i really, really hope the boundaries thing becomes an issue soon. it’s really starting to bug me more and more. this kind of behavior is one of those tropes that stopped seeming ok to me after i thought about it once. now i find it super worrisome. like tsunderes.
i really miss viewing all characters as 2d ‘tom and jerry’-style throw-aways.
Joyce has been given the ‘boundaries’ talk by Dorothy and Sarah. If neither of those got through to her, it’s gonna take something catastrophic to do so. Like snooping to find out Ethan’s make-out partner, judging him for it, and then getting spurned as a result.
Possibly. But that would mean Ethan just ignored/ her question the day before (off panel).
Since both options are off panel, I think it’s more likely he told her than he didn’t. Especially since if Ethan refused to say because he was ashamed/uncomfortable to admit it, that would be likely to make Mike tell her just because he’s Mike.
I hope you’re wrong but I think you’re right it’s going to take someone getting hurt or angry with her to fix this. She tends to wilfully miss the point about boundaries or go ‘well, I know what’s best!’
I mean, her entire value structure and life path was 100% set up to make her as much like her mother as possible, as that was the only valid inspiration and role model that a Good Christian GirlTM should respect as the sum of their life’s trajectory. She never had any sisters (which she could possible be aware of, anyway) and was clearly shielded from any problems that other families had within their feminine hierarchies.
She was deliberately taught, with absolute certainty and fervor, in a system that explicitly disallows disobeying authority figures, to become her mother. The only valid way Joyce knows how to be is motherly. She was never presented any other option. And she as never presented any other valid motherly role model than her own mother, and MAYBE the Virgin Mary.
Joyce is an adult now, and it’s her responsibility to make changes to better herself, but holding her accountable for being this way is absurd. There is no other conceivable way she could be; she never had any opportunities. We absolutely should hold her accountable for making those changes, but blaming her for being like this is a bridge to far, at least in my view.
You are complete right that she is the product of her upbringing, and Joyce has shown us again and again that she is a MUCH better person than they tried to make her (her taking Becky in comes to mind).
I’m…really not a fan of this kind of idea. Everybody’s been raised to believe things, but that can’t really excuse bad behaviour in adults. Otherwise, we’d have all sorts of terrible things being excused (heck, that’s something people already use to excuse sexism, racism, etc. – ‘It was okay when I was growing up! It was okay back then!’). Joyce isn’t a child anymore. Her behaviour is solely on her now.
Except she is still a child in many ways. She’s legally an adult, but still very dependent on her parents. There’s no instant binary switch from child to adult on your birthday, however the law treats it.
Joyce’s been out from under her mother’s control for something like 2 months and she’s made incredible strides – frankly ones that would likely break our suspension of disbelief if it hadn’t been 8 years for us. Joyce is becoming an adult, but she’s really not there yet – if nothing changes in the next few of her years, then it really will be solely on her.
And it’s not so much excuse her behavior as understand it – especially for those of outside the comic who can’t do anything about it – whether that would be push her out of our lives, confront her, or try to help her grow out of it.
If this is bad, how much worse her homophobia at the start of the strip. Was that already solely on her? She was an adult then, right?
But she’s not. She’s an adult now. She’s a young adult which means she’s learning how to adult, so yes, she’s dependant on her parents, but she’s no longer a child. She’s responsible for her own behaviour and choices. I’m really not a fan of the whole ’18 is still REALLY a child’ idea either. No it’s not. 18 is recognized as an adult by most nations in the world. A young adult, yes, still a child, no.
She really is making incredible strides, yes, but that doesn’t make her not an adult responsible for her own behaviour.
Yes, her homophobia is on her, because again – she is an adult. And yes, she’s learned since then, but that doesn’t make her less responsible for things she did. That was still on her. Part of being an adult is being responsible for your own choices. Hell, CHILDREN are responsible for their choices too, although being under the guardianship of someone else puts constraints on that (because children have to answer to their guardians and they can be abusive as hell) and gives the guardian a responsibility to intervene sometimes.
I can understand explaining why Joyce is this way, but saying she’s not responsible because its how she was raised is just wrong to me. She’s still learning to adult, but she IS an adult.
So, is it an instant switch then? One day you’re a kid and can be excused because you’re just a kid and it’s all the parents’ influence and the next day you have a party and are expected to magically shake their influence, despite nothing having actually changed – you’re still dependent on the same people. Note that for example abusive parents can continue that abuse long past their kids reaching 18. As we’ve seen with other character’s here. Does Ruth need to own her shit and stop blaming Clint?
I dunno. Maybe we’re talking past each other and just mean different things with “responsibility”. In a sense everyone is responsible for their choices. In another it takes time shake those early influences and you can’t really blame anyone for not doing so instantly.
Partly it’s me looking back on myself at that age decades ago and realizing just how immature I still was.
One day you’re a kid and while you can’t be excused for your own choices since you’re still the one making them, your parents can be expected to intervene and try to set you on the right track (theoretically – Toedad and Blaine are two glaringly obvious examples of bad parents). At 18, you are expected to be responsible for your own choices. Carol and Clint can be blamed for influencing what their kids do, but Ruth and Joyce still did it. Ruth saying Clint’s abuse may have caused or worsened her depression? Reasonable. Ruth saying it’s Clint’s fault she thought it was okay to harass Billie? Unacceptable. Joyce saying Carol raised her to be a homophobic boundary stomping busybody? Reasonable. Joyce saying it’s Carol’s fault she ignores everyone else’s boundaries because she knows best? Unacceptable. It’s one thing to say where this behaviour comes form and another to say its not their fault because of it. No. Joyce is an adult making her own choices. Full stop.
It reminds me of a story about children on Venus locking their classmate in a closet. Thought I read it in 6th grade, so that might not actually be a name in it.
I had a bad experience with a neurosurgeon resident who nearly took me off my meds way too fast when I was 14, which kind of ruined it for me. Which is too bad because I really like the name.
Such is the force of her disappointment that Joyce has just retroactively middle-named Dorothy. As far as anyone knows, her middle name has always been Margot.
Sarah’s not letting Mike call the kid that, lbr. It’ll be named something sensible yet somehow the way they carry it will brim with disdain for all humanity.
Dorothy has been kind of a butt lately when it comes to relationships. I wouldn’t be surprised if she would have tried to kill their friendship even if this wasn’t happening.
Well Dorothy, good luck explaining this to Joyce. Joyce, good luck doing what needs to be done. If anyone can ignore personal boundaries and get them back together, it is you. Truly this is what you were made for.
While I want them back together (assuming Walky doesn’t hook up with Amber on the roof), Joyce has always been against them being together except for when Walky dumped Dorothy. And that was only because she felt Walky wasn’t good enough to be the one doing the dumping.
It’s far more likely she’s upset she wasn’t told as she feels entitled to important personal info like that.
Sally Elizabeth Walkerton. Did we really expect Linda and Charles to name their children anything less Americana? They also named their son David so it’s not like Sal’s the odd one out there.
Well, Charles and Linda gave their children names that were more common when they were born (not that David’s super uncommon now but Sally? It’s not even in the top 1000 anymore and it was in the 700s when she would have been born (this year anyway)). So going by that, looking at boy names in the 60s and 70s….yeah, we’re looking at things like Michael, James, Richard, Steven, Jeffrey, Jason, Thomas, etc.
I just want to point out that Ashley was still considered a popularly respectable boy’s name back in the 1960s, with a popularity that becamemore prominent in the decades following, before it’s decline in the 1990s.
Not that there’s anything wrong with Ashley as a boy’s name, but it for macho-minded Walky, it serve as an interesting sore point for him.
No. No it is not. The aliens called her that in Walkyverse. We saw a flashback where Linda was yelling at Sal where she called her ‘Sally Elizabeth Walkerton’.
Can we address how frigging creepy barging in on someone while on the toilet is? I love you, Joyce, but…. hope Dorothy calls her on this. I’d feel so invaded if even a close friend did this to me.
Her issues with boundaries are starting to get commented on. I think it’s going to be a long road and I think it might take something drastic for her to learn maybe meddling and boundary stomping are not inherently good things.
I’m guessing her issues with boundaries have something to do with her upbringing, and how she has this need to try converting people to Christianity whether they want her to or not.
She hasn’t explicitly shown this need, but I’m sure she was taught from a young age that everyone must worship Christ.
Yeah I was just thinking about how she was probably raised with the idea that getting way too up in people’s personal business is a good and moral thing
That, and I think some people from that sort of background have explained that boundaries aren’t really a thing there, on the grounds that you don’t require privacy unless you’ve got something to hide from Jesus.
That being said, I don’t think Jesus wants to watch you poop either.
Joyce, this isn’t the time; Dorothy’s only got so many minutes per day allotted to basic bodily functions, if she stops to talk to you, that’s going to cut in to her study time somewhere else down the road!
Ha! I came here to post that very question, but found you had beat me to it.
I think it’s a contingency teleportation spell that was triggered. She gets word of their break up, and *bampf*, she was gone, leaving book and bag in mid-air. Question is, will they hover there until Joyce returns?
The book and bag are not defying physics. They simply haven’t had a chance to pick up enough gravitational acceleration to move much yet. The panel is simply catching them at a single instant in time.
True. I like Dorothy, but I fear she’s going to burn out in her aspirations for political office. She’s the kind of liberal that LBJ would lay into because they’re too intellectual. As crass as he was LBJ got things done.
And just a reminder that Mike is just as horrible as he says he is.
When he blatantly disrespects his room mates privacy, there is no “pretend” about it. And apparently there is no inhibition from showing recordings of Walky in a private moment to his friends.
This is ongoing harassment. Walky really should switch rooms as quick as he can.
Assholes in fiction can be great. People can enjoy them as villains or for the trouble they stir up. Nothing wrong with that.
There is a contingent here that Emily’s reacting to, who pretend Mike is some kind of asshole sage, who has some kind of transcendent power to target people’s character flaws and help them improve themselves by being an asshole to them.
Had a floormate who HATED his roommate. But couldn’t switch rooms because whatever his doings, it never broke school rules and the guy didn’t sign the roommate switch agreement.
Sadly, that is all too probable. Mike is the sort of bully that takes refuge in audacity, and we have seen from Chloe how bad the adults around here are at helping bullying victims. Walky would have a LONG uphill climb if he tried to get away from Mike.
If anyone would deign to enlighten me, are Joyce’s extraordinary abilities of movement and detection purely for humor/horror, or are they considered canon?
This is the second time we have seen her teleport, IIRC, though the first time was more Cheshire-cat style rather than instantaneous (too lazy to search for and link to that strip).
To answer your question, AFAICT, it’s strictly for humour.
Don’t forget super strength when she gets angry, albeit she doesn’t get the supplementary power of strengthened bone structure to handle her strength XD
Mike is using a cassette recorder. Other than certain unusual music makers and sound artists(like Hal McGee, who records stuff with microcassettes) who uses cassette recorders these days? Even digital pocket recorders are getting pretty slim on the ground.
she found you dorothy because she is part blood hound and is stuck to you like glue no matter where you are dorothy she will find you even if you don’t want her too.
Yes, what is Joyce doing is wrong, and that is to enter a bathroom and stalk an atheist pooping (or doing something more personal). No, Dorothy isn’t excused of her behavior. This is going to be a verbal fight between an obsessive compulsive Christian and a workaholic atheist.
I still stand by my opinion that it’s correct to break certain boundaries in case of emergencies, like breaking to Ruth’s room if you suspect she is going to kill herself, or if you have keep Amber away from hurting people in a self righteous crusade, or just punch down Blaine. It’s always right to punch Blaine. A more subtle approach would have been that Joyce waited outside of the bathroom, but this is Joyce we are talking about.
Joyce is probably going to be angry for something stupid, like not telling her. Joyce lacks priorities. However, I do think Dorothy has done wrong. She is becoming so obsessed with work to the point of involuntarily becoming a Nurgle cultist. This isn’t about her returning with Walky, this is about her thinking work and high expectations are more important than herself and everyone else. At this rate I won’t be surprised if she sleeps with Maria Reynolds and Joyce has to sing Congratulations.
Dorothy has not put her work over other people’s well being. She does put her work over dating, which is fair. She’s allowed to prioritize her work over having a romantic relationship. It’s only been a day or two of her having her nose to the grindstone. Joyce should definitely make sure she eats and sleeps enough but other than that, there’s nothing Dorothy’s done that’s morally wrong.
Not yet… by what I have seen of Dorothy’s relationships with Danny and Walky, she seems to subconsciously avoid things that don’t allow her to reach her unrealistic goals. I can’t judge morally someone that has the same ideals as myself, but I would be worried by seeing a person in her position. It’s true that Joyce and everyone else don’t have the right to mess with Dorothy’s life, but if Doty continues this unhealthy stoic behavior she is going to end up hurting herself every time she tries to prove that everyone else is wrong.
Well, yeah, Dorothy’s career goals come first for her. If it comes down to a romantic relationship vs her career, she’ll pick the career. If it comes down to being a good person, she won’t (see her keeping her promise to buy Walky shoes or her deciding that (at the time) Amazi Girl did enough good that she didn’t want to leak it). I’d definitely worry if she was cutting herself off frequently, even after her catching up was done, but as it stands, I think she’s okay.
To be fair it’s actually not that challenging of a deduction that Dorothy would be in the Law building. Where does a hyper-type-A student who wants to be the future president of the US go to get away from prying social attention and to be surrounded by study materials?
Now, how Joyce found her in that bathroom stall on the other hand – super creepy.
Wait, Joyce, last time they broke up, you made them get back together so that Dorothy could dump Walky. Now that’s happened, and you’re mad at Dorothy now? Have you switched teams?
(Not to be confused with “batting for the other team”, which where Dorothy is concerned is obviously yes.)
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Sarah: “well MY guess would be you flushed his McNuggets”
Or broke one of his figures
Ceiling Joyce is watching you masturbate.
Ceiling Joyce is not big on boundaries.
at least if you are Dorothy.
Ceiling Joyce can see down your top.
she’s watching you fap
Or in Dotty’s case, schlick.
Thank you for adding the word “Schlick” to my vocabulary.
You say like it’s a bad thing…
Dorothy is Zone-tan? I always suspected; they both wear some kind of sweatered shirt…
Joyce.
Dotty loves tentacles?
OH MY!
i really, really hope the boundaries thing becomes an issue soon. it’s really starting to bug me more and more. this kind of behavior is one of those tropes that stopped seeming ok to me after i thought about it once. now i find it super worrisome. like tsunderes.
i really miss viewing all characters as 2d ‘tom and jerry’-style throw-aways.
[i specifically meant tsundere violence]
Joyce has been given the ‘boundaries’ talk by Dorothy and Sarah. If neither of those got through to her, it’s gonna take something catastrophic to do so. Like snooping to find out Ethan’s make-out partner, judging him for it, and then getting spurned as a result.
“This is no longer cute”
I’m pretty sure she knows it’s Mike. That Ethan told her off panel.
Hence the “Aww” for seeing him off.
Thought that was more of an ‘Aww’ as in ‘Aww, Ethan’s not coming’.
Possibly. But that would mean Ethan just ignored/ her question the day before (off panel).
Since both options are off panel, I think it’s more likely he told her than he didn’t. Especially since if Ethan refused to say because he was ashamed/uncomfortable to admit it, that would be likely to make Mike tell her just because he’s Mike.
I hope you’re wrong but I think you’re right it’s going to take someone getting hurt or angry with her to fix this. She tends to wilfully miss the point about boundaries or go ‘well, I know what’s best!’
Wonder where she picked that up, CAROL.
Yeah, CAROL, that’s such a mystery, CAROL. Joyce even uses the full name ultimatum.
She is such a mom… and she does not have an unproblematic role-model
I mean, her entire value structure and life path was 100% set up to make her as much like her mother as possible, as that was the only valid inspiration and role model that a Good Christian GirlTM should respect as the sum of their life’s trajectory. She never had any sisters (which she could possible be aware of, anyway) and was clearly shielded from any problems that other families had within their feminine hierarchies.
She was deliberately taught, with absolute certainty and fervor, in a system that explicitly disallows disobeying authority figures, to become her mother. The only valid way Joyce knows how to be is motherly. She was never presented any other option. And she as never presented any other valid motherly role model than her own mother, and MAYBE the Virgin Mary.
Joyce is an adult now, and it’s her responsibility to make changes to better herself, but holding her accountable for being this way is absurd. There is no other conceivable way she could be; she never had any opportunities. We absolutely should hold her accountable for making those changes, but blaming her for being like this is a bridge to far, at least in my view.
You are complete right that she is the product of her upbringing, and Joyce has shown us again and again that she is a MUCH better person than they tried to make her (her taking Becky in comes to mind).
I’m…really not a fan of this kind of idea. Everybody’s been raised to believe things, but that can’t really excuse bad behaviour in adults. Otherwise, we’d have all sorts of terrible things being excused (heck, that’s something people already use to excuse sexism, racism, etc. – ‘It was okay when I was growing up! It was okay back then!’). Joyce isn’t a child anymore. Her behaviour is solely on her now.
Except she is still a child in many ways. She’s legally an adult, but still very dependent on her parents. There’s no instant binary switch from child to adult on your birthday, however the law treats it.
Joyce’s been out from under her mother’s control for something like 2 months and she’s made incredible strides – frankly ones that would likely break our suspension of disbelief if it hadn’t been 8 years for us. Joyce is becoming an adult, but she’s really not there yet – if nothing changes in the next few of her years, then it really will be solely on her.
And it’s not so much excuse her behavior as understand it – especially for those of outside the comic who can’t do anything about it – whether that would be push her out of our lives, confront her, or try to help her grow out of it.
If this is bad, how much worse her homophobia at the start of the strip. Was that already solely on her? She was an adult then, right?
But she’s not. She’s an adult now. She’s a young adult which means she’s learning how to adult, so yes, she’s dependant on her parents, but she’s no longer a child. She’s responsible for her own behaviour and choices. I’m really not a fan of the whole ’18 is still REALLY a child’ idea either. No it’s not. 18 is recognized as an adult by most nations in the world. A young adult, yes, still a child, no.
She really is making incredible strides, yes, but that doesn’t make her not an adult responsible for her own behaviour.
Yes, her homophobia is on her, because again – she is an adult. And yes, she’s learned since then, but that doesn’t make her less responsible for things she did. That was still on her. Part of being an adult is being responsible for your own choices. Hell, CHILDREN are responsible for their choices too, although being under the guardianship of someone else puts constraints on that (because children have to answer to their guardians and they can be abusive as hell) and gives the guardian a responsibility to intervene sometimes.
I can understand explaining why Joyce is this way, but saying she’s not responsible because its how she was raised is just wrong to me. She’s still learning to adult, but she IS an adult.
So, is it an instant switch then? One day you’re a kid and can be excused because you’re just a kid and it’s all the parents’ influence and the next day you have a party and are expected to magically shake their influence, despite nothing having actually changed – you’re still dependent on the same people. Note that for example abusive parents can continue that abuse long past their kids reaching 18. As we’ve seen with other character’s here. Does Ruth need to own her shit and stop blaming Clint?
I dunno. Maybe we’re talking past each other and just mean different things with “responsibility”. In a sense everyone is responsible for their choices. In another it takes time shake those early influences and you can’t really blame anyone for not doing so instantly.
Partly it’s me looking back on myself at that age decades ago and realizing just how immature I still was.
One day you’re a kid and while you can’t be excused for your own choices since you’re still the one making them, your parents can be expected to intervene and try to set you on the right track (theoretically – Toedad and Blaine are two glaringly obvious examples of bad parents). At 18, you are expected to be responsible for your own choices. Carol and Clint can be blamed for influencing what their kids do, but Ruth and Joyce still did it. Ruth saying Clint’s abuse may have caused or worsened her depression? Reasonable. Ruth saying it’s Clint’s fault she thought it was okay to harass Billie? Unacceptable. Joyce saying Carol raised her to be a homophobic boundary stomping busybody? Reasonable. Joyce saying it’s Carol’s fault she ignores everyone else’s boundaries because she knows best? Unacceptable. It’s one thing to say where this behaviour comes form and another to say its not their fault because of it. No. Joyce is an adult making her own choices. Full stop.
Neither are Floor Joyce or Wall Joyce.
How many other Joyces are there? Attic Joyce? Load-bearing Wall Joyce?
Floor Joyce
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/detritus/
Joyce-t (joist).
Margot! I always thought that name was pretty 😀
It reminds me of a story about children on Venus locking their classmate in a closet. Thought I read it in 6th grade, so that might not actually be a name in it.
Nope, that’s correct.
Ray Bradbury – All Summer in a Day
Hey, look at that. Guess it really imprinted on me,
Also, didn’t know it was by Ray Bradbury. Hm.
Holy shit I’d forgotten about this.
Just the other day I was rereading it and, yeah, I still consider it one of the saddest stories I’ve ever read.
There’s also Transistor Zen’s <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/2aFLHIibWJ4MVdfa52TLLg"song, which is based on blending the concepts of the short with “You are my Sunshine”, to an alt-rock style.
There’s also Transistor Zen’s song, which is based on blending the concepts of the short with “You are my Sunshine”, to an alt-rock style.
There really needs to be a short-term post-edit function. 😛
I had a bad experience with a neurosurgeon resident who nearly took me off my meds way too fast when I was 14, which kind of ruined it for me. Which is too bad because I really like the name.
*neurologist
Don’t supposed she was middle named after Margot Kidder?
My headcanon has it as Margot Adler, Unitarian Pagan and author of Handmaid’s Tale.
That’s Atwood.
Margaret Atwood.
Author of Drawing Down the Moon
And why don’t underlines work for book titles in this forum?
Keener sounds akin to Kidder so I’d believe it. First thing that came to mind.
That’s even better.
I always thought her surname was based off the defunct toy manufacturer.
Kenner? Fairly close. Now, if there were characters named Parker and Hassenfeld, we’d have a theme going.
Uh oh, middle named!
Dorothy never even told Joyce her middle name. Joyce just knew.
She’s developing mom powers.
Such is the force of her disappointment that Joyce has just retroactively middle-named Dorothy. As far as anyone knows, her middle name has always been Margot.
Shit hits the fan when someone called out your full name.
Forget that boring drama stuff, time for the Mike and Sarah friendship to begin!
Oh Dear Lord! If those two hook up, their offspring will be the most hate-filled hell spawn ever conceived!
That baby will burn the world down with the power of its hate.
Now now, let’s not make assumptions.
I’m sure little Thanos Clinton-Warner will be an upstanding citizen.
Sarah’s not letting Mike call the kid that, lbr. It’ll be named something sensible yet somehow the way they carry it will brim with disdain for all humanity.
How about Timon?
Timothy maybe?
Then when he reveals he’s an evil bitter ball full of hate, we can all say ‘What the fuck, Timmy?’
“There are some who call me…Tim.”
That just reminds me of Tim Curry’s voice.
He’ll lead our nation!
By which I mean his nation.
All hail!
I for one welcome our evil hate baby overlord (lady? Ruler?)
He’s going to act like a hound cut loose
When he comes from the blackjack tree
He’s going to walk in proud shoes
All over Tennessee
Of course. But they’ll be like a competent Martin Punchable-face.
Where their deeds are all within the confines of the law.
The world? Their baby will burn down hell itself with its hate.
They already have a seat in hell.
It’s called the throne.
I think Sarah murdering Mike with a bat is the more likely outcome.
I agree with you. The world will end soon.
Joyce *will* find you
wait
is that her backpack suspended in mid-air
oh crap, she’s warping the laws of reality
rUN
I mean, running won’t work, but you don’t have another choice. 😛
The Vanisher.
That last panel….. soooo many possibilities. XD MWAHAHAHAHAHAHHA
That gravatar matches your comment quite nicely
Joyce needs to be kept in the loop on the relationship status of her girlfriend’s boyfriend
Dorothy has been kind of a butt lately when it comes to relationships. I wouldn’t be surprised if she would have tried to kill their friendship even if this wasn’t happening.
Joyce just wanted to see Dorothy with her pants down… Pooping… Cuz that’s her thing, I guess.
The middle name has been uttered in anger. Nothing good can come from this interaction.
Some people would pay a lot of money for what Joyce is getting for free
*the Muzak in the Law building is playing Roxette’s “Spending My Time”*
Prayer or a tracking device is how she found her. That’s what i am sticking with.
Like Joyce wouldn’t have an app tracking Dorothy’s phone.
(I really hope she doesn’t actually have an app tracking Dorothy’s phone.)
Like she would need it.
She probably just uses her Dorothy-sense
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/02-this-is-the-way-that-we-love/sense/
“Echolocation”. It’s in the alt-text.
That just raises further questions.
Humans can echo-locate to some extent (I remember reading about this blind guy a few years back who could do that), but it’s a pretty rare thing.
But you have to sing in E-flat. Thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing…
I ignored the alt-text on porpoise.
Bat’s a horrible pun
I only just realized that this ‘ear’s the beginning of a punny chain.
I’m sure you would have caught on sonar or later
A pun chain? That sounds great to me!
Pun chain always sounds good to Mike.
Even if you didn’t like the sound of it, you’d still have to face the music sooner or later.
I thought Echo’s location was in a forest glade by a river.
C’mon Dorothy, you should have hid in the Biology building. Evolution would have warded her off.
Joyce’s love for Dorothy is greater than her loathing for evolution.
Joyce would accept non religious world views if it means she can save her best friend. She would still feel a lot of emotional pain though.
Well Dorothy, good luck explaining this to Joyce. Joyce, good luck doing what needs to be done. If anyone can ignore personal boundaries and get them back together, it is you. Truly this is what you were made for.
Why would she want them back together.
I’m with timemonkey.
While I want them back together (assuming Walky doesn’t hook up with Amber on the roof), Joyce has always been against them being together except for when Walky dumped Dorothy. And that was only because she felt Walky wasn’t good enough to be the one doing the dumping.
It’s far more likely she’s upset she wasn’t told as she feels entitled to important personal info like that.
Hey now, let’s be fair, there are all sorts of reasons for why Walky would be ugly-crying in his sleep.
A college student who loses their nuggs has a lot to cry about.
Reminds me of my senior year. So much ugly-crying and not just from me.
Oh, Joyce, honey. No. No. You JUST HAD the boundary talk. Granted, it went in one ear and you got super defensive so I’m not surprised.
Wait has her middle name always been Margot
Middle names we know from DoA
– Dorothy’s is Margot
– Billie’s is Yunru
– Sal’s is Elizabeth.
And if its the same as Walkyverse, Joyce’s is Nicole.
Elizabeth?! Good lord that holds quite a contrast with Sal.
Sally Elizabeth Walkerton. Did we really expect Linda and Charles to name their children anything less Americana? They also named their son David so it’s not like Sal’s the odd one out there.
Walky’s middle name is gonna be something like Robert or Michael, isn’t it?
Well, Charles and Linda gave their children names that were more common when they were born (not that David’s super uncommon now but Sally? It’s not even in the top 1000 anymore and it was in the 700s when she would have been born (this year anyway)). So going by that, looking at boy names in the 60s and 70s….yeah, we’re looking at things like Michael, James, Richard, Steven, Jeffrey, Jason, Thomas, etc.
I just want to point out that Ashley was still considered a popularly respectable boy’s name back in the 1960s, with a popularity that becamemore prominent in the decades following, before it’s decline in the 1990s.
Not that there’s anything wrong with Ashley as a boy’s name, but it for macho-minded Walky, it serve as an interesting sore point for him.
*it could serve
VERY sore – nowadays, he’d have pokeballs thrown at him.
It’s possible, although in that case we could also be looking at names like Bailey or Lindsay.
I’ll vote for Michael or something else that starts with M.
Second choice initial letter: Y.
I’m partial to David Michael myself, but I might just have too much affection for the Babysitters Club.
Is it not Salvador? I thought it was Salvador.
No. No it is not. The aliens called her that in Walkyverse. We saw a flashback where Linda was yelling at Sal where she called her ‘Sally Elizabeth Walkerton’.
SUPER JOYCE!
Wow, she left her book and bag suspended in the air. She moved fast almost as if she had a jet pack. Hmmmm…. Even angry Joyce looks adorable. 😍
I was gonna say, for a strip with no superpowers, Joyce seems to have retained a suspicious number of them.
Joyce? Super-powers and a jetpack? That’s semme-plausible at best.
Niced!
Yeah, that’s a completely alien idea to me
I think she teleported. Malaya might know a bit about that: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-8/01-face-the-strange/helping/
I think this is my favorite strip in all of DOA so far.
Joyce, now is not the time or place to point out you’re both single!
This is the perfect place!! After all, the situation is so…. Crappy 😉 (ba-dum-ching)
Just saying; this’d be an A+ slipshine setup
Depends on your kink, though.
Wonder if now is a good time for Dorothy to start to teach Joyce about boundaries
Nothing like having someone watch you as you poop to make you a bit more angrier than normal
I think Sarah and Dorothy have already given Joyce the “Boundaries Talk”. Hasn’t exactly worked as we can see.
A lifetime with Becky as your primary social influence will not be erased by a few lectures, no matter how angry.
That and being raised by Carol
Her initials are almost MDK…
Dang, caught her with the pants down.
“I AM THE LAW!! …building!”
Can we address how frigging creepy barging in on someone while on the toilet is? I love you, Joyce, but…. hope Dorothy calls her on this. I’d feel so invaded if even a close friend did this to me.
Gravatar, not helping.
Her issues with boundaries are starting to get commented on. I think it’s going to be a long road and I think it might take something drastic for her to learn maybe meddling and boundary stomping are not inherently good things.
I’m guessing her issues with boundaries have something to do with her upbringing, and how she has this need to try converting people to Christianity whether they want her to or not.
She hasn’t explicitly shown this need, but I’m sure she was taught from a young age that everyone must worship Christ.
Yeah I was just thinking about how she was probably raised with the idea that getting way too up in people’s personal business is a good and moral thing
That, and I think some people from that sort of background have explained that boundaries aren’t really a thing there, on the grounds that you don’t require privacy unless you’ve got something to hide from Jesus.
That being said, I don’t think Jesus wants to watch you poop either.
That is one major downside of omniscience.
I was raised Catholic and spent my fair share of time as a kid wondering if Jesus even pooped, himself.
Even more evidence that Joyce can teleport here.
I prefer to think she tapped into the speed force
Has…has Joyce been peeking over bathroom stalls and shouting Dorothy’s name for…how long now?
This is the first one. Her Dorothy sense is very accurate.
In that case, one could even say her sense is…Keener?
(credit to Ana Chronistic for originally coming up with that joke)
aaaaahhh 👉👉😉
Well I suppose if your going to get the shit scared out of you Dorothy is in the right place.
Or do a pisstake.
Joyce, this isn’t the time; Dorothy’s only got so many minutes per day allotted to basic bodily functions, if she stops to talk to you, that’s going to cut in to her study time somewhere else down the road!
I am equally surprised yet not surprised on both accounts, that Walky would sleep cry over the breakup and that Mike would record it.
On a handheld tape recorder, no less. I would have thought he’d use a smartphone instead.
Mike is savvy enough to use obsolete technologies to reduce the likelihood of hacking or people realising what he’s doing.
As opposed to Billie, who just doesn’t realise that her phone has a recorder.
Unless Mike swiped hers.
Uh, oh. Barging in on her pooping and using all of her names.
I wonder if Joyce will chew her out for leaving Walky or not telling her.
That is breaking the law to vandalize the law building.
Huh.
Mike is oddly helpful.
… What’s the catch.
It’s started a real nasty argument between Joyce and Dorothy that could ruin their friendship for good. For Mike, that’s ‘mission accomplished’.
Huh! That IS a good catch.
Are we just going to ignore the physics defying book and bag. I think that’s more important than Dorothy’s middle name.
Ha! I came here to post that very question, but found you had beat me to it.
I think it’s a contingency teleportation spell that was triggered. She gets word of their break up, and *bampf*, she was gone, leaving book and bag in mid-air. Question is, will they hover there until Joyce returns?
The book and bag are not defying physics. They simply haven’t had a chance to pick up enough gravitational acceleration to move much yet. The panel is simply catching them at a single instant in time.
The sonic boom happens offscreen between panels.
Not to a name nerd. 😛
Seriously, my first reaction to this strip was ‘Oooh, yay, new middle name!’
Wait, you guys didn’t know that Joyce was secretly a Looney Tune?
Joyce do you remember what Sarah said about boundaries
And as embarrassing as this is Dorothy keep in mind LBJ conducted presidential matters on the can too.
I’m not sure if Joyce knows what ‘boundaries’ are. Additionally, I suspect that Dorothy was hiding from Joyce and only doing that in the restrooms!
She’s got the lid up and her pants down, so I think she’s just using the toilet.
LBJ did invite press corps to do that. It wasn’t like Joyce’s self-invite.
True. I like Dorothy, but I fear she’s going to burn out in her aspirations for political office. She’s the kind of liberal that LBJ would lay into because they’re too intellectual. As crass as he was LBJ got things done.
You cannot escape from Joyce, she can smell the foul stench of your oath breaking!
JOYCE. I DON’T CARE THAT IS A SACRED BOUNDARY YOU DON’T CROSS THAT.
You wait till she’s done. Like NORMAL fucked up people
In an absolute emergency, you can yell through the bathroom door, but otherwise agreed, you do NOT poke your head in. >.<
Beware, Dorothy! Joyce has a psychic talent for finding sinners! Or at least those who threaten her all-important ships!
Hard to choose between panel 4 and panel 5. Suspended backpack v. that astonished Dorothy face.
mom mode activated
And just a reminder that Mike is just as horrible as he says he is.
When he blatantly disrespects his room mates privacy, there is no “pretend” about it. And apparently there is no inhibition from showing recordings of Walky in a private moment to his friends.
This is ongoing harassment. Walky really should switch rooms as quick as he can.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/snice/
No but he just “tells it like it is” or whatever stupid fucking excuse people are using to justify white dudes being assholes today.
Dude it’s a comic
Assholes in fiction can be enjoyable. People are allowed to enjoy them
Sure, but that’s usually not the reasons people give. A lot of the time people try to argue Mike has some sort of ulterior ‘tough love’ motive.
I like Mike as an asshole character. As a (in-universe) person? Nah, he’s pretty shitty.
Assholes in fiction can be great. People can enjoy them as villains or for the trouble they stir up. Nothing wrong with that.
There is a contingent here that Emily’s reacting to, who pretend Mike is some kind of asshole sage, who has some kind of transcendent power to target people’s character flaws and help them improve themselves by being an asshole to them.
cause its a fucking comic calm the fuck down
Had a floormate who HATED his roommate. But couldn’t switch rooms because whatever his doings, it never broke school rules and the guy didn’t sign the roommate switch agreement.
Sadly, that is all too probable. Mike is the sort of bully that takes refuge in audacity, and we have seen from Chloe how bad the adults around here are at helping bullying victims. Walky would have a LONG uphill climb if he tried to get away from Mike.
But still he needs to get away from him.
If anyone would deign to enlighten me, are Joyce’s extraordinary abilities of movement and detection purely for humor/horror, or are they considered canon?
This is the second time we have seen her teleport, IIRC, though the first time was more Cheshire-cat style rather than instantaneous (too lazy to search for and link to that strip).
To answer your question, AFAICT, it’s strictly for humour.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-8/01-face-the-strange/helping/
Don’t forget super strength when she gets angry, albeit she doesn’t get the supplementary power of strengthened bone structure to handle her strength XD
Rule of Funny and Rule of Drama are still in effect, more realistic universe be damned.
Mike is using a cassette recorder. Other than certain unusual music makers and sound artists(like Hal McGee, who records stuff with microcassettes) who uses cassette recorders these days? Even digital pocket recorders are getting pretty slim on the ground.
He borrowed your mom’s. For a nickle.
Billie: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/02-choosing-my-religion/recorder/
she found you dorothy because she is part blood hound and is stuck to you like glue no matter where you are dorothy she will find you even if you don’t want her too.
She’s moving pretty well on that bad toe….
<3 <3 <3
Yes, what is Joyce doing is wrong, and that is to enter a bathroom and stalk an atheist pooping (or doing something more personal). No, Dorothy isn’t excused of her behavior. This is going to be a verbal fight between an obsessive compulsive Christian and a workaholic atheist.
I still stand by my opinion that it’s correct to break certain boundaries in case of emergencies, like breaking to Ruth’s room if you suspect she is going to kill herself, or if you have keep Amber away from hurting people in a self righteous crusade, or just punch down Blaine. It’s always right to punch Blaine. A more subtle approach would have been that Joyce waited outside of the bathroom, but this is Joyce we are talking about.
What exactly has Dorothy done wrong? All she’s done is break up with Walky and not immediately rush to tell Joyce.
This isn’t an emergency. Joyce has no excuse for boundary breaking.
General question: Why did Mike say Dorothy was the dump-er?
Just a Mike jerk point?
Joyce is probably going to be angry for something stupid, like not telling her. Joyce lacks priorities. However, I do think Dorothy has done wrong. She is becoming so obsessed with work to the point of involuntarily becoming a Nurgle cultist. This isn’t about her returning with Walky, this is about her thinking work and high expectations are more important than herself and everyone else. At this rate I won’t be surprised if she sleeps with Maria Reynolds and Joyce has to sing Congratulations.
Dorothy has not put her work over other people’s well being. She does put her work over dating, which is fair. She’s allowed to prioritize her work over having a romantic relationship. It’s only been a day or two of her having her nose to the grindstone. Joyce should definitely make sure she eats and sleeps enough but other than that, there’s nothing Dorothy’s done that’s morally wrong.
Not yet… by what I have seen of Dorothy’s relationships with Danny and Walky, she seems to subconsciously avoid things that don’t allow her to reach her unrealistic goals. I can’t judge morally someone that has the same ideals as myself, but I would be worried by seeing a person in her position. It’s true that Joyce and everyone else don’t have the right to mess with Dorothy’s life, but if Doty continues this unhealthy stoic behavior she is going to end up hurting herself every time she tries to prove that everyone else is wrong.
Well, yeah, Dorothy’s career goals come first for her. If it comes down to a romantic relationship vs her career, she’ll pick the career. If it comes down to being a good person, she won’t (see her keeping her promise to buy Walky shoes or her deciding that (at the time) Amazi Girl did enough good that she didn’t want to leak it). I’d definitely worry if she was cutting herself off frequently, even after her catching up was done, but as it stands, I think she’s okay.
Damn undergrads, always studying in the law school…
Law students need that space, dammit!
Obviously, Joyce bugged her so she can bug her whenever she bugs out.
A+
To be fair it’s actually not that challenging of a deduction that Dorothy would be in the Law building. Where does a hyper-type-A student who wants to be the future president of the US go to get away from prying social attention and to be surrounded by study materials?
Now, how Joyce found her in that bathroom stall on the other hand – super creepy.
She’s got a law class, as we saw in Patreon. She’s probably here for that.
Ahh I an not enlightened to the Patreon. Thanks for the insider info!
Wait, Joyce, last time they broke up, you made them get back together so that Dorothy could dump Walky. Now that’s happened, and you’re mad at Dorothy now? Have you switched teams?
(Not to be confused with “batting for the other team”, which where Dorothy is concerned is obviously yes.)
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/jeff-goldblum-is-watching-you-poop
Seems appropriate for some reason
To me the big event here was that Joyce crossed the campus and went into a strange building without a companion.