234

Tag along
Posted on January 27, 2022 by David M Willis

234 thoughts on “Tag along”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    Tackling is just the physical form of yelling

    1. ThunderNight

      just shove the words right into them

    2. Nono

      No wonder football games are so noisy.

    3. Cholma

      Maybe Sarah meant she was going to Tackle Hug Liz, since she’s so happy to see her again?

    4. Matt

      What is tackling, if not yelling persevering?

    5. milu

      Tackling is the continuation of yelling by other means.

      1. Clif

        is it tacking? I THOUGHT IT WAS USING ALL CAPS.

        1. milu

          ack! ok! ok! i’ll do anything you want, just please stop yelling, please

    6. khn0

      always thought yelling was the physical form of CAPS LOCK.
      Then tackling would be the überphysical form, or yelling would be like the paranormal activity.
      Then again, maybe caps lock is the under non physical form.

  2. Sirksome

    Those were probably bad chips Walky gave her, yeah.

    1. Needfuldoer

      She scarfed down the entire bag, like Walky does. Problem is, she doesn’t have his iron gut. You can’t learn to swim by just diving into the deep end!

      If it gets bad enough, Wellerman’s game over screen may come true…

      1. Ryan

        Mmm, chips.

      2. StClair

        YOU DIED

  3. The Wellerman

    Wonder if her nightmare had anything to do with that tummyache….

    1. Sirksome

      The problem is she mainlined a bag of greasy chips and went and immediately laid down on her stomach. That’s advanced level slacking Joyce wasn’t prepared for. Walky meant well but lead her astray on this one. Joyce really needs to ease into it like he’d originally suggested. I would recommend an audio book and a yogurt for beginners.

      1. The Wellerman

        Yeah, I know from painful experience just how hard it is to relax like that if you have an anxiety disorder. ?

        But anyway, the intuitive direction of easing into it by some kind of productivity with bigger bits of slacking mixed in is not only healthier, it ironically makes you more productive.

    2. Delicious Taffy

      You did this to her, Wellerman! Now she can’t properly enjoy pizza. It’s like she’s not even alive!

      1. The Wellerman

        Eh, i think it always makes you nauseous at first, but then hungry. REALLY hungry. As far as I’m concerned, there’s just more room for food now! :3

  4. King Daniel

    DEWIT

    1. Needfuldoer

      Dew is the last thing Joyce needs right now.

      1. milu

        mainly because if it suddenly just happened indoors it would completely derail this storyline

  5. Suet

    So, either Joyce is a quick dresser or…

    I guess Joyce isn’t fit for the Walky Diet, either

    1. Doctor_Who

      Nobody is “fit” for the Walky diet, at least not for very long.

      1. powerpowerpow

        Then how do you explain Walky?

        1. milu

          a random genetic mutation allowing him to thrive on a widely available nutritional source that remains toxic to his peers. he will surely go on to have many offsprings and pass on this adaptive trait.

    2. DailyBrad

      Trust me, you can whip pajama pants on pretty quick, or else I’d never answer my door.

      1. Geneseepaws

        Answer the door.
        I used to know what those words meant. Was that, that thing, we used to do as kids? Where you’d go to the door and there would be people? It’s been so long I don’t remember it clearly.

        1. Clif

          Sounds unsanitary anyway. And they wouldn’t be satisfied with you opening the door.. Next thing you know, they would want to talk.

        2. milu

          People even used to kiss each other on the cheek all the time, kiddos, if you can believe it. …Oh no, not just close family members, even colleagues, friends, friends of friends. I would only kiss the female ones though. …How would i even know that? oh dear. it really was a different era wasn’t it.

    3. Opus the Poet

      Not so much fit for as “can survive” on the Walky Diet. I could, but I have had decades of training, as well as resurrecting from getting killed. You don’t have to be an unkillable badass to do it, but it doesn’t hurt.

  6. RassilonTDavros

    …I’m pretty sure that’s the wrong storyline title

    1. Delicious Taffy

      Sarah’s gonna go on trial for murdering her sister.

      1. King Daniel

        We’re gonna need a bigger timeskip.

      2. Ophidiophile

        Oh, come on. You see how Liz is. No jury would convict Sarah.

        An oldest brother.

        1. Delicious Taffy

          Aside from being a tad obnoxious and upsettingly hot, I don’t see any problems with Liz.

        2. Clif

          You tackle her then.

        3. Delicious Taffy

          I dunno, I have a whole decade on her. Seems like a bad look.

    2. Pongles

      For people of the future: it was moved to the right chapter after this comment, it is no longer incorrect.

  7. BBCC

    Hey, she’s doing as Liz asked. She’s no longer JUST yelling at her.

    1. Clif

      But she still has to tell Liz she’s a ride before sending her back to the Ball state.

      1. milu

        calling me a ride are you? Well maybe i’ll call you a bongo! from the animal shelter. They’re doing an adoption campaign, i got a leaflet.

  8. Abel Undercity

    OK, now it’s just flat-out avoidance. What lurks at Ball State? Did Liz get booted?

    1. King Daniel

      “What lurks at Ball State?”

      The Watcher in the Water? The Monster in the Darkness? Steve?

      1. Thag Simmons

        The Monster in the Darkness ain’t so bad.

        Steve on the other hand… He’s not someone to be trifled with.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Just give him some cereal and he’ll be your best friend.

        2. Clif

          Are you kidding? Steve’s a cereal killer.

        3. Needfuldoer

          Exactly. Satiate his bloodlust. It works like those Snickers commercials.

        4. Clif

          Snickers commercials satiate bloodlust? I must admit, I did not know that.

        5. milu

          that’s exactly what a cereal killer would say. i’m still not letting you anywhere near my pantry.

        6. Shadowsnail

          Toucan, Son of Sam.

      2. Sev

        Eh! Steve!
        (These references are great demographic tests!)

    2. Cholma

      Perhaps Ball State’s secret is that they are where Wipeout’s Big Red Balls come from, and it has traumatized Liz, since it’s a Freshman requirement to cross the Big Red Balls on the way to class at least once a day.

    3. Thulcandran

      My first thought was that she flunked out and is afraid to tell anyone, but that might be a little too straightforward. So my real guess is that she forgot to do the registration paperwork and is afraid to tell anyone.

      Or ran out of financial aid? But forgetting to fill out paperwork and getting that “hey you missed the deadline no classes for you” email is, uh, the WORST.

  9. DarkoNeko

    How about you call yours parents instead

    1. Reltzik

      Because Sarah has already exceeded her tolerance for family.

    2. JBento

      Sarah doesn’t like her parents, either, which is why she wanted Dina’s to adopt her.

  10. Ray Radlein

    Tackling is, technically speaking, not a form of yelling

  11. C.T. Phipps

    There’s no Ball State! She’s never enrolled!

    1. anonymsly

      Right?!

      1. Clif

        Ball State is an urban myth. States are more are less flat. Balls are notoriously not.

        1. anonymsly

          And you know what, there’s no state of Ball in the Union. Shenanigans!

        2. milu

          Horseplay! Tomfoolery! Silly-billy-ness! Carryings-on!

        3. Rose by Any Other Name

          There’s a flat earther joke in here somewhere, but I can’t seem to free it from the marble.

    2. MsMollieMac

      Sarah, Ball State died twenty years ago!

  12. alongcameaspider

    Sarah maybe you should consider there’s a reason she’s avoiding going back and figure that out first rather then trying to brute force it

    Also Sarah seems remarkably unconcerned with where her sister has been sleeping the past couple nights

    1. Sirksome

      I think Sarah’s just angry right now. It would be expecting a lot from Sarah specifically to react calm and compassionately to Liz’s behavior here considering their history, but I think they’ll get to talking soon. Liz clearly wants to considering she keeps showing up. This is a cry for help, Sarah’s just not ready to listen yet.

      1. anonymsly

        Sarah’s not a psychologist or a mind reader. Liz needs to actually use her words before real talking can be had.

        1. Clif

          I suspect the question has not occurred to Sarah yet. Ideally she will assume she spent them with Joe.

        2. thejeff

          I don’t think she’s got any reason to think that other than Joe being a horndog. No sign of interest from Liz’s side that she’s seen.

        3. alongcameaspider

          Given Sarah’s opinion of Joe her assuming that may make matters worse

      2. thejeff

        I would expect the protective side to kick in as soon as she has a moment to wonder where Liz has been.

      3. Archieve

        Right now Sarah still has Liz staying around categorized as “annoying little sister behavior.” She just needs some real communication from Liz and acceptance that her peaceful Sunday is gone, then she can get to the real issue with her sister.

    2. C.T. Phipps

      There’s also the fact Sarah being concerned would probably be dependent on not having been consistently lied to that everything is fine and she’s not just skipping school.

  13. Robbie

    Pants are back

    1. Wraithy2773

      Well, pajama bottoms, at least.

      1. Robbie

        When the alternative is undies, pajama pants count as pants

        1. Rose by Any Other Name

          Truth.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Back again
      Dexter pants
      Tell a friend

    3. Clif

      Stuff happens between panels.

      1. milu

        oh thank god i was wondering when all these characters pooped, except for Walky, who has been mindful of the audience’s peace of mind and kept us informed.

  14. Delicious Taffy

    Look, the place she’s trying to avoid is called BALL STATE. Completely impossible to take seriously, come the fuck on. Why does everyone want her to go there so fucking badly?

    1. brionl

      Seriously, that sounds like a mad up name.

      1. brionl

        made up

        1. woobie

          Like ‘Muncie’.

        2. Delicious Taffy

          It’s two letters off from “Munchies”, for gods’ sake! How far does the hole go????

        3. Needfuldoer

          That would explain why the orange cat eats so much.

        4. milu

          your name is Taffy and you’re wearing an alien-and-burger avatar, and even you seem less fictional than this “Ball State” nonsense.

      2. Delicious Taffy

        It’s a name you’d come up with if you were a sitcom character trying to impress somebody you just met.

      3. Thag Simmons

        All place names are made up at the end of the day.

        1. mrnoidea

          Like Dunmovin.
          Or Dingleberry Lake.

    2. Belegcam

      Possibly fun fact: It’s named after the Ball family, of canning supply fame!

      1. Clif

        It’s an Urban myth.

        The indigenous Urbans had many myths, many of them contradictory.

    3. Opus the Poet

      David Letterman’s alma mater. Now there is some speculation that he never really existed, either.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        He was a solar myth?

        1. Clif

          He was a character on TV, but I’m unsure which actor played him.

    4. someone

      The real question is, what about Joe’s ball state? Is it still blue?

    5. Keulen

      I don’t get why some colleges can use “state” in their name without using the name of the state they’re in.

      1. thejeff

        It’s still a state university, not a private one.

  15. Stephen Bierce

    *”(Let’s Get) Physical” plays on the hacked Muzak*

    1. Geneseepaws

      Yay!

    2. milu

      Wait… Stephen… did you just cue up a 2020 song?!

      …Ohh, unless you meant this one.

      1. Stephen Bierce

        Trivia! The Olivia Newton-John song was performed by Charro on an episode of The Love Boat. And if you already knew that, you watched too much TV in the Eighties.

  16. Robbie

    We don’t talk about ball state

    1. Cholma

      Well, if we can’t do that, you leave us no choice but to talk about Bruno!

      1. Thag Simmons

        No, no, no

        1. Cholma

          How can you *not* talk about someone with a seven-foot frame, rats along his back?

        2. anonymsly

          When he calls your name, it all fades to black!

        3. temperaryobsessor

          Sarah might be more helpful if she could see her sisters dreams or didn’t pretend to feast on her screams.

      2. Shadowsnail

        The second rule of Bruno is that you don’t talk about Ball state.

  17. Ty34er

    I mean, Liz is the one being the problem here. I mean, yeah, she needs some support, but she’s ignoring her problem.

    1. StClair

      It works great! Until it doesn’t!

    2. Spencer

      I like how Liz having the problem makes her the problem, and not her cantankerous douchebag sister who’s yelling at her, or whatever it is motivating her to have this problem in the first place.

      1. anonymsly

        Liz having the problem is not making her the problem, her refusal to engage honestly with both her problem and the people around her, putting them in the position of having to be psychic to know A) that there is a problem other than Liz being generally annoying (per Sarah, not unusual in their relationship At All) and B) what that problem is.

        What Liz is doing is compounding both her real problem, whatever it is, with the problem of this behavior. Which is doing the exact opposite of motivating the person she wants help from (currently Sarah) to offer any such thing.

        In short: it’s not remotely on Sarah that Liz won’t answer a single goddamn question honestly.

        1. Spencer

          It’d help if Sarah asked instead of telling her she’s going back and that she’s calling someone right this second, physically grabbing her and yelling all the while, and if Sarah wasn’t, generally, this exact kind of person all the time.

        2. Delicious Taffy

          Yeah, it’s a little hard to answer questions that haven’t been asked, and she clearly isn’t ready to volunteer the information herself, at least just yet. Grabbing and yelling are not questions.

        3. darkgloomie

          Sarah did ask the question- “did you ever leave?” But Liz took Joyce’s arrival to completely avoid engaging with Sarah, but I guess Sarah’s got to be the bad guy here.

        4. Spencer

          She is, yes.

          “Did you ever leave?” that she then immediately connects to “Joyce, she never left” feels like a good opportunity to ask what’s up instead of “We are calling your ride right now and you are going back to Ball State!”

          Like sometimes people can just be wrong and stupid and both sides aren’t the same.

        5. Queezle

          I feel like both of them could handle this way better. Yes Sarah could and should ask questions. But it in not like Liz is trying to engage with her honestly either. Putting all the blame on one party seems unreasonable to me.

        6. Spencer

          Everyone can handle things better, but maybe the onus of handling things better doesn’t have to be on the one actually suffering the problem so as to lessen the inconvenience of someone who doesn’t want to know why it’s happening, but just wants it solved and does so by being a bulldozing jackass.

          (like she’s treating Joyce)

        7. J. Gawain

          From Sarah’s viewpoint, Liz is here to goof and not because there is a problem back at Ball State. Maybe the onus of handling things better should be on the one who actually knows there’s a real problem to begin with.

        8. Spencer

          Okay and Sarah’s wrong and her viewpoint is stupid.

          So maybe before making decisions for another person she should ask what is up. Moreover, if Liz is here just “to goof” then that’s not really Sarah’s beef, and if Sarah wants to make it her beef then she should ask Liz what’s up, as if “what’s going on?” is an extremely simple thing to ask someone and not the exercise in teeth-pulling she treats it as.

          Sarah doesn’t do this, though, because cutting to the solution is easier on herself.

        9. J. Gawain

          Liz showed up at Sarah’s dorm unexpectedly, lied about leaving later that day, spent an entire day in town, made absolutely no contact with her sister and let her think she was back at Ball State, then showed up the next morning again unexpectedly. Sarah has her own life to deal with and Liz has not yet given her any reason why she should be required to babysit her little sister on top of dealing with the pressures of college education. If Liz wants to stay here and continue to disrupt her sister’s life, I think she should be on the hook for explaining why, even if Sarah doesn’t explicitly ask.

        10. Spencer

          It’s as simple as asking what’s up instead of what she’s doing now where she’s trying to take control of the situation. It’s literally that simple. That’s not “explicitly” asking, that’s displaying even the slightest concern for someone you’ll profess to caring about.

          If she wants nothing to do with it, she can tell Liz to piss off. She won’t, of course, because “she cares deep down,” she just doesn’t care enough to ever talk shit through instead of immediately trying to take control of it, like assholes do when they tell themselves they’re good people.

        11. J. Gawain

          There are many different ways to show you care about someone. Sarah sees Liz blowing off college and is trying to get her to go back to classes so she doesn’t fail out. And Liz is still the one who showed up unexpectedly. Also, the first words Sarah said to Liz when she showed up the first time were, “Hello Liz. What are you doing here?”

        12. Spencer

          There are many different ways to show you care about someone.
          Yeah this one sucks. It’s the most intimately Sarah choice to make, that’s why it sucks.

          She found out Liz doesn’t have a ride and still didn’t give her the chance to explain herself before she decided to take control of the situation.

          Also, the first words Sarah said to Liz when she showed up the first time were, “Hello Liz. What are you doing here?”

          I don’t need to explain why there was no expectation of “things are wrong” in a scenario where Liz is seemingly visiting compared to this one.

          Sarah knows there’s no ride, so her immediate answer involves zero of Liz’s input.

          Tough love is a thing, it sure as hell ain’t this,

        13. J. Gawain

          You say “tough love is a thing, it sure as hell ain’t this” as though tough love is a good thing. I wish tough love was pushing someone you care about to go back to school, because anywhere I’ve heard that phrase, bruises were a common thing.

          I think one of two things happened here. The first is that Liz came here, likely without a ride back, to escape her problems at Ball State. In that case she should have told Sarah what’s going on when she first showed up and was asked why she was here.

          The second, much less likely thing that might have happened is that Liz doesn’t have problems at Ball State and came here with a way to get back, but then she ditched said ride to try to hook up with Joe. Then after she decided she wanted to go back her ride had already left her. If this is the case, any emotional anguish she feels is her own fault for ditching her ride. If she really just feels like she needs a ride back (unlikely, given the way she’s behaving), Sarah is more than willing to help with that.

          No matter what happened, Liz has only presented the problem with getting back to Ball State as “I don’t have a ride” and not “I don’t want to go back.” Sarah is only acting according to what Liz told her.

        14. Spencer

          Okay let me put it this way: if someone you love is acting strangely, what is the first thing you say? If they say something vague, is the first thing you’re going to jump to solving that, right now, this second and over their own objections, or do you try to figure it out?

          Because Sarah, as she deals with everything and most recently Joyce, is leaping from “problem exists” to “I’m going to solve this right now and I’m right to solve it this way.” “What is Liz thinking to motivate her” doesn’t feel like it should be a distant second to things getting solved here, it should be the thing Sarah asks about first so she can properly solve it.

          This is how Sarah acts with everything all the time, and it’s inappropriate in this context because she’s bullrushing to a conclusion. She just hears “I don’t have a ride” from her little sister and goes “well fuck you, you can’t stay here a second longer, I’m calling someone right now and you’re going back.”

          Like it’s not just bullrushing, she’s taking control of a complex situation, the kind of thing she insists she wants no part of, and getting mad when her worthless suggestion doesn’t work or just agitates whoever it is she’s trying to help, because her help is meted out in the name of ending drama as fast as possible.

        15. J. Gawain

          what objections? She said she didn’t have a ride and then Joyce showed up and Liz suddenly decided that the conversation was over and that it was time for Pizza. Anytime Sarah brings up getting Liz back to college, Liz doesn’t object, she runs away from the conversation. Even if Sarah was the ultimate paragon of love and social interactions you expect her to be, she wouldn’t be able to get anywhere in trying to find out what’s wrong or actually helping Liz because Liz doesn’t want to talk about it. Are you suggesting that Sarah go out of her way to pry into something that Liz so obviously doesn’t want her to?

          Side note: maybe the issue here isn’t so much that Liz is avoiding the conversation altogether, but rather that she wants a private moment with her sister to discuss it, but as of yet hasn’t had the chance. Yesterday she looked like she might actually be about to open up to Sarah until Joyce showed up.

        16. Spencer

          Even if Sarah was the ultimate paragon of love and social interactions you expect her to be

          My standards for “love and social interactions” rank above treating people in your life as burdens to begrudgingly deal with, and when you do you just assert control over their problem without even attempting the slightest bit of understanding, yes.

          But then, I don’t got tolerance for people who pride themselves on being bad with people these days. I did when I was 15, when that seemed badass.

        17. J. Gawain

          Its a shame you don’t have tolerance for people who pride themselves on being bad with people, because more often than not, it isn’t actually pride. Its shame dressed up to hide the fact that they truly want a connection.

        18. Spencer

          Yeah, ’cause most of them act like Sarah.

        19. Wraithy2773

          @Spencer: Why does Liz’s varying issues give her a free pass on acting like an asshole, while Sarah’s varying issues make her fully to blame for everything going on here?

        20. Spencer

          Because Sarah’s actions are trying to take control of a situation she has no understanding of without attempting to understand why they are happening let alone the person they are happening to who is someone she claims to love and would die for, while Liz’s actions are being mean to a massive institution of cultural oppression that made her life miserable in a private and safe conversation with a like-minded individual, and not immediately opening up to someone who just physically dragged her out of her room and yelled that she’s being returned to that place she super probably doesn’t want to go back to because the people there also make it miserable.

          It’s an extremely complex philosophy I’ve got, but good things are good and bad things are bad.

        21. anonymsly

          Liz is in no way blameless. No way at all. She’s not incapable of speech. She’s not incapable of being an honest person. She’s known Sarah her whole life, presumably she fully knows that Sarah is not and never has been an ‘awww there there baby boo’ person, so she likewise knows that this exact stuff is not going to get her what she wants. She’s avoiding her problem, whatever it is, and taking every opportunity to be dishonest and evasive about it. She has been from the start, it seems, and has also been taking available opportunities to needle Sarah into precisely the anger we’re seeing now.

          People cannot know that your problems exist and/or what they are until you tell them. If you lie or evade when asked (as multiple people have done with Lizhave done with Liz) it is not THEIR fault that you did that. Liz does not get to be absolved from being part of the solution to her problems this way. By this time in Becky’s storyline, IIRC, she’d already confessed to Joyce and received help and support in return. (I don’t think it took her three days to still not bite the bullet, anyway.)

          I fully accept that Liz has a problem, but she has been shooting herself in the foot entirely by her own will and is continuing to do so. She’s reloading and firing the whole clip right into that foot every time she goes near Sarah. That is fully Liz’s choice.

          If Liz wants help, she needs to use her words and ask for it. If she wants a solution to her situation, whatever it is, in some way, she has to works towards it in some way instead of actively running the other way at every opportunity.

        22. Spencer

          Sarah is not and never has been an ‘awww there there baby boo’ person, so she likewise knows that this exact stuff is not going to get her what she wants

          This is a funny way to say that Sarah’s an emotionally unavailable person who makes everyone around her do all the labour of maintaining friendships that she clearly wants and then exploits.

        23. Spencer

          (oh right I probably should actually answer this, sorry)

          Yeah you can only solve a problem when it’s presented to you, which is why the first thing one should do when presented with a loved one acting strangely is asking what’s up.

          Like, Sarah can not care and be uninvolved, or care and be involved. She can’t involve herself by taking control of someone else’s problem.

        24. thejeff

          Yeah, basically this. Sarah’s tried to start asking what’s going on a couple times – that’s how she got it out of her that she didn’t have a ride, but Liz is taking every opportunity to deflect.

          Someone more diplomatic or insightful than Sarah might have been able to bypass that, but Sarah also has just got her first indication that something’s actually wrong and that it’s not just her little sister messing with her.

          Joyce is also not doing anything to help with the problem, even though she knows basically as much as Sarah does. She’s actually helping Liz derail it.

        25. Spencer

          I love how everyone has more responsibility for this than the person screaming about how she’s in charge of it right this second.

        26. Andy Low

          If you act all carefree like nothing is wrong, it is not the job of the person you are imposing on to read your mind. They might be able to do so. They might have patience. But putting the majority of the blame here on Sarah when Liz refuses to properly communicate any distress beyond just showing up for another day of wacky adventure is insane. Everyone could be handling things better. This is Dumbing of Age. But Sarah has a bunch of information she has long known about her sister and is being presented with little to alert her to any trouble beyond her sister skipping school. Getting her sister oit of potential trouvle with school is how she’s caring for Liz. And yes, the onus is on the person with the problem to *communicate* that a problem exists. Merely having a problem doesn’t suddenly mean it’s everyone’s responsibility to automatically understand the problem you are actively denying exists.

        27. Spencer

          Okay but maybe wait for the problem to be communicated before attempting to take control of it.

          I don’t know why this is hard to understand.

        28. J. Gawain

          Maybe communicate that you are having problems to someone before using them as a means to escape them.

          A simple “I’m going through some things I don’t want to talk about right now” would really work wonders here.

        29. Spencer

          It’s always the responsibility of the one with the problem to cater to the one who doesn’t, I know.

        30. J. Gawain

          If you want someone to treat you like you are having a problem then you have to let them know you are having a problem. So yes, if Liz doesn’t want Sarah to try to send her back to Ball State, she should “cater” to her by telling her why she doesn’t want to go back or at the very least tell her there is a reason she doesn’t want to go back.

        31. Making Paper Copies

          It’s true that Liz hasn’t really been answering the questions Sarah’s had so far.
          But of course she should keep asking anyways (stuff like, “Where did you stay over night?” “Why are you still here?” “What am I supposed to do with this information?” might come to mind). Liz is clearly being evasive and doesn’t want to go back to Ball State. Sarah is recognizing this but simply doesn’t care to find out what Liz’ reasons might be. You don’t need to be psychic to care about someone.
          Of course it’d be real nice if Liz would be clear about what’s going on and ask for help but looking at Sarah, I do understand why she’s hesitant. What are (in her mind) the chances Sarah will just dismiss her anyways, like she’s doing right now?

      2. Sombrero

        Nothing makes you feel better than yelling at your sister/brother.

  18. MickeeC

    Liz is creeping me out, in a “Dear god what demons are plaguing that poor child” kind of way.

    1. Delicious Taffy

      What’s creepy about not wanting to go back to a place you clearly hate? Joyce is here, Joyce is cool, may as well get pizza.

    2. The Wellerman

      Ironically the “demons” bothering her are likely self-righteous dipwads who think they’re fighting demons without caring about the real damage they’re doing in the process.

      1. Clif

        Is pizza what the kids are calling it now?

        1. milu

          ??

    3. Keulen

      At this point I’m more bothered by Sarah and other characters refusing to just ask Liz what’s going on and why she apparently doesn’t want to go back to Ball State.

      1. anonymsly

        I’m not. Liz is doing everything in her power to be all ‘La la everything’s cool, I’m cool, my ride is literally outside’. People HAVE asked her what’s going on (Joe for one) and each time she’s refused to engage even slightly.

        1. Wraithy2773

          No, but see, it’s all their fault for not managing to ask questions in the right and specific manner that would be able to get an actually descriptive answer out of Liz! It’s not like Liz has any responsibility to be honest with her friends and family about what’s going on, that’s just silly!

        2. Spencer

          Ah yes, the right and specific manner of asking questions, spoken only in hushed whispers:

          “What’s wrong?” “What happened?” “Are you okay?”

  19. Bagge

    Sarah is very solution oriented.

    1. Reltzik

      Sarah is solution-oriented in the sense that she is oriented away from problems, because problems involve people.

      1. Clif

        Sarah is very solution oriented. Her primary tool is a baseball bat.

        1. milu

          when all you have is a baseball bat, all your problems look like baseball metaphors for sex

    2. Needfuldoer

      Yup.

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-10/03-when-it-crumbles/throughhell/

  20. Mr. Random

    Tackling a family member is just an aggressive hug that also says you annoy the shit out of me.

  21. Derek

    so is Liz in heavy denial or just refusing to talk to Sarah?

    1. Rikunda

      Denial that she doesn’t want to go to college, or in denial she was rejected from the college and lied?

    2. anonymsly

      Both, but continually going near Sarah in hopes that she gets pets and a comforting ‘what’s wrong baby boo?’ That will make it safe to spill her guts I think. Though that is a strong indicator the Liz doesn’t actually know her sister at all. What she should do is explain her problem and watch Sarah bulldoze it.

  22. Heather

    Sarah is always ready to solve problems with sensitivity, subtlety and grace.

    1. anonymsly

      And a baseball bat.

      1. Thag Simmons

        Baseball Bats are graceful

        1. Delicious Taffy

          I like to call ’em graceball bats.

        2. milu

          some exploitation movie out there has to have a choreographed, slow-mo baseball bat gorefest scene set to classical music. i just can’t think of one off the top of my head to link to.

        3. milu

          …ok i didn’t have to look very far. As usual, Tarantino got all of your tasteful murder needs covered. (viewer discretion, is, obviously, advised)

        4. Roborat

          Didn’t Clockwork Orange have something along those lines?

      2. StClair

        Lotta things you can hit with a bat.

  23. BubbaFett

    Quite similar to Becky turning up…wonder where this’ll lead

    1. Needfuldoer

      Not to Ball State.

      1. Clif

        It seems more and more unlikely.

  24. Queezle

    Okay Sarah, I know this is not your strength and everything, I understand that and honestly same, but maybe asked your sister why she lied about the ride. Maybe ask her if something went wrong? If she is okay?

    1. Clif

      Yes, but first she has to tackle her problem.

      1. Queezle

        fair enough tackle first. Ask questions later.

        1. Clif

          Let the referee soft them out.

    2. Spencer

      Yeah but that would imply Sarah has to put the slightest emotional labour into her relationships instead of passively exploiting the people around her who know she’s “bad with people” and thus trying for two seconds is an outrageous demand.

      1. JBento

        To be fair, in this particular case we have seen no indication that Liz is a relationship she’s actually interested in maintaining.

        1. Spencer

          Nah, Sarah would die for her.

          Which is why she gets to act however she pleases otherwise and not express the slightest good sentiment towards her without massive amounts of pulling, because “she really cares, deep down.”

  25. Segnosaur

    Onecofvthe things i am concerned about is how eager Joyce is to reestablish a connection with Liz.

    Joyce’s relationship with Becky is strained. Ypu would have hoped she would have started figuring “ok i need to be more careful about how i assert my new-found atheism”. But hanging out with Liz might have her backslide.

    1. Queezle

      Maybe. But I can understand that Joyce wants to talk to somebody who is not only supportive of her atheism but understands her experience.
      I do not believe that Sarah and Dorothy want “fundi Joyce” back, or how some comments put it. But they definitely could have been more understanding and supportive of Joyce.

      1. Spencer

        It’s not that they want Joyce to believe all the things that made her miserable, but it’s fairly blatant that they want her to go back to the endlessly cheerful person she was and that’s manifesting, as it always does, as “go back to the person who made life easier for me, because helping you out when you’re too loud/angry/bitter/annoying/problematic is draining on me, so it’s your fault.”

    2. JBento

      One of the things I am concerned is how eager people are to make sure Joyce maintains the previous status quo of her relationship with Becky, which basically boiled down to “Becky gets to do and say everything she wants while dismissing everything about Joyce that didn’t cater to her.”

      1. Spencer

        I’m eagerly anticipating the day we get into the nitty gritty of Becky’s traumas, how deep her reliance on Joyce goes, the lengths she’s going to and already has gone to reassert their codependent status quo where her Joyce exists in perpetuity, like for Becky’s actions to have the slightest consequence to someone who does not immediately go “it’s okay, Becky, I understand :)” and then we’re all just gonna immediately go “ugh, look at this asshole lashing out, just because you can explain it doesn’t mean you can excuse it.”

        ‘Cause all it took last time was a dang haircut!

      2. Segnosaur

        I am not saying Joyce needs tp be totally accepting of Becky’s clingyness/obnoxious behaviour. Just that when she deals with it she would be better off to mimmic Dorothy (and her calm attitide) rather than Liz and her “christians are so dumb” altitude.

        There are many more christians in North America than atheists. There are certainly tines when atheists need push back against christian overreach but sometimes you need to hold back.

        1. JBento

          Except that acting like Dorothy has been shown to do absolutely nothing to change Becky’s behaviour.

        2. Delicious Taffy

          Yeah, I feel like that’s consistently been a thing with Dorothy. She’s trying to be diplomatic but it’s often in situations that would benefit from a more blunt approach.

        3. Spencer

          Dorothy’s calm attitude is telling Joyce she needs to find a nice deism and that her anger is only valid as long as it doesn’t raise a fuss.

          You don’t gotta be kind to the thing that made your life unilaterally worse, you especially do not have to do so in a private conversation that’s the first real chance either of you get to vent your feelings.

  26. Eldritchy

    Call Ruth and do a Double Lariat!

    1. Sombrero

      Seconded!!

  27. Amós Batista

    Joyce, step back. That’s family matters.

    1. milu

      Sarah, step back. That’s newly atheist matters.

      1. Amós Batista

        Sarah x Joyce. I wonder who could win in a fight…

  28. Essex

    Hey Sarah, how about you just actually talk to your sister and ask what’s going on, why she’s avoiding leaving?

    1. Delicious Taffy

      That would require Sarah to exit the Super Saiyan form and also put the gun down. You’re expecting a lot of de-escalation skills from a 20-year-old space warrior.

  29. Rabisch

    Liz is in trouble.

  30. Rosicrucian

    Folks keep asking what’s at Ball State that Liz doesn’t want to go back to, but to me it seems really simple. All Liz’s friends there still think she’s a good Christian girl. She was trying things on just as much as Joyce was, away from people who know her, where she wouldn’t be judged. And now, she has no toolbox to deal with what happened, and the friends back at Ball State aren’t ones she feels comfortable trying to unpack what happened with Joe around.

  31. Inbar Fink

    I’m kinda worried about Joyce’s tummyache,isit another symptom of anxiety or is it just the Nachitos?

    1. Azhrei Vep

      I’m going with “She’s pregnant.” We missed a lot in the time skip.

      1. Delicious Taffy

        Every time a woman starts to feel nauseous, it’s somehow always pregnancy.

        1. Rose by Any Other Name

          It is a very annoying trope.

          **sigh**

          I wrote a whole massive multiparagraph rant about how writers (particularly those who have not experienced morning sickness) always get it wrong, but it was overly detailed and kinda irrelevant to this comic since this was just a joke in the comments and not actually in the comic itself.

          So I’ll just summarize for any writers reading this:
          Morning sickness is not the first symptom of pregnancy. There are many other more notable and recognizable ones before that.
          Morning sickness rarely comes with a stomach ache. It also isn’t super sudden – you don’t vomit on people or in hats or anything. It is the most chill vomiting ever.

          Avoid those common tropes and maybe do some research and you’ll be fine.

        2. Delicious Taffy

          Are you telling me The Simpsons isn’t a stone-faced documentary on human behavior and biology?

  32. Sol

    I imagine that Sarah is probably yelling because she’s worried about what’s going on, and Liz isn’t explaining herself. That can be frustrating, and we all know that Sarah is really bad at dealing with delicate emotional issues already, so her frustration would be greater. She’ll wield a bat to protect you no question, but she’s not equipped for the more delicate things (though she has her moments). Big gestures vs little ones; there’s a strip where Joyce mentions this to Sarah.

    It could also come across as “annoying younger sister doing annoying younger sister things” which, as an older sister myself… can get very, very tiresome. Family dynamics differ for everyone of course but it’s fairly common for the older sibling to be placed with the burden of being more patient and kind to a younger sibling than they are granted themselves for similar behaviours.

    Or perhaps a mix of both – younger sibling is doing annoying younger sibling things, but also the fact that she’s been dishonest with Sarah and seems to have been floating around by herself for a day or two could feed into worries about what exactly is happening, especially since Liz refuses to spit it out and is trying her very hardest to sidestep the issue and pretend it isn’t happening.

    1. Queezle

      thank you for putting that in to words. I know that Sarah is not handling the situation good but I feel like saying she it to “egoistical to care” or acting like that due to malice seems not to align with her character at all.

    2. anonymsly

      Yes! This EXACTLY. All of this.

      One time, my brother (who was my roommate at the time) got a summer job with a buddy who painted houses. He slipped on a ladder and dislocated his shoulder. He proceeded to drive home and just sit on our couch in the dark. Eventually I got home and of course freaked out because his ARM. He refused to call 911 for himself, refused to let me call for him, refused to let me drive him. So I called our parents (who lived more or less close by) and demanded that they come over and MAKE HIM go to the hospital, because was being a stupid f-ing a-hole and I refused to engage any further with his stupid f-ing nonsense.

      Should I have called my injured and suffering little brother a stupid f-ing a-hole to his face and directly to our parents? Maybe not. Should I have been consoling of his pain and asked why he didn’t want his arm back in its goddamn shoulder socket? Probably yes. But he made me mad and offered no other options, so he got what he got.

      1. anonymsly

        I should note: I love my brother very much, he’s one of my best friends, we talk almost every day and always have.

        When Mom and Dad got him to emergency, he got his shoulder popped back in, a sling, and instructions about ibuprofen. He was fine.

        1. milu

          but WHY didn’t he want to go to the ER??? did he ever explain?

        2. alongcameaspider

          Because the American Healthcare system is a nightmare?

          Because society has conditioned males to believe they should just “tough it out”?

          Because he’s a, and I quote, “stupid f-ing a-hole”?

          Take your pick

        3. Wakeangel2001

          one of my uncle’s broke his arm and tried to hide it from his mom because he was more afraid of getting in trouble for imitating older kids, but he was NINE at the time, what was your brother’s excuse?

  33. Hydrohead

    Pajama bottoms are not pants. I take my pants off to put Pajama bottoms on.

    1. Segnosaur

      Are those pyjama bottoms or just leggings/track pants with the dexter/monkey master patterns?

    2. Rose by Any Other Name

      With one exception, I have worn no pants but pajama bottoms for MONTHS.

  34. Alan in DC

    There’s something about Liz’s eyes in Frame 1 that suggests to me her head might be a few degrees out of phase with the rest of the world.

  35. MickeeC

    Agreed, it’s kinda creepy honestly. Clearly you intentional, but still.

  36. thumb

    Now that’s real siblings. Why talk when you can tussle and accomplish nothing?

  37. Deviant

    Pump the breaks there.

    Tackling is illegal if the one tackled does not have the Ball State.
    That could get you a yellow or even red card.

    1. Reltzik

      Sarah’s a student at IU. That means she’s already got a red card. (Well, crimson.)

  38. Mr.Morningstar

    I mean it’s TECHNICALLY not yelling.

    Moreover Sarah maybe you should be wondering WHY she is here rather than trying to force her back. Clearly somethings up with her.

  39. Bleuryder

    Whatever the situation with Liz is, I think it’s gonna somehow be another paradigm shift (for lack of a better term) for Joyce. Maybe something that won’t necessarily turn her back fully Christian, but will make her reevaluate her attitude, especially with her perspective with atheism. I think at the very least, Joyce will realize that Liz isn’t the role model she thinks she is, and that maybe she’s more cautionary tale than anything else.

    1. Spencer

      A cautionary tale for what?

      The only thing we’ve seen being a Christian do for Liz is have her parrot things she doesn’t believe that leads to her peers treating her like a naive child, and sexual puritanism that made her think she’d ruin herself forever if she touched a wiener.

      1. Bleuryder

        Not entirely sure, considering they haven’t said why she’s not back at her University yet. It could literally be anything. But I’m thinking that maybe something happened to her or she did something that might not make her the role model Joyce thinks she is. We’ll see how the story goes.

  40. Wakeangel2001

    tell me you flunked out without telling me you flunked out

  41. Throwatron

    oh no

    she’s actually more stunted and child-like than Joyce is

  42. Dev

    I had a thought and I’m not sure about it but…

    Liz showed up because something happened at her campus.

    She also had a reaction with Joe when there were impending sexy times. He respected her and nothing more happened.

    But what if…some one else didn’t? Because that’d be terrible but this is college and it could have happened.

    Or if she DID make a choice and she’s scared because she’s suddenly missing periods and expecting?

    Or maybe she flunked out and can’t go home.

    Just some thoughts.

    1. Seregiel

      Willing has been known to change his mind but I believe he said he didn’t want to explore college pregnancy again. Could be wrong. My money is on step mom always shouts and stamps and forces.

      1. David M Willis

        i literally *can’t* explore college pregnancy, it’d be years of our time before any of the characters learned they were pregnant in their time, and then…. what? there’s nothing you can do about it with the pace the strip moves

        1. Rose by Any Other Name

          … I mean, you said that about character deaths too.

          Just sayin’.

        2. Delicious Taffy

          So combine the two to speed it up. Character becomes pregnant, but the twist is that the baby is actually several hundred alien larvae that soon hatch, killing the host horribly, and turn the entire IU campus into a sci-fi warzone. Talk about mixin’ up the formula!

        3. The Wellerman

          Or you could just have a time-skip and make a canon game like you almost did that one time in It’s Walky.

        4. David M Willis

          okay, heads up, for the twentieth year of the strip, i’m going to skip ahead another three months, and somebody will then be three months pregnant

        5. Rose by Any Other Name

          **holds up hands**

          I didn’t say it was likely or practical. Or even that it was something I’d want to see happen (it isn’t). Just that you found a way around the time issue once before.

  43. Toes14

    Can we just find out what traumatic experience Liz is hiding already?

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