153

Cyrano
Posted on September 3, 2017 by David M Willis

153 thoughts on “Cyrano”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    the bottom half is your boots, Joyce

    1. Aeron

      Uggs complete the look.

  2. Danni

    put on some leggings and youll be fine!

  3. Doctor_Who

    Ah, the old “Make your friend as appealing as possible to the guy you like so he notices YOU” routine.

    …I’m beginning to understand why Sarah hasn’t had more luck socially.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      It does sound like a flawed plan…

    2. Doctor_Who

      Although as pointed out below, she doesn’t really seem to care so long as he isn’t with Raidah.

    3. Chris Phoenix

      I don’t think Sara wants him. I think she thinks Joyce and Jacob would be a good pair, and is trying to make it happen.

      She just doesn’t want to admit it to Joyce – hence the afterthought in the last panel.

      But she’s certainly conscious of what she’s doing.

      1. BenRG

        I’m not sure that Sarah has got over the “let’s ruin Raidah’s life” thing yet.

        1. Khyrin

          And why shouldn’t she? Raidah has a vendetta against her. Raidah in her first appearance, at BEST came over to the table to rail against her for having Dana brought home just because she saw her in the dining hall. Sarah left as quick as she could when confronted at the mall… and she took ONE swing at Raidah to make her let go of Joyce, because she can SAVE Joyce. RAIDAH dragged Jacob away from the dorm party that SHE WASN’T INVITED TO ANYWAY! Why shouldn’t Raidah live in fear of Sarah? Raidah is certainly doing her level best to make everyone afraid that one slip up, and Sarah will narc you out and have you removed from college.

    4. darkgloomie

      Sarah’s given up on Jacob. Joyce just hasn’t picked up she’s being shipped.

  4. Stu

    I’m genuinely unsure if Sarah’s still going after Jacob herself, or if she’s content to have Joyce take him away from her rival.

    1. dn3s

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/alternative/

      1. Keulen

        Based on that strip, I’m pretty sure Sarah doesn’t care who Jacob ends up dating as long as he’s no longer with Raidah.

        1. Arawn

          Man, even the ‘good’ people in this strip do bad things fairly often. Jacob has a say in this and just outright trying to tempt somebody into infidelity is a scummy thing to do. Albeit, he has to have the final fault to become a cheater but having been the tempted one before I can tell you that it is NOT a good feeling either when you have to tell them they need to take a few steps back or when you have to explain to your SO that you’re not cheating. It actually ruined a relationship for me and I’d done nothing wrong.

        2. Thulcandran

          Almost like there’s no such thing as a good person who never does bad things.

        3. Miri

          I think they want him to dump Raidah, not cheat on her… but not sure that’s really much better

    2. -Sentinel-

      First time I see an Asma gravatar.

      I’d like Asma to be involved in a story arc. We know so little about her.

      1. Bagge

        Her story arc is watching other people’s fathers (or grandfathers) being horribly abusive. I like the idea someone had in the comments that she regularly calls her own parents just to say that she loves them.

    3. Bagge

      She still keeps her goals well in sight.

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/determination/

  5. Opus the Poet

    Love Joyce’s expression here when she sees the outfit.

    1. inqntrol

      It’s been a lot since we saw that outfit, last time she wore it when she went on a date with Joe, which didn’t end good for him.

      1. Leorale

        That was a different yellow dress though, it was flowy knee-length or longer.

        1. -Sentinel-

          And that was MUCH earlier in the run of the strip.

          Where’s that yellow dress now, though? It managed to impress even Joe (and a number of readers).

    2. Keulen

      Joyce still has the best reaction faces of all the characters in this comic.

      1. Doctor_Who

        We need a Joyce’s Greatest Faces compilation. They would make such great reaction images.

        1. Koms

          Indeed

        2. ValdVin

          Joyce certainly perked up from panel one to panel two when she remembered that this is “shipping Sunday”.

      2. Positron

        Indeed

  6. Yotomoe

    Requested by nobody, Saucy Mary being saucy. Regardless of my feelings it’s nice to see her finally get to let loose with a like minded gentleman.
    http://imgur.com/a/I3hQg

    1. tim gueguen

      It’s a given that someone, somewhere thinks Mary is the best character in DoA, and will love that piece.

      1. vlademir1

        To be fair I feel fine admitting Mary is attractive physically, and rather enjoyed Yotomoe’s pic in that context. That doesn’t change my opinion on her abhorrent personality and behavior though,

        1. ValdVin

          The axiom I use* is, “I’d find her attractive if I could put a paper bag over her personality”.

          *I lifted that from a woman describing a man, before the internet. No cite, sorry.

        2. UniqueSnowflake2

          Yeah, but Mary is a two-bagger.

    2. OnyxIdol

      Not gonna lie, I was hoping for something more explicit.

      1. Yotomoe

        Maybe if you’re good.

    3. Bagge

      “Draw me like one of your french girls”

      1. Kamino Neko

        ‘Why would I draw you like a papist slut?’

    4. WMAuthor

      I am sincerely uncertain on how to feel about this. But knowing someone in real life who is gorgeous but isn’t the most pleasant to deal with puts it in context. Darn you for reminding me Yotomoe!

  7. Stephen Bierce

    *plays The Police’s “Roxanne” on the hacked Muzak*

    1. -Sentinel-

      How long has this running gag been going on? And has a day ever been missed?

      1. A Scientist

        And has a song ever been re-used?

        1. Woobie

          “Roxanne” should’ve been a never-used.

        2. Needfuldoer

          I can think of much worse songs for this crowd.

          At least the narrator in Roxanne is pleading with the title character to stop renting herself out.

        3. Cass

          Looks like Stephen doesn’t care if it’s wrong or if it is right.

        4. Stephen Bierce

          It is wrong AND right. And yes, I’ve missed days and have repeated songs, and it even goes back to BEFORE I became a David Willis fan.

  8. Shiro

    That was an extremely long Chekov’s gun.

    1. Doctor_Who

      I think you mean Chekhov.

      Although…

      1. Shiro

        That’s the one!

        …the first one, not the disturbingly phallic one

      2. StClair

        “I varn you, if you don’t lie on the floor… I vill have to stun you.”

        1. Doctor_Who

          Someday TVTropes is going to become so meta that it will go right back around to being 100% serious.

    2. Pablo360

      Eh, it’s still an order of magnitude less than Problem Sleuth.

      1. Shiro

        Not really, Problem Sleuth only took a tad over a year to write if you count the epilogue.

        Homestuck probably had some longer-timed callbacks, though.

        1. Pablo360

          I mean in terms of narrative distance, not strict time. It’s the only way to compare such disparate styles of fiction. PS had at least one gun that took 99% of the comic’s runtime to payoff.

        2. StClair

          8 Bit Theater. Nuff said.

        3. Pablo360

          That was a brick joke, not a Chekhov’s gun. The setup was foreshadowing the means of victory, not the means of victory itself.

  9. Passchendaele

    Wow, how many years has it been since we’ve last seen that dress? *always impressed by examples of years-long, tight-knit continuity*

    1. John

      I believe its last appearance was August 8th, 2012.

  10. Yotomoe

    I guess Sarah’s giving up showing off her brown booty for Jacob’s attention, and instead is showing off Joyce Brown’s booty.

    1. newllend(henryvolt)

      It feels like this has gone from “I just want to get laid” too “I just want to spite my former best friend / arch enemy by getting my room mate all up in that.”

  11. Tacos

    Just wear some leggings or something Joyce. Then you’ll be alright.

  12. Plasma Mongoose

    Your bottom is your bottom-half.

  13. Urukak

    So are Dorothy and Walky still in the bed, or?

    1. Reltzik

      Yes.

      They will be forgotten in all the shenangins. When they wake up again, Sarah and Joyce will be gone.

      …. and Willis will get a slipshine out of that after all.

      1. nobodybasically

        Joyce won’t let Sarah see her change. There’s no way she’d undress with Walky in the room, regardless of how unconscious he is at present.

      2. Marsh Maryrose

        Unintentionally falling asleep together in your mutual best friend’s bed…embarrassing, but innocent and cute. Performing a sex in your mutual best friend’s bed while she’s away at church…Ew. Just. Ew. Joyce would have to burn her sheets and her mattress if she ever found out.

        Which is not to say that there might not be a slipshine opportunity a little later. If Sierra isn’t actually at church, or making out with Grace and/or Mandy, perhaps Joe can stop to once again to lend her a spare sock for the door.

    2. thejeff

      Yeah. Forget Raidah and Jacob and Sarah’s plotting. I want more reaction shots of those three waking up.

  14. Emperor Norton II

    Man, this reminds me of the first time I met my then-girlfriend face to face. She showed up in the airport wearing a sun-yellow summer dress…

  15. Mr D

    Oh right, Sarah’s wtrying to setup Jacob with Joyce. Mostly as a “fuck you” to Raidah, but still.

  16. Ivy

    IS. SARAH. TRYING. TO. SET. UP. JACOB. AND. JOYCE????!!!

    1. Emperor Norton II

      No, Joyce is still trying to set up Sarah with Jacob, and Sarah is now setting up Joyce to be her wingwoman.

      1. Chris Phoenix

        Ivy is right. You are half right. Each of the women is trying to set the other up with Jacob.

        Sarah is a lot more sophisticated, and Joyce is a better match, and Joyce and Jacob may well end up together.

    2. HeatherJean

      Sarah, apparently, would set up Jacob with anyone else, just to keep Raidah from “getting” him. Called “dog in the manger” by some.

      Not to say that before the term ends Sarah and Raidah get engaged…

    3. -Sentinel-

      I wonder how Joyce’s mother would feel about her daughter having a Black boyfriend. She seems like the sort who’d make all kinds of well-meaning but very cringey comments.

    4. Marsh Maryrose

      I think that Sarah has motivations she doesn’t necessarily understand consciously.

      At the conscious level: she hates Raidah, and will do almost anything to make sure Raidah doesn’t get Jacob.

      Also at the conscious level: she finds Jacob very, very attractive, sexually.

      At the border between consciousness and unconsciousness: she understands that she and Jacob could only be a short-time thing. Well, I think she understands. After all, Jacob is looking for a long-term relationship and right now she’s not, so….

      tl;dr: Sarah’s willing to use Joyce as bait to get Jacob away from Raidah, and then…she’ll see what happens.

      But if Joyce and Jacob start to realize how perfect they are for one another…I honestly don’t think Sarah will be able to deal with that particularly well.

      1. MatthewTheLucky

        Oh, she’s fully aware of what she’s doing:

        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/alternative/

        1. Clif

          And Joyce is much more skilled at lying to herself than Sarah is.

  17. Reltzik

    10: PRINT “Sarah, no!”
    20: GOTO 10

    1. Orion Fury

      I get that reference.

  18. Marsh Maryrose

    How appropriate a Cyrano reference is for Sarah!

    Le Bret:
    Alone, yes! But why stand against the world?
    What devil has possesed you now, to go
    Everywhere making yourself enemies?

    Cyrano:
    Watching you other people making friends
    Everywhere- as a dog makes friends! I mark
    The manner of these canine courtesies
    And think: “My friends are of a cleaner breed;
    Here comes- Thank God! – another enemy!”

    1. Khno

      You mean a Rostand reference; as Cyrano was real and a playwriter, we’d better say a Cyrano reference only for the plays Savinien de Cyrano himself wrote. Like you would say a Vergilio reference only for Vergilio’s work, and not for his appearance in Dante’s Inferno.

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        Are we playing the “Frankenstein’s monster” game or the “Well, actually…” game? I’m cool either way, just want to get the rules straight.

        The title of Rostand’s book is literally Cyrano de Bergerac. Any reference to that book is therefore literally a reference to Cyrano de Bergerac, or as most people would understand, a Cyrano reference.

        It’s as though I quoted the St. Crispin’s Day speech (“we happy few, we band of brothers”) and called it a Henry V reference, and you come along and insist that I should call it a Shakespeare reference because Henry V was a real person and he didn’t say those words, Shakespeare did. That is arrant pedantry up with which no one should put.

  19. Emperor Norton II

    1: Calling it now that Raidah will actually be with Jacob in church.

    2: No, Sarah is not trying to set up Joyce with Jacob. Joyce saying “I’m supposed to get him to like you” is a pretty big hint of this being about Joyce acting as Sarah’s wingwoman. So is Sarah’s very last line.

    1. Wind

      Yeah, JOYCE thinks she’s there to set Jacob up with Sarah. Pretty darn sure Sarah just wants Jacob away from Raidah and is quite happy to set him up with Joyce to get that.

      1. Emperor Norton II

        Yes… She looks so very happy here with this idea:

        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/corner/

        1. RacingTurtle

          But after she’s had time to think about it…”Sure, whoever.”

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/alternative/

          The more I think about it, the more messed up it is. Joyce likes Jacob, but considers him off-limits because Sarah liked him first. Joyce hasn’t even acknowledged that she likes Jacob, he’s that off-limits to her. Sarah is blowing past Joyce here to try to set up Joyce/Jacob anyway, (and lying to do it, I see that “of course” up there, Sarah) because even though it would make Sarah jealous, she detests the idea of Raidah/Jacob just that much.

          Sarah is super messed up and I love her.

    2. Fart Captor

      I take no joy in this, but…
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/episcopalian/

      (jk, I take perverse joy in this)

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        As a lapsed UU, I’m like: “Joyce, want to see a real hippie church?

        Seriously, I still remember the day Malvina Reynolds came to sing at our church service — I think she was the church service that Sunday. And yes, she was awesome.

  20. Rukdug

    Why not just wear what she wore for the ill-fated date with Joe her first week there? I think that would both work well and probably be more “churchy”, although I personally say a pair of dark leggings or dark yoga pants under that dress with some white boots would be an outfit to kill for.
    …
    I’m serious about that “to kill for” bit. I’ve seen something eerily similar happen over a nearly identical outfit during the one Black Friday sale I worked retail during my college years. There was blood, bile, and pepper spray covering the floor of that JCPENNY’S when we finally closed. And then you got to the men’s side and you’d find teeth that had been knocked straight out of someone’s skull by the belts and ties. The horror. The shear horror. I still can’t walk into a JCPENNY’S to save my life to this day eight years later.

    1. BenRG

      Because Sarah wants Joyce to seduce Jacob. If she has to make her dress out of character then so be it.

    2. Reltzik

      But it’s Jacob. The first-date dress would probably work better on him.

      …..

      …. though, of course, Sarah doesn’t realize that.

  21. Gaia

    Calling it right now!

    The Pastor is Ryans father!!!

    1. Emperor Norton II

      This is one of the times where you’d be extremely happy to be proven wrong, right?

    2. Makkabee

      I think that’s unlikely because Ryan strikes me as the type to go to school well away from his parents. But we’ll see.

    3. BenRG

      I dunno… This is just my headcanon but I think that Ryan’s dad runs some big mega-church. I can’t see anything like that in a small town; if he’s anywhere it will be Indianapolis.

      1. vlademir1

        I kinda feel like Richmond would be more on the right line to me. It’s smaller, but it’s still big enough and especially conservative enough to give some significant local power to the kind of parent people like “Ryan” come from.

        1. Makkabee

          It’s also possible that Ryan’s father is a decent sort from a mainline protestant denomination and Ryan’s douchebaggery is in part a rebellion against that. While plenty of abusive pricks were physically or emotionally abused themselves as children, some are starting brand-new chains of abuse.

        2. ValdVin

          Richmond: The .

          (…and Ryan…but we don’t advertise that part.)

        3. ValdVin

          Ugh. Richmond is the “Birthplace of Recorded Jazz”.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennett_Records

    4. Abel Undercity

      (Cues up Dusty Springfield’s Son of a Preacher Man)

      1. BenRG

        FWIW, I’ve long wondered if Ryan was in some way both inspired by and an inversion of that song. Maybe Willis could comment on that?

  22. Deanatay

    Bow-chicka-hallelujah!

  23. Bagge

    Saaaarah…

    1. UniqueSnowflake2

      Storms are brewing in your eyes.

  24. Bagge

    Don’t worry, Joyce. A well placed Dr Pepper, and God won’t see any part of you you don’t want God to see.

    1. Orion Fury

      Except the good Doctor.

  25. BenRG

    I’m pretty sure that Sarah is serious about getting Joyce and Jacob together but she still has ulterior motives of revenge against Raidah. I don’t think that she’s reconciled her conscience to the notion that hurting Joyce and Jacob is acceptable so long as it also hurts Raidah. I think that’s why she can’t meet Joyce’s eyes in panel 6: She’s ashamed of what she’s doing.

    The thing is…? I don’t think that Jacob is interested in Joyce that way. In fact, I think that he views her as a little sister. If so, today could be painfully funny if Joyce does try anything that she thinks is seductive!

    1. Reltzik

      Except Joyce ISN’T going to do anything that she thinks is seductive.

      1. ValdVin

        Correct; she won’t purposefully do that.

        But I want a betting pool on the number of times Joyce twirls her hair in front of Jacob.

  26. Gesc

    Even if Sarah is indeed trying to set Joyce and Jacob up, I’m certain she will be pissed he’s not with her anyway.

    That said, Jacob can and probably will decide for himself. He seems like one of the most level headed characters too, so I don’t think shenanigans will ensue. At least not the ones intended

    1. BenRG

      I’m more worried about whether Sarah will end up putting Joyce in the sights of Raidah and her gang as well as whether Sarah is setting Joyce up for unexpected pain and embarrassment.

      1. Gesc

        Yeah, spite seems to be guiding Sarah and that opens the door for a bunch of things I would rather avoid for Joyce.

        It may be because more often than not I steer away from shipping, but I feel like Joyce is best on her own for now.

    2. chris73

      We know Joe has already said about Jacob and Raidah and how hes not cool with the idea (from the pizzeria) so I’m wondering what’ll happen if Joe learns its still going on

      1. chris73

        Not cool with trying to split up Jacob and Raidah I mean

  27. Dev Non

    THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE UNACCOUNTED FOR IN THAT ROOM AND I NEED ANSWERS

    1. Bagge

      I KNOW, RIGHT!!! BACK TO ADORABLE/HILARIOUS/AWKWARD SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS!!!

  28. Reltzik

    Tonight, Grav Roulette, you have given me Daisy.

    ….

    …. sigh.

    She’s a bit part, but at least she’s a bit part that we know something about.

    Specifically, what we know about her is that she’s a raging mass of hormones who uses and abuses her position and authority in search of any hint of a vicariously-lived fantasy, instead of just locking herself in a room with a dirty mag for twenty minutes and then getting on with her job and her life.

    I mean, seriously, I don’t say most people need to get laid when they’ve get stressed or acting out, but Daisy? Daisy needs herself a girlfriend or at least a fuck-buddy STAT. For the good of EVERYONE.

    …..

    ….. noIdon’trelatetothatshutupGravRoulette.

    1. Eldritch Gentleman

      Maybe we could solve some problems if we threw her at Leslie?

      1. Reltzik

        Except she’s a student, and Leslie doesn’t date students.

        1. Eldritch Gentleman

          She is a student? Weird, I had the impression that she was part of the faculty… oh well. Too bad.

        2. C.

          The editor at student newspapers are also students, and since the IDS in independent, they report to a board of journalists and student representatives.

    2. timemonkey

      You really think Daisy isn’t ‘taking care of herself’ all the time?

      1. Jhon

        With a Chest Window?

  29. Eldritch Gentleman

    Sarah trying to unleash some tactical nukes huh…

    1. Orion Fury

      Damn it all.

  30. zellgato

    Yup. Wear some nice shorts and possibly boots with it and it’ll look simple and plain.
    unless you go hard core leather boots and some odd colour pants then it’ll probably be less church happy.

    Also you silly roomie… that won’t help your cause

    1. Reltzik

      High socks or tights could work, though.

  31. Zaxares

    Ehhh, I’m not sure yellow is your colour, Joyce. Get a red one, now we’re talking! 😀

  32. Darkoneko

    …Sarah is trying to get J x J happen ?

  33. adjudicus

    Wait… Sarah’s revenge plan disregards Joyce’s and Jacob’s feelings and reservations, and she’s using them as tools to further her revenge on Raidah. Isn’t what she’s doing a form of objectification?

    1. Daibhid C

      I … don’t think so? I mean, it’s a horrible, horrible plan for multiple reasons, and seriously, Sarah, what is the matter with you, but I don’t think that’s one of them.

      1. Eldritch Gentleman

        Now that I think of it… Didn’t Joyce advocate ruining Raidah’s relationship so Sarah could get together with Jacob? I’m almost sure that was a thing…

        1. ValdVin

          Yes, that’s Joyce being immature and (still the damaging kind of) innocent. Hopefully she learns without destroying anything (in a comic not called “Good decisions made your first semester at college”).

          Sarah supposed to already know this, however she’s maybe blinded by her dislike of Raidah.

        2. Eldritch Gentleman

          Mhm Raidah is indeed the last person I would feel sorry for in this situation considering what a turd she’s been to Sarah and Dina.

          Jacob is the one who’d get most messed up in this situation with Joyce coming in next (assuming she realizes what she is doing is bad)

    2. Eldritch Gentleman

      I’d use stronger words considering she is trying to drop a homewrecker on Raidah’s relationship but objectification might be a good start.

    3. Pasqui23

      Well according to Kant whenever you treat persons as a mean to a end you are committing an evil act,even in the service of the greater good.We could argue that objectification is for Kant the essence of all evil.

      1. Jhon

        Somewhere Granny Weatherwax is nodding approvingly.

  34. Pasqui23

    Both of them should remember how that play ended,with the pair succeeding all too well and the girl falling in love with a person that does not exist

  35. Crumplepunch

    It’s a good thing her mom is such an intellectual powerhouse.

  36. kingmabel

    YAY a Cyrano de Beregerac reference!!

  37. Reed

    here to see what my gravatar changed to don’t mind me

    1. Reed

      hMMMMMMMM

      1. Clif

        You were better off not knowing.

    2. Mr D

      I tell you, like I’ve told evertone else, you can re-roll your grav roulette by randomyl capitalizing a letter in your Email

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        Or you can roll your own.

        Or you can get a gravatar.com account and copy and upload any Willis-created gravatar you choose. (I’m assuming Willis would be okay with that as long as you’re posting on this or other Willis-created forums; if you’re thinking of using his artwork in any other context, check with him first.)

        1. Marsh Maryrose

          It didn’t occur to me until I’d posted this that I did not consult with Edward Gorey before “borrowing” his artwork, but then the Wuggly Ump came for him over a decade ago. I think I’m within the bounds of “Fair Use,” though.

  38. ǝ snow ʍousɐ

    I think at this point Sarah is content to live vicariously through Joyce

    1. Sam

      At this point she is happy as long as Raidah doesn’t get to keep Jacob honestly.

  39. Tommy Fresh

    Has Joyce worn this in-universe before? I feel like I remember it, but maybe I’m just remembering one of the preview images.

  40. Marsh Maryrose

    I think someone’s already posted this, but the last time we saw this on Joyce, she was trying it on in a mall. (This was after Raidah and her friends had insulted Dina by calling her mentally challenged, and before Sarah punched Raidah.) Not going to put another link in, but one of the earlier strips has Joyce saying it bares more of her legs than she is comfortable with, and Billie tells her she should want to bare her very nice legs.

    Or you may be thinking of the yellow dress she wore on her first date with Joe. But that was ankle-length.

    1. Puckish Rogue

      The short dress is quite attractive but the long dress had more class (IMHO)

    2. Orion Fury

      But it’s missing a layer.

  41. poofdepoof

    I thought that there was only one yellow dress…

  42. Passchendaele

    Mwahaha, I can keep up my last-comment streak. Well, until Willis catches on and goes “what is even the point of this”.

    Joyce’s expressions are never not funny to me, and I seriously need to look up that literary reference, because it’s distantly familiar to me but I don’t know exactly what it is, and that impels my overwhelming curiosity.

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