It ends with Amber agreeing to be his beard in her place, but Joyce proves unwilling to give him up and somehow he finds himself with two girlfriends.
Conquest sees both the women fawning over him and comes on over for a piece of the pie.
Little did Dorothy realize that she accidentally left her camera on and recorded the entire proceeding. When she hands in her story Daisy finds the accidental footage and decides it’s a worthy addition to the gossip column which Dorothy is immediately reassigned to much to her chagrin.
So word gets out about this polyamorous ladykiller and that’s when shit hits the fan. Women from all over campus throwing themselves at him. It’s a regular womanularity.
Joe doesn’t take kindly to no longer being the campus’s greatest womanizer and challenges Ethan to a sex-competition. Whoever nails the most women in a week wins. People are shouting and cheering and the cameras are recording and Ethan can’t even make himself heard over all the fuss. The machine has begun to move on its own.
He organizes a charade. Arranges for his friends to don various disguises and disappear into a room with him where he will pretend to elope. Again and again he meets his “dates” and heads off to jump on the bed and make poor immitations of what they imagine sex sounds like.
It’s day seven, he meets his date, heads into his room and thanks his friend for all they’ve done to help keep his identity a secret. A look of shock on her face. It is revealed that this is in fact Joyce in disguise. Amber had had enough and arranged for her to be the next date without his knowledge. What Amber did not anticipate is how shocking this would be to Joyce’s sheltered sensibilities. She panics and runs screaming Ethan’s sexuality through the halls all the way back to her own room. The secret is out, but now it’s a school wide scandal that makes the papers. People who have never even met Ethan now know him as that gay guy.
Ethan is ostracized. He’s bullied. All his friends have withdrawn from his presence. A lot of sulking. He goes to consult all the sources of wisdom in his life. Sad music is playing as he walks around at nighttime. He turns to the drink and passes out. Has a dream where he meets himself as a child. His child-self is crying. He asks his child-self what’s the matter and his child-self tells him about his favorite superhero had been revealed to be evil. He’d trusted the superhero. Looked up to him but it had all turned out to be false pretense.
Ethan wakes up and he remembers what it felt like. He makes his resolution and runs off.
Joyce comes to school and finds this huge campaign being run. There are posters up all over the school and desks set and long lineups. Ethan had called in every favor. Even hooked in friends who were no longer speaking to him. He’d gathered all Joyce’s questinaires and pulled from memory everything Joyce ever told him and began the hunt for Joyce’s Prince Charming. With so much manpower covering so many people even ridiculous standards prove achievable as they bring to Joyce twelve candidate husbands who are very interested in Joyce after Ethan personally told them how cool a person she is. They hire a carriage and send Joyce off to live out a real life fairy tale. All is forgiven, Ethan’s friends see that he’s learned his lesson, they walk off into the sunset laughing about everything that’s happened and the credits roll.
That’s all weel and good, but I’m petty sure Willis would end it with Mike punching someone in the junk.
That’d actually look pretty good in the sunset silhouette.
That’s all well and good, but I’m petty sure Willis would end it with Mike punching someone in the junk.
That’d actually look pretty good in the sunset silhouette.
I’m preparing to be irritated with Ethan in Shortpacked!, too, because I’m not sure how the storyline is sustainable if Ethan isn’t about to do something really stupid.
You mean for finishing out the week or in a longer term? Cause I can see the next couple of days just being him going over the incident after the fact with one of the other cast members.
It’s safe to say that he knows Amber well enough that he would pick up on her crimefighting activities. Hell, maybe she’s done that sort of thing before.
Well she first started Amazi-girling in Willis’s other webcomic, Short packed. I don’t really know how that relates chronologically to this comic though
“The term is sometimes used as a synonym for incongruous and applied to ‘every trivial oddity’ in situations where there is no double audience.”
Basically I read “every trivial oddity,” as “Oddly enough…” and since those would be acceptable (even if somewhat derivative) synonyms then hes not using the word wrong, because “Ironically” and “Oddly enough” are interchangeble in his sentence.
Ironically, the grammar nazi turned out to be wrong.
Even more ironic, is the fact that a grammar nazi was out grammar nazied by a non grammar nazi.
Even more still, you’re not correcting his grammar, you were just correcting his definitions, but because of the way the word has evolved and “definition nazi” doesn’t have the same ring.
Oddily enough, that whole evolution of words thing is how this comment started…
Man I shoud really go a day on energy drinks and an empty stomach more often!
Yes, I know. I just didn’t find “something being a thing” being a thing odd or incongruous. It’s fitting, but not unexpected.
This, however, I do find ironic: I’m usually not a grammar nazi (or a “definition nazi” or a “spelling nazi”), but I saw an opportunity for a bit of word play and couldn’t let it pass. So what we really had here is a non-grammar nazi out grammar nazi-ing a non-grammar nazi.
Ironically, that STILL isn’t irony, not even with this alternate definition you use.
It would ONLY fit that definition if the memetic phrase “____ is a thing” would be reasonably expected to not be memetic. Since the statement refers to memetic trends itself, it seems far more fitting than it does incongruous for the statement itself to be trending. A much better word to use would be “coincidentally,” or even “incidentally,” as the following statement was relevant to a term used in the discussion and not the discussion itself.
Just because people use the word ironic to refer to any little coincidence does not in any way mean that they are using it correctly. The definition you provided only applies to “oddities,” or things that are different from (but not necessarily contrary to or in reversal of) expectations.
Some people bug Ethan about being gay. Amber beats the shit out of them. Ethan points out that that’s sort of illegal. Amber goes off, puts on a costume, then comes back and beats them up again, claiming inpenetrable anonymity. Ethan rolls his eyes, but accepts her logic. His parents wake up later and don’t remember a thing due to massive head trauma.
This new crimefighter gains a reputation citywide for pounding the crap out of anti-gay bigots, rednecks, priests, those types. A local non-Ethan stereotypical gay declares that the mysterious hero is “Just amazing. I mean, faulous!” “Fabu-Girl is briefly considered for a superhero name but rejected. The end.
When Danny first met her she started to write an operating system when it became clear the class was useless (unfortunately the remainder of class was not quite enough time to complete this, so Linux lives unrivaled another day).
If she seriously even knows where and how to start writing an OS, she is seriously good, and knows C, C++ or a similar language.
Hey, I caught it early today. CRAP nothing interesting to say. uh…. random self-awareness joke? (No that’s weak dammit.) Oh, uh, Bad Ethan. Trying to…(no, that’s been done to death in the last two.) Um. Baby Goose?
Must be ironic being pro gay rights in Indiana, now more than ever. I just saw their supreme court extend school vouchers for religious private schools.
Vouchers are Indiana’s way of funneling tax dollars directly to religious private schools, thereby sidestepping the separation of church and state.
The idea is that the state is allowed to close struggling public schools (rather than give them more funding) as long as they provide families with ~vouchers~ they can use to pay for the private school of their choice. Never mind that private schools are not overseen by the government and are not held to any kind of curriculum standards (a similar problem: charter schools), or that for many intercity kids they will now have to commute an hour or more each day to attend these schools.
…Basically, it’s how a school that teaches evolution as a myth and requires Bible reading as a textbook can secure YOUR tax dollars, to which they would not otherwise be entitled.
Oh, and in case you weren’t grossed out yet, an Islamic school tried to apply to this voucher program and was harassed out of existence by the same people who were heartily defending THEIR religion’s right to be in a taxpayer-funded classroom.
For a comic about Joyce, I keep wanting it to be about Amber. She’s got a lot of interesting stuff happening in her arc that I’m just aching to see fleshed out.
Of course the comic’s about Mike. Willis just can’t state it directly since Mike’s behind the scenes maneuvering hasn’t come to the forefront yet. All this drama stuff? Setup for Mike.
“Dumbing of Age is a webcomic about college freshmen in a co-ed dorm at Indiana University, starring a Christian homeschooled girl and her atheist best friend.
Also, the tab icon on my browser is her face, so that’s a tip too.
I also have had the nagging feeling that this comic was supposed to be about Joyce. Probably because it started out with her arriving with her family and best friend, and possibly also because it seems to me that her story will be the more transformative.
c++ is more of a oop capable language. Its not like java where you’re forced to use objects and only objects. So starting c++ and treating it like non-oop language works pretty well. Basic is bleh.
You know, I wish I had friends like this. It’s been something I’ve wanted for a long time. I’m not gay, but I am in university and still have a lot problems I haven’t sort out about myself, and I don’t have someone I can lean on like Amber, mostly because of circumstances brought on by stupid kids in elementary school meant I didn’t form strong friendships like this. I have so many things I wish I could talk about with someone, things I don’t think I want discussed with my family, but someone i can trust with some distance that isn’t a councellor. So when I see Ethan’s and Amber’s relationship, and the things they are talking about, it just reminds me of something I feel I am missing, and makes me want it so much more, especially the whole friend that would never forget to to kick me in the ass for the stupid things I do.
So basically thanks for making me cry Willis. I love the relationship these two have.
Dude, this is going to be cliche and sappy and corny, but it’s the truth, so don’t tune it out.
You’re not alone. This place here isn’t just a comment section. It’s a community. Like any community there are jerks and nutjobs, but the majority of the people here are fundamentally good people. And I know it’s weird thinking of it like this, given you only ever see us on a screen, but the people here stick together, and that includes you.
I don’t know if you’d be comfortable with it, but if you want, I can pass my e-mail along to you. If you ever need someone to talk to about anything, I’m more than willing to listen. If not, just know you’re in my prayers, if that means anything to you.
The traditional term for the set of katana and wakazashi is daisho. Carrying the daisho is to claim samurai status with both the perks and duties of that rank.
However, I doubt you can change your username now, and probably don’t want to either.
As for the phallus joke, could be worse, Chronos could have compared it to a tanto, which is a dagger!
Indeed. Though to be fair, I don’t carry the daisho. I simply display it in my house, completely not sensing the irony in that I am not Japanese and, in fact, not even of Asian descent. I’m just kind of a weapon nut and they’re my favorite swords because freaking look at them!
You’re preaching to the converted. While I don’t have a daisho, I did take some kendo in college. If I purchased a daisho it would have to be functional, not decorative since I might want to restart kendo. Having sampled fencing as well, I’d say kendo is the more interesting style.
Also, as a boardgamer, I like feudal Japan-themed games like L5R, Ninjato, and the often renamed Shogun/Samurai Swords/Ikusa.
I know a little kendo myself. And the swords are functional. Like, I tested them out when I got them and they can cut. I didn’t try them on anything particlarly solid, because japanese swords can be a little fragile, but they cut foam and very large weeds pretty well.
Actually, I wasn’t making a phallus joke at all. It hadn’t even occurred to me at the time. I was just trying to be goofy, trying to use a lesser-known weapon in the katana’s place.
But now that you mention it…
“He calls it a katana. In reality, it’s a zweihander. It’s long, wavy, and requires two hands to use.”
If I were you I’d take someguywithakatana’s offer. (Maybe you already have?)
I’d offer the same thing (except the prayer thing, I’m not religious), but it might be better to start small. Talking to one stranger on the internet can be scary enough.
Four years ago, I didn’t really have friends like that either. My circle of friends consisted mostly of boys with pretty bad social skills, including me. But then, I told one of my friends about a crush I had, and then she told me a whole lot of stuff, and I told some other things that I’d told no-one before. From then on, I’ve considered her to be my best friend. Now we live in different cities, going to different colleges, but I still keep her updated with my crushes, fears and doubts. What’s more, because of her I learned to connect to people, and right now I’ve got an amazing support network. A short while back, I had the chance to find out just how great that is to have, when I fainted in front of my roomie. I was fine (just a bit sloppy with nutrition, not that uncommon for students), but how everone responded has convinced me that if I weren’t, they might have saved my life.
What was I saying? Oh, yeah: if you ever want to have someone listen to something you need to get off your chest, you can have my axe email address as well.
Also, a practical tip: if you want someone in real life, face to face and so on, it helps to have a “social hobby”: team sports, drama classes, Dungeons and Dragons, bridge clubs, … Try seeing your hobby buddies outside of the hobby, that tends to work. You could also try to do this with people taking the same classes as you.
If you already have friends you’re comfortable with, but you just aren’t sharing, you can always try getting drunk and talking about your crush.
Thanks for your kind words, but to be frank, I have only recently started to comment here, so for me, it would just be awkward to contact you people, right now. I mean, and please don’t take this the wrong way, I don’t even know you. Well, okay, maybe those are the wrong words to use. What I mean is, I think I feel I need to acclimate myself to this community more first. Heck, with most of my post so far, I’ve been trying to post something funny, and I haven’t really contributed to any conversations. And the only times I check back at the comments is to see what other people said about my posts. I don’t think I have posted anything as personal as that here yet, and perhaps I only posted what I did last night because I was caught up in some general despair, and a tiny bit of loose thinking. But it makes me happy to know someone who doesn’t know me would be willing to reach a helping hand. For now, I think perhaps what would be best would be to start participating more here. So again, thank you, to all of you, for making feel a bit better.
Me be sad by story in comic, read for year(s)
Me be sadder by story in the comments I’ve silently read
Me make account after all this time just to reply
Me give you rose to show “take a chance, talk to that person a little longer”.
Me be happy knowing you take chances and got a few awesome friends
Me =)
To the first part: that’s okay, obviously. To the second part (starting from “But it makes me happy…”): that’s great!
Also: whatever way you want to approach getting to where you want to be in life is good, as long as you’re being true to yourself and not doing bad things like hurting others. And I know that sounds a bit corny, but it’s true. And I know that it has to be true, even if I don’t always believe it for myself.
Have you tried making a similar statement to people you know in your social circle? You might be surprised by the support you get, as you are probably not alone with those feelings. I suspect most of your classmates feel the same way, and are just as afraid to reach out as you are.
I was starting to have some sympathy for Ethan yesterday, but today? All gone. His expression in that last panel looks like he almost got away with keeping her too distracted to be mad – which would make yesterday’s strip a little less about his conflict and a little more about him trying to guilt someone who has given him a ton of support into feeling too guilty to call him on his BS.
It was one thing to be confused about his feelings and hurt Amber unintentionally, but using Joyce with douchebaggery aforethought is a whole ‘nother kettle of dinosaur feathers.
True, but I get the impression Ethan’s doing it out of a desperate fear to avoid conflict more than anything else. It makes him spineless, and it doesn’t prevent him from being manipulative. In my mind though, it salvages a little shred of respectability.
Well so then Amber and Ethan are now squared away again…for a minute anyway. Joyce is still waiting. Danny and Walky are bristling at each other. Dina is….there.
It’s Wednesday.
“Excuse me, but seeing as how you have discussed this in plain sight of me, is this something you wish me to convey to the rest of the group?”
—
“Please clarify- when you said ‘No’, did you mean that I shouldn’t tell anyone, or were you merely hoping to offer yourself plausible deniability and assuming that I will tell the others regardless?”
—
“Amber why would I… Oh, Ethan, Amber and I must use the bathrooom now.”
MAN I love it when characters can actually TALK instead of suffocating under a bunch of sitcom conventions. It can’t be easy for Ethan to hear how he’s hurt Amber but there are times when these things need to be said.
Did Ethan actually forget and is now making a corny joke? Or did he genuinely hope she’d be distracted by his explanation?
The thing that confuses me slightly is the way they’re talking about this in a past sense-sense. “I needed a break from that” rather than “I need a break from that”. And since Amber had invited him out to lunch a while ago, does this mean she’s fine with hanging out with him again? (Or was, until she came across Ethan’s jerk-scheme?)
That’s true — although that may just make her want to hang out with him less, or at least wear down on their relationship. Lot of difference between “hanging out as friends” and “hanging out because you need help coping” — especially as the latter is what made her want to get space in the first place.
I think he made his argument sincerely, and listened to her sincerely, and made up sincerely, and then – whoops, I really wish you hadn’t brought up how I’m being a dick, ’cause that’s going to be hard to justify.
Ethan was doing well with a right jab, but then he went for the rope-a-dope and ended up getting blasted in the gut instead. That’s what you get for fighting amazi-girl, verbally or physically!
I’m taking bets.
So nobody pointed out yet that Amber says they “WOULD’ve” been married? As in, by this point in time she expected they would’ve been married?
I never realized just how serious Amber and Ethan were before. That’s just… wow.
I don’t think “would’ve” implies that they would have been married by now chronologically, just that it was an inevitability. But, yeah, they were/are super close.
Regardless, that still ups the holy crap factor. I always figured that they were just two friends that went to prom together because they didn’t have anybody else to go with. That and they were getting tired of the whole virginity thing.
Damn.
Since the whole Ethan relationship trainwreck and the Joyce relationship trainwreck things are kind of old hat by now, this sequence will probably be remembered for revealing that Ethan has Amazigirl figured out.
But yeah, he can do the don’t-ask-don’t-tell thing without stringing Joyce along. Though, Joyce being Joyce, she’s fully capable of stringing herself along even when the guy actually is making an effort to get rid of her, so who knows.
Jonathan Joss being shot outside his home while protecting his husband after being sent a threatening and distressing package is WHY we need Pride
It's 2025 and people are still being shot and killed for being queer
This is why we march and why we fight
the thing about white liberal Americans is that they'll argue to accept bigots into their tent before accepting the bigots' targets.
the targets that have been on the same side as white liberals from the jump.
John Redcorn was pretty much the only contemporary Native representation I had in comedy growing up. Probably the funniest Native character in cartoon history and a lot of that was on Jonathan Joss' pitch perfect rezzy uncle performance. RIP to one of the best to ever do it.
today in #9chickweedlane i learned that, yes, lolly is so edda 2.0 that she's even wearing her mother's wedding dress as she gets married to Her Dad (But Taller)
online transformers collectors: i hope ss86 megatron doesn't have big ol' treads on his back!!!
ss86 megatron: *treads fold up inside the legs*
online transformers collectors: HIS LEGS ARE TOO CHUNKY >>>:((((
the big disconnect that happens here is between the correct message for D politicians (especially in red states), which is “you’re right, this isn’t who you are, you’re better than that, vote differently next time”
and the actual truth, which is yes you did, fuck you
Raw milk has the opportunity to do the funniest thing
Ferric Fang@fangferric.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
RFK Jr celebrated the release of the MAHA report by downing raw milk shooters in the White House with influencer Paul Saladino. Hazards of raw milk include Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Yersinia, E. coli O157:H7, and now-- avian flu.
ETPC @etpc.bsky.social ⋅ 10h
Kendra, regular version @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Kevin Buist @kevinbuist.com ⋅ 2d
Ferric Fang @fangferric.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
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(Digi Desktop Vtuber)
⚧️
“OH HEY AMBER WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE DOOR”
And now the rest of dumbing of age becomes loops! Loops of sadness!
That sounds like a breakfast cereal for Goths. “Loops of Sadness. With 100% of the RDA of Angst!”
This needs to happen!
Turns your milk black like your soul, and salty like your tears!
Where do I ship your internet?
Glad you folks liked it!
@Kelloggs Loops of Sadness: Thumbs up for your quote!
…ick.
Really? Because that used to happen to my milk back when I ate regular fruit loops…
Froot Loops of Sadness!
Free My Chemical Romance pin in every package!
that comment is so much of Awesome =)
*takes bow, steals bowtie*
Too far Ethan! Too far! Reverse! Reverse!
Reversing a loop doesn’t make it stop being a loop.
No, it just turns it into a pretzel.
Fiiiiinaaaallly. Ethan can’t talk his way out of this one…. right?
There’s no way this conversation ends with Ethan continuing to date Joyce.
….right?….
Oh, God, I hope not.
*eats some popcorn, stares blankly for a moment, shrugs, continues to eat popcorn*
If Joyce does find out about Ethan’s gay status, I wonder if she will react by trying to ‘save him’.
I’m worried Ethan would be tempted to try that.
She’ll probably flip shit on Amber.
And it triggers the kind of relationship she had with Danny waaaay back in the beginning?
Well, to “fix” gay, all you have to do is ignore the gay feelings and act heterosexually, right? So isn’t Ethan already doing it exactly right?
It ends with Amber agreeing to be his beard in her place, but Joyce proves unwilling to give him up and somehow he finds himself with two girlfriends.
Conquest sees both the women fawning over him and comes on over for a piece of the pie.
Little did Dorothy realize that she accidentally left her camera on and recorded the entire proceeding. When she hands in her story Daisy finds the accidental footage and decides it’s a worthy addition to the gossip column which Dorothy is immediately reassigned to much to her chagrin.
So word gets out about this polyamorous ladykiller and that’s when shit hits the fan. Women from all over campus throwing themselves at him. It’s a regular womanularity.
Joe doesn’t take kindly to no longer being the campus’s greatest womanizer and challenges Ethan to a sex-competition. Whoever nails the most women in a week wins. People are shouting and cheering and the cameras are recording and Ethan can’t even make himself heard over all the fuss. The machine has begun to move on its own.
He organizes a charade. Arranges for his friends to don various disguises and disappear into a room with him where he will pretend to elope. Again and again he meets his “dates” and heads off to jump on the bed and make poor immitations of what they imagine sex sounds like.
It’s day seven, he meets his date, heads into his room and thanks his friend for all they’ve done to help keep his identity a secret. A look of shock on her face. It is revealed that this is in fact Joyce in disguise. Amber had had enough and arranged for her to be the next date without his knowledge. What Amber did not anticipate is how shocking this would be to Joyce’s sheltered sensibilities. She panics and runs screaming Ethan’s sexuality through the halls all the way back to her own room. The secret is out, but now it’s a school wide scandal that makes the papers. People who have never even met Ethan now know him as that gay guy.
Ethan is ostracized. He’s bullied. All his friends have withdrawn from his presence. A lot of sulking. He goes to consult all the sources of wisdom in his life. Sad music is playing as he walks around at nighttime. He turns to the drink and passes out. Has a dream where he meets himself as a child. His child-self is crying. He asks his child-self what’s the matter and his child-self tells him about his favorite superhero had been revealed to be evil. He’d trusted the superhero. Looked up to him but it had all turned out to be false pretense.
Ethan wakes up and he remembers what it felt like. He makes his resolution and runs off.
Joyce comes to school and finds this huge campaign being run. There are posters up all over the school and desks set and long lineups. Ethan had called in every favor. Even hooked in friends who were no longer speaking to him. He’d gathered all Joyce’s questinaires and pulled from memory everything Joyce ever told him and began the hunt for Joyce’s Prince Charming. With so much manpower covering so many people even ridiculous standards prove achievable as they bring to Joyce twelve candidate husbands who are very interested in Joyce after Ethan personally told them how cool a person she is. They hire a carriage and send Joyce off to live out a real life fairy tale. All is forgiven, Ethan’s friends see that he’s learned his lesson, they walk off into the sunset laughing about everything that’s happened and the credits roll.
Well fuck, there goes Willis’ entire comic buffer. =/
buffer? dude, there goes the entirety of both ethan’s and joyce’s character arcs!
*cries and claps* That was beautiful, man. I may need to draw something from this. It’s just too good.
That’s all weel and good, but I’m petty sure Willis would end it with Mike punching someone in the junk.
That’d actually look pretty good in the sunset silhouette.
That’s all well and good, but I’m petty sure Willis would end it with Mike punching someone in the junk.
That’d actually look pretty good in the sunset silhouette.
And just like that two future storylines for Dumbing of Age were either spoiled or worsen then a comment.
Bravo good sir, Bravo. I officially respect your literary prowess, and that means a lot from me.
Fuck that. You almost had it. But you needed a proper ending.
That ending is… Rocks Fall, everybody dies.
You’re welcome.
This does not end with Jorothy shipping, so I am uninterested.
Joyce or Joe?
Yes?
In a much earlier DoA comic, Joe did express interest in adding Dotty to his ‘To Do’ list.
Usually, plots based on wacky misunderstandings really frustrate me, but I found this hilarious.
I tip my hat to you, good sir!
My first thought on reading panel 4 was “well if nothing else THAT realization should show him how much of a dick he’s being” so I guess we’ll see.
It’s kind of funny feeling so irritated with Ethan in this comic and so irritated with the dude he’s mad at in Shortpacked.
I’m preparing to be irritated with Ethan in Shortpacked!, too, because I’m not sure how the storyline is sustainable if Ethan isn’t about to do something really stupid.
You mean for finishing out the week or in a longer term? Cause I can see the next couple of days just being him going over the incident after the fact with one of the other cast members.
waiiit…Does Ethan know she’s Amazi-girl? Is he the one person on campus who isn’t blind?
It’s safe to say that he knows Amber well enough that he would pick up on her crimefighting activities. Hell, maybe she’s done that sort of thing before.
Well she first started Amazi-girling in Willis’s other webcomic, Short packed. I don’t really know how that relates chronologically to this comic though
It doesn’t. Different universe. Different Amber. Different Ethan. Different Setting. Different everything.
“Different universe. Different Amber. Different Ethan. Different Setting. Different everything.”
But same great taste!
Now under 10 calories!
Available now at any good food store!
Right next to your Mom, still selling for a nickel.
That was so funny I laughed my femurs off.
Not true! There’s still the one universal constant – Ethan is that obsessive robot collector geek guy.
Maybe, but that doesn’t make it any less sweet.
I believe he does, he may have been outed but she’s still in the closet when it comes to being a superhero.
Closet might not be the right term though, ‘In the Phonebooth’ perhaps?
‘In the Phonebooth’ should totally be the accepted euphemism.
Oh yes, “in the phonebooth” is so a thing now.
Ironically, something being a ‘thing’ is also a thing.
Ironically, that’s not irony.
Actually.
“The term is sometimes used as a synonym for incongruous and applied to ‘every trivial oddity’ in situations where there is no double audience.”
Basically I read “every trivial oddity,” as “Oddly enough…” and since those would be acceptable (even if somewhat derivative) synonyms then hes not using the word wrong, because “Ironically” and “Oddly enough” are interchangeble in his sentence.
Ironically, the grammar nazi turned out to be wrong.
Even more ironic, is the fact that a grammar nazi was out grammar nazied by a non grammar nazi.
Even more still, you’re not correcting his grammar, you were just correcting his definitions, but because of the way the word has evolved and “definition nazi” doesn’t have the same ring.
Oddily enough, that whole evolution of words thing is how this comment started…
Man I shoud really go a day on energy drinks and an empty stomach more often!
~CHEERS because now I’m British.
Yes, I know. I just didn’t find “something being a thing” being a thing odd or incongruous. It’s fitting, but not unexpected.
This, however, I do find ironic: I’m usually not a grammar nazi (or a “definition nazi” or a “spelling nazi”), but I saw an opportunity for a bit of word play and couldn’t let it pass. So what we really had here is a non-grammar nazi out grammar nazi-ing a non-grammar nazi.
Ironically, that STILL isn’t irony, not even with this alternate definition you use.
It would ONLY fit that definition if the memetic phrase “____ is a thing” would be reasonably expected to not be memetic. Since the statement refers to memetic trends itself, it seems far more fitting than it does incongruous for the statement itself to be trending. A much better word to use would be “coincidentally,” or even “incidentally,” as the following statement was relevant to a term used in the discussion and not the discussion itself.
Just because people use the word ironic to refer to any little coincidence does not in any way mean that they are using it correctly. The definition you provided only applies to “oddities,” or things that are different from (but not necessarily contrary to or in reversal of) expectations.
It could be that Amazi-Girl was around when they were in high school at some point and he found out back then.
Back in high school, Ethan was Amber’s butler.
Amazi-Girl’s butler came out of the closet when they were about to have sex in a hotel room.
This is an origin story I have to see!
Now I’m curious about amazigirl’s origin story.
Some people bug Ethan about being gay. Amber beats the shit out of them. Ethan points out that that’s sort of illegal. Amber goes off, puts on a costume, then comes back and beats them up again, claiming inpenetrable anonymity. Ethan rolls his eyes, but accepts her logic. His parents wake up later and don’t remember a thing due to massive head trauma.
This new crimefighter gains a reputation citywide for pounding the crap out of anti-gay bigots, rednecks, priests, those types. A local non-Ethan stereotypical gay declares that the mysterious hero is “Just amazing. I mean, faulous!” “Fabu-Girl is briefly considered for a superhero name but rejected. The end.
This makes me smile.
Welcome to Asteroids: Relationships Edition, Ethan. No matter where you go, you’ll always come back to being in the line of fire!
I haven’t played Asteroids since I last owned a Atari 2600 about 30 years ago.
I have an old PC CD for it…I should play it sometime.
You can play it here.
http://www.onemotion.com/flash/asteroids-game/
That’s a terrible version of asteroids. Please this one instead: http://www.play.vg/games/4-Asteroids.html
Jeez, I just referenced a game older than me then. I dunno what that makes me. O_O
It’s Asteroids.
This makes you awesome!
I clocked the A2600 Asteroids after a few hours and then never bothered with the game again.
Distract her by talking about C++? Very classy…
[referencing Hover over text]
What you did there. I C it.
I missed her being interested in Programming.
When Danny first met her she started to write an operating system when it became clear the class was useless (unfortunately the remainder of class was not quite enough time to complete this, so Linux lives unrivaled another day).
If she seriously even knows where and how to start writing an OS, she is seriously good, and knows C, C++ or a similar language.
Then she knows one or two assemblies too.
<using hover_text$gt;
please delete this and the above
Good luck with that – around here, shame is permanent.
What happens on the ‘net, stays on the ‘net.
As in: Forever!
<using hover_text>
So, he does indeed know about her alter ego.
And I don’t know exactly why, but I’m having a hard time having much sympathy for Amber in this situation.
Funny, I’m having a hard time having sympathy for Ethan. Mostly due to -ooh, C++? Yeah, it still is so still relevant!
And that’s what’s called “closing your loop.”
That’s how they call it these days?
Damn, he was so close to escaping on an emotional bypass
Ooo, Ethan knows. I wonder if Mike does.
And it’s about time Amber got around to the actual problem with Ethan’s behaviour here.
Certainly Mike knows. Amber’s nickname for him is “Pieface.”
Hey, I caught it early today. CRAP nothing interesting to say. uh…. random self-awareness joke? (No that’s weak dammit.) Oh, uh, Bad Ethan. Trying to…(no, that’s been done to death in the last two.) Um. Baby Goose?
“Lets do the time warp again”
“just a jump to the left”
“AND A STEP TO THE RIGHT……”
Put your hands on your hips
“But it’s the pelvic thrust.”
*Aaaand bend your knees in ti-i-ime
You missed a line.
Must be ironic being pro gay rights in Indiana, now more than ever. I just saw their supreme court extend school vouchers for religious private schools.
What does that mean?
Just someone bashing Republicans. Sure, they’re an easy target, but this isn’t the place for that.
No, besides that. I literally have no idea what he means about “school vouchers.”
Vouchers are Indiana’s way of funneling tax dollars directly to religious private schools, thereby sidestepping the separation of church and state.
The idea is that the state is allowed to close struggling public schools (rather than give them more funding) as long as they provide families with ~vouchers~ they can use to pay for the private school of their choice. Never mind that private schools are not overseen by the government and are not held to any kind of curriculum standards (a similar problem: charter schools), or that for many intercity kids they will now have to commute an hour or more each day to attend these schools.
…Basically, it’s how a school that teaches evolution as a myth and requires Bible reading as a textbook can secure YOUR tax dollars, to which they would not otherwise be entitled.
Oh, and in case you weren’t grossed out yet, an Islamic school tried to apply to this voucher program and was harassed out of existence by the same people who were heartily defending THEIR religion’s right to be in a taxpayer-funded classroom.
Huh? Not quite seeing any connection there, much less any irony.
Religion and homosexuality historically have some friction to speak of. Also right wingers.
For a comic about Joyce, I keep wanting it to be about Amber. She’s got a lot of interesting stuff happening in her arc that I’m just aching to see fleshed out.
I thought the comic was about everyone. Doncha know the actual main character is Mike? It’s always been Mike.
Of course the comic’s about Mike. Willis just can’t state it directly since Mike’s behind the scenes maneuvering hasn’t come to the forefront yet. All this drama stuff? Setup for Mike.
Setup for Mike?
Or set up by Mike?
Wait a minute. Mike? I thought the comic was about Mary?
Neither actually, the comic is all about Galasso
This is a comic about Joyce?
I always thought this comic was supposed to be the answer to the question posed in the final “Joyce & Walky”
I like to imagine this is Joyce and Walky’s fan fiction.
I think it’s more like the final J&W is the question to the answer posed by DoA.
I thought this was a comic about Billie’s life being hell.
From the About page:
“Dumbing of Age is a webcomic about college freshmen in a co-ed dorm at Indiana University, starring a Christian homeschooled girl and her atheist best friend.
Also, the tab icon on my browser is her face, so that’s a tip too.
I also have had the nagging feeling that this comic was supposed to be about Joyce. Probably because it started out with her arriving with her family and best friend, and possibly also because it seems to me that her story will be the more transformative.
Joycebot transform!
“Can we go back to win I was winning?”
Don’t you mean when I was whenning?
… whine he was whining.
Don’t get me started on C++…
Yeah, start with BASIC, then move on to object oriented languages.
c++ is more of a oop capable language. Its not like java where you’re forced to use objects and only objects. So starting c++ and treating it like non-oop language works pretty well. Basic is bleh.
(Rimshot)
You misspelled “distracted” there…..
Wow, the first three panels were just a gut punch. I thought I was immune to feels from this comic, but it hurts, it really does.
Nice try, Ethan, but you won’t deflect Amber that easily!
Unless you have Amazinite. Amazi-girl’s only weakness.
yes with the power of amazinite Amazi-girl will finally feel the true smoldering burn of our criticism
You know, I wish I had friends like this. It’s been something I’ve wanted for a long time. I’m not gay, but I am in university and still have a lot problems I haven’t sort out about myself, and I don’t have someone I can lean on like Amber, mostly because of circumstances brought on by stupid kids in elementary school meant I didn’t form strong friendships like this. I have so many things I wish I could talk about with someone, things I don’t think I want discussed with my family, but someone i can trust with some distance that isn’t a councellor. So when I see Ethan’s and Amber’s relationship, and the things they are talking about, it just reminds me of something I feel I am missing, and makes me want it so much more, especially the whole friend that would never forget to to kick me in the ass for the stupid things I do.
So basically thanks for making me cry Willis. I love the relationship these two have.
Dude, this is going to be cliche and sappy and corny, but it’s the truth, so don’t tune it out.
You’re not alone. This place here isn’t just a comment section. It’s a community. Like any community there are jerks and nutjobs, but the majority of the people here are fundamentally good people. And I know it’s weird thinking of it like this, given you only ever see us on a screen, but the people here stick together, and that includes you.
I don’t know if you’d be comfortable with it, but if you want, I can pass my e-mail along to you. If you ever need someone to talk to about anything, I’m more than willing to listen. If not, just know you’re in my prayers, if that means anything to you.
don’t worry. he will not use the katana on you unless you politely request it.
He calls it a katana. In reality, it’s just a Wakizashi.
I actually have one of each. But someguywithakatanaandawakizashi is a bit long. And specific to a point that sounds insidious.
Oh wait! It’s a phallus joke! I get it! You’re implying my penis is small! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
The traditional term for the set of katana and wakazashi is daisho. Carrying the daisho is to claim samurai status with both the perks and duties of that rank.
However, I doubt you can change your username now, and probably don’t want to either.
As for the phallus joke, could be worse, Chronos could have compared it to a tanto, which is a dagger!
That and it is straight, whereas both swords of a daisho have curved blades.
Indeed. Though to be fair, I don’t carry the daisho. I simply display it in my house, completely not sensing the irony in that I am not Japanese and, in fact, not even of Asian descent. I’m just kind of a weapon nut and they’re my favorite swords because freaking look at them!
You’re preaching to the converted. While I don’t have a daisho, I did take some kendo in college. If I purchased a daisho it would have to be functional, not decorative since I might want to restart kendo. Having sampled fencing as well, I’d say kendo is the more interesting style.
Also, as a boardgamer, I like feudal Japan-themed games like L5R, Ninjato, and the often renamed Shogun/Samurai Swords/Ikusa.
I know a little kendo myself. And the swords are functional. Like, I tested them out when I got them and they can cut. I didn’t try them on anything particlarly solid, because japanese swords can be a little fragile, but they cut foam and very large weeds pretty well.
Actually, I wasn’t making a phallus joke at all. It hadn’t even occurred to me at the time. I was just trying to be goofy, trying to use a lesser-known weapon in the katana’s place.
But now that you mention it…
“He calls it a katana. In reality, it’s a zweihander. It’s long, wavy, and requires two hands to use.”
“Wavy”?
We’re talking Flamberger here, not ordinary Zweihänder, aren’t we?
… yes, that is what I meant. Not being a weapon nut myself, I only went by friends’ description of the blade.
Eh, it’s a variation of the Zweihander. And probably the most famous. So you weren’t exactly wrong, only imprecise.
It’s also a Swiss invention as far as we know. So maybe a tiny bit of patriotic pride playing into this for me.
If I were you I’d take someguywithakatana’s offer. (Maybe you already have?)
I’d offer the same thing (except the prayer thing, I’m not religious), but it might be better to start small. Talking to one stranger on the internet can be scary enough.
Four years ago, I didn’t really have friends like that either. My circle of friends consisted mostly of boys with pretty bad social skills, including me. But then, I told one of my friends about a crush I had, and then she told me a whole lot of stuff, and I told some other things that I’d told no-one before. From then on, I’ve considered her to be my best friend. Now we live in different cities, going to different colleges, but I still keep her updated with my crushes, fears and doubts. What’s more, because of her I learned to connect to people, and right now I’ve got an amazing support network. A short while back, I had the chance to find out just how great that is to have, when I fainted in front of my roomie. I was fine (just a bit sloppy with nutrition, not that uncommon for students), but how everone responded has convinced me that if I weren’t, they might have saved my life.
What was I saying? Oh, yeah: if you ever want to have someone listen to something you need to get off your chest, you can have my
axeemail address as well.Also, a practical tip: if you want someone in real life, face to face and so on, it helps to have a “social hobby”: team sports, drama classes, Dungeons and Dragons, bridge clubs, … Try seeing your hobby buddies outside of the hobby, that tends to work. You could also try to do this with people taking the same classes as you.
If you already have friends you’re comfortable with, but you just aren’t sharing, you can always try getting drunk and talking about your crush.
Thanks for your kind words, but to be frank, I have only recently started to comment here, so for me, it would just be awkward to contact you people, right now. I mean, and please don’t take this the wrong way, I don’t even know you. Well, okay, maybe those are the wrong words to use. What I mean is, I think I feel I need to acclimate myself to this community more first. Heck, with most of my post so far, I’ve been trying to post something funny, and I haven’t really contributed to any conversations. And the only times I check back at the comments is to see what other people said about my posts. I don’t think I have posted anything as personal as that here yet, and perhaps I only posted what I did last night because I was caught up in some general despair, and a tiny bit of loose thinking. But it makes me happy to know someone who doesn’t know me would be willing to reach a helping hand. For now, I think perhaps what would be best would be to start participating more here. So again, thank you, to all of you, for making feel a bit better.
Me be sad by story in comic, read for year(s)
Me be sadder by story in the comments I’ve silently read
Me make account after all this time just to reply
Me give you rose to show “take a chance, talk to that person a little longer”.
Me be happy knowing you take chances and got a few awesome friends
Me =)
To the first part: that’s okay, obviously. To the second part (starting from “But it makes me happy…”): that’s great!
Also: whatever way you want to approach getting to where you want to be in life is good, as long as you’re being true to yourself and not doing bad things like hurting others. And I know that sounds a bit corny, but it’s true. And I know that it has to be true, even if I don’t always believe it for myself.
I wish you all the best man. We look forward to getting to know you.
Have you tried making a similar statement to people you know in your social circle? You might be surprised by the support you get, as you are probably not alone with those feelings. I suspect most of your classmates feel the same way, and are just as afraid to reach out as you are.
I was starting to have some sympathy for Ethan yesterday, but today? All gone. His expression in that last panel looks like he almost got away with keeping her too distracted to be mad – which would make yesterday’s strip a little less about his conflict and a little more about him trying to guilt someone who has given him a ton of support into feeling too guilty to call him on his BS.
It was one thing to be confused about his feelings and hurt Amber unintentionally, but using Joyce with douchebaggery aforethought is a whole ‘nother kettle of dinosaur feathers.
True, but I get the impression Ethan’s doing it out of a desperate fear to avoid conflict more than anything else. It makes him spineless, and it doesn’t prevent him from being manipulative. In my mind though, it salvages a little shred of respectability.
It looks likes Amber…
*Grabs sunglasses, drops them*
Hold on a sec…
*Reaches for sunglasses, accidently steps on them*
Shit….
*Panics*
Just Closed Ethan’s Loop….
Yeeah?
*cries*
(slow clap) Bravo, sir. That’s the first one of those I’ve actually laughed at in several months.
Wow my mind is in the gutter…in the first panel, I read Amber as having said, “And…I’m busty now!”
“I’ve got new things I gotta do. Like Danny.
Amber and Mike are gonna make a Danny sandwich.
the problem is what he ends up liking mike better
A Dandwich?
You say that like its a bad thing!
Mebbe the Amazi-Rack is a new development?
“The Amazi-Rack”
If this isn’t in common usage already, it damn well should be.
Comes complete with chest-window
For easy access!
And how – wait, we DO speak about Microsoft Access, right?
Nope, I was thinking about her Amazi-rack allowing her easy access to her equipment.
Well so then Amber and Ethan are now squared away again…for a minute anyway. Joyce is still waiting. Danny and Walky are bristling at each other. Dina is….there.
It’s Wednesday.
Actually, once the frame zooms out we will realize that Dina followed them outside. She mistakenly thought they were going to the ladies room.
“Yay, we’re bonding!”
“Excuse me, but seeing as how you have discussed this in plain sight of me, is this something you wish me to convey to the rest of the group?”
—
“Please clarify- when you said ‘No’, did you mean that I shouldn’t tell anyone, or were you merely hoping to offer yourself plausible deniability and assuming that I will tell the others regardless?”
—
“Amber why would I… Oh, Ethan, Amber and I must use the bathrooom now.”
Okay, Ethan’s fully back on my shit list.
He needs to do a lot to turn it around after this.
I was going to make a comment about the comic but…did anyone else notice the little smiley face on the bottom left corner of this page?
This is the code.. and its just a gif… I dont know why it is there.. but this is prove it is real.
img id=”wpstats” src=”http://stats.wordpress.com/g.gif?host=www.dumbingofage.com&rand=0.07375039323233068&blog=18336913&v=ext&post=3088&ref=http%3A//www.dumbingofage.com/” alt=””
No. Go back to bed. Shhhhh…
Holy shit.
quick shes on to you Ethan you the kryptonian memory wiping kiss
MAN I love it when characters can actually TALK instead of suffocating under a bunch of sitcom conventions. It can’t be easy for Ethan to hear how he’s hurt Amber but there are times when these things need to be said.
Aye there’s the rub
Joice has serious bad luck with guys.
Did Ethan actually forget and is now making a corny joke? Or did he genuinely hope she’d be distracted by his explanation?
The thing that confuses me slightly is the way they’re talking about this in a past sense-sense. “I needed a break from that” rather than “I need a break from that”. And since Amber had invited him out to lunch a while ago, does this mean she’s fine with hanging out with him again? (Or was, until she came across Ethan’s jerk-scheme?)
Even if she did still want some space she’s just seen what he’ll do without supervision.
That’s true — although that may just make her want to hang out with him less, or at least wear down on their relationship. Lot of difference between “hanging out as friends” and “hanging out because you need help coping” — especially as the latter is what made her want to get space in the first place.
I think he made his argument sincerely, and listened to her sincerely, and made up sincerely, and then – whoops, I really wish you hadn’t brought up how I’m being a dick, ’cause that’s going to be hard to justify.
Subject Change Twarted! Damn you Amber and your amazing power of Memory!
Amber used memory! Ethan is confused! Ethan hurt Joyce in his confusion!
epic
Joyce is unaffected due to her ability, unaware.
Ethan was doing well with a right jab, but then he went for the rope-a-dope and ended up getting blasted in the gut instead. That’s what you get for fighting amazi-girl, verbally or physically!
I’m taking bets.
So nobody pointed out yet that Amber says they “WOULD’ve” been married? As in, by this point in time she expected they would’ve been married?
I never realized just how serious Amber and Ethan were before. That’s just… wow.
I don’t think “would’ve” implies that they would have been married by now chronologically, just that it was an inevitability. But, yeah, they were/are super close.
That… ouch. Hell, man, that uncovers layers of hurt that weren’t indicated before.
Just… I need to sit down.
Regardless, that still ups the holy crap factor. I always figured that they were just two friends that went to prom together because they didn’t have anybody else to go with. That and they were getting tired of the whole virginity thing.
Damn.
Panels two and three gave me a Smallville flashback.
Since the whole Ethan relationship trainwreck and the Joyce relationship trainwreck things are kind of old hat by now, this sequence will probably be remembered for revealing that Ethan has Amazigirl figured out.
But yeah, he can do the don’t-ask-don’t-tell thing without stringing Joyce along. Though, Joyce being Joyce, she’s fully capable of stringing herself along even when the guy actually is making an effort to get rid of her, so who knows.
#include ‘ios stream’
#define Amber = 413
int main
{
Cout << "How do you like c++?";
return 0
}
Compile errors on lines 4, 6, and 7, I believe. Ouch.
So, is Joyce watching this exchange through the window, so we can see her misinterpret the hug, leap to the wrong conclusion, and the ensuing hijinks?
Wait, that is a different comic.
Her whole body is pressed against the glass with big crazy, jelous eyes!
I give this comic a C++.
Ya asshole, your doing same thing too joyce that you did to her
He knows we will have to dispose of him quietly