582

Damn
Posted on November 6, 2015 by David M Willis

582 thoughts on “Damn”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    buzzkill =(

    [not being unsympathetic, just… dangit, Breaking the Cutie]

    [[dang, yeah, every visit from a hometowner has ruined everything, huh]]

    1. EdHead

      Home is where the heart is.

      1. I Write Monsters

        Somewhere in the back closet, right?

        1. Retrikaethan

          i put mine in a shoebox at some point. i think we left it in the old house when we moved.

        2. Palamdrone

          Mine’s hidden in a duck’s egg, in a church, on an island, in a distant lake.

        3. Koschei the Deathless

          Amateur! In my day, we knew how to hide our vital essences! You young whippersnappers cut so many corners nowadays!

        4. Darwin

          I still have a warm heart. In a jar, under my bed. The original got ripped out and thrown to some hellhounds as a chew toy. Fortunately my animating essence retains the power to keep me mobile. Sometimes I even forget that I’m hollow inside.

        5. The Other Mike

          “I have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk.” – Robert Bloch.

        6. N0083rP00F

          “I have the heart of a hero. I keep in a jar in the back of my closet. Want to see it?” – Blue Beetle (Villain’s world)

        7. Synthetic Phylum

          I just keep mine in an old mustard jar… but said jar is hidden in the Airtight Garage!

        8. Chris2315

          Sounds like it could only be found by an adventure game protagonist.

        9. WaytoomanyUIDs

          You’d think, but any mythic hero or younger son will just accidentally stumble across it.

        10. JasonAW3

          In another Castle!

        11. LazyDolphin

          I thought I put mine in an egg, in a duck. Turns out it’s been in a nesting doll the whole time.

        12. stormbeta

          You mean it wasn’t replaced by a pulsing lump of straw and clay when you turned nine like everyone else?

        13. Yet Another Laura H.

          You’re obviously dealing with a consciousness that hasn’t yet touched a flamingo. I don’t know whether to pity or envy.

        14. Androiddreams

          are you a NV secret boy scout?

        15. Yet Another Laura H

          More a Librarian, I think.

      2. Durandal_1707

        Last panel: Oh, I hear ya, Joyce.

      3. Rheinman

        “Home is where you wear your hat.” Dr. Emilio Lizardo

        1. -Sentinel-

          If I only ever wear a hat outside, does it mean I should sleep on park benches?

        2. DarkoNeko

          Yes.

        3. MackAttack

          I’m the president of the Sci-Fi club at my high school and we’re watching Buckaroo Banzai tomorrow!

        4. Rheinman

          May the oscillating overthruster be with you, always.

        5. CptNerd

          Laugh-a while you-a can, monkey boy!

        6. Victor Riley

          No matter where you go… there you are.

          (Now, I want to see that movie again. So good! Even after they run out of money halfway through!)

        7. CptNerd

          So that’s why they never explained the watermelon…

        8. Roborat

          I loved that movie, one of my favourites. I waited so long hopefully waiting for the sequel, still hold out some hope for it.

        9. Undrave

          I thought the saying was “Home is where you hang your hat”?

        10. Idon'tcarenomore

          It is. But that was close.

        11. maarvarq

          or “home is where you hang your head” – Groucho Marx attrib.

        12. Jonathan S.

          “Home is where, when you have to go there, they have to let you in.”
          – Robert Frost

        13. Ragingagnostic

          “Home is where they hang you out to dry…or just hang you.”

        14. Willoughby Chase

          Home is where you hang your toedad 😉

        15. JCfromNC

          “Home is a love I miss very much”
          -Squeeze, Labelled With Love

        16. Willoughby Chase

          Nice.

          Big love for the Squeeze!

        17. gwalla

          That’s the saying, but not the line. Dr. Lizardo was accidentally merged with an evil alien overlord. He’s a little…off.

        18. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          “Home is where you heart is,
          It’s where you hang your hat.
          Without a home you’re nowhere!
          And nowhere is no place to be at….” ~ The Moochick

          G1 My Little Pony made the point the right way. 😀

        19. Elisto Dragonwings

          >_> I almost posted the same thing

        20. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          Yay for G1 ponyfans! ^_^

        21. gwalla

          “History is-a made at night! Character is what you are in the dark!”

      4. UltimateDomon

        HOME IS WHERE THE HATRED IS

        1. Cerberus

          Too true.

        2. m2iCodeJockey

          Home is where you pay for the best internet so you can view you NSFW links…

        3. BlueHoundoom

          Dude, perfect gravatar for that comment.

        4. Bicycle Bill

          Home is where you can scratch whatever damn place it is that itches.

        5. Chris

          Home is the place where you can open a cupboard and find exactly what you where looking for.

        6. Chris

          *were

        7. fogel

          !!! I wish I could; it’s like 50% of the time here.

        8. Deanatay

          You must be married.

        9. Roborat

          You can’t in my house. It is a long running family tradition, whenever family comes to visit, or we go visit, the visiting party rearranges the kitchen. Last time my mother visited, it took my wife over two months to find everything.

        10. Willoughby Chase

          Home is where you can’t find your socks.

      5. Spack

        In a jar, and it only comes out when the good china is used.

      6. Doctor_Who

        Beneath the floorboards?

      7. HelpIveFallen

        So your real home’s in your chest.

        1. Doribi

          Nice Dr Horrible Reference, even if it might have been unintentional.

      8. Vincent

        So your real home’s in your chest!

        Everyone’s a hero in their own way
        Everyone’s got villains they must face
        They’re not as cool as mine…

        1. Carolyn

          But folks you know it’s fine to know your plaaaaaace…

      9. DarkMyste

        home is where the heart break is

      10. Tenn

        Home is where the big stinky fart is.

      11. IceMateria

        Home is where the HURT is.

      12. Ruby Droplets

        Guess I haven’t found a home then…

      13. Kateastrophe

        Home is where your airlock and collection of valuables is.

      14. J.Crowe

        So your real home’s in your CHEEEEEEEST!

    2. Nono

      Becky’s from home though! She hasn’t ruined everything, has she?

      1. Ana Chronistic

        She fired Ethan

      2. John

        Nah, but she was the harbinger of butthole dad ruining everything.

      3. saki

        No, but she contributed to making Joyce realise how awful her and her hometown’s world views are when she told her about how she got kicked out of college and had to run away from home because of who she was. Obviously that’s not Becky’s fault, but it is a result of her coming to see Joyce.

      4. clorr

        No, she didn’t ruin everything….
        But she did show up and provide Joyce reason to question the very basis of their friendship. Beyond that she also made Joyce choose between their friendship and ignoring some significant parts of her beliefs. It might not have ruined everything but it was the start of a slippery slope that ends with her questioning all that she learned at home.

        1. AutobotDen

          And set Joyce on the path toward being a much better person.

        2. Ana Chronistic

          Home keeps you from becoming a better person, so move the fuck out!

          is that it or

      5. MrZombieScordo

        she didn’t ruin everything, but she did cause joyce to hate her home.

      6. Strangeshapes

        She ruined everything in the nicest way, as JoCo would say.

      7. IJ

        She kiss-attacked Joyce without warning, contributed to Joyce losing one of the few people who made her feel safe, and wouldn’t stop sexually harassing her despite Joyce’s clear lack of interest.

        She ruined plenty.

    3. Chubbalumpakis

      Bah. Get a phylactery. No messy organs to deal with. *sage nod*

  2. AnvilPro

    Just wait everyone, eventually the truck will turn around and finished what it was created to do.

    1. Sergei Andropov

      I award you one internet, and may God have mercy on your soul.

    2. Ana Chronistic

      Deliver its shipment?

      1. -Sentinel-

        A SHIPMENT OF DRAMA AND SORROW

        1. Cerberus

          Turns out the cargo was nothing but drama tags.

        2. Opus the Poet

          Another reason why this site needs a +1 system for comments.

          +1

    3. Nick Piers

      Heh, this isn’t like Final Destination.

      …right?

      1. Yet_One_More_Idiot

        Yes, it is.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw

        Oh sorry, you said Final Destination, didn’t you? My bad. xD

    4. Idon'tcarenomore

      Yes.
      Just about the time Toedad jumps up and hollers ‘april Fool’s” – Gottcha.

  3. TheLurkerAbove

    JOYCE SMASH!

    Whoa, I have to say, she’s really getting mad here.

    1. Ellen

      She seems to have enacted an Amber-style red panel. @_@

      Hope it doesn’t come nback to haunt her later. :/

      1. John

        THE PANEL IS RED, I REPEAT THE PANEL IS RED.

        THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

        ALL PERSONAL MUST REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO EMERGENCY COMMENTING STATIONS.

    2. Nono

      Between Ruth, Amber, Billie, Sal and Joyce, yeah, the girls of DoA have some violence issues. Even the more even-tempered Sarah and Dina aren’t afraid to get their claws (or bat) out.

      1. Majere

        I wouldn’t even call this a violence issue here. It’s really a pretty appropriate application of violence.

      2. Kryss LaBryn

        Defending oneself (or someone else) from an attacker isn’t a violence issue. If one were being attacked and one didn’t defend oneself, because violence, would be an indicator of violence issues.

        Not saying Ruth and Amber et alia don’t have them; just saying that Dina and Joyce don’t. And I’d argue Sarah.

        1. xKiv

          Hitting someone who is down is (legally) never defending, oneself or anybody else.

    3. Petra

      Honestly, I’m slightly more surprised at what she’s saying than what she’s doing, even though objectively moving to beat the shit out of Ross is worse. Someone like Joyce, raised like Joyce, isn’t going to use ‘god damn it’ lightly.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Much less “God damn you.”

        1. Leorale

          Yeah. She may well mean it literally.

        2. Ellen

          I think you are right. :/

        3. Cerberus

          100% she did.

        4. Cimorene

          As a good little Christian girl I didn’t curse at all. Now it runs along the lines of f and s. My husband is Gd every little thing and I panic like “What’s wrong oh no what is it?” And inevitably it is like… He dropped a napkin.

          Good little Christian girls don’t use the lords name in vain. They wait for very, very appropriate uses.

        5. Clayton

          This is literally me every day. Except usually i just say “shit” if I misclick a link or “goddamn it” if I go to get a drink and pour it down my shirt. Sometimes I’ll let five or six words go at one time if the situation calls for it, like tripping over a ladder.

        6. Arian

          That’s how I read it too.

        7. Chris

          I have no doubt she means it literally… and that she REALLY means it. That is just something Joyce would not say without meaning it. It is literally a commandment: Do not take The Lord’s Name in vain. She’s not going to say it and not mean it.

        8. Bryan

          Totally agree, and I would argue that she isn’t even breaking said commandment because she is literally invoking the wrath a God upon him rather than using the phrase as an expression of frustration or simple anger. I half expect lightening bolts to hit Toedad any second now.

      2. TheLurkerAbove

        Yea, that’s what really heightens her level of anger for me. She’s really MAD AND ANGRY!

      3. Tobias

        I was actually sorta hoping that this would be the moment where she’d escalate to F-bombs.

        Ah well, guess you gotta keep the big guns in reserve for a future storyline.

        1. Leorale

          “God damn you” is WAY bigger than “fuck” when you mean it literally. Like, you are praying for him to burn in the lake of eternal fire.

        2. Bryan

          Exactly, “fuck” is the height of expressive emotion for the physical plane. “God damn you”, when truly meant with all the weight of Faith from a devout believer, goes well beyond the physical and into the metaphysical. Way bigger!

      4. 80-watt Hamster

        No doubt. I’m nearly 20 years removed from my VERY low-grade imitation of Joyce’s upbringing, and I still don’t (can’t? Won’t?) use the words “God” and “damn” in combination.

    4. GhostWriterL

      Ross not only threatened her in a manner similar to the way Ryan did, but pretty much taken every fond memory of homelife and turned it upside down by showing how utterly toxic everything was, and how it legitimately harmed someone she deeply cares about.

      It’s probably making her question her faith, and people who’ve depended on their faith for everything their entire lives generally aren’t rational or happy to consider that their blind devotion to God, who’s supposed to be making sure everything is good and nice and proper, isn’t living up to its promises. However, she’s learning that instead of sitting around wondering why God isn’t making her life perfect, she’s putting blame solely on the PERSON who is, in her mind, acting in an evil and selfish manner to make God’s otherwise perfect plan fall apart.

      Hence the “God damn you”s. She’s pissed and consider him worthy of burning in hell, which he damn well should.

      1. Bryan

        I actually hope these experiences don’t shake her Faith but rather augment how she sees God and realizes that it’s people who muck up belief and religion. And this is coming from an atheist.

        1. GhostWriterL

          Joyce the character represents what is effectively good about religion, faith, and belief in something ‘greater’. As she’s learning about the world and breaking free of the dogma and restrictions of her upbringing, she’s applying that good element to things that her religion openly tells her she should shun, hate, and fear. She’s realizing much of what she was told was misguided at best and outright wrong at worst and is putting in effort to try and help people (Ethan, Becky) because she has the lessons of “be a good person and take care of others” as her center rather than “do what the guy who claims to be the voice of God tells you to do and how to think and make sure you keep putting forth your tithings or you will burn burn buuuuuurn!”.

          If she one day acknowledged that ‘God’ for her is really just her own morality, I don’t think she’d change much other than be sad she can’t really have what equates to a relationship/friendship with it as a separate living and sentient entity. Whether real or not, particularly in this universe (that’s up to Willis, and I don’t think he’ll make the distinction if God in the Dumbiverse is real or not), she treats God as something she has a connection with, and making the realization/discovery/choice that God is no longer ‘real’ for her would be like losing a dear friend, mentor, or even a parent in a way of them dying or just abandoning her.

          Or I at least take that from the comic panel where she’s looking up and talking to God and asking them why they’ve been so ‘quiet’ recently and if she’s done something wrong to deserve it.

          I’m on the fence personally in regards to beliefs, and faith doesn’t play a large part in my life at all, but I agree with you that I wouldn’t want Joyce to completely lose her faith. It would be depressing to see her trying to fill the void that God previously occupied, and unlike her parents or Ross, her faith is a cornerstone of why she’s as good and accepting as she is. As much as characters like Roz hate it about her and want her faith viciously ripped away and mutilated in front of her, her faith is actually helping her to grow and accept new things, even if it takes some time to shed the hateful teachings of her upbringing.

        2. The Biggest Tom

          Willis was raised in a similar manner to Joyce and apparently her story mimics his. I believe he is an atheist, but that doesn’t mean that Joyce has to be.

          I agree that the story could definitely go either way. As a Catholic I (rather self-indulgently) would rather see Joyce become a better Christian rather than turn her back on her faith, but I’m pretty sure Willis is going to have her continue to follow the trend she’s started into rejecting her upbringing and her faith and adopting a healthier worldview that isn’t poisoned by the bad messages her family stuffed down her throat.

          Especially as she has a violent reaction to Ross, which she classifies as “a piece of home,” I think that’s the more likely outcome.

        3. Ana Chronistic

          a Born Again Atheist!

          I feel like As the Crow Flies is covering it nicely now: Humanity’s perception of “God” is contradictory–how can an all-powerful, all-knowing, etc. etc. being be bound by words in a book (coincidentally, written by humans)? Whatever your take on the universe, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to believe that such an awesome-in-the-dictionary-not-slang-sense being be undone by girls kissing each other instead of boys or having short hair or whatever.

          I like the way The Other Universe Joyce was handled, and it’s cool seeing this Joyce explore the world with eyes open.

          That said, I think I’ll re-enact the first panel if this shitty laptop I’ve been trying to set up eats my post >=p

  4. Cooper

    The joyce freak out panel just got a lot darker….

  5. Nono

    …Did Joyce punch Ross’ face so hard he spun and landed face-down on the ground?

    1. Doctor_Who

      Nah, just his head spun around. He’s actually lying on his back.

      1. Kang the Unbalanced

        Ah. Better luck next time.

        1. Rycan

          Better luck next time? Ross isn’t an owl – turn his head 180 degrees relative to his shoulders, and he dies.

    2. John

      No, she punched his face so hard he flew through the air and landed face-down on the ground.

      1. Ellen

        I think he was actually moving towards her when she punched him, and his momentum carried him forward with a spin added from the punch.

    3. Needfuldoer

      She punched his face clean off into the trees. It’s still in angry-fundie-rant mode even as a squirrel carries it up to its nest.

    4. David

      No, she merely inverted his face. He no longer is Toedad but Soledad. Thank you, thank you, you are too kind. I’ll be here the whole week.

      1. The Other Mike

        Whatever, he’ll always be a heel.

      2. Andrusi

        He’s a Sole Dad! DADA DADA DADA DADA

        1. Deanatay

          Gah! Beat me to it!

  6. Lordikaroz91

    Joyce in berserk mode wow

  7. Lucretiel

    Jesus christ is she curbstomping him in panel 1? Or did she only get the one punch in?

    1. Riku

      Nah, I mean he’s mostly on the grass anyway but it looks like she got the one punch in and becky is holding her back

      1. Shade

        Good thing too, Joyce’s knuckles are gonna be sore from that clockcleaner she gave him. Any more and she wind up doing just as much damage to herself.

      2. Kommienezuspadt

        He just likes the feeling of sticking his toe in the grass.

        1. I can never decide on a name, man.

          You deserve all of the internets. This is amazing 😀

    2. Kraken

      It’s kinda weird. The cadence of the god damn yous and pose make it seem like she’s punctuating an action, but I guess she was only getting her self-psyched up to do something? The body position would be weird for stomping anyway (stomping legs as opposed to face and body).

      I think the read is supposed to be that Becky stopped her after the punch, but maybe she kicked his legs a bit, before she could.

      1. Commodore Jeep-Eep

        Nope. Given how he’s not moving very much, I suspect she put the boot in.

        Good.

      2. MrZombieScordo

        I think she was getting ready to pulverize him with her raised fist. “I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I lay My vengeance upon them”

      3. Bicycle Bill

        Disagree.  I think, if left to her own devices, Joyce might have given him a couple kicks while he was down but Beckie came in and held her off before she could psych herself up into doing it.

  8. Bo Lindbergh

    There’s no place like Oz.

    1. Doctor_Who

      I wonder if Joyce was ever allowed to see that one growing up. There’s good witches in it, sentient beings created by man instead of God like the Scarecrow, and the whole thing is very popular in the gay community (“Friend of Dorothy” is a slang term that dates back to the 40s).

      1. Sunmaster57

        Having Faith can sometimes be deceitful & blind a person to the truth.

      2. MatthewTheLucky

        Well, no one explained what friend of dorothy is to her before, as we’ve seen.

      3. Leorale

        Lots of witchcraft! Nonreligious munchkins, and no apparent presence of God! Women in legit leadership roles, while the man in charge is only powerful if you don’t peek behind the curtain! Magic that works to return her home, without the influence of Jesus Christ! Mind/heart/bravery being self-developed, instead of bestowed by the Lord!

        http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2013/03/04/banned-books-awareness-the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz/

  9. shadowcell

    JOYCE LIMIT BREAK

  10. Doctor_Who

    Are those police lights I see in the distance? Little late to the party, but I’m glad they’re getting involved.

    1. inqntrol

      Next strip: Sayonara Ross.

    2. Sara Hysaro

      I was wondering if that’s what they were.

    3. DarkoNeko

      I thought so, too. And I’m not seeing Sal nor Amazi-girl on this page.

      1. Ellen

        Yeah! Where are they?

        Granted, the motorcycle landed way back with the bridge. Joyce had to sprint over a ways to get to Becky and Toedad. So Amazigirl and Sal might be too far back to see clearly.

        Is that the red car back there too?

        1. Victor Riley

          No, they should be closer than that. Remember, Joyce was on the Bike, so couldn’t get to Becky until they stopped.

        2. Clif

          If you look, there is this little splash of yellow next to the red car so I’m thinking Sal and Amazigirl are still here. The police are here to take Amazigirl into custody and then go away.

      2. Dr. T

        I’m betting Sal actually took AG and got her out of sight before the cops showed up. They might even have a heart to heart, especially if Sal gets a peek under the mask and recognizes her as the weirdo who always runs away when she sees her.

        1. David

          Or the weirdo because of which she is wearing gloves in bed.

        2. tim gueguen

          I have this suspicion Sal isn’t going to recognise Amber as having a connection to her past unless someone quite literally screams it in her face.

  11. ailorn

    Thanks for stopping her from losing control Becky. Seriously 🙂

  12. Badeyes

    Joyce said bad words!!!

    1. Bicycle Bill

      “There are no bad words.  Bad thoughts; bad intentions; and words.”

      Joyce used WORDS.  They’re super-effective!!

      1. Jay Field

        Does this comment system auto-censor? Is one allowed to type Carlin’s heavy seven on here?

        1. Bicycle Bill

          Only autocensor here is for a certain word that starts with a ‘B’ and rhymes with ‘witch’ — it gets changed to ‘bongo’.

        2. Disloyal Subject

          bongo autocorrects to bongo, but aside from that I think they work, unless someone gives Willis cause to change that.

        3. TheNinthShader

          Hey thanks for that comic link you gave me, its an amazing comic, got any more like it?

        4. TheGrammarLegionary

          It only censors ‘bongo’. Otherwise (to quote Sarah), “DAMN FUCK SHIT… ASS conga COCK -“

        5. John

          The comment system does auto-censor, but I don’t think any of Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words are on its list.

          You are not, however, allowed to talk about B-words, or mention Ultra Car’s (first) superhero identity in the Walkyverse, or quote M. Bison’s line about Tuesday.

        6. Bicycle Bill

          I didn’t know about the third one.  I even had to Google it to know what you were talking about.

        7. Jestam

          I guess I don’t see what the big deal is about #3 – unless you’re just righteously sick of it.

        8. John

          Willis just got really, really tired of people using it in reference to that time Amber stabbed Sal’s hand.

    2. BenRG

      Given how her heart is breaking, can you blame her?

  13. HelpIveFallen

    Welp, we figured out how to get Joyce to swear.

    1. Someone

      Joe would be so proud

      1. Smiling Cat

        and afraid.

        and aroused.

        Joe would be deeply confused.

        1. -Sentinel-

          He would mostly be 20 dollars poorer.

        2. Dr. T

          He would also be aroused, but that is his normal state.

        3. Solenoid

          That’s 400 nickels.

        4. fallingwaters2

          More like $100.

    2. I Write Monsters

      We know her trigger image; she’ll hulk out every time she gets a pedicure.

      1. merbrat

        Bahahaha!!

  14. TrueVCU

    You really can’t go home again.

    Esp not after beating the shit out of home when it comes after you with a gun.

    1. Bryan

      Aptly stated.

  15. inqntrol

    That first panel really frightened me a bit.

  16. Skizz

    Get off the road!!!

  17. David Herbert

    Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.

  18. Stephen R. Bierce

    Twenty years of crawling had bottled up inside her…

    1. -Sentinel-

      CRAAAAWLING IN MY SKIN

      1. DarkoNeko

        ToeDad’s leg wounds, they will not heeaaal

    2. Kang the Unbalanced

      An’ you coulda heard a pin drop, when Joyce stopped, and blocked the door.

      1. Tenzhi

        She said “This one’s for Becky” as she watched the Toedad fall…

        1. DaveTheInverted

          +1 Internet

  19. Brigid Keely

    It’s not entirely the same, but it’s a big part of why I follow very few people from pre-college years on facebook. You can’t go home again. Well, you can. But it’s a lot smaller and more racist/sexist/etc then you remember.

    1. Someone

      Theres a lot more opportunity outside of home

    2. Marie

      My family apparently suppressed racist comments until I was 18 or so (it’s not just that I didn’t notice, it was the same way they didn’t swear much before I was ~16). Then when I was visiting home at 20 or so, I heard my dad say the N word for the first time, and my mom and aunt (who lives in the city and works at an airport, so isn’t exactly small-town) expressed concern at me living in a largely Indian area.

      What I’m saying is, home might not only be more racist/sexist than you remember, but more racist/sexist in general.

      1. DarkoNeko

        Or they became more, rather than suppressed it.

        1. Marie

          It could be either, it’s hard to say since there’s no one who would have been around when I was a baby or earlier that I’d be comfortable asking. I think it might be that my area growing up was mostly white, so it didn’t really come up until my brother and I moved out.

        2. Bryan

          Probably became more so. Having a Black president has definitly brought out the racism in many people who would have otherwise kept it somewhat suppressed.

        3. Marie

          They probably did, although I don’t think that’s why as we’re Canadian, and I’m young enough that I was living with them for a few years after Obama became president

          (Also because we’re Canadian, they’re mostly racist (especially with ongoing casual racism) towards First Nations and Indian people)

      2. Hi There

        I realized how much my family sheltered me when I was growing up when one of my great uncles, who was always just the nicest guy with me and one of the sweetest men I knew while I was growing up, told a story around me once I was an adult that involved something not going right and him cursing at someone. I told my Dad, the great uncle’s nephew, that I just couldn’t picture him cursing, and my Dad about died laughing. And that’s when I got to find out about the foul mouth that runs in that part of the family and some of the wilder stories about said great uncle in his younger days. I think that being sheltered when young and then finding out more about the adults in ones life as one gets older is pretty typical.

        1. Kryss LaBryn

          My very proper British mother never said anything stronger than “drat” when I was growing up. Then one time, while I was visiting as an adult, we dropped the pepper shaker. I said, “Oh, drat!” And Mum said, “Shit!”

          I was scandalized, lol.

      3. Trolldrool

        Some places have a local cultural understanding among the adults living there that profanity is something children aren’t supposed to be exposed to.

    3. Hi There

      I’m from the South in a rural area, and my Gramma (who is in her 80’s now) occasionally uses the N word because she was raised in a different era. Since she’s found out that I don’t like that, she tries not to do it around me. One time she was talking about an African American person and said, “Nnn…” nearly starting the N word, looked around at me, and then said, “Uh…colored person…” and went on with the story. I don’t know that that’s really much better, but at least she was trying.

      1. -Sentinel-

        That’s nice of her. Too many people (mostly young men, mind) will double down if you call them out on their bigotry. There’s being ignorant, and there’s being an asshole.

      2. Gwen

        Well, even back in the day “colored person” was considered a more respectful term. So that’s improvement. Change is hard for people in their 80’s.

      3. Marie

        It’s encouraging that she’s trying. I’ve heard my grandpa tell a ‘Natives’ joke once and use the phrase ‘oriental’ but both were when he was very drunk (not a regular occurrence), so I guess that probably means he has, most of the time, managed to beat old habits.

    4. EvolutionistX

      My grandma just talks about how much she likes Obama.

      I’ve got polite relatives 🙂

  20. Plasma Mongoose

    I guess the old saying is true, “You cant go home again”.

  21. K. Ivan Ruppert

    And here come the cops, just in time to not have to diffuse anything, just mop up the aftermath

    1. Doctor_Who

      Good thing too.

      “I won’t argue that it wasn’t a no-holds-barred adrenaline-fuelled thrill-ride, but there’s no way that you could perpetrate that amount of carnage and mayhem and not incur a considerable amount of paperwork.”

      1. Barf Ninjason

        Yarp.

      2. The Other Mike

        “I may not be a man of God, Reverend, but I know right and I know wrong and I have the good grace to know which is which.” Felt like that was an appropriate quote, given the current storyline.

        1. Mandy

          Oh, fuck off grasshopper!

        2. Carolyn

          Jesus Christ!

    2. AeromechanicalAce

      It’s about their speed. Diffusing situations isn’t taught at police academy anymore.

      1. Opus the Poet

        Neither is defusing situations.

        1. Bicycle Bill

          Thank you, Opus.  My teeth were on edge too.

        2. Dragon_Nataku

          But do they teach the osmosis of situations?

        3. Bryan

          It’s obvious that’s exactly what they teach now, that and distillation of “incompetence”.

    3. Kryss LaBryn

      Well, considering that Becky seems to not want her Dad dead, it’s probably better that they arrive when he’s already disarmed, on the ground, and unconscious, than upright and armed.

      Don’t think he’d live long if he were still upright and armed when they arrived.

      1. Nicknack Paddywhack

        Yup, Joyce just saved Toedad’s life. So it goes.

        1. Jason

          Um. If Becky hadn’t stopped her, I’m not sure it would have worked out that way… as in, I don’t think Joyce was planning to stop until he stopped breathing. Maybe not even then.

        2. Sunny

          She. Saved. His. Life.
          I’m pretty sure she’d have stopped after a few kicks, 2 broken ribs at most.

  22. Johnpocalypse

    Joyce’s berzerker mode is intense.

    1. DarkoNeko

      Especially the red eyes.

  23. Valis_kr3

    Build a new home Joyce. The old one was a house of cards.

    1. Marie

      this is good advice for Becky too. Official sisters?

      1. Valis.jav@gmail.com

        Becky, Dian, and anyone that understands how to make a point without a shotgun.

  24. BonniePride

    Joyce, as someone who got kicked out of her home for being a lesbian a couple of months ago and lived with the h@@@ of the aftermath whenever my parents intrude back into my life, I raise my mug of coco in salute to you.

    1. Rheinman

      My sympathies. I hate it when people make a hard road even harder for you.

    2. Gwen

      Congratulations on building yourself a better life, and welcome to the family!

    3. Cerberus

      *Hugs*

    4. Rebachu

      *show of sympathy via light physical contact*

      1. TheGrammarLegionary

        *entirely unwarranted show of sympathy via heavy physical contact* GROUP HUG!

        1. Dragon_Nataku

          *sees the group hug, leaves a plate of cookies for BonniePride and the others on a side table, flees from the hugging*

        2. Roborat

          Projects mental well wishes to the whole group.

    5. Disloyal Subject

      Sympathy via passing digital contact.

    6. Bob Ellis

      You’re born with your relatives.
      Be very glad you can pick your friends.

      Sympathy.

    7. Robbzilla

      As a straight, white cis christian dude, I have to say:

      I hope you’re OK, and I hope your family realizes that you’re still the same person you always were and can come to terms with that. You deserve to be loved and respected for who you are, not who they want you to be.

      But if they don’t, then I hope you can let go and move on. Don’t be defined by someone else’s expectations. You have to live for you, and that’s OK. I’d give you a hug if you were here because it sucks to have people judge you because you don’t live up to their requirements of how they think you should be.

    8. Commodore Jeep-Eep

      *hugs*

    9. Kateastrophe

      Ah, man, that sucks. But if there’s one thing I have learned, it’s that you make your own family. I hope you’re safe with people who deserve you. <3

  25. saki

    Damn I wanna give Joyce a big hug and tell her everything’s gonna be okay and she’s gonna find another, less bitter-memories-enducing, place to call home. ><

    1. BonniePride

      Amen–I have definitely found that there are places you can call home that aren’t where the people you share your DNA with but don’t deserve to be called your “family” are.
      (BTW, completely unrelated, love the Technicolor London icon, it’s totally precious!!!)

      1. jmcscore

        I remember the saying “I have family that ain’t blood, and I have blood that ain’t family”.

      2. saki

        Same here. Honestly, there is no one place I can call home. It’s just where and whenever I am with my closest friends. It’s not like I hate my family, but they stopped feeling like home the day I realised they didn’t care one bit for the life I wanted for myself.

        (IKR? As soon as I saw this chibi Mark, I knew I had to make it my gravatar!!)

      3. JustDucky

        “There’s your biological family and then there’s your logical family.” -Dan Savage

      4. Bob Ellis

        I think your friends are the ‘family’ you choose.

        1. Kryss LaBryn

          It’s like the old saying, “kith and kin”. “Kin” are your blood relatives; but “kith” are the family you’ve acquired who are not related. And you’ll notice they’re first.

    2. saki

      Now excuse me while I go listen to Gabirelle Aplin’s Home.

      1. Kryss LaBryn

        And another Home…

  26. Andmangrewproud

    DAMN!

  27. heyman

    Little Joyce took out Terrible Toedad?

    1. Robbzilla

      In all fairness, he’d just been in a pretty bad car wreck. Otherwise, I’d have a problem believing that a 90lb girl with no formal training could KO a guy as large as he is. Body mass and upper body strength just isn’t in her favor in this one.

      1. Doctor_Who

        Dude also looks pretty top heavy. I can imagine that his balance is pretty poor. Shouldn’t skip leg day.

      2. Jason

        You ever hear about the “limitter off” feats of strength? Like when a medium sized woman lifted a car off her child? … This looks like one of those cases. She didn’t just KO him, she sent him flying several feet with that punch…

  28. captainrex7675

    new red background panel!

    1. AgentKeen

      The juxtaposition of your avatar with your comment is great.

  29. Mandy

    Things just keep adding to the pile of horrible things that Joyce needs to talk to someone about.

    1. Undrave

      Where’s Dorothy and her nice parents??

      1. JetstreamGW

        I think right now we need Dina and her RICH parents.

    2. Gwen

      Seriously. That’s some anger there. Justified, but you know it’s intense when your friend, the actual kidnapping victim, is holding you back. In other news, Becky continues to be awesome and, considering her situation, amazingly well-adjusted.

      1. MrZombieScordo

        just goes to show how wonderful a parent ToeDad is. (fake smile cracks into rageface)

      2. SDGlyph

        And to think Joyce’s pastor thought she was the socially-adjusted one.

        1. mistrali

          Agreed! But in all fairness, Joyce said she was the more *socially*-adjusted one, and her life is basically imploding right now.

          Maybe Becky can just cope better in a crisis, or maybe Joyce had a bit more experience interacting with non-fundie kids or something.

        2. Amazi-Stool

          What her pastor really meant was: “less likely to question the belief that was indoctrinated into her”.

  30. LostMind

    “Having seen the ocean, I now realize how small my little pond really is”

  31. JessWitt

    Police in the distance? Time to hightail it AmaziGirl.

    1. newllend(henryvolt)

      You know I wouldn’t think she would do it but, let’s just say what if Sal literally hands her over to the police?

      1. Commodore Jeep-Eep

        Sal eats a fist from Joyce.

    2. DarkoNeko

      I wonder if they’re a bit blocked by the red car.
      Truck seems stopped (cars are strarting to amass behind it) ; red car seems to have a door opened ; police car is just behind red.

  32. FriendlyNeighborhoodDave

    …And Joyce is broken. On the plus side, it looks like the police are finally arriving.

    1. saki

      Also on the plus side, she has plenty of friends there to help put the pieces back together.

      1. DarkoNeko

        Unless Joyce’s family starts insisting to pull her out of school because it’s such a dangerous place.

        1. saki

          Then the entire Dumbi-verse would shatter into a billion pieces before eventually imploding.

          That aside, I don’t know if they would actually do that. Because of the way things happened when they met Dorothy and Joyce stood up for her (and her eeeevil atheism), and her parents seemed to make peace with it, I’m inclined to believe that if she asked them to stay, they would let her.
          Although… I may just be too optimistic about this.

        2. SUGauthor

          I honestly think Joyce’s parents might approve of Ross’s actions.

        3. Commodore Jeep-Eep

          Too much of a chance, yes.

        4. DarkoNeko

          They can’t openly approve it. On the hand, I assume they’ll try to downplay the evil part. “just a misguided soul wanting the best for his daughter”

        5. Marie

          I don’t, but I also don’t think it’s impossible, which is why I’m really really waiting to see their reaction because it will teach us a lot a lot about them (and her family as a whole, Jocelyn included).

        6. saki

          I reaaally want to believe that considering he also pointed his gun at Joyce, who even in their fundie views did nothing wrong, they will be far too angry at him for endangering their daughter to agree with his actions. But after the way Ross has been acting, I don’t think I put anything past fundies anymore.

        7. SDGlyph

          I doubt it, they’ve been shown to be somewhat more connected to reality. Still deep in the fundie echo chamber, but in the end they seem to care more about Joyce herself than about their expected path for her. (They didn’t approve of her friendship with Dorothy, but they ultimately accepted Joyce’s right to make her own decisions.)

          I do think they’ll try to make excuses for Ross or otherwise minimise the harm he’s done, and that will be Joyce’s cue to get very angry with them. Again.

        8. Trolldrool

          I certainly think they share his opinion towards homosexuality and LGBT people, but I don’t think they share his approach, nor do I think they would agree with his methods. Especially not when it involves bringing a gun instead of Bible-quotes.

      2. Agemegos

        When your faith withers away.
        When God can’t bring you your answer.
        Write me a letter, I’ll read it and then
        I’ll put you together again.

        1. Agemegos

          Dmned reply system! I carefully posted that as a reply to a different comment.

      3. BenRG

        I’m fairly sure that this is going to happen and I strongly suspect that her parents are going to have to deal with the unfamiliar experience of her saying ‘no’.

        1. saki

          Well, they did have a little practice on parents weekend. 😉

    2. FlyingFish

      Poor Joyce, slowly realizing that everyone she grew up with ranges from “misled” to “downright batshit.”

      I really hope she encounters a Christian who ISN’T messed up, just so she doesn’t start feeling the need to abandon God entirely. Someone ship Katy-Ann over from Penny & Aggie already.

      1. Spencer

        She’s got Becky, Jocelyne and Sierra so far.

  33. Badeyes

    Wait, so does this mean that Willis once beat up a thumb dad?

    1. DSL

      Wouldn’t bet against his at least having wanted to, very very much.

  34. AgentKeen

    Oh noooooo…. Now Joyce has another Red Memory…

    Soon, the Amazi-Force will choose her instead.

    1. Smiling Cat

      Alternate title for the storyline: “Dawn of Joycetice.”

  35. newllend(henryvolt)

    She is on the edge of snapping.

  36. Brewerdude

    Wow. I was riding a high when Joyce gave Toedad a mean right hook, but that’s gone in light of the fact that Joyce seems unable to take much more. Poor kid. All her beliefs put up against this ugliness…

    1. AeromechanicalAce

      I’d say it’s more showing the ugliness behind the beliefs she was taught.

      Joyce is in a situation right now where her decency as a person is being put into conflict with her upbringing. Fortunately, her decency is winning pretty consistently.

  37. EdHead

    Somewhere, just because of that first panel. Mike has a boner.

    1. Silent41511

      THIS IS WHY WE NEED A LIKE BUTTON.

    2. fallingwaters2

      Now I feel like I have to draw that.

    3. Dana

      I don’t need any more encouragement to ship Joyce and Mike, please and thank you.

  38. My1DigitIQ

    Good.. Good.. Let the Hate flow through you…

    1. l3aker

      Your hate has made you powerful. Use it. He is unarmed, strike him down with it! Only then will your precious Becky be safe.

  39. Guairdean Beatha

    Red and blue lights in the distance, and no AG or Sal anywhere to be seen. Joyce saved her friend, but may have lost her faith. There’s a lot of healing to be done here.

    1. Rheinman

      With apologies to Michael Stype:

      That’s Joyce on the highway.
      That’s Joyce with her best friend,
      Loosing her religion.
      Trying to beat Toedad down.

      1. Leorale

        And Willis said he’ll live through it–
        Oh no, he said too much
        he hasn’t said enough.
        I thought that I heard you shooting
        I thought that I heard you swear
        I think I thought I saw you fly

  40. Rheinman

    Looks like after the punch Joyce went in and started kicking the shit out of him too. Or perhaps Becky averted that before it could begin.

    1. Commodore Jeep-Eep

      I read the former, considering his position.

  41. Just Me

    The Grass is always greener as it appears in your memories of Home.

    Poor Joyce, I can understand her anger.

    Amazed at how well Becky is handling it.

  42. Kensou

    Can’t help but flash back to Blue Beetle wiping tears away as he said “ONE PUNCH!” repeatedly… ;_;

    1. evilmidnightlurker

      “I BITE!”

      That takes me back…

    2. Robbzilla

      I don’t think Dinah ever got over the fact that she missed the whole thing!

  43. Rodimiss

    This is…pretty much how it went with Amber and her father, isn’t it? She just kept stomping into him and Danny had to pull her away and tell her that it’s over.
    Am I recalling this correctly, because the progression of the first three panels seems familiar.

    1. saki

      Here’s your answer: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/down/ :3

    2. Just Me

      Close enough. Also reminds me that Amber, stabbing Sal, was also, actually, her wanting to stab her father.

  44. Natsu

    As a college student this is a very VERY real thing. I didnt realize how messed up home was till I left yet even now I miss how it used to feel when I lived there.

  45. Commodore Jeep-Eep

    And something tells me that the coming drama with her sister and her own sexuality will only reinforce this sentiment.

    The ride is only beginning folks.

  46. John

    Joyce is GIR?

    1. inqntrol

      Invader Zim’s assistant?

      1. John

        When the eyes switch from blue to red, watch out!

    2. Ana Chronistic

      I can’t really imagine her singing The Doom Song for six months straight

  47. Dr-Calamity

    I can’t tell if Joyce is channeling Old Testament god or what have you, but I am chuffed and frightened simultaneously by this transformation

    1. Smiling Cat

      This is straight up Jesus with a whip.

      1. Solenoid

        Overturning tables.

        1. podian

          And toes.

  48. Ross

    When the Angry-Joyce strips started showing up, after I stopped actively cheering, I wondered if something like this might happen. Even though it’s probably good for her to break some of her personal barriers (cursing, rebellion) a person can’t really do that in a short span of time without ending up with a few moments of wrenching perspective along the way, along the lines of “woah, what am I DOING what’s GOING ON?” and I think this might be hitting Joyce now or in the near future.

  49. Undrave

    Don’t you know the saying Joyce? You can never go home again…

    And here comes the cavalry…late as always. I hope AmaziGirl will make herself scarce…

  50. Badeyes

    The car went a hell of a long way fairly straight with the flat before flipping up/over whatever, and the truck did stop on the bridge, wow.

  51. Mr. Mendo

    Joyce: “And it might not be such a bad idea if I never………………….
    never went home again!”

  52. Just Here

    Yeah, I know the feeling Joyce. Home is wonderful… until you get a look at the wider world.

    And do my eyes deceive me, or do I see emergency vehicles in the last panel?

  53. Rheinman

    Part of the aftermath here will be Joyce dealing with her parents, who will probably try to pull her out of school.

    1. Commodore Jeep-Eep

      Yup. Like I said, metaplot is gurning up.

  54. Synnerman

    *sniff* I have something in my eye. Poor Joyce, but also yay Joyce. Growing, changing, is hard, but she’s not shirking.

    Again, go Joyce!

  55. newllend(henryvolt)

    Well that’s 29 pages of intense shit no one is forgetting anytime soon. The obvious question now is who is going to fry for this?

    1. saki

      29 pages? We’ve been at this for a month? Holy crap.

      1. newllend(henryvolt)

        Yeeeeeep October of 2015 was pretty rough.

        1. saki

          I hope we’ll get some time to breathe before we dive into what I have no doubt will be an equally if not more emotionally draining pool of depressing Ruth and Billie alcoholic drama.

          (I say this with lots of love for these characters)

        2. Marie

          Yeah, I’ve had a persistent fear that hospital is going to be Ruth.

        3. Spencer

          Probably not. She’s fine in the next story arc.

          It’s either going to be Amber, or Becky and Toedad.

        4. Spencer

          Actually, make that almost certainly Becky and Toedad. If Amber gets caught here then her storyline is done, and we still have some breakdowns to wring out of her before we see the end of Amazi-Girl.

  56. Retrikaethan

    i personally would probably give him a swift kick to the crotch but i’m pretty sure i am wayyyy more vindictive than joyce could ever be.

  57. Fran

    The detachment of Becky about her dad… Its like its other person’s dad… Makes me feel a little because I am that way, about my personal shit dad

  58. DarkoNeko

    Every time home comes here, you feels a little home less ?

  59. Hoodiecrow

    That’ll do, Joyce. That’ll do.

  60. Icalasari

    Wow, if Joyce at the start of this comic could see how she becomes a few weeks later…

  61. neeks

    well this was painfully poignant, and hit kind of close to home (no pun intended i guess)

    sometimes i ask myself why i seem to focus on building a “found family” when most of my blood family is still alive and within reach thanks to the internet and all that. i mean, i’m hardly an orphan or anything (although i am out of grandparents thanks to that whole mortality thing), and they’re not all awful or anything (i mean i could do without the christian radio station always playing in my dad’s car and we haven’t agreed politically since i was old enough to form my own political opinions but other than that), i just don’t, like…fit.

    it would almost be easier if they were categorically terrible but otoh i think the guilt trip/”slow fade” method is probably less traumatizing than, like, abduction at gun point.

    but yeah, poor joyce. it’s not easy, learning how not-infallible the adults from your childhood are, especially not like this. “god damn you” ross indeed.

    1. Marie

      I’m much in the same situation. I mean, my parents suck (see the bit about racism above), but I don’t have much reason to estrange myself further and stuff, but I’m constantly trying to build myself a family, albeit not with a nuclear structure.

  62. Makkabee

    Joyce’s comment in the last panel is so wonderfully bittersweet. She’s in pain, but it’s because she’s growing up and becoming a better person. She always had a good heart, but now her head is starting to catch up.

    1. saki

      Realising the people you used to look up to as a kid aren’t very good people is a bitterly expensive price to pay for growing into a bettter person. : /

      (I’m not specifically referring to Ross here, but more like generally the adults in her community growing up)

      1. SDGlyph

        But then, in many ways that’s what ‘growing up’ means: realising your parents are only human after all. And so are you.

        1. saki

          Too true.

  63. Leon real

    And here comes the cavalry, late as usual.
    Poor Joyce, even if she does go home, now she will take notice of all that’s wrong with it.

  64. Cerberus

    So much here.

    First we see the full fury of Joyce’s fight trauma response. If Becky wasn’t there, Joyce would have killed him, 100%. Because all that fear and betrayal and anger is jetting through her amygdala at a 1000 miles per second.

    And then Becky defusing the situation, reminding her that everything is over, that they’ve won, sitting with her on the side of the road as Joyce struggles with how she was raised to be. Even though Becky has been through her hardest day yet, she wants to fully support Joyce and not just because she’s crushing on her or because she saved her, but because they really are best friends who’ve both been through some shit and need their buddy to be there.

    And oof, that ending… I mean, yeah, Joyce has been betrayed now repeatedly in her worst ways by those wearing the trappings of her culture. Ryan wore evangelic culture like a mask, a thing to piously hide behind while trying to maneuver her into a position of powerlessness. And Toedad? Well Toedad is more genuine, but that makes it worse. As she noted earlier, this was a man who took her to Six Flags when she was younger and he pointed a gun at her like it was nothing all because she wanted to support her gay best friend.

    And these are big deals. Not just because they are traumatic and horrible, but also because they are what is supposed to be safe. This whole year, those she was told to fear have been friends and loyal allies. Her gay ex-boyfriend, her gay best friend, her atheist new best friend, even Dina the evolutionist, all have been there in important ways. And these were the people she was told to fear, to hate, to shun less your soul be corrupted to the way of sin. And the people she was told would be the paragons of what is right, who would help keep her on the right path have been the ones to betray and hurt and threaten her.

    And that’s a major crisis of faith. And possibly the first major crack in her particular interpretation of her Christianity. And in this trajectory, she may not end up with the Christianity of Becky, but more of a bitter atheism. And she may already be at the point where she doesn’t really care the full 100% if that is the path she is on.

    1. maycroft

      Willis isn’t just good, he’s freaking amazing.

      1. Kang the Unbalanced

        He lived this. Kang feels for him.

        1. Bob Ellis

          Well said, sir.

    2. saki

      That is such an amazingly accurate analysis. I wanna give you all the internets. ><

    3. Bagge

      Very good unpacking, as usual. Joyce and Becky are there for each other and that is what will make everything all right in the end. Joyce still have the best parts of home with her, but loosing the other parts are painful.

    4. timemonkey

      Don’t forget her own parents verbally attacking her new best friend, dragging her away and trying to forbid her from seeing her. And when she objects they pile on her and ‘take it to god’. You can see her realisation her parents aren’t as great as she thought they were.

  65. random832

    So, not to rain on anyone’s relief parade, but I can’t help but notice that at this point we still haven’t seen anyone we like get seriously injured.

    When is that hospital preview panel coming up, anyway?

    1. -Sentinel-

      We don’t know how badly injured Amazi-Girl is. She’s unlikely to have any broken bones, but she might have some internal bleeding.

      1. DarkoNeko

        ToeDad was thrown off a car and is kinda bleeding out on the grass there.

        1. Kang the Unbalanced

          How tragic.

        2. DarkoNeko

          Indeed.

        3. Dragon_Nataku

          *rolls Toedad into the bushes to bleed out* Nope, no injured people here, what are you on about.

      2. Ben

        I’d be surprised if she didn’t have a broken rib and maybe even a dislocated shoulder, at minimum.

        1. DarkoNeko

          I’m surprised *Sal* doesn’t have that. Thanksfully she caught AG mostly on the shoulder & torso, but that’s an human’s weight, while going at a certain speed from the opposite direction.

          She’ll be hella sore 😀

      3. AgentMughi

        Looked like ToeDad had some debris sticking out his legs, so there’s some hospital bed time for him. (Assuming they find him in that bush – good job, Dragon 😉
        AG was bleeding from a head wound after being flung into the windshield of a moving car, so a Concussion x-ray is a minimum for her, assuming she doesn’t run off to avoid questions from the authorities.

    2. Opus the Poet

      Well Toedad is leaving a blood trail and puddles, so at a bare minimum he’s getting an ambulance ride before going to jail.

    3. David Weinehall

      We still don’t know what happened to Dina :-O

      1. WaytoomanyUIDs

        Yeah, that’s who I’m really worried about 🙁

    4. BenRG

      Becky was kidnapped. It’s highly unlikely that the police won’t take her to the hospital for at least a check-out.

  66. -Sentinel-

    Joyce should become a masked avenger to channel her anger issues.

    1. inqntrol

      I think she’s more better as a sidekick.

      1. Someone

        Dorothy walks outside tomorrow and the entire building is covered in a giant dick drawing.

        Dorothy: She has returned

        1. Jason

          “It’s not about dongs, it’s about sending a message… with dongs.”

    2. Amazi-Stool

      Click my name to see what Brian Daniel, ingenious inventor of Amazi-Stool, has proposed for Joyce´s alternate character!

  67. Professor Fate

    The butterfly emerges from the chrysalis and Joyce enters the world of the living. The past is a great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there again.

  68. Retrikaethan

    oh, hey! it’s the police! finally! yay!

    1. 80-watt Hamster

      There are a bunch of comments like this, and I’m having trouble understanding the logic. All available law enforcement was probably called to campus, and not much time has passed since the beginning of this whole incident, even less since Becky’s 911 call. Unless the Walkyverse operates differently than I think, the police aren’t psychic and can’t teleport. I personally give them credit for (potentially) arriving on this scene as quickly as they seem to be.

      1. Amazi-Stool

        Google route-planer gives 13 minutes for the drive from Showalter fountain to 5899N Walnut St (which is approximately where they currently are).

        see it here on google maps.

        Police interviewing witnesses should reveal soon that the attacker has kidnapped a kid and was driving away in a car, so no sense to keep all law enforcement concentrated at the location of the shooting.

        1. HumboldtRobin

          Interesting how he had to mirror flip the street for the scene. Thank you for the link

    2. Robbzilla

      Life lesson: When seconds count, the police will be there in minutes. This isn’t an indictment of the police. It would be almost impossible for them to be omnipresent, and we really don’t want that anyway.

  69. Kraken

    Clutchin’ that right hand of fury.

    1. Bicycle Bill

      I see her (in panels four and five) holding a hand that hurts like hell.

  70. Barf Ninjason

    Get out the damn road, you two!

    1. Just Me

      In panel 3 they were on the sidewalk, in panel 4 they somehow shifted backwards partly into the street.

      Probably just an artistic typo.

      1. Commodore Jeep-Eep

        No, I think Becky pulled her back so she wouldn’t whale on Ross any more.

      2. DarkoNeko

        Becky pushed her away a bit.

  71. Lia47

    K. O.

    1. DarkoNeko

      finish him !

      1. inqntrol

        Too late he’s down already.(Damn fatality combination)

  72. 0kami

    Wow, this roller coaster of the last few strips has been building high for a while, and this climax (I believe) of the action seems to be setting the stage for a long while. Between Joyce standing up to her parents, indeed her entire community of what used to be home for her, and still figuring out how best to help Becky, who’s cut her ties with her old home long ago, issues still are plenty abound for everyone.

    I really feel for Joyce here. I can see how some family situations can be toxic environments and need to be escaped to break a bad cycle, but that doesn’t make it any less scary.

  73. Cerberus

    And analysis complete, now for the personal hit in the gut level.

    Fuck, that moment of betrayal. That moment when home. The promise of home. The illusion of home as was sold to you, gets revealed as a rancid lie. Where everything that came from what once was something you trusted to be there no matter what just seems to hurt and try and destroy you. And when you have to just let it all go and cut yourself adrift and hope for the best from scratch, trying to form a created family but always scared it will betray you like the family of your origin.

    Joyce’s betrayal may be more based in the home of her Church, whereas mine was based in the home of my raising, but betrayal and hatred callously revealed only when one doesn’t fit the script. Where you learn only too late that all the illusions of support were actually conditional on complicity with a model of behavior. I know only too well how that feels.

    And how that shakes you to the core and leaves you raw and empty and angry and too hurt to even cry… Sorry, there’s been a lot to this arc that has resonated with me, but this actually has left me a little shaken up with how much it hits home to a still fresh wound. So again sorry if I’m a bit babbly.

    1. saki

      *hugs* Don’t be sorry. I’m sure no one here would blame you for being a bit babbly, and anyway it’s not your fault. : )

    2. Bagge

      I know… well, I don’t know (lucky me), but that fundamental betrayal of everything a parent should be is what gets me with ToeDad everytime.

      Fudge that guy.

    3. Twinkle Toes the Berserker

      Yeah, I hear you. There’s something really sickening about realizing that your worth, the parts of you that are worth loving to your family, only exist while you’re willing to be the person they want you to be. That the minute you try and be yourself, they’re going to turn on you, or abandon you, or both.

      It leaves you with terrible emotional scars, going through something like that.

    4. SDGlyph

      *offers internet hug*

    5. Dana

      Cerberus, wanting to see what you have to say is a regular part of my schedule. You’ve got an eye opening perspective for this white, male, straight, cis, secularly raised reader. Others too, I imagine. You don’t babble, not from where I sit anyway.

    6. Dragon_Nataku

      I don’t think anybody here is going to begrudge your “babbling.” If you feel safe here, considering how you open up here in the comments, then keep doing so. You do whatever you need to do to heal. Nobody who’s worth anything is going to tell you to stop.

  74. Aislashu

    I don’t think Joyce is saying “God damn you” in the sense we might say it, or say “God damn it.”

    I think she means it literally. She is telling God to damn him, and to damn him straight to hell where he belongs.

    1. Knightsky

      Yep. It’s not so much a swearing as it is an *invocation*.

  75. Robert

    Welcome home joyce.

  76. Rheinman

    Horrid thought: What if Amber ends up in the hospital just down the hall from a still-recovering Blaine….

    1. -Sentinel-

      You’re not the first to think that.

      1. Dana

        Which doesn’t make it less horrid.

    2. John

      Amber’s beatdown of Blaine was more than a week ago. It’s highly unlikely that he’s still in the hospital.

  77. Doom Shepherd

    Flipped car and no rubberneckers? Roll percentile dice to disbelieve the illusion.

    1. Opus the Poet

      They are still stopping behind the truck. There has been at most 2 D&D rounds (12 seconds) since the car flipped.

      1. Random832

        And it looks like in the background the red car stopped and the driver got out, and behind her there’s the police. Right now traffic isn’t moving at all on this road.

        1. HumboldtRobin

          I agree with Random832. I see the Northbound lane being blocked by the red car, and Sal’s bike with police lights behind them

  78. Ben

    Oh dat feel… Hold tight to your close friends Joyce, for the ones that are worthwhile are the family you choose. Becky successfully made the leap to stay a close friend, and I think Dotty, Walky, and maybe even Sarah and Sal will all be there for you as well, through this time if not throughout life. Hold them close, and trust them to guide you through, for the night is dark and full of terrors.

  79. 6Qubed

    you can never go home again

    1. Jonathan S.

      Well, you can, but the people who bought the house and live there now might have you arrested for trespassing.

      1. Makkabee

        Sometimes if you knock on the door and politely say “I used to live here when I was a small child” they’ll let you look around. My parents gave a guy a tour of what used to be his aunts’ house when he was a kid and he sent them a photograph of the way the place looked 100 years ago as a thank you.

  80. newllend(henryvolt)

    And now we got to spend the next fucking week prying her out of her room….wait here’s a question, where the hell is DIna ?

  81. Rani

    Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

  82. Arianod

    The Lord’s judgement hath descended upon him.

  83. Rani

    “I can feed the caterpillar, I can whisper through the chrysalis, but what hatches follows its own nature and is beyond me.”

  84. philip

    Love the terminator eyes. Can’t see Sal and Amber. Both have reasons to not want to be around cops right now so I’m betting they escaped on her magic, gravity defying, flying motorcycle.

  85. Matthew Chapdelaine

    Ok, did Joyce just become a Sith Lord? Or is it technically a Sith Lady? Welcome to the Dark Side. We have cookies.

  86. Kaara

    Meanwhile the police have still failed to arrive on scene; Sal is holding an unconscious Amber *Ahem* Amazigirl in her arms.

    1. Kaara

      And also…WHERE IS DINA

    2. Matthew Chapdelaine

      No, they’re coming. Because..There’s a light..in the distance..see them coming closer..with the force of ages..centuries gone by..(Dina Rangers Roar)

      1. Matthew Chapdelaine

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXVuLnnQ5X0

    3. saki

      If you look in the last panel, you can see blue and red lights, likely from arriving police cars. As the saying goes, the cavalry always arrives late.

  87. Kaara

    I like to think she is gathering up her army of velicoraptors for the second round against ToeDad

  88. Idon'tcarenomore

    I think Joyce just ‘grew up’. Far from breaking at this point, I think she’s on the way to healing. She’s fighting back, not hiding against a wall, and she’s stopped lying to herself about the world in general. But, I’m sorry for her for the way she learned.

    I hope Sal pulls off AmaziGirls outfit. She doesn’t think much of her tactics, but Sal isn’t a rat, I think she’ll hand her over for medical help, but do’t think she want’s to get AG in trouble.

    If they can, it would be nice if everyone lied and said Amber was in the car with Becky – and AG has just vanished from the scene.

    Becky is amazingly strong and resilient. And with her for a friend, Joyce is going to be alright I think. Would be nice if both of them talked to Ms. Bean. She has the answers to help them both find the help they need.
    But, with Toedad jammed up, Becky is free of him now at least.

    Where the Hell is the semi? Where the Hell is Dina?

    1. The Other Mike

      “I hope Sal pulls off AmaziGirls outfit.” There’s a sentence that could be interpreted more than one way…

    2. Amazi-Stool

      “Where the Hell is the semi?”
      Look again, you will see it is in the last panel!

  89. Megatron

    I feel you Joyce. To idealism seems to give way to tyranny. It sounds so simple, there are good people and there are bad people, but to often it is difficult to sort out who is who. Ross was a bad fleshling who posed as a good fleshling. He used the rhetoric you’d grown so used to try and manipulate you.

    I understand how hurt this must make you. You acted honorably in a difficult situation.

    Willis, I take back the part where I compared your strip to the 1986 movie. I was angry at the feeling you making me feel. Your writing is better than the move where I killed Prime by holding Hot Rod hostage.

    1. Havtorn

      For a moment I thought you were talking about a movie based on Orwell’s ‘1986’. Then I was confused by the transformer references.

      1. 3oranges

        I like the proposed title, but I’m not sure Winston Smith was really left with a good set-up for a sequel.

        1. Havtorn

          Maybe that’s where the transformers come in. Optimus has been revived a couple of times by now, right?

  90. saki

    Becky keeps amazing me by the way. Keeping her head on her shoulders, cracking semi-jokes, trying to be a rock for Joyce even as her own entire world is crumbling. I just can’t get over how awesome she is.

    1. DSL

      That can hide things, you know. Becky’s due for a breakdown, probably privately — or with as much as she can manage, in her current dependent-on-the-kindness-of-strangers-and a-friend-or-two existence.

      1. saki

        Oh, I don’t doubt that. I just really admire the effort she’s making to keep things together to protect her best friend.
        I’m kind of hoping Dina will be there for Becky when she eventually does break down.

        1. Dana

          It suddenly strikes me that Joyce and Becky working to be each other’s rocks is sort of a positive, bizarro reversal of Ruth and Billie.

        2. Cerberus

          I can see that. Also in their scars. Billie and Ruth’s run deep into the past and their difficulties center around this being their first experiences with people with those scars and their confusions on what to do, whereas Joyce and Becky’s scars are more recent, but they can draw on their lengthy shared history to know how to support each other.

  91. Shaunock

    So now we know Joyce punches like a truckie.
    Don’t mess with her.

    1. David

      Still has fists like a girl. Reminds me of an hautboyist I knew which had been pretty good and then had put the instrument away for years and who I got to unpack it again.

      It still came all together when she played, but she could not keep it up long before yapping and wheezing.

      Those fists are going to be out of commission for a while.

  92. Twinkle Toes the Berserker

    I know how Joyce feels, a bit. They raised her well, but they are sometimes truly terrible people, and she’s starting to realize that. I went through something similar with an uber religious aunt of mine.

    I hate it when people use religion as an excuse to do terrible things. It makes the people who do good things as a reason to do good things look worse by comparison.

  93. Clif

    !

  94. Rook

    God dammit Ross.

  95. Victor Riley

    There’s Blues on the way… I wonder if Sal will do Amazi-Girl a solid and cart her unconscious patookis out of there.

  96. Anywhere

    Oh shit it IS the spirit of It’s Walky! Joyce everybody get down.

  97. ninja_jesus

    More parallels to Amber and her father. I can’t help but think this event was character development for both Joyce and Amber. What transpired was slightly different, but they followed the same steps.

    First, their best friends were kidnapped by a manipulative father. Second, Amazi-Girl immediately chased after them. Third, both Amber and Joyce confronted and beat down their father/father figure. And now, they were both stopped by their best friend before the finishing blow.

    What happens next, I think, may divert from Amber’s actions from that night. An attempt at understanding? Forgiveness? I can’t wait to see.

  98. podian

    Meh, still not as violent as Walkyverse! Joyce.

  99. Bagge

    [Toedad tries to take Joyce’s Becky away]
    [Toedad ends up face down in a ditch]

    Yeah, sounds about right. You DON’T mess with Joyce’s best friend. Not if you are God, not if you are ToeDad.

    1. Deanatay

      ToeDad: I have GOD on my side!
      Becky: I have JOYCE on my side!

      (Becky wins)

      1. Bagge

        God: DUDE, don’t drag me into this. [to Joyce] I don’t want any trouble, OK? [aside comment to Becky] Rad haircut by the way.

  100. Bagge

    Becky vs Toedad round 1: Becky gets away but is all alone.

    Becky vs Toedad round 2:

    Dina saving Becky

    Amaziegirl saving Becky

    Sal saving Becky

    Toedad “saving” Becky.

    Joyce saving Becky.

    Becky has friends here, she has a place where she belongs here, she has people who are willing to stick out their neck for her. That is why Becky had won before ToeDad ever sat foot on campus.

    1. John

      I’m really proud of almost all of the core cast for the way they’ve come together to help Becky just because she needs it. Wouldn’t expect less from Joyce, as her best friend, but Dina, Amazi-Girl, and Sal have all put their necks on the line for her. Dorothy, Walky, Billie, and Ethan have helped out, too, and Sarah, for all that she grumbles about it, has been right there using her evil for good. Even friggin’ Mike has helped, in his own inimitable way. And, hell, Sayid.

    2. Cerberus

      That’s one of the big reasons I thought she wouldn’t be as safe off campus. On campus, she has her whole crew close at hand and that was critical in extricating herself here. Off on her own again, she would have been threatened at gunpoint, subdued, and taken away with it being possibly days before anyone had known what happened.

      And yeah, it says a lot that at Anderson, she was left all alone in her escape, no one coming to aid her or even trying, while at the “degenerate secular university” as it was probably known, she had a whole team fighting to protect her (whether it be Ethan scouring the sky for Toedad airdrops, Sarah getting his car towed, Dina putting him on a bus and going full on raptor attack on him, Joyce willing to lie to family and punching him out, Sal letting her stay and chasing him down on motorcycle, or Amazi-girl defying literal gravity).

      It’s not a great position to be. Being homeless never is and the dorm may now be out of the picture as a place to hide and remain with shelter, but having support means a lot and means she’ll have a better chance to not slip through the cracks.

  101. NoHeart6265

    I know that Joyce has slowly been forced to realize that her home and her ideals don’t exactly fit in with the real world, but considering her acknowledgement of that here, this strip really seems as if she’s put herself on the path towards growing up a little more.

  102. Tomas

    I predict that DoA’s fans will be using that first panel to pictorially express their frustration toward Willis in the future.

    1. 3oranges

      I’m just waiting for all the people who enjoyed nitpicking momentum vectors and camera angles in the last few comics to react to Joyce’s pigment-changing irises.

      1. Spencer

        It’s a visual shorthand for explosive rage. Billie had it when Dorothy asked if she was dating Walky, and Amber had it when she was beating Blaine and during her flashback of stabbing Sal.

        1. 3oranges

          Hey, I said I was waiting for them. It’s no fair correcting in advance.

  103. dailybrad

    Uni’s fine, but it ain’t home. Hometown’s home, but it ain’t mine no more.

    1. Bicycle Bill

      I know where that’s from!!!

  104. Larkle

    The first panel is majorly Old Testament God.

  105. Marie

    Anyway, flashbacks to comic #1 hey?
    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/01-move-in-day/home/

    1. Bicycle Bill

      If nothing else, it shows how much Willis’s drawing style has changed in five years.

  106. NinjaNick

    Joyce has gone all Rhonda Rousey! I like that.

  107. ShadowDJ

    SO it’s known…are we 100% certain that some aspects of ‘it’s walky’ didn’t make it into this? Since she clearly decked a dude who’s clearly BIGGER than her in height and weight clearly a few feet away from her. That’s not esomething that’s easily done with her build.

    1. saki

      Combination of adrenaline and growing up with three older brother says otherwise. ; )

    2. Eve

      He probably had a head injury from the whole car thing. Easy to knock out someone who has a concussion.

    3. Shadow Eagle

      He probably had a glass jaw.

    4. Spencer

      Well, Toedad was on his last legs when Joyce decked him.

      The biggest concern is that he seems to be totally out.

  108. DT

    Has anyone made a “stubbed toe” joke yet?

  109. EvolutionistX

    Joyce get out of the road!

    Also, isn’t Becky from “home”, too?

    1. BenRG

      Joyce is in the middle of a traumatic episode; this isn’t the sort of moment that you would expect her to talk absolute continuity sense.

    2. Amazi-Stool

      Becky made it clear to her how her “home” treats queer people, and that made her like home much less.

  110. BenRG

    Well, I called the likely outcome regarding the roadside drama fairly well – Becky and Joyce sitting by an unconscious Ross. I also called that Sal would apparently evacuate Amazi-Girl but…

    But.

    Poor Joyce. She had such wonderful memories of home and such a happy childhood from everything I’ve seen. Now she’s growing into adulthood, she’s finding that it was all smoke and mirrors protecting a truth of small-minded intolerance, control and murderous hatred. That is what she really hates: that she’s had her happy memories of her past stolen from her.

    You can see how bad this is in the fact that she’s had her own first Red Panel, like the traumas that drive Amber to do what she does.

    1. saki

      All I believe, is it a dream
      That comes crashing down on me
      All that I hope
      Is it just smoke and mirrors
      I want to believe
      But all that I hope
      Is it just smoke and mirrors

  111. Kitschensyngk

    I assume this means that Becky can’t stay on campus anymore, since the fact that the crazed religious nut who fired a gun on campus is her father will eventually lead to the discovery that she’s been living in the dorms and she’s not a student.

    1. timemonkey

      She’s still allowed to visit. She should technically be allowed to stay a few days with each of the people who know about her situation, completely within the system. And with her dad out of the way she won’t have to keep a low profile anymore.

  112. CianM1301

    Wow, Ross went down like a sack of potatoes.

  113. Fairwinds42

    Well, hopefully the police will get him before he slinks off. A few years behind bars would be appropriate. The affections of his fellow inmates will be wonderfully horrifying for him as well.

    I wonder what the mandatory minimum is for threatening multiple people on campus with a gun? Five years? Ten?

    1. BenRG

      I’m pretty sure Ross will make it worse for himself by insisting on treating the trial as a sermon and a great personal martyrdom played out in the media for his own personal beautification and sainthood.

      1. John

        ITYM “beatification”, but the idea of butthole dad getting a televised makeover cracks me up.

      2. Kitschensyngk

        And then Mike Huckabee would probably rally for his release.

    2. Lena

      Prison rape is so funny.

      1. Trolldrool

        Only when you don’t need to think of the actual scene. That’s what makes fictional villains so suitable for the role. We don’t need to think about them, because they’ll be forgotten as soon as Dina appears in the comic again. As opposed to actual prisoners who, despite their crime, are and still have the right to be treated as human beings.

        1. 80-watt Hamster

          Yeah, this whole “This person has done bad things therefore needs to have bad/worse things done TO them” schtick is tiresome and more than a bit disturbing. I know it’s human nature, but blood-for-blood has never ultimately led to a favorable outcome AFAIK.

    3. saki

      Did you really just use the word “wonderful” in the context of prison rape?

  114. David

    “There is no place like home” is not least among the curses.

  115. chris73

    Joyce has always had a mean, violent streak in her but it comes in handy sometimes

  116. Chris

    I think that the thing that most breaks my heart about this is that when Joyce says “God damn you” she really means it. She means every word, every letter in its fullest nuance. She is not saying it vainly. She heartfelty means it and I hate seeing such an innocence lost. (For frame of reference, I believe there is no such thing as God, gods, or magic, but she believes there is, and it’s a huge part of what gives her strength, and it’s a shame to see the innocence taken from her.)

    1. Noclevername

      She’s not swearing at all. She’s praying.

      1. JQuire

        Prayer? Naw, that is a straight up malediction.

        Ross has been cursed.

    2. theheroesofcrash

      I definitely agree with Chris in how heartbreaking this is. Joyce is experiencing a lot that has forced her to question her faith. I know that this happens to a lot of religious folk, myself included. But I grew up with a few core beliefs and many fluid ideas (Granted, I was always literal-minded, and I used to take everything at face value, but I gradually learned to be more fluid as I matured and talked to other people about faith). Joyce grew up with a very rigid, inflexible religious upbringing, and so questioning these laws that governed her life is naturally a bit more difficult. But so much has happened to shake her faith – the incident at the party, Becky coming out and getting abandoned, learning about bad things that happened in the name of Christianity, and finally this kidnapping incident – what should already have been a difficult transition has become a massive crisis for her.

      From what I understand, Willis doesn’t identify as a Christian anymore (unless I’m mistaken?), and Joyce is based on himself. I kinda hope Joyce doesn’t go that same route; quite frankly, so far, she’s exemplified what it means to be a model Christian better than any other webcomic character – and possibly any fictitious character, period – that I’ve seen. Not because of her upbringing, but because of her spirit and attitude. She has questioned and amended her faith to fit her experiences, rather than the other way around. She has shown kindness and acceptance to people of all walks of life, including people of different faiths and sexuality. She has hardly been perfect or sinless, but she has grown, and that’s more important. Her tolerance and ability to shape her own beliefs in spite of her upbringing makes her a Christian role model in my eyes.

      I respect Willis’ beliefs, whatever they may be, and if he decides that Joyce will lose her faith, I respect his decisions as an artist. But this post I’m writing isn’t about what should or should not happen to Joyce; but what I hope happens to Joyce. When so many webcomics have atheist/agnostic characters, and when so many Christian characters in media either barely address their faith or ram it down audiences’ throats, I find it refreshing to find a Christian character who addresses their faith like a real person, and I hope that Joyce continues to do so.

      1. ninja_jesus

        I wouldn’t worry about Joyce losing her faith in God. Like you said, she’s been adapting her faith to her experiences, and this is no different. 🙂

  117. Yuxiu

    I don’t know if you allow that so just so you know :
    http://www.lolfrance.com/?p=1629

    1. Amazi-Stool

      Is this your page?

      You are stealing other peoples’ comics and do not even link to the original source?

      1. David M Willis

        It’s not their page. They are showing me someone else stealing my comics and asking me what I think about it.

        This particular comic has been stolen by everyone. I see it in strange places. This is place #2303290293039.

        1. Someone

          Well at least it proves you have fans in France.

  118. Bart

    Home can be anywhere, because it is part of you.

  119. ClaudeWicked

    I feel like Carla’s been steadily going down on the poll because other characters are getting more facetime. Hrmm, ah well.

    1. Spencer

      This injustice must be corrected.

      1. Dr. T

        Carla is going to get more face time in the future. I am just not sure how far in the future considering how she does not really fit into the current storyline.

  120. Abel Undercity

    And that’s Joyce with the win, seconds into the first round, via KO (ground and pound).

    Squash match. Ross had no chance.

    Overall, an impressive debut, but she needs a few more wins before she’s ready for Ronda Rousey.

  121. BenRG

    I’ve got a feeling that any anonymity/urban myth status that Amazi-Girl has ever had is going to vanish. I’ll bet you anything that Joyce (wanting to avoid attention) is going to credit everything achieved to Amazi-Girl’s efforts. The result is going to be a copy of the local newsheet… maybe even the local TV news… running a blurry ‘phone-cam picture of her riding on the top of Ross’s car and the caption: “Who is this mysterious woman in a mask?”

    It might be time for the nasty, opinionated talking heads from the Walkyverse to make a return and spew their reactionary, paranoid fantasies about poor Amber across the television screens of Indiana.

    1. m2iCodeJockey

      The police already know she exists and where she operates.
      A guy who wouldn’t admit he fought a woman was left bloody and unconscious in a fast food parking lot that has color surveillance cameras.

      The matter is whether they make an effort to pursue her.

      If they talked to the campus police, they’ll know someone at the school paper has been running a series on her so, knows how to run into her, directly…

      1. Spencer

        Blaine insisted he was attacked by a large man, and if the police were going to tie Amazi-Girl to Blaine’s assault than we would have gotten a scene of it by now.

        I’ve just figured so far that to most of IU, Amazi-Girl is just some weird, harmless performance art by a freshman. If you and your friends had your ass kicked by a short girl in a cape, would you run to the police, especially when it happened when you were committing a crime in the first place?

        1. m2iCodeJockey

          In the strip where Daisy is handing the assignment to Dorothy, it’s described that the witnesses (plural) have a different account of the incident from Blaine.
          It also happened in the WcD’s parking lot. It’s covered from multiple angles and THEY WOULD NOT LEAVE WITHOUT asking for a copy of the tapes.

          What’s on the tape:
          -Blaine arrives with a male, about 5’10”
          -Blaine is confronted by a masked female, about 5’4″
          -Blaine and AG have a heated verbal exchange
          -The verbal exchange leads to physical altercation ending with Blaine possibly being hit while already down
          -The male and masked female leave, together, in the general direction of the school

          They would review the tape and from there, it would spread. The tape of Blaine being knocked down by AG would be the daily shift joke FOR WEEKS.
          They would be watching it over-and-over, at lunch, with popcorn.

          EVERY NEW GUY beginning a uniform career there would be started off with:
          Shift Supervisor: “Okay Pete; Be safe! Don’t get yer ass handed to you by a five-foot-nothin’ cheerleader in yellow long underwear and a blue bikini bottom!”
          Pete: “What-in-the-hell?!!”
          *everyone in the station laughs
          Pete’s Training Partner: “I’ll tell ya’ about it in the car.”
          Next Person They Pass: “Dude!! You like Blaine!!”

          And this would go on for each new patrolman, the next 25 YEARS.

          So, they would already know Blaine’s own account of what happened is BS but, they wouldn’t have anything solid on him but, they’d think he knew his attacker because the tape doesn’t show him as ‘selected.’
          He was ‘confronted.’

        2. m2iCodeJockey

          * “You look like Blaine!!”

        3. Spencer

          I think that if there was actual, concrete proof that Amazi-Girl had beaten up Blaine, then it’d be something immediately pursued by the police. Blaine’s lies provide an easy way for Amber to get away with beating the hell out of him.

        4. m2iCodeJockey

          Agreeing with you, specifically because that incident happened at WcD’s, there’s only one question needed to be asked by any ordinary, competent, not-the-fucking-sureluck-telegraphed-clue detective:
          “Mr. O’Malley, why are you in Bloomington?”

          This is a base question anyone taking the report would ask, if only to gauge
          his personality.

          He’s not likely to have answered honestly because if he said “I’m here to see my daughter’s accommodations at the university,” they’d know exactly why and by whom he was attacked.

          Blaine: “I was at the fucking comic book store!”
          D: “On 8th?”
          Blaine: “Nah, on 6th… Near Plan 9…”
          D: “Yeah. Hmm…”

          So, whatever his answer was, it made enough sense for them to drop it, knowing they wouldn’t get a straight answer.
          But, then, that says something about what HE knows…

        5. Spencer

          Why wouldn’t he be in Bloomington? It was Freshman Family Weekend. He was there to visit his daughter.

          The next day he was attacked by a single, large male while at a McDonalds.

        6. m2iCodeJockey

          Because, if it is known he was there to see Amber, they’d attempt to speak with her, directly.

          That would lead to it being known he’s been banned from campus because of the first altercation which began in Clark.
          Remember, he wasn’t robbed so, they want to know why he was attacked and he hasn’t been forthcoming.

          D: “Oh, and by the way: Do you know anything about a person in yellow with a blue cape?”
          Witness: “You mean Amazi-Girl?!! She’s the coolest!”
          D: “What is an Amazi-Girl?”
          Witness: “Check out the paper…”

          Now, they have a photo of AG AND they know Dorothy speaks to her, directly.

          Once a person, who is actually TRYING to piece together the truth, met Amber after hearing the witnesses, AG would be easily outed by any person that obtains the means to search Amber’s closet, in particular.

          Or, they could just wait and grab AG.

      2. shadowcell

        They’re also going to want to talk to her because she was a witness to Ross’s violent felonies. And she should talk to them, because her testimony can help put him away for even longer. If she doesn’t, then Ross’s defense attorney will be jumping for joy, because the prosecutor’s case will be hampered by uncooperative witnesses.

        That’s all probably academic, because Dumbing of Age moves so slowly that if Ross goes to trial, it won’t be for decades in real-time, unless there are some timeskips or something. But it would mark an important test of Amber’s character if it does come up.

        1. m2iCodeJockey

          Unless Ross drove through an intersection with a light (traffic cameras,) they won’t know AG was involved unless Beck uses the name or Ross describes what happened from his POV.

          The phone would have picked up Beck’s “Super Lady” but, not AG’s voice in the wind outside the car.

        2. Agemegos

          What if the maniac driver of the red car gives a description?

        3. Agemegos

          Of the driver of the blue semi?

        4. shadowcell

          Sure they’d know. They’d know that something smashed into the windshield of the red car, they’d know from the red car’s driver, they’d know from Sayid whose skateboard she made off with, they’d know from the truck driver that almost hit her, they’d know from Becky, they’d know from Joyce, they’d know from Ross, they’d know from Sal if they can get her to talk to them, and they’d know from any number of other witnesses. Unless Willis decides that he wants Bloomington’s police and the prosecutor to be ultra terrible at their jobs, they’re going to interview all of those people. And unless there’s some weird bylaw in the Dumbiverse’s source code that lets you lie to police with zero consequences in an investigation of violent felonies that carry significant jail time, it’s not going to end well if they all try to protect her identity. And unless all of these people decide to commit obstruction of justice and lie to police about what they saw, someone will point them towards Amber. And if all that happened, it would only work to Ross’s benefit, because it would weaken the case against him by impeaching the credibility of every witness.

  122. SomeGuy

    So, I get that these panels are about Joyce and Becky, and that’s why they’re the focus, but with the “camera” being pulled back on that last panel, I’m left wondering where Sal and Amazi-Girl are. The bike stopped next to the guardrail just behind them, right? At the very least they should be somewhere between that awesome red car in the distance and the toemobile… right?

    1. Agemegos

      They have very wisely ridden off to strip off the Amazi-dungarees and present at an ER reporting injury in a spill from a motorcycle.

      If only Joyce were canny enough to say that the rider of the bike she commandeered was wearing a full-faced helmet, and that therefor she cannot be certain that the rider was Sal.

  123. Howard

    I was just the other day saying to somebody that was exactly how I felt. Like, I missed the uncomplicated feeling of belonging and joy I’d had as a kid, and now now I’m never gonna feel the same way about belonging to anything. Any movement, any group. Because I’m carrying all this baggage about how groups can go bad…

    I know that feel, Joyce. I know that feel.

  124. Jack Faire

    What’s sad is that home hasn’t changed it’s always been that way. She is just starting to realize how shitty the people she grew up with are. It’s like growing up in a racist family going away realizing racism is bad and realizing your family is made up of kind of shitty people.

    Really anytime when you come from any kind of family where something(s) terrible were treated as “that’s the way it is” and you learn that no that’s not how it is you are going to be saddened because that home will never exist again.

  125. brumagem

    Pack it up, everyone. This comic cannot possibly get any better than Joyce’s lines in the last two panels.

  126. Deanatay

    “Okay.
    Here’s what’s going to happen.
    I’m gonna hit ya.
    And, you’re gonna fall.
    And I’ll look down at you.
    And I’m gonna cuss.

    D-damn.
    God-damn.
    GODDAMN SHIT ASS FUCK COCK”

    1. Robbzilla

      I heard that in Ren Hoerk’s voice.

      1. Deanatay

        As was intended!

  127. Sigurther

    Holy shit, Joyce unleashed the beast!!

  128. diello

    Okay guys…. don’t forget about DINA!!! PLEASE BE ALIVE!!!

    1. Spencer

      Dina’s fine.

    2. Lord Stoneheart

      I’m confused why people are so insistent that Dina is dead. Besides the fact we have confirmation she’s showing up in the next storyline, I just don’t see characters in this comic being shoved in the fridge.

      1. Spencer

        I think Willis has only ever killed off a character for reasons not wholly devoted to their own character arc once in the entirety of his career with Rachel in J&W, and even then he set about hinting that she was alive.

        1. Lord Stoneheart

          Oh yeah. I only know about that because of the follow up Shortpacked storyline though. I didn’t think about how it would be like to read that storyline without already knowing a part that happens later.

  129. Nightsbridge

    I wonder how many kicks she managed to get in.

  130. altalemur

    the leaves haven’t even changed and Joyce has already changed so much she might not get to ever “go home” emotionally again. then again, all this growth means she’d probably have a better relationship with her older sister Jocelyne, and an evolving friendship with Becky. so…. overall win for growing up?

  131. JQuire

    Phew. This has been a tense arc.

    And now I can’t wait to see Amber deal with the fact that Sal saved her life, proving again that she is the bigger and better adjusted of the two.

    1. Spencer

      To be fair it’s hard not to be well adjusted compared to Amber.

      1. JQuire

        Well, yes. But it just seems to cause such consternation for Amber that Sal is well adjusted, it was worth mentioning.

  132. The dewd

    Man, I’m starting to feel bad for joyce, she’s starting to become more sad, angry, and hate filled.

  133. fallingwaters2

    This might become my new gravvie.

  134. lovintheweb

    love the red eyes

  135. Lim

    so did Joyce just get lucky and land a solid hit on his jaw (an odd hit that at first looked like an upper cut, but the follow through felt more like a hook?)? OR is she simply much stronger than she looks? (especially compared to toe dad that seems to be a lot of upper body and neck muscle). Either way, I don’t think that he’s getting up before a 10 count.

    1. Spencer

      It’s more that Toedad was in really poor condition, and Joyce threw her entire weight into punching him.

  136. Toes14

    Looks like the police are finally arriving. I see red lights in the background in the nearest lane. Now I’m wondering will AG still be on scene when they arrive, or will she wake up and scram before they do?

  137. hof1991

    Home is a fluid concept.

    “No man, no madness
    Though their sad power may prevail
    Can possess, conquer, my country’s heart
    They rise to fail

    My land’s only borders lie around my heart”

  138. Zepher

    Home is where you can stream internet videos without roaming charges or data plan usage.

  139. Derek

    It’s getting hard to choose between this arc and the current arc over on Order Of The Stick as most intense webcomic arc ever.

    Arc arc arc.

  140. ClaudeWicked

    Yes… Strike him down with all your hatred.

  141. BenRG

    Am I the only one noticing the parallels between Becky stopping Joyce from stomping Ross into strawberry jam and Danny having to pull Amber off of Blaine? I’m wondering if we ARE going to have the ‘Mask of Zorro’ moment between Joyce and Amber some time in the future!

    JOYCE: “How? How can I do what is needed, when all I feel is… hate?”

    AMAZI-GIRL: “You hide it…” ((She hands Joyce an orange mask)) “With this.“

    1. Amazi-Stool

      No, you are not the only one noticing the parallels.

  142. Spencer

    Huh. I never noticed that the banner changed with the amount of comments.

    1. Jen

      I does?! o_O

      1. Spencer

        Every time a new comment is added, anyway.

        1. Peduncle

          Okay, now I have to test. Comments = 478, D. rex on the banner.

        2. Peduncle

          Comments = 481, Billie on the banner.

        3. Peduncle

          Comments = 482, J & B on the banner.
          This comment becomes inaccurate the moment that it’s posted.

          (Presumably the banner changes whenever the page is updated.)

  143. Nena

    Wow! Holy shit, Joyce!

  144. Griffin

    Joyce is going to make me cry.

  145. Willoughby Chase

    Welcome to adulthood, Joyce.

    Goddamn it.

  146. Lurker

    “We don’t need to hurt nobody”
    “.. don’t … nobody”

    Why..

    1. Mr. Demiurge

      Homeschooled by Toedad.

    2. Spencer

      Becky’s dialogue’s always been a bit intentionally messy. Walky’s is kind of the same way.

    3. ninja_jesus

      Let her speak as she likes. The message was clear regardless. Policing grammar is silly.

  147. Mattyos

    Holy shit Joyce was about to stomp a mudhole in toedad and walk it dry.

    We need Joyce 3:16 shirts!

  148. Roborat

    Wow, what a perfect way to express Joyce’s world view cracking, nicely done.

    Well, I see the police are arriving, so I assume that means the curtain is about to come down on this storyline, hopefully Sal has grabbed Amazi-girl and headed off into the sunset.

    Sir Willis, if there is a webcomic award for excellence in writing, this story arc should be a contender for the top prize, this was an excellent chapter, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey, kudos and congratulations to you.

  149. PShiel

    holy damn she swore

    1. Lord Stoneheart

      I mean she let out the first damn a couple of weeks ago in real time. We shouldn’t be surprised that the dam has been loosened and all of the damns are coming out.

      1. Tenn

        It’s da damndam!

  150. Dave

    Um, OK, my bad if I still had some suspension of disbelief after the amazingly crazy events of the past week. But Joyce punching out a grown (linebacker-sized) man just cut the last frayed string on that rope. I’ve hit the ground with a thud. This comic is amazing. But this ending leaves me a little meh.

    1. segnosaur

      Well, for one, story telling is usually more important than realism.

      But remember:
      – Toedad was just through some sort of accident… might not be feeling 100% after that
      – Although he looks strong, there is no indication that he is used to being in fights
      – The punch was a surprise. He probably wasn’t prepared for it
      – Joyce may have got in a pretty effective uppercut

      The human body can be a pretty fragile thing sometimes.

    2. Guairdean Beatha

      Many will remind you that truth is stranger than fiction. Few can tell you why, even though the answer is quite simple. Truth is stranger because fiction has to make sense. If you can tell a story that loses a little of its sensibility once in a while, but still grips the audience, makes them laugh, makes them cry, and most of all makes them think, you’ve become a true story teller.

    3. Spencer

      It’s not that crazy. Toedad’s just been in a car accident. A light breeze could probably take him down.

      And even if it weren’t totally, 100%, completely plausible, this is one of those dramatic story beats that just happen, like the Surprise Kiss; If that happened in real life it’d be creepy and invasive because you’re planting one on somebody without their consent, but in fiction it’s a legitimate storytelling tool.

  151. Dave

    Um, just an aside, for anyone that might be jumping to any conclusions about Christians based on the ‘fundamentalists’ being portrayed in DoA: well, yeah, we’re all crazy. But honestly, crazy is relative and the whole dang planet is 100% crazy. Not just the Christians. Just sayin.

    1. Lord Stoneheart

      Nobody was saying that Ross is representative of all Christians. Most of the main cast with the exception of Dorothy, Joe and Ethan are Christians. (Any other major character I left out I did so unintentionally. But my point that most character are Christians still holds I think).

      But people like Ross do exist. (Several commenters have mentioned that they’ve known people like Ross). And their actions are much more harmful to others than that of most people.

    2. Bicycle Bill

      “Christian” just means that one holds a belief in Jesus Christ, but there are more variations on that belief than there are ice cream flavors at Baskin-Robbins.

    3. Guairdean Beatha

      The main conclusion to be drawn from Fundie is that people are flawed. Those who adhere to extremist views are some of the most deeply flawed. It’ll be interesting to see if those views can sustain him now that he’s alienated the only person that will truly love him forever. A man blessed with a daughter (I’m doubly blessed with two) will find no love as pure on this earth. Becky will still love him, but she will never trust him again.

    4. 3oranges

      I’ve never imagined that all Christians were anything like Ross, but do feel a little concerned that so many feel the need to keep pointing that out…

      1. Lord Stoneheart

        Especially the “We are all crazy!”line. I mean even if that’s true the problem with Ross isn’t craziness. It’s that he’s a controlling asshole who’s so absolutely certain that he’s in the right that he believes that any action is justified. I mean that’s not unique to any specific belief system, but still.

        1. Peduncle

          Okay, let’s suppose that Lord Stoneheart and I are members of a minority group, the Rubrocapillans, and that the villain of the current sequence is a Rubrocapillan who has violently misrepresented our views, and that one commenter after another has written Rip his head off and things along that line. Many have identified his failing as being a Rubrocapillan. How do we feel about that? Do we feel that a few disclaimers about not all Rubrocapillans being like that are too many?

        2. Lord Stoneheart

          “Many have identified his failing as being a Rubrocapillan”

          Have people identified Ross’s failing as being a Christian, or as being self righteous controlling asshole? I’m really missing where people are saying that his failing is just being Christian.

          I mean, two of the people in major conflict with Ross right now are Joyce and Becky who are also Christian. Is there a need to go “Not all Christians! when the comic clearly shows that not all Christians are like Ross?

  152. Akiosama

    All I can visualize is Joyce reaching out, opening a door in the background, turning around and looking at us, the readers, and saying…

    “Good morning, and in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!”

    …and walking out from the shell of reality she grew up in, into the real world.

    Either that, or “I reject your reality and substitute my own.”

  153. Edupoet81

    RED ALERT!

    RAGE!

    I can’t help but wonder if Joyce’s words about home are autobiographical.

  154. Reed

    There’s no place like home… that sucks as much :(. Poor Joyce.

  155. IceMateria

    Rare footage of Joyce, actually angry

  156. blazex27

    wow… joyce did a minor swear for the first time in this chapter… twice.

  157. BW

    …this strip was a huge emotional gut punch. Suddenly, my memories of over a decade ago came flooding back. I made the same realization toward my own family, coming to realize that home was no longer home, coming to realize that I was raised by really, really shitty people. While I wasn’t raised in a fundie household (not really religious at all), the father figure in my life was an emotional abuser, eternal pessimist, and exuded toxic masculinity. I was 18 when I came to that realization, and a year later, I moved out of my parents’ house to begin a life with the woman that would become my wife. My relationship with my stepfather soured tremendously after that, but it was the best decision I ever made. Joyce, I feel you.

  158. MutantSentry

    Welcome to adult hood Joyce… I’d tell you it get easier, but… Well actually few things I’ve encountered in my adult life are as difficult as it will be explaining all this once the police catch up. Maybe Amazi-Girl won’t get caught by the cops, but Becky is definitely exposed as squatting on campus. So she won’t be able to stay in the dorm, but she is old enough that the cops can’t make her go back to her parent’s… so homeless? Shit. And has anyone gone back to check on Dina?

  159. man in black

    Joyce letting the anger flow, the Emperor must be pleased

  160. PaulS

    Angry Joyce is terrifying and adorable at the same time…

  161. RavenRyy

    And now the change is past the Event Horizon.

    What kind of human will Joyce now become.

  162. K-Dog

    And Joyce goes flippin’ Sardaukar on Becky’s Dad!!!! You go girl!

  163. Chibijon

    Did anybody else notice that Sal seems to have taken off with Amazi-Girl? So last most witnesses saw them they were leaving campus pursued by Amazi-Girl and when the police show up it’s just Becky, Toedad, and Joyce present. Everybody’s going to think Joyce is Amazi-girl

  164. evilrpgwriter

    It was a really hard day today, Willis, and then you wrote this. And it was better.

    Because everything, from Joyce’s anger, to her hatred, to her missing when she thought the world was bright and perfect, it captures what it’s like so well.

    You’ve created the best and most sincerely written ex-fundie character I’ve ever read. And as an ex-fundie struggling through depression and hatred and anger myself, I just want to say…

    … thank you, Willis. Thank you for creating Joyce, and telling her story. Thank you for making me feel like I’m not alone, and that other people understand what it’s like.

  165. Keulan

    Is that the police finally showing up in the last panel? It’s about damn time.

  166. Just Here

    All Joyce needs right now is Daisy and and a bottle of, umm, probably something not too strong. Oh hell, get her some alcohol-free bubbly and she’ll probably get drunk from thinking she’s getting drunk.

  167. Lee

    Bite the curb Toedad, you psychotic twit.

  168. flareonflare

    its not bad that i wanted him to die

    it really isnt, that i wanted amazi-girl and joyce to fucking bloody their hands on the remains of his scumbag face

    and no, i will never feel bad about wanting that, im perfectly okay with vigilante justice in cases like this

    I WILL NOT BE GUILTED

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