After the events in Demon's Mirror, Gerda has accepted her role as a Demon Hunter, and Cezar has traveled back to the Demon City. Demons have existed alongside humans for millennia, so things begin to return to normal. But an impossibly powerful Relic has been taken by one of the Demon Masters, and a silent war enters its final stages.
Darkling Bright
Chris Hazelton
Kieran Bright is a college student home for the summer and roped into an online reunion with his old neighborhood friends in the most recent update of their favorite childhood MMORPG.
At least, he was, and that was the idea...
Join Kieran and his friends as they are pulled into another reality that may or may not be real and are forced to confront their own identities, the nature of simulated universes and reality itself.
Sister Claire
Yamino
In the troubled aftermath of a great war between Witches and her fellow Nuns, novice Sister Claire just wants a purpose.
Lies Within
Lacey
Lysander's aimless and carefree life is turned upside down when he accidentally discovers that the cute boy next door, Simon, is a literal monster
Saint for Rent
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Saint Halliday runs an inn for Time Travelers. Unfortunately, he seems to attract other supernatural "guests," too.
Sleepless Domain
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In a world where magical girls and their battles are commonplace, loss has become all too common as well.
ARISE, YE SKELETON KING
Brian Clevinger, Escher Cattle, Lee Black
A troupe of wandering "adventurers" down to their last silver "acquire" a map only to find the real treasure was the fiend they dug up along the way.
Barbarous
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A crummy wizard and an anxious monster have to get over themselves and bring order to an apartment building full of misfits.
The Messenger
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In a ruin-abound town cursed with bad luck, Kai and Kalla--a young boy and a fledgling dragonbird spirit--take on a quest in hopes the reward will solve all of their problems.
Not Drunk Enough
Tess Stone
Logan Ibarra is possibly the unluckiest repairman in the world. A late night job should not have landed him in the middle of a mad scientist's squabble, but he soon finds himself surrounded by monsters and further madness with little tools to get out.
Blindsprings
Kadi Fedoruk
Tamaura, wrested into a world 300 years in the future, must find a way to save the magic fading from her country.
Novae
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A historical romance with a touch magic and a dash of astronomy. It chronicles the romantic adventures of Sulvain, a sweet tempered necromancer and Raziol, a passionate 17th century astronomer.
Ozzie the Vampire
Eric Lide
Ozzie and her best friend Kimmy are your average everyday normal art students – except one is an immortal vampire with superpowers and the other possesses a magic talking grimoire. Also they have to save their town from a demonic invasion.
Heroes of Thantopolis
Izzy Strontium Hall
A living boy fights to save the City of the Dead.
Freakshow
Scotty
A festival of broken people, blood flows in the center ring. Come one and come all, to the greatest show in all of Paris.
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
Augustine
Winter Jay Kiakas, Windy
August and her ragtag group are just like everyone else, simply surviving in the treacherous Crater... When they stumble into what may be an artifact of the ancient past, their lives are thrown into a much bigger loop as they trifle with bounty hunters, monsters and gods.
Namesake
Isa, Meg
There's ghosts at your heels and fairy tale worlds ahead. What do you do? Jump down the rabbit hole!
Sakana
Mad Rupert
Our heroes must navigate a hazardous dating scene, overcome personal anxieties, and wrangle unruly seafood in order to find love, peace of mind, and a paycheck.
The Weave
Rennie Kingsley
A young woman pursued by bad luck is witness to the murder of the Fairy Queen of Summer. Can she get to the bottom of this mystery?
Nigh Heaven & Hell
Scotty
Heather Vodihn is on a simple mission: find her father. However she becomes entangled with two strangers with mysterious powers being stalked by a group with bizarre demands. Heather must learn to trust her new traveling companions, even if she is untrustworthy herself.
Stand Still, Stay Silent
Minna Sundberg
A few generations after the end of the world, a small, poorly financed research crew is sent out to rediscover whatever is left of the forbidden old world in the south.
Empowered
Adam Warren
A sexy superhero comedy (except when it isn't) about the never-ending struggles of a plucky but very unlucky young superheroine.
Peritale
Mari Costa
A fairy godmother with no magic tries her best to successfully fulfill a Fairytale and win the respect of her peers.
Edison Rex
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The adventures of the world’s greatest villain who, after defeating his superheroic nemesis, decides that he’s the only one left to defend the world.
The Golden Boar
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Cyanide & Happiness
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Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
Nerf Now!!
Josué Pereira
A cute webcomic about fanservice, video games, and... love. Mostly video games, though.
Three Panel Soul
Matt Boyd, Ian McConville
It's a pretty rigid format but we keep the content loose, you know?
Little Tiny Things
Clover
What are the little things that move us? The simple joys that warm our bodies and hearts? The micro life of insects that influence our world more than we think? The tiny steps we make everyday to have a happier tomorrow?
Guilded Age
T Campbell, John Waltrip, Florence Machina
Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
Monster's Garden
Ash G.
Champion pit fighter Kilo Monster was content to spend the rest of his days tending to his quiet garden alone... until he met a curious robot girl and her human family.
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Jewish parents heating about church. Christian parents hearing their girl called easy. Ethan hearing the call of a penis far far away. What could go wrong?
I believe that Naomi has enough class/presence of mind to make the remark “Yes, she’ll be easy” about Joyce she is doing so sotto voce; we are reading an under-her-breath comment. Otherwise, she would deserve to be slapped by Mrs. Brown for such a remark.
Well all she’s gotta do is rip Joyce’s shirt off, kick everyone else out of the room and tell Ethan to “make her proud for once” and then I think she’d tie with Blaine… Kinda hard to outdo him. He’s a tough act to follow.
Yeah, this was always going to happen. Called it as soon as you gave one of Joyce’s brothers a face.
“Now why would Willis do that after all these years?” I asked myself because I am quite mad and do that. “Introduce a male character who looks just like Joyce when Joyce is dating a repressed gay dude who would probably like her if she were male.”
Well, looks like he is missing out because he just has the balls to admit it (well, the kind of admittance he has brought into college is about mouse ball level only anyway) while they have the full balls and chains.
So I burned through the entirety of It’s Walky last night to find the strips where Carol was trying to force Joyce to partake in hanky panky, and was wondering why Joyce was the last resort for grandkids when there were five older brothers. I went to bed wondering if they were all gay or something.
It only just occurred to me that out of all of the brothers Willis would pick to come visit, it’d make the most sense to bring the gay one. Because yeah, the more brothers, the higher chance of man-lovin’.
Plus apparently a strong correlation has been found in birth order vs sexual orientation – the more older brother a boy has (whether he has met them or not), the more likely it is that he wants the D.
They’re trying to discern if there’s a real causal relationship still, but the current leading theory on that is that the more sons a woman has, the less tolerance she has for the extra testosterone so she pumps in extra estrogen. (Doesn’t explain why my youngest brother, the fourth son, is somehow blond though.)
It could be a flirty smile. Or it could be a “wow I’m so glad my sister found a nice guy already and I don’t think he’s a douche” and we’re reading too much into it (and thinking Ethan is reading too much into it by going “oh no he’s cute and he’s smiling at me and I wanna tap that. Note to self: do not prod his sister with my boner”).
I think the hint people are picking up on is that Joyce’s shout and Joyce’s smile, which seem to be trying awful hard to get back someone’s captured attention.
Yeah … but did you smile at them seconds only after meeting them, while being lost in their deep brown eyes, twisting your fingers and imagining their robust chest against yours as Marvin Gay music tarts playing into your head ?
Think of as a framing thing. On one side of the panel, Ethan is looking at Joshua and smiling because he thinks Josh is hot. On the other side of the panel, Joshua is looking at Ethan and smiling because… That sentence could be ended other ways, but I think the mirroring is suggestive.
I think if he’d pegged Ethan as gay (and dating his sister presumably without telling her that she was his beard), he wouldn’t be smiling. And come to think of it, that would hold even if he’s gay himself, which leads me to think that his returned smile is innocent, not romantic.
Now see, I have Josh pegged as the kind of guy who ducks behind a smile when confronted with challenging information or potential drama. First line of defense against his gravely serious parents.
It’s not always clear to a person when they are romantically/sexually interested in someone. For all we know, Joshua could be thinking “wow, this guy looks pretty neat, I wanna talk to/hang out with him”, not yet realizing why exactly he feels that way.
It’s one of my favorite things about Walky’s falling for Dorothy. The look on his face in his first encounters are the distress of a person being suddenly dragged by an invisible force, no longer in control of their own body. It’s almost pathetic but sooo sweet.
Gendo threw aside his son after losing his wife to concentrate on his efforts to get back his wife, and only when Shinji became useful to that plan did Gendo pay any attention to his son at all. Non-shitty people don’t do that.
Well, to be fair, he isn’t very present in his son’s life. He often either spends it in training or dead, but calling him a deadbeat is a bit harsh considering that he’s usually training to save the world or is dead because he died saving the world.
Yeah, but I give some of them like Sayaka a pass because they paired up with jerks or in Sayaka’s case Kouji. To me, tsunderes only works when they got paired up with jerks.
I’m also fine with them if they’re relatively low-key, particularly if it’s because of uncertainty on their part. As in, toggling warm/cold, rather than warm/heinous bongo. One that comes to mind is featured in Otoboku (complete with a hilarious send up in their ‘Tsunderella’ bonus episode, which is mostly why she leaps to my mind when discussing tsunderes).
If she tries VERY hard, she may even make it to the next class, Shou Tucker’s Parent of the Year Award! (Blaine had that one locked in until this last set of strips.)
(Though my reaction to the last panel was laughter.)
Panel 2: Previously, we’ve seen that she fails at interacting with people in her family. Now, we learn that she also fails at interacting with people outside her people.
I am… having trouble shipping this. Joyce is being a complete and utter idiot for this whole “relationship” situation, but how much would that hurt if her “boyfriend” ended up with her brother? And how would Joshua really be able to feel good about himself if it involved hurting his little sister’s feelings?
As someone with a sister close in age, I sadly know that someone flipping from one sibling to another doesn’t end well.
Maybe I’ve got shitty fictional gaydar. I just don’t see Joshua being gay…Yet. He’s gotta do more than just look at Ethan for me to hop aboard this ship.
You make a good point… we can’t say 100% at this point what Joshua’s response means, though I personally feel it’s a little more than politeness. (Or maybe it’s just those Brown-child bright blue eyes making everything seem more intense)
Personally, I was considering the possibility ever since Joshua’s ‘choose your battles’ line to Joyce indicated he had some secrets of his own.
If it wasn’t clear enough in the comic itself though, Ethan’s look isn’t just friendly. Since Willis put in in the alt-text I suspect we will see enough of this to have a definitive answer on the point.
Yep. Josh’s smile indicates that he’s happy to meet Ethan, but at this point, we don’t really know why he’s happy to meet Ethan. Given that DoA is generally optimized for shenanigans, I see two viable scenarios:
1) Josh has no idea what’s going on here, and hilarity ensues.
2) Josh knows exactly what’s going on here, and hilarity ensues.
Irrelevant to the comic problem! Is it possible to retroactively change the posted name on comments of previous strips, or if worse comes to worse delete them? I used something that was too close to my actual name as my username here and on the Shortpacked! and comments I’ve made show up when I google search it. I’m aimming to become a teacher and as you all know, everybody acts and says things that are less than befitting a teacher on these boards. Is it possible to change the name on those posts to this shorter username I’m posting under currently or if worst comes to worst and that is not possible, can I request that all my previous comments be deleted? I would like to save them if I could though.
I’m going to have to request that. I’ve said too many stupid things that could get me in trouble. WIll you need the specific name or will you be able to figure out who I am from the avatar?
Wow, I was worried everything was heading toward disaster but it seems like everything will be alright.
In a bout five strips from now, we’ll have Naomi finally getting out to the closet to hug Carol while their sons start kissing.
At first, Hank and saul will not know what to do, but they’ll refuse to miss all the fun and start “experimenting”.
…. Poor Joyce will be the only one left alone, but at least it will save her from a doomed fake relationship with Ethan. Also, I think she’s a kind of girl to be happy just seeing other people happy ^^
Taking offense at someone else being called “easy” isn’t, in itself, slut-shaming behavior, but it does require an acceptance of the idea that libidinal freedom is a heinous thing to be accused of, which is a root cause of slut-shaming. At best, it’s an ontological tightrope to walk.
But…if you’re overweight and someone says
“Ha, you’re fat”
Or if you’re not pretty and they’re like
“Wassup uggo.”
or if you look like me and someone says
“Hey Whoopie!!! [Goldburg]”
You can still take offense, even if it’s not something you believe you should be offended about.
Offensiveness is all in the mind of the offended. If someone was to call me a “fag” I would not be offended because I do not consider being homosexual offensive. With the proper context, it might even be complimentary. Indeed, the actual status of my sexuality is not even relevant. To be offended by the examples you listed above, you would have to consider being overweight, unattractive, or Goldbergesque as universally offensive states to be, or to be associated with being. Being offended at a label is actually a form of prejudice and bigotry.
Now you *can* be offended by the conduct of a person who attempts to label you in an attempt to upset you. Whether the label upsets you are not, the act, when paired with the intent to offend, is rude. (Of course, this assumes that you are correctly ascertaining the person’s intentions, which is never a sure thing, even with previous experiences, tone and expression cues, and even the direct testimony of the labelling party.)
tl;dr. In short if a label offends you , it is always productive to ask yourself what negative connotations a word carries, and if the correct response is not to react with reflexive emotion (which is what the provocateur probably wants), but to take a mental step off to the side and eye your own baggage and biases for unhelpful assumptions. And the plus side is, if you are able to perform this feat of mental aikido, you are able to throw any assailant mentally off-balance.
I’d think it’d be less that the state of being fat/ugly/gay itself is offensive or negative and more the fact that the person who is labeling you as such views it to be so and is intending to hurt you/knock you down a peg. It’s pretty disheartening when someone expresses disdain for a trait of yours that’s out of your control, even if it is not something you identify with personally.
That’s what I am saying. The greater offense is not the labeling or mislabeling, but the intent of the one doing the labeling. Which is why the same label applied to you causes much less offense if you believe the labeller didn’t intend it to harm or demean.
It is however offensive that Naomi took one look at Joyce and said “yes this girl will drop her panties for my boy like they’re going out of style” and MEANT it offensively. Taking offense at someone else being called easy is acceptable when the obvious implication is that it is intended to offend. Naomi is saying Joyce is easy, with the implication that that means inferior. It’s perfectly acceptable to be insulted by being insulted.
We can talk about reclaiming slurs all we want, but Naomi is INTENDING to be offensive, and it’s a lot harder to reclaim a slur when the slur is being used as a slur. I can call myself a slut all I want, but if a guy says it to me on the street I will still be insulted, not proud, that he said it, because his reasons for saying it are not the same as mine.
So am I the only one who didn’t figure it out until they read the hover text, and then the Comment section? Once you have it spelled out to you, it’s obvious and blatant, but without the collective subtext deconstruction brigade, I would have missed it for at least another 4 or 5 strips.
Have to admit, it blew right past me at first. But that’s why it’s such a hilarious strip. I was thinking Ethan was looking out at the families, feeling vindicated that he was able to produce the girlfriend his mother didn’t believe in. But that’s my own stupidity overriding the obvious subtext. (And I don’t mean hovertext — reading this on my phone today.). Willis’s subtlety demands that we remember at all times who his characters are and *what they (really) want.* Go, Willis!!
Dang, I didn’t even notice Ethan and Josh eyeing each other until I read the comments section. I always knew my gaydar (and straightdar, for that matter) was nonfunctional in real life but I SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THESE THINGS COMING IN FICTION, DAMMIT.
Yes. I thought they were all just smiling at each other and finally having a nice moment – a good departure from the ugliness of the last dozen or so strips. Apparently not.
I think it’s fairly clear that there will be no change in navigation here. Ethan started this whole mess by balancing himself unsteadily on a crumbling precipace. Tumbing off was neven an if, but always a when.
Ethan’s gotta be what, 18? A freshman dating someone who already graduated isn’t unheard of, but it raises a few eyebrows. He’s fresh out of high school, after all.
In my experience, those eyebrows are only raised if the girl is the older one. No girl here, so all should be well.
(Seriously, 5 years you can’t tell visually, so you can only tell by knowing them. And if you know them, you judge by behavior together…unless you’re judgy. See above.)
Eh. I know five years older isn’t a big difference once you reach your early-mid twenties, but as a senior in college… you can tell. Even without the maturity difference (which is definitely there, despite a number of mature freshman and immature seniors), and especially during the first semester. Freshmen are like sweet, adorable babies, and the first thing you think each August is, “Why do they all look so YOUNG?”
Now, as long as everyone’s over the age of consent there really isn’t anything to get judgmental over, but the aforementioned maturity thing might pose an issue.
someone came up with a great formula for the social acceptability of dating: take the younger age, subtract seven, then double. This means 18 year olds can date 22 year olds without comment, but not 23 year olds. It sounds completely arbitrary, but works surprisingly well.
That formula falls apart quickly, and lacks corollaries for persons under the age of 18 (as in “unless it’s okay with your state laws (like if they have Romeo & Juliet laws) then don’t”). Sure 18 and 22. But 20 and 26? 22 and 30? 24 and 34?
It gets out of hand fast.
It’s a lot easier to judge by thinking “how weird would I think it was if *insert family member* was dating someone that age?” (ie: 24 year old cousin dating some person who is 34)
With how quickly pop culture changes, it can also cause some serious disparity in terms of interest and common knowledge. I dated a guy 5 years older than me when I was 19, and the only reason we had interests in common was because *spoiler alert* he was a total manchild (which I didn’t realize until I spent more than 3 hours at once in his presence).
The number game doesn’t always help, is my point. It’s a lot better to just think about it and figure out on your own, because everyone is different in terms of maturity and interests and what not, and those ARE impacted by age and have a HUGE impact on relationship dynamics.
Obviously cultures vary, but none of the examples you give sound that bad to me. Similarly below 18: 13 can’t date, 14 only date 14, 15 date 15-16, 16 date 15-18, 17 date 16-20, 18 date 16-22.
It’s not supposed to tell you whether it’s really a good idea, just whether other people will look askance at you. I’m just surprised buy how close to the truth it is.
I’m confused as to what’s so wrong with someone in their 20s dating someone in their 30s. My boyfriend and I have been together for almost 4 years, and we’re 13 years apart. The formula IS kinda wack, and I’m sure it doesn’t work completely, but like Logician says it’s probably more like a litmus test. Not really an official or ‘real’ way to solve any age difference problem.
Yes, because in the face of Joshua being closeted (if he is), and Ethan being Jewish and dating J’s sister, the biggest impediment to these two hooking up is a pretty slight age difference. ;p
…okay, something is definitely going to happen between Ethan and Joyce’s brother before we’re done here. I can see the approaching train wreck from here.
What gets me is not that Ethan is eyeing Joshua, but that Joshua is returning the look. That’s a time bomb waiting to happen (Hi NSA!) that’s going to take a lot of pressure off of Joyce about ‘merely’ hanging out with atheists.
Wait, Joshua may be gay and if sexuality is constant between multiverses than that means that he was gay in the walkyverse which might explain why Joyce’s parents were cool with it by the time Joyce told them that she wasn’t. In fact Joyce’s mother seemed surprise that she was straight. All of Joyce’s brothers are gay. Called it now. Going big.
It’s consistent with Walkyverse Mr. and Mrs. Brown being very concerned about not having grandkids. Pehaps not all of them, but when there’s 5 boys in a family, it’s very likely that at least one of them is gay.
oh crap, hot brother…Ethan, you are just desperate to fit in and already kind of leading the girl on, do not become despicable by making out with her brother!
#1. Joyce doesn’t want to have sex before marriage SO SUCK ON THAT NAOMI. SUCK. ON. THAT.
#2. Hahahahahahahaha. Ha. Ha. Yeah sorry hun, Ethan doesn’t even HAVE eyes for you. He has eyes for all those hot sexy gay and bisexual men. (Oh man is it bad that I want Joyce’s brother to be gay and for them to be SECRET LOVERS that’s what they are…Yes okay that is bad. Very bad.)
Well, at least something positive and not completely horrible came out of this train wreck of a family weekend. All this bigotry and abuse was really piling up.
No I believe you meant to say “Absolutely, I am amazing and I am a god! Tremble before me mortal!” Even if you did nothing, why refute someone’s claims that you did something awesome?
Never Forget, but debate all you want: This Damn You Willis at his malevolent finest, his most disreputable, fiendish worst. Of course, there can be no other, explanation: Joshua is gay!! His Infernal Self is cackling at all the navel gazing. If you are quiet, you can hear the Sheldonesque– Mwah Ha Ha from a distance.
Here's an entertaining cite at the bottom of the first page
Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 18h
JUST IN: Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan moves to dismiss federal criminal case against her for allegedly helping immigrant hide from ICE. Her lawyers say she's protected by official acts & judicial immunity and 10th Amendment. Doc: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Where did Hollywood go so wrong? I thought movies were supposed to be an escape from reality, a chance to put your worries aside and not have to think about any underlying ideas or concepts. Well, not anymore.
theonion.com/you-can...
It's not a new argument, of course, but Chesterton dismissed it effectively in 1908.
"You will hear everlastingly... this argument that the rich man cannot be bribed. The fact is, of course, that the rich man is bribed; he has been bribed already. That is why he is a rich man."
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com ⋅ 1d
Hawley dismisses Trump lining his pockets with his memecoin: "Listen, I think nobody believes that Donald Trump can be bought. I mean, what does Donald Trump need more money for?"
wilbur, savvy enough to know he's in a comic strip but still not a great actor, awkwardly lifts a muffin up into frame so that we, the audience, understand that he has a muffin right now, which is very important narratively, but he's not really selling it well as an organic, human action
confirming that the reason there's been no Galaxy Version female characters in Blokees until now is that they felt they needed to make Round Lady Thighs For Ladies
It's #webcomicday? We have a special day???
Well, my name is Pat McHoarney and I draw 69 Mouse-Ear Blvd, a multigenerational story about women who all have sexy legs and probably other features. There was a grandmother, but she wasn't hot and so she died off-panel.
Elizabeth Holmes is in prison for defrauding investors through her blood-testing company, Theranos. Her partner, Billy Evans, is now trying to raise money for a company that describes itself as “the future of diagnostics.” nyti.ms/3FbtZm9
Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 18h
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com ⋅ 1d
Pavel
@spavel.bsky.social ⋅ 10d
The New York Times @nytimes.com ⋅ 5d
preternia @preternia.com ⋅ 3d
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Well that didn’t take long…
This will end in a delicious desaster…
I hope it will.
Jewish parents heating about church. Christian parents hearing their girl called easy. Ethan hearing the call of a penis far far away. What could go wrong?
Look at Ethan’s eyeline in the last panel. Methinks the penis isn’t that far away.
Just one more discussion a Brown boy will have to have with the parents…
Called it weeks ago. I am satisfied.
Called it ago. Very, very satisfied
href tag fail
The Call of the Penis:
The Comic.
I believe that Naomi has enough class/presence of mind to make the remark “Yes, she’ll be easy” about Joyce she is doing so sotto voce; we are reading an under-her-breath comment. Otherwise, she would deserve to be slapped by Mrs. Brown for such a remark.
…better than I expected? [let’s see how fast it degenerates]
…O-HO I see what you did in that last panel
A new ship has set sail!
A horrifying new ship at that.
Definitely a Black Pearl level of ghoulishness up in this ship.
Ethan and Mrs. Brown!
Ethan and MR Brown!
Joyce’s dad has got it goin’ on!
*Brother
No, no, no. Joshua is just a poor man’s Hank, the older, sexier Mr. Brown.
Why not all of them? A great, unholy Orgy.
As long as someone says grace first, it’s probably cleared for take-off.
Which one is Grace? Have we seen her before noe?
Ladies and gentlemen of the comments section, I give you Grace.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/grace/
This ship also has the terrifying figurehead of Monkey Master.
Oh ship.
Queue in the music!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4nx9j8JKoU
You’re placing the music in a line?
And so it begins
This won’t end well for the parents.
YES I SHIP IT
I’m not sure one can ship people who don’t fit sexually… but who am I to judge? SHIP AWAY!
Something doesn’t fit?
DUCT TAPE!!
It always works.
As an engineer, I can confirm this.
Your avatar is really what sells your remark.
I mean Ethan and Joyce’s brother.
I meant Naomi and Carol. Or Saul’s mustache and Hank’s combover.
I meant Ethan and Mrs. Brown!
I meant Optimus Prime and Megatron.
You have a right to think what you wish, but know that I have never heard a more disturbing notion in the whole length of my existence.
Joyce X Motorcycle OTP
Sal/Joyce/Motorcycle OT3.
And break up Megatron and Starscream??
On one hand…I also Ship it!
On the other…I feel so bad for Joyce
With the other hand, you should do sexy things.
NEW OTP
What would be the male equivalent to lesbian pregnant?
MPreg.
Junior? Like that Arnold Schwartzenegger movie from the mid-90s?
And my reaction to that one scene in Junior:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUxXepJ2WVo
Golden Manbabies
It’s so Golden Manbabies, it’s Golden Manbabies McIntyre?
Only if the father is Davan MacIntire from Something Positive.
Oh god, imagine that crossover
…I mean Davan actually appearing. There is already a crossover due to the gummy cat that eats everything and “helped” Ethan clean up his toys
golden manbabies mcgillicuddy.
*WOW*
Not sure how I didn’t see *that* coming.
I thought his twist was going to be that he was a closet atheist. Based on that smile, I think his closet is more traditional.
Yep. In retrospect, this seems like it was so obvious.
I feel ya’ bro… .-. How could we unseen it?
It makes a lot of sense. Most of the parents did not bring siblings, so why is Joshua here? (Narratively speaking)
Also, his advice earlier was “Choose your battles.” Which made me wonder what “battle” he was keeping in the closet.
And in the comments on that older comic, at least two people guessed that Josh is gay, and it would come out when he meets Ethan.
“Or he’s gay. They are totally going to meet Ethan next, and it will be love at first sight.”
“Just wait until he meets Ethan and they start flirting with each other.”
So would this be considered a Chekhov’s Penis?
Two internets for you, Iggy!
Kinda looks like the brother has something he wants to get off his chest.
Or ON IT.
…
I don’t know how sex works.
It involves breaking things, right?
If you’re doing it right.
What are you supposed to do with the balloon-covered banana?
What are you supposed to do with the balloon-covered banana?
I think you dip it in the honey pot repeatedly.
or the fudge pot…..
A lot of things. Just… lots of them.
Joshua doesn’t have a hymen to break, oh wait…
It’s easy, you just take out your thingy and rub it on her tummy.
But how would that work with Ethan and Joshua?
Men have tummies too.
But whose tummy and whose thing? -mind blown-
Faz’s obviously.
“They go off in the bushes and bump dickheads, I reckon.” – overheard speculation (possibly apocryphal)
quote of the day, thank you sir
His shirt?
Or he wants to get off on someone’s chest… Can’t believe I didn’t come up with that first.
OH GEEZE, OH GEEZE, OH GEEZE.
OH YEAH, OH YEAH, OH YEAH!
OMG, OMG, OMG
OH GOD, OH MAN, OH GOD, OH MAN, OH GOD, OH MAN!
Was it good for you?
I’ve had better.
Well there goes my self-esteem
Oh great, now I have to repair three Kool-Aid Man shaped holes in the wall.
It’s like Naomi is trying her hardest to dislodge Blaine from the “Most Hate-able Parent” position.
Also, yep, Ethan’s liking Joshua, it looks like.
Well, after her husband comes out of the closet, she’ll be on the lookout for a rebound, and…
…Nope. Can’t do it. Do not want to take that thought any further.
They will get married and produce the anti-Mike.
You mean the Mike who is really nice to everyone, but only in a condescending and passive-aggressive way, and is also an angry drunk?
Looks like Joshua’s liking Ethan, too.
Well all she’s gotta do is rip Joyce’s shirt off, kick everyone else out of the room and tell Ethan to “make her proud for once” and then I think she’d tie with Blaine… Kinda hard to outdo him. He’s a tough act to follow.
I’m pretty sure Blaine still is and always will be way way worse.
Oh, hey there boy Joyce… Boyce…
Your comment would’ve won the internet today, if it hadn’t been for the strip overall. Still, +1 for awesomeness!
I really don’t like the way Naomi is talking here..
I really don’t like the way Naomi in general.
She’s trying to unlock the “Total Ass” achievement in Life. Just 5 more evil statements to make!
But it just sounds really disturbing here. Like: “This one’ll be easy. Won’t put up too much of a fight. Could probably scare her into keeping quiet.”
I don’t even know where I got that vibe, but still. *shudders*
I think that’s exactly what she’s saying. “My boy won’t have any trouble getting you into bed”
Absolutely.
Little does she know. You have to literally drug Joyce to take advantage of her. And even then, she’s got a friend with a bat.
And at that Sarah was just batting clean-up after Joyce went after him with the glass.
+1, John.
List of things about Naomi that we like:
She encourages safe sex.
I don’t think she cares if it’s safe or not. It just has to happen. Frequently.
I believe she had a condom for Ethan yesterday.
Doesn’t look like it. She hasn’t brought up the subject at all the entire time she’s seen Ethan. Just… sex.
Safe sex doesn’t produce the grandbabies, so I can’t imagine Naomi’s for it.
surprised she’s not unbuckling his pants for him.
Nah. I thought that too, but it’s just one of Ethan’s Transformers stickers.
True – his mother was just jabbing her finger at him. But if he needs one (or two or three), Roz can probably fix him up.
That eventually she will die.
DOA is trapped in a time vortex forever stuck in the present. So she’ll NEVER die.
Well, the shape of her nose isn’t altogether displeasing.
Boom! Ethan X Joshua…Commence!
Naomi was being terrible and it made me sad, but that last panel fills me with glee.
I’m not sure if it’s something benevolent or just schadenfreude…
Nahh, Jacob and his family are going to come in next. Jacob x Joshua!
You rang?
Yes?
If you two went off somewhere together, you’d be sure to come back.
Am I late? Sorry, guys, traffic was awful…
It’s heartwarming…but my gut tells me this is going to end in tears/
You didn’t let her finish
“My brother.”
Apropos of your question yesterday. ICEBERG RIGHT AHEAD!
Unfortunately, that’s not me. It seems one of my clones got loose again.
I read that in Hulk Hogan’s voice.
…I KNEW IT!
HEARTWARMING! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!
SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE!
His highness Joshua also has eyes for Ethan….I guess.
OH COME ETHAN. DON’T. DON’T. SHTAAAAAAAAAHP.
Yeah, this was always going to happen. Called it as soon as you gave one of Joyce’s brothers a face.
“Now why would Willis do that after all these years?” I asked myself because I am quite mad and do that. “Introduce a male character who looks just like Joyce when Joyce is dating a repressed gay dude who would probably like her if she were male.”
And Hank is an older, sexier Joshua…
Joshua’s got a fair resemblance to Drew, too. Or possibly Catman.
I didn’t think it until just now, but in hindsight I really should have.
Yes! Yes! Now you know why were shipping them, aside from Joshua being hot as how he is now.
Aww, lookit the little smiles!
… I ship this so much.
They’ll make such an adorkable couple.
Joyce’s mom has got it goin’ on.
The Boobs Have Eyes.
“Hey, don’t stare! My eyes are up-well, okay, I see your point.”
Poor Dina will try to follow Amber’s advice, but won’t know WHERE to look.
After an afternoon of dealing with Faz, I suspect Dina may be just fine with social awkwardness if it lets her hide for a bit.
It’s deceptive colouration to deter predators by looking like a larger animal.
Lots of animals do it.
That was a Saturday Night Live sketch. Starring Raquel Welch, IIRC.
Right? Every time Joyce wears that shirt it makes me stare at her boobs.
And her boobs stare back at you.
OH. MY. GOSH.
More like OH. MY. JOSH.
…UA. Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all week
Initially I was concerned about the upcoming clash of the Brown’s and the Siegal’s religious beliefs then I read the subtext. Oh boy!
And no one is going to come out of this entirely happy.
No, but a couple people may come out…
Badda-boom, badda-bing!
Oh no. Don’t. Willis. Just stop.
YES JOSHUA/ETHAN
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh noooooooooooooooooooo.
Oh yes!
Wait, I said that wrong. Please allow George Takei to correct me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nSKkwzwdW4
*smashes through wall* OH YEAH!
Dammit! now Aizat has four Kool-aid man sized holes to fix
Oh fuck yes, Joshua and Ethan.
I say switch the second and third words in your statement.
IT’S A TRAP!
I love how completely out of context I do not hate this comic.
Yeah, we’re seeing two most hated people in one room and yet there is no wishing of grievous bodily harm to both of them.
Well, it’s still there. We’re just otherwise occupied at the moment.
You know. I reeeeeaaallllly wonder if Ethan’s Mom is just projecting onto her son to hide her own lesbian feelings.
We already know that Ethan is doing this in some form to please her.
I predict every member of Ethan’s family is secretly gay and they’re just pissed because he’s the only one with the balls to admit it.
Well, looks like he is missing out because he just has the balls to admit it (well, the kind of admittance he has brought into college is about mouse ball level only anyway) while they have the full balls and chains.
I like this prediction.
Darnit. Why did you bring Male Joyce with you!?
Threesome!
Bear in mind Joyce has three brothers, I think. So… foursome?
Sometimes when I’m reading DoA, I listen to music I feel matches the scene.
For the past 5 I’ve been playing the promos to the last episodes of Breaking Bad.
I think movie trailers for JACKASS might also fit well.
So I burned through the entirety of It’s Walky last night to find the strips where Carol was trying to force Joyce to partake in hanky panky, and was wondering why Joyce was the last resort for grandkids when there were five older brothers. I went to bed wondering if they were all gay or something.
Guess I’m at least 20% right.
Yep. Kinda gives some context to how they “failed” her.
I’m kind of reminded of that “fundie mom is a gay baby factory” Shortpacked! strip.
It only just occurred to me that out of all of the brothers Willis would pick to come visit, it’d make the most sense to bring the gay one. Because yeah, the more brothers, the higher chance of man-lovin’.
Plus apparently a strong correlation has been found in birth order vs sexual orientation – the more older brother a boy has (whether he has met them or not), the more likely it is that he wants the D.
They’re trying to discern if there’s a real causal relationship still, but the current leading theory on that is that the more sons a woman has, the less tolerance she has for the extra testosterone so she pumps in extra estrogen. (Doesn’t explain why my youngest brother, the fourth son, is somehow blond though.)
Have you checked what colour the mailman’s hair is?
Pretty sure he was a red-head.
“the more older brother a boy has (whether he has met them or not), the more likely it is that he wants the D.”
I wish more professional studies and articles about sexuality used the term “wants the D”. Too funny
Yeah, that was what I was getting at.
Joshua’s the second youngest, right?
I know, right? Like I think we’ve assumed they were all gay or infertile or both.
She already has grandkids, but they failed her by growing up. She just wants babies.
Give her the family sword. It’s made out of babies.
Different universe, bro
Huh. Joyce’s bro is gay.
…that was the last thing on my list of things to expect. Why didn’t I expect that most?
I don’t think smiling at another guy makes you guy. I’ve smiled at plenty of dudes and I don’t want to mash lips or nuthin.
Or DO you?
That doesn’t look like “polite smile” to me. That looks like “how YOU doin” smile.
I hate to be all like “NOTHISCHARACTERAIN’TGAYSHUTUP” but I dunno. I feel like he’s been smilin’ all dopey since he first showed up. It’s hereditary.
It could be a flirty smile. Or it could be a “wow I’m so glad my sister found a nice guy already and I don’t think he’s a douche” and we’re reading too much into it (and thinking Ethan is reading too much into it by going “oh no he’s cute and he’s smiling at me and I wanna tap that. Note to self: do not prod his sister with my boner”).
Either way, speculation abound!
I think the hint people are picking up on is that Joyce’s shout and Joyce’s smile, which seem to be trying awful hard to get back someone’s captured attention.
There’s a fine line between “smiling at” and “making eyes at”, and Joshua is dancing around on that line winking at Ethan.
Yeah … but did you smile at them seconds only after meeting them, while being lost in their deep brown eyes, twisting your fingers and imagining their robust chest against yours as Marvin Gay music tarts playing into your head ?
… well me neither !
Think of as a framing thing. On one side of the panel, Ethan is looking at Joshua and smiling because he thinks Josh is hot. On the other side of the panel, Joshua is looking at Ethan and smiling because… That sentence could be ended other ways, but I think the mirroring is suggestive.
I’m not sure, either. I mean, he’s smiling, but is it “My sweet sister has a guy” smile or “He’s hot” smile. Dunno.
And there is a potential for even greater conflict if Ethan misreads the situation entirely, so I call it a coin flip.
If Josh isn’t gay, then his expression is shocked bemusement at his gaydar pegging the needle at 100% certainty.
I think if he’d pegged Ethan as gay (and dating his sister presumably without telling her that she was his beard), he wouldn’t be smiling. And come to think of it, that would hold even if he’s gay himself, which leads me to think that his returned smile is innocent, not romantic.
Now see, I have Josh pegged as the kind of guy who ducks behind a smile when confronted with challenging information or potential drama. First line of defense against his gravely serious parents.
It’s not always clear to a person when they are romantically/sexually interested in someone. For all we know, Joshua could be thinking “wow, this guy looks pretty neat, I wanna talk to/hang out with him”, not yet realizing why exactly he feels that way.
It’s one of my favorite things about Walky’s falling for Dorothy. The look on his face in his first encounters are the distress of a person being suddenly dragged by an invisible force, no longer in control of their own body. It’s almost pathetic but sooo sweet.
Perfect example!
Yeah, Walky’s pretty cute like that.
*flinches at Naomi’s comment* That hope for change I mentioned yesterday? Just died a little.
Naomi’s chances of winning the coveted Gendo Ikari School of Parenting Award are well and truly looking up.
Glad I’m not the only one who thinks that Gendo is a dick.
Wait, there are people who don’t think Gendo is an asshole?
Yes and some would even defend what Gendo did to Shinji.
Gendo threw aside his son after losing his wife to concentrate on his efforts to get back his wife, and only when Shinji became useful to that plan did Gendo pay any attention to his son at all. Non-shitty people don’t do that.
And the funny thing is, this one guy who defended Gendo then has the guts to say that Goku is a deadbeat dad even though Goku died saving his TWICE!
Well, to be fair, he isn’t very present in his son’s life. He often either spends it in training or dead, but calling him a deadbeat is a bit harsh considering that he’s usually training to save the world or is dead because he died saving the world.
He’s a deadbeat in the sense that he spends time dead.
Maybe he thinks deadbeat means “beaten to death?”
I know, Right?
Yes, they share a broom cupboard with the Wesley Crusher fanclub.
The funny thing is I actually know a Wesley fan.
Are you sure they aren’t just a Wheaton fan? Because Wil Wheaton is a pretty cool dude.
Well, she is /also/ a Wheaton fan (as am I), but we watched the entire first season of TNG together, and yes, she legit likes Wesley as a character.
Hey, at least Gendo can recognize his own offspring when he’s standing in front of him.
Don Wei couldn’t even do that.
I thought that Gendo being a dick was the one thing every Eva fan could agree on.
The proper term when Gendo is involved is bastard.
“Magnificent Bastard” to be exact
I’m still so confused on how Asuka has a huge fan base. Is she SUPPOSED to be intolerable?
She has a woobie backstory and it doesn’t hurt that she’s hot, besides tsunderes are in this season.
Dude, there comes a time when no matter how hot the person is, there is so much a person can take.
By “this season” do you mean “the early nineties”?
Tsunderes are in every season.
Yeah, but I give some of them like Sayaka a pass because they paired up with jerks or in Sayaka’s case Kouji. To me, tsunderes only works when they got paired up with jerks.
I’m also fine with them if they’re relatively low-key, particularly if it’s because of uncertainty on their part. As in, toggling warm/cold, rather than warm/heinous bongo. One that comes to mind is featured in Otoboku (complete with a hilarious send up in their ‘Tsunderella’ bonus episode, which is mostly why she leaps to my mind when discussing tsunderes).
I was gonna say.
Wait, it’s tsundere season? Now where’s my shotgun?
The same damn reason why Naru Narusegawa even have a fanbase. Or any tsundere character for that matter.
But is she a tsundere or just a huge bongo with a kinda tacked on crush….i dunno…
I thought they were one and the same?
I’m of the “huge bongo with a crush” opinion. After all, we don’t see her rescuing kittens from the rain or playing with small children, do we?
You know, I like Asuka better when they made the character in the 70’s and goes by the name of Tetsuya Tsurugi.
Knucks, Ethan.
Or slaps in disgust works too or as I like to call them “Slappy Ds”
Hell, she’s close to achieving the Clay Puffington award of Parenting and “Interesting” Life advice Award.
If she tries VERY hard, she may even make it to the next class, Shou Tucker’s Parent of the Year Award! (Blaine had that one locked in until this last set of strips.)
Is the Shou Tucker award more or less prestigious than the Gendo Ikari Award for Excellence in Parenthood?
Mostly it just gets you beat up by everyone who sees it.
But I already want to beat her up!
I just can’t see Naomi among such illustrious company as Medusa Gorgon, Frau Totenkender, and Craster.
I feel like I’ll be needing a deck chair and a bucket of popcorn in the near future.
Haven’t folded my deck chair up since the first strip.
We were already heading for some form of catastrophe, but now… well then.
Oh. This… could potentially be complicated.
So Joyce’ll act as a very unwilling beard while Ethan gets with her opposite sex clone brother? Hm. Sounds like a lovely sitcom subplot.
JESUS CHRIST, Ethan’s mom
Dude, Jesus does not want to be associated with Naomi.
She tried to convert once, but they kept moving the church.
The church would literally back away when she tried to step in it.
When she wouldn’t stop trying, the church chose to set itself on fire.
It burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp.
Simpsons references. Haven’t seen one for a while.
Pretty sure it’s actually a Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference.
Monty Python, you mean?
We may have reached the point where everything is a Simpsons reference. Just some things are referencing the Simpsons referencing prior art.
Good God… The meme singularity…
Wait! Before we ship up, let’s consider the possibility that Ethan is just admiring his old haircut.
Hell, I’ll be the first person here to say it: I ship Ethan’s and Joshua’s haircuts.
Their hair make out licky style and they just have to stare into each other’s eyes until it finishes.
Then 9 months later, Cousin It was born.
You can practically hear the soundtrack going DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN.
The last panel would be better if Dorothy was behind Ethan so Joyce could smile at her too.
Don’t be silly, Dorothy is having the basted turkey.
There’s nothing wrong with mixing your turkey with some white mashed potatoes.
Just don’t eat too much or you’ll get tired?
D-did i do that right?
New potato or old potato?
Sal’s motorcycle is visible out the window.
Had to read it twice before I got the joke *blush*
Ruh-Roh.
Noteworthy reactions
Panel 2- Wow, Mrs. Siegal, you just become worse, and worse, and worse….
Panel 4- OH F___!!!
Yep.
(Though my reaction to the last panel was laughter.)
Panel 2: Previously, we’ve seen that she fails at interacting with people in her family. Now, we learn that she also fails at interacting with people outside her people.
Whaddaya mean, “her people”?
Ones that she possesses. As in, slaves.
Normally they’d be called ‘family’ but this is Naomi we’re talking about.
I am… having trouble shipping this. Joyce is being a complete and utter idiot for this whole “relationship” situation, but how much would that hurt if her “boyfriend” ended up with her brother? And how would Joshua really be able to feel good about himself if it involved hurting his little sister’s feelings?
As someone with a sister close in age, I sadly know that someone flipping from one sibling to another doesn’t end well.
SHIPPING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND!
GOT PLACES TO GO, GOTTA FOLLOW THE RAINBOW!
this is perfect good job guys
So are we allowed to make “Lucy is Amazi-Girl” jokes?
Only in the SP! comics.
If you have to ask…
Questions are like children! Everyone can have them, but most shouldn’t!
FAQ, read it!
Now kiss. *slams the Ethan and Joshua Dolls together*
Please let this lead to what I think this is leading to, please oh please
Wait, is Josh Brown gay too?
Is Josh Brown gay in this universe?
There’s no way this ends well.
*munches popcorn*
Maybe I’ve got shitty fictional gaydar. I just don’t see Joshua being gay…Yet. He’s gotta do more than just look at Ethan for me to hop aboard this ship.
You make a good point… we can’t say 100% at this point what Joshua’s response means, though I personally feel it’s a little more than politeness. (Or maybe it’s just those Brown-child bright blue eyes making everything seem more intense)
Personally, I was considering the possibility ever since Joshua’s ‘choose your battles’ line to Joyce indicated he had some secrets of his own.
If it wasn’t clear enough in the comic itself though, Ethan’s look isn’t just friendly. Since Willis put in in the alt-text I suspect we will see enough of this to have a definitive answer on the point.
Oh no. Ethan definitely wants a piece of that. I just don’t know if Joshua in turn, also wants a piece of that.
Yep. Josh’s smile indicates that he’s happy to meet Ethan, but at this point, we don’t really know why he’s happy to meet Ethan. Given that DoA is generally optimized for shenanigans, I see two viable scenarios:
1) Josh has no idea what’s going on here, and hilarity ensues.
2) Josh knows exactly what’s going on here, and hilarity ensues.
I approve of this message. ^
Irrelevant to the comic problem! Is it possible to retroactively change the posted name on comments of previous strips, or if worse comes to worse delete them? I used something that was too close to my actual name as my username here and on the Shortpacked! and comments I’ve made show up when I google search it. I’m aimming to become a teacher and as you all know, everybody acts and says things that are less than befitting a teacher on these boards. Is it possible to change the name on those posts to this shorter username I’m posting under currently or if worst comes to worst and that is not possible, can I request that all my previous comments be deleted? I would like to save them if I could though.
I cannot alter your name, but I can easily delete all your posts.
I’m going to have to request that. I’ve said too many stupid things that could get me in trouble. WIll you need the specific name or will you be able to figure out who I am from the avatar?
Good guy Willis.
Just put the doobie in the Gravatar’s mouth and it works.
I got to admit with how wrong this relationship is they do look cute together. <3
Oooooooooooooooooooh.
So THAT’s why Joshua’s here for the Minnesota game.
THIS. Will not end well.
Oh… wow…
and your brother.
Monkey Master does not approve :[
HAH! Love it!
This is one of those days when I am even more grateful for 7-times-a-week updates than usual.
iktf
Wow, I was worried everything was heading toward disaster but it seems like everything will be alright.
In a bout five strips from now, we’ll have Naomi finally getting out to the closet to hug Carol while their sons start kissing.
At first, Hank and saul will not know what to do, but they’ll refuse to miss all the fun and start “experimenting”.
…. Poor Joyce will be the only one left alone, but at least it will save her from a doomed fake relationship with Ethan. Also, I think she’s a kind of girl to be happy just seeing other people happy ^^
Your imagination is horrifying and intriguing at the same time
I made an audible hideous pterodactyl shriek.
FEAR
I AM EXPERIENCING FEAR
Hi all! Long time DoA reader, first time commenter.
That being said, is Naomi going to be a TOTAL jerk to everyone she meets?
Yes
Probably.
Perhaps Mike can put her in her place – for a nickel.
But seriously, Ethan, lose the horizontal stripes.
Joshua might be able to help him with that.
Zing!
But the stripes are a symbolic of Ethan being a prisoner.
Not in the 21st century they are.
but they’re so cute
Poor Joyce. The only person who has eyes for her is Naomi, and she’s only imagining her son forgoing a condom for grand kids.
I’m pretty sure Naomi just called Joyce Easy. Back in my neck of the woods that deserves a cold hard bongo slap. Context doesn’t even matter.
Understanding the comment would be required for said slapping to occur.
Taking offense at someone else being called “easy” isn’t, in itself, slut-shaming behavior, but it does require an acceptance of the idea that libidinal freedom is a heinous thing to be accused of, which is a root cause of slut-shaming. At best, it’s an ontological tightrope to walk.
But…if you’re overweight and someone says
“Ha, you’re fat”
Or if you’re not pretty and they’re like
“Wassup uggo.”
or if you look like me and someone says
“Hey Whoopie!!! [Goldburg]”
You can still take offense, even if it’s not something you believe you should be offended about.
Offensiveness is all in the mind of the offended. If someone was to call me a “fag” I would not be offended because I do not consider being homosexual offensive. With the proper context, it might even be complimentary. Indeed, the actual status of my sexuality is not even relevant. To be offended by the examples you listed above, you would have to consider being overweight, unattractive, or Goldbergesque as universally offensive states to be, or to be associated with being. Being offended at a label is actually a form of prejudice and bigotry.
Now you *can* be offended by the conduct of a person who attempts to label you in an attempt to upset you. Whether the label upsets you are not, the act, when paired with the intent to offend, is rude. (Of course, this assumes that you are correctly ascertaining the person’s intentions, which is never a sure thing, even with previous experiences, tone and expression cues, and even the direct testimony of the labelling party.)
tl;dr. In short if a label offends you , it is always productive to ask yourself what negative connotations a word carries, and if the correct response is not to react with reflexive emotion (which is what the provocateur probably wants), but to take a mental step off to the side and eye your own baggage and biases for unhelpful assumptions. And the plus side is, if you are able to perform this feat of mental aikido, you are able to throw any assailant mentally off-balance.
I’d think it’d be less that the state of being fat/ugly/gay itself is offensive or negative and more the fact that the person who is labeling you as such views it to be so and is intending to hurt you/knock you down a peg. It’s pretty disheartening when someone expresses disdain for a trait of yours that’s out of your control, even if it is not something you identify with personally.
That’s what I am saying. The greater offense is not the labeling or mislabeling, but the intent of the one doing the labeling. Which is why the same label applied to you causes much less offense if you believe the labeller didn’t intend it to harm or demean.
It is however offensive that Naomi took one look at Joyce and said “yes this girl will drop her panties for my boy like they’re going out of style” and MEANT it offensively. Taking offense at someone else being called easy is acceptable when the obvious implication is that it is intended to offend. Naomi is saying Joyce is easy, with the implication that that means inferior. It’s perfectly acceptable to be insulted by being insulted.
We can talk about reclaiming slurs all we want, but Naomi is INTENDING to be offensive, and it’s a lot harder to reclaim a slur when the slur is being used as a slur. I can call myself a slut all I want, but if a guy says it to me on the street I will still be insulted, not proud, that he said it, because his reasons for saying it are not the same as mine.
You know, guys, when Freshman Family Weekend’s over, Joshua will be gone too. Ethan’s got a very limited window to make it happen.
I kinda wonder if Yotomoe’s right and Josh is straight, though. He’d still serve the same role (adorable 63’d Joyce* for Ethan to lust over).
Though, if he is, I feel bad for Ethan – all the hotties are straight.
* Not to say Joyce isn’t already awfully cute. <3
Till another man walks in the room,boom!
Till ethan’s roommate makes things awkward
Will people stop talking about me?!
So am I the only one who didn’t figure it out until they read the hover text, and then the Comment section? Once you have it spelled out to you, it’s obvious and blatant, but without the collective subtext deconstruction brigade, I would have missed it for at least another 4 or 5 strips.
Have to admit, it blew right past me at first. But that’s why it’s such a hilarious strip. I was thinking Ethan was looking out at the families, feeling vindicated that he was able to produce the girlfriend his mother didn’t believe in. But that’s my own stupidity overriding the obvious subtext. (And I don’t mean hovertext — reading this on my phone today.). Willis’s subtlety demands that we remember at all times who his characters are and *what they (really) want.* Go, Willis!!
Dang, I didn’t even notice Ethan and Josh eyeing each other until I read the comments section. I always knew my gaydar (and straightdar, for that matter) was nonfunctional in real life but I SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THESE THINGS COMING IN FICTION, DAMMIT.
(Do other asexuals have this problem??)
Yes. I thought they were all just smiling at each other and finally having a nice moment – a good departure from the ugliness of the last dozen or so strips. Apparently not.
OH MY GOD NO BEEP BEEP RED X RED X WRONG DIRECTION ETHAN YOU DON’T NEED THAT DRAMA WALK AWAY WALK AWAY BACK IT UP SLOW CHILD
I think it’s fairly clear that there will be no change in navigation here. Ethan started this whole mess by balancing himself unsteadily on a crumbling precipace. Tumbing off was neven an if, but always a when.
I have seen the future, and it is a spectacularly Michael Bay-ish explosion of a train wreck.
No don’t do walk back ! I’ve already bought my popcorns and they won’t give me a refill !
This is gonna epically entertaining. Bring in every family. That would be awesome.
Man, I hope Naomi’s not in position to see the way Ethan’s looking at Joshua.
Knees up Mother Brown…
I’m hoping he’s gay (this ship has sailed), but on the common sense train, isn’t Joshua at least 4 or 5 years older than Ethan?
(if this is true) So?
Ethan’s gotta be what, 18? A freshman dating someone who already graduated isn’t unheard of, but it raises a few eyebrows. He’s fresh out of high school, after all.
I’d think the only eyebrows that matter in this case would already be well past raised given the more immediate problem of their being the same sex.
In my experience, those eyebrows are only raised if the girl is the older one. No girl here, so all should be well.
(Seriously, 5 years you can’t tell visually, so you can only tell by knowing them. And if you know them, you judge by behavior together…unless you’re judgy. See above.)
Eh. I know five years older isn’t a big difference once you reach your early-mid twenties, but as a senior in college… you can tell. Even without the maturity difference (which is definitely there, despite a number of mature freshman and immature seniors), and especially during the first semester. Freshmen are like sweet, adorable babies, and the first thing you think each August is, “Why do they all look so YOUNG?”
Now, as long as everyone’s over the age of consent there really isn’t anything to get judgmental over, but the aforementioned maturity thing might pose an issue.
Hold up–we can only judge things if they’re illegal, now?
someone came up with a great formula for the social acceptability of dating: take the younger age, subtract seven, then double. This means 18 year olds can date 22 year olds without comment, but not 23 year olds. It sounds completely arbitrary, but works surprisingly well.
That formula falls apart quickly, and lacks corollaries for persons under the age of 18 (as in “unless it’s okay with your state laws (like if they have Romeo & Juliet laws) then don’t”). Sure 18 and 22. But 20 and 26? 22 and 30? 24 and 34?
It gets out of hand fast.
It’s a lot easier to judge by thinking “how weird would I think it was if *insert family member* was dating someone that age?” (ie: 24 year old cousin dating some person who is 34)
With how quickly pop culture changes, it can also cause some serious disparity in terms of interest and common knowledge. I dated a guy 5 years older than me when I was 19, and the only reason we had interests in common was because *spoiler alert* he was a total manchild (which I didn’t realize until I spent more than 3 hours at once in his presence).
The number game doesn’t always help, is my point. It’s a lot better to just think about it and figure out on your own, because everyone is different in terms of maturity and interests and what not, and those ARE impacted by age and have a HUGE impact on relationship dynamics.
Obviously cultures vary, but none of the examples you give sound that bad to me. Similarly below 18: 13 can’t date, 14 only date 14, 15 date 15-16, 16 date 15-18, 17 date 16-20, 18 date 16-22.
It’s not supposed to tell you whether it’s really a good idea, just whether other people will look askance at you. I’m just surprised buy how close to the truth it is.
I’m confused as to what’s so wrong with someone in their 20s dating someone in their 30s. My boyfriend and I have been together for almost 4 years, and we’re 13 years apart. The formula IS kinda wack, and I’m sure it doesn’t work completely, but like Logician says it’s probably more like a litmus test. Not really an official or ‘real’ way to solve any age difference problem.
Yes, because in the face of Joshua being closeted (if he is), and Ethan being Jewish and dating J’s sister, the biggest impediment to these two hooking up is a pretty slight age difference. ;p
Well, in terms of people who aren’t a member of the Brown or Siegel family.
I’m really, really, really liking where this beautiful trainwreck is going.
And Ethan only has eyes for Joyce’s brother who looks like he may be interested in swaping eyes with Ethan.
Somebody please kill Ethan’s mother.
…”swapping eyes”?
“Wallace! Again?!”
Ethan really is a heart breaking machine in both continuities. Mr. “Choose your battles.” looks ready to take his place on the barricades.
Red! The blood of angry men! Black! The world when you’re not there!
You read my mind!
DAMNIT! SO, SO CLOSE TO BEING FIRST ON THAT ONE!
Excellent call, BTW!
“Hey, Josh. Do they rock or do they suck?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XamNRZe1_C0
I had not realized the potential meaning of that “choose your battles,” and now I am sad. You have saddened me.
Also, appropriate Scott Pilgrim quotes FTW!
WoW, it took me a re-read one hor later to figure out he was meking eyes at Joyce’s brother.
trainwreck doesn’t even begin to cover it.
He also has eyes for Joshua
lol
on second thought
No…Bad, Willis…Very Bad!
don’t you make Joyce cry!!!
Oh sweetheart, you knew that this entire debacle was destined from minute one to make Joyce cry at some point, didn’t you?
These are the two strangest things you could ever picture Mike saying, and your avatars aren’t even drunk.
…okay, something is definitely going to happen between Ethan and Joyce’s brother before we’re done here. I can see the approaching train wreck from here.
Oh hey, Mrs Siegal, look who just came to the door!
It’s KARMA!
It just ran over her dogma.
This…will not end well.
Now give your new brother-in-dating-law a kiss.
*puts on funny hat*
Wheeen a pairing comes along! YOU MUST SHIP IT!
If the feelings are too strong! YOU WILL SHIP IT!
You think it can’t be wrong! AND SO YOU SHIP IT!
*bum bum bum*
Now ship it!
Write a pic!
Draw a pic!
Hopeful glee!
Fandom squee!
Your hopes are up!
So ship it!
SHIP IT GOOD!
*air keyboards away*
That’s actually a pretty good “Whipit” parody there Al.
+1 for your epic levels of Devo awesomeness!
+2!
YES.
Ethshua OTP
Joshua is definitely my favorite family member.
ICEBERG!! HARD to port!
I was trying to think of ways this could get even more awkward and this particular scenario did not come to mind. Well played, Willis.
With that grav. Yes. Ditto!
Excellent!
This can not end well for anyone here.
Just for a moment, I thought that was a “We are all happy with this situation” smile.
I think Willis broke my gaydar.
Had to relook at last panel, at first I thought Ethan was eyeing Joyce’s dad, which even for Willis would have been a little dicey.
“Oh. Oh hey there, Blue Eyes. It’s just… fanTAStic to meet you… *lingering handshake*”
Ohhhh dear. MAYDAY! MAYDAY! ALL ENGINES, FULL REVERSE! BRACE FOR IMPACT!
This will not end well, but it WILL end spectacularly. Keep ’em coming, Mr. Willis!
Ethan later: RUB IT, JOSHUA! RUB MY TUMMY WITH IT!
OOH, YES, FASTER!
GIVE MY TUMMY ALL OF YOUR THING!
Bwahahaha! Nice.
That is how sex works, right? My only source of sex education is this comic.
He is interested in her brother. Ohhhhh myyyyyy…
To be honest, Etyan would have to be a major asshole to start eyeing dudes while getting a hug from Joyce.
Especially so…considering it’s “her” brother!
That’s just plain not cool Ethan.
Dude’s committing some serious violations of the bro code.
Given that she knows he’s gay, I’m finding it hard to hold against him.
(No, not like that, you pervs.)
((So is Joshua. Like that.))
You know how sometimes when you date a girl, you’re effectively dating her whole family?
Apparently it’s not always bad.
Hey-o!
“We’re all actually gay, aren’t we?”
“As sailors.”
“Goddammit. Well, that explains a freaking lot!“
The entire Siegal family and the Brown family are all gay. New headcanon.
Except for Joyce.
Poor Joyce…
There’s a joke to be made there, I know it.
Mon-sewer Willis, you certainly know how to write unlikeable side characters.
Now, more of them just need to receive some “comeuppance”… Amber’s dad is a good start… then, please move to Ethan’s mom.
What gets me is not that Ethan is eyeing Joshua, but that Joshua is returning the look. That’s a time bomb waiting to happen (Hi NSA!) that’s going to take a lot of pressure off of Joyce about ‘merely’ hanging out with atheists.
hahahaha HELLO BACK AT YOU
just kidding, I am comically far from the pov of the ennessay
Wait, Joshua may be gay and if sexuality is constant between multiverses than that means that he was gay in the walkyverse which might explain why Joyce’s parents were cool with it by the time Joyce told them that she wasn’t. In fact Joyce’s mother seemed surprise that she was straight. All of Joyce’s brothers are gay. Called it now. Going big.
It’s consistent with Walkyverse Mr. and Mrs. Brown being very concerned about not having grandkids. Pehaps not all of them, but when there’s 5 boys in a family, it’s very likely that at least one of them is gay.
Ethan, at least give Joyce a minute before you prove her wrong.
That’s not how punch lines work.
Uh… punch.. images?
…so Ethan, Joshua and Joyce happies everafter? o.O Well, I’ll be damned. I didn’t think this would be so easy.
It’s never that easy…
It never is, yeah :c Joyce would end up crazy from the stress of maintaining the façade and being starved of proper sex, or something like that.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE now i’m writing all sorts of fanfic in my head willis what have you done
Wow.
“Ethan, F*ck her now!”
“Okay Mom, but only if I can state into her brother’s eyes while I do it”
this storyline is going to continue to be brutal, y’all. yesss for everyone but also sadjoyce and meanparents and ahhhhhh
welp, looks like ethan is intrested in getting to know the rest of the brown family. joyce’s brother specifically
oh crap, hot brother…Ethan, you are just desperate to fit in and already kind of leading the girl on, do not become despicable by making out with her brother!
Dat brother?
#1. Joyce doesn’t want to have sex before marriage SO SUCK ON THAT NAOMI. SUCK. ON. THAT.
#2. Hahahahahahahaha. Ha. Ha. Yeah sorry hun, Ethan doesn’t even HAVE eyes for you. He has eyes for all those hot sexy gay and bisexual men. (Oh man is it bad that I want Joyce’s brother to be gay and for them to be SECRET LOVERS that’s what they are…Yes okay that is bad. Very bad.)
Oh look, a Monkey Master tag without Dexter.
Welp. This got interesting.
Someone’s gonna get a BJ today and it’s not Joyce.
10.- on some seriously fabulous action going down between Ethan and Joshua soon.
Joshua is staring right back at Ethan, they’re giving each other that “look.”
Also Naomi is a conga.
There are so many words you could have used instead of that one.
Well, at least something positive and not completely horrible came out of this train wreck of a family weekend. All this bigotry and abuse was really piling up.
That hug is adorable tho.
That has to be one of the top three best-drawn hugs I have ever seen.
So who is going to turn out to be gay tomorrow?
Everyone! It is a Willis cartoon, after all…
Yay, navigation bar fixed. Thanks Mr. Willis.
I didn’t do anything to it and I’m not sure what was wrong to begin with?
No I believe you meant to say “Absolutely, I am amazing and I am a god! Tremble before me mortal!” Even if you did nothing, why refute someone’s claims that you did something awesome?
There’s your problem, folks, you had your Joyce set to ‘Easy.’
We ought to reset to ‘Normal’. Or maybe even ‘Hard’.
We’ve already seen Joyce set to ‘Insanity’, and that’s a level we do not need to revisit.
Nothing easy about Joyce. Naive, yes. Easy, no.
She didn’t see the last person who thought Joyce was easy. Guy got glassed in the face.
Didn’t Joe already disprove that hypothesis?
Yep no way this could possibly turn out bad, nope not gonna happen
Oh god there’s only so much relationship-drama-train-wreck I can take.
Willis you are testing my tolerance… and I watch (and read) shoujo anime (and manga)…
Then read Yaoi for once.
Yaoi is actually pretty much always shoujo.
…Which probably explains all the iffy non-con rapey-ness of it all.
Yaoi is by definition shojo… it’s not yaoi if it’s aimed primarily at gay men.
Aw dammit ><
This does NOT look good.
This is so sad and funny and heartbreaking. How long before everything falls apart?
I give it till tomorrow’s comic…
then the proverbial “Excrement Hits the Oscillating Device”
I suppose a haircut and doggy style aren’t long term solutions for this relationship, but it could buy them a few years I guess.
HIIIIIIIIIIIIGHWAY TO THE DANGERZONE!!
I read your entire archive in 2 days. I love this comic!
Oof. Harsh.
Did I hurt you dude? Don’t worry, I’ll take it slow.
Never Forget, but debate all you want: This Damn You Willis at his malevolent finest, his most disreputable, fiendish worst. Of course, there can be no other, explanation: Joshua is gay!! His Infernal Self is cackling at all the navel gazing. If you are quiet, you can hear the Sheldonesque– Mwah Ha Ha from a distance.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aZdp46Jen_w For your edification, Ladies and Gentlemen
Mixed feeling.
Meh,.. I don’t want these two hurt, yet I want to backhand a few parents,.. Holy spit!
Hey,
I don‘t get the “…yeah she‘ll be easy” comment, someone care to explain? (Non native speaker here)
Easy to fuck? Easy to control?
I know the pejorative meaning (as “she gets around”), but that doesn‘t seem to be it here, or is it?
Have you chosen a cover and title for book 3 yet? My vote is for the last panel here.
test
Joyce’s brother looks like the Villager from Animal Crossing.