Omg I was just gonna say, is that Ethan’s head in the window? Is it too much to hope for that he sees what’s going on out there??
…Probably, it’s pretty dark. :/ Unless Mike called him before walking over?… I mean, I can see the logic if he did I guess, but I think it would have been smarter to call the police direct.
(Also, is it just me or does Mike look a little disappointed about the lack of imminent head bashing?
Hmm, perhaps Blaine’s fake carpentry business explains why he randomly has a metalworking hammer? He literally doesn’t even know the right kind of hammer to plausibly be carrying around “for work”
More importantly, he has connection to the mafia, wtf
Regalli
This has been implied before – Joe’s dad mentioned it when discussing what Amber’s mom had been through, which says she knows; Blaine started his campus visits this time around by paying a visit to Asher and that whole discussion about his grandfather; and I think the Mike blackmail bit in the flashback also implied his finances weren’t aboveboard. And our introduction to Blaine in the other universe was Amber and her mom Stacey running because his illegal activities finally came to their attention, plus Stacey had a later line explicitly stating he was involved with the Korean mafia (and having affairs and illegitimate children with mobsters’ daughters – I think that might’ve been what finally blew everything up?) So it’s been running speculation among Shortpacked fans that he was involved in this universe too, such that we mostly took the first line as confirmation on the subject.
King Daniel
Also, Blaine’s whole thing with Asher (who’s told us that his grandfather is Blaine’s boss).
That would explain it. And Blaine’s not good enough at these sorts of acts to think to bring a toolkit or anything to help that illusion.
Nothing suspicious here, folks, just a guy carrying a single hammer around on his person loitering by an elementary school after midnight! Perfectly normal.
Well Mike, I respect your courage if nothing else about you. Maybe you should go back up to the party though and let Becky know her dad is back in town.
You don’t want to be hit with a fingernail bullet!
(I guess that finger guns are a type of nail gun?)
vitalProximity
Ooof, if you’re shooting fingernails, your exposed nail beds are about to get REAL nasty.
…+1 for gore factor to freak out your opponent.
……Unless you can some how get your finger guns to shoot ACTUAL NAILS, which would admittedly be pretty damn cool, if also inconvenient and completely terrifying for hygiene.
Lawzlo
Are we going full Cronenberg body horror with this?
CC
I was thinking more Steel Ball Run, but you do you
Well, a female Raxacoricofallapatorian can shoot a poisonous dart from her fingertip, if she needs to. If any of the party kids happen to be one, they could probably go ahead and use that.
vitalProximity
Okay, super late reply but: ARGHHHH I KNOW WUT THE REFARENCE good job. This is definitely what will happen. 🙂 Crossover time!
Absolutely nothing can stop Mike from telling someone, ever. It’s Mike.
He probably has all of his “dirt” files set up to be auto-released in the event of his death, with each person’s individual info also forwarded directly to the person they would least want to see it.
Given how legitimately horribly her political platform is, and how abrasive she is, it would not be completely surprising if one of her ‘staffers’ had been private security. Of course, she fired and/or drove away everyone…
Nothing that a bit of rationalising cannot fix. “I want to kill someone with a different outlook on life and feel good about it.”: the answer is religion and rationalisation, a marriage made in, well, not exactly heaven.
Once you start rationalising your belief, it’s actually gone. It’s like that magic inexhaustible pitcher or yarn roll in the fairy tales that is used up very soon once you start looking for its end.
People elect to die for their faith when they realise they are not able to live for it.
Ross may be caught off-balance in the moment, but Blaine can certainly put him back on track if he plays him right.
“I have made a pact with the devil in order to better serve the glory of the Lord”: isn’t that the ultimate dedication? What could possibly go wrong? And if it did, who could blame you for trying?
177 thoughts on “Smash”
Doctor_Who
Dangit, I was gonna make a Home Alone 2 reference, and the alt text beat me to it.
He Who Abides
Obligatory “Where’s Ana” comment, just because I want to meme this one time.
Clif
You don’t really meme it?
He Who Abides
I meme, I just wanted to beat people to the punch this time.
Clif
Hate it when there’s no more punch. But don’t be meme. Remember, no matter where you go, there you are.
He Who Abides
You’re right. I’ll try not to be so meme-spirited from now on.
DarkoNeko
wow, I had forgotten how much dirt young Mike had on him.
DarkoNeko
wait why are Erika and Ethan tagged ? *stare suspisciously at comic once more*
Yumi
Window figures
vitalProximity
Omg I was just gonna say, is that Ethan’s head in the window? Is it too much to hope for that he sees what’s going on out there??
…Probably, it’s pretty dark. :/ Unless Mike called him before walking over?… I mean, I can see the logic if he did I guess, but I think it would have been smarter to call the police direct.
(Also, is it just me or does Mike look a little disappointed about the lack of imminent head bashing?
Poor Mike, denied his broken heart catharsis.)
vitalProximity
Hmm, perhaps Blaine’s fake carpentry business explains why he randomly has a metalworking hammer? He literally doesn’t even know the right kind of hammer to plausibly be carrying around “for work”
DarkoNeko
More importantly, he has connection to the mafia, wtf
Regalli
This has been implied before – Joe’s dad mentioned it when discussing what Amber’s mom had been through, which says she knows; Blaine started his campus visits this time around by paying a visit to Asher and that whole discussion about his grandfather; and I think the Mike blackmail bit in the flashback also implied his finances weren’t aboveboard. And our introduction to Blaine in the other universe was Amber and her mom Stacey running because his illegal activities finally came to their attention, plus Stacey had a later line explicitly stating he was involved with the Korean mafia (and having affairs and illegitimate children with mobsters’ daughters – I think that might’ve been what finally blew everything up?) So it’s been running speculation among Shortpacked fans that he was involved in this universe too, such that we mostly took the first line as confirmation on the subject.
King Daniel
Also, Blaine’s whole thing with Asher (who’s told us that his grandfather is Blaine’s boss).
Deadjolras
Joe’s dad actually calls him a mob stooge here: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-8/01-face-the-strange/disengage/
Regalli
That would explain it. And Blaine’s not good enough at these sorts of acts to think to bring a toolkit or anything to help that illusion.
Nothing suspicious here, folks, just a guy carrying a single hammer around on his person loitering by an elementary school after midnight! Perfectly normal.
Kyrik Michalowski
Well Mike, I respect your courage if nothing else about you. Maybe you should go back up to the party though and let Becky know her dad is back in town.
DailyBrad
I dunno if he knows exactly who Ross is, I can’t recall if he was around for the gun-on-campus saga in-person or not.
Diane
Don’t think he was. And the closest he got clued in on it was Joyce asking Mike how to make her a convincing liar.
vitalProximity
Wait what, I don’t remember that conversation, when was that? I would like to re-read that part. 🙂
(Sidenote though: Ross was all over the news.)
BBCC
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/underhanded/
Jhon
Tag Search is your friend:
http://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/ross+mike/
YanderePanzer
So Ethan and Eric are in the window, right? They saw all this go down?
Zag
That’s good. Cause Eric is packing heat.
vitalProximity
…
because fingerguns. Well played, Zag.
a/snow/mous/e
You don’t want to be hit with a fingernail bullet!
(I guess that finger guns are a type of nail gun?)
vitalProximity
Ooof, if you’re shooting fingernails, your exposed nail beds are about to get REAL nasty.
…+1 for gore factor to freak out your opponent.
……Unless you can some how get your finger guns to shoot ACTUAL NAILS, which would admittedly be pretty damn cool, if also inconvenient and completely terrifying for hygiene.
Lawzlo
Are we going full Cronenberg body horror with this?
CC
I was thinking more Steel Ball Run, but you do you
Delicious Taffy
Well, a female Raxacoricofallapatorian can shoot a poisonous dart from her fingertip, if she needs to. If any of the party kids happen to be one, they could probably go ahead and use that.
vitalProximity
Okay, super late reply but: ARGHHHH I KNOW WUT THE REFARENCE good job. This is definitely what will happen. 🙂 Crossover time!
Stephen Bierce
So much for the Axis of Bloomington Evil.
Mra
What is to stop Mike from telling someone tomorrow? The fear that Blaine might come after him? It looks like enough to get police involved.
vitalProximity
Absolutely nothing can stop Mike from telling someone, ever. It’s Mike.
He probably has all of his “dirt” files set up to be auto-released in the event of his death, with each person’s individual info also forwarded directly to the person they would least want to see it.
Proxiehunter
And it’s in his will to give the mother of everyone he knows one last nickle.
Clif
Or send them a bill for one last nickel. It’s never been completely clear.
PB
This whole comment thread is now canon in my heart forever.
Durandal_1707
How the heck can they hear him from way over there?
Ray Radlein
mystical technique called “shouting” that mike learned from the masters in tibet
King Daniel
So the Greybeards are Tibetean? Huh.
Deadjolras
They say Mike murdered Blaine with his voice. Shouted him apart.
CrazyJ
Kill one person, and you can solve so many problems.
I wonder at the possibilities.
foamy
Looking to protect yourself, or deal some damage?
Dean
Let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll.
Delicious Taffy
I’ll have them hauled over right away.
Clif
Hauled over. Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?
Pablo360
shout
Delicious Taffy
Shout. Let it all out.
Wizard
These are the dads we can do without.
DarkoNeko
Come on~ I’m talking to you~ come on
NinjaNick
“I’m only telling you that your moms are ugly, just like you two.”
Kravis
Dumb and Dumber over there can try to hurt the people at the party all they want.
Blaine’s punny Ball-Pen hammer is no match against Eric’s mighty fingerguns.
BarerMender
“Peen.” A peen is the part of the hammer you strike with. This hammer has a flat peen on one side and a ball peen on the other.
vitalProximity
“A peen is the part of the hammer you strike with.”
“The hammer is my penis.”
…Coincidence? I think not. Now, we must only determine the direction of causality, or if mere correlation is to blame…
AntJ
man now I wanna watch dr. horrible again
Clif
If you sharpen the side that’s not flat, you would have a ball point peen.
Nono
Blaine’s fake company is carpentry?
You’d think he could have woodshopped a better front.
Jamie
Ouch. Just. Just. Ouch.
Nono
Oh hey, maybe the presence of a politician there might actually dissuade the two.
Good job Robin, we finally have a use for you.
Dean
Robin is a Republican, so I assume that she is carrying a AR-15 at all times.
Paradoxius
But the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a ball-peen hammer is a good guy with a ball-peen hammer! Does anyone have a ball-peen hammer?
vitalProximity
Captain Hammer has a peen-and-balls hammer. Admittedly, his status as a “good guy” is pretty dubious though.
paleotectonics
Given how legitimately horribly her political platform is, and how abrasive she is, it would not be completely surprising if one of her ‘staffers’ had been private security. Of course, she fired and/or drove away everyone…
jeffepp
Toe-Head was (is?) gonna murder-suicide, so, eh, what’s a little mob crime between friends.
thejeff
But he was going to murder-suicide for the Lord. There’s a difference.
David
Nothing that a bit of rationalising cannot fix. “I want to kill someone with a different outlook on life and feel good about it.”: the answer is religion and rationalisation, a marriage made in, well, not exactly heaven.
Once you start rationalising your belief, it’s actually gone. It’s like that magic inexhaustible pitcher or yarn roll in the fairy tales that is used up very soon once you start looking for its end.
People elect to die for their faith when they realise they are not able to live for it.
Ross may be caught off-balance in the moment, but Blaine can certainly put him back on track if he plays him right.
“I have made a pact with the devil in order to better serve the glory of the Lord”: isn’t that the ultimate dedication? What could possibly go wrong? And if it did, who could blame you for trying?
Retrikaethan
HAHAHAHAH! yes, get that head start, mike, then RUN LIKE THE WIND!
tim gueguen
Mike will ride like the wind instead.
Geneseepaws
Wait! Why is Mike going to go to the border with Mexico? Why now? Inquiring minds…
Diane