165

Letcha know
Posted on November 26, 2021 by David M Willis

165 thoughts on “Letcha know”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “Are ya suggestin’ WE…”

    *SMOOCHESBOOCHES*

    “WHOA DANG, WOMAN”

    1. Schpoonman

      Tell me that wouldn’t be the Slipshine with the most subscribers pulled (until Joyce gets one).

      1. RassilonTDavros

        I mean… I’m pretty sure the eventual Becky/Dina is gonna claim that crown.

        1. Kyrik Michalowski

          I hope so, Dina is so fucking cute. As for Becky, despite her Dorothy issues, she is easy on the eyes as well.

    2. Amós Batista

      Let me tell you: I adore you avatar. Where did you get it??

      1. King Daniel

        Ana Chronistic’s gravatars are almost invariably drawn from the various months-in-the-future preview panels Willis puts up on tumblr – and when that panel finally comes to pass, Ana soon replaces it with a new preview panel.

        1. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Ah, the theme is revealed! Thank you for elucidatin’ me. I think I may have forgot this before, or déja-vu. Back to our regularly scheduled program.

        2. milu

          but but but
          that Lucy grav they had before???
          i’m not sure we’ve seen it but if we have it’s been a while? (i think it was this strip from May 2?)

          ANA WHAT IS GOING ON HERE

        3. Ana Chronistic

          I forgot about it and no one said HEY THAT’S YOUR GRAV to remind me so I finally updated

          No one said anachronistic in which direy!

        4. Ana Chronistic

          Direy?

          *direction, PHONE

  2. Nono

    Okay Amber, how much of your fabrication includes you and Sal kissing and how much is you and Ghost Mike

    1. Black Drazon

      Sal and Amber Slipshine with Ghost Mike providing color commentary.

      1. Clif

        Dumbing of Age 12: I Think Everybody Should Kiss.

    2. Steamweed

      Think of the threesome! Slipshine awesomeness!

      1. milu

        Won’t anyone think of the threesomes!

        1. Kaiyalai

          No. Foursomes and Moresomes only :3

    3. Decidedly Orthogonal

      And how much is Ghost Mike Swayze-ing you to nail your mom, for a nickel, while she wears your derby uniform?

  3. Mr. Random

    DoA is slowly approaching that Yelling Bird meme.

    1. Opus the Poet

      And then they all fucked!!

    2. Dana

      Totally wanted to say that but couldn’t quite find the words.

      1. Clif

        Amber Yelling bird writes the best fan fiction.
        https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1453

  4. ADLegend21

    Amber has a voyuer kink confirmed.

  5. Thag Simmons

    Sal probably hasn’t, but who has. Ethan was her proofreader, and I think Joyce and Danny have read a bit of it, but has anyone else.

    1. Reltzik

      Probably Booster.

      1. Reltzik

        Argh, laptop grav. Let’s see, was this the right hash?

      2. Thag Simmons

        I’d forgot that they’d asked for a link.

        Both Walky and Dina are aware of it, but I’m not sure if they’ve read any

        1. Matthew E Davis

          Dina may have, for research. But she seems the kind to comment on the incorrectness of the various hypotheses presented by said fan-fiction in regards to human interaction, eventually.

  6. The Wellerman

    Oooooo!!! Speaking of fanfiction…

    I assume lots of you just about now are trying to unwind and rest after Thanksgiving.

    To help with this, I’m giving you all some *improved* [NSFW] sleep-deprived Amber / Brain Mike FAN ART!!! ?

    https://imgur.com/a/GeWSIKd

    Special thanks to Rose for once again giving me another great idea!

    1. Yotomoe

      Haha this is pretty rad!

      1. The Wellerman

        Glad you like it! Any suggestions or critique?

        1. Yotomoe

          Wit the way her body is oriented I think her crotch would be a bit more over to the right. Unless the implication is that she’s twisting her body a bit.

        2. The Wellerman

          Yeah I was really going for the ‘aaah that tickles!’ and tensing up and twisting kind of energy.

          But anyway thanks for the feedback! It REALLY helps! ?

    2. The Wellerman

      It may not be likely, but it would be an HONOR if this piece aided in the conception of George Jetson! ?

      1. Kaiyalai

        This is now (head)canon.

        1. The Wellerman

          Out of all the ways there are to interpret that, I LOVE all of them!!! >u<

  7. UrsulaDavina

    Close to my life philosophy just add everyone should kiss everyone with consent.

  8. Sirksome

    Except her. She probably think she doesn’t deserve kissing. Which makes wanting to despite that forbidden fruit and thus more desireable. How deep and complex is the Amber kink well? We may never know.

    1. Leorale

      Amber wants to kiss people while not deserving it (see garbage roof).

      1. Opus the Poet

        Like this?

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-10/04-is-a-song-forever/wholeheart/

        1. zee

          God people keep posting old strips and it’s tempting me
          Once I get out for Christmas break next month I’m finally rereading doa for the first time since i started, when i was like 12. That’ll be a journey

  9. Kyrik Michalowski

    I know she didn’t have to but I appreciate Sal letting Amber know about her and Danny. I wish everyone was that chill about things like this.

    That’s all I got for tonight, no questions. I can’t hear myself think over the sound of my hallucination. Sorry.

    1. Jamie

      I think people focus so much on the ethical obligations that they forget that social obligations aren’t invalid simply because they’re a social construct. Social constructs can be neat. Worth examining, because everything should be examined, but stuff like “tell your friend when you’re dating her ex” is a thing to keep.

    2. Kazuma Taichi

      Fuckin’ same

      Had a “friend” in high school who kept me in the dark about his relationship for 3 weeks (which seems short now that I’m an adult), and it was with someone that I had my first relationship with 2 years prior. Even if I could believe that he didn’t know, our mutual friend who heard immediately definitely knew we used to be a thing.
      And like, I wasn’t mad that they were dating at all. But I thought it was customary to check with friends before doing that so it struck me as him saying “yea lol we ain’t friends”

  10. Yotomoe

    Y’know what. Against my better judgement I ship this as a threesome.

    1. The Wellerman

      Hey hey Yoto!!!

      May I ask how your thanksgiving was?

      1. Yotomoe

        Great. I cooked Mac and cheese except I didn’t have macaroni cuz it’s thanksgiving and everyone bought all the macaroni so I used bowtie pasta instead. My family didn’t eat too much of it but the ones who did enjoyed it. I also brought my switch and we all played games together, first smash, then Street fighter and then finally Mario Kart. My cousin gets so heated when she loses I couldn’t help but laugh. (I honestly didn’t know we had that in common). After that me and my cousins just sorta talked about anime and stuff for a couple hours before it was finally late enough to leave.
        My aunts and stuff all wanted to see more with me and they all want me to visit in December and I’ll try to do that.
        You?

        1. The Wellerman

          Glad to know yours went so well!

          I spent most of mine just gorging on tryptophan-enriched dinosaur meat and working on things to give to everyone here!

        2. Leorale

          Yay, those family times sound super great ^^

    2. Kyrik Michalowski

      That does sound awesome, though I know we’ll never get the opportunity to see it.

      1. Yotomoe

        😛 i might draw it someday.

    3. Thag Simmons

      Alas, Sal is extremely straight

      1. Yotomoe

        Fair enough, but Danny would be a useful buffer. We all know the Golden Rule.

        1. The Wellerman

          If Amazi-Girl and Brain Mike count, isn’t it technically a three-way just by Amber masterbating?

        2. Rabid Rabbit

          Amazi-Girl takes care of the action in the front. Mike provides the backdoor inventiveness. Amber is pleasured.

          So yes, basically.

      2. Nono

        If Sal is extremely straight and Ethan is extremely gay… Sal/Danny/Ethan bisexual bisandwich?

      3. mrnoidea

        Thought that link would refer to this strip.

    4. adam Black

      i think u mean 5 somesome.

  11. Blibdoolpoolp

    Amber out here being lowkey poly or at least poly-approving, ayyyy

    1. Clif

      Emerging Polycule. Willis is such a tease.

    2. Jon

      She’d better be, because it looks like any relationship she has with another human being is going to involve at *least* four people.

      1. Jamie

        Eh. Alters aren’t necessarily in a relationship simply because one of them is.

        1. zee

          My boyfriend told me a story of one time before we started dating, he was friends with a plural girl who’s main had a boyfriend and her alter* developed a crush on my now bf, and they basically invited him to come date her. He decided it sounded like it’d get messy way too easily and turned them down.

          (Trying to use the correct terminology i am so sorry if I’m talking about this wrong)

        2. Kazuma Taichi

          Agreed, but potential partners will probably need to be poly-approving, because a lot of people can’t really separate the whole shared body thing.

  12. Rose by Any Other Name

    This is basically the premise of my romance novels.
    Love triangle? Polyamory!
    Love trapezoid with arranged marriage? Polyamory!

    1. The Wellerman

      All of that sounds delicious! ?

      By the way, thanks once again for inspiring my latest art!

    2. milu

      Draco and Harry AND Ginny? Polyamory!
      Tara and Willow AND Buffy AND Faith? Polyamory!

      it works always.

      1. Clif

        In theory, polyamory sounds great. In practice, dealing with the shifting emotional landscape of yourself and a single other person is enough of a challenge already.

        1. milu

          You have not been paying attention. All the people i mentioned are really good at killing very frightening monsters. a little extra emotional labour isn’t gonna scare them. …what’s that, those characters were all about angsty relationship drama to begin with? well OKAY THEN

          (…but seriosly, yup)

        2. Spencer

          Yeah, I sure as hell could never do it but that’s because I’m the most heteronormative bisexual on the planet. My ideal is to be with one person the rest of my life, but I think that’s not just hard, it’s probably more emotionally labouring even by the standards of monogamy and cultural expectations.

          Love is love, basically. Being able to be in love with two or more people at once and you’re all just happy and communicative sounds good too, it just presents its own challenges.

        3. milu

          I mean. “Love is love”, sure.

          But also, in some radical circles at least, polyamory is hyped as implicitely or explicitely the “superior” sort of love, for various reasons. So i think it is worthwhile to remember 1) no it’s not, and 2) if done with care it is certain to be costly in time, energy, and the potential for human shrapnel. and of course women and AFAB folks end up taking on more than their share of that extra emotional work, because patriarchy.

          For some it’s a revelation, for some it’s just how they experience attraction and relationships, but it’s not for everyone and that’s okay. i’ve had some good experiences in poly constellations but this one time i caught uncool feelings, and i decided being cool was more important than being honest. it got messy.

        4. Spencer

          Well yeah, like I said, it’s not for me, it’s something where I’m so deeply monogamous a person I can’t really conceptualize acting on it and I’m not sure I have the emotional capacity if even if I did.

          I think you’re correct that some folks jump into it as if it’s a superior form of love and romance, but I think that jumping is based in how it’s treated as an aberration on a macro scale. When I talk about myself, that I’ve gone this long without sex because it’s something I only want to have in a deeply emotional context and that the act itself means a lot less than who I’m with, and that while I’m comfortably affirmed in my identity as a bisexual man, I’ve never been with a man and I’ll only be if I fall for him as I did my past partner, at best it’s treated as deeply romantic, at worst it’s hopelessly quaint but it sure sounds cute if it works out. No one’s ever gonna tell me I’m too monogamous, because monogamy gets treated as a societal ideal.

          I think when it comes to cannonballing into the deep end, a lot of it is in how you feel the need to prove you’re correct. Polyamory takes work in a way different than monogamy, but that work gets piled on even harder because of the constant undercurrent of judgment, that you have to prove it’s good and healthy and normal, and then your normal problems like “I’m just not that into you” or “this isn’t working out” stop being about the people involved, they become a judgment of polyamorous love itself.

        5. AKP

          Agreement. I think a lot of the “poly is better” stuff comes from a similar place to the “gay is better” stuff from young gay folks. Hard lashing out against a society that doesn’t represent, respect, or take the feelings you have seriously, and especially against the broad condemnation of actually living those feelings.

          Most of the poly folk I know, self included, do not recommend poly relationships for most people, but I sure do feel that reactionary spark every time someone blanket calls it bad.

        6. milu

          @AKP @Spencer
          Yes and no.

          Yes polyamory is a marginalized reality and that means a big part of the discourse around it in poly and sex-positive circles is aimed at combating the stigma it has in the mainstream.

          But marginalized communities also have their own norms. There is such a thing as uplifting deviation from the mainstream norm to the point where it becomes something of a new norm inside the marginalized culture. Transfeminist activist Julia Serano calls it “subversivism”, though i don’t know if she coined that or picked it up from somewhere else. Anyway, that’s what i meant.

          But yeah, generally speaking, and I guess on this here wide-open public space, a more important point is that polyamory can be absolutely freeing. Actually in my case, i think it was just that it was so interesting. Because it blew up so much that i’d taken for granted about what relationships should be like. It was quite thrilling =) We would just talk about relationships for hours, that was probably the sexiest part of it haha.

        7. Rose by Any Other Name

          @Cliff: True. However, it also allows for different type of support. Or if one person is stressed and unable to offer support, then there are others who can step in.

          Also, it makes for lots of interesting conflicts and dynamics for a novel. My first series has very little actual outside conflict – most of the conflict revolves around the group forming, learning to work with one another, and working through various disagreements and jealousies.

        8. Doki

          Eh, I’ll have to disagree. It really depends on the group in question. If everyone complements each other well it can actually be LESS work than a single monogamous relationship can be.

  13. BBCC

    This is also my approach to fan fiction. Multishipping is the way of the future.

    1. Spencer

      I’m too monogamous even with my ships.

      Trying to figure out if I crack ship Asher/Danny/Sal or Amber/Asher is tearing my heart in twain, because I can’t choose between a triad where two dangerous hot badasses also smooch a dapper ukulele lad, or Amber dating the heart throb badboy who totally got her dad murdered, except murdering her dad is probably the hottest thing a potential partner could do.

      I kiindaaaa lean towards the latter, if only because the concept is really, really funny to me, and that much like Amber/Mike in SP!, Asher’s a tough dude that Amber couldn’t really meaningfully ever hurt. It’s safe to be angry at Asher because Amber can’t emotionally browbeat him, let alone physically harm him in a way that if she ever did to Danny or Walky, they could never stop her, and the possibility of her doing so is something she views as an inevitability.

      But, y’know, the visual image of Sal in bed with one arm wrapped around her reformed but still dangerous criminal childhood friend and the other around her cuddly doofus who makes her feel comfy and safe is also funny to me. I bet Danny would have refreshments lined up once they all finished.

      1. milu

        “murdering her dad is probably the hottest thing a potential partner could do.”

        that has got to be a thing in some corner of the animal kingdom.

    2. thejeff

      I’ve got no problem with multishipping in general for fan fiction.

      I just dislike it when it’s treated as a quick and easy solution for canon relationship conflicts.

      1. BBCC

        I think you’re thinking of polyamory or I’m seriously misunderstanding your definition of multishipping.

  14. EpochFlame

    amber with the good start

  15. Suet

    Everybody Everybody?

    *starts playing Black Box

    1. Needfuldoer

      Everybody! Everybody!

      *checks email

      1. Dara

        You all everybody?

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuQba4inleQ

  16. Leorale

    I’m really glad that this is made text! There were a lot of people blaming Amber for our tragic lack of Ethan/Danny (before they argued about coma-Mike and sunk the ship). If either of them had actually asked her, she could’ve been all for the good ship Seecox.

    1. Regalli

      It looks like she still has some Feelings about Danny moving on, but I suspect they’re more tied up in the self-loathing ‘I don’t deserve to kiss good people! I don’t deserve anything good!’ and especially how things ended with Danny than issues with SAL dating him, specifically. Poor kid.

    2. Alex

      I always thought that was an excuse. “Oh look, we conveniently like each other! But we can’t date because… Amber! Guess we’ll have to stay in our comfort zone and not address our sexuality or be vulnerable with each other.”

      1. Spencer

        I definitely don’t read it the same way, especially since Danny was eventually starting to chafe under that agreement until he gave up and tried to confess to Ethan, while Ethan addressed his sexuality with every guy he could once sleeping with Mike gave him the confidence to see his own attractiveness.

        “It can never ever happen” was obviously an overstep in the “must protect Amber” department, but not doing it right there and then like an hour after Amber and Danny had broken up is pretty sensible.

        1. Regalli

          Ethan was comfortable with his sexuality but not yet comfortable with the idea pf Seriously Dating, since that would mean eventually admitting to his parents that Ethan had a boyfriend and this isn’t going away. I think the initial ‘not dating so soon after breakup’ was totally a reasonable decision, but part of Ethan’s resistance likely involved some ‘putting off a serious emotional connection so that he doesn’t have to think about lying to his parents about a relationship or NOT lying to his parents and what’s more of a nightmare.’ (Mike could be safely dismissed because both Ethan and Amber were like ‘obviously he’s hot but like. Dating him? Opening yourself to that massive stab in the back? GOD no! Fuck him but don’t let him know Feelings.’)

        2. Spencer

          I’m not entirelyyyy sure I read it the same way, here’s what I think:

          Danny telling Ethan that he was so hot that every time he saw him he wanted to be grounded up into a powder and dumped into his bathwater is the first time Ethan being gay has meant something positive. Danny was the first man to ever affirm any kind of declaration that Ethan being gay could be a good thing, that Ethan’s cute friend with nice hair thinks he’s absurdly, overpoweringly hot and that Danny really, really wanted to have sex with him.

          It was emotional affirmation, but naturally it could not happen right there because the both of them won’t hurt Amber. They stay friends, Ethan gets plenty of moments where he gets to be cuddly and sweet with Danny, but Ethan also kind of reinforces in himself that Danny’s too good and too pure for him while in the meantime Danny starts to explore himself as a person and slowly falls for Ethan himself. If Danny had made the first move on Ethan, that it wasn’t just that Ethan was a dense slab of beefcake but that Danny did seriously like him and want to be with him, then Ethan would have went for it, because I think what he needed at this point was affirmation that being gay hadn’t destroyed his life and could lead to something wonderful. Sal kissing Danny and telling him that he made her feel comfortable and safe made Danny realize he had value in himself, and I think Danny doing the same to Ethan would have made Ethan see that this could work, that he had value, and that he had enough value to be with Danny.

          And then the Mikening happens and Ethan finds that confidence in himself another way. He makes love to the guy he’s crushed on for years, and because that guy is Mike he’s smart enough to get the hell out of the way, meaning all Ethan took from that was that he had sex with the hottest guy he knows and object of his affection, and that this was a thing he was capable of on his own merits. He holds himself higher, he fucks his way through every willing dude, and he can do that now because Ethan had confidence in himself in a way that he’d never have to tell his parents.

          To make a read: at this point Danny is romantically into Ethan, previously it was a sexual attraction that tore Danny up that he eventually accepted, and what he had now was that he was in love with Ethan and could never be with him because of their agreement, and then finding out Amber dated Walky, the second time he found Danny’s ex, makes him lash out for a hot second and go hit on Sal before he realizes he’s being dumb, and here I think it’s important that Danny clearly infers to the audience and himself that, yeah, he actually is emotionally and romantically into Ethan and wants to be with him. Ethan, however, I don’t think he’s as into Danny at this point, he’s more about exploring himself, and once Mike lands in the hospital that’s when Ethan realizes he wanted something more serious that he now can’t ever have.

          If prior to, however, Danny had said something, I do actually think it would have worked. Even before Mike and if they could clear the air with and around Amber, Ethan would have gone for it had Danny said something, because it’d be the confirmation Ethan needed that he could be happy being gay. If Danny had said it after Mike but before the hospital I think he still would have went for it, and he’d be even better off because now he believed he was a desirable person and the emotional connection he wanted was with his good friend who had been silently pining over him long enough that he had to say it out loud, which would probably be catnip for Ethan at this state; he’s not just hot enough to sleep with guys, he’s hot and funny and smart and kind enough that Danny was sitting on this for weeks before he couldn’t take it anymore and he had to take a chance at making it happen, in defiance of their previous agreement to never do so.

    3. zee

      Heheheh

      seecox

      1. powerpowerpow

        Seecox is the best DoA ship name. JoJo, get in line.

    4. thejeff

      The problem is that they both knew she would say okay if they asked, but she’d say it for the wrong reasons – because Amber doesn’t deserve anything and how could she stand in their way, they’re just better off without her. They’d be doing most of the hurt they were worrying about causing just by asking.

  17. Yotomoe

    I too want everyone to kiss btw.

    1. Sirksome

      Not me unfortunately. There are a few people I’d be happier believing they never kissed. Thankfully in this comic most of them are dead. Clint’s still alive though.

    2. Kim

      Are we talking specifically in DoA, or in general?
      Because I just read through Raw Hero, and I have some strong opinion to the contrary! ^^’

      1. Yotomoe

        I too have read that. Fun read. I love Hiramoto’s style.

    3. milu

      …And you have that power.

  18. JessWitt

    “Oh Dan went down South to see his Sal,
    Singing Poly-wolly-canoodle all the day.
    And Amber she’s a shipping gal.
    Singing Poly-wolly-canoodle all the day.”

  19. Bagge

    Yes.

    “Kiss.”

    1. Agemegos

      In French, baiser. It said so in my high-school dictionary of French.

      1. Clif

        So baiser is French Kiss?

        1. milu

          “baiser” is to kissing what “knowing biblically” is to being on a first-name basis with someone you’ve met at church.

          except more vulgar.

        2. Coco

          It’s more complicated than that. As a noun, it’s a kiss, as a verb it literally means “to fuck”.

        3. milu

          also “un baiser” as a noun is fairly old-fashioned. no one actually says that out loud anymore. It’s either “bise”, which means specifically, a friendly kiss on the cheek, or “bisou”— which is a cutesy word for any sort of short, puckered sort of kiss, so, not the french sort. The most accurate word for “to french” someone is “rouler une pelle (à quelqu’un)”. It’s… not a very distinguished phrase, though short of downright foul.

          Or if you find it all too confusing (apparently not everyone enjoys it when languages are confusing???), avoid using a noun altogether and instead go for “embrasser”, which maps onto the verb “to kiss” pretty much 1:1 afaict.

          And now there’s a certain joke from a certain generational french movie of the early 2000’s (a movie that is now extremely dated and cringey, ugh) i feel irresistibly compelled to make, which is that i have just been giving you… “des cours de langue”.

  20. newlland(Henryvolt)

    +50 for consideration on their friendship status.

    Sal and Danny can date-well I mean hang out with whoever they want but it’s good enough to see them open about it with certain friends. Also like I thought Amber is more than ready to be happy for them, especially since she thought there could be a thing between them.

  21. Ray Radlein

    Besides, if she can get everyone who is close to her to pair off with each other, all the loose ends of her life will be tied up, and she can fade away

    1. Steamweed

      “My work here is done.”

    2. Regalli

      … Not an angle I was explicitly thinking of but given what we’ve seen of her mental state? Good god, you may be onto something.

    3. King Daniel

      She will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Anwariel.

      1. Opus the Poet

        That’s some kind of Mario Bothers meme but I can’t quite place it because I didn’t do Nintendo.

        1. King Daniel

          It’s a LOTR meme/reference. 😛 “Anwariel” is Sindarin for “Amazi-Girl” (translated literally, “Awe-Girl”).

        2. Ray Radlein

          THAT is going above and beyond for a joke, and I am utterly in, well, awe.

        3. PirateTawnee

          Wow, and I thought I was smart when I rewrote Galadriel’s speech to Frodo at the Mirror of Galadriel in a series of haiku.

          Awesome commitment KD.

        4. milu

          omg what
          i know you didn’t just use this top search result for “Sindarin translator” because that returns something completely different

          So… you… know Sindarin? or at least enough of Sindarin grammar that you can confidently look up separate elements and string them up into a compound word?

          i am so curious please tell me all about it, no character limit

        5. Clif

          Are you kidding? King Daniel knew Sindarin back when she was first dating Tolkien.

        6. milu

          Wait. King Daniel dated Tolkien? õ_Ò

        7. Plain Marie

          Well done! I got the original reference.

        8. Vernal Ancient

          … I can’t tell if you’re jokingly missing that it’s a Lord of the Rings reference, or actually missing it because Anwariel does kind of sound like what you’d get if you crossed Amber and Wario (and maybe a Biblical angel, for the -el ending)…

        9. Thag Simmons

          I would assume jokingly because I can’t see how a Mario reference would be your first conclusion

  22. Imogen

    On a tangential note, I worked out the other day that Carla and Joyce would make an absolutely adorable couple, and now, with Joyce at her edgiest, would be the perfect time to plant the seeds.

    I have a pet theory that Carla is attracted people who put up facades of “coolness”, like she does–Malaya and Sal–but would actually be a lot better off dating someone *intensely* honest. I could see her and Joyce striking up an unlikely friendship sometime soon–either because Joyce has driven all her normal friends away, and/or because Joyce is trying to covertly (and Dumbly) learn about trans stuff/process her transphobe’s guilt after Jocelyn comes out to her.

    look I just really, really want Carla to be relevant again, and wouldn’t they make a cute couple??? Like, “I AM A BUG!” That was *cute*!

    1. alongcameaspider

      Them striking up a friendship would be a decent way to get Carla some focus

      Side note part of me is expecting when Jocelyne comes out for Joyce to just say “oh, like Carla” and take it in stride as it’s revealed she had discussions with her on Trans stuff with Carla off screen at some point

      1. RassilonTDavros

        We know that Jennifer explained yo the whole hall that Mary was blackmailing Ruth to get away with transphobic bullying of Carla. It wouldn’t surprise me if that entailed explaining the concept of trans people to Joyce.

        On the other hand, it also wouldn’t surprise me if Jennifer just straight up lied to Joyce specifically about the nature of the bullying because she was worried Joyce might be just as bad if she knew Carla was trans.

        And yeah, I’ve wondered about the “oh, just like Carla” possibility too.

        1. Imogen

          There’s no way Jennifer would out Carla just to punish Mary.

    2. RassilonTDavros

      The big obstacle that Joyla (Carloyce?) would run into is Joyce having a ton of repressed libido conflicting with Carla being sex-repulsed (I think? I know Ultra Car was, trying to recall if Carla’s ever said so outright, she’s def. asexual in any case).

      Apart from that, yeah. I like the ship! And UC and Malaya made it work back in Shortpacked!

      1. King Daniel

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/grossthings/
        “Do gross things to your girlfriend” definitely seems like she’s still sex-repulsed, yeah.

      2. Leorale

        Ruttown.
        (Actually their lack of rutting might be a problem, but whatever, I must always make puns.)

        1. milu

          Listen, as Carla-related puns go, yours was the Ne Plus Ultra. Carry on.

        2. Arian

          *applause*

      3. Imogen

        Yeah, and that’s fun conflict! Although it’s worth remembering that Joyce is still really afraid of sex, and Carla might be a helpful person for Joyce to explore that with–similar to how Carla was able to work something out with Malaya in SP.

    3. Clif

      Carla is always relevant.

    4. HeatherJean

      I would opine that Carla and Malaya would be such a cute couple….

      1. Jamie

        I feel like “cute” is the wrong word.

        Maybe “get along like a house on fire”.

        1. JBento

          Big and hot?

      2. BBCC

        Have you ever read Shortpacked? ‘Cause boy do I have good news for you!

  23. thakoru

    Amber in this strip represents the comments section.

  24. Opus the Poet

    [alt-text]These things need to develop organically[/alt-text]

  25. DailyBrad

    This is sort of what I expected her reaction to be, only phrased in a funnier way.

  26. Rabid Rabbit

    I can’t help but feel there’s a beat panel missing between four and five.

    I mean, I know the change in Sal’s smile implies it, and adding it would squash things too much, but still.

  27. Rabisch

    Sal is a nice girl, just like Danny, just a little spicier… Sweet Paprika and Strong Paprika ♡. Amber had probably already imagined out a lot about the two. Or if she hasn’t, now is the perfect time to start.

  28. Rose Red

    So I’m not sure how the distinction works exactly, but… Amber wasn’t the one dating him, right? Is Amazi-Girl going to be hurt that her friend is dating an ex she cared about?

    1. Alex

      Amber also liked him when they first met. Also I’m not sure the two personalities were fully separate at that point. Amber was concerned they were leaking into each other. I think Amber is hurt by this but doesn’t respect herself enough to say so.

    2. Sam

      Unclear. Every alter is usually considered to be dating every partner by default if the plural status is unknown and initially it wasn’t really the AG alter at all that he met at first, but Amber was playing both roles by herself. AG as an alter kind of surfaced over time. Amber said he was dating AG but that seemed to be more about hiding the fact that she was AG from public knowledge and Amber didn’t really truly seem to know she was truly plural for most of it. The lines are pretty blurred as to who he was really dating or if he was dating both.

      1. Spencer

        Another angle could be that Amber doesn’t think she was worth Danny, and continued to push Amazi-Girl while downplaying herself, whereas Danny didn’t really understand the difference and was insistent on being with Amber.

      2. thejeff

        They were definitely closer at the start and didn’t really distinguish sharply as you say, but both were there all along. It was never Amber playing AG, just the two of them sharing memories and even emotions very freely.

        On the meta-level, that’s Willis not wanting to fully commit to DID until after he was getting feedback from some plural people that they were seeing themselves in Amber/AG. This makes it a bit awkward, since it seems like the split develops over time.

  29. Arianod

    New album title dropped?

  30. Carms

    Amber couldn’t deal with polycule when two of the ppl involved shared a body. Like. Naw.

  31. Francoinblanco

    Wow, that was considerate from Sal.

  32. Sombrero

    If Ghost Mike does not appear in next strip picking any of these obvious entry cues (Sal/Danny?, Amber’s fanfiction?) I will start to worry about the meaning of yesterday’s non-tagged sound-only cameo.

  33. thumb

    We’re at the point where Amber says something more or less healthy and I’m like “oh no you poor child. You and your terrible circumstances have conspired to destroy you.”

  34. Spencer

    “You’re a troubled badass with a secret heart of gold and he’s a dorky sweetheart with a submissive streak. I had three fanfics of you two by the end of the first semester, the latest one has handcuffs.”

  35. Beau Kirin Maysey

    i am suddenly wondering if Willis has posted any Dumbing of Age fanfiction on sites like AO3 under the name ‘Amber’ like people speculate She-ra showrunner Noelle Stevenson wrote that one AO3 fic under a pseudonym

    1. RassilonTDavros

      Checked AO3. Nothing written under a pseudonym that suggests “Amber” to me, though there is a DoA fic on there that’s partially about Amber’s fanfic.

  36. Pharmadan

    Everyone include you and Sal, Amber.

    So next slipshine? Perhaps as a pseudo sequel to the hateful fun?

  37. Mr.Morningstar

    Ah good gal Sal.l, though she had no obligation to do so, she still felt it would be a good thing to inform amber of her and Danny’s current “thing”

  38. Rainhat

    I still like seeing Sal drawn as happy enough to notice it. It will all end badly, but it’s nice while we’ve got it.

    1. Spencer

      It will all end badly, but it’s nice while we’ve got it.

      Please do not say things that are so emotionally devastating to my person.

      1. BBCC

        The picture’s true but I don’t like it. XD

    2. StClair

      “Yes, but… a thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts.”

  39. a/snow/mous/e

    which is why danny and ethan shoulda hooked up immediately after danny broke up with amber 😛

    1. Spencer

      Hey, it all worked out for the best.

      ‘Cause Danny found self respect and a ukulele, Sal found someone she can openly admit provides her with comfort and b weird around him without fear of judgment, and Ethan found a personality.

      1. milu

        gasp!
        you sound like Becky. ^^

        1. Spencer

          When I used to say deliberately annoying things like “I only hate 2.5 cast members in the series”, Ethan never factored into that, because to hate him would imply he was noticeable enough to invoke emotion.

          He’s still the same kind of passive character that other characters react to, there’s a bonus strip on Patreon that really affirms this, but his grand return takes that core passivity and turns it into a fount for genuinely interesting drama. In four strips he provides more conflict with more dynamic characterization without changing a single action of his; he is still someone other characters talk at and react to, he is still a character who’s mostly pitiable without really having any kind of reaction that works in a character drama, because none of it was his fault and he just gets really sad and you felt bad for him.

          Now his existence goes from “ah that’s sad” kinda white noise into a full-blown “why the fuck is no one helping him?!?!” deal. He’s introduced silently glaring at Danny before returning to his phone, completely deadened to Danny’s panicked attempts at pretending there’s any kind of normalcy that could exist between them. The most he talks is a clear metaphor using his favourite hobby that transparently reveals that over two months later, he is still outside that hospital door waiting for Mike to wake up, and when Danny babbles some more in an attempt to prove he’s not going to go have a good time and that Ethan doesn’t have to worry about Danny being in a good mood, he doesn’t give a shit. There’s nothing left but passivity in Ethan, that’s all there ever was, and he’s surrounded by people who only ever seem to want him when something horrible happens.

          Like, god, even his new design is so good at returning to SP!Ethan’s pathetic nature, except where SP!Ethan was pathetic because he was a boring everyman for whom being boring was a feature, not a bug, this Ethan is so pathetic that his own body has been depleted to sell how utterly ruinous Mike’s death has been on him to the point of dragging him away from being an effortlessly hot slab of beefcake with a silly emo fringe that doesn’t really look like a deliberate hair style, it just looks like a mop he can’t be assed to control. You take one look at this dude and you get it: he’s gone, and it’s going to take a lot of work for him to come back.

          SP!Ethan is my bae and DoA!Ethan was naught but a pretender to the throne, and the possibility of being excited to see him again has never occurred to me until he was gone long enough that it meant something, and now that it did, he’s made the best possible impression he could.

        2. StClair

          DARKNESS
          NO BOYFRIEND

  40. Steelbright

    that last panel is me in a nutshell

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