Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

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June 14, 2026

Yorker

by David M Willis on October 1, 2020 at 12:01 am
  • 01 - This Bright Millennium
└ Tags: amber, joe

Discussion (178) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    October 1, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    she’s not wrong

    but it also has Weird Al moderating the debate

    …wait, that’s the YouTubes, sry

    • Jay M Ferguson
      Jay M Ferguson
      October 1, 2020 at 12:07 am | #

      Which I loved!

    • Jon
      Jon
      October 1, 2020 at 12:13 am | #

      But I found it through Al’s Twitter, so it’s all the same, right?

    • Savail
      Savail
      October 1, 2020 at 12:24 am | #

      If this is Schmoyoho, I have been anticipating this. Should have a quiet moment tomorrow to watch it.

      • Risky
        Risky
        October 2, 2020 at 12:30 am | #

        Yep

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      October 1, 2020 at 10:51 am | #

      I love that Weird Al can get political now, since he no longer has a contract dictating terms to his creativity.

  2. Nevermaker
    Nevermaker
    October 1, 2020 at 12:07 am | #

    #TooReal

    • clif
      clif
      October 1, 2020 at 12:40 am | #

      Yeah, I can’t help feeling that they both have a point.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      October 1, 2020 at 10:52 am | #

      “Twitter’s a hellscape.”

      “Yeah, well real life is not offering a competitive alternative.”

      Proof that DoA takes place 2020!

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        October 1, 2020 at 10:54 am | #

        *sigh* IN 2020

  3. Kyrik Michalowski
    Kyrik Michalowski
    October 1, 2020 at 12:08 am | #

    Huh, I wasn’t expecting Joe’s dad to try and explain/share Hannukah to Amber and her mom. Also I wasn’t expecting Joe to really care whether she cared or not.

    So how much of her hiding in her phone is “normal” Amber behavior, and how much of it is her trying not to think about Mike?

    • Sirksome
      Sirksome
      October 1, 2020 at 12:13 am | #

      I really think it’s a Mike thing. She was always pretty seclusive in general but that more manifested in gaming and computer stuff before Mike’s coma but the phone specifically was new to that event.

      • Regalli
        Regalli
        October 1, 2020 at 1:13 am | #

        Escaping to fiction was one of her coping mechanisms (starting with being alone a lot when her mom was working,) which has expanded to the internet periodically. (‘I’m Amber again. What does Amber do, again?… Evidently, scroll through Tumblr’ or something to that effect.) However, as that parenthetical quote suggests, she’d been pulling away from that a lot, in part for her other main coping mechanism (letting AG take control and fight shit.)

        I wouldn’t be surprised if Mike’s death and everything that came with it also pushed her away from patrols. But since she seems to have lost progress in the ‘opening up to people’ department (or just got really overloaded with Stacy and the Rosenthals and probably a lot of Attentive Checking In On Her, really fast,) that leaves the internet. And oh boy, isn’t it convenient she has a tiny computer in her pocket at all times, there to provide escape?

    • Mechajin
      Mechajin
      October 1, 2020 at 12:18 am | #

      Just a guess here, and I may be reading ibto it too much. But it seems like Joe has never had any consistent family other than his dad, who he has a very strained relationship with.

      He might actually be happy to have a sister.

      • Mechajin
        Mechajin
        October 1, 2020 at 12:23 am | #

        Also worth noting that Joe has displayed fear of being emotionally intimate/available with women (I.e, Joyce), it may be that Stacy and Amber offer him that (or potentially offer him that) in some way while being definitively Off The Table, and therefore safer for him, somehow?

        • Regalli
          Regalli
          October 1, 2020 at 1:05 am | #

          Yeah, between that and ‘you worry about being like your horrific dad, I worry about being like my generally low-grade shitty dad, Same Trauma club?’ I think this could be a really good development for Joe… if Amber can ever reach out after all of her trauma.

        • RacingTurtle
          RacingTurtle
          October 1, 2020 at 1:13 am | #

          I think this makes a lot of sense. I’d hoped Joe would get along with Amber and Stacy, but you’ve put into words why he might want to.

          We’ve only seen Joe’s mom on Patreon. It’s only just occurring to me that his strong resemblance to Richard might be tough for the two of them.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            October 1, 2020 at 10:03 am | #

            Is she in one of the Book 9 bonus strips?

            • RacingTurtle
              RacingTurtle
              October 1, 2020 at 4:07 pm | #

              I don’t remember what book she would have appeared in. The strip was a flashback to Joe’s childhood.

      • drs
        drs
        October 1, 2020 at 12:25 am | #

        Or trying to be happy, anyway!

        Also, hah, I brought up the Rosenthals being Jewish in the previous comments.

    • NotPiffany
      NotPiffany
      October 1, 2020 at 12:23 am | #

      A little from column A, a lot from column B.

    • Rectilinear Propagation
      Rectilinear Propagation
      October 1, 2020 at 12:57 pm | #

      I don’t think the comic has talked about Joe’s religion beyond him saying that he’s Jewish. I don’t think it’s even been implied whether he is strongly religious or not.

      I think this is also about the fact that his dad tried to share their religion with them and got shut down. It seems like his dad is actually trying here. I can see Joe wanting this to work if only to prove that he doesn’t have to be a womanizer even if he is like his dad.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        October 1, 2020 at 3:04 pm | #

        His dad does seem to be trying, though I doubt it’s actually good for Amber. Pushing too hard is a problem dealing with stepchildren, even when they don’t have Amber’s issues and Richard has never shown much awareness of boundaries.

        It’s also worth repeating that he can try to bond and even be good to Amber, but still not deal with his cheating issues. We’ve never seen anything to indicate that he wasn’t a good parent to Joe – other than the example he set for relationships. It was the cheating that ruined that marriage, as far as we know, not anything else.

  4. Rognik
    Rognik
    October 1, 2020 at 12:10 am | #

    That Hannukah analogy is very surprisingly apt.

  5. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    October 1, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

    Oh. Amber does not seem to be doing any better than when we left her. I’m guessing losing Mike *And figuratively probably Ethan* is not sitting to well on her mind.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      October 1, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

      I wonder if Ruth could give her some useful advice on dealing with this stuff.

      Of course, that would be something a normal RA would do, so it would be kind of weird for her. But Amber doesn’t need tips on breaking peoples’ bones, she’s already good at that.

      • Sirksome
        Sirksome
        October 1, 2020 at 12:21 am | #

        I don’t know. Amber was really dismissive of Ruth last time they talked even though that was admittedly a very stressful moment for her. From what I’m seeing of Amber right now even though it’s not a lot to go on yet I don’t have a lot of confidence she’d really listen.

        • CJ
          CJ
          October 1, 2020 at 3:24 am | #

          You’d have to tweet it.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          October 1, 2020 at 10:06 am | #

          Amber was being dismissive of just about everyone at that time. Remember the “as if [any mental health professional] is equipped to handle me” attitude she had during the reconciliation meeting with Sal?

          Maybe she’d be more receptive to outside help now that it seems like she’s making progress with her other half.

  6. Alex Boston
    Alex Boston
    October 1, 2020 at 12:12 am | #

    Huh, their luggage is colour-coordinated with their clothing.

    • woobie
      woobie
      October 2, 2020 at 12:42 am | #

      My comment equating Joe’s colors with Unit-01 was blocked?!

  7. leaf
    leaf
    October 1, 2020 at 12:12 am | #

    I appreciate how Amber and Joe both got emo hair over break

  8. katerly
    katerly
    October 1, 2020 at 12:13 am | #

    I wonder if Ethan has frozen her out since Mike passed away and she’s staying on her phone home he will reach out to her. Or she’s just flooding her brain with so much mindless shit off the net that she has no room in there to think about Mike. Either way…aww Amber.
    Also, did not expect Joe to have some honest concern for her but it makes sense. She is his sister in law now and someone he wasn’t interested in in the first place. She’s double off the table but in his life so he’s concerned.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      October 1, 2020 at 12:17 am | #

      Stepsister. Sister in law would mean he married her sibling.

      Unless we’re about to get some shocking revelation about Joe and Faz, I consider that unlikely.

      • Jess
        Jess
        October 1, 2020 at 12:20 am | #

        Then they’d be a half sibling in law. So hey both is good.

      • Regalli
        Regalli
        October 1, 2020 at 1:03 am | #

        Which would also be pretty terrible considering Faz is underage.

        • Lumus
          Lumus
          October 1, 2020 at 6:54 am | #

          Faz actually has some laws printed out…

  9. Octopus Ink
    Octopus Ink
    October 1, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

    They’re both right.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      October 1, 2020 at 1:55 am | #

      Yeah, both Joe and Amber made some good points here.

  10. GoldDragon387
    GoldDragon387
    October 1, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

    Twitter is a hellscape and I’d rather die the go there on the reg.

    … A bad sign, that I’m agreeing with Joe.

    • Kensou
      Kensou
      October 1, 2020 at 12:33 am | #

      It really is. I even knew that already, but last week I watched The Social Dilemma and social media in general is even worse than I thought…

    • MM
      MM
      October 1, 2020 at 12:53 am | #

      Joe has flashes of wisdom. They’re like a tiny light that you expect to be snuffed out at any moment, except somehow they persist. You might even call it a miracle.

      • RacingTurtle
        RacingTurtle
        October 1, 2020 at 1:57 am | #

        I really wanted to reply with a Chanukah pun, but I’m drawing a blank. Suffice it to say, i c wut u did there, MM, and I am amused

  11. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    October 1, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

    Gorey or Addams?

    • Stephen Bierce
      Stephen Bierce
      October 1, 2020 at 12:17 am | #

      And her overgrown hair makes her look more Ambsterish than usual.

      • Geneseepaws
        Geneseepaws
        October 1, 2020 at 2:24 am | #

        Chas was reputed to have the Largest private collection of crossbow in America. Going with Chas.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        October 1, 2020 at 10:10 am | #

        Her end goal is to completely hide from the outside world behind her hair, like Cousin Itt.

  12. Bicycle Bill
    Bicycle Bill
    October 1, 2020 at 12:18 am | #

    Joe: “Twitter’s a hellscape.”
    Amber: “Real life’s not offering a competitive advantage.”

    I know Amber is referring to the incidents of the previous semester and break, but it could very easily apply to the past ten months of real world time, too.

    • Insanenoodlyguy
      Insanenoodlyguy
      October 1, 2020 at 8:59 am | #

      It’s not any healthier to escape from the real world over that either. And make no mistake, Amber’s not distracting herself, she is going into escapism.

    • Agemegos
      Agemegos
      October 1, 2020 at 9:35 pm | #

      Ten months of five years?

      I watched the world chose to go to Hell in 2000…

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        October 1, 2020 at 9:37 pm | #

        For “of” read “or”. No preview nor edit.

  13. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    October 1, 2020 at 12:18 am | #

    Oh no Amber, let me interrupt you there. Twitter is worse. In real life people restrain themselves a lot after so many struggles. On twitter people rant for hours like idiots and show their darkest shades of morality. Social media enables people to express both the good and bad of people, and the bad is scary as fuck!

    • clif
      clif
      October 1, 2020 at 12:47 am | #

      I Facebook to stay in touch with relatives and I used to Google+ to keep up with communities I care about till Google pulled the plug, and I still follow stuff on Youtube, but I don’t Tweet. So pardon my ignorance, but how do people rant for hours when they are restricted to a few lines???

      • Regalli
        Regalli
        October 1, 2020 at 12:54 am | #

        Threads.

        Long, long threads. (I am not immune to this when I use Twitter – shocker, I know – but at least my longest Twitter thread was probably liveblogging the Animal Crossing Direct back in February delightedly.)

        • Dara
          Dara
          October 1, 2020 at 1:23 am | #

          I have a friend in Law Twitter who has been involved in a thread about that jackass voice dub actor who tried to sue when people came forward about how abusive he was? Remember that news?

          That’s still going.

          • Axel
            Axel
            October 1, 2020 at 3:17 am | #

            I was in his fan club (well, on their forums at least) as a kid and it’s really fucking disappointing to see he still has fans raising his legal fees and shit.

            I mean it was also disappointing to find out he was a creep but like, a old white dude involved in nerd culture is a creep? shocker

            • Axel
              Axel
              October 1, 2020 at 3:22 am | #

              (he didn’t actually go on the forum, and the forum was heavily modded to be child safe, so it was a good anime forum for 12yo weeb me)

            • Dara
              Dara
              October 1, 2020 at 4:40 am | #

              I know the feeling. I wasn’t a fan of his, but I was a fan of some… other people who have notably become (or revealed themselves to be) terrible, terrible examples of people.

              Watching people get older and go batshit insane is really terrifying.

              • LiamKav
                LiamKav
                October 1, 2020 at 5:01 am | #

                I think in a lot of cases it’s not that they’ve gotten older and become terrible people, it’s just that they’ve always been terrible people and some things (say, creeping on young female fans) becomes harder and harder to hide as you get older.

                But yeah, it’s horrible. Every time I see a celebrity I like trending my brain immediately leaps to “dead, paedophile, or something else?”

          • Regalli
            Regalli
            October 1, 2020 at 10:05 am | #

            Oh, yeah, I’ve seen some of that Bonkers Saga.

            (Gotta love how the douchebag so transparently Did Not Have A Case that he could only get a lawyer who didn’t know defamation law whatsoever, and also didn’t know that you have to be in person to have documents witnessed, that is literally the entire point.)

      • Cyrus
        Cyrus
        October 1, 2020 at 12:55 am | #

        Sheer willpower.

      • Wizard
        Wizard
        October 1, 2020 at 12:59 am | #

        They just break their rants into many small chunks, the better to savor each grievance.

  14. tim gueguen
    tim gueguen
    October 1, 2020 at 12:21 am | #

    I wonder about Amber’s mom. She really seems blind to just how bad Amber’s mental state is. We know Amber is good at hiding things because of her double life as Amazi-girl, but you’d think some things would be just too hard for her to hide from her mom.

    • Mechajin
      Mechajin
      October 1, 2020 at 12:26 am | #

      I think Stacy is nice but she also doesn’t seem to be too perceptive in general considering her dating history involves Blaine and Mr.Rosenthal.

      We admittedly haven’t seen how Stacy has handled Amber over the break but at least prior to that I kind of get the feeling a lot of Amber’s reclusiveness was chalked up to “Teenagers, am I right?” or similar.

      • Regalli
        Regalli
        October 1, 2020 at 1:01 am | #

        “I swear, most of your problems can be attributed to low blood sugar.” Which she said the day Amber came back to school after stabbing a man, requiring Amber to use the exact entrance it happened in front of.

        Stacy is nice, but between that and Blaine being able to convince her self-defense classes were a better response to the convenience store incident than therapy, I’m pretty sure she has no fucking clue how to handle mental health. At all. Personally I’m still betting Blaine either looked for someone who already bought into the stigma around therapy or spent a lot of time talking about how useless it was (or both,) because a competent therapist could help defuse some of his bullshit and get their patient out from his control. And/or encourage them to ask questions about some of these oddities around Blaine’s work.

        • Leorale
          Leorale
          October 1, 2020 at 1:27 am | #

          Moms are people, and some people just aren’t that smart. However, whenever I get frustrated with her cheerful cluelessness, I remember that she got herself and her kid away from their horrible abuser. For this she has my undying respect.

      • BigDogLittleCat
        BigDogLittleCat
        October 1, 2020 at 1:16 am | #

        Stacy is “nice” but she’s not kind. She has no empathy and where Amber is concerned, does the least she can. She acts like a big sunny smile is all she needs to give Amber.

        Even when Amber is painfully obviously suffering mental health breakdowns, she just smiles. Amber says she’s fine/doesn’t want to go to a therapist, and Stacy just smiles. A parent who had one neuron focused on their child would have said, nope, we are getting you help, and worked until they found someone who could.
        But no, Stacy thinks Amber’s distress at facing people after she stabbed someone almost to death, on those stairs right there, here’s have a donut.

        Stacy’s got a solid position on the Bad Parents List.

        • RacingTurtle
          RacingTurtle
          October 1, 2020 at 1:23 am | #

          I think Stacy may have deliberately turned herself into the anti-Blaine. Blaine was controlling, Stacy is hands-off. Blaine says Amber is a disappointment, Stacy says Amber is perfect just the way she is. It’s understandable, but it does not make for good parenting.

          • Insanenoodlyguy
            Insanenoodlyguy
            October 1, 2020 at 9:08 am | #

            This seems far more accurate to me. Stacy has Empathy, but has her own problems, and in dealing with those has very much gone with “Don’t do anything Blaine would do. She’s had a lifetime supply of Blaine. Be encouraging, let her work through what she needs to work through.”

          • tim gueguen
            tim gueguen
            October 1, 2020 at 10:45 pm | #

            A believable explanation.

        • Regalli
          Regalli
          October 1, 2020 at 1:35 am | #

          BigDogLittleCat – Yeah, that’s pretty much the perfect summation.

          And like, she KNOWS Amber had severe anxiety as a kid/young teen! She pointed out to Blaine that Amber has trouble on buses prompting the whole Field Trip Of Doom! And her return to the school had her showing a lot of her anxiety behaviors!

          I’d like to think that Stacy could grow, but the more I think about it the more I realize just how hard she’s dropped the ball every time the subject’s come up, and it’s bad.

          RacingTurtle – Really interesting way to look at it, actually. We also know she had to be hands-off working long hours after the divorce, so I wonder if she genuinely doesn’t know how to connect back in with Amber, too. (Or figures that since she was so good and independent for so long, she’ll be fine if Stacy doesn’t show up on Family Weekend for a few hours, right? Amber doesn’t need her! Everything’s fine.)

        • Koms
          Koms
          October 1, 2020 at 5:20 am | #

          Exactly, nice but not kind.. it’s so lonely when your own parent is blind to your pain..or chooses to be

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          October 1, 2020 at 10:23 am | #

          My read is that, just like Amber’s coping mechanism is reclusion and escapism, Stacy’s is to plaster over anything negative with a quick fix, be it through denial, downplaying, or ignoring. There was likely plenty of gaslighting from Blaine while he was in the picture, too.

          Either that or she’s just cartoonishly oblivious.

      • C.T Phipps
        C.T Phipps
        October 1, 2020 at 12:02 pm | #

        Is there any sign that Joedad is insincere with Stacy?

        Joe blames Joedad for the fact his parents marriage was horrible but it’s possible they just weren’t compatible.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 1, 2020 at 3:12 pm | #

          Nothing strong enough that you can’t ignore it. I don’t actually think he’s insincere though. I think he’s caught up in the rush of a new relationship and isn’t thinking about cheating right now. Which is basically what he said to Joe earlier.
          What Joe thought and what I agree with, is that it won’t last and since he’s not admitting to any problem, he’s likely to just fall back into old habits when he does start noticing other women.

          I don’t think Joe has said anything about their marriage being horrible. He’s blamed his dad for cheating. Apparently often and for a long time. Enough to warp Joe’s perception of himself and his threat to women.
          It’s possible there was some incompatibility beyond Richard getting bored and cheating, but there’s no evidence of it. Going meta, I suspect Willis would have hinted at it by now, if that was the intent.

          • Regalli
            Regalli
            October 1, 2020 at 8:25 pm | #

            Yes, my read as well.

  15. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    October 1, 2020 at 12:23 am | #

    Joe’s not wrong. Twitter sucks. I hate twitter and everyone on it. Including me. No. ESPECIALLY me.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      October 1, 2020 at 5:16 am | #

      I like you.

  16. BBCC
    BBCC
    October 1, 2020 at 12:24 am | #

    Part of me wants to tell Amber to pay attention when people are showing her something important to them in her family but A) I do that too sometimes at family events (though not the whole time) and B) That last line is a fucking MOOD.

    • Regalli
      Regalli
      October 1, 2020 at 1:24 am | #

      Can’t get burned when you fail people if you never let people get close to you, ever again!

      Please let her actually be on some kind of DID or trauma support forum or something. What do we have subreddits for, if not giving people an anonymous-through-easy-burner-accounts, well-known-but-for-frequently-innocuous-subjects location to talk about their issues with people in a similar boat? (And because of the innocuous subjects and burners, have a quick cover if you can’t be open about your problem in meatspace. Like, say, if your mother has demonstrated she’s unhelpful when you talk even bluntly about your mental health, and you have a heavily-stigmatized and poorly-understood-even-by-professionals condition.)

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      October 1, 2020 at 7:10 am | #

      Remember Amber’s massively introverted to start with, even without the recent traumas or the DID & PTSD and she’s essentially been at a family event for the entire break. Living with 2 new people, neither of them really known for respecting boundaries. I would be so burned out by now.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        October 1, 2020 at 1:52 pm | #

        True enough.

  17. KSClaw
    KSClaw
    October 1, 2020 at 12:25 am | #

    Trust me Amber, there are better alternatives than twitter

    • ego
      ego
      October 1, 2020 at 10:28 am | #

      graffiti in a middle school restroom? the ranting of the old guy on the end barstool, who’s always arguing with the news?

      (not the president; he’s the twitter of twitter. )

  18. Dr T
    Dr T
    October 1, 2020 at 12:31 am | #

    So….did no one arrested as Blaine’s goon squad rat out Amber as AG? Has she not gotten therapy or is this her reaction to losing her coping mechanism?

    • clif
      clif
      October 1, 2020 at 12:51 am | #

      Who among Blaine’s goon squad knew Amber was AmaziGirl? Blaine didn’t believe it till she took off the mask and he never saw the goon squad after. Just his cop buddy.

      • Lionheart261
        Lionheart261
        October 1, 2020 at 1:08 am | #

        Some of the goons were there with Ross to release her, iirc, and the only different thing she was wearing compared to when they kidnapped her was the mask. Of course, Idk if they know her name, but they’d be able to describe her, and the local cops are probably at least somewhat familiar with her description at this point, on account of the stabbing incident.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 1, 2020 at 7:25 am | #

          I understand if it’s hard to believe, but no one just recognizes Amazi-Girl.

          Though looking back, it is weird that AG put on the mask before they released her to go find AG. She was still posing as Amber then.

      • Uly
        Uly
        October 1, 2020 at 3:53 pm | #

        Blaine STILL didn’t believe it after she took off the mask, but that’s because he’s awful.

    • Varangian
      Varangian
      October 1, 2020 at 9:43 pm | #

      She probably has gone to therapy

      And found it didn’t help that much

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        October 1, 2020 at 11:35 pm | #

        Maybe – though it seemed to help Ruth.
        If that happened off screen, I suspect we’ll hear about it soon.

  19. Bicycle Bill
    Bicycle Bill
    October 1, 2020 at 12:32 am | #

    Amber on her phone = We are all just prisoners of our own device…

  20. saltchocolate
    saltchocolate
    October 1, 2020 at 12:37 am | #

    (To hovertext:) Or in a presidential debate.

    • clif
      clif
      October 1, 2020 at 12:53 am | #

      I bet we’re going to find out. The non-profit presidential debate organization was not best pleased.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        October 1, 2020 at 7:27 am | #

        Trump’s not likely to agree to any rules that let him be muted. There may not be another debate. Or they’ll fold and give up on the rules changes – or just try something ineffective.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          October 1, 2020 at 10:35 am | #

          He’s a narcissist who has to be in the limelight, and he has no long-term plans besides shouting over everyone else with contrarian BS (much like his supporters). Arguing with him is pointless, he’ll just make up something else to try and make himself look good. The only way to disarm him is to starve him of the attention he so desperately craves, making him even more desperate and foolish. You can’t debate him like a normal candidate, we learned that in 2016.

          The best thing Biden can do is keep calmly and rationally answering questions to the moderator and talking to the camera and audience. (Neither of which his opponent did through that whole shitshow.) Then just sit back and let his opponent throw his tantrum.

          Maybe they can get Judge Judy to moderate the next debate, and John Goodman can play the bailiff and yell “SHUT THE FUCK UP DONNY” a lot.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            October 1, 2020 at 11:22 am | #

            The best suggestion I’ve seen for moderator is Samuel Jackson

  21. Johan
    Johan
    October 1, 2020 at 12:41 am | #

    Lol Joe is upset about not giving people the attention they deserve.

  22. Cholma
    Cholma
    October 1, 2020 at 12:49 am | #

    I don’t get the whole “Twitter is a hellscape” thing. Don’t follow people that make it that kind of environment, and block people like that who try to Follow you. It’s easy. I only follow friends and a few celebrities/politicians I like. Same goes for FB, where I’m even more restrictive, and Tumblr, which is a wonderful melting pot of memes, anime I’ve never seen, history, and delightfully quirky stories about humans being the “weird aliens” in the galaxy.

    • clif
      clif
      October 1, 2020 at 12:58 am | #

      Yeah, I find it difficult to believe that Twitter is any worse (or better) than Facebook. Just less useful for me. Now I’ve been on 4-Chan a few times because of stuff/people I was interested in and 4-Chan is as toxic as hell.

    • Autogatos
      Autogatos
      October 1, 2020 at 2:47 am | #

      It gets harder as your follower count goes up or if a tweet you make ever goes viral. Once you hit around 3-4K followers, creeps and trolls start coming out of the woodwork far more often, and I assume it’s worse the higher your follower count gets beyond that point.

    • Autogatos
      Autogatos
      October 1, 2020 at 2:48 am | #

      Basically, if you’re just using twitter as a private individual it’s pretty easy to curate your experience, but if you have a job that requires regular social media promotion/engagement, it becomes a minefield of stress.

    • Rectilinear Propagation
      Rectilinear Propagation
      October 1, 2020 at 6:39 pm | #

      It being a hellscape isn’t just about trolls and bigots. It’s also the fact that the kind, normal people you follow are struggling. I follow several women in tech: one of them has had COVID-19 for months, another has had several family members get sick, another has an invisible disability and had people harassing her for masking up and distancing early into the pandemic. That’s before all the bog standard sexism and racism that ends up in their mentions just for existing on Twitter.

      It’s also a lot harder to avoid any kind of news on Twitter because people who would normally leave that sort of thing off their timeline have reached their limit. (Jim Gaffigan went off on Trump back in August.)

      This isn’t to say that I think people shouldn’t talk about their struggles or complain about injustice. I’m saying everything is terrible on Twitter right now because Everything Is Terrible right now.

      • Autogatos
        Autogatos
        October 2, 2020 at 3:19 pm | #

        This is also absolutely true. I sympathize greatly with that person you follow. I have an invisible disability that makes me high-risk for covid complications and have been dealing with the same stuff, it is utterly exhausting. I’d dealt with ableism before but been 6 months of people constantly talking about people like me as “acceptable losses” and there’s no escaping it. It’s on Twitter, it’s on Facebook, it’s on the news, it’s in person. I had to block my own cousin for it.

        I try to keep my professional social media spaces, like my Twitter, a positive and cheerful environment full of cute animal art and cat photos, but like many, I reached my limit this year and have been talking about more serious topics because I can’t continue to pretend that everything is okay when it’s very much not.

  23. RacingTurtle
    RacingTurtle
    October 1, 2020 at 12:55 am | #

    Joe has tried one (1) terrible joke and one (1) expression of sincerity. Poor guy’s getting to the end of his repertoire, here.

    Sorry, Joe, but Amber’s problems are waaaay above your pay grade.

  24. Juanoku
    Juanoku
    October 1, 2020 at 12:59 am | #

    Shit that’s a good one

  25. Rani
    Rani
    October 1, 2020 at 1:06 am | #

    Things that do not go together
    Ketchup and Chocolate
    Nazis and Yom Kippur
    Matter and Anti matter
    Amber O Malley AND ANY KIND OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, BY GOD.

    • dralou
      dralou
      October 1, 2020 at 5:19 am | #

      She has had character development. Loads of it. Some of it was positive, but as a whole, it was mostly negative.

      It looks like that, right now, she’s worse than she was at the beginning of the story.

      I’m hoping that Amber and AG are still on good terms, though.

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        October 1, 2020 at 6:10 pm | #

        Yeah, but how are either of them getting along with Mike?

        • dralou
          dralou
          October 2, 2020 at 6:28 am | #

          Well, I’m guessing they’re all getting along famously with him. A dead guy seldom disagrees, after all… And dying is one hell of a character development.

          Now, with Imaginary Mike, that’s another story…

  26. John
    John
    October 1, 2020 at 1:14 am | #

    And, at that, from the fact that they’re actually physically on campus and not dressed up as banditos, their real life is a whole lot better than the dystopian hell that’s real life real life.

    • Beef
      Beef
      October 1, 2020 at 1:29 am | #

      Not necessarily. Some colleges are opening because of course they are

      • Miri
        Miri
        October 1, 2020 at 2:35 am | #

        In the UK apparently some universities opened up, convinced students it was fine to come – and then basically locked them into their halls of residence once cases started to rise.

        This… Seems bizarre and problematic.

        • CJ
          CJ
          October 1, 2020 at 3:17 am | #

          Whatever do students do when dorms close? Are they homeless? Doomed to live with their families even if they hate that?
          In Germany, dorms are mostly off-campus and only used by, not sure, about 10-15% of students, and people live there year round anyway, dorms closing wasn’t a thing, though universities moving all lectures & stuff online was.
          They are now trying to go back to on-site teaching, at least for smaller courses where you have large enough rooms to keep a distance, but I wonder how it plays out.
          I bury myself in ao3 these days, and the pandemic is distinctly not the reason, though it doesn’t help either.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            October 1, 2020 at 7:33 am | #

            Generally “doomed to live with their families” – unless they’ve got some alternate arrangement. Some campuses made arrangements for overseas or other long distance students who still need classes that can’t be done remotely (labs, for example), but in general the point of a dorm is to give students access to campus, not to let them escape a bad family life. That’s just a side bonus.

          • Rectilinear Propagation
            Rectilinear Propagation
            October 1, 2020 at 9:21 pm | #

            I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them did end up homeless considering how fast some colleges kicked out their students and the restrictions on international travel.

  27. Bagge
    Bagge
    October 1, 2020 at 1:35 am | #

    Yeah, spending the holliday’s with Joe & Joedad seems like a perfect reason to bury yourself in your phone

  28. OnyxIdol
    OnyxIdol
    October 1, 2020 at 1:46 am | #

    Well the twitter thing may be the most agreeable thing Joe has ever said.

    I say, without using Twitter myself.

  29. Keulen
    Keulen
    October 1, 2020 at 1:53 am | #

    I’m kinda glad I don’t have a twitter account. I do read other people’s twitter posts a lot, and I also have a facebook and youtube account so I think those balance out my not having a twitter account.

  30. PiotrW
    PiotrW
    October 1, 2020 at 2:08 am | #

    Amber, don’t be a d*ck.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      October 1, 2020 at 2:47 am | #

      Mike is dead, Walky seems to have broken up with her and it looks like either Ethan has moved colleges or at the very least doesn’t ever want anything to do with her again.

      Maybe can you understand why she’s hurting and lashing out? Not the right thing to do but maybe understandable?

      • Insanenoodlyguy
        Insanenoodlyguy
        October 1, 2020 at 9:10 am | #

        Understanding why somebody is being a d*ck doesn’t actually change the fact they are being a d*ck.

      • LauraS
        LauraS
        October 1, 2020 at 10:24 am | #

        She’s not even lashing out. She’s retreated into herself, which would be a fair reaction from a significantly more extroverted person to significantly less trauma.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 1, 2020 at 11:20 am | #

          It is probably the only alternative to either lashing out or just curling up into a ball whimpering.
          Give her some space. (And some therapy – but that won’t preclude the need for space.)

  31. Green
    Green
    October 1, 2020 at 2:16 am | #

    Oh, this makes me a bit sad… I love to share my culture with my gentile friends and Chanukah is definitively one of the best. One year, instead of having a Christmas party with two Jewish guests, we had a full-on Chanukah party, with 12 gentile guests, sufganiyot and gelt galore! And now that’s just how we do it each time!

    But I am not even for a second saying that the Rosenthall’s were going all out. It was established pretty quickly that they lax about what they will and will not observe. Like I said, Chanukka is a GREAT starter, but just wait unntil Purim 😉

    ALL OF THAT, WHICH IS TO SAY: Joe tried to reach out, and I’m hopefull that it means he’s working harder than he usually would /because/ he really does genuinely want this to work. You need bonds, you need to learn about the people who are permanently in your life, Sharing culture is, in my opinion, one of the most fulfilling, most loving ways to include those new people.

    Not saying Joe is feeling all of these things, Also definitely possible that I’m reading way too into this! Just that, reading those panels, it made me sad. She’s lost so, so much in such a short period of time. So many flames have gone out. I really worry that right now, Joe is is “the best: she has. And so, fingers crossed, Joe finds that final vial of oil in the wreckage of the Beis Hamikdash, and despite how little oil they had, the flame kept going until the Kohanim were able to aquire more oil. In the original story, that meant only 8 days. I hope in this version tho, the light not only lasts, for as long as she needs, and that it also grows as she continues to grow as well.

    (wait hold on did I just write Talmund DoA fanfin??)

    • Autogatos
      Autogatos
      October 1, 2020 at 2:42 am | #

      As someone who is not Jewish but had a Jewish boyfriend for 4 years, you guys have some very nice holidays. I always enjoyed getting to participate in new cultural experiences.
      And Passover food OH MY GOSH. I’d always known matzoh ball soup was good, but charoset…that was an amazing new food discovery for me.

    • Miri
      Miri
      October 1, 2020 at 3:49 am | #

      ❤️ Yep and it’s cohesive and sweet 😁

    • LadyCaramel
      LadyCaramel
      October 1, 2020 at 5:02 am | #

      Purim???

      • Green
        Green
        October 1, 2020 at 10:17 am | #

        Purim is the best! Ok, so, there’s an entire story behind it, which you could find by searching “English Purim Megillah” but essentially it’s “Someone wanted to kill all of the Jews in the kingdom, and he didn’t, bc our beloved, beautiful, kind, and smart Esther outsmarted him, with the help of Mordechai! Now let’s party!” And oh boy, do we mean PARTY. Well. Ok, there IS a fast day first, but then after that, it’s party time.

        Everyone dresses up in costumes which really is my favorite part. Me and my mom are crafty, so she always went the DIY route and I was literally never disappointed. My costumes rocked. The costumes even have significance in the origin story; we wore masks/costumes to confuse the villain. We also hold these giant parties, often called “seudah” which translates literally to “feast” but we still kind of just use it to refer to the specific parties for Purim. Also, often times, local high schools, congregations, or community centers will hold “Purim Carnivals” where volunteers run basic carnival games for tickets to get prizes (one year a man gave me ten tickets just bc he was so impressed by my bubble wrap fairy wings! Thanks, mom!), and there’ll also be some of those blow up bounce houses and slides, some cotton candy and popcorn, and I remember two petting zoos, and once even a ferris wheel.

        We also put together gift bags of a sort for others. They’re called “shalach manot.” One of the mitzvah’s for Purim is to give at LEAST two of these baskets to two different families. The food inside must also be ready to eat (no bags of frozen corn, no bagel seasoning) and it also must be of two seperate food groups, but it has to be OUR food groups. The specific Judaic ones. Which is a whole other story for a whole other time! Anyway, people go absolutely wild with these. The minimum is two, but there’s kind of this expectation to give one to every kid in your class so it was always this big production in our house, what with having four kids with four sets of classmates, assembling them, labeling them, making sure every package properly fufills the mitzvah. So basically imagine a giant dining room table covered in fun-size candy, home-made hamentashen – the traditional cookie of the holiday – bags of chips, apples, oranges, cracker jacks, giant cases of those small soda cans, and just stacks and stacks of those foil pans with the plastic lids crimp-on you can get from the dollar store. Oh, and don’t forget the ribbon to make it look nice! This already sounds crazy, but I promise you, wealthier families are even more wild about it. Ask how many times my parents were given full sized bottles of tequila.

        Which! Again, also has significance in the story! Another mitzvah you do? Get so gotdang hammered that you can no longer tell the difference between the hero or the villain in the story. No joke, that’s pretty much verbatim from my dad. (I want to also add that all of those bottles where then given away the next year bc neither of my parents drink outside of the ceremonial wines lmao)

        Back to the shalach manot for a second, you deliver them to every house (in costume) and often that house is giving one back to you (remember how I said there’s an expectation to give to every kid in the class) Sometimes they’re not home, sometimes they delivered to your house first, etc. One thing specifcally though… I don’t know if this is actually halucha, but when you deliver a basket, the receiver gives you a quarter. No idea why. All I know is that I was a 7 year old with five dollaars worth of quarters and it was an ultimate high. Not to mention that by the end of the day that same dining room table would be covered, just completely covered, in the shalach manot WE had received, and somehow the four of us were actually able to maturely divide the spoils among us??

        Oh, and that megullah I mentioned way back at the begining? Another mitzvah to fulfill is to go to reading twice, on two seperate days. (So basically the erav, and then the actual day of). The shuls I went to always held a billion of them, just to make sure any many people as possible were able to squeeze in those two visits. Then, when the story is being read, every time the name of the villain is said, everyone makes a ton of noise, to erase him just like he tried to erase us! The traditional toy used is a “gragger,” but there’s plenty of other ways! Some people scream and stomp their feet, some people litterally bring pots and pans, once my brother brought a lazer gun that made zoop-zoop noises. I knew one cantor who would always give a hearty “cock-a-doodle-doo!” Again, most people come in costume, and sometimes there’s some snacks and desserts set out afterwards. Definitely those hamentashen.

        Oh, and one last mitzvah! You’re also supposed to donate to a charity.

        And I think that’s about it! Woof, I stopped practicing years ago, so sometimes I sort of forget just how detailed and specific our holidays and traditions are. I hope this was a fun/interesting/informative read, and not a pain in the butt!

        • RacingTurtle
          RacingTurtle
          October 2, 2020 at 1:03 am | #

          That was a fun read, Green, thank you for sharing!

    • Zaxares
      Zaxares
      October 1, 2020 at 5:53 am | #

      Yeah. I understand that a lot of bad stuff has happened for Amber (Mike died, and it seems Walky broke up with her), but it bothers me that when somebody who’s going to be part of your new family tries to include you in the important aspects of their life, Amber’s response was basically “stay out.” Perhaps you don’t necessarily have to be an active participant, but at least be present and show respect, not pretend that it doesn’t exist for you. (Or, if it REALLY offends you on some level, then at least bow out altogether. Don’t show up and then just ignore everything. It’s exceedingly rude.)

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        October 1, 2020 at 7:50 am | #

        Amber is both recently traumatized and massively introverted. Her mother just married someone who’s essentially a total stranger to her. A new family like that is a huge stressor even under the best circumstances. Neither Richard or Joe have much appreciation for boundaries. I expect they’ve spent the whole break trying to draw Amber out and include her – not just the Hanukkah introduction.
        It’s rude, but she’s overwhelmed.

        • Regalli
          Regalli
          October 1, 2020 at 10:26 am | #

          Yeah, and I’m betting they were even more ‘come on, Amber, spend time with us!’ BECAUSE of the trauma, which then has her feeling pressure to go ‘I’m fine, everything’s fine’ because she really wants some time to be to herself and decompress and isn’t getting any of it and if she admits how Not Fine she is, they’re going to fuss even more.

          We’ll see how she does after some time with Dina, who respects boundaries and fully gets ‘I am thoroughly Peopled Out’. That said, given her last line, I do think she’s in pretty rough shape even setting aside the Introvert Burnout. (That could be last-panel exaggeration/real life is in fact a hellscape, but given the metric fuckload of trauma I do think there’s some truth there, too.)

        • Zaxares
          Zaxares
          October 2, 2020 at 6:19 am | #

          I know. Which is why I included the option there for Amber to just bow out altogether (after letting them know why she’s doing it). Honestly, her mom should know her daughter well enough to anticipate that kind of reaction and be able to give her space if she needs it. The fault partially rests with them for not giving Amber space, I suppose, but on the flip side, I DO know people that just retreated into themselves after a traumatic event and just never emerged again because the people around them were too afraid/hesitant to make sure that the person continued to engage with the world.

  32. Autogatos
    Autogatos
    October 1, 2020 at 2:37 am | #

    Geez the joke in that last panel. I feel that greatly.

    • datneeks
      datneeks
      October 1, 2020 at 3:20 am | #

      Indeed. The internet is where I went to get away from people. Then we decided to have a pandemic and suddenly my antisocial safespace is full of frustrated extroverts and more children than previously and now my 73yo mom is better at social media than I am.

      So I’ve gone from “extremely online” to “extremely afk.”*

      *Afk in the “do not disturb” sense

      • datneeks
        datneeks
        October 1, 2020 at 3:22 am | #

        That being said, Twitter is definitely a hellscape and I stay the hell away from it except to dm my friend baby pictures of my nephew and the occasional cat picture.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        October 1, 2020 at 10:47 am | #

        Yup. It seems like the whole Internet is flooded with loud, frustrated “normal” offline people who are mad their meatspace stuff isn’t happening. Now instead of puttering online all day I’ve been doing other stuff like home improvement projects, fixing up old computers and restoring barbecue grills. I even bought a motorcycle. (It’s just an old Honda, but what I really want is a Zero DSR or FX…)

  33. BenRG
    BenRG
    October 1, 2020 at 2:42 am | #

    Yeah, Walky’s broken up with her and Mike is dead (apart from the ghost in her head that’s she’s liking even less than she liked the real guy). So, understandably, Amber isn’t in the best of moods. She shouldn’t take it out on Joe, though. It’s like kicking a puppy because your coffee maker is broken.

  34. RacingTurtle
    RacingTurtle
    October 1, 2020 at 2:57 am | #

    Stacy probably moved in with Richard. That means Amber likely spent the break in Joe, Danny, & Dorothy’s hometown, rather than Ethan, Mike, & Amber’s hometown. That must have been weird and sad for her 🙁

  35. Libby
    Libby
    October 1, 2020 at 4:08 am | #

    I appreciate Joe trying to say “You need a distraction that isn’t your phone.” But Amber has had to think of how Mike (possibly) is still in the Hospital closest to campus while she got to go home, and anticipating court dates from Ryan’s parents suing for cutting ribbons out of him, so there was gonna be little chance of avoiding the nose to screen habit. But with varying degrees of persistence, I think her friends can pull her out of the funk, even if so she is only shoulder deep instead of submerged.

  36. Carla's #2 Fan
    Carla's #2 Fan
    October 1, 2020 at 4:33 am | #

    Wonder if they gave Amber the non-Jew/little kid version of Hannukka or if she just proved how little she was paying attention. That story is just there to slide it in with the other Festival of Lights occurring around that time. I think Amber would have related a lot more to the actual story. The outnumbered army that managed to survive anyhow, that part. And even the tough Macabe leader that once killed someone for giving in to the enemy and eating pig. Loyalty, garbage (roof), and unsuspected strength.

    • Axel
      Axel
      October 1, 2020 at 8:23 pm | #

      I mean, one of her best friends (/her ex boyfriend) is jewish, so she probably had at least some idea before.

  37. Sombrero
    Sombrero
    October 1, 2020 at 4:46 am | #

    Fun fact: Amber speech bubbles are all within the 140 character limit.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      October 1, 2020 at 5:39 am | #

      good observation!

      as long as she doesn’t start to talk in hashtags I’m good

      • Sombrero
        Sombrero
        October 2, 2020 at 5:32 am | #

        Previous strip was close, with all the Hrngs.

  38. Rainhat
    Rainhat
    October 1, 2020 at 5:15 am | #

    Well, he’s genuinely trying.

  39. AbelUndercity
    AbelUndercity
    October 1, 2020 at 7:04 am | #

    Respect to Willis for skipping through the holidays but still working in a Hanukkah joke.

  40. Alanari
    Alanari
    October 1, 2020 at 7:45 am | #

    Well she either backed off from the whole getting therapy thing or it’s not doing much good. That sounds like a severe Internet addiction.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      October 1, 2020 at 7:52 am | #

      Internet addiction is the very least of her problems.
      Sounds a lot more like a coping mechanism when she can’t interact with people anymore. People who won’t give her space.

  41. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    October 1, 2020 at 8:02 am | #

    Okay, which of our DofA characters really reads the New Yorker? Or did Willis put that in for us not-youngs who grew up within the broadcast area of NYC and whose doctor’s offices often have the New Yorker?

    • Zoe
      Zoe
      October 1, 2020 at 8:53 am | #

      Less the question of who reads it, more the question of who would see someone else dunking on the political cartoons on Twitter

    • Van Jealous
      Van Jealous
      October 1, 2020 at 2:51 pm | #

      Hey! Next thing you know, Willis may throw in some “Archy and Mehitabel” references for us REAL old timers!

  42. Needfuldoer
    Needfuldoer
    October 1, 2020 at 9:58 am | #

    If only, alt-text. If only…

    • He Who Abides
      He Who Abides
      October 1, 2020 at 10:41 am | #

      It’s easy, and called a locking ball gag.

    • Doom Shepherd
      Doom Shepherd
      October 1, 2020 at 11:31 am | #

      I can block anyone IRL. The blocks are cinder.

  43. hof1991
    hof1991
    October 1, 2020 at 10:11 am | #

    Amber spent part of her break going to Mike’s funeral. Then life with Joe and Joedad. Yes, her life sucks. She needs Dina and Walky and some slightly wacky hijnix.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      October 1, 2020 at 10:53 am | #

      Considering the new roommate arrangements, I bet Dina will spend a lot more time in Becky’s room than she will in her own. Maybe Dorothy can move her work stuff to Dina’s desk, then both she and Amber can have some peace and quiet.

  44. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    October 1, 2020 at 10:17 am | #

    Amber is perfectly in the role of “The annoying sister that thinks everything is trash”. Joe looks way better in comparison and this make me really worried about Amber.

  45. Wilson Phillips
    Wilson Phillips
    October 1, 2020 at 11:15 am | #

    Joe, thank you for being the voice of reason, but this new role shift is scaring me.

  46. Eric
    Eric
    October 1, 2020 at 11:33 am | #

    You can absolutely block/mute IRL; it’s called “cutting people out of your life” and “dead to me”.

    • Raptorofwar
      Raptorofwar
      October 1, 2020 at 12:06 pm | #

      I thought it was murder.

      • Valerie
        Valerie
        October 1, 2020 at 12:08 pm | #

        There are two types of people.

      • He Who Abides
        He Who Abides
        October 1, 2020 at 12:24 pm | #

        Raptorofwar wins with a perfect Gravatar/post combo.

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        October 1, 2020 at 12:41 pm | #

        That also involves cutting people out of your life, leaving them dead to you.

        • Agni S Naidu
          Agni S Naidu
          October 1, 2020 at 12:44 pm | #

          Or possibly just without the “out of your life” part

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      October 1, 2020 at 2:59 pm | #

      Short of the drastic measures suggested, it’s difficult when you’re sharing space with them – either in a dorm or as your new stepfather and stepbrother.

  47. Raptorofwar
    Raptorofwar
    October 1, 2020 at 12:07 pm | #

    Why must you be so accurate on Twitter and the real world.

  48. Valerie
    Valerie
    October 1, 2020 at 12:12 pm | #

    This might not be the best place for it, and I won’t get mad if Willis deletes this comment, but the world is a mess and I’m sure we’re all trying to find ways to help. Here’s a way to donate to the Breonna Taylor protesters in Louisville, KY. https://www.facebook.com/526897366/posts/10158458175117367/?extid=0&d=n

  49. ziggy78eog
    ziggy78eog
    October 1, 2020 at 12:39 pm | #

    It just dawned on me that Amber is still at the University; Linda must have had an aneurysm.

    Linda: “With her father dead, that O’mally girl has no one to pay her tuition! She will get kicked out!”

    Richard: “I got this.”

    Linda: *makes a contorted facial expression as blood starts coming out her nose*

    • Agni S Naidu
      Agni S Naidu
      October 1, 2020 at 12:42 pm | #

      Lmao, though yeah I was thinking about her still being at uni. I’m glad Richard seems to be covering for her though – I hope she binds with him a bit better ;_;

    • Regalli
      Regalli
      October 1, 2020 at 8:30 pm | #

      Such a lovely, lovely thought.

  50. Benjamin Kennedy
    Benjamin Kennedy
    October 1, 2020 at 4:22 pm | #

    I’d like to thank the Rugrats for giving me just enough context to understand the phone battery gag. If it wasn’t for that old show I wouldn’t have a clue what Hanukkah is about.

  51. Shadotterdan
    Shadotterdan
    October 1, 2020 at 5:27 pm | #

    Yeah, this comic is making think that Amber might be less #relatable and more “This is a a symptom of something serious”

    • Kintrex
      Kintrex
      October 1, 2020 at 6:44 pm | #

      The vigilante alter didn’t clue you in?

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      October 1, 2020 at 8:03 pm | #

      It can be both.

  52. Varangian
    Varangian
    October 1, 2020 at 9:33 pm | #

    Amber coming back to school rocking the Roast Beef Kazenkakis style

    by which I mean her shirt reads “I’M THE GIRL WHO SUCKS, PLUS I GOT DEPRESSION*”

    *: Comorbidly with a lot of other Fun Brain Stuff

    • Varangian
      Varangian
      October 1, 2020 at 9:34 pm | #

      *Kazenzakis whoops fuck

CHOOSE A SIDE, NO COWARDS

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  • Polls Archive
CONVENTION APPEARANCES


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

David M Willis! avatar
David M Willis!
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2h
Dumbing of Age: "How many" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
How many
Two days left to collect pledges for a Tricerahoodie Dina plush!  If we reach 200 pledges by Thursday, Dina will be made! That sounds pretty rad, I dunno!  Run over there if you want to help make this...
3
13
 
reposted by David M Willis!
kashana.bsky.social's user avatar
Kashana @kashana.bsky.social ⋅ 7h
Can’t believe nobody wants to go to a soccer game to be kidnapped by ICE
phillewis.bsky.social's user avatarPhil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social ⋅ 7h
FIFA Club World Cup ticket sales tank dramatically after the Dept. of Homeland Security bragged that agents would be “suited and booted" at the stadium in a now-deleted social media post
header image - FIFA Club World Cup Ticket Sales TANK After DHS Says Agents Will Be At Stadium
www.huffpost.com
FIFA Club World Cup Ticket Sales TANK After DHS Says Agents Will Be At Stadium
Tickets to the opening match that were once $349 (and up) could be had for just $4.
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reposted by David M Willis!
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 18h
Three days to go! www.makeship.com/petitions/tr...
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatarDavid M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 8d
www.makeship.com/petitions/tr... Wanna Tricerahoodie Dina plush? GO PLEDGE FOR ONE! We need 200 people to make it happen! Pledge period will end in 10 days!
header image - Tricerahoodie Dina Plushie
www.makeship.com
Tricerahoodie Dina Plushie
Dina is so small and quiet that she goes completely unnoticed by most people for long stretches of time. She doesn’t talk much — she prefers to observe. People and how they interact is a puzzle to Din...
7
19
 
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 10h
www.ebay.com/itm/23615364... selling my studio series 86-11 perceptor! with *jazz hands* instructions!!!
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 12h
....got into spx on the waitlist dreams are real!!!!!!!
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 13h
hey guess who's getting sold next
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 15h
ACAB means Dolly
3
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 18h
Three days to go! www.makeship.com/petitions/tr...
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatarDavid M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 8d
www.makeship.com/petitions/tr... Wanna Tricerahoodie Dina plush? GO PLEDGE FOR ONE! We need 200 people to make it happen! Pledge period will end in 10 days!
header image - Tricerahoodie Dina Plushie
www.makeship.com
Tricerahoodie Dina Plushie
Dina is so small and quiet that she goes completely unnoticed by most people for long stretches of time. She doesn’t talk much — she prefers to observe. People and how they interact is a puzzle to Din...
7
19
 
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
I think you mean the Slug-Maker
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
today in #9chickweedlane i guess we're memory-holing again that 1997 story where amos and edda kissed for the first time after she, uh, got shot at school
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
this has real "leia comforting luke for losing a guy he just met after her planet got exploded" energy
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Dumbing of Age: "Locate" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
Locate
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
butts disease
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reposted by David M Willis!
soundmirrors.bsky.social's user avatar
Unnatural Selections @soundmirrors.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
It’s been awhile since I’ve more seriously read up on Ugaritic and Canaanite religions (alas, w/semi dated scholarship), but this is interesting, and not in a peaceful matriarchal fantasy kind of way.
theradr.bsky.social's user avatarRabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social ⋅ 21d
If you do a close read not only of the Bible but the archeology, it starts to look like the Israelites, & all but a couple of Judean kings, worshipped a goddess for pretty much the whole First Temple era. The implications of this are... far ranging-- & her name might not be what we've believed.
header image - Israelite Goddess Mystery Quest
www.lifeisasacredtext.com
Israelite Goddess Mystery Quest
smashing pillars / tracing echoes
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Have some sticker ideas for Toyhax
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
fellas, is hasbro trying to make toys for children again
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Erase Soundwave's mouth! Recolor him light blue! ...don't correct Ratbat's miscolored face in the next panel
3
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
So, I put my mind to it and retaught myself 3D modeling.
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
who wore it better
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
1
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Dumbing of Age: "Pervasively" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
Pervasively
2
6
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reposted by David M Willis!
indigo-k.com's user avatar
-indy ✨ (he/him) @indigo-k.com ⋅ 2d
WIP: Taking a break for dinner, and then back to finish this later tonight:
5
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reposted by David M Willis!
gwensnyder.bsky.social's user avatar
Gwen Snyder is uncivil @gwensnyder.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
I will say for the umpteenth time that the Democratic establishment is terrible at understanding enthusiasm math. An energized base is crucial to winning fights-- electoral and otherwise-- because they will drag the low info folks out to vote and protest and engage. You NEED that energy.
gwensnyder.bsky.social's user avatarGwen Snyder is uncivil @gwensnyder.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
It's not just that he and his policies are unpopular, there's a clear and demonstrated enthusiasm differential now. His base is energetically absent, ours is livid and out in the streets.
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reposted by David M Willis!
fakeeyes.bsky.social's user avatar
FakeEyes @fakeeyes.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Pretty good Spider-Man figure, I don’t care what they say.
Spider-Man doing that thing you expect. It’s the butt thing. Why have I done this to myself? Is this my life? Yes.
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28
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reposted by David M Willis!
zaratustra.bsky.social's user avatar
zaratustra @zaratustra.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social adjacent to your interests
adashtra.bsky.social's user avatarAsh Parrish @adashtra.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Turns out the guy was Chuck Ayers, a nationally recognized cartoonist and creator of Crankshaft. He had a lot to say but the thing that struck me was that when he talked about whats going on now, I could see he was holding back emotion. All this still hurts him to see 55 (!!) years later.
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reposted by David M Willis!
katiestp.bsky.social's user avatar
Katie @katiestp.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Right now, these sweet kids have no clue how impactful this period in history will be for them, but I hope they will be proud of the time they made the best protest sign ever: The green one that says “Trump eats boogers” #NoKings
Kids and adults standing on a pedestrian bridge over the highway with protest signs that say fascists out and no Trump no ice. The best one is green and says Trump eats boogers.
katiestp.bsky.social's user avatarKatie @katiestp.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
We can’t make the actual event at the capitol today, so you’ll find us with the kids on University with our signs (and I might bring the megaphone too). Even if you can’t make it to the capitol - come out in your own neighborhoods, even if it’s for a few minutes. Be seen. Be heard. #nokings
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reposted by David M Willis!
anguirus.bsky.social's user avatar
Anguirus @anguirus.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
rude of you to call me out like this @damnyouwillis.bsky.social
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
www.ebay.com/itm/23614371... five hours left on this weirdo in the box weirdo not in the box is not for sale
2
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reposted by David M Willis!
charliejane.bsky.social's user avatar
Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️‍⚧ @charliejane.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
At Comic-Con 2009 I was getting misgendered a fair bit and feeling anxious AF about it. Robert Downey Jr. was doing a press conf for Sherlock Holmes. I wanted to shout out a question but hated drawing attn to myself. I did it anyway. He gestured at me: "the lady in the blue shirt." I was so happy.
bolt451.bsky.social's user avatarHunter S Schafer @bolt451.bsky.social ⋅ 4d
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
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