Are my queer feelings just a manifestation of PTSD? Are my PTSD symptoms just a manifestation of repressed queer feelings? Psych! These things are both real and coexist!
I mean I don’t think getting with your crush can be reasonably expected to solve your trauma, especially if that crush is deeply entangled with your trauma.
Ooo, I’m excited. Really interested to see more about how Dorothy’s PTSD plays out.
Also jesus fucking christ, can you imagine being Dorothy’s therapist at her next session where she’s like, “Okay, so some things have happened…”
Yeah, about some stuff– but the “Hey, remember my friend Joyce? Well…” part might make it through. And then maybe a few connected parts. Doubt she’d get to the stuff of, like, this strip, but also I’d enjoy seeing her have a session where more than she intends comes tumbling out.
Li
Also she lied to her therapist specifically because she was afraid that being diagnosed with anything would be a threat to her political career. That might no longer be an issue.
So the answer for Dorothy was not getting with Joyce. Hm.
My older sister is a tarot card reader and reads people’s dreams. I’ve never been…Let’s say *good* at what she does, but I’ve had a passing fancy of reading some of her books. While I can’t pinpoint exactly where Willis is going–my immediate assumption is it was never about Joyce.
Dorothy needs to save the part of herself that is best represented by Joyce in her dreams. Her innocence, her faith in the world…That part of Dorothy has been on life support for the longest time.
I agree. The art design is top-knotch!
PS. Do you know what the object is that the shadow is holding (or maybe swallowing if it is a snake)? It looks like it could be a phone or maybe its another Dorothy trapped hidding behind another door, like an infitite regression deal. Did I use that term right?
Admittedly I don’t think Becky has ever gotten a dream sequence, but I find it kind of interesting how despite all his years of being an abusive asshole towards his daughter, Toedad’s memory almost seems to haunt Dorothy more than it does her.
p.s. thanks to Owlmirror for introducing me to non-breaking spaces, i really missed being able to add blank lines between paragraphs!
Becky’s toedad hauntings come in the form of being unable to fully enjoy post-sex joy because she’s afraid her dad’s going to come and beat her for being sinful.
I don’t recall the exact name of the scripts or story lines, but it is fairly early in the comic – the first parents weekend. I am pretty sure this is when Joyce is still with Ethan, so looking through the early Etan comic might help you quickly narrow it down (though I am unsure if Ethan was present for this exact scene).
Panel 1 looks like the top that she almost wore to church with Joyce but changed because it was too close to what Joyce was wearing.
Panel 3 looks like the outfit she had on the first time she and Walky had sex and then again when they got back together.
Nope, I was wrong about panel 3. It’s a similar outfit, but the vest has a different pattern than the one I was thinking of. Not sure where that one is from.
Yes, I too was struck by the changing clothes. But dreams can be like that. I had one about a shooter (yeah) recently. He had a motorbike and a rifle on it which he used at close range, but he shot at me, with a hand gun, through the windscreen and back window of his car, which was exactly where his bike had been. The weirdness of that only struck me when I woke up.
YES, WE’RE BACK INTO THE NIGHTMARES, LET’S GOOOO
turns out getting some good sex from your new cute girlfriend doesn’t make the brain demons go away, wish it did though! This is gonna hurt and I can’t wait.
Well this is because Dorothy seems to constantly fear the world is full of dangers that she cannot protect Joyce from. Which is true in a way, but it’s worldview where Dorothy puts the responsibility of shielding Joyce from any potential danger onto herself and infantilizing Joyce as someone who cannot protect themself. Also, she feels guilt that she potentially brings Joyce into dangerous situation, i.e. she was the one who invited Joyce to the party where she got roofied.
I do love that Dorothy is trapped behind the door just like last time, seeing but unable to do anything, and still stuck by the book Amber used in real life. That’ll learn ya with your book-learning, girl!
“I’ll save you, Joyce!” Except (in her mind), she never actually saves anyone.
In lighter news,
I got my first iron transfusion today! ^-^
it only took 30 minutes and went well, but got hella munchies afterwards lol
with any hope it’ll help me heal faster, or at the very least stop me from feeling so damn tired all the time…
69 thoughts on “You know her”
Thag Simmons
I miss the horse
clif
Same.
Tan
The horse will be in tomorrow’s comic and everyone who expressed this sentiment will regret it.
(note: I am not a patreon subscriber; I have no idea if my statement is true)
Ana Chronistic
WOW NOT CREEPY AT ALL
Shakes
Due to recent events the horse has become evil and intimidating.
TrueSurvivor
Maybe it was always secretly just the two evil dads in one of those couple’s allowing costumes. The real question is who was the butt?
Tawnee
It’s a Pushmi-Pullyu from Dr. Doolittle but this one is just two butts.
TrueSurvivor
dang it Halloween not allowing.
IntangibleMatter
Toe dad get out of her head. She deserves better people to be in her nightmares.
Cholma
Jinkies!
nadamás
Zoinks even! And dare i say, ruh-roh.
Dot
Uh-oh! Getting the girl doesn’t cure PTSD!
Doctor_Who
Disney stories lied to me.
apocryphascribe
Don’t trust Disney stories.
Yumi
Are my queer feelings just a manifestation of PTSD? Are my PTSD symptoms just a manifestation of repressed queer feelings? Psych! These things are both real and coexist!
Bryy
This would be hilarious had Dorothy not actually gone through a bout of “am I gay due to trauma?”.
Astariel
Holy shit.
NGPZ
wow we open the new storyline up with an actual NIGHTMARE
D:
DMW!
Bo
Wait I can’t even see how do we know it’s a new storyline and where does it say what the new title is with the new format?
Cbwroses
Last strip said “End of Storyline”, so this is a new one.
mads_in_zero
I’m not saying she was right, but I do understand why Dorothy brushed aside her burgeoning attraction to Joyce as a trauma response.
Dot
Because it obviously has gotten tangled up in that, which is why she mentally conflated Joyce being with Joe with Joyce being kidnapped.
Elf grrl
Dotty still having these types of nightmares after getting with Joyce is.. not good. Poor gal
Thag Simmons
I mean I don’t think getting with your crush can be reasonably expected to solve your trauma, especially if that crush is deeply entangled with your trauma.
Yumi
Ooo, I’m excited. Really interested to see more about how Dorothy’s PTSD plays out.
Also jesus fucking christ, can you imagine being Dorothy’s therapist at her next session where she’s like, “Okay, so some things have happened…”
Casi
Dorothy’s therapist is going to go through like 6 pens, 8 notebooks, and 10 mini tapes with the notes they’re going to be make after that revelation
Steamweed
Fortunately, Dotty is just the person to help organize all that mess.
Stormtide Leviathan
Her therapist says girl i know i read the newspaper
Dot
Dorothy lies to her therapist.
Yumi
Yeah, about some stuff– but the “Hey, remember my friend Joyce? Well…” part might make it through. And then maybe a few connected parts. Doubt she’d get to the stuff of, like, this strip, but also I’d enjoy seeing her have a session where more than she intends comes tumbling out.
Li
Also she lied to her therapist specifically because she was afraid that being diagnosed with anything would be a threat to her political career. That might no longer be an issue.
anon
don’t mind but would’ve expected a walky or amber trauma dream too
Grimey
…Interesting.
So the answer for Dorothy was not getting with Joyce. Hm.
My older sister is a tarot card reader and reads people’s dreams. I’ve never been…Let’s say *good* at what she does, but I’ve had a passing fancy of reading some of her books. While I can’t pinpoint exactly where Willis is going–my immediate assumption is it was never about Joyce.
Dorothy needs to save the part of herself that is best represented by Joyce in her dreams. Her innocence, her faith in the world…That part of Dorothy has been on life support for the longest time.
TrueSurvivor
That is very interesting theory. I like it.
Cameron Stone
Well this is a dream sequence in a comic that has meaning baked into it, where as tarot reading and dream interpretation is just a bunch of bunk.
clif
Meaning is where you find it.
There is (probably) an objective reality, but it’s not where we live.
RassilonTDavros
F-Fuck.
…Like, the colors and art are really good here. But like… fuck.
TrueSurvivor
I agree. The art design is top-knotch!
PS. Do you know what the object is that the shadow is holding (or maybe swallowing if it is a snake)? It looks like it could be a phone or maybe its another Dorothy trapped hidding behind another door, like an infitite regression deal. Did I use that term right?
RassilonTDavros
I’m afraid I can’t figure out which shadow you’re referring to, could you give me a hint?
RassilonTDavros
Admittedly I don’t think Becky has ever gotten a dream sequence, but I find it kind of interesting how despite all his years of being an abusive asshole towards his daughter, Toedad’s memory almost seems to haunt Dorothy more than it does her.
p.s. thanks to Owlmirror for introducing me to non-breaking spaces, i really missed being able to add blank lines between paragraphs!
Doopyboop
Becky’s toedad hauntings come in the form of being unable to fully enjoy post-sex joy because she’s afraid her dad’s going to come and beat her for being sinful.
M!a
(nod nod) …it is, indeed, like fuck.
Coatl
The torment continues and could get worse.
Dorothy…..
Fail Earnhardt
So it turns out lesbianism does not actually solve all of your problems
clif
I suppose it could depend on what your problems were.
Shakes
Next question for the wikibrains is what strips or storylines are Dorothy’s outfits from?
TrueSurvivor
I don’t recall the exact name of the scripts or story lines, but it is fairly early in the comic – the first parents weekend. I am pretty sure this is when Joyce is still with Ethan, so looking through the early Etan comic might help you quickly narrow it down (though I am unsure if Ethan was present for this exact scene).
Astariel
Panel 1 looks like the top that she almost wore to church with Joyce but changed because it was too close to what Joyce was wearing.
Panel 3 looks like the outfit she had on the first time she and Walky had sex and then again when they got back together.
Yumi
And her outfit in panel six seems to be the one she was actually wearing when Scarface was getting some additional scars.
Astariel
Nope, I was wrong about panel 3. It’s a similar outfit, but the vest has a different pattern than the one I was thinking of. Not sure where that one is from.
Thing 2
Yes, I too was struck by the changing clothes. But dreams can be like that. I had one about a shooter (yeah) recently. He had a motorbike and a rifle on it which he used at close range, but he shot at me, with a hand gun, through the windscreen and back window of his car, which was exactly where his bike had been. The weirdness of that only struck me when I woke up.
apocryphascribe
YES, WE’RE BACK INTO THE NIGHTMARES, LET’S GOOOO
turns out getting some good sex from your new cute girlfriend doesn’t make the brain demons go away, wish it did though! This is gonna hurt and I can’t wait.
Stormtide Leviathan
Ahh yeah that explains dotty’s expression on the previous page
TrueSurvivor
You are right. Good catch!
DiDi
Huh… so apparently finally managing to gain Joyce did absolutely nothing for Dorothy’s apparent fear of losing her…
Or perhaps it’s a sign that it was never about who Joyce ended up with at all. But a deeper inner turmoil.
Cameron Stone
Well this is because Dorothy seems to constantly fear the world is full of dangers that she cannot protect Joyce from. Which is true in a way, but it’s worldview where Dorothy puts the responsibility of shielding Joyce from any potential danger onto herself and infantilizing Joyce as someone who cannot protect themself. Also, she feels guilt that she potentially brings Joyce into dangerous situation, i.e. she was the one who invited Joyce to the party where she got roofied.
Rabid Rabbit
I do love that Dorothy is trapped behind the door just like last time, seeing but unable to do anything, and still stuck by the book Amber used in real life. That’ll learn ya with your book-learning, girl!
“I’ll save you, Joyce!” Except (in her mind), she never actually saves anyone.
NGPZ
In lighter news,
I got my first iron transfusion today! ^-^
it only took 30 minutes and went well, but got hella munchies afterwards lol
with any hope it’ll help me heal faster, or at the very least stop me from feeling so damn tired all the time…
NGPZ
*plays “Horse Steppin” by Sun Araw on hacked muzak*
Cbwroses
Congrats! Is this a “congrats” situation? Well, congrats, regardless.
HueSatLight
What’s at the end of the swirl?
Thing 2
Munchies sounds good. Hoping it all helps.
Doopyboop
I’m trying to figure that out too. Definitely Joyce but maybe… behind another door?
jeffepp
And the rowers keep on rowing
They show no signs of slowing
Bill Erak
Oh sweetie you need to go to therapy.
Dot
Well, moreso she needs to stop hiding the extent of her issues from her therapist.
nadamás
Love me some delicious psychological trauma.
Acher4
Holy sh
ADLegend21
It’s been almost 10 years since Ryan appeared in a strip….and by that I mean it’s been almost a decade since Amber destroyed that idiot.
September 13/14, 2025 - Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland, Table F2
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