155

Brant
Posted on October 29, 2017 by David M Willis

155 thoughts on “Brant”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    Why are you so mad Bront

    1. Ana Chronistic

      Alt-text JINX

      DANGIT

    2. Durandal_1707

      I admit; I don’t get the reference. Anyone want to help out?

      1. Doctor_Who

        It’s a reference to this

        1. Durandal_1707

          I’m… still confused.

          Did they take down the site after that exchange? Otherwise, how does it relate to this strip?

        2. 4,000 spiders

          i think it’s about how the dude just accepted he’d been a jerk afterward and leaned into his role as Bront

          admittedly, it’s a pretty different scenario

        3. ANeM

          Dog Rates is a twitter that posts pictures of dogs and then “rates” them on a scale of 1-10.

          All the dogs score above 10, because “they’re all good dogs.” “Bront” did not appreciate the humor in this.

          I think what Joe is comparing himself to Brent/Bront, as a person who believed that there should be a serious 1-10 rating of something. He recognizes now that there really isn’t any value in that.

        4. Durandal_1707

          Ah, that makes sense. Thanks.

        5. Charie Spencer

          Thanks for sticking with your pursuit. I didn’t have a clue either.

        6. Inahc

          lol 🙂

        7. BrokenEye, the True False Prophet

          Okay, now explain to me exactly what letter substitution scheme turns “Brent” into “Bront”, but also turns “Joe” into “Jor”. Otherwise I’m gonna be up all night trying to figure out the code.

        8. StClair

          It’s not a fixed/constant substitution. I’ve seen other refs to the meme with all kinds of other ways of deliberately misspelling/getting the name wrong.

        9. BrokenEye, the True False Prophet

          So… like a one-time pad?

        10. StClair

          or, to put it another way, part of the joke is that the guy gets “Brent” wrong a different way every time, over and over.

        11. Jamie

          I mean, the correct spelling appears to be “Brant”, soooooooo.

        12. Znayx

          Yeah, Jamie’s got it. How do people keep missing the proper spelling? Or is his own name on Twitter a joke he made?

        13. Tan

          The scheme is: Change a vowel to another letter that forms a valid-sounding name.

        14. WillD

          Dog Rates always mispells the name when answering a troll or hater like Brant. It wasn’t the first time they did something like that, just the one that went viral.

        15. whitt

          it’s a phonetic shift, not a letter-based cypher. you have to, like, HEAR it.

        16. Opus the Poet

          Thanks to this comic I’m now following @dog_rates on twitter.

  2. AnvilPro

    These two play off each other better than I would have expected

    1. Fart Captor

      I feel like at least part of my brain should be rebelling against this, but I’m actually really liking how this is going so far

      1. Ntrovert

        I am very happy with this. I don’t exactly ship it,but both of them need some interactions that are radically different from what they have become accustomed to, and having that with each other is helpful for both of them.

    2. whitt

      i friend-ship it.

  3. Cmd1095

    I totally don’t get the reference here, but I’m still loving this exchange loads

    1. haven

      It’s a reference to a twitter that rates dogs.

      Specifically, it always rates every dog 12/10 or higher, and when someone named Brent complained, the guy who runs it replied “they’re good dogs, bront”

      and that became a meme.

      1. Cholma

        It was so pure, so beautiful, of a reply, that I had to follow Dog Rates immediately. A year later, I haven’t regretted it.

    2. Reltzik

      The reference.

      (Top hit on google, btw.)

      1. Reltzik

        Grah. http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/theyre-good-dogs-brent

      2. Opus the Poet

        Dead Link.

  4. DailyBrad

    Amber needs a break from feeling sorry for herself. Irritation may be a good outlet.

    1. Leorale

      She can turn the anger outwards or inwards. Two settings!

      1. Reltzik

        Hey now, Amber’s more complicated than that. She can do both simultaneously!

        1. Leorale

          True!
          (In fairness, she has a lot to be angry about… plus her best method for dealing with anger proved very problematic, so here we are.)

      2. Needfuldoer

        “Anger turned inward is depression, anger turned sideways is Hawkeye”- Sidney Freedman

  5. Yumi

    I enjoy wearing shirts with labels. I have two that I made, both of which make people varying levels of uncomfortable, so that’s fun.
    I’d wear a “Nerd” shirt too.

    1. CJ

      Unfortunately, only one person I met got the joke on my nerd t-shirt. It was really disenheartening.

      1. nobilis

        It took me a minute or two to get the joke, too.
        Cool shirt.

      2. Chris Phoenix

        I hate it when people get jokes on my shirt. So careless! And they never really wash out unless you use stain remover.

        Also, cool shirt. There are people in the world who get it quickly and think it’s funny. (I also recently recognized a DNA base on a shirt.)

      3. Yumi

        I think we’ve talked about this before, but while I get the joke, I probably wouldn’t acknowledge it in real life.

        1. David T. Shaw

          No, admit it.
          Nerds and geeks need to support each other.

        2. Yumi

          See, that’s why I wouldn’t acknowledge getting it, because my reaction wouldn’t be support.

      4. David T. Shaw

        If only one person got the joke, maybe you’re hanging around the wrong people.
        I would have laughed and congratulated you on the shirt.

        1. Clif

          Math jokes are the best jokes.

      5. Goshii

        That shirt is just too complex

        1. Clif

          But the right part is quite real.

    2. hof1991

      custom shirts can even be art. Some are displayed in galleries.
      http://susanbarnett.com/

      1. Yumi

        That’s cool. I make my shirts by cutting the letters out of the front of a t-shirt and then attaching fabric to the inside so that the letters show in that pattern/color. I’m not that great at making them exactly, but I think it’s a cool style.

        1. Inahc

          ooh, that’s a good way to use up scraps of old shirt, too. 🙂 I have a few I haven’t wanted to part with despite all the holes…

  6. Irredentist

    These two could learn a lot from each other. Amber could do with not taking herself so seriously. And Joe could do with more soul consuming rage and self loathing.

    1. Haven

      I’ll add Amber ♦Joe to the shipping chart.

      1. Gaia

        And now I’m picturing Joe hanging from a zip-line while having sex, thanks…

        (No I’ve never read anything from slipshine, shut up!)

        1. haven

          I got really confused before remembering that Homestuck shipping terminology is not as universal as it should be.

          Rest assured that’s not a thing that would happen in this dynamic. Maybe cuddling on a pile of superhero gadgets.

  7. Shiro

    Well…it’s a start.

  8. ValdVin

    Joe can say that about the (actual Amber ) Nerd shirt without sounding like a jerk? That’s progress.

  9. Nono

    Is Joe secretly a robot learning to be a human?

    1. miados

      well lets look. has he ever broken the three laws of robotics?

      1. MM

        Depends how you define harm, I suppose.

      2. Reltzik

        Pretty sure he HAS broken the second law.

    2. BrokenEye, the True False Prophet

      No, Joe is nothing like Tommy Wiseau

  10. Passchendaele

    Indi-star-ana

    (ffft I don’t even know.)

  11. Stephen Bierce

    *cues up a cut from White & Nerdy on the hacked Muzak*

    1. m-m

      Perfection, as usual, mr. dj

  12. Woobie

    Jor is aware, and he is trying.
    Stage 3?

  13. Conuly

    Insecurely human Joe is unexpectedly the best Joe. But I still ship him with Joyce.

    1. MM

      Well, duh. Getting together with a possible stepsister would just be awkward. Not out of character for Joe, but awkward.

      1. Mephron

        Thankfully this is is not the manga Marmalade Boy, which is the embodiment of Just That Thing happening.

      2. Roborat

        Apparently, it is also the plot of approximately 17.43% of porn.

  14. miados

    conversations can be hard. i think have a roomie that is invisible a lot of the time doesn’t help amber with that right now.

  15. drs

    Someone can go see if there’s a strip where Amber wears her ‘nerd’ shirt in Joe’s presence.

    1. Reltzik

      Doesn’t exist, at least not with both Joe and Amber tagged.

      Not hard to imagine him noticing it off-panel, though.

      1. Tim

        Which really speaks to his observation skills. He has a damn near photographic memory when it comes to women.

        1. BrokenEye, the True False Prophet

          I’m pretty sure a photographic memory does not enable you to remember things you weren’t actually there for. Unless the photograph is taken by, like, that camera from that one episode of The Twilight Zone.

    2. Tan

      Joe met Amber way back in book 1 chapter 5.

      The next time she wore the nerd shirt after that (she had worn it the previous day, but we’ll ignore that) was Book 6 Chapter 3: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/03-when-god-closes-the-door/parkour-2/ Joe is not seen that day other than much later back in his & Danny’s room. It is a Saturday, and Amber was doing a fair amount of running around, so it is entirely feasible that Joe saw her in the shirt off-panel at some point this day.

      The shirt has not appeared on-screen since.

      1. BBCC

        It’s also entirely possible she wore it while visiting Danny or that Joe’s seen her around since they’re on the same dorm floor and he’s been known to creep around the girl’s wing.

  16. Irredentist

    I have high hopes for Joe. He’s in a vulnerable spot right now, hurt, and questioning his conception of the world, and his place within it. It’s the perfect time to mold him into a weapon against the very misogyny he once perpetrated. Those who feel that they have something to atone for always fight harder. Amber might be the perfect teacher for him.

    1. Liliet

      I am a feminist and a card-carryng SJW(tm), and yet still this post sounds creepy to me. Social justice warrior is one thing, social justice weapon is another.
      And I can’t quite tell if this is meant as a joke 0.o

  17. Tacos

    Well it’s a start at least.

  18. drs

    1) IIRC from Shortpacked, Joe is a closeted nerd himself. Plus he knows memes.

    2) People like Amber seem to think women are invisible to him if he’s not trying to sleep with them. He’s actually pretty attentive, and Amber has been at least tangentially part of his social circle.

    3) I know he exaggerated his sexual prowess, but I think he did have some success besides, Roz, and he certainly texted with Joyce well enough. So I think he does know quite well how to talk to women — vs. Dina’s ability to converse with people in general — and is suffering insecurity due to recent upheaval. He may have to unlearn a habit of talking to women with his “sex game” on, but having done so, he *knows* how to talk to people.

    1. Tim

      I think the problem is his new awareness of how his “sex game” drives everything he does. So now he is constantly doubting every thing he does. Like a newly woke, he is worried about stepping on toes that he previously never saw.

      1. Fart Captor

        I wouldn’t call that a problem. He never saw anything wrong with how he was acting before, so he SHOULD be questioning all of his behavior, as well as his judgement about what is or isn’t appropriate.

        He’s got a lot of stuff to relearn. The self doubt is natural. It’ll go away as he gets more practice at being a people

        1. Leorale

          Yeah! His newfound caution is very appropriate, as he examines and reevaluates all his actions ever. I also appreciate his new willingness to learn from others, even when it’s very uncomfortable for him, because he doesn’t want to hurt people like Joyce anymore. Go character-development-Joe, go!

        2. ischemgeek

          Joe’s caution around not dehumanizing women is a good analog to Joyce’s caution around her overt religiosity/homophobia after she figured out what was wrong with that.

          I did have to go through a similar phase myself on racism once I left the town I grew up in (literally 98% white) because being brought up in a racist town by parents who were in a political movement also heavily populated by white supremacists (i.e., right-wing libertarianism – my folks themselves are not active white supremacists, but they’re the kind of people for whom white supremacy isn’t a deal breaker to their associations so long as you don’t go after any of their friends directly) so I had some seriously screwy beliefs on race and racism, and once I realized how screwy they were, I went through a similar period of over-caution on that one.

          It’s less a sense of “I don’t know how to talk to people and am terrible” and more a sense of “I obviously don’t know what I don’t know about what is offensive here.” Being extra cautious not out of a sense of self-loathing (neither Joe nor Joyce have much issue in that area) but out of a sense of consideration for other humans.

          Joe’s thought process right now is probably: “The thing I didn’t even think about before is apparently really hurtful, so what if other things I don’t think about are also really hurtful and people have just been playing along all this time?”

  19. Keulen

    I literally was not aware of this meme until this strip.

    1. Inahc

      nor was I, although I had seen We Rate Dogs 🙂

    2. Yumi

      There are so many memes out there.

  20. JessWitt

    Well, I learned about a meme today.

    Also, I’m with Amber – the thought did cross my mind that Joe equated women with dogs.

    1. Zee

      Then you’re reading too much into it

  21. Sunny D

    Good meme reference, Joh

  22. Griffin Raynor

    Well, he does seem to genuinely be trying. And he knows Amber pretty well.

    1. Fart Captor

      Or, he noticed her wearing a shirt which said “nerd” on it. Either way, he’s doing well here, and the fact that he’s gotten Amber talking again is doing a lot towards getting him off of my shit list

      1. CJ

        Considering that he didn’t expect to meet women in the computer science building, the nerd t-Shirt on a women just might have stuck to his memory because it was unexpected.

  23. Rukdug

    …I never thought I’d say this, but now I actually want more Joe. These Joe and Amber interactions are so good. And I don’t know why. All I know is that I need more.

  24. Wright

    I must be really out of touch, I don’t get the reference -at all-. Anyone want to help a confused guy?

    1. Inahc

      Just scroll up and read the comments explaining it

  25. TemporalShrew

    I almost feel worse for knowing this meme so well, seeing how many people have better things to do than be familiar with it.

    1. neeks

      I wouldn’t worry about it. The internet has been a thing for about thirty years, which is practically three hundred (if not more) in internet years, so there are going to be memes and moments people weren’t around for. Or literally even alive, which is a weird goddamn feeling tbqh.

      1. ValdVin

        Yep. It makes for a well-rounded community, and (for us introverts) a way to pick up on something without asking out loud in front of the whole class.

        I learnt this here, and in return I leave behind something from my interests. Now, who wants to learn about pre-Code era Hollywood and German Expressionism?

        1. Cerberus

          *raises hand timidly*

        2. ValdVin

          Wow, I didn’t have anything prepared. Okay, here’s one:

          Marlene Dietrich stars in Morocco, made in 1930. She’s wearing a tuxedo, and looks incredible in it. Almost 9 decades ago. The significance of that was not lost on people who, because of legal dangers, had to be underground for many aspects of their lives.

          http://c8.alamy.com/comp/ENN8T6/morocco-usa-1930-aka-marokko-regie-joseph-von-sternberg-darsteller-ENN8T6.jpg

        3. Tan

          I like this. May we have more?

        4. ValdVin

          Certainly. Here’s where, in all my honest fandom, I have to step back and throw it to folks with more expertise than I do. Useful starting places:

          Expressionism: https://mubi.com/lists/german-expressionism-the-world-of-light-and-shadow

          Pre-code: http://pre-code.com/community/

        5. ValdVin

          Here’s where I don’t pretend to more expertise than people who have geeked out about this greater than I have.

          For pre-Code, try http://pre-code.com/community/.

        6. ValdVin

          German Expressionism, from Dr. Caligari, to Metropolis, and beyond:

          http://www.filminquiry.com/german-expressionism/

    2. BrokenEye, the True False Prophet

      I don’t have anything better to do, and I’m still not familiar with it.

    3. Vulcanodon

      They’re good memes, TemporalShrew

  26. Yakkorex

    Joe a jock? Seriously?

    1. Leorale

      I don’t think he plays a sport, but he’s certainly built like a guy who does. He might be more of a frat boy without a frat, if I’m not confusing my broad stereotypes.

      1. neeks

        Well he has been putting quite a lot of effort into athletic activity.

        1. Leorale

          hey-o!

  27. Bagge

    PUPPY DOR… PUPPY JOE!!!!

  28. Danni

    brunt

    1. StClair

      FCA!

  29. BenRG

    I’ve got the impression that this is the most enjoyable conversation that Amber has had in at least a week. I wonder how long it will be before she realises that she’s enjoying spending time in Joe’s company and will freak out?

  30. Gaia

    Well in all fairness, promiscuous men are often called “dogs”. (Damn dog you hit that!?)
    And aggressive and/or annoying women are called “bongoes”. (You stupid bongo (bongo being a female dog))

    1. Gaia

      Ehhh… the censorship bot really shouldn’t react to this. (Context matters)
      But I get it would be annoying to program context. (Maybe let the mods deal with it instead?)

      1. CJ

        On this site, some often irl used derogative words are automatically rewritten. Putting all that shit on moderation would be an incredible waste of time. I’d rather Willis put his time to creating comics and doing enjoyable stuff that waste his time on slurs.

      2. Ellegos

        On the other hand, “Bongo” is swiftly becoming my favorite word to use in anger IRL.

        1. CJ

          I don’t mind people swearing but slurs referencing parts of the anatomy or sexual behavior used in a non-sexual context are something I really hate. And I usually peg people who do as “not worth knowing better” – at best.

        2. NickG

          ‘Peg’ possibly not the best word to use in that context then.

        3. CJ

          I’m not a native speaker. What about that word?

        4. Kraazivaan

          I’m not sure if an actual definition is appropriate here, but ‘pegging’ is the name for a particular kind of sex act. Google or urbandictionary will give you more details.

        5. Inahc

          Uh, I *think* ellegos meant literally ‘bongo’, not the female dog. (Discussing word filters gets confusing! 🙂

          …btw, Gaia, your original point doesn’t make Joe’s mistake any better, it just explains part of *why* it was a mistake. Referring to women as female dogs is derogatory. He’s trying to stop doing shit like that.

        6. Lexi

          Wait, how is “bongo” relevant to parts of the anatomy or sexual behavior? It’s a word replacement for the one that means “female dog”.

          Last I checked, I neither have a bongo, nor can I do the bongo in bed. (Well, I guess I could do the latter, but you can do just about anything in bed.)

        7. Inahc

          this filter never stops being funny. 🙂

      3. StClair

        On the contrary, it’s working perfectly.

        1. thejeff

          Though it would be cool if it was smart enough to not make the substitution when actually talking about female dogs. Much, much harder to program, but cool.

      4. Trolldrool

        A while back it was used excessively, hence why Willis introduced the censorship bot. Context may matter in casual conversations, but to the degree it was being used at the time, having mods deal with it simple wasn’t worth the effort.

        Personally, I find the use of bongo to replace ‘the word which is derived from female dogs’ more disturbing because I’ve seen bongo be used as a derogatory racial slur for people of colour.

        1. Jason

          …huh. I didn’t know that. My knowledge didn’t go beyond “a type of drum”.
          Maybe it should be kettle. Or snare. Probably not box though…

        2. Trolldrool

          To be fair, I grew up in a place with only a few hundred people and the nearest city having scarcely fifty-thousand inhabitants, so it’s probably not very widespread. But your first thought was sort of the point. It was a derogatory slur denouncing people of colour as primitives who contribute nothing to society and spend all day playing bongo drums.

        3. Jason

          I see. That sort of makes sense. As an origin for how the word was used as a slur I mean.
          Race is probably the area I’m still fuzziest on- I manage to avoid actual racism I think (a small miracle growing up with racist parents and a not very diverse town) but I still have quite a hefty amount of ignorance around matters of race and racial experiences. So I appreciate little bits of information like that, thank you.

        4. Trolldrool

          No problem. I’m pretty ignorant on such matters myself too. I didn’t even really start reflecting on my own ignorance and the importance of words I grew up around until I made a habit of reading Cerberus’ reviews of DoA.

        5. Gaia

          Semi-related, why do we call non-whites people of color anyway, it’s us white folks that change color all the time. (If it’s cold we become blue or red, when it’s hot we become red, when we are in the sun to much we become brown..etc etc)

          So shouldn’t white people be “people of color” ?

          Also never heard “bongo” as slur. (Though anything can be a slur if you use it right i suppose)

        6. Pl0x

          Holy eff, get out. Color refers natural skin color and/or ethnicity. You’re still white folk when you’re cold, aren’t you? Or do you turn into a Native American?

        7. Kraazivaan

          Not to jump in the middle of something, but I _think_ Gaia was making a joke there. (At least that’s how I read it.)

        8. Gaia

          Nooh! I was seriously suggesting we start a campaign to change the definition of “People of color”. :3

          Also PlOx, yes every time I’m hot I become native american, just like I become middle eastern when in the sun to long. 😛

        9. Pl0x

          Do not diminish and take it away from the ACTUAL people of color who have already claimed this phrase. I am seriously saying this.

        10. Inahc

          I’m really more of a pale peach colour myself 😉 or as one fictional character would put it, “spotted”, because I have lots of freckles. 🙂

          (and apparently the irish weren’t even considered “white” until sometime in the last… century or something? despite being so pale. it really was a BS system from the start)

        11. Inahc

          …and to be clear, yes I know I still get white privilege, I’m just making fun of the name.

      5. Kraazivaan

        Thank you for pointing out that a censorship bot exists here. I thought you had actually typed the word ‘bongo’ originally, and was very confused.

      6. Jhon

        Just don’t try to talk about what last Tuesday meant to you.

  31. Khyrin

    Jor, last name rosEnthaL… It is all clear now! Joe is Clark’s father!

  32. darkoneko

    What is this normal conversation thing you speak of ?

  33. Derek

    that’s not how that meme works :/

    1. ruhrow

      I dunno, the way it’s explained under the first comment thread is almost perfect for this context…guy thinks a concrete, 1-10 rating is necessary/appropriate, and that idea is dismissed and set aside with the comment “they’re all good dogs, Brent” by someone who prefers to recognize the unique awesome in ALL of the ‘ranked’ parties.

      1. ruhrow

        Joe just happens to be playing the part of ‘We Rate Dogs’ as well as being ‘Brant’.

  34. Zee

    It’s a little disturbing how many people don’t get the reference

    1. Pl0x

      is it really?

    2. Jason

      “Disturbing” is a strong word to use to describe people having not heard of a particular meme.

      1. Bruceski

        Anything I know is obvious. Anything I can do is easy. Any effort I have put into these things is to be ignored to maximize my mocking of newbies.

  35. Tenn

    14/10

  36. Architex

    *Whistles*

  37. Eli

    Personally, as a female bodied person, I feel like being compared to the most life enriching, loyal, loving and overall perfect creature is an extremely good compliment

  38. L!ghtn!ng

    I really appreciate the growth that Joe’s been showing lately! He’s got a long way to go, but he’s taking the first steps.

  39. Liliet

    This conversation is ambrosia to my soul

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