135

Gestalt
Posted on November 28, 2020 by David M Willis

135 thoughts on “Gestalt”

  1. Sirksome

    This is foreshadowing. Soggies may rule.

    1. butts

      they’re back

      1. Stephen Bierce

        *dramatic flourish of classical brass instrument blasts*

      2. Amelie Wikström

        Soggies exist across dimensions. They’re already here.

        1. UnfrozenNeanderthal

          The signs warned us they would return

        2. Bicycle Bill

          I don’t think so. Even the soggies are avoiding 2020.

        3. Kernanator

          Soggies are time travelers and can thus enter our universe at any point, even after it’s destruction, and not be inconvenienced.

        4. bibulb

          I thought Multiversal Singularities had been written out?

        5. Radiance

          How do you expect to outsog them…

        6. Keith Curtis

          Soggies will never dab.

  2. BBCC

    I wouldn’t mix either of those combos but you do you, Dina.

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      What about cocoa puffs and reese’s puffs? Or cocoa puffs and cookie crisp?

      1. Needfuldoer

        Cocoa Puffs and Peanut Butter Crunch makes a less sickly-sweet Reeses Puffs.

    2. TachyonCode

      Back in the day, I’d have mixed Rice Krispies Treats cereal with Cinnamon Mini Buns…

  3. Doctor_Who

    Dina continues to prove that she is the wisest member of the cast.

  4. Proxiehunter

    That’s why you eat your frosted froot loop flakes in four minutes or less Dina.

    1. UnfrozenNeanderthal

      Yeah, in what world is any properly served bowl of cereal lasting a full five minutes.

      1. Bogeywoman

        One where you misjudge the time it takes for your coffee to be prepared… or where you must carry bowls from the food place to your room

      2. nobilis

        Well, there may be interference: https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1967/02/26

        1. Some Ed

          That’s why you don’t take calls between soaking cereal in liquid and eating it. Duh.

          Or one could just answer the phone and chew cereal at them noisily. Though, now that we all have cell phones, though, it’s also possible to multitask using the mute button and still be a little polite. Wait, what did you say? I was chewing my cereal on mute. Could you repeat that again? I pressed mute and took another bite after asking you to repeat yourself the first time.

          …

          That’s probably not that polite, either. Better just let it go to voice mail.

      3. Azhrei Vep

        In every proper world, I’d imagine. I mean, once you get your cereal poured, you’ve got to wait a couple of minutes for it to start getting nice and soft before you start actually eating it.

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          Respectfully and with my utmost sincerity, you, sir, are a heathen and I find your appetites vulgar and unsettling; however, they do no harm and I support your freedom to engage in your abominable sacrilage.

    2. Keulen

      The best way to prevent soggy cereal is to eat it fast enough that it doesn’t have time to get soggy.

      1. FGarber

        The best way to avoid soggy cereal is to never put milk in the bowl. Keep Milk in the glass. Eat some cereal. Drink some milk before swallowing cereal. If they wanted cereal wet? It would have come that way in the box. CRUNCHY CEREAL FOREVER!

        1. Belegcam

          Honestly have never understood this. You hate it when your cereal gets soggy? Why on earth are you pouring liquid on it?!?

      2. Morleuca

        I remember nerds cereal. it didn’t get soggy so much as it got…slimy.

  5. Reed

    a sensible policy

  6. Savail

    Ana, where are you!? I am terrified of this new world order where you are not the first thing I see after reading the new comic.

    1. ktbear

      This ^^

    2. Kyrik Michalowski

      Maybe they’ve taken a small break? I admit it is unusual to not see their comments first thing after the strip. I almost treat their comments as an unofficial second alt-text.

      1. Uze

        Same here!

    3. deathjavu

      It’s happened plenty of times before, and it feels much weirder to see people pressuring them about it. Sometimes Ana has other stuff to do at 12:04 ET.

      1. Savail

        Yeah, but those other times weren’t in the year 2020.

    4. BBCC

      I get the concern but honestly, she just gets busy sometimes. Or, this time, fell asleep xD

  7. DinaWho

    Eh, any mixture is fine, as long as it’s dry. But any cereal with milk is disgusting.

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      I respect your right to not like milk, even if I think eating cereal without milk is a half-baked experience. Unless you are just snacking on cereal, then it is fine dry.

    2. Nevermaker

      THANK. YOU. Milk in a glass, cereal in the bowl, and never the twain shall meet!

      1. Deanatay

        Well, until they’re both in your stomach. Never the twain shall meet, on your tongue.

      2. Needfuldoer

        This is the way.

      3. drs

        Get back in the comic, Joyce.

  8. butts

    …i eat cheerios and frosted flakes together

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      It’s ok to admit you are wrong, the first step is admitting you have a problem.

    2. Sirksome

      I actually really like mixing different Cheerios togethers specifically. My favorite’s Honey Cinnamon Nut, but I also like Frosted Apple!

  9. Cattleprod

    If the textures match perfectly you can barely tell you’ve mixed them beyond the flavors being kind of different.

  10. deathjavu

    Oh god Amber no, social media for breakfast is like starting the day with a hearty bowl of rat poison.

    (hypocrisy on full display here, I tend to start my days by reading news stories, which is also pretty toxic)

    1. Leorale

      But on the plus side, we probably end it by reading webcomics.

      1. deathjavu

        Unless I go to bed early, in which case I start the day with webcomics!

    2. Badgermole

      Probably still healthier than eating a bowl of processed sugar first thing in the morning.

  11. Kyrik Michalowski

    I like to mix my cereals too, like cocoa puffs and reese’s puffs or cookie crisp and oreo o’s.

  12. Stephen Bierce

    Too long ago, too far apart
    She couldn’t wait another day for…
    The Captain of Her Heart!

    1. Stephen Bierce

      Not only for a cruise, not only for a day…

  13. He Who Abides

    I mix the chocolate and cinnamon varieties of Special K together a lot.

    Don’t @ me, they stay crunchy longer and taste good.

    1. Miri

      Spiced chocolate is delicious so I can sign up to this

  14. AutobotDen

    Dina is 100% right.

  15. Mr. Random

    That’s the basis of cooking really.
    Understand the ingredients and what compliments each other or what might cause an unpleasant interaction.

    1. Miri

      And try to convince the toddler that she doesn’t need to add on an extra 5 minutes to something’s microwave cooking time, or change it from high to defrost (although if she were to do both it might actually work)…

      1. Mr. Random

        It took until I moved into my own place to understand that a low heat means it’s cooked more thouroughly but takes more time.

  16. Kyrik Michalowski

    Also I love how the count for which we are mad at Willis for the most keeps swaying back and forth between “Ruth and Billie are broken up” and “Mike’s dead.” It’s interesting to see that it’s so close.

    1. Rabid Rabbit

      Clearly, there’s voter fraud going on. The Mike crowd will be demanding recounts.

      1. Charles Spencer

        We ‘Halloweeners’ must be a third party.

        1. Cmasta1992

          Skipping Halloween is the only one of the three that was objectively a bad thing though smdh

        2. Schpoonman

          Exactly. Maybe we can do a GoFundMe to get pictures of everyone in costume.

        3. Deanatay

          Our time will come! WE. WILL. RISE.

    2. ValdVin

      They are all within a 4% window right now. Usually a three-way choice doesn’t give results that tight.

    3. Jhon

      Ranked choice!

  17. brionl

    Mixing cereal is all fun and games, until you get busted for miscegenation…

  18. Elacular

    I don’t know what it is, but this is my favorite strip for a while.

  19. sharkfin bangs

    Dina is right and she should say it.

  20. Nono

    I eat my cereal dry, so I never have an issue with sogginess!

  21. JessWitt

    Cereal is one of those foods I’ve never mixed types together … and I feel like I’m missing out on this silly endeavor.

    1. Bogeywoman

      Never cocoa puffs and froot loops. That is all.

      1. JessWitt

        Sounds cursed.

        1. Some Ed

          Tastes cursed, too, IMHO.

          Also ditto for cocoa puffs and apple jacks, same reason.

  22. Bagge

    I bet Dina and Joyce could have a constructive discussion on this topic.

    1. LiterallyJustSomeGuy

      Would Joyce eat cereal with milk? Would Joyce eat cereal at all? Were certain cereals forbidden based on the mascots? Inquiring minds want to know!

  23. Kravis

    JUSTICE!

    is my breakfast

  24. All-Purpose Guru

    Dina is so kyoot here.

  25. Dara

    I appreciate her argument.

    I am still against mixing cereals, but I appreciate her argument.

  26. Benjamin Kennedy

    I have made some truly abominable cereal mixes in my day. Dangerous things happen when you finish off the last dregs of the cereal boxes in your pantry.

  27. Badgermole

    Various flavors of processed sugar passing as a normal breakfast is the real abomination, Dina.

    1. Versa

      Yes, I thought the same thing. So much sugar…

  28. Nevermaker

    Finally, something Joyce and Dina have in common and can bond over!

  29. Dracke

    Does Dina have Aspergers? she has all the symptoms…of an extremely untreated Aspi

    1. Keulen

      I could’ve sworn Willis said that she might have Aspergers at some point. Maybe I’m wrong and Willis didn’t say that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Dina does have it. I’ve never been diagnosed, but I’m pretty sure I have most of the symptoms of Aspergers, and I often find Dina’s behavior very relatable.

      1. Regalli

        As I recall the Word of Willis has long been ‘she’s never been formally diagnosed with anything,’ which is a very distinct answer from no. Additionally, over in Shortpacked when ‘surplus diversity’ caused an anomaly that brought Dina to the store, she listed neurodivergence alongside being non-white and non-heteronormative as things that could further strain the fabric of reality, and her realization that she diverged from that norm in multiple ways immediately preceded the Soggie Invasion. Willis said over on Tumblr that Circumstances from earlier in the Walkyverse gave Dina plenty of time for reflection. Listing neurodivergence specifically alongside two things Dina definitely fits kind of implicitly suggests she is of some variety.

        Additionally, I don’t have a direct source but someone’s mentioned Willis had discussed how they’re neurodivergent of some vague variety and Dina’s a good outlet for strips about those experiences? But I have seen that when the comments go into ‘wait is Joyce autistic or is her need for order and rigidity from growing up in such a restrictive environment’ Willis tends to Tweet something to the effect of ‘yeah I ask that question about myself a lot, let me know if you figure it out.’

        But yeah, a lot of us on the spectrum have been reading Dina as one of us specifically for years. By now I think Willis is consciously writing her with a few more direct autistic things as well, the way AmbG’s plurality has been written. And the strip last storyline where Dina inverts her elbows to get a dinosaur arm posture accurate kind of suggests joint hypermobility, which frequently co-occurs with autism for reasons we don’t understand yet. (At least, all of us who had hypermobile joints all went ‘honestly this isn’t that tricky.’)

        1. ischemgeek

          Yeah, I definitely discovered another way my joints are strange when a whole bunch of people were like “HOW DOES SHE DO THAT?!” And I was like, “wait, that’s supposed to be hard?”

          Also yes I have headcannoned Dina as Autistic since literally her first appearance because she’s basically younger less hyper me when I was a freshman (imagine Becky’s hyperactivity and impulsivity crossed with Dina’s social awkwardness and inability to read social cues and obsessive tendencies about stuff she loves, add in Joyce’s problematic upbringing and like somewhere between Zaph and Malaya’s discomfort with assigned gender roles and lack of language for the experience and Joyce’s people pleasing tendencies and you’ve got 17YO uni freshman me. I relate to a lot to a lot of them.)

        2. Some Ed

          It’s my impression that having something like hypermobility inherently makes one need to be a little neurodivergent. My ex has hypermobile EDS (formerly classified as type 3), but isn’t autistic or borderline autistic (formerly Asperger’s syndrome). That said, she’s near borderline autistic.

          However, it seems like most of her spectrum features are rooted in the fact that she’s physically different from most other people, and so she needs to be able to adapt to those differences. She doesn’t have enhanced senses and doesn’t stim.

          She’s very good at reading people. She does have a flattened affect, but is pretty good at simulating a normal affect on demand. Put her in a room full of people with EDS or Marfan syndrome (and me), and she seems pretty normal – more normal than most of them.

          To be fair, her mother and grandmother, who also have/had hypermobile EDS, do/did demonstrate the same sort of just a bit off the beaten path. My ex’s father is clearly on spectrum, but not diagnosed. So there’s certainly a genetic potential for her to be on spectrum. It’s just that her on spectrum features all seem like adaptations to her condition.

        3. Some Ed

          Joyce was raised in a restrictive environment because her parents were autistic and at least one of them’s a bit crazy as well. We haven’t seen enough of that parent to give a proper Internet diagnosis, but there’s certainly a list of possibilities.

          My headcanon has the other parent going along with the crazy church because “this simplifies things to a point I can deal with stuff. It’s wrong, but at least I can deal with it.”

    2. Ame

      Dina is DEFINITELY coded as autistic, from her, uh, unconventional sense of humor to her difficulty with social cues (such as eye contact) to her need for consistency to her nerdy vocabulary to her dinosaur special interest etc, etc.
      I like how in this strip Dina disproves another assumption about people on the autism spectrum, namely that we all have food mixing issues (at least that’s how I interpreted Amber’s comment, ‘I always had pegged you as AGAINST mixing food.’). No, she just has certain standards. Contrast that with Joyce’s obvious food issues (she may be neurodivergent as well but it could very well be the environment she came from; Willis seems to leave this intentionally vague). The biggest assumption Dina disproved so far was the assumption that autistic people are childlike and sexually undeveloped; this was back when she kissed Becky as a sort of f— you to everyone else.
      I ALSO think that the way she uses language is not only a sign of neurodivergence but also a sign of her being a first-generation American (because I totally speak like that too).

  30. LiterallyJustSomeGuy

    Mixing Cap’n Crunch and Reese’s Puffs would be fine, but Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch is superior to any of these options. Don’t @ me

  31. Aggrax

    And then Soggies May Rule

  32. Keulen

    Back when I used to eat cereal for breakfast, I liked to mix Applejacks, Honey Nut Cheerios, Fruit Loops, and Lucky Charms together. Nowadays I usually don’t have time for that, so I just heat up Poptarts in the toaster.

    1. Needfuldoer

      Look at you, with the patience to wait for the toaster. I just nuke mine for 10 seconds.

  33. Suet

    I don’t think social media for breakfast is a good way to eat your words for sustenance.
    You eat Alpha Bits for that.

    Mixing Cookie Crisp + Oreo O’s = Cookie madness

  34. clif

    It’s been years since I’ve had cereal for breakfast or even wanted it. Although I will occasionally fry, scramble, or omlet eggs, usually I’m enjoying some combination of breakfast burritos, and TexMex hot from the microwave. Cereal, soggy or not, just won’t cut it.

    1. Zaxares

      I haven’t had cereal in years either, but for a completely different reason. About a decade ago I developed an allergy to dairy, and milk/cream affects me the worst. I’ve tried cereals with soy and other types of milk, but it just doesn’t taste the same. :/

      1. Adam Black

        Goat milk too?

      2. Demoted Oblivious

        It’s definitely not the same, but since so many cereals mix nuts, I tried Almond Milk and found it different but acceptable with cereal.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Breakfast is something you unwrap and maybe pop in the microwave. Pop-Tarts, granola bars, homemade Egg McMuffins prepared ahead of time…

      Cereal’s a supper thing for me. Even then, it’s a glass of milk and a pile of dry cereal. That way, nothing gets soggy, and the soggies may not rule.

  35. Ray Radlein

    I thought at first that the gestalt Dina was referring to was one comprised of a mixture of cereal and social media, like Kellogg’s Frosted Flakebooks or Twitter-O’s

    1. Miri

      Me too. Or a quiet but social two person gathering where they both enjoyed their various breakfasts of cjoice together. Mixing the two cereals was the third thing that occurred to me…

    2. Demoted Oblivious

      With all the flakes on social media, I didn’t think it would need to be combined with anything else.

  36. Lone Duck

    In a pinch, Trix mixed with regular Cap’n Crunch is a usable substitute for Crunch Berries.

  37. thumb

    I like none of these things, but the science is irrefutable.

  38. Rabisch

    Sounds delicious to me.

  39. DarkoNeko

    Ah, a variant of Joyce on that

  40. Teddae

    she’s right, soggy cereal is an abomination

    1. Arianod

      Abominations may rule.

  41. Regalli

    Dina gets it, food sensory-wise.

  42. Daibhid C

    Frosted Flakes are Frosties, right? The one with Tony the Tiger? I think that and Lucky Charms are the only cereals mentioned in comic or discussion that exist on this side of the pond. (Although it’s been a long time since I had a “cartoon mascot” cereal, so I could be wrong.)

    IME M&S Maple and Pecan Flakes go well with Kelloggs Crunchy Nut, but Weetabix Minis take so long to soften even slightly that they shouldn’t be mixed with anything (least of all full-size Weetabix).

    1. Demoted Oblivious

      Yes to FF=Frosties and Lucky Charms. The only one from your second para over here
      I think, is Weetabix, and that maybe just in Canada, though come to think of it I havent seen them in a while.

  43. ischemgeek

    I am 100% here for Autistic Dina with sensory food texture issues! 😀

    Seriously the sludge of soggy frosted flakes is indeed an abomination (likewise soggy shredded, bleurgh).

    About the only thing worse is the slight slimyness of boiled dumplings combined with their glory texture or the stringy-hard-soft of old celery. Regular celery is also an abomination bit old celery is the King Abomination.

    (Though probably stinking hard tofu or taleggio cheese are a bit worse than old celery but that’s because smell and taste get into it and they’re basically a whole big ball of NOPE for me. On texture alone, old celery is The Worst).

    Yes I have Feelings about food texture, shut up.

    1. He Who Abides

      Hey, no one’s judging you over food texture issues. Heck, I have certain foods whose textures make them inedible for me, and I’m (pretty sure I’m) not neurodivergent, so I can definitely relate.

  44. Deanatay

    A more practical question – HOW is she going to combine them? She has two bowls, each of which is filled to overflowing with cereal. I suspect she will need a third bowl at some point… unless she has an XOR gate for cereal…

    1. Needfuldoer

      Eat half of each (at the same pace, alternating spoonfuls) until there’s enough room to dump them into one bowl.

  45. bcb

    If you don’t get the sogginess correct then the Soggies will show up and they may rule.

  46. Vulcanodon

    I totally do this when mixing cereal.

  47. Alan in DC

    I never saw what Dina’s major is, but she really should try interning at General Mills when the time is right.

  48. motorfirebox

    Huh. Looks like soggies made rules.

  49. Mike Provencher II

    I, for one, am shocked and appalled at how political this comic has become.

    1. clif

      Are you reading it on a PC or a Mac?

  50. ninja_jesus

    lol, pegged
    Cuz I’m a child

  51. Monkey13

    I mean, that’s just Peanut Butter Crunch cereal. It’s an actual product.

  52. Arianod

    Just as well DinaXJoyce isn’t a thing. Breakfast time would be a nightmare.

  53. Johannna1900

    I’m a few years late to the party, but elf seems a lot like a zork reference to me. The bird is a treasure, the sword is the first weapon in the game, and you are, without variation, an elf.

    1. LiterallyJustSomeGuy

      I always figured that was World of Warcraft, but it could also be a zork reference! I was thinking WoW because playing an elf is an option (but not the only option) and Amber has made previous references to being in the middle of a raid https://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/04-the-bechdel-test/raid/ and killing spiders https://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/amber/ . There are likely other references I can’t find as quickly.

    2. clif

      I remember those strips. It was just before Jennifer finally figured out that Sal was AmaziGirl.

      1. clif

        But with respect to the elf, my mind went back to those old Middle Earth MUDS and the birds were Eagles. Not going as far back as Zork, but still old enough to be unlikely.

  54. Johannna1900

    https://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-2/01-pajama-jeans/elf/

  55. drs

    In five minutes you should have finished your cereal.

  56. Disloyal Subject

    Okay but how the hell does a single bowl of cereal survive five minutes

    1. DarkoNeko

      probably sugar coating

      1. Disloyal Subject

        I guess that would put me off of eating the damn stuff, but most people just eat it all the same
        Five minutes is a long time for a bowl to go uneaten

  57. Demoted Oblivious

    It’s the chemical cereal varnish that Clark Griswold imvented. Also, *giant* bowls of cereal.

  58. Roborat

    I am with Dina. I can’t eat any flake based cereal anymore, the time between adding milk and it turning into disgusting glorp is measured in nanoseconds. I ate Cheerios for a while, now I eat Harvest Crunch, that stuff takes a while to get soggy.

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