255

Chattin
Posted on October 13, 2013 by David M Willis

255 thoughts on “Chattin”

  1. vsophi

    this may just be the cutest thing ever

    1. Skull025

      I dunno. Episode 14 of Season 3 was pretty damn cute with Monkey Master cuddling that excitable uni-duck. Shame Dexter blew up the living room, but what can you do?

      1. Kerry

        Well, if we’re gonna dip into the Monkeyverse, then it’s gotta be the one where D&MM were hit with that reverse-aging beam! I think it was episode… 2, season 4?

        1. Rani

          I forgot D&MM had cute things after that 2 hour finale. Staple guns, Justice Department Stationery and stuffed animals were never the same for me after that

        2. Rani

          *season finale.

        3. Kerry

          You and many, many others, my friend.

        4. ryu

          I still for the life of me can’t figure out if It was an actual show, or if you guys are just doing another meme that I don’t get because I don’t comment, I just read.

      2. Kerry

        Oh yeah, Totz made a big ol’ list of all the episodes we’ve got so far, didn’t they? I found it again, but I’m not sure if they ever followed through on the whole “synopsis for every episode” thing.

        Anything happen with that, Totz?

    2. Kerry

      lolwut, my comment disappeared.

      Anyway, second time in a row I’ve been first + name change! :B

      1. saltchocolate

        It’s still you, vsophi?

        1. Kerry

          yep

        2. saltchocolate

          I should have realized — that’s your own fab Joshua avatar, not one of Willis’s (fab) gravs.

        3. Kerry

          You flatter me. /bows

    3. Milae

      Actually the cutest thing ever was one of the scenes where Joyce did something silly because of her religious beliefs and Dorothy looks at her fondly and tells Joyce that she was cute/adorable.

      No, wait, it was the time when Dorothy was trying to talk Joyce out of going to the big scary party where bad things would happen and Dorothy admitted that she was scared of them too and then Joyce said that was why she had to go because she needed to do it for Dorothy. <3

    4. Gemma Weasley

      Lilo and Stitch! Awww

  2. Tunaro

    Dude’s an AWESOME brother

    1. Pier

      Pretty awesome borther indeed.

      1. Pier

        *brother

        1. Sam

          borther borther borther

        2. dragonbrain

          Bother bother bother bother

        3. Pier

          other other other other other

          …is this how it goes? 😀

        4. PureFedora

          Ther Ther Ther…. This doesn’t roll off the tongue anymore…

        5. saltchocolate

          Her her her her her her her

        6. Mr. Random

          Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…

        7. Stereo

          RRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

        8. Historyman68

          Saltchocolate inadvertently called it

        9. Buckybone

          bork bork bork

        10. Allcool-dontcare

          C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER^^^

        11. borther

          sorry i’m late the ghost train was late

    2. Aizat

      Yeah, and unlike some so called “awesome brother”, he didn’t kill the entire family and then proceed to mind rape his younger sibling.

      1. Leorale

        Sasuke? is that you?

        1. Aizat

          And don’t get me started on Sasuke.

      2. norj

        Who hasn’t wanted to destroy the mind of an annoying sibling?

        1. Spliced

          You’re being too nice. You should really be asking, who hasn’t harbored an intense hatred and fuel for the utter annihilation of that petulance upon the world that shares your home and uses your bathroom…

        2. Aizat

          Wow, that is dark….and strangely, attracting.

        3. Spliced

          thanks, I write stuff

        4. norj

          After the crap my brother pulled on work today, I agree I am being too nice the little jerk needs to roasted alive and then buried on a ton of rocks.

        5. Aizat

          Is it before or after you kill your entire family?

      3. Tsakta

        Thanksgiving was super awkward that year.

    3. Yotomoe

      Your other brother’s can’t deny!

  3. Galatine

    Rereading the last strip, I noticed that Josh’s expression actually got kind of scary. Ethan’s lucky Joyce turned up. Joyce? Not so much.

    1. Spliced

      I agree. Josh looked very intimidating. If Ethan’s serious about “giving straight a try” like he seemed to think a few strips ago, I’d say that look is scary enough for him to never look at a guy again without getting a little nervous…

      The above paragraph could also be read as: Your Joe Eyebrow avatar continues to impart wisdom.

      1. Kerry

        Oh god, that is an awful possibility. Ugh, Ethan, why… ; – ;

        1. Kerry

          I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO BILL ABOUT THE EMOTES

        2. Yotomoe

          YOU NEVER LISTEN!!! WE KEEP TRYING TO HELP YOU!

        3. Kerry

          OH GOD I’M DANNY

        4. Heavensrun

          Hey now, there’s no reason to be that hard on yourself.

        5. Kaci

          If it was a matter of being ” hard on myself”, they’d be Faz

        6. Anime fan

          Oh God. You ARE DANNY!

        7. Anime fan

          OH GOD! I’M DANNY TOO!!!1111!!!1!!1!1!1!!!

        8. Kerry

          You’re MORE Danny though. You’re like, a full Danny. I’m only a were-Danny.

      2. E.R.

        Am I the only one who thinks he doesn’t look angry? It looked more confused/concerned to me.

        1. Leorale

          It was a “What-is-going-on; must-protect-sister” face. I have seen it many a time.

        2. saltchocolate

          I’ll bet this horsing around was a ploy to put some distance between them and Ethan, so he can talk to Joyce privately.

          “So . . . has your boyfriend tried to get past first base?”
          (Is this realistic? Would he just come right out and warn her? I don’t have brothers, so I’m not sure!)

        3. Logician

          as a brother with two sisters I can assure you: ANY queries about what boyfriends have got up to are stomped on hard.

        4. Bob

          On the flipside, I’ve have had to invoke the TMI card a few times when my sister talked about her boyfriends.

  4. Jen Aside

    that was convenient timing

  5. Hoboturtle

    I like this guy, he is very funny. Very funny guy.

  6. brionl

    My brother and I only act like that when we’re around my sister’s kids. Mostly to embarrass them.

  7. Dragonwheel

    A sibling is never too old to exploit gravity.

    1. saltchocolate

      +1

    2. Pier

      Hmm.. Another Joshua “Gravity” fanart ensues. 😀

    3. EvergreenFir

      Gravity Falls?

    4. Yotomoe

      I mean, if they didn’t, they’d float into space.

  8. norj

    Willis! we demand to know Joshua’s secret.

    1. EvergreenFir

      He’s a furry. Otter fursona. Got $4 riding on it.

      1. Aizat

        Or he’s a freaking cyborg….ninja.

        1. Keroshino

          A ninja? Cowabunga! Go ninja, go ninja go!

      2. norj

        You people and Google have led to some truly disturbing corners of the Internet.

        1. EvergreenFir

          What do you mean by “you people”?

        2. Yotomoe

          Racist against the internet!

        3. Glynvel

          Wait, what do YOU mean by “What do you mean by ‘You People?'”

        4. Rheinman

          You don’t know the half of it. It’s Rule 34 all the way down.

        5. Cybersnark

          War is good for business?

          Wait, wrong rule 34.

        6. The Candyman

          The two should never be mixed up. For the mental safety of us all.

      3. Kerry

        The person with the Joshua grav supports this.

    2. Jack Finch

      I’m tellin y’all he’s become a Mormon. Look at his eye’s man!

      1. EvergreenFir

        Hm… they do seem soulless… but that might be from living in Indiana

        1. Spliced

          Indiana O_O

        2. ninja_jesus

          We are Indiana.

        3. Jack Finch

          Death to Magic, all hail the Bird
          Death to Magic, all hail the Bird

        4. Bill

          Everybody’s heard that the Bird is the word.

        5. Mr. Random

          You sir, are a ninja bird.

      2. NightmareWarden

        I’m tellin’ you that this “freestyle writer” actually writes naughty stories! The erotica rises from the graves. All hail the pornomancer!
        He embraces the heresy of “gettin’ freaky deeky” and “gettin’ down with ya bad selves”. Yo.

      3. Yotomoe

        His eyes hired a man.

  9. sekritly

    Damn, that’s adorable.

    1. Tom T.

      That’s just the word I was thinking of!

    2. Tom T.

      Adorable, I mean; not damn.

      1. Leorale

        “that’s”

  10. Trolldrool

    I don’t think I’ve ever loved Joshua as much as I do right now.

  11. Ray Radlein

    See? Ethan does make Joshua go weak in the knees!

    1. Pier

      from one of the positions in the fanart, it seems. 😛

    2. Doctor_Who

      Seems to be getting stiff as well.

      1. saltchocolate

        wah-waaahhh.

  12. Darth

    Being the older brother rocks.

    1. Doctor_Who

      Oldest of five here. Can confirm.

    2. Aizat

      Not for me. I got a brat of a younger brother.

      1. Spliced

        I’m a middle child!

      2. norj

        I share your pain Aizat.

    3. Yotomoe

      I’m the older brother, the younger brother and the middle brother.

      1. Rutee

        The omnibrother?

        1. The Candyman

          The All-Brother.

        2. Kernanator

          Brother of every single Norse god and goddess. Don’t ask how that works, it just does.

        3. Bill

          But how about the married gods, like Thor and Sif?

        4. Mr. Random

          Once upon a time, all the gods had an orgy.
          The details are in on a single fanfiction site.
          At the bottom is a number that when given to the right bank. Will grant you all my wealth.
          I left everything in One Piece.

    4. Kiggy

      Hear hear

  13. saltchocolate

    When Joyce has a boyfriend who is really into her, he’ll act just like her brother at times. Some of the best parts of dating are finding someone you can be goofy with. (And then there are the *other* best parts, which do not involve sibling-like behavior at all!)

    1. Kerry

      Whenever I think of how heart-warmingly awesome Joyce is going to turn out, I think of all the cast members who are pretty much hopeless from where we’re standing.

      Sal, Ethan, Amber, Danny… it’s really depressing.

      1. saltchocolate

        Maybe I’m gender-biased, but I don’t think Sal and Amber are hopeless. Both of them are pretty amazi-ing, but in ways that aren’t immediately apparent to those around them. They just have to find the right channels for their strengths. Ethan and Danny . . . they need spines. I’ve heard you can grow them, but only time will tell.

        1. Kerry

          I’m not saying that they won’t be able to work things out eventually. All of the cast will. But for now, there’s no real resolution in sight, y’know? Everything’s so uncertain for them, and they’re all so alone…

          So many feels.

        2. saltchocolate

          I wonder. The only other webcomic I’ve read through to a conclusion did tie everything up with a nice bow. But I suspect Willis may not end things so neatly. (Veiled SP! reference…)

        3. Kerry

          He’ll probably leave a lot of things open-ended, and not everything will be perfect, but I doubt he’ll leave them complete shells. They won’t be totally fixed, but they’ll at least be patched up, y’know?

        4. saltchocolate

          That sounds right, yeah.

      2. Spliced

        I’m a little nervous that Dorothy will meet Joshua and decide to go with him instead of Walky :/

        1. Kerry

          Woah, where’d you get that idea from? It sounds intriguing, devastating, and eerie (both blondes with glasses) all at once.

        2. Spliced

          Well, it actually came from this strip. The playful way Josh isn’t quite letting Joyce push him to meet her friend, the way he just told Ethan he’s not gay… it all suddenly seems to me to be adding up to this dramatic, cliched but still possible occurrence:

          Joshua walks up, still laughing from his and Dorothy’s playful sibling spat. Dorothy has been talking to her parents, her cheeks still flush from the relief and adrenaline of her best friend standing up for her. She’s turning from talking to Joyce’s mom, he’s looking up from his sister’s latest remark, and it happens. Their eyes meet. In that moment, everything else is forgotten, as, helpless… hapless… Both families, Joyce, and Walky look on in amazement, confusion, and in some cases, horror.

          But the lovers notice naught. For time has stopped to them. Everything about the other calls: the glasses, the blonde hair, the somehow instinctual knowledge of hidden depths, a yearning to do better, do MORE, and never quite knowing how… They walk toward each other, look deeply into each others’ eyes, each others’ very soul…

          And then break away awkwardly and deny everything.

        3. Kerry

          Oh… oh god.

          That would be distressing.

        4. Spliced

          you can see it all now, too, can’t you? D:

        5. Kerry

          It’d be like a repeat of Ethan’s room… only this time, Joshua would be Ethan.

        6. Spliced

          NO!!

        7. The Candyman

          I’ve actually thought about Joshua/Dorothy, but up until now considered it the crackiest ship Willis could throw at us.

        8. Kerry

          Silly Candyman, clearly Joshua/Naomi is the crackiest ship.

          “J-Joshua?! What are you doing with my mom?!”
          “Now you know how I feel!”

        9. Kaci

          With Mike watching holding a nicole

        10. Kerry

          Is Nicole someone else’s mom? Billie’s, maybe?

    2. ProfessorZoot

      Umm, we hope . . . (ero manga scars throbbing).

  14. JessWitt

    Sorry for going off topic but I really want to ask. What does the previous chapter’s title “Answers to Hennessy” mean exactly?

    1. so279

      “Hennessy” is a brand of cognac. My guess is that it is a reference to Ruth’s hidden alcoholism; hidden, expensive, alcoholism if she drinks Hennessy.

      1. JessWitt

        Ahh, alright. Thanks for enlightening me, so279.

        1. JessWitt

          Also, I’m not much of an alcohol drinker so the word Hennessy doesn’t ring a bell with me. Heineken on the other hand gets me as chipper as ol’ Mikey here.

      2. Arkadi

        I doubt she actually drinks Henessy XD Willis probably chose that brand just for the pun.

    2. C.

      It’s a joke on “Answers in Genesis” and Ruth’s drunken stupor.

      1. JessWitt

        Thanks c. I thought the title was a pun on something but wasn’t familiar with AiG at all. Tnx again.

        1. Whittier

          Getting familiar with AiG will eat away at your IQ.

        2. Kerry

          That’s a rude thing to say about Amazi-Girl.

          …You were talking about Amazi-Girl, right?

        3. Thasvaddef

          Just look at Danny

      2. Rheinman

        I first read that as Guinness. Brilliant!

      3. David Willis

        This is correct!

    3. Jason

      I was under the impression that Hennessey is the name of one of the dorms at IU…maybe the one the characters live in?

  15. Ragnal

    WELP, looks like I was right, it’s another “we’re never gonna know his dealie” situation.

    1. Leorale

      He’ll reveal it eventually. Gotta wait for the slingshot to pull back for maximum effect.

      1. Kerry

        Yep, pretty much.

    2. Luzahn

      We need to wait until as many people as possible are around to hear it, though.

  16. Thanks, I'll Have Another!

    Yup, this is exactly how a lot of the close siblings I know act with each other. Your knack with handling incidental interactions like this is uncanny, Mr. Willis.

  17. Leorale

    When my brothers and I were little, we invented a game called “crush me”, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.

  18. dailybrad

    I love this guy.

  19. Kernanator

    Every time I see siblings interact in fiction, it’s like looking at an alien species.

    1. saltchocolate

      Only child?

      1. Spliced

        Actually I kind of get it, and I have more siblings than you could shake a stick at.

        Well, at the very least the average person’s arm would get pretty tired about half way through. Especially if you had to go to where each of them were at. Matt’s off deep sea fishing in Alaska, for example.

      2. Kernanator

        Yep yep.

        1. Yotomoe

          Me too!

    2. Aizat

      I feel the same way too. What I wouldn’t give for a perfect family…

      1. Spliced

        get married and make one! 😀

        1. saltchocolate

          Or don’t get married and make one!

        2. Spliced

          huh, I didn’t think of that

        3. NightmareWarden

          Buy a science lab-kit and make one!

        4. saltchocolate

          Get out your pens and paper (laptop & graphics program) and make one!

        5. Yotomoe

          Dig up some dead guys and stitch them together and send rapid voltage through the neck using lightning and make one!

        6. NightmareWarden

          Get out your legos and make one!

        7. Kerry

          Have kinky mage sex with a witch in order to channel the essence of a giant dragon somewhere less destructive and make one!

        8. Aizat

          Use a DNA of the world’s greatest soldier, fertilized an egg with that DNA and transfer the egg to a surrogate mother(preferably related to that soldier) and then abort 6 out of 8 embryos.

        9. Yotomoe

          You forgot to say, “AND MAKE ONE”

        10. Aizat

          That’s going to be a bit tough….but thanks for the advice.

      2. saltchocolate

        “Perfect family”? Those are *only* in fiction. (But not in the good fiction. “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”)

    3. timemonkey

      I know, right? Every time I see things like this I’m all ‘this never happens’ but then everyone else is all ‘oh yeah, that’s the best’.

  20. Leorale

    Oh man, this one time, I was on the couch with this only-child who is like twice my size, and I kicked him off the couch and he fell down. And he was like, “Why did you kick me off the couch?” and I was all “Why did kicking make you fall??”

    1. Spliced

      You lead an interesting life

    2. Yotomoe

      You’re lucky the only child wasn’t me or that story would end with “and then he punched me in the face repeatedly.”

      1. Leorale

        It probably helped that I was a cute girl who was into him.

    3. FatLilPancake

      My spouse & I once hosted a game meetup where one of our guests was an extrodinary, but sheltered, only child. Educating him on all the goofs siblings pull on one another was fun!

  21. Regalli

    Ah, siblings. Sometimes you fight the same Gym Leader five goddamn times in a row for them, sometimes you pretend you can’t walk just to get on their nerves.

  22. Jack Finch

    This is like my two kids. Elder brother, little sister. They adore each other.

  23. Joebo

    Yeah, seems about right. 😀

  24. Kell

    Perfect display of sibling shenanigans! 🙂

  25. Aizat

    So adorable…and I don’t use that word a lot.

  26. Yotomoe

    Joshua is the best brother.

    1. Aizat

      Best bro ever…next to Kyoji.

    2. saltchocolate

      He is a wonderful brother — which definitely sinks the Joshuthan ship. No way is this dude cheating with his little sister’s boyfriend, whether he’s bi, pan, trans, or poly. Not happening.

      Also not happening: Joyce and Ethan. Wow. Could they have any less chemistry in this strip??

      1. Kerry

        Joyce and Joshua have more chemistry than Joyce and Ethan.

        …Brain bleach, $20/gallon.

        1. Leonou

          Did you find it ? Oh thank God you found it ! Quick give it to me, I still need it to forget Yotomoe’s sin against nature (aka DinaxFaz ship …eurgh.)

        2. fintikisniko

          Any ship with faz shall be sunk at once

        3. saltchocolate

          That’s a funny comment from someone who’s so aware of all the variations of desire as you. Chemistry need not be sexual — or it need not be about having sex, anyway. That said, the reason we *have* an incest taboo is because there are many excellent reasons why close family members should not be acting on attraction to one another. You don’t have to prohibit things that aren’t within the realm of possibility.

          *That* said, I didn’t mean to imply that Joshua and Joyce have sexual chemistry. They just have fun being with each other — which should be true of an SO too!

        4. Kerry

          Just, uh, just making a joke. :B

          Though I gotta say, my suspicions are confirmed further down the page.

        5. saltchocolate

          Sorry!!

  27. Beachfox

    Dammit, Joshua, you are too gosh darn -adorable- to be straight! Stop that! Stop being so adorable this instant!

    1. Aizat

      Maybe adorableness runs in the family.

      1. Arkadi

        Must have skipped a generation, then *looks at Joyce’s parents*

    2. Yotomoe

      Damn, I guess I can’t be adorable. *gains 30 pounds and farts*.

    3. andiemus

      Um…. ouch.

  28. anonreader1

    awww so cute! I just want to cuddlewuddle them both! 😀

  29. RandomReader

    Is this the creation of a new ship I spot?

    1. Kerry

      …w what

    2. Rutee

      I like the cut of your gib.

      1. Kerry

        guys you’re scaring me

    3. Yotomoe

      I’m revoking your boating liscense.

      1. Rutee

        That’s a serious problem. You can get it reinstated listening to Jazz Boatman though.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxxnq5YAVHw
        Everything I learned about boats, I learned from the internet.

    4. EvergreenFir

      maybe that’s his secret…

      1. Kerry

        I forgot to put sister-lover on the list from yesterday… /withers to the finest of dust

    5. Brando

      Why in the hell… EWWWWWWWWWWW!

  30. Tahkuya

    HA! I do that to my little sister too, and trust me Joyce’s calm hides a storm.

    1. Axel bander

      Okay, I’m sorry, but I read this comment AFTER reading a comment chain about a shipping between Joyce and her brother, so I made connections that didn’t need to be made. I apologize.

      1. Tahkuya

        HAHAHAHAHAHA AWW HELL NAW

  31. fang

    This cute sort of roughhousing never happens between me and my sister. She did chase me with a huge pair of scissors once though. She was always terrorizing me, and we fought a lot lol. We live together now though, so we’re more or less ok pfft.

  32. Darth Cariss

    JoyceXethan 5ever

    1. Milae

      Nuuuuu!!!!! JoycexDorothy!

      I keep telling you people… do a search of all the strips both Joy-Joy and Dotty have been seen together and then tell me they haven’t been coming together…

      I look at those two and how they have interracted together such as calling each other cute and adorable and saying how they’d brave scary things just for each other and I just go… squeeee!

      1. Kerry

        I’ve been drawing a lot of Joyce/Dorothy lately. Once I get it all scanned in and inked, I do hope you will enjoy it. ;B

        1. Leorale

          Yay more arts

  33. caesaria82

    What an adorably cute moment in the midst of all these FEELS. Something terrible is about to happen tomorrow, right? I mean, laughs and cuteness!? Something MUST be up!

  34. rhelmot

    “Joyce, I dunno if I can accept your beliefs. I think there used to be dinosaurs.”

    “There are not! Joshua, the Earth isn’t old enough for this!”

    “I think the evidence disagrees.”

    1. Kerry

      No, no, no, Joyce knows dinosaurs exist…

      …She just thinks that they all lived at the same time (along with humans and like, dogs, I guess).

      1. Bill

        “Joyce knows dinosaurs exist…”

        Of course they did, and the US Gov’t even endorses the fact:
        http://creationrevolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/alleyoop.jpg

  35. Kennisiou

    Oh my god I have done this exact thing to my younger sister. I do it regularly.

    David Willis you write young adult siblings so well. Joyce and her brother relate so believably.

  36. David

    Well, Ethan better see his parents off before they start talking to anybody else.

  37. annabanana

    Does Joyce know that Ethans gay?

    1. Milae

      Yes, she knows he is gay now. But she is using him as a shill to hide the fact that she is totally into Dorothy. In fact she’s even hiding it from herself but if you look into the strips they’ve shared together and some of the comments they’ve posted in the ‘tweets’ section it becomes obvious.

      Ok – JoycexDorothy shipping aside and into the ‘canon’ explanation. Joyce feels that it is her mission in life to convert him to being straight and also feels he’s the perfect boyfriend because no way would he want hanky-panky before the wedding.

      1. Kerry

        It’s more complicated than “[she] feels that it is her mission in life to convert him to being straight”. I don’t think Joyce ever thought it was her duty in the first place. They came to an agreement, deciding it was the best thing for both of them that they resist temptation together.

        Also, idk, I kinda think Joyce really does like Ethan. Perhaps not love, but…

      2. Thasvaddef

        Or after the wedding…

  38. Milae

    Ok, honestly… Willis if you read this I have a question for you. How would you feel about my making a video which has bits and pieces from various scenes of your webcomic for the Joyce & Dorothy pairing theme and posting it on you-tube for the Joyce & Dorothy pairing?

    I wanted to ask before doing it for multiple reasons. I didn’t want you to feel like I was trying to steal your work or insult your canonical story, I didn’t want to upset you as you’ve said that Joyce is somewhat of an autobiography character and I didn’t want to make it seem like I was pressing for gender choices for you personally, and also because you may honestly hate the concept of the pairing and never want it to see the light of day and I respect your work enough to accept that. xD

    1. David Willis

      I am super fine with stuff like that.

      1. Kerry

        Creators who like the fandom and the stuff they do for said fandom make me very, very happy.

  39. Raznaak

    It’s strange seeing a weak Joyce. I went through Willis’ original comic recently and that continuum’s Joyce can bench-press a few hundred kilograms and maybe more than a ton…

    1. Thasvaddef

      Joshua is an android made of osmium and weighs 1000 kg.

  40. Andrew_C

    I demand to know why there hasn’t been a “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother” joke yet! The service here is appalling.

    1. Jason

      Does seem sort of obvious in retrospect, doesn’t it? But perhaps that reference is too old for most of DoA’s readers.

      1. Bill

        Not this particular reader, at least.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl5vi9ir49g

  41. Orangey

    awhhhhh this reminds me of lilo and stitch… I’m going to have to watch that again soon

  42. Biege

    so, joshua is some form of cat? I knew it!

  43. Jack Finch

    Joyce and Dorothy = whatever word is equivalent to bromance, not an actual ship.

    1. Heavensrun

      Speak for yourself.

      A ship is not necessarily a reflection of the actual nature of a relationship, you know. Plenty of people ship characters that literally hate each other. A ship is as much a reflection of the ideals and tastes of the shipper.

      I ship Joyce and Dorothy because their backgrounds make them interesting potential foils for each other, and because their friendship is particularly heartwarming given their fundamentally different worldviews.

      As an atheist who came from a religious background, who has had deeply religious friends and family members, I also appreciate the balanced treatment of their worldviews in the comic. It is common for these things to hold up one side or the other as a strawman to be knocked down, but while Willis obviously seems more in agreement with Dorothy than Joyce on most issues (I don’t profess to speak for him) he writes Joyce from the perspective of someone who -was- once there, and understands the emotional complexities of being a believer.

      All of this rounds out Dotty and Joyce’s relationship and tempts me to imagine a deeper connection.

      Also, girls kissing girls is really really nice.

      But again, even if there is no actual romance there, that has absolutely nothing to do with fans shipping them.

    2. Kerry

      Uh, do you know what the word “ship” means? All it is is pairing two characters up together. Some are canon, most are not, from my experience.

      1. Jack Finch

        Maybe. I just go with the way my kids use it–romantically.

        1. Kerry

          That’s what I meant by “pairing”.

          Of course, there’s friendshipping, but that’s kinda whatever.

  44. fintikisniko

    I’m just hopeing joyce don’t get hurt 2 bad with all thid flirting Ethan has been up to

  45. nothri

    Methinks Joshua may be a comic away from falling flat on his ass under his own weight when his “pillar” figures out how to get out from under him.

    1. Bill

      And that’s what makes this kind of horseplay all that much more fun.

  46. Hobo von Lichtenstein

    Being the older brother gives you license to do stuff like this. That and you always are given permission to noogie and indian burn your siblings. Someimes you are allowed to tell them terrible lies that will get them into trouble.

    1. Leorale

      I’m a middle sister, and I convinced my little brother that the black dots on banana peels were the holes through which the snakes got in. More bananas for me.

      1. Jath

        I can’t believe I’m not the only one who did that.

      2. Logician

        when I was about 3, my elder sister told me that soap was really delicious. I took a big bite…

  47. Arkadi

    Well, this is refreshing after all the tension and drama ^_^ *phew*

  48. hof1991

    what will we do for drama after the parents all leave? This has been quite an arc, with more feels than most webcomics see in a decade.

    1. Kerry

      I remember Willis saying the next arc was a lot more adorable/lighthearted, but I could just be delusional.

    2. norj

      Ruth and Billie still have to figure if they’re a couple, Amber has anger issues, Ethan is still trying to hide in the closet, Joyce hasn’t dealt with the emotional trauma of her nearly being raped, Daisy needs to get laid and of course the SS Robin/Leslie needs to be officially launched.

  49. Sir Robin

    I expected more conflict with today’s strip, you’d think Joshua would be more concerned

  50. Bilfred

    This is nearly identical to me&my sister

  51. Bilfred

    wait, what is that statue in the background of?

    1. sumolegend

      Legend holds that every night a virgin is deflowered by it.

  52. Kira

    Ha, this made me smile…my brothers still do things like that to me, and we’re all in our mid-twenties. Silly Joyce, you’re never too old for that to happen to you.

    1. tahrey

      Heh, this is pretty much me and my brother whenever we’re not either arguing, ignoring each other, or chatting shit about vidyagaems.

      I’m 31, he’s 29. It never stops.

  53. Maycroft

    The Elder-bro code clearly establishes you’re never too old to annoy your siblings.

  54. Skud

    I used to do the same exact thing to my younger sister….
    WHAT ELSE DO YOU KNOW WILLIS!?!!?

  55. Stephen

    Haha, that’s awesome. Yup, siblings and I do that to my kids, too, ‘oops, you’re just going to have to help daddy up!’ 🙂

  56. Allons-y

    I do that all the time to my little sister. Especially around her friends.

  57. Hats

    So I’ve been going back through the archives, and this is the first time I noticed the “jocelyne” tag. Was this there originally and I missed it? Or was it added later, after the next few comics?

    1. John

      The tag changed after the next comic.

  58. Akahane

    Aw siblings <3

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