, rectangle, not good) or Chuck E Cheese on school/other kid things.
My first deep-dish was in Seattle. Most of my others were at Zachary’s in Oakland. I tried Uno in Boston, but, not good.
thats because its a longstanding corporate chain store, quality has gone down a lot.
In case of Winter emergencies, Danny’s party in the back hair can be used as a source of warmth.
In case of a shipwreck, his hat can be used as a floatation device. He’s surprisingly useful to have around.
You can burn his ukulele as a signal fire, or just because it’s a ukulele.
And if you’re feeling down, he’s great to lean on. Danny is multi talented.
So you’re saying he’s supportive…?
Burn his uke? Who is he, Fflewddur Flam?
Rarely have I wanted an upvote button so much.
Agreed.
ha ha ha ha ha ahhhhh.
You capitalized winter, and for some reason I had Harry Dresden asking Danny for help in my head.
Awww, she’s being emotionally vulnerable!
Seriously I love this.
You gotta wonder if she’s said this stuff to anyone except for Marcie.
I’m so worried because I think they’re so sweet together but track record for relationships with Willis is awful, I’ll be heartbroken when they break up.
Mmm, this relationship, at least, has a stable foundation. Like, it’s not based on negative emotions or generally unhealthy dynamics.
Likewise. I think they’d make a good couple, especially since their relationship in this universe seems to be much better than their counterparts in the other universe. But I’m worried that Willis will sink this ship, because he tends to do that with the ships I like.
Probably eventually, but there could easily be years of this ship to enjoy before then.
Right, I’d forgotten that “never letting you leave ever” was a thing that boarding schools did. (apologies if that comes off as sarcastic– it’s not meant to be)
It’s amazing just how many of the things that I kinda took for granted about Sal are getting explanations lately, between this and the motorcycle.
It’s mind blowing what we simply accept/don’t question because it is just outside if our purview.
Of*
It is if your “boarding school” is a thinly disguised Juvenile Hall.
or literally in a different state/country from your family of origin, and the school doesn’t want liability for anything happening to you
Yeah, my boarding-school-for-kids-who-don’t-fit-into-the-regular-school-system (which, to be clear, in my case meant that I reacted badly to being bullied, in a way that made it difficult for my old school to pretend it wasn’t happening) didn’t let us out at night except on Supervised Activities, and I never thought there was anything sinister about it; they were in loco parentis, and would have been held responsible if we’d been wandering around town on our own and got mugged, or run over, or bought alcohol.
Yeah, it gets more problematic as they get older, but she was only 13 (or maybe already 14) when she was sent there. Restrictions are appropriate, even if it’s not a “reform” kind of school.
No, she was still 13. She was away for five years. She probably started in 8th grade.
It being a thinly veiled juvie might explain why she never came home for holidays or summer though.
Today’s strip is brought to you by: “I can kinda relate to Sal and it’s sad.”
On the bright side, Sal and Danny make for a cute couple and that’s not sad.
Maybe Sal Just needed to look somewhere she wouldn’t expect.
It’s always in the last place you look.
Well, yeah, because once you find it, you stop looking.
Sometimes it’s in the first place you look, but you didn’t look hard enough until after you came back around.
Which would make the first place you look also the last place you look.
Not if you don’t find it and just give up. There’s lots of things that may not be anywhere you can look. I looked in my teapot for god today, also checked for a cockroach. Unsurprisingly neither were there, and that was good enough for me.
Also, you can find what you’re looking for, but need more of them and keep looking in more places and not find enough.
Lastly, unless you are an astronaut on a weird space-walk, or have a vacuum chamber, the glass is completely full, because we live at the bottom of a gaseous atmosphere. Unless you count the space between atoms and inside electron clouds as empty, in which case the glass is way, way less than half full.
The first rule of Pedantry Club, is to argue over the meaning and phrasing of the first rule of Pedantry Club.
*plays the Al Green version of “Take Me To The River” on the sound system of a passing car*
Eh, I prefer the Talking Heads cover myself, having spent so much time around Black churches it feels more real to me.
Nothing wrong with either, really. Just that the Green version is more likely to be perceived as a “let’s play this for drivetime” song.
So *that’s* how it works.
Did she get closer to him or did he get closer to her? Either way, the distance has been closed. D’aww.
(Also, I think it’s funny that the gal I’ve been talking to is from Tennessee and about as emotionally guarded, maybe it’s something in the water)
Being from/living in Tennessee builds character somehow. One of my best friends is from Tennessee.
Looking at the rocks, looks like she got closer to him.
She got closer to him, her head is on his shoulder
Anyway as someone who’s had so much chaos and uncertainty in my life that my actual ideal romantic fantasy is someone I can rely upon to be the same person every time I look at them:
Sal? Deeply, deeply relatable at the moment.
Just, fuck, the way all that cool, aloof, barbed stuff even from yesterday melted away just like that, like she’s finally got someone to whom she can say out loud that she wants a person in her life who will make her feel comfortable and safe, and that she can say it out loud to them and they’ll understand, that’s heavy, that’s real, y’all.
Damn it. Why you cutting onions here. Now my nose is all runny. And the Ringer’s hydro-static ocular seals are leaking. Damn these feels!
Awwwwww!
The noise I made was not human. I think my neighbours worried I was being murdered by someone named Sal. It’s….it’s not the first time this has happened.
Your search for the Sal avatar speaks volumes about your love of Sal. I approve wholeheartedly of this, Sal is clearly one of the top 3 characters.
She’s my favourite <3
Ahem – I posted this in the previous comic’s comment section, but I only did so like an hour ago so I assume no one’s ever gonna see it. So, here it is again. Couldn’t figure out how to embed the image on the page or anything.
https://ibb.co/JC0SVQS
Oh yeah, we have to deal with that train wreck eventually don’t we?
So a Derby Hat is the official blaspheming headwear of DOA?
Brilliant!
They can’t bang until Amber and Walky do.
I thought that ship had already sailed. Did they not do the horizontal tango already?
At most, they dry-humped. And the ‘ship sank like a brick during the time skip.
Do we know for sure that they never did more than that?
We know they only dry-humped before the time skip, and there was SOME event around that time (around halloween) that caused them to break up. But I can’t remember reading anything to suggest they couldn’t have gone further before their break up.
We won’t know until the slipshine.
I’m guessing not though. They were very hesitant and conflicted and it wasn’t very long until halloween, so there wasn’t much time to work through it.
Amber and Walky seem to be over.
I don’t think those two are happening.
do we recognize that bridge?
Sure, it’s the Owl Creek Bridge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Occurrence_at_Owl_Creek_Bridge_(film)
Clever, but Owl Creek (and the bridge) is two states south of Bloomington.
Yeah, it’s that one bridge, over that one river, which, mind you, is full of water :p
…You’re not from California, are you.
-Where are you guys?
-Down by the creek side.
-Is there water in it?
-… You’re from California, aren’t you.
(Note lack of question mark ^^^)
They’re probably from somewhere more hospitable to human life, like Siberia.
Nah, Siberia’s burning too.
In point of fact, no. I, for one, do not recognize the bridge. I’m sure I will kick myself when someone posts a link to the significamt episode where Anti-Joyce and Danny dropped something mysterious off of this very same bridge, but until then I will assume that this is a pun based on song lyrics I am unfamiliar with.
Here’s a refresher for people who don’t recognize the bridge: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/wheel/
Oh shit. I didn’t realize it was the same bridge.
And @King Daniel gets the internet points for this round. Congratulations KD, what are you going to do next?
That will be a mystery for next time!
I’m afraid that I don’t, but I’m sure I’ll cross it when I come to it.
So yesterday I finally began reading the Walkyverse, and there are things that immediately stood out to me. Like… Is climbing out of windows Sal’s whole thing? I know it sounds stupid but that’s the first thing that stood out to me as being a constant in both universes, aside from Joe being horny all the time.
I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s her whole thing, but it’s definitely something she does a lot of.
I mean, of course. She’s Sal. Her thing is motorcycles, smoking, and sitting in chairs wrong. Seriously though, it never occured to me hoe often she broke in and out of windows until I saw her doing it in Roomies. Props to Willis for taking one joke about her climbing in through Danny’s window into a major theme of her character. Sal seeks freedom, independence, and the joy of exploring a world that had been locked off to her. It’s almost like she has the same disregard for literal windows just as she does for the proverbial “window into another world.” She’s Sal. She’ll go wherever she wants, however she wants, and sit in your chairs however the hell makes her happy.
I am surprised by Sal opening up to Danny, but at least that’s a happy surprise.
But will Danny opening up to Sal?
Didn’t peg either of them to go there, who knows?
‘Southern Comfort’ that is. Ya eva ‘ad that stuff. Amazin.
… and yet Sal never went into a store that sold comforters?
I dod a binge of all the ships Danny and Sal were in together recently and, yeah. This tracks. So many of their sweetest moments are the two of them just being comfortable together, like this.
Warms my heart.
D’awwwwww
I recognize the bridge from when Toe Dad flipped the car trying to kidnap Becky the first time (and what does it say that he tried to abduct his adult daughter more than once?).
It’s also The Bridge on Which Walkyverse!Ruth Acted With Integrity, and had No Regrets.
If that goddamned truck shows up again, so help me…
I do not recall a bridge being involved in the incident, but now I will have to reread the chapter.
If I’ve been bridge-rolled, well done.
Oh there was a bridge, alright.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/truck/
Clif was referring to the Walkyverse incident. There was indeed no bridge there. http://www.bringbackroomies.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/swerve.png
As also seen here: https://www.itswalky.com/comic/act-with-integrity/
Holy Cow, that scene was back in 2015? That was that long ago?
Wonder bread is comfort food.
Awwwwwww.
Also: I wish an awesome girl like Sal cuddled with me like that…
It’s a sign of closeness if someone, especially someone as vulnerable as Sal, is able to open up with you. That doesn’t stop Danny from feeing surprised, of course.
This is amazingly cute.
What a sweet moment ♡! Sal is talking about her past with Danny ♡. I don’t know if in a situation like this the best thing Danny can do is just listen to her or talk back to Sal. She needs to have someone to listen to her and support her, but Danny also has a family without the slightest confidence in his abilities and has never told anyone how much that hurts him. It would be nice if they could both talk about these things to each other.
Oh. Oh my God. My awful black heart. How fucking dare you, Willis??
You better give them the sweetest, most life-affirming Slipshine, dammit. I’ll be waiting. My wallet is ready.
I’m saving my “how dare you,” for the inevitable tragedy that demarcates the end of all joy.
p.s. Though props to Sal and Danny to carve some small slice of happiness (or comfort) out for themselves.
Marriage?
Ba-dunt-tshhhhh
If anyone was still wondering why boarding school was considered a punishment…
Sal is honestly falling really hard and fast for Danny…like Joe was right when he said she went “fuckin bonkers” for him…I’m scared…
Remember kids, a dating partner is not a substitute for therapy.
Sal has been starved for emotional affection her whole life and now with someone who is all about emotional affection, but I don’t think that part’s going to be the actual main source of eventual drama.
I think, naturally, Sal is going to be really forward with Danny in the near future because of that lifetime of affectionate gestures either being a front for emotional blackmail or being genuine but when Sal walls up they turn away. Danny’s someone she can earnestly trust to be as honest as possible and to genuinely mean well by her, so Sal’s being thrown into a completely new scenario with a new set of rules and it’s hitting her like a ton of bricks what she’s missed out on. She can actually just say and act how she feels around Danny because she implicitly trusts him and he’s pretty clearly the first romantic partner she’s had that she can do that with.
I don’t think Sal’s in danger of becoming emotionally dependent on Danny, if Sal caught a whiff of potential for this going wrong she’d probably act on it, and I think Danny himself would recognize if things started to get harmful (because he did that at the end with Amber and then did it again when Ethan).
They’ve only just gotten pushed their relationship a little further and it’s a lot of new ground, so I think at the start it’ll be a lot like this where Sal has to push herself to be open and once she does it all comes out in a big avalanche of Feels. Really, I think the biggest problem is what’s gonna happen when everyone else starts making commentary about Sal dating Danny. Even apart from Malaya or Walky or even god forbid her parents, writing this made me realize that Jennifer would look at this and think “haha Sal’s jealous of me dating Asher so she hooked up with some dork.”
The dork who turned down casual sex with her, no less! Sal’s into DORKS with BAD TASTE! Looks like Jennifer Billingsworth wins* again**, Sal! OHOHOHOHO!!
*: uh huh
**: sure, Jen
Ugh, she would have a villainous noblewoman’s laugh.
She’s basically an evil Karin Kanzuki so it tracks.
Can’t quite decide if this reminds more of Dawsons Creek or Beverly Hills 90210
DoA Book 12: Always Lookin’, Never Findin’
DoA Book 12: Comfort
What a lovely moment
Last panel is now my favorite DoA panel ever. Danny and Sal are my favorite characters and I’m so happy for them <3
Am I the only one who thinks that, if this was an animation, this is when a sad but sweet song of some sort would begin to play that, on the OST, would have the subtitle “Sal’s Theme”.
Maybe something like ‘Forever Fall’ from the RWBY sound track:
“Once, like a dream
You looked at me
And everything felt new
Time slipped away
The past seemed to fade
My hope restored by you“
On the one hand, I adore that song.
On the other…the context of when we heard those lyrics (as opposed to simply the leitmotif) for the first time…ow
Wandered into town from my boarding school one night. Three drunks caught me and beat me up. Left me unconscious in the snow. Townies don’t like boarding school kids. Teenage girl could have faced much worse.
Sal’s been looking for love in all the wrong places. Like Jason’s office. Or the mob kid’s arms. Or in her mother’s eyes. Danny is the right place to recover from all the trauma in her life.
…Did I miss them, or did NO ONE comment on the Avatar reference in the strip title?
I noticed the title was a joke on the dialog, but I don’t get the Avatar reference. In other news, “My cabbages!!!”
That cabbages guy ends up wherever there is someone to knock his cart over.
Is this ship the reason Ethan isn’t in the strip anymore?
Prooooobably not?
Ethan should have other things in his life than whether he’s gonna date Danny. If he doesn’t then he might as well not be here.
Which is why he’s on hiatus. I think when he does come back he’ll have a soft reboot as a character to make him a more interesting and dynamic character instead of just dithering and fretting all the time.
He’ll almost certainly be different, going by what Walky says about him.
I actually want him to come back and we learn the timeskip turned him into an outrageous hyper badass.
Naw, just Goth. Although he could gateway through that to “Witness Meeeee!”
Jesus! There’s a joke about Pole Boys hidden in there and I didn’t even realize it. Now I can’t decide if it’s too crass or just awesome.
I guess the reason is that Amber-Ethan-Mike-Blaine were kind of trapped in something too similar to their Shortpacked! selves. Now Amber can enjoy a new start for her dork self, Ethan can reappear at the worst time because triangles, we can spend our time guessing which character is Mike in disguise and hopefully Blaine is gone forever.
Maybe, but I kind of doubt it. Danthan was pretty thoroughly scuttled before the timeskip. Ethan’s absent because it makes sense for him to be absent.
See I just figured if Danny and Ethan never hooked up that just meant we’d get more queer dudes in the cast.
Like Sayid, or Arnold. Maybe Drew can step up.
Yeah, we had a bridge like that in college. (Central New Hampshire)
Looks like a couple people are going to have cold wet butts.
quick grab each others butts its the only way
AWWW SAL!!!! TTvTT
If you’re looking for comfort, sitting in snow is not the way to find it. Cold butts