215

Inconspicuous
Posted on April 14, 2015 by David M Willis

215 thoughts on “Inconspicuous”

  1. Jen Aside

    “Where are you from with that accent?”
    “I’m from KENT, man!”

    *meanwhile*

    Joyce’s mom: “Good heaven’s, I’m just trying to tell Joyce she has this package here… from an ‘LGBTQ Nation’? Is that a church youth group thing?”
    Joyce: “GOLLY GOSH DANGIT MIKE”

    1. Doctor_Who

      Joyce made it 18 years without lying to her parents?

      I don’t think I made it that many months.

      Mom, Dad, I confess. It was me who made a wee on the carpet, not My Buddy©.

      1. Doctor_Who

        That wasn’t supposed to be a reply, but whatevs.

      2. Packy

        Whenever my younger brother wet the bed, he blamed it on the cats.

      3. Torechwen

        I have a general policy of avoiding direct lies if at all conceivably possible because I have “honesty face.” >.<

        1. Deanatay

          Yeah, but you can still lie on the phone, right?

    2. Ryan

      I Kent believe that accent.

      1. tyersome

        I agree, she Gwent too far.

  2. a4lbi

    HAIL SATAN

    Done already? Aww.

    1. Doctor_Who

      If Sarah does the exact same thing Mike did, I for one would be very amused.

      That can be the next great running gag. Joyce’s mom keeps calling, Joyce keeps giving to phone to whoever’s standing there, and they just yell “HAIL SATAN”.

      Imagine Dina doing it. Or Jason.

      1. Dreadhawk177

        Dina doesn’t acknowledge Satan. It’s part of the whole ‘get-to-live-again’ deal…

        1. brionl

          I’m sure Dina would be down with Raptor Jesus.

        2. Rycan

          As long as Raptor Jesus is scientifically accurate.

        3. Someone

          Raptor Jesus was killed by a meteor for your sins.

        4. The Gorram Batguy

          This comment is awesome and has made my day. I’m sure many others would say the same. It needs to be on a t-shirt. Perhaps with a picture of a raptor with a thorn crown and tattered white robe, nailed to a meteorite as it burns through the atmosphere.
          Bravo.

        5. Disloyal Subject

          I would wear the heck outta such a shirt.

        6. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          Why can I not buy this already? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY DAMMIT! 😛

        7. brionl

          Like this one?

          http://www.cafepress.com/mf/46929747/raptor-jesus_tshirt?utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=489259251&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=sem-cpc-product-ads&utm_content=search-pla&productId=489259251

        8. vic

          i would reblog it as a tumblr thing if you post it the raptor jesus meteor thing

        9. Rycan

          Now I’m imagining Galasso as a firebrand preacher of Raptor Jesus, and it is glorious.

        10. Someone

          And on the third day he rose again, according to the fossil records; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right claw of the T-rex, he shall come again with glory to eat the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.

        11. Kryss LaBryn

          Amen! 😀

      2. Kennerly

        After dozens of characters saying “HAIL SATAN”, the phone is eventually passed to Howard, who answers with “Game of Thrones!”

        1. neeks

          Or “hail hydra”

        2. lightsabermario

          “The Lannisters send their regards.”

        3. Deanatay

          Just play “The Rains of Castamere”.

        4. Screwball

          “HAIL SATAN!”
          “HAIL SATAN!”
          “HAIL SATAN!”
          “HAIL SATAN!”
          “Winter is coming…”

          “Good Lord, who’s stolen my daughter’s phone?!?!”

        5. xKiv

          Winter did?

      3. DarkoNeko

        Eh, Dina would just rant about dinos until Joyce’s mom hangs up.

        1. Doctor_Who

          That might horrify Mrs. Brown more than the Satan thing. Especially when Dina mentions how many years ago they lived.

      4. TheGrammarLegionary

        With regards to Jason saying ‘Hail Satan’, all I can hear in my head is Colin Firth’s speech in Kingsman.

    2. Stevecharb

      As long as I don’t change my gravatar, Hail Satan will never die

  3. otusasio451

    That, Joyce? That…IS…ACTING!!!

    Terrible, TERRIBLE ACTING!

    1. Kris

      You don’t give Becky enougn credit. That performance could easily win her a daytime Emmy!

      1. Leorale

        Acting she learned from the… THEATRE

        1. Rycan

          dun dun DUN

        2. Rosie

          You saying she’s some kind of thespian?

        3. tyersome

          I’m a bit worried that based this performance it will be curtains for Becky …

        4. Screwball

          Maybe, but still, the show must go on…

        5. Roborat

          Why am I flashing back to Jon Lovitz on SNL now?

  4. KingMabel

    Everyone wants some of Becky today. And that belly button.

  5. Stephen Bierce

    Call-out to another webcomic much?

    1. otusasio451

      Wait…wait, is it? Which one?

    2. David M Willis

      You’re gonna have to tell me which one, ‘cuz I have no idea!

      1. Stephen Bierce

        McPedro on Girls With Slingshots, sort of?

        1. David M Willis

          Isn’t McPedro just Scottish/Irish? I don’t get the reference.

        2. barefootbiker

          He usually is. Early on I think he fluctuated more, I guess I’ll just have to follow the recolors to find out.

        3. Opus the Poet

          He just looks like the love child of the Frito Bandito and a saguaro cactus, he doesn’t use any Spanish phrases or even many words except borrow words that have migrated into English.

        4. Wack'd

          I just looked up the Frito Bandito.

          Why.

        5. saltchocolate

          1970s advertising existed solely to alienate half of the potential customer base at any given time.

        6. John

          He’s wearing a uniform with epaulets, so he used to be a military officer? Or he killed one and stole the uniform? There’s some strange history there.

        7. Opus the Poet

          FB was cool, much like the OG Hamburglar. Now the Hamburglar is a wuss and FB is a footnote in advertising history. There were lots of characters out to steal an advertised product besides the FB and Hamburglar, there was Jean LaFoote, the Barefoot Pirate after Cap’n Crunch, the Cooky Crook wanting Cookie Crunch, Chester Cheetah after Cheetos, even the Fry Guys were after your McD fries. Now Chester is spokescheetah for Cheetos, the Fry Guys are mostly background decorations, and Jean laFoote died of toenail fungus or something.

        8. Kryss LaBryn

          I miss when the Hamburglar was cool. 🙁

        9. Random832

          Cookie Crunch? If you mean Cookie Crisp, he just wants to eat his cereal in peace, in a dystopian universe where it’s apparently illegal to eat cookies for breakfast.

        10. Rycan

          It’s his accent that’s supposed to be Scottish/Irish.

        11. Kryss LaBryn

          Scottish-Mexican, I believe.

  6. Someone

    4th panel: Joyce it would help if you held the screen up to her and not just the back of the phone.

    1. Doctor_Who

      She’s multitasking by taking a picture of Sarah while she speaks for her facebook page.

      Or maybe a very panicked selfie.

    2. Yet_One_More_Idiot

      Me (in Joyce’s place): How do you switch this mobile telephone thingamajig off?
      (Has never owned a mobile xD)

  7. boomwolf

    And with that, I now forgive Becky for any and all past transgressions. Future ones, however, are gonna need a lot more than that.

  8. Kernanator

    Joyce just needs to start with some small lies and work her way up from there.

    1. MM

      She’s starting to get the hang of pretending she’s not there.

    2. Screwball

      “I’ll just say the pen is red.” *picks up blue pen* “The pen is rrrrrrrr….the pen is rrrrrrrrr……the pen is rrrrrrrrroyal blue!”

  9. Dragon

    Hmm, I guess if you were raised by a Scott, a Brit, and a Brazilian, you could have an accent like that… it’d be cool!

    1. Screwball

      Don’t forget the Aussie!

    2. Kryss LaBryn

      I’m a Canadian whose parents were a Brit and a German; a regular babysitter during my formative years was from Alabama. I once got asked where my accent was from–in my own hometown.

      I moved to the other side of the country and was talking with a customer in Ontario who, when he heard I was in Nova Scotia, happily assured me that he could tell, because he’d recognized the accent. I’d been there maybe half a year.

      I have NO idea what I sound like, lol. But Becky may be doing a decent impression of it. 😀

  10. Chengrel

    Sarah is my spirit animal.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Sarah: “I am not an animal, I am a human being!”

      1. MeghanTheWorldEater

        -adjusts thick rimmed glasses with tape holding them together-
        -speaks like she’s still in braces- Technically humans actually are animals.

        1. Urukak

          Tell Joyce that and see how far you get.

        2. HeySo

          “Animals are a CATEGORY, not a descriptor!”
          “The devil speaks through you! THE DEVIL SPEAKS THROUGH YOU!”

        3. Kryss LaBryn

          Well, if you’re going to be all pedantic about it… 😀

      2. zoelogical

        Sarah is my Patronus.

        1. John

          Sarah is my random default gravatar.

  11. Bagge

    Quick, Joyce, do something smart.

    It sure is hot, Becky. And cool, and Rad.

  12. KingMabel

    Lying to your parents is a constant for college students.

    1. Leorale

      Try living near them as an adult. I go to a lot of “dance parties” that don’t actually feature dancing.

      1. Chengrel

        I went to a lot of “wine and cheese” parties. Amusingly, there was almost always wine and cheese available in the kitchen since it was sort of a joke among the guests.

        1. HeySo

          Are these things you two are referring to euphamisms for anything specific? You’ve got me curious-
          Namely, what’s good enough to distract you from wine and cheese? o.O

        2. Gigafreak

          Not having to be tech support for your parents.

  13. MM

    Somewhere across campus, Jason gets the sinking sensation the universe is summoning him to play Henry Higgins in a terrible My Fair Lady parody.

    1. JessWitt

      It better be entitled “My Fair Becky”.

  14. Hoboturtle

    “Joyce is Becky there?”

    “Who is Becky!?”

    “You know, your best friend”

    “Mom, Becky died three years ago”

    Then hang up

    1. AgentKeen

      You forgot the HAIL SATAN at the end.

      1. Jen Aside

        not as good as, “I killed her myself”

        1. MM

          Doesn’t the “Hail Satan” sort of imply that?

        2. Jen Aside

          not really, some Nazis were just desk workers but still were all HEIL HITLER and I just Godwin’s Lawed this didn’t I

        3. Rycan

          You escalated to Heil Hitler – with Joyce as a starting point. Should I be impressed or horrified?

        4. Solenoid

          Horrified. It’s more impressive to put off someone invoking Godwin’s Law as long as possible.

        5. Screwball

          “Joyce is Becky there?”

          “Who is Becky!?”

          “You know, your best friend”

          “Mom, Becky died three years ago. Remember? You helped me bury her while Dad washed the knife…”

    2. Kennerly

      There is no Becky there is only Zool.

      1. Deanatay

        Zuul.

        Gads, I’m such a grammar Nazi oops Godwin again

  15. Humson

    I guess by “An accent” she meant every accent. It’s basically the same thing.

    1. JessWitt

      Do all the accents!

      1. N0083rP00F

        Could you do this one? http://tinyurl.com/kjtj9qk

    2. Rycan

      It guarantees that you appear to have an accent, regardless of who’s listening! Although you’d have to use ‘listening’ quite loosely.

  16. feli

    Adulthood? I started lying to my mom when I was around 7-8 … well, I’ve always been mature.

    1. HeySo

      You got a late start. Most kids started lying around 3 where I grew up.
      Took me forever to get what was going on.

  17. Kris

    I think Penny would be proud of that one.

  18. Plasma Mongoose

    Willis, Aussies call them prawns these days not shrimp.

    1. AgentKeen

      Nah, that part is still Jamaican.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        I wasn’t sure what you were talking about at first until I reread the comic.

    2. nothri

      Mongoose! Mongoose! I know who your gravatar is!

      http://th06.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2013/273/4/9/touko_fukawa___dangan_ronpa_by_insanity_sf_a2-d6ooula.png

      She’s from Daganronpa, the first video game.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        Thank you Nothri I have corrected my gravatar entry a few minutes ago when NotFred told me while I was checking out the Frivolesque comic for new comments.

        1. nothri

          Ahh, so you did! Sorry for being redundant!

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          It’s OK, maybe Tumblr takes a few minutes for any re-edits to appear.

    3. Agemegos

      We always have.

      1. Deanatay

        Same in America, but ‘prawn on the barbie’ just doesn’t have the same mocking tone to it.

        1. Screwball

          Nor can it be used to imply throwing a water-living crustation or a small Human onto either a child’s toy or a lady with an unfortunate name…

          …I recommend only using the small Human part with people you know & can joke with. Seems some people get offended then they get the big hurty things…

  19. Rodimiss

    This strip was a good refresher of all of the reasons why I love Sarah.

    I’m very interested in seeing how this plays out. C’mon, Joyce, you can lie, your closest friends are an atheist and two gay people. You’ve worked your way up to lying to the parents.

  20. Just Me

    Send Becky out the window, answer the phone and if asked if Becky is there just say no. Technically, that isn’t lying. Simple.

    1. Bagge

      She IS dressed like Sal. Moving out through the window is the next logical step.

    2. Screwball

      Or even just through the shared toilet & into Sal/Billie’s room, that should count too…

  21. Spencer

    Kinda hoping we’ll see Toedad make his appearance. I’m waiting for that story to play out.

  22. chris73

    Joyce must have the patience of Job to be dealing with Becky, although it would be amusing for Becky to talk to Joyces mom since shes probably ringing up about Becky anyway

  23. Idontcarenomore

    At first I just thought Becky was just made a terrible mistake putting the moves on her best friend with no warning at all.
    Then I though maybe having done that and the circumstances of that plus her dad pulling her tuition and running away from home was just a shock she needed to get over.
    But then, she charged screaming out of the closet, proceeded to insult Joyces friends, chased Joyces ‘BF’ out of the room, used $20 from Billy to get a sexy haircut instead of paying some to Joyce, guilted Joyce into buying her some clothes…..AND finally paraded her half dressed ass down the dorm hallway in from of the RA after having been told to keep it down low.

    Becky has the empathy of a fish, the common sense of a gnat, and the intelligence of, maybe, a 10 year old.

    How in the hell did she ever get into Anderson?

    Keep it up girl, you’re going to get Joyce and Sarah kicked out of school yet.

    1. Wack'd

      Yes clearly the fact that Joyce and Sarah are protecting Becky from her abusive father means she’s not entitled to have anything for herself nor have any freedom of movement.

      I’m sure having that twenty dollars would make a massive difference in how much Joyce would be able to afford to do for Becky.

      1. Spencer

        I was considering going out for a bite to eat, but instead decided to personally fund all cancer research in the country. Best 20$ I ever spent!

        1. Rycan

          We could use the money, quite frankly.

    2. Urukak

      For someone who doesn’t care no more, you sure do seem to care a lot about denying Becky any sympathy or positive qualities and insulting her with massively vitriolic and exaggerated statements. It’s okay to have problems with Becky, just take it down a few notches.

      1. IJ

        That might be because Becky doesn’t have any positive qualities?

    3. Smiling Cat

      on the subject of having the empathy of a fish…

    4. lesbianus

      “she charged screaming out of the closet”

      it’s amazing how many commenters here keep using this as evidence that becky’s terrible

      like, she’s a gay teenager from repressive, homophobic family. what exactly is wrong with her loudly & proudly affirming her sexual identity now that she has the freedom to do so?

      1. Incomitatus

        Hasn’t anyone ever told you that deviating from social norms is only acceptable when done quietly and meekly with maximum effort to conform to the appearance of all other social norms?

        That’s how toleration happens in the modern world, after all. Aren’t we all so progressive?

        1. Smiling Cat

          As a nominal conservative, I can understand the desire to see new things eased into.

          As a confirmed pessimist, however, I also understand that the fundamental principle of conservatism is that “change scares me” and frequently ignores that some changes are inevitable and necessary, and that sometimes “the way things are” is fundamentally wrong.

          As a human being, I say Becky deserves to be free to be who she is. Burn that closet down, Becks! Burn it down and dance on the ashes!

        2. Incomitatus

          Quite right, of course. I was being sarcastic and perhaps failing to convey that.

        3. Smiling Cat

          Nah, it came through fine. I was agreeing with you.

      2. Disloyal Subject

        She’s been kind of an ass about it, her enthusiasm overriding whatever tact she may even possess. There’s a time and a place for everything, and I’d like to think that most people don’t give a damn what plumbing you’re into if you so long as you stay out of their way.
        That said, she can be at LEAST partially excused, considering the emotional high she’s got to be riding after shrugging off all that repression and her own ignorance.
        Case in point.

    5. Clare

      “she charged screaming out of the closet”
      how is that a bad thing? She finally got out of a shitty repressive situation where she couldn’t be herself, of course she is going to loudly and proudly declare who she is.
      Try harder to hide your lesbophobia brah, you’re not doing a very good job

    6. Cerberus

      Pfft, ok, this is one of the more amusing versions of the Becky can do no right brigade.

      Also she didn’t “charge screaming from the closet”, she nuked the closet from orbit. If you’re going to interpret every single action by a character in the worst possible light, you could at least get that part right.

    7. B.D

      Nah, she’s acting like how your average 18 year old is positive they don’t act (and makes exceptions for when they do).

      It’s… kinda depressing how saying anything bad about Becky, regardless of whether it is actually negative or malicious at all, gets you some fast, cheap heat in the comments.

      1. Smiling Cat

        Calling someone stupid and without empathy isn’t malicious?

        Gods I hate that with us or against us mentality.

      2. Spencer

        Look if the comments were just “I don’t like Becky. She’s annoying” that’d be one thing. But we have constant attacks on her character for daring to not go out and immediately find employment after being kicked out of her school, being treated like a sponge because Joyce took her in, and constantly, fucking constantly, getting judged for getting a haircut instead of investing 20$ into the magical job fountain just down the street.

        I’m feeling the Becklash myself but there’s a fucking difference here, dude.

    8. Kryss LaBryn

      Sooo… Your stereotypical freshman, then, is what you’re saying? 😀

  24. Someone

    The good news is that they don’t mean Hail Satan as in praise Satan, but mean Hard pieces of ice that fall from clouds and have pitchforks and devil horns.

  25. Bainick

    Paul Hogan has a lot to answer for with that Shrimp on the Barbie thing.

    1. neeks

      Heh. I remember idly mentioning to an online friend that I was going to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner. Said friend is actually from Australia, so I then had to explain the restaurant chain to him. “Basically as Australian as taco bell is Mexican but with boomerangs on the wall”

    2. Inspector Hound

      According to IMDB, Paul Hogan had nothing to do with The Shrimp on the Barbie.

      It looks like the director was displeased with the result as he went the “Alan Smithee” route, and Rotten Tomatoes gave it a below-average 40%. Still, I’ve always been curious about the movie. Maybe it’s time to Netflix it.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        It’s fun.

      2. Screwball

        You mean the Crocodile Dundee movies Inspector? Daniel the Human made me watch them to help blend in. That’s not where the “Shrimp on the barbie” came from, but it is where “That’s not a knife, THIS is a knife!” came from. “Shrimp on the barbie” Is from tourism promo adds Paul Hogan were in. Doesn’t do that in Crocodile Dundee movies, but does accidentally get himself labeled as Gay (homosexual) when he meant he was gay (happy, original meaning) :P.

      3. Kryss LaBryn

        Meh. No idea how well it holds up, but in, what, 1986-ish? teenager-me thought it was awesome, and so did my little brother. We made my parents watch it. Dad liked it; Mum complained that we’d already told her all the jokes.

        Might have to check it out again myself. I suspect it’ll hold up about as well as the Indiana Jones movies (take that as you will).

    3. Bill

      “Shrimp on the barbie” originated in a series of television advertisements by the Australian Tourism Commission starring Paul Hogan from 1984 through to 1990.  They — or their ad agency — cooked up the phrase; Hogan was just the actor who uttered it.  They might had used Mel Gibson or Olivia Newton-John, but they were already established stars and would have cost more money that Hogan, who was a relative unknown when the campaign began in 1984.

      The movie of the same name, which starred Cheech Marin (Hogan had no connection to it whatsoever, not even as an uncredited extra or in a cameo appearance), came out in 1990 as the ad campaign was winding down.

      1. Agemegos

        I wouldn’t have said that Paul Hogan was obscure at all in 1984. He had been writer, director, and star of “The Paul Hogan Show” since 1973, and also well-known for advertising Winfield cigarettes. He might not have been well-known in the USA, but he wouldn’t have worked cheap.

        He was probably hired because of his genial and hyper-Aussie image.

  26. Kamino Neko

    Now Becky has me idly wondering if their church do the ‘speaking in tongues’ things.

    1. Screwball

      “Tkjnbfsdfrlkjefkhf…”

      “Is he delusional or just speaking in tongues?”

      “I don’t know, but call the prayer channel anyway, were gonna make millions…”

  27. Tacos

    ALL the accents >:O

  28. Saaaam

    Quick Joyce, think of a bible verse that allows you to lie

    1. Leorale

      God white-lies to Abraham once to preserve peace between Abraham and Sarah. It’s Old Testament, but it’s a good one!

      1. yomi

        IIRC, “You shall not lie” is an oversimplification and what the ten commandments actually say is “You shall not give wrong testemony against your neighbour”. Thus, giving wrong testemony in favour of your neighbour is probably ok.

        1. Agemegos

          Yeah, but there is also Leviticus 19:11 (“Neither lie one to another.”), Proverbs 12:22 (“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.”) Proverbe 24:28 (“Deceive not with thy lips.”), Ephesians 4:25 (“Wherefore putting away lying, speaking every man truth with his neighbour.”), Colossians 3:9 (“Lie not one to another.”), James 3:14 (“Lie not against the truth.”), Revelation 21:8 (“All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.”), and Revelation 21:27 (“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”). Against that you have about seven instances in which God or the Christ lies, or commands someone to lie, or calls someone righteous for a specific lie. Exodus 1:18–20, Joshua 2:4–6 and James 2:25 (same incident), 1 Kings 15:5 and 1 Samuel 21:2 (same incident), 2 King 8:8–10, Tobit 5:16–18, John 7:8–10, and 1 Kings 22:21–22.

      2. HeySo

        When do we get to see the flash-back where Becky was dropped on her head?

        This is a last-panel reference, not a Becky-hate comment.

        1. HeySo

          Ugh, site got super bugged out, even after refreshing a few times, not sure why. Misposted.

  29. Kei

    Sarah’s offhand comment makes me sad. Is there some drama she’s mentioned with her parents that I’m not recalling that would explain her just pretending to love them?

    1. neeks

      This is her first indication that things are less than rosy with her family. So far I think her only mentions of parents have been other people’s parents. But she’s a pretty cynical and observant gal, so it doesn’t strain the imagination to think that she’s had the revelation of parents being fallible humans already, plus plenty of parents do things that would lead their kids to basically fake affection till they can get the heck out of dodge. (See: Becky, for that matter.)

      1. Leorale

        She also once expressed desire to get adopted by Dina’s family just for the peace and quiet.

        1. Rycan

          And she was already cynical when entering college; her experience with Dana only made it worse.

    2. Nono

      The funny thing I noticed is that you could remove Sarah from the last panel entirely, and the joke would be completely unaffected.

    3. DarkoNeko

      [Theory. Lowish chances] It’s possible that she got that scholarship not because her family has money problem, but because her family was against her studying away and she had to take the burden of all of it.

      1. barefootbiker

        I believe her scholarship is merit-based (at least primarily– some merit-based scholarships are also dependent on need) since during the Dana flashback arc she was in fear of losing it. Additionally, if her family was really against her studying, they could simply refuse to fill out the necessary documentation and make it impossible for her to receive ANY aid or student loans (at least, this happened to a family member of mine in the ’80s– rules may be different now). As such, it’s more likely that her family couldn’t afford college without the merit-based aid she’s receiving, although there’s a possibility that Sarah simply left home long enough before college not to be considered a dependent and was therefore allowed to apply for aid herself.

        1. HeySo

          Rules aren’t different.
          Until you’re legally an adult (That is to say, 24, ignore the 21 and 17/18 ones), unless you’re emancipated, you need a parent to sign off on financial contracts, including auto rentals and student loans.

          Since scholarships are routed through schools, it’s difficult to get one solely because your parents have non-financial objections to your schooling.
          Basic aid/loans would be impossible without parental sign-off, but in theory, you might be able to loophole a scholarship [mainly since it doesn’t require being paid back, so shouldn’t require the 24 age mark, the through-school-bureaucracy for all aid aside.]

        2. HeySo

          Well, for auto rentals, it can be any >24 adult, not a parent, I think, but same principle.

        3. Kelly

          You are legally an adult at 18. Restrictions above that, like the 21 age requirement for alcohol are simply restrictions upon certain classes of adults.

        4. yomi

          I cannot help but feel happy I don’t live in the USA. In Germany we are allowed to drink beer and wine with 16, any alcohol with 18 and get full capacity to sign contracts with 18, too. But should we commit a crime between the age of 18 and 21, the judges can decide to use the lighter youth’s law if they think you’re not all that mature.

        5. HeySo

          Speaking as a German-Born US native, I totally agree that German legal structure is far better :X

        6. HeySo

          It’s a terminology issue. You’re thinking of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_majority , I’m thinking of legal age subsets.
          While my phrasing was terrible- I meant, ‘an adult for all legal purposes’- and you were thus ‘more right’, your phrasing was also questionable.
          See also: Age of consent.

          😛

        7. DarkoNeko

          Hmm ok.

    4. Agemegos

      I don’t take her quite seriously. It’s sardonic humour: bitter, but not meant seriously.

  30. neeks

    And then Joyce’s finger slips and she accidentally rejects the call.

    1. Someone

      Couldn’t she just call her mom back?

      1. Kryss LaBryn

        Let it go to voice, then text her mum back.

        <>

        MUCH easier to lie in text where you don’t have vocal tone and don’t need to make split-second decisions about what to say, let alone be able to consult anyone else on how to reply…

        1. Kryss LaBryn

          Oh blast, I forgot about the markup tags. It should have said, “Hi Mom sorry I missed your call I’m in the bathroom had a bad taco will be here for a while whats up”

    2. Rycan

      Embarrassing when that actually happens.

  31. maxyai

    Quick, Becky! Use your lesbian accent.

    1. JessWitt

      So speak in Greek? Recite some Sapphic verses? Does she even know who Sappho is?

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Given her passion for the subject, I’m sure she’ll learn eventually.
        She might already, actually; a preacher might’ve thrown a few choice words about her into a sermon, or she could’ve googled “lesbian” and clicked on Wikipedia.

  32. 6Qubed

    Becky wouldn’t know subtlety if it ran up and slugged her in the face.

    1. MeghanTheWorldEater

      I don’t think that’d be very subtle.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        That’s what makes it so subtle, see; it’s the last thing you’d expect from subtlety!

        1. Disloyal Subject

          …apparently I failed to properly grasp the SUBTLETY of html this morning. Sleeping might have been a good idea.

      2. Bill

        Subtle as a chainsaw.

  33. Rycan

    Becky, Becky, Becky. This just isn’t working; you don’t fit in.

    That’s a leather jacket, and you’re clearly in a Sweater Only Zone. Get out.

    1. MadHiro

      Yeah; it’s a well known fact that people wearing different sorts of clothing shouldn’t, in fact, can’t peacefully co-exist. The Woolites will inevitably rise up and destroy the Leather-Clad.

  34. Koms

    Mr. Willis, I can’t tell you how much I like those jumping eyebrows. 😀

  35. Charles Phipps

    Sarah’s statement is the most depressing thing I’ve heard all day.

    1. Bagge

      That would make her proud

  36. Daibhid C

    Becky does the best Anglo-Irish immigrant to Australia who grew up on the Mexico-Georgia border.

    (Of course there is. It’s not far from Five Corners near Springfield.)

  37. Abel Undercity

    Seriously? If, as a kid, I didn’t try to… er, let’s say “embellish” at least one part of a story my parents would think something was wrong with me.

    1. Agemegos

      No, not seriously at all, I think. Sarah is expressing herself ironically in pursuit of sardonic humour.

  38. OnyxIdol

    Joyce’s freakout faces are the best.

  39. Fred

    Having just reread this, I’ve found myself reaching the odd conclusion that Mike and Joyce would be perfect together.

  40. Thomas

    I met a real-life version of Becky on the subway the other day. Redhead, haircut exactly the same. Resisted temptation to direct her to DoA website.

    1. HeySo

      I don’t understand why you resisted o.O
      Apologize to Willis for not expanding his victim- er, viewer- base!

      1. John

        ‘Cause going up to strangers on the subway and insisting they look at an Internet site is creepy?

        1. HeySo

          Most strangers’ interactions with me are overwhelmingly creepy, and you know what they say about turnabout.

          Though, in this case, if it’s creepy rather than weird, you’re just doing social interaction wrong.

          “Heeeeeeey, kid. Wanna look at a SPECIAL internet site?”

  41. Martin Smith

    When did Becky learn to flawless imitate Jason’s accent?!

    1. HeySo

      He runs a special seminar.

      Sal shows up to it now and then just to complain how bad it is.

  42. DarkoNeko

    “I can’t lie to my mooom”
    Yeah, because you were so much better at lying to Ruth earlier~ 😀

    1. DarkoNeko

      Also, Becky looks like she’s joking but she’s totally panicking too.

  43. Jimmy

    Sarah’s comments in the last panel make me sad. I know she’s cynical, but to say you pretend you love your parents? I guess I should count myself fortunate I have a great relationship with my parents.

    1. HeySo

      Or you can just openly hate them.

      You’re a lot more fortunate than you’d think, just statistically speaking alone.

    2. OmegaDez

      I do love my parents dearly, but sometimes, I need to do a lot of pretending. Especially when they say things that could be considered totally racist, homophobic or bigoted today, just because they’re so set in their ways and don’t understand sensibilities have changed since the 70s.

    3. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

      Her histrionic levels of moroseness are rarely found coming from perfectly adjusted, drama-free family environments. We know Her grandmother was supportive in her developing an understanding of her sexuality, but that’s it. Mom and Pop may have harder to relate too….Sarah’s dramatics may just be the apple not falling far from the tree.

  44. Alexx

    LET BECKY ANSWER THE PHONE PLEEEEEAAASE.

  45. HeySo

    When do we get to see the flash-back where Becky was dropped on her head?

    This is a last-panel reference, not a Becky-hate comment.

  46. Cerberus

    Heh. Becky is adorable when she’s trying to help.

    Dark thought: I think Becky might be much more aware than Joyce that this little oasis of recovery is a tiny temporary illusion that will be destroyed in the (their time) very quickly approaching future and is trying to summon as much courage as she can for that and create as much of her identity quickly while she is in this oasis and to keep from feeling as terrible as she has been shown to feel about the whole situation (whacky Becky definitely seems like her default method of coping with things. As she said, she’s really good at pretending.)

    I’m thinking specifically of this moment here when I say this:
    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/forever/

    Joyce in her adorable “doing the right thing even when its hard way” seems to very much be in the delusion that there is some magic combination of Becky staying hidden and small (not in an intentionally malicious way, but more out of an earnest desire to protect her friend against impossible odds (i.e. An action worthy of a biblical heroine and what she is often told to aspire to)) and delay tactics that will make this state of affairs sustainable in the long run.

    But it can’t. Eventually Joyce’s mom or her dad will track her down here and try and drag her away to be “fixed” or Sarah is going to hit her limit of having a guest or someone is going to hear of the “girl in Joyce’s room” or someone else in authority is going to intervene or Joyce and Becky just end up not being able to sustain themselves on parts of a meal card and half a bed each and that’s true whether Becky was as “careful” as Joyce would like or not, especially with Joyce’s inability to lie. (I mean, can you imagine Dina casually asking about Joyce’s friend because she heard that’s a friendly gesture to do and Joyce freaking out and acting super guilty and burbling that ha ha, she’s not hiding in my room).

    Heck, this might be the beginning of the end here giving Joyce doesn’t really have it in her to convincingly lie to her mom and the delay tactics are just going to make the family more suspicious the longer she keeps doing this.

    Ironically enough for all the hate that Becky gets for not looking like she’s taking this seriously enough, her methods of protecting the oasis are way more effective more of the time than Joyce’s. Radically changing hair and clothes style is a good way to be less recognizable… Until Joyce introduced her a second time in the hall. And Becky’s early morning shower trip was cool and casual and would probably have been mostly overlooked and she was able to bluff the only person who would care and remember everyone on the floor… Until Joyce had a monumental freakout in the public hall and made it look like something bigger. Heck, her open queerness rather than scared hiding already bailed them out of their first big test and obstacle as Ruth just assumes that meek little Joyce has a regular gf visitor and that’s not really going to get on her radar like a hiding Becky would.

    None of that isn’t to say that what Joyce is doing isn’t heroic, awesome, and well-intentioned, cause it is or that her boundless optimism isn’t a wonderful infectious thing. Heck Joyce has really been everything Becky clearly saw in her (minus the attraction to girls) when she fell in love with her, but rather a comment on just how shitty this situation is (cause its really shitty).

    (And for all the idiots who want to use this comment to jump on their “Becky should have used her $20 to purchase a magical job-vomiting pony house BS”, please just don’t even bother. Having actually lived through a “homelessness or acquiesce to being ‘fixed'” dilemma that was only narrowly avoided, I can’t stress how important it is to have a full sense of self to fall back on to get through times like that.)

    1. B.D

      The comic after that is more indicative of Becky’s ability to accurately view her situation, I think. It is also the main problem with her going out of her way to change her personal style, as it leaves three possibilities: she is fully aware of what she needs to do to “hide”, she is a normal late-teen with a brain that is capable of appropriate amounts of logical and abstract thinking, or she has no idea what she is doing except for what is in the heat of the moment. You seem sure that it’s the first with Becky, and that anyone who believes the third is an idiot; I’m amused that no one considers the middle option, and suspect that it’s indicative of the average readership age here. All three are valid, though, and individual experiences aren’t universal – if they were, there would be one “correct” storyline that the “correct” political party (for example) could tell without fear of contradiction, with everything else being “wrong”.

      Joyce being adorable and heroic and well-intentioned is no excuse for her continuing to make the worst possible choices. Her main flaw is that she’s still too close-minded to see how her actions might play out, and interest in telling a good story makes that unlikely to change for a few real-time years. (Characters who do in fact seem to have a good or full sense of self are either demonized or minimized by the fandom. The adults in this story get no respect, in the Dangerfield sense.) And if this is the Joyce that Becky sees, saying and doing the things that she has, what does that say about her?

      That they’re still young and growing, and capable of making spectacular mistakes on their own. Joyce, to her credit, learns from her mistakes, but is still at the point where she can’t make them and then pull her own ass out of the fire. Her lousy situation doesn’t change the fact that Becky is flying by the seat of her (short for the season) pants here, and she really needs to be called out on it as much as Joyce is. (Ex: Sarah seems to be holding her tongue with Becky, though she at least asked Joyce what her endgame was. Granted, she doesn’t know Becky well at this point.)

      1. Charles Phipps

        I believe Becky is just changing her style because she wants to. Also, I don’t think either have any plans beyond the immediate as making plans to sign Becky up as a student at Indiana University even for just the next semester isn’t that difficult.

  47. MutantSentry

    My 20 month old lies to me all the time, Joyce is really behind here…

  48. HiiroArana79

    Those guy at Shortpacked! must be really giving those danged soggies what for….sigh…. this is pretty cool too tho

  49. brute

    I’ve been having a really stupid day, plagued by my various mental problems to the point where i had to hide in the bathroom so no one would see me shaking and crying at work.
    Then this comic gave me the laugh i needed. thank you, willis (and becky).

  50. Spencer

    So I’m actually dreading the return of the Browns into the plot. They were pretty crappy beforehand, but seeing the way they’ll treat Becky is probably going to hurt bad.

    1. Dara

      I’m hopeful. Like, maybe they’ll send Jocelyn to check up on Joyce instead of showing up themselves, and Jocelyn is an adult who does not live on campus (though I can’t remember what her living situation is) and would more than likely be sympathetic to the situation and possibly be willing and able to help out.

      Also, this would give us more Jocelyn.

  51. Ryuksan2021

    I’m trying to decide if Becky is just wearing boxers, or if those are some form of shorts I’ve as of yet not seen in real life

    1. Orbit Junkie

      They’re shorts. I think Willis may have just forgotten to do the lines on them.

  52. chris73

    Its almost like Becky and joyce have a mother-daughter relationship going on in that Joyce is doing her best to protect Becky but Becky is doing her best to ignore what Joyce is saying and is trying to deliberately make it harder for Joyce

    Even though Beckys actions could potentially harm Joyce in getting her kicked out of school and putting her against her parents

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