I have never understood this mentality.
When I have a problem going on dates is usually how I find the confidence and support to get past the problem.
Skipping out just leaves me in a cycle on no new input.
I’m not sure insecurities is the right word- not the one I would have chosen anyway. But you’re dead on about her date echoing her issues.
I think, personally, that hearing her thoughts coming out of someone else’s mouth, without judgement, enabled Leslie to realise that the place she’s in right now isn’t a healthy one and that she still has things about herself that she desperately needs to address for her own well-being.
Depends on the current political climate. If the US is on good terms with the world 0.95IIP=1MIP, if the US is on bad terms, 0.25IIP=1MIP. If the US is the only country in the world, who cares?
We mean, We’re sure there are people who would love to trade in their normal internet point for the IIPs that are given out by Us, but We have to take a stand on this: The only way to acquire Imperial Internet Point is to impress Us one way or another.
Also, I’m sure at least one commenter in this field *coughnotbaggeatallcough* agrees that there is nothing more important in this world than making sure Becky thinks you’re cool.
I friggin’ LOVE Becky, but let’s not kid ourself. She has some… not always well thoughtout attitudes do what makes someome ‘cool’. I mean, we wouldn’t want Leslie to jailbrake her phone or try sushi or something radical like that.
She’s doing the right thing, by not leading someone on when she’s not really ready to date; before she’s managed to clear up an issue or two about herself.
Issues that are very important to start a healthy relationship with.
“She’s hot” is a terrible reason to get into a relationship. It’s a great reason to chat someone up, and maybe get into their pants, possibly even on a regular basis, but it’s a terrible reason to get into a relationship.
Of course! I would have been a pretty rude wedding guest if I hadn’t. Of course, it’s been, uh, 8 years, so my memory on *what* gifts I bought is a little dim. (Also: 8 YEARS?! How has it been 8 years already!?)
It would be awkward, and counter-productive, what with her deciding she isn’t ready to jump back into the dating pool just yet.
Plus, Leslie didn’t really seem like she actually found Anna’s her abrasiveness attractive so much as she was too insecure to object to it when she was also getting attention. There may be plenty of people who Anna would be great for, but it doesn’t seem like it’d be good for Leslie any more than it was for Mindy :/
Yeah, which is not really the dynamic I’d expect. I’ve never seen someone just blow past a total stranger insulting them, even in jest, without some sort of acknowledgement. Like, I’d expect some sort of playfulness in her response, like a self-deprecating remark, or making her own jab back at Anna.
Instead, she just seemed flustered, as if she just didn’t recognize in the moment how backhanded the compliment was. That’s not good for her, even if Anna was just being playful, and didn’t intend anything mean by it.
Eh, some people like jerkasses. I note I am one of them. I didn’t start warming to my wife until she chewed me out several times on the Anita Blake forums.
Maybe the shirt only has stripes on half, since technically only the same front half was visible in his previous panels, and the other side is visible here.
Or the person he seemed to be looking for and then found in the previous strip was actually his identical twin.
That’s too bad the Mindy Date didn’t work out. She seems like she could use some good luck on the dating scene and to have her attempts at confidence rewarded with positive results.
I also think Mindy’s a real cutie. Not relevant to anything, but it colors my ideas. ;P
Water is necessary for swimming. Dating is absolutely not necessary for self-esteem, AND dating when you value yourself so little and are hoping a partner will make you worth something is kind of a recipe for getting into an abusive relationship. Mindy is safer if she stops expecting her future partners to make her feel like a worthwhile person via their interest before she starts dating.
She is really cute, but it seems like she has the same relationship insecurities as Leslie. That can turn into either them helping each other figure it out, or a feedback loop. Looks like Leslie’s leaning toward ‘feedback loop’.
I do want to see Mindy around (I respect a good pair of eyebrows, and own a decent pair of my own) for the plot potential of her interacting with the rest of the cast. I kind of suspected this character development for Leslie was on the way. It sucks to ‘realize oh huh maybe I do extract self worth from current and/or potential romantic partners’. I have so much sympathy for both Leslie and Mindy. I suspect Leslie is feeling kind of guilty and relieved.
Also it is cute as heck that Leslie wants to give Becky the opportunity to have alone time with her girlfriend. I feel happy for Becky that she can have a fun date and just be herself. Becky is in the stage where being out is liberating and exciting. She knows other queer women now! She gets to start building a community outside of her fundie upbringing.
I don’t think Leslie knows Dina is there – she just doesn’t want to blow Becky’s image of her by letting her know the date didn’t even last a half hour.
Haha, I knew that was stacy before I even saw the tags. That bar’s going to be *jam-packed* before the end of the night, isn’t it?
Also leslie’s cool 100% of the time and becky knows this so ehhhhhh she probably shouldn’t worry too much about it, but at least we got confirmation that schrodinger’s man has collapsed into one state. Yay!
*starts marching in place* Date Amber’s mom (Stacy)! Date Amber’s mom (Stacy)! Or just hook up because you just said you might not be ready for dating, but I want something to happen with you and Stacy (Amber’s mom).
Your avatar continues to be very appropriate for your comments.
Also, I said this in yesterday’s strip, but it was rather late, so you probably never saw it:
”
I truly and earnestly hope you get that feeling one day. With boundaries respected, of course!
And for what it’s worth, and knowing that this is not in the romantic way you hope for: I do read your comments (even if I don’t always respond), and I do think you add something important to this comment field.”
That’s very nice of you, and it also makes me want to go into my mode of, “What? Shut up, I am not emotional, how dare you, I have NEVER had an EMOTION in my LIFE.”
Also, isn’t it weird how talking to people in comment sections like this can be? And you like form impressions and different groupings of people and even how you interact with them based on what you’ve seen. I was pretty happy yesterday when Cerberus responded to one of my comments because, you know, she’s Cerberus, and all of this is just based on comments that happen on a webcomic.
It’s almost as if when the assholes are pruned out*, it’s much easier for the rest of us to be open about things; and sharing experiences, and learn that we are not alone.
And while I am pretty much the same wherever I am (silly attention-seeker with the occasional serious thought), I’m really glad to see a lot people being able to be who they are here. Also a bit sad because they can’t be that elsewhere… But still, having one place like that is better than none.
It’s also super noticeable when the same few assholes keep bypassing various IP bans and showing up over and over – it’s amazing how much two or three of them can drive down the quality of even a large comments section/forum.
Yup, it doesn’t take many assholes to ruin everything. Banning them and keeping them banned does a lot of good for the culture of an online space… or a meatspace space. Like, I’ve seen tight communities ruined by one toxic harassing asshole.
I already named him a few pages back, when he was merging with his clone across two comic panels. His name is Derp/dorp. He’s one of the Boston Derp/dorps, very fine family. Deep roots in the local community.
It’s true! The Derp/dorps run a successful local chain of pubs, with locations in Mattapan, Dorchester, Quincy, Brockton, Fall River, Lowell, and Hyde Park.
That’s really sweet! And OF COURSE Becky will still think she’s cool. She’s a lesbian who takes up space in society, AND who took in Becky when she needed it.
Even though you might not read this – I love your avatar, and I know that I know the character from somewhere, but I’m not sure. Could you help me out? 😀
*(It’s not from “Marmalade Boy”, is it? If it is, oh boy, I do remember my mangas, it’s been ages since I last read that. Like, literally at least a decade)
That’s right, now you need to earn infinite Imperial Internet Points just to get back at zero. And We have not been known for handing out more than 90 Imperial Internet Points to any one single person at any time.
The hardest person to face is yourself. No one wants to look at another person and see a reflection of the most painful things inside themselves. This hits home.
Ughhhh. I really hope this doesn’t mean she turns to Robin “I Was Perfectly Okay Actively Destroying the Lives Of LGBT People Until I Got Outed” DeSanto. Because if Leslie’s looking for someone very far from being an echo of her (like, you know, an actually decent person), Robin sure fits the bill.
I mean it’s good that she doesn’t want to lead anyone on; not so great that she seems to actively seek out people who…are just…not…good…
I mean she ended the date to get away from someone who was telling her how awesome it was that Robin did all that, so. I doubt she’s looking for someone more like Robin.
It’s so hard to feel like you’re worthless. To have to fight to build some self-esteem and even then, when you hit a low place, it all falls away and you have claw your way back up again and each time it gets both easier and harder to get back up again.
OK, since we probably won’t see anything else about her night, my headcanon is that the second Leslie leaves the waitress will gather her courage and ask if she can tag in on the date. One thing leads to another and two days later they are on a bus to Seattle for a weekend of giggling, handholding and lots and lots of sex.
Mindress’s arch-nemesis is Shane from the Game Emporium. He’s always selling her low-rolling dice and really bad Yu-Gi-Oh! booster packs, and he does it with a friendly smile, the fiend.
Shane’s coworker Deb, on the other hand, is secretly in a committed relationship Mindress’s civilian identity, Karen Murray
I really hope we see Leslie come across the Crazy Parking Lot LadyTM on the way back home. Note: Robin is not homeless (and has multiple ones) but is perfectly capable of living around her campaign headquarters’s ruins like a phantom out of spite/pride.
It looks like Willis added a bunch of avatars for new characters (and I think new ones for old characters?) and now everything has been thrown into chaos!
I’m gonna have to start reading usernames more closely now
FWIW, I think it’s more likely that she and Leslie are going to end up commiserating over their mutual sucky taste in significant others (basically, abusive). It is possible that there could be a drunken one-night stand but I doubt it somehow.
Ah, I’m not too familiar with the Walkyverse characters. Also think it’s interesting how I keep getting gravs (Dina was my last one) who are hard to spot as a running joke. (Should I lurk less, comment on posts here more? Maybe.)
You COULD add a box of “Odin did it” and “Eh, shit were pretty fudged up anyway. Let’s just drink meed and watch Loki tie his balls to a goat* instead.”
*) “Loki played some antics with a goat” as one translation so delicately put it.
Yes. Considering Stacy is tagged that won’t happen any time soon though.
I wonder if we will get drunken Stacey telling Leslie her daughter needs help she can’t provide- thus putting it on Leslie to do so – or drunken Leslie seeing Stacy and Joes dad make out.
Or will Robin appear in search of a drink or because someone posted a picture of Leslie in that bar?
Oh also good strip and is everybody in the same bar and will Leslie and Bowtie communicate ? (I’m the worst reader, can’t remember his name right now, don’t care to search it in the archive).
doing the same even though this is like the 5th time I’ve ever commented. But I did used to have kind of a lame avatars… so maybe if it’s a cool one now I’ll comment ALL OF THE TIME
How do you do that, use a different email? Until Willis changes them again, a given email address will always have the same avatar associated with it, right? (Of course you could go sign up for Gravatar and pick your own, but that sounds suspiciously like work!)
Let’s see what my new assignment is… old one was Billie, which I probably wouldn’t have selected myself, but grew to appreciate. Her expression seemed to add just a hint of snark to my comments (in a positive way, hopefully).
I really think this is the best thing Leslie could have done, given that she was not feeling a spark with Mindy, who was simultaneously broadcasting much less “I’m into you specifically” and much more “I am desperate to not be single anymore”.
Going on the date at all was giving Mindy a chance despite her not being attracted to her on their initial meeting. Staying longer when she isn’t into her would just have led Mindy on.
(Which in no way means that Leslie will go “back” to Robin (they art never dating so there’s no “back” to go), and it definitely doesn’t mean she’ll look Anna up. Leslie bot being into Mindy has only a little bit to do with Robin and nothing to do with Anna. Nor does it mean she needs more drama in her life or that Mindy isn’t cute. Sometimes you just don’t feel a spark.)
Yeah but sometimes it’s best to just tear off the band-aid. It wasn’t going to go anywhere; at the very best the two would end up reinforcing their mutual worst characteristics (in terms of self-esteem).
Panels 1-2: I love how Leslie takes the opportunity here to do the healthiest thing for all parties and do so in as kind a way as she can. It reflects how she tried to handle the Robin situation at the bar and her character in general, being prone to destructive thinking but also recognizing that impulse and the danger of letting that impulse rule over her actions.
Panel 3: Oof, that headspace. Where things not working out are because you did something personally wrong. It’s an easy headspace to fall into, especially if you have a mindset that likes to try and problem-solve situations and break them down or if you struggle with low self-esteem or anxiety/depression. I’ve struggled with this headspace a lot myself thanks to past bad relationship and familial situations where I was gaslit and blamed for things outside my control.
So yeah, I feel for Mindy here a bit, but this is still the right call.
Panels 4-5: Words cannot contain how much I love this bit here. It’s so self-aware and well-delivered. And yeah, it gets into a very specific thing. Someone who shares neuroses can sometimes be a good thing, can mean someone who understands and respects how those little things mean to you. But it can also be mutually destructive.
And this would have been the latter. As Leslie said, what Mindy said wasn’t anything she hasn’t said to herself, but that’s exactly why she doesn’t need external support for her self-destructive loneliness and romanticism. She needs confirmation and strength that she’s made the correct decisions in the end to stand for her mental health and well-being.
And she especially needs that now coming out of the personally destructive saga that was Robin.
But I love how she delivers that with empathy for Mindy’s headspace. That tells her, no, you’re not alone, I’ve felt the same way, but that’s not a good thing. It maybe even gives her a nudge to re-examine the self-destructive life she’s currently trapped in pining after a woman in her house who will never love her or treat her with full respect.
Panel 6: This is also adorable. It feels like Leslie continuing morphing into her role as adoptive mom for Becky, wanting to still be thought of as the cool mom even though she’s a giant dork (a common struggle for mom types).
I think as they get to know each other more, this will settle, but in the meantime, it’s just cute.
Changed sometime overnight, probably after she last posted.
The change is retroactive though, so you can look back and see the new avatars on yesterday’s posts.
Which means that this comment page will be completely incomprehensible after the next update.
Yeah, it changed at around 01:30-ish in Eastern Summer Time.
And thejeff: Most of it will be nonsense. However, all the people trying the avatar roulette and just saying “Nope” to each new attempt may become even funnier. Especially if they end up sticking with Peter in the end.
You can already see that with some of the ones who have custom gravatars, but turned them off to play. Someone has a whole pageful of the Ruth/Billie/Carla reaction shot going “Ugh no”, “C’mon roulette”, etc, up above.
But only sometimes. Some of them all go back to the custom grav when they’re done. Others leave the roulette ones in place.
Depends on how they switch, I guess.
Playing roulette, with any real stakes anyway, is always a chumps game, even if it can be fun. The only sure winning strategy, as with Thermonuclear War, is to not play. The next best is to just accept that as you enjoy the process of playing you age going to, at best, be nickel and dimed to cover the cost.
Now that everyone’s face has changed, it’ll take me weeks to get everyone straight in my head again…
I’ve been there too cerberus, for much the same reasons. It’s a terrible habit and leads down so many dark roads. So many people suffer because of the idea that grand gestures can make up for being awful. It’s an unhealthy and destructive trope. Here’s to you and me and everyone else who’s crawled or is crawling out of that trap.
That was quick and disappointing.
Maybe author will throw that newspaper lesbian girl a bone in form of drunk Leslie?
Also what are the chances Leslie will meet Robin now?
I hope low.
Man, I feel really bad for Mindy though. I mean, Leslie’s right, and the two are too similar to hit it off romantically. But you also could’ve continued the date and made a new friend too. You know how hard it is making new friends when you’re an adult, Leslie!!!
Simplest way is to change the capitalization in your e-mail (for example: eMail@address instead of email@address), although you can use alternate e-mail addresses instead if you’d rather.
Or just accept what you get on the first try, so we don’t all end up with about seven different avatars instead of the about 56 that Willis made for us.
Or get a custom avatar if you -really- want something special.
I feel you. I mean, I have an AWESOME Becky gravatar but… to be part of the excitement, the rush of uncertainty… I could be anything. Joyce? Danny? Even Dorothy?
Well, you need to have posted, but those of us with set gravatars can check what we would have gotten by checking the URL of the one we have – it’s at the end.
Can’t remember who informed me of that, but I learned it after I made the same comment that Inbar Fink did last time they got reshuffled.
Bloodrose was a character in the other universe who was part of a running gag where she never appeared fully in a panel. Thus her appearing as only a shoulder and bit of hair in the avatar…and being replaced by Walky in that set.
But surely I am NOT the only one to hear Leslie say, “Nothing you have said isn’t something I haven’t said quietly to myself” and thought, “Wait – Leslie said to herself ‘I’m a dental hygienist’?”
Completely unrelated, I just want to hear peoples opinions on this Anime quote. (If any of you have a forum where I/we can pose “rule breaking” questions, please inform me, I/we really need one.)
“All men … are NOT created equal! Some are born swifter afoot, some with greater beauty, some are born into poverty and others born sick and feeble. Both in birth and upbringing, in sheer scope of ability every human is inherently different; Yes that is why people discriminate against one another, which is why there is struggle, competition and the unfaltering march of progress. Inequality is not wrong, equality is. What of the E.U. which made equality a right? Rabble politics by a popularity contest. The Chinese Federation with its equal distribution of wealth? A nation of lazy dullards. But not our beloved Britannia, we fight, we compete, evolution is continuous. Britannia alone moves forward, advancing steadily into the future. Even the death of my son, Clovis, demonstrates Britannia’s unswerving commitment to progress. We will fight on, we shall struggle, compete, plunder and dominate, and in the end, the future shall be ours. ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!!!!!”
Parts of it make no sense without watching the Anime, nevertheless, opinions?
Related: Please give Mindy a fair shake, she is so kind, she deserves some kindness, not the hell you/Willis seem to insist on. (I’ve been a Ruth girl for some time now.)
Wouldn’t being a MTF transsexual be more appropriate for my friend? xD
Oh on that any advice, seeing as my best friend is MTF, no hormones yet. ( He, soon to be She is going to Cuba for the “treatment”,European if it matters)
For one, “transsexual” has generally fallen out of favor. Unless its the term your friend prefers, you should probably go with “transgender woman” instead.
I would recommend making a point of educating yourself on trans issues in general, if you haven’t already started doing so since your friend came out to you. That’ll help you avoid stumbling blindly into sensitive topics you might not have known about, and spare your friend some effort explaining stuff to you, freeing up time & energy to spend talking about other stuff. Assigned Male is probably a good start. It does a good job of depicting the kind of stuff trans people have to put up with (in the US, at least. Hopefully not as much where she’s at) in a way that’s easy to digest and relate to. Also, you should generally favor articles and other stuff about trans people that’s written by trans people. Beware of assholes claiming to be feminists arguing that acceptance of trans women is somehow harmful to women.
I dunno. Hopefully that’s helpful / correct enough to start with, in case nobody wiser happens to chime in
I actually wasn’t as far off from guessing what Leslie was thinking as I thought I was. I mean, I was wrong, I didn’t guess that Mindy was reminding Leslie of herself but I was a little right in that part of the problem was how Mindy thinks of herself.
I dunno, being wrong in a different way and in a way I’m not certain I was even supposed to anticipate makes me feel better. (Please tell me if this was actually glaringly obvious. I will feel bad again but I want to know.)
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Cool people don’t need distractions!
(which is to say who cares about Becky thinking you’re cool as much as you don’t want to accidentally walk in on her “not partying”)
HELLO TAGS
Whoa, nice catch.
Oh shit. So at the same bar, we have Jason and Walkie, Depressed Post-Date Leslie, and Depressed Post-Daughter Stacy?
Who else has been sucked into this Nexus Point of Drama?!
Well, since Leslie is at the same spot previously occupied by Jason, it stands to reason this Nexus is very Pointed!
I was thinking the same thing. That sure looks like the wheel of that bicycle on the wall behind her.
The shipping possibilities in this one bar are extraordinary.
Also I am liking this new avvy way more than the Roz one.
I read that to the tune of “cool guys don’t look at explosions” for some reason
When they set up this date, Mindy said that Leslie was to pick her up.
So, did they have a really awkward car ride back to Mindy’s place, or is she stranded at the restaurant?
hopefully they walked or took transit there? especially since leslie’s now in a bar.
And we all now that mixing drinking and driving is a bad idea.
Yea, you spill drinks everywhere, the mix falls off the seat and it is hard to steer while trying to crush the ice.
It was no trouble at all for Mindy, because she had amazing public transport to use.
Becky failed….
There are Sayid gravs now omg
Sayid is the best character.
I mean. After Dina and Carla and Mike and Ruth and Becky and..
uh.. But yeah, he’s great!
Seriously though, I’d love to see more of him. :X
Nooooo, I need more of Mindy’s eyebrows in my life
Intensify forward shipping power!
Eyebrows worthy of Emilia Clarke.
Hypnotic!
I just wanted the best for her.
But this is Dumbing of Age. Nothing really gets okay in the end XD
It might be okay in the end, but the end is a long way away.
Oh hey. I got Lucy in the reshuffle.
I can live with that.
Do I now have to be nicer and more cheerful and talk less about gender politics than when I was Roz?
Me too. Yesterday’s strip has got to be one of the best eyebrow expression strips in this comic. At some point the dialog became almost secondary.
There were no character big-surprise or big lab’s eyebrows going into low-earth orbit. But even without that, the closeups were full of feels.
so his name’s just gonna be stubbly, right? stubbly jones
I came here to post ‘Johan Stubble’, because ‘John’ was too plain.
Stubbly McStubble face
I know some real people named Stubblefield. *shrug*
First or last name?
Last.
Stu Blee
Gary Stu Blee
F. O. Shadoe
Those are some unfortunate initials.
Forrest sounds like a good name.
Named for Nathan Bedford Forrest, naturally.
Shit, are Forrest Gump references still in style?
unless you want Treebeard to yell “Run, forest, run!” as they charge a bunch of orcs as “Final Countdown” blares……..
…..not sure where I was going with this now. Too distracted by FERVENTLY desiring this.
Nice Rittz grav. Too bad the comic ended so abruptly.
He looks like a Fernando.
Oh, hey, Stacy. What a bizarre bar meetup we’re presumably about to have (Walky/Jason/Leslie/Stacy???)
Joe’s dad?
Oh god no I’m Rachel now ugh
roulette go
roulette no
but billie
no billie
is she even still an option
but
sigh
please
did I fix
I have never understood this mentality.
When I have a problem going on dates is usually how I find the confidence and support to get past the problem.
Skipping out just leaves me in a cycle on no new input.
But what if the problem IS dating?
Different strokes for different folks.
Okay, but in this particular case, her date is echoing all her insecurities back at her.
It’s not exactly confidence building
I’m not sure insecurities is the right word- not the one I would have chosen anyway. But you’re dead on about her date echoing her issues.
I think, personally, that hearing her thoughts coming out of someone else’s mouth, without judgement, enabled Leslie to realise that the place she’s in right now isn’t a healthy one and that she still has things about herself that she desperately needs to address for her own well-being.
Super proud of her here.
Wow! Lesbian dating is really depressing.
I may have to steal that for the title of my autobiography.
And everyone who said that Leslie’s facial expressions were because she realised that what Mindy said also applied to herself:
BOOM, you were spot on.
Have five Imperial Internet Points each.
what’s the conversion to metric?
Depends on the current political climate. If the US is on good terms with the world 0.95IIP=1MIP, if the US is on bad terms, 0.25IIP=1MIP. If the US is the only country in the world, who cares?
A metric point?
They’re not possible to convert.
We mean, We’re sure there are people who would love to trade in their normal internet point for the IIPs that are given out by Us, but We have to take a stand on this: The only way to acquire Imperial Internet Point is to impress Us one way or another.
I am sick of the goddamn neocolonial Imperial Internet trying to supplant and erase other Internet currencies!
Will you feel better if We, the emperor of the Internet, give you an IIP?
What’s the IIP conversion ratio for cookies and cupcakes?
About 1 496 IIPs will get you one homemade cocoa muffin.
Oh hey, it seems like I have a new avatar. And it’s Sierra! From awesome to awesome-er!
Oh, poor Mindy.
Sucks that Leslie made this call, but I suppose it’s better than leading Mindy on if she just isn’t in the right headspace right now.
In the words of Drew Barrymore, “They’re just not that into you.”
Leslie wasn’t feeling it.
Also, I’m sure at least one commenter in this field *coughnotbaggeatallcough* agrees that there is nothing more important in this world than making sure Becky thinks you’re cool.
Weeeeeell…
I friggin’ LOVE Becky, but let’s not kid ourself. She has some… not always well thoughtout attitudes do what makes someome ‘cool’. I mean, we wouldn’t want Leslie to jailbrake her phone or try sushi or something radical like that.
…Ignoring how the odds are that Leslie has already at least tried sushi, why wouldn’t we want Leslie to do those things again?
She could go to JAIL and not be allowed to watch monkey master and have to scoop out the eyeball of the biggest lady with a rusty spoon.
But what if she then jailbreaks jail?
*mindblown*
Not as much as your mind was blown when you saw my awesome new Sierra avatar!
It IS an awesome avatar, so that’s the truth
Sierra is still best character.
I just hope.Becky’s having more fun than Leslie. But Leslie figured this out, at least.
So, who shows up at the bar, Anna or Robin?
Stacy. Check the tags.
I already did, thanks. I didn’t type it, but was thinking more along the lines of Stacy having grown-up talk time with Leslie (which she could use).
Then, add Robin or Anna for hijinx ensue. It’d be just like Leslie’s luck to have to deal with one of them right now given her mood.
Never has a part of me ever identified as strongly with a lesbian (Mindy) as it does right now
No! She’s hot! What are you doing!
She’s doing the right thing, by not leading someone on when she’s not really ready to date; before she’s managed to clear up an issue or two about herself.
Issues that are very important to start a healthy relationship with.
“She’s hot” is a terrible reason to get into a relationship. It’s a great reason to chat someone up, and maybe get into their pants, possibly even on a regular basis, but it’s a terrible reason to get into a relationship.
You just described a valid form of relationship, though?
I’m preeeeeeetty sure that Jamie very, very, very heavily implied “stable, romantic, long-term” when he said “relationship” in the context he did.
Avatar is appropriate?
DAMN YOU WILLIS.
This better not be the last time we see Mindy! I’ll sneak into your house and take back my wedding presents!
You left wedding presents?
The first time they snuck in, yes.
Of course! I would have been a pretty rude wedding guest if I hadn’t. Of course, it’s been, uh, 8 years, so my memory on *what* gifts I bought is a little dim. (Also: 8 YEARS?! How has it been 8 years already!?)
It was a Tesla, a big-ass-screen TV, and all the Transformers in the house.
Pretty sure that’s about right.
>.>
Well, that was a sobering moment of character development for Leslie, I hope she gets her thoughts all sorted out and *looks at tags* wait, Stacy?????
omg.
yep, that’s her arm, at the end of the last panel.
Would it be awkward for Leslie to hook up with Anna now? Because I really want to see that happen.
It would be awkward, and counter-productive, what with her deciding she isn’t ready to jump back into the dating pool just yet.
Plus, Leslie didn’t really seem like she actually found Anna’s her abrasiveness attractive so much as she was too insecure to object to it when she was also getting attention. There may be plenty of people who Anna would be great for, but it doesn’t seem like it’d be good for Leslie any more than it was for Mindy :/
She looked shy and flattered when Anna was the supposed date.
Yeah, which is not really the dynamic I’d expect. I’ve never seen someone just blow past a total stranger insulting them, even in jest, without some sort of acknowledgement. Like, I’d expect some sort of playfulness in her response, like a self-deprecating remark, or making her own jab back at Anna.
Instead, she just seemed flustered, as if she just didn’t recognize in the moment how backhanded the compliment was. That’s not good for her, even if Anna was just being playful, and didn’t intend anything mean by it.
Eh, some people like jerkasses. I note I am one of them. I didn’t start warming to my wife until she chewed me out several times on the Anita Blake forums.
Jerkassery with the intent to undermine someone’s self-esteem is different from affectionate banter or a well-deserved slap for poor behavior.
oh hey avatar change. now who is this?
No, it would be awkward if Leslie hooked up with Stacy now.
But I ship it.
huh. “stubbly guy” looks almost identical to the one that was behind jason and walky, but he’s wearing a different yellow shirt (no stripes).
Maybe the shirt only has stripes on half, since technically only the same front half was visible in his previous panels, and the other side is visible here.
Or the person he seemed to be looking for and then found in the previous strip was actually his identical twin.
They’re twins who look identical but dress differently.
Isn’t that the bar Jason and Walky are at? Well I wonder if they’ll all see each other and how awkward it shall be?
One gay romance fails but another one blooms. Come on Walky, show your true feelings to Jason!
this establishment serves neither McNuggets nor Mac and Cheese. I don’t see a Walky date succeeding here.
That’s too bad the Mindy Date didn’t work out. She seems like she could use some good luck on the dating scene and to have her attempts at confidence rewarded with positive results.
I also think Mindy’s a real cutie. Not relevant to anything, but it colors my ideas. ;P
Mindy seems desperate to put her self-worth on a partner. Getting out of that seems a very good thing to do before she starts dating.
except that can take years and years… and sounds kinda like staying out of the water until you’ve learnt to swim.
Not… really.
Water is necessary for swimming. Dating is absolutely not necessary for self-esteem, AND dating when you value yourself so little and are hoping a partner will make you worth something is kind of a recipe for getting into an abusive relationship. Mindy is safer if she stops expecting her future partners to make her feel like a worthwhile person via their interest before she starts dating.
Ooh yikes Robin. Noooo.
Aww. Better. I got really attached to Amber tho…
… huh. Who is that?
Okay just shuffling don’t mind me
But now you are Mind-ee!
I’m pretty sure that’s Sarah’s arch-nemesis, Raidah.
No idea who my new avi is, though.
Let me change the caps and see if I get someone recognizable…
NOPE. Take 3…
vaguely know that’s someone in Joyce’s hall. Hm, maybe the original spiky-haired girl was that Sydney Yus from Galasso’s pizza shop?
Another variation
okay i’m like 30% sure that’s Claire from QC
hm, you again…
well, my actual name is Michael, so I guess I COULD take that… idk…
Roz is certainly one of the major minor characters. I’ll just give it one last whirl…
oh hey, it’s Howard aka mini-Clinton. well actually let’s do this one last time
PFFFFT
She is really cute, but it seems like she has the same relationship insecurities as Leslie. That can turn into either them helping each other figure it out, or a feedback loop. Looks like Leslie’s leaning toward ‘feedback loop’.
I do want to see Mindy around (I respect a good pair of eyebrows, and own a decent pair of my own) for the plot potential of her interacting with the rest of the cast. I kind of suspected this character development for Leslie was on the way. It sucks to ‘realize oh huh maybe I do extract self worth from current and/or potential romantic partners’. I have so much sympathy for both Leslie and Mindy. I suspect Leslie is feeling kind of guilty and relieved.
Also it is cute as heck that Leslie wants to give Becky the opportunity to have alone time with her girlfriend. I feel happy for Becky that she can have a fun date and just be herself. Becky is in the stage where being out is liberating and exciting. She knows other queer women now! She gets to start building a community outside of her fundie upbringing.
I don’t think Leslie knows Dina is there – she just doesn’t want to blow Becky’s image of her by letting her know the date didn’t even last a half hour.
Agreed.
You could have at least invited Mindy to the bar. Booze always makes everything better, if Dumbing of Age has taught me anything.
Mindy seems like she took it kinda hard. Probably wasn’t up for turning the date into just gals bein’ pals
Haha, I knew that was stacy before I even saw the tags. That bar’s going to be *jam-packed* before the end of the night, isn’t it?
Also leslie’s cool 100% of the time and becky knows this so ehhhhhh she probably shouldn’t worry too much about it, but at least we got confirmation that schrodinger’s man has collapsed into one state. Yay!
*starts marching in place* Date Amber’s mom (Stacy)! Date Amber’s mom (Stacy)! Or just hook up because you just said you might not be ready for dating, but I want something to happen with you and Stacy (Amber’s mom).
Your avatar continues to be very appropriate for your comments.
Also, I said this in yesterday’s strip, but it was rather late, so you probably never saw it:
”
I truly and earnestly hope you get that feeling one day. With boundaries respected, of course!
And for what it’s worth, and knowing that this is not in the romantic way you hope for: I do read your comments (even if I don’t always respond), and I do think you add something important to this comment field.”
That’s very nice of you, and it also makes me want to go into my mode of, “What? Shut up, I am not emotional, how dare you, I have NEVER had an EMOTION in my LIFE.”
Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
Also, isn’t it weird how talking to people in comment sections like this can be? And you like form impressions and different groupings of people and even how you interact with them based on what you’ve seen. I was pretty happy yesterday when Cerberus responded to one of my comments because, you know, she’s Cerberus, and all of this is just based on comments that happen on a webcomic.
It’s almost as if when the assholes are pruned out*, it’s much easier for the rest of us to be open about things; and sharing experiences, and learn that we are not alone.
And while I am pretty much the same wherever I am (silly attention-seeker with the occasional serious thought), I’m really glad to see a lot people being able to be who they are here. Also a bit sad because they can’t be that elsewhere… But still, having one place like that is better than none.
*Thanks for pruning out the assholes, Willis!
Speaking as someone who moderates at a similar-ish forum, you really do notice the quality goes up when you ditch the assholes.
It’s also super noticeable when the same few assholes keep bypassing various IP bans and showing up over and over – it’s amazing how much two or three of them can drive down the quality of even a large comments section/forum.
Yup, it doesn’t take many assholes to ruin everything. Banning them and keeping them banned does a lot of good for the culture of an online space… or a meatspace space. Like, I’ve seen tight communities ruined by one toxic harassing asshole.
Aw, thanks. I’m glad I was able to make you feel happier yesterday. 😀
Suddenly my avatar is less appropriate for my comments.
I was sort of enjoying how well I meshed with Daisy at times.
I like this one too, though.
You will always be Daisy to me, Yumi.
I mean, if you’re fine with that, of course.
The guy behind her is Dexter Douglas, the “real” identity of Freakazoid.
What the fuck he’s doin’ at a bar, however, we do not know.
Wouldn’t he ve old enough to go to a bar at this point?
Well Freakazoid was an early ’90s cartoon character and this is 2017, so probably?
Mid-90s, it ran from 1995 to 1997, and Dexter was 16 or 17.
So, even allowing for comic time, probably!
Aaaaaaaaand wait, just checked tags. Leslie is sitting next to Amber’s Mom.
… rebound opportunity? >_>
I’d ship it!
Amber’s mom has got it going on.
^ All of the above.
She has to, I mean, they wrote a song about Amber’s grandmother.
Stacy’s Mom has got it goin’ on, they wouldn’t write a song about it if it wasn’t true! 😇
ITYM “Stacy’s a mom, who’s got it goin’ on”
Don’t worry, Becky would probably come up with a bizarre explanation of what lesbian dating is like to explain how you took so little time.
Lesbian speed dating
I already named him a few pages back, when he was merging with his clone across two comic panels. His name is Derp/dorp. He’s one of the Boston Derp/dorps, very fine family. Deep roots in the local community.
It’s true! The Derp/dorps run a successful local chain of pubs, with locations in Mattapan, Dorchester, Quincy, Brockton, Fall River, Lowell, and Hyde Park.
Are the Derp/Dorps related to the Dorpchesters out of New York?
Aww, I didn’t think it meant that much for Leslie to be cool in front of Becky.
That’s really sweet! And OF COURSE Becky will still think she’s cool. She’s a lesbian who takes up space in society, AND who took in Becky when she needed it.
Yes to all of that. But the one blemish is shooting down the date she scouted for her. Hope Becky is reasonable enough to accept it.
Huh? Leslie pulls the plug when she realizes that the date has run its course. She communicates clearly and doesn’t lie to either herself or her date.
Where’s the dumb drama in this? What about our cravings for messed up lesbian relationships, huh? Leslie? Did you think of that?
She’s already of age, so she doesn’t need to do as much dumbing
She is still bound within the comic’s rights to meet the minimum amount of dumbing.
She failed to plan for the failure of a half-blind (?) date. Dumb, but not “I have a do-list” or “I’m running from failing classes” dumb.
She did so much dumbing in the Robin part of the arc that she’s got credit to apply to future arcs.
On the one hand, it’d be nice if an evening spent in Stacy’s company had as positive an effect on Leslie as it did on Danny.
On the other hand, what if Joe’s dad is sitting on the other side of her off-panel and suggests a threesome.
Also putting in my vote for “Reggie” as stubbly guy’s name
Even though you might not read this – I love your avatar, and I know that I know the character from somewhere, but I’m not sure. Could you help me out? 😀
*(It’s not from “Marmalade Boy”, is it? If it is, oh boy, I do remember my mangas, it’s been ages since I last read that. Like, literally at least a decade)
(Okay, I’m DEFINITELY NOT keeping the blowjob cat as avatar O.O)
Time to experiment!
I believe it was from Marmalade Boy… I made the avatar a longass time ago, don’t really remember myself, lol.
Oh PLEASE tell us Leslie hooks up with Amber’s mom. That would be AMAZING.
Dang, what a twist that would be.
But Stacy is seeing Dr. Richard.
Even better, hooks up with Amber’s mom AND Joe’s dad!
Minus infinite Imperial Internet Points!
That’s right, now you need to earn infinite Imperial Internet Points just to get back at zero. And We have not been known for handing out more than 90 Imperial Internet Points to any one single person at any time.
Imperial? How many SAE points is that, for those of us using old US internets?
I’ll withdraw the question, as it’s been answered upthreae.
Does guy on the right with brown hair and glasses have a name? He’s cute.
He actually looks vaguely like me in college, especially with those glasses.
He kinda looks like me in college too, except I rarely wore hoodies and my hair is more curly. And I don’t think I’ve ever thought of myself as cute.
It’s Liam. That’s my head-canon, and I’m sticking to it.
The hardest person to face is yourself. No one wants to look at another person and see a reflection of the most painful things inside themselves. This hits home.
Ughhhh. I really hope this doesn’t mean she turns to Robin “I Was Perfectly Okay Actively Destroying the Lives Of LGBT People Until I Got Outed” DeSanto. Because if Leslie’s looking for someone very far from being an echo of her (like, you know, an actually decent person), Robin sure fits the bill.
I mean it’s good that she doesn’t want to lead anyone on; not so great that she seems to actively seek out people who…are just…not…good…
I mean she ended the date to get away from someone who was telling her how awesome it was that Robin did all that, so. I doubt she’s looking for someone more like Robin.
It’s so hard to feel like you’re worthless. To have to fight to build some self-esteem and even then, when you hit a low place, it all falls away and you have claw your way back up again and each time it gets both easier and harder to get back up again.
Poor Mindy 🙁
OK, since we probably won’t see anything else about her night, my headcanon is that the second Leslie leaves the waitress will gather her courage and ask if she can tag in on the date. One thing leads to another and two days later they are on a bus to Seattle for a weekend of giggling, handholding and lots and lots of sex.
Headcanon seconded.
I will gladly board the Mindy/Waitress ship.
“Mindress?”
I’m stealing that for the name of my new psychic lesbian superhero.
Does she battle the evil Dr. Heteronormative from QC?
Mindress’s arch-nemesis is Shane from the Game Emporium. He’s always selling her low-rolling dice and really bad Yu-Gi-Oh! booster packs, and he does it with a friendly smile, the fiend.
Shane’s coworker Deb, on the other hand, is secretly in a committed relationship Mindress’s civilian identity, Karen Murray
I’s read it.
Is that a custom avatar or has DYW added an official Mindy?
Must try to escape pudding Head Avatar
I really hope we see Leslie come across the Crazy Parking Lot LadyTM on the way back home. Note: Robin is not homeless (and has multiple ones) but is perfectly capable of living around her campaign headquarters’s ruins like a phantom out of spite/pride.
Gotsta be the cool mom
Stubbles is the guy who tried to dismiss the rape claims earlier, right? Let’s name him Ryan. That’s right, he gets Not-Ryan’s old name!
They seem superficially similar, but they have different chins, different haircuts, and different glasses. So probably not the same person.
Too uninspired.
…why do so many people forget that his name was Ryan? It was just his middle name, which is why not many people knew him as that.
…also, wait, when did my gravatar change to Penny? I don’t like this Penny.
…and now I just realized that Emperor Norton is no longer Jacob.
It looks like Willis added a bunch of avatars for new characters (and I think new ones for old characters?) and now everything has been thrown into chaos!
I’m gonna have to start reading usernames more closely now
I miss my old avatar… ;_;
But Amber is the most huggable!
And as we all know, chaos is a ladder.
(Anxious to see who I got.)
“Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.”
(also curious to see which avatar I got)
We are indeed Sierra. Maybe we should change Our title to Empress to commemorate this awesome change?
She is the Emperor.
Or perhaps you could go with a gender-neutral title like “Emperix.”
Check the Twitterbox. Willis rerandomized the avatars at about 1:30 Eastern time.
That does not make a lot of sense.
First “stubbles” (or as Willis puts it: the stubbly guy) is the guy on the left, with the three-day (stubbly) beard.
The guy on the left is indeed looking slightly similar to the guy you are talking about, but:
1) Rounded glasses vs. square glasses;
2) Black sclera vs. coloured (brown) sclera (a bit difficult to judge, as it is dark now).
Hmm… there’s no evidence in canon that Stacy is bi, but there’s no counter-evidence either.
FWIW, I think it’s more likely that she and Leslie are going to end up commiserating over their mutual sucky taste in significant others (basically, abusive). It is possible that there could be a drunken one-night stand but I doubt it somehow.
Damn it I was hoping their date would go better. Leslie’s reasons for ending it make sense though.
And hopefully she’s being honest with Mindy and herself, and it’s not really ‘you’re not zany and boundary-ignoring enough’.
I hope this isn’t the last we see of Mindy. I’m weirdly invested now in seeing her get some combination of happiness and self-esteem.
Uh, can someone tell me who my new auto generated grav is a picture of?
Is it Bloodrose? I hope it’s Bloodrose.
And apparently my grav is now Mike, quite the change from when it was Joyce.
i think it’s bloodrose
I think it’s good ol’ what-her-face, Agatha’s room mate
Shoulder McHairson.
Ah, I’m not too familiar with the Walkyverse characters. Also think it’s interesting how I keep getting gravs (Dina was my last one) who are hard to spot as a running joke. (Should I lurk less, comment on posts here more? Maybe.)
Careful, knowing Sir Willis’s sense of humour, your next grav will be an empty panel.
Ok, people, people, people!
While we’ve had our first avatar shuffle in four years, you know what the coolest thing is?
Go to yesterday’s strip, and see which avatar Cerberus ended up with. DO EEEET!
*claps*
Alright, Penny really isn’t doing it for me. Let me try this:
OH NO NO NO WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Grav roulette, don’t fai
Whew.
First Penny, then Mary!
Next, you’ll end up with Peter.
Fortunately not.
But Penny was combat-ready.
Wrong Penny. That Penny I like, but DoA’s Penny isn’t half as cool.
Well done, algorithm.
She got the absolutely best possible grav for her. Well done, gravatar roulette.
Well played, Gravatar algorithm.
Huh, apparently I get Dina now. Not sure if I’m worthy…
Do you like dinosaurs?
Well, yes, but who doesn’t?
Bad people who should feel bad.
OK, what is your favourite dinosaur, then?
Just commenting (seriously I so rarely comment) to see my avatar.
Eh.
I’m sure you actually comment a lot.
We just don’t see it.
I comment all the time! …in my head. Because I’m a little shy about new (to me) communities. Plus I’m stretched a little thin as is.
And now I got The Cranberries’ “Zombie” stuck in my head.
I was just trying to make a joke about not being able to see ninjamaid’s posts because ninja.
Thanks for the earworm.
RAWWWWWWWK!!!
(alsoes, Grace is pretty damn cool. *checks a few pages to see who’s got Mary in the new shuffle*)
Avatar test.
Who even is… Meredith?
*checks tags* Ah. Gluten-free. Anyway, trying my other email now.
Oh yeah, that one still has a custom gravatar. I should take care of that, I actually specifically stopped using it here for that reason.
Now trying my other other email, which I’ve never used here before so I’ll probably need approval.
Sorry I’m late to the Grav party. And the comment section party. And the new comic party. Let’s see who I have.
Ok. Didn’t expect Meredith. But I also doubt that she fits me well. So here we go again.
…Unexpected. Here’s another go around
Oh sweet lord no!!!!
Dammit!
…ok, last try then I’m going back to Meredith.
Welp. Guess Meredith it is.
Wait. How’d I get Sarah?
No no no. I’m trying to get back to the first one.
Is this what I need to type to get back?
Nope.
Ok. This should get me back to the first one.
o.0 I got some dude.
so, first try: capitalizing character 0.
huh, I think my gravatar test hit moderation. (4)
another test, 5
and 8
oh crud, autofill threw off some of these. (9)
and my method of tracking changes kinda sucks too. this one would be … 0,9?
urrgh so many male avatars, come on, I want dina or amber…
2,9
come on, gravatar. 4,9
yay! dina 🙂 but let’s see if there’s an amber in here. 5,9
maybe 8,9
what. an avatar of… someone’s hair? what even is that?
0,8,9
how about… 2,8,9
no, amazi-jerk doesn’t count. 😛 4,8,9
5,8,9 maybe?
screw it, caps ALL the things! (with six bits, I could do 2^6=64 tries, but that seems excessive)
lol 🙂 it’s always the last place you look, right? 😉
“that stubbly guy’s gonna hafta get a name”
Aren’t the guys in that strip already named Ahmed, Liam, and Gavin?
Don’t go ruining my head-canon now..
Ooh. Lovin’ the new avatar it chose for me 😀
Final panel reminds me so much of Pearl, like omigosh dangit, the similarities between these two, cross-universe fictional lesbians.
Wait. My icon isn’t Becky anymore and that makes me sad. 🙁
You look splendid, though.
Loki stole it!
LOKI DID IT -> MAKE LOKI FIX IT
You pretty much described half of the stories about the gods in Asgard.
There’s a flowchart!
That’s pretty spot on.
You COULD add a box of “Odin did it” and “Eh, shit were pretty fudged up anyway. Let’s just drink meed and watch Loki tie his balls to a goat* instead.”
*) “Loki played some antics with a goat” as one translation so delicately put it.
The other half are evenly split between ‘we broke it, make Loki fix it’ and ‘Loki broke it…break Loki’.
Unfortunately I don’t really care about Jacob.
(Let’s see who I get now.)
Oh. It’s Joyce. Hmmmm. I don’t really want to comment spam just to try out avatars, but…
But you’re gonna anyway, for fun!
And so am I, now that I saw the hint…
hmm, not quite.
one more time…
Doesn’t Rom-Com logic dictate that Leslie meet someone in the bar and really hit it off with them?
Yes. Considering Stacy is tagged that won’t happen any time soon though.
I wonder if we will get drunken Stacey telling Leslie her daughter needs help she can’t provide- thus putting it on Leslie to do so – or drunken Leslie seeing Stacy and Joes dad make out.
Or will Robin appear in search of a drink or because someone posted a picture of Leslie in that bar?
This is the scenario that can end with an ill-considered one-night stand.
Ooooh, gravatar swap! Time to play gravatar roulette until I get Sal again! 😀
Awwww, I like Sierra! Shame she’s not Sal.
Nope, sorry Daisy.
Sorry, Ken, this is yet another girl you’re about to strike out with.
Nope, I want your sister, walky.
I’m sorry, Mindy, you’re a button, but I want a different girl.
Sorry, Joss, but pass.
Oooh, does this mean more Beatrice?
Beat it, Walky
Okay, I was gonna wait until the new strip to continue, but FUCK THAT if that means being Mary.
Hiii what is my avatar
Oh also good strip and is everybody in the same bar and will Leslie and Bowtie communicate ? (I’m the worst reader, can’t remember his name right now, don’t care to search it in the archive).
Well let’s play the game of “turning a random letter into a capital letter”
Oh universe, why
*Can’t stop laughing at the avatar pairing to the “oh universe, why” comment.*
I get you.
It is certainly an appropriate match.
Jason, but more importantly: Blowjob Cat is an actual avatar now? Awesome.
Let’s remember this one and take another chance
Really cute buuuuut now I’m launched I want to see it through sorry for the spam.
Settling for this one, sorry for making you lose your time while you were reading the comments fellow reader
For Stubbs’ name, how about “Crando”…? That’s sort of like a name.
Crando LOLrissian?
Stacy… why is it tagged Stacy? *clicks*
OH! STACY!
I love my new Avatar! Can I keep it? She even looks a bit like me.
That settles my question above and gives me hope we’ll see more of Mindy
Now I’ve got Robin, try again
More importantly, she’s right next to Leslie. Something is about to happen, I think!
I have become what I hate.
You hate dapper guys with newfound self-confidence and ukulele skills?
Yes.
Also, Danny.
Especially Danny rocking his Sally Forth Sly Smirk™.
This may have finally convinced me to register a gravatar. I’m going to steal the random Philémon grav I got over on Frivolesque, I think.
Aw, the avatars changed. I liked angry Ma-… What’s her name again?
Oh hey, my avatar changed from Dorothy to Ruth. I was very confused when looking for my comment a few days ago. 😀
I admit I am posting entirely to see what my new avatar is.
Roz… hm.
…At least it’s someone I recognize? She’s kind of the nega-me. Straight cis woman who’s very loud and has a lot of sex.
Can’t be nega-you, she doesn’t have a goatee.
That just means “not someone else” *has* a goatee.
me too!
that didn’t go too well
I think you meant: “that went VERY well”!
A little too well, probably.
Wait, what?
Hmm, a little too bland.
Not quite…
Needs more character development…
There we go.
I did not expect one of the avatars to be Blowjob Cat.
Ok I’m sticking with Dorothy.
It’s been forever since I’ve commented. I wonder….
doing the same even though this is like the 5th time I’ve ever commented. But I did used to have kind of a lame avatars… so maybe if it’s a cool one now I’ll comment ALL OF THE TIME
hmm… yeah not sold
Ooo but the email thing changes it
yep. like that one.
Ok, I have a feeling I’m not gonna like the results if I try for a different avatar…
Ooh, Agatha! Nice.
Haven’t see much of Marcie lately.
I’m basically playing avatar roulette again.
Marcie twice apparently.
One more try, sorry for the spam.
Ok, last time now.
Final try for real this time.
How do you do that, use a different email? Until Willis changes them again, a given email address will always have the same avatar associated with it, right? (Of course you could go sign up for Gravatar and pick your own, but that sounds suspiciously like work!)
Let’s see what my new assignment is… old one was Billie, which I probably wouldn’t have selected myself, but grew to appreciate. Her expression seemed to add just a hint of snark to my comments (in a positive way, hopefully).
Gravatar roulette is case sensitive, email isn’t.
foo@bar.com gets you a different result than Foo@bar.com
You can capitalize letters in the email address.
back when I learned email, the rule was that all letters should be/had to be lowercase, period.
then again, when I learned email, some people/places were still using bang-paths to route it manually…
Interestingly, theoretically email addresses are still case sensitive. The domain name is not, but the actual user name should be.
Almost no email servers enforce this though, treating user names differing only by case as the same.
I really think this is the best thing Leslie could have done, given that she was not feeling a spark with Mindy, who was simultaneously broadcasting much less “I’m into you specifically” and much more “I am desperate to not be single anymore”.
Going on the date at all was giving Mindy a chance despite her not being attracted to her on their initial meeting. Staying longer when she isn’t into her would just have led Mindy on.
(Which in no way means that Leslie will go “back” to Robin (they art never dating so there’s no “back” to go), and it definitely doesn’t mean she’ll look Anna up. Leslie bot being into Mindy has only a little bit to do with Robin and nothing to do with Anna. Nor does it mean she needs more drama in her life or that Mindy isn’t cute. Sometimes you just don’t feel a spark.)
shuffle shuffle
oh no, I come off aggressively enough online without an actively angry face XD sorry Malaya
Nope
… ermmmm
Nono thank you
I really like the new Amber too… /shakes fist
sigh
… The Roz is really cute too hrmmm
Nnnnnope
Getting further away from it
Dang. SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR
Now the real question is… Why did you not stop at this point?
My reply to skills are really not great on this site
That is such a cute avatar 😐 is it Raidah?
No, Malaya.
Feeling bad for Mindy right now. She is going to go home in an awful state of mind.
Yeah but sometimes it’s best to just tear off the band-aid. It wasn’t going to go anywhere; at the very best the two would end up reinforcing their mutual worst characteristics (in terms of self-esteem).
Agreed.
(also, test…)
Instead of a ship, maybe the two will talk about their failures and bad choices. And how best to deal with daughters in troubled situations.
This is the same bar Walky and British Teach are at, aren’t they?
(Shows how much I don’t care about British Teach enough to remember his name from Joyce and Walky)
Nah, don’t worry about his name. Just remember, “Hey, that’s a bicycle!”
Am I the only one that’s unreasonably distracted by the fact that she’s not wearing a watch on the first panel?
You’re too good for this world, Mindy.
o hai stacy
Grav roulette go.
Hmm. One more try.
Man, this is tough.
You have uploaded yourself a custom avatar at gravatar.com, so you do not participate in the grav roulette.
You’re pulling my leg here.
*Posts just to see new avatar*
Who the heck even is this person??
The guy from the LGBTQ group.
So can someone tell me who my new gravatar is supposed to be? I think it’s Ruth from the original Walkyverse, but I’m not sure?
It’s Rose. Minor character who used to be Amber’s half-sister in the Walkyverse.
That’s funny. I could swear I read all of shortpacked and I don’t remember seeing her
It appears to be Rose, and I’m surprised you don’t remember her, considering how many times she’s appeared in this comic!
(One time)
Comic Reactions:
Panels 1-2: I love how Leslie takes the opportunity here to do the healthiest thing for all parties and do so in as kind a way as she can. It reflects how she tried to handle the Robin situation at the bar and her character in general, being prone to destructive thinking but also recognizing that impulse and the danger of letting that impulse rule over her actions.
Panel 3: Oof, that headspace. Where things not working out are because you did something personally wrong. It’s an easy headspace to fall into, especially if you have a mindset that likes to try and problem-solve situations and break them down or if you struggle with low self-esteem or anxiety/depression. I’ve struggled with this headspace a lot myself thanks to past bad relationship and familial situations where I was gaslit and blamed for things outside my control.
So yeah, I feel for Mindy here a bit, but this is still the right call.
Panels 4-5: Words cannot contain how much I love this bit here. It’s so self-aware and well-delivered. And yeah, it gets into a very specific thing. Someone who shares neuroses can sometimes be a good thing, can mean someone who understands and respects how those little things mean to you. But it can also be mutually destructive.
And this would have been the latter. As Leslie said, what Mindy said wasn’t anything she hasn’t said to herself, but that’s exactly why she doesn’t need external support for her self-destructive loneliness and romanticism. She needs confirmation and strength that she’s made the correct decisions in the end to stand for her mental health and well-being.
And she especially needs that now coming out of the personally destructive saga that was Robin.
But I love how she delivers that with empathy for Mindy’s headspace. That tells her, no, you’re not alone, I’ve felt the same way, but that’s not a good thing. It maybe even gives her a nudge to re-examine the self-destructive life she’s currently trapped in pining after a woman in her house who will never love her or treat her with full respect.
Panel 6: This is also adorable. It feels like Leslie continuing morphing into her role as adoptive mom for Becky, wanting to still be thought of as the cool mom even though she’s a giant dork (a common struggle for mom types).
I think as they get to know each other more, this will settle, but in the meantime, it’s just cute.
Wait… holy shit new gravatars?!? And I got Carla?!?
*happy dance*
It’s even confirmed that it was only luck that you got her.
Incredible, awesome luck.
you ****ing goddess. 🙂
Exactly. This was the universe’s way to remind Cerberus that she is a motherfucking goddess, and don’t you forget it!
Nobody deserves Carla more.
(Also, this post is a great chance to jump into the avatar roulette.)
Did you not notice this yesterday?
Changed sometime overnight, probably after she last posted.
The change is retroactive though, so you can look back and see the new avatars on yesterday’s posts.
Which means that this comment page will be completely incomprehensible after the next update.
Yeah, it changed at around 01:30-ish in Eastern Summer Time.
And thejeff: Most of it will be nonsense. However, all the people trying the avatar roulette and just saying “Nope” to each new attempt may become even funnier. Especially if they end up sticking with Peter in the end.
You can already see that with some of the ones who have custom gravatars, but turned them off to play. Someone has a whole pageful of the Ruth/Billie/Carla reaction shot going “Ugh no”, “C’mon roulette”, etc, up above.
But only sometimes. Some of them all go back to the custom grav when they’re done. Others leave the roulette ones in place.
Depends on how they switch, I guess.
Playing roulette, with any real stakes anyway, is always a chumps game, even if it can be fun. The only sure winning strategy, as with Thermonuclear War, is to not play. The next best is to just accept that as you enjoy the process of playing you age going to, at best, be nickel and dimed to cover the cost.
Now that everyone’s face has changed, it’ll take me weeks to get everyone straight in my head again…
Whoooo! High five, you amazing goddess, you!
I’ve been there too cerberus, for much the same reasons. It’s a terrible habit and leads down so many dark roads. So many people suffer because of the idea that grand gestures can make up for being awful. It’s an unhealthy and destructive trope. Here’s to you and me and everyone else who’s crawled or is crawling out of that trap.
Gravity roulette…spin, spin, spin…
Ugh, Joe, nope, spinning again
…I have no idea who this guy is.
Mary’s boyfriend. Spinning again was definitely the right choice.
…nope.
ugh
Got Leslie in another reply and okay with that but running through a couple more options just to see
And one last one and then I’m done for today.
Trying some more
Grav roulette let’s see who I get
Works for me
Hm, none of the randoms so far are really doin’ it for me. Might be time to finally sign up for a custom…
yeah, definitely not HER.
Blatant gravatar-only post
I can live with that.
Alternative email
That was quick and disappointing.
Maybe author will throw that newspaper lesbian girl a bone in form of drunk Leslie?
Also what are the chances Leslie will meet Robin now?
I hope low.
That would be horribly inappropriate and also hilarious since Jason and Walky are there.
Man, I feel really bad for Mindy though. I mean, Leslie’s right, and the two are too similar to hit it off romantically. But you also could’ve continued the date and made a new friend too. You know how hard it is making new friends when you’re an adult, Leslie!!!
Sooooo uh, how do ya change the gravatar guys~?
Simplest way is to change the capitalization in your e-mail (for example: eMail@address instead of email@address), although you can use alternate e-mail addresses instead if you’d rather.
Some things like gmail will also let you add periods to your address without breaking it.
Thank you!
Just capitalize different letters of your e-mail to get different results.
Or just accept what you get on the first try, so we don’t all end up with about seven different avatars instead of the about 56 that Willis made for us.
Or get a custom avatar if you -really- want something special.
that’s no fun 😛
Grav-roulette
Eh, while I’m here I might as well jump in on the Grav Roulette fad while it lasts.
Man, Grav Roulette day is the one thing that makes me kinda sad to have a set Gravatar (but only kinda), maybe I could’ve been Blowjob Cat
*sigh* ….someday…
I feel you. I mean, I have an AWESOME Becky gravatar but… to be part of the excitement, the rush of uncertainty… I could be anything. Joyce? Danny? Even Dorothy?
…eh, what the fudge. YOLO!!!!
…Huh? I SAID YOLO!!!
Grace huh…
Nah, BACK TO BECKY!!! SEE YOU ON THE FLIP SIDE, GRACE!
*checks URL* Nope…you’d have been Mike.
I’d have got Sayid.
There’s a way to check without actually posting?
Well, you need to have posted, but those of us with set gravatars can check what we would have gotten by checking the URL of the one we have – it’s at the end.
Can’t remember who informed me of that, but I learned it after I made the same comment that Inbar Fink did last time they got reshuffled.
B-but… Sayid!
Okay, I think I’ll settle on Ruth for now. Unless this last test gives something better.
Wait, I’m exempt from grav roulette because I set an avatar, right?
Oh, good, right.
…Alright, I’m curious.
No thanks.
Nah
God no
Not quite
Not happenin’.
Don’t be clingy
Ha. Nope.
Unrelatable
Last try
Ken’s a good kid, but I’ll stick to this.
The stubbly guy apparently has to be Kathy, Kate, Kitty or Kat…
So bigger odds of Leslie running into Walky or a certain disgraced senator?
Nooo. Nooo. Please don’t make Mindy sad!
Nooo.
Now what sweet avatar do the new RNG gods bestow upon me?!
Eh… Could be better at least my cool haircolour fits and it’s not the Blowjobcat. ;P
On the negative side, it’s not Blowjobcat.
Grav roulette time. Also good on you Leslie for keeping your own mental health as a priority.
LET THE GRAV GODS SPEAK!
Might as well get on the grav train
Yay!!
So Jason, Walky, Leslie, and Stacy walk into a bar.
My guess is that we’re not done, and that about 2/3 of the people who’ll be in the final scene in this bar have arrived.
OH man rerolling my avatar because Malaya’s a total pain in the ass.
Nope. Apparently I am bad at this
Time to test out my new Gravi— oh, right.
OMG a bit of Stacy’s hair is in the picture, so she gets a tag. That’s attention to details ^^
People need to keep entering that bar scene above until we get this
New avatars (per the twitter feed) for which the tags as yet yield zero result: Beatrice, Nash, Spencer.
Also, at least three different people got what might be Bloodrose. Not appearing in the posted set, and not even a valid tag. Some kind of Easter egg?
Bloodrose was a character in the other universe who was part of a running gag where she never appeared fully in a panel. Thus her appearing as only a shoulder and bit of hair in the avatar…and being replaced by Walky in that set.
Bloodrose has shown up in DoA at least once, untagged
Apparently she’s shown up at least one other time.
Dangit, that was supposed to include this link: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/sandals/
I refuse to be Peter.
DBAP (Don’t Be A Peter). Kinda means the same thing.
Oh everyone’s Gravatar’s are changing…That’s disorienting.
Oh! I like this one. Same general feel as the last one but I don’t have to see Mary’s stupid face anymore.
Grav-y
Wow actually this matches my personality way better than the Dina
oh new Gravatars! what will I get?
… damn it.
no, no, I can’t do this. I’m trying this capitalizing thing.
I’m not sure I’m cool enough for that one.
aha, my old one!
Yes. Danny is a good egg. I’m keeping that egg.
I’m trying too with the letters!
I don’t know if I got this…
Whoops, this was supposed to be a reply. Sorry for wasting extra space – I just got so confused by the new gravatars.
I… actually don’t ship Leslie and Stacy. Am I getting a fever or something?
No, you are in good company after that last comment by Stacy
Ok so who am I today?
Ok so don’t know who that is so we’ll try again…
Good enough
and more attempts down here
hm
?
cool hair :3
oh it’s that b*ngo Penny. i mean i’m pretty sure she would self-label as a b*ngo. She’s all right, if underused
that’s like agatha or something
Roz with no hat? I’ll take it! (but let’s just check this last iteration)
*suspense*
Roz it is!
(i think)
*brushes ethan’s hair* <3 cute boi, likez boiz, good circle of friends / poly shipping material… seems good for now :3
but just to be thorough/unbelievably picky, one last trial…
FUCking yessss billie is my spirit cheerleader
*spirleader
Okay, now I’m grav-curious.
But surely I am NOT the only one to hear Leslie say, “Nothing you have said isn’t something I haven’t said quietly to myself” and thought, “Wait – Leslie said to herself ‘I’m a dental hygienist’?”
I can see her telling herself that after a particularly trying day at work (i.e. days with Joe in them).
“*sigh* I’m basically a dental hygienist. I clean out the old corn, but I can’t do anything about the inset rot.”
Poor Mindy. But I totally get that Leslie isn’t in the right headspace for this right now.
Ooh so excited for roulette. Feel a little guilty since our recent character friends have been glummy
…or you could have talked about something else.
it’s been said but man do i really love how leslie’s adopting the ‘cool lesbian mom’ role
w h a t is that gravatar ahahahaha
It’s Blowjob Cat.
Gravatar roulette!
I like amber as much as the next person, but…
Nope
Nah
Walky’s cool and all, but not who I’m looking for
Whoops
Sayid! But still not who I’m looking for
NOPE
Last try
Yeah, I’m keeping Danny.
ooh let’s find out my new avvy
WELP
For shits and giggles.
WELPing isn’t helping. 😛
Completely unrelated, I just want to hear peoples opinions on this Anime quote. (If any of you have a forum where I/we can pose “rule breaking” questions, please inform me, I/we really need one.)
“All men … are NOT created equal! Some are born swifter afoot, some with greater beauty, some are born into poverty and others born sick and feeble. Both in birth and upbringing, in sheer scope of ability every human is inherently different; Yes that is why people discriminate against one another, which is why there is struggle, competition and the unfaltering march of progress. Inequality is not wrong, equality is. What of the E.U. which made equality a right? Rabble politics by a popularity contest. The Chinese Federation with its equal distribution of wealth? A nation of lazy dullards. But not our beloved Britannia, we fight, we compete, evolution is continuous. Britannia alone moves forward, advancing steadily into the future. Even the death of my son, Clovis, demonstrates Britannia’s unswerving commitment to progress. We will fight on, we shall struggle, compete, plunder and dominate, and in the end, the future shall be ours. ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!!!!!”
Parts of it make no sense without watching the Anime, nevertheless, opinions?
Related: Please give Mindy a fair shake, she is so kind, she deserves some kindness, not the hell you/Willis seem to insist on. (I’ve been a Ruth girl for some time now.)
Wouldn’t being a MTF transsexual be more appropriate for my friend? xD
Oh on that any advice, seeing as my best friend is MTF, no hormones yet. ( He, soon to be She is going to Cuba for the “treatment”,European if it matters)
For one, “transsexual” has generally fallen out of favor. Unless its the term your friend prefers, you should probably go with “transgender woman” instead.
I would recommend making a point of educating yourself on trans issues in general, if you haven’t already started doing so since your friend came out to you. That’ll help you avoid stumbling blindly into sensitive topics you might not have known about, and spare your friend some effort explaining stuff to you, freeing up time & energy to spend talking about other stuff. Assigned Male is probably a good start. It does a good job of depicting the kind of stuff trans people have to put up with (in the US, at least. Hopefully not as much where she’s at) in a way that’s easy to digest and relate to. Also, you should generally favor articles and other stuff about trans people that’s written by trans people. Beware of assholes claiming to be feminists arguing that acceptance of trans women is somehow harmful to women.
I dunno. Hopefully that’s helpful / correct enough to start with, in case nobody wiser happens to chime in
New gravatars? But I was Becky before and it was awesome. Who will I be now…?
I don’t recognize this guy. D: GIVE MY BECKY BACK.
chili’s becky back ribs
we need a Shepherd’s Pie avatar – it would automatically be in poor taste
Nothing to read here. Just heard about the av-shuffle and checking to see if I’m still Penny or not.
Apparently not. Joyce is fine (although I’ll miss Penny).
I think this will turn out to be Jacob.
Yep, called it!
I wondered about the huge number of comments today…
It didn’t take long for me to catch on.
I could keep that one if I want to be contrary.
I can get 8 different ones just by ringing the changes on ‘.com’.
Because, you know, binary.
Just one more.
Last one. For now.
I actually wasn’t as far off from guessing what Leslie was thinking as I thought I was. I mean, I was wrong, I didn’t guess that Mindy was reminding Leslie of herself but I was a little right in that part of the problem was how Mindy thinks of herself.
I dunno, being wrong in a different way and in a way I’m not certain I was even supposed to anticipate makes me feel better. (Please tell me if this was actually glaringly obvious. I will feel bad again but I want to know.)
Might I suggest “Stubb Lee Guy?”