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It’s a very cartoon flight trail, isn’t it? Like something you’d see out of a late 90s/early 00s Cartoon Network Santa Claus special. Maybe a crossover with the Power Puff Girls.
Joyce is manifesting Dina powers. Especially amazing since Joyce is sucking on a straw, which usually makes some noise. Of course, now that Joyce can SEE, it’s easier for to spot and recognize other people first.
Kind of late for superpowers to enter the story at this point, but flight is cool and Joe is already pretty strong. The campus needs a new watchman now that Amazigirl is retired.
Y’know as a guy I often feel like I have to wrestle with the fact that I have an inherent creepiness I have to fight against. My biggest fear is people seeing me as a creep or a weirdo (what the hell am I doing here) so I tend to act really shy and reserved. Which just makes me seem creepier!
Yep, it’s the price we pay for the rest of our ilk putting their shittiest foot forward. I’m an open guy there’s lots of times I just want to approach a lady casually and strike up a conversation ( like hey cool shirt I love that show too etc.) but I know there’s an inherent fear to responding to a dude who might get the wrong idea from you breathing in his general direction and thus I usually don’t as to not put them in that situation. Which sucks because like you said keeping a respectful distance can also be seen as creepy since dudes have ruined that too.
In short what I’m saying is is we should start over with men, scorch the Earth and begin anew.
There are definitely cues that you can use to make yourself less threatening. My husband goes on walks regularly and has discovered that women are much less likely to give off wary social cues when he’s wearing a pink shirt. People basically universally regard him with joy when he is carrying a plant (which obviously you don’t normally do when walking places but we used to have a plant nursery near us that gave advice if you brought something in). You don’t necessarily have to seem less masculine but if you seem less worried about seeming less masculine you are just less threatening. And similarly if you’re in the process of doing a domestic task like walking a dog or doing work on your computer in a coffee shop. Stuff that makes it clear that you’re not there for women, you’re there to do a thing you want to do and you happen to be sociable.
There’s an age component too. I’m a woman and I like talking to strangers, but I’m much less worried talking to male strangers who are significantly older or younger than me then I am talking to similarly aged men? It’s not because I think similarly aged men are going to be dangerous, it just removes most possibility that anybody is going to hit on me. It means I don’t have to drop that I have a husband earlier in the conversation than I otherwise would to defend against folks getting the wrong idea. Less worrying about pretense. If you have one, dropping that you have a partner will make me less worried about you if you’re a man. This does not help if you’re trying to find people to date, but it might help if you just want to socialize with women.
I am sorry that this is the state of the world for you, the same way that I’m sure that you’re sorry this is the state of the world for the stuff I have to deal with. Gender relations aren’t great for a number of reasons, but the world receiving you as threatening seems really lonely and I have a lot of empathy for the other side of the fence here.
That’s not on you though. It’s a patriarchal culture that conditions men to be predators which as a result make most women naturally more wary of men, especially if you’re big or tall like Joe is. If you’re already aware of it then you don’t need to worry so much and just be yourself. Joe specifically though has been a creep in the past so he should constantly be checking himself.
It doesn’t matter if it’s my fault or not. It still effects me and it will continue to effect me until the day I die. You can say just be yourself but that’s not gonna not make people uncomfortable around me. It’s not gonna keep me from being socially awkward, scared of being judged, and just uncomfortable with putting myself out there.
I dunno. I hear what everyone is saying here, but I have never been uncomfortable around men in general. I am uncomfortable around CREEPY men (and by creepy I mean men who stare at me for a long time, make comments about my body, follow me when I’m walking, etc.).
And also…I’m not unsympathtic BUT…female-presenting people ARE statistically at risk from men. I am NOT trying to unfair to any gender here, but, as Sirksome noted, the current patriarchal culture “conditions men to tbe predators” and thus women may be afraid of men. Of course it’s “not all men” but we need more wide-spread social reconstruction until we can expect women (like me) to not be wary of being approached by men we don’t know well.
The thing about social reconstruction is that somebody has to make the first move. Actually millions of somebodies. A lot of somebodies have to be confident but not arrogant; a lot of somebodies have to be careful but not fearful. For a society to evolve, it needs a lot of visible examples.
That’s fine. Take your time. I just wanted to state that you’re not the problem. Most people aren’t as uncomfortable as you think, but not having those thoughts or reassuring yourself is the struggle. I deal with similar emotions. I think a lot of socially awkward people do. It’s relatable. But one think I’ve at least discovered for myself is that it’s rarely as bad as you build up in your mind. Good luck though. Was just trying to help reassure you in as much a friendly way as a quasi-anonymous internet comment can be in a hopefully not ironically creepy was as possible.
Honestly I really don’t think there’s anything inherent in you or anyone for that matter. I’ve been reading The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks and it’s been really helpful to me so just throwing it out there in case it’s useful to you.
Brief eye contact, smile, nod. I know you weren’t asking for advice. Just telling you, as a woman, 100% of the men who’ve been creeps to me in public don’t meet my gaze like you would to acknowledge a person. We can tell the difference between being ogled and quick wordless greeting.
As an aside, Thom Yorke of Radiohead often said later on that he really hates that song now. It was a bit of a throwaway tune that almost didn’t make their first album, and while it did unexpectedly propel them to fame, he often resented how audiences would want them to play it every time. Eventually they started purposefully butchering it on stage, then essentially refused to play it any longer.
Anyway… yeah, the patriarchy fucks basically all of us over in one way or another. It’s true that some have it worse, but it’s also true that being a man under patriarchy is corrupting and soul-destroying. We all need a feminist revolution.
Same thing with Nirvhana and “Smells like Teen Spirit”. Though moreso that Smells like Teen Spirit was them intentionally selling out and then it got WAY bigger than anyone could’ve expected and it was just sorta…all people wanted from them.
a famous novelist character in a novel i was reading recently, who’s probably a bit of a self-insert, goes on about how celebrity culture is literally a mass psychosis. because (according to her) “celebrities” are either very unhappy because fame is a lot like harrassment or, for those who actually seek out that level of attention, completely insane. i guess it’s not a very groundbreaking idea tbf, she probably made some more interesting points i’m forgetting now.
I know what you mean from the other side – I’ve recently realized that I’ve developed a knee-jerk “oh no don’t be too responsive” reaction to any guy directly trying to chat with me in a meetup due to my prior experiences with being friendly towards them being taken as “leading them on”, causing them to become extremely demanding of my time and attention and then varying levels of upset/threatening when I rejected them/didn’t give them what they want. Which is frustrating when I would like to find someone to date, and I’m down to have male friends, but I’m not sure how to feel out a person if just chatting back with them a bit is apparently taken as already signing myself away?
Honestly, you are heads and shoulders above the guys I have met if you are just friendly *without being pushy or demanding about it*. And if you think there is something between you, just ask them out directly and don’t be mad if they say no! That way it’s upfront and the girls don’t have to be as wary of your agenda – none of the guys who considered me a bongo for “leading them on” ever actually asked me out, which was part of the discomfort.
At least to me, being shy and reserved isn’t creepy, being pushy or leering is. So if you are being chill and respectful, which it sounds like you are trying to be, you’re good! Girls may be eyeing you (and any guy) for creepiness at first in self-defence, which might be the vibe that is triggering you, but that’s not personal and should get better once you’ve shown you’re cool!
TLDR: It’s sad that women have to be wary of men for the creepers for good reason, but don’t let it get to you and stay (genuinely) nice and it will be fine, you can just prove yourself non-creepy! I dunno if that helps.
I find it very hard to believe that with Joyce’s proximity to both of them that she is somehow not brushing against/touching EITHER of them. So i believe they both are just choosing to ignore whatever random person decided to just walk between them and suck a soda.
Reminds me of one of the old Bill Keane (of Family Circus fame) Eggheads comics. After the joke usually one character looks like they are throwing themselves to their death
Well the prophecy said 144000 male Jewish virgins, which technically leaves Joe out, but out of 7billion people, the likelihood of one being near you is lower than my chances of surviving a 60 MPH crash with a truck on my bicycle, but here I am typing this so who am I to talk about odds?
It doesn’t mean anything, because I didn’t ‘say’ it out loud in a comment, but to myself, I completely called this. I suspected she’d do a Dina on them and show up behind them and scare the bejesus out of them. Little personal achievement to start my day: I’m starting to think like Willis….
Can Amber track Joyce’s phone? Did she installed a spy app? Is it possible to track someone?
(Yes, web network can show where are you posting, but it’s not so precise like Amber’s trying to do here.)
Amber has been established as being really good at computers. She probably has the ability to track every phone she’s ever had her hands on. And after the kidnapping episode, they probably made it consensual. Probably.
but seriously, i’m curious as to whether/how easily this can be done, and how to protect yourself. I’m assuming not withour a deliberately installed spy app, as Amos says.
pinging a device and receiving their IP address is probably fairly easy but it can only reveal, like, your city or something on that order. Right? How about mobile network location data, that will let you triangulate a rather more precise position (though still on the order of tens of meters at least, i think), how encrypted is that? I think police/prosecutors have to apply specifically to the provider to access it? (or is that only for the location data to be admitted in court?)
as a complete coincidence, after taking a break and posting here i returned to the translation i’m working on and military geotracking was mentioned so i quickly scanned wikipedia for the best translation of some related term, and ran into a reference saying that hacktivists in 2016 showed that some dating apps could easily allow tracking someone’s position.
now, this was 2016, and this was a couple apps, (dating apps no less, not really applicable here), and i didn’t go into the detail on the hacking method. But i can imagine a competent hacker like Amber would be up to date on the vulnerabilities of various common location-sharing apps and how to exploit them.
without installing spyware? like on the spot, i tell you here’s X’s number, where are they? allowing for some comic licence, Amber is still doing this pretty fast.
of course it’s possible she bugged all her friends’ phones, but i’m wondering if that’s the only explanation here.
oh jeez I wasn’t thinking about it but yup valid oh no. I got brought into that blind and my shocked/horrified expression got laughed at by the person showing me the thing.
yeah ok but Joe’s saying “i’m a big guy who’s me“. emphasis his.
and his worry is not coming off as intimidating, but as creepy. like, that’s clearly him coming to terms with his own actions, not just the effect his general appearance has.
llol (literal laugh out loud…well chuckle). I missed yesterday’s strip title until I read the alt-text today and went back and read the alt text yesterday and THEN read the strip title.
And THAT particular fact you play off of is the ONLY thing I know about the play, yet I point to it for the same reason. (Okay, I know it’s about two people waiting for him and their conversation as they do so.)
Loading ...
Joe launched into the ceiling by the power of snowflakes
Joe hits his head on the ceiling and suddenly we’re in an amnesia arc
just love this idea …
It’s a very cartoon flight trail, isn’t it? Like something you’d see out of a late 90s/early 00s Cartoon Network Santa Claus special. Maybe a crossover with the Power Puff Girls.
Joyce is actually Yor and she was mad about his comment.
Some kind of compressed gas jets in his shoes. Even as Joe is propelled upwards, the rapidly expanding gas cools and condenses.
i KNEW yesterday’s tooltip would come true
Surpriiiiiiiiise! XD That is the best Joe reaction in a minute.
Okay, Amber I can buy having a terrible spot check, but damn, Joe, you’re supposed to be good at using your peripheral vision to spot chicks!
Joyce crept in below his eye level.
Seems unlikely. Considering Joe’s height, he should be used to looking down.
His love for Joyce is interfering with his chick-sense.
He was staring too hard into the depths of his own anxiety and nothing else got through
Joyce rolled a natural 20 on her stealth skill check. Joe didn’t stand a chance.
Joyce is manifesting Dina powers. Especially amazing since Joyce is sucking on a straw, which usually makes some noise. Of course, now that Joyce can SEE, it’s easier for to spot and recognize other people first.
Only makes noise if you’re getting air in, like when you’re almost finished.
Joyce has displayed teleportation powers before.
I thought that only worked if it involved Dorothy.
Uh oh, swerve, he’s getting Raptured.
Best comment. Bravo.
turns out the Jews were the Chosen all along! woopsie!
Joe must return to his home planet now.
Joe died on the way home
(Mario-jump-sound.wav)
Joe hits a mushroom but he’s already big! pointless.
First time his eyebrows jumped off his face and now his whole everything jumped off
Either Joyce and/or Amber have latent telekinesis or Joe just discovered he can fly. Which is it though?
“Not fly. Jump good!”
Wow, haven’t seen a Samurai Jack reference in the wild for quite a while.
But Joyce’s latent abductee power in this universe is Lteleportation…
Joyce has been able to teleport for a while now.
Certainly a bizarre twist!!!
Also happy Pi Day / Einstein’s Birthday to all who celebrate!
*plays “Roundabout” by Yes! on hacked muzak*
Ah yes, one of their best. Woot woot!
Happy Pi Day to you as well. Oh, the 14 is also my friend’s birthday – I should call them in the morning. Thanks for the reminder!
mmmmm, pie
I would have opted for Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush.
Also white day to those who do it. Hope all you lassies get chocolate and your gacha bishonen get sexy suit skins
I hope whatever was in his other hand is okay
It’s a bowl of cereal.
Steve is gonna be furious.
Steve from Minecraft? XD
Steve from Questionable Content.
lol, that’s amazing
Damn, boy! White guys *can* jump!
[movie reference btw]
Kind of late for superpowers to enter the story at this point, but flight is cool and Joe is already pretty strong. The campus needs a new watchman now that Amazigirl is retired.
I mean, powers were introduced at LATEST in 2017…
“The Joyce is coming from inside the house!”
Usually Joyce is coming form inside the Landry room.
Take my imaginary upvote!
Was about to say that.
Y’know as a guy I often feel like I have to wrestle with the fact that I have an inherent creepiness I have to fight against. My biggest fear is people seeing me as a creep or a weirdo (what the hell am I doing here) so I tend to act really shy and reserved. Which just makes me seem creepier!
Yup, same here.
Amber probably knew she was right behind her and is screwing with them.
Yep, it’s the price we pay for the rest of our ilk putting their shittiest foot forward. I’m an open guy there’s lots of times I just want to approach a lady casually and strike up a conversation ( like hey cool shirt I love that show too etc.) but I know there’s an inherent fear to responding to a dude who might get the wrong idea from you breathing in his general direction and thus I usually don’t as to not put them in that situation. Which sucks because like you said keeping a respectful distance can also be seen as creepy since dudes have ruined that too.
In short what I’m saying is is we should start over with men, scorch the Earth and begin anew.
There are definitely cues that you can use to make yourself less threatening. My husband goes on walks regularly and has discovered that women are much less likely to give off wary social cues when he’s wearing a pink shirt. People basically universally regard him with joy when he is carrying a plant (which obviously you don’t normally do when walking places but we used to have a plant nursery near us that gave advice if you brought something in). You don’t necessarily have to seem less masculine but if you seem less worried about seeming less masculine you are just less threatening. And similarly if you’re in the process of doing a domestic task like walking a dog or doing work on your computer in a coffee shop. Stuff that makes it clear that you’re not there for women, you’re there to do a thing you want to do and you happen to be sociable.
There’s an age component too. I’m a woman and I like talking to strangers, but I’m much less worried talking to male strangers who are significantly older or younger than me then I am talking to similarly aged men? It’s not because I think similarly aged men are going to be dangerous, it just removes most possibility that anybody is going to hit on me. It means I don’t have to drop that I have a husband earlier in the conversation than I otherwise would to defend against folks getting the wrong idea. Less worrying about pretense. If you have one, dropping that you have a partner will make me less worried about you if you’re a man. This does not help if you’re trying to find people to date, but it might help if you just want to socialize with women.
I am sorry that this is the state of the world for you, the same way that I’m sure that you’re sorry this is the state of the world for the stuff I have to deal with. Gender relations aren’t great for a number of reasons, but the world receiving you as threatening seems really lonely and I have a lot of empathy for the other side of the fence here.
That’s not on you though. It’s a patriarchal culture that conditions men to be predators which as a result make most women naturally more wary of men, especially if you’re big or tall like Joe is. If you’re already aware of it then you don’t need to worry so much and just be yourself. Joe specifically though has been a creep in the past so he should constantly be checking himself.
It doesn’t matter if it’s my fault or not. It still effects me and it will continue to effect me until the day I die. You can say just be yourself but that’s not gonna not make people uncomfortable around me. It’s not gonna keep me from being socially awkward, scared of being judged, and just uncomfortable with putting myself out there.
I dunno. I hear what everyone is saying here, but I have never been uncomfortable around men in general. I am uncomfortable around CREEPY men (and by creepy I mean men who stare at me for a long time, make comments about my body, follow me when I’m walking, etc.).
And also…I’m not unsympathtic BUT…female-presenting people ARE statistically at risk from men. I am NOT trying to unfair to any gender here, but, as Sirksome noted, the current patriarchal culture “conditions men to tbe predators” and thus women may be afraid of men. Of course it’s “not all men” but we need more wide-spread social reconstruction until we can expect women (like me) to not be wary of being approached by men we don’t know well.
The thing about social reconstruction is that somebody has to make the first move. Actually millions of somebodies. A lot of somebodies have to be confident but not arrogant; a lot of somebodies have to be careful but not fearful. For a society to evolve, it needs a lot of visible examples.
That’s fine. Take your time. I just wanted to state that you’re not the problem. Most people aren’t as uncomfortable as you think, but not having those thoughts or reassuring yourself is the struggle. I deal with similar emotions. I think a lot of socially awkward people do. It’s relatable. But one think I’ve at least discovered for myself is that it’s rarely as bad as you build up in your mind. Good luck though. Was just trying to help reassure you in as much a friendly way as a quasi-anonymous internet comment can be in a hopefully not ironically creepy was as possible.
Honestly I really don’t think there’s anything inherent in you or anyone for that matter. I’ve been reading The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks and it’s been really helpful to me so just throwing it out there in case it’s useful to you.
(Sorry – I flagged your comment by accident because I clicked in the slightly wrong place! I don’t know how to unflag it!)
BUT I meant to say that bell hooks is the GOAT about pretty much everything and ABSOLUTELY worth a read!
seconded!!
Yaay, self-fulfilling prophecies!
*sarcastic, unenthusiastic party horn*
Imposter syndrome.
Ugh, that hits hard… I’m sorry about it, Yotomoe…
Brief eye contact, smile, nod. I know you weren’t asking for advice. Just telling you, as a woman, 100% of the men who’ve been creeps to me in public don’t meet my gaze like you would to acknowledge a person. We can tell the difference between being ogled and quick wordless greeting.
As an aside, Thom Yorke of Radiohead often said later on that he really hates that song now. It was a bit of a throwaway tune that almost didn’t make their first album, and while it did unexpectedly propel them to fame, he often resented how audiences would want them to play it every time. Eventually they started purposefully butchering it on stage, then essentially refused to play it any longer.
Anyway… yeah, the patriarchy fucks basically all of us over in one way or another. It’s true that some have it worse, but it’s also true that being a man under patriarchy is corrupting and soul-destroying. We all need a feminist revolution.
Same thing with Nirvhana and “Smells like Teen Spirit”. Though moreso that Smells like Teen Spirit was them intentionally selling out and then it got WAY bigger than anyone could’ve expected and it was just sorta…all people wanted from them.
hah, yeah. fame must really suck sometimes.
a famous novelist character in a novel i was reading recently, who’s probably a bit of a self-insert, goes on about how celebrity culture is literally a mass psychosis. because (according to her) “celebrities” are either very unhappy because fame is a lot like harrassment or, for those who actually seek out that level of attention, completely insane. i guess it’s not a very groundbreaking idea tbf, she probably made some more interesting points i’m forgetting now.
I know what you mean from the other side – I’ve recently realized that I’ve developed a knee-jerk “oh no don’t be too responsive” reaction to any guy directly trying to chat with me in a meetup due to my prior experiences with being friendly towards them being taken as “leading them on”, causing them to become extremely demanding of my time and attention and then varying levels of upset/threatening when I rejected them/didn’t give them what they want. Which is frustrating when I would like to find someone to date, and I’m down to have male friends, but I’m not sure how to feel out a person if just chatting back with them a bit is apparently taken as already signing myself away?
Honestly, you are heads and shoulders above the guys I have met if you are just friendly *without being pushy or demanding about it*. And if you think there is something between you, just ask them out directly and don’t be mad if they say no! That way it’s upfront and the girls don’t have to be as wary of your agenda – none of the guys who considered me a bongo for “leading them on” ever actually asked me out, which was part of the discomfort.
At least to me, being shy and reserved isn’t creepy, being pushy or leering is. So if you are being chill and respectful, which it sounds like you are trying to be, you’re good! Girls may be eyeing you (and any guy) for creepiness at first in self-defence, which might be the vibe that is triggering you, but that’s not personal and should get better once you’ve shown you’re cool!
TLDR: It’s sad that women have to be wary of men for the creepers for good reason, but don’t let it get to you and stay (genuinely) nice and it will be fine, you can just prove yourself non-creepy! I dunno if that helps.
And here I thought Becky would’ve been the one to absorb Dina’s powers first.
Joe has ascended.
His people need him.
Teleport, even mentioned in comic.
Telepathy, being able to find Dorothy in the restroom.
Now, telekinetic as she holds Joe up while questioning him.
Joyce has been taking pointers from Dina.
Dina has decided to pass on the techniques of Ki Raptor, widely recognized as the most deadly fist art in the universe, to this one student.
I find it very hard to believe that with Joyce’s proximity to both of them that she is somehow not brushing against/touching EITHER of them. So i believe they both are just choosing to ignore whatever random person decided to just walk between them and suck a soda.
“Walk between them”? She teleported there!
Would Joyce casually brush against someone? She seems the type to be careful not to.
I see Joyce as being behind Amber.
someone call maintenance…there’s a new hole in the ceiling to patch
Someone turned off the gravity but only for Joe.
Oh no, did Joyce just come from the lauandromat again?
the fuck is a lauandromat? I meant to say laundromat lol
It is a laundromat that also holds luaus for the customers. Like in the Oscar-winning movie, but there it is karaoke parties instead.
It’s a store with vending machines full of cheap plywood.
And after she came from it she left and arived here.
Surprise Joe didn’t try out as a walk on for basketball team his vertical leap is spectacular.
lmfao! The believability of this webcomic make the more “cartoony” bits so much more funny to me, they always take me totally by surprise ♥
A simple meme for today’s Reddit post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbingofage/comments/11qwcdt/taking_certain_dumbing_of_age_characters_out_to/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Also this should be day 4 of the DoA rival’s poll: https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbingofage/comments/11ob9xb/greatest_nemesis_type_rivalry_in_doa/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
This is so fucking cute.
I imagined that last panel with the Zoom spell sound effect from Dragon Quest
“Joe cast Zoom! … He hit the ceiling!”
Reminds me of one of the old Bill Keane (of Family Circus fame) Eggheads comics. After the joke usually one character looks like they are throwing themselves to their death
Back in the days where the newly-discovered comma was the peak of comedy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoEx3JSgsFo
Ooh, this is the outfit for the rotating banner.
Whoop. Joe’s clipping through the ceiling again.
Do you think he’ll break out and fall off the map?
Well Played Willis.
Bold of her to assume they’re not talking about Sarah, Mandy, or Grace.
“No way man, it’s reading right!”
“Maybe *you’re* not reading *it* right.”
“Five meters, that’s inside the room!”
*dozens of Joyces burst out of the ceiling.
i really love the lack of jumping/action lines, it adds to the illusion he’s just clipping through the comic
joe, startled at the wrong moment, attempts to throw himself off the bridge without walking to it first
classic rookie mistake
He Ascends
He Will Be Remembered
He is Risen, indeed.
Speaking of creeping up on someone…
Yes, Joe – made up her mind about what?
The people upstair are about to have an interesting surprise
Anyone else hear Finn’s scream from Adventure Time in that last panel
The Joyce is coming from INSIDE THE DORM ROOM.
Nah, she’s just behind you. Don’t look behind you~!
I believe Joe can fly
noooo 🤮
Joe has the creep factor of Ruth, I get. But why the cartoon-like noclip?
“It is the year of our Willis, 2023, and Joyce can still teleport.”
“I have to go now. My planet needs me.”
*Joe died on his way back to his home planet.*
I was fully expecting the alt text to be, “MEEP MEEP!”
Aaaaaaaaaaahahahaha
It’s shocking that the rapture came and only took Joe.
Well the prophecy said 144000 male Jewish virgins, which technically leaves Joe out, but out of 7billion people, the likelihood of one being near you is lower than my chances of surviving a 60 MPH crash with a truck on my bicycle, but here I am typing this so who am I to talk about odds?
I laughed so hard at Joyce just casually walking up to them. That’s the kind of slapstic I’m here for
Uh-oh, looks like Vecna’s got Joe.
And button-down ponytail Joyce continues to be flippin’ adorable.
Master timing Joyce
I thought the clothes stay behind when you get raptured.
It doesn’t mean anything, because I didn’t ‘say’ it out loud in a comment, but to myself, I completely called this. I suspected she’d do a Dina on them and show up behind them and scare the bejesus out of them. Little personal achievement to start my day: I’m starting to think like Willis….
Oh shit!
My second thought here is Joe’s gonna be recruited to the basketball team… oh, nevermind, silly me… “White men can’t jump!”
…um?
Joe hit the ceiling with his FAAAACE (sorry) (finished my reread today) (I love this comic)
and so, Joe jumped out of Earth’s orbit, never to be seen again
the end
Can Amber track Joyce’s phone? Did she installed a spy app? Is it possible to track someone?
(Yes, web network can show where are you posting, but it’s not so precise like Amber’s trying to do here.)
Amber has been established as being really good at computers. She probably has the ability to track every phone she’s ever had her hands on. And after the kidnapping episode, they probably made it consensual. Probably.
but seriously, i’m curious as to whether/how easily this can be done, and how to protect yourself. I’m assuming not withour a deliberately installed spy app, as Amos says.
pinging a device and receiving their IP address is probably fairly easy but it can only reveal, like, your city or something on that order. Right? How about mobile network location data, that will let you triangulate a rather more precise position (though still on the order of tens of meters at least, i think), how encrypted is that? I think police/prosecutors have to apply specifically to the provider to access it? (or is that only for the location data to be admitted in court?)
If anyone knows anything about this?
as a complete coincidence, after taking a break and posting here i returned to the translation i’m working on and military geotracking was mentioned so i quickly scanned wikipedia for the best translation of some related term, and ran into a reference saying that hacktivists in 2016 showed that some dating apps could easily allow tracking someone’s position.
now, this was 2016, and this was a couple apps, (dating apps no less, not really applicable here), and i didn’t go into the detail on the hacking method. But i can imagine a competent hacker like Amber would be up to date on the vulnerabilities of various common location-sharing apps and how to exploit them.
Hackers have been hacking the GPS data from phones for years, so probably yes, she can do it.
without installing spyware? like on the spot, i tell you here’s X’s number, where are they? allowing for some comic licence, Amber is still doing this pretty fast.
of course it’s possible she bugged all her friends’ phones, but i’m wondering if that’s the only explanation here.
I’m only thinking about that Amazi-girl’s app.
If Joyce can teleport and Sal can oversteer power-slide a sport bike on pavement, Amber can have movie magic 1337 h4X0r skillz.
Who’s shadow is that?
Joe’s
Joyce has that effect on Joe, doesn’t she?
Joe died on the way back to his home planet.
Panel 4 is my second time in the span of 10 minutes experiencing a Madoka Magika PTSD episode… >.<;
oh jeez I wasn’t thinking about it but yup valid oh no. I got brought into that blind and my shocked/horrified expression got laughed at by the person showing me the thing.
The next page’ll just be Joe’s body from the neck down, since he just jumped so high his head probably penetrated the ceiling.
As someone who is much less able than most to block out small noises, I can confirm three things:
1) I am very hard to surprise.
2) I walk more quietly than most to avoid making small noises
3) I frequently scare those that do block out small noises.
In other words, I am Joyce in this strip.
My folks literally put a bell on me when I was younger to prevent exactly this from happening.
A bell? 🤨
Did you not find that degrading?
Ah, you too loom stealthily?
I am Dina, but 194cm tall. “Looming” is what I do.
Wait, how are you like Dina exactly?
Stealthy and looming like a dinosaur.
190 myself. It makes no sense.
I don’t understand why Joe consider himself creep.
It’s something about that Liz’s episode, right?
I don’t think it’s about Liz.
Joe has a history of being pretty creepy (Do List etc)
it’s good that he realizes it. sometimes it’s good when your self-image is broken, if that self-image was based on doing toxic shit.
Hopefully after a period of growth he can regain his self-confidence, but this time built on healthier foundations of empathy and respect.
His history and also he is a dude.
Lots and lots of dudes worry about coming off as a creep when they like someone.
Also that he is built so much larger than most everyone around him.
yeah ok but Joe’s saying “i’m a big guy who’s me“. emphasis his.
and his worry is not coming off as intimidating, but as creepy. like, that’s clearly him coming to terms with his own actions, not just the effect his general appearance has.
Cartoon Physics are my favorite kind of physics.
His head is now embedded in the ceiling… which also happens to be concrete
The ceiling, or his head?
Yes.
Look at that, Joyce! He’s airborne! If you actually have sex with him, you’ll probably send him into outer space.
*Goofy scream*
Joyce is once again demonstrating her teleportation powers.
Malaya breaking the 4th wall here has this weird Deja Vu energy to it. Reminds me of some children’s cartoon, but I just can’t put my finger on it…
Joyce the ninja <3
llol (literal laugh out loud…well chuckle). I missed yesterday’s strip title until I read the alt-text today and went back and read the alt text yesterday and THEN read the strip title.
And THAT particular fact you play off of is the ONLY thing I know about the play, yet I point to it for the same reason. (Okay, I know it’s about two people waiting for him and their conversation as they do so.)
Very well played.
Oh no, Joe’s being abducted, somebody contact SEMME!
observe, the critical fail of two player characters in their ‘spot’ and a critical success on the last ‘listen’ check.