104

Cranium
Posted on June 1, 2024 by David M Willis

104 thoughts on “Cranium”

  1. NGPZ

    This is real life Squidward ya dealin with Joe. What did you expect, a hug and a kiss? XD

    1. Nono

      Joycebob?

      1. jeffepp

        That makes Joe Patrick?

    2. Thag Simmons

      I wonder if Sarah would be offended by that comparison.

    3. True Survivor

      Poorly preformed clarinet?

      PS.
      I like your new Avatar. Very alien, very fun, and ever so slightly menacing.

      1. NGPZ

        Thanks!!! HeinzMM did a fantastic design for my sona ^-^

    4. RassilonTDavros

      Relevant.

    5. ValdVin

      Upvoted, but lemme get into a little nonsense:

      Squidward doesn’t care that much about SpongeBob.

      Squidward does share the same “gawd I can’t believe these are my best friends” and “leave me out of this 90% of the time” as Sarah, yet at some point his crankiness is not overridden by concern for threats to the friends.

      Did Squidward ever need to become The Bikini Bottom Slugger?

  2. Ana Chronistic

    if trust could kill…

    1. Needfuldoer

      He’d be reeling from the pain.

  3. Nono

    First Joe became permanently stubbly.

    Now he has hair that looks permanently ruffled.

    He’s becoming a soft boy.

    1. John Campbell

      I don’t get the perma-stubble. Really, who wants their thighs sandpapered?

      1. Thag Simmons

        I mean it’s a good look and it’s low maintenance, which are both major positives in my book, but yeah I’m not sure I’d call it soft.

        1. John Campbell

          I dunno about “low maintenance”. I trim my beard once a year, and it’s soft and silky.

          (My gravatar (the Selkie Daddy from John Allison’s excellent Bad Machinery) is actually pretty accurate, though I have more grey in my beard these days and I don’t turn into a seal that you can prove.)

      2. HueSatLight

        I can’t say how it feels on thighs, but whiskers do get softer at some point. On the other hand, my face does not stay smooth long after even a good shave.

      3. Jerach

        I mean I’ve rubbed my stubbled face on a fwb’s ass cheeks before and they said it felt amazing.

      4. Regret

        It’s as close to clean shaven i can get without constantly irritated skin.

    2. Doctor_Who

      One day he will look down and see a fanny pack.

      …On Danny while he talks to him. Joe isn’t going to go THAT far.

      1. Steamweed

        Phew! You had me worried for a moment!

      2. Casi

        Of course Joe wouldn’t have a fanny pack. he’d have a man-bag.

  4. BBCC

    She’s changing and she’s not happy about it! That is her right as the older sibling

  5. NGPZ

    Happy Pride Month!!!! ?️‍??️‍⚧️

    Any y’all got plans?

    1. ktbear

      Well, my trans girlfriend is going to serve in Ukraine so…no, not really. Donated money to various pride associations but thats about it. And happy Pride Month to you too.

      1. eh, whatever

        Filler text to distract the spam filter.

        Героїням слава!

        More filler text to distract the spam filter even more.

        1. Pergola

          Glory to the heroes!
          Confusion to the spam filter!

    2. Taffy

      Sure, I’ve got an anniversary coming up in a few weeks. That counts since we’re both queers, right? Gonna have a mall day, a little bowling, maybe pick up a new TTRPG book to replace the ones I’ve got.

      I’d also like to finish *Symphony of the Night* within the month. Never played a *Castlevania* before this one, but it was on sale with *Rondo* for like $4 and has the characters from the cartoon in it so I figured why not.

      1. Taffy

        Fucksake, I guess I use discord too much. Replace all instances of * with either or , I guess.

    3. GoodbyBallad

      To me, this is mostly exams are over month, but I’ll try to do something p pud and supportive of the community with the free time that makes available.

    4. Bash

      Once the European parliamentary elections are over I might talk to my political party about adding support for trans rights. We have some ideas but we haven’t done much about it yet. I think I’m the first trans member in my city.

    5. HueSatLight

      I am going to change my OTP. Just have to remember how to log into gravatar.

      1. NGPZ

        Right next to your name field below the comment box, there’s a link that says “Get a Gravatar” 😉

        1. HueSatLight

          It turns out I was already logged in, lol.

          Dorothy and Arnold? Why would Arnold be attracted to Dorothy, I wondered. Is he just a tool for Dorothy get an ideal outcome? Why not a pairing that makes sense from both sides.

          Mindy gets someone confident, even when they’re kind of a mess, and Dorothy explores her bisexuality, the age gap isn’t weird, and neither is Mindy’s resemblance to someone else as long as none of Dorothy’s friends mention it, and ok so she’s making Mindy a project, but Mindy seems ok with it.

        2. HueSatLight

          not as impressive as Bash.

  6. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    Is Sarah evolving into her ultimate form, or just an interim one?

  7. Sam

    Growth takes time Joe. She is on step 2. Stop snarling is at least step 30.

  8. ian livs

    She’s snarling to convey the subtext of “but if you break that trust, I can swing a bat hella hard into those areas you’re worried about and More”

    1. Dara

      Aaaaaaabsolutely this.

      It’s a good shift in position and tactic. I like it!

    2. Miri

      Also, “I trust Joyce, so I’m not currently interfering. Do not assume this means I trust you. If you break her trust in you, I will destroy you.”

  9. Stephen Bierce

    Change changing faces/Root yourself to the ground/Capitalize on this good fortune/one word will bring you ’round–CHANGES!

    1. Chaucer59

      Yes! Sing it, Jon!

  10. Chaucer59

    Yes, Mistress. As you command, Mistress. Shall I avert my gaze as you depart?

    1. Steamweed

      Bad sub! You’re Joyce’s property, not Sarah’s!

  11. IntangibleMatter

    We’re proud of you Sarah!

    Scared of you too, but still proud!

  12. HueSatLight

    Joe could knock the bonus strip bro down, like repeatedly. They could bond over it.

  13. Sajuuk-Khar

    REJOICE, THOU CRAWLING THING

  14. Alexander Krizak

    “Also, despite my best efforts, I’ve discovered that I can only hold a finite amount of hate in my body, and I need to free some up for the terrible person I just ran into downstairs.”

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      “Hi! Your Hate Drive is almost full! Would you like some help with that?”

    2. Anon A Mouse

      He DID offer himself as a hate-sink some time ago I believe.

  15. Pocky

    baby steps, Joe.

    She’s got a couple years of growing to do.

  16. DailyBrad

    I like this for her.

    Also, fuck, gonna be honest, that is a good look for Joe. I love that jacket on him.

    1. Johan

      With his little smirk

  17. Slarstorm

    I-It’s not like I like trusting you, or anything. B-Baka!

  18. Amelie Wikström

    Panel 2 tells a story all on its own. A story I will call Fear.

  19. Taffy

    Cool, they’re getting along.

  20. morhek

    Poor Joe. Every interaction he’s had since he and Joyce started dating has effectively been “we know you’re a monster, but we’re going to set that aside because we trust Joyce to know how not to get bitten.” Including his own self-image.

  21. Vukodlak

    And trust that if you hurt her, I will make you beg for death.

    1. CianM1301

      I’m fully expecting that to be tomorrow’s strip.

  22. DashWallkick

    even if the tone is wrong, Sarah is saying all the right words, so, you know, baby steps here people.

    1. Coatl

      true

    2. BadRoad

      Sometimes you just have to say something until you believe it.

      1. DashWallkick

        I have absolutely gritted my teeth and said something I don’t believe because it’s the right thing to say and I’ll eventually get around to believing it.

  23. Suet

    Volatile growth is still growth.

  24. Council

    No rush, ma’am. Please don’t rip out my insides.

  25. Holly

    Wait ’til she finds out her sister almost hooked up with him!

    1. Rabbit

      She knows that already, they had a whole convo in the car didn’t they?

    2. Needfuldoer

      She knows, that’s why she’s confronting him now.

    3. Rotunda

      I looked it up, and Liz isn’t straightforward about what happened, possibly leaving Sarah with the impression that no amorous contact was actually initiated.

  26. missilentmurmur

    I’ve just woke up from a dream where today’s comic was Dorothy posting a selfie with Walkie (who looked not so sure of himself in the picture). She put the words “back together” or something like that on it. And then it showed Lucy having lunch with Sarah and being grumpy about seeing it. Weird dream

    1. Needfuldoer

      Sounds like your subconscious remixed this one:

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/sabbatical/

      1. missilentmurmur

        Yea, that’s definitely one thing my brain put in the mix

      2. missilentmurmur

        But there’s also that I don’t interpret Walky as being as much into this as Dorothy. And I don’t trust Lucy either being over this so quickly. No idea where Lucy and Sarah together came from though

        1. Mark

          Interesting that people were saying the same thing about Walky and Lucy: he’s just not as interested as she is. Maybe he just doesn’t let it show?

          I do think he has some misgivings about this turn of events. And I share your concern about Lucy.

        2. TulipKitten

          He’s probably apprehensive because Dorothy dumped him last time, pretty much out of the blue because her grades were slipping due to all the extra time and attention she was giving him. And then kept hanging onto him for sex.

        3. TulipKitten

          Sarah was the one who gently warned Lucy about Walky. But at the same time, she also basically shat on her and compared her to Raidah.

          I don’t think they’d hang out, but there is kind of a connection there.

  27. CianM1301

    She’s doing her best, Joe.

  28. Heather

    Knowing something to be true and emotionally feeling it don’t always coincide Joe.

  29. Amós Batista

    See that Sarah is trusting Joyce, but not necessarily Joe…

    1. CianM1301

      She’s trusting Joyce’s decision, which in this case is Joe. So it’s at least trust-adjacent in Joe.

      1. Da Boy

        From Sarah’s perspective Joyce is an EOD Specialist and Joe is a bomb. She trusts Joyce but has nothing but bad feelings about Joe.

    2. HueSatLight

      She is trusting him enough to tell him she’s trying to change.

  30. Carms

    Man if I were Joe I’d be terrified.
    Not of Sarah. Change and positive growth have this attendant acrophobia. Like. ‘fuck man, if I fall from HERE, it’s gonna hurt SO much worse. And I’m still growing, the floor I’m used to is gonna get even further away…..’

  31. HueSatLight

    Moving up from hate sink and he didn’t even have to ask.

  32. Pylgrim

    Huh, this has been a more sustained effort on Sarah’s part than I expected when she started her “change”.

  33. Mark

    “I am growing, and I am changing, and I don’t like it.”

  34. darkoneko

    there was an attempt

  35. Hof1991

    TBF to Joe, Joyce is now sure that good Christian boys like Tristan are not for her. A respectful (and terrified) Joe is about as good as Sarah could hope for.

    1. John Campbell

      There’s nothing good about Christian boys like Tristan, and i don’t believe that’s ever what Sarah would have hoped for for Joyce. The best you can say about the dude is that he’s probably not deeply invested in his bigotry; he’s just easily led.

    2. Bash

      I mean she expected (someone like) Jacob. A good person, but a bit of a nerd that likes to ramble on about religion. Someone like Joe, even if he’s turning over a new leaf, is a bit of a shock.

      1. thejeff

        A Jacob (though Sarah would be jealous, she’d also have an excuse not to risk her own move on him.)
        But most of the rest of the male cast would have been fine too. She didn’t have any problem with her and Ethan – before they knew he was gay. Danny would have been fine. Walky might be annoying, but not a threat.

        1. Opus the Poet

          In-comic we have seen Walky having sex, or implied sex with more women than Joe. Walky we have seen with Dorothy, Amber/AG, almost Lucy, and Dorothy again. Joe we have had with Roz, that skater girl with the lizard, almost with Sarah’s sister, and cuddles with Joyce. So more “almosts” with Joe in-comic, but more completes for Walky.

        2. thejeff

          Also with Penny – the other TA.
          And strong implications for off screen sex more often. Dan mentions being sexiled pretty regularly.

        3. HueSatLight

          Walky:2 Dorothy and dry humping with Amber
          Joe:3 in-comic. Roz, Malaya, Penny. At least 9. According to Dorothy, at least 7 as of “If the Shoe Splits“, and Malaya and Penny after that.

  36. Yeet

    let’s be fair, joe, this is the best interaction you’re likely to have with sarah anytime soon unless you stop a new attempt at kidnapping joyce or something

  37. Pergola

    Odd choice of words there. Maybe he was going for the alliteration?

    And if he really feared for his sensitive parts, why even bother to ask?

    1. John Campbell

      I mean, he is moving to cover them even as he’s asking.

  38. Fussypupy

    This exchange is amazing hahaha Honestly, though, I am absolutely loving all of the effort both Joe and Sarah are putting into changing into better people. I’m not entirely sure who my favourite character is, it might be Joyce, but I am really enjoying Joe’s arc in particular right now. He has become one of my favourite characters to see ~on screen~ and I love his care towards Joyce. I am excited to see where things go!!

  39. Eric

    I have to sympathize with Sarah a little bit, here. It must be super weird to see your sheltered, naive waif roommate hot-and-bothered for your horndog former booty call. And to also see him apparently returning the sentiment.

    I hate when my frame of reference goes all askew.

    1. thejeff

      Not Sarah’s former booty call. She’s never been interested in him. From basically their first encounter where he promised to fix that “sheltered, naive waif roommate” with his penis.

      1. Eric

        Then who was it that she would call to have sex when she couldn’t focus on school?

        1. thejeff

          Other Jacob?

          As far as we know, Sarah hasn’t been with anyone since the comic started.

  40. shrub

    When your first reaction to seeing someone is to protect yourself then there might be a problem

  41. anonymsly

    This is genuinely a big step for Sarah and I’m proud of her, snarly or not.

  42. Schpoonman

    She’s trying.

    She’s very trying.

  43. Felian

    Fair enough, Sarah. Change takes time!

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