106

Nuanced
Posted on May 19, 2023 by David M Willis

106 thoughts on “Nuanced”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    speedrunning Character Development, Moseth Rothenberg, Any%, est. <1 week

    (Joe having mixed feelings about being a prize to be won)

    1. Dana

      It’s not that, it’s that the construction on those bears is shit.

      1. BarerMender

        It might be that you don’t boff teddy bears. And Joe wants to get boffed.

        1. Yotomoe

          I’ve seen videos that prove otherwise.

        2. Clif

          I’ve gone to great lengths to not see the videos that prove otherwise, but I’ve never doubted for a second they exist.

        3. Concolor44

          AMEN

        4. Decidedly Orthogonal

          It is highly advised that you report these to the Teddy Bear Liberation Front and fully co-operate with the subsequent investigations.

        5. Ryan

          Wilfred

        6. RassilonTDavros

          …what?

        7. Psychie

          I think you and I might have differing definitions of “boff”, as I get the impression you are referencing a sex thing, but personally boffing is to hit something with a homemade foam sword, commonly referred to as a boffer, and that is absolutely something I have done to multiple teddy bears.

          As an aside, I had a LARP character who wielded a staff named Teddy (the staff was named Teddy, not the character, his name is Don but he hasn’t been able to wield a staff since shortly after his right arm turned into a tentacle, even since it has reverted back to an arm… I miss my tentacle, but I have the means to get a new one now, so that’s cool). A few years ago I got a wooden cudgel to carry IRL for self-defense purposes that I have also named Teddy for the same reasons, the cudgel is not a boffer, as it is solid wood, but the staff was since I constructed it out of foam, PVC pipe, and duct tape to be safe to whack people with at a LARP.

  2. NGPZ

    Awe so sweet these two ?

    Also is it just me or did the server time iceberg shift once again

    1. True Survivor

      It wasn’t a titanic shift, but I think so. Also, yes – yes they are.

  3. Switchchris

    I like this Joyce, Understanding/accepting your feelings as what they are and being comfortable with them does wonders for her lol.

    1. Lumino

      Right? This is the most well adjusted I’ve seen Joyce since the comic started. Been waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it doesn’t feel like it’s gonna.

  4. True Survivor

    Naw, Joe loves it ‘faux shawl’

    1. thakoru

      ?

  5. BBCC

    Word on the street is tough, Joe.

  6. Stephen Bierce

    *cues up the Rod Stewart*

    1. Needfuldoer

      It’s been a long road
      Gettin’ from there to here
      It’s been a long time
      But my time is finally near

      1. Marianne

        Romulan shenanigans detected off the starboard bow!

  7. Chaucer59

    Word on the street isn’t just wrong. It’s WRONG-O!

  8. jeffepp

    Now I have the image of Joyce draped across his shoulders the way a cat will. With legs on one side, arms on the other, and belly behind his head.

    1. Yotomoe

      Does she dig her claws in?

      1. Schpoonman

        Only if Joe asks her to.

    2. Angel

      i kinda wanna see dina back on his back too at the same time and see how long he can hold them both up lol

  9. RassilonTDavros

    Honestly, I’m with Joyce, this hairstyle is way better. The fact that he doesn’t have the same hair style as Richard anymore does a nice job of symbolizing Joe emerging from the shadow of his father’s toxic influence on him.

    1. Shrub

      Good point

    2. True Survivor

      I never noticed this detail. That is great insight.

  10. Shrub

    I just really like seeing Joyce this happy, I’ve had a shit couple of months so this is just a nice little pick me up

    1. True Survivor

      I am so sorry to hear that. I hope things turn around for you soon.

    2. woobie

      This is DoA; it won’t last.

  11. PB

    Yeah, these two are as cute as I hoped ?

    1. RacingTurtle

      SO CUTE

  12. Juanoku

    Yeah no this hair is way better than that solid brick

    1. Nono

      Maybe Mike could have gotten Ethan if he scruffed his hair up a bit.

      1. darkgloomie

        Mike did get Ethan, though???

        1. Miri

          Mike and Ethan had sex. Then Ethan moved on having assumed that when Mike approached him for a boredom hook-up he could take that at face value/if there was anything else going on it was an attempted power play he would undermine by doing so. And had reached a point in his crush on Mike and their complicated friendship where he was genuinely OK with that.

          Mike… May well have actually had strong feelings for Ethan he never got around to expressing in words, beyond blurting out to splitting-Ambi-girl before losing consciousness from a fatally traumatic head injury that they were awesome friends.

  13. adam Black

    I think this implies Joyce has a Fred Flintstone fetish

    1. True Survivor

      Is that why she wants Joe to Yabba-Dabba-Do her?

    2. RassilonTDavros

      Deep down, some part of her wants to have A Gay Old Time.

    3. Yotomoe

      He’ll certainly make her Bed Rock

    4. SailorCakes

      Their courtship will go down in history

  14. Suet

    Plus she wants to maintain Seth’s look, she doesn’t want another problem on her hands like sorting things out with the EIC… WHY DIDN’T SHE PUT A DATE ON HER COMICS LIKE GARFIELD GRAAAAAHHH

    Man on the street says double dare Joyce to do a six-month buffer for maximum chaos

  15. Yotomoe

    I want what they have. I waaant what they Haaaave.

    1. Angel

      i’m sure you’ll find someone (but if not, i think you could still have close relationships with platonic friends) I’d love a piggyback ride from my platonic friends

  16. AbacusWizard

    Speaking as a big floofy guy with a smol significant other, my advice for Joe is: learn to enjoy being the oversized teddy bear she won at the fair. It is a good life.

  17. Yotomoe

    Fun fact. I have slept with a giant teddy bear since I was a kid. I should get rid of it but its legit more comfy than my pillows.

    1. NGPZ

      ? Awe. What’s their name?

      1. Yotomoe

        Barry

    2. Leorale

      True fact: You do not have to get rid of your giant comfy bear.

      1. GholaHalleck

        I had A Moment with my SO because they also slept with a giant carnival bear and the first time I was given Bedroom Clearance the very first thing out of my mouth was “I see my coming here has been foretold.”

        I may be both fuzzy, large, and eminently snuggable.

        1. StClair

          I love this story, and that line in particular.

    3. NGPZ

      Guh I wanted to comment on that name but the server keeps eating my messages.

    4. Tan

      You should not get rid of your giant teddybear, but you should wash it.

      1. Yotomoe

        Naw his time has come. He’s got a big hole in his back and he lost a lot of stuffing. I cant wash him without killing him.

        1. NGPZ

          Oh no! ?

          Do you know someone who knows how to sow?

        2. SailorCakes

          I know how to sew….

        3. laura

          My mom is 77 and still sleeps with her teddy bear from when she was tiny.
          She’s resurfaced him many times from scraps of cloth, but he’s still the same old bear.

        4. thejeff

          The Bear of Theseus.

        5. Angel

          i’m sure you can clean him without doing too much damage , be nice if a build-a bear would let you restuff your own animals but yeah it would be nice to get someone who knew how to sew, or just buy some patches you could like, staple over /frakenstein other fabrics on to it lol

    5. SailorCakes

      If it makes you feel any better I’m 33 and still have my baby blanket…..

    6. Hazel

      If I ever get stupid-rich I’m gonna buy a life-size Snorlax.

  18. DarkoNeko

    Miho is that you 😀

    1. Taffy

      From Season Zero?

  19. DailyBrad

    I love this, and I am willing to bet he does, too, he’s just self-conscious.

    1. Needfuldoer

      Absolutely. No question about that.

      1. Council

        He can like it And be upset at the same time

        We contain multitudes!

        His multitudes are big and cuddly and I love them

  20. NGPZ

    Hey is the server eating up messages for anyone else or just me?

  21. NGPZ

    @Yotomoe Barry. So cute! ??

    1. Yotomoe

      Accidentally flagged. Anyway thabjs. Its like Bear.

      1. NGPZ

        Awe no worries. And haha yea I noticed ?

  22. TheKelliestKelly

    I was under the impression Joyce had a larger buffer than that

    1. RacingTurtle

      She’s got Julia Gray Space Force stories, but she might not have all the pre-Space Force college shenanigans she’s hoping for done yet

    2. Reltzik

      DoA time. A week ago she was world-building her comic and competing with Walky for the spot in the paper. (Actually she got the slot 8 days ago… I think? 8 chapters ago, did we skip a day or two in there?)

      1. thejeff

        No timeskips, but one of those chapters was the Halloween flashback.

        Sounds to me that “like a week” would still be the initial drop of strips to Daisy when she got the gig.

      2. laura

        And she apparently still hasn’t answered Jocelyn’sstrip. call from when she was scanning her comic strips.
        Chekov’s missed call!

    3. DailyBrad

      Life drawing classes maybe are cutting into that, both because it’s another use of her time and because it means she’s changing her art style up, which probably means going slower and also some of what she had done already maybe being below her new standards.

  23. Reltzik

    It always comes back to climbing with these two.

    Joyce, it’s called a Jungle Jim, not a Jungle Joe.

    .

    (Yes I know it’s gym just let me have my wordplay it’s all I’ve got.)

    1. Mark

      “It’s your heat that makes me warm / makes me hang on you like a tree.”

    2. laura

      QC reference!

  24. Pongles

    Don’t worry, she’ll just reboot the universe after this one has ran it’s course with her broadened worldview and upgraded writing skills.

  25. Now

    Ah, to date a man that can pick you up and put you on the highest shelf.

    (I settled for one that I can pick up and then fireman-carry where I want, it’s a different sort of fun)

    1. Zaxares

      Sadly, I suffered a back injury in my early thirties so I’ve had to tell several girlfriends that if they’re hoping for me to carry her across the threshold one of these days, they’re gonna be disappointed. XD

    2. Sam

      Valid. A secure man that will accept being carried is also a good option. It just has a soft intimate type of feel to carry or be carried by a spouse.

  26. Needfuldoer

    aaaaaaaa these two

  27. SDRainbow

    while this is Extremely Cute and I am very happy for them and have shipped them for quite some time

    my prediction is that they’re gonna run into trouble because Joyce is going to fall into easy patterns. she’s on track to get her MRS, no difficult religious upbringing to overcome here!! and joe is going to resent it

    1. Angel

      well her being an atheist now might help a bit but i can imagine thinking ahead about marriage and raising kids though

  28. Schpoonman

    If I weren’t committed to cursed/meme gravatars panel 4 would be a strong contender.

  29. ian livs

    Aw, come on, Joe–cute girls calling you cute is, like, the highest compliment!

  30. Falcon

    Confirmation that Joe can feel free to settle into a Dad Bod while possibly becoming even more attractive to Joyce.

  31. HueSatLight

    The carnival game she won him at was skeeze-ball.

  32. poyo

    uhhhhhhg they are so CUTE i hate it lmao

  33. Megan Rivera

    This storyline is pure serotonin for my brain hole ♥

    I love them together!

  34. bcb

    Only a 1-week buffer? Joyce, ya gotta improve.

    1. Daibhid C

      The less of a buffer there is, the fewer potential wrong orders there are for the strips to go in.

      Starting next week, Joyce will be handing the strips over one at a time, just before the paper goes to press.

  35. Claire

    Help they are actually cute

  36. Rocketboy1313

    Boy this brings back memories of petite women that live rent free in many of my fun and sad memories.

    1. Schpoonman

      Why you gotta call me out like that?

  37. hybrid2

    So they are a couple now?
    With all the touching.

    1. Angel

      well they did kissi n an earlier strip

    2. Schpoonman

      Joyce called Joe her boyfriend yesterday talking to Sal and Danny. I don’t remember a kiss.

      1. NGPZ

        on the cheek i think

  38. Kazuma Taichi

    Joyce is being so cute like this I just can’t

    Also can confirm that draping over humans is enjoyable until the weight shifts and suddenly you realize their shoulder is in your solarplexus

  39. Felian

    i don’t wanna be too harsh on Joyce, but i’m getting weird vibes that remind me of straight relationships where the woman acts sweet and adoring, but is in fact trying to control the man into changing behaviours.
    It’s not at a harmful stage here, and i hope it won’t be!

  40. Hinoron

    Why do women love dropping this line, “you know you love it” whenever they’re doing something we genuinely don’t like? Flip the gender roles and see if it doesn’t sound borderline monstrous to your own ear.
    It comes FROM somewhere, I’m sure? Some terribly romantic movie from the 80s or 90s that I’ve never felt compelled to see (or possibly heard of). What’s the source of this obnoxious fallacy?

    1. Felian

      yeah exactly (see my comment just above yours)
      i’ve seen this in couples…. it’s cringey to see women trying to “train“ their partner by completely ignoring his stated like/dislike of things…. :/

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