154

Expertise
Posted on August 27, 2024 by David M Willis

154 thoughts on “Expertise”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “…now I have TWO big sisters! Sarah and Carla!”

    1. morhek

      “Not Dorothy?”

      “I dunno, it just feels wrong with I try to put her in the “sister” box in my head. Not sure why, I’m sure it’s nothing.”

      1. GholaHalleck

        It’s as if countless comment chains cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced…

        1. Michael Steamweed

          “Dorothy/Joyce shipper? Well, of course I know them. They’re me.”

        2. Akane

          Welcome onboard. Endgame ship

        3. DJTsurugi

          we need to get uniforms or badges or something. ~<3

        4. Sajuuk-Khar

          “DorJoJo Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”

        5. Michael Steamweed

          Joe says “I love you.” Joyce responds, “I know.”
          Dorothy says “I love you.” Joyce responds, “I know.”
          😀

      2. Mustachio

        Nah. Dorothy is in Joyce’s Goddess box.

    2. Sajuuk-Khar

      Jocelyne: “I must find these other elder sisters and destroy them.”

      1. Needfuldoer

        By the transitive property, they’re her sisters too.

        1. fridge_logic

          I read that first as *transvestite property* and well, that sounds like a math topic they teach in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

        2. WillowD

          Giggling now. Thanks for the comment.

      2. Nymph

        Three elder sisters enter, one elder sister leaves.

  2. IntangibleMatter

    Wonder when Jocelyn’s gonna get wind of this.

  3. Doopyboop

    “Carla! You’re my sister now!”

    “Sister? I don’t want a sister. … How about a minion? You wanna be my minion, my little hench-gal?”

    “Sure!”

    1. jeffepp

      Hench-champ

    2. RassilonTDavros

      Can’t believe Joyce was this universe’s version of the Zoomers this whole time

      1. ktbear

        Did Willis really predict Tesla way back in 2010?

        1. Jamie

          Tesla was founded in 2003…

        2. clif

          So yes.

    3. Switchchris

      oooooooo… They were Hench-mates…

      1. Nymph

        Perfection.

  4. Nono

    Carla: wait since when am I your sister?

    Sarah: join the club.

    1. Da Boy

      Joyce is like a cat, you get adopted and you have no say in the matter

  5. Doctor_Who

    Ethan’s credentials are just going to get more and more impressive in Joyce’s mind.

    “Thank goodness I asked a Nobel Prize winning expert in transgenderism with several bestsellers.”

  6. jeffepp

    “Besides, ‘sister’ will make it weird when, if we (I already have a… don’s say this part out loud)… I said that part out loud, didn’t I?”

  7. NGPZ

    oh dear…

    Carla ain’t your sister Joyce, she’s your GODDESS

  8. RassilonTDavros

    Dumbing of Age Book 15: I Literally Just Said I’m Not the Expert

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      But of course, “literally” doesn’t necessarily literally mean literally any more.

      1. Casi

        literally has been used as an intensifier since the early 20th century, it’s literally been this way for nearly a century

        1. clif

          they said, completely unironicly.

        2. Nymph

          This comment literally makes no sense.

        3. clif

          Oh, good. A chance to explain. You see, Casi first says that literally has been used as an intensifier since the since the early 20th and then uses it as an intensifier when they point out it’s literally been used this way for nearly a century BUT is also completely factually correct in doing so. If it was an intensifier without being completely correct, that would have been ironic. But since it is both, it is completely unironic.

          By way of contrast, this comment is an ironic riff on the motif of a male over-explaining the completely obvious.

          I’m not certain, however, if it’s literally ironic.

        4. Nymph

          I’m not going to read that, have a nice day.

        5. Carl Muckenhoupt

          On top of that: This isn’t the first time that an English word meaning “in actual fact” has lost that meaning and become an intensifier. “Really”, “indeed”, and even “very” all went through this centuries ago.

        6. Username Taken

          Which word’s meaning can we obfuscate next? I nominate “verily.”

        7. Taffy

          Fuck it, let’s do “car”. Any and all vehicles with engines are cars now. Vans, trucks, Fords, airplanes, trains, submarines, space shuttles, they’re all cars.

        8. clif

          What about train cars without engines? Do they still count?

        9. Taffy

          If it was already called a car, it’s still a car. Nothing has changed.

        10. Plain Marie

          As long as we don’t do sandwiches next.

        11. Taffy

          A glass of water is a sandwich because it’s a thing and another thing.

        12. thejeff

          It’s not really a surprising pattern.

          Wonder if it holds in other languages as well.

      2. zee

        Okay but he did literally just say he’s not the expert on this

  9. Alongcameaspider

    This can only go well

    If nothing else Joyce will be prepared when Jocelyne finally comes out to her

    1. Lee

      Oh my gods THAT is what Ethan thinks she means!! I knew there was a misunderstanding but I was drawing a total blank on what yesterday’s strip meant, thank you.

      1. Michael Steamweed

        In your defense, it’s been years for us in real-time since we last saw that development between Jocelyne and Ethan.

      2. fezzam

        It just clicked for me, i was trying to make it make sense that amazigirl and amber being split personality and i really couldnt process anything making sense but also amber and ethan and ethan and sal were the only relationships that came to mind i just was lost and confused. so thanks for updating my mental software.

      3. Felian

        it only just clicked for me just now as well.
        Actually, Ethans words make more sense now.
        Joyce is right about Carla tho, if you don’t know someone very closely, you don’t necessarily call them your sister. For someone on the outskirts of your friend circle, the only thing required is to respect her pronouns and don’t focus on them being trans where it doesn’t affect your life or hers.

        Now when *Jocelyne* comes out, THAT is when the SISTERS talk and the active support comes in!

  10. Sajuuk-Khar

    In “The One Where Jocelyne Returns”, Jocelyne is going to arrive on campus to confess things to her sister only to find Joyce hugging famous trans icon Carla Rutten to her body like an unwilling 6’ tall cat on roller skates

    1. Justnobodyfqwl

      Oh no, I’m starting to ship Joyce/Carla sloppy make outs

      1. GreyICE

        Isn’t MaryxCarla the crack ship of choice?

        1. Nymph

          I’ll let you in on something:

          There are always more crack ships.

        2. Aura

          Is it still a crack-ship if people in-universe thought it could be a thing?

        3. GreyICE

          That does kind of disqualify it. A good crack ship must be absolutely insane on all levels, like MikexGender Studies Teacher.

        4. NGPZ

          Professor Brock x Jennifer XD

        5. Sajuuk-Khar

          Their meet-cute features Jennifer demanding to sleep with him because by God she’s in college she is GOING to seduce a professor, and Prof. Brock telling her she’s not even really a conscious entity, that’s just her proteins demanding to exchange gametes, and so the act is ultimately meaningless

          Jennifer has never been more turned on in her life and they fuck right there in the lab based on how her proteins can rock his proteins’ stupid nonexistence

        6. clif

          I beg to disagree. Billie/Ruth was a totally crack ship, even while being completely canon.

        7. Jay

          Hey, you could probably convince Walky of Mike x Old!Alex. They both ran away to Bulmeria and are hiding under witness protection, right? /s

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      So, Carla and Jocelyne have to fight over who is Joyce’s best sister?

      1. Shade

        While Sarah is technically in the running and refuses to admit she’s happy she’s included.

      2. Michael Steamweed

        Plus Sarah. But, while Sarah has the bat, Carla has the rube-goldberg-pie thrower. Poor Jocelyne only has her writing.

        1. clif

          Is the pen truly more powerful than the pie thrower? These are intriguing questions.

  11. Nathan

    *Yakety Sax plays*

  12. Yumi

    My cringe settings are very excited for Joyce’s next interaction with Carla. The rest of me is looking ahead to her and Jocelyn.

    1. anon

      hopefully ethan picked up on that ‘familiar’ comment, but that line did make me think of that monster prom line with zoe and vera like “we’re sisters, not cisters” lol

    2. Sajuuk-Khar

      I really want Joyce to bring this up when Charlie is around so that Carla is forced to accept Joyce’s terrible, terrible misdirected love

  13. Pocky

    Just stop thinking about what’s in their pants.

    It’s easy.

    1. Jamie

      Was this comment supposed to go on yesterday’s strip?

    2. Taffy

      But it’s making a really loud buzzing sound. Not everyone can “just” tune those out.

      1. Chaucer59

        Buzzing sound? Is this a Jezebel joke?

        1. Taffy

          I don’t know what you mean, but don’t call me a Jezebel.

        2. clif

          What comes after Jezebel? Strumpet second class?

          Don’t look at me. I probably rank about Private Tartlet.

        3. PirateTawnee

          “John Lovitz has ruined the word Tartlets for me. Every time anyone says it I just sit there going ‘Tartlets… Tartlets.. Tartlets… The word has lost all meaning’.”

          Stolen from a youtube comment as it is precisely what I want to express.

        4. Needfuldoer

          That place (and Lifehacker, Jalopnik, etc) just hasn’t been the same since Gawker Media went *thbbbt*

  14. Kyrik Michalowski

    Is Ethan talking about Jocelyn, or Carla?

    Because this would be a hell of a way to find out.

    1. Sirksome

      Ethan is talking about Jocelyne. She came out to him during freshman family weekend.

    2. DailyBrad

      Ethan has misunderstood the reason why Joyce is suddenly curious about trans topics, yes, and thinks she is referring to Jocelyn. In both’s defense, this is a case where there are reasons to be hesitant to name names, so the confusion makes sense.

      1. GholaHalleck

        Kudos to Ethan for not just assuming yes. Ethan gets a good noodle star on his board.

      2. Amelie Wikström

        It also makes sense Ethan, like everyone, doesn’t think anyone in the world doesn’t know about Carla so there’s no reason to think Joyce might be talking about her, even when she’s currently zooming down the hall. A watertight setup for comical misunderstanding.

  15. Sirksome

    Carla is now Joyce’s sister. Too bad for Jocelyne she’s been beaten twice in the big sister game.

    1. anonymsly

      I think once Jocelyne comes out to Joyce she’ll reclaim the top spot almost instantly.

  16. HueSatLight

    A dramedy of errors.

  17. Jeremiah

    Gotta love “One dialogue, two conversations”.

  18. Dante

    Aw, Ethan. This is incredibly sweet from him, seriously.

    Did it go a bit over Joyce’s head? Sure. But he knows her and it DID accomplish what he wanted to convey – The certainty of the answer, without outing Joce before she chooses to do so.

    1. zaratustra

      This is a bit of old Ethan poking through.

  19. goggleman64

    I hope Joyce is as much fun to write as she is to read :3

  20. RedComet

    This is the most present/”normal” Ethan has been in a while. It’s nice. Good of him to talk about this with Joyce through the awkwardness and comedy of errors

    1. DailyBrad

      It likely helps that Ethan is largely fond of Joyce, even if he’s exasperated by her sometimes, and that he has admiration for Jocelyn and respects her. This is a situation where his usual cynicism isn’t as omnipresent because he genuinely wants this to work out for everyone. Naomi did a number on this guy, and he doesn’t likely wish that on anyone else.

      1. Kavonde

        Well, he’s been writing her for almost 30 years now, so I gotta imagine she’s an entertaining brain to occupy.

        1. Kavonde

          Bah, replied to the wrong comment.

      2. Sirksome

        I think Ethan and Joyce will be friends for life. Ethan is Joyce’s one friend that respects her as an adult. The others, even Dorothy tend to see Joyce as someone who needs taking care of, but Ethan and Joyce bonded when they were briefly dating, he understands Joyce because they have some of the same hangups and I think that manifests in a respect they don’t really get from their other friends.

      3. Bruno

        Who the hell is Naomi?

        1. Vegetalss4

          Ethan’s mom

        2. clif

          Ethan’s mom was one of the minor characters in the docu-drama For the Love of Chair.

        3. HueSatLight

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/naomi/

      4. Nedlum

        “largely fond of Joyce, even if he’s exasperated by her sometimes” probably fits 90% of the cast.

        1. DailyBrad

          She tends to be worth it in the end.

  21. Nono

    Wonder if Asher is getting more turned on by seeing Ethan genuinely be nice.

    1. M!a

      Depends on how much worse Billifer fucked him up.

  22. Jerach

    Y’know, this honestly doesn’t have a particularly high chance of even blowing up for Joyce. Like, if she says this stuff to Carla I imagine she’ll think it’s kind of weird but sweet in that “Joyce is always strange but always earnest” kind of way.

    1. Adam Black

      I think Carla will recognize it a Spock line, think its some nerdy Trek shit

  23. egon

    every blue moon you hear about jocelyn but we’ll never see her in our lifetime

    1. clif

      Just how soon were you going to die?

      1. egon

        you know as well as i do this comic moves at a glacial pace, it’s been over 10 years and they’ve only barely finished one semester

        1. Kyrik Michalowski

          I believe the entire comic will only cover 1 year; so yes it is moving slowly, but we’re already past the halfway mark.

        2. thejeff

          And they only finished that one because we skipped over half of it.

        3. clif

          Well, yes, but the very next chapter is named The One -Where Jocelyne Returns. If you’re planning on casting off the mortal coil first, you better plan on buckling down and getting to it chop chop.

          Always assuming the chapter doesn’t come and go without Jocelyn ever showing up. But obviously, toying with the readers that way is something Willis would never do.

    2. Bryy

      You mean Jordan.

      We’ve seen Jocelyn multiple times.

      1. egon

        i don’t mean Jordan, i mean Jocelyn who gets mentioned every few months as a tease to keep people reading. it’s been like 12 years and Joyce still doesn’t know because it’s just not actually relevant to the story

    3. Sajuuk-Khar

      I mean the very next storyline has her in the name, but

    4. M!a

      …in my case? Probably quite right.

      1. Rectilinear Propagation

        I cannot tell if this is something everyone else already knows about or if you want to elaborate. Because it sounds like you’re either going blind or dying.

        I haven’t been reading the comments regularly for a while so if this is something you’ve already gone over, I’m not trying to make you rehash things.

  24. Taffy

    I can’t believe Ethan would out Carla as a secret Brown like this.

    1. clif

      The fiend!

    2. thejeff

      It all makes sense now!

      Carla is Jordan.

      1. Sajuuk-Khar

        The most shocking discovery since Radagon being Marika!

  25. Morrison

    When this comes up for Joyce latter, David? Incredible power move on Ethan’s part, whether he was sure or not who she was asking about.

  26. ESM

    These are quality shenanigans that are afoot. Or ablade, as the case may be.

  27. AbacusWizard

    Oooooooooh, subtle! Good job Ethan!

  28. Waffliesinyoface

    oh no, the comedy of errors, its coming

  29. Acher4

    Oh

    oooooooooooh.

    I really didn’t think yesterday that Ethan was thinking of Jocelyne.

    1. kraenieldamage

      Same here. I thought for some reason he was thinking it was Amber? I legitimately forgot about Jocelyne.

      1. Bruno

        You think Ethan thinks Amber is trans?

        1. clif

          Well, she transforms into Amazigirl, so …

  30. AGV/Ruby

    Ethan did his best and it’s honestly solid advice, even if it wasn’t about Carla. I wonder if Joyce will parrot this to her.

    Also, would Leslie have given better advice? I know that this is a spur-of-the-moment situation and she just asked the closest “most appropriate” person, but I’m curious.

    1. C.T. Phipps

      Leslie: You came to me because I am your gender studies teacher, right? Not because I was a lesbian?

      Joyce: Well…

      1. Poskie

        Was?! ?

        1. clif

          Before she died.

          That’s right, Leslie is secretly Mike.

  31. DorJoJo

    do your best joyce

  32. Bryy

    Joyce is gonna take this literally.

    1. Daibhid C

      And yet, not literally enough.

    2. TulipKitten

      MMW, she is gonna make Carla cringe. Because now she’s gonna come off as someone trying to be ally of the year.

  33. GUIGUI

    Whoops!

  34. Reltzik

    What’s this called again?

    …. oh, right. One dialogue, two conversations

    …. I think the next step is for Joyce to come away from the conversation thinking that it’s now confirmed that Carla is Mary’s estranged sister.

    1. Aura

      Not tonight, tvtropes rabbit hole. Not tonight!

  35. Bruno

    10/10 sitcom contrivance. No notes.

  36. Mike Conner

    This confirms something that’s been bothering me for years now.

  37. Michael Steamweed

    Joyce (coughing): “I have been – and always shall be – your sister.”
    Carla: “wut”
    Joyce: (dies)

  38. Colin McKenzie

    I wish this comic had a Search feature, because now I wanna know all the strips about Jocelyne.

    1. C.T. Phipps

      Just go to the Jocelyne tag.

    2. Yumi

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/jocelyne/

  39. Pharmadan

    Ethan seems a bit more… aware now, and not lost in his head

  40. Disastroid

    Once Joyce collects all of the Infinity Sisters she can snap her fingers and turn all the food into macaroni and cheese texture.

  41. thumb

    You know what would make this conversation even more relevant? If Joyce calls Jocelyne for advice. Because either she finds out and has to actually confront her biases on a personal level, or she doesn’t and everybody comes out confused. Either way, it’ll start out with Joyce putting her foot in her mouth for at least several minutes and that part is always funny to me.

  42. DJTsurugi

    Ethan thinking Joyce JUST realized she has a sister instead of a brother and Joyce toeing that line again… ~<3

  43. Call Me Deacon Blues

    Dammit… the frustrating thing is, this is good advice for Jocelyn but not amazing advice for Carla. I feel like Carla is NOT gonna want Joyce to find her and say they’re sisters now. They do have a fairly good relationship, I love Joyce and Carla interactions, but I feel like the correct tack for her specifically is just, act the same way she always had. Being weird about it, even weirdly over-affirming, can be off putting.

    I’m only hoping this storyline ends up with Joyce learning the truth about Jocelyn, presumably in some wacky way

    1. DJTsurugi

      the unfortunate happenstance when people play the pronoun game (cinemasins) instead of being upfront about who they are referring to. 90’s sitcoms were littered with this concept ~<3

      1. thejeff

        But here Ethan at least is deliberately being vague in case he’s wrong about who she’s thinking of. Which he is.
        So it’s not quite the usual sitcom misunderstanding.

  44. poyo

    oh, oh my god i completely forgot about Joyces sibling (and that ethan knows about her) lmaoo

  45. Daniel M Ball

    Is everyone FORGETTING?? One of Joyce’s siblings has lots of tells including distance from the family. I mean, yeah, it’s been almost a decade since she was mentioned…

    1. M!a

      Did you read none of the previous comments? No one is forgetting.

      …okay, nearly no one.

      …okay, just me I think.

  46. Felian

    jjjyeeeeah don’t go up to a trans person you don’t know very well and act like you’re her bestie if you weren’t before. that’s a bit creepy.
    Just, in general, show support. Educate yourself. Be the person that speaks up for trans rights. Be the one that punches Mary in the face the next time she spouts this TERF crap (maybe do it with words or contact authorities, the literal punching is not usually advisable)

  47. Dana W

    Unless the topic comes up, don’t mention it. I hate it when someone come up to me with THAT LOOK that means my status is about to become an involuntary conversational topic.

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