Advocating for the devil and all: Ross might know that throwing in with someone willing to spring you from jail for the crime of firing a weapon on a college campus might not be the most moral choice, once you sit back and think.
He is LETTING ONE OF THE PRISONERS GO to ‘Bring me Becky.”. Amber, whether or not she is Amazi-girl, can just GO TO THE POLICE!
On the other hand, I think Ross knows that Amber knows who Blaine is. And she therefore knows that Blaine is not bluffing about his threat. There’s a good chance that if Amber goes to the police, none of the others will ever be seen alive again. :/
What has been written will already have come to pass. However hopeless it may be, please Amber, don’t fall to trope. Just go get the cops. Furthermore don’t let them fall to trope and ignore her, please have them actually respond. Please don’t let this drama continue only because characters are too stupid to do what actually makes sense.
Khyrin, you have the best advice for Amber, but I don’t think for a second Ross is behaving in a redeemable manner. He has the upper hand and he is using it to compel people under threat of mortal harm.
It is true that either way Amber being let go would work out for the best, regardless of Ross’s intentions in doing so. I think Ross’s faith in Blaine has been shaken, but not his faith in himself. Which is a shame, but hey. Gift horse dentistry isn’t necessary here.
We all knew he didn’t have any kind of developmental disability. Just an entitled, childish social parasite who uses his faith to simply validate expecting his own way all the time and to harbor a faultless self-image.
May have even known what he was doing when he inspired Lost Puppy Syndrome in Becky’s Mother or how the hell ever they got together.
Obedience isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, my parents enforced rules, but did not create them, they were not telling me what to do, just making sure I did what we agreed upon.
And oh, how I hope it DOES drop kick him. In one of several possible forms.
(Realistically, GOD I want the police in there, but since all the kids left now are also spares with the POSSIBLE exception of Joyce to Toedad, I will settle for avenging angels.)
Yes absolutely the DoA authorities are absent. We ask not because I think we really expect different, but because it is a rather overdrawn trope already. Given the generally approachable human drama Willis reliably provides within the absurd construct of the DoA universe, I believe he has the skill and am hoping he has the will to give us a better than cliché story.
Because by ‘spares’ I mean ‘completely expendable.’ Blaine has no reason to keep any of them alive because he doesn’t give a shit, and Ross has long since demonstrated he has no compunctions about killing – or dying in a police shootout – in the name of Saving Becky’s Soul. (‘I will die for you, Becky’ very much worries me.)
The ONLY value the hostages have right now to Blaine and Ross (with, again, the possible exception of Joyce) is to keep AG in line. The only things they want are Becky (Ross), vengeance on AG, and a way out of financially supporting Amber (Blaine). We’re already wondering how the fuck Blaine thinks he can get away with taking six hostages and working with Ross and considering ‘he’s already actively plotting murder’ as a solution.
Which means there’s a decent chance Amber doesn’t go to the police because she’s coming to the same conclusion I have – the MOMENT they see authorities, it’s very possible one or both of their captors decide to start cutting their losses/provoking the police to go out in a blaze.
The hostages won’t suddenly acquire a value when the bad dads get what they want. You have identified a problem, but avoiding the police is not a solution to it.
Despite knowing of 1 Corinthians throughout my life, largely because of the verses read at weddings, my reaction on reading this comment was, “There’s a second Corinthians???”
In my mind it was just one of those church things I wasn’t meant to understand, I guess.
Not John. 1 John. Not 3:16. 4:16. I just like how much of an intellectual middle finger the notation itself is. And also I like 1 John 4:16-18 for the message, too.
There’s a Pinky and the Brain episode where they’re pets of Samson, and the scriptwriters worked in the phrase “jawbone of an ass” like 15 times because they could get away with it.
I particularly like Matthew 6:5-6. And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Not really limited to him, though. Both Zac Efron and Daniel Radcliffe pushed as hard as possible out of their most well-known roles and their characters were decently liked.
When Daniel Radcliffe took on a role in Equus, a play known for involving a scene of male nudity, there were a lot of stupid jokes about “Harry Potter showing his wand”.
I was really impressed that he took the part he did in Band of Brothers. He can’t have needed the cheque, and you don’t play a contemptible loser like Sobel to puff your ego.
Yeah, but Sobel isn’t a heavy. He’s a petty tyrant, but weak, and he goes to pieces on field exercises. And Schwimmer did a really good job of portraying him.
It varies. You can give the bank instructions about who or what combination of account-holders are allowed to control the funds.
I have a joint account with my sister that we use as a sinking fund for certain expenses. Either of us can withdraw or transfer funds. We can do it over the Internet.
I think this just moved up my ‘shit hits the fan at Thanksgiving’ prediction to ‘Joyce and Jocelyne tell Thanksgiving to go fuck itself because there’s no universe where Joyce DOESN’T rage against everything for this IMMEDIATELY and Jocelyne’s definitely going to accelerate her own timeline of probable/possible disownment after this one.’ (Unless she doubles down on the closet, also a possibility.)
I think if her little sister was taking both barrels from the folks she’d step up to the plate. She did with the eldest, there, and that wasn’t nearly “your belief system got me kidnapped” level of crazy.
Yeah, my only doubt is if she thinks Carol will react to the coming out in the specific flavor of badness Ross has, but I think she’s more likely to burn bridges if she did already for Jordan.
Ross may have lost interest in furthering Blaine’s part of the plan, in which case all the worse for Blaine if he brings push to shove. Blaine is in no shape to endure the amount of pushback Ross is able to give.
Blaine wants Amber traumatised and Amazi-Girl hurt (maimed or killed, I think). Ross may be at the point of pursuing his own agenda and letting Blaine’s goals fail.
Even if Joyce convinces Ross that Blaine is no instrument of God, Blaine is still going to want Becky.
They did discuss their goals. They both would want their daughters back. This is really stretching the terms of their pact. “yeah I let your daughter go to fetch mine. That was your plan, right?”
Honestly I really look forward to the fallout in the Brown home. I really want to see the adults duke it out over this, especially after the mom supported Toedad being released. This arc is full of tension and kidnapping and all that exciting stuff, but for me, the breakdown of Joyce’s family is what I most look forward to seeing. Interpersonal drama!
Yeah, the fallout of this is going to be… explosive.
Especially once the siblings find out. I don’t really want poor Jocelyne to hear the answer to the ‘is Mom a good person?’ question this way, but there’s no way she takes that news all that well either. Hell, this might be a step too far even for John. (I wouldn’t bet on it, but it’s possible because ‘half a dozen kidnapped kids, most of them complete bystanders’ is kind of undeniably in the wrong in a way he can’t just brush off – not that you can brush off the threatened mass shooting, either, but since Joyce wasn’t ACTUALLY kidnapped or shot I could see him downplaying it.)
Hank’s definitely gonna be pissed, and I strongly suspect he’s gonna be divorce-pissed, but the kids? THAT has some serious potential for surprise angst, too.
I think John will stand on the side of righteousness as a True Christian, and as a result with say and do despicable things.
He’s already a manipulative grifter, this will be just an opportunity to maneuver his way higher on the ladder of True Christian power.
When this is all over, John might be Carol’s only child speaking to her (to chasten and teach her of course). We know Jordan is already “too Jordan,” and after this, Jocelyn will *know* her mother is not a good person. I think it’ll be hardest on Joyce. Jordan and Jocelyn have known for some time that their mother is toxic. Joyce’s whole perception of her mother is being torn down in a matter of weeks.
The good news is, I think Joyce will come out of this with another sister and a brother that she’s been kept away from.
On the other hand, maybe Carol will surprise us and realize she done goofed and how effed up they were. But I ain’t holding my breath.
Willis has said this story is autobigraphical, and considering what he posted about his mother… Carol is going to be abandoned by most of her children. She has been a horrible mother.
Maybe Jocelyn no longer has reasons to hide her true self, and maybe Hank will be more open minded.
It’s perfectly reasonable for Linda to visit. I mean, this is her baby boy who was just kidnapped and her good-as-a-daughter Billie’s had some serious health scares lately. It’s totally understandable she’d want to check on them and in fact, it would be both callous and irresponsible not to hear from her and –
My eye’s doing the angry twitchy thing already isn’t it?
I had to look up Ephesians for this. For my filthy godless self it’s a relatively obscure book. I know a Job, a Daniel, a Habakkuk, but Ephesians was new. So despite toedad’s nastiness I learned something.
Once upon a time one of my father’s partners retired from medical practice, and his patients distributed themselves around for continued medical car. So a patient came to my father for an initial consultation and said “Dr. Frith told me to tell you that I only have two neurons, and they don’t synapse properly.”
Dina exists in a quantum state of presence and absence. Since we have not attempted to measure the room’s quantity of Dina, she is simultaneously there and not there.
But she more-or-less dismissed it. “It’s fine. It’s probably fine. They probably all went to McAwesome’s.”
Unless she was saying that to try to convince herself that everything was fine.
That’s entirely reasonable, actually. Remember, RA’s aren’t your parents and aren’t responsible for your safety and well being. They’re basically just there to be a friendly peer you can talk to and also to keep things under control, resolve disputes, etc.
You feel like you wanna go on a midnight food run? You’re a college student. You’re an adult. You can do what you want. Worst that might happen is the RA gets annoyed with you because you locked yourself out because you forgot your keys.
At least, that’s how it was everywhere I went. I understand some private colleges treat the students like children.
Ruth’s job was to make sure they were out of the building. She knows they did, so it’s not her problem if they wandered off.
I thought her comment meant they probably went to McAwesome’s as opposed to going back in the building. Which would be her problem.0
The only thing I don’t find believable about any of this is the fact the media isn’t all over the Ross case. This would be national news and something that would bring attention down on the Church of Self-Righteous Homophobes.
No sign of that so far, scandal wise. Let alone reporters interviewing folk.
He’s been free for 2, maybe 3 days tops … Time runs fast in this comic when it needs too. And it must have made some report somewhere since Becky is being guarded (and that was the day after he was released).
There is a whole lot of time not making sense in this arc, but little about this arc is real-life believable so I’m just going with it.
I wish I would agree with you, but churches’ being hateful homophobes does not make the news, much less national news. Churches like theirs are dime a dozen, and dreadful Christians get away with all kinds of crap because they’re Christian.
If the story caught media’s attention it would be because he was chased down by a caped superhero on a skateboard who disappeared on a motorcycle.
Ross himself is nothing new, and if his making bail was noticed, the fact that he was sprung by his church wouldn’t be known.
The only reason I can see Amber justifying not going to the police (as seems narratively inevitable, alas) is that she’s got reason to worry about bringing a SWAT team to a hostage situation involving a man who’s already threatened a mass shooting and considers his life immaterial (Toedad) and very possibly the goddamn mob. Also if she believes Blaine about the ‘acquaintances’ re: Mike.
SWAT are supposed to exist for resolving hostage situations. They are supposed to be the experts. It’s very sad if they are plausibly the last people you’d want dealing with one.
Another reason that I can see Ambi-Girl trying to take this on herself is if Ross or the hires are smart enough to keep her in ignorance of the whereabouts of this basement. If she can’t tell the cops where to go to effect a rescue she might not tell them enough that they will know to guard Becky.
They’re well-trained, better-than-average cops. But they’re still cops. They’re not superheroes. They can’t turn themselves invisible or move faster than the speed of sound to infiltrate Blaine’s stronghold, and they can’t produce force-fields to protect hostages. So sometimes shit goes bad, despite all their special weapons and tactics. Especially if they’re dealing with a nutbar like Blaine who is blinded by hate and, if he is going to go down himself, is fully capable of taking someone or another with him.
Amber may not be responsible for not bringing the police for the simple fact that she’s already exhausted herself trying to keep Amazi-Girl from surfacing. Add in this emotional stress and she may switch before she can do anything useful.
I love it when people who were raised under authoritarian Christianity can turn the bible back on those who oppressed them. Not that they listen, of course.
Crack Theory: Ross secretly pulled a heel face turn in the last couple comics, but he can’t actually say that due to the fact that Blaine and his goons would kill him and probably everyone else if they heard. That’s why he says Ephesians 5:11 (Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.) as a secret message to Amber.
Ross’s back-turn here is oh so powerful after two strips in which he has barely blinked. He’s done arguing with Joyce, and he’s getting on with what he came for.
Unbinding Amber for her mission as Amazi-Girl has multiple risks for our criminal hosts, and I wish them ill.
And there it is, isn’t it. Joyce wasn’t the most ready for secular college and pride of the homeschool group because she was best-socialized, it was because she was the obedient one. The obedient one who never questioned. The obedient one who they thought exposure wouldn’t shake. The obedient one who was a huge ball of neuroses under it all, and felt fear rather than faith, but that doesn’t matter. Because that was piety to this sect.
God, when Joyce gets free that’s gonna be SATISFYING.
The primary tenet of my religion is make things that help people. But then I follow a Greek God cast down from Olympus for being an ugly cripple, who later pitched a temper tantrum when he couldn’t have the wife he wanted so he turned off all their toys. But he made many useful things, and never cheated on his wife even though she bore many children he didn’t sire…
Amber should do a civilian thing instead of playing along. Call the cops, implicate her dad and Ross, then tell the press that a new plot to kidnap the head of a congressional campaign A SECOND TIME is underway and has branched out to mass kidnappings and threats of murder. See how well these goons handle all that attention.
There are definitely other people. Blaine and Ross didn’t kidnap five people nearly instantly the moment they were isolated from a group in the timespan between one page. They could barely corner one smartass on a scooter!
I think the bad dads needed extra hands to carry out their kidnappings, and I think that Blaine would have played a bluff himself rather than relying of Ross to get it right.
I bet they were hired goons, and maybe they’re ‘laborers’ from Blaine’s ‘construction’ company as a cover story. I don’t think the folks from Joyce’s church could get brought up to speed to pull this off successfully in just a couple days. Besides, Blaine would want to surround himself with trustworthy, reliable goons he’s used before.
That last panel has me confused on whether Ross is leaning into a face turn as even an idiot knows releasing a hostage of any kind could backfire. Or if he has opted to ignore Joyce when she seems possibly right and is just doing it because the plan requires AG to be free to act, and he’s not a particular fan of Blaine’s ‘kill all the children if she doesn’t come’ idea.
He is in a complex position and we have until June when the storyline ends so there is enough room for an allegience change to occur if it will or for him to turn back if this is supposed to be one now.
Yeah I don’t get that sudden change in attitude. The only slightly redeeming trait Ross hasbis that he seems slightly hesitant to kill people to get his daughter. Thing is that last time he was around he brought a gun to school and tried to kill people to get his daughter! So I’m not really buying his sad looks. He has to release Amber here simply because they have no other option for getting Becky back even with the risk.
But wasn’t that essentially the plan all along – if not actually releasing a hostage, at least letting them contact Amazi-Girl, which has most of the same risks.
The plan is for Amazi-Girl to get Becky for them. If Amber is AG, the plan requires she be released.
I think Blaine is more willing to inflict pain and suffering upon others than Ross is. Remember, he was satisfied with just scaring Mike, Blaine went further.
If Blaine starts to consider using torture for leverage, I could see Ross object to that.
I’m sorry that you had to go through that and I hope you find the strength you want. It is okay to not be strong when going through a terrifying experience and to find it hard to deal with the aftereffects though so I hope you’re not too hard on yourself.
thank you!! it was a long time ago (sept 2013) and i’m incredibly different now. this arc has actually been, in a sense, kind of relieving. seeing fictional characters i love going through similar struggles makes me feel less alone without anyone real getting hurt. and i’m glad there are people who reach out <3
Joyce may no longer be a believer, but she has learned what it means to act in good faith, to care for others, to not follow idols, to reject lies, and to see the negative consequences of unfaithfulness. She is becoming a good christian even without not being christian.
Ross, Carol and their church are breaking their commandments, not helping those in need and only being overzealous of superficial shit like virginity until marriage and forced heterosexuality.
I have known religious people all my life, and even if I disagree with their believes, I have seen them do good for others and do things in good faith.
These people are monsters. They are obsessed with obedience and reject free will, a gift that god gave them. If they reject a gift from their god, then they deserve to be punished.
By definition, a ‘Christian’ is a person who follows the teaching of Christ, just as a Buddhist follows the teachings of Buddha. You can be a ‘christian’ and never set foot into a church. It’s only when you start putting all the ‘brand names’ (Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, etc.) onto Christianity, then choose one and believe only THEIR interpretation of Christ’s teachings that you are going to run into problems like we’re seeing here.
As I told someone once, “There’s more than one way to get from Los Angeles to New York, and no one specific method or route is automatically any better or any worse than the others. In the same way, there’s more than one route to get to heaven, and my route is not automatically any better or any worse than yours. And the sooner we learn to realize and accept this the better off the entire fuggin’ world is going to be.”
Evangelical churches like Joyce’s don’t necessarily have a “brand name”; they’re frequently non-denominational. Jacob’s Episcopalian church, on the other hand, seems to be reasonably kind to people. No distant authority forced Carol & Company to be this way.
“Non-denominational” is essentially their brand name. Whatever their claims, non denominational churches are a clear subset of evangelical Protestantism, generally drawing from a handful of formal denominations.
Most Christian churches that don’t have a “brand name” are essentially Southern Baptist. They’ve figured out that “Baptist” has been irreparably linked to hateful bigotry, so they don’t use it. But dig deep enough in to their teachings and they’re SBC.
I’m a little surprised that Blaine made the classic supervillain mistake of not personally supervising the heroes’ interrogation but entrusting it to an underling. Who then gets betrayed/tricked/seduced or overpowered.
Mind you, Baine is obviously dealing with extreme pain; so slipping up like this is understandable. And technically, none of the above is happening here since Ross is just putting his own agenda ahead of Blaine’s. Sooo i’m guessing Blaine didn’t credit Ross with the personal initiative to deviate from his plan? At least the “supervillain has untrustworthy allies ready to stab him in the back” box is ticked.
Needless to say, the “release Amber to get Becky” plan is just.stupid. The first thing Amber should do when she gets out is call the damn cops. I’m betting AG will show up and overpower Ross then free her friends instead though…
Given that Blaine’s plan was to threaten the kids into contacting Amazi-Girl to kidnap Becky, seems to me it was only his blindness to Amber’s admission that she was AG that kept him from doing it himself. Ross isn’t being tricked, he’s carrying out the plan.
I don’t think it’s too surprising because while Blaine certainly has a level of cunning he’s never been particularly smart. He’s always been too blinded by his ego.
Christianity at the very least, yes. Other religions are different, so I feel it is a bit of a leap to say that is what all of them are like and what all of them teach. Judaism to my knowledge expects you to debate and argue and decide for yourself whether conclusions are right and wrong, not just follow someone else’s word or conclusions.
I think that idea propagates because most Jews you meet around the world are quite moderate. If you get into the more orthodox communities, the answer you will get when you debate is “because God wants it this way”. I have met far fewer moderate Christians that do feel connected to their belief.
So Joyce has become Ross’ enemy because she’s telling him the truth? Well, Ross, as soon as Amber knows what this place is, this whole vengeance will be doo-doo.
Because she’s not telling bim what he wants to hear, more like. Ross has already decided what the truth is, and has to distort the reality around him to meet it.
It’s pretty obvious that Ross is really really bad at long term planning, but I was wondering what his long-term plan is. He’s the accomplice to multiple felonies — does her really think that he’ll be able to get away with Becky to whatever indoctrination camp he has in mind?
But then I had a chilling thought: He’s willing to trust in God to help him accomplish his goals, but if all else fails, he is self-righteously willing to commit murder-suicide, presumably with the idea in mind that he’s making a sacrifice for the sake of Becky’s soul rather than killing from any selfish (to his mind) motive.
Nah, that was… very much the implication, last time around. ‘I will die for you, Becky’ became one of Joyce’s PTSD triggers afterwards for a reason. (We see it in her first post-gun talk with her mom and the church when they visit home.)
Romans 12:2 – “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
So Panel 4. Nice little Biblical back and forth there
Ross has never really had his faith tested before. SEriously, he hasn’t=this is obvious. His reactions, his ASSUMPTIONS have never truly been put to the test. I think it’s pretty obvious he has lived in his little community of like-minded worshippers, insulated from anything that would push him to critical thinking, protected by a crowd that agrees with him in the herd mentality, indoctrinated to repeat dogma without thought.
By contrast, Joyce has had to actually consider her faith, her beliefs, and confront hypocrisy within what she was indoctrinated to believe vs. the actual MESSAGE of her faith.
the contrast then, is that Joyce actually ‘walks the walk’ instead of just talking. But then, she’s actually had her faith tested before, has had to reconcile other views and take account of facts without the comforting echo-chamber of a herd to keep her from thinking critically.
hate to point this out-but there are quite a few people HERE who could do with having their comfortable world views challenged.
“amber, im letting you go because you are amazigirl.”
“don’t go to the cops and bring in a swat team to overpower us and save your friends. seriously, don’t do that, cuz that would be toetally not cool. seriously. dont get like 500 cops and 5 swat teams to wreck us. srsly, dont do it. srsly. just go get me my daughter. srsly. srsly.”
mike was trying to stop them, so he was probably able to justify that with “he’s standing in the way of the lords work”
these are a bunch of kids tied up in the back of a store, or in a basement.
also, im pretty sure swat teams have the tech and weaponry they would need to kill both these idiots before they even got the idea that something is wrong.
im pretty sure if amber told the cops “he has my friends hostage, and might kill them if the cops show up” the cops/swat would come up with a better idea than “park the cars outside and start shouting at them to give up”
hell, they’d probably bombard the place with teargas and shit like that. the kids may not be feeling well after that, but that’s better than being dead.
also, the asshole literally did the one thing supervillains always do that gets them in trouble. he put all his cards on the table, told them his entire plan, and now toedad is letting one of them go. she runs to the cops, tells them LITERALLY EVERYTHING! and blaine is Fucked.
“my friend mike is in the hospital, and my father says he will have him killed if i go to the cops” the first thing that happens is that hospital administration is informed, and every cop/guard on the scene rushes to his room, tackling anybody suspicious
then the rest of the police force and a few swat teams rush to where her friends are and take out these 2 idiots.
they won’t get a chance to kill hostages.
also, they know that if they kill one of the hostages, every cop/swat in the area will fucking rush them and probably shoot both of them down.
Blaine’s plan was to release A-G to get Becky. Ross is just implementing the plan after Blaine failed to.
Oddly, religious people rarely have their minds changed by a religiously based argument. There is always a different citation because both scriptures are a series of fan fiction. They are not consistent with each other. You can go two ways with that. You can do almost as you like knowing there is always a quotation to support you. Or you can look at the life of Jesus and try to follow that model. Almost everyone does the first.
But first you have to figure out what the life of Jesus really was like, since that also varies between Gospels and each Gospel writer has his own take on what actually happened and on what emphasis to give it and what it meant. As does Paul and the other early sources.
So if Amazi-Girl asserts herself after Amber’s released, will she know what’s going on here? Will she help Ruth investigate the disappearances of the rest of the hostages, until she gets a blue flash like Amber did earlier?
I just want to appreciate the symbolic staging here; the light hitting Joyce’s face after being in shadow, as she makes her argument, with Ross carefully positioned so that his back is constantly to her.
It’s honestly a real shame that Paul had so many of the best lines in the New Testament, misogynistic hermit that he was. But, do as they say, not as they do, I guess.
I hope all this leads to Amber assembling a team of roller derby girls plus Carla & Ruth that will beat Blaine & co. with a combination of wheels, femurs, high-tech and holograms of Mike.
Okay, prediction: Asher will have a role in stopping whichever hired goon is assigned to kill Mike in the hospital. We don’t know if Blaine’s thugs are Korean-mob related, but there’s a fair chance they are, in which case Asher is the best bet for any cast member to be able to identify the goon. This would also give him a potential redemption arc, especially if his role in Blaine’s scheme is revealed.
Or I could be completely wrong (Willis is nothing if not unpredictable), but I’m throwing this out there as a possibility.
In one way, I’m glad Joyce got the chance to say this to Ross. He will soon fuck up and be shipped back to jail, and Joyce will be left to confront her mom. But at least she got to tell the man who kidnapped her in the name of Jesus exactly what a bad Christian he is.
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Aw, Ross believes in her, what a dear. /s
Advocating for the devil and all: Ross might know that throwing in with someone willing to spring you from jail for the crime of firing a weapon on a college campus might not be the most moral choice, once you sit back and think.
He is LETTING ONE OF THE PRISONERS GO to ‘Bring me Becky.”. Amber, whether or not she is Amazi-girl, can just GO TO THE POLICE!
On the other hand, I think Ross knows that Amber knows who Blaine is. And she therefore knows that Blaine is not bluffing about his threat. There’s a good chance that if Amber goes to the police, none of the others will ever be seen alive again. :/
What has been written will already have come to pass. However hopeless it may be, please Amber, don’t fall to trope. Just go get the cops. Furthermore don’t let them fall to trope and ignore her, please have them actually respond. Please don’t let this drama continue only because characters are too stupid to do what actually makes sense.
Khyrin, you have the best advice for Amber, but I don’t think for a second Ross is behaving in a redeemable manner. He has the upper hand and he is using it to compel people under threat of mortal harm.
It is true that either way Amber being let go would work out for the best, regardless of Ross’s intentions in doing so. I think Ross’s faith in Blaine has been shaken, but not his faith in himself. Which is a shame, but hey. Gift horse dentistry isn’t necessary here.
Creepy ass toe man
Oddly perceptive though.
We all knew he didn’t have any kind of developmental disability. Just an entitled, childish social parasite who uses his faith to simply validate expecting his own way all the time and to harbor a faultless self-image.
May have even known what he was doing when he inspired Lost Puppy Syndrome in Becky’s Mother or how the hell ever they got together.
Oh, Toedad: Obedience is the first thing to go, even if it takes Joyce to 18 rather than her tweens.
Toedad: I am the head of my household and that means Becky is my property!
Cue to Willis drawing of a mouse girl with a chastity belt.
Immorten Blaine!
Wow, that Hymmel the Humming Hymnal went places I was not expecting.
Obedience isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, my parents enforced rules, but did not create them, they were not telling me what to do, just making sure I did what we agreed upon.
Meanwhile, Sarah is exchanging a look with Dorothy, twiddling their thumbs in awkwardness.
This is darkness.
She’s far surpassed you, Toedad. You wouldn’t know morality if it drop kicked you.
And oh dear, Amber.
And oh, how I hope it DOES drop kick him. In one of several possible forms.
(Realistically, GOD I want the police in there, but since all the kids left now are also spares with the POSSIBLE exception of Joyce to Toedad, I will settle for avenging angels.)
Why would them being “spares” to Toedad mean that Amber wouldn’t or shouldn’t bring the police? She should *absolutely* bring the police.
Haven’t you noticed by now the Duly Constituted Authorities (TM) in DoA-land range from absent through ineffectual to malevolent?
Yes absolutely the DoA authorities are absent. We ask not because I think we really expect different, but because it is a rather overdrawn trope already. Given the generally approachable human drama Willis reliably provides within the absurd construct of the DoA universe, I believe he has the skill and am hoping he has the will to give us a better than cliché story.
Because by ‘spares’ I mean ‘completely expendable.’ Blaine has no reason to keep any of them alive because he doesn’t give a shit, and Ross has long since demonstrated he has no compunctions about killing – or dying in a police shootout – in the name of Saving Becky’s Soul. (‘I will die for you, Becky’ very much worries me.)
The ONLY value the hostages have right now to Blaine and Ross (with, again, the possible exception of Joyce) is to keep AG in line. The only things they want are Becky (Ross), vengeance on AG, and a way out of financially supporting Amber (Blaine). We’re already wondering how the fuck Blaine thinks he can get away with taking six hostages and working with Ross and considering ‘he’s already actively plotting murder’ as a solution.
Which means there’s a decent chance Amber doesn’t go to the police because she’s coming to the same conclusion I have – the MOMENT they see authorities, it’s very possible one or both of their captors decide to start cutting their losses/provoking the police to go out in a blaze.
The hostages won’t suddenly acquire a value when the bad dads get what they want. You have identified a problem, but avoiding the police is not a solution to it.
She should absolutely bring Linda Walkerton. Taking her favourite son was a terrible mistake that they will pay dearly.
James 2:19
HA. Good choice.
The only Bible verse I can refer to that way and know what I’m talking about is Ezekiel 23:20.
Doesn’t really come in handy much.
II Corinthians 5:21 Prove all things. Hold fast to that which is good.
Despite knowing of 1 Corinthians throughout my life, largely because of the verses read at weddings, my reaction on reading this comment was, “There’s a second Corinthians???”
In my mind it was just one of those church things I wasn’t meant to understand, I guess.
I happen to rather like 1 John 4:16.
Not John. 1 John. Not 3:16. 4:16. I just like how much of an intellectual middle finger the notation itself is. And also I like 1 John 4:16-18 for the message, too.
Judges 1:19. The LORD is powerless against iron.
Matthew 27:52-53. The zombie invasion of Jerusalem.
Judges 15:16
“With an ass’s jawbone, I have killed a thousand men.”
Thank you SAO Abridged for that gem.
There’s a Pinky and the Brain episode where they’re pets of Samson, and the scriptwriters worked in the phrase “jawbone of an ass” like 15 times because they could get away with it.
Willis’ Twitter bio references Acts 10:13 which is pretty great out of context
Kings2:22. Then two great she bears cane down from the mountain and ripped and tore them every one
Its the only one i know :p
Wasn’t that the one where God summoned bears to maul dozens of kids because they made fun of a bald guy? That’s my favorite episode!
I particularly like Matthew 6:5-6. And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Halen 51:50
Ah, there’s still some fight in me
That’s how it’ll always be
Hold your head up high, look ’em in the eye
Never say die
I have absolutely no idea about scripture, have a pop culture reference instead.
(Yes I know that’s not the right song, but it’s the right album and it fits so there.)
Joyce’s speech is a masterpiece.
Read this, thought “Ross fucking sucks,” had a flashback to watching Friends.
God, I pity David Schwimmer. There’s a reason he went out of his way to find parts as unlike Ross as he could in films.
Not really limited to him, though. Both Zac Efron and Daniel Radcliffe pushed as hard as possible out of their most well-known roles and their characters were decently liked.
When you get to the point of accepting a role as a farting corpse, I have to wonder if you’re doing okay.
When Daniel Radcliffe took on a role in Equus, a play known for involving a scene of male nudity, there were a lot of stupid jokes about “Harry Potter showing his wand”.
I was really impressed that he took the part he did in Band of Brothers. He can’t have needed the cheque, and you don’t play a contemptible loser like Sobel to puff your ego.
I don’t have any acting experience, but I gather actors like playing heavies.
Yeah, but Sobel isn’t a heavy. He’s a petty tyrant, but weak, and he goes to pieces on field exercises. And Schwimmer did a really good job of portraying him.
He and God are on a break.
I don’t think letting Amber go will work out for the Toe, wrt Blaine. Buuuuuut in the end, none of this is going to work out for anyone.
Joyce is going to have the most awkward conversation with her mom after this.
“So that guy you bailed out of prison kidnapped me and my friends and locked us in a basement while his accomplice threatened to murder us all…”
She’d probably just blame it all on Becky.
‘THAT WAS JUST HIM TRYING TO SAVE YOU JOYCE, UGH COLLEGE HAS REALLY MADE YOU WORLDLY, Now brb I need to bail him out of prison again”
Oh, Carol is going to get the *shit* rebuked out of her.
Honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the Browns go into the process of a divorce by the end of this.
I wonder how much out of the Browns’ joint account and business into a bond that I think is going to be forfeited.
As I understand it, everyone on a joint account has to be in agreement before a large amount can be taken out.
I’ve seen one case where a signature was forged. If you feel you’re doing right, all sorts of crimes happen.
It varies. You can give the bank instructions about who or what combination of account-holders are allowed to control the funds.
I have a joint account with my sister that we use as a sinking fund for certain expenses. Either of us can withdraw or transfer funds. We can do it over the Internet.
I think this just moved up my ‘shit hits the fan at Thanksgiving’ prediction to ‘Joyce and Jocelyne tell Thanksgiving to go fuck itself because there’s no universe where Joyce DOESN’T rage against everything for this IMMEDIATELY and Jocelyne’s definitely going to accelerate her own timeline of probable/possible disownment after this one.’ (Unless she doubles down on the closet, also a possibility.)
There’s definitely been setup for Jocelyne coming out to her family https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/03-sometimes-the-sky-was-so-far-away/removed-2/
I think if her little sister was taking both barrels from the folks she’d step up to the plate. She did with the eldest, there, and that wasn’t nearly “your belief system got me kidnapped” level of crazy.
Yeah, my only doubt is if she thinks Carol will react to the coming out in the specific flavor of badness Ross has, but I think she’s more likely to burn bridges if she did already for Jordan.
How about Joyce and Hank have Thanksgiving at Jocelyne’s, even if it’s just Swanson TV dinners.
She would just deny it, or imply it was not a big concern.
like she did the first time.
She needs to be arrested as an acconmplice
Ross may have lost interest in furthering Blaine’s part of the plan, in which case all the worse for Blaine if he brings push to shove. Blaine is in no shape to endure the amount of pushback Ross is able to give.
Ross is carrying out Blaines plan , getting Amazigirl to bring Becky
Yeah, that’s because he actually wants Becky.
Blaine wants Amber traumatised and Amazi-Girl hurt (maimed or killed, I think). Ross may be at the point of pursuing his own agenda and letting Blaine’s goals fail.
Even if Joyce convinces Ross that Blaine is no instrument of God, Blaine is still going to want Becky.
They did discuss their goals. They both would want their daughters back. This is really stretching the terms of their pact. “yeah I let your daughter go to fetch mine. That was your plan, right?”
I’m assuming Ross actually thinks Amazi-Girl will bring Becky to him. I’m also assuming he’s completely wrong to think that.
Why is it, right as I clicked to this strip, Nightwish’s “Weak Fantasy” started playing?
Cause Irony loves company?
I’m glad to be given the night off.
This is definitely not something Blaine would condone. I have to wonder what the repercussions will be.
Blaine scolds Ross. Ross expresses contempt and defiance. Blaine starts something. Ross smack Blaine one. Blaine stays smacked.
I’m not convinced Blaine won’t smack Ross instead… or worse.
Blaine seems too badly hurt to swing a ball-peen hammer with true conviction.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
Blaine has goons who can do the swinging for him
This. Blaine holds all the cards, at this point he doesn’t need Ross for anything except as a fall guy.
I don’t think that’s right. At this point Ross no longer needs Blaine, and has demonstrated it.
“I’m letting you go, Amber. But because I’m generous and this is a JRPG, you may pick two party members to go with you.”
“Can I move their equipment, or-”
“I am not *that* generous.”
Better hope one of them isn’t the Cait Sith of the party
For the best, anyway. “Remove All” would probably just mean the rest have to sit around in underwear in a dark basement.
Now available on slipshine!
Why would I not want one of my permanent party members?
(Cloud, Cait Sith, Yuffie all the way)
I’ve run that party several times, it’s fun!
“I’ll take Sarah and Quistis.”
Honestly I really look forward to the fallout in the Brown home. I really want to see the adults duke it out over this, especially after the mom supported Toedad being released. This arc is full of tension and kidnapping and all that exciting stuff, but for me, the breakdown of Joyce’s family is what I most look forward to seeing. Interpersonal drama!
Yeah, the fallout of this is going to be… explosive.
Especially once the siblings find out. I don’t really want poor Jocelyne to hear the answer to the ‘is Mom a good person?’ question this way, but there’s no way she takes that news all that well either. Hell, this might be a step too far even for John. (I wouldn’t bet on it, but it’s possible because ‘half a dozen kidnapped kids, most of them complete bystanders’ is kind of undeniably in the wrong in a way he can’t just brush off – not that you can brush off the threatened mass shooting, either, but since Joyce wasn’t ACTUALLY kidnapped or shot I could see him downplaying it.)
Hank’s definitely gonna be pissed, and I strongly suspect he’s gonna be divorce-pissed, but the kids? THAT has some serious potential for surprise angst, too.
I think John will stand on the side of righteousness as a True Christian, and as a result with say and do despicable things.
He’s already a manipulative grifter, this will be just an opportunity to maneuver his way higher on the ladder of True Christian power.
When this is all over, John might be Carol’s only child speaking to her (to chasten and teach her of course). We know Jordan is already “too Jordan,” and after this, Jocelyn will *know* her mother is not a good person. I think it’ll be hardest on Joyce. Jordan and Jocelyn have known for some time that their mother is toxic. Joyce’s whole perception of her mother is being torn down in a matter of weeks.
The good news is, I think Joyce will come out of this with another sister and a brother that she’s been kept away from.
On the other hand, maybe Carol will surprise us and realize she done goofed and how effed up they were. But I ain’t holding my breath.
Willis has said this story is autobigraphical, and considering what he posted about his mother… Carol is going to be abandoned by most of her children. She has been a horrible mother.
Maybe Jocelyn no longer has reasons to hide her true self, and maybe Hank will be more open minded.
John can fuck off. He is an asshole.
Speaking of the brothers, we still haven’t gotten the Jordan story yet. Is that going to be in this arc, or is it going to remain a mystery?
I think it’s clear that Jordan “rebelled” and told his parents what he thought of their shitty church.
Well you might not have to wait long. Word of Willis is next storyline involves parents coming to visit.
Even posted a panel of Linda. Yaaaaay.
Oooooh really? Where?
https://twitter.com/damnyouwillis/status/1244377463234404354/photo/1
Twitter’s misbehaving so I dunno if the link works but Willis posted it a few days ago.
It got posted on March 29th if that helps.
I can hear the “SALLY! How could you LET YOUR BROTHER get KIDNAPPED!” already.
It’s perfectly reasonable for Linda to visit. I mean, this is her baby boy who was just kidnapped and her good-as-a-daughter Billie’s had some serious health scares lately. It’s totally understandable she’d want to check on them and in fact, it would be both callous and irresponsible not to hear from her and –
My eye’s doing the angry twitchy thing already isn’t it?
Maybe this is when we meet Jordan?
I had to look up Ephesians for this. For my filthy godless self it’s a relatively obscure book. I know a Job, a Daniel, a Habakkuk, but Ephesians was new. So despite toedad’s nastiness I learned something.
God working with imperfect implements and stuff.
Goddamnit Ross you are right there on the verge of having two synapses firing together.
Once upon a time one of my father’s partners retired from medical practice, and his patients distributed themselves around for continued medical car. So a patient came to my father for an initial consultation and said “Dr. Frith told me to tell you that I only have two neurons, and they don’t synapse properly.”
That is *absolutely hilarious.*
“continued medical care”
Dr Frith is awesome.
What Amber will bring to you is a A WORLD OF PAIN with a side dish of A CAN OF WHOOPASS, you neckless jackass!
Kinda wish I’d got the chance to say that to some of the adults I knew. Preferably without undergoing further trauma like this though …
I just realized: Is Dina in that dogpile? If not, my guess is she’ll be the first to realize something is up and then probably go to Billie/Ruth.
Dina exists in a quantum state of presence and absence. Since we have not attempted to measure the room’s quantity of Dina, she is simultaneously there and not there.
dinas electron could oozes in and out, claims it was there the whole time,
shes probably quantum connected to Walkyverse Dina post Portal travel
Ruth already realized something was up, though.
But she more-or-less dismissed it. “It’s fine. It’s probably fine. They probably all went to McAwesome’s.”
Unless she was saying that to try to convince herself that everything was fine.
That’s entirely reasonable, actually. Remember, RA’s aren’t your parents and aren’t responsible for your safety and well being. They’re basically just there to be a friendly peer you can talk to and also to keep things under control, resolve disputes, etc.
You feel like you wanna go on a midnight food run? You’re a college student. You’re an adult. You can do what you want. Worst that might happen is the RA gets annoyed with you because you locked yourself out because you forgot your keys.
At least, that’s how it was everywhere I went. I understand some private colleges treat the students like children.
Ruth isn’t your average RA though. She might enjoy snapping Blaine’s femurs at the very least.
Ruth’s job was to make sure they were out of the building. She knows they did, so it’s not her problem if they wandered off.
I thought her comment meant they probably went to McAwesome’s as opposed to going back in the building. Which would be her problem.0
Why would they leave to go back in? How could they go back in while the building was being checked?
Who else would she be talking to?
Dina was still outside the building when Ruth realized everyone else was gone.
She’s probably behind the door, at the top of the stairs.
The only thing I don’t find believable about any of this is the fact the media isn’t all over the Ross case. This would be national news and something that would bring attention down on the Church of Self-Righteous Homophobes.
No sign of that so far, scandal wise. Let alone reporters interviewing folk.
He’s been free for 2, maybe 3 days tops … Time runs fast in this comic when it needs too. And it must have made some report somewhere since Becky is being guarded (and that was the day after he was released).
There is a whole lot of time not making sense in this arc, but little about this arc is real-life believable so I’m just going with it.
I wish I would agree with you, but churches’ being hateful homophobes does not make the news, much less national news. Churches like theirs are dime a dozen, and dreadful Christians get away with all kinds of crap because they’re Christian.
If the story caught media’s attention it would be because he was chased down by a caped superhero on a skateboard who disappeared on a motorcycle.
Ross himself is nothing new, and if his making bail was noticed, the fact that he was sprung by his church wouldn’t be known.
As Rachel said, nobody was even shot. I’m not surprised the media forgot it in under a week.
Great plan, Ross, because of course she’ll go get Becky and bring her to you. No way she’d go get the police and bring them to you.
Amber, get the police. Not Becky, not AG heroics, not a superhero. The police, Amber, the police.
Bring the Police, Amber. Sting. Stewart Copeland. The other guy. Bring the Police.
The only reason I can see Amber justifying not going to the police (as seems narratively inevitable, alas) is that she’s got reason to worry about bringing a SWAT team to a hostage situation involving a man who’s already threatened a mass shooting and considers his life immaterial (Toedad) and very possibly the goddamn mob. Also if she believes Blaine about the ‘acquaintances’ re: Mike.
SWAT are supposed to exist for resolving hostage situations. They are supposed to be the experts. It’s very sad if they are plausibly the last people you’d want dealing with one.
Another reason that I can see Ambi-Girl trying to take this on herself is if Ross or the hires are smart enough to keep her in ignorance of the whereabouts of this basement. If she can’t tell the cops where to go to effect a rescue she might not tell them enough that they will know to guard Becky.
S.W.A.T. = Special Weapons And Tactics.
They’re well-trained, better-than-average cops. But they’re still cops. They’re not superheroes. They can’t turn themselves invisible or move faster than the speed of sound to infiltrate Blaine’s stronghold, and they can’t produce force-fields to protect hostages. So sometimes shit goes bad, despite all their special weapons and tactics. Especially if they’re dealing with a nutbar like Blaine who is blinded by hate and, if he is going to go down himself, is fully capable of taking someone or another with him.
Neither can Amazi-Girl do those things.
Dina on the other hand …
Amber may not be responsible for not bringing the police for the simple fact that she’s already exhausted herself trying to keep Amazi-Girl from surfacing. Add in this emotional stress and she may switch before she can do anything useful.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand there’s the Ross we know and love. Treating women as nothing more than broodmares of both children and ignorance.
I love it when people who were raised under authoritarian Christianity can turn the bible back on those who oppressed them. Not that they listen, of course.
Crack Theory: Ross secretly pulled a heel face turn in the last couple comics, but he can’t actually say that due to the fact that Blaine and his goons would kill him and probably everyone else if they heard. That’s why he says Ephesians 5:11 (Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.) as a secret message to Amber.
I thought he was just acknowledging Joyce’s use of that verse, myself…
I’ll be honest, I completely forget she used it.
Or to be more specific I wasn’t really paying attention.
Ross’s back-turn here is oh so powerful after two strips in which he has barely blinked. He’s done arguing with Joyce, and he’s getting on with what he came for.
Unbinding Amber for her mission as Amazi-Girl has multiple risks for our criminal hosts, and I wish them ill.
Isaiah 5:11
Woe to those who rise early in the morning…
I just stop reading there.
I start work at 3 AM. Sounds about right…
Oh hey, Toedad’s not as dumb as he looks.
He’s releasing Amber isn’t he?
Still a smart move if Ross’ plan is for Amber to get the police here.
To be fair, he looks very dumb.
Plot twist: he could tell right away that Amber ‘is’ Amazi-Girl. He’s one of the few characters who isn’t mask-blind.
And there it is, isn’t it. Joyce wasn’t the most ready for secular college and pride of the homeschool group because she was best-socialized, it was because she was the obedient one. The obedient one who never questioned. The obedient one who they thought exposure wouldn’t shake. The obedient one who was a huge ball of neuroses under it all, and felt fear rather than faith, but that doesn’t matter. Because that was piety to this sect.
God, when Joyce gets free that’s gonna be SATISFYING.
Bingo.
Fundagelical Christianity is about power, and its leaders want obedience before anything else.
All religions are about power.
The primary tenet of my religion is make things that help people. But then I follow a Greek God cast down from Olympus for being an ugly cripple, who later pitched a temper tantrum when he couldn’t have the wife he wanted so he turned off all their toys. But he made many useful things, and never cheated on his wife even though she bore many children he didn’t sire…
With the exception of almost all of them, that is true.
Obedience IS the best socialized to these jackasses.
Boy does his chin look weird from any angle other than face-on!
Kill him, Amber.
Dew-it
Amber should do a civilian thing instead of playing along. Call the cops, implicate her dad and Ross, then tell the press that a new plot to kidnap the head of a congressional campaign A SECOND TIME is underway and has branched out to mass kidnappings and threats of murder. See how well these goons handle all that attention.
Okay, but maybe beat Ross up first.
There’s still the matter of Blaine’s goons in the next room. Do you take that chance?
I’d be very surprised if there WERE any goons. I’m almost positive that’s a bluff.
There are definitely other people. Blaine and Ross didn’t kidnap five people nearly instantly the moment they were isolated from a group in the timespan between one page. They could barely corner one smartass on a scooter!
Were we fooled with cardboard cut-outs?
I think the bad dads needed extra hands to carry out their kidnappings, and I think that Blaine would have played a bluff himself rather than relying of Ross to get it right.
I bet they were hired goons, and maybe they’re ‘laborers’ from Blaine’s ‘construction’ company as a cover story. I don’t think the folks from Joyce’s church could get brought up to speed to pull this off successfully in just a couple days. Besides, Blaine would want to surround himself with trustworthy, reliable goons he’s used before.
Fudge. You. Ross!!!
Oh, the alt-text actually explains a lot. I thought Joyce’s reply was a little weird, but if she’s quoting another Bible verse it makes sense.
There still peeps out there hoping for Toedad to have some sort of face turn?
I mean I wouldn’t be against it, but I also would expect the long road of self-discovery and “not forgiveness” before he fully achieves it.
That last panel has me confused on whether Ross is leaning into a face turn as even an idiot knows releasing a hostage of any kind could backfire. Or if he has opted to ignore Joyce when she seems possibly right and is just doing it because the plan requires AG to be free to act, and he’s not a particular fan of Blaine’s ‘kill all the children if she doesn’t come’ idea.
He is in a complex position and we have until June when the storyline ends so there is enough room for an allegience change to occur if it will or for him to turn back if this is supposed to be one now.
Yeah I don’t get that sudden change in attitude. The only slightly redeeming trait Ross hasbis that he seems slightly hesitant to kill people to get his daughter. Thing is that last time he was around he brought a gun to school and tried to kill people to get his daughter! So I’m not really buying his sad looks. He has to release Amber here simply because they have no other option for getting Becky back even with the risk.
But wasn’t that essentially the plan all along – if not actually releasing a hostage, at least letting them contact Amazi-Girl, which has most of the same risks.
The plan is for Amazi-Girl to get Becky for them. If Amber is AG, the plan requires she be released.
Exactly so. This means that Ross and Blaine cannot both get what they want. The deal is nugatory; Ross bailed out first.
I think Blaine is more willing to inflict pain and suffering upon others than Ross is. Remember, he was satisfied with just scaring Mike, Blaine went further.
If Blaine starts to consider using torture for leverage, I could see Ross object to that.
as someone who has been kidnapped i really wish i was a strong as joyce is
I’m really sorry about that
*offers emotional support if wanted*
thank you!! i appreciate it <3
I’m sorry that you had to go through that and I hope you find the strength you want. It is okay to not be strong when going through a terrifying experience and to find it hard to deal with the aftereffects though so I hope you’re not too hard on yourself.
thank you!! it was a long time ago (sept 2013) and i’m incredibly different now. this arc has actually been, in a sense, kind of relieving. seeing fictional characters i love going through similar struggles makes me feel less alone without anyone real getting hurt. and i’m glad there are people who reach out <3
<3
<3!!
Joyce may no longer be a believer, but she has learned what it means to act in good faith, to care for others, to not follow idols, to reject lies, and to see the negative consequences of unfaithfulness. She is becoming a good christian even without not being christian.
Ross, Carol and their church are breaking their commandments, not helping those in need and only being overzealous of superficial shit like virginity until marriage and forced heterosexuality.
I have known religious people all my life, and even if I disagree with their believes, I have seen them do good for others and do things in good faith.
These people are monsters. They are obsessed with obedience and reject free will, a gift that god gave them. If they reject a gift from their god, then they deserve to be punished.
By definition, a ‘Christian’ is a person who follows the teaching of Christ, just as a Buddhist follows the teachings of Buddha. You can be a ‘christian’ and never set foot into a church. It’s only when you start putting all the ‘brand names’ (Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, etc.) onto Christianity, then choose one and believe only THEIR interpretation of Christ’s teachings that you are going to run into problems like we’re seeing here.
As I told someone once, “There’s more than one way to get from Los Angeles to New York, and no one specific method or route is automatically any better or any worse than the others. In the same way, there’s more than one route to get to heaven, and my route is not automatically any better or any worse than yours. And the sooner we learn to realize and accept this the better off the entire fuggin’ world is going to be.”
Evangelical churches like Joyce’s don’t necessarily have a “brand name”; they’re frequently non-denominational. Jacob’s Episcopalian church, on the other hand, seems to be reasonably kind to people. No distant authority forced Carol & Company to be this way.
“Non-denominational” is essentially their brand name. Whatever their claims, non denominational churches are a clear subset of evangelical Protestantism, generally drawing from a handful of formal denominations.
Most Christian churches that don’t have a “brand name” are essentially Southern Baptist. They’ve figured out that “Baptist” has been irreparably linked to hateful bigotry, so they don’t use it. But dig deep enough in to their teachings and they’re SBC.
But you kind of have to argue over what the teachings of Christ really are, because it doesn’t really make a lot of sense otherwise.
I mean sure, I think Joyce’s church is way off in their interpretation, but then they think the “hippy churches” are way off in theirs.
Jesus should issue a cease and desist. These morons are tarnishing his brand.
She is becoming a humanist. Christianity didn’t invent morality and cannot claim that people with good morals are therefore “Christian.”
OH BOY! OH BOY!
I’m a little surprised that Blaine made the classic supervillain mistake of not personally supervising the heroes’ interrogation but entrusting it to an underling. Who then gets betrayed/tricked/seduced or overpowered.
Mind you, Baine is obviously dealing with extreme pain; so slipping up like this is understandable. And technically, none of the above is happening here since Ross is just putting his own agenda ahead of Blaine’s. Sooo i’m guessing Blaine didn’t credit Ross with the personal initiative to deviate from his plan? At least the “supervillain has untrustworthy allies ready to stab him in the back” box is ticked.
Needless to say, the “release Amber to get Becky” plan is just.stupid. The first thing Amber should do when she gets out is call the damn cops. I’m betting AG will show up and overpower Ross then free her friends instead though…
As well as pain making him slip up, the pain might have caused him to leave in that he may have left to do something about the pain.
Or at the very least, it was an excuse to save face.
Laughing that hard with an abdominal or chest injury must have hurt, though.
Well, what do you expect? It IS a comic strip, after all!
Well, it is “damn you” Willis writing, so any plan must fail horribly in the most unexpectedly crucial moment.
Given that Blaine’s plan was to threaten the kids into contacting Amazi-Girl to kidnap Becky, seems to me it was only his blindness to Amber’s admission that she was AG that kept him from doing it himself. Ross isn’t being tricked, he’s carrying out the plan.
I don’t think it’s too surprising because while Blaine certainly has a level of cunning he’s never been particularly smart. He’s always been too blinded by his ego.
Free Amazigirl to get Becky.Not a good plan Ross.Free Amber to get Becky.Really, really not a good plan.
Amber calls all three Knights of the Sword from the Dresden Files, and then hilarity ensues.
Well, two these days…
Free Amber to get Becky…? Ohhh… I like this plan… I’m excited about this plan…
Willis, I’m so sorry…
Obedience. That is about all religion teaches, I feel. It looks like Toedad is breaking a little around the end. Amber don’t do it!
Christianity at the very least, yes. Other religions are different, so I feel it is a bit of a leap to say that is what all of them are like and what all of them teach. Judaism to my knowledge expects you to debate and argue and decide for yourself whether conclusions are right and wrong, not just follow someone else’s word or conclusions.
I think that idea propagates because most Jews you meet around the world are quite moderate. If you get into the more orthodox communities, the answer you will get when you debate is “because God wants it this way”. I have met far fewer moderate Christians that do feel connected to their belief.
Depends on the Orthodox sect in specific. I know plenty of really sweet, progressive Orthodox Jewish people.
Episcopalian and Jesuit schools of Christianity seem to have it broadly right, from what I can tell.
Oh damn Joyce is good. When did she learn debating? That was not a skill i had associated with her
I mean, this is Bible debating, so I suspect Sunday school
It can be it easier to rationally string together a proper argument when all the points link together as reasons why you are mad.
She already had the skill. Now she has recieved a critical system update which shows her how to direct it.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/scenarios/
If you’ll recall, she used the Bible to convince her parents that her friendship with Dorothy was okay.
You may be a lousy villian, but good for you, Ross. Let Amber/A-G rally up the troops so they can expose the criminal in you and Blaine, too.
Spellcheck: villain.
“What’s that? Bring a metric shitload of cops? OK.”
I’m thinking they plan on sending a tail with her? Seems like they have enough people involved.
Odds on it being Asher?
That and a pack of cigarettes.
Alt-text is just panel 4? Cool beans.
So Joyce has become Ross’ enemy because she’s telling him the truth? Well, Ross, as soon as Amber knows what this place is, this whole vengeance will be doo-doo.
Then again, we got time. Lots.
Because she’s not telling bim what he wants to hear, more like. Ross has already decided what the truth is, and has to distort the reality around him to meet it.
It’s pretty obvious that Ross is really really bad at long term planning, but I was wondering what his long-term plan is. He’s the accomplice to multiple felonies — does her really think that he’ll be able to get away with Becky to whatever indoctrination camp he has in mind?
But then I had a chilling thought: He’s willing to trust in God to help him accomplish his goals, but if all else fails, he is self-righteously willing to commit murder-suicide, presumably with the idea in mind that he’s making a sacrifice for the sake of Becky’s soul rather than killing from any selfish (to his mind) motive.
Too grimdark?
I think you captured his mindset nicely. Hmm, rather, the word should be … hmmmm… ‘reasonably’ also is the wrong word. Aptly?
Nah, that was… very much the implication, last time around. ‘I will die for you, Becky’ became one of Joyce’s PTSD triggers afterwards for a reason. (We see it in her first post-gun talk with her mom and the church when they visit home.)
Unfortunately.
Romans 12:2 – “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
So Panel 4. Nice little Biblical back and forth there
Ross has never really had his faith tested before. SEriously, he hasn’t=this is obvious. His reactions, his ASSUMPTIONS have never truly been put to the test. I think it’s pretty obvious he has lived in his little community of like-minded worshippers, insulated from anything that would push him to critical thinking, protected by a crowd that agrees with him in the herd mentality, indoctrinated to repeat dogma without thought.
By contrast, Joyce has had to actually consider her faith, her beliefs, and confront hypocrisy within what she was indoctrinated to believe vs. the actual MESSAGE of her faith.
the contrast then, is that Joyce actually ‘walks the walk’ instead of just talking. But then, she’s actually had her faith tested before, has had to reconcile other views and take account of facts without the comforting echo-chamber of a herd to keep her from thinking critically.
hate to point this out-but there are quite a few people HERE who could do with having their comfortable world views challenged.
I feel like the thing to do now would be to get the proper help…but since I know this is going to go until June… I expect a really really big mess.
obedience is the keyword, as usual.
“amber, im letting you go because you are amazigirl.”
“don’t go to the cops and bring in a swat team to overpower us and save your friends. seriously, don’t do that, cuz that would be toetally not cool. seriously. dont get like 500 cops and 5 swat teams to wreck us. srsly, dont do it. srsly. just go get me my daughter. srsly. srsly.”
Because when the swap team shows up we start killing hostages.
pretty sure the swat team would be able to get in there and take out the asshole and the living toe before anything like that happens.
also, pretty sure the man with the ingrown face isn’t about to murder anyone, he KNOWS he won’t be able to justify that to god.
He was just fine with Blaine’s “let’s murder Mike” proposition yesterday morning.
mike was trying to stop them, so he was probably able to justify that with “he’s standing in the way of the lords work”
these are a bunch of kids tied up in the back of a store, or in a basement.
also, im pretty sure swat teams have the tech and weaponry they would need to kill both these idiots before they even got the idea that something is wrong.
im pretty sure if amber told the cops “he has my friends hostage, and might kill them if the cops show up” the cops/swat would come up with a better idea than “park the cars outside and start shouting at them to give up”
hell, they’d probably bombard the place with teargas and shit like that. the kids may not be feeling well after that, but that’s better than being dead.
also, the asshole literally did the one thing supervillains always do that gets them in trouble. he put all his cards on the table, told them his entire plan, and now toedad is letting one of them go. she runs to the cops, tells them LITERALLY EVERYTHING! and blaine is Fucked.
“my friend mike is in the hospital, and my father says he will have him killed if i go to the cops” the first thing that happens is that hospital administration is informed, and every cop/guard on the scene rushes to his room, tackling anybody suspicious
then the rest of the police force and a few swat teams rush to where her friends are and take out these 2 idiots.
they won’t get a chance to kill hostages.
also, they know that if they kill one of the hostages, every cop/swat in the area will fucking rush them and probably shoot both of them down.
It’s great that she has access to a flawless police that can teleport, multiply, and stop time, but what if they’re busy doing something else?
I suspect this would be considered somewhat higher priority.
That date between her foot and your face is still on, Ross.
I’d accept an AmaziGirl special in the form of rescuing/protecting Mike…and alerting the proper authorities for the rest.
Blaine’s plan was to release A-G to get Becky. Ross is just implementing the plan after Blaine failed to.
Oddly, religious people rarely have their minds changed by a religiously based argument. There is always a different citation because both scriptures are a series of fan fiction. They are not consistent with each other. You can go two ways with that. You can do almost as you like knowing there is always a quotation to support you. Or you can look at the life of Jesus and try to follow that model. Almost everyone does the first.
But first you have to figure out what the life of Jesus really was like, since that also varies between Gospels and each Gospel writer has his own take on what actually happened and on what emphasis to give it and what it meant. As does Paul and the other early sources.
So if Amazi-Girl asserts herself after Amber’s released, will she know what’s going on here? Will she help Ruth investigate the disappearances of the rest of the hostages, until she gets a blue flash like Amber did earlier?
Does Ross realize he’s unleashing a tempest here?
Let’s see if Ruth will make good with tearing out femurs.
What are the chances she’ll call the police and keep the bad guys waiting?
I just want to appreciate the symbolic staging here; the light hitting Joyce’s face after being in shadow, as she makes her argument, with Ross carefully positioned so that his back is constantly to her.
Bravo, Willis.
This is really intense and I am so proud of Joyce.
Quick note: a lot of people wonder if Joyce will keep her faith at the end of this. I don’t, and it’s because of moments like this.
Quoting the Bible is kind of impressive.
It’s honestly a real shame that Paul had so many of the best lines in the New Testament, misogynistic hermit that he was. But, do as they say, not as they do, I guess.
I hope all this leads to Amber assembling a team of roller derby girls plus Carla & Ruth that will beat Blaine & co. with a combination of wheels, femurs, high-tech and holograms of Mike.
I have never needed a superhero roller-derby league as badly as I do right now.
get the pigs!
Okay, prediction: Asher will have a role in stopping whichever hired goon is assigned to kill Mike in the hospital. We don’t know if Blaine’s thugs are Korean-mob related, but there’s a fair chance they are, in which case Asher is the best bet for any cast member to be able to identify the goon. This would also give him a potential redemption arc, especially if his role in Blaine’s scheme is revealed.
Or I could be completely wrong (Willis is nothing if not unpredictable), but I’m throwing this out there as a possibility.
In one way, I’m glad Joyce got the chance to say this to Ross. He will soon fuck up and be shipped back to jail, and Joyce will be left to confront her mom. But at least she got to tell the man who kidnapped her in the name of Jesus exactly what a bad Christian he is.