Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
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Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
Blindsprings
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Tamaura, wrested into a world 300 years in the future, must find a way to save the magic fading from her country.
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Desperate for companionship, Frankenstein's Monster pretends to be the Opera Ghost. A grave mistake.
Mac Hall
Matt Boyd
The legendary early-aughts webcomic that inspired a wave of webcomic creators.
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.
Slightly Damned
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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!
Namesake
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There's ghosts at your heels and fairy tale worlds ahead. What do you do? Jump down the rabbit hole!
The Otherknown
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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.
Paint the Town Red
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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.
2 Slices
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After a case of mistaken identity, will awkward Daisuke find help from excitable Mamo, or will his love life be thrown completely off track?
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!
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Well, Amber went out, so it’s Amber coming back in. Amber doesn’t ‘let’ Amazi-Girl out anymore, so she’s gotta wait until Amber sleeps, I bet. Man, that relationship is deteriorating.
We’ve seen a lot of the backstory here, Marcie probably feels like Sal’s taking her for granted. She’s working all those part-time jobs and living with several roommates just to be in Bloomington, and Sal pays her back by picking a fight with Amazi-Girl at the DeSanto rally. (That’s not the only instance, but it’s apparently the final straw.)
That is…not at all what I meant by backstory. That’s just previous story.
I mean Marcie and Sal’s history, what happened that Marcie stopped talking, more of Sal’s pre-comic life…you know, actual backstory.
Maybe its good that AG isn’t going on another dissociative romp. But remember, as Amber she seems to want to destroy the reputation of AG, so she could start doing stuff that is, well, really really bad.
I’d rather Amazi-Girl were out – it would mean that, at some point, Amber consciously decided it was OK for her to be out. That’d be a healthy step up from their current situation. As it is, AG has to wait for Amber to be unconscious before she can come out, which is very unhealthy.
Why would the figure being Amazi-Girl preclude the possibility that Amber fell asleep, allowing Amazi-Girl to go on a midnight romp with no conscious consent needed?
Yeah, I find that interesting, just since her expression seems to be different in the first panel. If it was more similar, I would assume she was just happily rambling away about something– maybe Fuckface, maybe being kind of a dick to someone, maybe teaching Fuckface to be kind of a dick to someone– but since it seems like more of a change, I’m not sure.
Something could have just occurred to her and she started talking, I suppose.
Marcie definitely seems to notice Sal before the peace offering, too. And Malaya did bring Marcie to move in to try and help things between them. I almost think she wants Sal to open up. I mean the heckling might just be heckling, but she definitely dislikes Sal’s aloofness.
From my perspective, Malaya does not like Sal. And Sal has been an asshole to her, so she’s had no reason to change her opinion. However, Malaya does care about Marcie. And Marcie is close to Sal, and a part of Marcie being happy. For Malaya, that adds up to telling Sal to get her shit together and make up with Marcie (And Marcie is very justified in being pissed off with Sal right now), but not necessarily having any particular feelings towards Sal herself beyond annoyance.
Is Marcie ‘very justified’?
I mean, she doesn’t know the full story, so I wouldn’t hold it against her, but I thought Amazi-Girl attempted to attack Sal without provocation, and Sal was merely defending herself?
(I might be misremembering, and it’s possible Sal may have escalated, but I thought AG was the aggressor in that situation).
AG was above Sal on the stairs and Sal grabbed and threw her. It’s not clear AG was about to attack, though a reasonable assumption given their previous interactions.
Had that been it though, Marcie might not have gotten in trouble, but Sal went on to join AG in her apparently unprovoked attack on the Congresswoman’s intern.
Malaya was a jerk to Sal far before Sal was a jerk to Malaya. Your perspective is pretty dang fickle. Frankly I don’t think Sal owes Malaya shit, and while Marcie has the right to be pissed with Sal ignoring the reason for Sal’s behavior is just shitty friendship. I think Sal needs to move on.
Put it this way: We don’t know who was a jerk first because we didn’t see their first meeting. It doesn’t really matter. We’ve seen enough of their interactions to know where they’re at now.
That’s fair.
I was just shooting down the “far before” claim. At the least, we don’t know it’s true.
Reading between the lines, I suspect the same dynamic that we’ve seen more explicitly later on was there from the start: Sal wanted to keep Marcie to herself, Marcie brought Malaya in because she was attracted to her and Malaya was her usual self which meant there was no way she was going to be able to smooth Sal’s ruffled feathers.
And they’ve just been getting worse since – muted somewhat for Marcie’s sake.
I’m not sure Marcie was immediately into Malaya. She seemed to like her less during Malaya’s first appearance (like saying AG deserved a medal for hitting Malaya instead of backing her up). But once she joined roller derby, I’d say she’s definitely started by that point (that’s around the point she really starts blowing Sal off to see Malaya).
Joyce: Danny, you use your uke to distract it. Walky, you and I will use our swords to cut off its tentacles, Dorothy and Billie, you attack the head.
Danny separates from the group and runs a bit away from everyone else, whipping out his uke he starts to play Elton John poorly.
Joyce: I think its working! Walky, how are you doing?
Walky: I got one tip cutoff, Rapiers aren’t really designed for this kind of thing!
Billie and Dorothy reach the monsters head and Dorothy up at its massive eye. Taking out the knife Danny gave her, she tosses it as hard as she can up at the beast, put it merely floats away when it breaks from her protective bubble and hits the open water. Billie slams a tentacle away from her and grabs her.
Danny: just keep playing…just keep playing.
Dorothy: Wait a minute…Billie.
Billie: Yeah?
Dorothy: I have an idea.
Billie: yeah?
Dorothy: Okay, so I can’t use fireballs because they won’t work underwater right? But I can use electricity!
Billie: But it would hit us as well.
Dorothy: Not if you’re in a bubble.
Billie: But you would have to be…
Everyone else walks over.
Joyce: What’s going on?
Billie: Dorothy’s gonna kill herself!
Dorothy: It’s the only way!
Billie: Well than…
Billie punches Dorothy in the face knocking her out. She picks up Dorothy’s book and looks over it for a minute before dropping it back down.
Walky: Billie…no.
Billie: See ya around idiots.
Billie tosses her bauble to Joyce and lets the water take her. She swims up and looks the beast in the eye. She gives a slight smile as everyone looks on in abject horror.
Maybe she can just see Sal is feeling a bit low and wants to invite her to visit Garbage Roof…
I mean her efforts at damaging AG’s reputation have, so far, been played for laughs and demonstrated Amber’s ineptitude when it comes to premeditated malice… So fingers crossed this is just foreshadowing more interesting character moments (or at least a decent gag), rather than… I dunno, pushing Danny down the stairs and disappearing into the night?
Amber’s also prone to freeze and switch alters around Sal, though. But then Danny. But then proving herself a monster. We have a lot of options here and none of them end well for Amber’s overall well-being.
It does, and we’ve already seen Amber’s nasty side come out towards Danny on the topic of Sal. Hopefully confronting Ryan may have been a healing experience, but there as more than a hint of Blaine in how she talked to Danny shortly before they broke up.
Amber’s temper runs hot, but she has a better handle on it than she realizes. There’s bursts of rage that slip out, but she’s reigned it in rather quickly, except for a the two guys who deserved it.
And remember, BOTH she and Amazi-Girl have made peace with Sal. Even if she’s still trying to be awful to make AG look bad, I’m not sure it would be any more successful than her other attempts
She’s still pretty shaky around Sal, but yeah, she’s not going to attack her or Danny for being with her or run away and become Amazi-Girl or anything like that.
For some reason, “Valentines Day is coming” instantly made me think of Welcome to Night Vale’s “Street Cleaning Day” episode.
“Valentines Day will be upon us soon. We have little time to prepare. Please remain calm!…If you have doors, lock them. If you have windows, board them up. If you still have ears, cover them, and crouch wherever you are.”
RUN! RUN! FORGET YOUR CHILDREN AND LEAVE BEHIND THE WEAK! RUN!
Not even necessarily hold it against her, but assuming she knows that Sal stopped because of her, what does it mean that Sal starts again when they’re fighting?
We can read it as Sal letting out some of the pain she’s feeling about missing Marcie, but will she just see it as Sal having given up on her.
Looks to me like Marcie’s expression hardens after Sal starts singing again. Reads to me as if she does realize that Sal’s singing to her and she’s consciously rejecting it.
If you finished the rest of it:
*cuts to amazi girl crying*
What have I become
My sweetest friend
*cuts to Dorothy studying and Walky sleeping in his bed alone*
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
*cut to Ruth and Billie date*
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
So I’m just going to ignore Sal for just a small second and Talk about Marcie and Malaya.
Ok I get that Marcie what’s to move slow with hooking up with Malaya which is why she’s beating around the bush. But I Wonder can she really wait around forever ? I mean what happens if someone else comes along and steals her ?
I think part of the problem is that Marcie does not know whether Malaya is gay, bi or straight. (I think the last time the issue was brought up, Sal was asking Marcie if she knew whether Malaya had any interest in girls at all.)
So, the longer she waits to try hooking up with Malaya, the longer Marcie can maintain a fantasy of being with her in the event that she’s actually straight.
I find it odd that people assume it’s Ultra-Car’s species and not the fact that she and Malaya actually had compatible personalities and managed to click on a personal level (which she never did with Les, or whatsisface) that did it.
I’m pretty sure Malaya was basically demisexual (she wasn’t exactly non-sexual—that was her one big conflict with Carla, after all), and I’m *pretty* sure she was romantic along the same line. Then again, maybe she always just saw Carla as a really good, really hot friend. Interpretation is up.
I don’t see why robots not existing should effect her sexuality. I’m not sure whether she was bi-ish, lesbian-ish, robosexual, or something else though. I’m leaning towards robosexual. I think she once told Ultra Carla that her partner wanting sexual stuff from her during sex was sort of a turn off anyways, if that is an actual part of her sexuality and not just being cool with her Ultra Carla treating it like a sort of videogame which only real enjoyment gained is making her happy or getting a high score Marcie will most likely be disappointed.
Yeah, I don’t think Marcie wants to move slow. She’d jump Malaya’s bones right now, if she could.
But she’s afraid of being rejected and losing even the fantasy, as you say.
I just played the song on GarageBand (way too late to bust out my guitar and wake everyone) and yeah, this is Sal’s song. And it’s addressed to Amber, Marcie, Malaya and herself. Danny is functioning as her friend and as the conduit for her emotional outlet.
Amber is watching Sal from a distance; it’s the closest she can get to her most days. I suspect that she doesn’t know if she’s happy Danny’s got someone new in his life or if she’s jealous and she doesn’t trust her own perspectives enough to come to a solid conclusion on this matter.
Check the tags – that’s Amber. AG seems to be fully repressed right now, which, according to my very scarce understanding of DID, is a surefire way to make sure the Amber/AG psychological health status is going to implode spectacularly.
Yeah, Sal has a lot of complicated people and complicated relationships in her life to sing about, doesn’t she? The best friend whom she couldn’t keep and the superhero whom she doesn’t know if she despises or admires are just the two most familiar to us.
Nah, she’s saying something to Marcie, happy to be with her gf and completely oblivious to the fact that Marcie has got the message Sal is giving with this song (consciously or no) and is miserable being at odds with her childhood best friend.
Pretty sure Malaya hasn’t shown any interest in Marcie at all, and they definitely didn’t start going out. Also I read Marcie as still being pissed rather than miserable. Her expression isn’t sad
Okay, two crack theories:
1. Malaya sees Amazigirl, and is grinning because she still wants payback. Yes, it’s weird to smile, but this is Malaya we’re talking about. She’s kinda hard to predict sometimes.
2. Malaya wants Sal to open up. In her tiny little box labeled, in marker, “Malaya’s Empathetic Insights”, Malaya seems to have marked Sal as a self-made loner (kinda true) who puts up a huge cool fake front out of arrogance (kinda not true). So Sal singing here, in a fairly vulnerable way, might actually satisfy Malaya. “She finally took my advice!” Malaya says, dumbly.
(I totally love Malaya and the haters can go jump off a diving board, they’re clearly stressed and angry and deserve some fun, go for a swim!)
It’s nice to hear from other people who like Malaya. She gets a bad rap. I mean she does have a gigantic chip on her shoulder, but so does half the cast. The hatred she draws seems a bit inordinate.
But what crappy behavior? The sum total of Malaya’s actions are as follows:
-Bought her friend and casual acquaintances beer.
-Accepted a challenge to a fight.
-Suckerpunched Amazgirl (Dickish, but Amazing girl did come spoiling for a fight.)
-Start Learning ASL.
-Escalate a fight Sal started.
-Find cheerful people irritating
-Request a transfer when she had an incompatible roommate.
-Try to patch up Sal and Marcie’s friendship.
-Trade barbs with Sal in general.
Sal has been nothing but shitty to Malaya, she doesn’t owe her any civility. What has she done that’s so bad? Take exception to being insulted and attacked?
She was shining a light in Sal’s face, then gaslighting her when she objected to it. That’s not “trading barbs”- since she moved in sal just wants to be left alone and Malaya insists on starting shit anyways.
Right, but can you see how that’s relatively small potatoes? Ruth, who’s job it is to make people safe and welcome, stole from her charges. Billie looked the other way while her friends stuffed Walky in a locker, Joyce stated that homosexuals were unambiguously sinners, and Malaya… shined a light in someones eyes? Made a rude comment about her roommate?
My point isn’t that we should like the other characters less. I’m just supporting my earlier statement that Malaya does seem draw an inordinate amount of hate.
Malaya hasn’t shown us anything else.
Some of the others have changed, gone through their own traumas or we’ve at least seen them do selfless, helpful things in addition to the nasty ones.
She attacks people for no reason. That’s a pretty good reason to hate someone. I’m fine with you liking her. Just so long as you recognize her flaws you do you mate.
Amazing Girl goes out and attacks people as part of a weekly routine. Ruth antagonized everyone within her jurisdiction and physically assaulted two of those people. Malay has never struck someone unless someone asked her too or she was struck first.
One possible hidden significance to panel 6. Sal is ‘telling’ Amazi-Girl that she knows that she is also Amber O’Malley and she remembers who it was who maimed her right hand.
Yeah, that was my first reaction, too – is Sal aware of Amber/Amazi-Girl in the background, and hinting at something here? It’s not quite clear if she’s looking at her, either…
They share the same body; as far as Sal knows, they’re regular alter egos, not different psyches sharing the same meatspace. So, by talking to Amazi-Girl, she would assume she is talking to Amber (assuming that she knows they are one and the same, which is a possibility).
I don’t think Sal has ever expressed know who AG is. If anything she’s expressed that she doesn’t even know who Amber is considering she didn’t acknowledge Amber being the one who stabbed her at any point before in this strip.
♪What have i become, my sweetest friend? Everyone i know… goes away… in the end. And you could have it all, my empire of dirt! I will let you down. I will make you hurt.♪
I’m currently thinking its even odds that Amber red panels and tries to start a fight (and ends up hurting Danny, who tries to get in between them) or that she drops down next to them, pulls off her mask and starts singing too.
For some reason, my sense of narrative loves the thought of Danny providing the music as these two woman, to both of whom he’s become something important without really knowing or intending it, sing out their hurt.
Hurt, by Nine Inch Nails off their seminal album The Downward Spiral, also famously covered by Johnny Cash in a heartwrenching way. You really need to hear both versions… now… on repeat…
Just watched the Johnny Cash video for Hurt again…and once again it brought tears to my eyes. It’s a powerful song and a powerful video.
And it’s so appropriate here given all Sal’s been through. Danny needs to move to a guitar though. A ukulele is such a twangy instrument, the deeper tone of a guitar is so much better, especially with this song. He can still be a good egg with a guitar.
For me what ties it together is the last time we saw Amber – on the roof yelling “Hey you two, stop that”. Since then we have seen couple after couple making decisons, most of them bad.
Great sequence here. This is why I read about 20 web comics, but save this one for last.
I’ve been pretty bad at guessing what Willis has in mind, so take this with a dump truck full of salt:
It occurs to me that Amber might hear the lyrics that Sal sings in the last panel, and snap a little. Because Sal doesn’t remember (or really, rather, know) what she did to Ethan (or rather, that it was Ethan she did it to), and what Amber did to her (or rather, that it was Amber that did it), and what doing what Amber did to Sal did to Amber.
Depends, memories like that have a tendency to hurt everyone involved, so sometimes pretending not to remember is the only plan you’ve got. (I mean, as we’ve seen, “not remembering” can also hurt others, but when remembering definitely will…)
Malaya recognizes the song. And she notices that Sal is singing this to Marcie.
And what that means for the relationship between Sal and Marcie:
“I will let you down.
I will make you hurt.”
In her ears, Sal announces the end of Sal’s friendship to Marcie.
Eyes straight ahead, without a target object, in comics ‘language’ is generally a sign of being oblivious, so whatever is going on, Malaya can be read as not noticing.
Me if I ever see Tony Hawk: Hey you’re Tony Hawk the famous skateboarder. That’s right I recognise you. Won’t be able to get any content out of this will you, you piece of shit
How to read all 28 issues of my Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane run on Marvel Unlimited:
1: The first four issues were published as the miniseries "Mary Jane."
www.marvel.com/comics/serie...
today in #9chickweedlane i learned we have to be shown children learning and relearning what sex is, for Reasons, even though they already clearly know and have prepared nuanced questions about it!
also that Gran must hate, if she's still alive, how Old Juliette is the same but with gray hair
one of my favorite things is when a commenter explodes WHEN DO THESE CHARACTERS GET THERAPY but directed towards a character who canonically has a regular therapist
Hot Toys Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 1/6 Scale Darth Vader Deluxe ($495) & Standard ($315) is up for preorder at Sideshow - shrsl.com/4wcx6 #ad
If you preorder make sure to hit the Exclusive versions since they include a commemorative plaque and cost the same.
btw if you're one of those rando bluesky weirdos who doesn't know me but sees me in the wild being sarcastic and don't know i'm being sarcastic because you haven't taken like 30 seconds to, like, maybe look at my user profile or something, keep walking, you're not going to score internet points here
Here's an entertaining cite at the bottom of the first page
Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
JUST IN: Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan moves to dismiss federal criminal case against her for allegedly helping immigrant hide from ICE. Her lawyers say she's protected by official acts & judicial immunity and 10th Amendment. Doc: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Where did Hollywood go so wrong? I thought movies were supposed to be an escape from reality, a chance to put your worries aside and not have to think about any underlying ideas or concepts. Well, not anymore.
theonion.com/you-can...
It's not a new argument, of course, but Chesterton dismissed it effectively in 1908.
"You will hear everlastingly... this argument that the rich man cannot be bribed. The fact is, of course, that the rich man is bribed; he has been bribed already. That is why he is a rich man."
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com ⋅ 2d
Hawley dismisses Trump lining his pockets with his memecoin: "Listen, I think nobody believes that Donald Trump can be bought. I mean, what does Donald Trump need more money for?"
preternia @preternia.com ⋅ 1d
Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com ⋅ 2d
Pavel
@spavel.bsky.social ⋅ 12d
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♪everyone I know goes away in the end♫
(I legit tried to record my impression of Sanny here but it was a comedy of errors and now I need to replace a fifty-year-old ukulele string)
[but at least it was in tune before it went!]
{an’ ah got mah Southun twang back}
50 years old? Jesus. I also couldn’t seem to strum it fast enough for the Cash version.
it’s an heirloom, basically
also I see how Danny’s got out of tune–damn new strings won’t stay in place b/c this one’s saddle is bullshit
Addressing Marcie directly?
And you can have it all…
i will let you down
i will make you hurt
My name is Jerry Smith and I love sucking big, sweaty dick and licking disgusting furry testicle sacks.
Well-placed comment
I don’t remember those lyrics.
why are you guys in such a hurry… jeez
Wait for tomorrow
Who says we can’t sing the whole thing again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and……
I see you in the shadows
Perhaps the real reason she’s out. The real person she’s singing for.
Oops, or not. Some folks caught that it’s Amber, not AG.
Well, Amber went out, so it’s Amber coming back in. Amber doesn’t ‘let’ Amazi-Girl out anymore, so she’s gotta wait until Amber sleeps, I bet. Man, that relationship is deteriorating.
[chanting] Backstory! Backstory! Backstory!
…. No red panels! No red panels!
We’ve seen a lot of the backstory here, Marcie probably feels like Sal’s taking her for granted. She’s working all those part-time jobs and living with several roommates just to be in Bloomington, and Sal pays her back by picking a fight with Amazi-Girl at the DeSanto rally. (That’s not the only instance, but it’s apparently the final straw.)
That is…not at all what I meant by backstory. That’s just previous story.
I mean Marcie and Sal’s history, what happened that Marcie stopped talking, more of Sal’s pre-comic life…you know, actual backstory.
“But ah remember everythin’.” with Amber/Amazi-Girl in the back. Clever
This reminded me to check the tag– it’s Amber, which I guess is good since it means that’s not (currently) AG on another memory-free midnight romp.
I’m surprised I didn’t think to tag-check, good catch. And yes I agree, I’m glad AG isn’t going on another dissociative romp around campus
Maybe its good that AG isn’t going on another dissociative romp. But remember, as Amber she seems to want to destroy the reputation of AG, so she could start doing stuff that is, well, really really bad.
Especially with Sal and Danny around. Prove she’s garbage to him, breakdown about her…
I’d rather Amazi-Girl were out – it would mean that, at some point, Amber consciously decided it was OK for her to be out. That’d be a healthy step up from their current situation. As it is, AG has to wait for Amber to be unconscious before she can come out, which is very unhealthy.
Why would the figure being Amazi-Girl preclude the possibility that Amber fell asleep, allowing Amazi-Girl to go on a midnight romp with no conscious consent needed?
Or potentially that Amazi-Girl was able to take control even with Amber awake.
yeah, I thought it was AG, too. was expecting a wee bit of trouble with the ex hanging wth the nemesis.
Of course, she’s in costume, so probably still on her campaign to ruin Amazi-Girl’s rep, so she might be about to jump Sal.
It’s KINDA good, except AG was the one who could mostly keep her shit when around Sal.
Good eye! I didn’t see that connection
Lot’s of feels in this one.
these are some popular stairs
I suspect it’s not a stairway to heaven.
More of a Highway to Hell?
Aaaaaand Malaya’s…. smiling, right? Not singing along? Yeah this is gonna be interesting. You know on Sunday.
Well I mean, Malaya thrives on human misery.
Yeah, I find that interesting, just since her expression seems to be different in the first panel. If it was more similar, I would assume she was just happily rambling away about something– maybe Fuckface, maybe being kind of a dick to someone, maybe teaching Fuckface to be kind of a dick to someone– but since it seems like more of a change, I’m not sure.
Something could have just occurred to her and she started talking, I suppose.
Marcie definitely seems to notice Sal before the peace offering, too. And Malaya did bring Marcie to move in to try and help things between them. I almost think she wants Sal to open up. I mean the heckling might just be heckling, but she definitely dislikes Sal’s aloofness.
From my perspective, Malaya does not like Sal. And Sal has been an asshole to her, so she’s had no reason to change her opinion. However, Malaya does care about Marcie. And Marcie is close to Sal, and a part of Marcie being happy. For Malaya, that adds up to telling Sal to get her shit together and make up with Marcie (And Marcie is very justified in being pissed off with Sal right now), but not necessarily having any particular feelings towards Sal herself beyond annoyance.
Is Marcie ‘very justified’?
I mean, she doesn’t know the full story, so I wouldn’t hold it against her, but I thought Amazi-Girl attempted to attack Sal without provocation, and Sal was merely defending herself?
(I might be misremembering, and it’s possible Sal may have escalated, but I thought AG was the aggressor in that situation).
AG was above Sal on the stairs and Sal grabbed and threw her. It’s not clear AG was about to attack, though a reasonable assumption given their previous interactions.
Had that been it though, Marcie might not have gotten in trouble, but Sal went on to join AG in her apparently unprovoked attack on the Congresswoman’s intern.
Malaya was a jerk to Sal far before Sal was a jerk to Malaya. Your perspective is pretty dang fickle. Frankly I don’t think Sal owes Malaya shit, and while Marcie has the right to be pissed with Sal ignoring the reason for Sal’s behavior is just shitty friendship. I think Sal needs to move on.
In Malaya’s first appearance, Sal’s a jerk to her. “Yer abso-freakin’ right, Marcie, Ah do hate that we’ve somehow befriended Malaya.”
Malaya’s being a jerk about splitting the beer there, but it’s not particularly directed at Sal.
Put it this way: We don’t know who was a jerk first because we didn’t see their first meeting. It doesn’t really matter. We’ve seen enough of their interactions to know where they’re at now.
That’s fair.
I was just shooting down the “far before” claim. At the least, we don’t know it’s true.
Reading between the lines, I suspect the same dynamic that we’ve seen more explicitly later on was there from the start: Sal wanted to keep Marcie to herself, Marcie brought Malaya in because she was attracted to her and Malaya was her usual self which meant there was no way she was going to be able to smooth Sal’s ruffled feathers.
And they’ve just been getting worse since – muted somewhat for Marcie’s sake.
I’m not sure Marcie was immediately into Malaya. She seemed to like her less during Malaya’s first appearance (like saying AG deserved a medal for hitting Malaya instead of backing her up). But once she joined roller derby, I’d say she’s definitely started by that point (that’s around the point she really starts blowing Sal off to see Malaya).
Or she’s gloating because Marcie just snubbed Sal?
something’s going to happen and I’m not sure I am ready for it
Dumbing and Dungeons Part 11
Joyce: Danny, you use your uke to distract it. Walky, you and I will use our swords to cut off its tentacles, Dorothy and Billie, you attack the head.
Danny separates from the group and runs a bit away from everyone else, whipping out his uke he starts to play Elton John poorly.
Joyce: I think its working! Walky, how are you doing?
Walky: I got one tip cutoff, Rapiers aren’t really designed for this kind of thing!
Billie and Dorothy reach the monsters head and Dorothy up at its massive eye. Taking out the knife Danny gave her, she tosses it as hard as she can up at the beast, put it merely floats away when it breaks from her protective bubble and hits the open water. Billie slams a tentacle away from her and grabs her.
Danny: just keep playing…just keep playing.
Dorothy: Wait a minute…Billie.
Billie: Yeah?
Dorothy: I have an idea.
Billie: yeah?
Dorothy: Okay, so I can’t use fireballs because they won’t work underwater right? But I can use electricity!
Billie: But it would hit us as well.
Dorothy: Not if you’re in a bubble.
Billie: But you would have to be…
Everyone else walks over.
Joyce: What’s going on?
Billie: Dorothy’s gonna kill herself!
Dorothy: It’s the only way!
Billie: Well than…
Billie punches Dorothy in the face knocking her out. She picks up Dorothy’s book and looks over it for a minute before dropping it back down.
Walky: Billie…no.
Billie: See ya around idiots.
Billie tosses her bauble to Joyce and lets the water take her. She swims up and looks the beast in the eye. She gives a slight smile as everyone looks on in abject horror.
Billie: Electra Nimbus.
Some1 now realizes he got the name of his own fucking fanfic wrong.
Wait, this is a fucking fanfic? Take it to Slipshine already!
(or don’t, that probs counts as copyright infringement)
It does feature a lot of tentacles…
I am looking forward to the next installment of this story
That’s what happens when you use a real place as your setting instead of Featureless White Void University.
Now imagine a joke about Mike Costa’s version of Dumbing of Age, maybe about how we’d still be in the first week by now.
I HAVE to link this. It’s just so funny to me. (I hope I remember how to make links in html.)
Revelation: I do not. Take 2:
To hell with it, here. https://78.media.tumblr.com/1794469e43f710e4793c6b4a3976d994/tumblr_ogxu7fah0G1s8bfejo1_500.png
thank you for that
Thank you for sharing this. I didn’t know what to expect, but it made me laugh
It’s the first HTML tag listed in the “NOTE” between the text box and your name
This strip is like the rug in The Big Lebowski. It really ties everything together.
But what about Neomi? And Dorothy?
And Marcie’s pissed all over it.
What have I become…
Hey, Danny, I believe there’s a song from a show you enjoy that starts with ‘Why don’t you just talk to each other?’
…Any day now, Dan.
I see a cape in the background but the tag is for Amber.
Looks like Danny found himself some backup singers. Time to form a band.
Also I see AG in the background there. Not sure if that’s good or bad.
Actually Amber, if that changes things for you.
Not sure that it does change things. Amber’s bent on destroying AG’s reputation now so…
According to the tags it’s Amber, not AG. Still not sure which would be better around Danny and Sal at this point though.
Maybe she can just see Sal is feeling a bit low and wants to invite her to visit Garbage Roof…
I mean her efforts at damaging AG’s reputation have, so far, been played for laughs and demonstrated Amber’s ineptitude when it comes to premeditated malice… So fingers crossed this is just foreshadowing more interesting character moments (or at least a decent gag), rather than… I dunno, pushing Danny down the stairs and disappearing into the night?
I really hope Marcie finds out sooner rather than later how much of a jerk Malaya is.
Malaya wears her jerk on her sleeve. Marcie digs it.
Yeah, Marcie is well aware (and apparently has no problem with) Malaya’s jerkiness.
Sexual attraction can tint a lot of things pink. Plus, Malaya treats Marcie nice while being a jerk to others. It can make one feel special.
Maybe Marcie likes soda pop?
I’m not sure it bodes well that that’s Amber back there. Amazi-girl might be struggling to come to terms with Sal, but Amber’s temper does run hotter.
Amber’s also prone to freeze and switch alters around Sal, though. But then Danny. But then proving herself a monster. We have a lot of options here and none of them end well for Amber’s overall well-being.
It does, and we’ve already seen Amber’s nasty side come out towards Danny on the topic of Sal. Hopefully confronting Ryan may have been a healing experience, but there as more than a hint of Blaine in how she talked to Danny shortly before they broke up.
Amber’s temper runs hot, but she has a better handle on it than she realizes. There’s bursts of rage that slip out, but she’s reigned it in rather quickly, except for a the two guys who deserved it.
And remember, BOTH she and Amazi-Girl have made peace with Sal. Even if she’s still trying to be awful to make AG look bad, I’m not sure it would be any more successful than her other attempts
She’s still pretty shaky around Sal, but yeah, she’s not going to attack her or Danny for being with her or run away and become Amazi-Girl or anything like that.
The Sal and Marcie fight has been making my heart ache for a long time. I hope those two hash things out one way or the other soon.
Valentines Day is coming.
Sal and Marcie aren’t dating (that we know of) – Valentine’s Day seems reserved for couples in distress.
We definitely know they aren’t: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/fuck/
right, I forgot about that
I was kidding around. Pretty sure Marcie/Sal is strictly a fan fiction thing. They are pretty definitively not dating now.
For some reason, “Valentines Day is coming” instantly made me think of Welcome to Night Vale’s “Street Cleaning Day” episode.
“Valentines Day will be upon us soon. We have little time to prepare. Please remain calm!…If you have doors, lock them. If you have windows, board them up. If you still have ears, cover them, and crouch wherever you are.”
RUN! RUN! FORGET YOUR CHILDREN AND LEAVE BEHIND THE WEAK! RUN!
REMAIN CALM.
Did this send anyone else on a Youtube ukulele cover hunt trying to find a cover that captures this scene?
Anyway this one is the best match to me so far. https://youtu.be/yPq7ZGcGcyA
Here comes the night.
I just love that after Danny’s previous failed attempt at playing something Sal would like (http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/04-the-do-list/folksy/), it seems that he’s gone out of his way to learn some music that would specifically cater to her tastes.
This is why I love the comments section
Marcie is still mad?
I’m hoping they talk soon
And now Marcie walks by and hears Sal singing, something she hasn’t done since they were 12 out of fairness. Nice.
Yup. As a reminder to people, Marcie can hear fine, she just can’t talk.
The question is how much of Sal not singing is self-guilt or if Marcie would actually hold it against her.
Not even necessarily hold it against her, but assuming she knows that Sal stopped because of her, what does it mean that Sal starts again when they’re fighting?
We can read it as Sal letting out some of the pain she’s feeling about missing Marcie, but will she just see it as Sal having given up on her.
Looks to me like Marcie’s expression hardens after Sal starts singing again. Reads to me as if she does realize that Sal’s singing to her and she’s consciously rejecting it.
If you finished the rest of it:
*cuts to amazi girl crying*
What have I become
My sweetest friend
*cuts to Dorothy studying and Walky sleeping in his bed alone*
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
*cut to Ruth and Billie date*
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
Why would you do this to me
So I’m just going to ignore Sal for just a small second and Talk about Marcie and Malaya.
Ok I get that Marcie what’s to move slow with hooking up with Malaya which is why she’s beating around the bush. But I Wonder can she really wait around forever ? I mean what happens if someone else comes along and steals her ?
I think part of the problem is that Marcie does not know whether Malaya is gay, bi or straight. (I think the last time the issue was brought up, Sal was asking Marcie if she knew whether Malaya had any interest in girls at all.)
So, the longer she waits to try hooking up with Malaya, the longer Marcie can maintain a fantasy of being with her in the event that she’s actually straight.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/amove/
By the rules of the constant sexuality between Willis’ old comics and Dumbing of Age…
Malaya tried men and it didn’t kick. Malaya tried women and it didn’t kick. Then she fell in love with Carla, who was a robot.
I have no idea who she’ll have a hitch for in this universe. Maybe she’s ace and aro?
I find it odd that people assume it’s Ultra-Car’s species and not the fact that she and Malaya actually had compatible personalities and managed to click on a personal level (which she never did with Les, or whatsisface) that did it.
I’m pretty sure Malaya was basically demisexual (she wasn’t exactly non-sexual—that was her one big conflict with Carla, after all), and I’m *pretty* sure she was romantic along the same line. Then again, maybe she always just saw Carla as a really good, really hot friend. Interpretation is up.
I read her as demi too. She didn’t fall for Ultra Car until they were closer, iirc too.
I don’t see why robots not existing should effect her sexuality. I’m not sure whether she was bi-ish, lesbian-ish, robosexual, or something else though. I’m leaning towards robosexual. I think she once told Ultra Carla that her partner wanting sexual stuff from her during sex was sort of a turn off anyways, if that is an actual part of her sexuality and not just being cool with her Ultra Carla treating it like a sort of videogame which only real enjoyment gained is making her happy or getting a high score Marcie will most likely be disappointed.
Yeah, I don’t think Marcie wants to move slow. She’d jump Malaya’s bones right now, if she could.
But she’s afraid of being rejected and losing even the fantasy, as you say.
David, I am *LOVING* how you draw Sal when she’s singing. It’s AMAZING.
it feels professionally animated. And I mean that as I wrote it.
(Emotional sigh)
I just played the song on GarageBand (way too late to bust out my guitar and wake everyone) and yeah, this is Sal’s song. And it’s addressed to Amber, Marcie, Malaya and herself. Danny is functioning as her friend and as the conduit for her emotional outlet.
This is starting to feel like a break up song.
And I mean like a “break up” break up song.
Friendships are valid and romantic love isn’t the only or most important kind of love and it’s wrong to assume-
This feels like a break up song.
If I am wrong, it might be how I was projecting something I once struggled with with one friend of mine that I was also, confused. About.
Marcy knows exactly what you’re doing, Sal.
Have things gotten that bad?
And what’s amaze girl doing there?
Amber is watching Sal from a distance; it’s the closest she can get to her most days. I suspect that she doesn’t know if she’s happy Danny’s got someone new in his life or if she’s jealous and she doesn’t trust her own perspectives enough to come to a solid conclusion on this matter.
Sounds feasible.
But that’s Amaze girl. There’s a cape.
unless Amber’s driving in Amaze girl’s clothes again.
Or, Amaze girl can’t separate herself from those feelings of Amber’s.
There’s a distinction. And the fight going on internally is a big problem, as much as any of Sal’s huge amounts of drama in this.
Check the tags – that’s Amber. AG seems to be fully repressed right now, which, according to my very scarce understanding of DID, is a surefire way to make sure the Amber/AG psychological health status is going to implode spectacularly.
Fully repressed, except when she goes out at night doing her thing while Amber is asleep and leaving her with no memory.
Which ain’t good.
Yeah, Sal has a lot of complicated people and complicated relationships in her life to sing about, doesn’t she? The best friend whom she couldn’t keep and the superhero whom she doesn’t know if she despises or admires are just the two most familiar to us.
This has to sound so strange on a ukulele…
Malaya actually like when Sal sings ?
Yeah, this is weird. She and Marcie aren’t signing…. so? What IS happening there?
Nah, she’s saying something to Marcie, happy to be with her gf and completely oblivious to the fact that Marcie has got the message Sal is giving with this song (consciously or no) and is miserable being at odds with her childhood best friend.
Pretty sure Malaya hasn’t shown any interest in Marcie at all, and they definitely didn’t start going out. Also I read Marcie as still being pissed rather than miserable. Her expression isn’t sad
Okay, two crack theories:
1. Malaya sees Amazigirl, and is grinning because she still wants payback. Yes, it’s weird to smile, but this is Malaya we’re talking about. She’s kinda hard to predict sometimes.
2. Malaya wants Sal to open up. In her tiny little box labeled, in marker, “Malaya’s Empathetic Insights”, Malaya seems to have marked Sal as a self-made loner (kinda true) who puts up a huge cool fake front out of arrogance (kinda not true). So Sal singing here, in a fairly vulnerable way, might actually satisfy Malaya. “She finally took my advice!” Malaya says, dumbly.
(I totally love Malaya and the haters can go jump off a diving board, they’re clearly stressed and angry and deserve some fun, go for a swim!)
It’s nice to hear from other people who like Malaya. She gets a bad rap. I mean she does have a gigantic chip on her shoulder, but so does half the cast. The hatred she draws seems a bit inordinate.
It’s because Malaya expresses her shoulder-chip in aggressive, active ways while others express it passively.
most of the cast are working on being better people. so far, we haven’t seen Malaya show even a hint of remorse for *her* crappy behaviour.
But what crappy behavior? The sum total of Malaya’s actions are as follows:
-Bought her friend and casual acquaintances beer.
-Accepted a challenge to a fight.
-Suckerpunched Amazgirl (Dickish, but Amazing girl did come spoiling for a fight.)
-Start Learning ASL.
-Escalate a fight Sal started.
-Find cheerful people irritating
-Request a transfer when she had an incompatible roommate.
-Try to patch up Sal and Marcie’s friendship.
-Trade barbs with Sal in general.
Sal has been nothing but shitty to Malaya, she doesn’t owe her any civility. What has she done that’s so bad? Take exception to being insulted and attacked?
She was shining a light in Sal’s face, then gaslighting her when she objected to it. That’s not “trading barbs”- since she moved in sal just wants to be left alone and Malaya insists on starting shit anyways.
IIRC she said mean things to Lucy too.
Right, but can you see how that’s relatively small potatoes? Ruth, who’s job it is to make people safe and welcome, stole from her charges. Billie looked the other way while her friends stuffed Walky in a locker, Joyce stated that homosexuals were unambiguously sinners, and Malaya… shined a light in someones eyes? Made a rude comment about her roommate?
My point isn’t that we should like the other characters less. I’m just supporting my earlier statement that Malaya does seem draw an inordinate amount of hate.
Malaya hasn’t shown us anything else.
Some of the others have changed, gone through their own traumas or we’ve at least seen them do selfless, helpful things in addition to the nasty ones.
Malaya is teaching herself ASL.
She attacks people for no reason. That’s a pretty good reason to hate someone. I’m fine with you liking her. Just so long as you recognize her flaws you do you mate.
Who did Malaya attack for no reason?
Amazing Girl goes out and attacks people as part of a weekly routine. Ruth antagonized everyone within her jurisdiction and physically assaulted two of those people. Malay has never struck someone unless someone asked her too or she was struck first.
*Malaya
Time to listen to the Johnny Cash cover of “Hurt” again. (I’m assuming that’s the version they’re doing.) I’m a glutton for earwormery.
….. okay, I was with you right up until that horrific visual image at the end.
I was going to point out that that wasn’t what that meant, but now that you mention it… eeuych
Hey I didn’t create that meaning of the phrase “earworm”.
well if you want to get dark it might be the nine inch nails version
being played on a ukulele.
One possible hidden significance to panel 6. Sal is ‘telling’ Amazi-Girl that she knows that she is also Amber O’Malley and she remembers who it was who maimed her right hand.
I also thought this.
Yeah, that was my first reaction, too – is Sal aware of Amber/Amazi-Girl in the background, and hinting at something here? It’s not quite clear if she’s looking at her, either…
but… Amazi’s not there…. or am I not seeing her?
Shadowy figure with cape on the ledge behind and above Sal. You can just about see her.
That’s Amber, not AG.
They share the same body; as far as Sal knows, they’re regular alter egos, not different psyches sharing the same meatspace. So, by talking to Amazi-Girl, she would assume she is talking to Amber (assuming that she knows they are one and the same, which is a possibility).
That’s fair for Sal to think.
Oh I never thought she was actually telling AG/Amber that she knew, but a sign telling US that she remembered.
I don’t think Sal has ever expressed know who AG is. If anything she’s expressed that she doesn’t even know who Amber is considering she didn’t acknowledge Amber being the one who stabbed her at any point before in this strip.
Optimus Prime sang it best https://youtu.be/FwyckN2qUX4
♪What have i become, my sweetest friend? Everyone i know… goes away… in the end. And you could have it all, my empire of dirt! I will let you down. I will make you hurt.♪
. . . . . . . . . . Wow.
Sal looks so pretty in panels 3 and 4
I’m currently thinking its even odds that Amber red panels and tries to start a fight (and ends up hurting Danny, who tries to get in between them) or that she drops down next to them, pulls off her mask and starts singing too.
For some reason, my sense of narrative loves the thought of Danny providing the music as these two woman, to both of whom he’s become something important without really knowing or intending it, sing out their hurt.
Okay, I guess it’s time for Day Three of the continuing earworm.
DAMN YOU WILLIS!
Maybe it’s because I don’t recognize the song, but…the song made the jokes go away. I LIKE the jokes! Come back!
“Maybe it’s because I don’t recognize the song,”
Hurt, by Nine Inch Nails off their seminal album The Downward Spiral, also famously covered by Johnny Cash in a heartwrenching way. You really need to hear both versions… now… on repeat…
MK15, We did what you said.
You are hereby awarded 15 Imperial Internet Points by Us for providing this important public service announcement.
Ominous shadow alert in frame 6.
Just watched the Johnny Cash video for Hurt again…and once again it brought tears to my eyes. It’s a powerful song and a powerful video.
And it’s so appropriate here given all Sal’s been through. Danny needs to move to a guitar though. A ukulele is such a twangy instrument, the deeper tone of a guitar is so much better, especially with this song. He can still be a good egg with a guitar.
For me what ties it together is the last time we saw Amber – on the roof yelling “Hey you two, stop that”. Since then we have seen couple after couple making decisons, most of them bad.
Great sequence here. This is why I read about 20 web comics, but save this one for last.
And the flashbacks to the trailer for “Logan” and the saddest scenes in all of X-Men cinematic history are back again. Yep. Gonna go cry a bit.
strangely I want a music video with dumbing of age using various DOA panels but have panels of Sal singing too.
In my head cannon, AmaziGirl is letting out a huge fart.
Cannons are made to fire projectiles, not farts!
Ceremonial cannons* don’t fire projectiles, just a huge bang and some air.
*Or possibly just normal cannons used ceremonially.
I forget – has it been indicated at any point that Sal remembers Amber from the convenience store incident?
Sorry, I can’t think about that song without immediately thinking of a Quinton Reviews video. It’s too funny, now.
I’ve been pretty bad at guessing what Willis has in mind, so take this with a dump truck full of salt:
It occurs to me that Amber might hear the lyrics that Sal sings in the last panel, and snap a little. Because Sal doesn’t remember (or really, rather, know) what she did to Ethan (or rather, that it was Ethan she did it to), and what Amber did to her (or rather, that it was Amber that did it), and what doing what Amber did to Sal did to Amber.
So, maybe, red panels?
Depends, memories like that have a tendency to hurt everyone involved, so sometimes pretending not to remember is the only plan you’ve got. (I mean, as we’ve seen, “not remembering” can also hurt others, but when remembering definitely will…)
Moments like these makes me wish I can read guitar chords.
*make
I am hoping that amber/AG, just pops back into her room and doesnt make any drama over this awesome scene
Malay likes Sal’s singing? Or that song in particular?
Nah, Malaya is just happily chatting with Marcie while being oblivious to the significance of what’s happening around her.
My theory:
Malaya recognizes the song. And she notices that Sal is singing this to Marcie.
And what that means for the relationship between Sal and Marcie:
“I will let you down.
I will make you hurt.”
In her ears, Sal announces the end of Sal’s friendship to Marcie.
Eyes straight ahead, without a target object, in comics ‘language’ is generally a sign of being oblivious, so whatever is going on, Malaya can be read as not noticing.
I just want to say that this Danny/Sal/Ukulele subplot is the fanservice I never knew I wanted. Thanks Willis, right in the feels..
*downloads tabs*
God… Sal misses Marcie so MUCH. I really hope they work things out.