Becky’s sort of a hard character to write, because if you let her turn into a cartoon, she’s a kind of unlikable cartoon, in a way, say, Carla isn’t—mainly because Carla is never *mean*, just “obnoxious”. She’s been veering more cartoonish for a while now. I blame the Dads Arc.
They’re both hard to write, I suspect.
Because they both have very strong defense mechanisms that they wear like armor, only very occasionally giving glimpses underneath. It’s tricky to convey that in a way that keeps the focus on it, but still reminds the reader once in a while that the surface isn’t really what’s going on.
Careful there, Becky. Between teasing Joyce about her eating habits and poking Dorothy because you’re jealous she’s Dorothy, you almost went thirty whole seconds without trolling someone.
I think she’s trying to be a jerk to Dorothy in a funny-haha way to disguise her actually not-funny resentment over Joyce Envy. Which is kind of misguided and doesn’t make sense, for reasons Dorothy’s explicitly pointed out—Dorothy *doesn’t* really have Joyce for long—but that’s my theory.
BTW, the closest Mexican restaurant to where I live failed its inspection by the Tennessee Health Department this week. They scored 58 out of 100 and over 100 pounds of queso sauce had to be dumped because it was too warm.
If any of the Mexican places in my area got a visit from the health inspector, they’d get shut down. I’m convinced they’re bribing somebody.
Clif
I live in Texas, so the actual Mexican restaurants are pretty good. The closest is Gringos which is wonderful if overpriced. On the other hand , there are a convenience store which sells warmed over Mexican food, a Mexican meat market that offers lunch, and another convenience store with a Tacarita Cart outside, all of which are closer and all of which I’ve been afraid to try. Taco Bells are an imitation of Mexican food, but for fast food, I’ve had worse.
Demoted Oblivious
It feels like Gringos is perfectly named then. Delivers on the goods and uses the opportunity to fleece the customers. So named for the clientelle rather than the proprietor perhaps?
Taco Bell is based on the food Dave Bell found on both sides of the border in SoCal late 1950s, CaliMex as opposed to TexMex. I had some Mexico City style Mexican a few years back and it’s nothing like either.
The only problem I have ever had with Taco Bell is that I always either don’t have enough money or I’m with people who would look at me funny if I had enough food to actually get full at Taco Bell. It’s like other people’s problem with Chinese food.
I am hoping that this Geffory Nicholson is on subatical and Robin is teaching the class as an adjunct. Mostly beacuse I want to see Robin’s face when she receives her first paycheck at an adjuncts salary. Also Dr. William Bianco teaches Intro To American Politics at IU in the spring.
Becky? There’s a fine line between co medically silly passive-aggressiveness and toxic passive aggressiveness, and I can’t help feeling that you’re not so much putting a toe across that line as dancing a merry jig on it just to prove you can.
I for one, support the use of “co-medically silly,” and intend to embrace it with both of my noodly appendages. I believe I have a co-morbid fascination with your new term. ?
Man, Dorothy is being absolutely horrendous, here. I can’t believe she has the audacity to demand false enthusiasm from her so-called “friends”. How terribly dreadful of this horrid, evil hwoman.
In fairness, over two decades later, I still feel it was unlikely.
Come up with a nonsensical Star Wars program for missile defense, fake the results and let the Soviets bankrupt themselves trying to keep up. I mean, it worked, so I guess it was genius, but jeeze.
Hey, even in 84 we knew Star Wars couldn’t work. I remember doing a presentation on that when I was 16. Whatever made the Soviet Union collapse, it wasn’t that.
But I wonder what that prof‘s doing that they already hate the idea of going. Sounds ominous.
Agemegos
It was their centrally-controlled command economy.
Sam
The Soviet Union partially collapsed because the Chernobyl disaster crushed the people’s egos and belief in their secretive government at the same time as a politician was advocating for openness with the people. It brought up a lot of issues that helped start the spiral to its collapse by destroying people’s faith in the government they had.
Roborat
The widespread systemic corruption didn’t help either.
Mike: caught feelings after manipulating a friend with obvious attraction to him to hurt someone else, got exactly what he deserved, got replaced with a slightly less intolerable version of himself.
117 thoughts on “RDA”
Ana Chronistic
Taco Bell used to be After Church Food
not surprised I retained my atheism
Kyrik Michalowski
Taco Bell helped you realize church was bullshit, you should be thankful. 😛
Needfuldoer
Sermons go in one ear and out the other. Taco Bell doesn’t linger much longer than that.
Proto_Eevee
they look like they don’t got any hands!
UnfrozenNeanderthal
Welcome to mittens
Demoted Oblivious
And warm fingers!
Clif
Sierra would point out they have no toes.
Nono
Oh, right, different class schedule, hmm. I wonder when we’ll see Leslie.
UnfrozenNeanderthal
There’s comics with her drawn and uploaded, so relatively soon.
Clif
Becky hasn’t had her class yet.
Deanatay
Unfortunately, Willis has a three-and-a-half month buffer, so ‘relative’ only compared to the overall length of the comic.
David M Willis
*cough* four months
Joshua Kronengold
I mean, that’s good?
(ludicrously impressive, really).
Kyrik Michalowski
Hey, I happen to like Taco Bell and I think it deserves to be considered “real food,” after all it sustained me through college(before I dropped out).
Also Becky’s “hating Dotty enthusiasm” could use some toning back, like all the way back.
Yenklette
Becky’s sort of a hard character to write, because if you let her turn into a cartoon, she’s a kind of unlikable cartoon, in a way, say, Carla isn’t—mainly because Carla is never *mean*, just “obnoxious”. She’s been veering more cartoonish for a while now. I blame the Dads Arc.
Clif
I have bad news for you.
Demoted Oblivious
Damnit Earth, stop interrupting, we’re trying to live here.
Kyrik Michalowski
It’s a fair thing to blame, she might be leaning extra hard into her Dorothy rivalry so she has someone to take it out on.
thejeff
They’re both hard to write, I suspect.
Because they both have very strong defense mechanisms that they wear like armor, only very occasionally giving glimpses underneath. It’s tricky to convey that in a way that keeps the focus on it, but still reminds the reader once in a while that the surface isn’t really what’s going on.
BBCC
I think that fake enthusiasm is as good as you’ll get here, Dorothy. XD
Clif
Enthusiasm just isn’t right unless it’s a little bit plastic.
Demoted Oblivious
Do you mean that it’s artificial, or that it can be reshaped to fit the needed purpose? Both? Or that it’s derived from petrochemicals? Or… or…?
Clif
Enthusiasm is like Taco Bell.
thejeff
Artificial and derived from petrochemicals? That fits.
thumb
it’s unsustainable for sure
StClair
Careful there, Becky. Between teasing Joyce about her eating habits and poking Dorothy because
you’re jealousshe’s Dorothy, you almost went thirty whole seconds without trolling someone.tim gueguen
I’m starting to wonder if Becky isn’t following the “I have a crush on someone, but I don’t want to admit it, so I’ll act like a jerk to them” trope.
Yenklette
I think she’s trying to be a jerk to Dorothy in a funny-haha way to disguise her actually not-funny resentment over Joyce Envy. Which is kind of misguided and doesn’t make sense, for reasons Dorothy’s explicitly pointed out—Dorothy *doesn’t* really have Joyce for long—but that’s my theory.
Clif
I think she’s doing a shtick, like she always does a shtick, to entertain herself.
Passchendaele
god panel 4 is way too much of a mood
BarerMender
I’m confused. I thought a mood was an emotional state.
Clif
Panel is way too much of an emotional state.
Clif
Panel 4 is way too much of an emotional state and who stole my 4?
Azhrei Vep
… nobody. You cle4rly misplaced your four all by yourself.
thumb
Vep is sus!
(Group proceeds to vote thumb out the airlock)
RowenMorland
It isn’t a good idea to stick your thumb out an airlock.
clif
If thy thumb offend thee , stick it out an airlock. Malicia 13:4
LiterallyJustSomeGuy
Wait, Joyce is taking this class, too? All three of them will be in a class together? *rubs hands together furiously*
Stephen Bierce
In Honor of Thursday’s Strip of 9 Chickweed Lane, and/or other things.
Stephen Bierce
BTW, the closest Mexican restaurant to where I live failed its inspection by the Tennessee Health Department this week. They scored 58 out of 100 and over 100 pounds of queso sauce had to be dumped because it was too warm.
Delicious Taffy
If any of the Mexican places in my area got a visit from the health inspector, they’d get shut down. I’m convinced they’re bribing somebody.
Clif
I live in Texas, so the actual Mexican restaurants are pretty good. The closest is Gringos which is wonderful if overpriced. On the other hand , there are a convenience store which sells warmed over Mexican food, a Mexican meat market that offers lunch, and another convenience store with a Tacarita Cart outside, all of which are closer and all of which I’ve been afraid to try. Taco Bells are an imitation of Mexican food, but for fast food, I’ve had worse.
Demoted Oblivious
It feels like Gringos is perfectly named then. Delivers on the goods and uses the opportunity to fleece the customers. So named for the clientelle rather than the proprietor perhaps?
Opus the Poet
Taco Bell is based on the food Dave Bell found on both sides of the border in SoCal late 1950s, CaliMex as opposed to TexMex. I had some Mexico City style Mexican a few years back and it’s nothing like either.
not someone else
The only problem I have ever had with Taco Bell is that I always either don’t have enough money or I’m with people who would look at me funny if I had enough food to actually get full at Taco Bell. It’s like other people’s problem with Chinese food.
Bagge
Best friend squad!
UrsulaDavina
I am hoping that this Geffory Nicholson is on subatical and Robin is teaching the class as an adjunct. Mostly beacuse I want to see Robin’s face when she receives her first paycheck at an adjuncts salary. Also Dr. William Bianco teaches Intro To American Politics at IU in the spring.
Lingo
See, I was thinking Robin changed her name….
Needfuldoer
It’s just Robin with her hair tucked under a hat, poorly disguising her voice, and wearing Groucho glasses.
clif
Would Willis be that good to us though? Even for Christmas.
Demoted Oblivious
Look to Halloween! The expectations have already been foretold.
DailyBrad
It’ll do.
Reltzik
Becky? There’s a fine line between co medically silly passive-aggressiveness and toxic passive aggressiveness, and I can’t help feeling that you’re not so much putting a toe across that line as dancing a merry jig on it just to prove you can.
Reltzik
*comically, damn you semi-auto correct!
(I mean, I right-clicked the squiggly line, so it’s not fully automatic, is it?)
Demoted Oblivious
I for one, support the use of “co-medically silly,” and intend to embrace it with both of my noodly appendages. I believe I have a co-morbid fascination with your new term. ?
Delicious Taffy
Man, Dorothy is being absolutely horrendous, here. I can’t believe she has the audacity to demand false enthusiasm from her so-called “friends”. How terribly dreadful of this horrid, evil hwoman.
/s
Clif
What are you talking about? Dorothy is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this school.
Clif
Just ask Yale.
Doom Shepherd
In my PoliSci course in late ‘89, I predicted that the USSR would break up entirely, into 15 states or more. My Prof wrote “unlikely” on my essay.
I should have gone back a few years later and demanded a grade change.
Clif
In fairness, over two decades later, I still feel it was unlikely.
Come up with a nonsensical Star Wars program for missile defense, fake the results and let the Soviets bankrupt themselves trying to keep up. I mean, it worked, so I guess it was genius, but jeeze.
CJ
Hey, even in 84 we knew Star Wars couldn’t work. I remember doing a presentation on that when I was 16. Whatever made the Soviet Union collapse, it wasn’t that.
But I wonder what that prof‘s doing that they already hate the idea of going. Sounds ominous.
Agemegos
It was their centrally-controlled command economy.
Sam
The Soviet Union partially collapsed because the Chernobyl disaster crushed the people’s egos and belief in their secretive government at the same time as a politician was advocating for openness with the people. It brought up a lot of issues that helped start the spiral to its collapse by destroying people’s faith in the government they had.
Roborat
The widespread systemic corruption didn’t help either.
drs
Dorothy is a fucking saint.
Feels the timeskip has reduced the interestingness of the characters.
Billie: might be a semi-trash person, but interesting character. Apparently wandered off.
Mike: was getting interesting, then got killed, and replaced by a smarmier version of himself.
Becky: used to have multiple notes, now is just an ungrateful asshole.
Lucy: reduced to Walky-thirst.
He Who Abides
Mike: caught feelings after manipulating a friend with obvious attraction to him to hurt someone else, got exactly what he deserved, got replaced with a slightly less intolerable version of himself.
Fixed it.
Clif
Amazigirl replaced by Nightguy. Will the horror never end?
Axel
yeah that seems like something a teenager deserves to get murdered for
Clif
I mean, look at how much trouble we’d save if we just bumped them off once they were teenagers and no longer cute.