I had a friend who had those (Ovarian cysts). Always sounded awful.
I feel like I should have a birth control pills story, but I really don’t. I didn’t need them until College at which point I just went to the pharmacy and got them on my own.
Don’t J&S share a bathroom with B&D? Honestly, I don’t know how universities config the locks on those. If they’re for privacy of the bathroom occupant, then it’s effectively a four person suite. Regardless, they seem to leave the bathroom unlocked generally.
I like how, despite being very similar aesthetically, the lesbians have adopted it as ‘plaid’, while the gays (and Canadians) have adopted it as ‘flannel’.
With the exception of pajamas and Ralphie’s bunny suit (from “A Christmas Story”), just about every piece of flannel I’ve ever seen has been a plaid-patterned shirt. Maybe because there just ain’t much call for things like flannel trousers or underpants.
Not really equivalent here. I get appliances, tubes , bolts and all kinds of steel objects when looking up steel.
When looking up flannel i only get plaid.
To quote Wikipedia “The term “flannel shirt” is often mistakenly used to refer to any shirt with a plaid or tartan pattern. However, ‘flannel’ refers simply to the fabric, and not all flannel shirts are plaid.”
Nor, for that matter, are all plaid shirts flannel.
I have flannel sheets. They are not plaid pattern.
I have plaid shirts that are not flannel material.
There are shirts that are both, but there are a lot of things that are only one or the other.
in england, a flannel is what you wash your face with. it was a looooong time before I found out flannels (the washcloth) are not made of flannel (the fabric). I’m still not clear on what the fabric names actually are. terrycloth maybe?
is that a thing where you are? In all queer communities I’ve been in plaid and flannel have been used interchangeably by everyone with a lean towards flannel, especially for lesbians
Cut her some Slack Sarah, Joyce has been through a lot of shit and come honestly a long way in the last, what’s it been, 3-4 months? You don’t overcome 18 years of brainwashing followed by a total shattering of said brainwashing in a few weeks you know.
Yeah. My niece asked her mother to sign off on Guardisil. My sisters response was “Why? Are you planning to have sex?” And proceeded to shame her about the request and detail her getting the vaccine. A few years later, niece needed treatment for HPV. I still haven’t forgiven my sister.
that is super Fuqed up
especially as you can get HPV from saliva.
( i think People are less aware of that because the higher testosterone levels less likely you are to clear an HPV infection;By only focusing on women with HPV they missed who/ where the biggest carriers were. So unlike women there is a massive amount of men with hidden HPV oral and throat conditions. A lot were hidden behind tobacco cancers . ie Not vaccinating men was sexist and a bad idea.
Not to mention vaccination more of the population for things when there is even a half decent reason gets people more used to the idea of vaccinations being a normal and sensible thing.
Yes.
But.
The anti-vax movement is reactionary by nature and isn’t about unfamiliarity really (at least not the ‘true believers). Unfortunately the more people are vaccinated the higher the odds are of someone receiving a vaccine at the same time as they’re coincidentally starting to show unrelated symptoms for an unrelated condition. Which is basically free money to any public person unscrupulous enough to stoke the anxieties of anti-vaxers.
For most of my life, vaccines weren’t really controversial. The only people up in arms were the same tinfoil brigade that claimed fluoridated water was a communist mind control plot. I’m not really sure why the whole anti-vax bullshit blew up when it did. I think it might be partly because the most common vaccines had been around long enough for a lot of people to forget just how dangerous the diseases they had nearly eliminated really were. Back when most people knew, or at least knew of, someone who’d been paralyzed by polio, the vaccine was a pretty easy sell. Nowadays, lots of people barely even know what polio is. Since people are determined to be scared of something, some settled on vaccines.
Wow, preventing STDs will only encourage people to have sex. That’s right up there with the idea that comprehensive sex ed will encourage kids to have sex. (Despite the studies showing that kids given the “abstinence only” version tend to start having sex sooner and have more unplanned pregnancies.) Or the idea that needle exchanges promote drug use. (Instead of reducing the spread of blood-borne disease, and making sure that used needles are disposed of safely.)
Pants Drugs sounds like when you are folding laundry and find a quarter in your gene pocket, except instead of a quarter it is mind-altering substances and now all your sweat shirts and work out pants are tripping balls.
*crosses fingers for sitcom antics in which Joyce attempts to convince a pharmacist that she’s a lesbian, possibly discovering her true feelings for Dorothy in the process*
I think if Joyce discovered she was a lesbian and then DIDN’T go for Becky, it would shatter Becky completely. Like I know she’s got Dina already but Joyce was her first love, since long long long ago.
Sarah’s right that Joyce is gonna need to get her own meds at some point or she’s gonna be in a LOTTA pain, but right now she is in the pain. I say let Dorothy get ’em this time. Joyce can be a grown up next time.
Yeah, around here it’s like ‘lesbian or just Canadian?’
I forget, did Joyce and Becky make up yet? I guess Becky doesn’t mind helping her out with this regardless, she knows it’s pretty debilitating for her.
They didn’t really settle their differences as much as have mac n cheese and ignore the conflict, but we’re here and they’re getting along so it probably doesn’t matter.
Not really. They squashed the immediate conflict but didn’t actually resolve the issue and that has changed their dynamic since right now they’re both withholding information from each other (Becky and the sex she’s having) and (Joyce with her impending potential autism diagnosis). Stuff they probably would’ve told each other before their conflict. Mac n’ cheese was a nice distraction but it didn’t solve anything.
I agree with everything you said about the conflict not being fully resolved and them withholding information from each other. Thank you for putting that so nicely; I needed the refresher. I will also point out that they are now spending time together and calling each other friends without shaming each other for their religious beliefs, which is a big step up from where they were at the beginning of the conflict.
Actually, I prefer the powdered cheese in the boxed versions which allows better control over ^how^ thick the cheese sauce turns out (so I can keep it from being TOO thick)
well it was an awkward rift but i don’t think it’s something that would’ve completely burned a bridge/end a childhood friendship but they have time to talk and reconcile as opposed to one of them moving away for a decade or so and cut off all contact
Her consequences for… being born with an assholeish reproductive system, Sarah? This really isn’t a you reap what you sow situation, it’s more a can she manage to shake off a little more of the brainwashing for the sake of her own physical well-being one.
Basically Sarah is saying that if she can’t make herself get her meds to treat being having an assholeish reproductive system, she’s gonna have to deal with the consequences of having an assholeish reproductive system.
As someone else with an assholeish reproductive system, I agree with Sarah in theory, but right now, I think Joyce is in enough pain that it’s fine to just let Dorothy grab ’em. When I’m in those days I’m in ‘lie in bed and hope it stops’ mode and I wouldn’t be up to going to get meds no matter what.
I think a potential issue is that Dorothy is, well, a little bit of an enabler. Sarah lets Dorothy do it for her once, then it becomes a usual thing, and Joyce never picks up her drugs for herself.
That said, in the moment? Sure, get her the drugs.
Yeah, I can easily see it becoming that. If I were Sarah’s friend, I’d say let Dorothy do it this time and then next time (when Joyce hopefully isn’t in debilitating pain) MAKE her do it.
Becky’s appearance is a welcome one. She’s lightening the tone of the entire conversation and possibly even the act of getting the pills itself. Treating it like no big deal instead of just saying it’s not and amazing it one anyway, that’s the way to do it.
When IS joyce’s b-day , anyways? I’m sure it would’ve come up/been told at some point but usually some ppl don’t make a big deal outta it or tell someone aw eek ahead if they decide to celebrate it and invite ppl
Well, sort of. You wouldn’t normally give hormonal birth control to little kids.
Here it’s used more as a weak form of ID, I think. Making sure it’s the right person’s prescription, if not necessarily the right person picking it up.
My friend in Georgia is going through a crisis that threatens his ability to function and work. They clearly have some kind of depression-type neurodivergence, very likely could be autism too (in fact im almost certain this is burn-out).
If you can put together an infodump on resources that can help him get a free diagnosis and some tips on how to get the autism / depression diagnosis in particular, that would be invaluable help.
For access to services and immediate crisis help, call the Georgia Crisis & Access Line (GCAL) at 1-800-715-4225, available 24/7. https://dbhdd.georgia.gov/
Yes, that feels really uncalled for.
I was actually happy that Dorothy offered to pick them up for her, and some comments already suggested that yesterday.
And I am not saying that Sarah, Dorothy and Becky have like no point in the whole pill thing, but I really want them to calm down a bit. Joyce is dealing with a lot right now and what they are doing now, talking around, over and at Joyce seems really counter productive.
In Joyce’s position my next step would probably be looking myself in the bathroom.
This is only ableist if you think Joyce’s reluctance on getting the pills is a result of her possible-autism and not due to religion. Or if you think being religious is a disability, I guess.
Now there’s a can of worms we could open. Well, not so much “worms” as “those scary-ass leeches from those books about the orphans”. And not so much a “can” as a “steel drum cartoonishly glowing with malevolent radioactive power”.
I agreed, I do think Sarah is just blatantly in the wrong here. She also can’t actually control Dorothy or Joyce, nor would she try to.
(The difference is that one thing is problematic, the same thing with a dynamic power & control would be abusive. Without that dynamic, it’s just kind of frustrating.)
I don’t know why the pharmacist of all people would be the judgemental one, if the pills are meant to help for more than just birth control than he should know that she’s using it for means other than it’s name brand and would also be getting more dozens of you wemon coming in to ask for the same thing.
Also Joyce does realize there are lesbians out there that dress and look straight passing just as well right?
Then again, this might just be me putting logic first over emotion and social anxiety induced fear. Which even though gives me an attitude of being serious still at times can be just as insensitive as not taking a matter seriously enough in a almost laughing manner.
I rarely interact with the pharmacist getting my pills. It’s sometimes a tech or even someone who really is just a cashier and I have heard horror stories of techs and cashiers being highly unprofessional with certain meds that people request.
I remember once a student asked our health teacher how the morning after pill worked and she straight up said “i’m not allowed to tell you that” (not sure how we were on that topic, ’cause i live in an ‘abstinence only’ sex ed kinda state but at least the internet is more of a thing now)
Was she at least allowed to recommend an accurate information source? Or like, drop in a few minutes later “if you’re curious about how any medications work, the [American equivalent of the] BNF is available free online”?
Goddammit Sarah.
If this is the brain trust Sarah is currently being the janitor – aggressively being not someone’s friend and definitely at least a little evil.
Now that I think about it, college town pharmacies probably see a bunch of people with their first prescription for this specific thing, including people who are freaking out about it, so probably they’d forget any particular person pretty fast.
I don’t know. It kinda makes sense Sarah would be grumpy about this. America has a history of not doing black women many favors when it comes to women’s health or just health in general. Joyce might need to check her privilege on the hussy stigma cause Sarah probably has had to deal with that in some capacity.
Joyce hasn’t even done anything besides be unwell and have anxiety. Telling someone not to help their friend who is sick and in pain because “consequences” isn’t exactly advancing the cause.
No, but Sarah does have justifiable reasons to be frustrated with Joyce on this. Women’s reproductive health (especially in 2022 because half the country decided women don’t get to have bodily autonomy) it effects black women more. The stigma of a woman being a slut for going on birth control is applied more to minorities. This is in the same vein as Dina being frustrated Joyce instantly got an appointment for an autism diagnosis. Joyce needs to keep it in context a little.
Sarah is an abrasive grouch whose definitely being more tough than loving here, but Joyce is also maybe blowing this out of proportion.
It’s also not the first time.
It’s not even the first time with this problem. Nor will it be the last.
Joyce had to be taken by one of her friends to the doctor. She’s going to have to be taken to get the prescription filled (or someone will have to get it for her) and that’s only partly because she’s in pain now. She’ll also apparently need to have someone coax her into physically taking the pill.
People who need help going to the doctor still deserve to be treated with respect.
People who are worried about being seen a certain way because of anxiety and 18 years of indoctrination also deserve respect.
Both of these apply even if someone else – or a significant group of people – has it worse.
If you, personally, aren’t willing to help a sick person that’s one thing, but encouraging someone else not to strikes a pretty bad chord.
Consider that your problems would also be lessened if someone helped you. Everyone’s problems would be lessened if we all helped each other.
The other option is “it’s fine if people experience unnecessary pain and don’t get help, in fact they should think about others instead of getting help” and that’s the one that had Joyce not on medication as a child when this first started being a problem.
To be clear Joyce is totally valid for how she feels. I just don’t think Sarah is horrible for not being the tolerant and understanding one here. Joyce has to other very best friends supporting her. Sarah can be mean.
Sarah is saying the reality. At some point Joyce needs to go get her pills herself or she’ll deal with the consequences of not having them – in this case debilitating pain. At first I was like ‘Yeah, but she IS in debilitating pain right now. Maybe it’d be best, practically speaking, to let Dorothy do it this time’.
But now I remember that Joyce has said herself that she will not do some things if they seem unpleasant unless someone literally makes her do it and yeah, Sarah is right here.
Dorothy could still go for moral support if she’s freaking out, but it’s important for Joyce to do this herself and it’s probably going to be better earlier than now.
@BBCC: I think that’s part of the problem. It’s probably always best to do it for her “this time”. Or to push her to do it, like with the glasses. Each individual occasion, it makes sense.
But it’s not good overall to keep doing it. So when do you stop?
I mean, on a practical level, when you’re in that much pain you don’t feel like doing ANYTHING. That plus the psych issues that do need to be dealt with might make it better to do this time. I’m speaking from personal experience on the pain front.
You’re right though. When the options are ‘Do it for her’, ‘Make her do it’ or ‘Leave her and it doesn’t get done’ how do you know which is best?
She definitely deserves to be treated with respect as everyone does, and they’re collectively not doing a great job at it now. I agree.
At the same time, even your friends don’t have to always take care of everything for you. That puts a huge strain on a friendship over time. It can be infantilizing as well. If a friend has to take care of this kind of thing for you often enough, they’ll just naturally start to manage it for you. Make decisions for you, because they’ve internalized that you’re not going to do it for yourself.
We see that in both Dorothy and Becky, I think. Neither is handling it particularly well, which isn’t surprising, since they’re also 18 and learning to adult themselves. They’ve both been criticized here both for not doing enough to help and for taking over and making decisions for Joyce. It’s an awkward line and it gets a lot more awkward the more often it comes up.
I’d actually be pretty happy with Dorothy and Sarah if they get to “not yelling at a person in pain” and “avoiding advocating suffering” with a side of “apologising for yelling at/around a person in pain” tbh but the conversation swerved to “other people have it worse” and “you can’t expect help” pretty fast.
IU has a well-respected medical school, and they’re affiliated with the largest healthcare network in the state. (These days, it’s actually known as IU Healthcare.) Plus, there’s a Student Health Center on campus, which includes a pharmacy. Considering they have a “Gender Affirming Care Team”, I’m pretty sure they’re not going to be too judgey about filling a prescription for contraceptives.
Why do you think that? Becky’s never been the type to try to convert others. She’s open about her own beliefs, but her girlfriends an atheist for crying out loud.
I admit my previous comment was a little gun-jumpy in an attempt at being funny but she has had a couple of times post-confession where while she didn’t outright try to convert Joyce, she did needle her indirectly to coming back to the faith.
And it’s only Joyce because she knew her as she was back then and has been trying to shove her back into that box. But I will admit that she hadn’t done so lately from our POV. Gotta remember that the fallout happened one or two weeks ago in comic time (give or take, I lose track).
Not to mention she’s been implying to everyone who will listen that Joyce can’t know about her and Dina because she tots still believes the bibles view on sex like a true believer.
i would hope ppl working at teh pharmacy is making more than min wage but seeing hundreds of customers a day ppl would probably just be neutral or at least maybe fake sympathy, unless it’s super inappropriate i can imagine some ppl making a lighthearted joke about certain prescriptions (tho i wouldn’t banter like that or just laugh if the person themselves is making a joke at their own expense)
As a woman who exists in the world, my experience is that many of them do. Pharmacy workers have been known to refuse to fill women’s birth control prescriptions at all for judgey religious reasons. To be a woman in a patriarchal system is to be judged constantly.
Yup. Agree. You’d be surprised (general you, not you in particular) at the ways someone could decide to offer commentary, judgement, and interference in someone else’s personal life. A stranger’s even.
Just wonder if someone were to get a prescription for sildenafil citrate for treating high blood pressure and angina (a chest pain associated with coronary heart disease) and took it to get filled. Would they get all warped out of shape because that same drug is now better known as Viagra, the quicker-dicker-upper? Of course not.
Joyce, it’s just medicine, prescribed for you by a doctor. Out of all the thousands of medications he might have prescribed, this is the one that he thinks will be best for your particular condition(s). The fact that it’s also known as birth control pills has absolutely nuthin’ to do with it.
i don’t know much about birth control but other than stopping her period entirely i think if she really wanted she could’ve insisted on say, stronger painkillers as opposed to birth control but it’s a shame that there’s any kinda discomfort for something ‘natural’ that happens to a lot of the world’s population
Difficult periods can have detrimental effects beyond pain, so this is probably a better approach. Also, at standard doses, I believe hormonal pills merely moderate menstruation, but don’t typically stop it entirely. You can “double up” and take full strength pills for the entire cycle, instead of placebos, which will effectively stop it totally. This, and other approaches to shutting down menstruation, are slowly gaining popularity. As more women find out about the possibility at a younger age, I expect it will become more widespread. The best part is, these methods are totally reversible, so women can have kids when they’re ready.
As to why it’s uncomfortable and otherwise unpleasant, blame the fact that evolution is a slow and messy process, especially for a species as long-lived as humans. We’re a biological kludge that just barely works. Or, if you’re Joyce’s mother, you could blame it on Eve and that fruit.
(Disclaimer: I am neither a woman nor a gynecologist, so my knowledge of menstruation is mostly theoretical and highly incomplete. If a more knowledgeable person spots any errors, I will humbly accept corrections.)
You forget that it’s a man’s god-given right to fuck but women who use birth control are sluts because the only reason decent women have sex is to make babies.
I wonder if Joyce is on her dad’s Healthcare or the IU Healthcare plan and if Joyce’s parents divorce isn’t finalized I’d fear her mother somehow finding out privacy be damned and making Joyce’s life more stressful which will excarebate the whole scenario.
well, there is supposed to be doctor patient confidentiality even with relatives, unless it’s something that absolutely has to be told or so like joyce being hospitalized and her emergency contact(s) being notified?
I was thinking if insurance send the invoice the via the mail unless specified and while i doesn’t specfied the reason for the visit Joyce’s mom seems like busy body who would look into the origin of the bill she might not get much info given HIPA album the cost may rouse her to grill Joyce about the charges might cause Joyce to snap.
from personal experience, at least about five years ago, I can confirm that with at least one insurance company, if you’re on your parents’ insurance and you don’t pay completely out of pocket, your parents will get a summary of your birth control prescriptions/IUD insertions/removals in the EOB. if they don’t keep track of them or look at them closely every month, it’ll probably escape notice, but if they’re the sort to check and make sure they’re not being overcharged for something (which does happen)… well, they’ll see it.
you can invoke your privacy rights, so that they are unable to see the details in the EOB, but it was an opt-in thing, so if they’ve been checking it every month, and you didn’t think to set it up right at the beginning, one month they’ll just get a “HIPPA says we can’t tell you this info” message instead of the normal EOB, and they might get suspicious, and maybe you can bluff your way out of it by saying it’s a policy thing, but if they have other adult kids on their insurance and nothing changed for seeing their EOBs that doesn’t hold water, and and and…
lots of things to be anxious about, lots of ways to get caught, but if parents aren’t keeping an eye on the EOBs they might not notice you opting in.
people can change/make pretty huge life decision in 15-20 years that they never would’ve expected though I think sarah knows herself well enough to probably already decide against having a kid
And i’m sure some are ok parents but i feel like if you already have younger siblings you’d also maybe preemptively decide pretty early on about not wanting to be around more kids/babies
Sarah doesn’t sound like she has the greatest relationship with her family. “Lying to your parents is an adulthood rite of passage, like pretending you love them.’
So your av is Lake? I thought so, but I wasn’t sure. I really enjoyed the first three seasons of Infinity Train. (The fourth wasn’t bad, exactly, I just like the first three better.)
Wow Sarah, “let her suffer the consequences”? Consequences of what? Being uncomfortable with birth control after a LIFETIME of being in a cult that told her all aspects of female sexuality are evil? Joyce should be punished for that?
I do feel sympathetic for Joyce but I think at one point she’d have to get the medicine herself/deal with any snide comments or the awkwardness of showing up to the pharmacy though it would be better if they all went together as a sign of support
I get where they are coming from. I think they *think* they are being helpful and caring friends, and maybe they just don’t know a better way. When Joyce blows up at them, it’s be a learning experience for all.
Frankly, I would have long ago tired of Joyce’s “quirky” objections to basically any scenario that arises and left her to it. Don’t get the meds? Don’t get the relief they provide. Suit yourself.
I want this to be the case. Not because it’s a good idea or helpful to Joyce, but because literally any punchline that involves wacky disguises is great to me.
Always found it silly that certain clothing (other than purposefully wearing like a pride wristband/specificlgbt colors) would be associated with certain things
(tho, be nice if there was like “don’t hit on me/leave me alone” kinda outfit/vibe you could put on to avoid ppl lol)
Clothing is one way people have communicated information about themselves since, probably, the invention of clothes. Clothing has historically signaled social status, profession, religion and many other things for thousands of years. Certain clothing is associated with a specific gender, although the exact detail can vary a lot across cultures. While the exact details may be arbitrary and even silly, this can still serve a lot of functions. If you need help in a store, someone wearing a uniform or name tag is probably a better bet than asking some rando, just to give one example.
Dorothy walks in: Asks Sarah if Joyce has taken her pill yet.
Becky walks in: Asks Sarah and Dorothy if Joyce has taken her pill yet.
No one gives Joyce’s feelings on the matter any real consideration other than Becky who assumes them (but is right and does at least offer something helpful).
Dorothy yells about Joyce not getting the pills yet. Sarah demands that Joyce be left to suffer until she can go get them herself.
I would not stay friends with people who infantilized, judged, and talked over me in this way while I was in physical pain, emotional pain as I found my way out of a cult, and exploring entirely new and terrifying territory.
On top of that, neurodivergencies can create a special kind of anxiety around things a person has never done before. It’s helpful to have a script, some idea what’s going to happen, and a friend to do the thing with. Unfortunately Joyce’s script and idea about what might happen is from her culty upbringing, and her friends are arguing among themselves whether she’s worth helping.
Yeah I think it’s also a bit possesive on Becky’s part too, she was by Dorothy’s side in not wanting to take the first step to help her friend and more concerned about insinuating to everyone that Joyce was still judgmental over premarital sex but now she wants to make Joyce’s medication her business.
Is this going to be the storyline for the next few weeks? Every page a new cast member comes into the room to ask the same question, with it finally looking like the stateroom scene in A Night at the Opera.
Eh, I say let Dorothy or Becky get them for her this first time, but next time, when she’s maybe feeling less in pain, drag her in to the pharmacy. She’ll have to do it herself eventually.
Oh my gods! Joyce now has three of the four Classic Moms. Dorothy is Helicopter Mom. Sarah is Tough-Love Mom. Becky is Mom-Who-Thinks-She’s-Her-Daughter’s-BFF. (Fourth would be the Mom-Who-Just-Wants-Grandchildren.)
Okay, know what? Becky as a character can be a little wearing-on me (in a good-writing way – Willis writes a good character, and it’s understandable why she has those personality traits, and is emphasisable-with about it) but today? Today she made me laugh out loud with her laser-guided understanding of the issue that’s actually blocking Joyce – and her creative problem-solving skills thereabout!
And on a comedic level, I’m really enjoying the whole ‘three parallel conversations that are related but aren’t quite meshing’ that’s going on in the last panel.
(TV Tropes probably has a term for the latter. But I plan to do things today so an not going down that timesink yet. )
They have a whole Greek Chorus thing going on, don’t they? So who will show up next to comment on Joyce? Are they going to keep adding another person each day? If so, I’d not be surprised if Joyce snapped and ejected the lot of them. My bias is: I hate commentary!
Heh. Joyce telling the whole lot of them to bugger-off and then stomping out to get her prescription filled would be an appropriate and acceptible outcome, here.
Joyce has friends who know her so well to knew she wasn’t going to take or buy the pills. How wonderful! They point out that she doesn’t look straight… I wonder if the day will ever come when she realizes they are right.
It’s only four people, and three of them aren’t particularly large. This wouldn’t crowd up a car, and I’m pretty sure the dorm is bigger than that by a good amount.
1: i like how they have 3 different ideas on how it should be done (i’ll help you get over embarrasement, i’ll do it for you, and You’ll never grow if you keep having other people do it for you)
2: is she going to have another crisis over dressing “bi-curious”? she freaked out over glasses, and she can’t bring herself to get her pills, even though it would help with the pain she is feeling. then there was the possible autism thing (an understandable thing to be worried about)
I have agoraphobia. I’m doing better right now (I’ve been going out by myself at least four times a week!), but my pharmacy is unfortunately a place I have trouble going to. I ask my boyfriend to get my medications for me every month. When he can’t, I ask friends to go with me. I’ve skipped days because I couldn’t find someone to go with me soon enough. I haven’t been to the pharmacy alone in at least a year.
Joyce couldn’t walk across campus for a good while. I don’t remember if that’s “fixed” now, but trauma and its responses often last past the triggering point — regardless of whether Ryan is still on campus, the feeling of fear lingers. I think it’d be reasonable to expect that, embarrassment or no, she might need someone to go with her. Maybe the embarrassment is just a more obvious thing for her to latch onto and point to as why she doesn’t want to go.
Sometimes people need help. Sometimes they need consistent help for the same thing, every month. It’s okay if people can’t give her it, but it’s not wrong to need the help.
Loading ...
Now remembering a friend whose grandmother took her to get her BC, then afterwards was all, “I know what these are for… they’re for HAVING SEX”
Friend: “Grandmother, they’re for my ovarian cyst!”
Grandmother: “…OH. Well, that’s okay then! 😀 ”
so, looking forward to all kinds of lovely exchanges coming up ¬.¬
I had a friend who had those (Ovarian cysts). Always sounded awful.
I feel like I should have a birth control pills story, but I really don’t. I didn’t need them until College at which point I just went to the pharmacy and got them on my own.
Wow what’s this, the town market ?
Yeah, for a pair that got kidnapped just a few months ago Sarah and Joyce seem very unconcerned with keeping their door locked.
Don’t J&S share a bathroom with B&D? Honestly, I don’t know how universities config the locks on those. If they’re for privacy of the bathroom occupant, then it’s effectively a four person suite. Regardless, they seem to leave the bathroom unlocked generally.
No, Joyce and Sarah share a bathroom with Sal and Malaya.
Becky and Dorothy share a bathroom with Dina and Amber.
No. Sal and Malaya share with Joyce.
And yeah, I’ve got no idea how the half-bath doors work.
I like how, despite being very similar aesthetically, the lesbians have adopted it as ‘plaid’, while the gays (and Canadians) have adopted it as ‘flannel’.
Plaid is the color pattern.
Flannel is the fabric.
Plaid is an item of clothing, flannel is a type of fabric. The pattern is check, or possibly tartan.
Nah, plaid is the wolf guy from elden ring and flannel is what you use to pour liquids into a small opening.
I thought Flannel was John and John of TMBG
Nah, flannel is a fabric and plaid is a pattern. They’re objectively two different things.
Do an image search for ‘flannel’ and see what pattern you see. Usage rules language 🙂
With the exception of pajamas and Ralphie’s bunny suit (from “A Christmas Story”), just about every piece of flannel I’ve ever seen has been a plaid-patterned shirt. Maybe because there just ain’t much call for things like flannel trousers or underpants.
If you google steel you get a lot of pictures of tubes/pipes but that doesn’t mean “Steel” and “Tube” are synonyms
Not really equivalent here. I get appliances, tubes , bolts and all kinds of steel objects when looking up steel.
When looking up flannel i only get plaid.
To quote Wikipedia “The term “flannel shirt” is often mistakenly used to refer to any shirt with a plaid or tartan pattern. However, ‘flannel’ refers simply to the fabric, and not all flannel shirts are plaid.”
Nor, for that matter, are all plaid shirts flannel.
I had what I’m pretty sure was a flannel shirt where the design was effectively graph paper
I have flannel sheets. They are not plaid pattern.
I have plaid shirts that are not flannel material.
There are shirts that are both, but there are a lot of things that are only one or the other.
Same.
(Flannel sheets are real nice when it’s chilly out.)
in england, a flannel is what you wash your face with. it was a looooong time before I found out flannels (the washcloth) are not made of flannel (the fabric). I’m still not clear on what the fabric names actually are. terrycloth maybe?
That sounds right.
Plaid is Scottish, flannel is Canadian.
From this we can deduce that Scots are lesbians and Canadians are gay.
According to the internet flannel might actually be Welsh.
Idk, that consonant to vowel ratio seems wrong for welsh.
Wouldn’t it be plaid is Northern bellow Scotland and tartan in Scotland (where conforming to whatever patterns they’ve approved as tartan)
*nathan fillion holding up finger then putting it down meme*
how did you know I’m wearing plaid flannel RIGHT NOW
is that a thing where you are? In all queer communities I’ve been in plaid and flannel have been used interchangeably by everyone with a lean towards flannel, especially for lesbians
You say “Diamond Dogs” and that’s just begging for Bowie. Am I right?
This ain’t rock and roll, this is Lesbians
for certain reasons that song makes me feel self-conscious 😬
(let’s see if I remember the correct e-mail for this name)
Love how well this strip is drawn, and the ever increasing gay-diation levels I’m sensing 😊
I’m so close to finishing my interview project, i can feel it….
Cut her some Slack Sarah, Joyce has been through a lot of shit and come honestly a long way in the last, what’s it been, 3-4 months? You don’t overcome 18 years of brainwashing followed by a total shattering of said brainwashing in a few weeks you know.
Sarah would be a very very very strict mother ( if she ever becomes one of course).
Duess we’ll never know, short of a HUGE time skip.
Also Becky is still considering herself Joyce’s bestie huh. Despite them having a massive row like, days before.
I like how the way she phrased it, she left room for Dorothy to be Joyce’s “Straight Bestie.”
But yeah, it’s nice to see that they’re capable of putting aside their recent argument.
Besties do be like that sometimes.
Yeah. My niece asked her mother to sign off on Guardisil. My sisters response was “Why? Are you planning to have sex?” And proceeded to shame her about the request and detail her getting the vaccine. A few years later, niece needed treatment for HPV. I still haven’t forgiven my sister.
“Derail” not “detail”
Yeah, that’s not something you just forgive.
that is super Fuqed up
especially as you can get HPV from saliva.
( i think People are less aware of that because the higher testosterone levels less likely you are to clear an HPV infection;By only focusing on women with HPV they missed who/ where the biggest carriers were. So unlike women there is a massive amount of men with hidden HPV oral and throat conditions. A lot were hidden behind tobacco cancers . ie Not vaccinating men was sexist and a bad idea.
Not to mention vaccination more of the population for things when there is even a half decent reason gets people more used to the idea of vaccinations being a normal and sensible thing.
Yes.
But.
The anti-vax movement is reactionary by nature and isn’t about unfamiliarity really (at least not the ‘true believers). Unfortunately the more people are vaccinated the higher the odds are of someone receiving a vaccine at the same time as they’re coincidentally starting to show unrelated symptoms for an unrelated condition. Which is basically free money to any public person unscrupulous enough to stoke the anxieties of anti-vaxers.
For most of my life, vaccines weren’t really controversial. The only people up in arms were the same tinfoil brigade that claimed fluoridated water was a communist mind control plot. I’m not really sure why the whole anti-vax bullshit blew up when it did. I think it might be partly because the most common vaccines had been around long enough for a lot of people to forget just how dangerous the diseases they had nearly eliminated really were. Back when most people knew, or at least knew of, someone who’d been paralyzed by polio, the vaccine was a pretty easy sell. Nowadays, lots of people barely even know what polio is. Since people are determined to be scared of something, some settled on vaccines.
Yeah, the idea that HPV is a ‘girl’s disease’ and that only vaccinating women for it would be sufficient herd immunity did nobody any favours.
Wow, preventing STDs will only encourage people to have sex. That’s right up there with the idea that comprehensive sex ed will encourage kids to have sex. (Despite the studies showing that kids given the “abstinence only” version tend to start having sex sooner and have more unplanned pregnancies.) Or the idea that needle exchanges promote drug use. (Instead of reducing the spread of blood-borne disease, and making sure that used needles are disposed of safely.)
Sarah.
Sarah.
Sarah Harding! 🗣️
How many Sarah’s do you think are on this island?
Wow, I can’t remember the last time I heard a JP2 reference, I appreciate the both of you. <3
Google was no help here. Unless you’re genuinely talking about the image format or Pope John Paul II.
Jurassic Park
Pants Drugs sounds like when you are folding laundry and find a quarter in your gene pocket, except instead of a quarter it is mind-altering substances and now all your sweat shirts and work out pants are tripping balls.
That’s how tie-dye was invented. True story
*crosses fingers for sitcom antics in which Joyce attempts to convince a pharmacist that she’s a lesbian, possibly discovering her true feelings for Dorothy in the process*
I think if Joyce discovered she was a lesbian and then DIDN’T go for Becky, it would shatter Becky completely. Like I know she’s got Dina already but Joyce was her first love, since long long long ago.
Considering sexuality is consistent between universes, wouldn’t Joyce be bi in that case, if anything?
Where do I get the drugs for my pants? And where do I put them? The pockets? The fly?
I think ants drugs are just belts. Just one can keep a pair of pants riding high for hours.
Pants not ants.
But ants gleefully riding belts makes for a beautiful mental image…
“What is this? A drug for ants?”
in that little pocket within a pocket.
What else are you going to do with that little pocket, right?
Sarah’s right that Joyce is gonna need to get her own meds at some point or she’s gonna be in a LOTTA pain, but right now she is in the pain. I say let Dorothy get ’em this time. Joyce can be a grown up next time.
Yeah, around here it’s like ‘lesbian or just Canadian?’
It’s hard to guarantee!
whynotboth.gif
I forget, did Joyce and Becky make up yet? I guess Becky doesn’t mind helping her out with this regardless, she knows it’s pretty debilitating for her.
They didn’t really settle their differences as much as have mac n cheese and ignore the conflict, but we’re here and they’re getting along so it probably doesn’t matter.
…Mac n cheese doesn’t count as settling differences?
Not really. They squashed the immediate conflict but didn’t actually resolve the issue and that has changed their dynamic since right now they’re both withholding information from each other (Becky and the sex she’s having) and (Joyce with her impending potential autism diagnosis). Stuff they probably would’ve told each other before their conflict. Mac n’ cheese was a nice distraction but it didn’t solve anything.
Maybe not in the long run. Any time not spent shouting at your best friend is a net positive.
I agree with everything you said about the conflict not being fully resolved and them withholding information from each other. Thank you for putting that so nicely; I needed the refresher. I will also point out that they are now spending time together and calling each other friends without shaming each other for their religious beliefs, which is a big step up from where they were at the beginning of the conflict.
Not if it came out of a box…
Where else is it gonna come from?
Actually, I prefer the powdered cheese in the boxed versions which allows better control over ^how^ thick the cheese sauce turns out (so I can keep it from being TOO thick)
Well, sharing food is one of humanity’s oldest ways of building trust.
They didn’t “ignore the conflict.” Joyce did, Becky kept pushing.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-12/02-ill-leave-you-a-phantom/dinnermusic/
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-12/03-trial-and-sarah/godstrings/
Haven’t seen her pushing since then, so that’s good, and I’m slightly less grumpy at Becky now, but… we’ll see where it goes.
On the first pass, I read that as “make out”.
They should do that too.
well it was an awkward rift but i don’t think it’s something that would’ve completely burned a bridge/end a childhood friendship but they have time to talk and reconcile as opposed to one of them moving away for a decade or so and cut off all contact
Her consequences for… being born with an assholeish reproductive system, Sarah? This really isn’t a you reap what you sow situation, it’s more a can she manage to shake off a little more of the brainwashing for the sake of her own physical well-being one.
Basically Sarah is saying that if she can’t make herself get her meds to treat being having an assholeish reproductive system, she’s gonna have to deal with the consequences of having an assholeish reproductive system.
As someone else with an assholeish reproductive system, I agree with Sarah in theory, but right now, I think Joyce is in enough pain that it’s fine to just let Dorothy grab ’em. When I’m in those days I’m in ‘lie in bed and hope it stops’ mode and I wouldn’t be up to going to get meds no matter what.
I think a potential issue is that Dorothy is, well, a little bit of an enabler. Sarah lets Dorothy do it for her once, then it becomes a usual thing, and Joyce never picks up her drugs for herself.
That said, in the moment? Sure, get her the drugs.
Yeah, I can easily see it becoming that. If I were Sarah’s friend, I’d say let Dorothy do it this time and then next time (when Joyce hopefully isn’t in debilitating pain) MAKE her do it.
i thought this was about plaid
Becky’s appearance is a welcome one. She’s lightening the tone of the entire conversation and possibly even the act of getting the pills itself. Treating it like no big deal instead of just saying it’s not and amazing it one anyway, that’s the way to do it.
I appreciate that Joyce’s line of vision is on Dorothy as she learns her clothing style is queer fashionable.
Dumbing of Age Book 12: Your Entire Wardrobe’s At Least A Little Bicurious
Well yeah. It just came out of the closet.
Boo this man!
I tip my hat to you, MisterJinKC.
Amazing. This is a delightful pun.
Push the red button.
Bwahaha! Excellent!
I’m legitimately surprised Dorothy doesn’t know Joyce’s birthdate.
I’m more surprised she actually internalized Carla’s inability to differentiate between her and Joyce.
When IS joyce’s b-day , anyways? I’m sure it would’ve come up/been told at some point but usually some ppl don’t make a big deal outta it or tell someone aw eek ahead if they decide to celebrate it and invite ppl
I believe there was a strip where it was mentioned Joyce’s birthday was in the spring.
In the Walkyverse it was May 5th. I’d imagine it’s similar here.
She does. She has her SS card and other medical information from when she made Joyce the eyeglass appt.
I think the line is just phrased a bit weird. Anyone can grab her prescription if they have her birthday.
Wait: do the pharm need to know your birthday to sell they for you? Is it a remedy only for adults?
Well, sort of. You wouldn’t normally give hormonal birth control to little kids.
Here it’s used more as a weak form of ID, I think. Making sure it’s the right person’s prescription, if not necessarily the right person picking it up.
Consequences????
I usually understand where Sarah is coming from, but this seems so hatefully ableist I’m caught off guard.
Not only that but consequences of *what?* Her body not functioning at peak when it comes to her period?
Jesus christ, Sarah.
Perceived laziness, maybe?
Right?!?! This kind of bigotry is so common that I’m just about numb to it. And not in a good way.
It never gets any easier to be an autistic, does it? 😟
Speaking of this, @Laura, @Regalli,
My friend in Georgia is going through a crisis that threatens his ability to function and work. They clearly have some kind of depression-type neurodivergence, very likely could be autism too (in fact im almost certain this is burn-out).
If you can put together an infodump on resources that can help him get a free diagnosis and some tips on how to get the autism / depression diagnosis in particular, that would be invaluable help.
For access to services and immediate crisis help, call the Georgia Crisis & Access Line (GCAL) at 1-800-715-4225, available 24/7.
https://dbhdd.georgia.gov/
Also try calling 2-1-1 for referrals.
If no health insurance, sign up for Obamacare or visit a community health center.
https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/shop-rates/georgia/
https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/
Or call the suicide prevention crisis line at 988.
Also:
https://namiga.org/
https://www.silcga.org/cils/find-cil-locations-in-georgia/
https://www.mhageorgia.org/
Good luck with your interview project!
Or
https://dph.georgia.gov/childrens-health/georgia-autism-initiative
https://ga.thearc.org/
More child focused but could maybe refer.
Or
https://autisticadvocacy.org/resources/
Not local but could maybe refer to cool local support orgs.
And this one for navigating the disability benefits system:
https://www.disabilitysecrets.com/
and
https://www.georgialegalaid.org/
Directory of GA adult mental health community services:
https://dbhdd.georgia.gov/be-dbhdd/be-supported/mental-health-adults/adult-mental-health-community-services
How to meet SSDI criteria for mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders and what evidence is necessary to prove them: https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/12.00-MentalDisorders-Adult.htm
I hope that helps! Good luck!
Yes, that feels really uncalled for.
I was actually happy that Dorothy offered to pick them up for her, and some comments already suggested that yesterday.
And I am not saying that Sarah, Dorothy and Becky have like no point in the whole pill thing, but I really want them to calm down a bit. Joyce is dealing with a lot right now and what they are doing now, talking around, over and at Joyce seems really counter productive.
In Joyce’s position my next step would probably be looking myself in the bathroom.
This is only ableist if you think Joyce’s reluctance on getting the pills is a result of her possible-autism and not due to religion. Or if you think being religious is a disability, I guess.
Now there’s a can of worms we could open. Well, not so much “worms” as “those scary-ass leeches from those books about the orphans”. And not so much a “can” as a “steel drum cartoonishly glowing with malevolent radioactive power”.
I think it’s ableist because the “consequences” are debilitating pain from a health condition?
Sarah isn’t ableist; she is anti human. She’s the cst misanthrope, after all.
I agreed, I do think Sarah is just blatantly in the wrong here. She also can’t actually control Dorothy or Joyce, nor would she try to.
(The difference is that one thing is problematic, the same thing with a dynamic power & control would be abusive. Without that dynamic, it’s just kind of frustrating.)
I don’t know why the pharmacist of all people would be the judgemental one, if the pills are meant to help for more than just birth control than he should know that she’s using it for means other than it’s name brand and would also be getting more dozens of you wemon coming in to ask for the same thing.
Also Joyce does realize there are lesbians out there that dress and look straight passing just as well right?
Then again, this might just be me putting logic first over emotion and social anxiety induced fear. Which even though gives me an attitude of being serious still at times can be just as insensitive as not taking a matter seriously enough in a almost laughing manner.
As a pharmacist – my only judgement is are you loud and annoying in my store.
I rarely interact with the pharmacist getting my pills. It’s sometimes a tech or even someone who really is just a cashier and I have heard horror stories of techs and cashiers being highly unprofessional with certain meds that people request.
You’d think so, but there’s plenty of evidence of pharmacists and technicians making comments or outright refusing to fill birth control prescriptions
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/retail/2022/07/21/walgreens-pharmacy-birth-control-condoms/10110827002/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/morning-after-pill-denied-religious-beliefs-1.6541535
I remember once a student asked our health teacher how the morning after pill worked and she straight up said “i’m not allowed to tell you that” (not sure how we were on that topic, ’cause i live in an ‘abstinence only’ sex ed kinda state but at least the internet is more of a thing now)
Was she at least allowed to recommend an accurate information source? Or like, drop in a few minutes later “if you’re curious about how any medications work, the [American equivalent of the] BNF is available free online”?
Goddammit Sarah.
If this is the brain trust Sarah is currently being the janitor – aggressively being not someone’s friend and definitely at least a little evil.
Now that I think about it, college town pharmacies probably see a bunch of people with their first prescription for this specific thing, including people who are freaking out about it, so probably they’d forget any particular person pretty fast.
Another nervous white girl having a quiet panic attack? Time to go get the birth control.
I don’t know. It kinda makes sense Sarah would be grumpy about this. America has a history of not doing black women many favors when it comes to women’s health or just health in general. Joyce might need to check her privilege on the hussy stigma cause Sarah probably has had to deal with that in some capacity.
Joyce hasn’t even done anything besides be unwell and have anxiety. Telling someone not to help their friend who is sick and in pain because “consequences” isn’t exactly advancing the cause.
No, but Sarah does have justifiable reasons to be frustrated with Joyce on this. Women’s reproductive health (especially in 2022 because half the country decided women don’t get to have bodily autonomy) it effects black women more. The stigma of a woman being a slut for going on birth control is applied more to minorities. This is in the same vein as Dina being frustrated Joyce instantly got an appointment for an autism diagnosis. Joyce needs to keep it in context a little.
Sarah is an abrasive grouch whose definitely being more tough than loving here, but Joyce is also maybe blowing this out of proportion.
It’s also not the first time.
It’s not even the first time with this problem. Nor will it be the last.
Joyce had to be taken by one of her friends to the doctor. She’s going to have to be taken to get the prescription filled (or someone will have to get it for her) and that’s only partly because she’s in pain now. She’ll also apparently need to have someone coax her into physically taking the pill.
And that’s just this one issue.
People who need help going to the doctor still deserve to be treated with respect.
People who are worried about being seen a certain way because of anxiety and 18 years of indoctrination also deserve respect.
Both of these apply even if someone else – or a significant group of people – has it worse.
If you, personally, aren’t willing to help a sick person that’s one thing, but encouraging someone else not to strikes a pretty bad chord.
Consider that your problems would also be lessened if someone helped you. Everyone’s problems would be lessened if we all helped each other.
The other option is “it’s fine if people experience unnecessary pain and don’t get help, in fact they should think about others instead of getting help” and that’s the one that had Joyce not on medication as a child when this first started being a problem.
I should go back to the second or third time Joyce’s agoraphobia really kicked in and see if anyone said “God, she just needs to get over it already.”
I think we already know the answer to that.
To be clear Joyce is totally valid for how she feels. I just don’t think Sarah is horrible for not being the tolerant and understanding one here. Joyce has to other very best friends supporting her. Sarah can be mean.
Sarah is saying the reality. At some point Joyce needs to go get her pills herself or she’ll deal with the consequences of not having them – in this case debilitating pain. At first I was like ‘Yeah, but she IS in debilitating pain right now. Maybe it’d be best, practically speaking, to let Dorothy do it this time’.
But now I remember that Joyce has said herself that she will not do some things if they seem unpleasant unless someone literally makes her do it and yeah, Sarah is right here.
Dorothy could still go for moral support if she’s freaking out, but it’s important for Joyce to do this herself and it’s probably going to be better earlier than now.
@BBCC: I think that’s part of the problem. It’s probably always best to do it for her “this time”. Or to push her to do it, like with the glasses. Each individual occasion, it makes sense.
But it’s not good overall to keep doing it. So when do you stop?
I mean, on a practical level, when you’re in that much pain you don’t feel like doing ANYTHING. That plus the psych issues that do need to be dealt with might make it better to do this time. I’m speaking from personal experience on the pain front.
You’re right though. When the options are ‘Do it for her’, ‘Make her do it’ or ‘Leave her and it doesn’t get done’ how do you know which is best?
She definitely deserves to be treated with respect as everyone does, and they’re collectively not doing a great job at it now. I agree.
At the same time, even your friends don’t have to always take care of everything for you. That puts a huge strain on a friendship over time. It can be infantilizing as well. If a friend has to take care of this kind of thing for you often enough, they’ll just naturally start to manage it for you. Make decisions for you, because they’ve internalized that you’re not going to do it for yourself.
We see that in both Dorothy and Becky, I think. Neither is handling it particularly well, which isn’t surprising, since they’re also 18 and learning to adult themselves. They’ve both been criticized here both for not doing enough to help and for taking over and making decisions for Joyce. It’s an awkward line and it gets a lot more awkward the more often it comes up.
I’d actually be pretty happy with Dorothy and Sarah if they get to “not yelling at a person in pain” and “avoiding advocating suffering” with a side of “apologising for yelling at/around a person in pain” tbh but the conversation swerved to “other people have it worse” and “you can’t expect help” pretty fast.
You know that’s actually reasonable point.
IU has a well-respected medical school, and they’re affiliated with the largest healthcare network in the state. (These days, it’s actually known as IU Healthcare.) Plus, there’s a Student Health Center on campus, which includes a pharmacy. Considering they have a “Gender Affirming Care Team”, I’m pretty sure they’re not going to be too judgey about filling a prescription for contraceptives.
It’s a ruse, I just know it! She’ll just use this chance to try to convert Joyce!
I would say Joyce would try to deconvert Becky, but I don’t think she’s in any mood for an argument.
I think it’s actually kind of encouraging she’s called herself Joyce’s “soft butch bestie”, and not something like “best pal in Jesus”.
Why do you think that? Becky’s never been the type to try to convert others. She’s open about her own beliefs, but her girlfriends an atheist for crying out loud.
I admit my previous comment was a little gun-jumpy in an attempt at being funny but she has had a couple of times post-confession where while she didn’t outright try to convert Joyce, she did needle her indirectly to coming back to the faith.
And it’s only Joyce because she knew her as she was back then and has been trying to shove her back into that box. But I will admit that she hadn’t done so lately from our POV. Gotta remember that the fallout happened one or two weeks ago in comic time (give or take, I lose track).
Did you forget the whole music thing from mav and cheese night that was explicitly revealed to have been am attempt at reconverting Joyce?
Not to mention she’s been implying to everyone who will listen that Joyce can’t know about her and Dina because she tots still believes the bibles view on sex like a true believer.
And here I assumed Grayfinity was talking about Becky trying to convert Joyce to gayness, and vice versa.
Nah, Becky knows that gayness is inherent, not a choice… While she was devastated to discover Joyce is straight she has accepted this.
I never was known for the ability to clarify. Sorry!
This strip really be assuming that someone employed in a service capacity cares at all about the customer’s personal lives.
i would hope ppl working at teh pharmacy is making more than min wage but seeing hundreds of customers a day ppl would probably just be neutral or at least maybe fake sympathy, unless it’s super inappropriate i can imagine some ppl making a lighthearted joke about certain prescriptions (tho i wouldn’t banter like that or just laugh if the person themselves is making a joke at their own expense)
As a woman who exists in the world, my experience is that many of them do. Pharmacy workers have been known to refuse to fill women’s birth control prescriptions at all for judgey religious reasons. To be a woman in a patriarchal system is to be judged constantly.
Yup. Agree. You’d be surprised (general you, not you in particular) at the ways someone could decide to offer commentary, judgement, and interference in someone else’s personal life. A stranger’s even.
I think the strip is more acknowledging that people with social anxieties often think that, than assuming it’s true.
I used to think that before I started working in retail, now I’m pretty sure most retail workers don’t care about what the customers are buying.
Just wonder if someone were to get a prescription for sildenafil citrate for treating high blood pressure and angina (a chest pain associated with coronary heart disease) and took it to get filled. Would they get all warped out of shape because that same drug is now better known as Viagra, the quicker-dicker-upper? Of course not.
Joyce, it’s just medicine, prescribed for you by a doctor. Out of all the thousands of medications he might have prescribed, this is the one that he thinks will be best for your particular condition(s). The fact that it’s also known as birth control pills has absolutely nuthin’ to do with it.
i don’t know much about birth control but other than stopping her period entirely i think if she really wanted she could’ve insisted on say, stronger painkillers as opposed to birth control but it’s a shame that there’s any kinda discomfort for something ‘natural’ that happens to a lot of the world’s population
Difficult periods can have detrimental effects beyond pain, so this is probably a better approach. Also, at standard doses, I believe hormonal pills merely moderate menstruation, but don’t typically stop it entirely. You can “double up” and take full strength pills for the entire cycle, instead of placebos, which will effectively stop it totally. This, and other approaches to shutting down menstruation, are slowly gaining popularity. As more women find out about the possibility at a younger age, I expect it will become more widespread. The best part is, these methods are totally reversible, so women can have kids when they’re ready.
As to why it’s uncomfortable and otherwise unpleasant, blame the fact that evolution is a slow and messy process, especially for a species as long-lived as humans. We’re a biological kludge that just barely works. Or, if you’re Joyce’s mother, you could blame it on Eve and that fruit.
(Disclaimer: I am neither a woman nor a gynecologist, so my knowledge of menstruation is mostly theoretical and highly incomplete. If a more knowledgeable person spots any errors, I will humbly accept corrections.)
You forget that it’s a man’s god-given right to fuck but women who use birth control are sluts because the only reason decent women have sex is to make babies.
/ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
I wonder if Joyce is on her dad’s Healthcare or the IU Healthcare plan and if Joyce’s parents divorce isn’t finalized I’d fear her mother somehow finding out privacy be damned and making Joyce’s life more stressful which will excarebate the whole scenario.
well, there is supposed to be doctor patient confidentiality even with relatives, unless it’s something that absolutely has to be told or so like joyce being hospitalized and her emergency contact(s) being notified?
I was thinking if insurance send the invoice the via the mail unless specified and while i doesn’t specfied the reason for the visit Joyce’s mom seems like busy body who would look into the origin of the bill she might not get much info given HIPA album the cost may rouse her to grill Joyce about the charges might cause Joyce to snap.
*while it
I am not sure while album came up I think that’s a predictive text error.
*A busy body
*her suspicion
I really hate we can’t edit.
from personal experience, at least about five years ago, I can confirm that with at least one insurance company, if you’re on your parents’ insurance and you don’t pay completely out of pocket, your parents will get a summary of your birth control prescriptions/IUD insertions/removals in the EOB. if they don’t keep track of them or look at them closely every month, it’ll probably escape notice, but if they’re the sort to check and make sure they’re not being overcharged for something (which does happen)… well, they’ll see it.
you can invoke your privacy rights, so that they are unable to see the details in the EOB, but it was an opt-in thing, so if they’ve been checking it every month, and you didn’t think to set it up right at the beginning, one month they’ll just get a “HIPPA says we can’t tell you this info” message instead of the normal EOB, and they might get suspicious, and maybe you can bluff your way out of it by saying it’s a policy thing, but if they have other adult kids on their insurance and nothing changed for seeing their EOBs that doesn’t hold water, and and and…
lots of things to be anxious about, lots of ways to get caught, but if parents aren’t keeping an eye on the EOBs they might not notice you opting in.
Just saying , hope Sarah never gets to be a mother
What a strange thing to say.
I see what you mean. She already hates interacting with people any more than she needs to. Having children would be out of the question.
I’m afraid I don’t follow.
Is interacting with children not defacto interacting with people?
people can change/make pretty huge life decision in 15-20 years that they never would’ve expected though I think sarah knows herself well enough to probably already decide against having a kid
And i’m sure some are ok parents but i feel like if you already have younger siblings you’d also maybe preemptively decide pretty early on about not wanting to be around more kids/babies
Yeah I mean in Sarah’s case, the evidence really speaks for itself:
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/adopt/
Sarah doesn’t sound like she has the greatest relationship with her family. “Lying to your parents is an adulthood rite of passage, like pretending you love them.’
I wonder how much of Sarah’s comment stems from Joyce talking about all things sex being completely and horribly immoral for a good while.
Oh, I hadn’t considered that angle.
Yo Taffy just wanted to say, LOVING your new avatar. MT is so awesome
We do enjoy an enby icon.
(Watch Infinity Train if you like things that are good, everyone. You’ll find it.)
So your av is Lake? I thought so, but I wasn’t sure. I really enjoyed the first three seasons of Infinity Train. (The fourth wasn’t bad, exactly, I just like the first three better.)
Wow Sarah, “let her suffer the consequences”? Consequences of what? Being uncomfortable with birth control after a LIFETIME of being in a cult that told her all aspects of female sexuality are evil? Joyce should be punished for that?
I do feel sympathetic for Joyce but I think at one point she’d have to get the medicine herself/deal with any snide comments or the awkwardness of showing up to the pharmacy though it would be better if they all went together as a sign of support
I wondered that too.
I think shemeans the consequences of buying a pruding plaid wardrobe
Consequences of not getting her pills, which will be ‘your uterus is a rude bongo every few months’.
All of Joyce’s friends are awful.
She needs better ones. She deserves better than this
I get where they are coming from. I think they *think* they are being helpful and caring friends, and maybe they just don’t know a better way. When Joyce blows up at them, it’s be a learning experience for all.
Frankly, I would have long ago tired of Joyce’s “quirky” objections to basically any scenario that arises and left her to it. Don’t get the meds? Don’t get the relief they provide. Suit yourself.
Yes, but you’re a tremendous asshole.
… and who are you?
The second person who’s called you that in as many days, for one thing.
I found the shirt in question in the archives, and yeah, yeah I see it
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2021/comic/book-11/05-as-long-as-its-free/cake-2/
Cut to Joyce in a big hat and trench coat walking up to the counter and speaking in a low voice “I’m picking up some pills for a friend.”
I want this to be the case. Not because it’s a good idea or helpful to Joyce, but because literally any punchline that involves wacky disguises is great to me.
Oh yes! Needs a big fake mustache and whatever Joyce thinks is a foreign accent though. 😉
Always found it silly that certain clothing (other than purposefully wearing like a pride wristband/specificlgbt colors) would be associated with certain things
(tho, be nice if there was like “don’t hit on me/leave me alone” kinda outfit/vibe you could put on to avoid ppl lol)
Clothing is one way people have communicated information about themselves since, probably, the invention of clothes. Clothing has historically signaled social status, profession, religion and many other things for thousands of years. Certain clothing is associated with a specific gender, although the exact detail can vary a lot across cultures. While the exact details may be arbitrary and even silly, this can still serve a lot of functions. If you need help in a store, someone wearing a uniform or name tag is probably a better bet than asking some rando, just to give one example.
Blue and Orange [plaid shirt] Morality.
A new page at TVTropes.
Dorothy walks in: Asks Sarah if Joyce has taken her pill yet.
Becky walks in: Asks Sarah and Dorothy if Joyce has taken her pill yet.
No one gives Joyce’s feelings on the matter any real consideration other than Becky who assumes them (but is right and does at least offer something helpful).
Dorothy yells about Joyce not getting the pills yet. Sarah demands that Joyce be left to suffer until she can go get them herself.
I would not stay friends with people who infantilized, judged, and talked over me in this way while I was in physical pain, emotional pain as I found my way out of a cult, and exploring entirely new and terrifying territory.
On top of that, neurodivergencies can create a special kind of anxiety around things a person has never done before. It’s helpful to have a script, some idea what’s going to happen, and a friend to do the thing with. Unfortunately Joyce’s script and idea about what might happen is from her culty upbringing, and her friends are arguing among themselves whether she’s worth helping.
It looks rough.
Yeah I think it’s also a bit possesive on Becky’s part too, she was by Dorothy’s side in not wanting to take the first step to help her friend and more concerned about insinuating to everyone that Joyce was still judgmental over premarital sex but now she wants to make Joyce’s medication her business.
Is this going to be the storyline for the next few weeks? Every page a new cast member comes into the room to ask the same question, with it finally looking like the stateroom scene in A Night at the Opera.
Somewhere in the middle of it, Joyce heads out to get her pills. No one realizes she’s gone.
Eh, I say let Dorothy or Becky get them for her this first time, but next time, when she’s maybe feeling less in pain, drag her in to the pharmacy. She’ll have to do it herself eventually.
Or she could arrange to get future refills through the mail, a service which is totally available through the Student Health Center.
Oh my gods! Joyce now has three of the four Classic Moms. Dorothy is Helicopter Mom. Sarah is Tough-Love Mom. Becky is Mom-Who-Thinks-She’s-Her-Daughter’s-BFF. (Fourth would be the Mom-Who-Just-Wants-Grandchildren.)
I think that’s just her mom.
That was her mum in the Walkyverse, to be more accurate.
giving steven universe a run for his money…
Oh boy. Other people talking about you, around you, as though you aren’t there. My favorite. 😐
Wait, sorry, my favorite is being talked to about you to your face as though you’re a third party.
/seethe
I feel for every woman in Joyces position.
I had a male equivalant
mds “these dont nomally hurt”
ME: 60 morphine aint enough. Nuts suspened like im in a leg cast.
Does that include the bi pride sweater?
I’d say Diamond Dogs. The Brain Trust never offered any real solutions.
The middle panel Joyce makes me think of Kazuma when he was living under the kotatsu and fought back against attempts of removing him from there.
Okay, know what? Becky as a character can be a little wearing-on me (in a good-writing way – Willis writes a good character, and it’s understandable why she has those personality traits, and is emphasisable-with about it) but today? Today she made me laugh out loud with her laser-guided understanding of the issue that’s actually blocking Joyce – and her creative problem-solving skills thereabout!
And on a comedic level, I’m really enjoying the whole ‘three parallel conversations that are related but aren’t quite meshing’ that’s going on in the last panel.
(TV Tropes probably has a term for the latter. But I plan to do things today so an not going down that timesink yet. )
Or if it’s more appreciable by Mr Willis: “Today’s strip made me laugh despite having a sore throat, so causing me physical pain, damn you.” 😉
They have a whole Greek Chorus thing going on, don’t they? So who will show up next to comment on Joyce? Are they going to keep adding another person each day? If so, I’d not be surprised if Joyce snapped and ejected the lot of them. My bias is: I hate commentary!
Aww yeah this strip could really use some Booster. Showing up in another wing early in the morning.
Heh. Joyce telling the whole lot of them to bugger-off and then stomping out to get her prescription filled would be an appropriate and acceptible outcome, here.
It absolutely would be. One Sarah would likely celebrate.
But will she actually do that without pushing?
You’re right – Sarah absolutely would!
And I think our chorus is unintentionally pushing her to that without realising it – recent Joyce is (rightfully) grumpy.
Will it happen? We’ll see shortly I guess.
Should it? It would be glorious.
I’m not even attempting the deeper magic, it’s called “One Dialogue, Two Conversations.”
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OneDialogueTwoConversations
Respect due!
TV Tropes explains all, as be it consumes all (time).
So mote it be.
Joyce has friends who know her so well to knew she wasn’t going to take or buy the pills. How wonderful! They point out that she doesn’t look straight… I wonder if the day will ever come when she realizes they are right.
I dunno, Becky, feels like a pharmacist who would give Joyce grief about BC wouldn’t be more positive about gayness.
Also, the most unbelievable thing about this entire comic is now that Dorothy doesn’t already know Joyce’s birthdate.
I think it’s more about Joyce’s feeling of being judged than anything an actual pharmacist would do.
Please let this entire chapter be a slow filtering of EVERY character into Joyce’s room until it’s ready to burst at the seams
The deleted outtake from Duck Soup that critics call “curiously prescient. Like, 90 years ahead of its time”.
I note that you’re someone with very good taste, but isn’t that scene from A Night at the Opera?
Yes.
“And two hard-boiled eggs!”
Perhaps Joyce should get the iud instead.
Good for hussy purposes but unlikely to regulate her painful periods.
I have a hormonal iud. It’s good for both!
Yeah I’m ace, mine is for sure about regulating my periods. Also, Leorale, I accidentally hit flag instead of reply at first, I’m so sorry!
Is this the first time on screen becky has said Dorothy instead of Dotty or did I miss/forget something?
Not the first time, but instances are few and far between.
The solution is so obvious!
Dorothy impersonates Joyce, and Becky tags along.
A moment to contemplate how massive their dorm rooms must be if so many people can fit in them…
You can fit a lot of people into even a small dorm room as long as they don’t care much about personal space.
It’s only four people, and three of them aren’t particularly large. This wouldn’t crowd up a car, and I’m pretty sure the dorm is bigger than that by a good amount.
♪ All this time, I can’t believe I couldn’t see ♫
The last time we saw Joyce in that shirt (almost exactly a year ago)
That time we saw Joyce in another plaid top
Rule of threes! Joyce in another plaid shirt!
Also plaidsies!
Becky has plenty of thoughts on Joyce’s warderobe
As a butch, the term “soft butch” always makes me cringe.
so 2 things.
1: i like how they have 3 different ideas on how it should be done (i’ll help you get over embarrasement, i’ll do it for you, and You’ll never grow if you keep having other people do it for you)
2: is she going to have another crisis over dressing “bi-curious”? she freaked out over glasses, and she can’t bring herself to get her pills, even though it would help with the pain she is feeling. then there was the possible autism thing (an understandable thing to be worried about)
I have agoraphobia. I’m doing better right now (I’ve been going out by myself at least four times a week!), but my pharmacy is unfortunately a place I have trouble going to. I ask my boyfriend to get my medications for me every month. When he can’t, I ask friends to go with me. I’ve skipped days because I couldn’t find someone to go with me soon enough. I haven’t been to the pharmacy alone in at least a year.
Joyce couldn’t walk across campus for a good while. I don’t remember if that’s “fixed” now, but trauma and its responses often last past the triggering point — regardless of whether Ryan is still on campus, the feeling of fear lingers. I think it’d be reasonable to expect that, embarrassment or no, she might need someone to go with her. Maybe the embarrassment is just a more obvious thing for her to latch onto and point to as why she doesn’t want to go.
Sometimes people need help. Sometimes they need consistent help for the same thing, every month. It’s okay if people can’t give her it, but it’s not wrong to need the help.
i would like this comment many times if possible. Sorry you have to deal with that. glad for your compassionate outlook on the struggles people face
I appreciate that. 🙂 Thank you. I try my best.
a distinctly unhelpful peanut gallery
I’m genuinely curious how Becky would know that, in the last panel, when the only lesbian I’ve seen her interact with has been her girlfriend.
Has Becky been hanging out with other lesbians off-panel?
Maybe she’s just been doing a lot of research online, especially since she no longer has her school or parents scrutinizing her search history.
Sarah, she’d rather suffer the consequences than face an unknown situation.