Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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May 22, 2026

Hellooooo

by David M Willis on August 15, 2018 at 12:01 am
  • 04 – Of Mike And Men
└ Tags: amber, ethan

Discussion (148) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    August 15, 2018 at 12:01 am | #

    “better go check for STDs I guess”

    • Platypus King
      Platypus King
      August 15, 2018 at 12:43 am | #

      Check for ALL of them!!
      Check specifically for a bad case of “Ornery-ah”!
      Mike is a terminal case!

    • FacelessDeviant
      FacelessDeviant
      August 15, 2018 at 2:03 am | #

      Check for eeeeeevil!

    • weirderthanweird
      weirderthanweird
      August 15, 2018 at 7:15 am | #

      Or restless leg syndrome

      • Nathan
        Nathan
        August 15, 2018 at 10:36 pm | #

        GWS reference! ❤

  2. butts
    butts
    August 15, 2018 at 12:02 am | #

    Oh my god Ethan is fucking adorable here

    • Dierna
      Dierna
      August 15, 2018 at 1:03 am | #

      Nah. Just Mike. 😛

      • insomniac
        insomniac
        August 15, 2018 at 3:55 am | #

        heyooo

    • All-Purpose Guru
      All-Purpose Guru
      August 15, 2018 at 1:34 am | #

      It’s called “afterglow”.

      • Annonymouse
        Annonymouse
        August 15, 2018 at 9:38 am | #

        So how many Rads would that be?

        • Tacos
          Tacos
          August 15, 2018 at 9:57 pm | #

          A radical amount. One might even say, “Totally Rad.”
          >.>
          <.<

  3. Jay
    Jay
    August 15, 2018 at 12:02 am | #

    I love Ethan’s expression in that last panel. It’s that perfect mix of bafflement and annoyance.

    • Snippy Harold
      Snippy Harold
      August 15, 2018 at 12:27 am | #

      “I was much happier before I remembered this is Mike.”

    • Chronos
      Chronos
      August 15, 2018 at 12:47 am | #

      I took it as some measure of dread.

      • Jay
        Jay
        August 16, 2018 at 12:27 am | #

        Definitely some of that in there too.

  4. TheHorseCouncil
    TheHorseCouncil
    August 15, 2018 at 12:03 am | #

    But is there a slipshine date? I’m asking for a friend >_>;

    No it’s me the friend is me..

    • David M Willis
      David M Willis
      August 15, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

      I’ll start working on it when I’m next between storylines.

      • TheHorseCouncil
        TheHorseCouncil
        August 15, 2018 at 12:15 am | #

        Thank you pornlord sir for this blessed response, i shall inquire no longer

        But seriously you’re amazing your work porn otherwise is always something to behold. :>

      • butts
        butts
        August 15, 2018 at 12:54 am | #

        WILL I GET MY DAMN ETHAN BUTT AVATAR

        • Deanatay
          Deanatay
          August 15, 2018 at 8:24 am | #

          But Joyce butt is so fine

        • Dark
          Dark
          August 15, 2018 at 1:05 pm | #

          Dude. You know you can make your own Ethan butt gravatar, right?

          • Amazi-Stool
            Amazi-Stool
            August 15, 2018 at 4:55 pm | #

            But that would not be an official butt!
            You could call it a fan-butt…
            It’s what happens when the butt hits the fan!

            • Agemegos
              Agemegos
              August 15, 2018 at 7:14 pm | #

              Did you hear the one about the lady who accidentally stepped backwards into a fan?

              Dis-arsed ‘er!

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      August 15, 2018 at 1:36 am | #

      I can’t help wondering if a slipshine date is like a prom date.

      And now I’m wondering what clever ideas folks have come up with for their slipshine-posals.

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        August 15, 2018 at 8:18 am | #

        Off by one letter – it’s a pron date.

      • Roborat
        Roborat
        August 15, 2018 at 2:36 pm | #

        Probably depends on how the prom date goes.

  5. SailorCakes
    SailorCakes
    August 15, 2018 at 12:03 am | #

    So much yes

  6. Some Random Name
    Some Random Name
    August 15, 2018 at 12:03 am | #

    I think the only scary thing is if Mike is genuine about this; remembering his face from the after sex, I don’t think he is.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      August 15, 2018 at 12:12 am | #

      I kinda hope he isn’t, for both their sakes. I mean, I don’t think Mike is irredeemable or anything, he’s just a jerk, but he’s definitely not boyfriend material in his current state. And I’d hate to see Ethan make himself miserable trying to fix him, when he’s got so many better options.

    • Comic.phile
      Comic.phile
      August 15, 2018 at 2:01 am | #

      I think he probably is genuine, but for once has no idea how to deal with that because he wasn’t expecting to be and knows Ethan would never take him seriously.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      August 15, 2018 at 7:07 am | #

      He kept his eyes open when they kissed.

  7. Derek
    Derek
    August 15, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    did Amber react like this when she lost her virginity? We know she tried with Ethan but that didn’t work out, but after she got over that?

    • AeromechanicalAce
      AeromechanicalAce
      August 15, 2018 at 12:06 am | #

      How do we know she has? We know Amazi-girl has boned Danny, but amber’s so compartmentalized that might not count to her.

      • Inahc
        Inahc
        August 15, 2018 at 12:08 am | #

        iirc, amber did join in on at least one slipshine.

      • Derek
        Derek
        August 15, 2018 at 12:43 am | #

        did Amber/ AmaziGirl lose her virginity to Danny? is that canon?

        • King Daniel
          King Daniel
          August 15, 2018 at 1:06 am | #

          Her only relationship before Danny was Ethan, and they never got so far as actually having sex (in this ‘verse at least…the Walkyverse was a different story), what with Ethan realizing he was gay in the hotel room after prom.

        • Rabid Rabbit
          Rabid Rabbit
          August 15, 2018 at 2:23 am | #

          Based on the Slipshine, it’s heavily implied that Danny was her first. And while Danny was mostly having sex with Amazi-Girl that first time, Amber did make an appearance.

  8. Stu
    Stu
    August 15, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    “Ohhhhh sweet mystery of life, at last I’ve found youuuu!”

    • Stephen Bierce
      Stephen Bierce
      August 15, 2018 at 12:06 am | #

      *save me from digging out my CD of Ethan Sings Lionel Richie*

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        August 15, 2018 at 1:48 am | #

        He might as well be dancing on the ceiling right now, we know he can’t slow down.

    • TheHorseCouncil
      TheHorseCouncil
      August 15, 2018 at 12:09 am | #

      Young frankenstein?

      • Platypus King
        Platypus King
        August 15, 2018 at 12:44 am | #

        And/or Robin Hood: Men In Tights!

      • jeffepp
        jeffepp
        August 15, 2018 at 1:02 am | #

        Loony Tunes.

      • Stu
        Stu
        August 16, 2018 at 12:08 am | #

        Yep.

  9. Ivy
    Ivy
    August 15, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    I’m calling bullshit on the “people singing and acting noticeably cheerful after they have sex” trope

    • Bonnabella
      Bonnabella
      August 15, 2018 at 12:07 am | #

      Okay, but what about: “Person has never felt comfortable enough with another person because of their sexuality and they just got laid” high? I know the first time I blew a dude I was super excited and cheerful. I was so hyped.

      • Stepfan
        Stepfan
        August 15, 2018 at 1:23 am | #

        I’m with you. Idk if it’s the same for straight people but I was singing off the rooftops for a bit afterwards. It was nice to feel comfortable enough with the whole being gay thing to be okay with sex.

        • Benwhoski
          Benwhoski
          August 15, 2018 at 8:13 pm | #

          I think it’s a fairly common thing for first-timers who for whatever reason had huge concerns about whether it would ever happen for them. I’m a straight cis woman but for a long list of reasons you probably don’t want to hear from a stranger, I didn’t lose my virginity until my 30’s and when it finally happened I wanted to sing it from all of the rooftops forever.

          Sex itself wasn’t life-changing, but confirming that I was _capable_ of intimacy was.

    • Snippy Harold
      Snippy Harold
      August 15, 2018 at 12:25 am | #

      Eh, maybe if you could place this to the tune of I Just Had Sex.

      • ego
        ego
        August 15, 2018 at 9:02 am | #

        just got laid today, got me a pocket full of change

        with apologies to zz top

        • Amazi-Stool
          Amazi-Stool
          August 15, 2018 at 5:01 pm | #

          Just got laid today!
          By your mother.
          For a nickel!
          Lost a pocket full of change…

    • CJ
      CJ
      August 15, 2018 at 1:32 am | #

      Well, if the sex was good and your not used to them, endorphines can cause weird reactions.

    • Eduardo
      Eduardo
      August 15, 2018 at 7:07 am | #

      There might have been an occasion when somebody in this comment section danced through the streets after leaving someone else’s apartment.

      • Roborat
        Roborat
        August 15, 2018 at 2:39 pm | #

        I trust they got dressed first.

    • David Doty
      David Doty
      August 15, 2018 at 8:21 am | #

      Unless he’s doing it specifically to brag.

    • Unusually Angry Hippie
      Unusually Angry Hippie
      August 15, 2018 at 2:14 pm | #

      Usually I just shout WOO!, thank and kiss my partner, and light a cigarette. Then it’s just quiet for about fifteen minutes while I mentally critique my own performance.

  10. TrueVCU
    TrueVCU
    August 15, 2018 at 12:05 am | #

    Come on guys, don’t kill the post- manipulation sex buzz

  11. AeromechanicalAce
    AeromechanicalAce
    August 15, 2018 at 12:07 am | #

    You know, I seriously hope Mike’s being genuine for once (or at least trying to bang Ethan’s internalized homophobia out of him), cause i don’t think we’ve EVER seen him this happy.

    • butts
      butts
      August 15, 2018 at 12:54 am | #

      Not in this continuity, anyway.

    • C.
      C.
      August 15, 2018 at 1:02 am | #

      Banging out Ethan’s internal homophobia happens to help Mike’s agenda.

  12. TrueVCU
    TrueVCU
    August 15, 2018 at 12:07 am | #

    I thought any attempt to bless Mike would result in the involved priest immediately bursting into flames

    • Mr. Random
      Mr. Random
      August 15, 2018 at 12:27 am | #

      Only if they forgot the circle.

      • LookingIn
        LookingIn
        August 15, 2018 at 12:33 am | #

        but holy water doesn’t work on him, you need someething stronger

        • Tacos
          Tacos
          August 15, 2018 at 12:39 am | #

          That’s where the corduroy pants and jacket come in.

          • LookingIn
            LookingIn
            August 15, 2018 at 3:59 am | #

            they are prefect for knocking him off his game allowing you to find something that will work against him

        • Abel Undercity
          Abel Undercity
          August 15, 2018 at 5:12 am | #

          Time for the holy vodka, then!

          It may not work, but after enough blessings, I won’t care any more!

          What do you mean, “use it on him?”

    • Amazi-Stool
      Amazi-Stool
      August 15, 2018 at 5:09 pm | #

      Seems like this guide needs some addition!

  13. Passchendaele
    Passchendaele
    August 15, 2018 at 12:08 am | #

    “meh, probably not important, now give me the deets. *All* of them.”

    (I kinda wanna know the deets too, so. <••> )

  14. Mollyscribbles
    Mollyscribbles
    August 15, 2018 at 12:09 am | #

    I have no idea how to interpret Mike’s actions, in the present or in flashbacks. His allignment is Chaotic Neutral; he might be acting as a force for good or evil at any given time. When he states the reason for his actions, we don’t know if he’s telling the truth or if he’s manipulating people further through his words.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      August 15, 2018 at 6:31 am | #

      Though given that in this scheme he stated the reason to himself, if he was manipulating anyone it would have had to have been us – breaking the fourth wall to lie to the audience directly.

      • Fart Captor
        Fart Captor
        August 15, 2018 at 11:40 am | #

        On top of that, both of the two people who know him best are convinced he’s got some shitty scheme in the works. They both clearly have learned from experience that Mike is “neutral” only in the sense that he typically doesn’t get all that invested in his attempts to be shitty to people.

        They’ve never mentioned anything good he’s done for either of them. Not even when they were discussing the possibility of Ethan hooking up with him, and Ethan was practically looking for excuses to rationalize doing it. Even if it turns out Young Mike was sometimes benevolent, it’s pretty clear that hasn’t been the case for a long time

        • Emily
          Emily
          August 15, 2018 at 4:27 pm | #

          Like that’s what really gets me: even Ethan and Amber don’t have any excuses to make for him. They both think he’s an asshole they just hate themselves too much to realize they can do better.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            August 15, 2018 at 8:18 pm | #

            Seems like Amber largely has written him off (other than the abs). She tolerates him for Ethan’s sake.

        • Mollyscribbles
          Mollyscribbles
          August 15, 2018 at 10:40 pm | #

          When he tried to stand up for Amber to the teacher, at least, there didn’t seem to be a motivation to screw her over in the process.

          I’m pretty sure Mike, on some level, actually likes Ethan and Amber. If nothing else, we know he was able to easily socialize with the upper levels of school society, so he hangs out with them because he wants to, even if he could have his pick of people he likes more (or who are more fun to screw with. Either way). Heck, hanging out with people less socially isolated would give him the opportunity to screw with a larger group at once, if just making people miserable is his goal.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            August 15, 2018 at 11:12 pm | #

            OTOH, that was young Mike. It’s quite possible that he’s changed in the interim. A common theory has it that’s it’s the very experiences we’re seeing in those flashbacks that changed him.

            Less socially isolated friends might let him screw with more people, but those less socially isolated people might also find it easier to cut him off completely when he does so.

          • Fart Captor
            Fart Captor
            August 16, 2018 at 11:08 am | #

            Liking someone and wanting to hang out with them does not prevent people from treating that person like crap. It doesn’t even guarantee they won’t INTENTIONALLY treat them like crap

            Making them miserable doesn’t need to be his goal (tho it would make sense, as anyone with more self esteem would’ve cut him out of their lives years ago). If he simply doesn’t care if he DOES make them miserable, and is inclined to do things which have that effect, then that’s enough.

            And again, even if the things he did AS A KID that seemed nice didn’t ALSO involve making someone else REALLY miserable, even if that last thing he told Blaine was a complete lie, EVERYTHING about how Amber and Ethan regard him indicates having him on their lives has been negative. There has not been one time where either has mentioned something he did that they were grateful for, or something about him that they actually LIKED besides his abs

  15. Kris
    Kris
    August 15, 2018 at 12:13 am | #

    The evil plan is you end up falling in love and marrying him, thus dooming yourself to spending the rest of your life with Mike.

    • King Daniel
      King Daniel
      August 15, 2018 at 12:18 am | #

      “They’ll fall in love and here’s the bottom line…our trio’s down to two!”

      • Fire_daws
        Fire_daws
        August 15, 2018 at 1:36 am | #

        Meh, hakuna matata.

    • skittylover3
      skittylover3
      August 15, 2018 at 12:19 am | #

      truth

  16. caesaria82
    caesaria82
    August 15, 2018 at 12:16 am | #

    OMG happy Ethan is SO!!! CUTE!!!!

  17. tekjr
    tekjr
    August 15, 2018 at 12:26 am | #

    You know, it actually makes me feel a little better that they’re at least aware that some evil plan is coming

    • LookingIn
      LookingIn
      August 15, 2018 at 12:33 am | #

      perfect gravitar….

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        August 15, 2018 at 12:36 am | #

        And yours just looks like an ominous zoom-in of the former….

    • CE
      CE
      August 15, 2018 at 7:23 am | #

      Same.

    • Regalli
      Regalli
      August 15, 2018 at 8:50 am | #

      Yep.

  18. Bagge
    Bagge
    August 15, 2018 at 12:28 am | #

    I like to see Ethan happy. It suits him.

    • David Doty
      David Doty
      August 15, 2018 at 8:15 pm | #

      That’s so cruel. You know Ethan can never truly be happy being happy.

  19. Tacos
    Tacos
    August 15, 2018 at 12:28 am | #

    Didn’t Mike already explain his Evil Plan? To make Danny into a jealous, sobbing wreck?

    • King Daniel
      King Daniel
      August 15, 2018 at 12:37 am | #

      He said it to us, the audience – no one else was in the room where it happened present when he said that.

      • StClair
        StClair
        August 15, 2018 at 1:11 am | #

        aaaand now it’s in my head again.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      August 15, 2018 at 2:02 am | #

      If that is the plan then it isn’t working too well, he’s too busy busking on the steps and learning to duet with Sal to be jealous of Ethan being in an intimate relationship with Mike!

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        August 15, 2018 at 2:27 am | #

        I misread that second thing as “learning to duel with Sal” and my brain immediately dressed Danny in a musketeer outfit and gave him and Sal rapiers. (Sal still had the motorcycle jacket.)

        • RicardtheDragoon
          RicardtheDragoon
          August 15, 2018 at 2:40 am | #

          Really? I was thinking of Sal as the Dread Pirate Roberts… which would make Danny Inigo Montoya. Huh.

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          August 15, 2018 at 3:56 am | #

          Yeah, I’m not betting on Danny’s hand with a rapier against Sal any time soon.

          • Emily
            Emily
            August 15, 2018 at 6:27 am | #

            Well, that’s why he’s learning from her.

            • Bagge
              Bagge
              August 15, 2018 at 8:27 am | #

              Narrator: “Will the student beat the teacher?”
              *Camera cuts to Danny laying facedown in the flowerbed with Sal standing to the side, smoking and looking disinterestedly away*
              Narrator: “No.”

              • Emily
                Emily
                August 15, 2018 at 8:37 am | #

                I am always down to subvert that gross trope where some incompetent man whose never even trained in X ever manages to surpass a woman who has dedicated her entire life to the mastery of X after like a week.

                • Roborat
                  Roborat
                  August 15, 2018 at 2:43 pm | #

                  Not even if he does it in a montage?

                • BBCC
                  BBCC
                  August 15, 2018 at 3:36 pm | #

                  Especially if it’s in a montage.

                • Amazi-Stool
                  Amazi-Stool
                  August 15, 2018 at 5:21 pm | #

                  Hello Rey!

                  It was nice to see you in “Star Wars 7: The double standard awakens”!

                • Emily
                  Emily
                  August 15, 2018 at 7:31 pm | #

                  Yes, because one instance of a reversal of that trope is as bad as all of the instances of playing it straight though I’d argue it’s not even an instant of that trope because:

                  1) Kylo Ren comes off as a poorly trained and ill-disciplined Force-wielder (likely intentionally so on Snoke’s part) who mainly gets by on raw strength
                  2) He was pretty badly injured before he fought Rey
                  3) Rey has an established extensive background in melee combat and it shows in the way she wields her lightsaber more like a staff than a sword in that fight
                  4) Star Wars handwaving shit with “they’re strong in the Force” is in no way new

                • David M Willis
                  David M Willis
                  August 15, 2018 at 8:24 pm | #

                  she’s a girl who did something sort of well, it must have happened illegitimately

                • thejeff
                  thejeff
                  August 15, 2018 at 8:34 pm | #

                  Honestly, I can’t really think of mstraight though I’d argue it’s not even an instant of that trope because:any examples of that trope. Maybe I’m just blind to it (or don’t watch those kinds of movies/shows.)
                  Examples?

                  Partly because the “woman who has dedicated her entire life to the mastery of X” isn’t that common in itself and when it shows up it’s often something not traditionally “manly”, so the male hero doesn’t even bother.

                  I’ve definitely seen the racial version of this, where the white hero effortlessly masters the natives skills to become better than their best.

                • David M Willis
                  David M Willis
                  August 15, 2018 at 9:50 pm | #

                  lego movie
                  ant-man
                  neon genesis evangelion

                • thejeff
                  thejeff
                  August 15, 2018 at 8:35 pm | #

                  Hmm. Something got pasted into that first paragraph. Should be:

                  Honestly, I can’t really think of many examples of that trope. Maybe I’m just blind to it (or don’t watch those kinds of movies/shows.)

                • thejeff
                  thejeff
                  August 15, 2018 at 8:40 pm | #

                  As for Rey: I did think she came off as too good at too many things without even enough handwaving for me. Less training and less previous experience alluded to than Luke in the originals, from what I remember.

                  OTOH, as you say it’s Star Wars. It’s not to be taken entirely seriously and the Force explains a lot. Besides, I’m pretty sure skills like piloting are genetic in that setting. 🙂

                • Emily
                  Emily
                  August 15, 2018 at 8:48 pm | #

                  Luke started out with literally no melee combat training of any kind and beats one of the most powerful Sith to ever live in a duel after spending like 2 weeks in a swamp with a tiny green man whose training is almost entirely spiritual anyways.

                • Inahc
                  Inahc
                  August 15, 2018 at 8:52 pm | #

                  I haven’t been paying attention long enough to notice it, but I do remember a really sad similar thing from an anime: girl who’s really good at swords, knows that once the boys hit puberty their upper-body strength will let them catch up to her. once main-character-guy works hard enough to beat her (at least he had to work hard?), she falls on her own sword and becomes his motivation to be the best :/

                  oh wait, I think I remembered something: there was a “hacker” movie my friend told me I probably wouldn’t enjoy because of the gender bullshit, and I think the main character beats a woman at “hacking” there? (I was originally skeptical of it because of the terrible things hollywood does around computers, and hadn’t even considered gender)

                • Pat
                  Pat
                  August 15, 2018 at 10:42 pm | #

                  Rey kicking Kylo Ren’s ass is not unbelievable (remember, she was well-established as being a good melee fighter, even if she’d never actually wielded a lightsaber), but it isn’t even what happened. Kylo Ren lost against Chewie and Finn and Rey working together.

                  They didn’t all attack him and once, but they did all attack him. And he’d overpowered Rey, what, twice already before then?

                • King Daniel
                  King Daniel
                  August 15, 2018 at 11:13 pm | #

                  Yeah, remember that by the time he finally faced Rey, he had just gone through the turmoil resulting from deliberately murdering his father, and had then taken a bowcaster shot (which, mind, had sent stormtroopers flying earlier in the movie) straight to the gut and was still visibly bleeding from it, and had then taken a lightsaber wound to the shoulder from Finn in the forest. It’s honestly kind of a testament to his stubbornness that he lasted long enough to confront Finn, let alone Rey.

                  Plus, as mentioned above, Rey had been often-literally fighting for survival since childhood. And she was pissed by the time she and Kylo Ren came to blows.

  20. Keulen
    Keulen
    August 15, 2018 at 12:34 am | #

    I think this is the most cheerful I’ve seen Ethan in DoA so far.

  21. Romanticide
    Romanticide
    August 15, 2018 at 12:35 am | #

    they just know their situation with Mike too well

  22. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    August 15, 2018 at 12:53 am | #

    Yay, good for Ethan!

    But don’t start falling for Mike now. Move on and ask that Evan fellow with the prosthetic arm.

  23. Alexx
    Alexx
    August 15, 2018 at 12:54 am | #

    His evil plan was to GET HIM SOME AAAASSSSS

    • Doctor Bees
      Doctor Bees
      August 15, 2018 at 12:55 pm | #

      +1

  24. QueerCat
    QueerCat
    August 15, 2018 at 1:15 am | #

    Got that post-sexytime upswing going on. I feel that, Ethan.

  25. Not D'kcaw
    Not D'kcaw
    August 15, 2018 at 1:36 am | #

    But he sings in minor key to remember that he suffered

    (Or, uh, will suffer, but I can’t make that fit the meter)

  26. BenRG
    BenRG
    August 15, 2018 at 2:00 am | #

    Yeah, I’m with Amber on this one. Not knowing what Mike is actually doing is something likely to induce worry and second-guessing of… well, pretty much everything.

  27. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    August 15, 2018 at 2:51 am | #

    Welp you’re just going to haft to cross that bridge when you get to it. For now just enjoy the ride.

  28. Justaian
    Justaian
    August 15, 2018 at 3:08 am | #

    You know, maybe Mike does not have a agenda with Ethan and was just wanted to have a nice moment with him, just because he can be a jerk does not mean he cant occasionally just do something nice.

    • Daibhid C
      Daibhid C
      August 15, 2018 at 4:19 am | #

      Mike has specifically said to himself that his agenda is to mess with Ethan to destroy Dan, since Ethan made him promise not to mess with Dan, and he’s decided that means “directly”.

      Now, he could be kidding himself because he can’t be in a relationship without telling himself it’s a way of being terrible to people, but he definitely *has* an evil plan.

  29. Bagge
    Bagge
    August 15, 2018 at 3:57 am | #

    I just think Mike finally managed to act on his crush on Ethan, but because of his stupid “too-cool-to-care” persona he had to frame it as some sort of bullshit plot.

    It worked, so high five, I suppose.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      August 15, 2018 at 4:08 am | #

      That is somewhat different from my own initial idea but, since Mike’s flashbacks, it has become much more likely to be true.

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        August 15, 2018 at 5:51 am | #

        I suggested it a long time ago (when Mike first started to hang out on Ethan’s web forums) but I REALLY didn’t believe it myself.

        I was really surprised these last few weeks when the flashbacks started to suport that reading.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      August 15, 2018 at 6:37 am | #

      If that’s the case, now what? Try to follow through on the bullshit plot anyway to keep his persona intact?
      Banged Ethan and got it out of his system so he’s done now?
      Keep banging Ethan, but keep up the pretense that there’s nothing more than boredom to it, until the thrill of the sex wears off or the dread of not knowing when the evil plot will explode drives Ethan to push him away?

      • Emily
        Emily
        August 15, 2018 at 7:32 am | #

        As long as the outcome is “Mike is not rewarded in any way for his awful treatment of others and is in fact punished for it instead” I’m not super concerned about how we get there. If this is a trick and it destroys his relationship with Ethan irrevocably cool. If it’s not and he gets his heart crushed because what sane person would want to be in a relationship with this abusive asshole also cool.

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        August 15, 2018 at 8:19 am | #

        I assume Mike’s mantra will be something in the ballpark of “Whatever, happens I won’t care. This doesn’t mean anything to me. I’m just bored.”

        I don’t know to what extent that is true.

  30. thejeff
    thejeff
    August 15, 2018 at 6:41 am | #

    Amber still texting with Walky?

    Or have they both been doing something else with their phones and it’s all a fakeout?

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      August 15, 2018 at 8:20 am | #

      I’m certain they are still texting.

      You can only convey detailed descriptions of Captain America’s dong so fast in a twitter conversation.

      • Inahc
        Inahc
        August 15, 2018 at 7:57 pm | #

        oh right, twitter!

        …I just checked, nothing new on their twitter replies since july 14th. darn.

  31. Emily
    Emily
    August 15, 2018 at 8:19 am | #

    Ethan’s borderline ahegao in panel 4 is super unsettling.

  32. Deanatay
    Deanatay
    August 15, 2018 at 8:26 am | #

    Yeah, I mean, this chapter’s almost over, and still no Mike reveal?

    Dis gun be gud

  33. drakray
    drakray
    August 15, 2018 at 8:30 am | #

    Could it be that Mike was hesitant because he remember the threat from Blaine about “people you care about”, now he think he’s clear, not knowing that Blaine got himself files from Amber’s computer, which might include some MikeXEthan, that can then seriously backfire?

    • Vulcanodon
      Vulcanodon
      August 15, 2018 at 2:54 pm | #

      If Blaine does anything to Ethan, he’s gonna have a really severe Amazi-problem.

  34. WikiDreamer
    WikiDreamer
    August 15, 2018 at 9:10 am | #

    *pfft* ok, the alt title made me giggle ^-^

    • Doctor Bees
      Doctor Bees
      August 15, 2018 at 12:59 pm | #

      I’m on mobile (iOS). Do you have any luck viewing the alt text on that platform?

      • Matticus
        Matticus
        August 15, 2018 at 1:04 pm | #

        Press and hold until you get the “Open link/image in a new tab” dropdown menu. The alt-text will be in regular font above the options.

      • zombie
        zombie
        August 15, 2018 at 3:13 pm | #

        also if you click the empty space next to the next/previous/latest/first arrows it’ll bring it up!

  35. SQUEAK
    SQUEAK
    August 15, 2018 at 12:11 pm | #

    I love how ever since Walky and Amber started texting, they’ve been continuously on their phones in every appearance since then

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      August 15, 2018 at 12:21 pm | #

      It’s super cute! They both REALLY needed a friend.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      August 15, 2018 at 12:39 pm | #

      …. so, like the entire cast would be doing if it wasn’t hard for Willis to draw conversations like that? (I think he had a comment to that effect a while back.)

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        August 15, 2018 at 1:02 pm | #

        Darn kids today, always on their phones, ‘mIright?

  36. Doctor Bees
    Doctor Bees
    August 15, 2018 at 1:01 pm | #

    Ethan, stop making me give you Flamboyant Voice™ in my head!!!
    …it’s pretty cute to see Ethan like this though

  37. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    August 15, 2018 at 1:22 pm | #

    First Leslie, now Ethan. I’m already gonna guess what’s up the next time someone just starts singing.

    • JessWitt
      JessWitt
      August 15, 2018 at 8:02 pm | #

      They’re joining the uni acapella group.

  38. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    August 15, 2018 at 2:27 pm | #

    The good news is that Ethan finally got Mike’s butt. The bad news is that Ethan got Mike’s butt! He should be scared.

  39. Johnnyo
    Johnnyo
    August 18, 2018 at 12:47 am | #

    In my head I heard Ethan’s hello in Dan’s infidagger voice from the Game Grumps’ Shovel Knight playthrough

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Is there somewhere in this article where I could talk about the very real feeling of jealousy and how it can make even the nicest people into assholes? No, that’s not this article. It’s not this article because we’ve let appealing to white people’s comfort get in the way of progress to the point where our culture, democracy, and future is at stake. Appealing to white people’s comfort is how we got to where BIPOC and LGBT people are being erased from history all together because the dark history of this country makes white people uncomfortable.
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