Forget all those manipulative and dishonest anti drugs, sex, and whatever assemblies I had as a kid. They should have just put up a picture of Sarah glaring at the camera and the word “Don’t”. Not “Don’t” anything in particular, just “Don’t”.
The best way to get me to abstain from any activity is to appeal to my natural apathy. I need a bored Sarah to appear on my shoulder and say “Don’t”. Temptation and debauchery take too much effort, morality is downright exhausting, but doing nothing is free.
Sarah’s got nothing on a Catholic nun. It’s been fifty years since I last attended a school staffed by the Sisters of Our Lady of No Mercy, but I still see the wry, scowling face of Sister Mary Imperiorata every time I even *THINK* of doing something wild. crazy, or even borderline naughty.
While it apparently can be used for fictional characters, I’ve almost always seen the phrase to refer to a relationship (such as it is) to a performer and their persona, rather than a character you’re clear is fictional. In part because I’ve usually seen it discussing how the internet’s blurred that line with content creators who tend to present an ‘authentic’-seeming version of themselves, I suppose. *shrug* Feels different to me if only because there’s usually not the same illusion of reciprocity.
He’s cute, not an asshole, smart/nerdish, and actually can hear what Lucy says, which means he can offer one more thing than any of her previous boyfriends.
True, but I’ve nit met anyone in real life who describes their hair as orange unless they’ve dyed it. Orange has just always fallen under the catchall of “redhead” for me
Prefacing this by saying that I was like 7 when I saw the episode in a rerun, but Trini’s little cousin was my first hint that I like inanimate tf stuff. And 7-year old He Who Abides thought she was kinda cute back then.
As a kid, I had crushes on both Gidget (does anyone remember Gidget?) and Punky Brewster (the original as I am now way too old and it would be illegal/disturbing to have one on the remake).
As a tween/teenager I had a crush on Tisha Campbell, but that doesn’t count for the post as it was the actress I crushed on regardless of her role in House Party, Little Shop of Horrors, or Martin.
Thank you. I had to look up the song and it led me back to the original show as well as the cartoon.
It also let me see that the reboot Punky Brewster is a continuation of the series instead of a complete remake (that’s what I get for assuming).
Have a crush on a fictional character is ok. Think to be in a relationship with them… on the other hand… My first cartoon crush was on Psi fron the French cartoon “Once Upon a Time…Space”.
I was in love with trunks from DBZ for years. And Shego from Kim possible as well as just about every cartoon goth girl from the 2000s-early 2010s made me realize some things about myself
While I can’t describe how horribly I have fucked my life due to relationships without wanting to go high diving in front of a tractor-trailor, I can commend Sarah for not being coy about her advice. It’s clear and concise and complete. Unfortunately, it seems unrealistic to those who haven’t broken due to the false idea that you can find a partner who is safe to trust with your heart. Hell, I’m _me_, a dumpster fire has a better chance of findimg a healthy mate floating in front of an oncoming train, and I still have to fight my body’s inclinations towards wanting love.
I don’t know what kind of partners you have had but I wish them a merry consequences of their own making stabbing them in the back for hurting you so badly. And I wish you endless luck that if you are truly interested in love again one day, that someone amazing swoops into your life and proves to you that good healthy partners you can trust, in fact, really do exist.
Oh, that meme with the electronic highway sign that just says “DON’T” and is in a nested set of screenshots from several different social media platforms that all also just say “Don’t.”
It’s always a great advice. The problem is then you have to decide whether or not to follow it, and so you apply the advice, and you don’t follow the advice. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Honestly, though, Walky isn’t bad first boyfriend material, and dating for the first time as a college freshman isn’t unheard of by any stretch. Walky isn’t the most complicated guy, nor have we seen a whole lot of evidence he’d rush her on things, so, have fun, Lucy.
I’m less worried about Walky’s suitability and more concerned about Lucy’s readiness to be in a relationship with another person that requires communication. She’s already shown a tendency to suppress her own thoughts and feelings that I find very concerning. Hopefully now that she’s gotten past the potential rejection phase she’ll find it easier to be open about her feelings, especially where she’s afraid they may not line up with Walky’s.
Lucy, do not listen to Sarah. Get involved. Live life. Take (some) chances. Yes, you may feel vulnerable; yes, you may be rejected; and yes, you may take some damage points… but take it from someone who knows, regretting the fact that you did NOT take those chances at some later point in life is even more toxic and damaging.
Clif’s right.
I’m not saying you can’t have a different color that also possess supernatural abilities, but your supernatural abilities’ mileage may vary.
Use a particular shade of red and you might even end up taking a walk on the wild side, getting your groove on, and making whoopee; your vehicle will still have powers, though one of them may or may not be the continuous playing of slow jams in the background.
But to clarify, don’t listen to people’s words. Rather, watch their actions and how they treat others. When they do speak words, compare them to the reality that you can observe, and if they ever try and tell you that your feelings are wrong, EJECT.
Sarah… What are you doing?
Is this really what your friend needs or wants to hear?
Walky is a dipshit but he is certainly not hurtful or mean.
She very well could do worse and get herself hurt.
Like… come on.
I don’t think Sarah has any realistic notion that Lucy is going to heed this advice, so she’s going to be more flippant, anyhow. She knows Lucy likes Walky and has for months.
I don’t think Sarah’s advice has to do with Walky as much as Lucy. The way she’s related to Walky for months now has not been healthy, and I can see how Sarah would think it would only get worse from here.
This is not to say that this is necessarily good advice, but I think I can see where she’s coming from.
I think Sarah has a point here. Lucy is putting a lot of hope on her first relationship to be perfect and awesome, but she also chose Walky. And he’s not really hit the rock bottom of needing to grow and mature yet. And the fact that he didn’t actually ask out Lucy on his own, but just because he knew he could once given the info.
Lucy also needs to grow and mature. This is college. It’s where you do that.
Sure, she’s likely to be disappointed. It’s not going to be perfect and awesome – but no relationship will be. They’re all messy and human and people need to learn to deal with that.
Lucy didn’t ask for advice on *this* relationship. She asked for relationship advice more broadly. I’m pretty convinced “Don’t” is Sarah’s advice for all romantic relationships (or possibly all relationships of any type with any human). To be fair, she has not developed any romantic relationships with anyone that we know of, but she did make an effort with Jacob. She has failed at taking her own advice much more completely when it comes to platonic relationships, particularly when it comes to cheerful freshmen girls who want a big sister.
Amen.
Its baffling how many people share Megan’s sentiment… I blame it on most people read the strip after a long day of doing, and now not doing just sounds like this awesome idea
Pretty convenient advice. It can be good or bad, depending of how you feel about it at the moment. But is nice that Lucy has a so high opinion of Sarah ♡.
She did already weigh in on that, with the verdict that she doesn’t bang dudes shorter than her. She otherwise did seem to acknowledge he was good looking.
Actually decent advice. I’m glad I followed it.
Develop a solid sense of self and identity and learn to be okay on your own. Learn from others and practice inhabiting the qualities you admire.
There’s both good and bad sides to Sarah’s advice. While it’s true that it’s important to understand that any (good) relationship is a union of equals and that there has to be give and take between the partners, if you never get into any relationships because you’re always obsessing over making sure everything is perfect, you’ll wind up never getting any experience either, which can make things harder when you finally DO find a partner you want to be with because you have so little experience with things like how to deal with conflict resolution in a relationship, intimacy issues, and the fact that every single person will have varying needs and you need to learn what things can be lived with and which things you need to walk away from.
That hasn’t been my experience at all. You can learn just as much from non-romantic relationships about what you admire in people (like loyalty) or won’t accept (like dishonesty), as well as things like conflict resolution. Some things are definitely more prominent in sexual/romantic relationships, especially if it involves cohabitting (like the intimacy issues you mention), but being on your own can help you to learn how to identify and meet your own needs, how to self-regulate emotions, and when to ask for help.
(and I’m not talking about perfection, more about accepting yourself and your own company while also modelling the qualities/behaviours you want to improve)
100% being a grumpy pissy misanthrope, but that doesn’t mean that her advice is wrong/without purpose. Lucy seems to be very other-oriented which is totally natural for her age, but it’s not /great/ for going into relationships.
(I’m very tired right now and not sure how to word it, but having a steady sense of self that isn’t other-oriented is an important developmental step that helps with healthy relationship formation/attachment. People who are very other-oriented can start to form their identities around their attachment to the other person which can hurt all parties in the long run)
I discovered False Knees a few weeks back and i blame all of the internet for having kept me unaware of it me for so many years and now i’m gonna keep linking to it every chance I get
What I love about this is that this is always the conclusion you come to around that age, and it’s usually gone even by the next year or two. I mean, sometimes it sticks, but rarely ever. Even when it comes back.
Sarah is the exact kind of person who’d say “don’t get excited for anything because it means you’ll never get let down and if something good happens it’ll be a pleasant surprise.”
First I read that as, “don’t do first commandment here,” and I thought, ‘well, i mean, they are the author after all, and this is their godly domain.’ 🙂
Then I correctly read what you wrote and, well, my thoughts didn’t change. XD
I was gonna say “I’m aromantic and this is exactly the relationship advice I give” and leave it at that… but I might just also start headcanoning Sarah as aromantic and allosexual.
I feel for/with Sarah, and yet I recognize (per the title of the comic) it is the privilege of the young to be stupid. In many cases, finding out for themselves that yes, the stove is hot is the only way they’ll ever learn. (Some, alas, never seem to.)
Some people learn “I’m never getting on that ride again,” and some learn “that was hell of a ride and the adventure was worth the pain,” and some learn to ride the wave.
I think it’s one of those stupid “Successful people hang around successful people” quotes that doesn’t actually mean anything or enrich anyone and just sounds pithy.
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“Let me guess. Never had a boyfriend, huh?”
“Hey, me and Other Jacob go WAY back.”
Weirdly, Other Jacob got his name long before she met Jacob.
Also, congrats Ana on getting a comic named after you!
*claps angrily*
Finally, a motivational speaker for me!
Forget all those manipulative and dishonest anti drugs, sex, and whatever assemblies I had as a kid. They should have just put up a picture of Sarah glaring at the camera and the word “Don’t”. Not “Don’t” anything in particular, just “Don’t”.
The best way to get me to abstain from any activity is to appeal to my natural apathy. I need a bored Sarah to appear on my shoulder and say “Don’t”. Temptation and debauchery take too much effort, morality is downright exhausting, but doing nothing is free.
Sarah’s got nothing on a Catholic nun. It’s been fifty years since I last attended a school staffed by the Sisters of Our Lady of No Mercy, but I still see the wry, scowling face of Sister Mary Imperiorata every time I even *THINK* of doing something wild. crazy, or even borderline naughty.
Let’s see how many times people say the word “Parasocial” in the comments for this.
I mean I think she’s implying she had a crush on the characters, not the actors, which is a very different dynamic.
I could be wrong, of course. But like, try and tell me you can’t see Lucy writing self-insert/x Reader fic with Ezra from Star Wars Rebels.
Pretty sure that still falls under the purview of a parasocial relationship.
While it apparently can be used for fictional characters, I’ve almost always seen the phrase to refer to a relationship (such as it is) to a performer and their persona, rather than a character you’re clear is fictional. In part because I’ve usually seen it discussing how the internet’s blurred that line with content creators who tend to present an ‘authentic’-seeming version of themselves, I suppose. *shrug* Feels different to me if only because there’s usually not the same illusion of reciprocity.
[metal scream] PARASOCIAL
Parachute all.
Just for that, I won’t.
parasocial deez nutz
If we don’t count yourself (2 times) or direct responses to you initial comment (2 times) there’s none so far.
Yeah, I seem to have been owned.
God, Sarah’s suddenly giving me flashbacks to high school era me
Lucy, a “husbando” does not count as a boyfriend
And self-insert fanfiction does not count as a relationship.
Older and wiser? Older sure but wiser? That’s debateable.
Avatar checks out
I mean, the bar for “wiser” isn’t exactly set that high. This is a girl who seeks advice from Billie.
After this comic, you can understand why.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-9-comic/01-flyin-to-the-red/nut/
Certainly the last 1709 years of human history are more than enough to show that older does NOT mean wiser.
That’s a damn excellent face in panel 3.
Sarah just gets some of the better faces in the comic generally.
Panel 3 may be the single greatest drawing of Sarah ever.
(Apart from drawings where she’s whacking you-know-who with a baseball bat, of course.)
I can’t work out if thats a sad, depressed or something else face
That’s a “realizing I’m somehow playing big sis to another poorly socialized freshmen, how do they keep finding me” face.
“AND WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE FUCKING CHEERFUL ONES???”
“At least Dina’s not going to push me into a singalong.”
I mean, maybe she knows this one.
(We had the Dinosaurs Big Songs album as kids. My brother was obsessed with that song. We head to hear it multiple times on every car trip.)
“Oh no it’s a new flavor of Joyce, where are they all coming from and why do they keep coming to ME”
Yeah sounds about right
Maybe that’s her “I pity this fool”-face.
Well for a first boyfriend I suppose Walky is safe and he’s a low bar for the next, worthier, boyfriend that comes along later
He’s cute, not an asshole, smart/nerdish, and actually can hear what Lucy says, which means he can offer one more thing than any of her previous boyfriends.
Lucy’s moving up in the world!
Sounds more like a dog
It’s also legal for her to bone him in ways that would be illegal to do with a dog.
That’s a very good point. Don’t bone dogs.
*plays the live version of Paul Simon’s “Fifty Ways To Leave A Lover” on the hacked Muzak*
Since it’s Walky we’re talking about, this version seems appropriate:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NsHoWJgkENY
Thank you for those oh so wonderful words of wisdom, Sarah!
[ SARCASM SELF-CHECK COMPLETE ]Also, Sarah, it’s not THAT weird to have crushes on fictional characters!
Would those reading this care to share some from their childhood?
I absolutely blame the massive crush I had on Misty as a kid for why I prefer redheads to this day
Strange, it always looked orange or copper-colored to me, like Asuna Yuuki’s.
True, but I’ve nit met anyone in real life who describes their hair as orange unless they’ve dyed it. Orange has just always fallen under the catchall of “redhead” for me
One of my first ones was for Princess Bubblegum and Marceline!
Nami from Harvest Moon DS was the moment I realized I was gay.
Like many boys discovering hormones during this era, Kimberly the Pink Ranger was my first girlfriend
Kimberly was definitely important for forming Young Taffy’s future Interests, but Kendrix from Lost Galaxy was the one who solidified their Type.
Prefacing this by saying that I was like 7 when I saw the episode in a rerun, but Trini’s little cousin was my first hint that I like inanimate tf stuff. And 7-year old He Who Abides thought she was kinda cute back then.
Penny Gadget.
I was her age!
Brown Bricks
Move the glow and press the button.
Betty and/or Veronica.
Mostly Betty though.
As a kid, I had crushes on both Gidget (does anyone remember Gidget?) and Punky Brewster (the original as I am now way too old and it would be illegal/disturbing to have one on the remake).
As a tween/teenager I had a crush on Tisha Campbell, but that doesn’t count for the post as it was the actress I crushed on regardless of her role in House Party, Little Shop of Horrors, or Martin.
♫Every time I turn around
I see the girl that turns my world around♫
Thank you. I had to look up the song and it led me back to the original show as well as the cartoon.
It also let me see that the reboot Punky Brewster is a continuation of the series instead of a complete remake (that’s what I get for assuming).
Back when the original 4Kids dub ofYu-Gi-Oh! was airing on Kids WB, I formed Very Important Memories of Mai Valentine.
Huh. Téa Gardner for me.
Well, that’s just good taste. I wasn’t allowed to record the episode where she dances, for Some Reason, even though we had extra tapes.
Have a crush on a fictional character is ok. Think to be in a relationship with them… on the other hand… My first cartoon crush was on Psi fron the French cartoon “Once Upon a Time…Space”.
Reminds me of the one I had on Yoko Tsuno in my teens.
Conflating the character with the actor portraying them can get pretty yikes-y…
Hopefully you won’t have to learn your lesson about distinguishing reality and fiction the hard way….
Lest you end up like this guy.
Erm. Mine was pretty weird.
It was Spyro the dragon.
To be honest it didn’t really say much about my later interests beyond thinking that horns and dragons are both cool to this day. But yeah.
Fun fact for those reading: legends of dragons from all over the world were likely inspired by dinosaur skeletons.
No, it’s the other way around.
I have one thing to say to that….
[ ##== INITIATING HOMPK DEFENSE PROTOCOL ==## ]Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy is the main childhood fictional character crush I remember. The sad backstory may have had something to do with it.
I was in love with trunks from DBZ for years. And Shego from Kim possible as well as just about every cartoon goth girl from the 2000s-early 2010s made me realize some things about myself
When I was twelve, I joked that I was gay for Toph Beifong, and when I was thirteen, I realized it wasn’t just her.
My first non-real person crush was Karen from the Frosty the Snowman cartoon.
Semi-fictional or Disneyfied in any case, but when I was a kid my heart belonged to Annette. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CwpkZWl8tvk.
Don’t go back in time and tell my family though.
I love Sarah.
oh, HARD same
While I can’t describe how horribly I have fucked my life due to relationships without wanting to go high diving in front of a tractor-trailor, I can commend Sarah for not being coy about her advice. It’s clear and concise and complete. Unfortunately, it seems unrealistic to those who haven’t broken due to the false idea that you can find a partner who is safe to trust with your heart. Hell, I’m _me_, a dumpster fire has a better chance of findimg a healthy mate floating in front of an oncoming train, and I still have to fight my body’s inclinations towards wanting love.
Dude,
Bud,
Yeah, bud would prolly take the edge off, but y’know, asthma.
Asthma?
No worries! Edibles and tinctures are far more efficient AND better for your lungs!
But some people have a long family history of substance abuse is waving enormous red flags not to go there.
Should people with a history of substance abuse avoid coffee too?
Everyone should avoid coffee. Because it’s fucking gross.
I beg your pardon????
<3
Hang in there kettle
Signed, pot
I don’t know what kind of partners you have had but I wish them a merry consequences of their own making stabbing them in the back for hurting you so badly. And I wish you endless luck that if you are truly interested in love again one day, that someone amazing swoops into your life and proves to you that good healthy partners you can trust, in fact, really do exist.
Oh, that meme with the electronic highway sign that just says “DON’T” and is in a nested set of screenshots from several different social media platforms that all also just say “Don’t.”
“Don’t” may sound too negative, but depending on the case, I think that’s pretty solid advice.
It’s always a great advice. The problem is then you have to decide whether or not to follow it, and so you apply the advice, and you don’t follow the advice. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Scarfolk Council and Kak agree!
https://scarfolk.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-dont-campaign-and-kak-1973.html
Damn, Lucy, you shoulda told someone else about your newfound happiness so it wouldn’t get rained on.
God, Panel 3 Sarah face, amazing. Such pity.
Honestly, though, Walky isn’t bad first boyfriend material, and dating for the first time as a college freshman isn’t unheard of by any stretch. Walky isn’t the most complicated guy, nor have we seen a whole lot of evidence he’d rush her on things, so, have fun, Lucy.
I’m less worried about Walky’s suitability and more concerned about Lucy’s readiness to be in a relationship with another person that requires communication. She’s already shown a tendency to suppress her own thoughts and feelings that I find very concerning. Hopefully now that she’s gotten past the potential rejection phase she’ll find it easier to be open about her feelings, especially where she’s afraid they may not line up with Walky’s.
Lucy, do not listen to Sarah. Get involved. Live life. Take (some) chances. Yes, you may feel vulnerable; yes, you may be rejected; and yes, you may take some damage points… but take it from someone who knows, regretting the fact that you did NOT take those chances at some later point in life is even more toxic and damaging.
Take chances. Get messy. Make mistakes. Ride a large vehicle of yellow possessing supernatural abilities.
Is it necessary that the supernatural abilities possess yellow?
No, it is merely necessary to have a shade of yellow which possess supernatural abilities.
Clif’s right.
I’m not saying you can’t have a different color that also possess supernatural abilities, but your supernatural abilities’ mileage may vary.
Use a particular shade of red and you might even end up taking a walk on the wild side, getting your groove on, and making whoopee; your vehicle will still have powers, though one of them may or may not be the continuous playing of slow jams in the background.
“Please let this be a normal field trip…”
“With Frizz?!?!?! NO WAY!!!”
“Oooooooohhhh……”
“WAAAAA HA HA HOOOOOO!!!!!!!”
“Groovin’ on down Main Street, you’re relaxing/feelin’ good. Next thing that you know you see an OCTOPUS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD?!”
“Surfin on a soundwave
Swinging through the stars
Take a left at your intestine
Take the second right past Mars”
Can confirm, relationships are just a waste of time that could be better spent on your hobbies.
/mostlyjoking
Who says hobbies and all kinds of relationships were mutually exclusive?
Just ask Bonnie and Clyde.
Was Lucy REALLY about to say “uh, sorta, I did have a casual thing with Spiderman when I was 12”?
IF YOU ARE THINKING OF GETTING A BOYFRIEND…
DON’T
IF YOU ARE THINKING OF DATING THIS MANCHILD…
DON’T
Lucy, don’t mistake cynicism and pessimism for wisdom.
Also Lucy, do not mistake charlatans for caring people nor tricky people for friends.
But to clarify, don’t listen to people’s words. Rather, watch their actions and how they treat others. When they do speak words, compare them to the reality that you can observe, and if they ever try and tell you that your feelings are wrong, EJECT.
Sarah… What are you doing?
Is this really what your friend needs or wants to hear?
Walky is a dipshit but he is certainly not hurtful or mean.
She very well could do worse and get herself hurt.
Like… come on.
Friend… Lucky is more an acquaintance.
I don’t think Sarah has any realistic notion that Lucy is going to heed this advice, so she’s going to be more flippant, anyhow. She knows Lucy likes Walky and has for months.
I don’t think Sarah’s advice has to do with Walky as much as Lucy. The way she’s related to Walky for months now has not been healthy, and I can see how Sarah would think it would only get worse from here.
This is not to say that this is necessarily good advice, but I think I can see where she’s coming from.
Don’t is often good advice, tbh.
Speaking as someone who tends to default to that in a lot of situations, you can end up with a lot of missed opportunities and regrets.
See, I just don’t tell people I have a boyfriend because I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop and for things to go sideways.
“You mean, ‘don’t do anything that *you* wouldn’t do’?”
“You should’ve stopped at ‘don’t do anything’.”
“Don’t” as in “Don’t let his batteries run low on charge”?
Correct!
I love Sarah. She’s my DoA alike.
I think Sarah has a point here. Lucy is putting a lot of hope on her first relationship to be perfect and awesome, but she also chose Walky. And he’s not really hit the rock bottom of needing to grow and mature yet. And the fact that he didn’t actually ask out Lucy on his own, but just because he knew he could once given the info.
She didn’t ask him either, and she’s the one who wanted it.
Lucy also needs to grow and mature. This is college. It’s where you do that.
Sure, she’s likely to be disappointed. It’s not going to be perfect and awesome – but no relationship will be. They’re all messy and human and people need to learn to deal with that.
Decent advice.
Too bad Sarah doesn’t practice what she preaches despite her best efforts.
Sarah has not dated Walky at all.
Lucy didn’t ask for advice on *this* relationship. She asked for relationship advice more broadly. I’m pretty convinced “Don’t” is Sarah’s advice for all romantic relationships (or possibly all relationships of any type with any human). To be fair, she has not developed any romantic relationships with anyone that we know of, but she did make an effort with Jacob. She has failed at taking her own advice much more completely when it comes to platonic relationships, particularly when it comes to cheerful freshmen girls who want a big sister.
Honestly it’s not bad advice.
It’s not bad advice; it’s terrible advice. If you cautiously never make any mistakes, you never learn anything.
Amen.
Its baffling how many people share Megan’s sentiment… I blame it on most people read the strip after a long day of doing, and now not doing just sounds like this awesome idea
I couldn’t agree more, especially as one who tends towards overcaution.
I mean it’s not bad advice when you’re 19 at most.
Pretty convenient advice. It can be good or bad, depending of how you feel about it at the moment. But is nice that Lucy has a so high opinion of Sarah ♡.
Yeah, I do think that this would be Sarah’s advice. Whether it’s through bitter experience or just her attitude to the world in general, I don’t know.
Meanwhile, I’m thinking that Sarah is trying to deal with being called ‘older and wiser’!
“Sarah, you’re older and thus all-knowing. Do you worry about the notion that Walky is hot?”
She did already weigh in on that, with the verdict that she doesn’t bang dudes shorter than her. She otherwise did seem to acknowledge he was good looking.
Don’t go there?
Actually decent advice. I’m glad I followed it.
Develop a solid sense of self and identity and learn to be okay on your own. Learn from others and practice inhabiting the qualities you admire.
There’s both good and bad sides to Sarah’s advice. While it’s true that it’s important to understand that any (good) relationship is a union of equals and that there has to be give and take between the partners, if you never get into any relationships because you’re always obsessing over making sure everything is perfect, you’ll wind up never getting any experience either, which can make things harder when you finally DO find a partner you want to be with because you have so little experience with things like how to deal with conflict resolution in a relationship, intimacy issues, and the fact that every single person will have varying needs and you need to learn what things can be lived with and which things you need to walk away from.
That hasn’t been my experience at all. You can learn just as much from non-romantic relationships about what you admire in people (like loyalty) or won’t accept (like dishonesty), as well as things like conflict resolution. Some things are definitely more prominent in sexual/romantic relationships, especially if it involves cohabitting (like the intimacy issues you mention), but being on your own can help you to learn how to identify and meet your own needs, how to self-regulate emotions, and when to ask for help.
(and I’m not talking about perfection, more about accepting yourself and your own company while also modelling the qualities/behaviours you want to improve)
Sarah is my favorite character but I think her misanthropy and Lucy’s all-loving hero status could not be more divided.
Yeah it ain’t that deep
Sarah’s saying “don’t” because Sarah’s a grumpy pissy misanthrope about everything. She’s not encouraging Lucy to be more independent.
Sarah is one of the characters who could non-ironically tell Lucy to try never to be happy again.
🙂
100% being a grumpy pissy misanthrope, but that doesn’t mean that her advice is wrong/without purpose. Lucy seems to be very other-oriented which is totally natural for her age, but it’s not /great/ for going into relationships.
(I’m very tired right now and not sure how to word it, but having a steady sense of self that isn’t other-oriented is an important developmental step that helps with healthy relationship formation/attachment. People who are very other-oriented can start to form their identities around their attachment to the other person which can hurt all parties in the long run)
That’s pretty solid advice.
No. Don’t. The only way the human race continues is if we perpetuate this lie..
[##$$ AUXILIARY SARCASM SELF-CHECK COMPLETE $$##]Joyce teleports in, “Storytime! Storytime!”
I’m gonna have to disagree with a bunch of people here in that I think “don’t” isn’t good advice on relationships.
I kind of think relationships are good too.
I know.
Wild.
Does/Has Sarah blush all the time, or is that makeup, or ?
I think that’s just a highlight to show the line of her cheekbones
I discovered False Knees a few weeks back and i blame all of the internet for having kept me unaware of it me for so many years and now i’m gonna keep linking to it every chance I get
OK, here’s some raccoons
What I love about this is that this is always the conclusion you come to around that age, and it’s usually gone even by the next year or two. I mean, sometimes it sticks, but rarely ever. Even when it comes back.
Sarah is the exact kind of person who’d say “don’t get excited for anything because it means you’ll never get let down and if something good happens it’ll be a pleasant surprise.”
No, she’s say that a good thing happening is setting you up for a fail. 🙂
Older sure, wiser maybe
That is a very Sarah thing to say.
Willis, youself have said about “Don’t do first comment here” in DoA rules. What’s hapenned?
First I read that as, “don’t do first commandment here,” and I thought, ‘well, i mean, they are the author after all, and this is their godly domain.’ 🙂
Then I correctly read what you wrote and, well, my thoughts didn’t change. XD
As Willis is the god of DoA universe, he just can, you know, overflow his own rules.
Like he’d did the classic
sudo.Not at all sure a title counts as a comment, but if it does, don’t you have to include the alt text as well?
Everyone: Sarah, don’t be a killjoy!
Sarah: MUST. KILL. JOY.
Joy: AAAaaaaaaahhgh!…
I was gonna say “I’m aromantic and this is exactly the relationship advice I give” and leave it at that… but I might just also start headcanoning Sarah as aromantic and allosexual.
I think Sarah just hates people.
She can be both.
One does not simply relationship.
She’s the opposite of Nike.
Sarah…..Just Don’t It.
I feel for/with Sarah, and yet I recognize (per the title of the comic) it is the privilege of the young to be stupid. In many cases, finding out for themselves that yes, the stove is hot is the only way they’ll ever learn. (Some, alas, never seem to.)
Some people learn “I’m never getting on that ride again,” and some learn “that was hell of a ride and the adventure was worth the pain,” and some learn to ride the wave.
This excellent truism feels on-point today:
“Successful people take advice from people who have already achieved what they want to achieve.
Unsuccessful people take advice from their friends.”
Are you saying successful people don’t have friends whose advice they can respect?
Or is it just successful people don’t have friends?
I think it’s one of those stupid “Successful people hang around successful people” quotes that doesn’t actually mean anything or enrich anyone and just sounds pithy.
Sorry, was replying to Clif above me.