283

Duct tape
Posted on July 7, 2016 by David M Willis

283 thoughts on “Duct tape”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    your brainstorm is a sprinkle

    a doughnut sprinkle at that

    (or, a drop in the bucketkeg)

    1. miados

      tinkle tinkle tinkle. listen to her sprinkle

      1. Leorale

        Please be neat and wipe the seat

    2. Doctor_Who

      My Brainstorm is a secret Decepticon with a time traveling briefcase.

      1. JetstreamGW

        Utterly ludicrous. Everyone knows Brainstorm is an Autobot.

        1. Tacos

          Exactly. That’d be like having an Autobot Megatron. Oh wait…

        2. Orion Fury

          I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing I’m not a part of the fandom anymore. Still, those Combiners…

        3. Doctor_Who

          Honestly, though I hated the sound of it, Autobot Megatron has been an excellent story. MTMTE in general is probably my favorite TF fiction ever at this point, and I love what they’ve done with Megs.

        4. Orion Fury

          I’m mainly speaking in reference to being poor. Sure, I suppose I could torrent the comics and such, but I’m not a heartless bastard. If I’m going to consume that, I want them to be paid for it.

        5. Doctor_Who

          Shame you missed the Humble Bundle. That’s how I got into it; I’d heard good reviews and put it on my “maybe check out someday if I have money to burn and nothing better to do with my time” list (also on there: Walking Dead, most anime, and whatever video game is currently popular). Then it showed up on HB, and I got the first 6 volumes for $10 because what the hell.

        6. Undrave

          They get pretty cheap on Comixology after like a month. You can get MTMTE vol 1 for 7,99 and the others at 9,99 and individual issues drop from 3,99 to 1,99 after a month or two. And keep an eye out for Humble Bundle sales of IDW stuff.

        7. Orion Fury

          Why thank you. That price isn’t too bad.

    3. saltchocolate

      Your brainstorm is all thunder and no lightning.

      1. Doctor_Who

        Sound and fury, signifying nothing.

        1. Disloyal Subject

          Sound and fury are worthy causes unto themselves.

      2. Darkoneko

        Not very very frightening (Galileo)

      3. Chris

        Thundercats ho!

    4. Walky_Talky

      [Morgan Freeman voice] Titty Sprinkles

    5. Ana Chronistic

      also I’m glad Billie stops tangenting that Joyce+Becky photo with her mouth by the end of the strip

  2. Riku

    She tried. Gold star.

    1. gkheyf

      hey, she has to share that gold star with like everyone who ever commented that suggestion

      1. Reltzik

        She can keep it. I want no credit for something that flimsy.

    2. Wack'd

      Actually she’s bisexual.

      1. Sammy

        *Appreciates this*

      2. Cerberus

        Well played!

      3. Clif

        Garf

    3. MathiasMindblade

      That level of effort doesn’t rate a gold star. Maybe Silver. But not Gold.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Perhaps a gold square.

      2. Willoughby Chase

        Bronze?

  3. Kernanator

    So much effort! She deserves a break for all her hard work!

    1. Doctor_Who

      And a cookie. But she had Carla give them all to Ruth.

  4. Palamdrone

    Back to the drawing board!

    1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

      … why doesn’t Becky move in with Ruth?
      – Gives Becky somewhere to live.
      – Billie has someone to suicide-watch Ruth.
      – The scenario is blackmail proof since Becky is openly dating Dina.

      1. Osopescado

        Well except that Becky isn’t enrolled, so letting her live in the dorms would be a serious breach of protocol that could get her in a lot of trouble. Almost *more* blackmailable than her having a relationship with Billie. Since I could maybe construe a hypothetical “dont ask dont tell” situation with Her and Billie if it ever came up to her supervisor. But letting a non student crash fro free is a big no no.

      2. Cerberus

        I don’t think that’s going to be likely. One, for the reason Osopescado notes, that Ruth being shown to openly sneak in a non-student for long periods of time would also be a protocol violation (not as big a one as with Billie, but enough to get the bosses investigating her more which is bad).

        And that would be super bad, because having a secret woman living with her would trigger several things that are all bad.

        1) It would tell the bosses that she’s been trying to sneak things which would have them investigating her more and her whole management style massively relies on the bosses not looking in to how she actually runs the place in any way. If they start checking in on her regularly, then she’s in a much worse place with regards to her struggles with her alcoholism, with regards to her depressive episodes, and with regards to her “unique” approach to resolving student issues.

        2) It would lend credence to Mary’s claims, because to the bosses it would look like oh, this person was wrong about who Ruth is sleeping with, but she is right in that she has a secret girlfriend living with her (and it would be interpreted that way, no matter it being an open secret that Becky isn’t dating her), so maybe this Mary lady is on to something and we should listen to her more.

        So yeah, Ruth is going to be trying to fly way above radar for now, so this option is out.

        Honestly, at the end of this arc, I would not be surprised if we reset back to 0 and Becky’s just staying with Joyce again (or being found out and having to evacuate the premises), at least for a little bit. It’s been established to be unhealthy for her, but a bed is a bed and it’s better than a box under a bridge.

        1. Clif

          I’m expecting a surprise out of left field that this has all been building towards. I just can’t imagine what it is.

        2. Pat

          Leslie?

  5. taran47

    Good effort I guess Billie

  6. Mr. Random

    More like Brain Drizzle.

  7. PughPughPugh

    You can almost see the little hamsters running on their wheels in her head.

    1. Doctor_Who

      At last, Snkrs gets a cameo!

    2. inqntrol

      Something like this ?

      1. Reltzik

        No. That is more analogous to the brainstorm of an epileptic.

        Billie’s brainstorm is more like this:

        http://media.mnn.com/assets/images/2011/02/kern.jpg.638x0_q80_crop-smart.jpg

    3. LWS

      I don’t think the hamsters are running; it’s more like they’re taking a quiet stroll around the neighborhood.

  8. Stephen R. Bierce

    *plays the theme to The New Red Green Show on the hacked Muzak*

    1. Dave1135

      Keep your stick on the ice.

    2. Undrave

      Let’s convert an old car into a camper and have Becky live on a Wal-Mart parking lot!

  9. Palamdrone

    Here’s an idea: Date Becky.

    1. inqntrol

      Dina may not agree on that.

      1. Palamdrone

        Maybe, maybe not. Is there any evidence dinosaurs were monogamous?

        1. Opus the Poet

          There appears to be some for some species of herbivores.

        2. Doctor_Who

          Dina’s a velociraptor, so no problem there.

        3. Bicycle Bill

          Consider that many of the modern-day raptors (hawks and eagles) are known for their monogamistic mating habits, so if we accept that today’s birds are lineal descendants of the saurians it is a completely logical assumption that some species may also have been monogamist.

          In addition, within the past decade I recall reading about a species designated Maiasaurus (“good mother lizard”) whose fossilized remains were discovered in the mid-1970s in what was described as a ‘nesting colony’ of embryos, eggs, and young of that same species.  Other evidence indicated that the mature specimens were providing food to the young nestlings in much the same way as modern birds tend to their young.  Prior to this no evidence of such maternal behavior had been found, so monogamy may not be out of the question; it’s just that conclusive evidence may never be found.

        4. Lovely Monsters

          Raptors the birds aren’t direct “lineal” descendants of the saurians: ALL birds are descended from one common saurian ancestor who lived in the Late Cretaceous and probably resembled a more birdly Archaeopteryx.

          http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evograms_06

          Which means ducks. Necrophile, gang-rapist ducks.

          And Adelie penguins. Necrophile, rapist penguins.

          These are individual species’ variations on reproduction, but it’s likely that dinosaurs also had species-specific mating behaviors, and we have no idea what those are.

          (Genetically, the birds today closest to dinosaurs are chickens, which are polygynous. Morphologically, it’s emus, ostriches, and kiwis. Does anybody even know the mating habits of kiwis? I’m going to have to look this up . . .)

        5. Lovely Monsters

          Aww, they mate for life.

        6. Jinxed44

          I love that and that you came back to tell us. 😀

  10. Woobie

    Why is it up to Billie?

    1. newllend(henryvolt)

      She’s just spitballing ideas.

    2. Cephalo the Pod

      Joyce and Becky were arguing about where Becky was going to sleep, because sharing a bed with Joyce wasn’t working out. Billie seemingly solved it by lending Becky her bed while she moved in with her “boy”friend.

      Billie’s not really responsible, but it’s kind of a dick move to go back on doing someone a solid. It would kinda be like offering to carpool someone while their car’s getting fixed but then at the last minute going “Oh, wait, actually, I can’t, sorry”.

      1. JetstreamGW

        It’s more like carpooling with someone for a couple weeks, then changing your mind while they’re gone and not aware that they have to change their arrangement.

      2. saltchocolate

        It’s not fucked up to go back on it if you’re going to be homeless yourself, as a result. There’s “doing someone a solid,” and then there’s “being a martyr.”

        1. Leorale

          It’s okay that Billie is taking her favor back, she has to. It’s a jerk move to refrain from giving the Becky any notice whatsoever so that Becky can try to make other plans. If Billie find Becky an alternate solution, it would totally make up for unhousing Becky with zero notice.

        2. Cerberus

          Well, I doubt Becky would hold it against her. I think it’s more Billie doesn’t actually want to put Becky out all of a sudden cause she’s empathizes with her situation and did let her relax into trusting the current situation as a solution.

        3. Bagge

          Yeah, Becky will be all “Huh, oh well, that sucks. I’ll figure something out. Sorry about your boyfriend, and thanks for letting me have the bed a week. Anyway, did I tell you how me and Joyce did a breakin together??? We are totally badass thugs now.”

        4. Cerberus

          Yup, that’s my reading on how she’ll react too!

          There’s also a thing where if Billie and Sal are okay with her crashing the floor, that’s totally a short-term solution. I mean, she’s already stated in comic that she’s fine flooring it.

          Honestly, as much as everyone is panicking as to where she’s staying, she’s actually in good position… unless she’s been reported on by Mary. And I’m getting a little bit of a “we’ve all got this elaborate game-plan for the non-Becky folks to react to Toedad” vibe here which is making me worried about the swerve.

        5. Reltzik

          Long term, probably not. But short term, going from happy prospects to a box under the bridge will probably sting.

          Especially since Billie doesn’t seem to have a box lined up.

        6. Cerberus

          So what you’re saying is Billie needs to hit up the UPS store…

        7. Reltzik

          I’d say no… but it’s more than she’s doing right now.

          Seriously, I think Billie’s got the same sort of problem I have.

          (Because, you know, everyone in every piece of literature has the same personality issues I do. It’s like projection, except its not me doing the projecting, but people like Willis being nice and doing the projection into their work for me, making it objective fact rather than personal interpretation.)

          She needs to actually start doing something, rather than sitting there staring at the problem and not quite sure how to start. Yeah, buying a box would be… well, stupid, and definitely not where I would suggest she begin. But it would move her from a state of inaction into action, and once in that state trying other things would become more natural. Maybe having the box would be a physical, present, visible reminder of “hey, stupid, this is plan B and it really really sucks, so get to work on plan A NOW.” Maybe just getting the blood flowing and the feet moving would trigger a brainstorm.

          Like I said, I have this problem, so I’m allowed to criticize to the max and direct all my self-hatred on the subject at Billie.

          All my hate, Billie! ALL MY HATE!

    3. Paul

      Billie derives a sense of validation from solving other people`s problems.

      1. Bagge

        This! And right now when she has zero sense of self worth AT ALL, having to take back her favor to Becky and failing to come up with an alternative just reinforces the feeling that she is worthless and everyone would be better of without her.

        1. Cerberus

          Yeah, that’s the part that probably really stings for Billie. Right now she’s feeling like she’s not able to do right by Ruth directly and she doesn’t have any good ideas on how to do right by Becky and is just generally feeling sorta useless and beating herself up over it.

  11. Cephalo the Pod

    “Take that, commentors, for trying to piece together little ‘clues’ about Marcie’s life and make them into foreshadowing”.

    1. Undrave

      DAMN YOU WILLIS!!!

  12. newllend(henryvolt)

    Well at least the story didn’t ignore this suggestion.

    1. Reltzik

      Ignoring it might have been more merciful.

  13. Dandi_Andi

    That was truly the very least amount of effort while still being able to honestly claim that she tried. I’m disappointed, yet somehow proud.

    1. Doctor_Who

      We’ll make a proper college student out of her yet!

    2. Kernanator

      She is the Queen of Half-Assing.

  14. TJ Pittsburgh

    Are Freshmen required to live in the dorm? Billie could ask her rich, emotionally-distant father to pay for her to live elsewhere. Becky could with her. And then Billie could resume her lesbian suicide pact with Ruth, who would no longer be a figure of authority over her.

    Everybody’s happy, the end.

    1. figureaddict

      Too simple!

    2. Cerberus

      Freshmen are required to live in the dorm for their first year and then can have off-campus housing after that. She could put in for a transfer to another dorm floor or the like, but colleges tend to drag their feet like crazy on that even when there is good cause because it’s a major hassle.

      1. Aubrey

        Where did you go where it was required to live in the dorms your first-year? I went to UC Santa Cruz and, while most students lived on-campus, some students didn’t (it was way cheaper to live off-campus than on-campus if your financial aid was shit).

        1. Cerberus

          I dunno if it was required where I went to school. I don’t think it was.

          But Indiana University definitely has this requirement:
          http://rps.indiana.edu/resrequire.cfml

        2. Bicycle Bill

          There are exceptions, one of which is that a first-year student who is pledging a fraternity or sorority and will reside in a chapter house may request an exemption from the “must live in campus housing” policy.  Said exemption must be submitted in writing, and proof of residency in the chapter house is required.

          Of course, first Becky must become a member of the IU student body — her current status right now is kind of in a state of limbo. Her Toedad came to take her out of Anderson; but do we know for sure that he went through all the formalities to officially de-enroll her?  She might, so far as Anderson is concerned, still be on the rolls there as a student who was granted a leave of absence for a “family emergency” … and frankly, I wouldn’t put it past Toedad to have done something like that, since it would have been so much quicker than a full and formal withdrawal.

          However, once that little plot point has been resolved, we can look forward to book #9 — “Becky Goes Greek”!!

        3. Anonononon

          Where I went it was required unless you were living with family. That includes spouses for those who went back to school later in life.

  15. John

    About time you solved the problem, Billie. Only like everybody in the comments has been pointing out that simple, easy answer for months now.

    1. Cerberus

      Except it’s not a solution. But it was good on her to think of it and reach out anyways.

      1. John

        Text format doesn’t allow the dripping sarcasm to come through. I’ve never believed that solving Becky’s housing problem would be as simple and conflict-free as “Marcie will put her up!”, and I’ve gotten really tired of so many people in the comments taking it as given that it would happen. (Seriously, David Willis is their god, and their lord’s prayer is “DAMN YOU WILLIS” for a reason.)

        I’m guessing “she’ll room with Carla in that obviously double room that Carla’s the sole occupant of!” is going to be the replacement simplistic solution. (Leaving aside whether Carla would go for that, I think Carla’s room is the mirror of Ruth’s, and actually a single.)

        1. Cerberus

          Aw, sorry, missed the sarcasm.

    2. Reltzik

      To be fair, it was months for US. Considerably less time for Billie.

  16. FLUFFYWOLF

    So many people are getting in on trying to help Becky!

    …Granted, it’s not quite working out for Billie, but she’s trying.

  17. Opus the Poet

    In Becky’s situation Velcro™ her to the ceiling, it would save removing and re-applying the duct tape every day so she could get to work.

  18. Kay

    http://media.tumblr.com/32c47cec14d9bd042a2847cc8e77ea7b/tumblr_inline_mnp0iwun421qz4rgp.jpg

  19. Reltzik

    Called it. (That Marcie wouldn’t have room for her.)

    1. Reltzik

      … huh, it’s whatserface, Alice? Billie’s former friend slash ex. Had all of 5 appearances. Was standoffish and bongoriffic at Billie, with some justification. That’s… all we know about her.

      Guess I’m Alice today.

      The grudge-keeping aspect does suit me, but… I think I’ll keep experimenting until I get someone more easily recognizable.

  20. tim gueguen

    Our hopes are ruined. Ruined!

    1. Undrave

      DAMN YOU, WILLIS!

  21. Just Me

    Have Becky move in with Carla…..

    1. Paul

      How would Becky take that? She has enough trouble believing that “liking both is a thing,” the idea of living with a roommate who has boy parts might croggle her mind.

      1. Silamy

        Now I’m wondering if Carla would be more receptive to someone who knew what being transgender meant, processed the concept and just took it as “you identify your gender as whatever suits you, and tell me what pronouns to use, and beyond that, it’s not my business”.
        I’m operating under the assumption that, by not being generally “out”, Carla doesn’t want to be marked as different -or at least not because of her gender, since she is entirely in favor of being marked as different as an asshole -which I seem to remember her saying. And the thing is, she has the right to a safe space -particularly where she lives. And if Becky ends up living with her (I don’t think this is a particularly probable outcome -staying with Dorothy and Sierra seems more likely), then that potentially puts Carla in the position of constantly having to explain/educate/justify herself and her gender -having to be the teacher and tourguide about all things gender-based, and if she wants to be and do that, good for her, but it’s no one’s responsibility to have to always (especially not where they live and relax) be on the defensive and justifying themselves, because that is a sh*tty and stressful situation.

        1. Carms

          I assumed the single living arrangement was as much the uni’s inclination as Carla’s

        2. Cerberus

          Yup, a single living arrangement is often a university way of handling, oh, you’re trans and we’re legally required to respect that to receive Title IX funding, but we also don’t want to be fielding complaints that we “forced a girl to live with a ‘boy'”, so here, it’s a room in the right wing so you can say we met our legal obligation. Fuck you, don’t ask for anything else.

          See also schools that try and have the trans student use the one staff bathroom so as to avoid the “bathroom issue”, because inconveniencing trans kids for the benefit of the majority’s prejudices is super fun and awesome.

        3. Sadie

          Carla lucked out in that she’d almost certainly prefer a single anyway, but it’s definitely a big neon sign reading “This kid is Other”. It’s so isolating for the university to make that choice automatically for the person in question, but I expect that is indeed what happened in this case. Carla is the type to go “ha, I’d have paid for a single anyway, suckas”, but she’s CARLA. Imagine an alternate universe where Jocelyne had come to school “out”—she’s enough like Joyce that she’d be so lonely in her Single Room of Exile.

        4. thejeff

          I’m not sure what the best approach really is here. Singles certainly were prized when I was in school, but I can see how it makes you stand out. OTOH, what are the chances you’d get assigned a roommate who was actually okay with it? Better than they used to be, but still. Would an “out” Jocelyn have been better isolated in a single? Or roomed with a Mary? Or even a start of the semester Joyce?

          If they put me in charge, I’d probably leave it up to the trans person as much as possible: A single if they wanted that, room with someone of their choice if they preferred, maybe a general randomish roomie if they were sure they wanted that.

        5. Silamy

          There’s an option that my university has -not sure how common it is, but for freshmen (and older students, but it’s geared for the freshman) who are living on campus, there’s a special facebook group set up -as well as a few other fora, all of which are interconnected. We take a mandatory survey through the school’s website where we answer questions about noise levels, bedtimes, what we can sleep through, light levels, study environment habits, and messiness, and are then displayed with numbers indicating our answers on each category. If you search for a match, they try to match you up with someone who answered similarly, and you’re given an option to start talking, and if you hit it off, you can request to room together -and none of this costs extra until about a week before the term starts (we’re also given a grace period if we don’t do that to talk with our assigned roommates and see if we can stand each other). Anyone else want to weigh in on how reasonable that is? Seems like a good idea for most people just for sheer practicality to me, but I’m kinda biased.

    2. Tacos

      But isn’t Carla living in a single? I don’t think there’d be room for two .

      1. trlkly

        Has it been established that it’s a single? My experience in college is that there’s usually just one single in any floor/wing (and usually less than that). I’ve even seen that pushed as an R.A. perk.

        1. Stairmasternem

          It’s established she is by herself in her room. Ruth is alone in hers too. It’s most likely a double room though, I think. Colleges like to maximize efficiency, so doubles are preferred.

  22. Tacos

    Well she tried… I guess?

  23. Cerberus

    Ah, modern American housing, where being able to afford a studio apartment with multiple part time jobs or a full time job is a distant pipe dream and “unique” living arrangements are just part of everyone’s normal for the millennial set.

    One reason among many I have a middle class job but still live in an apartment’s living room.

    But hey, the only reason we millennials are not buying luxuries and suburban housing is that we’re selfish, amirite?

    1. Reltzik

      I thought it was because of college loans.

      … and also because we’re a less-materialistic, more-enlightened, more-evolved, more all-around awesome generation than any in the past and are destroying the evils of capitalism by desiring no more than our own basic material, practical, and psychological needs and finding that the greatest and most fulfilling luxuries in life are free.

      *totally said that without laughing*

    2. Regalli

      And we’re obsessed with food, but refuse to reward the hard-working American cereal industry because we think it takes more time and dirty dishes than we can handle. Ah, us entitled millennials, right?

      1. Orion Fury

        You bastards and your anti-cereal agenda. Where’s my pitchfork?

    3. CJ

      Is over-expensive housing a problem only in the big cities (like New York, LA, SF) or also in any reasonably-sized town?
      In Germany, in the large cities like Munich rents have gone trough the roof and people with normal paying jobs have to start living outside of the city. As we have relatively renter-friendly laws, rents for existing contracts cannot be jacked up like that so everybody clings to their place.

      1. CJ

        No, not him!

      2. Moon

        In california in general housing is overly expensive. You can get a house in Nevada or Arizona, in the high cost areas, for around the same mortgage rate as a small 1 BR apartment in any decent sized township that is within 2-3 hours of the city… and thats only like 20-30 miles at most away lol.

        I used to live in Santa Clarita, which is where 90% of shows are filmed for outdoor scenes, and home to magic mountain and is considered a suburb of LA and is about 60 – 90 minutes away with non-gridlock traffic, 30 minutes in the middle of the night. My 2 bedroom apartment, that clocked in at 956 sq. ft. was 1200/mo, and that was in income restricted housing.

        The house i’m living in right now in Las Vegas, in an affluent area, is 2300 sq. ft. and runs my family 1500/mo, and that’s renting. If we were going to buy it, most likely the mortgage would be roughly 950/mo.

        California is just too damn expensive to live in, unless you are lucky enough to be in the software/tech industry, or in one of the Unions that is still steadily getting work like Elevator union or one of the film industry unions for behind the camera stuff.

        1. CJ

          Thanks. Had to convert to square meters to get part of the relation. So is earning 2000 or more a month an avarage income?
          Some sound like prices you get in Berlin or Munich, some sound far above.
          Problem in Germany is that they are building new apartments in the big cities that are aimed at people who are used to New York prices and not the 2-3room stuff without fancy trimmings that are actually needed.

      3. Touchfuzzy

        I live in a college town that isn’t a giant city. I have a middle class income. I was able to afford to live in a 2k square foot house with a fenced in yard comfortably on that income. (to be fair, I’m also debt free, which comes from having just a two year degree that I paid for out of pocket while working 60 hours a week as a building contractor, which makes it easier to afford more since I’m not paying on loans.)

        It is a big city problem, not the entire country.

      4. Cerberus

        Based on friends reports, it’s worse in the cities, but it’s getting bad in a lot of bigger cities and their surrounding areas all over the place and a lot of places that are smaller towns tend to still involve “unique” living arrangements owing to the economy just being trashed in a lot of places and minimum wage just no longer even being close to a living wage in any way.

        What I mean by that is that rent might be cheaper in Town X, but the jobs available there means you’re still living paycheck-to-paycheck and having 2-3 roommates on a studio apartment to split costs with. My generation at least is kinda a lost generation when it comes to the economy and the minimum wage has remained sort of static while inflation has raged on.

        Honestly, it may be the circle I run with (queer and trans folks for the most part), but I don’t know anyone who is a millennial and owns a house or even is a millennial and owns their own apartment on their own singular income.

        That all being said, that’s still miles better than some of the bigger cities where even a shared apartment an hour or two away from any jobs can run you a couple thousand dollars a month. Ah, airbnb and no rent control.

        1. thejeff

          Also a lot of smaller areas have almost only single family housing. Very little in the way of apartment or any rental space.

          The houses might be cheaper, but if you’re not buying you’ll have trouble finding anything.

  24. Viktoria

    Well, Amber’s probably going to be institutionalized before the week is out, so Becky could just move in with Dina. Though I think Joyce might object.

    1. trlkly

      Do you have experience with that system? In my experience, she’d either have to be caught committing an out and out crime, try to commit suicide, or voluntarily submit.

      I have a cousin who is homeless because of her mental problems, and we can’t convince her that she has problems. And we can’t afford to take care of her.

      1. thejeff

        It is, or at least was, possible to get a temporary commitment on “likely risk to self or others” without an actual suicide attempt or conviction of a crime.

        We got a guy sent to an institution on such grounds when I was in college. The police were involved and the weapons collection in his dorm room probably helped (knives and martial arts stuff, not guns.) Did wind up with him kicked out of school though. I think he came back a year or so later.

        Much less scary on a bit of medication. Seemed to be doing much better as well, though I didn’t see much of him afterwards.

        1. Taellosse

          Not sure, but I think such things can only last a few days, unless either the patient themself or a legal guardian if still a minor agrees to prolong the stay. That, or it requires a court order, and that requires a pretty huge rigamarole, involving expert witnesses and a hearing, and so on.

        2. thejeff

          True, but those few days can be enough. Get the person in touch with professionals. Get at least a preliminary diagnosis. Maybe get them started on medication. Sometimes enough to get them to realize they’re in trouble and to be willing to cooperate to fix it.

    2. Spencer

      I’m not really convinced we see Amber get involuntarily committed.

      Partly because I think it’d be far more empathetic to Amber’s character arc for her to realize that she needs help, and also because if she’s actually caught being Amazi-Girl she’d go to jail for the remainder of the comic.

      1. Commodore Jeep-Eep

        I’ve had my eyes on involuntary commitment as a part of the the final arcs of DoA for a while.

        1. Spencer

          That’s not gonna be for, like, another ten years. We’re probably not in for years on end of Amber just getting worse.

  25. JessWitt

    Well that explains why not Marcie.

    …

    I’d suggest Carla, but Becky is still getting used to bisexuality being a thing.

    1. Marie

      and that doesn’t get her out of the dorm, which is important for Ruth.

    2. Norah

      Plus Carla probably has a single, so no room for Becky,

      1. JessWitt

        Right I forgot Carla got a single. I assumed she had two rooms, like I did for three months of 1st year college (my roomie dropped out two weeks later for a music school instead).

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          I ended up having a double room alone for half my freshman year, but that was due to hilarious circumstances.

        2. JessWitt

          Could you elaborate? You have my attention.

        3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          My freshman year, I took the luck of the draw and got a roommate who was OK. Part way through the fall term he moved off campus to live with some friends. They were going to give me a new random roommate for the winter term. I was friends with the two guys next door, who were called “The Crumpets”*. One of them was leaving, so I told the school I’d move in with the other one, who I know was an OK guy. Plus they’d built lofts so there was more room**.

          But he flunked out and never came back. So I was alone again in an improved double room but only paying the lower double rate. Another friend had moved off-campus with people who turned out to be jerks, and begged me to let him move in. Wimp that I am, I did. This last bit was not officially documented, but the visitor police never caught up with us (we had a much more laid back RA than Ruthless, also).

          For my sophomore year, I did badly in the room lottery and was going to the dorm considered the worst on campus. But I ended up in the best dorm on campus instead, I forget just how. I got a random roommate but he was basically never there except to sleep, and on the weekends not even that. Since my friends mostly came by on the weekends, they deny that this roommate existed, to this day.

          Needless to say they were jealous of my undeserved dorm luck.

          (My freshman dorm had squirrels in the bathroom, but that is a story for another time.)

          * No, nothing like that. Their yellowboard had a message “KNOCK FIRST you crumpet munching [butt-opening]s!”

          ** You had to build your own lofts and remove them at the end of the year, unlike DoA IU where they come standard.

      2. Stairmasternem

        I guess that depends on the layout of the building. I thought Carla’s room was sandwiched between a couple others, which led me to believe it was another double turned single.

    3. Orion Fury

      I’ve know about it for decades and I still have difficulty wrapping my mind around it. And yes, I know that’s my fault. I like things to be able to fit in neat little boxes. It’s hard to create new ones. I do, cause again, it’s who they, and for some here, you are.

      1. Dana

        I have trouble wrapping my head around straight, gay, and ace, even though I myself am pretty much straight. Go figure.

        1. Silamy

          I’m still not entirely sure what gender _is_. I understand that it’s social and cultural and flexible, but what _is_ it? I’ve been identified as female my whole life. I don’t object to that, but I don’t have much interest in any of the things that I tend to find labeled “feminine”. I don’t feel secure or insecure in my feminity, if I have any, I’m just… me. While I do dislike when I’m identified as male, that’s because when it’s happened, it’s frequently been followed by someone poking or grabbing me somewhere intimate without my permission or making a point of staring like they’re trying to see through my clothes, and that’s kinda creepy and decidedly unpleasant.
          (I also don’t understand why grammatical gender exists or is called that, but that’s just a problem with the languages I study.)

        2. Disloyal Subject

          I’ve heard that mindset referred to as ‘androgynous’ identity before, but I’m not sure it adequately conveys the apathy for gender identity. I tend to feel similarly, and just default to biological sex.

        3. Cerberus

          Well, if it helps:

          Gender/gender identity is what you are. It’s what naturally feels comfortable with regards to pronouns and the like and identity.

          Gender expression/gender performance is all that social masculine/feminine stuff where certain activities or aesthetics are deemed maculine or feminine or both or neither that one can do.

          And ideal gender expression/gender performance is that social stuff you’d do if it didn’t involve assholes undermining your actual gender or giving you social shit for it.

        4. Silamy

          Thanks for the explanation. I’m still kind of fuzzy on gender, but… as I said, I don’t really feel uncomfortable in any pronouns or identity. I use the pronouns people tell me to use for them because it’s polite, and I understand that they’d be hurt if they didn’t, because it’s uncomfortable when people use “it” for me, so I assume it registers similarly when people use “he/she/they” incorrectly. (Still don’t understand why anyone WOULD intentionally use the wrong pronouns, though. I mean, I’ve seen it, so I know it happens, but if someone comes up to you and says, “My name is Jordan,” you wouldn’t just turn around and say, “You don’t look like a Jordan. I’m gonna call you Emmett”, so how is gender any different? It doesn’t seem like something that should be.)

          Gender expression, as phrased like that, makes sense. And people who don’t give a darn and whose gender expression and gender identity are clearly different receive social stigma because…. I guess because they’re not doing what people expect, and not having the neat boxes is confusing, so people attempt to impose social penalties so that they themselves can feel comfortable?

          Ideal gender expression seems fun. I’m lucky enough that in my primary social circle there’s no stigma attached to anything gender-based -and that most of my friends live pretty close together in a community that’s similarly chill. (I know I’m speaking from a position of privilege here, but I came to that conclusion from watching not only my friends, but the adults in that community casually ignore traditional western forms of gender expression -and embrace others, so I’m hopefully in the ballpark, at least.)

        5. Cerberus

          Yup, you seem to be dead on on all of that. And yeah, I think it’s the not fitting preconceptions and how that messes with other very specific views about gender that sets people off. It’s different and it’s different in a way that makes people question themselves and so a lot of people respond to that with violence, unfortunately.

        6. Sadie

          Gender is, indeed, weird. It’s some weird mishmash of biological truth (we could say that your gametes determine your biological sex, to put us humans on par with the best we can understand of animals, but there’s more to that whole system than gametes—hormones, body shape, other things we don’t even understand yet, and even if we understood them, sex and gender are correlated, not equivalent), cultural, social, and miscellaneous psychological factors. Gender identity is, as Cerberus says, what you *are*. Trans and nonbinary folks have to think about it more in our current culture, but plenty of cis people have strong gender identities too. My gender identity is “woman”. If I woke up tomorrow and a wizard had changed my body so that people perceived me as a man but nothing else had changed, I think I could go through the experiment of living it for at most a month before I started desperately seeking transition care. (I can’t decide if it’s fortunate such wizards do not exist because that care is hard to come by and should be saved up for actual trans people, or if it’s unfortunate because maybe an epidemic of body-changing wizards would make our society step up its game regarding transition care, plus maybe some of the wizards would be nice people and would use their powers to help people with body dysphoria.)

        7. Orion Fury

          Gender identity/expression I get, owing to my formative years of not being masculine enough, and just not showing any interest in dating until my 20’s. So I could feel their thoughts on me being weird, or not cis-straight. Really I was just looking for my one. Found her, and boy did it move fast then.

          It’s just finding out some new facet of social expression tends to overwhelm me. It’s not limited to sexual/romantic relationship, it’s any social interaction. It’s all very confusing, and I don’t get how it comes so easily to other people.

      2. JessWitt

        We all want boxes, it’s human nature to classify into categories. But an openness to flexibility helps to overcome these stringent tendencies.

      3. Moon

        Its okay Orion, I have trouble wrapping my head around identifying my own sexuality let alone anyone else’s identifier, because I’m not straight, bi, gay, pan, or ace. I am male and only like those who identify female, whether they are cis, trans, fluid, or whatever. And with my few trans girlfriends i’ve had, some were fully transitioned, some were not. I have no preference to plumbing, but I have tried dating and being involved with those who identify male and its just squicky for me personally.

      4. Jhon

        And now I’m thinking about the anime ‘Ouran High School Host Club’.
        For Fujioka Haruhi, gender identity is just not a big thing.

  26. Kindra

    Okay, I’m calling it: Leslie’s going to end up helping Becky. Whether Becky goes to live with her or Leslie can get her into a program that will give her some place to live, Leslie is probably going to be the one who ultimately provides the resolution for this conflict.

    1. zoelogical

      i feel like that’s the best option but also…i am super attached to this floor adopting Becky and secretly hiding her from authority figures for the entire year…it feels like a really great college hijinks story for later

      1. Kindra

        We could easily get another two weeks worth of in-comic time with that before they get to the point where they NEED another option. I like the idea of hijinks, but I also really like the idea of Becky being introduced to an adult who would be 100% on her side.

        Even Hank, who was better than most of the adults she’s dealt with since coming out, was still struggling with the idea that she could be a lesbian and not be somehow less of a bad person. Becky needs a grown-up ally in a serious way.

        1. Kindra

          *less of a good person.

          I know my words!

        2. Orion Fury

          Words are Fun!

        3. zoelogical

          yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee this is true

          haha Leslie is probably the exact right person to handle Becky’s Beckyness tbqh

        4. AgentKeen

          I mean
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/sandwich/

          Leslie’s definitely trying.

        5. zoelogical

          I KNOOOOOOOOOW

          but more i was thinking about leslie/robin and how well she handled robin’s hyperness in shortpacked. i’d link but i’m busy so you will unfortunately have to deal with that excellence being hearsay

        6. thejeff

          True. But there’s “best for Becky” and there’s “best for the story” and they’re not at all the same thing.

          So I’m down with hiding Becky hijinks helping to bring the Mary/Ruth part of the Mary arc to a crux.

    2. Ctrl+C D@

      Nah, Leslie’s an adult and she’s got old person cooties or something. Better just to hide her in everybody’s closets until something better comes along.

      1. Fran

        God good, you are right with the old person cooties. I love Leslie but I find that a little off

        1. Ctrl+C D@

          I mean, I know it’s called Dumbing of Age, but Leslie’s RIGHT THERE.

      2. Cerberus

        But Becky nukes closets…

        1. Dana

          Maybe she needs to go into this one so she can set up a tracking device for the orbital nukes.

    3. Paul

      They should have done that in the first place. When Leslie offered to help, Joyce scuttled away in fear.

      1. Kindra

        Yeah. Although you can hardly blame her for reacting like that, given how much the previous week had totally shaken her trust in authority figures.

    4. Leorale

      I think it’s too easy! The comic is about 18- and 19-year-olds making terrible-but-understandable choices. We can’t have a real grownup swoop in and solve the biggest problems. Although I do like the sound of ‘deus ex lesbian’.

      1. Anorak

        Wouldnt it be lesbian ex machina?

        1. Leorale

          It would, but the other sounded funnier.

        2. Silamy

          I’m just kinda curious about which god you were picturing coming out of which lesbian.

    5. JessWitt

      Duh of course; Leslie! Most perfect of DoA brand cinnamon rolls.

  27. Sergei Andropov

    Becky moves in with Dina.
    Amber moves in with Danny.
    Joe moves in with Sierra.
    So do Mandy, Marcie, Grace, and Guns.
    Dorothy moves in with Walky.
    Mike moves in with Ruth.
    The universe is consumed by a maelstrom of hatred.

    See? easy.

    1. Darkoneko

      Mike… With Ruthless…

  28. Regalli

    … Yeah, Billie’s in REALLY bad shape if this is the most she can effort today.

    1. Bagge

      She is and it is heartbreaking.

    2. Cerberus

      Yeah, she’s not doing at all well and I think it’s only now dawning on her that the break with Ruth might be more permanent than she’d like.

  29. nothri

    I know! You can tattle to the RA authority that Ruth had an elicit affair with her fellow residents and get her kicked out and then Becky can live in her old room!!

    1. Anorak

      …maybe…

    2. Kit

      That doesn’t get you a free room, that gets you a new (and worse) RA!

      1. DSL

        Becky becomes the RA. Hi Mary!

      2. Pat

        Worse than Ruth? She is really… not a god RA.

      3. Sammy

        In what alternate universe is there an RA that is worse than Ruth?

      4. Spencer

        It’s gotta be Sarah.

        I have to get one of these theories right eventually, dangit.

    3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      No, because CSI: Bloomington will have the room sealed off for months while they analyze all those femurs.

  30. -Sentinel-

    Do we know if Marcie is a student? Just curious.

    (I wonder if Indiana U has ways to accommodate the needs of mute students?)

    1. Leorale

      She isn’t enrolled, she just moved to the town to be near her BFF, Sal.

  31. Kamino Neko

    Non-workableness of the solution to one side… ‘Little kid’? Billie, that ‘little kid’ could kick your out-of-practice former cheerleading ass from here to Ass Kicked, Texas, and not even break a sweat.

    1. Orion Fury

      Say, what’s the weather like in Ass Kicked, Texa?. Asking for a friend…

      1. inqntrol

        Considering that it is in Texas…

        1. Orion Fury

          But is it a dry heat?

    2. Undrave

      Ass Kicked, Texas, population: YOUR FAAAAAAAAAACE!

      1. Needfuldoer

        Where the churches preach the gospel of Austin 3:16.

  32. Bea

    i love how Sal is just standing there, waiting for Billie to come up with something appropriate (boot Mary out, put Roz and Becky in the same room. Wait, no. Don’t do that.)

    1. Kamino Neko

      The only way that could more piss off all the right people would be for Carla to somehow have to end up bunking down with them.

  33. Triniking1234

    Little kid? If you say so, Billie.

    1. tim gueguen

      Yeah, it’s kind of odd to see Marcie being referred to as a little kid. She tends to have a vibe of being one of the more adult characters in the story.

      1. Norah

        Yes, and also th “follows Sal around” part. At this point, it’s more Sal following Marcie around. Though Billie can’t be expected to know that.

        1. Silamy

          Word of God is that Marcie is one of the Catholic characters in the comic, but I had thought that the Walkertons weren’t, and yet Sal ended up in a Catholic school… is it possible that Sal ended up in that particular school (because why would a (presumably) protestant/nondenominational preteen in Indiana have being sent to a particular Catholic school in Tennesse given as an alternative to juvie?) a way of following Marcie? That Sal followed Marcie to school BEFORE Marcie followed Sal?

        2. Paul

          Non-Catholic parents sending unmanageable children to Catholic schools in the hope that the nuns can beat them into submission is totally a thing that happens.

        3. Charles Phipps

          *raises hand* Guilty

        4. Sadie

          When we saw Tiny Marcie interact with Tiny Sal for the first time, Linda “Rotten Mom” Walkerton assumed that Tiny Marcie was going to grow up to be a juvenile delinquent (…which reminds me that Marcie is Latina and Linda has some serious unexamined internalized racism going on…ugh). Maybe she didn’t, and Linda saw that as proof the Catholics were doing something right. (Doesn’t change the fact that what Paul says is true, just provides a possible explanation of how Sal, in particular, ended up being given to the nuns.)

        5. Sadie

          “Maybe she didn’t”=Maybe Marcie never became a ‘juvenile delinquent’. It looked super unclear to me once I’d posted it, but if you did not require this clarification, please carry on as usual.

      2. Deanatay

        Not a college student = juvenile, at least in the average college student’s mind.

      3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Billie may have seen Marcie a lot up until Sal was sent away to boarding school, and then rarely or not at all because the link via Sal was gone. So she mostly remembers a younger Marcie from the before-time.

  34. Leorale

    Rooming with Dina is plausible, and also causes lots of drama interspersed with cute snuggles. I’ma join the being pool on that one.

    1. Orion Fury

      You know, I’m gonna go in on the longshot, Mike.

  35. AgentKeen

    Honestly, I think Becky would be willing to try it.

    Being duct-taped to the ceiling, that is.

    1. Bagge

      You make it sound like she never did.

      “Daaaaaaddy, I got duct-tape in my haiiiiiiiiir” *cue cheeky Becky-grin*

    2. Spencer

      Only if it was Dina doing it.

    3. Disloyal Subject

      I’m inclined to agree.

    4. Willoughby Chase

      Would Dina be her Spider Girl?

  36. Bagge

    See, Billie did her part and brainstormed. Now the geeks can do the rest, right?

    Stupid geeks not being here when they are needed.

    Her brainstorming is not rewarded.

  37. Saaaam

    jeez, Marcie. Did everyone make bad decisions in this comic.

    Yes, there wouldn’t be a comic if they didn’t?

    1. Norah

      Not so much a bad decision as the fact that apartments are prohibitively expensive in many places. And at 18, Marcie probably can’t get a really good paying job. And if she’d gone to college instead, she would probably have to take out loans, which shed be paying off for a long time. So it’s not always that easy, and everything isn’t always a result of bad decisions.

      1. Norah

        “She’d”, not “shed”.

        1. Undrave

          Becky could live in a shed!

        2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Becky “Two Sheds” MacIntyre

      2. Saaaam

        I mean the fact that Marcie is living like a sardine to follow Sal. That’s noble in some respects, but not really healthy

        1. Moon

          She may not just be following Sal. I followed a friend out of state when i was younger to both make sure I was still with them, because she was my best friend, but also because I was in a very unhealthy and bad way for myself in our hometown. She and I grew apart after our move sadly, but it still did wonders for me and when the stuff that was so unhealthy for me back home was gone, I was able to move back and also be healthy.

          So there could be good reasons for her moving with Sal, other than dependence.

        2. Silamy

          She’s from Indiana originally -we saw a tiny Marcie in a young Sal flashback. Maybe she can’t go home-to-her-family for some reason, but she wants to be back in the… what region do we classify Indiana as? Great lakes? Is that a region-word people use? anywho, back in that area because climate and culture were familiar, and her best friend being there was just a plus?

    2. brasca1

      We don’t really know enough, but it does seem unusual that Marcie is sharing a studio apartment with so many people. I hope she didn’t have a falling out with her parents and decided to strike out on her own. While that would give her a lot in common with Becky the same cannot be said with her 11 other roommates.

    3. Sadie

      No. She’s just a millennial. (Until around two(?) years from now real-time, when she’ll be whatever generation comes next. Who will probably still have crappy housing options.)

  38. K. Ivan Ruppert

    I dunno. I think Becky might just enjoy that situation!

  39. All-Purpose Guru

    Sal in a tanktop. MMMmmmmmm.

  40. Bagge

    So Marcie seem to have a much more active social life than Sal. She is on the team, she lives among with a lot of other people and she tries dating.

    And Sal just want to hang out like they always did.

    It seems to be shaping up a bit like the Danny/Joe dynamic where Sal want everything to be as it always was and Marcie want to do shit.

    1. Cerberus

      Carla has noted as much:
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/02-threes-a-crowd/wall/

  41. John

    Hm. Walky knows Marcie’s name. To Billie, she’s “that little kid who follows Sal around”. Kind of curious as to exactly how Marcie fits into the Walkerton/Billingsworth backstory.

    Li’l Sal and Marcie models on Tumblr indicate we’ll be finding out more in a few months…

  42. Shiro

    Is Marcie actually younger than the majority of the cast? I had her placed around the same age. Or is Billie just being…Billie?

    1. magicallady

      billie’s being billie

  43. Darkoneko

    Billie brainstorming : comment zone édition.

  44. Peruhain

    Sums up college town housing dilemmas everywhere. Especially sucks when you’re living in a college town where the bourgeois homeowners support “growth-control” when the university located there is adding like 5,000 students in three years.

    1. Norah

      Yes, this.

    2. Sadie

      Yeah, I work near a college neighborhood in California that’s got kids paying something like $900 a month just to share a bedroom, never mind an apartment.

    3. DSL

      Try a clever.town where one landlord controls.the majority of rental residential properties near campus — and is also on the university’s board of trustees. The sardine-can scenario, in spaces that can only technically be described as apartments, is not uncommon. It was fun, though, watching the trustee landlord be booed when introduced at.commemcent.

  45. Orion Fury

    And the Judges scores for the dismount:

  46. Sadie

    Welp, time for Billie to mysteriously move in with Joe and Danny—wait, wrong comic. Time for her anthroPC to start paying rent—gah, that’s not it either. Um. Time to set off for Mechanicsburg? Huh, I got nothin’. Maybe Dina or Sarah or Dorothy has an idea. If not, someone is really going to have to ask Leslie for advice at last.

    1. Bagge

      Nono, I’m totally onboard for the Mechanicsburg solution.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        The Heterodyne can always use more plucky minions!

        1. Geneseepaws

          I thought it was Yoyodyne Industries that was looking for minions? I am wrong, again.

        2. thejeff

          “There are monkey boys in the facility.”

          monkey girls?

        3. Carolyn

          Why do I see Becky getting along great with the Jaegerkin?

      2. Dean

        Time is currently stopped in Mechanicsburg, so rents are probably dirt cheap.

        1. Sadie

          Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler is totally loitering outside the walls convincing people to sign leases for rooms they can’t possibly reach, i’n’t he.

    2. John

      I think Queslett North has an opening.

  47. Mistah J

    This strip seems like a prime example of the kind that get people riled up and accuse Willis of going back and changing things just to prove them wrong.

    1. Orion Fury

      Wait, you mean he doesn’t do that?

  48. Spencer

    I mean, obviously.

    Who would ever think Becky and Marcie were going to room together.

    So silly. Can’t see how anybody could even think that was going to happen.

    *sweats profusely*

    1. Bagge

      *Pats on shoulder*

      There, there, we have all had our pet theories shot down.

      *whispers to myself* You were made for each other, Luna and Hermione.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Well, it’s not like Luna ended up shackled to someone else, so if Ronald doesn’t object…

        1. Emily

          I wouldn’t say shackled, but WoG says Luna got married. So if Rolf AND Ron were down for it, then perhaps… (Unless we’re just saying fuck canon, which is a valid option.)

      2. Cerberus

        Seriously. Robbed. We were robbed, I say!

      3. Spencer

        no no i can still salvage this

        Okay so, something bad happens to Ruth, Sarah becomes the new RA, and Mary doesn’t go through with tattling because she feels guilty over Ruth/actually kicking Becky out.

        It’s contingent on Mary acting with empathy, so obviously it’s bulletproof.

  49. Needfuldoer

    Becky could live in the corridor! (I used to dream of living in a corridor…)

    1. brasca1

      You were lucky. My family lived on the stoop, had to pay $500 rent per day and each night my Dad would kill us and dance about our graves.

      1. Dean

        Ooh, a stoop! Aren’t WE fancy? Growing up, all twelve of us lived in a hole in the ground, and twice a day we were all killed and eaten by tigers!

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Tigers? In Africa?

        2. DSL

          WE had.to.provide.our.own tigers.

        3. Heavensrun

          Thread over.

        4. Clif

          We had to provide our own tigers and it was uphill both ways.

        5. Roborat

          And you try and tell the young people of today that ….. and they won’t believe you.

  50. Oberon

    I’m probably missing something obvious, but why can’t Dina host Becky? After all, she slept in Joyce’s bed before so doubling up isn’t an issue for her.

    1. Charles Phipps

      Moving in is a BIT much for such an early relationship.

  51. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    And the dream of the “Marcie and Becky Show” died amid much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

  52. LWS

    More of a light drizzle than a storm…

  53. Stairmasternem

    I’m still going with either bunking with Carla or Leslie setting something up.

    – Billie currently is talking with Carla more since Carla has agreed to keep an eye on Ruth (Who needs 24/7 supervision I’d say.) She may try to take this inch an extra mile and ask Carla if Becky can stay with her.

    – More properly would be for Joyce to check with Leslie to see if she has any suggested housing (including her own.) I know Joyce’s initial reaction to Leslie’s offer was obtuse, but that’s Joyce. She might come around. Can’t say for sure because Willis has been tactful on the preview pages on the tumbler.

  54. Daibhid C

    I don’t know if it’s the name Marcie or the rhythm of the phrase “that little kid who follows you around everywhere”, but somehow I feel like Billie’s next suggestion will be that Becky could share Chuck’s guest house with the funny-looking kid with the big nose.

  55. Falling Star

    I’m honestly surprised that there hasn’t been another strip called ‘Duct tape’.

  56. Damoinion

    Probably been said before, can’t be arsed reading through the walls of text, especially those that would make me stop and rant.
    I would really like to see Marcie, Billie, ceilings and duct tape posted as an extremely NSFW image or full comic. Throw Sal into the mix and you may have a real hot property

  57. Deanatay

    Billie: So… you’re saying Marcie COULD fit Becky in!

    Cheerleader – problem SOLVER!

  58. HMRC4EVR

    I’ve looked but haven’t seen this suggested so if it has then I apolgize:

    why not explain the situation to Leslie? She of all people would have enough real life experiences to both a) help Becky with a place to live (if not with her maybe a trusted friend) and b) for all of her nuking the closet when she came out, Becky is still new(er) to this whole lifestyle and Leslie could help her avoid the mistakes she knows is coming.

    1. Greenygal

      Many, many people are hoping this happens. The problem with it at the moment is that that Joyce doesn’t trust adults right now. Becky may have a different opinion, or she may not; I’m not sure if she’s actually met Leslie.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        This distrust of adults will only increase, until Joyce ends up leading the revolution in the prequel to Logan’s Run.

      2. Stairmasternem

        In fairness, Leslie’s line of questioning is pretty neutral, meaning Joyce could feel like if she answered, Becky would be kicked off campus. In which case you end up in Worst Case Scenario territory.

        I’m sure she will talk to Leslie about it eventually, especially if Becky doesn’t got Billy’s bedroom anymore.

    2. figureaddict

      Been waiting for that interaction myself.

  59. Sageress

    I don’t get it. It’s not like Becky can’t just sorta

    squat at her own house, for like a week.

    1. Orion Fury

      I think this may have been discussed at length during the time where they went to get her documents, and probably before it. Let’s see, something something legal adult, something something possibly kicked out, curtain twitcher something. I might have left something out.

    2. Willoughby Chase

      With that many hideous memories of a place, staying there for a week might be too much.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Yeah, spending so much time with the blue outline ghosts might turn her into one herself.

    3. Paul

      It would be a trap. Becky has no transportation, and the entire congregation of that church knows where she lives.

      In Bloomington, there are people and resources that can give her a head start in life. I suppose Joyce’s obtuseness is understandable, but I don’t understand why Sarah hasn’t pointed Becky at some sort of LGBT Youth At Risk type organization just to get Becky and Joyce out of her hair.

      1. zoelogical

        maybe they don’t know they exist??

        idk like if i know my oldschool christian conservative background right going to organizations for help is like half a step away from welfare and it’s unamerican not to try to pull yourself up by your bootstraps

        or whatever

        1. Paul

          Sarah is not sheltered and ignorant. She let Becky stay because she understood the severity of the whole can’t-go-home-because-I’m-a-lesbian problem. Roz is savy to such things and aware that Becky has been staying in the dorm illegaly, assuming she has been subjected to her roommate’s rants.

        2. zoelogical

          just because Sarah’s not sheltered and ignorant doesn’t mean that she knows all the resources out there and available without googling lmao. which, btw, Becky is well capable of doing by logging into a school computer with Joyce’s ID.

          Sarah’s not their mom. she’s like barely a year older than they are. she’s chosen to be Joyce’s big sister, but being a big sister doesn’t mean you know everything or that you’re responsible for all the minutae of their well-being.

          Roz is savvy, sure, but she’s also not close with Joyce and was definitely not even on the “invited to party” list. and, again, while it’d be great for her to lend Becky resources she’s not obligated to??? it’s not her job?? she might not even know about said resources and would for that reason be a bad resource??

          support can cover a bunch of different areas and just because it’s not everything doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable

          idk at this point I’ve gotten lost in the argument and i’m probably meandering all over the place. but finding good resources is a real heck of a challenge i’ll tell you what

  60. Paul

    Unfortunately, gender studies is one class that Becky did not go to with Joyce.

  61. Carolyn

    Becky might actually like Sal’s solution.

    “Sorry, Becky, but the only way you could fit at Marcie’s place would be if you duct taped yourself to the ceiling-”

    “AWESOME!” (runs to get a roll of tape)

    1. Bicycle Bill

      Velcro would be better; she’d be able to free herself when necessary easier.

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