260

Sprout
Posted on October 27, 2023 by David M Willis

260 thoughts on “Sprout”

  1. Needfuldoer

    Uh-oh. Mother doesn’t immediately disapprove? What?

    Is this reverse psychology?

    1. Danae Jay, Local Gay

      The more Joyce smooches Joe the less likely Dotty is to enter in a torrid love affair with her, or at least this is what I’d like to imagine Dorothy’s logic to be.

      1. Mark

        Dorothy is thinking, “if that keeps up, the readers may stop shipping Joyce and me, and the biggest source of pressure in my life will have vanished, yay!”

        1. Gbz

          Are you saying Dorothy has awareness beyond the 4th wall and that knowledge affects her mood?

        2. Harmony

          She has mentioned that to pursue her goals she has to be perfect in every way.

        3. Gbz

          Lol l

        4. Ed Callahan

          The strip’s cast can’t help but be aware of how demanding the fan base is

    2. DailyBrad

      She did grant her blessing already. I imagine she’d have been less keen on it like an in-universe week ago, but she’s moved past her initial concerns/anger.

      1. findus

        She’d have been less keen on it a week ago, but now she’s Keener.

        1. Mark

          🙂

        2. Nicoleandmaggie

          Booo

        3. clif

          Hisss!

          (I’m hissing because findus did it first.)

    3. Shade

      She got over that already after seeing them together.

      1. Needfuldoer

        I forgot about that in my haste and excitement to post first.

        (Though it could still be reverse psychology. “Fine, go ahead and make mistakes; I’ll be here to catch you with an ‘I told you so’.”)

        1. Daibhid C

          Yeah, she’s a sneaky one, that Dorothy.

          Do we think she was faking the whole mental breakdown in order to make this more convincing, or just the parts where she specifically stated she no longer wanted to be the judgemental “mom friend”?

        2. Needfuldoer

          Wait, voicing disapproval (and low-key trying to dissuade you by planting a seed of doubt) with a passive-aggressive “well, okaayy…” isn’t a universal mom experience?

        3. Daibhid C

          Possibly. If it is, that would be all the more reason for a Dorothy who is trying not to be the mom friend not to do it.

    4. HueSatLight

      She’s getting rewarded with Joyce freaking out. After that buzz wears off, maybe she’ll be ok with it, maybe she’ll be heartbroken, time will tell.

      1. Daibhid C

        Dorothy is okay with it in panel 1. Joyce starts freaking out in panel 3.

    5. Decidedly Orthogonal

      Well Dorothy, have you considered that kissing girls is how *I* became a lesbian?

      –Me (a guy) ?

    6. Heavensrun

      Dotty already processed that there’s nothing wrong with Joe and Joyce’s relationship. The only real way I could see her being bothered by it would be motivated by possessiveness, be they romantic or platonic feelings. But honestly I don’t see Dotty reacting that way either way.

    7. Erica

      Honestly I’m kind of annoyed at Dorothy downplaying this hugely important moment for joyce. This is super big, Dorothy should be congratulating her, not just “well you’re supposed to be”

  2. Ana Chronistic

    Joyce is good at maths, so she understands the transitive properties of sexuality ?

    1. Frelance

      the what? those characters aren’t in the tags!

    2. Proxiehunter

      She understands it because it’s the kind of thing that you learn in religiously oriented abstinence only sex ed.

      1. UrsulaDavina

        So fundamentalist suck at both Math and Sociology.

    3. Needfuldoer

      Smoochin’ by proxy.

    4. UrsulaDavina

      I beleive ones sexuality is not subject to the transitive property.

      1. Ryan

        The transitive property of sex is that when one has unprotected intercourse, one is potentially exposed to every* STD of every prior partner and their prior partners and their prior partner… It’s STDs all the way down.

        Joyce is just (mis)applying this to kissing.

        *viral ones and untreated non-viral ones

        1. Mark

          She’s creatively over-extending the model.

        2. UrsulaDavina

          Sex is the act of coitus, sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually.

        3. Ryan

          I apologize for misreading you.

    5. InTheory

      My worldview has been forever changed by her impeccable. brilliant logic.

  3. Animedingo

    Only somewhat

    1. True Survivor

      Herpes it doesn’t just get on people’s nerves – it gets in them (forever).

      Honestly, I don’t know how Joyce isn’t having a panic attack. I mean Joe is probably a carrier for typhoid by now.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Maybe he’s a collection of every disease and malady known to humanity (and more currently unknown), but they’re all perfectly balanced fighting each other so he’s asymptomatic.

        Kind of like Mr. Burns.

      2. Pergola

        Joe must now be dunked in carbolic acid.

  4. Dara

    “Joyce. No. So much more’s the pity.”

    1. Tisiphone

      Yeah Dotty’s expression in that last panel is just so affectionate… she truly loves the trainwreck that is Joyce… maybe in 2033 Joyce will realize she’s bisexual or something.

  5. Mym

    Becky has to come in now to rectify that SHE is in fact the biggest lesbian

    1. Thag Simmons

      She’s going to run through a wall like the Kool-Aid Man

      1. pope suburban

        I was unironically expecting this and feel vindicated that I am not the only one.

        1. Aura

          I’m still surprised DYW didn’t go for it. Maybe next strip?

    2. Jamie

      I feel like Joyce is taller, though.

      1. Jamie

        … huh. I’m Asher now? Not sure how I feel about that.

        1. Sirksome

          I’m not sure how I feel about Asher either. No one is. That’s your burden now. Heavy is the toll of the Asher icon.

        2. clif

          Nothing to be done about it. You’re stuck being identified with Asher for now until the end of eternity.

          If only there were something simple you could do to change it.

      2. Thag Simmons

        If she is it’s not by any significant amount.

    3. Chaucer59

      You think? I would have said Carla.

      1. Switchchris

        If Carla would stop denying her attraction to a woman I would agree lol. But no Becky is the most openly and flamboyant lesbian I have seen in fiction, unless im forgetting some people.

        1. Cholma

          I think Carla just can’t stand being ignored by someone. People are supposed to bask in awesomeness or burn with the hatred of a thousand suns. Complete non-recognition? That must not stand.

        2. Jon S.

          Scandal Savage, in Gail Simone’s Secret Six book. She wound up marrying both of her girlfriends, after they recivered Knockout’s soul with the Get Out of Hell Free card

      2. Cholma

        Carla’s not a lesbian though; I think she’s Ace or maybe just Carla-sexual.

        1. Daibhid C

          Yeah, Willis has said that characters sexualities are the same as the Walkyverse, and UC says she’s a homoromantic ace.

        2. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Yay, I get to be ignorant and hopefully learn by exposing said self-ignorance.

          Are “homoromantic ace”, and “lesbian” mutually exclusive? Does lesbian have to include swxual attraction, or is it sufficient that a woman is romantically attracted to women?

          Like, if I as a guy were ace, but still liked women romantically, that wouldn’t make me *not* “straight” would it? Isn’t degree of ace/sexual a seperate axis within sexuality than which gender(s) we’re attracted to (and the amounts and types thereof)

        3. Decidedly Orthogonal

          And if my phrasing or example are offensive to any, please accept my apology. It’s early and I’m fuzzy, but that is not an excuse to be hurtful. Peace, love, solidarity.
          ✌❤✊

        4. Ari

          The real answer is that it depends on the individual and how they choose to label themselves. That said, it’s pretty common for “homoromantic asexual women” to refer to themselves as lesbians or as asexual lesbians. It’s a bit less common for a “heteroromantic asexual man” to label himself as “straight,” though. Again, it’s up to the person, but to me that’s in the range of “definitely would not do without explicit permission from the individual”.

          There’s a couple reasons for that! Fundamentally, labels reflect which parts of our identity and experience are most salient in our current culture. A homoromantic asexual woman may have experienced a shared oppression with other lesbians (and also a shared culture, via lesbian art, events, history) and might choose to claim the lesbian label because of that. In contrast, a heteroromantic asexual man has likely been systematically excluded from large parts of straight male culture, particularly since so many of the expectations of straight masculinity focus on sex, specifically. He might not find the heteroromantic part of his identity as salient as the asexual part, and might not choose to identify as straight because of that. There’s also the stereotype of heteroromantic asexual people being “basically straight,” so it’s not polite to call someone that without their permission.

        5. Mturtle7

          Respect for being excited about shedding ignorance and owning it! Also, honestly, this is just a really good question which lots of ace people struggle with ourselves. Ari provided a really good answer though, I got nothign to really add to it!

        6. S.R.

          Reasonable question! There’s no straightforward answer, because it depends on what the person thinks feels right.

          Also, complicating things, some people will summarize their sexuality in the simplest possible word when talking to non-queer people, so I guarantee there are people who say “yeah, I’m a lesbian” to a fair number of folks and then “yeah, I’m homoromantic asexual” to queer folks who actually know what that /means/ and won’t need an explanation and hopefully won’t try to argue about whether it’s a thing.

        7. Heavensrun

          That’s true, but Carla isn’t *exactly* Ultra-car. Like, UC was literally a robot, who exists as fiction in this world.

          That said, Carla does strongly identify with Ultra-Car the fictional character, so asexuality might be the trait that resonates with her.

        8. Mark

          Somehow I read “homoromantic” but thought what should be called “autoromantic”. Which makes perfect sense for Carla. Doubly so, I suppose, for Ultracar.

        9. Mym

          Her true sexuality is “roller skates”

        10. Thag Simmons

          Carla is a Girl who exclusively likes other Girls, so you could absolutely call her a Lesbian.

        11. Mym

          Not if she doesn’t claim being a lesbian, that was the whole point of most of these comments.

    4. RassilonTDavros

      Becky’s hairs are standing on end because she’s about to become a Super Lesbian 3.

      1. Decidedly Orthogonal

        After that, will Nintendo finally release Super Lesbian World for the Super Fapicom system?

    5. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Not to worry, Joyce can have the title of “College’s Biggest Bisexual.”

      1. Jeff K!

        Joyce is quite short, surely there’s quite a few bisexuals on campus who are bigger.

      2. clif

        Canonically, Jennifer has a few pounds on her.

    6. Mravac Kid

      Leslie: “Am I a joke to you?”

      1. Mark

        Well, Leslie, you work in a comic strip, so….

      2. Mturtle7

        “MY NAME IS LITERALLY ‘LESLIE BEAN’. HOW AM I NOT THE ‘BIGGEST LESBIAN’?!'”
        “Well, you’re old, so…”
        “I’M 26, GODDAMNIT.”

        1. Mturtle7

          (caveat: I can’t actually remember how old Leslie is in-canon. I doubt she’s older than 30, though.)

  6. shadowcell

    top ten, though, for sure

  7. Sirksome

    Joyce shaves her legs? I’m surprised that doesn’t somehow make her a harlot.

    1. True Survivor

      Well at least it does make her a hairlot.

      1. Yumi

        If she’s shaving, wouldn’t that stop her from being a hairlot?

        1. True Survivor

          Aw man. I meant to type “doesn’t.” I keep rewriting and rethinking my comments trying to get them juusst right, only to pos them riddled residual errors. I really suck at proofreading. Thanks for the catch.

        2. Decidedly Orthogonal

          It’s tough in a system that brokes no editting after. We are animals, imperfect in the time and place we inhabit. Go with love, and know you deserve it.

    2. Yumi

      I feel like there’s this vibe of “if you start shaving too young, you’re going to be a slut” but also, “if you’re not shaving your legs by a certain age, you’re going to look like a lesbian.” It’s one of those oh so fun balancing acts that put the sexuality of those AFAB on trial.

      1. Masumi

        … And yet another point according to which I would make an excellent lesbian. To bad I’m not XD

      2. Laura

        That’s why I was all about the Nair in high school.

        1. zee

          That’s why I’m all about Nair now. Well, no it’s because leg hair hurts in jeans. And it makes my hands all smooth and soft after I use it

        2. zee

          Oh ew Malaya. No

    3. Chaucer59

      Recent revisions to evangelical doctrine: good girls shave their legs. Had girls wax. Bad girls wax EVERYTHING.

      1. Decidedly Orthogonal

        “Had girls”

        Non-virgins have to wax?

    4. HueSatLight

      she wills her leghair to retract.

    5. Quirdry Tawks

      Nah, honestly, I don’t think her autism (whatever flavor that may be) would permit her NOT to shave em. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she didn’t stop at the legs.

      1. Bogeywoman

        This is my thinking, too. Body hair is often a sensory ick. My sister shaves Everything. I would, but the itching from regrowth is worse than the hair, so I just go out of my way not to have physical contact with my own body.

    6. Sirksome

      Hey! Switching my gravatar worked! How about that!

    7. HueSatLight

      Nobody is shocked Joyce kisses her legs though.

      1. clif

        Of course not. Wouldn’t you be willing to kiss her legs?

  8. Joe Moose

    Joyce, you’re such a goof.

  9. Rororoyourboat

    They really make a good pair.

    1. Thag Simmons

      Yeah it’s a standout dynamic in a comic which is not exactly hurting for strong character dynamics.

  10. Cholma

    “Dina. Did you feel that?”
    “The exciting buzz of scientific achievement?”
    “No, not that! Although, that *was* good. I meant that I just sensed a disturbance in the LesbianForce.”

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      LesbianForce? Was that comic Marvel or DC?

  11. EpochFlame

    dorothy missed joyce neuroses

    1. Coatl

      That smile in the last panel says “well, back to the status quo”

      1. HueSatLight

        I kind of suspect Joyce exaggerates her neuroses so Dorothy spends time with her, at least subconsciously. I don’t think this status quo can last.

        1. Coatl

          I may be exaggerating, but there are times when that appreciation that Joyce has with Dorothy, it has something possessive that at the moment has not reached something so murky.

  12. Bin

    So she is kissing all those girls. And all the boys they kissed. And that includes Roz, so that’s a lot of boys.

    To answer the question: YES.
    Also viruses. Obviously it varies. You have short term stuff (flu), long term stuff, eternal stuff, airborne and liquid based diseases, skin based diseases, and so on. Resistances vary too.

    This is how 28 Weeks Later started after all.

    1. Angel

      lol that’d be an interesting realization too like “this means i’ve hooked up with roz too!” once they finally get together lol

      That said i’d assume joe hasn’t kissed anyone other than joyce recently (tho my first thought is herpes /cold sores lol)

      1. Laura

        It seems like kissing is so much more fraught these days! In my teens and twenties, one could just kiss at the drop of a hat. I even attended one “Palentines Day” party (in July) that was just everyone kissing everybody, all the time. Bosses, coworkers — everyone.

        Now, with COVID, RSV, flu, herpes, oral HPV, MPox… there’s so much more to think about before puckering up!

        1. tbf

          > In my teens and twenties, one could just kiss at the drop of a hat… everyone kissing everybody, all the time

          Was this a really long time ago or were you just part of a cool and sexy crowd?

        2. Laura

          LOL, you’re silly. No, it really was a long time ago. x-D

        3. Decidedly Orthogonal

          To get kisses at parties at the drop of a hat sounds like you’d also have to be, “part of a cool and sexy crowd.”

        4. Laura

          Or just a particularly inebriated crowd with some wild Palentine’s Day traditions! *Facepalm* *SMDH*

      2. Rowen Morland

        You reckon we’ll have an “I missed the.lips.that missed you!” Moment of awkwardness?

  13. Yumi

    He still would have kissed more girls, since he also kissed Joyce.

    But also, purity culture fucking sucks! “You’re having sex with everyone that person has had sex with,” like no, actually, I’m not necessarily opposed to this organization scenario you’ve created, but that’s not what’s happening.

    1. Yumi

      *ORGY scenario, autocorrect is a prude

      1. Amara

        No no, I’m now imagining a whole structural organization chart here. It’s a business these days!

        1. cbwroses

          It’s important to keep your orgies organized.
          To keep your private parts properly prioritized.
          To keep the nipples neat and the testicles tidy.

        2. Rowen Morland

          Maybe do a Kickstarter to get a whole office block devoted to the world’s largest* polycule and set yourself up as the concierge.

          *Until someone adds an antenna on top of theirs.

        3. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Welcome to The Continental.

        4. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          The term is “Langdon Chart.”

        5. Laura

          In college we called it a “sex web”. Same thing!

        6. thejeff

          There’s a certain amusement in figuring out who’s had vicarious sex as long you don’t take it too seriously.

        7. Laura

          It gets even more fun when you realize that “sex” is about more than just intercourse. Once you start thinking about all the people whom everyone has had “sexy times” with, the world of who’s been with whom expands dramatically. *Sigh.*

    2. Proxiehunter

      But if by kissing Joe she’s kissed all the girls he’s ever kissed then she’s also kissed Joyce.

      1. Yumi

        Joyce: Clone fucker

        1. RassilonTDavros

          AU where Anti-Joyce helps NotAnti-Joyce come to terms with her sexuality

        2. Quirdry Tawks

          Wouldn’t the meeting of Anti-Joyce and NotAnti-Joyce cause a massive explosion?

          Or maybe just a massive erection…

        3. cbwroses

          If I remember correctly it caused an explosion alright, but it wasn’t in the pants.

        4. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Plays “My Clone Sleeps Alone” on hacked Muzak.

        5. Laura

          “I think I’m a clone now. Always seems to be two of me around…’

        6. Taffy

          Begun, the Clone Worgy has.

    3. Segnosaur

      Actually you are forgetting when Becky kissed Joyce, something joe has obviously not done.

      And if you are still counting the transitive property, Joyce would have also kissed Becky’s old roommate (something else joe would not have done). So those 2 extra (lesbian) kisses still put Joyce in the lead.

      1. Aura

        But now because of the transitive property, Joe has also kissed Becky and her old roommate!

  14. Sirksome

    I mean if we’re talking about on screen hookups I think Joe actually had a fairly reasonable hook up list. Roz, Penny, Malaya, I can’t think of anyone else. That’s three people. You could argue Walky would have the same number if ever hits it with Lucy.

    1. zee

      He also kissed Liz even if they didn’t go much farther

    2. Mturtle7

      It’s implied that he’s hooking up with a lot of people off-panel.

      Specifically, he’s hooking up with a new person in every time there’s a new panel published that he’s not in. He’s VERY efficient.

  15. Mada

    Alright Joyce; better start kissing Dorothy to check.

    1. Needfuldoer

      But then she’d be kissing Walky too.

      Tough decision on her part…

      1. Coatl

        Very bad for Joyce, hehe

      2. DailyBrad

        I was thinking if Walky had kissed anyone Joe would have kissed, and hilariously, Walky’s kissed like the three girls least likely to have any kind of intersection with Joe’s web of kisses.

        1. HueSatLight

          Walky’s interacted with Joe’s web of kisses now. Just not in the right chronological order.
          Joe->Joyce->Ethan->Amber->Walky

        2. DailyBrad

          Ah, good catch.

        3. thejeff

          Joe’s actually surprisingly disconnected from the main cast in kissy terms. Roz. Malaya and Penny. Roz does her hook ups away from the dorm it seems. Malaya brings in Marcie. (Right?Or are they still dancing around the attraction?)
          That’s basically it.
          Oh wait. Liz. Who brings in Sarah through whatshisname. Chris?

        4. HueSatLight

          Malaya has kissed Marcie.
          I like how the message in today’s strip is “kissing doesn’t work that way”, and our response is, “let’s make a chart!”

        5. Pergola

          Somewhere Faz gets a boner and doesn’t know why.

        6. Mark

          Faz is used to this.

        7. DailyBrad

          Yeah, even if Faz wasn’t Faz, realistically, that’s likely going to happen regardless at that stage of development.

  16. HueSatLight

    If kissing were transitive, Joe has kissed Becky, and Becky would never. Therefor, kissing isn’t transitive.

    1. AbacusWizard

      By fire and forge, I love proof by contradiction so much.

    2. Mym

      Pardon, when did Joyce and Becky kiss? Did that happen or did I misunderstand?

      1. Sol

        When Becky came out to Joyce, she kissed her.

        1. Mym

          Omg how could I forget?!?! I mean …there is a lot of canon tho. Anybody have the reference link to the comic she talks about it?

        2. HueSatLight

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/jealous/

        3. HueSatLight

          and when she talked about it
          https://www.dumbingofage.com/tool/

        4. Taffy

          Thank you much.

      2. Masumi

        First time Becky showed up on campus

  17. cbwroses

    Huh. I didn’t know we had new faces. Looks like I’m f*ckface now.

  18. UrsulaDavina

    Sexuality is a spectrum but it is not subject to the transitive property.

  19. AGV

    Good ole Joyce

  20. shrub

    Well that went better than expected, well done Dorothy

  21. Quirdry Tawks

    Is this really happening? Did Dorothy actually find that groove? I mean, sure sounds like.

    1. Taffy

      Hey you, with the dream to rule
      Best friend whose eyes are blue
      You got that funky groove

      1. Quirdry Tawks

        …well? Innit, tho?

  22. DailyBrad

    Dorothy’s amusement in the last panel is nice, at least.

    Also, it just hit me that it is kind of a minor miracle that Joe and Billie/Jennifer never had sex.

    1. Quirdry Tawks

      After ListBro labeled her Desperate, Chubby Cheerleader? Noooo, that ship didn’t even sail; it burned down in port.

    2. HueSatLight

      They’ve only been in 6 comics together!? Including one where there’s zero interaction, and another where she’s apparently coming on to him and he blows her off.

  23. Jo_cubstar

    No, Joyce, that’s not how that works

    1. Mym

      Sorry for the false flag, I got fat thumbs.

      But he could have mono or mouth herpes, but that’s not necessarily from kissing! I caught mono from sharing a drink with a girl

  24. C.T. Phipps

    No.

    Or maybe YES?

  25. butting

    “… unless you’re about to kiss me, too.”

  26. AbacusWizard

    Dumbing of Age, Book 15: Joyce. No.

  27. Maddie B

    The change in Dorothy’s facial expression between the first and second “Joyce. No.”

  28. Raven

    Glad to see Dorothy looking a bit more cheerful. Hopefully she’s come back from whatever edge she was teetering on

    1. Coatl

      There is still a long way to go, but seeing her smile is really encouraging.

  29. BarerMender

    You’re not the biggest lesbian, and if you are, you’ve kissed me, because Joe got to me back in high school.

  30. Qube

    joyce logic: kissed a boy. must be The Most Lesbian now

    1. Angel

      reminds me of those “fellas is it gay to have sex with a woman” meme or so

      1. Taffy

        For the record, yes, it is gay for a man to have sex with a woman. There are multiple passages about it in the Bible.

      2. HueSatLight

        ok, but I worked with a woman in RL who said that in earnest, because a guy suggested cowgirl position when they were having sex.

  31. Cmasta1992

    If Dorothy is a pirahna she definitely has an angle to strike at Joyce

  32. tim gueguen

    And it was contemplating this question that led Joyce to become an epidemiologist.

  33. Raen

    For some reason, this makes me think of Ruth’s “no, but yes.”

  34. Yotomoe

    Final Part (suggestive)
    A bit late but here it is. The end. This was not supposed to be this long.

    1. milu

      <3

    2. Bash

      I do see how the joke at the end was meant for a shorter format, but I don’t think anyone minded you drawing it out.

      1. Yotomoe

        Honestly last strip wasn’t supposed to happen. It was gonna be Joe going into his room, Amber reaching down and then just a hard cut to a dialogue box that said
        “They both came really really hard”
        sort of an anti-climax.
        But then I drew a climax.

        1. Mturtle7

          Honestly, the punchline of this one is way funnier when it’s given the context of the last strip!

    3. cbwroses

      Just another day at the Rosenthal/Insert-Amber’s-last-name house.

      1. Schpoonman

        O’Malley, unless Stacy changed her name before marrying Richard and Amber went with it.

        Wait, did Stacy take Richard’s name? I can imagine Amber not wanting either name from her mother’s husbands.

        1. DailyBrad

          Good question. I could see her doing it, since I can’t imagine she has any real interest in keeping any ties to Blaine. Amber’s old enough to where she wouldn’t really necessarily need to be considered on that front.

    4. Taffy

      Gosh and golly, the open plaid shirt. A real ????? type of situation, if you take my meaning.

      1. NGPZ

        Chinese food on Jewish Christmas?

        Damn now I’m hungry for Chinese food…

    5. PirateTawnee

      Argh the little head-tilt in panel 6 should not be that powerful.

      Just me? Oh, ok.

      1. Quirdry Tawks

        No. Not just you. ?

      2. Yotomoe

        Also me. Which is why I drew it :3

    6. Quirdry Tawks

      A sweet end to a hot story. Yoto, you’re the bestest. Thank you.

    7. Quirdry Tawks

      I kinda-sorta envision this last part ending thus:

      Joe and Amber: (smile with a bit of a blush)

      Joe: (touches Amber’s hair)

      Amber: (grins) “Yeah. Me, too.”

      Joe: (kisses Amber’s forehead)

      Amber: (closes eyes with a silent giggle)

      Joe: (separates, heads towards kitchen) “…have you eaten?”

      END.

      1. Yotomoe

        Haha extremely cute. So sweet its rotting my teeth. Love it.

    8. Amós Batista

      Amber’s smilling is so creepy. I loved it, ad it fits well on herself.

  35. Yotomoe

    Not as long as Daisy walks this Campus.

    1. Angel

      Given daisy’s ‘luckless’ schtick/gimmick, at this point i wouldn’t be surprised if joyce has kissed more girls than she has

      1. Sirksome

        Well we do know for a fact Joyce has kissed one girl, Becky. Until proven otherwise we know Daisy has kissed zero girls. One is greater than zero so I think Joyce is winning.

        1. AlexaSpuds

          daisy kissed billie once iirc

        2. Yotomoe

          She got close but we don’t see any contact.

      2. Yotomoe

        Daisy has somehow kissed negative women.

        1. Daibhid C

          Daisy kissed Valentina Vostock from the seventies version of Doom Patrol?

        2. Devin

          Internet points for you

        3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Such a huge matter-antimatter explosion would have vaporized Indiana.

        4. Mturtle7

          Leslie: “….Worth it.”

        5. Mturtle7

          That was supposed to say Daisy but I guess Leslie fits too??

    2. Pergola

      Daisy is the biggest lesbian with the fewest partners.

  36. sdrainbow

    Becky’s radar certainly pinged on the last panel, but I think we can all be grateful she isn’t in the room to hear panel 2 – she’d have a massive nosebleed and die via hemorrhage.

  37. Bryy

    I am fully on Team Joyorthy now.

    1. Quirdry Tawks

      Not Doyce?

  38. Angel

    lol if that’s how it worked ppl would’ve left a hetero relationship more easily lol

  39. Bicycle Bill

    quote:
    “When you have sex with someone, you are having sex with everyone they have had sex with for the last ten years, and everyone they and their partners have had sex with for the last ten years.” 
     
    I think somewhere along the line as a young girl she heard (or was told) that quote from former US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop (regarding STDs, specifically AIDS), and kinda got that mixed up in her mind…

    1. Bicycle Bill

      A little something that goes along with the good doctor’s quote, in a light-hearted musical ditty…
      ‘I Got It From Agnes’

    2. Mturtle7

      So wait, is all sex also a form of masturbation?

  40. Bittersweet

    Is this gonna lead to Dorothy making a move? That last panel looks like it’s gonna be her making a move of some sort.

    As a Joe/Joyce shipper I feel much conflict, because Joyce/Dorothy is also just very sweet. I don’t want either ship to sink like this though lol

    1. Bash

      I think she feels comforted by her usual role of talking Joyce down from her neuroses.

  41. morhek

    “As someone who likes kissing boys, you would technically be bisexual.”

    “But I have, through the transitive property, kissed so many girls that Joe is a statistical outlier and shouldn’t be counted!”

    “How are you arguing both for AND against homeopathicdilution in your love life?”

    “I don’t know! This is what I have you for!”

    1. thejeff

      But the transitive property should apply recursively here, so she’s also kissed all the boys that all the girls that Joe’s kissed had kissed. (And all the girls they’ve kissed too.)

  42. Dday

    you… you can all feel it coming now, right guys? I’m not alone here?

  43. milu

    Hence the common phrase “Ladies and Germs”

  44. DashWallkick

    And thus, Dorothy’s center is rediscovered.

    1. Yotomoe

      Is it Tootie roll? or Gum?

      1. Quirdry Tawks

        Neither; it’s kind of **gooey…** ?

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      The Dorothy Keener Center for Presidential Aspirations?

  45. Bash

    Somehow this was just what Dorothy needed.

  46. HueSatLight

    Has anyone else read/seen “La Ronde”?

  47. Throwatron

    i can’t explain why, but panel 3 may be my new favorite Joyce Face

    1. Holly

      She looks so much like her mother!

  48. Suet

    This is not the first time she has induced transitive property about girls and attraction. Good grief, there will be more, won’t it?

    Just their germs? Joyce, maybe kissing a girl in actuality would set the record straight

  49. Ophidiophile

    I had been wondering how Joyce could have escaped the clutches of Purity Culture, but it looks like she didn’t. Probably going to be a cascade.

  50. Amós Batista

    I don’t think Joyce’s concerns is about germs…

    1. HueSatLight

      I don’t think so either, at least not to that much. I think Dorothy has just told her Joyce helps her by needing Dorothy’s help, so Joyce is acting the part to improve her mood. It’s panel 2 of this strip, but the ways Sarah and Dorothy won’t let her change are different.

  51. Adrastos42

    New book title in panel 5?

  52. Nicoleandmaggie

    Ugh. I remember that lesson in health class. Thankfully in ours it wasnt about kissing and it was followed up with “this is why you use condoms” and not anything about purity. But I know exactly the purity training she’s referencing here and I both hate that it’s still so ingrained and also love the way she’s twisting it.

  53. DarkoNeko

    “his face kinda felt like my legs when I don’t shave them” isn’t something I expected to read this week lol

  54. Chasey

    I like this conversation so far. Very funny, very Joyce, Dotty ain’t freaking out either and/or disapproving. Would be cool if it stayed that way.

  55. RF

    I sort of want to see Joyce continue this line if thought, for the possibility of seeing another Joyce Freak-Out Face.

  56. Vulcanodon

    Trust purity culture to try to sabotage sexual happiness by manufacturing icky thoughts.

  57. Chubsius

    For all of Joe’s talk, he’s had what, two sexual partners? Just Roz and Malaya? And were they both a one time deal? Just wondering if Joe has technically had the least sex of the guys in the cast.

    1. Makkabee

      Not as long as Faz exists.

    2. thejeff

      Canonically a couple of times with Roz, before she got fed up with his objectifying bullshit. There was also Penny.

      It’s heavily implied he’s had a lot more – Danny talked during the Liz incident about being frequently sexiled, but we haven’t seen it.

      1. Chubsius

        I forgot about Penny.

    3. NickG

      Dorothy says Joe slept with as many girls as he has pairs of shoes, so 6 or 7.
      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/01-if-the-shoes-split/manliness/

      1. thejeff

        “At least”

        And that was just a week or two into the semester, so probably mostly his high school exploits.

    4. Mark

      There’s an old saying: “the ones who talk about it the most, do it the least.”

  58. Rabisch

    Dorothy loves Joyce so much. It’s so sweet.

  59. Queezle

    Dorothy looks like someone who is happy to come back to a familiar space-

    1. Alan in DC

      To me, Dorothy looks like the kind of person who was the school yearbook editor in high school, and was the Queen Beeyotch in the process.

  60. davidbreslin101

    Panel 7:
    DOROTHY: Not yet.

    New Slipshine up!

    1. davidbreslin101

      At last. Gravatar Roulette, I can rest in peace now.

  61. Sibre

    If his face is too prickly, just squeeze it until he grows it out more.

    1. Quirdry Tawks

      Oh noooo no no nononono.

      Between stubble-sexy and short-beard-sexy lies… The Itch.

  62. Adept

    If Joyce figures out STD:s exist, we can only hope Joe has been getting regularly tested, and can show clean paperwork.

  63. Yotomoe

    By the same transitive property Joe has also kissed Becky.

  64. Felian

    She’s not wrong you know, about the germs.
    Joe hopefully has regular STI tests done?
    Even if he *does* use condoms every time, there’s usually stuff people don’t always pay attention to as much as condoms.

    1. HoopsieDaisy

      Are you trying to trigger our poor friend who’s just trying to figure out being a regular person with glasses and new medicines and diagnoses?

      It was a kiss. Simmer down, now.

  65. thumb

    Joyce! How dare you say this in a universe where Becky exists!

  66. Plaaaaaa

    Joyce should kiss girls who have kissed boys to be more straight.

    1. The Jighole Man

      it aint gay if you’re just evening out the statistics.

  67. Warcodered

    Becky: I sense a disturbance in the force.

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