Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

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May 12, 2026

Nightmares

by David M Willis on November 1, 2023 at 12:01 am
  • 01 – Everybody's Looking for Nothing
└ Tags: dorothy, joyce

Discussion (155) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    November 1, 2023 at 12:01 am | #

    the equivalent of this for me would be asking someone if they had nightmares about suddenly being at MAGFest and having not only forgotten it was going on and it’s suddenly Sunday, but no costume, and which was even your hotel room and also how is the hotel 170 stories and only one elevator

    (the non-sexual ones)

    (and non-“why is the toilet in the living room and not even behind any dividers or anything and also it’s overflowing” ones)

    • Rose by Any Other Name
      Rose by Any Other Name
      November 1, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

      … okay, it’s kinda scary how close that is to, like 80% of my nightmares. Except replace MAGfest with any of half a dozen other anime or game cons.

      • Ana Chronistic
        Ana Chronistic
        November 2, 2023 at 12:05 am | #

        well, we only go to the one these days, or I’d say Anthrocon
        (lack of interest in driving solo for a 4-hour-one-way trip)

    • Kyrik Michalowski
      Kyrik Michalowski
      November 1, 2023 at 12:22 am | #

      My nightmares are too fucked up to explain. The safe explanation is: bloody, guilt wracked, and highly illogical.

    • Laura
      Laura
      November 1, 2023 at 1:14 am | #

      Just as a general PSA:

      If anyone is having nightmares just about every night, it might make sense to do a sleep study and check for obstructive sleep apnea. Vivid dreams are one of the most often misdiagnosed symptoms of sleep apnea.

      Also, getting up to pee several times a night… can often be a sign of sleep apnea. Just apropos of nothing.

      CPAP babes FTW!
      https://www.cpapbabes.com

      Hey, it’s better than the alternative explanation:
      (“One morning, Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams…”)

      • Otl1973
        Otl1973
        November 1, 2023 at 2:30 am | #

        Getting up to pee several times a night appears to also be a symptom of getting old.

        • Laura
          Laura
          November 1, 2023 at 3:33 am | #

          Maybe both!

          • StClair
            StClair
            November 1, 2023 at 2:09 pm | #

            Definitely both.

            And per below, yeah, get checked for apnea. Couldn’t live without my CPAP now (well I could, but it’d suck).

      • Liara
        Liara
        November 1, 2023 at 2:58 am | #

        Damn, a Kafka reference in my comment section?

        • Laura
          Laura
          November 1, 2023 at 5:37 pm | #

          How Kafkaesque!

      • Hof1991
        Hof1991
        November 1, 2023 at 9:57 am | #

        And sleep apnea will take years off your life and life out of your years. Get checked if you or the person you sleep with notices the symptoms.

        • StClair
          StClair
          November 1, 2023 at 2:08 pm | #

          Cost me a job. Thought I could handle it, didn’t; fell asleep, got fired and diagnosed in that order.

    • ktbear
      ktbear
      November 1, 2023 at 2:05 am | #

      Oh, MAGFest…somehow read that as MAGAFest. Can’t say Ive ever had a dream about MAGFest.

      • Laura
        Laura
        November 1, 2023 at 3:34 am | #

        MAGAfest would be a true nightmare!

        • Ana Chronistic
          Ana Chronistic
          November 3, 2023 at 11:56 pm | #

          that’s just a rally =p

    • Psychie
      Psychie
      November 1, 2023 at 4:51 am | #

      Oddly enough, while I don’t tend to get dreams that cause intense feelings of fear, commonly referred to as “nightmares” (the definitional speak is relevant later, I’m not talking down to anybody here), I *do* frequently get dreams that cause intense feelings of frustration or sometimes even rage. I have decided to call them “nightfuries” as they are clearly akin to nightmares but instead of scary they are infuriating.

      If I’m not having a nightfury, my dreams are just extremely weird. For instance, while many people get dreams of flight, whenever I fly in my dreams there are really specific limitations, consistently the *same* limitations. I can fly no higher than I am tall (roughly six feet) and no faster than I can sprint (although it is far, far less exhausting than sprinting, so basically I can go my sprinting speed for as long as I could normally walk at a casual pace), but if I ever need to go faster I can take a pole or cane and push off the ground like a gondoleer to go faster, it looks kind of like I’m pogosticking but perpendicular to the stick. I have never flown in a dream without these specific limitations. Also, a lot of my dreams don’t actually feature “me” or any sort of point of view character, often I just inhabit the role of the “camera” and watch the dream play out like a movie. Apparently I have a tendency to get way too interested in the mechanics of whatever weird crap is going on in my dreams and start asking questions or trying to figure things out until I wake myself up from my mind being too active, so I think the movie dream thing is partially a way for my brain to compensate for that and actually get rest while dreaming, and also partially because I just watch WAY too much TV.

      • Allen Alberti
        Allen Alberti
        November 1, 2023 at 9:44 am | #

        I have the exact same flying dreams as you. I think you might be having lucid dreams. I have occasionally had lucid nightmares, those really suck. I also have type 2 narcolepsy.

        • Psychie
          Psychie
          November 2, 2023 at 1:36 am | #

          I am not having lucid dreams, I know that much, as any time I gain too much awareness, I wake up fully, which, as far as I know, runs counter to the idea of being lucid.

          Although, interesting that someone else has the same weirdly specific and restrictive rules surrounding their dream-flight. I’ve never encountered someone who had dream-flight with *any* rules, let alone the same ones, and I’ve spoken with multiple “experts” on dream interpretation and none of them had ever heard of it either. I was kind of operating under the assumption that the rules were because of my fixation on hard magic systems and game-rule systems, and the use of a pole to go faster was due to my love of breaking those systems to do things the writers never intended or otherwise get overpowered. Like, it’s literally applying a lever to create an unexpected rules interaction that enables me to do things that I technically shouldn’t.

          Honestly, the pole is why I stopped talking to “experts” on dream interpretation, when I had a third one trying to tell me it was a phallic symbol without being able to say what that actually has to do with me, my personality, or my experiences beyond the classic Freudian “penis, penis, penis” nonsense, and frankly all three of them contradicted each OTHER when trying to tell me what having a phallic symbol used in that way in my dream says about me in particular, I realized that none of them actually had any idea what they were talking about.

          • Thelie
            Thelie
            November 4, 2023 at 1:40 pm | #

            In the few lucid dreams I had, flying was also restricted. One time all I could do was jump really high (like ~50m) and the other time I just turned into a bird…

    • Daibhid C
      Daibhid C
      November 1, 2023 at 2:39 pm | #

      My subconcious’s current favourite is “You’re at work and you have no idea what you’re doing and also it’s an exam somehow and are you even sure you’re supposed to be there today?”

      Another good one is “You’re in Edinburgh, but it’s your last day there and you somehow haven’t been to any Fringe shows. Or Science Festival lectures, if that seems more plausible at the time.” These usually occur about a couple of months before the festivals in question, especially if I haven’t got round to booking anything yet, but they can also occur entirely at random.

      Anyway, they’re fine, because I wake up and I’m relieved it’s not real. Whereas with the good dreams, where I stumble across a Discworld novel, comic book event, or Star Trek series that I didn’t even know existed before, I wake up and I’m disappointed it’s not real.

    • Kazuma Taichi
      Kazuma Taichi
      November 4, 2023 at 11:53 am | #

      see, I’m pretty sure the “toilet in the middle of the room” nightmares don’t fall into the non-sexual category

      at least not for me

  2. Amós Batista
    Amós Batista
    November 1, 2023 at 12:01 am | #

    Look, I ship them forever. But, at same time, it will be awkward Dorothy starting to weep and telling that Joyce is the reason of her nightmares.

    • StClair
      StClair
      November 1, 2023 at 12:05 am | #

      “It’s you. You’re my anxiety.”

      • DailyBrad
        DailyBrad
        November 1, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

        “WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME? AM I ANYONE ELSE’S ANXIETY?!?”

        Becky: “Not, like, currently?”

        • Nono
          Nono
          November 1, 2023 at 12:29 am | #

          You’re always someone’s anxiety.

        • Freezer
          Freezer
          November 1, 2023 at 1:19 am | #

          We need upvote buttons, Cheeze Dammit!

          • Decidedly Orthogonal
            Decidedly Orthogonal
            November 1, 2023 at 5:57 pm | #

            [ ⬆️ ]
            [ 👎]
            [ Comment ]
            [ Subscribe ]

            There you go bud. ❤

      • Nono
        Nono
        November 1, 2023 at 12:17 am | #

        Finally, Dorothy and Joe can bond.

        • Hoboturtle
          Hoboturtle
          November 1, 2023 at 11:41 am | #

          Dorothy: You think you’re hot stuff.

          Joe: Do you know who’s hot stuff?

          Dorothy: Joyce?

          Joe and Dororthy: Ya…

  3. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    November 1, 2023 at 12:01 am | #

    Joyce: The…mostly non-sexual ones anyway.

    (Hey a man good with a hammered dulcimer has nimble fingers, Joyce couldn’t help but take note)

    • jeffepp
      jeffepp
      November 1, 2023 at 12:12 am | #

      That’s a new development for her, though.

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        November 1, 2023 at 12:15 am | #

        What?…Nimble fingers would be great for repairing washing machines, that’s all. Joyce’s naughty dreams are all about washing machines.

        (And Rich Mullins dressed as the Maytag Repairman)

    • Nono
      Nono
      November 1, 2023 at 12:16 am | #

      I feel it might be mildly inappropriate to describe a situation where a teenage girl has a sexual fantasy about a man she’s idolised since she was a child.

      • Mano308gts
        Mano308gts
        November 1, 2023 at 12:33 am | #

        Yet it’s a reality that people, boys and girls alike, have fantasies about people they idolize from childhood onward; right through into adulthood… and a LOT of the time, some of those people are going to remain the same throughout.

        • eh, whatever
          eh, whatever
          November 1, 2023 at 11:14 am | #

          Huh. Interesting.

      • clif
        clif
        November 1, 2023 at 3:32 am | #

        If it’s only mildly inappropriate, you’re doing it wrong.

      • S.R.
        S.R.
        November 1, 2023 at 7:45 pm | #

        I think that’s a thing people’s brains do sometimes, though. Lots of weirdness goes on in the teenage years, including (for the majority of people) developing sexual interests that sometimes manifest in uncomfortable-seeming but harmless ways.
        (When the interest is in a fictional character or unmeetable celebrity, there ain’t exactly any way for someone to act on it in an unhealthy manner.)

  4. Thag Simmons
    Thag Simmons
    November 1, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    My dream stories are sadly quite boring. I’ve got one cool one from being a kid and getting shot in a dream and waking up with a nosebleed, but that’s the only one worth retelling, and even then I’m editing out a lot of boring prelude.

    • PirateTawnee
      PirateTawnee
      November 1, 2023 at 1:19 am | #

      Ooh, I’ve had the being shot one, except it was just my brain deciding the alarm going off sounded like gunfire.

      • Thag Simmons
        Thag Simmons
        November 1, 2023 at 2:15 am | #

        The nosebleed that directly corresponded to getting shot in the head freaked me out and I really really did not want to go to school that day because I thought it was some sort of omen

        • Laura
          Laura
          November 1, 2023 at 3:37 am | #

          Sounds scary! Wise choice… these days, going to school can be so scary!

          I had a dream as a kid that my teeth were falling out… and then woke up in the morning with a newly chipped tooth. Weird!

        • Devin
          Devin
          November 1, 2023 at 3:34 pm | #

          I had what I think is a similar experience.

          I live in an apartment building, and the dream I had was that the building was falling over for an unknown reason, and I had the sensation (in the dream) of knowing with full certainty that I was going to die.

          Turns out what had happened was my sleep number bed had lost its seal and was deflating, and I strongly suspect that what happened to both of us was our brains trying to craft a narrative around a sensation it was detecting while we were asleep. This conclusion did not help me, and I couldn’t stop thinking about that dream for weeks.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            November 1, 2023 at 11:18 pm | #

            Way back in college I was asleep in the top bunk and dreamed about getting into a fight and being hit on the top of my head, only to wake up to find one of the ceiling tiles had fallen and hit me.

            I agree it’s our sleeping brains wrapping a narrative around the sensation. The weird thing in my case is that the subjective time was much longer in the dream. The whole thing seemed like an extended sequence, but it all must have actually happened in the flash between being hit and waking.

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      November 1, 2023 at 5:24 pm | #

      I had a dream just last night where I was in a suburban neighborhood and there was this giant swarm of ducks and geese that knocked down a fence. 🦆🪿

      Coincidentally, I am working on a game about dinosaurs for all of November. 🦖

  5. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    November 1, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    What’s Rich Mullins’ opinion on pants?

  6. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    November 1, 2023 at 12:05 am | #

    “I can fix her!”

  7. Kyrik Michalowski
    Kyrik Michalowski
    November 1, 2023 at 12:07 am | #

    I forgot that Joyce doesn’t know about Dorothy ignoring the Yale acceptance letter. Wonder how she will react to that, among the other things bothering Dorothy.

    • Kyrik Michalowski
      Kyrik Michalowski
      November 1, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

      Once again, wrong sibling.

      • Kyrik Michalowski
        Kyrik Michalowski
        November 1, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

        Relevant, but not Sal.

        • Kyrik Michalowski
          Kyrik Michalowski
          November 1, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

          Few more tries tonight.

          • Kyrik Michalowski
            Kyrik Michalowski
            November 1, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

            Hell no.

            • Kyrik Michalowski
              Kyrik Michalowski
              November 1, 2023 at 12:12 am | #

              Acceptable for the evening.

              • elebenty
                elebenty
                November 1, 2023 at 12:16 am | #

                That was like watching you shop for clothes.

                • Kyrik Michalowski
                  Kyrik Michalowski
                  November 1, 2023 at 3:03 am | #

                  Unlike shopping for clothes, I actually enjoy Grav Roulette.

              • Sirksome
                Sirksome
                November 1, 2023 at 12:20 am | #

                For a sec I didn’t realize this was all one person and was very confused by the conversation.

                • Needfuldoer
                  Needfuldoer
                  November 1, 2023 at 9:08 pm | #

                  Yeah, I like the sneaky way better. (Just change it for every post you’d make anyway.)

              • RassilonTDavros
                RassilonTDavros
                November 1, 2023 at 12:51 am | #

                This thread is gonna read completely differently the next time the Gravs are inevitably re-rolled, and I kind of love that.

              • Decidedly Orthogonal
                Decidedly Orthogonal
                November 1, 2023 at 2:01 am | #

                For the unaware.

                There’s an article about Grav Roulette on the Walkypedia.

              • vlademir1
                vlademir1
                November 1, 2023 at 2:41 am | #

                I almost get the Grav-roulette thing, but in this kind of situation with multiple retries I don’t get why you don’t just sign up on Gravatar and set the image to exactly the one you want rather than engaging in this much Frederica Bernkastel probability manipulation.

                • clif
                  clif
                  November 1, 2023 at 3:39 am | #

                  What? And miss all the adrenalin surge of risking your very identity on a random process? Where is your sense of adventure?

    • Coatl
      Coatl
      November 1, 2023 at 12:34 am | #

      If things get out of control, a strong argument will be ahead and rest assured there will be serious wounds for both.

  8. UrsulaDavina
    UrsulaDavina
    November 1, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

    My nightmares are eithet me crashing off a 100 foot or more bridge falling into the water I or ravine or a snake biting me absolutely terrified of heights and snakes so it makes sense.

  9. StClair
    StClair
    November 1, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

    grav roulette time

    • StClair
      StClair
      November 1, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

      Jason suits me.

      • tim gueguen
        tim gueguen
        November 1, 2023 at 12:18 am | #

        You’re a British TA with questionable ethics?

        • StClair
          StClair
          November 1, 2023 at 12:30 am | #

          Fussy English major (with a bit of a thing for green-eyed gingers … preferably less evil).

    • Sirksome
      Sirksome
      November 1, 2023 at 12:22 am | #

      Grav roulette season gotta be one of my favorite genders.

      • clif
        clif
        November 1, 2023 at 3:42 am | #

        You’re saying it engenders much amusement?

  10. Sajuuk-Khar
    Sajuuk-Khar
    November 1, 2023 at 12:13 am | #

    “In song terms my nightmares are much more, uh, centered around…well, Animotion, in particular ‘Obsession’. Also, you’re there.”

  11. Nono
    Nono
    November 1, 2023 at 12:15 am | #

    Wonder what Walky’s nightmares are about. Math grades and zombie Nachitos?

    • tim gueguen
      tim gueguen
      November 1, 2023 at 12:18 am | #

      Getting a box of 20 McNuggets that only has 19 McNuggets in it.

      • Nono
        Nono
        November 1, 2023 at 12:29 am | #

        Walky only gets McNuggets in batches of 50, though.

        • Essex
          Essex
          November 1, 2023 at 3:24 am | #

          then only getting 19 really is a nightmare

      • Alongcameaspider
        Alongcameaspider
        November 1, 2023 at 12:44 am | #

        Truly horrifying

    • I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams
      I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams
      November 1, 2023 at 12:31 am | #

      IMO maybe it’s because i’m still a big fan of Walkyverse era Head Alien’s sardonic hammy manipulator shtick, but i like to think that a Walky nightmare start off as a very silly Dexter and Monkey Master themed romp and then turn into Dream!Dexter viciously repeating all of Walky’s worst fears and anxieties verbatim.

  12. BBCC
    BBCC
    November 1, 2023 at 12:15 am | #

    Oh that last panel made me sad. I know it probably just meant regular sexual anxieties but I immediately thought of Ryan.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      November 1, 2023 at 12:15 am | #

      A national treasure, I approve.

    • furubatsu
      furubatsu
      November 1, 2023 at 8:44 pm | #

      Same tbh. When she said that I instantly thought of the wet dream she had of Ethan that turned into Ryan. It’ll be interesting if that’s what Willis meant and if that’ll play a part in her hang ups with Joe

  13. miz
    miz
    November 1, 2023 at 12:16 am | #

    heard there was a grav change, let’s roll these dice

    • miz
      miz
      November 1, 2023 at 12:16 am | #

      hmm.

    • Mark
      Mark
      November 1, 2023 at 6:26 am | #

      Still 9.8 m/s^2 here.

      • RassilonTDavros
        RassilonTDavros
        November 1, 2023 at 3:15 pm | #

        I wish I had a like button.

      • Jamie
        Jamie
        November 1, 2023 at 4:59 pm | #

        Hello, fellow person who lives near sea level.

      • miz
        miz
        November 1, 2023 at 7:18 pm | #

        you think you’re sooooo funny

        (you are)

  14. Dday
    Dday
    November 1, 2023 at 12:16 am | #

    OK there’s no way I’m the only one picking up this energy rn:
    https://www.shortpacked.com/comic/magic-2

    • Nicoleandmaggie
      Nicoleandmaggie
      November 1, 2023 at 1:52 am | #

      That was also my first thought just looking at the pictures before reading the words.

      • justin8448
        justin8448
        November 1, 2023 at 3:29 am | #

        I thought about it before, during, and after reading the words.

  15. Suet
    Suet
    November 1, 2023 at 12:17 am | #

    That nightmare had a white horse, why was it WHITE—

    yeah she was disappointing someone in it alright

  16. PASchaefer
    PASchaefer
    November 1, 2023 at 12:19 am | #

    Did we see this nightmare?

    • Angel
      Angel
      November 1, 2023 at 1:03 am | #

      well there was the one where joyce and her were on a horse?

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        November 1, 2023 at 4:06 am | #

        Which turned into Toedad’s death…

        • NGPZ
          NGPZ
          November 1, 2023 at 8:15 pm | #

          Yeah major TW for the last panel of the nightmare

  17. Blume
    Blume
    November 1, 2023 at 12:21 am | #

    Let’s see what gravitar I get! (Are they called Gravitars? Is it like “Gacha Avatars”?)

    Dorothy hasn’t been very honest with Joyce for a bit, I hope they’ll be able to talk it out. I still feel like Dorothy infantalizes Joyce, but in the end they’re still good friends. Joyce can handle the information you tell her dangit! Let’s hug it out and cry about our feelings or something!

    • Blume
      Blume
      November 1, 2023 at 12:22 am | #

      I am Joe! I accept this.

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      November 1, 2023 at 12:28 am | #

      Gravatar, Globally Recognized Avatar. Two A’s. If I used more than this site to communicate with people from outside, it’d be a very handy tool. As-is, I mostly use it to change icons constantly.

      • Blume
        Blume
        November 1, 2023 at 12:44 am | #

        Oh! I see! Thank you for telling me :DD

      • Hof1991
        Hof1991
        November 1, 2023 at 10:02 am | #

        I have a WordPress account that defaults to it so I can’t use something too silly here. I set it to be just silly enough.

      • a/snow/mous/e
        a/snow/mous/e
        November 1, 2023 at 11:05 am | #

        Gravitar would be like, GRAVITy-Augmented Reality

        • a/snow/mous/e
          a/snow/mous/e
          November 1, 2023 at 11:07 am | #

          or a shortening/portmanteau (shortmanteau?) of “gravity star”, which is probably a black hole?

          • a/snow/mous/e
            a/snow/mous/e
            November 1, 2023 at 11:09 am | #

            that’s how “pulsar” (and “quasar”, sort of) got named, so

  18. HueSatLight
    HueSatLight
    November 1, 2023 at 12:23 am | #

    https://www.dumbingofage.com/ultimately one of the dreams she’s talking about. that one’s my favorite strip. A lot of complicated emotions go with that kind of realization, hard to describe. Terrified relief maybe.

    • Nono
      Nono
      November 1, 2023 at 12:26 am | #

      She also pretty much forgot about most of the details of that dream, aside from Rich Mullins and Becky being there.

      • HueSatLight
        HueSatLight
        November 1, 2023 at 12:54 am | #

        ya, she did have to work through it again consciously, and she did almost immediately (next chapter is when she skipped church). It was more fraught than this strip suggests out of context, and she’s still not done by the end. But it all is kind of summarized in “Ultimately”, like whatever a thesis statement is called in a narrative.

    • Aura
      Aura
      November 1, 2023 at 1:21 am | #

      And here’s the start of one of the other ones

      • Aura
        Aura
        November 1, 2023 at 1:22 am | #

        Oh no I broke it! https://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/06-strange-beerfellows/know-2/

  19. NGPZ
    NGPZ
    November 1, 2023 at 12:40 am | #

    She’s asking about Joyce’s Nightmares! :p

    • HueSatLight
      HueSatLight
      November 1, 2023 at 12:56 am | #

      “I have nightmares about the time Becky kissed me and I made her cry, because as close and affectionate as I am with her, I’m just not into ladies that way. You can tell me your nightmare, I’m sure nothing bad will happen.”

  20. Bryy
    Bryy
    November 1, 2023 at 12:47 am | #

    HAPPY POST-HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE!

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      November 1, 2023 at 1:26 am | #

      Folger’s Brew Season ahoy! :p

    • Leorale
      Leorale
      November 1, 2023 at 11:02 am | #

      National Half-Price Candy Day

    • Amós Batista
      Amós Batista
      November 1, 2023 at 11:53 am | #

      Ahh, the day between Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos…

  21. Mr. Random
    Mr. Random
    November 1, 2023 at 1:01 am | #

    Accepting help when you have a self-image of competence is REALLY difficult.
    Takes a shitload just to open up to others.

    • Aura
      Aura
      November 1, 2023 at 1:26 am | #

      I think there’s also a reason she doesn’t want to share this one with Joyce specifically right now (https://www.dumbingofage.com/2023/comic/book-14/01-everybodys-looking-for-nothing/stateoftheunion/)

    • DashWallkick
      DashWallkick
      November 1, 2023 at 6:11 am | #

      Honestly if that’s where this is going, Joyce hearing her terror and doubt and realizes that presidency for her is like going to heaven for Joyce, then that’s actually a pretty great way for them to bond. Joyce knows what it’s like to have to let go of things you hold dear and self identify with.

  22. Raen
    Raen
    November 1, 2023 at 1:05 am | #

    …dammit, you’re trying to make me laugh, but I’m physically incapable of laughter.

    • milu
      milu
      November 1, 2023 at 6:46 am | #

      Being a sperm whale and all.

      • Raen
        Raen
        November 1, 2023 at 9:12 am | #

        Actually, I’m asthmatic. (The sperm whale is because I was thinking of a certain novel, when I had to change my avatar because another site used radial symmetry, and it kind of went, um, really, really, really wrong.)

        • milu
          milu
          November 1, 2023 at 10:31 am | #

          aw sorry about that. (and sorry about that, lol)

  23. Nono
    Nono
    November 1, 2023 at 1:08 am | #

    Man, sexual nightmares sound even more terrifying than normal. You think you’re about to bone down in a sexy dream, then bam! Horror time.

    • Laura
      Laura
      November 1, 2023 at 1:17 am | #

      Yeah, no kidding! Ugh!

    • Sol
      Sol
      November 1, 2023 at 1:29 am | #

      I think the other way around might potentially be more terrifying.

    • PirateTawnee
      PirateTawnee
      November 1, 2023 at 1:30 am | #

      The real horror is the boning we did along the way.

    • milu
      milu
      November 1, 2023 at 6:53 am | #

      My sex nightmares involve someone i feel no desire for, and they’re not forcing me to do anything but i mysteriously just accept everything they want. It’s pretty awful and often pretty much ruins my day.

      • McNitz
        McNitz
        November 1, 2023 at 8:55 am | #

        Well shoot, that’s unfortunate. Why do brains have to be like that? You’d think they’d get with the program and imagine things they actually want to think about.

        • milu
          milu
          November 1, 2023 at 10:36 am | #

          well, there’s a whole psychoanalysis dedicated to this question. (although they don’t really deal in brains, their subject is the psyche, but colloquially those tend to be considered synonymous.) in my understanding one important idea is that of repression, and the idea is that dreams exist in part to help process experiences (trauma and such) in ways that are presumably less debilitating than straight up confronting the thing consciously?

          • eh, whatever
            eh, whatever
            November 1, 2023 at 11:31 am | #

            Psych(o)analysis is pseudoscience, though, and dreams seem to be random “thunderstorms in the brain”.

            • milu
              milu
              November 1, 2023 at 1:05 pm | #

              jennifer lawrence.gif

            • Taffy
              Taffy
              November 1, 2023 at 6:06 pm | #

              Random thunderstorms that frequently reflect exactly what a person is going through, either in a literal sense or by strong symbolism that happens to be very consistent in the dreamer’s culture. Like, I’m not even a tarot-cards-and-dream-catchers type of person, but there’s definitely logic behind enough dreams that we can’t just dismiss them as fully random electricity.

              • HueSatLight
                HueSatLight
                November 1, 2023 at 11:28 pm | #

                My dreams are not at all subtle. Like books purporting to be dream dictionaries with “butterflies represent a new job, for everbody, across all time” are bunk. But I knew what it meant when I dreamt at 17 about not being able to climb my backyard fence and get to Independence/Liberty (two suburbs that got combined into one through dream-logic).

  24. missilentmurmur
    missilentmurmur
    November 1, 2023 at 1:42 am | #

    It makes me sad how little Joyce knows her best friend

    • Tan
      Tan
      November 1, 2023 at 11:18 am | #

      I don’t see what this has to do with Becky

  25. Nicoleandmaggie
    Nicoleandmaggie
    November 1, 2023 at 1:51 am | #

    Oh man if only this conversation has happened a few days ago. Gosh darn it Dorothy— let Joyce hug it out!

  26. AGV
    AGV
    November 1, 2023 at 3:09 am | #

    Joyce is just trying

  27. Needfuldoer
    Needfuldoer
    November 1, 2023 at 3:20 am | #

    re: Alt-text: …Having nightmares about Rich Mullins not getting into Yale?

    • Laura
      Laura
      November 1, 2023 at 3:43 am | #

      Oh no, that dream came true! 😉

  28. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    November 1, 2023 at 3:46 am | #

    Yes! Hug! Hug! Hug as you talk about the dream of pantslessly riding a horse with Joyce!

    • McNitz
      McNitz
      November 1, 2023 at 9:04 am | #

      She doesn’t HAVE to mention that part, it doesn’t seem like a particularly relevant detail to the nightmare portion.

  29. Stephen Nedland
    Stephen Nedland
    November 1, 2023 at 6:38 am | #

    This immediately pops into Dorothy’s head, in panel 5…

    Sha-la-la-la-la-la.
    My oh my!
    Look like the girl too shy,
    Ain’t gonna kiss the girl!

  30. Steelbright
    Steelbright
    November 1, 2023 at 7:26 am | #

    You know i think Dorothy might learn something from somebody else trying to Dorothy her

  31. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    November 1, 2023 at 7:38 am | #

    I wonder what part of her nightmare troubled Dorothy the most. She’s right not to want to tell Joyce. But it would be really fun to see her reaction hearing about the first part, involving they riding a horse.

  32. J.Gawain
    J.Gawain
    November 1, 2023 at 7:43 am | #

    Grav roulette, Go!

    • J.Gawain
      J.Gawain
      November 1, 2023 at 7:45 am | #

      Not quite Carla tier, but I’ll take it!

  33. Amós Batista
    Amós Batista
    November 1, 2023 at 8:48 am | #

    Grav roulette time!

    • Amós Batista
      Amós Batista
      November 1, 2023 at 8:48 am | #

      Ops, wrong Jaques

  34. Hambone Jones
    Hambone Jones
    November 1, 2023 at 9:38 am | #

    Alt-text beat me to it! I don’t want anybody having those kinds of nightmares.

  35. Hof1991
    Hof1991
    November 1, 2023 at 10:05 am | #

    Just realized that for Dorothy, large white horses = white laundry equipment.

    • Hambone Jones
      Hambone Jones
      November 1, 2023 at 12:04 pm | #

      Ya work with the horses ya got.

  36. Vulcanodon
    Vulcanodon
    November 1, 2023 at 10:14 am | #

    Pain dreams. During the worst years of my experience with chronic pain, my sleeping brain came up with various recurring explanations for the signals it was getting. Large dog biting down on my hands. Sitting at a picnic table, picking shards of glass out of my hands and arms. Lying in the street with a collapsed building on my legs. I’ve gotten better at pain management so it’s less often now.

  37. It Happens
    It Happens
    November 1, 2023 at 11:00 am | #

    I still ship JoJo big time, but Dorothy/Joyce are absolute unquestionably endgame OTPlatonic.

  38. poyo
    poyo
    November 1, 2023 at 11:26 am | #

    lol okay i had to go back and remind myself what dorothy’s nightmare was and uh. wow yea maybe talk to somebody OTHER than joyce about that lmao

  39. Pergola
    Pergola
    November 1, 2023 at 12:28 pm | #

    I once had a nightmare in which I was a member of the Allied Control Commission, charged with enforcing the terms of the Versailles Treaty on sullen and balky Germans.

    ( no more history before bedtime )

  40. C.T. Phipps
    C.T. Phipps
    November 1, 2023 at 12:59 pm | #

    Is Dorothy BLUSHING?

    (You keep our shipping heart skipping, Willis! Never change)

    • BorkBorkBork
      BorkBorkBork
      November 1, 2023 at 2:45 pm | #

      As Dorothy slips from a self-confirmed Kinsey 0 to a “Huh, I guess that horse really did mean something” Kinsey 1.

  41. Mturtle7
    Mturtle7
    November 1, 2023 at 1:42 pm | #

    Joyce is an absolute hot mess who has no idea what she’s doing, and I am SO HERE FOR her accidentally pratfalling into a way to finally get Dorothy to actually open up emotionally.

  42. Morleuca
    Morleuca
    November 1, 2023 at 6:27 pm | #

    I very very rarely dream, or at the very least I don’t ever remember dreaming, even as I’m waking up. I also don’t get as much rest from sleep as I should. There was one dream that would reoccur where I was trying to save someone who was trapped and being hunted. It started somewhere in 2nd grade and lasted up until I finally had to do something about being trans, some time in my 40s.

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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
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