Oh, crap. A happy comic? That means there’s some serious heartache and pain coming up. And with Billie and Ruth where we last left them, I’m not sure I’m ready.
Quite possibly nonchalant. I started gaming (GURPS, Yrth) at a Fundie school with full approval from the principal. I started playing D&D at my brother’s Christian College community center/game rooms.
Doctor_Who
I had the unfortunate circumstance of moving to a tiny redneck school, and being like the only nerd there, so there was no one to play D&D with. So I started hanging with the local goths, because they played Vampire: The Masquerade, which was the in thing at the time.
And then Columbine happened, and people started giving my goth friends the side-eye. The principal wanted a word, and I got the dubious honor of being the spokesman because I wore colors and had the usual number of holes in my head. So I got to explain to a fifty year old man that V:tM isn’t satanic, while he thumbed through a book full of people baring fangs and bleeding from the neck.
Somehow got through it okay, and we were allowed to keep playing.
Jamie
We thank you for your service, genuinely. A lot of someones had to do that job and probably none of them wanted to do it, but it was worth doing.
King Daniel
We did have a line at one point where Joyce explicitly told Carla that D&D was against her religion. Then again, Joyce has changed since then.
Chris Phoenix
Maybe it’s regional or generational, but D&D has definitely been considered satanic by some Christian fundamentalists. (e.g. upstate New York in the mid-1980’s.)
Zero
That was artificially engineered by like two specific people.
Maybe it’s not ironclad reasoning, but if “Delicious Taffy miraculously survived this tragic plane crash. The Lord clearly had a plan for them. [Seven different emojis]” was getting shared around wine moms’ feeds, I would absolutely hate my life. I don’t like when people use me as an example of something without my involvement, and that’s exactly what would happen.
Tan
But as long as you are alive, you have means to shape the narrative. For example, bring a sharpie. “Delicious Taffy miraculously survived this tragic plane crash covered with Satanic symbols”
This is known. Malaya is like “lukewarm agreement to feel her body next to me still constitutes agreement! I’LL TAKE IT”
What’s Malaya get out of this? Rebellion against Sal? Likes a few cuddles for their own sake? Trying it out just to see? Maybe Mal’s heart will grow a size.
That isn’t good. She would be the next one in the hospital and for an extended stay if it is really serious.
1. High blood pressure.
2. A leaky heart valve.
3. Inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis).
The more you know the less fun you are at parties.
I’m glad that Sal hasn’t lost Marcie, but I’m glad she’s also gained some solid friendships as well. She needed that.
Wonder if Carla and Joyce are hanging out with her proper, or just around while she studies with Danny. Kinda hard to say, but figuring they’re hanging around, since Carla was so tickled pink about Sal having the jacket and otherwise has warmed to her, and Joyce and Sal had their heart to heart.
I’m guessing it’s a math study group! Carla is there to “help” with her wild and wacky antics, totally not because she’s bored and lonely and her crush just hooked up with another one of her friends.
Well Joyce’s got moral fractions down. People can be part good. Then it’s moral algebra where things start off more complex and you have to work out if what’s happened is good or not. Moral geometry where it’s all about the relationships between the different people making more complex goodness like friendships and romance. Moral trigonometry where we start getting into people vacillating between good and bad, eventually getting a real sense of how weird infinite good is to think about. Then the moral calculus can really begin.
142 thoughts on “Friends”
Ana Chronistic
Look at how upset Sal is by this development! Sure showed HER a thing or two!
Doctor_Who
Her work here is done.
Walky_Talky
Oh, crap. A happy comic? That means there’s some serious heartache and pain coming up. And with Billie and Ruth where we last left them, I’m not sure I’m ready.
foamy
My money is on, given Ruth is going to a hospital, the return of Sir.
LookingIn
oh dear god no…but if he does return, I hope he gets what he deserves like Toe Dad did…
Sunny
And don’t forget about Blaine and Toedad teaming up. The trio could form the League of Extraordinarily Shitty Legal Guardians.
LookingIn
She could be an evil genius due to that plan…except she’s neither evil nor a genius.
Liliet
Malaya successfully manipulated Sal’s emotions!
jeffepp
Playing D&D!
Doctor_Who
I would love to see Joyce’s reaction to that.
Just Karen
Quite possibly nonchalant. I started gaming (GURPS, Yrth) at a Fundie school with full approval from the principal. I started playing D&D at my brother’s Christian College community center/game rooms.
Doctor_Who
I had the unfortunate circumstance of moving to a tiny redneck school, and being like the only nerd there, so there was no one to play D&D with. So I started hanging with the local goths, because they played Vampire: The Masquerade, which was the in thing at the time.
And then Columbine happened, and people started giving my goth friends the side-eye. The principal wanted a word, and I got the dubious honor of being the spokesman because I wore colors and had the usual number of holes in my head. So I got to explain to a fifty year old man that V:tM isn’t satanic, while he thumbed through a book full of people baring fangs and bleeding from the neck.
Somehow got through it okay, and we were allowed to keep playing.
Jamie
We thank you for your service, genuinely. A lot of someones had to do that job and probably none of them wanted to do it, but it was worth doing.
King Daniel
We did have a line at one point where Joyce explicitly told Carla that D&D was against her religion. Then again, Joyce has changed since then.
Chris Phoenix
Maybe it’s regional or generational, but D&D has definitely been considered satanic by some Christian fundamentalists. (e.g. upstate New York in the mid-1980’s.)
Zero
That was artificially engineered by like two specific people.
jeffepp
She’s rolling up a Sorcerer. Unicorn bloodline, of course.
Doctor_Who
Good choice. She can be the party healer without having to worship a pagan god.
Instead she can be Queen of the Ponies, like her god always intended!
jeffepp
Carla is a barbarian, and Danny is the bard (because of course he is).
“Y’all start in th’ quad of th’ adventurers school. Ya’ll have been charged with a quest…”
Felix
Mike’s the rogue. Don’t know about chaotic good, but definitely chaotic.
Romanticide
Huh? is she playing DnD? I thought she was on her math tutoring?
leadsynth
Gonna need that college-level math to calculate your damage, skill checks, and experience points
woobie
With what dice?
Zero
Dice app.
Yumi
This is so fucking cute and the hovertext gives me anxiety.
Author X
I know, I was so happy for so brief a time.
AntJ
the penultimate strip of last storyline was Joyce faking a fundie aversion to Halloween so Sarah could have her pumpkins
remember how that ended
you tell me
Bathymetheus
The chapter title is “Vote for Robin”, so I don’t think it’s over yet.
If you mean Willis is foreboding . . . Well, yes of course. That’s what he does
AntJ
I think “Vote for Robin” was in reference to Dina’s raptor plushie (campaign slogan embroidered on the butt)
Keulen
I was feeling good about this strip until I read the hovertext.
Alan in DC
How do I view hovertext on an Android phone?
No probs on my laptop (Linux, Chromium browser), but no success on my POS Samsung.
Yumi
Tap the space below the comic to the side of the navigation buttons.
AntJ
tomorrow is Ross, Carol, Blaine, Landrum, and Powers isn’t it
cesium133
Spoiler alert: They are all in a plane crash tomorrow. Unfortunately, they all survive.
Delicious Taffy
Honestly, I’d rather die if my plane crashed. I would hate to show up on people’s Facebook feeds as some feel-good survival story.
Chris Phoenix
That… doesn’t seem like a very strong reason for preferring death. Appropriate expression of sympathy if I’m reading this right.
Personally, I’d be happy to live. “Atheist survives plane crash, remains unconverted.”
He Who Abides
“Man survives plane crash, demands beer he paid for before impact”
Always wanted to see that headline.
Delicious Taffy
Maybe it’s not ironclad reasoning, but if “Delicious Taffy miraculously survived this tragic plane crash. The Lord clearly had a plan for them. [Seven different emojis]” was getting shared around wine moms’ feeds, I would absolutely hate my life. I don’t like when people use me as an example of something without my involvement, and that’s exactly what would happen.
Tan
But as long as you are alive, you have means to shape the narrative. For example, bring a sharpie. “Delicious Taffy miraculously survived this tragic plane crash covered with Satanic symbols”
Delicious Taffy
Shit, you’re right.
Jon Rich
This is absolutely brilliant. Even if you don’t have a sharpie, say you get interviewed by some fundie news network or whatever.
“I mean, it just goes to show, the Lord is truly great, right?”
“Oh, no, I was praying to Satan the whole time. I’m so blessed to have Him looking out for me.”
thejeff
Or if you don’t want to bring Satan into it, just point out that meant the Lord wanted everyone else on board to die.
BarerMender
Damn straight.
Stephen Bierce
Derber Or Nothing
Nono
What happened to Lucy? Thought Carla would be buzzing around her.
Mr. Random
….Malaya wants to bone Sal.
Shane Wegner
This is known. Malaya is like “lukewarm agreement to feel her body next to me still constitutes agreement! I’LL TAKE IT”
What’s Malaya get out of this? Rebellion against Sal? Likes a few cuddles for their own sake? Trying it out just to see? Maybe Mal’s heart will grow a size.
anonamousethatscurriesinthedarkness
That isn’t good. She would be the next one in the hospital and for an extended stay if it is really serious.
1. High blood pressure.
2. A leaky heart valve.
3. Inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis).
The more you know the less fun you are at parties.
Delicious Taffy
Sure, if you only go to parties with willful ignorance as an implied rule.
Dark
Hm.
TerribleName
Ruth? No she went home and was perfectly fine STORYLINE OVER
Diner Kinetic
Obviously willis was talking about Becky getting sued for campaign finance reform
Dean
Due to Becky, all political campaigns are now required to purchase a giant plush dinosaur.
Diner Kinetic
*violation, my bad
BBCC
Awwww, everyone is so happy here! And Sal and all her friends she never thought she’d make. I’m so hap –
*reads hover text*
I feel the need for a pre-emptive Damn You Willis here.
Keulen
I would join you but I’m running low on Damn You Willises after the last few strips with Billie and Ruth.
BBCC
Here, I have a basket full for such occasions.
Clif
Yeah, it’s good to be prepared.
DailyBrad
I’m glad that Sal hasn’t lost Marcie, but I’m glad she’s also gained some solid friendships as well. She needed that.
Wonder if Carla and Joyce are hanging out with her proper, or just around while she studies with Danny. Kinda hard to say, but figuring they’re hanging around, since Carla was so tickled pink about Sal having the jacket and otherwise has warmed to her, and Joyce and Sal had their heart to heart.
Daisy
I’m guessing it’s a math study group! Carla is there to “help” with her wild and wacky antics, totally not because she’s bored and lonely and her crush just hooked up with another one of her friends.
BarerMender
It looks like Sal is reading something from the book to them.
William Leonard Reese Jr.
And everybody was happy and content and nothing could possibly **EVER** go wrong.
Marsh Maryrose
“And I am Marie of Romania!”
Spriteless Girl
Walky still has to learn calculus. Oh, and Becky moral calculus
desolation0
Well Joyce’s got moral fractions down. People can be part good. Then it’s moral algebra where things start off more complex and you have to work out if what’s happened is good or not. Moral geometry where it’s all about the relationships between the different people making more complex goodness like friendships and romance. Moral trigonometry where we start getting into people vacillating between good and bad, eventually getting a real sense of how weird infinite good is to think about. Then the moral calculus can really begin.
Dana
Her parents taught her about moral limits, but she’s having to figure out integration and differentiation for herself.
BarerMender
Just remember, Joyce, when you get to moral differential equations, they’re inherently unsolvable.
Daisy
I think Joyce’s problem is she was only taught |absolute values|.
tim gueguen
Willis, Sydney Yus demands you continue to write Sydney Yus’s adventures, immediately!
Jamie
Are you sure this is what you wish for?