it's very normal, just like me
121

Transcript

Ruth: NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP
Alice: So, Billie, who's your friend?
Becky: Yeah, "Billie," who's your friend?
Jennifer: Oh, that's Becky.
Jennifer: Remember that guy who fired a gun on campus last year? That was her dad.
Alice: NO WAY.
Jennifer: And remember when all those students were kidnapped? That was also her dad.
Becky: Ehh, I'd rather be remembered for lovin' ladies.
Alice: FUCK YEAH! Up top for lovin' ladies!
Becky: Hey, Jennifer, who's YOUR friend?
Jennifer: This is my bestie Alice, who thinks you can brag about having gay thoughts even though EVERYBODY does SOMETIMES.
Ruth: IN YOUR CLOSET, IN YOUR HEAD

Lay me
Posted on May 26, 2026 by David M Willis

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Tags: alice, asma, becky, jennifer, metallica

115 thoughts on “Lay me”

  1. ZombieKyrik

    I get the distinct impression that Asma is regretting coming along. If this turns into Billie, and Alice making out, or them leaving together for implied “hanky panky” then Asma is going to be devastated. I feel bad for Asma here since she clearly is into Alice, but Alice wants to be with Billie, and Asma is suppressing her “temptation” because of it.
    .
    Is there a way this turns into everyone happy(ish) and enjoying karaoke?

    1. clif

      I’m enjoying their Karoke, and after all that’s what’s important.

    2. Tan

      May the wisdom of Charles guide us: https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/mysake/

      1. Rose By Any Other Name

        Indeed. “Roller Derby – that’s neat!”
        Apropos for every occasional, really. A true sage that man.

        (yes, I know you mean the other thing he said)

      2. Steamweed

        Charles has wisdom in this. (not in many other things, but in this, yes.)

    3. Thomas

      I dunno. Karaoke is hard enough to enjoy as it is. It probably helps if you’ve got a monitor speaker & your friends can actually sing. I mean, is anyone really paying attention to Ruth here? It seems like they’re sitting this one out.

      1. popcorn

        It’s not so much as being able to actually sing but just being willing to temporarily make an ass of oneself and have fun.

        1. Svankensen

          Yeah, the trick is being UNABLE to sing. If you sing too well, everyone else is ashamed to come after you!

        2. Needfuldoer

          You can also make things more difficult for yourself (and therefore more entertaining for everyone else) by picking a song that’s outside your vocal range.

        3. ValdVin

          Is this one of those karaoke machines where you can set the pitch to your range? It can help a lot of people.

        4. Wizard

          I did once get a good response for doing Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion”. I was exactly the right amount of drunk, not “falling down, throwing up” but just drunk enough my inhibitions and self-consciousness were at their lowest.

        5. Seth

          I feel like just picking popular songs and playing it straight – trying and inevitably failing to match the originals – is a missed opportunity. So, I’ve done karaoke only once, but I came prepared to make things difficult for myself another way. First track I picked was, coincidentally, “Enter Sandman”, but instead of Metallica’s lyrics, I sang the panpsychism filk by Existential Comics (https://existentialcomics.com/comic/59). And for my second trick, I sang the lyrics to “Through the Fire and Flames” to the tune of “Hotel California”.

      2. Miri

        I think Asma feels called out by Ruth singing about being closeted in your head…

    4. Irreleverent

      They could just all kiss each other. That would surely improve the situation.

    5. Bryy

      It doesn’t sound like Jennier is in a “hanky panky” mood.

    6. DJTsurugi

      listen, girl on girl on girl on girl premarital hanky panky is a thing, especially on Slipshine… ~<3

      1. Rose By Any Other Name

        … is it though?
        Aside from maybe one of the archived comics, I can’t actually think of a scene like that existing. Mores the pity, really.

    7. Paradoxius

      And more importantly, is there a permutation of this that could give us a “now do a silly one” of lesbian drama? Particularly for Becky and Jennifer, who were party to the previous decidedly un-silly instances, and Asma, who really needs to get caught up in some hijinks to either loosen her up *or* make her uptight in a funner way.

  2. QueenofSodor

    i really REALLY hope this subplot ends with Becky and Alice having a fling, i’ve been rotating the idea of those two together for a while because i think they’d have a great dynamic, and the idea of 2/3rds* of the people who’d be most burned by them getting together all being in this room AS IT HAPPENS is beautiful to me
    
•
    *my math is as follows: Dina (not present, the missing 1/3rd) will be pissed at Becky rebounding immediately, Asma will be depressed seeing her potentially having missed her shot at Alice**, and Jennifer will feel a weird longing inside as her bestie has sex with a woman that *isn’t* her. it’ll be amazing, i swear!!!

    •
    
**this probably would not be the end of Alice/Asma stuff but i will admit this is the one thing that makes me hesitate rooting for this bc i really like Alice/Asma too! it’s fucked up!

    1. Moonracer191

      Galaxy brain ideas here. I love both Dina and Becky! But I hope they don’t get back together. Sometimes you have to make things worse before they can get better 😈

      1. NGPZ

        I unironically want Dina to focus on self love and shine on her own for a while :’)
        honestly the couple were never Latios and Latias, is just the one of them bein Entei

        1. Joy

          The relationship started because Becky was respecting her in a way that other people weren’t. Now it seems like she’s being respected more, and I’d like her to have higher standards. (I’m not against them getting back together, but I agree.)

    2. Fail Earnhardt

      I agree that it would be messed up and Becky would instantly regret it come morning, but have you considered it would be so fucking funny?

    3. clif

      Speaking as a chaos goblin, I can’t help feeling that Becky/Jennifer has more train wreck potential.

  3. redcaela

    “This is dangerous information for me to have. Now the possibility is all too real.”

  4. IntangibleMatter

    “Everybody has gay trans thoughts sometimes. That’s totally normal and doesn’t indicate anything”

    – A lot of people I have known several years before they transitioned. (Myself included but only briefly before realizing that not everyone has those thoughts)

    1. Astariel

      “Every guy must wish they were a girl sometimes. Girls are just objectively cooler than guys, after all.” – Me, for most of my life.

      1. Fail Earnhardt

        I had a slightly modified version of this that went “Obviously I don’t need hrt, I already came out as nonbinary. That was supposed to fix everything.”

        2 years on estrogen in June prayers up

        1. IntangibleMatter

          Yooo congrats on the two years of E. I’m only coming up on six months in June

      2. Morleuca

        I went the “telling myself it was too late if I caught the reflection of my eyes in my bathroom mirror before paying Mr Tumnus another month’s rent” route for four decades.

      3. Ellie

        It’s normal to have these thoughts several times a day, as well!

    2. Lee

      Nahhhhhhhh, I’m sure the author isn’t trying to tell us anything about Billiefer, there have been so few hints, and they’ve all been so subtle.

      1. Reltzik

        Disclaimer: Outright proof does not get categorized as hints.

    3. Miri

      When I was about 10 I really wanted to be a boy but that was because the boys’ school uniforms had trousers and my legs were freezing in skirts… Now when I wear dresses I wear leggings underneath! 😅😜

      Although in fairness I kinda think of my body as a meat robot my mind lives in…

    4. Victor Mortimer

      Eh, I mean, I’m very much a cis guy. But it would definitely be nice to be able to have multiple orgasms. Does that count as a ‘trans thought’?
      Wouldn’t want the rest of it though. I absolutely suck at doing makeup, and my back hurts enough as it is, I’m happy playing with somebody else’s boobies.

      1. Wack'd (Mod, Click Name for Rules)

        it sucks that cis guys only get the one orgasm. i transitioned because i used mine up in 2008

  5. Astariel

    Suddenly, I want Alice and Becky to become close friends and bond over loving ladies, hot goss, and hot goss about loving ladies.

    1. TrueSurvivor

      I don’t know exactly why, but “hot goss” makes me menetally picture of a goose with lipstick in one of those sparkle filters.

      1. Astariel

        Sounds like a meme!

      2. eh, whatever

        goose + gloss

  6. Erzsi

    this strip is good. I missed Billifer and her Billiferisms

  7. Amós Batista

    At least, Jennifer looks comfortable, relaxed even. Only who read entire DOA knows how far she came until here.

    1. Reltzik

      She came from Forest Is that further from the karaoke place than Reed is?

  8. Nono

    Just realising that with Asma, we might be up to 4 sapphic ladies with some Asian heritage (Dina, Alice, Jennifer, Asma).

    1. nadamás

      As the Lord intended 😌

      1. NGPZ

        seconded! tho im an atheist lol

    2. clif

      So is this statistical fictional evidence of sapphic ladies having an increased likelihood of being Asian or fictional evidence of Asian ladies having an increased likelihood of being sapphic?

      1. John Campbell

        I think it’s just evidence that everyone in DoA is queer.

        1. anon

          apparently roz is the only one confirmed fully straight which would objectively be the most hilarious next to like, faz

  9. Bill Erak

    FUN IDEA: Play spin the bottle. Everyone in htis room should kiss each other. As a treat.

    1. Wack'd (Mod, Click Name for Rules)

      they’d need a bottle! i don’t think those sippy cups are gonna get the job done

      1. clif

        If you do it right, you don’t actually need the bottle. You only need the metaphor of a bottle.

        1. clif

          AKA – It’s a magic bottle and it points at whoever the spinner wants.

        2. Aura

          The real bottle is the friends we kiss along the way u.u

      2. deliverything

        I wonder: if you spin a Klein bottle, does it point at everyone?

    2. Bill Erak

      Also, I love Jenniver, Jennifer’s not-evil twin who also just happens to have gay thoughts.

    3. anon

      there’s prolly an app for that by now ;P

  10. Lys

    I love that last panel, it made me cackle, absolute gold.

    1. Erwaro

      As a metalhead, I *really* feel like I should have seen that line coming.

      1. Pyynk

        I’m embarrassed it took me until a second, non midnight read to pick up on it. Well played Willis.

  11. Tequila Mockingbird

    Asma’s “you funnin’ me, son?” face is priceless. I hope we get more Asma faces worthy of archival.

    1. clif

      I interpreted it more as her this-was-a-mistake face, but time will tell.

      1. Daibhid C

        I think Asma’s default expression when hanging out with main cast members is “This was a mistake”, but with variations.

  12. nadamás

    One think I quite like about Jennifer character design is how she gotten fatter with time. She was already called that at the beginning but honestly it was barely noticeable except for a few instances, and it was a point of mockery. After the time skip I think, she got more noticeably fat, and it doesn’t seem to be a big issue for her at this point. I like that, remind me how the Diane from Bojack horseman gained weight by the end of the season as showcase of her progression into finding her own happiness.

  13. Double

    Ruth doing Enter Sandman at karaoke is, genuinely, very badass

  14. TrueVCU

    Perfect lyrics on Asma’s panel XD

  15. Lizstar

    Honestly if this all ends with them doing one big fuck pile, I dunno if it’d be good or healthy, but it’d be pretty entertaining!!

  16. Pocky

    Asma feeling those lyrics and words lol

  17. Bryy

    Oh, okay, here’s the Jennifer Shoe. She’s actively getting upset at Alice for “having gay thoughts”. This lil’ bit of biphobia (which honestly is becoming homophobia at this point) isn’t going to be the catalyst for Alice getting with Asma at all. Nope. no way.

    1. John Campbell

      She’s not mad at Alice for having gay thoughts. She just doesn’t think Alice should act like having gay thoughts makes her special or something, because everyone has gay thoughts. Why, she herself has way more gay thoughts than Alice, and she’s perfectly straight.

      ‘Cause, y’know, everyone bangs their bestie every now and then. Totally heterosexual.

      1. Li

        Technically it wasn’t “totally heterosexual”, it was “totally platonic”.
        .
        Also “everyone has gay thoughts, that doesn’t make you special” is definitely still biphobia and not “just” homophobia. Jennifer’s objection here is very much that she can’t be bi because she’s “normal” instead. And she’s noticeably not throwing shade on Becky for being gay, but on Alice, for thinking being bi is a significant part of her identity, rather than just a non-identity that doesn’t make someone special.

        1. Joy

          As far as I know she literally thinks that bisexual is a porn term and not a real identity.

        2. Li

          She said that once, yes. But she was at one point going to introduce Ruth to her parents, so.
          .
          She was in a better place with this at one point! And then, you know, Ruth broke her heart, and Raidah pounced on the opportunity, and then months passed with unclear events…
          .
          https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/idyllic/

    2. Corey C.

      I’m imagining the inevitable confrontation where Alice and Jennifer get into a big argument about homophobia, which is then immediately followed by kissing. Angry sex might happen as well.

      I mean, it’s happened before to Jennifer… but I don’t think Alice would be physically tossing her around this time.

  18. Tenzhi

    Exit day… Enter gay?

  19. Mel

    Asma’s having the worst best night

  20. Wack'd (Mod, Click Name for Rules)

    last line’s a little less on the nose this time, but not by much

  21. NullSet

    That’s bi(llie) erasure, Jennifer!

  22. Taffy

    Aside from Billie’s casual homophobia, I think it’s interesting how Asma’s just kinda there, hearing all this about people getting kidnapped and shots being fired. In the last panel, she looks like she’s partly thinking “Who the hell am I hanging out with?”

    1. NGPZ

      “the things I do for love” o3o

    2. CT Phipps

      I mean if Asma doesn’t know that one of the girls on her floor is a victim of a kidnapping and active shooting incident, I think it’s on her rather than anyone else. That’s far beyond no one learning her name for obliviousness.

      1. Taffy

        Sure, but did she already know who it was in specific? That’s what I’m wondering.

        1. Arianod

          iirc, Asma is pretty well informed about the hall residents on account of being at the reception desk: she knew about Billie’s problems with alcohol from day one. And the kidnapping incident was a huge thing.

    3. Justin8448

      Does no one else see the phrase “In your closet, in your head…” right above Asma’s head? I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

      My suspicion is that Asma is, at least to some degree, in the closet about her sexuality. Or perhaps she’s not actually closeted, but rather inexperienced or nervous or conflicted (which would track with yesterday’s strip) to a degree that might feel like it’s own form of a closet.

      And now she’s watching all these women her age, one of whom she had a huge crush on, celebrate Sapphic love and/or treat it like it’s no big deal. And she’s jealous and perhaps experiencing a degree of self-loathing about not feeling free to participate (for reasons that haven’t been made completely clear yet).

      I could also be completely wrong. We’ll see how this plays out.

      1. Justin8448

        In retrospect, my comment above should have been phrased in a less-confrontational way. My apologies.

      2. Taffy

        To quote a person who exists, just because I don’t point and scream like a gibbon when I see it, doesn’t mean I don’t see it.

        1. Jon

          Other hand, there have been a fair number of comments that have been interpreting Asma’s expression in that panel as something along the lines of displeasure at being in public with these dorks. So yeah, I’m really not all that sure everyone did notice it.

        2. MCD

          @Jon these two things are not entirely mutually exclusive

  23. JoeCovenant

    Best use of “Sandman” lyric EVVAARR!!!

    1. Corey C.

      Not gonna lie, I initially thought Ruth was singing “As I Lay Me Down” by Sophie B. Hawkins, but when it cut to Asma I was like “wait, those aren’t the lyrics!”

  24. Jerna

    Lesbian Love Sleuth: Prompt from “Pretty”: “> EAT PUMPKIN”
    What – BUUUEEUUUURP – pumpkin?
    “> USE FLASHLIGHT”
    You use your flashlight. At first you don’t know what to do with it, because the prompt said “Use flashlight” but not what for. But after fiddling with it, you turn it on. You seem to be in the storage of the pizzeria. To your surprise, you notice that Mario Mario actually uses fresh ingredients for his pizza. All the vegetables seem to be locally produced. You see a pallet which obviously was supposed to be where pumpkins would be placed but is now devoid of anything pumpkin-related. (Dear God, I should have not eaten a whole pumpkin. What was I thinking?) You hear some commotion coming from the other side of the storage. You go to a door leading to the kitchen and open it slightly to peak through. To your surprise, you see the usually-nice owner Mario Mario, yelling angrily at Alice, saying she “botched the job”, how “we can’t have that sleuth snooping around” and “she’s onto us now”. He is interrupted by the waiter with the hooks for hands and lush Italian mustache. “Hey boss, table 4 wants a Vegetarian Feta and DEATH.” “Haha, stragiatella. Uno momento.” Then he addresses Alice. “This isn’t over.” He angrily marches in your direction, probably to get ingredients. If he opens the door, you’re caught. What will you do?

    1. deliverything

      Disguise yourself as the now-missing pumpkin, obviously. Thankfully, that’s not one of the ingredients of the Vegetarian Feta and DEATH, so it should be safe.

  25. Joe Angel

    I like how the weight of the font not changing in that first and last panel implies Ruth doesn’t care the prayer part is meant to be soft spoken

  26. AC

    Is ruth really OK with jennifer and alice ?? Or will there be…Conflict

  27. Donutholebandit

    Never change, Jennifer.

  28. Whirlakitty

    Jennifer, everyone may occasionally have gay thoughts. Absolutely not everyone has been in a lesbian suicide pact relationship.

  29. JepMZ

    Hehehehehehe! I thought she doesn’t like arrogant girls? What a predicament

  30. Corey C.

    I like that Becky seems more annoyed than overly offended that Jennifer only seems to think of Becky as “the daughter of the religious zealot.” I also find it interesting that she put “Billie” in quotes but refers to her as Jennifer normally. I understand that was what she preferred being called post-time skip and Becky’s just respecting it, but I believe Becky’s quote on Jen’s original nickname is a subtle jab at her… which, honestly, is kind of warranted given what Jen associates Becky as.

    1. eskimolos

      I think it’s more Becky sarcastically observing that she’s pretending she still goes by Billie exclusively for Alice’s sake, likely because Billifer is trying to claw back the control, confidence and safety she felt in high school and afraid to suggest she is at all different from them in case it changes things between them when she just got her friendship back.

  31. Treehawk

    Excellent faces in this one!! Asma’s has me giggling!

  32. Dandi Andi

    “Bragging” about gay thoughts. I hope Jennifer feels like she can celebrate herself one day.

  33. Rosicrucian

    Who wants to bet that Billie/Jennifer’s father was the one who put it into her head that bisexuals are just people trying to get attention? At a time when she would’ve loved just a little attention from her father?

    1. Rosicrucian

      Heck, I’ll go for the brass ring: Who wants to bet one or both of Billie’s parents had a same-sex affair?

      1. Taffy

        That’s how Billie got born in the first place.

        1. Heavensrun

          (head tilt)

        2. morleuca

          more common than some might think

  34. Throwatron

    i know it doesn’t have to, but i love the implication that Ruth just does Enter Sandman over and over and over at karaoke

  35. Zamperla

    So good news Asma: she does like ladies.

    Bad news: you have entered the Jennifer Social Zone. She might get the concept of bisexuality in like. 3-4 years. I have faith in her.

    1. Wack'd (Mod, Click Name for Rules)

      real time or in-comic time

  36. RassilonTDavros

    Just checked the page because it’s 11:04, there should be a new strip up by now, right, only to remember Oh Right I’m not in that time zone anymore, meaning I have to wait Another. Whole. Hour. Gaaaaaaaah

  37. v

    cheering for alice and becky to have a casual hookup so jennifer and asma can seethe jealously. it would be SO FUNNY

    1. BYM!

      Honestly, might be good for all 4 of them.

  38. Joy

    I am endlessly entertained by Jennifer and like seeing her on screen

  39. Gnomedeplume

    BTW what should we be imagining for what Ruth sounds like here? Regular karaoke voice or is she going full Hetfield?

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