Also Beast Wars, Tailgate, and also we’d have to specify which continuity we meant for any given character and people who don’t know the difference between Megatrons would get confused and really, no one wants that.
Silverbolt, Beast Wars. And hey, there are lots of other great conversation starters… like “which Sailor Scout do you want to be” or “which Gem fusion is the most awesome” or “talk about the last crossover fanfic you’ve read”.
Screwball, Transformers Prime apparently 😛
SHUN THE OUTSIDER!! SHUUUN!!
Just kidding, though you could be a rarity in this place. Does that mean you’re more valuable to collect?
Waait- how can you be indifferent about a velociraptor riding a jet?!
..I mean, we’re admittedly using “ride” in a rather open sense at the moment, but still.. Jet-riding raptors! That’s just not something to be indifferent over. :/
Quiet Ethan, she’s clearly there to discuss this with Chromedome, give them some privacy.
Of course, Chromedome is an expert in weird relationships, considering that his husband is actually a quantum duplicate of his husband, because his actual husband died, but that’s okay because the quantum duplicate of his husband’s husband died too.
Compared to that, this whole Walky thing is pretty standard.
Y’know, I really enjoy learning all these neat Transformers facts just from reading the comic and comments. Chromedome: Weird Relationship Expert sounds like a cool dude!
I mean, I’ll say “Hello?” as an interrogative for the sake of determining activity, like if someone is still on a phone call or not. I can’t say I’ve consciously used it as an actual greeting in over a decade, though.
They’re so good together. But everyone else in the comic is just gonna be like “Oh you were dating someone else so recently!” or “She stabbed your sister’s hand” like that means anything against the crushing force of LOVE
Sadly, the crushing force of love is gonna have to contend with the formidable tag team of anxiety and PTSD. They have a pretty intimidating track record thus far.
If you look at the last panel, you know why it does mean something. Both have serious doubts. And she actually has panic. And “love conquers all” is not exactly true. Once you have passed the honeymoon phase, love can be surprisingly fragile.
And, btw, walky doesn’t love her. He loves Dorothy. Such things don’t change in 24 hours.
Walky definitely likes her, and that could develop eventually… but probably not in the literal mine field of drama that awaits them. When ‘Walky is rebounding less than 48 hours after the breakup of his first real relationship, with someone who probably considers you a friend’ might not even make the top five biggest worries about this relationship, you’re in trouble.
True. I mean, becky is rebounding on dina and that relationship works. I’m still a bit worried about the degree of attachment becky has for Joyce, but apart from that, they have a great relationship.
Walky and Amber on the other hand.. there are, like, 20 ways this could go down in flames within the next two days. In my experience, the more drama a relationship has, the more unstable and unhealthy it becomes.
I think tbh BeckyxDina mostly works at this point b.c they’ve both acknowledged it, and Becky is actually approaching the relationship not going “she’s a THICC Joyce!”. Realistic, in that rebounds (what a strange word for the next relationship sometimes) can be somewhat healthy and an actual point/period of growth as a human being for some humans, but that some are also just something that’s comfortable in some ways and not new in others.
But that’s a theory, a PSYCHOLOGICAL AND KIND OF INTROSPECTIVE BECAUSE I LIKE TO THINK THAT MY OWN RELATIONSHIP IS LIKE DINAxBECKY AND NOT AN UNHEALTHY MOVE DESPITE KIND OF BEING A REBOUND theory!
Not every next relationship is a rebound. The problem with rebounds is that you don’t get involved with someone because he/she is nice, attractive, sexy, kind, whatever but because you don’t want to be alone, so the pain of the last relationship won’t be as bad.
This reason for being with someone will fade. It’ll fade with alongwith you feelings for your ex. Which basically means that the actual decision if you want to be with that person because you like that person for who he/she is is postponed until weeks or month into the relationship. And in most cases, the answer is no.
That doesn’t mean that a rebound can’t evolve in a good, stable relationship. And in my opinion, if a relationship resembles the one dina and becky have, it’s a pretty good one, no matter how it started. There’s a lot of care, adoration, support and acceptance of the other one’s personal quirks. They do seem to lack a bit in communication sometimes, but they’re 18, most teens do.
But walky and Amber seem to be different to me.. They have this huge pile of baggage between them and neither one is interested in trying to solve emotional problems. Or even communicate with each other about them.
I would argue that they seem to communicate with each other more than most other people in general? But I suspect the “you changed my grades after I explicitly asked you not to” thing will be an issue. And the fact that Amber’s relationship with herself is so messed up, and that she has difficulties with anxiety, anger, etc and isn’t good at processing them is going to be an issue no matter who she dates.
Speaking of which, does anybody have any theories on Danny’s “no calling me ‘a worthless piece of -‘ is fine, I know I deserve it sometimes and have had way worse” comes from? Coz it doesn’t sound like Dotty… Joe negs him a bit but not quite that bad… Do his parents deserve a spot in the Terrible Parent Gallery?
Amber doesn’t really communicate with her partners. Like, at all. She decides what is best to do and pushes it as a rule to her partner. Like “don’t talk to sal”. There’s little “finding a solution together” and next to no “what do you think”, let alone an explanation for her rules. Her partner has to accept them and follow them. She also doesn’t talk about her problems or her past.
Walky seems to get better with the “talking about stuff”-thing but it has been well established that he avoids it whenever possible. And Amber basically is a walking pile of feelings-stuff.
If that is the average level of communication between partners, I feel sorry for most of the existing couples. Still, if you are in a relationship with someone with psychological problems, you either have really good communication or you will suffer a lot or it will end soon.
They communicate, but it’s all twisted up with that garbage roof thing, where they can only put themselves down and have that accepted, but not actually offer support. Which isn’t wholly bad, but not a good starting point for a relationship.
Not Dorothy, definitely his parents. We haven’t seen much of them, but what we have was heavily focused on “how could you lose Dorothy? You need a smart ambitious girl like that to latch onto.”
Joe likely didn’t help.
They talk, they don’t communicate. “Why did you flee the roof?”-“see, I kind of met her before, I was in the store she robbed”-“why did you try to throw the mask away?”-“I’m having trouble with ag, we currently don’t get along. I’m trying to stop being ag”-“I’m having some doubts about the relationship, basically what becky just said. Still, I really like being with you and I’d like to see where this is heading. You?”-“I’m feeling a bit unsure about having a relationship with the brother of the robber who threatened me as a kid, but I also feel like this is great and I don’t want to miss it just because of some stuff in my past”. That (or at least a subset of that) would have been communication. There were great opportunities to start talking about all of it. They didn’t.
The talks on garbage roof was limited to “I’m a bad person because reason”. “Okay, sure”. That’s less communication and more mutual strengthening of self-doubts and anxieties. The other part literally was forbidden to say what he/she really thought about what was just said. Which kind of kills every communication.
I definitely think Danny’s parents deserve a slot on the Terrible Parents Gallery, because they definitely insult him and say he doesn’t measure up to his brother and Dorothy was his one ticket to success. So much of Early Danny’s screwups seems based in part by that clearly eroding his self-esteem.
Alanari:
The problem with rebounds is that it’s difficult to tell whether you actually like the person or just didn’t want to be alone
Amber and Walky DO like each other and there seems to be decent chemistry between them. And their relationship literally started with the two of them talking about their problems. They didn’t talk about FIXING their problems because that’s not what either of them needed. They both already know they have work to do, but that’s going to take time. They needed to be able to talk about their flaws WITHOUT talking about fixing them, because they needed to vent, and they needed someone to JUST listen without arguing, and just accept that they’re flawed. They both have this excessive internalized notion that they need to be perfect or they’re completely worthless, and telling someone about all the things that makes them feel like garbage, and having the other person simply accept that as true but still want to hang out helps them accept themselves
That doesn’t mean they don’t want to improve themselves or learn better ways to handle their problems. It just helps them stop beating themselves up simply for HAVING problems, and not having fixed them already. That’s something both of them NEED to do so that they aren’t so overwhelmed they can’t actually do the work they need to do
And they also literally JUST started their relationship less than a day ago. It’s not possible or reasonable to expect people to open up about absolutely everything right of the bat. Even more so when it comes to something traumatic. It’s something they’ll need to talk about at some point, but it’s totally fine that she hasn’t gotten to it already
If you still are hung up about someone else, still hurting and chose to be with someone because it makes you hurt less, you definitely are rebounding. Walky basically said that.
The thing about garbage roof is, while it is okay and often liberating to be allowed to be imperfect, this was the unhealthiest way of doing it. First of, their talking was limited to that. They only really spoke on the roof. They never really communicated (which sounds simple but actually isn’t). Second of, both but especially Amber shouldn’t be allowed to reduce themselves to their bad sides. There’s a whole lot of room between “yes, you are garbage” and “yes, you messed up, but I still like you”. Talking down vs accepting faults without lowering your value as a human being. Third, they both used garbage roof to dig deeper into their self hatred, which never us a healthy thing. No real reflection.
Walky has little interest in getting better. Amber has next to no interest in getting better. He’d just have to sit down and learn math but takes every excuse to not to. She is way beyond what she can fix herself, knows it but doesn’t seek help. Neither feels any better about their problems, Amber probably actually feels worse because of the grades thing. It wasn’t any help for either of them in tackling their respective problems. Walky still doesn’t study and Ambers condition still is getting worse.
My own trauma involves being abused and raped by my first partner over several years, resulting in ptbs, and I literally did what I described above. I talked to my partner, actually literally just before we got together. Most problems aren’t as dramatic as your own mind tells you it is. And if the other can’t handle being told about them, he or she won’t be able to handle the problem itself.
I didn’t get into any relationship while I was unable to control my damage and talk about it. Wouldn’t have been fair. It’s okay to not be ready to talk about something at all. It’s not okay to make someone else suffer because you are kind of broken. And they will suffer.
Of course, while that’s a problem with rebounds, it’s also a problem when you’ve been single for awhile. “Do I really like them or do I just not want to be alone?”
And I think we can agree that there’s room for the garbage roof rules, but that having just that is no better (and maybe even worse) than the other way around. It’s great to be able to vent and not have it contradicted with praise or attempts to fix you, but praise and improvement are critical too.
We’ll have to see where Amber and Walky take this. So far, I don’t see their direction as promising, however cute they are together.
And, no matter how traumatic it is, Amber really needs to talk to him about Amazi-Girl before he gets surprised by it. Some things can be put off, but that’s going to pop up without her control and he needs warning. For example, before they sleep together (non-euphemistically) and Amazi-Girl takes over in Amber’s sleep. Cause that’ll be awkward.
They’ve communicated. Your distinction between communication and talking is not as meaningful as you seem to think. They haven’t bared their souls for each other or had a long detailed talk about how they feel, but it turns out that not doing that DAY ONE is not a sign that they haven’t made any meaningful steps towards building a relationship
And your claim that garbage roof was the worst way to go about that and it only made things worse doesn’t seem supported by what’s been happening in the comic? Both of them have been shown to be less stressed out and miserable. The fact that it hasn’t fixed ALL of their problems doesn’t mean it hasn’t helped them
It definitely wouldn’t work for everyone, and could definitely backfire for many people. It might even backfire for Walky, Amber, or both. I don’t think it has yet. Walky still needs to fix his studying habits, and Amber needs to find healthier ways to manage her anger amongst other things, but at least now they don’t seem to feel worthless simply for struggling with those problems, so they’re each in a far better state to actually work on them
Obviously, your interpretation isn’t inaccurate or anything since it’s literally your own experience, but I just don’t think it quite matches what’s going on with these two
As for whether or not it’s irresponsible for Amber to date, I don’t think that’s something that should be treated as a hard rule. You made the right to decision for you. If someone doesn’t feel ready for a relationship, holding off on that is a good call. But I don’t think it’s a given that Amber isn’t ready. Her dissociation has gotten worse, but that’s not what messed things up with Danny. That was her vendetta with Sal. Sal might still trigger her PTSD, but she’s let go of the hatred that caused her to snap at Danny. We’ve also seen from her earlier consideration with Ethan (re Mike) that she’s actually put some thought into whether she’s ready to handle a relationship. I’d feel better if she’d been more confident, but being aware she can get hurt more easily than Ethan is not the same as being unable to handle ANY relationship.
There’s obviously stuff they’re gonna need to talk about for things to work out in the long run, but hopefully she’ll keep being open with him about things even when they’re not on the roof, and they’ll get there in time (and there is plenty of time, as again they only smooched for the first time just last night)
I do think the disassociation messed things up with Danny. If you look at that breakup scene, while she was blaming it on Sal turning him against her, she was reacting to him telling Amazi-Girl he liked Amber better and wanted her to stop being Amazi-Girl.
Danny of course meant it in the “give up vigilante stuff because I don’t want you getting hurt and it’s not the superhero fantasy I care about”, but that’s not what she heard.
I think Becky getting her own living space and finding a whole new world of cute girls who like learning things and kissing her helped a lot – one of the things that those post-kiss, pre-Toedad strips established was that their sense of Perfectly Normal Platonic Female Friendships was skewed, probably for years, and being reliant on Joyce for shelter, food and clothes only made things worse. Now there’s no need to share Joyce’s bed, no ‘is this gay or is it close friendship’ mixed signals (and Dina was very clear about being romantically interested, even better,) and Becky has a larger support network in general.
The enmity towards Dorothy thing is concerning, especially since it’s at least somewhat sincere, but I hope being part of the group and not ‘Joyce is my only lifeline and has changed so much while we were apart and she has a new best friend’ is lessening the jealousy. Them adopting each other I’m fine with – Becky was pretty much disowned by her community at large and her father particularly, and I predict Joyce is going to lose half her family of birth before things are done. (Carol and John are givens, I don’t want to bet on Hank because I don’t want to be disappointed even as I have hope, and Jordan is a complete enigma so who can say.)
Also I think getting over a crush that included at least a little desperation of the ‘I can’t be alone and no one I know will choose me over God’ variety is easier than doing so about your first serious relationship when both of you still like each other and are in regular contact. (Or at least it’s easier when said crush doesn’t return the romantic feelings but does choose you because the teachings must be wrong.)
In one sense, Joyce was the best thing in Becky’s OLD life. Kind, loyal hot, Joyce who always, always was there for Becky. After her mother died, after she fled Andersons, after her father turned on her, she had NOTHING… except Joyce.
In that sense, Dina is the best of her NEW life. Smart, badass, hot Dina with her love for science, her complete refusal to let the world change her and her 100% honest admiration for Becky – not the pretend!Becky but the REAL!Becky.
So, yeah, I’m not too worried about those two doofuses. They’ll do fine 🙂
Yeah, while Becky was also not over Joyce when initiating a dinoship, She was also very actively trying to move on; and frankly not being able to date Joyce wasn’t as destructive for becky as Un-Dottying was for Walky. She accepted crushin’ on Joyce was unhealthy; set her mental status to available, and did the thing. Walky… well, honestly there are ways this wouldn’t be unhealthy; but thinking you’re a garbage person for entering a relationship tends to be the wrong frame of mind for that sort of thing. That said, I still ship this harder than america ships weapons overseas.
Also, I think Amber might be more concerned with the Sal-related issues in this new dynamic than the Walky-Related ones; although anxiety means she could be concerned about everything realistically she didn’t have any demonstrable problems with the Garbage Barge until good ol’ Sal showed up and made her realize this might be unhealthy-adjacent.
Yeah, thinking you’re garbage for moving on is one of those signs you shouldn’t yet. And I’m sure Amber’s focused most on Sal because acknowledging what Walky says is worrying would mean thinking what she thinks of herself is worrying, too.
All the Becky commentary is spot on there, both of you. Man Becky/Dina is great.
(Also my autocorrect now tries to automatically capitalize garbage sometimes. Thanks guys!)
Time to play the guessing game! Why is Amber having second thoughts? Is it because of:
A-Just general anxieties. Seriously, be content for more than a few minutes? No way.
B-There’s a lot of things (grade changing, split from AG, etc) that Amber really needs to get out in the open with Walky.
C-Specifically freaking out because dating Walky means seeing Sal regularly.
D-Because Walky’s rebounding from Dorothy.
E-Actually, we’re about to find out that she just forgot about a class or something else harmless. No crisis here!
F-Something else! It could be anything. It could be everything!
Could be just that he’s Walky. Like, “Oh my god, somehow I wound up dating Walky. Walky, of all people! And I’m actually *enjoying* it! Who even am I these days?”
This, I think. Or, at least the enjoying part. I know a few people with anxiety who get anxious over enjoying things. “I feel happy, something’s wrong!”
I do know if it matters that much, but then there’s the fact that she dumped Danny because he was getting involved with Sal and now she’s replaced him with Sals twin brother.
Amber didn’t dump Danny.
Amazi-Girl dumped Danny, because Sal turned him against her and made him want her to go away. Not at all what Danny thought he was saying, but likely what she heard. “I like Amber better, you should stop being Amazi-Girl” couldn’t go over well when Amazi-Girl is actually separate from Amber.
Ptsd does this thing where things that subconsciously remind you of what happened make you feel afraid, without really knowing why you are afraid. It’s why she once said that walky projects the word danger in her mind.
This is how trigger work. Judging from her earlier reactions, seeing walky is a trigger. Getting rid of triggers is a long task (read: usually years in my experience) that requires a whole lot of work, and there is no guarantee of success. They don’t just go away just because you like what triggers you. I had to give up one of my favorite tv-shows because it triggered me.
So, he probably still triggers her. That might make a nice G for the list.
This also could be about the changing grades thing, not about her new relationship. I mean, it could get her expelled. Perhaps she just realized that.
I think Walky wasn’t actively a trigger (though some part of her brain was picking up the similarity, hence the ‘setting my brain on fire’ line) until he explicitly spelled out the Sal thing. Now it seems more like seeing him on his own might be okay, but actually thinking the ‘this is Sal’s brother’ part immediately shoves her into Nopesville. When she hadn’t put the pieces together she was fine, but now consciously trying to avoid that thought is like consciously trying to not think of a purple rhinoceros in a tutu.
I hope it’s the grades. I really hope it’s the grades. I don’t want either of them expelled.
I have ptsd and in my experience, triggers don’t work like that. She has been good at hiding being triggered before.
Triggers don’t need to be something that throws you out of everything and turns you into a pile of suffering. They can, but they don’t have to. You can also feel uneasy and restless and hunted for hours without really knowing why. You actually have to learn that this strange feeling of being alert without having a reason to be alerted is the result of a trigger. Once you have learned it, you can identify triggers and deal with them accordingly. Amber probably doesn’t know that, otherwise she’d have known why walky makes her feel uneasy (well, not the him-being-sals-sibling-part but the being-triggered-part).
I think knowing of the relation between sal and walky just puts another layer of anxiety on top of it.
In my experience, you have to deal with the initial trauma and the fear it induces to get rid of triggers. It’s the most effective way. You can sometimes kind of soften triggers by safe exposure to them, but usually not within two weeks. When dealing with ptsd, you have to invest years. There’s no fast way. Nothing ever happens fast with ptsd.
That said, ptsd is not officially confirmed afaik.
I think PTSD is a safe guess, so thanks for the clarification. Yeah, I think it was more ‘Amber is now aware that Walky is triggering her and why’ then. Sal definitely sets her off worse – she actively has panic attacks being surprised by Sal – but you’re right, I can definitely see her being more anxious and such after seeing Walky and not knowing that was going on and why. Once again, Amber really needs some help to defuse all the trouble in her brain.
I don’t think the dramatics are unnecessary when you know your new smooch buddy’s sibling because you stabbed them in the hand once, said sibling doesn’t know you, and your smooch buddy is unaware of all of this. ‘I permanently damaged your sister’s hand in a dissociative state after she tried to hold my friend hostage, and then up to about two weeks ago I was stalking her due to PTSD from said incident’ is one of those things where the partner has every right to break up if they so desire because it is kind of a big deal.
Like, would Walky? Will Sal quit associating with AG once she knows? No idea! But it’s such a huge thing hanging over Amber’s head because it absolutely could be a dealbreaker.
Also true. Asshole anxiety brain can make things like going to the dining hall a major dilemma. Asshole anxiety brain made me develop an aversion to my computer for like, months, and still makes me terrified to send routine emails. Asshole anxiety brain is so irritating I have named the tiny voices of self-doubt and catastrophizing, the better to tell them to shut the fuck up. And that took years of therapy.
Amber has years of abuse reinforcing her issues (and may well be the primary cause,) no therapy, no coping skills for this issue, and an actual bus load of legitimate reasons to worry about this relationship without asshole brain telling her it will definitely all end in flames. Amber freaking out is the logical result of all this, because jerkbrains gonna jerk.
Yup. Personally I’ve been thinking about giving buspirone a second chance, now that I’m not a walking pharmacy any more, because FFS it would be nice if I could cut into a fucking avocado without massive stress about all the ways it could possibly go wrong. 😛 I’ve been making steady progress on the anxiety but there’s so damn *much* of it it’s like trying to clean a stadium with a toothbrush.
I was on it for a while and it definitely helped me finish school, but yeah I do not think it interacts with other drugs well. (Spiked my blood pressure like 30 or 40 points.) Lorazepam as an as-needed tends to work best for me, but being able to anticipate a stressful situation is at least half the battle there.
Good old anxiety disorders. For once could we just get the normal-sized ‘here is a healthy recognition of upcoming trouble’ portion and not the smorgasbord of everything bad that could ever happen anywhere ever, complete with side dishes like All Your Past Mistakes And Why Everyone Hates You For Them and Maybe This Innocuous Ache Is Cancer? I’m still dealing with leftovers from last month’s existential crises.
I think we saw her on the Patreon strips at some point? And it looks like we will for this month’s as well, unless the numbers dramatically changed since I last checked.
Someone from her campaign did pick her up I guess (probably Frida, who really is not paid enough for that shit,) but the lesbian stalker hijinks plus Becky on Twitter has definitely done a number on her.
I look forward to that far-off day in, oh, 2025 or so when we pass November and Robin loses her election. Someone worse will almost certainly replace her, but I look forward to that day all the same.
We’re in October, so we’re past the primaries. Either the full weight of her party has to go toward a write-in campaign, or her opponent walks away with an easy win. Either way the “family values” wing of her party is either disenfranchised and staying home now, or will vote for her regardless because they like the R next to her name.
I cheated – we spent the day yesterday at Patreon picking out these strips. 🙂
We have solemnly promised not to use our knowledge of the future to spoil what’s to come. We never said anything about geting a heads up on the best jokes!
I have come to like the chained-post writing style anyway. It becomes more like a bullet point list than a paragraph in a book (with no disrespect meant to Cerberus… who writes multiple paragraphs)
Thank you, Bagge! Okay multiple times in the previous arc plus an Ethan in the arc before is definitely a trend, even if Ethan was only present for one. Meta-commentary understood!
So uh, am I forgetting a Dina strip from last arc for that last panel? I think that’s what I’m missing.
Yeah Amber I know you don’t want to saddle a new relationship with a dude who’s already going through some shit with all this other shit, but seriously honey that’s why you clear the air before smooching. And also never change his grades without his knowledge and against his wishes. I cannot emphasize enough how much I don’t want you to change anymore grades beyond returning Walky’s to their proper state.
Oh hey, another one! *Adds it to the pile above* Does seem distinct from the ‘popping out from under something’ trend Bagge documented, but I could see Ethan counting it, he doesn’t really know Dina’s powers of stealth.
Oh Amber, you really need to take time and get some help. While my situation is far from identical, I relate to a lot of the self-hate and overwhelming anxiety Amber deals with. So I do understand how hard it is to try and get help, and feeling like you have made a mistake with nearly everything you do. I can’t say I’m doing great on the whole dealing with my “voice” but therapy is helping some and my gf helps a lot. I just hope she manages to deal with this without any more extrwme episodes.
Yeah, anxiety fucking blows, social anxiety in particular. Add in her mountain of other psychological issues and it just gets a thousand times worse.
I have a little bit of hope that campus counseling is equipped to handle anxiety issues, or at least there’s a support group on campus that can, but some of her stuff is either ‘any psychologist is a gamble’ or ‘if I talk about this, not even doctor-patient privilege will keep me from being reported because I present a risk to public safety’ (AG may run on superhero logic, but the car chase was a whole lot of luck as well.) And of course Blaine’s abuse is the kind that says therapy won’t do you any good in part to keep you isolated and internalizing shit… As always, fuck Blaine.
Still, I really think a therapist or at least a dedicated online support forum would do Amber worlds of good. Preferably both.
This may become a favorite Ethan moment for me. Nothing about personal outrage or hangup- transformers. Just losing his cool, rightly, at some ridiculousness.
I think that Amber is happy and the fact that she’s happy with Sal’s brother is freaking her out a little.
Meanwhile, Ethan is freaking out about the fact that all the girls his age seem to have somehow got a shadow-teleport ability without anyone telling him. “What is this anyway? Some kind of X-Men RPG?!?”
I sort of see Walky and Danny as house-husbands and the beards for Amber and Sal’s future superheroic lifestyle (also the ones who keep open Ambersal Software’s office open when the ladies are too tired to go in).
Go back and reread to pick up all the foreshadowing you missed the first time around?
Sign up for Patreon to get one more day?
Go back through and read all the comments this time, so you can laugh at our predictions?
So, it turns out that what happens on Garbage Room doesn’t stay on Garbage Roof and Amber is going to have to deal with the fact that she might have developed a bond with Walky. I’m thinking that finding another romantic partner after the way Danny crashed and burned was the last thing on her mind and the fact that he is Sal’s twin brother only makes it easier.
As for me? I’d tell her this: Notice that you were fine when you were spending time with him. It’s only after you’ve had time to let your insecurities take hold that you’re having second thoughts. That’s not to discount any concerns that you might have but don’t act hastily just because you’re getting neuroses-induced cold feet!
I meant that Walky’s being Sal’s sibling only makes it HARDER. I don’t know where my brain is this morning but it is clearly not closely connected with my hands.
All three? Walky and Danny. I guess you’re counting Ethan as “Walkyverse main protagonist”?
Not sure I’d really classify him that way. Even just for SP!
I definitely agree that Robin became the main character of Shortpacked!, but at least in the beginning, Ethan was the main protagonist. I think it’s significant that Ethan leaving the main ensemble warranted a poignant full-page send-off that no one else really got (I don’t know that I can find it again now, but I’m thinking specifically of the page where Ethan is walking past Lombard Street).
I mean, maybe over time, but Ethan was definitely the main protagonist/viewpoint character for Shortpacked! for most of the early run, then maybe halfway through it became more Robin focused.
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Ethan can’t enjoy his Chromedome
WHY CAN’T PEOPLE JUST START CONVERSATIONS BY ANNOUNCING THEIR FAVORITE TRANSFORMER AND SERIES LIKE ADULTS?
Brainstorm, Beast Wars, and because we are not yet that advanced as a society.
Also Beast Wars, Tailgate, and also we’d have to specify which continuity we meant for any given character and people who don’t know the difference between Megatrons would get confused and really, no one wants that.
Gargantuon, fenoxo, truly a shame society isn’t on our level yet!
Ironhide, G1, and not everyone can be as advanced as DoA readers.
Beast wars – Dinobot – The DeathKinght of the series – Suffer well.
Good picks!
Dinobot and Beast Wars.
Leobreaker, Cybertron, maybe because it’s a good way to get into fist fights when the new kid likes the wrong robot?
Silverbolt, Beast Wars. And hey, there are lots of other great conversation starters… like “which Sailor Scout do you want to be” or “which Gem fusion is the most awesome” or “talk about the last crossover fanfic you’ve read”.
Jupiter, Malachite, and there’s a hilarious crossover between Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Five Nights at Freddy’s on FanFiction.
Saturn, Garnet, damn I need to read more crossover fic.
G1. Thundercracker. And hey, at least this isn’t Japan, where nearly half the TF toys have to have “Convoy” in their names. 😛
Animated. Minimus Ambus, and because we’re living in the woest timeline right now
This comment is why I sometimes wish we had some sort of comment liking system. (y)
I never liked Transformers.
Screwball, Transformers Prime apparently 😛
SHUN THE OUTSIDER!! SHUUUN!!
Just kidding, though you could be a rarity in this place. Does that mean you’re more valuable to collect?
Because inevitably, that’d evolve into people starting conversations by announcing their favorite Transformers slash pairing.
And then, naturally, I’d have to insist on DinobotxStarscream, just to mess with people. Really now, is that actually what you want? :/
Yes, it is.
Well, the you messing with people part. I’m indifferent about Dinobot×Starscream.
Waait- how can you be indifferent about a velociraptor riding a jet?!
..I mean, we’re admittedly using “ride” in a rather open sense at the moment, but still.. Jet-riding raptors! That’s just not something to be indifferent over. :/
Is hesitantly curious/excited better?
Beast Wars, Depth Charge.
What? I like tragic heroes.
None of them, wtf, and what are you people going on about?
*clearly a heathen*
If everyone yells at you to go away because you’re a heathen, does that automatically make you a Go-Bot? :S
Quiet Ethan, she’s clearly there to discuss this with Chromedome, give them some privacy.
Of course, Chromedome is an expert in weird relationships, considering that his husband is actually a quantum duplicate of his husband, because his actual husband died, but that’s okay because the quantum duplicate of his husband’s husband died too.
Compared to that, this whole Walky thing is pretty standard.
Actually she’s there to argue that FansProject Code is a better Chromedone and regrets not buying one.
Y’know, I really enjoy learning all these neat Transformers facts just from reading the comic and comments. Chromedome: Weird Relationship Expert sounds like a cool dude!
There goes the Honeymoon phase, that Romantic high she was on didn’t last long.
are we going to have to worry about bed trucks now
no regrets
Does it have enough integrity to withstand a Slipshine?
Ooh, bedtrucks are tough. The only way to stop them is to install a tiny low bridge all around the bed.
Or truck beds…
Wow. Just wow. Panel 4 may be the most beautiful panel Willis has ever drawn.
No, I’m serious. That’s just… really sweet and pretty. Damn.
Ah, excellent, the schadenfreude returns, as it should be.
Do people even say ‘Hello’ anymore? I think using that specific word as a greeting has been antiquated.
I do, sometimes!
Pretty much only when meeting someone for the first time for me
I do but I have to quell the urge to follow up with “and welcome to moviefone”
I do, pretty frequently. Wait, that’s weird now?
i think it can be cute over text, or in a somewhat singsong voice over audio. idk about real life though
I do, at work. And I imagine lots of others in service jobs do the same.
it’s used petty frequently in my surroundings! i hear hellos and hi all over my campus as well as within my own social circles
The word Hello wasn’t originally a greeting, it was an exclamation of surprise, “HELLO!, what is going on here?”
I prefer Hello, Hiya, or Heya. The monosyllabic “Hi” sounds awkward to me, like it’s incomplete.
Does it count if it’s via email?
I mean, I’ll say “Hello?” as an interrogative for the sake of determining activity, like if someone is still on a phone call or not. I can’t say I’ve consciously used it as an actual greeting in over a decade, though.
They’re so good together. But everyone else in the comic is just gonna be like “Oh you were dating someone else so recently!” or “She stabbed your sister’s hand” like that means anything against the crushing force of LOVE
Sadly, the crushing force of love is gonna have to contend with the formidable tag team of anxiety and PTSD. They have a pretty intimidating track record thus far.
If you look at the last panel, you know why it does mean something. Both have serious doubts. And she actually has panic. And “love conquers all” is not exactly true. Once you have passed the honeymoon phase, love can be surprisingly fragile.
And, btw, walky doesn’t love her. He loves Dorothy. Such things don’t change in 24 hours.
Walky definitely likes her, and that could develop eventually… but probably not in the literal mine field of drama that awaits them. When ‘Walky is rebounding less than 48 hours after the breakup of his first real relationship, with someone who probably considers you a friend’ might not even make the top five biggest worries about this relationship, you’re in trouble.
True. I mean, becky is rebounding on dina and that relationship works. I’m still a bit worried about the degree of attachment becky has for Joyce, but apart from that, they have a great relationship.
Walky and Amber on the other hand.. there are, like, 20 ways this could go down in flames within the next two days. In my experience, the more drama a relationship has, the more unstable and unhealthy it becomes.
I think tbh BeckyxDina mostly works at this point b.c they’ve both acknowledged it, and Becky is actually approaching the relationship not going “she’s a THICC Joyce!”. Realistic, in that rebounds (what a strange word for the next relationship sometimes) can be somewhat healthy and an actual point/period of growth as a human being for some humans, but that some are also just something that’s comfortable in some ways and not new in others.
But that’s a theory, a PSYCHOLOGICAL AND KIND OF INTROSPECTIVE BECAUSE I LIKE TO THINK THAT MY OWN RELATIONSHIP IS LIKE DINAxBECKY AND NOT AN UNHEALTHY MOVE DESPITE KIND OF BEING A REBOUND theory!
Not every next relationship is a rebound. The problem with rebounds is that you don’t get involved with someone because he/she is nice, attractive, sexy, kind, whatever but because you don’t want to be alone, so the pain of the last relationship won’t be as bad.
This reason for being with someone will fade. It’ll fade with alongwith you feelings for your ex. Which basically means that the actual decision if you want to be with that person because you like that person for who he/she is is postponed until weeks or month into the relationship. And in most cases, the answer is no.
That doesn’t mean that a rebound can’t evolve in a good, stable relationship. And in my opinion, if a relationship resembles the one dina and becky have, it’s a pretty good one, no matter how it started. There’s a lot of care, adoration, support and acceptance of the other one’s personal quirks. They do seem to lack a bit in communication sometimes, but they’re 18, most teens do.
But walky and Amber seem to be different to me.. They have this huge pile of baggage between them and neither one is interested in trying to solve emotional problems. Or even communicate with each other about them.
I would argue that they seem to communicate with each other more than most other people in general? But I suspect the “you changed my grades after I explicitly asked you not to” thing will be an issue. And the fact that Amber’s relationship with herself is so messed up, and that she has difficulties with anxiety, anger, etc and isn’t good at processing them is going to be an issue no matter who she dates.
Speaking of which, does anybody have any theories on Danny’s “no calling me ‘a worthless piece of -‘ is fine, I know I deserve it sometimes and have had way worse” comes from? Coz it doesn’t sound like Dotty… Joe negs him a bit but not quite that bad… Do his parents deserve a spot in the Terrible Parent Gallery?
Amber doesn’t really communicate with her partners. Like, at all. She decides what is best to do and pushes it as a rule to her partner. Like “don’t talk to sal”. There’s little “finding a solution together” and next to no “what do you think”, let alone an explanation for her rules. Her partner has to accept them and follow them. She also doesn’t talk about her problems or her past.
Walky seems to get better with the “talking about stuff”-thing but it has been well established that he avoids it whenever possible. And Amber basically is a walking pile of feelings-stuff.
If that is the average level of communication between partners, I feel sorry for most of the existing couples. Still, if you are in a relationship with someone with psychological problems, you either have really good communication or you will suffer a lot or it will end soon.
They communicate, but it’s all twisted up with that garbage roof thing, where they can only put themselves down and have that accepted, but not actually offer support. Which isn’t wholly bad, but not a good starting point for a relationship.
Not Dorothy, definitely his parents. We haven’t seen much of them, but what we have was heavily focused on “how could you lose Dorothy? You need a smart ambitious girl like that to latch onto.”
Joe likely didn’t help.
They talk, they don’t communicate. “Why did you flee the roof?”-“see, I kind of met her before, I was in the store she robbed”-“why did you try to throw the mask away?”-“I’m having trouble with ag, we currently don’t get along. I’m trying to stop being ag”-“I’m having some doubts about the relationship, basically what becky just said. Still, I really like being with you and I’d like to see where this is heading. You?”-“I’m feeling a bit unsure about having a relationship with the brother of the robber who threatened me as a kid, but I also feel like this is great and I don’t want to miss it just because of some stuff in my past”. That (or at least a subset of that) would have been communication. There were great opportunities to start talking about all of it. They didn’t.
The talks on garbage roof was limited to “I’m a bad person because reason”. “Okay, sure”. That’s less communication and more mutual strengthening of self-doubts and anxieties. The other part literally was forbidden to say what he/she really thought about what was just said. Which kind of kills every communication.
I definitely think Danny’s parents deserve a slot on the Terrible Parents Gallery, because they definitely insult him and say he doesn’t measure up to his brother and Dorothy was his one ticket to success. So much of Early Danny’s screwups seems based in part by that clearly eroding his self-esteem.
Alanari:
The problem with rebounds is that it’s difficult to tell whether you actually like the person or just didn’t want to be alone
Amber and Walky DO like each other and there seems to be decent chemistry between them. And their relationship literally started with the two of them talking about their problems. They didn’t talk about FIXING their problems because that’s not what either of them needed. They both already know they have work to do, but that’s going to take time. They needed to be able to talk about their flaws WITHOUT talking about fixing them, because they needed to vent, and they needed someone to JUST listen without arguing, and just accept that they’re flawed. They both have this excessive internalized notion that they need to be perfect or they’re completely worthless, and telling someone about all the things that makes them feel like garbage, and having the other person simply accept that as true but still want to hang out helps them accept themselves
That doesn’t mean they don’t want to improve themselves or learn better ways to handle their problems. It just helps them stop beating themselves up simply for HAVING problems, and not having fixed them already. That’s something both of them NEED to do so that they aren’t so overwhelmed they can’t actually do the work they need to do
And they also literally JUST started their relationship less than a day ago. It’s not possible or reasonable to expect people to open up about absolutely everything right of the bat. Even more so when it comes to something traumatic. It’s something they’ll need to talk about at some point, but it’s totally fine that she hasn’t gotten to it already
If you still are hung up about someone else, still hurting and chose to be with someone because it makes you hurt less, you definitely are rebounding. Walky basically said that.
The thing about garbage roof is, while it is okay and often liberating to be allowed to be imperfect, this was the unhealthiest way of doing it. First of, their talking was limited to that. They only really spoke on the roof. They never really communicated (which sounds simple but actually isn’t). Second of, both but especially Amber shouldn’t be allowed to reduce themselves to their bad sides. There’s a whole lot of room between “yes, you are garbage” and “yes, you messed up, but I still like you”. Talking down vs accepting faults without lowering your value as a human being. Third, they both used garbage roof to dig deeper into their self hatred, which never us a healthy thing. No real reflection.
Walky has little interest in getting better. Amber has next to no interest in getting better. He’d just have to sit down and learn math but takes every excuse to not to. She is way beyond what she can fix herself, knows it but doesn’t seek help. Neither feels any better about their problems, Amber probably actually feels worse because of the grades thing. It wasn’t any help for either of them in tackling their respective problems. Walky still doesn’t study and Ambers condition still is getting worse.
My own trauma involves being abused and raped by my first partner over several years, resulting in ptbs, and I literally did what I described above. I talked to my partner, actually literally just before we got together. Most problems aren’t as dramatic as your own mind tells you it is. And if the other can’t handle being told about them, he or she won’t be able to handle the problem itself.
I didn’t get into any relationship while I was unable to control my damage and talk about it. Wouldn’t have been fair. It’s okay to not be ready to talk about something at all. It’s not okay to make someone else suffer because you are kind of broken. And they will suffer.
Of course, while that’s a problem with rebounds, it’s also a problem when you’ve been single for awhile. “Do I really like them or do I just not want to be alone?”
And I think we can agree that there’s room for the garbage roof rules, but that having just that is no better (and maybe even worse) than the other way around. It’s great to be able to vent and not have it contradicted with praise or attempts to fix you, but praise and improvement are critical too.
We’ll have to see where Amber and Walky take this. So far, I don’t see their direction as promising, however cute they are together.
And, no matter how traumatic it is, Amber really needs to talk to him about Amazi-Girl before he gets surprised by it. Some things can be put off, but that’s going to pop up without her control and he needs warning. For example, before they sleep together (non-euphemistically) and Amazi-Girl takes over in Amber’s sleep. Cause that’ll be awkward.
Alanari,
They’ve communicated. Your distinction between communication and talking is not as meaningful as you seem to think. They haven’t bared their souls for each other or had a long detailed talk about how they feel, but it turns out that not doing that DAY ONE is not a sign that they haven’t made any meaningful steps towards building a relationship
And your claim that garbage roof was the worst way to go about that and it only made things worse doesn’t seem supported by what’s been happening in the comic? Both of them have been shown to be less stressed out and miserable. The fact that it hasn’t fixed ALL of their problems doesn’t mean it hasn’t helped them
It definitely wouldn’t work for everyone, and could definitely backfire for many people. It might even backfire for Walky, Amber, or both. I don’t think it has yet. Walky still needs to fix his studying habits, and Amber needs to find healthier ways to manage her anger amongst other things, but at least now they don’t seem to feel worthless simply for struggling with those problems, so they’re each in a far better state to actually work on them
Obviously, your interpretation isn’t inaccurate or anything since it’s literally your own experience, but I just don’t think it quite matches what’s going on with these two
As for whether or not it’s irresponsible for Amber to date, I don’t think that’s something that should be treated as a hard rule. You made the right to decision for you. If someone doesn’t feel ready for a relationship, holding off on that is a good call. But I don’t think it’s a given that Amber isn’t ready. Her dissociation has gotten worse, but that’s not what messed things up with Danny. That was her vendetta with Sal. Sal might still trigger her PTSD, but she’s let go of the hatred that caused her to snap at Danny. We’ve also seen from her earlier consideration with Ethan (re Mike) that she’s actually put some thought into whether she’s ready to handle a relationship. I’d feel better if she’d been more confident, but being aware she can get hurt more easily than Ethan is not the same as being unable to handle ANY relationship.
There’s obviously stuff they’re gonna need to talk about for things to work out in the long run, but hopefully she’ll keep being open with him about things even when they’re not on the roof, and they’ll get there in time (and there is plenty of time, as again they only smooched for the first time just last night)
I do think the disassociation messed things up with Danny. If you look at that breakup scene, while she was blaming it on Sal turning him against her, she was reacting to him telling Amazi-Girl he liked Amber better and wanted her to stop being Amazi-Girl.
Danny of course meant it in the “give up vigilante stuff because I don’t want you getting hurt and it’s not the superhero fantasy I care about”, but that’s not what she heard.
I think Becky getting her own living space and finding a whole new world of cute girls who like learning things and kissing her helped a lot – one of the things that those post-kiss, pre-Toedad strips established was that their sense of Perfectly Normal Platonic Female Friendships was skewed, probably for years, and being reliant on Joyce for shelter, food and clothes only made things worse. Now there’s no need to share Joyce’s bed, no ‘is this gay or is it close friendship’ mixed signals (and Dina was very clear about being romantically interested, even better,) and Becky has a larger support network in general.
The enmity towards Dorothy thing is concerning, especially since it’s at least somewhat sincere, but I hope being part of the group and not ‘Joyce is my only lifeline and has changed so much while we were apart and she has a new best friend’ is lessening the jealousy. Them adopting each other I’m fine with – Becky was pretty much disowned by her community at large and her father particularly, and I predict Joyce is going to lose half her family of birth before things are done. (Carol and John are givens, I don’t want to bet on Hank because I don’t want to be disappointed even as I have hope, and Jordan is a complete enigma so who can say.)
Also I think getting over a crush that included at least a little desperation of the ‘I can’t be alone and no one I know will choose me over God’ variety is easier than doing so about your first serious relationship when both of you still like each other and are in regular contact. (Or at least it’s easier when said crush doesn’t return the romantic feelings but does choose you because the teachings must be wrong.)
In one sense, Joyce was the best thing in Becky’s OLD life. Kind, loyal
hot, Joyce who always, always was there for Becky. After her mother died, after she fled Andersons, after her father turned on her, she had NOTHING… except Joyce.In that sense, Dina is the best of her NEW life. Smart, badass, hot Dina with her love for science, her complete refusal to let the world change her and her 100% honest admiration for Becky – not the pretend!Becky but the REAL!Becky.
So, yeah, I’m not too worried about those two doofuses. They’ll do fine 🙂
Yeah, while Becky was also not over Joyce when initiating a dinoship, She was also very actively trying to move on; and frankly not being able to date Joyce wasn’t as destructive for becky as Un-Dottying was for Walky. She accepted crushin’ on Joyce was unhealthy; set her mental status to available, and did the thing. Walky… well, honestly there are ways this wouldn’t be unhealthy; but thinking you’re a garbage person for entering a relationship tends to be the wrong frame of mind for that sort of thing. That said, I still ship this harder than america ships weapons overseas.
Also, I think Amber might be more concerned with the Sal-related issues in this new dynamic than the Walky-Related ones; although anxiety means she could be concerned about everything realistically she didn’t have any demonstrable problems with the Garbage Barge until good ol’ Sal showed up and made her realize this might be unhealthy-adjacent.
Yeah, thinking you’re garbage for moving on is one of those signs you shouldn’t yet. And I’m sure Amber’s focused most on Sal because acknowledging what Walky says is worrying would mean thinking what she thinks of herself is worrying, too.
All the Becky commentary is spot on there, both of you. Man Becky/Dina is great.
(Also my autocorrect now tries to automatically capitalize garbage sometimes. Thanks guys!)
Love is a shambling thing!
ethan you are a meme
A truly devestating comeback
so’s your face
I know you are, but what am I?
a meme
He does not know da wae.
But can he breathe in space?
Time to play the guessing game! Why is Amber having second thoughts? Is it because of:
A-Just general anxieties. Seriously, be content for more than a few minutes? No way.
B-There’s a lot of things (grade changing, split from AG, etc) that Amber really needs to get out in the open with Walky.
C-Specifically freaking out because dating Walky means seeing Sal regularly.
D-Because Walky’s rebounding from Dorothy.
E-Actually, we’re about to find out that she just forgot about a class or something else harmless. No crisis here!
F-Something else! It could be anything. It could be everything!
She also needs to fill him in on the robbery and the whole hand stabbing thing.
Could be just that he’s Walky. Like, “Oh my god, somehow I wound up dating Walky. Walky, of all people! And I’m actually *enjoying* it! Who even am I these days?”
This, I think. Or, at least the enjoying part. I know a few people with anxiety who get anxious over enjoying things. “I feel happy, something’s wrong!”
I do know if it matters that much, but then there’s the fact that she dumped Danny because he was getting involved with Sal and now she’s replaced him with Sals twin brother.
Amber didn’t dump Danny.
Amazi-Girl dumped Danny, because Sal turned him against her and made him want her to go away. Not at all what Danny thought he was saying, but likely what she heard. “I like Amber better, you should stop being Amazi-Girl” couldn’t go over well when Amazi-Girl is actually separate from Amber.
Ptsd does this thing where things that subconsciously remind you of what happened make you feel afraid, without really knowing why you are afraid. It’s why she once said that walky projects the word danger in her mind.
This is how trigger work. Judging from her earlier reactions, seeing walky is a trigger. Getting rid of triggers is a long task (read: usually years in my experience) that requires a whole lot of work, and there is no guarantee of success. They don’t just go away just because you like what triggers you. I had to give up one of my favorite tv-shows because it triggered me.
So, he probably still triggers her. That might make a nice G for the list.
This also could be about the changing grades thing, not about her new relationship. I mean, it could get her expelled. Perhaps she just realized that.
I think Walky wasn’t actively a trigger (though some part of her brain was picking up the similarity, hence the ‘setting my brain on fire’ line) until he explicitly spelled out the Sal thing. Now it seems more like seeing him on his own might be okay, but actually thinking the ‘this is Sal’s brother’ part immediately shoves her into Nopesville. When she hadn’t put the pieces together she was fine, but now consciously trying to avoid that thought is like consciously trying to not think of a purple rhinoceros in a tutu.
I hope it’s the grades. I really hope it’s the grades. I don’t want either of them expelled.
I have ptsd and in my experience, triggers don’t work like that. She has been good at hiding being triggered before.
Triggers don’t need to be something that throws you out of everything and turns you into a pile of suffering. They can, but they don’t have to. You can also feel uneasy and restless and hunted for hours without really knowing why. You actually have to learn that this strange feeling of being alert without having a reason to be alerted is the result of a trigger. Once you have learned it, you can identify triggers and deal with them accordingly. Amber probably doesn’t know that, otherwise she’d have known why walky makes her feel uneasy (well, not the him-being-sals-sibling-part but the being-triggered-part).
I think knowing of the relation between sal and walky just puts another layer of anxiety on top of it.
In my experience, you have to deal with the initial trauma and the fear it induces to get rid of triggers. It’s the most effective way. You can sometimes kind of soften triggers by safe exposure to them, but usually not within two weeks. When dealing with ptsd, you have to invest years. There’s no fast way. Nothing ever happens fast with ptsd.
That said, ptsd is not officially confirmed afaik.
I think PTSD is a safe guess, so thanks for the clarification. Yeah, I think it was more ‘Amber is now aware that Walky is triggering her and why’ then. Sal definitely sets her off worse – she actively has panic attacks being surprised by Sal – but you’re right, I can definitely see her being more anxious and such after seeing Walky and not knowing that was going on and why. Once again, Amber really needs some help to defuse all the trouble in her brain.
Well, damn, that didn’t take long.
Amber needs a hug.
Among other things. Better call Walky.
It’s Walky’s turn to be the Designated Amber Hugger.
Among other things…
Amber needs a therapist and to stop making terrible choices.
I don’t see a reason she can’t have both.
It’s a little late to feel guilty. At least own up to being garbage.
But they’re being normal. I’m so upset at them for making a functional relationship into something unecessarily dramatic
I don’t think the dramatics are unnecessary when you know your new smooch buddy’s sibling because you stabbed them in the hand once, said sibling doesn’t know you, and your smooch buddy is unaware of all of this. ‘I permanently damaged your sister’s hand in a dissociative state after she tried to hold my friend hostage, and then up to about two weeks ago I was stalking her due to PTSD from said incident’ is one of those things where the partner has every right to break up if they so desire because it is kind of a big deal.
Like, would Walky? Will Sal quit associating with AG once she knows? No idea! But it’s such a huge thing hanging over Amber’s head because it absolutely could be a dealbreaker.
She’s not “making” it dramatic. People can’t just turn off their anxieties and doubts
Also true. Asshole anxiety brain can make things like going to the dining hall a major dilemma. Asshole anxiety brain made me develop an aversion to my computer for like, months, and still makes me terrified to send routine emails. Asshole anxiety brain is so irritating I have named the tiny voices of self-doubt and catastrophizing, the better to tell them to shut the fuck up. And that took years of therapy.
Amber has years of abuse reinforcing her issues (and may well be the primary cause,) no therapy, no coping skills for this issue, and an actual bus load of legitimate reasons to worry about this relationship without asshole brain telling her it will definitely all end in flames. Amber freaking out is the logical result of all this, because jerkbrains gonna jerk.
Yup. Personally I’ve been thinking about giving buspirone a second chance, now that I’m not a walking pharmacy any more, because FFS it would be nice if I could cut into a fucking avocado without massive stress about all the ways it could possibly go wrong. 😛 I’ve been making steady progress on the anxiety but there’s so damn *much* of it it’s like trying to clean a stadium with a toothbrush.
I was on it for a while and it definitely helped me finish school, but yeah I do not think it interacts with other drugs well. (Spiked my blood pressure like 30 or 40 points.) Lorazepam as an as-needed tends to work best for me, but being able to anticipate a stressful situation is at least half the battle there.
Good old anxiety disorders. For once could we just get the normal-sized ‘here is a healthy recognition of upcoming trouble’ portion and not the smorgasbord of everything bad that could ever happen anywhere ever, complete with side dishes like All Your Past Mistakes And Why Everyone Hates You For Them and Maybe This Innocuous Ache Is Cancer? I’m still dealing with leftovers from last month’s existential crises.
But they’re not on garbage roof anymore.
Today’s strip has been brought to you by the political action committee Citizens Against Robin DeSanto.
Speaking of, have we seen or heard from Robin since the whole “and now I wait for my little lesbian to come get me like in the movies” thing?
I kind of hope she’s still in that parking lot waiting.
I think we saw her on the Patreon strips at some point? And it looks like we will for this month’s as well, unless the numbers dramatically changed since I last checked.
Someone from her campaign did pick her up I guess (probably Frida, who really is not paid enough for that shit,) but the lesbian stalker hijinks plus Becky on Twitter has definitely done a number on her.
I look forward to that far-off day in, oh, 2025 or so when we pass November and Robin loses her election. Someone worse will almost certainly replace her, but I look forward to that day all the same.
We’re in October, so we’re past the primaries. Either the full weight of her party has to go toward a write-in campaign, or her opponent walks away with an easy win. Either way the “family values” wing of her party is either disenfranchised and staying home now, or will vote for her regardless because they like the R next to her name.
What a C.A.R.D.
Hey, HEY, stop saying nice things to each other you are supposed to be the garbage… Oh, yeah, you are not on the roof any longer.
My bad, please carry on.
That’s a really nice shirt on Walky, gotta say.
Dorothy chose it, right?
Dorothy dressed him well.
While even joking about making him nice for his next girlfriend, now than I think about it.
I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR SUCCESS, DOROTHY.
She made him too powerful.
God I wish that were me
Ethan has a point and I’m liking this new Ethan, the more forceful Ethan. Be funny if most of his problems were to be solved by, finally, having sex
Shame it was with Mike though
Oh, Ethan, there ain’t nothing normal ’bout that ass, hon.
Then again, you’re gay, so I suppose you might not notice, it being a girl ass.
I was confused about Ethan’s reaction in the last panel until I checked the archives and saw this strip.
Come on, Ethan. It only happened, like, once.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/04-of-mike-and-men/velociraptor/
…that you know of.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/03-when-god-closes-the-door/deviations/
And it’s not only Dina and Amber, either
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/04-of-mike-and-men/outloud/
Anyway, you are in NO position to talk, Ethan
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/02-this-is-the-way-that-we-love/mansomeone/
Thanks for your hard work Bagge. I assumed Dinah was responsible for at least one time but I couldn’t recall any at all.
Truly you’re a scholar of…. “pop” culture
Holy crap, I found one while you found the whole treasure trove.
I cheated – we spent the day yesterday at Patreon picking out these strips. 🙂
We have solemnly promised not to use our knowledge of the future to spoil what’s to come. We never said anything about geting a heads up on the best jokes!
Nice avoidance of the spam filter, too!
(Too bad there’s no way to whitelist links that stay on this site without installing plugins.)
I have come to like the chained-post writing style anyway. It becomes more like a bullet point list than a paragraph in a book (with no disrespect meant to Cerberus… who writes multiple paragraphs)
Thank you, Bagge! Okay multiple times in the previous arc plus an Ethan in the arc before is definitely a trend, even if Ethan was only present for one. Meta-commentary understood!
Huh, I didn’t think it happened that much to Ethan himself.
And I mistakenly thought it was localized to only Dina, Tiny Woman Prime.
So uh, am I forgetting a Dina strip from last arc for that last panel? I think that’s what I’m missing.
Yeah Amber I know you don’t want to saddle a new relationship with a dude who’s already going through some shit with all this other shit, but seriously honey that’s why you clear the air before smooching. And also never change his grades without his knowledge and against his wishes. I cannot emphasize enough how much I don’t want you to change anymore grades beyond returning Walky’s to their proper state.
More like two books ago. March 11, 2017.
Oh hey, another one! *Adds it to the pile above* Does seem distinct from the ‘popping out from under something’ trend Bagge documented, but I could see Ethan counting it, he doesn’t really know Dina’s powers of stealth.
Oh Amber, you really need to take time and get some help. While my situation is far from identical, I relate to a lot of the self-hate and overwhelming anxiety Amber deals with. So I do understand how hard it is to try and get help, and feeling like you have made a mistake with nearly everything you do. I can’t say I’m doing great on the whole dealing with my “voice” but therapy is helping some and my gf helps a lot. I just hope she manages to deal with this without any more extrwme episodes.
Yeah, anxiety fucking blows, social anxiety in particular. Add in her mountain of other psychological issues and it just gets a thousand times worse.
I have a little bit of hope that campus counseling is equipped to handle anxiety issues, or at least there’s a support group on campus that can, but some of her stuff is either ‘any psychologist is a gamble’ or ‘if I talk about this, not even doctor-patient privilege will keep me from being reported because I present a risk to public safety’ (AG may run on superhero logic, but the car chase was a whole lot of luck as well.) And of course Blaine’s abuse is the kind that says therapy won’t do you any good in part to keep you isolated and internalizing shit… As always, fuck Blaine.
Still, I really think a therapist or at least a dedicated online support forum would do Amber worlds of good. Preferably both.
… Meanwhile Ethan needs a Rewind to go with his Chromedome.
because its fun Ethan. because its fun.
tiny women, he says. When you’re like 190cm tall everyone is tiny
How tall does 190cm translate to in banjo units*?
*that’s “inches” for you wacky New Englanders.
Using rough approximations, I got 76 inches, or 6’4”. (100cm is roughly 40in, 10cm is roughly 4in. 40*2=80, 80-4=76.)
That’s roughly Jon Pertwee or Tom Baker sized. Pretty dang tall.
Tom Baker is six feet tall??? Holy shit, I thought he was, like, 5’7″ or shorter, for some reason.
190 is almost exactly 6’3″
everyone else is tiny, just a few of us norms over 6′
This may become a favorite Ethan moment for me. Nothing about personal outrage or hangup- transformers. Just losing his cool, rightly, at some ridiculousness.
Its a good sign for Ethan
Panel four is my favorite panel.
I think that Amber is happy and the fact that she’s happy with Sal’s brother is freaking her out a little.
Meanwhile, Ethan is freaking out about the fact that all the girls his age seem to have somehow got a shadow-teleport ability without anyone telling him. “What is this anyway? Some kind of X-Men RPG?!?”
It’s hopefully also guilt over all the important information she’s withholding from him like the fact that she fucked him over vis a vis his grades.
…and the penny drops.
No, that already happened.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/03-faz-is-great/sacked/
SOOOO wish I could upvote this! Bagge, you’re razor-sharp when it comes to finding these strips!!
Thanks 🙂
So, Ethan comes out after dating Amber,
Danny goes from Dorothy to Amber to having hots for Ethan…
Walky goes from Dorothy to Amber to…?
Joyce, because some destinies cannot be avoided.
Joyce and Walky: GROSS
i see Amzi-girl sidekick in his future….
I sort of see Walky and Danny as house-husbands and the beards for Amber and Sal’s future superheroic lifestyle (also the ones who keep open Ambersal Software’s office open when the ladies are too tired to go in).
oh no…no I reached the latest page.
I can’t binge read anymore.
what do I do now?
Go back and reread to pick up all the foreshadowing you missed the first time around?
Sign up for Patreon to get one more day?
Go back through and read all the comments this time, so you can laugh at our predictions?
I want to and don’t want to because I’ll have to relive my emotions and im not sure if that will be good or bad.
So, it turns out that what happens on Garbage Room doesn’t stay on Garbage Roof and Amber is going to have to deal with the fact that she might have developed a bond with Walky. I’m thinking that finding another romantic partner after the way Danny crashed and burned was the last thing on her mind and the fact that he is Sal’s twin brother only makes it easier.
As for me? I’d tell her this: Notice that you were fine when you were spending time with him. It’s only after you’ve had time to let your insecurities take hold that you’re having second thoughts. That’s not to discount any concerns that you might have but don’t act hastily just because you’re getting neuroses-induced cold feet!
I meant that Walky’s being Sal’s sibling only makes it HARDER. I don’t know where my brain is this morning but it is clearly not closely connected with my hands.
OTOH I’m getting some ‘thirsty for sidekick’ vibes from AG.
Not sure she’s fine. She’s repeating it a lot. Could mean that she already had doubts but was trying to hide them.
Also, this could be about realizing that her meddling with walkys grades could get her expelled.
Ah it’s the wallowing in self-loathing while doing nothing to change her behaviour part of Amber’s cycle of avoidance.
You’re referring to just the last panel, right?
Yeah.
Amber is bongo cat. :3
Of course there’s regret. God forbid they’d BOTH be happy.
I’ve sadly been Amber in panel 5 more times than Amber in panel 4 🙁
I just realized Amber has now dated all three Walkyverse main protagonists.
All three? Walky and Danny. I guess you’re counting Ethan as “Walkyverse main protagonist”?
Not sure I’d really classify him that way. Even just for SP!
Personally, I’d suggest Robin as the main character in Shortpacked!, over Ethan.
FOOLS! Shortpacked is the tale of the Mighty Galasso’s brilliant plans for world domination! It’s in the title!
I definitely agree that Robin became the main character of Shortpacked!, but at least in the beginning, Ethan was the main protagonist. I think it’s significant that Ethan leaving the main ensemble warranted a poignant full-page send-off that no one else really got (I don’t know that I can find it again now, but I’m thinking specifically of the page where Ethan is walking past Lombard Street).
I mean, maybe over time, but Ethan was definitely the main protagonist/viewpoint character for Shortpacked! for most of the early run, then maybe halfway through it became more Robin focused.
That alt text was uncalled for
Yada, yada, yada. Let’s focus on the important thing here.
Ethan and Danny decided that them dating would be INCREDIBLY SHITTY towards Amber.
But – stay with me here – what if Amber gets a boyfriend and is incredibly happy…
THIS CAN HAPPEN!
What if Amber gets a boyfriend”
OK, I’m with you so far…
and is incredibly happy
…and now you lost me.
Amber being happy as like a general state of being is like years of therapy away at this point which means it’s like a century away in real time.
Awe, cmon
Cant amber just dissociate another personality fragment ( Garbage Girls gets to be happy right now )
who can be happpy without guilt?
especially now that amazigirl doesnt handle ambers dating/ sex anymore ?
Incredible. adj. 1 Too extraordinary and improbable to be believed.
Ethan can’t enjoy his Chromedome because of prairie dog girls…
You decided to go for something that felt nice at the moment, something for yourself.
Is this a moment of trying to sabotage your own happiness? Is Amber becoming like Bojack Horseman?
I think Amber is Freaking out at this , because shes breaking her dissociation contract with Amazigirl …one step beyond.
It seems healthy at first glace ( amber gets to date ) .
But without coordination with Amazigirl in a backwards way its also acting out .
Amber’s on her own with walky and the stakes are now higher than with Danny …
Which is ironic considering its no Pressure Garbage slash .
Meanwhile, I’m just sitting here thinking how that shirt is going to show off Ethan’s shoulders Hella woah