343

Downer
Posted on August 13, 2015 by David M Willis
print-dinabeckydinosaursHey, you can now order the Becky/Dina Dinosaurs print online!  Prints aren't really something I do from my homegrown online store (linked in the menu above), but the Hiveworks/Hivemill store does!  (You know, the folks who host me.)  So here it be.  If you saw the news about the print for San Diego Comic-Con and you thought, dang, I want one, well problem solved!

343 thoughts on “Downer”

  1. Nightsbridge

    Dina used Attract!

    Becky became Infatuated with Dina!

    1. GoldStarz

      Two in a row? Are you out to defame Jen or what?

      1. Nightsbridge

        Wanted to be sure it wasn’t a fluke

        1. Mr. Random

          Mine, was. I’m not a Patron of Willis so I can only do it sparingly.
          You…
          I think you might just be able to destroy Jen Aside’s rule forever.

        2. Jen Aside

          or I could just stop, ya know, because the joke’s not funny anymore =p

        3. Mr. Random

          I thought you were doing it so you could help prevent any assholic people from commenting “First”?

        4. Seerow

          Yea but… is half a dozen posts of “OMG JEN ASIDE HOW DO YOU DO IT EVERY TIME?!” or “OMG HOW DID YOU BEAT JEN ASIDE?!” really better than a single person saying “First”?

        5. Mr. Random

          True, but they only kept coming because she was always so good at getting ahead.

        6. Tacos

          In a perfect world, we’d get none of those posts.

        7. AustKyzor

          If it’s not the “OMG HOW IS JEN ALWAYS FIRST!!1!one!?”, or questioning whoever may have beaten her to said, it’ll be people asking about PlasmaMongoose’s endless gravitars

        8. Captain Batson

          Well, Tacos, since I don’t have three breasts and my own helicopter, I’m gonna assume this isn’t a perfect world.

        9. Deanatay

          Why would you want a _third_ breast?? The two are annoying enough. And where would you put it??

          DON’T say in between! I already keep things there, it’s crowded enough already.

        10. zach

          Between! Just make them all smaller. It’s the nipples that are fun, anyway.

        11. StudentX

          Ah! Ahaha! I get that reference!

        12. Plasma Mongoose

          The only use for three breasts is that you end up with two cleavages, thus doubling the amount of things you can store within them.

        13. BC

          Thank you. I appreciated this reference.

        14. doubleW

          Of course this comment has a grumpy Sarah gravatar.

        15. WolfLann

          It will probably stop eventually like the jokes about moms and nickels in your faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace with a femur. And Ultracar is Amazi-girl.

        16. WolfLann

          I Forgot to Danny it up a little

        17. Roborat

          What, she isn’t? It’s so obvious, look at that faaaaaaace!

          -runs for cover

        18. Max

          I get over the annoying “OMG Jen!!!” thing because it’s still superior to having the first comments be some sort of spam. Plus I was reading Shortpacked! a little while ago and I saw a page where Jen Aside was freaking out that she got first comment twice in a row.

        19. Nightsbridge

          This is a heavy burden you lay upon my shoulders.

        20. Justin

          I think I like this ship the most. really the only drama to be had is on the side of the parents. dunno but i just identify with this ship most (plus their adorable just Loook at em~!)

        21. Justin

          They’re*

      2. otusasio451

        Witch!! STONE HER!!!

      3. Plasma Mongoose

        Nope NB just used Quick Attack is all.

    2. Cheryl

      wait…you are not jen!

    3. otusasio451

      *pushes up non-existent nerd glasses*

      ExCUSE me, but Attract only works on members of the opposite gender, so this joke is inaccurate.

      …I’m SO lonely.

      1. Twinkle Toes the Berserker

        *snort* Shows what you (and the programmers of pokemon games) know about sexual attraction.

        I HAVE HAD SO MANY CONFUSED LADY BONERS

        1. zach

          Especially among totally uninhibited animals.

      2. zach

        Am I the only one who was bugged by that in the games? So hetero normative.

        1. you can't see me

          Attract needed a way to be less powerfull so theiy made it work on about half of all pokemon. The gender way makes sense because it is most common for people to be straight. since pokemon don’t have a way to breed with the same gender if sexuality is determined by genes even partially that means that pokemon should have next to no homosexuals. Bisexual pokemon would be partialy selected against aswell because they have a chance to be with those of their own gender. There isn’t much reason for pokemon to be attracted to their own gender and adding sexualities to the game would make people bugged if there weree no ace or bi people so there would be pokemon who would be immune to attract and those who are vunerable.

          TLDR:Adding sexuality for about one move wouldn’t be worth the effort and other solutions (like making pokemon of both genders able to be attracted.) would unbalance the game.

        2. Cerberus

          That is not how evolution and genetics work and pretty much every sexually reproducing sexually dimorphic animal species has instances of homosexual sexual activity.

          Also, it being necessary for game design does not make the trope less heteronormative.

    4. Palamdrone

      Flirt and “hit on” are two different things. When you flirt, you’re not really interested in the person, its just for fun. A tease, a taunt.

      I think Dina’s hitting on Becky.

      1. CulturalGeekGirl

        I don’t think that’s the commonly agreed-upon distinction between those two words. I’m not sure if there IS an actual consensus distinction… my personal feeling is that flirting is more of a “I like you, and I may be romantically interested. Please let me know if you are also intrigued” thing, while hitting on someone usually means indicating strong sexual interest. But that may not be a consensus definition either.

        1. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          Flirty Dinah is cutest Dinah. 🙂

          …wait, is it Dinah or Dina? ‘Cos I keep spelling it with an H…*looks up the cast page*…dammit, I’ve been mispelling Dina’s name for months! xD

        2. Deanatay

          YES. YOU. HAVE. Don’t think we haven’t noticed!

        3. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          I had no idea I was doing it wrong all this time. See how shocked I am about this?
          <—

        4. Opus the Poet

          Most of us just thought it was autocorrect changing the spelling and you not noticing.

        5. Meyers

          Just a name speaking for itself in this case 😉

        6. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          Nope, it was just me being unobservant and assuming Dina was spelt Dinah ‘cos that’s how I’ve seen it spelt before. xD

          I’m using a desktop comp, there’s no autocorrect on my posts. 🙂

      2. Kathleen

        ‘Hitting on’ definitely has a more skeezy, direct vibe to it. Like drunk men at bars leering at people.

        It is true there is a kind of person who flirts as a hobby and means nothing, but those people are in my experience rare. But those people unilaterally hold your opinion that this is widespread.

        One of these camps has confirmation bias, i’m not sure which.

      3. Inspector Hound

        “Flirt and “hit on” are two different things. When you flirt, you’re not really interested in the person, its just for fun. A tease, a taunt.”

        Flirting is (relatively) interest-neutral — you might or might not be interested in the person your flirting with.

        If you (the person being flirted with) can’t live with uncertainty (or are secretly crushing on the person doing the flirting) then I can see it being annoying or even upsetting, but in general it’s pleasant banter that may or may not lead to anything.

      4. Li

        I disagree completely.

        Flirting is a fun mutual thing. You flirt WITH someone.

        Hitting on is a thing done to someone, that they may or may not welcome.

  2. Jen Aside

    “I have taken copious amounts of notes. Would you like to compare them?”

    “…there’s just a drawing here.”

    “whoops wrong notes”

    1. Jen Aside

      shut up Comcast choked

      1. Plaid

        Shut up I’m choking Comcast

        1. Tacos

          Isn’t that what everyone wants to do? Choke Comcast.

        2. Disloyal Subject

          I’d rather start with MonSanto.

        3. Packy

          Is this a new euphemism for masturbation? “Choking Comcast”?

        4. Dana

          God I hope not.

        5. CianM1301

          What happened to the chicken?

        6. Willoughby Chase

          It crossed the road.

        7. Chaucer59

          Boys choke the chicken. Girls smother the kitty.

        8. bob99938

          I always heard flick the bean

        9. Kamino Neko

          <Les> … Stop that. Please stop that.

        10. Kryss LaBryn

          I think Comcast is what interferes with masturbation, the jerks.

      2. Mr. Random

        THE AGE OF JEN ASIDE HAS PASSED.
        ALL HAIL NIGHTSBRIDGE!

        1. Doctor_Who

          The king is dead. Long live the king.

        2. Sue Aside

          NEED. NEW. JOKE.

        3. Seerow

          Perfect avatar.

        4. Drakey

          I’m sorry, this is totally off-track… but WHY WOULD YOU GIVE PORTABLE KANDRONA TECHNOLOGY TO THE YEERKS? You madman! You’ve endangered the entire galaxy!

          Okay, done now.

        5. Time Sage

          Holy old referances batman. I never thought I’d see that series referanced.

        6. Mr. Random

          Obviously because he thought that they’d be able to move around and function on their own as an intelligent society.
          You can’t always expect a kindness to turn into a massive civilization bent on universal domination.

        7. a snow ʍousɐ

          Ah! I spy one Animorphs reference!

        8. Meyers

          Yeah, definitely off track, but it totally just made my day

        9. Mr. Random

          C’mon….. Sue.
          You’ve maintained the first comment for quite a long time.
          “Celebrations” will die down in about a day or two.

          Besides.
          In the meantime, you still have your awesome drawing skills, and it looks like Dina and Becky might be one of the healthy relationships in DoA.

        10. Dean

          Next strip: we learn that Becky is into non-consensual knife-play.

        11. Mr. Random

          And even then they’d be one of the more interesting relationships.

        12. Rutee

          ’cause suicide is painless… it brings on many changes… and I can take or leave it if I please…

        13. Willoughby Chase

          We can flog this dead horse a bit more, Jen. A side order of bad jokes, please!

    2. Sageress

      You’re too slow!

    3. thebatman22

      “Besties”

    4. Rheios

      Risky click of the day.

  3. Plaid

    The Becky/Dina loving comfort train can never move fast enough

    But then again I’m afraid of getting off

    So I guess I’m stuck on David Willis’ Wild Ride

    1. Darkoneko

      I don’t think his wife would agree..

      1. Darkoneko

        (I’m sorry. sort of)

      2. Plaid

        But we’re all his wives, it was in the viewership contract

        Did you not read your viewership contract?

        1. Darkoneko

          Eh, who read the T.o.Ses ?

        2. sithknightgalen

          I KNEW I was overlooking something when I signed that dotted line. >.<

        3. Deanatay

          It’s thirty-seven pages long!!! Who reads it??

        4. a snow ʍousɐ

          Of course, it’s only half as long as the 69-page Slipshine contract. Nobody has read past page 34.

        5. darkoneko

          You’d think some people would directly skip to 69

    2. Doctor_Who

      I’m still afraid that if I ship it too hard Willis will pull a fast one and something terrible will happen.

      So I’m just quietly going “yay” a lot, where my Transformers (spies for Willis!) can’t hear me.

      1. HMRC4EVR

        If they’re not Hot Shots, they aren’t spies for him.

        Now maybe for Sabrina (from Sabrina Online)-that’s a possibility!

        1. Tacos

          Ah well crap. I own a Cybertron Hot Shot D:

      2. Makkabee

        So THAT’S why I have a sudden headache whenever he wants sex now!

  4. Mewzard

    THE S.S. BECKYSAURUS HAS SET SAIL!

    It’s a good thing.

  5. Darkoneko

    Debbie Downer ? I didn’t know that expression.

    1. Yotomoe

      It’s a person who’s a total downer.
      A downer is someone who brings “down” the mood of the room.

    2. liahansen

      you know, like a Johnny Raincloud. A Negative Nancy. Wetblanket Wallace. Sally Sadface. Frowning Frederick. Barry Bummer. Mister Misery. Hardship Harris. Tribulation Troy. Disadvantage Dick. Wendy Worrywart. you know.

      1. Darkoneko

        oh, Negative Nancy I’d read somewhere before. [/english as a 3rd language]

      2. SzL

        Ok. I’ve heard none of those! I know Debbie downer… Are all your others used or did you make any up?

        1. liahansen

          Don’t be a Doubting Dorothy, those are all 100% bona fide real expressions

        2. chiscii

          don’t be such a liar lia 😛

    3. Nightsbridge

      ‘Debbie Downer’ was a character that first appeared on Saturday Night Live. True to her name, she was a downer about anything and everything. Her ‘name’ became shorthand for someone who was dragging the mood of a conversation down.

      1. Truthseeker

        Let me just say what a true delight the introduction of the SNL character was for those long-suffering few of us who actually hold the surname Downer, too. SNL is always very funny. These are not lies. I like SNL very much.

  6. Yotomoe

    That’s why I get into so many car accidents.

    1. JessWitt

      Don’t flirt and drive!

      1. Yotomoe

        I flirt with danger.

        1. StClair

          Do you act with integrity?

        2. gkheyf

          it’s not very effective

        3. Deanatay

          You’re still alive, though. Clearly, Danger’s just not into you.

        4. Yotomoe

          I flirt with Danger, not death.

        5. Deanatay

          Death is Danger’s jealous boyfriend. You flirt too heavily with Danger, Death comes a-calling.

  7. Kernanator

    phlasers.

  8. AnvilPro

    I’m glad Dina was here to cheer her up, Becky was starting to be a real Downersaurus Rex

  9. Stephen R. Bierce

    *pulls out the Scouting manual and points to the page on Wigwig*

    1. Stephen R. Bierce

      “WIGWAG”. Cold hands in August?–That will NOT DO.

  10. Mr. Random

    I wonder how many people are taking notes on how to flirt right now….

    1. Doctor_Who

      I tried, but all I ended up with was a page where a dinosaur eats my TA while he exclaims “My bow tie!”

      1. gkheyf

        hey, that’d work if you were aiming for dina.

        …you know, if you had tried it before becky showed up

  11. Plasma Mongoose

    4th panel Dina is now the new best Dina.

    1. gkheyf

      i dunno, dina being able to smile normally makes me feel uneasy. it’s like we’re inviting the worst to follow

  12. Twinkle Toes the Berserker

    THEY ARE THE CUTEST LESBIANS or bisexuals? Do we know if Dina is lesbians or bisexuals definitively? Last I knew she was still conducting experiments.

    1. Darkoneko

      They the cutest something. Isn’t it enough ?

      1. HMRC4EVR

        They are the cutest dreamers…

        (With all due respect to Biggest Dreamer, main song from Tamers).

    2. -Sentinel-

      My head canon is that Dina is a homoromantic asexual.

    3. Mada

      I’m not up on my terms but….

      Femromantic Dinosexual?

      1. liahansen

        oshit, you think Dina’s a scaly?

        1. Opus the Poet

          Dina thinks dinosaurs have feathers, not scales.
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/02-guess-whos-coming-to-galassos/proven/

        2. you can't see me

          She knows they have feathers not scales

        3. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          She knows they have both.

    4. Agemegos

      Dina my be “straight for” palaeontologues. http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/05-media-rumble/mine/

      1. Agemegos

        For “my” read “may”. My strine accent’s not that thick.

    5. Daddy

      Well, given that sexual preference is supposed to (mostly) match that of previous incarnations of the character, she is canonically heteromantic with heterosexual experiences in that alternate dimension that shall not be named. Since she’s expressing homoromantic interests, we may be able to label her as Heteromantic, Possibly Asexual, experimenting with Homoromantic relations into possibly a Biromantic or Panromantic self identity. Actually, her tryst with Mike aside, her experiences with extreme snuggling with Walky probably indicate she is not entirely Asexual.. Something to be monitored and tested further..

      1. electromagneticDestroyosaur

        Becky’s probably down for experimentation, but what will happen when Dina attempts to test the control?

      2. Cerberus

        My suspicion is that she is asexual spectrum in the form of a demisexual or a grey-asexual. Her not feeling sexual attraction until knowing someone a good while (demisexual) even though her romantic attraction is fairly quick would fit the evidence of both universes pretty well in my opinion.

        Plus, there’s just so many hints and confirmations in this universe that Dina is some flavor of ace. Either that or Willis is the cruelest tease ever… which I’m not necessarily ruling out.

        1. gkheyf

          see, now why don’t they teach this in sex-ed? the internet does not prepare one for web-comic banter of this caliber. just assume that i am nodding and taking notes

        2. SzL

          Asexuality and aromanticism have gained visibility and maybe even names since my sex ed days. Man I could have used the explanations earlier… Someone aro dating someone ace can be a comedy act though.

        3. Opus the Poet

          When I took sex ed the first time sexual orientations were not a thing. Anything outside the heteronormative baseline was considered a mental illness. Yes, I’m that old. That’s what happens to unkillable badasses, we get old and start yelling at kids to get off our lawns.

        4. Rheios

          Because a lot of its far more detailed identification that is immediately necessary in most cases. We really shouldn’t care how, when, or what someone else is attracted to unless it is directly relevant to us, in which case we can just ask and move on from there. On the positive hand giving these things titles helps those who may relate and never knew there were others who viewed the world as they do but on the negative they begin to get so detailed as to be almost aggressively specific, which I imagine starts to make their designations needlessly exclusive and alienating.

          Some of it even seems reactionary, almost as if to spit in the eye of all those people who seem TO care what’s going on with other people’s sex lives (or lack of them as whatever the preference is) and judging them for it.

          I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m a horribly judgmental old person at heart. I wasn’t going to add that but I really don’t want anyone thinking I’m better off than I am by accident.

        5. Rheios

          Hm. Lost my original point but I pretty much meant that Sex ed’s supposed to teach the basics of biology, as far as I understood it, and probably throw in some general “avoid disease and pregnancy” knowledge. I’m not sure schools ever really want to get into the sexual preference aspect of any of this, directly because its unnecessary for the established health purpose. Which I’ll admit, I’ve read plenty of accounts of them failing at. I mean I’m all for personal responsibility and the knowledge that abstinence is the superior option in many cases but give the little monsters some more tools than the hammer here.

        6. Rutee

          ….the established health purpose requires covering homosexuality. Period. They kinda have to say what safe sex constitutes, and dispel myths like the idea that gaysex = teh HIV every time (this myth has started to die, but…)

          And frankly, on Earth, it’s the best place to give the MENTAL health advisories that would constitute a basic understanding of ace and trans, along with knowledge on where to go for more information.

          seriously, people’s mental health matters. This isn’t that hard to cover in brief.

        7. Daddy

          Grey-Asexual… So basically the polar opposite of Juvia then..

        8. SzL

          She only just met becky! I think people want to read her as ace because of her character, but I don’t think I yet agree.

        9. Cerberus

          I don’t know. Maybe it is my own biases given that I’m ace and I’d love more ace representation in my media, but I feel there are considerable amounts of foreshadowing that lend one easily to the idea of Dina being ace. There’s:

          Dina’s revelation that she hasn’t experienced sexual attraction yet: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/02-threes-a-crowd/overstepped/ This is critical to me as it is extraordinarily rare for a non-ace spectrum individual to have never experienced sexual attraction before college (never experienced sexual relationship sure, yeah, that’s super common, but to have never have gotten all rioed up by a hot person on the TV box is so rare as to be nonexistent.

          Dina not knowing if she’s into girls and needing to do repeated trials to figure it out and if that is something interesting to her: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/hypotheses/ that can be a bi or questioning thing to do, but the answerless nature of it reminds me a lot of being a young ace trying to figure out what relationship elements I was comfortable with or not.

          On that note. Dina’s phrasing of her orientation as unconcerned. Again, this could also fit bi or questioning, but the phrasing of it suggests an absence to the whole question of sexuality, which would imply that wanting things sexually may be a rare or even absent component of her life so far: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/04-walking-with-dina/unsure/

          And another big one is her statements before meeting toe dad with regards to how she imagines the progression of a relationship to be. This screams ace spectrum to me because of how it doesn’t even think to include a sexual component whereas every other sexual character so far has made some form of reference in that direction with regards to their relationships or their wants: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/04-walking-with-dina/evilutionist/ (contrast the over-prioritizing of non-sexual intimate acts like cuddling and hand-holding with the conversations Dorothy and Walky or Danny and Amber make about their relationships, Sarah’s fantasies about Jacob, Joyce’s giggly lust about Ethan, Ethan’s statements regarding Jacob, and Becky regarding giblet touching)

          And another one is this comic with the flirting with all the parts that know how comment as I identify strongly with that as a romantic asexual and the difficulty of signalling romantic interest or possibility in a way that cuts through peoples’ overreliances on shared sexual chemistry.

          I could be way off the mark, but I feel the seed is well planted as a possibility.

        10. you can't see me

          I would like to point out that if I remember correctly Ruthless told her brother that she wasn’t concerned with what kind of plumbing she is attracted to and is definately sexual. Dina has said that she is unconcerned about her sexuality. from what we have seen unconcerned definitely does not mean ace.

          I may have messed something up but I think i got all that correct.

        11. you can't see me

          I mean does not necisarily mean ace.

        12. Cerberus

          It’s the lacking the inclination versus lacking a preference. Ruth had stated sexual desires, she just said she didn’t much care who they were to. Dina stated she hasn’t had the desires to begin with yet, which would suggest at least to me being ace.

          Which, for the Slipshine lovers, it’s worth pointing out that asexual does not necessarily mean celibate. Dina has stated she is curious about “rigorous experimentation” regardless of whether her orientation is ace spectrum or not.

        13. Rutee

          I followed you, at least. Seems legit to me. I mean, I like her bi better, but we can both have our way. Not like canon actually, truly means anything (on its own, in the context of representation it matters a lot since nerd-dom really cares about canons)

        14. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          I wouldn’t be surprised if Dina isn’t asexual and has just been too focused on dinosaurs and dinosaurs alone before entering college to notice people she might have found attractive.

      3. Rutee

        Why, what women did she turn down in walkyverse? I mean, when the finale came I felt reasonably certain she wasn’t straight (if she were, there’d be no point in specifying ‘heteronormative’ as part of the invasion by loud white people, and someone else would have been used who was the perfect antithesis), but I never bothered reading IW/JnW/Roomies, so maybe I missed something.

        1. you can't see me

          SPOILER for it’s walky

          If I am reading this right you read shortpacked. Remember when Mike said someone had already tried getting him drunk to be with him or something like that? That was Dina.

          SPOILER

        2. you can't see me

          also she never showed sighns of liking any female that way as far as i know.

        3. Rutee

          …So like, do you know what ‘bisexual’ means?

    6. Cheryl

      I KNOW RIGHT?! I cant even right now

    7. Dana

      At this point we (and she) don’t even necessarily know if she’s into girls, but all signs seem to point to a 2 or higher on the Kinsey scale. My headcannon is that she’s a biromantic bisexual late bloomer. The delay being due in no small part to a specturmy focus on other things, particularly feathered, extinct things.

      1. Gamaran Sepudomyn

        I think you summed up my thoughts on this perfectly.

    8. wwwhhattt

      They are cutees. They are the cutest cutees.

  13. man jean

    this is so nice and genuine and well-intentioned and gah. love them

  14. Yumi

    *giggles uncontrollably*

  15. Blegh

    oh my goodness, they’re so cute it actually physically hurts a little.
    eee~

    1. Cerberus

      Feel you there. Happy queers in love are my kryptonite.

    2. blegh

      omg, we have the same username & i totally agree w you

      this is weird

  16. brumagem

    I imagine anyone dating Dina would be like a Mac fanatic using Windows for the first time.

    1. Darkoneko

      I’m afraid that’s what EVERYONE’s first dates feels like.

      …at least that’s how mines did.

      1. StClair

        RTFM.

        (“I’ve tried, they’re all in languages I don’t know, or contradict each other, or don’t make any sense!“)

        1. Deanatay

          *sigh* If only men had manuals.

          (Heh, technically, men ARE manuals. If only I knew how to work a stick…)

        2. Opus the Poet

          Men are easy, beer, pizza and a nekkid woman, and 80% of men are happy. It’s the ones that don’t like nekkid wimmin, or beer, or pizza that you might have problems with. Kinda like Macs.

        3. Darkoneko

          I hate beer…

  17. Leorale

    I totally also feel the strong need to apologize for having/showing negative feelings, ever.

    1. Rutee

      Yuuuup

    2. Zaidyer

      I feel you.
      It’s like a train, isn’t it? Once it starts, it just keeps rolling.
      That’s why you have to hit the brakes as hard as possible and assure everyone really hard that you’re not gonna go down that track.

    3. Spencer

      I’ve only ever actively apologized when I felt like I was acting like a total asshole in the middle of a breakdown and lashed out but, yeah, I go through a lot of those moments where I feel ashamed of myself for expressing sadness or anger.

  18. -Sentinel-

    Becky’s right eye continues to disturb me.

    1. Darkoneko

      It sees throught hairs. And also throught your very soul.

    2. Rani

      Great so I’d just like to arbitrary broaden this discussion to talk about wtf is up with Amazi-Girl’s eyes on the cover of “Mask or No Mask?”

  19. Jon P

    I feel like they both might benefit if we evolved some sort of facial signal that would light up when flirting is being attempted.

    [me too]

    1. Rebecca

      I agree. Some sort of sign that says without a doubt, “Yes, I’m flirting.” would be fantastic.

      1. Leorale

        That would just be saying “Hey I would like to have sex with you, how do you feel about that?” Which is a fine thing to say in some situations, but it isn’t flirting. Flirting is ambiguous!

        1. gkheyf

          that can still be ambiguous! like, “top or bottom?”

    2. Dana

      Isn’t part of the point of flirting a bit of plausible deniability? Once the face lights up it’s moved on to diving in where flirting is just testing the waters.

      1. Rabid Rabbit

        Depends a bit on whether it’s flirting for fun or flirting in the hopes of getting nookie, doesn’t it? If the fact lit up only in the second case, then yes, there’d be a problem.

  20. SpookieClown

    Can you feel the love tonight?
    now im thinking lion king would be amazing with dinosaurs

    1. Darkoneko

      In the jungle, terrible jungle…

  21. chris73

    Well speaking personally irl fun and loud people have always irritated me because it always seemed like an act, like not the real person
    I’d rather hang out with Debbie Downer because they’re being honest with who they are so hopefully Dina can convince Becky to keep being herself

    1. wwwhhattt

      Barely related, but in the flashcards my company uses the only human who looks like a person is the ‘sad’ card.

  22. HMRC4EVR

    Dina more and more reminds me of Julie Power from Marvel’s Power Pack.

    Julie mentioned in an issue of Avengers Academy that when she liked a person it was just for the person and male or female really didn’t matter. It was the person she was attracted to, not the gender.

    Dina might be looking at the world through the same colored glasses. Granted she doesn’t have a lot of worldview but that might be a good thing. No past baggage to cloud her judgment: if she feels comfortable around someone and knows she might have some basic romantic feelings for them, she can see the person as just a person she likes, without all the labels getting in the way.

    1. otusasio451

      Isn’t she going out with Karolina Dean from the Runaways now?

      1. HMRC4EVR

        last I heard, but after…UGH….Avengers Arean I stepped away from Marvel other than the short run of New Warriors.

        I hope they’re still together, but I haven’t bought a Marvel book in over a year so I really don’t know what their status is right now.

        1. otusasio451

          I feel you. I almost completely walked away from ALL comic books because of the idiocy that the main two industries have produced in the last few years. I’m reading a couple of books from each company, but I’ve basically lost most of my ties to the current books.

        2. Spencer

          Avengers Arena was such garbage, especially after the criminally underrated Academy.

          rassum frassum killing off Mettle and Juston Seyfert grumble

        3. Dean

          The worst part was that, in technical terms, it was fairly decent. But it was conceptually bad. According to the afterword in one of the tpbs, Hopeless wanted to do an Avengers Academy-style comic, but the bosses looked at his list of possible storylines, pointed at one and said “Make it about this, do Battle Royale with superpowers.”

        4. Spencer

          I couldn’t last long enough to talk about the whole series, but I just genuinely hated every part I read. Apart from killing off some characters I really like, it had asinine character motivations, death and murder for its own sake, and a crappy Sue-ish villain character with gag-worthy meta commentary about how the reader is the real monster. a
          aAnd all that for the sake of propping up friggin’ Arcade; the jokiest of all joke villains in the Marvel Universe.

          I don’t get the Big Two’s fascination with murdering their teen heroes. Between Arena and the Culling, it’s pretty messed up.

        5. HMRC4EVR

          easier to cash in on a Hunger Games ripoff than actually THINK and do SOMETHING with the characters they’ve worked on and invested time and character development in for YEARS

  23. JessWitt

    Man, I can attest to not reading the flirts from other guys.

  24. Cerberus

    Oh Becky, you don’t have to constantly deflect how much this is hurting you by forcing yourself to act the goofball. You are no longer living with Butthole Dad and are finally allowed to have the full range of emotions.

    Also, as someone as oblivious to/terrible at flirting as these two, I can’t stop grinning at Panels 3-5.

    1. Yotomoe

      I dunno. I honestly don’t like being a downer either. It makes me uncomfortable. I’d much rather be a goofball than be super mopey, especially around company.

      1. Cerberus

        Yeah, but I’m not so sure that Becky is doing it in a healthy manner, especially as she seems to view getting upset by legitimately upsetting news as a character flaw.

      2. Incomitatus

        Keep the smiling facade up for acquaintances and strangers, but friends are the people you can be down around and they stick about.

        1. Yotomoe

          She met Dina yesterday.

        2. David M Willis

          becky met dina on thursday and it’s now sunday

        3. Opus the Poet

          No fair, you’re working from a chart and an outline, while the rest of us have to depend on memory of a comic that ran back in November of last year.
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/introductions/

        4. David M Willis

          do not understand words “chart” or “outline”

        5. Knightsky

          ‘Outline’ is the visual aid that Mike uses with various moms. ‘Chart’ is what he uses to keep track of all the Nicole’s he has acquired.

        6. Knightsky

          *sigh* ‘nickels’

        7. you can't see me

          pft I Would be surprised if he ever revealed that he had an outline and chart.

    2. SzL

      It feels unhealthy but it might still be helping her. It’s so hard to judge from the outside. In fact even in hindsight you can’t always know.

    3. Mada

      And surprisingly it’s possible Dina realizes this. She did say she was fine with however Becky wanted to be around her.

  25. Rani

    inb4 Becky’s father ends up kidnapping her once she and Dina make out or something. It’s how these drama arcs usually go.

    I dare this volume to prove me wrong. I fucking dare you. Punks.

    You won’t.

    #notReversePsychology

    1. tim gueguen

      More likely he tries to lay hands on Joyce when he decides she’s lying about Becky, only to be thrashed within an inch of his life by Sarah.

      1. BenRG

        No, I want him to be beaten up by Ethan and Danny. Finding out that he had been thrashed soundly by a pair of ‘deviants’ would hurt far more and for far longer than any physical injury.

        1. darkoneko

          And he would press charges and they would end up in jail ;[

  26. Kelli

    USS Beckina sets sail.

    1. otusasio451

      Oh, that ship set sail a LONG time ago. At this point, it’s been away from land so long that those aboard are running out of food.

      1. gkheyf

        and we all know what comes next!

        …they eat fish

        1. Opus the Poet

          Fish tacos. Interesting point, tacos were first invented on the Baja peninsula as a way to eat bits of fish that were too small for normal consumption without a plate, all tacos were fish tacos with the other ones being the oddity. Now ground beef is the “normal” taco, with fish being relegated to the “oddity” group.

        2. Tacos

          Hrm?

        3. Deanatay

          It’s okay, Tacos. We know you’re not normal.

      2. Cattleprod

        So… it went back to land, resupplied, and is now setting sail again?

      3. you can't see me

        whether or not it is running out of food by now would depend on whether it is following our time or comic time.

  27. Yotomoe

    Y’know, while I find Dina and Becky cute I just…can’t get behind this ship. It seems too…ideal I guess? They’re both already popular characters sure. But they get along almost suspiciously well. I guess because of how fast and impulsive it began, as well as it being the first time we’ve seen Dina with even an semblance of an attraction to something not a breakfast or ancient lizard. I dunno. Maybe it’ll grow on me.

    1. gkheyf

      no, you’re right. dina is changing suspiciously fast this chapter. most ppl don’t question it because it’s giving us warm fuzzies, but it does all feel a bit…off. like it’ll end with dina staring into an IU snow globe.

      don’t get me wrong, the flashback to blaine and conversation with ethan are convincing enough as character development, but it does seem that she has stored up her quantum learning leaps rather than develop slowly like the rest of us mortals. maybe after she half-fainted at the party she started trying to change more.

      and just as a thought, am i the only one who misses the slightly more robotic dina? her being aggressively adorable is awesome, but i keep feeling like something is missing. has she forever left behind her almost painfully mechanical interaction m.o.? i know that i’m not sounding very flattering about her old self right now, but i…genuinely do miss it. the smilies are like a whole new dina. darn it, they grow up too fast. do parents ever get nostalgic for changing diapers?

      1. Daddy

        Yes, in fact, we do. As they grow, kids start making MUCH bigger messes that are MUCH harder (and more expensive) to clean up. But, honestly… You always miss who they were.. Those moments where they were a person that you knew and loved that just.. isn’t anymore.. Not that you love your kids less, just that the change is so drastic, and their memories so hazy of who they were.. that they might as well be a completely different person than they used to be.

      2. Alyssa

        Speaking as an autistic person who strongly suspects that Dina is (undiagnosed!) spectrummy, that’s actually a really common way for autistic folks to develop, where practically no sign of change is visible until a new skill is basically ready and then BAM. We get stuff like “no speech to complete sentences in a day” sometimes.

        (And yes, it is completely plausible for an East Asian woman to go undiagnosed until college and possibly beyond. Folks tend to presume the language weirds are because Asian, not because autistic, and the same with eye contact differences. Especially if the parents show the same traits.)

        1. gkheyf

          That is an interesting point. Dina’s parents do at first glance appear to have a similar disposition. Out of curiosity, is having the diagnosis helpful? If Dina were diagnosed officially, might it be easier to interact with people if she knows where on the spectrum she is? Or is it just one more thing, not better or worse?

      3. Cerberus

        Hmm, perhaps. I guess, to me, Dina’s growth has felt wholly natural as a lot of Dina’s characterization before hand was her being underestimated by the other characters and the audience owing to her being “eccentric”. But there has always been an undercurrent of emotionality behind a lot of Dina’s actions, whether it be her attempts to do right by her friendship with Amber, her regret in handling the Blaine situation, her nervousness with regards to being regarded as a friend to Amber, her joy at receiving the dino drawing in math class, her excitement at one day experiencing romantic and sexual relationships, and her rage at Joyce’s creationism.

        As such it makes sense to me that once she actually had someone who accepted her and did not assume she was pre-pubescent physically or mentally because of factors caused by her neurodivergence and likely sexuality and started to fall in love that she would be even more likely to show this emotional range that has always been beneath the surface. Especially when said loved one is in real danger from major issues.

        I think Dina has always felt fiercely protective of those she regards as kin and fairly vindictive against those who’ve wronged her or her friends (see her statements with Sarah about Raidah). This is just a particularly charged moment that lets all of that come to the forefront.

      4. you can't see me

        Real people change quickly. Some even change both quickly and often. I have heard of people who are stubborn enough to take a long time to change. Dina is trying to change.

    2. Dana

      It seems to me Raidah got Dina’s focus on the social puzzle and Dina is very focused on what’s in her sights. I suspect their relationship will get more challenging as the initial chemistry isn’t enough anymore, but they’ve got an acceptance of each other’s weaknesses that’s a natural head start.

      1. SzL

        Also, she just started university. It’s a time some people do this! I can even think of other Web produced stories showing similar changes in major characters over similar or shorter time frames

    3. Spencer

      I sort of see where you’re coming from, but Becky’s pretty much the only person in the cast who doesn’t, on some level, treat Dina like a child or as someone who needs to be fixed and educated. Becky engages Dina on her level, she talks about things Dina wants to talk about, she wanted to flirt with Dina when everyone else was talking about how flirting with Dina is weird and gross.

      TLDR: I think Dina has a crush, and she’s dealing with it rationally because that’s how Dina rolls.

      1. darkoneko

        hmm, Dina rolls.

        1. Tenn

          We see her rollin’
          We lovin’

  28. EmbraceEvil

    Yessssss. YESSSSSSS. That all I have to say (well other than this: why are Becky’s eyes on her hair?)

    1. Opus the Poet

      Because her hair is not opaque and her eye is visible through the hair. Willis just draws the eye over the hair because this is a common trope for drawn comics.

  29. Nena

    I think they would be good together and perhaps be helpful to each other.

    1. Cerberus

      Definitely. They both bring out more in each other and do a lot to complement and counteract each others’ insecurities and baggage. It’s so adorably healthy.

      1. gkheyf

        a healthy relationship where a couple counteracts each other’s emotional baggage? ruth and billie are having none of that!

        1. Willoughby Chase

          Ying to Yang, perhaps? The universe balances out.

      2. darkoneko

        It works if they’re “just” friends also.

        1. Cerberus

          Gals being pals?

  30. Professor Fate

    Emotionally, those two are like rambunctious, clumsy little puppies falling all over each other trying to play. I do hope they get the chance to have a relationship before Toedad shows up and crashes the party.

    1. gkheyf

      only after reading your comment did i realize that i had only been hallucinating cute puppies for the past few comics, and there are actually human females there. but why do i now need insulin?

    2. ninja_jesus

      Toedad likes to kick puppies pass it on

  31. TheLoneReader

    Gah! I don’t think my heart can take this level of cuteness!

    1. gkheyf

      you are becky from 4 days ago

  32. dailybrad

    I quite like the sincerity of it all.

  33. kay

    It’s okay, Dina, those few parts of you that know how are doing an exceptional job!

  34. Kraken

    I really appreciate the first panel, the concept of a person’s being overwritten by the weight of their circumstances. Same deal as with Ethan, but this panel really presents it well.

  35. Bagge

    Just in case anyone still needs it – here is the confirmation that Becky’s attitude back here was her trying to project a persona and overcompensating.

  36. Yu'Karaya

    Too cute. These comics are going to kill me

  37. BenRG

    You have to wonder just how awful Becky’s past must be so that she feels unable to express sadness and that she feels obliged to act light-hearted and fun all the time. It isn’t healthy and Becky really is walking a path to a breakdown, sooner or later.

    It’s another indication of how emotionally unhealthy Becky’s upbringing was that she’s struggling to properly identify signals that Dina feels affection for her.

    Of course, like a lot of people in her situation, all she wants is acceptance. Fortunately, Dina seems to be intent on giving her unconditional acceptance, which may lead to Becky eventually feeling able to express her true emotions to those around her.

    1. Bagge

      We really don’t have to wonder. We have met her dad, we know the world she and Joyce grew up in, we know that her mum died not that long ago. Yup it’s not the least bit healthy and Dina is exactly what she needs

    2. Greenygal

      I don’t think Becky’s unclear on whether Dina is showing her affection; she’s unclear whether she’s flirting, specifically. And it’s not surprising that she wants clear confirmation of that, after what happened with Joyce.

      1. SzL

        ^ this!

        Also when you’re young and after a homo-interaction, you often get a little more cautious if the other person isn’t obvious. Rejections are just statistically higher.

        1. Cerberus

          And significantly more risky.

          Being rejected as a cis straight person can be painful, sad, and heartbreaking. Being rejected as a queer person can be the prelude to someone getting violent with you or otherwise ostracizing you.

          Given Becky’s interactions so far have been 1) getting rejected by the best friend she was convinced was flying the secret homo signal and 2) having the girl she made out with deny she was ever into it to protect her safety (which also was part of an entire suite of becoming homeless owing to said makeout), it’d be understandable that she’d be not fully confident in her ability to detect signals even if she weren’t also coming from a background where she had no healthy models for queer girl love and flirting.

    3. SzL

      As someone who has been in similar circumstances… She’s not wrong. People speak well but don’t or can’t always follow through. And it’s location suicide if a non-close friend finds out
      out. Even if you follow the rules sometimes you get in trouble.

      I hope she is able to have comfort with Dina. I think Dina is different. I think many other of our main characters aren’t, enough, and it may be the only way she keep going is to pretend for everyone, not everyone except Dina.

    4. hof1991

      Pllus Becky’s mom recently died. Toedad is bad, but Becky is also missing her mom right now I bet. In some churches, mourning is short circuited, since the deceased is in a better place now. Not really Christ-like, but very Christian. Lose mom, lose Joyce, lose college, lose all hope. It’s been a year from hell for Becky. Being a homeschooled class clown is her safety net.

    5. Deanatay

      Ben, some of her forced cheerfulness may be due to her situation. I’ve seen that people who wind up totally reliant on others, even temporarily, adapt a ‘fun’ facade like this. They know their situation relies on the positive attitude of their host, so they try everything they can to foster it.

      1. Cerberus

        That too. “If I’m fun and awesome to be around, you won’t reject me and throw me away like my family.”

  38. Wafflebob

    Sooner or later Dinah is going to run out of cute. It has to happen eventually. She can’t just keep getting more adorable forever, right? RIGHT?!?

    1. timemonkey

      Trust me, you don’t want the cuteness to stop, it leads Dina down a dark path that ends in a very sad way.

  39. Yumi

    Seeing how Dina has managed to not yet insult Becky, she’s better at flirting than I am.

  40. 6Qubed

    Dina:

    Lv. 58 Dinosaur Lore
    Lv. 33 Adorability
    Lv. 2 Flirting

  41. Liz

    …okay, so this is now officially my favorite ship.

  42. Idon'tcarenomore

    Dina has changed and grown awfully fast in this arc I see someone say. But, she never had any interest in ‘interpersonal development’, I think is how she put it.
    Now that she has one, it’s opened a lot of windows she never knew were closed.
    That’s my guess. She was just ready. Smart as she is, I’m guessing she figures why wait. She has a pretty straightforward attitude toward stuff.

    The turn around on Becky is amazing-she started acting like a human being and not an irresponsible loud crazy person, so maybe the same thing is happening to her?

    I think they really are good for each other. And I havn’t really thought that about any pairing here. Dina accepts Becky as is; and Becky does the same for her. Rare in any relationship.

    And yeah if Dina gets any more adorable, I’m liable to barf.

    1. Will

      Becky didn’t “start” acting like anything. That is the same Becky. That was always Becky.

      The loud obnoxious one was always, clearly, an act. Very very obviously one, as seen from the occasional panel of Becky alone or looking the other way.

      We just now know more of the reasons for her acting that way.

      1. Cerberus

        It’s her armor for the world and her deflection for her despair. So long as she’s eternal goofball Becky, too wacky to be dragged down by her circumstances, then somehow she can maybe avoid giving in to the despair and getting sucked down into the anger and pain of what has happened to her.

        But yeah, that armor is paper thin and Becky’s scars are fresh and stinging and need to be addressed and treated at some point internally. Unfortunately, Becky is in a head space currently where the armor is all she has left to protect her and the despair and rage would swallow her if she let it.

  43. Dana

    Becky, if you’re not yourself around Dina it’ll add an unaccounted variable to Dina’s experiment and muddy all her data!

  44. Majere

    omg it’s so cute I’m gonna die

    1. Nightsbridge

      They are absolutely ADORABLE

  45. Bagge

    Please Becky, you’re breaking my heart (again…). You are allowed to be sad, you are allowed to be down. I promise you that it won’t push away your friends – Joyce, Dina, even Sarah.

    1. SzL

      I… No. Sarah will absolutely be pushed away eventually if she doesn’t ration it and isn’t apologetic. Even Joyce might get overwhelmed and convinced she needs to find outside “help” that actually makes the situation worse and strains or destroys their friendship.

      But Dina, yes, Dina I believe in.

      1. Bagge

        You really think Joyce will be more stressed by Becky being a downer than Becky potentially defying the will of God? I think she is due more credit that that.

      2. BenRG

        FWIW, I think that Joyce’s issues are entirely her own. She just feels guilty because, on a certain level, a part of her is convinced that this is all somehow her fault. So, she isn’t really emotionally equipped to deal with Becky’s sadness.

        Of course, it is possible that the two of them having to confront emotions that they are not equipped to handle is what they need to progress emotionally.

      3. Cerberus

        Yanno, that kinda actually is a thing. That is to say there’s a lot of social pressure on individuals who are going through stuff to minimize said stuff and show a front of being positive and upbeat about their situations.

        We, as a general culture, tend to be a bit victim-blamey and tend to fetishize sufferers who soften the blow of bad circumstances (There’s a reason Little Orphan Annie and Oliver Twist are our preferred icons of homeless youth and it’s because both minimize the horrors of their situation and show “determination” and “pluck” rather than getting justifiably bitter about their lot). And that extends to even just talking about the realities of suffering hardship and oppression. See all the defensiveness white people have thrown at the Black Lives Matter camp simply because said camp wants their kids to stop being shot and wants to talk about what’s happening to them in their neighborhoods.

        Unfortunately, a lot of people take people taking about oppression and suffering as some sort of accusation and so get defensive like “oh, so what do you want ME to do about it, huh?” or “how dare you make me sad” and that leads to a lot of shitting on people who are already fucked over and restrictions on said people’s ability to healthily process what has been done to them and seek help for wrongs.

        For a great example, see all the shit Becky has gotten since being revealed to be homeless and queer even though she actively does downplay everything and people are only aware of her circumstances because they exist in comic.

        And this can occur even in well-meaning supportive people. I’ve had romantic partners that I just can’t talk about the microaggressions of being trans with simply because that much realism scares them and so the only course of action is to deflect and minimize their daily impact on me.

        I don’t think Joyce is the type who would go off on Becky in this manner. She’s more the type to internalize everything painfully, but it is a real social pressure that Becky is responding to…

        Also Becky is from a very controlling home environment that was likely rather emotionally abusive and those environments also usually have a very toxic culture of “playing happy families” no matter what’s going on inside. Is a parent molesting the kids, is a person beating their spouse, is everything in the family breaking into pieces? Well, then grit and smile and tell everyone everything is fine otherwise you are betraying the family.

        Based on Becky’s default coping strategy and Toedad’s overall actions, I think it’s a reasonable assumption that such an expectation to play happy families was a daily reality for Becky at home (not to mention the expectation to play straight).

        1. Bagge

          I really wish you weren’t right. 🙁

        2. SzL

          ^this

          Thank you!

  46. SzL

    So why are all the slipshine requests last page and not the one with the amazing lines Dina uses about flirting?! I now want a slipshine of these two 90% for the dialogue. (neither were my top three anyway. But. Omg that line was amazing and I want so much more!)

    1. Bagge

      “All the parts of me that know how” – come on, Dina, now you are just teasing us.

  47. Willoughby Chase

    BRILLIANT!

  48. io

    They be flirtin!
    Hopefully willis will grant us with a gay couple one day. We already got 3 straight and lesbian ones.
    -Generally disgruntled by how often the comics he reads heralds lesbian couples but totally lacks gay ones, like qc sinfest egs and between failures- grumble grumble.
    Im not actually complaining about willis, the shortage of normalized gay couples just makes my own orientation less easy to cope with.

    1. io

      This rant was probably better suited to other pages, just didnt have thr gumption before now.

    2. Kei

      You should try reading Shortpacked, there were a couple different gay relationships at various times.

      1. io

        I did read shortpacked. There were gay flings like mike and ethan and mike and faz but I mostly recall ethan being thr only gay/bi guy on the main cast who managed a boyfriend, and even then it was never with a main cast member. Thats the case with a lot of the gay relationships that Do show up in comics I read, the only gay couples are either both or half secondsry characters. Its why Im excited about danny and ethan because this may be the first time ive seen main cast guys get into it without one being introduced for thr purpose of the relationship.

        1. SzL

          Literally the only comic I can think of where that happens at the moment (that I read) is sorcery 101. Of others I’ve read where it happens, it’s because that’s what the comic was about
          Having now checked my entire currently updating list, that’s still true.

          Man you raise way too good of a point :/

        2. io

          Usually the gay male character in a comic is either there as a comic relief character, or spends the whole time being unhappy with their orientation, like ethan and danny so far. Most of the female counterparts end up succeeding at their crushes with short-lived or off-screen internal conflict. Joyce is the only rejection I remember reading in comics and that one was obvious.

        3. Itama

          oh my god, i’m so glad i’m not the only one who noticed this. i tried to point this out once on another comic and everyone got upset with me. :/
          It does kinda seems like webcomic artists think lesbians are above relationship trouble sometimes. or that they are somehow more deserving of media recognition than gay men.
          maybe its because lesbian is an easy title to slap on a character to make them both more interesting and better liked? not that i’m saying willis does that, mind you, but it could explain the huge imbalance between homosexual and lesbian characters in these comics.

        4. darkoneko

          Wait, didn’t Sorcery 101 finish several years ago ? o_o;

        5. darkoneko

          Oh wait, no, that was Demonology 101. My bad.

      2. Spencer

        I don’t know if I’d look to Shortpacked. Ethan kind of fell into his relationship with Drew and he started things with Manny off-panel, both of whom were characters added into the story to give him a love interest. Contrast with Mike/Amber and Leslie/Robin, who had years of storylines building up their relationships and multiple on-panel love scenes.

        In a vacuum this is totally okay, because Shortpacked!Ethan was not a particularly ambitious person and spent most of his time obsessing over toys than he did romance, and I think it’s extremely important to have LGBT characters where their orientation is another aspect of them in the same way that it’s extremely important for DoA!Ethan to be struggling with the way other people define him by his sexuality.

        In practice, we’re left with a guy who was shown kissing another guy like, what, four times?

    3. SzL

      Male on male would be great regardless of if they’re gay imo but you raise a point I hadn’t noticed about it being more uncommon. I wonder why?

      1. io

        Because the core of romance has been femenized by the ages so its much easier to imaging love between two women than two men.

    4. Spencer

      Trust me when I say that I absolutely know how you feel. DoA is a comic mostly about ladies, so male representation is already fairly limited, and in that really limited cast of main male characters, only Ethan and Danny are attracted to men.

      But, yeah, I wish more webcomics would appreciate all forms of LGBT love and not just ladies.

      1. timemonkey

        Well, if you like fantasy type comics I’ve got a webcomic that you might like. Well, it’s not mine but I can share a link. I’ve been reading it for a few years now.

        1. Spencer

          Sure. I’d love to check it out.

        2. Nightsbridge

          Hmm . . . I’d suggest Oh Human Star for you guys, even though it’s largely a sci-fi comic. The most prominent pairing is male/male.

        3. Nightsbridge

          Or . . . Hm. Well, they present as male? There are some unresolved things.

        4. timemonkey

          http://yafgc.net/

          I present: Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic, hope you enjoy the journey.

      2. io

        I hadnt thought about that particular detail before. I just realized that most of the comics I read have a female cast that outpopulates the male cast 3 to 1. Probably because I read more slice of life than anything else

    5. Cerberus

      You make a really good point.

      There is a dearth of positive depictions of queer male romance in queer-inclusive webcomic fiction and a lot of the depictions that do happen often have the queer dudes be stuck in a rut where they aren’t in queer relationships for the majority of the strip (as you note, Justin in EGS and Ethan in Shortpacked!).

      I suspect the problem may be two fold.

      1) It seems the majority of popular webcomic creators are straight men and a good proportion of creators of queer webcomics are queer-identified women. This is by no means to suggest that it is “natural” or “right” for queer dude romance to get shafted because of this, but I think this may be part of the problem of why it doesn’t get remarked upon and intentionally considered enough.

      2) I think the way more impactful half of this is that a lot of current queer alternative cartoons and webcomics are backlashes against previous queer-inclusive media. In the 90s and 00s, a lot of queer inclusion in comics, television media, and movies solely focused on queer male experiences (specifically white queer male experiences) while almost universally ignoring queer girl experiences. As such, when a lot of long running webcomics got their start,  there was a lot of queer dude representation and not much for the queer identified women so there was a lot more intentionality behind including queer women for representation as queer men’s stories were seen as oversaturated.

      And obviously with regards to 2, there’s still some tension there. Movies in particular tend to focus on queer men’s stories almost exclusively often to the detriment of telling the stories of other queer individuals (cough cough Stonewall cough cough) and a lot of queer women’s representation in television is owed to some high profile examples in alternative media such as Steven Universe.

      But said depictions often suck and you are absolutely right that queer men’s stories are often overlooked in a lot of queer inclusive webcomics, especially the ones most likely to serve those stories justice.

      I think this last point is why I want to believe so much that Walky is bi, because it would be great to have multiple options for queer men’s romance during the course of the story.

      1. io

        I am enjoying the inclusion of more normal gsy couples in sitcoms, as opposed to crazy ones like in will and grace. Examples being robin williams last sitcom and the inspector in the flash. the boyfriends were still secondary or largely off screen but its good baby steps. Actually now that i think about it you see a lot more normalized gay couples in sitcoms than normal lesbian couples. More specifically you see more successful gay adults than successful lesbain adults. It seems like the only lesbians are teens and young adults. I dont watch Too many sitcoms so my observation could be slanted.

    6. Yumi

      Have you checked out the Young Protectors? Granted, the romance in that is extremely problematic, but I have hope for the comic going forward.

      1. chiscii

        saying the romance in the young protectors is problematic is like saying 20th century dictatorships were mean. even with the extremely tacked on it’s an understatement ?

        i’d reccomend ‘tripping over you’ cos it’s damn adorable, but considering that it’s /about/ a dude/dude couple i’m not sure it’s what op would be looking for… i know i whole bunch of webcomics with queer male characters but i can’t think of any with queer male couples :/

        1. io

          I have reviewed my oservations and realized that in comics, especially young adult age group ones, lesbians are more common, but in tv especially late 30s and 40s you see almost No lesbian couples and all the gay men are married.
          This leads me to believe people have an easy time imagining women falling in love and an easy time imagining men being married but not as much when you flip it.
          I just find it funny how i can think of no older married lesbians and lots of dating girls, and also think of many married gays but no dating boys. Thats weird!

        2. Yumi

          There is the show The Fosters, currently airing on ABC family. It’s about a family headed by by two married lesbian women.

  49. Amake

    The audience: Show some boobs!
    Dina: I see. You turned your heckling into literal advice by placing a tired clichéd line in a context where it can be taken sincerely. Clever.
    The audience: Take off your tricera-top!
    Dina: Are you flirting with me?

    1. DarkVeghetta

      The audience: Yes? 😀

      1. Amake

        Dina: Please stop flirting with me when I’m flirting with Becky, it is p. confusing and I am not interested.

  50. Shadow

    Oh my gosh, that /smile/ on Dina’s face in the third panel. Oh my gosh.

    1. Bagge

      I know right. She’s looking away. She’s smiling. She’s almost blushing. She’s toots flirting, all right!

      1. Just Here

        Toots flirting? But that’s how hadrosaurs flirt, not ceratopsans!

  51. Les

    I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Dina smile before, certainly not like she is in panel 4 (I guess technically it’s a combination of smiling and blushing). Becky might have a little more girl-girl experience but it’s still so new to both of them that it’s probably going to be an awkward feeling out process (especially if they progress to the feeling up process).

    1. Mada

      She’s smiled before (notably when Joyce expressed a horrified sort of wonder at the fact that Dina and Becky might smooch ON THE MOUTH, but you’re right that she doesn’t smile often.

  52. detective boomwolf

    Hooray, awkward flirting! The best kind there is!

  53. Just Here

    Oh gods, I remember those first awkward flirty moments. I made an utter ass of myself. You think it’s awkward for normal people, try being an aspie. Thankfully I’ve hit it right and she’s asleep in our bed right now.

    Go, Dina, go!

  54. Just Me

    Don’t take this the wrong way, but, is anyone who goes tot his school heterosexual? Amber, Dorothy, Walky, Joyce, Sal, Jacob and Raidah seem to be the only confirmed ones. Danny isn’t sure. The rest of the cast … ?

    1. Spencer

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/about/

      #10

    2. Will

      ^^ this

      And I quote: ” stop reading the comic forever and go away.” Yes, just go away.

      We don’t care if you think there’s a “right” or “wrong” way to take what you wrote. We absolutely do not need to read this exact same comment every godamn time someone comes out or a non-hetero relationship starts.

      Again. Please just go away and never return.

    3. Lord Stoneheart

      If this is a sincere question, then you forgot Roz, and Sarah from your list. And some minor characters. ( Though not all minor characters. They are about as mixed as the main cast in regards to sexual orientation). Though if that was a sincere question you should know that for a while every character shown to be not straight elicited cries of “Where’s all the straight people!” These people were almost always being tools who were passive aggressively complaining about there being more than one token non straight couple. There’s still quite a few straight characters. And if that’s not enough you can seek out the 95% of all media which is filled with almost entirely straight characters.

    4. BenRG

      What’s curious about this comment is that it is self-answering. You rattle off a list of over a half-dozen named characters with significant on-screen time including three primary characters and wonder ‘where are the straight people at’?

    5. Kamino Neko

      ‘Aside from this significant chunk of the main cast…’

    6. Cerberus

      Yup, everyone is gay. Everyone. Including you. Including the whole world. Nothing can stop the death march of Willis’s gaystapo hordes that have been unleashed by him having some genuine queer representation in his slice of life comic. All hail our queer Soggy overlords!

      1. Opus the Poet

        “Everyone is homosexual, it’s just that some die before completing the heterosexual experimentation phase.” Don Alexander from the MA3 forums.

    7. sjmcc13

      Of the 18 characters listed on the cast page, like 10 of them are straight. of the remaining 8, 4 are pretty much confirmed to be bisexual, and 2 as homosexual. (IIRC Dina and Carla can not be clearly labeled yet)

      That is higher then the 10% statistic I was taught in school, but I have long felt that that number was BS and affected by societal pressures. and the % in the student population of a public (non-religious) university is probably higher then the general population anyway.

      Plus a LBGT friendly group is going to attract more LBGT members then an Anti-LBGT group.

      1. Spencer

        Carla is a DMAB Homo-Romantic Trans Woman.

        Either way, the idea that a cast of dozens of characters can only be 10% non-straight is silly (not that you were saying that, of course). Maybe there isn’t a huge LGBT population in DoA’s Indiana University, but the story focuses on some students who are LGBT. That doesn’t suddenly mean all the straight people have disappeared.

        1. Spencer

          and Asexual. Forgot to mention she was Ace.

        2. Cerberus

          You don’t actually need to say DMAB if you just say trans woman and a lot of trans people actually prefer just the trans appellation anyways, but yeah, you’re 100% correct, Carla has been confirmed by Word of Willis to be a homoromantic asexual trans woman.

        3. Spencer

          I see. My mistake.

        4. Cerberus

          No worries. It’s all good. 🙂

        5. li

          I’m gonna second that “dmab trans woman” is redundant.

          DMAB as a term is more for when you’re talking about things people who present as male experience (and frankly, even there that is a better way of talking about it if you’re not trans yourself).

      2. Cerberus

        This. Based on the number of people who admit to bisexual attraction or experiences yet say they are straight in particular is super high, so the 10% number is probably super low.

        Additionally, as you say at the end, queers tend to find each other and people who support them, so an inclusive friends circle is likely to have a higher than average population of queer identified individuals… especially if they live in a state where queer individuals are… less than 100% supportive to put it mildly.

    8. Darkoneko

      People, this is why the next book will be named “Yes, everyone is gay, shut up”

  55. Antony

    I don’t often comment, just enjoy reading the comic, but I really love this storyline.

  56. zoelogical

    oh nooo i started reading becky with applejack’s voice

    1. BenRG

      Don’t worry about it; it’s the freckles.

    2. Thanks, I'll Have Another!

      That’s always been Sal’s voice, for me.

  57. HiiroArana79

    True, nobody likes Debbie Downer, or Fairuzia Sulk, or Olga Upset, or Betty Sweat, or Andy Neurotic, but deep down we all would like to see a new show with John Cryer.

    1. Opus the Poet

      That is a long way to go for a weak pun.

  58. Edupoet81

    Becky breaks my heart in the first panel, wiping away a tear as she talks about needing to stop being Debbie Downer, because apparently she’s *supposed* to be fun and loud all the time. I wish I could assume that was solely a fundie thing, the whole “Put on a Happy Face,” “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,””Smile though your heart is breaking,” “Smile and the whole world smiles with you. Cry and you cry alone,” “Conceal, don’t feel,” blah blah blah B.S.
    Unfortunately, I’ve met plenty of non-fundies like that, people whose idea of comforting words is, “Don’t worry,” “Relax,” “Don’t Cry,” “There’s nothing to be upset about,” “Everything is going to be all right.” It always makes me really angry when people say things like that to me. I generally need to use every ounce of willpower I have to refrain from flipping the bird or punching people when they try to placate me with platitudes like that. I recognize that these people generally mean well, and don’t know what else to say. Still, our emotional responses are not always rational, and that’s very much a berserk button for me.
    That seems to be the attitude of all too many people — negative emotions are BAD and WRONG, so please hide them away out of sight because it makes us uncomfortable to see them, and we’d prefer to pretend that they aren’t there. Just keep on playing the role of the Stepford Smiler while those deeply buried negative emotions slowly but surely destroy you from within. We can’t have you allowing yourself to actually experience negative emotions that help you to process painful, difficult situations. That may lead to actually learning how to deal with and work through those negative emotions in a healthy and constructive manner, and we can’t have that, can we? Perish the thought!
    Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting it’s healthy to wallow in despair 24/7. That sort of situation can become unavoidable in some cases when severe clinical depression is involved, and that can be unbearably painful. For the sake of self-preservation, sometimes we do need to lose ourselves in fiction, music, or some other form of escape, depending on what works best for a given individual. Sometimes, we need to crack jokes and make humorous observations in order to take the edge of our emotional pain. Even so, there are also times when we just need to let ourselves feel that full range of emotions.

    1. Edupoet81

      Wow, I just completely forgot to include paragraph breaks, didn’t I? I was just so emotionally set off by the prospect of the whole “Put on a Happy Face” approach to life, I completely forgot to incorporate these standard conventions, rendering my immense wall of text even more unreadable. Gah.

      1. chris73

        Whats interesting to me (character development and all that) is how Becky sees herself or rather how she thinks other people see her, I wonder how many many people see her as loud and fun (Walky maybe) but what would everyone else think

    2. Cerberus

      This exact thing is why I’m so happy Inside Out exists.

    3. Smiling Cat

      I feel compelled to point out that it’s a little bit more complex than just dismissing negative emotions as bad. Negative emotions are painful. Generally speaking for everybody involved. Often the “it’ll be alright” lines get said because the people saying them don’t know what else to say. They feel they have to help because someone they care about is in pain and all they can think of is what they hope is positive reinforcement.

      It extends to the one suffering as well. A person in pain doesn’t want to be in pain. And not being emotionally equipped to get out of pain a healthy way, they try to shove it aside.

      1. Edupoet81

        I completely recognize this, which is why I talked about sometimes needing to retreat into one’s preferred means of escape, or take the edge off the pain with humor. As I said, that does serve a useful purpose in terms of self-preservation. Still, it’s not healthy to do that all the time.

  59. Tenn

    Yep, brain still hemorrhaging.

  60. Potatamoto

    I suggest a simple solution…it will be hard on Joyce, but I’m hopeful that when it’s finished she’ll see the necessity. Becky tells Joyce that she knows her butthole Dad has been around, looking for her, and that she has to leave. She bids Joyce a fond, tearful farewell, telling Joyce she can’t say where she’s going, and she’s not sure how long it will be before she can get back in touch. Becky hops on a bus and rides away.

    Of course, she returns to campus shortly thereafter and holes up in Dina and Amber’s room. (Amber knows all about butthole dads, so I’d hope she’d be sympathetic to Becky’s plight.) At some point, BHD tracks down Joyce, and she tells the truth as she knows it. BHD leaves, Becky comes out of hiding (relatively speaking) and status quo is restored.

    1. Darkoneko

      So…you wants her to hide in Dina’s closet.

  61. BB

    That confirms it, yup. Becky is a *car*!

  62. masterofthez

    I’ve liked Becky for a while, but only now have I really understood her. I’ve broken down before in front of friends only to then quickly apologies about it afterwords for not being my normal happy self. It’s a weird feeling. Enjoying being so happy-go-lucky only to loose it on rare instances. Despite friends being supportive about the problem you still feel bad about living up to the idea of someone who is forever happy.

    I guess what I’m really saying is I now see myself 4 DoA characters. Welcome to the group Becky!

  63. Just Me

    I apologize if my comment was taken badly. Maybe it’s just that I’m waiting for an out-in-the-open, stable relationship to occur. Ruth and Billie are so secretive about their relationship. Maybe Dina and Becky will be the ones who have what Dorothy and Walky have.

  64. StraightFace

    “One cuts,
    the other is willing to be cut.” ~Don’t remember who

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.