Concernin’
Posted on December 23, 2025 by David M Willis


Tags: becky, vivian

224 thoughts on “Concernin’”

  1. Nono

    Sh’aint

    1. Nono

      Oh whoops, it’s sh’ain’t

      1. Clif

        I believe that’s what she said. Also, Hi Vivian.

        1. elebenty

          Vivian is so cute. It’s like Betty and Veronica had kids.

  2. Pocky

    dang, no sex dungeon stuff.

    1. Dean

      What I’m hearing is that Robin may have chained Leslie up in a completely different basement.

      1. Pocky

        so you’re tellin me there’s a chance they got away from it all to indulge in basement shenanigans?

      2. Reltzik

        Remember what comic this is.

        People don’t get chained up in basements. They get duct taped up in basements.

        1. Needfuldoer

          oh no

        2. elebenty

          Really thought you were going to say they don’t get chained up in basements. They get chained up DOWN in basements.

        3. Throwatron

          i keep trying to up-down-up-down-left-right-left-right-basement, but all it leads to is now my legs are tired. where’s my easter egg???

        4. Andrusi

          Getting chained up and down and all around

      3. Rose by Any other Name

        That is also what I got from that conversation.
        Well, that and Robin has previously chained Leslie up in a basement.

    2. Clif

      Pocky, we don’t know that.

  3. Bill Erak

    Oh girl. So they are in jail, ain’t they.

    1. tbf

      I seem to recall their arrest, yes.

    2. Mitzi B.

      I really hope they did the Barbie meme poses like Robin joked about

      1. C.T Phipps

        I wonder if Leslie will point out that Robin probably voted for a bunch of weapons to Bulmeria.

        1. Needfuldoer

          They drove a dump truck full of money to her house! She’s not made of stone!

    3. Pocky

      if they got sent to the slammer, here’s hoping Robin decided to try and fight the biggest bitch in the cell to assert dominance.

      1. Yotomoe

        They get to prison to bail them out and Robin’s already the top tog, fully tattooed and has an active candy smuggling ring.

        1. Rowen Morland

          They’re just prison-Danny sharpie tattoos.

        2. Throwatron

          okay but actually an enormous tattoo of Danny would be hilarious on anybody.

        3. Yotomoe

          Sal could make it work.

        4. Throwatron

          just an enormous back piece with an extremely tough aesthetic and fire and chains and stuff…and the dorkiest guy in a beret as the centrepiece. truly sublime.

    4. Reltzik

      They were last seen at the protest, so it’s plausible.

      Are the holding cells on a basement level? … and… I guess if the handcuffs were left on them, it would count as chained in a basement?

    5. Bogeywoman

      Either that or they’ve been fired and Leslie was living in faculty hiysing

    6. Arianod

      If that was the case, wouldn’t the whole campus know? Or at least Vivian?

    7. HueSatLight

      If a former congresswoman were arrested, I’m sure Daisy would have done some good journalism and gotten a photo of two randos kissing with an out of focus jail implied to be in the background.

  4. NGPZ

    Chained??? ?

  5. IntangibleMatter

    Aww, no sesbian lex dungeon? Disappointing

    1. Yotomoe

      Just cuz they weren’t in there TODAY doesn’t mean they won’t when they get back home.

      1. Ray Radlein

        It’s like one of those Home Improvement shows on HGTV where they renovate someone’s house while they’re away. “Surprise! We added a sex dungeon!

        1. elebenty

          Still waiting for that episode….

  6. Bwsab

    Ohhhhh, they got arrested.

  7. Cholma

    Wow. My memory is so crappy, I have no recollection of who Vivian is. So, I read 2 comics linked to her name, and NOPE– don’t remember those either!

    (this is how I can re-read books and still enjoy them: rotten memory)

    1. KtBear

      This is also how I can give someone my keys then freak out five minutes later that Ive lost them, THEN spend half an hour looking for them. (True story)

      1. Clif

        My keys live on the end of a coiled plastic teather that is firmly attached to my belt. There is a reason for this.

        1. elebenty

          I can relate, my car keys are on the purse strap, the house key is on my wallet. Can’t drive off without my purse, but I can still lock the entire thing in the house accidentally.

        2. Wizard

          This is why I always lock the door with the key, from outside. I’m never locked out, and if I forget anything else I can always get back in to retrieve it.

    2. Wereg

      To be fair to your memory, she seems to only pop up once in every four years or so.

  8. Alongcameaspider

    So Leslie and Robin definitely got arrested at the protest didnt they?

    1. Staszu13

      Likely

  9. C.T Phipps

    I’m fully of the mind Robin and Leslie are arrested because the obvious protest follow up is ACAB.

    1. John Campbell

      Academic and Congresswoman Are Banging?

      1. C.T Phipps

        Robin will say they can makeout because they’re in prison.

        Leslie will point out they’ve been there an hour.

        1. John Campbell

          Which is an hour they could have spent making out!

        2. Clif

          I’m following the logic so far.

        3. Yotomoe

          I mean I can’t argue with that logic.

      2. Steamweed

        *applauds you

  10. Yotomoe

    Hot- I mean how awful!…
    No I mean hot.

    1. Nono

      Hot skittles do sound awful. All sticky and sweet and none of it in a good way.

    2. Reltzik

      Compromise: Awfully hot.

  11. Minivet

    Is Vivian referring inaccurately (knowingly or otherwise) to when Robin holed up in Leslie’s apartment with paparazzi outside? Because otherwise I have no idea what that means.

    1. Holly

      Thanks for this theory – it’s more than I could remember so I’m on board with it.

    2. zee

      Yeah she’s referring to when Robin insisted on staying at Leslie’s place, even breaking back in after getting kicked out

  12. QueenofSodor

    Y’know, apropos of nothing, it would probably be a good idea for Carla to make a start on reparations re: her family’s role in the Military Industrial Complex by donating to say, a bail fund for the protesters that got arrested on Saturday?

    Just a random thought with no relevance to Leslie’s disappearance. Don’t worry about it!

  13. Taffy

    Taffy Containment Thread
    Leave your Taffy here ??

    1. QueenofSodor

      there are vanishingly few flavors of taffy i can stand to eat, because food autism. anybody got any cherry or watermelon?

      1. StClair

        I enjoy fake watermelon (but hard candy, like Jolly Ranchers, as I don’t care for the texture of gummies etcl) far more than the actual thing (too watery (duh) and also not at all sweet).

        1. NGPZ

          my favorite way to have watermelon is in iced tea, goes perfect with fried chicken :9

    2. NGPZ

      Santa Cruz beach boardwalk got some of the best saltwater taffy i ever tasted, honestly

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Taffy at the beach there’s nothing better…

        1. elebenty

          I want taffy ♪♫♪

          (but not wrapped in a sweater, bow wow wow)

      2. Laura

        Atlantic city boardwalk saltwater taffy, all the WAY!
        ?

        As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one “Boardwalk”, and it’s in Atlantic City, NJ.

        1. NGPZ

          Hahahha I beg to differ as a Cali girl, but okie XD

          Update on leg infection:

          Went in to give blood today.

          Good news is, the doc said it healing, going on another week of Keflex and anti-inflammatories. Bad news is, still hurts like hell if I have it unelevated for more than a minute at a time, and I *might* need physical therapy. Cannabis works to mitigate the pain, at least.

          Glass half full TT~TT

        2. Laura

          Good for you on the healing! I hope the elevation and PT and all the rest are the super magic bullet to get you walking again.

          Today I had my first PT since my back injury on December 5. (I wrote about it in a comment, a while back.) Still can’t really do much except lie in bed, but I am so lucky that I get the time off for now from work to do just THAT!
          And the PT and all the meds will help, I know.
          Gotta get up at 5 for an early AM MRI tomorrow… ?☕️????

        3. NGPZ

          Awe thanks, and good luck!!! T~T <3

        4. Laura

          Thank you, hon’!

          MRI went well. A peaceful mental mini-vacation. And I can even sit and stand and walk a little bit now, so life is beautiful!!!

        5. NGPZ

          I’m glad, I hope that will come for me soon as well ?

        6. Laura

          ???❤️‍?⚕️?

        7. C.T Phipps

          Heal well.

    3. Thing 2

      I’m not entirely convinced that Taffy can be contained.

    4. Reltzik

      I’m a vegetarian. I can’t eat taffy, I eat tafu instead.

    5. Yotomoe

      I’ve never actually had real taffy. Only Laffy Taffy. And it’s kind cumbersome to eat. Hurts my jaw after a while.

    6. nadamás

      My Taffy has breach containment and we need to call on the mobile task force before there is irrecoverable damage to the veil.

      1. Jon

        I looked up the MTF list and was surprised to see there’s no MTF tasked with containing culinary anomalies. I mean, there’s Beta-7 (Maz Hatters) for toxic materials, or Lambda-14 (One-Star Reviewers) for anomalous restaurants, but neither seems quite right here.

        1. Laura

          MTF?

          This must be some other use of the term “MTF” than the one I know…

        2. Jon

          Mobile Task Force. They handle the initial containment/suppression of anomalous items for the SCP Foundation. MTF Beta-7, nicknamed the Maz Hatters, handle anomalously hazardous materials, for instance. MTF Gamma-17, Asimov’s Lawbringers, deal with persons and items associated with the Group of Interest (GoI) Andersen Robotics, which has produced anomalous AIs in the past. MTF Omicron Rho (the only one that changes the formatting of the MTF designation), the Dream Team, handles anomalies in the realm of dreams (which, sadly, involves abandoning their corporeal forms). And so forth.

    7. Holly

      The first time I heard the word “Taffy” was when I was watching Care Bears as a 3 year old, and I found it a very odd way of saying toffee. It is the first Americanism I learned of.

      1. LiamKav

        Wait, is that what taffy is? TIL.

        1. Taffy

          It’s the other way around, kinda. “Toffee” is a linguistic derivative of “taffy”, essentially a Britishism. Now, I take my name from the candy, but I also recently learned that “Taffy” is a bit of a rude way to refer to a Welshman, apparently from Teifi, which is Davy, which is David.

        2. Taffy

          Now, if you’re of the UK or Ireland variety, you’ve possibly seen something called a fruit chew, a sort of soft caramel-textured sweet. That’s taffy. If you’ve eaten Starburst, Chewits, Hi-Chew, or Mamba fruit chews, you’ve eaten taffy. Your typical flavors are gonna include cherry, lemon, orange, strawberry, grape, and green apple (what I call the “six allowed fruits” sometimes), with a few standard variant flavor groups that have names like Bold or Tropical (piña colada, mango, dragon fruit, kiwi, acai, raspberry, etc.).

          There’s also the classic “saltwater taffy”, which contains no saltwater but has several people claiming to have invented it, typically in a story involving a boardwalk carnival or other seaside location. The iconic look is a roundish piece of the stuff in a little square of wax paper, twisted at the ends to seal it. ? It’s basically the same as those mass-market brands, but it’s usually found in more of a variety pack and tends to feature flavors like chocolate, peppermint, banana, vanilla, black licorice, peanut butter, and so on and so forth. Being that it’s a pretty simple recipe, if you find a souvenir shop in the USA, you’re likely to find a generic brand of this type of taffy, and if the town you’re in is known for a certain product or flavor, you’ll almost definitely find that flavor of saltwater taffy for sale.

        3. zee

          Thank you for the taffy lesson, I love learning things

        4. Freemage

          The various brand names of candy you cite have as much to do with proper taffy as Taco Bell does with Tex-Mex. The ingredients are there, and some of the general shape of it does align, yet… yeah, no. Saltwater taffy has an infinitely more pleasing texture and flavor, and basic taffy usually has a great deal more ‘pull’ to it than almost-solid chews sold by major brands.

        5. Taffy

          There’s absolutely no call for taffy elitism, and I think you just wanted to take a dig at Taco Bell for some reason.

        6. Nymph

          I’ll add to this something I learned when I moved to the UK. “Pulling” is when you’re out at a club and you take someone home. “You’ve pulled” at that point. So when British people first encounter the phrase “pulling taffy” or a “taffy pull” they think we’re talking about banging Welsh people.

        7. Throwatron

          in their defense, banging Welsh people is a noble pursuit, and deserves its own unique terminology and innuendo

    8. Lys

      The Dockmaster’s Office in Wrangell, Alaska has a big bowl of saltwater taffy available, and that’s why it’s my favourite Dockmaster’s Office.

    9. Wereg

      Banana flavoured taffies bring me immense joy!

    10. Spacie

      I have Holiday Taffy at home right now. Flavors: hot cocoa, eggnog, cinnamon, sugar cookie and peppermint. It’s so good and haven’t been able to have taffy for over two years since the oldest had braces.

    11. zee

      Laffy Taffy is an insult to the word taffy. My tongue is haunted by that artificial banana flavoring…

      1. Throwatron

        it’s funny because the fake banana flavour is the only banana flavour i actually like, and yet you can’t eat those bananas, because they don’t exist anymore

        1. StClair

          I’m told that both “banana” and “grape” are based on now-extinct cultivars, but I’m not entirely sure I believe it in either case.

        2. Freemage

          One of my various YouTube feeds did a bit where they ordered a Cavendish banana bunch from a specialty grower, and said, no, it’s not really related to the banana candy flavor, either.

        3. zee

          All bananas are evil (except bread ig. Banana bread is pretty cool ig)

    12. Amós Batista

      I always read “Taffy” as “TAH-FEE”; instead the obvious anglo-saxon pronuntiation,”TEY-FEE”.

      1. Astariel

        I would think most native English speakers would say TAH-FEE. I certainly do, and I’ve never heard it pronounced differently.

      2. Nymph

        Yeah I’ve also never heard it pronounced Tey-fee in my life. Toh-fee in the UK, Tah-fee in the US, but never Tey-fee.

        1. thejeff

          I thought toffee was a completely different candy.
          Or is taffy pronounced toffee in the UK, but still meaning taffy?

        2. Nymph

          toffee gets used for a LOT of things here so I’m not totally clear on exactly what it is. Like caramel sauce gets called toffee in sticky toffee pudding? They don’t have actual taffy here, but they do have the kind of soft chewy candies and in my experience they call that toffee as well? So idk man lol

    13. Andy

      Chewing taffy can pull the crowns off your teeth. Avoid taffy. Or maybe just avoid chewing Taffy.

    14. Nymph

      You can’t have my taffy, but I’ll leave a candy cane.

  14. Mr. Random

    Vivian does not tolerate bullshit.
    I like that.

    1. Needfuldoer

      We need more of that.

      1. Astariel

        Tony should take a class with her.

        1. Throwatron

          They should be water polo champions.

  15. RassilonTDavros

    Glad to be back to the Becky plot for the moment. Am very very worried about Leslie.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      (And, surprisingly enough, Robin.)

    2. thejeff

      And to answer the complaints about why having only one strip and then cutting away the first time: It was to set up Becky looking for her, that she wasn’t at home and then allow the passage of time for Becky to get to the next stop.

  16. Shakes

    Does Robin sound annoying or just loud?
    Is Vivian a misanthrope that pretends to get always working to never engage with others?

    1. Taffy

      God forbid women have a job

      1. Reltzik

        According to some of the more conservative preachers out there? Yes. Yes, God does that.

        1. Taffy

          Their God is weak and pitiful, unfit to bear my children.

        2. nadamás

          Absolutely fire line right there

        3. zee

          Were you planning to mpreg god? Bc, respect

        4. Nymph

          “I am the Alpha and the Omegaverse.”

          ~ God (probably)

    2. Freemage

      Nah, refusing to engage with Robin is likely a defensive maneuver to protect Vivian’s sanity. Sort of like shielding your eyes when in the presence of Cthulu.

  17. Steamweed

    “Again”? :O

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Is that a Slipshine I missed?

      1. Bill Erak

        There is that one Leslie/Robin slipshine but I think it’s an AU or maybe from one of the other Willis timelines?

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Pretty sure that was Shortpacked, the one with “Back To The Future” as foreplay.

      2. Yotomoe

        o3o we need more non-canon slipshines. Really scratch that itch.

  18. Ray Radlein

    Leslie Sex Containment DungeonThread

    1. Reltzik

      This thread and/or dungeon doesn’t seem to actually contain any Leslie sex.

      That’s just false advertising.

    2. Yotomoe

      So is it a Sex dungeon or a dungeon that contains (as in restricts) sex?

  19. Stormtide Leviathan

    For everyone wondering why we had to jump to joyce and becky after just a strip, this is why. Because spacing out the becky strips conveys the passage of time better than jumping straight from one to the other. And also cause those strips are cutes :3

    1. Bill Erak

      I mean, this is self-evident and people already know that, because this comic has been doing that since its inception. But they’re also eager to complain so they ignore the common sense.

      1. BarerMender

        Well said.

      2. Lee

        C’mon. You know that people are frustrated with the *overall quantity* airtime “DoJo being saccharine at each other” has gotten in what was supposedly going to be a cheating/heartbreak storyline, not the use of jump cuts to pass time. Don’t be what you’re claiming other people are being.

        1. Bill Erak

          See, I’d believe you, but you can go back to older strips and see the vitriol thrown at them regardless of how much time they’ve spent together and. Yeah.

        2. Astariel

          Also, I don’t believe anyone promised a cheating/heartbreak storyline.

        3. Dot

          A cheating storyline is implicit when you have central characters cheat on their partners. Come on now.

        4. Bill Erak

          A lot of people mention that Willis talked about wanting to do that but like. They can do it however the hell he wants. Doyce cheated in a relatively harmless way, practically by accident, and tried to set it right almost immediately.
          That’s obviously not all that’s going to come out of this, despite people saying otherwise, but even if it was, let the story move forward and find something else of interest!

          (Cue someone replying ‘but the plot isn’t moving forward it’ll never move forward it’ll just be fluff forever!!1!’)

        5. apocryphascribe

          “Doyce cheated in a relatively harmless way, practically by accident, and tried to set it right almost immediately.”

          True! And this is part of my problem. As always, speaking for myself and not for anyone else, but the fact it was resolved so quickly, and that characters who found out about it so far have acted relatively mature and composed (including Joe, one of the people who got cheated on!) actually creates a potential problem later for the story, which is that if Willis DOES try to circle back and say “actually the cheating was a big issue”….who the hell is going to take that seriously?

          It would have to be such a drastic, out-of-left-field shift that the previous multiple months of “it’s cool, the cheating was nbd” that we got both in the comic and from large portions of the audience looks foolish in hindsight, and as much as I have confidence in Willis’s writing skills, idk if they can pull that off without it feeling undercooked or too little, too late.

        6. AK

          I… Don’t think he’s going to? Like. One of the things I often LIKE about Willis’s writing is how understated and realistic a lot of stuff feels. I think the cheating was mild, it was handled fairly well by everyone involved except Joyce whose partner as far as I can tell had been angling for polyamory for a little while, and I think it was meant to be less of a Big Fucking Deal and more of a messy honest thing that precipitated a long planned coming out. Unfortunately I think the culture writ large is extremely touchy about anything approaching cheating, and it is now the only thing a lot of people care about.

          Would I have liked actually engaging with cheating meaningfully as a plot point? Maybe? Like I very much would have liked more of the focus in this arc to be on the romantic relationships that this new one threatens or breaks. I am on record as feeling pretty bad about the pacing and focus surrounding that stuff, and I feel like the Willis “show several characters engaging with a theme from different angles at the same time” thing I admire so much has been fairly conspicuously missing from this arc. But it don’t know that it being About cheating would help that very much except that I would be hearing more from Walky and Joe (and I would like that because broadly I’ve liked what I’ve seen from both of them on this, but like. Broadly I’ve LIKED what I’ve seen from both of them on this. I don’t need it to be about the cheating I just want more varied screen share).

          Like. Honestly? I think my strongest desire to see the plot address cheating more than it is comes from the fact that I Do Not Enjoy This Couple and it would be cathartic to have the author agree, and that’s just. Not going to happen because we have different taste as it pertains to this. I dunno. Sometimes stuff is just kind of messy and it’s not like an extended hidden problem it’s just kinda messy and you do what you can about it and I feel like Willis should be allowed to tell that kind of story? I think lots of relationships (including poly relationships) just DO start with some amount of suboptimal messiness and then people have to do their best to work it out. I am pro- that kind of narrative existing in the culture.

        7. apocryphascribe

          @AK (disclaimer, this is all assumption, conjecture, and opinion)

          I agree with most of your comment on principle. I disagree on Joe specifically. I *do* need it to be about the cheating with Joe, because Joe is, quite literally, the only character in the entire cast for whom it being “about the cheating” makes the most narrative sense, because he’s the only one out of the entire cast who has cheating trauma as the core around which his entire characterization is built. It is his Rosetta Stone. Imagine if we had an arc about Joyce losing her religion and then having it land like “oh, well, guess I’m an atheist now!” instead of what we actually got. That’s what I’m afraid is happening here with Joe: the comic, after over 15 years of existing, finally doing The One Thing To The One Character That Would Be The Single Most Obvious Thing To Do To That Character(tm), and having it arrive with all the pomp and circumstance of a deflated, wet balloon.

          Look, Willis can do what they want and I’m not interested in dictating what that looks like or should look like. But IF – and I continue to emphasize it’s a BIIIIIG IF, because for all we know that train is coming right back around to the station, and I’ll be happily eating my hat in tears! – if that is truly what’s going to happen, that is immensely disappointing to me. It feels like a massive waste of potential to take the easiest character development opportunity layup in the world, and not just leave it on the table, but to take it off and execute it in the most polite, non-confrontational, non-offensive way possible, without giving it enough impact, or exploiting/exploring the history, discomfort, and hangups that Joe has as a character. Why bother giving him those qualities if you’re not gonna do anything with them at the very moment it would matter the most? It renders the cheating itself pointless, makes Joe as a character so much less dynamic and interesting, and would be one of the very few things in the decade plus I’ve been reading DoA that would make me question Willis’s writing chops.

          And I agree with you that if it was any character other than Joe, I would not give a damn, and I also realize that puts me into a pretty small minority of the people who constantly talk about this. I agree that I don’t need it to be “about the cheating” with Walky, because that’s not who and what Walky is, and there’s way more interesting stories to tell with him. If that never gets addressed with Walky, I’m totally okay with that (he’s genuinely got bigger fish to fry). I definitely do not need it to be “about the cheating” for Joyce and Dorothy, because dragging them through the mud over what was ultimately some impulsive shit on their part is not just hella misogynistic, it’s BORING as hell to me, doubly so when there are way more interesting stories to tell with them.

          But leaving it unaddressed with Joe? Feels bad. Feels very, very bad. The vibes would be atrocious.

        8. AK

          @apocryphascribe I think Joe is going to be one of those places we just disagree. I have long been in the camp that the way that Joe internalized his trauma surrounding his dad cheating on his mom was worrying about his own behavior and the harm he could personally do, and that it’s not really about cheating specifically so much as risking doing irreparable damage to another person. I do you think a romantic arc is pretty load bearing for him as a character, given that I believe is worrying about how he could damage a potential romantic partner is the crux of his personal internalized trauma, but I really do not think it is about the cheating for him and I’m really not particularly fucked about him not caring about it very much given that he has been actively matchmaking this shit. Walky actually feels like he has a much better claim to being upset about cheating.

          I also do not really perceive what has occurred as dragging Dorothy and Joyce through the mud, nor do I perceive it as misogynistic? Again, I think it’s just portraying a messy thing that happens sometimes. I think Joyce has always been shitty about this kind of thing, and I think Dorothy has always been the particular kind of people pleasing worrier without actually understanding how people work that has lead to her avoidance in this arc. I do think this work has been one of the nastiest displays of Joyce Behavior that we’ve had in a long time, but I think that’s part of the point. I don’t think any of that is dragging them through the mud. I think it’s getting to see their worst behavior and the way they enable it in one another when the push and pull that used to govern their relationship collapses. Is it to my taste? No. But it’s definitely not the kind of character assassination I think people make it out to be. This stuff was always there. Everyone is flawed, but I don’t really see how that’s misogyny.

        9. AK

          Sorry some weird typos got left in there, hopefully I’m still decipherable.

        10. thejeff

          Part of the problem for me is that no one has actually said the cheating was no big deal. It’s just mostly drawn no reaction.

          If Joe or Walky had been like “I’m pissed about being dumped, but you just kissed and then came to break up the next day? That barely counts as cheating”, I think that would be one thing.
          Instead I feel like the cheating is simultaneously treated as a big deal and mostly ignored. When it comes up it’s all “You cheaters!”, but then it doesn’t actually drive any of the plot or character reactions.

        11. apocryphascribe

          @AK on the “dragging DoJo through the mud” thing, that’s not about the comic itself, but a response to accusations that people who care about the cheating “just want to see Joyce and Dorothy get yelled at and taken down a peg.” I know those people exist, I was just explaining why that isn’t what I want for the stated reasons I gave.

        12. AK

          @apocryphascribe whoops I definitely misinterpreted you then. Sorry about that.

      3. Dandi_Andi

        And if you actually listen to people, you know that they aren’t upset that we cut away from Becky. They’re upset that we cut TO Joyce and Dorothy. We have potential drama with Walky and Joe and Dina and Sarah that we *could* have cut to instead. I don’t happen to agree with them, but i think this is an unfair misrepresentation of their position.

        1. Dot

          Right. I think it’s fine to cut away from Becky to get some passage of time, but I don’t like how we just cut back to Joyce and Dorothy when that’s what we had just been on.

        2. Dandi_Andi

          Yeah. Part of the appeal of having multiple concurrent story arcs is that you’re never stuck on any one story for very long. If you’re not liking the current A-plot, give it a few days and the B-plot may be more to your liking. And if not, I’m sure Walky will be around to make a joke about butts or something before you know it. It must be frustrating to not like the current JoyDot story but to never get that switch to something else.

    2. Shepsquared

      We also could have seen her check multiple places in 5-6 panels and know that Becky isn’t teleporting, but pacing is already a big complaint with this arc so why do something quickly?

      1. AMagicalDuck

        Okay but the Dorothy/Joyce comics are actually important to their story, and both events are taking place simultaneously over a long period of time, so going back and forth between them is the most efficient way of telling them

        1. Shepsquared

          A long period of time? Its been at most a few hours since they finished their morning classes and Dorothy talked to Becky. And that’s being generous based on the assumption of Becky needing to travel more than 30 mimutes to reach Leslie’s house. Im suggesting we jump forward to something 4pm or later to convey Becky has been searching for a long time instead of seeing her check one place then go back to the same 2 people now eating lunch.

        2. zee

          Were they important to their story? Nothing really happened. I mean, ig there was the first date discussion

        3. Jay

          You couldnt pay me to say that the last 2 pages were important to anything

    3. Zamperla

      No no I’m pretty sure any time I’m not being shown something, Willis has decided to never address it again. We all know in a comic, whatever got shown to us last will be the only thing the comic ever is, ramping, forever upwards

      1. Ray Radlein

        Twirling, twirling, into the future

      2. Needfuldoer

        I thought everyone just stopped what they’re doing and stood still while we’re not watching them, like reverse Weeping Angels.

    4. Dot

      There is no iron law that demands that Willis had to cut away specifically to Joyce and Dorothy, though. There are other plotlines in motion that are withering on the vine in the shadow of the overwhelming domination of those two.

      1. Dot

        I am amenable to the argument that Willis had to cut away to convey the passage of time; I’m largely in agreement there. I am less so to the argument that it HAD to be to Joyce and Dorothy. Why not Alice and Billie, or Carla and Charlie, or Ethan and Asher, or hey, what about Joe? Walky? Danny and Sal? This is an ensemble cast!

        1. zee

          Literally any of the other storylines being starved of oxygen

        2. Gwen

          Because they’re in the middle of a plot arc and cutting away to, say, Danny having a nice day is less relevant?

        3. Dot

          Why not cut to Danny learning that his best friend was cheated on with his ex, whom he had a conversation not three days ago about not cheating?

        4. Alongcameaspider

          I actually went to check and Danny has not been seen in the comic (not counting Patreon strips) since that conversation

        5. YourCousinJay

          Danny and Sal as a couple coming to realize someone close to both of them got cheated on feels like it could be a fun discussion if anything.

          Even more so since Danny is actually close with Joe while Sal has a more complicated relationship with Walky which if anything can put a fun twist on this dynamic where Danny might react more strongly to this, especially since he used to put Dot on a pedestal compared to Sal who despite being Walky’s sibling might just not be a prepared to confront all of this over someone she only relatively recently reconnected with

        6. AK

          Danny and Sal having that conversation seems especially interesting because they both vibe aggressively monogamous, and having thoughts now seems like it would create potential for having other interesting thoughts later if poly does materialize, possibly along the lines of some of the stuff people in the comments have been complaining about in relation to that. I think Joe having to figure out how to have the “guys I know the cultural narrative but this is genuinely not a big deal to me” conflict with his closest friend would be relatable and neat.

        7. thejeff

          But we used to cut to other people doing their own thing all the time. That’s one of the cool things about an ensemble cast. You can have a foreground main plot and be seeding new plots with other characters so there are always multiple threads running.

          Right now, the new couple and the protest have consumed all the attention and anyone who isn’t part of that or at least commenting on it has been dropped. We had one big of conversation with Alice awhile back that was actually focused on her relationship with Jennifer, rather than the main arc, but that’s been it for months.

        8. Bill Erak

          I can get the spirit of the argument but here’s my thoughts: When we next get back to other storylines in full, they’re all gonna blow the fuck up. Joe’s is the only one I’m hoping leads to a positive in some poly stuff, which may make Walky feel even worse because like, “So Joyce can get 2 partners but Dotty can’t?”
          But Danny and Sal are doomed as a couple. They feel too perfect. I suspect the Ethan/Asher crash is gonna come around the same time.
          And Carla may get the will to finally confront her parents about supporting a genocidal regime and… Be slapped in the face with the realization that, despite being very trans-inclusive, Billionaires are not good people. Or, alternatively, she doesn’t confront her parents and even Charlie’s like “Sorry girl, don’t wanna be tied to a family that kills children”

        9. Yotomoe

          Characters I’d like to see more of in these trying times.
          -What’s Jocelyne up to? She said she was still with a friend. Is she on campus right now or is she somewhere else?
          -How’s Amber holding up?
          -How’s Walky holdin’ up rn?
          -How’s DINA holdin’ up
          -What’s going on with Alice? Is she just hanging out at the school now or was she just visiting or what’s going on? Is she still with Jen?
          -If not? What’s Jen doing? Is she hanging out with Walky? Is she chilling with Alice? Is she hanging out at the combination Walky/Alice?
          -Is Joe still waiting for a followup or has he given up hope?

          I don’t need all this stuff to be answered or seen ASAP but I wouldn’t mind mixing it up a bit.

        10. Astariel

          Alice is a student. She lives in the same dorm as Jennifer and Lucy.

        11. thejeff

          Last time we saw Alice she was talking to Ruth about the potential drawbacks of putting her cooch on Jennifer’s cooch.

        12. QueenofSodor

          I’d say the story needed to cut to Joyce and Dorothy because when we last saw them, Joyce learns that Becky and Dina are broken up, and then the next strip cuts to Becky without resolving this development. So by popping back over to Joyce, we learn that she’s been dedicating thought during the off-panel time jump to trying to fix that whole situation, albeit with typical Joyce silliness. That’s helpful information to have!

          then after that the “is taco bell our first date” strip is justifiable because the comic just cut to Joyce and Dorothy getting lunch at a non-Food Court establishment, so it makes sense for the characters to realize “wait does this count as that”

          so like, there are justifiable narrative reasons for all this, imo

  20. Morrison

    No . . . No . . . NO.

    NO NO NO NOOO!

    NONONONONONOnonononooooo

    1. Reltzik

      *counts* So I THINK that’s 17 “no”s, which is an odd number of negatives, so that results in a negative overall. No?

  21. Stormtide Leviathan

    Yayyyy more vivian!!!

  22. Thing 2

    Vivian is cute.

  23. Bryy

    Stealth sexy new character just dropped?

    1. Thing 2

      Oh yeah!

    2. Arianod

      Vivian’s been in a couple of strips already.

  24. Thing 2

    That ‘office’ reeks of ‘underlings’, or do they work in the tearoom? No expense spared!
    I like the effect of artificial indoor light on Becky’s (and Vivian’s) hair, and the comparison of where the light and shadow goes with overhead light, compared to the outdoor slanty yellow light. I like that Becky is looking at Vivian when talking to her, but when musing/trying to work stuff out, she is looking the other way. I like that this vignette is being told slowly, tension building.

    1. Tan

      This is the teachers’ lounge. It is a shared space separate from offices. Offices, particularly during designated “office hours”, are often for making yourself available to students who need to consult privately on various matters. Generally speaking, students should not be in a teachers’ lounge (though it is not the first time Becky has poked her head in looking for Leslie, and probably won’t be the last).

  25. Zamperla

    Snorts softly. Well. That does kinda rule Robin out. Also hi, Vivian. Nice t’ see you, Vivian. I’m very fond of the background characters who just do their best to keep out of things.

  26. Acher4

    oh shiii….are they in jail or something?
    We haven’t seen them since the protest.

    1. Quinn

      That’s certainly plausible.

    2. thejeff

      There’s been a bonus strip with Leslie that people thought ruled it out, since it came out after the protest, but it’s starting to look more like that.

      Either that or the protest was a bonding experience and they’ve been holed up in Robin’s apartment having sex ever since.

      I’m not sure which theory is worse for Leslie. I do hope Robin got to live out her dream of shouting “Do you know who I am?” while being thrown into the back of a police car though.

      1. Yotomoe

        I choose to believe the 2nd thing because I want Leslie and robin to be a universe constant.

    3. Needfuldoer

      Becky’s comment that Leslie’s stoop “smells like mouthwash” suggests to me that she’s just in bed with her dentist girlfriend.

  27. Deanatay

    Oh I get it, mouthwash, cuz her gf’s a dentist.

    1. nadamás

      What if she actually works for pony express? It would explain a lot.

      1. YourCousinJay

        well lets hope that’s not the reason she’s currently missing then

      2. zee

        Let’s hope Jimmy’s in prison in this universe

  28. Kyulen

    I forgot Vivian was a character, but I guess that makes sense since (including today’s strip) she’s only had 3 appearances in the comic, and the previous one was over 4 years ago. Also apparently the last time we saw Leslie and Robin was at the protest, so I wonder if they both got arrested or something. In any case, I’m glad to see another strip focused on some characters who aren’t Joyce and Dorothy for a day.

    1. ADLegend21

      Ooo I forgot when we saw them last. Knowing Robin, they both absolutely got locked up and haven’t been given a hearing yet.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Maybe cops were just letting them go, and Leslie was trying to leave, but Robin grabbed her wrist and started making a “don’t you know who I am” scene and got them both arrested.

        1. Throwatron

          it turns out the reason Joyce/Dorothy/Jocelyn/Asma/AG got away, was that Robin coincidentally did the exact same thing Dorothy did, but on a slightly more visible hill, like, 15m away from where Dorothy did it

  29. Fail Earnhardt

    Any jail can be a sex dungeon if you’re in it with a girl you like a lot*

    *THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE

    1. eh, whatever

      …if she likes you back… among other things…

  30. Tan

    It was pointed out in the prior Becky strip that Leslie was featured in one of the November bonus strips. Preview here: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/blog/patreon-bonus-strip-for-november-2025-leslie/

    I do not have Patreon to know if there’s any indication whether that strip takes place before or after the protest, but my understanding is that bonus strips are generally broadly concurrent with when they are posted (unless indicated as a flashback). Take this as you will.

    1. thejeff

      It doesn’t say anything about the protest, but as you say, they’re usually roughly concurrent.

    2. Treehawk

      The rule is you will never get spoilers from a bonus strip. So the strip doesn’t give insight to the protest fallout in any way. It does, however, give insight into her nightime sartorial choices – which are the most generic possible.

  31. anon

    oh hi vivi

    (imagine if this had been a leslie x vivian slow burn after all)

  32. darkoneko

    panel 4 … what do you mean, “again”

    1. Rimwalker55

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/landlord/

      and the half dozen strips before and after. Robin was hard to eject.

  33. Dot

    “Again?”

  34. KM

    Re: speculation they got arrested, you’d think the cast would know, surely the arrest of faculty and an ex us congresswoman would merit an article

    1. Needfuldoer

      You’d think that would be front-page news. Maybe it got buried under the fold.

      1. Mitzi B.

        There was, after all, a much more important kiss going on at the same time!

    2. John Campbell

      Daisy doesn’t give a shit since it became apparent that Robin’s meltdown wasn’t going to result in lesbian makeouts, and the IDS is the only source of news reporting in the DoA world.

      1. Needfuldoer

        IDS – Intriguing to Daisy Smooches

  35. Owlmirror

    Shouldn’t that have been in the original newspaper article? “The police detained [X] students and [Y] teachers”? Although I suppose it might not be obvious who is who.

    Did anyone actually read the article, or was everyone too busy ogling the picture?

    Looking for one of the articles about the real-world protest at IU:

    33 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at Dunn Meadow encampment Thursday

    [Later]

    On April 25-27, Indiana State Police arrested 55 protesters who set up an encampment in Dunn Meadow.

    Arrestees were taken to the Monroe County jail.

    Officers told IDS reporters that those arrested would be charged with criminal trespassing, while others would be charged with battery and resisting law enforcement. The IDS confirmed that several of those arrested for trespassing are now forbidden from entering IU’s campus for a year.

    There’s probably a breakdown of how many were faculty/student/staff/other somewhere, but it isn’t something obvious.

  36. UrsulaDavina

    If they were arrested, Robin could have probably made bail and made Leslie’s bail,but i have a feeling Robin purposefully is keeping them in there beacuse its Robin. So yes Robin is metaphorically would be keeping Leslie chained up.

  37. TheScreenJockey

    I wanna know what Vivian’s mug says because it clearly says SOMETHING, and I know you know, Willis. You absolutely did not just scribble some nonsense on that mug. You know exactly what it looks like up close.

    1. Steamweed

      I think I can make out “..ST” in the upper word and “..G” in the bottom word. So maybe “BEST MUG” or something?

      1. Needfuldoer

        It may be the Best Mug, but it’s not XTREEEM MUG.

  38. zee

    Oh thank god we’re back to the Becky storyline, I’m so invested in this. Fuck man Leslie totally got arrested huh?

    1. KM

      I feel if they did at minimum Roz would know and I find it less than plausible no one seems to find it worth remarking that this is the case and that Becky wouldn’t be able to find this out, if both of them were arrested. I would expect Bart o Ryan to at least remark that a faculty member and an ex us congresswoman were arrested! So Dorothy would also know

      1. thejeff

        Why would Bart have talked about it? Getting arrested isn’t leadership.

  39. Jon

    I’m honestly mostly just relieved that Becky is out in the world and actively seeking out an adult that she trusts.

    Obviously she could still be in a bad place mentally but that choice to leave and seek somebody out and (hopefully) ask advice seems at least better than shutting down and secluding herself away from everyone…right?

  40. Da Boy

    Aww shit, they are totally locked up in jail, aren’t they?

  41. Wilde

    I’ll say it today, a day when people aren’t as heated about the subject: keep in mind the things Willis was dealing with in their personal life (such as a family member passing) around the time these strips were being made. Huge buffer = different temporal context for the author than the readers. I can’t blame them for repeatedly returning to their comfort sapphics on the hard days, which were probably most days. Idk, I feel like it’s easy for readers to forget the humanity of a person creating content for us.

    If you’re having a hard time relating, imagine it happening to someone near and dear to you and ask yourself what you’d expect from them during that time.

    1. Bittersweet

      Mmmmm that’s really important context yeah, actually. Didn’t even occur just how long ago the strips were written. I don’t really follow his life, just whatever pops up in the little blue sky thread thing, but I guess a lot of these would coincide with some of that awful stuff—esp since someone on a roll/trying to focus on other stuff could pump out a week’s worth of strips within a day or two.

  42. beth

    Okay I forgot who Vivian was and had to check the archives.

  43. Alan in DC

    Aw man, why did Vivian have to come back?

    Now I wanna see HER in a Slipshine.

    1. Treehawk

      I had the same exact thought ?

    2. Makkabee

      She said “pretend I’m not here because I won’t be in two seconds,” and made good on that for four years.. which is like WEEKS of in-comics time.

  44. Jim

    I just clicked the Vivian tag, wow I didn’t realize that Vivian appeared only three times in this webcomic’s existence – Do we know for sure if she is a member of the faculty or an assistant?

  45. Marvelman

    It just occurred to me that we haven’t seen Leslie in a while. Have we?

    1. John Campbell

      Neither Leslie nor Robin have appeared in the mainline comic since Joyce and Dorothy ran into them at the protest. There was a Patreon bonus comic featuring Leslie recently, but it’s not clear to me that the bonus comics are necessarily in exact chronological order with the main comic.

  46. Andrusi

    Oh, so the house can kiss Joyce.

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