Dumbing of Age Book Eleven

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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BUFFER WATCH Comics are currently drawn and uploaded through:

September 18, 2023

Thrilled

by David M Willis on December 25, 2022 at 12:01 am
  • 02 – Turning Saints Into the Sea

└ Tags: booster, ethan

Discussion (164) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    December 25, 2022 at 12:02 am | #

    MIKE was a hate crime

    …

    inal

    idkmerryshitscram

    • Cholma
      Cholma
      December 25, 2022 at 12:15 am | #

      He did it all for the nickles.

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        December 25, 2022 at 2:25 am | #

        Gotta love those green woodpeckers 🐦

  2. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    December 25, 2022 at 12:05 am | #

    Mike was no common asshole. Dude had a brand to maintain, you don’t dilute quality assholery with plebeian racism like a common Twitter Troll.

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      December 25, 2022 at 1:32 am | #

      Even evil has its standards.

      (enjoy your trip through the rabbit hole)

      • Wack'd
        Wack'd
        December 25, 2022 at 10:02 am | #

        TV Tropes, on the other hand, does not.

  3. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    December 25, 2022 at 12:05 am | #

    God Rest Ye Merry A$$#0l3men…

  4. William Leonard Reese Jr.
    William Leonard Reese Jr.
    December 25, 2022 at 12:05 am | #

    At this point Willis is intentionally teasing us by keeping us away from the Joyce/Joe/Dorathy fight spotlight.

    Though I must admit that I don’t understand what Ethan means by complexion.

    Aren’t/Weren’t both Mike and Booster white?

    • Casi
      Casi
      December 25, 2022 at 12:09 am | #

      with the name Booster Sanchez, i’m assuming booster is of a latin american persuasion

      • William Leonard Reese Jr.
        William Leonard Reese Jr.
        December 25, 2022 at 12:16 am | #

        I honestly hadn’t even thought about that.

        Mostly because I had forgotten that Booster had a last name.

        • Nono
          Nono
          December 25, 2022 at 12:22 am | #

          It was literally in the last strip.

          • William Leonard Reese Jr.
            William Leonard Reese Jr.
            December 25, 2022 at 12:28 am | #

            I think that entire time my eyes just glazed over the first panel yesterday.

            • SeanR
              SeanR
              December 25, 2022 at 11:20 pm | #

              I really want his last name to be something like “Rhod”.

    • Sirksome
      Sirksome
      December 25, 2022 at 12:10 am | #

      Well the last name Sanchez now implies some possible Spanish origin.

    • JepMZ
      JepMZ
      December 25, 2022 at 1:12 am | #

      I assume he meant his Filipino Asian akin

    • someone
      someone
      December 25, 2022 at 5:55 am | #

      Booster is not white by American standards of whiteness. As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “the Number of purely white People in the World is proportionably very small. All Africa is black or tawny. Asia chiefly tawny. America (exclusive of the new Comers) wholly so. And in Europe, the Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy Complexion; as are the Germans also, the Saxons only excepted, who with the English, make the principal Body of White People on the Face of the Earth. I could wish their Numbers were increased.”

      So if you ask a Black African, a Tawny Asian, or a Swarthy European, they’d say that Booster is white; but the real whites, the Anglo-Saxon Americans, know that Booster is, in fact, swarthy at best. But he might actually be black if he has even a single great-great-great-great-great-grandparent from Africa due to the one-drop rule. America!

      • StClair
        StClair
        December 25, 2022 at 6:11 am | #

        note that even the Irish – the Irish – were not considered “white” in America for a very long time, quite amply demonstrating IMO that the label has little to do with color (and/or albedo).

        • Psychie
          Psychie
          December 25, 2022 at 6:43 am | #

          Yeah, I get rather confused when some people I know of latinx descent claim they aren’t white and talk about how they get racially profiled, and I’m like “if I didn’t know your last name I never would have known you were descended from people from mexico/central america/south america” because some of them are paler than ME, I’m not super pale or anything, but nobody has ever mistaken me for anything other than white, even on some occasions where I was kinda tan due to walking everywhere in college, and I as far as I can tell these guys are more or less as dark as I am. Heck, I’ve known people who were of italian and greek descent that were WAY darker in complexion than one girl who was half-black but looked about as white as I am, and those people never complain about getting profiled the way some of these other people do.

          I am utterly baffled by racism, not only in how people can still be racist in this day and age, but also in how so much of society reacts to it, people are far more interested in identifying as victims than they are in just living their lives as best they can. Like, yeah if racists actually are causing problems for you that’s a problem that needs to be addressed, but a lot of times I see them walk into a situation with the expectation that there will be conflict due to their heritage (not skin color, because as stated the specific individuals I’m talking about are NOT visibly distinguishable from white people) and low and behold a conflict arises. But naturally if I suggest that the difference in how I and they are treated might be in our respective attitudes (which, again, is based on observations of the individual people in question, not a generalized statement about people I don’t know) I’m victim blaming and/or defending racists.

          • erinacea
            erinacea
            December 25, 2022 at 1:28 pm | #

            To be fair, they could be “racially profiled” based on their last (or first) name, physical attributes other than skin colour, or being associated with other Latinx people whose ethnicity is more visible.

          • milu
            milu
            December 25, 2022 at 4:08 pm | #

            a lot of times I see them walk into a situation with the expectation that there will be conflict due to their heritage …and low and behold a conflict arises.

            … You do realise people will eventually come to expect racism after they have experienced a lot of racism in similar situations throughout their lives?

            • Taffy
              Taffy
              December 25, 2022 at 7:54 pm | #

              “If you didn’t want people to be racist toward you, maybe you shouldn’t have been subjected to racism beforehand!”

              Just a truly baffling take.

          • stellatedHexahedron
            stellatedHexahedron
            December 25, 2022 at 10:26 pm | #

            There are attributes other than literal color that are characteristic of race. These variations are slight, and some people are much better at perceiving them than others. It’s possible that many people readily perceive your friends as latine even if you don’t.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              December 25, 2022 at 10:40 pm | #

              Witness every time in this comic someone says “but Sal and Walky have the same skin tone”.

        • danimagoo
          danimagoo
          December 25, 2022 at 7:29 am | #

          I suppose that depends what you mean by white and what you mean by Irish. I am a white American of mostly Irish ancestry. My Irish ancestors came to the US in colonial times, right before the American Revolution. These Irish were predominantly Protestant and predominantly from Ulster (what is today Northern Ireland). Today, we in the US largely call these people Scots-Irish, but that label is a later invention. At the time, these people called themselves Irish, and they were unquestionably considered white. There were a lot of this group to immigrate to the Americas in the mid-18th century. They mostly became farmers in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas. When they later wave of Irish-Catholic immigrants hit, during the potato famine, those new immigrants largely settled in the big cities of New York and Boston, and as happened with many new immigrant groups, were stereotyped and discriminated against. The earlier group of Irish immigrants, many of whom had similar names to the older group, wanted to distinguish themselves and began to say, “Oh, we’re not those Irish. We’re Scots-Irish (or sometimes Presbyterian-Irish).” The newer group of Irish were unquestionably discriminated against. However, there’s not much evidence they weren’t considered “white”. They just weren’t the good whites. I mean, in physical appearance, they weren’t any different than the earlier Scots-Irish.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            December 25, 2022 at 9:48 am | #

            Straight up religious prejudice played a big role in it too. The early US was overwhelmingly Protestant who inherited anti-Catholic prejudice from the European religious conflicts and that get reinforced as it was the religion both of new strange immigrants and of Hispanics from the south and west.

          • SomethingGlitter
            SomethingGlitter
            December 26, 2022 at 8:05 pm | #

            I mean that’s also how they identified themselves in Ireland (Scots-Irish or just Scots even though they’ve been there for centuries). My grandparents generation still do. I’ve no idea what they first called themselves in America but given how careful the Anglo and Scots Irish were to distinguish themselves from the Catholic Irish I find it unlikely they just went by Irish. I’ve always heard Scots-Irish in America as an Appalachian thing indicating a mix of ancestry from both countries, there’s been some talking at cross purposes because of it because I thought they meant what you did at first.

      • Nova
        Nova
        December 25, 2022 at 4:50 pm | #

        Booster’s pronouns are THEY/THEM not HE/HIM <3 thanks.

    • Mark
      Mark
      December 25, 2022 at 8:37 am | #

      Booster is probably slightly brown, unlike Mike who was white — that is to say, slightly brown.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      December 26, 2022 at 12:07 am | #

      Booster’s last name is Sanchez and combined with the skin tone and this comment, I’m taking it as confirmation Booster is not, in fact, white.

  5. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    December 25, 2022 at 12:06 am | #

    Wait….have all Booster is Mike in disguise comments been hate crimes?! Have all Sal is Amazi-girl comments also been hate crimes?!…Uh oh!

    • Clif
      Clif
      December 25, 2022 at 12:40 am | #

      Regardless, the strip is hilarious if you can read it pretending Booster is Mike.

    • APW
      APW
      December 25, 2022 at 2:47 am | #

      From my understanding, “hate crime” did not refer to Walky’s suspicions but to Mike actually disguising himself as Booster. Not the case with Sal unless Amazi-girl had darker complexion than her (might need confirmation from someone more versed in the American racial code of ethics).

      • Morleuca
        Morleuca
        December 25, 2022 at 5:33 am | #

        We have a racial code of ethics?

        • Psychie
          Psychie
          December 25, 2022 at 6:48 am | #

          No, but some people like to pretend we do, the issue is those same people never agree on what the code actually IS. It’s actually pretty hilarious to watch the arguments happen if one ignores how sad it is that it’s happening in the world we live in.

          The REAL code is just try not to be a dick and remember to treat people like people at all times. But that has nothing to do with race so obviously it has to be more complicated than that.

          • milu
            milu
            December 25, 2022 at 4:21 pm | #

            remember to treat people like people at all times.

            Omg, i can’t believe you found the solution to racism and no one is even listening to you /s

        • someone
          someone
          December 25, 2022 at 10:28 am | #

          Yes, the trick is to make a lot of fuss about racial issues so as to distract from class issues. The desired result is to have poor whites fighting against poor blacks while the 0.01% laugh in their gated communities.

          • milu
            milu
            December 25, 2022 at 4:41 pm | #

            Wait are you literally saying all of antiracism is a ploy by the 0.01% to divide the working class???
            Dude. No.

            Does capitalism try to co-opt antiracism, and sometimes succeed? Sure. Do we need more offensive class struggle? Definitely. Are you connecting dots completely at random, unwittingly propagating batshit conspiracy theories that throw antiracism under the bus?? …Maybe not, could be you’re just a troll tbh

            • Nova
              Nova
              December 25, 2022 at 4:47 pm | #

              I don’t have the energy to deal with this guy and Psychie’s “racism only happens to you if you believe in it” bullshit, so thank you a BUNCH for shouldering this burden today.

              You’re doing great and I am so grateful you got here first so I didn’t have to take on their tired old talking points.

              • milu
                milu
                December 25, 2022 at 4:53 pm | #

                Aww thank you. Take care <3

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              December 25, 2022 at 6:33 pm | #

              I mean, someone’s not really wrong about the trick, but it’s not antiracism that’s the ploy, it’s racism. Owners use racism to divide the working classes and to get poor whites to back rich whites.

              • someone
                someone
                December 26, 2022 at 4:10 am | #

                Yes, that. A lot of effort is spent on making sure people remain divided. That’s largely done by inciting racism. These ideologies are actively promoted, cf. the rise of the so-called “alt right”.

                There’s a lot of money involved in this.

          • Taffy
            Taffy
            December 25, 2022 at 4:53 pm | #

            Wouldn’t be Christmas without a completely clueless remark about inequality.

      • Nicoleandmaggie
        Nicoleandmaggie
        December 25, 2022 at 8:45 am | #

        That is also my understanding. White people putting putting on makeup to look Black is a really bad thing to do both because of the history of minstrel entertainment in the US and other countries and because it’s just not cool to treat a race as a costume. (There’s similar histories for Asian, Native American, and Hispanic imitation, particularly in early Hollywood.). Booster is Hispanic and Mike is not, and while Mike was a jerk he wasn’t a racist.

  6. The Wellerman
    The Wellerman
    December 25, 2022 at 12:07 am | #

    Happy Holidays, Happy Saturnalia, Merry Christmas to you all!!!!

    I’m totes available if you wanna chat BTW, keeping it simple this year:)

  7. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    December 25, 2022 at 12:09 am | #

    Would that be a hate crime or just sorta frowned upon? I guess I never considered Booster not just being a tanned white person. Like if Mike was disguised as jacob or even walky, then maybe but I guess I’m curious now.

    • DailyBrad
      DailyBrad
      December 25, 2022 at 12:14 am | #

      Yeah, white people darkening their skin for that kind of thing is pretty charged. I’ve got a lot of friends in cosplay, and unfortunately often, people have to be told to please not fake-bake to cosplay Katara, Korra, etc, like it’s a major no-no.

      • The Wellerman
        The Wellerman
        December 25, 2022 at 12:18 am | #

        That’s actually a thing people do?!?! WTF?!?!

      • ktbear
        ktbear
        December 25, 2022 at 12:19 am | #

        So, geishas whitening their skin is a hate crime? Just how fucked up is this world?

        • shanunu
          shanunu
          December 25, 2022 at 12:30 am | #

          Geisha don’t whiten their skin to look white. But people do darken their skin to look other races. You could make an argument that geisha whitening their skin to accomplish some standard of beauty is colorist (I don’t know if it is, I have no idea why they do it), it isn’t racist. Geisha aren’t trying to look like white people. People are always saying skin color is not a costume, but people who face less difficulty because of their skin color don’t really see how harmful it is to color their skin darker just for a day or two to look “authentic”.

          • Sirksome
            Sirksome
            December 25, 2022 at 12:38 am | #

            It was mostly an aesthetic thing. White color is a pretty sought after symbol of beauty or purity across the world. It wasn’t to imitate white people but to mimic the appearance of smooth porcelain and flawlessness as well as youth. I’m far from an expert on this though.

            • Lan
              Lan
              December 25, 2022 at 12:54 am | #

              That’s just a form of colorism tbh. It’s the very idea that lighter/fairer skin is more desirable/beautiful/pure etc. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with whiteness or European imperialism (although that has played a MAJOR role in it), but a cultural disdain for darker skin tones.

              • Lan
                Lan
                December 25, 2022 at 1:01 am | #

                To your point, though, I can’t speak to the art of Geisha and its motives, but the association of white with purity and beauty frequently manifests as colorism

              • Sirksome
                Sirksome
                December 25, 2022 at 1:14 am | #

                I don’t really have an answer for it. Let me know when someone can logically explain racism or colorism origins. You’d have to explain why humans associate emotions and ideas with colors to begin with.

                • TheCatCameBack
                  TheCatCameBack
                  December 25, 2022 at 5:49 am | #

                  Humans associate colors differently depending on the culture. Whiter skin was valued as a beauty standard in Asia because it denoted a woman who spent less time in the sun (I.e. wealthy, not a field laborer), similarly, tanned skin became popular on white people for a time in the US because only the wealthy could afford vacations to sunny places, and so tanning beds became popular. Colorism is real and pervasive, and the association of white with purity/beauty varies depending on the culture. It’s been made more wide-spread by colonialism and racism though- as white people had stolen, plundered, and genocides all the wealth for themselves, and white skin again became a sign of wealth.

            • StClair
              StClair
              December 25, 2022 at 3:31 am | #

              I’d have to check, but don’t (didn’t) geisha literally go for white, like chalk (or the Joker), not Caucasian peachy-tan?

              • Azhrei Vep
                Azhrei Vep
                December 25, 2022 at 4:52 am | #

                yup, they definitely went the clown-makeup route, not the cultural appropriation route.

                And throwing my two cents into why the color white seems so highly regarded in so many places: I always assumed it was because it was so frickin’ hard to maintain anything’s whiteness. You need good cleaners or paints or bleaches, and you need them applied regularly. And that stuff’s bound to get expensive.

              • Psychie
                Psychie
                December 25, 2022 at 6:53 am | #

                To be fair (pun intended), so did Europeans for a few centuries there, but especially the 18th, and for rather similar reasons.

                • SeanR
                  SeanR
                  December 25, 2022 at 11:32 pm | #

                  And also fat. Don’t forget fat, by today’s standards, anyway.

        • SvenTS
          SvenTS
          December 25, 2022 at 12:30 am | #

          Not really comparable since oshiroi was a makeup technique around highlighting and enhancing visibility not an attempt at appearing or pretending to be Caucasian.

        • Sirksome
          Sirksome
          December 25, 2022 at 12:30 am | #

          That wouldn’t be a hate crime. Many cultures have a history of using makeup or altering their skin tone for numerous cultural reasons. It depends entirely on the context and history of the practice.

          • The Wellerman
            The Wellerman
            December 25, 2022 at 12:42 am | #

            THANK YOU. and happy holidays!

        • GoingOnABearHunt
          GoingOnABearHunt
          December 25, 2022 at 12:30 am | #

          Geishas aren’t trying to look like a white person. It’s not the same.

        • Romanticide
          Romanticide
          December 26, 2022 at 12:49 am | #

          The makeup Geishas were is based on centuries old court makeup that was meant for the face to be recognizable with very limited light as of course electricity was not yet invented and people saw the emperor, the shogun or whoever important on interiors for the most part.
          It was a thing way before those persons even saw a white person.

      • Mr D phone posting
        Mr D phone posting
        December 25, 2022 at 4:22 am | #

        What about darkening your skin the *old fashioned* way? AKA, spend a week in the beach toasting yourself.

        • wwwhhattt
          wwwhhattt
          December 25, 2022 at 7:24 am | #

          That’s called tanning, and the purpose is not to present yourself as a member of a different ethnic group, but to show that you can afford to go somewhere with good sunlight and do nothing for a week.

    • Lan
      Lan
      December 25, 2022 at 12:48 am | #

      “Hate crime” isn’t really the right term for it, since it’s not breaking any laws (unless we’re talking about enrolling in university under false pretenses or stealing someone’s identity but nvm) and it’s not (necessarily) fueled by malice towards a marginalized group. “Insensitive,” “appropriative,” “(potentially) harmful,” and “in poor taste” are all more accurate ways to describe it. However, I think the joke itself – as developed by the readers – is largely harmless, but I can’t speak for others and I’m not in a position to make an executive declaration on that beyond my own opinion

      • bleepbloop
        bleepbloop
        December 25, 2022 at 3:22 am | #

        Yeah, it was just a joke since hate crimes typically involve bodily harm (think of that one university case where a girl was poisoning her black roommate). However, since it is a university it would be more than frowned down upon since it would violate the anti-discrimination policies that most if not all schools have, and “Mike” would almost surely be expelled.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          December 25, 2022 at 9:54 am | #

          Not necessarily. Those get the press, but a lot of hate-criming is more stuff that would be little more than petty vandalism if it wasn’t for the hate – leaving nooses, painting slogans or swastikas.

  8. Hoboturtle
    Hoboturtle
    December 25, 2022 at 12:10 am | #

    Oh wait. I thought Booster was just tan. Turns out they aren’t white.

  9. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    December 25, 2022 at 12:12 am | #

    Ethan and Booster just kind of shooting the shit like this is interesting to me.

    On the complexion topic, I’ll be honest, I really have no idea what ethnicity Booster is, but I will concur that I don’t think Mike would have done something racist for a lark. Not his brand of assholery.

    • DailyBrad
      DailyBrad
      December 25, 2022 at 12:13 am | #

      Ohhh, I forgot we knew Booster’s last name, yeah, makes total sense.

  10. Marvelman
    Marvelman
    December 25, 2022 at 12:15 am | #

    I really really thought Mike’s death was supposed to be ambiguous so that he could return at some point. But, Willis sez on the cast page that Mike is dead so he must be dead. You can’t get more official than that.

    • Carla's #2 Fan
      Carla's #2 Fan
      December 25, 2022 at 2:47 am | #

      Yeah, but I don’t think Walky has access to that page.

    • Thag Simmons
      Thag Simmons
      December 25, 2022 at 6:24 am | #

      I’ve been assuming that Mike’s death was written with enough wiggle room to walk it back if necessary but also that there is absolutely no intention of doing so

      • Comic.phile
        Comic.phile
        December 25, 2022 at 10:06 am | #

        On the Something Positive comic, you saw a glimpse of Mike’s funeral when it happened

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        December 25, 2022 at 1:05 pm | #

        Literally every single character who knew about Mike, post-timeskip: “my roommate died, Ethan was by his side when it happened, we attended his funeral, he’s gone, pushing up daisies, pining for the fjords, he is an ex-Mike”

        Certain commenters in denial: “he’s just hiding!”

        (side note: my phone wanted to autocorrect “hiding” above to “Jennifer”, which I find hilarious)

        • milu
          milu
          December 25, 2022 at 3:35 pm | #

          Your phone is in denial

        • Thag Simmons
          Thag Simmons
          December 25, 2022 at 6:13 pm | #

          Yeah this is a bafflingly bad take and my only defense for it is that I was very tired last night and must have forgotten the entire Halloween flashback

  11. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    December 25, 2022 at 12:15 am | #

    Honestly, that was the biggest thing that convinced me that Booster wasn’t Mike in disguise.

  12. Amós Batista
    Amós Batista
    December 25, 2022 at 12:19 am | #

    Just love Booster’s third panel face…

  13. BBCC
    BBCC
    December 25, 2022 at 12:21 am | #

    Yeah, that wasn’t typically Mike’s style, not for a very long time, since like early Shortpacked!

    And god I hope that’s the death of Mike being Booster as a serious theory and not a joke.

    • StClair
      StClair
      December 25, 2022 at 3:32 am | #

      I hope so too, but fear it won’t be. Some commenters are, IMO, in more denial than Walky.

      • Daibhid C
        Daibhid C
        December 25, 2022 at 6:29 am | #

        Speaking of denial, you know what Booster doesn’t do in this strip?

        (I’m kidding!)

      • Nicoleandmaggie
        Nicoleandmaggie
        December 25, 2022 at 8:50 am | #

        I mean, in his Twitter account didn’t mike make it pretty clear he’s hiding in like Walkys wardrobe or someplace like that? There’s still hope that he’s just within the walls of the dorm!

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      December 25, 2022 at 3:44 am | #

      Was anyone taking it seriously in the first place?

      • StClair
        StClair
        December 25, 2022 at 4:16 am | #

        It seemed to me that some either did or were very much into the kayfabe.

        • Azhrei Vep
          Azhrei Vep
          December 25, 2022 at 4:54 am | #

          I always assumed it was the later, because the former just seems too … Shortpacked! for this comic.

          • drs
            drs
            December 26, 2022 at 3:42 am | #

            This comic had Amazi-girl and the League of Evil Dads.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        December 26, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

        Dunno, some of them seemed VERY sure in their theorizing. So on the chance they were, that is my hope. 😛

    • Kyrik Michalowski
      Kyrik Michalowski
      December 25, 2022 at 10:23 pm | #

      I didn’t think people were taking it seriously. Willis might like to surprise us with shocking revelations but I doubt he would do anything like that.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        December 26, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

        My reasonable half is sure you’re right but my half who’s seen stubborn fandoms a lot and knows how loved Mike was I’m not 100% sure! XD

  14. Derek
    Derek
    December 25, 2022 at 12:23 am | #

    how did Ethan’s shoulders lose half their width? did depression compress him?

    • shanunu
      shanunu
      December 25, 2022 at 12:31 am | #

      Ethan was canonically working out like All The Time. I guess he doesn’t have the energy to hit the gym the requisite 6 days a week it would take now to keep up that physique.

      • Nono
        Nono
        December 25, 2022 at 12:36 am | #

        I don’t think we’d ever seen Ethan work out, you’re thinking of Jacob/Joe.

      • Decidedly Orthogonal
        Decidedly Orthogonal
        December 25, 2022 at 1:33 am | #

        Still, muscles don’t atrophy **that** fast. I think this is more of a posture thing.

        • bleepbloop
          bleepbloop
          December 25, 2022 at 3:25 am | #

          It’s been about 3 months since The Incident and if he hasn’t been eating much of anything his muscles would definitely disappear in that time.

        • Joy
          Joy
          December 25, 2022 at 10:40 am | #

          They do if you have a severe eating disorder.

        • Kyrie
          Kyrie
          December 27, 2022 at 11:25 am | #

          Ehhhhh watched some people over the pandemic, and whilst they fell slightly short of atrophying this fast, they were also probably more fit than Ethan at the start. So… It does feel at least within spitting distance of realistic

          Also, if you break a limb they atrophy faster than this on that limb, so there’s that as an example too

    • Sanvi
      Sanvi
      December 25, 2022 at 12:32 am | #

      I think he’s just slumped inwards?

      • Sirksome
        Sirksome
        December 25, 2022 at 12:46 am | #

        It does look like Ethan has lost some of his muscle mass. Many people noticed when his updated look debuted. Running theory is he’s not eating a much from the depression. Probably not working out either if he did that with any regularity. It’s kind of sad honestly.

        • StClair
          StClair
          December 25, 2022 at 3:37 am | #

          As I recall, there was talk about “emaciated Ethan” and Amber being accused/admitting that she found the new look rather hot (especially combined with all the dark broodiness), in a nod to both a certain old Shortpacked strip and to Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of (the) Batman.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          December 25, 2022 at 4:35 am | #

          I think it’s a combination of factors. The way you carry yourself makes all the difference.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtrXDq5OTn4

          • StClair
            StClair
            December 25, 2022 at 7:29 am | #

            Here’s the one I go to, but yeah, same.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIaF0QKtY0c

            (he was so damn good, he really made you believe it)

            • Needfuldoer
              Needfuldoer
              December 25, 2022 at 7:44 am | #

              And that shot framing! *Pacha “just right” meme*

    • Fuzzy
      Fuzzy
      December 25, 2022 at 12:52 am | #

      Huh. You’re right, that is weird.

      • The Wellerman
        The Wellerman
        December 25, 2022 at 1:23 am | #

        It’s called depression-related weight loss. Very much a thing.

        • Decidedly Orthogonal
          Decidedly Orthogonal
          December 25, 2022 at 1:35 am | #

          Ah. Yes that would explain it. If he’s ignoring food and starving as a result, that could burn up muscle and fat quickly.

        • anon
          anon
          December 25, 2022 at 3:14 am | #

          oof neither is good but i have the opposite problem after my dog passed (although it’s a combination of that and not going on walks the same way [tho idk if i can deal with ppl/larger dogs enough to do any kinda dog walking app, fresh air aside])

        • Comic.phile
          Comic.phile
          December 25, 2022 at 10:11 am | #

          My dad lived on only a little cup of orange juice for meals for days after his mom died, until we realized he was losing weight and made him eat. It was a mix of he forgot to eat, and he wasn’t hungry so he didn’t want to, and he was so sad all food tasted awful/eating was just a chore.

          • anon
            anon
            December 25, 2022 at 6:54 pm | #

            that’s awful, hopefully things are fine now/you can help out but yeah i imagine it’d be hard to get help, or potential greedy ‘doctors’ swooping in on top of funeral expenses or so (at the very least you could probably mash up vitamins/iron pills into a drink or so even if you can’t stomach a full meal [i can see the appeal of those protein/diet shakes ppl drink but other than subsisting of only those because of new allergies/restrictions i don’t think there’ d be enough nutrition in it])

    • Thag Simmons
      Thag Simmons
      December 25, 2022 at 6:28 am | #

      Worse posture and I don’t think he’s eating well

  15. Sanvi
    Sanvi
    December 25, 2022 at 12:33 am | #

    i really enjoy this interaction! Nice to see Ethan having an interaction that isn’t super stressful (yet). so far i would rate Amber’s plan as Working Pretty Well, honestly

  16. Lan
    Lan
    December 25, 2022 at 12:34 am | #

    A look of remorse, Mr. Siegal? It will be interesting to see if Ethan continues to lash out at somebody who won’t immediately buckle. Kinda wish it had been with Joyce or Jacob or somebody else he has an established relationship with, but whatever.

    I wonder if that remorseful look is a realization that Amber was likely putting Booster through that “replacement Mike” bullshit, too (say what you will about Booster, but it must be hella uncomfortable and frustrating to escape an unsafe situation only to find yourself repeatedly reduced to a replacement for someone else who died rather than another person). I also can’t help but wonder if the reaction is due to his present contempt for Amber (i.e. “heck, I’m acting like Amber and Amber sucks”) or just a moment of self-awareness (i.e. “all right, emo boy, that’s a bit much; reel it in”)

  17. Lingo
    Lingo
    December 25, 2022 at 12:41 am | #

    Is this like the first time we met Ken in Shortpacked! and I thought he was actually Ethan in disguise, for some dumb reason? lol

    Speaking of Shortpacked!, I just checked it for the first time in months to look up Ken’s name (double lol), and lo and behold, there’s a new comic posted just yesterday!

  18. GholaHalleck
    GholaHalleck
    December 25, 2022 at 12:49 am | #

    I feel so seen right now. *Shines my tinfoil hat all up*

    • The Wellerman
      The Wellerman
      December 25, 2022 at 12:54 am | #

      Funny part is, if the mind reading actually DOES work through electromagnetic means, a foil hat would only act like an antenna and make it worse! 🤣

      • Joy
        Joy
        December 25, 2022 at 10:39 am | #

        How do you know that?

        • Nerrin
          Nerrin
          December 25, 2022 at 12:10 pm | #

          The short version is you want more of a foil Faraday cage instead of a solid construct that comes to a peak and possibly even a bit of a point.

          • Joy
            Joy
            December 25, 2022 at 4:37 pm | #

            Gotcha. Like the RFID blocking fabric stuff. If you were a mind reader, that would block thoughts out too. Sounds peaceful.

      • GholaHalleck
        GholaHalleck
        December 25, 2022 at 11:18 am | #

        Listen, if *I* have to deal with this infernal internal monologue, I’m taking all of you down with me.

      • Mark
        Mark
        December 25, 2022 at 6:33 pm | #

        OTOH it’s a chaotic shape. As a radiator it would induce a mess of delays and various beam-forming effects. The waveform at distance should be an ugly hash.

        I was never any good at electromagnetic theory so I’m not sure whether the fairly low frequency of neural signals would make these factors less or more significant. The random features of the hat are rather small-scale, but if they’re close to harmonic, well, it would be a really interesting problem to analyze.

  19. IniquitousKing
    IniquitousKing
    December 25, 2022 at 1:00 am | #

    Mike hiding behind the chairs here with spray-on tan-in-a-bottle, just cursing under his breath and retreating into the shadows.

    I like the vibe of Ethan and Booster’s conversation so far.

  20. Bryy
    Bryy
    December 25, 2022 at 1:02 am | #

    Mike is literally gonna be in the final panel of the final strip, isn’t he?

    • GholaHalleck
      GholaHalleck
      December 25, 2022 at 11:20 am | #

      All this does is further confirm the hypothesis that he’s Mike.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      December 25, 2022 at 12:39 pm | #

      He’s gonna be like Bugs at the end of Duck Amuck.

  21. Josh Spicer
    Josh Spicer
    December 25, 2022 at 1:08 am | #

    I doubt any praise heaped on Mike, especially coming from those he considered his friends or considered him a friend.

  22. Nevermaker
    Nevermaker
    December 25, 2022 at 1:25 am | #

    Poking a little fun at the theorists in your comments in that last panel, Willis?

  23. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    December 25, 2022 at 2:40 am | #

    Booster may finally have a chance to properly ask what kind of person exactly Mike was, because it doesn’t look like anyone else wanted to say ùmuch

  24. brionl
    brionl
    December 25, 2022 at 2:46 am | #

    Merry Chrismahanukwanzakah Everybody!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0unZw4PWsdk

    • Colineo
      Colineo
      December 26, 2022 at 7:04 am | #

      I thought you were going to link to the fake Modest Mouse / Tom Waitts crossover song.

  25. missilentmurmur
    missilentmurmur
    December 25, 2022 at 3:11 am | #

    I like how Ethan is getting a chance to talk about Mike. That could be good for his mourning

    • anon
      anon
      December 25, 2022 at 4:22 am | #

      it’s easier to talk about some parts of it with a stranger though not sure how much of their past he’d share of his attraction (wonder how snarky Walky would’ve been back then if he knew their relationship, tho it ended up being more ‘friends with benefits’ than publicly dating)

  26. shrub
    shrub
    December 25, 2022 at 4:28 am | #

    Replacement Mike or Analysing Annoying Asshole, which one is better

    • UnDrewsual
      UnDrewsual
      December 25, 2022 at 11:47 am | #

      I prefer the second because then we can nickname him “AAA”

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        December 25, 2022 at 1:08 pm | #

        *them

  27. C.T. Phipps
    C.T. Phipps
    December 25, 2022 at 4:54 am | #

    Now I’m curious what Booster’s ethnicity is as I seem to have missed it.

    • Daibhid C
      Daibhid C
      December 25, 2022 at 6:28 am | #

      They have the surname Sanchez, so I guess Latinx.

    • Thag Simmons
      Thag Simmons
      December 25, 2022 at 6:48 am | #

      well their last name is sanchez, so…

    • shrub
      shrub
      December 25, 2022 at 12:43 pm | #

      Most likely Latino given their last name

  28. Grimey
    Grimey
    December 25, 2022 at 5:05 am | #

    I’m in this comic and I don’t like it.

  29. Mr.Morningstar
    Mr.Morningstar
    December 25, 2022 at 5:47 am | #

    Complexion?
    Wait what is their Ethnicity..??

    • Comic.phile
      Comic.phile
      December 25, 2022 at 10:12 am | #

      Latino, their last name is Sanchez

  30. Colineo
    Colineo
    December 25, 2022 at 6:55 am | #

    Nice try Willis. Just because Booster isn’t Mike in disguise doesn’t mean Mike isn’t talking to him through an earpiece while in witness protection!

  31. AlaninDC
    AlaninDC
    December 25, 2022 at 7:24 am | #

    How sad to be remembered in death as an asshole. May that never happen to any of us.

    • Thag Simmons
      Thag Simmons
      December 25, 2022 at 9:41 am | #

      He would have wanted it that way

  32. BowlerHatGuy
    BowlerHatGuy
    December 25, 2022 at 8:06 am | #

    Mike had no boundaries, ethan, but we shouldnt speak ill of the dead, so….

  33. saltchocolate
    saltchocolate
    December 25, 2022 at 10:12 am | #

    Mike: A Specific Kind of Asshole!

    (A hilariously random strip for Xmas day!)

  34. Bibliholic93
    Bibliholic93
    December 25, 2022 at 10:21 am | #

    Mike knew how to punch up or sideways.

    Racism was easy mode and not worth his time.

    • Scoops!
      Scoops!
      December 25, 2022 at 11:12 am | #

      Your mom was easy mode and was worth a nickel.

      • darkgloomie
        darkgloomie
        December 25, 2022 at 12:37 pm | #

        But she still was a good time

  35. Wendy
    Wendy
    December 25, 2022 at 12:20 pm | #

    Booster is growing on me.

    And it’s nice to see Dark Ethan responding to someone with not-hostility, even if for a glancing moment.

    In seriousness, I do feel really bad for him.

  36. Vangeln
    Vangeln
    December 25, 2022 at 12:30 pm | #

    So Walky is probably conviced Mike was that kind of asshole.

  37. CardinalFan
    CardinalFan
    December 25, 2022 at 12:45 pm | #

    For some reason when Ethan said that I imagined Kilmer’s Doc Holiday saying “My hypocrisy only goes so far.” and I don’t know why. At all. Mike was many many things but a hypocrite wasn’t one of them. Odd how the brain works.

  38. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    December 25, 2022 at 2:11 pm | #

    I sincerely hope that Booster can become friends with Ethan and help him recover from losing Mike. Maybe be around Ethan will help Booster to understand to be more tactful with other people’s privacy. Maybe they will be able to help Amber too, some day.

  39. shrub
    shrub
    December 25, 2022 at 3:24 pm | #

    There are probably people in the dorms who’d be thrilled if you didn’t analyse them ever again

  40. Mydnyt
    Mydnyt
    December 25, 2022 at 3:26 pm | #

    I outright laughed out loud at the hate crime comment.

  41. Taffy
    Taffy
    December 25, 2022 at 4:12 pm | #

    Oh gosh and golly, Booster is on panel. Time for me to forget what pronouns they use.

    • milu
      milu
      December 25, 2022 at 4:49 pm | #

      Taylor Tomlinson abputr messing up pronouns: “Be kind to yourself! You’re trying! You’re just a fucking moron!”

    • Nova
      Nova
      December 25, 2022 at 4:53 pm | #

      Literally every single time they’re on panel. It’s just tiring.

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        December 25, 2022 at 7:44 pm | #

        Oh, but we can all suddenly remember the pronouns of any single-appearance character from half a panel seven years ago, since they probably confirmed to the binary.

    • not someone else
      not someone else
      December 25, 2022 at 8:39 pm | #

      Sincerely wondering if we can start making a habit of reporting people.

      • Yumi
        Yumi
        December 25, 2022 at 8:58 pm | #

        I wish there was a way to signal to people (like through email) that someone had replied to their comment, but not, like, all the time. I think some people just post their comment and then don’t look back at replies they might get, like those correcting their pronoun usage.

        Booster’s pronouns are evident in the comic, and I do think that should be enough, but I can understand that some people might forget or not understand what’s being said. And then if those people don’t see the corrections to their comment, they might keep doing it but still unintentionally.

        That might be too much benefit of the doubt for some, though, and if Willis moved in the direction of removing such comments, I wouldn’t really mind.

  42. ADLegend21
    ADLegend21
    December 25, 2022 at 10:55 pm | #

    Booster looks so adorable in Panel 1 just looking at their phone.

  43. goggleman64
    goggleman64
    December 25, 2022 at 11:06 pm | #

    Emo Ethan ruuuuuuuules

Who's that guy over there?

  • Crap, has he really been sitting there the whole time? (49%, 1,600 Votes)
  • I want to say... Kevin? (39%, 1,291 Votes)
  • No idea (12%, 405 Votes)

Total Voters: 3,296

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