Am I the only one who didn’t cry at that movie? Don’t get me
wrong, it’s a very sad movie, but the fact it shows you they’re going to die sort of ruins the impact for me
That’s how tragedy works. If a sad thing happens with no warning, it’s shocking and horrific. If you can see it coming from far away and know nothing can change it, it’s disempowering and hopeless.
And Grave of the Fireflies is the saddest thing I’ve seen second to the deaths of my own children.
I don’t know any nerd who, having heard of Lovecraft and familiarized themselves with his work, does not at least pretend to like him. Though sometimes they point out his racism.
Ah! Thank you! I have been trying to remember the name of narutaru for months! I saw the few first episodes, then forgot what it was called and could never find it again!
Or heck, Totoro itself, for a variety of reasons ranging from over-empathy with the characters to taking offense at its sturdy embrace of animism and complete disregard for any kind of western religious influence.
I think we’re probably talking TV cartoons, though. I’ll have to click back a couple comics to re-gather the context.
I know it’s an internet meme and all that, but seriously, folks, rape isn’t a joke, and those who are triggered by that will likely thank you not to bandy the word around.
Your avatar has probably never been more appropriate.
Mike would make a ton of tasteless dead baby and gang-rape jokes just to score a reaction, but would also likely go to town, city, and several suburbs on an actual rapist.
I was already wondering if they may end up hitting it off in a pity-friends-with-benefits way that involved some way of producing arousal without mutual attraction…
Yes I know he’s 100%, Kinsey-six gee-ay-why, but I wouldn’t put it past The Willis to complicate his characters’ relationships with something weird like that. Maybe Ethan can be dreaming of all the cute guys in his class whilst Joyce “explores” him in a variety of ways. Then returns the favour purely as a courtesy, not getting anything much out of it… nor being tempted to provide “just the tip”.
And Sarah cowers on her bunk under the covers hoping they don’t come any closer.
I- I thought people with Klinefelter’s were generally phenotypically male and therefore WOULD be in Ethan’s bracket…
Not that he’s really the predator-type-of-dude anyway, so XXY Joyce would STILL be safe inasmuch. But “maleness” is determined by the presence of a Y chromosome; people with Klinefelter’s syndrome may be slightly more “feminine” in appearance or not depending on other genetic factors, but as far as I know, are all entirely physically male and aren’t anything in-between.
((Owning another human being, fictional character or not, might be illegal in your country of residence. Please consult your lawyer before purchasing Joyce and Amber.))
Being “surly Jean Grey” would put her one personality trait over ACTUAL Jean Grey who has always been so bland and personality free that she can’t even manage anything as interesting as a decent superhero name without an alien entity involved.
Seriously, that should have been their first clue that Pheonix wasn’t really Jean… she developed a personality for a little while.
The Walkyverse is popular media in the Dumbiverse. As such their stereotypes are a little bit different. Specifically transformers and cartoons are a big tell here.
Maybe its in his voice, or how he moves/carries himself. Two things that don’t come across very well in a comic without it being made cringingly stereotypical. I’ve known two or three guys who I never could tell whether they were almost-straight-gay, or just camp-straight. Any time I came to a presumption in my head, it was later proven wrong. Could be Sarah is presuming the former, and Joyce the latter. Or just thinks he’s a real-life version of Ned Flanders…
Lots of things start to make sense. Ryan the rapist didn’t escape. He was a predator from the Nevernever that just reverted to ectoplasm (which went totally unnoticed among the rest of the mess at a college party) when Sarah beat him to “death.”
Also, no matter who the wizard is, I think we can all agree that Joe is obviously a White Court vampire.
This is a concept known as “lies to children”, where you introduce the big ideas (from all parts of the educational spectrum) initially in the most dumbed down form possible without actually making anything up, then gradually add the various complicating flavours as they get older and more able to deal with it.
I mean, how are you going to expect an elementary schooler to deal with the idea of Klinefelter’s or AIS? Or the religious parents of a homeschooled girl, even…
Can you explain it? The interweb’s got nothing, apart from a one-line description on Urban Dictionary that tells us nothing we couldn’t learn from the comic itself.
At least this will finally force Ethan to be honest with Joyce (and himself). Unless Sarah decided not to say anything in an attempt to save her from a mental BSOD.
But was Ethan trying to fool Joyce? I think he was just asking as a friend asks a friend to spend some time together. A lot of people know he’s gay, he dosen’t hide it, but he doesn’t advertise either. And yeah, Sarah is awesome.
Or maybe he just put on his happy gay face for her so that she would reassure Joyce? After all, while Joyce’s caution is commendable, it’s probably awkward for him. “Oh, I don’t want to go to YOUR room because I’m afraid you might rape me. Come sit near the girl who hits rapists, instead, ok?”
(And for what it’s worth, I approve of Joyce’s decision here. She’s trying to take precautions so she doesn’t make the same mistake twice. Overreaction is a natural part of that process. Quite aside from his Gayness, now someone she trusts knows where she’ll be.)
She also can talk without dropping the pencil from her mouth – a talent I would normally only expect of smokers. As she doesn’t appear to smoke, I can only assume that demonic powers are being employed here.
This storyline actually makes me feel really sad in anticipation. I think Joyce will fall hard for Ethan, and when he finally realizes that he can’t be straight, it will break Joyce’s heart. It happened to my female friend in college, except that I wasn’t pretending anything: we were just good friends who like to hang out together pretty much all day.
Not to mention that even if they remain “only friends”, that will make Joyce’s three closest friends a godless atheist, an alcoholic slut, and a hellbound homo.
Trying to be straight can screw up Ethan a lot, too. That happened to another friend of mine after some “reparative therapy”. It really broke him, and he was never the same again.
am I the only one in the world who finds a masculine looking vulnerable handsome guy squirming with discomfort absolutely hot? Oh god!! 😀 *watches Willis back away slowly*
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This can only end in tears.
If they end up watching ‘Graveyard of the Fireflies’ they might.
That’s one of my favorite movies, but I never want to see it again. I’d rather not bawl like a baby again.
That’s exactly how I feel about it.
Am I the only one who didn’t cry at that movie? Don’t get me
wrong, it’s a very sad movie, but the fact it shows you they’re going to die sort of ruins the impact for me
I think it was the intro about them being dead that started the tears for me.
That’s how tragedy works. If a sad thing happens with no warning, it’s shocking and horrific. If you can see it coming from far away and know nothing can change it, it’s disempowering and hopeless.
And Grave of the Fireflies is the saddest thing I’ve seen second to the deaths of my own children.
What are you talking about? Graveyard of the Fireflies was the best comedy ever! Remember the part where the sister died? HILARIOUS!
I don’t know…. I wasn’t too thrilled about that fox’s vile firefly killing tendencies…. It really made me want to cry more than laugh. =(
You would have loved Narutaru then, it’s like Pokemon but if it was written by Lovecraft.
…I like Pokemon.
The more relevant question: How much do you like H.P. Lovecraft?
I don’t know any nerd who, having heard of Lovecraft and familiarized themselves with his work, does not at least pretend to like him. Though sometimes they point out his racism.
Cthulu used incite madness, its super effective!
Cthulu used incite madness, its super effective!
The Doctor used time loop – it is/was/will be very effective.
Ah! Thank you! I have been trying to remember the name of narutaru for months! I saw the few first episodes, then forgot what it was called and could never find it again!
It’s just Grave of the Fireflies, isn’t it?
I know, right?!?
Or Transformers: The Movie
🙁
Or heck, Totoro itself, for a variety of reasons ranging from over-empathy with the characters to taking offense at its sturdy embrace of animism and complete disregard for any kind of western religious influence.
I think we’re probably talking TV cartoons, though. I’ll have to click back a couple comics to re-gather the context.
…Why would Totoro have any western religious influence? It’s an eastern movie.
And if you’re aiming to be offended by that movie, I’d think the bath scene would do it for you. Nudity!
Actually, I think Joyce serving as a beard to Ethan has a lot of potential for fun… for us. 🙂
Swing and a miss.
Yeah, that’s totally a rape-face on Ethan.
Sarah’s next lesson: How to use teh GAYDAR
Nah, that’s more of a guilty grin than a raep-face, the eyes need to be more sinister.
I know it’s an internet meme and all that, but seriously, folks, rape isn’t a joke, and those who are triggered by that will likely thank you not to bandy the word around.
Like me.
Considering a very close friend of mine was raped and got pregnant from it.
*RAGEFACE*
Your avatar has probably never been more appropriate.
Mike would make a ton of tasteless dead baby and gang-rape jokes just to score a reaction, but would also likely go to town, city, and several suburbs on an actual rapist.
Well, I guess sarcasm is lost on the Internet, too. Lesson learned…?
[spelled out]’cause Ethan has this face like he couldn’t rape a girl if his life depended on it[/spelled out]
[[n/m]]
[[[crawls back into hole in the wall]]]
ZING
Don’t you mean PING!
Hey, who Pinged?
What’s my PING?
The thing that comes before PONG, natch!
Who’s SnooPING as usual?
Don’t you mean “SnooPING AS usual I see?”
One ping only, pleashe.
Re-verify our range to target.
(For those ppl who don’t know, a ping is when you send an active signal from your sonar in the hopes of detecting boats in quiet mode.)
It also has something to do with your Internet signal.)
or pretty much any signal being sent out.)
Marco.
*sigh* Polo.
(It’s also what most pro golfers have written on their hats for some reason)
html
tagsarefunAlso, my favourite character in Megatokyo.
I’ll get the trombone.
http://sadtrombone.com/
Unless Joyce has the XXY set of chromosomes, which in thqat case, she will STILL be safe.
Maybe he’s into that, though?
I was already wondering if they may end up hitting it off in a pity-friends-with-benefits way that involved some way of producing arousal without mutual attraction…
Yes I know he’s 100%, Kinsey-six gee-ay-why, but I wouldn’t put it past The Willis to complicate his characters’ relationships with something weird like that. Maybe Ethan can be dreaming of all the cute guys in his class whilst Joyce “explores” him in a variety of ways. Then returns the favour purely as a courtesy, not getting anything much out of it… nor being tempted to provide “just the tip”.
And Sarah cowers on her bunk under the covers hoping they don’t come any closer.
I- I thought people with Klinefelter’s were generally phenotypically male and therefore WOULD be in Ethan’s bracket…
Not that he’s really the predator-type-of-dude anyway, so XXY Joyce would STILL be safe inasmuch. But “maleness” is determined by the presence of a Y chromosome; people with Klinefelter’s syndrome may be slightly more “feminine” in appearance or not depending on other genetic factors, but as far as I know, are all entirely physically male and aren’t anything in-between.
SARAH + ETHAN OTP!!!
If Sarah becomes a dude, I guess.
It’s happened before
Yes indeed, this may end in hilarious tragedy.
Damn, that’s some grade A gay-dar Sarah’s got there
Only the A-Grade ones can detect Straight Gays.
And Grade-B can only detect Bi-sexuals
and undercover cops posing as hookers can detect Buy-sexuals.
And undercover hookers posing as cops can detect bachelor parties.
And undercover bachelors posing as Buy-sexuals can detect your mom! If you pay them a nickel.
And only the S-grades can determine whether if they are the depraved type or not.
and V-grade can detect those who are deprived or not
But what if you’re deprived AND depraved?
She sees the truth of things.
Everyone but Joyce can apparently notice Ethan is gay.
((Well, everyone buy Joyce and Amber.))
You can buy Amber and Joyce? For how much?
20.000 dollars, plus tax.
Does that include shipping and handling?
Only handling.
I see what you did there, and it is a stroke of brilliance.
I hereby rename you “Lulzlo”.
((Owning another human being, fictional character or not, might be illegal in your country of residence. Please consult your lawyer before purchasing Joyce and Amber.))
Sadly, Joyce is still in the development phase.
And thus, we now know Sarah’s deep dark secret.
SHE CAN READ MINDS!
Sarah sure is a surly Jean Gray.
If I could read every stupid thought people have I would be surly too.
Exactly.
If I could read minds, I would end up knocking mothafuckas out!”
Jean Gay.
Being “surly Jean Grey” would put her one personality trait over ACTUAL Jean Grey who has always been so bland and personality free that she can’t even manage anything as interesting as a decent superhero name without an alien entity involved.
Seriously, that should have been their first clue that Pheonix wasn’t really Jean… she developed a personality for a little while.
I hear there’s an ointment for that.
Marvel Girl was a nice name 🙁
Whooooosh over Joyce’s head.
How can everyone tell instantly? Ethan is one of the least stereotypical gay people I’ve seen in any given work of fiction!
It’s in his eyes. It radiates out of him in such a powerful way that it cannot be drawn
Sarah can detect even low levels of gaidiation.
what happens to those exposed to gamma gaidiation?
When they get really mad, their interior design and fashion senses expand to military grade fabulousness.
The Fashionable Hulk
“Do make me angry” “You would like me when I’m angry”
“Well, this living room would anyway”
Hulk SMASH! And then remodels!
The Walkyverse is popular media in the Dumbiverse. As such their stereotypes are a little bit different. Specifically transformers and cartoons are a big tell here.
Go watch Happy Endings. Max is great.
Maybe its in his voice, or how he moves/carries himself. Two things that don’t come across very well in a comic without it being made cringingly stereotypical. I’ve known two or three guys who I never could tell whether they were almost-straight-gay, or just camp-straight. Any time I came to a presumption in my head, it was later proven wrong. Could be Sarah is presuming the former, and Joyce the latter. Or just thinks he’s a real-life version of Ned Flanders…
Not sure she even knows who Ned Flanders is. She just revealed she wasn’t allowed to watch The Simpsons, after all.
Theory: anyone can instantly tell that Ethan is gay, if it would make Joyce’s ignorance the butt of the punchline.
I suspect there will be many opportunities to test this theory in the near future.
Did Sarah and Ethan just do a soulgaze? Which one is the wizard, and how is Joyce going to react when she finds out?
You have joined my Cool People list.
Anyway, my money’s on Sarah.
And the both of you have joined mine. I think it’s Sarah, she has that knowing look. As if she had seen too much, things from the Nevernever.
Lots of things start to make sense. Ryan the rapist didn’t escape. He was a predator from the Nevernever that just reverted to ectoplasm (which went totally unnoticed among the rest of the mess at a college party) when Sarah beat him to “death.”
Also, no matter who the wizard is, I think we can all agree that Joe is obviously a White Court vampire.
Obviously Ethan is the Wizard, as he doesn’t get to have nice things.
No no no, it’s obviously Sarah. She has the attitude and everything!
>–Sarah’s comment–>
\O/
| <— Joyce
^
Sarah’s gaydar works just fine.
sarah doesn’t know because of her gaydar.
sarah knows because she reads DoA.
Sarah has spot-on gaydar and some good jokes. Sadly Joyce never took biology (?) earlier and is too ignorant to connect the dots.
Biology is a lie made up by Evolutionists to lead you astray.
Well to be fair the XX/XY thing like most high school explanations of biology are alot simpler than it actually is.
This is a concept known as “lies to children”, where you introduce the big ideas (from all parts of the educational spectrum) initially in the most dumbed down form possible without actually making anything up, then gradually add the various complicating flavours as they get older and more able to deal with it.
Oh I understand perfectly why it’s done. Biology is pretty fricking complicated at the higher levels.
I mean, how are you going to expect an elementary schooler to deal with the idea of Klinefelter’s or AIS? Or the religious parents of a homeschooled girl, even…
…Joyce got over her fear fast.
(Wait, how does Sarah know Ethan?)
She doesn’t know him. She’s just that good.
Joyce Brown is… CAPTAIN OBLIVIOUS!
“Look in the sky!!!It’s the Oblivious Signal!!!”
“I don’t see it”
It wasn’t obvious enough…
See what? Sorry, I was daydreaming about how cool Jesus is 🙂
Didn’t take Sarah long to see past Ethans cunning ruse.
“check-plus”
Oh shit, I actually get this joke
Can you explain it? The interweb’s got nothing, apart from a one-line description on Urban Dictionary that tells us nothing we couldn’t learn from the comic itself.
Ethan’s blush marks his gayness from miles away
I guess you didn’t notice that all of Willis’s characters have rosy cheeks…
Oh wait…
At least this will finally force Ethan to be honest with Joyce (and himself). Unless Sarah decided not to say anything in an attempt to save her from a mental BSOD.
Sorry Ethan the only one you’re fooling is… Joyce…
Isn’t it Joyce’s opinion that gays are just [i]confused[/i] or something? How will she react to a gay guy pretending to be straight?
I don’t see how not mentioning your sexuality is “pretending to be straight”.
I – but – what – huh
INTENTION IS THE MOTHER OF ACTION
So if I don’t mention to someone immediately that I’m fond of peach salsa, I’m hiding my love of peach salsa?
In that case…I’m ready. I want the world to know. I *love* peach salsa.
That’s nice. But I have to ask, how do you dance with peaches?
When they’re safely tucked inside my belly, I can dance with them all night and they’ll never miss a step!
Not ‘with’, ‘to‘.
But was Ethan trying to fool Joyce? I think he was just asking as a friend asks a friend to spend some time together. A lot of people know he’s gay, he dosen’t hide it, but he doesn’t advertise either. And yeah, Sarah is awesome.
“Accelerated Gaydar” would make a great band name
Best Band Name ever.
Best coctail name ever.
…Now I need to learn to play an instrument.
I’ll sing.
JOYCE! How did you not catch that your Christian not stupid!*headdeskslam*
Some would say those are synonyms.
Even most reasonable people would have to admit that they are at the very least not mutually exclusive.
This is kind of an awful line of conversation.
Could be worse.
I’d say it’s actually going halfway decent, considering that this is the internet.
Cite that she’s not stupid?
Sarah’s got good Gaydar.
Huh. Ethan’s never seemed that obviously gay to me. Maybe I’m just missing something. Or maybe Sarah CAN SEE INTO YOUR SOUL.
“Maybe”?
Or maybe he just put on his happy gay face for her so that she would reassure Joyce? After all, while Joyce’s caution is commendable, it’s probably awkward for him. “Oh, I don’t want to go to YOUR room because I’m afraid you might rape me. Come sit near the girl who hits rapists, instead, ok?”
(And for what it’s worth, I approve of Joyce’s decision here. She’s trying to take precautions so she doesn’t make the same mistake twice. Overreaction is a natural part of that process. Quite aside from his Gayness, now someone she trusts knows where she’ll be.)
Sarah must have traveled into the future and stolen Bender’s gaydar.
Or dumbing of age takes place in the Channel Awesome universe, and she stole it from insano.
she knows too much!
Dammit, that’s one impressive Gaydar, it’s fueled by the Rules of Funny
Still a little weird seeing Ethan interacting with Joyce after reading Shortpacked! for so long.
And yes, Sarah clearly must be psychic and/or a witch. Burn her!
She also can talk without dropping the pencil from her mouth – a talent I would normally only expect of smokers. As she doesn’t appear to smoke, I can only assume that demonic powers are being employed here.
Or, like myself, she has a habit of pencil chewing. Spend enough time working with that habit, it becomes simple to talk with a pen in ones mouth.
I wanna know what Ethan sees in the first panel. He seems totally in awe of it whatever it is. 🙂
This storyline actually makes me feel really sad in anticipation. I think Joyce will fall hard for Ethan, and when he finally realizes that he can’t be straight, it will break Joyce’s heart. It happened to my female friend in college, except that I wasn’t pretending anything: we were just good friends who like to hang out together pretty much all day.
Not to mention that even if they remain “only friends”, that will make Joyce’s three closest friends a godless atheist, an alcoholic slut, and a hellbound homo.
Trying to be straight can screw up Ethan a lot, too. That happened to another friend of mine after some “reparative therapy”. It really broke him, and he was never the same again.
Joyce’s face in the final panel reminds me of Faz.
am I the only one in the world who finds a masculine looking vulnerable handsome guy squirming with discomfort absolutely hot? Oh god!! 😀 *watches Willis back away slowly*
My GOD Sarah is an insufferable conga.
…what?
Joyce, how did you not catch on to that??