222

Pile
Posted on June 18, 2021 by David M Willis

222 thoughts on “Pile”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    Does mean Dorky is canon

    1. Yotomoe

      Technically it is since that could ALSO be an abbreviation for Dorothy/Walky

      1. Ana Chronistic

        Docky then

    2. Demoted Oblivious

      Dorothy can’t see the fourth wall? Is she not a main character?

      1. Throwatron

        I mean, she can’t be a main character. The President is, like, never the protagonist. That’s storytelling 102.

        1. Shade

          Air Force One.

        2. Demoted Oblivious

          The American President

        3. King Daniel

          Lincoln

        4. Tan

          Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

        5. Jim

          Dave?

        6. Geneseepaws

          Dave? Dave’s not here.

        7. Dana

          I’m sorry Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.

        8. Geneseepaws

          Well done. +1

        9. Spongegirl Circleskirt

          C’mon man! Let me in! The cops are coming!

  2. Joe Moose

    [reads alt text]

    An odd couple, indeed.

    1. maarvarq

      “Can they share a room, without driving each other crazy?”

      1. Ed Rhodes

        I tried to make that point to someone once, that Bert and Ernie aren’t “gay,” their just a version of “The Odd Couple.” As he’d never SEEN “The Odd Couple,” he couldn’t grasp it.

        1. Uly

          Wait, you think that The Odd Couple can’t be read with a serious queer subtext?

      2. Deanatay

        Considering that Felix was neurotic and obsessive, and Oscar was depressed and had rage issues, we can definitively say, no, they could not.

  3. Wack'd

    Just for fun, here’s some Sesame Street milestones these kids would’ve seen as 3-5 year olds (this’ll be outdated next year obvs): the introduction of Chris Robinson, Leela [surname not found], and Abby Cadabby; Miles Robinson and Gabi Rodriguez graduating high school; and Gina Jefferson adopting baby Marco. The weirdest one, though, is that at age four they would’ve seen the show completely reformat itself around Murray Monster as the show’s “host”, wandering around actual NYC between segments. I’ve often wondered what the toddlers who lived through that made of it.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      Huh, I’m currently only 5-ish (I think?) years older than these kids and I remember almost none of that apart from Abby and Murray (who my siblings would be more familiar with). And I was a huge fan as a kid. I hope this doesn’t mean my memory loss affected things that happened before my depression…

      Of course, I tended to watch a lot of VHS and DVD compilations that tended to be more Muppet-focused, so that might also explain some things.

      1. Regalli

        Early childhood memories tend to be spotty to begin with, if it helps.

        1. SeanR

          Memories tend to be spotty to begin with. Period.

          Check out this other comic for a pretty good overview of how unreliable memory really is. https://lawcomic.net/guide/?p=3032

        2. Sunny

          The whole thing is over 100 pages long, so plan accordingly.

      2. Thag Simmons

        Generally people just don’t remember being a really young kid that well

        I know for a fact that kid!Me was a big fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, but I would struggle to name more than half-a-dozen trains from it, and one of those would be only because a troublesome pet wound up named after them.

        1. RassilonTDavros

          I can still name all of the engines that had numbers on ‘em in ascending order and could tell you what color each one was. Or at least all the ones up to #7, anyway— was there a #8? I feel like there was, but I couldn’t tell you.

          I quit watching after they switched to CGI, the magic was gone for me. And then to add insult to injury they George-Lucased CGI faces onto older episodes and oh, dear, it seems that in Ethan’s absence I have become Ethan. The Third Eaton, if you will

        2. a/snow/mous/e

          The Third Eaton! All Hail!

      3. sultryglebe

        5 years is also a long time for a children’s television show. That’s enough time for a toddler to turn school-age/

        1. Wack'd

          Yeah, the real answer here is that if you’re five years older, you were also watching five years earlier, and aged out of the show before most of this stuff happened.

    2. Greg

      For what it’s worth my toddler has watched an unbelievable amount of Sesame Street reruns on HBO and we keep coming back to the Murray episodes. They’re fun!

      I think the main reason these episodes work so well in our household is because my kid LOVES the Abby’s Flying Fairy School segments. Until recently he would run over to me while flapping his hands like wings wherever they would come on.

    3. Demoted Oblivious

      Is that time spread just from now, or does it cover what anyone, 4-5 year olds in the full decade prior, might recall? What about now? When will then be now?

      1. Wack'd

        That covers 2006-2008, which are the years our cast presumably would’ve been watching if they’re 18 in 2021, which they currently are.

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          But they were also mostly 18 in 2011 cuz sliding time. So.. did they get childhood references from then, then, but then they have since forgot them and then they now know children’s reference from now’s then then?

        2. Wack'd

          I wouldn’t think about it too hard.

        3. BBCC

          Those references will now be from before their time but they’ve still seen it. Streaming, the internet, DVDs/Blu-ray, reruns, etc. have made seeing things from before you easy.

        4. Spencer

          The 3DS consoles that Amber, Sal and Danny no longer use weren’t even out when the comic first started.

        5. Jinx

          Jesus Christ, I’m old.

  4. Michael Steamweed

    Becky is our new Deadpooling of Age.

    1. Needfuldoer

      I for one look forward to seeing more Beckpool in the future.

  5. Thag Simmons

    They’re both supposed to be relatable you dinguses.

  6. Sirksome

    I mean they were both pretty relatable. Sesame Street was pretty next level honestly.

  7. Wagstaff

    Uh… considering the popular perception of their relationship, are you really sure you want to make THAT comparison, Becky?

    1. Yotomoe

      Maybe it’s on perfect. She wants to date her best friend’s girlfriend.

      1. Wagstaff

        Are you sure Joyce and Dorothy are really on that level?

        1. King Daniel

          Girlfriends can be platonic 😛

        2. Demoted Oblivious

          Yrp. Really I think it’s mostly dudes who like to imagine women are not platonic girlfriends. I’m in that camp and even on analysis am not really sure why. Probably am just hornt. But then I also like to imagine they’re just made of platonic solids too.

          When a chick walks in with a cuboid waist and a double-dodecahedral derriere in my face

      2. Rose by Any Other Name

        I’m not sure she wants to ‘date’ Dorothy.
        I’m thinking this is more “the most epic of all hatefucks” territory.

        (and yes, I know that comic was about a married couple who loved one another – I’m just using the direct meaning of the title)

  8. Octopus Ink

    It’s not that the camera is imaginary, it’s just that Becky’s sense of direction is a little bit off.

    1. Chris (the other one)

      I was wondering about that. It appears Becky is breaking the fourth wall, without it being OUR wall. does that mean she’s breaking the 4th and a quarter wall? or that OUR wall is a fifth dimension, or…. ouch, that hurt…. does anyone else smell smoke?

      1. Fist_of_Life

        she’s breaking the 4th corner, when she gets to the 8th we’ll have issues.

      2. milu

        what makes you think we’re the only audience?!

        1. Needfuldoer

          She’s mugging for the Slightly To Our Left universe.

    2. Demoted Oblivious

      Oh thank you. I thought I might’ve been the only one. I can’t quite tell if she’s looking at our fourth wall, or mugging to an imaginary camera just off to the side of ‘us’. It’s like someone talking to you and looking at your left ear instead of your eyes. Her posture and head position say she’s looking to our left, but the light relections in her eyes somewhat indicate fourth wall, and well, the whole thing made me read it weird.

  9. RassilonTDavros

    Well, I’m sure the comments section for this one won’t be a massive dumpster fire. (Puts on hazmat suit)

    1. Thag Simmons

      Look it’s not a Roz comic, it ain’t gonna be that bad.

      1. RassilonTDavros

        It’s a Becky-and-Dorothy-interacting comic. Those can get very ugly very quickly.

        1. Thag Simmons

          Eh, Roz & Anyone comics tend to be worse on the scale of “how ugly is the comment section”

      2. Greg

        But we all agree that Roz would be a Bert, right?

        1. RassilonTDavros

          Oh, definitely.

    2. Anon A Mouse

      I mean, by calling out the toxic behavior before it has even shown itself you’re kind of inviting the topic anyways?

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        Dumpsterfire what? Did someone say my name? Oh, Becky and Dotty. Yeah they’ll be all right if Becky can work out her feelings and stop trying to abuse Dorothy or if Dot can call out Becky and assert boundaries.

        And there’s nothing wrong with calling it out (the expected comments) in advance. Inviting disaster, murphy’s law, etc… are really just blame shifting. If people start flinging toxic crap at each other following Rassilon’s post, it’s because they’re being jerks, not because Rassilon said it was ok (which they did not).

  10. Mr. Mendo

    Thus, Dorothy gives away that she is a Replicant…

  11. Carla's #2 Fan

    As Ernie and Bert are based on a real gay couple, it makes sense that they are both the relatable one.

    1. Wagstaff

      Remember what happened last time people thought they were gay?

    2. tbf

      Citation needed. I always thought they were based on The Odd Couple.

      1. SeanR

        Same here. Lots of children’s programming had call-backs to live action television back then. Probably still does.
        The Flintsones was the Honeymooners, for instance.

        1. BarerMender

          I’m pretty sure Scooby Doo was Dobie Gillis.

        2. cbwroses

          I don’t think that’s exactly the case, but Shaggy was definitely inspired by Maynard G. Krebbs from that show.

        3. cbwroses

          I stand (mostly) corrected, according to Wikipedia.
          While the shows themselves are nothing alike, it says the four main human characters were based off the four main teenagers from Dobie Gillis, so not JUST Shaggy like I said at first.

        4. tim gueguen

          Fred literally does a version of Ralph’s “To the moon, Alice!” routine in an early Flintstones episode.

      2. Wack'd

        Citation found, though “they’re based on a gay couple” is slightly misleading. Bert and Ernie existed before Mark Saltzman wrote them, but he put a lot of himself and his husband into them while he was on staff.

        1. tbf

          Thanks, Wack’d! ?

    3. Regalli

      And before that, they were Frank Oz and Jim Henson basically doing an exaggerated version of their own friendship.

      Of course, to my knowledge Jim Henson never, say, hired combination dancers/movers to haul Oz’s bed out of his own room or anything. (Dance Myself To Sleep isn’t my FAVORITE Ernie number, but it’s up there.)

      Good thing they have loft beds?

    4. Bicycle Bill

      After seeing “Avenue Q”, I’ll never think of Bert and Ernie in the same way again.
      Ever.

      1. Rose by Any Other Name

        Apropos of nothing, my wife and I watched Avenue Q live in London during on honeymoon. It was amazing.

    5. Wack'd

      Well, kinda. Mark Saltzman based them on him and his husband when he was writing them in the 80s, but they predate him by a decade or two. Not that this makes them less gay.

      Saltzman also thinks Mr. Snuffleupagus is gay, for the record.

      1. Ray Radlein

        So much for gay visibility

        1. Wack'd

          Mr. Snuffleupagus has been visible to all since 1985! That bit only lasted for fourteen of the fifty years he’s been around.

        2. Chris (the other one)

          OMG! Fifty years…. that means I’m…. OMG!

  12. Kyrik Michalowski

    Becky needs to rein in her “fake” bad roommate antics. I don’t know if this is part of her “Annoy Dorothy” scheme or what, but if so, that whole scheme needs to die too.

    1. Keulen

      I hope this is a “fake” antic and Becky isn’t actually the type of roommate to leave their clothes and other stuff all over the floor. I had roommates who were slobs like that the first two years I was in college. I went for single rooms the last two years because I didn’t want to deal with piles of roommate’s clothes and stuff anymore.

      1. Devin

        Given the established timescale and the fact that we know it didn’t start out like this I would think it would almost have to be a fake antic.

      2. JBento

        That’s A LOT of clothes to go through in four days so it probably fake. I’m not sure that makes it better, though – I mean, isn’t it worse if your roomie wouldn’t normally leave clothes on the floor but they go out of their way to do it just to annoy you?

        1. Devin

          Oh I definitely think it’s worse. Succumbing to bad habits is annoying but understandable, but putting deliberate effort into it is next-level.

      3. Needfuldoer

        That would be Becky imitating the wrong Oscar.

        I watch Hoarders and read /r/neckbeardnests, I’ve seen A LOT worse than just A pile of clothes.

    2. BBCC

      Why? It’s a bit and Dorothy knows it’s a bit and isn’t hurt by it. Why should Becky stop a thing that doesn’t bother Dorothy?

  13. Ian livs

    Why am I both of them

  14. BBCC

    Look, Becky, you already gave Dorothy the role of Bert (who I assume is the one who stared at the camera – I dunno, I didn’t watch it), it’s too late for backsies.

    1. Thanatos

      Actually, they both looked at the camera. Bert looked exasperated and face-palmed while Ernie usually just looked at the camera to laugh after he made Bert flip out with his antics.

      1. BBCC

        Ah, fair, although Becky’s trying to do the exasperated one so I maintain no backsies stands.

  15. Stephen Bierce

    *plays “Sing” by The Carpenters on the hacked Muzak*

    1. Wagstaff

      Wonderful! But what else would I expect from the same artist behind “Close to You”?

      By the way, sorry if you or other people thought I was trying to “take your job” or something.

      I’m actually gonna refrain from playing a song for every strip. I realized a while ago that, at the rate at which this comic proceeds, if I did one for every strip I may very well run out of songs to play!

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        Since I gave voice to that theory, I’d like to point out that it wasn’t unwelcome, and in fact both of your (meaning you’s two’s, not both of Wag’s) contributions are valued and looked forward to.

        1. Stephen Bierce

          I try to be scrupulous about the business. After all, I have a real-life FCC license (the same types radio DJs have to carry).
          My conventions on the hacked Muzak:
          1) I’m mindful of the strips’ settings; it’s mainly used on campus and inside other buildings and businesses. When inside Galasso’s, the jukebox is used instead. Out of doors, I have to find other options.
          2) My musical tastes are admittedly weird, and I feel that my main era (when I felt like pop included me) was 1974 to 1994 (or the second generation of the Rock Era, if you will). That’s my main source for minining, though I try to be deeper than that.
          3) I’m not into Gospel or Christian music, and I guess that could be seen as a weak spot. I certainly don’t know the Hymnals well enough to draw from them!
          4) Don’t parody a parody!
          5) Sometimes the obvious choice isn’t the right one.

        2. Stephen Bierce

          *mining*, not “minining”.

        3. Wagstaff

          Thanks for the tips!

          What do you mean by “don’t parody a parody”?

        4. Demoted Oblivious

          Well the first rule of parody is that any sufficiently advanced form of parody is indistinguishable from the real thing.

          Maybe Mr. Bierce just doesn’t like recursion.

          Also: Sing, sing a song.

      2. Stephen Bierce

        That particular song was written for Sesame Street but the pop music culture latched onto it in that moment because it was the early Seventies and it was an instance of “if it feels good–DO IT!”
        I consider that cut to be the least malignant pop hit to incorporate a child chorus.

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          Pink Floyd is malignant? Or just predates your db? Hmmm… though on researching the Wall, I found out the children were neither credited nor reimbursed until after a law was enacted in 1996, and that’s quite the quagmire.

        2. Stephen Bierce

          According to Wikipedia, the addition of the school chorus wasn’t even the band’s idea.

  16. Leorale

    I’m definitely gentle playful singalong Ernie, but the pigeon dance remains objectively awesome.
    As a kid, I thought Ernie and Bert were brothers. Why else would they sleep in two separate beds in the same room, and spend their time enjoyably annoying each other? It was just like my two brothers, I was sure.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      I love the pigeon dance! Dang, now I wanna scour my house for a working audio cassette player and listen to some of the old Sesame Street tapes I had as a kid.

    2. Wagstaff

      Honestly all I can remember besides Ernie’s rubber duck is Bert Gummer inspiring me to make art with my oatmeal.

      1. woobie

        I can still sing ‘Rubber Ducky’.

        1. Clif

          Your the one.

        2. Demoted Oblivious

          You make bathtime so much fun!

    3. SeanR

      Because New York apartments are expensive, and don’t always have two bedrooms? I wouldn’t know, having never been there, but that’s what I’ve heard.

    4. Jason Rivest

      Bert did have a brother though, who looked exactly like him. He would introduce him as “my brother”, not “our brother”, so no relation between him and Ernie.

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        Theory: People don’t conventionally worry over the detail of saying “our /relative/”. i.e. Introducing my family I wouldn’t say, “this is my sister x, and our father y”. More typically I’d introduce my dad first, but even if not I wouldn’t say “our father” unless I was catholic, which I’m not, so I don’t. Also Larry. (3:00 for the relevant quote, but it’s really worth watching through)

      2. Demoted Oblivious

        Additional query: did we see Bert introduce his brother to Ernie, or just to others?

        1. Needfuldoer

          According to the shockingly-detailed Muppet Wiki, Bert’s brother has only been in a few sketches. He’s also the father of Bert’s nephew, who has also appeared.

          https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Bart

  17. brionl

    Jeeze Becky, you’re mugging to the 3rd wall, not the 4th wall.

    1. Dara

      3.5th wall, maybe. 3.5th.

    2. BBCC

      Willis lives to deny food to those who seek 4th wall breakage.

  18. Kitschensyngk

    In October, Becky Macintyre was forced to remove herself from her place of residence. That request came from her father.

    Deep down, she knew she was right, and she also knew that she would never return to him.

    With nowhere else to go, she enrolled at Indiana University and appeared at the dorm of her frenemy Dorothy Keener.

    Can two of Joyce’s best friends share a dorm room without driving each other crazy?

    *doo-doo doo-doo doo-DOOOOOOOO*

    1. RassilonTDavros

      …i feel like i should know this reference

      1. Bicycle Bill

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af1h4ibpKJA

  19. butts

    They’re both the relatable one, come on you two

  20. Romanticide

    I am guessing Becky is looking for novel ways to bait Dorothy into anger… sighs

    1. Demoted Oblivious

      Dorothy is pretty in control of herself. Becky may really need to master baiting Dorothy if she’s to get on Dorothy’s nerves.

      1. Max

        I doubt that Becky needs any help master baiting.

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          Given how wound up Becky is, and her reluctance to engage in pre-marital hanky’s-panky, I suspect she is also avoiding hairy palms, what with the typical religious angle that feeling good is wrong (unless it’s sanctioned by the church, which *that* most certainly isn’t).

          But on actual baiting, you have the right, she certainly seems to have mastered baiting in general, but I don’t think this demonstrates her master baiting Dorothy.

  21. DailyBrad

    I admit, I’m getting more and more into this dynamic. I think it is a lot funnier now that Dorothy is taking the bait more and also getting her own fun in, albeit not so much here.

  22. Beau Kirin Maysey

    Ah, the classic ‘Getta’ load of dis guy’ cam

    1. Yotomoe

      Beat me to it.

  23. Paradoxius

    On September 22nd, Becky MacIntyre was asked to remove herself from her place of residence…

  24. Knight of Whispers

    “Pile of Lesbos,” hee hee hee.

    1. King Daniel

      I really don’t know what Becky was even saying there. It sounded Greek to me.

      1. BarerMender

        Reference to the Isle of Lesbos, home of Sappho and origin of the word “lesbian.”

        1. King Daniel

          Her family may’ve been exiled to Sicily, but does just one long voyage really qualify to say that she was Roman’ around the Mediterranean?

        2. Deanatay

          Sappho lived WAY before Rome was even founded, so no.

        3. milu

          no! bad Deanatay!
          one responds to a terrible pun with a worse pun. like so:

          “King Daniel, there were no romans at the time! don’t be a lyre”

        4. milu

          (besides, this wikipedia article says, “According to these legends, the Roman Kingdom began with the city’s founding c. 753 BC”) (still doesn’t make Sicily roman, but it does seem that Rome-the-city had in fact been founded by Sappho’s time??) (am i missing something, i really know almost nothing about this whole chunk of history)

        5. Deanatay

          A lot of that is legendary, as records of the Roman Kingdom were lost in a fire somewhere around 600 BC (Rome was sacked), but I’ll give it to you. Sicily had nothing to do with Rome at the time, though – probably was a Phoenician colony at the time, although the Romans would colonize it later (disputed ownership of Sicily was one of the cited causes of the first Punic War).

          So, if you need a pun, I can say that claims of Sappho living in Roman territory are entirely Phoeny.

        6. milu

          atrocious. loved it.
          ..and thanks for the history =)

        7. Uly

          Yes, I think it was clear that King Daniel got the joke by the fact that he said “It sounded Greek to me”.

        8. BarerMender

          Could be. I tend to take people at face value. In fact, pretty much nothing is know about Sappho. Most of what we think we know was made up centuries later.

        9. milu

          it is pretty uncontroversial that she was from Lesbos though.
          …what’s less certain is if she actually was a #LezBoss

    2. hof1991

      Like that Lesbos was an “isle” so that it’s not just a hot mess lying on the floor.

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        *is
        With roughly 150k Lesb(os)ians on board.

  25. John

    Don’t knock singing about pigeons where your girlfriend can hear you, Becky. She’s a big fan of songs about dinosaurs.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      To be fair, that also means she’d be a fan of songs about ducks, even if said ducks are made out of rubber.

      Probably less fond of songs about how you sometimes have to put down said rubber duck to play a musical instrument, though.

  26. Yotomoe

    https://imgur.com/a/HxzHbgf
    I kinda fucked up the walk but I wanted to draw butts after yesterday’s strip.

    1. Wagstaff

      I am such a tender ass,
      if my hair do
      but tickle me I must scratch.

      – William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

    2. woobie

      Like Joe needs permission.
      although staring is rude

    3. Clif

      Butts disease wins again.

    4. Wagstaff

      Just curious, did you have recent dreams involving butts?

      1. Yotomoe

        I don’t believe I have.

        1. Wagstaff

          Thus far, it is inconclusive if you actually have “Butts Disease”. But what would I know? I’m no butt doctor…

    5. milu

      buuuuuuttts

      1. Wagstaff

        A decade from now, it’s Mars or BUTTS!!!!

        Great to see you milu!

        Last strip you told me that you are “no biologist”. However, I note that your knowledge on genetics and biology are QUITE extensive!!! What is your major, anyway?

        1. milu

          why thanks!

          um, my formal education is pretty chaotic. i started studying poli sci but dropped out in the 2nd year for mental health reasons.

          then later i studied linguistics for almost 3 years, then dropped out for laziness reasons.

          the one degree i hold today is as a sound technician, i’ve never used it professionally though. smh

          i barely studied any biology, i’m almost entirely self-taught on that one. i did take one ~20h intro course when i was 18.

          what did you major in, then?

        2. Wagstaff

          Fascinating! I tend to dabble in all subjects with profound interest, especially the sciences (my curiosity knows no bounds). Of that, I chose to focus on physics!

    6. Rose by Any Other Name

      Very nice.
      I’m not generally a fan of leggings personally, preferring as I do a looser waist-down option with better airflow such as a skirt or dress. Still, when one wants to flaunt the booty, there is no better option than leggings.

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        Have to agree with skirts and dresses, but respectfully disagree on leggings. Maybe it’s just that a drowning man does not thirst for water, but I find the hint of curves given by looser clothing more alluring than painted on clothes. Like I said though, maybe it’s just that leggings are such a universal go-to for women these days, that they’re over done, or maybe it’s just me having had an ex that is both a horrible person and loved leggings that ruined it for me.

        Of course, looser clothing is also better for allowing air down there, which is better for people in general.

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          Given the challenges of the world today and all the problems men have caused, I should add that this is just my aesthetic preference, and is not to imply women should be obliged to dress in a particular fashion. The heart of freedom is that we are all free to do as we please so long as it not harm others.

    7. zee

      Genius!

    8. a/snow/mous/e

      aaaaa thicc and animated <3

  27. Yotomoe

    Why are you complaining Dorothy? That seems like a great pile of clothes to jump in.

    1. BarerMender

      Seems like a great pile to kick into the hall. And then lock the door when Becky goes out after them.

    2. Deanatay

      They don’t look like life jackets to me, though.

  28. MrSmith

    This wasn’t funny to begin with and it hasn’t gotten any better since. This behaviour of Becky sort of reminds me of the characters Chelsea Peretti (Brooklyn 911) or April Ludgate (Parks and Rec) in that the characters are mean, nasty and verbally abusive and yet its supposed to be “funnee”

    1. Sporky

      I’ve found it funny sometimes, but at this point I thought we were past this shit already.

      1. Devin

        Yeah, I thought when we ended a storyline with Becky looking to make some sort of amends because she was going too far we’d maybe see this get reined in a little, but it seems to be escalating.

        On a character development level I kind of get it, but as a reader I’m just kind of over it.

    2. Thag Simmons

      Chelsea Peretti is the actor, not the character

      1. MrSmith

        Good point. I’m sure Chelsea isn’t mean but Gina certainly is.

  29. Nayann Martinelli

    Come on, Becky, don’t do that kind thing.

    The camera is more to the right. You are trying to break the 4th wall, not the 3rd one.

  30. Cattleprod

    Bert and Ernie were my favorite segments, and I definitely related to Ernie more, despite being profoundly boring. Nowadays I find Bert too much of a loose cannon for my tastes.

    1. a/snow/mous/e

      er… Ernie is the orange one and Bert is the yellow one.

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        Maybe they know what they’re saying, and they actually found Ernie’s antics boring. Now having grown and matured to the very adult age of 9, they also find Bert’s antics to be too much, ergo Bert too has become a loose cannon. Mayhaps uh.. Cattleprod, is a librarian in training. Yeah, that’s it Cattleprod the Librarian

  31. WanderingLynx

    [Not that far away, Dorothy’s Spotify croons] Take me baby, or leave me

    Becky, please admit this to yourself.

  32. Reed

    “Don’t ‘Jim’ the camera!”

  33. BenRG

    Only these two could argue about which of Bert and Ernie were the straight man and comedian!

    1. cbwroses

      They’re not arguing about who’s the straight man vs comedian.
      They’re arguing about who’s the front man and who’s the sidekick.

  34. Rabisch

    Singing songs about pigeons is a huge red flag of madness. Ernie was definitely the relatable one. Nice to see Becky fond new and effective way to annoying Dorothy.

  35. Bagge

    “I’m the protagonist.” “No I’m the protagonist.”

    Ladies, please. Joyce is the protagonist*. You’re here flunkies.

    (according to me)

    1. BenRG

      Nah, they’re auditioning for a remake of ‘The Odd Couple’.

  36. Carms

    Obviously I come to doa everyday for its consistent high quality, but even against that high standard, this one is REALLY FUNNY. top tier shit Willis.

    1. milu

      I agree AF!!!

  37. Rectilinear Propagation

    If it makes Dorothy feel better, the Count agrees with her.

    1. Rectilinear Propagation

      The Count’s impression of Ernie: “I’m here to annoy you!”
      https://youtu.be/m743lkWMcFY?t=123

      1. Lone Duck

        Nice!

  38. Barf Ninjason

    Ernie is clearly the relatable one. Though if Dorothy wishes to contest this point with a 27 panel roommate spanking, [extensively redacted horny] and who could object ronthat?

  39. Eldritchy

    To quote my favourite comedian right now
    “That shit ain’t cute, Becky.”

  40. Lone Duck

    Okay, Becky is mastering the political art of controlling the conversation. Instead of arguing about the current mess and roommate expectations, she pivoted to a characterization of the opponent, tied to a pop culture reference. Dorothy fell for it hook line and sinker. Instead of saying “Nope, this mess in our shared space needs resolving.” Dorothy is on record defending Bert, alienating herself from the support she legitimately had. Why is Becky acting out? I imagine it stems from trouble with authority figures, and she sees Dorothy as a “rule maker” instead of an equal to cooperate with.

    1. milu

      nice retorical analysis!

      however, i don’t think Becky is actually “acting out”, i think she’s being petty to Dorothy for kicks & lolz. it’s a bit they’ve got going between them and I think Dorothy enjoys it

      1. Devin

        I don’t think Dorothy enjoys it. I think she started out tolerating it and understanding it, and it looks to me like it’s starting to get less tolerable for her. It definitely seems to me like the enjoyment is solidly one-sided here.

        1. milu

          Well, it’s true that virtually all the commenters here seems to think Becky is being an insensitive jerk to Dorothy, so I guess it makes sense to draw the conclusion that literally everyone other than me is out of their freaking mind

  41. Keulen

    I’m gonna have to agree with Dorothy. I always found Bert more relatable than Ernie. Especially here. Poor guy just wanted to read his book.

    1. Keulen

      Ah, I screwed up the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_Uv6vD4v1A

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        Since whitespace in html doesn’t matter, I typically break my tags across lines (in posts like this) so that I can clearly see the markup. Example (subbing 《 for angle brackets):

        Lorem ipsum 《a
        href=”http://example.com”
        》sit amet《/a》.

        Which would still render as:

        Lorem ipsum sit amet.

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          The counter is that I managed to screw up my content since dolor was forgot.

      2. cbwroses

        The rage! It Burns!

  42. Reltzik

    I’m just surprised that Toedad let Becky watch Sesame Street, what with the OBVIOUS thing going on between Bert and Ernie.

  43. Pylgrim

    This is a mark of changing times and fashions isn’t it? It USED to be that the straight-man was the protagonist, the long-suffering relatable normal guy dealing with the antics of dumbasses or “wild” people. But it is been quite a long time since the straight-man is the butt of the joke, the stick-in-the-mud drone who is unable to understand the freedom and fun of the protagonists.

    1. milu

      hmmm
      there’s at least a distinction to be made between protagonists and not being the butt of the joke. i watched Bringing up Baby by Howard Hawks recently, it’s a 1938 screwball comedy, the boring conformist character is the protagonist, but he is also: “the butt of the joke, the stick-in-the-mud drone who is unable to understand the freedom and fun of” Katharine Hepburn.

  44. Spencer

    Becky is just a more ginger version of PeachSaliva.

    1. Spencer

      Dorothy will be eating a ham sandwich and Becky will say “yo I’m hungry take the ham out of the sandwich and let me eat it” and instead of saying no Dorothy will launch into a tirade about the structural integrity of the sandwich and how taking the ham out makes it no longer a sandwich.

  45. Sol

    As someone who is chronically and horrifically messy:

    Clean up your fucking clothes Becky, this is a shared space. You can be a slob when you have a place of your own.

    1. Devin

      Sure, but at least part of the point of this is to deliberately annoy Dorothy. Which it seems she’s starting to see more success with.

      To be clear, I agree with you entirely from the same position. But I don’t think this is a matter of not being able or willing to be clean, this is Becky being intentionally antagonistic towards Dorothy.

  46. skud fargo

    she kinda set herself up for that one.

  47. darkoneko

    urgh, messy roommates

  48. Daibhid C

    When I was Sesame Street age (by which I mean “up until Channel 4 stopped showing it when I was 15”), my defining characteristics were a) quiet kid, who mostly wanted to be left to read and b) when not reading, thought being annoying was the same thing as being funny. So…

  49. Robin

    We’re over here, Becky! No, a little to the right! The OTHER right!

  50. NelC

    I am Oscar! [Said in the manner of Antoninus in Spartacus.]

    1. davidbreslin101

      I’m Oscar, and so’s my wife!

  51. Amos Batista

    Bert and Ernie is one more piece of american culture I didn’t get in school…

    1. Amos Batista

      In classes and television, I only got typical and commons american things, like Mickey Mouse, McDonalds, White House investing in South American dictatorships and Jimmy Swaggart.

  52. Smooti

    I think the whole point of Bert and Ernie is they’re a duo. Arguing who’s the protagonist is a futile exercise. Ernie’s relatable to the kids who are the intended audience, Bert is relatable for the parents who’re watching with their kids who deserve to have a few jokes they get too.

    Of course, I was a weird kid who related to Bert, especially him having very specific interests that he loved to talk about.

  53. Pat

    I like that you have Becky looking at a different fourth wall. A webcomic 15 years ago would have had her facing the readers.

    1. milu

      hm. how do you figure?

      fwiw, the joke here is that Becky is pretending to break an imaginary 4th wall, which is a thing a real person might actually do. actually breaking the 4th wall is a choice that has to signify something (especially for so deliberate a writer as Willis and so nitpicky and audience as us nerds) and in this context it would be hard not to read it as Willis somehow validating Becky’s claim to be “more of a protagonist” than Dorothy.

      …at best it would just be kinda meaningless

      1. Chrissy

        Yes, but in my understanding, the fourth wall Becky is imagining and then breaking is not the same as ours. In this way Willis does not make any indication on whether Becky is more of a protagonist, only that she understands herself as one (don’t we all?) and wants to tease Dorothy about being a side character because of her need to continue the pseudo battle for Joyce that only exists in her mind.

  54. Amara Rezby

    I like the “Get a load of this guy” cam action goin on too.

  55. DudeMyDadOwnsaDealership

    Your nose is still loose, Dorothy.

  56. thumb

    Bert and Ernie are a litmus test

  57. Opus the Poet

    Dorothy, you live in a comic, the camera is not imaginary, just invisible.

  58. JBento

    So, that peace-offer salad thing we spent a couple of strips on, that was what? Lulling Dorothy into a false sense of security?

  59. C.T. Phipps

    I both love Dorothy and would love an epic reality check for her.

  60. Spencer

    Dear David M. Willis,

    A forum I frequent has suggest the idea of a live action Dumbing of Age where Joyce is CGI in order to facilitate her giant dinner plate eyes and triangle mouth.

    Is this a great idea, or the greatest idea?

  61. Peristeronic

    I find singing songs about pigeons extremely relatable.

  62. Rognik

    Whether Ernie or Bert is the relatable one, Dorothy is definitely the Bert to Becky’s Ernie. Honestly, they were both nuts in their own ways.

  63. lia

    theyre adorable ;u;

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