A ragtag band of bootleggers open a speakeasy for bottled colour in the greyscale city of Ironwell.
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
No End
Erli, Kromi
A queer romance about people attempting to build lives in a cold, post-apocalyptic world ravaged by hordes of undead.
Hemlock
Josceline Fenton
A witch accidentally marries a monster, and now she and her familiar has to navigate life around her monstrous husband and her even more terrifying in-laws.
Paint the Town Red
Windy, Winter Jay Kiakas
Winona runs a werewolf shelter with partner in crime, Odile in the Gothic city of Merlot. One day they take in an injured vampire, and soon unravels many of the dark secrets of Merlot.
Guilded Age
T Campbell, John Waltrip, Florence Machina
Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
All Known Alternatives
Karolina 'Kajotko' Jankiewicz
Akane has only one way to get back home: collect the 42 keys to parallel worlds. Eri and Ben are just trying to get through the summer before university. When a magical key turns up in an old spare set, all three are forced to change their plans and fast.
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
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I’m curious why they ever dated in the first place, and the events leading to their break up. I know we were never really supposed to think too hard about it, but since Dorothy’s become one of the main characters it’d be cool to see it elaborated on.
Granted, five years after it happened is probably too late for exposition.
We know why they broke up. Dorothy was concerned he was only following her without any of his own goals in mind and Danny sacrificed going to a better school just to stay close to her, and of course the infamous “maybe you’ll like it here” which angered Dorothy enough to finally cut it off.
But what we actually have, introducing them going to college and seeming to voice these concerns for the first time, feels kind of abrupt and unlike Dorothy. Danny I can believe was just so stupidly in love that he thought they’d be together forever, but you’d think Dorothy would have ended things beforehand.
That joke goes back at least half a century. Not that it’s a bad joke … but something to keep in mind when you dust it off. With a feather duster. Oh. I’ll bet everyone reading this is too young to know what an actual feather duster is …
It … it’s kinky. When used correctly.
“Kinky is the difference between using a peacock feather, or using the entire peacock.” is how I recall first hearing it.
I can remember seeing a similar joke translated out of Renaissance Italian. There is nothing new under the sun.
Feather dusters are not the retro-tech you think they are. Still see them for sale at dollar stores, many home supply places, and some grocery stores. The more modern synthetic dusters are better at actually cleaning things, and some styles are fair at erotic applications. Very different sensation, though.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you could find something very similar graffiti’d on the walls of Pompeii. Srsly. Apparently while they were doing excavations of the city of Pompeii, they came across some examples of graffiti that translated as dick jokes, and others saying things like “For a good time, see .
Whatever dirty thing you can think of, it’s been done. Over and over. And over and over and over again. And again.
Depends on where you are in history, there have been a few innovations over the years. First ever vibrator was in 1734, and they don’t really become recognizable in the modern form until the 1960s. Next thing down the pike will probably involve surgery. Just a matter of time before some rich kinkster pays a Frankenstein to give someone a creatively-placed set of extra genitalia.
I think Dorothy might blindside us by rejecting male bisexuality as a thing. Since she’s the last person you’d expect to do this it would really raise the issue of bi-erasure.
As horrifying as that idea is I actually kinda hope it happens. I mean cause Dotty is the only character I can think of in this comic without any major flaws…she needs something to be wrong. Does she even have minor flaws?
I can easily think of something wrong with every other major character (excluding The Great Faz of course as we all know he is the he we both deserve and need) but I can’t really think of something for her.
She’s a workaholic. Her self-worth seems to be really wrapped up in her academic success and career. That hasn’t been a problem yet because both of those are going fine, but it’s still not healthy.
Okay that’s a fair point. But even still she seems like she manages to relax enough, but maybe it’ll be a larger problem later on.
I suppose she and Walky have trouble expressing how they feel about their relationship but what new couple doesn’t? (Also that’s both of their problems not just her problem. Although you could argue they share all problems now I suppose.)
I wouldn’t even say that. Dorothy was able to pretty easily communicate some heavy stuff yesterday about how their relationship might become more serious but it will ultimately have to end and how she does love Walky.
That’s kind of my problem with her, to be honest. She’s boring. Any time she has a problem she makes all the reasonable choices possible and deals with it as maturely as possible. She doesn’t really have any major, character defining flaws, and even her occasional bouts of immaturity or jerkish behaviour just happen without comment.
I mean, not every character can be a depressed alcoholic or a rage driven superhero, but she’s the most vanilla member of the cast. It’s hard to be invested in her story when more interesting things are happening to more interesting characters.
I know and that’s why I think it’d be great!
I’m kinda a horrible person so I love the idea of taking a character who you think is great and then just sorta suddenly goin “Eh they’re actually kinda messed up.”
I know it’s unlikely as all hell but I can hope right.
(It’s a good think she’s fictional otherwise I’d be a pretty terrible person for wanting her to have some major flaws.)
I think it’d be cool if it did, because bi-erasure is a really ingrained thing and even people we assume to be totally on the level can say really stupid things, but I can’t see Dorothy ever saying it, which is why she kind of bores me. I can’t ever imagine her saying anything objectionable.
I agree. I don’t really mind Dorothy as a character per se, but I do think she operates as the voice of reason most of the time for the rest of this crazy-ass cast of characters. I, too, would like to see her say or do something objectionable, if only to leaven her character a bit.
Meh, I like her. It’s nice to have one character somewhere who, while compassionate, actually thinks things out with their head in advance instead of just reacting with their gut all the time. I find it refreshing to have someone who actually can make good decisions on a regular basis. Not every person in every cast needs to be a wacky screwball.
Also she’s a good contrast with both Walky (nice guy but otherwise her antithesis: slobby, lazy, talks without thinking, complete lack of drive or ambition); and she’s like the flip side of Roz. Or rather, she’s Roz (in that she is progressive with her ideas about gender and sexuality), but without the jerky, in-your-face-cuz-I’m-right-and-you’re-WRONG aspect of it.
Everyone seems to find her boring and uninteresting in this thread; I wanted to chime in with an opposing viewpoint to say that I do find her an interesting character (although I can see your guys’s point and I totally understand why people in universe would also find her bland).
We’ve already got plenty of drama because people are awful or otherwise flawed in some way. Yay for a bit of rationality and calm! I’m looking forward to her reaction, and if it’s bi-erasure, I will be very disappointed in her.
At least no one can claim that Willis himself doesn’t grok the concept of bi.
Having been married to a workoholic, I can attest that this can be a very serious flaw. It’s all sunshine and roses until you get stuck in a week-long roadtrip with someone who JUST CAN”T STOP WORKING OR THEY”LL EXPLODE.
Oh, and the neglect of the relationship in favor of work. That kinda sucks too.
I think Dorothy is certainly driven to excel and she primarily puts her effort towards that, but I don’t know if I’d call her a workaholic. She uses her free time wisely, and even recently kind of chilled out at the prospect of needing to be there for every single class. Like she said, the world didn’t end.
Her ambition/lack of realistic goals, primarily. Having to go to IU should have forced her to reassess, instead she doubled-down. She also avoids pushing uncomfortable issues with her friends, even when it is absolutely necessary.
That said, I like that we have one character who’s not a trainwreck or on the way to becoming one. It gives me a nice calm center I can focus on when Joyce is exploding and Billie is imploding.
Well Joyce is becoming not a train wreck slowly but surely so now we can have Dotty go the opposite path.
…I just want the drama >.>
But what’s wrong with being committed even if your goals are a bit unrealistic? I mean if you don’t try you’ll fail for sure, may as well at least give it shot.
Depends how ya get there and circumstance. Look at Jimmy Carter one term. He ousted Gerald Ford (a man who was never elected to either position in the executive). Carter won mainly by being “the nice guy outside who was’t going to lie to the people.” Let him survive one whole term. Of course it took a major government shacking scandal.
Dorothy could pull a Carter. Yale helps not because of academic rigor, but contacts you can make while there. It’s largely about who know more than what you know in the game of politics.
I think it would be REALLY problematic if Dorothy’s ambition was her ‘character flaw’. I don’t think it is, nor do I see a Willis story punishing an ambitious lady for being ambitious. Nope-a-nope.
Instead, story-wise, Dororthy’s the straight man, the rational center surrounded by craziness. She’s a little high-strung, but is otherwise normal — and I’m totally okay with having one main character who sets up others’ jokes by contrast, and who doesn’t see herself as fundamentally broken.
That depends entirely on the ambition. Being ambitious about getting good grades? Dandy. Being ambitious about practical applications of your personal eugenics theory? See World War 2 for how that worked out.
Nah, Dorothy’s got the good kind of ambition. Unless you think she’ll just turn into another Washington insider on the way to the White House.
Regardless, saying that all ambition is automatically good is absurd. You don’t have ambition unattached to goals, and the goal (and your own POV) defines whether it’s good or not.
Problems arise with ambition when your ambitions begin to consume other parts of your life. And this applies to both men and women. But Dorothy doesn’t have that problem – she has steadfast friends that makes time for, and even has a new boyfriend.
So yes, ambition can become a problem in excess, but that isn’t Dorothy.
Dotty is plenty flawed, she’s nowhere near as smart as she thinks she is and she’s kind of arrogant. She’s got that naive “I have all the answers” teenage attitude and it frequently bites her on the ass.
Hmm I guess your right.
Although I don’t really feel like it frequently bites her in the ass.
I mean really aside from the party…which was far worse for Joyce I can’t really think of time when she’s fucked up all that badly.
I don’t know, not ending things with Danny before he followed her to college was a pretty boneheaded move on her part. That’s not to say that he’s entirely blameless either, but she certainly did not handle the situation terribly well.
I think Becky’s already opened the bi-erasure topic in her earlier exchange with Billie.
While it might be nice for Dorothy’s flaws to come into play, I’m really hoping she doesn’t have THAT one. Honestly, I kinda peg her for having seen it coming. She’s dated Danny, she knows him arguably better than anyone. And she did tease him for his “besties eternal” drawing.
Becky was barely aware that girls could “like” girls until recently. Knowing that for some both options are open would be too much for her to process right now. She even almost made that statement to Billie.
He knows that Ethan is Amber’s ex. Amber has given him enough information that he might be able to guess Ethan’s gay, but at this point I don’t think that revelation’s going to occur off-screen.
Ah, he does know they used to date. Telling your current girlfriend you’re attracted to her former boyfriend is grounds for the level of concern he was showing last strip. I agree he probably doesn’t think Ethan is gay at the moment – he had a firsthand face denial of that earlier, after all.
Wonder if he thinks Ethan was in the same “only dating Amazi-Girl” situation he is? There’s some potential hilarity there if he ever tries to compare notes. “Did she ever make you wear the cape?”
In all honesty. I’ve just been commenting less here. I still check the comic but I’m also finding myself increasingly distanced from the attitudes and community. I’m over dealing with negativity and am just trying to chill. And it’s not just people with awful opinions. I’m also not a fan of people talking down to others. I’m trying my best to stop thinking I’m right all the time and reading stuff like that just…stresses me out and I’m sick of it.
TLDR;
I’m going through a phase and am tired of argumenative bullshit.
It’s unlikely but maybe I’ll just do doodles from time to time. At the very least I still find the characters P cute.
I get the sense you aren’t the only one. I don’t even think there are many here with awful opinions – most of those I do see tend to disappear within minutes. The problem seems to be that debates have a tendency to sour around here. Don’t know how else to describe it.
I was talking about diethyl ether, commonly referred to as ‘ether’. And yes, I was intentionally conflating that with the defunct ether theory. Because I somehow thought it would be funny. Chemistry humor!
Fun fact: solutions made with ether as the solvent are known as ethereal solutions.
Oh relax, I call myself Boomwolf because I like explosions and I like wolves. It has nothing to do with that one time I misfired a grenade launched into a den of wolves… Like I said, nothing to do with that. At all.
Actually, my friend is pretty well off, though I’m not quite sure what his job is. All I know is that he travels a lot, though usually via private plane. Dude knows a lot about the body too, especially what parts of the body are the easiest to target if you wanna kill someone… I’m beginning to think all those guns in his house aren’t for protection….
I don’t think grappling hooks count as mountaineering gear, however. I doubt think one would provide enough purchase to be able to reliably arrest the fall of a couple hundred pounds of human and gear.
Last I checked “The Boring Store” in Chicago sold them. They’re a spy-supply shop with an online store as well. Plus: bonus! Proceeds from The Boring Store fund 826 Chicago which is a creative writing workshop/tutoring center for children. Awesome charities + FREAKING SPY SUPPLY SHOP = Guilt-free sexy-time purchases!
Oh hell, I’ve seen them around. Saw one at Surplus Herby’s in BC one time. Came with a 20′ rope, supported 300 lbs, called itself a “ninja” grappling hook.
They’re pretty easy to whip up, too, though. Pretty sure that’s the first solo project for like every guy taking metal shop in high school. Ninja stars were also really popular with them when I was a kid, although I suspect they aren’t allowed to make them anymore. Not like they made any that threw worth a damn, though.
But grappling hooks, yeah. Try a marine supply shop (anchors, etc); failing that it’s a piece of rod bent into a w with another one bent into a u welded to it, and the ends sharpened slightly. Pretty sure you could get any metal fabricating shop to whip you one up for like $20; just remember to let them know how big to leave the loop when they bend the w piece. Shame to get it home only to find your rope doesn’t quite fit.
Can we all just step back for a minute and give Danny the respect he deserves for apparently maintaining an erection whilst all of his blood is above(below? You know what I mean) his neck?
Yeah. Mind you, he doesn’t mention which end is up. I hope they’re careful; even just hanging right-side up in a fall-arrest harness for more than an hour can actually kill you. Upside down is even worse.
Sue her? Hell, they’ll want her for celebrity endorsements.
Huh. You know, that could actually work. The heck with Kickstarters, Mr. Willis ought to be getting in touch with Encounter Lubricants about a branding deal.
Nearly half this strip is on my bucket list. I should be happy to live half so long as it would take to check ’em off. And, we’re still a month or so away from Halloween in the storyline.
So, contrary to people’s suggestions in the comments yesterday, they each clearly know, or at least assume, the other knows about Amber being Amazi-girl.
Amber told Danny that Dorothy had figured it out. I don’t think anyone’s ever actually told Dorothy that Danny knows, but I figure she put two and two together after she figured out Amazi-Girl’s identity.
Though, come to think of it, if Dorothy was paying close enough attention, Danny just told her, by referring to Amber and Amazi-Girl collectively as “her”, where Dorothy was careful to refer to her as two separate people.
Your dorms were a lot crappier than the ones I lived in if the soundproofing was so bad you could hear the actual words of a quiet conversation in the next room. We knew the neighbors were talking if our own room was quiet, but it was just a background rumble, nothing clear unless there was shouting going on. Which there isn’t here, yet.
The order of events as rule 34 demands.
1. Danny tells Dorothy of his sexual epiphany.
2. She guides him towards acceptance of latent bisexuality.
3. Danny brings this notion up with Amber, relieved he can have these feelings and that they don’t inherently break apart their relationship.
4. Rather than panic, Amber experiences a surge of genius and arranges for a threeway.
5. Ethan>>Danny>>Amber, all forming a single, fleshy link. The pounding from Ethan driving Danny deeper into Amber.
6. Sexual Voltron: A Duming of Age Pornographique is born!
7. At some point Mike’s dad says, “Atta boy, Sport!” and gives some advice on how to achieve further penetration.
He’s shown up in DoA, but he was overshadowed by his wife, the Queen of Hugs. So no, we don’t have much to go on with his personality – the most you can say is that he doesn’t seem very different.
Tandel: Amber will have to actually choreograph it, too, won’t she? I think that neither Danny or Ethan have done gay sex previously and both are pretty diffident still.
I once kissed my girlfriend while we were rappelling into a cave (Moaning Cavern)… they turned out the lights when we were about 100 feet off the ground, and we smooched… it was, in fact, pretty awesome.
I think I’ve still got an old “Spelunkers do it in caves” tee shirt around here somewhere. Tends to be a little chilly for serious fooling around, but it’s certainly exotic. Judging by the number of condoms littering the local caves when I was a kid, some folks don’t mind the cold.
I’m still waiting for the story where someone (Amber?) mentions all the dinosaur erotica that’s out there, and Dina spends the next two weeks obsessively writing online reviews critiquing the scientific inaccuracies involved.
Just now, I think. Dorothy referred to Amber and Amazi-Girl as separate entities, but Danny used “her” instead of “them”. Dorothy’s not an idiot, and, despite evidence to the contrary, neither is Danny (except in matters of love).
Danny Is DATING Amazi-Girl, one would assume he knows who she really is. Because not knowing is kind of messed up to anyone who isn’t living a fantasy.
That, and given his irritation with Dorothy when she tried to worm information out of him about Amazi-Girl in the past and knowing he knew her intimately, she was already aware Danny likely knew her identity prior to figuring it out herself through partly chance.
Amber and Amazi-Girl wouldn’t have both come up if Dorothy didn’t realize Danny knew they were one and the same (and, of course, it stands to reason he should). It’s possible this is the first Danny knew that Dorothy knew (though unlikely – ‘your ex figured out who I am, but was nice enough to not out me’ seems like something she would bring up), but I would think he’d react, if it was, and he didn’t, at all.
Not sure about that – while Ethan is closeted publicly, he’s pretty much accepted that he’s gay, internally. I think he has lots of “TOTALLY GAY THOUGHTS” folders, but those folders are filed under “SHOW THESE TO NO ONE”.
Some people want Dorothy to be biphobic, but I don’t. I think that would be very sad. And for those who say she has no bad traits, um, yeah she does!
1. Ignores friends, family, and other loved ones in favor of schoolwork.
2. Knew she wanted to break up with Danny, but strung him along until college.
3. Told Walky she wanted to keep it casual, then contradicted this by saying she loved him, and then contradicted THAT by saying “i love you, but more like a friend.” (or at least, that’s how I interpreted it)
4. Continually harassed Amazi-Girl (who continually said she didn’t want an interview) until they finally managed to get on good terms.
5. Left Joyce alone at the party, who she KNEW wouldn’t know how to prevent harm coming her.
6. Slut shamed Roz. (I think she managed to overcome that though)
7. Continually tries to change who Walky is, even though he seems uncomfortable with this fact.
There are probably more, but I can’t think of them at this moment in time, and also, I don’t want to make this longer than needed. I think that she’s accepting of all sexualities, and will be willing to talk Danny through this. My prediction is that she will say something like this: “It is totally fine that you are attracted to men. You seem to be attracted sexually and romantically to Amber, right? Yes, it’s a bit of a no-no to have a thing for your girlfriend’s ex, but on the other hand, you can’t control initial attraction. What you CAN control is what you do about it. Don’t break up with Amber, don’t make any moves on Ethan. When you come out to Amber, DO NOT mention Ethan, and make it very clear to her that you like her very much, you are not leaving her, and you are very attracted to her. You are telling her this because you trust her, and like her enough to feel like she should know about this part of who you are.” Hopefully. Hopefully she will say something like that.
For point 4, she was doing what a journalist does – they chase stories, even when the subject of the story doesn’t want to talk. Superhero vigilantes are news.
Point 5 is shared guilt, there were others at that party that were just as responsible for (not) keeping an eye on Joyce.
I don’t get how leaving Joyce alone is a character flaw, or even a mistake that reflects poorly on her. What happened that night was not at all her fault, even though Dorothy blamed herself.
They went to the party together with the explicit intention of being each other’s backup so neither would get in over their head. Dorothy ditched her for an interview with Roz that could have been done with Joyce safely in tow, or at least with her in view for when Ryan asked her upstairs. That’s a fail, and would have been even if nothing happened at all.
Has nothing to do with Ryan, whose actions are strictly his own fault.
Looking back at the story, Billie clearly understood the potential dangers and tried to warn Joyce on the walk over, but she didn’t promise to keep an eye on anyone. So yeah, guess she doesn’t deserve any blame for not playing babysitter.
Again, she’s not at fault for Ryan. She’s at fault for leaving Joyce alone when they’d agreed to stick together beforehand and both of them were in an environment they didn’t feel safe in. It’s a comparatively minor mistake, but it shouldn’t be overlooked – and that’s true even if nothing bad had happened at all. There’s no point in relying on the buddy system for party safety if you’re not going to stick to it.
It would be easier to see Dorothy’s fault (and lack of fault) in this if you consider a similar scenario. Imagine the same party, just without Ryan. Dorothy wanders off, thinking that Billie, of all people, was keeping an eye on Joyce. Later, realizing her mistake, Dorothy eventually finds Joyce playing Settlers of Catan with a bunch of drunks.
In that scenario, it would be pretty reasonable to blame Dorothy for leaving Joyce in a dangerous situation. That still applies to the events at the party as they actually happened. Dorothy just shouldn’t get more blame because something bad did happen. I’m sure she assigns herself more blame, though – that’s a pretty normal reaction. But she doesn’t deserve extra blame.
Agreed. And you’re probably right, she probably is unjustly blaming herself for at least part of Ryan’s actions, which is terrible. Ryan’s actions are Ryan’s fault, and nobody else’s.
Setting aside the assigning of blame, there is also a distinction to be made between a mistake and a character flaw. Now, if that character has a history of making that same mistake, or you can reasonably assume that to be the case, then you can call it a character flaw.
I’d be surprised if Dorothy ever repeats the mistakes made in points 2, 5, or 6 if she finds herself in similar situations. I don’t acknowledge 4 as a flaw in the first place.
And honestly, I’m conflicted on 7 being a flaw as opposed to a character trait. Advice columns are very fond of telling people not to try to change their partners, but that’s kind of silly. Being in a relationship inevitably changes both people. It’s almost the whole point of the process. Both parties change to make themselves a better fit for each other.
You can let those changes happen passively but the results you get can be pretty random as desires are (mis)interpreted. Dorothy’s not shy about verbalizing what she likes and dislikes about Walky, and maybe that’s a better approach as long as it doesn’t get out of control and drive your partner crazy. It certainly takes some of the guessing game and insecurity out of the equation.
Walky isn’t passive here either. He walked away from her over the pajama jeans thing, and while he eventually changed his mind on it, it demonstrated to Dorothy that she was not in a dictatorial position. She wasn’t happy with the break herself, but it took Joyce to drag both of them back together and point out that they’d made more out of it than they probably needed to.
Now 3, yeah, both Dorothy and Walky are terrible at using the word love. They should probably stop that for a while and think about what it means to them before trying again.
Awfully far down the thread now, but I’m maybe confused.
Danny and Dorothy both know that Amber is Amazi-girl.
They both know that Danny is dating Amber/Amazi-girl.
They both know (I think) that Ethan is Amber’s ex.
I think that they both know that Ethan is dating Joyce (and neither knows that they split up).
But I think only Dorothy knows that Ethan is gay, right?
So, if Danny mentions who he is attracted to by way of talking about how much more that confuses things, Dorothy has to worry about outing Ethan.
I don’t see why. She can very well reassure Danny without there being any need whatsoever to out Ethan. His sexuality isn’t really relevant in this conversation, since it’s not about Danny wanting to date Ethan or something like that (I think it’s clear he loves Amber and has every intention of continuing to date her), but about Danny’s confusion. The only relevant things here are Danny’s feelings and I guess Amber’s. And even if it weren’t, it’s certainly not Dorothy’s place to out Ethan, and she wouldn’t do that. Not intentionally anyways.
Though this is just the way I see it of course. I could be wrong.
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but why WOULDN’T you brag about having two women at once tho
[well I guess not ENTIRELY at the same time]
[[this isn’t helping is it]]
He’s not actually dating Amber, but Amber is Amazi-Girl yet they both have individual tags, but Amazi-girl is…..Oh no I’ve gone cross eyed!
Well dissociative identity disorder is a thing so..
I don’t think Amber has that.
Yet.
As in she hasn’t developed that mental disorder or as in you are not convinced at this time that she has that mental disorder?
Yes
That answer is technically correct – the BEST KIND of correct! *approves*
“Are you gay or straight?”
ETHAN (et al): Yes.
DANNY (et al): No.
You two are adorable.
They should totally date each othe….wait a second…
0_0
Is it wrong that I ship this?
Yes. Yes, it is.
I’m curious why they ever dated in the first place, and the events leading to their break up. I know we were never really supposed to think too hard about it, but since Dorothy’s become one of the main characters it’d be cool to see it elaborated on.
Granted, five years after it happened is probably too late for exposition.
I assume they broke up because long distance relationships are terrible and I personally wouldn’t recommend them to anyone <_<
Well, that and they don’t really see eye to eye.
Why would a height difference be a problem?
(blinks innocently)
We know why they broke up. Dorothy was concerned he was only following her without any of his own goals in mind and Danny sacrificed going to a better school just to stay close to her, and of course the infamous “maybe you’ll like it here” which angered Dorothy enough to finally cut it off.
But what we actually have, introducing them going to college and seeming to voice these concerns for the first time, feels kind of abrupt and unlike Dorothy. Danny I can believe was just so stupidly in love that he thought they’d be together forever, but you’d think Dorothy would have ended things beforehand.
Amber is into some kinky shit.
No Wonder. She shares Genes with Faz.
Kinky is using a feather, perverted is using the whole chicken.
And just like that, I remember Me, Myself & Irene.
Somehow, some way, I am going to use that line in a conversation.
That joke goes back at least half a century. Not that it’s a bad joke … but something to keep in mind when you dust it off. With a feather duster. Oh. I’ll bet everyone reading this is too young to know what an actual feather duster is …
It … it’s kinky. When used correctly.
“Kinky is the difference between using a peacock feather, or using the entire peacock.” is how I recall first hearing it.
See! The Internets: preserving our cultural heritage.
Not only do I know what a feather duster is, but I have in fact held one in my hand.
For non-prurient purposes.
That seemed worth clarifying.
I can remember seeing a similar joke translated out of Renaissance Italian. There is nothing new under the sun.
Feather dusters are not the retro-tech you think they are. Still see them for sale at dollar stores, many home supply places, and some grocery stores. The more modern synthetic dusters are better at actually cleaning things, and some styles are fair at erotic applications. Very different sensation, though.
The earliest written version I read was credited to Groucho Marx.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you could find something very similar graffiti’d on the walls of Pompeii. Srsly. Apparently while they were doing excavations of the city of Pompeii, they came across some examples of graffiti that translated as dick jokes, and others saying things like “For a good time, see .
Whatever dirty thing you can think of, it’s been done. Over and over. And over and over and over again. And again.
Been to Pompeii…
they have uncovered (well, had in 97, anyway) some… seriously well endowed fertility statues there. I think they liked fun a lot ^^
Over-endowed fertility gods and goddesses have been around since the early Stone Age. The Roman ones are just way better sculpted.
I swear the thing was like 70cm long.
Depends on where you are in history, there have been a few innovations over the years. First ever vibrator was in 1734, and they don’t really become recognizable in the modern form until the 1960s. Next thing down the pike will probably involve surgery. Just a matter of time before some rich kinkster pays a Frankenstein to give someone a creatively-placed set of extra genitalia.
I am so stealing that!
Don’t be silly, everyone knows that Danny’s dating Amazi-Girl, and everyone knows that Amazi-Girl is Carla.
Siiiiiiigh.
FAAAAAAAAAAAACE
I think Dorothy might blindside us by rejecting male bisexuality as a thing. Since she’s the last person you’d expect to do this it would really raise the issue of bi-erasure.
lol no
NO.
Nah, Willis wouldn’t do that. She’s very knowledgable on current events topics (after all, she wants to be prez!), so she would not reject the idea.
As horrifying as that idea is I actually kinda hope it happens. I mean cause Dotty is the only character I can think of in this comic without any major flaws…she needs something to be wrong. Does she even have minor flaws?
I can easily think of something wrong with every other major character (excluding The Great Faz of course as we all know he is the he we both deserve and need) but I can’t really think of something for her.
She’s pretty high-strung, I guess.
Unfortunately choice of phrasing given the grappling hook sex jokes elsewhere.
She’s a workaholic. Her self-worth seems to be really wrapped up in her academic success and career. That hasn’t been a problem yet because both of those are going fine, but it’s still not healthy.
Okay that’s a fair point. But even still she seems like she manages to relax enough, but maybe it’ll be a larger problem later on.
I suppose she and Walky have trouble expressing how they feel about their relationship but what new couple doesn’t? (Also that’s both of their problems not just her problem. Although you could argue they share all problems now I suppose.)
Just wait until she realize her grade fell off.. ^^;
I wouldn’t even say that. Dorothy was able to pretty easily communicate some heavy stuff yesterday about how their relationship might become more serious but it will ultimately have to end and how she does love Walky.
That’s kind of my problem with her, to be honest. She’s boring. Any time she has a problem she makes all the reasonable choices possible and deals with it as maturely as possible. She doesn’t really have any major, character defining flaws, and even her occasional bouts of immaturity or jerkish behaviour just happen without comment.
I mean, not every character can be a depressed alcoholic or a rage driven superhero, but she’s the most vanilla member of the cast. It’s hard to be invested in her story when more interesting things are happening to more interesting characters.
I know and that’s why I think it’d be great!
I’m kinda a horrible person so I love the idea of taking a character who you think is great and then just sorta suddenly goin “Eh they’re actually kinda messed up.”
I know it’s unlikely as all hell but I can hope right.
(It’s a good think she’s fictional otherwise I’d be a pretty terrible person for wanting her to have some major flaws.)
I think it’d be cool if it did, because bi-erasure is a really ingrained thing and even people we assume to be totally on the level can say really stupid things, but I can’t see Dorothy ever saying it, which is why she kind of bores me. I can’t ever imagine her saying anything objectionable.
I agree. I don’t really mind Dorothy as a character per se, but I do think she operates as the voice of reason most of the time for the rest of this crazy-ass cast of characters. I, too, would like to see her say or do something objectionable, if only to leaven her character a bit.
Meh, I like her. It’s nice to have one character somewhere who, while compassionate, actually thinks things out with their head in advance instead of just reacting with their gut all the time. I find it refreshing to have someone who actually can make good decisions on a regular basis. Not every person in every cast needs to be a wacky screwball.
Also she’s a good contrast with both Walky (nice guy but otherwise her antithesis: slobby, lazy, talks without thinking, complete lack of drive or ambition); and she’s like the flip side of Roz. Or rather, she’s Roz (in that she is progressive with her ideas about gender and sexuality), but without the jerky, in-your-face-cuz-I’m-right-and-you’re-WRONG aspect of it.
Everyone seems to find her boring and uninteresting in this thread; I wanted to chime in with an opposing viewpoint to say that I do find her an interesting character (although I can see your guys’s point and I totally understand why people in universe would also find her bland).
We’ve already got plenty of drama because people are awful or otherwise flawed in some way. Yay for a bit of rationality and calm! I’m looking forward to her reaction, and if it’s bi-erasure, I will be very disappointed in her.
At least no one can claim that Willis himself doesn’t grok the concept of bi.
just email each other essays already!
Having been married to a workoholic, I can attest that this can be a very serious flaw. It’s all sunshine and roses until you get stuck in a week-long roadtrip with someone who JUST CAN”T STOP WORKING OR THEY”LL EXPLODE.
Oh, and the neglect of the relationship in favor of work. That kinda sucks too.
I think Dorothy is certainly driven to excel and she primarily puts her effort towards that, but I don’t know if I’d call her a workaholic. She uses her free time wisely, and even recently kind of chilled out at the prospect of needing to be there for every single class. Like she said, the world didn’t end.
Agian, just wait until she realise her grades are falling
Too right. Likely to shatter like glass if she can’t get in to Yale. Which is not a given by any means, the competition is fierce.
She thinks “Wedding Smashers” is a better episode than “Time’s Short”! The girl needs her head examined!
Oh yeah! Never mind she clearly has more issues than anyone else, can’t believe I forgot that.
Her ambition/lack of realistic goals, primarily. Having to go to IU should have forced her to reassess, instead she doubled-down. She also avoids pushing uncomfortable issues with her friends, even when it is absolutely necessary.
That said, I like that we have one character who’s not a trainwreck or on the way to becoming one. It gives me a nice calm center I can focus on when Joyce is exploding and Billie is imploding.
Well Joyce is becoming not a train wreck slowly but surely so now we can have Dotty go the opposite path.
…I just want the drama >.>
But what’s wrong with being committed even if your goals are a bit unrealistic? I mean if you don’t try you’ll fail for sure, may as well at least give it shot.
You don’t *have* to go to an Ivy League to become President.
Of course, she’s much too nice a person to claw her way into high office. That’ll be her point of failure, not her academics.
Depends how ya get there and circumstance. Look at Jimmy Carter one term. He ousted Gerald Ford (a man who was never elected to either position in the executive). Carter won mainly by being “the nice guy outside who was’t going to lie to the people.” Let him survive one whole term. Of course it took a major government shacking scandal.
Dorothy could pull a Carter. Yale helps not because of academic rigor, but contacts you can make while there. It’s largely about who know more than what you know in the game of politics.
I think it would be REALLY problematic if Dorothy’s ambition was her ‘character flaw’. I don’t think it is, nor do I see a Willis story punishing an ambitious lady for being ambitious. Nope-a-nope.
Instead, story-wise, Dororthy’s the straight man, the rational center surrounded by craziness. She’s a little high-strung, but is otherwise normal — and I’m totally okay with having one main character who sets up others’ jokes by contrast, and who doesn’t see herself as fundamentally broken.
Willis has commented on this viewpoint and he’s already stated that Dorothy’s ambition is never to be considered a flaw.
It’s also a really dumb thing to criticize. Ambition is a good thing!
That depends entirely on the ambition. Being ambitious about getting good grades? Dandy. Being ambitious about practical applications of your personal eugenics theory? See World War 2 for how that worked out.
oh jesus are we godwinning dorothy now
Nah, Dorothy’s got the good kind of ambition. Unless you think she’ll just turn into another Washington insider on the way to the White House.
Regardless, saying that all ambition is automatically good is absurd. You don’t have ambition unattached to goals, and the goal (and your own POV) defines whether it’s good or not.
Problems arise with ambition when your ambitions begin to consume other parts of your life. And this applies to both men and women. But Dorothy doesn’t have that problem – she has steadfast friends that makes time for, and even has a new boyfriend.
So yes, ambition can become a problem in excess, but that isn’t Dorothy.
Not yet, anyway.
Ever notice how I can’t spell? I guess Faz has been demoted from hero to he. Oh well.
Dotty is plenty flawed, she’s nowhere near as smart as she thinks she is and she’s kind of arrogant. She’s got that naive “I have all the answers” teenage attitude and it frequently bites her on the ass.
Hmm I guess your right.
Although I don’t really feel like it frequently bites her in the ass.
I mean really aside from the party…which was far worse for Joyce I can’t really think of time when she’s fucked up all that badly.
I don’t know, not ending things with Danny before he followed her to college was a pretty boneheaded move on her part. That’s not to say that he’s entirely blameless either, but she certainly did not handle the situation terribly well.
I think Becky’s already opened the bi-erasure topic in her earlier exchange with Billie.
While it might be nice for Dorothy’s flaws to come into play, I’m really hoping she doesn’t have THAT one. Honestly, I kinda peg her for having seen it coming. She’s dated Danny, she knows him arguably better than anyone. And she did tease him for his “besties eternal” drawing.
Becky was barely aware that girls could “like” girls until recently. Knowing that for some both options are open would be too much for her to process right now. She even almost made that statement to Billie.
It’d be interesting, but I doubt that would happen.
The absolute worst thing I can perceive is that Dorothy might assume Danny is gay, rather than bi.
He’s coming across as awfully enthusiastic about sexy times with Amazi-Girl here for that to happen.
That would be great. I don’t think expect that for a minute, though.
That would be wildly out of character for her.
I think a more likely problem is that she’ll start squeeing and giggling uncontrollably when he tells her.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/newmainman/
She’d be overjoyed, I think, if Danny tells her _who_ he has feelings for.
Which he might not.
How much does Danny know about the relationship between Amber and Ethan at this point?
He knows that Ethan is Amber’s ex. Amber has given him enough information that he might be able to guess Ethan’s gay, but at this point I don’t think that revelation’s going to occur off-screen.
Ah, he does know they used to date. Telling your current girlfriend you’re attracted to her former boyfriend is grounds for the level of concern he was showing last strip. I agree he probably doesn’t think Ethan is gay at the moment – he had a firsthand face denial of that earlier, after all.
Wonder if he thinks Ethan was in the same “only dating Amazi-Girl” situation he is? There’s some potential hilarity there if he ever tries to compare notes. “Did she ever make you wear the cape?”
she couldn’t grin wider if she tried XD
Seriously though the mask makes it hot.
Says You.
Thats Bruce Wayne’s slogan.
“It’s the car, right? Chics dig the car…”
Damn thing doesn’t breathe, so it always gets all sweaty within an hour.
Not for Batman. He knows how to breath in space. he’ll find a way.
Just wait until she breaks out the taser, Danny. It’s only begun.
Wait which one is suspended? Both?
…regardless, *how*?
All it really takes is some good quality rope, strong, strategically placed knots, and a decent understanding of a person’s center of mass.
An example being some practitioners of shibari/kinbaku, Japanese rope bondage.
And we know that Amber knows about centers of gravity. http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/gorilla/
Some webbing would be nice, too. Rope makes for a very uncomfortable harness.
http://oglaf.com/slodging/ (NSFW)
I’ve been grappling with that issue ever since it was raised in this strip.
More like fuck it list, amiright?
disappears back into the ether
Wait before you go, where were you recently? I was kind of worried the past week or so.
In all honesty. I’ve just been commenting less here. I still check the comic but I’m also finding myself increasingly distanced from the attitudes and community. I’m over dealing with negativity and am just trying to chill. And it’s not just people with awful opinions. I’m also not a fan of people talking down to others. I’m trying my best to stop thinking I’m right all the time and reading stuff like that just…stresses me out and I’m sick of it.
TLDR;
I’m going through a phase and am tired of argumenative bullshit.
It’s unlikely but maybe I’ll just do doodles from time to time. At the very least I still find the characters P cute.
Understand. Take as much time as you need off the comments. Enjoy the rest of DoA.
I get the sense you aren’t the only one. I don’t even think there are many here with awful opinions – most of those I do see tend to disappear within minutes. The problem seems to be that debates have a tendency to sour around here. Don’t know how else to describe it.
And thank god! I thought you had been abducted by aliens or something.
No, not the ether! That stuff’s carcinogenic!
I thought the Michelson-Morley experiments pretty much disproved ether theory for good. How carcinogenic can a fictional substance be?
Fictional? Are you talking about ethers, or about aether?
Ether, luminiferous. Old school physics, long disproven. Sometimes spelled aether, but that’s rather affected and by no means universal.
I was talking about diethyl ether, commonly referred to as ‘ether’. And yes, I was intentionally conflating that with the defunct ether theory. Because I somehow thought it would be funny. Chemistry humor!
Fun fact: solutions made with ether as the solvent are known as ethereal solutions.
I see you watched Obama’s WHCD speach.
Wait, where did Amber get a grappling hook? I wanna know for, uh…reasons.
Army Disposals perhaps?
Just all the junk that the army doesn’t want? I’d go there.
Just think, maybe you could find a second-hand thermonuclear device at one for half price.
Heck man, I recomend it. My firend went there last month, dude is driving around in a M1A2 SEP. Only cost him 150 bucks.
And now your name takes on a terrifying new meaning.
Oh relax, I call myself Boomwolf because I like explosions and I like wolves. It has nothing to do with that one time I misfired a grenade launched into a den of wolves… Like I said, nothing to do with that. At all.
I bet they were howling in pain?
…sorry, had to…
If you didn’t, someone else would’ve
Sure, and I bet it’s hella fun, but isn’t the cost of fuel eating him alive?. 0.6 mpg. Plus, where does he fill up with whatever that turbine burns?
Actually, my friend is pretty well off, though I’m not quite sure what his job is. All I know is that he travels a lot, though usually via private plane. Dude knows a lot about the body too, especially what parts of the body are the easiest to target if you wanna kill someone… I’m beginning to think all those guns in his house aren’t for protection….
You’d think that any decent sporting goods big box store would have some mountaineering supplies. Eh?
I don’t think grappling hooks count as mountaineering gear, however. I doubt think one would provide enough purchase to be able to reliably arrest the fall of a couple hundred pounds of human and gear.
Last I checked “The Boring Store” in Chicago sold them. They’re a spy-supply shop with an online store as well. Plus: bonus! Proceeds from The Boring Store fund 826 Chicago which is a creative writing workshop/tutoring center for children. Awesome charities + FREAKING SPY SUPPLY SHOP = Guilt-free sexy-time purchases!
Oh hell, I’ve seen them around. Saw one at Surplus Herby’s in BC one time. Came with a 20′ rope, supported 300 lbs, called itself a “ninja” grappling hook.
They’re pretty easy to whip up, too, though. Pretty sure that’s the first solo project for like every guy taking metal shop in high school. Ninja stars were also really popular with them when I was a kid, although I suspect they aren’t allowed to make them anymore. Not like they made any that threw worth a damn, though.
But grappling hooks, yeah. Try a marine supply shop (anchors, etc); failing that it’s a piece of rod bent into a w with another one bent into a u welded to it, and the ends sharpened slightly. Pretty sure you could get any metal fabricating shop to whip you one up for like $20; just remember to let them know how big to leave the loop when they bend the w piece. Shame to get it home only to find your rope doesn’t quite fit.
The Bat Warehouse! For all your superhero gear needs!
“ACME Batman outfits! Guaranteed for the life of the user!”
Any time, I’ll hook you up with one.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/400749374671?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&chn=ps&device=c&rlsatarget=&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108
Ya’ll are thinking too hard. I see a listing on Walmarts Website.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/31343954?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227020883861&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=t&wl3=51806865071&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=83209327271&veh=sem
Can we all just step back for a minute and give Danny the respect he deserves for apparently maintaining an erection whilst all of his blood is above(below? You know what I mean) his neck?
Yeah. Mind you, he doesn’t mention which end is up. I hope they’re careful; even just hanging right-side up in a fall-arrest harness for more than an hour can actually kill you. Upside down is even worse.
Humans are killed by the weirdest things.
It’s the oxygen addiction that really bugs me. Obvious design flaw that should have been corrected before the model went into full production.
Of all the things for our lives to depend on, it just had be inhaling a corrosive, flammable, and occasionally explosive gas on a regular basis.
*plays “Gravity” from the COCOON soundtrack on the Muzak*
The last two days are all it has taken for me to become very invested in these two’s friendship.
Same!
Does he mean being suspended upside down? Because that sounds like it would cause the blood to rush to his head.
Which one?
First one, then the other.
I’m sure Amazi-girl isn’t into the Backdoor stuff, Dotty.
She will be once she patents Amazi-lube.
Twenty bucks says thats already a thing…
She’d probably have legal problems with the Amazing Lube brand, which is already a Thing That Exists.
If they want to sue her, they’ll have to find her first.
Sue her? Hell, they’ll want her for celebrity endorsements.
Huh. You know, that could actually work. The heck with Kickstarters, Mr. Willis ought to be getting in touch with Encounter Lubricants about a branding deal.
Amazi-girl is prepared for anything
Amazi-Girl is always prepared for ANYTHING, just like it says on Book 4.
Prepared and “into it” are two different things.
(It took me this long to realize I couldn’t come up with a clever response)
Who knew “Wonderbread” had it in him? Or I guess Amazi-Girl had it in- you know what, I should stop there.
The nice, normal seeming guys are usually the ones who get the kinkiest in the bedroom, in my experience.
In my personal experience, there’s truth in that.
Some of Amazi-Girl’s daredevil craziness is rubbing off on Danny.
Heheh, rubbing off…
Don’t be a jerk.
But Deantay said rubbing off,not jerking off?
“…backdoor way of bragging about your sex life.”
Interesting word usage there?
Lord, I can be such a twelve-year-old sometimes…
Nah, you’re not the only one who read it that way the first time.
I think that one might very well end up on all our bucket lists for some reason.
Nearly half this strip is on my bucket list. I should be happy to live half so long as it would take to check ’em off. And, we’re still a month or so away from Halloween in the storyline.
Is that in one of the current slipshines, or the next one?
You beat me to it!
You. David. Slipshine. Now.
If Danny and Amazi-G were skipping classes, playing hooky would have had double the meanings.
So, contrary to people’s suggestions in the comments yesterday, they each clearly know, or at least assume, the other knows about Amber being Amazi-girl.
Amber told Danny that Dorothy had figured it out. I don’t think anyone’s ever actually told Dorothy that Danny knows, but I figure she put two and two together after she figured out Amazi-Girl’s identity.
Though, come to think of it, if Dorothy was paying close enough attention, Danny just told her, by referring to Amber and Amazi-Girl collectively as “her”, where Dorothy was careful to refer to her as two separate people.
Yeah, but why she mentioned both of them is a bit of a non-sequitur with no good explanation if he didn’t know.
she’s putting the dots on the ty’s before he starts gushing all his darkest secrets
Of to a rousing start, as expected of you Daniel.
I just want it on record that if Danny Performs A Grappling Hook is the next Slipshine I may finally have to go and bankrupt myself.
Exactly what I was thinking!
I’m really enjoying Danny here, miracles apparently do happen sometimes.
Dude doesn’t even stop to think she might be listening through the other side of the wall or slide door?
This is Danny we’re talking about. He can be a bit careless sometimes.
Your dorms were a lot crappier than the ones I lived in if the soundproofing was so bad you could hear the actual words of a quiet conversation in the next room. We knew the neighbors were talking if our own room was quiet, but it was just a background rumble, nothing clear unless there was shouting going on. Which there isn’t here, yet.
That’s why one places a Solo cup against the wall.
Yes, to keep from catching ear herpes.
Eh, if Amber’s in her room she’s probably too busy killing spiders to eavesdrop on her neighbours.
The order of events as rule 34 demands.
1. Danny tells Dorothy of his sexual epiphany.
2. She guides him towards acceptance of latent bisexuality.
3. Danny brings this notion up with Amber, relieved he can have these feelings and that they don’t inherently break apart their relationship.
4. Rather than panic, Amber experiences a surge of genius and arranges for a threeway.
5. Ethan>>Danny>>Amber, all forming a single, fleshy link. The pounding from Ethan driving Danny deeper into Amber.
6. Sexual Voltron: A Duming of Age Pornographique is born!
7. At some point Mike’s dad says, “Atta boy, Sport!” and gives some advice on how to achieve further penetration.
when did mike’s dad become so infatuated with anyone in that sexual voltron in this universe
I think it’s just that he’s the only parent who we know feels inclined to giving that sort of advice.
Do we have confirmation that trait jumped universes from the Walkyverse to DoA? I don’t even remember Mike’s dad in this setting.
He’s shown up in DoA, but he was overshadowed by his wife, the Queen of Hugs. So no, we don’t have much to go on with his personality – the most you can say is that he doesn’t seem very different.
Tandel: Amber will have to actually choreograph it, too, won’t she? I think that neither Danny or Ethan have done gay sex previously and both are pretty diffident still.
I once kissed my girlfriend while we were rappelling into a cave (Moaning Cavern)… they turned out the lights when we were about 100 feet off the ground, and we smooched… it was, in fact, pretty awesome.
I think I’ve still got an old “Spelunkers do it in caves” tee shirt around here somewhere. Tends to be a little chilly for serious fooling around, but it’s certainly exotic. Judging by the number of condoms littering the local caves when I was a kid, some folks don’t mind the cold.
Well, you know what they say about the cold and sharing bodyheat…
Valid point.
That it’s a great way to become hypothermic?
It gets hotter if you go deep enough.
“From a grappling hook does sound pretty sweet. Damn It! If only Walky was a super hero.”
Take notes, Walky
Not his strong point, that. A picture of a dinosaur in a sex swing would be kind of funny but not overly helpful.
That sounds more like Dina’s fetish then it does Walky’s…..
I’m still waiting for the story where someone (Amber?) mentions all the dinosaur erotica that’s out there, and Dina spends the next two weeks obsessively writing online reviews critiquing the scientific inaccuracies involved.
HEADCANON!!!
….ok, this seriously needs to happen XD
That would be great. We need more Dina
Danny has depth
This is a long lead-in here, which makes me wonder what Mr. W. has in store.
As Ethan will soon know.
He has the opposite problem to Tommy Wiseau.
So…you’re saying Danny is an amazing film director, actor, and screenwriter? Not sure that’s a problem as such.
It’s the lack of success.
Well, he did ask if he could be weird, Dorothy.
I forget. When did Danny and Dorothy find out the other knew about Amazi-Girl/Amber?
Also, does Dorothy know Ethan knows, and vise-versa?
Just now, I think. Dorothy referred to Amber and Amazi-Girl as separate entities, but Danny used “her” instead of “them”. Dorothy’s not an idiot, and, despite evidence to the contrary, neither is Danny (except in matters of love).
Danny Is DATING Amazi-Girl, one would assume he knows who she really is. Because not knowing is kind of messed up to anyone who isn’t living a fantasy.
That, and given his irritation with Dorothy when she tried to worm information out of him about Amazi-Girl in the past and knowing he knew her intimately, she was already aware Danny likely knew her identity prior to figuring it out herself through partly chance.
As demonstrated by all the Danny strips between April 2013 and February 2014, that’s not necessarily a good assumption.
Amber and Amazi-Girl wouldn’t have both come up if Dorothy didn’t realize Danny knew they were one and the same (and, of course, it stands to reason he should). It’s possible this is the first Danny knew that Dorothy knew (though unlikely – ‘your ex figured out who I am, but was nice enough to not out me’ seems like something she would bring up), but I would think he’d react, if it was, and he didn’t, at all.
Amber already told him on-panel: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/04-the-whiteboard-dong-bandit/disown/
See, I knew it was something she’d bring up!
Yet all I’m thinking is this confirms that Amber either got the grappling hook back from Dina’s “return to sender” or she had a spare one.
Ah, but Amazi-girl is ALWAYS prepared for anything. She probably had a spare.
Okay, that needs to be included if Danny and Amber get a repeat appearance in Slipshine…Wonder what other “tools of the trade” could be incorporated?
“OK, this time *YOU* wear the mask…..”
I’m not sure Amber would take not being the one in control well.
Nor would Danny, for that matter.
Oh ?
GRAPPLING HOOK! *smash*
Well, at least it worked once against Gideon…
I’ve never commented before but simply HAD to because Gravity Falls references make my heart happy.
“All right, I can compartmentalize.”
Danny’s partners (current and former) seem to share that talent. I wonder how Ethan’s mental filing system is?
The place is a mess, and all of the filing cabinets have their labels crossed out with “TOTALLY STRAIGHT THOUGHTS” hastily written on top.
But then you open the cabinets and they’re full of pictures of dicks and glorious man-chests.
Not sure about that – while Ethan is closeted publicly, he’s pretty much accepted that he’s gay, internally. I think he has lots of “TOTALLY GAY THOUGHTS” folders, but those folders are filed under “SHOW THESE TO NO ONE”.
Action figures will also fall out of the filing cabinets when opened.
And Transformers, don’t forget us…
Some people want Dorothy to be biphobic, but I don’t. I think that would be very sad. And for those who say she has no bad traits, um, yeah she does!
1. Ignores friends, family, and other loved ones in favor of schoolwork.
2. Knew she wanted to break up with Danny, but strung him along until college.
3. Told Walky she wanted to keep it casual, then contradicted this by saying she loved him, and then contradicted THAT by saying “i love you, but more like a friend.” (or at least, that’s how I interpreted it)
4. Continually harassed Amazi-Girl (who continually said she didn’t want an interview) until they finally managed to get on good terms.
5. Left Joyce alone at the party, who she KNEW wouldn’t know how to prevent harm coming her.
6. Slut shamed Roz. (I think she managed to overcome that though)
7. Continually tries to change who Walky is, even though he seems uncomfortable with this fact.
There are probably more, but I can’t think of them at this moment in time, and also, I don’t want to make this longer than needed. I think that she’s accepting of all sexualities, and will be willing to talk Danny through this. My prediction is that she will say something like this: “It is totally fine that you are attracted to men. You seem to be attracted sexually and romantically to Amber, right? Yes, it’s a bit of a no-no to have a thing for your girlfriend’s ex, but on the other hand, you can’t control initial attraction. What you CAN control is what you do about it. Don’t break up with Amber, don’t make any moves on Ethan. When you come out to Amber, DO NOT mention Ethan, and make it very clear to her that you like her very much, you are not leaving her, and you are very attracted to her. You are telling her this because you trust her, and like her enough to feel like she should know about this part of who you are.” Hopefully. Hopefully she will say something like that.
Good assessment, although I’d disallow a few.
For point 4, she was doing what a journalist does – they chase stories, even when the subject of the story doesn’t want to talk. Superhero vigilantes are news.
Point 5 is shared guilt, there were others at that party that were just as responsible for (not) keeping an eye on Joyce.
Point 4) doing what a journalist does … uh, I’m pretty sure that’s the same as harrassment
I don’t get how leaving Joyce alone is a character flaw, or even a mistake that reflects poorly on her. What happened that night was not at all her fault, even though Dorothy blamed herself.
They went to the party together with the explicit intention of being each other’s backup so neither would get in over their head. Dorothy ditched her for an interview with Roz that could have been done with Joyce safely in tow, or at least with her in view for when Ryan asked her upstairs. That’s a fail, and would have been even if nothing happened at all.
Has nothing to do with Ryan, whose actions are strictly his own fault.
Looking back at the story, Billie clearly understood the potential dangers and tried to warn Joyce on the walk over, but she didn’t promise to keep an eye on anyone. So yeah, guess she doesn’t deserve any blame for not playing babysitter.
It just strikes me as incredibly shitty to even partially blame Dorothy for what happened. Like, it’s not even .01% of her fault.
Again, she’s not at fault for Ryan. She’s at fault for leaving Joyce alone when they’d agreed to stick together beforehand and both of them were in an environment they didn’t feel safe in. It’s a comparatively minor mistake, but it shouldn’t be overlooked – and that’s true even if nothing bad had happened at all. There’s no point in relying on the buddy system for party safety if you’re not going to stick to it.
It would be easier to see Dorothy’s fault (and lack of fault) in this if you consider a similar scenario. Imagine the same party, just without Ryan. Dorothy wanders off, thinking that Billie, of all people, was keeping an eye on Joyce. Later, realizing her mistake, Dorothy eventually finds Joyce playing Settlers of Catan with a bunch of drunks.
In that scenario, it would be pretty reasonable to blame Dorothy for leaving Joyce in a dangerous situation. That still applies to the events at the party as they actually happened. Dorothy just shouldn’t get more blame because something bad did happen. I’m sure she assigns herself more blame, though – that’s a pretty normal reaction. But she doesn’t deserve extra blame.
Agreed. And you’re probably right, she probably is unjustly blaming herself for at least part of Ryan’s actions, which is terrible. Ryan’s actions are Ryan’s fault, and nobody else’s.
Setting aside the assigning of blame, there is also a distinction to be made between a mistake and a character flaw. Now, if that character has a history of making that same mistake, or you can reasonably assume that to be the case, then you can call it a character flaw.
I’d be surprised if Dorothy ever repeats the mistakes made in points 2, 5, or 6 if she finds herself in similar situations. I don’t acknowledge 4 as a flaw in the first place.
And honestly, I’m conflicted on 7 being a flaw as opposed to a character trait. Advice columns are very fond of telling people not to try to change their partners, but that’s kind of silly. Being in a relationship inevitably changes both people. It’s almost the whole point of the process. Both parties change to make themselves a better fit for each other.
You can let those changes happen passively but the results you get can be pretty random as desires are (mis)interpreted. Dorothy’s not shy about verbalizing what she likes and dislikes about Walky, and maybe that’s a better approach as long as it doesn’t get out of control and drive your partner crazy. It certainly takes some of the guessing game and insecurity out of the equation.
Walky isn’t passive here either. He walked away from her over the pajama jeans thing, and while he eventually changed his mind on it, it demonstrated to Dorothy that she was not in a dictatorial position. She wasn’t happy with the break herself, but it took Joyce to drag both of them back together and point out that they’d made more out of it than they probably needed to.
Now 3, yeah, both Dorothy and Walky are terrible at using the word love. They should probably stop that for a while and think about what it means to them before trying again.
Its pretty easy to see why he went to Dorothy, he needed someone who both knew that Amber is Amazi Girl and that didn’t share his same problems
Awfully far down the thread now, but I’m maybe confused.
Danny and Dorothy both know that Amber is Amazi-girl.
They both know that Danny is dating Amber/Amazi-girl.
They both know (I think) that Ethan is Amber’s ex.
I think that they both know that Ethan is dating Joyce (and neither knows that they split up).
But I think only Dorothy knows that Ethan is gay, right?
So, if Danny mentions who he is attracted to by way of talking about how much more that confuses things, Dorothy has to worry about outing Ethan.
I don’t see why. She can very well reassure Danny without there being any need whatsoever to out Ethan. His sexuality isn’t really relevant in this conversation, since it’s not about Danny wanting to date Ethan or something like that (I think it’s clear he loves Amber and has every intention of continuing to date her), but about Danny’s confusion. The only relevant things here are Danny’s feelings and I guess Amber’s. And even if it weren’t, it’s certainly not Dorothy’s place to out Ethan, and she wouldn’t do that. Not intentionally anyways.
Though this is just the way I see it of course. I could be wrong.
Your assessment sounds like what I was thinking!
(random gravatar not withstanding)
Hey question to patreon peoples. If I sign up for the patreon do i get all the backlog of patreon only strips?
yup
awesome
O sweet it assigns u a random avatar and I got Sal AWESOME.
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