Eh, by this time next year this strip’ll be set in 2023, so they’ll retroactively have been able to watch it together. (Similar case as to Walky making a reference to “the first Spider-Man 3 movie” several months before No Way Home came out, Willis having made a similar assumption there.)
Someone pointed out that in the new movie, Bruce’s parents would have been killed in 2001, so I guess they were on their way to see Shrek or something.
anonymsly
They went to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, obviously. I say this mostly because I don’t think Thomas and Martha Wayne would take their smallish child to see Donnie Darko even if he IS Bruce Wayne.
Another contender is Ocean’s Eleven.
AbacusWizard
That’s *almost* the right timing for them to be watching The Mask of Zorro in the theaters, which would be more thematic.
Honestly I can just say “the new Batman movie” and it will always be relevant because they will never stop making Batman shit, or Spider-man shit for that matter.
Needfuldoer
Why make a new thing when remaking an old thing is a guaranteed success?
Spencer
“Making another installment of that really popular old thing” is sensible enough, it’d be nice if they stopped making the exact same kind of installment every time they circle around the block.
(Also it’d be nice if the American comics industry wasn’t cannibalized by two company’s stranglehold with one kind of story because of some gay panic in the 50s)
Are you talking about the meta-human girl in the Royal Flush gang or Bruce’s dog in Batman: Beyond (presumably named after her), as I don’t remember the dog ever dying (at least on screen, he may have died from old age over the course of the several decades covered in the DCAU)?
Fun Fact: The royal flush gang in Batman: Beyond also has an Ace which is a super strong android. One more Ace and we’d have enough for each suit.
Ace’s final moments make me cry, yes. But it’s also aspirational. Whether you call him Bruce or Batman, He was sent in to kill a child to save the world… and instead he threw away the killswitch device, and sat with that terrified child who knew she was going to die and provided her comfort while her life slipped away.
If only we could all be so kind.
Spencer
Yeah.
The only thing anyone needs to know about Batman is that his parents were killed by some punk with a gun when he was a kid, he spent the next 20 years practicing to become a ninja detective in a fursuit, and then when some kid’s parents were killed by some punk with a gun and so Batman adopts him and molds him into the most beloved superhero in the world. It’s his immediate victory, the proof that what he’s doing is right; no one’s ever gonna go through what Batman did, because they won’t be alone and consumed by anger like he was.
Batman is one of the most blindingly optimistic fantasies ever conceived in fiction, even from within a kind of story that is supposed to be aimed at audiences young enough to believe a man can fly.
Naturally, Robin gets left out when the movies come around. Of course he does, they’re boring, dour, mean-spirited, more than a little fascistic, and ultimately just a masturbatory power fantasy for grown-ass dudes. Robin can’t be here, these movies are for adults.
StClair
From Batman/Planetary:
“Do you remember your parents? Do you remember their smiles? Do you remember times when they made you feel safe?”
“Yes.”
“That’s what you hold on to. That’s what you can do for other people. You can give them safety. You can show them that they’re not alone. That’s how you make the world make sense.
And if you can do that, you can stop the world from making more people like us. And no one will have to be scared anymore.”
So a few strips ago Liz mentioned soaking and I had to look that up and like. Yo, it sounded pretty hot so I wanted to draw out that sequence in my head. It’s really messy cuz I drew like a billion drawings and my hands are tired.
I love how us horny people hear about something like “soaking” which is supposed to be like, less sex than sex, and immediately the next impulse is “well shit, that sounds kinda hot, actually.”
Downloaded.
Hm. I’d worry that without any rubbing, the guy would lose his erection eventually. Kinda a bummer.
I guess if one was super good at Kegels and could pull off a rhythmic ‘squeeze and release’, then maybe, but I don’t get the impression that most Christian virgins have studied Kegel control.
Rose by Any Other Name
… that aside, beautiful work.
Sorry, I meant to include that after ‘downloaded’ but I got distracted by the discussion of how hot it sounds.
I will also add that having a man remain motionless inside me is a lot hotter AFTER sex when we’ve both just had orgasms and want to bask in the afterglow while still being inside one another. That only works for raw sex, though, since staying inside after orgasms is a No-no for condoms.
Yotomoe
o3o That does sound pretty hot yeah. Also didn’t know that for condoms. That’s pretty useful info.
I am intrigued. Is it due to discomfort only, or is there another reason you don’t want a condom in there too long?
Laura
If your erection softens while wearing a condom the semen can spill out the sides of the opening at the top. To prevent spilling in the vagina, you pull out right away after ejaculation while holding the condom on by putting your fingers at the base of the penis, outside the condom. Then you remove the condom carefully, making sure the semen doesn’t spill out, and tie it off in a knot before putting it in the trash. And wash hands before touching again. Sex is messy, and condoms can only do so much to protect, which is why it’s important to be careful when using them.
I apologize if that was TMI. I grew up as a queer kid in the 80s and 90s — this stuff was drilled into us by rote.
That’s alright! In fact thank you for sharing, ’cause you know, luck favors the prepared, right?
Also, what do you mean by “drilled into us by rote”?
Laura
Oh, sorry, no pun intended there! *facepalm* *blushes*
I just meant that we learned condom use techniques by rote because they were repeated (like a military “drill” routine) over and over. Very technical training, just the physical mechanics of it.
Laura
Sorry, I should have said, “vagina, anus, or mouth”. Apologies!
That’s alright! It’s the internet, a multicultural frontier, and misunderstandings are better treated as the rule, not the exception, you know?
Laura
“Misunderstandings are the rule.” I love that. 🙂
Yotomoe
So I have never had a chick sit on my dong but, I imagine the scenario would, itself, be hot enough to maintain an erection for a while. Like you can get and maintain a boner just by like…watching a sexy video. If a hot girl is sitting on your crotch and being flirty and stuff I dunno. Especially if she can still lean forward and make out or something.
(She’s still got her bra on too so she’s not even using her FULL POWER).
eh, whatever
Oh, don’t worry. There’s a reason why it’s worded “if it lasts longer than four hours, see a doctor”.
next panel: Joyce walks in without knocking and before she can run out again Liz is like, “oh wait wait, listen can you do us a solid”. (i know you don’t have characters do things they would never actually do. But… wouldn’t she? truly Yoto, I ask. Wouldn’t she.) (…yeah ok she wouldn’t)
Amber is 17 moods right now, but I think the strongest is that anxiety/depression crossover sweet spot where something finally makes you feel anything and it therefore becomes all-consuming (though that could be a bit of ADHD I’m projecting) and the second you find yourself able to break through the anxiety wall you go immediately to 100 talking about it with someone.
I’m still holding out hope that this reconciliation attempt doesn’t go well for Amber because she damn well does not deserve it after one perfunctory apology. She’s been a shitty friend to Ethan and he’s will within his rights to cut her off.
Yeah. One of my ex’s was a fellow gamer geek and I deeply miss how we could just talk about various geek things like D&D lore or superhero morality or science/techy stuff for HOURS without ever getting bored with each other. We didn’t work out in other ways, but I always missed that about our relationship. Never managed to recapture it in other romances. 🙁
88 thoughts on “Talking now”
Ana Chronistic
Be careful what you even kinda sorta ask for, you just might get it
(Today’s experiment…FAILED)
Decidedly Orthogonal
Then again, they are friends because of shared interests. So maybe it failed… flawlessly?
Rose by Any Other Name
I don’t really get what she sees in Jason-
**falls over bleeding for no apparent reason**
Clif
And I thought I could beat a dead horse. But truly, you are the master.
PB
I LOVE THAT SHOW BUT IT GIVES ME A HEADACHE
Sirksome
Neither of them have went to see the new movie because they wanted to watch it together I bet.
King Daniel
Eh, by this time next year this strip’ll be set in 2023, so they’ll retroactively have been able to watch it together. (Similar case as to Walky making a reference to “the first Spider-Man 3 movie” several months before No Way Home came out, Willis having made a similar assumption there.)
Nono
Someone pointed out that in the new movie, Bruce’s parents would have been killed in 2001, so I guess they were on their way to see Shrek or something.
anonymsly
They went to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, obviously. I say this mostly because I don’t think Thomas and Martha Wayne would take their smallish child to see Donnie Darko even if he IS Bruce Wayne.
Another contender is Ocean’s Eleven.
AbacusWizard
That’s *almost* the right timing for them to be watching The Mask of Zorro in the theaters, which would be more thematic.
Inbar Fink
It has been foretold
https://www.shortpacked.com/comic/the-first-movie
(amusingly featuring two very different versions of the characters featured in this very strip)
Sirksome
Honestly I can just say “the new Batman movie” and it will always be relevant because they will never stop making Batman shit, or Spider-man shit for that matter.
Needfuldoer
Why make a new thing when remaking an old thing is a guaranteed success?
Spencer
“Making another installment of that really popular old thing” is sensible enough, it’d be nice if they stopped making the exact same kind of installment every time they circle around the block.
(Also it’d be nice if the American comics industry wasn’t cannibalized by two company’s stranglehold with one kind of story because of some gay panic in the 50s)
Ana Chronistic
Waiting for the Batman Beyond movie ⌚?
Doctor_Who
Also Batman is even more emo than usual in this one, and Amber doesn’t want to encourage Ethan’s current trajectory more than necessary.
They see Death on the Nile instead, but alas, now Ethan is thinking of growing a horrid mustache.
Nono
I mean, we’ve seen his dad. Moustaches might be inevitable for him.
John Campbell
Ethan should absolutely grow a huge ridiculous bandito mustache.
The Wellerman
I am intrigued. Does such a list exist? And if so, would anyone mind sharing?
Thag Simmons
Given the sliding timescale it’s probably going to remain vague
Clif
Pah. I bet you could construct the list directly from the rap verses.
BBCC
Of course Amber loves Jason Todd.
Hey, if the plan is to appeal to his interests, she’s picking a strong one.
Kyrik Michalowski
Batman is there to make us all feel better…
Except for that one time he watched Ace die, that didn’t make anyone feel better.
Kyrik Michalowski
If anyone doesn’t get the reference or if anyone would like to just watch it again, here it is: https://youtu.be/jWHHsdE_oQg
True Survivor
Are you talking about the meta-human girl in the Royal Flush gang or Bruce’s dog in Batman: Beyond (presumably named after her), as I don’t remember the dog ever dying (at least on screen, he may have died from old age over the course of the several decades covered in the DCAU)?
Fun Fact: The royal flush gang in Batman: Beyond also has an Ace which is a super strong android. One more Ace and we’d have enough for each suit.
Kyrik Michalowski
The girl.
Thag Simmons
I mean it kinda depends on the Batman.
Khyrin
I beg to differ.
Ace’s final moments make me cry, yes. But it’s also aspirational. Whether you call him Bruce or Batman, He was sent in to kill a child to save the world… and instead he threw away the killswitch device, and sat with that terrified child who knew she was going to die and provided her comfort while her life slipped away.
If only we could all be so kind.
Spencer
Yeah.
The only thing anyone needs to know about Batman is that his parents were killed by some punk with a gun when he was a kid, he spent the next 20 years practicing to become a ninja detective in a fursuit, and then when some kid’s parents were killed by some punk with a gun and so Batman adopts him and molds him into the most beloved superhero in the world. It’s his immediate victory, the proof that what he’s doing is right; no one’s ever gonna go through what Batman did, because they won’t be alone and consumed by anger like he was.
Batman is one of the most blindingly optimistic fantasies ever conceived in fiction, even from within a kind of story that is supposed to be aimed at audiences young enough to believe a man can fly.
Naturally, Robin gets left out when the movies come around. Of course he does, they’re boring, dour, mean-spirited, more than a little fascistic, and ultimately just a masturbatory power fantasy for grown-ass dudes. Robin can’t be here, these movies are for adults.
StClair
From Batman/Planetary:
“Do you remember your parents? Do you remember their smiles? Do you remember times when they made you feel safe?”
“Yes.”
“That’s what you hold on to. That’s what you can do for other people. You can give them safety. You can show them that they’re not alone. That’s how you make the world make sense.
And if you can do that, you can stop the world from making more people like us. And no one will have to be scared anymore.”
Yotomoe
Almost finished that thing. Just adding finishing touches.
Kyrik Michalowski
*chews on a brick while waiting*
The Wellerman
Does it have a dinosaur in it?
Either way, I’m still intrigued! ?
Yotomoe
https://imgur.com/a/MQKtf59 (NSFW) (Seriously the most NSFW thing I’ve ever posted here)
So a few strips ago Liz mentioned soaking and I had to look that up and like. Yo, it sounded pretty hot so I wanted to draw out that sequence in my head. It’s really messy cuz I drew like a billion drawings and my hands are tired.
Kyrik Michalowski
Excellent work, I’ll have to save it, for uh… research.
The Wellerman
Holy shit dude this looks ABSOLUTELY SPLENDID!!! ???
Bruh, I think your skills are good enough to make it to the big leagues now. Like, true Porn Lord, making and selling this kinda stuff. ?
Throwatron
I love how us horny people hear about something like “soaking” which is supposed to be like, less sex than sex, and immediately the next impulse is “well shit, that sounds kinda hot, actually.”
Rose by Any Other Name
Downloaded.
Hm. I’d worry that without any rubbing, the guy would lose his erection eventually. Kinda a bummer.
I guess if one was super good at Kegels and could pull off a rhythmic ‘squeeze and release’, then maybe, but I don’t get the impression that most Christian virgins have studied Kegel control.
Rose by Any Other Name
… that aside, beautiful work.
Sorry, I meant to include that after ‘downloaded’ but I got distracted by the discussion of how hot it sounds.
I will also add that having a man remain motionless inside me is a lot hotter AFTER sex when we’ve both just had orgasms and want to bask in the afterglow while still being inside one another. That only works for raw sex, though, since staying inside after orgasms is a No-no for condoms.
Yotomoe
o3o That does sound pretty hot yeah. Also didn’t know that for condoms. That’s pretty useful info.
The Wellerman
I am intrigued. Is it due to discomfort only, or is there another reason you don’t want a condom in there too long?
Laura
If your erection softens while wearing a condom the semen can spill out the sides of the opening at the top. To prevent spilling in the vagina, you pull out right away after ejaculation while holding the condom on by putting your fingers at the base of the penis, outside the condom. Then you remove the condom carefully, making sure the semen doesn’t spill out, and tie it off in a knot before putting it in the trash. And wash hands before touching again. Sex is messy, and condoms can only do so much to protect, which is why it’s important to be careful when using them.
I apologize if that was TMI. I grew up as a queer kid in the 80s and 90s — this stuff was drilled into us by rote.
The Wellerman
That’s alright! In fact thank you for sharing, ’cause you know, luck favors the prepared, right?
Also, what do you mean by “drilled into us by rote”?
Laura
Oh, sorry, no pun intended there! *facepalm* *blushes*
I just meant that we learned condom use techniques by rote because they were repeated (like a military “drill” routine) over and over. Very technical training, just the physical mechanics of it.
Laura
Sorry, I should have said, “vagina, anus, or mouth”. Apologies!
The Wellerman
That’s alright! It’s the internet, a multicultural frontier, and misunderstandings are better treated as the rule, not the exception, you know?
Laura
“Misunderstandings are the rule.” I love that. 🙂
Yotomoe
So I have never had a chick sit on my dong but, I imagine the scenario would, itself, be hot enough to maintain an erection for a while. Like you can get and maintain a boner just by like…watching a sexy video. If a hot girl is sitting on your crotch and being flirty and stuff I dunno. Especially if she can still lean forward and make out or something.
(She’s still got her bra on too so she’s not even using her FULL POWER).
eh, whatever
Oh, don’t worry. There’s a reason why it’s worded “if it lasts longer than four hours, see a doctor”.
Spencer
Yotomoe made soaking look hot.
His smut powers are horrifying and awe-inspiring.
Amós Batista
yeah, you did it
Roborat
I think you could have a successful career on Slipshine.
milu
okay wow!
that is a work of love.
next panel: Joyce walks in without knocking and before she can run out again Liz is like, “oh wait wait, listen can you do us a solid”. (i know you don’t have characters do things they would never actually do. But… wouldn’t she? truly Yoto, I ask. Wouldn’t she.) (…yeah ok she wouldn’t)
Yotomoe
Fun fact I was planning on including Joyce but I just drew like a billion drawings and decided not to. So you’re not too far off.
Schpoonman
Amber is 17 moods right now, but I think the strongest is that anxiety/depression crossover sweet spot where something finally makes you feel anything and it therefore becomes all-consuming (though that could be a bit of ADHD I’m projecting) and the second you find yourself able to break through the anxiety wall you go immediately to 100 talking about it with someone.
The Wellerman
Yeah, sorting through your unique neurodivergent stripes like that is quite the process. Believe me, I know! ?
Derek
I’m still holding out hope that this reconciliation attempt doesn’t go well for Amber because she damn well does not deserve it after one perfunctory apology. She’s been a shitty friend to Ethan and he’s will within his rights to cut her off.
Stephen Bierce
*plays “Fruggin’ The Riddle” by The Villains (off the BATMAN THEME: Let’s Dance With The Villains! Album) on the hacked Muzak*
StClair
in panel four, that was almost a smile.
Needfuldoer
I hope he was just ribbing her, because unspoken “tests” where you can determine the outcome regardless of the other party’s actions are bullshit.
PB
He hasn’t gone back to frowning yet, sooooo yeah, keep going Ambs.
Dr. T
You know, I wasn’t crazy about Amber’s new look when it first was presented to us, but now I think I’ve taken quite a shining to it.
King Daniel
I think the phrase is “take a shine to it”. Unless you’re implying that you want to come at Amber’s new look with an axe.
Needfuldoer
Same. It’s reminiscent of her look for the second half of Shortpacked!.
Clif
See, Ethan. You knew there was a reason you loved her.
Zaxares
Yeah. One of my ex’s was a fellow gamer geek and I deeply miss how we could just talk about various geek things like D&D lore or superhero morality or science/techy stuff for HOURS without ever getting bored with each other. We didn’t work out in other ways, but I always missed that about our relationship. Never managed to recapture it in other romances. 🙁
Azhrei Vep
I feel ya. Used to have that kind of thing going on with my ex-wife. Until she lost interest in all of that. Sigh … such a loss.
Darkoneko
wow.
Daibhid C
“Jason Todd, everyone’s third favourite Robin.” — Al Kennedy House to Astonish.
I always thought that was unfair though. I mean, is he not counting Stephanie?
JBento
Stephanie as Robin means you don’t get Spoiler, sooooo…
geno
I would say he’s number 2 for me. Though Tim has been getting a lot more interesting lately. Steph is better after being Robin
Kyrik Michalowski
So we all agree that Grayson is the best Robin?