Dorothy I don’t think That Is Your Business. While you have known Joe to be a bad person, you aren’t treating Joyce well by acting like she isn’t capable of making informed decisions.
Exactly! Why isn’t Dorothy being supportive of Joyce’s post-Christian sexual awakening?
cbwroses
Dorothy said she wouldn’t judge Joyce for her feelings of lust because they are perfectly normal to have, but she has judged her on the focus of said lust because of the circumstances in which she would be with them, as in Jacob (I can’t remember what she said regarding Ethan).
So it could be the situation, messing with Joe who is a capital H Horndog, that’s the issue and not the lust in and of itself.
Archieve
It’s one thing to be weary of Joe, another thing to be angry and judgmentat at joyce herself simply for finding him attractive.
cbwroses
She also found Jacob attractive, and acted on it, which Dorothy was bothered by.
And based on Joe’s track record, if Joyce acts on her attraction with him, Dorothy won’t even have time to lecture her about all the reasons she feels that it’s wrong.
It’s not just the feeling that’s the problem for her.
And I speculate that she also doesn’t want to deal with the inevitable (in her opinion) fallout.
Wraithy2773
Her objection to the whole Jacob situation wasn’t “Joyce is attracted to this hunk of a man”, rather a lot more “…dudette, he’s got a girlfriend that he seems entirely happy with, trying to break them up like this is massively fucked up”.
You know, because it was massively fucked up.
cbwroses
Yes. The actions beyond just the lust.
Lusting after someone in a relationship isn’t a big deal.
Trying to steal said person from that relationship is.
Finding Joe attractive isn’t a big deal, but any actions beyond that would be a big deal in her eyes, and Joyce’s track record is to actually go after those she’s attracted to.
thejeff
Going after someone she’s attracted to wouldn’t be a big deal on its own to Dorothy. At least I don’t think so.
It ties back to her perception of Joe as a serious creep. Nothing that came up during the lunch or that Joyce said afterwards gave her any reason to think Joe has changed. Now she sees that Joyce is crushing so hard she’s not likely to be clear headed about Joe’s character.
StClair
Dorothy says, and even means (at the time), a lot of things.
However, some of those things turn out to not be true.
Even Dorothy must realize that Joyce knows all about Joes reputation by now
Wraithy2773
I wager that’s the source of the scowl. This feels a lot more like “dang it, Joyce, you should be smarter than this” than anything puritanical.
Needfuldoer
Little does she realize Joyce has seen through Joe’s façade.
Daibhid C
I don’t think she even realises Joe has a façade. Like, she’s known him her whole life, and he’s never given her any reason to think that this isn’t just who he is.
Matthew Davis
I don’t think Joe thinks it isn’t who he is. Joyce has gotten through the facade and joe is desparately afraid he’s going to hurt her because he is No Good without realizing that that worry is precisely why he isn’t.
thejeff
Probably. That worry doesn’t necessary prevent it.
He could, for example, be well intentioned but have poor impulse control. Leading to him cheating and then feeling guilty without ever really planning on it.
I don’t think that’s what he’ll be like, but it’s a reasonable concern for him.
And it would be understandable if she voiced her concerns in a calm non judgmental manner. “Look Joyce, I have known Joe for a while and I am worried that he might hurt you.”
thejeff
She might well have been building up to that, but Joyce got all flustered thinking about scaling Mt. Joe and ran off.
DrunkenNordmann
Mt Joe would be a funny name for a real mountain and I’m disappointed nobody seems to have thought of naming one that.
Needfuldoer
Joyce just started blushing even harder at just the thought of “Mt. Joe”.
Her behavior isn’t a problem. Even her concern in this specific case is not necessarily a problem, because it’s actually based on an assessment of how Joe has acted for as long as she’s known him, which is somewhat longer than Joyce has.
However, her expression as she asked suggests that her motivation for asking and her ability to handle her feelings are somewhat lacking.
Well, yes, she only has one line of dialogue in this particular comic and that one line isn’t bad. Nor is her having reservations about Joe in previous comics. I totally get that.
What chafes me and I think others is someone else trying to be the arbiter of what is or is not a good choice for you, and that definitely feels to me like the trajectory this conversation is going through.
Well-intentioned overbearingness on Dorothy’s part has sort of been the theme of this book, after all. I could be wrong of course but I think that this is part of the road to getting Dorothy some character development beyond just her academic ambitions/woes.
Keep in mind, for the whole comic, Joyce has been implying all the relationship things she wants to do to, with, do with, Dorothy. And now, single for how long?, Dottie has kinda gotten into the idea that maybe… Then suddenly, a wild Joe appears. And, he’s sniffing around HER Joyce!
The fact that J&J have been orbiting each other for also the whole comic has escaped Dottie. Just a little.
I know a lot of y’all think Dorothy’s opening up to the idea of not being a 0 on the scale anymore, and she has already stated in conversation with Joyce that sexuality is fluid when Joyce tried to unalive herself via Ruth by commenting on her being with Jason, but I just don’t see it.
It just comes off as wishful thinking to me, but I am prepared to admit I’m wrong if it ever comes up.
GholaHalleck
I’m seeing it more as Dotty’s trying to step into the “Cool mom” shoes, and being blissfully unaware of how stereotypically degrading she is towards Joyce’s ability to be a grown ass woman. First though “Poor baby christian doesn’t know how Real World” Then through “Poor baby autistic doesn’t know how Real World”
She’s a “I will be the savior” politician.
Plonker
I really hate that kind of politician.
Then again, I’d hate for a friend of mine to try to mom me, like really cheeze me off. And Joyce seems to, mostly, appreciate that side of Dotty. What rebellion I’ve seen so far have seemed more like mom-teenage daughter than a disagreement between friends.
Daibhid C
I’m seeing it more as Dorothy mostly just being bewildered that Joyce — Joyce who hired Mike to punch Joe, Joyce who found being a 0 on the Do List to be a badge of honour — Joyce — is attracted to Joe. And, yes, there’s a questioning of Joyce’s judgement in there — because she questions the judgement of any woman who’s attracted to Joe, but up til now this has mostly been people she didn’t care about.
thejeff
Honestly, has Dorothy actually seen anyone being attracted to Joe? She knows about Roz, of course, but that’s all I can think of. And that was after the fact.
Matthew Davis
I think that fits her characterization a lot better. The bi/lesbian awakening angle feels like the expectations of people raised on fandom ships rather than something that comes organically out of the character as a whole person.
If everybody thought that nobody else’s business was theirs, every member of the human race would die alone and we would be gone within one generation.
Asking “do you like joe?” and watching a virgin implode from the mere existence of a hormone does not seem like wrong behavior on Dorothy’s part. Is that just me?
Everyone getting in Dorothy’s face because she’s angry. Dorothy hasn’t expressed _why_ she’s angry, and it’s entirely possible that she’s angry at the situation and the trainwreck she perceives, but isn’t mad a Joyce. i.e. “Mad” and “Joyce is present” isn’t the same as being mad *at* Joyce.
Absolutely, completely, and totally HERE for the Joyce-written comics of the Amorous Adventures of (the not-at-all-autobiographical character) Julia Gray! Coming SOON to Slipshine!
I mean I’m not sure Dorothy has much justification for being angry at Joyce for her own feelings here. Dorothy asked a question and got her response. I know she’s got good reason to be suspicious of Joe but 5th panel in particular looks like it’s Joyce she is angry and judgemental at for finding Joe attractive.
I think Dorothy is mad and disappointed that Joyce would like a guy like Joe knowing how big a horndog he is (from Dorothy’s perspective).
As the mom friend, she wants Joyce to do and be “better” (and probably doesn’t want to deal with the “inevitable” fallout when Joyce’s fire sexual relationship goes to ?).
Archieve
I think it’s telling she didn’t give Joyce this level of judgment when dating Ethan a gay man or trying to break up a relationship but interest in a single man with no sexual shame is making Dorothy glare? Also she had this same reaction to Joyce not immediately thanking her for art supplies and towards Jennifer helping Joyce so I don’t think this is only about Joe being horny. It’s equally if not more about Dorothy being possessive now that the object of Joyce’s desire is someone who has a real chance at being her first real relationship.
cbwroses
Except Dorothy doesn’t come off as having romantic or sexual feelings for Joyce to me, so what’s there to be possessive of.
Becky or Sarah would be more of a target if that’s the case.
As for Jennifer, she said why she was mad, that she didn’t like the insinuation that she wanted to take credit for helping/didn’t like someone else helping and also didn’t like how Jennifer would show up but wouldn’t help out after setting stuff in motion.
The motivations are different.
Archieve
Dorothy’s possessiveness of joyce doesn’t have to be romantic or sexual, as the mom friend she tends to micromanage others lives regardless and get frustrated when things dont go as she had planned. She had this same reaction to joyce skipping class with liz, tracking her down to regsin control. While Jennifer being smug about her one time helping was annoying, as Jennifer herself noted Dorothy’s outburst was way out of proportion to the offense. In all cases Dorothys anger revolves around joyce changing her routine in some way be it agreeing to go with Jennifer to a walk in instead of letting Dorothy book for her, skipping class once to hang out with someone else or favoring somebody else’s attention over her own (joe). Even if not romantic I think Jennifer was on to something when she suggested that Dorothy thinks of Joyce as ‘hers.’
cbwroses
Except she hasn’t been shown to favor Joe’s attention over Dorothy’s.
And skipping class was something completely out of character for Joyce, not to mention continuing as expected would mean hanging out with the new couple solo, so she could stay the course, do something else, or check in on her friend who was behaving abnormally (remember that everyone was shocked by Joyce skipping class, not just Dorothy).
I’d put it on her thinking Joyce isn’t adult enough to make her own decisions before I’d put it on possessiveness. That’s just as bad, though.
Archieve
Mom style possessiveness can actually go hand in hand with the mentality that somebody isn’t adult enough to make their own decisions though. Dorothy knew joyce was skipping to hang out with Sarah and her family so there really wasnt any valid concern except that joyce was making a deciesion on her own that dorothy didn’t like, becky might have been the most vocal but Dorothy agreed with and enabled her, plus a quick message to joyce and Sarah would have been fine for checking in, they instead tracked her down like she was a runnaway child. Joyce hasn’t actually been favoring anybody yet but Dorothy is used to being Joyce’s closest friend alongside Becky and isn’t used to having a third person to compete with.
HueSatLight
With Ethan and Jacob, Dorothy was disappointed in Joyce’s moral decisions. Here, Joyce isn’t doing anything immoral, and she knows Joe, she’s not doing poor judgement from being naive. I think Dorothy’s mad because Joyce likes Joe as a person and Dorothy doesn’t. Joyce isn’t deferring to her judgment, and Dorothy’s jealous of her influence over her. The “our good friend Joe” part is why she’s angry, Joyce being super horny for him is salt in the wound.
Anyways, remember how when Dorothy was seeing Walky and Joyce kept saying she was too good for him? Feels like Dorothy’s not going to be much different.
Vanessa
It seems clear me that Dorothy is under a lot of academic stress and hasn’t healed from the kidnapping either. She’s been on her last nerve for a bit. She’s had high expectations for herself and for her friends that are being disappointed. This crabbiness is probably better than pretending everything is fine until she explodes.
thejeff
She didn’t know about Joyce dating Ethan (or about him being gay, one of the two) until after the fact. It was a thing that Joyce was worried about what Dorothy would say if she found out.
There was also a whole thing with Dorothy trying to talk Joyce out of going after Jacob once she found out about it. After the lunch with Raidah.
Archieve
She actually did know about Ethan being gay I recall she had a breif discussion with walky about it but never confronted Joyc e. With Jacob yes she did attempt to talk Joyce out if it but she wasn’t giving Joyce the same level of anger/ disapproval as she is here. It was more just basic disappointment.
thejeff
I’d have to check the sequence of events, but I’m pretty sure it was a plot point that she didn’t know about Ethan while they were dating. Digging back, that talk with Walky was right after she’d figured it out and right after Joyce had broken up with Ethan following the freakout in class.
I don’t get where people are seeing anger in Dorothy’s eyes here. That’s much more of an Annoyed scowl than anything to me, a “don’t you know what Joe is, dang it” type expression. She just seems more annoyed that Joyce should know better than this, that she should know what sort of person Joe is.
Of course, we know that Joyce has a more secret line on who Joe actually is now, because Dorothy’s had little to do with him over the last six months (which given the massive jackass that he was at the start of the school year, is entirely valid). But all she’s hearing from Joyce here is what a hunk Joe is, probably something she heard plenty of times back in High School from his eventual victims…
cbwroses
The eyebrow’s in panel 5 seem too slanted for mere annoyance to me, but that could just be the angle of her face being partially turned towards us.
GholaHalleck
It reeks of “Oh great, another mess **I’ll** have to clean up because a friend can’t be responsible for themselves”
that Much Put Upon Friend who intentionally makes everything their business to “Fix” because God Forfend anyone else has agency.
268 thoughts on “Regular science”
BBCC
Oh boy. Curious where this is gonna go.
Clif
Yeah, I’m confused about what she’s getting lost in.
Exactly, I mean. The general tenor is pretty clear.
Mancuso
His paaaants
Erik
I mean, she probably could
Lars
Turning Saints Into the Sea. It’s in the title 🙂
ValdVin
Another comic arc with a break that says “Five years later”.
pickonecard
Dorothy I don’t think That Is Your Business. While you have known Joe to be a bad person, you aren’t treating Joyce well by acting like she isn’t capable of making informed decisions.
Archieve
For somebody who once assured Joyce that she would never judge her for her own desires she does look quite judgmental here.
Meagan
Exactly! Why isn’t Dorothy being supportive of Joyce’s post-Christian sexual awakening?
cbwroses
Dorothy said she wouldn’t judge Joyce for her feelings of lust because they are perfectly normal to have, but she has judged her on the focus of said lust because of the circumstances in which she would be with them, as in Jacob (I can’t remember what she said regarding Ethan).
So it could be the situation, messing with Joe who is a capital H Horndog, that’s the issue and not the lust in and of itself.
Archieve
It’s one thing to be weary of Joe, another thing to be angry and judgmentat at joyce herself simply for finding him attractive.
cbwroses
She also found Jacob attractive, and acted on it, which Dorothy was bothered by.
And based on Joe’s track record, if Joyce acts on her attraction with him, Dorothy won’t even have time to lecture her about all the reasons she feels that it’s wrong.
It’s not just the feeling that’s the problem for her.
And I speculate that she also doesn’t want to deal with the inevitable (in her opinion) fallout.
Wraithy2773
Her objection to the whole Jacob situation wasn’t “Joyce is attracted to this hunk of a man”, rather a lot more “…dudette, he’s got a girlfriend that he seems entirely happy with, trying to break them up like this is massively fucked up”.
You know, because it was massively fucked up.
cbwroses
Yes. The actions beyond just the lust.
Lusting after someone in a relationship isn’t a big deal.
Trying to steal said person from that relationship is.
Finding Joe attractive isn’t a big deal, but any actions beyond that would be a big deal in her eyes, and Joyce’s track record is to actually go after those she’s attracted to.
thejeff
Going after someone she’s attracted to wouldn’t be a big deal on its own to Dorothy. At least I don’t think so.
It ties back to her perception of Joe as a serious creep. Nothing that came up during the lunch or that Joyce said afterwards gave her any reason to think Joe has changed. Now she sees that Joyce is crushing so hard she’s not likely to be clear headed about Joe’s character.
StClair
Dorothy says, and even means (at the time), a lot of things.
However, some of those things turn out to not be true.
Yoder of Kansas
She’s not judging her desires, just who she want’s to do those desires with
Kyrik Michalowski
Except she has probably seen other girls get taken in by his appearance and charm without realizing Joe in the past was a dirtbag.
shrub
Even Dorothy must realize that Joyce knows all about Joes reputation by now
Wraithy2773
I wager that’s the source of the scowl. This feels a lot more like “dang it, Joyce, you should be smarter than this” than anything puritanical.
Needfuldoer
Little does she realize Joyce has seen through Joe’s façade.
Daibhid C
I don’t think she even realises Joe has a façade. Like, she’s known him her whole life, and he’s never given her any reason to think that this isn’t just who he is.
Matthew Davis
I don’t think Joe thinks it isn’t who he is. Joyce has gotten through the facade and joe is desparately afraid he’s going to hurt her because he is No Good without realizing that that worry is precisely why he isn’t.
thejeff
Probably. That worry doesn’t necessary prevent it.
He could, for example, be well intentioned but have poor impulse control. Leading to him cheating and then feeling guilty without ever really planning on it.
I don’t think that’s what he’ll be like, but it’s a reasonable concern for him.
Queezle
And it would be understandable if she voiced her concerns in a calm non judgmental manner. “Look Joyce, I have known Joe for a while and I am worried that he might hurt you.”
thejeff
She might well have been building up to that, but Joyce got all flustered thinking about scaling Mt. Joe and ran off.
DrunkenNordmann
Mt Joe would be a funny name for a real mountain and I’m disappointed nobody seems to have thought of naming one that.
Needfuldoer
Joyce just started blushing even harder at just the thought of “Mt. Joe”.
Leorale
Dorothy isn’t overstepping in this particular comic. She’s asking Joyce how she feels.
Uly
Her behavior isn’t a problem. Even her concern in this specific case is not necessarily a problem, because it’s actually based on an assessment of how Joe has acted for as long as she’s known him, which is somewhat longer than Joyce has.
However, her expression as she asked suggests that her motivation for asking and her ability to handle her feelings are somewhat lacking.
Moon
Well, yes, she only has one line of dialogue in this particular comic and that one line isn’t bad. Nor is her having reservations about Joe in previous comics. I totally get that.
What chafes me and I think others is someone else trying to be the arbiter of what is or is not a good choice for you, and that definitely feels to me like the trajectory this conversation is going through.
Well-intentioned overbearingness on Dorothy’s part has sort of been the theme of this book, after all. I could be wrong of course but I think that this is part of the road to getting Dorothy some character development beyond just her academic ambitions/woes.
jeffepp
Keep in mind, for the whole comic, Joyce has been implying all the relationship things she wants to do to, with, do with, Dorothy. And now, single for how long?, Dottie has kinda gotten into the idea that maybe… Then suddenly, a wild Joe appears. And, he’s sniffing around HER Joyce!
The fact that J&J have been orbiting each other for also the whole comic has escaped Dottie. Just a little.
cbwroses
I know a lot of y’all think Dorothy’s opening up to the idea of not being a 0 on the scale anymore, and she has already stated in conversation with Joyce that sexuality is fluid when Joyce tried to unalive herself via Ruth by commenting on her being with Jason, but I just don’t see it.
It just comes off as wishful thinking to me, but I am prepared to admit I’m wrong if it ever comes up.
GholaHalleck
I’m seeing it more as Dotty’s trying to step into the “Cool mom” shoes, and being blissfully unaware of how stereotypically degrading she is towards Joyce’s ability to be a grown ass woman. First though “Poor baby christian doesn’t know how Real World” Then through “Poor baby autistic doesn’t know how Real World”
She’s a “I will be the savior” politician.
Plonker
I really hate that kind of politician.
Then again, I’d hate for a friend of mine to try to mom me, like really cheeze me off. And Joyce seems to, mostly, appreciate that side of Dotty. What rebellion I’ve seen so far have seemed more like mom-teenage daughter than a disagreement between friends.
Daibhid C
I’m seeing it more as Dorothy mostly just being bewildered that Joyce — Joyce who hired Mike to punch Joe, Joyce who found being a 0 on the Do List to be a badge of honour — Joyce — is attracted to Joe. And, yes, there’s a questioning of Joyce’s judgement in there — because she questions the judgement of any woman who’s attracted to Joe, but up til now this has mostly been people she didn’t care about.
thejeff
Honestly, has Dorothy actually seen anyone being attracted to Joe? She knows about Roz, of course, but that’s all I can think of. And that was after the fact.
Matthew Davis
I think that fits her characterization a lot better. The bi/lesbian awakening angle feels like the expectations of people raised on fandom ships rather than something that comes organically out of the character as a whole person.
Bajj
I agree that this gives Mom Vibes more than jealous vibes.
thejeff
Mom vibes, yes. But also pretty standard women look out for each other when it comes to the local creeps vibes.
Amelie Wikström
If everybody thought that nobody else’s business was theirs, every member of the human race would die alone and we would be gone within one generation.
Uly
I fail to see the problem with this.
Taffy
If we all died, you wouldn’t have a place to morally scrutinise webcomic characters. What kind of a future is that?
Clif
Inconceivable.
Yotomoe
I don’t have anything interesting to add. I just saw a lotta replies to this post and I wanted to be one of them.
cbwroses
One of us! One of us!
Needfuldoer
Resistance is futile.
Bajj
Asking “do you like joe?” and watching a virgin implode from the mere existence of a hormone does not seem like wrong behavior on Dorothy’s part. Is that just me?
Decidedly Orthogonal
Everyone getting in Dorothy’s face because she’s angry. Dorothy hasn’t expressed _why_ she’s angry, and it’s entirely possible that she’s angry at the situation and the trainwreck she perceives, but isn’t mad a Joyce. i.e. “Mad” and “Joyce is present” isn’t the same as being mad *at* Joyce.
The Wellerman
Oh yeah!!!! Let’s science this again!!!! ??
Matthew Davis
Somewhere, Dina’s ears perk up without knowing why.
Doctor_Who
“On top of Mt. Joe-ky – all covered with…Joyce.”
Ana Chronistic
mountain
(not to scale)
Nova
This is an amazing joke. A+
Rose by Any Other Name
You go Joyce. Write those comics. Slipshine will be waiting for you when they’re done.
Steamweed
Absolutely, completely, and totally HERE for the Joyce-written comics of the Amorous Adventures of (the not-at-all-autobiographical character) Julia Gray! Coming SOON to Slipshine!
Kyrik Michalowski
Can you scowl a little more there Dorothy? That being said, in her position I would be annoyed and angry so I can’t say much.
Archieve
I mean I’m not sure Dorothy has much justification for being angry at Joyce for her own feelings here. Dorothy asked a question and got her response. I know she’s got good reason to be suspicious of Joe but 5th panel in particular looks like it’s Joyce she is angry and judgemental at for finding Joe attractive.
cbwroses
I think Dorothy is mad and disappointed that Joyce would like a guy like Joe knowing how big a horndog he is (from Dorothy’s perspective).
As the mom friend, she wants Joyce to do and be “better” (and probably doesn’t want to deal with the “inevitable” fallout when Joyce’s fire sexual relationship goes to ?).
Archieve
I think it’s telling she didn’t give Joyce this level of judgment when dating Ethan a gay man or trying to break up a relationship but interest in a single man with no sexual shame is making Dorothy glare? Also she had this same reaction to Joyce not immediately thanking her for art supplies and towards Jennifer helping Joyce so I don’t think this is only about Joe being horny. It’s equally if not more about Dorothy being possessive now that the object of Joyce’s desire is someone who has a real chance at being her first real relationship.
cbwroses
Except Dorothy doesn’t come off as having romantic or sexual feelings for Joyce to me, so what’s there to be possessive of.
Becky or Sarah would be more of a target if that’s the case.
As for Jennifer, she said why she was mad, that she didn’t like the insinuation that she wanted to take credit for helping/didn’t like someone else helping and also didn’t like how Jennifer would show up but wouldn’t help out after setting stuff in motion.
The motivations are different.
Archieve
Dorothy’s possessiveness of joyce doesn’t have to be romantic or sexual, as the mom friend she tends to micromanage others lives regardless and get frustrated when things dont go as she had planned. She had this same reaction to joyce skipping class with liz, tracking her down to regsin control. While Jennifer being smug about her one time helping was annoying, as Jennifer herself noted Dorothy’s outburst was way out of proportion to the offense. In all cases Dorothys anger revolves around joyce changing her routine in some way be it agreeing to go with Jennifer to a walk in instead of letting Dorothy book for her, skipping class once to hang out with someone else or favoring somebody else’s attention over her own (joe). Even if not romantic I think Jennifer was on to something when she suggested that Dorothy thinks of Joyce as ‘hers.’
cbwroses
Except she hasn’t been shown to favor Joe’s attention over Dorothy’s.
And skipping class was something completely out of character for Joyce, not to mention continuing as expected would mean hanging out with the new couple solo, so she could stay the course, do something else, or check in on her friend who was behaving abnormally (remember that everyone was shocked by Joyce skipping class, not just Dorothy).
I’d put it on her thinking Joyce isn’t adult enough to make her own decisions before I’d put it on possessiveness. That’s just as bad, though.
Archieve
Mom style possessiveness can actually go hand in hand with the mentality that somebody isn’t adult enough to make their own decisions though. Dorothy knew joyce was skipping to hang out with Sarah and her family so there really wasnt any valid concern except that joyce was making a deciesion on her own that dorothy didn’t like, becky might have been the most vocal but Dorothy agreed with and enabled her, plus a quick message to joyce and Sarah would have been fine for checking in, they instead tracked her down like she was a runnaway child. Joyce hasn’t actually been favoring anybody yet but Dorothy is used to being Joyce’s closest friend alongside Becky and isn’t used to having a third person to compete with.
HueSatLight
With Ethan and Jacob, Dorothy was disappointed in Joyce’s moral decisions. Here, Joyce isn’t doing anything immoral, and she knows Joe, she’s not doing poor judgement from being naive. I think Dorothy’s mad because Joyce likes Joe as a person and Dorothy doesn’t. Joyce isn’t deferring to her judgment, and Dorothy’s jealous of her influence over her. The “our good friend Joe” part is why she’s angry, Joyce being super horny for him is salt in the wound.
Anyways, remember how when Dorothy was seeing Walky and Joyce kept saying she was too good for him? Feels like Dorothy’s not going to be much different.
Vanessa
It seems clear me that Dorothy is under a lot of academic stress and hasn’t healed from the kidnapping either. She’s been on her last nerve for a bit. She’s had high expectations for herself and for her friends that are being disappointed. This crabbiness is probably better than pretending everything is fine until she explodes.
thejeff
She didn’t know about Joyce dating Ethan (or about him being gay, one of the two) until after the fact. It was a thing that Joyce was worried about what Dorothy would say if she found out.
There was also a whole thing with Dorothy trying to talk Joyce out of going after Jacob once she found out about it. After the lunch with Raidah.
Archieve
She actually did know about Ethan being gay I recall she had a breif discussion with walky about it but never confronted Joyc e. With Jacob yes she did attempt to talk Joyce out if it but she wasn’t giving Joyce the same level of anger/ disapproval as she is here. It was more just basic disappointment.
thejeff
I’d have to check the sequence of events, but I’m pretty sure it was a plot point that she didn’t know about Ethan while they were dating. Digging back, that talk with Walky was right after she’d figured it out and right after Joyce had broken up with Ethan following the freakout in class.
Wraithy2773
I don’t get where people are seeing anger in Dorothy’s eyes here. That’s much more of an Annoyed scowl than anything to me, a “don’t you know what Joe is, dang it” type expression. She just seems more annoyed that Joyce should know better than this, that she should know what sort of person Joe is.
Of course, we know that Joyce has a more secret line on who Joe actually is now, because Dorothy’s had little to do with him over the last six months (which given the massive jackass that he was at the start of the school year, is entirely valid). But all she’s hearing from Joyce here is what a hunk Joe is, probably something she heard plenty of times back in High School from his eventual victims…
cbwroses
The eyebrow’s in panel 5 seem too slanted for mere annoyance to me, but that could just be the angle of her face being partially turned towards us.
GholaHalleck
It reeks of “Oh great, another mess **I’ll** have to clean up because a friend can’t be responsible for themselves”
that Much Put Upon Friend who intentionally makes everything their business to “Fix” because God Forfend anyone else has agency.