166

Freak-outable
Posted on November 8, 2019 by David M Willis
The second bonus strip for October is about Jocelyne, who was... extremely close, often tied, with the declared winner, Alex. I figured, y'know, if they're both gonna get at least 50 votes, maybe I should, like, just do both. Right? Anyway. All Patrons can go check it out at the Dumbing of Age Patreon. And remember, you can always up your pledge to see tomorrow's strip right now, every day!

166 thoughts on “Freak-outable”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “bc it’s totes impossible that it’d be about her assbutt DAD getting out of jail or anything and MY boomer dad being unable to figure out voicemail or text, amirite”

    …I still want pizza =( why did I make plans to try the ramen + izakaya instead

    1. JetstreamGW

      I mean, voicemail doesn’t really require any figuring out. You just… wait until it tells you to leave a message.

      1. Ana Chronistic

        unless you’re the type who talks through the message and hangs up as the thing beeps

        or, idk, if you think you’ve set up your voicemail but the system goes out and erases your message so now you effectively have noneTHANKS PHONE

        1. Dark

          A: Voicemail has been around since the 1970s-80s.

          B: He’s… Not a Boomer, at least not if we account for sliding time-scale. He’s most likely a Gen-Xer nowadays.

          And if this comic goes on for long enough, he might even sliding time-scale himself right into being a Millennial.

        2. Cerberus

          Rereading the comic in 10 years:

          Well, of course Hank didn’t leave a voice mail, millennials have terrible phone anxiety.

        3. EvilMidnightLurker

          What will phones even be ten years from now.

        4. anonamousethatscurriesinthedarkness

          They will be a fully integrated Dick Tracy watch.
          The large screen will be a scroll like remote screen data linked to the watch for when you actually want a larger image.
          [the tech is almost here now]

        5. Needfuldoer

          He might still be a boomer for a few more years. His oldest child is in his thirties, so Hank himself is probably in his late 50s to early 60s.

        6. Charlie Spencer

          I’m a Boomer. Voice mail is just a virtual answering machine, a device we invented. We get it.

        7. Ana Chronistic

          at the risk of “DontExplainTheJoke.jpg”: I was sarcastically saying Joyce is calling her dad a boomer, not arguing that he is

          *still mad my phone somehow deleted all my voicemail settings for NO REASON*

        8. Kamino Neko

          Remember that Joyce is the youngest of 4, and there’s some pretty good gaps between kids. Jonathan is, based on his Walkypedia entry probably 15 or so years older than Joyce, which would put him in his early to mid 30s.

          So, let’s guess his birth was currently in 1985 (making him 34, now, which seems reasonable).

          Since Carol and Hank both graduated, I think we can assume he was born after that happened, meaning they were probably ~22 when that happened – born in 1963. Right on the edge, but still Boomers.

          OTOH, assuming all of these numbers are correct, they will soon be older GenX.

    2. Sunny

      I had pizza for dinner today.

      1. Clif

        I wish I had pizza for dinner today.

      2. Ana Chronistic

        UPDATE: We had pizza

        It was Red Baron, tho, and actually not shitty

        Vaguely disappointed

  2. Regalli

    1. This guarantees it is not, in fact, fine. (And three calls in one day by early afternoon? Joyce. NO.)
    2. … Leslie honey you really need to work on this.

  3. Nono

    Well as much as Joyce needs to CALL HER DAD BACK, Joe has… a point.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Free pizza is free pizza after all.

      1. Roborat

        I agree with the pretty pink girl.

        (This comment is really going to confuse people when Plasma inevitably changes his grav again.)

    2. Keulen

      I’m gonna have to agree with Joe on the free pizza as well.

    3. plasticwrap

      I mean he really does. Free pizza ain’t nothin to balk at, I don’t even care if it’s Little Caesar’s

      1. He Who Abides

        Just so long as it’s not Chuck E. Cheese.

      2. Mustachio

        IMO LC is _the BEST_ !!

        1. Azhrei Vep

          Must be nice wherever you are. Around here LC is definitely trash-tier pizza. The only thing keeping them from being the absolute bottom of the barrel is the continued mysterious existence of Domino’s.

  4. Doctor_Who

    It occurs to me that Joe is not dissimilar to Walky in many ways. Just taller, buffer, cooler, and more charming.

    Like, if Walky took the stuff that turns Steve Urkel into Stefan, he might become Joe.

    1. Bagge

      They have similar opinions about FEEEELS

      1. FacelessDeviant

        And about pizza

        1. smartalec105

          Joe wasn’t there for free gay pizza though. He’s got no problem with LGBT+ but he knows there’s women out there that might assume he’s gay which hurts his odds.

    2. DailyBrad

      Walky’s got his moments on the charming, and Joe’s obviously got his REAL rough moments, but yeah, they’re both guys who definitely need to do some growing up in order to reach their potential and be way better off.

      Walky coasted and didn’t learn to deal with adversity well, and Joe resigned himself to being his dad minus taking the sanctity of relationships quite seriously, since obviously Richard didn’t, and that had a big impact on Joe. Not like fixing those singular things would be an instant “perfect” person solution, but those are their big things. Plus obviously being rather immature.

    3. Jamie

      But caramel.

    4. plasticwrap

      I think Walky’s afraid of being acknowledged as being of reasonable intelligence. With that comes the expectation of responsibility and adult behavior. Joe, he wants to be acknowledged as an adult (more or less) but afforded the opportunity to make mistakes (like a college student should). Other than that, yep seems accurate af.

    5. thejeff

      They both have issues, but I don’t really think Walky’s issues are much like Joe’s. Joe has shown none of the signs of ADHD that Walky has. Walky has much less of a predatory approach to woman than Joe did.

      1. Sunny

        They both feel that they need to act in certain ways in order to demonstrate their manliness. They just have very different sets of prejudices they adhere to.

    6. SuperZero

      Joe is not the more charming of the two. Unless you asked one of them.

    7. ValdVin

      Walky has comic timing and a sense of humor to go along with it, which I can only imagine he’s honed to amuse himself (ask me how I know), and it can be very charming.

      He can also sing well.

  5. ValdVin

    Was “The dumping ground for random personal drama” a working title for this entire webcomic?

    1. Wizard

      More of a mission statement, I think.

    2. Keulen

      If nothing else, it would make a good DoA book title.

  6. Stephen Bierce

    *plays “The Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks” on the hacked Muzak*

  7. Jay

    Joe! I’ve missed you

    1. DailyBrad

      Same, and not just because he looks hot with the mussed hair and scruff.

  8. Ray Radlein

    Good point about the voicemail, if not the texting. If he’s not even leaving a “Hey, hon, call home, it’s important,” then it probably isn’t about Toe-Dad’s bail

    (I mean, I assume that Joyce knows about whether her dad would likely leave a voicemail or not in a genuine emergency)

    1. StClair

      I make no such assumption.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Would she call her dad’s cell back, or call the house? Because if she calls the house, there’s a good chance Carol picks up the phone and starts gushing about the wonderful, good news.

      This is definitely a Joyce-Hank conversation, with Hank alone in his parked truck far out of earshot.

    3. plasticwrap

      Voicemails are bullshit. If shit’s serious, call 20 times

      1. thejeff

        And leave voicemail.
        And text.

  9. Bagge

    Shut up, Joe. Interpersonal Drama is what you like best with the class anyway.

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

    1. Doctor_Who

      I mean, yeah, but pizza is a new variable.

      It goes Pizza > Drama > Class.

      1. Bagge

        …Did Walky write that chart?

        1. Chris Phoenix

          A chart? It had to be Faz, right?

        2. Bagge

          Fortunately, there is no “Penis” in that chart.

          Which makes me think it’s not a Joe chart either.

  10. BBCC

    TEXT. YOUR. DAUGHTER. Come on Hank. Or leave a voicemail

    1. Bagge

      * Foot emoji * * Poop emoji * * Three exlamation marks *

      Joyce: “HOLY HECK! BECKY’S EVIL DAD IS COMING!!!”

      1. Bagge

        Someone MUST have made the parody “Evil dad”, right?

        Call Bruce Campbell.

        1. BBCC

          I want 10. You’re hired. Have the script ready by Monday. 😛

        2. Bagge

          If I can have Ted Raimi I’m on.

        3. BBCC

          Took some contract wrangling but done.

        4. plasticwrap

          where is the like button?
          tho Bruce may be too likable/charming

        5. JBento

          Won’t work – Bruce has a CHIN.

        6. Bagge

          Heh, yeah. He would be a lousy Toedad

        7. Deanatay

          Evil Dad II: Dad by Dawn
          Evil Dad III: Army of Dad-ness

          Then, the TV series: Joyce vs Evil Dad

        8. Roborat

          Slight correction: Joyce vs the Evil Dad(s)

  11. Victor Riley

    Yeah, it’s not the most efficient class, is it? When it comes time for midterms and finals, they’re going to be scrambling when they realize they haven’t even touched the course competencies.

    Or is that just my school that stresses that?

    1. Bagge

      Eh, the answer the half of the questions is “Slut shamed” anyway.

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/slutshame/

      1. Bagge

        Serious answer:

        Yeah, that is a big problem, and I have griped about Leslie’s lack of professionality for a while now.

        On the other hand, she does more to engage the class than any other teacher we have seen, and that will help them understand a lot of the material far better than Professor Bowtie’s droning in math.

        1. BBCC

          TBF, we haven’t seen most of the gender studies classes. We usually cut away for 99% of the teaching, and only see the juicy stuff.

          That said, yeah, Leslie, enough with the personal drama.

        2. Lone Duck

          TBF, she literally doesn’t know if Becky is alive, still with Robin, or kidnapped. And also to be fair, neither do we, at the moment.

        3. BBCC

          I’m speaking more generally than in this specific instance.

  12. mrnoidea

    We want to live our own lives, even if ends up being the wrong one.

    1. abysswatcher1993

      Independence is the desire of many young people, but when they grow up they realize being too independent bites you in that ass because all the progress of humanity was achieved by working together and trusting others. Sadly, that is also the explanation why organized criminals and religious fanatics survive. Rosseau was right… but that is scary too.

  13. Synnerman

    Man, talk about a set up for a terrible fall.

  14. Beef

    It’s HOT and it’s READY and it’s FREE don’t judge us, Willis

    1. plasticwrap

      yeeeeeeeah lil Caesar’s ain’t half bad, my knitter

      1. Delicious Taffy

        Uh, maybe no, though?

    2. Zee

      It’s pizza. That’s all you need to know
      …I’m gonna get a personal pizza from lil Caesars later

  15. Rotunda

    I for one welcome our new meddling overlords.

    1. abysswatcher1993

      I am okay with authorities as long as they respect the constitutions protecting our human rights. If they dont respect those documents then they dont deserve respect.

  16. Woomy

    I think Joyce might be talking about herself as well as Becky

    But that’s just a theory

    1. StClair

      ya think?

    2. abysswatcher1993

      It’s quite obvious. When you have been betrayed by corrupt authorities, trusting in the ones that are decent or redeeming themselves is hard. It’s like Luigi being afraid of both spiders and powerful ghosts with the same paranoia.

  17. TheKelliestKelly

    Oh dear. I didn’t think about this yesterday (am a patron) but now I’m sure it’s about Becky’s dad getting bail.

    1. DailyBrad

      definitely would be, Hank would 100 percent tell Joyce.

  18. abysswatcher1993

    Are you talking about Becky or about yourself, Joyce? Also, if Hank really left like 50 voicemails you are going to regret escaping communication, Joyce. I have to check texts every hour for fear of missing something important.

  19. Some1

    I was bored so I decided to see if I could see what deadly sins fit the characters best. I only used student characters, as being able to use most of the adult characters would make this far too easy.

    Pride: Mary, this is the most obvious one and doesn’t take a lot of explanation. Mary views herself as superior to others due to her religion.

    Wrath: This one is a bit harder, due to the sheer number of characters who could fit, but I think Amber would work the best. Ruth could also work though.

    Gluttony: Joe. This is based around the traditional idea of gluttony representing over indulgence in anything rather than simply food, and Joe being a sex addict would firmly put him in this category.

    Sloth: Walky, Walky could also fit with gluttony, but I feel that his wanting to run away from both his and others problems places him in this category.

    Greed: This one was difficult, as no one is shown to care about money that much, but I think Dorothy fits this one the best. Its a stretch, but Dorothy’s ambitions could technically be viewed as greed, its a very sympathetic greed though.

    Lust: Danny. For Lust I’m using the Dante based idea of lust as obsessed love, rather than obsession with sexuality in general. Most of Danny’s issues are caused by his love life and his need to keep relationships has annoyed his friends.

    Envy: Billie’s need to be popular places her firmly within this category. She’s envious of students who are more popular than her.

    1. abysswatcher1993

      Okay, we have to call the Phantom Thieves to get rid of so many Palaces. Maybe Joyce can summon her own Persona, either Jane Austen or Julie D’Aubigny.

      1. Regalli

        You’ll never see it COMIIIIIIIN’
        You’ll see that my mind is too fast for eyes!

      2. Some1

        So I no nothing about the Persona series, but am I right in thinking that Personas are essentially a cross between stands from JoJo and servants from Fate?

        1. abysswatcher1993

          They are like stands in that they represent your inner self and have a certain degree of autonomy, but instead of rock bands they have appeareances based from heroes, villains, gods, demons and monsters. In Persona 5 the personas of the characters are based from famous thieves, criminals and antiheroes.

        2. LeslieBean4shizzle

          Don’t know JoJo stuff (other than the memes – NANI?!), but Servants are more personable than Personas.

          Personas only pop up to fight, and only briefly (longer in animated adaptations) when casting a spell or using an ability.

          The more relevant point is that the identity of your Persona tends to exemplify some hidden or repressed part of your personality.

        3. abysswatcher1993

          Like having a secret hatred towards authorities will give you a revolutionary leader, or desiring to be dominant will give you a dominatrix, or being a repressed pervert will give you Rasputin or Zeus.

      3. LeslieBean4shizzle

        Joyce with Julie D’Aubingy as her Persona?
        …
        ….
        … I’ll be in my bunk.

    2. Jamie

      I really appreciate someone who actually knows what the Deadly Sins are about. It’s frustratingly uncommon.

  20. Xccj

    Giving her dad the benefit of the doubt; if he just calls instead of leaving a text or voicemail then her mom couldn’t get wind of the warning. (I’m assuming as an overbearing parent she probably has access to Joyce’s voicemail if they’re on the same phone plan. For texts, all she would need to do would be to look at the dad’s text history.) This is certainly assuming too much technical know-how from both the parents, but a straight up call wouldn’t leave as much of a record, and even then if the phone was bugged somehow the mom could be listening!

    1. BBCC

      Hank could always delete the text after sending it.

      1. Anonymsly

        And I can confirm, having worked for a cell company for almost fifteen years: once a text is deleted, it’s GONE. There’s zero ways to get it back, because the only place an actual sent text is stored is on the phone itself. (‘Texting’ that is actually IMing via an app, using data service, may be a different matter, but the cell company will still tell you to go chase yourself, aka ‘deal with the app provider’.)

  21. StClair

    Joyce is going to feel just fantastic later, when she finds out why her dad was trying to reach her, and she could have picked up but didn’t.

    1. abysswatcher1993

      As Good Omens pointed out, most tragedies aren’t caused by evilness, but by people being people. In other words, being stupid causes more harm than being cruel.

  22. Kernanator

    Damn Joyce, are you playing a movie in class? Because you sure seem to be projecting.

  23. Josh Spicer

    I mean, shit, Joe, like…as much as I think you need to participate in a vent session I gotta agree with the free pizza.

    Yeah, I know, a terrible councilperson. I can take the free pizza and button and still not support them. There’s a trash for a reason and a button like that is a good place for it just as much as my stomach is a good place for free pizza.

  24. Emperor Norton II

    OK, so here’s the thing.

    When Hank calls her three times in a short period of time, this probably* means it’s something really serious. Maybe he feels it’s even too serious, in fact, to be left as a voice mail. And definitely too serious to be texting about.

    And I get that. Sure, it’s not an optimal communication strategy, but I get that. Leaving a detailed voice mail is something I wouldn’t do in this situation, because I won’t know if and when the person I’m trying to call actually gets it. I want to actually talk to them about it.

    And leaving a vague voice mail also isn’t such a good option as it appears either. Not just because I still don’t know if and when they get it; but also because I don’t know if they will then think something much worse has happened than it really has.

    Plus, I just hate leaving voice mails in general. Lots of people do.

    In any case, if we assume that Hank is calling for a serious reason, then Joyce should definitely pick up the phone and/or call him back as soon as possible to find out what it’s about. I agree with Leslie on this.

    HOWEVER

    Joyce has only been away from her family for a few months (home-schooled, remember). This means that it’s very unlikely she’s had her dad call her repeatedly the same day ever before. Possibly it’s the first time she’s ever experienced it happening.

    (Or maybe he did it a lot in the first couple of weeks, until Joyce eventually told him to stop it. I find this fairly unlikely, but it’s certainly not impossible that it all happened off-panel.)

    So yeah, she may indeed not recognize the potential gravity of the situation, because she never learned about it. And sure, it does seem like an obvious thing; in that it really only has to happen once before you know what it means. But if it’s happened -no- times, could it really be so obvious that we all understand it immediately when it finally happens? Is it -that- intuitive?

    I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. I don’t remember the first time that happened to me, so I couldn’t tell if I understood it then.

    *Note the word “probably”; it might still mean he’s simply telling her that he visited a restaurant in town that his wife would think of as “too ethnic”. And as it turns out, he absolutely loved their food and he hopes that one day, Joyce may be willing to go there with him.

    1. Cerberus

      Yeah, what makes this scene so amazing is absent the bird’s eye view we have, Joyce’s response is absolutely rational.

      Like, Joyce has had some really raw familial interactions not that long ago and recognizes her state as pretty fragile to all that given that she just skipped church for the first time in ever largely because of all that.

      And Becky has earned some space from parental figures owing to the traumas she’s piled on.

      So yeah, in Joyce’s context, it all makes sense and is fair.

      It’s only from outside that where we know that Leslie’s concern is VERY justified in the context of a serial abuser bailing her father out of jail and him likely coming to hunt her down in her very visible position and where Hank is very likely panic repeat dialing about it.

      1. Emperor Norton II

        *tacklehugs Cerberus*

        Missed you, you awesome wonderful person!

        1. Cerberus

          Missed you too!

      2. BBCC

        Yeah, like this isn’t actually a wrong thing to do.

        It’s just making me tear my hair out because of all the miserable rotten timing.

        Also, hi, Cerb! <3

        1. Emperor Norton II

          As someone said: “Willis hates us all and wants us all to suffer when we want nice things.”

          And as someone else said: ” And yet we come back to him. What is wrong with us?”

          I’m choosing to let these two people remain anonymous.

        2. BBCC

          Huh, must’ve been two wise, insightful people, their names lost to history…

        3. Cerberus

          *waves excitedly*

      3. JBento

        Hi, Cerberus! Hope everything’s good with you!

    2. Bagge

      In fact, learning to avoid parental authorothy figures – even benevolent ones – is a HUGE step of personal growth for Joyce and something she benefits practicing.

      …only perhaps not just now!

      1. Cerberus

        I know, it’s such delicious perfect character growth that is also perfectly timed to have the most disastrous effect in comic.

        Because Willis hates us all and wants us all to suffer when we want nice things.

        1. Emperor Norton II

          And yet we come back to him.

          What is wrong with us?

        2. abysswatcher1993

          That is the same thing I ask when I read Homestuck’s new content. Jesus, Hussie has channeled his worst aspects in Dirk Strider.

    3. thejeff

      Most likely, she’s never had three calls in quick succession like that because she’s never dared not answer the phone before.

      I’m not sure I buy the “Don’t leave a voice mail” argument. I certainly wouldn’t want to try to explain the Toedad thing on voicemail, but he could certainly leave a “Call me as soon as you can, it’s important” message. Even if she thinks it’s something worse, then she’ll call back, which is the point.

  25. JessWitt

    Dangit Joyce, answer the call!

  26. brionl

    OMFG! Little Caesar’s pizza? Robin is a monster and must be stopped!!

    1. Emperor Norton II

      Eh, could be worse.

      I mean, sure, LC isn’t good pizza by any stretch. But it’s not -bad- bad either. It’s just… there. It’s the neutral option. It’s not made to be loved; merely to be tolerated because it’s cheap.

      1. Needfuldoer

        She used to have a standing order at Papa John’s, but that fit her old public image. At least Little Caesars led to a lot of good philanthropic work.

        Papa Gino’s is bettah pizza than both of ’em, ked!

    2. Willow-Wisp

      I like Little Caesar’s.

    3. Zee

      Bad pizza is still pizza

    4. ValdVin

      I won’t disclose my geographical pizza snobbery, but I will set it aside for this task.

      I’ve never been near there, so: What is the pizza scene like in Bloomington? Where does Little Caesar’s fall on the curve?

      1. David M Willis

        Bloomington has Mother Bears Pizza (aka Galasso’s), which is probably the best pizza in the universe.

        1. fudo81

          I’m from Naples, Italy, so… I doubt that. But if I ever set foot in Bloomington, I’m going to check it out.

  27. Jamie

    I kinda want Jocelyne to randomly show up and go, “Dad tried to call, but you weren’t picking up.”

    1. Emperor Norton II

      Admit it, you want Jocelyne to randomly show up in almost every situation.

      1. Cerberus

        Don’t we all?

        1. BBCC

          I mean, I know *I* do.

        2. Bagge

          There is only so much Noir I can write in a week…

          …but I like a challenge!

  28. Emperor Norton II

    And Joe… I’m slightly impressed by you (though maybe only because the bar was rather low). It appears you’re taking gender studies more seriously now. I mean, you even called it real; which I’m not sure you’d have done a month ago (comic time, that is. Real time, about four years ago)

    I mean, I can’t be fully sure that you didn’t just want any excuse to give in a burn here; but frankly, you’re right. Random interpersonal drama is not fit in any class.

    So yeah, pointing out that this is not the time nor place to discuss these things, and that one should actually get on with the class… Even if done in a snarky way, it appears to show that Joe’s actually starting to care some more about the class; or at least show less hostility against it.

    And hopefully, Leslie will take the hint.

    1. Cerberus

      Wait…

      Holy shit, you’re right! I was so distracted by the impending doom that I totally missed that character growth moment of his. Go Joe!

      1. BBCC

        You missed something in a strip?

        Who are you and what have you done with Cerberus? 😛

    2. Reltzik

      Or, you know, Joe is just dissing relationship drama instead and he’s appealing to the importance of having an actual class entirely as a cold-blooded tool to shut down people talking rather than out of the slightest care for the class itself.

      1. Jago

        Or to escape the personal issues of other people in a space that he can’t leave if he doesn’t want to visibly skip class.
        I dunno about you, but I’m not big on being a witness to that kinda stuff, if I’m not involved, and sometimes not even then.

  29. Eve

    Wait I thought this was happening in like a hallway walky walked into. I am bad at paying attention.

    Still pretty glad Joyces dad is trying to tell them about Toedads release though.

  30. BadRoad

    If it’s free Little Caesar’s you get what you pay for.

  31. BenRG

    Wow! I don’t think Joyce could have made Leslie feel lower if she tried!

  32. Tacos

    I mean, I like Little Caesar’s so…

    On another note, answer your damn phone Joyce. Does her dad even know how to set up voicemail or send a text?

    1. Norah

      I’m going to guess Hank does know how to do these things. I’m not sure what his job is, but chances are he has a work cell phone and is expected to learn how to do that.

      You’d be surprised how many people over the age of 50 know their way around smartphones!

    2. SuperZero

      “Set up” voicemail? You don’t need to set anything up to leave a message. It works basically the same way it’s always worked with answering machines.

      Do you know how?

  33. Danielle

    thanks, joe, thats real helpful

    1. BenRG

      I think that it will be effective. Leslie needs to focus on the real reason she’s there and being paid a salary for being there, no matter how worried she is about Becky and how jealous she is of Robin.

      1. Odditude

        Absolutely agree.
        She could have this conversation in private outside of class

        1. thejeff

          She really couldn’t. Or at least wouldn’t, since it all just evolved out of Walky coming in with pizza and DeSanto stickers. It’s not like she started asking Joyce about Becky out of the blue.

          And class ends an hour away and that hour might be important, if the call really is that urgent.

  34. Odditude

    Leslie is really surprisingly unprofessional.
    There is no reason to start a class like this.

    1. BenRG

      In Leslie’s defence, her personal and emotional lives are both train-wrecks right now and she’s never demonstrated any ability to compartmentalise her professional life from this.

      1. Jago

        Well, the subject she’s teaching can get very personal, especially for a gay woman with a background like hers. I don’t know if it’s possible to keep personal feelings ouf of that. (But I’ve also never been in a class like hers, so that’s just presumptions.)

    2. BBCC

      In her defence, class time hadn’t started yet when this conversation started, I don’t think.

      1. Norah

        It didn’t seem like it.

  35. AbelUndercity

    Hello, foreshadowing!

  36. Vulcanodon

    Wonder if Hank’s in a car headed toward campus right now.

    1. hof1991

      Yes, I am. As far as I know, my daughter is already in danger.

  37. Jago

    Free Pizza indeed.
    Also, I feel like that’s what you want for you, too, Joyce.

    1. Jago

      That being said, personally, I wouldn’t take free Pizza from the one party I really dislike if they offered it to me. They know what they did.

  38. kilgaen

    Surprise, dad don’t know how to text on the phone machine!

    1. Norah

      Hank probably works in an office and has a company smartphone. Smartphones have been around for 12 or so years, so that even older people know how to use them now. True, there are always people that are technology-challenged, but that could be true of any generation.

      1. Tadpole7

        There also those of us who are horrible typist, texting was an unwelcome addition to the phone.

  39. Rabisch

    I just hope this will not become a “Last famous words” situation.

    1. Bagge

      What could possibly go wrong?

      1. Emperor Norton II

        I think roughly 8% of Bagge’s post history is saying “What could possibly go wrong”.

        In about 68% of these incidents, something goes wrong within six relevant strips.

        (Also, please don’t do the “X% of all statistics is made up” as a reply to this post. Yes, you were thinking about doing it. Don’t deny it.)

        1. BBCC

          Well, NOW I am.

        2. Bagge

          To be fair, usually something goes wrong even when I don’t say it.

  40. Wakeangel2001

    no wonder people who major in this subject can never find work…

  41. ischemgeek

    Why do I get the feeling Joyce is talking as much about herself as she is about Becky?

  42. DarkoNeko

    thanks Joe.

  43. Schpoonman

    Don’t be an asshole, Joyce. Neither your father nor Leslie deserve anything remotely resembling “meddling overlords.”

    1. Norah

      No they don’t. But she’s probably also thinking of Carol and Ross.

  44. Bagge

    Hank finally gets hold of Joyce: “YOUNG LADY, I NEED YOU TO TELL ME HOW TO MAKE THE SUBTITELS ON THE TV SWITCH BACK FROM HUNGARIAN!!!”

  45. nightshade

    you know that’s the phonecall warning Joyce that Becky’s dad is out on bail right?

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