i love her, but oh hell no. I have a test for these things. If it’s a position of power you wouldn’t trust Walky in, you wouldn’t trust Becky in it either
What’s wrong with a little chaos and anarchy? Or a lot?
*Scratches head.*
Do you think chaos and anarchy prefer personalised invitations, or a simple text? Asking for a friend.
Chaos prefers a handwritten notecard with a Homestuck reference. Their girlfriend likes Gamzee Makara. Trust me, I’ve known Chaos since the two of us were in the third grade.
Clif- Of course it does. After all, it’s always favored over thyme. Especially when it’s about to go on vacation in Brazil. After all, it’s so en-tropic.
Yeah, it’s like the delivery gal rings the door, holding yet another crate of lolcats and Cerberus is all “that’s neat and all but there is no room! There already is a cat in the ceiling watching the cat that watches the ceiling cat. Where do I go from there?”
Okay, but what if I shipped the Grammar Dalek with the concept of lesbianism, in a closeted case of adultury from the rigorous rule system that is English Grammar? Gotta keep up appearances, you know?
People in this comic largely without social anxiety:
Joe
Dorothy
Sal
Robin
Roz
Amazi-Girl (but not Amber)
Ryan the Turd Baby
Joyce
Galasso
Becky
Chloe
Mike
Jacob
Marcie
They have other problems, but social anxiety is not one of them
@Clif Nah, if it’s caused solely by reasonable situational circumstances it doesn’t count as a diagnosable anxiety. If the press went away, Robin wouldn’t be anxious about going outside anymore.
Sierra is deeply chill. Mary is decidedly not chill but anxiety isn’t her issue. Other tertiary people like Agatha, the Rachels, Malaya, Grace, etc.
All the adults (parents, teachers, TAs), as far as we know; Dina’s folks could be in the running, or they could just be quiet introspective people without being anxious about it.
Adding: Carla, Raidah, Ethan (not all nerds are socially anxious), and esp. Walky.
There are people in the world who don’t qualify as having social anxiety, but that doesn’t mean they never feel anxious socially! The very most gregarious people still have a full range of emotions and fears, and feel shy on the inside, too. 🙂
along with the rest of that great steaming melting pot of trauma, in-born tendencies, superhero fandom and shitty parenting that is Amber’s emotional state
If you’re sharing an apartment with a dozen people and still need to work like a dog on double shifts and multiple jobs, the rent is too damn high to be reasonable.
Marcie is also paying for college though, right? Given how crap wages are compared to cost of housing, and how incredibly miniscule they are compared to the cost of school….
She probably doesn’t get many hours at her (likely minimum wage) retail job.
Just skimming the Bloomington Craigslist, there are a lot of apartments and condos listed for under $1000/mo, even a few two-bedrooms for half that. That could be affordable if they can split it three ways.
Her problem seems like she’s working too many hours. She’s apparently working double shifts relatively often and is still working (or trying to work) multiple jobs.
With a DOZEN ROOMMATES. Even if she’s not getting many hours, if that’s necessary after splitting rent 13 ways, there’s an issue.
Both is probably a safe bet, yeah. Some day, maybe we’ll have a guaranteed living wage and actually see a roof as a human right, but it’s definitely not now and it’s probably not soon.
There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don’t got a lot to say
But there’s something about her
And you don’t know why
But you’re dying to try
Go on and grope the girl
NOTE: I INTEND THIS SONG PARODY SATIRICALLY, DO NOT ATTEMPT
Like Laurel said, it could easily be not enrolled in that class. My roommates had friends come over and hang out in the dorm even if they didn’t live in that hall so they could easily use that as an excuse for Becky. As long as Pudding lady doesn’t find her in Billie’s bunk they should be golden.
Okay this wins as best response to me ever in the world thank you because just imagining Billie and Ruth trying to pretend they’re in a poly-amorous relationship with Becky is hilarious. Especially people making jokes about Billie attracting redheads.
Oh thank God. I needed some wacky humor. I just saw “Logan” and that third act just hammers son your feels without mercy. Been bawling about it for hours.
never said it didn’t do feels. just said it couldn’t be worse than it. I hate Old Man Logan. It’s ridiculous without having the self-awareness to even realize it. Freaking incestous Hulk mob families *face-palm*
Oh…he meant this comic. I’d still say “Logan” hits harder in the feels the DoA only because it has a sense of finality to it. When/if this comic ends, I will probably be inconsolable for weeks.
No worries, I do the same thing. Sometimes you just have to force yourself to second-guess whatever assumptions you’re making about tone until it becomes a habit.
Thing is, I’m a goddamn 28 year old man who works as a bouncer and a substitute teacher (maybe permanent depending on how an interview next month goes). I should be better at this by now. Then again, I was diagnosed with high functioning aspergers seven years ago so that might be part of the problem. I primarily need to see someone’s body language in order to tell what they’re actually saying.
@BBCC Thanks. I mean I know tone is hard to tell on the internet, but I have this problem in real life as well when I’m talking to someone face to face. Which is hard in the first place, given social anxiety. Plus my own body language tends to be a little…exaggerated because I used movies to teach myself how to be expressive. Not the best tool in hindsight, but what else was 12 year old me supposed to do.
Hero worship doesn’t usually involve fixating on one specific thing like fetishization – like the way Joyce freaks about Sal’s hair and motorcycle. It usually feels more dehumanizing and creepy than any kind of hero worship does, because you’re not quite seen as a person, you’re seen as the thing they’re fixating on, even if it’s from a generally positive place (like how Joyce clearly admires Sal).
It especially shows up with things like race or non-normative gender identity. Where the body is assumed to be public property to be touched and discussed in gross terminology and it’s assumed to be okay because there’s no sexual context to it.
Like, black women report having their hair touched and fondled without their permission and spoken of like accessories by straight white women. I’ve definitely been touched and shown off and reduced in conversation to my genitals or treated like an interesting novelty to show how liberal someone is in public far too often. And heck, a lot of women have reported being groped by gay men and reduced to their breasts and it being assumed to be “okay” because the gay man didn’t mean anything sexual by the groping.
@Cerb – that is an experience I’ve had. At our local gay bar. As a pre-everything trans dude, that sucks. :\ Also sucks that once I open my fucking mouth everyone assumes I’m just butch. Damn my squeaky high voice.
On the other hand, I can kill the shit out of the high notes on Bohemian Rhapsody. So there’s that.
to clarify, I have a very negative view of a lot of forms of hero worship. I never connected the terms, but it is basically platonic fetishization in my mind. There’s a big difference between being impressed by someone while still recognizing them as a person and making someone an unapproachable idol on a pedestal who becomes demonized the second they have to ignore a “fan” due to tiredness or something stupid like that
Fair enough! I generally consider some kinds of fangirling or intense but harmless and non-dickish admiration to be hero worship, so I’m a little less hard on it, but yeah, that description sounds a lot like what Joyce was doing with Sal early on (minus the last bit) along with fetishization.
I’m a man with rather curly hair, looks white, and have had little old ladies (complete strangers) touch my hair out of the blue. Weirdest feeling ever. it is definitely non sexual but very not okay. I totally understand Sal putting distance between her and Joyce just for that alone.
It happens rarely though, I think I was 37 the last time it happened.
Not yet, but not for lack of trying. She also routinely hops up on Sal’s bed when she’s sleeping, sometimes to wake her and sometimes not (which is FUCKING CREEPY).
After Ryan, I don’t think there’s anything too harsh for Willis.
Think about it. Ryan’s attack didn’t just give Joyce a traumatic event which still makes her unable to walk alone to this day. It also shattered her naïve trust in the fundamental goodness of people, especially of fellow Christians. Remember, she was attacked by a pastor’s son.
And oh dear, no. The goal is AG needs to step BACK from controlling Amber’s life all day. Her needing to be AG nearly 24/7 to cope with Sal would be a disaster.
Maybe they should have Sarah walk in front, no wait then she’d be the first one people would see and she’d have to talk to people and that just wouldn’t end well.
Eh, it’s easy not to pay attention to exactly who is coming down the hall until they are closer. Likely because you’re not looking for or expecting anything out of the norm so it takes a bit longer to notice that things are out of the norm.
Because Becky and Joyce have this continual Vaudeville-style banter dynamic going on all the time that completely absorbs their attention and makes them oblivious of everything else around them.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“But then — Joyce, really?”
“Sarah?”
“What is it, Dina?”
“The three of you were engrossed in conversation so I did not wish to interrupt, but we appear to have walked past the elevator.”
“Oh, fuck.”
“…I’m proud of you, Joyce.”
though thats only a problem later
its perfectly fine (last i knew) for others to visit.
and could just say “enrolled in that class”
though at this point i think tht ra manager might just over look it
cause too many grand fuck ups at once looks bad on her and she failed her ra in ruth as well.
Without context, that’s not going to sound all that suspicious. If I overheard “I’m not enrolled” on a college campus, I would think someone was talking about an individual class.
But DOA being what it is, Becky probably is going to get found out. Then maybe she can get help from Leslie?! *remains hopeful that Becky will get to learn that some adults are, in fact, not shitheads and will be 100% on her side*
Leslie has her own problems. Then again, Becky might be the solution.”
“Oh, Robin? Remember that homeless girl they were talking about in my class? Well, I’ve decided to put her up until her enrolment at the college is fully accepted and she can move into the dorms. That means you’re going to have to move out now… unless you want the ‘Congresswoman squats in lecturer’s apartment’ story to go viral!”
On the one hand, I don’t know if this necessarily a good idea–the publicity would be vicious, and might provide the university with an excuse to fire Leslie (“You must see how it looks, Ms. Bean, bringing a young girl into this sort of…situation…”) But on the other hand I would kill to see the look on Robin’s face when Leslie announces “This is Becky. She’s one of the kids whose civil rights you tried to remove. She doesn’t have a home, so she’s staying with me right now. You can do whatever you want; she’s what’s important. Becky, you want some dinner?”
Pretty sure it’s already viral. Roz was already celebrating about it. She had to get her information from somewhere. And, if it wasn’t already too widespread, she seemed rather committed to making it so.
At some point, Joyce and Becky are going to have to admit that they’re sisters.
Meanwhile, Joyce should give Sarah a break; I don’t think she’s used to being have to communicate with others let alone wanting to do so. She still has to learn some of the skills that the rest of us take for granted!
“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND, MRS RESIDENT MANAGER, I’M A LEEEEESBIAN”
“So are most people on this floor. I suppose you must be one of the residences then. Carry on.”
“…I can’t believe that worked.”
I can’t get over just how PROUD Becky is in panel 3. Yup, been lied to about this stuff her entire life, feel confident of it now to probably pass a college level quiz.
YOU GO BECKY!!! YOU WILL BE THE BEST FUDGING SCIENTIST!!!
If four comments is cause for concern, then you’d better get me to a psychiatrist. Well, I guess my mom’s a retired psychiatrist, but there’s probably a rule against diagnosing family members. Plus she’s been out of the field for nineteen years.
It’s not that bad. Wait… did you just tell us to contact your mother?
I can see that e-mail now:
Dear Pablo360’s mother,
We are concerned about your offspring. They have commented more than four(4) times on a single page of a webcomic written by a self-proclaimed pornlord. This behavior has been noted on multiple occasions. As a retired psychiatrist, do you find that more or less worrying than this electronic mail?
Sincerely,
The DoA community
P.S. You’ll notice this e-mail contains no lines from a certain Fountains of Wayne song. I’m very proud of that fact.
Joyce is on her way to Calculus (not that Becky wouldn’t eventually take it, or that she wouldn’t love it), not Gender Studies. She was talking to Billy and Ruth about the class she has with Billie.
If she asks, you’re not enrolled in the class.
Which is true.
And your major is undeclared.
Which is true.
And you’re just visiting your girlfriend.
Which is true.
Panel 1: Plaid, eh? How very appropriate for Becky and how very appropriate for Joyce to stumble into queer signaling without realizing it. But I suppose that’s what happens when your idea of straight signaling is run through a queer woman unaware of how super gay she was. See also the normality of really close cuddling with her girl friends.
Also, it’s nice seeing how happy they both are after the previous weekend. Being back in their element, away from home is so very healing for them.
Panel 2: Knowledge is power. And power corrupts. Ignorance is clearly the only way to protect yourself.
Panel 3: I love Becky’s confidence that she could pass the test if she were to take it. And frankly, she’s probably right. After all, she’s been basically auditing the class for the last couple of weeks and has been hardcore studying Dina’s books to fill in as much basic knowledge as possible and catch up. And that’s a beautiful thing. Someone that full of joy of learning and confident and desirous of their ability to do well. She’s a rare student and I hope she is able to complete her paperwork (and perhaps get the aid of a Gender Studies teacher) to get enrollment.
Panel 4: I’m interested in this panel. Largely because the likely interpretation and certainly the one Becky and crew takes is that she’s looking back at them, filing away a “is that person a resident” in her mental checklist. And that’s the most likely interpretation, but I’m very interested about her being in the foreground and looking back to her left.
Like, there’s a gap in frame, she would be most of the way visible if she were to pass in the background and look towards the group, but instead she’s in front and looking back and to her left, away from the group. It’s probably just artistic shorthand like Becky’s eyeball being able to move through her hair.
But it’s very possible that this is just worried Chloe looking back at Ruth’s room in concern especially as she had to be detached and professional in delivering the news about a decision being reached about her position and so didn’t get a chance to do the human “welcome back, how are you feeling, what do you need in support” thing we know she wants to do as she is still very fond of Ruth as a person and an employee.
So Becky might not be as screwed as she feels. That being said, no matter the solution, the forces that be are very likely to be heavily present either keeping an eye on Ruth or helping settle in her replacement, so it’s probably worth it for Becky to be extra careful especially as she’s got a high-visibility hair color.
Panel 5: I’m amused by Dina and Sarah’s lines and they are glorious, but I’m also haunted by Becky’s face in this panel. She was grinning from ear to ear a short second ago and happy as a clam, comfortable and free of the worry that has dominated her stay on campus. She was settling in and becoming comfortable, letting down her guard.
And then, boom, major complication, reminding her that she’s always got to keep her guard up. And she’s heartbroken by it. Her smile is gone. She’s practically dead stopped dwelling on the connection she just made and the implication that could have been noticed or could have not.
Which breaks my heart. Largely because I know all too well what being reminded in ugly ways not to let one’s guard down when I’ve started to get comfortable in something feels like. And especially because Becky has been running and hiding for so long, it would be nice for her to finally arrive at a space someday where she’s not scared of some kind of discovery or another.
Though… being queer, perhaps there’s no space that will ever be fully like that…
It’s heartbreaking to see Becky’s guard snap back up – but it’s always wonderful to see how quick she is to let it down again. Of Becky’s many awesome qualities, her ability to live in the present is one of the most amazing.
I’m also thinking Chloe might be a bit careful with learning too much about exactly what’s going with Joyce-who-was-chased-by-someone-who-kidnapped-his-daughter-with-a-gun-(he had the gun, not the daughter) and her mystery friend. If you don’t know about it, you don’t have to risk explaining to journalists why you throw kidnapping victims out on the street.
“I know what I know because I have to know it, and if I don’t have to know it, I don’t tell me, and I don’t let anyone else tell me, either.”
– Michael Garibaldi
Or she could learn about it and not kick Becky onto the street!
I know there’s at least one teacher in this school who has significant experience with what resources might exist for LGBTQ+ fundie runaways, and Chloe has enough faith in adults to actually ask her.
I think they are a critical component of reducing the suicide rate of marginalized folks. Having places where one can breathe. Where one can just be themselves and not have to worry about being on guard is critical for mental health and reducing the weight of PTSD. And knowing that someone or somewhere is supportive and cares whether you live or die makes it easier to hang on.
I often try hard to make safe spaces in places I am working at for this reason.
The longer this comic goes on, the more I realize that, apart from the whole homeless lesbian supposed only child with a dead mother, abusive father, and significant other, who is staying in a college dorm illegally, thing, Becky is basically me.
Take heart! I was rereading the Becky arc, and back in 2014 somebody in the comments said that the Indiana handbook said:
IU Residence Hall policy: “Guests may not stay more than four consecutive days in the residence hall, nor more than once per semester. The residence manager of the center must grant any exception to this.”
You guys, Chloe is THE person who can grant exceptions
This school seems incredibly lax about visitors. Apparently propriety is the only thing keeping visitors from going up the elevator to the dorms. Except, of course, at night when the dorms lock and you need your key to get in. And in the co-ed floor, the wings are basically an X shape and you just need to walk further down the hallway to get to the boys or girls side.
As for alcohol, chalk that up to being a dry campus and most of the cast being underage.
As others have said, all schools have rules against it – the drinking thing is actually law, not a college rule.
That said, how much those rules are actually enforced is a separate question. And the answer here seems to be “not very much”. Becky would probably be asked to leave and they’d keep an eye out for her, if it was brought to official attention. Otherwise, no one really cares. They’d probably give the students in question a talking to as well.
There’s nothing about unscheduled visitors. Walky sleeps over with Dorothy regularly. Danny’s slept in Amber’s room. Joe is apparently regularly missing.
No one seems to bat an eye. Becky would be an exception, only because she really is permanent.
Yeah, if this was about visiting, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Becky is living here though, so it is.
Visiting isn’t against the rules – Becky dropped in on Joyce with no warning, and Sal’s brought Marcie up to her room on a whim to hang out. Plus, again, boyfriends and girlfriends sleeping in their rooms.
Enforcing the rules is what I’m talking about. Of course schools have them, but they’re like jaywalking laws in NYC at most schools I’ve visited/seen/attended. Nobody actually enforces them unless something else is going on.
Really? You don’t know any schools that would enforce rules against people LIVING there without paying tuition??
I doubt they’d care about visitors, unless someone made them care. But someone LIVING on the school property without paying for it? That’s a whole nother breed of cow.
People living in the dorms without permission is -also- an actual law. Squatting in a residence that does not belong to you or that you do not have permission to live in is definitely illegal.
This seems like it should be really easy to explain. She could have just been saying “But I’m, like, not enrolled in that class.” She could just not have any classes at that time and be considering hanging out with her girlfriend.
Yeah, their reaction is what’s damning them. Chloe hasn’t been around enough to notice the suspicious pattern of Becky hanging around the Dorm too much, and it’s not uncommon for people from outside to come hang out with and visit friends who live in the dorm, but Sarah frantically waving her hands and everybody getting panic-face when she walks by is super suspicious.
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*Chloe comes back*
“Say, Ms. Not-Enrolled, you want a job?”
“I, uh, have one?”
“oh… n/m”
#BeckyForRA
i love her, but oh hell no. I have a test for these things. If it’s a position of power you wouldn’t trust Walky in, you wouldn’t trust Becky in it either
#WalkyForRA…
For the girl’s floor. Yup. It’s gonna happen.
you know what i’m talking about. She would invite chaos and anarchy (hell, even encourage it) and no one would ever be able to study
What’s wrong with a little chaos and anarchy? Or a lot?
*Scratches head.*
Do you think chaos and anarchy prefer personalised invitations, or a simple text? Asking for a friend.
Chaos prefers a handwritten notecard with a Homestuck reference. Their girlfriend likes Gamzee Makara. Trust me, I’ve known Chaos since the two of us were in the third grade.
How does Chaos feel about Rosemary?
Chaos prefers Thyme.
Clif- Of course it does. After all, it’s always favored over thyme. Especially when it’s about to go on vacation in Brazil. After all, it’s so en-tropic.
Chaos’s thoughts on rosemary are as follows, and I quote: 👌🏾
I forget– did Chaos follow you to college or did he go somewhere else?
Chaos actually goes to a small Christian college in Michigan. I think it’s the same one their sister went to.
Who can study in a residence hall?
i can do it once in a while
They pick Sal, she throws a Cher wig at him and goes into hiding.
I mean, I trust Robin as my Senator. I think I’ll trust literally anyone else to do anything else.
Becky is substantially more mature then Walky. This isn’t to say she’s mature it’s to say Walky is a goddamn 5 year old.
TWIST: Real responsibility sobers her up and makes her a Ruth-like dictator
Then she couldn’t date Dina
And then we’d have pretty much the exact same story arc all over again. Minus alcohol.
But with dinosaurs.
Anything automatically becomes better if it’s the same “but with dinosaurs”. 😀
“Jurassic World 2: the same, but with Dinosaurs!”
maybe that means “actual dinosaurs with feathers, not the Hollywood scaly lizards”
how does your eye get onto your hair like that Becko
The surgical procedure hasn’t been perfected yet, but her peripheral vision is incredible.
The same applies to her incredibly mobile mouth and eyebrows.
All the better for me to emote at you with, my dear!
Pretty easily when your shitting yourself in fear
Because barbers also used to be surgeons, and Becky got her haircut from an old-school barber.
It’s a lesbian thing.
Sadly, it’s a problem with fidelity. After all, she’s got a wandering eye.
I’d say you won the Interner but you’ve already won so many I don’t know rhat you’d have anywhere to put them.
Yeah, it’s like the delivery gal rings the door, holding yet another crate of lolcats and Cerberus is all “that’s neat and all but there is no room! There already is a cat in the ceiling watching the cat that watches the ceiling cat. Where do I go from there?”
Instead of ceiling fan, package contained lolcat.
Would not buy again.
Becky, you adorable fool! Your loud honesty is causing plot points!
Becky’s loud honestly causing plot points? What an unprecedented turn of events!
It’s not like it’s happened bef-I AM A LESBIAN!!!!!
Lesbian Dalek is my favorite fanfiction
Okay, but what if I shipped the Grammar Dalek with the concept of lesbianism, in a closeted case of adultury from the rigorous rule system that is English Grammar? Gotta keep up appearances, you know?
Also, good to see you.
Sarah tries her darndest
Meh…could just as easily have meant “not enrolled in that specific class”…
yeah, maybe she’s auditing it. I mean, she’s not, and we know that, but Chloe doesn’t.
Plausible deniability!
We know Chloe is rather lenient, and she doesn’t know how long Becky has been there. She could be in the normal 3-day limit for visitors.
Once again?
RED A-FUCKING-LERT!!! RED A-FUCKING-LERT!! RED A-FUCKING-LERT!!!!
Shields up, all hands to battle stations.
All your base are belong to us
“Your Social-Phobic Flanking Position Has Once Again Doomed Us All” sounds like a book title.
10 Willis Bucks says it’s the title of a future collection with a Sarah-focused storyline
If there ever comes a time where he’s making character specific collections, that’d be about perfect for Sarah, yeah.
i was talking about a future book-length storyline focusing on her issues, or just all the characters with social anxiety
Ahhh.
Wait, there are characters without social anxiety?
Wait, there are people without social anxiety?
yes and, surprisingly, yes.
People in this comic largely without social anxiety:
Joe
Dorothy
Sal
Robin
Roz
Amazi-Girl (but not Amber)
Ryan the Turd Baby
Joyce
Galasso
Becky
Chloe
Mike
Jacob
Marcie
They have other problems, but social anxiety is not one of them
Joe is afraid of intimacy.
Becky, Ryan and Amazi-Girl are afraid of public identification.
Joyce is afraid of being in public alone.
*all of which count as types of social anxiety
Also, we never learned WHAT made Marcie mute. Anxiety is still on the table, unlikely though I think it is.
To paraphrase.a movie mogul, Robin doesn’t get social anxiety,.she gives it.
(Louis B. Mayer?)
She’s hiding out rather than face the press. Sounds like a form of acquired social anxiety to me.
@Clif Nah, if it’s caused solely by reasonable situational circumstances it doesn’t count as a diagnosable anxiety. If the press went away, Robin wouldn’t be anxious about going outside anymore.
Sierra is deeply chill. Mary is decidedly not chill but anxiety isn’t her issue. Other tertiary people like Agatha, the Rachels, Malaya, Grace, etc.
All the adults (parents, teachers, TAs), as far as we know; Dina’s folks could be in the running, or they could just be quiet introspective people without being anxious about it.
Adding: Carla, Raidah, Ethan (not all nerds are socially anxious), and esp. Walky.
There are people in the world who don’t qualify as having social anxiety, but that doesn’t mean they never feel anxious socially! The very most gregarious people still have a full range of emotions and fears, and feel shy on the inside, too. 🙂
@Leorale Thanks, I knew i forgot some people. (though Ethan is totally socially anxious, and not just because of his nerdiness)
Amazi-girl is Amber’s expression of social anxiety.
…that actually makes more sense than it probably should.
along with the rest of that great steaming melting pot of trauma, in-born tendencies, superhero fandom and shitty parenting that is Amber’s emotional state
My question is when did it previously doom them?
Don’t know if anyone’s suggested this but if Ruth actually is fired…well she might need a roommate and Becky needs a place to stay…
But, you have to be enrolled to stay in a room and becky probably just outed herself.
If there is one thing Becky is good at, it’s outing herself.
From orbit with a nuclear weapon.
she’s still gotta first get accepted in officially and then find the money for room, board, classes and materials
Guys, I believe fillerusername means they can find somewhere OFF campus.
Invite Marcie while they’re at it, she needs a cheaper place to live.
That’s not quite Marcie’s problem at the moment. But I would watch that particular Three’s Company remake nonetheless.
If you’re sharing an apartment with a dozen people and still need to work like a dog on double shifts and multiple jobs, the rent is too damn high to be reasonable.
True.
Marcie is also paying for college though, right? Given how crap wages are compared to cost of housing, and how incredibly miniscule they are compared to the cost of school….
No, she’s not. Marcie’s not in school right now. So either her rent is absurdly high or her wages are utter bullshit.
This is America, however, and with that in consideration, I’m willing to say ‘both’.
Maybe she’s also got high medical bills.
Potentially, depending on how and when she lost her voice.
She shares an apartment with a dozen people and she’s the one with a job. Boom!!! (That’s my head cannon).
In that case, Marcie’s getting played for a sucker. 😛
She probably doesn’t get many hours at her (likely minimum wage) retail job.
Just skimming the Bloomington Craigslist, there are a lot of apartments and condos listed for under $1000/mo, even a few two-bedrooms for half that. That could be affordable if they can split it three ways.
Her problem seems like she’s working too many hours. She’s apparently working double shifts relatively often and is still working (or trying to work) multiple jobs.
With a DOZEN ROOMMATES. Even if she’s not getting many hours, if that’s necessary after splitting rent 13 ways, there’s an issue.
Both is probably a safe bet, yeah. Some day, maybe we’ll have a guaranteed living wage and actually see a roof as a human right, but it’s definitely not now and it’s probably not soon.
Yep I meant off campus.
GOOD GOING BECKY!
Sarah? Panel 4? NO. Take her out to a movie first!
Or go eat ice cream or some pudding….oh wait
Or a fancy dinner.
There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don’t got a lot to say
But there’s something about her
And you don’t know why
But you’re dying to try
Go on and grope the girl
NOTE: I INTEND THIS SONG PARODY SATIRICALLY, DO NOT ATTEMPT
“– in it! I’m not enrolled IN IT! Because I’m a gender studies major with a minor in writing! Yeah that’s the ticket.”
At that point Chloe would probably hold an intervention for that nigh-worthless degree combination.
nah, she’s going to be a scientist.
Not just any scientist a fuckin’ scientist.
I have become like God.
Going to start calling yourself Michael now?
With that gravatar, aren’t you already two?
This is the place for it! Kinsey Institute is, like, right there…
No way she heard that. Chloe doesn’t have any ears!
She hears through her feet, like an elephant.
Like Laurel said, it could easily be not enrolled in that class. My roommates had friends come over and hang out in the dorm even if they didn’t live in that hall so they could easily use that as an excuse for Becky. As long as Pudding lady doesn’t find her in Billie’s bunk they should be golden.
5 minutes later: “Billie, I just want you to know, Ruth will still be — what are you doing here, orange-haired woman?”
“…I’m a lesbian?”
“…It worked for Grace, Mandy, and Sierra, so rock on.”
Okay this wins as best response to me ever in the world thank you because just imagining Billie and Ruth trying to pretend they’re in a poly-amorous relationship with Becky is hilarious. Especially people making jokes about Billie attracting redheads.
I call it the Reverse Three’s Company.
It could have been she’s not enrolled in that class, but then everyone’s huge reaction faces totally sealed the deal. Oops.
Oh thank God. I needed some wacky humor. I just saw “Logan” and that third act just hammers son your feels without mercy. Been bawling about it for hours.
can’t be worse than the comic.
Hits you in the feels much worse than “Old Man Logan” ever did.
Agreed.
never said it didn’t do feels. just said it couldn’t be worse than it. I hate Old Man Logan. It’s ridiculous without having the self-awareness to even realize it. Freaking incestous Hulk mob families *face-palm*
You’re right, Dumbing of Age has me bawling my eyes out once a week at least.
Oh…he meant this comic. I’d still say “Logan” hits harder in the feels the DoA only because it has a sense of finality to it. When/if this comic ends, I will probably be inconsolable for weeks.
No, he meant the comic in question. I’m just being sardonic.
And once again my social incompetence shows itself. Damn you inability to determine tone!! Damn you!!!
No worries, I do the same thing. Sometimes you just have to force yourself to second-guess whatever assumptions you’re making about tone until it becomes a habit.
Thing is, I’m a goddamn 28 year old man who works as a bouncer and a substitute teacher (maybe permanent depending on how an interview next month goes). I should be better at this by now. Then again, I was diagnosed with high functioning aspergers seven years ago so that might be part of the problem. I primarily need to see someone’s body language in order to tell what they’re actually saying.
Don’t beat yourself up too much – tone is hard to tell on the internet.
And good luck at your interview! You got this!
@BBCC Thanks. I mean I know tone is hard to tell on the internet, but I have this problem in real life as well when I’m talking to someone face to face. Which is hard in the first place, given social anxiety. Plus my own body language tends to be a little…exaggerated because I used movies to teach myself how to be expressive. Not the best tool in hindsight, but what else was 12 year old me supposed to do.
How was Sarah supposed to know Becky couldn’t see her? Her actual eyes are sometimes hidden behind hair, she could’ve been looking anywhere.
She’s like made eye moody eh?
Dragon Maid-Eye Moody
Nice gravatar for that comment.
“You people need to look behind yourselves more often, I’m not standing at the front and have to talk to people. Jeez.”
Also, crap. o-o
“Your social phobic flanking position has once again doomed us all!” One of the great lines of the series so far.
you said it, Ms. Marvel!
*plays The Cars’ “Let The Good Times Roll” on the hacked Muzak*
Let ‘Em Roll!
PLAIDSIES! 😀
Those two have been bffsies for so long, their brainwaves have started to mesh.
if only that wasn’t half the problem. It would be too easy for it to turn out that Joyce really is a repressed bisexual, wouldn’t it?
“Turn out?” Joyce has admitted more desire to crawl up into her female acquaintances’ breasts than most straight girls I know.
yeah, but it became pretty much impossible for that to happen when Becky came out. it would be too neat.
Also, have you seen Sal’s breasts? Who wouldn’t want to nestle in their warm softness? Mmmmmm.
P.S. I regret nothing about that last comment.
It was Billie’s, but yeah, she fetishizes Sal (especially her hair) a lot.
my mistake.
Wait, fetishize? Is there such thing as platonic fetishization, or have I been missing a lot?
It also can refer to sticking folks on pedestals and making them a target of fixation. It’s usually sexual, but not always.
that’s what I was thinking. Just usually called it hero-worship before
Hero worship doesn’t usually involve fixating on one specific thing like fetishization – like the way Joyce freaks about Sal’s hair and motorcycle. It usually feels more dehumanizing and creepy than any kind of hero worship does, because you’re not quite seen as a person, you’re seen as the thing they’re fixating on, even if it’s from a generally positive place (like how Joyce clearly admires Sal).
Hero-worship with benefits.
What BBCC said.
It especially shows up with things like race or non-normative gender identity. Where the body is assumed to be public property to be touched and discussed in gross terminology and it’s assumed to be okay because there’s no sexual context to it.
Like, black women report having their hair touched and fondled without their permission and spoken of like accessories by straight white women. I’ve definitely been touched and shown off and reduced in conversation to my genitals or treated like an interesting novelty to show how liberal someone is in public far too often. And heck, a lot of women have reported being groped by gay men and reduced to their breasts and it being assumed to be “okay” because the gay man didn’t mean anything sexual by the groping.
Yeeeeep.
And folks wondered why Sal seemed fairly annoyed with Joyce a lot of the time until recently.
@Cerb – that is an experience I’ve had. At our local gay bar. As a pre-everything trans dude, that sucks. :\ Also sucks that once I open my fucking mouth everyone assumes I’m just butch. Damn my squeaky high voice.
On the other hand, I can kill the shit out of the high notes on Bohemian Rhapsody. So there’s that.
to clarify, I have a very negative view of a lot of forms of hero worship. I never connected the terms, but it is basically platonic fetishization in my mind. There’s a big difference between being impressed by someone while still recognizing them as a person and making someone an unapproachable idol on a pedestal who becomes demonized the second they have to ignore a “fan” due to tiredness or something stupid like that
Fair enough! I generally consider some kinds of fangirling or intense but harmless and non-dickish admiration to be hero worship, so I’m a little less hard on it, but yeah, that description sounds a lot like what Joyce was doing with Sal early on (minus the last bit) along with fetishization.
@Cerberus
Wait, did Joyce touch Sal’s hair without permission? WTH, Joyce?
I don’t remember her ever actually doing it, but even though she does ask for permission, she reaches Joe levels of creepy persistence
I’m a man with rather curly hair, looks white, and have had little old ladies (complete strangers) touch my hair out of the blue. Weirdest feeling ever. it is definitely non sexual but very not okay. I totally understand Sal putting distance between her and Joyce just for that alone.
It happens rarely though, I think I was 37 the last time it happened.
Not yet, but not for lack of trying. She also routinely hops up on Sal’s bed when she’s sleeping, sometimes to wake her and sometimes not (which is FUCKING CREEPY).
Not to take anything away from Sals breasts but it was Billies breasts that made Joyce all a quiver
Too neat?
TOO NEAT?
It would positively kill Becky. Because regardless of Joyce’s sexual orientation, she isn’t attracted to Becky. We know this.
So if Joyce WERE compatible, romantically, and just wasn’t attracted?
That would be worse for Becky than Joyce’s being straight.
Wow. I think my mind was just blocking out that possibility because i thought it was too harsh even for Willis
After Ryan, I don’t think there’s anything too harsh for Willis.
Think about it. Ryan’s attack didn’t just give Joyce a traumatic event which still makes her unable to walk alone to this day. It also shattered her naïve trust in the fundamental goodness of people, especially of fellow Christians. Remember, she was attacked by a pastor’s son.
Yeah.
fuck. you’re right. That’s like me getting attacked by freaking Moses or something
Also, she’s going to be seriously put out that she let Becky slip away from her, causing drama between her and Dina.
Joyce: “I could’ve been smooching my best friend, Dorothy!”
Dorothy: “Joyce, you have TWO best friends, you know…”
Joyce: “:-O”
on a sillier note, does that mean that Joyce goes for big tracts of land?
Story checks out. Joyce is a boobs girl.
I mean, she is autobio—*dies*
… and is brought back as a …
Probably a chipmunk, the wee fuckers.
wee fuckers is a better description for hamsters in my book. Evil little bastards the lot of them. Fancy rats and dumbo rats are 100x better
I’m Scottish. Anything smaller than a MacGuffin is a wee fucker.
Today is such a lovely day, that my social anxiety is kicking in just looking at cartoon characters chatting in a hallway
Whee!
I hope you will be extra nice to yourself.
“Um, no ma’am, I’m not enrolled. Just friends with people here and, um, visiting. Visiting’s allowed, right?”
Curse you, Social-Phobic Flanking Position!!!!
Pioneered by the world famous psychiatrist Dr. Eugene L. Butterman
Curse you, Dr. Eugene L. Butterman!!!
So has Becky been staying in Billie’s room, or Dina’s?
You know what, they should all swap rooms. Becky and Dina in one room, and Sal and Amber in — okay, scratch that.
Billie’s.
And oh dear, no. The goal is AG needs to step BACK from controlling Amber’s life all day. Her needing to be AG nearly 24/7 to cope with Sal would be a disaster.
Got the next book title.
Get thee to the admissions office, Becky, ASAPronto!
With what money?
She’s gonna get a full scholarship! Somehow! Because I want her to!
Shoot, I forgot about money. The root of and solution to all problems!
Time to blame it on and then move in with Ruth!
How did Becky and Joyce not see Chloe? Also why is Sarah, in panel 4, groping Chloe?
They might not have recognized her as RM.
Well something made Joyce look shocked in the fourth panel
Joyce had her eyes closed in Panel 3.
When your deep into a conversation it’s easy to pay attention to anything beyond your fellow conversationalists.
They were much too busy being dorks is why
She was off-panel.
Boom!!!
Maybe they should have Sarah walk in front, no wait then she’d be the first one people would see and she’d have to talk to people and that just wouldn’t end well.
“If I’m sociable towards ONE person…”
Sarah: Cheese it, the cops!
Joyce: Nyah, nyah, nyah
Beckie: Woooop, woooop, wooop wooop
Dina: Why I oughta…
…. okay, so it’s Larry, Curly, Moe, and Shorty.
…. which one’s which?
Sarah is Shorty. Ironic nicknames are the best nicknames!
D:
inb4 Becky is the new RA.. =P
No. No, you’re not.
You’ve got to wake up pretty early in the morning to be in before those comments.
David, Dude. What’s with the Maynard G. Krebs-look in your pic? I must say, Not too shabby, Shaggy.
He’s a father now and no longer has time to shave.
I forget the gender of his twins, but if he does have a daughter, that’s no way to raz’er.
Nothing to get in a lather about.
Ah, I see, Puddinpop ALSO has the Willis-Tech Drama Creating Personal Teleportation device. Very handy for manufacturing conflict and whatnot.
Seriously tho how did they not SEE HER.
We JUST saw outside of Ruth’s room yesterday, just down the hall. That hardly requires teleportation.
Nah, I’m saying the fact that they didn’t SEE her approaching indicates teleportation.
Joyce’s eyes are closed in panel 3, Becky doesn’t know who Pudding is and Dina is looking at Becky.
What she actually has is the patented DaviDar, which beeps and directs the characters to the most dramatically appropriate locations and times.
Then how’d Becky know who it was in the last panel?
Cue the X-Files theme, boys.
She guessed based on everyone else’s reactions.
Eh, it’s easy not to pay attention to exactly who is coming down the hall until they are closer. Likely because you’re not looking for or expecting anything out of the norm so it takes a bit longer to notice that things are out of the norm.
Because Becky and Joyce have this continual Vaudeville-style banter dynamic going on all the time that completely absorbs their attention and makes them oblivious of everything else around them.
@Scar Man!!!
You seem to be everywhere today. But I’m everywherer.
“Four people cannot walk abreast in this hallway without forming a blockade against oncoming foot traffic!”
“Haha… abreast…”
“Becky, focus!”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“But then — Joyce, really?”
“Sarah?”
“What is it, Dina?”
“The three of you were engrossed in conversation so I did not wish to interrupt, but we appear to have walked past the elevator.”
“Oh, fuck.”
“…I’m proud of you, Joyce.”
OH MY GOD.
The Mary meltdown if Becky becomes RA.
Might drive her to atheism if that happened.
or give her a Job complex
(like the dude in the bible, not employment-related)
But she’d be a Bill Maher-style atheist, so not much of an improvement.
As an aside…Does anyone know what the approximate date it is.
Though now that i ask, I realize month is probably as good as we can figure.
Thanks
Around Oct. 6th, approximately.
Even with its floating timeline, does DoA follow the 2010 calendar?
It’s Wednesday of the sixth week of classes. First week of October.
Why is Sarah getting the blame, it’s not like Joyce couldn’t see Ms Pudding heading by them.
though thats only a problem later
its perfectly fine (last i knew) for others to visit.
and could just say “enrolled in that class”
though at this point i think tht ra manager might just over look it
cause too many grand fuck ups at once looks bad on her and she failed her ra in ruth as well.
Don’t usually like Joyce but that last line was pretty great.
Without context, that’s not going to sound all that suspicious. If I overheard “I’m not enrolled” on a college campus, I would think someone was talking about an individual class.
But DOA being what it is, Becky probably is going to get found out. Then maybe she can get help from Leslie?! *remains hopeful that Becky will get to learn that some adults are, in fact, not shitheads and will be 100% on her side*
Leslie has her own problems. Then again, Becky might be the solution.”
“Oh, Robin? Remember that homeless girl they were talking about in my class? Well, I’ve decided to put her up until her enrolment at the college is fully accepted and she can move into the dorms. That means you’re going to have to move out now… unless you want the ‘Congresswoman squats in lecturer’s apartment’ story to go viral!”
I have a suspicion that this would, in one way or another, lead to Dina biting Robin’s face off.
And then I’d have no choice but to join Patreon.
On the one hand, I don’t know if this necessarily a good idea–the publicity would be vicious, and might provide the university with an excuse to fire Leslie (“You must see how it looks, Ms. Bean, bringing a young girl into this sort of…situation…”) But on the other hand I would kill to see the look on Robin’s face when Leslie announces “This is Becky. She’s one of the kids whose civil rights you tried to remove. She doesn’t have a home, so she’s staying with me right now. You can do whatever you want; she’s what’s important. Becky, you want some dinner?”
Pretty sure it’s already viral. Roz was already celebrating about it. She had to get her information from somewhere. And, if it wasn’t already too widespread, she seemed rather committed to making it so.
“Quick, we have to eat this whole bag!”
“Joyce, those are jellybeans.”
“She’ll make us share with the whole floor!”
At some point, Joyce and Becky are going to have to admit that they’re sisters.
Meanwhile, Joyce should give Sarah a break; I don’t think she’s used to being have to communicate with others let alone wanting to do so. She still has to learn some of the skills that the rest of us take for granted!
Oh, Joyce and Becky have been clear on that for a long time
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/forever/
THE FUSS!!!
PLAIDSIES!!!!
Oh my gosh – Becky’s and Joyce’s matching expressions throughout the strip is super duper adorable! Plaidsies indeed.
“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND, MRS RESIDENT MANAGER, I’M A LEEEEESBIAN”
“So are most people on this floor. I suppose you must be one of the residences then. Carry on.”
“…I can’t believe that worked.”
“Wait a minute, most of them are bi. OUT INTERLOPER!”
“Curse my monosexuality!”
Danny, Joyce and Becky: “Is there even a word for that?”
Chloe: “Yes. I just said it.”
Elsewhere, Dorothy sneezes.
Like I said upstream, she should try the reverse three’s company gambit.
I can’t get over just how PROUD Becky is in panel 3. Yup, been lied to about this stuff her entire life, feel confident of it now to probably pass a college level quiz.
YOU GO BECKY!!! YOU WILL BE THE BEST FUDGING SCIENTIST!!!
why was this for comments bagge
bagge are you ok
Just overload 🙂 There i so much Joyce and Becky adorableness in this strip.
Yeah, I missed their banter. It’s fun to see their childhood habits multiplied by two.
If you.think you’re on overload now, wait til Becky doors her patented between-panels reveal to Chloe. We haven’t had a GWIAL! for a bit.
The Urban Dictionary has failed me. What is a GWIAL?
Guess What I’m A LESBIAN!!!
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/02-threes-a-crowd/justbecky/
You are? I mean, that really isn’t surprising, but congrats on being out and proud!
I’ve always considered myself a friend of Dorothy.
If four comments is cause for concern, then you’d better get me to a psychiatrist. Well, I guess my mom’s a retired psychiatrist, but there’s probably a rule against diagnosing family members. Plus she’s been out of the field for nineteen years.
It’s not that bad. Wait… did you just tell us to contact your mother?
I can see that e-mail now:
Dear Pablo360’s mother,
We are concerned about your offspring. They have commented more than four(4) times on a single page of a webcomic written by a self-proclaimed pornlord. This behavior has been noted on multiple occasions. As a retired psychiatrist, do you find that more or less worrying than this electronic mail?
Sincerely,
The DoA community
P.S. You’ll notice this e-mail contains no lines from a certain Fountains of Wayne song. I’m very proud of that fact.
Dude, Fountains of Wayne is my jam.
Yeah, of course they are, but lines from Stacy’s Mom in a fictional e-mail to somebody’s mother seemed like the wrong joke.
True.
She knows, you know. Rachel probably warned her.
PLAIDSIES! <3
Chloe thought bubble: “I did not hear that. Moving on to other things…”
Chloe though bubble: PLAIDSIES! <3
“Well Becky, if you’re not hanging out with Dina, you should come along to my gender studies class. Our teacher’s a lesbian.”
Joyce is on her way to Calculus (not that Becky wouldn’t eventually take it, or that she wouldn’t love it), not Gender Studies. She was talking to Billy and Ruth about the class she has with Billie.
Chloe’s thought bubble: “Dammit; not this again. Fuckin’ power dynamics.”
Joyce: “No, not like that!”
Chloe’s thought bubble: “Wait, how did you hear my thoughts?”
Joyce: “I have ascended beyond my mortal frame and become as God. Didn’t you notice my eyes earlier this morning?”
Fourth wall break = Ascension to Diety…ness stuff?
What is Bravoman the god of?
*Deity…ness
Stupid edit function, never there when you need it.
“Excuse me, professor, remember the first day of class, when you said that this course was mainly for lesbians…?”
If she asks, you’re not enrolled in the class.
Which is true.
And your major is undeclared.
Which is true.
And you’re just visiting your girlfriend.
Which is true.
Comic Reactions:
Panel 1: Plaid, eh? How very appropriate for Becky and how very appropriate for Joyce to stumble into queer signaling without realizing it. But I suppose that’s what happens when your idea of straight signaling is run through a queer woman unaware of how super gay she was. See also the normality of really close cuddling with her girl friends.
Also, it’s nice seeing how happy they both are after the previous weekend. Being back in their element, away from home is so very healing for them.
Panel 2: Knowledge is power. And power corrupts. Ignorance is clearly the only way to protect yourself.
Panel 3: I love Becky’s confidence that she could pass the test if she were to take it. And frankly, she’s probably right. After all, she’s been basically auditing the class for the last couple of weeks and has been hardcore studying Dina’s books to fill in as much basic knowledge as possible and catch up. And that’s a beautiful thing. Someone that full of joy of learning and confident and desirous of their ability to do well. She’s a rare student and I hope she is able to complete her paperwork (and perhaps get the aid of a Gender Studies teacher) to get enrollment.
Panel 4: I’m interested in this panel. Largely because the likely interpretation and certainly the one Becky and crew takes is that she’s looking back at them, filing away a “is that person a resident” in her mental checklist. And that’s the most likely interpretation, but I’m very interested about her being in the foreground and looking back to her left.
Like, there’s a gap in frame, she would be most of the way visible if she were to pass in the background and look towards the group, but instead she’s in front and looking back and to her left, away from the group. It’s probably just artistic shorthand like Becky’s eyeball being able to move through her hair.
But it’s very possible that this is just worried Chloe looking back at Ruth’s room in concern especially as she had to be detached and professional in delivering the news about a decision being reached about her position and so didn’t get a chance to do the human “welcome back, how are you feeling, what do you need in support” thing we know she wants to do as she is still very fond of Ruth as a person and an employee.
So Becky might not be as screwed as she feels. That being said, no matter the solution, the forces that be are very likely to be heavily present either keeping an eye on Ruth or helping settle in her replacement, so it’s probably worth it for Becky to be extra careful especially as she’s got a high-visibility hair color.
Panel 5: I’m amused by Dina and Sarah’s lines and they are glorious, but I’m also haunted by Becky’s face in this panel. She was grinning from ear to ear a short second ago and happy as a clam, comfortable and free of the worry that has dominated her stay on campus. She was settling in and becoming comfortable, letting down her guard.
And then, boom, major complication, reminding her that she’s always got to keep her guard up. And she’s heartbroken by it. Her smile is gone. She’s practically dead stopped dwelling on the connection she just made and the implication that could have been noticed or could have not.
Which breaks my heart. Largely because I know all too well what being reminded in ugly ways not to let one’s guard down when I’ve started to get comfortable in something feels like. And especially because Becky has been running and hiding for so long, it would be nice for her to finally arrive at a space someday where she’s not scared of some kind of discovery or another.
Though… being queer, perhaps there’s no space that will ever be fully like that…
It’s heartbreaking to see Becky’s guard snap back up – but it’s always wonderful to see how quick she is to let it down again. Of Becky’s many awesome qualities, her ability to live in the present is one of the most amazing.
I’m also thinking Chloe might be a bit careful with learning too much about exactly what’s going with Joyce-who-was-chased-by-someone-who-kidnapped-his-daughter-with-a-gun-(he had the gun, not the daughter) and her mystery friend. If you don’t know about it, you don’t have to risk explaining to journalists why you throw kidnapping victims out on the street.
“I know what I know because I have to know it, and if I don’t have to know it, I don’t tell me, and I don’t let anyone else tell me, either.”
– Michael Garibaldi
Or she could learn about it and not kick Becky onto the street!
I know there’s at least one teacher in this school who has significant experience with what resources might exist for LGBTQ+ fundie runaways, and Chloe has enough faith in adults to actually ask her.
How do you feel about safe-spaces?
(I mean actual safe-spaces, not like what conservatives seem to think that they are.)
er, this one’s a more direct reply to Cerberus.
I think they are a critical component of reducing the suicide rate of marginalized folks. Having places where one can breathe. Where one can just be themselves and not have to worry about being on guard is critical for mental health and reducing the weight of PTSD. And knowing that someone or somewhere is supportive and cares whether you live or die makes it easier to hang on.
I often try hard to make safe spaces in places I am working at for this reason.
JOYCE THATS REALLY GAY
The longer this comic goes on, the more I realize that, apart from the whole homeless lesbian supposed only child with a dead mother, abusive father, and significant other, who is staying in a college dorm illegally, thing, Becky is basically me.
From which I can infer you are a very rad person.
On the plus side, Becky has embraced the age old and proud lesbian fashion.
Either that or she hangs out too much in Canada.
Or with lumberjacks.
Psh, implying lesbians and lumberjacks aren’t the same thing
Take heart! I was rereading the Becky arc, and back in 2014 somebody in the comments said that the Indiana handbook said:
IU Residence Hall policy: “Guests may not stay more than four consecutive days in the residence hall, nor more than once per semester. The residence manager of the center must grant any exception to this.”
You guys, Chloe is THE person who can grant exceptions
She might also be so inclined considering she was hunted like an animal on their campus by her dad.
What on earth are these colleges where people care about any of this stuff? Is every school south of the Mason-Dixon line just like, Bob Jones U?
To clarify, I mean things like unscheduled visitors or alcohol consumption within a private dorm room.
This school seems incredibly lax about visitors. Apparently propriety is the only thing keeping visitors from going up the elevator to the dorms. Except, of course, at night when the dorms lock and you need your key to get in. And in the co-ed floor, the wings are basically an X shape and you just need to walk further down the hallway to get to the boys or girls side.
As for alcohol, chalk that up to being a dry campus and most of the cast being underage.
That said, Becky’s NOT just a visitor. She’s living there. Pretty sure most schools would take issue with that.
I went to NYU. Had a homeless friend. They are very strict about those overnight stay rules. Rents in NYC are not cheap.
Indiana’s not the south, but even still, pretty sure all universities have rules against underage drinking and non-students living in the dorms.
As others have said, all schools have rules against it – the drinking thing is actually law, not a college rule.
That said, how much those rules are actually enforced is a separate question. And the answer here seems to be “not very much”. Becky would probably be asked to leave and they’d keep an eye out for her, if it was brought to official attention. Otherwise, no one really cares. They’d probably give the students in question a talking to as well.
There’s nothing about unscheduled visitors. Walky sleeps over with Dorothy regularly. Danny’s slept in Amber’s room. Joe is apparently regularly missing.
No one seems to bat an eye. Becky would be an exception, only because she really is permanent.
Yeah, if this was about visiting, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Becky is living here though, so it is.
Visiting isn’t against the rules – Becky dropped in on Joyce with no warning, and Sal’s brought Marcie up to her room on a whim to hang out. Plus, again, boyfriends and girlfriends sleeping in their rooms.
Enforcing the rules is what I’m talking about. Of course schools have them, but they’re like jaywalking laws in NYC at most schools I’ve visited/seen/attended. Nobody actually enforces them unless something else is going on.
Really? You don’t know any schools that would enforce rules against people LIVING there without paying tuition??
I doubt they’d care about visitors, unless someone made them care. But someone LIVING on the school property without paying for it? That’s a whole nother breed of cow.
People living in the dorms without permission is -also- an actual law. Squatting in a residence that does not belong to you or that you do not have permission to live in is definitely illegal.
I mean, but…Indiana is NORTH of the mason-dixon line.
Between this and ‘oh no, my hubris’, Joyce has been getting the best lines as of late.
Not to forget the immortal words of the sage: “my butt is contaminated.”
The prophecy has been fulfilled.
I honestly thought Sarah was groping Chloe and cannot unsee it.
This seems like it should be really easy to explain. She could have just been saying “But I’m, like, not enrolled in that class.” She could just not have any classes at that time and be considering hanging out with her girlfriend.
Or she could just be some kid working in town visiting her girlfriend and bff. That’s allowed too.
This really doesn’t imply ‘squatter’.
Yeah, their reaction is what’s damning them. Chloe hasn’t been around enough to notice the suspicious pattern of Becky hanging around the Dorm too much, and it’s not uncommon for people from outside to come hang out with and visit friends who live in the dorm, but Sarah frantically waving her hands and everybody getting panic-face when she walks by is super suspicious.
Joyce’s last line should be a book title.
That is all.