Sal didn’t deserve to get stabbed. Full stop. She was disarmed and in custody, and no threat to anyone. ‘I wanted to feel powerful’ is not an excuse for assault with a deadly weapon, and Amber is in no way justified in her actions.
Hurting people because you think they deserve it when they pose no threat to you or anyone else is morally and legally indefensible. Just like nearly everything Amazi-girl does is morally and legally indefenseble, because she seeks out conflicts to resolve with violence and creates conflicts when she doesn’t find any.
She doesn’t belong in prison, probably. But she does belong in a mental institution.
not someone else
I don’t think the justification is so much “because I wanted to feel powerful” as “I was having a serious mental episode and was not in control of my actions”, but you’re right that Sal didn’t deserve it in any way.
LovelyMonsters
Also, everyone involved in this storyline is, like, TWELVE.
Hasn’t Amber literally just had her 13th birthday “a few days” ago? Sal wouldn’t have deserved to be stabbed even if she was still holding out her knife and squeaking. These are 7th or 8th graders. What they deserve is safety, better parenting, and therapy.
LovelyMonsters
Thaaaaat was not all supposed to be bolded. I’m not nearly that angry about this. (I am not angry about this at all, just a poor proofreader.)
badumtiss
As the adult butterfly of a caterpillar who once needed a great deal of safety, better parenting, and therapy…it deserves to be bolded. You bold the eff out of it.
Please, god, bold the ever-living fuck out of that becaue that is exactly what kids deserve. All of them. All of us.
Jason
It wasn’t about Sal. Everything we’ve seen about the flashback, it’s wasn’t about Sal. It was about Blaine. She didn’t react because of Sal- she reacted because of BLAINE. And if I had to guess, she didn’t want to stab Sal- she wanted to stab Blaine, but probably couldn’t admit that even to herself.
Not that that “justifies” it- as has been said she was not in her right mind, I would describe her as having a mental breakdown. But yeah. It was never about attacking someone rendered defenseless from how I read it.
HMH
See, that’s the kind of blatantly obvious truth that some good-ass therapy might help a person realize!
ego
you make a lot of excellent points, but the phrase “morally and legally indefensible” is somewhere between bizarre and dishonest, and if you’ll excuse me for saying so, you need to stop conflating *intentionally* unrelated things. none of AGs antics seem legally defensible (IANAL) but if you really want to separately debate the morality? i’ll be your huckleberry. sal-shanking is *not* part of what i will try to defend, tho :/
thejeff
It is unclear to me when Amazi-Girl has created conflicts when she doesn’t find any. (Other than her earlier interactions with Sal – in the parking lot and at the rally. Those weren’t randomly seeking conflict though. Pretty much everyone agrees those were wrong.)
Some of the crimes she interrupted weren’t exactly conflicts, so I guess that qualifies? I’m not sure I’m morally opposed to stopping the guy about to smash the car window though.
Drunk Mike
Sal threatned to kill Ethan because she wanted attention. Amber actions were justified. Going after her as Amazigirl was also justified. She had no reason to believe Sal had changed.
thejeff
Sal was in police custody when Amber stabbed her. No longer a threat to anyone.
Attacking some one 5 years later because you don’t know they’ve changed from when they were 13 is not justified.
Nope, Joyce was homeschooled up until the beginning of DoA and was allowed to go to somewhere away from home only because she was the best socialised. So yeah.
I think that was confirmed during Freshman Family Weekend? Jocelyne certainly is, at least. Also Joyce is apparently still pretty good at math, given she’s in calculus and isn’t reportedly struggling at all. Which makes sense, since it’s the one subject couldn’t be censored or mangled with Fundie Bullshit. (Lit’s out if she can’t watch Frozen, History got Bible literalismed, and Science has been covered extensively. To name just the basics.)
Regalli
Disregard the math thing – I’m clearly pretty tired because my first thought on the comment was ‘Joyce getting admitted’ and not ‘The Browns allowing their children in a secular university.’
Did Amber, Ethan, and Mike even grow up anywhere near La Porte? According to the wiki Sal’s from Evansville, so presumably the robbery happened somewhere around there. That looks to be at least a couple hours south…
Point is, even if Joyce went to public school, that’s definitely not her.
Look, Squall was dressed just fine for the weather.
Wright
If it turns out that they all really did grow up together, and it was really the GFs that made them forget, and then suddenly Walky summons Bahamut when Mary releases a hoarde of Tonberries onto the floor, I will love Willis forever. But unfortunately, he’s a Transformers nerd instead of a JRPG nerd. 🙁
Wright
And as a huge JRPG/Nintendo/roleplaying nerd myself, I mean that in the best and most flattering way.
According to Walkypedia (DoA sections), Joyce is from La Porte, which is about as far north as you can be and still be in Indiana, and Ethan is from Evansville, which is about as far south as you can be and still be in Indiana. The two towns are roughly 300 miles apart. So no, that is almost certainly not Joyce.
…Great, now I get to spend who knows how long imagining what happened. And my imagination is a dark and terrible place, so it’ll likely be even worse that what actually happened.
Then again, Willis’ imagination is where Faz, Mary, Blaine, and Toedad were born, so it must be pretty dark and terrible too.
He mostly seems not to hold a grudge, so it’s easier to overlook given Amber’s massive trauma, but he was held at knifepoint and then his best friend snapped while he watched. This could not have been a good period for him. And the phrasing here implies he hasn’t really been able to see Amber since. (That, or he’s understating that ‘don’t know’ from a flat no.)
Yay, back to probably-generally-trying-to-be-nice Mike!
And yeah, I like that last panel. It’s what Lil!Ethan needs to hear, not platitudes or comfort or heartfelt stuff… but a sharp little joke that reminds him of normal times.
It’s almost gallows humor, really. It’s a cruel little jab, but it’s a jab at something trivial that Mike and Ethan have talked about before, and Ethan knows Mike doesn’t care that much about. It’s about, as Ethan puts it here, making “things to be the way they were before”, if only in this one, small way.
It breaks the tension, gives you a chance to breathe, reminds you that the world is still going to spin on… lord knows I’ve needed that over the last two years…
156 thoughts on “Gone”
Ana Chronistic
what are the odds tomorrow Mike says, “oh hey, at least you weren’t stabbed in the hand like my friend Sal”
abysswatcher1993
karma is a bongo sometimes. Did Sal deserved to be stabbed? Kinda. Was Amber justified? Maybe. Is Blaine an asshole? Certainly.
Unusually Angry Hippie
Sal didn’t deserve to get stabbed. Full stop. She was disarmed and in custody, and no threat to anyone. ‘I wanted to feel powerful’ is not an excuse for assault with a deadly weapon, and Amber is in no way justified in her actions.
Hurting people because you think they deserve it when they pose no threat to you or anyone else is morally and legally indefensible. Just like nearly everything Amazi-girl does is morally and legally indefenseble, because she seeks out conflicts to resolve with violence and creates conflicts when she doesn’t find any.
She doesn’t belong in prison, probably. But she does belong in a mental institution.
not someone else
I don’t think the justification is so much “because I wanted to feel powerful” as “I was having a serious mental episode and was not in control of my actions”, but you’re right that Sal didn’t deserve it in any way.
LovelyMonsters
Also, everyone involved in this storyline is, like, TWELVE.
Hasn’t Amber literally just had her 13th birthday “a few days” ago? Sal wouldn’t have deserved to be stabbed even if she was still holding out her knife and squeaking. These are 7th or 8th graders. What they deserve is safety, better parenting, and therapy.
LovelyMonsters
Thaaaaat was not all supposed to be bolded. I’m not nearly that angry about this. (I am not angry about this at all, just a poor proofreader.)
badumtiss
As the adult butterfly of a caterpillar who once needed a great deal of safety, better parenting, and therapy…it deserves to be bolded. You bold the eff out of it.
Deanatay
Except for Blaine. He deserves all the blame.
Ana Chronistic
Blame O’Malley
Lin
Please, god, bold the ever-living fuck out of that becaue that is exactly what kids deserve. All of them. All of us.
Jason
It wasn’t about Sal. Everything we’ve seen about the flashback, it’s wasn’t about Sal. It was about Blaine. She didn’t react because of Sal- she reacted because of BLAINE. And if I had to guess, she didn’t want to stab Sal- she wanted to stab Blaine, but probably couldn’t admit that even to herself.
Not that that “justifies” it- as has been said she was not in her right mind, I would describe her as having a mental breakdown. But yeah. It was never about attacking someone rendered defenseless from how I read it.
HMH
See, that’s the kind of blatantly obvious truth that some good-ass therapy might help a person realize!
ego
you make a lot of excellent points, but the phrase “morally and legally indefensible” is somewhere between bizarre and dishonest, and if you’ll excuse me for saying so, you need to stop conflating *intentionally* unrelated things. none of AGs antics seem legally defensible (IANAL) but if you really want to separately debate the morality? i’ll be your huckleberry. sal-shanking is *not* part of what i will try to defend, tho :/
thejeff
It is unclear to me when Amazi-Girl has created conflicts when she doesn’t find any. (Other than her earlier interactions with Sal – in the parking lot and at the rally. Those weren’t randomly seeking conflict though. Pretty much everyone agrees those were wrong.)
Some of the crimes she interrupted weren’t exactly conflicts, so I guess that qualifies? I’m not sure I’m morally opposed to stopping the guy about to smash the car window though.
Drunk Mike
Sal threatned to kill Ethan because she wanted attention. Amber actions were justified. Going after her as Amazigirl was also justified. She had no reason to believe Sal had changed.
thejeff
Sal was in police custody when Amber stabbed her. No longer a threat to anyone.
Attacking some one 5 years later because you don’t know they’ve changed from when they were 13 is not justified.
CleverTrousers
We all deserve to get stabbed.
Renadt
Wait, is that Joyce?
Agemegos
She’s not tagged, for what that’s worth.
Inahc
nope
DailyBrad
Doubtful, I don’t think she went to regular school, and the kid near them is decidedly less white than pre-DOA Joyce had any experience with.
Danielle
i dont think so, the face shape is different
Stu
She was homeschooled, iirc – plus, the nose is completely different. It’d be even funnier if the skinny black kid turned out to be Jacob, though.
Inahc
homeschooled indeed: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/01-move-in-day/socialized/
also the teeth are different.
Sam
Nope, Joyce was homeschooled up until the beginning of DoA and was allowed to go to somewhere away from home only because she was the best socialised. So yeah.
tim gueguen
I suspect one, or both, of Joyce’s parents are Indiana U. alumni, and that played a role in letting her go there.
motorfirebox
Papa Joyce, at least, is indeed an alum. http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/01-move-in-day/loft/
Regalli
I think that was confirmed during Freshman Family Weekend? Jocelyne certainly is, at least. Also Joyce is apparently still pretty good at math, given she’s in calculus and isn’t reportedly struggling at all. Which makes sense, since it’s the one subject couldn’t be censored or mangled with Fundie Bullshit. (Lit’s out if she can’t watch Frozen, History got Bible literalismed, and Science has been covered extensively. To name just the basics.)
Regalli
Disregard the math thing – I’m clearly pretty tired because my first thought on the comment was ‘Joyce getting admitted’ and not ‘The Browns allowing their children in a secular university.’
miis
Confirmed, both. http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/01-move-in-day/socialized/
Needfuldoer
Did Amber, Ethan, and Mike even grow up anywhere near La Porte? According to the wiki Sal’s from Evansville, so presumably the robbery happened somewhere around there. That looks to be at least a couple hours south…
Point is, even if Joyce went to public school, that’s definitely not her.
Delicious Taffy
Evansville? Jeez, I lived right by there, this past winter. What a hole, but at least there’s a pretty decent nerd store.
Schol-R-LEA;2
Which they were opposed to, because Socialism is wrong. :rolleyes:
Schol-R-LEA;2
Sorry (not sorry) for that atrocious pun.
Durandal_1707
What do you think this is, Final Fantasy 8?
sdrainbow
All we need is a basketball court, some absurdly large missiles, and completely climate-inappropriate dress!
Delicious Taffy
Look, Squall was dressed just fine for the weather.
Wright
If it turns out that they all really did grow up together, and it was really the GFs that made them forget, and then suddenly Walky summons Bahamut when Mary releases a hoarde of Tonberries onto the floor, I will love Willis forever. But unfortunately, he’s a Transformers nerd instead of a JRPG nerd. 🙁
Wright
And as a huge JRPG/Nintendo/roleplaying nerd myself, I mean that in the best and most flattering way.
Marsh Maryrose
According to Walkypedia (DoA sections), Joyce is from La Porte, which is about as far north as you can be and still be in Indiana, and Ethan is from Evansville, which is about as far south as you can be and still be in Indiana. The two towns are roughly 300 miles apart. So no, that is almost certainly not Joyce.
CleverTrousers
Yes. And she starts homeschooling because she keeps pooping her pants. She thought it was over in panel 4 but it came back.
Doctor_Who
…Great, now I get to spend who knows how long imagining what happened. And my imagination is a dark and terrible place, so it’ll likely be even worse that what actually happened.
Then again, Willis’ imagination is where Faz, Mary, Blaine, and Toedad were born, so it must be pretty dark and terrible too.
Emily
Sal robbing a store happened
Doctor_Who
OHHHH. I get it now. Didn’t realize where we were in the timeline.
MatthewTheLucky
Time to recalibrate that control panel, huh?
Durandal_1707
Ah, scenic twelfth-century Constantinople! I do love the… wait
butts
…we know what happened. Red panels happened.
skittylover3
faz isn’t thaaaat bad
Regalli
Oh, tiny baby Ethan. Oh, tiny baby Amber. Oh, tiny baby Sal.
Needfuldoer
A lot can change in five years, huh?
DailyBrad
Adjective or verb? Time will tell!”
Laladoria
Is this after the stabbing incident? Like, soon after?
Inahc
yup
DailyBrad
Guessing “yes” and “yes”.
Agemegos
Jacob is back at school after the incident, Amber still isn’t. It has been a few days.
C.T Phipps
Poor Ethan probably never got therapy for having a knife to his throat.
Kris
I dunno about Ethan but not caring about Dinobot is a warning sign not a perk.
C.T Phipps
Sal didn’t kill Ethan. I wonder how long it preyed on her that she failed in her mission.
Delicious Taffy
What the fuck are you talking about?
Clif
She was on a secret mission for the sinister organization behind the Monkey Master cartoon. Keep up.
C.T Phipps
What’s more likely? That Sal was acting out and threatened him or that she was a secret child soldier for Weapon X, out to kill the Second Eaton?
Pan
Okay, but there’s this new Dinobot out…
Passchendaele
too bad, Mike, he’s going to spend the next hour talking about dinobot now
newllend(henryvolt)
Oh here we go.
Stephen Bierce
*plays Darryl Hall and John Oates’ “She’s Gone” on the hacked Muzak*
BBCC
Oh, Ethan. Honey.
Regalli
He mostly seems not to hold a grudge, so it’s easier to overlook given Amber’s massive trauma, but he was held at knifepoint and then his best friend snapped while he watched. This could not have been a good period for him. And the phrasing here implies he hasn’t really been able to see Amber since. (That, or he’s understating that ‘don’t know’ from a flat no.)
C.T Phipps
Knowing she was out there, waiting, plotting, and being Catholic Schooled.
*shudder*
🙂
BBCC
Yeaaahhhh.
Platypus King
But, how does Mike feel about THE DinobotS?!
Wraithy2773
Yay, back to probably-generally-trying-to-be-nice Mike!
And yeah, I like that last panel. It’s what Lil!Ethan needs to hear, not platitudes or comfort or heartfelt stuff… but a sharp little joke that reminds him of normal times.
It’s almost gallows humor, really. It’s a cruel little jab, but it’s a jab at something trivial that Mike and Ethan have talked about before, and Ethan knows Mike doesn’t care that much about. It’s about, as Ethan puts it here, making “things to be the way they were before”, if only in this one, small way.
It breaks the tension, gives you a chance to breathe, reminds you that the world is still going to spin on… lord knows I’ve needed that over the last two years…
Clif
Yes, that’s exactly what Mike is trying to do here. Let’s go with that.
Blackouthart