I may be wrong, but panel 5 seems to be a flashback to the background of panel 1, which Amber just ran past, with panel 6 being the reaction to that flashback.
By the last 2 panels, the red panels have changed from flashback to real life, and the foreground panel #5 is now where the flashback goes. It would also mean that Amber’s issues are now in the foreground, ahead of even real life.
nah, not at all. this is freshman burn-out. when the over-achiever highschoolers realize they were never prepared for the load they’d try to take on in college.
Hadn’t happened yet! Amber encountering Billie and Sal was the first Friday; Billie jumped Danny Sunday beginning of the second week.
Amber (as Amazi-Girl) had rescued Billie from Ruth and had a short conversation with her a couple of days earlier, and I initially chalked her expression in that strip up to concern that Billie might recognize her secret identity, but she hasn’t shown that concern with any of the others she’s encountered in costume.
Though maybe her experience with Danny has caused to to figure that they’re all as oblivious as he is. (In Billie’s case, she might be right!)
I hate to poke holes in such an awesome theory, but I see two problems with it. The first is hair colour: the robber’s highlights are dark brown, whereas Sal’s highlights are ashen. This isn’t much in and of itself, because she could easily dye it or whatever. The second thing I noticed, however, is that on closer inspection it doesn’t look like Amber even noticed Danny *or* Sal as she was running away.
Windmill – I had not thought of that.
Here I was picturing that were dealing with your everyday sears special table fan and a small bucket of the aforementioned fecal matter.
Both have been upgraded and we now are dealing with a Live Bottom Hauler load of the same material and something by Evinrude.
No. Amber has too much of her father Blaine in her. Those sorts don’t suicide, they lash out, inflicting pain on others. The pain and rage are focused outward, not inward.
It’ll be Amber’s “fault”. More accurately, IMO, her decision.
I’m not saying she’s getting smacked around with a lot of triggers in the space of 15 minutes after having a really bad day yesterday. That’s a lot to process, and someone who’s 17-19 (I missed if we actually know her specific age) isn’t likely to have the coping mechanisms (and we’ve seen Amber only has some) needed to process a flood of things like this productively.
Raw Dannying being enough to salvage this train wreck?
“But sir! We’ve never used that much Danny energy at once! There’s no telling what could happen!”
“Do you honestly believe I care about the consequences? We can’t do nothing.”
“I-I refuse.”
*shoots him* “Anyone else? No? Then DO IT!”
If this situation could be dan’d up, the amount of Dan energy would probably reach plank density, tearing a hole the fabric of reality.
Through this hole emerges Mike (Shortpacked Edition) who proceeds to punch everyone who made Amber upset in the immediate vicinity, and his dumbiverse counterpart for his seeming absence.
As something of a writer myself, I can say with some certainty: you always torture the ones you love. The more you love them, the worse the torture, and the longer it lasts. Into many sequels if possible.
If you haven’t broken someone’s spirit, it’s not a good day.
Yeah, I shat the most on my most favourite characters, ’cause I love them so much for being strong enough to put up with everything I can throw at them.
My least faves are the ones that are hardest to draw |=p
Interesting. If I like a character, I usually go the extra mile of making sort the endless shit gets counterbalanced with an endgame that they can flourish in.
Suffering without substantial growth is indistinguishable from schadenfreude in a frock.
All my stories are about the endgame, and all are deserved for their characters [interpret that as you will]. I just mean in the interim they have to go through THE WORST to get there. Though the latest Willis stories made me realize I’ve NEVER made a couple that “stays together for the kids” when they really want to murder each other =’ so I guess it’s not really “THE WORST” after all…
that’s a tough thing to call, I don’t know, man, not without knowing them personally, which, who knows, maybe you do? but I do feel like he has a way of conveying very special relationships to all of his characters, based on himself and loved ones and brokenness.
In some alternate universes, this effect is non-existent. Eventually, the poop becomes dense enough to form a black hole, or “brown hole” as they are called in cosmology.
That and the fact that I didn’t start reading all that long ago (maybe 2 months or so), so generally I read through the high drama situations without the additional pain of a cliffhanger.
I wonder what my problem is then….I’ve been reading for awhile….and even now, even with this page, I’ve never thought “Damn you, Willis’….hmm. I read other comics that do horrible things to their charcters though…so maybe I’m getting immune to the suffering of others? That’s not good…Damn you Willis! Oh, there it goes! <3 But yeah…wow. Amber…is gonna have a heart attack at this rate. Or….blow up the school. Either or.
Willis needs to add a “DAMN YOU WILLIS” button to this site, which keeps a tally of how many times it is clicked. Then we could see what the most Damned strips are.
My theory is that Amber and Sal were not just in the store at the same time but were actually co-conspirators; Amber acting as either decoy or lookout while Sal committed the robbery. But then something went extremely bad, traumatizing Amber and resulting in Sal being sent to ‘reform school’.
Sal has never shown any sign that she recognizes Amber, or indeed even appeared to have noticed her in any way, like one would expect someone to recognize someone they were close enough to to knock over a convenience store with.
If Amber didn’t want to be a target of misery and misfortune, she should have never fallen for Danny. That’s tantamount to saying “It could be worse!” or “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” She was asking–no, begging— for trouble, and Willis gave it to her in spades.
I think the worst thing that can happen is either you get hit by a truck and die in a self-sacrificing bid to save Danny from his own stupidity, or you have to marry Danny and live with him for the rest of your life. Willis has said he’s not doing the first again, but that second possibility is still open!
I have that problem too. People just aren’t named properly, really. I’d have no trouble remembering her name if she was called “ThatreallynicehotgirlfromEnglishClass”, or if that guy at the DMV was called “Jackass McFucktard”. You name, something that makes sense.
That thing you think is being pushed is a convenience store display.
That thing you think is a giant paw is commonly believed to be Sal’s hair when she was a 13 year old convenience store robber.
I like your giant paw theory, though.
Perhaps it is the paw of the creature from the ruinous mistakes in a motel dumpster.
DUDE! Seriously, give her a fucking break for one goddamn page! The only reason I don’t see her swinging from a rope at the end of this is because you said no one would die in this one.
This comic has a months-long, pre-drawn buffer. It is like speaking to a star. The images you see happened long, long ago, and we are only now seeing their rays.
I’m with Arkantos. The buffer is just an inconvenient truth. I’m not even going to put this on Willis (though I did throw out a “Damn You Willis” upstream). Fandom: I’m putting this on YOU. Whoever called it — “And next Amber runs into Danny and Sal” — is to blame! Stop speaking these horrible things into being!! You are warping the buffer! Who can survive this?? Not Amber. Not me.
Amber ends up the happiest and most well-adjusted member of the cast with whoever ends up being the best person for her in the cast, regardless of gender. >=|
You do realize that her origin story is very likely to be a traumatic one, right ?
Or do you prefer past-drama to present drama ?
Don’t worry, Willis will give you both.
And then Amber killed everyone, ending this story line and giving Willis more time to work on the end of Joyce and Walky’s wedding. Oh who am I kidding? Bring me the drama. I need it.
Panels 4-6 might suggest that Sal was the one to rob the store, especially judging by the hair seen in panel 4. (This was someone else’s idea from a few months ago.)
She’s a messed up psychopath that pushes her opinion on everyone and freaks out when she doesn’t get her way, she technically tried to get Danny to cheat on his girlfriend. She pushes away anyone that try’s to be nice and get close to her, I dunno. I guess I just really hate the type of people that are like : “ugh, I have problems and my life is so difficult but no ow should try and help me solve them they should just feel bad for me.”
That burns the most, she doesn’t worry about Dina getting close she doesn’t actually consider Dina to be a real person due to her mannerism’s and childish behaviour, so she deals with her as a younger sibling instead of an adult.
Yeah, maybe that was a little harsh. I’m just still pissed from her shoving her nose into Ethan’s business with Joyce just for the point of wanting Ethan to help her with her problems because she’s ran out of friends to push away.
Oh you mean Ethan and Joyce “helping” each other by maintaing a relationship that not only is destined to fail badly, but is purposefully constructed so that neither has to grow as a person?
Dude, that false description you just for amber and people like her makes you sound like the biggest asshole in the world rite now, and coming from me that’s saying something.
Your judging someones character and personality off of false assumptions before you get to really know them, there struggles,and there past.Thats why we read the comic to follow the story and to get too know the characters
I mean what are you a mother Mary?( DoA character)
she didn’t want anybody to even know about her problems because she didn’t want anybody feeling sorry for her. And problems, that she was raised in an abusive household and that she was rejected by someone she thought she was going to marry in the future because he turned out to be, aren’t problems that can really be fixed, they’re just kinda the facts oh her life. And if anyone were able to help her, it wouldn’t be a bunch of college students, it would be a licensed therapist.
And preferring to be alone is not a bad thing. No one should feel obligated to hang out with other people, doesn’t matter how much those people might want to hang out with them.
OMG, you’re right! I had thought Amber reacted that way because she saw Billie heading toward Ruth and could extrapolate that they weren’t exactly likely to tip hats at each other and pass idle comments about the weather.
Danny: hey things are going well, hey is that amber why is she crying? Wait why is she looking at us like that? *Gasp* Oh my God she that’s rite she doesn’t know that this is amazi-girl! She might think that Im cheating on her and tell her ! This is bad this is really bad.
This one…this is really hitting quite close to home at the moment. Maybe a bit too close, with it looking like Amber’s reaching a breaking point. Really really hoping it ends with Amber talking with someone who can help her with these issues, because her current compartmentalizing is clearly not enough.
That would be Dorothy; that would also have the obvious side effect of letting Dotty know about Ethan’s homosexuality and trigger some Dotty-Joyce drama.
I dunno, she and Dotty haven’t really met at all, outside of the time Amber was dressed up as Amazi-Girl. Amber would have no reason to go to Dorothy as a sounding board.
Amber just needs to quit having so much tragic backstory. Right now.
I am, by the way, NOT crying right now, because Amber is my favorite character and just. Ahhhh.
Willis posted a track list on the Dumbing of Age tumblr with the corresponding characters (and sources for the songs he didn’t pick out himself). Here you go!
DANNY: (whispering)Hey, Amber, don’t tell anyone, but… Sal is AmaziGirl.
AMBER: …Awesome for you. (wipes tears)
SAL: Ah’m not this amazin’ girl, ah keep tryin’ to tell ya.
DANNY: Sure you are. You chose Wiggler, didn’t you?
SAL: ……Ah give up. (walks away)
AMBER: (trying to regain composure) Danny, don’t you know that anybody can play as Wiggler? I mean, there’s only so many options…
DANNY: Yes, but this isn’t anybody; this is AmaziGirl.
AMBER: Ah giv– I mean, I give up. You should give up too. She’s not AmaziGirl, just trust me.
DANNY: We can’t give up, Amber! If we lose faith in AmaziGirl, then how will she save us?
AMBER: Sal isn’t AmaziGirl, though.
DANNY: If I give up on Sal, I give up on AmaziGirl!
AMBER: You’ve gone completely bonkers, Danny. (walks away)
DANNY: (yelling) If you give up on my sanity, you give up on AmaziGirl!
AMBER: (resumes crying)
I wish I could say that you’re wrong, but it’s Danny. Even Walky would have a better chance of not fucking this up and he’s never even heard of the word tact.
Maybe not ?
Okay, I’m not delusional enough to hope for him to finally put 2 plus 2 and guess AmaziGirl’s identity but I SERIOUSLY hope he does the right thing and inquires about why his best friend in college is running around crying.
Even if you’ve had an argument with a friend before, you just don’t see them like that without at least trying to help.
I made the joke to my friend that Amber was going to walk into Danny and Sal banging. BUT NOW IT IS NO LONGER A JOKE AND IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING?? (minus the banging)
I really doubt danny seeing through her disguise anytime soon though I hope him seeing her this hurt will make go to her and mend at least there friendship
Danny is very observant in a trees-not-forest kind of way. He’s totally going to pick up on the fact that her hair looks like Amazi-Girl’s right now. It’s just that his thought process runs something like this:
DANNY: Yes! I totally called it. I told her that her hair would look real nice if done up like Amazi-Girl’s. It’d look even better if she wasn’t crying, though. Oh Crap! Yesterday I tell her we can’t hang out, and she suddenly changes her hair to be like my girlfriend’s? Awkward. Tears, though. Right. Tears. Something is probably wrong. Something should be said out loud.
It might help seeing both Amber and Sal together for him to realize that Sal isn’t amazi-girl, but there’s a good chance that Danny has Jim’d: he’s deluded himself into believing Sal is amazi-girl to the point where the truth seems wrong.
Back when Willis started the whole Sal x Danny shiptease there was a commenter who said “It’s impossible for David Willis to make us like Danny” and he replied “Challenge Accepted.”
Let’s see if he lives up to that hype.
Wait, wait, wait. Sal robbed a convenience store. Amber is having flashbacks of the time when she was caught in the middle of a convenience store robbery. Sees Sal. I really hope that this is not what I think it is…
Okay, seriously Willis, why do you seem to hate this character so much? It’s one thing to have a character with issues, it’s another thing to have a butt-monkey, and then there’s whatever the hell THIS is. I don’t think I have any example of any fictional character being given this kind of treatment in anything I’ve gone through yet.
Season Six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you have the slightest bit of empathy for any of the characters it is excruciating to get through. At least Willis promised no deaths in this comic. Though we do have unhealthy addiction (alcholism) and some (at least slightly) mutually abusive romantic relationships.
Amber seems about ready to snap and try to destroy the world unfortunately.
IIRC, Danny admitted that he wanted to discover Amazi-Girl’s identity preferably after kissing BOTH Amazi-Girl and her secret identity WITHOUT KNOWING they were the same person.
So he wants to play the field, but then got mad when Amber was all “Hey, I hope you figured it out ’cause I’m in a pickle!” and got all “FUCK YOU TRYNA MAKE ME CHEAT ON MY WOMAN EVEN THOUGH I SAID I WANTED TO”
Is that how you read into that line? I didn’t see it like that at all. O_o But now that you mention it, now would seem the perfect opportunity to kiss him like she kisses him as Amazi-Girl. Now is the perfect dramatic moment to do so.
When I thought about it, I really didn’t see any other way for Danny to only make the connection after having kissed both identities separately, EXCEPT to go around kissing women [or MEN LOLOLOL] he otherwise wasn’t seeing exclusively.
Generally, the idea is that the two are so compatible that the tension is still there with the alter-ego. The alter-ego is the one who makes the move, usually surprising the love interest before they can react. In the kiss, the love interest figures it out. That’s how it’s normally played out, and since the alter-ego is the one who initiates it and is the same person, it’s not really cheating.
It was also basically a request that she put the moves on him as her secret identity when she was ready for him to know it.
I feel like that could’ve been worded better–less Danned-up, I guess–but I also feel like THAT’S WHAT SHE DID, and he got mad at her for it.
So, whatever the intent, I feel like Dan’s being a heel for being all, “She’s TOO PERFECT, so she can’t POSSIBLY be The One” =p regardless of Clark Kent Glasses.
Well yeah. I think the problem is that Amazi-Girl is so different the way she carries herself from the way Amber does, Danny assumed there was no way the two could be the same. The “Clark Kent Glasses” do seem to be in full effect, though.
Willis is going full The Killing Joke on Amber, uh? will she break and turn into She-Blaine? or will she get to become stronger under the hits? Do you have steel on your soul girl? Do you?
No, the red background is through-out. The red background just represents things that make Amber feel really unstable and unhappy. Since she is overwhelmingly upset right now, everything does. There is a bit of an implied pattern with the drawn border around the present, and flashbacks being in the background, but since Sal & Dan are in a panel with a border, there shouldn’t be any confusion. I think Willis just did the final panel without a border to maintain the artistic pattern, without the thematic pattern.
Just a thought ….. can you imagine how this would be dragging out if Willis was only doing updates 3X per week, like he started out doing? It would be enough to reduce all of us to pathetic quivering blobs of protoplasm waiting for our next fix.
I spent all last night and today wondering about Amber seeing Danny with Sal.
And now I know.
There are 2 options here: Dissolve into tears, or else epic battle between Sal and Amber that will either be outrageous, loud and quickly cut off by school officials, or else will exist in an un-time and be epic and involve DBZ hair
See, this is going to be a positive. Realizing that Danny can’t be with her because she’s living a divided life will cause Amber to have a cathartic epiphany, causing her to come clean with Danny in a frank, rational, and peaceful manner, leading to a blissful life of honesty, self-actualization, and matrimony.
Okay Willis I am seriously starting to doubt whether you can achieve any plot twist or drama that couldn’t be solved by just talking to another person reasonably for more than a couple seconds. Alot of these arguments could be resolved if anyone was willing to stop and talk a problem out but NONE of your characters seem to do that and its making it harder and harder to suspend my disbelief and not just feel overly depressed by your comics.
Your inherent assumption that a significant percentage real people are willing to do this is…adorable, I’d say. The idea that all the problems-even those in the comic- would go away with these discussions is even more so; people’s mental problems (the core of these issues) are not so easily erased.
Allright, I’ll admit you made me laugh with the “alot” link, point to you.
I may have been unclear, Im not saying the problems would go away with a single conversation. Im saying that they can be worked out if they were willing to talk. This can take a very long time, sometimes years, and mental and emotional issues just add to that. It also does not always work, Ive seen to many relationships and friendships implode to think otherwise.
But I have also seen most people deal with problems that come up, perhaps they are angry and irrational at first, they fight, but then they actually approach the other person in an attempt to resolve the issue.
I almost never see this here and it gets depressing seeing people just refuse to attempt a resolution with other people.
You have seen 3 WEEKS of action. What you are talking about takes a long period of time, and you’ve even admitted that it can take years. None of these people have grown up enough to figure out that communication is key to solve issues yet, because they’re 17-18. I think you’re mistaking them for mature, healthy adults.
Most of the conversations I’ve had with my (lesbian) friend about her girlfriends for the past five years have been me telling her this is a stupid problem and she should just talk to her damn girlfriend already (interspersed with just the amount of crude and inappropriate jokes I can get away with). Nobody ever talks their issues out with the relevant parties.
I cant agree with you there. The majority of the people I know are atleast willing to atleast address a problem with the other party, it sometimes takes convincing and time to come down from an emotional high, angry, depression etc.
The outcome isn’t always perfect either but it usualy allows for a situation to be resolved rather than remain in shit creek for eternity.
That being said I do have a friend/colleague who was stuck in a similiar situation as your friend, with an inability to confront their girlfriend over any problem, so im not saying these situations are uncommon, just not the rule.
The key to suspending your disbelief about the characters behaving stupidly in emotionally charged situations is remembering that people tend to behave stupidly in emotionally charged situations. Are the characters making suboptimal decisions? Yes. That’s called being human.
Double that for them being teenagers.
…. er, maybe quadruple. If they were younger teenagers it would be octuple.
Then add 5 for them just coming out of the angst-filled parent day. Yes. 5. No, I don’t know the units. Whatever the units are, add 5 of them.
Is there a voice of reason for them to talk to? Yes. Mike. He will give them a brutally frank summation of their idiocy in twenty words. Most likely leaving five words to spare for the subject of moms and nickels. So that’s why they’re not going to anyone for sage advice.
Fair point on the teenager angle I’ll admit its been some time since I was that age and im putting unfair expectations on their ability to deal with others.
Also yes when emotionally charged people do tend to do stupid things, no one is really immune to that. But Im also talking about the follow up, most people here just avoid one another and dont try and resolve anything once the moment has passed. But you did make the point that they are teenagers and mistakes at that age feel monolithic so I suspect that does indeed add to their inability to face a person after such an incident. Point conceded, still doesnt stop this from being a depressing trainwreck of relationships but it helps me understand why. Cheers.
You’re also forgetting how little time they’ve had to get over that initial, emotionally charged situation. It’s been 2 days (I need to check this, but it has been less than a week) since Amber got friend-dumped by Danny. It’s been less than a week since Amber told Ethan he can’t lie about his sexuality to Joyce. It’s only been a summer since Amber got dumped by Ethan.
Actually he got dumped the previous night. This is the Sunday following the zany Saturday where Amber uppercutted her Dad into the closet and then got dumped by Dan that evening.
That is pretty much how normal teenagers//young adults act though. Few are reasonable enough to sit down and talk something out for even a few seconds; they’d much rather just build things up in their heads and drive themselves crazy.
Par for the course thus far in my prediction. But where shall it go from here? Will she spare the time to give Danny or Sal a piece of her mind? Or will she run from this too, giving Danny the opportunity to drop hints to Sal that Amber may need help “from Amazi-Girl”?
Another idea that hadn’t crossed my mind until just now is that since Amber sees Danny with Sal, she may perceive this as him “cheating on Amazi-Girl”, and thus her. In other words, Danny tried not to cheat on Amazi-Girl with Amber, but inadvertently cheated on Amazi-Girl with Sal.
However, although Danny is who he is, this still technically isn’t his fault; he approached Sal on information from Billie, someone he had no reason to think was lying, and was accidentally given a vague clue that she might’ve been Amazi-Girl through her choice of character in Mario Kart, which reinforced Billie’s idea in his head. If Danny had known the truth, he could’ve responded to Billie saying, “You think Sal’s Amazi-Girl? Because I know who Amazi-Girl is, and she definitely isn’t her.” Hell, Danny probably wouldn’t even have been searching for her; he would’ve been right next to Amber the whole time while she was confronting Ethan and Joyce. The unfortunate truth is that if Amber had come clean when he had confronted her, or any time earlier than that, this whole misunderstanding could’ve easily been avoided.
You seem to have forgotten the first law of physics there. If Danny is around, whatever is happening is usually his fault no matter the evidence to the contrary.
Amber’s seen a busty Asian chick with tousled hair putting her shirt back on come out of Danny’s room while he didn’t have a shirt on and realize he didn’t cheat on her. I think under -normal- circumstances she’d be jealous but wouldn’t equate TALKING to someone as cheating on her.
Wow Willis, you lazy bastard. Just gonna keep coming up with new flashback panels so you only have to draw two-thirds of a page, eh? Sure, some artists cut corners, but only three months of buffer? Is it too much trouble for you to get out of bed more than once a week?
😉
You are a magnificent bastard, as usual. Art in panels 3 and 6 is incredible (not to mention 2 and 4, equally spectacular). Great work (surprising no one).
No, I don’t think many people understand. This is beyond true in the way that Amber cannot speak her wants and truths because she is creating diversions within her own psyche to avoid all the horrors of her past. The intermittent scenes show what has been triggered by her traumas, and from someone who has been triggered, even by the people they love, it is worse in that way.
1) Called it. So much shit was going on that Amber HAD to see that happen.
2) Amber is either going to A) go catatonic with emotion B) Flip out and try to murder Sal C) Collapse sobbing on the ground (hopefully with Danny and/or Ethan to step in and give her a hug).
3) DAMN YOU WILLIS!
She is the one to blame for the robbery she witnessed? She is the one to blame for Danny thinking Sal is Amazi-Girl? She is the one to blame for Ethan putting himself back in the closet, making her feel worthless and putting all her hard work supporting him over Summer to waste? She is the one to blame for Joyce thinking Ethan can ‘resist the temptation’ of being homosexual? She is the one to blame for her father provoking her until she hit him?
Sorry, but that does not add up to this being completely Amber’s fault regardless of how you spin it.
My comment is exclusively referring to the last two panels. Sam is correct that most of the problems that Amber is going through is not her fault. The one thing I do see is her problem, that she has control over, is her relationship with Danny.
I won’t deny that Danny is contributing to this problem, however I am not making a statement on the entire Danny-Amber relationship. I am making statement over Amber’s choices and the results of it. Amber had the oppurtunity to be clean with Dan and chose not to.
That choice, that Amber had, is now causing unneeded stress in an already stressful episode she is in. The one few things that could have been prevented, and she chose the path of least resistance.
Amber’s issues with Danny, and this episode seeing him with Sal, may break her. Amber is going through a lot issues, and I do feel bad for her, yet this one issue I can’t feel pity for her. I feel bad that it is occuring while she is in a high emotional state, but she can’t blame anyone else when it comes to Danny and their relationship. She chose not to tell him, he got confused and tried to make sense of the situation, though I still think Danny is an idiot, but that’s for a different day.
The last two panels is where I shake my head. It’s not where I just stop and say ‘I hate this and want off the Amber drama train and I fully regret even feeling bad for her.’, no, I just can’t feel bad for just that issues and connect them to the rest of the boxcars.
I fell bad for Amber’s relation with her pops. I feel bad for her issues with Ethan and Joyce, her roommate, etc. Her problem with Danny and lying to him is not something I feel bad about, at all.
I agree with you on everything, aside from one thing. I can still feel bad for someone when they’re suffering the consequences of their choices. Yeah, they led themselves to that point, they reap what they sow, etc. It’s just that she’s still a person and it sucks.
Amber, honey, sweetie, you’re going to have to take control of your life someday. I know it’s hard, but if you scream and run every time there’s some trigger, your life will never move past where it is now, and it will probably get worse.
And the sad thing is, Amber has never done anything wrong or even shown any real flaws. Everybody’s just evil to her, and absolutely none of it is her fault.
And now for the coup de grâce: “You were that girl in the convenience store robbery!?!” from either Amber or Sal, and then Danny dannies it and berates Amber for ruining Amazigirl’s life by robbing a store and tells her she should not get near her again.
O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
ever waxing
and waning;
hateful life
first oppresses
and then soothes
as fancy takes it;
poverty
and power
it melts them like ice.
Fate – monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel,
you are malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through the game
I bring my bare back
to your villainy.
Fate is against me
in health
and virtue,
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
So at this hour
without delay
pluck the vibrating strings;
since Fate
strikes down the strong man,
everyone weep with me!
1. The whole “Sal was the one who robbed the store and traumatized Amber” thing was beat to death about 3 or 4 months ago (when Amber had her first “breakdown” after punching her dad in the nose). And, it makes sense in the context of a self-contained universe. Sort of like the connections that the characters on “Lost” had before the Island. I mean, if it just so happened that Sal had robbed some convenience stores…and Amber had been scarred by the panic and helplessness she felt in that moment (not to mention the general tenor of her home life), it would be disjointed and random. And we all know that Mr. Willis puts a bit more into it than that. 😀
2. Is anyone else intrigued by the gravatar featuring Sal and Marcie making out? 😉
Ya know… I was staring into space for a bit pondering over all of this, and I glanced at the chapter title, “The Only Dope For Me Is You”, and that got me thinking.
I’m not going to map out the entire structure that unfolded itself in my head all of a sudden, but I’m actually going to say I think I see the reflection of a very dim light at the end of a tunnel filled with smoke and bats with rabies.
Said light shows Danny and Amber actually finding a spot through this, likely with him realizing or learning she’s Amazi-Girl.
After I typed that, I had a mental pic of him in a stupid sidekick outfit calling himself Daring-Boy or Dynamic-Boy.
Just what Amber needed. Next Ruth’ll show up, tell her Blaine tried to sneak in last night, and the last bit of Amber’s mind will break, leaving her only willing to kill spiders on her computer until the end of time.
The poor girl does need to get all this bottled up emotion released, but boy the hits just keep on coming. Probably one of the worst times of her life right now (and she’s had a few really bad times). Please, have something good happen to her. She needs it badly!
and oddly enough, just looked at this again, and with the expression on Amber’s face in the last panel and with the one before that, did she just realize that Sal was the one in the convenience store robbery? It’s more of an expression of surprise or realization than the sadness of before! If that’s the case, will she go all Blaine on Sal??
I could talk about Amber’s recent overreactions right now. I could talk about Amber’s current mental and emotional breakdown. I could talk about Sal’s mysteriously lowering shorts. Instead, I’m going to point out something else entirely.
Sal finally looks like she’s having fun with that game. Like she finally got the hang of it and is just ‘oh hey, now I know what I’m doing, this is kinda cool.’ And Danny looks like he wants to watch her play but that would force him to stare down her cleavage.
Listen close to everybody’s heart, and hear that breaking sound.
Hopes and dreams are shattering apart and crashing to the ground.
I cannot believe my eyes, how the world’s filled with filth and lies.
It’s plain to see evil inside of me is on the rise.
And before I forget it, Sal’s thong almost overshadowed me seeing Danny in panel 4.
Willis seems to be making Dumbiverse!Amber into a study in just how fucked up someone would need to be for costumed vigilantism to seem like a sensible option to them. I love it. 🙂
Yep. I have no idea how to suspend disbelief long enough to believe that someone can go around in a costume beating people up without having major, major issues.
The only superheros that make sense are in The Watchmen.
Geez, Amber is… beating herself up for every bad decision she’s ever made, worried that she’s going to repeat the cycle of violence, and also being emotionally crushed by the things going on around her.
If she doesn’t wind up attempting suicide and having to be talked out of it by… let’s just say someone either just as messed up (e.g. Ruth) or someone incredibly inept (e.g. Walky), I’ll be surprised. Of course, now that I’ve said this, Willis will read it and go, “DAMNIT! I knew that plot line was too predictable.” And have to come up with something else even more bizarre.
If Amber becomes a villian I would definitely be pro that, with a dad like that and all that stuff that has been happening to her, she has now lived long enough to become a villian.
She’d even be entirely sympathetic! She’s already a super-hero-type person, so turning to evil would be interesting. And she’s smart enough to be a competent villain…heck, a scary one even. She’d even be lemon!
*hopes someone else gets the Spongebob Squarepants reference*
“This isn’t what it looks like”
“What does it even look like!”
“After you tried awkwardly to get close to me, I decided to spend time with a girl dressed in remarkably revealing and somewhat uncoordinated strips of clothing. And we’re playing on the DS, even though that’s totally our- I mean, your alter ego that I don’t know about and my- thing.”
“Gf’lrgl’krk.”
Can anyone direct me to a few comics from shortpacked, or other comics featuring Amber which might help me understand what exactly happened during the robbery or whatever the root of some of her issues? I feel like Many people know something I don’t about her history because I only read DoA. Thanks in advance.
I see 6000 votes where 3600 voters with 2 votes each should have 7200 votes. So 1200 people voted only once. But then thats still 5/6 botes, so never mind. It would be great if people couldn’t vote without picking 2, but these results aren’t as off as I thought they were.
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shit
I concur.
Indeed
Agreed.
Word.
*nods in agreement*
Seventh’d.
indubitably
Exquisite
+1
Yup pure shite
Yes
The Heaviest Shit.
quit
by which i mean quite.
But of course…
Makeup
DEAR GOD, WHAT HAVE WE DONE!?
Ayup.
Indubitably.
god dammit tab switching.
(push fred queue)
I repeat the sentiment.
Daaaaaaaaamn
Daaaaaaaaaaaan
DAAAAAAAAAN!
KHAAAAAAAAAN!
SPOOOOON!!
Yep
On a shit sandwich with a side helping of shit.
I’ll see your ‘shit’ and raise you an ‘ass.’
Why an ass? Because I literally went “Oh shit ass.” (I blame QC for my tendency to string curses).
I’ll call that and raise you an AVGN.
The red panels are beginning to escape from the flashbacks! Abort! Abort!
Actually, the format seems to suggest that it’s a flashback to another time when she was surprised while crying and wearing the same clothes.
OR, the red panels are fits of anger and violence.
In which case, I refer you to the first thread of comments.
I may be wrong, but panel 5 seems to be a flashback to the background of panel 1, which Amber just ran past, with panel 6 being the reaction to that flashback.
By the last 2 panels, the red panels have changed from flashback to real life, and the foreground panel #5 is now where the flashback goes. It would also mean that Amber’s issues are now in the foreground, ahead of even real life.
What can I add to this eloquent thread, but: shit.
What the shittin’ butts.
I’d reblog it, but this isn’t tumblr.
nah, not at all. this is freshman burn-out. when the over-achiever highschoolers realize they were never prepared for the load they’d try to take on in college.
20 “shits” so far! [21 counting that one]
Liquide Shite ™ !!
LIQUID!? HOW THE-
Here Here
merde
+many
My thoughts exactly.
Knowing what we know now, double shit.
oshit.
The wet poopy has hit the fan.
Deranged Osaka!
Some would say that’s redundant.
Oh, yes. Shit.
whoops
greatest HITS AHAHAHAHAHA
greatest O SHITS too
Would an album of Nickleback’s most famous songs be called “Greatest Shits”?
Nah, that’d be “Greatest Abominations Against Humanity, Time, and Space”
You can’t have an ALBUM made up of one song repeated over and over again. Aside from all the other nickelback albums, obviously.
Shit’s hittin’ the fan.
Oh right, there’s the whole is-Sal-the-one-who-traumatized-her thing.
Somehow that never even occurred to me as a possibility.
People were batting it around at some point, because the hair in the flashback kinda look’s like Sal’s natural hair.
Assuming this is true, I could see Amber attacking Sal, and then Danny assuming it’s because of him being with Sal…
It combines the worst case scenario with Danny being an idiot, so it seems pretty believable.
Also the freaked-out look here, which is the first time in the strip Amber saw Sal without her full-coverage motorcycle helmet on.
And sal totally robbed a store so…
And in that scene as well, Sal was walking with Billy. We also know that Amber might have some problems with Billy for trying to sex Danny.
Hadn’t happened yet! Amber encountering Billie and Sal was the first Friday; Billie jumped Danny Sunday beginning of the second week.
Amber (as Amazi-Girl) had rescued Billie from Ruth and had a short conversation with her a couple of days earlier, and I initially chalked her expression in that strip up to concern that Billie might recognize her secret identity, but she hasn’t shown that concern with any of the others she’s encountered in costume.
Though maybe her experience with Danny has caused to to figure that they’re all as oblivious as he is. (In Billie’s case, she might be right!)
I think the hair in the flashback was her mother’s.
oh crap no her mom’s hair is way lighter.
If this actually *was* a superhero comic, that makes a really painful amount of sense.
I never thought of that. And now I don’t think I can consider otherwise until Willis provides an alternate explanation. That makes too much sense.
Well crap, I hadn’t realized that and now it seems like the most obvious thing in the world.
I hate to poke holes in such an awesome theory, but I see two problems with it. The first is hair colour: the robber’s highlights are dark brown, whereas Sal’s highlights are ashen. This isn’t much in and of itself, because she could easily dye it or whatever. The second thing I noticed, however, is that on closer inspection it doesn’t look like Amber even noticed Danny *or* Sal as she was running away.
I believe it’s safe to assume that by this point that the fan has been completely buried in fecal matter
Thank you for that lovely image.
That the defecation has hit the oscillation
Yup, the fecal matter has impacted the rotating ventilation device.
Cue tomorrow where damnyouwillis reveals that the windmill was made of feaces all along.
Yes. We are all nose-deep already.
yes, there is indeed a lot of manure hitting the windmill involved.
Windmill – I had not thought of that.
Here I was picturing that were dealing with your everyday sears special table fan and a small bucket of the aforementioned fecal matter.
Both have been upgraded and we now are dealing with a Live Bottom Hauler load of the same material and something by Evinrude.
Sal vs Amber, go!
No no, one epic blow from amber perday please
Place your bets mother fuckers! I’m taking them all!
Hundred internets says Amber snaps and tackles Sal
I’d better my gravatar on Sal.
50 Internets has an attempted suicide before the chapter’s over.
Amber, Ethan, or Joyce?
yes.
*Blasts with energy beam* Friggin’ smartass.
Next, we ask Councillor Nappa.
oh nooo
Amber. Seriously, she has gotten way too much shit thrown her way.
No. Amber has too much of her father Blaine in her. Those sorts don’t suicide, they lash out, inflicting pain on others. The pain and rage are focused outward, not inward.
: (
yeah.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure that Amber is more likely to try to beat Sal to death with Danny’s femur than to try to kill herself.
My thoughts too…
All of the above
Yes
Damnit, someone beat me to it.
haha
a heartwarming xmas suicide story…..
Nice job Willis.
Apt gravitar for this post.
If Amber attempts suicide, whose fault will it be? Ethan’s, Joyce’s, Danny’s. or Sal’s?
It’ll be Amber’s “fault”. More accurately, IMO, her decision.
I’m not saying she’s getting smacked around with a lot of triggers in the space of 15 minutes after having a really bad day yesterday. That’s a lot to process, and someone who’s 17-19 (I missed if we actually know her specific age) isn’t likely to have the coping mechanisms (and we’ve seen Amber only has some) needed to process a flood of things like this productively.
There is so much wrong with your post that all I can do is laugh.
Stop blaming Amber.
And the hits just keep coming.
Beat me to it. FTW
and thats when Amber exploded taking the entire school with her.
It was the best she could do.
Damn, that reference…
Have an internet.
But that was the worst you could have done.
Do we really need more intense emotions right now? Can’t you just draw porn like you always do? Where’s Joe fucking a pineapple when I need it?
depending on which direction that fucking goes I am VERY INTERSTED.
ok no it doesn’t matter which.
Damn you Yotomoe!
By exploded, you mean “went all Super-Saiyan” right?
more like 100% frieza
Yes and sadly she died before anyone could see her final form…
Oh god Dammit!
FEEEEEELS!
Well, we all knew this was coming. After all, Willis hates Amber with the fury of a thousand suns.
My only hope is that Danny will diffuse the situation by saying, “look! I found amazi-girl!”
But in reality he’ll probably try to cover it up by saying Sal is his girlfriend, earning a beating from Sal and a nervous breakdown by Amber.
Even Danny is not THAT stupid to out Amazi-Girl in front of other people.
Raw Dannying being enough to salvage this train wreck?
“But sir! We’ve never used that much Danny energy at once! There’s no telling what could happen!”
“Do you honestly believe I care about the consequences? We can’t do nothing.”
“I-I refuse.”
*shoots him* “Anyone else? No? Then DO IT!”
If this situation could be dan’d up, the amount of Dan energy would probably reach plank density, tearing a hole the fabric of reality.
Through this hole emerges Mike (Shortpacked Edition) who proceeds to punch everyone who made Amber upset in the immediate vicinity, and his dumbiverse counterpart for his seeming absence.
Willis hates Amber?
Can you not tell by the emotional trauma? He hates her more than Danny.
As something of a writer myself, I can say with some certainty: you always torture the ones you love. The more you love them, the worse the torture, and the longer it lasts. Into many sequels if possible.
If you haven’t broken someone’s spirit, it’s not a good day.
Yeah, I shat the most on my most favourite characters, ’cause I love them so much for being strong enough to put up with everything I can throw at them.
My least faves are the ones that are hardest to draw |=p
Interesting. If I like a character, I usually go the extra mile of making sort the endless shit gets counterbalanced with an endgame that they can flourish in.
Suffering without substantial growth is indistinguishable from schadenfreude in a frock.
Didn’t see this reply.
All my stories are about the endgame, and all are deserved for their characters [interpret that as you will]. I just mean in the interim they have to go through THE WORST to get there. Though the latest Willis stories made me realize I’ve NEVER made a couple that “stays together for the kids” when they really want to murder each other =’ so I guess it’s not really “THE WORST” after all…
Willis kinda married Amber.
that’s a tough thing to call, I don’t know, man, not without knowing them personally, which, who knows, maybe you do? but I do feel like he has a way of conveying very special relationships to all of his characters, based on himself and loved ones and brokenness.
This can’t end well.
It’s not going well at the moment.
It started pretty well, though.
All will end in a well and all manners of things shall end in a well.
Explosion.
Mike’s words come back?
shit
Thank you for also making your name shit. It enhances the feeling.
It’s a metaphor for the human condition.
That is, the need to poop regularly.
Yeah, because most people can only handle being full of only a certain amount of poop at any one time.
In some alternate universes, this effect is non-existent. Eventually, the poop becomes dense enough to form a black hole, or “brown hole” as they are called in cosmology.
shit goes in all fields
For the record, I hoped the gravatar would be Danny.
Shit
Oh fuck me running
Oooo. This one is new to me. I like it!
Trying to visualize how that would be accomplished.
Perfect gravatar for that statement. Although I agree.. the visualization is confusing and humorous…
Maybe if you were doing it with a little person in a harness mounted at the front of your treadmill?
Oh God no…not like this… it wasn’t supposed to end like this….why….OH GOD WHY!!!?!?!?!??!??!?!?
“Ooooh, what a world! What a world!”
“Oh the humanity!”
“KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!” …
KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Ok, this is the first strip that’s gotten this response out of me:
DAMN YOU WILLIS
H-how did you survive this long?
Heart of stone, mostly.
That and the fact that I didn’t start reading all that long ago (maybe 2 months or so), so generally I read through the high drama situations without the additional pain of a cliffhanger.
I wonder what my problem is then….I’ve been reading for awhile….and even now, even with this page, I’ve never thought “Damn you, Willis’….hmm. I read other comics that do horrible things to their charcters though…so maybe I’m getting immune to the suffering of others? That’s not good…Damn you Willis! Oh, there it goes! <3 But yeah…wow. Amber…is gonna have a heart attack at this rate. Or….blow up the school. Either or.
What is that forth panel?
Willis needs to add a “DAMN YOU WILLIS” button to this site, which keeps a tally of how many times it is clicked. Then we could see what the most Damned strips are.
That would crash the server every time one of these pages came up, though.
But it’s not the strips that are damned; it’s Willis.
While I’m writing, I might as well go ahead and say it:
DAMN YOU, WILLIS!!!
I was thinking it anyway . . .
This is brilliant and needs to be a real thing.
omfg seriously seriously
I would break my mouse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsbYx6hevoQ
Well, her day just keeps on getting better and better…
Yes it does, doesn’t it. How much better do you think Amber can take?
This is really close to a humiliation conga.
My discoveries of the DoA alt text and comment section have really taken away from the drama of the story.
There’s alt text? Shit. SHIT
muahaha
If it helps, the alt text started with the Daisy kissing Billie strip.
And Willis went back and add one somewhere deep in the archives, because he is Willis.
I somehow found that my first read-through.
*points and laughs*
What is Amber’s crippling fear of grocery stores?
She doesn’t quite trust those automatic doors.
Are you suggesting that Amber doesn’t have a soul?
Amber was in the store that Sal robbed all those years ago.
Plot Twist: Sal is just a figment of Amber’s imagination, Fight Club style.
Danny is actually just standing there taking 3D photos of Li’l Danny and drawing Wriggler faces on it.
Wow! Really?
Not confirmed, but it’s a pretty plausible theory with evidence to support it.
‘Tis a theory.
A GAME THEORY!
My theory is that Amber and Sal were not just in the store at the same time but were actually co-conspirators; Amber acting as either decoy or lookout while Sal committed the robbery. But then something went extremely bad, traumatizing Amber and resulting in Sal being sent to ‘reform school’.
Sal has never shown any sign that she recognizes Amber, or indeed even appeared to have noticed her in any way, like one would expect someone to recognize someone they were close enough to to knock over a convenience store with.
Willis? WHAT DID AMBER DO TO YOU?
He got sick of “Breaking The Haughty” in regards with Billie??
Sal was having it far worse in the original continuity. 😛
If Amber didn’t want to be a target of misery and misfortune, she should have never fallen for Danny. That’s tantamount to saying “It could be worse!” or “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” She was asking–no, begging— for trouble, and Willis gave it to her in spades.
I think the worst thing that can happen is either you get hit by a truck and die in a self-sacrificing bid to save Danny from his own stupidity, or you have to marry Danny and live with him for the rest of your life. Willis has said he’s not doing the first again, but that second possibility is still open!
Calling it right now: Danny is going to be an idiot.
I give 8 to 9 odds on that.
Gimme $40 on those odds. What have I got to lose?
$40
“Going” to be.
Agreed, the guy is just SO dumb.
You don’t get to call universal constants.
I’d place a bet but the odds are stacked in your favor.
You know what? I’ll take that bet.
Damn it Willis! You can only have so many horrible life changing events happen at the same time before we worry that her head will explode.
And you don’t want that. It’d be really messy.
Well, Sal seems to be enjoying herself!
Woah, I’m..uh..british dude whose name I forget. Don’t kill me, fandom?
Jason.
That’s how I usually introduce myself.
I get it.
Seems logical enough.
That sounded like a typical Whovian saying 🙂 I always forget the forgettable names
I have that problem too. People just aren’t named properly, really. I’d have no trouble remembering her name if she was called “ThatreallynicehotgirlfromEnglishClass”, or if that guy at the DMV was called “Jackass McFucktard”. You name, something that makes sense.
yea I have three cats named… real, ugg and lee…
You mean like Inspector Detector, or Rex Racer from the old Speed Racer anime?
Called it.
I was just gonna say. Bravo. This time you win.
Next she’s gonna run past a TV where she’ll see her dad winning the lottery.
And Faz wins the lottery the next day.
Even though he’s underage.
No, The screen pans over to Faz sitting in his harem.
Brilliant, sir!
would the members of his harem all bare an eerie resemblance to Faz?
Seems unlikely…… but Ruth hasn’t told her yet that Blaine was trying to get back into the dorm!
yeah that has been bumming me out for like two weeks (I think?) : (
I can’t testify as to how long it’s been bumming you out, but the strip where it came up was six weeks ago.
(Time flies when you’re having… bummed-out-edness?)
agh six weeks?? IT HURTS
Sound’s like a world gone mad
Will Danny do the Un-Danny thing? it seems like he sees her.
Poor Amber.
What is that thing being pushed against Amber by a giant paw?
A convenience store shelf.
That thing you think is being pushed is a convenience store display.
That thing you think is a giant paw is commonly believed to be Sal’s hair when she was a 13 year old convenience store robber.
I like your giant paw theory, though.
Perhaps it is the paw of the creature from the ruinous mistakes in a motel dumpster.
I have a strong urge to laugh…. Man things just keep getting better.
Oh Amber. Poor unlucky bout to kill somebody Amber…
Out of the fire and into the magma
First thing I noticed was that Sal looks like she’s actually having fun.
Same!
Woop woop
Oh gosh, your name is a Bobobo refference.
Amber is having a Very Bad Life.
A terrible, awful, no-good, very bad life.
Ohhh… ouch.
…and the trope for today is “Break The Cutie”, brought to you by Mike Willis.
Amber’s not really the Cutie though.
If not the cutie, what then?
Either Eldritch Abomination or Bishoujo, clearly.
Somewhere between Action Girl and Dark Action Girl. Possibly experiencing her Darkest Hour.
Mike Willis??
I got my names mixed up.
He’s Willis’s evil twin.
Oh God.
Damn you Willis.
Damn you.
Danny, tomorrow: “Heh, whoops!”
Dammit Danny! You Danny’d the situation!
HA!
DUDE! Seriously, give her a fucking break for one goddamn page! The only reason I don’t see her swinging from a rope at the end of this is because you said no one would die in this one.
In the time that it took me to type my previous comment, the number of comments went from 19 to 53. Wow.
He said no body. He said nothing about souls.
This comic has a months-long, pre-drawn buffer. It is like speaking to a star. The images you see happened long, long ago, and we are only now seeing their rays.
I know, but STILL!
I’m with Arkantos. The buffer is just an inconvenient truth. I’m not even going to put this on Willis (though I did throw out a “Damn You Willis” upstream). Fandom: I’m putting this on YOU. Whoever called it — “And next Amber runs into Danny and Sal” — is to blame! Stop speaking these horrible things into being!! You are warping the buffer! Who can survive this?? Not Amber. Not me.
Amber ends up the happiest and most well-adjusted member of the cast with whoever ends up being the best guy in the cast.
There, I have willed it. YIELD TO ME, COMIC BUFFER! YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER, YOU UNFEELING BEAST!
And then the sun goes nova.
I’m sorry, but we can’t let happiness reach those levels in here.
There fixed it for you…
Amber ends up the happiest and most well-adjusted member of the cast with whoever ends up being the best gal for her in the cast.
Dina, of course. Only if Amber is into bondage, that is.
Amber ends up the happiest and most well-adjusted member of the cast with whoever ends up being the best person for her in the cast, regardless of gender. >=|
Schroedinger’s buffer?
Maybe she’ll just snap and go super-villain!
BAM! Spinoff!
Oh no. Nononono.
it’d okay, Amber, she chose Wiggler.
well duh, she’s not a monster
“And everything was going so well.”
It’s the final countdown!
*DOO DOO DOO DOO*
*DOO DOO DOO DOO DOOOOOO*
huh. I read that and started humming the Ultimate Showdown of Destiny.
Somehow I think that Mr. Rogers and Amber will be the last ones standing.
Standing?
huh……now THERE is an interesting visual…..
No. Just no. Not an image I need. EVER.
Come on, Amazi-Girl origin story…
OH DUDE
DUDE
YES!!
after all of this don’t we deserve a little break, oh god oh jesus
You do realize that her origin story is very likely to be a traumatic one, right ?
Or do you prefer past-drama to present drama ?
Don’t worry, Willis will give you both.
agh jesus you’re right, but that’s the majesty of willis, I WANT ALL THE DRAMAS
Greatest hits?
NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL HEARTBREAK 23
I feel like if I reach out and touch that last panel, it’ll shatter.
And now that I look at it, I realize it’s not actually a panel: the rest of the present-time stuff is just hanging in space. Neat effect.
And then Amber killed everyone, ending this story line and giving Willis more time to work on the end of Joyce and Walky’s wedding. Oh who am I kidding? Bring me the drama. I need it.
*Insert [IMG]trainCrashingIntoTrain.gif[/IMG] here*
There once was a freshman that was angry. She was SO angry that everyone died.
The end.
The red background panels are beginning to surround the normal panels. That can’t be good from a thematic standpoint.
Unless I’m mistaken, by panel 6 the red panels have BECOME real life.
Panels 4-6 might suggest that Sal was the one to rob the store, especially judging by the hair seen in panel 4. (This was someone else’s idea from a few months ago.)
😮
mind = blown
Complete and total mental breakdown in 3…2…1…
I swear I’m just gonna curl up in a ball and cry for days.
Says the seriously appropriate Gravatar.
And then Amber detonated with the force of a decent-sized nuclear weapon.
Back when Smoldering Crater was known as Indiana.
You were named after the DOG?
BAHAHAAHA!!!
“I loved that dog!”
“Indy! What are you doing to that dog?!!”
*cough cough*
That’s what they called it before “Idiot Crater.”
Hahaha, got my refference.
Of all the things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING.
Pretty sure her dad showing up would be way worse. Or being hit by a drunk driver. Or nuclear war.
The best part about DoA is that you don’t have to pick just one worst thing!
And there it is – my thought on what would be next for the Amber pile on.
So where is dear ole lovable dad lurking now?
Tommorrow: Amber’s dad, drunk driving, plows through that window behind Danny
Friendship is Magic reference 🙂
If our collective suspicions are true, this is officially worst case scenario weekend for her, isn’t it?
Well, she has yet to get blackout drunk and find in the morning that she slept with Faz, so maybe it won’t be that entirely.
Unless I’m giving Willis ideas.
Crap.
… I’m going to operate under the assumption that, even for Willis, that would be too cruel a blow to inflict. On anyone. Ever.
*Shudders*
Even on Faz?
ESPECIALLY ON FAZ!!!
Oh god damnit
Wow, I honestly wish amber had any redeeming factors to make me feel bad for her.
What are you talking about? Aside from the anger issues what could possibly make you unable to feel empathy towards her?
She’s a messed up psychopath that pushes her opinion on everyone and freaks out when she doesn’t get her way, she technically tried to get Danny to cheat on his girlfriend. She pushes away anyone that try’s to be nice and get close to her, I dunno. I guess I just really hate the type of people that are like : “ugh, I have problems and my life is so difficult but no ow should try and help me solve them they should just feel bad for me.”
Apparently you’re choosing to ignore all her interactions with Dina.
That burns the most, she doesn’t worry about Dina getting close she doesn’t actually consider Dina to be a real person due to her mannerism’s and childish behaviour, so she deals with her as a younger sibling instead of an adult.
Dude. Not cool. Seriously, that’s a really fucked up thing to say.
Yeah, maybe that was a little harsh. I’m just still pissed from her shoving her nose into Ethan’s business with Joyce just for the point of wanting Ethan to help her with her problems because she’s ran out of friends to push away.
Oh you mean Ethan and Joyce “helping” each other by maintaing a relationship that not only is destined to fail badly, but is purposefully constructed so that neither has to grow as a person?
I beer said Joyce ad Ethan was a good thing, and I was rooting for Amber to break them up until she somehow managed to make it about herself.
*never
Dude, that false description you just for amber and people like her makes you sound like the biggest asshole in the world rite now, and coming from me that’s saying something.
Your judging someones character and personality off of false assumptions before you get to really know them, there struggles,and there past.Thats why we read the comic to follow the story and to get too know the characters
I mean what are you a mother Mary?( DoA character)
Nother mary
An Ethan gravatar has never been so appropriate.
she didn’t want anybody to even know about her problems because she didn’t want anybody feeling sorry for her. And problems, that she was raised in an abusive household and that she was rejected by someone she thought she was going to marry in the future because he turned out to be, aren’t problems that can really be fixed, they’re just kinda the facts oh her life. And if anyone were able to help her, it wouldn’t be a bunch of college students, it would be a licensed therapist.
And preferring to be alone is not a bad thing. No one should feel obligated to hang out with other people, doesn’t matter how much those people might want to hang out with them.
I dont remember the fourth panel, is it something we have seen before?
Here:
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/02-guess-whos-coming-to-galassos/color/
Also here:
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/shockingreveal/
Popular theory is that it’s taking place during the robbery Sal committed.
Also possibly relevant: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/06-yesterday-was-thursday/margaret/
Trust me, it is very relevant, not only to the theory, but also David Willis specifically called attention to it in the Book 1 collection.
OMG, you’re right! I had thought Amber reacted that way because she saw Billie heading toward Ruth and could extrapolate that they weren’t exactly likely to tip hats at each other and pass idle comments about the weather.
All it takes is one bad day.
My father was a drinker… and a fiend.
Woah that actually really fits Amber?????
“Shock of the impact ran through my arm. Amber O’Malley closed her eyes on that day; Amazi-Girl opened them.”
AaaHHAHahahH ToO MUch ccRy
Amber, let me introduce you to a place on campus called the Mental Health Center.
I don’t think she’s gonna make it that far. And I stand by that statement even if it’s five steps away.
Even if she was in it right now it wouldn’t be enough time.
She’s Really having a mental breakdown.
God Dan it…
(link)
We can say with a fair degree of certainty that those eight weeks are definitely over. 🙁
GODDAMMIT WILLIS.
Danny: hey things are going well, hey is that amber why is she crying? Wait why is she looking at us like that? *Gasp* Oh my God she that’s rite she doesn’t know that this is amazi-girl! She might think that Im cheating on her and tell her ! This is bad this is really bad.
Me: Danny you dumbass
Amber go get ur property back get ur nerdy relationship started
Holy shit David Willis. The only way this ends is Amber murdering more or less EVERYONE.
God DAMMIT Danny!
Looks like Willis is going for a total collapse of Amber’s worldview and all We can do is sit back and wait for the inevitable meltdown
This one…this is really hitting quite close to home at the moment. Maybe a bit too close, with it looking like Amber’s reaching a breaking point. Really really hoping it ends with Amber talking with someone who can help her with these issues, because her current compartmentalizing is clearly not enough.
That would be Dorothy; that would also have the obvious side effect of letting Dotty know about Ethan’s homosexuality and trigger some Dotty-Joyce drama.
I dunno, she and Dotty haven’t really met at all, outside of the time Amber was dressed up as Amazi-Girl. Amber would have no reason to go to Dorothy as a sounding board.
Okay seriously, every time I refresh, 20 new comments are up.
Welcome to the feels trip, folks!
Cragalanch is glad he brought a lunch for the feel trip
Amber just needs to quit having so much tragic backstory. Right now.
I am, by the way, NOT crying right now, because Amber is my favorite character and just. Ahhhh.
Congratulations to the people who called this as the next step in Amber’s awful awful weekend. You can see how neatly Willis has stacked the dominoes.
Called it two weeks ago. My bad! I should have known that the time was not right. Amber was not vulnerable enough, back then.
hahaha called it.
YOU!!
ME! Wait, no, YOU!
Amber O’Malley of Earth, you have great rage in your heart
Welcome to the Red Lantern Corps.
Amber, Give in to your anger. With each passing moment you make yourself more my servant. It is your destiny. You, like your father, are now mine.
You know, I think we can blame this on Billie.
It’s obviously all Walky’s Dad’s fault, really.
See, this is why you tell your loved ones if you’re a superhero or not, so you don’t run into emotionally devasting scenes like this.
Let this storyline be a warning for you future costumed vigilantes.
Don’t mind me, I’m just listening to Amber’s song on the DoA playlist, I Crush Everything, over and over and tearing up a little bit.
Particularly:
so I can’t do that thing anymore/I can’t be the thing I was before/maybe I am better off alone/because I crush everything
and:
and everything I want I take/and everything I love I break/every night I lie awake
how do you know which song belongs to which character
Willis posted a track list on the Dumbing of Age tumblr with the corresponding characters (and sources for the songs he didn’t pick out himself). Here you go!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs-XZ_dN4Hc
DANNY: (whispering)Hey, Amber, don’t tell anyone, but… Sal is AmaziGirl.
AMBER: …Awesome for you. (wipes tears)
SAL: Ah’m not this amazin’ girl, ah keep tryin’ to tell ya.
DANNY: Sure you are. You chose Wiggler, didn’t you?
SAL: ……Ah give up. (walks away)
AMBER: (trying to regain composure) Danny, don’t you know that anybody can play as Wiggler? I mean, there’s only so many options…
DANNY: Yes, but this isn’t anybody; this is AmaziGirl.
AMBER: Ah giv– I mean, I give up. You should give up too. She’s not AmaziGirl, just trust me.
DANNY: We can’t give up, Amber! If we lose faith in AmaziGirl, then how will she save us?
AMBER: Sal isn’t AmaziGirl, though.
DANNY: If I give up on Sal, I give up on AmaziGirl!
AMBER: You’ve gone completely bonkers, Danny. (walks away)
DANNY: (yelling) If you give up on my sanity, you give up on AmaziGirl!
AMBER: (resumes crying)
Danny this heres your chance to be the true, shining hero you always aspired to be, please, please, please get this right.
Who’m I kidding he’ll Danny this like normal but this story line is heading for one helluva Christmas finale.
I wish I could say that you’re wrong, but it’s Danny. Even Walky would have a better chance of not fucking this up and he’s never even heard of the word tact.
Maybe not ?
Okay, I’m not delusional enough to hope for him to finally put 2 plus 2 and guess AmaziGirl’s identity but I SERIOUSLY hope he does the right thing and inquires about why his best friend in college is running around crying.
Even if you’ve had an argument with a friend before, you just don’t see them like that without at least trying to help.
Showdown for the ages. Sal vs Amber. $15 on the one with the hair.
So $15 on both of them? I guess that does make it impossible to lose the bet. Put me in for the same amount.
I have $15 on a third party coming in and playing mediator before either can win.
I made the joke to my friend that Amber was going to walk into Danny and Sal banging. BUT NOW IT IS NO LONGER A JOKE AND IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING?? (minus the banging)
And thus Bizarro Amazi-Girl was born.
Ambers just having the worst day.
Is it only me who thinks that Danny is going to recognize her? Amber has the Amazi-girl hair going right now…
I was looking for someone that saw this too :I though I’m not sure if Danny would, maybe he get distracted by, you know, tears
I really doubt danny seeing through her disguise anytime soon though I hope him seeing her this hurt will make go to her and mend at least there friendship
Danny is very observant in a trees-not-forest kind of way. He’s totally going to pick up on the fact that her hair looks like Amazi-Girl’s right now. It’s just that his thought process runs something like this:
DANNY: Yes! I totally called it. I told her that her hair would look real nice if done up like Amazi-Girl’s. It’d look even better if she wasn’t crying, though. Oh Crap! Yesterday I tell her we can’t hang out, and she suddenly changes her hair to be like my girlfriend’s? Awkward. Tears, though. Right. Tears. Something is probably wrong. Something should be said out loud.
It might help seeing both Amber and Sal together for him to realize that Sal isn’t amazi-girl, but there’s a good chance that Danny has Jim’d: he’s deluded himself into believing Sal is amazi-girl to the point where the truth seems wrong.
Dear Willis
EVIL CAN ONLY FLOURISH WHEN GOOD MEN DO NOTHING.
IT IS IN YOUR POWER TO STOP THIS.
Sincerely,
The “Leave-Amber-Alone” Super-PAC/HIVE MIND
Is this a petition? Consider me signed on.
Please sign me up, too. All I can think is “No, please no . . . no more . . . not Amber . . . please no . . . “
SIGNED!
If he leaves her alone she’ll never get past her issues.
Dear Willis
MAKE IT WORSE. YOU KNOW YOU WANNA.
IT IS IN YOUR POWER TO CAUSE THIS.
Sincerely,
Appreciators of Schadenfreude
Dear TaintedSpud,
I WILL SCALP YOU.
Sincerely,
NOT TO BE FUCKED WITH
Dude. No.
There’s schadenfreude and then there’s sadism. Amber deserves a break.
Signed.
Also, make some Amber plushes so we can hug her when you ignore us and torture her more.
You know, that’s not a bad idea.
+1 for Amber plushies (5 foot 5 in heels)
SOON THE RITUAL OF SUFFERING WILL BE COMPLETE
AND THEN AMBER SHALL SUMMON THE KING OF TEARS INTO THIS REALM
Back when Willis started the whole Sal x Danny shiptease there was a commenter who said “It’s impossible for David Willis to make us like Danny” and he replied “Challenge Accepted.”
Let’s see if he lives up to that hype.
If he can pull it off, I promise to not say another ill word of Danny for all of next year.
This is just not ok. Nothing about this is even remotely ok. My heart hurts. I can’t take this anymore. Amber =/
Damn you Willis, why does this storyline have to play out over my finals week?
SPECIFICALLY WHY THIS STRIP ON THE DAY OF MY ARABIC FINAL. Now I’m even less motivated to study.
This is the first time I have said this. Damn, I called it. And I am sorry as Hell.
God Damn it Willis.
Amber you poor little thing.
Holy…
*Cue “Batman Mask of the Phantasm Main Theme” by Shirley Walker*
Come forth Amazi Girl!
In the immortal words of someone:
IT ONLY GETS WORSE.
Wait, wait, wait. Sal robbed a convenience store. Amber is having flashbacks of the time when she was caught in the middle of a convenience store robbery. Sees Sal. I really hope that this is not what I think it is…
I hope it is!
I’m afraid it has to be: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/06-yesterday-was-thursday/margaret/
Okay, I’m impressed. That right there is a foreshadowing masterclass.
What do you think it is? Because I see it as Sal was robbing the C-store.
And we thought the aftermath of Carrie having taken all she was going to take was bad.
Willis should just dump a bucket of pig blood on her and get it over with.
This just isn’t Amber’s day, is it?
Okay, seriously Willis, why do you seem to hate this character so much? It’s one thing to have a character with issues, it’s another thing to have a butt-monkey, and then there’s whatever the hell THIS is. I don’t think I have any example of any fictional character being given this kind of treatment in anything I’ve gone through yet.
Season Six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you have the slightest bit of empathy for any of the characters it is excruciating to get through. At least Willis promised no deaths in this comic. Though we do have unhealthy addiction (alcholism) and some (at least slightly) mutually abusive romantic relationships.
Amber seems about ready to snap and try to destroy the world unfortunately.
This is called “Break the Cutie”, so far anyways…
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BreakTheCutie
There. Have fun.
I Knew It!
Damn you Willis!
>O<
No really, what the fuck happened to walky and Billie? If the food court’s rite where they go?
*there* damnit
I…am not sure what to say. I think this might be the second-worst thing to happen in this comic.
hold on to that, Willis is just getting started
Fuck you you evil bastard.
Knowing Willis? Next comic will probably cut back to Sarah and Jacob, or Dina and Riley, or Ethan and Joyce, or Ruth and Billie.
Or Walky and Billie, or Joyce and Sarah and Ethan.
Or just four damn panels of Riley eating Cocoa Puffs!
I’d read THAT for a dollar!
All the feels.
Can’t wait to see how Dan’s gonna Dan this up.
Poor Amber, though.
IIRC, Danny admitted that he wanted to discover Amazi-Girl’s identity preferably after kissing BOTH Amazi-Girl and her secret identity WITHOUT KNOWING they were the same person.
So he wants to play the field, but then got mad when Amber was all “Hey, I hope you figured it out ’cause I’m in a pickle!” and got all “FUCK YOU TRYNA MAKE ME CHEAT ON MY WOMAN EVEN THOUGH I SAID I WANTED TO”
…so
Is that how you read into that line? I didn’t see it like that at all. O_o But now that you mention it, now would seem the perfect opportunity to kiss him like she kisses him as Amazi-Girl. Now is the perfect dramatic moment to do so.
When I thought about it, I really didn’t see any other way for Danny to only make the connection after having kissed both identities separately, EXCEPT to go around kissing women [or MEN LOLOLOL] he otherwise wasn’t seeing exclusively.
so
Generally, the idea is that the two are so compatible that the tension is still there with the alter-ego. The alter-ego is the one who makes the move, usually surprising the love interest before they can react. In the kiss, the love interest figures it out. That’s how it’s normally played out, and since the alter-ego is the one who initiates it and is the same person, it’s not really cheating.
It was also basically a request that she put the moves on him as her secret identity when she was ready for him to know it.
just noticed this
I feel like that could’ve been worded better–less Danned-up, I guess–but I also feel like THAT’S WHAT SHE DID, and he got mad at her for it.
So, whatever the intent, I feel like Dan’s being a heel for being all, “She’s TOO PERFECT, so she can’t POSSIBLY be The One” =p regardless of Clark Kent Glasses.
Well yeah. I think the problem is that Amazi-Girl is so different the way she carries herself from the way Amber does, Danny assumed there was no way the two could be the same. The “Clark Kent Glasses” do seem to be in full effect, though.
Willis is going full The Killing Joke on Amber, uh? will she break and turn into She-Blaine? or will she get to become stronger under the hits? Do you have steel on your soul girl? Do you?
On the bright side it looks like Sal is really enjoying the DS.
Goddamit, Danny! You’re the Batman(woman)’s Vicky Vale. You do -not- go out and have drinks (play Mario Cart) with Joe Chill!
WIIILLLLIIIiiiissssss….!
(Inner cry of despair)
oh no OH NO
Now I’m completely convinced that Willis has the Trololo song on endless loop when he sits down to make more strips.
Wait a minute, the red background in that last pannel. Is Amber already flashing back to seeing Danny with Sal?
No, the red background is through-out. The red background just represents things that make Amber feel really unstable and unhappy. Since she is overwhelmingly upset right now, everything does. There is a bit of an implied pattern with the drawn border around the present, and flashbacks being in the background, but since Sal & Dan are in a panel with a border, there shouldn’t be any confusion. I think Willis just did the final panel without a border to maintain the artistic pattern, without the thematic pattern.
“Hey! That’s MY fucking mario cart character bongo!” *Takes out rage on Sal*
Well… even when he isn’t doing anything, he manages to Dann it up.
Will the Danning ever stop?
Maybe the comic should be called Danning of Age.
WILLIS
WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS TO AMBER FOR
WILLIS
STAHP
; 3; srsly my goddamn feels, man, you’re killing them
IS EVERYONE READY FOR ANOTHER BLOOD DRECHED FIGHT IN, THE THUNDER DOME!
My money’s on Amber. Sal acts tough, but Amber’s the one who can back it up.
In answer to the alt-text, yes, yes I do.
Oh COME ON! WTF? Just leave her alone!
:_____(
Just a thought ….. can you imagine how this would be dragging out if Willis was only doing updates 3X per week, like he started out doing? It would be enough to reduce all of us to pathetic quivering blobs of protoplasm waiting for our next fix.
I started out five days a week! It only went to MWF for one week when I was moving.
How many weeks of bonus weekends are left from the kickstarter?
Until May.
So basically in March we’re going to have to do another Kickstarter.
I agree… But there should be some suspense some how
Is it just me, or has Sal somehow been lowering her shorts in each panel she is in at the moment?
It honestly looked like she wasn’t wearing any pants in this comic.
I spent all last night and today wondering about Amber seeing Danny with Sal.
And now I know.
There are 2 options here: Dissolve into tears, or else epic battle between Sal and Amber that will either be outrageous, loud and quickly cut off by school officials, or else will exist in an un-time and be epic and involve DBZ hair
They both go blonde and Bart Simpson spiky-haired?
See, this is going to be a positive. Realizing that Danny can’t be with her because she’s living a divided life will cause Amber to have a cathartic epiphany, causing her to come clean with Danny in a frank, rational, and peaceful manner, leading to a blissful life of honesty, self-actualization, and matrimony.
Wow, Sal… is pretty much just not wearing pants at this point, is she.
Not that I have any strong objections to that.
Its not the best attire to be seen in next to the dude that dumped her
…? Danny didn’t dump Sal, they never even dated. And if you are making a joke about Sal actually being Amazi-Girl, Danny dumped Amber, not Amazi-Girl.
Nor do I Paul, though considering Ambers current state seeing danny with a nearly pantsless sal may send her well over the edge of rabid.
Huh. I was going to make a comment about Amber’s perception colouring her memories, but then I checked back and Sal’s shorts really *were* that low.
Definitely wasn’t smiling at Danny last time we saw her, though.
Okay Willis I am seriously starting to doubt whether you can achieve any plot twist or drama that couldn’t be solved by just talking to another person reasonably for more than a couple seconds. Alot of these arguments could be resolved if anyone was willing to stop and talk a problem out but NONE of your characters seem to do that and its making it harder and harder to suspend my disbelief and not just feel overly depressed by your comics.
Your inherent assumption that a significant percentage real people are willing to do this is…adorable, I’d say. The idea that all the problems-even those in the comic- would go away with these discussions is even more so; people’s mental problems (the core of these issues) are not so easily erased.
Also, “alot”…http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html
Allright, I’ll admit you made me laugh with the “alot” link, point to you.
I may have been unclear, Im not saying the problems would go away with a single conversation. Im saying that they can be worked out if they were willing to talk. This can take a very long time, sometimes years, and mental and emotional issues just add to that. It also does not always work, Ive seen to many relationships and friendships implode to think otherwise.
But I have also seen most people deal with problems that come up, perhaps they are angry and irrational at first, they fight, but then they actually approach the other person in an attempt to resolve the issue.
I almost never see this here and it gets depressing seeing people just refuse to attempt a resolution with other people.
You have seen 3 WEEKS of action. What you are talking about takes a long period of time, and you’ve even admitted that it can take years. None of these people have grown up enough to figure out that communication is key to solve issues yet, because they’re 17-18. I think you’re mistaking them for mature, healthy adults.
Most of the conversations I’ve had with my (lesbian) friend about her girlfriends for the past five years have been me telling her this is a stupid problem and she should just talk to her damn girlfriend already (interspersed with just the amount of crude and inappropriate jokes I can get away with). Nobody ever talks their issues out with the relevant parties.
I cant agree with you there. The majority of the people I know are atleast willing to atleast address a problem with the other party, it sometimes takes convincing and time to come down from an emotional high, angry, depression etc.
The outcome isn’t always perfect either but it usualy allows for a situation to be resolved rather than remain in shit creek for eternity.
That being said I do have a friend/colleague who was stuck in a similiar situation as your friend, with an inability to confront their girlfriend over any problem, so im not saying these situations are uncommon, just not the rule.
The key to suspending your disbelief about the characters behaving stupidly in emotionally charged situations is remembering that people tend to behave stupidly in emotionally charged situations. Are the characters making suboptimal decisions? Yes. That’s called being human.
Double that for them being teenagers.
…. er, maybe quadruple. If they were younger teenagers it would be octuple.
Then add 5 for them just coming out of the angst-filled parent day. Yes. 5. No, I don’t know the units. Whatever the units are, add 5 of them.
Is there a voice of reason for them to talk to? Yes. Mike. He will give them a brutally frank summation of their idiocy in twenty words. Most likely leaving five words to spare for the subject of moms and nickels. So that’s why they’re not going to anyone for sage advice.
Fair point on the teenager angle I’ll admit its been some time since I was that age and im putting unfair expectations on their ability to deal with others.
Also yes when emotionally charged people do tend to do stupid things, no one is really immune to that. But Im also talking about the follow up, most people here just avoid one another and dont try and resolve anything once the moment has passed. But you did make the point that they are teenagers and mistakes at that age feel monolithic so I suspect that does indeed add to their inability to face a person after such an incident. Point conceded, still doesnt stop this from being a depressing trainwreck of relationships but it helps me understand why. Cheers.
You’re also forgetting how little time they’ve had to get over that initial, emotionally charged situation. It’s been 2 days (I need to check this, but it has been less than a week) since Amber got friend-dumped by Danny. It’s been less than a week since Amber told Ethan he can’t lie about his sexuality to Joyce. It’s only been a summer since Amber got dumped by Ethan.
Actually he got dumped the previous night. This is the Sunday following the zany Saturday where Amber uppercutted her Dad into the closet and then got dumped by Dan that evening.
Ahh, so even less time.
That is pretty much how normal teenagers//young adults act though. Few are reasonable enough to sit down and talk something out for even a few seconds; they’d much rather just build things up in their heads and drive themselves crazy.
Random Student: “Did everything just go red for a second?”
Par for the course thus far in my prediction. But where shall it go from here? Will she spare the time to give Danny or Sal a piece of her mind? Or will she run from this too, giving Danny the opportunity to drop hints to Sal that Amber may need help “from Amazi-Girl”?
Another idea that hadn’t crossed my mind until just now is that since Amber sees Danny with Sal, she may perceive this as him “cheating on Amazi-Girl”, and thus her. In other words, Danny tried not to cheat on Amazi-Girl with Amber, but inadvertently cheated on Amazi-Girl with Sal.
However, although Danny is who he is, this still technically isn’t his fault; he approached Sal on information from Billie, someone he had no reason to think was lying, and was accidentally given a vague clue that she might’ve been Amazi-Girl through her choice of character in Mario Kart, which reinforced Billie’s idea in his head. If Danny had known the truth, he could’ve responded to Billie saying, “You think Sal’s Amazi-Girl? Because I know who Amazi-Girl is, and she definitely isn’t her.” Hell, Danny probably wouldn’t even have been searching for her; he would’ve been right next to Amber the whole time while she was confronting Ethan and Joyce. The unfortunate truth is that if Amber had come clean when he had confronted her, or any time earlier than that, this whole misunderstanding could’ve easily been avoided.
You seem to have forgotten the first law of physics there. If Danny is around, whatever is happening is usually his fault no matter the evidence to the contrary.
Amber’s seen a busty Asian chick with tousled hair putting her shirt back on come out of Danny’s room while he didn’t have a shirt on and realize he didn’t cheat on her. I think under -normal- circumstances she’d be jealous but wouldn’t equate TALKING to someone as cheating on her.
She only realized that after breaking into said Asian chick’s room and playing her tape recorder.
Fair point.
I’m reminded of a Prince song.
If I was your girlfriend
Would you run to me
If somebody hurt ya
Even if that somebody was me?
Amber needs a megaton of hug right now. I feel really bad for her.
Wow Willis, you lazy bastard. Just gonna keep coming up with new flashback panels so you only have to draw two-thirds of a page, eh? Sure, some artists cut corners, but only three months of buffer? Is it too much trouble for you to get out of bed more than once a week?
😉
You are a magnificent bastard, as usual. Art in panels 3 and 6 is incredible (not to mention 2 and 4, equally spectacular). Great work (surprising no one).
Now, SalDanber threesome, right? 😀
And this was the story of how Amber experienced a psychotic break and bathed in the blood of everyone within a significant distance.
Blood for the Blood God and Skulls for the Skull throne appears to be Willis’ motivation by this point.
If we’re going to have Khorne flakes, we’re going to have to get Dina and Riley back in here.
No, I don’t think many people understand. This is beyond true in the way that Amber cannot speak her wants and truths because she is creating diversions within her own psyche to avoid all the horrors of her past. The intermittent scenes show what has been triggered by her traumas, and from someone who has been triggered, even by the people they love, it is worse in that way.
You hear that noise, that was the twig in her mind that just snapped. Shit just got real.
1) Called it. So much shit was going on that Amber HAD to see that happen.
2) Amber is either going to A) go catatonic with emotion B) Flip out and try to murder Sal C) Collapse sobbing on the ground (hopefully with Danny and/or Ethan to step in and give her a hug).
3) DAMN YOU WILLIS!
Well shit. Goodbye, Jean Grey, hello Dark Phoenix.
I also realize now why Sal’s dad said he liked her hair better straight…
Remember when Willis said these next few months would be mostly humorous shenanigans with some mild drama here or there?
Pretty sure that was the underexaggeration of the year.
Yeah, when he promised us eight weeks of mostly humorous shenanigans? That was like nine weeks ago.
Exactly eight, according to my calendar (I already have thursday).
You must not know of the great German comedy art called “Schadenfreude”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCQGQ5qBQTA
It wasn’t the next few months, it was 8 weeks. We’re pass that now. We’ve hit Drama DefCon 1.
He tweeted a warning the day that clock ran out.
You have no one to blame but yourself, girl.
Really?
She is the one to blame for the robbery she witnessed? She is the one to blame for Danny thinking Sal is Amazi-Girl? She is the one to blame for Ethan putting himself back in the closet, making her feel worthless and putting all her hard work supporting him over Summer to waste? She is the one to blame for Joyce thinking Ethan can ‘resist the temptation’ of being homosexual? She is the one to blame for her father provoking her until she hit him?
Sorry, but that does not add up to this being completely Amber’s fault regardless of how you spin it.
It would mostly likely not add up into my equation, because I didn’t include it.
Then what exactly are you saying she should be blaming herself for?
My comment is exclusively referring to the last two panels. Sam is correct that most of the problems that Amber is going through is not her fault. The one thing I do see is her problem, that she has control over, is her relationship with Danny.
I won’t deny that Danny is contributing to this problem, however I am not making a statement on the entire Danny-Amber relationship. I am making statement over Amber’s choices and the results of it. Amber had the oppurtunity to be clean with Dan and chose not to.
That choice, that Amber had, is now causing unneeded stress in an already stressful episode she is in. The one few things that could have been prevented, and she chose the path of least resistance.
Amber’s issues with Danny, and this episode seeing him with Sal, may break her. Amber is going through a lot issues, and I do feel bad for her, yet this one issue I can’t feel pity for her. I feel bad that it is occuring while she is in a high emotional state, but she can’t blame anyone else when it comes to Danny and their relationship. She chose not to tell him, he got confused and tried to make sense of the situation, though I still think Danny is an idiot, but that’s for a different day.
The last two panels is where I shake my head. It’s not where I just stop and say ‘I hate this and want off the Amber drama train and I fully regret even feeling bad for her.’, no, I just can’t feel bad for just that issues and connect them to the rest of the boxcars.
I fell bad for Amber’s relation with her pops. I feel bad for her issues with Ethan and Joyce, her roommate, etc. Her problem with Danny and lying to him is not something I feel bad about, at all.
I agree with you on everything, aside from one thing. I can still feel bad for someone when they’re suffering the consequences of their choices. Yeah, they led themselves to that point, they reap what they sow, etc. It’s just that she’s still a person and it sucks.
oh goddamnit hang on
willis sez: “I just wanted to write all my characters in college, minus fifteen years of baggage, okay?”
and then rachel fucks up the blockquote & says: this assessment is yadda yadda
sigh
BINGO!
Well, that was a good day . . .
Boom.
Headshot.
Jeez man…. shit.
and to one of the most selfless people there, that’s what makes it worst to me
Oh man. When I guessed Amber would walk in on this a few strips back, I didn’t think it would be in quite such context. Yikes.
[Insert evil laughter here]
How much further down can Sal’s denim shorts slip? >_>
They could fall off 😀
Everything start to come crashing down.
Amber, you need help. You’re broken. Worse than Danny even.
And Willis swings the great hammer pf drama over his head and…
Dear Christ, she’s gonna blow!
Hit the deck!
The only “good” resolution would be for Amber to pull out her DS and join Sal’s game
Unfortunately, she probably isn’t thinking very logically right now
Amber, honey, sweetie, you’re going to have to take control of your life someday. I know it’s hard, but if you scream and run every time there’s some trigger, your life will never move past where it is now, and it will probably get worse.
And the sad thing is, Amber has never done anything wrong or even shown any real flaws. Everybody’s just evil to her, and absolutely none of it is her fault.
Okay, I admit I posted that one just to see who would grossly misinterpret it at either extreme 🙂
I was afraid Willis was going to make it worse for Amber. And he did 🙁
Okay Willis, you can stop being mean to Amber now. K? Thanks.
Epic meltdown will be epic.
And now for the coup de grâce: “You were that girl in the convenience store robbery!?!” from either Amber or Sal, and then Danny dannies it and berates Amber for ruining Amazigirl’s life by robbing a store and tells her she should not get near her again.
Blend over to a chorus of DYW.
So Sal is Amber’s Joker from the ’89 Batman?
Is anyone else hearing an eerie Latin chorus?
This well not end well.
Actually, O, Fortuna fits in pretty well here. Not just eerie Latin, appropriate Latin.
O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
ever waxing
and waning;
hateful life
first oppresses
and then soothes
as fancy takes it;
poverty
and power
it melts them like ice.
Fate – monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel,
you are malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through the game
I bring my bare back
to your villainy.
Fate is against me
in health
and virtue,
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
So at this hour
without delay
pluck the vibrating strings;
since Fate
strikes down the strong man,
everyone weep with me!
The short version is “Damn you Willis”
Ambers life has gone to shit is what I believe everyone is trying to say.
I read the alt-text as ‘greatest hurts’, which do play in your mind.
Oh no, please don’t tell me that Amber was in the convenience store that San robbed. That would be too cruel.
In an alternate universe, Amber manages a successful toy store and is happily married with a child.
And I am holding on to that.
(gototherapygototherapygototherapy)
Seriously. PLEASE, Amber.
So…two things:
1. The whole “Sal was the one who robbed the store and traumatized Amber” thing was beat to death about 3 or 4 months ago (when Amber had her first “breakdown” after punching her dad in the nose). And, it makes sense in the context of a self-contained universe. Sort of like the connections that the characters on “Lost” had before the Island. I mean, if it just so happened that Sal had robbed some convenience stores…and Amber had been scarred by the panic and helplessness she felt in that moment (not to mention the general tenor of her home life), it would be disjointed and random. And we all know that Mr. Willis puts a bit more into it than that. 😀
2. Is anyone else intrigued by the gravatar featuring Sal and Marcie making out? 😉
I have never even heard about 1. until I read LordHaw’s comment below, just now. (Yes, sometimes I read the comments from the bottom up.)
It’s a montage of sorrow!
Ya know… I was staring into space for a bit pondering over all of this, and I glanced at the chapter title, “The Only Dope For Me Is You”, and that got me thinking.
I’m not going to map out the entire structure that unfolded itself in my head all of a sudden, but I’m actually going to say I think I see the reflection of a very dim light at the end of a tunnel filled with smoke and bats with rabies.
Said light shows Danny and Amber actually finding a spot through this, likely with him realizing or learning she’s Amazi-Girl.
After I typed that, I had a mental pic of him in a stupid sidekick outfit calling himself Daring-Boy or Dynamic-Boy.
It just gets better and better!
Just what Amber needed. Next Ruth’ll show up, tell her Blaine tried to sneak in last night, and the last bit of Amber’s mind will break, leaving her only willing to kill spiders on her computer until the end of time.
Ah, I was wondering what else could go wrong here. Thanks for pointing it out.
When is the next one coming out?
The poor girl does need to get all this bottled up emotion released, but boy the hits just keep on coming. Probably one of the worst times of her life right now (and she’s had a few really bad times). Please, have something good happen to her. She needs it badly!
and oddly enough, just looked at this again, and with the expression on Amber’s face in the last panel and with the one before that, did she just realize that Sal was the one in the convenience store robbery? It’s more of an expression of surprise or realization than the sadness of before! If that’s the case, will she go all Blaine on Sal??
Oh man, I never saw the connection! Sal did rob some convenience stores, didn’t she? (I mean, it’s all Walky ever talks about with his sis.)
Tomorrow: “Danny, what the hell are you doing with that robber?”
Just, ouch. 🙁
I could talk about Amber’s recent overreactions right now. I could talk about Amber’s current mental and emotional breakdown. I could talk about Sal’s mysteriously lowering shorts. Instead, I’m going to point out something else entirely.
Sal finally looks like she’s having fun with that game. Like she finally got the hang of it and is just ‘oh hey, now I know what I’m doing, this is kinda cool.’ And Danny looks like he wants to watch her play but that would force him to stare down her cleavage.
“There’s always Danny.”
It’s scenes like this that make me want to break the 4th wall in the other direction and try to help the character in the story.
Is it wrong I’m hoping for a School Days-style murder of Danny? Can we do that, Willis?
Really?
I mean, you killed Ruth once and it was awesome!
It was most certainly NOT awesome and neither would your suggestion.
Amber puts on a smile. “Danny!” she exclaims.
“Amber?”
Sal looks away and whispers, “I’m sorry, Joyce.”
¨I’m sorry, Walky.¨
FTFY
And Amber’s terrible horrible no good very bad day continues.
At this rate, I’m betting Friday’s cliffhanger is Blaine showing up again and attempting to forcibly remove her from the campus.
If he does, he may not survive the attempt.
Which would have *wonderful* consequences for Amber in the long run…
http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com/
Everybody, sing along…
Listen close to everybody’s heart, and hear that breaking sound.
Hopes and dreams are shattering apart and crashing to the ground.
I cannot believe my eyes, how the world’s filled with filth and lies.
It’s plain to see evil inside of me is on the rise.
And before I forget it, Sal’s thong almost overshadowed me seeing Danny in panel 4.
Wait, Danny is in that panel? Where?
To find Danny, start at Sal’s thong and look left, then up.
That is, if you can tear your eyes away from Sal’s thong.
He’s there if you start counting from panel 0, or count the entire red background as a single panel.
Well this has just been one shitastic day for her
Hoe. Lee. Shit.
That’s the face she’s wearing in the last panel.
Willis seems to be making Dumbiverse!Amber into a study in just how fucked up someone would need to be for costumed vigilantism to seem like a sensible option to them. I love it. 🙂
Yep. I have no idea how to suspend disbelief long enough to believe that someone can go around in a costume beating people up without having major, major issues.
The only superheros that make sense are in The Watchmen.
Y’know, what I’m wondering is… where exactly is Danny’s other hand?
Time for the ultimate understatement ever made… Amber is having a bad day.
Amber: Quit being a thieving Hussy! I wanted Sal first!
Geez, Amber is… beating herself up for every bad decision she’s ever made, worried that she’s going to repeat the cycle of violence, and also being emotionally crushed by the things going on around her.
If she doesn’t wind up attempting suicide and having to be talked out of it by… let’s just say someone either just as messed up (e.g. Ruth) or someone incredibly inept (e.g. Walky), I’ll be surprised. Of course, now that I’ve said this, Willis will read it and go, “DAMNIT! I knew that plot line was too predictable.” And have to come up with something else even more bizarre.
Calling it now
It was Walky that rob the store in drag!
Sal took the blame!
Cue up “Ave Maria” as Amber pulls out a pistol and goes to town…slow motion style, of course.
Man, I see tons of people here claiming Amber’s about to attempt suicide.
Watch that not happen.
Amber’s way too competent to attempt suicide.
She’d succeed.
If Amber becomes a villian I would definitely be pro that, with a dad like that and all that stuff that has been happening to her, she has now lived long enough to become a villian.
She’d even be entirely sympathetic! She’s already a super-hero-type person, so turning to evil would be interesting. And she’s smart enough to be a competent villain…heck, a scary one even. She’d even be lemon!
*hopes someone else gets the Spongebob Squarepants reference*
The brown logs have hit the rotating sawblades… oh no the saws are jammed to much giant feces…
Well shit
On the other hand, that’s a pretty happy looking Sal there, isn’t it. She seems to be enjoying herself for the moment, at least.
At least some one is. I guess she’s digging the bug.
Remember a long time ago on the Shortpacked threads, people would complain how things always worked out “too well” for Amber?
Mental breakdown in 3…2….1…
This is how supervillains are born.
Or patients for the school’s Health and Wellness center.
Either/Or.
…..I’m becoming increasingly concerned that something here is gonna get bloodily punched.
Nervous breakdown in 3… 2… 1…
My brain is screaming “tell him!!!”
Of course, it’s been screaming that since last time.
“This isn’t what it looks like”
“What does it even look like!”
“After you tried awkwardly to get close to me, I decided to spend time with a girl dressed in remarkably revealing and somewhat uncoordinated strips of clothing. And we’re playing on the DS, even though that’s totally our- I mean, your alter ego that I don’t know about and my- thing.”
“Gf’lrgl’krk.”
And then, Walky.
Geez Amber, today is just not your day.
Is it just me or are Sal’s pants kind of… …Falling down?
Danny has the Mutant power that Patrick Stewart wishes he had in Extras.
Can anyone direct me to a few comics from shortpacked, or other comics featuring Amber which might help me understand what exactly happened during the robbery or whatever the root of some of her issues? I feel like Many people know something I don’t about her history because I only read DoA. Thanks in advance.
Dumbing of Age is a stand-alone continuity. If you don’t know something, it’s because it hasn’t been revealed yet.
This Amber is different enough from SP Amber, none of us have been shown what you are wondering
Thank you both.
Is Sal’s thong showing?
great page
GODDAMNIT HOW DO YOU DO THIS DOES NO ONE ELSE SEE THIS
How does he do it? He shows up very late in the day and posts the same thing. What’s so hard to figure about that?
I agree. *tro lo lo lo*
What’s he doing, exactly?
So, I’m unfamiliar with panel 5. what was going on there? am I missing a clutch of strips?
Bets on Amazi-girl happening on Ryan tonight and killing or nearly killing him?
Abandon ship!
Now knowing Ambers story. When I see the last panel, it’s like I can hear her mind go *snap*.
Like always brilliant art & storyline.
…Seriously, Sal, those pants are ridiculous. Why.
I see 6000 votes where 3600 voters with 2 votes each should have 7200 votes. So 1200 people voted only once. But then thats still 5/6 botes, so never mind. It would be great if people couldn’t vote without picking 2, but these results aren’t as off as I thought they were.
EVERY CAUTIONARY TALE ABOUT CONCEALED IDENTITY EVER
(the first one that comes to my mind at the moment is a musical theater example, but there are plenty of others)
When I started reading this comic, I never gave Amber much thought. But now, I only have one word for you:
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY