281

Story
Posted on April 23, 2015 by David M Willis

281 thoughts on “Story”

  1. DarkoNeko

    Ok, this. This really hurts ;_;

    1. otusasio451

      My emotions! MY EMOTIONS!!!

      1. Someone

        Im not gonna cry, im not gonna cry

        1. L33tmaster

          its ok
          you can cry i know i am, it’s kinda like when i watched angel beats and everyone was “graduating” it just brought me to tears.

        2. Aisling

          Angel Beats made me cry as much as the last few eps of Haibane Renmei

        3. DarkoNeko

          Oh, you have probably a few more pages to be convinced 🙂

        4. WikiDreamer

          *hands brownie tray* Just take it already

        5. TIl

          I felt tears.

      2. Najanaja

        Eerily relevant considering the context in which Troy said that ;_;

      3. Arianod

        Them feels TwT

    2. Saru

      On the bright side, at least now one person from her original support network back home knows about this.

      1. Screwball

        …And more useful backup is always good…

        1. DarkoNeko

          Don’t worry, Walky’s on his way.

      2. Random832

        You mean that support network that’s going to send Becky to pray-the-gay-away camp if she ever goes back home?

        1. Saru

          Luckily Becky’s at least 18 and seems to have a well-developed sense of self, so I don’t think that’d really go down how her family expected it to.

  2. Knifleman

    Welp.

  3. Kris

    Well there it is then.

    1. Yet_One_More_Idiot

      Incoming consolatory hugs! ^^

      1. Screwball

        Sympathy via light physical contact

  4. Jen Aside

    “OMG Joyce I’m so sorry!!!!! NO ONE should have to drink Sierra Mist!!!!!!!”

    1. Kris

      Seriously they didn’t have a single Sprite at that party!

      1. grantimusmax

        Could’ve been worse. Could’ve been Shasta.

        1. Tacos

          It could be Faygo instead.

        2. Black Bumblebee

          Tab. Nuff said.

        3. Julez

          At least it wasn’t Squirt

        4. Cory

          Well it was almost going to be squirt but then Sarah showed up.

        5. Les

          @ Cory – there was some of his blood squirting but I don’t think that was the body fluid he originally had in mind…..

        6. Charlie Spencer

          I’m with BB. Tab is the absolute worst. Fresca is a very close second. They’re in the major league all by themselves, and none of the other ‘bad’ drinks have made it out of Single-A ball yet.

        7. Flimsyfishy

          Could have been Twist Up…

        8. Ray Radlein

          Shasta has some pretty good flavors, as long as you steer completely clear of the flavors which are cheap-ass knockoffs of other, better, sodas. Their black cherry? Really good. Their fake Sprite? Not so much.

        9. fogel

          Orange is not bad

        10. BLACKOUT

          The cheaper the orange soda, the better it is, so far as I can tell. Their tiki punch is good, too, for that matter.

        11. Rycan

          I think orange soda’s sole purpose is to be a cheap soft drink for parties.

        12. Kryss LaBryn

          “What the hell is this brand of pop I’ve never heard of? They’ve got a cola, a root beer, a– an uncola, and an orange. Could be fine; could be awful…

          “Welp, orange it is, then.”

          ALL orange pops are good. It’s like a universal law or something.

        13. John

          Sunkist is the best orange soda. As far as I’ve been able to determine, it’s the only one that has the sweet, sweet caffeine I need to keep my neurons firing properly.

          I pretty much live on it.

        14. Ed Rhodes

          Hey! Radar O’Reilly swears by Orange Crush! When he can’t get Grape NeHi.

    2. Doctor_Who

      “Or deal with drain hair clumps of that magnitude!”

      1. DarkoNeko

        That Day She Became a Part of the Stall

        1. Aeron

          “One with the ship! One with the ship!”

    3. Rycan

      “And you will never be saddled with nothing but sheep again. I promise.”

  5. otusasio451

    Whoever called the off-screen reveal, good on you. TELL ME MY FUTURE.

    1. Cephalo the Pod

      I see…WATER!

      1. otusasio451

        Well, your name is Cephalo the Pod. This does not surprise me.

        1. Rycan

          And you are a walking, talking blob of water. A very sophisticated blob of water, but water nonetheless.

        2. Kryss LaBryn

          “Ugly bags of mostly water.”

    2. Doctor_Who

      Don’t start any long books.

      1. otusasio451

        …Writing or reading?

        1. ninja_jesus

          Yes.

        2. Doctor_Who

          Frankly I wouldn’t even bother with an audiobook unless you don’t mind listening to it chipmunk-style.

        3. otusasio451

          Well, damn. No chance that you accidentally ended up in an alternate universe in the TARDIS, is there? Were you looking at future me, or future me in an alternate universe?

        4. Doctor_Who

          I’m afraid not. It says right here in tomorrow’s obituaries that otusasio455 died today at 12:51 and waitaminnit.

          Nevermind. I read it as otusasio451 dying at 12:55. Silly me. Still, I’d better go and warn him so he can enjoy his remaining…-4 minutes.

          Damn. Third time this week. I should look into getting my brainy specs back.

        5. Someone

          Otu at 12 55 duck

        6. Rich

          Ducking won’t help, the obit will say it was a falling piano accident. Out will want to take a jump to the left instead.

          Cue soundtrack…

        7. Kryss LaBryn

          <abbr title="Sure, I'll play sing along! :D”>And then a step to the ri-ii-iiight!”

        8. Kryss LaBryn

          –Dammit, you can’t do imbedded brackets like in LJ. Oh well, you guys get the idea.

        9. The Master

          MINE, DOCTOR!

        10. LeftWingFox

          “Cause of death?”

          “Crushed to death. By TARDIS actually. Freak accident, nobodycouldveprevented it.” *deep breath.* “Jelly baby?”

        11. Screwball

          What can we say, it was just their time…

    3. nothri

      In a certain time and place you will breath your last breath.

    4. Rycan

      Well, your future is fluid, but I’d advise against dumpster diving on a Thursday.

    5. Charlie Spencer

      You’re going to engage in a series of pointless on-line conversations.

  6. Opus the Poet

    That is an angry looking Joyce.

    1. DarkoNeko

      It looks more like she’s about to breakdown, in the last panel. At least to me.

      1. MeghanTheWorldEater

        If you mean “Breakdown into a psychotic storm of pure unfiltered rage” than yes.

        1. otusasio451

          Yeah, I’m not forseeing good things tomorrow. She’s gonna rip Becky and Sarah to shreds, then break down and become a slobbering mess of tears and pain. Just like the readers.

        2. MeghanTheWorldEater

          Have you seen the preview panels Willis posted? If they’re anything to go off the next month and a half or so are not gonna be fun.

        3. otusasio451

          No. Where can I find them?

        4. MeghanTheWorldEater

          http://dumbingofage.tumblr.com/post/114672486068/itswalky-rocktavian-the-next-dumbing-of#notes
          This is the easiest place cause it’s all in one.
          Though the jokes are bit less fun now that we actually know what’s happening.

        5. otusasio451

          Honestly, though, I’m actually looking forward to it. Becky and Joyce are still close, we’re getting introduced to Lucy, Billie and Ruth still appear to be together (or at least getting along), we’ll get some Dina and Amazigirl appearances…honestly, I’m kinda looking forward to this. The only one I’m legitimately frightened of is the July 1st preview. That one looks heavy.

        6. DarkoNeko

          …wow, I’m so glad someone else aggregated them. Is there already a similar page for the chapter after this one ?

        7. MeghanTheWorldEater

          I don’t believe so.

        8. Ned

          OMG WE GET LUCY

        9. MeghanTheWorldEater

          Well I mean I’m looking forward to it too. Ya know in a masochistic sorta way.

        10. DarkoNeko

          his tumblr.

          but personally, I choose to only look at This panel

        11. MeghanTheWorldEater

          That there is what we call the calm before the storm.

        12. DarkoNeko

          Fair warning,there are a looooot of post. I have valliantly tried to parse the thing for previews & co… but there are litterally HUNDRED of pages XD

        13. MeghanTheWorldEater

          I’m sure it’s fine.
          More important however
          You speak French??? O.O

        14. DarkoNeko

          Haha. To be honest, I forgot all my school german due to lack of pratice ^^;

          I like japanese, but… I realised I could never ever remember 2000 kanjis. After the first few hundreds they all start mixing up in my head x_x

        15. MeghanTheWorldEater

          No no no no
          Don’t say that
          You can learn all the Japanese!
          Each subsequent language is easier to learn than the last.
          Go learn it and one up me again!

        16. Clif

          I’m looking forward to June 2 to see what would provoke that kind of reaction from Joyce post-Ethan.

        17. DarkoNeko

          I tried. I really did. But I can’t remember that many kanjis for the life of me. (oh also, there are lotsa more jobs in computer stuff so I branched to that)

        18. MeghanTheWorldEater

          So I looked at July 1 again.
          When I was reviewing I was trying to piece together what’s happening. I figured most of the people who knew of the event are seen.
          Lucy is the only new one maybe she’s like a trauma councilor or something, and maybe she said something that ticked Joyce off and she decked her. I mean Joyce looks the least concerned.
          I thought that was kinda crazy but with the way everyone has been talking about how this stuff can affect you tonight it doesn’t seem so crazy.

        19. DarkoNeko

          gosh dangiot, now I’m tempted to reparse them all and find all the preview and make theories and…

        20. DarkoNeko

          >More important however. You speak French??? O.O

          Well, yeah ? English’s actually my 3rd language, after french and german.

        21. MeghanTheWorldEater

          WAH!!
          I’m just sittin here trying to learn Japanese. I love it but it’s so hard sometimes! So hard.
          And you’ve got three!
          …I’m intensely jealous.

        22. Cerberus

          I don’t know. There’s some weird combinations of emotions after trauma. I’ve had a lot of days when I was both filled with rage about things that had happened to me while also weeping and filled with intense sadness. I think Willis did a great job of capturing that complex reality.

        23. Lin

          Absolutely agreed. Trauma isn’t a road with only one direction. It’s messy and awkward and horrible and necessary.

        24. Karkat-san

          This is gonna sound strange, but getting angry about my experience actually helped me a great deal. In some ways, it was an unconscious shift of blame– when I was angry at him, I was no longer placing blame on myself. I was blaming him for a change.

        25. Rycan

          Doesn’t sound strange at all. Good to hear that you’re doing better.

    2. TSB

      Yeah. I speculate that she’s keeping her face tense to try not to cry.

      1. DarkoNeko

        “I WAS SO STUPID WHY DID I GO ?”

        1. otusasio451

          The self-hatred is strong with this one.

    3. nothri

      I was thinking the same thing. I can’t tell what she’s thinking.

  7. buckybone

    Many much-deserved huggles are about to be had…

    1. otusasio451

      Either that, or lots and LOTS of pain. Or, most likely, both.

    2. Barf Ninjason

      Cuz on top of everything, now Joyce is pooping herself. Well, that’s just great.

      1. Barf Ninjason

        Oops, I thought that said “huggies” at first. Sorry, now what I said goes from dumb to mega-dumb.

        1. otusasio451

          Gott admit, I didn’t get that comment. Now, it’s kind of hilarious.

  8. Tunaro

    Ow, right in my feels.

  9. grantimusmax

    OH GOD JUST CUDDLE AND CRY AND LOVE EACH OTHER LIKE BEST FRIENDS SHOULD

  10. MeghanTheWorldEater

    How is it that this strip has two words and is a bigger punch in the gut than any other?

    1. grantimusmax

      Willis has been damned for so long, he was bound to strike a winning deal with the devil, by the law of averages.

      1. MeghanTheWorldEater

        I wonder how long until he just takes over. I mean he’s kinda in training right?

        1. grantimusmax

          My guess he’s a journeyman demon quickly on the way to grand master.

        2. Rycan

          Willis will take over Hell when he is finally sent there.

    2. Bill

      Read “Good Omens” by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
      Willis is definitely Crowley.

  11. Stephen Bierce

    *plays David Bowie’s “Look Back In Anger” on the Muzak*

    1. a4lbi

      *dropkicks Muzak* GET OUT OF HERE STALKER

      1. Rich

        Because it follows you everywhere, even into elevators?

    2. Halloween Jack

      Suggesting that any Bowie has ever ended up on Muzak is the purest heresy. (With the exception of some cuts from Let’s Dance, maybe.)

  12. Luke

    Into each life, some rain must fall…

    1. otusasio451

      Joyce: But too much is falling in mine.

      1. Luke

        *Proceeds to sob a few more verses*

    2. Screwball

      So that’s why Daniel the Human has an folding umbrella in each backpack…

  13. MM

    So we’re finally moving out of denial into anger?

    1. otusasio451

      Actually, we’ve already gone through some depression, and maybe a little bargaining. After all, the Kubler-Ross stages don’t necessarily happen in the traditional order, according to most modern psychologists.

      1. MeghanTheWorldEater

        Funny how pop psychology is wrong almost always yet trusted unyieldingly anyhow.

        1. otusasio451

          Well, to be fair, the Kubler-Ross model was completely accepted for a LONG time, and it’s still pretty well-used in psychology. We’ve just learned more about it over time. However, there are a bunch of psychologists that don’t really believe in the stages, so it’s not universally accepted. Then again, nothing is.

        2. MeghanTheWorldEater

          Okay fair point

        3. Rich

          Lot of people think the K-R concept works okay if you call the stages “states” instead and acknowledge that they don’t always happen in a order and you may even return to previous states during the coping process. The original version isn’t useless or misguided, just a bit simplistic.

        4. Rycan

          Relevant:
          https://xkcd.com/699/

        5. MeghanTheWorldEater

          How can this be?
          I thought you had to present your doctorate to buy one.

        6. Rycan

          Fortunately, you just need a bachelor’s to buy lab goggles.

        7. Screwball

          I can scribble on a piece of paper with a crayon, that good enough?

        8. Rycan

          Telling the stockroom attendant that you’re a bachelor seems to work well enough.

      2. Mary

        As I pointed out somewhere else on here, that model isn’t actually supposed to be the five stages of grief at all, but the five stages of dying. Totally different experience. Interesting factoid I learned lately.

        1. otusasio451

          Well, from my understanding (and given that I’m mostly a bird person, it’s admittedly not a profession understanding), Kubler-Ross initially studied dying patients to develop her stages, but then later applied them to any form of loss.

        2. Rich

          That was what I was taught. Also note that (slowly) dying people grieve for themselves, so they certainly aren’t a bad place to start studying.

          Rapidly dying people have just enough time to think “is that a falling piano?” so they’re no help at all.

  14. otusasio451

    This…this is going to hurt. Really. REALLY. Bad.

  15. Kernanator

    Hey, remember how the first time we saw these two, they were making a poop joke?

    I’m not really going anywhere with this, I just like reminding people that Dumbing of Age opened with a poop joke.

    1. Cephalo the Pod

      Man, and Walky wasn’t even there.

      1. Urukak

        Or was he?

        1. Arianod

          He was there in spirit.

      2. Rich

        And now I’m waiting for Dina to appear out of nowhere. At least the door is closed, so she can’t be standing behind it.

        1. Screwball

          Are you sure? There is a side of it you can’t see. It’s just in the hallway. She has hung around there before…

  16. boomwolf

    Yep here it comes… I’M NOT CRYING, YOU’RE CRYING!!!

    1. grantimusmax

      Oops sorry I was cutting onions in here earlier.

    2. MeghanTheWorldEater

      Quick! We need 50CCs of soft serve stat!

      1. otusasio451

        We’re out of Neopolitan, doctor! The nurse had a really bad breakup three days ago. It’s all gone!

        1. MeghanTheWorldEater

          Goddamnit! I don’t pay you to tell me problems! I pay you to fix them! Get the ambulance and buy more!

        2. otusasio451

          Wait, doctor! We DO have vanilla, chocolate, AND strawberry! Could we combine them to form a reasonable facsimilie?

        3. MeghanTheWorldEater

          I don’t like it. It’s dangerous, if we get the mix it wrong the results could be catastrophic.
          But I guess we don’t have much choice…
          DO IT!

        4. otusasio451

          Yes, doctor!

          Oh, God…doctor! The strawberry was chunky! We have a code pink! CODE PINK! WHAT DO WE DO, DOCTOR???

        5. MeghanTheWorldEater

          Son of a bongo!
          Get hot water we’re gonna hafta melt it!
          Don’t die damnit! If I loose another one I’m fired!

        6. Rycan

          Now I am grinning, despite how serious and sad today’s strip is. This is all your fault. Both of you.

        7. otusasio451

          Wait, doctor, wait! I think I’ve found a solution! If we intoduce some strawberry gelato to the mix, the delicious smoothness should balance out the chunky strawberry! I know I took a gamble on the strawberry substitute, but please trust me on this!

          And Rycan, why are you grinning? THIS IS SERIOUS!!! PULL IT TOGETHER!!!

        8. MeghanTheWorldEater

          -stops in the middle of packing an absurdly large suitcase with cash, clothes, fake id, passport and stares at you-
          Uh…
          -closes the case and runs out the door quick-
          Yeah good luck with that I’m gettin outta here before the family sues!

        9. GreyTheDefender

          Pretty sure Rycan is the family’s attorney.

        10. Boomwolf

          THE TEARS WON’T STOP FLOWING!!! WHERE IS THE DOCTOR WITH THAT SOFT SERVE?!?!

        11. Rycan

          NOTHING will save you from having used strawberry substitute. Should’ve listened to the good doctor.

        12. MeghanTheWorldEater

          The doctor is successfully hiding in…OH you almost got me there!

        13. boomwolf

          THATS IT!! I’M EATIN THE CHUNKY!! TELL MY FAMILY I’M SORRY!!!

          -proceeds to start stuffing his face with ice cream- THE WORST PART IS; I DON’T EVEN LIKE STRAWBERRY!!!

        14. otusasio451

          No, goddamnit, STOP!!! THINK OF THE CHILDREN, MAN!

        15. boomwolf

          IF THE CHILDREN WANT SOME, THEY’LL HAVE TO FIGHT ME FOR IT!!!

  17. zebrathinker

    ahhhhh u_u god this is the first time she’s really had to- i dunno, face it? right? correct me if im wrong but she’s prolly hearing the whole thing for the first time if she can hear what Sarah is saying right?

    Gaaaaaaaaahhh

  18. licoricepencil

    I’m not crying, it’s raining on my face.

    Also: noooooo babies nooooo 🙁

    1. otusasio451

      Raindrops keep falling on my face
      Becky is gonna give her a tender embrace
      Heard what Sarah said
      Oh, raindrops keep falling on my face
      They keep falling…

  19. Victor Riley

    They could have stepped outside and whispered. With Joyce hearing the muffled whispers… now her brain is saying, “I know what they’re talking about… they’re talking about this.” And as she said she didn’t want to think about it… now she is. The very act of not trying to think about it… is thinking about it.

    But if she can’t see them or hear them at all… then it’s easier to pretend that’s not what they’re talking about.

    1. Gangler

      Probably didn’t want to discuss this out in the hall. The walls have ears and all that jazz.

      1. Rich

        More to the point, Mary has ears.

        1. Nono

          For now…

        2. Rich

          Well, yes, but it’s just a matter of time until Ruth tears them off and makes a necklace of them.

        3. Rycan

          Yeah, I think with two traumatized girls on their floor, they’re already exceeded their quota. No need to add a third.

        4. Rich

          Two traumatized girls? Your count is low. Joyce, Amber, Ruth herself, arguably Billie and maybe Sal, depending on what you want to call trauma. Hell, I’d include Sarah too – her first roomie experience was pretty awful, and it’s still warping her personality. Very troubled group.

  20. varius

    Becky is crying.

    Soon, all the tears will be cried…

    1. brionl

      Could be worse:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU7HTgAAgQc

      1. lejwocky

        Mental contamination!

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ0doO3VFjc

        1. Screwball

          Couldn’t see your clip sorry Brionl, interesting clip tho Lejwocky. Daniel the Human tells me it’s Original Series Evangelion, but with extra scenes in the mind-rape. Platinum Edition by any chance?

  21. Opus the Poet

    Is that a tear running from Becky’s eye?

    1. otusasio451

      Yup. As has been said multiple times, this is going to hurt. A lot.

  22. carl320

    It’s hard to see Joyce’s facial expressions, but the most difficult is the face in the third panel. It almost seems like she blames herself in that one.

    1. anonymsly

      In her mind, she may have a lot to blame herself for. Going to the party in the first place, trusting Ryan and thinking he was a good guy, she might even be reflecting a bit that the Whiteboard Ding Dong Bandit was born indirectly from that night, she’s been a burden to everyone around her because she can’t be alone, she was horrible (for a given value of horrible) to her friend Ethan in no small measure because she can’t be alone, and now the fact that she can’t deal with things means that Becky has more problems to deal with in the form of Joyce’s ‘weakness’ instead of the fewer problems Joyce wants Becky to have.

      Almost none of these things are things Joyce really needs to blame herself for, at least in this moment, and she’s already taken significant steps to atone for the ones she does (Dingdong Bandit and Ethan), but these things are rarely rational.

      1. Lin

        Yeah, unfortunately, her experience just confirms all of the victim blaming that is around all of us all the time AND additional the nondenomenational Protestant scare-tactics she was raised with.

    2. MeghanTheWorldEater

      Oh…I thought she was just annoyed about having to deal with it…god I can be dense sometimes.

      1. Carriethedragon

        I thought of it as more of that she’s trying to keep her emotions in check by making that stern face. I’ve done something similar at times, but being the crybaby I am I’d probably already have tears in my eyes.

        1. MeghanTheWorldEater

          Be proud of being a crybaby.
          The worst choice I ever made in my life was teaching myself how to not cry.

        2. Rich

          Yeah, a lot of people wind up looking angry when they’re trying to be stoic. I’ve had a couple of truly awful conversations where I was trying not to cry and the other person misinterpreted it as me being about to commit murder. Apparently I look terrifying when I’m holding it in.

      2. Majere

        I wonder if Joyce looking super annoyed is intentional because that is all I can see in those expressions.

        1. No Name

          Super-annoyance is as close to wrath as Joyce can get, so maybe.

      3. Rycan

        Your read could be correct, though. Joyce may be angry because she really doesn’t want to talk about this, or even think about it.

    3. Drakkin the Alien

      this Joyce , just when the roofies were kickin in, got wind of what was going on (she looked at the glass) and holding it strongly smashed the glass on the preacher’s son’s face. She didnt dropped the glass, she didn’t fainted, she didn’t broke in tears of fear. She punched the dude. What is on her mind only Willis knows. But i would bet that are not christian thougts. she’s not the kind to turn the other cheek. Shes the kind to draw the sword and ask forgiveness latter. Oh, she wants him dead. And she is angry at herself and cursing him for it. 🙂

    4. Rycan

      Maybe anger is simply welling up inside of her, without any target in particular. That was my read, at least. If that’s case, then I feel bad for Becky – that anger will find a target, and she just walked onto the firing range.

      1. DarkoNeko

        …uh oh.

      2. No Name

        Well, at least she’s going to get her wish from last night…

        1. Rycan

          Be careful what you wish for.

    5. Bill

      I see her eyes gradually going up.  Looking towards heaven, perhaps, and mentally asking God how and why He could have let this happen to her.  She had always put her faith and trust in Him, even to the point of claiming that He had her back.  How could He have let her down?

      This moment, more than anything that has gone before, may be the pivotal point at which Joyce begins to move away from being a little ‘Goody Two-Shoes’ all the time.

      1. Bill

        Missed a phrase — last line should have read “…Joyce starts to question her religious convictions and begins to move away…”

      2. Kamino Neko

        Also, a few strips later, she specifically prayed to Him to protect her from being taken advantage of.

        Given Joyce’s personality, I don’t think she is angry at God, but if it was possible for her to feel that, she’d have plenty of reason.

        1. Rich

          Pretty common for some religious folks to get angry with themselves for questioning their own faith. That could be it too.

        2. DarkoNeko

          Well, it worked, Sarah showed up.

      3. timemonkey

        Technically there was intervention, from someone who wasn’t even supposed to be there. One could easily say God sent Sarah to save her.

        1. thejeff

          In fact, .

          “The Old Testament God”

  23. grantimusmax

    Real talk:

    If Joyce is entering the anger phase, it does make one wonder at whom her rage will be directed. Would it be at Roz, for taking her in the first place? At Ryan, douchebag supreme and rapist asshole? At Becky for asking? At Amazigirl for not finding Ryan yet? Or at herself, for allowing herself to be in the situation? It could go any way. In fact, it probably will go every way.

    Grief is a hell of a thing.

    1. chris73

      I’m also concerned at the guilt and grief Becky may feel, she wasn’t to know yet like how Joyce seems to have taken all the guilt on herself for how her church acted towards gays Becky may well feel guilt for not knowing what Joyce is going through

      Disclaimer: Becky doesn’t and shouldn’t feel guilt for not knowing, this is not a thread attacking Becky

      1. Cerberus

        I agree completely. Given Becky’s previous behavior, there is no way she doesn’t blame herself surrounding this, either for not being available by phone or maybe the sex jokes or something. Part of Becky’s feelings of love (both romantic and friendship) for Joyce often come with her feeling like shit for not doing enough for her friend or putting her friend in a bind, so I definitely see her beating on herself here instead of armoring up to go hunt a Ryan.

        1. grantimusmax

          OH MY I just thought: Becky/Amazigirl teamup, the Brave and the Bold style!

        2. Someone

          I think Becky should become Amazi Girls side kick and Danny
          Should become the guy that sits behind a computer and relates what’s happening to her. Like that one guy who’s name escapes me in Kim Possible

        3. GreyTheDefender

          That would be Wade.

    2. otusasio451

      I’d say that the answer to that would be “Yes.” In the anger stage, EVERYONE with a reason to blame is blamed. NO ONE WILL BE SPARED.

      That said, I wonder about the other stages. She’s basically gone through denial, it could be argued that she’s already gone through depression and bargaining (to an extent). All that’s definitely left is acceptance, and this might be the catalyst for that event.

    3. Maveric1984

      She’s already screamed at Amazi-Girl, and they kinda made friends in the end.

      Nobody knows where Ryan is.

      She’s already frozen when she met Roz the last time.

    4. Mary

      Fun fact: the stages of grief as we know them actually aren’t supposed to be stages of grief at all, but stages of dying and accepting ones own death, and they’re not even considered wholly accurate for that. So Joyce is probaboy experiencing a different type of trauma that the five stages as we know them.

      https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/blog/2012/01/stages-grief-myth

      Themoreyouknow.

      1. Rycan

        How much is actually understood about PTSD? Well, I’m guessing that’s what Joyce is dealing with.

      2. Rich

        While it’s true that K-R’s book explicitly dealt with death and dying, it certainly did not only examine it from the point of view of dealing with your own death. Her studies revolved around terminally ill patients and their caregivers and survivors, all of whom were experiencing grief in related ways. I’ll agree that her work has since been generalized to other form of grief with varying degrees of accuracy, largely because many psychologists found her “stage” model (flawed as it is) to be a useful foundation to work from.

        But yes, Joyce’s experience is very different and she is probably not moving through the rigid K-R staging process. Different flavor of grief here, with different but broadly similar coping mechanisms.

    5. Halloween Jack

      Herself, because she thought that she’d finally nailed that cesspool cover shut.

    6. Mandy

      I feel like Becky is going to want to talk about it and Joyce clearly doesn’t. So she’ll shut down and lash out.

      1. No Name

        Yes, but Becky knows that Joyce does not want to talk about it, and, unlike before, is actively trying to *NOT* get on her bad side. Also, Joyce has already shut down. It’s why she seems so calm.

  24. Kenjia

    🙁

  25. Captain Batson

    That tear on Becky’s face makes me feel less alone in being tear’d-up by this.

  26. Cerberus

    I know I should be damning Willis for emotions and stuff right now, but I’m just overwhelmingly happy. And the reason being that the PTSD of sexual assault is so often so terribly handled in fiction that seeing it so hauntingly accurately portrayed (with all the little horrible details that usually only other survivors realize) is actually incredibly healing (at least for my weird brain).

    It really does mean a lot, at least for me.

    1. Rycan

      I have no clue how catharsis actually works, but it certainly seems to be effective.

    2. EEWWW

      And the reason that Willis handled the depiction of sexual assault PTSD so accurately is ??? We’re all crying, not only for the character but the reality reflected by the comic of the person who went through this (or something approximating it)… especially if its ourselves or someone very close to us. Bravo, Willis.

  27. DarkoNeko

    This is where I start pestering how I’ll never manage to tell stories that well. *shakes fist*

  28. Ailorn

    I think Joyce will have to go for a walk to get away from the sympathy tears. It irks me when someone is reacting more than I am to my issue and they want me to feel something about it when at the moment I would be fine otherwise. Now I know Joyce needs to deal with it to heal, but seems like she doesn’t want to talk about it right now.

  29. TheLurkerAbove

    Shit. Even more feels. Bravo, Willis.

  30. Shaunock

    Damnit, I cry during Pokémon and nearly every Pixar movie.
    MY FEELS CAN’T HANDLE THIS!

  31. DarkoNeko

    ..ok, this is a bit unrelated, but I must know.

    The chapter is named “the butterflies won’t fly away” but in the url it’s “the butterflies fly away” WHICH IS IS AAAAAAAAAAA

    1. DarkoNeko

      It’s like Schrödinger’s butterflies 🙁

      1. lejwocky

        the butterflies (won’t) fly away

        1. Screwball

          Just ignore the girls walking past outside, the 1 with the blue hair & red eyes will keep to herself but the redhead will throw a few insults your way. That’s if she stops sparing with the brunette wit the glasses long enough…

        2. DarkoNeko

          Those don’t matter, where’s Kaworu ? 😀

        3. lejwocky

          the moon

    2. Rycan

      NO MORE HURRICANES! Or was it tornadoes that they cause?

      1. Ned

        hurricane, n.: a ridiculously large tornado crying you a river all the time.

        1. No Name

          tornado, n.: a ridiculously tall hurricane throwing a massive temper tantrum

        2. Nono

          So a drama hurricane is…?

      2. Rich

        Neither, technically. The usual form of the Butterfly Effect quote credits them with typhoons.

        1. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          And anyway, some reports give the original as “A single flap of a bird’s wings…”.

        2. Rycan

          So the birds need to fly away, too?

        3. Rich

          Yeah, hard to trace, both butterfly and bird show up when you hunt around. The other version that started with “A single flap of a three-headed lightning-breathing space dragon’s wings…” never caught on. Unwieldy.

  32. hacknakcat

    Whats going on I am so confused :O

    1. litui

      Yesterday Was Thursday.

      1. Kennerly

        Maybe Tuesday you can sleep.

        Wait a sec, that’s not how the lyrics go…

      2. Rycan

        In more words, Sarah is relating events that happened in the chapter “Yesterday Was Thursday”.

    2. timemonkey

      Sarah is explaining about how Joyce was almost raped at the party.

  33. Well_Played

    Damn. Now I need a massage to iron out the feels.

  34. SinnAmi

    The pure, harsh, unfiltered feels. They hurt!

  35. Bagge

    Huggy-criey-time

    Good storytelling

  36. Huttj

    “Panel” 4: Joyce glares so hard at the 4th wall that the panel border shatters, leaving her adrift in Nirvana, unchained. She has transcended the walls of her dorm room, and brought her bed with her to drift, out among the site background, til the end of days.

  37. Jans

    Anyone know where-abouts the original story arc is in the archive?

    1. MeghanTheWorldEater

      This is where it begins.
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/06-yesterday-was-thursday/jesus-2/

      1. otusasio451

        You know, rereading only the first comic of that arc maks me realize jut how much foreshadowing Willis packed in both Joyce and Billie’s dialogue. Never realized that until now.

        1. otusasio451

          I also NEVER noticed the AmaziGirl silhouette until literally just now. I FEEL SO BLIND.

        2. Rycan

          Well, I never noticed it until you mentioned it.

        3. C Baker

          OH WOW.

        4. DarkoNeko

          haha what 😮

        5. Screwball

          I only noticed it when a few pages ago someone linked to the first appearance of the bloody jumper. I then flicked through a few pages & found that 1 & posted it, pointing out the Chekhov’s Guns, namely the roofie comment & Amazi-girl. I recon that’s how Amazi-Girl found the party, following that lot…

        6. MeghanTheWorldEater

          Yeah kinda makes you pause.

        7. Kamino Neko

          What strikes me is how utterly uncomfortable the first comment thread is in hindsight….

        8. Rycan

          I’m guessing that the “with a penis” jokes pretty much stopped after that storyline. Or were stamped out.

        9. timemonkey

          Nope. Those went on for a loooong time.

  38. Idontcarenomore

    Ah man. And I ain’t the crying kind.
    This is really a remarkable piece of story telling Mr. Willis.

    You’re a major storyteller. Webcomics in general are elevated thru your work.

  39. Wafflebob

    is Becky weeping in that last panel?

    1. GreyTheDefender

      Indeed.

      1. Bagge

        Aren’t we all?

    2. Tenn

      For there were no Ryans there to clobber.

  40. heavvymetalqueen

    this is so well done.

    1. Rich

      Agreed. Masterful storytelling all around – dialog, artwork, pacing.

  41. takashid

    man, joyces face. she is so heavily trying to NOT talk about or even think about what happened. Her whole face screams that.

  42. GreyTheDefender

    Damn…this is hitting Joyce pretty hard, but I get the feelings its hitting Becky hard as well. I foresee many tears in the near future.

  43. beetnemesis

    And then: “Wait, you guys have a SUPERHERO?”

    1. DarkoNeko

      Next thing we know, there was one at her school too.

    2. Rycan

      “Ehh, she only ever manages to make matters worse.”

  44. hof1991

    One part of PTSD is eternal vigilance, like some who lives with a violent drunk. Like driving on a road in Iraq unsure when you will find a bomb going off underneath you. You try to avoid dangerous situations, but they come no matter how vigilant you are. Then you blame yourself for lack of vigilance. Makes one hyper vigilant and messes with your brain.

  45. Chubomik

    They were still in the room when she told her!?

    1. Rycan

      Where else would they be? The walls have ears in the hallway, the half-bath may have been in use – you get the idea.

  46. Halloween Jack

    These five words I swear to you:

    https://youtu.be/mh8MIp2FOhc

  47. Liz

    Joyce looks furious…is she about to blow up?

  48. Steven Fisher

    I totally respect the way Willis presented this, and at the same time I wish I’d seen how Sarah explained it. 🙂

  49. Core279

    I feel guilty because I either don’t remember, or somehow missed the arc that Joyce is upset about.

    1. Rich

      In the archive under “Yesterday Was Thursday” starting around September 9th, 2011.

    2. Tenn

      Your memory is bad and you should feel bad! 😛

  50. Tenn

    I agree with Becky. 🙁

    I also agree with Joyce. >:(

  51. roe

    When I finished reading this, I clicked back to the first strip, and now i’m sad.

    1. Rycan

      Me, I’m angry. College is a time of personal growth and change. That it has become a time for predation enrages me.

      1. thejeff

        It has not “become”. It always was. At least back to the days of single-sex schools or strict curfews and chaperoning.
        Which put their own limits on personal growth and change.

        What’s happening now is greater awareness of the predation. Which is a necessary, but not sufficient step towards fighting it.

        1. Rich

          The curfew-and-chaperone days weren’t much better. Those systems were in place to prevent sexual predation, even if “polite society” didn’t care to acknowledge the dangers or the fact that it still happened regularly. Whether it actually helped much we may never know – victim shaming was very much the norm, and there’s no way to tell how many rapes went unreported.

          My own family has an a child-by-rape a few generations back, near the start of the 20th century. The victim was hastily married off to a “nice boy” and they claimed the child as their own, but I’ve read the diaries that told the truth of the matter.

  52. man in black

    Hug incoming

  53. John

    Am I a bad person because I think Joyce’s expressions in this strip are kind of hilarious?

    1. A5PECT

      I kind of see what you mean, if they were in a less serious context they’d be very amusing.

      But it’s hard to laugh when you’re shoulder-deep in date-rape and severe psychological trauma.

  54. Wendy

    I’m hoping that maaaayybe this will make Becky think back on the unwanted kiss and unwanted sexual comments she’s been making to Joyce and feel a little bit bad about it? Honestly, those things are my main beef with Becky – I really want to like her, but the creeperishly boundary-crossing behaviors she’s been showing are definitely HUGE issues she needs to work on, and hopefully this will be the epiphany she needs.

  55. Luma

    It hurts even more when just a couple of months ago I was in the exact same position as Becky… only the bastard succeeded and she still lives in the same house as them.

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