Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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July 1, 2026

Amassment

by David M Willis on October 21, 2016 at 12:01 am
  • 01 - Glower Vacuum
└ Tags: amber, ethan

Discussion (223) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    October 21, 2016 at 12:03 am | #

    “That’s different–that was a RANDO!”

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      October 21, 2016 at 12:06 am | #

      He was speaking in memes! Memes!

    • Mr. Random
      Mr. Random
      October 21, 2016 at 12:13 am | #

      I take exception to that.

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 12:16 am | #

        But you’re Random, not Rando. There’s a difference. You got ‘M’. Think of all those gadgets…

  2. AnvilPro
    AnvilPro
    October 21, 2016 at 12:03 am | #

    I don’t think Batman tries to distance himself from his alter-ego as much as Amber does

    • Dean
      Dean
      October 21, 2016 at 12:06 am | #

      Sure he does. Bruce Wayne is just the place where Batman goes to do the stuff that he absolutely can’t do as Batman.

      • Tnoy
        Tnoy
        October 21, 2016 at 12:13 am | #

        Yeah, but Bruce can have a conversation with Alfred without saying “No, Batman said that.”

        • Orion Fury
          Orion Fury
          October 21, 2016 at 12:17 am | #

          I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a one-off where he did, though.

        • timemonkey
          timemonkey
          October 21, 2016 at 12:34 am | #

          That’s because Alfred is aware there’s only one real identity. Bruce is a mask, nothing more.

        • Killian
          Killian
          October 21, 2016 at 12:47 am | #

          That’s because Batman doesn’t disassociative identity disorder. (At least, I’m not aware of any evidence that he does.)

        • SgtWadeyWilson
          SgtWadeyWilson
          October 21, 2016 at 12:50 am | #

          No, he says: “Bruce Wayne said that. I didn’t” and even Alfred says things like: “Bruce Wayne has a party to attend, maybe you could learn more about this Cobblepot fellow there.”

          • AGV
            AGV
            October 21, 2016 at 2:32 am | #

            But do they really mean it?
            To me they were just playing roles

            • Deanatay
              Deanatay
              October 21, 2016 at 9:03 am | #

              When Batman refers to Bruce Wayne in the third person, it’s more of a tongue-in-cheek, throwaway line, meant more for the audience than for himself. When Amber refers to AG in the third person, she’s serious.

              I know, that’s subjective, but it’s how it seems to me.

              • thejeff
                thejeff
                October 21, 2016 at 10:24 am | #

                Depends on who’s writing it, of course, but I’ve always seen that take as being Batman is the real person, Bruce Wayne is just the mask. He refers to Bruce Wayne in the third person because Bruce Wayne is a role he plays.
                Distinct from most superheroes, where the secret id is the real person and the mask is the hero, but also distinct from Amber because “Bruce Wayne” has no mind of his own.

                It’s worth noting that those close to him, Dick & Tim in particular, often try not to let him make this distinction – calling him Bruce in private.

                • StClair
                  StClair
                  October 21, 2016 at 4:08 pm | #

                  Different writers, and fans, have lots of different takes on this. Personally, I’m fond of the interpretation that the “real” Bruce is who we see sitting the cave in his “working clothes” but with the cowl off/down, showing his face, and with his family present. No masks, no secrets.

                • StClair
                  StClair
                  October 21, 2016 at 4:09 pm | #

                  * sitting in

  3. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    October 21, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

    “He thought Dreamwave handled the license better than IDW! This shall not stand!”

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      October 21, 2016 at 12:07 am | #

      “And you don’t even want to hear his thoughts on you Shockwave/Longarm slashfic!”

      • The Other Mike
        The Other Mike
        October 21, 2016 at 6:21 am | #

        “I mean, his favorite episode of the G1 cartoon was B.O.T., for crying out loud!”

  4. Wheelpath
    Wheelpath
    October 21, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

    So many people dumb about toys, probably didn’t like new rewind cuz they don’t like MTMTE

    • MatthewTheLucky
      MatthewTheLucky
      October 21, 2016 at 12:07 am | #

      Oh dear. It begins.

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

        It’ll be “Goodbye Florida” all over again.

  5. Injuryman
    Injuryman
    October 21, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

    Amazigirl is more about gleefully pursuing PEOPLE that make Amber angry.

  6. Train Moblin
    Train Moblin
    October 21, 2016 at 12:05 am | #

    i never break up with anyone, it’s always my alter ego Sodomy-Sam the homosexual emo clown breaking up with them

    • Jess
      Jess
      October 21, 2016 at 12:06 am | #

      Good grief, the last thing we need right now is more clowns.

    • Bluewind
      Bluewind
      October 21, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

      My brain melted due to conjuring the image of an emo clown who could possibly be called Sodomy – Sam

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 12:15 am | #

        I just pictured a clown.

        • Bluewind
          Bluewind
          October 21, 2016 at 12:30 am | #

          I pictured a clown with a sad and sinister face, monochromatic outfit and makeup, and black styled uneven hair with a giant strap on.

          • Orion Fury
            Orion Fury
            October 21, 2016 at 12:34 am | #

            Terrifying. Still stand by my statement though.

      • Train Moblin
        Train Moblin
        October 21, 2016 at 12:16 am | #

        he does that a lot

      • Lailah
        Lailah
        October 21, 2016 at 12:36 am | #

        Eh, that was easy. “emo clown” just means a Sad Clown in an Iron Lung. From there, you just have to question whether a particular trait needs further on-screen representation. Given that they’re in an iron lung, we can safely say sexuality doesn’t need representation at this time (If you’re in an Iron Lung, I suspect you have other things on your mind.)

        • Orion Fury
          Orion Fury
          October 21, 2016 at 12:41 am | #

          Named Mr. Frump?

      • Slartibeast Button, BIA
        Slartibeast Button, BIA
        October 21, 2016 at 9:33 am | #

        I just outsource the visualization to Randy Millholland.

        • Slartibeast Button, BIA
          Slartibeast Button, BIA
          October 21, 2016 at 9:34 am | #

          s/Millholland/Milholland/

  7. Mr. Mendo
    Mr. Mendo
    October 21, 2016 at 12:05 am | #

    Can you imagine if this leads to stress eating?

    “Amazi-Girl did not eat the donuts! That was Amber! Amber is weak!”

    This image tickles me. ^_^

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      October 21, 2016 at 12:09 am | #

      And just more fuel for the fire for Amazi-Girl to hate Amber, really.

      • Bluewind
        Bluewind
        October 21, 2016 at 12:13 am | #

        Agreed

    • SgtWadeyWilson
      SgtWadeyWilson
      October 21, 2016 at 12:55 am | #

      “Amber ate five donuts today… tonight, I train for an extra hour.”

      I’m picturing a vicious cycle. (and not in the fun Ghost Rider way.)

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 1:04 am | #

        But what about the Nic Cage way? I bet bees would be involved.

        • SgtWadeyWilson
          SgtWadeyWilson
          October 21, 2016 at 1:21 am | #

          I said the fun Ghost Rider!

          Wait… I also said not… so Nic Cage would be an alternative.

          • Orion Fury
            Orion Fury
            October 21, 2016 at 1:25 am | #

            Gotta say, always a bit weird when it comes to those reviled Marvel movies. I was a fan of both Nic Cage Ghost Riders films, and the Affleck Daredevil, though with that one the director’s cut. Fan4astic? Couldn’t even finish that one.

            • Fart Captor
              Fart Captor
              October 21, 2016 at 1:30 am | #

              I enjoyed both Ghost Rider movies for reasons clearly not intended by their creators.

              I was super made about the second Fantastic Four though. I was expecting a GIANT PURPLE MAN IN A HELMET BEING TREATED LIKE A SERIOUS GRITTY VILLAIN, DAMNIT

              • SgtWadeyWilson
                SgtWadeyWilson
                October 21, 2016 at 1:43 am | #

                I did enjoy the Ghost Rider movie as one does any bad movie. That doesn’t make him the fun Ghost Rider.

                My main beef with F4 movies is that they try to cram origin stories and character delelopment for the team and Doom into one movie. Obviously each of those stories need more time to be done right.

                …and this would be the second time I started my “Doom needs a solo film” rant on the internet, so I’ll quit while I still can.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      October 21, 2016 at 9:08 am | #

      “Amazi-Girl does not EAT donuts.”
      …
      “However, she can be FED donuts.”

  8. inqntrol
    inqntrol
    October 21, 2016 at 12:05 am | #

    Looks like Shortpacked Ethan has returned.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      October 21, 2016 at 12:09 am | #

      He was always here, just waiting dormant in DoA!Ethan’s subconscious, ready to take control should anyone express a stupid opinion about Transformers.

    • Teddae
      Teddae
      October 21, 2016 at 12:09 am | #

      I wonder if he’s talking about Shortpacked Willis here.

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 12:10 am | #

        Headcannon till Willis bans my comments otherwise.

  9. Lipke the Articulate
    Lipke the Articulate
    October 21, 2016 at 12:07 am | #

    Interesting how exactly Amber’s phrasing this all.

  10. Jason
    Jason
    October 21, 2016 at 12:07 am | #

    Hmm, on the bright side, this frees up Danny to date Amber. Since they’re TOTALLY DIFFERENT PEOPLE and all.

    • Haven
      Haven
      October 21, 2016 at 12:29 am | #

      By that logic, Danny is also free to date Ethan. After all, why would she be mad about some random guy from her comp-sci class dating her ex?

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 12:40 am | #

        Well, maybe Danny and Amber were friends, but AG doesn’t want them hanging out anymore, because she sees it as a betrayal of their, friendship?

  11. Raen
    Raen
    October 21, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

    “Yeah, who does he think he is, creator of the universe or something?”

  12. Dean
    Dean
    October 21, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

    Amber is carefully not mentioning that Amazi-Girl was the primary source of danger for Danny.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      October 21, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

      I dunno, the time he got kidnapped was because he knew Amber, not Amaz-Girl.

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 12:14 am | #

        Well that time. I think the next time was the future possibility, given his association with that vile heathen of a miscreant.

    • newllend(henryvolt)
      newllend(henryvolt)
      October 21, 2016 at 12:16 am | #

      Which is odd because Amazi-girl feels the same way about amber, is this still part of that self loathing issue she has.

  13. Bluewind
    Bluewind
    October 21, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

    The question is, is Amber lying to Ethan about how her and Danny broke up to cover up what really happened or does Amber actually believe that’s what happened?

    • Teddae
      Teddae
      October 21, 2016 at 12:10 am | #

      Coming from someone who’s familiar with dissociation, I don’t think she’s lying.

      • Bluewind
        Bluewind
        October 21, 2016 at 12:19 am | #

        See that’s the part that scares me. It would be better if Amber was just covering for what Amazi-Girl did, but if she truly believes it then Amazi-Girl might be hiding memories from Amber or at least part of a memory. Heck, it might have been Amazi-Girl posing as Amber who told Ethan that he was not to talk to Danny anymore after they broke up since Amber doesn’t jump on Ethan here for going against her request not to speak to Danny anymore.

        • Teddae
          Teddae
          October 21, 2016 at 12:27 am | #

          (hmm, well I’m gonna have to look for the comic where she asks Ethan not to speak to Danny to see the tags, but from what I remember it said Amber so I dunno.)

          I doubt Amazi-girl hid memories from Amber though. It’s very highly likely that Amber could access Amazi-girl’s memories(I know a few people who’re like that) since it seemed to be that way from the comic (I dunno, I could be reading it wrong).

          But yeah, The both of them are kinda a mess right now in regard to that relationship… :\

          • Fart Captor
            Fart Captor
            October 21, 2016 at 12:32 am | #

            I think it came up when Danny talked to Ethan about the breakup.

            http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/03-when-god-closes-the-door/personanongrata/

            Ethan mentioned being told that Danny was now “persona non grata”, though I don’t think that means she told Ethan not to talk to him, only that she’s not talking to him.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              October 21, 2016 at 12:38 am | #

              Or even that she doesn’t want to talk ABOUT him or for Ethan to talk to her about him, which normally would be a reasonable request for a painful breakup. Considering how much she’s isolating herself, this concerns me though.

              • Bluewind
                Bluewind
                October 21, 2016 at 12:55 am | #

                I looked up the definition
                In non-diplomatic usage, referring to someone as persona non grata is to say that he or she is ostracized. Such a person is for all intents and purposes culturally shunned, so as to be figuratively non-existent.

                • BBCC
                  BBCC
                  October 21, 2016 at 1:04 am | #

                  Yes, it does, but she could also be being colloquial – as in, referring to not wanting to bring him up. It could also mean she doesn’t want Ethan talking to him though, and he definitely seems like that might be the case, which is soooooo not okay I can’t even begin to describe it.

                • The Chosen One
                  The Chosen One
                  October 21, 2016 at 1:36 am | #

                  cf Taboo, Ixnay. She’s trying not to think about it, is all.

                • Fart Captor
                  Fart Captor
                  October 21, 2016 at 10:38 am | #

                  ”This boyfriend is no more! He has ceased to be! He’s passed on! Bereft if life, he rests in peace! He’s shuffled off ‘is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisibile!!

                  THIS IS AN EX-BOYFRIEND!!”

                • Roborat
                  Roborat
                  October 21, 2016 at 3:13 pm | #

                  This thread is the last place I would expect a Monty Python reference.

              • Slartibeast Button, BIA
                Slartibeast Button, BIA
                October 21, 2016 at 3:44 pm | #

                No One expects the Monty Python Reference!

          • Bluewind
            Bluewind
            October 21, 2016 at 12:39 am | #

            Here’s the comic
            http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/03-when-god-closes-the-door/personanongrata/

            Also, I’m honestly basing the memory hiding issue on what Cerberus has said on previous strips as she has personal experience with DID and all I have is a neighbor from many years ago who was not even close to integrated. From what I understand, when they are integrated they can talk to each other and share memories, but when they are not they can start doing stuff like hide memories from each other especially if an alter is scared of being destroyed. Hopefully Cerberus will see my clunky explanation and help put it better than I possibly could.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              October 21, 2016 at 7:27 am | #

              There’s been speculation that their divide will go far enough that they won’t share memories, but there’s been no real evidence of it so far. A couple things like this that might be hints, but nothing close to definite.

            • Doki
              Doki
              October 21, 2016 at 9:27 pm | #

              Nah, not all systems work the same in regards to memory sharing, even those officially diagnosed with DID.

        • trlkly
          trlkly
          October 21, 2016 at 3:07 pm | #

          There’s no memory hiding, I don’t think. It’s just a very tortured interpretation. There’s a reason her phrasing is deliberately cryptic.

          “Things could have gotten dangerous. Amazi-Girl has to let him go before someone got hurt.” Amazi-Girl was seethingly angry at Danny and could have hurt him. She was extremely jealous that he preferred Amber to her. Also/alternatively, Danny was apparently not going to support Amazi-Girl anymore, and Amazi-Girl is essential for Amber’s wellbeing, so Amber would have gotten hurt had she listened to Danny. Or, taking the revelations from the midnight rally into account: Danny was talking with Amber’s arch nemesis and Amazi-Girl had to take over to prevent Amber from freaking out. And Danny did not seem to agree to stay away from her.

          The point is, what she said can be true from many points of view. It’s why she was being vague. There’s no reason for Amazi-Girl to be hiding what happened for her to say what she said.

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      October 21, 2016 at 12:11 am | #

      Feels like a bit of both for me.

    • Fart Captor
      Fart Captor
      October 21, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

      She’s not lying 🙁

    • Lipke the Articulate
      Lipke the Articulate
      October 21, 2016 at 12:16 am | #

      Amber sees Amazi-Girl as the one who broke up with Danny, but anyone else who doesn’t… you know, have access to the tags, would think that it was Amber who broke up with him.
      Amber might be stretching the truth when it comes to WHY she broke up with him, but which she’s not lying about WHO did.

      • Teddae
        Teddae
        October 21, 2016 at 12:19 am | #

        ^^^this
        Amber didn’t break up with him because of her trauma with Sal; she had to ‘hide’ and let Amazi-girl handle the situation. Since Amazi-girl was fueled and “created” by that trauma… it wasn’t handled well. (Truthfully it’s way better than staying together and continuing to be toxic towards her boyfriend)

      • Lailah
        Lailah
        October 21, 2016 at 12:31 am | #

        Either Amber’s lying, or amazi-girl is (to amber). There’s no ‘stretching the truth’ here. “I’m protecting someone” is starting to sound like Amazi-girl’s go-to justification for hurting people.

        • Fart Captor
          Fart Captor
          October 21, 2016 at 12:35 am | #

          I think in this case, she may have had slightly different reasons for breaking up, but I think that seeing herself as a physical threat to Danny may be why they remain broken up.

          • Lailah
            Lailah
            October 21, 2016 at 12:40 am | #

            That’s plausible, but it’s not really what Ethan’s asking either. Seeing as he doesn’t know to ask, because pretty much only the audience has a remote understanding of that.

            And tbh, given that we have implicit evidence that Amber expected Ethan not to talk to Danny, I suspect that it ranks beneath anger even to herself.

        • timemonkey
          timemonkey
          October 21, 2016 at 12:50 am | #

          Amazi-Girl isn’t always in touch with reality. Her vision of Sal as a villainous corrupting force out to get her colours all the interactions. She saw it as Sal manipulating Danny to get to her.

        • CJ
          CJ
          October 21, 2016 at 4:14 am | #

          Hm. I rather took her comment as being wise after the event. As long as she was seeing Sal as an arch enemy, she was likely to hurt either Sal or Danny bodily for “conspiring against her”. Breaking up with Danny made space for her not to physically hurt him, and she leaned there was no real reason to hurt her in the meantime.
          At the moment she broke up, she was not protecting Danny, though, but lashing out, though not physically.

        • trlkly
          trlkly
          October 21, 2016 at 3:12 pm | #

          Yes, there is. Her statement is intentionally vague. It seems that all of you guys jumped to what she was hoping Ethan would think.

          There is no lie. There is just getting in her head. I posted above three different ways that what she said could be true from her point of view.

          • Lailah
            Lailah
            October 21, 2016 at 6:34 pm | #

            I /could/ assume absolutely tortured mental gymnastics, but given this is someone for whom lying is second nature, even when unnecessary, and this is true of both alters, on a regular basis, it’s more parsimonious to say ‘she’s lying’. I’m not sure whom, to whom, so there’s htat, but I /would/ hedge my bets on AG being the liar.

            • Lailah
              Lailah
              October 21, 2016 at 9:07 pm | #

              Also, again, that surprise that Danny is talking to Ethan speaks to a much more surface level of rage than justifies that kind of logic.

              • Spencer
                Spencer
                October 21, 2016 at 9:49 pm | #

                Given that she steers the conversation away from that the minute Ethan calls her on her lying bullshit, chances are she’s just running with AG’s narrative.

    • Heather
      Heather
      October 21, 2016 at 2:50 am | #

      It is pretty worrisome. I think I lean into the ‘this is what she actually believes’ territory, because I really think in her own headspace she wouldn’t see the point in lying or what went down as wrong. Because she was ‘right’.

      Granted things may have… shifted since the Sal team up.

      Idk. Like sometimes memories or are we interpret events shift a lot for our own favour but: Amber hates herself and this is less a ‘slightly twisted interpretation of actual events you could see someone taking from it’ and more ‘flat out not what happened at all’.

      Maybe she /is/ fully dissociating. Idk, I know very little about DID. Most of what I’ve learned has been from the comment sections of this comic.

      Amber can hate herself but not her AmaziGirl persona so maybe puts ‘her’ in the best possible light. Which is slightly concerning: I mean AmaziGirl is the unreasonable one if anything, Amber, while she takes it too far at points, can criticise herself and actually is upset when she treats Danny terribly. Amber is the version of her which can grow and change. AmaziGirl is basically near on ‘inflexible’ as it were. She keeps talking about being consistent in earlier comics when it came to the drinking too.

      It’s not really a good way to be.

  14. Dave
    Dave
    October 21, 2016 at 12:10 am | #

    Has Thad Guy shown up in DoA yet?

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      October 21, 2016 at 12:13 am | #

      Well Thad doesn’t ping in a tag search.

      • SgtWadeyWilson
        SgtWadeyWilson
        October 21, 2016 at 12:58 am | #

        Are we positive Dave didn’t just misspell That Guy?

        • Orion Fury
          Orion Fury
          October 21, 2016 at 1:01 am | #

          Haven’t there been a few of those before those?

        • Dave
          Dave
          October 21, 2016 at 10:37 am | #

          I most definitely did not!

      • Amazi-Stool
        Amazi-Stool
        October 21, 2016 at 5:34 pm | #

        He does.
        You have to search the other comic.
        (Mostly this post is an answer to the suggestion that Thad was mis-spelled.
        Mis-dressed, yes. Mis-spelled, no).

  15. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    October 21, 2016 at 12:14 am | #

    Yep this is practically clear as day where this situation is going, let me fast forward to the part of the conversation we always have. * cough* *cough*

    Me: FUCK YOU ETHAN !

    Commenter: Ethan did nothing wrong.

    Me: NO FUCK HIM!

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      October 21, 2016 at 12:19 am | #

      Commenter: Why are you yelling?

      Me: NOT ENOUGH YELLING!

    • Fart Captor
      Fart Captor
      October 21, 2016 at 12:28 am | #

      It’d be one thing if you were annoyed at him for what you complained about, but this level of vitriol is bizarre.

      If you could articulate what you think was wrong (and the reasoning for it) beyond “those times when Ethan was gay at someone and clearly only just barely restraining himself from jumping them”, I’d be more open to your opinions.

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 12:36 am | #

        I’ve found that everyone has that one character that sends them into this ball of pure hate. Arguing how they’re wrong, or perhaps ‘wrong’, is just a lesson in futility.

        • Lipke the Articulate
          Lipke the Articulate
          October 21, 2016 at 1:04 am | #

          Hm… I can’t think of who that character is for me. Maybe Mary?

          • Orion Fury
            Orion Fury
            October 21, 2016 at 1:09 am | #

            I can see that, but she’s an “evil” character. The type of hatred I speak of is for the “good” characters. The common ones I’ve seen are, aside from Ethan and Amber these last few days, Sarah, Walky, Becky, and Carla, though with the last two, the comments can really spiral out of control, resulting in deletions and bans. Though those could happen with the others too, they just may not be as noticeable.

            • Lipke the Articulate
              Lipke the Articulate
              October 21, 2016 at 1:17 am | #

              Yeah, that’s kind of what I was thinking. I can’t think of any “good” characters who inspire rage to well up within my heart…

              • Orion Fury
                Orion Fury
                October 21, 2016 at 1:21 am | #

                They’re not bad, they’re just written that way?

            • Fart Captor
              Fart Captor
              October 21, 2016 at 1:17 am | #

              Hell, even Lucy got hated on (albeit mildly), despite showing up in only 2 strips and being both the most polite person ever and adjacent to Malaya.

              • Orion Fury
                Orion Fury
                October 21, 2016 at 1:20 am | #

                Well that might have been her problems then. Malaya must still have some detractors floating around, too.

                • Fart Captor
                  Fart Captor
                  October 21, 2016 at 1:34 am | #

                  If she doesn’t, she’s not Malaya’ing hard enough.

                • Orion Fury
                  Orion Fury
                  October 21, 2016 at 10:27 pm | #

                  I do believe that according to Sarge, Malaya can never Malaya enough.

            • Willoughby Chase
              Willoughby Chase
              October 21, 2016 at 7:34 am | #

              I’m guilty as charged on the Walky front, although I’ve walked back from the total hate moment …

        • SgtWadeyWilson
          SgtWadeyWilson
          October 21, 2016 at 1:09 am | #

          “Damn you, Willis-written character that I see as the antithesis of myself!”
          -Paraphrase of “everyone”

          • Orion Fury
            Orion Fury
            October 21, 2016 at 1:16 am | #

            For me that’d probably someone who’s funny.

        • Splork
          Splork
          October 22, 2016 at 11:37 pm | #

          “I’ve found that everyone has that one character that sends them into this ball of pure hate. Arguing how they’re wrong, or perhaps ‘wrong’, is just a lesson in futility.”

          I think that for a lot of people, that character is Hillary Clinton.

      • Doopyboop
        Doopyboop
        October 21, 2016 at 5:46 pm | #

        I think that’s what makes me uncomfortable about this person’s weird stance on Ethan, is Ethan seems like a very responsible guy. But somehow, Ethan noticing Joss was cute = he’s just gonna pounce on her the moment he finds out Joss could be gay? Is it because Ethan is a gay man that he suddenly has no control over his libido in that commenter’s opinion? Because as far as we know, Ethan is likely a virgin who, being inexperienced as a gay man, would probably be tentative instead of divebombing onto a guy dick first.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 21, 2016 at 6:21 pm | #

          Well, I think Ethan went beyond “noticing Joss was cute”. I absolutely agree he would be tentative about actual sex, but you can be unfaithful without actually having sex. Even more so when the relationship in question is also not physical.

          I think Ethan is very repressed (and was even more so at the time) and since he had no real romantic attachment to Joyce, it was easy for him to slip straight into flirting with her cute brother. Almost certainly not expecting it to go anywhere – or really thinking much at all.
          I doubt he’d do anything similar in a real relationship.

        • Fart Captor
          Fart Captor
          October 21, 2016 at 9:38 pm | #

          I think “divebombing onto a guy dick first” is going to be my favorite phrase for a while

  16. Wendy
    Wendy
    October 21, 2016 at 12:17 am | #

    I like how Amber is trying to make it look like Amazi-Girl broke up with Danny as some noble gesture for his own good when it looked waaaay more like she just had an irrational abusive outburst at him. I mean, yeah, given that fact, the breakup was definitely to Danny’s benefit – but Amber’s being pretty self-serving and self-deluding if she thinks that was really how and why the breakup happened.

    Right now it comes across as if, with hindsight (and having grown a little more self-clarity on her animosity towards Sal), Amber/Amazi-Girl realizes she was wrong to villify Danny the way she did – so now she’s trying to turn it into a “ohhh, ummm yeah Amazi-Girl was being SELFLESS. She broke up with him for HIS SAKE.” Feels like a case of unreliable narrator…

    BTW, lest anyone think I’m whining about the writing here – I actually really like Amber from a writing standpoint. She’s probably my top “Love to Hate ‘Em” character, precisely BECAUSE the nature and facets of her shittiness as a human being aren’t absolute and have a lot of nuance. It’s super fascinating to see how Willis has has been developing her.

    • Mav
      Mav
      October 21, 2016 at 12:54 am | #

      I agree, Amber is well written as a character. I think my primary qualm with her at this point though is that she kind of won’t improve her own life until she takes responsibility for herself. Continuing yesterday’s convo about good vs bad, taking responsibility for yourself means accepting the bad as well as the good, since no one is a completely perfect human. Life is much messier and stressful when we pursue this imaginary perfect version of ourselves, much like AG is Amber’s “perfect and moral” personality. But AG predictably isn’t that person.

    • Heather
      Heather
      October 21, 2016 at 2:58 am | #

      People can love or hate a character for various reasons. Sometimes this is for entirely shallow reasons like shipping/getting in the way of ships.

      But sometimes it’s because they’re deep characters who either remind us of ourselves or people we know or even just so nuanced we can almost see them as real people. Occasional superhero physics aside Amber is so realistic it kind of hurts.

    • hof1991
      hof1991
      October 21, 2016 at 8:37 am | #

      Remember, AmaziGirl is immune to criticism, even from herself. She made a decision about Danny and it was right and always will be. In that way, she’s a lot like most humans. Double down and make memory conform to it.

  17. jayax
    jayax
    October 21, 2016 at 12:21 am | #

    Ethan’s the real hero here, daring to crusade against the endless tides of people who are wrong on the internet.

    • Teddae
      Teddae
      October 21, 2016 at 12:23 am | #

      Everyone give praise the Second Eaton

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 12:30 am | #

        Eh, he’s alright.

      • Lailah
        Lailah
        October 21, 2016 at 12:31 am | #

        Shit, I was still loudly pretending that never happened.

    • Bluewind
      Bluewind
      October 21, 2016 at 12:26 am | #

      How dare you! Ethan is far from a hero, his shirt annoys me, and he is afraid of things!

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 1:17 am | #

        His eyes are too far apart! It’s weird!

  18. StClair
    StClair
    October 21, 2016 at 12:26 am | #

    “This is important. Someone is wrong on the Internet.”

    • Teddae
      Teddae
      October 21, 2016 at 12:28 am | #

      +1

      • Lipke the Articulate
        Lipke the Articulate
        October 21, 2016 at 1:05 am | #

        +1, and plus another one for every time I’ve blown up in the comments. 😀

        • Orion Fury
          Orion Fury
          October 21, 2016 at 1:10 am | #

          So like, what, at least +5?

          Good reads, though.

          • Lipke the Articulate
            Lipke the Articulate
            October 21, 2016 at 1:19 am | #

            Haha, at least SOMEONE enjoys them.

            • Orion Fury
              Orion Fury
              October 21, 2016 at 1:27 am | #

              Well you are one of the few that talks with me here, so it’s the least I could do.

              • ety
                ety
                October 21, 2016 at 2:13 am | #

                Hm, I suppose it depends on how you count “times.” Is a single thread/argument “1” or is a single comment “1” what about the same topic/argument (and commenters) across multiple threads?

                …I swear this just started as a joke about “only blah blah not enough blah lol” with a tie in to the times I’ve done the same :/

                • Lipke the Articulate
                  Lipke the Articulate
                  October 21, 2016 at 2:20 am | #

                  Orion: Eyyyyyyyyy
                  ety: Etyyyyyyyyy

                • Orion Fury
                  Orion Fury
                  October 21, 2016 at 10:04 pm | #

                  Yeah, I was figuring post at around the same time, being able to span threads, and days, if applicable.

              • Willoughby Chase
                Willoughby Chase
                October 21, 2016 at 3:23 am | #

                We should all have a group hug.

                • Orion Fury
                  Orion Fury
                  October 21, 2016 at 10:04 pm | #

                  Certainly, just no touching.

                • Slartibeast Button, BIA
                  Slartibeast Button, BIA
                  October 21, 2016 at 10:16 pm | #

                  Even Christian side-hugs are too intrusive?

                • Orion Fury
                  Orion Fury
                  October 21, 2016 at 10:21 pm | #

                  No surprise hugs, and you need to ask first, and every time. A handful of people don’t need to, specifically, the missus and our kids.

                • Jhon
                  Jhon
                  October 21, 2016 at 11:13 pm | #

                  NOT SURPRISED ENOUGH

    • Keulan
      Keulan
      October 21, 2016 at 4:26 am | #

      I was going to post this exact same thing.

    • Willoughby Chase
      Willoughby Chase
      October 21, 2016 at 7:30 am | #

      I for one have never argued for days on end with some rando about something meaningless. Then gave a barbaric yawp when I thought I’d “won.”

      Oh, no sirree. Not me …

  19. Meep
    Meep
    October 21, 2016 at 12:29 am | #

    There’s the Ethan we all missed. It’s great that he gets more time to have relationships and problems in DOA, but I miss fanboy Ethan, I miss comedian Ethan.

    But hey we’re about to get back Mike driving a wedge between him and someone else Ethan. This time it’s a boy and I don’t know if Mike is actually trying to make things worse.

    I like this Mike his cruelty has a purpose beyond his own enjoyment. It’s even easier to get behind “kick’s you in the ball’s till you learn to wear a cup” Mike. 🙂

    • Lipke the Articulate
      Lipke the Articulate
      October 21, 2016 at 1:07 am | #

      Yeah, but it’s also easier to hate him because his cruelty is more… cruel, in the Dumbiverse than in the Walkyverse.

      • Idontcarenomore
        Idontcarenomore
        October 21, 2016 at 2:37 am | #

        Agree. Mike in the Walkyverse always had a motive behind his ….cruelty is maybe not the word I’m looking for, but definitely his ability to nail your sore spot with a iron spike.
        He always had a lesson behind the jab. He made you look at yourself harder than you would otherwise.
        His sociopathic behavior was a bit understandable when his backstory unfolded.
        Here in DoA, we don’t know yet why he is so stinkin’ mean. [not to say that makes it okay, but Willis has a habit of giving a character to annoy the Hell out of us, and then develop that character in a great way, ie: Becky.]

    • Fart Captor
      Fart Captor
      October 21, 2016 at 10:08 am | #

      Wearing a cup is uncomfortable and people shouldn’t have to wear them just to go about their daily lives.

      If Mike was doing this for situations where you’d be foolish for not wearing one I could almost buy that, but ”You must keep your guard up at all times so Mike doesn’t fuck you over” is not a helpful life lesson. It is only a lesson in living in proximity to Mike.

      Hopefully, Mike will end up learning a lesson himself, about not being such a butt opening all the dang time

      • JBento
        JBento
        October 21, 2016 at 10:18 am | #

        As much as I enjoy Mike’s cartoonish villainy (mostly because it’s cartoonish), agreed. If the only reason you need to keep your guard up all the time is “proximity to Mike,” then a better alternative to “keep your guard up all the time” is “make Mike go away.”

        • MatthewTheLucky
          MatthewTheLucky
          October 21, 2016 at 1:01 pm | #

          ‘Make Mike go away’ is still a fairly good moral…

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      October 21, 2016 at 10:11 am | #

      I’m just wondering why all the maternal nickle jokes have gone out of fashion in the comments.

      • Lipke the Articulate
        Lipke the Articulate
        October 21, 2016 at 4:01 pm | #

        He hasn’t made enough of them in the Dumbiverse. In fact, I think he’s only made one…?
        I’ve gotta say, the only thing I miss seeing from the comments during my archive binges are faaaaaace jokes and I don’t even know why.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 21, 2016 at 6:23 pm | #

          I tried to get Dina’s “Stop the faces!” to catch on, but it never quite did. I think the faaaaace jokes were dying away around that point, which didn’t help.

          • Lipke the Articulate
            Lipke the Articulate
            October 21, 2016 at 8:24 pm | #

            What if it actually just revitalized both at once?
            “Stop the faaaaaaces!”

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 10:26 pm | #

        It may be the lack of Mike in the comic that minimizes their appearances. When a low amount of money needs referencings, it’s usually a nickel. And seemingly anytime I reference a face, there’s a followup comment with “you meant faaaaaaaaces” or something like that.

  20. Tenchan
    Tenchan
    October 21, 2016 at 12:31 am | #

    Well, Amber does have quite the “amassment” if you know what I’m saying. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      October 21, 2016 at 12:37 am | #

      At least 1,223 people do.

      • ety
        ety
        October 21, 2016 at 2:16 am | #

        Assuming that’s the only reason anyone would vote for a character like Amber in a poll about “hotness.” Pffff, fine. *dramatic eye roll*

        • Orion Fury
          Orion Fury
          October 21, 2016 at 10:07 pm | #

          Eh, close enough, imo. The poll, for me at least, implies only physical attraction, and Tenchan’s comment seemed to be some sort of sexual innuendo. Figuring that Tenchan was one of the people who voted for Amber, I subtracted one and posted what I did.

    • MatthewTheLucky
      MatthewTheLucky
      October 21, 2016 at 1:02 pm | #

      Amazzi-ment.

  21. Bagge
    Bagge
    October 21, 2016 at 12:37 am | #

    Ouch

  22. Mav
    Mav
    October 21, 2016 at 12:57 am | #

    That really bugs me. She doesn’t want to talk about it now, but she should. Bottling up anger issues actually directly makes them worse. We have to accept and work on our flaws to accept our whole selves.

    • Fart Captor
      Fart Captor
      October 21, 2016 at 12:59 am | #

      She definitely should talk about it at some point, but if she can’t talk about it now without getting angry and blowing up at Ethan about it, then not talking about it now is absolutely the right call.

      • Mav
        Mav
        October 21, 2016 at 1:08 am | #

        That’s a good point.

      • Disloyal Subject
        Disloyal Subject
        October 21, 2016 at 3:47 am | #

        Yeah, but I kinda feel sorry for whatever criminal she uncorks that bottle on instead.
        Not, you know, a lot, but there is some sympathy, and hopes that nothing breaks.

      • smylietron
        smylietron
        October 21, 2016 at 1:05 pm | #

        Honestly, I’d rather see her blow up at more people close to her than keep kinda “getting away with it” by blowing off steam via Amazi-Girl.

        She’s in a bad place. The longer this goes on, the more it builds up, the more toxic she’s going to become to her friends. She’s just as in need of help as, say, Ruth, but since she takes out most of her rage via her superhero identity, she does a better job at maintaining this very unhealthy balancing act. The one time she’s been pushed by someone as Amber she went nuclear; she can’t keep holding all that in.

        • Spencer
          Spencer
          October 21, 2016 at 9:25 pm | #

          The problem is that her blowing up at people as Amber will further her need for Amazi-Girl. She doesn’t think of her anger as a problem to be addressed through support and therapy; it’s just proof of Amber’s inherent vileness as a person, and that any expression of it is a mortal sin on her part.

          So instead of saying “I treated Danny like dogshit, I should strive to not do that” she instead continues the same thought processes because she already thinks she’s the worst.

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      October 21, 2016 at 1:01 am | #

      I think Amber views her “whole self” as being just like her dad, and as such works on ways to actively avoid that, to the point of being harmful like her dad.

      Wait…

      • Mav
        Mav
        October 21, 2016 at 1:09 am | #

        If only she had less crappy coping mechanisms though. If she had some kind of help, then trying not to be like her dad probably wouldn’t be leading her down this road.

        • Orion Fury
          Orion Fury
          October 21, 2016 at 1:13 am | #

          Yeah. Though I feel confident saying that at least a third of the commenters would find her boring then, and whine about how mush screen time she was getting.

          • Joe Archer
            Joe Archer
            October 21, 2016 at 2:43 am | #

            So to avoid being like her dad she has to avoid sexual relationships?

            • Spencer
              Spencer
              October 21, 2016 at 9:43 pm | #

              Look how she treated Danny. She barked threats and accusations without even attempting to understand him, decided that disagreeing with her for the first time was him stepping out of line, and Danny himself realized how pointless, abusive and doomed to failure his relationship was five minutes later.

              Amber is replicating her father’s abuse onto her partners but finds ways to morally justify it to herself. She is simply too toxic and abusive to contribute to any kind of relationship and anyone she tries with she’ll drag down.

              • Spencer
                Spencer
                October 21, 2016 at 10:47 pm | #

                Why would I even say that. I don’t even think it. What the fuck is wrong with me.

                • Fart Captor
                  Fart Captor
                  October 21, 2016 at 11:17 pm | #

                  I was a bit confused by that. I figured you were writing it from Amber’s perspective, because that seems like a very plausible read of how how she sees herself.

                  *Hugs* regardless

                • Spencer
                  Spencer
                  October 21, 2016 at 11:26 pm | #

                  Every time I come here I just get into arguments and spew vitriolic bullshit and I’m making a fucking embarrassment of myself and treating people like dogshit and throwing my stupid bullshit up here like it even fucking solves anything and what i am even doing anymore

                  im so sorry for everything

                • Slartibeast Button, BIA
                  Slartibeast Button, BIA
                  October 21, 2016 at 11:42 pm | #

                  I don’t agree. I’ve got you in my vague category of “commenters who sometimes produce useful stuff” rather than my own category of “commenters who make lots of lame jokes hoping one of them will hit someday”.

                • Fart Captor
                  Fart Captor
                  October 22, 2016 at 12:01 am | #

                  I sucks that you’re feeling that way but I can’t agree, and I hope you’ll believe me when I say you’ve done nothing here that you need to beat yourself up over.

                  I’ve seen you be impressively calm and civil in heated discussions about things like this that I know hit you personally. Losing your temper on occasion doesn’t make you a bad person, it just makes you human.

                  Hang in there.

              • Jhon
                Jhon
                October 21, 2016 at 11:19 pm | #

                NOT HUGS ENOUGH

    • JBento
      JBento
      October 21, 2016 at 7:03 am | #

      This happens in Willis’s other comic, Smarting of Age.

      …

      What do you mean, “that’s not a thing”?

      • Willoughby Chase
        Willoughby Chase
        October 21, 2016 at 7:35 am | #

        It’s happening right now on Second Earth, the one we can’t see.

        • JBento
          JBento
          October 21, 2016 at 9:35 am | #

          There’s a second Earth? That’s nice, considering that this one doesn’t look like it’s going to be inhabitable for much longer.

          • Orion Fury
            Orion Fury
            October 21, 2016 at 10:11 pm | #

            But it suffers from a zeerust aesthetic, so your miles may vary.

  23. Arianod
    Arianod
    October 21, 2016 at 1:22 am | #

    Ethan’s on a mission.

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      October 21, 2016 at 10:12 am | #

      If he is caught or killed, will IU will deny any knowledge of his actions?

      • JBento
        JBento
        October 21, 2016 at 10:19 am | #

        This webcomic will self destroy in 5… 4… 3…

        Man, the stupid movies almost make me hate the whole franchise. I guess it’s time to see if I can scrounge up the TV show somewhere.

  24. Rukduk
    Rukduk
    October 21, 2016 at 1:31 am | #

    I’m the same way with Lord of the Rings and the rest of the Arda universe, so I understand your zeal Ethan.

    • Disloyal Subject
      Disloyal Subject
      October 21, 2016 at 3:49 am | #

      My brethren!

    • Silly Name
      Silly Name
      October 21, 2016 at 8:08 am | #

      Mellon!

      • JBento
        JBento
        October 21, 2016 at 8:11 am | #

        Strawberry!

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      October 21, 2016 at 9:58 am | #

      Speak, friend, and enter.

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 10:12 pm | #

        NOT FRIENDLY ENOUGH!

  25. LBD "Nytetrayn"
    LBD "Nytetrayn"
    October 21, 2016 at 1:52 am | #

    So Danny is the guy with the “wrong” opinion on Transformers, right?

    • Lipke the Articulate
      Lipke the Articulate
      October 21, 2016 at 2:21 am | #

      He’s either just referring to a random dude, or potentially an in-joke to Ethan’s GREAT BATTLES with DAVID WILLIS HIMSELF in Shortpacked!.

      • Arianod
        Arianod
        October 21, 2016 at 3:09 am | #

        Is that why he’s pointing upwards?

      • Anorak
        Anorak
        October 21, 2016 at 5:50 am | #

        “I fought god and I won” lol, gg ethan

        • Falling Star
          Falling Star
          October 21, 2016 at 12:16 pm | #

          Wouldn’t Ethan basically be Willis’s Jesus, though, because he’s expressing Willis’s ideas on Transformer toys?

          • Slartibeast Button, BIA
            Slartibeast Button, BIA
            October 21, 2016 at 12:26 pm | #

            Will Mike be the one who betrays him?

            • MatthewTheLucky
              MatthewTheLucky
              October 21, 2016 at 1:04 pm | #

              Mike will betray him for 6 nickels.

          • Slartibeast Button, BIA
            Slartibeast Button, BIA
            October 21, 2016 at 1:30 pm | #

            Now picturing Ethan saying to Naomi “You know, sometimes Ma, you really piss me off!”

    • CJ
      CJ
      October 21, 2016 at 4:04 am | #

      Didn’t he mention being online all night because of this dude at the start of this conversation?

      • Lipke the Articulate
        Lipke the Articulate
        October 21, 2016 at 4:03 pm | #

        Indeed he was, so the rando theory is much more likely haha.

  26. AGV
    AGV
    October 21, 2016 at 2:36 am | #

    It could be just me, but Amber seems to take this conversation quite well (maybe due to certain cooperation)

  27. Idontcarenomore
    Idontcarenomore
    October 21, 2016 at 2:39 am | #

    Not sure her way of taking the conversation is all that great.
    She is definitely talking about 2 people and the fact they are both her is not showing good signs that she is getting herself together. So to speak.

    Progress with Sal yes. Personally, not so much.

  28. Furie
    Furie
    October 21, 2016 at 4:38 am | #

    I think I know the guy Ethan argued with. He’s all the war should never have ended, Megatron should always be the (two dimensional cackling) villain of the original cartoon, anything else is (somehow) uninspired hack work.

    Get him Ethan.

    • JBento
      JBento
      October 21, 2016 at 7:07 am | #

      I only saw the original cartoon (and caught some episodes of Beast Wars, but I didn’t care for those): Starscream was the best character, Soundwave and his cassette friends were the coolest.

      I was always confused how Megatron changed his size when he turned into a gun, though. I mean, Bumblebee was small and turned into a small car, Optimus was big and turned into a truck – how come Megatron could turn into a tiny gun?

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 10:15 pm | #

        It was something about how the metal could shrink and expand, a bit like Pym particles, if you follow Marvel at all.

        Also, is it wrong I was a bit surprised that your comment still exists?

        Wait nevermind, I reread it, and I think you saved yourself.

  29. Joe
    Joe
    October 21, 2016 at 8:34 am | #

    I would very much like Carla to barge in, grab Amber by the collar, and throw her in a room next to Ruth’s right now.

    • Fart Captor
      Fart Captor
      October 21, 2016 at 9:50 am | #

      ”Your stupid little problems are serious, and everyone is concerned!”

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        October 21, 2016 at 10:02 am | #

        You need therapy,
        (puts mask on Amber)
        and SO DO YOU!!

        • JBento
          JBento
          October 21, 2016 at 10:20 am | #

          You get therapy. And you get therapy. AND YOU get therapy. EVERYONE GETS THERAPY!

          • Falling Star
            Falling Star
            October 21, 2016 at 12:15 pm | #

            Especially after Volume 3.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            October 21, 2016 at 3:26 pm | #

            Most of them could probably benefit, ngl. A few of them I think would be generally mentally healthy without it. I have to wonder how many would take it up though.

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        October 21, 2016 at 10:16 pm | #

        “Your problems are serious and you should be serious!”

        • Slartibeast Button, BIA
          Slartibeast Button, BIA
          October 21, 2016 at 10:19 pm | #

          “You can’t take the world serious!”

          • Orion Fury
            Orion Fury
            October 21, 2016 at 10:22 pm | #

            “Show me the serious!”

    • Ardin
      Ardin
      October 21, 2016 at 10:30 am | #

      Word

  30. Trousle Undrhil
    Trousle Undrhil
    October 21, 2016 at 8:53 am | #

    Alright. I do not like this version of Amber.

  31. Ardin
    Ardin
    October 21, 2016 at 10:28 am | #

    “I got irrationally angry unjustified and told him to fuck off” = “I let him go for his sake”.

    Oh, you fucked up little girl, you.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      October 21, 2016 at 9:16 pm | #

      It’s what she thinks now. At the time of their breakup it was definitely “Danny betrayed me”, but now she’s realized that he’s better off without her.

  32. Falling Star
    Falling Star
    October 21, 2016 at 11:07 am | #

    The alt text made me laugh more than the strip.

  33. smylietron
    smylietron
    October 21, 2016 at 1:07 pm | #

    Something’s gotta give with Amber. I hope Ethan doesn’t back down on this.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      October 21, 2016 at 9:11 pm | #

      Backing down is what Ethan does best.

      • Fart Captor
        Fart Captor
        October 21, 2016 at 9:32 pm | #

        He just needs to imagine that Amber is Wrong About Transformers

        • Orion Fury
          Orion Fury
          October 21, 2016 at 10:17 pm | #

          He made her, now he must undo her?

          • Slartibeast Button, BIA
            Slartibeast Button, BIA
            October 21, 2016 at 10:20 pm | #

            Ethan as Thulsa Doom?

            • Orion Fury
              Orion Fury
              October 21, 2016 at 10:23 pm | #

              I’d read that.

  34. Spencer
    Spencer
    October 21, 2016 at 9:14 pm | #

    So that second panel is definitely “I am dangerous to him and needed to let go of him for his safety” right?

    The following panel is really worrying though. I guess Amber did want Ethan to stop talking to Danny. That’s… well that’s fucking awful.

    • Fart Captor
      Fart Captor
      October 21, 2016 at 9:26 pm | #

      That’s how I read panel 2, but panel 3 could also just be that she didn’t expect that they talked to begin with. They’d originally only knew each other through her, so it’s entirely possible she had no idea they ever hung out together when she wasn’t around.

      At least, if she was mad at Ethan for talking to him, I would have expected more emphasis on “his” (“FROM HIS END”?), unless she was deliberately trying to hide that she was upset by it.

      • Lipke the Articulate
        Lipke the Articulate
        October 21, 2016 at 10:50 pm | #

        Yeah, that’s how I see it as well. Everyone keeps saying “surface rage” which is something I see absolutely nothing of.
        Like seriously, trust me on this one people, if she was mad about it we’d know for sure.

CHOOSE A SIDE, NO COWARDS

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  • Polls Archive
CONVENTION APPEARANCES


September 13/14, 2025 - Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland

David M Willis! avatar
David M Willis!
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 9h
how can it be the most popular if it's the only one that's not sold out???????????
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1
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 18h
today in #9chickweedlane i learned alistair and lolly drowned
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatarDavid M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Yesterday and today and probably also tomorrow and the next day in #9ChickweedLane I learned you can fill a whole week of strips with drawing the same two submerged heads kissing
11
2
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 19h
Dumbing of Age: "Riot police" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
Riot police
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reposted by David M Willis!
depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social's user avatar
depths of wikipedia @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social ⋅ 19h
very into these inconvenient, extremely long and pointy shoes that spread across europe in the 14th century and made everyone so horny and effeminate that the church went full on moral panic mode and a bunch of kings made them illegal!!! also everyone got bunions
They were a controversial fashion and faced criticism from several quarters. In 1368, Charles V of France issued an edict banning their construction and use in Paris. An English poem from 1388 complained that men were unable to kneel in prayer because their toes were too long.[37] The c. 1440 morality play Castle of Perseverance includes the footwear in the
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 21h
WON'T ANYONE LET SUNSTREAKER JERK OFF IN PEACE
storybook illustration of sunstreaker sitting down in the extreme foreground holding a rag and a bottle of wax while devastator in the extreme background approaches ominously
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reposted by David M Willis!
jonrosenberg.bsky.social's user avatar
jon rosenberg @jonrosenberg.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Stop calling them 'tweets' already. You're embarrassing yourself. They're called "bluejaculations" here
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Weathering the colors a little bit
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatarDavid M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
paint has struck again
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
(july 3, 2026)
Becky and Carla!  One is |:| and the other is 8D
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Sometimes I forget I have an original Sunstreaker! During Shortpacked! times I was gifted a giant pile of G1 from a fan, and this guy has trouble finding purchase in my memory. The tooling was lost/destroyed decades ago, so he's never been reissued.
2
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
we have a proper dental office with scooby doo mystery inc on the monitors
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Do the other yellow pages have a gorilla
5
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reposted by David M Willis!
amirtalai.bsky.social's user avatar
Amir Talai @amirtalai.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
zohran come to Los Angeles!!!!!!!!!
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3328
 
reposted by David M Willis!
davidmariotte.bsky.social's user avatar
David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
As I'm working through unemployment stuff, now's a great time to remind folks that I'm very employable! I am seeking full-time comics editorial work (or in a related field), and in the meantime, I am also freelance writing and editing! Hit me up: dmariottewebhost@gmail.com or www.davidmariotte.com
header image - David Mariotte's Portfolio
www.davidmariotte.com
David Mariotte's Portfolio
The official home of writer and editor David Mariotte online!
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Yesterday and today and probably also tomorrow and the next day in #9ChickweedLane I learned you can fill a whole week of strips with drawing the same two submerged heads kissing
12
3
35
 
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
really want to rescore this episode with Sound Mound's "It's Never Too Late (For Now)"
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
www.ebay.com/itm/23617834... winner never paid and didn't answer any messages, and it's been ten days, so hey, guess what we're relisting
1
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
look that was a different Dave Willis, I'm innocent
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
drew this panel 9 months ago, so if you conceived that night, your baby aughta be born now
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatarDavid M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 9m
(july 2, 2025)
dorothy and joyce are outside
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Dumbing of Age: "Facetious" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
Facetious
1
6
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reposted by David M Willis!
kendrawcandraw.bsky.social's user avatar
Kendra, regular version @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
We are at 1,205 backers and nearly $35k with 9 days to go!! If we can hit 40k I’ll post more nude RHS characters on here
kendrawcandraw.bsky.social's user avatarKendra, regular version @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
Anywayyyyyy, it is actually the last day of pride month and there's 10 days left to back my very gay, very trans medieval fantasy adventure comedy REAL HERO SHIT: HARDER THAN IT LOOKS! Support a queer here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/iro...
header image - Real Hero Shit Book 2: Harder than It Looks by Kendra Wells
www.kickstarter.com
Real Hero Shit Book 2: Harder than It Looks by Kendra Wells
Grab the second volume of the queer fantasy adventures of a disparate band of mismatched adventurers: Real Hero Shit!
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
paint has struck again
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
"HELLO NEW NEIGHBOR!"
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reposted by David M Willis!
cctl.me's user avatar
Cable Contributes to Life @cctl.me ⋅ 3d
since it's the last day of pride month I figured I'd at least make one thing for it... i now unveil to you my greatest invention: color bars pride flag
An LGBTQ+ pride flag formatted in the layout of the SMPTE
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
btw, the name of my 3d printer:
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reposted by David M Willis!
bencollins.bsky.social's user avatar
Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
I got permission to share this, and I'm extremely grateful for that. The Onion got this letter from one of our subscribers in Alaska. She works with dementia patients and decided to leave a copy in the car for each one. This email made my year. Read it and you'll see what I mean. People are good.

I work as an elder and hospice caregiver, which I am oddly passionate about. I can love on them shamelessly and no one complains about my codependence. It's a win-win situation. 

Many of my caregiving colleagues complain about the repetitive questions and, sometimes reactions, of the elderly, especially when those patients happen to read the newspaper, especially with the current downward spiral of our country — as if these people haven't lived through enough horror...

I love my dementia peeps, but sometimes wonder if there's a Guinness Book World Record for how many times an hour a dementia patient can repeat the same question — it's got to be in the hundreds. At least with small children, they ask different questions. Dementia patients will get stuck on one short question and ask it until you can interrupt their train(carousel) of thought and successfully redirect their attention. That carousel is pretty manic sometimes. 

A couple days ago, I picked up my mail from the post office and drove over to the nursing home to take (let's call her
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Printed out a lot of Amber's today, trying to get one the proper size and proportions (to Dorothy and Joyce), finally achieving it, but the glasses broke, so time for attempt 5
4
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Tried printing Amber leaning back, hoping fir a cleaner face, as she's looking down and all the supports wrench up in there. But her soles might not be flat enough to stand this way, so we'll see.
6
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
Dumbing of Age: "Any one person" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomic #webcomics
www.dumbingofage.com
Any one person
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
Important butt support
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reposted by David M Willis!
teaberryblue.net's user avatar
Tea Berry-Blue @teaberryblue.net ⋅ 3d
Celebrating the last hours of Pride Month by posting one of my favorite things, the letter that stands as the first written evidence of “queer” used as a positive, self-ID term, written from Cyril Coeur de Leon aka “The Countess” to Billy Reynolds.
A typewritten transcription of a letter 

Flat 14a,
Montague Hotel, Montague Street,
Russell Square, W.C.1.

My Dear Billy,
just a note to say that I am very disappointed about
you, I honestly thought that you were queer, ax& but different from the others, and I liked you very much. I didnt intend coming to the Club last night only I felt that I must see you. I have only been queer since I came to London about two years ago, before then I knew nothing about it, as I told you I am married and have a little girl two years of age, and I still like girls occasionally, there are veryfew boys with whom I want to have an affair with, I like them all as friends
but nothing more. I have a boy staying with me and who is really my affair, we have been together now since I came to town and I like him very much, and I think he is a better pal to me than any woman could ever be, altho' sometimes I wish that I was still normal as queer
people are very temperamental and dissatisfied. I honestly hoped to have an affair with you Billy, and I shall only come to the Club to
see you. Well it is now 10-p.m. and I have just got up out of bed so must close down and have a bath and dress, and hope that you will
excuse my telling you all this only as I say, I like you very very much and feel that I can talk this way to you. Please be a dear boy and destroy this note, and do not mention it to anyone as this is jusu between you and I. I shall look forward to seeing you in about a couple of hours. Until then.
Your Very Sincere friend always,
Cyril Coeur
de Leon.
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