The Dina/Joe friendship has quietly become one of my favorites in the comic as of late. I hope multi-tag searching gets re-implemented because I really wanna dig through the history of that strand in particular. (and also because my archive-ninja skillz are lost without it).
Based on context cues from comments I believe I started reading after Joe’s “shitty person” era because I have a hard time finding reason to dislike him
He started out as a casually misogynist horndog- viewing women for their fuckability first and only. He made a spreadsheet ranking the hotness of the women on campus out of 10. He viewed himself as incapable of doing feelings well and figured if he kept his interactions shallow and horny nobody would ever get hurt. He’s come a hell of a long way since then
Lumino
“Everything you do matters to somebody, Joe. Everything.” – Joyce
That was the start of his reformation, and it’s been an incredible journey to watch.
“Never alone”, Dinah, in the emotional sense. “Never alone” in the physical sense would drive me batshit crazy as well, totally with you on that one! xD
this is very cute. I hope he also helps her clean up (would probably be a brotherly thing to do for Amber too, since he seems to care at least a bit about that sort of thing)
Meanwhile, here I am, noticing for the first time that Willis has culled his comics sidebar–Something Positive, Girl Genius and Questionable Content, among others, have been dropped. Now, S*P got rid of its comic list awhile ago, but QC still has their link up to DoA.
I’ve been noticing more and more comics ditching the link-list; it’s kind of disappointing to an oldschool webcomic fan, who used to use those lists to find other comics I might like, in the olden days before algorithm-driven suggestions from Webtoon and the like.
Freemage
And… now I realize the links aren’t gone–they’re just white-on-white if they are ones I’ve clicked on before! Interesting palette choice….
**notes all the comments posted at 3am, with none prior**
Huh. And here I was hoping that all this **gestures around at new comments section which refuses to remember my name and takes me to an error screen after every post while still posting my comment** was going to fix the time drift. Guess not.
The drift was fixed, but last night the site kind of blew up and nobody could access a live version of it
At least that was the case before I went to bed at like 2 AM
Owlmirror
Ditto.
That is, shortly after midnight, the site was just displaying some message about . . . ?The site has experience a critical failure?, or something like that, and a link to something like ?How to repair your WordPress site? (No memories of the exact wording). And nothing else.
No. If you look at the Bluesky feed, there was an issue with old site vs. new site. Apparently, links were leading to the old one, which isn’t anymore.
Edit (yes, edit!): This was suppose to be a reply to a question
It should be there for a few minutes after posting. If you can navigate back from the error screen fast enough.
thejeff
But now it isn’t. It was yesterday.
thejeff
And now I just got an edit option on another post. I also didn’t get “Page Not Found” when I posted that one.
But it did clear my name and email fields, which these posts didn’t.
Suffice to say, there are still some bugs :)
Seriously, nothing sends my mental stability spiraling harder or faster, than not having a safe and private place to detach or recharge. Not everyone gets how fucking depleting and maddening it can be to have something like this happen, which I guess I’m glad for.
I can relate to both of them here. Joe throwing himself at helping someone else with their problems to get a break from dealing with his own problems, and Dina’s last line specifically.
Danny’s “there goes Danny, what a good egg” energies have really rubbed off on Joe, huh… I love his attitude here, one of the best things I learned from my dad is that when things suck, you should fix what you can, no matter how small.
I don’t think Danny has rubbed off on Joe – I think ‘good egg’ is what Joe has always been and it’s how he and Danny became friends in the first place when they were little. For a while Joe tried to be someone he’s fundamentally not, and during that time he and Danny grew apart, and are unlikely to really grow back together again because Joe The Robot Horndog was very effective at convincing people, including Danny, that that’s all there was to him.
Man, Joe’s such a sweetheart nowadays. Like genuinely could you imagine the Joe who first came here to do this randomly help a buddy out just because it’s the right thing to do. No strings attached, just to let them know they’re not alone.
Also feel like he may be projecting a tiny amount with that last line. Telling Dina some stuff he himself definitely needs to hear from someone.
I’m thinking of “I Cried Out”, a religious song I only know of because of an AMV that ignores the context.
Slartibeast Button, BIA
People are saying there is a temporary edit button, but I can’t find it. Still getting an error page after commenting and no name/email retention.
thejeff
I’m getting it at least sometimes. It came and went this morning, but was there on my last post.
Not saving the name, but also not getting the error page.
i’m really loving how joe is taking care of dina :’) it’s not because he thinks she can’t deal with what’s happening, but because he really, actually cares
124 thoughts on “Ransacked”
furubatsu
God, if I have nothing in this world. At least I have Joe/Dina friendship to get me through
Gigafreak
I forget, have they ever bonded over both having the same bone shirt?
Leadsynth
I thought that was just people in the comments bonding over them having the same bone shirt.
furubatsu
Im pretty sure he was the one to explain to her the sexual connotations of it
Astariel
No, that was Amber.
Lars
At first they had their obligatory Greetings, which somtime later got the upgrade by Dina No longer obligatory. Pure Dina, pure honesty.
Elf grrl
Thanks for sharing these strips. Love seeing how Dina/Joe’s friendship has grown throughout the strips ❤
RassilonTDavros
The Dina/Joe friendship has quietly become one of my favorites in the comic as of late. I hope multi-tag searching gets re-implemented because I really wanna dig through the history of that strand in particular. (and also because my archive-ninja skillz are lost without it).
audkitten
I think Joe is becoming my favorite character
Al
Based on context cues from comments I believe I started reading after Joe’s “shitty person” era because I have a hard time finding reason to dislike him
rowan
He started out as a casually misogynist horndog- viewing women for their fuckability first and only. He made a spreadsheet ranking the hotness of the women on campus out of 10. He viewed himself as incapable of doing feelings well and figured if he kept his interactions shallow and horny nobody would ever get hurt. He’s come a hell of a long way since then
Lumino
“Everything you do matters to somebody, Joe. Everything.” – Joyce
That was the start of his reformation, and it’s been an incredible journey to watch.
Al
aw yuss, growth
apocryphascribe
Welcome to the club!
Yet_One_More_Idiot
“Never alone”, Dinah, in the emotional sense. “Never alone” in the physical sense would drive me batshit crazy as well, totally with you on that one! xD
NGPZ
for reals, last panel Dina is a MOOD
@~@ TT~TT
Adept
Looks like I finally have to set up a proper avatar here.
The Lurker
Replying to see if my avatar changed…
Axel
this is very cute. I hope he also helps her clean up (would probably be a brotherly thing to do for Amber too, since he seems to care at least a bit about that sort of thing)
Throwatron
Of course, this would lead to Joe finding that Amber is not in her room, which would then lead to hijinks.
>:3
Throwatron
Now I want to find out who the Largest Person Dina can sneak, is. Is it Joe? Can she sneak Joe into places? Can she go bigger?
IntangibleMatter
Shoutout to Joe, the guy who everyone really needs right now, honestly.
Even if he can’t fix things for himself he care and he’ll fix them for everyone else. We need more Joes.
Ray Radlein
A genuine “I can’t fix everything, but I can fix this” moment for Joe
flake
did the upload time change?
NGPZ
Nah, just taking a while for the site’s new bearings to settle in
Freemage
Meanwhile, here I am, noticing for the first time that Willis has culled his comics sidebar–Something Positive, Girl Genius and Questionable Content, among others, have been dropped. Now, S*P got rid of its comic list awhile ago, but QC still has their link up to DoA.
I’ve been noticing more and more comics ditching the link-list; it’s kind of disappointing to an oldschool webcomic fan, who used to use those lists to find other comics I might like, in the olden days before algorithm-driven suggestions from Webtoon and the like.
Freemage
And… now I realize the links aren’t gone–they’re just white-on-white if they are ones I’ve clicked on before! Interesting palette choice….
Rose by Any Other Name
**notes all the comments posted at 3am, with none prior**
Huh. And here I was hoping that all this **gestures around at new comments section which refuses to remember my name and takes me to an error screen after every post while still posting my comment** was going to fix the time drift. Guess not.
ary
Willis said that the time drift actually should be fixed but there have been *other* errors in the meantime.
Alongcameaspider
The drift was fixed, but last night the site kind of blew up and nobody could access a live version of it
At least that was the case before I went to bed at like 2 AM
Owlmirror
Ditto.
That is, shortly after midnight, the site was just displaying some message about . . . ?The site has experience a critical failure?, or something like that, and a link to something like ?How to repair your WordPress site? (No memories of the exact wording). And nothing else.
But now it lives. IT LIVES! MUAHAHAHA! ahem
jeffepp
Hmm… Joyce has shown some jealousy in past Joe-Dina interactions. This could lead to drama.
Thag Simmons
It’d be pretty rich if it did, considering everything
segnosaur
She has? I don’t remember any sort of jealosy there.
NickPG
Joyce was a little freaked out when Dina was touching Joe’s butt for science.
NickPG
Gravatar seems to have carried over OK.
Risky
She could go there, move it, and be back down the hall before you even knew she was gone.
jeffepp
No. If you look at the Bluesky feed, there was an issue with old site vs. new site. Apparently, links were leading to the old one, which isn’t anymore.
Edit (yes, edit!): This was suppose to be a reply to a question
Rose by Any Other Name
Edit?
You’re getting an edit button?
Cause I’m not.
thejeff
It should be there for a few minutes after posting. If you can navigate back from the error screen fast enough.
thejeff
But now it isn’t. It was yesterday.
thejeff
And now I just got an edit option on another post. I also didn’t get “Page Not Found” when I posted that one.
But it did clear my name and email fields, which these posts didn’t.
Suffice to say, there are still some bugs :)
Acher4
“You’re never alone” is just so perfect, being said to Dina by Joe.
*hugs for both*
Furie
I love this. Wholesome pairings are what we need right now. Well done eleven months ago Willis, who may be a witch.
Kyulen
I’m glad that Joe and Dina have become good friends. I hope we see lots more strips of them in the future. Also, glad this site is back up.
showler
So, is it always safe to assume the alt-text is about some Transformers?
NGPZ
in this case it is, yes
clif
Thank you.
NGPZ
poor Dina, she just having the worst day of her life rn and has nowhere to feel safe
I wish so bad i could be there to comfort her…
🥺😖😖😖😭😭😭😭
Throwatron
Seriously, nothing sends my mental stability spiraling harder or faster, than not having a safe and private place to detach or recharge. Not everyone gets how fucking depleting and maddening it can be to have something like this happen, which I guess I’m glad for.
foducool
to all the paranoid fellows out there, you are not alone
Freemage
*golf clap*
Needfuldoer
I can relate to both of them here. Joe throwing himself at helping someone else with their problems to get a break from dealing with his own problems, and Dina’s last line specifically.
mads_in_zero
Danny’s “there goes Danny, what a good egg” energies have really rubbed off on Joe, huh… I love his attitude here, one of the best things I learned from my dad is that when things suck, you should fix what you can, no matter how small.
anonymsly
I don’t think Danny has rubbed off on Joe – I think ‘good egg’ is what Joe has always been and it’s how he and Danny became friends in the first place when they were little. For a while Joe tried to be someone he’s fundamentally not, and during that time he and Danny grew apart, and are unlikely to really grow back together again because Joe The Robot Horndog was very effective at convincing people, including Danny, that that’s all there was to him.
YourCousinJay
Man, Joe’s such a sweetheart nowadays. Like genuinely could you imagine the Joe who first came here to do this randomly help a buddy out just because it’s the right thing to do. No strings attached, just to let them know they’re not alone.
Also feel like he may be projecting a tiny amount with that last line. Telling Dina some stuff he himself definitely needs to hear from someone.
Azhrei Vep
Yes, but only if that buddy had been a guy.
thejeff
Even then not if it involved emotions.
Rimwalker55
That’s what this world needs more than anything is people willing to step up.
Maddie B
“Not Alone” from Final Fantasy IX starts playing in my head.
Yue Ryong
…And there it goes in mine. TY <3
Slartibeast Button, BIA
I’m thinking of “I Cried Out”, a religious song I only know of because of an AMV that ignores the context.
Slartibeast Button, BIA
People are saying there is a temporary edit button, but I can’t find it. Still getting an error page after commenting and no name/email retention.
thejeff
I’m getting it at least sometimes. It came and went this morning, but was there on my last post.
Not saving the name, but also not getting the error page.
Editable this time.
darkoneko
Good on you, Joe.
Aquila
“If I were never alone, I would likely go insane”, the song Air Supply should have written.
xis
i’m really loving how joe is taking care of dina :’) it’s not because he thinks she can’t deal with what’s happening, but because he really, actually cares
Anon
i mean despite it being large i’d assume with the stuffing it wouldn’t be too heavy/maybe half the weight of a standard mattress? but woo more bonding
NGPZ
yeah and like
never judge somebody’s strength by their size alone :P
Tan