Jennifer: It's fine, it's cool / You can say that we are nothing, but you know the truth
Jacob: Hey!
Lucy: We found you guys.
Ruth: Don't talk during her song.
Jacob: They brought their R.A. along to their karaoke party?
Lucy: Their R.A. is... different.
Jacob: Is she? She just SHUSHED us.
Jennifer: I don't wanna call it off, but you don't wanna call it love
Lucy: You'll pick up on the vibe eventually.
Jacob: I'm definitely afraid I will.
83 thoughts on “Shushed”
IntangibleMatter
I appreciate you telling her to pay attention to the words yesterday Ruth, but this is a woman who still thinks Sal is Amazi-Girl. She won’t pick up on the hints as she’s singing them.
And there are a lot of hints
Hexx
I just love how Ruth is just sitting there with her entire attention aimed at Billy/Jen with the Same energy as Arnold Schwarzenegger watched his wife dance in True Lies, just WILLING her to get the point…
NGPZ
is the alt-text foreshadowing a slipshine maybe? ( ¬⩊¬)
clif
It’s foreshadowing, so close.
Steamweed
Foreshadowing; foreplay; same diffs.
Dot
YOU ONLY WANNA BE THE ONE THAT I CALL BABYYYYY
Fail Earnhardt
They gotta start boobytrapping the doors to keep the straights out
Rose By Any Other Name
I mean, I love Jacob and Lucy (separately and together), but my dudes, what the fuck? This is clearly a sapphics only event.
Unless… **raises eyebrow at Jacob** … something has cracked off screen?
(Disclaimer: no, I don’t really think Jacob is our newest trans character. However, if she was, this would be a super funny way to spring it on us.)
Sirksome
I mean I don’t wanna be one of them “straights ruin everything” types but I was expecting some messy lesbian crash outs and that hasn’t been happening so far. Jacob and Lucy added to the mix tells me the chance of lesbian crash outs goes dramatically down. Trans Jacob would immediately solve this problem. We need some butch lesbian rep anyway.
Jon
In my experience, lesbians have absolutely zero problem about crashing out just because there’s some cishet guy around. I suspect it actually makes them crash out even more dramatically.
Fail Earnhardt
Sadly, my experience after 2 years as a trans butch is that many queer women will still implicitly treat you like a guy. I’ve wanted to go to a lesbian bar so bad but I’ve been terrified of getting The Jacob Treatment if I’m not with a group who can vouch for me.
Anna
I do want to know whether Becky was aware that Jacob was coming when she suggested Asma could take off her hijab, because if she was, then… yikes?
anonymsly
Yeah, my guess is that Lucy was invited as Jennifer’s roommate or Becky’s church friend and she brought Jacob on her own recognizance because he’s her (new) boyfriend so she assumes he’s included along with her.
Sajuuk-Khar
Becky, as has been noted below, did not ask Asma to take off her hijab, nor did she “suggest she could/should”— she explicitly asked *if it would be acceptable* for her to do it in an instance where she’s surrounded by sapphics, and explicitly told Asma to tell her if it was out of line for her to ask.
Km
@Sajuuk-Khar fair enough, I accept that she did not ask her to do so, only asked if she was allowed to and if the rules still apply. Evidently for a few panels Asma agreed they did not before putting her hijab back on.
We therefore ask – did they know that at some point in the very near future the situation would change with Jacobs (I will presume he is considered male for the purposes of this scenario) arrival?
deliverything
*consults THE PROPHECY*
Doesn’t look like it. Pity.
Amós Batista
LucyJaboc is a point of balance to conterbalance all queer girls in this karaoke.Sirksome
Jaboc the reverse Jacob: A buff as hell lesbian everyone wants to get with.
nadamás
Would the true reserve be a really thin lesbian that nobody want to get on with? (So basically Daisy?)
Holly
One is the reverse and one is the inverse.
nadamás
Your mom is the inverse.
clif
Your mom does the inverse.
…
With dead Mike …
…
For a nickel.
Armadillo
Oh hey, that’s what I do whenever me and my friends go to karaoke! Though, my favorite karaoke song is Bad Romance, so I’m not entirely sure I’m doing it right.
Thag Simmons
Ah, Jacob misunderstands
Their R.A brought them to her karaoke party.
Needfuldoer
Under threat of femur confiscation!
Moonracer191
Good thing asma put her hijab back on!
Ray Radlein
My thinking exactly
Km
I hope Becky genuinely didn’t know Jacob was coming (and no one told Lucy this was a girls only party) because it would have been really rude to ask Asma to take off her hijab and not tell her Jacob would drop in
Wack'd (Mod, Click Name for Rules)
becky did not ask asma to take off her hijab. she asked if it would be acceptable for her to do it in an instance where she’s surrounded by wlw, and explicitly told asma to tell her if it was out of line for her to ask
Km
Ok, *if* Becky knew Jacob was coming and Asma did not, it would have been pretty rude to imply that it would be alright for her to do so because it is a women only space. An issue that we will not have to deal with because in the next strip Asma did take it off then immediately put it back on, thus avoiding any issues should she have kept it off when Jacob arrived.
Sure, maybe Asma also knew more or less when Jacob would arrive and would make sure she put it back on before then.
Anyway I think it’s probably more likely Lucy didn’t know not to bring Jacob as an uninvited plus one.
Wack'd (Mod, Click Name for Rules)
right but she didn’t imply it would be alright. she explicitly said she could understand why it might not be
thejeff
Sure, but she said she thought it might not be because they were a bunch of horny sapphics, not because there was a guy who was going to show up any minute.
The whole rationale for even asking about it falls apart if she’s expecting Jacob: “This is a private room an’ we’re all ladies here”
Wack'd (Mod, Click Name for Rules)
again this really only tracks if we assume becky’s end goal was for asma to actually take the hijab off and not to satisfy idle curiosity about a theoretical
Dandi Andi
I don’t think Becky needs defending here. We all know she’s a good woman. But Asma clearly did interpret that interaction as a signal that she could safely take off her hijab whether Becky explicitly said so or not. And that’s not unreasonable at all. The statement that “it’s a private room” would give the impression that it is being deliberately maintained as “just us girls”. And even if the mistake is entirely Asma’s, how is she going to feel about Jacob walking into a room in which she has just taken her hijab off less than 5 minutes ago? Is she embarrassed? Frustrated? It’s she going to be less likely to relax and be vulnerable with these women in the future? This is less “Becky is a monster” and more “How does Asma feel right now about this?”
thejeff
I cannot read that conversation as Becky asking a hypothetical question out of idle curiosity. She certainly wasn’t explicitly asking her to, but it was clearly a suggestion. One that Asma followed in the next strip.
clif
Becky is a surprisingly effective politician.
Bash
I’m going to assume Becky didn’t know, because I see no plausible reason for her to try to trick Asma. Even if she’s a thirsty lesbian, she’s not mean.
Tino
Why is this specific group of characters together? It seems like a strange assortment- did I miss context on how this all got set up?
Wack'd (Mod, Click Name for Rules)
assuming you saw the setup as to why ruth and becky are both here…
ruth has previously brought jennifer along for karaoke-related care stuff with dorothy
jennifer and alice are besties
lucy and becky go to church and work at galasso’s together
lucy is dating jacob
asma has a logical reason she’s here
Thag Simmons
Joyce tried to get Ruth to take Becky out drinking because Becky didn’t want to go out drinking with Joyce (because of the Dina of it all), and Ruth & Becky going out to Karaoke was the compromise
Jennifer tagged along because she and Ruth are exes who have been orbiting closer and closer to getting back together for the past few weeks
Alice tagged along because she and Jennifer are exes who have been orbiting closer and closer to getting back together for the past few days
Lucy is Jennifer’s roommate, and after Jennifer got back into Alice’s good graces she sincerely invited Lucy to tag along on a social excursion.
Jacob is Lucy’s extremely hot boyfriend
Asma has a crush on Alice, and knows Ruth at least a little, so that’s motive and means, but I don’t think even Asma knows why she’s here.
clif
During the bowling incident, Jennifer told Asma she could hang out with her if she asked (or something like that) and given that Asma eventually twigged that Alice was Jennifer’s friend, I’m guessing that Asma is technically a Jennifer invite and not a Ruth invite.
Based on what we’ve seen onscreen, it’s even possible that Ruth’s two person instant karaoke party and Jennifer’s preplanned karaoke party bumped into each other at the venue and combined. Tho I think we would have gotten at least a “what are you doing here strip,” so maybe not.
John Campbell
Jennifer wasn’t involved in the bowling incident. That was Sal.
clif
Hm. Yeah. That’ll teach us to trust clif’s memory.
OttawaTom
I think Asma is scared of admitting the reason why she’s there. It can’t be easy making that leap of faith, with a seemingly proscribed reservations on making it.
I hope she finds herself. ❤️
Dandi Andi
Thank goodness Asma happened to cover her hair again before Jacob walked in.
Naomi
I had never listened to Good Luck, Babe! before yesterday, but I’ve listened to it about… I’d guess 65 times since then. It’s just been on loop.
clif
This is the way.
deliverything
It works for Joyce, too.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/actuallaundry/
Dean
You gotta space it out. Maybe alternate with Red Wine Supernova occasionally.
Astariel
Jennifer looks cute singing.
Steamweed
Jacob needs a lot of catching up. Heck, Lucy sure does, but Jacob is definitely further in the back.
RassilonTDavros
Since Jacob brings up RAs, it occurs to me that 15 years into this strip we have yet to actually see the Beck Wing RA (who I assume is the same guy as the Trekkie from Roomies!) in Dumbing of Age. Which isn’t really relevant to anything here, but i find it vaguely interesting that he hasn’t when we’ve seen at least one RA from another building entirely.
Wack'd (Mod, Click Name for Rules)
“my r.a. did tell me that ‘time is a predator that stalks all our lives,’ but i assumed that was another star trek thing”
eh, whatever
Oh, it’s canon – in DoA! I like that.
Yung Wawa
Genuinely impressed by your ability to keep track of all this. Now I’m curious too
Sajuuk-Khar
I like to imagine the Beck Wing guy does a lot of “In The Pale Moonlight” LARP moments about how he CAN live with it
Pocky
Bein the one guy at the lesbian bar kinda moment lol
Wack'd (Mod, Click Name for Rules)
this sexy lesbian suicide pact doesn’t have any fire exits!
Ray Radlein
One of the most entertaining nights of my life was in that circumstance, almost (one of two guys). It was Xena Night at My Sister’s Room in Atlanta, and the fundraiser they were running for Breast Cancer Research turned into a wild Lesbian
KissingMakeouts Booth with, like, half the stars of Xena, who were there for Dragon*Con, and Claudia Christian, too, for some reason.My wife danced with, and got groped by, Claudia; and even I wound up dancing with Alexandra Tydings (Aphrodite) before the night was over. My only regret was not having enough film in my cameras to take more than a small smattering of photos of the whole thing.
Ray Radlein
Playing this classic on the hacked Muzak
Elf grrl
The Joyce/Joe ship may have sank, but thank GODDESS, the Lucy/Jacob ship is still sailing on smooth waters ❤️😭
Bill Erak
WHO LET THE STRAIGHTS OUT?
WHO? WHO? WHO? WHO? WHO?
Acher4
The straights just entered.
There goes the party. :P
Pocky
as usual lol
Morrismorris
Ahhh, dramatic irony, what a wonderful narrative device, you forget that our boy here doesn’t know _THE LORE_ ahahahah. I’m cackling, here I thought the Karaoke scene was going to be a sort of slow thing and ohhhhhhh boyyyyyyyy am I glad I was wrong.
ValdVin
Who has the longest femur of anyone in the cast? Does Ruth’s method put Jacob in the most danger?
I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams
OK OK OK so the last year and a half I have been meticulously curating character playlists for everyone in the DOA cast with the level of dedication only applicable to a working Music Supervisor or pretentious Stereogum reading dork (pick your poison), and if the ever increasing number of characters joining the Karaoke room isn’t the opportunity to share some headcanons when else will?
I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams
Billifer- Top Billboard 100 pop, leaning specifically on pop rap and pop RnB (Megan Thee Stallion, Kali Uchis, Doja Cat) but still open to straight pop when applicable (Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Addison Rae, etc)
Lucy – 100% love the singer songwriter types. Soft spot for alt pop akin to Mitski, Hemlocke Springs, Phoebe Bridgers, etc but will gladly enjoy the mainstream stuff. Is a Swiftie, take that as you will.
Jacob – Boys 2 Men, Ne-Yo, John Legend, etc. Maybe early Maroon 5 and similar ilk if he’s having fun.
Becky – Pre Cheatgate I woulda pegged her as a major fan of CCM pop (Jennifer Knapp, Rebecca St. James, Audio Adrenaline, etc) but now it’s hard for me to peg down what secular Becky would enjoy outside the vague concept of “lesbian music”. Definitely has a soft spot for the Chappell Roan ballads though.
Ruth – I’ve decided to expand on Ruth’s enjoyment of “Enter Sandman” and make her a fan of 90’s metal/rock/grunge (Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Use Your Illusion-era Guns N’ Roses). Maybe some more modern sludgy metal bands too (Chat Pile, Thou, etc.)
Alice and Asma are both so stinkin’ new that I can’t confidently but if I can go into full headcanon mode, im thinking Dance Pop (The Veronicas, Demi Lovato, Early Gaga) and Aughts Hipster Indie Rock (The Strokes, The Killers, Bloc Party, Two Door Club) respectively
zee
You mean two door cinema club? Or is that a more common naming convention than I thought?
Anyway just saying bc I can’t see peak without responding with approval. It’s good ass music.
I Know Why The Mowed Lawn Screams
Oop, I absolutely meant Two Door Cinema Club, trust this site to not offer me the 10 minute edit window after I spotted 3 different typos lmfao.
Dustfeather
Lucy being a Swiftie definitely makes sense. If Ruth’s a Metallica fan she’s probably also into Annihilator, what with them being Canada’s most famous thrash metal band.
As for characters who aren’t currently present, I’d like to think Dina discovered Hevisaurus in her childhood. She likewise enjoys Victorius because they’re one of the few bands out there making music about dinosaurs, but wishes there were more bands writing paeleontologically accurate music about them, rather than ones where they can shoot lasers.
UnDrewsual