147

Balancing
Posted on January 28, 2017 by David M Willis

147 thoughts on “Balancing”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    walked right into that one lolololol

    er

    1. Ana Chronistic

      shit am I gonna have to do a Carla reaction GIF

      1. user 18

        I think you just might

        1. Ana Chronistic

          VIOLA

          D=

        2. DarkoNeko

          niice.

        3. Emperor Norton II

          First, I like the animation.

          Second, as a result of your little mistyping, I’m now listening to a viola concert.

        4. a snow ʍousɐ

          +1 for suitable reaction to a typo! Commendable!

        5. Ana Chronistic

          no, I spelled the instrument correctly =B

          “Did my sarcasm not come through?” – dude who didn’t understand sarcastic responses to his sarcasm

        6. abacuswizard

          You even animated the squeans over Dorothy’s head! That’s adorable!

        7. Needfuldoer

          They’re like the effervescent fizzing of an Alka-Seltzer.

        8. Reltzik

          Good, but Dorothy needs to look more strung out<a href="http://www.evilenglish.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/I-must-correct-you-anyway.jpg&quot;.

        9. Reltzik

          Argh, broken links, TRYING THAT AGAIN.

          Dorothy needs to look more strung out.

        10. Orion Fury

          That took 49 minutes, which for some people was probably 50 minutes too long.

        11. Needfuldoer

          Nice job! It needs more sound effects…

        12. de Combys

          You might want to be careful when you type “voilà”, because one little letter inversion and you get the past tense of the verb “to rape”.

          Hi Ryan!

        13. Kay

          My new favorite thing

      2. Tim

        Ana. Use the Homer Simpson retreating into the bushes GIF.

    2. TheAnonymousGuy

      You all read the alt text someone make this an animation

      1. Ana Chronistic

        ↑

    3. Rognik

      The great thing about Carla is that she just rolls with it.

  2. Mr. Mendo

    Probably a good call, Carla… 😉

  3. Danni

    id do the same thing, carla

  4. Doctor_Who

    Dorothy, don’t worry.

    Mike is the concept of suffering made flesh, so you’re off the hook.

    1. TheAnonymousGuy

      Wouldn’t he be more the manifestation seeing as he actually goes out his way to do this stuff on purpose?

  5. Suzi

    Is… is dorothy drunk/buzzed? Why the little dots above her head?

    1. Leorale

      Yep, she was drinking with Billie in the murder cave.

      1. Suzi

        Yeah but now she has food and a book, you’d think she would know better than to walk around wasted

        1. Wizard

          Alcohol is a depressant, and common sense is one of the things it depresses.

        2. Reltzik

          Maybe she’s thinking food will help dilute the alcohol. Or, you know, just provide need sustenance.

          Also, she seems functional enough right now. Drunk, yes, wasted, no.

      2. DarkoNeko

        The murder cave, lol

    2. Shiro

      Pretty sure based on her previous appearance, yes. And either a bit of time has passed since she left Billie’s room or it’s a wonder she’s maintaining verticality.

    3. Fart Captor

      Yeah, she was chatting and drinking with Billie last we saw her. She seems to have a pretty low tolerance

      1. thejeff

        No experience with the kind of rotgut Billie drinks, basically. At least not for drinking it straight.

    4. inqntrol

      She drank with Billie a couple of strips back when they talked about Ruth.

  6. Leorale

    That’s why Carla rolls everywhere instead.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      It’s how she rolls.

      1. Bagge

        *Reluctant slowclap*

        1. Reltzik

          Such muted applause? That pun was grounds for a full out rollfolmao.

        2. Emperor Norton II

          Reluctant slowclap is Bagge’s version of guffawing. The more reluctant, the better.

        3. Bagge

          I don’t want to encourage bad puns… but at the same time I wold be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge a pun well crafted.

        4. Deanatay

          By all means, don’t acknowledge bad puns. But the good ones, they need to be acknowledged.

          Of course, the good puns are the WORST puns.

      2. Leorale

        Thank you, Emperor Norton II, for not letting that pun setup skate on by.

    2. Skizz

      I was wondering why walking, as opposed to gliding.

      1. DarkoNeko

        her wheels got glued a day or two ago, during the “just let me fucking study” war.

        1. Emperor Norton II

          To be precise, three days ago now (the glue thing happened on a Saturday, this is Tuesday). And I believe that she’s got a new pair since then. Pretty sure there was a strip with her having them on and all.

        2. Skizz

          Yeah, I thought so as well. Maybe she just got tired of wheels, for a while.

        3. Emperor Norton II

          Well, to be honest, we don’t actually know if she’s really walking, or because most people wouldn’t say “I don’t know why I keep rolling into these situations” even when wearing rollerskates.

        4. Leorale

          I’m sure she’s on her wheels but using the common phrase.

  7. Fart Captor

    🙁

  8. tim gueguen

    Joyce, busy is not a synonym for juiced.

    1. Shiro

      The accepted language is “tired and emotional,” I think.

      1. John

        “Tuckered out.”

  9. Shiro

    Carla has a talent for rolling into things she wishes she hadn’t.

    1. JessWitt

      Like a boulder with cream pies.

      1. shammers

        .. what?

  10. Emperor Norton II

    Oh Carla, you keep getting dragged into things way above your payscale…

    1. Pat

      She’s not getting paid, so that’s fairly easy.

      1. Bagge

        Pffft, as if anyone here could afford to pay what she is worth.

        1. Emperor Norton II

          That would be a full-size, fully functional Ultra-Car that can turn into equally functional submarine and spaceship, right?

      2. Cerberus

        Hey, she set her price for fixing secrets causing more problems than they are worth. If Dorothy doesn’t want to pay the toll(house cookies), than that’s on her.

  11. Fart Captor

    On the one hand, it’s not great that drunk Dorothy is letting secrets slip like that, but on other, holy balls does she need help and support with this.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      And Carla’s probably going to end up helping, despite her protests. Because that’s what Carla does.

  12. Pat

    Did Dorothy steal a lunch tray?

    1. Skizz

      More to the point. Why is there a ran in a yellow floppy hat on her tray?

      1. Skizz

        Rat, in a yellow floppy hat.
        Or
        Man, in a yellow floppy hat.
        Or
        Ratman in a yellow floppy hat.

        You choose.

        1. John

          He’s there for Curious Monkey Master.

        2. Bagge

          And the alien in the yellow hat

        3. Emperor Norton II

          “Hi” said the alien with a yellow hat
          “I’ll tell you the reason that
          “The reason that I’m killing you all
          “It’s because you canceled ‘Better Call Saul'”

          ————————–

          This has been a ‘What the hell?!?!’ post from your imperial highness. Despite not doing pot, he was nevertheless probably high when he made this.

        4. Tenzhi

          Pretty sure that’s a bag of chips. Or perhaps “crisps” depending on your locale.

        5. Skizz

          Noooop, it is a curious, intelligent animal, on a quest for a new home after its previous urban habitat was destroyed by careless hipster renovators.

          I should get out more (in Oz, if it is fried n crispy and made of potato, it is chips. We have two kind words of chips, hot chips and chips.

        6. foamy

          It’s clearly Donald Trump.

    2. JessWitt

      Some colleges allow to bring plates, trays, and the like back to dorms and then place them in common room bins for pick-up later.

      1. Needfuldoer

        She’s a big enough nerd that she bought her own lunch tays.

  13. Skizz

    Joyce and Sarah, still hanging out. Guess Sarah was mad at Joyce after all.

    1. John

      Are they really still hanging out, or is it just one of those mildly awkward, “Yeah, I’m gonna go do my own thing now, which is… walking along next to you because we live in the same room,” things?

      1. Bagge

        At least she didn’t bite the head of Joyce there and then, so that’s something.

        1. Skizz

          Trying to think how that telling off would go.

          “Hey, you just spent all the time talking to the guy I refused to talk with. Plus, got a date to go somewhere with him when I wanted to go somewhere with him, but probably wouldn’t have because he is in a committed relationship…

          …but still!!”

        2. Emperor Norton II

          Could also possibly be:

          “Hey, didn’t you see I was being goddamn fucking uncomfortable in the cafe and that trying to push me on Jacob like that was a bloody shitty thing to do? Seriously, next time someone crosses their arms and looks away the entire time it’s a pretty goddamn big clue that they don’t want to be there and should not be made to do so; and that’s your clue to find an excuse for us to leave. Yes, you. You got me into it, so you damn well better get me out of it with my dignity intact too!”

        3. Skizz

          Nah, too lame and whiny for Sarah and not funny enough for anyone else.

        4. John

          I was picturing Sarah unhinging her jaw and literally biting Joyce’s head off, and it wasn’t until reading the subsequent comments that it occurred to me that Bagge probably didn’t mean it literally. I blame all the talk of eldritch abominations.

        5. Jason

          Likewise. Well, less so the last sentence, but the rest: likewise.

          I like my version better than Sarah getting snappy. More amusing.

      2. Skizz

        True, but walking along with someone you share a room with as a matter of course is only a given in much closer relationships. Which works for me.

        1. John

          Well, there’s “walking with someone”, and there’s “I’m not following you; I’m just going the same place you are because I live there too“.

        2. Skizz

          Heh, yep that was a happy stroll, keeping their distance and exchanging bad looks.

          I got what you were saying, but I am not feeling a “Sarah is so upset with Joyce yet wants to spend the next couple of hours in a confined space with her” kind of vibe from this strip.

        3. Skizz

          Still, I am kind of hoping you are right, a Sarah/Joyce glare off in their room would amuse the hell out of me.

  14. Keulan

    No Dorothy, as far as I can tell you’re not a Lovecraftian abomination.

    1. Haven

      The Doom That Came To Indiana

      1. JessWitt

        ^ working title of Mike Pence’s autobiography ^

    2. Emperor Norton II

      I don’t know, didn’t Lovecraft do a story or two that was at least partially set in a perfect autumn?

    3. Skizz

      Dread D’rthy: The Concept of Suffering Made Flesh!!
      From the Indiana Mythos

  15. Haven

    Dorothy is more coordinated while drunk than I ever am.

  16. Raen

    “It’s good to be fine.”

  17. Derek

    Dorothy is a pretty functional drunk!

  18. Dana

    If I act like I care you’ll want me to be helpful and then be all pissy when it leads to my outing a suicidal girl on girl type.

  19. DinaWho

    Judging from the end of Dorothy’s monologue, we have a few self-loathing issues in common…

  20. fillerusername

    Based on the alt text I really wish Carla had said, “I don’t know what I’m rolling into, but I am rolling out of it.”

  21. Emperor Norton II

    Carla walking away aside… There are few things that has that particular quality of “I hate my life” type of bad as doing something that you -know- is the right thing to do, in fact, is the -only- thing to do… But you also know that you will most likely hurt someone doing this thing.

    And yes, Dorothy, like us, knows that in the long run, it will be better this way for Joyce. She knows, oh yes she knows all the rational reasons that she has to have this talk with Joyce sooner or… No, not later. Just soon.

    But all she can think of is the “worst outcome” scenario.

    And man, can I relate to that. I am in fact regional champion in fictional conversations where I end up focusing on worst case scenarios. And unlike me, Dorothy still doesn’t have enough experience to know that practically every time, the worst case scenario does not happen.

    True, the way you worded your fictional conversation just now is of course somewhat blunt, Dorothy. But I choose to believe that you know this too, and that you would in fact be far more gentler leading into the topic than this when you really talk to her. And if you are in fact doing that, if you are leading it in gently and with the care and love for Joyce I know you have… Well, Joyce may very well surprise you.

    You already know she’s strong.

    What you may not quite realise is that she’s growing stronger.

    1. Mav

      Agreed. Joyce is way stronger than she looks. I think Dorothy should tell her. The worst case scenario here would be Dorothy keeping it to herself and Joyce finding out about it somehow. I think telling Joyce also gives her the agency that she deserves so much and has shown she actually has.

      1. Emperor Norton II

        And Dorothy knows this too… And yet it doesn’t get any easier for her because all she can imagine is her best friend -the one who calls her a perfect autumn blossom- completely breaking down.

        Sometimes, our emotional part of the brain does really stupid things to us against our wishes.

        1. Mav

          I understand. I am that person too. There’s been many times where problems spiraled out of control because I didn’t want to inconvenience or hurt people’s feelings, or worse feared they’d overreact and not want to be friends anymore.

        2. Cerberus

          I feel like I used to do that, but then lost it along the way. I think it helped having some really shitty things happen to those close to me and realizing how much more valuable demonstrations of “I’m here, I see what happened, I’m fighting for you” are than an “ignorant bliss” situation which is usually just the person feeling all alone with their demons.

          Might have also been having shitty things happen to me and realizing I felt alienated and like a burden when people “spared” me things “for my own good”. It’s like, throw a content warning so I can mentally prepare and then let me have it.

  22. Fart Captor

    Unfortunately, in all but the best case scenario, this conversation will end up being rather painful for Joyce, based on her previous reactions to the subject.

    Sure, she’ll get over it, but it’s still not easy to make a choice that will almost certainly hurt someone you care about that much, even if it’s necessary, and better for them in the long run.

  23. Bagge

    Awwww, it’s hard to be a team mom if you don’t know whats best for your friends 🙁

    What does a tipsy Dorothy do? Study EXTRA HARD of course!

  24. brasca1

    Even when Dorothy is buzzed she’s functional.

  25. DarkoNeko

    Walking ? Like a plebian ?

  26. John

    Dorothy is a lovely eldritch abomination.

    The stars are right for Keener/Cthulhu 2020! Because suffering made flesh is better than what we’ve got!

    1. Deanatay

      Wait… Trump ISN’T suffering made flesh? I’m confused…

      1. Needfuldoer

        Not suffering. Narcissism, bile, and greed held together by a cheap hairpiece and spray tan.

  27. Bagge

    “Also, I’m kinda drunk, just like I was at your party which made you feel unsafe and which I’m still deeply ashamed about so…. yeah, balancing lots of things.”

  28. AgentKeen

    Me, too, Carla.

    Me, too.

  29. Reltzik

    Carla, Carla, Carla.

    Why you gotta keep walking into the Zone of Nope?

    1. thejeff

      Cause this entire damn hall is the Zone of Nope.

  30. Reltzik

    Also, it’s funnier if we imagine that Carla didn’t really start paying attention to what Dorothy was saying until starting at “Joyce, please stop crying” and assumed that Dorothy was rehearsing some pretty dang WEIRD dirty-talk.

    …. NOPE.

    1. Cerberus

      “Every new thing I learn about sexuals just makes me want a robot body even more.”

  31. Gvickers

    I worked as a copshop reporter for 30+ years. As Carla seems to know implicitly, one of the best things I learned was:
    Never ask a question if you don’t want to hear the answer.

  32. Doopyboop

    I feel for Dorothy. I feel for her, because one of the worst things about this kind of topic is the burden of knowledge. Dorothy now knows who roofied Joyce, but she doesn’t know what to do with that knowledge. She has placed trust in a real life masked hero to help track the guy down but otherwise…what can she do? I’d say the best thing she could use that knowledge for is social media, with a warning that he roofies people and to watch out for him. When the law fails you, try to use public attention.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      As I said in my comment above, I think it’s not that she doesn’t know what she must do. It’s that she fears what she knows she must do.

      Because yes, she has to tell Joyce about this. She has to. Because Joyce has to know what is going to happen next with that picture. Joyce has to know that it will be circulated. Joyce has to know there’s a chance it will pop up on her phone or on a poster on campus. There is absolutely no way whatsoever that Dorothy could do a social media campaign without warning Joyce first. No way whatsoever.

      So she knows what she has to do. And she fears what will happen because of it.

      1. Doopyboop

        Such an awful feeling. You’re absolutely right, and she’s afraid she won’t know how to handle Joyce afterwards. Roz’s statements lately about how unapproachable she is probably don’t help. When it all first happened, Dorothy was at such a loss for how to react that after Joyce was taken care of, she coped by watching cartoons with Walky. Not a bad way at all, but definitely the sort of coping you do when you need a distraction. To actually face it head-on and have to comfort Joyce…as we see here, she’s afraid she’ll make Joyce upset and she won’t know how to comfort her best friend.

        1. Emperor Norton II

          It’s also somewhat typical for their entire relationship. Both of them keep thinking that they screw up with the other to the point where the other will stop liking them and start hating them… And then when they finally talk, it turns out they managed to communicate their feelings properly and solved their issues properly and grew fonder of one another as a result.

          Not only should Dorothy believe that Joyce is growing stronger, like I previously said. She should also trust the deepness of their friendship more at this point.

          BUT as I have also said… the “worst case scenario” type of thinking is actually pretty fucking hard to deal with. It’s a horrible thing that grabs hold and never lets go. I know that oh-so-well. So I could not possibly be mad at Dorothy right now.

        2. Doopyboop

          Being tipsy probably doesn’t help the worst case scenario thinking either.

        3. Bagge

          That’s true. They keeping worrying about losing their “perfect” friend, but of course they are too good friends for that to happen. It’s quite beautiful!

  33. Rukduk

    Two reactions
    A) Poor Dorothy.
    B) Carla keeps walking into other protagonists problems at the worst possible times doesn’t she? Next thing you now she’s going to walk in on Walky having a full on mental breakdown about classes, or discover Amber is AmaziGirl before Sal does.

  34. BenRG

    It’s too late, Carla! You’ve already proven that, if someone has a problem or issue, you’re eventually going to be dragged into it, kicking and screaming. Just accept that there is no escape and I think that you’ll be happier!

  35. Tenchan

    If Dumbing of Age was adapted into an animated TV series, it would be a classic masterpiece…if it’s faithful to the original source!!!

    #makeDoAtheTVseries

    1. Bagge

      At least this strip could be an animated gif, Questionable Content style

  36. Kensou

    I’m all for the Carla-rolling-away-backwards thing. Always loved the bit in The Blues Brothers when the Penguin pulls that off.

  37. zellgato

    is dorothy drunk there?

    1. Exilon1

      She’s so drunk

  38. Jesse

    You probably could have made a gif version of this.

  39. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    Panel 1: Balancing a tray of food on one hand, while reading a book held in the other. And she’s walking without looking while massively shitfaced.

    Dorothy has the coordination of a goddess.

    Panel 2: I like how Sarah takes a second to glare at Joyce for her easy chemistry with Jacob after she’s been trying and failing for weeks to have anything but awkward interactions, but then by this comic, they’re all good. Gives me hope that Sarah isn’t internalizing any shitty messages about the whole affair.

    Panel 3: Busy, inebriated, same diff.

    Panel 4: Seriously the tray alone…just amazing coordination… no bad Cerberus stop getting distracted.

    1. Pablo360

      “no bad Cerberus” is a true statement.

  40. Cerberus

    Panel 6: So much in this one panel.

    A) Depressives and downturns in mood. One of the dangers of things like alcohol as a means of dealing with stress or problems is that it’s a depressive and slows down thought processes. Sometimes this clears out the noise temporarily, but it makes it easier for mood swings to occur. To go from feeling happy and carefree to being pissed off at a slight to crying in a mess about a recent setback. So it can get one stuck more in their problems and make those problems feel even more insurmountable than they otherwise would.

    So it makes sense that Dorothy would go all emo poet here.

    B) Keeping secrets. It’s an easy place to be wanting to protect someone who’s been through hell from stuff, but in my experience, if you try and keep stuff like that a secret, the person finds it out anyways or knew the whole time. And often times, in a way, where they feel like they can’t talk to people about it or like they are all on their own.

    Which isn’t to say that there aren’t such things as triggers (which is why it’s good to give someone a trigger warning before these kinds of things so they can mentally prepare or they can delay it to a day when they are more able to cope) or information that is really off-topic or on a subject they have actually requested no more information on (some people who have escaped stalkers and spent a long period of their life getting restraining orders and stuff request to hear no information on them for a bit so they can recreate a life not dominated by the shitweasel).

    But beyond that, in my experience, being honest, but pairing that with concrete support works pretty well. And it’s what I like myself. When someone “spares my feelings” it just makes me feel like I can’t “burden” people with what’s going on and that I need to suffer quietly whatever bad thing is happening so I don’t “upset” people caring for me. And I hadn’t realized how toxic that was until I started dating my fiancee and had someone who actually wants to hear about bad stuff and shows anger at the stuff that is angering, because it made me realize how thirsty I was for that sort of affirmation that my emotional responses to things weren’t “overblown” (a common fear thanks to my DID).

    Dorothy is going to have to rip off that bandaid though, cause Joyce is suffering. Quietly because she feels she has to about this whole affair and needs to be a major part of the decision making process of what to do next. And I think she will after she gets done beating herself up over her fears.

  41. Cerberus

    Panel 6 continued:

    C) I dunno if this is just me, but I’m seeing signs in Dorothy of part of her fears Joyce will abandon her. Like, not because that’s likely to happen or because Joyce hasn’t proved her loyalty or any nonsense like that, but simply because she has had a long line of friends walk out of her life deciding suddenly that her atheism makes her an evil person or that her organization style of interacting makes her frustrating to deal with.

    Like, I’m thinking of Roz and Billie’s comments and also her parents’ comments when Joyce’s family dragged her away initially after “coming out” as atheist to them.

    And I think that might be part of her fears in this situation. That, if she’s the perfect cinnamon roll, then at least she’ll have that one strong friend in Joyce, but if she pushes too hard on the regressive beliefs or makes her cry over traumas then she’ll be seen as a monster.

    And if that is the case, I identify with that. Having a lot of people disown or treat me like shit suddenly because of an identity does create a fear that people who love you will suddenly turn on you someday and realize that you were a monster all along. Hell, I still struggle with that and have had to work really hard to counter my instincts to try and always present a perfect version of myself to partners and instead let them see the mess underneath (something I’ve also been practicing a lot here, so thank you everyone).

    D) I want so badly for a Carla/Dorothy team up here. Anarchist and pragmatist. They’d be unstoppable together. And I love the running gag of Carla stumbling on a situation she makes a big show of trying to avoid and then getting sucked into trying to help anyways.

    And now that she knows this information about Joyce, I imagine it’s only a matter of time she gets sucked into it.

    And she does have a stated price for solving problems with secrets causing more headaches than they are worth…

    1. Fart Captor

      I want that team up too. More Carla + Dorothy teaming up with someone who not only doesn’t need to be mommed by her, but probably won’t even let allow it.

  42. JBento

    Just so you lot know, some awesome soul actually .gif’d that last panel (minus text); it’s over at the dumbing of age tumblr.

  43. Liliet

    I love the kind of character who is naturally very empathetic and caring and KNOWS that about themselves and knows that’s a road to a burnout and because of it makes a bit show about how they DON’T care and about how it’s POINTLESS to ask them for help
    but then as soon as they are actually near a situation that needs their help they get sucked into it emotionally on 1,2,3 – which is why they tried to avoid it in the first place!!!
    I particularly like it when paired with a desperate denial of this sort – I DO NOT CARE I DO NOT CARE I WILL NOT LET MYSELF BE SUCKED… that when said out loud pretty much signifies that it’s TOO LATE. they’re invested

    Maybe Carla WILL manage to walk away from this, idk. But I am really enjoying her RESTRAINING HER INNER CHIP&DALE response <3

  44. Leorale

    I strongly agree with everyone that Dorothy will need to gently tell Joyce, so that Joyce can reclaim power in directing them how to proceed after this game-changing info.

    We know this, plus Amazi-Girl also knows that Joyce hates that Ryan is still out there, and very much wants him caught. Joyce may be glad to have such progress on that front.

    Dorothy’s decision is harder, because her latest info on it is Joyce specifically asked them to pretend it didn’t happen and not make her think about it. Dorothy’s legit to feel conflicted about violating Joyce’s request/boundary (not to mention possibly making her friend cry).

    1. Leorale

      Anyway, I think Dorothy will tell her as well as possible, and it’ll be okay, and Joyce will instruct them to catch the bastard, to universal cheers, hooray!

  45. JepMZ

    Dorothy’s actions make sense. Joyce is an almost-raped victim. And it affects not just her but everyone around her.

  46. Vulcanodon

    Can Joyce smell the alcohol on Dorothy’s breath?

  47. BBCC

    Panel One: Dorothy, Dorothy, Dorothy. While I admire your coordination and balance, this is rough to balance food and books.

    I admit, I do this too. Read while walking. That is me. Although, I must point out that this is probably her compensating for her time with Billie by moving her study time to her lunch. This is going to lead to burn out soon. Poor girl.

    Panel Two: Well, Sarah looks better. Not as upset or angry. That’s good. I’m hoping she’ll get over this soon and not be too mad at Joyce because Joyce is precious. And squeeee over how cute her greeting Dorothy is! She’s raising her arms and being cute.

    Panel Three: Busy, wasted, same difference. As usual, Joyce sucks at telling when people are intoxicated and Dorothy has a decent drunk face. Not bad.

    And it’s cute to see Dorothy asking about their day and being glad to hear about Becky.

    Panel Four: Including the incoming chat about Ryan, eh, Dorothy? I certainly hope they talk later before Sal ends up telling her in the mistaken impression she already knows. I think she’d take it much better from you, Dorothy, than Sal.

    Panel Five: This is a cool panel! Dorothy looks very alone, very small, and clearly very troubled. This decision has been weighing heavy in her mind since it first came to her. Poor baby.

    Panel Six: Oh Dorothy. This is a rough situation. Where you know the right thing to do but you know it will be hurtful. That’s never an easy place to be. It’s also very scary, the idea she could do more harm to Joyce than good for everyone else, as this could go sour if there’s nothing they can do about Ryan.

    And there’s the possibility Joyce will be angry at being reminded about it or that this could end badly. That she may not want Dorothy anymore. It’s unlikely, but when you’re in a depressed spiral, you end up going to the worst possible situation and convincing yourself you’re Satan before you get to any kind of resolution.

    And that makes these discussions go harder. Because you’re not invested in this being the right thing. You barrel through them and try to keep quiet and then it ends up coming out more blunt and hard than you intended and that can make situations go bad.

    And that dragging yourself over the coals? Has to be secondary. Because this isn’t about you, it’s about someone else. So then you get to hate yourself for being worried about yourself and your friendship at all. Fun fun fun!

    I don’t think Dorothy needs to worry though. She’s stronger than that. And Joyce is stronger. It’s true she freezes and cries during the first instance of a crisis, but then after a minute she snaps back and comes out swinging. I firmly believe she can handle talking about him. It’ll be okay for Dorothy.

    So long as Dorothy is the one who tells her. If she finds out from someone talking bluntly because they think she already knows (so, Sal), she might be far less kind to Dorothy. And far more annoyed that Dorothy didn’t trust her to handle it, even if she was in a bad space (or recently recovered from one).

    But that’s not on Dorothy’s mind – she’s thinking ‘no, apparently I’m perfect, I have to present as competent and always being right’. She needs to be able to come up with a good solution, and one where as few people hate her as possible. After all, when it comes to running for office, likability is part of electability – and apparently being casually likeable rather than politically likeable is far more important than silly things like competence and qualifications, so Dorothy is particularly noticing her glaring weakness is being casually social and likeable. So this is harder than it might be on another day. One thing she needs to learn (other than to have fun, and not give too much stress, and avoiding burnout and that sometimes people don’t need to talk) is that she can’t please everyone and that sometimes you need to make a hard decision that will make some people not like you and that’s okay. It’s impossible to make everyone happy. That’s not a good reason not to try, but it’s a fact sometimes.

    Also – SHIT, Dorothy, quiet! This is another point on the ‘Dorothy is bad at private information’ column for her RA bid. I know she’s drunk and wasn’t paying attention to who’s out in the hall, but those are hardly points in her favour. Now Carla knows what happened.

    Who’s on the list of folks who know now? Joyce, Dorothy, Walky, Billie, Amber, Sarah, Ethan, Sal, Becky, Dina, and Carla. That’s more of the main cast (as in, those on the cast page) who know than those who don’t. And Roz at least suspects something really bad happened, and they’ve dropped hints around Joe. I’d not be shocked if one of them found out next.

    And yeah, after getting burned for helping Ruth get psychological care in an emergency (albeit, one she mistook as far more urgent than it was, as Ruth was not in a state to move at that point and they could have simply called the centre and said ‘Ruth is suicidal’), Carla ain’t eager to step in another crisis. But give her a few strips and I’m sure she’ll not be able to resist the call of ‘good person’ hood. She’s too good to walk away entirely.

    So I’m interested in where this is going to go. Carla integrating further into the main cast, please! She’d make a very fun add to the dynamic. <333 She's a troll and a prankster in a way people can tolerate because she's not out to harm anyone (and maybe they'll realize Mike is superfluous and ditch him). She's fun to be with (usually), it'd open some great storytelling doors (Joyce learning about transgender and/or ace folks, Carla and Sarah connecting over both making tough choices, her interactions with Billie and Ruth, her clashing with Dorothy over the system, even just more nerd fights with Walky). And sometimes you need a person who will bull right in and rip off a bandaid. That plus some of the more serious, pragmatic group members like Dorothy and Sarah? Comedic and drama gold.

  48. Bluewind

    Questions for any asexuals out there. I’m not sure where else to ask, but one of my best friends might be asexual. She’s unsure if she is or not and is in need of good resources. She loves reading and audio books so I would love some suggestions to pass on to her. Any other good sources would be helpful too.

    She’s in her mid 20s and has never had any sexual urges, attraction, romantic experience (or the desire to), or the like. Naked people are just people without clothes. Porn is boring. Sex scenes are just a break while waiting to get back to a story which she wishes they would hurry up and get back to. She doesn’t ship characters or get excited when a long time will they/won’t they finally happens. She supports LGBTQ+, but says if she had to date somebody, it would probably be a man because of societal norms and a few other things. She wishes schools would provide better and more in depth sex ed and thinks people should be allowed to have sex however they want as long as it’s between two consenting adults; she just wants no part in the sex. She has no religious hangups because she’s an atheist and has been since she was very young and decided while religions are interesting they make no logical sense.

    1. BBCC

      I’m not ace, but I have a pretty good reading list here about aphobia, and some of the posts mention books that may be of interest for her: http://blenderbender1811.tumblr.com/post/155439875225/the-aphobia-masterpost

      1. Bluewind

        I’ll pass the link along to her. 🙂

    2. RandomRedMage

      Going on description alone she sounds aromantic as well.

      1. Bluewind

        I’m a little fuzzy on that myself. I understand aromantic and asexual by themselves and paired with anything but each other. Nobody has ever explained it to me.

  49. E. Bernhard Warg

    I just naturally assumed Carla was rolling backwards on her skates.

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