330

Snuggle
Posted on October 22, 2014 by David M Willis

330 thoughts on “Snuggle”

  1. Camachri

    AAARGH. FEELS.

    1. CommunistCanada

      My first Awww Moment.

      1. rachel

        WELCOME

        1. Deanatay

          He’s not officially welcomed until he’s had his first ‘Damn you, Willis’ moment. Of course, if he’s only now having his first ‘Awww’ moment, he may have already had the other.

        2. WikiDreamer

          Wait wait wait…I’ve had MANY a Damn You, Willis moments. Why was I never officially welcomed? ;^;

        3. Harr0wed

          If you didn’t announce it, they wouldn’t have know?

        4. CommunistCanada

          I Haven’t yet said Damn you Willis, but I expect to soon if this storyline turns out the way I fear it will.

    2. Anderhail

      Just finished doing a complete archive binge again today, which led right into this emotional sucker punch. A part of me distinctly wishes I could afford Patreon rates in order to see tomorrow’s, but another part of me feels like that would be a spoiler?? Regardless, sniffles abound.

      1. Jen Aside

        nah, a spoiler would be the gist of the content rather than the actual content early and/or out of order

  2. Jen Aside

    just a *little* creepy that Joyce can get in wherever she wants on campus unimpeded

    1. Dean

      Her giant triangular mouth allows her to chew through doors and walls with little difficulty.

      1. Doctor_Who

        And her giant blue eyes can see through walls, as well as into your soul.

        1. Ahighfunctioningsociopath

          And her brown hair lets her blend in when she needs too.

        2. L33tmaster

          And don’t forget the lord is on her side, and that fact that she’s a master lock picker has nothing to do with anything…..

        3. JWLM

          No, no, no — Christ is her Master Lock Picker.

        4. ninja_jesus

          She has a special Crucifix lock pick set: Complete with Jesus on the Cross torsion wrench and a Centurion Spear rake pick.

        5. ANeM

          I’m sorry, but everyone knows that the Lord and Savior Jill Valentine is the Master of Unlocking.

        6. Lume

          Her faith moves mountains and the lock tumblers.

        7. Lume

          Mt Fuji has been relocated to Montana.

        8. Jen Aside

          The Lord works in mysterious keyholes?

        9. Just for kix

          He opens the doors for you, not exactly the way you think he would though.

      2. Kennerly

        Having textbooks, laptops and other personal items stolen from dorm rooms must be a huge problem at this university. There is no security at all!

        1. All-purpose guru

          Pretty typical dorm, actually. We had contests where we would open a random door on the floor with our own key. One guy could open any door on the floor with his key in under three seconds. We never had to pay the RA $5 for the locked-out fee, he did it just for the challenge (and the occasional beer.)

        2. Rachel Roth

          Got it… I REALLY don’t want to live in a dorm.

        3. Marisa Mockery

          We had personal safes on the walls for this reason. Don’t know how well they kept people out, but no one ever tried it to my knowledge.

        4. Disloyal Subject

          Having a little faith in humanity can prove surprisingly effective.
          Hanging medieval armaments all over your bed probably doesn’t hurt either.

        5. Jen Aside

          unless they fall on you in your sleep, THAT might hurt

          wonk wonk

        6. LWS

          The RA is a little distracted with her issues so she probably isn’t doing a lot of surveillance either. I guess that’s why they need Amazi-Girl…..

        7. Jams

          Ruth is RA to the girls wing; the boys have their own RA.

        8. Eric Burns-White

          You would be stunned at how many students leave their doors unlocked at any given school. Whether they’re in the room or not.

          And a lot of kids leave their dorm rooms unlocked as a matter of course when they’re actually [i]in[/i] the room. If they wake up and have to run out to pee, they don’t want to accidentally lock themselves out.

          So it has been, so it shall be.

        9. Dragon_Nataku

          and then there’s that one roommate I had who lost her key on like day two of the semester and then would bongo me out whenever I dared to lock our room door. So it was either leave it unlocked or get bongoed at forever. So much of my shit got stolen that semester ^=__=^;;

        10. itachi_0501

          Maybe that shouldn’t have been advertised…? 🙂

        11. Oberon

          So tell her you’re going to lock the door, and that her solution to her problem with that is to pay to get her lost key replaced.

          Why was that a difficult problem to solve?

        12. Riku

          Bro you’re asking a lot from Dana

        13. Heather

          I learned to lock my door even while I was in it fairly fast when I woke up one day in first year and found a stranger sleeping on my bedroom floor. He was someone’s brother who had got drunk and thought was in his sister’s room. I’m a deep sleeper so didn’t hear him stumble in at god knows what hour. He’s lucky I didn’t step on him when I woke up.

        14. Nyxness

          I and most people I know leave our dorm rooms unlocked most of the time, whether we’re in them or not. Haven’t heard of anybody having a problem with theft. The only restriction on dorm entry is that you need to scan your student ID to get in (and that’ll get you into any dorm, not just the one you live in). I guess a big part of that is just the culture of my school, though; if I went to a large public university I’d probably keep my door locked.

      3. Shaows

        So you’re saying that Joyce is a Langolier?

    2. Tunaro

      She has clearly been taking Dinosaur Ninja lessons from Dina.

    3. Yotomoe

      That girl is a friggin’ jumper. Some people have all the luck.

    4. Morgauxo

      Most of my college years were pre 9/11. Also there have been various high profile school shootings and other bad events. I remember doors being unlocked a lot more than they probably are now. I think Willis went to college about the same time I did.

      1. Killjoy

        The dorms where I went to college in the early 90s had:

        Locked front door

        24-hour front desk staff and ID checks to get anywhere past the desk between 11pm and 6am

        Locked rooms

        Random sweeps of the hallways by night dorm staff

        Mandatory meetings, mandatory fire-drills, mandatory etc.

        Needless to say, I only lived on campus for one year…

        1. Eric Burns-White

          That was all the same as the dorms I went to in the 80’s. However, when you got past that front door — by living in the door, or having someone sign you in — then the security inside the dorm proper was pretty lax. Yeah, they’d sometimes walk through just to make sure there was nothing weird, but for the most part the interior of the dorm was a free zone.

  3. Doctor_Who

    Joyce and Et-FUCK!

    1. Yotomoe

      You know damn well they can’t do that.

      1. timemonkey

        They can, it just won’t be enjoyable by…well either of them at this point.

    2. LeslieBean4Shizzle

      I think that might be anatomically improbable for Steven Spielberg’s classic movie alien.

      1. Doctor_Who

        The Cinema Snob has reviewed several movies that would disagree with you.

  4. Cephalo the Pod

    So, placing bets. Is Jacob there or not?

    1. Leorale

      Working out in the background, very quietly.

      1. Yotomoe

        “White people are crazy…Weights are the only people who understand me”

        1. whatho

          XD

    2. Jen Aside

      which one lolololol

  5. Tunaro

    What the Hell is wrong with everybody this week?!

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      The Drama Llama happened. 😛

      1. Tunaro

        …
        …Would it be animal abuse to beat a metafictional camelid to death so that my ships can get some damn happy feels without stuff ruining it for once?

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          Not sure but I would watch out for PETA afterwards if you do so.

        2. KKoro

          Really, not Dramadary?

          So…so disappointed, man.

        3. Hoax

          The Dramadery is all booked over at QC for the next week or so, had to call in a favor with the Llama.

        4. Hoax

          …seeing the typo half an instant before the page reloads to post your comment really, really sucks.

        5. Arkadi

          If you object to the drama, you came to the wrong neighbourhood.

        6. Kryss LaBryn

          If you object to the drama, you came to the wrong llama.

          Or Lama. What do I know.

        7. Cephalo the Pod

          Yes.
          Do it anyway.

        8. Camachri

          No jury on earth would convict you.

        9. Ghola

          There are no happy ships in the Willis Sea… All is storms and the bitter tears of the fallen…

        10. itachi_0501

          I’ve got all the bitters one can handle – I missed seeing Damn…er, DAVE Willis at my FLCS last week, because we had a family emergency. 🙁 Now, THAT deserves the feels. 🙂

        11. Dragon_Nataku

          http://bvs.wikidot.com/monster:drama-llama

          You can beat up on the Drama Llama on a relatively regular basis in Billy vs Snakeman *thumbs up*

      2. Dedlok

        I ain’t with the drama.
        You can meet my llama.

        1. Barrage7667

          There is actually a comic called dracullama about a llama who sucks the drama out of people.

        2. Kryss LaBryn

          That–that sounds–LINK PLEASE.

        3. ocbrad1

          Yes! Please with the linkage!

  6. Xerxes93

    Joyce that is slightly fucked up

    1. Doctor_Who

      Yeah, for her this is third base.

      1. Yotomoe

        She plays 18 Base Baseball.

        1. Catullus

          Calvin & Hobbes style.

        2. Catullus

          UPDATE: In context that sounds really unfortunate. My bad, everyone

        3. Yotomoe

          I don’t know enough about Calvin and Hobbes to know why.

        4. Tom T.

          Not only is it solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short, it was predestined to be that way.

        5. Yotomoe

          I can’t imagine 80% of those being true.

        6. barefootbiker

          John Calvin is the only Calvin Joyce was allowed to read as a kid.

        7. Ghostforge

          the calvin & hobbes bit was probly a
          reference to the made up game of
          calvinball for which there are only
          two permenent rules:
          1- the rules are made up as you go along
          2- you can never play the same way twice

        8. No Name

          Actually the rules are:
          1. You can never play the same way twice and
          2. Never question the masks
          Your rule 1 is a logical consequence my rule 1/your rule 2.

    2. Deanatay

      There’s nothing slight about it.

  7. Sam

    Awww…I want an Ethan to snuggle.

    1. Koms

      Sure you do 😉

    2. JessWitt

      I sympathize with your snuggle needs.

    3. Kepi

      Panel 5: “mmm this beard is so warm…”

    4. Adam Black

      Hes just the right size,
      Those shoulders; the curve of his upper back…

      I’m sorry, we appear to be out of spare Ethans to snuggle.
      Might we interest you in a spare Sarah or perhaps a Mary ?

  8. thebombzen

    Uh oh. Premarital Hanky-Panky.

    1. Dr. Zeus

      HA! That gravatar makes that comment.

    2. Emperor Kiva

      What? No you ass

      1. Opus the Poet

        Well, yes. Just non-sexual hanky-panky.

  9. Dr. Zeus

    I guess we know the answer to nap or no nap.

  10. Emperor Kiva

    Somehow I knew she was gonna do this

  11. cybik

    Oh this will end so well.

  12. HMRC4EVR

    Oh yea, that’s true love.

    Gotta be.

  13. GoogerGeiger

    Joyce, what the fuck. You even realize how weird it is.

    1. No Name

      Maybe, but she doesn’t care anyway.

  14. Stephen Bierce

    Where’s the Teddy Bear when a girl needs him?

    1. Emperor Kiva

      It’s out getting high with Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis

      1. L33tmaster

        APPROVED

        1. JacHunter

          Second.

    2. JessWitt

      Stuffed animals just will not do.

  15. Yew

    Poor Joyce. She’s so lonely and conflicted. A sheltered, fundy background can really mess you up. (He said, speaking from experience.)

    1. Nena

      =( Yeah, they really do fuck you up, don’t they? It makes the world seem like a very scary place.

      1. Yew

        Not only is the world scary, but you can become convinced that you deserve nothing good. (A consequence of the “total depravityof man” concept.)

        1. Flipz

          Oh hell yes, so true! It really sneaks up on you, too, even when you think you’ve grown past it. 🙁

    2. JWLM

      Oh, yeah, her background. And maybe just a bit of PTSD brought on by being raped? You know, just a bit?

      1. White Rice

        There was drugging, and there was intent, but she smashed that glass into rapey’s face before things got worse than they already were. Unless there was another incident, that was it (not saying it wasn’t traumatic, just that it was “only” attempted [not that it’s much better than it actually happening])

        1. slicedtoad

          What? of course it’s better than actually getting raped. Better phrasing might be “getting raped is much worse”.

          But either way, don’t put them on the same level. It’s like the difference between having a car accident that kills you and narrowly avoiding an accident that leaves you shaky.

  16. ChocolateRat

    I hope things get better for Joyce soon.

    1. Emperor Kiva

      I’m with you

    2. Van Jealous

      Shouldn’t that be “spoon” and not “soon”?

      1. Opus the Poet

        That was the way I read it the first time through.

  17. caesaria82

    This strip just makes me sad for a multitude of reasons.

    1. CommunistCanada

      I agree with you there. But My Gravatar makes me unable to say anything without it coming out spiteful.

      1. Catullus

        Story of my life :b

        1. Kyrros

          Everything’s Awesome…

          Not sure what everyone else’s deal is 🙂

        2. xKiv

          They are not part of a team?

      2. Deanatay

        Dude, what’s with all the spite? Jeez, chill out a little.

      3. Itama

        “me too. oh well, driving an asian girl to suicide should make it better.”

  18. Mr. Random

    Oh, HEY!
    Joyce and Ethan perform a nap!
    HAHA!
    wait.
    ninja’d.

    1. Lanval

      Ethan and Joyce make mild body contact in the most awkward of chastity naps.

  19. piemanpie24

    Wait, did Ethan leave his door unlocked? Did Jacob let Joyce in the room? How did she get there?

    These are the questions that David Willis DOESN’T want you to ask.

    1. Pantheon the Mantheon

      Find the answers next time on: Sick Sad World. (+1 internet to anyone who gets this)

      1. caesaria82

        Daria. I don’t think that’s an obscure reference at all to people (especially girls) of a certain generation, but I’ll take the internet anyway 😉

      2. timemonkey

        Who didn’t watch Daria, it was pretty successful at the time?

        1. Opus the Poet

          Some of us had kids in middle and high schools at the time, and third shift jobs…

        2. Rutee

          I didn’t, actually. I know it was popular, but it’s a thing I missed just the same.

        3. Mr. Random

          I’m gonna confess, last summer, I saw a fake trailer for a daria live action movie, having been too young when it came out, I decided to watch a little, and then proceeded to binge on the entire series over the weekend. I couldn’t get her excitable voice out of my head.

        4. No Name

          My parents have the Daria computer game.

          Yes, there is a Daria computer game.

        5. Dara

          I own that game. Daria’s Inferno

        6. Dragon_Nataku

          hell, I still have the theme song in my playlist

      3. thinkingofthechildren

        -100 Internets to anyone who doesn’t. You missed out on the last days of MTV not being completely worthless….Except for Tom…Tom sucked.

        1. timemonkey

          Tom was just a bit boring. People just hate him because he was the physical representation of the changes of growing up and the shifting dynamic between Daria and Jane.

    2. Tom T.

      Mike let her in. Don’t ask.

      1. Ghola

        Mike has a key, so he and Jacob can do shirtless weightlifting while Ethan tries to study.

        1. Leorale

          Yes.

    3. itachi_0501

      Don’t Mike and Walky share a bathroom with Ethan and Jacob? In this particular dorm, the shared bathroom allows pass-through between rooms, but both sides have an internal and external lock on them. Maybe Jacob/Ethan forgot to lock theirs?

  20. someguywithakatana

    Jesus Christ Ethan. It takes like nothing to just turn over and hug the girl back when she’s clearly distressed

    1. jams

      He’s partially asleep. He’s not registering that.

      1. someguywithakatana

        I guess… Bleeeeeh….

    2. oldFart

      Er, I rather thing he’s doing about what she needs. A full embrace while reclining in bed might send her where he can’t follow. Just being there for her to snuggle seems about right.

    3. Ghola

      Please, Ethan will never be the big spoon. It would be like Danny not … being Danny.

  21. Rachel Roth

    Joyce and Ethan make a nap.

    (Yes, yes I did, but only because you did.)

  22. Tom Speelman

    D’awwww

  23. GoogerGeiger

    Joyce’s attempts to pray the gay away have failed. Now she attempts to spoon the gay away.

  24. Plasma Mongoose

    At least Ethan can technically say that he has slept with a woman now.

    1. JacHunter

      So now he’s succeeded at one out of two attempts.

    2. Bill

      And Joyce can say she was in bed with a man ….

  25. OsoPescado

    Woah… this is a big step for her

    1. newllend

      In her mind she got to second base.

  26. jrgolden42

    Ethan and Joyce Cuddle Each Other in the Most Epic of Emotional Moments?

    1. Catullus

      …Or No Mask

    2. Yotomoe

      If this is an emotional moment for Ethan I’d be tempted to call him a Cold bastard.

      1. newllend

        Ya this is really emotional for him, that’s why he’s sleeping because he’s emotionally exhausted.

  27. Kelli

    Joyce is trying to reinforce her straightness by snuggling with Ethan, right? Because she was silently screaming into her pillow earlier because the desires that she didn’t even realize she had for Dorothy were thwarted by Dorothy’s declaration of love for Walky… right? Otherwise it would not have upset her so much…

    …right?

    1. Yotomoe

      She was practicing gripping the sheets for the intense cuddling that she wants this to evolve into. God may not like premarital sex (even though marriage is a legal institution and god and jesus presumably believe that if you live together you’re basically married) He has no problem with cuddling the shit out of someone.

      1. WeezerLuvr3030

        I understand not reading through the whole Bible, but it is on page 2 of my KJV where marriage is invented long before man-made laws. Page 2! I mean come on…

        1. Pat

          What? My KJV just has sex.

        2. Em

          Yes, but it’s a legal institution NOW.

        3. Em

          And yeah, my KJV talked about sex when it talked about marriage, and that was it. Not to say yours doesn’t say what it does!

    2. Neonix

      I think this comic represents the LGBT population enough without turning Joyce into a bisexual too. Seriously, gay men make up 5% of their population, and gay women are more rare than that, but half of the characters in this comic are gay or bi.

      1. thinkingofthechildren

        Thank you. It’s best to keep her “straight, but not quite all the way on the far end of the Kinsey scale”.

      2. butt-lord

        There is never enough queer representation. Never.

        1. HeySo

          With your avatar, this is a profoundly confusing statement to read.

        2. Suitora

          Joe would like queer representation, but he would like it to be all girls.

      3. Bill

        I agree.  Can’t we have at least one straight-but-very-confused individual in this comic — and why can’t it be Joyce?

        1. Yotomoe

          We’ve got Danny.

        2. gwalla

          Danny is bi-but-very-confused.

      4. timemonkey

        Three gay, three bi and two unknown. Up against billions of straight characters.

      5. saltchocolate

        Everyone is bi! IRL!

      6. drs

        Numbers are all over the place. And gay does not equal bi, and more people report ever feeling same-sex attraction than identify as LBGT.

        On OkCupid some years ago, it seemed that gay males were generally 6%, bi male 3%, gay women 2%, bi women 12%. Roughly; varied a fair bit from place to place, especially country to country.

      7. Adam Black

        1) 10% of all Fictional characters are not LGBT, and have you ever complained before about all the missing LGBT is the created worlds you see?

        2) There was a Plague! Lots of Older gay X-ers and Bi boomers Died. That scared a lot of Younger GenXers into the closet. Society would have a lot more gay-reprentation now if not for that.

        3) 10% is based off Alfred Kinsey and referred to men exclusively gay

        4) Survey: We have…
        main characters: 1 gay character ( Ethan ) 2 Bi ( Billie and Ruth ) Pan ( or just kinky ) ( Mike )

        minor characters: gay ( Leslie ) ; BI ( Robin, Marcie ) and Daisy , Mandy, Grace ( Gay or Bi ) .
        Joceyline and Carla ( Trans ) . Malaya , Faz ( Pan , Bi or Unknown )

        That isnt half. When you include closeted, and experimentation IRL in college, half might be fair!

        4) We dont have lots of closeted and straight males experimenting in DOA ( like their really is in college) . Something tell me you might not be the first person ( or ever ) a male friend confides in, that he secretly hooked up.

        5) Kinseys 10% didnt take into account Bisexuals . The recent research suggest that when you do that, the LGBT population is closer to 20% .
        http://www.psmag.com/culture/gay-population-lgbt-homosexual-sex-kinsey-68670/

        What you think Willis’s extreme Ho-Yay representation , actually might be on the conservative side. “Straight People” do quite a bit of same-sex bed hopping in college. Many People do not come out until post-college. After college Some come out; some get married to other straight people and dont post a rainbow-flag sign for you to count.

        Willis , i am not saying you should up the HO-YO to 50% to piss this person off, but that level of experimentation was going on, on my erstwhile-straight college dorm floor. Ok Willis, I am totally saying that.

        Ethan having a relationship with another closeted college man, one who has a real GF, would be very realistic. If homophobes cant deal with Danny “the everyman” being bi, imagine the reaction when you have “straight” closeted characters hooking up with Ethan.

        1. MindLink

          “1) 10% of all Fictional characters are not LGBT”

          No, it’s probably more like 30%, if you include every kind of recorded media from the beginning of time til today.

  28. Leorale

    Somehow I imagined that Ethan had superhero-themed sheets.

    Did Jacob let her in?

    1. newllend

      Are your kidding ? Who uses doors anymore its all about the windows now a days.

    2. Maveric1984

      Jacob wants his own Joyce story so he has something to talk about with Sarah

  29. Nena

    She looks so tiny compared to him.

    1. Maveric1984

      Well, he is a giant. He’s the tallest cast member.

      1. Gigafreak

        “My spoon is too big!”

  30. Jenny Creed

    A Dumbing of Age Chaste Spooning

    1. Maveric1984

      Dat Christian side cuddle

  31. Henry

    Damn you Willis, beating me to the punch!

    Also, either Ethan & Jacob leave their door unlocked at night (granted, I always have, but I figured that was a small-school thing), or Joyce has learned how to quickly and discreetly pick a lock.

    1. Catullus

      It is way easier that way.

    2. MindLink

      Couldn’t Jacob have let her in ?

  32. newllend

    Joyce and Ethan per-wait *reads hover text* ……GOD DAMN YOU WILLIS !!!

    1. Deanatay

      I guess this is Willis saying ‘FIRST!” 🙂

  33. newllend

    Joyce and Ethan per-wait *reads hover text* ……GOD DAMN YOU WILLIS !!!

    1. newllend

      I think this is my first God damn you Willis, or second in a technical way.

      1. Deanatay

        Hooray! Welcome to the chat!

  34. caramelundqueer

    This is sooooo fucking sad.

  35. Kernanator

    This is a great plan. I mean, there’s nothing at all creepy about sneaking into someone’s bed to snuggle with them while they’re asleep. I mean, aside from everything.

    1. caramelundqueer

      Yeah but when Please Like Me did it it was the sweetest fucking thing ever, go figure. Of course Josh and Arnold actually being in a romantic relationship probably helped…

      1. caesaria82

        Please Like Me is the cutest thing ever, I love it so much :3

        1. caramelundqueer

          Everyone should love it so much! It’s a great show.

    2. WeezerLuvr3030

      Why is it creepy? It’s quite common and has been one of the signs of friendship in North American young adults for the past three or four decades, depending on social class and region.

      1. Kernanator

        It’s creepy because HOW DID JOYCE GET INTO ETHAN’S ROOM?!?

      2. Jams

        It’s creepy because Joyce and Ethan had not had this sort of contact before, and they should have established that it was okay with both of them when both of them were awake.

        1. thebooksluts

          It’s really not that creepy. Y’all are making mountains out of molehills, here.

          Ethan was sleepy but he wasn’t drugged or incapacitated, he could have woken all the way up and demanded Joyce leave his room, but he didn’t. (I mean, he was aware enough that he recognized Joyce; he was obviously somewhat with it.) Instead, he let her snuggle up to him because he cares about her and she is obviously having a hard time right now… and also because it’s already been WELL-established between them that they’re not going to have a sexual relationship, and he trusts her.

        2. Jams

          People have done things to me when I was partially asleep and it was difficult for me to even process what was happening. It took me a while to focus enough to wake up and get them to stop, plus it felt like I was inconveniencing them by doing so. Ethan wakes up partially and Joyce right out says “don’t say anything”, so even if he wanted to object, he really can’t, without starting a confrontation.

          Things pertaining to boundaries/consent should be established when both parties are awake. I agree that spooning is a pretty mild form of contact, but I still think it’s at a level of intimacy that isn’t comparable to anything they’ve reached thus far. Their relationship is still very new, and Ethan has already established that he is uncomfortable/uninterested in some forms of contact with her, like making out.

          It might be harmless but it’s still in the realm of creepy right now. I feel badly for her because I know she must really need affection, but the scenario makes me uncomfortable.

      3. timemonkey

        Joyce and Ethan barely know each other and have fabricated a relationship based on lies and repression. Everything they do together is tainted by that.

        1. Adam Black

          This is an opportunity to rectify some of that.

          Joyce’s repression isnt all sexual. Its also emotional. Thats why she needs Ethan. Thats why shes also in his bed. This could be therapeutic for her. That, in turn , could help Ethan.

        2. Rutee

          There’s really no way to rectify that. The core premise is that Ethan can make himself straight.

          And yes, seriously, this is creepy. They’re not a married couple; they sleep in seperate rooms and haven’t known each other for very long. Letting yourself in and snuggling up against someone in their sleep is just Weird. I’m pretty sure the primary reason Ethan isn’t objecting is because he’s tryin’ to sleep.

  36. newllend

    Would you say Joyce and Walky are romantic rivels ?

  37. Hannah

    See? SEE?! THIS is what happens when Ruth and Billie are happy, everybody else has to be miserable to balance out the universe!

    Darn you Willis!

    1. nothri

      Ruth and Billie and Amber and Danny, you mean…

      1. Hannah

        Amber and Danny are allowed to be happy, they just have to feel conflicted about said happiness *all the time* for it to balance out.

    2. CommunistCanada

      I’ll take Ruth and Billie finnally being Happy over the Res of the Universe being Happy.

  38. Opus the Poet

    Daawwwww! right in the feels.

  39. Reflex76

    Joyce and Ethan Perform a GNAP! GNAP GNAP!!!

    1. Maveric1984

      Gnap?

    2. gwalla

      They’re…going to become zombie smurfs?

  40. motorfirebox

    Joyce and Ethan perform a GOD DAMN YOU WILLIS YOU STOLE MY JOKE BEFORE I COULD MAKE IT

  41. TheOthin

    So I spy a

    1. Maveric1984

      What? What do you spy?

      OH GOD GUYS I THINK HE DIED!

      1. gwalla

        He spied Candlejack.

        That’s why he

  42. MechaMaidFan7

    Am I the only one who saw this? http://www.myfacewhen.net/uploads/1501-yaranaika.png

  43. Dudeface

    Part of me was hoping that every comment would be “Joyce and Ethan perform a nap.”

  44. Malchus

    Eh, I was gonna say “Joyce and Ethan Perform a Sad.”

  45. Arkadi

    Joyce and Ethan perform a nap! 😀

    (Just because you don’t have to do something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it)

  46. Kennerly

    Literally, they are sleeping together.

  47. Evan

    This is heartbreaking. Joyce really needs someone who can return her affections the right way…

    1. Emperor Kiva

      Agreed

  48. pistonrage

    And tomorrow it’s revealed that Joyce has wandering hands…

    1. Kennerly

      At the same time, Ethan has a wet dream about Danny, and Joyce thinks its her fault and she has lost her virginity.

      1. HeySo

        And then she tries to force Ethan into marriage, and then Mike is suddenly there with a pastor [or license to perform marriages], and then..

  49. Darth Cariss

    I feel like I’m the only person who isn’t bothered by this. Why are snuggles bad? I assume it’s people still displeased with the Joyce/Ethan relationship in general.

    1. Eric Burns-White

      Actually, I think it’s less that and more the subversion of when Billie went to Walky’s bed for support. Ethan barely wakes up. Joyce spoons with him, though she’s the one who needs support. He doesn’t even turn around to hold her.

      It’s not that he did anything wrong here. Or that Joyce did. But the vibe is off, compared to similar scenes we’ve seen before. Subversion of expectation is powerful, especially when it’s subtle.

    2. caramelundqueer

      From a boundaries stand point this kind of situation can be super creepy/potentially triggering for certain people. As much sympathy as Joyce has built as a character if Ethan had woken up fully and accused Joyce of crossing a line he wouldn’t have been wrong. Joyce doing this implies intimacy that hasn’t been earned in her week and some change of having known Ethan. But looking at it from another way this whole thing is just another reminder of how her upbringing and the attempted assault have damaged Joyce and what Ethan actually represents for her. Yeah he makes her feel safe but he’s also a huge reminder of what she can’t/won’t allow herself to have for so many reasons. There’s just no way too look at this and not feel like sad.

      1. caramelundqueer

        Ethan’s actual purpose in Joyce’s life and what he represents are just in full on display here in all it’s fucked up glory. The only way it could get more desperate and sad is when she (inevitably) pushes for something more physically intimate like a forced kiss. I feel like that’s coming. She’s basically a ticking time bomb and the fall out of that is going to be…rough to say the least.

  50. Tealjoy Berry

    That hover text though haha

  51. Kevin

    More like perform a spoon!

    Willis, any thoughts on the banner ad that’s trying to forcibly run JavaScript?

    1. neeks

      If you specify which ad, he might be able to do something about it.

  52. JA

    Just think what happens when they pull the drama tag. Also, is there a slipshine for naps?

    1. Deanatay

      Yes – look up ‘Snoreshine’.

  53. Sir Mockingbird XI

    For a perpetual over thinking nice guy Ethan sure doesn’t waste any time falling back to sleep

    1. HeySo

      When you gotta sleep, you just gotta sleep. Anything else can wait.

  54. Questionor

    Joyce is Amazi-girl and came through the window?

    1. xKiv

      PRotected by the silver spoon?

  55. zebrathinker

    everyone needs a snuggle now and then

    1. JessWitt

      But isn’t that why Joyce brought all those stuffed animals from home?

  56. Flimsyfishy

    Joyce is the big spoon!

    1. liahansen

      in the devil’s set of silverware

    2. CarlaGriffin

      A friend told me that when the big spoon is smaller it’s called jetpacking!

      1. JessWitt

        Your friend’s clever.

        1. neeks

          That’s pretty appropriate, considering Walkyverse!Joyce.

  57. JessWitt

    Friend-spooning. Joyce and Ethan are clearly wrong for each other but they are the ones they need at the moment. Hoping for a good future to these kids.

    1. JessWitt

      A future with other compatible people, I mean.

      1. winter

        Yeah, these two compliment each other surprisingly well. I hope they can stay friends after the inevitable break-up.

  58. TEi

    shoutout to hover text jokes

  59. Rocketboy1313

    Pathetic.

  60. Emoroffle

    Joyce and Ethan suppress their desires. Ha! Take THAT Willis.

  61. My Spoon Is Too Big

    This gives me a sinking feeling. Tragically touching, perhaps, is the best way I can describe it.

  62. Derek

    Ok maybe I’m slow in the uptake, can someone explain to me what Joyce is upset about?

    1. Scott

      Walky and Dorothy’s relationship is not doing well because Walky is not a fully functional human being.

      1. Zaxares

        And Joyce likely realises that if two seemingly normal, heterosexual individuals who have great chemistry can have it all end so quickly, that doesn’t bode well for the relationship of convenience she has with Ethan.

      2. timemonkey

        Joyce does not want their relationship to go well, she doesn’t like Walky.

        1. gwalla

          She doesn’t like the relationship because she doesn’t like Walky, but at the same time she doesn’t want the relationship to go bad because she doesn’t want Dorothy to be hurt.

      3. Ikaru

        He’s doesn’t seem that bad to me. Dorothy was the one escalating the relationship. Also, I think Walky does like her a lot, if not love her, but just did not say it well.

        1. timemonkey

          Dorothy escalating the relationship is not the point. Walky’s behaviour and thought processes are always….off. He’s deliberately naïve, deliberately forged a disconnect between his mind and reality. Now he’s being forced to live ein reality and doesn’t understand how that works anymore. But unlike Dina it’s entirely his own fault and a fixable problem.

        2. Lanval

          I think there’s something to be said here in Walky’s defence that he does act a bit “off” as you put it. In particular, I don’t think he acted maliciously or particularly out of character.

          Dorothy meanwhile reacts pretty badly to this and says that he wasn’t ready. We can disagree about Walky here, but I think some of the problem is that Dorothy herself is being a bit hasty in all of this and doesn’t know or understand Walky as well as she thinks and perhaps not well enough to be talking about things like love yet.

          At the end of the day, I think love means something different to both of them but Walky has a clearer idea of what it is in his mind (affection and mutual trust) while Dorothy doesn’t seem quite as clear minded on it (though in no way to her detriment as a character; she’s over thinking it a little I think)

        3. Doktor doktor professor

          It’s not just Walky who is naïve and a mind disconnected from reality. The same could be said of Dorothy. Walky wants a for-fun relationship, Dorothy wants a relationship where she is in control (exhibit 1: “actually, take off everything. Now.”; exhibit 2: “I thought I’d have to extort it out of you.”). Both of them react in a non-optimal way when they find they cannot get what they want. This is college social life in a nutshell. Props to Willis for writing such believable characters.

        4. MindLink

          He said it very well! If I ever am so lucky to be in a relationship I hope I’m smart enough to do the same.

    2. No Name

      We won’t know until Willis tells us, but I think Joyce is feeling insecure and confused about DorothyxWalky

  63. OmegaDez

    I like spooning. Why is it considered a bad thing?

    1. Scott

      Spooning isn’t bad, spooning your gay boyfriend who you’re only dating to maintain a sense of safety and security is not great.

      1. Adam Black

        I disagree.

        Ethan chose this ( before he came out to her ) .
        She told him he was perfect because he made her feel safe.
        He agreed still.

        Whether you are gay, straight ( or in a psuedo-relationship where those things are awkwardly combined ) feeling safe and in your Boyfriends / lovers arms, ( or hugging him/her like the worlds best Body Pillow) is largely the point to a relationship.

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      Spooning leads to forking, forking leads to knifing and that’s way too much drama for this comic.

      1. fogel

        What about splayding? 😉

        1. Deanatay

          Can knifing lead to scissoring?

        2. bobonobigdeal

          If not scissoring, then papering or rocking.

        3. Jen Aside

          is chopsticking a thing?

  64. Saaaam

    How is it that people can open other people’s doors without a code or key or ID

    1. HeySo

      Well, we know at least Ruth’s door has a lock (that, or Billie just really likes kicking down doors: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/03-answers-in-hennessy/hrah/ It’s really somewhat of a toss-up.).

      Though, knowing Ruth, she removed all the other locks.

      Perhaps there’s just THAT MUCH door-kicking going on in the dorms, that nobody even pays it any mind anymore.

      Well, coming in through the cojoined rooms definitely seems to be a theme in several of the previous examples, but unless she’s got a ceiling hatch or the like between them, that’s not relevant here.

      Perhaps she came in through the window?

      :GASP: You don’t think.. Could she be Amazi-Girl 2.0? Amazi-Sidekick? Amazo?

      Oh, that last one might be taken.

      1. fogel

        Last one is the Australian Amazing Girl. There’s an AG in every country.

        1. fogel

          Amazarella & Amazarita?

  65. HeySo

    Hey, Willis:
    A church girl and a gay guy do a bed thing.

    How’s that?

    1. Chronos

      The name of that joke is “The Aristocrats.”

      1. Lanval

        “Joyce and Ethan do the Aristocrats”

        1. gwalla

          This would be the most sanitized version of The Aristocrats ever.

  66. PureLionHeart

    Why would you take the joke away from us like that, Willis? Why? 🙁

  67. maxlines

    Oh, this will not end well.

    1. Lanval

      I’m pretty sure that could be the tagline.

      Dumbing of Age: Oh, this will not end well.

      1. maxlines

        And that is sad.

  68. Tokyo Tengu

    Walky seems to have an uncanny ability to say the wrong thing around Joyce. Only this time the fallout might be worse than expected because it throws cold water on Dorothy as well.

  69. Shadow Eagle

    Snugglebuddies…. nothing harmful about being Snugglebuddies.

  70. tinfoil theory

    Supergirls don’t cry.

  71. Bagge

    Sympathy via light touch

  72. Deanatay

    Spooning would be a tad heavier than ‘light physical contact’.

  73. Adam Black

    Joyce, you rock.

    OMG Ethan looks so huggable! How can anyone deny that, to those sweet blue eyes of Joyce?

    You go, girl. You have every right to expect , nay demand; non-sexual intimacy from your gay BF.

    He told you long ago, you can confide in him and share your feelings.
    You need this, and its healthy that your reach out for it.

    The flip-side is that if Joyce honestly learns to trust Ethan with genuine, emotional intimacy and reaches out for it, she could inspire Ethan to do the same ( like with Danny ) .

    I think Joyce’s and Ethans friendship has potential room to grow. They both could meet a lot more of each others emotional needs , if they trust each other. ( like about the attempted rape )

    I am not suggesting their relationship-framework of closeted self-denial is healthy . I am pointing out they both have large unmet emotional needs they could be filling as friends.

    I like both of these characters, and hope they spoon every night.

    1. Yatsude Hatte

      I honestly feel like even a romantic relationship is possible. With the way they are trying to keep themselves about sex, I can totally see these two in a largely asexual but romantic long-term relationship.

      1. Em

        We don’t know Ethan’s romantic orientation though. He might only be romantically attracted to men as well as sexually. But if he’s bi- or panromantic, then yeah, they probably could, as long as neither of them ever want a sexual relationship. (or are okay with opening the relationship)

        1. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          Unfortunately for Joyce/Ethan shippers, Joyce (and Ethan, too, but with at least a pretense of subtlety) has showed quite clearly (at least to us) that she definitely wants a sexual relationship. I think that the point at which she’s okay with open relationships will be long after the point at which she’ll break up with Ethan.

        2. Pinja

          The problem is we’re only 6 weeks into the semester and I don’t think Joyce is going to crack in and have premarital hanky-panky in anything less than several months if not several years.

          Her horizons have been widened sure but I don’t think she has changed any of her beliefs and certainly not that one.

        3. Lanval

          Ehn, I mean it is comic book time for one thing; for us in the readership, it’s been 2 years.

          Another thing is that it’s been shown that Joyce wasn’t really shown both sides of the story. She’s been deliberately sheltered and she’s very quickly finding out that a lot of the values that have been instilled in her by authority figures she trusted are not valid (Dorothy and Ethan being living examples of this and close friends of hers) and she doesn’t have another source for a lot of these values. Considering again, that she’s dating one of the biggest challenges to her old morals (a gay person who is decent and most definitely is not choosing to be gay) and is best friends with another (a considerate and over all decent atheist), I think Joyce has already abandoned a lot of old values and so might not be too far from giving up the pre-martal one or at least moving towards a situation where she’d be comfortable doing it.

        4. Adam Black

          Agreed!

          She is the Whiteboard Ding-Dong bandit! Willis keeps showing she has an iceberg of repressed emotion under the surface.

          People dont act on their beliefs, anyways. She could have premarital sex while disbelieving in it, swearing it off, then doing it again.

          Her repression could cause a Yo-yo effect, making it more likely.

        5. Adam Black

          that should say “people dont always act according to their beliefs”

        6. ahuh

          I feel like what’ll happen first is that she’ll get to a place where she feels like it’s OK to admit she has sexual feelings and attractions, and from there we could see something like “I’m ok with the idea of sex, but we need to take it very, very slowly”.

        7. Lanval

          @Ahuh: I agree! I just think that’s something to do with Joyce more than her beliefs necessarily. Someone else with the same beliefset in the same situation could react very differently.

          That said, I also think it might be “very, very slowly” in Webcomic Time; so we might see the relationship slowly develop over a year or two until Joyce feels like she can really trust who ever it is that she ends up with, then someone will do the math and it will turn out that it is less than a month later in “In-Comic Time” just like Willis has written out maybe a Month of University over the course of like 2 years.

        8. chris73

          Joe might be available to help Joyce out in this regard if she asks nicely 🙂

    2. Bagge

      Seconded!

      Also, this made me realize – how often have we seen Joyce hug anyone? How often have we seen her hug someone who wanted to be hugged and reciprocated?

      Given her overall personality and lack of sense for personal space, is there any doubt that she is very touchy-feely among her friends? In college she has been denied an outlet for that. With everything that’s going on, just having someone she can hug is such a big thing.

  74. Cybersnark

    Nap vampire!

    zzzzz. . .

  75. Jessica A

    Oh Joyce. Don’t get so attached.

  76. whatintheliteralfuck

    xeS a smrofreP yklaW naht ralupop erom eb lliw paN a mrofreP nathE and ecyoJ
    now if you’ll excuse me i must be flogged for posting like this and repair my eyes for the punishment typing that put on them.

  77. Pinja

    Does no one lock their door in this place?

    1. Lanval

      I rarely locked my door when I was living on Campus! Especially not when I was in my room. I owned maybe 300-500 dollars worth of stuff. Most of that was my laptop which I usually took with me when I went to class.

      They would have mostly gotten dirty laundry (it was sort of during my t-shirt and jeans phase, so no big loss) and maybe my bathroom supplies.

      Considering it was like 50 for a new key? ehn, jeans aren’t that hard to find and far less embarrassing to replace.

    2. No Name

      The fact that they have physical keys means that lazy teen nature would dictate not exerting the extra effort to turn the lock. I am of the firm belief that this is why some dorms have switched to key cards with auto locks. But not this one, for some reason

      1. Jen Aside

        Key card locks are *probably* harder to pick than regular locks. Unless it’s electronic, then you can pull a Sneakers.

        though, I had a keycard *padlock* when I was in school, and I loved the shit out of it… until it fell, and the swipe portion was caved in *just* enough to make it almost impossible to use =p

        1. John

          I think my favorite bit of that movie is him Billieing that door.

  78. No Name

    Y’know, if their problems ever get sorted out, Ethan would make a very good GBFF (Gay Best Friend Forever) for Joyce.
    Provided, of course, they can stand up to both sets of parents.

  79. Ulzur

    Oh Joyce, you poor, pathetic creature, you. I wish Jesus would whisper the name of a really good psychologist in your ear, and soon.

    1. EmbraceEvil

      He doesn’t have time. He’s too busy whispering into Bill O’Reilly’s ear. Didn’t you know that?

      1. Lanval

        He used to do the same for Gleann Beck, but it started getting pretty crowded in there.

  80. Deimir

    This is pretty much how I feel once every couple weeks.

  81. J-Po

    Y’know, for a first time, that was neither embarrassing nor aggressively terrible. Colo(u)r me surprised.

  82. Tenn

    Am I the only one who thought it would be funny if there was a Slipshine named “Joyce and Ethan perform a nap”? Also permanent marker can be removed with regular marker and Amber is Spider-Car. Also also Sal and Walky have the exact same skin color, I checked every strip ever just to be sure. But is Ethan gay in this universe? We still can’t know for sure. Where is One Piece?

    1. Tenn

      I meant to say that Amber is Spidur-Car but where is One Piece?

    2. Lanval

      I think Willis said explicitly that they maintained their sexuality over the verses. Specificially in the case of Danny, who I think he decided was bi during the planning stages of DoA and has now declared is retroactive canon for all of his comics.

    3. Carriethedragon

      It’s already been said a bunch of times that Ethan is gay.

    4. David M Willis

      you guys he’s just listing off running gags, not being serious

      1. Carriethedragon

        Hmm. You know, in hindsight, that is incredibly obvious. I’m just… I’m just gonna go now.

  83. JESUSMAN

    She wants the d but she cant have it.
    She is mentally cock blocking herself and Ethan is cock blocking her, aswell.

  84. John

    In college, we never locked our door when we were in the room. We rarely closed the door when we were in the room, except when we were sleeping or doing something we didn’t want the RA to have to take notice of.

  85. Slinx

    Joyce. Joyce, no. What’re you doing. Stahp. Wait for people to be fully awake and ask for consent before spooning with them the first time.

  86. Gravatarnator

    Is this one going to have a slip shine?

  87. Darnel

    (Sad Smile)
    I don’t like seeing pain like this,.. even on a comic page.
    Well played.

  88. Jennifer

    Not sure if you know this, but the comic isn’t updating on Comic Chameleon. It’s still showing 2 days’ ago comic.

  89. Damned

    Me….

  90. Bill M.

    Joyce and Ethan Platonically Sleep Together! Ha!

  91. Hinoron

    I didn’t dorm it at college, but is it really normal for so many people to spend so many of the daylight hours SLEEPING?

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