543

Trauma
Posted on February 13, 2015 by David M Willis
woody6Ruth makes her final appearance over at Woody After Hours!  She, uh, has stuff to go do. It's been fun to collaborate on this crossover!  I hope y'all enjoyed it along with us.

543 thoughts on “Trauma”

  1. Jen Aside

    oh, it IS Friday the 13th, isn’t it =|

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Yes it is and I’m going to the first of many shows during the month long Adelaide Festival tonight!

      1. pumacatrun2

        You guys are Aussie too? c: I always just kind of figured 99% of the people who read this comic were American considering the setting. Sweet.

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          Most DoA readers are Americans and Canadians but a few personage of us are British, Australian and other random countries too.

        2. Davoerlo

          Auzzie Auzzie Auzzie

        3. WeirderThanWeird

          Oi Oi Oi

        4. maarvarq

          Coo-ee!

        5. Screwball

          Aussie Aussie Aussie!
          Oi oi oi!
          Aussie Aussie Aussie!
          Oi oi oi!
          Aussie!
          Oi!
          Aussie!
          Oi!
          Aussie Aussie Aussie!
          Oi oi oi!
          Daniel the Human has a version that adds on to that, but he says I can’t say it cause I was never in some Rover Scouts thing, & he’s already got a magnet in hand…

        6. Mr.Gorilla

          Even from Mexico.

        7. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          One Englishman here, reporting for…um, the fun of it. 😉

          I wondered for a moment if that last panel was Joyce about to have a heart attack or something equally horrible…? >_>

        8. Fergus Maximus

          And another Adelaidean Aussie here. Fringe time is madness Plasma Mongoose.

        9. Plasma Mongoose

          I spent about $300 this year on tickets for the Adelaide Fest, the most I have ever spent on the AF.

        10. lurker

          Quite possibly panic attack.
          At least when I used to get them, it looked like that.

        11. das-g

          How dare you call my country random?

        12. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          Are you trying to say your country ISN’T random? 😉

        13. das-g

          Well, it probably is random, <sarcasm>but don’t call it that, m’kay?</sarcasm>

        14. ditrysia

          Argentina!

        15. Björn

          Sweden!

        16. Robbzilla

          Don’t forget Texans! 😀

        17. JohnInCA

          That’s practically it’s own country!

        18. No Name

          Italy! (Although still technically America, ’cause Navy.)

        19. Hero

          I’m an American, living in Britain with an Aussie AND Canadian roommate who also read this. Soooooo this is pretty spot on.

        20. Gigafreak

          Things must get real confusing in there if someone ever decides to eat chips.

        21. Crazy Dina

          Wait… chips or french fries?

        22. Marcos Dantas

          Brasil!

        23. ZORK

          I’m actually German.

        24. Rorror

          Ich auch. (=

        25. LittleMountain

          Canada, eh.

        26. Arikel

          Macedonia! Bet none of you bi*ches here are from around here. 😛

        27. No Name

          We don’t use that word here. We use “bongoes” instead.

        28. Screwball

          Most DoA readers are Americans and Canadians but a few personage of us are British, Australian and other random countries too..

          *sings* Ohhh ohoh, I’m an alien, I’m an illegal alien, I’m a Cybertronian in West-Oz… 😛

          Living in Western Australia tho. We got Giants wandering around this weekend too, Gonna be weird seeing someone that big again…

        29. Fergus Maximus

          I’ve been so tempted to wander across the Nullarbor to see that (GIANTS!) but, sadly, reality intervenes. And we have own sweet festival thing going berserk anyway. And WOMAD and Soundwave and Future Music Festivals and V8 races in the street and some Horse Race apparently (thanks for the long weekend Adelaide Cup but, really, horse racing?). It’s a bit overwhelming.

        30. lensipensi

          Austrian 😀

        31. Bernardo Arteaga

          Venezuela! And many other Latin-Americans for what I could see.

        32. ░▒▓█│【Walkman】│█▓▒░

          South Africa here!

        33. Sherlock9

          I’m from Jakarta, Indonesia and I should really be in bed by now because it’s almost 1 am where I am.

      2. Felent

        Does Canadian currently in australia count? Good old Melbourne!

    2. Tacos

      For you perhaps. Still Thursday here. I exist in the past >:O

      1. Gigafreak

        You don’t live in the past, we live in the future!

        The flying cars kind of sucked.

    3. caesaria82

      It also happens to be my birthday and I definitely did *not* ask for emotional trauma as my present, but what can you do^^

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        At least it isn’t socks and a tie…

        1. caesaria82

          Idk, I can literally always use socks though, so I’d prefer socks.

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          Bed socks ain’t too bad, so there is that…

        3. la6ue mous snow angel

          Both handy things to put on your doorknob as forewarning of premarital hanky-panky.

        4. MisterF

          Why would you ever put the tie ON the doorknob?
          You use that FOR the premarital hanky-panky.

      2. Lieutenant Dan

        Happy birthday! It’s mine too! 🙂

        1. ditrysia

          Mine too! 😀

    4. Tayo

      petition to make joyce feel better brownies

      1. JustCheetoDust

        I don’t know if she’s cut out for marijuana edibles.

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          Maybe or maybe Joyce will take to them so much that her new nickname will be Joyce “hash” Brown(ie).

        2. JustCheetoDust

          As long as she doesn’t end up like Rasta Pam in the season 2 premiere of Archer.

        3. Bill

          Or Reverend Jim Ignatowski from ‘Taxi’.

        4. anonymsly

          Or Dana, from Sarah’s previous year of college.

        5. neeks

          Or Mary Lane from “reefer madness”

        6. begbert2

          Yeah, Sarah would lust love that development.

        7. Screwball

          Maybe or maybe Joyce will take to them so much that her new nickname will be Joyce “hash” Brown(ie)..
          Then put some laxatives in, for shits & giggles… XD

    5. DJKaiba

      We get another Friday the 13th next month too. Don’t see that very often.

      1. Jen Aside

        Friday the 13th is actually the most common 13th, I think

        1. Jen Aside

          fact-check this if you like

          anyway, every non-leap-year March will have the same first 28 days as February, thanks to multiples of 7

        2. Cattus

          I believe that every day is as common as the next for any date.

        3. No Name

          In the Julian Calender, yes, but not in the Gregorian. Because the Gregorian has 365 and 97/400 days in a year, as opposed to the more even 365 and 1/4 of the Julian, the Gregorian month/week cycle is not divisible by seven and therefore more “unfair” to certain days. It is pretty close though: In the four hundred years the Gregorian takes to complete its month/week cycle, there are 687 Sundays the thirteenth, 685 Mondays the thirteenth, 685 Tuesdays the thirteenth, 687 Wednesdays the thirteenth, 684 Thursdays the thirteenth, 688 Fridays the thirteenth and 684 Saturdays the thirteenth.

        4. xKiv

          Also, for any day, 31 is less common than 30, which is less common than 29, and that’s slightly less common than 28.

    6. Keroshino

      yep! and Majora’s Mask 3D is out now! YAY!!!

      1. singingdavid

        Okay am I the only one to point out that everyone turned into stereotypical white dudes?

        1. John

          Firstly, in my experience, whenever anyone starts off a comment with, “am I the only one to point out…”, NO, they are NOT. They just haven’t bothered to read any of the other dozens of comments on the page where people have pointed it out already.

          Secondly, they’re not “stereotypical white dudes”, they’re, specifically, Ryan, the dude who roofied Joyce at the party with the apparent intention of raping her, complete with the facial wound she gave him with the glass.

  2. otusasio451

    On the road to Anti-Joyce…

    1. Rosicrucian

      I could be wrong, but I think Willis has learned more about psychology in the years since “Anti-Joyce.”

      1. Leorale

        I continue really, really appreciating how Joyce’s experience is a totally plausible reaction to trauma. Thank you for the realism, Willis.

      2. Paul

        The original Anti-Joyce was not a matter of psychology, but corny cross-universe mischief.

        1. Rycan

          Based on some popular conceptions about psychology.

        2. Spencer

          Was she? I loved the Anti-Joyce story, especially how it played out. Moreover, I thought the point was that AJ was just everything Joyce didn’t want to be, and not symbolic of some kind of psychological issues.

        3. Gigafreak

          Anti-Joyce continued to manifest as part of Joyce’s psyche long after her actual death, because she was part of Joyce’s psyche all along. The dup-o-matic merely created a copy of Joyce where the Anti aspect was the dominant part of the personality. Joyce was thus forced to very literally stand face to face with the parts of herself that she does not like, and was not strong enough to accept them at the time– she’d rather commit a cold-blooded murder than accept them, and so she murdered Anti-Joyce. (My memory of Anti-Joyce was “lustful, but not actually evil.” If Joyce accepted Anti-Joyce– which had an approximately 0% chance of happening at the time, of course– then SEMME Squad 128 could have had two aerial bombardiers rather than one.)

          The ways she continues to deal with the innate Anti-Joyce in her head afterward are signs of her gradual growth.

          I have no idea if any of this makes sense in a professional psychological way, but that’s how the narrative went.

        4. Gigafreak

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_%28psychology%29
          Try not finding any of that in Walkyverse Joyce and Anti-Joyce.

        5. Rycan

          She represented all of Joyce’s repressed sexual urges. Very Freudina, I think.

        6. Gigafreak

          Freudina studies the life cycle and sexual maturation of dinosaurs.

        7. motorfirebox

          Freudina’s “I Dig It” shirt represents the unearthing of the Id.

        8. Rycan

          At first that typo annoyed me, but I love where you’ve taken it! I hear Freudina is currently psychoanalyzing Barney.

        9. No Name

          I can’t tell if that’s a typo, but I think it works better than what you seem to have been going for.

        10. Tenn

          A meta-Freudian slip?

          …WOAH! *mind=blown*

        11. Rycan

          Ehh, much of Freudian psychology is crock, anyways.

  3. AnvilPro

    Of all the days!?

  4. Nono

    She’s going after the 4th wall!

    1. airyu

      She’s heading for the comments section!

      1. CanvasWolfDoll

        no, joyce, don’t come here! we’ll tear you apart!

        1. Rycan

          Why is Joyce babbling to herself in the third person? Guess she’s comoletely bonkers now.

        2. airyu

          It’s actually pretty funny that three posters in a row had the same Joyce icon.

        3. Screwball

          *Uses “Kidnapper” voice demonically* Yes Joyce, that’s it. Come join us…

      2. Safgaftsa

        Lock shields!

  5. SUGauthor

    HolyshitHolyshitHolyshitHolyshitHolyshitHolyshitHolyshitHolyshitHolyshitHolyshit

    1. -Sentinel-

      my thoughts exactly

      1. Gigafreak

        Joyce’s thoughts, on the other hand, are more like
        HolypoopHolypoopHolypoopHolypoopHolypoopHolypoopHolypoopHolypoopHolypoopHolypoopHolypoopHolypoop

    2. Bibulb

      I was going to say “OOOOOOHHHHHH, FUUUUUUUUCK”, but the sentiment’s the same, I think.

    3. Lord Geovanni

      always wondered how much the church would pay if i could bring them holy shit. hope i get at least ’16 craploads’

      1. DSL

        Ya load sixteen tons and whaddaya git?

        1. Leorale

          Another day older and deeper in debt.

        2. Makkabee

          A note from the Pope sayin’ “Nihil Obstit” [sic]

      2. Tenn

        Probably not a lot. Holy shit is just regular shit that’s been blessed by a member of clergy. If they need a lot of it, they can buy regular shit anywhere and bless it themselves.

        You’d be better off buying holy shit from the church (or bring your own shit and pay to get it blessed) and sell it for a profit. It’s great fertilizer, and it protects crops from various hellspawn.

        1. Lord Geovanni

          I dont think that things prayed for by man automaticly becomes holy. I mean real divine holy shit. 16 craploads you can google that

  6. AgentKeen

    Oh, good, I had been thinking everything was going too well.

    1. AgentKeen

      …Has Joyce not been alone outside since then?

      1. caramelundqueer

        I’m not going to look through the archives but I’m guessing not.

      2. airyu

        I don’t think so. Her only alone time was in the dorm building, briefly, during the white board ding dong bandit chapter, I think

        1. la6ue mous snow angel

          But that was in the girls’ dorm, and there were no males about.
          Just her and her penis doodles.

        2. Rycan

          Which she made.

        3. Jupiterror

          With her pen(is).
          (yes it’s permanent marker but jokes)

        4. Airyu

          exactly. that’s why she felt safe, even though she was by herself.

    2. caesaria82

      In what world have things in this comic been going well? xD

      1. SUGauthor

        Well Amber’s kind of on a high right now, we can just go ahead and pretend she won’t have a mental breakdown when her ex boyfriend steals her current one.

        1. Crazy Dina

          I don’t think that either Ethan or Dany are going to persue that relationship. They both still care for Amber, and Danny is still in love with Amber, so if they pursue anything, it’s going to be shutting it down.

        2. C Baker

          I don’t see why it has to be an either/or. We’ve got one gay man, one bi man, and one straight (?) woman. No reason they can’t make a happy threesome and live happily ever after.

        3. No Name

          Except all three have TREMENDOUS issues and I don’t think any them of could stomach the idea of a threesome, least of all Amber, who also happens to have the biggest issues.

        4. Rycan

          Would make for an amusing train wreck, at least.

        5. No Name

          Oh, no doubt, but I’m honestly getting a little sick of train wrecks lately. Ever since Becky showed up, this thing has been a non-stop train wreck. Even completely disregarding Becky, Marcie and Sal got into a fight about Malaya, Jason had his dreams crushed first by Sal, then by Penny, Sarah and Jacob broke up because she can’t handle people, and Joe and Danny had a fight because they can’t see eye-to-eye. On top of that is the Becky related drama of “What about Ethan?”, “Shut up Becky”, “Shut up Becky” Pt.2: “Wait, come back!”, “ALL HAIL SATAN” and Roz vs Leslie (because let’s face it, Roz had a point about that epiphany). And NOW we find that past train wrecks haven’t been properly cleared away and are coming into play! ARGH!!! I WANT MY HAPPY ENDING!!! WHERE”S MY HAPPY ENDING?!?!?! DARN YOU WILLIS!!!!!!
          …………..
          (don’t judge me)

        6. Screwball

          Sorry No Name, but the drama tag was pulled first day of classes, burnt in a fire as a sacrifice then those involved sat back in comfy chairs & watched the madness begin. those really were comfy chairs, & close enough to roast marshmallows too…

        7. Rycan

          @NoName: Dumbing of Age is basically a train wreck in slow motion, no?

        8. Crazy Dina

          @noname Sounds a lot like World War 1.

        9. Gigafreak

          “Bisexual” does not imply “polyamorous.” Danny is monogamous to a fairly literal fault.

        10. motorfirebox

          Ah yes, the Chasing Amy Formulary.

        11. sps48

          My fav ship is “Faking It” where the lesbian and str8 guy who have already been with each other end up with the same girl.

      2. airyu

        Mike is doing p good. So are Joe and Penny. And Mary is having a feild day about Billie and Ruth. So, there’s lots o happy peeps.

        1. Gigafreak

          >Mike is doing p good

          I thought Mike was an evildoer. Or at least definitely not a do-gooder.

        2. Bodmans

          it’s all a matter of perspective

        3. SUGauthor

          Well Joe’s not doing great, Danny’s forcing feelings down his throat plus they skipped the chapter on scissoring.

        4. Freemage

          Phrases that are signs of terrible, terrible things to come: “Mary is having a field day…”.

        5. Rycan

          Been awhile since I last read it, but I think that was mentioned specifically in the Book of Revelations.

  7. Solenoid

    D=

  8. Mr. Random

    Still glassed I see.

  9. Stephen Bierce

    On the campus/The heathen campus/The Ryan Sleeps Toni~i~ight…

    1. tyersome

      I did not laugh like a hyena at that, but I’d be lion if I said I wasn’t amused …

      1. Corey

        My brains reads that as “a moose”

        1. Opus the Poet

          My sister was bitten by a moose…

        2. Marimba

          We apologize for the fault in this comment thread. Those responsible have been sacked.

        3. Selina

          No realli! She was Karving her initials on the møøse with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given her by Svenge – her brother-in-law – an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian møvies: “The Høt Hands of an Oslo Dentist”, “Fillings of Passion”, “The Huge Mølars of Horst Nordfink”…

        4. Screwball

          http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/ShadowStalkerWA/Emoticons/10514570_301006546738502_5523246498594758949_n_zps30bea625.jpg

        5. Rycan

          I feel I must contribute to this randomness.
          1001010101010101010101011001010101010101010101010101010101010010101101101001011010001011010010101

        6. Drakey

          It gave her superpowers, but she soon learn that with great power comes great mooseponsibility.

    2. Ryan

      Wait, the rapist guy’s name is Ryan? Dammit.

      1. Rycan

        Tell me about it. Almost looks like me, too. There’s a reason my DoA-themed gravatar bears no physical resemblance to me beyond being a human.

  10. Hollister Dixon

    Waaaait, what is happening here??

    1. Mr k

      Joyce say Ryan, and is now panicking.

      1. Nono

        She didn’t, she’s just thinking he’s out there somewhere, and that thought’s reaching a peak.

        I’m more confused as to why it looks like she’s taking a step back up the stairs in the third panel.

        1. Mr k

          She should take Roz’s advice and see a therapist.

        2. Rycan

          Easier said than done. She first needs to be willing to enter therapy, which many people resist.

        3. Ragnal

          If you thought you saw a rapist in every man, wouldn’t you try to back away also?

        4. neeks

          Especially if a particular rapist’s appearance was duplicated
          in the form of every guy/person within your range of vision.

        5. neeks

          Apologies for the weird formatting, for some reason when
          I type normally, the “submit” button disappears so I have
          to do my own line breaks and it ends up looking like
          a weird attempt at poetry…which may be a redundant
          phrase, actually.

        6. No Name

          The comment box doesn’t size down, so when it gets too big for the column it sits in it gets cut off. If you find yourself cut off in this fashion, type until the box shifts over, cutting off the left side rather than the right, and press the right arrow key until you can see everything again. Unfortunately, this fix is a little finicky due to the rag right nature of the comments, so you may have to repeat it a few times, although if you fill a line with spaces it should take care of the problem in one fell swoop.

        7. Rycan

          I just finish typing my comment, and if the ‘Post Comment’ button has disappeared, I just press ‘Return’ at the end of the comment. Doesn’t affect the formatting that way – the blank line at the end disappears (I think).

        8. neeks

          That works fine if you have a keyboard with arrows. I’m on a kindle. I haven’t tried hitting return, and it seems to have sorted itself out (or been fixed, in which case thanks, Willis or whoever!), but I’ll give it a shot next time it comes up so thank you for the suggestion.

        9. airyu

          She’s scared and is thinking of retreating back into the building. But then she pushes past that fear for Becky

        10. tyersome

          It’s a lovely idea … but it looks to me like she might be running away from the Ryan that has got between her and the door …

          I don’t expect that someone having a panic attack and hallucinating one of the things they fear the most is really thinking about anyone else …

          I guess how to interpret this strongly depends on whether she is really seeing Ryan’s or whether they are ‘metaphorical’ …

        11. insanenoodyguy

          It’s very unlikely this is Ryan and his 3 identical brothers. Metaphor makes a lot more sense, especially since all those guys weren’t Ryan in the first panel.

        12. Michael

          I think the “metaphorical” / “really seeing” distinction refers to whether Joyce is reacting to the people around her as if they were Ryan / having a sudden resurgence of her reaction to Ryan (which is represented to us, as readers of a graphic medium, by depicting the people as Ryans) or whether she’s hallucinating and visually perceiving Ryan’s face on the people around her. The former is your standard PTSD-like flashback, whereas the latter is rarer and probably has a worse prognosis.

        13. airyu

          I interpreted her face in the last panel as determination. I guess we will find out tomorrow!

        14. xKiv

          Tomorrow is a “Willis is a monster” day, isn’t it? (sorry, couldn’t find the relevant tumblr or tweet from … november?)

        15. Jessie

          I like to think she’s actually going after Ethan.

        16. fogel

          Agreed. If Ethan has been a safe guy, vs Ryan, and she’s going to tell Ethan they need to stop their charade, she’s giving up her safety, so it would make sense she’d see Ryan. I think.

        17. Rycan

          It makes more sense for her to be seeing Ryan due to the fat that she lacks a safety right now.

      2. Lucretiel

        And she’s alone outside, which we’ve subtly been coming to realize isn’t something she does much (See: Whiteboard Ding Dong Bandit conclusion)

      3. caesaria82

        He’s not really there. She’s just seeing him everywhere.

        1. Paul

          Wouldn’t he be on campus somewhere? So far as we know he is a student at IU, and since no charges were ever filed or anything, there is no reason he wouldn’t still be attending classes. It is highly probable that Joyce will see him eventually; it is possible she has caught a glimpse of Ryan and now sees Ryans multiplying like Agent Smith.

        2. Rycan

          May not even be a student. He’s only been sighted at that one party.

        3. juan

          watch him be the one opening a door

      4. alicemacher

        Looks more like she’s suddenly realized she’s walking outdoors by herself, something she hasn’t been able to do since her near-rape, and is in such a panic she’s “seeing” multiple Ryans, who are not actually there.

        1. The_Bionic_Doctor

          yep!

        2. Freemage

          Listen to the Alice. The Alice is wise, and knows much.

        3. Halloween Jack

          Shit, I hadn’t even noticed that there were multiple Ryans. I, too, was wondering why he was back on campus.

          Speaking of whom, let’s take a moment to remember that, whatever else Sarah does or doesn’t do, she did this.

      5. Roborat

        Panicking? Looks like she is having a seizure, or heart attack.

    2. Frogger

      She was nearly raped at a party recently. She’s “seeing” the guy that did it to her. She still has a lot of healing to do in that regard.

      1. Malasdair

        That happened indoors, though. Does it translate to being traumatised by being outside alone? I’m not an expert or even amateur psychologist.

        1. The_Bionic_Doctor

          Well from my experience, triggers are not necessarily that easy to anticipate or map in a rational manner, and even more so if, like Joyce, the victim is pushing back veeeery hard to suppress the events. I guess that’s one of the reasons many witnesses of PTSD-like anxiety attacks find them “unlikely” or think they’re just crying for attention

        2. Jason

          Yeeup. PTSD is not logical- or, rather, on the surface it isn’t. It’s relatively logical if you’re willing to dig beneath the surface to look at why X leads to Y being a threat- there’s almost certainly a chain reaction that makes sense in context, but that context can be damned hard to get at.
          (For example, why do supermarkets give me panic attacks when none of my trauma occurred in a supermarket? Answer: Lack of ability to retreat to safety. Logical once one gets deep enough.)

          In the case of Joyce, the fear isn’t of being outdoors- or indoors, or any other specific setting. The fear is the lack of safety, the anonymity, the crowds of people. It isn’t a fear, exactly, of what those people may do- at least, not a logical one, because logically, in this setting, what would they do? It’s more likely (although, not being Joyce’s counsellor I can only guess), the fear driving this experience is the trauma itself, the memories lurking, the reminders. That’s often more terrifying than any physical threat.

        3. davidbreslin101

          Makes a lot of sense. Anxiety disorders are not so much about being scared of what’s actually happening. It’s more getting stuck in this hypervigilant state where it feels like something horrific is going to happen any… time…. now. And for Joyce nowadays, feeling safe seems to require having people she trusts around her. (In my experience, even where I choose to sit in a room full of people makes a stupid amount of difference.)

    3. Em

      She has to be with someone when she goes outside. As shown here in a very literal sense, she sees Ryan everywhere. She feels like anyone is liable to attack.

      That’s why she’s with Ethan. He makes her feel safe. He makes her feel like nobody can mess with her. That’s why she hangs out with Mike. That’s why she is always with a crowd of people she trusts.

      1. L!ghtn!ng

        Yes, exactly. I don’t love their relationship, and disapprove of Joyce’s attempt to change Ethan and Ethan’s attempt to go back into the closet, but it seems like sometimes it gets forgotten that there is one additional major motivating reason behind why Joyce wants to be with someone as strong, calming, and sexually non-threatening as Ethan.

        1. Em

          Sometimes I wonder if half of the reason she decided to convince him to let her be his beard was because she couldn’t bear to let him go, and not because she was gung ho about changing his sexuality.

        2. Trolldrool

          I think in an ironic manner, Joyce subconciously appreciates his homosexuality because it makes her confident he’s not just going to try to coerce her into sex.

        3. L!ghtn!ng

          That’s what I assumed Joyce meant here: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/02-guess-whos-coming-to-galassos/misleading/. Also, here, when she says “I’m safe with you. From everything”: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/02-guess-whos-coming-to-galassos/work/

        4. The_Bionic_Doctor

          yeha, although in her case “everything” is both rape and her own urges to act on her lust

        5. Gigafreak

          Now that you mention it, d’you think panel 4 is her determination to give up her Ethan-shaped “safe zone” because it’s the right thing to do, no matter how much it scares her?

        6. anonymsly

          I think it’s ‘MUST GET TO BECKY’. She did say she had someone to find when she left class.

          Once she finds Becky, she may decide to forgo her Ethan-shaped safe zone because it’s the right thing to do, no matter how scary, and because she already knows she did it once.

        7. fogel

          Yesterday I said even odds she’s going to find Ethan. The fact that today’s comic has catalyzed so much discussion of her ‘holding onto’ Ethan beca

        8. fogel

          …because of her Ryanxiety makes me up those odds: 2-1 she left class to find Ethan, not Becky.

        9. Gigafreak

          If it WAS Becky, her location would be unknown because she doesn’t have classes to dictate her schedule like Ethan does. Thankfully, it hasn’t been long since class started, and Becky was with them on the way there– so she can’t have gone far from her last known position.

          This just means Ethan would be easier to find, though she does know where she’s headed either way: to Ethan’s class or dorm, or to Becky’s last known location.

        10. Rycan

          I don’t think she feels safe yet – she just needs to get the hell out of there. What she needs is to lessen her currently crippling fear of being alone around strange men. After that, she can walk in the open again.

        11. Rycan

          That’s my best guess, anyway. I don’t have any such experience to draw from, thankfully.

    4. Bill

      Joyce is seeing every male on campus as Ryan, the guy who tried to date-rape her.
      Methinks our little heroine is due for another weird dream later tonight.

      1. fogel

        More a party-rape attempt. Which is a thing,most often targeting inexperienced/unwary 1st year women who are invited to a party where they receive lots of flattering attention and many strong drinks deliberately concocted to mask the taste of the alcohol they contain, so female guests will drink freely. Imagine joyce as someone not only at her first ever college party, but also who had not drunk alcohol in high schooll. Then imagine Ryan as someone making sure she always has a tasty drink in her hand, with no warning of their potency….

        1. Leorale

          It’s even grosser than that. She thought she was sipping Sprite or Sierra Mist, but he’d slipped a drug into it (getting her dizzy and trying to make her pass out and messing with her ability to remember the event). Dude drugged her; if her friends hadn’t rescued her, he’d have probably raped her unconscious body.

        2. fogel

          Yes. Tho alc is also a rape drug, like roofies it can cause incapacity and blacking out and forgetting what was done to you. And all can be masked in deceptively potent drinks: you know you’re drinking, but not how much. From the admittedly little I know (a few studies), alc is more commonly used as a rape drug than roofies.

    5. Dean

      A speck of dust just blew into her eye.

    6. Andrusi

      She’s seeing Ryan everywhere, i.e. she’s worried that everyone around her is a potential rapist. Since comics are a visual medium, this is being communicated by having her literally see Ryan everywhere.

  11. Khaner

    I’d make a Katawa Shoujo joke, but that wouldn’t be very funny.

    1. Bjams

      So, Dorothy is the Lilly to Joyce’s Hanako?

      That actually works pretty, well.

      1. CanvasWolfDoll

        eh, not sure how well that comparison lines up. it might be a gentler form of shizune/misha.

        1. sun tzu

          Except that Joyce and Dorothy are actually likable. So, no, better stick to Hanako/Lilly.

        2. ninja_jesus

          Whoa, you are NOT talking about Shizune like that. 😐

        3. Plasma Mongoose

          Shizune isn’t very popular which is odd as she’s a class rep and she wears glasses and those attributes are normally quite appealing.

        4. ninja_jesus

          I for one love her attitude. And Rin’s. And Hanako’s. And Lily’s. And… well, I love them all, actually.

  12. L!ghtn!ng

    Unexpected development! Oh crap!

  13. winter

    I knew it was bad, but I didn’t realise it was THIS bad.

    1. timemonkey

      The girl spends her spare time with Walky for Cheese’s sake. She’s got to be pretty badly off to do that. Remember, their relationship isn’t some cute banter, they really don’t like each other.

      1. dailybrad

        I think it has softened some, but they have some very difficult differences to overlook.

        1. Gigafreak

          Considering how much Walky and Becky have in common, I wonder if Walky could absolutely end up being a very close friend to Joyce– I mean, Becky is not far off from being a “Lesbian Walky” and Joyce is already friends with her, so it’s conceivable! But that can only happen after Joyce has had a lot more time to re-examine her faith and cut out the parts that hurt other people– because Walky relentlessly antagonizes her over those most of all.

        2. Screwball

          LOL, Lesbian Walky. Lalky :P.

          Sorry, had to put that out there…

      2. Rycan

        Walky is still a Safe Person. Hell, he was even allowed in the room the morning after, as she was processing everything.

        1. timemonkey

          He’s non-threatening to her on the personal safety scale but she still really doesn’t like him.

  14. Plasma Mongoose

    Ryan is the new Agent Smith now? O.O

    1. Doctor_Who

      Does that make Joyce The One? Because The One is basically Jesus. Don’t know how she’d react to having to worship herself.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        So who’s going to give Joyce the red pill?

        1. Doctor_Who

          I think Ryan tried that, and it got us into this mess.

        2. Doctor_Lantern

          Ba Doom TISS

        3. Plasma Mongoose

          I was thinking more of the lines of this: http://xkcd.com/566/

        4. Rycan

          You were thinking that she should snort both pills?

        5. Plasma Mongoose

          What could possibly go wrong?

        6. No Name

          Absolutely nothing, since things are going so well. This is a milk run, after all.

      2. fogel

        http://nonadventures.com/
        ‘re Jesus praying to himself, this explains it.

    2. Screwball

      Mrs Brown, it’s so nice to see you again…

  15. timemonkey

    …..she’s going to run into the real one, isn’t she?

    1. LiaHansen

      I bet she bumps into one and she looks up in surprise and he resolves into Ethan

    2. airyu

      I dunno… the past few Ryan tags have been not really Ryan. For comic purposes, he works better in Joyce’s head.

      1. Em

        Yeah, we have no idea if he even goes to this school. He could’ve been a +1 of a friend of the hosts. He could be from anywhere. *shrugs* Honestly, it’s not likely she’ll run into him.

      2. winter

        Yeah, the real Ryan isn’t scary. What’s scary is that literally any person Joyce meets could turn out to be another “Ryan”.

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          That fact pretty much ruins her dream of gaining a MRS degree.

        2. Rycan

          Not without professional help, at least.

        3. caramelundqueer

          I think the real Ryan is pretty damn scary.

        4. airyu

          He is scary, but imaginary Ryan can’t be defeated by a baseball bat.

        5. winter

          Sorry, I didn’t mean to minimize Ryan’s scariness.

          But for all that Ryan is scary, he’s only one individual, which, imo, is easier to deal with than the dawning fact that rapists et al. are human like everyone else and can’t reliably be identified on sight.

        6. Plasma Mongoose

          The idea of what Ryan represents is far scarier to Joyce than the actual Ryan.

        7. Hank

          You mean, the provocation that her belief that you can find the good in everyone might be wrong? If I had the faith in humanity that Joyce has, I’d find that pretty damn scary, too.

        8. winter

          idk, I believe there’s good in everyone. Not that it means there’s any amount of good, or anything really, that can excuse attempted rape. Probably because good and bad actions don’t cancel each other out to begin with.

    3. Solenoid

      For all we know, Ryan doesn’t even go to IU. He’s just some asshole who cropped up at a party.

    4. Freemage

      I hadn’t considered that possibility at first, but… That could lead to some serious catharsis, trauma or both. After all, she took a chunk of flesh from him before, when she was already succumbing to the drug. In a panic-induced adrenaline surge, she might make Amazi-girl look like a gentle pacifist…

  16. Spencer

    “Oh hey I can’t wait to see the new com-OH GOD!”

    1. The E-man

      My reaction exactly

  17. LiaHansen

    its just stuff on toppa stuff with this comic

  18. Doctor_Who

    Joyce might benefit from a self defense class. Help her feel more secure in public.

    Plus if she ever meets Ryan again she can kick him in the crotch so hard he goes deaf from having testicles lodged in his ears.

    1. caramelundqueer

      Self defense and some major therapy to cope with her ptsd.

      1. Foxhack

        Yep, because untreated PTSD + self defense can equal trouble. She’d have the tools to defend herself – but those tools could be used in the wrong way if she doesn’t get help to deal with the PTSD.

        1. caramelundqueer

          Untreated ptsd + self defense is how you get Amber.

        2. Doctor_Lantern

          Ha, wavelength.

        3. Solenoid

          They can team up and fight crime! Start the Dumbing League or something.

        4. Rycan

          Or a poorly-adjusted veteran.

        5. Doctor_Lantern

          Similar in the way Amber went. (Father forced her into Self Defense, said no therapy, etc.)

        6. Gigafreak

          Well Joyce DID reconcile with Amazi-girl. Maybe she can end up being her partner or sidekick!

          …This is a terrible thing to hope for and I feel bad.

        7. Solenoid

          … I should have scrolled down a bit and read this before I posted.

    2. 4th Dimension

      Self defence was never really her problem. Pretty much the only reason Ryan was able to owerpower her (apart from wresltling her and being bigger) was that he drugged her and his intentions came out of nowhere for her. And still while barely standing up, drugged, she was lucid enough to use beserk/adrenaline strength to mash that glass into his face.
      Hell in a way if she ran into him and her fight or fligh eflex got wedged into fight he is dead meat. Which would cure her from her fear of helplesness, but would also be an assault, illegal and her parents will find out about it so all bad.
      The only thing selfdefence would do is improve her selfconfindence. But what she really needs is somebody impartial and nonthreathening to untangle her mess of issues with her.

      1. fogel

        Just add that Ryan also got into Joyce’s good graces by quoting scripture to make her think he was like her and virtuous (the devil being able to quote scripture for his own purposes….)

    3. Bearpelt

      Self-defense courses don’t really help everyone feel safer, though. TBH I’m tired of seeing people suggest this when it comes to any form of sexual assault. Self-defense courses wouldn’t have helped me with my stalker because he wasn’t even going to speak to me again, much less touch me again, so the fear was not even mostly about my bodily safety. It was about being followed. About being watched or chased. I stopped leaving my dorm room because I couldn’t handle how I’d completely shut down when he was nearby and I’d stop talking the entire time he was there. I became a robot, it felt like, and that was what I feared: the reaction of my brain. People think there’s Fight vs Flight. Everybody forgets Freeze, which is the most common reaction to trauma in mammals. That Freeze was what I feared the most, not being attacked. Self-defense courses wouldn’t have helped with that.

      1. Rycan

        It’s disturbing how people seem to think a self-defence course is a good replacement for professional counseling. If you get a sports injury, you don’t hit the gym – you see a doctor.

        1. The_Bionic_Doctor

          ^This, so much this^. The whole “get self-defense to cure trauma” reaks of this terrible macho idea that weakness and injury are shameful, and that rather than addressing them with care, we should ignore the suffering and cover up the wound in our ego (because that’s the only wound that matters, right?), using virile acts to recover our lost sense of self-worth. Sorry but no: being “brakable” is part of the human condition. Victims, veterans etc. need to learn to love themselves without feeling ashamed of having a normal reaction to an abnormal environment

        2. Bearpelt

          Oh my god thank you for phrasing it the way I wanted to phrase it finally!

        3. Jason

          Yes, yes, yes. Proper counselling is the way forward. (Although I’m a bit fuzzy about the difference in America between “counsellor” and “therapist”; as I understand it they have different roles; one is for every day complaints and issues, whereas the other is to help with deep-rooted issues such as trauma, phobias, and PTSD? Apologies if I’ve been misinformed.)
          But yeah. Counselling is sadly undervalued; people don’t like to think of getting real help for mental health. So instead they do the equivalent of self-medicating for physical illnesses, just finding something “normal” that makes them feel better short-term and whoops, the next thing they know they’ve got the mental health equivalent of an incredibly nasty infection. Who knew, untreated mental illness can fester and become infected like physical ones.
          /highly imperfect analogy

        4. Rycan

          We laymen kinda use ‘therapist’ and ‘counselor’ interchangeably. I think the professional terms are ‘clinical psychologist’ (provides the counseling/therapy) and ‘psychiatrist’ (provides prescriptions).

        5. dreadedseamonster

          What’s even worse is the people who suggest sexual assault victims carry guns. I’ve seen an uncomfortable about of men suggest that.

        6. dreadedseamonster

          amount * oops

        7. Bearpelt

          Oh my god I know. It’s awful and it seems to completely misunderstand what carrying a gun actually means. I know a lot of people who know guns and I was taught by them two things.

          1. Only carry a gun if you know how to use it and use it well. If you don’t know how to use it, it’ll likely get taken from you in a fight and then it’ll be used ON you.

          2. If you’re going to carry a gun, you need to be able to pull the trigger to kill. In TV shows, it’s easy to say “aim for his leg, why are you hesitating!” In real life, unless you’re like super-well-trained as a sniper or something, you can’t expect that level of precision. You have to shoot to kill. Aim for body mass where it’s easiest to hit and all the vital organs are. If you can’t, then carrying a gun you can’t shoot to kill leads back to number one.

          And that’s just the reality of carrying a gun in general, much less how likely it would be to actually help, especially since almost all rape is not stranger rape. Yes I am totally going to carry a gun to bed with me while the boyfriend I trust sleeps besides me in bed, yup, totally gonna bring that gun with me, strap it to my leg and everything.

  19. Idon'tcarenomore

    Oh shit. Now it raises it’s ugly head.

  20. brumagem

    Oh yeah I forgot our traumatic past experiences follow us for the rest of our lives and there’s nothing to do but deal with it.

    By eating at Arby’s.

    1. Doctor_Who

      Curly fries may not cure PTSD, but at they can help!

      1. Adam Black

        I’m still waiting for the Double-Blind study comparing Curly to Waffle

    2. winter

      Roast beef makes the trauma hurt a little bit less, huh?

    3. Solenoid

      Someone’s been watching the retweets, I see. I approve.

  21. Cattleprod

    Oh man, I have to go through the archives to confirm she’s never been alone outside since that happened, don’t I?

    1. timemonkey

      No need, it was confirmed ages ago. Since her talk with Amazi-Girl.

      1. Nono

        Random thought: the day Joyce spent indoors all day decorating her room door was because she literally couldn’t find anyone to go out with.

        1. AgentKeen

          It’s ok, I didn’t need my heart…

        2. Solenoid

          =C I thought this couldn’t get sadder, and then I saw Nono’s comment. Now I know better.

        3. Nono

          Looking back on the chapter, the only time we see her heading out that day was because she had class, and she mentions that Ethan’s walking her to it, as well.

        4. Bearpelt

          Ouch

        5. No Name

          Another random though: What if Dorothy didn’t follow Joyce because she needed to be there for Becky, but because she needed to be there for Joyce. She was there for the Ryan incident after all.

      2. Rycan

        Thanks for the reminder. Easy to forget these details.

  22. caesaria82

    Oh wow that took me a second. And then it was suddenly traumatic. Non-stop with the emotional whiplash, this here webcomic. Non-stop.

  23. Waffle1up

    god dammit Willis, you justhad to give me rapid fire emotions

  24. Idon'tcarenomore

    love the comment Doctor_Who

    Joyce has been gaining character growth at a fast rate, maybe too fast?

  25. caramelundqueer

    Wow this is some pretty powerful imagery.

  26. Em

    Ahh Joyce I know that feel. :/ Therapy+time+good friends=things will be better. Colleges usually have free counseling.

    1. dreadedseamonster

      The problem is that it’s not always good counseling. A lot of the time it’s grad students. And at my old university it also wasn’t free /:

      1. Em

        It wasn’t free? D: That’s terrible, I’m sorry! It’s free where I go, to students with or without medical coverage through the school. You can’t have a regular person though, you get a new person each time. (that’s because the people there have jobs either through their own practice, or working through a clinic, so the school is kind of just something else they do)

        I do agree though, it’s not always the best. When I set up my emergency appointment with what they called SHAC, (Student Health And Counseling) they essentially said “Well since your health care isn’t through the school and through somewhere else, why don’t you just see a therapist through your doctor? Okay, don’t kill yourself, bye!” But then, I’ve known people who HAVE had good experiences…so I guess it’s a mixed bag. :/

    2. Freemage

      Yeah. If only she knew someone who could give her direction to a counselor. Maybe someone who carries around small cards to hand to people who seem to be in need. Ah, well, apparently there’s no one that virtuous and wise on this campus….

      1. Rycan

        …that she’d listen to, at least.

  27. MM

    I…I can’t even muster a “Damn you Willis.” This is just…wow.

    1. Solenoid

      I can. Damn you, Willis. Just… damn you.

      1. Rycan

        He doesn’t sugarcoat major problems like PTSD. And I, for one, am glad for that. These issues he explores in this comic are not trivial, and shouldn’t be treated as such (although they often are).

        1. Solenoid

          No, no, he writes the issues well. That’s part of why we’re all upset. It’s a kick in the gut. As it should be. But, damn.

        2. Rycan

          Let me just restate your retort:

          Damn you, life

          There’s the culprit.

        3. Rycan

          I meant your earlier retort, not your response to me, btw.

        4. Bearpelt

          Agreed. He does a good job writing things that are important. I’ve even forgiven him for putting the r-slur in the title of one of his comics since he did that wonderful thing about ableism with Dina. (Finally, a neurodiverse character whose neurodiversity feels slightly similar to my own! FINALLY)

        5. The_Bionic_Doctor

          I blame Willis for making the reader realize what PTSD looks like. I blame him because in a parallel to Joyce’s experience, we as readers are able to get caught in all sorts of events as new things happend, we forget about the trauma for some time, and then… WHAM, it just comes back to punch us. I blame Willis because this comic is a good education material for people who have no idea they are surrounded by survivors (of all kinds of abuse), and might never have realized what certain behaviors they find odd or ridiculous are actually be about. I blame him for secretly making me hope this comic might make a difference for these un-educated readers… OK forget it, actually I think all these things make Willis an fantastic writer as well as a good human being. Damn you real life for giving Willis all this material for potential feels.

  28. Kernanator

    Yaaaay, panic attacks.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      I mean… who doesn’t love those?

      1. Swoop

        And they’re great for your abs too.

      2. Opus the Poet

        Yeah I look forward to every one of mine. (Note: Just because I’m an unkillable badass does not mean the process of becoming an unkillable badass is free from psychic consequences. My freakouts are thankfully infrequent and mostly contained these days, but there was a time about 5 years after the wreck when neither of those conditions was met.)

        1. The_Bionic_Doctor

          kudos to you, Unkillable Badass 🙂

    2. brumagem

      Panic attacks are a different thing entirely. These are the after-effects of major psychological trauma. If it doesn’t go away it’s usually diagnosed as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD.

  29. Boomwolf

    Um, pardon my french, but da frick is going on?

    1. Em

      She can’t be outside alone without thinking she’s going to be attacked again.

    2. Riku

      She was almost raped earlier in the year and the trauma caused her to have difficulty being outside by herself

      1. Gigafreak

        More specifically, the event has caused her to suspect every stranger she meets as a potential threat– she sees her attacker in them all, because the attacker was convincing at pretending to be a good person until he drugged her.

        1. Bearpelt

          Yeah, that’s been alluded to in earlier comics.

          I can attest that this is a lot how it feels.

  30. Mandy

    I know there’s a lot of other shit going on around her right now, but I really hope that she realizes that she needs to get some kind of help about this. I also really hope that it doesn’t take something horrific to get her to realize it. :/

    1. Mandy

      (Not that what’s happening in this strip isn’t horrific! But with Willis it can always get worse!)

      1. Solenoid

        Twist: Roz finds her before Dorothy and Walky, maybe. Perhaps reiterates her helpful advice to seek counseling while also eating humble pie.

        1. Solenoid

          Clarification: Roz being the one eating humble pie.

        2. Mandy

          That would be excellent! But I doubt Joyce would let on how she’s feeling to Roz at this point..

        3. tyersome

          I think you’d have to be pretty insensitive (yes more so than Roz has been recently) to not notice that Joyce is having some sort of freak out … but I can’t imagine Roz not interpreting it as being about her actions in class … so I can that as one avenue for Willis to pile on some more drama …

        4. 4th Dimension

          Highway
          Highway to the
          drama zone
          drama zone

        5. No Name

          If that happens, namely Roz berating her for having a freak out out here, I can only assume that Joyce will finally let loose a proper swear. In fact, I’m betting that Joyce drops the F-bomb.

        6. The_Bionic_Doctor

          Good call! Once again, a character that was giving Joyce a hard time would end up realizing the problem and try to be helpful, just like Amazi-girl!

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      She wanted to avoid getting help because Joyce feared that they would tell her parents and they would feel justified in removing her from IU.

      1. Mandy

        Yeah, but she can get help that isn’t legal. Like someone mentioned above, universities always have counseling resources – I think something like that would really help her.

        1. Rycan

          Joyce is, as we know, quite ignorant of the world outside of the cocoon she grew up in. Does she even know about patient confidentiality laws? If not, she may assume a counselor would contact her parents.

        2. The_Bionic_Doctor

          It’s when I read things like that that the horror of Joyce’s education really hits me: what sort of twisted parents give their kid the impression that there is NOWHERE outside of their care that people can provide her a safe place? That they deserve so little privacy that doctors don’t even keep such personnal matters to themselves?

        3. Havtorn

          To make it seem like you’re the only pillar of support for someone is sadly one of the most common ways that people, knowlingly or otherwise, ensure control of others. You see it in dysfunctional relationships all the time; You can only get “proper” support from me so you shouldn’t seek/need it from others.

        4. Rycan

          My thinking was that, back in her community, Joyce would go to her pastor with these sorts of issues – and the pastor would go to Mom & Dad.

        5. Freemage

          The other option is the pastor taking such a thing to the whole congregation. It’s happened, at several churches, particularly the non-denominational fundamentalist evangelical variety that seems to be the sort Joyce comes from.

          And invariably, the tone is, “This congregant has been soiled by sin, and we should all pray for her and forgive her in order for the healing to begin.” Yes, they blame the victim for being raped, and attach the “sin” to her. Because, you know, precious petals were ripped from your soul and the fact that you didn’t want it to happen doesn’t change it.

          If the rapist is part of the same congregation (in particular, if they are either part of the clerisy or the victim’s family), there’s also usually an attempt at reconciliation, because of course you have to forgive those who sin against you, even if those people never actually do any sort of atonement like confessing to the cops.

          *Sets up a stand selling vomit buckets.*

        6. Rycan

          And here I was, thinking that I was pushing it by implying that confidentiality doesn’t exist at home for Joyce. Turns out, it’s worse.

        7. Rycan

          Oh, and please, PLEASE note that I am only guessing here. No actual experience with this.

  31. licoricepencil

    poor baby 🙁

  32. Sam

    Huh?

    Oh. OH! Right! Poor Joyce. Today is not her day. Please let her run into Becky soon, she needs best friend hugs.

  33. caramelundqueer

    Is she fighting her way through a panic attack? That’s what it looks like to me.

    1. Foxhack

      As someone who’s done that for entirely different circumstances… it looks like that to me as well.

    2. Cricket

      That’s my best guess, too. I don’t remember if her grabbing her wrist is a reference to something specific, but that was definitely a reflexive gesture I made a lot while panicking as a way to ground myself, so that combined with the other visuals suggests it to me.

      1. anonymsly

        She got a wicked slice on her arm when she glassed Ryan. The wound’s healed, but I bet it’s there to her in this moment.

        1. Rycan

          And when the drugs finally left her system, that gash was the only physical reminder of what had happened.

        2. Gigafreak

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-2/01-pajama-jeans/decision/
          There were also a few close-ups at the beginnings of the following few in-comic days as the wound steadily healed over, requiring smaller bandages.

      2. John

        Joyce has shown that mannerism more than once.

        (I think there are other incidences, but I don’t have links offhand.)

  34. The Wizard

    Its OK Joyce, Ethan will save you… Or Slim Shady.

  35. GoogerGeiger

    Took me a minute…

  36. Plasma Mongoose

    Clearly her hand has become possessed, if only she had a chainsaw…

    1. Aubri

      I think I love you.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        AWWW! ^_^ and here I’m wearing my Megatron bride grav too. 😀

        1. nothri

          “Today’s gravatar is well known amongst Transformers fan, he has taken a number of forms over the years everything from a sniper gun to a cannon but this time, Megatron has taken his most amazing form yet, a bride, the only question is who’s the groom?”

          From your page. I hope its the one person who deserves Megatron’s affections more than anyone. Starscream has tried so hard to be noticed, it would be a tragedy if his leader’s heart went to anyone else.

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          Starscream? That guy would cheat on him every chance he would get.

        3. Screwball

          Either way, it may not be MY Megatron, but i still roll over laughing every time I see it… XD XD XD XD XD

    2. Gigafreak

      The scar on her hand healed over. The scar on her mind, not so much!

    3. Tacos

      Lockdown and/or Pharma would approve of a chainsaw hand.

  37. Wonder Wig

    Last Panel: Joyce – Titan, Striker Class – Shoulder Charge.

  38. KRVeale

    Are we going to talk about the fact that Joyce has been confronted with her own personal nightmare, and she’s forcing herself through it so she can find Becky?
    Bravo, brave Joyce. You’re far from perfect, but we are the person we are in the dark where no one else can see. And you’re putting yourself on the line for her because you expect it of yourself. Bravo.

    1. Nono

      Huh, I didn’t even realize that was what was going on in the last panel. Bravo for picking up on that.

      1. Gigafreak

        She’s even clutching the scar on her hand from when she shattered that glass on Ryan’s face. To remind herself that she survived, perhaps? Or maybe more like rubbing an aching bruise on her psyche?

      2. krveale

        No problem! It seemed worth mentioning – partly in case my own interpretation was wrong.

    2. Hank

      One thing I’ve found in the rare post-fundamentalist? When you cast their actions in a Christian lens (in this case, Gethsemane), the best of them make the biblical Jesus look petty and selfish in comparison.

      Jesus faced his fears in the garden and chose mere obedience. Joyce is under no such divine mandate to go after Becky, not even in her own mind.

  39. caramelundqueer

    I wonder if Roz will find Joyce falling apart before Dorothy does.

    1. Rycan

      That would be… interesting. So many possible outcomes in that scenario.

    2. anonymsly

      God, I hope not. The last thing Joyce needs in the middle of her assault-traume triggered panic attack is Roz showing up to continue an entirely different assault by screaming at her about how she’s a horrible person because she dared to learn life lessons through life and education.

      1. caramelundqueer

        Roz might be obnoxious but I don’t think she’s heartless. If she ran into Joyce mid panic attack I think the second she realized something very wrong was happening she’d try to get Joyce help.

        1. anonymsly

          Roz doesn’t have the best track record with paying attention to the world around her or showing consideration for the feelings of others today. I have no faith that she won’t just see ‘Miss Fundie begging for more attention’.

          Any other day, maybe. Not today, not now; Roz’s view may well be that she had to leave class (a class quite probably required for the major she wants) because ‘Miss Fundie’ turned everyone against her.

        2. caramelundqueer

          Yeah I just…have a hard time seeing anyone being that heartless if she were to actually come upon Joyce in the throes of a panic attack. On two different occasions I’ve had to help someone through that and it’s not just something you can brush off.

        3. anonymsly

          Roz is currently finding it impossible to see anything outside herself as valid, and now she has a choice of two reasons to want to destroy Joyce. Unless she storming out of class because she realized how she was acting, just snarly-faced because she really doesn’t want to apologize to Miss Fundie for anything. (I can actually see this; Roz delivering an apology because her ethics force her to, not because of any care for Joyce or any real regret/sorry for the incident. I don’t think it’s likely, but I can see it.)

          Any other day/time, Roz the volunteer who keeps support materials handy at a moment’s notice would be a fine help, and she and Joyce could be excellent agents for change and growth in each other. I would love to see that. I can’t see it happening right this minute.

          I’d much rather see Joyce power through enough to get to Becky and finally open up to her best friend the way she originally wanted to before it turned out Becky needed to be supported more than Joyce did. (Arguable, given this. Joyce is much worse-off than she’s let anyone see.)

        4. invisiblemoose

          I’m wondering why everyone thinks it’s Becky she’s going to see. Doesn’t anyone else think she’s going to go see Ethan?

        5. The_Bionic_Doctor

          hmhm, excellent suggestion here

        6. No Name

          Not everyone does (see fogel), but the majority do because Becky is the far more immediate problem, given all the set-up. I wouldn’t be surprised if Willis pulled a fast one, but it would still come off as a fast one.

        7. anonymsly

          Becky’s the one ‘in danger’, the one turned out of her home and rejected by her parents, the one who used to be sheltered by the church but Joyce now knows can’t be anymore. And on top of all that, Becky’s the one wandering alone in a world that Joyce is coming to realize is super-dangerous and unfriendly to her (Becky).

          Ethan isn’t in ‘immediate danger’. His parents haven’t disowned him, he’s not relying on his best friend to break the rules to provide him with food and shelter. There’s no reason why Joyce would be freaking out about Ethan in this moment, not powerfully enough to drive her on through a PTSD panic attack.

        8. airyu

          I think it’s because of her mom’s phone call

        9. anonymsly

          And now that I think about it, caramelundqueer, as to Roz not being that heartless, I agree. But Joyce may not look like she’s having a panic attack; she’s just running away and crying, which may well be exactly what it’d look like if she was being overdramatically upset to get attention and pity.

          We readers have context, we know what’s happening and why, it’s obvious to us that Joyce is not upset by Roz (anymore) but due to her untreated PTSD. Roz doesn’t have this context, she may not even remember that ‘something’ happened to Joyce. Even as someone whose wheelhouse/life-passion certainly contains a deep desire to help people in Joyce’s exact situation, Joyce’s partial not-quite-recovery may be the thing that would keep Roz from seeing that situation.

          The more I think about it, the more I agree that Roz would help if she knew. What I don’t think is that she’d be able to really see enough to know, and it’s only partially because of today’s class events and Roz’s current rage-blinders.

        10. invisiblemoose

          You have a lot of insight about limited perspective and what we as the viewers see versus what happens ‘in-universe’ until it comes to your own take on Roz, where you make unfounded accusations that she is someone who is ingenuine about being against rape.

        11. No Name

          When exactly has anonymsly made such a stance? All they’re saying is that Roz doesn’t seem to be the type to realize that that single conversation about “the Ryan incident” might be important right after Joyce was slammed by Roz’s own words and left the room, probably in tears already.

        12. anonymsly

          I don’t like Roz and often think she’s ingenuine in general, because she is often an unkind person. The views she holds seem to be to be, while based in probably a genuine care for society as a whole, held and exercised to self-aggrandize on a less-broad level.

          That said, in this exact instance, what Roz will see is a classmate – specifically one she believes the worst of already – fleeing in tears from a classroom wherein she lost an argument and was called out on her lifelong shit. The point has been made several times that Roz has no real idea what happened to Joyce (by people not me, and which I had either forgotten or ignored), and giving her the card with names on it was hardly a significant event to Roz. It’s entirely possible she doesn’t remember. (It wasn’t even significant to Joyce. We have no idea where that card is now. I doubt Joyce kept it after Roz ‘confirmed’ that it was a list of witches.)

          So why should Roz assume ‘oh my god, PTSD panic attack, I must help!’ when the sight before her is just a girl she barely knows running away in tears? She may even expect Joyce to be running away in tears, ashamed of herself and/or upset about losing an argument, or something like it.

          Basically, Roz just has no actual reason to think there’s anything really wrong with Joyce. We the readers know Roz could help, but there’s no reason I can see for Roz to know it.

        13. invisiblemoose

          In response to ‘No Name’s question about when they said that:
          “that therapist card was probably just to make herself feel like less of a person who condones rape,” from Wednesday’s comic, postdate February 11, 2015 at 12:54 pm.

        14. Bearpelt

          Agreed. Roz is one of my favorite flawed characters in this story. In many ways, she’s someone I’d hate. But I think that shows good writing; I can’t like and identify with every single character in a comic about different people interacting; that would be boring. But she has some self-centeredness problems.

    3. chris73

      I hope so, when Roz learned something happened to Joyce she immediately sought her out, advised her to get some help and gave her a card with the names on it.

      I like Dorothy as a character but shes not very experienced (but then who is) at this kind of thing and because of this Dorothy isn’t helping Joyce as much as she could be.

      Roz on the other hand does seem to have a handle (or at least a better grasp) on traumatic experiences

      Of course Roz is steaming angry and Joyce is highly emotional so it could go ballistic…maybe a third party like Mike might actually be able to get through to both of them

      1. caramelundqueer

        Maybe Roz will turn out to be one of those people who can put aside petty bullshit in the face of real suffering? Hopefully? I’d like to believe there’s more to her.

        1. The_Bionic_Doctor

          I agree with you: sure she’s angry but her past actions have shown she’s able to detect something is really wrong, cast aside her flippant mood and provide much needed help in a non intrusive manner. I doubt this is where the plot is going, but I think if Roz saw Joyce right now her first reaction would be to accompany her to therapy if Joyce were willing, or at least make sure Joyce feels better.

        2. Greenygal

          The thing is, when Roz offered Joyce that card it was pretty easy to tell something was really wrong. Dorothy had basically spelled it out for her; Joyce’s reactions just confirmed it. I don’t know that it’s going to be that obvious to her this time, although if she does clue in I’m sure she would be nothing but helpful.

        3. anonymsly

          Yeah, Joyce powering through the panic to move forward, even though she’s crying and terrified, could quite possibly make ‘overdramatic fleeing in tears’ more believable than ‘powering through a PTSD panic attack’ to outside observers like Roz who have no idea about Joyce’s context here.

      2. Crazy Dina

        I’d personally think Mike would be a good person to run into. Joyce KNOWS Mike. He’s strong enough to defend her against any real Ryan, and would likely defend Joyce if anyone attempted to harm her.

        We do know he does not have class at this time, so it’s not impossible, and Mike would be a good one to get Joyce back in focus, even if it’s just directing all of that negativity towards him, as he has shown to do for grieving characters (such as Amber after that encounter with her father).

        Maybe we’ll see a soft spot in Mike, maybe we won’t, but if he is used in the upcoming strips, I wouldn’t be surprised if he even manages to get Joyce to get help or if he fends off Roz when she gets close enough to get angry.

        Not quite sure why, but I REALLY want Mike in one of the upcoming strips.

    4. Nono

      I know that’s the expected outcome, but I kind of want to see, say, Sarah tackle this. I’d have said Joe if he wasn’t stuck in class, just to see one of the more usually apathetic characters try to help Joyce through this.

      1. anonymsly

        Joe would have been my ideal, too, if he weren’t trapped in class. He’s a horndog and an insensitive one, but I don’t think you stay best friends with Danny since kindergarten without some kind of empathy skill, however hidden.

        And I do believe that Joyce and Joe could be good for each other, at least in the friendship sense.

      2. tyersome

        Sarah (and her bat) want you to know that she is not apathetic …

  40. Trolldrool

    I admit I didn’t expect today’s comic to be any more lighthearted than the previous ones, but sweet chocolate satan, I didn’t expect it to get this horrifying.

    1. CanvasWolfDoll

      ‘sweet chocolate satan: sinfully delicious!’

      1. Screwball

        It’s 1 Hell of a treat…

  41. airyu

    Is it just me or does anyone else want top know about the untagged people put in for atmosphere. Like what’s that Blass guy in panel one’s story?

    1. airyu

      Wow autocorrect, what is blass. I meant to write “glasses”. Although I wonder what the bald dude’s story is too.

  42. Rodimiss

    Thanks Willis, we needed more trauma on top of these other traumatic events. I didn’t need my heart, it’s cool, it’s all cool.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Willis needs our traumas to sustain himself.

      1. Doctor_Lantern

        For every “Damn you, Willis!” that is proclaimed he actually gains another day of life. By now he may very well be immortal.

        1. nothri

          As a vampire sups upon blood so must Willis sup upon tears to sustain itself. And his appetite is voracious.

        2. nothri

          Alas he cannot be killed by a stake through the heart, for it seems he has none.

      2. Rycan

        You think Joyce is his autobiography? It’s actually Mike.

        1. Screwball

          Perhaps Mike is merely his final evolution…

        2. Rycan

          *imagines a Pokemon evolution on his old Gameboy from Willis to Mike*

  43. Swoop

    That face at the end doesn’t seem like panic to me. She looks determined and angry. She’s running toward something. Probably Becky.

    1. Carriethedragon

      I would say it’s sort of both. She’s powering through her panic attack.

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      I wonder if Becky even knows about the Ryan incident and if not, will Joyce be spilling the beans to Becky about it.

      1. Hank

        I’m not sure Ethan knows.

        1. neeks

          It does seem pretty unlikely, considering Joyce seems determined
          to keep it swept under the rug, and I think the closest she came
          to telling him about it was her outburst immediately prior to his
          coming out to her. Their ensuing conversation wasn’t exactly
          “I’m gay–wait, what’s this about guys drugging you?” “I went
          to a party and was almost raped and now I have anxiety issues
          for some reason. It’s the darnedest thing, really.”

      2. anonymsly

        IIRC, that’s why she was so upset about Becky not answering her phone for a week; she desperately wanted to talk to Becky about all the things that have happened to her. She wanted to get the support of her lifelong best friend.

        Instead, she has not only not gotten that chance, it’s been thoroughly denied to her because Becky needs her support.

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          Holy crap, you really are onto something, talk about dramatic turns.

        2. anonymsly

          That’s why my personal hope is that she gets to Becky before anyone else gets to her, still panicking. Becky loves Joyce as much as Joyce loves Becky, she’d ask what’s wrong, and Joyce would have permission to let loose a whole torrent of terror and love and terror that she’s been bottling up.

        3. Bagge

          And then there would be hugs? I’m really in the mood for some Joyce/Becky-hugs right now.

        4. anonymsly

          SO many hugs.

          Group hugs, once Dorothy catches up with them. Maybe Walky would join the hugs too, but that might be too ‘girly’ for him.

        5. No Name

          Becky’s a lesbian, it’s all good.
          Also, I’m pretty sure Dorothy would threaten him with bodily harm if he didn’t join in the hug.

        6. Bearpelt

          Oh wow I hadn’t thought of that. You’re completely on the money.

        7. Bearpelt

          Oh wow I hadn’t thought of that. You’re completely on the money.

        8. No Name

          In fact, anonymously’s so on the money you had to double post!

        9. Swoop

          It happens

        10. davidbreslin101

          Not to me!

        11. davidbreslin101

          aaaaaaandd I try to do a comedy double post and can’t. Well played, comments system, well played!

        12. Rycan

          Sometimes the site slips up, and you get an accidental double post. Wish we could delete our posts; it feels like we’re leaving Willis to clean up after our littering.

        13. Swoop

          It happens

      3. Rycan

        I don’t think so; Becky seemed to mistake Joyce’s sudden disenchantment with boys (remember that she started out on a husband hunt) for emerging homosexuality. She didn’t realize that Joyce’s aversion was actually a case of trauma.

  44. Beachfox

    Yes, Joyce needs some serious therapy, but damn if she isn’t powering through the panic to get to Becky. That’s some powerful (platonic) love she’s got there. Damn, she’s awesome.

    1. Bearpelt

      I really do love seeing her develop as a character. It reminds me of the way I’ve had to grow, often through surviving harassment, assault, stalking, depression, etc.

  45. The Thing

    HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY

  46. Yumi

    …BABY. T.T

  47. JessWitt

    This is spooking me out. But fortunately, Dorothy and Walky will be there – or maybe AmaziGirl (that would be swell) ?

    1. JessWitt

      Also all the Ryans have cuts on their faces. Doubly scary.

  48. Trismagestus

    This girl: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unfundamentalistchristians/2015/02/denied-a-birth-certificate-and-ssn-by-her-fundamentalist-parents/

    reminds me of Joyce. Fundamentalist, Homeschooling, not no college because she doesn’t have a SSN, or even a Birth Certificate to prove who she is.

    1. Carriethedragon

      That’s pretty terrible. I would say that’s a little unlike Joyce’s situation, though. Her parents even let her come to a huge secular university.

    2. Swoop

      And we are sure she’s not a Russian spy, right?

    3. Opus the Poet

      Holy Freaking Shite! Making a non-person out of your daughter so you can keep her under control, that’s just beyond insane.

    4. Crazy Dina

      … I can’t believe it. You made http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/02/11/gop-cant-take-historical-facts/ look like a minor theft in comparison. I am quite ready to leave this species.

      1. Crazy Dina

        I mean, don’t get me wrong. That isn’t the worst that could happen, but I would expect it to at least be robbing a store. You know what… what I said doesn’t match up at all, so disregard it.

      2. Rycan

        So, what species will you become?

        1. Screwball

          I don’t either of our species have the tech to transfer Human minds in Cybertronian bodies, sorry…

        2. Rycan

          Either?

        3. Crazy Dina

          Probably “think either”

        4. Rycan

          Better question – who here isn’t human?

        5. Screwball

          Whoops, my bad. Yeah, I don’t think Either of our species have that tech yet. And who here isn’t Human? Um… 😛

        6. Crazy Dina

          I’m thinking half-deamon. The other half of me I haven’t decided yet. Maybe martian? I don’t know. I kinda want to shape-shift though.

    5. Gigafreak

      Cripes! Did… did they go so far as to omit their own child on the census surveys?

  49. The E-man

    Nooooo Joyce :'(

  50. Doctor_Lantern

    As if Joyce wasn’t dealing with enough issues all at once… Damn you, Willis.

  51. Arianod

    Oh my god, it’s THAT serious O_O Yes, we hadn’t seen Joyce alone outside since the incident. Good lord, the girl is seriously broken. Nooo.

  52. zmm

    I hope that she tells Becky about that too…
    Good on you Joyce pushing through it for your friend.
    First step in dealing with it.

    Wheres your loved roomie when you need her? Will she finally be part of the “exciting” part instead of just the aftermath?

    1. No Name

      If I recall, she was the exciting part in the Ryan incident.

      1. Screwball

        Heh heh heh… Batter up… }:D

  53. Dusk Tornado

    Willys staph torturing Joyce

    1. Bagge

      I feel we are due for a week of hugs now.

      1. Rycan

        Saturday: Joyce & Becky
        Sunday: Sal & Jason
        Monday: Sarah & Jacob
        Tuesday: Leslie & Roz
        Wednesday: Dorothy & Walky
        Thursday: Ruth & Billie
        Friday: Mike & your Mom

        1. Crazy Dina

          Friday. Ha! I’d like to see that! (No, I’m not going to actually send him a pic of my mom to work from.)

  54. Tom T.

    Panel 5, she’s just been bitten by a radioactive spider?

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Cos that what this comic needs, a teenage girl shooting sticky white stuff everywhere. 😛

      1. newllend

        That’s wasn’t what was happening in this comic before?

        1. Hank

          The stuff was red.

        2. No Name

          So red, it stained the panels.

    2. Bearpelt

      It’s actually where she got cut originally during the assault.

  55. Ridureyu

    #Notallmenareryan?

    Naaaaaah

  56. Rycan

    Welp, now she’s running away from her would-be escort. Hopefully she’s able to venture out alone without succumbing to panic in the middle of campus. Clearly, she isn’t ready yet, but she may be able to make it to safety.

  57. Bearpelt

    Oh man. This brings back my own memories from when I was stalked on campus. I basically didn’t leave my dorm if I could help it because he was banned from the dorms.

    1. Rycan

      Sympathy via light physical contact.
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/sympathy-2/

      1. Bearpelt

        Y’know, what I think made that kinda work even though Dina was reaching from behind her back there is that she literally announced what she was doing so it wouldn’t startle. It’s oddly thoughtful.

  58. Lord Geovanni

    no ryan. joyce comes down the stairs at ryan^3. joyce goes back up the stairs backwards at ryan^4. Joyces hand wants to defeat you with a burning passion. Joyce runs (odd thats not what follows that)

  59. Orangey

    🙁

  60. Emperor Kiva

    Oh hell, this isn’t good.

    1. Emperor Kiva

      Please God, anyone but Ryan!

      1. Bagge

        Oh, sure, let’s mod it so they are all Ross-the-butthole instead.

        NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  61. nothri

    Well, fuck a duck.

    1. nothri

      (This is totally babies. I think this may even qualify for Babies Makintire.)

  62. nothri

    This is so awful I’m going to remind every that there is this thing which I find poignant and adorable and does much to sooth my soul after seeing Joyce going through this nightmare.

    http://woodyafterhours.com/comic/invisible-touch/

  63. Bearpelt

    OH MY GOD HOW DID I JUST NOTICE THAT LITERALLY ALL THE PEOPLE IN FRAME TURNED INTO RYAN IN THE 2ND AND 3RD PANEL

    WOW I THINK A LOT OF US MISSED IT INITIALLY SOMEHOW. Focusing on Joyce so much we didn’t realize.

    1. Emperor Kiva

      Don’t worry, I just noticed it too.

  64. etybolik

    Last year I think it was Amber getting bad thing after bad thing thrown at her. I guess this year it’s Joyce’s turn =/

    1. Rycan

      Ruth appears to be next on the shit list. Poor girl.

  65. Martin Smith

    I love that last panel.

    1. Emperor Kiva

      What the hell?!

      1. No Name

        She’s showing bravery by powering through her panic attack. What’s not to like?

        1. timemonkey

          She might be closing her eyes while doing it? Gonna hurt herself if she runs blind.

        2. Screwball

          She’s…got 1 eye partially open…

  66. heavvymetalqueen

    Oh Joyce, sweetie…you’re so strong. You’re so damn strong, running through that wall of Ryans.

  67. A

    Off-topic as hell, because I do not “social media”:

    Please. Oh, please.

    Make that Batmobile “breaks” comic, and just post it on your blog.

    Also, please leave the bongo filter on forever.

    Thank you.

    Also, thank you for portraying trauma side effects in a realistic way, because fuck knows people who have not lived it do not get it. One could be tempted to stab a person for telling one to “see the world differently”.

    “Oh, sorry, I must have missed that switch on my neck. Let me get that.
    Sorry for the inconvenience, people who clearly do not live in constant fear of being sexually assaulted.”

    1. Gigafreak

      He’s in New York? I could go pester him and he would have no way to recognize me.

      …Buuuut I’m too lazy to do that so nah.

  68. podian

    You know, “Damn you, Willis!” just doesn’t seem enough for that…

  69. Dorje Sylas

    Hello, this is guilt, and its taking you on a trip.

  70. Les

    The claw……

    1. Anon

      Glad that I wasn’t the only one to think that.
      Yet her claw is way more creepy than the films’s one.
      I wonder if it is a lesbian claw.

  71. Nikie

    Am I the only one who is wondering why there are 4 the same dudes?

    1. Daibhid C

      Joyce is hallucinating that everyone is Ryan.

    2. timemonkey

      Only because you didn’t read any of the comments before you posted.

    3. davidbreslin101

      I had a bit of a “WUT.” moment. Then I finally got it, and shivered.

  72. xms967

    I really want her to find/talk to Sarah, to be honest. I think it’d be good for both of them.

  73. Bagge

    It’s such a simple little thing – walking outside alone in broad daylight.
    It’s such a terrifying thing, because it is so simple

  74. Tanukihero

    ahhhhuh ohdear im wondering if panel 3 was suppose to go before 2? since it seems like 2 is joyce being done walking down the stairs and there is nothing to imply she went back up the stairs, since 3 is also her on the stairs looking like she’s walking down… just wondering if they got mixed up because they’re so similar looking… ahhhsorry
    in other news JOYCE MY ANGEL poor angel baby ((o(;△;)o))

    1. anonymsly

      I think, like someone posted above, that she backed back up the stairs because sudden terror caused to begin to retreat to the inside of the building. Then she forced herself to stop and power through it back down the stairs- maybe a few steps walking because her feet didn’t want to go that way, then full on running with her eyes mostly closed because she thinks if she doesn’t see the Ryans they won’t scare her so badly. (But she also doesn’t want to trip or run into anything.)

  75. BMG

    She’s got church vision goggles on half the time probably why everyone is a generic happy, well kept, and white. The whole seeing the world through rose coloured glasses sort of thing.

    1. Gigafreak

      Yes of course, because there’s no way that happy, well-kept, white guy could ever turn out to be a date-rapist.

    2. insanenoodyguy

      Putting aside the fact you obviously read nothing above you, I’m honestly baffled that this is the conclusion you came to based on the strip alone. Does this look like she’s having “happy church vision” time?

      1. Gigafreak

        Yeah… happy-church-vision would still be pretty unhealthy, but a huge blasted improvement over what she’s seeing now.

  76. Bagge

    I have seen this before. When Amber ran off after a confrontation with Ethan, and Danny followed her, but didn’t find her in time, and was found by Blaine instead. And things turned just horrible (and Dorothy and Walky did a sex).

    I think there will be something similar. Becky is walking off by herself. Maybe she’ll find something horrible (like Ryan) or maybe something horrible will find her (like Ross-the-toe), or maybe Joyce in her panic induced state will find herself in peril. But something much worse than painful revelations are going down. (and Danny and Ethan will have sex).

    1. Bagge

      Or possibly, another way it can unfold is that Becky is just fine (she is, after all, not in a worse position now than she was this morning, it’s just Joyce who had a few painful wake up calls). But Joyce, in her panicy state will run into real or imaginary dangers and Becky will be the one to save her (and it will be awesome, especially given their frosty last interaction).

      And that will be how Becky finally learns just how much shit Joyce has to carry and there will be more hugs and my heart will go all mushy.

      1. Rycan

        Yet I think we all know just what will happen. In DoA, your world needs to first go to shit before the dawn finally comes.

  77. Alex

    Oh god she’s in the Matrix and the daterapist is getting all Mr Smith up in here!

    USE THE SOURCE CODE, JOYCE. YOU ARE THE ONE.

    1. la6ue mous snow angel

      USE THE SOURCE, JOYCE

      1. Gigafreak

        The Source is strong with this one

    2. davidbreslin101

      Thankyou for my nightmares.

  78. Dibullba

    Anybody else notice how panels 2 and 3 suddenly have clones?…. 3 clones… HALF LIFE 3 CONFIRMED! SOGGIES MAY RULE!

  79. discountmusketeer

    OH NO HER HAND IS POSESSED

    SHE’S GONNA HAVE TO CUT IT OFF AND REPLACE IT WITH A CHAINSAW

    1. insanenoodyguy

      SHIT I’M SORRY BUT JOYCE DOES NOT HAVE THE CHIN TO PULL THIS OFF! SHIT SHIT SHIT

  80. RQ

    Found this comic a couple weeks ago and read through it. I have to say, really glad to see a narrative like this. Not only does the comic deal with serious issues in society in a clear way (with plenty of humor along the way) but the community (you in the comment gallery) are a great community who really try to tackle these different issues with each other while being respectful (while making wonderful references throughout).

    Its precisely because of you guys I’ve dragged myself to actually comment on the issues we’ve seen discussed in the last few pages starting with Roz’s and Joyce’s confrontation in the classroom. I would have done this earlier, but I both wanted to give myself a few days and strips to not only see what Willis would add but to collect my thoughts. As an advanced warning, I’m pretty sure this will be one giant wall of text. If any of you really want to take the time to read it all I’m grateful, reward yourself with some lovely fresh-baked internets and a glass of milk (and some real cookies if you like).

    First, with this strip in mind, I want to look back at Roz’s assertions at Joyce a couple strips ago. The opinions I saw in the comment ranged from Calling Joyce a liberal version of Mary, to agreeing with her, to proposing that she had a valid point but that her delivery was uncalled for and inexcusable.

    That was an important issue to me, as it deals with how we as people interact and deal with what it means to reevaluate our own beliefs and identity (in the case of Joyce) and how we react when others do so (I.e. Roz). Particularly in regards to a major subject like religion. For what its worth, I’d like to offer my 2 cents.

    While I won’t call Roz a liberal version of Mary, I have to say I completely disagree with her in literally everything she did, from what she said to how she said it, but first I want to clarify a few points so help prevent any miscommunication I might make later. First, I am regarding Roz’s comment as it was intended, directed at Joyce in particular (even if one can argue it truly wasn’t, but more on that later,) at this place in this time, not at ‘The Church’ or other various groups that would commit the actions she accuses Joyce of (being brutally cruel, inhumane and, one could argue, un-Christian to those of any orientation out of the heterosexual norm but those who are gay in particular.

    Secondly, and I say this as an absolute stop-gap in case of me screwing up this writing later, I am in no way attempting to detract from the terrible and inexcusable things done to said communities by anyone, be they religious or no. So without further ranting, on to the topic(s) at hand!

    Roz’s first issue is that Joyce’s revelation about the activities of Christian communities and organized churches. (I think it is incredibly important here to keep in mind there is no true monolithic ‘Church’ as Christianity itself is ridiculously divided, but nonetheless, this fact can be largely forgotten when there are vast geographic areas, such as good chunks of the USA, that are under the influence of singular denominations and interpretations of Christianity) is not just something that should have been expected out of her, but that she should be derided for not doing sooner.

    I disagree with this. Joyce expresses incredible anger and frustrations at information that, for intents and purposes, we are shown to conclude is new to her. This is important, because several people that Joyce was wrong for continuing to associate with her church community (often labeled in the comments as ‘The Church’) once she became an adult. Presumably because this community was involved in the actions Joyce was just told about or at the very least teaching that there was something fundamentally wrong with those who were gay and that she should see them as such.

    In regards to the first point (that Joyce could be at fault for staying with her community which was openly hostile to gays). We have seen no evidence that this is strictly true. As stated above this information is new to Joyce, which means even if it (open hostility) was taking place, she did not know about it, and I am incredibly opposed to blaming someone for the actions of others they associate with when that person didn’t even know those actions were taking place. Not to mention if they were, as we see here Joyce would have very likely reacted negatively to such actions and maybe even would have tried to leave. She sees it as wrong for the church community to behave that way, almost to the point of cursing (an incredible display for Joyce).

    On the second point and original one made by Roz, that Joyce is still at fault for even believing that homosexuality is wrong in the first place and didn’t realize her church was teaching her something wrong the moment she became an adult. As we have seen throughout the comic, Joyce has had a sheltered upbringing so much so that she had literally no contact with anyone or anything that could possibly get her to question what she was being taught. Not even popular t.v. or interaction with peers her age with views different from those she was being taught were correct (remember she was home-schooled). What she does have though, despite all this, is a relatively open mind that is changing her beliefs through direct experience with other peoples lives. There is no doubt that she is trying to fit this new information with her old preconceived notions (as we can see in her ‘effort’ to change Ethan, though one could put forward the argument she actually isn’t doing so, but thats for another day). Slowly however, many of these notions are falling away one by one. Recently we have even seen Joyce give ground to her closest friend Becky, finally starting to see that homosexuality isn’t wrong after all, that what she thought was the will of God was in fact just the interpretation given to her by a select few people, and it took her own best friend coming out to her to give her the push she needed to break from that indoctrination. I cannot blame Joyce for believing the only set of information she was ever allowed to have contact with. And I absolutely disagree with Roz that this is not something to be celebrated. There are few people who have to go through the ordeal of seeing everything they have based their identity on thus far irrevocably challenged. Rather than running from this challenge however Joyce is taking steps to change who she for the sake of those around her, rather than retreating to a familiar setting where she could simply ignore all of it. She believes in the basic right of treating everyone kindly and with care so much that if she sees her own belief system being cruel she is willing to accept that it must be wrong and not the other way around. Few people ever need or do make such an achievement, and I absolutely think thats something to celebrate (or, you know, 100% support, not necessarily slap them on the back).

    Wow, I hope any of that makes any kind of sense, it’ll be a miracle if I’ve shown how all that relates to the conversation with Roz. Originally, I wanted to post a second ‘chuck’ about why Roz’s further assertion that Joyce was that church that she is so angry at is completely wrong as well, and thus not only her content (in regards to Joyce, mind you) but her delivery of it was also completely uncalled for and simply false, but I think I’ve done enough, and I am so very thankful to anyone who took the time to actually read and consider this monster.

    1. DuckDuckMoose

      Hey, I don’t really have anything to add or respond to your comment, but I just wanted to let you know that I read it all the way through and I’m glad you wrote it.

  81. motorfirebox

    Eep. I didn’t realize it was that bad for her.

  82. Daisy

    Move faster, Walky. 🙁

  83. Hats

    Oh no! Poor Joyce! This is the first time she’s walked by herself, isn’t it? :/

  84. Lone Wolf

    Expletive deleted… this isn’t exactly what I was worried about yesterday, but it’s pretty damn close. Be strong, Joyce…

    … fuck, I just had a horrible thought. I pray I’m wrong about what’s going to happen in tomorrow’s strip.

    The BGM for that last panel in my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1_7UQHIDcA Because if nothing else, you have to admit she’d approve of the track’s title.

    1. la6uɐ mous

      You deleted one expletive and left the other?

      1. Rycan

        Their internal censor is getting sloppy.

        1. Lone Wolf

          Yeah, basically. I had originally written “Fuck” then decided to replace it with “Expletive deleted”, then wrote some other stuff, then rewrote it, then rewrote it again, then put in the second “fuck” completely forgetting I’d originally removed the first instance of it.

      2. Screwball

        Maybe it wasn’t a Human expletive, maybe it was the kind that SUMMONS things… O.O 😛

  85. Rycan

    *listens to Coldplay*
    “Life goes on, it gets so hea-vy
    The whe-el break the but-ter-fly
    Ev’ry tear a wa-terfall
    In the night, the stormy night, she close her eyes…
    In the night, the stormy night, away she fly…
    Dream of-
    PARA, PARA, PARADISE!”

    1. la6uɐ mous

      I like that song.

  86. DiDi

    Well, I’m slow…

    I just now noticed after reading a decent portion of comments that all the people outside turned into the guy who tried to rape her earlier in the year. That explains many a thing.

  87. Stranger

    Yeah sure, run away and cry, Im sure that’ll fix everything

    1. No Name

      If she were running away to cry, it would have been back into the building, not away from the (relatively) safe haven (from all the imaginary Ryans).

    2. Rycan

      Um, hello? Joyce is suffering from PTSD here. Have a little sympathy.

    3. Smiling Cat

      That comment makes you an objectively horrible person.

  88. Katerina

    Saw mentions of where the readers are. I’m from Greece! And I have a question (too many comments, can’t read all to see if the answer is already there) Can somebody post a link to where the event of what happened to Joyce is? Although I’ve read DoA from start I can’t remember it… Thanks!

    1. 3oranges

      If you click on the tags, it will show you all the strips where a character like Ryan appeared. The main one is: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/06-yesterday-was-thursday/smash/

    2. Screwball

      If click on Ryan’s tag like 3oranges suggested, it’ll show you a listing of every page Ryan has been tagged in, 2 pages worth listed newest to oldest, with this link going to the 2nd page of them. However if you wanna go straight to the start of Joyce’s problems, this link will take you to Ryan first shows up, introducing himself…

  89. hof1991

    She needs a therapist, not the rapist. OK, that sounds better if said by Sean Connery.

  90. newllend

    What in the hell brought him up?

    1. tahkuya

      He was always there; lurking in the hungering depths of her fears.

    2. Beachfox

      He’s always there. She hasn’t been outside alone since that night. Go back through the archives and review. This is the first time she’s been alone in public since the attack and the underlying panic is bubbling up…

  91. Bilal Kalyal

    I feel like “Take A Look Around” by Limp Bizkit should be playing now. Plenty of reason to now that Douchebag McDrinkSpiker is back
    (Apologies to those that hate the band)

    1. Gigafreak

      He’s not really “back.” He isn’t physically present, and yet he never really left– the multiple Ryans you’re seeing in Panels 2 and 3 represent the scars he left on Joyce’s mind, which she’s been carrying this whole time.

  92. n

    is she having a panic attack

  93. M-M

    Trying to understand the expression in the last panel – resolve, terror, full on panic?

    1. Rycan

      Yes. All at once.

  94. Tom Speelman

    Holy CRAP, I just realized what’s going on in the first three panels. Damn, Willis. Damn.

  95. Tenn

    I’m frankly surprised at the number of people who are having trouble understanding this comic. And the spectacular ways in which some of them are misreading it.

    1. Screwball

      It is interesting. So many people, so many different life experiences, so many personal interpretations, but the basic story here is she’s seeing her attacker in everyone around, each a potential threat, but she’s not letting it hold her back & charging in anyway….

  96. Adam Black

    Joyce is on a very similar arc as Amber/Amazi-girl .

    When Becky’s father shows up later today, and Joyce smashes him in the face with a glass , the cycle will be complete.

    Lets hope Amazi-girl is there to pick up the pieces. Or maybe not.
    Sarah with a bat, or Ruth,

    1. Rycan

      Let’s hope not. Were that to happen, Joyce’s parents WILL get involved, and everything will go to shit.

  97. Aegon01

    Uh Dave? Did you mix up panel 2 and 3, or did she take a step back up the stairs backwards?

    1. Screwball

      I think that is a slight retreat. With so many potential threats around, even the “mighty” Megatron shifts to defensive till it’s analyzed. Since she’s no Cybertronian DICtator, I can see her backing up a few steps…

    2. Rycan

      Not unless all the Ryan clones are walking in reverse.

  98. DuckDuckMoose

    The scariest thing, I’ve decided after marveling at this comic all day, is the lack of angry-Ryan face. Just two panels of perfectly calm gash-faces walking around on a nice day. This is one of my “favorite” (I mean, you know, most admired) strips of yours, Willis. You’re taking us to some awful and necessary places.

    1. DuckDuckMoose

      Oh hey, speaking of awful and necessary, of course I ended up with a Mike icon.

      1. The Thing

        I know that feel, bro.

    2. Rycan

      I think these are the actual expressions of the actual people walking by her. Only their appearance and clothes have changed to match Ryan in her mind.

  99. The Thing

    The more I look at this comic, the more I want to hug Joyce and tell her “I know a guy who knows a guy. Just give me his description and fuggedaboutit.”

    1. Rycan

      The frustrating part is that, if you’re a stranger and male, the last thing she needs is for you to help.

      1. chris73

        Thats the sad thing, if I’m in a public place and see a child in distress my first reaction is to comfort the child and try to make them feel better but instead I look around for a woman instead…

        1. Rycan

          Mothers work best. They have experience.

        2. chris73

          Yeah but I feel that, as a middle aged male, if I go near a distressed child then some people may get the wrong idea which is a sad indictment on the society we live in

  100. chris73

    While I supported Roz in what she said previously this strip does make me feel very bad for Joyce if only she’d take up some counselling…

  101. JohnnyO

    I just want to say this even though it’s an old comic: Yes, counseling could possibly help Joyce a lot. But universities have a VERY bad record when it comes to sexual assault. She may get help, she may also get a fresh-out-of Community College man with a victim-blaming attitude. And if this was real life she’ll probably be pressured into not talking about it anymore to protect the ‘university’s reputation.’ I think she should go, but the sad reality is that the risk of leaving feeling worse exists.

    IU-Bloomington is one of many colleges subject to a federal investigation on mishandling of sexual assault cases – http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/federal-government-releases-list-of-55-colleges-universities-under-title-ix-investigations-over-handling-of-sexual-violence/2014/05/01/e0a74810-d13b-11e3-937f-d3026234b51c_story.html

  102. trlkly

    What is with crossover mentions not linking the actual comics where it happens?

    You have a crossover, which gives me a chance to see characters I like in another place and get to know new characters, which might lead me to liking the new comic.

    Except I can’t do that because you just link me to the beginning or end. So the crossover is wasted.

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