149

Disappeared
Posted on November 18, 2024 by David M Willis

149 thoughts on “Disappeared”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    Amber and Liz should be goblins together

    1. Ana Chronistic

      (the QC Liz, I forgot there was one here, too)

      1. Thag Simmons

        I mean, it still makes sense with the one here.

      2. Opus the Poet

        +1!

      3. Jo_cubstar

        OMG yes! Lol

      4. DJTsurugi

        OH GOD… am I Amber and Liz? I know this is going to lead to really really bad consequences, but I also want to see this happen, for shipping reasons. ~<3

        1. Michael Steamweed

          Shipping reasons are valid and important. What would the world be without its global interconnected shipping? 😀

      5. Nono

        I thought Marigold was the goblin.

        1. MAC089

          What’s a webcomic without a goblin or two?

        2. Needfuldoer

          She hasn’t been for a long time.

        3. Thag Simmons

          QC is like 50% goblin by volume

      6. Theluxland

        The… The Quebec Liz?

        1. MacareuxMoine

          Well, the research institute she wasn’t working at for the last two (irrc) years, is located somewhere on the Canadian coast (forgot which one – assuming it was actually specified).

  2. Regalli

    Her little smile in the penultimate panel. It’s precious.

    1. Dean

      ‘It would be irresponsible escalation, you should absolutely do it.’

    2. NGPZ

      RIGHT? ^-^ fuckin love her, she an adorable mischievous screwball XD

      1. a/snow/mous/e

        CHAOS GOBLIN!!!

        1. NGPZ

          YES ^_^

    3. a/snow/mous/e

      Amber seems less self-loathing and I’m so glad 🙂

      1. sultryglebe

        That smile!

  3. Throwatron

    its me im amber

    1. Dara

      ugh what am i hitting WHY CAN I NOT AGREE

      why cannot I say that I too am the trash goblin craving mess

      whyyyyyy

      1. Dara

        THERE we go. Only took like four different ways of trying to say it lol

        but i got there xD

        1. Michael Steamweed

          Good chaos goblins don’t let a little chaos from stopping their goblining.

    2. butting

      Pretty sure the entire comments section is Amber? but as fellow Ambers we will support your cause with all we’ve got.

  4. Sirksome

    I want what she has.

    1. ktbear

      Big boobs and a devil may care attitude?

      1. Ray Radlein

        A big butt and a smile?
        ? That girl is poison ?

        1. NGPZ

          hacking skills and Dina as her roommate? ^^

        2. a/snow/mous/e

          good songgg

      2. Newlland(Henryvolt)

        Nice boobs, rippling biceps, a smart brain, and a devilmay care attitude.

  5. Doctor_Who

    This is the happiest we’ve seen Amber in a while.

    I think she senses an impending disaster and is mentally making popcorn.

    1. cain

      She truly represents the readership

      1. Jeremiah

        Except the part that is always catastrophizing about it.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Amazi-Girl represents that subgroup.

      2. Daibhid C

        I mean, half the comments are always “WHY ARE THESE CHARACTERS NOT MAKING OPTIMUM DECISIONS FOR PERSONAL GROWTH AND SENSIBLE SOCIAL INTERACTION ALL THE TIME?” so maybe not all the readership.

        1. Michael Steamweed

          Amazi-Girl for our responsible side.
          Amber for our goblinible side.

        2. Leorale

          AG in the streets, Amber in the sheets

        3. Jeremiah

          “Responsible” it’s a nice way to put it. Nicer that those comments deserve honestly.

    2. Mark

      Good choice. Mental popcorn is less filling.

  6. Rose by Any other Name

    Aren’t we all, Amber?
    Aren’t we all?

    1. Opus the Poet

      +1!

    2. Jo_cubstar

      Absolutely!

  7. NGPZ

    we can ship it!!!! UMF!!! <3

  8. shadowcell

    Dumbing of Age Book 15: I’m a Trash Goblin Who Craves Mess!

  9. Acebender

    I didn’t anticipate Dotty and Joyce exchanging “nudes” but here we are

    1. Buddascrayon

      Oh, we were always heading here. It’s just been a long and bumpy road.

      1. Opus the Poet

        It was a long way to go but I’m glad we’re here.

      2. Lingo

        I’m now convinced they will be in a polycule with Joe before Valentine’s Day.

        1. Proxiehunter

          Our Valentine’s day or theirs? Ours is a few months away, theirs probably a decade or so.

      3. Needfuldoer

        It’s been a long road, getting from there to here.

  10. Rolf of Many Doors

    Thank you for the new meme in my arsenal, Willis

  11. insomniac

    Dorothy why do you hate fun

    1. Michael Steamweed

      Panel 5 Dorothy’s face. She knows exactly what Amber’s answer will be before she even finishes the question.

  12. brionl

    She could always just forward them to Joe.

    1. Doctor_Who

      That would be especially hilarious if she offers no explanation for why she has them.

    2. anon

      idk if she currently approves of joe still even if she was willing to help out with that ‘sex list’

  13. Taffy

    Friends can send each other titty pics, it’s fine.

    1. mneme

      It’s not gay if you’re friends first.

      1. Rabid Rabbit

        It’s not gay if you’ve done laundry together first. Especially if you held hands.

        1. Michael Steamweed

          It’s not gay if they’re roommates. Maybe next academic year (so, like, 2030 our time), Dorothy and Joyce will be roommates. Good friends, roommates, and laundry partners, who send each other crude and nude lewds. SO not gay.

        2. Taffy

          Look, they just fuck a little bit on occasion, it’s not gay.

        3. Michael Steamweed

          Purely Sapphonic and Platonic.

        4. mindbleach

          The benefits of friendship!

    2. Lysbeth

      Okay I do this but I’m pretty sure most friends don’t have orgies together so my viewpoint might be slightly skewed

  14. DailyBrad

    I appreciate Dorothy’s care, but I do think Joyce would probably only be embarrassed that she sent them by mistake. I don’t really think she’d be too torn up that Dorothy saw her cleavage and panties.

    1. Rabid Rabbit

      Depends. Body shame seems to be the one that’s really stuck from all the religious baggage she’s tried to throw out, and this is the girl who wouldn’t let Sarah see her in her bra.

    2. Lysbeth

      She’d probably be embarrassed that the angles were so bad after Dotty says how long it took her to figure out they were nudes

  15. RassilonTDavros

    Amber in the last panel speaks for all of us.

    1. Taffy

      When we say she’s a trash goblin? Yeah, definitely.

    2. Michael Steamweed

      Amber in panels 3, 4, and 5 all speak for me. 😀

      1. Azhrei Vep

        Amber and Amazi-Girl both speak for me quite well. Always be fully aware of the risks you’re taking.

        Then take them, it’ll be awesome.

  16. Davus

    I think she should send some to Amazi.
    Dorothy+Amazi ship!

  17. Nono

    I bet Dorothy’s boyfriend would… actually he would fuel this fire too he’s also a trash goblin.

  18. IntangibleMatter

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen a final panel in my entirely life that so perfectly sums up my inner voice.

    Amber’s fun

    1. NGPZ

      trash goblin in the forest!
      who fools around all day!
      she horny and craves mess!
      so gets her friends to play!

      lalalalallalalalalaala

      *plays “Fichtl’s Song” by Die Woody’s on hacked muzak*

  19. Pocky

    do it; mama needs some draaaamaaaaa~

  20. Versen

    Hmm, so Dorothy doesn’t say she’s gonna toss em just that she doesn’t want em out in the cloud and hackable or whatever. Interesting.

    Also yes, escalate.

  21. Francoinblanco

    this action would be an example of a total lack of responsibility and taste…
    however…

  22. Dday

    What if, stay with me here, AG was the real Amber all along, and this alt is just “Trash Goblin”?

    1. BorkBorkBork

      I work with someone with DID, who has a decent number of alts, and is very free with answering questions and talking about it when there isn’t an audience. And I know everyone is different, but… I don’t think its accurate to call one “real Amber” and one “the alt.” They are, together, Real Amber.

      After all. My coworker has one alt that she calls “creature” who is simply herself from when she first had the traumatic experiences. And she has the one who presents most of the time. And she has some of the main ones which deal with stress, social situations, aggression, protection, etc, which often present. But its *all her.*

      Amber is at once the horribly abused product / facsimile of her father, who is garbage and should feel like garbage, AND she is the steadfast hero who will leap into action to right wrongs and protect her friends, AND she is the critical voice of Mike, telling her that she wasn’t a terrible person and was worth saving. All of it.

      1. theVoidWatches

        This tracks with my experience dating someone with DID as well. My partner has a name they use for the whole collective as well as names for individual members. Amber + Amazi-Girl don’t really have a collective name, but neither of them is more ‘the real Amber’ than the other.

    2. Mturtle7

      I mean, that’s pretty much exactly what Amazi-Girl has been saying for (real-time) months, yes. I believe her exact words were (after being told that “Amber has Batman in her head”) “I think of it more like my head has a Stucky slash-fic anthology in it.”

      To put it another way: Amber is a complete person, Amazi-Girl is just the power fantasy superhero persona she created so she could feel good about herself. But also, Amazi-Girl is a complete person, and the personality we know of as “Amber” is just the persona where she pushed all her negative and slothful feelings so she could have a secret identity that knows how to relax! Those can actually both be true at the same time, no biggie.

  23. nobodybasically

    So are Amber and Amazi-Girl able to speak to each other in real time, or is this just Amber telling Dorothy what she knows Amazi-Girl would want her to say?

    1. Jo_cubstar

      I think they’ve been communicating the last while

    2. Michael Steamweed

      From several previous strips we’ve seen, I think the two of them talk with each other. Maybe not a lot, but often enough. Kind of like roommates.

  24. Zamperla

    God I love Amber. She’s so happy! : )

    1. BorkBorkBork

      It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her genuinely happy about something.

  25. Aviator

    Dorothy: “Sure I’ll send her a pic. If you send her a pic.”
    Amazi-Girl: “HELL NO”
    Amber: “HELL YES”
    Joyce: “Why am I getting boob pics? Why not dong pics?”
    Escalation: Probably what you expect.

    1. Reltzik

      Amber: “Why does this feel like I’m in someone else’s slashfic?”
      Dorothy: “Your slashfics aren’t like this?”
      Amber: “My slashfics have dicks.”

      1. Chubseus

        “Well, you sure spent a lot of paragraphs describing this woman’s naked body…”

        “That…That’s for the readers benefit!”

  26. Agemegos

    It would be hilarious if Dorothy replied to Joyce with revealing photos of Walky.

    1. Agemegos

      Or a photo of a pile of laundry. That would be hilarious too.

      1. Ophidiophile

        A photo of Dorothy sitting on a washer.

        1. Michael Steamweed

          Ooh hot!
          *fans self

  27. Jeremiah

    Listen to the trash goblin lady!

  28. Newlland(Henryvolt)

    I. Love. This. Women.

    Ever fucking part of her

  29. Farmer_10

    ‘I’m a Trash Goblin, who craves mess’ has to be the next book title. Get on it, Willis.

  30. Acher4

    Awww she is smiling!

    I don’t think we’ve seen Amber smiling for ages!

  31. EtchJetty

    god. amber is so fucking peak forever

  32. Florence

    I am completely one with amber in the final panel

    I don’t care if it isn’t long term, just give me the chaos of Joyce Dorothy kiss, the chaos from it would be so delicious

  33. Maddie B

    Amber and Amazi-Girl are both correct.

  34. AGV/Ruby

    Mini fanfic incoming:
    Dorothy lets her inner goblin out.
    Dorothy: “What’s with the spicy pictures? You’re gonna keep sending them until you get one from me?”
    *Dorothy sends a pic of her butt*
    Joyce: You finally got them? ?
    Joyce: OMG I’M SO SORRY DOROTHY I THOUGHT THIS WAS JOE
    Dorothy: Hahaha it’s ok.
    Joyce: …
    Joyce: Your butt is cute.
    Dorothy Aw, thanks. You too.
    Both of them internally: Hold up-

    1. Michael Steamweed

      And literally everyone else: No, no, please continue.

      1. Big Z

        Counterpoint to the “literally”:

        Give it up.
        Joeyce has won.
        Dorothy x Joyce is never gonna happen.
        Prediction: Willis is just going to tweak your noses with it like this every couple months for the rest of the strip.

        1. Michael Steamweed

          I’ll give up my ship when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!

          (to misquote charleton heston, who deserves it)

  35. Rabisch

    I don’t think Dorothy will ever send a photo back. But that would be so hilarious! Let’s hope Amber will be able to convince her.

    1. Rowen Morland

      Dorothy has been trying to provoke herself out of her box recently with quasi-destructive acts.

  36. DashWallkick

    Sending Joyce back a lewd would be a mildly subversive act which at worst will serve as a humanizing anecdote and not as anything truly threatening to the power structures at hand!

  37. Random832

    If they are stored in the cloud [normal MMS doesn’t but i don’t know what iMessages does], it would probably be Joyce that has the legitimate access required to delete them, not Dorothy.

    1. Mark

      Dorothy didn’t say “legitimate”. She just wants it done.

  38. Kim

    It wkk ok uld be incredibly funny if she did ??

  39. Callid13

    Amazi-girl gives sage, boring advice.
    Amber gives *interesting* advice!

  40. Felian

    I’m a litte worried about Dorothy being ok. Her facial expressions whenever it’s about those photos are looking like she is not okay. I just wonder, is she simply worried for Joyce, or is she negatively impacted by getting unsolicited half-nudes? Even if unintended, thit can still have a hurtful impact on the recipient.

    1. Big Z

      Hell, Dorothy has not been okay for a LONG time, and her biggest problem seems to be that she doesn’t have a mom friend type to point out to HER that she needs to work on herself more.

    2. Leorale

      Drunken pics would go against her long-held plan of being electable as first woman president.
      She doesn’t need those photos gone anymore because she’s lost that dream. She knows it’s the right move for her not to try for the presidency anymore, but she still has feelings about it, and she’s kinda floundering without a new dream.

  41. Lamppost

    Not sure I’m loving that Dorothy is showing these to Amber, lol.

    (Not so) funny story: I have been in a similar scenario to this one, where I received some partial nudes of a friend that were definetely not meant for me. I immediately deleated them and basically yelled at the person who accidentally sent them to me until they apologized to everyone involved. Be careful with nudes, folks 🙁

    1. Nymph

      Yeah. Yours seems like the more even-headed and reasonable response to an accident.

  42. Em

    Same, Amber. Same. I admit that in the right mood my advice is absolutely chaotic, but I do disclose beforehand.

  43. Tomixcomics

    I’m really concerned at how much her entire circle of friends seems to be enabling this split personality. I know amazi-girl saved them and all but… This feels unhealthy and they’re all just acting like it makes perfect sense?

    1. AnonGrouch

      you don’t fix split personality disorder with shame. it’s essential to keep people from feeling unalienated and be able to walk them through emotional and logical things which requires a shared frame of reference. even psychologists will tend to address the personalities in question directly so they can help the person resolve issues.

      also this is, for the umpteenth time comments section, a comic about college students. ex-children. young adults. they are not licensed psychologists. they are friends with someone with a mental illness and what do you do when you are in that situation? you adapt. you don’t take responsibility for ‘fixing’ their mental illness outside of things their doctor suggests.

    2. Taffy

      That’s really not how this works.

    3. OBBWG

      It seems to be very healthy. Amber and Amazi-Girl are talking freely. That is a major step towards integration. If their friends encourage the cross talk, Amber/Amazi-Girl are likely to become more like a single personality. At some point Amazi-Girl may just say “We’ve become two pieces of the same person. I don’t need to be separate. Let’s just be Amber.” Amber, when the time is right, would say yes.

    4. TerribleTransit

      Tl;dr they’re doing the right thing here

      DID is a very complex topic, and I’m far from an expert, but even experts are divided on whether it’s even a thing that can or should be “fixed”. As it stands now, the Amber/AG DID system is stable and functional: sharing memories, speaking to each other, and generally cooperating. The only way it could get “better” is through reintegration of the two personalities, which may not be practical or even desirable, and regardless would be a *long* therapy journey to achieve.

      In the meantime, what should her friends do? Refuse to acknowledge one of the personalities? Gaslight her into thinking her DID isn’t real? Try and force her into (additional?) therapy to “fix” her against her will? Pretty much any other reaction will just ostracize and alienate Amber, possibly leading to her hiding the problem and regressing to a less functional system.

      The best and only thing they can do at this point is acknowledge and accept Amber/AG as they are and let them sort out things out further with a therapist.

      1. Tomixcomics

        I’m not saying force her but unless I’m forgetting something I haven’t seen anyone even amicably encourage her towards it?

        1. Jeremiah

          Walky has mentioned that the therapist around here aren’t very good so that might be the reason.

        2. Yeet

          amber’s certainly aware that therapists exist and also that she’s pretty broke
          a college therapist isn’t going to be available for the long haul, maybe not even consistently available during term, and this sort of thing is a very fucking long haul
          not to mention you can’t choose what kind of practice you get at a college making it far harder to get a compatible therapist
          plus it’s far easier to manage therapy when you have a stable schedule that won’t be interrupted every 2d5 days with an assignment on top of classes

        3. NGPZ

          “I don’t actually know anything about therapy, what it can or can’t do, its pros and cons, etc, but I DO know it’s the easy thing to say to be dismissive of other people.”

          Fuckin hate how “just go to therapy” has become yet another form of let-them-eat-cake obliviousness (-_-)

    5. Jeremiah

      They aren’t really “enabling” it, they are just cool with it, they might not fully understand it but they seems to be functioning fine and acting like she some sort of freak would help no one.

    6. Holly

      Read an interesting article on studies for new therapies for people who hear destructive voices: Rather than the traditional advice of not ‘encouraging’ or acknowledging the voices, a *trained* psychologist helped clients to build an avatar, role played as it, and slowly come to a negotiation with it. It was more effective than the conventionall wisdom of dismissing it as imaginary.

      It’s in The Guardian and called “You tried to tell yourself I wasn’t real” if anyone thinks reading it won’t stress them out (there’s some extreme mental health distress described in it).

      1. Laura

        Fascinating!

    7. Serendipity

      Alters are a normal part of life for some people. Trying to shut them down is a bad, bad idea.

  44. Michael Steamweed

    Amber wants more crudes, nudes, and lewds.

    (it’s me. amber is me.)

  45. Firseal

    … to thine own self be true…

  46. Bleuryder

    #WeAreAllAmber

    Wouldn’t it be easier to text Joyce to stop though?

    1. pyrock_mania

      Today provides yet more evidence that Amber is secretly a “Twitch Plays” bot powered by the comments section.

  47. Shakes

    Amber learning nothing from the last time she wanted friends to kiss.

  48. ValdVin

    Dorothy, Amber, and Amazi-Girl are…having a three-way?

    1. Smallmoon

      George Takai: Oh my!
      Dorothy: Three-way call. A three-way call!

      1. Casi

        I understood that reference

  49. Suet

    On one hand, the butterfly effect of this would be immense that not even Until Dawn can match. OTOH, we haven’t seen Amber this happy in forever so replying would be a wild heat check.

    Book 15: I’m a Trash Goblin Who Craves Mess

  50. raultsi

    I’m going to find a way to work “I’m a trash goblin and crave mess” into a conversation today

  51. Vulcanodon

    There should be Amazi-Girl posters around the university with cybersecurity PSAs on them

  52. Whirlakitty

    The big question is, when Dorothy sends a pic back, who will she send it to by mistake?

    1. Alongcameaspider

      Sarah, who in her new forced cheerfulness will decide to send one back and accidently send it to Jennifer, I dont know how it continues from there but it ends up in a huge orgy

    2. Da Boy

      Becky! It has got to be Becky!

      1. Taffy

        “Dotty, didja ever notice the freckles on yer flaps look exactly like the Pleiades?”

  53. Jdorr

    Love how we get advice from both responsible Amazi-girl and self admitted “trash goblin” Amber

  54. Dana W

    Traditionally its called the Imp of the Perverse. I suffer from it most grievously.

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