272

Rubbing alcohol
Posted on September 18, 2014 by David M Willis

272 thoughts on “Rubbing alcohol”

  1. Camachri

    Oh look, it’s Amber! She’s been conspicuously absent during this whole danged dong fiasco. Hmm. HMMMMMMM…

    1. Cosman246

      Indeed.

    2. SJO

      Nothing suspicious here!

    3. Jen Aside

      well OBVIOUSLY she was buying rubbing alcohol

      1. Catullus

        “The line was really long today, I swear.”

      2. Plasma Mongoose

        And possibly swigging on it too.

        1. Jen Aside

          I know you mean that as a joke, but that can kill you dead, like, QUICKLY

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          In Billie’s case, she would just swig the bottle, have a puke and go in for seconds.

        3. BH

          Denatured alcohol like you find in a hardware store usually has methanol added in (think less-explosive gasoline) specifically to make it poisonous. It would kill you. They add it in so that it can’t be classed as a consumable and therefore subject to additional state taxes.

          Source: I am a paint saleswoman and architectural coatings specialist.

        4. Plasma Mongoose

          Thanks for that, you learn something new every day.

        5. podian

          Oh. Wow. In my country they just add substances that taste really bad, they don’t add methanol because no matter how many warnigs you slap on the bottle, some degenerate will try to drink it.

        6. CocoaLeopard

          Yep, deader than Cooter Brown. Even street drunks will skip RA and squeeze speed stick or go on the syrup train.

        7. brionl

          Frequently, denatured alcohol has additives to make it too bitter to drink and/or make you throw up if you do drink it.

        8. Matt T

          Actually, it’s not frequently. By definition, denatured alcohol has added denatonium benzoate or saccharide, considered the most bitter substances in existence.

        9. Thomas64

          Denatured alcohol has something added to make it unsuitable for human consumption, but that something does not have to be a denatonium salt. (BTW I thought that name was hilarious, like the “unobtainium” in Avatar, that I thought you were pulling our legs, but a quick Wikipedia check, and illbedanged!).
          Anyway, one common, non-bitter, and quite toxic, denaturant used with ethanol is methanol. Careful with the cheap highs, folks…

        10. Alex P

          Well, yes the main issue with denatured Ethanol is that it is not safe for human consumption, and therefore you don’t need a liquor license to sell it.
          However, Ethanol and Water are impossible to separate by distillation, so to get the water out, putting Methanol or such is an effective technique. But poisonous. Methanol -> Formaldehyde in your gut, and so you will embalm yourself for your own funeral.
          Also for the other chemical fans, Wet erase markers are water-based. So of course they don’t help with alcohol based markers (dry-erase).

        11. Thomas64

          @Alex P “Ethanol and Water are impossible to separate by distillation, so to get the water out, putting Methanol or such is an effective technique.”
          Ethanol and water are quite easy to separate by distillation! That’s how basically all hard liquor is made… Distill wine and get brandy, distill beer and get whiskey (well, sorta).
          Methanol is used to denature ethanol because those two substances are hard to separate by distillation, because their boiling points are very close together.

    4. Plaid Wolf

      As i read years ago on “IF You Were A Superhero’s Girlfriend….” > Ever notice every time your boyfriend mysteriously vanishes in a time of crisis, Super Hero Guy shows up to save the day? Rub a few brain cells together and see what comes up…..

      Same rule applies here.

      1. Hannah

        From an objective point of view that analysis makes sense, but put yourself in said girlfriend’s shoes. Take Lois Lane for example, granted she was a super amazing reporter, but who, really, would ever have thought of Clark Kent as being Superman? I mean really. REALLY. Nobody, that’s who. Not unless they had an amazingly intimate knowledge of his background and personal life in general, and I mean as intimate as we the readers would have. I mean it just would. not. happen.
        Seriously guys, people in comics aren’t dumb because they can’t put what we perceive as two and two together, they just see what they want to see, and likewise don’t see what they don’t want to see, or don’t know that they *should* want to see, much like people in real life. 😀

        This is why I found most of the second Superman movie to be dumb. Discussion over. Wait, you’re not talking about Superman..? Oh, well… The same rules apply here, anyway!

        There, fun ruined. Go me! -zooms away-

        1. Insanenoodlyguy

          No see, even silver age lois figured it out. It’s just that silver age superman had so many goddamn powers (including hypnosis and time travel) and friends with perfect disguise ability that he kept stacking evidence against the idea to counter her perfectly reasonable suspicions. That and Silver Age Lois was, like many other females in the dc silver age (and also jimmy olsen a lot of the time) more then a little bugfuck insane.

          Some later Lois’ have less justification though, yes.

        2. Mang

          You never see fun and Hannah in the same room…

        3. Hannah

          Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh! D:

        4. symbiote01

          Or, someone who could see through the whole ingenious ‘glasses disguise’. Same build, though Clark carries it with slumped shoulders and general ‘meekness’. Same eye color. Same jawline. Same fingerprints. Sure, it’s foolproof.

      2. anonymous

        Yeah, where has Ethan been this whole time? Maybe Joyce’s boyfriend is AmaziGirl!

        1. Kiapdx

          I should have known!

        2. Jen Aside

          WHERE HAS SYDNEY YUS BEEN THIS WHOLE TIME, I COUNTER

    5. Furubatsu

      Amber?? Well she was playing games online like always, jeesh, what were you insinuating that she’s Amazi-Girl?

    6. Scadoodly-Bop

      Im not saying she’s Amazi-girl.. but her and Amazi-girl have never been seen in the same place…

    7. Kiapdx

      Also conspicuously absent from classes. HMMMMM…

  2. MrSirk

    Hey Amber wouldn’t it be fun if you and Amazi-girl where in the same room at the same time?!

    1. Mr k

      They’ll start making out.

      1. newllend

        Aggressively.

    2. Jen Aside

      THEY ALWAYS ARE

      Amber is secretly a ninja

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        Ninjas are always secretly making out with themselves? The things you learn in this forum…

        1. Cybersnark

          Why do you think the clone jutsu was invented?

    3. Xailenrath

      Let’s not bring clones into it…. or, LET’S!

      1. JessWitt

        You mean Other Rachel?

    4. Tunasammich

      Somehow this makes me think she’ll have to rope Dorothy into pretending to be her at some point to protect her identity XD

      1. whatintheliteralfuck

        Shhhh! spoilers!

  3. Keroshino

    There are 50 of them!

    1. Keroshino

      (Read the alt-text of the comic to understand this.) 😛

    2. Usayasha

      How dare you.

  4. Emperor Kiva

    Aw how nice

  5. Opus the Poet

    Nailed it…

    1. Opus the Poet

      And by that I mean Joyce has nailed that romantic fiction is a poor way to understand real life. Not that I have made any predictions from previous comics that have been proven true. If I had the previous post would have contained a link to said prediction. We now return you to your previous comment threads, already in progress.

  6. Hannah

    Wait, you mean romantic fiction often ISN’T an accurate portrayal of how things work in the real world? Well, now I have to rethink everything. Awesome.

    1. Doctor_Who

      I’ve been standing around shirtless and oiled up with long flowing hair for NOTHING?!

      1. Leorale

        Flowy-haired shirtlessness is its own reward.

      2. Fit-to-freak

        It’s a moral victory.

      3. Regalli

        You forgot to gaze off longingly* into the distance while the wind blows in your face. Preferably from an idyllic cliffside overlooking the sea.

        * Or at least like you have really bad gas.

        1. Dean

          Some animal denoting manliness (a wlf, eagle, or stallion) should be visible around you at all times.

        2. Jen Aside

          don’t forget the random billowing curtains or whatever even in an outdoorsy scene

        3. Regalli

          Preferably in the background, even if that means it’s floating in the sky, looking majestic.

      4. TJ Baltimore

        Pics or it didn’t happen

        1. Doctor_Who

          Here.

        2. Gadgeteer Smashwidget

          >Matt Smith
          >Shirtless
          YES

    2. Joe

      Actually, in this case, it all cancels out. Since webcomics are also not an accurate representation of the real world, whatever is said in webcomics is inapplicable.

      1. Hannah

        -shakes head- Uh uh, nope. NO! Life totally IS like El Goonish Shive, and transformation guns totally DO exist! We just don’t know it yet. You can’t prove otherwise. Be quiet. I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING LESS!

        -goes off to cry in the corner-

      2. Hannah

        Oh wait, I misinterpreted your comment. Yay for double negatives equaling a positive! Gooooo MATH!

        1. Hannah

          Wait, no, I stand by my previous statement. EGS is real. All other webcomics though, open to interpretation. -nods head in agreement with self-

    3. Cybersnark

      There’re several anime about this very subject.

  7. Marc in MN

    Ha! Forget the comic….I’m just amused that Willis is heading people off at the pass as far as comments about cleaning permanent marker from white boards. XD

    1. Mo

      Totally!

    2. Jen Aside

      Getting a few thousand people who don’t Ctrl-F before posting will do that to ya =p

    3. Xailenrath

      He is a man of vision!

      1. Jen Aside

        He is a man who reads every single comment posted here, no matter how redundant!

        [you brought it on yourself, Willis!]

        1. AndromedaRage

          He’s a male that reads each posted comment here, regardless of repetition!

          (you’ve doomed yourself, David!)

        2. Kryss LaBryn

          He’s a guy who peruses all individual comments posted here, no matter how superfluous!

          (You’ve made your own bed, DW!)

        3. AustKyzor

          He is a man! -punch-

          (Hello, Mr Willis)

        4. Deanatay

          Truly a sight to behold. A man beaten. The once great champ, now, a study in moppishness. No longer the victory hungry stallion we’ve raced so many times before, but a pathetic, washed up, aged ex-champion.

          (Better Off Dead, Dave!)

        5. Cybersnark

          He is one man. ALONE. ABANDONED by the country he loves. . .

          (Revenge of the Willis)

      2. StClair

        and porn. don’t forget the porn.

    4. Clif

      He’s trying to confuse us with facts.

    5. Billy

      About that, Willis: I have cleaned permanent markers off a white board with a dry erase marker. Works every time.
      Although I’m sure your website is more true than real life.
      (Maybe it’s the waiting a month. I’ve never waited more than a couple hours.)

      1. Aelia

        I can confirm that it works, but not with older marker, and not as well as alcohol. That’s the point here, not that it *doesn’t* work, just that it’s not the *best* option.

        1. Jen Aside

          The actual point is that it’s a detail that would by design be addressed later in the comic (just leaving permanent graffitti is an unsatisfying “conclusion”) that’s been barraged by helpful tips from every angle before the comic can even begin to develop naturally. As though, “HEY DID YUO NO U CAN USE MARKER TO MARK” would cause the next comic to suddenly switch to “oh look, now all the dicks are cleaned up, whatevs” and we would not have the subsequent character development.

          I mean, I get that folks like to think they’re being helpful, but maybe check once in a while to see if someone e:fb’ed you first??

      2. Kryss LaBryn

        Actually, I used the dry erase-over-top tip the other day to clean permanent marker off a Tupperware container in no time, and that had been on there probably about a year (plus through the freezer, microwave, and sink with no discernible lessening of the writing), so it’s not just to do with how briefly it may have been there. At least on smooth, cheap plastic containers, anyways.

    6. Ruck Bogers

      Though, perhaps ironically, he underlined the fact that dry erase markers do a “fair” job of removing permanent marker from whiteboards, which is more than enough to obfuscate a tiny dick pic.

      1. Mark Cook

        And Amber might be the only person who’s ever had rubbing alcohol in a dorm room, while most people with a whiteboard have a dry erase marker.

        1. Spiny Creature

          I take it you’ve never met anyone with earrings before?

        2. John

          Not in the Dumbiverse! (Or Walkyverse!)

  8. jose231ful

    Never trust books Joyce never trust books….

    1. Doctor_Who

      Except that one. You know, the one you grew up with. That formed the foundation of your upbringing.

      What I’m saying is always trust Green Eggs and Ham.

      1. jose231ful

        That book was a total lie we all know it was red beats and yams

        1. jose231ful

          Or maybe im the one who shouldn’t be trusted O.o

        2. Cephalo the Pod

          Red beats can go fuck right off.

        3. Leorale

          Heresy!

        4. gwalla

          Sick beats and jams

      2. Jen Aside

        I thought you were talking about Poorcraft!

        [“grew up with” part will be true in another few years]

      3. 3oranges

        I could see basing a religion around that book. I mean, I never quite read the whole thing, but the a strong message about avoiding green eggs and ham is unmistakable.

        1. Jen Aside

          You didn’t actually read the whole thing??

          The third act twist is AMAZING. It’s all “mass hallucination pandemic embracing the madness” kinda shit

      4. Gadgeteer Smashwidget

        I think you mean “Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!”

        1. Renadt

          Any thinker who thinks can come up with a few.

          Damn Seussical. Yes, they made a musical all about Seuss, or rather, Horton Hears a Who and Horton Hatches an Egg, narrated by the Cat in a Hat.

    2. JessWitt

      And movies. Dear god, not the movies…

    3. Clif

      Never trust books – On the other hand they couldn’t put it on the Internet if it wasn’t so.

      1. Opus the Poet

        You mean like how certain members of the commentariat (WTF!?! my spell checker says that is a real word that I correctly spelled) are ?

  9. Kerry

    joyce doesn’t really read 50 shades of grey, does she-
    oh
    I suddenly get the joke

  10. Doctor_Who

    “I’m disappointed. I’d heard that an encounter with the ex-girlfriend could result in a catfight, and I was looking forward to it…The cats don’t really fight though, do they? They just, like wrestle and snuggle like cats do? Do we need to bring our own cats, or are they provided?”

    1. Slinx

      So not only is Joyce not familiar with catfights, but she’s also not familiar with cats?

      1. Jen Aside

        apparently

  11. sps48

    Nail polish remover IS acetone, no?

    1. Jess

      Yes, but it’s a low level of acetone.
      Rubbing alcohol has a higher concentration so you don’t have to put as much pressure and scrubbing into getting all the stuff off.

      1. gwalla

        Rubbing alcohol doesn’t contain acetone. It contains a mix of isopropyl alcohol and ethanol.

    2. Opus the Poet

      Mostly, there are oils added to protect the skin a little and help prevent drying the nails out.

    3. Quinctia

      Not the non-acetone stuff!

  12. Leorale

    I wonder how long Willis has been holding onto that link, just waiting to post it to all the dry-erase-marker advocates.

    1. Malchus

      His entire career has been leading up to this moment.

      Congratulations, Willis! You made it, man. You made it.

  13. otusasio451

    I bet Sarah figures out the mystery of the second she see her.

    1. otusasio451

      I MEANT to say, I bet Sarah figures out the mystery of Amazigirl the minute she sees Amber.

      1. neeks

        It might take a few meetings, she was there for the aforementioned blow-up:

        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/thunder/

  14. Lordmazapan

    Its easy use a water marker of the same color as the permanent draw over the drawing and later erase it works.

    1. Clodia

      One.

    2. sps48

      I can write on water??

      1. JWLM

        Well, I can walk on water — provided it’s frozen — so I assume you can write there, too.

      2. JessWitt

        It’s how cavemen wrote books in the Ice Age.

        1. Kryss LaBryn

          Win.

        2. Clif

          We had vast libraries in all the glaciers. Unfortunately I never got to read any of them because my account was frozen.

        3. Opus the Poet

          You know I really want to have an annex of the Wapsi Pun Jar opened on this comic…

        4. quietdevious1

          Mostly it’s just weather reports from the last few hundred years.

        5. Slinx

          We lost a lot of history when most of the archives melted.

  15. newllend

    Wait, you mean to tell me that happened just last Sunday ? I thought happened at least like a couple weeks ago.

    1. jose231ful

      Time goes by so slow in this man I forgot about what they did a week ago in their time ;-;

      1. Catullus

        A week ago was the day that Billie found Ruth passed out in her room.

      2. newllend

        Wow, did they at least have one holiday, I mean when are they going to hit October ?

        1. neeks

          2025

        2. Opus the Poet

          You got the wrong year on that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQB2-Kmiic

      3. Clif

        Two Words – Periodic Archive Bing. Three Words…

        1. Clif

          binge.

    2. Opus the Poet

      Today is the Wednesday after that Sunday, so we still have another 4 days to go just for this week.

      1. Questionor

        3 days have passed in 9 months?!?

        1. whatintheliteralfuck

          of course. Did you not realize that David Willis is a master of time and space capable of making one second take twelve hours?

        2. 4th Dimension

          Well kind of expected really. Each of these strips records about 5 minutes of action top. And Willis has MANY MANY MANY parallely occuring events, and he has really stuffed a dense amount of drama in their lives.

  16. OnyxIdol

    Drama: Suspended.

  17. Lonas

    Who thinks wet erase would work?

    1. Lonas

      The logic doesn’t add up with that one.

  18. Tim

    Dry erase markers can remove permanent marker marks. They are not used to clean white boards FFS.

    1. Catullus

      I can’t help but be amused that, even with a link to the contrary, we still can’t escape the cycle of “But wait! What about dry erase—”

      1. Jen Aside

        Welcome to the internet! =p

      2. Ruck Bogers

        The link actually says that they do a fair job of it…

    2. Camachri

      Two!

  19. Yotomoe

    I’m beginning to think that they’re taking some LIBERTIES with this romantic fiction junk!

    1. Malchus

      The characters in said fiction certainly have no qualms taking liberties on each other.

      1. Jan

        This seems relevant: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1514774471996763

        1. Nogre

          That was amazing.

  20. maxyai

    Overalls! Squee! I do get a little tired of everyone wearing jeans.

  21. Stephen Bierce

    Better to Flask Forgiveness than Flask Permission? 😉
    “They’re sharing a drink they call Loneliness–but it’s better than drinking alone!”–Billy Joel

    1. tinfoil theory

      We all could do with a melody.

      1. Kryss LaBryn

        And you’ve got us feeling all right.

  22. newllend

    How many bad Romance movies did she watch to get said ” Romantic fiction” anyway?

    1. Jen Aside

      She wants her love and she wants her revenge

      1. timemonkey

        She wants her love, she doesn’t want to be friends.

    2. kelticat

      Twilight and sequels. That’s enough.

  23. timemonkey

    I want Joyce and Amber to start hanging out, it would be the most awkward situation ever for Ethan.

    1. Xailenrath

      I second!

    2. newllend

      I also like this idea, it would spice things up in just the right way.

      1. JessWitt

        Bring in Danny to the mix. Romantic hijinx shall abound!

        1. Malchus

          This could actually end well.

          Horribly, horribly well.

        2. Kerry

          sadly, joyce is the only one with unrequited feelings
          I’d feel kind of bad for her >:

        3. Slinx

          True, but part of the “safety” of Ethan is that the feelings aren’t requited!

    3. Kiwi Brony

      They should totally go on a double date.

      1. Kerry

        HELLA
        AND THEN AMBER AND JOYCE GO OFF TO THE BATHROOM TOGETHER OR SOMETHING (like on the other double date) AND ETHAN AND DANNY ARE LEFT ALONE

        1. Koms

          Danny would prefer going to the bathroom with Ethan.

        2. JWLM

          Not yet, certainly, and probably never. Why make love in a bathroom when you have two perfectly good bedrooms available?

          This, and jokes like it, are tedious repetitions of a number of homophobic slurs. I really wish that they would stop.

        3. timemonkey

          Why did you assume that was a sex joke?

        4. JWLM

          Because I’ve heard it too many times. I know, I know, I’m hypersensitive, and I should just relax about it, yes.

          Now, where else have I ever heard that?

    4. JA

      i like this scenario! i.. ship it?

  24. Wack'd

    “The line between romantic fiction and romantic fact–”
    “And romantic CRAP!”

  25. AgentKeen

    From educating people about queer and racial issues, to educating people on proper dry erase board care techniques, Dumbing of Age has something for everyone.

  26. Kernanator

    How dare you override my fiction with reality!

    1. tinfoil theory

      Oh, just substitute your own.

  27. JessWitt

    Aw, Amber and Joyce are acquainted.

  28. toonie

    Please please please become regular friends. Let this be the beginning of a new friendship that doesn’t just crop up once in awhile! I would be really interested in their dynamic!

  29. JA

    D-awwwwww…. MAKE OUT!

    1. Kerry

      this is close?

      1. JA

        haha i do love the blush applied on them

  30. Robert

    Wouldn’t it be funny if after all this time there were actually two amazi-girls? Amber is the Amazi-Girl that has the bad attitude who always wants to beat people up. but Dorothy is the Amazi-girl is the one who fights for social justice and actually helps citizens in peril.

    1. Jen Aside

      She’ll enlist Amazi-Troops and print out masks for them to wear

    2. gwalla

      Sort of like Batman, Inc.?

  31. Randon Guy # 108

    A-ha! So Joyce really IS going to rub out all those dicks.

    1. TheZachariah

      That sounds so weird to me…

    2. Koms

      Joyce snaps and rubs out a billion dicks.

  32. Malchus

    Darnit, you two are supposed to be making out right now. Once again yuri fanfiction lies to me.

  33. Sluthy

    “…how I blew up at you on Sunday.”

    Wait… you mean that everything that’s happened in the comic in the last nine months IRL has taken place in the space of less than one week comic-time!?

    1. Camachri

      Since this comic began in september 2010, less than four weeks have passed in-comic. Welcome to the glorious world of webcomic time.

      1. JA

        at least we now know there an almost correlation of 1 week dumbiverse: 1 year real time

        1. timemonkey

          …what do you mean ‘now we know’? It’s been like that the whole time. Hell, it’s an excellent way to keep the timeline moving without having to progress past the point you want since it’ll take over 50 years just to finish the first year.

        2. AgentKeen

          I think it’s actually slowed down the last year.

  34. Idon'tcarenomore

    I’m guessing someone here has never actually seen a cat fight? Otherwise would never use cat fight, and snuggle in the same sentence. 🙂

    Interesting combination of characters. Gotta love how Wilis uses his cast of characters to bring conflict into motion. Hats off to you Mr. W.

    Now waiting to see Sarah’s reaction to Amber.

  35. Peter Sadlon

    In my experience 91% Rubbing Alcohol works better than 70%.

    1. whatintheliteralfuck

      in most of my experiences 91% of 70% far outdoes 70%.

      1. Jen Aside

        In 91% of my experiences, 91% outdoes 70% of the experiences where 70% of 91% outdoes 91% experience, which is 70% verifiable experience.

        1. Camachri

          Well, this comment thread sure went by the numbers.

        2. Clif

          And what about the other 9% of the 30%?

  36. Joe

    Dry erase markers work well when you’ve written on the board with a dry erase marker and then left it there so long its dried out and you just assume you used a permanent marker. They don’t do crap for actual permanent markers.

    1. Kryss LaBryn

      Actually, I had great success getting ancient permanent marker off with them.

      If it’s just really dried on dry erase marker, breathing a little moisture on them is usually just enough to get it off with the usual eraser.

  37. CptNerd

    Isopropyl is fantastic for cleaning up any number of adhesives, too, especially the ones they use on CD and DVD cases sometimes. I’ve cleaned price tag glue off of paperbacks and magazines, and gotten Sharpie ink off of just about everything.

    Keep in mind, though, get the 91% Isopropyl if you can, the 70% has too much water and other useless chemicals that can work against you.

    1. Reepicheep-chan

      Yeah, I use it to clean all sorts of stuff. Amazing stuff.

    2. gwalla

      Lighter fluid works great for taking stickum off of books. We used to use it in the warehouse at a publishing company I used to work for when dealing with price labels on returns.

  38. gaston

    “SUNDAY” WAS IN DECEMBER 2013

  39. DT

    I kinda feel like I need some sort of calendar of events from the Dumbiverse’s perspective of time so I can know when “Last Sunday” was to me… :/

    1. timemonkey

      Really? Did you really forget the time Amber flipped her shit, and a table, then screamed in Joyce’s face in the cafeteria? Right before the Blaine thing?

    2. John

      I was actually working on one of those, but then I discovered that it’s possible to search for the intersection of multiple tags, and that’s covered enough of what I wanted it for that I haven’t gotten back to finish it. I’ve had the browser window with this strip, which was as far as I got, sitting open untouched for like six months now.

      1. Kerry

        “it’s possible to search for the intersection of multiple tags”

        WHAT

        1. John

          Probably no one is ever going to see this because it’s two days ago now, but: Separate the search terms with ‘+’s!

          Like so: http://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/joyce+billie+amazi-girl/

  40. Jacob Newburn

    What I’m thinking on the outside: A great end to a great story.
    What I’m thinking on the inside: FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! Kiss, kiss, kiss.

  41. Leonou

    That’s one more thing that Walky and Joyce, despite their constant quarrels, have in common. So we have :
    Taking social cues from fiction pieces.
    Clinging to out-of-date gender norms.
    ….
    …
    pining for Dorothy ?

  42. Samae

    *insert unwarranted opinion disregarding link here* I figured i’d see more of these.

    1. Jen Aside

      Yeah, this really turned into the Cleaning of Age forum

  43. whatintheliteralfuck

    Where can I find the rubbing alcohol that comes in bottles that look like a whiskey flask/glue bottle combo?

    1. tinfoil theory

      Try in Ruth’s room.

  44. Pocketdoom

    I like how when circling the bad ones, you also circled the best one

  45. CarlaGriffin

    Aww, I friend-ship them.

    1. Cypherfox

      I {click} Like this.

  46. Betty Anne

    I want to know what dumbass used paint stripper on their whiteboard and/or why it was ever suggested as a cleaner for whiteboards. O.o

    1. tinfoil theory

      I want to know why they didn’t try toothpaste.

      1. Clif

        I want to know why they didn’t try sand-blasting. It’s super effective.

    2. kelticat

      Possibly a product tester(at least documented). Mind you, it would get rid of the permanent marker stains…and the dry erase coating on the whiteboard.

    3. JWLM

      Personally, I’ve always wondered about gasoline. With a match.

  47. Thomas

    At this point I’m starting to view Amazi-Girl as the real Amber & Socially-Awkward-Amber as the flimsy disguise. Is Amber’s discomfort here real or an act?

    Also, “blew up at you on Sunday”? Not a thing I can remember reading. How many weeks ago is this already?

    1. Jen Aside

      It’s a compartment of a whole. Would you say how you act as an employee is an “act”? Or just a realization that there is a time and a place for certain behaviour.

      This is “Sunday”: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/thunder/

      1. Cybersnark

        “Or just a realization that there is a time and a place for certain behaviour.”

        OTOH, you’d be surprised how rare that understanding is.

      2. Thomas

        So “Sunday” is way back right before Amber realized where she’d seen Sal before. That’s been a while, eh?

        Amber’s discomfort is real in panel 5 & 6. She’s really embarrassed at the scene she’s caused & that she became angry at Joyce of all people. But in panel 3 she’s acting the part of the socially awkward girl, because she *knows* who Joyce is, but doesn’t want to reveal Amazi-Girl’s identity.

    2. JWLM

      I don’t think that’s quite right. AmaziGirl is everything Amber wishes she could be: caring, self-confident, competent, assertive…a really nice person. Amber is everything Amber hates about herself: distant, anxious, withdrawn, self-hating…a wreck of a person.

      Tragically, except for the anger, AmaziGirl is the Amber that should have been. Amber is what’s left after Blaine worked his will on her.

      1. Nogre

        But Amazi-girl is supposed to be where Amber compartmentalizes her rage and aggression. It does seem that she specifically tempers that with all the other heroic traits to control those darker feelings, and Amazi-girl ends up with a lot of those other positive traits.

        But I think there’s a good amount of stuff that’s compartmentalized in Amber that isn’t bad. As far as we can tell, she’s cruising through her computer science classes easily, she still cares deeply for her friends, and can be very kind. Remember her interaction with Billie after Amazi-girl went after Sal; Amber was clearly more in the right that night. Here, too, she’s being kind and supportive towards Joyce as Amber. There’s also nothing wrong with being an introverted gamer.

        I think it’s actually fairly mixed, with some positive and some negative in both of her personas. It will be interesting to see how she grows with that. Will she start adopting more traits from Amazi-girl into Amber? What about the reverse? Will the two converge or become more divergent?

        I’m really interested to see where this goes.

        1. timemonkey

          Yeah, gotta remember that creepy grin she gets every time she confronts someone she considers a target. If Joyce hadn’t started crying this could have gone very differently.

        2. JWLM

          Fair enough. In fact, now that I think about it, I kind of hope that the cops find Ryan before AmaziGirl does. I don’t really think that I want to think too much about what would happen to Ryan now that AG’s seen how much damage Joyce took at his hands.

        3. Jen Aside

          *Amazi-Girl strolls past the local prison where there’s a Monopoly-style “Just Visiting” strip and sees Ryan inside*

          “Aw, nuts, that’s anticlimactic.”

        4. John

          I think it’s highly unlikely, at this point, that Ryan would ever face any legal repercussions for what he did to Joyce. So I’ve gotta root for the Amazi-Girl solution. Better brutal vigilante justice than no justice at all.

  48. zmm

    So. Was joyce calling her friend because she wasn’t doing well.. or did something happen to Becky?
    Cause.. I think whatever was going on also slipped Joyces mind after all that

    1. kelticat

      My guess is that Joyce was feeling vulnerable while alone in the common room, and was hoping that talking to Becky would be better than nothing.
      Ironic, since my self defense instructor thought talking on a cell phone while in a vulnerable situation made you more vulnerable to attack.

      1. Dorje Sylas

        That would go to situational awareness. If you are yacking on a phone you aren’t putting brain power into watching/monitoring your surroundings.

        The overlap is demonstrable. This is also why talking (cell or not) and driving don’t mix. To simulate this, for anyone, try playing a video game and performing improvisational comedy at the same time, and make 0 mistakes. Just watch anyone who live streams for a living. You’ll see one of two things happen when things get intense. They either start failing at talking, or start failing at play. Failing to play in a car or keeping situational awareness can mean something bad can happen.

        1. kelticat

          Not saying I disagreed with him. It is also the reason I don’t wear earbuds while exercising.
          But thank you for explaining it so I wasn’t having to answer the “Why would a phone make you more vulnerable?” question.

  49. Brissin

    I feel you, Joyce.

    I’m still mad at fiction for the lack of jetpacks.

  50. Deanatay

    -Why, Clark, you know Superman??
    -Uh, yeah, sure, we… talk… sometimes…

  51. Dani Kelley

    Watching Amber flit back and forth from Amber to Amazi-girl is exhausting. Poor girl.

    Also yay for Joyce recognizing nuance! That’s a hard thing to do when you’re trapped in her mindset.

  52. Bagge

    Joyce has all things considered had a shitty day, having to deal with guilt and shame about the dingdong drawing incident, fear about being find out and having to lie about it, dealing with her room-mate putting things into things and on top of it all confronting the assault once again. So when her boyfriends ex shows up, who up to this point has done nothing but heap abuse and almost violence on her, I think it’s perfectly understandable that Joyce…

    …accept her apology, admit that she was wrong about her and take the reached out hand…

    Well, Joyce, you are officially a Good Person. I’m impressed.

    1. Clif

      Was there a doubt?

      1. Bagge

        Not really, no, but it is nice to see her pass the test again and again, even under these circumstances.

    2. Nogre

      Joyce is pretty awesome, all things considered. She had a crazy upbringing and that’s lead to some ridiculous beliefs that are sometimes really damaging. But in so many ways, she’s such a good, strong person. Not many people raised like Joyce could become best friends with an atheist, especially even when confronted by their parents.

  53. Kennerly

    Actually, you can just trace with another marker.

    1. David M Willis

      actually, nobody reads

      1. Clif

        Or he’s doing it on purpose for the reaction. It did make running joke status.

      2. JWLM

        Hey, Willis, is it true that Carla is AmaziGirl?

    2. Jen

      You should probably check out Willis’s commentary right below his comic before commenting. It will save you from mocking in the future. 😉

    3. Kintrex

      Actually, instead of just wiping the board, you can go over the drawing with a small surface area tool and THEN wipe the board.

      1. Jen Aside

        Actually, you can buy a whole new whiteboard for like $2

        1. Clif

          You win the Internet. Use it wisely.

  54. Steven Fisher

    I watched a coworker try the two marker thing while the rest of us were zoned out in a meeting. It kinda works eventually, but you and that chart are right: pretty much any other technique works better.

  55. bodug

    most whiteboards I’ve seen explicitly state do not to use rubbing alcohol or acetone to clean them because they will ruin the surface. as for the dry erase markers not working to remove permanent marker, empirical evidence suggests otherwise
    (I’ve done it, it works).

  56. Sic 'em Bears

    Nail polish remover works best for getting sharpie off of laminated and whiteboard surfaces!
    The reason white boards say don’t use it, is because it can damage the ability of other markers to write on it, but if you come behind your clean up job with a whiteboard conditioner, you’re stellar.
    Acetone doesn’t damage regular laminated surfaces, so sharpie and un-sharpie to your heart’s content!

    1. Kerry

      how can nail polish remover exist in a world without nails?

  57. The Phantom's Belch

    Joyce seriously needs to read 50 Shades of Gray. 😉

  58. scifisiren

    My favorite permanent marker cleaner is methanol. Not as smelly as IPA. But most people don’t work in chemistry labs, so IPA works the best. 🙂

    1. Roborat

      But isn’t that a waste of perfectly good beer?

      1. Haintsu

        Methanol (CH4O) =/= Ethanol (C2H6O)

      2. xKiv

        Drink beer and then you don’t care what’s on your whiteboard?

  59. MrBurrows

    Wait… with this, and the dechroming happening at Shortpacked!, you must be huffing a lot of fumes, Willis.

  60. Roborat

    Silly Willis, do you seriously think facts will make us give up a beloved meme?

  61. Tealjoy Berry

    I actually forgot all about that

  62. Slinx

    I never understood why the exes in fiction were always so hate-able. The people dated at some point. They had to at least like each other and get along at *some* point.

    1. timemonkey

      How often do fictional couples break up in a way other than betrayal? It’s more dramatic to have things blow up instead of just fizzle out friendlish and then more dramatic when you bring them back.

      It’s the same mindset why nobody in this very comic can just be happy and stable.

      1. kelticat

        There are a few authors who do amicable breakups, where the ex wanted to focus on career instead of relationship. This will then serve as a tension for the new love interest when the ex returns thinking they can pick up the relationship where they left off.

  63. WeezerLuvr3030

    Wait…did Joyce and Amber date? I am so confused by the out-of-character-icity.

    1. Mhm

      No, Joyce was referring to Amber as “the ex-girlfriend” because she’s Ethan’s ex

      1. WeezerLuvr3030

        Thanks!

  64. Nogre

    I love how your comic has characters that actually grow and mature. So much fiction relies on the characters never really learning any lessons in order to maintain conflict, but you do a great job of allowing characters to grow, learn, and become better people. Then we get new drama out of new situations from those characters when they get into new situations and interact with new people. It keeps things fresh and the drama actually pays off with character growth and advancement rather than just being a universal constant.

  65. hof1991

    But Joyce doesn’t recognize Amber is AG, even though they were talking together just minutes ago. Maybe microseconds at the speed the comic runs. So in-world, Amber is not much like AG to most eyes and DYW has demonstrated this yet again. Just like he demonstrates the proper way to remove dongs from whiteboards.

  66. Kirbilius Clausius

    So she has her Joker (Sal’s completely evil because she has real mental problems and is presented more as a force of nature than a person), her Two-Face (the White-Board-Ding-Dong-Bandit is multi-natured and friends with her secret identity)…I’m just waiting for Danny or Ethan to start stealing

  67. Camachri

    Well, Danny is -clearly- Catwoman.

    1. timemonkey

      Then I want to see him dressed as the Batman Returns version.

  68. Lord Geovanni

    Time to rub lots of dongs

  69. Onion

    *reads description*

    dangit

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