Scatter
Posted on July 16, 2025 by David M Willis

439 thoughts on “Scatter”

  1. Sajuuk-Khar

    Dorothy and Joyce have left the Library.

    Dorothy and Joyce have been saved.

    1. Taffy

      Spoilers.

    2. Steve

      Hey? Who turned out the lights?!

      1. Rose by Any other Name

        I’d join in, but I can’t think of any other quotes from those episodes except for the really sad ones.

        1. ZombieKyrik

          “Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair and The Doctor comes to call… everybody lives.”

        2. Nymph

          Just this once, Rose.

        3. Dara

          Just this once. <3

        4. Taffy

          Eccleston remains my favorite Doctor. Absolutely fantastic.

        5. Nymph

          Excellent taste. He was VERY good.

        6. Bagfaceman

          Don’t tell the others, they’ll just laugh

      2. Amy

        You’re in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up.

    3. Laura

      You win the Internet today!

    4. RassilonTDavros

      God, that was such a fucking good episode.

      1. Rose by Any other Name

        The start of an incredible character arc.

        1. Clif

          Some time I want to watch the episodes in her order.

        2. Bluesnake463

          You can use this if you ever want to https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ec/2f/3b/ec2f3b7bb4c9abf5bd76792a325b5188.jpg

        3. Bwsab

          I’ve been looking for something like this! Thank you so much!

        4. Rabid Rabbit

          I must be one of the few people who genuinely enjoyed her in those episodes, and hated her every other appearance. Or at least wished they were different characters. At a guess, this is because all her other appearances were written by Moffatt without anyone to rein him in. (See also: Adler, Irene.)

        5. Morhek

          I’m at least one more person.

        6. Vanessa

          And me, those were really great. The genocidal puppy Dr was gross.

        7. Jim

          What I always wondered, was: when the episode The Library was written, did the writers already know that River Song was Melody Pond, the daughter of a future (to the Doctor) companion and her husband, and was conceived on the TARDIS?

        8. Vanessa

          I really doubt it. That whole thing was just so over the top.

        9. Corey C.

          That River was the Doctor’s wife- Yes, most definitely. This was an obvious set up for her to marry an incarnation of the Doctor that didn’t exist yet, given the reaction 10 gave when she said his real name.
          That River was the daughter of the Doctor’s best friends- Nope. I think they added the whole Melody Pond thing specifically so the fans would accept Amy and Rory as an OTP and not make Rory into another Mick to Amy’s Rose Tyler.

    5. BarerMender

      This time, when Joyce vanishes down the road, the takes Dorothy with her. The finally came round right.

      1. BarerMender

        *They finally*

        1. Vanessa

          Yes, nice call back to the nightmare image of Joyce vanishing away from D
          Dorothy.

    6. Cloud

      Everyone seems to have gotten the reference but me, I thought you were referencing the old flash game “No one has to die”

  2. NGPZ

    ???

    *plays “The Touch” by Stan Bush on hacked muzak*

    1. NGPZ

      ya got the moves, ya know the streets!
      BREAK THE RULES, TAKE THE HEAT
      ya nobody’s fool!!!

      you’re at your best when when the going gets rough
      you’ve been put to the test, but it’s never enough!!!!

    2. Longshot97

      At least some of those lyrics have been/are being/will be proven wrong, but it still fits. Stan Bush is simply magical.

    3. Deanatay

      *sigh* you are so very young…

      Take The Long Way Home.

      1. Erik

        That link goes to “page not found”… was it a Supertramp reference, by any chance?

        1. Deanatay

          *sgh* It was… stupid links.

      2. Risky

        That link url seems to be a single opening smart quote.

      3. Needfuldoer

        As long as it’s not The Logical Song. I have an irrational hatred for that one.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKgXNt6MhwQ

        1. Jon

          Would you call that an… illogical hatred?

    4. Embe13

      Some might argue Dare to Be Stupid is more apt here.

      also, as a proud canuck, i would offer History is made by stupid people! (hope this works)
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJsrcbVGsa4&list=PL3mhGTA9JQQCNZrdRu1ZcSG6Nnxz9hRL4&index=513

  3. Eiim

    Oh, Dorothy’s really rebelling now

    1. Clif

      COMIC OVER! The buffer is a lie.

      1. CianM1301

        The remainder of the buffer is just Dorothy and Joyce kissing, but at a different angle each day. If you line up each strip, it does a full 360° rotation around them.

      2. Patrick Duke

        My fat fingers accidentally reported your comment while I was scrolling. Very sorry.

  4. ZombieKyrik

    “Just some punks with guns.” This reminds me of Batman, and not in a heroic way; more of a suicidal desire to fight until you die.

    1. Jo_cubstar

      …I mean that’s probably accurate for amber/Amazi-girl, no?

      1. ZombieKyrik

        Yes, especially the suicidal desire part, and that’s why I’m concerned she’s going to get seriously injured, or die.

        1. Laura

          Yeah she’s kind of breaking my heart right now…

        2. Laura

          Yeah, what they used to call “suicide by cop”.

          A very cruel ironic turn of phrase if I ever heard one…

        3. Laura

          Hi folks,

          WOW. S*%@. ?

          I should NOT have used the “su” word. That’s what I get for posting something triggering and then not checking back. I am so sorry, everybody. Literally. I am so sorry. I needed to be more careful with what I said.

          As Taffy requested above, I have reported the thread, from my comment on “S.b.C” on upwards. I’m hoping Willis can zap the thread for us.

          Taffy, I am so sorry that happened to you. I am so very sorry that you had to live through that, but extremely glad that you DID LIVE through that. As Joyce said, “I sure hope to continue feeling this exact portion alive!”

          NOBODY deserves to have to go through something terrible like that. My heart just hurts for you in those two experiences. That is so awful.

          Taffy, as a person who’s also alive today only by virtue of distance and medication, I just want to tell you I am glad you are here.

          I am glad you are here. I hope you don’t ever feel so alone again. Because you are not alone. ?

          I’ll be more careful before dropping the “s-bom” in the future.

          ?❤️‍?

        4. Taffy

          Hey, don’t even sweat it. I made the choice to share the anecdote because it seemed to flow, but it some folks didn’t particularly care for it. Shit happens, and I’ve been too busy enjoying a new-to-me webcomic called Rain to trip about it much.

        5. Laura

          Cool, thank you for the webcomic recommendation! Looks good!

        6. thejeff

          If it’s the Rain I’m thinking of, it’s definitely recommended.

        7. Kelibath

          You found Rain!? I caught up with that comic last year and was there for the ending, it’s really beautiful. Some moments of controversy as per the norm for a single author’s POV on queerness but frankly very down to earth and thoughtful. Especially in how the author responds to comments when things do flag up.

        8. Holly

          I’m kinda hoping Asma tackles her to the ground and has a word to say about not playing the saviour.

        9. Bajja

          Tbh: Willis absolutely sucks at writing Muslim characters. Lol

          Basically some of the least Muslim people lol… Asma seems chill. But also like…. Nevermind.

          Haha, I had kinda hoped (right before Sarah had her Smiling Awakening or whatever) that Sarah would respond to Jacob’s hooking up, I kinda hoped SARAH would find Islam, and USE the kill-them-with-kindness tactic to put Raidah in her disgustingly unislamic hypocrite place.

          Ugh, I can’t tell if Raidah exists as a token of the western trend to make Muslims the bad guy, or what, but the growth of feminine expression represented in this comic could use an ACTUAL PRACTICING Muslim (instead of a cultural Muslim hijabi clearly not showing the best aspects of it).

          Asma and I would be friends but ya gotta realize: I’m a BAD Muslim lol.

          The good ones are REALLY good.

          Ya, watching Sarah use Islam to smite the f out of Raidah is my personal head canon hahah

        10. NGPZ

          Willis has unironically acknowledged this on bluesky just yesterday,

          he said he gonna make Muslim characters more prominent in the strip, it’s gonna take some time, granted, but I’m glad he’s realized his error and I’m thrilled to see where he goes with this! <3

        11. Bajja

          Anyway, she prolly won’t do that because it isn’t HER belief to save amazigirl lol

          Fun thing about believing in the afterlife: fixing the current world is less important than doing YOURSELF properly

          Eh, I prolly didn’t word that well

          No one’s gonna save the saviors from their savior complex, is my point

        12. Kelibath

          One could argue that refusing to try and help people with how the current world treats us, or not stepping in to make positive change, is also a choice that changes who you are as well. As a Christian and a social justice activist I have to try and balance that a lot.

        13. Kelibath

          Not saying that people don’t veer completely into one extreme or the other, btw! I’m more saying it’s a really easy trap to walk into if you aren’t really considering where your motivations come from.

        14. RoyanRannedos

          A lot of this depends on how much control God or the universe exerts over your afterlife. I think of it as a threshold for disqualifying people from the best experiences.

          I was Mormon, so I grew up with a fear that one slip up in following the commandments Mormonism drilled into me would end with me isolated from God and family, spending eternity alone with regrets. Small wonder perfectionism is still a hefty part of how I see the world.

          This result of high-demand religion is less doing yourself properly and more keeping up with all the Mormoning you need to conform in thought, action, and example.

          It’s why Mormon missionaries end up telling everyone they’re doing it wrong, even if the person they’re talking to has objectively added to the world. There’s no “good enough”.

          I don’t believe jumping through the right hoops and dropping the right names will guarantee eternal bliss. Happiness is something you build on, a progression from who you are to who you want to be, even if there are painful course corrections along the way.

          If experience continues after these decades on Earth, the ability to appreciate how you spend your time will remain the way to really build treasure in heaven.

    2. Regalli

      It’s also reminiscent of what Blaine described Sal as just before The Stabbing – “Just some punk with a knife.”

      So yeah, the more I’m thinking on it, the more concerned I am!

      1. RassilonTDavros

        And also a direct quote of how she herself described Toedad during the first kidnapping arc.

    3. Amós Batista

      Oh no, who saves our saviors?

      1. RassilonTDavros

        “Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Jesus the wise?” –Matthew 27:42

    4. Getes

      No, she’s right.

    5. Proto

      I think she’s directly quoting The Dark Knight Returns. But yeah. Amazi-Girl, you can cop Batman’s style but not his plot armor!

    6. Vulcanodon

      Amber, next day; “She said what?“

  5. Taffy

    Told ya the fence was easily defeated.

    1. Alongcameaspider

      I suspect it was less the fence itself and more finding a spot without cops nearby

      1. Taffy

        No, she’s visibly bringing it down with her grappling hook. Look at the shitty supports at the bottom, they’re very weak fences. My son could defeat them.

        1. Sajuuk-Khar

          And their son is Alphinaud, so that really says something about the fence.

        2. Taffy

          He may not be buoyant, but he’s great at gathering firewood.

        3. Clif

          Imagine going through life with a moniker like Bouyant, Son of Taffy.

        4. Taffy

          I could call him B-st for short. (Pronounced like “beast”)

        5. Embe13

          i would as well. 🙂

    2. Nono

      It’s not very good defence.

  6. sdrainbow

    it’s not SMOKE it’s TEAR GAS

    DO NOT RUN INTO THE TEAR GAS

    1. Taffy

      Foreshadowing. Amazi-Girl has been stacking the corpses of the cops she’s been massacring, and she’s gonna light them on fire for dramatic effect.

      1. Sajuuk-Khar

        YOU KIDS WANNA MAKE SOME *BACON*?!??!

        1. Jeff K!

          “Laws are threats, made by the dominant socio-economic ethnic group in a given nation. It’s just the promise of violence and police are basically an occupying army, y’know what I mean?”

    2. Rose by Any other Name

      I like the detail where there are red smudges of irritation around their eyes and noses.

      Well, like might be the wrong word. It is a well crafted detail to include artistically.

      1. Risky

        It definitely did some show-not-belabor work in the past few pages.

  7. Longshot97

    I am in love with Asma’s permanently annoyed expression, especially from distances like this.

    1. Heatth

      Asma is great. She should be in the comic more, specially now she became more than the Desk Lady.

    2. Kyulen

      I’m sure Asma has a lot of things to be annoyed about. I definitely want to see more of her in future DoA strips.

    3. Kelibath

      Another vote for Asma. Speaking of, did you see the poll?

  8. Morrison

    Joyce and Dorothy, holding hands and singing “Amazi-Girl can’t tell us what to do!”

    1. Sajuuk-Khar

      They’re so stupid!!! I love them but they’re the dumbest babies alive!!!!

      1. Morrison

        I enjoy them much ?

  9. mindbleach

    Asma lore…

    1. NGPZ

      let’s see Mary survive an ASMA ATTACK >:D

      1. bhtooefr

        holy crap that is a *terrible* pun

    2. jeffepp

      You mean, we’ve never seen her and AG together at the same place and time? Coincidence?

    3. True Survivor

      You think Asma packed those bolt cutters when she went to college or ordered them recently. I mean she runs the post-room so I guess maybe there is no body to report her for receiving suspicious deliveries?

      1. Leorale

        Asma the bike thief. Oh no!

        1. Taffy

          She’s fuckin’ good at it, too. Asma can take a man’s mountain bike without him noticing, have it disassembled less than five minutes later, and by the time half an hour has passed, it’s been melted down and reshaped into a statue of Dibella.

        2. RoyanRannedos

          Thash grape!

          – Dragonborn, passed out on the floor of the Temple of Dibella

      2. Bittersweet

        Are bolt cutters suspicious? I was sort of under the impression you could buy them at Home Depot lol

        1. Proxiehunter

          Anything is suspicious if a cop wants it to be.

  10. JA

    And they ran away as fast as they could all the way to the laundry room.

  11. Sirksome

    Hope AG doesn’t get killed. Very unlikely those guns are “less than lethal”.

    1. Taffy

      If Amazi-Girl dies, Amber will have to take up her mantle.

    2. Bridgette R

      I was invested in this story of Dorothy and Joyce, but now I am worried about Amber/ amazigirl.

      I don’t know much about the US, but what I do know is that my government suggested when travelling to the United states never to call the police.

      1. Sirksome

        I’m sure she has strong enough plot armor to not die, but like if Willis wanted to……She’ll probably have a lot of bullet hole shaped bruises tomorrow.

        1. GholaHalleck

          She married Mike once. And Joe Married Rachel once too…

          So there’s that.

        2. Pergola

          The next time we see Amber she will have just broken Sal’s speed-running record.

      2. Proxiehunter

        As someone who lives in the United States I agree with your government.

    3. Rogue 7

      She’s already been punching and kicking these cops, and not in a “flailing harmlessly” way.

      That she isn’t currently shot is solely because of narrative fiat on Willis’s part and it’s a really bad look on the whole. Amazi-girl being able to take down multiple cops in body armor when she couldn’t take down Blaine *specifically because he was wearing body armor* is pure comic book. The cops are faceless mooks so they go down, but a named, personal villain is tougher. And if this was “The Amazing Adventures of Amazi-Girl!” that would be fine. Not good, not really interesting on my end, ɓut fine. But in the context of this being mostly a slice of life dramadey and the very real problems cops pose, making it so that the solution is “oh just sic Amazi-Girl on them, she’ll be fine because she’s inexplicably Batman when no one else in this universe gets to play by superhero rules” is bad writing.

      1. thejeff

        I do have a similar issue with this – and also worry about the long-term consequences of her beating up cops like this, but at least part of her issues with fighting Blaine was that she was completely exhausted from feuding between herself and Amber. AG only being able to get out while Amber was asleep.

      2. Sirksome

        AG’S existence and exploits have always clashed with the semi realism of the rest of the comic. If her jumping from a zipline onto moving trucks or crashing into cars without shattering her back doesn’t already take you out of the comic than fighting cops that realistically would be shooting her dead by this point shouldn’t. We’re kind of in or out by now. It is strange it kinda only applies to AG though but she is the only superhero. You could say comicbook logic is her super power.

      3. Jon

        It’s weird that they purposefully included a reference to the sniper but now that a costumed vigilante is taking down MULTIPLE cops, the sniper isn’t doing anything.

        Idk but it seems like the kind of thing they’d be likely to use a sniper for. Maybe they’re holding off due to the optics of killing what feels pretty clearly a student.

  12. Regalli

    … There’s something I find… interesting… about “some punks with guns” echoing Blaine’s “some stupid punk with a knife” that I’m… not sure how to feel about, honestly!

    https://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/nothing/

    1. Yumi

      I actually just reread this strip the other day: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/cojones/

      1. Effie

        I was just about to link that too. That memory has been driving AG for a while.

        1. Laura

          Did Amber say something similar about Ryan? I seem to remember something like that…

    2. Sajuuk-Khar

      Amazi-Girl is an O’Malley, but I believe she’s trying to be a good O’Malley

    3. HueSatLight

      The cops are going to get their guns shoved through their hands.

      1. Taffy

        Fucking ouch??

    4. Alan

      Also possibly a reference to a Batman scene from the Justice League cartoon where an alternate universe version of himself describes Joe Chill (and thus the trauma that made both of them) as “some punk with a gun”.

  13. jeffepp

    Supertramp reference

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      I was thinking of the Poul Anderson novel, myself…

  14. not someone else

    Great, now I have Supertramp stuck in my head. (I actually like this song, too, so hey.)

  15. keithcurtis

    And they leapt off into the Grand Canyon, just beyond the edge of the panel.

    1. Taffy

      That’s in Delaware, not Indiana. You fail Geography.

      1. Yumi

        It’s going on tour, so soon this will be right by the sliding timescale.

        1. Taffy

          That’s actually a terrifying hypothetical headline.

          “Grand Canyon Goes On Tour”

        2. mindbleach

          Donut County.

        3. keithcurtis

          It could cause a lot of bother if it went on tour in say, the Netherlands.

        4. zee

          New analogue horror

      2. J.Gawain

        He’s talking about Grand Canyon Canyon.

    2. jeffepp

      Which is currently on fire. Because it tragically is.

  16. General Tekno

    *remembers there’s snipers* oh nooooooo

    1. Taffy

      All they need to do is look the sniper dead in the eye and firmly say “Sniper, no sniping” a few times.

      1. Proxiehunter

        Aw man!

  17. AnonGrouch

    Amazigirl. What a heart taker.

  18. Kyulen

    I’m glad they’re leaving, though Amazi-Girl should get out of there too. I doubt her superhero outfit is bulletproof, and a lot of the “less lethal” weapons cops use can do lots of harm to a person. Especially since cops rarely use them how they’re supposed to be used.

  19. Bwsab

    LOL

  20. Bwsab

    …how is Asma giving Amazi-Girl the side eye NOW of all times?!

    1. Sirksome

      Because her AG antics while helpful are probably still major privilege that likely undercuts the seriousness of the protest that probably directly affects Asma’s life and family?

      1. Charles Phipps

        that and the cops may cry, “ASSAULT ON OFFICERS! RIOT!” and open fire.

        1. Sirksome

          Like Asma has the most justified side eye ever. There’s basically no winning outcome for her here besides living to protest another day.

      2. Laura

        And because physically assaulting cops is a great way to invite mass punishment to rain down on everyone around oneself, while simultaneously escalating response from possibly “less lethal” to likely “more lethal”.

        Also a great way to lose the PR war in the media court of public opinion.

        Granted, given the way cops are these days, I can see how Amazi-girl would legit see her actions as the ONLY conscionable choice, and perhaps the only way to keep folks from getting “disappeared” off to indefinite incommunicado detention somewhere, inside or outside the United States.

        So no shade on Amazi-Girl, of course! Just getting a potential backdrop for a potential side-eye.

        1. Laura

          Or maybe just because it looks like Amazi-Girl may have accidentally knocked the cutters out of Asma’s hands when she pulled the fence panel down.

        2. Sirksome

          Or maybe it’s just cold, she’s been running through tear gas, and she doesn’t have a cute girl to make out with that makes all that not a bother.

        3. AMagicalDuck

          Sure she does. Jocelyn is right there

    2. moon

      she might also just look like that
      resting glare face (i have resting glare face anyway)

      1. Laura

        Same here! ?

  21. Shakes

    Well what a sweet end to the comic! Looking forward to your next project Willis.

    1. Clif

      That was my reaction as well.

    2. Kevin K

      The rest of the buffer is just City Face

  22. Kalylian

    Now back to reality, where they both have to tell their boyfriends what happened. And they need to tell becky.
    Not the kind of train wreck I enjoy watching.

    1. Taffy

      I continue to protest the notion that Becky is an important person to consider in this scenario. At least any further than her being Joyce’s BFF since infancy.

      1. ZombieKyrik

        Becky had massive a crush on Joyce, but Joyce at the time wasn’t bisexual/gay. Additionally Becky has clearly demonstrated that while she is nice she still is a bit upset that Dorothy is (also) Joyce’s best friend.

        So when she finds out that not only is Joyce now bisexual(or finally realized she was bisexual) but also that Joyce has feelings for Dorothy; Becky might be more than a bit upset. Does Joyce owe her anything? No. Will Becky still be hurt? Probably.

        1. Steve

          How many times will Joyce hurt Becky before Becky realizes Joyce is a bad friend?

        2. Taffy

          This is not an instance of Joyce being a bad friend to Becky.

        3. Alongcameaspider

          Ahh yes she’s a bad friend for

          *checks notes*

          Not returning romantic feelings and not being Christian anymore

          Granted Joyce didnt handle that second one well either

        4. Dawn

          For all Joyce’s faults she’s an AMAZING friend to Becky, what are you talking about? Not being attracted to Becky even though she is attracted to girls does not make her a bad friend.

        5. Bittersweet

          Okay, like, my opinion of Joyce has dropped significantly since the beginning of this arc, but BECKY is not the person Joyce has mistreated and hurt here lol. Becky should be able to understand that Joyce doesn’t want to make out with her any more than Leslie wants to make out with Robin or that Becky wants to make out with Mary. Being bisexual or lesbian does not mean you’re attracted to all women, and Becky if all people should understand that. And I’m with Taffy on this, I don’t see Becky melting down over this. I haven’t even seen the signs that she’s not over Joyce that people say exist. I mostly just see her rowdy and playing with Dorothy.

          Like, I think Joyce changing sexualities will terrify her and the fallout from that will be bad, but that’s not Joyce doing anything to her, and that’s not really a Becky v Joyce situation, it’s a Becky v Becky situation.

        6. Doopyboop

          Big agree to everything you’ve said. A trend I saw in the comments when the Dorothy and Joyce stuff ramped up was some comments saying “well Joyce can’t be bi, she didn’t have feelings for Becky” when hey! Magical idea! Becky isn’t every woman in the world! She’s not the litmus test to determine if a character is sapphic! Otherwise we’d have to rule out every sapphic character except for Dina.

          I 100% understand (and have been predicting in the comments, honestly) that Joyce turning out to not be straight will indeed lead to Becky having a breakdown. She’s going to be upset, because she has big insecurities and hang ups about changes with sexuality and gender. That doesn’t mean Joyce has done anything TO her by not developing feelings FOR her. People can not have feelings for other people and that is not an act of violence or malice!

        7. zee

          Oh that’s a new one. Fascinating

        8. Azrael

          I think Joyce has shown an attraction for Dorothy since day one pretty much, so saying she “wasn’t bi/lesbian” is probably a bit of a misnomer.

          You can love someone and NOT be romantically attracted to them. Joyce and Becky grew up together; probably more like siblings in Joyce’s view. I have my own quasi-adopted sister that I would tear someone’s limbs off for, but the thought of being romantically involved with her makes me go “squick” in a way normally reserved for driving through Arkansas or Alabama.

          Regardless. Becky’s going to be hurt, and I think I hate this consequence of this storyline more than anything else. Though I am very much looking forward to Joyce’s mom finding out she’s in a lesbian relationship.

        9. Allen Alberti

          Conversely maybe Becky will realize that she has by default become Joyces best BEST friend since Dorothy is now a lover, and also Becky wants everybody to be lesbian so another win for her team!

      2. Kalylian

        They’re friends since basically forever and now Becky will find out that she’s indeed into women. Just not into her. But into her roommate.
        That’ll hurt. And part of friendship is caring about them being hurt.

    2. Kyulen

      It’s gonna be interesting to see how that goes.

      1. GholaHalleck

        It’s gonna be fun,, because Dina likes Joe and honesty, but Becky loves lesbians, and one of those lesbians very much…

    3. Alongcameaspider

      They dont really have an obligation to tell Becky anything

      She likely will find out and have an emotional knee jerk reaction but I suspect she’ll be fine after a bit

      1. thejeff

        I don’t really understand this point of view.

        They don’t have an “obligation” to tell Becky anything, but unless they’re going to rethink things, decide they can’t get together and just never mention this again, what are they going to do? Openly date and hide it just from Becky?

        1. Yumi

          While telling everyone “don’t tell Becky that we’re dating,” sure. I don’t remember if anyone learned anything from when Becky and Joyce were doing that kind of thing before.

    4. Doopyboop

      Honestly I think Joe and Walky will respond with a resounding “yeah”. Granted, there’ll be emotions around that for sure, but otherwise, both have detected the feelings between the two so they won’t be shocked.

      1. Golden Yak

        “Let’s get back at them by dating each other!”
        “What?”

        1. Nymph

          *from the audience* YEAH GREAT IDEA

      2. StClair

        “Neat.”

      3. Kalylian

        There’s a difference between knowing someone is into your partner and expecting to be cheated on.

        1. Doopyboop

          Yes I am glad we agree on this.

        2. wetmonstersmell

          There’s also a difference between being cheated on and dating someone who has another partner.

        3. Freemage

          And that difference lies in how the fact that you’re dating two people has been communicated to the first partner, and in particular, WHEN.

        4. thejeff

          And honestly a kiss like that is theoretically cheating, but for most people, there isn’t going to be a huge difference between kissing and talking to your first partner about or wanting to kiss and talking to your first partner.
          Either you’re all going to be cool with a poly thing or you’re not. I doubt if you all are, a kiss before talking about will be a deal breaker. If not, you’re going to be either breaking up with the first or not continuing with the second and again, the one kiss isn’t likely a deal breaker.
          The concern here, as far I as I see it, is in hurting people, especially people you care about. Breaking up for someone else is going to hurt no matter what. Order of operations isn’t going to change it much.
          Actual sex (whoever defined – more than kissing) is far more likely be a deal breaker and thus hurt more. Continued cheating, even just at the making out level, while hiding it is where the damage really comes in. That breaks trust in a way that kissing and telling doesn’t.

          All this assuming you haven’t explicitly agreed to some other terms of course.

    5. Josh

      It’s funny how the lead up to the kiss bothered me so much more than the kiss itself. Like the whole process of reaching this point was like getting my fingernails pulled. But now? At least it’s done and we know the score. Just have to wait and see if anyone holds them actually accountable for being terrible.

      1. Scruffy looking nerfherder

        That’s where I’m at too, don’t necessarily like how it happened, but if they’re held accountable for just how terribly they’re treating their respective partners(Joyce especially), then at least I know this isn’t a fly by the seat of the pants decision and is still done with the characters actual character in mind.

    6. Whirlakitty

      Wait a minute, I thought this was entire thing was obviously a daydream sequence and not real since if it WAS real, Becky would have teleported to the location to sputter in outrage the moment Joyce kissed Dorothy.

  23. The Wotch

    I just gotta say, Amazi-Girl’s ‘new’ costume really looks great. Very fun to see her in action.

  24. Amós Batista

    Last pannel: and now, the circle closes. The image of Joyce, fleeing from Dorothy, now is changed to both of them fleeing together, holding hands.

    I hope this brings peace to Dorothy, at least a little.

    1. Ed Callahan

      Well, the image in Dorothy’s mind was Joyce being kidnapped by Blaine and Dorothy being unable to protect her. Now, she can protect her.
      I dunno, sometimes I wonder if Joyce is more a cause for Dorothy instead of a romantic partner. That could be an interesting storyline to write. Would that bother Joyce? Would she even notice, given her almost kamikaze aggressiveness in the face of threats?

      1. Bittersweet

        Everyone Dorothy has ever dated has been a cause and not a partner. It’s another reason I didn’t really want them to get together at this point in time, Dorothy hasn’t worked through any of her “I can fix them” tendencies and hasn’t really shown the ability to accept that Joyce grows and changes. Like, the closest she got was accepting Joe and she still tried to undermine that. Successfully undermined it lol.

        Like, if Joyce can’t shake her codependent tendencies on her own and Dorothy can’t stop trying to mother Joyce, they’re gonna have some pretty nasty arguments before long. Which is great for drama, but sucks hard to be in.

  25. Steve

    Amazi-Girl, you should know better than to ask these two to separate. When you’re back to Amber, there is going to be SO much fanfic.

  26. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    “which leads to a tragic ending where they both die separate, violent deaths…”

    Oh wait…

    Wrong extrememal webcomic.

    1. jeffepp

      Cerberus?
      El Goonish… whatever?
      Luann?

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Megatokyo. All the way down at the bottom of the posting frequency and reliability scale DYW is at the top of. As far down as you can get without falling off. Megatokyo publishes one strip every two or three months these days.

        The line looked like foreshadowing back in 2000:

        https://megatokyo.com/strip/44

        (Though things didn’t develop that way, and Yuki has recently kissed a classmate who has been in love with her for years. She hadn’t noticed, of course, because this is a manga.)

        1. Jeff K!

          As far as posting frequency goes, I still follow Captain SNES, which sometimes goes a year before an update.

        2. Mr D

          I enter VGCats once a year to see if Scott Ramsoosair has left his lair, only to see his own shadow and thus go back inside for another 6 weeks.

        3. Azrael

          I forgot entirely about VGCats.

          Gamercat went on hiatus during the dark days of the plague, AFAIK been dead ever since. There also was a stick comic ala Order of the Stick (another with very sporadic updates) but based on the Exalted ruleset that died an ignoble death of neglect a long time ago that I occasionally check to see if it’s being updated again.

        4. Josh

          I used to read this through high school forever ago. Fell off of it because of the update schedule, but the pencils on the most recent pages feels really nostalgic.

        5. Freemage

          I fell off after Largo left, honestly–Piro’s half of the story just was too maudlin for me without the insane antics to undercut them.

        6. JoeCovenant

          JL8, anyone?

        7. Cunobaros

          Yes! But it’s so good!

        8. Erik

          I had no idea Megatokyo was still going at all!

  27. IntangibleMatter

    …I really hope that none of these cops were the same ones who worked with Amber’s dad

    Stay safe, Amazi-Girl.

    1. Taffy

      I mean, she’s been snapping their necks the whole time, so it’s not gonna matter much who they knew in life.

  28. AbacusWizard

    Asma truly knows the meaning of “be prepared.”

    And Joyce and Dorothy truly do not know the meaning of “split up! separate!”

  29. Yumi

    Their shoes aren’t to far off from a lesbian flag color scheme.

  30. Elf grrl

    FINALLY we can get some laundry done

  31. Sajuuk-Khar

    As I said on Patreon, I keep thinking about that cop who guarded Ross’ hospital room against escape when he was first arrested. He was a good guy. He comforted Becky, whom he didn’t know, the best way someone in his office and station could—assured her of justice and the machinery of law. That she’d never have to see or talk to her lousy father again, if she didn’t want to. Let her know she was free.

    He was a good guy. A decent guy.

    I’ve been wondering where he is in Dunn Meadow. Because I’m sure he’s there. Is he throwing tear gas overhand, or using a launcher? Who is he choosing to zip-tie? Whose back is he kneeling on?

    He didn’t change, not really—the job did. His duty just became brutally suppressing students exercising their rights, not protecting them.

    …The end, no moral beyond “defund the police immediately”, haha

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Maybe he resigned, like Roko Basilisk in Questionable Content.

    2. darkoneko

      if it’s anything like france, the cops doing usual daily things aren’t the same group as the thugs sent against protests (CRS, for us)

      1. Sajuuk-Khar

        It is not, unfortunately, like that.

        1. Big Z

          To somewhat elaborate — in most larger places I’ve been in the US, in “ordinary” times there is a distinction between “beat cops who do ‘normal’ cop shit” and “heavily armed/armored cops for special situations”… but they have enough heavy arms/armor in the storage rooms for protests and other such times when they want to make a huge show of force by drafting in all the ‘normal’ cops, too.

    3. thejeff

      The job didn’t change.

      The job has always included both. The violence has always been there, but so has that compassion. Often from the same people, just in different circumstances.

      It’s not like there wasn’t plenty of police violence before 2015 when that strip came out. Or violently suppressed protests against it, either.

      Commenters here (and Willis himself) might be more aware of it now, but that’s not the same as it having changed.

      1. Sajuuk-Khar

        I feel like this is playing around in the semantic weeds a bit, but like, fair.

        The job didn’t explicitly change; the job has always included both, and what’s changed has been that in the decades since 2000 the U.S. and its governments, federal and state, have enabled and enabled more and more of that violence, to the point that…the job is unacceptable, in its current form.

        1. thejeff

          Skipping the current use of ICE, which is a massive escalation and hadn’t yet happened when this arc was written, I don’t think there’s really any clear line of escalation. It’s been up and down and varies on a regional or even local level, but most of the basic practices go back decades, despite occasional attempts at reform.
          What’s changed is mainstream awareness and thus white support for things like BLM protests that would have been written off as “race riots” in earlier decades.

        2. wetmonstersmell

          Yeah, I think that’s a really important point — the ICE raids hadn’t started when this was written, and that has genuinely constituted a big change for the worse in the level of both actual and potential police violence!

    4. zee

      Oh buddy do I have news for you about the origin and history of the US police force

      In all seriousness if he has any moral decency he’s probably been forced out like a splinter. And anyway legally speaking “protecting people” hasnt been a us cops duty in a long time, if ever

      1. Sajuuk-Khar

        Fffffff I knew I should’ve just left it at the part where I’m sure he’s in Dunn Meadow, I don’t know what I was thinking putting in that last paragraph. Softening it for the more squishy center-leaning liberals about? Doing an internal monologue I didn’t signal? Who fuckin knows.

        REGARDLESS, no no, I am aware, cops are state-sanctioned gangsters and always have been. The only difference between a cop and a Sicario is one’s in uniform and employed by the powers that be.

    5. Freemage

      So, real story time, Kiddos:

      I was a teenager back in the long-ago 80s. One of my best friends went to college for a policing degree. He was, at the time, the kind of person most people would want for that role–kind, honest, idealistic and believing that the role of the cops was to make the community safe. We used to joke that was the reason he played Paladins in D&D–he just couldn’t grasp the idea of NOT being the ultimate good guy.

      We had another guy in our circle–closer friends to the first guy than to me, by a longshot (I don’t thing Guy 2 and I ever spent time in the same space without at least two other friends-in-common present). Guy 2 was also going to the same school for the same degree as Guy 1.

      One night, at a party (okay, it was a handful of guys sitting around, drinking heavily and playing poker–like I said, the 80s), we had MTV on (again, the 80s, so it was still largely music videos). Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” video came on, and none of us had seen it before then. Suddenly, partway through, Guy 2 started getting REALLY focused on the video, and increasingly agitated.

      And then it got to the point where Madonna kisses Black Jesus. Guy 2? LOST HIS SHIT. Screaming, cursing, spittle literally flying from his mouth and hitting the screen. And, of course, a slew of racial epithets.

      I’m sorry to admit that, in my own Dumbing of Age era, I was too shocked to actually object to this. We mostly all kind of just waited out the storm, then acted largely like it didn’t happen.

      But the next day, Guy 1–the Paladin–sought me out. And started to make excuses for Guy 2’s behavior. He didn’t deny that G2 was racist as hell, just bent over backwards to try to excuse it.

      I’d like to say that that’s the reason both associations petered out over time, but honestly, it was just the sort of thing that happens at that age as you all go off to different schools, find longterm romance and jobs take over much of your life. So no noble denunciation from me.

      But I still think of Guy 1 every time I see a story about the cops, where it’s obvious that one cop got away with shit for a long time because no one around him would intervene, or even actively covered for his ass.

  32. Golden Yak

    And they lived happily ever after, The End

  33. Tricia

    Good lord those last two panels infuriate me so much.

    Willis: “How should I represent the chaos and tragedy of a protest gone wrong? Oh, I know! TWO WHITE WOMEN HOLDING HANDS AND SMILING!”

    1. Taffy

      I’m not sure that’s what they’re supposed to represent, here.

      1. Tricia

        How is it not? People are being beaten and brutalized and tear gassed (NOT SMOKE, good lord AmaziAmber) by police and they’re SMILING.

        1. Taffy

          God forbid somebody smile when somebody else isn’t.

        2. Loki

          The story is not about how a protest goes wrong. It’s about two young women against the *background* of the protest.

          Now you can argue that *making* a story which plays against the background of a protest while not dealing with its subject matter may be tone-deaf (it has, in fact, been extensively argued the past few days), but I would not say that the aspect the author *is* trying to tell has been badly represented.

    2. Animedingo

      Yeah I feel like the author was expecting this to be received more uniamously? I dont like this resolution

      1. Clif

        That’s your privilege.

      2. Proxiehunter

        What makes you think this is the resolution?

        1. Taffy

          In fairness, “two characters holding hands and running into the distance” is a common enough resolution trope in a visual medium. Then again, so is “Two chicks making out”.

        2. animedingo

          I dont know how else I’m supposed to interpret it

        3. Proxiehunter

          As Joyce and Dorothy leaving while shit’s still going down that can effect Amber/AG and anyone else who has not yet evacuated. Not to mention that there’s a whole lot of potentially unresolved plot lines with them just being there at all. There is way too much open for this to be a resolution.

      3. wetmonstersmell

        yeah no, DYW has not exactly been sweeping the moral ambiguities of this whole situation under the rug, lol

      4. zee

        I really don’t think so? The last two panels are just meant to parallel Joyce getting carried off in the van. I don’t think it’s supposed to be an “and they lived happily ever after!” This whole thing was obviously going to be controversial anyway for several reasons

    3. Rabid Rabbit

      I get where you’re coming from, but I’m waiting for tomorrow’s strip to judge.

      I mean, them getting away and that not being fair might actually turn out to be the point.

      If tomorrow alternates panels of Dorothy and Joyce skipping through a meadow and protesters being beaten to a bloody pulp, this will read differently.

      If this had a ‘Storyline Over’ note appended… yeah, definitely. But it doesn’t.

      1. Holly

        I’m waiting for the next 6-12 months strips. There’s a lot of characters in this comic and this should cause a lot of ripples of reaction through all of them –

        plenty of time for us to see MORE ASMA and her point of view;
        of Charlie’s thoughts about Carla’s family involvement (one of Booster’s pre-checks on whether Charlie might be into her was based on how Carla’s priveledge might not go off well with Charlie iirc?);
        Of Walky and Joe’s reactions to the relationship drama paired with the fear of what might have happpened in the riot;
        Of Joyce’s father’s reaction;
        Of any media or press coverage and related accidents;
        Raidah, who may be torn between supporting the protest’s cause and her love of sucking up to power structures;
        Sarah, who is very protective of Joyce and has accepted Joe, being suddenly confronted with this reckless behaviour;
        Becky’s reaction, how she copes, how it affects her relationship.

        I’m sure there’s many more, is there any big reaction I have missed that would be very interesting to see?

        1. Holly

          “Related accidents”?? Related reactions. … this is the effects of aging on the brain. Sigh.

        2. wetmonstersmell

          Man, yeah, I would love to see Asma get elevated to main cast, I get the feeling that would be a very interesting development, especially if DYW first established some more social links from her to the existing MCs. (Although I also have to wonder if having an upperclassman as a main character would change the focus too much from “dumbass frosh problems”.)

          The relationship drama is gonna be painful to watch; we’ll see how mature the four of them can be about handling this. I bet Joe especially is not gonna take it well, but he’s surprised me before. I foresee the commenters being absolutely fucking insufferable about it though.

    4. thejeff

      How about the other white woman running back in to help more protesters?

      1. SillyGoose

        To someone who feels this way, I’m not sure that pointing to a White Saviour is really going to change their minds 🙂

        1. Rogue 7

          Especially when that white savior is Batman in a universe where no one else gets to be a superhero.

        2. thejeff

          Sal comes pretty close.

          It would be entirely out of character, but given some talk of AG and the sniper, it would be funny as hell to end a dramatic AG vs cops strip with Sal on the rooftop kicking the sniper rifle out of his hands, muttering some like “She always escalates and never watches her back.”

      2. Astariel

        Eh, some people just aren’t going to be happy unless this becomes Protest: the Webcomic.

        1. wetmonstersmell

          Yeah. If the author isn’t centering the story you want it to center, and your response is to complain that you wish he’d chosen to tell a different part of the story… well, is this your first time reading fiction or what? That’s basically why fanworks exist.

        2. Freemage

          The issue, I think, is including the events in the story as window-dressing, but then ignoring their substance. No one was crying out for DYW to address the campus protests, but he went there anyway–that’s a decision that has ramifications for folks who have strong feelings about the protests.

    5. Madock345

      I’m usually smiling when I run from protests too. Ever done one of these? They’re fun and… enlivening in a way that’s hard to describe.

  34. Animedingo

    Imagine if this was the last page ever

    1. Clif

      Done. (But I’ll be back tomorrow.)

  35. darkoneko

    Get a room, you two

  36. darkoneko

    Also hey Asma, I’m glad you’re safe. Now run too.

  37. StClair

    Literally running away together.

  38. Zamperla

    Dummies (affectionate).

  39. moon

    one day i hope we can see asma having a decent time give her a break damn

  40. Liara

    Dotty and Joyce immediately failing to follow directions

  41. Clif

    Somehow the poll feels rigged.

    Not a complaint.

    1. Amós Batista

      But I’ll complaining :
      Why people don’t like Nash. Now I want to bring Willis to bring her back.

  42. Bryy

    I see what Willis did there.

  43. moon

    anyway i have no meaningful input on whether this sucks or not
    boosting gofundmes again
    https://www.gofundme.com/f/Help-Eman-start-her-study-and-escape-Gaza-genocide

  44. Woop de doop

    Asma? Eh. She’s kinda grumpy like Rachel. I don’t think I like her.

    1. Woop de doop

      At this point that’s the only emotion I’ve seen her in. Which is like, boring? To see a character be grumpy all the time. It’s one-note.

      1. Shade

        Given no one remembers her name, maybe she has a justified reason to be grumpy.

    2. Nymph

      That’s okay, I’ll love her extra for the both of us ?

    3. Alongcameaspider

      I mean she’s in the middle of a protest against an ongoing genocide that the police are violently suppressing, I think she has a right to be a little grumpy

      Past that she hasn’t really had a chance to show any other aspect of her (which Willis admits is a bit of a failing on his part)
      Outside that

    4. Mr D

      We’ve seen her A)At her job and B)At an anti-genocide protest.
      I dunno about you, I don’t blame her for being grumpy at either of those.

      1. Shade

        And no one remembers her name besides. Just call her by a vague description of her job get reminded and then forget by the next time.

      2. Kyulen

        I would also probably be grumpy in those situations. Hopefully we’ll get to see Asma in other circumstances where she’s less likely to be grumpy eventually.

    5. zee

      She’s only ever been reasonably grumpy. You’re coming off real “women should smile more” here dude :/

  45. OnyxIdol

    And they were never seen again…

  46. deliverything

    Evidently Amazi-Girl’s on the ‘Relationship Paladin’ side; she’s already telling them to “Split up!”.

    1. deliverything

      …or maybe she’s telling them to split up with their boyfriends. Dang it, AG, be less confusing!

  47. Freezer

    Mortal peril is clearly no match for a bisexual awakening.

  48. jubs

    Ah, good thing to it confirmed on screen! I was worried how the smoke was going to affect my Asma.

    1. Nadamás

      You go to pun jaik.

  49. Mai

    This whole protest arc has just been handled so insensitively. If you’re going to use a real life genocide of Palestinian people for inspiration, continuing to use it as a cutesy lovey-dovey background for two white women is really, really gross. Even more so that a character who may experience MORE in regards to it, Asma, is left as a background character with absolutely no impact on the arc.

    I enjoy the comic, but damn Willis, you dropped the ball hard on this one. I encourage you to look through your backlog and maybe reflect on how some of your own biases may be shown in your writing from here on out.

    1. Lena

      Yeah this all feels very tone deaf…

    2. SarahTerra

      Yeah, the faraway, no dialogue shots of Asma are really not good in this context, and almost right after an antagonistic exchange.

      …Holy crap, that exchange was more words than Asma has gotten in the past 10+ years.

    3. Adeptus

      I’m kinda with Mai here. I’m really not enjoying the last half dozen strips.

    4. Kyulen

      Yeah I definitely feel like this could’ve been handled better.

    5. Dot

      Agree 100%, especially with regards to Asma. This could have been a real opportunity to give some focus and development to one of the only Muslim characters in the strip, and the fact that she’s been reduced to a silent background character yet again in this situation is gross. This entire sequence has been a misfire.

      1. Nono

        Heck, Raidah, an actual lawyer, could have had a really big role here especially considering her previous antagonistic remarks to Dorothy, valid dislike of Joyce, etc.

        1. Nono

          Sorry, law student. Point stands.

        2. Dot

          The last we saw of Raidah was in February where she was still whining about Sarah. I get that that’s an important part of character, but you’d think she might have SOMETHING to say about this situation!

        3. Sajuuk-Khar

          You wouldn’t, actually. Raidah is an extremely petty and materialistic person who sucks. She doesn’t need more depth than that, because her role is as a villain, and she really doesn’t need to be given a sympathetic cause, especially not one as fraught as an allegory for Palestine!

        4. Dot

          Forgive me for expecting characters to have interiority and nuance!

        5. Sajuuk-Khar

          Lmao that really isn’t the deal here, and I think you know that. Come on, now, Paladin. 😛

          Interiority and nuance are wonderful tools and for some background characters (let’s say Asma, Nash) they can be used to flesh them out, bring them more into the picture, tune out the raging protagonist aura of the main cast a little.

          Raidah, however, is explicitly an antagonist. Worse, her most prominent traits are 1.) manipulation to achieve petty revenge and 2.) gaslighting various members of her friend group, especially Billie.

          Having her suddenly become an anti-genocide representative is like having Lex Luthor crush a bigot. Yeah, great, Lex, but you’re still an evil billionaire whose plan this issue is to dunk Lois in liquified Kryptonite.

        6. Sajuuk-Khar

          Or, to use a more directly relevant sequence, the part where they tried to make Abby a protagonist in Last of Us. Abby, it’s great you’re kind to the little ex-Seraphite, but why do I care? You’re still the person who beat the main character’s dad to death and forced her to watch! Being not a bigot doesn’t erase that!

        7. Dot

          I’m not even saying Raidah should be positioned as explicitly favoring the protest! I think it would also be interesting to see her come out against it because it suits her social aspirations. Just something, anything!

        8. thejeff

          Having one of the only Muslim characters oppose it because of her self-interest, might fit her character, but still has awkward implications. With Muslim characters so scarce here it’s not a great look to make one of them a villain on an actual Muslim related topic.
          With a larger cast, you can get away with that.

        9. Sajuuk-Khar

          Aaaaaabsolutely not.

          As much as Asma is tokenized representation (she absolutely is, Willis has admitted to this in Bluesky and Patreon, and the need to do better, which I also agree they must), Raidah is, if anything, worse. She’s actively unsympathetic—she’s controlling, materialistic, and petty. Having her do a 180° turn to represent the people of Bulmeria/Palestine would be unearned tonal whiplash, and it would cause readers to complain they’re supposed to root for a creep, and yeah, you’d be asking them to root for a creep.

          If Nashida had been at the protest with Asma, now we’re talking, or even to introduce some new SWANA characters. But Raidah? No. She feels like an allegory for the spoiled children of UAE or Saudi aristocracy.

        10. Nono

          Raidah is (or at least was, I think she’s been written recently in a way that’s made her less complex) still a character of Muslim faith that’s been clearly represented in the comic before. She’s made very accurate points against Dorothy before, and she has legitimate reason to dislike Joyce.

          Much like how Roz was a foil to Joyce, who made terrible but accurate points but in a way that still made you root against her, Raidah doesn’t need to be likable to be right. She’s a deeply flawed character, and absolutely will get a downfall, but on this issue at least, she would have a more accurate viewpoint than half of the cast.

          And, a character doesn’t have to be perfect just because they’re representation, much like how Carla is trans and isn’t a shining moral example. Carla is rootable, but she’s still an asshole. There’s room for characters to be good representation of their issues without needing to actually be a protagonist role.

    6. Rogue 7

      Idbe more sanguine if Willis wasn’t using Amazi-girl as his solution to putting Dorothy and Joyce in this situation. Here in real life we don’t have someone who can effortlessly take down cops in riot gear without getting shot.

    7. Sajuuk-Khar

      As someone who is on Team Sickos and is very much here for the interpersonal development and the relationship parts going on here, who thinks those are being handled well, I will reiterate:

      The protest background plot has been ass. It is not good. Palestine allegory: poorly handled. Muslim rep: tokenized. Potential brutality capitalized on: not the best way. I like that Dorothy has been actively radicalized and I’m very pro-kicking AG pigs in the face, but like, that last part needed more time to cook and the genocide protest allegory sucks.

      1. Adeptus

        I’m confused over Joyce’s behaviour. She was moments away from kissing Dorothy, then Joe arried and she skipped away happy without a backwards glance. No further thought of Dorothy, just enjoying her date with the hunk.

        Now she’s with Dorothy, without a single thought about Joe.

        Does she not have object permanence? Do people only exist for her when directly observed?

        1. Sajuuk-Khar

          Well, this is very much outside the topic of the protest background, but I’ll go for it:

          Joyce isn’t lacking object permanence, I think, she’s just an autistic bisexual college girl in love with two people at the same time. She loves Joe, she was excited to see and be with Joe, she didn’t forget what happened with Dorothy but she was carried away by the moment and the interaction with a loved one.

          The big kiss two strips ago was an even more fraught situation where she realized that the only way to change Dorothy off of a course of foolish martyrdom was to reach out and express what she’d been feeling in her heart of hearts. Joyce loves, and she loves intensely, and I think it blinds her sometimes to the consequences of that love.

          Also Throwatron noted and I think they’re correct that Joyce has been in Solve Problems Mode since she woke up, and arguably longer. Dorothy has been very obviously in crisis. She wants to consummate a sexual relationship. Billie is Billie again. Etc.

        2. thejeff

          I’m very interested to see how Joyce deals with this when she has a moment to slow down and think about the consequences.

          I’d really like to see a bit of introspection from her, which we really haven’t gotten on the whole Dorothy situation.

        3. Jerach

          As somebody who is autistic I’m kind of uncomfortable with how much people use that as an excuse/explanation of her behavior. If I was in a situation like when a kiss almost happened with Dorothy before I would be fraught with anxiety over wanting to make sure everybody is happy and nobody is feeling like they’re not being properly cared for. It honestly feels a bit infantilizing to have that particular element of Joyce’s behavior be chalked up to autism.

        4. Yumi

          Keep in mind that a lot of people here, including those bringing up the prospective that Joyce getting wrapped up in the more immediate feelings of who’s she’s with connects to her autism, could be autistic themselves. That does happen for some people.

        5. Sajuuk-Khar

          In my case I’m ADHD but my wife a

        6. Sajuuk-Khar

          AND EVERYONE ELSE I LOVE IS AUTISTIC (my wife, an ex) OR SOME FLAVOR OF NEURODIVERGENT ALSO, THANKS PHONE

          I am definitely not trying to infantilize, I am just seeing some patterns I recognize, specifically in Joyce’s all-or-nothing attentions and in her need to solve every problem and kiss every partner because she has the spoons in THIS MOMENT and if she hesitates she will lose them.

        7. Jerach

          That’s fair and I understand what you mean now. I think I’m just quick to assume the worst when it comes to stuff like this because a lot of people have not great ideas about what autism means as far as relationships go. My apologies.

        8. Scruffy looking nerfherder

          Me too, Joyce is one of the most thoughtful characters in the show so to see her acting so flippantly in regards to others feelings has been bizarre. Feel like she’s been ooc the entire arc. This is the same Joyce that told off Joe back during the list fiasco for not caring about how his actions affected others?

    8. thejeff

      Maybe I’m just too cynical about this, but I kind of feel like this is all kind of a decent allegory for the protest, even if it’s unintentional. White kids getting all the focus, ignoring the organizers, having unclear often largely motivations, some provocateur who’ll inevitably used as justification for the police violence?

      And always that inevitable police violence shifting attention from the actual cause to the violence.

      1. Laura

        Seconded!

    9. Big Z

      A thing that makes me hopeful is that he’s been doing some of that introspection on Bluesky, especially in terms of realizing that he needs to be doing better about including his Muslim characters and more of them in their own storylines.

      1. Adeptus

        But a year’s backlog means that we won’t be seeing any effects of these realisations for a year, unless rewrites happen.

        1. Nymph

          Willis has suggested that they intend to do some rewrites. They actually specifically pointed out that they had realized they could remove some scenes that felt filler-y and were taking up too much oxygen and more fully flesh out Asma and other Muslim rep.

          So, yeah, hopefully we’ll be seeing it sooner rather than later <3

    10. Madock345

      Disagree. The problem with a lot of commentators is that they seem to expect some big political statements from this slice-of-life webcomic. This is about how having a big violent protest in your orbit affects life, and seems very accurate to that in my experience.

      1. Dot

        Then make the protest more vague instead of very specifically an analogue for protests against a very real genocide currently ongoing.

        1. Madock345

          But that’s the real protest that happened at IU during the comic run. I think it’s better to remain inspired closely by real events and how the characters would interact with them. At minimum, it prevents the DoA timeline from slowly becoming unrecognizable to our own.

        2. Dot

          But in THAT case, we come back to the issue that the characters who should have been centered in this plot thread haven’t been.

        3. thejeff

          Well, it’s the real protest that happened at IU while/just before Willis was writing this sequence. I doubt it’s the only one in the last 15 years.

          I don’t think anyone was demanding a big political statement on Gaza from DoA before Willis brought it up by introducing the protest to the storyline. But since he did, people will critique how he did it.

        4. Bittersweet

          Okay, but we didn’t have a COVID storyline or an election storyline. There was the bill about removing protections for LGBTQ people last semester in universe. Idk about Indiana, but Texas’ legislature meets in the early spring. This could’ve easily been a protest about that and would’ve felt waaaay less tasteless.

        5. wetmonstersmell

          Why would that have been less tasteless?

        6. Taffy

          For one thing, neither Joyce or Dorothy are Bulmerian (or Palestinian, or Israeli, or any of the other potential groups involved in an overseas civilian grinding operation), but they’re both queers, so them making out and being all lesbian-wedding-vows wouldn’t be nearly as dissonant.

        7. Dot

          Right. This is ultimately a storyline about gay awakening. The protest being about genocide feels dissonant and irrelevant to the themes being explored with the characters.

    11. Astariel

      Nah, it’s been great.

    12. Yumi

      I definitely agree. It sounds like the idea that Joyce and Dorothy would end up kissing at the protest came as they were already part way through working on the arc, so I get that it would have been more work to them go back and change things so that they’re not having their first kiss at a protest about genocide (based on a real world protest about genocide), but that seems like it’d be work worth doing. It’d also be a big benefit of the very long buffer Willis has.

      I know a lot of people have been suggesting LGBTQ+ rights as an alternative protest topic, but then I think that would change it a lot in that I’d expect more of the main cast to directly be planning to go. I think abortion access could have been another protest focus.

      Willis did want the protest to be a multiday thing, it seems, and many protests are not encampments, but a specific situation could have been made up to help the encampment make sense. (Like, someone being charged with crimes from anti-abortion laws and protesters demanding the charges be dropped.) Or shifted it to be a one day protest, and Jocelyne got to town a day or two early to see Joyce then visit with friends.

      I could still see issues with that, but they’d be less dramatic. I do think Willis has learned from this and it will impact how they handle things going forward.

  50. Blibdoolpoolp

    These two are a problem magnet. I am here for it and I love it.

  51. TheCozburger

    “Fuck that! We’re Bonnie & Clyde’ing this shit!”

  52. mel

    RUN AWAY WITH ME

    RUN AWAY WITH ME

  53. PedanticJerkass

    RIP, Amazi-Girl.

    (Rip and Tear, I mean.)

  54. CianM1301

    Why do I get the feeling Mary is somehow going to make this worse? Like, she’s going to suddenly appear and point out Amazi-Girl helping protestors escape to the police?

    1. Astariel

      I can’t imagine that the police are not intensely aware of Amazi-Girl at this point.

      1. CianM1301

        I was thinking it’d be more them targeting the protestors rather than Amazi-Girl.

  55. Rabid Rabbit

    People keep mentioning the possibility of A-G getting shot, but I feel her getting arrested would actually be the worse outcome at this point.

    “Yes, we arrested this girl who was attacking policepeople! She has DID, which PROVES that all the protesters are mentally ill!”

    1. Laura

      Um… worse than getting s*ot?

      1. Proxiehunter

        Why are we censoring the word shot now?

      2. Proxiehunter

        I mean if it’s concern about triggering someone no one triggered by the mere word is actually helped by spending a few seconds figuring out if that’s supposed to be slot or shot. Censoring it is just making communication mildly difficult and majorly annoying.

        1. zee

          I think it’s the fear of algorithmic censorship that’s been wedged violently in our brains by YouTube and TikTok. There’s no algorithm here dawg, you can say the nasty words. The moderators like one person, they’ll get it

        2. thejeff

          Doesn’t that argument (about people being triggered by the mere word) apply to all words that we routinely censor?

          Even real slurs? It’s not like we don’t figure out what they mean.

        3. Yumi

          Yes, and if you were calling someone a slur, it would hardly make a difference if you were putting a * in place of a vowel. If you were discussing the slur, though, it might be a way to do so without actually having to say it.

          I think it’s a decent point that spending longer having to think about a potentially triggering word could actually make it worse for people. This is definitely something I’ve experienced, especially where a word’s being used in a context where it wouldn’t be triggering, but the censoring of it reminds me of the other associations/meanings. It also would make it harder for people who really wanted to avoid certain terms and set filters for them (depending on the platform).

      3. Laura

        I make dumb mistakes, often, by saying things that upset or trigger people. So I’m trying to err on the side of caution by avoiding printing out in full words that can have traumatic associations. I would do the same with a whole other list of words describing acts of violence.

        Not trying to be preachy: just a personal decision I’m working on being more conscientious about, as I’m often not conscientious enough. You do you: write as you like. 🙂

        (I write a lot on a prison-mail messaging system, so on that platform I get REALLY careful about the use of shock-words.)

        1. Proxiehunter

          Speaking as someone with PTSD this is a tactic that not only doesn’t help but when used in places where people can actually filter out posts can be actively harmful. If someone blacklists posts about clams but someone decides to start writing cl4m or some shit so people don’t have to see the word it actively interferes with people’s ability to filter the posts they’re trying to filter. Just write the words you mean.

        2. Laura

          Thank you for the advice.

  56. SarahTerra

    This is a world where superhero masks work so it’s not impossible Asma is wearing a bat utility belt.

    “I’m a minority living in the United States. Of course I have bolt cutters.”

  57. Dot

    Well I don’t know what you two think you’re smiling about

    1. Taffy

      They both kissed a girl today. That’s plenty.

    2. Astariel

      They’re in love. What’s not to smile about?

      1. Dot

        Police brutality, genocide, and ongoing infidelity?

        1. Nymph

          I think it’s the infidelity that they’re happy about, tbh.

  58. Christron5000

    I’ve been having fun, but real tlak, the protest backdrop has been weird. Like a protest about say, something involving queerness probably would’ve been a but more cohesive. I kinda get the idea behind having be something so much bigger than these two buy I dint think it works.

    1. Balger

      The protest isnt meant to have anything to do with Joyce and Dorothy and their situation though, THAT would be weird. Its a play on protests literally happening right now. making it much more relevennt and given how many queer students seem to be flooding the halls of their university having it be a protest against the university for an exclusively queer issue makes even less sense.

      1. Dot

        The fact that it’s evocative of protests against an actively ongoing genocide is what makes its use as a backdrop for the relationship development of two white girls feel tacky and gauche.

        1. Balger

          Ah yes its are ‘tacky and gauche’ because they are white. That doesn’t make you sound like a racist at all. The protest backdrop is more relevent with Dorothy and her state of mind/her future path, wanting to be president thinking its a good thing when really shes just choosing who gets killed.

          But sure, its just “tacky and gauche” because they are white.

        2. Dot

          Yes it is in fact tacky and gauche to center the character development of two white girls at a stand-in for protests against the slaughter and genocide of Palestian people. Thank you for agreeing with me.

        3. Astariel

          Nah, that’s life. It goes on, even when terrible things are happening. (Also, Bulmeria is not Palestine. It’s not real, and I don’t feel obliged to care about it.)

        4. Dot

          Except this isn’t life, it’s a comic strip, and the creative choices made in the strip are subject to criticism if, for example, the cartoonist uses a stand-in for a pro-Palestine protest (and that’s what that is, let’s not get cute) to center the development of the white girls rather than any of the strip’s vanishingly few Muslim or Arab characters.

        5. wetmonstersmell

          So, like, what’s the ideal outcome for you folks complaining here? I seriously doubt the “protests against the Palestinian, excuse me, Bulmerian genocide” story could be told to anyone’s satisfaction as part of the usual mass of DoA interlocking slice-of-life storylines. Do you think the appropriate thing to do is for the storylines in a comic like this to avoid interacting with any issue whose primary impact is not on the main characters?

        6. Dot

          If this is a plot element that Willis feels should be included, then their Arab and Muslim characters should be centered in it. It should not be a plot device to further the development of the white leads at the expense of those characters. And it seems that Willis agrees given their posts on Bluesky.

        7. PedanticJerkass

          Maybe the story about the protest could have focused on, you know, the characters who were there explicitly for the protest (e.g. Jocelyn, Asma), rather than merely using Jocelyn’s presence there as nothing but a plot coupon to also get Joyce and Dorothy on the scene so that they could have the Big Moment™ there, which had dick all to do with the protest.

        8. zee

          Allegories don’t exist and you should never think about art

        9. zee

          When it’s a genocide of Muslim and Arab children, yes their whiteness is very relevant lmfao. What, do you think a certain dry crispy snack that’s delicious with cheese is a real slur too?

          I don’t particularly have a problem with how Willis is using the protest here bc I think dojo are being intentionally written as tone deaf, but I have a big ass problem with how some of y’all are defending it

        10. Pergola

          The protest would work better as background if it were more tacky and gauche.

    2. Christron5000

      I made this comment too early, my brains wasn’t fully awake yet, those typos are goofy.

      But yeah, the backdrop of this being a protest on arms dealing is weird. I get it’s relation to Dorothy but eeeeeeh.

    3. Madock345

      Lots of comic events have been inspired by real-world events at IU. Obviously they’ve mostly been more minor ones. But it’s easy to see how it comes from the thought “There’s been a major protest at the college, how does this affect the cast?”

      The truth is that our lives keep going no matter how big or important world events becomes and it’s very true to life to show how messy that gets. I mean, god, i got my first kiss on 9/11 because she was sad about it. Shit’s weird on the ground lol.

  59. Smatterguy

    To use some lyrics from my favorite musical:

    “You have to take the long way down
    Through the underground, under cover of night
    Layin’ low, stayin’ out of sight”

    1. Laura

      Oh, heart heart! HADESTOWN forever! ??

  60. thumb

    OKAY, BUT AT LEAST TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME, DAMN IT!!!

    1. Olav

      They are playing a part in a picture show…

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gbIN7R7ztU

  61. Skychrono

    For what it’s worth, people complaining about this not taking this seriously enough may not remember the alternative – one-off episodes of their favorites shows swerving hard to the left (or right) and never revisiting the topics again. It’s best to either a) feature your characters in another conflict without letting that take over the entire plot, alienating the base that came there for college drama, or b) use it as a chance to change everything and bring in little gray aliens.

    This is fine. The focus is on the drama, which, with the tag pulled, is what we’re here for.

  62. Yeet

    maybe they’re not very good at separating but if the other people present go in different directions it’s probably fine

  63. zee

    I can’t wait to see the consequences tbh. Not cuz I’m a relationship paladin, those guys are cringe and I don’t really identify with either camp, I’m just here to watch the story unfold. Nah I just know the fallout is gonna be juicy as all hell. I am terrified for my sweet boy joe and also hype as fuck. I wanna see bongoes cry

    Oh yeah also Walky ig but lets be real, (wtf is their shipname? Dorky? Imma go with dorky) dorky 2.0 was never gonna last. Maybe this’ll trigger his bi awakening somehow too. He and Joe can make out to get even

    1. zee

      I haven’t felt like this this hard since Joyce was seducing a taken Jacob. Fuck the morality i want this juicy ass drama. Like butter on my popcorn

    2. Madock345

      Joe/Walky is truly the end game pairing in this situation. XD

    3. Yumi

      I know you don’t put yourself in either camp, but this is basically exactly why I went with the sickos.

    4. Nymph

      What you’re describing is pretty much Sickos territory. ONE OF US ONE OF US!

      1. zee

        Kinda ig? I interpreted the sickos as being more about liking dojo in spite of everything but if I’m being real, I always have been and still am lukewarm on the ship. No real reason, it’s just not my taste. So id honestly prefer if it didn’t happen bc I’ve been on JoJo for a long time now. But it’s obviously happening so instead of getting upset about that I’m just rolling with the drama of it. Fiending over the fallout is kinda just making the best of the situation or smth. That makes it sound more serious than it really is but eh, language is hard

        1. zee

          I’m trying to think of the best way to describe how i actually feel about all these ships and I can only come up with food and cooking metaphors. Tldr I just think dojo is a little bland, to my personal taste. And I’m kinda known for needing too much salt on my food so ymmv. The upcoming drama is the seasoning I need to really enjoy this meal

        2. Nymph

          Oh, nah. Plenty of sickos just wanted to see the most dramatic and messy thing happen. Which, in this case, was the smooch. I really hope Joe gets a lovely romantic set up with a new person who doesn’t cheat on him, and that makes your shipping heart happy! (Though I admit I hope he crashes out first and cooks a billion burritos for Danny and/or bangs someone about it).

        3. zee

          Mad curious to see how things are gonna land. Can’t really think of anyone for him more interesting than Joyce rn, maybe Rachel if she gets her own character arc? I’m a slut for enemies to lovers (like JoJo was, sob). Maybe he’ll kiss a guy, just for the hell of it. I’m pretty sure he’s 100% het but, y’know, I like my baras.

        4. Nymph

          I would LOVE for Joe not to be het, but sadly I think you’re right. Still, we can hope!

        5. thejeff

          I don’t have any problem with DoJo, but I do feel like JoJo wasn’t played out yet. This feels like preemptively cutting short something that hadn’t yet reached a conclusion.

          Assuming, for the moment, that what’s happening here is Joyce dumping Joe for Dorothy, which I’m not yet 100% sure of.

  64. JSW

    Honestly I want to see more of Asma, she’s a badass!

  65. Sharizard

    ‘We will do one of those three things.’

  66. Ac

    cut to Joe being all “i love being monogamous with my girlfriend”

  67. Olav

    Just some punks with guns…

    Said the superhero that doesn’t actually have any superpowers or body armor. Plot armor, maybe…

    1. thejeff

      This always amuses me because there are so many superheroes in comics who don’t have actual superpowers or wear body armor, but still routinely get in fights with people with guns. (Or with minor powers that don’t really protect them. Probably less so than a few decades back – there have been more nods to basically handwavy body armor.)

      But even without the guns, we don’t see real world martial artists taking on dozens of armored cops. Call it “plot armor” if you will, but it’s really genre convention.

      1. Sharizard

        Spider-Man’s always bothered me with this. I know his suit is usually rags he’s stitched together one way or another, and that agility is a big focus of his so he doesn’t want to weigh himself down too much. But he could do with some protective layering in there.

  68. Jay

    Y’all best be running off to break up with your boyfriends

    1. wetmonstersmell

      As someone who has very direct relevant experience: no. They should be running off to /talk about it with/ their boyfriends, and be prepared for their boyfriends to break up with /them/.

      1. Nymph

        I mean, they can break up with their boyfriends. They don’t have to wait and see what the boyfriends want about it. Talking about it is kind, though, for sure.

    2. Taffy

      At the absolute bare minimum, they better be on their way to ‘fess up and see what happens.

    3. zee

      I mean eventually. I think they (Joyce mostly idk how Dot is so okay) should be running off to flush the tear gas from their eyes and treat those burns. Grab some aloe vera on the long way home

  69. AnonGrouch

    You can’t spell 4NGRY without some 4.

  70. finep

    I have a question… is kissing emotional cheating?
    If it is, i wonder about something:

    if someone, like Walky, ignores the clear signs that their partner needs help, like her wanting to tell about her potential cheating and him blatantly saying “don’t care” (looks like it’s less funny now…)

    I don’t want him to get hurt (well, too late, seeing how he reacted to what Jennifer told him), even if I honestly don’t like him very much, and i may overblow it but…

    Does he not share a bit of the blame? He was given the chance to put his foot down, he at least knew that (unless a flashback shows us he did put it, eventually…)

    I hope I never do what they did, to be clear, just wanting to know if it is an appropriate nuance to make.

    TLDR/In short, Would Walky be right to feel emotionally cheated if he wasn’t much emotionally present?

    1. Big Z

      I think it’s somewhat obvious that kissing is cheating for some proportion of the populace.

      Personally, I think there are three facets to this:
      1) Walky is “right” to feel any way he wants about his own relationship and the issues therein, internally to him.
      2) I doubt he WILL feel that way, given his previous disconnection.
      3) How OTHER people will feel about how Walky feels will almost certainly depend on their definition of cheating vs. Walky’s.

    2. thejeff

      What are you talking about?
      Walky knew at least what? That Joyce and Dorothy had “had sex” before he was back together with Dorothy (and before Joe and Joyce were together for that matter.) He’s supposed to put his foot down about something that happened when they weren’t dating? That he only found out about after Joyce and Dorothy left for the protest?

      And most people seem to consider kissing actual cheating, not just emotional – whatever people tend to mean by emotional cheating.

      1. Nymph

        I hate the term emotional cheating, but yeah kissing is absolutely regular cheating within these (and most monogamous) relationships. I don’t think anything leading up to the kiss was cheating (yet), because I don’t believe in thought crimes, but smoochin’ counts as infidelity for these two.

        1. thejeff

          How would you treat actually trying to cheat but being foiled by circumstances?

          Which is basically what happened with their earlier “do laundry” attempt.

        2. Big Z

          Not Nymph, obviously, but there’s a school of thought that says “everyone has desires that are illicit at times, they don’t become a problem until you act on them” and there’s a school of thought that says “intention matters almost as much as action”.

          Personally, I’m on team “if you intended to cheat, you’re functionally a cheater that can’t get caught unless you out yourself” but I also think “Up until the moment of actually cheating, you haven’t cheated even if you wanted to” is a defensible position.

        3. Nymph

          I personally am not monogamous and have never been, so I struggle with grey areas like that. For me that doesn’t seem like cheating, but it does seem like it needs a conversation to talk about needs and whatever pushed those buttons. I think you haven’t done wrong until you’ve done wrong, if that makes sense?

        4. Big Z

          Hmm, also not monogamous, but I feel like “intending to do something that will (likely) hurt your partner” is pretty close to as bad as doing it when it all shakes out — for a non-romance example, imagine we are dating and I got a plan together to embarrass you at work, and got to the point of showing up in your office lobby with a couple of banana cream pies. Even if I never hit you with a pie in front of your boss, you are (IMHO) well within your rights to consider me in the wrong and be hurt that I would even CONSIDER such an action with obvious potential negative effects on you even if we’d never once discussed a boundary around getting pied-in-the-face in public.

          That’s kinda consonant with my overall view of “if your partner considers something cheating or hurtful they are going to be hurt if you do it, so the prudent course in relationships is to try to discover those boundaries/beliefs BEFORE you trip over them”, especially in the case of things that are culturally generally held to be “cheating” (like physical affection past a certain point, with “kissing on the lips” definitely on the far side of the line).

        5. Nymph

          Yes, that’s your opinion and your culture. There are different ones around.

        6. Big Z

          Certainly, which is why I wrapped it in caveats and advised finding out specifics about what your partner(s) think.

          I’m also, admittedly, mapping my default view on “American culture, mainstream, the 2000s” to match the comic setting.

        7. esolo

          Until someone actually cheats, they haven’t cheated. Thinking about cheating and not doing it isn’t cheating. Wanting to cheat and not doing it isn’t cheating. Intending to cheat and not doing it isn’t cheating.

          All of those can still be problematic things that one should still be introspective about, and consider talking to any or all of: a therapist, a close friend, or one’s partner about, but none of them are cheating.

        8. finep

          I don’t think Dorothy actually intended to. I think she used plausible deniability on herself and Joyce, knowing they would not actually be able to.

          As for Joyce, I’m really hoping she thinks she has Joe’s approval since “flush“, or I just don’t understand her anymore. It would mean of course she should have checked first, which someone will hopefully point out even if she was right.
          It kind of checks out that she doesn’t care about Walky, but maybe she intended to bring him up before doing anything, with the backup plan of actually doing the laundry, you know…

          In short, maybe they really expected to do actual laundry.

        9. finep

          Well, less “in short” and more “Also”, in the last sentence.

        10. finep

          Yeah, I changed my mind and agree with you.

          I also realised that Walky is probably undergoing a bit of a crisis of self-esteem himself, and it makes no sense to give Dorothy a pass and not him…

          I definitively think he will feel hurt because of that specifically, and I hope someone will be able to reassure him of the fact that Dorothy doesn’t love him less, although I doubt it, as I feel it will make narrative sense if he “retry” something with Amber… Somehow…

          On the other hand, I think (well, ok, mostly hope) Joe will be relatively ok.
          I have no belief in the possibility that he will backslide, seeing how he’s shown how well he understands the need to change into someone safe, independent of his relationship with Joyce.

    3. zee

      I mean it’s physical cheating so I don’t think the emotional part really matters that much

    4. Yeet

      I don’t think relationships necessarily run on feeling the morally correct way
      I think perhaps a person can fuck up and still feel bad about something that might not have happened or might still have happened if they didn’t fuck up
      An emotion isn’t something a person is right or wrong to have, although it can certainly be misplaced or dysfunctional or whatever edge/extreme case someone is gonna yell at me

      I also think walky and joe might be cooler about this than people seem to be assuming
      Joe brought it up to Dorothy, Walky has been actively joking about it basically since he stopped having a crush meltdown whenever Dorothy was nearby
      I don’t think either of them are exactly unprepared for this statement

      1. Dot

        People ALWAYS bring up Walky’s jokes, but they were JOKES. That does not translate to him actually being cool with Dorothy actually making out with Joyce actually behind his back.

    5. PedanticJerkass

      Kissing is cheating cheating.

  71. Jernacious

    Here’s hoping Asma and Amazi-girl get together now

    1. Tequila Mockingbird

      You know what? I’ll ship it.

  72. eskimolos

    Just shower thoughts but if amber gets iced here, walky would basically have nobody to rebound onto after all this, unless we’re putting Billie and walky together, which feels a bit horrific, somehow…

    1. thejeff

      If Amber got iced here, everyone will be far more messed up than any worries about who to rebound onto.

  73. Mako

    Man. Was not expecting the anger over this? Mainly the protests. Not everything has to revolve around real world issues.

    1. Jerach

      People have discussed in detail why they are not happy with the handling of the protest element in this storyline.

      1. Mako

        Doesn’t mean they’re right. They’ve been protesting on college campuses for decades. Its a trope at this point.

        1. Madock345

          You’re quite right. Been enjoying the storyline tons, can’t say I wasn’t expecting the anger though. Half the people here only seem to show up because they want something acceptable to be mad at. XD

        2. Dawn

          It’s less that it’s happening at a protest and more the type of protest it’s at. I’m enjoying this storyline but a protest related to queer issues or women’s issues would have been a better venue, because the backdrop of a genocide protest themed after Israel/Palestine is a strange and insensitive venue for a storyline about two queer white girls realizing their feelings for each other. Based on what Willis said on Bluesky, he AGREES with this criticism and will give Muslim characters a bigger spotlight.

        3. Dot

          This is disingenuous. People are not upset that a protest was used as a plot device, it’s that it’s very specifically a stand-in for pro-Palestine protests which was used as a backdrop for the story of two white girls while de-centering the Muslim and Arab characters in the strip and reducing them to minor background roles.

        4. Big Z

          This right here is correct. There’s a vast difference between “a generic campus protest” and “this is a protest about money being spent on funding a specific war in a specific other country, wink nudge”.

          I’d also think there’s a difference between “doing a generic storyline about a campus protest” and “doing a storyline that mimics, in a lot of details, a specific and recent protest movement that is still ongoing”.

          It’d be like the difference between a comic in the early 70’s doing a storyline about an anti-war protest on a college campus, and a comic doing a storyline about the National Guard seemingly getting run out of a campus protest, only to turn and open fire on the student protestors.

        5. Madock345

          They weren’t de-centered, they’ve never been centered. They’re all tertiary characters. You’re suggesting an unprecedented swap for the comic to follow side characters primarily for an extended period.

          I don’t think protests need to be treated with the entire gravitas of their subject, nor do fictional protests deserve the seriousness or gravitas of real protests.

        6. I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams

          Have you considered that maybe, just *maybe* , the people who have been upset about this might have some very real, very serious, very fucking relevant reasons as to why writing a storyline about protesting the genocide of Arab people in a comic that doesn’t have any Arab characters might feel like their voices are being ignored?

          Like, full stop, even if you personally don’t fucking care the least you can do is not reply to the people who are upset and just tell them to get over it.

        7. PedanticJerkass

          Way to be callously dismissive there. Good look on you.

  74. Corey C.

    I’m begging, BEGGING the author of this comic for a “Graduate” ending where the high of being rebels in love dies down and Dotty and Joyce realize the consequences of their actions. It would be amazing if, like the Graduate, there were no words exchanged, just the facial changes from “I love you so much, we should’ve done this AGES ago” to “Oh God, what have we done?”

    Bonus if Becky comes in, reads the room, and realizes everything she said about Dotty stealing her lifelong crush turned out to be RIGHT.

  75. Heavyoak

    Gay La Gay.

  76. Hillean

    I just… I’m just not behind the Dorothy/Joyce shipping. We spent so much time behind Joe’s evolution and change, earning trust, having Joyce try him out and really start to fall for him, just for Dorothy to decide she wants Joyce and to make several (unfair) plays for him.

    Now we get the arc of ‘Joe gets devastated because Dorothy was an asshole and just took what she thought she wanted’

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