In that case Ethan- captain America (all round good guy, looks cool but is actually a geek)
Asher- Iron Man (comes from money, douchey backstory) OR Bucky (history of badguyness but was acting under the power of a shadowy villain group)
Sal- Black Widow (badass and also the only female avenger I know from the movies)
Danny- Hawkeye (again the only guess from the movie)
I haven’t watched many of the avenger movies. I’m more of an X-Men comics/DC comics guy
Amber’s going to be like, “You two, start making out! It’s the only thing that will stop them!” And in a bit of drunken panic, they’ll start to move toward each other before being like, “Wait, what?” “Amber, that is a terrible idea.”
It is indeed very creepy (although, given her state of inebriation, more amusing right now), but the comic does seem to recognize that. This wouldn’t be a punchline, after all, if it wasn’t over the line in some regard.
Word. What makes it okay, however, is that she’s a character in a webcomic. She voices the thoughts of a not-insignificant part of the audience. It’s okay to ship fictional characters – even if you’re one of them.
I’m of two minds about this and it’s become sort of an ethical quandary.
On the one hand, it’s not really bad if your sexual fantasies are inspired by real people or events. And it’s not really bad if a writer (even one writing adult content) takes inspiration from actual things that happen to them in real life. None of the events that are inspiring Amber’s sexual fantasy here are even sexual themselves. There are four hot people and two of them have bad blood; that was enough to send Amber’s brain on some sort of erotic journey. If none of those four knew Amber existed and they came across an online smutfic called “there are four hot people and two of them have bad blood and they’re superheroes and they fuck”, none of them would probably suspect that they inspired it.
On the other hand, it is bad to make other people unwilling parties to those sexual fantasies by making it so obvious that the fantasies are about them. She continually makes it known that she writes smut based on her friends and she makes that smut publicly available to them and keeps talking about how she’s imagining them in sexual situations. Obviously all that stuff is wrong and gross. But that makes it sound like the only bad thing Amber did is fail to keep it to herself, which also seems kind of like a questionable stance for me to take? It leaves me here saying “it’s okay to write smut inspired by real people who didn’t consent to it as long as they don’t know about it.” That seems like the logical conclusion based on what I’ve said so far, but also feels morally indefensible.
Not just as long as they don’t know about it, but as long as no one knows about it. You’ve got to not only not tell them, but anyone and file off enough details that even your friends don’t recognize the patterns.
But yeah, it’s kind of a weird situation.
Just as a parallel, Joyce is doing the same thing, though she is (or was?) deleting the smut and not letting anyone else see it. And denying the blatantly obvious parallels between her characters and her friends.
Fascinating question, but I think the danny/sal/ethan/asher foursome wins Horriblest History on account of each of them having a complex relationship with at least two others in the group.
Regarding Danny and Ethan… Danny should have kept his big mouth shut. It wasn’t the time or the place. But, he didn’t say anything that wasn’t well known. Mike was an asshole. Ethan should move past this stuff. Danny has nothing to feel badly about.
I do think Danny should feel bad about the fact that he made Ethans grief and trauma over being kidnapped all about himself. He didn’t come to the hospital to be supportive but because he decided that it was a great time to ask Ethan out and resented that Ethan was feeling awful and not focusing on him.
I’m not gonna lie. I have completely forgotten they had beef with each other. I can’t even remember the beef. Could anyone point me to the relevant strip please?
danny showed up at the hospital when Mike was near Death to ask Ethan out. Then got mad at Ethan when he was feeling sympathetic for dying friend, and compared Mike to Darth Vader. Instead of just asking him out he picked a fight with Ethan to make Ethan reject Mike ( while he was in the hospital, at the hospital and Ethan had just been freed from being Kidnapped) .
then Mike died leaving extra Ethan guilty for choosing Danny at the party over Mike, and telling Mike off.
If you check the “Danny+ethan” tags it’s only a few strips back because these two have avoided each other for the most part since then. Short version, Danny put his foot in his mouth, but what he said was also kind of accurate, which made it hurt even more. Ethan said Mike wouldn’t wake up for a while, and Danny said, “would that be so bad?” Ethan was justifiably mad, but Danny did end on a zinger, “Look, Ethan, come on. If roles were reversed, he’d be out here taking a big crap on me. And you know it. And you’d let him.”
Yeah he does. Ethan was in trauma and guilt for telling Mike off as the last thing he said. Danny used that Moment to start an argument with Ethan instead of just being supportive. He was an asshole when someone else was dying.
The question I have is… who actually heard Amber’s comments in the final panel.
Ethan’s eyes seem to be pointed at her, indicating he heard what she said. Danny’s eyes have shifted too (although perhaps not as obviously as Ethan’s.)
Sadly its not a perfect fuckpile, given that Ethan is gay, not bi, so there is one leg of the graph that’s only one directional, but I’m sure Ethan could just avoid directly interacting with Sal. Just one of those complications involved when it comes to orgies where not everyone is Bi/Pan, ya know?
Also, Sal has not expressed any interest in man-man situations like Amber has.
Now that may or may not be a problem… after all, she can interact with Danny and Asher. But, even if she is not a homophobe, some people may just not want to actually WATCH homosexual activity
Raidah has been concerned about Asher today, and hence was pushing Jennifer to get her shit together. (cf here). If she were to know of him being at this party, I could see her show up and then get very… noisy about her history with Sarah once she sees her here with alcohol.
I could see Carla and Charlie making an appearance for the shenanigans.
Malaya to further rub Sal the wrong way maybe.
Wait doesn’t Ethan *know* That Asher is the one that called the cops on Sal and inadvertently caused the stab incident? I’m fairly certain that Amber told him.
I’m pretty sure ethan told asher when they were hooking up that’s like “I know who you are” “So you’re trying to fuck your trauma?” “i’m very traumatized”
I would be inclined to think that, but his expression and wording don’t really line up with that interpretation for me? Like, he actually seems surprised. But maybe it’ll be clearer in a few strips.
I think the past is a little less about the cop thing and more about whatever near-romance thing they had going on as well as some deeper info about why Asher and co were going around robbing stores. AKA, the mob stuff I think. Like the way Amber explained it in Tan’s link above, it doesn’t really include how Asher was involved in robbing stores or was a criminal, it was just “he called the cops, and that escalated things”. He could have seen her scurrying in and called the cops, he could have dared her to go in as a dare or a joke, but I don’t think Ethan would immediately put together “Asher’s family has ties to the mob and such” just from that line.
154 thoughts on “Nope nope”
NGPZ
“OOPS I said the loud part quiet and the quiet part loud.”
anon
I think danny and ethan (esp ethan) know amber well enough to where they know she would
at least she’s not shouting “my hand would be in my pants to this day!” like that cafeteria scene lol
motorfirebox
“X part Y and Y part X” formulations always remind me of the McDLT, because I am old as shit.
Reltzik
Are you, though? Are you really?
RassilonTDavros
Aright, any guesses on which characters are going to fill in for who in Amber’s fanfic tonight?
Nono
I’m half convinced that Ethan is the Captain America in her fics given how often she writes about him and how close they were.
Bogeywoman
In that case Ethan- captain America (all round good guy, looks cool but is actually a geek)
Asher- Iron Man (comes from money, douchey backstory) OR Bucky (history of badguyness but was acting under the power of a shadowy villain group)
Sal- Black Widow (badass and also the only female avenger I know from the movies)
Danny- Hawkeye (again the only guess from the movie)
I haven’t watched many of the avenger movies. I’m more of an X-Men comics/DC comics guy
Thomas
I think Batman is going to fill in Superman.
Michael Steamweed
Their safeword is “Martha.”
Adept
Nice
TrueVCU
Amber status: critical systems failure, containment breach imminent
StClair
You now have – TWO minutes – to reach minimum safe distance
Michael Steamweed
There is no safe distance. May the gods have mercy upon our souls.
Yumi
Shutting up is one of my strengths; Amber could borrow it sometime.
Kyrik Michalowski
Huh, that is drama that I never even considered might happen. Boy do I feel like an idiot.
Now I’m wondering whether Danny and Ethan are going to have to separate them.
Yumi
Amber’s going to be like, “You two, start making out! It’s the only thing that will stop them!” And in a bit of drunken panic, they’ll start to move toward each other before being like, “Wait, what?” “Amber, that is a terrible idea.”
Darkoneko
She’s saying what we are all thinking
jeffepp
What Danny and Ethan were thinking, at least.
anon
ethan’s strand of emo hair almost makes it look like he has a scar over one eye tho he didn’t look as concerned in the last panel about it lol
darkoneko
so I wasn’t the only one that thought ‘scar’ at first glance lol
Shitbird
The way Amber ships her friends (or whatever the correct term) has always, and continues to make me uncomfortable
Wraithy2773
It is indeed very creepy (although, given her state of inebriation, more amusing right now), but the comic does seem to recognize that. This wouldn’t be a punchline, after all, if it wasn’t over the line in some regard.
Puppeteer Nessus
I wonder what it would be like for the subjects of her real-life-people fanfics to read her work
Thomas
Word. What makes it okay, however, is that she’s a character in a webcomic. She voices the thoughts of a not-insignificant part of the audience. It’s okay to ship fictional characters – even if you’re one of them.
Dr. Sharks
I’m of two minds about this and it’s become sort of an ethical quandary.
On the one hand, it’s not really bad if your sexual fantasies are inspired by real people or events. And it’s not really bad if a writer (even one writing adult content) takes inspiration from actual things that happen to them in real life. None of the events that are inspiring Amber’s sexual fantasy here are even sexual themselves. There are four hot people and two of them have bad blood; that was enough to send Amber’s brain on some sort of erotic journey. If none of those four knew Amber existed and they came across an online smutfic called “there are four hot people and two of them have bad blood and they’re superheroes and they fuck”, none of them would probably suspect that they inspired it.
On the other hand, it is bad to make other people unwilling parties to those sexual fantasies by making it so obvious that the fantasies are about them. She continually makes it known that she writes smut based on her friends and she makes that smut publicly available to them and keeps talking about how she’s imagining them in sexual situations. Obviously all that stuff is wrong and gross. But that makes it sound like the only bad thing Amber did is fail to keep it to herself, which also seems kind of like a questionable stance for me to take? It leaves me here saying “it’s okay to write smut inspired by real people who didn’t consent to it as long as they don’t know about it.” That seems like the logical conclusion based on what I’ve said so far, but also feels morally indefensible.
thejeff
Not just as long as they don’t know about it, but as long as no one knows about it. You’ve got to not only not tell them, but anyone and file off enough details that even your friends don’t recognize the patterns.
But yeah, it’s kind of a weird situation.
Just as a parallel, Joyce is doing the same thing, though she is (or was?) deleting the smut and not letting anyone else see it. And denying the blatantly obvious parallels between her characters and her friends.
Nono
Pick your Horrible Histories Foursome: Danny/Ethan/Sal/Asher, or Joe/Dorothy/Walky/Joyce?
Bonus third option (girls edition): Jennifer/Ruth/Alice/Walky
k
Fascinating question, but I think the danny/sal/ethan/asher foursome wins Horriblest History on account of each of them having a complex relationship with at least two others in the group.
Nymph
Danny/Ethan/Asher/Walky
Meeks
Walky and Danny in the same sexual encounter might break the universe. Or at least my awkwardness threshold.
someone
Can we make it a Danny/Ethan/Sal/Asher/Amber fivesome? I think that’s what’s needed to really put it over the top.
zee
The first one definitely. I need that slip shine
JA
Is it time to get the popcorn out?
NGPZ
Most likely yes.
Also soda. And hotdogs.
Clif
Burgers, chili.
Reltzik
Past time.
Marvelman
Regarding Danny and Ethan… Danny should have kept his big mouth shut. It wasn’t the time or the place. But, he didn’t say anything that wasn’t well known. Mike was an asshole. Ethan should move past this stuff. Danny has nothing to feel badly about.
Archieve
I do think Danny should feel bad about the fact that he made Ethans grief and trauma over being kidnapped all about himself. He didn’t come to the hospital to be supportive but because he decided that it was a great time to ask Ethan out and resented that Ethan was feeling awful and not focusing on him.
ktbear
I’m not sure Danny would agree he has nothing to feel badly about going by his actions here.
Sharaku
I’m not gonna lie. I have completely forgotten they had beef with each other. I can’t even remember the beef. Could anyone point me to the relevant strip please?
Adam Black
danny showed up at the hospital when Mike was near Death to ask Ethan out. Then got mad at Ethan when he was feeling sympathetic for dying friend, and compared Mike to Darth Vader. Instead of just asking him out he picked a fight with Ethan to make Ethan reject Mike ( while he was in the hospital, at the hospital and Ethan had just been freed from being Kidnapped) .
then Mike died leaving extra Ethan guilty for choosing Danny at the party over Mike, and telling Mike off.
Chubseus
If you check the “Danny+ethan” tags it’s only a few strips back because these two have avoided each other for the most part since then. Short version, Danny put his foot in his mouth, but what he said was also kind of accurate, which made it hurt even more. Ethan said Mike wouldn’t wake up for a while, and Danny said, “would that be so bad?” Ethan was justifiably mad, but Danny did end on a zinger, “Look, Ethan, come on. If roles were reversed, he’d be out here taking a big crap on me. And you know it. And you’d let him.”
Adam Black
Yeah he does. Ethan was in trauma and guilt for telling Mike off as the last thing he said. Danny used that Moment to start an argument with Ethan instead of just being supportive. He was an asshole when someone else was dying.
segnosaur
The question I have is… who actually heard Amber’s comments in the final panel.
Ethan’s eyes seem to be pointed at her, indicating he heard what she said. Danny’s eyes have shifted too (although perhaps not as obviously as Ethan’s.)
Wraithy2773
Sadly its not a perfect fuckpile, given that Ethan is gay, not bi, so there is one leg of the graph that’s only one directional, but I’m sure Ethan could just avoid directly interacting with Sal. Just one of those complications involved when it comes to orgies where not everyone is Bi/Pan, ya know?
Nono
I mean I don’t think Danny’s attracted to Asher either, just because someone’s bi doesn’t mean they want to tango with anyone.
And at the end of the day it’s her fanfiction I guess, she can imagine them doing whatever.
Clif
All Ethan has to do is squint and pretend it’s Walky.
Dante
The cuck chair can resolve many a conundrum i’ve been told
segnosaur
Also, Sal has not expressed any interest in man-man situations like Amber has.
Now that may or may not be a problem… after all, she can interact with Danny and Asher. But, even if she is not a homophobe, some people may just not want to actually WATCH homosexual activity
Adam Black
Yeah but.
She is physically attracted to Ethan,
& Asher and maybe Danny.
Woop de doop
I would assume she’s attracted to her current boyfriend, yes.
Nymph
I feel like you mixed Ethan and Danny up there bud.
segnosaur
being attracted to someone doesn’t necessarily mean you want to see them engaged sexually with other people (especially of the same sex).
Dara
who are we missing? jennifer, then Ruth can show to break it up and the drama can really begin?
vlademir1
Raidah has been concerned about Asher today, and hence was pushing Jennifer to get her shit together. (cf here). If she were to know of him being at this party, I could see her show up and then get very… noisy about her history with Sarah once she sees her here with alcohol.
I could see Carla and Charlie making an appearance for the shenanigans.
Malaya to further rub Sal the wrong way maybe.
Dante
[Reads what you said on Raidah]
[T-shirt now says “One Fear”]
Amós Batista
One more comment asking about Ruth, she will come like Beetlejuice.
Nymph
How does Beetlejuice come?
NickG
In black and white stripes.
Dante
Should I change my pfp, because I was going “man they’d be a cool polycule too” and then Amber hit me with that mirror of a last panel…
NGPZ
*plays “Comedian Gallop” by
Vassil Kazandjiev on hacked muzak*
Jess
Wait doesn’t Ethan *know* That Asher is the one that called the cops on Sal and inadvertently caused the stab incident? I’m fairly certain that Amber told him.
Tan
Amber did indeed tell him. https://www.dumbingofage.com/2023/comic/book-13/04-but-dont-give-yourself-away/speakingof/
anon
I’m pretty sure ethan told asher when they were hooking up that’s like “I know who you are” “So you’re trying to fuck your trauma?” “i’m very traumatized”
KM
I think Ethan said that out loud for Danny’s “benefit”…
Yumi
I would be inclined to think that, but his expression and wording don’t really line up with that interpretation for me? Like, he actually seems surprised. But maybe it’ll be clearer in a few strips.
Adam Black
Agreed. It does function to make Danny insecure and maybe Jealous.
KM
I forget, does *Danny* know? Like I said above I think Ethan said that to jab at Danny but I’m not sure Ethan knows Danny knows or not.
Doopyboop
I think the past is a little less about the cop thing and more about whatever near-romance thing they had going on as well as some deeper info about why Asher and co were going around robbing stores. AKA, the mob stuff I think. Like the way Amber explained it in Tan’s link above, it doesn’t really include how Asher was involved in robbing stores or was a criminal, it was just “he called the cops, and that escalated things”. He could have seen her scurrying in and called the cops, he could have dared her to go in as a dare or a joke, but I don’t think Ethan would immediately put together “Asher’s family has ties to the mob and such” just from that line.
Tan