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An all-ages comic about a recently escaped prisoner's struggle to understand the outside world, and vice-versa. Also, a magic cape!
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Superpowered middle schoolers fight evil spirits in their rural hometown. Come for the jokes, stay for the cast, the creatures, and the mystery that ties them all together!
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Four kids run afoul of a creepy secret organization's experiments, which turn their body parts into fighting monsters. Part sentimental coming-of-age story, part monster-training shonen manga, with just a bit of sci-fi body horror.
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Two aliens crash a sci-fi convention and accidentally take seven nerds on an adventure that spans the galaxy!
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Two hunters try to survive and end up being pushed to pursue a deadly bounty dubbed "The Ghost".
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A teen girl inherits a powerful alien artifact and proceeds to make a series of increasingly poor decisions
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The robot punches monsters and bad robots and one time he was a cowboy.
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A cute webcomic about fanservice, video games, and... love. Mostly video games, though.
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In the troubled aftermath of a great war between Witches and her fellow Nuns, novice Sister Claire just wants a purpose.
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Sparkly undead kids fight society's worst Nightmares in this pastel-punk urban fantasy coming-of-age!
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A barbarian warlord and a pampered prince try to avoid a marriage alliance that could end decades of violence.
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Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
Never Satisfied
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Lucy Marlowe, a magician's apprentice, competes against other apprentices for an important, magical, Goverment Job.
Knights Errant
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Wilfrid's humble quest for revenge becomes bigger and bloodier by the day.
Guilded Age
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Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
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Magic, monsters and mysteries await in the odd city of Sanity. It's up to Attley and a colorful group of characters to find out just what is going on.
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Love Not Found
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Katariina Lehto discovers her neighbor is a witch called Jousia Muotka. Jousia introduces Katariina to the strange people and places beyond the witch door...
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Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
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Wallace Foster, a young, bright-eyed human social worker, has his entire world view rocked when he's suddenly relocated into a city primarily inhabited by monsters.
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Doasaurus siegalensis: a newly described species within the genus Doasaurus. This is the second species described, after the recently discovered Doasaurus saruyamensis. D. siegalensis is a much larger species than the D. saruyamensis, a smaller species, whose demeanor has been predicted to be relatively docile. More research is being done on this genus.
PS, Willis, take not that otusasio451 never said D-Siegalensis or D-Saruyamensis. Don’t get me wrong, Willis. You’re a smart person. This strip proves it quite well. However, that just makes your flagrant abuse of scientific terms all the more disappointing.
Scientifically speaking, that is absolutely incorrect. The phrasing “T-rex” is a colloquialism adopted by layman speakers, but is not seen as valid in the scientific community. It’s actually T. rex. Trust me on this, I’m a biologist…in-training. I’m also a dinosaur nut. Guess who my favorite character is!
otusasio451, perhaps we should start a campaign announcing to everyone that David M. Willis is a science denier. This Tucker person, too.
These two would also be good people to ask to find out why science deniers blatantly refuse to accept science when the facts are laid out in front of them. This would be a very important thing to find out, before science deniers like David M. Willis and Tucker destroy the world.
Alyssa and Soundwave, I’d like to meet Rex. t and R. tex. Clearly these are animals from some cool alternate universe. Perhaps R. stands for Ryrannosaurus, or Rannotysaurus, or Raaarr!!!
Tucker, your refusal to acknowledge the scientific fact of the animal’s name is not going to get you into heaven.
I figured out well down the line that I was demi, and nobody knows what the hell that means. I was faintly relieved to know I was ace, but my life is still more complicated than a hedonist’s life should be.
With me it was the strawberries and high-grade honey girl dip that nearly did me in. Although, some to think of it the St. Stephens Cross Quadrocopter might have factored in.
“…most people have no clue what asexuality is…”
Huh. Really?
Am I biased by my generation or my location? I hear stuff like that a lot around here [DoA] but I’ve never really seen it reflected in people. Not that the topic comes up much, but still.
Allow me to clarify.
Online, and in DoA comments in particular, I often hear about meatfolk being confused and ignorant of such things, but my own experience shows that the people I interact with in person have generally at least heard of the concept of nonbinary gender, and while the idea of someone being asexual may seem strange to them, they know what it means.
Going to college in California might have something to do with it, but I’m wondering if it’s more a matter of generation or geography.
Mainly generational. Internet!
It’s also helpful to have a critical mass of curious and progressive people, whether that’s by geography, career path, personal preference, or whatever.
Probably a lot geographical too. It took me awhile figuring out American media, and also online culture, as it always seemed to me to be set in a bizarro-world, more akin’ to Norway in the ’60s than present day.
I grew up in a small Norwegian town (5000 inhabitants, half of them farmers) in the eighties (am 36 today), and we learned about most of this stuff at school, before I was 12! Bi, a, trans, etc., and I can’t even remember a time when it was “OK” to discriminate against anyone because of their sexual preferences or identities, that’s the kind of thing we only read about. (Not that it doesn’t happen, but when it does the general response is shock and anger, not complacency)
Even before I knew it was a thing I just assumed asexual people were people who don’t get all hot and bothered by sex. It never really…confuses or perplexes me unless someone goes into graphic detail. But hey, same thing if I try to explain my sexuality.
Apparently there are a plethora of people who are sexually attracted to people who do not possess the empathy to understand how it is possible to *not* be sexually attracted to people, at least in the US (the only place I’m remotely qualified to comment on). I’m told by my (late forties) husband that it was harder to be ace as a male, even a geeky one, because peer pressure conversations were all about doing “it”, and he couldn’t have cared less about “it”, so he just thought he was broken, which is pretty common for teenagers who don’t match up with their peers. As a female geek who was already asocial, being ace was only a problem when I was asked out by a friend and we didn’t have the same idea of what ‘dating’ entailed, because I already knew I wasn’t like my peers for other reasons and didn’t care. Thankfully he’s still a good friend, but still…
I didn’t know asexuals needed a support group until I met several others who had all felt like outsiders, but they’ve all been early ’80s babies or earlier. I think with the recent hubbub over the breadth of the sexual spectrum, asexuals are probably the least of most people’s worries any more
my coming out as ace has had … a lot of variety in responses.
On the bad side, its someone seeming supportive and then trashing me behind my back to a mutual friend, to “you just haven’t met the right person” or “that’s such a waste” or concerns for my partner’s well being.
But, the vast majority of responses have been “what does that mean? huh, okay.” Which I think is a really good response.
I’m a little Dina like though in personality, and a little child like at times. Its possible a ton of people are just relieved that my sexuality doesn’t involve wanting to have sex with anyone.
(for context, I’m in my 30s, in a very nerdy, queer friendly community. I only recently got on tumblr because it seemed like a nice place. I don’t feel like I need to come out there, I can just be, whereas in meatspace I still feel like I do).
Also, hi Wack’d! haven’t seen you around in a long time!
Nothing to be sorry for! Spend your time as you see fit!
I am glad to see you though. After the carla & aceness debate on shortpacked, it always gives me warm fuzzies to see you around. (I am the author of that “thank you very much for fighting the good fight” anon tumblr ask followed by the “you are free to stop at any time, take care of yourself” anon tumblr ask)
It all depends on how we assume people are distributed on the Kinsey scale. If we assign 10% to K=1 (completely hetero), and she enjoyed that particular instance, and we assume 100% of people who like women would enjoy kissing Becky (obviously true), then the probability that Dina is gay, using Bayes theorem, is about 80%.
Of course, we need Willis to conduct more experiments to lower the uncertainty. Its what Dina would want, statistically :p
…statistics is used extensively in science to analyze empirical data. In fact, proper scientific analysis requires statistics because nothing is 100% accurate.
Yeah, since when does being gay mean you’re a”sex weirdo”? I’m bi, so I’m used to extremists calling ME things like “sex weirdo,” but gay is pretty mainstream these days. Hell, we have gay politicians, in a country where unusual sexual proclivities gets you voted out of office.
I think “sex weirdo” being used here, is a callback to when Joyce used it last chapter when she brought up the questioning meeting in the first place. (It sounded to me like she was making a joke about her own lack of knowledge about these things).
Complacency is the greatest sin. The whores and the politicians reached out their hands to us and said “save us” and we whispered back “…no. you will have Dinas”.
Ethan let me give you some advice. Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.
Or don’t worry about what the rest of the world thinks (and when you make out how let me know)
I apologize for the autocorrect. Is too early in the morning for me to tell the difference between ‘gross’ and ‘grows’ as well as ‘his had’ from ‘he has’
Oh my god Ethan, I can’t believe you’re still complaining about the difficulties of being gay in our society! It’s not like that’s hard or anything. Just suck it up.
/sarcasm
OK, OK: I’ve been out of college for almost 15 years, so I’ve forgotten that is scary that a less-than-supportive parent can cut the funding at any moment. But other than that, Ethan has found nothing but acceptance from his social circle! His best friend/first ex-girlfriend, a fundamentalist Christian recent ex-girlfriend, and he’s just discovered that three more people in his life have casually known about it for a while and still didn’t treat him only as a homosexual. Ethan doesn’t whine about a potential life of hardship; he whines about people thinking of him as “gay Ethan,” and he already knows that his friends don’t think of him that way!
I might be completely off here, but based off the conversation he had with Amber outside of Galasso’s, it sounded like Ethan became a pariah at his old school because of the whole gay thing. Like it’s not just his parents who disapproved of it. It sounded like Amber was his sole supporter actually. So yeah, he knows a few people who aren’t judging him for it, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s afraid of being pigeonholed as gay, because it’s already happened before.
You forgot Mike, who doesn’t treat Ethan any differently because he’s gay. (Speaking of which, SP Mike had both mf & mm sex (manipulative Mike hate sex, but sex) and there was an alt universe Mike who was up for a 3-way with Ethan and Amber AND a 4-way with Ethan, Amber AND Dina. So, yeah ….)
Nope, it’s not treating him differently. Mike finds everybodies’ buttons and pushes them. It just so happens that Ethan’s button is his gayness. If Mike hadn’t pushed that, THAT would have been treating Ethan differently because he was gay. And, nope, he isnt a supportive friend. He’s an asshole to his friends. IF he qualifies as any kind of friend. Opinions on that differ. But he did know that Ethan is gay and they talked about that at a time when Mike was the only person with whom Ethan was comfortable talking–which is fug’d up, but there it is.
Well I’m sure that’s a great comfort to Ethan. If you weren’t gay, Mike would just try to get under your skin about something else! Meanwhile, it seems his relationship with Amber has greatly changed since he came out, (though that’s nobodies fault) along with his relationship with his parents. And that’s just the most important ones. It seems from his conversation with Amber outside of Galasso’s that most people reacted negatively to him coming out. It’s pretty understandable that he’s convinced that this will remain the case in the present.
Ugh, Ethan, I know pretty much your entire family denied who you were and tried to shove you back into the closet as soon as you came out of it, and I know your best friend stopped hanging out with you for a long while because she had to help you take a lot of the hits from coming out and it feels like its your fault, and I KNOW our society is largely just one big systematic piece of opression against LGBTIA+ people, but do you have to WHINE about it so much?
There are those who’d happily debate that last point.
Besides, people keep telling him it’s okay to be gay and it won’t sominate people’s perception of him, and his inability to accept that yet is bound to come across as whiny sometimes.
My point is that Ethan isn’t whining about any of that stuff, which could be legitimate concerns. No one is guaranteed a stress-free life, and it seems to me that is what Ethan is bemoaning.
From what we’ve seen, Ethan’s summer after coming out was very draining, and it especially strained his relationship with Amber. It only stands to reason he might be a bit weary of his being gay dominating his identity again.
Of course, like it or not, he’s going to want to start acting on it eventually. He already kinda did with his subtle flirting with Jocelyne.
If that’s the case, he shall no longer be known as “gay Ethan” but “Captain Gay Pizza.” His identity will be consumed not by his sexuality, but by his superpowers.
Someone tip off Ethan that gay is not so much a sexual weirdo thing as it used to be. Same sex marriage not licensed in all 50 states.
Always going to be haters, but things are changing, slowly. And hopefully, once the door is open, they can’t force it shut again.
Bigoted and abusive parents have a way of worming into your head even if you are physically separated from them. It’s going to take Ethan awhile to shake out those ghosts and places like this are exactly what he needs. A place where being gay isn’t a downside or something that robs him of friends, chicken sandwiches, and his parent’s affections. But where he can be himself and see that gay people can be more than stereotypes or badges of shame.
Isn’t the a gay bookstore someone could point him to (real life would be best but online should work) so he notices that there are many ways to be gay?
(just rereading the first Karin Kallmaker novel – set in the late 70ties -and when the protagonist at last admits to herself she’s a lesbian, a friend takes her to a women’ bookstore to provide comfort. … and also doesn’t let her take home “The Well of Loneliness”.)
Okay, part of me thinks it’d be best to keep my mouth shut and my head down right now, but another part of me, one which has certainly grown since 2013, considers action, ceteris paribus, preferable to inaction.
I thought I had been banned for my comments on the strip in October 2013 where Jocelyne come out to Ethan. Having been slaughtered at the time, I genuinely don t remember what they were. I am… I think I can best say… pretty much a cis man with gender issues aplenty… who posted something that day that may have come off as transphobic and/or misogynistic, and may well have merited me the spam filter. I don’t know why this thread has gone through, but I thank the gods it has, and beg Willis’s forgiveness.
Sad face on Ethan having absorbed so much internalized homophobia that he views his attractions as a sign of him being a “sex weirdo” and worried that hanging out with people who share his orientation will somehow corrupt him and his identity.
Happy face on Dina knowing exactly what Ethan needed at that moment. Someone to take his fears seriously, but to remind him that his personality does not need to be eclipsed by what others place on his identity.
P.S. to “Whiny (& Melodramatic) Ethan”: going to one single gay pizza meetup is not “doing all the ceremonial gay stuff” or letting it “become [your] life.” Sheesh! Have a sense of perspective.
Exactly, hes got friends who know and support him, hes reasonably intelligent, hes tall, in good shape and handsome so its not like he doesn’t have some positives going for him
Whether Ethan would like to admit it or not he would probably greatly benefit from having some happy out gay friends. He’d probably feel like less of a ‘sex weirdo” if he wasn’t the only non straight guy he knew.
To be fair, Danny mentioning anything to Ethan just now would probably be Danning it up. Until he’s totally figured himself out – and where he wants to stand with Amber and Ethan – it’d just be a recipe for confusion and hurt.
Eh, as whiny and self pitying as Ethan is, that kind of self-sorting, establishing an identity as a gay man, and shaking off a once close and obedient relationship to your parents takes a lot of time. Took me over a year. He’s only had a few months, and they’ve been rocky.
Gay pizza has has meat slices. Meat, Dina, you’re eating meat! You put on the __carnivore__ hat, put the __herbivore__ hat on Mr. Not-eating-the-pizza next to you. It’s all backwards right now. : (
Thus, the first panel breaks the suspenders of disbelief.
BTW: if Ethan really wants everyone to ignore his gayness, he can come out at the same time as vegan w/ anti-gluten and anti-numbered-colors and the “gay” part will be totally ignored.
(Since orientation is such a strong part of the forum culture here, I’ll point out I’m omnivore (w/ many kinds of leaves and occassional insectivory ), but experimented with both vegetarianism and piscitarianism. The latter was OK and I might tend that way, but it’s too hard to spell, and piscivore isn’t quite a synonym so I quit.)
Given how many seed-eating birds are chowing down on my suet feeder, and how many of the bug-eaters are downing black oil sunflower seeds, it seems that herbivores are OK with the occasional protein.
Dina is and always will be my favorite character in this strip and possibly out of all the comics I read. I can relate to her in a lot of ways. But mostly it’s because she’s so cute it’s almost physically painful.
Ethan, Mike, and Amber went to the same high school… What the hell was in the water in that town?! (“I’d like a latte with two pumps of hazelnut and a double shot of loathing.”)
As someone who once lived in a tiny suburban town where the city council voted against allowing a bowling alley because it would “invite gang activity” I can confirm that communities of certain locations are indeed terrible.
What is their hometown, anyway? The old cast pages (including the ones that still show up in the dropdown, but I can’t find one for any of those three) had them, but the new ones don’t.
I personally did like the original, and I can’t listen to audio right now so I have no idea what the linked one sounds like, but I tend to doubt your implicit claim that this is literally the only difference between the two versions.
The linked one is word for word lyrics. More acoustic. It has that acoustic soul over the poppy pop quality. So it is a guy kissing a girl over his bofriend over a girl kissing a girl over her boyfriend. (sorry it took three days to respond, this comment system is meh. But beyind the implicit side of my claim it des bother me that the DoA audience seems to have a bias over this stuff. Bi Danny is cool Straight Danny can suck it. Girls kissing girls over their ‘sexuality’ is cheap pop is pandering, but boys kissing girls over their sexuality is totes legit. )
There’s a version of that somewhere on YouTube, but it’s… also weird? Because the guy is aggressively straight about it and makes it a huge joke. In his version of the lyrics, he kissed a (homophobic?) guy to make the guy uncomfortable.
Yeah should be “While drunk I made a bad decision and pushed myself on someone of the same gender, while cheating on my partner in the process, hope they don’t mind that I make bad decisions while drunk, but it’s hot b/c we’re the same gender -wink-
Actually, yeah, I kinda forgot about that. It’s kinda hard to disassociate Ethan from his gayness, mostly because a bunch of his story lines FOCUS on how he’s dealing with his sexuality.
Like, I absolutely get what’s going on with Ethan, as I’ve often struggled with being out as well, but there’s this lovely happy middle which seems to have escaped him: being out to his friends and closeted to his family/those that would hurt him. For example, those who befriend me know my sexuality. My coworkers and distant relatives and complete strangers do not. It does not concern them, and I don’t want to paint rainbows all over my body to let everyone know, so it’s basically a non-issue. The world will assume I’m hetero anyways, might as well let them think what they want and not make myself into a walking stereotype. Not to mention I live in the South and don’t want to become the victim of a hate crime. :/
Selective closeting. It can literally save your life.
Actually this is a different hat: “Social Invisibility Hat”. It will be genuinely interesting to see if people will start deliberately not looking at Ethan or even thinking about him because he’s the ‘weird guy with the dinosaur hat’.
Hang on, hang on, hang on. If Dina brought the tyrannosaur hat, why did she stalk people wearing the TriceraTop(Tm). You are better than this, Dina.
Dina is delighted because now the tyrranorsaur hat is on a more fitting height.
This is good advice from Dina. What would be REALLY good advice would be Sal’s “own the fudge out of your own identity”. You are not “that dinosaur dude”, Ethan. If you want to be “that transformer dude” I suggest you get yourself you own hat!
What’s really funny is that the person who most often calls Dina “that dinosaur chick” is Becky – the person who has most invested in thinking of Dina in terms of who she’s kissing.
Wearing the hat with the TriceraTop is clearly not an option, and taking the TriceraTop off means she has to carry a fairly bulky piece of clothing around with her, which impedes her stalking and is generally a pain. She went with the best of bad options.
And yeah, get a Transformers hat, Ethan! Not only will it provide you with an alternate identity, it will advertise your presence to other Transformers fans. Ethan could do with more people to talk cartoons with.
This is a really nice moment between Dina and Ethan.
Dina may not socialize in the typical way, but she’s learning to form positive bonds with others on her terms. She is finding ways to make her neurodivergence work *for* her. As someone still struggling to accept and embrace my own identity as a neurodivergent individual (had a *lot* of bad experiences over the years which make this difficult) I am honestly inspired by Dina’s character. I look forward to seeing more Dina-style interactions over the course of this storyline.
Dina is awesome. There’ll never be anyone as awesome and good a person as Dina. Also, I like Ethan’s look in that hat – hopefully, it’ll continue for a while.
Y’all can ship characters if you want (Ethan/Danny or Dina/Becky), but I’m going to ship everyone joining a dinosaur cult led by Dina. I mean, this is still in like the first month of college. By senior year, there should be enough dino-people (in official headgear) to make a religion.
I’m going to BLOW UP because that LAST PANEL is TOO CUTE!!! Dina’s smile is EVERYTHING, and I want to just HUG Ethan’s worries away!!
I’m thinking a lot about Ethan tho, because at least for me, it gets tiring being around straight men too long (“seriously guys can we stop talking about which girls in which class are cuter?”). He’s got to be forming a social circle outside the main crew, like his lab group and such. And like, some of my tedium might be because I am at peace with myself (“Oh ok yeah cool joke that’s some funny queerphobia hahahah you suck”), and I can’t help but project and wonder how he’s dealing with things… so he probably respects himself little enough to internalize that sort of homophobia, right? He isn’t there for himself, like he wanted, so he really doesn’t realize how much he needs to be at that meeting, and I’m thinking if he’s gonna let his walls down enough for his healing to begin or if he’s gonna end up just feeding his neuroses…
And here like four strips ago I was raving internally cos of the remote posibility of DannyxEthan…
Shit I’m getting somber I’m gonna go stare at that last panel again
OH I WAS GONNA SAY AFTER THE STRAIGHT MEN BIT I want Ethan to realize that the same people who are going to write him off as gay Ethan are the kind that might as well be written off as straight Joe
Oh Ethan baby I was there. First year of college, too, and wondering why I wanted this thing that made me stand out and seemed to hurt so much. It takes a lot of time, but you slowly stop hiding and hating yourself and you realize it’s not you who needs to change. Also you find friends who aren’t assholes about it.
Kenji Yoshino’s book Covering explains this really well. Your queerness, no matter what form it takes, is a vital part of you that is deserving of love and protection and respect.
I think it’s partly because Ethan is so attractive, when you’re hot people can’t help but think of you in sexual situations, boy or girl, gay straight or bi, sex is kind of on the minds of people around you. If Ethan was a big fat guy or had a butterface or something nobody would care what his sexuality was. Remember, at the party Dina kissed another girl because she was concerned that everyone else was perceiving her as a little girl despite being the same age as everyone else.
Ugh I just spent the last hour trying to find this one person’s name but I can’t.
But what Dina says at the end reminded me of this joke made by a lesbian comedian. She just off-handedly tells the audience towards the end of the show that she’s gay and says that the thing that she likes most about it is that the only thing that has changed is the audience.
I know I butchered it but I just like that she’s saying that she’s still herself.
Sadly I know this isn’t as simple.
Yeah, I think he’s still in reactionary mode. He’s uncomfortable about coming out, he’s got preconceptions of how being out will affect his life (not entirely unfounded, if perhaps a bit overly pessimistic), he’s yet again found himself in a situation where a well-meaning friend is trying to make him be out and proud because _she_ thinks he should be, not because _he_wants to be, and he’s just discovered that ‘everyone’ apparently already knows he’s gay anyway, despite his not wanting them to. I suspect the rational thinking won’t really kick in until the internal panic calms down. Right now he’s probably too busy trying to deal with his assorted uncomfortable emotions to stop and realise that people have been treating him ‘normally’ despite knowing he’s gay.
Alyssa and Soundwave, I’d like to meet Rex. t and R. tex. Clearly these are animals from some cool alternate universe. Perhaps R. stands for Ryrannosaurus, or Rannotysaurus, or Raaarr!!!
Tucker, your refusal to acknowledge the scientific fact of the animal’s name is not going to get you into heaven.
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btw if you're one of those rando bluesky weirdos who doesn't know me but sees me in the wild being sarcastic and don't know i'm being sarcastic because you haven't taken like 30 seconds to, like, maybe look at my user profile or something, keep walking, you're not going to score internet points here
Here's an entertaining cite at the bottom of the first page
Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
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
preternia @preternia.com ⋅ 9h
Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com ⋅ 1d
Pavel
@spavel.bsky.social ⋅ 10d
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Ethanosaur YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Dina …abandoned mission =/
Doasaurus siegalensis: a newly described species within the genus Doasaurus. This is the second species described, after the recently discovered Doasaurus saruyamensis. D. siegalensis is a much larger species than the D. saruyamensis, a smaller species, whose demeanor has been predicted to be relatively docile. More research is being done on this genus.
Awesome!
PS, Willis, take not that otusasio451 never said D-Siegalensis or D-Saruyamensis. Don’t get me wrong, Willis. You’re a smart person. This strip proves it quite well. However, that just makes your flagrant abuse of scientific terms all the more disappointing.
t-rex
…Sorry about this.
Scientifically speaking, that is absolutely incorrect. The phrasing “T-rex” is a colloquialism adopted by layman speakers, but is not seen as valid in the scientific community. It’s actually T. rex. Trust me on this, I’m a biologist…in-training. I’m also a dinosaur nut. Guess who my favorite character is!
t-rex
B-Bu…yeah, all right.
t-rex
David M. Willis, why are you a science denier?
otusasio451, perhaps we should start a campaign announcing to everyone that David M. Willis is a science denier. This Tucker person, too.
These two would also be good people to ask to find out why science deniers blatantly refuse to accept science when the facts are laid out in front of them. This would be a very important thing to find out, before science deniers like David M. Willis and Tucker destroy the world.
t-rex
When global warming puts Indiana under the ocean and everyone is dead from not getting vaccines, it shall be the fault of Willis, the science denier.
t
–
r
e
x
…I have no idea what is happening right now…
T. rex
Not “t-rex”
jpic89, what’s happening right now is that Tucker and Willis are on the wrong side of history.
t-rex
Rex. t
R. tex
t – r e x
Alyssa and Soundwave, I’d like to meet Rex. t and R. tex. Clearly these are animals from some cool alternate universe. Perhaps R. stands for Ryrannosaurus, or Rannotysaurus, or Raaarr!!!
Tucker, your refusal to acknowledge the scientific fact of the animal’s name is not going to get you into heaven.
t||||
|-|||
||r||
|||e|
||||x
Welp, looks like we’re gonna need YET ANOTHER besties-riding-dinosaur pic. Internet, you’re up.
Dina smiled
this is the best thing
it’s the cutest thing ever. <3
Dina’s smile is the best. It’s almost… smug. “Yeah, I nailed this whole identity thing. Go me.”
She is gleeful and happy and awesome and I wish to be her at that exact moment
The combination of the darling smile and her realisation that she’s outmaneuvered those who look down on her as socially incompetent … I’m in love!
She’s just so thrilled to be dinosaur chick. It’s the best she can aspire to be.
While dinosaurs are the ancestors of birds, I believe the correct word for a young dinosaur is hatchling not chick.
While that all may be true, she’s certainly dinosaur chic.
At this moment I am sad I cannot click a single button to indicate ‘like’.
It’s a sad feeling, isn’t it.
You have to do the essay version of clicking “Like” =p
she’s really making sure, though, with that hoodie.
That’s not a hoodie it is a triecertop
Dinosaur chick or dude is the best anyone can aspire to be
I know that feel, Ethan.
Fortunately most people have no clue what asexuality is so my concerns that I’d become “that asexual guy” were mostly unfounded.
Except on Tumblr. There, at least, I’ve grown used to it.
I figured out well down the line that I was demi, and nobody knows what the hell that means. I was faintly relieved to know I was ace, but my life is still more complicated than a hedonist’s life should be.
Er, WASN’T ace.
Hedonism isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either. You should see my monthly bills for chocolate sauce and bullwhips.
With me it was the strawberries and high-grade honey girl dip that nearly did me in. Although, some to think of it the St. Stephens Cross Quadrocopter might have factored in.
“…most people have no clue what asexuality is…”
Huh. Really?
Am I biased by my generation or my location? I hear stuff like that a lot around here [DoA] but I’ve never really seen it reflected in people. Not that the topic comes up much, but still.
Yeah, hence the “except on Tumblr” caveat. Out in meatspace my attempts at coming out tend to be met by confused stares and trailing sentences.
Allow me to clarify.
Online, and in DoA comments in particular, I often hear about meatfolk being confused and ignorant of such things, but my own experience shows that the people I interact with in person have generally at least heard of the concept of nonbinary gender, and while the idea of someone being asexual may seem strange to them, they know what it means.
Going to college in California might have something to do with it, but I’m wondering if it’s more a matter of generation or geography.
Little of Column A, little of Column B, I’d wager.
I’m at college in mississippi, and I really think it’s a generation thing. Everybody around here knows what that kind of thing is.
Mainly generational. Internet!
It’s also helpful to have a critical mass of curious and progressive people, whether that’s by geography, career path, personal preference, or whatever.
Probably a lot geographical too. It took me awhile figuring out American media, and also online culture, as it always seemed to me to be set in a bizarro-world, more akin’ to Norway in the ’60s than present day.
I grew up in a small Norwegian town (5000 inhabitants, half of them farmers) in the eighties (am 36 today), and we learned about most of this stuff at school, before I was 12! Bi, a, trans, etc., and I can’t even remember a time when it was “OK” to discriminate against anyone because of their sexual preferences or identities, that’s the kind of thing we only read about. (Not that it doesn’t happen, but when it does the general response is shock and anger, not complacency)
Even before I knew it was a thing I just assumed asexual people were people who don’t get all hot and bothered by sex. It never really…confuses or perplexes me unless someone goes into graphic detail. But hey, same thing if I try to explain my sexuality.
Or as I say… “I’m not gay, I’m not straight, I’m just not interested”
Apparently there are a plethora of people who are sexually attracted to people who do not possess the empathy to understand how it is possible to *not* be sexually attracted to people, at least in the US (the only place I’m remotely qualified to comment on). I’m told by my (late forties) husband that it was harder to be ace as a male, even a geeky one, because peer pressure conversations were all about doing “it”, and he couldn’t have cared less about “it”, so he just thought he was broken, which is pretty common for teenagers who don’t match up with their peers. As a female geek who was already asocial, being ace was only a problem when I was asked out by a friend and we didn’t have the same idea of what ‘dating’ entailed, because I already knew I wasn’t like my peers for other reasons and didn’t care. Thankfully he’s still a good friend, but still…
I didn’t know asexuals needed a support group until I met several others who had all felt like outsiders, but they’ve all been early ’80s babies or earlier. I think with the recent hubbub over the breadth of the sexual spectrum, asexuals are probably the least of most people’s worries any more
my coming out as ace has had … a lot of variety in responses.
On the bad side, its someone seeming supportive and then trashing me behind my back to a mutual friend, to “you just haven’t met the right person” or “that’s such a waste” or concerns for my partner’s well being.
But, the vast majority of responses have been “what does that mean? huh, okay.” Which I think is a really good response.
I’m a little Dina like though in personality, and a little child like at times. Its possible a ton of people are just relieved that my sexuality doesn’t involve wanting to have sex with anyone.
(for context, I’m in my 30s, in a very nerdy, queer friendly community. I only recently got on tumblr because it seemed like a nice place. I don’t feel like I need to come out there, I can just be, whereas in meatspace I still feel like I do).
Also, hi Wack’d! haven’t seen you around in a long time!
Yeah, sorry, I have been trying to participate more around here as I realize I’ve fallen off the map a bit.
Nothing to be sorry for! Spend your time as you see fit!
I am glad to see you though.
After the carla & aceness debate on shortpacked, it always gives me warm fuzzies to see you around. (I am the author of that “thank you very much for fighting the good fight” anon tumblr ask followed by the “you are free to stop at any time, take care of yourself” anon tumblr ask)
Thank you!
It’s ok, we still think of you as ‘that guy that knows all that Walkyverse trivia, and also Doctor Who’.
Yes she kissed the girl, but did she like it?
Uncertain, multiple tests required
And controls. And statistical significant samples of boys, girls, transboys, transgirls, interkids…
… subs, doms, and assorted kinksters.
And a pineapple…… for good measure.
As long as she doesnt try the pineapple trick
If that’s anything like the Grapefruit Technique, I don’t want to know.
South Park: Paris Hilton + pineapple; draw your own conclusions.
Well, that’s a new one, so I learned something today. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not…
Recorded on video, of course. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-Zb-QiGslo
Better than the Paris Hilton Trick… Oh, SouthPark Stick of Truth… Why did you have to make Mr. Slave a guest attacker?
Are you saying she needs to kiss a girl just to try it?
It all depends on how we assume people are distributed on the Kinsey scale. If we assign 10% to K=1 (completely hetero), and she enjoyed that particular instance, and we assume 100% of people who like women would enjoy kissing Becky (obviously true), then the probability that Dina is gay, using Bayes theorem, is about 80%.
Of course, we need Willis to conduct more experiments to lower the uncertainty. Its what Dina would want, statistically :p
I’m getting some Faz vibes here with all this here talk of Kinsey scales and statistics…
Well, we do have a lot of charts.
I see your avatar screaming this and it made me giggle.
I was studying for the FE when I posted last night and I’d just finished the chapter on stats.
Comparing me to faz seems kind of harsh
That’s statistics, not science. Dina is a scientist. She only does fresh, hot empirical data, raw and quivering.
…statistics is used extensively in science to analyze empirical data. In fact, proper scientific analysis requires statistics because nothing is 100% accurate.
More than Captain Crunch, but not as much as Cookie Crisp. More data required.
“More than Captain Crunch” is setting the bar pretty low.
That depends. Is it peanutbutter crunch? If so than shut your mouth!
I don’t know if she liked it but we the readers sure did.
Was Becky wearing cherry chapstick?
ONE OF US
ONE OF US
GOOBLE GOBBLE
GOOBLE GOBBLE
Surely you mean ‘dabdabdabdab’
No.
Really no. Go use Google. Now.
I love Dina. Shut up and have a dinosaur hat.
*puts on a dinosaur hat* RAAWWWRR! *THWOMP THOMP THWOMP*
Well, better “Gay Ethan”, then “Self-Loathing Ethan”.
He needs to stop self-loathing and start self-loafing, that way he will feel much better and he will have bread whenever he wants it.
WizSaraaaaaaaah
YUP! ^_^
Wizsaraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah \o/
*KAZAOW!*
I now decree that every character must get a Dina hat Photoshopped onto their head at some point.
I bet the fanartists are already on it.
This needs to be retroactive to the Walkyverse as well. I demand Giant Mutant Frosted Honeybun-size hats.
Yeah, since when does being gay mean you’re a”sex weirdo”? I’m bi, so I’m used to extremists calling ME things like “sex weirdo,” but gay is pretty mainstream these days. Hell, we have gay politicians, in a country where unusual sexual proclivities gets you voted out of office.
I think “sex weirdo” being used here, is a callback to when Joyce used it last chapter when she brought up the questioning meeting in the first place. (It sounded to me like she was making a joke about her own lack of knowledge about these things).
And that in itself was a call-back to Shortpacked!, I reckon
Odds that Ethan becomes “that gay dinosaur guy”?
Joyce: “Hey, Ethan. Is that Dina’s hat? Looks good on you.”
Ethan: “The Smallest Dinosaur was the Saltopus. It was only 3 feet long, and weighed about five pounds.”
Joyce: “…What?”
Ethan: “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. Hey, I’m getting tired of pizza. Do they have any cereal?”
Dina is an Irken, the hat her PAK.
I want this to be true more badly than I would have expected.
I mean, keep in mind that if it is true, Dina will be dead within minutes, and I don’t think anyone wants that.
Dina and Gir would together be the most hilarious and adorable thing ever.
This is how Dina reproduces. Soon the entire school will be Dinas.
You could have prevented this future.
Complacency is the greatest sin. The whores and the politicians reached out their hands to us and said “save us” and we whispered back “…no. you will have Dinas”.
Why would I want to prevent a future made of Dinas?
“The first Dinobots were Grimlock, Slag, and Sludge. They were an often independent autobot faction”
So Ethan obsesses over Dinobot facts? Fitting.
EVERYONE obsesses over Dinobot facts. They are that awesome.
This is adorable. I hope they continue on this friendship path that I’m seeing, between this and their interactions at the party.
Ethan let me give you some advice. Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.
Or don’t worry about what the rest of the world thinks (and when you make out how let me know)
Weirdly, With Dina being so small and Ethan being so tall, the comparison to Tyrion and Jon kinda works.
I didn’t even think of that but I’ll claim it anyway
SPOILERS!!!
Um, isn’t the one to whom that advice was given now dead? (Allegedly confirmed)
As long as Ethan avoids getting elected president of any clubs, he’ll be fine.
“For the Gay Pizza Club”
That *gay* dinosaur chick
Dina’s a lot better at this figuring out how people work thing than she gives herself credit for.
That last panel is the best thing ever. Ethan needs to stay in that hat forever
It probably only seconds before Joyce comes over to ask why he’s wearing the hat.
And gross horrified that his had gone from a nice, acceptable sex-weirdo to a gosh-darned paleo-believer
I apologize for the autocorrect. Is too early in the morning for me to tell the difference between ‘gross’ and ‘grows’ as well as ‘his had’ from ‘he has’
Dina is a wonderful person.
Dina’s such a precious little cinnamon roll, ain’t she? Protect her at all costs!
Surely, that is unnecessary! No trucks (emotional or otherwise) have ever devestated the cast of DoA.
…maybe we should coat her in bubble wrap, just in case
Labelled as Dinosaur-Freak 1, labelled as Gay-Guy 0.
Ethan just can not relax either way can he :).
Dina is great, sharing her special hat with him. He’s kinda cute in it actually.
Anxiety sux
Personally, I think that Ethan is more in danger of being known as “whiny Ethan” . . .
Oh my god Ethan, I can’t believe you’re still complaining about the difficulties of being gay in our society! It’s not like that’s hard or anything. Just suck it up.
/sarcasm
OK, OK: I’ve been out of college for almost 15 years, so I’ve forgotten that is scary that a less-than-supportive parent can cut the funding at any moment. But other than that, Ethan has found nothing but acceptance from his social circle! His best friend/first ex-girlfriend, a fundamentalist Christian recent ex-girlfriend, and he’s just discovered that three more people in his life have casually known about it for a while and still didn’t treat him only as a homosexual. Ethan doesn’t whine about a potential life of hardship; he whines about people thinking of him as “gay Ethan,” and he already knows that his friends don’t think of him that way!
I might be completely off here, but based off the conversation he had with Amber outside of Galasso’s, it sounded like Ethan became a pariah at his old school because of the whole gay thing. Like it’s not just his parents who disapproved of it. It sounded like Amber was his sole supporter actually. So yeah, he knows a few people who aren’t judging him for it, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s afraid of being pigeonholed as gay, because it’s already happened before.
Possibly Mike as well. Or maybe Mike just didn’t care about who Ethan was interested in.
Dang, I posted above/below before I read to here.
You forgot Mike, who doesn’t treat Ethan any differently because he’s gay. (Speaking of which, SP Mike had both mf & mm sex (manipulative Mike hate sex, but sex) and there was an alt universe Mike who was up for a 3-way with Ethan and Amber AND a 4-way with Ethan, Amber AND Dina. So, yeah ….)
Telling someone (facetiously or not) that they should shove themselves back in the closet isn’t treating them differently for being gay? Huh.
(I’m well aware of Mike’s actions in other universes. And in this universe. He doesn’t seem like a very supportive friend. Or a friend at all.)
Considering if it wasn’t that it’d be something else?
Nope, it’s not treating him differently. Mike finds everybodies’ buttons and pushes them. It just so happens that Ethan’s button is his gayness. If Mike hadn’t pushed that, THAT would have been treating Ethan differently because he was gay. And, nope, he isnt a supportive friend. He’s an asshole to his friends. IF he qualifies as any kind of friend. Opinions on that differ. But he did know that Ethan is gay and they talked about that at a time when Mike was the only person with whom Ethan was comfortable talking–which is fug’d up, but there it is.
Well I’m sure that’s a great comfort to Ethan. If you weren’t gay, Mike would just try to get under your skin about something else! Meanwhile, it seems his relationship with Amber has greatly changed since he came out, (though that’s nobodies fault) along with his relationship with his parents. And that’s just the most important ones. It seems from his conversation with Amber outside of Galasso’s that most people reacted negatively to him coming out. It’s pretty understandable that he’s convinced that this will remain the case in the present.
Ugh, Ethan, I know pretty much your entire family denied who you were and tried to shove you back into the closet as soon as you came out of it, and I know your best friend stopped hanging out with you for a long while because she had to help you take a lot of the hits from coming out and it feels like its your fault, and I KNOW our society is largely just one big systematic piece of opression against LGBTIA+ people, but do you have to WHINE about it so much?
There are those who’d happily debate that last point.
Besides, people keep telling him it’s okay to be gay and it won’t sominate people’s perception of him, and his inability to accept that yet is bound to come across as whiny sometimes.
My point is that Ethan isn’t whining about any of that stuff, which could be legitimate concerns. No one is guaranteed a stress-free life, and it seems to me that is what Ethan is bemoaning.
From what we’ve seen, Ethan’s summer after coming out was very draining, and it especially strained his relationship with Amber. It only stands to reason he might be a bit weary of his being gay dominating his identity again.
Of course, like it or not, he’s going to want to start acting on it eventually. He already kinda did with his subtle flirting with Jocelyne.
Everyone has struggles, but it’s kind of fucked up that Ethan’s struggles are rooted in how his family and community treat his sexuality.
“gee, why don’t you suffer in silence, like the rest” ?
He’s been Whiny Ethan since Shortpacked. This is honestly an improvement for him.
Smell that Rawr-ified air.
Ethan’s got a worry hat! Dina solves all problems!
Siri, where is the nearest gay pizza meetup?
Siri gives you directions to Ethan.
Gay pizza meetups now gravitate to him? Lucky bugger!
If that’s the case, he shall no longer be known as “gay Ethan” but “Captain Gay Pizza.” His identity will be consumed not by his sexuality, but by his superpowers.
Just goes to prove – if you don’t like an adjective attached to your name, just add more! Add enough, and any single one begins to lose power.
Ethan, for example, is haunted by being ‘Gay Ethan’. But, if he becomes ‘Captain Gay Dino Pizza Ethan’, no one will even notice!
Pizza Gay is a cool dude. Eh delivers pizza and definitely isn’t Ethan.
And now the Dino-hat will claim a new host to control.
I now decree that every character must get a Dina hat Photoshopped onto their head at some point.
I don’t know what I love more. That Dina was carrying the hat with her or that Ethan is wearing it. Too much adorableness in one comic.
Someone tip off Ethan that gay is not so much a sexual weirdo thing as it used to be. Same sex marriage not licensed in all 50 states.
Always going to be haters, but things are changing, slowly. And hopefully, once the door is open, they can’t force it shut again.
Darn that is supposed to be ‘…now licensed..”
Sadly, anyone telling him that is going to be canceled out by his horrible mother’s lectures. At least until he stands up to her.
Bigoted and abusive parents have a way of worming into your head even if you are physically separated from them. It’s going to take Ethan awhile to shake out those ghosts and places like this are exactly what he needs. A place where being gay isn’t a downside or something that robs him of friends, chicken sandwiches, and his parent’s affections. But where he can be himself and see that gay people can be more than stereotypes or badges of shame.
As long as he is “friends” with Mike none of those things is safe
On the other hand, he can definitely count on Mike not to treat him as different because he’s gay. Mike is an equal-opportunity asshole.
Plus, he exists in a time dilation field, so by the time he graduates gay marriage will have been legal everywhere for his whole life.
Isn’t the a gay bookstore someone could point him to (real life would be best but online should work) so he notices that there are many ways to be gay?
(just rereading the first Karin Kallmaker novel – set in the late 70ties -and when the protagonist at last admits to herself she’s a lesbian, a friend takes her to a women’ bookstore to provide comfort. … and also doesn’t let her take home “The Well of Loneliness”.)
Dina, you are adorable.
Ethan and Dina will best buds for life!
I actually own that hat. NEWW 2010. But I’m banned.
(If you see this, something is very, very wrong.)
I knew it! I have been saying for years that something is cery very wrong, thank you for validating my neuroses.
“If you’re not outraged you’re not paying attention.” Best. Bumper sticker. Ever.
Wait… WTF? Not expecting to see this. Not sure what to do.
Eat some pizza and/or cereal, then do 50 pushups.
Works every time.
You have been unbanned! Hopefully
Okay, part of me thinks it’d be best to keep my mouth shut and my head down right now, but another part of me, one which has certainly grown since 2013, considers action, ceteris paribus, preferable to inaction.
I thought I had been banned for my comments on the strip in October 2013 where Jocelyne come out to Ethan. Having been slaughtered at the time, I genuinely don t remember what they were. I am… I think I can best say… pretty much a cis man with gender issues aplenty… who posted something that day that may have come off as transphobic and/or misogynistic, and may well have merited me the spam filter. I don’t know why this thread has gone through, but I thank the gods it has, and beg Willis’s forgiveness.
The Willis is merciful. But remember, the Willis giveth…
You tried posting a comment while assuming you were banned. Uh.
Sometimes, even if you know no one is listening, sometimes you just gotta speak out. And sometimes, someone hears you. It’s a good thing.
Heh on the callback to the other universe.
Sad face on Ethan having absorbed so much internalized homophobia that he views his attractions as a sign of him being a “sex weirdo” and worried that hanging out with people who share his orientation will somehow corrupt him and his identity.
Happy face on Dina knowing exactly what Ethan needed at that moment. Someone to take his fears seriously, but to remind him that his personality does not need to be eclipsed by what others place on his identity.
P.S. to “Whiny (& Melodramatic) Ethan”: going to one single gay pizza meetup is not “doing all the ceremonial gay stuff” or letting it “become [your] life.” Sheesh! Have a sense of perspective.
Exactly, hes got friends who know and support him, hes reasonably intelligent, hes tall, in good shape and handsome so its not like he doesn’t have some positives going for him
Kinda egotistical of him to call it a Gay pizza meetup, too. ‘Questioning,’ written in rainbow no less, sounds a little more inclusive.
‘Perspective’ is something rare for the characters in this series.
Realism is a wonderful thing.
That’s the point. He has no sense of perspective yet. This is his chance.
He could take an ametuer drawing class. Does he have any electives open?
Awesome final panel.
Dina is much more self-aware and savvy than I had heretofore gleaned.
I wonder if Willis will have all the characters wear hats on the 25th of November comic as it will be International Hat Day.
Sure, and have them all wear beard during movember too (especially the girls)
No that would be just plain silly… hats on the other hand…
Especially Joyce (’cause, you know, beard)
She could be a litteral old god testament, minus lightning powers.
Sorry, only Sarah get to be OT God.
Aww, damn.
Whether Ethan would like to admit it or not he would probably greatly benefit from having some happy out gay friends. He’d probably feel like less of a ‘sex weirdo” if he wasn’t the only non straight guy he knew.
So this gay pizza meet up might be just what he needs if he could relax a little.
Well…if he KNEW he wasn’t the only non-straight guy he knew.
C’mon, Danny! Don’t you dare Dan this up!
To be fair, Danny mentioning anything to Ethan just now would probably be Danning it up. Until he’s totally figured himself out – and where he wants to stand with Amber and Ethan – it’d just be a recipe for confusion and hurt.
D’Awwww. Dina is giving me the feels.
Dina and Ethan sittin’ on the floor,
Talkin’ ’bout a Di-No-Saur,
First comes the pizza, then the hat,
Now they’s friends; how ’bout that?
Sir or madam, I salute you and all who sail on you.
Dina. Still figuring out social norms, yet goes out of her way to be an awesome friend.
Dina in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen.
Actually, she might prefer a skull of some sort…
Eggshell, dude. Eggshell.
Man, turns my what my life was really missing is adorable friend feels between these two. I hope we get more of them together
All the likes.
First the hoodie from Ethan to Dina, then the hat from Dina to Ethan. I approve of this reciprocity.
Good call! This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship…
ooh, now that you mention it. It’s a pretty litteral gift-back from last night.
Ooooooh! That explains Dina’s smug smile – she cracked the code.
“Someone is having social and/or anxiety related problems. Give them a piece of clothing.”
Didn’t she pretty much rip the jacket off him rather than him offering it tho ?
Well, he offered any help he could give. I do like the idea that Dina is offering her hat here in trade for his jacket last night.
Seeing this made me make a noise. It was a fun noise.
You probably should go easy on the beans, tho..
Eh, as whiny and self pitying as Ethan is, that kind of self-sorting, establishing an identity as a gay man, and shaking off a once close and obedient relationship to your parents takes a lot of time. Took me over a year. He’s only had a few months, and they’ve been rocky.
Gay pizza has has meat slices. Meat, Dina, you’re eating meat! You put on the __carnivore__ hat, put the __herbivore__ hat on Mr. Not-eating-the-pizza next to you. It’s all backwards right now. : (
Thus, the first panel breaks the suspenders of disbelief.
BTW: if Ethan really wants everyone to ignore his gayness, he can come out at the same time as vegan w/ anti-gluten and anti-numbered-colors and the “gay” part will be totally ignored.
(Since orientation is such a strong part of the forum culture here, I’ll point out I’m omnivore (w/ many kinds of leaves and occassional insectivory ), but experimented with both vegetarianism and piscitarianism. The latter was OK and I might tend that way, but it’s too hard to spell, and piscivore isn’t quite a synonym so I quit.)
Given how many seed-eating birds are chowing down on my suet feeder, and how many of the bug-eaters are downing black oil sunflower seeds, it seems that herbivores are OK with the occasional protein.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/11/deer_eat_meat_herbivores_and_carnivores_are_not_so_clearly_divided.html
Just for fun, here is something showing that herbivores… well aren’t always.
A Triceratops Has Become Omnivorous! Exclusive Footage In The Questioning Meetup!
I love this. It might me my favourite single strip in book 5.
Yet I’m still desperately hoping Danny will show up.
What is wrong with me.
I came here to say pretty much the same thing.
and all plot-lines will converge…at the meetup!
…and turn into the singularity
And then Soggie may rule.
The hat has a new scalp to feast upon. But will the hat accept or reject this new host?
Dina is and always will be my favorite character in this strip and possibly out of all the comics I read. I can relate to her in a lot of ways. But mostly it’s because she’s so cute it’s almost physically painful.
Dina’s smile is life.
I hope Ethan finds his smile.
Ethan has gone from a watermelon looking hair eating his head to a dinosaur eating his hair.
I feel this is an improvement.
Ethan, Mike, and Amber went to the same high school… What the hell was in the water in that town?! (“I’d like a latte with two pumps of hazelnut and a double shot of loathing.”)
As someone who once lived in a tiny suburban town where the city council voted against allowing a bowling alley because it would “invite gang activity” I can confirm that communities of certain locations are indeed terrible.
What is their hometown, anyway? The old cast pages (including the ones that still show up in the dropdown, but I can’t find one for any of those three) had them, but the new ones don’t.
I want to be Dina when I grow up.
Always follow your dreams
Be careful what you wish for.
I know that seems vague but it was the best I could do.
I see what you did there.
Ethan evolved into Gay Ethan!
Gay Ethan leveled up while holding Dino Hat and evolved into Gay Dino Ethan!
I can’t wait until he get’s a Mega.
He transforms and rolls out, duh.
Some people just want to keep their personal lives private. I can respect Ethan for that.
Man I really want one of those Dino hats. Lucky Ethan.
So, is “gay pizza” a pizza that wants to eat or be eaten by pizza?
*cue vaguely obscene pizza on pizza image…*
It’s all about the sausages.
“THE SAUSAGES ARE TOUCHING!!!”
They are touching mouths, they are touching tongues.
Sauce was simply EVERYWHERE…
Whoa, there! Pizza-on-pizza…is a very exciting prospect. I eat all my pizza as sandwiches
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNOVc3bnK9g
The awesome version of the Katy Perry song (no kidding).
Why is it awesome when it’s gender swapped and terrible when it isn’t?
I personally did like the original, and I can’t listen to audio right now so I have no idea what the linked one sounds like, but I tend to doubt your implicit claim that this is literally the only difference between the two versions.
The linked one is word for word lyrics. More acoustic. It has that acoustic soul over the poppy pop quality. So it is a guy kissing a girl over his bofriend over a girl kissing a girl over her boyfriend. (sorry it took three days to respond, this comment system is meh. But beyind the implicit side of my claim it des bother me that the DoA audience seems to have a bias over this stuff. Bi Danny is cool Straight Danny can suck it. Girls kissing girls over their ‘sexuality’ is cheap pop is pandering, but boys kissing girls over their sexuality is totes legit. )
The gender-swapped and orientation-swapped song is an awesome commentary on the original.
Actually, that was a bit disappointing. I was expecting him to sing “I kissed a boy”.
There’s a version of that somewhere on YouTube, but it’s… also weird? Because the guy is aggressively straight about it and makes it a huge joke. In his version of the lyrics, he kissed a (homophobic?) guy to make the guy uncomfortable.
Not worth finding, for me. Look if you wish.
There is no awesome version of that song. And I say that as a Katy Perry fan. It’s just a terrible song all around.
Yeah should be “While drunk I made a bad decision and pushed myself on someone of the same gender, while cheating on my partner in the process, hope they don’t mind that I make bad decisions while drunk, but it’s hot b/c we’re the same gender -wink-
Actually, yeah, I kinda forgot about that. It’s kinda hard to disassociate Ethan from his gayness, mostly because a bunch of his story lines FOCUS on how he’s dealing with his sexuality.
Like, I absolutely get what’s going on with Ethan, as I’ve often struggled with being out as well, but there’s this lovely happy middle which seems to have escaped him: being out to his friends and closeted to his family/those that would hurt him. For example, those who befriend me know my sexuality. My coworkers and distant relatives and complete strangers do not. It does not concern them, and I don’t want to paint rainbows all over my body to let everyone know, so it’s basically a non-issue. The world will assume I’m hetero anyways, might as well let them think what they want and not make myself into a walking stereotype. Not to mention I live in the South and don’t want to become the victim of a hate crime. :/
Selective closeting. It can literally save your life.
….this is so awesomely adorable
Also : “WORRY HAT, ACTIVATE !!”
Actually this is a different hat: “Social Invisibility Hat”. It will be genuinely interesting to see if people will start deliberately not looking at Ethan or even thinking about him because he’s the ‘weird guy with the dinosaur hat’.
…someone else’s problem field, activate ?
Ethan in Dina’s hat is my new favorite thing. Most adorable dino-broship ever.
Dinosaur hat Ethan shall be my new gravatar, and I shall never regret this change.
Hold on, that didn’t work. Let me just…
This is more difficult than maintaining your social identity when your sexual one outshines it the eyes of society at large.
You have peaked. You have now the best gravatar.
Okay, swear-word it, I’m getting a Dinosaur hat now. Are you happy, Mr. Willis?!
It would be nice if she had a spare one she could slap on Walky’s head when he’s being an @sshole so no one notices him…
What di the poor hat do to deserve that fate.
*did
damnable keyboard
Hang on, hang on, hang on. If Dina brought the tyrannosaur hat, why did she stalk people wearing the TriceraTop(Tm). You are better than this, Dina.
Dina is delighted because now the tyrranorsaur hat is on a more fitting height.
This is good advice from Dina. What would be REALLY good advice would be Sal’s “own the fudge out of your own identity”. You are not “that dinosaur dude”, Ethan. If you want to be “that transformer dude” I suggest you get yourself you own hat!
What’s really funny is that the person who most often calls Dina “that dinosaur chick” is Becky – the person who has most invested in thinking of Dina in terms of who she’s kissing.
lulz. I just remembered that it was indeed Becky who have her that label…or was the first to say it in front of her, anyway
Wearing the hat with the TriceraTop is clearly not an option, and taking the TriceraTop off means she has to carry a fairly bulky piece of clothing around with her, which impedes her stalking and is generally a pain. She went with the best of bad options.
And yeah, get a Transformers hat, Ethan! Not only will it provide you with an alternate identity, it will advertise your presence to other Transformers fans. Ethan could do with more people to talk cartoons with.
Ahhh, Dina is wonderful and empathetic and just (gives her all the hugs in my mind).
This is a really nice moment between Dina and Ethan.
Dina may not socialize in the typical way, but she’s learning to form positive bonds with others on her terms. She is finding ways to make her neurodivergence work *for* her. As someone still struggling to accept and embrace my own identity as a neurodivergent individual (had a *lot* of bad experiences over the years which make this difficult) I am honestly inspired by Dina’s character. I look forward to seeing more Dina-style interactions over the course of this storyline.
Last panel Dina is the best Dina. Best Dina ever. She’said just so happy-looking, like she’said about to giggle.
Reading this made me think of how I adjectivize my friends.
I am a monster.
When it comes to unusual habits, nothing outdoes being a furry (scaly).
Yes, Ethan, you need some other thing to overwhelm your personality. Maybe you can collect Transformers or something?
Dina is awesome. There’ll never be anyone as awesome and good a person as Dina. Also, I like Ethan’s look in that hat – hopefully, it’ll continue for a while.
Y’all can ship characters if you want (Ethan/Danny or Dina/Becky), but I’m going to ship everyone joining a dinosaur cult led by Dina. I mean, this is still in like the first month of college. By senior year, there should be enough dino-people (in official headgear) to make a religion.
Gina is a genius. I really love that insight!
The Ceremony of Hats has begun.
This could be a song. In the mean time, have Who By Fire from New Skin for Old Ceremony:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI7cB0CngJQ&index=4&list=PLXi6Zz3PrM7gHHqyqCI494bFOvB-HjURO
Who shall I say is calling? Dino Ethan.
…waiit a minute.
Did she especially amp up the dino costume SO people would still call there “that dinosaur chick” ? :O
This is genius.
I’m going to BLOW UP because that LAST PANEL is TOO CUTE!!! Dina’s smile is EVERYTHING, and I want to just HUG Ethan’s worries away!!
I’m thinking a lot about Ethan tho, because at least for me, it gets tiring being around straight men too long (“seriously guys can we stop talking about which girls in which class are cuter?”). He’s got to be forming a social circle outside the main crew, like his lab group and such. And like, some of my tedium might be because I am at peace with myself (“Oh ok yeah cool joke that’s some funny queerphobia hahahah you suck”), and I can’t help but project and wonder how he’s dealing with things… so he probably respects himself little enough to internalize that sort of homophobia, right? He isn’t there for himself, like he wanted, so he really doesn’t realize how much he needs to be at that meeting, and I’m thinking if he’s gonna let his walls down enough for his healing to begin or if he’s gonna end up just feeding his neuroses…
And here like four strips ago I was raving internally cos of the remote posibility of DannyxEthan…
Shit I’m getting somber I’m gonna go stare at that last panel again
OH I WAS GONNA SAY AFTER THE STRAIGHT MEN BIT I want Ethan to realize that the same people who are going to write him off as gay Ethan are the kind that might as well be written off as straight Joe
Ironically, Ethan probably would be the Straight Man, was he in a comedy duo.
Dina has it so right, it’s not who you are, it’s who you want to be.
Don’t let others define you, define yourself however you like and be proud of it.
Heh, very appropriate you have the new Ms. Marvel avatar while saying that.
Goddammit Willis, what do you want from us? Do you just want us to ship Dina with everybody in this chapter is that it? Will that make you happy?!
WELL FINE! DINA AND ETHAN ARE NOW A SHIP. LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE.
Much better than galasso <_<
DINA 2016
Tackle the problems like the T-Rex!
Oh Ethan baby I was there. First year of college, too, and wondering why I wanted this thing that made me stand out and seemed to hurt so much. It takes a lot of time, but you slowly stop hiding and hating yourself and you realize it’s not you who needs to change. Also you find friends who aren’t assholes about it.
Kenji Yoshino’s book Covering explains this really well. Your queerness, no matter what form it takes, is a vital part of you that is deserving of love and protection and respect.
“Clever girl…”
FWIW–someone in my building has named thier WiFi access point “RAWR!”
I think it’s partly because Ethan is so attractive, when you’re hot people can’t help but think of you in sexual situations, boy or girl, gay straight or bi, sex is kind of on the minds of people around you. If Ethan was a big fat guy or had a butterface or something nobody would care what his sexuality was. Remember, at the party Dina kissed another girl because she was concerned that everyone else was perceiving her as a little girl despite being the same age as everyone else.
Be who you were born to be, Ethan. Become ‘that Transformers dude’.
Ugh I just spent the last hour trying to find this one person’s name but I can’t.
But what Dina says at the end reminded me of this joke made by a lesbian comedian. She just off-handedly tells the audience towards the end of the show that she’s gay and says that the thing that she likes most about it is that the only thing that has changed is the audience.
I know I butchered it but I just like that she’s saying that she’s still herself.
Sadly I know this isn’t as simple.
It just occurred to me that Sarah will probably wait for her spy report for a loooong time.
This arc (as well as the Becky smooch) has genuinely been the first time I’ve ever even remotely cared about Dina.
You are a monster of the most terrible kind, comparable only to people who talk in theatres!
Special hell.
D’aaww, look at Dina being helpful and stuffs.
I don’t think it’s sunk in for Ethan yet that a bunch of people already knew he was gay and yet treated him no different.
Yeah, I think he’s still in reactionary mode. He’s uncomfortable about coming out, he’s got preconceptions of how being out will affect his life (not entirely unfounded, if perhaps a bit overly pessimistic), he’s yet again found himself in a situation where a well-meaning friend is trying to make him be out and proud because _she_ thinks he should be, not because _he_wants to be, and he’s just discovered that ‘everyone’ apparently already knows he’s gay anyway, despite his not wanting them to. I suspect the rational thinking won’t really kick in until the internal panic calms down. Right now he’s probably too busy trying to deal with his assorted uncomfortable emotions to stop and realise that people have been treating him ‘normally’ despite knowing he’s gay.
Also: Dina continues to be the best.
That just might work.
Although would have had a better chance if he’d started that some time before coming out.
Well, maybe now people will stop misrepresenting Ethan’s motivations for wanting to stay in the closet. Hahaha no who am I kidding.
Wait didn’t Dina just eat breakfast? Why is she eating again?
Cuz it’s free gay pizza, yo. What other reason do you need?
Diurnal herbivours like triceratops would graze constantly throughout the day.
SHE HAD ON HER ALL ALONG :O
And I want it more than ever.
Dina is my anti-angst.
Yup.
Nothing wrong with Dina.
Alyssa and Soundwave, I’d like to meet Rex. t and R. tex. Clearly these are animals from some cool alternate universe. Perhaps R. stands for Ryrannosaurus, or Rannotysaurus, or Raaarr!!!
Tucker, your refusal to acknowledge the scientific fact of the animal’s name is not going to get you into heaven.
Hey, waitaminute.. Dina is eating something other than CEREAL?!
*spacetime gets a hole ripped into it*
YES!! SO ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!