Not quite. She doesn’t trust that helping will have positive consequences, at least for her, due to the former roommate situation. But she still knows herself well enough to know that if a situation arises, she will want to help, because as surly as she is, she is a fundamentally good person. So she seeks to avoid situations where the need is going to present itself.
Absolutely. This looks like a job for NAÏVE GIRL!!!
And Becky is going to be super happy that one of her friends high-handedly left her exposed to danger of death and torture to save her from a bit of stress.
She’s said the former a few times before (the first time – which was also her first cuss at all – when Ross kidnapped Becky), while she has not, to date, dropped a single F-Bomb.
I saw an interesting piece about the swearing in Deadwood — I think it was an interview with one of the writers. (Sorry that I don’t remember it well enough to link.)
Apparently all the swearing in Deadwood ought realistically to have been blasphemy, not scatology. The writers felt that they had to change it to modern-style “fuck” and “shit” as a translation convention, because if they wrote it realistically it came across as quaint, not foul-mouthed.
StClair
“God is dead.”
*collective gasp*
CJ
According to Stanislaw Lem, he decided to just watch without acting to keep his status as god.
There could be a phonetic scale as well; words with harsher syllables like a ‘-ck’ or ‘-it’ sound feel more impactful, whereas damn, while possibly stronger because of its religious connotations, doesn’t ‘feel’ as potent.
It’s also why swear substitutes often swap out the ‘harsh’ part of the original word, like ‘fudge’.
I kinda want the church to be able to post the first bail only to be totally tapped out and unable to pay for the second bail for when he’s busted for breaking out of jail and stalking multiple college students
Well, they had to borrow money from the Korean mob to make bail the first time, and I think that there is a strong chance that Ross is going to forfeit his bail, which means that they aren’t getting it back. Asher’s gramps is likely to be pretty definite about getting his money back from the actual people who borrowed it, and is not likely to be impressed but the congregation disbanding in bankruptcy.
So there is a fine time for young and old on the horizon.
Depends on whether Gramps decides Blaine is the larger problem. He may decide that getting rid of him is a higher priority than collecting on his unauthorized loans – especially if those are high enough profile to link his organization to some high profile kidnapping/attempted murder.
The church couldn’t make his bail the first time, until Blaine ponied up some filthy mob lucre. So there wouldn’t seem to be any chance they could possibly come up with even more.
Hopefully Blaine ends up in jail as well this time, so Joyce’s former church won’t have anyone to pay the bail for them to get Ross out again. Of course, that’s assuming Ross is in jail again, which we don’t know for sure because Willis hasn’t revealed what happened to them yet.
Needfuldoer
They’ll have to raise even more money, to bail both of them out.
Thankfully, Carol can’t re-mortgage or sell the house on her own as long as Hank’s still on the deed…
The problem, frankly, is that Joyce is far too naive to understand the consequences of following through on her intentions. If the world worked the way she believed it worked, then her plan would be perfect.
Joyce is right in saying she shouldn’t have to ever deal with Ross again, but “I’m protecting her by keeping her out of the loop” is stepping on Becky’s agency pretty hard. It’s probably a tactic she’d be familiar with, since adults don’t always tell kids everything in the circles she grew up in (remember she was surprised her parents don’t always agree), but good intentions don’t make it less terrible.
The appropriateness of her intent aside, Joyce went way past her limits in swearing as she did. Trite words for most, but for her a savage expression of her anger about the injustice about to befall her friend. I hope I am that kind of friend to others.
Friggin goddamn indeed. How is Joyce’s swears level doing? She’ll casually and accidentally say “shit” but not “fuck”? I also didn’t start cussin til college but I just jumped into the deep end and became foulmouthed on the first day.
A restraining order would solve virtually everything. If Beck’s sticks around with Robin for the rest of the day given Toedad’s intelligence he would be back in jail by nightfall.
Last time he showed up with a shotgun. The only thing stopping him from kicking the door in and shooting them was Blaine’s attempts to use him for his own purposes, Robin’s presence wouldn’t mean shit.
They’re basically the same thing, right? It’s an easy mistake to make if you don’t know much about guns.
Agemegos
A shotgun and a rifle are both guns, but a shotgun isn’t rifled and a rifle doesn’t fire shot. If you don’t know or care what kind, there’s no need to specify a particular kind. If you mean “gun”, you can always write “gun”.
A limousine and an SUV are basically the same thing, right? It’s an easy mistake to make if you don’t know much about cars.
Your example is silly. Anybody who’s seen a limo knows they’re nine kilometers long, whereas an SUV is essentially a minivan with extra steps.
And if a rifle doesn’t fire shot, then how do the bullets come out? You can’t shoot something without a shot, that’s just like eating a cake and expecting it to still be there after you’ve eaten it.
He Who Abides
“Shot”, in this instance, refers to the ammunition used. Specifically, shotguns are loaded with shells filled with, essentially, BBs that have a wider, but shorter, area of effect than bullets.
Roborat
And rifles can fire shot shells anyway, I have seen shot shells for .22 rifles.
thejeff
But it’s absolutely critical to correct anyone making that mistake. As we all know from countless internet discussions, the single most important thing about any gun crime is getting the details of the weapon right.
clif
No, but a rifle and a shotgun are nothing alike.
clif
Also, we can’t have someone being wrong on the Internet.
thejeff
They’re a lot alike to a non-expert when seen in a few panels of a webcomic.
From the point of view of the story, there was no difference in the role the gun played. It could have been either. There were some subtler reasons for the gun he chose in particular, but those wouldn’t be noticed on a casual reading. (“Varmint” rifle)
I wouldn’t be surprised if a restraining order to stay away from Becky and the campus is part of his bail. It would be another piece of concrete evidence against him if he’s caught violating the order. That’s a pretty big “if”.
It’s not to persuade TD, it’s to fast track security and law enforcement responses.
Whoever: “I don’t like that Toe Dad, he’s bad news!”
Campus Security/Town Police: “Eh we hear that a lot but parents are generally allowed on campus. We’re not going to do anything.”
Whoever: “I don’t like that Toe Dad, and he has a restraining order on him signed by a judge in relation to that red haired young woman there.”
Campus Security/Town Police: “Sir you’re coming with us RIGHT NOW.”
thejeff
In other words, if someone other than Mike had seen him last night and known about a restraining order they could have just called the cops and had him arrested rather.
Mike being Mike, he likely would have tried whatever shenanigans he was trying to pull anyway.
I figured Joyce would give in sooner, but yeah, I get she wants to protect Becky, and Becky’s been put through so much shit by Ross already, but I think that beyond needing to know, I also feel like she will take this better than Joyce will, anyhow.
179 thoughts on “Approach”
Ana Chronistic
you don’t HAVE to help, Sarah
…you totes WILL, but you don’t HAVE to
Doctor_Who
Sarah is a Knight in Sour Armor, and it’s wonderful.
Cholma
“I will not click that link. I will not click that link. I will… not… click… that… ” *click*
[2 hours later]
“Noooooooooooooooooo!”
Marsh Maryrose
If you only lost two hours to that website, your are one of the fortunate and/or self-disciplined ones
Cholma
Ah, but was that “Nooooo!” an exit from the TimeSink of TV Tropes, or merely the sudden realization I was trapped inside it?
Geneseepaws
First time in only cost me four hours of payback overtime. :—)
And I learned a valuable lesson about company resources.
clif
No good deed goes unpunned.
deathjavu
One gets the impression Sarah doesn’t actually hate helping, she just pretends to.
Freemage
Not quite. She doesn’t trust that helping will have positive consequences, at least for her, due to the former roommate situation. But she still knows herself well enough to know that if a situation arises, she will want to help, because as surly as she is, she is a fundamentally good person. So she seeks to avoid situations where the need is going to present itself.
Slartibeast Button, BIA
A triangle frown, surely.
Doctor_Who
I can only imagine that Joyce doing so would make her look like Death’s Head.
King Daniel
Well this will go over smoothly.
Agemegos
Absolutely. This looks like a job for NAÏVE GIRL!!!
And Becky is going to be super happy that one of her friends high-handedly left her exposed to danger of death and torture to save her from a bit of stress.
Kyrik Michalowski
I’m surprised that Joyce said goddamn more easily than fuck. My parents are christian and they consider goddamn to be the worst.
Also, I’m with Sarah on this one, does she have to get involved? She was just trying to eat lunch.
King Daniel
She’s said the former a few times before (the first time – which was also her first cuss at all – when Ross kidnapped Becky), while she has not, to date, dropped a single F-Bomb.
Andy
Perhaps she considers the situation so intolerable that it truly has been condemned by a deity?
Matthew E Davis
Fun fact — in the middle ages and early modern period, saying goddamn was _way_ more of a big deal than the seven words you can’t say on television.
Agemegos
I saw an interesting piece about the swearing in Deadwood — I think it was an interview with one of the writers. (Sorry that I don’t remember it well enough to link.)
Apparently all the swearing in Deadwood ought realistically to have been blasphemy, not scatology. The writers felt that they had to change it to modern-style “fuck” and “shit” as a translation convention, because if they wrote it realistically it came across as quaint, not foul-mouthed.
StClair
“God is dead.”
*collective gasp*
CJ
According to Stanislaw Lem, he decided to just watch without acting to keep his status as god.
Nono
There could be a phonetic scale as well; words with harsher syllables like a ‘-ck’ or ‘-it’ sound feel more impactful, whereas damn, while possibly stronger because of its religious connotations, doesn’t ‘feel’ as potent.
It’s also why swear substitutes often swap out the ‘harsh’ part of the original word, like ‘fudge’.
Jhon
FudgeDamn!
clif
Kacktit!
Stephen Bierce
Uncanny Valli.
Nono
Joyce, this is why you know nothing about Jordan. Or why you thought your family had no problems with Halloween.
Don’t be a Carol.
abysswatcher1993
She who fights monsters. Just look at Walkyverse Sal emulating her mom.
SystemofEleven
…Is this still the day after the party?
clif
Yes.
King Daniel
Well, it probably wasn’t a day after the fair.
King Daniel
(but yes, this is still the morning after the party.)
CMasta
I kinda want the church to be able to post the first bail only to be totally tapped out and unable to pay for the second bail for when he’s busted for breaking out of jail and stalking multiple college students
BBCC
He didn’t break out of jail. Blaine paid his bail.
CMasta
Then I hope the bail for a second infraction so close to the first is signficantly more than the church can gather
C.T Phipps
I’m pretty sure that when you commit the same crime on bail, your bail is revoked.
BBCC
If indeed they have to offer it, I hope the entire church goes bankrupt trying to pay for it.
Agemegos
Well, they had to borrow money from the Korean mob to make bail the first time, and I think that there is a strong chance that Ross is going to forfeit his bail, which means that they aren’t getting it back. Asher’s gramps is likely to be pretty definite about getting his money back from the actual people who borrowed it, and is not likely to be impressed but the congregation disbanding in bankruptcy.
So there is a fine time for young and old on the horizon.
Needfuldoer
We don’t know if Gramps even knows about any of this. Blaine could have paid with money he’s been skimming with his phony carpentry business.
Of course if that’s the case, once Gramps does find out…
thejeff
Depends on whether Gramps decides Blaine is the larger problem. He may decide that getting rid of him is a higher priority than collecting on his unauthorized loans – especially if those are high enough profile to link his organization to some high profile kidnapping/attempted murder.
Wizard
The church couldn’t make his bail the first time, until Blaine ponied up some filthy mob lucre. So there wouldn’t seem to be any chance they could possibly come up with even more.
Keulen
Hopefully Blaine ends up in jail as well this time, so Joyce’s former church won’t have anyone to pay the bail for them to get Ross out again. Of course, that’s assuming Ross is in jail again, which we don’t know for sure because Willis hasn’t revealed what happened to them yet.
Needfuldoer
They’ll have to raise even more money, to bail both of them out.
Thankfully, Carol can’t re-mortgage or sell the house on her own as long as Hank’s still on the deed…
Icalasari
And made their church too broke for anybody to post their own bails when they are arrested in connection with this all?
BBCC
You’re right, it’s not fair, but she needs to know so she can decide what plan works best for her. And also because restraining orders.
Now please please PLEASE someone look into recent bail releases. Those are public information, right?
Boh No
I really like Joyce’s intentions but I’m pretty sure we’re having laying cement down for the road to hell…
Jamie
The problem, frankly, is that Joyce is far too naive to understand the consequences of following through on her intentions. If the world worked the way she believed it worked, then her plan would be perfect.
I mean. I guess that’s true of all plans.
Needfuldoer
Joyce is right in saying she shouldn’t have to ever deal with Ross again, but “I’m protecting her by keeping her out of the loop” is stepping on Becky’s agency pretty hard. It’s probably a tactic she’d be familiar with, since adults don’t always tell kids everything in the circles she grew up in (remember she was surprised her parents don’t always agree), but good intentions don’t make it less terrible.
InTheory
The appropriateness of her intent aside, Joyce went way past her limits in swearing as she did. Trite words for most, but for her a savage expression of her anger about the injustice about to befall her friend. I hope I am that kind of friend to others.
meanderling
Friggin goddamn indeed. How is Joyce’s swears level doing? She’ll casually and accidentally say “shit” but not “fuck”? I also didn’t start cussin til college but I just jumped into the deep end and became foulmouthed on the first day.
Fire_Daws
A restraining order would solve virtually everything. If Beck’s sticks around with Robin for the rest of the day given Toedad’s intelligence he would be back in jail by nightfall.
timemonkey
Last time he showed up with a shotgun. The only thing stopping him from kicking the door in and shooting them was Blaine’s attempts to use him for his own purposes, Robin’s presence wouldn’t mean shit.
Agemegos
It was a rifle, not a shotgun.
Delicious Taffy
They’re basically the same thing, right? It’s an easy mistake to make if you don’t know much about guns.
Agemegos
A shotgun and a rifle are both guns, but a shotgun isn’t rifled and a rifle doesn’t fire shot. If you don’t know or care what kind, there’s no need to specify a particular kind. If you mean “gun”, you can always write “gun”.
A limousine and an SUV are basically the same thing, right? It’s an easy mistake to make if you don’t know much about cars.
Delicious Taffy
Your example is silly. Anybody who’s seen a limo knows they’re nine kilometers long, whereas an SUV is essentially a minivan with extra steps.
And if a rifle doesn’t fire shot, then how do the bullets come out? You can’t shoot something without a shot, that’s just like eating a cake and expecting it to still be there after you’ve eaten it.
He Who Abides
“Shot”, in this instance, refers to the ammunition used. Specifically, shotguns are loaded with shells filled with, essentially, BBs that have a wider, but shorter, area of effect than bullets.
Roborat
And rifles can fire shot shells anyway, I have seen shot shells for .22 rifles.
thejeff
But it’s absolutely critical to correct anyone making that mistake. As we all know from countless internet discussions, the single most important thing about any gun crime is getting the details of the weapon right.
clif
No, but a rifle and a shotgun are nothing alike.
clif
Also, we can’t have someone being wrong on the Internet.
thejeff
They’re a lot alike to a non-expert when seen in a few panels of a webcomic.
From the point of view of the story, there was no difference in the role the gun played. It could have been either. There were some subtler reasons for the gun he chose in particular, but those wouldn’t be noticed on a casual reading. (“Varmint” rifle)
Jhon
You are ignoring a key piece of Willis’ artistry. And showing you didn’t read the comments that day.
CJ
With how many more people injured along the way?
Needfuldoer
I wouldn’t be surprised if a restraining order to stay away from Becky and the campus is part of his bail. It would be another piece of concrete evidence against him if he’s caught violating the order. That’s a pretty big “if”.
PHNX
You’d think Sarah would KNOW better, by now!
deathjavu
“Maybe it’s a social interaction she can rely on while still pretending to hate?” – Billie, during the birthday chapter.
clif
You would think that Sarah would know there are a lot of dead people who had restraining orders.
Toe Dad: I took a gun onto campus because I would die for my daughter.
Toe Dad: Now I am out on bail and will go reclaim my daughter.
Mike: But there is a restraining order.
Toe Dad: Oh dear! I shall have to give up my plan. Thank you, young man.
…
A conversation which happened in no universe ever.
Hazel
I mean, Sarah probably does, but she is trying to help, if not for Becky then to get Joyce to calm down and breathe.
Shane
It’s not to persuade TD, it’s to fast track security and law enforcement responses.
Whoever: “I don’t like that Toe Dad, he’s bad news!”
Campus Security/Town Police: “Eh we hear that a lot but parents are generally allowed on campus. We’re not going to do anything.”
Whoever: “I don’t like that Toe Dad, and he has a restraining order on him signed by a judge in relation to that red haired young woman there.”
Campus Security/Town Police: “Sir you’re coming with us RIGHT NOW.”
thejeff
In other words, if someone other than Mike had seen him last night and known about a restraining order they could have just called the cops and had him arrested rather.
Mike being Mike, he likely would have tried whatever shenanigans he was trying to pull anyway.
DailyBrad
I figured Joyce would give in sooner, but yeah, I get she wants to protect Becky, and Becky’s been put through so much shit by Ross already, but I think that beyond needing to know, I also feel like she will take this better than Joyce will, anyhow.
Bryy