It’s shit hitting a fan. I’m not sure what you’re so worried about.
It’s not even a ceiling fan; some fool set up a fan on their lawn and then tossed what appears to have been dog feces in with a glove.
It did sound a little wet, there didn’t it? Right at the end! Oooh! Heh heh heh. Let’s have a smell, all right? Oh, everyone likes their own brand, don’t they?
What a silly question. People will always scratch ANYTHING that is scratch-and-sniffable. Just like we eat “mystery flavor” candy even though we know they’re always the kinds that nobody likes.
The more obvious and heavy-handed the subtext gets, the more I am convinced the entire thing is a red herring and that Willis will subvert our expectations.
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they AREN’T out to get you; ergo, if they really are out to get you, it doesn’t stop being paranoia.
I think. Either way paranoia is a good plan.
Paranoia is ALWAYS justified… We’ll see if he’s faking us out soon enough. Or rather, whether he’s faking us out by subverting the foreshadowing, or by playing it straight while we second-guess.
Re-read Walky’s comment. He’s talking about something that he wasn’t “planning for”. Something that “changes things”. Something that “will hurt in the end”. And Becky says she “knows what he means”.
Am I the only one who sees subtext OTHER THAN shipping?
Well, okay. I was reading it as his love for Dorothy that wasn’t planned, which is a game changer, and which will hurt more in the end when the inevitable breakup comes. But that isn’t exactly subtext. what are you seeing here.
The fact that Becky knows exactly what he means indicates something comparable has happened to her in the past, and boy does that raise questions.
I love the pregnant Becky theory and hope it happens, but I didn’t think that immediately, since the interpretation of “will hurt in the end” is pretty different. The hurt so clearly emotional in Walky’s context and whereas it would be so clearly physical for Betty. And also the end of a relationship is it, while the end of childbirth is really only the beginning of the relationship.
I think an unwanted pregnancy in the kind of home environment described in Becky’s life and in Becky’s school… emotional pain is certainly part of it, but there’s a lot more to it than that.
And it’s a lot harder to hide and to avoid the consequences of than lesbianism. Well, not necessarily, but potentially.
Saki from the webcomic Frivolesque, it’s a strange slice-of-life featuring lots of girls with glasses, the character art is pretty snazzy and even the background art is quite detailed and impressive. It also has a large dollop of Azumanga quirkiness included.
Oh thank you so much. I was just thinking to myself that I needed ANOTHER webcomic to distract myself from finishing up my project for the end of semester at my Grad school. DAMN YOU ALL FOR SHARING AWESOME THINGS!!!
I agree with your assessment, but I’m afraid I can only ship one couple I fear is doomed for certain doom. And oh boy do I think this romance is doomed. I don’t just see icebergs, this is like sailing near antarctica and finding yourself wedged in by ice on all sides, leaving your choice to slowly freeze to death or try to make a break for it and dash yourself to pieces.
What’s not to love about a homeschooled Christian that’s best friends with an atheist, can’t swear, and draws dicks on things when she snaps? Probably alot but she’s trying.
I concur. I concur SO VERY HARD.
On the plus side, she helps me see a little of such people’s perspective, which makes it a lot easier to refrain from hating them. And for that, I thank The Willis.
I don’t know that any corner of the internet is completely safe for innocence. Maybe NPR or sites without comment sections. Fortunately, innocence of that variety has little actual value beyond the fact that it can be humorous and adorable at times.
Being really fucked up can have negative effects, but I don’t think Swoop’s quality of life or anyone else’s will be damaged by their knowledge of pegging.
Willis can always pull a bait and switch, but, “Yeah, I know what you mean,” while melancholically gazing off after Joyce? Yeah, many people called that one! And, while I didn’t publically do so myself, I definitely never felt a need to contradict such people with a differing opinion.
I was about to call bullshit on the “likes the taste of fish” thing since, if it is an innuendo, then any woman with decent personal hygiene would subvert that!
But… man, you really sold it with your wonderful taking it literally subversion. Kudos, Undrave!
When you think about it, Dorothy is one hell of a cold mistress. Walk into a guys life and make him fall head over heals for you so fast that he doesn’t even notice what happening till its to late, then after you get them to believe this shit will last forever you dump him before the relationship becomes permanent because you care about your future more than any other man.
I have seen some cold Heartbreakers in my day but damn.
The frustrating part of the story is that chances are nobody will call her out for thinking Walky is the immature one. She is clearly naive if she can’t see that her social scripts are unreasonable. Joyce’s allegiance to a Walt Disney-esque version of true love I can understand, but Dorothy?
And what’s the point of being atheist if not the ability to forgive people who don’t live up to extraterrestrial standards of behaviour?
In other words, Dorothy is a really well-written character, because she is exactly as immature as she ought to be at her age.
The problem with Dorothy’s behavior runs in exactly the opposite direction. She made it entirely, explicitly clear that she wasn’t sticking around, and now she’s telling him she loves him, without any warning that she was changing the rules on him, or even if she was changing the rules. Walky’s response was not ideal, but I wouldn’t have known what to say either.
Hmmm, okay, I thought Becky’s relaxed, extremely self-aware behavior in this arc was at odds with her “you can’t date a non-Christian!” attitude earlier, but I’m hypothesizing a narrative. Becky falls in love with Joyce, Becky goes to Anderson, Becky hears that Joyce is going on a date and seizes the first thing she hears that lets her hate on the boy, Becky’s mind broadens (even at a Christian college) to the point where she can admit to herself what’s going on, she hears Joyce is having troubles and it’s the perfect excuse to go visit.
This could very well occur without Becky being in love with Joyce, and with her legitimately being upset that Joyce is dating a non-Christian, but her comment to Walky clearly implies that she is in love with someone. And the only person who Becky knows, that we know of, is Joyce. Process of elimination.
I’m liking the Jecky/Boyce shippy feels but I’m still not over the general insincerity I feel from becky during this arc… I don’t know. I’m keeping it in the back of my head, at least. I don’t think Becky is everything she says she is.
I must over-think things, because I can’t tell if his reply means he loves Dorothy, or if it means he does not love Dorothy and didn’t mean for her to fall in love with him. But Becky doesn’t think he’s being ambiguous. Arrrggh.
Walky never did forget the “this is just a for-fun thing” attitude Dorothy approached this with from the beginning. It kind of explains a lot, him trying to reject deeper feelings about this than purely sexual, when you’re explicitly told not to get too attached, because it’s not for the long haul. That actually makes a lot of sense, it’s not just a man-child “TV sitcom plot” thing to him.
Whew! *wipes sweat off brow* I’m glad to see that the whole Walky/Becky think isn’t gonna happen. I was gettin a little nervous. But I think it’s possible she’s in love with Joyce. I had a crush on my bestest friend (we’ve know each other since we were three, and we’re 20 now) but I got over it fairly quickly BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT. The point is that I totally feel her. I get how it can happen, and I get the confused feelings.
The other possibility is that she came down to come out to Joyce. Becky has met a girl that she has a crush on, and has come to hash things out with Joyce, maybe get some advice from a close friend. Admitting she’s in love with a girl could hurt her, her family, Joyce, her other friends…she might not want to deal with the potential backlash.
I super hope that’s the case, because I think having a lesbian friend…someone she knows is a great person, someone she’s laughed with, cried with, gone to school with is gay…and see’s how happy they are with a gay partner…well maybe she’ll be able to let Ethan go. Let both Ethan and her have truly fulfilling relationships.
I dunno it’s just a theory. I’m not really 100 certain on that. Maybe she’s in love with a non-christian boy. That could be just as plausible as the lesbian theory. I was just trying to figure why she might be saying that she knows how it feels to be in love with someone, but that this love could end up hurting them in the end.
Consider this. At this point in the earth’s history, there’s no such thing as a drop of water that has not, at multiple points in it’s history, done shifts as vomit, feces, and urine.
This, however, does not remove the responsibility to wash yer damn hands after using the restroom. Not targeted at you, specifically, nothri, but it needs to be said nonetheless.
Wait, so Dorothy loves Walky, Joyce loves Dorothy, and Becky loves… Joyce? Damn, this is getting beyond a love trapezoid over here. Somebody break out the protractor!
If someone lamenting that their relationship got more serious than planned and it’s going to hurt when they’re separated from their loved one is the most infuriatingly immature thing you’ve ever witnessed, I either envy or pity you; I’m not sure which.
As much fun as a Joyce/Becky ship would be, I think it entirely possible that Becky has been off living her own life at college (and even in highschool) that involves people other than Joyce–people whom she could well have loved and lost, and then turned to Joyce in need of support.
I think so too! I think she’s in love with someone she’s not supposed to be in love with. Teacher? Girl? Non christian boy? One night stand gone wrong? Who knows! Not me.
Honestly, I expect she’s visiting Joyce to get over a broken heart, not because she’s pining for Joyce herself. Might want to watch out on the whole conflating straight and normal tho.
Maybe. But Becky being in the closet is only speculation. I mean, it’s totally one of my theories, but so far I think Ethan is the only one in the closet. Ruth is out to her brother, and Billie is out to Walky (and now Joyce)…or maybe he made a lucky guess?
Well. I guess Danny is in the closet as well. But he’s still not sure about his queerness. I’m using queer because it hasn’t been revealed what his sexuality is! (i ID as queer because my orientation is stupid and hard to explain)
Was that a Freep or a Plotcher? If it’s the latter, go home and change your shorts, Walky. Soft serve and the smell of fresh poop do not a pleasant combination make.
Willis is certainly teasing us with that. More than that, he raised the specter of “What will Dorothy do” way back in the second week of Gender Studies — will she be normalized or not.
She’s already half-way to normalizing herself — she’s fallen hard for Walky — but he’s actively resisting that. I wonder if @damyouwillis is planning on them having A Talk in which he tells her that she need to carry on with her dreams, which will mean leaving him.
Ok, my official guess is that Becky is a lesbian and in love with someone but it isn’t Joyce. It’s someone she met at her college and she wanted to come down and talk to her best friend about it. So I’m not on the Jecky/Boyce bandwagon. 🙂
I’d explain to you all the women that are strongly indicated to be straight by the canon, but it involves running over too many of my ships, which, if not soulkilling, is still somewhat painful. There may be more bi girls than normal, but Dotty is by no means the only straight girl.
I sometimes wonder if Willis is unwilling to confront lesbianism and homosexuality at some deep level and so dodges it by making people bi.
Now, don’t me wrong — I’m always thrilled to see positive examples of bisexual characters, as we’re otherwise underrecognized in both the gay and the straight communities. That said…can somebody list a bisexual character in DoA who isn’t self-destructive (Ruth and Billie), self-hating (Joyce, if she’s bi), or destructively closeted (Danny)?
Nah, there’s Leslie, the girl who is editor of the school newspaper, and Grace and Mandy (Provisionally, with the latter). Unlike in Dumbiverse, Leslie’s not really a focus character, so there’s that, and in the Dumbiverse Robin never was.
Ruth isn’t necessarily bi. All we know about her orientation that doesn’t involve girls is she learned about liking girls thanks to Billie. This doesn’t mean she wanted to nail dudes.
Anyway, answer to the question, no, not right now. It’s possible Mandy or Grace are, or Joe or Roz is, but at the moment, no, and that’s really just blindfire guessing at people who might be. OTOH, the number of people in relationships that aren’t self destructive, self hating, or destructive in other ways is short and includes Walky and Dotty. And THAT may be a presumptuous inclusion at this point. It’s no surprise there’s no happy bisexual people.
I seem to recall Willis commenting that he made people bi because bi characters have twice as many shipping options, which gives him more writing flexibility.
I kind of suspect he does it to piss off the kind of people that get pissed off about characters being revealed to be bi, too.
Ruth is, Word of God, bi, though it’s true that we haven’t really seen any evidence in the actual comics of her having a definite attraction to any guys, or really anyone at all besides Billie. (In the Walkyverse, she was with Ryan (yeah, Roofie Ryan) briefly, but it fell out badly (surprise), and it’s pretty easy to read it as Ruth not being into guys. The implications may be less unfortunate if you read it that way rather than as “pre-marital sex is bad and you should feel bad about it”, which I think was the actual message, courtesy of Willis’s fucked-up upbringing.)
By the Ethan Principle (sexualities are consistent across universes), Mandy, Grace, Sierra, and Marcie (and Guns if she’s around) are bi. We haven’t seen a whole lot of them, but they do generally seem to be leading happier lives than than the more central characters. (The “happier lives” and the “not central characters” are probably related.)
im now convinced that not only does becky love joyce that is what the title of the storyline refers to. joyce has been built up as getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of romance in her life while its still going on all around her, and now beckys getting all this subtext? totes canon
im predicting the moment when she finds out will actually be really good for her character development even though im pretty sure she wont return beckys feelings
It sure sounds like it. But does Joyce roll that way? It’s certainly possible she’s bi, but it’s also possible she’s straight. There’s no evidence of feelings toward women.
Remember that Joyce has been traumatized by her sexual assault. I wonder if she might be responding to Billie’s breasts as she would to a mother figure.
Except almost everything she’s ever said to Dorothy. I mean, full disclosure, I ship that. But while I do honestly acknowledge that it’s totally plausible that Joyce -isn’t- secretly a roiling tornado of gay rainbows when it comes to Dorothy, she at -least- has a massive girl crush on her.
Walky’s comment that Joyce follows Dorothy around like she wants to go down on her might not actually be correct, but it’s not exactly baseless, either. (And Becky didn’t indicate that that was new behaviour, either.) Joyce stood up to her parents because she loves (her word!) Dorothy.
Maybe that’s a platonic love, and Joyce just makes really close female friendships and isn’t repressing a secret desire for their bodies… but if Joyce were harboring unrequited PSL for Dorothy, it’d be pretty indistinguishable from the way she’s actually acted. And that’s not to mention her fascination with Billie’s boobs and Sal’s hair…
And Walky’s made comments about it to Joyce’s face more than once, and, while she gets mad at him, she has yet to actually deny it. She hates homosexuality… but she hates lying just as much…
And then there’s her whole gay-panic storyline. Anyone who states unequivocally that Joyce is straight is more sure about that than Joyce herself is.
And then there’s that strip where, in the course of four panels, she expressed curiosity about the box, asked Walky if she could borrow Dorothy, and asserted that she just wanted tacos, which I cannot read as anything but subtext.
Also, she threw a toy at Dorothy’s head, which is well known to be the accepted method of wooing her.
Sal’s hair is just amazing. I’ve known plenty of straight women who will stop and pet hair that is good on a girl (and it is ANNOYING when I am busy). I mean, it’s not evidence against, but unlike her “i want to crawl up inside them forever” I don’t count it as ‘for’ either.
Platonic-in-accordance-with-her-beliefs love would neither change anything, nor would it be likely to hurt either of them, since by all indications, that’s what they already have going on.
Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. People are reading way into it, but I think Becky’s just talking about loving a friend, and having it hurt you when they start to grow apart from you.
Man, you guys have this all wrong. Becky isn’t in love with Joyce. Becky is actually in love with -Dorothy-. See, she snuck to campus awhile ago to visit Joyce, but got stopped short when she caught a peek of Joyce talking to Dorothy. She was smitten at first sight, and has been quietly stalking her for weeks until now, when she finally got up the courage to ask Joyce to introduce them. She obviously wanted to hang out with Walky to size up the competition.
It’s getting harder and harder to keep track of which shippings have been strongly implied in the comic and which are just the product of our own wishful thinking.
It almost seems like Becky is dying from some disease and just hasn’t told anyone yet which I know is not going to happen but maybe theres a metaphor in there or something
Prediction: Becky’s in love with Joyce’s trans sibling Jocelyne. Since Becky grew up around Joyce’s family (if I recall correctly), it’d make sense if Becky got a crush on Joyce’s attractive older sibling, not knowing Jocelyne was trans.
Did’nt Joyce make a comment to Dorothy about how wonderful it would be to find out a best friend was their soul-mate? Maybe that fore-shadowing is due to kick in?
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well POOP
No, FART
Classy, Willis. Classy.
No, I don’t think it was more than gas this time.
Nothing worse than “follow-thru”.
Especially when its combined with heartache. Messy and uncomfortable on multiple levels
Emotional shit + Actual shit = A shitty situation.
and then it hits the fan
You mean like this?
There is no way I will click on that link.
I clicked it – the video was blocked for me, but I was able to read the title. 😀
It’s shit hitting a fan. I’m not sure what you’re so worried about.
It’s not even a ceiling fan; some fool set up a fan on their lawn and then tossed what appears to have been dog feces in with a glove.
Even better, it’s in slow-motion!
It did sound a little wet, there didn’t it? Right at the end! Oooh! Heh heh heh. Let’s have a smell, all right? Oh, everyone likes their own brand, don’t they?
I for one am glad that the internet doesn’t have a scratch and sniff feature.
… why would you scratch THAT?
What a silly question. People will always scratch ANYTHING that is scratch-and-sniffable. Just like we eat “mystery flavor” candy even though we know they’re always the kinds that nobody likes.
see: John Waters’ Polyester “in Odorama!”
Sssshhh, it’s okay Walky. Let it all out.
As long as it’s not just a bunch of hot air.
Just as long as we are not within nose-shot when you do.
His situation just stinks right now
It’s alright, he’s not keeping silent about it.
Does that count as the fart joke?
We did at least get A fart joke, if a weak one
Walky needs more fiber in his diet.
Well, that’s a fart all right.
I think it’s like, fart angst or something.
Fangst?
Nah, I think that’s what people get when they realize how much being a vampire would actually suck.
Farnnui?
It’s funny if you can get over the depression.
Man, that’s some heavy handed subtext Becky’s got in the third ta last panel, there.
I’m reading it as a very loud but unheard cry for help
Only one question remains: do we call the ship Jecky or Boyce?
I don’t know, for Becky to be talking about Joyce….wouldn’t that be a bit too obvious?
Since when has a character’s actual affections been a factor in shipping? 😀
I’m hoping for a crush on Ruth, because a) ginger-on-ginger and b) we could call it Recky.
But what if Willis is tricking us and it’s actually Becky x Joyce’s sister (who was her brother at the time of Becky’s heartbreak?)
Dr. Jecky and Mr. Boyce?
…oh, I think I get it. Was that theory mentioned before in the comments? I don’t read them all the way down.
The lesbian theory has been my favorite theory. I don’t know that we’ve ever put Joyce and Becky together.
eh? there has been a lot of Becky/Joyce talk.
The more obvious and heavy-handed the subtext gets, the more I am convinced the entire thing is a red herring and that Willis will subvert our expectations.
Well Becky IS a redhead… Next thing you know, lil’ Freddy will accuse her of being the headless horseman or something!
“That’s not very funny!”
Thought you were gonna say Becky’s gonna turn out to actually be a fish.
I mean, we’ve kind of played that game with the “Joyce’s brother is gay for Ethan” -> “Joyce’s sister is straight for Ethan” fake-out.
I think the Becky/Walky hints were enough of a misdirection that I can buy that “Becky has Feelings for Joyce” is where this could really be headed.
Only time will tell if being paranoid about my paranoia is justified.
I mean me being paranoid about my paranoia, not you being paranoid about my paranoia.
*being paranoid about your possible paranoia should you misunderstand my sentence about paranoia*
It is really not paranoia if they’re really out to get you? REALLY??
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they AREN’T out to get you; ergo, if they really are out to get you, it doesn’t stop being paranoia.
I think. Either way paranoia is a good plan.
Paranoia is ALWAYS justified… We’ll see if he’s faking us out soon enough. Or rather, whether he’s faking us out by subverting the foreshadowing, or by playing it straight while we second-guess.
Wait, that’s not the theory I had in mind for the subtext… Mine isn’t (directly) related to shipping.
Which theory are you referring too? Enlighten us!
Re-read Walky’s comment. He’s talking about something that he wasn’t “planning for”. Something that “changes things”. Something that “will hurt in the end”. And Becky says she “knows what he means”.
Am I the only one who sees subtext OTHER THAN shipping?
Well, okay. I was reading it as his love for Dorothy that wasn’t planned, which is a game changer, and which will hurt more in the end when the inevitable breakup comes. But that isn’t exactly subtext. what are you seeing here.
The fact that Becky knows exactly what he means indicates something comparable has happened to her in the past, and boy does that raise questions.
I love the pregnant Becky theory and hope it happens, but I didn’t think that immediately, since the interpretation of “will hurt in the end” is pretty different. The hurt so clearly emotional in Walky’s context and whereas it would be so clearly physical for Betty. And also the end of a relationship is it, while the end of childbirth is really only the beginning of the relationship.
Or she had an abortion….
Yeah, an abortion would be more analogous to Walky’s situation, I think.
There are alot of ways this could go.
I think an unwanted pregnancy in the kind of home environment described in Becky’s life and in Becky’s school… emotional pain is certainly part of it, but there’s a lot more to it than that.
And it’s a lot harder to hide and to avoid the consequences of than lesbianism. Well, not necessarily, but potentially.
Poor Walky?
Poor….ANYONE. JUST TELL ME WHO NEEDS FEELS AND I WILL HAPPILY COMMISERATE. I LOVE EVERY ONE OF YOU ILLUSTRATED CHARACTERS.
Okay. I’ll happily put that to the test cause I’m an asshole.
Blaine is recovering from injuries in the hospital. I’m sure he could use a little sympathy.
I feel bad he didn’t suffer more?
He must be put out of his misery! I got this.
No, no! I insist!
Suppressing that Butts Disease must be really hard for you Willis. 😀
It’s a serious affliction.
It’s even worse when you find out that it’s becoming resistant to all treatments.
The only real treatment is to remove yourself from all butts. No one’s figured out how that’d work yet.
Only if you never want to be able to sit down ever again…
Yes, given the choice, people would rather shoulder the Disease rather than face an asssectomy.
But, without your butt, how would you keep your femurs attached?
I thought I had it figured out, but then I got my ass handed to me.
Who’s your avatar today, Mongoose?
Saki from the webcomic Frivolesque, it’s a strange slice-of-life featuring lots of girls with glasses, the character art is pretty snazzy and even the background art is quite detailed and impressive. It also has a large dollop of Azumanga quirkiness included.
That’s who I thought it was but didn’t think such a coincidence would occur :p I actually know theauthor in real life 😀
I only regret not clicking on Dez’s link much earlier.
<3
So much praise!
Just looked at your About page… Greetings from a fellow Quebecer! 😉
Heya! Nice of you to visit! ^__^
Dave? Fancy meeting you here. I didn’t know you were reading Dumbing of Age! =D
Oh thank you so much. I was just thinking to myself that I needed ANOTHER webcomic to distract myself from finishing up my project for the end of semester at my Grad school. DAMN YOU ALL FOR SHARING AWESOME THINGS!!!
That’s what we are here for! ❤
Well, I’m on the ship now. Becky TOTALLY loves Joyce.
I don’t know how but whatever stuffs your taco.
How about a burrito instead?
We welcome all stowaways on this ship.
I agree with your assessment, but I’m afraid I can only ship one couple I fear is doomed for certain doom. And oh boy do I think this romance is doomed. I don’t just see icebergs, this is like sailing near antarctica and finding yourself wedged in by ice on all sides, leaving your choice to slowly freeze to death or try to make a break for it and dash yourself to pieces.
Some people never grow up. He’s trying I guess.
Oh, he’s trying all right. Very trying.
Trying not though, and is doing a bad job of it.
*applauds wildly* Great pun!
I guess I could have said that without the applause, but I think you deserve the clap!
You would give someone the clap for a clever pun?
In panel 3, Walky is talking about farting.
That makes more sense than it really should.
I don’t know, I’m getting the subtle feeling that Becky’s not being entirely honest regarding how she feels about Joyce.
Just a hunch.
Yeah, Becky knows all about when the person you love goes off to the big-time college and leaves you alone.
She probably thought it’d get better once she had some distance.
It’s funny how some distance
doesn’t help with some things at all.
No wonder she was on board with Walky’s insinuation.
If Becky loves Joyce I feel sorry for her. Looks like maybe she does though.
Well, I thought she was perfect. Turns out she has really bad taste.
I wouldn’t say it’s bad taste, just…unfortunate irony.
I’d say it’s bad taste. Joyce is pretty insufferable (at least to moi).
What’s not to love about a homeschooled Christian that’s best friends with an atheist, can’t swear, and draws dicks on things when she snaps? Probably alot but she’s trying.
I am pretty sure I couldn’t handle someone like Joyce IRL (and I doubt she could stand me either), but as a character I just love her.
I concur. I concur SO VERY HARD.
On the plus side, she helps me see a little of such people’s perspective, which makes it a lot easier to refrain from hating them. And for that, I thank The Willis.
Y’know what, I bet he’s just fuckin with us. She’s gonna turn out not to love Joyce after all. I bet she converted to satanism.
She’s in love with Joyce’s mom. Joyce’s mom has got it goin’ on.
For a nickel.
This is how all of the dramatic strips should end.
With a fart of sadness.
*sad trombone*
Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Walky’s actually afraid Dorothy is going to peg him.
being more open to peggings would really help Walky’s love life
But it would be a disaster for Walky’s long-term rectal integrity especially if the ‘peg’ is a few sizes to big for him.
the goatse challenge
Turn (_._) into (_O_)
You never know what you’re gonna find when you Google a new word. You people are whittling away what little innocence I have left.
Swoop you poor drama Ilama, you..you’ve come to the wrong corner of the internet. It’s a miracle you have any innocence at all.
I don’t know that any corner of the internet is completely safe for innocence. Maybe NPR or sites without comment sections. Fortunately, innocence of that variety has little actual value beyond the fact that it can be humorous and adorable at times.
Being really fucked up can have negative effects, but I don’t think Swoop’s quality of life or anyone else’s will be damaged by their knowledge of pegging.
you misunderstand. I love knowing this stuff, losing my innocence is an even trade. This is the best corner of the internet!
So it’s really more like you’re paying your innocence.
Swoop the drama llama? Everyone knows he is a robot that transforms into a pteranodon!
And for Tonight’s Late Late Movie: A BRIDGE TOO FART
Well that confirmed a lot , Willis thank you for letting us have this.
*fans self* Oh the feels…
Lesbian angst…
Yesssss
Being in a self destructive same sex relationship is Ruth and Billie’s job. Quit trying to steal their thunder, Becky.
To be fair, Joyce does seem to have some tolerance for a straight on gay relationship that isn’t very satisfying to either party…
I have never seen a sadder fart. 🙁
What about this one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svuMx3qWPRQ
Willis can always pull a bait and switch, but, “Yeah, I know what you mean,” while melancholically gazing off after Joyce? Yeah, many people called that one! And, while I didn’t publically do so myself, I definitely never felt a need to contradict such people with a differing opinion.
Place your bets! Place your bets here!
Is Becky in love with Joyce?
Or is Willis dangling a red herring in front of our faces?
It’s not nice to call Becky a herring.
Well, she probably likes the taste of fish. 😉
Especially on friday!
I was about to call bullshit on the “likes the taste of fish” thing since, if it is an innuendo, then any woman with decent personal hygiene would subvert that!
But… man, you really sold it with your wonderful taking it literally subversion. Kudos, Undrave!
Thank you 😀
I thought that was a catholic thing?
I like how we all seem to think the same thing. Becky/Joyce, I ship it.
I ship all the tragic girlships.
When you think about it, Dorothy is one hell of a cold mistress. Walk into a guys life and make him fall head over heals for you so fast that he doesn’t even notice what happening till its to late, then after you get them to believe this shit will last forever you dump him before the relationship becomes permanent because you care about your future more than any other man.
I have seen some cold Heartbreakers in my day but damn.
The frustrating part of the story is that chances are nobody will call her out for thinking Walky is the immature one. She is clearly naive if she can’t see that her social scripts are unreasonable. Joyce’s allegiance to a Walt Disney-esque version of true love I can understand, but Dorothy?
And what’s the point of being atheist if not the ability to forgive people who don’t live up to extraterrestrial standards of behaviour?
In other words, Dorothy is a really well-written character, because she is exactly as immature as she ought to be at her age.
What in the actual hell? Who made him think it’d last forever?
Nobody. But I’m getting the impression they both kind of want it to despite all their best intentions.
It’s a good thing they’re young and stupid, or I’d be glaring at them for not even considering a long distance relationship.
What? What is she being immature about?
Make him fall head over heels? Oh yeah damn her for being his type.
Make him believe this shit will last forever? Yes she was really leading him on, wasn’t she. Totally.
Or maybe you missed some important part of this story?
Thank you!
The problem with Dorothy’s behavior runs in exactly the opposite direction. She made it entirely, explicitly clear that she wasn’t sticking around, and now she’s telling him she loves him, without any warning that she was changing the rules on him, or even if she was changing the rules. Walky’s response was not ideal, but I wouldn’t have known what to say either.
Hmmm, okay, I thought Becky’s relaxed, extremely self-aware behavior in this arc was at odds with her “you can’t date a non-Christian!” attitude earlier, but I’m hypothesizing a narrative. Becky falls in love with Joyce, Becky goes to Anderson, Becky hears that Joyce is going on a date and seizes the first thing she hears that lets her hate on the boy, Becky’s mind broadens (even at a Christian college) to the point where she can admit to herself what’s going on, she hears Joyce is having troubles and it’s the perfect excuse to go visit.
This could very well occur without Becky being in love with Joyce, and with her legitimately being upset that Joyce is dating a non-Christian, but her comment to Walky clearly implies that she is in love with someone. And the only person who Becky knows, that we know of, is Joyce. Process of elimination.
I’m liking the Jecky/Boyce shippy feels but I’m still not over the general insincerity I feel from becky during this arc… I don’t know. I’m keeping it in the back of my head, at least. I don’t think Becky is everything she says she is.
She not Becky, she’s an alien shapeshifter imposter!
Boycenberry. duh
She’s a secret demon lord, I’m telling you.
You fools! Why won’t you listen! You’ve doomed us all!
I must over-think things, because I can’t tell if his reply means he loves Dorothy, or if it means he does not love Dorothy and didn’t mean for her to fall in love with him. But Becky doesn’t think he’s being ambiguous. Arrrggh.
I think he’s saying that he didn’t mean for HIM to fall in love with HER but now you’ve got me wondering…
I think he does, but doesn’t want to.
Walky never did forget the “this is just a for-fun thing” attitude Dorothy approached this with from the beginning. It kind of explains a lot, him trying to reject deeper feelings about this than purely sexual, when you’re explicitly told not to get too attached, because it’s not for the long haul. That actually makes a lot of sense, it’s not just a man-child “TV sitcom plot” thing to him.
Well darn, they were right.
Is he talking about love, or his fart? Cause if it’s the fart, he should probably cut back on the Taco Bell.
Becky? What is your secret? Please let it be what I think it is!
“I’m a robot”
+1
Do you think Becky’s secret is that she’s gay and was disowned/kicked out by her parents? Because, I do.
Whew! *wipes sweat off brow* I’m glad to see that the whole Walky/Becky think isn’t gonna happen. I was gettin a little nervous. But I think it’s possible she’s in love with Joyce. I had a crush on my bestest friend (we’ve know each other since we were three, and we’re 20 now) but I got over it fairly quickly BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT. The point is that I totally feel her. I get how it can happen, and I get the confused feelings.
The other possibility is that she came down to come out to Joyce. Becky has met a girl that she has a crush on, and has come to hash things out with Joyce, maybe get some advice from a close friend. Admitting she’s in love with a girl could hurt her, her family, Joyce, her other friends…she might not want to deal with the potential backlash.
I super hope that’s the case, because I think having a lesbian friend…someone she knows is a great person, someone she’s laughed with, cried with, gone to school with is gay…and see’s how happy they are with a gay partner…well maybe she’ll be able to let Ethan go. Let both Ethan and her have truly fulfilling relationships.
*Ethan and herself. As in Joyce. Bleh maybe that was obvious but I just wanted to check
I’m still not sure she’s actually a lesbian.
Why do you think she’s a lesbian?
Because Willis?
Willis has given us surprisingly few lesbians when you think about it. Leslie, Daisy, maybe Grace and Mandy.
I dunno it’s just a theory. I’m not really 100 certain on that. Maybe she’s in love with a non-christian boy. That could be just as plausible as the lesbian theory. I was just trying to figure why she might be saying that she knows how it feels to be in love with someone, but that this love could end up hurting them in the end.
Could be anything, really.
Wow, what a bombshell at the end there.
Also, that thing that Dorothy said was pretty interesting too.
Bombshell? That sounded like a rather moderate release. Or do you expect it to ignite yet?
Dude….I just realized. Do you guys know why we’re all alive right now? Because we’ve all been smelling the farts of plants all our lives.
Mind=blown.
Consider this. At this point in the earth’s history, there’s no such thing as a drop of water that has not, at multiple points in it’s history, done shifts as vomit, feces, and urine.
This, however, does not remove the responsibility to wash yer damn hands after using the restroom. Not targeted at you, specifically, nothri, but it needs to be said nonetheless.
Breathing out is not the same as farting.
It’s not? I’ve been doing it wrong this whole time…
Becky is kinda mysterious.
Any excuse to work in Roy Orbison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJUEV46n6yY
Nice
Ominous feeling grows ominouser and ominouser.
Wait, so Dorothy loves Walky, Joyce loves Dorothy, and Becky loves… Joyce? Damn, this is getting beyond a love trapezoid over here. Somebody break out the protractor!
Where’s Robin with her chalkboard?
I’ve never wanted grab someone by the shoulders and shake them violently while screaming “GROW THE FUCK UP” more in my life.
If someone lamenting that their relationship got more serious than planned and it’s going to hurt when they’re separated from their loved one is the most infuriatingly immature thing you’ve ever witnessed, I either envy or pity you; I’m not sure which.
Like all other humor, the secret to a good fart joke is the… timing.
Also: Location, location, location.
As much fun as a Joyce/Becky ship would be, I think it entirely possible that Becky has been off living her own life at college (and even in highschool) that involves people other than Joyce–people whom she could well have loved and lost, and then turned to Joyce in need of support.
That’s pretty much my read on it – possibly with some naive, regrettable, rushing-into-sex involved as well.
Although Becky seems a little more worldly than Joyce, so may not have fallen for the first silver tongued lothario she met…
I think so too! I think she’s in love with someone she’s not supposed to be in love with. Teacher? Girl? Non christian boy? One night stand gone wrong? Who knows! Not me.
I really want Becky to just come out
im sorrywith whatever her deal is already. Just ughh. I need to know!My guess? She’s perfectly normal but feeling a bit lonely because she fell for someone who didn’t feel the same way.
Honestly, I expect she’s visiting Joyce to get over a broken heart, not because she’s pining for Joyce herself. Might want to watch out on the whole conflating straight and normal tho.
I wasn’t, I meant she had no secrets, nothing dramatic at all, just run of the mill, ordinary every day stuff.
I’d never equate straight with normal, my normal is gay as fuck.
Man, is everyone in this stop closeted?
Stop-Closeted?
Strip. Is everyone is this cartoon-strip closeted?
If I’m lucky, yes.
Next slipshine “Walky performs a gay, and it’s unsurprisingly awkward.”
Maybe. But Becky being in the closet is only speculation. I mean, it’s totally one of my theories, but so far I think Ethan is the only one in the closet. Ruth is out to her brother, and Billie is out to Walky (and now Joyce)…or maybe he made a lucky guess?
Well. I guess Danny is in the closet as well. But he’s still not sure about his queerness. I’m using queer because it hasn’t been revealed what his sexuality is! (i ID as queer because my orientation is stupid and hard to explain)
Wow I said maybe to everyone being in the closet THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT
Danny is bi (but doesn’t realize it). Word of Willis says so.
Oh okay! Thanks, I didn’t see that.
Was that a Freep or a Plotcher? If it’s the latter, go home and change your shorts, Walky. Soft serve and the smell of fresh poop do not a pleasant combination make.
I have to say, comics seem to be a bad medium for fart jokes. They annoy me more than they entertain me in this context.
Did Becky just half admit a possible love for Joyce? (being the only person we know of who might relate in a similar situation)
Or* falling for walky
Reminder that Dorothy’s parents started out as a “for-fun” relationship. Maybe Dorothy was unconsciously trying to follow that pattern?
Willis is certainly teasing us with that. More than that, he raised the specter of “What will Dorothy do” way back in the second week of Gender Studies — will she be normalized or not.
She’s already half-way to normalizing herself — she’s fallen hard for Walky — but he’s actively resisting that. I wonder if @damyouwillis is planning on them having A Talk in which he tells her that she need to carry on with her dreams, which will mean leaving him.
Classy, Walky.
The hardest farts are the ones that hurt in the end.
I may need to see a doctor.
Ok, my official guess is that Becky is a lesbian and in love with someone but it isn’t Joyce. It’s someone she met at her college and she wanted to come down and talk to her best friend about it. So I’m not on the Jecky/Boyce bandwagon. 🙂
I just really want to see Joyce freak out about it.
Because her reactions are fun and (because I might be evil?) lesbian angst.
Is Walky dating literally the only straight girl on campus.
Pretty much.
Except Amber and Sarah, of course.
And Sal
Ehhhh…
And Mary. She’s CERTAIN that she’s completely straight.
What about Amber?
I’d explain to you all the women that are strongly indicated to be straight by the canon, but it involves running over too many of my ships, which, if not soulkilling, is still somewhat painful. There may be more bi girls than normal, but Dotty is by no means the only straight girl.
I sometimes wonder if Willis is unwilling to confront lesbianism and homosexuality at some deep level and so dodges it by making people bi.
Now, don’t me wrong — I’m always thrilled to see positive examples of bisexual characters, as we’re otherwise underrecognized in both the gay and the straight communities. That said…can somebody list a bisexual character in DoA who isn’t self-destructive (Ruth and Billie), self-hating (Joyce, if she’s bi), or destructively closeted (Danny)?
Nah, there’s Leslie, the girl who is editor of the school newspaper, and Grace and Mandy (Provisionally, with the latter). Unlike in Dumbiverse, Leslie’s not really a focus character, so there’s that, and in the Dumbiverse Robin never was.
Ruth isn’t necessarily bi. All we know about her orientation that doesn’t involve girls is she learned about liking girls thanks to Billie. This doesn’t mean she wanted to nail dudes.
Anyway, answer to the question, no, not right now. It’s possible Mandy or Grace are, or Joe or Roz is, but at the moment, no, and that’s really just blindfire guessing at people who might be. OTOH, the number of people in relationships that aren’t self destructive, self hating, or destructive in other ways is short and includes Walky and Dotty. And THAT may be a presumptuous inclusion at this point. It’s no surprise there’s no happy bisexual people.
I seem to recall Willis commenting that he made people bi because bi characters have twice as many shipping options, which gives him more writing flexibility.
I kind of suspect he does it to piss off the kind of people that get pissed off about characters being revealed to be bi, too.
Ruth is, Word of God, bi, though it’s true that we haven’t really seen any evidence in the actual comics of her having a definite attraction to any guys, or really anyone at all besides Billie. (In the Walkyverse, she was with Ryan (yeah, Roofie Ryan) briefly, but it fell out badly (surprise), and it’s pretty easy to read it as Ruth not being into guys. The implications may be less unfortunate if you read it that way rather than as “pre-marital sex is bad and you should feel bad about it”, which I think was the actual message, courtesy of Willis’s fucked-up upbringing.)
By the Ethan Principle (sexualities are consistent across universes), Mandy, Grace, Sierra, and Marcie (and Guns if she’s around) are bi. We haven’t seen a whole lot of them, but they do generally seem to be leading happier lives than than the more central characters. (The “happier lives” and the “not central characters” are probably related.)
im now convinced that not only does becky love joyce that is what the title of the storyline refers to. joyce has been built up as getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of romance in her life while its still going on all around her, and now beckys getting all this subtext? totes canon
im predicting the moment when she finds out will actually be really good for her character development even though im pretty sure she wont return beckys feelings
now this is a proper f-bomb
BECKY WHAT IS YOUR DARK SECRET
becky r u gay what IS IT
did you MURDER the one you loved???? IS THAT WHY IT HURTS, BECKY???
So Becky loves Joyce, right? I can go home and consider this canon.
Aaah, the drama!
It sure sounds like it. But does Joyce roll that way? It’s certainly possible she’s bi, but it’s also possible she’s straight. There’s no evidence of feelings toward women.
Billie would beg to differ. “I could curl up in them and be warm and safe forever”, remember?
Remember that Joyce has been traumatized by her sexual assault. I wonder if she might be responding to Billie’s breasts as she would to a mother figure.
Poor Joyce.
Except almost everything she’s ever said to Dorothy. I mean, full disclosure, I ship that. But while I do honestly acknowledge that it’s totally plausible that Joyce -isn’t- secretly a roiling tornado of gay rainbows when it comes to Dorothy, she at -least- has a massive girl crush on her.
Walky’s comment that Joyce follows Dorothy around like she wants to go down on her might not actually be correct, but it’s not exactly baseless, either. (And Becky didn’t indicate that that was new behaviour, either.) Joyce stood up to her parents because she loves (her word!) Dorothy.
Maybe that’s a platonic love, and Joyce just makes really close female friendships and isn’t repressing a secret desire for their bodies… but if Joyce were harboring unrequited PSL for Dorothy, it’d be pretty indistinguishable from the way she’s actually acted. And that’s not to mention her fascination with Billie’s boobs and Sal’s hair…
And Walky’s made comments about it to Joyce’s face more than once, and, while she gets mad at him, she has yet to actually deny it. She hates homosexuality… but she hates lying just as much…
And then there’s her whole gay-panic storyline. Anyone who states unequivocally that Joyce is straight is more sure about that than Joyce herself is.
And then there’s that strip where, in the course of four panels, she expressed curiosity about the box, asked Walky if she could borrow Dorothy, and asserted that she just wanted tacos, which I cannot read as anything but subtext.
Also, she threw a toy at Dorothy’s head, which is well known to be the accepted method of wooing her.
(Though, unlike the Walkyverse, she hasn’t licked any cats yet.
She didn’t like it, but that might have just been because she got hair in her mouth.)
Sal’s hair is just amazing. I’ve known plenty of straight women who will stop and pet hair that is good on a girl (and it is ANNOYING when I am busy). I mean, it’s not evidence against, but unlike her “i want to crawl up inside them forever” I don’t count it as ‘for’ either.
PREDICTION: Becky is talking about Joyce, but only in terms of platonic, in-accordance-with-her-beliefs love. Not romantic love.
Platonic-in-accordance-with-her-beliefs love would neither change anything, nor would it be likely to hurt either of them, since by all indications, that’s what they already have going on.
Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. People are reading way into it, but I think Becky’s just talking about loving a friend, and having it hurt you when they start to grow apart from you.
Man, you guys have this all wrong. Becky isn’t in love with Joyce. Becky is actually in love with -Dorothy-. See, she snuck to campus awhile ago to visit Joyce, but got stopped short when she caught a peek of Joyce talking to Dorothy. She was smitten at first sight, and has been quietly stalking her for weeks until now, when she finally got up the courage to ask Joyce to introduce them. She obviously wanted to hang out with Walky to size up the competition.
Ruth has freckles on her butt. Thought you ought to know.
It’s getting harder and harder to keep track of which shippings have been strongly implied in the comic and which are just the product of our own wishful thinking.
Yea possible pain is a really big deterrent
It almost seems like Becky is dying from some disease and just hasn’t told anyone yet which I know is not going to happen but maybe theres a metaphor in there or something
Prediction: Becky’s in love with Joyce’s trans sibling Jocelyne. Since Becky grew up around Joyce’s family (if I recall correctly), it’d make sense if Becky got a crush on Joyce’s attractive older sibling, not knowing Jocelyne was trans.
Everyone’s making fart jokes and all I can do is headcanon that She’s in love with Joyce.
LLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSBBBBBIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN (or at least on the queer spectrum)
Did’nt Joyce make a comment to Dorothy about how wonderful it would be to find out a best friend was their soul-mate? Maybe that fore-shadowing is due to kick in?
Panel 5, now with context, extra feels.
Yeah, spinning back to see when IT was foreshadowed…
Oh, look. Jeph already made this strip better, it seems.