248

Structure
Posted on June 18, 2018 by David M Willis

248 thoughts on “Structure”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “ah don’t doodle, ya think ah’m an artist??”

    (it’s fascinating but cool how nobody’s specifying “her/him”)

    1. foamy

      I will also highlight that Walky’s emphasis on ‘you’ might suggest to the people around him that >he< did try for it. We know, of course, but nobody except Jason and Walky do in the comic…

      until now?

      1. MatthewTheLucky

        Do we?

        1. Meta

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/off/

    2. Tan

      Actually we happen to know that Sal also refers to it as doodlin’: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/01-if-the-shoes-split/boffing/

      (I had not noticed that gender neutrality and I thank you for pointing it out)

  2. JetstreamGW

    Eyup, totes bro, I’mma go away now. Do not follow.

  3. AnvilPro

    Yeah Sal, if you were so smart why didn’t you do that?

  4. Johan

    I like that Walky believes in his sister.

  5. BBCC

    Ahhhhh, irony.

    1. Mr D

      …D’ya think WILLIS predicted the previous’ week arguments?

      1. BBCC

        Probably. Willis knows us well.

        1. Dave

          Either that or we are embarrisingly predictable…
          Yup, it’s the predictable one

        2. Jon Rich

          What’s this, now? I must have missed something this week.

      2. Mordecai

        Ah I missed that one, what was it?

        1. marianne

          Perhaps it was about what kind of cheese Mike’s hair is made of? I’m gonna be controversial here, because I have to say gorgonzola.

  6. Okamiking

    I hope I’m not over reading Mikes face

    1. DailyBrad

      Going by the teacher in the flashback, Mike does in fact have a nerve.

      I… am more than a little worried at what that could imply.

    2. wraith_ferron

      Considering the flashback to high school recently, I’m concerned that he was used by the teacher to get Amber the grades she deserved. It would explain the comment, the flashback, and his change in attitude.

      1. Zee

        I’m pretty sure it was early middle school, not high school. I’m not American so I don’t know much about middle school but they looked about 12 or so.

        1. thejeff

          Yeah, it definitely is. It’s before the robbery, which was when they were 13.

        2. Betty Anne

          Yeah, nah, like half the articles about teachers having sex with students is with a 12-13 year old. It’s not out of the realm of possibility.

        3. thejeff

          Possibly because those stories are more sensational. (I’ll admit I don’t know real numbers.)
          And I’d guess they’re younger than that. They look noticeably younger than in the previous robbery flashback – though kids change fast around then and it could be art style differences too.
          Still, 13 is only a top limit to their age.

        4. Inahc

          welp. fuck this universe.

  7. William Leonard Reese Jr.

    Lots of. . .um . . .interesting reactions in today’s strip I see.

  8. Sugarfat Blackman

    Billie wouldnt necessarily know this, but as a TA, he probably only had the one section.

    1. Jenwren

      For a Calculus I course at a big university? He probably had 2-4 sections, at least if it’s anything like my university. Math departments tend to have more course sections than they know what to do with, since math is a prerequisite for most STEM courses.

      1. BBCC

        And often a requirement for non-STEM degrees too.

  9. Stu

    Oh…. ohhhhhh. I can’t help but think that Mike knows this from experience, given the intercuts to him in High School.

    1. thejeff

      Those intercuts weren’t to High School, but younger, so I really hope not.

  10. Shiro

    …hmmmmmm.

    That third panel is intriguing. Is Mike merely acknowledging (what must seem to him like) a well-played gambit won against a more powerful foe? Or is there something deeper going on?

    I might be reading into it but that closeup seems indicative of more.

    1. Mr D

      I think he’s lo-key calling Billie out.

      1. Shiro

        You could be right, I initially thought the last bubble in panel 2 was Mike’s, but now I’m thinking it’s Billie’s. So basically he’s saying usually when this comes out, it’s not a student leveraging the structure for better grades (which is what Billie’s thinking) but the teacher taking advantage of the power they have over their students. That makes more sense.

        It’s also an uncharacteristic observation for Mike, as I understand him, so there’s still a question hanging in the air here

        1. wwwhhattt

          It fits in with his remark to Sarah about people always forgiving white guys, and possibly with the flashbacks. Is it worth hoping all the extra characterization is leading to him developing into less of an obnoxious arse?

        2. Jay

          Mind reminding me when that was?

        3. Inahc

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/04-of-mike-and-men/recording/

        4. Yumi

          Assuming you mean his comment to Sarah, it was a couple weeks ago our time (earlier this morning their time): http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/04-of-mike-and-men/recording/

        5. Elisto

          I don’t think it’s uncharacteristic at all. Mike’s always been pretty aware social structures, that’s why he’s able to do what he does.

        6. whitt

          Agree with Elisto.

          If anything, he’s HYPERaware. Puts himselves into situations in JUST the right way to alter events so that OTHER people learn lessons for themselves, or w/e. Like with Dan and Ethan —- is doing and saying nothing really more ethical? I am falling in love with Mike’s brand of asshole. XD

        7. whitt

          *himself
          got excited there..

        8. thejeff

          Seducing people to make others jealous isn’t ethical, regardless of whether you’ve got some benevolent motive in mind. Which, given that he’s explicitly given that as his motive, is questionable.

    2. Inahc

      yeah, I feel like there’s subtext there that’s beyond me.

    3. adjudicus

      Ooh, it might be reference to the Ms. Phillips incident

    4. 3-I

      Seems to me like he doesn’t approve of abuse of power in sexual relationship?

      1. alice

        that’s a funny thought

    5. thejeff

      Mike knows about Sal & Jason.

      1. Clif

        worth remembering.

  11. Passchendaele

    bartender bowtie

    1. Doctor_Who

      In the annals of GI Joe characters with alliterative names, Bartender Bowtie never managed the level of fame that Sergeant Slaughter, Cobra Commander, and Storm Shadow received.

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        Which is why he was back at Headquarters when Dr. Fumbles picked off the entire rest of the team, effectively making Bartender Bowtie the new de facto leader.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Leader? But he just kowtows to Gunhaver and Firebert…

        2. TGS

          Buy all our playsets and toys!

  12. Techhead

    Did Mike fuck Amber’s teacher? Someone tell me Mike didn’t fuck Amber’s teacher.

    1. Pablo360

      Um, I highly doubt that?

      1. Clif

        At that age? Don’t be ridiculous. The teacher’s mom however is another story. One involving nickles.

    2. Some1

      Well given that Mike looks to be around 11-12 in the flashbacks, that is the most horrifying thought possible, and would upgrade teach from generally shitty to Blaine x2 levels of evil.

      1. Hielario

        Horrifying? Am I honestly the only one who used to fantasize with it at that age?

        1. Yumi

          There’s a huge difference between a child fantasizing about something like that and it actually happening. For instance, I crushed like crazy on my 7th grade English teacher. If anything had actually happened in way of response, though, that would have been hella fucked up.

    3. Wraithy2773

      …since Mike in the flashback panels is certainly not of the age of consent, why would one say “Did Mike fuck Amber’s teacher”? Because, unless kid!Mike forced himself upon the teacher (…which, let’s be clear, is a line I don’t think Mike’s ever been suggested to maybe possibly cross), such a situation would definitely be the Teacher raping Mike.

      Just an interesting bit of phrasing that I didn’t think much of on first read of your comment… and then had to circle back on.

  13. Samantha Williams

    OMG Dina was featured in Questionable Content today!

    1. DinaWho

      I was going to mention the same thing!
      I’m curious if it’s canon to any degree for DOA. (A version of Faye appeared in the background with her family in one of the move-in strips, I think, so the universes already share characters. Though it may be more similar to the relation between the Dumbiverse and the Walkyverse, with sharing of characters but no continuity and potential changes to backstories.)

      1. King Daniel

        An alternate-universe version of Coffee of Doom (named “Coffeeright Theft”) existed in San Francisco in the Walkyverse, staffed by the QC characters we all know from Coffee of Doom. Various Shortpacked! employees visited the place a few times, over the years.

        1. King Daniel

          Also, Faye and her family appeared during the Freshman Family Weekend arc (in the strip where Amber was supposed to meet up with her mother, but mom ran into Joe’s dad instead).

        2. DinaWho

          Thanks. All I could remember was that it was a zoomed-out shot of the dorm lobby, and I misattributed the storyline. That’s what I get for deciding to post without checking the archives first.

        3. Needfuldoer

          Given the lack of sufficiently-human-passing sentient AIs, DoA must be a parallel universe to QC.

        4. Spaz

          or maybe the AIs just all hang out in Boston.

      2. mrnoidea

        I’m surprised Jeph finally borrowed one of Willis’s characters, considering he’s gone without doing so in the 15 years that QC has been around.

        Also HOLY CRAP QC DINA LOOKS FREAKIN AWESOME GAH

        1. David M Willis

          My characters have shown up in QC before.

          Here’s Amber, for example: https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1550

        2. Screwball

          Fair enough. Didn’t entirely click 1st time, different art styles.

          What about Questionable Content people in the Dumbingverse?

        3. King Daniel

          Faye and her family (dad included) appeared during Freshman Family Weekend, as mentioned above. Faye’s even tagged, IIRC.

        4. Ryek Hvek

          I see something of Faye in Anna… http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/04-the-do-list/lovesleuth/

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      I was going to mention it if nobody else did.
      https://questionablecontent.net/comics/3766.png

    3. King Daniel

      It was the best she could do.

    4. Charlie Spencer

      I’m trying to remember the name of a comic about a struggling big-box retail store. I recall one of the female leads was rumored to be Sarah’s freshman-year roommate. But I could be completely out to lunch again.

    5. Deanatay

      It shouldn’t surprise anyone. It’s known that Dina can appear behind any door she wishes, and of COURSE she would want to be a part of a conversation about dinosaur anatomy.

      Still, seeing her there was an adorable SQUEE moment.

  14. Roger

    alright, cards on the table: have we been building up to some kind of like, Mike revival here? cuz he’s been pretty unbearable for a while but suddenly you got him pullin this snide wisdom and goin through his backstory and this repeating theme of some kinda innate understanding of power dynamics.

    Cuz i mean, on the one hand, good yknow, here’s a Mike I can get into. But also is any sort of redemption arc gonna work knowing the full breadth of his sins? And i don’t even actually know the full breadth of his sins I came here way late.

    1. Some1

      You realize you can read the entire comic on the website in order by simply pressing the left double arrow button that says first underneath it right? You should be able to catch up in a couple days at most.

      1. Some1

        I have a very mean way of explaining things.

      2. Roger

        ah, so you say. But, counter offer: I don’t want to

        1. Some1

          If you like a comic, why wouldn’t you want to be able to read more of it? Unless you don’t like the comic, which is fine of course, but your continued presence seems to imply you do.

        2. Yumi

          I don’t get it, personally, but some people are like that. It is a bit of an investment to binge the whole thing. I think it’s enjoyable, but some might just want to put in no more than a minute a day to a comic. Plus, if part of the appeal is the comment section, it’s a bit frustrating to go back to hundreds of conversations you can’t partake in anyway.

        3. Chronos

          That’s essentially what happened when I first tried to binge read all of the Walkyverse; I got about a year into It’s Walky! before the sheer size of the webcomic took its toll on me. Having it rereleased has actually made it easier for me to keep up with.

        4. Mitsukara

          I’m the opposite, I definitely won’t keep up on a comic until I’ve caught up with it. Otherwise I would be all over Girl Genius updates, but those archives are deep and each page is so dense that it’s taken me forever to catch up. I used to have the same issue with Schlock Mercenary, Shortpacked (which had the moderately unique issue that I didn’t fully read the previous series it builds from until later), and DoA. (Also I went through a brief period of trying to figure out if DoA was a Shortpacked prequel or something… haha.)

          Some series take a while to get to the good part (certainly EGS and the aforementioned Schlock Mercenary do, and It’s Walky is a complicated case… and it’s debateable whether Roomies ever gets truly good (sorry! Wait, the sorry is crossed out too, and the parenthesis are nested, what’s going on)) so I can see wanting to keep up without archive-binging, but DoA is not one of those, it starts off strong. In that case I would recommend the archive.

          Semi-unfortunately for those other three, they have enough story details before the writing skill increased that their beginnings should probably be read at some point, but might not be the best part to start with?

          Some other things, like Peanuts as Sahy Guy mentioned, lack enough continuity (and overflow with enough content) that the full archive doesn’t fully matter (for that kind of thing, a ‘best of’ or ‘interesting moments’ partial binge might be better, like just reading the introductions of characters and whatnot).

          Ultimately it’s up to the reader how to read any given work, and I figure there’s no completely ‘wrong’ way to do it unless you’re a jerk about the work socially, and as a prospective writer I’d rather not worry about that too much and just worry about actually getting my projects made and posted at all (I’ve had some problems with that, though I like to blame my former housing-stability issues for some of it). But for the case of DoA specifically I feel it’s quality has been fairly high from the beginning, it’s not SUPER long (though daily comics add up fast; but simpler dailies are easy to speed-read than something like Girl Genius or Dresden Codak, where each page is positively crammed full of details worthy of slowing down for, so trade-offs), so it was an easy archive to catch up for me… three years ago or so. (I actually took longer to catch up on Shortpacked for some combination of reasons.)

          But life is also so full of things to read that it’s hard to pick and choose.

        5. Charlie Spencer

          Binging ‘Girl Genius’ was one of the joys of my online life, but there were only about four chapters when I did it the first time. I did it again after the first volume ended. Tackling it again now sounds dauntin; maybe if I’m laid up with an injury. Definitely worth it, though.

        6. Kryss LaBryn

          I started reading it to my kids. The voices are great fun; Castle Heterodyne is my best Christopher Lee. 😀

        7. Joshua Kronengold

          YES! We always read GG out loud, ideally with four people reading the different voices; it’s basically designed for a radio play treatment!

          I don’t remember doing a full reread of GG, but I’ll read a few books at a time when I realize something links to a bit I’ve forgotten; I always end up crawling more archive than I intended.

        8. Roborat

          Girl Genius deserves to be binged. Just do it in manageable pieces. Say a volume at a time.

        9. Shay Guy

          Dina’s opinions on cereal notwithstanding, not everybody who likes something wants to take every opportunity for more. Time constraints are a thing. I like Peanuts well enough, but when I dove into the archives from the beginning that one time, I don’t think I even made it to 1955.

        10. Some1

          Yeah, but Peanuts is a gag a day strip. Dumbing of Age is a storyline based comic, where events that happened years ago in our time still have massive ramifications now. You don’t have to read the entirety of Peanuts to understand a random Peanuts strip.

        11. JoeCovenant

          Not true.
          There are some (admittedly VERY few) peanuts strips which were topical.
          (The easiest example being when Schulz was Grand Marshall of a Parade that had just taken place)

          And the baffling (to me when I first read it) “Why couldn’t McCovey had hit the ball three feet higher?”
          Followed a few strips later by:
          “Or Why couldn’t McCovey had hit the ball just TWO feet higher?”

          Both strips relating to one of those odd bat and ball type games y’awl Americans have! 🙂

        12. Inahc

          I kinda wish my brain worked like that. It sounds relaxing.

        13. Needfuldoer

          You’ll get a good picture if you skim all the comics with Mike in them.

          Basically, he’s a chaotic good* asshole who uses blunt, painful statements to get his point across. He had more to do in the old continuity, but here he’s been pretty one-dimensional so far.

          * Maybe? [Braces for comment backlash]

        14. Spaz

          in the old universe he was basically a living embodiment of a “Fuck You” Chaotic Neutral. He wasn’t really evil, he just enjoyed doing whatever you didn’t want him to do.

          Unless he was drunk. Then he w as Lawful Good.

        15. thejeff

          Or he’s just an unusually perceptive edgelord asshole, with no particular agenda except to mess with people.

          There’s some debate about Mike. 🙂

    2. Chronos

      I kinda hope not because it sort of wrecks my headcanon of Mike being a human-shaped force of nature.

    3. Mitsukara

      As far as Mike’s sins, so far I seem to recall the worst he’s done (in DoA) being:

      – He once answered a phone call from Joyce’s mom, which nobody wanted to answer due to tricky circumstances, and shouted “HAIL SATAN!”. Walky grabbed the phone from him and played it all off as a couple guys prank-stealing the phone and joking around and apologized before ending the call and returning the phone to Joyce, who saw this all happen. (Mike’s goal was unclear.)

      – He’s trying to date and have consensual sex with Ethan (while also doing things like defending Ethan’s position in internet arguments about transformers), which is not inherently harmful but seems to have less to do with personal attraction and desire for the relationship himself (but who knows, really? Mike is famously hard to read about this stuff and Walkyverse Mike had a threesome with him and Amber once.. er, twice maybe in another alternate universe??), but his goals seem to be overthought and with less of an eye towards happily-ever-after and more of an eye towards getting Ethan to work through something about his life, or… honestly it’s a little up in the air I think?

      – He recently hung out in Dorothy’s room not totally invited, asking her about keeping the Monkey Master Walky threw at her head. This was definitely to get some kind of rise out of her, and the motivation is dubious, but I’m guessing he was trying to break her rhythm of obsessive study (to the point of not necessarily eating and bathing and whatnot) and to make her contemplate her guilt about the breakup and think more about what’s more important to her, but he did so by being a jerk because, well, that’s sort of how he is.

      – He’s generally rude / nihilistic / misanthropic towards people. But he doesn’t seem openly malicious, especially compared to the likes of a manipulative jerk like Blaine, just, kind of a weird grouch who has strong opinions about what’s going on with other people and weaves around being tactical about his jerkiness with the goal of trying to prompt some sort of secondhand self-improvement in people? I think?

      Mike is a darn tricky guy to judge, as Shortpacked explored to a fascinating extent in it’s later years (…after a much rougher start of him saying some awful stuff towards the beginning), so this storyline should be interesting.

      1. Spaz

        yeah. his first Shortpacked “I Love You” is still a horrifying image in my brain.

      2. thejeff

        Mike has told us explicitly, in an aside to the reader, why he’s seducing Ethan. There is no “dating” involved.
        I was waffling on whether to seduce either you or Danny to turn the other into a jealous, whimpering mess, so you it is.
        This was in response to Ethan telling him not to do his “Mike things” to Danny.
        You can invent other motives or say that’s just a step to getting them together or whatever you like, but that’s what he claims his motives are. That’s the closest we’re likely to get to direct insight into his thoughts.

        1. Buli-Buli

          Thank you.

          And if we’re listing his his sons, let’s not forget how he compared Amber to Blaine. A realization that has led to steep and observable downturn in Amber’s emotional and mental state.
          And it wasn’t idle speculation. His facial expression says he was trying to say something hurtful.

          Or when he accused Sal of prostituting herself for a higher grade (in a very vulgar manner), he admitting he was just saying it on the offchance he got a reaction.

        2. adjudicus

          Or when he faked the cancellation of the Dexter comuc specifically to get Walky’s reaction, then RECORDED it while he was sleeping.

    4. whitt

      😉 not all of us have found him to be unbearable.

      Unfortunately, I find him relatable, and therefore it makes 100% sense that he would also be hyper-aware of power dynamics, due to being able to harm people too easily by way of power he never earned nor asked for.

      also, to Buli Buli, I’m not sure I would agree on that assessment of his intentions with comparing Amber to Blaine.

      Oh, and if we’re listing his “crime”/”sin” things, don’t forget about him punching people in the face to show Joyce that enforcing your beliefs through hired, organized violence doesn’t actually help anything (following around punching sinful people on her first date).

      Tell me he’s done wrong, I’ll point out a power dynamic he’s responding to. He’s a willing scapegoat…. but has anyone else considered that it’s so that no one worse gets the gig? XD XD I mean, I haven’t gone through the whole comic thinking this, so I don’t have, like, a list ready or anything. I *could* be wrong!

      1. thejeff

        It’s always possible to make excuses. Especially when you’re willing to make up unstated motives and ignore (or expand on) stated ones, and give him credit for everything that turned out well and blame the target (or his youth and inexperience at manipulation) when it backfires and hurts them.

        A straightforward reading of Mike is that he’s an edgelord asshole who messes with people for his own enjoyment, not to teach them any helpful lessons. That’s how his closest acquaintances see him. You really have to jump through hoops to make him the benevolent asshole-sage.

        1. Formerly Glenn

          There are a lot of people who read him as a benevolent asshole sage on first impressions, so that can’t be that weird of an interpretation of his character.

        2. Yumi

          It’s not that weird, if weird is taken to mean unusual, to see lots of people jumping through hoops for characters like Mike. Doesn’t mean the hoops aren’t there.

        3. Inahc

          Mike himself has explained this: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/04-of-mike-and-men/recording/ “A culture of mass media that indoctrinates all people to eternally forgive white males”

  15. Opus the Poet

    There was a Dina cameo on QC tonight.

    Just thought y’all should know.

    1. brionl

      Hey! I was going to say that.

      At least I brought a link though:

      https://www.questionablecontent.net/

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        Funny, I don’t see anyone there.

        1. Spaz

          That’s because Dina is a dino ninja.

      2. alice

        at least i brought a link that’ll actually work tomorrow:

        https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3766

  16. Pixie

    If you’re missing Dina, she made an appearance on QC today…

    1. Victor Riley

      I saw, I was going to mention it, but you beat me to it! 🙂

      Does this mean they’re in the same world? Are robots going to start showing up in Indiana? Or is that just a Massachusetts thing?

      1. DinaWho

        I was wondering the same thing…

      2. Chronos

        I more like to think that Dina just appears whenever/wherever dinosaurs are seriously discussed, multiverse be damned.

      3. John

        I’m assuming it’s Dina from the Walkyverse, where QC’s weirdness is just Tuesday. She’s just in disguise, and/or cosplaying Dumbiverse Dina.

        She’s at Coffee of Doom looking for her allosaurus.

        1. King Daniel

          So…QC is the post-Soggies future of the Walkyverse, then?

        2. John

          Nah, the Soggies are just something that’s happening out on the Left Coast while the QC crew are all preoccupied with their own issues.

        3. Spaz

          Walkyverse Dina wore more of a safari hat, while the QC appearance is all DoA, with the dino hat.

        4. Meta

          Hence “cosplaying Dumbiverse Dina”

      4. Agemegos

        There will be robots in the real world before these characters get back for their sophomore year — and DoA is not going to slowly become a period piece.

      5. Deanatay

        A couple of clear parallels:

        -Willis and Jacques (aka AssFace and Smells-Like-A-Butt) have known each other for years, and frequently shared characters.
        -Dina and Emily both share a sort of brilliant neurodivergence that endears them to their more neuro-normative friends. A conversation between them might lead to the Singularity. Or, at least, a brand-new way of looking at dinosaurs.
        -DoA has Carla in it, as well as Ruttech. Sentient AIs cannot be far off.

        1. whitt

          QC is post-singularity, but I get what you’re sayin’ =P

    2. Defensor

      QC?

      1. Agemegos

        Questionable Content

      2. Inahc

        there’s a few links in the comments already

      3. Transgressingwaffle

        Go to questionablecontent web comic. It’s great! The beginning few arcs and art styles are rough but he gets better with time.

        1. Charlie Spencer

          Yeah, don’t let the early art put you off. It’s fun to watch Jeph’s style (quickly) evolve. Pintsize is the only character that’s remained about the same visually throughout the run. Well, the late unlamented Yelling Bird didn’t change much either.

    3. Deanatay

      Indeed. We must honor the artist as we would our own:

      DAMN YOU JEPH JACQUES!!!

  17. Mkvenner

    What is Mike majoring in?

    1. BBCC

      Social Work.

      I would like to fight whoever allowed that.

      1. Conuly

        Actually….

      2. Bickendan

        I’d like to congratulate whoever allowed that.
        With a nickle.

        …

        Just a nickle, you pervs! 😛

        1. Delavan

          Is Mike just Nickel and Diming everyone now? (That book was by a social worker, right? Or was it a sociologist…)

        2. King Daniel

          You’d like to congratulate them with one of these? Weird.

        3. Mitsukara

          Now you’re just being fickle.

  18. Inahc

    whynotboth.jpg

  19. Deathjavu

    Walky heard enough weird comments from Jason that he might figure out that Sal did, in fact, try that.

  20. Darkoneko

    Subtetly I know thy name

  21. Saaaam

    Mike’s an asshole but it’s usually to expose hypocrisy or something bad that everyone refuses to look at. So in this instance I think he’s just making a decent correction, maybe with the reflection that Billie was in a similar situation and that, no, power dynamics don’t tend to favor the person with less power.

    1. DailyBrad

      Yeah, Mike’s got a serious distaste for abuse of power, I think. Between the flashback and him, you know, being an agent of chaos, we don’t have much to imply he should have any affection for authority to begin with, much less abused authority.

      1. alice

        he may not like abuse of formal power, but he sure likes abusing his own emotional power over people!

    2. erejnion

      Female students are the ones with the most power in current year, though. Mike wouldn’t necessarily know this, of course.

      1. Inahc

        what.

        1. Yumi

          I *think* erejnion might just mean that of the current freshmen in the comic, the most indiviually powerful ones are female. Like, in a way that’s separate from what’s meant by power structure and dynamics.

          If meant otherwise, I agree with your “what,” though.

      2. Conuly

        Um, no.

      3. Wraithy2773

        ……..okay, let’s just……. leave the gender issues aside for the moment. Just for lols.

        In a situation between a Teacher or a TA, both of whom have the ability to grade papers with little to no oversight and, in many subjects, wide freedom to give whatever grade they feel is right?

        The Teacher/TA always always always FUCKING ALWAYS has more power over the student. The reason for the zero tolerance rule on ‘fraternization’ between teachers/TAs and students is because PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FUCKING RAPED BECAUSE THEIR GRADES MYSTERIOUSLY WEREN’T HIGH ENOUGH AND WANTED TO PASS.

        Please kindly pull your head out of your rectal cavity and realize the situation here.

      4. Proxiehunter

        Man what?

      5. Bathymetheus

        Do you seriously think the #METOO movement has actually changed things? I am hopeful that it eventually will, but at best all it has done so far is to cause some pricks to hesitate.

        1. Bathymetheus

          Not only does Weinstein have to go to jail, but the lawyer(s) and other staffers who facilitated and/or covered up his abuse also have to go to jail. And some others, so potential abusers know it’s not just a one-off.

          IF this happens – and it is by no means a sure thing, given the way the legal system works (or does’t work, depending on point of view) – then, maybe, things will start to get better. Bear in mind that there are an awful lot of jerks out there that like the way things are just fine, and will be very reluctant to face the fact that they have to treat women with respect.

  22. C.T Phipps

    I think Billie may have slept with a teacher for grades but considers it to be a positive use of her sexuality rather than a teacher taking horrible advantage of it. It would explain her HORRIBLE reaction to it. Also, because Billie is terrible at viewing all things.

    1. Regalli

      I mean, Billie certainly has a somewhat borked view of relationships with power imbalances. (Granted, that was the least messed up thing about Ruth/Billie in the early couple days, but Billie’s still not the one we should expect anything different of.)

    2. Nico

      Billie does strike me as the type to believe that sort of thing about women’s sexuality and empowerment. Weaponizing femininity to subvert but ultimately stay within/propagate the system and all that. Might be part of why she’s so attached to her alpha bongo cheerleader persona.

  23. QueerCat

    For once I agree with Mikes point of view.

    However with the Amber, Mike, Ethan flashback involving a teacher and grades right now…well…I’m hoping I’m just reading into it because that would be extremely dark

    1. Regalli

      … God that would be bad. Especially with how ambiguous their ages are there.

      And I’m just gonna Not think about that one anymore, ever.

      1. Chronos

        I get a strong feeling you’re going to want to damn Willis in the next few strips.

      2. thejeff

        Not that ambiguous. Unambiguously before the previous flashback to the robbery when they were 13.

        Not a thing that’s going to happen here.

  24. BenRG

    In some ways, I think Sal is flattered that Walky literally cannot imagine her trying to cheat.

  25. abysswatcher1993

    Mike, you are too aware of the world that it’s disturbing.

    Also, does Billie even know how power structures work? The only authorities she knows are her father that gives her too much freedom, and Ruth, who she has sex with and is no longer in charge of her.

    1. abysswatcher1993

      EDIT: Dammit! I forgot about Mike’s situation with the evil teacher!

    2. Wraithy2773

      I imagine Billie’s only aware of the porno-version of these events, where it’s the hot young coed seducing the stuffy-but-oddly-handsome-and-fit professor into a bonus grade.

      Instead of how it more normally is, a professor/TA putting pressure on the student to… improve their grade. Possibly after having tanked the grade slightly to prompt such an encounter.

      1. Some1

        Ironically Sal and Jason’s deal was technically closer to the first one.

        1. Wraithy2773

          Aye, that’s the exception. And it’s the one done because I imagine Willis doesn’t want us to turn Jason’s “bowtie” into a fishing lure. Especially since Jason didn’t change her grades.

          Sadly, not every person in reality has a requirement to remain a likeable character in a comic strip. The world would be so much nicer if they did.

      2. ischemgeek

        Speaking as someone who was a TA for a while, some students do take the porn approach. It is supremely awkward and was why I had a 2 TA rule. Two tas must be present any time I met a student. Mainly because a second person in the room was a very effective deterrent.

  26. Nick

    On an unrelated note, this image of Brazil’s Soccer team mascot reminds me so much of Mike – http://images.uncyc.org/pt/8/84/Canarinho_pistola.jpg

    1. Spaz

      I see it, but I don’t like it.

      The hair is WAY too 3-dimensional.

  27. Wraithy2773

    In case you’re wondering where Dina’s gone off to… https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3766

    1. Transgressingwaffle

      Thank you! I thought I was the only one!

    2. King Daniel

      And I’m reminded that Dina hasn’t appeared in the main comic since January.

  28. JessWitt

    “Doodle” is really weird slang for doing it. Or is it autobiographical?

    1. Agemegos

      https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diddle#Verb?

      1. JessWitt

        Gotcha, it’s reslanged slang.

    2. Bagge

      It’s a synonym to boffin’.

      1. thejeff

        Slap-jackin’?

        1. Bagge

          knobbin’?

        2. thejeff

          bonky-tonkin’?

        3. BBCC

          You’re both just making up words now, right?

    3. Yumi

      There are so many ways of referring to having sex. What’s really fun is that, in part because there are so many ways, you can also just make up new ones, say them in a certain way, and be more or less understood.

      1. Bathymetheus

        In a gender role awareness course I took many years ago, one of the exercises we did was to recall as many terms as we could for intercourse, masturbation, and genitalia. It was amazing how many we came up with.

        It was also noteworthy that some of them were quite hostile in tone. I think society has become somewhat more sex-positive in the years since, but not universally so.

        1. CJ

          As a German comedian said, guys have loads of words for masturbation, and women tend to have none. Did your exercise show that in its results, too?

        2. Mr D

          …I was about to start enumerating the ones I knew when it dawned on me that Williis may frown on that.

        3. CJ

          I mean words actual women use in everyday life, not words that only appear in porn.

        4. Bathymetheus

          It’s possible, but I’m sorry to say I don’t remember. In my defence, it was more than 25 years ago. I do remember that one of the terms for male masturbation was “beating the meat”, to which one of the women exclaimed “That sounds cruel!“.

      2. Agemegos

        I sometimes think that any transitive verb can mean “fuck”, and any masculine name is a slang term for “penis”.

    4. Zee

      You can really just add -ed to the end of any word and it can mean fucked. Or alternatively, very drunk. I personally like construction equipment. Eg.
      “Girl, Chad tooootally buldozered the shit out of me last night!”
      “Man I was so steamrollered last night i passed out on the lawn.”

  29. erejnion

    Dear diary,
    Today was a good day. Saw Dina.

  30. BKC

    I think it’s interesting that Billie thinks the power dynamic works that way. It makes me think it’s a way to feel more in control of her own situation with Ruth, instead of as someone who was taken advantage of in a similarly uneven power dynamic.

    1. Yumi

      I don’t think she’s saying that she thinks the student was the one on top in the power dynamic, but that she thinks the student found a way to use it to their advantage. Now, that could still relate to her and Ruth– “Yeah, she has more power, but I’m the one in control”– I just think it’s a little different than what you’re saying.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Remnants of the alpha-bongo head cheerleader mindset?

    2. erejnion

      I think you’re getting duped by the phrase “power structure”. Billie doesn’t think in terms of power dynamics. You shouldn’t either. Sometimes the teacher will pressure a student for sex; sometimes a student will try to exploit the sexuality of the teacher for grades. Only one of these two is about power dynamics.
      Also it’s generally really unhealthy to think you’re in control of your lover. We can blame lots of unhealthiness on Billie x Ruth, but this exact thing we cannot. Don’t be a fujoshi.

      1. Fart Captor

        Both of those situations are about power dynamics. The teacher’s responsibility is the same regardless of whether a student is trying to seduce them.

        There’s a massive difference between “feeling you have control” and thinking you’re in control of another person. Feeling like you DON’T have any control is a bad sign. Both people in a relationship should have a hand on the wheel, and a foot on the brakes. You can’t just decide what the other person does, but if you can’t agree on something, you should always be able to stop the car and get out.

        I’m not sure I agree that it’s the case with Billie (maybe early on, when he dynamic between her and Ruth was still very unhealthy, but not anymore), but if she had ever felt like she couldn’t slow down or that she didn’t really have input on where they were going, then it would be completely natural to find that scary enough to need to rationalize that in some way to make it easier to deal with. The fact that their relationship turned into something much more healthy without the power imbalance would likely make Billie even more inclined to avoid thinking about how messed up it was at the start. She’s generally been unwilling to confront harmful decisions in general, so she definitely wouldn’t want to examine one that ended up working out

        I agree that Billie doesn’t think in terms of power dynamics, but she really should

  31. newllend(henryvolt)

    *Cough* *Cough*

  32. Bagge

    Is Walky refering to… knobbin’?

    1. wwwhhattt

      I imagine Jason’s more into rodgering

  33. MatthewTheLucky

    Reminder that Mike already figured out Sal and Jason.

    1. Delavan

      Yeah… the multiple meanings of “usually” here are really impressive. A lot is Shortpacked into that word choice.

    2. Daisy

      I wonder how Jason got caught? Just saying.

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/02-i-was-a-teenage-churchmouse/lures/

      1. thejeff

        Penny told them when she got caught (because of Joe’s list). She was making it up to mess with him, but happened to be right.

        And by the way – for everything wrong with Jason, Penny is just so much worse.

      2. segnosaur

        Looking at that old comic, its amazing how much meaning talk of ‘a broken system’ is, as the flashbacks to Mike and Amber in public school go.

        Not sure if it was amazing planning on the part of Willis or just luck. (Given how well the comic has worked out, I’d say ‘planning’.)

  34. Vee

    I am… worried about Mike

    1. Brute

      … oh :(poop

      1. Brute

        wait where did that last part come from

  35. CJ

    OT: Dina seems to have ninjad into Questionable Content today.

    1. CJ

      Ups, I was late…

  36. CJ

    Sal slinking out of the scene is an unusual sight.
    She can be sure now nobody will believe her grade now if they ever find out she was the one Jason had sex with.
    I’m not sure if she feels guilty over being involved with Jason losing his job. Her body language shouts guilty even more the Walky’s slinking past shouted “up to no good”.

    1. BBCC

      I’m pretty sure she was already leaving, going by the way she’s positioned in panel two (her back’s to them). But yeah, she’s definitely at least thinking about this.

      My best guess is she’s going to try to be indifferent but she’ll cave and go talk to him anyways.

  37. Defensor

    There’s something I don’t understand. Jason have sex with Sal (clear on that) but he never actually raised her grades because they had sex together. Do I have that right?

    1. BBCC

      Got it in one.

    2. King Daniel

      He gave her papers to another TA to grade, as I recall.

      1. thejeff

        Not the first time. First time he still graded them himself. Or at least it’s heavily implied so. After she confronted him about it, that’s when he passed them to another TA.

    3. Sam

      You have that correct. It was implied that it was for grades. Jason didn’t give grades. Sal got mad at him later for not getting that neon light implication. He still didn’t improve her grades.

      1. C.T Phipps

        Sal slept with him for grades.

        Jason assumed it was because they had a hot sexy moment.

        1. BBCC

          Well, Jason says that when she confronts him. But during the Slipshine, his reaction to her ‘my grades are the only thing that matters’ is ‘that is not what I meant and you know it’. I think he knows exactly what she was implying and was denying it later.

      2. bunivasal

        That’s not just cynical, it’s downright paranoid. Which isn’t to say that it’s not possible, just that it’s completely unsupported by the text and David doesn’t usually conceal such colossal heel/face turns like that.

        On the other hand, the possibility of what you’re describing COULD support the campus’ policy against fraternizing with students, and even if Jason’s not materially doing them (and he’s not: we saw what he was doing), the university doesn’t want to bother to investigate motive and intention so it saves itself time by just burning you down if you have the desired outcome that could motivate bad behavior.

        1. thejeff

          It’s one of the reasons you outright ban such activity, even if in some cases it would be acceptable – you want to avoid the appearance of corruption. And you want to avoid letting the actual abusers from hiding behind such excuses.

  38. Bagge

    I love it when Billie and Walky get to be a double act. They are very synchronised.

  39. Spaz

    Welp, Dina’s gone missing.

    Not sure how she got to Boston so fast, but maybe Bubbles or Hanners can get her home with a friendly drone or something.

  40. Valerie

    Did… Mike sleep with Amber’s teacher for her grades…? Why did he say that?

    1. Trousle Undrhil

      Because it could be the teacher forcing the student to sleep with him/her to get a better grade; basically, holding the good grade over them for sex.

      Since this is college, and not high school, both people are consenting adults, presumably, and the only stigmatism for it is because the teacher holds a position of power of the student. It’s the different between “if I blow you, can that ticket go away?” vs the cop saying “if you blow me, this ticket goes away.”

      1. TemperaryObsessor

        And if the cop is making the offer its possible the cop tailed that particular person until they did something that could be ticketed even if its normally seen as standard driving procedure, or outright made something up.

        1. BBCC

          Or is straight up making up reasons to pull them over, yeah.

  41. TemperaryObsessor

    Here is a cynical way to interpret what happened.
    Sal was being graded unfairly by her Jason who is hoping she would come to him to fix it. It pays off and Sal comes to her Jason for tutoring. Since he knows she’s taking the bait he then lowers her grades to put on pressure. During one of the sessions he tells her that her grades are all that really matter and makes her tells her things that make her believe she’s just dumb. Sal picks up on what he’s saying and has sex with him believing that’s the only way she could possibly improve her grades which is all that really matters. Jason hands her test to Penny so he can claim that he can say he wasn’t even grading her papers at the time. Sal believing that she’s being graded on sex now puts less effort into her work and it shows she’s gets the same grades she got when the person grading her papers was sabotaging her. Sals grades improve after that.

    1. thejeff

      It’s an incredibley cynical way of looking at it and one that isn’t really supported by any of the evidence or characterization we’ve seen.

      Sal clearly wasn’t understanding the math. Danny’s tutoring clearly helped her. Even without the evidence of the change in grades.

      Jason’s a creep in many ways, but nothing that seems that deliberate and methodical.

      1. TemperaryObsessor

        Yes but if Jason is a harsher grader than Penny possibly not bothering to figure out what Sal was actually thinking when she didn’t use his method because she looked and acted like a punk.
        And its possible he was harsher on Sal after tutoring because he was frustrated.
        He did basically say that her grades were all that mattered.

    2. bunivasal

      That’s not just cynical, it’s downright paranoid. Which isn’t to say that it’s not possible, just that it’s completely unsupported by the text and David doesn’t usually conceal such colossal heel/face turns like that.

      On the other hand, the possibility of what you’re describing COULD support the campus’ policy against fraternizing with students, and even if Jason’s not materially doing them (and he’s not: we saw what he was doing), the university doesn’t want to bother to investigate motive and intention so it saves itself time by just burning you down if you have the desired outcome that could motivate bad behavior.

      1. TemperaryObsessor

        From our perspective its fanfiction.
        If Sal believed that was what happened I think it might be a reasonable if cynical conclusion.
        I wouldn’t be surprised that if Mike would reach that conclusion if Sal admitted she seduced him after his tutoring didn’t help and said that Jason turned her grades over to Penny afterwards.
        Sal had sex with Jason because she thought it would improve her grades. Jason quite frankly was only surprised because he was in denile or stupid. There is no reason not to have a hard line about teachers canoodling students because even if there is correlation between grades and dating the teacher students can get confused..

  42. ninja_jesus

    IMO, I think Sal is sneaking off to Galasso’s right now.

  43. segnosaur

    Does anyone think Walky’s comment in the last panel seemed… out of place?

    Walky has been undergoing a lot of soul-searching lately… realization of his faults and limitations as a student, empathy for Jason, and a streak of morality regarding efforts to falsify his grades. The whole “Hey sis…” comment is something I would have expected from Walky a few weeks ago (comic time), but he’s been a bit more melancholy lately.

    1. Clif

      No. Stuff may be going on, but he’s still Walky.

    2. thejeff

      Well, it hits a lot harder then he intended it, because she actually did.

      But mostly it’s just Walky doing the usual deflection thing.

  44. wakeangel2001

    I thought he didn’t give her better grades for schtupping him…

    1. thejeff

      He didn’t, but she still did fuck him for better grades, as Billy said. He just didn’t pay up.

  45. Hari

    Ah Walky. You’re good at putting your foot in your mouth aren’t you.

  46. whitt

    Nng. I’m so hot for Mike right now.

    He knows the lines and uses them.
    …. but as much as people call him “abusive” and whatever other over-exaggerated nonsense, I see him ONLY using (or misusing, w/e) situations for SUPPORTIVE intention. Even if he gets the job done uncomfortably.

    Just cuz he’s AWARE of situational or power-structure dynamics doesn’t make him Toe-dad, you guys.

    Unng, he kind of reads more of a submissive, actually, but I’d be *SO* into Mike if he’s Dom-status.
    Hahahahaha but someone like that! XD He might prefer submissive stuff cuz he feels like he’s holding too much power the rest of the time.
    I love him, and I love the author for writing him like this.

    1. King Daniel

      Ah, yes, he was being so supportive of Walky when he constructed an elaborate plot to trick him into thinking his favorite show was cancelled, and then recorded him crying in his sleep over it, and then showed off that recording to others.

      1. Inahc

        or when he helped ethan back into the closet early on.

    2. thejeff

      From what little we’ve seen of Mike’s sexuality, I’d guess he’s essentially non-sex-repulsed ace.
      It’s a tool to manipulate other people, not something he’s actually interested in on its own.

      As for sub/dom, which can he use against you?

      That might clash with SP! Mike, but it might not either.

    3. Sam

      He uses the compassion and empathy of others against them, stabs at their weaknesses even when it is not pertinent to their well-being or snapping them out of denial, and this is a reoccurring pattern with his friends. He is a very toxic friend. He is not as bad as Blaine or Toe-Dad, but so? Mary isn’t either. Malaya isn’t either. Doesn’t make them nice people. Doesn’t mean you should hang around them. Mike only isn’t as bad as Blaine and Toe-Dad because everything he does is legal and is almost entirely based on emotional manipulation without needing to be physically violent.

      At times, yes, he DOES confront people on hypocrisy and their denial. But he does this by tearing them down which has made them double down at times, as Ethan did with his sexuality. At other times, he just taunts people about their demons or does things to hurt others. Like how he did to Amber when she came back. Like how he is doing by seducing Ethan to try to turn Danny into a jealous mess, just because he can.

      1. thejeff

        Mike isn’t as bad because he’s essentially a peer. Can you imagine this Mike with a kid? Emotional manipulation from childhood can be devastating.

        SP! Mike’s saving grace, in addition to existing in a less realistic world, was that he was interested in Amber because she was a match for him.

  47. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    Panel 1: I love the composition of this panel. The way she’s looking off as if behind her towards the emptiness next to the comic, the close-up on her concern as she worries for the health of someone who has not extended her much basic courtesy before now.

    Panel 2: Oh dear, Billie. But of course that makes sense that that’s her worldview. Or at least her public facing worldview.

    Like it fits with what she wants to believe about the world, that there’s these fucked up power structures but that if one is seductive enough there’s a power to undo it and resist it. It can even fit a way of looking at her own relationship with Ruth, turning a nemesis into a lover…

    But she’s at least pretending here not to see how this statement doesn’t jive with her lived experiences. Her relationship with Ruth while certainly deeply fucked up in origin and still very troubled in a lot of respects has some measure of mutual respect and at the end of the day, she actually didn’t use her relationship with Ruth to ask for favors regarding the governance of the hall, even to the point of keeping silent about Becky rather than enlisting Ruth’s conspiracy.

    And the reality hits hard with Sal’s lived experiences, going into it under that worldview and then being really cruelly exploited and abused by Jason.

    Panel 3: Well now, ain’t that a thing.

    I have many disagreements with Mike and his arc, but I’m admittedly fascinated by his more recent turns we’ve been seeing. The sweet nervous desire to do right we’ve seen from child Mike is a sharp painful contrast to the man whose stated desire to sleep with Ethan comes from a desire to hurt several people.

    I can’t help wonder how he got jaded into the edgelord we see today and given the nature of the comic in general about redemption, if there’s a way to connect with that well-meaning part of himself that understands power structures and punches up instead of down.

    And this moment… maybe it is my inherent desire to think well of people, but I can’t help hoping there’s something there. A spark that hints that this edgelord persona is just a persona and there’s something there to salvage with him, perhaps not by his friends but by those he’s chosen to stand near.

    I dunno, it’s a nice thought and a rare feeling to be so earnestly nodding along with a character whose actions have been consistently appalling at least in the present.

    Panels 4-6: Oh dear, that subdued panic, that braced body language, expecting her secret to be outed and her hard-fought gains will be undermined and dismissed given her “relationship” with Jason.

    And the palpable relief, not only for that to still be in the dark and secret but to also have her brother affirm her hard work. I love the art here too. There’s a note in the relief, like almost a note of regret or something that she let herself get sucked into such a toxic relationship with Jason because of the narrative Billie was espousing in Panel 2 and which she herself believed in her initial desire to sleep with Jason.

    It’s evocative.

    1. NickG

      Good to have a ‘Comic Reactions’ from you again. You always see nuances that pass me by on a first reading of the strip.

    2. Yumi

      AYYYYYYYY, Cerb! Always good to see you. 🙂

    3. Regalli

      Always a delight to see you, Cerberus, especially with a comic reactions!

    4. BBCC

      😀 Cerberus!

    5. Inahc

      panel 2:
      hmm. I disagree about “abused”. he took advantage of her by saying yes to sex the first time, but it was her idea in the first place, and they ended up having sex *again* for not-grades, and drinking together… sal really doesn’t seem to have suffered at all there (lucky her?), she just finds him annoying. attractively annoying 😛

      panel 3: yup. this is gonna be an iiiinteresting arc. I’m trying to just not make any assumptions about past-mike until it plays out.

      4-6: huh. I didn’t think of it that way before, and that all makes a lot of sense. even though nothing (good or bad, for her at least) came of her attempt to trade sex for grades, the *appearance* itself is damaging because of what other people will assume if they find out :/

      and it never occurred to me that walky is acknowledging that she studied and worked hard. like, did we even know if walky was aware of her grades at all before this?

      1. BBCC

        I believe Cerberus is referring to verbal/emotional abuse.

    6. Leorale

      Oh hey, welcome back

  48. Defensor

    I have been wondering whether Jason has actually been fired or not. Yes, Penny told the department Jason had slept with a student, but she admitted that she was just making it up. So, unless Sal wants other people to know she slept with her TA, Jason’s bacon may ultimately be saved. There’s no evidence!

    1. BBCC

      He has a meeting with a tribunal coming up and he needs to get the alleged student to say he didn’t do it. Since we’re not sure if they even have a name, that’ll be hard.

  49. leadsynth

    There was a time when Joyce would have been scandalized at the idea of someone fuckin’ the TA for better grades. Heck, old Joyce would be scandalized at the mere mention of doodlin’. She’s maturing!

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