Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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June 14, 2026

Boffo

by David M Willis on October 6, 2024 at 12:01 am
  • 01 – Love Dares You To Change
└ Tags: carla, dorothy, joyce

Discussion (145) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Thag Simmons
    Thag Simmons
    October 6, 2024 at 12:02 am | #

    You know what, this could have gone worse.

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      October 6, 2024 at 12:03 am | #

      who said “this” is necessarily over? 0-0

      after all she JUST started chasin’ her XD

      • Clif
        Clif
        October 6, 2024 at 12:35 am | #

        Yeah, give it time.

    • Masha
      Masha
      October 6, 2024 at 12:50 am | #

      Honestly it’s too bad Carla isn’t black. Joyce probably would’ve said “Sistah” for the double whammy.

      • Rolf of Many Doors
        Rolf of Many Doors
        October 6, 2024 at 12:52 am | #

        Or Joyce could’ve been the non-binary one, Carla cisgender and black, and Joyce could’ve said “Cistah” for the triple-whammy

        • NGPZ
          NGPZ
          October 6, 2024 at 1:50 am | #

          fuckin killin me here brah XD

        • Opus the Poet
          Opus the Poet
          October 6, 2024 at 7:24 pm | #

          Take my imaginary upvote!

  2. Nono
    Nono
    October 6, 2024 at 12:03 am | #

    Joyce should have learned by now that you don’t appeal to Carla with genuine empathy.

    • Coatl
      Coatl
      October 6, 2024 at 12:07 am | #

      The look in the fourth panel says it all

  3. Doopyboop
    Doopyboop
    October 6, 2024 at 12:03 am | #

    “My sister in—in Christ!”

    ” *skates faster* ”

    “In science?!”

    “Too late, you’ve already made it too weird!”

    • Sirksome
      Sirksome
      October 6, 2024 at 12:12 am | #

      Sudden, situational, religious belief to avoid awkwardness. That must be like 80 percent of all politicians.

      • Laura
        Laura
        October 6, 2024 at 12:28 am | #

        *LOL*

      • eh, whatever
        eh, whatever
        October 6, 2024 at 4:13 am | #

        Only in America.

        • NGPZ
          NGPZ
          October 6, 2024 at 4:16 am | #

          I mean, many other countries do that as well precisely because they’ve learned from USA’s bad example

          • Michael Steamweed
            Michael Steamweed
            October 6, 2024 at 8:30 am | #

            We are a very educational bad example. Doing the right thing only after trying every other possible wrong thing.

  4. John Campbell
    John Campbell
    October 6, 2024 at 12:05 am | #

    No, Joyce, Jocelyn is your sister.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      October 6, 2024 at 12:14 am | #

      Honestly, maybe it’s better Joyce get in a practice run before she has to deal with Jocelyn.

      I mean, this is 31 flavors of cringe, but if there’s one person who’s got the rock-solid confidence to not care it’s Carla. Let Joyce get all her well-intentioned insanity out and collect feedback from Dorothy and Sarah before she has to try this with someone she could hurt, y’know?

      • Laura
        Laura
        October 6, 2024 at 12:29 am | #

        Mmmmayyybe… 😐

        I dunno. Kind of sucks to be anyone’s “practice trans”. Feels about as bad as being anyone’s “practice gay friend”. 🙁

        • TheKelliestKelly
          TheKelliestKelly
          October 6, 2024 at 12:31 am | #

          I mean, Ethan was kind of her “practice gay friend” and she showed up real well for Becky

          Joking aside, I do agree with you

        • AK
          AK
          October 6, 2024 at 2:23 am | #

          This is on the one hand true, but on the other hand people learn social scripts by doing (or watching others do). It is perennially one of the shitty things about being a minority that folks have less practice with or exposure to the correct social scripts for dealing with you, but it’s also often not malicious. It’s an unfair but broadly not wildly avoidable social reality that if there’s fewer people like you you’re gonna be more people’s first scriptless (or script minimal) learning experience. Joyce did TRY to get guidance on how to do this without making it Carla’s issue first, but it is. Unfortunate that she asked the one person who could mislead her in this particular way.

        • Michael Steamweed
          Michael Steamweed
          October 6, 2024 at 8:33 am | #

          Sucks to be the practice trans, gay friend, romance partner, rebound, etc. Lots of situations which it sucks to be. But, really, without that practice, how else are most newbie people gonna learn?

          • Morleuca
            Morleuca
            October 6, 2024 at 11:17 am | #

            yeah, as long as they also learn that the practice individual doesn’t owe them a damn thing and that they don’t get to be butthurt towards said practice individual over being told off.

            • Esolo
              Esolo
              October 6, 2024 at 2:38 pm | #

              this this this this this this this

            • Marillius
              Marillius
              October 6, 2024 at 10:52 pm | #

              Here’s the thing. If a practice individual tells someone off rather than instructs them, they’re being what anyone is when someone makes a mistake for the first time and they get eaten out for it.

              A fucking ass.

              • Michael Steamweed
                Michael Steamweed
                October 8, 2024 at 6:35 am | #

                That right there is the conundrum. How can a person learn to navigate through dating and sexuality, fail, and recover again, without practice? And without gaining scars from getting told off harshly?

                There’s so little patience out there. Far too much anger, fear, and other dark side feels.

              • Queen Anthai
                Queen Anthai
                October 18, 2024 at 12:17 am | #

                …chewed out.

                CHEWED.

      • Uly
        Uly
        October 6, 2024 at 12:58 am | #

        Yeah, but on the other hand, Jocelyn already loves her as a sister and always has. Plus, she’s known Joyce since Joyce was a baby and surely is used to her by now.

  5. Animedingo
    Animedingo
    October 6, 2024 at 12:05 am | #

    Boffo?

    • Poskie
      Poskie
      October 6, 2024 at 12:45 am | #

      Boffo, Lenny, socko. Let’s do lunch sometime! Don’t call me, I’ll call you!

    • Lee
      Lee
      October 6, 2024 at 4:51 am | #

      Slang for ‘extremely good’ but like, as a noun it’s sort of a posh tot I think. In this case she’s basically saying “alright, fancypants”.

    • Shadowsnail
      Shadowsnail
      October 6, 2024 at 12:48 pm | #

      Chocko Socko is boffo!
      Or if you need to open a door, offob si okcos okcohc!

    • someone
      someone
      October 6, 2024 at 1:26 pm | #

      Boffo deez nuts!

  6. Cholma
    Cholma
    October 6, 2024 at 12:06 am | #

    * cues up “Skateaway” by Dire Straits *

    • Opus the Poet
      Opus the Poet
      October 6, 2024 at 7:37 pm | #

      +1 for deep music knowledge.

  7. RacingTurtle
    RacingTurtle
    October 6, 2024 at 12:08 am | #

    lol

    I forgot this little time bomb was ticking

    • Davus
      Davus
      October 6, 2024 at 12:08 am | #

      Can I have an explanation?

      • Cholma
        Cholma
        October 6, 2024 at 12:16 am | #

        Joyce just recently found out that Carla is “secret Trans girl” in the dorm.

      • Brigid Keely
        Brigid Keely
        October 6, 2024 at 12:25 am | #

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2024/comic/book-15/01-love-dares-you-to-change/expertise/ Ethan thought that Joyce’s sister Jocelyn had finally told Joyce that she is a trans woman, and Ethan assumed Joyce was grappling with that. Joyce discovered that Carla is trans and wants to not be a transphobic bigot weirdo so asked him for advice.

        • Davus
          Davus
          October 6, 2024 at 1:11 am | #

          That explains it

        • Amelie Wikström
          Amelie Wikström
          October 6, 2024 at 12:11 pm | #

          Oh right, I thought it was just Joyce declaring more of her lady friends are her sisters (besides Sarah) because she always wanted to have sisters instead of three brothers (and possibly she unconsciously senses something she likes about Jocelyne), while simultaneously not so subtly wanting to affirm Carla’s womanhood. Forgot all about Ethan’s well meaning meddling.

  8. Alongcameaspider
    Alongcameaspider
    October 6, 2024 at 12:08 am | #

    Man Joyce is going to look back on this exact moment once Jocelyne comes out to her and be mortified

    • Alongcameaspider
      Alongcameaspider
      October 6, 2024 at 12:09 am | #

      To clarify the sister part is what will mortify her, not the general supportive message

      • Laura
        Laura
        October 6, 2024 at 12:31 am | #

        Meh. I said worse (similar) to my friends in high school.

    • Jeremiah
      Jeremiah
      October 6, 2024 at 12:22 am | #

      This applies to basically anytime future Joyce look back at her first college year.

      • Michael Steamweed
        Michael Steamweed
        October 6, 2024 at 8:36 am | #

        That’s one of the main purposes of first-year college time. (along with teen poetry, fanfic, and other creative writing). All the cringe for us to ruminate over until we die. 😀

  9. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    October 6, 2024 at 12:09 am | #

    Sister? Since when? There some hidden Rutten love child conspiracy going on? They are billionaires so I wouldn’t write that off automatically.

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      October 6, 2024 at 12:12 am | #

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2024/comic/book-15/01-love-dares-you-to-change/expertise/

      • Sirksome
        Sirksome
        October 6, 2024 at 12:14 am | #

        No I got the setup. I was trying to joke that Joyce and Carla would be blood related to justify her awkward flub.

        • StClair
          StClair
          October 6, 2024 at 12:33 am | #

          IIRC, Carla’s natural hair color is blonde…

          • cbwroses
            cbwroses
            October 6, 2024 at 2:11 am | #

            And she wears glasses…

      • Michael Steamweed
        Michael Steamweed
        October 6, 2024 at 8:37 am | #

        Welp, Ethan would know. He’s the expert! 😀

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      October 6, 2024 at 10:15 am | #

      I’d say time travel must be involved, but then I say that about everything, don’t I?

  10. Ty34er
    Ty34er
    October 6, 2024 at 12:13 am | #

    Ethan ain’t even in this one, hover text.

    • Clif
      Clif
      October 6, 2024 at 12:40 am | #

      You didn’t look at the secret tags.

      • Michael Steamweed
        Michael Steamweed
        October 6, 2024 at 8:38 am | #

        There are secret tags?

        • Slartibeast Button, BIA
          Slartibeast Button, BIA
          October 6, 2024 at 10:16 am | #

          Only truly worthy people can see them.

          • Michael Steamweed
            Michael Steamweed
            October 8, 2024 at 6:36 am | #

            Awww. I’m not truly worthy. 🙁
            (gonna go eat worms)

    • Ty34er
      Ty34er
      October 6, 2024 at 2:09 pm | #

      Someone helpfully linked to the Ethan description where he thinks Joyce is talking about her not yet out sister.

  11. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    October 6, 2024 at 12:15 am | #

    Oh no, not well-meaning attempts at support! Anything but that!

  12. Jeremiah
    Jeremiah
    October 6, 2024 at 12:19 am | #

    This is partly Ethan fault but let’s not kid ourselves tatt she would had been any less weird on her own.

    • Coatl
      Coatl
      October 6, 2024 at 12:28 am | #

      In fact, Ethan said he wasn’t an expert on that topic, and yet Joyce decided to take what he said into account.

      And the result?….well

  13. IntangibleMatter
    IntangibleMatter
    October 6, 2024 at 12:23 am | #

    I mean she’s got the spirit…

    just the wrong one for this situation.

  14. ian livs
    ian livs
    October 6, 2024 at 12:27 am | #

    Tbf, alt text, Ethan doesn’t have a *lot* of things straight

    • Laura
      Laura
      October 6, 2024 at 12:32 am | #

      He can’t even think straight… ;-D

      • NGPZ
        NGPZ
        October 6, 2024 at 12:43 am | #

        nope, couldn’t keep a straight face XD

  15. Mr. Random
    Mr. Random
    October 6, 2024 at 12:36 am | #

    In either case, she’s trying.
    But considering she’s trying with someone who’s a friend and not family, the experience is actually highlighting the “other” rather than the bond they share.
    If it actually WAS Jocelyne, I think it’d be a lot more poingnant.
    Here, I assume Carla is avoiding being someone else’s prop as a self-affirming moment of goodness.

    • Clif
      Clif
      October 6, 2024 at 12:42 am | #

      You try going up to random people and telling them that they are and have always been your sister. Then report back on the reactions you get.

      • StClair
        StClair
        October 6, 2024 at 12:45 am | #

        Trying her best to out-skate the awkward.

      • Uly
        Uly
        October 6, 2024 at 4:56 am | #

        Clif, I just want you to know that you are and have always been my sister.

        • Laura
          Laura
          October 6, 2024 at 7:44 am | #

          Well, we are all the “children” of the first amino acids that ever swam in the primordial soup, so… technically, yes? Maybe? For some remote definition of family?

          • Michael Steamweed
            Michael Steamweed
            October 6, 2024 at 8:40 am | #

            Brothers and Sisters all! We are the children of Mitochondrial Eve!

            • Felian
              Felian
              October 6, 2024 at 8:48 am | #

              Brothers and sisters and nonbinary siblings!

              • Michael Steamweed
                Michael Steamweed
                October 8, 2024 at 6:38 am | #

                I really want a monosyllabic word (along the lines of Bro and Sis) for that. Non doesn’t seem quite right. Brethren, Sistren, and Nonren?

        • clif
          clif
          October 6, 2024 at 11:09 am | #

          Uly – Too late. The will has already been probated.

          I just tried it with my wife, but she just looked at me weird.

          • clif
            clif
            October 6, 2024 at 11:10 am | #

            But then, she doesn’t own rollerskates.

          • Uly
            Uly
            October 8, 2024 at 1:26 am | #

            Your wife!?

  16. Dday
    Dday
    October 6, 2024 at 12:41 am | #

    From the look on her face, I think on some level Joyce understands how weird she is making this.

    … I think this is meant to be a lesson about what happens when you blindly follow directions from people you might assume posses innate moral authority on something?

    • DashWallkick
      DashWallkick
      October 6, 2024 at 1:37 am | #

      This is entirely true, however — Joyce is autistic and poorly socialized, and was given advice by Ethan. She’s trying her best and if she was a real person and not a comic character she’d be mortified from embarrassment and not leave her room for a month.

      • NGPZ
        NGPZ
        October 6, 2024 at 1:47 am | #

        girl gotta shove 18 years worth of social learning into less than 4.

        thankfully as Willis once put it, “nothing prepares you for life better than being stupid over and over again” XD

      • Dday
        Dday
        October 6, 2024 at 9:30 pm | #

        In her way, Joyce has great emotional fortitude, she can shrug off humiliation pretty good and just plow forward enthusiastically.

    • Lee
      Lee
      October 6, 2024 at 4:56 am | #

      To be fair I don’t think the problem here is blindly following Ethan’s advice. It was good advice, if it had been triggered by the right information. If my irl brother said those exact words to me, transmasc edition, it would be wholesome and touching and what I would love to hear. What makes this awkward is that 1) Carla is not Jocelyn/family and 2) Carla is in a position where on a familial level she can be out, so Ethan’s advice geared towards ‘show support in the face of at least one bigoted parent’ isn’t applicable.

      TL;DR Joyce would have nailed this, if she’d told the right person. Ethan’s advice would have nailed it if he’d had all the facts but Joyce was correct in not potentially outing the trans person in question when seeking advice.

      • Daibhid C
        Daibhid C
        October 6, 2024 at 9:19 am | #

        …so the problem is blindly following Ethan’s advice. Not because Ethan’s advice is bad, but because the context is wrong, and Joyce didn’t question it.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 6, 2024 at 1:17 pm | #

          But why would she question the context?
          Any context in which Ethan’s advice makes sense but isn’t generically applicable is just wildly unlikely. True, but kind of ridiculous that Ethan knows something about her actual family she doesn’t.

      • Dday
        Dday
        October 6, 2024 at 9:35 pm | #

        Yeah I was pretty much thinking the same thing, right peg for the wrong hole. But the overall principle holds, don’t blindly follow advice when your instincts are giving you alarm signals, even if they come from someone who seems like they deserve to be right. Ethan had perfect advice for a completely different relationship he was thinking about.

  17. Lia
    Lia
    October 6, 2024 at 12:41 am | #

    lmao

  18. Lia
    Lia
    October 6, 2024 at 12:45 am | #

    i love how in panel 3 shes like yes yes continue

  19. StClair
    StClair
    October 6, 2024 at 12:45 am | #

    “Live long… and prosper.”

    • Dday
      Dday
      October 6, 2024 at 12:51 am | #

      I’m a DOCTOR, Jim!

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      October 6, 2024 at 8:23 am | #

      There’s coffee in that nebula.

  20. Taffy
    Taffy
    October 6, 2024 at 1:02 am | #

    This is weird. Joyce and Carla have never once interacted before this strip.

    • DashWallkick
      DashWallkick
      October 6, 2024 at 1:36 am | #

      ….what? They’ve interacted a ton. She did her makeup in the last arc and engineered her shower shoes (“CARLA IS GREAT AND I AM A BUG!”), at the very least.

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        October 6, 2024 at 1:59 am | #

        No.

        • Nymph
          Nymph
          October 6, 2024 at 3:17 am | #

          Compelling point, well made.

          • Michael Steamweed
            Michael Steamweed
            October 6, 2024 at 8:46 am | #

            Slight correction, to add supporting in-text citation:

            No. (Hamlet 3.3.87)

          • clif
            clif
            October 6, 2024 at 11:16 am | #

            Nymph, I always choose to believe that you are a sock-puppet of Taffy’s. I mean there is no evidence of this and a fair amount of internal evidence it’s extremely unlikely. But I choose to believe it anyway because it would be hilarious.

            • Taffy
              Taffy
              October 6, 2024 at 10:51 pm | #

              If I had sock puppet, it’d be way more homophobic.

  21. Kimi
    Kimi
    October 6, 2024 at 1:02 am | #

    Whenever anyone you are not very familiar with calls you sibling or sister/brother, it is weird. I suppose it could be a cultural thing, but it isn’t anything that I am too familiar with. On the rare occasion it happens to me, IRL or online, it is weird every single time.
    It also appears to me that they tend to use it to try and tone down whatever they are going to say next. In that case, a stranger using an overly familiar term does not tone down anything at all and feels very patronizing. I am not sure that is what Joyce is doing here though, for several reasons. First, she is going off of what Ethan told her for guidance. Secondly, she is using it at the end of the sentence, rather than starting it right off the bat. The cases I have seen it used to tone down what someone is saying, they start right off with it.

    • Mark
      Mark
      October 6, 2024 at 7:45 am | #

      Eh, “sister”/”brother” is addressed to non-siblings a lot in labor unions, social and service organizations, churches and social movements. It’s used to express solidarity in a cause or profession.

      In English it’s also used when “I love you” would be even weirder because of the ways that that word has been overloaded.

      Compare this with the way, in some cultures, it’s normal and expected in some situations to address someone who is not one’s parent as “Mother” or “Father”, to convey respect.

      I would agree that in this scene it is indeed a bit weird, but if Joyce had done a bit of work to establish context before plunging in I think it would have been quite appropriate. (Thing is: Carla would have detected the developing context and repelled it. [“I am a Rock” swells in background])

      • Felian
        Felian
        October 6, 2024 at 8:56 am | #

        yeah, the turkish / kurdish communities in my city are also using “Bruder“ (brother) to adress any man they meet and have a positive connection to. My barber calls me “Bruder“ and as a trans guy, THIS GIVES ME SO MUCH EUPHORIA.
        But that’s also because he does it to every man, not specifically to trans guys! It’s not an overemphasized support statement.

    • Colin McKenzie
      Colin McKenzie
      October 6, 2024 at 10:26 am | #

      “My sibling in Christ” is used so sarcastically/belittlingly online I hardly ever hear it IRL these days.

  22. Yumi
    Yumi
    October 6, 2024 at 1:14 am | #

    Someone gave her a script, there was just a misunderstanding about when to deploy it.

    • Lee
      Lee
      October 6, 2024 at 4:57 am | #

      ^ this, thank you

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      October 6, 2024 at 8:24 am | #

      She fumbled it and the pages are all out of order now.

      • Plain Marie
        Plain Marie
        October 6, 2024 at 5:27 pm | #

        I’ve dropped my notebook so many times. *sigh*

  23. BBCC
    BBCC
    October 6, 2024 at 1:21 am | #

    What a coincidence, that!

  24. Yumi
    Yumi
    October 6, 2024 at 1:29 am | #

    Does Carla know Joyce is an atheist now? Did she previously pay enough attention to know Joyce was religious? Because I could see it being taken as a “sister in Christ” thing, which I would also skate away from… would just add a layer of misunderstanding.

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      October 6, 2024 at 4:07 am | #

      i mean probably not, most of the time she can’t be bothered to remember peoples’ NAMES, let alone their religious orientation XD

      • Mark
        Mark
        October 6, 2024 at 7:49 am | #

        But she does remember qualities such as “the annoyingly earnest one.”

  25. DashWallkick
    DashWallkick
    October 6, 2024 at 1:42 am | #

    I’m *so* excited for Joyce to try and repair this further.

  26. Francoinblanco
    Francoinblanco
    October 6, 2024 at 2:19 am | #

    rich people’s misery, unknown family members pop up at every opportunity

  27. Heavensrun
    Heavensrun
    October 6, 2024 at 3:15 am | #

    (laugh) I forgot about Ethan’s advice.

  28. AbacusWizard
    AbacusWizard
    October 6, 2024 at 3:18 am | #

    Panel 4 seems kinda like Joyce is practicing for another important conversation that she doesn’t yet know she’s going to have sometime soon.

  29. Queen Anthai
    Queen Anthai
    October 6, 2024 at 4:23 am | #

    You know what? At least she made the decision to be accepting and supportive. That’s a plus in the Joyce column.

    • Felian
      Felian
      October 6, 2024 at 9:04 am | #

      yeah. Learning is slow but she is constantly unlearning and learning, so i’m sure she’ll get there.
      it just sucks for the people who are in the line of fire while she still gets things wrong on such a basic level…

  30. Proxiehunter
    Proxiehunter
    October 6, 2024 at 4:28 am | #

    Re: hover text Ethan’s so gay even his facts aren’t straight.

  31. Dana W
    Dana W
    October 6, 2024 at 4:32 am | #

    Not everybody who transitions wants it to be a big deal or even discuss it. Personally I just want to be treated like a normal woman. Having somebody come up and be “special” at me for is not supportive, at least to me. Its like people who insistently they/them you without asking. I was at urgent care Friday and the doctor would not address me as she (or he thank fek) She had been told not using “they/them” pronouns with people who transtion was RUDE! I had a rather arch conversation between her, me and my birth certificate.

    • Zaxares
      Zaxares
      October 6, 2024 at 4:37 am | #

      Sounds like your doctor got trans and NB people mixed up. Bleh. >.>

    • Uly
      Uly
      October 6, 2024 at 4:58 am | #

      1. Your doctor was so ridiculous and rude.

      2. While not everybody who transitions wants it to be a big deal or even wants to discuss it, we’re talking about Carla and… honestly, who even knows with her?

      3. I’m just going to say point 1 again because omg.

      • Morleuca
        Morleuca
        October 6, 2024 at 11:37 am | #

        Carla acts as Carla does, so as to make her being trans the least important and interesting thing.

    • Mark
      Mark
      October 6, 2024 at 8:01 am | #

      Likely that doctor had not simply been told; she had had it drilled into her until it has become automatic and hard to control.

      Plus, these days one risks being reamed out by bystanders who are diversity enthusiasts.

      I’m sorry you had to deal with that.

      • yak
        yak
        October 6, 2024 at 10:20 pm | #

        “diversity enthusiasts” is a perfect descriptor. I’m gonna steal it.

    • Felian
      Felian
      October 6, 2024 at 9:10 am | #

      Doctor got the spirit (or maybe not even that, maybe just a PC training without inner desire to get it right), but is missing the most important point:

      JUST ASK THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU ABOUT THEIR PRONOUNS.

      And even if you *do* learn a fact about trans people as a whole: if a single individual comes to you and says “that does not apply to me personally“, then you BELIEVE him/her/them/…

      The only thing i can speak for for the whole trans community is: We are not a monolith, we are individuals. ^^

    • KM
      KM
      October 6, 2024 at 11:05 pm | #

      Hol up, I thought it was ok to use they/them as a catch-all? Is that wrong?

      • Uly
        Uly
        October 8, 2024 at 1:27 am | #

        Well, if the specific person in front of you is specifically saying to use he or she then they’re not a catch-all, they’re a specific person.

        • KM
          KM
          October 8, 2024 at 10:13 pm | #

          Yes but wasn’t the whole point that singular they/them is gender neutral?

  32. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    October 6, 2024 at 5:47 am | #

    “The small, annoying one of you?”

    Hey, Dorothy and Joyce are each 5’4″.

    • Michael Steamweed
      Michael Steamweed
      October 6, 2024 at 8:47 am | #

      Dorothy is the small, less annoying one of them.

    • zee
      zee
      October 6, 2024 at 10:55 am | #

      And that’s still half a foot shorter than carla

      • zee
        zee
        October 6, 2024 at 10:56 am | #

        Sorry, forgot inches are factors of 12 and not metric for a second. Over half a foot shorter

    • 3oranges
      3oranges
      October 6, 2024 at 4:10 pm | #

      Apparently calling her “the one with the jugs” doesn’t go over as well though.

  33. darkoneko
    darkoneko
    October 6, 2024 at 6:25 am | #

    it’s a wonder anyone tolerate Carla

    • Mark
      Mark
      October 6, 2024 at 8:15 am | #

      The sheer majesty of her egocentrism is somehow appealing to me. She demands only respect, not service. She can be perceptive and giving. Carla is the good queen who protects and nurtures her subjects, not the evil queen who reduces them to utensils. It’s only off-putting because her monarchy is all in her mind.

      • Laura
        Laura
        October 6, 2024 at 8:20 am | #

        Ir is a reaction formation: a protective defense mechanism.

    • Michael Steamweed
      Michael Steamweed
      October 6, 2024 at 8:48 am | #

      Carla is satisfying to have around when Mary does her hateful crap.

    • Jeremiah
      Jeremiah
      October 6, 2024 at 10:45 am | #

      God forbid women do anything!

    • yak
      yak
      October 6, 2024 at 10:22 pm | #

      Eh, she’s not the type of person who’d fuck you over to get ahead, she’s just annoying and eccentric. I think she’d be entertaining in small doses.

  34. Colin McKenzie
    Colin McKenzie
    October 6, 2024 at 10:23 am | #

    Did Joyce feel this supportive when she didn’t know Carla was trans? And will she be so supportive when she finds out about her blood sister?

  35. Amós Batista
    Amós Batista
    October 6, 2024 at 11:14 am | #

    Joyce, no!

  36. Morleuca
    Morleuca
    October 6, 2024 at 11:22 am | #

    I would very much love to have Carla and Jocelyne pass each other, and have one, mid-conversation, say “Heat from fire”, and the other, without looking up from whatever they are doing reply “Fire from heat”? and then they both just continue on with whatever they were doing without so much as an explanation.

  37. superglucose
    superglucose
    October 6, 2024 at 11:46 am | #

    I’ve been in Carla’s skates here before lmao Willis really does seem to understand

    • Morleuca
      Morleuca
      October 6, 2024 at 12:04 pm | #

      yeah it really sucks. Like, what are we supposed to do? “Hey, I’m really glad you just ambushed me at work, where I’m clearly masking as much as I can, so as to avoid these conversations, but yeah sure let me tell you all about the most personal aspects of my core being, so that you can tell me how you have a family member, and give you the opportunity to feel good about yourself…”

      • C.T. Phipps
        C.T. Phipps
        October 6, 2024 at 2:33 pm | #

        It’s okay, Morleuca, FOR YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MY SISTER!

  38. Disastroid
    Disastroid
    October 6, 2024 at 1:14 pm | #

    Foolish Carla. Joyce’s friendship is a persistence predator.

    • StClair
      StClair
      October 6, 2024 at 2:45 pm | #

      “That’s what she does! That’s all she does!“

  39. Axel
    Axel
    October 6, 2024 at 6:16 pm | #

    SO happy she took Ethan’s advice.

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CONVENTION APPEARANCES


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

David M Willis! avatar
David M Willis!
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 5h
Dumbing of Age: "How many" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
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Two days left to collect pledges for a Tricerahoodie Dina plush!  If we reach 200 pledges by Thursday, Dina will be made! That sounds pretty rad, I dunno!  Run over there if you want to help make this...
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Kashana @kashana.bsky.social ⋅ 10h
Can’t believe nobody wants to go to a soccer game to be kidnapped by ICE
phillewis.bsky.social's user avatarPhil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social ⋅ 11h
FIFA Club World Cup ticket sales tank dramatically after the Dept. of Homeland Security bragged that agents would be “suited and booted" at the stadium in a now-deleted social media post
header image - FIFA Club World Cup Ticket Sales TANK After DHS Says Agents Will Be At Stadium
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FIFA Club World Cup Ticket Sales TANK After DHS Says Agents Will Be At Stadium
Tickets to the opening match that were once $349 (and up) could be had for just $4.
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 21h
Three days to go! www.makeship.com/petitions/tr...
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatarDavid M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 8d
www.makeship.com/petitions/tr... Wanna Tricerahoodie Dina plush? GO PLEDGE FOR ONE! We need 200 people to make it happen! Pledge period will end in 10 days!
header image - Tricerahoodie Dina Plushie
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Tricerahoodie Dina Plushie
Dina is so small and quiet that she goes completely unnoticed by most people for long stretches of time. She doesn’t talk much — she prefers to observe. People and how they interact is a puzzle to Din...
7
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 14h
www.ebay.com/itm/23615364... selling my studio series 86-11 perceptor! with *jazz hands* instructions!!!
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 15h
....got into spx on the waitlist dreams are real!!!!!!!
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 16h
hey guess who's getting sold next
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 18h
ACAB means Dolly
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 21h
Three days to go! www.makeship.com/petitions/tr...
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatarDavid M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 8d
www.makeship.com/petitions/tr... Wanna Tricerahoodie Dina plush? GO PLEDGE FOR ONE! We need 200 people to make it happen! Pledge period will end in 10 days!
header image - Tricerahoodie Dina Plushie
www.makeship.com
Tricerahoodie Dina Plushie
Dina is so small and quiet that she goes completely unnoticed by most people for long stretches of time. She doesn’t talk much — she prefers to observe. People and how they interact is a puzzle to Din...
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
I think you mean the Slug-Maker
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
today in #9chickweedlane i guess we're memory-holing again that 1997 story where amos and edda kissed for the first time after she, uh, got shot at school
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
this has real "leia comforting luke for losing a guy he just met after her planet got exploded" energy
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Dumbing of Age: "Locate" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
butts disease
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Unnatural Selections @soundmirrors.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
It’s been awhile since I’ve more seriously read up on Ugaritic and Canaanite religions (alas, w/semi dated scholarship), but this is interesting, and not in a peaceful matriarchal fantasy kind of way.
theradr.bsky.social's user avatarRabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social ⋅ 21d
If you do a close read not only of the Bible but the archeology, it starts to look like the Israelites, & all but a couple of Judean kings, worshipped a goddess for pretty much the whole First Temple era. The implications of this are... far ranging-- & her name might not be what we've believed.
header image - Israelite Goddess Mystery Quest
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Israelite Goddess Mystery Quest
smashing pillars / tracing echoes
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Have some sticker ideas for Toyhax
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
fellas, is hasbro trying to make toys for children again
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Erase Soundwave's mouth! Recolor him light blue! ...don't correct Ratbat's miscolored face in the next panel
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
So, I put my mind to it and retaught myself 3D modeling.
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
who wore it better
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Dumbing of Age: "Pervasively" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
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-indy ✨ (he/him) @indigo-k.com ⋅ 2d
WIP: Taking a break for dinner, and then back to finish this later tonight:
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Gwen Snyder is uncivil @gwensnyder.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
I will say for the umpteenth time that the Democratic establishment is terrible at understanding enthusiasm math. An energized base is crucial to winning fights-- electoral and otherwise-- because they will drag the low info folks out to vote and protest and engage. You NEED that energy.
gwensnyder.bsky.social's user avatarGwen Snyder is uncivil @gwensnyder.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
It's not just that he and his policies are unpopular, there's a clear and demonstrated enthusiasm differential now. His base is energetically absent, ours is livid and out in the streets.
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FakeEyes @fakeeyes.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Pretty good Spider-Man figure, I don’t care what they say.
Spider-Man doing that thing you expect. It’s the butt thing. Why have I done this to myself? Is this my life? Yes.
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zaratustra @zaratustra.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social adjacent to your interests
adashtra.bsky.social's user avatarAsh Parrish @adashtra.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
Turns out the guy was Chuck Ayers, a nationally recognized cartoonist and creator of Crankshaft. He had a lot to say but the thing that struck me was that when he talked about whats going on now, I could see he was holding back emotion. All this still hurts him to see 55 (!!) years later.
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Katie @katiestp.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
Right now, these sweet kids have no clue how impactful this period in history will be for them, but I hope they will be proud of the time they made the best protest sign ever: The green one that says “Trump eats boogers” #NoKings
Kids and adults standing on a pedestrian bridge over the highway with protest signs that say fascists out and no Trump no ice. The best one is green and says Trump eats boogers.
katiestp.bsky.social's user avatarKatie @katiestp.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
We can’t make the actual event at the capitol today, so you’ll find us with the kids on University with our signs (and I might bring the megaphone too). Even if you can’t make it to the capitol - come out in your own neighborhoods, even if it’s for a few minutes. Be seen. Be heard. #nokings
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Anguirus @anguirus.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
rude of you to call me out like this @damnyouwillis.bsky.social
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
www.ebay.com/itm/23614371... five hours left on this weirdo in the box weirdo not in the box is not for sale
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Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️‍⚧ @charliejane.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
At Comic-Con 2009 I was getting misgendered a fair bit and feeling anxious AF about it. Robert Downey Jr. was doing a press conf for Sherlock Holmes. I wanted to shout out a question but hated drawing attn to myself. I did it anyway. He gestured at me: "the lady in the blue shirt." I was so happy.
bolt451.bsky.social's user avatarHunter S Schafer @bolt451.bsky.social ⋅ 4d
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
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