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Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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September 28, 2023

Self-discovery

by David M Willis on May 5, 2019 at 12:01 am
  • 03 - Sometimes the Sky Was So Far Away

└ Tags: ethan, joyce

Discussion (164) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    May 5, 2019 at 12:02 am | #

    “are you laughing at me or your dad joke”

    • Felix
      Felix
      May 5, 2019 at 12:45 am | #

      The more she thinks about it the worse it gets.

      • LookingIn
        LookingIn
        May 5, 2019 at 3:14 am | #

        the more she realizes that he’s also right and can’t come up with a counter argument

  2. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    May 5, 2019 at 12:02 am | #

    Joyce is really regretting giving up her dream tummy virginity to this guy.

    • Electriccombines
      Electriccombines
      May 5, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

      *Insert Minecraft pain sound here*

    • Architex
      Architex
      May 5, 2019 at 2:58 am | #

      Did you mean: “Joyce wanted to frick-frack this guy at one point”

      • Slartibeast Button, BIA
        Slartibeast Button, BIA
        May 5, 2019 at 3:09 am | #

        Fracking? Injecting high pressure water with proprietary chemicals into him?

        • LookingIn
          LookingIn
          May 5, 2019 at 3:15 am | #

          …astonishingly, yes.

          Wow, who’d have thought fracking was a legitimate nickname for sex?

          • Rheinman
            Rheinman
            May 5, 2019 at 8:15 am | #

            Ron Moore

  3. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    May 5, 2019 at 12:03 am | #

    The promised finger guns! Should I update my Tumblr?

    https://valdvin.tumblr.com/post/182805004128/dofa-chart-for-finger-guns

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      May 5, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

      Ethan: True Dad?

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      May 5, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

      Also, the changes from panel 4 to panel 5 are a hoot.

      • Schpoonman
        Schpoonman
        May 5, 2019 at 12:14 am | #

        As Ethan’s eyebrows approach the upper atmosphere, Joyce’s face continues to flatten until it becomes some sort of weird space-time bending event horizon. Like, I’m picturing something I think I saw in a TV show once but details aren’t crystalizing. Maybe it was the episode of Teen Titans (not Go) where Control Freak got a universal remote and the episode got really meta.

        I should watch Teen Titans again.

        • Opus the Poet
          Opus the Poet
          May 5, 2019 at 3:09 pm | #

          Eyebrows seem to be independent of the face they belong to in the Dumbiverse. I think we now know where the Aliens and Martians from the Walkyverse crossed over to the Dumbiverse, not as a cartoon show.

          • Deanatay
            Deanatay
            May 6, 2019 at 7:45 am | #

            Eyebrows need a tag.

      • Batz
        Batz
        May 5, 2019 at 1:50 am | #

        It took a second viewing for me to catch those eyebrows!

        • Xenocide
          Xenocide
          May 5, 2019 at 4:10 am | #

          Ethan needs to catch them himself, before they leave the solar system

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            May 5, 2019 at 9:25 am | #

            Nah, they’ll get stuck in heliocentric orbit with Becky’s.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      May 5, 2019 at 12:33 am | #

      You should. You really should.

    • ǝ snow ʍousɐ
      ǝ snow ʍousɐ
      May 5, 2019 at 12:58 am | #

      Yes!

    • LookingIn
      LookingIn
      May 5, 2019 at 3:18 am | #

      finger guns…does shooting them off mean the person being shot at has been finger-banged? 😀

  4. Sailorcakes
    Sailorcakes
    May 5, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

    Joyce is not impressed

    • ShinyNeen
      ShinyNeen
      May 5, 2019 at 12:09 am | #

      Yeah, she’s seen eyebrows leap off people’s faces before.

      • Slartibeast Button, BIA
        Slartibeast Button, BIA
        May 5, 2019 at 1:15 am | #

        Ruth should switch to confiscating eyebrows.

  5. ProfessorDetective
    ProfessorDetective
    May 5, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

    At least he’s TRYING.

    • Miri
      Miri
      May 5, 2019 at 12:09 am | #

      He’s very trying…

      (Couldn’t resist!)

      • LookingIn
        LookingIn
        May 5, 2019 at 3:18 am | #

        perfect gravitar…

      • Kim
        Kim
        May 5, 2019 at 5:02 am | #

        Great! 😀

      • Roborat
        Roborat
        May 6, 2019 at 3:29 pm | #

        It’s okay, if you hadn’t posted this, I would have.

  6. MatthewTheLucky
    MatthewTheLucky
    May 5, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

    Ehhhh? Ehhhhhhhhhh?

    • Lone Duck
      Lone Duck
      May 5, 2019 at 7:32 am | #

      *Awkward two panel silence*
      Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?

      • Sunny
        Sunny
        May 5, 2019 at 9:07 am | #

        But neither of them is Canadian, and Ruth isn’t there.

  7. Axel
    Axel
    May 5, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

    ffs just say ‘maybe try Josh’

    • Axel
      Axel
      May 5, 2019 at 12:12 am | #

      I don’t think Joyce told Ethan that she and Becky talked to her, but even without outing Jocelyn Ethan can at least say that she was cool about him being gay

      • Suitora
        Suitora
        May 5, 2019 at 12:14 am | #

        You can be cool with “gay” and not with “trans”. Joyce is still somewhat steeped into gender roles like most cisgender women from her upbringing. She’s scratching the surface on feminism, but she isn’t quite there yet.

        • MeghanTheDreamCrusher
          MeghanTheDreamCrusher
          May 5, 2019 at 12:43 am | #

          Boy is that ever true!

          My family thought I was gay for years and were pretty chill about it

          But suddenly I’m actually trans and it’s this whole big deal 🙄

          • ǝ snow ʍousɐ
            ǝ snow ʍousɐ
            May 5, 2019 at 1:05 am | #

            That sucks :c

          • MaximumZero
            MaximumZero
            May 5, 2019 at 12:06 pm | #

            But if you’re gay now, won’t that make you straight when you transition? I’m very much with Galasso on this one, in the “not really understanding but fascinated,” camp.

            • MeghanTheDreamCrusher
              MeghanTheDreamCrusher
              May 5, 2019 at 6:01 pm | #

              I’m actually bi lol

              I never came out till I told them I was trans, and before that they had just been assuming I was gay.

            • Meagan
              Meagan
              May 5, 2019 at 6:39 pm | #

              Also a lot of people experience a shift in who they are attracted to when they start transitioning. Not everyone, but many people.

              Which is why I think a lot of gender non-conforming ppl don’t map well into the current terminology for attraction.

        • Axel
          Axel
          May 5, 2019 at 1:10 am | #

          But Joyce doesn’t want to talk to her about trans stuff (yet) /probably barely registers that trans people exist (yet), nor would Jocelyn have to out herself to be someone Joyce could talk to about developing these values and differences from the family and so on.

        • erejnion
          erejnion
          May 5, 2019 at 3:00 pm | #

          Trans is all about gender roles, so that’s not a problem. Joyce may not understand gender dysphoria, though. Has she mentioned anything in relation to mental illnesses before? I’m not sure. It would be really cringe if she goes all “but if you believe in Jesus, your brain will miraculously change its physical structure to match your prescribed gender!”

          • Axel
            Axel
            May 5, 2019 at 5:31 pm | #

            I would strongly disagree that being trans is about gender roles; there are tons of trans people who don’t conform to typical gender roles, including myself, and are still as binary (or non) trans as they would be otherwise.

            Also lots of people who are all about gender roles consider that a big part of why trans people are bad.

      • Axel
        Axel
        May 5, 2019 at 1:16 am | #

        Oh I think maybe this was misunderstood is

        “even without outing Jocelyn Ethan can at least say that she was cool about him being gay”

        which more specifically would read

        “even without outing Jocelyn, Ethan can at least say (to Joyce) that she (Jocelyn) was cool about him (Ethan) being gay

        • Axel
          Axel
          May 5, 2019 at 1:16 am | #

          *maybe WHERE this was misunderstood

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        May 5, 2019 at 11:06 am | #

        Though that’s a little awkward since Joyce doesn’t know Jocelyne knows Ethan is gay. And the only reason Ethan knows is that he was flirting with her because he thought she was a gay man.

        • erejnion
          erejnion
          May 5, 2019 at 3:02 pm | #

          *because he found her attractive.

          • GoblinScribe
            GoblinScribe
            May 5, 2019 at 3:15 pm | #

            He thought she was a gay man and he found her attractive when she was presenting as a man.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          May 5, 2019 at 3:31 pm | #

          Both yes. I kind of muddled the sentence, but that led to him asking if she was gay and that led to their conversation about him being gay and thus to him learning she was trans.
          None of which is anything he’s going to talk to Joyce about. Especially since he was supposedly dating her when flirting with who he thought was her brother.

          • erejnion
            erejnion
            May 5, 2019 at 4:29 pm | #

            True, true. I’d actually be surprised if he even mails Jocelyne. He’d feel too awkward to do that either.

        • Axel
          Axel
          May 5, 2019 at 5:35 pm | #

          I dunno, maybe it’s just me, but I wouldn’t think it was a big deal if I heard, “well Joshua* guessed I was gay, and was completely okay about it” and if I asked when that happened, hearing “I didn’t think I should bring it up” or something.

          *because he’s telling Joyce and doesn’t want to out Joc

    • Eve
      Eve
      May 5, 2019 at 4:04 pm | #

      He did already, when he suggested she try the reasonable sibling he talked to. Yah Joyce used it as a chance to make a joke dunking on her siblings but I’m pretty sure she got who he meant.

      • Axel
        Axel
        May 5, 2019 at 5:38 pm | #

        Joyce doesn’t know Jocelyn would be who he’s talking about though, since I don’t think she’s mentioned that Jocelyn was cool at the diner, and Ethan didn’t mention anything he talked about with Jocelyn to Joyce. (he has met at least three of her family members and Becky)

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          May 5, 2019 at 7:04 pm | #

          Jocelyne is the only sibling Ethan’s met. It doesn’t make sense for him to mean anyone else.

          • Axel
            Axel
            May 5, 2019 at 11:22 pm | #

            I forgot he mentioned siblings, I was going off the line ‘one reasonable family member’

  8. LS
    LS
    May 5, 2019 at 12:09 am | #

    I like how Willis makes sure characters don’t follow the same path in this timeline as they did in the Walkyverse.

    For example, now we know that Ethan will never be a standup comedian.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      May 5, 2019 at 12:17 am | #

      In fairness to the man, OG Ethan was a flop at this age too. It was years of retail hell grinding away his sanity that made him finally cracked enough to succeed in the world of comedy.

      Have him take Becky’s old job under Galasso for a decade or so, and he’ll be making funny pizza (and subs…and Batman) jokes by the end of it.

      • LookingIn
        LookingIn
        May 5, 2019 at 3:20 am | #

        he was also a specialist comic, he specialized in toy, Batman, and Transformer jokes…

  9. Schpoonman
    Schpoonman
    May 5, 2019 at 12:09 am | #

    I think I finally found a new gravatar.

    does it even count if it’s almost the same expression

    • ShinyNeen
      ShinyNeen
      May 5, 2019 at 12:31 am | #

      Sure it counts! It’s like an upgrade! Super Disapproving Joyce!

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        May 5, 2019 at 1:15 am | #

        One’s more of a death glare, and the other more of a death eye-roll.

    • Sunny
      Sunny
      May 5, 2019 at 9:09 am | #

      If it works for butts it must surely work for faces as well.

      • Schpoonman
        Schpoonman
        May 5, 2019 at 4:08 pm | #

        Yeah, but Ana Chronistic once made a Nina Tucker joke and today’s face doesn’t feel quite as punchy as what I would want for that.

  10. Suitora
    Suitora
    May 5, 2019 at 12:11 am | #

    For Chrissakes, Ethan, just say “Joshua”. It isn’t disrespectful if she’s still in the closet to her family. This “not saying her name” makes you come off as weird and vague, and Joyce isn’t getting the point at all.

    • TheFlamingonator
      TheFlamingonator
      May 5, 2019 at 12:14 am | #

      nyeeh it is still misgendering someone. and i think she might figure it out based jocelyne being the only sibling Ethan has met, who else would he be talking avout?

      • TheFlamingonator
        TheFlamingonator
        May 5, 2019 at 12:15 am | #

        based on*

      • JetstreamGW
        JetstreamGW
        May 5, 2019 at 12:59 am | #

        I think you might be giving Joyce a bit more credit than she deserves 😛

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        May 5, 2019 at 11:10 am | #

        It does get awkward to talk about someone too long without using names or pronouns. More importantly, it gets obvious that you’re doing something weird. That in itself can help out someone. It’s a fine line.

    • ian livs
      ian livs
      May 5, 2019 at 12:19 am | #

      Yeah, it’s not really disrespectful, at least not IMO. I’m not out to any of my family as trans, only my spouse and a few of our friends, and they’re *encouraged* to deadname me if they ever come into contact with my family. Ofc I’m just one person and YMMV, but I can draw a lot of parallels between my family/upbringing and Joyce’s, so if I was in Jocelyn’s shoes, I’d probably want people to help keep it secret for the moment.

      • ian livs
        ian livs
        May 5, 2019 at 12:20 am | #

        (Dang it, I know how to spell Jocelyne’s name right, I just type way too fast and my brain can’t keep up)

      • Emperor Norton II
        Emperor Norton II
        May 5, 2019 at 12:22 am | #

        On a side note, I don’t know if you’ll want to use this, but Cerberus once came up with the term “zombie name”, for a dead name that you still have to use to people that you’re not out to yet.

        • MeghanTheDreamCrusher
          MeghanTheDreamCrusher
          May 5, 2019 at 12:36 am | #

          Damn I wish I had known that term when I was still closeted

        • ShinyNeen
          ShinyNeen
          May 5, 2019 at 12:40 am | #

          Ohh, that’s too perfect! Definitely using that for myself, not that I intend to need it for long.

        • ian livs
          ian livs
          May 5, 2019 at 12:43 am | #

          Omg, that’s brilliant. I’ve gotta tell that one to my friends–they’ll love it.

        • Shay Guy
          Shay Guy
          May 5, 2019 at 2:26 am | #

          I’m a little pleased to have helped prompt the coining of that term.

      • Some1
        Some1
        May 5, 2019 at 12:22 am | #

        Outing someone against their will is just shoving your personal morality where it doesn’t belong. People who do that shit care more about ideology than the people its supposed to protect.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          May 5, 2019 at 9:29 am | #

          Yeah, I think outing her like that would be much more disrespectful than using her zombie name.

      • Felian
        Felian
        May 5, 2019 at 7:19 am | #

        Best solution: ask the person how you should refer to them towards people.
        Common sense solution if you can’t ask: use the name they are known by to the other person. you can try to avoid pronouns or gendered terms.

        Not outing someone against their will comes first. Yes, they suffer from being misgendered, but as long as they feel they would suffer more if they were out to a specific person, it is safer this way.
        Also, for the sake of knowing who you are talking about, you need to use a name the other person knows them by! If Jocelyne were out, you could say “Jocelyne, who you formerly knew as Joshua“. From then on, you only use the right name. But some people change their name several times during their transition, and if you aren’t in touch all the time, it helps when people update you. This is NOT the same as outing someone’s dead name that the other person didn’t even know about! I’d be pretty pissed if someone told my dead name to anyone who didn’t know it against my will.

        … oh my gosh i LOVE the term “zombie name“. or „undead name“ for more similarity. This is so cool 😀 thanks. I am not in the closet anymore, but my official name change isn’t done yet, so with officials i still have to use it, this stupid walking dead name… sometimes i even have to tell it to friends if we have a money transfer to do… which i try to avoid… so my old name is still undead and i hope i get to put a stake through its heart soon…

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      May 5, 2019 at 12:31 am | #

      Yeah, Ethan can tell Joyce which sibling she should talk to without outing Jocelyn.

      • Leorale
        Leorale
        May 5, 2019 at 8:19 am | #

        The one who helped helped you break into a house. That’s the cool one.

        (I don’t think Ethan knows about this, but, from our vantage point.)

    • ǝ snow ʍousɐ
      ǝ snow ʍousɐ
      May 5, 2019 at 1:02 am | #

      Kinda seems like the conversation has moved off of Jocelyne at this point, though.

    • Seregiel
      Seregiel
      May 5, 2019 at 10:48 am | #

      Pretty sure Joyce got it, but still… siblings are butts

    • Eve
      Eve
      May 5, 2019 at 4:03 pm | #

      He said the one he talked to, and she’s the only sibling of Joyces he’s talked to, so he already has said who.

  11. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    May 5, 2019 at 12:11 am | #

    I relate so much to Elliot in those last two panels.

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      May 5, 2019 at 12:15 am | #

      Did you teleport here from the QC forum? 🙂

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        May 5, 2019 at 3:16 pm | #

        Just clicked over, no teleportation required.

  12. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    May 5, 2019 at 12:14 am | #

    *plays John Cougar Mellenkamp’s “Twentieth Century Fox” on the hacked Muzak*

    • Opus the Poet
      Opus the Poet
      May 5, 2019 at 3:17 pm | #

      Is that a cover of the Doors song?

      • Stephen Bierce
        Stephen Bierce
        May 5, 2019 at 5:51 pm | #

        Yes, as it turns out.

  13. timemonkey
    timemonkey
    May 5, 2019 at 12:14 am | #

    I dunno, a month and a half into your first time on your own isn’t what I’d call late to figuring things out.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      May 5, 2019 at 1:17 am | #

      How about “nearly two decades in” or “an entire lifetime”?

      • Leorale
        Leorale
        May 5, 2019 at 8:20 am | #

        Not when those 20 yrs have been people consistently and deliberately telling you to believe that’s how the universe works.

        • Reltzik
          Reltzik
          May 5, 2019 at 12:24 pm | #

          Well from our perspective, no, but from Joyce’s?

  14. BBCC
    BBCC
    May 5, 2019 at 12:14 am | #

    …Ethan means well. 😛

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      May 5, 2019 at 12:26 am | #

      He is contributing!

      • Deathjavu
        Deathjavu
        May 5, 2019 at 12:42 am | #

        The general form of his advice, “go talk to your cool older sibling”, is pretty good advice!

        The jokes need work. Or silencing. Probably silencing.

  15. tim gueguen
    tim gueguen
    May 5, 2019 at 12:15 am | #

    Ethan will not be making his debut as a professional comedian anytime soon.

    Or ever.

  16. ian livs
    ian livs
    May 5, 2019 at 12:16 am | #

    It’s dad jokes like these that make me think my gravatar was well-assigned.

  17. Emperor Norton II
    Emperor Norton II
    May 5, 2019 at 12:20 am | #

    If Bagge’s not loving this comic to death, I don’t even know who they are anymore.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      May 5, 2019 at 12:23 am | #

      I DO love this comic to death 🙂

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        May 5, 2019 at 1:17 am | #

        ….

        …. that poor comic.

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          May 5, 2019 at 2:00 am | #

          …I realize I should have asked more followup questions before committing.

          • Emperor Norton II
            Emperor Norton II
            May 5, 2019 at 10:36 pm | #

            AND THAT WILL BE YOUR UNDOING, FOOL!

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        May 5, 2019 at 9:33 am | #

        Hopefully not in an Emyra Duff manner… Poor thing needs to breathe!

      • Amazi-Stool
        Amazi-Stool
        May 5, 2019 at 4:37 pm | #

        Killing me softly with his strip!

        • Emperor Norton II
          Emperor Norton II
          May 5, 2019 at 10:35 pm | #

          Killing me softly, with his puns
          Making my face-slap, with dad jokes
          Killing me sooftly… with his stri-i-p

  18. Bagge
    Bagge
    May 5, 2019 at 12:25 am | #

    If anything, Joyce is downplaying it in the first panel.

    After all, everything she’s ever known, everything she’s been taught might be a… a goddamned lie.

    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/originalsin/

  19. ShinyNeen
    ShinyNeen
    May 5, 2019 at 12:30 am | #

    Oof. Man, that feeling of being behind other people around you, maybe even that there’s stuff you’ll never figure out… crap, I can relate to that.

    Ethan’s response is pretty appropriate, though. Even if he is using dad jokes with reckless abandon!

    • newllend(henryvolt)
      newllend(henryvolt)
      May 5, 2019 at 3:08 am | #

      She’s young and at her rate she’s already pieced together what most couldn’t even fathom. But I guess that doesn’t really matter, in the end despite what we all know and how much we learn as we get older in the grand scheme of it all we know nothing.

  20. tirachokko
    tirachokko
    May 5, 2019 at 12:30 am | #

    lmao tfw you realize what a strange bullet (the dad jokes) you’ve accidentally dodged with this one eh

  21. Deathjavu
    Deathjavu
    May 5, 2019 at 12:37 am | #

    But Joyce, finding out the universe isn’t the way you thought is entirely self-discovery. The universe hasn’t changed, just you.

    And really, cut yourself some slack, Joyce. Most people go their whole lives without even questioning any of their most important beliefs, let alone changing them. You get a bajillion points in my book for even being willing to question, let alone change. That’s a rare, rare skill…

    • C.T Phipps
      C.T Phipps
      May 5, 2019 at 5:57 pm | #

      The universe has always had a structure to it, though. What that structure means and what truths to pull from it are the quest. Mind you, I’ve spent much of my life with theoretical physicists in hopes of getting a proper religious set of beliefs (if religion is wrong, make it right) so I offend both sides. 🙂

  22. insomniac
    insomniac
    May 5, 2019 at 12:46 am | #

    Today, we are all Joyce.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      May 5, 2019 at 1:18 am | #

      I am also Ethan.

      • Slartibeast Button, BIA
        Slartibeast Button, BIA
        May 5, 2019 at 1:20 am | #

        I thought we were Spartacus.

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          May 5, 2019 at 2:01 am | #

          I’m not.

        • Marsh Maryrose
          Marsh Maryrose
          May 5, 2019 at 11:46 am | #

          I can tell you this: I am not a number.

          • Clif
            Clif
            May 5, 2019 at 12:28 pm | #

            You are, number 6.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              May 5, 2019 at 3:31 pm | #

              Who is number 1?

              • Emperor Norton II
                Emperor Norton II
                May 5, 2019 at 10:48 pm | #

                As if you’d even have to ask…

                My spiritual predecessor, of course.

  23. ǝ snow ʍousɐ
    ǝ snow ʍousɐ
    May 5, 2019 at 12:56 am | #

    I’m a sucker for dad jokes! But Ethan, you definitely need to work on your timing.

  24. foducool
    foducool
    May 5, 2019 at 1:08 am | #

    lower those eyebrows, Milhouse.
    the other one too

  25. Josh Spicer
    Josh Spicer
    May 5, 2019 at 1:16 am | #

    HA!

    Ethan my man bustin out the solid wordplay.

  26. Slartibeast Button, BIA
    Slartibeast Button, BIA
    May 5, 2019 at 1:19 am | #

    Has Ethan considered attacking this from the other end? Emailing Jocelyne “Joyce is having a hard time now, maybe you could give her a call?”

    Or is that just a different betrayal?

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      May 5, 2019 at 2:03 am | #

      He might have done – I’m sure we will find out.

      But given that he has learnt how to approach sensitive topics from AMBER and her family, where you are always just one world away from a crisis or an evil dad, I think he plays it safe.

  27. Batz
    Batz
    May 5, 2019 at 1:45 am | #

    “HAHAHAH!! Thanks for making me laugh!
    Man, that tiny bit of laughter at that tiny bit of a joke just solves all my problems and makes me utterly forget how crappy reality is!”
    – Said no one in the midst of an existential crisis of faith EVER.

    …. he means well.

    • poofdepoof
      poofdepoof
      May 5, 2019 at 2:08 am | #

      …I feel like I’ve actually enjoyed and appreciated little jokes when I’m feeling really down. To each their own!

      • Kamino Neko
        Kamino Neko
        May 5, 2019 at 8:24 am | #

        Same. It really helps block spiralling.

        • erejnion
          erejnion
          May 5, 2019 at 2:54 pm | #

          Humor is the primary tool we use for coping with whatever’s going on in our lives.

          This doesn’t make the dad joke better, but it probably did help, even if just a little.

  28. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    May 5, 2019 at 2:14 am | #

    When your gay ex-boyfriend tries to sheer you up when you discover god may not be real and you try to avoid becoming a Nier Automata character.

  29. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    May 5, 2019 at 3:03 am | #

    I don’t really think it makes Joyce unobservant but more just young yet ahead of the curb. She’s taking her new found skepticism and being bold enough ask questions where most go their entire lives without willingly considering.

    • C.T Phipps
      C.T Phipps
      May 5, 2019 at 5:58 pm | #

      It’s probably not where Willis is going but I do hope she finds a faith that fulfills her and gives her a sense of belonging in the universe.

      • Emperor Norton II
        Emperor Norton II
        May 5, 2019 at 10:50 pm | #

        Pastafarianism is the logical choice, then.

  30. BenRG
    BenRG
    May 5, 2019 at 3:27 am | #

    Joyce, just because you’re in Sal’s aesthetic doesn’t mean you’re allowed to be snarky to everyone. Even if Ethan really, really deserves it at this point.

  31. Eldritch Gentleman
    Eldritch Gentleman
    May 5, 2019 at 3:52 am | #

    Get this man a husband and a bunch of kids, he is Ready!

  32. ScarvesandCelery
    ScarvesandCelery
    May 5, 2019 at 4:01 am | #

    Okay, sudden thought.

    Does Joyce think Ethan means Jocelyne, or the other sibling her family doesn’t talk to any more (I can’t remember his name)? Like, I feel like the story is probably moving towards Joyce and Jocelyne finally talking completely openly to each other, but I can also see it taking a left turn and finally letting us know what the deal is with Joyce’s third sibling.

    • Peter
      Peter
      May 5, 2019 at 4:47 am | #

      Jordan is who you’re thinking of. There’s some fan debate as to what it was that made Jordan the black sheep of the family. I lean to the “left the church” opinion, which would make him perfect for discussing a crisis of faith with.

      But honestly, I think Ethan means Jocelyn. Not in the sense that he wants Jocelyn to out herself to Joyce, but in the sense that Jocelyn is the most likely person to be empathetic to Joyce’s crisis, seen from Ethan’s point of view.

      • huttj509
        huttj509
        May 5, 2019 at 5:49 am | #

        “ok, dangit, you both need sibling hugs, evben if you’re not each sure why the other needs sibling hugs.”

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      May 5, 2019 at 8:27 am | #

      Ethan’s never met Jordan, and we’ve no evidence either Joss or Joyce has shared anything about him beyond ‘exists and not on good terms with the rest of the family’ with him.

    • Eve
      Eve
      May 5, 2019 at 4:01 pm | #

      He did mention the one he met, which is Jocelyn, he hasn’t met Jordan.

  33. Zaxares
    Zaxares
    May 5, 2019 at 6:28 am | #

    Ethan’s face in panel 5 is almost sweet enough to turn me gay for him. 😉

  34. tbf
    tbf
    May 5, 2019 at 6:45 am | #

    I’m getting a Walkyverse Joe vibe off of Ethan with the color palette and finger guns.

  35. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    May 5, 2019 at 7:28 am | #

    Nice one, Ethan

  36. Vulcanodon
    Vulcanodon
    May 5, 2019 at 9:41 am | #

    It’s not a race, Joyce.

  37. JBento
    JBento
    May 5, 2019 at 9:58 am | #

    Eh? Eehhhh?

  38. TheFlamingonator
    TheFlamingonator
    May 5, 2019 at 10:00 am | #

    I want to be Joyce but really I’m Ethan.

  39. wakeangel2001
    wakeangel2001
    May 5, 2019 at 10:23 am | #

    I’d say she can take solace in the fact that she had been lied to her entire life, so realizing this stuff only now isn’t totally her fault, but then that means everyone she knew, loved, and trusted are liars and I don’t think that would make her feel better…I mean, is it better than thinking you’re that much of an idiot?

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      May 5, 2019 at 11:14 am | #

      It’s truer.
      And that has to count for something.

    • erejnion
      erejnion
      May 5, 2019 at 2:51 pm | #

      Nope. It would make her family unobservant and laughable, not liars. And yes, that’s better than she herself being unobservant and laughable. Everyone’s parents are unobservant and laughable. Usually about smaller things, like internet savviness, but still.

  40. Bunnygurl
    Bunnygurl
    May 5, 2019 at 11:33 am | #

    Nevermind, guess we aren’t getting Jocelyn… sadness

  41. Clif
    Clif
    May 5, 2019 at 12:34 pm | #

    Ethan, you are wearing an outer garment with which you can be strangled.

  42. RaulTsi
    RaulTsi
    May 5, 2019 at 2:02 pm | #

    grrrr, not able to see today’s strip again. what the frig is going on with that? This is really cheesing me off.

  43. TrueVCU
    TrueVCU
    May 5, 2019 at 2:47 pm | #

    I feel like in the last panel the sign next to Ethan’s head should’ve turned from “Desk” to “Dork”

  44. erejnion
    erejnion
    May 5, 2019 at 2:49 pm | #

    What? Fuck no! She was brought up in an ultra-christian family, and she needed what, one month? Less? To break free from the conditioning. That’s the opposite of “unobservant” and “laughable”.

    • Bunnygurl
      Bunnygurl
      May 5, 2019 at 3:46 pm | #

      Iknorite? TOok me YEARS and I’m STILL having trouble breaking all the habbits x.x

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      May 5, 2019 at 3:47 pm | #

      Joyce is awesome.

    • Schpoonman
      Schpoonman
      May 5, 2019 at 4:12 pm | #

      It’s been 8-ish weeks, about two months.

      • erejnion
        erejnion
        May 5, 2019 at 4:25 pm | #

        That much? Wow. Joyce is getting old. With that pace she may get stray grey hairs before I die!

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        May 5, 2019 at 7:02 pm | #

        More like a month and a half. It’s roughly the middle of October right now.

        • erejnion
          erejnion
          May 5, 2019 at 10:45 pm | #

          Sorry, I don’t have a smarmy quip for your clarification too. You’ll have to be satisfied with just my gratitude.

        • Emperor Norton II
          Emperor Norton II
          May 5, 2019 at 10:52 pm | #

          It’s roughly the middle of YOUR FACE right now.

          (Look, you didn’t exactly make it easy to come up with a properly smarmy quip, and it’s also late; so this is the best you’ll get, OK?)

  45. PB
    PB
    May 5, 2019 at 4:18 pm | #

    You tried! 😀

  46. Charlotte
    Charlotte
    May 5, 2019 at 4:54 pm | #

    God, I hope Joyce does talk to Jocelyne!

  47. Pidgey
    Pidgey
    May 5, 2019 at 9:20 pm | #

    In this moment I think Joyce needs a similar realisation that I had during undergrad. She is so incredibly young. She’s done pretty well for her first time out in the real world

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