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« this HOO-MAN once had no model for a class so we all took turns modelling (*clothed*) and WOW when you aren’t used to it, holding an action pose for two minutes is a special brand of TORTURE
If they agreed to take turns, it would technically be bartering rather than free. Legally, they would have to report the value of the modeling received in return for their modeling as income.
I haven’t done action pose modeling ever, but I’ve helped my dad with construction and wow even just holding a wire in place above your head for 2 minutes is torture too
I mean, not regarding recieving a crush. This isn’t a Folgers commercial, that isn’t the sisterly part.
I mean the part where she defaults to needling the heck out of somebody.
I’ll double down on it being terrible. This is probably the first time EVER that Joe has attempted to show genuine vulnerability and emotion, and he is immediately being attacked for it. It is an easy step towards reinforcing that he isn’t allowed to show emotional vulnerability, and in context it looks like he immediately put his shields back up.
Not trying to blame Joyce or anything, I say “attacked” because I am trying to empathize with Joe on this and express (in my personal interpretation) what he thinks of her words. I don’t think she is actually trying to be malicious or anything like that, I would even guess she thinks she is being nice. But I don’t think Joe is interpreting it that way, I think he REALLY needed her to take him seriously in that moment and she kinda didn’t. Which is a bummer.
Hopefully she turns it around immediately and stops teasing. Let him know how pleased you are, that he didn’t blow it, that he might have a chance. It wouldn’t take much, reaching out to hold his hand would do it. It’s her turn to be vulnerable here. Or she could just stop talking and smile at him.
Y’all are so kind and serious! ♡ I really like that.
However, I think Joe is OK, and indeed, making fun of herself / him / the situation might be a fine way to show him that his vulnerability didn’t change how she’s going to treat him! He can retreat back into his comfort zone, they can still playfully needle each other, telling her his feelings didn’t mess anything up.
…I read it again, she’s really making fun of herself way more than making fun of Joe. It’s basically “Why would somebody like me? I’m a total weirdo!” vs. “I see that you have normal human feelings, and I’m gleeful about this whole thing”.
High-energy and needle-y as she is, her teasing definitely carries an implied “feelings are normal, you’re OK” and “this doesn’t instantly change our whole dynamic” and “oh I see that you are a real person with feelings (and not a libido with a face)” and, most of all, “omg I’m delighted that you have a crush on me!!”
She’s flirting, gang! This is Joyce and Joe’s version of flirting her face off.
Mild self deprecation as flirting, delivered with an absolutely massive triangle smile! It even gives him an opening to fire back with his actual reasons, which could range from “No, those aren’t why, but these are” to “Yes, exactly, all your little quirks PLUS this other stuff”. He’s a teenage boy, he might have spent his “strategic balls reserves”, so to speak, on the act of admission, which is no small feat on its own.
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever disliked Joyce as much as I do in this strip. She’s being a total a-hole to Joe over what was described to her as his biggest anxiety.
I view this is more of Joyce flirting there is no malice behind this. She could have gone after Joe by declaring him a pervert walked out or told him to stop messing with her or all three i,nstead she is acknowledging his feelings and trying in her own way to be cute. This sort of teasing is kind of normal at least in my realtionship and other folks.
I disagree completely. If I were in Joe’s situation, the way Joyce is taking it would put me at ease. This is friendly teasing, not malicious. It shows that Joe hasn’t scared her away.
Aye, me too. I’d be sighing with relief even, like thank fuck she’s not flipping out or being mean or ripping my heart out of my chest and piercing it with a creepy ritualistic dagger in front of the entire class as an offering to her nameless ancient god.
I can see how it can be read that way, but I don’t see this as bad in any way. If Joyce had reacted with disgust or discomfort, that would have been bad. But Joyce instead reacted with humor and basically saying “oooh, what of my weird quirks do you like about me?” is probably the best response Joe could have gotten outside of “I also like you,” and was basically the same thing my current relationship started as. As my girlfriend and I have talked about, there is nothing better for a relationship than being able to laugh with each other and poke fun at each other, as long as there is no maliciousness involved in it.
Yeah and in theory I might agree. But counterpoint, they are not in a relationship, at best they are trying to plant one. Like I said, I think this is far from unsalvageable, we are dwelling on a moment and it could easily turn around in the next.
But it’s worth remembering that Joe is an emotionally repressed young man. As someone who has also been an emotionally repressed young man, this reads as infantilizing and invalidating. Yes, rejection would suck; and an “eww, gross” would probably be worse. But this still feels like his emotions are being invalidated, like they are immediately being turned into a joke because that is all they are worth. An “I’m sorry, but no I don’t feel that way about you” would hurt but at least it would be an acknowledging them as real. That would be better (imo).
Again, this could easily turn around. WE know Joyce isn’t trying to be malicious. This might turn out to be exactly what they need. This could also turn in to Joe crumping up his drawing and quietly walking out without another word, and mostly I just want to preempt people thinking this is totally harmless in case that happens.
No prob. The naked truth is that puns comments tend to be quickfire sketches rather than fully fleshed out jokes, so it can be hard to perceive them, rather like… hmm like… I feel like there’s a metaphor there. Feel free to pencil it in.
I think the model deserves a name (and a tag). If Willis can create a tag for a rom-com miniseries on HBO, he should certainly do this for the model. Especially since she got lines!
Huh. Here I was prepared to ironically argue to the end of time in favor of a stealth pun name… and instead everyone goes along with it. You people really cramp my style.
It’s hard to tell. He might be upset, but I also question if he’d give obvious denials like that if he was actually upset. He might just be being playful back, only grumpily.
This fits in pretty well with the teasing they give each other, but she may underestimate how fragile his ego is. Hopefully she gives him some hope quite soon before he crumbles.
It’s even better than just joking. She’s flirting. Joyfully, unashamedly, delightedly flirting! Because she’s excited that her crush likes her back and she doesn’t have to be subtle about flirting for fear of messing up their friendship anymore. She can flirt without restraint! And she’s reveling in it! I can’t tell if Joe understands this or not, but he knows her well enough that he should.
you know, I think this is why I find this so weird. the idea of joyce successfully flirting is very odd to me.
but on the other hand, she’s flirting with a boy. this comic is very gay, to the point where I’d kind of forgotten hetero relationships are possible. she’s probably pretty comfortable in this dynamic!
He’s a little upset, but in a good way. Good natured ribbing is a positive response. Like 3-4 days ago someone was complaining she was dehumanizing Joe, if you can believe it, here she is humanizing him in contrast to the mask he usually wears.
Hmm, mostly what bothers me is the fact that she wanted him to be more honest and open, and then when he does that she immediately starts using it as ammo. Good-naturedly, yes, but perhaps still not in the spirit with which that information was intended to be used.
Yeah, it’s definitely a return to form for the two of them, as well as very much Joyce’s brand of flirting, but I’d still like her to see her slide it back just a few notches for the time being.
You are very right and i really wish I could tell people to shut up when they twist teasing interactions into war crimes but we have to be constructive here
Do we have to? I tell people to shut up all the time and nobody’s ever said boo about it. Granted, that’s mainly been when the people were being bigots, but still.
Nice to see a Triangle Smile out of Joyce for the first time in a little bit!
And yeah, Joyce is just lightly teasing here, it’s fine. Especially since “having normal human feelings” is exactly what Joe is coming to terms with right now.
Basic explanation: a lot of puzzles based on the U.S. map will have puzzle pieces that are shaped like individual U.S. states, rather than traditional jigsaw-puzzle-piece shapes. The problem is that some of those states, when scaled to the size of a toy puzzle for children, are small enough that they’re impractical to manufacture. As a result, some puzzle manufacturers combine two or more of these small states (like the ones Joyce mentions) into a single piece. This, of course, ruins the whole “puzzle piece for each state” concept.
Understood. I thought it was because the Hampshire state is lightly taller than Vermont, even they looking they combine very well, like a puzzle piece…
Kind of understood Joyce. When I look into map, it annoys me
Just when I thought we’d heard everything Joyce needs separated into its individual components, we get New Hampshire and Vermont, two of the weird little stats.
(I am allowed to say that, coming from a weird and even littler state.)
The “using silly lines in a particular strip as proposed book titles”, or the hatred of US map puzzles that combine two small states into one piece, thus betraying the idea of having one piece per state for a 50-piece puzzle? (Ignore Michigan, include the lake in its piece.)
Well, I suppose it’s a better option that jamming the UP onto the north edge of the Wisconsin puzzle piece, like it was a hat or something. But if you do that then you’ve got to indicate Isle Royale in the middle of the lake … that’s technically part of Michigan too.
These puzzles always forget about Point Roberts and the Northwest Angle, too. Never mind Martha’s Island, Nantucket, Block Island, the little islands around Maine and Nova Scotia…
I had an irrational fear of soup as a kid. I don’t like surprise textures in my food. Mixing food is fine. Surprise hard-thing-in-meant-to-be-soft-food is evil. I shall imbibe fully homogenised creamy soup or nothing.
texture aside, it feels like some blended soups might be more palatable for her to try to have healthy stuff mixed in. unless she only had chicken noodle when she got a cold or just stuck to something limited and took multivitamins to make up for it lol
Wasn’t Becky along for at least one of those Joyce-Jacob alternative church sessions? Becky’s seen Joyce flirt with a dude and mean it, even if Joyce was in denial at that stage in their doomed flirtationship.
This is neither a yes or a no to the question of whether it’s a good idea, I just think it has happened.
Hardly irrational. Between four and five thousand people choke to death in the US each year, 4!963 in 2020. To quote Jeffrey Rohrs, “French Onion Soup is the death wish of foods.” https://twitter.com/jkrohrs/status/96335343967682560?lang=en
I love to see Joyce smile for the first time in weeks/years but girl, it’s time to back off and relent a bit. Let him know he didn’t just screw it all up. You can tease him later when he’s not wishing he has never told you. I think you owe Joe a pizza now.
I think this is Joyce’s version of letting him know he didn’t screw it all up. See, we can still act the same, lightly annoying each other for fun, you didn’t make our dynamic all different and weird!
And/or she was raised as a little sister, so she can’t resist the urge to needle the heck out of him. Whichever!
Good morning, Worm your honor.
The crown will plainly show
The prisoner who now stands before you
Was caught red-handed showing feelings
Showing feelings of an almost human nature;
This will not do.
I love the model enjoying the free show. Very pretty.
I do think it’s cute that Joyce is going with what might otherwise be sources of insecurity for her to a degree. Like, guessing either that or things he has teased her about. In any case, I don’t think she’s genuinely being mean here so much as being playful, if not outright flirty.
o3o by the way the first time I told a girl I liked her I was a little kid. We basically stopped talking after that. I know it was over 20 years ago but that feeling of rejection has followed me well into adulthood. I fall in love easily but I’m super scared to tell anyone I like them because I don’t want to be rejected. I say that to say, I hope Joe’s crush is reciprocal.
The first time I told a girl I liked her was 10 years ago. Her response was “Oh. That’s awkward.” We started dating 2 years after that and are still together today.
This is why i never confessed to people ever
I either sat on it or waited for them to say something first. Or, once, had my friends tell him for me. He did reject me but it wasn’t to my face so i felt nothing.
I even coaxed my current boyf into confessing first (which was the first time he’d done so)
Yo can we talk about how pretty the model is? Wow she’s super pretty. And also omg this is so perfect. It’s so cute to see Jouce ribbing him like this and taking it well. Joe deserves this. I know it sucks you’re being teased but you earned it Joe.
I dearly hope the mirror of this happens when Joe gets Joyce to admit that she really wants to jump his bones. “You have sexual urges, in your face, human!”
Or don’t. Some people enjoy teasing as a form of flirtation and Joyce deserves to be liked/loved for being herself, not for continuing to make herself smaller to fit into what other people think she should be.
If she was being malicious (she isn’t) then I’d say an apology is warranted, but this is pure flirtation and self-deprecation. If that’s not what Joe is interested in, then Joyce isn’t the girl for him. No big deal.
IF Joe says his feelings are hurt, then I’d say she needs to apologize, but right now this is just Joyce being happy, being herself, and not muzzling it to fit in. I’m happy for her.
I believe the concern is that Joe has made himself tremendously vulnerable at this moment, and Joyce being joyfully, innocently inconsiderate of his feelings may make him close up and retreat again.
Again, I don’t think she’s being inconsiderate. I think she’s flirting.
Still, it’s a fair concern but Joe has to speak up if that’s how he feels. Joyce isn’t being a jerk by being herself before someone points out that it’s hitting them a certain kind of way.
Teasing is a form of flirtation is absolutely valid. However, it is not ‘making herself smaller’ to recognize that there are times when it is inappropriate, such as when your (prospective) partner is struggling to let themself be vulnerable for you. I’m not even talking about any sort of heartfelt apology, just a simple sorry to acknowledge that it was just play, and change gears. There is nothing wrong with what she’s done IF she also proceeds to address him genuinely. More teasing can be afterwards.
If she doesn’t adress him genuinely at all, then she’s being an asshole. But I don’t expect that to happen.
So many people have been going after Joyce for her reaction to Joe’s comments To which I respond it’s flirting sometimes people tease you when they flirt with you but it’s not malicious act.i am sure Joe realizes this.
Joyce is processing this in her own way if she immediately declared her love for Joe or told him to piss off it would be weird in the former scenario and horrible in the latter.
Agreed. It does have the potential to come across as annoying (to Joe) but he’s bantering back (“they’re butts!”) and it’s really in character for them.
Yeah, he’s not shutting down! He’s retreating, yes, but in a playful way that’s complementary to her aggressive teasing, because it gives her the space in the conversation to take the lead on feelings.
(And everything she’s suggesting about herself he might be into is something that Joyce herself is insecure about! Her glasses, her comic strip (which she is also very proud of, yes, but the last time she and Joe talked about, he was calling her out on how much it’s based on herself and people she knows—“is there a guy named Moe in it?” “Not once I get my hands on eraser” or whatever that exchange was), her peculiar, specific weirdnesses, including her anxiety-laden food aversions…she’s gently making fun of him for *like-liking* someone, but mainly because that someone is specifically Joyce Brown, Known Weird Person. She’s delighted, to think he might be into all that, that he might LIKE those things about her that she’s so embarrassed about! This is unbearably cute.)
I’ve thought about modeling for art classes or groups, but the limb cramps or aches from holding positions for the 15 and 30 minute segments has me iffy on it.
I clearly was sleepy when I wrote this. Even I can’t understood it.
Making it clear: Willis, please, tag the model, even if we never know her name.
Like, you can put “model”, or “cramp leg model”. As Sierra’s parents tag.
Tks
Are you kidding? This is so cute. I’m ridiculously aro and I’d literally go on a date with Joyce based on this strip, just so I could poke her back about the soup phobia.
This! I was shocked to see so many “wow Joyce what an asshole” comments when like… she’s being playful? and happy? Is there nothing she can do without being labelled awful?
I think it’s probably that a lot of us are extremely sensitive about being teased, mocked, and/or rejected. Anxieties backed up by bad past experiences.
I’m not sure that the right answer to that sensitivity is name calling (not saying that’s what you personally did, but it has happened many times in this comment section) since that just pushes the cruelty on to someone new.
Is it really too much to ask that your personal anxieties don’t factor in to how you view interactions between two people who aren’t you? That you might factor in the idea that not everyone feels that way or is upset by the same things, so this behaviour isn’t universally wrong and bad?
Yes? People do this all the time. Not in absolute, ideologically pure way where they wipe their brains to experience other people’s lives as fresh and blandly as ricotta cheese…but…empathy’s a thing? Making yourself see other people’s points of view and imagining their experiences is a thing? Sometimes it’s hard and it takes effort, but it’s still really important to do it.
I think it’s also possible that some of us have the exact same experiences you’ve described, in our actual own real lives, and *have a different response* to this comic strip and this specific scenario, and still find the overwhelming negativity and bad faith interpretations of every last aspect of every character interactions in the work to be frustrating to engage with.
Her teasing def seems more light hearted being like , “oooh you liiike me eee :)” as opposed to awkwardly changing the subject and running away or outright rejecting him and being like “ew, gross” but i see how ppl can emphasize with joe and want him to have closure either way
Not just a round shape, but a single round shape for both, even! And the nipple is facing upward for some reason. The use of full sentences for shading Is an interesting one, though. Usually people use a blend layer or some cross-hatching, but I kinda dig this conceptually. Now if only it weren’t straight across instead of following the natural lines of the body.
Gentle reminder that this is an active scene in progress and we don’t actually know if Joe is upset of if he’s just comedically bulling up now that he’s been caught having human feelings. Did any of you really expect a clean “He admits it on Friday and by Sunday they’re the new Official Couple” scenario? Messy-ass kids having messy-ass interactions, that’s just how flirting works in this series.
Also an addendum: Not everyone flirts/receives affection in the same way. Just because the way Joyce is acting wouldn’t be fun for you, doesn’t mean it isn’t her way of flirting. Some people like a little teasing and goodnatured pigtail pulling. Some people are even off-put by the kind of serious, calm, deep-thought approach that seems to appeal to others in this comic comments section.
It’s okay to like either option, or both! We don’t need to call people names for flirting differently than we do, whether it ends up being successful or not.
No, this is the worst attack that’s ever been leveled at my person – somebody saying something I completely agree with. As an internet lefty, that’s the highest offense possible.
She literally asked “What is it about me that you like-like?” and then listed off qualities about herself. I’m not sure where you’re getting the idea that she doesn’t know it’s about her, but I promise she does.
The model ship them♡! I kinda hope she will talk with them after the pose ends, usually live drawing models are super interesting people witha lot of storiesto tell. Joyce is really enjoying this moment. It’s easy to see she’s really happy, both for Joe admit he likes her and for Joe’s new human sides he showing. I’m sure even Joe is happy for this♡.
See, I was planning on revelling in the moment of Joyce lording over Joe’s infatuation, but now I want to know what the story is with the fear of soup. Is it the fact that you can’t tell what ingredients have been mixed through it, and therefore cannot separate them?
Oh my god Joyce is being so adorable about this. It’s like she’s teasing him but instead she’s affirming that she’s a weirdo and he’s a normal person, aaaaaaaa it’s so cute
Like the teasing would imply the power dynamic being her > him but instead all her specific teasing is doing is evening it out. No it’s actually fine that he’s feeling like that it’s the normal person way to feel. No she’s not a goddess descended to earth she’s an honest to god weirdo who has no idea why anyone would like her.
look i have a lot to say about this beetle bailey strip okay
anyway, nobody's hands reach their own crotches while their arms are fully extended, so plato only has to bend his elbows like 10 degrees to put his hands on his hips
not a lot to say about this mary worth other than i was curious how you make vegan lasagna and i looked it up and received psychic damage from three-to-four different revulsions/phobias
today in #9chickweedlane i learned that despite being ostensibly new yorkers, the characters in this strip sure like to talk about british royalty all the time
For April's second bonus strip, we see ROBIN in an unused strip that would've run April 16! But didn't! Read this bonus strip and hundreds of previous at the Dumbing of Age Patreon: patreon.com/dumbingofage
and remember you can always pledge up to read tomorrow's strip right the eff now
CBS on the cardinals: "One thing we know they're not doing is checking Instagram because their devices have all been confiscated. I believe the kids call it rawdogging."
if you want to know my secret to finishing 6 strips in two days, it's -- you know it -- autism and blaring NES Ducktales Moon Theme nonstop for 36 hours, but i repeat myself
WEEKLY WEDNESDAY @tfwiki.net PIC TWOFER!
It's nigh two minutes on two Generation Two toys that are too expensive, the unreleased Laser Cycles SOUNDWAVE and JAZZ! Man I hope we get a Legacy-molded Soundwave bike someday, but I ain't holding my breath.
youtube.com/shorts/v_S44...
before this skybound kickstarter ends, can we talk about how, no, you can't just draw optimus prime's season 2 revision head and color the eyes yellow and have it be a marvel optimus
marvel optimus never had the season 2 revision head
question: does the UK still call the ninja turtles the hero turtles, and if not, how far back did they stop
in other words, would dumbing of age's jason, who's like 22, still call them the hero turtles
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com ⋅ 2d
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HOO-MAN
« this HOO-MAN once had no model for a class so we all took turns modelling (*clothed*) and WOW when you aren’t used to it, holding an action pose for two minutes is a special brand of TORTURE
You did it for free?!?!
Rule of Acquisition #21: Never place friendship above profit.
If they agreed to take turns, it would technically be bartering rather than free. Legally, they would have to report the value of the modeling received in return for their modeling as income.
Report the value? Hogwash!
I follow the “Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe” principle of taxation: “If they want it, let ’em come and get it!”
Quark told me it’s “HUGH-MON”.
“A HOOMAN?! YABO-SHI!” – Ferngully The Last Rainforest, 1992
I haven’t done action pose modeling ever, but I’ve helped my dad with construction and wow even just holding a wire in place above your head for 2 minutes is torture too
There’s a webcomic on webtoons called “Spirit Fingers” where they draw croquis of each other doing weird poses. It’s a romance, completed and cute.
… Am I allowed to mention other comics? If not, I’ll refrain in the future.
I think we’d all be in trouble if mentioning other things were disallowed
in particular bc of the BUTTS DISEASE
YEAH!!!! I can tell lot’s of people here are gonna get their groove on tonight!!!
*plays “Boogie Wonderland” by Earth, Wind & Fire on hacked muzak*
Great song.
Teacher: Silence please, your speech bubbles are blocking the students’ view.
“No thought bubbles either”
….
“Nor internal narration!”
joyce.
The little-sister instincts are strong with this one.
I mean, not regarding recieving a crush. This isn’t a Folgers commercial, that isn’t the sisterly part.
I mean the part where she defaults to needling the heck out of somebody.
Wow, now there’s an obscure reference I was not expecting to see in the wild.
Two days in a row!
I mean, Willis made that same reference in yesterday’s hovertext
“In your face, human!”
“No—”
“FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE”
Yep, time for that old meme to finally make a reappearance.
To this day I struggle to explain to bemused friends why hearing the phrase “…your face” makes me giggle and say “Your FAAAACE!”
I have never had to explain it to anybody, but yeah, same exact reaction when I see or hear “your FACE!”- especially anywhere in this very comic. ;D
See, before I even finished reading your comment, the phrase “your face” made me immediately think of CD-i Ganon.
My wife and I do that at each other and I have no idea how to even begin to explain the context behind that one :p
I should clarify, she doesn’t read webcomics, she just thought it was funny enough when I did it one time that it stuck.
She’s sassin’ back, and Joe’s givin’ a time.
They’re absolutely on the same page.
Ty
And it’s over. Joyce made it terrible in seconds.
Okay maybe not terrible. This reminds me of Miss Congeniality. “You lllliiiiikkkkkeee me! You want to kkkkiiiisssss me!”
I’ll double down on it being terrible. This is probably the first time EVER that Joe has attempted to show genuine vulnerability and emotion, and he is immediately being attacked for it. It is an easy step towards reinforcing that he isn’t allowed to show emotional vulnerability, and in context it looks like he immediately put his shields back up.
Not trying to blame Joyce or anything, I say “attacked” because I am trying to empathize with Joe on this and express (in my personal interpretation) what he thinks of her words. I don’t think she is actually trying to be malicious or anything like that, I would even guess she thinks she is being nice. But I don’t think Joe is interpreting it that way, I think he REALLY needed her to take him seriously in that moment and she kinda didn’t. Which is a bummer.
Hopefully she turns it around immediately and stops teasing. Let him know how pleased you are, that he didn’t blow it, that he might have a chance. It wouldn’t take much, reaching out to hold his hand would do it. It’s her turn to be vulnerable here. Or she could just stop talking and smile at him.
Y’all are so kind and serious! ♡ I really like that.
However, I think Joe is OK, and indeed, making fun of herself / him / the situation might be a fine way to show him that his vulnerability didn’t change how she’s going to treat him! He can retreat back into his comfort zone, they can still playfully needle each other, telling her his feelings didn’t mess anything up.
…I read it again, she’s really making fun of herself way more than making fun of Joe. It’s basically “Why would somebody like me? I’m a total weirdo!” vs. “I see that you have normal human feelings, and I’m gleeful about this whole thing”.
High-energy and needle-y as she is, her teasing definitely carries an implied “feelings are normal, you’re OK” and “this doesn’t instantly change our whole dynamic” and “oh I see that you are a real person with feelings (and not a libido with a face)” and, most of all, “omg I’m delighted that you have a crush on me!!”
She’s flirting, gang! This is Joyce and Joe’s version of flirting her face off.
Yes! This!
We’ve probably got a couple more days until they settle down, but this is a net positive for both of them.
Mild self deprecation as flirting, delivered with an absolutely massive triangle smile! It even gives him an opening to fire back with his actual reasons, which could range from “No, those aren’t why, but these are” to “Yes, exactly, all your little quirks PLUS this other stuff”. He’s a teenage boy, he might have spent his “strategic balls reserves”, so to speak, on the act of admission, which is no small feat on its own.
Have y’all just, like, not paid attention to Joyce and Joe’s relationship at any point ever?
I’m starting to suspect that a sizable fraction of this audience has just somehow never had an interaction with a flesh and blood person before.
FR.
This has been all of 15-30 seconds?
It’s a normal amount of “tehe omg really you like me???”
Remember, these are 18 year olds and have been “friends” for a bit.
Theyre gonna have a childish rapport.
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever disliked Joyce as much as I do in this strip. She’s being a total a-hole to Joe over what was described to her as his biggest anxiety.
I view this is more of Joyce flirting there is no malice behind this. She could have gone after Joe by declaring him a pervert walked out or told him to stop messing with her or all three i,nstead she is acknowledging his feelings and trying in her own way to be cute. This sort of teasing is kind of normal at least in my realtionship and other folks.
Yes, Joe put his shields back up.
Unfortunately, there’s a like-like present. His shields don’t stand a chance.
Poor guy may as well have put up a piece of tissue paper with the word “shields” scrawled on it in barbecue sauce.
Nah.
Like-likes only eat shields. They don’t touch written notes like the ones that let you buy potions.
I disagree completely. If I were in Joe’s situation, the way Joyce is taking it would put me at ease. This is friendly teasing, not malicious. It shows that Joe hasn’t scared her away.
Aye, me too. I’d be sighing with relief even, like thank fuck she’s not flipping out or being mean or ripping my heart out of my chest and piercing it with a creepy ritualistic dagger in front of the entire class as an offering to her nameless ancient god.
She doesn’t have a god right now, but the one she followed until a few months back definitely has a name.
And in Latin, it starts with an I!
Nameless ancient gods aren’t especially known for their strict adherence to linear time, but I do take your point.
I can see how it can be read that way, but I don’t see this as bad in any way. If Joyce had reacted with disgust or discomfort, that would have been bad. But Joyce instead reacted with humor and basically saying “oooh, what of my weird quirks do you like about me?” is probably the best response Joe could have gotten outside of “I also like you,” and was basically the same thing my current relationship started as. As my girlfriend and I have talked about, there is nothing better for a relationship than being able to laugh with each other and poke fun at each other, as long as there is no maliciousness involved in it.
Yeah and in theory I might agree. But counterpoint, they are not in a relationship, at best they are trying to plant one. Like I said, I think this is far from unsalvageable, we are dwelling on a moment and it could easily turn around in the next.
But it’s worth remembering that Joe is an emotionally repressed young man. As someone who has also been an emotionally repressed young man, this reads as infantilizing and invalidating. Yes, rejection would suck; and an “eww, gross” would probably be worse. But this still feels like his emotions are being invalidated, like they are immediately being turned into a joke because that is all they are worth. An “I’m sorry, but no I don’t feel that way about you” would hurt but at least it would be an acknowledging them as real. That would be better (imo).
Again, this could easily turn around. WE know Joyce isn’t trying to be malicious. This might turn out to be exactly what they need. This could also turn in to Joe crumping up his drawing and quietly walking out without another word, and mostly I just want to preempt people thinking this is totally harmless in case that happens.
…I don’t think Joyce will give up on her new pet THAT easily.
Poor some out for the model. They be the real heroes here.
Real heroes? I’m pretty sure they’re posers.
Nah, they’re a model for everyone to follow!
how do you figure?
*whispers* Psst. It was word play.
*whispers* let me draw your attention to huehuetotl’s own pun… Happens to the best of us. No shade <3
Thanks. I had to go back and figure it out.
No prob. The naked truth is that puns comments tend to be quickfire sketches rather than fully fleshed out jokes, so it can be hard to perceive them, rather like… hmm like… I feel like there’s a metaphor there. Feel free to pencil it in.
In a pun war, it’s a good idea to question any phrase that seems sketchy.
New fanon: The model’s name is Charlene Colt.
I think the model deserves a name (and a tag). If Willis can create a tag for a rom-com miniseries on HBO, he should certainly do this for the model. Especially since she got lines!
yes, it would be fun to tag. Willis has done it to some pages before.
As an example, the Sierra’s parents.
That’s an excellent name. I accept and propagate your fanon.
Huh. Here I was prepared to ironically argue to the end of time in favor of a stealth pun name… and instead everyone goes along with it. You people really cramp my style.
Well, I guess not every joke can be greeted with a spasm of mirth.
Wait, it’s a pun?
…Charlie Horse. Damn it.
Still a great name.
googling that name gives a result for a lawyer so it might have to be changed even tho i doubt she’d see and sue over it lol
Now her only problem is making sure not to laugh and change her expression dramatically mid-pose.
Yep, like I said, adorably earnest.
“In your face, human!”
This is now my new catchphrase!
Odds in that being a Dexter quote?
wait which Dexter? the science genius or the gruesome vigilante?
The Head Alien Dexter, I assume.
ha ha, lemme see… yeah! that’s the guy I made Joyce munch on in one of my games!!!
Dexter the Head Alien, in Joyce’s favorite in-universe cartoon. (And Walky and Dorothy’s fave cartoon, too.)
Something like a thousand to one.
inb4 people dive on Joyce.
She’s obviously joking and Joe isn’t actually upset.
Yes, she is responding to Joe being vulnerable with her for the first time ever by making a joke out of it. And I’d say he is very upset.
It’s hard to tell. He might be upset, but I also question if he’d give obvious denials like that if he was actually upset. He might just be being playful back, only grumpily.
This fits in pretty well with the teasing they give each other, but she may underestimate how fragile his ego is. Hopefully she gives him some hope quite soon before he crumbles.
I get the feeling that Joe is feeling incredibly vulnerable right now and, while not currently annoyed or hurt, is more than a little on edge.
However, Joyce is interacting with him in a way he doesn’t seem used to. Definitely has to be a maelstrom of emotions for good ol’ Joe.
Yes, she’s clearly kidding.
She’s also demonstrably bad at reading the room and knowing when she’s crossed a line.
She also has no idea what Joe’s limits for this sort of thing are. More to the point, neither does Joe.
She’d do well to back off two panels ago, is what I’m saying.
It’s even better than just joking. She’s flirting. Joyfully, unashamedly, delightedly flirting! Because she’s excited that her crush likes her back and she doesn’t have to be subtle about flirting for fear of messing up their friendship anymore. She can flirt without restraint! And she’s reveling in it! I can’t tell if Joe understands this or not, but he knows her well enough that he should.
you know, I think this is why I find this so weird. the idea of joyce successfully flirting is very odd to me.
but on the other hand, she’s flirting with a boy. this comic is very gay, to the point where I’d kind of forgotten hetero relationships are possible. she’s probably pretty comfortable in this dynamic!
He’s a little upset, but in a good way. Good natured ribbing is a positive response. Like 3-4 days ago someone was complaining she was dehumanizing Joe, if you can believe it, here she is humanizing him in contrast to the mask he usually wears.
Well, you were right. I’ll take this opportunity to say: THIS IS SO CUTEEE. AHHHH. PLEASE LET THIS GO RIGHT, MY HEART CAN’T TAKE IT!!!
Hmm, mostly what bothers me is the fact that she wanted him to be more honest and open, and then when he does that she immediately starts using it as ammo. Good-naturedly, yes, but perhaps still not in the spirit with which that information was intended to be used.
Yeah, it’s definitely a return to form for the two of them, as well as very much Joyce’s brand of flirting, but I’d still like her to see her slide it back just a few notches for the time being.
Those 4th and 5th panel Joe-faces don’t exactly signal “not upset” to me. :/
You are very right and i really wish I could tell people to shut up when they twist teasing interactions into war crimes but we have to be constructive here
Do we have to? I tell people to shut up all the time and nobody’s ever said boo about it. Granted, that’s mainly been when the people were being bigots, but still.
“Do you like me for my irrational fear of soup?”
Yep that’s defo a mean hearted burn toward Joe having feelings.
Joe responds that he doesn’t like her he’s thinking about butts
That proves they’re having a for realsie real fight rn. It’s gonna go so bad and Joyce is a monster or something…
They’re practically trading blows AS WE TYPE.
i adore them i love them. this is so cute
god they are SO CUTE
I know. They are like two kittens trying sleep in the same slipper.
Nice to see a Triangle Smile out of Joyce for the first time in a little bit!
And yeah, Joyce is just lightly teasing here, it’s fine. Especially since “having normal human feelings” is exactly what Joe is coming to terms with right now.
Dumbing of Age Book XIII: Is It My Hatred of U.S. Puzzles That Combine New Hampshire and Vermont Into One Piece?
I don’t quite get it. Is this another human meme thing I missed?
It’s a comments-section meme around here to take X quote from the day’s strip and posit it as a potential title for the current book.
No no, silly
I mean about New Hampshire and Vermont being one puzzle piece.
they’re just a li’l guy
Basic explanation: a lot of puzzles based on the U.S. map will have puzzle pieces that are shaped like individual U.S. states, rather than traditional jigsaw-puzzle-piece shapes. The problem is that some of those states, when scaled to the size of a toy puzzle for children, are small enough that they’re impractical to manufacture. As a result, some puzzle manufacturers combine two or more of these small states (like the ones Joyce mentions) into a single piece. This, of course, ruins the whole “puzzle piece for each state” concept.
Ah, thank you for clarification!
Maybe I’ll try making a puzzle game next…
Fastening the Upper Peninsula of Michigan like a hat on top of Wisconsin is a similar occurrence.
Understood. I thought it was because the Hampshire state is lightly taller than Vermont, even they looking they combine very well, like a puzzle piece…
Kind of understood Joyce. When I look into map, it annoys me
Just when I thought we’d heard everything Joyce needs separated into its individual components, we get New Hampshire and Vermont, two of the weird little stats.
(I am allowed to say that, coming from a weird and even littler state.)
I’m now picturing an equivalent puzzle for Europe that includes Lichtenstein, Andorra, San Marino and the Vatican as pieces.
Given that you can throw a rock from one border to the other in both states, it makes sense to have them as one piece.
Before anyone @’s me, there’s counties in my state that are larger than VT and NH. Combined.
The “using silly lines in a particular strip as proposed book titles”, or the hatred of US map puzzles that combine two small states into one piece, thus betraying the idea of having one piece per state for a 50-piece puzzle? (Ignore Michigan, include the lake in its piece.)
Yeah the one about the puzzle pieces.
Well, I suppose it’s a better option that jamming the UP onto the north edge of the Wisconsin puzzle piece, like it was a hat or something. But if you do that then you’ve got to indicate Isle Royale in the middle of the lake … that’s technically part of Michigan too.
These puzzles always forget about Point Roberts and the Northwest Angle, too. Never mind Martha’s Island, Nantucket, Block Island, the little islands around Maine and Nova Scotia…
And the usual Rhode Connectichusetts Island
That is entirely rational of her, tbh, and any puzzle-maker who does that should be subject to harsh penalties
To be fair, no one ever misses Rhode Island.
>:|
Unless you blink on your way to Cape Cod
In Your Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!
Those exist? That’s just miseducating children.
Also, the model might not want to say this out loud.
Like anyone is playing attention to the model.
Eh, I’ve been in classes and sessions where the model chit-chatted with the sketchers.
It’s so nice of the school to provide its models free entertainment.
Butts disease is inescapable.
Lies. It’s very easy to put behind you.
Such cheeky humor!
It can strike at any time, like getting rear ended at a stop sign.
Nay, sirrah, it strikes but occasionally.
Don’t let the cuteness of this distract you from noticing Joyce has knowledge of the One Piece. It’s REAL!
The model is very pretty, and I’m glad Joyce and Joe are entertaining her lol. How many people of the class have stopped drawing and are now watching?
Also, damn the placement of that final speech bubble. I can’t afford the slipshines so I have to take what I can get.
Press the Mute button on the remote control; that’ll make all the speech bubbles vanish.
It’s so nice to see
Joyce back again
IKR????????? <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 I've missed this Joyce so much
lol at least teasing joe for being ‘human’ is a lot more light hearted than calling dina robot girl
but you’d think if she’d started cramping she’d ask the teacher to take like a 20 min break or so
No, no, Joyce can use that word now.
Dina: NO, SHE CANNOT.
She’s one of us!
Dina: NO, SHE IS NOT!
Yes, Joyce. It is your irrational fear of soup. So endearing.
It’s a valid fear. Who knows what kind of stuff they put in soup.
Also cold soup…only thing that triggers my gag reflex harder is runny eggs.
I had an irrational fear of soup as a kid. I don’t like surprise textures in my food. Mixing food is fine. Surprise hard-thing-in-meant-to-be-soft-food is evil. I shall imbibe fully homogenised creamy soup or nothing.
I say “as a kid” because as an adult I make my own soup and do not doubt my own ability to destroy every texture in the process.
How about that bit you get sometimes in a chicken breast where the texture and density is all wrong?
texture aside, it feels like some blended soups might be more palatable for her to try to have healthy stuff mixed in. unless she only had chicken noodle when she got a cold or just stuck to something limited and took multivitamins to make up for it lol
They better be careful they don’t get kicked out of class for being a distraction.
It’s fine, they can go get a pizza and continue flirting in a more socially appropriate venue.
Is Joyce flirting with someone in front of Becky a good idea?
Wasn’t Becky along for at least one of those Joyce-Jacob alternative church sessions? Becky’s seen Joyce flirt with a dude and mean it, even if Joyce was in denial at that stage in their doomed flirtationship.
This is neither a yes or a no to the question of whether it’s a good idea, I just think it has happened.
No no no you’re so close
alt text : bongos bongos bongos
This is the first I’m hearing of such puzzles and I already hate them as much as Joyce does
Hardly irrational. Between four and five thousand people choke to death in the US each year, 4!963 in 2020. To quote Jeffrey Rohrs, “French Onion Soup is the death wish of foods.” https://twitter.com/jkrohrs/status/96335343967682560?lang=en
4,963 *
I love to see Joyce smile for the first time in weeks/years but girl, it’s time to back off and relent a bit. Let him know he didn’t just screw it all up. You can tease him later when he’s not wishing he has never told you. I think you owe Joe a pizza now.
I think this is Joyce’s version of letting him know he didn’t screw it all up. See, we can still act the same, lightly annoying each other for fun, you didn’t make our dynamic all different and weird!
And/or she was raised as a little sister, so she can’t resist the urge to needle the heck out of him. Whichever!
Good morning, Worm your honor.
The crown will plainly show
The prisoner who now stands before you
Was caught red-handed showing feelings
Showing feelings of an almost human nature;
This will not do.
Joe wishes he was comfortably numb right now.
I love the model enjoying the free show. Very pretty.
I do think it’s cute that Joyce is going with what might otherwise be sources of insecurity for her to a degree. Like, guessing either that or things he has teased her about. In any case, I don’t think she’s genuinely being mean here so much as being playful, if not outright flirty.
She does look absolutely thrilled.
Hello, miss, yes can we please get your name and could you come back around regularly? Why? Oh, no reason.
Dumbing of Age Book 13: I Drew Myself Thinking of Butts
The real question is, do you like like him back?
o3o by the way the first time I told a girl I liked her I was a little kid. We basically stopped talking after that. I know it was over 20 years ago but that feeling of rejection has followed me well into adulthood. I fall in love easily but I’m super scared to tell anyone I like them because I don’t want to be rejected. I say that to say, I hope Joe’s crush is reciprocal.
Join the club. We’ve got jackets.
I feel ya
The first time I told a girl I liked her was 10 years ago. Her response was “Oh. That’s awkward.” We started dating 2 years after that and are still together today.
This is why i never confessed to people ever
I either sat on it or waited for them to say something first. Or, once, had my friends tell him for me. He did reject me but it wasn’t to my face so i felt nothing.
I even coaxed my current boyf into confessing first (which was the first time he’d done so)
Yo can we talk about how pretty the model is? Wow she’s super pretty. And also omg this is so perfect. It’s so cute to see Jouce ribbing him like this and taking it well. Joe deserves this. I know it sucks you’re being teased but you earned it Joe.
Thus far she is the only character I have a crush on. And I really like the shade DW used for her skin.
Oh, absolutely! She’s completely gorgeous, and if we never see her again it’ll be an actual crime. I wanna know her entire story.
Yeah no the models hot
Entirely sizzlin’, to put it respectfully.
Okay, but what about puzzles that combine Delaware and Maryland?
we should just do that anyway. call it Delmar. there’s too many states these days as it is.
I want more states. I want to carve up a bunch of the bigger stated so that they are all the same size
Maryaware?
“I don’t have feelings, and certainly not for you, baka!”
I dearly hope the mirror of this happens when Joe gets Joyce to admit that she really wants to jump his bones. “You have sexual urges, in your face, human!”
the real galaxybrain take
You know what…fair.
Joyce. Take a breath, say you’re sorry for teasing, and address Joe’s genuine statement genuinely.
Or don’t. Some people enjoy teasing as a form of flirtation and Joyce deserves to be liked/loved for being herself, not for continuing to make herself smaller to fit into what other people think she should be.
If she was being malicious (she isn’t) then I’d say an apology is warranted, but this is pure flirtation and self-deprecation. If that’s not what Joe is interested in, then Joyce isn’t the girl for him. No big deal.
IF Joe says his feelings are hurt, then I’d say she needs to apologize, but right now this is just Joyce being happy, being herself, and not muzzling it to fit in. I’m happy for her.
I believe the concern is that Joe has made himself tremendously vulnerable at this moment, and Joyce being joyfully, innocently inconsiderate of his feelings may make him close up and retreat again.
*visibly concerned*
Again, I don’t think she’s being inconsiderate. I think she’s flirting.
Still, it’s a fair concern but Joe has to speak up if that’s how he feels. Joyce isn’t being a jerk by being herself before someone points out that it’s hitting them a certain kind of way.
Teasing is a form of flirtation is absolutely valid. However, it is not ‘making herself smaller’ to recognize that there are times when it is inappropriate, such as when your (prospective) partner is struggling to let themself be vulnerable for you. I’m not even talking about any sort of heartfelt apology, just a simple sorry to acknowledge that it was just play, and change gears. There is nothing wrong with what she’s done IF she also proceeds to address him genuinely. More teasing can be afterwards.
If she doesn’t adress him genuinely at all, then she’s being an asshole. But I don’t expect that to happen.
“In your face, human!” seems like a good book title.
Also, I didn’t know there were puzzle abominations that combined states like that.
So many people have been going after Joyce for her reaction to Joe’s comments To which I respond it’s flirting sometimes people tease you when they flirt with you but it’s not malicious act.i am sure Joe realizes this.
Joyce is processing this in her own way if she immediately declared her love for Joe or told him to piss off it would be weird in the former scenario and horrible in the latter.
Also it shows she is comfortable around Joe.
Agreed. It does have the potential to come across as annoying (to Joe) but he’s bantering back (“they’re butts!”) and it’s really in character for them.
Yeah, he’s not shutting down! He’s retreating, yes, but in a playful way that’s complementary to her aggressive teasing, because it gives her the space in the conversation to take the lead on feelings.
(And everything she’s suggesting about herself he might be into is something that Joyce herself is insecure about! Her glasses, her comic strip (which she is also very proud of, yes, but the last time she and Joe talked about, he was calling her out on how much it’s based on herself and people she knows—“is there a guy named Moe in it?” “Not once I get my hands on eraser” or whatever that exchange was), her peculiar, specific weirdnesses, including her anxiety-laden food aversions…she’s gently making fun of him for *like-liking* someone, but mainly because that someone is specifically Joyce Brown, Known Weird Person. She’s delighted, to think he might be into all that, that he might LIKE those things about her that she’s so embarrassed about! This is unbearably cute.)
I’ve thought about modeling for art classes or groups, but the limb cramps or aches from holding positions for the 15 and 30 minute segments has me iffy on it.
I like the drawing in the last frame. That’s art.
Willis, please, tag people again, even they will appear once.
Don’t even need a name to tag.
I clearly was sleepy when I wrote this. Even I can’t understood it.
Making it clear: Willis, please, tag the model, even if we never know her name.
Like, you can put “model”, or “cramp leg model”. As Sierra’s parents tag.
Tks
TW: Blaine,
Also, good points, Amos.
Joyce, you’re so bad at flirting.
Oh, I disagree. This would work for me 100% it is totally my vibe.
Are you kidding? This is so cute. I’m ridiculously aro and I’d literally go on a date with Joyce based on this strip, just so I could poke her back about the soup phobia.
leg cramp?? my arms would akready be on fire after 30 seconds (i have never posed and my upper body strength is a joke)
You did draw Joyce facing away from you, so panel 3 is highly warranted.
As we now see who the model is, it’s nice to see a new character and not from all those speculations we had.
“They’re butts! I was thinking of butts!”
“So you admit you like my butt!”
The triangle smile is back!
Joyce looks really happy for the first time in many strips. Well done, Joe!!
This! I was shocked to see so many “wow Joyce what an asshole” comments when like… she’s being playful? and happy? Is there nothing she can do without being labelled awful?
I think it’s probably that a lot of us are extremely sensitive about being teased, mocked, and/or rejected. Anxieties backed up by bad past experiences.
I’m not sure that the right answer to that sensitivity is name calling (not saying that’s what you personally did, but it has happened many times in this comment section) since that just pushes the cruelty on to someone new.
Is it really too much to ask that your personal anxieties don’t factor in to how you view interactions between two people who aren’t you? That you might factor in the idea that not everyone feels that way or is upset by the same things, so this behaviour isn’t universally wrong and bad?
Even before considering whether it’s too much to ask that readers set aside their personal anxieties and biases, consider whether that’s possible.
Yes? People do this all the time. Not in absolute, ideologically pure way where they wipe their brains to experience other people’s lives as fresh and blandly as ricotta cheese…but…empathy’s a thing? Making yourself see other people’s points of view and imagining their experiences is a thing? Sometimes it’s hard and it takes effort, but it’s still really important to do it.
I think it’s also possible that some of us have the exact same experiences you’ve described, in our actual own real lives, and *have a different response* to this comic strip and this specific scenario, and still find the overwhelming negativity and bad faith interpretations of every last aspect of every character interactions in the work to be frustrating to engage with.
Her teasing def seems more light hearted being like , “oooh you liiike me eee :)” as opposed to awkwardly changing the subject and running away or outright rejecting him and being like “ew, gross” but i see how ppl can emphasize with joe and want him to have closure either way
This is really cute. Joyce is really enjoying this, huh.
What did Joyce just say about drawing boobs as a round shape?
Not just a round shape, but a single round shape for both, even! And the nipple is facing upward for some reason. The use of full sentences for shading Is an interesting one, though. Usually people use a blend layer or some cross-hatching, but I kinda dig this conceptually. Now if only it weren’t straight across instead of following the natural lines of the body.
This is easily the funniest thing anyone’s said in the comments section in a month, so I just wanna give some credit where it’s due.
I’m reading Joyce in the same voice she used when she saw younger Walky in the Hymnal video — sing-songy, and with V’s replaced with W’s.
Please stop, Joyce…
Gentle reminder that this is an active scene in progress and we don’t actually know if Joe is upset of if he’s just comedically bulling up now that he’s been caught having human feelings. Did any of you really expect a clean “He admits it on Friday and by Sunday they’re the new Official Couple” scenario? Messy-ass kids having messy-ass interactions, that’s just how flirting works in this series.
Also an addendum: Not everyone flirts/receives affection in the same way. Just because the way Joyce is acting wouldn’t be fun for you, doesn’t mean it isn’t her way of flirting. Some people like a little teasing and goodnatured pigtail pulling. Some people are even off-put by the kind of serious, calm, deep-thought approach that seems to appeal to others in this comic comments section.
It’s okay to like either option, or both! We don’t need to call people names for flirting differently than we do, whether it ends up being successful or not.
The general “you” not you personally, Taffy!
No, this is the worst attack that’s ever been leveled at my person – somebody saying something I completely agree with. As an internet lefty, that’s the highest offense possible.
Oh no, how can I ever make this up to you.
Also: [AUTISTIC SCREECHING] IT’S STILL HAPPENING!!!!
Way to reclaim, fam fam!!! 🥲
Damn skippy.
JOYCE YOU IDIOT KISS HIM
OR JOE KISS HER
EITHER WAY MAYBE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION ELSEWHERE
Still hasn’t sunk in he’s talking about her, has it
Hang in there Joe, she’ll get it in a minute…
She literally asked “What is it about me that you like-like?” and then listed off qualities about herself. I’m not sure where you’re getting the idea that she doesn’t know it’s about her, but I promise she does.
Then listed off some of her own insecurities.
She knows, but it hasn’t sunk in
I disagree entirely, but fair enough.
Ah, that’s why the professor is allowing this
“Oh good they’ll be the ones to distract the model from cramps this semester”
Walky: “We were talking about McNuggets!”
Joe: “YOU talked bout McNuggets.”
Joyce: “We were talking about Love!”
Joe: “YOU talked about Love.”
Dang strategically placed speech bubbles.
The model ship them♡! I kinda hope she will talk with them after the pose ends, usually live drawing models are super interesting people witha lot of storiesto tell. Joyce is really enjoying this moment. It’s easy to see she’s really happy, both for Joe admit he likes her and for Joe’s new human sides he showing. I’m sure even Joe is happy for this♡.
See, I was planning on revelling in the moment of Joyce lording over Joe’s infatuation, but now I want to know what the story is with the fear of soup. Is it the fact that you can’t tell what ingredients have been mixed through it, and therefore cannot separate them?
Joe, little hearts around a drawing of her – and SHOWING her that drawing – were the equivalent of passing her a note saying “do you like me y/n”
Also I kind of get Joyce – soup is WEIRD. I still only like a few kinds myself.
Willis, thank you for curvaceous model, appreciate the little folds
can you two kiss— hello unnamed model
I am looking and sketching respectfully
Oh my god Joyce is being so adorable about this. It’s like she’s teasing him but instead she’s affirming that she’s a weirdo and he’s a normal person, aaaaaaaa it’s so cute
Like the teasing would imply the power dynamic being her > him but instead all her specific teasing is doing is evening it out. No it’s actually fine that he’s feeling like that it’s the normal person way to feel. No she’s not a goddess descended to earth she’s an honest to god weirdo who has no idea why anyone would like her.
It’s… so wholesome.
Oh My Goodness the model is so beautiful ♥
Gawk at a real naked woman irl for a couple hours – art
Same lady for a couple minutes but internet cartoon – call 911
Did- Did you get the cops called on you for watching hentai?
Depends. As far as I know certain states have stricter laws about it.
Joyce how many more strips until we find out about YOUR human feelings?
oh wait, smugness is a human feeling i guess
I give you….all of Joyce’s experiences up until now, including the dozens of strips where she’s been emotionally vulnerable with Joe.
The bizarre fuckin zero sum emotional game of these comments
This must be the work of an enemy stand!!!
The muse is amused
This needs one more panel at the end, a pan out showing the entire class and prof just staring at this soap opera.