Not a sock
Posted on October 18, 2025 by David M Willis

401 thoughts on “Not a sock”

  1. QueenofSodor

    i hope jakey dies

    1. dorothy keener's left doinker

      i hope jakey dies

      1. IntangibleMatter

        i hope jakey dies

      2. Steamweed

        How many doinkers does Dorothy Keener have?

    2. MeghanTheDreamCrusher

      i jake hopey dies

      1. eh, whatever

        name checks out

    3. Cholma

      I don’t get the “jakey” ref. What pairing is this? There’s no K in Joyce, Dorothy, Joe, Sarah, or Ruth.

      1. AntithesisConundrum

        TUMBLR POST
        poster 1: I wish these people were oppressed *image of tall calm boyfriend & short anxous girlfriend who can’t order her own food with a :3 face*
        poster 2: stop tagging this shit like “me and jakey!!!! ?”
        poster 3: MASSIVE photo of tags: “#i hope jakey dies”

        1. Cholma

          “Domo arigato, posters roboto”

        2. maneyan

          Uuuuh so I accidentally clicked “report comment” on your comment. Many apologies, wasn’t intended.

        3. Taffy

          I reported you just for the thrill. ? Live with the consequences hanging over your head.

          (There aren’t any, I just wanted to be mischievous for a change)

        4. Cattleprod

          There’s apparently a really high report threshold for exactly that reason. A genuinely bad post will get a lot of reports.

      2. QueenofSodor

        i’m referencing a tumblr post lol

        1. QueenofSodor

          oh dangit i waffled on wording so long i was beaten to the punch lmao

        2. Steamweed

          Between the witching hour of midnight and the striking of the one bell, lo, does proceed that race to the finish line.

        3. UrsulaDavina

          Thank you for providing context i also accidentally hit report . Sorry about that.

        4. kotarisu

          And here I was wondering who would want Congressman Jake Manley dead.

        5. Amós Batista

          Thanks. I thought Willis invented this phrase.

        6. ValdVin

          One more thanks for the origin of Jakey.

          Odd miss for me, as I am aware of all internet tradituons.

      3. Stormtide Leviathan

        It’s not a derivation of any character in the comic, it’s just a phrase from a tumblr(?) post, with jakey being someone’s boyfriend you don’t like

    4. Amós Batista

      Look, I was trying to make peace with the people that were hurt here, and you have the audacity to be the first comment?!

      How I’ll tell my boss? My mom? I’ll be always the Sicko.

      Kappa

    5. Paradoxius

      I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Joyce should kick Joe off a bridge #kickjoeoffabridge

  2. Ana Chronistic

    I’m sure if you just give him a cυck chair, he won’t feel that poor at all

    1. Mari

      ?

    2. zaratustra

      since it’s a bunk bed it’s gonna need to be like a coast guard chair

      1. Felian

        what a fun mental image 😀

    3. Steamweed

      Since (probably) neither Dorothy nor Joyce know how to do certain f2f activities, Joe might provide coaching.

  3. NGPZ

    there’s always poly ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    will hold out for Joyce X Dorothy X Joe until the end of time dammit! D:<

    1. Donovan

      I dunno someone yesterday raised the intriguing joe x danny x sal triad.

      1. segnosaur

        I doubt joe x danny x sal would work.

        Joe might be attracted to sal, but I cannot see things reciprocated. (I think she genuinely likes being Danny’s girlfriend, and I she hasn’t shown any real interest in Joe.)

        1. AK

          Sal has explicitly stated that she is not interested in polyamory.

        2. Donovan

          *rips up my fanfic and storms off in a huff*

        3. SarahTerra

          *Amber taping it back together in the sewers like she’s Penguin*

        4. Mr D

          (Laughing in penguin noises)

        5. HMRC4EVR

          *hears this in Burgess Meredith*

        6. Steamweed

          Meredith, the first, the best, the only Penguin.

        7. Nono

          She’s also very straight, sorry for the SalxMarcie fans.

        8. Steamweed

          “For now.” The ancient credo of fanfic. “For now.”

        9. Astariel

          Willis has joked(?) a couple of times on social media that the only straight member of the cast is Roz.

        10. Big Z

          Joyce has at a couple of points stated she wasn’t attracted to women, too, and we see how THAT turned out.

        11. John Campbell

          She’s not attracted to women. She’s just attracted to Dorothy.

          And Sal. And Billie. And Rachel. And Grace. And Mandy. And Alice. And… hell, let’s just call it “everyone but Becky”.

          Sorry, Becky.

        12. QueenofSodor

          i think a Joe/Danny/Sal poly situation would only work if it was a hinge arrangement wherein Danny is the hinge

      2. ValdVin

        Wait, any Joe and Danny (plus perhaps more) scenario must have room for the dragon.

    2. Dragon

      I’m hoping for poly as well (and Joe has all but said that’s what he wants) but ironically, I think *Dorothy* is the one least likely to be able to handle it maturely. Of the three, she’s the one that’s most directly expressed jealousy of one of the others having a partner.

      Now, don’t get me wrong, I think Dorothy is the most likely to *lie to herself* about being mature enough to handle the jealousy from being in a poly relationship, because being the “mature one” is so core to her identity.

      So I think she’s going to end up suppressing/hiding her jealousy, which is a *terrible* idea (and I know that from personally experiencing the fallout of someone making that poor choice).

      1. Bleeple Deeple Dew

        Simultaneously, Joe’s pretty clear self-hate might make him suppress the same or be the one to step out, under the impression he “deserves this” or to make amends for “ruining” Joyce.
        We still haven’t really explored the comparisons Joe drew to Joyce during Sarah’s sister arc.

      2. thejeff

        In theory, I suspect Joyce might have issues with jealousy in a poly relationship. See for example her interactions with Walky.
        In this hypothetical though, she’d be the hinge between Joe and Dorothy, so she’d have nothing to be jealous of. She gets both of the people she wants. They share her, but she doesn’t have to share either of them.

      3. Dot

        I’ve been saying from the start that Dorothy is the tension point of any poly dynamic between the three.

    3. Kyulen

      It seems very unlikely to me. Joyce’s actions lately haven’t given me any reason to believe she wants a poly relationship with Joe. She seems to just want Dorothy. And I give their history, I doubt Dorothy would want a poly relationship with Joe in particular.

      1. Adeptus

        There has been plenty, but you seem to dismiss it.

      2. John Campbell

        Yes, there is absolutely nothing to suggest that Joyce might want both Dorothy and Joe.

        1. KayBee

          Yep, certainly nothing in this sequence would suggest that’s exactly what Joyce has been thinking about most of the day. ?

      3. eh, whatever

        That’s only true if by “lately” you mean “in the last three hours in-universe”.

  4. Pocky

    So they want a sock with that photo stitched in?

    1. Animedingo

      Joe x joyce x dorothy x walky

      In that order

      1. Clif

        Yes! Joe x Joyce x Dorothy x Walky x Amber even better.

        Too much is never enough.

        1. deliverything

          A previous time this was being discussed, someone mentioned the intriguing addition of an Amazi-Girl+Danny+Sal triad, which could cause issues when Sal and Walky realise they each have a girlfriend timesharing a body with a sibling’s girlfriend.

          I’m not sure what sort of mess would result, but I’d like to find out.

    2. Dot

      Sheet cake for their anniversary?

    3. Amós Batista

      don’t give ideas to Joyce, she’s the type that will buy this

  5. Sirksome

    Don’t trust socks.

    1. anon

      lol it is quite the flex but considering they locked the door wouldn’t be a need other than to stop others from knocking

      1. Nymph

        It stops Saeah from using her key to come in.

        1. Nymph

          Sarah*

    2. thejeff

      Don’t trust socks, but do respect them.

  6. Wack'd

    i hope jakey dies

    1. 3oranges

      Hippocleides doesn’t care

  7. Dot

    It does feel a little excessive

    1. Dot

      Good for them although based on my own experience in college I expect this will get very obnoxious very quickly to everyone on the floor

  8. Yotomoe

    Damn I can’t believe Sarah’s a DOA commenter!

    1. Donovan

      Brother. I am braced.

    2. thenamelesssamurai

      Okay, I spit out my drink laughing. I needed that

    3. thenamelesssamurai

      Not the spitting out the drink, just the laughing.

      1. Yumi

        No, you needed to spit out the drink, too. That particular sip. Yoto just saved your life.

        1. Clif

          Henceforth and ever after, this night well be known as the time Yoto saved thenamelesssamurai’s life.

        2. FacelessDeviant

          I assume that his new holiday is celebrated with cake?

        3. thenamelesssamurai

          You know you what, I can live with that. That’s canon now.

    4. Mewzard

      While Joyce/Dorothy has been my over decade long ship…that comment made me laugh Yoto, I can’t lie.

    5. The Big One

      Honestly that’s, like, the best assessment of her character now lmao

    6. thejeff

      So, is Willis a true prophetic genius or are we just that predictable?

  9. Donovan

    Oh, no.

    1. RASSILONTDAVROS

      Oh, yes!

      (best read in the voice of Jack Sheldon)

      1. Yotomoe

        Oh no

        (best read in the voice of Knuckles from Sonic Adventure)

        1. Alexander Krizak

          OH YEAH!

          (best read in the voice of the Kool-Aid Man)

        2. Leorale

          Oh my!

          (best read in the voice of George Takei)

        3. Yotomoe

          Oh Kay!

          (best read in the voice of Ness)

        4. jeffepp

          Hey OH!

          (Best read in the voice of Ed McMahon)

        5. FacelessDeviant

          Oooh yeah!

          (best read in the voice of Macho Man Randy Savage

        6. Yotomoe

          OHHH YES

          (best read in the voice of Metaton

        7. StClair

          YES!

          (best read in the voice of Megatron (BW)

        8. Steamweed

          Best response of all.

        9. Amós Batista

          Is it on the game?

    2. UrsulaDavina

      Oh hey Mark!

      1. OngoingConversation

        I’m swamped.

  10. Cmasta1992

    Don’t worry Sarah, you’ll be over it in a couple of days (couple months irl)

  11. AbacusWizard

    A sock is a helpful warning.

    A front-page newspaper photo of yourselves making out is *bragging*.

    1. Dot

      They’re within their rights to brag, of course, it’s just very annoying behavior lol

      1. AbacusWizard

        Oh, yeah, I’m not complaining. Brag away, you two, you’ve earned it!

    2. anon

      might as well considering all that’s happened

      it’s her room tho rather than just passing it around on purpose lol

      1. Dot

        They did hoard every copy in the building, how else are folks gonna read the paper?

    3. Needfuldoer

      Isn’t that the picture they didn’t want anyone to see, to the point where they took every copy of the paper they could get their hands on?

      Secret’s out, then.

      1. John Campbell

        Yeah, but everybody they didn’t want to see it has already seen it, so they might as well take advantage of having a whole stack of them.

    4. FacelessDeviant

      To be fair, it could also be a way of being very clear with their message. They seem to have been interrupted a few times already, so clarity might be needed.

    5. Big Z

      The intriguing part to me is the idea brought up elsewhere that this is SOMEONE ELSE (Mary? Probably.) trying to do a Scarlet Letter thing, rather than these two deciding that they might as well say “fuck it, we out”.

      Either way is honestly a lot more interesting than the previous Three Stooges routine of trying to suppress it.

  12. Scruffy looking nerfherder

    Sarah and Joe incoming

    1. Yotomoe

      I’d never do that to Tony.
      Whoever he is.

      1. Scruffy looking nerfherder

        It’s honestly his own fault for standing in my way knowing that I’m a slut for enemies to lovers.

        A tough sacrifice but one I’m willing to make.

        1. Nono

          Interesting, what do you make of SarahxRaidah?

        2. Steamweed

          If the first gets to use a baseball bat on the second, I’m in.

      2. Clif

        I swear, Yoto. You’re on a roll.

    2. John Campbell

      Sure, we can hitch Tony-Sarah onto the end of the polymer chain.

  13. Amara

    Sarah has been sexiled, huh.

  14. Drainiest Drain

    i hope jakey… thrives <3

    1. Dot

      I hope this is ultimately a positive turning point in jakey’s long-term character arc

    2. UrsulaDavina

      Who the f is jakey?! I’d like to know before i deternine if i want them to die or thrive or get a peixe of cheese cake

      1. Clif

        You don’t know jakey?

        1. Needfuldoer

          From Statey Farmey?

        2. UrsulaDavina

          I know who Jakey is now and i dont have any hard feelings on whether he should die or not.

    3. Donovan

      I hope jakey remembers to file his approprate paperwork before the quarter ends.

  15. dinerkinetic

    Sarah as the only reasonable person in the comic is definitely a swerve

    1. The Big One

      No the onky reasonable ones are Raidah, Joyce, and Dorothy.

      1. dinerkinetic

        When I figured out my sexuality I didn’t cheat on my partner, let everyone know I was doing by posting a makeout pic on my door exhibitionist style, and leave the person I was considering poly with on hold purely to have sex after saying “I promise we’ll work this out once I deal with an emergency”

        Love is beautiful and important as is staying true to yourself. But like, you can do that without being a jerk and joyce really hasn’t

        (#Joyce_and_dorothy_can_still_be_redeemed_but_need_more_consequences)

        1. dinerkinetic

          *eed more consequences (lol oops)

        2. The Big One

          Literally every page after they got together has directly or indirectly been a consequence. They’ve had more than enough consequences.

          The idea no longer repressing their queerness is a Bad Action they need redemption from is just straight up false.

        3. dinerkinetic

          Oh! uh, let me clarify what I mean by consequences– so!

          I don’t think the characters should be punished for being queer? Becky got enough of that for like ten lesbians, and the last thing I want or need is more discrimination?

          I want *narrative* consequences, as in interesting fallout, for the things they’ve _actually_ done wrong– namely, pursue the relationship in a way that hurt people when they *did not need to* to be together? Like, things like cheating, or mocking walky while he was being dumped, or leaving joe hanging etc etc are all not great.

          And! people being bad is *interesting to read!* I also don’t want willis to write a comic about people who never do anything wrong because that would be very boring. but people who do bad things should experience some kind of pushback? and joyce and dorothy are kind of jerks sometimes, that’s all

        4. The Big One

          Joe is objectively a sex pest. Objectifying women by ranking them on a list and then showing them that list as “advice” is sexual harassment and makes him a sex pest.

        5. Hoboturtle

          Making a private liat might be gross but that doesn’t make him a sex pest escepialyl since it was leaked and he didn’t intend on people seeing it.

        6. Tan

          The list was never private. See e.g. him offering to share it with Raidah who he barely knew: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/boyspizzaretreat/

        7. C.T Phipps

          Isn’t the whole point that he screwed up and has been trying to do better?

        8. thejeff

          Joe was objectively a sex pest.

          He’s had a whole character arc about getting better.

        9. Sirksome

          I feel like there’s two different definitions being applied to sex pest. Sexual harassment which Joe is definitely guilty of, or sexual assault which he is not. We need to agree on what camp we’re in. Personally I think sex pest is too soft a term for sexual predators. I think it perfectly fits harassment or in general being a douche which accurately describes pre time skip Joe and even other characters like Amber.

        10. thejeff

          Hot take, but I think Joe’s arc suffers from the same problem as this cheating arc: not being willing to commit to the premise. The cheating was minimal and gets further minimized by the reaction. Joe’s portrayed as sex pest and as a walking pile of red flags, but his arc winds up being focused on the list and on rating women more generally with no indication that any one he actually got together with had any problem with him.
          He’s kept well short of not just sexual assault but even anyone he did get together with showing signs of regret. This makes him easy to redeem, but also makes it very easy for people to ignore that he was a problem at all.

        11. Dot

          I honestly agree that there have been way too many consequences for Joyce and Dorothy coming out. That was never what I wanted narrative consequences for, certainly not so many in rapid succession. I suspect this is the case for most people on “team consequences”*

          * EXTREMELY LOOSE AND INFORMAL TERMINOLOGY DO NOT USE TO CREATE BINARY FOR PURPOSES OF FLAME WARS

        12. Yotomoe

          I kinda hate the word consequences cuz much like in my 4th grade class when the teacher had to explain that consequences does not just mean bad things. It simply means a reaction to any event. Good or bad. For me consequences for the cheating would mostly just be the reactions of the guys in the relation. Not some Karmic justice from above or like…punishment for being gay.

        13. The Big One

          Unfortunately because of the nature of how they came out any “consequence” for cheating is likely going to be intertwined with consequences for coming out. There’s kind of no way to separate the two.

        14. Big Z

          Which is why the whole “cheating” storyline was probably a mistake to begin with — if we hadn’t had that, there’d… well, probably be an entirely different set of screaming fights, to be fair. There’s a lot of homophobia/misogyny out there.

        15. Sirksome

          @ Big Z I kinda feel like the cheating aspect gets majorly overplayed here. This has been the tamest cheating ever especially if compared to real life sex drama often occurring in college living spaces. Also cheating is a very common plot point in romance stories, perhaps the most common one. I’m very surprised by the amount of negative reactions to it and them being used to undercut or invalidate Dorothy and Joyce’s relationship. This is basically entry level cheating drama. The average soap opera on primetime tv drama would destroy us with their cheating and sex antics if this is where things have gone too far.

        16. Big Z

          I think that’s the point, really — a lot of folks are reacting to it badly because it doesn’t seem like there’s going to be any of the drama that usually happens in the real-life or primetime versions of this kinda plot. No one’s screaming, or throwing things, or setting anyone’s car on fire, so far the whole thing has kinda landed with a wet slap as the story focuses on the protest/publicity/coming-out issues in-between kissy kissy stuff.

          And so we’ve got these big arguments going on, in which as far as I can tell there are approximately three camps (none of whom should be trusted) on the “I don’t like this” side of the issue:
          – “What was the point of a cheating story where no one cares about the cheating? More consequences for cheating!”
          – “I am specifically and angrily bothered by cheating due to whatever real life experiences I have! More consequences for cheating!”
          – “I am specifically annoyed by happy wlw relationships, and I’m angry about it (and I may or may not pretend my problem is about the cheating).”

          All of this is fine, except for group 3 who can fuck right off, and except for the folks who are convinced people who are in group 1/2 are actually in group 3.

        17. Big Z

          @Sirksome, con’t.

          So I think “the cheating aspect gets majorly overplayed” is a valid way to look at it, certainly, but in the sense of “people are treating it more seriously than the narrative is” which is why I think maybe it just shouldn’t have been there at all because the narrative isn’t committing to it enough to make it interesting, which causes weird tension in parts of the fanbase.

        18. Sirksome

          @ Big Z I think the consequences falling flat argument is truly more of a pacing flaw. We readers spend weeks stewing in moment to moment conversations but it’s really only been a few hours, maybe a day. What kind of consequences do people want? Maybe give time for characters to actually digest the events in a realistic timeframe. Walky might be a snarky, bitter little shit about this after shitting out those nuggets. The next group walk to math class should be fun. People demanding consequences now to that seems unreasonable. It’s been five minutes. And do you really want Joe and or Walky to angrily vent at Joyce or Dorothy mere moments after finding out. I don’t think readers would respond to that very well. Plus Joe and Walky are both not the type of guys that get immediately emotional. Suppressing that stuff is like David (homework eater) Walkertons go to move. We just need to actually wait and see how it plays out before deciding if Joyce and Dorothy really just got away with it.

          That is of course if you think getting outed to your family and anyone who reads IU news, chewed out immediately by Sarah, and crushing the faith out of your best friend all in one day aren’t consequences.

        19. Big Z

          @Sirksome – And of course all of that compounds!

          – The pacing is such that we have been spending three strips on any one thing with what seems like a lot of going back to “boy, these two are super super horny for each other”. I’ve been moderately annoyed with a perceived change in pacing quality since approximately the protest.
          – The pacing and order of events ALSO means we’re getting repeated bits of smoochy “payoff” with very little dramatic meat in-between. The things they’ve been running around doing have felt very much biased towards the “coming-out” storyline and not the “cheating” storyline, thus far.

          That is of course if you think getting outed to your family and anyone who reads IU news, chewed out immediately by Sarah, and crushing the faith out of your best friend all in one day aren’t consequences.

          This goes back kinda to my original point when I responded to Big One: two of those are “consequences of being girls in love”, not “consequences of cheating” — and I don’t particularly WANT consequences for being girls in love outside of the consequences for cheating! I’m honestly pretty fucking happy that Hank was at least reasonable about stuff, and I’m just as honestly hoping that Becky gets some screen time to help get herself turned around too.

          (As for Sarah’s chewing-out, it was as yet kinda bland and unfulfilling mostly because it seems to have just bounced right off Doyce. Time will tell if it gets better.)

        20. thejeff

          Sarah’s chewing-out was the biggest response to the cheating itself we’ve seen and while I appreciated it, it was undercut the next in comic morning by Joe’s reaction. Sarah was (is?) upset on his behalf, so if he’s not upset, that kind of falls flat.

        21. thejeff

          @Sirksome: That it’s been the tamest cheating ever is a big part of my problem with it. It’s like dipping a toe in the cheating water, but refusing to commit to it. The cheating itself is about as minimal as possible and the reactions of the partners are minimized even farther.

          Which I guess puts me in Big Z’s camp 1?

        22. Burahn

          Queerness has nothing to do with it. It’s just the shock of seeing Joyce act like a bit of a dick is all. In the same breath, need to have the drama as that’s what brings us here in the first place. Just never expected Joyce of all characters to drive a wedge in the readers.

          Mike coming back from the dead would’ve been more expected than this, lol.

        23. Reaver

          WYM Joyce acts like a dick all the time, why is it so shocking now? lol

        24. Jay

          Except she doesn’t?

          In-fact it’s fairly rare for her to completely disregard the feelings of those she’s close too

        25. Big Z

          Both of these things are true, TBH. Joyce ordinarily shows a lot of consideration for the people she’s close to AND Joyce has a tendency to be very bullheaded and kinda jerkish when she is sure she’s on the right path (which is a great deal of the time, thanks fundie programming!)

        26. Derek

          “Literally every page after they got together has directly or indirectly been a consequence. They’ve had more than enough consequences.”
          girl, WHERE?
          literally every person they have encountered except Becky and Sarah has given them acceptance and even congratulations for their messed up relationship. and it’s messed up because it was founded on cheating and lies, not because it’s queer, so just getting that out of the way right now. Even Hank accepted it without a fight.

        27. Embe13

          it is thedifference between those of us who ae followers and believers in the holistic interconnectedness of all thinsg as taught by douglass adams. and those who wish to believe their actions are not responsible for the way others react “i cannot control how others react so i am not responsible for their reactions.”

      2. UrsulaDavina

        What about Leslie and Asama? I find both of them quite reasonable in this current storyline.

        1. Wack'd

          who is asama? is she dating jakey

        2. UrsulaDavina

          *Asma and no i doubt it she may want to date Alice though.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Ruth has been pretty reasonable for a while now.

  16. Bittersweet

    Okay right when I was starting to like them as a couple, wtf lol. I refuse to believe Dorothy wasn’t wearing socks lol

    1. cbwroses

      They’re in Joyce’s room. Even if neither is wearing socks, there’s a sock in there.

  17. AbacusWizard

    I find it kinda hilarious that Jocelyne gets tagged in every strip where the newspaper can be seen because the top of her head is barely visible in the background of the photo.

    1. Throwatron

      thank you for noticing this and bringing it to my attention, it’s nice to get some extra joy out of this

  18. Poot-pootington

    poor poor Joe. I hope someone who values and loves him happens and rocks his world.

    1. Yotomoe

      o3o…you want him to masturbate?

      1. Donovan

        You know…

      2. Throwatron

        I mean, if Joe valued and loved Joe, he wouldn’t be in the early stages of speed-running “Becoming My Mom” before our eyes

    2. anon

      i mean, it would be a bit awkward if he was on the way but i don’t think they actually fully broke up?

    3. Amós Batista

      No more Sleeping-Around-Joe?

  19. Yotomoe

    Also can I just say. I’m likin’ the ‘FIT Sarah. Have we seen her wearing this already but the colors look good on her.

    1. Dot

      It’s a very good Sarah fit!

    2. cbwroses

      Are you saying you’re liking a Sarah who is fit, Sarah in that outfit, or both (I presume the second option)?

      1. Yotomoe

        2nd. Though I guess she’s been getting fit when she hit the gym that one time.

      2. Dot

        Sarah’s always been fit, in the British sense of the term

  20. Doopyboop

    I like the originality/creativity.

    1. thenamelesssamurai

      Yeah, it’s creative if nothing else.

    2. Stormtide Leviathan

      I mean how many people get the opportunity, ya know?

    3. thenamelesssamurai

      Also, I replyed to you comment about Magic back in the conversation on the 10th (The comic was Shaken, for reference) if you’re interesting in continuing that conversation. It just took me a few days to type everything up.

      @yotomoe too, if you’re interested as well.

      1. deliverything

        To save people searching, it’s
        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/book-16/01-not-so-smooth-criminals/shaken/#comment-1947237

        1. Nymph

          That’s kind of you <3

        2. thenamelesssamurai

          Go raibh maoth agat (Thank you in Irish) for posting that

        3. thenamelesssamurai

          Maith agat*

  21. Sirksome

    Dial 1-800-POOR-JOE to support your local at risk Jewish young man getting actively cucked today.

    1. Mr D

      I honestly don’t know if Joe on the cuck chair would be the single most jazzed man alive, or a broken husk of a man.

      Or both at once.

      1. Nymph

        Joe is a bottom for SURE, so being told he can only watch Dorothy/Joyce but not touch and he has to cover one eye to block out the Dorothy part is just going to unlock a few things for him.

        1. Nymph

          Wrote bottom, meant sub… but I think he’d probs be happy as a bottom too!

        2. StClair

          Dina all but threatened to top him that one time, so…

        3. Nymph

          VERY true and he was super into that, so I’m gonna give myself a sticker for being right lmao

        4. Dot

          Joyce is the only top there fr

  22. Cholma

    Interesting that Ruth went straight to “paper=sock” instead of thinking that someone (like Mary) was posting it there like a Scarlet Letter. (Starring Joyce Brown as Hester Prynne!)

    1. Proxiehunter

      That’s my thought. I went back the past couple strips and there’s no evidence that either of them hung that there. Sarah and Ruth assuming they did makes a good punchline, but I wouldn’t take it as fact yet.

      1. Big Z

        And let me tell you, I would LOVE for this to blow up in Mary’s face.

    2. Yotomoe

      Everyone in DOA has an in-born sex sense that allows them to sense when anyone is or has fucked.

      1. Stormtide Leviathan

        How that sex sense manifests varies from pairing to pairing. For example, when it came to Joe and Roz that sense was “sight” and “ability to read the news”

        1. Yotomoe

          The sense was transmitted through wifi waves. in video recordings. On the internet.

        2. Clif

          I know this is a long shot, but maybe things happen between strips, or even between panels. I mean, we never actually saw the doors being locked either, and logically that’s when it would have happened.

          Yeah, I know. It’s funnier this way.

    3. Alina

      Mary makes sense, though my first thought was Raidah.

      1. Yotomoe

        Raidah definitely wouldn’t. She hates that the paper has them on it, she wouldn’t go out of her way to put it on their door.

    4. Ray Radlein

      I think it’s the positioning on the actual doorknob that communicates sockness. A scarlet letter from Mary would be plastered on the door at eye-level.

  23. Dara

    “Y’know, if this bullshit is gonna happen, we may as well use it.” – Joyce and Dorothy, apparently

    1. Dot

      Fair cop to them frankly

    2. NGPZ

      what’s that one earth saying?

      “life gives you lemons, chuck em at people”

      1. Golden Yak

        “Make life take the lemons back! Get mad!”

        1. Dara

          Yeah! That one!

      2. Yotomoe

        “Life gives you lemons you make beef stew”

  24. Yotomoe

    Also feels weird to post this but

    Thanks to everyone who defended me yesterday. Like seriously it meant so much to me. I know we might not always agree but I’m glad people at least have a somewhat charitable view of me.

    😛 Let’s hope I don’t fuck THAT up.

    1. Doopyboop

      ?It was the right thing to do. I hope you have a far better day today!

    2. Scruffy looking nerfherder

      Damn, what’d I miss? Ya take one comment section off and people try to ice Yoto?

      1. Yotomoe

        Everyone knows Yoto is best lukewarm.

        1. Steamweed

          And Luke appreciates it, too.

    3. Donovan

      You’re good, yoto. You just caught some INCREDIBLY WILD strays istg

      1. Big Z

        +1

    4. Sirksome

      You’re doing fine. Try not to let comments affect you too much. Take breaks if you need it. I think most of the discussion is usually in good faith and it’s a new strip, a new discussion, new chance to try and be better. For all of us.

    5. Mewzard

      I missed out on that mess, but do allow me to say you’re usually quite awesome, despite shipping disagreements.

      It’s too easy to let one’s emotional investments in a story or characters become far too personal for a healthy response. I definitely try to avoid that.

      Maybe once we’re passed this initial bit and Joyce, Dorothy, and Joe can have a conversation about all of this, things will get better.

    6. NGPZ

      I missed the comments yesterday, real sorry to hear that bruh that sucks T-T

      hope ya doin better now <3

      1. Donovan

        Don’t backread. Its not worth it ?

    7. thenamelesssamurai

      Wasn’t here yesterday, but in general, you are one of my favorite commentators here and I have always enjoyed your takes even when I disagree. Also, I really appreciate you setting up that Joyce/Dorothy appreciation thread to hear what people liked about it out of genuine curiosity.

    8. Jay

      I didn’t read yesterdays comments just went back and did and WOW

      Were there some garbage ass opinions in that comment thread that I wish I was there to get angry about

    9. Amós Batista

      Anytime, Yoto. You deserve it.
      *hugs*

  25. UrsulaDavina

    So i have seen it twice and i do t get it who os Jakey and why are want them to die? I dont know where tbis is coming from if this is meme political statement or there is a person named Jakey who people want to die. Google has said nothing.

    Also on the subject of socks i lose socks all the time so i legitmely get super excited when i get socks as gift its probably my favorite thing to get as a gift.

    1. Dot

      It’s a meme

      1. UrsulaDavina

        Thank you. Also sorry to ask if you could explain the meme if actually has an explination i would like to hear about the origin of the meme.

        1. UrsulaDavina

          Gods damn it this is what happens when your phones autocorrect absorbs your dyslexia! Apolgies for the poor structure: “Could you explain said meme if it actually has a explination. i would like to hear about the orgins of it. Thank you for your patience.

      2. UrsulaDavina

        Ok someone has explained the meme and origin so no need to explain it. Anyway I hope Jakey reconsiders their life choices being a meme is no way to live a fufilling life.

    2. UrsulaDavina

      Dear gods, my first statement is extremely poorly written

      It should say “who is Jakey and why do folks want him to die?”

  26. Haz

    That’s one way to own it.

  27. Donovan

    Sarah. I hope people will be normal about you.

    1. Dot

      It’s a woman of color and this is the dumbing of age comments section. You do the math.

      1. Donovan

        Dot please. Hope is all i have on this bitch of an earth.

    2. Yotomoe

      I’m SO normal about her. IN FACT I’M THE MOST NORMAL. SO I WIN. *screeches like a eagle*

    3. Kyulen

      A character who disapproves of Joyce and Dorothy for how badly they’ve been treating other characters since they got together? I’m not optimistic about this comment section.

    4. StClair

      (narrator) “They will not.”

  28. Shakes

    Willis cranking a dial marked “gay” while looking at the audience for approval only to see increasing unruliness.

    1. Sarah Lea

      If that’s what were actually happening, it’d be the equivalent of NASA trying to get the New Horizon probe to follow an epileptic space squirrel across the surface of Pluto. With a buffer that large, there’s only so much “cranking” that can be done responsively to the audience. I’m not saying it’s zero…but it seems awfully low.

      1. Shakes

        Nah you’re right I’m sure the buffer makes it difficult to course-correct big strokes like this. It’s still amusing to me DoA fulfills its promise of “more gay” and so many people are “no, not like that!”

    2. Ray Radlein

      he will face god and walk bckwards into hell

  29. Shiro

    That’s ballsy if they put it up there to signify “we bonin’,” but I’m wondering if someone else put it there as a shaming tactic or something. It definitely seemed like Joyce had too much residual anxiety about Sarah’s reaction to do something like that

    1. Yumi

      My first thought was that Mike put it there. Then I remembered he was dead. But this would be an interesting way of announcing his return.

      1. Yotomoe

        Mike “I lived bitch”

      2. Icalasari

        Mike now possesses people, mostly to do moms for a nickel

        1. Yotomoe

          It’s actually a service he provides for spouces who cannot perform for their partner. So mike possesses them, does the dead. And is paid.

          In Nickels.

        2. and painted shark women

          They put them on his eyes, like the fare for the ferryman

        3. Yotomoe

          Ferryman: You’re like the only guy making round trips here
          Mike: I got a business to run.

        4. Dara

          ferry rides are for closers

        5. Pappenheimer

          Him and that Orpheus dude…it’s all for the chicks.

        6. Jay

          I would actually pay willis 100 million dollars if they brought Joe back as a ghost that possessed people just to insult them

        7. Jay

          Joe? Fucking Mike jesus christ my brain

        8. Taffy

          No no, let’s see Joe’s Ghost zas a character, without Joe dying first. That sounds fascinating.

        9. Ray Radlein

          Joe fucking Mike would seem unlikely, but I am willing to subscribe to your newsletter

        10. Nymph

          Not just Mike, but Jesus Christ as well!

        11. Ray Radlein

          He’s been wanting to nail that dude for ages

      3. Shiro

        That would be a hilarious twist ngl

      4. Drainiest Drain

        I would pay so much money for this to be real

    2. Dot

      I did have that thought but based on the content of this strip Occam’s razor would suggest that it was DoJo

  30. SvenTS

    Joe: ‘eh, I’m fine, thanks for the thought though.

    1. Lumino

      He’s ‘fine’ like Walky is ‘fine’.

      1. Dare

        This is a selection of things Joe has said regarding this matter:

        To Dorothy, before The Kisses:

        Do you want to know what my suggestion is, Dorothy? Be honest with yourself. … I just remember a time when I was in denial about wanting Joyce
        and all the jerky, hurtful decisions I made to try to bury it to convince myself otherwise.

        To Joyce, after The Kisses:

        I endorse you kissing Dorothy. or you two also doing other things. … Look, who do you think nudged Dorothy in your direction in the first place?

        What the heck is it with people not believing that others can actually feel like this, not out of self-loathing but out of love and empathy and wanting everyone to be happy, including themselves? I know I do, and have, and will.

        1. Fail Earnhardt

          Having previously been a boy in college (currently butch), Joe’s response to Joyce came off like the classic guy move of “appearing chill so you don’t blow up your spot.” There’s a real possibility he’s not allowing himself to feel anything because he doesn’t believe he deserves to and the “Wait, this sucks actually” will hit him much later and much harder.

        2. Throwatron

          Joe is ultimately blind to the fact that he’s lying to himself about putting an amount of emotional investment into somebody who can’t or won’t match it, which is exactly the reason why he’s willing to accept much less than the totality of what he wants to give to Joyce…thus internalizing and repeating the exact same behavior his Mom did with his Dad, for more or less the exact same reason.

          Getting some of something good is better than getting nothing at all, but if the reason you’re settling for less is that you don’t believe you can ever do better? Then, you’re ultimately lying to yourself about why you’re staying, and ultimately putting your wants and needs aside because you fear losing the thing you have.

        3. Dare

          If it was just talking to Joyce, I might agree with this. But: he was talking to Dorothy even before the two had kissed, and was not only emphatizing, but encouraging.

          So yeah. I have faith in Joe. It might be misplaced, but I want to take him for his word.

          (This whole tthing sort of hits close to home for me, because I’ve been poly as long as I’ve thought about any kind of relationships. Jealousy is something I experience hardly ever; when it comes to love and affection, more is more, even if it’s not directed at me. Yet some of my friends / lovers have thought that me not being jealous means that I somehow loathe or do not value myself. With a hindsight of quite a few years, those people were wrong, they were projecting or something.)

        4. Fail Earnhardt

          They’re not mutually exclusive either. Joe could genuinely want Joyce to have room to explore her feelings AND feel like he doesn’t deserve to feel otherwise due to his past behavior. The poly aspect doesn’t erase how his struggle for self worth colors his decisions.

        5. Big Z

          I’m coming at it from “poly, cismale” myself, and frankly I am very ambiguous on it. The context of it all makes it unclear to me as to whether Joe has considered things and knows he’s okay with a poly relationship, OR whether Joe is willing to settle for whatever scraps he can have. I’ve (fortunately) never been down bad enough to ask for an open/poly situation to try to save a disintegrating relationship, but I’ve known folks who were, y’know?

          I don’t think we know enough about his actual feelings to pick one or the other (in the same way that we don’t really know enough about Joyce’s, especially given her specific romantic proclivities re: object permanence, to know if she’s considering it or was planning to let him down easy).

        6. Nymph

          I think the main reason I lean toward “he knows what he’s doing” is that he intentionally took actions ahead of time that he knew might lead to this exact situation. He SHOULD HAVE proposed the idea to Joyce in advance, but he certainly didn’t come up with it as a way to salvage things (imo) he came up with it as a relationship style he thinks he could be happy in.

          Maybe he’s wrong! It’s been known to happen, but I do think Joe is heading into polyamory with his eyes more open than they might have been. Also, we already know he’s good at sharing in a casual way. That doesn’t always lend itself to being good at sharing in a serious relationship, but it certainly counts toward the likelihood of it!

        7. Taffy

          And hell, even if Joyce and Dorothy are both down for it but their throuple just doesn’t work out, at least they gave it a shot. They’re 18, it’s not like they’ve got anything to lose by trying something new.

        8. Nymph

          Exactly! There’s no harm in trying something and finding out it is (or isn’t) for you.

        9. Big Z

          Personally, I’m having a hard time shaking my initial read of Joe’s actions as “if Doyce is bound to happen, I will nudge them into tearing the bandaid off rather than having it simmer into resentment or chaos” — the fact that it wasn’t proposed in advance is what makes me wonder how he really feels deep down.

          It’d be nice if we had some more screen time with both him and Joyce (not even necessarily together! Discussing it with Danny/Dorothy respectively would work!) so we could get a better idea of what either of them was actually thinking/feeling about it.

        10. Nymph

          Totally fair! I don’t agree with that read, but ultimately it’ll get sorted out on-screen one way or another. I’m excited for whatever direction it goes, tbh.

        11. thejeff

          Even earlier though, there was I don’t think I get to feel jealous, not with my history, which makes me worry more.

  31. Suet

    The paper you weren’t supposed to see:

    feels contrarian if Joyce/Dorothy taped it

    1. Thing 2

      Feels contrary to me too. I mean, I know it can be explained away, but My world models currently assign higher probability to someone else taping it there. All sorts of possible reasons “Have you seen this?” “Warning, this.” “you harlots” “gotcha” “hey everyone, this person, this…”
      Wonder if there is one on Dorothy’s door too…

  32. Rowen Morland

    I’m pretty interested to see if Joe finds that he actually has a lot of room for compersion and it helps things further click with how he was before and who he wants to be instead of that, or if he ends up with a “no, it’s not ok.” realisation. Also I think regardless of how Joyce is handling this right now I thin he’s determined to give her a grace period to sort things out.

  33. IntangibleMatter

    Look, if I had a newspaper to use instead of a sock, I’d do it.

  34. Josh

    Oh wow, it really did cut to Sarah.

    1. Dot

      I called it!

    2. AbacusWizard

      But she’s not eating cereal!

  35. Dave Van Domelen

    Eh, Sarah’d be pissed at having to feel most sorts of legitimate emotions.

  36. FlamestAndLight

    I think one problem i’m having is that recently my best friend and I fell in love with each other and our shitty exboyfriend who won’t leave us alone has somehow been mapped onto Joe in my brain so I keep feeling like every bit of sympathy for Joe is showing favour for my ex.

    I do hope we get to see Joe and he doesn’t suck in such a way that he stops being mapped to my ex and I stop hating him arbitrarily.

    But for right now, i cannot help but feel like “fuck joe, let the girls kiss!”

    1. Theozilla

      I don’t think you need to worry about Joe’s reaction, he already basically said he is okay with Joyce hooking up with Dorothy. I think the more concerning dangling plot thread is that Dorothy is currently operating under the false-impression that Joyce has already properly broken up with Joe. She’s the one who may have some issues if/when she learns that fact.

    2. Jay

      I mean…..did you blatantly cheat on your shitty ex boyfriend?

      1. The Big One

        That’s not really relevant.

      2. FlamestAndLight

        Gonna be real with you Jay, that’s not your business, but also no. Joe and my ex have very little in common other than being men and being sad, like legitimately next to nothing.

        Hell, Joe has shown more willingness and ability to change his shitty behavior than my ex ever did in the three years I knew him.

      3. Nymph

        Would this make the stalking okay in your mind? Do you often go hunting for reasons to blame victims you don’t even know?

      4. Big Z

        Correspondences don’t have to be perfect to cause people to associate them together. As the person who you’re responding to acknowledged in teh post you’re responding to (“somehow got mapped” and “I keep feeling like” and “I do hope we get to see Joe and he doesn’t suck” don’t equate to “this is an exact comparison that I fully endorse”, y’know)

    3. Big Z

      That situation definitely sucks, all the more so for getting mentally mapped onto a comic you’re presumably reading for entertainment rather than a reminder of the real-life shit.

      Here’s hoping that your shitty ex gets a goddamn clue and fucks off into the sunset (or off a short pier, I’m not picky).

  37. segnosaur

    Random observation…

    I see Sarah still has her “halloween/witch” drawing on her door, even though we are now into the new year.

    1. UrsulaDavina

      People celebrate Christmas year round so i say let Sarah celebrate Halloween year round!

      1. NGPZ

        this is Halloween

        THIS IS HALLOWEEN

        HALLOWEEN HALLOWEEN

      2. Doopyboop

        One time in June I had a guy come in to take care of my A/C unit and he took one look around at the Halloween decor around my living room and flatly commented “huh… you really like Halloween, don’t you?”.

    2. Bryy

      no we’re in october.

    3. Yotomoe

      I forgot to change my pokemon go avatar from the halloween outfit for so long it’s back to being relevant.

    4. 3oranges

      An evil witch unrepentant in hell is always relevant. 🙂

  38. Acher4

    This is truly clever and hilarious! Props for the idea.
    ROFL

    *checks comments and people finding this idea horrendous*

    Wth is wrong with you??? ?

  39. EpochFlame

    poor joe indeed

    1. EpochFlame

      i hope this leads to sarah and joe being friends

      1. Smokeysis

        Seconded

  40. Bryy

    ew.

  41. Dot

    Willis is there anything you can do about the huge ads that suddenly appear in the middle of the comment field and eat up half of everything there

    1. I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams

      IIRC from the past times this happened this is a hiveworks issue and any ability to remove said ad would need to go through them, but either way is sucks shit and i hope these obnoxious comment blocking ads will just die off for good

    2. Big Z

      What platform/device are you browsing on? I might be able to at least suggest an ad blocker that would help.

      1. Dot

        Oh on desktop I use an adblocker so that’s fine, it’s a mobile issue.

        1. Big Z

          I have not had this problem with mobile Firefox on Android, which also allows for ublock to be installed at least as of whatever version is installed on my Pixel 8/Android 16.

  42. I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams

    Ruth AND Sarah? Together in one strip? You love to see it.

    1. Donovan

      They should kiss

      1. I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams

        Yeah sure I’d be down for that. Rurah canon 2036 lfg !!

        1. Reaver

          SaRuthless!

  43. Jon

    C’mon, Joyce, that’s just tacky.

    I mean, I gotta admire the gall it takes. It’s a hell of a power move.

    Still tacky though haha

    1. Nymph

      Nothing wrong with being tacky!

  44. Miroku2235

    So Joyce, when you gonna tell Dorothy you’re still with Joe? Before or after you propose?

    1. Reaver

      After they’ve been a married poly couple and have 4 kids

    2. Vaishino

      In a hilarious twist, never. Dorothy will find out from another newspaper front page spread where Joyce and Jo kiss.

      1. Throwatron

        I love the implication that it would, naturally, occur at a protest about a completely different atrocity that Joyce and Joe are equally uneducated about.

        1. deliverything

          Maybe a FIRRIB protest. Ethan takes over Raidah’s role.

    3. John Campbell

      Propose? They got married before they even kissed. Joyce is already identifying Dorothy as her wife.

  45. Vaishino

    Guys, I don’t think they did the newspaper on the doorknob themselves. That feels like Mary trying to do a scarlet letter on them. It won’t work of course, the only people upset that they kissed are in the comments section, or Joyce’s bedroom waiting for the second half of a conversation.

    1. Ray Radlein

      Mary wouldn’t have put it on the doorknob, where a sock would go. She would have put it front and center at eye level

    2. Nymph

      I don’t think Joe is in Joyce’s bedroom (since that’s where Joyce and Dorothy are) but it’d be very funny if it’s Mary trying to flame them and it just backfires spectacularly to look like a cool don’t-give-a-fuck moment.

      1. Vaishino

        Shoot you’re right. I just liked the visual of Joe freezing in place after Joyce was like “hey I’ll be back to continue this” like Fry’s dog in that one Futurama episode.

  46. Reaver

    *Pushes Sarah and Ruth together*

    Now Kith…

  47. Amós Batista

    It amazes me how they are so intense, at point of putting the IDS first page in the door to everybody see that they will not care about anything, after all.

    Scandalous.

    The Innocent Joyce is gone. The Worry Dorothy is dead. They don’t care about mess or hurt anyone.

  48. SarahTerra

    The Kiss-Miss Christmas Doorknob Bandit strikes again!

    1. SarahTerra

      Joyce does have enough newspapers to actually do this just saying

  49. Kyulen

    I find both Sarah and Ruth relatable today.

  50. Reltzik

    Apparently, Joyce and Dorothy want plausible deniability. Hence the cover story.

    1. tyersome

      Do they really think they can paper over this situation?

  51. Thing 2

    Sarah, desperate for something from her room, maybe tampons, how long will she wait?

    1. 3oranges

      A woman walks past her own door and your first thought is about whether she needs menstrual products? :/

      1. Thing 2

        A woman is shut out of her own room and my mind turns to Why she was coming there. ONE thought was that she needs something out of it that she really doesn’t want to wait until they have finished for. That one line of thought had various solutions, including tampons, also lots of other things, the urgency of which I might need to explain.
        First thought? Nope, not even close.

        1. Dot

          Dude.

        2. Nymph

          She’s on a floor full of people who get their periods (with potential exceptions for various medical reasons) I don’t think needing a tampon would be the emergency you think it is.

          *knock knock*
          Sarah: I need a tampon and Joyce is in our room with the door locked.
          Sierra: Okay! *disappears, comes back with a tampon*
          ~end scene~

        3. Dot

          Universities also often make menstrual products freely available, either in the student health center or in bathrooms. Dunno if IU does, but it’s pretty common.

        4. Nymph

          Also this! I wasn’t sure that was still the case in the US given The Horrors, but yeah it’s not hard to track down a tampon or pad in an urgent moment where Sarah is rn.

        5. thejeff

          But also, if it’s urgent enough, ignore the sock, knock and go get what you need. It’s embarrassing and annoying, but the warning’s on the door to prevent you from stumbling into something without warning, not as a hard barrier.

          I remember going down to breakfast and coming up to find a sock on the door, but I needed books and stuff for class, so I knocked, apologized, grabbed my bag and left them to it. It’s not that big a deal in general.

        6. thejeff

          And yet it’s the one you chose to write down for all to see.

        7. Thing 2

          Yes. I did. I don’t find it a big deal. Maybe you do. At least it’s a change from the cheating/monogamy focus. Wow.
          When I want to actually discuss something, not much response. Casual comment – heap of response.
          Wish I’d said books now. Is there something wrong with sating tampon as opposed to book? But maybe book would have promoted a response too!
          I didn’t say emergency, I said she didn’t want to wait until they finished.
          No, I wouldn’t just go in! But that’s me, not anyone else.

        8. Big Z

          If I were Sarah/Joyce, I wouldn’t go in.

          If I were me and my freshman roommate, who was apparently trying out his spider monkey impression with his rotating cast of girls, I absolutely barged in at the slightest need because that damn sock was up 50% of the time some weeks.

    2. Big Z

      In all seriousness, the posture in the first panel doesn’t read as “I need something from my room” to me, it reads as “doot doot doo, walking down the hallway to somewhere else, hey why is there something I don’t recognize stuck to MY door?”

      1. Thing 2

        Yep. I can see that. I can see other interpretations too, but I certainly clocked that. It was just a casual comment like the ones about Joe still being in the exact same place as when Joyce left. It’s not that we think he is, it is just something that crosses the mind and gets commented on.

  52. aSnowyEvening

    Joyce and Dorothy: OMG we must collect EVERY SINGLE ISSUE in the building so that NOBODY sees the front page photo.

    Also Joyce and Dorothy: No time to find a suitably clean sock to put on the door here let’s put the front page photo on the handle that will DEFINITELY make sure that nobody will interrupt our hanky panky.

    1. Big Z

      Even if we assume they put it there, I think probably once they actually came out to Hank that took a lot of the “keep it secret” pressure off.

      1. Ray Radlein

        Not just Hank; they’re basically out to everyone at the school who they might have wanted to not be out to already

  53. Fail Earnhardt

    This has been a tough storyline for me. I’m a fairly recent lesbian (almost 1.5 years on hrt woooo!!!!) so I wanna fully ride for the yuri, but I’ve also lived through Walky’s traumatic emotional withdrawal and been in Joe’s current position before. I’m familiar with the pain of learning you weren’t valued in the relationship like you thought you were. I went through the shame cycle that prevents you from expressing discomfort until it’s overwhelming and it almost killed me. I can’t help but see shades of that in both of them and I hate that it’s preventing me from seeing the newspaper on the doorknob and simply replying “Sick power move, you two!”

    1. Thing 2

      Sympathies with the tough times. Sympathies with the analysis of your own thought processes, but big ups to you for recognising them for what they are. Go you, step by step to being the best you.

    2. Regina phalange

      I feel like this is a completely normal reaction, though. Just like Sarah’s reaction here is “poor Joe,” not “good for them.” Like, if I witnessed this happen in real life, with full knowledge of the sequence of events—basically, if I was Sarah—my immediate reaction to seeing that newspaper would be, “wow, dick move, guys. You think there’s NO way the guys you cheated on would see this just because they don’t live on this floor—or do you just not care?”

  54. Arianod

    Sarah is a good egg ^^

    1. Zaxares

      She always was. 🙂

  55. ADLegend21

    it just occurred to me. Joyce hit the bisexual trifecta. Blew Joe, came out to her dad, and is about to bang Dorothy. Also cheated so points off for the negative sterotype, but not bad Joyce. You’ve earned your colors.

  56. Myra V

    You know what, that’s a pretty perfect way to wrap up this part of the story. Not sure if it would be most likely to be Joyce’s or Dorothy’s idea – but it’s just that right flavor of brilliantly stupid that I love about this pairing.

    1. StClair

      it’s not going to wrap up
      this is the story now
      the comic’s getting rebranded as “Joyce & Dorothy”

  57. yak

    Hell has frozen over. Pigs are flying everywhere. Water is flowing uphill. How else can Sarah’s utterance be explained?

  58. Yeet

    clearly at this point joe should hook up with ethan, it’s the only logical thing
    or tony and sarah can watch if she wants

    1. Nymph

      Joe/Walky/Ethan/Asher kitchen table poly is my forever crackship. I think they bring so much value to each other’s lives and they way each of them loves would be accommodated and appreciated by the others.

      I know it’ll never happen, but imagine Walky and Ethan talking nerd shit while Asher sits on a counter and talks to Joe. Joe is cooking dinner for them all, something healthy and tasty enough that Walky won’t choose chicken nugs again tonight, something that coaxes Ethan to eat a little more and gives him a way to enjoy being looked after without having someone worrying at him. Asher and Walky do dishes while Joe and Ethan hit the gym, then they all go snuggle in a puppy pile on the floor where they’ve dragged two shitty twin mattresses down for extra space.

      1. Nymph

        the way*

        I’m on a serious typo-bend today.

      2. Donovan

        I love it

  59. Sirksome

    I think we’re all ignoring the real problem here which is that once again the desire for sex has annexed a shared living space. Sarah shouldn’t be left exposed and vulnerable in the freezing cold of the unforgiving hallway wilds because Joyce and Dorothy want to fuck! They can buy a hotel room! Designated sex areas now!

    1. Taffy

      Sarah literally has icicles forming on her hair and nose, and it’s like Joyce doesn’t even care.

      1. Dot

        If you’re cold, they’re cold…

    2. John Campbell

      Sarah can go down to Tony’s and have sex there. Conveniently, he has a single, so it won’t cause a domino effect.

    3. Thing 2

      Well, libraries have study rooms, public spaces have private spaces for excretions, so why not fuck-rooms?
      Personally, I find the whole sharing thing outrageous. But if you are going to do that, then a few fuck-rooms should be provided. It might even be a human rights thing. Being able to fuck in private is surely a human need and a human right?

  60. Jernacious

    Puts link to Belgian song that translates to Poor Joe

  61. Micki

    Honestly, when I heard about the censoring of IDS, the first thing I thought of was this comic! Glad it’s acknowledged in the alt text. Sigh.

  62. AC

    Wait…who put the newspaper there?

  63. jeaux

    When this room is rocking don’t come knocking.

  64. Zamperla

    Listen joyce was raised to think being gay and having pride were both sins, and knew that pride is something gay people do. She has understood the assignment.

    1. Felian

      this is one of my pet peeves. reading “pride” literally in the english translation of the bible is SO not accurate. I don’t know what the original says exactly, but as i’ve always understood the english and german texts i’ve read, what’s meant by “pride is a sin” isn’t gay pride, it means “don’t be an arrogant ass”. Unfortunately, some fundies prefer being arrogant asses over reading their own holy text accurately.

  65. Lys

    These last few strips have been everything I’ve ever wanted. I want 1000 more strips of Joyce and Dorothy being saccharine sweet about each other AND obnoxiously in everyone’s faces about the fact that they’re together.

    1. Astariel

      I second, third, and fourth this!

  66. Stephen Nedland

    Poor Sarah has been sexiled from her own room; maybe she can find asylum in Tony’s room.

    1. Nymph

      sexsylum

      1. Dot

        She’s a sexugee.

        1. Stephen Nedland

          I approve of booth.

    2. Astariel

      You have to admit, it would be pretty weird if she was sexiled from someone else’s room.

  67. Amós Batista

    Off: Good luck y’all in “No Kings” protests today.

  68. NGPZ

    Off topic (kinda?)

    Sarah, Dina, happy birthday!!!!

    ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

    1. NGPZ

      this is also when I celebrate my Dummiversary!

      as of today it’s been 8 years since I started reading Dumbing of Age

      and since I first laid eyes on the Empress of Evolution herself, Dina Saruyama ???

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-8/01-face-the-strange/structured/

  69. Ray Radlein

    GUYS GUYS AMAZING update on the Indiana Daily Student newspaper (real-life) clusterfuck: The student newspaper at Purdue, which owns its own printing presses, went to the effort of printing the canceled IDS issue, driving the 90 miles from West Lafayette to Bloomington, and stocking all of the IDS newspaper boxes on campus. ?

    1. Ray Radlein

      Might try to repost this with any updates early in tomorrow’s comments because most folks seem to do most of their reading and commenting in the first ten hours or so and might not find out about this

    2. bubba0077

      Importantly, it is homecoming weekend, so having a print edition for all those alumni to pick up is extra-important.

    3. Astariel

      Wow, that’s awesome!

    4. Big Z

      If Purdue and IU still feel about each other generally like they did when I was in college, that’s practically an enemies-to-lovers arc right there.

  70. Astariel

    Love Ruth swooping in for the punchline here. Also love the DGAF of Joyrothy, (or possibly just Joyce?), using the newspaper in lieu of a sock.

  71. nadamás

    https://bsky.app/profile/damnyouwillis.bsky.social/post/3m3ioxp7l5s2q

    I love willis so much.

  72. Matrix

    Yeahhhhhh

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