286

Pervasively
Posted on June 15, 2025 by David M Willis

286 thoughts on “Pervasively”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    no brothers detected

    1. Doctor_Who

      If this were a CAPTCHA and the goal was to select all the pictures with brothers, you’d have to hit “Refresh” because there aren’t any.

      1. Paul

        If it was CAPTCHA and there are no pictures with brothers there is a ‘SKIP’ button you click. Also, CAPTCHA has been getting too meta for me. Like, it will show a bike outline drawn on the road and say click all tiles with bicycle in them. Does it know? Does it consider the map to be the territory? It asked me to click on motorcycle tiles and it was a reflection in a shop window. It knew the reflection was not a bike, that’s like advanced dog intelligence.

    2. Steamweed

      The return of A.C.! Good to see you again.

  2. shadowcell

    we hereby promote joyce to grade 37!

    1. David M Willis

      in a row???

      1. Dana

        I get this reference.

      2. BadRoad

        don’t get any more promotions on your way through the parking lot

      3. Proxiehunter

        That can’t be right.

      4. Orange Lantern

        Just commenting to let you know how much I appreciate that reference.

    2. Rectilinear Propagation

      She didn’t even have to sort any files!

    3. BadRoad

      the best kind of correct

    4. Arianod

      I thought the highest grade was 33?

  3. Sirksome

    Should we be worried about Jocelyne?

    1. Taffy

      Nah, probably not. Nothing bad ever happens to peaceful protesters.

      1. Thag Simmons

        And nothing dramatic ever happens when a story keeps making sure the audience remembers the potentially volatile situation happening just offscreen.

        1. Taffy

          I’m so glad we all agree this is a very safe thing Jocelyne is doing and her situation isn’t in danger of going south very quickly.

      2. Reltzik

        And ESPECIALLY not when the National Guard gets called out, for no reason, to deal with peaceful protestors at a college.

        The only way we could get any safer is if someone decided to send in the Marines.

        1. Opus the Poet

          I see you’re a fan of CS&N. And also have a long memory.

        2. Kyulen

          I had to look up the song you’re referencing just now. Kent State happened 18 years before I was born, but I’ve long been interested in history.

        3. Thing2

          Well, at last, one I understand. I was a teenager at the time.

        4. Yumi

          I was born 24 years after the event, but I’ve known the song since I was at least a teenager because of my dad. Not sure I’d remember that the shooting was at Kent State (or where Kent State is) without it.

        5. Reltzik

          … wait, there was a song about it? What? *googles* … I guess I shouldn’t be surprised there was a song.

          Yeah, I was kinda alluding to the Kent State massacre when I mentioned college protestors, but mostly I was referring to what’s happening in Los Angeles in the present.

        6. butting

          … CSN&Y, that one. Written by Neil Young.

        7. Chris Phoenix

          If someone makes a move / of which we don’t approve / who is it who always intervenes?

        8. Reltzik

          How did I accidentally walk face-first into TWO song references I didn’t know?

        9. eh, whatever

          What, did you believe you knew all songs?

        10. Reltzik

          No, but I typically manage to keep myself down to one faceplant at a time.

        11. Da Marc

          I was involved in protests in San Diego in 1971 at the Marine Corps recruiting station and at the Point Loma military base where war research was done. In both cases, the guys with guns on the other side of the fence WERE Marines. Unlike the National Guard in Ohio, the Marines knew not to fire their weapons at nonviolent protesters.

      3. Steamweed

        Ever. It’ll be fine. No prob.

      4. Micki

        Oh man, I just snorted out loud. Best reply.

      5. Disastroid

        What if she accidentally makes out with Mary

      6. Nymphie

        I don’t know why I’m cackling, but this strip reminded me of when I was at the counterprotest to NMR marching in gothenburg.

        An old (i think arabic) man had sat himself down in front of the police, and was alone in doing so. So I sat down to join him and others followed suit. A bit later I got a message from my S/O saying he hoped I was staying safe. I told him I was sit protesting in front of the cops.

        He just said “I know” and linked me a photo from a news site of me from behind, my jacket and currently hot pink hair easily identifiable for him.

        The most violent thing I recall from that protest was that Antifa had inflatable pool animals as riot gear, and some Swedish rightwing content creator claimed he heard gunshots when the poor crocodiles popped a street away from him (the street I was at)

    2. Kyulen

      I’ve been worried about her since she mentioned she was going to be at those protests a while ago. Because even back when this strip was written last year, peaceful anti-genocide protesters on college campuses were being treated badly be the authorities.

      1. Kyulen

        *by not be

      2. Steamweed

        Chekhov’s Protest.

    3. Rabbit

      On the one hand, I don’t think Willis would introduce us to a new trans character just to kill them off or maim them shortly after.

      On the other, Willis likes hurting us in general.

      1. John Campbell

        I guess it’s a good thing that we met Jocelyne 12 years ago.

        Er, wait…

      2. Dread Pirate Robin

        Not to peak behind the curtain too much with spoilers. Buuuuuut to assuage your fears a bit Joss showed up in the previews for a March strip. I think she’ll be alright.

        1. Taffy

          Next March was like three months ago, it’s not a spoiler.

        2. showler

          “next March was like three months ago”

          ?

        3. Marisa Mockery

          The buffer is that large

        4. Taffy

          March (0)
          April (1)
          May (2)
          June (3)

          Please clarify the source of your confusion, so I can know where to elaborate. This seems very self-explanatory to me.

        5. David M Willis

          a preview panel from next year’s march

        6. lur

          the confusion probably stems from the fact that *next* march can never be in the past

        7. Yumi

          Jocelyne wasn’t even in any of the strips in March of 2025.

        8. TerribleTransit

          [Comics for] next March [were being drawn and preview images of them posted] like three months ago.

    4. anon

      well, hank found the picture pretty easily, i dunno if anyone else is going there masked up but other than him having an interest in whatever the protest is about it’s possible a family friend/church member saw and took a pic and forwarded it along for him

      1. TulipKitten

        Yeah, but I think the church was more Carol’s thing. When they paid bail for a kidnapper who went after his kid, he probably cut most if not all of those ties. That’s probably why he’s divorced her. Because she valued her crazy cult mentality over the safety of their kids.

        1. Opus the Poet

          +100?????♥️

  4. ZombieKyrik

    A technical lie is still a lie Joyce, but in this case not outing Jocelyne was probably the best move.

    1. ZombieKyrik

      Wait does Hank know about Jocelyne, or is he in the dark about all this?

      1. True Survivor

        Maybe? Jocelyne sent Joyce a text telling her they needed to tell her something before Joyce heard it from their dad (Joyce initially blew this off as being about the divorce which, Joyce already knew about). Therefore, it appears Jocelyne at the very least planed to tell Hank, but it is unclear if he was already informed or not.

      2. Alanari

        Jocelyne came out to Joyce so she doesn’t get to hear it from hank, so I thought yes, but now he’s referencing her as a brother, so I’m not sure..?

        1. SunflowerBanjo

          He could be doing so under the assumption that Joyce is the one who doesn’t know and he doesn’t want to out his daughter to her sister.

        2. Queen Anthai

          Either that or her coming out didn’t go well.

          Or their dad is accidentally using the wrong noun while he’s adjusting. That happens too.

        3. BarerMender

          Or dad is using the wrong noun because he has no intention of adjusting.

        4. PedanticJerkass

          Joyce’s dad was demonstrably less of an asshole than Joyce’s mom has been explicitly shown to be so far, so it’s a fair bet he’s not (intentionally) being an asshole here.

          And even Joyce herself has still slipped occasionally, despite her best efforts.

        5. Zero

          That was the first thing they said.

        6. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

          We dunno what exactly their dad’s aware of, could be he only knows about Jocelyne liking guys or dresses, and she isn’t fully out(ed) yet. Most queermos I’ve known came out orientation-wise first, before deciding if a gender reveal party was advisable.

      3. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

        Oh, I think dad knows nothing, but Jocelyne planned for this possibility and wanted to see her sis first. I was going to link the strip but filter ate it- 2024/comic/book-15/02-the-one-where-jocelyne-returns/sitin/

      4. kraenieldamage

        Alternative theory, because we have seen how similar the Brown children look like each other, perhaps it is one of her other siblings that Hank’s thinking it could be. He could be going, that’s not my youngest daughter, it’s not my older daughter, which son is it hey Joyce….

        1. thejeff

          Plot twist: Jordan’s also at the protest.

        2. Proxiehunter

          I have a feeling if Jordan’s there he’s at the counter protest Mary is going to. Oh gods, tell me Jordan doesn’t start dating Mary.

        3. Jamie

          What even would the age gap be.

    2. Masumi

      It’s a technical truth tho, so we’re all good.

    3. Rose by Any other Name

      It’s not a lie. None of her brothers are present there.
      Her sister is, but none of her brothers.
      If her Dad wants the actual answer to his intended question, he needs to stop misgendering his elder daughter.

      1. KM

        To be charitable to Hank it’s still possible he didn’t want to out Jocelyne to Joyce if he was under the impression she was still closeted

      2. ZombieKyrik

        1st We don’t know if Hank knows yet, so cut him some slack, and don’t assume he is intentionally misgendering her.
        2nd If he does know he could be doing his best to not out her to Joyce or anyone else.
        3rd While the question did say “brother,” Hank was actually asking, “is that one of your siblings in the picture? So while technically accurate, it is in essence a lie.
        4th I’m not saying Joyce did the wrong thing here, and unfortunately there are times when you can’t be honest with people you care about.

        So I think Joyce did the right thing, but it wasn’t entirely truthful to what Hank was actually asking; regardless of the misgendering the intent was clear.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Unfortunately, parental authority doesn’t recognize the fifth amendment.

        2. AnonGrouch

          I think you have a rational argument here. I’d argue mostly that ‘answering with a counter truth’ is not ‘lying by omission’ (yeck hate that term) it is in fact the opposite of lying. If Hank had asked ‘is this your sister’ Joyce would obviously had said yes given her character and past behavior.

          Hank would likely never ask that unless Joycelyn came out to him before hand, but either way, that’s where Joyce’s hesitancy comes from. Also maybe ‘oh my god idk if my dad is fundie enough to hate protestors’, but I don’t think Joyce thinks she honestly knows the answer to that question either.

        3. Opus the Poet

          They’re both trying not to out Jocelyn to the other because they don’t know Jocelyn is already out.

      3. RedCat

        do we even know if this man knows what a trans gender is? You’d be surprised how uneducated boomers are on this stuff.

    4. mindbleach

      Unsure what the right answer is.

      “You’d really think so, yeah?”

      1. ZombieKyrik

        Joyce gave a right answer because she is protecting Jocelyne; unfortunately sometimes lying is the right answer.

      2. Yumi

        “Oh, you know.”

        –And answer I’ve given when asked by young children if I’m a boy or a girl

        1. cain

          sometimes i go with a kind curious-toned “what do you think?” with kids. i’ve seen them consider their thought process this way and it’s led to interesting conversations

        2. Yumi

          Yeah, it depends on the context. I work as a substitute teacher, so it’s often that I’m in an unfamiliar environment, and in elementary schools I usually only take specials (art, Spanish, media center, etc) postings, so I’m seeing these kids for 45-60 minutes and then possibly never again. So I have a range of “not really answering”s, from “Not really” to “Hey, did you lose a tooth?”

          Older kids, I’ve had times when they’ve asked my pronouns or such, and I answer that directly.

    5. Needfuldoer

      Either Jocelyne isn’t out to Hank, or Hank doesn’t know she’s out to Joyce and he doesn’t want to unknowingly out her himself.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Upon further review of the archive, I think Jocelyne is out to Hank but we don’t yet know how he took the news.

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/dumbbrother/

    6. Vulcanodon

      When the truth becomes a bit technical, so do matters of definition that underlie it.

    7. Clif

      @ZombieKyrik – A technical lie is still a lie.

      But the question is, is a technical truth still the truth?

  5. NGPZ

    wow Joyce unironically didn’t lie to an Authority™, heh

    really hope Jocelyne is safe out there T-T

    1. anon

      i mean, it doesn’t look like it’s only a 5 person protest so even if they’re ‘strangers’ i’d assume ppl protesting together would have solidarity versus automatically throwing someone under the bus or even literally using someone as a shield while they make a getaway

      1. Freemage

        women were sexually assaulted during the Occupy Wall Street protests by other protestors, then told not to report it so that it wouldn’t give the cops an excuse to bust up the campsites.
        The unity of mobs is, sadly, not always a given.

    2. Throwatron

      If a protest is safe to be at, it probably isn’t a protest that’s actually accomplishing anything. And, if it ever weren’t dangerous to protest, then there’d be no need to do it.

      1. thejeff

        Different protests have different purposes. Like yesterday’s protests were overwhelmingly not dangerous, but they showed a whole lot of widespread opposition to Trump. Not all of that opposition would show up to face tear gas and rubber bullets, but that they came out at all is still important.

  6. Taffy

    Got his ass.

  7. mindbleach

    I assumed the protest (and response) would be what outs Jocelyne, and so far, technically, I’m wrong.

    1. Thag Simmons

      Well, week’s still young.

  8. Sirksome

    Is that Asma spotted? I feel like she should be tagged.

    1. ZombieKyrik

      Is that Asma? I haven’t seen her enough to know if it’s her, or someone else that just looks similar.

      1. Yumi

        Can’t say for sure, and sometimes character tags are added later, but as of right now, Asma isn’t tagged in the strip, so I don’t think it’s her.

    2. NGPZ

      Asma may be at the protest?

      But I get the sense that there are definitely multiple Muslims attending, especially considering what “Bulmeria” is supposed to be a stand-in for

      1. Li

        I don’t think it’s at all a given that Bulmeria is a stand-in for that.

        The US has engaged in a LOT of awful things in other parts of the world that would make more sense to use a generic, factionalized country to represent.

        Meanwhile, the I/P conflict is extremely unique and specific, and I don’t think anyone would have to worry that glancing commentary on the situation from one or even fifteen years ago was much in danger of becoming outdated or inaccurate. Depressingly. ._.

        1. NGPZ

          like, is very clearly an analogue to the Pro-Palestine Protests in Dunn Meadow which literally happened last year

          … and is probably gonna go exactly the same way 0-0

        2. Li

          There have been so many, many, many protests in favor of the independence of various countries from US imperialism, and it seems strange to talk about any kind of Palestine analogue without also mentioning an Israel analogue, so no, I don’t agree.

        3. Li

          like, for one thing, do you not think “Bulmeria” sounds more like Syria.

        4. Opus the Poet

          “Bulmeria” sounds like an eating disorder.

        5. Jamie

          It sounds like bulimia, which is an easting disorder.

        6. Li

          Bulgaria! Another great soundalike.

        7. Yumi

          Adding on that while the pro-Palestine protests in Dunn Meadow were a big deal recently, Dunn Meadow is also just… where protests happen at IU, and has been for decades. I don’t think it’s 1:1.

        8. Li

          Also important context, thank you for noting it, since I’m definitely not familiar enough with the area in question.

        9. Michelle J Caboose

          Not to mention, actually referencing something happening in a real-world country when three months from now stands to be be 10 years in our future, using a fictional event in a fictional country helps future-proof the comic somewhat.

        10. Li

          Yeah.

          Even if it’s specifically somewhere in the Middle East (and I don’t think that’s been specified), there’s just… so many other candidates that would have sprung readily to mind ten years ago, and which will spring readily to mind one, two, five, ten years in the future.

        11. Li

          ugh, fictionalized*

    3. HueSatLight

      Jocelyne was going to the protest with her friends, iirc. Could be one of them is also a hijabi.

      1. Sirksome

        Geez. Now I feel a little racist assuming that’s Asma. Although I think it was implied she’d be at the protest too since bald, generic man was at the front desk.

        1. RedCat

          tbf, small picture, we don’t know the color of the hijab and as far as I can tell, it’s the same wrapping style as Asma’s.
          …but yeah, I only remember Asma as a character with a hijab, but wouldn’t automatically assume that’s her there lol

    4. Kyulen

      I assume there’s other Muslim women at the college who might be out there protesting.

  9. Serendipity

    Please, please don’t hurt Jocelyne, please

    1. RedCat

      I doubt Hank would, the world, tho? High likelyhood that it’ll try.

  10. jeffepp

    Joyce is no longer the goodie-two-shoes.

    Not a complaint. Just an observation.

    Argue among yourselves.

    1. Taffy

      She’s absolutely not the little goody-good narc anymore.

      1. Bryy

        YUP. Let’s not forget the speech Toe Dad gave about how she was going to be an “influence” on the younger kids.

  11. Dawn

    Jocelyne did already come out to Hank, right?

    1. ZombieKyrik

      I don’t think so; if she did then Hank didn’t get the memo that Joyce knows too.

      1. Dawn

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2024/comic/book-15/02-the-one-where-jocelyne-returns/dumbbrother/

        1. Yumi

          Yeah, it’s been unclear from that. It’s possible this is what Jocelyne was referring to– that she might be pictured and recognized at the protest, possibly with her name (Jocelyne, not her dead name) included or in feminine clothing.

          And then their dad might see that and say something to Joyce.

        2. TerribleTransit

          My money is on Jocelyn planning to come out to their father shortly, so this is her last chance to tell Joyce herself before it gets put on the grapevine where she’ll likely hear it from someone else.

    2. RassilonTDavros

      It’s not entirely clear, but before coming out to Joyce she did text that there was something she needed to tell Joyce before she heard it from Hank. So it’s possible she came out to him, but not definitive.

      1. Thag Simmons

        It’s also possible that something or someone ended up outing her to Hank.

    3. DailyBrad

      Not that I am aware of, no. Joss DOES know that Joyce has said some stuff in Hank’s defense, but it didn’t really come across like Jocelyn has had recent contact, for obviously understandable reasons.

    4. Nono

      It’s also possible that Hank already knows but doesn’t know that Joyce knows too, so he’s erring on the side of caution so as not to out Jocelyne.

      1. Rose by Any other Name

        Still a misgendering.
        If Hank knows and isn’t being an asshole about it but also doesn’t want to reveal anything to Joyce, he could have said “sibling”.

        1. Techhead

          If one’s closet is still closed, it unfortunately can come with the territory. It sucks, I’ve sorta been there, and I wasn’t even trying to hide it from my mom. Sometimes opsec is opsec.

          But also I’m betting that she told Joyce before telling dad, who’s *next* to know.

        2. KM

          That might also be odd if for the past 19 years he referred to her as “your brother” when speaking to Joyce

        3. eh, whatever

          Is that a thing in America, as opposed to using names?

        4. Chaz

          Can confirm this is a thing in America. It’s very casual. You’ll also hear “your mom” or “your dad” from the opposite parent even if they’re married.

        5. KM

          Yes. Also, I’m pretty sure it’s common elsewhere too?

        6. ZombieKyrik

          Using “sibling” would be more accurate, but it’s an awkward way to speak about someone. It could even make someone ask why you “sibling” instead of “brother,” or “sister.”

        7. Alongcameaspider

          Especially if said someone (so far as Hank knows anyway) has only ever known Jocelyne as “brother”

        8. Throwatron

          Exactly. I disagree with the people who think it’s inherently safe to use that kind of gender-neutral language when handling the situation where you don’t know whether or not somebody is out to somebody else. It only makes sense to do that, if you KNOW the person you are talking to knows, and KNOW that that person is specifically safe to those being referred. At which point, you simply don’t need to employ this subterfuge to begin with.

          But, suddenly describing someone in a gender neutral way, unprompted, when you’ve never done that before? That’s a tell. That’s you outing somebody who might not be ready to be outed, to somebody who isn’t safe. Most people are unobservant enough, that the turn of phrase would do no harm, and it makes you feel better for “not misgendering your friend.” But some trans actually have to deal with “transvestigators,” and they will latch onto that detail, because they are actively looking to learn hidden knowledge, so they can do your loved ones harm.

          Deadname your friend, if and only if it will protect them. Misgender your friend, if and only if it will protect them. Always respect who they are; but, don’t make your own performance of that respect, and your personal feelings about that performance, more important than their safety and their life.

          I know some people disagree with me on this, but take a look around the country right now, and honestly tell me we should put our well-meaning social graces, above our loved ones ability to safely live their lives…

        9. Cynic with a side of mustard

          My daughter came out to me (her father) first, and asked me to keep it between us until she felt comfortable telling her mom. So, until that day happened, she went by her dead name, and she was my other kid’s brother.

          I saw it as her choice, and asked her if Mom knew, or if she wanted me to “clear a lane” for her reveal.

          I didn’t recall Jocelyne giving Joyce free rein, and maybe she told her Dad that she wanted to stay a “boy” until she knew who/where her safe people are.

          I dunno. Maybe we’ll get flashbacks. Preferably blue, rather than red.

  12. Mel

    I’ll admit I thought the protest was going to remain a background event. Which was extremely dumb of me, given I’ve been reading Willis’ comics for at least 2 decades

    1. Quinn

      You’re right, I had the same thought. We should have known better.

    2. anon

      i mean, serious-ness aside, maybe she’ll have a meet-cute with another protester

    3. Steamweed

      It took a while, but:
      1. Willis loves to play the long game.
      2. Chekhov’s Protest will not be denied.

    4. Astariel

      I did too.

  13. Animedingo

    Who texted her?

    1. ZombieKyrik

      Her dad.

    2. Thag Simmons

      Did Joyce obtain additional dads while I wasn’t looking?

      1. Clif

        Possible, but not at all likely.

      2. PedanticJerkass

        Did Carol transition without us readers being told about it? /s

        1. Taffy

          Carol Brown, in a rare FtF transition.

    3. Deanatay

      I think dingo’s question is, who REALLY texted Joyce? Carol has been known to hijack Hank’s phone and masquerade as him, before.

      1. Taffy

        What do you think, she broke into his home to text their daughter a photo, instead of using her own? They’re not living together anymore, and I really doubt he’d leave his phone unattended with her at some kind of public meeting space. Too many hoops and backflips to get to “Hank isn’t using his own cell phone.”

        1. Throwatron

          counter-point: i absolutely think “what if this line of communication is compromised?” is a completely reason to ask yourself immediately, any and every time anybody starts suddenly pressing you for information about your friends, when those friends happen to be enemies of the state

        2. Taffy

          If you have Internet access, I’m just assuming your line is compromised by default. They’re listening to all of us and reading our messages, and no black SUVs have shown up outside my crib to yank me away to some bongo-ass concrete bunker.

      2. Yumi

        Or they just missed the speech bubble in the second panel. I did at first, then immediately doubled back to because I wasn’t sure who the text was from.

  14. Doopyboop

    Yeeeah sorry Joyce. You might have been freed from the Evangelical world, but now you’ve become the “enemy” of those people. Which is especially rough when you’ve got family still knee deep in the Jesus sauce.

    This does have me curious… part of Jocelyne coming to visit Joyce was because she wanted to come out to Joyce before their dad had a chance to, which made me think Hank knew and might have disapproved, but it definitely seems like he just doesn’t know about Joss yet, so Joss coming out to Joyce was strategic in case she came out to Hank, Hank got upset/cut off Joss, and then might out Joss to Joyce in a very “your ‘brother’ has been brainwashed by the wokes” sort of framing. At least this way, whenever she comes out to Hank, she still has her sister!

    1. Bryy

      Hank’s text reframes his entire frantic phone call-athon to Joyce. I hope I’m wrong.

    2. Charles Phipps

      The mask of evangelism on the entire racist, fascist, and misogynist sandwich is coming off.

      There’s a hundred different faces for the same “Cruelty is the Point” and they’ve all joined together.

  15. Yak

    Nyeeeehehehehehe

  16. Kyulen

    I’m pretty sure Joyce’s brothers Jordan and John are not in that picture. Her sister is though.

  17. JessWitt

    The exclamation point should make that reply extra convincing.

    1. Clif

      This always works!

      Three exclamation marks works even better!!!

  18. ValdVin

    I wonder who took the photo.

    1. Dread Pirate Robin

      Only photographer we know is Booster but idk if they’d expose protestors like this. BUT if it’s a plot point they’re a safe bet.

    2. TerribleTransit

      Possibly the media. Likely someone semi-random who posted it on social media. For better and worse protests often show the participants pretty clearly, so it only takes one person who knows the Brown family seeing Joss and passing it along to Hank with the same question

  19. Bryy

    oh.
    ok so every once in a while, I am reminded of how Hank could have possibly married Carol.

    1. pyrock_mania

      to be fair to Hank, isn’t Joyce the only family member Jocelynn has come out to so far? I’m not discounting that he has a LOT to work on, but in this one case I feel like he’s just uninformed.

      1. thejeff

        Maybe. The text about Jocelyne coming to visit because she had something to tell Joyce said “before you hear it from dad”, which a lot of us took to mean she’d come out to Hank – but it didn’t get mentioned when they talked, which is a little strange.

        1. Nadamás

          Guessing she meant this, that she be protesting.

  20. Tawnee

    There might be a “Be Gay, Do Crimes” joke in here somewhere, but it might need a few more strips to get all the ingredients cooked properly.

    1. Axel

      be gay, do crimes, have your sister provide plausible deniability

  21. IntangibleMatter

    I think that man’s dead, sorry to inform you. There’s a cool girl I know who’s a lot like him, though!

  22. apricot

    I wonder where Hank saw the photo 😮
    facebook? alumni fb group, perhaps?

    1. DailyBrad

      He probably would take notice of news related to the college considering Joyce being there, and you know, the two Ross incidences, though yeah, the source could determine the framing of the news.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Would Hank have the computer literacy to get an image from the news into a text message? With possible cropping?

        Or did some third party send him the picture, “Is this your son?”

        1. KM

          He’s a dentist, I’m sure cropping a photo on a phone is well within his skill level. This is a man who made a joke about having to invent the internet if you wanted it when he was is college.

        2. Veronica

          Isn’t Joyce like 18? Her dad is probably Gen X.

        3. Queen Anthai

          …THANKS.

        4. Veronica

          Don’t worry, it’s only about five years until he can believably be a very elder millenial

        5. KM

          At the rate we’re going in comic book time some of the cast’s parents will soon be young enough to have been in college in 2010.

        6. Aus

          She’s 18 and has three elder siblings, who are not so close in age that any of them are still in college, so her eldest brother is probably somewhere around ten years older than she. It’s typical of fundie types to marry young, so Hank was probably early to mid 20s when his first kid was born. Let’s estimate 25.

          That’d make him 53 years old today, putting his floating birthday in 1972. Absolutely middle of the pack Gen X.

        7. jz

          I believe he was once described as a 60 year old dentist. But I’d really have to dig for that reference and it was years ago, not a clue where it was in-comic.

        8. Astariel

          Here it is. If his 60, that means he was born in 1965 this year, which would make him one of the first Gen Xers. He won’t be a millennial until 2041 our time.

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-10/02-to-remind-you-of-my-love/dozen/

        9. Thing2

          How old is Hank? I mean, my generation continue the previous generation’s creation of computers! I can certainly do that!

  23. DailyBrad

    It’s a bit curious to not say, “Is that Joshua?” on Hank’s part, though I feel like it’s a little early to jump to conclusions on tone.

    1. True Survivor

      It is probably too early to jump to conclusions. Besides, Hank really loves his kids and even if he had a hard time accepting some of their choices, I doubt he would ever “He Who Shall Not Be Named” them.

      The alternative is that because all of Joyce’s siblings are basically clones of each other he can use “brother” instead of name, and thereby never have to admit he can’t tell his children apart. It’s what I’d do. I plan to name my kids Whoseyacallit and Whatstheirface and never have to even bother memorizing names. I’m going to be such a good parent someday.

      1. Clif

        If you name your oldest son Whatsherface that will be particularly memorable.

        I look forward to meeting Whatsherface Survivor.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Oh, that’s our shortstop!

    2. PedanticJerkass

      If he had, then we’d have commenters rashly accusing Hank of intentionally and maliciously deadnaming her, rather than rashly accusing him of intentionally and maliciously using the wrong noun to describe her.

  24. Florence

    This is all implying bad times for Jocelyne but Joyce being a good sister is nice

    It’s nice dammit!

  25. Thag Simmons

    If anyone watched the Pitt, the repeated reminders about the protests are kind of reminding me of the way that show kept bringing up “hey, big music festival in town today” every other episode.

  26. AbacusWizard

    After reading the final panel my brain immediately said “You are technically correct… the best kind of correct” and I am happy to see that the mouseover text agrees with me.

  27. Tequila Mockingbird

    Wait, so is Jocelyne not going to the protest in feminine-presenting attire? I figured that’d be a good way to not end up identified by family members. Maybe I just assumed…

    1. Doopyboop

      I think her attire might be neutral/leaning to femme, keeping in mind that all we can see is a jacket partially hidden by a sign. The fact that she might be in more femme attire might be part of why Hank is texting Joyce and confused. If Joss was dressed completely masc, I think Hank would be more certain of Joss’ identity.

      1. Yumi

        With how similar they look, I think it would have been interesting/funny if the picture was a little more obscured but Jocelyne was clearly wearing feminine clothes, and Hank texted Joyce like, “Are you at the protest?”

      2. Nobby Nobbs

        I think a few commenters have forgotten that women do, in fact, wear jackets. And even pants.

        1. Dana W

          THANK YOU! When I first came out many many years ago. I caught hell for that constantly. Going to meetings in a tank top and jeans and being asked “Why aren’t you dressed?” “See these? we call these clothes” This is the maximum level of “being dressed”

          Or The other golden classic, being asked why I wasn’t shaving my eyebrows off and drawing them back on.

        2. Taffy

          Women wearing trousers and hooded sweatshirts??? How incredibly unusual in this, the year of our Sora 2025. None of the other women in this comic have worn either of those things, especially not both at once!

      3. Tan

        The coat conceals all as per https://www.dumbingofage.com/2024/comic/book-15/02-the-one-where-jocelyne-returns/coat-3/

    2. True Survivor

      Well I guess its risk mitigation. Female clothes might reduce the risk of getting recognized, but the likely hood of being disowned is much higher if they are.

      Also, this is essentially an antiwar protest rather than one on LGBTQ rights. Therefore, while you always have a right to be yourself, showing up in female-presenting attire might be a less effective way to support that cause. A lot of society might see a trans person at the front of a protest and dismiss the whole thing outright as another meaningless gathering of far left crazies deluded by culture wars and the mainstream media. However, in male-presenting attire some might look at him and think “wow that handsome young white man sure seems driven, maybe we should stop and see what he has to say.”

      Also, we can’t see color or below the waist in that photo, it could be the jacket dress combo.

      1. Queen Anthai

        *might look at her

      2. BarerMender

        The risk she’s mitigating might be getting the hell beat out of her by a cop.

        [Grammatical error intentional.]

        1. Steamweed

          Former English teacher here. No grammatical error detected. You’re good; carry on. 🙂

        2. Clif

          The risk might be getting the hell beat out of her. There’s an understood “that” in the phrase “she’s mitigating,” but as a lifelong abuser of the English language, I’m not seeing the problem either.

        3. Steamweed

          Implied and understood items are fine and all, but unnecessary for actual function. It’s all good. (the best language abusers are those who do it with full knowledge!) 🙂

    3. Dana W

      She is wearing a jacket. Just because you transition does not mean everything you wear has to look like a Forever 21 catalog. Does it have to be covered in flowers?

      1. Taffy

        She needs to be wearing a frilly pink dress with flowers and Sanrio® characters all over it, otherwise we can’t tell she’s a woman.

        1. Dana W

          ^so much this.

          People are whining about the jacket don’t even notice she is still wearing a low neckline.

  28. Megan

    So how many commenters are gonna be calling Jocelyne a terrorist or an antisemite today? Because yesterday’s comments were, uh, deeply embarrassing, putting it lightly.

    1. Kyulen

      It’s gonna be interesting to see how many commenters will be saying similar terrible stuff today as they were yesterday. I took a break from the DoA comments a while back, and sometimes I really regret coming back.

    2. Clif

      If anyone called Jocelyne a terrorist or an antisemite yesterday, I missed it. Personally I don’t yet know what the in-comic protest is even about.

      The real life protests yesterday where about our (our meaning the US) administration’s expressed belief that the president and executive branch should operate without checks. This is antithetical to our entire basis of government.

      1. Kyulen

        Considering that Willis’ buffer is a year in advance, it seems reasonable to assume that the most recent strips we’ve seen were written around this time last year. And last year around this time most of the protests at college campuses in the US were about the US government and various college administrations’ support for Isreal’s genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza. So that’s probably what Willis was thinking of when he made these strips.

        For further evidence to support that, Jocelyne talked about what the protests she was going to were about with at least two other characters:
        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2024/comic/book-15/02-the-one-where-jocelyne-returns/divest/
        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/book-15/02-the-one-where-jocelyne-returns/carve/

        It really wasn’t that hard to figure this out.

      2. Megan

        I mean I was talking about you, so like. Sorry about your blackout posting tendencies.

  29. Veronica

    As anyone else having real issues with this site loading like it’s coming via dial up lately?

    1. Taffy

      Every comment I make screws the ping by 1 unit. Y’know, the ping unit. Whatever it’s called. I’m not MLG, I don’t need to know the name.

    2. Alongcameaspider

      A couple days ago the site wouldn’t load at all for me after the comic updated, it wasn’t an issue with my internet and other sites worked fine.

      Not entirely sure if it was a similar issue to your issue but I thought it was weird

    3. Clif

      One of the three devices I commonly use to access the comic was having issues, but the other two were not. At one point I completely rebooted the device that was having trouble with this site and two others and it did not help. I am inclined to blame my provider’s connectivity.

  30. Freezer

    Gender affirming denials.

  31. Taffy

    Dorothy’s shirt is doing a lot of good things for Joyce’s boobs.

    1. John Campbell

      Other way around, I think.

      1. Pharmadan

        They’re both doing good things for the other

        1. Taffy

          Symbiotit relationship between the two.

  32. anon

    lol considering joyce has like 4-5 brothers it’s odd that joyces dad would phrase it that way (versus willis not wanting to deadname her. tho i know jocyelyne does have like a website hopefully it’s not easily trackable to other ppl in her communit y from before)

    1. John Campbell

      She’s only got two in this universe.

      1. Li

        Heck, we don’t know anything about Jordan, she might only have one!

        But yes, three siblings. John, Jordan, and Jocelyne.

  33. SillyGoose

    Ah yes, technically correct, the best kind of correct

  34. Amelie Wikström

    Hank is like “Joyce answered a text? On the same day? Kinda sus.”

    1. Clif

      😀

  35. AK

    Man, for a buffer that’s out a whole year you sure have some Timing sometimes.

    1. Owlmirror

      That reminds me: If anyone in the USA might be planning to go to a protest with a phone, I found a post with a recommended background for the lockscreen

      https://bsky.app/profile/hipcrimevocab.net/post/3lrk3qwxx4c2h

      Missing alt-text for the image: a 442×960 image of shades of dark gray to black with white text that says:

      GET A
      WARRANT

      Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014)

      The owner of this device does not
      consent to any search of its contents

      1. eh, whatever

        You could also link to the picture itself without the bsky post around it.

      2. Taffy

        Yoink

    2. Vulcanodon

      I don’t believe in psychic abilities, but sometimes Willis makes me wonder…

      1. Taffy

        This is identical to when The Simpsons makes a commentary on something that’s happening at the time and then the thing happens again later and someone says “Wow, they predicted it!”

        1. thejeff

          That these two strips came out the weekend of the biggest anti-Trump protests yet is a bit of a coincidence. That some protests were going on during this plot arc certainly isn’t.

          Of course it could have been even more impressive if Trump hadn’t been elected and this had wound up being the weekend of a major new round of Gaza protests.

        2. Taffy

          We live in precedented times. Wow, there’s strife in the Middle East and America has their hand in it? Shocker.

        3. thejeff

          Yes and that would have still been true if these strips were last weekend, but this weekend was not only the biggest anti-Trump protest yet, but also a major Israeli escalation with the airstrikes into Iran.
          You could always find something, but this was a particularly dramatic coincidence

  36. Agentomega

    The choked laugh I made (everyone here’s asleep but me)

  37. Owlmirror

    Hm. So, maybe the thing that Jocelyne wanted to tell Joyce before Joyce found out from their dad was that Jocelyne was going to be a protestor. That is, she was anticipating this very text.

    Coming out to Joyce was bonus extra.

    Regardless of whether Hank knows about Jocelyne being trans, he could still ask an obvious followup question:

    “Are you absolutely certain that the person in the crowd with the sign is no relation to us?”

    Which works whether Hank knows but misgendered because he doesn’t know if Joyce knows, or Hank doesn’t know but suspects that Joyce might be covering for her sibling.

    Hank could even push that further with:

    “Would you swear on a bible?”

    I suspect that even atheist Joyce would be reluctant to send “yes” to that one.

    1. Daibhid C

      “Without researching our family tree, I don’t think I could be abslolutely certain of that, no.”

    2. BorkBorkBork

      Reluctance doesn’t come across on a text. And Hank isn’t one for grilling his kids through increasingly complex wordplay.

      If Joyce said no, then to him, either that isn’t her sibling, or she’s covering. Either way, he’s not getting an answer other than no, and it’s on Hank to do more digging.

      Though honestly. Hank never seemed the slightest bit political, except for what came incidentally through his community. If he’s watching the protests and thinks he sees one of his kids, I’m sure it’s more concern for safety than whatever feelings on Bulmerian weapons.

      Fingers crossed that Jocylene’s OK through this.

    3. Steamweed

      “Swear on a Bible? Sure.” (*takes Bible; puts hand on it)
      “Damn! Fuck! Hell! Shit!”
      “I meant promise to tell the truth.”
      “Oh. Then no.”

    4. GLaDOS

      “Are you absolutely certain that the person in the crowd with the sign is no relation to us?”

      That has real “If I were to ask your colleague if that was the safe path to the village, would he say ‘yes’?” energy.

      1. Taffy

        I would simply kick both guards in the balls, and while they were buckled on the ground I would ask if it hurt.

      2. Proxiehunter

        For some Christians at least the counter for that is something along the lines of “Are not all of us cousins?”

  38. CianM1301

    All I can hope is Hank doesn’t think Joyce has disowned Jocelyne.

    1. Dread Pirate Robin

      Hank at the very least has a general idea of what “the right thing” is. Even if he spent years moving in the wrong direction he seems to have a decent head about it now. I have a good feeling about him, and narratively I think that’s needed for a point of reference from Carol.

      1. CianM1301

        True, but he might think Carol may have influenced Joyce too much and caused her to disown Jocelyne.

        1. Taffy

          Fortunately for everyone, the main thing Joyce seems to have gotten from her mother is a fantastic rack. She didn’t even seem to enjoy being around her last time they met.

        2. CianM1301

          Yeah, but does Hank know that? We don’t know how much Hank and Carol are communicating since they split, and for all he knows, Carol could be spewing her beliefs at Joyce on a regular basis and molding Joyce into a younger version of her.

        3. Tan

          Hank knows that Joyce sprained her wrist punching out Toedad for her gay best friend. If there’s anything that needs to be said after that, I don’t know what it is.

        4. Taffy

          Look, I know as much as you do about Hank’s level of knowledge on that specific subject, and I wasn’t offering a different angle or perspective or even an argument. I was commenting on Joyce’s phenomenal titties first and foremost, with a detached comment about her relationship with Carol. I don’t personally care to speculate on who knows what about who knowing what about who.

        5. thejeff

          I was confused because I was thinking along the same lines and first thought the “does Hank know that?” question was about Joyce’s rack. Which is kind of inappropriate for him.

  39. Zamperla

    Attagirl.

  40. Arianod

    She is technically not lying – the best kind of not lying! ^^

  41. Dread Pirate Robin

    Well, didn’t this topic just happen to hit at the perfect time. Though I guess when you’re in a country that’s a constant shitshow, “protest responding to shitshow” is a pretty dependable topic.

    1. thejeff

      Generally you could always find some protest going on to be relevant for a protest storyline, but it is a bit of a coincidence that the protest arc showed up again the weekend of the biggest anti-Trump protests yet.

  42. Charles Phipps

    I was at the protests yesterday. They were even in my tiny small town.

    https://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2025/06/my-small-town-protest.html

    Sadly, Jocelyn is at a much more dangerous one and I worry this may be the next Toedadnapping.

    1. AnonGrouch

      Hank has not been portrayed anywhere near Toedad energy. I really doubt it’s going that direction. Joyce’s mom otoh….

      1. Charles Phipps

        I’m not concerned about Hank other than him making a horrible ass of himself to his daughter. Which would be traumatizing enough.

        I’m more concerned about the actual government and police going after Jocelyn.

        Toedad is just an example (like Ryan) of how dark this can do.

        1. AnonGrouch

          Fair

    2. Astariel

      There’s a Tumblr preview image showing Dorothy & Jocelyne having coffee next March, so if anything happens to her it probably won’t be too bad.

      1. Charles Phipps

        Predictions: Dorothy and Jocelyn get drunk after the protest and bang.

  43. Tessea

    I am so proud of Joyce for how quickly she accepted and internalized Jocelyn as her sister. It should be that easy for everyone, and I can’t wrap my brain around the idea of people who can’t/refuse to accept it (or worse)

  44. Brendan of 6

    [Next page]
    Hank: Is this your sister?
    Joyce: Oh no!

  45. Dafydd

    Wait, so what was that last text about drawing class?

  46. Stephen Nedland

    Good on Joyce, for standing up for her sister!

  47. Deanatay

    I know this might just be my Western “all hijabs look alike”-itis acting up, but does that look like Asma in the pic with Joss? I’m not used to seeing her face with actual emotion portrayed!

    1. Reltzik

      It very clearly is not.

      … granted, it only became clear once I checked the tags.

      1. RedCat

        It’s not clear to me, mind elaborating?

        1. Reltzik

          Elaboration: The ONLY reason it was clear to me that it wasn’t Asma in the pic is because I checked the tags. Jocelyne is tagged on the grounds of appearing in that picture. Asma is not.

  48. Reltzik

    … so what exactly is Joyce’s plan for explaining to Hank how this was technically-not-a-lie when he confronts her about it without outing her sister?

    1. Clif

      She answers that it was her belief that the person in the picture was not her brother. What’s the problem?

    2. Throwatron

      if joyce ever thought that far ahead about anything, she would be paralyzed with indecision for the rest of time

    3. Tan

      Assuming he bothers to confront her about it all, three options.

      1: Truth. “Okay, look, obviously I was covering.”

      2: Semi-truth-ish. “Oh, I thought you meant Jordan.” “Why would I mean Jordan?” “I dunno, I was doing laundry.”

      3: Unabashed lies. “I didn’t have my glasses on, I just figured if you had to ask it probably wasn’t.”

  49. Dana W

    Its not a lie, if he had asked if that was her sister she would have said yes. Because she does not lie to her father. Its not her fault he asked the wrong question.

  50. Kazuma Shouri

    is true, I see neither John nor Jordan in the tags, so we can easily infer that they are not in that picture

  51. RedCat

    My assumption is that Jocelyne would have driven up to meet her Dad and tell him next, after visiting Joyce and attending the protest, and this threw a wrench in her plans.
    Although I do think Hank will not *get it*, he almost lost a daughter before and seems to slowly become somewhat more open-minded. I think Joyce and Becky were a good influence on him.

    1. RedCat

      Also how funny would it be if he just doesn’t reply for a minute and then goes
      “…is this your sister?”

      1. Throwatron

        I’m sorry I’m dying at the mental image of:

        4:37PM: Is This Your Brother?
        4:44PM: Nope!
        4:45PM: Is this your sister?
        11:58PM: …mmmmmmmmmmaaaaayyybe?

  52. Charles Phipps

    Hank grew up in the Eighties where Bulmeria was vilified in the media and starred a bunch of burly manly men fighting Bulmerian terrorists.

    even though so many of those manly men have been revealed to be crazy racists.

    1. NGPZ

      “I don’t care what you have to do, just get rid of those pinko commies in Afghanistan!!!”

      said the US Imperialists and Militarists, only to have the EVIL “communism” replaced with something much, MUCH worse ?

      1. Throwatron

        Well, yeah. The communist has always been the natural enemy of the fascist. That’s why they’re the first group fascists go after pretty much every single time. They spread crazy ideas, like “bombing children is wrong” and “people should have human rights.” Very bad for a society that wants to be strong, wealthy, and militaristic.

        1. NGPZ

          hardly a coincidence that the first anti-communist propaganda in US history was produced by the KKK ?

        2. Charles Phipps

          I feel like pretending the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan was anything other than naked imperialism and horror is something that other countries would side eye us for.

          Also, the Taliban overthrew the people who overthrow the Soviets.

          Basically the rebels put their children in the care of the religious authorities and they raised them as fundamentalists.

        3. Charles Phipps

          A reminder also that the communist movement in the United States collapsed due to two factors related to fascism.

          1. The Soviet Union backed communists refused to support the New Deal because they were accelerationists who wanted the United States to collapse into a revolution versus fix anything.

          2. The US communist party backed away from Civil Rights because the Soviets wanted the US to come in against the Nazis and figured throwing minorities under the bus would make it easier–and then that message got distorted with the Nazi peace treaty. As such, most of the American communists felt their leaders were taking orders than providing real leadership.

  53. Throwatron

    this comic has always given me the reasonable expectation of being proven wrong, but I genuinely think that Hank actually does know about Jocelyn already, and simply isn’t assuming that Joyce also knows, and is just genuinely concerned about his daughters.

    I could be wrong, but “Joyce and Hank both not realizing the other one knows” would be a really interesting, high-stakes way to create conflict for the Brown family, and that miscommunication could turn out to be the thing that ends up putting Jocelyn in a dangerous position. Both of them end up not being able to help each other help Jocelyn when she needs it, because they’re both playing Spy vs Spy against each other to try to protect Jocelyn, is a very realistic quagmire that would be interesting to watch.

    1. thejeff

      It would be kind of weird that Jocelyne hadn’t told Joyce that she’d already told Hank and talked about how it went, but it’s not impossible.

    2. GholaHalleck

      I think he’d be supportive NOW, but Jocelyn hasn’t seen his character growth first hand yet. She sees the man who let their mother drag them into a cult.

  54. Bagge

    Look at our little Joyce, evading truth to authority figures like a champ

  55. Matrix

    Good job, kid

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