291

Locate
Posted on June 16, 2025 by David M Willis

291 thoughts on “Locate”

  1. Bootshivers

    The true measure of gals being pals

    1. anon

      joycelyn is gonna see them for like two seconds and be like “yeah i think you’re in love” while becky spontaenously combusts a mile away lol

      1. Annarchy

        Joycelyn could see this polycule of adorable devotion from miles away.

  2. Doctor_Who

    “Laundry’s over” is gonna show up as Julia Gray’s badass, pre-asskicking catchphrase, isn’t it.

    1. Matt

      I came here to do laundry and kick ass…and laundry’s over

      1. Erik

        +1

      2. Eyebrow

        +2

      3. Steamweed

        Willis, get on this! When’s the animated Julia Gray special coming out???

      4. Steamweed

        Joyce puts on Sal’s sunshades, immediately sees Mary as an alien.

        1. Dave the Inverted

          All of this.

      5. Kazuma Shouri

        +3

    2. Lee

      Next book title

    3. Risky

      It’s multifunctional. I like her looking around at a floor full of kicked-in asses and saying “Laundry’s over”.

      1. Delivery McGee

        And, ironically, after the epic ass-kicking, it’d be time to actually do laundry. Or just throw out the clothes covered in mostly other people’s blood and order a new outfit from Amazon, they’ll get stuff to you faster than doing laundry in a decent-sized city. (I remember when they tested that on a podcast based in Austin, TX back in the day when it was first available — the 1-hour delivery came up at the top of the 1.5-hour live show, they ordered paper towels or something, and then one of the backstage crew had to go out and open the gate for the delivery driver because the show was after normal business hours and the podcast crew were the only people there.)

  3. Bwsab

    D’aww!

    1. Clif

      And never let go.

  4. Rose by Any other Name

    Take My Revolution.

    1. Rose by Any other Name

      Huh.
      I tried to post a link to the song, but this site and I often don’t get along when it comes to posting links.

      1. Rose by Any other Name

        In case anyone cares, it was Rondo Revolution, the opening credits theme of Revolutionary Girl Utena.

        1. DJTsurugi

          sagiyoku kakkoyoku ikite yukou tatoe futari hanarebanare ni natte mo take my revolution

          hikarisasu garden te wo toriai chikaiatta nagusameatta mou koi wa nido to shinai yo tte

          sonna tsuyoi kessoku wa katachi wo kae ima ja konna ni takumashii watashitachi no life style everyday everytime

          hoho wo yoseatte utsuru shashin no egao ni sukoshi no sabishisa tsumekonde

          isagiyoku kakkoyoku ashita kara wa dare mo ga furimuku onna ni naru tatoe futari hanarebanare ni natte mo kokoro wa zutto issho ni

          ai wa okane dewa kaenai tte shitteiru kedo “I” de okane wa kaeru no? terebi de itteta mukandou mukanshin kiri ga nai ne wakai ko minna sou da to omowareru no wa feel so bad! doushiyou mo nai ja nai

          demo ne watashitachi tomodachi no koto nani yori taisetsu ni shiteru kitto otona yori mo

          yume wo mite namida shite kizutsuite mo genjitsu wa gamushara ni kurushi jibun no ibasho sonzai kachi wa nakusenai jibun wo mamoru tame ni

          I’ll go my way modorenai sorezore no michi wo erabu toki ga kuru mae ni konnani mo konnani mo taisetsuna omoide…toki hanatsu yo…

          Take my revolution ikite yukou genjitsu wa gamushara ni kurushi jibun no ibasho sonzai kachi wo mitsuketai kyou made no jibun wo

          isagiyoku nugisuteru hadaka ni naru juu wo mau bara no youni tatoe futari hanarebanare ni natte mo watashi wa sekai wo kaeru

        2. NGPZ

          *plays “Rondo Revolution” on hacked muzak*

          69th comment BTW XD

        3. Rose by Any other Name

          Thanks for the assist – both you and DJTsurugi.

      2. Rex Vivat

        I had no need for a link, I read it singing before I even got to the second comment.

        1. Rose by Any other Name

          Yeah, I literally can’t look at the last panel without hearing the last bars of the theme play in my head.

    2. Dante

      I see, a person of culture! :33c

    3. bibulb

      ?????
      LOVE. IT.

      (Also, “UTENA: HA! You fall before our mighty conjoined lesbian might!”)

  5. Nono

    I mean they could always send in Dina.

    1. Jamie

      It’s not clear whether or not Dina’s powers-based navigation is reliable yet.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Dina appears exactly where she intends to. It was Charlie’s chaotic influence that sent them to parts unknown.

    2. Steamweed

      Dina could already be in the middle of that protest. Totally unseen by protestors; unmonitored by data-collecting forces.

  6. DailyBrad

    This is some real Pylades/Orestes stuff, huh.

    1. Thag Simmons

      I respect any greek myth reference that’s enough of a deep cut that I don’t get the reference.

      1. Decidedly Orthogonal

        Same. Wikipedia: Pylades.

        He is mostly known for his relationship with his cousin Orestes, son of Agamemnon. he was raised with Pylades, and so considered him to be his closest friend. As an adult, Orestes returns to Mycenae/Argos to avenge the murder of Agamemnon. With the assistance of his friend Pylades, Orestes kills his mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. It is Pylades who convinces Orestes to follow through with his plan for revenge and carry out the murder.

      2. Exarch

        Orestes and Pylades nuts

        1. Taffy

          Goddamn it

  7. mindbleach

    “Real pants first?”

    “Eh.”

  8. Suet

    *slight nod*

    Something Something Dirty Laundry

    1. Suet

      “never letting you disappear over the horizon ever again”

      1. Adept

        Yes, that wasn’t great. Last time she ”disappeared over the horizon” going on a date with Joe.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Kick ’em when they’re up
      Kick ’em when they’re down

  9. NGPZ

    You got THE TOUCH.

    You got THE POWEEER

    TvT

  10. The 25th

    “A bit dramatic Dorothy, but I appreciate the support.”

    1. Nymph

      I mean, their lives are pretty dramatic. Kidnappings, murder attempts and murder successes including mob hits and super villains, suicide attempts, super heroes in their friend group, etcetcetc.

      Also sapphic relationships are just the best place for overly dramatic declarations of love and support.

      1. Steamweed

        Is it really an actual sapphic situation if it doesn’t have kidnapping, murder attempts and murder successes, mob hits, and super villains? Isn’t the phrase “be gay; do crimes”??

  11. Rocketboy1313

    Take my hand in yours, I’ll leave when I wanna.

  12. Doopyboop

    Joyce is a great sister.

  13. Pocky

    Jeez, can’t go putting something that saucy in the last panel!

  14. Joe Moose

    Moon Revenge by Peach Hips blares on hidden Bluetooth Speakers

  15. Matrix

    It’s just a little gay!
    Just a little tease. A little yuri

    1. Amós Batista

      again, again, again

  16. TheFungus

    PARALELLS!!!! I love how back during the first laundry session Dorothy held her hand out and Joyce meekly held it and here Joyce is completely and totally taking the lead and charge. It’s such a good reminder of what kind of a person Joyce really is…

    I’m gonna try something that might break be nice…

    *crosses fingers* HTML is a foreign entity to me please be nice…

    1. TheFungus

      ok wow that worked entirely different than i expected!!!! link is to The Touch by Stan Bush… We live and we learn…

  17. Opus the Poet

    I hope Mary gets on the wrong side of the skirmish line and gets her head busted and arrested for “resisting arrest” because she failed to follow instructions while unconscious as happened at Columbia.

    1. Laura

      No head-busting, please. These characters have seen quite enough busted heads for one lifetime, thank you very much.

      1. NGPZ

        yeah!

        if anything it’s her ASS that needs the whoopin! >:D

      2. Icalasari

        What if it happens after she gives up a chance to leave with Joyce, Jocelyne, and Dorothy, thus none of the cast see her busted up, then she makes a recovery and ends up far nicer and more humble because she just got a taste of what others go through, with the rest of the cast completely unaware of what happened to her?

        Except Booster because you just KNOW they are gonna snoop and find out

        1. Scolopendra

          Holding out hope for Mary to suffer severe head trauma and suddenly become a complex character again. Please Willis I am dying of lack of complex evil women.

      3. Charles Phipps

        I don’t think there’s any chance there will be no headbashing.

        We’re due for the next horrific crisis.

    2. mindbleach

      I’m down for Mary making a face turn for the traditional conservative reason, i.e., a bad thing happened to her, the protagonist of reality, so this specific problem is now real.

      1. Taffy

        Whatever puts someone on the right side of a problem, I suppose.

        1. Bemisawa

          Yeah, it’s not the most “noble” of reasons, but humans are messy like that. Kind of a beggars-can’t-be-choosers situation, I guess, where the beggars in question are, you know, humanity’s well-wishers. When things encourage positive growth, hey, that’s often:generally/at least partially a good thing. (I only qualify because I feel like wanting personal growth at any cost is just knee-deep in monkeys’ paws.) My hope would be that someone whose heart is opened by such selfishness will someday grow enough to be just the tiniest bit embarrassed at what it took to get them to see. Not enough to beat themselves up about it, but just enough to further encourage them to want to better themselves in the future. To me, that means they’ve progressed far enough to be able to recognize something of the extent of their own past failings, and that’s pretty darn significant growth in that context.

      2. Thag Simmons

        Honestly I wonder how much it would move the needle for her.

      3. Yarrr

        “the protagonist of reality” that’s such a good way of putting it.

        1. mindbleach

          Thanks, I stole it.

    3. Kyulen

      Unfortunately the protesters against the university’s support for genocide are a lot more likely to be harmed by the authorities than the people counter-protesting against them.

    4. Freemage

      I’m just gonna say it: Ew. Wishing a violent outcome for Mary being a certified asshole (but not, so far as we’ve seen, a violent one) is just majorly disturbing to me. I’ve cheered for violence against violent characters–the Evil Dads, Ryan, etc. But not once against any character who I simply find annoying.

      That the only non-violent villain that gets such wishes just happens to be a woman is, frankly, a distressing trend I’ve found in progressive circles–it’s like some of us are just waiting for a woman (or female character) to be able to degrade out of proportion to their misdeeds.

  18. ZombieKyrik

    Holding hands before marriage? Joyce has more indecent thoughts than we realized, and considering her recent trend, that says a lot.

  19. Acebender

    This is loads better than laundry

    1. jonathan young

      RIGHT?! I teared up a little bit. I am sailing out of the harbor on this effed-up ship

    2. tim Rowledge

      Like a soap opera

  20. Shakes

    Yes… Ha ha ha… YES!

  21. Boh No

    What was this protest in response to, again?

    1. Laura

      Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions…
      …against “Bulmeria”

      1. Laura

        As in, urging such divestment.

      2. KM

        Hmmm genocide in Bulmeria is ambiguous as to if the genocide is being perpetrated by the Bulmerian government against a minority group or perpetrated in Bulmeria by a third party

        1. Li

          It’s almost like it’s not at all a thinly veiled Gaza reference and is instead generic US imperialism or something.

    2. Kyulen

      Jocelyne explained it to Joe a while back.

      1. Clif

        I don’t recall seeing that strip at all. Thank you for linking to it.

    3. DashWallkick

      Thinly veiled Gaza genocide stand in.

      1. Ragnarok

        Really thinly veiled, so thin even this comments section understood and started screeching about ‘Zionism is terrorism’

  22. TrueVCU

    And So, It Begins [/Kosh]

    1. Bobbi

      If you go to Bloo-Ming-Ton, you will die [/also Josh]

      (Accidentally reported, sorry)

      1. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

        The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote. [/K]

        1. TrueVCU

          Understanding is a three edged sword: your side, their side, and the truth [/Kosh]

        2. Someone

          (Accidental report. We need a cancel button!)

          A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art. Do you understand, miss Winters? [/kosh]

        3. Rose by Any other Name

          ….
          I understood that reference.gif [/Captain America]

        4. StarfighterVicki

          Wasn’t that on Sheridan?

  23. Tessea

    Okay, that was sweet. Handholding is not needed at all here, but it feels like Joyce picked up on the weight behind what Dorothy said.

    It’s so easy to see why people would fall for her. She’s not perfect, but she legitimately wants to be better. A better friend, a better sister, a better person, a better girlfriend, even a better lover. And it’s an honest desire.

    She doesn’t realize that willingness to improve for no one but herself and the people she cares about _IS_ what makes her such a good person.

    1. Throwatron

      it’s almost like joyce is unironically the picture of a truly Christlike person, or something

  24. Francoinblanco

    this looks like the beginning of a plot from harry potter and the order of the phoenix i wonder if it will be just as dramatic

    1. Taffy

      Y’know, I can’t especially remember what happens in that one, between the start where Harry’s at his uncle’s house and the end when his uncle gets fucked through a Spyro portal. I think he diddles Ginny once or twice?

      1. Francoinblanco

        the main characters thought that they had to save their uncle and they went to save him to a dangerous place, but the uncle was initially safe but now he has to follow the main characters to a dangerous place to save them.

        1. Yumi

          His godfather– I was confused at first because Harry does have an uncle who’s around, but I was like, “Wait, when was Harry trying particularly hard to save him?”

          Had a dream involving Harry Potter last night, so it’s more present in my mind today than I like.

      2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Don’t think so. Even as of the last book they haven’t gone beyond snogging, though they might have except I think it was one of the twins who cockblocked them.

      3. Steamweed

        No, no, it was Ginny and Hermione who diddled each other in the dorm’s laundry room.

  25. Kyulen

    I hope they’re alright when they get there. Though it would be a little funny if Hank already knows and is okay with Jocelyne being trans.

    1. Bemisawa

      I suspect he might, because even if he’s struggling a bit, Hank seems to be fighting to get over his preconceived notions and embrace Not Carol’s Awful Bullshit. I do think this may be played for drama, though – as in, Hank is trying to help Jocelyne but Joyce doesn’t know that, so because neither of them is able to trust each other enough (which is perhaps reasonable), things get more dramatic than they would otherwise need to be. Communication is important, but to have good communication, there needs to be trust.

    2. Dread Pirate Robin

      He did call her her brother, but maybe he was just trying not to out her. We still don’t know how cool Hank really is. He seemed proud of Becky, and proud of Joyce for punching Ross but also he was complicit in his wife’s and his church’s bigotry for decades.

  26. DJTsurugi

    these two have held hands together while getting off, and that was only slightly more gay than this. I approve. ~<3

    1. Jamie

      Maybe it’s the ace in me, but I kinda lean towards it being more gay to fight the man together.

      1. Nymph

        You have an ace in you? LET THEM OUT!

        I agree though, definitely more gay to fight the power.

    2. Vulcanodon

      I can’t help noticing how effortlessly Willis renders this handhold. I spent an hour repeatedly sketching it and I am in awe.

      Also it is very sweet. I don’t know how they can make out without hurting Joe, but being the mature and deft individuals they are, I’m sure they’ll manage. Right?

  27. Dave Van Domelen

    Maybe drop off the laundry first so you don’t lose it.

  28. Taffy

    Gods, I hope this isn’t leading into some kind of enormous altercation with somebody’s rambling tweets on top.

    1. mindbleach

      Side strips be damned, I’d love if DoA canon said The Idiot choked on a hamburger in 2011.

      1. Li

        This isn’t 2011, it’s 20XX where XX is the current year, forever. It’s in the FAQ.

        1. Nadamás

          Your mom it’s the current year forever.

        2. Li

          I get the schtick but this one has pretty even odds of being said to someone who’s lost their mom, heh.

        3. mindbleach

          So long as he’s past-tense.

        4. Smallmoon

          Suggested alteration: “I’d love it if DoA canon said The Idiot choked on a hamburger around the time Joyce and Joe went on a date, chaperoned by Mike.”

  29. Lee

    I’m so happy for Dorothy that she has absolutely zero hint of PTS / trauma.

    1. Liara

      Trauma? I barely know ‘er!

  30. darkoneko

    …what the ffffff

  31. ESM

    “…”
    “…”
    “Okay actually we’re just walking down an empty hallway right now we don’t really need to hold hands”
    “Can we do it anyway?”
    “What?”
    “What?”

    1. Daibhid C

      I was trying to work out which of them had which dialogue, and then I realised the fact it works either way says a lot in itself.

  32. Mr. Random

    This feels… oddly over dramatic?
    I know Jocelyene should be told, but right this minute?
    I know, I know, it’s a convience so the climax of the rally can take place. But still…

    1. Taffy

      A less intense character might not react so strongly, for sure. Joyce rarely Just Goes Over There™ to tell someone something though.

    2. Sisyphus

      I think Joyce is pretty aware of the dangerous connections her family has to armed crackpots and isn’t waiting.

      1. Throwatron

        Yeah, I would say the prior events of the comic fully exonerate her haste

      2. Bemisawa

        Thank you! This didn’t occur to me, but I think you’re right.

    3. Jamie

      Joyce (and Amber, for that matter) tend to go from zero to sixty as soon as they perceive danger. It’s definitely reckless, but it’s also one of the fundamental comic-book-heroic impulses and we prize it in a narrative for good reason.

      *gestures at the entire ToeDad kidnapping sequence, where it was both lionized and criticized*

    4. thejeff

      Is the implication here here that Hank not only spotted Jocelyne in the protest photo but that she’s dressed/presenting obviously enough as female that he’ll realize she’s trans?

      The image we saw yesterday didn’t seem that obvious to me

      1. Yumi

        Yeah, it didn’t seem obvious from that picture– but now Hank will be on the lookout for further pictures or updates, and future ones may be more obvious. (I think Jocelyne was aware of this risk, but Joyce wasn’t aware Jocelyne was aware.)

    5. Proto

      I agree, especially the “take hold” line and hand-holding. It would work fine if they were walking through a crowd at the protest but right now they’re… in a laundry room.

      And I know that DRAMA is a thing that drives a lot of these comics and a lot of fans love but this just feels like jumping the gun before The Moment™ has arrived.

  33. AbacusWizard

    YES

    ADVENTURE BUDDIES

  34. cbwroses

    They’re not going to go through a raucous adventure together and end up like that picture of the sailor kissing that woman when he came back from the war are they (though this one would be consensual albeit caught up in the heat of the moment)?

    I don’t know why, but that’s where my mind went to.

    1. SarahTerra

      Them holding hands in the protest, on TV, in PJs no less, will definitely at least make their parents think they kiss.

      1. thejeff

        But what will it make Joe or Walky think?

        Mostly I suspect Joe’ll be unhappy he wasn’t invited along for the adventure.

    2. Florence

      I hadn’t thought of that, that would be a brilliant ending

      1. Florence

        (Curse the understandable decision to not have likes in this comment section)

  35. AnonGrouch

    $20 says joyce’s mom is at the counter protest

    1. BarerMender

      No bet, no bet.

  36. IntangibleMatter

    …at least the murderous dads are all dead now

    1. tim Rowledge

      Tragically there’s still a vast number of them out there

    2. Proxiehunter

      Now we only have to worry about murderous moms.

  37. Qube

    :0 !

  38. SarahTerra

    Them finding Jocelyne could also end up on TV, giving both sisters away to their dad.

    Hey, did anyone hazard guesses yet as to what horrible racist thing is on Mary’s sign? Kinda looks to me like the top row might be “Bulmeria has a”, (‘Bluesky’ is also possible there but seems less likely’) and that might be “DEI” on the third row

    1. Kyulen

      Judging by the placement of the letters, I’m thinking Mary’s sign might say “Bulmeria has a right to defend itself”. Which makes me think Bulmeria is the country doing the genocide that Jocelyne talked about with Joe earlier. And I have a very good idea what real-world country Bulmeria is a stand-in for in that case.

      1. KM

        Intriguingly enough here https://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/alex-2/

        Alex tells us that Alex(2) was granted asylum by the “United Republic of Bulmeria”. So it’s also a country where it’s plausible a wanted cybercriminal can get asylum from the United States…

        1. thejeff

          It can be a stand-in without being an exact duplicate. (Or frankly without being entirely consistent with a previous reference.)

        2. C.

          Those Alexes may in fact actually be the same person.

        3. Yumi

          Yeah, they’re the same person, she just transitioned. It could be she would still want to choose a country where this would be *plausible* for purposes of her cover story, but… there’s a lot more room for that when there don’t actually need to be details.

        4. thejeff

          Officially according to Word of Willis at the time, new Alex is trans and might or might not be the same person as old Alex.

      2. Amelie Wikström

        Or, how great would it be if Mary has misunderstood which country is doing the genocide and that’s how she discovers all cops are bastards?

        1. KM

          Might be Patreon only but didn’t the cop who murdered Blaine share her last name… Ofc unrelated people share last names all the time irl but this is a comic.. Hmmm

  39. Freezer

    * fires up the William Tell Overture *

    1. Nadamás

      As Joyce actives the Power of turbo granny and start running to the protest (Dandadan reference if anyone is wondering)

  40. Dante

    Oh, I’m excited!! It feels like the Bulmeria campus protest has been quietly building up to something huge, almost in the background… And now it’s here — And our main character is gonna get directly involved.

    Love when Joyce gets intense like this. Also holy shit this is me being my filthy commie self but if a girl invited me to kick ass at a protest with that kind of intense look, I’d lay down my life for her. IT’S SO ROMANTIC.

    1. thejeff

      I was kind of hoping the protest would simmer in the background for longer – leaving Jocelyne on/near campus and interacting with the cast for more than a couple days of their time.

      Of course, that could still happen. This doesn’t have to be when the cops assault the encampment.

  41. NGPZ

    hey kinda off topic but

    ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT to contribute to the campaign for the Dina Plush!!!

    We gotta make this happen!!! ^-^

    https://www.makeship.com/petitions/tricerahoodie-dina

  42. sunny

    joyce is just too cool… i love her :3

  43. Falcon

    Time to ride or die.

  44. Florence

    *rubbing hands as my face turns into the grinch expression*

    Holding hands as they walk into an intense situation? Dorothy emotionally vulnerable while Joyce is determined? They didn’t talk about this like mature adults and the feelings are still hanging there?

    Hehehehehehe

    1. Florence

      The sickos win again!

      1. Nadamás

        It is our natural state.

        1. Florence

          It’s always champagne ocklcok for us

  45. DashWallkick

    I’m still not fully sure where this is going — joyce/dorothy splitting up Joe/Joyce doesn’t seem like Willis’s style — but I do like that Joyce’s growth is now complicating Dorothy’s savior complex. It’s not even “If I get hurt, then I get hurt,” this is “If you’re scared for my safety, then okay — take my hand, and you don’t have to worry about me disappearing.”

    I don’t know if it’s going to reinforce or alleviate Dorothy’s control issues and fear of loss but hey both are good, I like characters suffering.

    1. StClair

      Even better, IMO: Joyce is challenging Dorothy to try to keep up with her.

      1. DashWallkick

        Ooooh, good interpretation. Dorothy saved Joyce countless times, and today we reinforce that Joyce is going to be there for you too.

  46. Li

    Awwww…

  47. Aquila

    (Imagine hearing this with an Austrian accent)

    “Come with me if you want to live.”

    1. Taffy

      I prefer an Australian accent, personally. Them Perth gals.

      1. Steamweed

        *fans self

    2. tim Rowledge

      “I’d love to come with you?”

  48. Nadamás

    Determined Joyce is extremely hot how is Dorothy supposed to resist?!

  49. Thing2

    Take the laundry with you, it may come in handy…

    1. Rowan

      Always bring a towel!

  50. Acher4

    This is way more romantic than I would expect…
    😀

  51. CianM1301

    Here’s how I predict this is gonna go:
    1) Joyce and Jocelyne are gonna end up on the front page of the local papers, or on screen of the news report covering the protest for the area.
    2) Carol will see it, and come to collect Joyce from college, citing Dorothy and her atheistic ways as being a bad influence on her, and claiming that her college experience as a whole has steering her away from God’s light.
    3) A massive argument will ensue, during which Joyce will express that she too is now atheist after having experienced first hand the consequences of religious fanaticism, and how it almost got her and her friwnda killed, and will try to encourage Carol to open her eyes and see the bigger picture.
    4) Carol will instead disown both Joyce and Jocelyne for daring to question both her and the will of God, proclaiming them as heathens and sinners who will burn in hell, and showing the most disappointment in Joyce, who she was the proudest of.

    1. CianM1301

      Friends*
      Apologies for the typo, I’m working from mobile.

    2. Morhek

      I don’t know. It feels a little…cliched to put it all on Carol, easy as it is. Hank really isn’t that far out the fundamentalist door yet, he had a moment of realisation and is leaving, but he’s not all there yet. I feel like it makes more narrative sense to give him more focus, especially with him being alerted, coming to terms with having a trans daughter and Joyce helping him realise how much unconscious hate he still carries and how far he still has to go.

      1. CianM1301

        I agree that this’ll definitely be an eye opener to him as well, but of the two parents, Hank appears to be the more accepting one. I imagine it’ll be a shock to him at first to find out he has a transgender child, but I wager he’d be more willing to accept Jocelyne for who she is now than Carol would.

    3. Daibhid C

      Seems plausible, but one detail: Joyce has already told Carol she’s an atheist and Carol told her she wasn’t, so this would be more of a “maybe you’ll listen now” than a revelation.

      1. CianM1301

        Carol also blamed “The transgenders” for Joyce speaking back to her when she was bringing Joyce’s stuff to her after the house was sold. So for her to discover that one of her children has become one of the dreaded “transgenders”, it’d probably lead her to belive that Jocelyne was trying to turn Joyce against her.

    4. Nymph

      5) They kiss at the protest and it makes local news.

  52. Queezle

    Okay, fine. This is cute. And heartwarming.

  53. Bogeywoman

    Bold Joyce is ?

  54. Da Boy

    I smell another One Punch Joyce moment coming

    1. NGPZ

      fingers crossed Joyce decks a Nazi ??

  55. Maddie B

    Handholding ?

  56. Morhek

    And now they mount up on the unicorn.

  57. Rowan

    Always bring a towel!

    1. Rowan

      ^ meant as reply for comment up thread.
      While I’m here, Joyce and Dorothy would rock as Nancy Drew or Scooby Doo characters. My wish for the next Halloween storyline are Joyce, Dorothy and Joe throuple-costumed as Daphne, Velma and Fred. Maybe Walky could be Shaggy?

      1. Proxiehunter

        Joe goes as Daphnee, Dorothy goes as Fred, Joyce goes as Velma. Walky goes as Scooby.

    2. thejeff

      Always know where your towel is.

  58. Daibhid C

    Take my hand, we’ll make it, I swear,
    Whoa-oh, livin’ on a non-religious hope!

  59. Handley Ramirez

    You know, having a giant Joe might make a giant crowd situation a little more manageable. Walky can stay on the sidelines for this adventure. That said, most college protests aren’t dangerous, nor should they be for any reason.

  60. Yeet

    maybe change out of the jammies first

  61. Andy

    For navigating a peaceful crowd, take Joe. His height would be helpful.

    If things go south, the police would notice the big threatening guy first. While the girls scoot away.

    No way this doesn’t become trouble. The drama AND romance tags have both been pulled.

  62. Ragnarok

    Y’know, considering some of the comments section over the past few days I’m not sure making up a country to be your Palestine stand-in is a good idea. It certainly didn’t stop the anti-semites and it just makes things look like David is trying to futz around with a simplification of the real-life situation.

    Like we’re never going to get the nuance of ‘people at Joycelyne’s protest are unironically stanning actual genocidal terrorists’ or ‘actual Jewish characters might be targeted by anti-semites over the actions of Israel’. In fact, on reflection, using a fake country to AVOID those topics just…feels wrong.

    1. hoop

      bulmeria is a pre-existing made-up country from like… maybe even the Roomies days, definitely early It’s Walky era.

      nevertheless, the abstraction here is ‘politically charged campus protest’ not ‘the particulars of whether antizionist violence is inherently antisemitic vis a vis the attempted ethnic cleansing of gaza’

      1. Ragnarok

        Okay, but why use it for this? Why try and simplify *this* issue and present the protestors and counter-protestors the way he’s choosing to? Seriously, Mary coming in To Be Wrong is not subtle. We know what Willis is using this as a stand-in for, so it feels like a cheap way to avoid the actual reality of the situation.

        Also, yes, ‘antizionist violence’ is in fact antisemitic. If you’re firebombing random Jews over the actions of a foreign country, you’re antisemitic.

        1. Charles Phipps

          Well speaking as a writer myself, I think that a lot of people miss that there’s benefit for allegory that people already convinced rarely seem to acknowledge. In simple terms, “why not use Palestine?” Well, because it might be considered gross and exploitative to use the real life genocide as the slice of life drama’s background? This is never going to be about Palestine but about the characters personal drama that just so happens to draw attention to it.

          It also dates the comic incredibly given it’s been going on for decades and will continue on decades more.

        2. Ragnarok

          A good point. I’m just weirded out by the thin veil on it given that this comic hasn’t shied away from horrible actions before – most of the weird fundie cult stuff is basically identical to real life, for example.

          If the intent is to focus on the smaller scale personal, I get it. But the appearance of Mary detracts from that, imo.

        3. Li

          Willis was raised by fundie cult people. That’s their lane. Of course that’s the deepest the comic gets into real-life awfulness. Of course the dips into racism are rarer and more cautious, for example.

        4. Yak

          Bold of you to assume that the present situation in Palestine didn’t start before we were all born and probably won’t be resolved until after we’re all dead.

        5. Li

          this is the last thing I’m gonna say on this topic hopefully, but yeah, this is actually part of my issue with assuming Bulmeria = Israel and/or Palestine, because you could very much have just made a comic using those names directly, and as long as you’re just a teensy bit vague, it is depressingly unlikely to stop being accurate and relevant for the foreseeable future.

        6. Li

          No, we don’t know what Bulmeria is a stand-in for.

          We know almost nothing about the protest, but what we do know about it doesn’t really line up with I/P at all.

          “The US is funding a genocide” describes so many situations from the last like…….. hundred and fifty years, and “Bulmeria” doesn’t sound at all like Palestine. It sounds like Bulgaria, or Syria, or half a dozen other countries, but it doesn’t sound like Palestine or Israel. Nor is it clear whether the protests are over genocide being perpetuated directly BY the US, genocide being perpetuated by a terrorist group the US has propped up, or genocide being perpetrated by Bulmeria’s government with US support. What very little has been specifically said by any character could match any one of those scenarios.

          It’s hardly Willis’s fault that the comment section jumped to conclusions.

        7. Ragnarok

          The strips about this started coming out shortly after the BDS movement got big on campus protests against Israel, with said protestors being a huge part of the headlines. Claiming we can’t know what it’s supposed to be a stand-in for is disingenuous.

        8. thejeff

          Yeah, this is about as blatant as it could be without naming names.

        9. Li

          It’s not disingenuous. I genuinely do not think it’s likely that Willis wanted to talk about I/P. I especially doubt that he wanted to use one of his Jewish characters to make be the one to step in it by condemning bombings on both sides.

          Like. Why would anyone want to do that.

        10. thejeff

          If so, he failed badly, because the Gaza read is far to obvious to overlook.

        11. Li

          Shrugs. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong, but it sure seems to me like there are lots of reasons to want to make this comic talk about student protests (general). Issues of free speech, of police response to protests, of American imperialism, which are evergreen and also add a bit of extra realism to the strip. It also doesn’t feel as much like a strange thing to use as a backdrop for the personal drama of these two.

          Meanwhile, I/P in general? Let alone Gaza in specific? It’d be weird for that to be the backdrop for two fictional characters kissing. Especially if Dorothy’s statement two days ago and Jocelyne’s presence at the protest with a sign are representative of the depth of addressing the comic plans to do wrt the political situation.

          People are already furious with Dorothy, and while most commenters at least seem to be assuming Jocelyne is right to be at the protest, I’ve seen some disagreement over whether this protest is “pro or anti-Bulmeria”, and some disagreement over whether Bulmeria is supposed to be Israel or Palestine.

          That tells me that either this “thinly veiled allegory” was terribly done, or it’s not actually thinly veiled at all.

        12. Proxiehunter

          If they started coming out shortly after the BDS protests got big then given the buffer they were written somewhere between multiple months to a year prior to them getting big.

        13. thejeff

          They were actually written about that time.

          They’re coming out now. 🙂
          The first explicit references were in “The One Where Jocelyne Returns” which started running this past November – well over a year after the October attacks that sparked this latest round of killing.

        14. Kyulen

          It’s a pretty simple issue to me. One country is committing genocide against the indigenous people who’ve been living there for millennia. In fact they founded their state decades ago to steal the land from the indigenous Palestinians and have been doing that ever since. Pretty easy for me to determine that the settler-colonial state are the bad guys and the indigenous people are the good guys.

        15. thejeff

          It’s easy to say who’s the bad guys, though I’d still hesitate to describe Hamas as “good guys”.

          It’s much harder to find an actual solution. I’m perfectly willing to argue that Israel should never have been established in the first place. Less willing to agree that the settler-colonialist Jews should now be ethnically cleansed from the region to fix that mistake.

        16. Nymph

          Kyulen didn’t say “Hamas”, you did. Kyulen said “the indigenous people”, so unless you’re suggesting that Palestinians are synonymous with Hamas, probably re-read and re-think the comment above.

          Also, it’s actually perfectly fine to think BOTH Palestinians AND Israeli citizens shouldn’t be ethnically cleansed. This is not a dichotomy where one group has to get wiped off the map and the other wins. Israel COULD HAVE stopped bombing, starving, and brutalizing the Palestinian people at any point, could have let aid get through to them, could have not murdered journalists, could have shown ANY willing to actually live WITH Palestinians instead of jailing them in city limits and treating them like invasive roaches.

          Israel’s response to this is horrific, disproportionate, and unbearably cruel. It’s not fucking academic or a debate topic about who is right. THEY ARE COMMITING GENOCIDE RIGHT NOW IN REAL LIFE and people saying that’s awful and should stop are inarguably correct.

          Of Note:
          – No I don’t hate Jewish people.
          – No I don’t think Jewish people should be punished individually for the actions of a state.
          – I do think it’s absolutely disgusting that I can’t criticize a country currently starving babies for their actions. When did basic empathy become up for debate?

        17. thejeff

          Criticize them all you want. I have.

          Israel could certainly stop. But they’re not going to, so that’s not really a solution, it’s just a wish. It’s also not at all clear that Hamas or Iran would stop if Israel did. That’s why this situation is complicated, even if you think it’s morally simple. There’s little in any overlap between what the parties involved are willing to accept, so how does anyone convince them to deal?

        18. Yak

          The solution is Israel stops their war of extermination and stops the blockade. Everything else is secondary.

          Probably the only way this could happen is if Netanyahu is deposed and his party loses control of the government. And for THAT to happen they’d need to lose backing of the US, which means we have to deal with our own dictator. I think the path forwards is pretty clear, actually.

        19. thejeff

          That seems overly simplistic to me. I’m far from sure what happens if Israel loses US backing. Any positive outcome seems to rely on a very narrow balance of Israel being too weak to use military force even against Palestinians, but still too strong for other enemies to attack. Scenarios I’ve seen include just wiping Gaza and maybe even the West Bank clean while they still can or Iran and its proxies seeing weakness and things escalating into a regional war.

          Of course, it looks like we might be seeing that now anyway.

        20. Yak

          If the backing becomes conditional on peace negotiations, it would heavily pressure them in to it. As it stands, US support for Israel is essentially unconditional. The current administration fully approves of genocide.

        21. Proxiehunter

          So did the previous administration Yak.

        22. Taffy

          The next one probably will, too. Maybe the one after that will let up.

        23. thejeff

          But what’s the pressure on Iran or Hamas? The US can’t do anything there?
          And I suspect US influence is more limited than we’d like to think. (Especially Biden’s since Netanytahu knew Trump would happily return anything Biden cut if he won.)
          Everyone serious I’ve listened to thinks Biden’s main aim was stability: avoiding the regional conflict that’s likely to be worse than anything Israel could do in Gaza. And here we are, 5 months after he left office.

        24. Yak

          @Proxiehunter the previous administration was angling pretty hard for a ceasefire, even though they still supported Israel, and did at least say they wanred to continue humanitarian aid into Gaza. The current one parrots Netanyahu’s genocidal rhetoric almost word-for-word.

          @thejeff Iran is already pretty much cut off from the US economically, and US naval presence in the Persian gulf is probably the main reason why Iran didn’t declare war sooner. It would be hard to pressure Iran not to escalate the current war more than the US already is.

        25. thejeff

          @Yak That was my point. Our pressure on Iran is our support of Israel. Withdrawing that greatly strengthens Iran’s position in any regional conflict. How much depends on how dependent on the US Israel really is.

        26. Ragnarok

          You seek to turn a complex history of indigeneity, survival, war, and ethnic conflict into ‘Jews bad, Hamas good’.

          This simplistic, black-and-white worldview is the exact same thing this conflict has spent decades preaching against, the only difference is you’ve put some leftist buzzwords on it.

        27. Nymph

          Kyulen said Palestinians, not Hamas. They didn’t say “Jews” either.

          Kinda seems like you’re trying to twist what they said so it fits your own black-and-white worldview.

        28. Proxiehunter

          No one said Jews bad. People said Israel bad because of actions of the government that are unrelated to Judaism in any way. There are many non-Israeli Jewish people who are vocally agreeing and even Israeli Jewish people who agree that Israel is behaving abominably. Stop deflecting valid criticism of a government that is committing genocide with baseless accusations of antisemitism.

        29. thejeff

          Lots of people say “Jews Bad”. Even a lot of the mostly anti-Zionist criticism is uncomfortably close to old antisemitic talking points. (Jews/Zionists control the US government. Modern Israelis aren’t real Jews, but descended from Khazars or something.)

          There have been spikes in violence against Jews since this started. None of that excuses Israel and I’m sure it’s not intended by most protesters, but it’s been fertile ground for spreading anti-Semitism.

    2. Kyulen

      I’m pretty sure Bulmeria is currently a stand-in for Israel. In past Willis comics it’s been either a fictional country or a stand-in for other real countries. And there’s nothing antisemetic about being against Zionism, which is a political ideology and not an ethnic or religious group.

      1. thejeff

        There’s nothing antisemitic about being against Zionism, but antisemites have definitely used antiZionism as cover and as a way to persuade others to their side.

        1. Ragnarok

          I think that when you are against something that ~80-90% of a population believes in (in this case, that Jews should be able to live in their indigenous homeland) and use that as an excuse of ‘I don’t hate Jews, I hate Zionists’ you are being an antisemite. If you hate the overwhelming majority of an ethnic group, you just hate that ethnic group.

        2. Yak

          The question of whether Jews should be able to live in Palestine (which has been the name of the region for thousands of years — Israel is a tribe, not a location) is barely related at all to whether the state of Israel, as it exists today, should exist unmodified or whether it should stop doing certain things. The state of Israel had never showed much interest in making friends in the region or living peacefully with their neighbors, and every abuse heaped on the people living in Gaza makes the situation that much worse.

        3. thejeff

          I really hate the framing of this conflict in terms of “indigenous”, by either side. It just makes no sense and demeans the term indigenous. No one is indigenous on a land that’s been a crossroads of empire since the Bronze Age. Everyone involved in this conflict is some mix of conquered and conqueror down the ages.

          Israel should never have been formed, not because the Palestinians living there had some special “indigenous” status, but because they were living there and had to be pushed out to make way for Jewish settlers. But Israel is there now and has been for long enough there’s no way to push them out without further atrocities.

        4. Scolopendra

          I feel like the clamoring of both camps to be “indigenous” is so emblematic of American hegemony — everyone feels they have to justify themselves according to the social justice language spoken in the USA. Because god forbid the Americans be asked to analyze any geopolitical conflict through a lens that doesn’t resemble their own history!

        5. esolo

          THIS. This this this.

        6. Ragnarok

          Okay, I fought the urge to reply, but no, this is a blatant lie.

          Israel has made peace repeatedly and in the absence of genocidal terrorist groups or attempts to conquer them HAS BEEN AT PEACE WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS. Jordan, Egypt, and now Syria are either fine with them or on the road to it in the case of the last.

          What’s the difference? Well, all of their governments ended up acknowledging reality and stopped trying to drive the Jews into the sea.

        7. thejeff

          And meanwhile, Israel continues to oppress the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and continues to expand settlements in the West Bank

        8. Yak

          Egypt and Jordan lost a series of war,s with Israel in the 60s, Iraq and Syria collapsed, Israel started aistriking residential areas in Lebanon because “Hezbollah was there”, Iran and Israel have been lobbing missiles at each other periodically for the better part of a year (with the majority of casualties being on the Persian side), and Saudi Arabia has been quietly funding Israel’s enemies since its founding. This is ignoring the blockade and very frequent human rights abuses in Gaza itself. No, Israel has not been making friends in the region.

        9. Yak

          Also, even in your comment, you imply that ‘peace’ means ‘accepting reality’, I.e., yielding to Israel’s military supremacy. From the very start, the state of Israel has been about imposing itself on Palestine. This is not the kind of ‘peace’ that can last.

      2. Charles Phipps

        It’s a stand in for whatever country he wants to talk to.

        Alex fled to Bulmeria as a hacker and in that instance its a stand in for Russia/Snowden.

        1. Li

          Thank you for this footnote. I doubt it’ll make any difference, but yeah. Appreciated context reminder from this reader.

  63. hoop

    …dogg how far out in advance were these strips written and drawn?

    1. Ragnarok

      Pretty sure it’s long enough that there weren’t (yet) a steady drumbeat of people trying to murder random Jews to ‘free Palestine’.

      1. Dana W

        Those Palestinians thinking just because they have been there thousands of years that they have the right to exist. So evil. Thinking they have homes and a country. When They burn Palestinian settlements and bomb their hospitals I suppose that’s just “self defense?”

        And THIS is why its Bulmeria.

        1. Ragnarok

          You will notice I said absolutely nothing about any of that and was talking about the people attacking random Jews.

        2. Scolopendra

          So many people in both camps talk right past each other if you don’t say the pre-approved words. Surely there must be room to acknowledge all the atrocities tied up in this, as well as their differing scale and sanction by the imperial hegemony. The recent antisemitic attacks are a horrifying misinterpretation of a just cause, and we should be able to recognize that; it doesn’t have to be either/or.

        3. Charles Phipps

          A friend of mine said, “I think taking down Hamas is good. I have yet to see Israel targeting them versus seemingly everyone else in Palestine, a couple of neighboring countries, and Iran.”

          He said something similar about the US during the War on Terror.

      2. thejeff

        Probably not actually. This would have been roughly a year ago maybe? Definitely when last years Gaza protests were in full swing. After Indiana University changed the rules for protests to shut down one on their campus – which this is obviously based on.

    2. David M Willis

      At this point my buffer was only about nine months.

  64. BorkBorkBork

    This is one of those things that I’m just a little mystified on. This seems like so much unearned drama.

    They’re going to a campus protest. Which, sure, isn’t probably the safest thing ever, but they’re protesting Bulmerian weaponry, not the current Gumshoos-in-chief. I can’t imagine that they’re not fine to walk there, tell Jocylene, and head back.

    Or, if they thought there was a chance they WOULDN’T be fine, why they wouldn’t swing by to where Joe was to get some muscle and a better eye over the crowd. I mean, Joyce already guessed where he was.

    But the way that Joyce’s going all Rambo-style – “Laundry’s OVER, Dorothy” – is said with an expression like she’s going to go into battle. And Dorothy’s “I’m NOT going to let you disappear over the horizon again!!” – really?

    Joyce seemed perfectly fine to wish her sister well before; why is it now that HANK knows, they’re in danger? Like… have they just forgotten that Hank has done literally everything that Joyce has done – that, he will shove aside his convictions, and his community, and even his spouse, for the sake of his children and those he loves? Do they think that Hank’s going to go full-on Toedad here?

    What’s Hank going to do here, really? She’s a grown adult who lives by herself and makes her own way, surrounded by a literal mob of people. Hank can’t just show up and take her home and tell her to be a boy.

    (Technically, the college kids can’t be made to leave either – something that always irked me. I suppose Dana and Ruth and Becky all just… I dunno, their parents withdrew financial support and just bullied their children into believing that they could force a legal adult into giving up higher education? Like, I used to work in a college Registrar’s office. I know some of the crazy demands that parents make. I know how we laughed in their face when they told them, no, it doesn’t matter if you paid for them, you do not control them.)

    Is there something I’m missing here? Or is this a “check your brain at the door and buckle in for action” moment?

    1. Yumi

      Joyce’s dad has made a lot of good moves, but she still doesn’t trust him fully– especially with Jocelyne being trans– and I think that makes sense. They’ve both only been put the cult for a few months, but for Joyce, that happened within the first months of her adulthood… Hank was part of it, and subject her and her siblings to it and presenting it as the proper worldview for a long time as an adult. Also, a lot of people seem to decide that trans people is where they draw the line. They might be okay with gay people, or claim to be, but trans is just “way too much” or whatever. Maybe enough that he’d reach out to Carol about it, and then who knows what would happen.

      She’s also just concerned that her sister might be outed to their family, and the fact that’s cause for concern probably triggers a lot of anger in her.

      The protest they’re going to is actually a lot more likely to be dangerous than the recent No Kings protests or similar, so I’m not sure where you’re going with that. But Dunn Meadow is also the site of *very large* protests at IU, and it might not be super easy to find a particular person at first.

      Dorothy has PTSD around Joyce being in danger. That’s pretty clear and easy to see how it affects her here.

      Joyce doesn’t stop to get backup first for these things (and is focused more in the family aspect than the protest conditions), so she’s probably not going to get Joe. Dorothy isn’t leaving Joyce’s side and isn’t Joe’s biggest fan– and probably hates the idea that he’d protect her more than she can– so that seems unlikely as well.

      1. BorkBorkBork

        I might’ve missed something about the danger of the protest?
        It’s certainly dangerous, at least in some cities, to protest here; considering just how insane things got with the national guard, and how unhinged the opposition is in general. Not to mention the fact that the protest is literally about taking down the head of a massive personality cult, of which some of the most unhinged, prejudiced, and violent citizens of the US are a part of, who are also on average the most heavily armed citizens.

        The Bulmerian protest – a protest about stopping the sale of weapons used in other countries, which is being held in part to bring awareness to this issue, as those in power would like to keep under the rug – is MORE dangerous? How so? How many senators have been shot and killed during their protest?

        Phew. Sorry. Ugh.

        Anyways… OK, so I’ll take what you say as a given and assume it’s just well known that the Bulmerian Protest is more dangerous. I can see where Dorothy would panic and be anxious, because PTSD, of Joyce going to a crowded location where maybe a police officer would get a bit twitchy. And I can see where Joyce would be anxious, because she’s used to seeing her parents as a unit, and so likely hasn’t picked up on either that her dad is *drastically* different than her mom, or that Jocylene went into this *knowing* there was a chance her parents would see her, and did it anyways.

        But what I can’t see, is how we’re supposed to feel that increased tension. Because it seems very much like we’re intended to.

        If instead we’re supposed to see this as a moment of gals being even closer pals and the Dream Horse becoming more of a reality, then I’m totally on board.

        Prediction: Hank shows up not because he’s angry about Bulmeria or whatever, but because he assumes Joyce’s response means that it’s actually HER in the protest, not Jocylene (hey, they do look similar). Instead of running into Jocylene, he runs into Joyce, who just so happens to be making out with Dorothy at the time.

        1. Yumi

          Protests can be dangerous, whether it’s the anti-Trump ones or this one– it not being anti-Trump doesn’t seem likely to make it anymore safe to me. Anti-things aligned with Trump– which the Bulmerian protest might be– are plenty dangerous, and I feel often more so than ones that are just anti-Trump. It does depend what the protest is most analogous to; many recent college protests– that were not just “anti-Trump”– have become dangerous.

          Honestly, we don’t have to assume one is “more” dangerous here, just acknowledge that protests can be dangerous as a starting point.

          I don’t know what we’re supposed to be feeling here. It has only been this strip of emotions really ramping up, so I’m giving it more time to see if it lands.

        2. thejeff

          OTOH, while protests can turn dangerous, the media focus on particularly dangerous ones leads to the impression that going to any protest is a serious risk to your life. Some kinds of protests are more risky than others and it’s generally pretty clear which those are going to be.

          The No Kings protests this weekend were overwhelmingly safe. The ICE protests in LA are seeing direct confrontation by police and are quite risky.
          Some Gaza campus protests were dangerous – usually when the police tried to shut down an encampment. Which is the likely scenario for a clash here. IU changed the rules and got police to empty the meadow with little warning. A bunch of protesters were arrested and there was definitely police violence, though I didn’t see reports of any serious injuries.

        3. Yumi

          Yeah, that’s pretty much exactly where I’m coming from. The protests I’ve been involved in haven’t had incidents of major violence (some have had minor); of those, the anti-Trump one has felt the lowest risk level (minus one about local politics when I was in high school).

        4. Charles Phipps

          When I went to the protest this weekend, I was told not to bring my cellphone, wear a mask and sunglasses, and to also make sure I had my lawyer’s number prepared. Quite a few people were genuinely terrified for me.

        5. Li

          For the record: those are just basic precautions for ANY protest. Everyone should be doing them every time they protest, regardless of how chill said protest seems like it will be or turns out to be.

          If you must bring your cellphone, make sure to turn off biometric unlocks (Face ID, fingerprint ID) so that it requires a password, and turn off your GPS tracking.

        6. Yumi

          It’s been kinda cute to me to be able to give my parents these tips now that they go to some protests.

        7. Li

          (also wear sunscreen, bring water, and a sun umbrella, if it’s gonna be hot.)

          @Yumi: aw, nice. little bit of intergenerational bonding.

    2. Astariel

      I agree to an extent. I’m really not sure why Hank knowing that Joss is at a protest would be such a big deal. She’s an adult and he’s on the other side of the state a multiple hour drive away. Even if he disapproves of her being there, why would it be so urgent that Joss has to be alerted immediately? If Joyce is meant to be worried that Hank clocked Joss as trans, I think that needs to be more explicit. His text didn’t indicate that, and she doesn’t look obviously femme in the picture he sent.

      I can buy treating the protest as a big thing through rule of drama though. Yes, realistically it’s unlikely to become dangerous just as Joyce & Dorothy show up, but violence at a campus protest is lot more likely than someone’s dad dressing up as a supervillain and kidnapping half a dorm hall.

    3. thumb

      It was in a newspaper. If Hank saw it and it was clear enough he could at least recognize his kid, who else has seen this? If you’re part of a protest and your face is in the newspaper, and you are recognized, especially by people you’re not out to, you probably need to know. ASAP.

    4. Taffy

      “Lock and load, Dorothy. We’re about to take a 15 minute walk. ??”

      It’s a little much. Dorothy’s being especially over the top. Like, what’s she gonna do when their daughter needs new diapers and Joyce has to go to the store without her?

  65. Steamweed

    Mayyybe put your laundry baskets back in your rooms and change your clothes, first, before wandering the meadow through a protest situation?

  66. Proto

    Maybe I’m reading too much into how Willis draws Dorothy’s more dot-ish eyes, but uh… Dorothy, the moment’s passed, time to stop being horny and start getting amped up for a protest.

    1. Yumi

      I’m not even sure what panel you’re reading Dorothy’s expression as horny in. The penultimate one?

      1. BorkBorkBork

        Panel four. Eyes get slightly wider, blush gets slightly redder, mouth gets slightly smaller, eyes are redirected towards the thing that is causing that reaction – in this case, the hand. Those have *always* been Dorothy’s tells.

        1. Yumi

          Yeah, I’ll just have to disagree with that interpretation of her expression as “horny.” I do think there’s some various intense emotions going on, of course, just wouldn’t go with “horny” here.

  67. mel

    i like this strip but i feel like it would have come together more thematically if they made out ?✨

    1. Nadamás

      You are a literally genius

  68. Claire

    David Willis truly has their finger on the zeitgeist….drawing this a year ago and literally this week America is embroiled in protests. (Though this in-comic protest seems to be a Palestine reference so it’s unfortunate that the genocide is still going on now, so this storyline is still relevant). All this to say that DOA remains true to current events and the general human condition.

  69. Dara

    Well, they’re married now. Yay! 😀

    1. TheFungus

      They even have matching exercise bands instead of wedding rings…

  70. Florence

    I am trying hard to not get too angry but if your response to watching nearly 2 years of genocide is “but Hamas”, you’re a bad person

    I have seen horrors these last two years, things that will stick with me, maybe I gotta not engage with the comments if that shows up

    I can’t do jokes around that shit

    1. NGPZ

      yeah like people either don’t get that Israel is a military dictatorship with an expected amount of HORRIFIC human rights violations

      or they do know but are awfully hesitant to point it out because they’re whitebreds who mistake Israel as some kind of pro-Jewish free parking ?

      I’m Mizrahi Jewish myself, across the globe my young cousins are now separated hundreds of miles from their mother and on their own without a caretaker indefinitely because this vile mess

      what Israel’s government, IDF and the US Imperialists who founded the ethno-state have done is irredeemable ☠

      1. Florence

        ?

      2. Li

        For the record, not thinking the comic is currently talking about Israel or Palestine is not an endorsement of anything Israel is or ever has done.

        I don’t really fancy myself informed enough to go further than that in terms of opinions on the issue, but like, genocide bad. That is obviously true, regardless, forever.

        1. NGPZ

          like Dunn Meadow is where Pro-Palestine protests took place at IU just last year and involved student arrests, Jocelyne confirmed the protest is against a genocide funded by big tech and involves the fire-bombing of children in a developing country

          doesn’t take a detective to figure out the IRL events Willis is referencing with this arc

        2. Yumi

          You keep bringing up how Dunn Meadow is where those protests took place, and I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen my comments about how Dunn Meadow was where protests took place at IU for decades, but I’ll try again here.

        3. Li

          Thank you again for adding that context, even if I turn out to be super wrong! 🙂

    2. Kyulen

      It amazes the some people still think the state that’s been committing genocide for almost 2 years are somehow the good guys.

      1. Florence

        I take comfort in the fact that the usual hasbara dance doesn’t work anymore

      2. Irreleverent

        Friend, the Palestinian genocide is a project over a century in the making at this point (over 75 years if you want to be super rigid about it) the last two years have just been when they fully stopped caring about optics.

    3. Yak

      It’s the viewpoint that is pushed very hard by the news media. Just look at how reporting about the recent exchange of airstrikes between Israel and Iran is going: civilian casualties reported by Israel are stated as facts, while civilian casualties reported by Iran are always couched in skepticism.

      I don’t think a person can be blamed for not realizing the genocidal intent of the Israeli military, if they just aren’t very informed. I do think a person can be blamed for realizing that intent and agreeing with it, which is sadly still a lot of people.

  71. Big Steve

    This is a new Joyce (or maybe she was there all along). I like it.

  72. foducool

    what a badass moment lmao

  73. SvenTS

    Determined and confident Joyce is a new level.

    1. Throwatron

      people keep getting confused as to why everyone keeps falling in love with her. it’s shit like this, trust me

  74. Warmth

    A pact has been made
    Hearth integrity compromised
    Caution requested
    Unable to enforce caution

  75. Taffy

    Everyone talks a big game and never shuts the hell up about disaster lesbians, but the second two women are a real disaster together it’s suddenly Real Morality Cops Hours™. Y’all can’t handle anything more intense than “Oh no, I forgot the extra espresso shot in your unicorn mocha frappe~”, “Gosh, they only had five of the pastel pink pillows instead of the six we wanted at JCPenney , so I got a pastel purple one to fill the gap~”, Haha, wow we tipped 15% instead of 20% at this restaurant by mistake and now we can only afford one round of bowling instead of the two rounds we planned on, oh we’re such disasters“.

    Weakness. Joyce and Dorothy should not only cheat on their boyfriends, they should also steal a car, raid an art gallery, and kill five guys. Joyce should take advantage of Dorothy’s newly admitted infatuation and manipulate her into getting Danny and Walky arrested for arson by stealing their debit cards and hoodies, purchasing a gas can and gas for the can and matches for the gas and lighting a convenience store on fire while disguised as the boys. I wanna see the comments on that fucking storyline. Willis, I’m sure you’ve got something in store with this protest thing, but if nothing gets set on fire as a direct result of Joyce and Dorothy’s actions, I don’t buy their attraction.

    1. TheFungus

      oh breaking bad is just toxic yaoi isn’t it

      1. Li

        I’m PRETTY sure breaking bad is toxic queerbaiting if it’s anything, but admittedly I haven’t seen it.

      2. Throwatron

        never forget the main reason everybody hates walt’s wife is that she gives him one of the worst handjobs of all time

  76. Plaaaaaa

    Or they could wait until after the protest…

  77. Throwatron

    if these girls keep doing things this gay, i’m gonna start wondering if maybe they’re not heterosexual

  78. sisterofdarkoneko

    Laaauundryyy’s ooovvverrrr
    Iiiiif yoooouu waaaaant iiiit

  79. Mravac Kid

    I have loved Joyce since the early days of the Walkyverse some quarter century ago, but I don’t think I’ve ever loved her as much as in this first frame.

  80. Random832

    so they do know that Jocelyne left her phone for a reason and they should also leave their phones, right?

  81. ADLegend21

    This is the start of a wonderful love Square of Joyce-Dotty-Joe-Walky

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