272

Hymnals
Posted on March 12, 2025 by David M Willis

272 thoughts on “Hymnals”

  1. NGPZ

    *plays “Dead Fingers Talking” on hacked muzak*

  2. Animedingo

    So is dorothy taking these with amaza girl

    1. Morhek

      I think Amazi-Girl is thoroughly uninterested in the shenanigans.

      Amber, on the other hand, would be TOTALLY down for it and cast Amazi-Girl to the back of their shared brain like Yugi mind-crushing Kaiba so she can take control.

      1. Sirksome

        I really wonder how often AG and Ambs switch now. If that’s even how it works. I have no idea. Can Amber just push AG aside for horny gremlin shenanigans? I kinda imagined it’s like they’re both behind the wheel until the situation needs specific inputs.

        1. Morhek

          As I understand, after their resolution during the Becky’s Dad Business they’re on more equitable grounds with each other. I’m not sure the specifics have ever been laid out, but Amazi-Girl seems to have more time doing non-heroic things.

        2. V

          depends on the system? i know for us it’s more like, one person at the wheel and the others either in the backseat or riding shotgun, depending on how present they are. it seems like amber and amazi-girl are stable and sharing memories again, so i’d guess that over the timeskip they’ve worked out how to communicate in headspace and pass the front (commonly used term for “system member currently in control”) back and forth when needed. it’s not *super* clear though, i’d have to archive dive all the times they switch fronts post timeskip to have a firmer take on the matter.

        3. TerribleTransit

          It’s only one of them fronting at a time, which we can see in the cheek tell and in Willis’ tags, though they have co-fronted on occasion (during one of the car chases iirc). Passing the front clearly isn’t 100% reliable, just a couple storylines ago AG was trapped fronting for a bit. They are communicating well, though, as evidenced by Amber passing on AG’s seemingly real-time reactions to Dorothy’s selfie conundrum the other day.

        4. Enkrod

          > the cheek tell

          The what now?

        5. Liara

          Outside of checking the tags, you can tell immediately if Amber or AG is fronting based on if their cheeks are blushing. Cheeks red = Amber, cheeks not red = AG

        6. Yumi

          It can be hard to tell between Amber’s usual glasses and AG’s usual mask but the to link a couple strips to see the difference Liara said:
          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2024/comic/book-15/01-love-dares-you-to-change/broccoli-2/
          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/book-15/02-the-one-where-jocelyne-returns/newforms/

    2. Steamweed

      Amber for the first series; A-G for the second? I can see it.

    3. jeffepp

      “Oh, fancy meeting you here… in your room… Anyway, Walkie and I were talking the other day. We were wondering if you, either of you, or both, would be up to, um, well, the three, or four if, um…”

      “I understand. We will discuss it.”

      “So, a maybe then?”

      “We are in, certainly. The discussion is of a technical nature. That, and Amber is squeeing a lot. I have condoms.”

      “I remember. We used the ones you dropped.”

      1. TheCozburger

        “Um……they weren’t used, were they?”

        1. Steamweed

          “Don’t worry. We washed them.”

        2. Taffy

          100% machine washable condoms! Made of dye-free hemp!

    4. anon

      Awkward opportunity(?) to proposition a 3 way but i imagine she and amber wouldn’t be into that XD

    5. Jamie

      The nice thing about helping AG upgrade her costume is that Dorothy now has a backup. For reasons.

  3. Newlland(Henryvolt)

    He’s skipping lunch and dinner and is going straight to dessert.

    1. True Survivor

      And yet, for once, I don’t think his parents would be disappointed.

      1. morleuca

        let’s be honest, Charles has shown the opposite of disappointment with the amount of pull his son appears to have.

  4. Nono

    Walky the POLITE thing to do is to send some back in return you jag

    1. Thag Simmons

      Is that not what he is off to go and do?

      1. Yumi

        He needs to at least take off his shirt and snap a couple right now, in front of this building.

    2. Steamweed

      He _could_ be going to do just that. But, ya know, in-person.

      1. AbacusWizard

        Sending selfies by sneakernet

        1. Needfuldoer

          in 3D, no less!

    3. JA

      You can’t just drop trou in public to snap some pics.

      1. brionl

        ITYM, you *shouldn’t* drop trou…

      2. Freezer

        Says you!

    4. Nymph

      Sorry… how would you like him to do that without leaving in a hurry?

    5. Taffy

      He’s outside, in the winter. How flattering do you really think those photos would be?

      1. Yumi

        His nips would be rock hard, so there’s that.

  5. StClair

    MUST
    AFFIRM
    HETNESS

    1. NGPZ

      :/ T_T

    2. Nerrin

      Hopefully it’s more like “I have become extremely horny by revelations and must work the horniness out with the person I’m actually involved with.”

      1. Devin

        My money is on a little from column A, a little from column B

        1. DJTsurugi

          yeah, I’m totally seeing this as her denying attraction to Joyce by overcompensating in sending massive amounts of pics to Walky. ~<3

        2. thejeff

          Probably true. Which likely runs deeper than just this interaction and quite likely dooms the relationship.
          Not that her being bi or even being attracted to Joyce would, but if she only got back together with him as part of that denial …

        3. DJTsurugi

          exactly, I can only foresee accidental self sabotage. ~<3

      2. PhyrexianRogue

        Wasn’t their breakup also part of the ‘must sacrifice everything for presidential career’ playbook she might have reconsiderations about?

        1. Jamie

          Depends on if you want to blame Dorothy for it? Like, she’s the one who asked for a pause, but Walky was actively working up the courage to make the call first.

        2. thejeff

          But he was doing it because he thought that the time spent on him was distracting from her plans, so it’s really the same thing.

        3. PhyrexianRogue

          I’d say it more depends on whether Dorothy blames Dorothy for it.

      3. StClair

        I don’t think I wanna be anywhere near someone who gets horny from reading Revelations.
        ( 😉 )

    3. clif

      Dorothy doesn’t do anything by halves.

  6. TrueVCU

    Mr. President, a second bisexual awakening has hit the University of Indiana

    1. Steamweed

      Sshh! Not so loud; the current one might just defund the campus’s federal grants.

    2. Bryy

      oh my god

    3. Amós Batista

      30 years after, at White House:

      – Mrs. President, a third bisexual awakening has hit …
      [Dorothy] – THOSE FUCKING CONSERVATIVE…
      – … the University of Indiana.
      [Dorothy] – Oh!… Nevermind.

  7. Thag Simmons

    Walky doing his part for the pacing. Can’t be repeating plot beats too much in rapid succession, gotta get some space in between the queer realizations

  8. Yumi

    “WHY DOESN’T DOROTHY SEND ME ANY SEXY PICTURES???” demands Joyce, who has missed a text notification.

    1. Rose by Any other Name

      Smash Cut to Dorothy going “There. Now JOyce will know how I feel… wait, which number did I send those too? Fff—“

    2. Sirksome

      Where does mutual jealousy over sexy pics while both being in firmly committed relationships sit on this dating/cheating/potential polycule, situation we have going on?

      1. Rose by Any other Name

        Kinda depends on the rules of each individual relationship.
        For some, sexy pics would be cheating.
        Meanwhile, my porn streamer friend has an entire discord server where she posts her nudes so her boyfriend, my wife, me, and others can see them.

        Come to think of it, a remarkably number of our lady friends have sent us full nude tit pics.

      2. Nymph

        I don’t jealousy is cheating, and if you’re with someone who thinks that thoughts/feelings are cheating rather than actions–probably run. Thought crimes are bullshit.

        1. Nymph

          I don’t think* jealousy is…etc.

        2. Li

          I thiiiink Sirksome means, like, if Joyce had actually successfully gotten to see Dorothy’s pics. Like if we suppose Walky had been like, “Dorothy would probably be fine with this,” or if he asked and Dorothy said okay, would LOOKING at the photos be something Joyce should really clear with Joe first, too.

          I think if I were Joe I’d want to be asked in that case, but of course I’m assuming they haven’t talked about this beforehand…

        3. Li

          OR MAYBE.

          Sirksome feel free to correct me here fff But I’m now thinking about it, even if it’s not what you meant…

          The comment section has been talking off on and on about DOROTHY seeing Joyce’s picture, and then sending a picture back to her, and whether or not that counted as cheating on Walky, or trying to cheat with Joyce on Joe…

          And I do think it’s like, a fair point that Joyce has now actually ASKED to see lewds sent by Dorothy to Walky. Does that change anything for the folks who felt like Dorothy was crossing a line?

          (I don’t think it does, because they’re two separate events, but I do think that if it was wrong for Dorothy to receive Joyce’s accidentally missent lewds (and then hang onto them for a day), it should also be at least eyebrow-raising for Joyce to ask to see Dorothy’s lewds.)

          (I’m not really going to hold my breath there though, heh.)

        4. Sirksome

          It was more this response, yes. The debate has been a mix between cheating/potential polycule/just friendly joking ect. Now that Joyce has expressed interest is this still crossing a line? Walky even knows she asked but is either not bothered and/or too distracted by horny to care. Making it a passing comment from Joyce also kind of undercuts it. I never saw any of it as cheating or really anything to begin with because Dorothy doesn’t even know what this situation is yet. Where we at with this? Dorothy bad?

        5. Li

          I am that “VINDICAAAATION” gif IRL for having correctly groked your intent. \o/

        6. Nymph

          I don’t, personally, ask my partners before looking at pictures of any kind. Again it falls too much into the thought-crime territory for me, but I know that I’m a lot less restrictive than other people tend to be in relationships. Just seems like a lot of effort to me.

        7. thejeff

          While I get the “thought-crime” concern, that’s how a lot of cheating starts. A lot of thinking first, then by the time the first physical line is crossed, it’s too late.
          Like anything with human relationships, all the lines are fuzzy and people can set boundaries where they feel the need, but there’s a big gray area between “obviously fine” and “obviously cheating” and (other than jerks who always planned on it) most people who reach that “obviously cheating” line do it one small step at a time, each building on the last,

        8. Nymph

          Right, but it’s also how a lot of cheating doesn’t start. Thoughts aren’t actions and shouldn’t be treated as such. If someone is going to full-on cheat, then policing their thoughts and actions isn’t going to stop them. It’s just going to make them be sneakier about it. And I personally would rather give my partners trust and be surprised vs getting anxious over things that aren’t harmful without actions backing them up.

        9. Li

          I think my current feelings are “this should be a conversation rather than an assumption”, which goes in both directions. Monogamous-and-exclusive should not be the default assumption in a relationship, either.

        10. Nymph

          This I agree with. Discussing boundaries is always good.

  9. Sirksome

    That’s definitely not a gay panic induced over correction right?

    1. Yumi

      Maybe she should try the laundry room first

    2. mindbleach

      It could be realization her libido’s got a whole new thing to work with, and a decision to level that out through her current lay.

      I was going to write “but probably not.” Then I remembered Dorothy is disastrously self-aware. So when they’re finally laying there, fully spent, she’s gonna say “I’m bi,” and Walky’s gonna hit her with “I know.”

      1. John Campbell

        I mean, that’s what happened last time. Dorothy just didn’t understand the conversation.

        1. V

          oh lol on the next page she promised to stop talking about joyce in the afterglow. we’ll see if she can stick to that under the circumstances

        2. Wilde

          It’s hilarious to think there have been people in the comments militantly insisting there have never been any indications that Dorothy is not strictly het, and they refuse to believe it until they see it, after series of comics like that one happened.

        3. Li

          Willis really laid it all out on Patreon. Retroactively very affirming to be told by Word of God that those very gay strips were in fact intended to be very gay.

        4. Tux Time

          I am too aroace for this shit apparently. While I obviously picked up the latest stuff, half those previous strips just went over my head as regular friend stuff. Friend stuff I’ve done personally without an iota of horniness/sexual/romantic attraction.

          But then again, I will literally think every character in any given media is aroace and single (and single by choice for that matter) unless said media clearly and directly states otherwise.

          Otherwise I will never (not once) see a character experience attraction. And it sucks cos I love seeing the strip become queerer!

          Clearly, this means that M. Willis needs to add an extra section of the alt text to inform me, personally, the current state of appearing characters’ attraction and relationships. I suggest a tripartite score ranging from 1-10 marking sexual attraction, romantic attraction, and current libido level. (Joking, of course.)

          I almost wish I wasn’t joking about that. I’m really that that much of a lost cause when it comes to allo attraction.

          My allo cousin once had to have a 30 min conversation to (very patiently) convince me that when allo people “joke” about wanting to bed some random celebrity… it isn’t actually a joke and they are being 100% serious.

        5. Li

          For the record, I am absolutely like this when it comes to ships between straight characters, especially if their dynamic is kinda belligerent. I really have to be told it’s a thing before I can see it.

          (I’m also very ace, but more gray-ace/demi.)

        6. Thag Simmons

          Sad thing is it’s going to happen again with Joyce in a few years and none of them will have learned a thing

      2. Envy

        “I think I’m bi and I might have a crush on Joyce”
        “Wait, you *might*? You didn’t know that already??”

        1. mindbleach

          Almost wrote it as “I’m bi” met with “No shit.”

    3. Steamweed

      Nah. Not at all. In no way. Nope.

  10. Doopyboop

    Dorothy: YOU CAN’T CATCH ME, GAY THOUGHTS!!! I’M GONNA HAVE SEX WITH MY BOYFRIEND AND THEN DURING PILLOW TALK I’LL BRING UP JOYCE AGAIN–FUCK

    1. Rose by Any other Name

      Dorothy: “Run and run as fast as you can.
      You’ve never catch me! I’m Dorothy-who-is-definitely-straight!”

      Gingy: “Hey! That didn’t even rhyme!”

    2. Freezer

      Freud: All up in your thoughts, yo!

    3. Schpoonman

      And now we know why Dorothy excelled in track.

  11. James

    Dorothy definitely handling the potential realizations very well. Amazingly healthy.

  12. Jo_cubstar

    …uhhh, he shouldn’t be showing those to Joyce, without having checked with Dorothy ?

    1. Raven

      Good thing he didn’t show Joyce the selfies, then, isn’t it?

    2. Thag Simmons

      I mean they were already sent to her first.

      1. Thag Simmons

        This is a worse defense than the correct response, which is that he didn’t, but I think it’s funnier so it’s what I’m going with

        1. Steamweed

          It is, in fact, funnier. But probably Walky got a more, er, intense series of pix.

    3. Justnobodyfqwl

      This is why this comment section is awesome. The understanding of the comic is so low and the need to morally judge is so high, they sometimes strike a perfect supernova fusion into Imagining Guys To Get Mad At.

      1. Taffy

        I can’t believe Walky is in the auditorium and he’s got his phone hooked up to the projector and it’s displaying Dorothy’s selfies for anyone to see and Walky and Joyce are linking arms and masturbating in public while Joe eagerly sells tickets at the door.

        1. Yumi

          It’s chill, Walky asked about it in group chat that everyone in the cast uses and Dorothy replied with a thumbs up. Did you miss that strip?

        2. Tessea

          But where are Jennifer and Ruth during all this??

    4. Nymph

      Right. And he didn’t. So…?

  13. mindbleach

    Joyce, she tried.

    1. mindbleach

      And succeeded!

  14. Suet

    10 selfies? MEGA OVERDRIVE

    I’d side-eye too, but considering the recent events… nah

  15. Morhek

    “Hah, Walky, amirite?”

    “…are you talking to me Bi-Jennifer?”

    1. PedanticJerkass

      I’m not sure what’s funnier, reading that as I initially did as “Bi(sexual)-Jennifer,” or reading it as what I took too many few seconds to realize you probably meant, “Bi(llie)-Jennifer.”

      1. PedanticJerkass

        *-few

        (Initially typed “a few seconds,” then changed it to “too many seconds,” without removing the “few” for some reason.)

        1. Morhek

          You could even have gone with “a few too many” 😛

  16. Rebecca

    Brilliant! Dorothy’s desire to avoid acknowledging her new developments at any cost removes Walky, freeing up Joyce to have lunch with Jennifer! Brilliantly tightly plotted, Willis!

    1. Justnobodyfqwl

      This is the kind of Willis plotting shit I absolutely love. Tight as hell

      1. Thomas

        Who’s tight? She succesfully gave up drinking!

  17. Joe Moose

    Joyce is not getting ANY of her sexy selfies, huh? XD

  18. Steamweed

    Dorothy: I’m totally not bi or gay or queer! I’m straight! SO straight! I will now send my boyfriend a dozen pix of me in various undressing poses!

    I’m wondering if she left Amber’s dormroom, or if she just started selfie-ing right off.

    1. Schpoonman

      She was in her own room last we saw her. Joe just visited her.

      1. Steamweed

        No, I mean afterward. After she got shoved out by Becky due to a rad chick emergency. She ended up in Amber / A-G’s room.

        See here:
        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/book-15/03-me-and-who-you-say-i-was-yesterday/radchickemergency/

        1. PedanticJerkass

          In other words, no, she was not in her own room last we saw her.

        2. Schpoonman

          Oh, I forgot about that.

    2. John Campbell

      I’m just wondering if they’re actually selfies, or if Amber and/or AG are helping again.

      And, I mean, Dorothy’s own room is currently occupied by Terrible Lizbians handling their own sexuality freakout, so I’m kind of wondering what Walky might be walkying in on here…

    3. justin8448

      A woman on a mission.

    4. Envy

      The boring answer is that she’s probably just taking the pics in the half-bath

      1. Mark

        “Woops, carry on you two. I’m just going to, uh, wash up a bit.” [tuneless whistling, rapid steps. Bath door shuts.]

  19. AntJ

    plot twist: they’re Joyce’s pics and Dorothy sent them to Walky by mistake instead of Joe

    1. DailyBrad

      I think he’d notice the difference. Joyce is curvier than Dorothy and lacks the freckles.

      1. JA

        Tbh seeing boobs wipes a person’s abilities to notice small details for a short time.

        1. Taffy

          Maybe for you, rookie.

        2. DailyBrad

          The avatar really seals this response.

      2. Rose by Any other Name

        … I think AntJ meant pics FOR Joyce.
        And I made a joke of that content above.
        IE: that Dorothy has so consistently messed up sending her texts to the correct person that this deluge of texts on Walky’s phone was actually meant for Joyce’s phone as part of a confession rather than the denial we seem to be getting.

        1. Nymph

          Dorothy hasn’t messed up and sent her pics to the wrong person at all though? She intentionally sent a pic to Joyce after Joyce messed up and sent two pics to Dorothy by mistake.

        2. Yumi

          This is a different joke. Dorothy was going to forward Joyce’s pictures to Joe. Here AntJ suggests that she instead sent them to Walky– that’s how the “instead of Joe” part of their comment fits in.

    2. Yumi

      Joyce’s pictures weren’t really that sexy. Amber could help her with that.

      1. Steamweed

        Amber is gonna have to host a group workshop for them.

        1. Nymph

          Or at least write an amazing story about Batman helping the Justice League take effective nudes.

        2. Steamweed

          I’m guessing good odds that AO3 already has that.

    3. John Campbell

      If they were Joyce’s, I think the reaction would be more like:

      Walky: *squints at phone* *zooms in* *zooms out* *tilts head* *shows screen to Joyce* “These are boobs, right?”

      Joyce: *JOYCE FACE*

    4. Li

      This was honestly my first thought (with an “oh no” attached), until Walky started getting mega flustered over them.

      We love you Joyce, but those photos were not competent enough to rev the motor of anyone who isn’t very into Joyces.

      1. Taffy

        The booby one is honestly pretty good.

        1. Li

          Yes, that one is pretty good, but wouldn’t by itself constitute a flood, and also seems to include her face. ?

  20. DailyBrad

    I wonder if these are newly taken by Dorothy out of guilt. I mean, she tried few boob shots before she sent the one she did to Joyce, but I dunno if it’s just those she’s repurposing.

    1. Sporky

      There’s nothing to wonder about. That is one hundred percent what she’s done.

    2. GholaHalleck

      It’s not guilt, its cover. She’s pulling Walky by the testes to prove she’s actually straight and doesn’t want to be crushed by AG’s thighs.

      Or, she’s going to pound all the sexual frustration out on him because he’s her monogamous sexual partner.

      Or, in true bisexual fashion, its both.

      1. Rose by Any other Name

        Yup. Can attest.
        Back in college, after a girl I really liked and who seemed into me turned out to be straight when I finally worked up the nerve to ask her out, I ended up accepting a date from literally the next guy who asked me. He was a nice person, like genuinely, not a “nice guy TM”, but I was not in the market for nice.
        He wanted to take things slow and romance me.
        I, meanwhile, wanted him to bang me until I stopped feeling sad about the girl I liked.

        The point being, I feel like Dorothy might be in a similar place where she is going to try to bang Walky until her Joyce feelings go away. And, likely, find it just as untenable.

    3. annamal

      Yeah I’m leaning guilt as well.
      Dorothy is in denial as well but guilt is big with her.

    4. SillyGoose

      My theory is “well plyed, Dorothy! Now you’ve got plausible deniability”. Sent Joyce the pic by mistake of course, it was meant for Walky!

      1. Li

        Oh, that’s a fair point actually.

        She would have to put her shirt from yesterday back on for it to be convincing, and I don’t think she’s actually thinking clearly enough for it, but it’s otherwise a very Dorothy-like move.

        1. Thag Simmons

          She could also just say she didn’t realize they got sent to Joyce until today, an extremely viable defense because Joyce mistakenly sent her pics and still hasn’t realized it

  21. Davus

    Why does Joyce want to see them? This is interesting.

    1. Steamweed

      Possibly because she has, in fact, seen the earlier Dorothy-lewds.

      1. GholaHalleck

        Or wants to compare to make sure someone didn’t hijack dotty’s phone and is sending her nudes to everyone on her friendslist. Platonically. Like a pal would.

        1. Steamweed

          Such a good friend!

      2. Gizen

        Most likely instinctive FOMO. “What? My best friend just sent something semi-meaningful to someone who is not me? How come? I wanna see it too!”

        1. Buli-Buli

          Agreed. That felt more like a knee-jerk “pics or it didn’t happen” statement.

        2. Li

          What tips the scales for me personally is how she made a (weak but still rather loud) attempt to get Walky not to leave.

          We know it’s not because she enjoys Walky’s company, and until this moment I really did think that having a boyfriend (specifically Joe) had mellowed her out of her platonic(?) jealousy, because she and Dorothy seemed equally excited by the prospect of double dates.

          But, of course, the key word there is “equally”. And we now know Dorothy’s feelings, however repressed, were more complicated in that scene. So…

          Anyway, I might be totally wrong, but I don’t know that I’d be calling anything “most” likely right now, personally.

          I also doubt we’ll know for sure anytime soon, though, since Willis has said that Joyce/Dorothy ship-teasing is one of their favorite things about this comic.

  22. Schpoonman

    Sorry, Dot, this just reasserts your bisexuality. Your attraction to sculpted caramel doesn’t undo your attraction to half-gallons of milk.

    1. Steamweed

      Why, yes, Joyce _does_ have nice jugs. But why would Dorothy be attracted to those things that Carla made?

      1. Schpoonman

        Carla is great and all others are bugs. Why wouldn’t Dorothy be attracted to them?

        1. Steamweed

          *rubs chin
          Yes, this is a fair point.

      2. GholaHalleck

        Dotty always did seem like someone who would be into feet…

    2. Envy

      For some reason this made me realize I wanna see Dorothy accidentally walk in on Sal in a state of undress and have a full on melt down.

      1. Schpoonman

        She reads Danny’s and Sal’s Slipshine and freezes in place for eight hours afterward. They have to pick her up and move her like a cardboard cutout, like Pim at the end of the first episode of Smiling Friends.

  23. peng

    feels like some kind of circle is closing on this joe-joyce-dorothy-walky thing

    1. GholaHalleck

      Joe frantically doing a library dive to find a less racist term then “Eskimo bros”

      Tears streaming down his cheeks because he can’t find anything since asking for help would put him on The List again.

      1. Yumi

        Laughing to myself because this fake dialog Willis shared tonight suggests Walky could have helped him easily: https://bsky.app/profile/damnyouwillis.bsky.social/post/3lk5ltrbwn224

        1. Steamweed

          “Bone Bros!”

        2. peng

          dear god… this joe-joyce-dorothy-walky-amber-danny-joe thing… Sal is disgusted

    2. AK

      I’m remembering the excitement of Joyce and Dorothy at the concept of being able to do double dates now they both have partners, which… Even at the time I thought about the fact that no such statements had been made to Becky and Dina, but in light of the direction this is going it certainly kinda seems like something.

  24. Sirksome

    Just saying. Walky’s not the worst guy a potential bi could be dating. We’ve firmly established to his own chagrin that he shares some very appealing traits with his sister. He also gives off a kind of submissive vibe so Dorothy could really work out a few things with him.

    1. Jeremiah

      I don’t know why but that last part felt kind of icky.

      1. Sirksome

        I don’t know why you’d assume that either. Maybe analyze that yourself. “Work out a few things” can mean literally anything. Which is the point. Dorothy working with her boyfriend to discover her potential sexual epiphanies seems appropriate to me.

        1. esolo

          tl;dr: I think the thing that feels off here boils down to “okay, Walky maybe gives off submissive vibes, but why does that *matter* in this context?”

          Longer version:

          First of all, I agree with you that Walky kinda gives of subby vibes. But, I’m not sure what that has to do with Dorothy being able to “work out a few things with him,” which is why I think the way you phrased that feels a little…off.

          Connecting the two like that kiiiiiiiiiiiinda reads as one of: “Walky is subby, so he either won’t care or would be into it if Dorothy also wants to do stuff with Joyce”; or “Walky is subby, so if Dorothy also wants to do stuff with Joyce she could probably ‘talk him into’ being okay with it.” But of course, not all submissive people are going to be okay with their partner exploring with other people, and plenty of non-submissive people *would* be okay with that.

          Obviously there’s a bunch of other possible readings as well, but connecting Walky’s potential submissiveness to Dorothy maybe being able to work it out with him implies that she *wouldn’t* be able to do that if he weren’t submissive. And *that* circles back to those possibly uncharitable, but definitely kind of off-feeling readings.

        2. Doopyboop

          It also reads to me like “Walky’s submissive, so that basically makes him like a woman or something and she can work out her feelings for women through him” which is. A thing. And would be where I’d assume the ‘Dorothy working through being bi’ part comes in. Again, just my reading on it and I could 100% be wrong!

        3. Sirksome

          I give up honestly. I don’t know how I could have phrased this one better. I wasn’t trying to imply much of anything beyond Walky being a very chill dude that’s okay letting his girl talk about other women in bed without getting upset and that it’s good for Dorothy to have a partner like that during a phase of possible bi discovery, especially since he has feminine and potentially bi leaning traits himself. But typing all that is a lot. I was trying to condense it a bit.

        4. Yumi

          Replace “kind of submissive” with “very chill,” and you would have been fine.

        5. Sirksome

          I don’t know. Sometimes it feels like it’s very easy to make the most uncharitable read possible as the default intent. I fall into that pit trap online all the time and often have to check myself if the person actually meant what I’m reading as their intent or not. I’ll keep trying. That’s all I can do at this point.

        6. Li

          Internet hug?

          I think we are all also kind of tense right now.

        7. Jeremiah

          I don’t know what to tell you, the use of the word “submissive” specifically just read weird. Like Yumi said, just putting “very chill” would been clear of what you mean without the strange connotation, just something to remenber for the future.

        8. Doopyboop

          I get it, sometimes it’s hard to get everything out and others will not understand what you’re attempting to say. I can say for my part, it wasn’t my intention to intentionally misread anything you wrote or make you feel terrible for your comment. I honestly have to admit that sometimes I’ll leave a comment and be left feeling like garbage for no reason only to still come back and leave another comment anyway. I hope the rest of your night goes by better and sorry for the misunderstanding.

        9. Li

          Internet hugs here too, if wanted.

        10. Mark

          I got it. Walky isn’t going to instantly go ballistic; they’d have time to discuss and learn each other’s thoughts without breaking anything.

        11. Taffy

          This isn’t so much reading between the lines as it’s shoving the lines further apart with construction equipment and setting up a boba stall that only sells Fart-Chan’s Chicken Broth & Raisin Flavor™ tea with popping boba.

        12. Sirksome

          I’m sorry I failed you yet again, Taffy.

        13. Taffy

          I was responding to esolo, but I’ll accept the apology anyway, on the grounds that you never do it again.

        14. Yumi

          Yeah, this helped clarify for me what felt off in your original comment (basically what esolo said).

  25. darkoneko

    booty calllll

  26. Pocky

    some people can’t handle being bi/pan/etc.

    just have your cakes and eat it people.

    1. BarerMender

      Right? The first time I realized I could swing both ways and LIKE it, I walked around for days thinking, “Oh, God, I’m queer. Oh, God, I’ m queer.” Which everyone but me had known since, like, junior high school.

      1. Theluxland

        I mean, when I told my ex I was gay, she was like ”Okay but dude, you’re like, the last person to know. We’ve all figured out before you.”

        1. Yumi

          One time a friend of mine spent a decent amount of time flirting with this woman (a friend of a friend) at a party, before she mentioned she was engaged. He was frustrated with this as he felt he had clearly been flirting and it could have come up sooner. When he stepped away from my friend and I after sharing this, she was like, “You know what probably happened?” Me: “She thought he was gay, didn’t she?”

          He actually ended up realizing he was bi (with a preference toward men) and last I saw is living with his husband in France.

    2. Li

      Depressingly, it’s often more like not being allowed to eat either cake.

      On tumblr I called it #kthanksbi — the common experience of being ghosted on a dating app after a straight or gay match realizes you’re bisexual.

  27. Gizen

    …So what’s the over/under on a very brain-scrambled Dorothy saying someone else’s name during an intimate moment with Walky?

    1. Doopyboop

      I’m thinking 75% chance she says Joyce’s name during.

      1. Li

        A slight but meaningful escalation, lmao.

      2. BarerMender

        Or Amber’s. Or Dina’s. Or, God help us all, Becky’s. And what if Dorothy talked this over with Becky? Would B. drop Dina like a hot rock?

        1. BarerMender

          Wait, I got Dorothy and Joyce confused there for a second. Why would D. discuss this with B?

  28. Jess

    Joyce’s pose in the last panel is making me giggle. she’s so /||\

  29. SvenTS

    Ah the overcompensation of guilt….

  30. Opus the Poet

    Dorothy fat fingering her contacts again? Joe on one line, Joyce right below, and Walky beside that? Or did she decide to send sexy selfies to her boyfriend after hitting everybody else?

    1. BarerMender

      Whoa. My bring stopped at “Dorothy fat fingering.” Oh, the pictures.

      1. BarerMender

        *brain*

    2. Nymph

      Again? Dorothy intentionally sent a boob shot to Joyce. Joyce is the one who accidentally sent a nude to Dotty.

  31. Warmth

    Wallflower Jen is so good!

  32. Freezer

    Impending death by Gay Panic Snu-Snu.

    1. BarerMender

      >D You win the thread.

  33. IntangibleMatter

    This is the opposite of the usual type of gay panic I’m familiar with.

  34. Li

    — Well, if this IS a desperate bid to assert heterosexuality in the face of a new bi awakening, it wouldn’t be the first ’round these parts.

    — …Yeah, I’m with everyone else asking Joyce why she wanted to see them.

    There ARE explanations for that, but I think there are vanishingly few heterosexual ones.

    1. Yumi

      She just wants to see if it qualifies as a flood of them! She has strong opinions about floods!

      1. Li

        Oh, of course! My mistake!

    2. Steamweed

      Man. That was just over 10 years ago (our time). Such simpler times; I miss them.

      1. Li

        Y e a h .

    3. Masumi

      She just wanted to know how Dorothy takes them, to learn her techniques. Purely scientific curiosity. :3

      1. Li

        Of course! The most obvious explanation!

    4. Mturtle7

      Ah, so it’s an explanation you want, is it? WELL, it’s quite simple, actually!

      You see, Joyce has long considered Walky to be a bozo who is far below Dorothy’s station . By demanding to see the phone with sexy selfies on it, she thereby prevents Walky from looking at any more of said sexy selfies. And furthermore, because it’s Joyce recieving them, they are obviously no longer sexy selfies, but merely IRONIC selfies, sent between platonic gal pals!

      Joyce is just trying to do her part to reduce the terrible, horrible, salaciousness of the situation, and it’s all of you who are just projecting your horniness onto her! CASE CLOSED.

      1. Li

        I laughed, well-done.

  35. Risky

    It’s not uncommon your bisexual girlfriend to text and say “help I’m surrounded by boobs come pick me up so I can throw you to my bed, put my phone on your happy trail, and flick my eyes from your expression to your pecs to the pictures I took of these ladies while I ride you off into the sunset. If it helps inspire you I have permission to share the pics with you.” At least, in college it’s not uncommon.

    1. Risky

      Fer

    2. Steamweed

      That’s a highly specific scenario there, my esteemed colleague. I did not encounter such events in my college years. (at least not that particular script)

  36. Bryy

    It has begun.

  37. TheCozburger

    Welp…I guess she hasn’t seen ’em, yet…

  38. Rabisch

    Let me see… Oh, Joyce!

  39. Francoinblanco

    so much moral superiority towards Joe, when at the same time she practically used “you, sex, now” like three times in the comic
    and once again Walky is a walking valve to let off steam

    1. Nobby Nobbs

      She had to go through puberty with a commentary track by Joe. IMO the moral superiority coupon granted by that alone isn’t invalidated by… uhhhh… having sex with her boyfriend who likes having sex with her? One of these things is not like the other.

    2. Sere

      Or she felt guilty over the texting Joyce thing and wanted to reaffirm allegiance to bf.

  40. Stephen Nedland

    This seems like Dorothy is overcompensating here; instead of examining her feelings towards Joyce, she’ll hypersexualize herself to Walky. She can’t possibly have any romantic feelings towards any woman, let alone Joyce, because look at all this D she’s putting in her.

    1. Nymph

      Alternatively, realizing she’s bi and surrounded by hot women made her horny and she’s going to gift that horniness to her monogamous partner?

      1. Taffy

        Wouldn’t be the first time Amazi-Girl exercising kick-starts a Dorothy/Walky fuckfest.

        1. Li

          Retroactively establishing that feelings about Amazi-Girl were part of what got Dorothy going in that sequence would make sense.

          I mean, we already knew they were, as you are kinda-joking-but-kinda-not pointing out — the exhilaration of the chase was definitely a factor! But it wouldn’t be at all a stretch to say she was feeling more than one kind of excitement there.

        2. Taffy

          If a person can watch somebody zipline along a telephone wire and land on a moving cargo vehicle without feeling some kinda way about it, I legally have no choice but to assume they’re fully asexual, under United States law.

        3. Li

          AABL — assigned ace by law.

  41. Deanatay

    Walky: Wait, why is one of them BJenny’s?

    Joyce: Wha? How can you tell?

    W: I’ve known her for years, the skin tone (no freckles) and size match… those are defs Billifers’!

    BJ: I can confirm, those are mine.

    Walky and Joyce in unison: WAAGH!! WHEN DID YOU GET HERE??

    1. Steamweed

      “My gods, she’s learned the Dina power!”

  42. Dave

    Can’t wait for Dorothy to ask Walky to borrow some of his sister’s clothes for some presentation play to both parallel what Becky and Dina are currently doing and to serve as this universe’s equivalent of the Canadian Anomaly

    We can call it “Walky Performs a Forced Fem”

  43. AnonGrouch

    COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE

  44. AnonGrouch

    God damn Dorothy

  45. Kyulen

    Dorothy is definitely reacting to the idea that she might be bi in a very reasonable way.

  46. DashWallkick

    We call this move Dorothy’s doing “Assert heterosexuality” and it almost never fails unless it doesn’t.

  47. Wilde

    Tbh kinda surprised that Dorothy is the cast member in hard denial of bisexuality given a liberal, atheist upbringing. I mean there’s still time for Joyce, but I kind of feel like Dorothy being given so much time on-screen to experience the denial arc means that Joyce is either going to be hetero and oblivious, or she’ll just suddenly and easily accept her queerness without fuss – which would be especially wild given the fundie, homophobic, sin-wielding upbringing.

    But who knows, maybe her bi confusion arc could look different enough from Dot’s that it can still be an interesting exploration worth doing! I only really know my own bi-denial experiences as reference

    1. Florence

      I think if Joyce has an arc centred around being bi, it’ll be the rest of the cast reacting, especially Becky

    2. John Campbell

      I’m just imagining a 30-year-old Joyce suddenly sitting bolt upright in bed in the middle of the night, exclaiming, “Oh my god, am I bi?”

      “Yes honey,” Joe says.

      “Go back to sleep, dear,” Dorothy says, on her other side.

      1. Li

        That is a very cute mental image.

    3. Li

      This is how I’ve long felt about “Dorothy confesses her feelings to Joyce, who rejects her because she’s straight”, because it feels too similar to Becky’s coming out arc.

      Clearly Willis feels like something about this will be different enough from either your or my prediction, heh. We’ll just have to see what it is.

    4. Li

      Actually, addendum to my previous point:

      Feeling like Joyce coming to terms with being bi would be too much of a repeat of Dorothy doing the same thing? Is kind of like feeling like Dorothy coming to terms with being autistic would be repetitive, since Joyce already did it.

      I mean, yes, Joyce got to do it first, and part of your point is that she’s the main character (mostly), so it makes sense to give her the splashier reaction.

      But I think it’s still illustrative, because Dorothy and Joyce both read strongly as autistic but in quite different ways, and they’ve both had a somewhat negative reaction to the idea of being autistic, but in quite different ways.

      I think Joyce’s hypothetical coming out would be like that: quite different from Dorothy’s, even if a couple of the notes overlap.

    5. DashWallkick

      Narratively speaking (he said, with a pause to make sure no one misreads what I’m about to say), I think Joyce should remain straight for the forseeable future just because I don’t really want the “oh god is my sexuality more complicated than I thought” arc a third time. Danny’s was great, then Dorothy was less about “I don’t know what this means” and more about “I know exactly what this means but I do not want to think about altering my self perception even further.” I really dunno where a third arc could go that wouldn’t come off like a retread or, as you said, unremarked upon. And TBH unremarked upon and normalized would be a bit weird for Joyce, who is neurotic to a fault, unless it was a quick punchline like the arc with Carla and Charlie.

      1. FireprincessLily

        You’re right, clearly we’ve covered TWO whole Bi stories. And Bi means two so there couldn’t possibly be any more!

        1. DashWallkick

          I honestly only have myself to blame for saying “maybe the character should remain straight for story reasons” and expecting people to give me good faith in the comments section, really.

      2. Li

        Honestly, I… think you might have something to unpack there.

        I know you mean it neutrally, but you are still treating “straight” as a neutral character trait, a “default” character trait, from which “bi” is a deviation that must be narratively justified.

        1. thejeff

          Maybe, but I’m not sure they are. I read it as more about the arc than about the trait itself. Like a character who was just openly bi from the start wouldn’t figure in here (do we actually have one of those? I guess Ruth came out without much fuss about it, since there were enough other problems for her to deal with.)

          And we’ve actually got more than that already: There’s Jennifer’s “I’m straight, but openly attracted to women like everyone is” thing. Walky’s “I’m going to joke about blowing dudes for pizza and comment on the hot guys” thing.

        2. Li

          Danny’s was great, then Dorothy was less about “I don’t know what this means” and more about “I know exactly what this means but I do not want to think about altering my self perception even further.” I really dunno where a third arc could go that wouldn’t come off like a retread or, as you said, unremarked upon.

          If Danny’s coming-out story was “great”, what does that make Dorothy’s coming-out story? Is the word, perhaps, “acceptable”, given that a third character coming out would have to be either too repetitive, or glossed-over?

          Also, like, Danny came out ten years ago. Two characters having a similar storyline within a ten year period is honestly not a whole lot.

          (As for discounting Jennifer, Ruth, or Walky — you’ll have to take that up with someone else, I’m not the one who said this would be the “third” story about coming out.) (Although, admittedly, while I will certainly welcome Walky into the “bi” tent for some of his dialogue choices, especially wrt Asher, I don’t think I’d count his comments so far as a coming-out story.)

        3. thejeff

          Not so far, but then a few months back, neither did Dorothy’s.

          Yeah. I don’t have a problem with it. Mostly my point was just that there’s a difference between “bi” as a character trait and “coming out as bi” as a story arc.

        4. Li

          Yeah, but I wouldn’t have counted Dorothy’s arc as a coming out story until very recently either. 😉

          I agree with this, I just also think that when Willis started the comic 95% of the characters had been presumed straight in their previous incarnation, so it just… kinda makes sense that we keep getting stories like this whenever they decide that they’d rather tell a different kind of story with one of their characters.

        5. John Campbell

          Robin’s, “I’m going to burn down my political career by openly stalking my girl-crush”. And that was even after we’d already gotten one (admittedly completely different) “Robin comes to terms with her sexuality” plot over in Shortpacked!.

        6. Li

          Man, I am really glad we have Robin where she currently is right now, and another “bravo” on storytelling, because I think Willis has talked before about how Robin’s introduction was quickly SUPER problematic after Trump stopped being funny.

          There was a big swerve to get her where she is now as a teacher instead, and it was well-done and a relief, and she’s much more enjoyable now.

        7. DashWallkick

          I even made a point of saying “For the purposes of story” and people are acting like it’s some kind of biphobia for me to look at this and go, I dunno how this would unravel unless it’s just a retread of stuff we’ve done before. Comments section going to comments section.

        8. Li

          I mean.

          I didn’t call you biphobic. Nor did FireprincessLily.

          I said you might have some things to unpack there, and that’s what I meant.

          Unconscious biases are a thing. They exist even in people who are themselves a part of the group affected by said biases. Internalized, unconscious biases. I’ve had to unpack a few myself!

          But also? Being real with you?

          “I just have a problem with this for story reasons” is actually a very common disclaimer from bigots who know they’re bigots and aren’t ashamed of being bigots, but are savvy enough to know that directly admitting to not wanting another bi character because they hate bi people would, say, get their comment flagged and deleted.

          I took you at your word that you meant your disclaimer sincerely and not as a fig leaf, but like. Just so you know. People who doubt the sincerity of those particular words have very good reason for doing so.

  48. Yumi

    @Lexi, if you see it:
    I think you might be confusing some of Malaya’s gender comments with Dina’s? But translating the sentiment into how Dina might say it. https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/02-but-the-sun-still-shines/overwhelmingly/

    At the time, I didn’t take this to be Malaya as nonbinary (though I’m happy they are) because it’s pretty much how I’ve heard a lot if cis people describe their gender, very body-based. (And at at least one point, not even saying something, just gesturing to her body.)

    I think that kind of parallels what you were saying about people relying on things that are more about gender roles to explain trans identities. The shared takeaway is that gender is often hard to describe, so people often turn to tangible aspects that they’ve associated with gender.

    1. Li

      Also @Lexi: “no one seems to really be able to define what it means to be (or not be) a woman”

      I do hope you’re including the so-called gender criticals here when you say this, because none of their allegedly “simple” definitions actually work, either. Thanks to one of those “simple” definitions, Trump’s executive order actually assigned us all neuter, after all. If women “at conception produce the large gamete”, then none of us are women.

  49. Astariel

    I love that Joyce’s immediate reaction to sexy Dorothy selfies is “Let me see!”

    Also, for someone who seems to dislike Walky so much, she seems pretty upset about not having lunch with him.

    1. Li

      It’s alllllllmost like… she might have another reason for trying to convince Walky not to go to Dorothy rn? ? We’ll get to the bottom of this! Our top men are looking into it.

    2. Mark

      Ugh, I have at last missed the Reply link and hit Report. Nothing to report, sorry.

      Now. Joyce’s upset is easily explained, if she’s like me. “The plan was lunch next. We agreed. Do not change the plan!”

      1. Li

        Counterpoint: Joyce didn’t mind Sarah splitting off to spend time with Tony.

        I think she GENERALLY makes exceptions to her displeasure about altered plans for couples.

        1. thejeff

          Though that was earlier with them walking to class and there were plenty of others around. Now it’s lunch and there’s no one else there but the still unacknowledged Jennifer.

        2. Li

          Right, but are we assuming they aren’t on their way to meet up with more friends? At the very least, I assumed Joe was gonna meet up with them shortly.

      2. Li

        Like, fair point well made, but my brain DID have an immediate counterargument!

  50. Leadsynth

    I love when eyebrows float up over your head!

  51. Enaluxeme

    What’s the chance Dorothy and Walky open their relationship and end up becoming unicorn hunters?

  52. Mr.Morningstar

    So, have they just not registered that’s Jennifer or what, because last I checked both Walky and Joyce still try to talk to her when she’s around.

    1. Mark

      They were deep in an argument, and then suddenly Walky was 100% distracted. Joyce is busy adjusting to that and may notice Jennifer in a moment. Or Jen may speak.

  53. thumb

    There’s an alternate reality where Walky does show Joyce Dorothy’s sexy pics and…
    Well Dotty wouldn’t approve, but she would like.

  54. Plaaaaaa

    Walky’s having pie for lunch.

  55. Amós Batista

    Walky is the most difficult character to understand, mainly when he’s horny/drunk/angry…

    1. Li

      I don’t think I’ve commented on this in a good long while (probably last when Walky and Lucy were having trouble), but I agree.

      I don’t mean it as a criticism of the writing, either — I think it’s a deliberate, in-universe trait. I think you can tell that a lot of Walky’s FRIENDS also have trouble reading him. Lucy’s inability to read him is part of what led to their miscommunication, for example, and Dorothy’s inability to read him is what led to her trying to kiss him right after he said that he thought he and Lucy had “probably” broken up.

      A LOT of the characters who have gotten deeper insight into Walky’s emotional state at various points in the strip have also lucked into it by happening to be present when something undeniable happened, like Joyce witnessing Walky’s concern for Billie after her last meeting with Alice, or Amber being in a similarly low emotional state (and dressed as Amazi-Girl) when Walky met her on the rooftop.

      (Both of those incidents also, I think, hinge on the characters in question not being people Walky is super attached to at the time of the reveal; he’s a lot cagier with folks when he’s worried about their opinions of him, which… obviously leads to problems for him in his romantic life.)

      The only characters who I feel like have ever really “gotten” Walky without being super lucky are Mike (caveat and a half, there, seeing as he’s both dead and only used his powers for evil anyway), and Billie/Jennifer (who is often too caught up in her own problems to be much of a shoulder for him, and has since the timeskip been trying hard to distance herself from him).

      And maybe I shouldn’t count Billie/Jennifer either, since growing up as Walky’s pseudo sibling is also a kind of luck.

      (I think the years apart, as well as their golden child vs scapegoat dynamic, have done a number on SAL’S ability to “get” Walky, but she’s also a candidate.)

      …hmm, this is definitely ONE way in which Booster is filling Mike’s shoes, isn’t it? That same ability to read Walky, but without the overt malevolent intent lol.

      1. thejeff

        The basic pattern is true of a lot of characters here, in different ways. Many have defensive personas that cover up what’s going on underneath most of the time.
        Becky’s always happy and open about everything. Couldn’t possibly keep a secret. Carla’s just an asshole. Jennifer’s massive ego.

        1. Li

          Very true.

  56. CianM1301

    Duty calls, Walky! Also booty.

  57. Deanatay

    Willis just noticed he’s about to lap himself.

  58. Heavensrun

    Question is, is this Dotty trying to reinforce her heterosexuality by seducing Walky as fast as possible, or is this Dotty trying to create cover for the image she sent to Joyce, so she can claim she sent it by accident? Or is it both things?

  59. Zamperla

    I can’t tell if this is terror cover for Sudden Realizations, or her getting hornt the hell up from AmaziGirl encounters. Or maybe both.

    Also: “Let me see” a totally normal and heterosexual thing to say about your girl best friends horny pictures, sent to her boyfriend.

  60. Reltzik

    Sorry, Joyce. Walky decided to eat out for lunch.

    1. Li

      One Internet to you!

  61. Jason Ell

    Jennifer’s gonna do something terrible, isn’t she.

  62. Ilthit

    This is extremely recognizable bi panic behavior. I’ve seen it happen, people double down on their straightness to protect themselves from confusion.

    I remember going back and forth between whether I was “really” gay or “really” straight before I realized that being bi means you don’t have to worry about that stuff.

  63. Felian

    It’s so funny and tragic that Joyce doesn’t even realize that “asking to see sexy selfies your best friend sends her boyfriend” is not a normal straight thing to do…..

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