197

Pachy
Posted on December 2, 2018 by David M Willis

197 thoughts on “Pachy”

  1. Ragnarok

    Dina reconfirms why she is a fan favorite.

    1. MatthewTheLucky

      As if it was necessary.

      1. Keulen

        It wasn’t necessary, but it means we get to see more of Dina.

        1. LookingIn

          and it shows that the other characters now recognize her worth at times, especially when trying to break the ice and offer help

        2. BBCC

          Sal’s only interacted with Dina, personally, twice. The first when she noticed Dina got caught up in the group going to the lake and confirming, yeah, they’re at the lake, and the second was when she snapped at Becky and Dina to stop tooling around on her bike and asked if Dina wasn’t supposed to be on Ross Watch.

  2. AnvilPro

    This is good. This is non-violent problem solving.

    1. woobie

      It can’t last….

      1. Bluesnake462

        I think Sal is in a good place to make it work, Amber on the other hand still has some stuff she needs to work through.

    2. Tan

      I’m here to make peace and speak in dinosaur metaphors, and I’m all out of dinosaur metaphors

      (note: may not actually be out of dinosaur metaphors)

      1. Indoor Cat

        +1 there are so many good dinosaur metaphors!

  3. shadowcell

    if Amber does not employ the Riker Maneuver in the next strip i will be moderately disappointed

    1. Shiro

      Hmm, let’s google what that is…

      The “Riker Maneuver” was the name informally given by Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge to a tactic used by Commander William T. Riker, in acting command of the USS Enterprise-E, to combat two Son’a battle cruisers in 2375. Following La Forge’s suggestion that history would assign that name to the maneuver, Riker replied, “If it works…”

      Attempting to elude the ships in the area of space known as “the Briar Patch,” Riker ordered the Enterprise’s ramscoops utilized to collect highly-unstable metreon gas. Upon filling the storage cells to maximum capacity, Riker activated the ship’s manual steering column to perform precision maneuvering, and ordered the ramscoops released.

      Riker then piloted the Enterprise in close proximity to the Son’a ships, leaving a cloud of metreon gas between them and the Enterprise. Subsequent to one of the pursuing vessels firing at the Enterprise, the gas ignited, destroying one of the ships and severely damaging and disabling the other. (Star Trek: Insurrection)

      wha

      Fans have given this name to the unusual way Riker sits down in chairs by throwing one leg over the back.

      Ohhhhh

      1. shadowcell

        i mean either one would work

        1. LookingIn

          I just hope it’s the latter and not the former…I don’t think Dina would appreciate the sudden release of explosive gas

        2. Needfuldoer

          She’d better get used to it if Amber continues dating Walky.

        3. Clif

          +1 Internet

      2. jeffepp

        JF has a back condition, so he can’t just sit down like a normal person. So…

        Alternate Riker Maneuver: The reason he can’t KEEP all those girlfriends.

      3. Uly

        The Picard Maneuver is how our dear Jean-Luc straightens his shirt, fyi.

      4. Kinoko

        I used to laugh so hard at the way he sat down in chairs, but then I learned it was because Jonathan Frakes had a back injury that made standing for long periods of time or bending to sit quite painful. Thankfully, he’s tall, so he can just step over chairs to sit on them or put a leg against a surface to lean.

    2. Kravis

      Well, I did mentioned it yesterday, because that’s how Sal could have sitted.
      Amber’s not gonna do it, cause that chair doesn’t reaaaly allow it.

      1. Kamino Neko

        Neither of those chairs support the Riker Maneuver. It needs a low back and no arms.

        1. thejeff

          Did they design the sets for the Enterprise around that?

  4. Shiro

    Dina now understands Sal perfectly, because Sal speaks her language

    1. BBCC

      Dina’s gonna rush up to Sal and start talking dinosaurs every time she sees her from now on.

      I look forward to it.

      1. Koms

        Dina and Joyce are going to fight now.

        1. BBCC

          Nah, Dina will grab Sal and yell ‘NO. AWAY WITH YOU. I AM TALKING *SCIENCE* WITH HER.’

    2. jeffepp

      It’s like that episode of ST:TNG, but with dinosaur stuff.

      1. lejwocky

        Cretaceous when the asteroid fell

        1. woobie

          …at Tanagra.

        2. No Name

          It would have been better if you said “Chixuclub”, because that’s where the asteroid in question fell. (and yes, I know all about Darmok and Jalad. wiiiiiink.)

        3. nobilis

          Dina and Sal at Indiana.

        4. Kryss LaBryn

          When the fists fell.

      2. Fogel

        [X] & [Y] @ IU

        Billie & Ruth @ IU
        Becky & Dina @ IU
        ….
        Are there 100 or more of those, or only dozens.
        someone should do a table.

  5. Stephen Bierce

    *is conflicted as to play Spice Girls or Def Leppard. Twisted Sister is already spoken for*

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      Twisted Sister is the clear and obvious correct choice but if it is already taken I vote Def Leppard for second choice.

    2. Brotato

      …w-wait… you’ve been keeping track of all of these???

    3. AGV

      Dunno about you but that alt text is begging for this song:
      https://youtu.be/B4L3ls_6UYg

      1. jeffepp

        I just realized that’s Canadian Dollars. So, like, a couple thousand or so here in the US.

    4. Deanatay

      What, no “Bang Your Head”?

  6. BBCC

    Did she just get through to Amber talking about dinosaurs?!?

    I love Sal. I love Dina. I love Amber. I love this whole arc.

    I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS BAR!

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      Yeah! *high fives*

    2. Kris

      You’re a better person than I BBCC. While the addition of Dina’s always a plus there’s been a little too much Walky for my tastes. Dina can’t salvage that even though she’s working overtime on these two.

      1. BBCC

        Sal is my favourite character. Marcie’s my second. I love Carla. Joyce got snapped at for her boundary issues (even though it didn’t take). I got SO MANY things I wanted (the top ones being Sal putting the pieces together regarding Amber and the other being her talking to Ethan and it went SO WELL). I got backstory. I got character building. I got Danny and Sal hanging out and being friends. I got Carla here. I think Walky and Amber are adorable (but doomed). Plus now Dina. I got angst and well written drama. Again. I love everyone in this bar.

        1. Rabid Rabbit

          Don’t worry. It will all go to hell in a bit, when Sal starts referencing conversations she’s had with Amazi-Girl and Amber freaks out. (This is known as having faith in Willis.)

        2. BBCC

          I hope so! I want more drama.

        3. Kris

          Soon enough Amber and AG will actively start fighting for control and deciding if people live or die by the flip of a coin!

        4. BBCC

          Nah, doesn’t have the face duality to pull it off.

        5. Catullus

          Maybe she’ll start having the blush on only one of her cheeks :b

        6. BBCC

          That’ll work!

        7. StClair

          Will there be a junkyard involved? Perhaps with tires and a car crusher?

  7. Sarah Lea

    Hello All!

    I’m a long-time lurker, rare post-er. Posting now because I’m working with a charter-school student who needs a survey question answered (to do JH statistical analysis), but doesn’t have a lot of points of contact due to special needs.
    If you can spare 30 seconds to help, please <a href= "https://goo.gl/forms/tYGpBxwzHjdTLQ0i1
    check out this Google form – it’s a single, multiple-choice question: Which (of these) is your favorite Disneyland ride?!

    Thanks!

    (Actual DoA comment: I love how Dina is excellently, yet [probably? maybe not?] unwittingly supporting Sal’s subtext re: Amber so beautifully)

    1. Sarah Lea

      Drat drat drat drat drat. I even practiced!

      (Take two:)

      If you can spare 30 seconds to help, please
      check out this Google form

      1. Sarah Lea

        Woo! I can internet!

      2. Mr D

        I’d be delighted to answer but…uhh…
        I’ve never been to disney. I don’t know the rides.
        I may never go to disney, since it is on a different hemisphere and my socioeconomic situation would never allow an off-country vacation.

        1. Koms

          Exactly my predicament. I understand you.. ?

        2. Sarah Lea

          Aw. I super appreciate the sentiment, nonetheless. Thanks. 🙂

      3. Yumi

        I haven’t been to Disneyland in so long; I feel like what was my favorite ride when I was 8 was different than my favorite ride when I was 15, which is different than what my favorite ride would be now. But I picked one.

        1. Inahc

          I didn’t get to disneyland until I was 21 or so, and still my main remaining memory is that the rides have really long lines. also the stores have terrible security – I walked out with a box of chocolates by accident, and nobody noticed, even when I walked back in and put it back.

        2. Marsh Maryrose

          I am almost tempted to ask for a show of hands for those who are old enough to remember the thrill of the E-ticket rides.

          I have only been back once since that era. I got to watch my niece and nephew discover the horror that is Small World.

        3. Leorale

          I was four, and at the phase where kids want to see things over and over again, and I completely fell in love with Small World. Sorry, parents!

        4. Yumi

          I still wanted to see things over and over when I was eight (hell, I still do now), and had the same experience with Small World. My mom loves it, however, so she didn’t mind going on it a bunch with me.

          When I was 15, I liked rides like Space Mountain and the Matterhorn more, but I still appreciated Small World. Also, my dad and I got stuck in the Haunted Mansion, which adds to my fondness for the ride, though on a more personal level.

      4. merbrat

        Done. Was just recently there, again!

      5. Mel

        Man this is so haaard

    2. Marisa Mockery

      Space Mountain. Only thrill ride that’s continued to make me laugh uncontrollably while riding ever since I was a little kid. If I could afford it I’d go every weekend and just ride it over and over…..

  8. Kris

    Pretty sure she’s just here to personally torment you forever Ambs! Getting in good with Dina is the first step.

  9. Dave Van Domelen

    Dina sure does move fast to get between Indiana and Smith.

    1. Yumi

      Thought it was Smif.

  10. Darkoneko

    Well that was disheartening

  11. Kyrik Michalowski

    Yay, they’re communicating! My gravatar is woefully unprepared for the optimism I feel for a change, but oh well!

  12. Archivist

    I wasn’t expecting the dinosaur choice to be all symbolic, but I SHOULD have been.

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      A recent DYW Patreon promotion tweet refers to the t-shirt seen here as “chekhov’s pachy shirt.”

      1. nobilis

        I really should look more at the t-shorts Willis has his characters wear …

        1. nobilis

          t-shirts

    2. David

      Well, Pachycephalosaurus _literally_ means “thick-headed lizard”. I am not even sure the Willis has not made it up but am too lazy to check.

      1. Kryss LaBryn

        He did not make it up! 😀

        1. Durandal_1707

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfWMBxuA_Jw

      2. Leorale

        It’s a real dino, and my childhood favourite.
        I wonder if I damaged myself by head-butting things. Oh well, too late now!

  13. Cholma

    Re: Alt Text. Sal wants a million dollars? Is it so she can buy a little tiny fridge for her dorm room, and fill it with those little pre-wrapped sausages and things?

    1. Tacos

      One million dollars. Next she’ll want sharks with friggin’ lasers attached to their heads…

    2. Marsh Maryrose

      And shouldn’t the text have been, “One MEE-LION dollars”?

    3. Lingo

      And some Kraft Dinner. With dijon ketchup.

      1. Cholma

        Of course. Because she is FANCY.

      2. thejeff

        But not real Kraft dinner. That’s cruel.

        1. Roborat

          I knew someone would post that.

    4. UniqueSnowflake2

      And, of course, John Merrick’s remains.

      1. Cholma

        Ooh, all them crazy elephant bones!

        1. Pseudoclasm

          And a green dress. But not a REAL green dress. Thats cruel.

    5. Chronos

      Nah, she wants a K-car. Nice and reliant.

  14. DailyBrad

    Is this a couched metaphor on Sal’s part about appearances? If not, maybe she’s just a little on the nose by happenstance.

    1. Nikol Geier

      Yeah, I don’t fully get the metaphor. Can someone explain it for me?

      1. Miri

        Looks aggressive, isn’t. Mistaken for a fighter; is in fact fragile, misunderstood, may never BE understood…

        1. Nikol Geier

          Ah, thanks!

        2. Badgermole

          The beauty of the metaphor is it applies to both Sal and Rage!Amber.

        3. DailyBrad

          Yeah, that’s my guess for the moment, that Sal’s seeing common ground with Amber, and that’d be why she’s dropped by, either to talk it out or to confirm this feeling of familiarity.

        4. Kinoko

          I don’t feel that it does apply to Amber. Amber’s main characteristics to those who don’t know her are that she’s shy and short. This is why they don’t suspect her of being Amazi-Girl.
          I guess Rage!Amber is a bit different, actions-wise, but she’s still got the same physical appearance. It doesn’t really fit the metaphor.

        5. TemperaryObsessor

          I think this is either about Sal’s or Amber’s view of Amber and not about the world at large.

  15. paleotectonics

    QC tshirt crossover!! W00t!

  16. Nikol Geier

    For those saying Sal isn’t respecting boundaries: At this point, Amber has proven to be an actual danger to her, stalking, threatening and, y’know, fighting her. Sal has some license in this case to suspend the, “If they want you to leave, leave” rule, as long as she believes Amber is not actually going to re-escalate the situation.

    It is sensible to insist on a resolution, and Amber has no real right to say, “Never talk to me again.” A reminder that though Sal threw the first punch, Amazi-Girl/Amber have been, overall, the aggressors in their relationship.

    If Amber makes a more reasonable offer, such as, “Let’s talk about this later,” then Sal should consider giving her space. But right now, Sal has a right to be a little bit stubborn about things.

    1. Nikol Geier

      This isn’t a, “Amber is bad” post, to be clear. This is just about whether or not Sal is obligated, socially and morally, to honor Amber’s “leave me alone” request.

    2. BBCC

      I mean, Sal really should listen to Amber’s boundaries in this case, as it’s not an emergency and ‘get out of my room’ isn’t really related to the stalking. If Amber was telling Sal to not speak about it or something, that’d be less reasonable. If for no other reason, she should to lower the chance of being stabbed. Again.

      Although I guess that’s a little complicated when Dina just asked if Sal could stay to talk dinosaurs before she kicked her out. It’s one of the thornier parts of sharing a bedroom.

      1. Nikol Geier

        Amber *is* saying, “I never want to hear from you again.”

        My point is more that Sal has some right here to push Amber to address what she’s been doing to Sal. Amber doesn’t get to demand Sal respect her wish to be left alone when Amber hasn’t been respecting Sal’s wish to be left alone.

        1. BBCC

          Yes, that’s true. I was focusing only on the ‘get out’ part. Yeah, I’d say Sal has a right to want to talk about this whole mess, especially with regards to AG. That said, though, Amber also has the right to not want to talk about it, even if I believe it could be good for both of them.

          That said, this is a story and Amber probably isn’t gonna get what she wants.

        2. BBCC

          Which, y’know, it’s irrelevant because Amber asks to hear Sal out at the end so I’m basically babbling.

        3. thejeff

          Unless I missed something, Amber hasn’t clearly told Sal to leave, though the tone certainly suggests it. The closest was when Dina asked and Amber said “Maybe. For her own safety.”

          Still, I think you’re misreading what Sal’s here for. The flashbacks during the fight and the thoughts before she came over didn’t seem worried about Amber as a threat to her, but were more about her own role in this and the parallels between them. I’m actually a lot less supportive of Sal intruding here, if she’s here to push Amber to address what she’s been doing.

          Sal might have the right to do that, in some abstract sense, but it’s not likely to work. Not now, not like this. It’ll just lead to more conflict, not resolution.

        4. Nikol Geier

          Sal’s here to deescalate.

        5. thejeff

          I think so.

          If she’s here to “push Amber to address what she’s been doing to Sal” as you suggested she has the right to be, I don’t think it’s going to work. If she can present it as more of a mutual thing, then there’s a chance.

        6. thejeff

          I am apparently blind. Or so overwhelmed by metaphorical dinosaur trivia I completely missed the first panel today. I even went back and checked the last couple of days to see what Amber had said.

      2. Kris

        I think Amber was more or less being stubborn in order to hold on to the shreds of what she thinks Sal is that are slowly deteriorating as this conversation continues and she learns that Sal is an actual human being. I’m happy Sal is here even if it comes off disrespectful. If Amber actually has any intention of stabbing Sal in this situation there’s no saving her.

      3. Rabid Rabbit

        Also, Ruth is going to find out, and then, femurs.

        Then again, Ruth’s next steps were probably going to be talking to each of them separately to figure out what the hell is going on, and not impossibly (at least, this is what I suspect her training would suggest, which is not to say that it would be the right thing to do or that Ruth would necessarily follow it) to then get them to sit down and talk things out while she stood guard to make things didn’t get violent. Sal is just being her usual anti-authoritarian self and getting to that stage on her own, cause she don’t need no dang RA to make her work things out.

        1. BBCC

          Oh, forget Ruth, worry about when Marcie finds out about this fight. That’s only a matter of time.

        2. Rabid Rabbit

          What’s Marcie going to do that Sal doesn’t feel like she’s done already, namely abandon her for good and all? We know that Marcie can stop fights, but her instincts do seem to be to stop them, not join them in any way, let alone start them. So, threat levels:

          Ruth: Femurs
          Marcie: Disappointed face

          Which would undoubtedly be more crushing to Sal than the femurs (except maybe on the literal level), but she’s already half-prepared for it.

          Current favorite clusterfuck prediction: Amber finds out about Amazi-Girl and freaks out badly enough that Dina kicks Sal out; Sal goes back to her room, completely discombobulated because she’s realizing that Amber’s genuinely not well in the head, to find Marcie visiting Malaya, which makes her pissy enough she doesn’t even remember all the bruises on her face; Marcie, seeing them, loses it, while Malaya makes snide comments; and Ruth walks in on Sal seeming to be about to start another fight, while there’s a possibly unauthorized person in the room (not sure what the rules on non-students guests are).

          And then she sees Fuckface.

          It is entirely possible that she will then march over to Dorothy’s room, grab her, drag her to Sal’s, and say “Here. You got me into this, you fucking fix it.” At which point Sal will start ranting about Amber fucking Walky. The universe may implode at this point.

        3. BBCC

          I love this clusterfuck and I kinda wanna see it.

          That said, you’ve already hit the nail on the head – Marcie being angrier or more upset/disappointed and it being harder to make up would upset Sal waaaaaay more than anything Ruth can do to her.

        4. thejeff

          The other step in the clusterfuck that needs to fit in there somewhere is for Sal to meet up with Amazi-Girl again, knowing she’s Amber, but not knowing about the disassociation and with Amazi-Girl having no idea anything went down.

  17. Yumi

    The chairs seem to be part of the standard university furniture, yet these two are different. In-universe, it seems reasonable enough that they may have switched over to a slightly different chair model that they replace broken chairs with on an as-needed basis, and as such now have a mix of the two types that they distribute throughout the dorms.

    However, I choose to believe that the first chair KNEW how Sal was planning to sit and got rid of it’s armrests itself to make it less awkward to do so.

    1. ShinyNeen

      Late last night, while Dina is sleeping and AG is out punching, the armrests just pop off of the one chair and scoot under a bed or something. They knew who was coming.

    2. Marsh Maryrose

      I spent about 15 minutes on Google Images looking at dorm room chairs in Read Hall. I could not find one that was armless (apart from rolling chairs that were probably not university property).

      But I did find public-area chairs of similar style that were armless. The chair that Sal’s sitting in could have been liberated from the public areas; maybe Dina finds armless chairs more comfortable.

      Or perhaps your belief is in fact the true answer. Let’s go with that, because why not?

      1. Vulcanodon

        I work in an academic building and I can tell you; chairs are migratory. Probably both African and European chairs, laden or unladen.

        1. Bathymetheus

          Yay! Monty Python reference!

  18. Tacos

    The power of dinosaur facts has de-escalated the situation.

    1. Deanatay

      Being extinct gives dinosaurs a LOT of objectivity.

  19. Derek

    Sal is trying to build bridges and genuinely trying to approach Amber on a level she understands and might be able to connect with; but Amber can’t see that. I mostly feel bad for Sal here, I hope she’s not wasting her time

    1. Jamie

      Preettty sure the last panel was literally about Amber seeing that.

  20. Irredentist

    Maybe she wants to apologize? For, you know, holding her friend hostage with a knife. And for attacking her in front of the dorm room. Apologies are a good way to start the emotional healing process. Maybe they can cry and hug after? That would be we nice. Doubt it though haha

    1. MatthewTheLucky

      And then Sal asks if she wants to go do the usual patrol, and Amber has another nervous breakdown.

      1. Sunny

        I don’t think Sal will ask that. She made it pretty clear to Dorothy she’s done with punching after the fight.

  21. Roger

    i’m serious i just want strips of Sal and Dina hanging out and talking about dinosaurs. No Amber no bullshit no Amber bullshit, just the real raw energy of two cool dudes being friends and bonding over a shared interest.

    1. Chris Phoenix

      Is “dudes” a fully gender-neutral word now?

      1. BBCC

        Many use it gender neutrally, but it does still skew male to a degree.

      2. Brotato

        It should be.

      3. Needfuldoer

        If Dudeism and Good Burger are anything to go by, then yes.

      4. Zee

        P much. Tbh in my personal usage of words I’ve stripped the gender from a lot of male skewed words when referring to friends (dude, bro, man, guy, boy)

    2. Keulen

      I’d like to see Sal and Amber getting along, but if I can’t have that I’ll settle for Sal and Dina talking about dinosaurs.

  22. ShinyNeen

    I love the unexpected Sal and Dina meetup, I love Dinosaur Metaphors, and I love that Amber is lowering her defenses enough to give Sal a chance here. I kind of feel like I should elaborate but also that’s basically it-I just really like what’s going on here!

    Fingers crossed!

  23. Deadjolras

    Sal and Dina can keep talking about dinosaurs forever. Forget everything else: this is the highlight of this entire webcomic.

  24. goggleman64

    Sal is turning into Tohru’s mom from Fruit’s Basket, and it’s the best.

    1. stoodmuffin

      I’m crying already and I have no idea what’s going to happen here

    2. Axel

      I was just thinking about how much I liked her, and Uo.

      1. Kensou

        And Hana-chan! Mustn’t neglect Hana-chan.

        1. Axel

          I love Hana (and her little brother, can’t remember his name but I loved their chapter), but I always related more to Uo

    3. MatsuoTanuki

      How do you mean? I’ve read the series and know who you’re talking about, I’m just missing the similarities between Sal and Kyoko in this mom—

      Oooooh! Distant and verbally abusive parents, biker delinquent behaviour as a shell to hide internal pain, and the realization that maybe said biker delinquent behavior may be harmful and destructive, leading to attempts to become gentler and kinder.

  25. Zellgato

    Ok. I have to ask.
    Why are there two diff kind of chairs?
    its dorms.. they’re bought in bulk. it is so bizarre to have two separate types. When they have uneven amounts they usually stick them in the common room instead..
    Did…. one of them steal a chair I wonder?

    1. Uly

      Precisely because they buy in bulk. When they furnished the dorms, they used the cheapest chair they could find. Sometime later, they purchased a new batch of chairs to be used as replacements. Clearly, one of the original chairs broke or was stolen and so it was replaced from the new batch with no concern as to whether or not it matched.

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        Also, chairs tend to, shall we say, wander around. As long as they don’t leave the building, no one in authority cares all that much, unless specialized chairs in showcase areas start to wander.

    2. Rotunda

      Could just be that there are two types of chair: an armless type for desks, and a type with arms for visitors. The desk behind Amber’s head does not have an associated chair at the moment, so that could be the chair Sal grabbed.

      1. Rotunda

        Looking back through the preceding strips set in Amber and Dina’s room, Sal does indeed grab her chair from near the desk, and Amber is first seen with her chair away from the under-loft areas, where a visitor might be expected to sit.

    3. Vulcanodon

      We just bought a couple hundred chairs for our college. The same style is available in both arm and armless, and since different people prefer one or the other, we bought some of each. They wander around and find their own destiny. Couple times a year we inventory and relocate them.

  26. Icalasari

    Pachycephalosaurus uses its thick head to get people millions of years after its extinction to sit down and talk, clearly

    1. Jess

      Now THAT’S an in-demand skill.

  27. MatsuoTanuki

    That’s… wow. The Pachy allegory works perfectly for Sal’s situation right now…good on her and Dina for coming up with it.

  28. Kensou

    @ Amber’s question

    I’d like – I’d like? I’d like a trip to Europe!

  29. Rikunda

    I like we are seeing Sal with the shields down. 😀

  30. AntJ

    The last storyline involved a Walkerton twin defusing Amber with a burrito, now the other Walkerton twin is defusing her with a philosophical discussion about an obscure dinosaur. Love it!

  31. newllend(henryvolt)

    This is going considerably well for these two considering that the conflict between them is even way more serious than we made it out to be and we took this entire thing pretty fucking seriously.

    It’s quite a blessing that they found themselves able to talk this out so soon.

  32. fire_daws

    Re: Alt-text – What Sal really wants is $65,000 five years ago.

    1. BBCC

      …Thanks, Satan. 😛

  33. Sporky

    If Sal had not given her opinion on Pachysephalosaurus, I would have felt ripped off

  34. Badgermole

    A callback to what happened to the other matching chair in Amber and Dina’s room: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/02-i-was-a-teenage-churchmouse/holyshit/

    1. Deanatay

      Amber hurled the chair OUT OF EXISTENCE, that’s why we didn’t hear a crash!

  35. Gigafreak

    “What do you want?”
    “Pachy, I just wanna be friends.”

  36. BenRG

    I think that the message was received and understood.

  37. Bagge

    Heh, stupid as Dina’s defense system is – it works!

  38. Falcon

    Plenty of animals bang their heads against their enemies as a matter of course. Is there something fragile about Pachycephalosaurus’ bone structure that would prevent it from doing what deers do?

    1. Agemegos

      The problem is with its neck, I understand: too curved.

      1. Delicious Taffy

        There’s no such thing as “too curved”.

        1. Emily

          There is when you’re talking about spinal curvature.

    2. Tacos

      I heard that it’s head is too domed so it wouldn’t be able to actually be used for headbutting safely because the dome makes the contact point too small and liable to cause slips.

    3. Kamino Neko

      The fact that it IS part of the skull is a huge part of it. Ram’s horns and dear antlers are pretty good shock absorbers, so the brain doesn’t get shaken up nearly so much, and they’re not permanent parts of the skull, so if they take a hit bad and break the horn/antler…they haven’t broken their skull.

      (That said, the best guess is that pachy did use its head for intraspecific fighting, but that it wasn’t like rams or dear, smashing headlong into each other, but smacking at each others flanks, and probably not straight on hits, at that, so the hit didn’t shake their brains up.)

      1. Kamino Neko

        *deer. Frigging homophones.

  39. Ophidiophile

    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-9-comic/01-flyin-to-the-red/cowgirl/ shows Sal wearing a t-shirt with a Pachycephalosaurus on it, presumably because when Sal was going through her dinosaur phase, she related to its alleged fighting behavior.

    I think Dina has started asking people who come to the room the dinosaur question, not as a way of keeping people out, but as a way initiating a conversation about dinosaurs, giving her an opportunaty to show off her models and delve more deeply into the wonders of dinosaurs. She has discovered that many people are also knowledgable about dinosaurs. Normally, only Becky would be expected to come to the room, but the Amber related drama has been pulling other people in, giving her opportunaties that she doesn’t want to pass up. When a conversation about dinosaurs doesn’t happen, as it did with Walky (http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-9-comic/01-flyin-to-the-red/terrorturkey/), she is quite disappointed. (Also, I just realised that in that comic, Dina is wearing a T-shirt from “Questionable Content”.)

    1. Bagge

      I can absolutely see a young Sal being attracted to badass dinosaur Pachycephalosaurus.

    2. Fart Captor

      Oh damn, I totally missed Sal’s shirt in that flashback! That’s awesome.

      1. BBCC

        Willis is very good at little foreshadowing/hints like that.

        My personal favourite is Amber describing Walky as cute waaaaaaaay back in Walking with Dina.

        Although another one is back in Yesterday Was Thursday when Amber saw Billie and Sal walking down the hall and got uncomfortable but just couldn’t place why.

        Willis is a goddamn maniac is what I’m saying.

  40. Delicious Taffy

    What do we want?
    Sheep freedom!
    When do we want it?
    BaAaAaAa!
    (Sorry, alt-text reminded me of that goofy bit my family sometimes does. Also, I caught a respectable herd of Mareep (My son) earlier, so it just seemed to fit.)

    Man, Sal, you could be slightly less invasive about it, but if this helps Amber chill her ass out, I’m down.

  41. BarerMender

    This strip gets better and better. As a writer myself, I have to say the characterization is brilliant. I’m taking lessons, here.

  42. BarerMender

    Why do my comments keep ending up as replies to other comments? I didn’t intend it as a reply.

    1. Uly

      Are you hitting the link that says “reply” at the end of the thread? If so, don’t do that. Just scroll to the bottom and start typing in the box without clicking anything.

      1. BarerMender

        Yeah, I typed in the box. They came out indented right, but now they’re justified left.

    2. BarerMender

      Huh. Now they’re aligned left.

  43. Vulcanodon

    Dinosaur-based conflict resolution? I’m in.

  44. Somekindatherapsids

    Never really commented before, but dang sal, dang.

  45. InTheory

    As someone who barely reaches Dina’s level of social acumen, can someone explain the subtext(s) of the strips since Sal entered Dina & Amber’s room?

    1. sai

      Sal wants to talk out their issues with Amber, but Amber is scared and so is reacting with hostility and bluster to save face and drive her away. She doesn’t want to engage with Sal or stop thinking of her as a monster. Sal responds with calm and non-aggressive body language, and her conversation with Dina, where she meets Dina respectfully and seriously, shows Amber that Sal is more than just anger and violence. Sal talks to Dina about how people assume that the pachycephalosaurus was an aggressive dinosaur because of the way it appears but that it probably wasn’t. This is to tell Amber that her assumptions about Sal might be wrong too. Since Sal has de-escalated the situation and Dina doesn’t want to throw Sal out, Amber decides to listen to what Sal has to say.

      1. thejeff

        Are you saying that Sal is deliberately using the dinosaur as a metaphor to talk to Amber? Honestly, that seems way above the level of communication or planning skills Sal’s shown.
        It’s definitely the sub-text, but I think it just was Sal’s favorite dinosaur, back when she was a kid and she’s just now putting the pieces together about why.

        It’s working that way, but it wasn’t a deliberate ploy on Sal’s part.

        At least in my opinion. If it was, it seems a bit much for someone whose choice of words talking to Amber in this scene haven’t been exactly well chosen to de-escalate. The body language, particularly today, has, but if anyone gets the credit for de-escalating, it’s Dina.

        1. BBCC

          I think she’s talking about herself and Amber’s making connections.

    2. Lauralot

      In this strip, the thickheaded, assumed to be violent dinosaur that actually no one understands is a metaphor for both Amber and Sal.

      1. Emily

        Except Amber looks like a vision impaired stuffed animal but is prone to pretty frequent displays of violence so she’s like the opposite of that metaphor.

        1. Lauralot

          Amber views herself as a monster only capable of violence. Sal is challenging that notion. The statement applies to both of them.

  46. InTheory

    *Asking as

  47. Morrison

    Evolution’s bike helmet?

  48. joyfulldreams

    I see that coffee of doom shirt dina is wearing. I see it.

  49. Pablo360

    So, did Sal research Pachycephalosaurus so she could make this metaphor and connect to Amber through Dina, or is she just a closeted dino-nerd? Also which option is more adorable?

    1. Pablo360

      nvm I just saw this comic, which also answers my second question

      1. IndoorCat

        Ooh! Good catch! I didn’t remember that.

  50. BobC

    I’ve been anticipating/dreading this point in the story arc.

    Sal has multiple active internal motivations to change, but Amber doesn’t (or has been actively resisting them). Sal came to Amber, but how was Amber to accept Sal?

    Enter Dina. Then Sal spinning her Pachycephalosaurus interest into a metaphor for Amber. And Amber hearing it.

    Dina’s directness and literalness are inherently non-threatening. (Heck, even intentional threats from Dina are non-threatening, unless they involve dinosaurs.) It’s awesome that Amber is still open enough to hear such messages, even when they are manipulated by Sal.

    It just goes to show that even webcomic authors afflicted with a severe case of Butts Disease can still craft a great arc. (And Dina’s T-shirt connects to another such victim.)

  51. Hydrargentium

    Sal really is one of the coolest people around, isn’t she?

    Hg

  52. Jhon

    Sal is about to offer a truly amazing insight about Pachycephalosaurus.

  53. PB

    ….. (wibble)

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