why did i get the feeling this was gonna be a Digital Circus reference XD
Taffy
It’s been on the mind, of late.
True Survivor
To be fair, it is a frickin’ fantastic show.
Jon
And Ming did win the Favorite Character Award…
a/snow/mous/e
a-fuckin’-men
KtBear
So what you’re saying is that Digital Circus stole this joke off of Benny Hill way back in what, the seventies?
Taffy
No, what they said was that they had a feeling I was making a Digital Circus reference, which I was. If Benny Hill made the same joke half a century ago, I didn’t see it, because I haven’t seen that show. Or guy. I don’t know if Benny Hill is a show or a guy. Could be both. None of my business either way.
Wizard
Both. Just to clarify, Benny Hill was a guy who had a show named after him.
Steamweed
Benny Hill from the last century, like, 70 years ago. ‘Twas an inspiration for Monty Python.
Edward Rhodes
Benny Hill is a guy. Who had a show. Which got canceled. And then he died shortly thereafter. 🙁
Antsan
And I was all like “Sam&Fuzzy did that joke first”. Shows what I know!
mindbleach
The modern version is stealing from XKCD.
“You know what happens when you assume.”
“I don’t, yet you’re confidently asserting I do.”
ary
No, they subverted the joke from Benny Hill, which says ‘me’, not ‘ming’.
Taffy
And the first time I heard the “Ming” variant was in a SnapCube video. I didn’t even know Benjamin Hill was associated with it until today.
Nymph
Benjamin W Hillard
Arillius
Unless the digital circus has been out for over a decade, that’s a Dresden Files reference.
given the general Lesbian Thirst of the editor in chief, I would presume a certain level of tonal consistency, at least in the stories that might even tangentially involve chicks kissing
I not only expected this response from Joe, I have repeatedly called it in the comments.
Joe, the most experienced at sexual relationships, knows that a relationship is not exclusive until both parties agree that it is. Joe never agreed, so Joyce cannot cheat on him, because they are not exclusive.
Embe13
so did i, many essays over the last few days the joe was gonna go this route
John Campbell
I went back recently and re-read the section where Joyce and Joe got together, trying to establish what the actual timeline of events was (mainly to use as ammunition against the heteronormativity blood knights that keep trying to characterize the laundry incident as cheating despite it happening before either of the girls got together with the boys, admittedly), and the main thing I determined was that Joyce and Joe’s relationship is incredibly ill-defined. Like, there doesn’t even seem to be a single strip to point at and say, “That’s where their relationship officially started.” It’s all implications, inference, and assumptions. At some point between Anti-Joyce climbing a tree and the two of them arriving at science class, they evidently became a couple, but exactly where…?
And this is not the first time that Joyce’s assumptions about what she’s allowed to do in this relationship were stricter than Joe’s. Like, Joe knows about Joyce doing laundry with Dorothy, and did not tell her she had to stop. That was all Joyce. And he explicitly encouraged her to masturbate when she was characterizing it as cheating on him.
I mean, he may well have spent the last couple days thinking, “Oh, Joyce is wearing Dorothy’s clothes again. Must be laundry day…”
Lumino
Point of order: Nobody said the FIRST laundry incident was cheating (at least to my knowledge). When they went back to do it AGAIN the morning of the protest, that was cheating because:
A: Joyce had just acknowledged that, by her own definition, it was sex.
B: Joyce knew she was in a relationship with Joe and didn’t have his permission/consent.
C: Joyce suggested and planned to do it.
Trixie Jubilation
It is only cheating if it is outside of the boundaries of the relationship that’s been established, and as everyone else in the comments is rightfully pointing out – no such boundaries have been established. Joyce has her own assumptions about how relationships “should work”, and apparently so do you, but without communication, I don’t think exclusivity needs to be assumed default. They have barely even established being boyfriend/girlfriend, much less what that means for who they’re allowed to boink on the side.
Lumino
People really are bending over backwards to try and defend Joyce cheating because they like Joyce x Dorothy. It’s really quite disturbing.
JOYCE knew it was wrong, hence why she felt so guilty when Joe gifted her the blanket. In JOYCE’S mind, it was cheating and a betrayal of trust. That’s all that matters.
Cimorene
And where are you considering Joe’s agency in if he considers it cheating? Who gets to define cheating in a mushy, undefined relationship? Joyce has guilt and religious baggage issues. Joe is fully aware of this and he isn’t overly innocent or naive. How often do people beat ourselves up over something that we think is going to hurt or be a big deal to another person, but then it turns out it wasn’t as damning as we thought it would be. They just need to talk about it, which they finally are.
thejeff
Joe can certainly forgive her. Or even just not care.
It’s still a problem for Joyce, because she didn’t know that. She went ahead and did it anyway, apparently without caring whether Joe would be hurt or not. Without giving him a thought, as far as we can tell. That says something about her and her behavior, even if Joe winds up not caring.
Li
I feel like for it to be “bending over backwards to defend Joyce’s cheating”, someone would have to be making an extremely weird or technical argument.
All John and Trixie are doing is pointing out that Joe and Joyce haven’t had a lot of clear conversations about their relationship boundaries, and theorizing that Joe himself might not actually have considered the two of them exclusive, which could be one explanation for what he’s saying in this strip.
There’s really no need to find that kind of argument disturbing.
thejeff
That could be an explanation for what he’s saying in this strip, but making that a defense for Joyce’s cheating is “bending over backwards” because not only did she not know that, but she assumed it was cheating (or at least bad, if she hasn’t actually used the word).
She wasn’t relying on Joe being okay with it, which means she went ahead regardless.
Making this “it’s only cheating if they’ve explicitly agreed to be exclusive” argument when Joyce hasn’t even suggested it herself is bending over backwards.
Li
@thejeff: I keep going over this and trying to find the words to explain the disconnect I’m seeing, so apologies if I still haven’t gotten it right, but:
what I keep seeing folks (very much not just Lumino) assert is that the people “defending” Joyce’s cheating are, like, desperate not to “admit” that it’s shitty. Or making excuses for it that they wouldn’t be making if they didn’t ship it. These statements, like saying that people are “bending over backwards”, imply a level of cognitive dissonance on the part of the people doing the “defending”.
The idea seems to boil down to believing that people who say what Trixie said above can’t just sincerely believe that Joyce’s actions don’t or shouldn’t count as cheating, and I don’t see any reason to make that particular assumption.
Also, people like John, who are literally just laying out the timeline of events and theorizing about why Joe might not be upset, also being described as “bending over backwards to defend Joyce”? Seems especially silly to me.
I guess I just don’t usually think of “thoughtful, calm, well-reasoned analysis” when I hear the words “bending over backwards”.
Xujhan
Maybe this is just my age showing, but this kind of rules-lawyering approach to relationships makes me really uncomfortable. The point isn’t to be legally in the right, the point should be kindness to your partner. Even if I’d only been dating someone for a couple weeks, knowing that there was a decent chance that kissing someone else would upset them is enough reason for me to not kiss someone else. Have the conversation first; whoever you were intending to kiss will still be there the next day.
AK
I hope for the poly universe, but I super agree with this! Like the size of this infraction is up to the people involved, but Joyce has done this incredibly thoughtlessly and while thinking it was out of bounds and would hurt her partner–And that IS bad behavior! It IS being thoughtless and unkind! They should talk about it! They should SET some ground rules if they’re gonna stay together! Joyce should do the work to demonstrate she can be trusted!
I think what the pointing out of the vagueness is getting at is that we have some decent evidence Joe may not see this relationship as needing to be closed and monogamous if that’s not what Joyce wants–he’s certainly never indicated wanting that. And because of that many of us are much less surprised by this reaction than some people. But it doesn’t like. Absolve Joyce of having behaved badly. It just means it may be a thing to work through instead of a dealbreaker.
Mr.Morningstar
Generally the most basic boundary of pretty much most romantic relationships are “Do not cheat on me.”
Its kind of the default boundary that generally does not need to be said. You need to discuss if you are FINE with being non exclusive, but the assumption is 99% of the time, that you are, if that conversation hasn’t happened.
And if someone says “We never talked about it so I figured it was fine” theyre an asshole.
John Campbell
I did, in fact, have someone barge into an unrelated conversation to take me to task for not acknowledging that Joyce was cheating when she “had sex” with Dorothy. That was what actually motivated me to go document the actual course of events in the first place.
And, as I just pointed out, Joe and Joyce had a whole conversation about her doing laundry with Dorothy, and at no point in that conversation did he ever even hint that she should stop doing it. Joyce was the only one who suggested that. In fact, I don’t think Joe has, at any point in their relationship, ever suggested that Joyce should not do anything that she wanted to do. He has been all about enabling her to do what she wants to do, and not pressuring her to do things she doesn’t want to do.
He also had a whole conversation with Dorothy about her crush on Joyce, in which the only one who suggested that Dorothy couldn’t have Joyce was Dorothy. He didn’t even hint that Dorothy should delete Joyce’s sexts. He just asked for his own copy.
But hey, the important thing isn’t what Joe thinks the parameters of their relationship are or should be. It’s what some rando on the Internet thinks they should be in order to justify Joe punishing Joyce for being a terrible sinner, right?
Lumino
You started off with an intelligent, respectful comment. And then you spiked it with the last paragraph of petty teenager spite.
Come on, man. Absolutely not needed nor helpful.
Biblioholic93
It seems like disrespect came to him first, I’m seeing here and have been seeing in previous comment pages…
Not to say it’s not unsavory, but why is it that those on one side of the argument must be paragons except for their argument itself, while the angry flying monkeys that aren’t *you specifically* are still after him?
The point is valid however “disrespectful,” it’s not our feelings that matter in this. It’s Walky’s and Joe’s. And Joe has been remarkably consistent about seeing this subtext stomping in from ten miles away, and implicitly encouraging it without addressing the pretty strict self-delusion going on in both of these young ladies.
As an only barely sometimes commenter here, I’ve got to say it’s a little too white-knighty for my tastes in here… not really gonna say much else here, but… yeah okay, sure man…. John’s totally the whole and only problem. And he’s not allowed to have human emotions about the topic. Sure.
… come on folks….
Li
Lumino: Are you someone who thinks Joe should punish Joyce for being a “terrible sinner”? No? Maybe that part wasn’t about you, then.
Lumino
Li: No, but I am somebody who is having my position strawmanned by spurious arguments.
Li
I’ll be more direct: I literally don’t think that part was about you, I think it was about other commenters.
Suzi
As someone who was rooting for this, I am THRILLED.
Back to my popcorn.
TerribleTransit
I strongly suspect that (assuming this is heading in the direction it appears) Joe is coming at it from a forgiveness angle rather than a “what you did is acceptable within the established bounds of our relationship” one. While they did not explicitly agree to exclusivity on-panel, there have been far too many statements implying that to be the case for that too feel like a reasonable response to me.
Adeptus
Agreed.
Zaxares
It’s also possible that Joe is thinking of it as “I kissed Dorothy on a spur of the moment thing, I’m not in LOVE with her, but I sinned and so I’m not worthy of you and we must break up”, so of course there’s no need to break up with him, Joyce would choose HIM. Not realizing, of course, that Joyce was already planning on choosing Dorothy. I’m not sure if that was his thinking, but he could still wind up taking it badly if he discovers what Joyce was planning to do.
TerribleTransit
Entirely possible. Poly stocks are high right now but there’s definitely other directions the story can go from here.
I kinda feel like the “you knew exactly what you were doing” combined with the fact that he knew beforehand Dorothy had a thing for Joyce means he’s not taking it as a given that Joyce would choose to remain with him if she has to pick one. I feel it’s not likely but it is plausible this is heading towards “It’s okay that you made a mistake, I forgive you for it, now you can come back to me exclusively” (probably followed by a bad breakup).
The more likely swerve that I’ve seen suggested is “I’m not really interested in continuing the relationship now, I just want to make you confront your choices head-on instead of being oblique about it”, in which case… yeah, this is probably not coming from a forgiveness angle.
Throwatron
this is actually where I’m at 100% with this right now, which is why I’m not really bothering to argue any points about it right now. it’s just as likely Joe is going to say “Joyce, just because you made a mistake one time, doesn’t mean I won’t forgive you. You don’t have to break up with me, because I know you’re figuring things out and you deserve room to make mistakes.”
But, of course, if he doesn’t dump her, but also doesn’t okay her having a continuing sexual relationship with Dororthy? That means Joyce has to actually think about what she wants, and actually make a choice, and actually break somebody’s heart.
Whirlakitty
Or more likely Joe, like probably most college guys, is totally happy for his girlfirend to have a girlfriend and this would be a different story if she’d kissed a guy.
thejeff
Quite possible on initial reaction and that initial reaction might well be different if she’d kissed a guy.
I’m not sure most college guys would be as happy with the reality of their girlfriend having a girlfriend as with the fantasy.
TheOthin
Worth noting that this isn’t just a hypothetical arbitrary girlfriend. Joe has had a pretty good idea of how Joyce felt about Dorothy before he got together with her.
thejeff
In that sense though, it’s very different from “like probably most college guys”.
Hard to tell if that’s “why would you think you have to break up with me,” or “lemme hear you say it: why did you have to come here to break up with me?”
eh, whatever
The second option makes no sense, especially with that face.
775 thoughts on “Sunday Edition”
NGPZ
“making an assumption for the sake of a pun”
XD (-_-)
Taffy
You know what they say.
NGPZ
no what do they say? :0
Taffy
It makes an ASS out of U and MING.
NGPZ
why did i get the feeling this was gonna be a Digital Circus reference XD
Taffy
It’s been on the mind, of late.
True Survivor
To be fair, it is a frickin’ fantastic show.
Jon
And Ming did win the Favorite Character Award…
a/snow/mous/e
a-fuckin’-men
KtBear
So what you’re saying is that Digital Circus stole this joke off of Benny Hill way back in what, the seventies?
Taffy
No, what they said was that they had a feeling I was making a Digital Circus reference, which I was. If Benny Hill made the same joke half a century ago, I didn’t see it, because I haven’t seen that show. Or guy. I don’t know if Benny Hill is a show or a guy. Could be both. None of my business either way.
Wizard
Both. Just to clarify, Benny Hill was a guy who had a show named after him.
Steamweed
Benny Hill from the last century, like, 70 years ago. ‘Twas an inspiration for Monty Python.
Edward Rhodes
Benny Hill is a guy. Who had a show. Which got canceled. And then he died shortly thereafter. 🙁
Antsan
And I was all like “Sam&Fuzzy did that joke first”. Shows what I know!
mindbleach
The modern version is stealing from XKCD.
“You know what happens when you assume.”
“I don’t, yet you’re confidently asserting I do.”
ary
No, they subverted the joke from Benny Hill, which says ‘me’, not ‘ming’.
Taffy
And the first time I heard the “Ming” variant was in a SnapCube video. I didn’t even know Benjamin Hill was associated with it until today.
Nymph
Benjamin W Hillard
Arillius
Unless the digital circus has been out for over a decade, that’s a Dresden Files reference.
Deanatay
Don’t let that MPTION guy off the hook, either!
Doctor_Who
I was about to do the thing and then I noticed your Gravatar.
Well played.
Cattleprod
You make an ass out of u and mption.
P!enapple
I’m being especially lame brained, i know, but what’s the pun?
NGPZ
goodbi
Steamweed
Instead of goodbye. ‘Cause those two girls are byesexual.
NGPZ
666+ comments!!!! IT’s SHOWTIME >:D
Enigmatic Jack
Not the response Joyce was expecting.
Doctor_Who
Probably also not the headline Joyce was expecting.
Enigmatic Jack
Likely not the headline anyone was expecting
Rabid Rabbit
Well, we all know how Joe defines “headline,” and Joyce has already been there, so…
tim gueguen
Or much of the readership either.
Qube
given the general Lesbian Thirst of the editor in chief, I would presume a certain level of tonal consistency, at least in the stories that might even tangentially involve chicks kissing
Sharizard
Daisy is riding this headline so hard right now.
butts
this is how the sickos and relationship paladins can both win
Kyulen
Not really the response I expected from Joe either.
Rose by Any other Name
I not only expected this response from Joe, I have repeatedly called it in the comments.
Joe, the most experienced at sexual relationships, knows that a relationship is not exclusive until both parties agree that it is. Joe never agreed, so Joyce cannot cheat on him, because they are not exclusive.
Embe13
so did i, many essays over the last few days the joe was gonna go this route
John Campbell
I went back recently and re-read the section where Joyce and Joe got together, trying to establish what the actual timeline of events was (mainly to use as ammunition against the heteronormativity blood knights that keep trying to characterize the laundry incident as cheating despite it happening before either of the girls got together with the boys, admittedly), and the main thing I determined was that Joyce and Joe’s relationship is incredibly ill-defined. Like, there doesn’t even seem to be a single strip to point at and say, “That’s where their relationship officially started.” It’s all implications, inference, and assumptions. At some point between Anti-Joyce climbing a tree and the two of them arriving at science class, they evidently became a couple, but exactly where…?
And this is not the first time that Joyce’s assumptions about what she’s allowed to do in this relationship were stricter than Joe’s. Like, Joe knows about Joyce doing laundry with Dorothy, and did not tell her she had to stop. That was all Joyce. And he explicitly encouraged her to masturbate when she was characterizing it as cheating on him.
I mean, he may well have spent the last couple days thinking, “Oh, Joyce is wearing Dorothy’s clothes again. Must be laundry day…”
Lumino
Point of order: Nobody said the FIRST laundry incident was cheating (at least to my knowledge). When they went back to do it AGAIN the morning of the protest, that was cheating because:
A: Joyce had just acknowledged that, by her own definition, it was sex.
B: Joyce knew she was in a relationship with Joe and didn’t have his permission/consent.
C: Joyce suggested and planned to do it.
Trixie Jubilation
It is only cheating if it is outside of the boundaries of the relationship that’s been established, and as everyone else in the comments is rightfully pointing out – no such boundaries have been established. Joyce has her own assumptions about how relationships “should work”, and apparently so do you, but without communication, I don’t think exclusivity needs to be assumed default. They have barely even established being boyfriend/girlfriend, much less what that means for who they’re allowed to boink on the side.
Lumino
People really are bending over backwards to try and defend Joyce cheating because they like Joyce x Dorothy. It’s really quite disturbing.
JOYCE knew it was wrong, hence why she felt so guilty when Joe gifted her the blanket. In JOYCE’S mind, it was cheating and a betrayal of trust. That’s all that matters.
Cimorene
And where are you considering Joe’s agency in if he considers it cheating? Who gets to define cheating in a mushy, undefined relationship? Joyce has guilt and religious baggage issues. Joe is fully aware of this and he isn’t overly innocent or naive. How often do people beat ourselves up over something that we think is going to hurt or be a big deal to another person, but then it turns out it wasn’t as damning as we thought it would be. They just need to talk about it, which they finally are.
thejeff
Joe can certainly forgive her. Or even just not care.
It’s still a problem for Joyce, because she didn’t know that. She went ahead and did it anyway, apparently without caring whether Joe would be hurt or not. Without giving him a thought, as far as we can tell. That says something about her and her behavior, even if Joe winds up not caring.
Li
I feel like for it to be “bending over backwards to defend Joyce’s cheating”, someone would have to be making an extremely weird or technical argument.
All John and Trixie are doing is pointing out that Joe and Joyce haven’t had a lot of clear conversations about their relationship boundaries, and theorizing that Joe himself might not actually have considered the two of them exclusive, which could be one explanation for what he’s saying in this strip.
There’s really no need to find that kind of argument disturbing.
thejeff
That could be an explanation for what he’s saying in this strip, but making that a defense for Joyce’s cheating is “bending over backwards” because not only did she not know that, but she assumed it was cheating (or at least bad, if she hasn’t actually used the word).
She wasn’t relying on Joe being okay with it, which means she went ahead regardless.
Making this “it’s only cheating if they’ve explicitly agreed to be exclusive” argument when Joyce hasn’t even suggested it herself is bending over backwards.
Li
@thejeff: I keep going over this and trying to find the words to explain the disconnect I’m seeing, so apologies if I still haven’t gotten it right, but:
what I keep seeing folks (very much not just Lumino) assert is that the people “defending” Joyce’s cheating are, like, desperate not to “admit” that it’s shitty. Or making excuses for it that they wouldn’t be making if they didn’t ship it. These statements, like saying that people are “bending over backwards”, imply a level of cognitive dissonance on the part of the people doing the “defending”.
The idea seems to boil down to believing that people who say what Trixie said above can’t just sincerely believe that Joyce’s actions don’t or shouldn’t count as cheating, and I don’t see any reason to make that particular assumption.
Also, people like John, who are literally just laying out the timeline of events and theorizing about why Joe might not be upset, also being described as “bending over backwards to defend Joyce”? Seems especially silly to me.
I guess I just don’t usually think of “thoughtful, calm, well-reasoned analysis” when I hear the words “bending over backwards”.
Xujhan
Maybe this is just my age showing, but this kind of rules-lawyering approach to relationships makes me really uncomfortable. The point isn’t to be legally in the right, the point should be kindness to your partner. Even if I’d only been dating someone for a couple weeks, knowing that there was a decent chance that kissing someone else would upset them is enough reason for me to not kiss someone else. Have the conversation first; whoever you were intending to kiss will still be there the next day.
AK
I hope for the poly universe, but I super agree with this! Like the size of this infraction is up to the people involved, but Joyce has done this incredibly thoughtlessly and while thinking it was out of bounds and would hurt her partner–And that IS bad behavior! It IS being thoughtless and unkind! They should talk about it! They should SET some ground rules if they’re gonna stay together! Joyce should do the work to demonstrate she can be trusted!
I think what the pointing out of the vagueness is getting at is that we have some decent evidence Joe may not see this relationship as needing to be closed and monogamous if that’s not what Joyce wants–he’s certainly never indicated wanting that. And because of that many of us are much less surprised by this reaction than some people. But it doesn’t like. Absolve Joyce of having behaved badly. It just means it may be a thing to work through instead of a dealbreaker.
Mr.Morningstar
Generally the most basic boundary of pretty much most romantic relationships are “Do not cheat on me.”
Its kind of the default boundary that generally does not need to be said. You need to discuss if you are FINE with being non exclusive, but the assumption is 99% of the time, that you are, if that conversation hasn’t happened.
And if someone says “We never talked about it so I figured it was fine” theyre an asshole.
John Campbell
I did, in fact, have someone barge into an unrelated conversation to take me to task for not acknowledging that Joyce was cheating when she “had sex” with Dorothy. That was what actually motivated me to go document the actual course of events in the first place.
And, as I just pointed out, Joe and Joyce had a whole conversation about her doing laundry with Dorothy, and at no point in that conversation did he ever even hint that she should stop doing it. Joyce was the only one who suggested that. In fact, I don’t think Joe has, at any point in their relationship, ever suggested that Joyce should not do anything that she wanted to do. He has been all about enabling her to do what she wants to do, and not pressuring her to do things she doesn’t want to do.
He also had a whole conversation with Dorothy about her crush on Joyce, in which the only one who suggested that Dorothy couldn’t have Joyce was Dorothy. He didn’t even hint that Dorothy should delete Joyce’s sexts. He just asked for his own copy.
But hey, the important thing isn’t what Joe thinks the parameters of their relationship are or should be. It’s what some rando on the Internet thinks they should be in order to justify Joe punishing Joyce for being a terrible sinner, right?
Lumino
You started off with an intelligent, respectful comment. And then you spiked it with the last paragraph of petty teenager spite.
Come on, man. Absolutely not needed nor helpful.
Biblioholic93
It seems like disrespect came to him first, I’m seeing here and have been seeing in previous comment pages…
Not to say it’s not unsavory, but why is it that those on one side of the argument must be paragons except for their argument itself, while the angry flying monkeys that aren’t *you specifically* are still after him?
The point is valid however “disrespectful,” it’s not our feelings that matter in this. It’s Walky’s and Joe’s. And Joe has been remarkably consistent about seeing this subtext stomping in from ten miles away, and implicitly encouraging it without addressing the pretty strict self-delusion going on in both of these young ladies.
As an only barely sometimes commenter here, I’ve got to say it’s a little too white-knighty for my tastes in here… not really gonna say much else here, but… yeah okay, sure man…. John’s totally the whole and only problem. And he’s not allowed to have human emotions about the topic. Sure.
… come on folks….
Li
Lumino: Are you someone who thinks Joe should punish Joyce for being a “terrible sinner”? No? Maybe that part wasn’t about you, then.
Lumino
Li: No, but I am somebody who is having my position strawmanned by spurious arguments.
Li
I’ll be more direct: I literally don’t think that part was about you, I think it was about other commenters.
Suzi
As someone who was rooting for this, I am THRILLED.
Back to my popcorn.
TerribleTransit
I strongly suspect that (assuming this is heading in the direction it appears) Joe is coming at it from a forgiveness angle rather than a “what you did is acceptable within the established bounds of our relationship” one. While they did not explicitly agree to exclusivity on-panel, there have been far too many statements implying that to be the case for that too feel like a reasonable response to me.
Adeptus
Agreed.
Zaxares
It’s also possible that Joe is thinking of it as “I kissed Dorothy on a spur of the moment thing, I’m not in LOVE with her, but I sinned and so I’m not worthy of you and we must break up”, so of course there’s no need to break up with him, Joyce would choose HIM. Not realizing, of course, that Joyce was already planning on choosing Dorothy. I’m not sure if that was his thinking, but he could still wind up taking it badly if he discovers what Joyce was planning to do.
TerribleTransit
Entirely possible. Poly stocks are high right now but there’s definitely other directions the story can go from here.
I kinda feel like the “you knew exactly what you were doing” combined with the fact that he knew beforehand Dorothy had a thing for Joyce means he’s not taking it as a given that Joyce would choose to remain with him if she has to pick one. I feel it’s not likely but it is plausible this is heading towards “It’s okay that you made a mistake, I forgive you for it, now you can come back to me exclusively” (probably followed by a bad breakup).
The more likely swerve that I’ve seen suggested is “I’m not really interested in continuing the relationship now, I just want to make you confront your choices head-on instead of being oblique about it”, in which case… yeah, this is probably not coming from a forgiveness angle.
Throwatron
this is actually where I’m at 100% with this right now, which is why I’m not really bothering to argue any points about it right now. it’s just as likely Joe is going to say “Joyce, just because you made a mistake one time, doesn’t mean I won’t forgive you. You don’t have to break up with me, because I know you’re figuring things out and you deserve room to make mistakes.”
But, of course, if he doesn’t dump her, but also doesn’t okay her having a continuing sexual relationship with Dororthy? That means Joyce has to actually think about what she wants, and actually make a choice, and actually break somebody’s heart.
Whirlakitty
Or more likely Joe, like probably most college guys, is totally happy for his girlfirend to have a girlfriend and this would be a different story if she’d kissed a guy.
thejeff
Quite possible on initial reaction and that initial reaction might well be different if she’d kissed a guy.
I’m not sure most college guys would be as happy with the reality of their girlfriend having a girlfriend as with the fantasy.
TheOthin
Worth noting that this isn’t just a hypothetical arbitrary girlfriend. Joe has had a pretty good idea of how Joyce felt about Dorothy before he got together with her.
thejeff
In that sense though, it’s very different from “like probably most college guys”.
TheStranger
I mean, it depends on tone.
Hard to tell if that’s “why would you think you have to break up with me,” or “lemme hear you say it: why did you have to come here to break up with me?”
eh, whatever
The second option makes no sense, especially with that face.
eh, whatever
Not everybody insists on punishment the way you seem to… it’s not just Joe who doesn’t.
The Queer Agenda [frog memes]
I expected Joe would talk it over with a cool head, but the surprise isn’t unwelcome.
lina
YESSSSSSSSSS
Dara
ABSOLUTELY. As a dedicated Joyce/Dorothy fan I am FINE with this. 100% onboard. POLY TIMES LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
NGPZ
YEEEEEEES POLYLYLYLYLYLYYYYYY!!!! >:D
NGPZ
*plays “Mystery Kindaichi Band” on hacked muzak*
Vanessa
Oh yes please. Can everyone be happy for once?