This is such a nice answer from Leslie and it makes me glad that Becky came back to have this talk with her. It was overdue and something they both needed. Now we just have two questions, where do we go from here? And where the hell is Mike?
I'm glad Becky has some good people (and one awesome Dino-girl) in her corner. For all she projects confidence, she really does need them (and not just because of Toedad).
Jon Rich
Jesus, the feels on those two….especially the last one. Oof.
No one except Joyce – Becky’s only rock in a world turned on her – could have assured her that yes, Joyce was exactly the rock Becky counted on her to be when she fled to her.
No one except Hank* – who knew Bonnie and who has gone out of his way to be an adult Becky can trust – could have assured her that what Becky has become is something her mother would be proud of.
*) Well, any adult in church COULD have done it, but only Hank DID.
and no one except Leslie – the one adult who sees through all her bullshit, knows firsthand what she is going through and who has offered to help her – can tell her the one thing a homeless lgbt youngster very, very much needs to hear – that the support she gives isn’t conditional.
I also think it’s worth linking back to the danged extent of Becky’s allowed aspirations. I kinda think Leslie touched a nerve here about the price of parental pride for some parents.
Oh, absolutely. There was a reason why the last thing Becky said to Toedad before walking out of that hospital room was ‘I’m gonna be a fuckin’ scientist.’ In a strip titled ‘Unlimited’ solely to bring home the Defying Gravity point.
And also good parental pride, when Hank saw Joyce defying him and Carol for what Joyce believes is right and using a good Christian argument about accepting others. There’s pride in your family showing they can be smarter and kinder than you.
I’m proud of my children but also think it’s an honour and privilege to watch their personalities and imaginations develop and unfold and see who they become. (Obviously with guidance but this is most frequently “don’t hit/torment your sister”, “remember gentle hands – be gentle”, “what do we say when we’re asking for something?/I think you’ve missed a word there”… The 5 year old is a complete sweetheart 95% of the time, and the 2 year old – when she’s well-rested and not having a tantrum or drawing on the walls – genuinely wants to be helpful and is a darling.
Who they will love, what will drive them as adults, what they will do with their lives? I’m a cheerleader in all that jazz. So long as they’re kind and strive to be the best version of themselves that they can be, I will have done my job and set them on the right path.
Clif
You monster! Don’t you know that a parents primary job is to totally ruin their child’s life forever in the most humiliating way possible? Ask any teenager.
miri
It’s cool, recent pics I have taken for future reference include “toddler in ice cream coma” and “5 year old being ridiculous an trying to drink her milk by licking it like a cat”… Which OK is something I did as a teen on a few occasions to prove a point *but there is no photographic evidence* so she doesn’t need to know that ?
Blaine being proud of his daughter for defeating an attempted rapist and would-be murderer is the least-toxic thing he’d have ever done. Granted, it would have been for the wrong reasons, but still.
Attempted? Ryan Gashface apparnetly raped other women, but they were too scared to testify against him.
thejeff
I don’t know about too scared. Likely in a similar, but worse, position as Joyce. Didn’t know who he was, were drugged and not entirely clear how it had happened. Without an ID and corroboration from others, no real case.
Several did apparently come forward after the attack.
I would have said “I am proud”, but this acceptable. This is a comic by Willis, and simple answers aren’t enough for these already DUMB teens and adults. I am the kind of person that would be proud if a loved one defeated me in honorable combat.
101 thoughts on “Gather”
Ana Chronistic
BEST NON-BINARY ANSWER
abysswatcher1993
MSPA Reader: “What are you? Some kind of centrist?!”
Jon Rich
MSPA?
C.
MS Paint Adventures.
Clif
A classic.
LeslieBean4shizzle
Non-binary answers are the best answers.
Clif
Maybe.
Doctor_Who
And Leslie earns another 50 mom points.
Lily
Awwwww ♥️
Clif
Agreed.
Nono
Man, remember the Proud Family? That sure was a cartoon I watched.
Schpoonman
I loved the Proud Family.
Madock345
Hahaha that fucking hurt way more than I thought it would hahaha
BBCC
Leslie is such a good Becky-Mom.
DarkoNeko
Beckie is such a good Leslie-Daughter !
Kyrik Michalowski
Indeed she is.
Lokitsu
Its a shame that more Beckys aren’t lucky enough to find a mom like Leslie.
Chronos
Absolutely.
DarkoNeko
YESSSS A HUG
Jhon
Called it!
Schpoonman
mah hart
mah sole
Stephen Bierce
you’ll be mah friend should ah grow old
Nep
This is good.
Kyrik Michalowski
This is such a nice answer from Leslie and it makes me glad that Becky came back to have this talk with her. It was overdue and something they both needed. Now we just have two questions, where do we go from here? And where the hell is Mike?
DarkoNeko
who is Mike ?
Kyrik Michalowski
He is an asshole we occasionally care about.
Cyntalan
When is Mike?
Kyrik Michalowski
Never and always.
Justin P Yates
Why is Mike?
Terry
To be the asshole you do not want. But the asshole you need right now.
a/snow/mous/e
How is Mike?
Clif
Nature abhores a lack of Mikeness.
Schpoonman
The asshole he thinks you need, and the last few days in-comic have been greatly cathartic to me in proving how often he is wrong.
Sambo
I’ll do you one better: why is Mike?
TheHorseCouncil
This thread reads a bit like ‘forky asks a question’.
drs
The Once and Future Mike.
Oruncrest
Fucking Blaine’s Mom. :thumbup:
He’ll come back when he’s out of nickels. 😉
ian livs
Gosh, I adore this exchange
JordanTG
This is a MUCH more positive resolution than I’d feared, and I’m much happier for it
Annika
This is so healthy and wholesome! It makes me happy. Clearly that means that something terrible is about to happen.
DarkoNeko
nooooo
Keulen
Willis still hasn’t revealed what happened to Mike yet.
Needfuldoer
*Descending whistle* *Splat*
Needfuldoer
Actually, let’s let Mike himself answer this one.
Marsh Maryrose
pretty sure he’s a missionary in Bulmeria by now.
TheLurkerAbove
Coming from an Asian culture, where family expectations can be so much higher, what Leslie said hits home really hard.
DarkoNeko
sympathy via light physical contact
Suet
Trust me, alt, I wanted it also, then we can just kill anything positive softly, but I guess it is all for more to not hold back
Bagge
FINALLY, HUG!!!
“My support of you isn’t conditional” might be the third best thing anyone ever said to Becky in this comic. Leslie is momming just right.
Bagge
Only third best thing?
Well, yeah!
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/pit/
Bagge
Yeah.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/deserves/
miri
<3
I'm glad Becky has some good people (and one awesome Dino-girl) in her corner. For all she projects confidence, she really does need them (and not just because of Toedad).
Jon Rich
Jesus, the feels on those two….especially the last one. Oof.
Emperor Norton II
I know.
I even knew what comics Bagge was linking, and yet, when I clicked on them, those strips were hitting me in feels I didn’t even know I had.
Regalli
It’s so lovely and, like the other two comments, something only Leslie as the speaker could say and give the same impact.
I’m so proud of them.
Bagge
Yes. Very much.
No one except Joyce – Becky’s only rock in a world turned on her – could have assured her that yes, Joyce was exactly the rock Becky counted on her to be when she fled to her.
No one except Hank* – who knew Bonnie and who has gone out of his way to be an adult Becky can trust – could have assured her that what Becky has become is something her mother would be proud of.
*) Well, any adult in church COULD have done it, but only Hank DID.
and no one except Leslie – the one adult who sees through all her bullshit, knows firsthand what she is going through and who has offered to help her – can tell her the one thing a homeless lgbt youngster very, very much needs to hear – that the support she gives isn’t conditional.
No wonder it turned to hugging.
Bagge
ah, yes, I knew there was a conversation about conditional support somwhere. Becky has learnt it doesn’t pay to trust adults.
…except perhaps this one.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/04-vote-for-robin/wakeywakey/
Bagge
I also think it’s worth linking back to the danged extent of Becky’s allowed aspirations. I kinda think Leslie touched a nerve here about the price of parental pride for some parents.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/aspirations/
Regalli
Oh, absolutely. There was a reason why the last thing Becky said to Toedad before walking out of that hospital room was ‘I’m gonna be a fuckin’ scientist.’ In a strip titled ‘Unlimited’ solely to bring home the Defying Gravity point.
Rotunda
We’ve met toxic parental pride before in Dumbing of Age: after Amber stabbed Ryan, she imagined Blaine being proud of her.
abysswatcher1993
And also good parental pride, when Hank saw Joyce defying him and Carol for what Joyce believes is right and using a good Christian argument about accepting others. There’s pride in your family showing they can be smarter and kinder than you.
miri
I’m proud of my children but also think it’s an honour and privilege to watch their personalities and imaginations develop and unfold and see who they become. (Obviously with guidance but this is most frequently “don’t hit/torment your sister”, “remember gentle hands – be gentle”, “what do we say when we’re asking for something?/I think you’ve missed a word there”… The 5 year old is a complete sweetheart 95% of the time, and the 2 year old – when she’s well-rested and not having a tantrum or drawing on the walls – genuinely wants to be helpful and is a darling.
Who they will love, what will drive them as adults, what they will do with their lives? I’m a cheerleader in all that jazz. So long as they’re kind and strive to be the best version of themselves that they can be, I will have done my job and set them on the right path.
Clif
You monster! Don’t you know that a parents primary job is to totally ruin their child’s life forever in the most humiliating way possible? Ask any teenager.
miri
It’s cool, recent pics I have taken for future reference include “toddler in ice cream coma” and “5 year old being ridiculous an trying to drink her milk by licking it like a cat”… Which OK is something I did as a teen on a few occasions to prove a point *but there is no photographic evidence* so she doesn’t need to know that ?
Jon Rich
Blaine being proud of his daughter for defeating an attempted rapist and would-be murderer is the least-toxic thing he’d have ever done. Granted, it would have been for the wrong reasons, but still.
abysswatcher1993
Attempted? Ryan Gashface apparnetly raped other women, but they were too scared to testify against him.
thejeff
I don’t know about too scared. Likely in a similar, but worse, position as Joyce. Didn’t know who he was, were drugged and not entirely clear how it had happened. Without an ID and corroboration from others, no real case.
Several did apparently come forward after the attack.
Ohmsford
Speaking of wounded and not yet healed…
DailyBrad
I love this answer, too. I love it a lot.
abysswatcher1993
I would have said “I am proud”, but this acceptable. This is a comic by Willis, and simple answers aren’t enough for these already DUMB teens and adults. I am the kind of person that would be proud if a loved one defeated me in honorable combat.
abysswatcher1993
With that said, let’s remember the ending of Captain Marvel. You don’t have to prove anything to a jerk.