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preternia @preternia.com ⋅ 15h
![We have two major problems in our party: We have a courage problem and we have a competition problem. Because we don't challenge the status quo or people who are in safer blue seats nearly enough, we [end up with certain] candidates who get really comfortable. [highlighted by me] And if there's anything that I've learned from activism and organizing, it's that comfortable people — especially politicians — do not change.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:pum3nk6m6xqwqw5e7v5wcbgu/bafkreiau7p4ck7uqou2ywenr4kxtrz5scy64hkksovtg3zbd5v3eb6vryi@jpeg)
Lex McMenamin (they/them) @leximcmenamin.com ⋅ 17h
) Rigid, likely cast urethane/resin, no leg warping here! Flexible hoses. Beautiful piece! Any prototype collectors interested, hit me up! #beastwars #transformers
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
Nothing to see here, folks!
mel! @mel.bzky.team ⋅ 5m
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Joyce: BUTT TOUCHER
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Aah. I don’t remember where I read this, but there was a study that found an inverse relationship between women who enjoyed the smell of their partner and birth defects / complications. (like smell ~> fewer incidents of birth problems)
People with better genetic compatibility smell better than those who are less compatible, at least, so I hear, there was even a dating service awhile back where they’d have men put on a brand new t-shirt, exercise in it for awhile to infuse it with their natural odor, seal it in a bag, and then the shirts would get sent to women who’d pick their matches based on smell. I don’t believe it’s still around, and that’s not super surprising as the premise likely grossed too many people out to develop a proper customer base, even if the science behind it was sound (although I am unsure if the hypothesis on which it was based was ever fully proven).
To get back on topic, if liking the smell of a potential mate is correlated with better genetic compatibility, then it makes sense there’d be fewer genetic problems in the offspring.
wow, i’d sign up for that instantly. Smell is super important to me!
…. though i don’t care for genetic compatibility, i’m not likely to have genetic offspring…^^
The Major Histocompatabiliy Complex is a group of proteins that are involved in immune strength. A person with a wider diversity can respond quickly to a wider variety of pathogens. Women seem to find the body smell of men with complimentary MHC as smelling better than the body smell of men with similar MHC, except for if they’re on the pill, then it switches.
So what you’re saying is that the pill causes incest?
Diagnosis — BUTTS DISEASE.
*plays “Butts Butts Butts” from Bob’s Burgers on hacked muzak*
I can’t believe Bob’s Burgers ripped off Jeph Jacques’ & Willis’ Intellectual Property! :O
Wait, Jeph and Willis have made comics about a two-butted goat?
oh no the butts disease is spreading
Joyce hides her shame by covering her face with the newspaper…
…which due to an astounding bit of bad luck puts her face to face with today’s Julia Gray comic. It’s the one that introduces Julia’s hunky love interest, Jay Rosenbaum. He’s shirtless.
“Why are you hiding behind the–”
“I’m NOT HIDING! And also I’m NOT A HUSSY!”
“No one here said you were…?” o.O
Perfect.
Do you think Becky’s brain has just totally melted down at this point or what
It’s leaking out her ears as we speak. Luckily, the floor of the lab has drains, so no one will step in it.
…So we can expect her mind to end up in a very literal gutter?
It can keep Joyce’s company, then.
Her eyes are probably showing a BSOD
They have been for 4 pages now, off and on. She reboots sometimes to respond to attempts at direct communication, then crashes again.
Horny Joyce is always a treat.
But for real I hope she accepts herself at some point.
Its ok to try to suppress unhelpful parts of yourself. Sex interferes with studies.
Conversely, Studies interfere with sex.
Though being studious can also make having sex easier in some instances, while I don’t think sex can make studying easier.
Actually, the great stress relief that comes with sexual release can be very valuable in maintaining higher brain function while studying.
Depends on the person. As someone who is ace and trans, sexual arousal is a huge source of dysphoria, and combined with embarrassment and social anxiety leaves me dysfunctional (mentally) if I were to try to focus during studying/an exam. Totally not speaking from personal experience or anything…;
I’m one of those people who can’t think well if I get too horny no matter how hard I try, so a good fuck can keep me at peace and working/studying well.
This is very real. I’m already terrible at keeping thoughts straight, being randomly horny just makes it impossible. Luckily grass exists.
That way lays snapping and sucking like a billion dicks.
Kinsey would likely disagree.
There’s a difference between “I choose to prioritize academics over any emotional/carnal exploits” and “ME NO HOR ME NO TOUCH MAN PART!”
That’s Dorothy mindset. Dorothy mindset is unhealthy
From what i’ve heard, it’d get ‘worse’/happens more on a period so pain aside that might be another side effect to joyce’s monthlies assuming the repression doesn’t outweigh it lol
I think Dorothy would tell Joyce that before she decides to engage in any sexual intercourse, that she first ought to get more comfortable with her body.
I’m sorry, my sarcasm detector is kinda broken. Autism!
No really is this sarcasm?
My metaphorical money is on “No”, it is not.
Billie needs to solve this too
Or Jennifer
She’s <a href="https://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/01-if-the-shoes-split/billingsworth/" already had her shot.
She’s already had her shot.
Butt sniffing in class. Not very becoming of human machines.
ah-HA! I was joking last night, but I was RIGHT! o_O Joyce, Joyce, Joyce. Oh no. You in danger, girl! Quick! Go apologize to Dorothy and deeply inhale her hair scent. Cleanse yourself of Joe pheromones!
Although I bet Dorothy would tell Joyce to go for it
Lol Joyce you already went on a date with him. You two both know you think each other is at the very least, cute.
Ah, Joyce, it’s good you are trying for a completely secular sex-negativity. All of the repression and none of the religious justification.
I saw Secular Sex-Negativity open for Death Cab for Cutie in Brooklyn last year.
I lol’d.
Do it, Joyce. For science!
How has Joyce not noticed Becky? She like 6 feet away. Even if Dina was the kind of person to cheat(she isn’t,) why would she do so right in front of Becky?
Also Joe looks a little defeated in the last panel. Is it because he thinks Joyce doesn’t want him? Or because she seems to still consider him a jerk?
She’s off panel. Joe cannot see her. She doesn’t exist. All of human life exists in this little square.
“If the camera can’t see it, it doesn’t exist.”
– Me, kicking the tangle of camera cables behind the set every morning.
She’s too busy not noticing how attractive Joe is
That’s a bug in mammalian brain software that Dorothy has dubbed the Michael Bay Principle.
It’s a lovely little tableau – Joyce and Becky both melting down (one quietly, one loudly), maybe 15 feet at most, and in between, Dina and Joe performing an experiment in the best spirit of scientific inquiry.
Joe has pretty complicated feelings for Joyce at this point, as we’ve seen through his interactions with Liz, the replacement/substitute recent-ex-fundie girl he almost hooked up with. He’s probably mostly disappointed at the things she is saying due to taking them at face value initially. But realizing that she likes his smell might give him both hope and increased fear of what a mutual attraction between the two of them could mean. (In terms of activating/engaging with sexual repression trauma, as it did with Liz – but he cares more about Joyce.)
Object impermanence. Anyone not in the panel fades from existence, like a game of peekaboo.
i mean if it wasn’t dina and a more ‘subtle’ thing like giggling and (gently) slapping someone’s arm/shoulder, i’d think that person was doing a flirting tactic to make their current partner jealous or so lol
I’ll second that remark, Dina.
Dina is savage.
I’d skip smell.
I’d also hesitate on taste, but then again I know some people are into that.
How about hearing?
You don’t truly know someone until you’ve tongue-punched their “brown eye.”
Yes Joyce, Joe has a very nice heart and liver. The sexiest (and post profitable) of organs.
Also, what do you think Joe smells like? I am guessing a pine-forest chalone.
And the most likely to be served with fava beans and a nice Chianti.
Tempting to say Joe has a New Car smell for lolz, buuuut I’d rather go with “regular Old Spice” smell.
the man your man could smell like
Joe doesn’t know how he got on this horse and he wants off
Are you trying to summon Isaiah Mustafa, because that is how you summon Isaiah Mustafa.
ehehehehe :3c
The vibes are… messy.
I’d skip taste.
Eh, joe seems like the type to like getting his ass eaten
The lady who doth protest too much is just offscreen, telling Joyce, “Damn, you doth protest too much. A fuckton, even.”
thou dost
you do
hmmmmmmmmmmmmm it’s almost as if this behavior isn’t unique to dorothy or jennifer!
What is this comment supposed to mean? I’m at a loss. What is “this behavior”?
enforcing your personal standards of behavior on another person
dorothy has been getting raked over the coals for it for weeks
is…is that what is happening here? genuine question
what exactly is joyce doing in the first panel then?
Now THERE’S an idea, Dina!
I kind of feel like Dina would say posterior, not butt.
Oh god this crush is going to hit Joyce like a ton of bricks when she finally accepts her feelings. BEEN THERE girl, but it’s kinda worth it??
She veeeery narrowly avoided calling him “My Joe”.
The word you were looking for there was “mine”, Joyce.
It’s just science, Joyce. You ARE lab partners after all.
Joe’s shiny eyes in the last panel!!! Discovering the crush is mutual is gonna ruin his life and I’m so ready
Yes! I’m glad someone else caught that too. It’s subtle, but it’s there.
I have no idea what you talk about. Joe clearly isn’t attracted to Joyce. Would he have given here a zero-minus if he was attracted to her? Case closed.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/04-the-do-list/ragdoll-2/
Yeah, his expression says to me “Dina, now you’ve gone too far.”
She’s into him and he’s onto her! Now the only things standing in their way are Joe’s deep conviction that he’s a piece of trash who’ll ruin her life, and all of Joyce’s many crippling insecurities, especially about sex!
(These very real concerns are the only thing stopping me from banging my hands on the table like a little kid and shouting about how I want them to smooch NOW. Slow burn promises a better outcome for these two.)
I’m kinda liking the slow-burn on these two, but at the same time, I’m not sure if they’ll ever get together.
Willis has stated that one of his biggest (if not the biggest) regret he had with It’s Walky is not giving Joyce/Joe a real chance. Since I don’t think they were together long or seriously enough to count as “repeating relationship”, I think he gives them that run here.
I don’t see it lasting, but I think it’ll be a good learning experience for both of them
Has Willis said he won’t be repeating relationships in this universe? Because the last strip of Joyce and Walky sort of implied they would get together here in the long run…
Yes. But he also said he wasn’t killing off any of the transplanted characters and we know where that went.
No, he said he wasn’t killing off any main characters. I don’t know why, but he honestly didn’t think Mike was one.
The rule was that no one would die because the glacial pace of the comic would mean an interminable amount of characters in mourning, something the timeskip fixed.
As for relationships, the rule was that there wouldn’t be any reprises from the previous universe, but that was over a decade ago, when all of those relationships were fresh in the audience’s mind! I think by now we’re far enough away from 2010 that we can do Joe/Joye redux without it feeling redundant. (And those two never actually got together anyway.)
That’s more of a guideline than a hard-and-fast rule. I think it’s mostly to avoid matchmaking characters for no other reason than “they were together in the old continuity”.
Danny and Sal are together here and their relationship was an important plot point in the Walkyverse.
He has said he won’t be repeating ones which have no new or interesting ground to cover.
Like Leslie and Robin existed again briefly because here it was more played for serious how much Robin is actually a disaster and not a great partner rather than it being comedic.
Ruth and Billie in the old comics had a weird thing but it was brief and not really explored as a real couple, so they were explored here as a real couple instead.
Joe and Joyce were never really together except in one of the alternate dimensions… so there is still a lot of new ground that could be covered here.
I mean, we’re exploring Danny/Sal again too, I guess?
Danny and Sal break up very early in Roomies! and, frankly, never made half as much sense together in that ‘verse as they do in this one.
if they never get together in this story I might pass away… I’ve been eating up the JoJoe crumbs for yearssss
Joyce doesn’t need to test her senses on Joe’s butt. She already believes he’s an ass.
the monogamussy
Spotted the other zoomer
Is that a zoomer thing, adding “ussy” to the end of words? I thought it was a millennial meme.
i have so many ships i like for various reasons but this is the ship i like for plot reasons
But what is sexual attraction?
It’s a difficult question, because sexual attraction is impossible to describe.
One might ask the same about Joe’s butt.
What is Joe’s butt?
We just don’t know.
Look around you.
Look around you.
Look around you.
2nd Peter Serafinowicz reference of the week (Doctor_Who’s Black Books comment the other day), I am pleased.
One of the best shows Adult Swim ever picked up for re-runs.
Thanks, ants.
Thants.
Again. Joyce being adorable.
It’s her default state.
That little grin on Joe’s face in the last frame is hilarious.
But I had to wait to say so until the comments counter updated. I wasn’t ruining that
Is it a grin??? I interpreted it more as “dumbfounded puppy dog eyes”
You’re right. The mouth isn’t even turned up, that’s an optical illusion caused by the stubble!
for science, Joyce
lol
I think Dina might be on something. Joyce should try the experiment and then compare her results with Dina’s. I’m sure the final observations would be very interesting and important, for the two of them AND for Joe too. But would Joe volunteer to repeat the experiment with Joyce?
Yeah I definitely still ship Joyce and Joe. They’re cute. Joyce is cute.
Why would Joyce like Joe’s butt? Apparently it’s damaged. I hear it has a crack in it
Spare a thought for the poor cleaning lady that will have to gather all those melted brains scattered across the floor.
Actually that’s me. Melty or not, I’m not letting grey matter go to waste
When did Joyce start being attracted to Joe again, anyway? It would have to be after the Jacob fiasco.
The most recent I could think of was this term after being lab partners when Joyce saw him in his underwear. So I don’t know if this is just a physical thing (and Joyce has a bit of a type, looking at Ethan/Jacob).
Did it ever really stop?? Even when Joyce was mid-Jacob they had ~tension~ (check the gravatar
)
If i had to place a time to it, probably solidified as a crush over the winter break. it sounded like they’ve texted a lot during the time
also, lets not forget the first time they met was joe asking her out and joyce was clearly attracted to him then
It didn’t really feel like Joyce showed any physical attraction to him then though. It was more like ‘ooh guy asked me out, future husband!’ than anything.
She was always physically attracted to him. This died down after their bad date though. But they also texted during tough times and had some honest moments and the attraction has clearly come back now that his personality has improved somewhat so is not the same barrier it was after their bad date.
She’s been overtly thirsty for him since at least the time she showed up early in the morning to do their lab assignment and he was only in boxers.
https://www.shortpacked.com/comic/no-comment
That last panel happening with these four “cute idiots”…would solve so many things.
Or possibly make everything worse(?) :O
Considering that only one of these four is attracted to more than one of the others, this seems like a terrible idea.
Dawyne the rock johnson, his eyebrow arced
Temba, his arms wide.
Joe and Joyce debating evolution.
Sophie, choosing
Who is Sophie?
Colonel Potter’s horse.
Go on. Lick Joe for science.
Figured Id pop in and say hi. Ive been coming here nearly daily since the WIIGII days. Only ever chimed in once after “The chair! The chair!” Been a weird weird ride. Got addicted after Joyce seemed remarkably like a girl I was really into. Even bought said girl the original (pantsless) plushie.
Many years later I’m reminded how naive that feels. Joyce is charming in her own way. But man do I look at her now and just see a bevy of red flags.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand…title of next book?
That’s so nice and so funny to read as an asexual person! The feeling that there is at least a small amount of people out there that understand us is great. Dina is the representation I didn’t know I needed.
As a side note, does Joyce knows about the ace spectrum and does she know Dina is on it? I have nothing filed asexuality + Joyce in my brain.
I could see Joyce knowing about it and knowing that it applies to Dina, but still struggle with what that means. I mean, I still have difficulty there myself, though I try my best.
I mean, I think that even if Joyce was aware of asexuality (and while I hope Leslie was able to cover it in some detail, the nature of her class meant that she probably just got the bare-bones description), she’d place a higher priority on the fact that Dina’s currently dating Becky. Asexuality shouldn’t really be a factor as to whether or not someone should be grabbing the butt of someone who isn’t their partner.*
*Though given that Becky’s right there and Dina is being clear about why she’s doing so to her, I don’t think Dina’s doing anything wrong.
Well to be fair, when I asked that question it was not about the “You’re in love with Becky!” line but the “You don’t need to test for sexual attraction on Joe” line.
Oh yeah. That does point to Joyce either not knowing Dina’s ace—which wouldn’t surprise me, as she and Dina aren’t really friends, and Becky doesn’t understand asexuality and would be in no position to explain how that works in their relationship even if it came up—or not understanding asexuality herself (what a huge shock) whether or not they covered it at a surface level in the gender studies class. (Which we don’t know that they did. I sure hope Leslie would have incorporated it into her curriculum, but asexuality is something that gets omitted from LGBTA discourse a LOT. “The ‘A’ stands for ‘ally’!” Barf).
There was also that one time she claimed she was herself, and Ruth was within an inch of saying “no, you’re just appropriating that label to cover your shame”.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/04-of-mike-and-men/need-2/
For sure! I only didn’t mention that because Ruth did not use word “asexuality” in that conversation and idk if Joyce has had enough grounding in the idea to even connect what Ruth was describing with the label.
Or maybe this is not so much about Dina and more about Joe and Joyce’s repressed desires.
That makes sense!
This is getting *way* too into the weeds and kremlinology here, but I’ve got a few minutes to kill before we dismiss students for the day, so what the hey.
I wonder if that’s meant to be some more of Joyce’s bi-erasure business that we saw her do to Ruth earlier- the idea that Dina’s should solely be into women- but then it got derailed because she’s horny.
Then it got derailed real hard because if she’s not saying of course Dina is attracted to Joe (because she somehow knows that Dina doesn’t care about gender) then she’s saying that of course everyone is attracted to Joe. I know she’s projecting but I’m pretty sure she doesn’t think that.
I don’t think Dina’s doing anything wrong either, but I do understand why Joyce would be shocked and upset to see her friend’s girlfriend groping someone else (even setting aside that the someone else in question is someone Joyce is denial about having a crush on). Joyce doesn’t have context, and unless Becky has managed to reset her brain in the past ten seconds, she probably looks REALLY REALLY UPSET. (Cause she’s REALLY REALLY UPSET, over Joe-related reasons, even! Just not about the butt-groping.)
I posted a bit about Joe’s cologne (from the first week in-universe) recently, and that Joyce said she liked it.
So, what kind of scent does Joe use? Only for dates, or all the time? Too much of it, or just a subtle amount?
I’ve already come to the belief that it goes with his own body smell.
I think that whatever it is, it must be all the time. He didn’t really go to extra effort for the date, presentation-wise, the way Joyce did.
Ah, good idea.
Calling it now: this storyline is heading to Joe being the life drawing model. (Or at least in the fanfic version in my head lol)
Knowing Joe (and how these stories work) I think that is a strong bet.
At the very least, Joyce draws the model more Joe-like than they actually are.
Malaya points this out. Hilarity ensues.
She’s not attracted to him. Why is everyone badgering her about being attracted to him? She explicitly says his body is whatever and he just smells like whatever. Can’t everyone get off her case about how hot he is? Damn, so many prying personal questions about her attraction to him. Give Joyce a break!
We are probably all obsessed because there is absolutely no other way to read this strip than with Joyce be attracted/liking Joe. I mean, even Dina agrees!
One of these days, I’ll remember to put on a /sarcasm tag.
I read this as something Joyce herself would say while running away, even though no one said anything.
Joyce definitely does not find Joe attractive at all, nope.
Her “I am not attracted to Joe” shirt has a lot if of people asking questions already answered by her shirt
Joyce! Get your attraction off Joe! You’re in love with Dorothy!
This continues to be hilarious.
Very well, Joyce, it is with a heavy heart that I shall take on this tremendous burden of scientific experimentation for you
There’s something so funny to me about the fact that in the Sarah banner, she only smiled once, like 25 years ago
I’m having flashbacks about the time he went on a date with Joyce and ogled the waitress’s breasts in front of her. Spike punched him (quite a few times) and Joyce curb stomped him. So I can see why he might be nervous now.
who is Spike?
Mike.
A British vampire from Buffy, a small purple dragon from My Little Pony, the son of Eugene “Skull” Skullovitch from Power Rangers, probably more. Take your pick, really.
A pointy thing sat at the bottom of a pit?
Joyce: Mrgrgr!
YEEES!
YEEEES!
*slow fade in on my face*