127

Particularly
Posted on April 26, 2018 by David M Willis
SIX days left in the Book 7 Kickstarter! And just $500 to go until FREE RUTH MAGNET is unlocked!

127 thoughts on “Particularly”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “Well, we’re very close…”

    “Aww, how sweet!”

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      They have touched each other’s colons.

      1. Zach

        Not yet!

        1. Jamie

          Oh, they’ve edited the same wiki article on Transformers.

        2. MatthewTheLucky

          L-lewd.

        3. Deanatay

          Oh my! *blushes*

        4. FacelessDeviant

          I think its just a semi colon touching for now.

    2. Dibullba

      He also did not charge me a nickel.

  2. Schpoonman

    Welp.

  3. Achallenger

    That parade weather

  4. BBCC

    He is …definitely a guy?

    1. Yumi

      He has…a face…

      1. Stephen Bierce

        Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace.

        1. Roborat

          Good job, somebody had to do it.

      2. Passchendaele

        and hair…

        1. Emily

          And a nickel!

        2. Needfuldoer

          Is it Schemer?

        3. NelC

          Lots of nickels.

  5. tyranidswarm

    “Yes Joyce you CAN meet him… in fact he’s right HERE… he’s standing right behind you just turn around annnndd”

    *Ethan takes off running*

    1. Doctor_Who

      Don’t ask me how, but somehow Mike would arrange to be there when she turned around, logistics be damned.

      1. Wizard

        Mike is wherever you don’t want him to be.

        1. Eldritch Gentleman

          Did he come from the same Evil Lab as Faz?

      2. weirderthanweird

        I don’t think he’d have to be. If Mike knows Joyce knowing will make Ethan uncomfortable, then it’s probably not best to leave Mike alone with her. He would most probably tell her

        1. geno

          If Mike has to do something the easy way it’s no fun for him. He wants to arrange things, so Ethan has to confront his actions.

  6. Danni

    ethan…….

  7. Kernanator

    I can categorically state that you have met him.

  8. Ivy

    Wait, who told her that?

    1. Yumi

      Ethan.
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/02-this-is-the-way-that-we-love/mansomeone/

      1. Bagge

        Those chairs really are not that great at their stated function.

  9. Passchendaele

    (not) great news, Joyce! 😛

  10. Shiro

    I genuinely love the way Joyce is talking in panel 3, it’s incredibly relatable for me. Face, tone, general gist of the statement–it could be me talking about the dude who assaulted me. I feel you sis.

  11. tim gueguen

    Mike isn’t a boy. He’s some sort of extradimensional being, disguised as a human being, tasked with bringing as much chaos to Earth as possible.

    1. Yumi

      Same, tbh

    2. Zach

      Subdementional. Coming from flatland is also why he is so good with charts.

    3. Eldritch Gentleman

      So It’s cousin huh?

    4. thejeff

      Nah, he’s just an asshole.

      Maybe over in the Walkyverse, but here he’s really nothing special.

    5. Roborat

      Gasp, he is Loki?

  12. Bagge

    It’s really, really awesome of Joyce to getting over mind-Ryan. Stupid B-hole indeed!

    1. Reltzik

      I’m waiting for Mike to point out that he’s recovering well and has made bail.

      …. whether or not it’s true.

      1. Jamie

        Have we seen Mike lie yet? I can’t remember.

        1. Reltzik

          Oh, right, he has, and he’s apparently not good at it.

          ….

          …. but still, he could point out the possibility.

        2. merbrat

          Though, he pokes fun at Joyce, she isn’t usually a target for cruelty like Walky, Ethan, etc is/are. Bringing up Ryan’s possible recovery would be very cruel.

        3. MatthewTheLucky

          Joyce is Mike’s… friend? Least favorite victim? She amuses him and is too easy. Plus she offers him either physical violence or an opportunity to inflict violence upon others.

        4. thejeff

          I think Joyce, more than most of the others, has Mike’s number. Maybe it comes from having so many older (apparent) brothers. She doesn’t talk to him or listen to him, she just kicks him or pushes him out of the way and moves on.

  13. Keulen

    He definitely has a name and is nearby. Nice is not a word I’d use to describe him though.

  14. @zombieundergrnd

    POOR RUTH.
    She must be so sad and disappointed.
    The damnable Bruins eliminated the Leafs in game 7 tonight.
    So terrible.

    1. Opus the Poet

      At least they made the playoffs (pointed stare at the Stars).

      1. Needfuldoer

        They’re not exactly the Cleveland Browns of hockey, then!

        *Resumes Masshole smugness*

    2. butts

      this dancing butt indicates how happy I am about that

    3. Ryek Hvek

      We mourn with Ruth

    4. hof1991

      Just to punish Leafs fans, the hockey gods let them have a lead in the third period of game seven, just to have it all come crashing down. Close enough to taste, but never getting it done. Hopefuully, Billie and Ruth are doing better.

  15. Cattleprod

    Never kiss someone with hair that can exist in reality, they aren’t worth your time.

    1. Reltzik

      ….. if anime exists in reality, and anime hair exists in anime, that means anime hair exists in reality, correct?

      1. Zach

        It’s nested. You got to get it out.

        1. Chris Phoenix

          You got to whip your HAIR back and forth, whip your HAIR back and forth…

  16. timemonkey

    “Do I know him? Is he cute? Did you touch wieners?”

    1. Jamie

      I want fan art of Ethan and Mike dueling with bratwursts now.

      1. AGV

        Like this?:
        https://youtu.be/z0kftat4540?t=28s

    2. Deanatay

      “Is there DUDE SMUT?? No, wait, don’t tell me! I should not know about that!!

      …

      …That, and my Google-fu is getting VERY good…”

  17. Betty Anne

    Is it just me, or does Mike look very slightly impressed at how Joyce is describing that stupid b-hole?

    1. Yumi

      Perhaps. I initially took his expression as “what is this information” since I don’t think he’s familiar with Joyce’s situation.

      1. Reltzik

        Which would in turn imply that he will be able to USE that information from here on out.

    2. Sunny

      Well, his left eybrow has definitely moved in the 3rd panel. And it has only partly returned to its normal position by panel 5, so I’d say Mike is very impressed.

      1. Reltzik

        “Yes… let the hate flow through you…”

    3. BenRG

      I’m not sure if he’s impressed; I think that he’s surprised. He probably has issues with reconciling what he knows with Joyce with how she’s talking about Ryan. How he’ll respond to this knowledge is another matter.

  18. newllend(henryvolt)

    Uuuuh….ok on one hand this time he’s with someone he’s actually attracted too and not faking it, but on the other that person is Mike and he might just be doing this as some sort of diabolical scheme.

    So… I don’t know if this is one step forward or back. I hope it’s forward honestly.

    1. Schpoonman

      It is one of Mike’s schemes. He doesn’t like Ethan’s and Danny’s dancing around each other for Amber’s feelings, so he said he was going to seduce one of them (he said it out loud that he was picking Ethan after Ethan said Danny was off-limits) to make the other jealous, intending to prompt them to get together once they realize how much they want the other.

      You know, instead of not being a total fucking asshole and just sitting them down and telling them “It’s okay, you can be happy. If Amber is a good person and your friend she will let it go.”

      Funnily enough, this may be the only ship I’ve ever had that I’ve been okay with more than one configuration. DannyxEthan and DannyxAmber are both A-OK in my book.

      1. Kamino Neko

        You’re reading an AWFUL LOT of positive motivation into an action that was explicitly stated to be actively negative.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Malevolence is a given, this is Mike we’re talking about here.

        2. thejeff

          It’s practically a meta-Trope here. Commenters twisting Mike’s explicitly stated motivations to defend him.

        3. geno

          I don’t think anyone has stated he isn’t an asshole. Just that he is a person, and people have more complex motivations than you’re suggesting Mike has. He showed them multiple time in the Walkyverse, and I imagine he has them here as well. He hasn’t had much screen time here, but it seems silly that Willis would get rid of his positive qualities in a more serious universe. If anything it’s more likely that if Mike ever get’s a proper arc it will explore his humanity more than even SP! did.

        4. thejeff

          Quick possibly. But so far, he’s shown no signs of using his assholishness to actually help people, like is constantly suggested.
          As above “intending to prompt them to get together.”

        5. Schpoonman

          Oh, cool, we’re ignoring explicit substance and nuance again.

          I thought my thoughts were clear when I referred to Mike as a “total fucking asshole” for the way he is going about this. Mike goes about EVERYTHING in the worst possible way, and even though he is RIGHT to not like Danny’s and Ethan’s waffling it doesn’t excuse seducing Ethan given his knowledge of how much it will hurt him and Danny.

          Is that better?

        6. thejeff

          The point is that there isn’t more than the barest hint that it’s Danny and Ethan’s waffling that’s motivating him or especially that he wants to get them together.

          Sure, he’s doing it in the worst possible way, but there’s little to no reason to think he’s even doing it for any positive reason at all.

        7. Adam Black

          Except thats codependant nonsense. of the same kind Mike is trying to break.

          So Danny and Ethan cant be togther becuase it will hurt Amber,
          No matter how many times she dumps Danny and throws him away,
          And Danny started liking Ethan after the first time Amber dumped him.

          But Now Mike cant hook up with Ethan becuase it will hurt Danny,
          ( even though Mike doesnt care about Dannys feelings per se. But may care about Ethans loosely )

          And when Danny being with someone else is the only thing that might change his mind )

          Under your logic, Now Ethan must stay a lonely Virgin forever becuase Danny got a Boner for him once. Thats Just not how gay men behave.

          Mike was perfectly explicit whats hes doing and Keeps Telling Ethan to get a Boyfriend if thats what hes wants.

          There is absolutely nothing wrong woth Mike hooking up with Ethan,
          ( other than Ethan would probably get attached to him and Mikes an asshole ). If Mike was a normal human being there would be nothing wrong with Mike seducing Ethan. Ethan is single and lonely.

          Ethan doesnt have to remain a virgin becuase Danny is afraid to make a move.

        8. thejeff

          “even though Mike doesn’t care about Danny’s feelings per se.”?

          “I was waffling on whether to seduce you or Danny to turn the other into a jealous, whimpering mess, so you it is.” He’s explicitly told us, in an aside to the audience, why he’s doing this.

          There would be nothing wrong with Mike hooking up with Ethan, except that he’s Mike and we know he’s doing it explicitly to hurt people. Particularly Danny, with certain backsplash to Ethan. Mike’s been explicit to us about what he’s doing. Not to Ethan. Or did I miss a scene where he told Ethan “I’m seducing you to mess with Danny”?

          Ethan hooking up with practically anyone else, fine. Danny would likely be a bit hurt and jealous, but also happy for his friend and relieved to have him less available and tempting.

          And Mike isn’t trying to break codependent nonsense or any other benevolent notion. He’s hurting people. For his own amusement. Like he has been all along.

        9. Fart Captor

          Of course there’s nothing wrong with Mike hooking up with Ethan in and of itself. That’s ridiculous. What’s wrong is that Mike’s stated reason for doing it was to hurt him and/or Danny, and that he’s manipulating Ethan to do it. The fact that Ethan suspects that Mike is up to something does not just make it less shitty of Mike.

          If casual, no-strings-attached making out really was all Mike was after, that’d be totally fine.

          Ethan and Danny absolutely could be together. When they feel comfortable with it. The fact that the cause for their reluctance is their concern for how it might make Amber feel doesn’t make that discomfort less valid than if it was something like one or both of them simply not feeling ready for that yet (which I’m not 100% sure isn’t a factor, since Danny taking a break from romance to figure himself out is very healthy and has been good for him).

          As much as it is sweet of them both to care so much about Amber’s feelings, and as much as that endears them to me, of course they shouldn’t put what they want on hold forever because of how someone else feels. But at least for the moment, “what they want” includes “not dating because it might make Amber feel worse”. And that’s fine, because that’s the choice they made on their own, based on what matters to them, and not because Amber or anyone else laid a guilt trip on them or insisted they follow some arbitrary rule about not dating your friend’s ex or waiting a set amount of time.

          Danny and Ethan are doing the exact opposite of what Mike is doing. Mike knows Ethan well, and knows that “never trust Mike even a little” is somehow not something he’s learned yet. He’s laid a trap for Ethan, pointed to it and told Ethan it was there, knowing full well that Ethan will stumble into it all the same, thinking that knowing it’s there means that he’ll be able to avoid it.

          Mike is a shitty friend.

    2. Ainara

      Well, let’s just say it’s a step alright

  19. kitty

    i have had “gucci gang” stuck in my head all day and now its still there but words gucci gang is replaced smoochy face. much better.

  20. barefootbiker

    Does it look to anyone else like they were holding hands and quickly broke apart before the first panel, or did Willis just have to draw hands fast?

    1. cbwroses

      Mike doesn’t seem the hand holding type.
      It did look like that a bit, tho.

    2. BenRG

      Contextually, Ethan has just arrived and his hand is masking Mike’s as he walks in front of him. That said, yeah, there is the optical illusion that they’re holding hands.

      1. hof1991

        Saves Willis from drawing another hand. Hands are hard!

  21. Arianod

    I can’t imagine Mike getting genuinely upset at this, so I’m gonna assume he’s just doing it to make Ethan uncomfortable.

    1. HeySo

      By his original character, Mike hates superficiality and lying, and nothing we’ve seen in DoA seems to contradict a continuation of that mentality. So I think there’s some definite testing of Ethan going on there, though I wouldn’t say it’s Mike being offended persay.

  22. Pablo360

    I’m currently at a very different phase in Joyce’s PTSD in my fifth or sixth re-read of DoA, so seeing this comic is surreal to say the least.

  23. Pablo360

    Also, I’m getting video ads for PMPpersonnel.com

  24. Mr D

    Confusion will be my epitaph
    As I crawl a cracked and broken path
    If we make it we can all sit back
    And laugh
    But I fear tomorrow I’ll be crying,

  25. Lingo

    That is QUITE a vivid description of Ryan there, Joyce.

    1. Wright

      Yeah, just how badly did Amber get him? I just assumed a bunch of stabs and slashes.

      1. thejeff

        It’s been deliberately left to our imaginations.
        Bad enough to freak Dorothy out. Bad enough he was still in the hospital a few days later.
        Not dead.
        I think that’s all we know.

        1. Wright

          As long as Willis doesn’t give him bionic implants and make him the Six Million Dollar Rapist, I’m OK with that outcome.

  26. DarkoNeko

    oooh no

  27. Architex

    Was kinda hoping they were holding hands, and Joyce just hadn’t noticed yet.

  28. JessWitt

    So if Ethan gives a less than accurate description, will Mike get offended?

    1. Mr. Random

      It’ll just give him ammo.
      Which… Mike’s version of offended?

      1. HeySo

        Ironically, (basing off his earlier Walkyverse personality) Mike is also offended by not being given ammunition, because it both partially invalidates his consistently grim world-view and reminds him of his annoying parents.

        I think basically the only way you can win with Mike is to give him ammunition against someone else, or otherwise give him a lead-in that he can use to make a snarky comment.

  29. BenRG

    This is going to be interesting: The most negative reaction Joyce is likely to have is incomprehension that Ethan could be interested in a vinegary sort of guy like Mike (and possibly give Mike the Shovel Talk, which will be hilarious). The real question for Ethan to confront is this: Is he willing to openly acknowledge Mike as his boyfriend

    1. CJ

      They are just fuck buddies, aren’t they? I don’t know if Joyce can wrap her mind around the concept of non- pmarital hanky-panky.

      1. CJ

        Hey, where did the p spring from?

        1. Icalasari

          From Ethan’s pants during the make out session

      2. thejeff

        Not like she doesn’t know it exists. Even in the casual non-romantic form. She’s met Joe. She knows about Roz. She knows Joe just left her to go bang Malaya.
        How that would reconcile with her opinion of Ethan, I don’t know.

      3. Zee

        As far as I know all they’ve done is make out, not full blown sex. So make out buddies

        1. Freemage

          Which she’s generally good with (now), even same-sex, if it’s monogamous. (Case in point for a counter-example: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/unraveling/ )

          Unfortunately, this means she’d have a lot of issues with Mike/Ethan, even if it was explained to her honestly, because a casual hook-up is simply outside her frame of reference.

        2. thejeff

          Well, other than Joe and Malaya, earlier today. And Joe and Roz much earlier.
          Very definitely casual hookups.

          She freaked out about the first, but that was early in her growth.

    2. HeySo

      Yeah, Mike isn’t remotely Ethan’s boyfriend, so there’s nothing to acknowledge. Nor did Ethan ever indicate he was ever dating anyone, just that he was smoochin’. The question is if he’ll choose honesty and his friendship with Mike, or if he’ll let shame over smoochin’ someone like Mike (who, again, is a long-time friend of Ethan, despite his personality) convince him to try and disguise that truth.

      1. thejeff

        Neither is a good response, I think.

        If he was someone other than Ethan something like this might work: “Nobody important, Joyce. Just some jerk trying to mess with me. But the smooches were fun and I’ll be more confident when I find someone I actually like.”

  30. NinjaNick

    “Does it start with the letter M?”

  31. Coma

    I gotta say, the expressions in this comic get better and better! My new favourite of most diverse faces in one panel is the last one in this.

  32. Eldritch Gentleman

    Smooching Mike will result in nothing but pain and misery for Ethan…

  33. Yotomoe

    https://i.imgur.com/LIBbGDY.png
    Unrelated but I had to draw at least one more Joyce butt. Slightly NSFW.

    1. Delicious Taffy

      I enjoy this. It reminds me of Peridot in shorts.

  34. C.T Phipps

    Mike and Ethan are for evilsies until Mike falls in love for real.

    Which is because Mike is a vampire.

    1. BenRG

      I’m sort of wondering if Mike is, against his own intentions, going to fall in love with Ethan (or as close as he can get with his apparent personality disorder) and this is going to freak him out.

      1. thejeff

        Unlikely. Judging partly from SP!, I think anyone Mike could fall for would have to be someone who could at least stand up to him and mess with him back. Ethan’s been way too much of a patsy for him for too long.

        1. Ainara

          Little do we know, the day Ethan finally snaps there’ll be no survivors.

  35. Ray

    And SPEAKING of our current Faz-free environment, where IS rhe little horn dog riright now??

    1. Reltzik

      Back at Forest, with Billie and the others. Keeping his mouth shut, subsequently still surrounded by feisty women, and probably learning a valuable lesson.

  36. abysswatcher1993

    Joyce isn’t homophobic anymore. She is jerkaphobic, and Mike is a big jerk in her list. Also, are you forgetting something, Joyce? Someone? He rhymes with ass. Faz…bear… not ringing a bell?

    1. thejeff

      You mean “someone I don’t particularly trust”? Who she mentions explicitly in this strip?

  37. Roborat

    B-hole???

    Oh, I get it now.

  38. Opus the Poet

    I should have commented earlier about the specific reference to Ryan’s condition post-Amber, needing a separate container to transport his abdominal organs. Since Amber was not charged in the incident this implies Ryan made several attempts to recover the knife and inflict damage on her, and got damaged in the attempts. Or that Amber made it look like he caused the injuries himself.

    1. thejeff

      Or Joyce doesn’t doesn’t know his exact condition any more than we do – she does say “probably” after all.

      I’d say we don’t know anymore than we did before: Ryan attacked with a knife, Amber got it away from him and cut him up badly in the ensuing scuffle. It all happened quickly and you get quite a bit of leeway in a situation like that. You don’t have to stop until a reasonable person would conclude he was no longer a threat.

  39. FacelessDeviant

    You can meet him, but do you really want to?

  40. PB

    … Is it me or is panel 3 Mike impressed with Joyce? I mean, he should be. I am too. Go Joyce! Take every step knowing that your courage in doing so spits in the face of your enemies! <3

  41. Griffin Raynor

    Ethan’s face is *beautiful*. In general, but especially in the last panel.

  42. Sibre

    I would love to see Mike’s plan backfire as *he* develops feelings for Ethan. That’d be fun.

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