Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
Hemlock
Josceline Fenton
A witch accidentally marries a monster, and now she and her familiar has to navigate life around her monstrous husband and her even more terrifying in-laws.
Paint the Town Red
Windy, Winter Jay Kiakas
Winona runs a werewolf shelter with partner in crime, Odile in the Gothic city of Merlot. One day they take in an injured vampire, and soon unravels many of the dark secrets of Merlot.
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
All Known Alternatives
Karolina 'Kajotko' Jankiewicz
Akane has only one way to get back home: collect the 42 keys to parallel worlds. Eri and Ben are just trying to get through the summer before university. When a magical key turns up in an old spare set, all three are forced to change their plans and fast.
No End
Erli, Kromi
A queer romance about people attempting to build lives in a cold, post-apocalyptic world ravaged by hordes of undead.
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BUFFER WATCH
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“As you might be able to tell, today’s gravatar is Anna from that Disney movie, Frozen. What else can I say beyond the fact she looks extra cute in this pic.”
I am a cold blooded creature that can’t regulate her own body temperature. I sleep in a pile of blankets, including one electric one, and rarely wake up sweaty.
Add in my spongy hair that takes hours to dry, and it was like I was born to shower at night.
If I wash my hair in the morning I have to add a good hour-and-a-half to two hours to my wake up time, and even then I might show up with my hair wet or damp. And that’s with blow drying it as best I can. When I used to iron my hair straight I had no choice but to wash it at night. If there’s any moisture left in it after it’s straightened, it’ll make my hair curl and frizz as it dries so that the hair I spent an hour straightening looks like an overgrown poodle in a windstorm.
I do sometimes wash my hair in the evening (a few hours before bed) then shower, but keep my hair dry, in the morning. That’s usually the best way to go about it, but it can be hard to find the time in the evening.
I’ve never got it. Showering in the morning helps me wake up. The only time I ever showered at night was when a couple years ago, I spent a month in New England during winter. Then it made sense to shower at night because my wet hair would have literally frozen some mornings.
I get all sweaty and gross all day and couldn’t sleep at night if I didn’t shower.
I started doing it when I was in the Navy. After crawling around in the engine room for a whole shift, you do not go to sleep w/o washing. Unless we’re on water restriction.
They are? I bought mine for myself.
I thought of telling family that asked that I wanted one for Christmas, but I wanted certain features and wanted to read reviews to make sure I was getting a decent one, so I just bought it for myself. Can’t trust anyone in my family, not even my husband, to get the right brand and/or model, even if I specified, sent them a link to Amazon or whatever.
While I thought about asking for it for Christmas, it didn’t even enter my mind that it might be the kind of thing that is only given as a gift.
Ditto! Plus even if I didn’t naturally prefer night shower I’d still take them, because I won’t use hairdryers and my hair takes a couple hours to airdry. Don’t wanna have sopping hair at work! And definitely don’t wanna get up at 4am to give my hair time to dry.
Me too. My hair is a bit past my hips and takes like half an hour to blow-dry (not to mention the stress on my hair if I do that), so I shower at night before bed, which helps me wind down and warms me up again if I’m chilly. Hair goes into a loose braid off the top of my head (and tossed off the top edge of my bed so it’s not cold and wet against me while I sleep), and by morning it’s just damp enough that I can finger-comb it out, and have it not be all dried into knots, and just dry enough I can brush it properly. My hair does NOT brush/comb wet unless it’s saturated with conditioner and under running water. Not that it’s usually dry and brittle or anything; it’s just that for some reason it won’t comb unless it’s perfectly dry.
Anyways, on the rare occasions I get all sweaty at night I can either have a quick sponge bath or hop into the shower for a quick soap and rinse without involving my hair, which works fine for me.
I think in her case she’s referring to using her hands for sexy times. As in she want’s to wash her hands before she sticks them in her mouth and she wants to wash her hands before she sticks them in her capoodle. Of course she doesn’t have to wash her whole body for that, so maybe I’m off.
Yup, same here. I like feeling clean and being beneath clean sheets. And yes, I also prefer to be clean before I do anything in bed to get myself dirty again.
There’s a thought. I’m now really hoping that Becky goes to bed with wet hair, and wakes up with killer bedhead. With her new asymmetrical cut, that’d be super cute!
I don’t shower before bed or first thing in the morning– I shower sort of ‘mid-day’, right when I get home from work. Granted, I’m a barista and always end up covered in about ten different syrups by the time I get home, so I guess that’s a necessity.
Also, my ‘mid-day’ is actually fairly late in the evening, so even if I’m not a before-bed-showering person, I guess that still makes me a night-showering person.
My husband suggested I shower right after work (call centre, I get home about 2am) and THEN go onto my computer to unwind (I forget why), instead of unwinding online with you lot first and then showering right before bed, but unfortunately actually going and doing stuff after showers late at night wakes me up again, whereas a nice warm shower right before bed is a lovely sleepy-making thing for me.
Cybertronians don’t sleep, we recharge. Daniel the Human sleeps in his undies tho, I guess almost all the benefits of sleeping nude without showing others things you don’t want them to see. I’ve also found out he still has good magnet throwing aim after being woken up at the wrong time…
Gotcha, so male pronouns right? Just to quadruple check.
(Also I’m really really glad you responded I was starting to fear I’d crossed a line and felt like a terrible person)
Gender pronouns don’t worry me online as my preference for female avatars would confuse many and frankly most of the Tumblr pronouns some people insist on are just so damn special snowflakey.
Ya know, I’m getting awfully curious about what everyone sees in Joyce. In the sense that, underneath the sweaters and button-up shirts and modesty, lies a body that consistently draws the eyes of people who like girls. (Like MEE!) I’m hoping we’re going to get a Joyce Slipshine at some point. In fact, I may insist on it.
Gently.
I know, Joyce is a central character, and her sexual maturation is probably a big part of future storylines, so I’m not pushing. I will say, a Joyce SS would –
Just had an amazing idea. Willis, have you considered a masturbation Shipshine? Well, yeah, all porn is masturbatory, to some extent, but I mean one person, alone, struggling against their frustrations, so to speak? Exploring the dark chasm? Breaking the dam? Rescuing their princess from the castle? I can imagine several sexy scenarios…
‘Scuse me, need some alone time. (Sorry if this comment wound up terribly pervy, but it a comments section isn’t for venting, I’m not sure what it’s for..)
My mom ingrained in me that I shouldn’t go to bed with my hair wet when I was a kid but I also am terrible at waking up early enough in the morning to shower so I’m stuck in a bind.
There’s a poem about that from the depths of my childhood memory.
“I thought that I had wavy hair
Until I shaved. Instead,
I found that I had straight hair
And a very wavy head.”
Awww, Joyce. She’s blossoming into such a considerate and sweet person. Keep trying your best, Joyce! I’m rooting for you!
Haha, I really hope the Becky living situation works out for a while purely by virtue of Sarah’s “uggggggh like it could get any worse anyway” attitude.
Am I the only one who thinks that Becky looking in the window at Joyce is sketch when Joyce specifically had her and Sarah look away because Joyce is embarrassed and self-conscious about people possibly seeing her change?
Becky Brain; Alright, I’ll be nice & not look at my crush as she’s getting changed, I’ll just look in the direction she pointed m- WHOH, I CAN SEE HER IN THE REFLECTION!!! DFGHDFGHFGHFGH…
“Should we tell her about the reflection in the…”
Becky Brain; Crush changing in reflection, CRUSH CHANGING IN REFLECTION!! Must not jump straight friend, must control self, maybe blow off steam/make this less likely to happen again…
“Y’know what, as of this moment I’m a night-showering person”
Yeah, I recon she either wants/needs to blow off some steam (maybe to keep her hands off Joyce & to herself…), or perhaps the night-showers are to avoid this situation in the future…
It wasn’t intentional on her part, and she DID at least consider telling her, for what it’s worth. I think she’d be more likely to not tell her out of trying not to embarrass her than out of any predatory reason.
I would agree, but then Becky follows up that consideration with implying that she’s going to be diddling herself because of Joyce’s unintentional positioning/reflection. For multiple nights.
Considering Becky is sexually attracted to Joyce, this is extremely disturbing. I’ve always like Becky, but this seriously makes me want to puke. I can only hope she either says something or turns away in the next comic. This is a clear violation of Joyce’s trust, and I am very disturbed.
Yeah, I definately agree. The fact Becky doesn’t seem to look away from the reflection is hugely disrespectful considering Joyce specifically asked them to turn around because she was uncomfortable with the idea of them seeing her take off her pants. If someone did that to me I’d feel really angry, not so much because they saw me without pants, but because they’d done it against what I wanted [idk of I’m articulating this right, I don’t wanna use the word “consent” because it’s a really emotive word and some people get upset? If that’s okay to use here, then “without my consent” is applicable].
The redeeming thought for me is the old “Deer In The Headlights” moment. That moment you see something so ridiculous/surprising/awesome/etc, that all you can do is stare. You may be able to speak, but everything else is locked in place, not letting your field of vision leave said target…
I think Becky is having 1 of those moments. She’s definitely attracted to Joyce, complied with her request to look the other way, only to see Joyce stripping anyway. BOOM, instant “Deer in Headlights” moment…
Yeah. Especially if Becky was making an illusion to wanking over it. Dude! If you care about preserving your friendship and/or Joyce’s feelings, you need to at least fucking TRY to respect her. Becky is being terrible and pushy and needs to be stopped.
I kinda don’t get the outrage going on here. Becky is being terrible and pushy? She hasn’t pushed! The only thing she’s done is stumble over what to do when she accidentally gets an eyeful of the girl she’s got a crush on.
Being aroused by something like that isn’t a choice, and I don’t get lambasting someone for being momentarily dumbstruck by an eyeful of sexy.
Of course, I also really don’t get why -anybody- ever gets offended by somebody harboring lustful thoughts about them. I don’t get the point of being offended by what goes on in somebody else’s head during their private time.
Did any of the same people marshal this same level of offense at Sarah referring to her sex toy as “Jacob”? Because isn’t that pretty much the same kind of thing as Becky diddling herself while thinking about Joyce? (which isn’t even what this was about anyway, as it turned out.)
I hold out hope that Willis will fix it in the next strip (for example, if Becky corrects herself and covers her eyes). He’s usually sensitive about this kind of thing these days..!
But that’s not what she said. I can see how you intended it that way, but what she actually said doesn’t necessarily mean “I am leaving right now”, nor does it pin down “to avoid situations like this” as opposed to “to enjoy the view.”
Readers sometimes have crazy readings of things, but in this case you were ambiguous. If at least half your readers think that Becky’s “night showers” means either masturbating after viewing Joyce, or taking cold showers to calm her feelings, and that’s not what you meant, then your writing wasn’t clear.
Spelling out something exactly in plain, unadorned terms is never fun writing, and I assumed — perhaps stupidly because of how shit has gone down regarding how readers darkly perceive Becky — that people wouldn’t leap to The Worst Fucking Thing Possible. Lesson learned.
(wait, “at least half my readers”….? where is that number from?)
Oh, yes, I like the intended interpretation much more. I’m usually spot on with reading what you meant, and I tend to read characters as having the best possible intentions. But I missed that Becky intended to leave *immediately* because she’s standing there blushing.
I think the reason why I started with bad assumptions is bc in the last panel it doesn’t look like she’s averted her eyes but is rather standing there ogling her. And if you think THAT then it’s easy to assume dirty thoughts. People below have pointed out that she isn’t looking where she was pointing, so I concede that.
And the line about “should we tell her about…” had red flags for me. It made me think she was planning to do this again.
I’m pretty ambivalent on Becky and I have to admit, my mind went to the same train of thought most people did. I think the intended meaning, although preferred, was just a bit too subtle in this one.
I tried to imagine if my train of thought would be on the same track if it was, say, Danny seeing Ethan changing, and it didn’t really veer off the rails.
Feels like at least half the commenters here are either “Becky’s being a creep” or “Becky feels the need for a cold shower”. Okay, commenters aren’t representative of readers, but who knows what non-commenters think?
For the record, I also thought Becky was implying she’d be showering after watching Joyce undress. And not in a cold showers way.
I get how disappointing it must be to have people jump to the worst conclusion, but I can’t change the fact that that was my initial reading, and I still think that Becky’s comments are ambiguous enough that one could read it that way (aside from the fact that Becky isn’t an asshole). To be quite frank, my dismay upon reading this strip was softened only by the fact that I had enough faith in you as a writer to believe that you couldn’t have meant it that way. After further reflection, I came up with the alternate interpretation that Becky meant she needed a cold shower and gave her the benefit of the doubt that she did intend to either tell Joyce or avert her eyes. Though the cold shower interpretation comes close to what you intended, I still don’t really see how it’s clear that her purpose was to remove herself immediately.
if only becky had said out loud that she will remove herself from the room immediately, that would be something
Spelling out something exactly in plain, unadorned terms is never fun writing, and I assumed — perhaps stupidly because of how shit has gone down regarding how readers darkly perceive Becky — that people wouldn’t leap to The Worst Fucking Thing Possible. Lesson learned..
So, I’m guessing I was right with the “make this less likely to happen again” option? Deer in headlights, escape strategy (night showers so it won’t happen again), time to go?
There are a few Becky-haters around, but I just think she’s expressing herself without her old restraints. She already seems to be calming down…
IDK, I’m pretty team-Becky, but I found the last panel pretty ambiguous. That being said, I didn’t think it was nearly as creepy or predatory as some of the commenters are saying, and I do wonder if they would feel the same way if a more popular character and/or a heterosexual male character were in the same scenario.
I totally read it as reference to ‘taking a cold shower’, implying she was looking. Definitely didn’t see it as ‘I’m going to take my leave by making up an excuse’.
The lesson you should learn is to NEVER, EVER read your freakin’ comments.
Every time I make the dreadful mistake of doing so, I’m ready to delete my DoA bookmark and never return. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be you, and read this crap.
Rest assured, some of us actually do enjoy your work.
Am I the only one here who DIDN’T interpret this in a perverted way? I read this as ‘Should we tell her how pointless it is to turn us round because we can see her anyway?’, rather than anything lecherous.
Becky isn’t looking in the direction she’s pointing at, and she’s probably thinking “_cold_ showers” when she talks about showering at night. You guys are jumping to conclusions (out of optimism I’m going to assume it’s not out of instinctive squeamishness over a character who is different, and instead that I analyze posture more closely than usual).
The thing you have to remember is that it’s awkward for Becky too, and that she is willing to take steps to reduce the awkwardness (otherwise why would she point it out to Sarah). But Joyce doesn’t know how to act around her yet; presumably Sarah will explain it to her later.
It’s also a mirroring of Jacob and Ethan’s situation, in a way. I’d be disappointed if Ethan and Becky don’t commiserate over it, later.
I’m not sure how you can tell, Becky’s eyes are always dots and there aren’t obvious cues she’s looking away like the upper outline of the eye or whatever.
The name of the song is “Duel of the Fates,” thank you very much, and also that wouldn’t make it more awkward, that would wrap it all the way back around to awesome.
However, I still think it’s awkward, because then Joyce would have to explain not only why she was playing with a dildo like it was a lightsaber, but why she needed such epic musical accompaniment to do it.
“Oh yeah, I totally know what this thing is.”
“So do you like to masturbate to ‘Duel of the Fates,’ or is this just the warm-up?”
Or if she was showering now, Joyce could change without this happening again. That would be less awkward instead of the creepy things people are suggesting.
Can either be to masturbate about Joyce, or to take a cold shower that cools her very inconvenient arousal for Joyce. (The latter seems more likely to me, but others on here seem to be going with the former.)
If a girl I’m sexually attracted to changes in front of me, I avert my eyes. C’mon Becky. Have you forgotten the golden rule? …Or does that not apply to you?
She’s not outright staring at Joyce while she changes and making her uncomfortable, she’s turned around and *accidentally* seen her reflection in the window.
After reading what Wllis said above, everything makes much more sense! The night showering is so that she doesn’t have to see Joyce change, and yes, she is probably not looking at Joyce.
Hmm. The emphasis on “both” leads me to suspect that Joye didn’t use to make Becky turn around for such moments, because best friends and all that. Oops.
Seriously, you think that Joyce would have changed clothes in front of Becky, best friends or not? No, it’s just that Sarah already knows the routine and was already turned around. Becky hasn’t quite got it figured out yet and needed to be reminded.
I shower in the mornings because I look like Snape if I don’t. It’s pretty gross. Doesn’t matter if I shower the night before either! But if it’s needed, I am willing to take a fast shower at night, you know what I mean?
Awwww. Look how considerate Joyce and Becky are, and look how suspicious Sarah is about it. Victory indeed! (Sarah may or may not have had alone time with Other Jacob. At this point I’m pretty sure she just regularly drops innuendo into the conversation to see if Joyce will figure it out). I love how Sarah and Becky are bonding about the one topic that brings Sarah closer to other people: Joyce’s neuroses.
So there were offscreen shennanigans in Walky’s room. Sounds like fun.
Noooo, Becky. You can’t miss your morning shower. Don’t forget the window shopping.
Heavens forbid things get awkward around here, Joyce.
Of course people with freckles can blush. I’m a redhead, light freckles and blush like a street light on occasion.
Joyce may well have changed in from of Becky when they were kids, but …after Becky pounced on her in bed, I’m guessing Joyce wants no more of that temptation at all, no way.
Yeah, Becky is really a creep. About when you think maybe she’s maybe a decent person..she does something like this.
I’m giving it a little bit of time. This is her initial reaction, and it was a poor one. If she does go take a shower in order to masturbate (unlikely given her background, but she is feeling pretty liberated now), then my opinion of her will quickly sour.
TBH I can’t really tell if Becky is looking at Sarah or the reflecting window. From the blushing I would guess Becky has just looked away to avoid looking at Joyce’s reflection. Blushing = uncomfortableness, after all.
I’d put it this way: The best initial reaction would have been for her to avert her gaze. But stopping and staring would hardly make her a creep – unless she intentionally positioned herself so that she could get a good view, or if she makes a habit of taking the opportunity to stare each night if she can.
So in regards to the appropriateness of Becky’s actions here…
I think the last line is meant to imply that she’s going to shower at night specifically to avoid these situations from now on. Plus, it’s not like she’s intentionally spying on Joyce, she just caught her reflection in the mirror.
I’d rather Willis had not put it in, if only because it reminds of so much terrible anime, but it’s not like Becky’s trying to be a creeper right now.
Or even “Hm, i get aroused when watching naked women, and apparently they care about their privacy, so i will shower at a time when there are less other people around”
I suck at thinking things through before posting, thus this thought is split into two.
Anyways, many non-creepy ways this could be meant.
… I don’t know why, but something about Joyce’s stammering in panel two bothers me. Like she was about to say one thing, then caught herself, and said something else after taking a moment to switch gears mentally.
She has been dealing with a lot today, and still isn’t comfortable with what Sarah was doing. So she is a bit flustered but pushing through it to be a good roommate.
She knows that Sarah isn’t overly fond of Becky, so being forced to live with her is probably driving Sarah up the wall. Also, no pants Sarah might mean that Sarah was masturbating which probably brings to mind things that Joyce would rather not think about.
I also enjoy the similarities between “Jammies time” and Becky’s “Nakey-Scrubs time” from earlier. Nice little reminder of how much birds of feathers these two are.
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wtf, I’ve ALWAYS been a night-showerer… it’s like washing your hands before eating
(if you know what I mean nudge nudge)
((also I’ll be damned if I can get myself to get out of bed before I have to–record: 5 min from bed to car))
Same here. I work out before bed, and I can’t bear to go to sleep sweaty.
Also, fifteen minutes extra sleep is a godsend most mornings.
I shower before bed because I always wake up with like five minutes to get ready in the morning.
You and me both. I laugh at those fools who look put together in the morning.
But what if you sweat in your sleep? If you woke up in the morning in a pool of your own sweat, would you still not shower?
I sleep with a fan on. Keeps me cool, and the noise helps me doze off.
Same here.
…that’s one adorable avatar.
That’s pretty much my feelings on the subject.
Whence came this avatar of yours?
“As you might be able to tell, today’s gravatar is Anna from that Disney movie, Frozen. What else can I say beyond the fact she looks extra cute in this pic.”
I thought as much! Yes, great pic!
Expand Elsa
So cute!
Danke! ^_^
I know who that one is. I’m a long time reader over there.
I am a cold blooded creature that can’t regulate her own body temperature. I sleep in a pile of blankets, including one electric one, and rarely wake up sweaty.
Add in my spongy hair that takes hours to dry, and it was like I was born to shower at night.
I’m the same on both things.
If I wash my hair in the morning I have to add a good hour-and-a-half to two hours to my wake up time, and even then I might show up with my hair wet or damp. And that’s with blow drying it as best I can. When I used to iron my hair straight I had no choice but to wash it at night. If there’s any moisture left in it after it’s straightened, it’ll make my hair curl and frizz as it dries so that the hair I spent an hour straightening looks like an overgrown poodle in a windstorm.
I do sometimes wash my hair in the evening (a few hours before bed) then shower, but keep my hair dry, in the morning. That’s usually the best way to go about it, but it can be hard to find the time in the evening.
I have been waking up in a sweat lately but if I’m stinky no one seems to say anything so oh well (I do deodorize)
I’ve never got it. Showering in the morning helps me wake up. The only time I ever showered at night was when a couple years ago, I spent a month in New England during winter. Then it made sense to shower at night because my wet hair would have literally frozen some mornings.
It boils down to your personal schedule. I know I might not have time in the morning and I smell bad after work so I opt for night showers
ah yes, going to school with Frozen hair .
I remember that
(insert ‘Let it Go’ joke here)
Meh, the cold never bothered me anyway.
I’d feel pretty gross all day if I didn’t shower in the mornings.
I get all sweaty and gross all day and couldn’t sleep at night if I didn’t shower.
I started doing it when I was in the Navy. After crawling around in the engine room for a whole shift, you do not go to sleep w/o washing. Unless we’re on water restriction.
They refer to watches as ‘shifts’ now?
hear hear
I shower my feet before I go to bed these days otherwise they end up feeling painfully dry.
You should get one of those footbath things.
Maybe but it’s strange getting something like that for yourself, normally footbaths are something you give as Xmas presents.
Well that’s what Santa is for duh ^_^
They are? I bought mine for myself.
I thought of telling family that asked that I wanted one for Christmas, but I wanted certain features and wanted to read reviews to make sure I was getting a decent one, so I just bought it for myself. Can’t trust anyone in my family, not even my husband, to get the right brand and/or model, even if I specified, sent them a link to Amazon or whatever.
While I thought about asking for it for Christmas, it didn’t even enter my mind that it might be the kind of thing that is only given as a gift.
Wait, so it’s NOT just me who does that? I thought I was the only one!
Ditto! Plus even if I didn’t naturally prefer night shower I’d still take them, because I won’t use hairdryers and my hair takes a couple hours to airdry. Don’t wanna have sopping hair at work! And definitely don’t wanna get up at 4am to give my hair time to dry.
Me too. My hair is a bit past my hips and takes like half an hour to blow-dry (not to mention the stress on my hair if I do that), so I shower at night before bed, which helps me wind down and warms me up again if I’m chilly. Hair goes into a loose braid off the top of my head (and tossed off the top edge of my bed so it’s not cold and wet against me while I sleep), and by morning it’s just damp enough that I can finger-comb it out, and have it not be all dried into knots, and just dry enough I can brush it properly. My hair does NOT brush/comb wet unless it’s saturated with conditioner and under running water. Not that it’s usually dry and brittle or anything; it’s just that for some reason it won’t comb unless it’s perfectly dry.
Anyways, on the rare occasions I get all sweaty at night I can either have a quick sponge bath or hop into the shower for a quick soap and rinse without involving my hair, which works fine for me.
By “eating” do you mean sexy times? Because I’m a night showerer, but it’s because I want to wash off the sexy sweat off of me after sexy times…
I assume she did, but then lesbian sex tends to involve a lot of “eating” so I might be biased.
I think in her case she’s referring to using her hands for sexy times. As in she want’s to wash her hands before she sticks them in her mouth and she wants to wash her hands before she sticks them in her capoodle. Of course she doesn’t have to wash her whole body for that, so maybe I’m off.
Yup, same here. I like feeling clean and being beneath clean sheets. And yes, I also prefer to be clean before I do anything in bed to get myself dirty again.
But you get so much grime and nast on yourself from sleeping.
At the very least, I never wash my hair before bed because I’m guaranteed to end up with an impossible cow lick from it.
I have to shower after I sleep in order to be presentable to the world… hair this short should not have this sort of bed-head…
There’s a thought. I’m now really hoping that Becky goes to bed with wet hair, and wakes up with killer bedhead. With her new asymmetrical cut, that’d be super cute!
I don’t shower before bed or first thing in the morning– I shower sort of ‘mid-day’, right when I get home from work. Granted, I’m a barista and always end up covered in about ten different syrups by the time I get home, so I guess that’s a necessity.
Also, my ‘mid-day’ is actually fairly late in the evening, so even if I’m not a before-bed-showering person, I guess that still makes me a night-showering person.
My husband suggested I shower right after work (call centre, I get home about 2am) and THEN go onto my computer to unwind (I forget why), instead of unwinding online with you lot first and then showering right before bed, but unfortunately actually going and doing stuff after showers late at night wakes me up again, whereas a nice warm shower right before bed is a lovely sleepy-making thing for me.
Showers any other time just feel like a chore.
Cybertronians don’t sleep, we recharge. Daniel the Human sleeps in his undies tho, I guess almost all the benefits of sleeping nude without showing others things you don’t want them to see. I’ve also found out he still has good magnet throwing aim after being woken up at the wrong time…
same
i can leave literally 3 minutes after waking up
Off-screen fanservice!
That’s the best kind don’tcha know
Not for those people who cannot see it.
pfft you just ain’t imaginative enough.
My imagination somehow ends up involving tentacles.
Oh… >.> well to each his own I guess. (You did say you’re a dude even though you use female gravs right?)
More or less. ^_^
More or less? So like genderfluid? Or agender or something?…if it’s okay for me to ask that is..
“More or less”
So we can infer that you are either more than a dude or less than a dude but not exactly equal to a dude.
dude<x<dude
Using Tumblrish terminology:
Sex – Male
Kinsey Scale – 1-2
Sexual Preference – 2D(females and otokonoko)
Sexual Phenotype – Asexual
Former Passer
Gotcha, so male pronouns right? Just to quadruple check.
(Also I’m really really glad you responded I was starting to fear I’d crossed a line and felt like a terrible person)
Gender pronouns don’t worry me online as my preference for female avatars would confuse many and frankly most of the Tumblr pronouns some people insist on are just so damn special snowflakey.
Understood.
And yeah…they can be
Mine includes Transformers. And Velociraptors for some reason.
Dinosaurs can be sexy in their own way…
And the likelihood of “Dina Gets Boned” increases.
Pretty sure most of ours here involves Transformers…
*Dances around in Minicon Form*
If you want my body,
And you think I’m sexy,
Come on honey, tell me so…
Not so big on Lizard Lips Dinobot joining in my dancin’ tho. Don’t see us getting along very well…
So you’re from the Twin Cities, eh?
So close yet so far away.
Soon:
Joyce: “Where did you get all these mirrors?”
Becky: “The abandoned funhouse right across… the street?”
-beat-
Joyce: “SWEET!”
Good old Yoto could make it on screen if he wasn’t so bogged down with homework.
So this is the part where I offer to help a stranger with homework I guess…
What has my life come to V.V
Only if you know about 3D animation.
What if I pretend to know?
Then I’ll pretend I drew that picture.
Ya know, I’m getting awfully curious about what everyone sees in Joyce. In the sense that, underneath the sweaters and button-up shirts and modesty, lies a body that consistently draws the eyes of people who like girls. (Like MEE!) I’m hoping we’re going to get a Joyce Slipshine at some point. In fact, I may insist on it.
Gently.
I know, Joyce is a central character, and her sexual maturation is probably a big part of future storylines, so I’m not pushing. I will say, a Joyce SS would –
Just had an amazing idea. Willis, have you considered a masturbation Shipshine? Well, yeah, all porn is masturbatory, to some extent, but I mean one person, alone, struggling against their frustrations, so to speak? Exploring the dark chasm? Breaking the dam? Rescuing their princess from the castle? I can imagine several sexy scenarios…
‘Scuse me, need some alone time. (Sorry if this comment wound up terribly pervy, but it a comments section isn’t for venting, I’m not sure what it’s for..)
You may get your wish eventually, but I’d suspect it’d take at least five more years real time before it didn’t break the Joyce… :/
The Mirror of Erised always shows you what you want.
Walky sees himself eating McNuggets.
Of course, he’s eating McNuggets as he looks into it, but that might be a coincidence.
So, Walky is the happiest man in the world.
Mirror-Walky has…100 MCNUGGETS!!!
Isn’t that the Mirror from that one episode of Stargate SG-1?
That or the the mirror of Erised
Harry Potter, pretty sure. Been a while since I read it, but yeah. Pretty sure. Philosopher’s Stone?
http://i.imgur.com/al2b7gk.jpg
XD
That is all…
Nearly naked Joyce just a panel away!
So how many people are looking at their monitor at an angle trying to see off panel to the right?
*straightens up* Not me… <__> <_<
That’s a very Walky looking expression Becky has in the last panel.
and in panel 2…
Well Walky is pretty much a male version of Becky. Or is Becky a female Walky? Who’s older?
Becky is what you would get if a female Walky and Danny ever had a baby.
Naw she’s not nearly awkward enough to be from Danny.
That’s unfair. Becky is more mature than Walky.
Of course that’s not saying much. At least one of the characters probably has a grade school age sibling who’s more mature than Walky.
Yes, we’ve met her. Her name is Riley.
She’s much cuter though uwu~
In fact I’ll suggest that this should be the next avatar icon here.
Sarah used her vibe during part of her “special alone time”, didn’t she?
If not, it was only regular alone time.
“Other Jacob” probably got a workout.
Yuuup.
That’s the buzz going around…
My mom ingrained in me that I shouldn’t go to bed with my hair wet when I was a kid but I also am terrible at waking up early enough in the morning to shower so I’m stuck in a bind.
Shave your head.
Just did this Sunday…>:)
I shaved my head years ago and discovered that my head isn’t so much round but kinda wedged shaped.
So kinda….
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/402xHwQGVsE/maxresdefault.jpg
Not quite that bad and his head is more of a point than a wedge.
There’s a poem about that from the depths of my childhood memory.
“I thought that I had wavy hair
Until I shaved. Instead,
I found that I had straight hair
And a very wavy head.”
I shudder to imagine what a wavy head would look like.
Wrinkled.
Like mine, probably.
Shel Silverstein, I think!
I’ve been shaving my head since 2010. I shave twice a week. Having no hair makes showering super quick!
Shower early enough in the evening that your hair has time to dry and all your problems are solved!
Better yet never shower again! Your hair won’t get wet at all! I mean no one will come within fifty feet of you to avoid the smell but no wet hair
Awww, Joyce. She’s blossoming into such a considerate and sweet person. Keep trying your best, Joyce! I’m rooting for you!
Haha, I really hope the Becky living situation works out for a while purely by virtue of Sarah’s “uggggggh like it could get any worse anyway” attitude.
Would Sarah be in trouble for harboring Becky in their room? That may give her some concern.
Yes.
I shower twice a day sorry earth
You bastard! I once went 5 days without showering. For the Earth of course…
I suspect all those dang lawn sprinklers make much more of an impact than I save with my minimum-water showers
dem almonds
So long as you’re recycling your water…
*twitch* You ARE recycling your water, AREN’T YOU?? *twitch**twitch*
All water gets recycled . . . eventually.
Am I the only one who thinks that Becky looking in the window at Joyce is sketch when Joyce specifically had her and Sarah look away because Joyce is embarrassed and self-conscious about people possibly seeing her change?
It’s definitely rude of her.
it wouldve been if it was planned. Joyce turned them that way, becky is just awestruck.
Becky Brain; Alright, I’ll be nice & not look at my crush as she’s getting changed, I’ll just look in the direction she pointed m- WHOH, I CAN SEE HER IN THE REFLECTION!!! DFGHDFGHFGHFGH…
“Should we tell her about the reflection in the…”
Becky Brain; Crush changing in reflection, CRUSH CHANGING IN REFLECTION!! Must not jump straight friend, must control self, maybe blow off steam/make this less likely to happen again…
“Y’know what, as of this moment I’m a night-showering person”
Yeah, I recon she either wants/needs to blow off some steam (maybe to keep her hands off Joyce & to herself…), or perhaps the night-showers are to avoid this situation in the future…
Thank.
It wasn’t intentional on her part, and she DID at least consider telling her, for what it’s worth. I think she’d be more likely to not tell her out of trying not to embarrass her than out of any predatory reason.
Is Becky embarrassed in the last panel?
She’s blushing and wearing a surprised expression, so yes.
Embarassed, maybe. Pointedly aroused? Definitely.
I would agree, but then Becky follows up that consideration with implying that she’s going to be diddling herself because of Joyce’s unintentional positioning/reflection. For multiple nights.
Or, hopefully, that she plans to take a cold shower every night to try and take the edge off her unhelpful crush?
That will be a futile battle as long as she shares a dorm room with said crush.
Considering Becky is sexually attracted to Joyce, this is extremely disturbing. I’ve always like Becky, but this seriously makes me want to puke. I can only hope she either says something or turns away in the next comic. This is a clear violation of Joyce’s trust, and I am very disturbed.
I agree. I think Becky is hilarious, but she’s definitely crossing boundaries here.
Yeah, I definately agree. The fact Becky doesn’t seem to look away from the reflection is hugely disrespectful considering Joyce specifically asked them to turn around because she was uncomfortable with the idea of them seeing her take off her pants. If someone did that to me I’d feel really angry, not so much because they saw me without pants, but because they’d done it against what I wanted [idk of I’m articulating this right, I don’t wanna use the word “consent” because it’s a really emotive word and some people get upset? If that’s okay to use here, then “without my consent” is applicable].
The redeeming thought for me is the old “Deer In The Headlights” moment. That moment you see something so ridiculous/surprising/awesome/etc, that all you can do is stare. You may be able to speak, but everything else is locked in place, not letting your field of vision leave said target…
I think Becky is having 1 of those moments. She’s definitely attracted to Joyce, complied with her request to look the other way, only to see Joyce stripping anyway. BOOM, instant “Deer in Headlights” moment…
Yeah. Especially if Becky was making an illusion to wanking over it. Dude! If you care about preserving your friendship and/or Joyce’s feelings, you need to at least fucking TRY to respect her. Becky is being terrible and pushy and needs to be stopped.
“Allusion.”
I kinda don’t get the outrage going on here. Becky is being terrible and pushy? She hasn’t pushed! The only thing she’s done is stumble over what to do when she accidentally gets an eyeful of the girl she’s got a crush on.
Being aroused by something like that isn’t a choice, and I don’t get lambasting someone for being momentarily dumbstruck by an eyeful of sexy.
Of course, I also really don’t get why -anybody- ever gets offended by somebody harboring lustful thoughts about them. I don’t get the point of being offended by what goes on in somebody else’s head during their private time.
Did any of the same people marshal this same level of offense at Sarah referring to her sex toy as “Jacob”? Because isn’t that pretty much the same kind of thing as Becky diddling herself while thinking about Joyce? (which isn’t even what this was about anyway, as it turned out.)
I think it’s gross at hell and I’m super displeased that it’s the punchline.
I hold out hope that Willis will fix it in the next strip (for example, if Becky corrects herself and covers her eyes). He’s usually sensitive about this kind of thing these days..!
if only becky had said out loud that she will remove herself from the room immediately, that would be something
But that’s not what she said. I can see how you intended it that way, but what she actually said doesn’t necessarily mean “I am leaving right now”, nor does it pin down “to avoid situations like this” as opposed to “to enjoy the view.”
Readers sometimes have crazy readings of things, but in this case you were ambiguous. If at least half your readers think that Becky’s “night showers” means either masturbating after viewing Joyce, or taking cold showers to calm her feelings, and that’s not what you meant, then your writing wasn’t clear.
Spelling out something exactly in plain, unadorned terms is never fun writing, and I assumed — perhaps stupidly because of how shit has gone down regarding how readers darkly perceive Becky — that people wouldn’t leap to The Worst Fucking Thing Possible. Lesson learned.
(wait, “at least half my readers”….? where is that number from?)
Oh, yes, I like the intended interpretation much more. I’m usually spot on with reading what you meant, and I tend to read characters as having the best possible intentions. But I missed that Becky intended to leave *immediately* because she’s standing there blushing.
Thanks for clearing it up. Becky-love is restored.
I think the reason why I started with bad assumptions is bc in the last panel it doesn’t look like she’s averted her eyes but is rather standing there ogling her. And if you think THAT then it’s easy to assume dirty thoughts. People below have pointed out that she isn’t looking where she was pointing, so I concede that.
And the line about “should we tell her about…” had red flags for me. It made me think she was planning to do this again.
I’m pretty ambivalent on Becky and I have to admit, my mind went to the same train of thought most people did. I think the intended meaning, although preferred, was just a bit too subtle in this one.
I tried to imagine if my train of thought would be on the same track if it was, say, Danny seeing Ethan changing, and it didn’t really veer off the rails.
Feels like at least half the commenters here are either “Becky’s being a creep” or “Becky feels the need for a cold shower”. Okay, commenters aren’t representative of readers, but who knows what non-commenters think?
For the record, I also thought Becky was implying she’d be showering after watching Joyce undress. And not in a cold showers way.
I get how disappointing it must be to have people jump to the worst conclusion, but I can’t change the fact that that was my initial reading, and I still think that Becky’s comments are ambiguous enough that one could read it that way (aside from the fact that Becky isn’t an asshole). To be quite frank, my dismay upon reading this strip was softened only by the fact that I had enough faith in you as a writer to believe that you couldn’t have meant it that way. After further reflection, I came up with the alternate interpretation that Becky meant she needed a cold shower and gave her the benefit of the doubt that she did intend to either tell Joyce or avert her eyes. Though the cold shower interpretation comes close to what you intended, I still don’t really see how it’s clear that her purpose was to remove herself immediately.
REmember, 86% of statistics are made up on the spot!
if only becky had said out loud that she will remove herself from the room immediately, that would be something
Spelling out something exactly in plain, unadorned terms is never fun writing, and I assumed — perhaps stupidly because of how shit has gone down regarding how readers darkly perceive Becky — that people wouldn’t leap to The Worst Fucking Thing Possible. Lesson learned..
So, I’m guessing I was right with the “make this less likely to happen again” option? Deer in headlights, escape strategy (night showers so it won’t happen again), time to go?
There are a few Becky-haters around, but I just think she’s expressing herself without her old restraints. She already seems to be calming down…
IDK, I’m pretty team-Becky, but I found the last panel pretty ambiguous. That being said, I didn’t think it was nearly as creepy or predatory as some of the commenters are saying, and I do wonder if they would feel the same way if a more popular character and/or a heterosexual male character were in the same scenario.
I totally read it as reference to ‘taking a cold shower’, implying she was looking. Definitely didn’t see it as ‘I’m going to take my leave by making up an excuse’.
The lesson you should learn is to NEVER, EVER read your freakin’ comments.
Every time I make the dreadful mistake of doing so, I’m ready to delete my DoA bookmark and never return. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be you, and read this crap.
Rest assured, some of us actually do enjoy your work.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought this. Blech.
Am I the only one here who DIDN’T interpret this in a perverted way? I read this as ‘Should we tell her how pointless it is to turn us round because we can see her anyway?’, rather than anything lecherous.
That’s how I interpreted the first dialog box….and then the rest are Becky being a creepy perv
Becky isn’t looking in the direction she’s pointing at, and she’s probably thinking “_cold_ showers” when she talks about showering at night. You guys are jumping to conclusions (out of optimism I’m going to assume it’s not out of instinctive squeamishness over a character who is different, and instead that I analyze posture more closely than usual).
The thing you have to remember is that it’s awkward for Becky too, and that she is willing to take steps to reduce the awkwardness (otherwise why would she point it out to Sarah). But Joyce doesn’t know how to act around her yet; presumably Sarah will explain it to her later.
It’s also a mirroring of Jacob and Ethan’s situation, in a way. I’d be disappointed if Ethan and Becky don’t commiserate over it, later.
That’s a good comparison.
I didn’t notice she wasn’t looking the same way she was pointing. I really hope what you’re saying is the case.
I’m not sure how you can tell, Becky’s eyes are always dots and there aren’t obvious cues she’s looking away like the upper outline of the eye or whatever.
I mean, author handwaving aside, of course.
Coming soon on Slipshine, ‘Joyce Tries To Accomodate Sarah As Best She Can (It Gets Awkward)’.
Side scene of Becky in the shower I guess. given the last line
That can basically be the entire issue, honestly.
How does it get more Awkward than seeing Joyce reenact the battle of obi wan vs anakin using a vibrating Dildo ?
I’m sure there are ways…..
Same scene, but “Battle of the Fates” plays in the background.
The name of the song is “Duel of the Fates,” thank you very much, and also that wouldn’t make it more awkward, that would wrap it all the way back around to awesome.
I have disgraced my fandom.
However, I still think it’s awkward, because then Joyce would have to explain not only why she was playing with a dildo like it was a lightsaber, but why she needed such epic musical accompaniment to do it.
“Oh yeah, I totally know what this thing is.”
“So do you like to masturbate to ‘Duel of the Fates,’ or is this just the warm-up?”
I’m not sure why seeing Joyce’s reflection in the mirror would cause Becky to make that remark about showering at night.
And I guess people with freckles *can* blush.
Is….is that news? Freckly people are usually pale, and pale people blush like no other.
It either is a gag that she might need alone time of her own given the view, or might need a cold shower, again, given the view.
Or if she was showering now, Joyce could change without this happening again. That would be less awkward instead of the creepy things people are suggesting.
cute Becky.
I wonder how that dildo light saber scene would’ve gone if she’d been there.
Well, for one, Becky would probably be just as clueless as Joyce on the matter.
Yay, jammie session!
Duck season!
RABBIT season!
Rabbit season!!
Becky isn’t attracted to Sarah, just Joyce. Her sexual preference is Joyce first and foremost.
She’s a Joycian.
You know in spite of being an overall more rounded character I always found this version of Joyce really fucking annoying.
But this transition into a, for lack of a better phrase, normal person is so much better than the original. I like where this is going.
Side note: I hate Becky’s hair.
>8( Where did my Jason avatar go? Do these avatars cycle every once in awhile if you don’t specifically choose one?
Willis periodically adds new avatars. Random avatars get shuffled when this happens.
….I am dense tonight. Why is she now a night showerer?
Dirty thoughts lead to dirty undergarments.
Can either be to masturbate about Joyce, or to take a cold shower that cools her very inconvenient arousal for Joyce. (The latter seems more likely to me, but others on here seem to be going with the former.)
I immediately thought the latter, too. Either a cold shower, or an excuse to not be in the room at all while Joyce is changing.
oops, nope, Willis clarified above. It’s so that she doesn’t have to be in the room at all when Joyce is changing.
So she can use the mirror-window effect to her benefit with the other girls in the ladies’ shower.
She’s very newly out, and overwhelmed by the abundance of of opportunity.
What the hell kind of shower room has windows to the outside?
For that matter, wouldn’t the windows be misted over from the shower steam anyway?
Becky stop being a fucking creep.
Yes thank you.
If a girl I’m sexually attracted to changes in front of me, I avert my eyes. C’mon Becky. Have you forgotten the golden rule? …Or does that not apply to you?
Where is she looking in the last panel, and where is she pointing? She most likely is averting her eyes.
It wasn’t her intention to use the window reflection to ogle her best friend. It just happened.
She’s not outright staring at Joyce while she changes and making her uncomfortable, she’s turned around and *accidentally* seen her reflection in the window.
I mean come on, give the girl a break here
After reading what Wllis said above, everything makes much more sense! The night showering is so that she doesn’t have to see Joyce change, and yes, she is probably not looking at Joyce.
“Alone quiet time” eh ?
*cries*
Look but can’t touch! Fuuuuuuuuzzle ship*!
*ala curse mode
Bad Becky, no peeping.
Hmm. The emphasis on “both” leads me to suspect that Joye didn’t use to make Becky turn around for such moments, because best friends and all that. Oops.
More likely, she always made Sarah turn around, and now that Becky’s here too they must *both* turn around. Not even one person may see Joyce change.
Seriously, you think that Joyce would have changed clothes in front of Becky, best friends or not? No, it’s just that Sarah already knows the routine and was already turned around. Becky hasn’t quite got it figured out yet and needed to be reminded.
I shower in the mornings because I look like Snape if I don’t. It’s pretty gross. Doesn’t matter if I shower the night before either! But if it’s needed, I am willing to take a fast shower at night, you know what I mean?
Awwww. Look how considerate Joyce and Becky are, and look how suspicious Sarah is about it. Victory indeed! (Sarah may or may not have had alone time with Other Jacob. At this point I’m pretty sure she just regularly drops innuendo into the conversation to see if Joyce will figure it out). I love how Sarah and Becky are bonding about the one topic that brings Sarah closer to other people: Joyce’s neuroses.
So there were offscreen shennanigans in Walky’s room. Sounds like fun.
Noooo, Becky. You can’t miss your morning shower. Don’t forget the window shopping.
Heavens forbid things get awkward around here, Joyce.
Of course people with freckles can blush. I’m a redhead, light freckles and blush like a street light on occasion.
Joyce may well have changed in from of Becky when they were kids, but …after Becky pounced on her in bed, I’m guessing Joyce wants no more of that temptation at all, no way.
Yeah, Becky is really a creep. About when you think maybe she’s maybe a decent person..she does something like this.
She’s not actively creeping though. Joyce has turned her around and she is turned around.
I’m giving it a little bit of time. This is her initial reaction, and it was a poor one. If she does go take a shower in order to masturbate (unlikely given her background, but she is feeling pretty liberated now), then my opinion of her will quickly sour.
TBH I can’t really tell if Becky is looking at Sarah or the reflecting window. From the blushing I would guess Becky has just looked away to avoid looking at Joyce’s reflection. Blushing = uncomfortableness, after all.
“Pounced on her”? Seriously? /Seriously/?
Joyce turned Becky towards a mirror. And Becky expressed that fact pretty much saying “Uhh guys?”
So she’s a creep now? Let’s get real.
I’d put it this way: The best initial reaction would have been for her to avert her gaze. But stopping and staring would hardly make her a creep – unless she intentionally positioned herself so that she could get a good view, or if she makes a habit of taking the opportunity to stare each night if she can.
In other words, too early to call it.
now how would this hold up if she was a he?
…Exactly the same way, I think.
Exactly.
So in regards to the appropriateness of Becky’s actions here…
I think the last line is meant to imply that she’s going to shower at night specifically to avoid these situations from now on. Plus, it’s not like she’s intentionally spying on Joyce, she just caught her reflection in the mirror.
I’d rather Willis had not put it in, if only because it reminds of so much terrible anime, but it’s not like Becky’s trying to be a creeper right now.
It could also be interpreted as “I should probably take a cold shower before sleeping in the same bed as Joyce tonight.”
Or even “Hm, i get aroused when watching naked women, and apparently they care about their privacy, so i will shower at a time when there are less other people around”
I suck at thinking things through before posting, thus this thought is split into two.
Anyways, many non-creepy ways this could be meant.
Willis clarified upthread, you were right, Becky’s night showering is to avoid being around when Joyce is changing.
… I don’t know why, but something about Joyce’s stammering in panel two bothers me. Like she was about to say one thing, then caught herself, and said something else after taking a moment to switch gears mentally.
I think she’s just picking her words carefully to appeal to Sarah as best as possible.
She has been dealing with a lot today, and still isn’t comfortable with what Sarah was doing. So she is a bit flustered but pushing through it to be a good roommate.
She knows that Sarah isn’t overly fond of Becky, so being forced to live with her is probably driving Sarah up the wall. Also, no pants Sarah might mean that Sarah was masturbating which probably brings to mind things that Joyce would rather not think about.
I love in panel 1 and 3 how Joyce and Becky are almost mirrors of each other. That’s Sarah’s nightmare come true right there – two Joyces in one room.
I also like the contrast in panel 4. Sarah is “here we go again” And Becky “wooooooth? Heloooooo reflective window”
I also enjoy the similarities between “Jammies time” and Becky’s “Nakey-Scrubs time” from earlier. Nice little reminder of how much birds of feathers these two are.