129

Beaming
Posted on November 16, 2022 by David M Willis

129 thoughts on “Beaming”

  1. darkoneko

    Well THAT sure was a mood whisplash

    1. darkoneko

      Really, thank you for that Danny

      1. Lumino

        Honestly, this is why Danny is Joe’s best friend. Best friends are the people who will be bluntly honest with you.

        Like when Joe said Danny’s hat was straight. Lesson didn’t stick, but the effort was there.

        1. Sporky

          No one asked for a link to the strip but I just suddenly couldn’t rest until I found it so here it is

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/04-the-do-list/stufflikethis/

        2. Decidedly Orthogonal

          You! Are a scholar and a fine example of a human being!

      2. Sharaku

        Couldn’t find the scene but i’m reminded of that moment in Gravity Falls where Sooz mocks Lazy Susan’s makeup and Mabel and Wendy explode at him.

        “He’s doing the best he can, Danny!”

        1. Wizard

          Season 2, Episode 7, Society of the Blind Eye

  2. Ana Chronistic

    prolly better than Douglas Reynholm’s tho

    1. UrsulaDavina

      He was no Truman Capote.

      1. Decidedly Orthogonal

        Maybe if he turned it off and on again?

  3. Rose by Any Other Name

    … is the Joyce pic in there? Is Danny about to see the Joyce drawing?

    1. Leorale

      Danny actually getting to talk about feelings with his bff, I want this for them.

      1. anonymsly

        Seconded! They need a good genuine non-toxic bro-down.

    2. Needfuldoer

      I’m torn between “this is how he tells Danny” and “he gave that one to her”…

  4. shadowcell

    Dumbing of Age Book 13: I Dunno If Your Good Mood Is That Warranted, These Are All Pretty Terrible

    1. MacareuxMoine

      Dumbing of Age Book 13: I Dunno If Your Good Mood Is That Warranted

      that’s totally sufficent

      1. Enaluxeme

        Dumbing of Age book 13: I’ve spent the past hour in the presence of a naked woman.

        1. Pablo360

          Dumbing of Age book 13: Check Out My Sketches

    2. Mark

      So, a kind of anti-advertising?

  5. BBCC

    Sorry, alt-text, Danny has best friend ribbing rights. Beginner status or no.

  6. Blume

    The sweetness is giving me a tooth ache. Look how happy he is!

    1. Taffy

      Yeah but his happiness is probably “inherently predatory” or something equally stupid like that, so we’re not allowed to just enjoy it with him.

  7. The Wellerman

    SquidwardEverybody’sACritic.gif ?

  8. Joe Moose

    He’s trying, dangit. Be more kind.

  9. Sirksome

    Whelp I guess he can’t draw. The idea of the complete package is a myth. Learn to settle people.

    1. The Oracle

      Never settle. There’s 8 billion people on this silly little planet, and one of them is bound to be exactly what you want. Or a murderer. It’s a coin flip.

      1. Proxiehunter

        One of them is bound to be the murderer you want.

        1. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Finally a way outta this shit-hole.

        2. Clif

          That went dark fast.

    2. Thag Simmons

      Eh you’ve gotta start somewhere.

      1. Nicoleandmaggie

        Over-rating the Jeffepp comment below. (I do think it’s more underrated than over though).

  10. jeffepp

    “Plus, Joyce and I might be dating.”

    “Who’s Joyce?”

    1. Shade of Blue

      Underrated comment.

      1. Clif

        It’s hard to rate it from above.

  11. Johan

    Joe needs a new hat and a blue art pad (blart pad) and then maybe Danny boy will accept him.

  12. DailyBrad

    It should be said, purple is a good color on Joe.

    1. Enkrod

      Color wise Joe has great fashion sense, the purple with that shade of green is just *chef’s kiss*.

      The eggplant-shirt is just a walking dick-joke though…

      1. Daibhid C

        See, I know nothing about what colours go together, but I distinctly remember being told that green and purple were a no-no unless you were a comicbook supervillain. Not that I listened.

        I think Joe’s outfit looks fine, but then I also like Danny’s hat, so what do I know?

        1. KiaStirling

          saturation and brightness are key. if you have like lime green and fluro purple, gonna look a little 1970s Marvel. But a dark purple shirt and green jeans for instance is p good.

  13. alongcameaspider

    So what are the odds he forgot to leave his Joyce sketch out of the stack he handed Danny

    1. Steelbright

      I was assuming he left it in on purpose…. But maybe communicating feelings with TWO people is a lot!

    2. aww the cute

      I kinda hope Joyce kept it.

    3. Axel

      High, but I was kind of hoping he gave it to Joyce

  14. RassilonTDavros

    Danny: professional Mood Killer

  15. Huehuetotl

    I kind of want to see the sketches too. I wonder if Willis did more of the model than the two partials we’ve seen.

    1. V.gay.person

      Triangle smile, meet trapezoid grin.

      Not proud I had to google trapezoid to check I was referring to the right shape

  16. Carla's #2 Fan

    That’s what quick figure drawing is! They’re supposed to be kind of recognizable and not much more.

  17. Suet

    Joe’s infected with the Joyce Virus. Shame.

    If everyone’s a critic, then I’m Jay Sherman

    1. Sporky

      Do you want us to buy your book?

      1. Taffy

        If a person didn’t want people to buy their book, they wouldn’t write a book in the first place.

        1. Clif

          Did you ever read “Steal This Book” by Abbie Hoffman?

  18. Jamie

    But are they better than your BFFs drawing from kindergarten, Danny?

  19. C.T. Phipps

    Everyone’s pretty sex negative in this strip except Roz.

    1. Sirksome

      Joe specifically can be pretty annoying though.

    2. BOOSTER SHOT

      Yes, I remember how sex negative Walky and Dotty were. Amazigirl is very sex negative with her always being prepared for anything. Sal hates sex. Ruth and Billie have not fucked in public on a gay demon altar. Dina’s scientific inquiry into sex is clearly sex negative.

      Danny’s joke about being on brand is less about being sex negative and more about continuing (and commenting on) literally the oldest ongoing joke/character dynamic in the multiverse that dates all the way back to the very first Roomies! strip.

    3. DailyBrad

      I think it’s mostly since Danny’s been around him for a long time and is used to his shtick. Danny and Amazi-Girl certainly weren’t sex-averse.

    4. Shade of Blue

      Dorothy, Walky, Dina, Mike (rip), Joe, Amber, Ethan—minor characters like Sierra, who is poly with several others. These characters all seem pretty sex positive to me, or at least neutral. Danny is a prude, maybe, and Becky and Joyce are programmed to feel extreme shame. Sal and Sarah seem defensive about sex.

      1. thejeff

        Dorothy has her issues about sex – mostly about know that as a woman with ambitions for public life, she’ll be judged on it.
        Not sure why Danny would be a prude. He’s had sex dangling from a grappling hook.:)
        The only signs he might be that I can think of are aimed at Joe and Joe canonically has issues about sex and women. Being concerned about Joe’s attitudes isn’t being sex negative or prudish.

        Necessary disclaimer: Yes, Joe is improving drastically and he was never as bad as he presented himself. Nonetheless.

  20. Matthew Davis

    I sure hope Danny doesn’t think Joyce was the woman in question. That would be zany, but…

  21. Taffy

    Danny, you fucked in a sound booth like 20 minutes ago. Brand or no brand, you’re the pervert here.

    1. The Wellerman

      Huh. Say Taffy, if that really did happen, wouldn’t we get a slipshine or at least a Tumblr pin-up by now?

      1. Taffy

        I don’t like to constrain myself with minor quibbles of that nature. The bun is in your mind.

      2. Bryy

        They’re right, you know.

      3. Sirksome

        They definitely banged. When the slip shine drops we’ll all pretend it was a surprise but we know the truth.

        1. The Wellerman

          I dunno. How often do slipshines get published after the storyline in which they’ve taken place?

        2. thejeff

          I doubt it honestly.
          We usually get more indication of the first time a new couple has sex.

        3. Sirksome

          Not all the time. I assume Walky and Amber had sex at least once based how astoundingly thirsty and attracted to each other they were, and most ever shown of them was implied dry humping and a few smooches. Asher and Jen have banged, we know this cause them possibly boning was used as a gag. I assume at this it’s very possible Jason and Ruth have shagged with how often he’s been seen in her room. Hookup don’t have to be shown every time, just because it’s a first time for the couple. Especially if it’s not a big deal like a possibly asexual dinosaur going Jurassic on her deeply repressed fundamentalist Christian girlfriend for the first time. Not every hook up is at that level. Sure Willis can de-confirm this if they want, but I chose to believe!

        4. thejeff

          You assume Walky and Amber, like you assume Sal and Danny.

          Asher and Jen hooked up during the timeskip and how it happened is still backstory mystery, so that’s a very different situation.

          Ruth and Jason is a fair case.

  22. Gash

    They’re SKETCHES Danny boyo, that’s what a sketch is, a shitty quick drawing, just like the comic you’re in when it was new, which was like 269 years ago in internet years!

    1. drs

      The class probably moved beyond quick warm-up sketches. And I imagine there’s a wide range of quality even for those.

  23. Bryy

    Seems art class has awakened something in Joe that isn’t in his pants.

    1. PirateTawnee

      So that isn’t a pencil in his pocket then?

  24. Segnosaur

    Wait a sec .. has Danny seen the Joyce/Joe picture? Maybe he should before he criticizes the art.

    It’s good to see Joe in a good mood, and not upset that Joyce didn’t immediately reciprocate his feelings.

  25. John Campbell

    No, no, Joe… tell him you and Joyce just spent an hour with a naked woman.

  26. bagge

    Yeah, not even a dragon

  27. Yotomoe

    I’m not gonna take that kinda criticism from a guy in a hat.

    1. Needfuldoer

      What if the hat’s a beret, and he adopts a thick faux-French accent?

  28. Taffy

    Random unrelated musing: Y’all know how a person might get some sleep when they’ve got severe, debilitating, mental anguish-inducing sleep anxiety/paranoia? The kind where literally any amount of sensory input or lack thereof is completely unhelpful, ranging from headphones being impossible to keep on, to silence causing their brain to conjure up sounds/light/vibrations out of nothing, to dark rooms being too “empty”, to lit rooms being too stimulating, and so on and so forth, and even sleep-assist medicine doesn’t work most of the time? It’s for a book.

    1. not someone else

      My only real suggestion is serious physical exertion, possibly including enough sugar to induce a crash (preferably not including caffeine).

      1. Leorale

        This is a good one! The character could try utterly exhausting their body, that sounds like a good active scene. (Handy if you need the character to run into anything, too.)

    2. Leorale

      Are heavier sleep-inducing drugs an option?
      Lots of descriptions online about what that can feel like.

      1. Leorale

        Oh yeah also I used to have a 100lb Akita named Hiro, who was a very good dog, and who decided it was his job to Protecc. He used to do his rounds in the night, checking every window in order, before settling in. Anything potentially unusual or dangerous would wake him right up — so if Hiro was asleep, that meant there was nothing dangerous anywhere around.

        Most people have trouble falling asleep to somebody else’s snores, but for me, the sound of gentle snores — especially dog snores — is the most soothing sound in the world.

    3. Needfuldoer

      Warp engine ambient sound loops usually work for me.

      Then again, I generally don’t have a problem falling asleep unless it’s at a hotel. Fuck trying to sleep at hotels; even if the walls are insulated so you don’t hear the THUMPASPRUNG next door, it’s an unfamiliar environment previously inhabited by who-knows-who.

      1. Clif

        Currently, I’m a fan of headphones and long boring YouTube videos. Shut your eyes and listen. Prevents your own thought from keeping you awake and you drift right off. Needless to say, you don’t want it loud enough that it’s going to wake you during the night, just long enough to hear.There are a lot of academic videos out there that will do the trick.

        1. Clif

          loud enough*

    4. Sam

      As a paranoid/anxious type of person who has in fact had trouble sleeping on occasions due to constant running thoughts or overly fixating on sounds or light, it usually depends on what specifically is bothering me.

      Is it a sound or level of light that is too stimulating? Then the best thing to do is turn off that thing. Even if that then makes it too quiet or too dark. It may not allow immediate sleep but after half an hour of adjustment can lead to sleep.

      But an alternative may be that they just don’t have a sleeping at night pattern – they may sleep during the day where there is both a higher level of ambient light and noise to begin with because that is easier than ever trying to sleep at night.

      If they have access to other technologies, night lights and white noise machines are commonly used by people to create the right ‘level’ of sound and light. But another option is a fan – some people find the exact noise level of certain fans to be helpful and soothing without being overwhelming.

      Psychologically some approaches that might work are telling themselves they are lying down just to rest not to sleep over and over. When sleeping is no longer the goal, this can reduce anxiety and make it easier to fall asleep for some people.

      Another method can be, depending on if the sleeping location is consistent, getting up after 30 minutes if not asleep to do things in other rooms and come back when tired again. This can be part of trying to recondition yourself to sleep in your bed when you have insomnia issues and would otherwise lie awake for hours.

      If my thoughts are racing then it is also important to push them away. Engaging in them for me keeps me awake and makes it more difficult to fall asleep than going ‘nope, not now’.

      But it also REALLY depends on what this character has available and WHY they are so anxious/paranoid. Because if they’re in danger, they’re more likely to have insomnia and be unable to decide somewhere is safe enough to sleep in the first place. And if they are somewhere safe but have urgent things they feel obligated to do or still feel too under threat, they may have broken sleep even if they do briefly fall into it, waking up in random mostly small chunks of 1 minute, 10 minutes, 7 minutes, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 12 minutes etc..

      Another thing that might help, assuming anti-anxiety meds aren’t an option, is to share a room or bed with a friend. Having someone nearby that they can trust could be a great comfort in feeling safer. Knowing there is someone nearby who can comfort you, could make it easier to sleep, reduce bad dreams/nightmares, and ultimately reduce the need for being comforted because you feel less anxious.

    5. Schpoonman

      I’m very partial to long videos on YouTube with black screens and rain ambience. The ones with occasional thunderclaps may hurt, they may help, I’ve found that I prefer the videos with just rain.

      Very unironically, Beneath the Mask -Rain- from the Persona 5 soundtrack is a gift, and I wish there were more videos of that track with rain ambience and a black screen.

    6. Nova

      Dark room with a light LED strip on somewhere to give it ambient light. An audiobook you don’t care about playing so soft you can’t quite make out what’s being said. A scent you like, a blanket you like, a cold pack on your chest (believe me, it helps so much), and a mind exercise like the following:

      – Senses: From your place in bed, remember something in your house you can see, something you can hear, something you can smell, something you can touch.

      – Counting: From your place in bed, remember something there is five of in your house, something there is four of, something there is three of, etc.

      – Colour: From your bed, remember something in your house that is red, then orange, then yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black.

      Don’t be afraid to sleep in unusual places and unusual ways. There’s nothing wrong with not sleeping in a bed perfectly straight the way “you’re supposed to” if it helps you. For a while when my anxiety was at it’s worst, I actually slept across the foot of the bed. I don’t know why it helped, but it really did. If your anxiety about sleep is related to something bad that happened to you while you were asleep/in bed/otherwise trusting and vulnerable, don’t be afraid to move your bed around so that you can sleep with your back to a wall for a bit as I found this limited my worries about where and how trouble could approach.

      Eat a carb heavy meal for dinner, take melatonin, go for walks outside in the middle of the day when it’s sunny (because this increases production of vitamin D which helps to regulate your sleep cycle). And, if you aren’t already, consider going to therapy to find the root of whatever is triggering that kind of severe mental anguish and anxiety.

      Whatever the case, I am sorry you can’t get the sleep you need right now. I hope it improves.

    7. miri

      Actual prescription medication from a doctor was the only thing that helped me.

    8. Joy

      Night light, prescription medication, white noise, ear plugs, clean but not minimalist room…

      Healthy diet and exercise. Avoid taking antipsychotics for sleep (the side effects aren’t worth it, and there are less risky options.)

    9. Taffy

      All really good ideas, thanks y’all! I’ll be sure to screenshot this thread and keep it handy.

    10. Autogatos

      I often put on a feel-good nostalgic show during moments like this, until I feel calm enough to sleep. Either a cartoon or something like Scrubs.

  29. Steelbright

    Joe might look the most adorable he’s ever looked with his grin in panel 1

  30. Needfuldoer

    But is the one of him and Joyce in there, or did he give that one to her?

    1. Heather

      Joyce would put it on her fridge if she had one.

      1. DailyBrad

        God, imagine if she hung that up without alerting Sarah in any way. She’d be very confused.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Since tomorrow’s the last strip of the chapter, I bet Joyce is going to tape it to the wall near her other posters. Sarah can notice it and have that revelation DoA-tomorrow.

        2. thejeff

          But without context, she’d think Joyce drew it

  31. Pylgrim

    Ohh like Joyce, Joe is learning to make fun of his own stereotype as he moves away from it,

  32. Andrews

    Apropos of nothing other than I am rereading DoA at the moment, Willis draws a hot clavicle

  33. Axel

    next panel: joe angrily explaining what gesture drawings are

  34. Ophidiophile

    Well of course it’s bad; it’s a first step. I knew a professor of art who claimed that the reason figure studies were done in art class was because everyone starts out really really demoralized by how bad they are, and drawing, painting, sculpting, and photographing nude women was the only thing that could motivate most people to stick with until they were good.

  35. Cerusee

    It’s nothing but warm fuzzies this week. Joe is so happy! He told the girl he liked that he liked her and she smiled at him about it! A lot! Good times!

  36. 'Drew Bergy

    Did anyone else notice David add the pic of BATMAN in the first panel to honor the passing of Kevin Conroy? Nice touch good sir, and yes he can still breathe on the Moon…

  37. Nova

    I’m enjoying the fact that there doesn’t yet seem to be the same energy for Danny’s critique (which doesn’t even help Joe improve) and Joyce’s critique the other day (which, while blunt, was at least more helpful than “wow these are bad”.)

    That’s all, have a good day.

  38. Amós Batista

    Dude even folded his sketchs and put in the pocket, hahahaha.
    Yes, Danny, he’s trying.

  39. ValdVin

    Do these two have Long-Married Couple energy?

    1. Daibhid C

      “You guys are a little married, huh?” -Jacob, approximately three minutes after meeting them.

      1. ValdVin

        For sure!

  40. jpnr

    is danny being a good bro by being honest?

    or being a bad bro by not being supportive?

    1. jpnr

      ah, but joyce kept the drawing he made of her, right?

  41. Rabisch

    Yep. This is the beginning of Joe’s artistic career. He will go to that class and follow every lesson next to Joyce.

  42. Raeconteur

    Aaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww.

    That’s all I’ve got, I’ve been rooting for these two for a hot minute.

  43. Geneseepaws

    That is a cruel comment to a student artist. Even if they are Bad! don’t be harsh on the critique, lest the incipient artist quit altogether. Feel free to offer what you Do Like about the work, and save the criticism for the gallery or salon opening.

    1. Grayfinity

      I mean yeah, that’s a bit harsh. But withholding negative criticism is just as bad as being overly harsh. A person must know how to deliver said criticism in a way that doesn’t seem like an attack.

      i.e. Dan says that all of Joe’s sketches are terrible. How he should have said it would be something along the lines of, “It’s not great but there is room for improvement” followed by why he thinks the art is bad/where he could improve.

    2. Alex

      I think it’s pretty on-brand for Joe and Danny’s friendship.

      1. Axel

        Also for Danny in general. Like his whole thing rn is saying exactly what comes into his head

  44. shrub

    Have to say I’m really enjoying the positivity, the joy, the sheer niceness of the current Joe-Joyce storyline

    Seeing the growth of change in both characters and growing maturity in both is a really good change of pace and hopefully it’ll continue for a good while yet

  45. BowlerHatGuy

    Im fine shilping Joe and Joyce. As long as it doesnt come out that Joe really only ever had sex with, like, 2 people or something. That trope has been beaten to death

  46. Roe

    wait so are we shipping joe and dorothy or no?

    1. Roe

      i mean joe and joyce lol

    2. The Wellerman

      Most likely, yes.

      But don’t take my word for it. My brain is currently melted by a day worth of coding for DoA fan games ?

  47. JBP

    Hmmmm. Batman poster on wall in first panel. Apropos right now.

  48. StClair

    Sure, Dan, and you were an expert uke player from the first day you picked it up. *eyeroll*

  49. Ymbrael

    Holy shit, I caught up!

    Started reading around the beginning of Autumn (which was kinda neat being basically the same time of year as the comic up until the timeskip).

    Just in time to wait with baited breath for potential league of the Joeyce ship sailing, haha.

    Anyway, fantastic webcomic you have here, really been enjoying it!

    1. Ymbrael

      *each potential league

      First comment and I’m already failing to proofread… X.X

      1. The Wellerman

        No worries. And that’s fantastic!!! ?

        Hello and welcome to the comments section! We’re a diverse community that likes discussing things and screwing around and having fun!

        Also great music! ?

        *plays “Welcome Mitsuha Tsugaku” on hacked muzak*

  50. Marvelman

    Is that Batman pic a tribute to Kevin Conroy?

    1. The Wellerman

      That was in there since the very start of Roomies 25 years ago. Willis loved Kevin Conroy and the Batman he played so much, and he’s especially emotional about his death, as am I. ?

      o7 RIP to a legend.

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