19Payback_001

Payback

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Is it too late to put a “trigger warning” on this story?*

I hope I don’t need to spell this out, but just in case: I’m not presenting this as a how-to manual, or setting it up as a role model to emulate. I’m just another fucked up individual who’s done things he shouldn’t have, and the tales that I tell reflect that.

These tales can be read in any order. One thing I hate is an ongoing series that requires you to have already read other episodes to understand what’s going on in the new one you just happened to stumble across. Not that they have to be disconnected, but any tale could be someone’s first, so it should make sense on its own. That’s part of the idea behind publishing them all out of order like this.

That being said, however … this tale is a sequel (years later) to “Bully” (the one I just posted before this), so you might want to read that one first, to better appreciate this one.

*If you’re unfamiliar with the concept: A trigger warning is a notice intended to alert survivors of traumatic events – such as sexual assault – that a story or essay or news article relates similar events, which can trigger memories of their event. I’m a bit conflicted about them. I’m sympathetic, but I’m concerned that they can be censorship triggers too, and they can rob a story of its dramatic impact by telling people what’s going to happen.

Special thanks to Rick Worley, who I knew wouldn’t flinch at drawing this story.