221

Neglect
Posted on December 28, 2014 by David M Willis

221 thoughts on “Neglect”

  1. Solenoid

    You run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking…

    1. thebombzen

      Racing around, to come up behind you again!

      1. Cheryl

        Wait….did you just drop pink floyd……*confetti*

        1. tyersome

          Well, don’t forget this has a dark side …

      2. Lord Geovanni

        if you wanted to you could count exactly how much times the sun has overlapped you but if you make the race from west going east you can count how many times either you overlapped the sun or the sun just ran in the wrong direction like an idiot.

    2. Yotomoe

      Don’t chase the sun. Icarus will tell you. That shit’s not fun.

      1. newllend

        What are you talking about he can’t tell anyone anything his ass died from that shit.

        1. Disloyal Subject

          Yeah, okay, you need to get past Cerberus on the way into the Underworld, but THEN I’m sure Icarus would be glad to share the wisdom of experience.
          Getting back OUT past ol’ Cerby is the hard part.

        2. pumacatrun2

          Well if your wife also happens to be there and you want to free her you might be able to strike a deal, just don’t look back on the way out until you hear her voice.

        3. nothri

          Also, don’t eat any of the fruit while you are there.

        4. lekoppa

          Seriously. Though, you know, if you do get hungry, pomegranate seeds are pretty small. No one’s going to notice if you eat two or three, am I right?

        5. Lord Geovanni

          may be not but if you eat six it will definitely not go unnoticed

        6. Deanatay

          I think that was the point – Persephone was committed to Hades over such a tiny quantity of food, but it still broke the rule.

        7. Paradox

          How do you even grow fruit in that heat? Probably make more sense for Persephone to eat nuts, roasted over an open fire.

        8. Makkabee

          He probably gets it shipped in. If Charon can handle passengers, branching out to freight shouldn’t be too much of a stretch.

        9. Lord Geovanni

          the underworld in greek mythology isnt all a burning hell every one has their own punishment on the underworld

        10. Bizze

          Icarus wouldn’t remember after he’d drunk from the Lethe anyway.

        11. Lord Geovanni

          Yea no reason to tread all the way to the underworld when Daedalus can just tell you the story himself….. but then again Icarus didnt listen to him why would you.

        12. Jadedcynic

          *passes out bottles of Bactine™*

          Whale plaid, good sir, whale plaid. 😀

  2. Em

    Oh no. 🙁 Sad comic.

    1. otusasio451

      I dunno. Seems alright to me.

      1. Pantheon the Mantheon

        Ya, it actually has a kind of feel good feeling to it. Like the moment after the storm when everyone is too exhausted to do anything but sleep but there’s that one person watching over them all, basking in the collective acknowledgement that they all are just so happy to be alive and together…. Sorry, didn’t mean to wax philosophic there. Basically what otusasio said.

        1. Bagge

          I liked your version! There is definitely a touch of “sader but wiser” to Joyce’s last line.

    2. 0kami

      Certainly has a slight melancholy feel to it, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a sad comic. Joyce has grown a lot in such a short time, and she seems to have learned that her past can grow along with her.

    3. SonicBlueRanger

      Well sad to an extent. Joyce clearly is going to defend Becky should/when the time comes and that is insanely sweet.

  3. Rachel Roth

    Aww. 🙁 Come on smart girl – figure it out. 🙁

    1. Solenoid

      That “enough running” comment ought to spur some curiosity at least.

      1. Luzahn

        Well, I’d assumed that Dorothy was leaving during that beat panel.

        Hopefully she does catch on soon, though. Dorothy could be useful.

        1. timemonkey

          Considering Becky basically told her whole story to a hostile Sarah I doubt telling Dorothy everything will be much of a problem.

        2. Kintrex

          Becky didn’t tell Sarah despite her hostility, she told Sarah because of her hostility, and because her hostility showed that she was looking out for Joyce.

      2. thebombzen

        Run, rabbit, run. Dig that hole, forget the sun.

        1. jackthepyro

          And when, at last, the work is done, don’t sit down it’s time to dig another one.

        2. 0kami

          Long you’ll live and high you’ll fly; smiles you’ll hide and tears you’ll cry.

        3. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          And then you’ll die.

          I have no idea what is being referenced with this thread of comments.

        4. Chris

          A very classic Pink Floyd song from Dark Side of the Moon. Time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-OytmtYoOI

        5. oldFart

          Man, never really heard the words before. How’d those fuckers know me so well? Damn them. (Referencing the Pink Floyd song. Never know where your comment will end up.)

        6. Chris

          Gorramit… I need to pull out my Floyd collection and give it all a listen all over again… It’s Breathe, not Time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrojrDCI02k

        7. Chris

          Breathe, including reprise… Time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqswNr2B874

        8. Jess

          And all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.

  4. Tlaurence

    I still don’t understand why Joyce thought she needed to hide Becky from Dorothy. Any theories?

    1. TheZachariah

      Because Joyce didn’t know how Becky had changed. She didn’t want a repeat of what happened when she introduced her parents to Dorothy.

      1. Tlaurence

        Oh. That makes perfect sense. Thanks

      2. Mercimary

        Yeah, that’s what I’m, in general, assuming too. But honestly, it felt more like she was hiding Becky from Dorothy instead of Dorothy from Becky. Dunno.

      3. Joe

        I had assumed it was because she didn’t want her two best friends to meet and get into an argument about who was the bester friend.
        I don’t think it would have happened, I kinda think that Joyce would think it would have happened.

    2. Rosicrucian

      Didn’t want to deal with the whole atheist thing with her (to her knowledge) super-religious friend.

    3. newllend

      Thought she would over react like her parents did.

  5. newllend

    Wow Becky is a heavy sleeper.

    1. Bagge

      She’s been through a lot, and she is now hugging Joyce which may be the only safe space in the whole world. I would sleep too.

      1. newllend

        Ya, boobs make me feel safe too.

        1. Yotomoe

          I wish I had a lady who would make me feel safe with her boobs. Any volunteers?

        2. Pantheon the Mantheon

          Remember Rule #1 of the internet Yotomoe. There are no girls on the internet. This means any volunteers will only be able to present the dreaded man boob.

        3. Yotomoe

          Foiled again! *Gets into my hovercar and zooms away cursing the name of my nemesis, the internet*

        4. HMRC4EVR

          So, is Nemesis The Internet all black and teal, with red eyes and chrome highlights? Possibly sporting either a Decepticon sigil or an upside down G2 Autobot symbol?

          For the sake of aligned continuity we have to know so everything will fit perfectly together!

        5. gwalla

          It looks like this.

    2. JessWitt

      It’s been a late dramatic night.

  6. Tandel

    I am eager to see Dorothy’s response to the whole situation.

    I am envision similar magnitudes of pride in Joyce as when she stood up to her parents for Dorothy’s, though tempered with caution and concern.

    1. Bagge

      That’s sounds a lot like the commentator fields these last weeks, coupled with “now kiss, NOW kiss”.

      So, we are basically a combination of Dorothy and Joe. Quick – we need to talk more about Nachos and MonkyMaster to channel Walky and Joyce as well.

      1. timemonkey

        I don’t want to channel Walky, he’s an ass.

        1. Tandel

          The only thing that needs channeling is the aforementioned imagery to a TV screen.

  7. Onions

    What’s it called when a punchline doesn’t make you laugh, but instead blindsides you with this profound sense of empty sadness?

    1. Bagge

      Feels? At least that what internet’s calling it.

    2. Kk

      I think that’s just a metaphorical punch to the gut

    3. Luzahn

      Damn you Willis.

    4. dr-calamity

      Catharsis

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Nope. That’s the satisfaction of unpleasant feelings – such as by beating their source into a pulp of gore and bone chips.

    5. Yotomoe

      Tragedy. But luckily Tragedy + Time= Comedy so it’ll be funny EVENTUALLY.

    6. JustCheetoDust

      Milking [of tears], for whatever Willis would use your tears for.

    7. DSL

      It’s still a punchline. The tools of humor are used to make a serious point.

    8. Foxhack

      That’s a Peanuts punchline.

  8. zebrathinker

    ahhhhh i want them to meet while Becky is awaaaaake

    1. newllend

      But first, where’s Ethan ? >:-)

      1. Luzahn

        noooo

        1. Solenoid

          Oof, that’s a bomb that just waiting to go off.

        2. newllend

          *Tick-tock *Tick-tock* any day now.

        3. JessWitt

          But a bomb that will make everything better – I hope…

        4. Seerow

          It just occurred to me that this is right, and the bomb is about to go off…

          and that bomb is what is going to push Ethan to try to pursue things with Danny, making the whole situation with Amber that much more complicated.

  9. wonderaday

    Dang, right in the feels.

  10. Plasma Mongoose

    “Watch where you put your hands “sleeping” Becky.”

    1. Yotomoe

      Really, watch. Neither is on a boob a butt or at least a face. If you’re not gonna cop a feel at least make yourself a nuisance.

    2. pyrophobia

      But a few inches away from 2nd base… She could steal if she wanted. (Not that she should.)

      1. Bill

        Is is still stealing second base if no one tries to stop you (fielder’s indifference)?

    3. nothri

      I know that one! Genocider Syo! Didn’t know you were a Danganronpa fan mongoose!

  11. TSB

    Confused by Joyce’s dialogue in panel two. Is there more to her segregation of Dorothy and Becky than we realize, beyond keeping the atheist away from the (former?) fundie? Or was that really just it and she’s embarrassed that Dorothy realizes it?

    1. Screwball

      Yeah, I think it’s pretty much the fact she was keeping her keeping her old life’s #1 best friend ever who went through the same brainwashingvery strict Religious upbringing as her from her new life’s #1 best friend (perhaps even #1 overall, but possibly even seatings) who’s an Atheist. She gave Becky no contact at all with Dorothy, & yet Dorothy somehow knows about Becky, which confuses Joyce.

      Got no problem with Religion, not big on such closed minded versions tho…

      1. 0kami

        Screwball, link to your gravatar image, please? 😀

        1. Screwball

          Hmmm, possibly a bit late, but this is the best I can do…

        2. 0kami

          Many thanks! Works just fine!

  12. Triniking1234

    Obligatory “awwwwwwww”

  13. Idon'tcarenomore

    Joyce can be caring towards others when she thinks of it. Sometimes she is really good. Like now.
    Dorothy is cute, and she knows Walky.

  14. showler

    Why does Becky’s hair look better in the last panel?

    It doesn’t seem that different, just better.

    1. Hoboturtle

      Bed head.

    2. Watson The Snail

      It’s because the sun has moved slightly, so the light coming in through the window behind them is hitting at a different angle.

    3. JustCheetoDust

      …Soul Glo?

  15. Hoboturtle

    Joyce drapes Becky’s sleeping body like a cape the whole storyline.

    1. grantimusmaximus

      I’m just imagining calculus class with snoring Becky, lovingly hanging onto Joyce’s leg in the middle of the aisle, and everyone pretending not to notice.

    2. Screwball

      “I’m wearing the Becky-Cape, I make the F#(%ing whoosh noises…”

    3. SonicBlueRanger

      Words can’t express how much I want that to happen.

  16. Swoop

    Don’t leave Dorothy! You Joyce and Becky need to become best friends!

    Also, Joyce could at least ask if she wants to go. I don’t think she’s literally tired of running.

    1. Yotomoe

      She didn’t take the bus. She City Escape Free ran her way all the way home.
      She had places to go and had to follow her rainbow.

      1. Swoop

        I’m sorry, but what do you mean by that? I don’t understand.

        1. Yotomoe

          Someone doesn’t know of our lord and savior Sonic Adventure 2.
          (Sonic Heroes is better)

        2. raptorsaurus

          Does that make Sonic Boom! the equivalent of Satan?

        3. Yotomoe

          That is Sonic 06. Sonic Boom is the anti-christ.

        4. Triniking1234

          But Sonic Heroes makes play through the same stages FOUR times to get true ending. 🙁

    2. Carriethedragon

      She looks like she’d be really hard to wake up. The kind that you don’t even wake up at a sleepover in the morning when you’re bored. If you’re smart, you don’t mess with that. You just let their parents drag them kicking and screaming into wakefulness.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Or you make bacon and let the fumes wake them. If that fails, remove the aroma and try baking cookies or chocolate cake.

        If both sugar and bacon fail to wake them, then fetch a wooden stake or somesuch; those tend to work on aliens and monsters alike.

        1. Swoop

          You must really hate diabetic vegetarians.

        2. timemonkey

          Just because they can’t eat it doesn’t mean they won’t react to the smell.

        3. JustCheetoDust

          But that would be a cocktease smell! It teases their cocks!

        4. Lone Wolf

          Well, they should’ve known better to bring their roosters to a sleepover to begin with. Especially given that the damn things didn’t even bother to crow when the sun came up.

        5. DSL

          At that point you cook the chicken, too. By then it’s getting on toward lunchtime, so you might as well.

        6. tyersome

          But are you going to choke the chicken before putting the cock in the oven?

        7. JustCheetoDust

          I was wondering if the discussion would go in the direction of wordplay even though I was making an MC Chris reference.

        8. JustCheetoDust

          Having said that, who doesn’t choke the chicken to help pass the time during oven preheating?

        9. tyersome

          Chicks?

        10. Kelly

          Don’t stake me, bro!
          I’m not alien or a monster, I just can’t smell!

        11. JustCheetoDust

          Aliens? That’s what the sunglasses are for.

          (some people may have difficulty with using sunglasses)

        12. Kryss LaBryn

          We had three smallish dogs that would go to extremes to get kibble.

          We’d toss kibble onto our sleeping guests. Nothing like insistent dog noses in the armpits and stompy little beagle/basset feet to the guts (bonus points for the crotch) to get people vertical, lol.

          We did wait until the coffee and breakfast were ready; we’re not monsters. But lord it was funny.

      2. Swoop

        Are you kidding? If someone’s asleep and you’re bored, you’re obligated to mess with them. Put a fake spider on their face, or maybe give them a Hitler mustache with a sharpie. Are you ignorant of sleepover etiquette?

      3. Jess

        I was always the kid that’d wake up ungodly early at my friend’s sleep overs and out of boredom, start going through their stuff…
        lol.
        I’m a terrible person, but whatever.
        Worst thing I’ve ever found was a petrified cat in the back of my friend’s closet.

        1. tyersome

          How catastrophic — what did you do to the poor thing that had it so scared?

        2. JustCheetoDust

          Barked at it?

        3. Deanatay

          icwutudidthar – assuming you only take its butt, of course.

    3. Bagge

      If Joyce wake Becky up at six o clock without prior permission it would give Becky legal right to push her out of the bed.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        If they stayed up even longer to draft a contract like that, no wonder they’re so wiped outpooped.

        1. Bagge

          Oh, they did that when they were eight. They updated their friendship contract regularly to include things like candy, music and cooties.

        2. John

          Joyce is currently looking at the part about how if they hadn’t both found husbands by the time they were twenty they’d marry each other in a new light.

        3. Bagge

          HEADCANON!!!

    4. Yotsuyasan

      No, probably she isn’t. But the is still asleep, and knowing how rough she’s had it, and that she is finally getting some rest, Joyce is likely hesitant to wake her.

  17. Yotomoe

    “I assume that has a deeper meaning but metaphorical running away from life problems aside, would you like to join me for jogging? That shit’s boring as fuck alone.”

  18. Bagge

    Dorothy is nice. Just look at this. She immediately backpedals the snark, make sure to let Joyce know that everything is all right and that she won’t gossip. Then she extends her invitation of company to Becky.

    A few lines of dialog and she has diffused almost all potential sources of misunderstanding and drama between these three. And that’s without knowing just how serious the situation is.

    1. pyrophobia

      Fitting practice for the future President of the United States of America.

      1. Bagge

        It’s either that or plant bombs under metropolis in a convoluted plan to kill superman. Either works.

        1. Luzahn

          Just make sure you don’t kill Flash or the whole thing will go to hell.

        2. Makkabee

          I get that reference!

          I got that reference.

        3. Kelly

          Ok Cap 🙂

  19. Stern Look

    Escaping your problems is not a replacement for exercise.

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Exercise can be a decent escape from one’s problems, though.
      Provided one stays properly fed & hydrated, & doesn’t overdo any particular areas.

    2. Lawzlo

      What if exercise IS your problem?

      1. tyersome

        Try not to get exercised about it?

  20. dailybrad

    Becky’s got to be wiped out. Emotional exhaustion’ll do that.

  21. Yotomoe

    “Damnit Joyce. Another way college changed me was I love Jogging. And Jogging with hot chicks!? Why would you turn her down you fool!”

    1. newllend

      I Guess wet bouncing juggs and tight girl shorts aren’t her thing.

      1. Yotomoe

        Joyce, stop Twat-blockin’ Becky!

  22. chantecler

    It’s sad because Becky looks so happy and comfy right now, but when the haze off sleep will be gone… Reality won’t be fun to face.

  23. Johnathan Joestar

    Aw that’s a cute cuddle pose. Reminds me of a napping sibling clinging to my grandpa when I’d get home from the library sometimes.

    1. Swoop

      You shouldn’t have said that here. People are going to try to ruin That cute memory with incest jokes.

      1. timemonkey

        Or they’ll say nothing and YOU ‘ll be the creepy person talking about incest.

        1. Swoop

          I never said I wouldn’t be the person to ruin it.

        2. Swoop

          And yes, I regret saying that creepy thing. Sorry Johnathan. I should’ve thought about what I said before I said it. I’m working on that.

        3. tyersome

          Well, on the plus side you just made me feel a lot better about hitting you with the duck dick a couple of days ago 🙂

        4. Heavensrun

          That is a comment that probably sounds much worse out of context.

        5. tyersome

          I do occasionally try to rise above the situation … but usually I sink to new depths.

  24. Rabid Rabbit

    It’s taken me this long to notice that Dorothy’s glasses don’t have temples, but just perch on her nose. Even, apparently, when she’s jogging. Somehow panel 4 brought this fact home.

    1. Pantheon the Mantheon

      We don’t take kindly to logic ’round these parts.

    2. artemi

      Panel 4 is perhaps the most adorable Dorothy in the entire comic so far…

  25. Mrlannderson

    “Cause she’s been running through my head all night!”
    Ba dum tssss

    1. liahansen

      +1

  26. grantimusmaximus

    I’m sorry, I’ve been mesmerized by Dorothy’s shoulder freckles this whole time. What’s going on?

  27. Megatron

    I like the angle in panel four.

    1. Heavensrun

      Well, high angles would feel more at home for you.

    2. poofdepoof

      I noticed it, too! I think we’ve never seen Dorothy from that angle before.

    3. artemi

      Ah, crap, responded to the wrong comment. I was just saying that’s perhaps the most adorable Dorothy so far. lol

  28. Thor

    Over the last two days, I have watched a marathon run of Seasons 2-4 of Legend of Korra. I’m not sure that there’s a DoA drama bomb that could even make me blink at the moment.

    That said, this was not really a drama bomb, or even a feels grenade. This was just a quiet moment of Joyce’s world continuing to click into place after the last drama bomb.

    1. Orangey

      Woo for Korra! im on a korra marathon at the mo, though ive only finished the first series so far. (though to be fair i have also only started to watch it 2 days ago…)

      1. Deanatay

        We were going to, but decided it was best to start with Avatar. We’ll get to Korra eventually.

  29. OsoPescado

    Awwww Joyce…. that was so sweet.

  30. Shadow12000

    Damn, she is sure holding on to Joyce tightly with those unclenched hands.

    1. No Name

      They were wrapped around Joyce when she stood up, but now that she’s lying back down, they’ve relaxed.

  31. Aeron

    Save some energy for all those LGBT marches.

  32. tyersome

    She has been acquainted with a brusque Walky … but I’m not sure that counts as ‘tried’ …

  33. Gate of Seven Ores

    “Get ya anti-grav glasses here! Pesky handles annoying you? BAM! They’re gone! Glasses keep falling off? SHWING! Apply directly to your FACE! Comes in oval AND rectangle varieties!”

    1. tyersome

      … that doesn’t seem quite right … we want eye glasses not eyebrow glasses!

      How about face hugger glasses?

      1. tyersome

        … after all the slogan could be “You won’t be able to give them up!”

        1. Gate of Seven Ores

          “Guaranteed to love and hold ANY face or your money back!”

        2. Screwball

          “pleasenotetheCompanyisnotresponcableforanyimmobilization
          causedbyuseofFaceHuggerGlasses,noranyresaultingdeathby
          ChestBurster. TheCompanyretainstherightstouseinfectedcustomers
          inscientificexperementstocreatetheultimateBio-Weapon…

        3. Screwball

          pleasenotetheCompanyisnotresponcableforany
          immobilizationcausedbyuseofFaceHuggerGlasses,
          noranyresaultingdeathbyChestBurster. TheCompanyretainstherightstouseinfected
          customersinscientificexperementstocreate
          theultimateBio-Weapon…

          ((Trying that again. Human tech’s more fiddly than my usual stuff…))

        4. tyersome

          Right, they can also come with a lifetime guarantee …

    2. Kryss LaBryn

      You mean like pince-nez?

      1. Gate of Seven Ores

        I didn’t know those had a name. I always see them in documentaries.

        But no. Those were farthest from my mind when I made the original comment.

  34. feministicman

    And she ran, she ran so far away.
    She just ran, she ran all night and day.

    – A Flock of Siegals

    1. Bill

      I see what you did there…..

      1. Amazistool

        But how do Ethans parents fit into this?

        1. feministicman

          I would imagine they would give him the ultimatum:

          “The more you love, the more we hate:
          So please stay straight! The more you love, the more we go away.”

          Although in all fairness to Ethan’s father, he would probably sing it reluctantly.

    2. Opus the Poet

      I used to watch a really crappy re-scripted anime just to hear the Bowling for Soup version of that song.

      1. Opus the Poet

        And as usual the internet has that opening to the crappy re-scripted anime https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpxrsEAIMT4 Knights of the Zodiac Opening (English)

  35. Bluesnake462

    You never really stop running.

  36. Lord Geovanni

    Wonder if becky can pass for a Ginger so i can make that Gingerbread man joke or if that’s just white hair because i get the feeling that orange hair and freckles are ginger like

    1. Neonix

      Yes. Becky is definitely a redhead.

      1. Lord Geovanni

        its confuseing orange seems like a ginger color rathar than red head

        1. Lord Geovanni

          but thats probably because i dont understand why white and silver is ginger

  37. Lord Geovanni

    Becky’s sleeping face and those sexy sexy freckles God Bless you Willis

  38. zmm

    JOYCE IS GROWING YAY!

    also I think Joyce really should go on her run.. It’ll set a better tone for the new dynamics.. Joyce gets some good Dorothy time, and excercise. And then Becky won’t wake up glomping the object of her affection.. As Becky won’t have classes it would be bad if she started off her new life like that.. It’d feel good but her and Joyce are going to have to be sure this doesn’t develop into a co-dependancy problem.

  39. StClair

    Joyce has not slept at all. Just lay there, all night, staring up at the ceiling. Trying to come to terms with this. Including the probability of literal damnation.

  40. Aolbain

    Joyce, you want her to feel at home, not give up exercising.

    1. Paul

      Do we have any evidence that Becky was ever into exercising in the first place?

  41. motorfirebox

    Poor Beckster. She’s done all the running she can’t, and wasn’t even able to stay in the same place.

    1. Crumplepunch

      I hear you can get a machine for that.

    2. tyersome

      … and while she’s got the red part down it would be hard to see her as a queen …

      1. Bagge

        She has to get to the eight square to become a queen.

        1. tyersome

          Are you suggesting she has a checkered past?!

  42. DSL

    Dorothy has a grandmotherly look about her, the way Willis draws her. Knew a girl like that in HS. Sweet as you please, drop-dead gorgeous, smart as hell, cheerleader captain, but somehow grandmotherly with a frisson of “I’ll take care of you whether you want it or not,” even as a teenager. I was not at all surprised when she became a nurse.

  43. concolor44

    It looks to me as if Joyce is growing into a REAL Christian.

    1. Deanatay

      Joyce has always been a “Real” Christian – just, a very young one.

      1. Bagge

        “Same old Joyce”

  44. The Wizard

    Forget running, a spell of haste works just fine thank you.

  45. clodia

    Why. Why did I think that Dorothy being in the room meant that Joyce would confide in her. That makes things too simple. Gosh darnit. Okay. Sarah knows the situation. Sarah doesn’t want drama in her room for longer than a minute. Sarah also has a secret heart of gold, especially for Joyce. Sarah will help figure out a longer term situation in the morning.

    1. Bagge

      They did lay some important ground work. Joyce knows that Dorothy knows about Becky, that she respect and accepts what she knows about their situation (and don’t use it as teasing material) and she is willing to include Becky in their group. The step to confide in Dorothy and ask her for help is not long.

      Even if Becky wasn’t on the run I think Joyce would be nervous to how her two best friends would take to each other. Dorothy does a wonderful job to ease those fears.

      1. clodia

        Thank you. You lay out excellent points that ease my concerns. Man, I love how Joyce and Dorothy are friends that love and support each other.

    2. John

      Give ’em some time. Becky’s not even awake yet, and probably needs some sleep cuddled up with someone who loves her more than she needs her problems addressed right now. It’s not really Joyce’s place to unload Becky’s problems – which would have to include outing her in order for any of it to make sense – on someone whom, however well Joyce knows and loves her, Becky has never met before she’s even awake to say okay.

      Joyce unthinkingly outed Billie to Becky yesterday, and though that went okay, if Becky were her father’s daughter rather than a secret lesbian herself, it could easily have gone very badly, and it wasn’t Joyce’s place to make that decision. It’d be nice to see that maybe she’s learned that lesson from Becky’s story.

      And, really, Dorothy’s not going anywhere, and neither are Becky’s problems. They’ll still be around when Becky wakes up. And if she follows Joyce around like a puppy again like she did yesterday, in a few hours they’ll be in Gender Studies with not just Dorothy but Leslie as well, and I can’t think of a better pair for backup here.

  46. Chris

    God, Joyce, you’re so deep!

    1. Just Here

      Yeah, I’m keenly interested to know what Joyce means in the last panel there. Does she mean that Becky has done enough running in that she shouldn’t have to run, or that Becky is too exhausted to run more?

      1. 0kami

        Probably a little of both, but if I had to choose one option, I’d say she meant the former. Becky’s most likely pretty tired, having physically run away from home and mentally running from the issue that was eating away at her mind all day. She deserves this moment of rest by her best friend’s side.

  47. Vangeln

    And if you want to join us in the bed, you’re welcome, too.

  48. RootyToot2oot

    Damn you, Willis, you write yourself some deep, textured, nuanced characters here. Terrific work. Thanks.

  49. John

    Just catching up on Tumblr, and noticed this post: http://itswalky.tumblr.com/post/105941996217/a-search-term-that-led-someone-to-my-site-nice

    That was actually me. I was hunting down one of my earlier comments, where I remembered I’d used that phrase, so that I could link to it to prove that I totally called Becky’s crush on Joyce more than a year ago.

    1. Bagge

      That’s a much more boring explanation than I had envisioned.

    2. ICSM

      Well, did you find it?

      1. John

        Yep.

  50. Chengrel

    Yay empathy!

  51. Kaidah

    I’ve spent the last few days reading this entire series up to this point and was planning to comment when I finally got caught up later tonight, but I just had to do it now. Never, and I mean NEVER, have I ever had as much of an emotional response from any form of printed media as I have had reading the recent Joyce/Becky arc. I’m actually crying. I knew this comic was brilliant from the first strip, but I had no idea how much better it would get. Thank you. Thank you for one of the best things I have ever read. 🙂

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