Lucy Marlowe, a magician's apprentice, competes against other apprentices for an important, magical, Goverment Job.
Lighter Than Heir
Melissa Albino
A young Volant woman joins the military in an effort to upstage her war-hero father.
Atomic Robo
Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener
The robot punches monsters and bad robots and one time he was a cowboy.
Jailbird
Charlie Davis
An all-ages comic about a recently escaped prisoner's struggle to understand the outside world, and vice-versa. Also, a magic cape!
The Sanity Circus
Windy
Magic, monsters and mysteries await in the odd city of Sanity. It's up to Attley and a colorful group of characters to find out just what is going on.
Love Not Found
Gina Biggs
Abeille is on a quest to find someone who wants to do it the old-fashioned way in a time when touching has become outdated.
Paranatural
Zack Morrison
Superpowered middle schoolers fight evil spirits in their rural hometown. Come for the jokes, stay for the cast, the creatures, and the mystery that ties them all together!
Starhammer
J.N. Monk, Harry Bogosian
A teen girl inherits a powerful alien artifact and proceeds to make a series of increasingly poor decisions
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
Kochab
Sarah Webb
A YA F/F fantasy comic about Sonya, a lost skier trying to survive a snowy wilderness and find her way back to her village; and Kyra - a fire spirit trying to fix the home that she let fall apart around her.
Devil's Candy
Rem, Bikkuri
A lush fantasy about boy genius Kazu Decker, the girl he constructed for his 9th grade science project, and the world of devils and monsters they live in.
Star Impact
Jack McGee
A young, energetic woman fights her way up in the world of super-powered boxing after discovering the mighty gloves of her missing idol!
Star Trip
Gisele Weaver
Jas is a human taken from her home planet on a trip across the galaxy she will never forget.
Empowered
Adam Warren
A sexy superhero comedy (except when it isn't) about the never-ending struggles of a plucky but very unlucky young superheroine.
Cut Time
Juby
Rel and her trusty avian friend Fugue are on a quest to save a world that's lost track of time. Follow them and their new recruits, in a story written with help from the stars.
Demon's Mirror
Harry Bogosian
Based loosely off of "The Snow Queen", a story by Hans Christian Andersen, we see things take a different turn as the demons become central characters, and the side characters stick around. Yup, that's the only differences. Enjoy!
The Automan's Daughter
Mike Stamm
Aisha Osman and her uncle Siddig outwit bikers, spies and kidnappers while gearing up for a showdown with the formidable Widowmaker mecha.
[un]Divine
Ayme
A highschool senior thought giving up his soul for a demon was a good idea. It wasn't.
El Goonish Shive
Dan Shive
WARNING: This comic often ignores the Laws of Physics
Monster Pulse
Magnolia Porter Siddell
Four kids run afoul of a creepy secret organization's experiments, which turn their body parts into fighting monsters. Part sentimental coming-of-age story, part monster-training shonen manga, with just a bit of sci-fi body horror.
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.
Between Failures
Jackie Wohlenhaus
The low stakes adventures of an assorted group of 20 somethings trapped in the declining years of American retail. They are naughty and say lots of swears.
Alice and the Nightmare
Misha Krivanek
Alice finally attends University to learn to collect the dreams of humans, meet new friends, and deal with a pesky reflection along the way.
Sufficiently Remarkable
Maki Naro
Two young women living in Brooklyn discover that you're always coming of age.
Hazy London
Scotty
A story about messy relationships. From friendly foes to crazy families. Nothing is black and white, just full of color. But, all colors can get a little hazy...
Sam & Fuzzy
Sam Logan
Troubled by gangster rodents, lovesick vampire stalkers, or confused ninja assassins? Don't panic! Sam and Fuzzy are here to help. (For a reasonable fee.)
Cassiopeia Quinn
Gunwild, Psudonym
A cute, pantsless thief is pursued across the stars by a buttoned-up military officer in the spacey, laser-filled future.
Fireweeds Moors
Gato Iberico
A cat-headed man and a girl with a sandwich hankering accidentally end up in a myth-infused country where magic chalices are a really big thing.
Girl Genius
Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio
In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World...with mixed success.
The Witch Door
Anni K.
Katariina Lehto discovers her neighbor is a witch called Jousia Muotka. Jousia introduces Katariina to the strange people and places beyond the witch door...
This is Not Fiction
Nicole Mannino
What do you do when the person you're in-love with is an anonymous romance novelist? Get your best friend to hire your worst enemy for help!
The Lonely Vincent Bellingham
Diana Huh
Vincent is an unkind man looking to disappear, and finds himself in the care of a vampire and her two wicked children.
Astral Aves
Moon Cabal
A fantasy coming-of-age following the adventures of Astra The Black and friends, as they navigate the mysterious world around them. It's politics, adventure, and the supernatural; oh, and crazy hair.
Guilded Age
T Campbell, John Waltrip, Florence Machina
Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
Whomp!
Ronnie
A depressed, portly, hirsute anime fan stumbles through life in the ever-pursuit of chicken nuggets and other life-shortening indulgences.
Godslave
Meaghan Carter
Edith has been thrown into the dangerous world of modern-day Egyptian mythology. Fighting monsters and dealing with family drama of godly proportions.
Monsterkind
Taylor C
Wallace Foster, a young, bright-eyed human social worker, has his entire world view rocked when he's suddenly relocated into a city primarily inhabited by monsters.
Kiwi Blitz
Mary Cagle (Cube Watermelon)
Steffi thinks she can use her kiwi mech to become a superhero. This idea turns out to be very stupid.
Go Get a Roomie
Clover
Experience the queer journey of an upbeat hippie and the friendships she makes along the way! A tale of self-discovery and love of many forms.
Stand Still, Stay Silent
Minna Sundberg
A few generations after the end of the world, a small, poorly financed research crew is sent out to rediscover whatever is left of the forbidden old world in the south.
Sister Claire
Yamino
In the troubled aftermath of a great war between Witches and her fellow Nuns, novice Sister Claire just wants a purpose.
Ghost Junk Sickness
Studio CARTRIDGE, Laura Lee
Two hunters try to survive and end up being pushed to pursue a deadly bounty dubbed "The Ghost".
Caramel Corn
Potchimew
Sarah is the only human left in a world full of mythical creatures and monsters. All she wants to do is live a quiet life, but everything changes when she meets her guardian angel, Jacob.
Lilith's Word
inkPangur
If you had the power to make any wish come true using just one word, what would you say?
Goodbye to Halos
Valerie Halla
Cuddles, gay flirting, weird feelings, and magic-fueled knife fights - it's an adventure across the queer multiverse!
Tigress Queen
Allison Shaw
A barbarian warlord and a pampered prince try to avoid a marriage alliance that could end decades of violence.
Wilde Life
Pascalle Lepas
Oscar decided to rent an old haunted house, and that's when things got weird...
Widdershins
Kate Ashwin
A series of light-hearted Victorian-era adventure stories featuring grumpy bounty hunters, accidental thiefkings, and more, in England's magical capital city Widdershins!
Real Science Adventures
Brian Clevinger
Spin off stories and other adventures from the world of Atomic Robo!
Anarchy Dreamers
Emily Ree
Sparkly undead kids fight society's worst Nightmares in this pastel-punk urban fantasy coming-of-age!
Nerf Now!!
Josué Pereira
A cute webcomic about fanservice, video games, and... love. Mostly video games, though.
Wychwood
Varethane
When Tiara's pyrokinesis is finally noticed, she is captured by a magical research organization for study. If she cooperates, she could be helping to save humanity from a dire threat - but can she trust them?
The End
August Brown, Cory Brown
Two aliens crash a sci-fi convention and accidentally take seven nerds on an adventure that spans the galaxy!
Knights Errant
J.R. Doyle
Wilfrid's humble quest for revenge becomes bigger and bloodier by the day.
Awaken
Koti Saavedra/Flipfloppery
Superpowers, monsters and conspiracies. Piras, the spoiled Dameschi heir, fights to recover his identity after becoming a terrorist!
BOOKMARK Click "Tag Page" to bookmark a page. When you return to the site, click "Goto Tag" to continue where you left off.
BUFFER WATCH
Comics are currently drawn and uploaded through:
“and this is the part where the great Faz joins in and all attention is paid to Faz, except Faz’s own attention which is paid thoroughly to your lady-parts.”
I can so see Faz then becoming the victim of 1 of those Anime-uber-uppercuts after saying that, maybe even from both of them at the same time. You know, the type of punch that sends people flying away till they become a speck in the distance, vanishing with a little flash & a “ting” sound effect…
Probably would be the only “2 ladies at once” action he’ll EVER get… XD
Ever think about putting a little bit of laxitives in their brownies? You know, for shits & giggles? You know you’ll be safe if you can’t eat them in the first place too…
Probably, but there are still gonna be plenty who will keep believing Joyce is deep down really a Lesbian who’s getting close to openly admitting she wants to shove her face between Dorothy’s legs…
As opposed to platonic male friendship! All we have to do is say “Yeah!” and high five, or chest bump, or even headbutt if it’s really awesome. Then theres the solitary “I understand.” shoulder touch plus head nod. But you can only do that once a year and only if someone died!
Pouring a strong bourbon for a friend in times of great stress or grief is appropriate for all friendships, however. Especially if there is also a fire.
Better in your stomach, than outside, catching fire. If the fire gets hot enough to combust alcohol inside your body, you already have bigger problems.
I wouldn’t know, what with being a guy and therefore only able to express emotion through grunting and lifting weights, but is this a problem that LGBT women have to put up with when trying to console their straight friends?
Cause, man, that’s just fucking sad. Becky’s trying to be her usual BFF self and now there’s this looming cloud over their relationship that Becky isn’t “allowed” to comfort Joyce as she would before.
Thank you good sir for saving me the time to write the exact same thoughts myself. Because this seems rather odd, given that in my little social circle (where we have straight guys, straight girls, lgbt girls, and one irritating person who refuses to choose a pronoun), there doesn’t seem to be any such limitation. People just snuggle and the only awkwardness is because two people don’t get along personally, not this kinda thing.
I heard a purely anecdotal story about a woman who was very frustrated with how cuddly her lady friends were – because how was she supposed to come on to them if they were already touchy-feely with each other?
I think it’s more of a crush thing than an LGBT thing, where if there’s an acknowledged crush that the parties don’t want to act on, there’s a little more awkwardness about close physical platonic affection, though there are straight girls and lots and lots of straight boys who get really weird about physical affection of even the mildest form when the person giving the affection is known to be LGBT. I’m thinking this might be more the former, though it does suck that her first instinct for comfort (and something that Joyce probably needs) is being short circuited by that.
Well, I get weird with any sort of degree of physical affection from anyone I’m not currently sleeping with. So much so that my co-workers joke that my middle name is ‘Don’t-Touch-Me’.
Actually it’s also a thing with no confession and with no crush. Straight women are extremely intimate with each other and I am very very very aware of how much that doesn’t come naturally to me, and how terrified I am of making a straight woman uncomfortable, EITHER by being too affectionate or somehow “obviously” not affectionate enough. I’m constantly afraid my platonic friends will think I have feelings for them. Though in my case it’s probably partly because my high school “friends” told me outright that my being “so” attracted to girls was weird (They all considered themselves “at least a little” bi.), and then later ousted me from the group.
But yeah there’s very much a “ACT ‘NORMAL'” imperative in my brain that never knows how much to compliment my friends / hug them / etc, that’s always afraid of fucking up. Yay.
Well, I imagine being hugged/cuddled/etc. by someone who has openly stated sexual attraction towards you when you have none towards them would be awkward no matter what the gender/sexuality configuration is.
Guys it’s okay, you don’t have to be all “no homo” about it, just hug it out.
I cuddle my lady friends who know I’m out and know I think they’re hot and they cuddle me back. It never gets weird. The only way it gets weird is if you make it weird.
Becky has to be super careful with that kind of stuff least she starts a flame war in the comments. (Here’s to hoping that me being silly doesn’t start a flame war in the comments).
To be less silly – I agree. (Of course, there are people who don’t like to cuddle no matter what, but Becky and Joyce clearly do)
But, Joyce might be super-uncomfortable about being snuggled by somebody who has a crush on her, and Becky could be super-uncomfortable about getting turned on with her off-limits pal. As a super-snuggly person myself, I think Becky is being smart to check in before hug-time.
1 Problem Bagge, we’ve already got lower-level flame wars going on from Becky being finally-out Becky, I can see flame wars starting even if she gets permission.
I’ll agree, from what I’ve picked up about socializing so far, she’s over stepped a few boundaries, but she is essentially still in the “I’m FREEEEEE” arms-flailing & laughing none-stop stage of finally coming out…
I hope you are right. I mean, that is not my life experience at all, but I do hope that my inability to find guys that don’t feel awkward about basically everything I do is a statistical anomaly. And I am not even a gay male, I just like hugs (although I always ask before I touch someone) and talking through emotions properly.
I prefer to think that Jen Aside has to hike through miles of jungle to reach a computer or wifi hotspot or something. The days that Jen doesn’t get first post is when they have to stop to fight a jaguar.
I also feel that – which makes it extra sad when you realize that the only person she actually has been physical with in college before Becky came was Ethan. That puts an extra spin on the isolation she felt.
Her clothing reinforces that. The only bare skin she has right now is her fingertips and her face. God help her if she starts wearing gloves and a face mask.
I’ve been wondering for a while whether she wears turtlenecks as armor, for when she feels especially vulnerable, but it could just be autumn and I’m overthinking it.
And that she takes Sal’s advice and amps up her usual style to OWN THE FUDGE OF IT. Both in order to be cool and in order to take a stand for her identity and core values, kinda like Becky.
Also, I’m really excited that this is where we start seeing Becky, the friend, the side of her that made Becky the person Joyce frantically tried to call when things were topsy-turvy. I mean, she’s not only being actively present, but also being super cautious on boundaries while also checking and double-checking on her emotional state. With that and the history of close physical support, I really feel this is the point where Becky might help to at least listen to Joyce and help her sort out her feelings regarding her evolving faith, Ethan, (I really hope the whole Ryan thing what with the bloody sweater thing), the stand-off with her parents.
Because based on Joyce’s actions so far, that seems to have been a dynamic they’ve had before and I think it might be crucial for Joyce to really reopen at least a less huggy form of it now.
That Joyce and Becky are very, very important to each other has been clear from the start, but here we see a bit more of why. I really hope they have that talk soon.
I really hope they talk about everything. As much as Joyce needs to open up, there’s bound to be other stuff that Becky has had happen at Andersen too. I hope they both open up to each other.
I’m the youngest in my family, and as far as I know a straight lady, and I am VERY cuddly. Like, I single-handedly turned my family into a hugging family by hugging everyone into acceptance… So, for me, hugs and cuddling are perfectly appropriate in a platonic lady friendship. But then again, who knows what that “whatnot” is.
In the first dumbing of age book, one of David Willis’s comments is “now we have met 5 nation characters (and Becky)”. Now Its more along the lines of “five main characters (and Joe)”
Poor Joyce. So conflicted. Repression is a terrible thing. It leads to all sorts of traumas that affect your entire life. Live in the moment, Joyce, follow your heart, don’t build your life around the afterlife, yield to temptation, enjoy the pleasures of the flesh, embrace the now, live every day as if it were your last, you’ll be a better person for it.
My version would involve constant panic attacks as I confronted my own mortality, along with insincere religious conversions right before bedtime. Really not seeing the appeal.
You know, a hundred years ago, when guys all assumed that women just couldn’t have *real* orgasms and whatnot unless peen was directly involved, it was considered perfectly acceptable for “close lady friends” to even be naked and doing stuff in bed together. Like, I mean, even if they got caught, hey, they’re just really close friends, and everyone knows women tend to be more touchy-feely with friends than guys do.
I mean, it’s not like they’re having sex or anything. No peens are involved so they can’t be!
So, Joyce, you just need to get, you know, a little more old-fashioned with your social mores.
Think you need to recheck your history. Lesbian awareness was flourishing in the late 1800s and early 1900s up until about the Great Depression. The 1920s in particular saw a tremendous growth of the community, at least in the US. Guys (especially medical guys) had some freaky ideas about sex back then (look up John Harvey Kellogg sometime – you’ll ever eat his cereals again) but you had to be a pretty sheltered adult not to know that lesbian sex was a thing, even if the specific details were vague.
You know, I’ve been staring at Joyce’s outfit in these last few panels of this segment if the story and I’ll be dambed if I can figure out just what she is wearing. It looks like she is wearing a sweater-vest (of course!) over a long-sleeved turtleneck; but if that’s the case then what’s with the orange-and-bluish things that looks like collar lapels? Is there actually such a thing as a sweater-vest with a collar?
Sleeveless hoodies are actually pretty common – especially in summer, but if you have a long-sleeved shirt they can be used just for layering as well as having something to cover your head if need be.
You guys gotta help me. I’m trying to track down a strip that has gone missing from my hard drive, and for the life of me, I can’t find it online.
I had thought it was a Penny Arcade one, but I can’t find it there, either. It’s a commentary on the whole DC-Reboots-Starfire issue, and it has a woman complaining to her gay friend about the reboot of Starfire, and how sexist and awful it is, and her friend agrees, saying it’s completely unfair they only rebooted Starfire, and adds something to the effect of how other DC aliens should get a sexy reboot. It ends with a little fantasy he has of a DC Reboot Sexy!Martian Manhunter saying he requires assistance, and “will trade carnal pleasure” for help with his sunscreen.
Has anyone else seen this one? It’s not one of my usual webcomics and I suspect someone linked to it (possibly from Shortpacked), and I’m having the devil’s own time finding it again. You guys would really do me a solid if you could point me at it again (or even if you remember what strip it was in).
Meanwhile, I need to go talk to a guy about how far back he restored my files…
I was half-expecting some comment about how Becky really should’ve asked “Are you okay?” before Joyce answered it herself. Very pleased to find that I was wrong.
This is why i keep reading this comic, the issues and situations that’re brought up that keep making me reconsider what I thought i knew and to think about situations that would never have occured to me
Skewed? I’LL SHOW YOU SKEWED
Will there be graphs involved?
“Great Faz’s time has come!”
Dammit, RELEASE THE LIONS!
I don’t think that would help.
Typo in that, the Master. I think you meant “loins.”
wait? is that rly the plural of lion?
A: Loins refers to the lower belly, lower back, and pelvic regions, and also is considered “the source of erotic or procreative power.”
Please proceed to process the above quotes as “comedic”
…and don’t forget the Venn diagrams.
“Here’s Joyce, and here’s Becky. This is the part where they come together.”
“and this is the part where the great Faz joins in and all attention is paid to Faz, except Faz’s own attention which is paid thoroughly to your lady-parts.”
I can so see Faz then becoming the victim of 1 of those Anime-uber-uppercuts after saying that, maybe even from both of them at the same time. You know, the type of punch that sends people flying away till they become a speck in the distance, vanishing with a little flash & a “ting” sound effect…
Probably would be the only “2 ladies at once” action he’ll EVER get… XD
Team Rocket style?
We had graphs, but Joe keeps cutting them up with scissors
SKEWED or SKREWED?
SKEWERED.
I’ll skew your BRAINS OUT!
that is COMPLETELY normal
you just keep on doin you Joyce
I really love normalizing moderate physical affection with platonic friends. really helps to reduce the feelings of loneliness when single.
I fee the same way.
In my circle of friends I’m known as “The hugger” It aint no thang.
Your avatar amuses me.
Ruth administers bear hugs, so called because they more closely resemble a mauling than a hug.
The gaping wounds show that she cares.
Her brother and Billie get the wounds dressed afterwards, because that’s what love is to her
Hug tastic!
Unfortunately that only works when your friends are around and not getting high at another friends house
im having a lonely night
If it makes you feel any better, I have the same issue when I’m hanging around in said other friend’s house among my peer group.
Turns out you CAN be allergic to weed, so they get high in one of the suite rooms while I sit in the living room watching the door and playing League.
Plus any time there are brownies around the house, you REALLY have to ask first…
There will be cake, and then you will be baked.
Ever think about putting a little bit of laxitives in their brownies? You know, for shits & giggles? You know you’ll be safe if you can’t eat them in the first place too…
That’d be a shitty thing to do.
Oh Joyce
*Wants to give Joycy a platonic, reassuring hug* :3*
*Can’t because of the darn computer screen in the way*
We must find a way to destroy the fourth wall!
Yes, we must! I just hope it’s not a load-bearing wall though… xD
We should do our best to avoid collapsing the fabric of reality
your avatars make this conversation awesome.
Nor is it proper to want to run your fingers through Sal’s hair… understandable but not proper.
Is it still cool to whisper into each other’s ears? That’s still cool right?
intimate secrets or sweet nothings?
Just as long as tongues are not inserted anywhere.
Nibbling a little is OK, isn’t it?
Only when sharing a bath together according to this textbook.
But what about when forced/voluntarily sharing a bed? Is it OK then?
Faz? Is that you?
We’re getting these rules from hentai, aren’t we?
I was wondering why the author of the textbook was J. Lesnik…
J Lesnick? (I’m reading Girly for the 2nd time. It is excellent again.)
But..but… that chocolate river o_o
You must resist, YOU MUST!
Resistance is futile.
No resistance is I/V. it’s only futile when V=0.
Pedant to the rescue:
V=IR
V/I = R
Resistance is futile when V -> infinity
See: static discharge
See Also: Zeus, Thor, Tesla
Oh pish, you and Joyce and your “not having lesbian sex with your friends” rules. Live free, I say.
Presumably this comes under the heading of “whatnot” in the textbook?
Explains so much
Probably, but there are still gonna be plenty who will keep believing Joyce is deep down really a Lesbian who’s getting close to openly admitting she wants to shove her face between Dorothy’s legs…
“Shove her face between Dorothy’s legs?”
Please. “Delicately insert.”
Oh my goodness, I didn’t think of this at all but it makes so much sense!
Rassum Frassum. I was all set to be comment number one and the damn thing didn’t load.
Better luck next time.
Thanks.
Platonic lady friendship involves more than I thought.
It also involves going to the washroom together.
doing each other’s nails, braiding each other’s hair, running for elected office — you know, girly stuff.
As opposed to platonic male friendship! All we have to do is say “Yeah!” and high five, or chest bump, or even headbutt if it’s really awesome. Then theres the solitary “I understand.” shoulder touch plus head nod. But you can only do that once a year and only if someone died!
We guys do have it so much easier (in this respect)
Pouring a strong bourbon for a friend in times of great stress or grief is appropriate for all friendships, however. Especially if there is also a fire.
‘In case of fire, imbibe flammable liquids’ is excellent advice.
Better in your stomach, than outside, catching fire. If the fire gets hot enough to combust alcohol inside your body, you already have bigger problems.
Not anymore you don’t.
I would think that, when a fire breaks out and flammable liquids are within reach, it is a very good time to leave.
Wait, that’s all that’s involved? Maybe that’s why Daniel the Human keeps throwing magnets at me…
If a second person dies, ya gotta fall back on, “That’s rough, buddy.”
Also implemented when the other guy reminds you that his last girlfriend turned into the Moon.
Only before the first guy restores his HONOOOOOR
For reference, see (all right, listen to) The Chenille Sisters’ “Great to Be a Guy.”
For a practical guide, see Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins.
Yeah, I guess I can see that Joyce
Alas, the struggle. If you want to bone (or used to bone), you just can’t cuddle no more.
Okay, so Joyce isn’t secretly lesbian, she’s just basing her social cues off someone who is. (Well, not so secretly now.) That makes sense.
I’m feeling even more bad for Joyce now although a aprt of me does want to know what “whatnot” entails
Joyce’s hair looks really pretty. And she tried to smell Dorothy’s hair? Wonder what Dotty thought about that.
That her hair smelled nice, and maybe Joyce wanted to know her shampoo brand?
“I should probably let you know that those times I straddled your knee and ‘played horsie?’ Yeah, that’s not really a ‘friend’ thing.”
I did want to reply with something about dampness & groans, but I’m getting death stared…
That’s… sensible of you, Becky.
Also, dat alt-text XD
Joyce, I’m pretty sure you should have figured out on your own that there’s no such thing as “consolation ass grabs”.
Skewed for the better, maybe.
That’s no reason to stop, Joyce.
*plays Joan Jett’s “Do You Wanna Touch?” on the Muzak*
This is why we can’t have nice things.
That song got put on my no-play list ever since Gary Glitter’s arrests.
Would you prefer The Doors’ “Touch Me”?
Why, yes, thanks. (The Doors were a great band, except for the numbers that got overwhelmed by Jim Morrison’s pretension at being a poet.)
“In retrospect I know why why Dorothy found it weird that I nibbled on her ear when we hugged”
All those things that Joyce was doing that pinged your gaydar…
It was you, Becky. She learned it from watching you.
YES.
Joyce, I love you, but that sweater/vest/sweatervest? is hideous. Forgive me.
Makes excellent armor, though.
There’s a reason Joyce is dressed in multiple layers. Its not because she’s cold. It is indeed armor against amour.
Let rub some MORE salt in the wound shall we?
I wouldn’t know, what with being a guy and therefore only able to express emotion through grunting and lifting weights, but is this a problem that LGBT women have to put up with when trying to console their straight friends?
Cause, man, that’s just fucking sad. Becky’s trying to be her usual BFF self and now there’s this looming cloud over their relationship that Becky isn’t “allowed” to comfort Joyce as she would before.
Thank you good sir for saving me the time to write the exact same thoughts myself. Because this seems rather odd, given that in my little social circle (where we have straight guys, straight girls, lgbt girls, and one irritating person who refuses to choose a pronoun), there doesn’t seem to be any such limitation. People just snuggle and the only awkwardness is because two people don’t get along personally, not this kinda thing.
More a post-confession thing I think.
I heard a purely anecdotal story about a woman who was very frustrated with how cuddly her lady friends were – because how was she supposed to come on to them if they were already touchy-feely with each other?
I think it’s more of a crush thing than an LGBT thing, where if there’s an acknowledged crush that the parties don’t want to act on, there’s a little more awkwardness about close physical platonic affection, though there are straight girls and lots and lots of straight boys who get really weird about physical affection of even the mildest form when the person giving the affection is known to be LGBT. I’m thinking this might be more the former, though it does suck that her first instinct for comfort (and something that Joyce probably needs) is being short circuited by that.
Well, I get weird with any sort of degree of physical affection from anyone I’m not currently sleeping with. So much so that my co-workers joke that my middle name is ‘Don’t-Touch-Me’.
Yes, this is very much a thing.
Actually it’s also a thing with no confession and with no crush. Straight women are extremely intimate with each other and I am very very very aware of how much that doesn’t come naturally to me, and how terrified I am of making a straight woman uncomfortable, EITHER by being too affectionate or somehow “obviously” not affectionate enough. I’m constantly afraid my platonic friends will think I have feelings for them. Though in my case it’s probably partly because my high school “friends” told me outright that my being “so” attracted to girls was weird (They all considered themselves “at least a little” bi.), and then later ousted me from the group.
But yeah there’s very much a “ACT ‘NORMAL'” imperative in my brain that never knows how much to compliment my friends / hug them / etc, that’s always afraid of fucking up. Yay.
Well, I imagine being hugged/cuddled/etc. by someone who has openly stated sexual attraction towards you when you have none towards them would be awkward no matter what the gender/sexuality configuration is.
Guys it’s okay, you don’t have to be all “no homo” about it, just hug it out.
I cuddle my lady friends who know I’m out and know I think they’re hot and they cuddle me back. It never gets weird. The only way it gets weird is if you make it weird.
Becky has to be super careful with that kind of stuff least she starts a flame war in the comments. (Here’s to hoping that me being silly doesn’t start a flame war in the comments).
To be less silly – I agree. (Of course, there are people who don’t like to cuddle no matter what, but Becky and Joyce clearly do)
But, Joyce might be super-uncomfortable about being snuggled by somebody who has a crush on her, and Becky could be super-uncomfortable about getting turned on with her off-limits pal. As a super-snuggly person myself, I think Becky is being smart to check in before hug-time.
I concur. Always check in before hug-time.
True
It’s still possible they will hug in the next panel. But yeah, it felt necessary to ask, there.
Well, considering that we literally have a commenter here with the ‘Flammable’ label you find on the likes of pure ethanol…
1 Problem Bagge, we’ve already got lower-level flame wars going on from Becky being finally-out Becky, I can see flame wars starting even if she gets permission.
I’ll agree, from what I’ve picked up about socializing so far, she’s over stepped a few boundaries, but she is essentially still in the “I’m FREEEEEE” arms-flailing & laughing none-stop stage of finally coming out…
I hope you are right. I mean, that is not my life experience at all, but I do hope that my inability to find guys that don’t feel awkward about basically everything I do is a statistical anomaly. And I am not even a gay male, I just like hugs (although I always ask before I touch someone) and talking through emotions properly.
Cultural norms simply make life weird – and amusing for a detached observer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzO1mCAVyMw
Becky will probably get to that point in another few days of DoA time, i.e. 2020 our time.
Am I the only one disturbed that Jen Aside isn’t the first commenter today?
Like, was there an accident? Are they ill?
I prefer to think that Jen Aside has to hike through miles of jungle to reach a computer or wifi hotspot or something. The days that Jen doesn’t get first post is when they have to stop to fight a jaguar.
HEADCANON
Sometimes they have to fight a pantzher. It’s half panther, half tank, all AWESOME
Also, it tries to pull ones trousers down.
Their natural habitat is the high school gymnasium.
I’m pretty sure Jenaside is fighting someone to the death over the computer.
They have magical powers.
Is it only Jen’s computer or do all computers have magical powers?
The computer does not have magical powers Jenaside and her arch enemy do
Then don’t dangle your modifiers! They don’t like it any more than you!
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/02-choosing-my-religion/text/
Wow, headcanon confirmed. I assumed way back that they were the touchy-feely kind of friends.
Awwww. Becky wants to help but doesn’t know how. Welcome to planet Joyce.
I feel like this explains Joyce’s thing towards Sal. But I also feel that Joyce would be a very physically affectionate person no matter what.
It’s okay you two, just hug.
I also feel that – which makes it extra sad when you realize that the only person she actually has been physical with in college before Becky came was Ethan. That puts an extra spin on the isolation she felt.
Her clothing reinforces that. The only bare skin she has right now is her fingertips and her face. God help her if she starts wearing gloves and a face mask.
Sal is all “cover your hands ! Don’t you have any shame ?!”
That’s Amazi-girl when she rescues cats. Joyce would be a great sidekick
I’ve been wondering for a while whether she wears turtlenecks as armor, for when she feels especially vulnerable, but it could just be autumn and I’m overthinking it.
And that she takes Sal’s advice and amps up her usual style to OWN THE FUDGE OF IT. Both in order to be cool and in order to take a stand for her identity and core values, kinda like Becky.
…but yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s an armor too.
She can’t wear her gloves – Ruth threw them out the window, remember?
I has the sads for Joyce, and slightly less so for Becky.
Also, I’m really excited that this is where we start seeing Becky, the friend, the side of her that made Becky the person Joyce frantically tried to call when things were topsy-turvy. I mean, she’s not only being actively present, but also being super cautious on boundaries while also checking and double-checking on her emotional state. With that and the history of close physical support, I really feel this is the point where Becky might help to at least listen to Joyce and help her sort out her feelings regarding her evolving faith, Ethan, (I really hope the whole Ryan thing what with the bloody sweater thing), the stand-off with her parents.
Because based on Joyce’s actions so far, that seems to have been a dynamic they’ve had before and I think it might be crucial for Joyce to really reopen at least a less huggy form of it now.
That Joyce and Becky are very, very important to each other has been clear from the start, but here we see a bit more of why. I really hope they have that talk soon.
I really hope they talk about everything. As much as Joyce needs to open up, there’s bound to be other stuff that Becky has had happen at Andersen too. I hope they both open up to each other.
Yes. Friends being nice to each other for the win.
I’m the youngest in my family, and as far as I know a straight lady, and I am VERY cuddly. Like, I single-handedly turned my family into a hugging family by hugging everyone into acceptance… So, for me, hugs and cuddling are perfectly appropriate in a platonic lady friendship. But then again, who knows what that “whatnot” is.
I am a male in his 20’s.
I hugged a dog into submition not to long ago. All were impressed/weirded out!
At least the dog was finally calm.
The people pressent sucked, that’s why I went for the dog.
I became a hugger after being tackle-hugged into submission by a friend.
…that sounds scary.
So you understand my initial reluctance.
So it’s spread sort of like vampirism?
http://goo.gl/INJUJv
Hugging a Dog into submission? Both me & Daniel the Human are impressed…
The hugs are contagious?
Very much so. Like viral Care Bears.
Thanks for the wonderful mental image of a rabid Tenderheart Bear foaming at the mouth.
In the first dumbing of age book, one of David Willis’s comments is “now we have met 5 nation characters (and Becky)”. Now Its more along the lines of “five main characters (and Joe)”
Sorry Joe I still love you
This is a Becky I like.
Well….that explains a lot!
Poor Joyce. So conflicted. Repression is a terrible thing. It leads to all sorts of traumas that affect your entire life. Live in the moment, Joyce, follow your heart, don’t build your life around the afterlife, yield to temptation, enjoy the pleasures of the flesh, embrace the now, live every day as if it were your last, you’ll be a better person for it.
Living every day as if it were your last would seem to involve a lot of saying goodbye.
Maybe I’m too literal.
It would also involve a slew of terrible decisions and probably some addictions, I would think. Impulse control is a valuable thing.
My version would involve constant panic attacks as I confronted my own mortality, along with insincere religious conversions right before bedtime. Really not seeing the appeal.
You know, a hundred years ago, when guys all assumed that women just couldn’t have *real* orgasms and whatnot unless peen was directly involved, it was considered perfectly acceptable for “close lady friends” to even be naked and doing stuff in bed together. Like, I mean, even if they got caught, hey, they’re just really close friends, and everyone knows women tend to be more touchy-feely with friends than guys do.
I mean, it’s not like they’re having sex or anything. No peens are involved so they can’t be!
So, Joyce, you just need to get, you know, a little more old-fashioned with your social mores.
Think you need to recheck your history. Lesbian awareness was flourishing in the late 1800s and early 1900s up until about the Great Depression. The 1920s in particular saw a tremendous growth of the community, at least in the US. Guys (especially medical guys) had some freaky ideas about sex back then (look up John Harvey Kellogg sometime – you’ll ever eat his cereals again) but you had to be a pretty sheltered adult not to know that lesbian sex was a thing, even if the specific details were vague.
Agh. “never eat his cerals again” that is. Because carbolic acid, that’s why.
I’m fairly certain he’s no longer with the company.
In spirit he is. OOOOOOOOOOO, spooky ghost cereal.
Nah, Boo Berry was a General Mills cereal, not Kellogg’s.
Also, egad, I cannot spell properly today.
A lot of things took a step back during the Great Depression. The 1920’s were a lot more progressive than people think.
The storyline’s great and all, but I’m honestly just looking forward to the next thing centered around Roz.
That said, the whole comic is awesome and it’s a treat to see the updates every day!
I would read a Slipshine moment called “Platonic Lady Friendship”.
Joyce and Becky Perform a Cuddle.
That’s not slipshine as much as the main comic.
I just realized Joyce’s sweater vest makes her look like she’s being eaten by a large beetle.
I’m trying to figure out what’s under it. Is she wearing a vest over a halter-top over a turtleneck?
You know, I’ve been staring at Joyce’s outfit in these last few panels of this segment if the story and I’ll be dambed if I can figure out just what she is wearing. It looks like she is wearing a sweater-vest (of course!) over a long-sleeved turtleneck; but if that’s the case then what’s with the orange-and-bluish things that looks like collar lapels? Is there actually such a thing as a sweater-vest with a collar?
It’s not a collar, it’s a hood.
First panel here has a little bit of a shot of it from the back: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/forthright/
These two have better shots of the same vest, but in a different color: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/04-the-whiteboard-dong-bandit/ruin/ http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/04-the-whiteboard-dong-bandit/bluffing/
I think it’s a hood. Check panel two back here.
I saw that, but a sleeveless hoodie made even less sense than a collared sweater-vest.
Hooded vests are pretty common, actually. They’re generally pretty warm, but Joyce clearly has icewater flowing through her veins.
It’s a hooded sweater-vest, over a mock turtleneck. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this look on preschool teachers in the autumn.
Sleeveless hoodies are actually pretty common – especially in summer, but if you have a long-sleeved shirt they can be used just for layering as well as having something to cover your head if need be.
“Skewed?”
…This explains SO MUCH.
I do wonder why things should change because she’s into it.
Hugs are okay, unless one party involved enjoys the said hug more than the other?
Joyce Performs A Snuggle
You guys gotta help me. I’m trying to track down a strip that has gone missing from my hard drive, and for the life of me, I can’t find it online.
I had thought it was a Penny Arcade one, but I can’t find it there, either. It’s a commentary on the whole DC-Reboots-Starfire issue, and it has a woman complaining to her gay friend about the reboot of Starfire, and how sexist and awful it is, and her friend agrees, saying it’s completely unfair they only rebooted Starfire, and adds something to the effect of how other DC aliens should get a sexy reboot. It ends with a little fantasy he has of a DC Reboot Sexy!Martian Manhunter saying he requires assistance, and “will trade carnal pleasure” for help with his sunscreen.
Has anyone else seen this one? It’s not one of my usual webcomics and I suspect someone linked to it (possibly from Shortpacked), and I’m having the devil’s own time finding it again. You guys would really do me a solid if you could point me at it again (or even if you remember what strip it was in).
Meanwhile, I need to go talk to a guy about how far back he restored my files…
It’s from d20 monkeys. One of my favorites (on my harddrive too
http://www.d20monkey.com/comic/equaltime/
:DDD Thanks so much!!!
That’s the one! Yay!!! :DDD <33333
I was half-expecting some comment about how Becky really should’ve asked “Are you okay?” before Joyce answered it herself. Very pleased to find that I was wrong.
10 comments up from yours.
(No, don’t look. I am lying)
This is why i keep reading this comic, the issues and situations that’re brought up that keep making me reconsider what I thought i knew and to think about situations that would never have occured to me
What are you talking about? This is every platonic lady friendship when you go to a women’s college.
nah hugs and cuddling is a very healthy platonic friendship for any gender