159

Anchors
Posted on October 1, 2019 by David M Willis

159 thoughts on “Anchors”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “yeah, I can’t imagine how weird awkward that infodump would be if we weren’t dating“

    1. Ana Chronistic

      (this would be so sweet except for that whole forgetting to let Jacob know he’s in a new relationship now)

      1. Chris Phoenix

        Jacob was the one who chose this new relationship. Joyce made a stupid mistake and immediately tried to leave; she did not try to deceive Jacob. Jacob, seeing that a miscommunication had happened somewhere, and seeing that Joyce actually did want to date him, said “She is my girlfriend.”

        Joyce’s enthusiasm for Jacob, which causes rapid oscillation between thoughtlessness and self-awareness (like within this single monologue), is so sweet – full stop.

        In the last panel, Joyce is telling Jacob as plainly as she can without making things awkward with Harrison: “I know you know we weren’t dating an hour ago, and I’m sorry if I’m making this too weird for you.” With overtones of “I know we maybe still aren’t really dating – it’s up to you how to take this.”

        If anyone thought Joyce was still trying to deceive Jacob, or back him into a corner, the last panel should prove otherwise.

        And if anyone thought that Jacob was mad at Joyce, the next to last panel should prove otherwise.

        OK, now I’ll read the rest of the comments and see how many people still think Joyce is holding a cell phone.

        1. Delicious Taffy

          It’s her phone. What else could it be?

        2. Schpoonman

          Who would ever make that mistake?

  2. BBCC

    Gee, YA THINK?

    1. Bagge

      Just a tiny little bit…

  3. Doctor_Who

    Jacob: Speaking of your toe, Joyce has the nail falle-

    Joyce: The staples and glue are holding fine, thank you!

  4. Stephen Bierce

    “We’ve got a report of violin activity…”

    1. Dean

      At least it’s not sax and violins.

      1. Shane Wegner

        Slap bass porn riff some future day, maybe.

      2. Opus the Poet

        The ghost of Emily Litella pervades the space.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Oh no, not the sappy “real talk” music from Full House again!

  5. AntJ

    Here’s the strip you’re all thinking of http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/dynamic/

    1. Rotunda

      Yes, that one.

  6. Yumi

    What sweet things to say in an incredibly weird context.

  7. Kyrik Michalowski

    Again, I hope that Joyce isn’t rewarded for her behavior here by suddenly Jacob deciding to date her but what she says is very sincere and points out again how they would be good together.

    1. Newllend(henryvolt)

      What if she gets comeuppance in the most awkward of embarrassing ways possible during this as a punishment and then her and Jacob become romantically closer…. if this doesn’t sound write to you please forgive me because I’ve been in San Diego the last few days and I am incredibly drunk at the moment.

    2. Icalasari

      It could still work if he decides to date her… if he makes her have to wait

      “What you did was deceitful and pure trickery, I am going to have to take a week to decide if I am going to forgive you” with him already having decided to ask to date her

      A week of agony (so, what, a year in real time?) seems like a decent punishment

      Of course, this is if Jacob DOES want to date her after that

      1. Newllend(henryvolt)

        Each day in this feels like a freaking month for IRL so most likely.

  8. abysswatcher1993

    Jacob’s mind: “Awww-Wait, she still pretended to be your girlfriend. Don’t get fooled by her… I can’t be mad at her. She is just a dumbass. Hmmm… Should I order with double cheese?”

    Joyce’s mind: *The soundtrack of Psycho.*

    1. thejeff

      Team Jacob/Pizza lives!

      1. Needfuldoer

        You know it!

  9. Rotunda

    Compared to her recent extreme faces, Joyce now looks settled and happy. She has found the part that isn’t a lie, and spoken it.

  10. Nono

    End of the day: Jacob shows up at Sarah’s door, shirtless, rose in his mouth, come hither look.

    “So a little birdie was trying to set us up together.”

    Slipshine ensues.

    1. Bagge

      “I hear it is your birthday”

      1. StClair

        “I got you a present. You wanna unwrap it?”

  11. Lacuna

    Refresh my memory: are there any ships in this comic that didn’t start off on mildly sketchy terms?

    Only one I can think of it Becky and Dina, and even that’s got the “Dina may or may not be Becky’s rebound” thing going on.

    1. Nono

      Dorothy/Walky.

      1. Clif

        Uneven power dynamic and Dorothy basically looking for a disposable boyfriend when she transfered.

        1. Nono

          The uneven power dynamic was more Dorothy/Danny. With Dorothy/Walky, it started out as for fun, then eventually moved into something serious. Lots of relationships are like that.

        2. BarerMender

          Clif, you take your Rachel icon seriously, don’t you?

        3. Clif

          Not really, no. Afraid it comes naturally.

    2. Dean

      Dina/Giant Velociraptor Plush.

      1. Clif

        Plush paid for with campaign funds.

        1. He Who Abides

          You dare shit on Dina/Fuckface Jr? HAVE YOU NO HUMAN DECENCY!?

    3. Bagge

      Leslie/anna.

      NOTHING SKETCHY THERE.

      1. Clif

        Not at all.

    4. jufreire

      Maybe Ethan/Danny?

    5. Sunny

      Mike/Your Mom

      More seriously, though: Joe’s Dad/Amber’s Mom maybe?

      1. BarerMender

        Everything about that is sketchy.

        1. DailyBrad

          Only really that they ditched Amber. Otherwise, they seem to genuinely like each other, it’s moreso the danger Richard will fuck it up.

          Amber’s mom did say she needs Richard’s financial help for the trial, sure, but she didn’t imply she was leading him on for the cash or anything.

  12. Bicycle Bill

    Replace “Jacob” with “Katherine” in Joyce’s little monologue, and that could be me speaking about that girl/friend I posted about yesterday.
    Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go cry myself to sleep now because I let it slip though my hands.

    1. Delicious Taffy

      Next time, don’t get involved with women voiced by Michelle Ruff.

  13. Shane Wegner

    Eh, even if the inevitable happens and this, uh, somehow doesn’t work, at least you got all that out.

  14. PHNX

    Creepy?
    I was gonna say ‘heart-wrenching’, but maybe that’s just me.

    1. Newllend(henryvolt)

      We can call it a split between the two for everyone who is undecided about it.

  15. Proto

    This is sweet and all but like Joe said* a ways back, I still hate that it seems like it’s going to work.

    *not verbatim, paraphrased, w/e

    1. BBCC

      This.

      1. Poofdepoof

        Oh wow, you just reminded me that I ship Joe/Joyce

        (Don’t at me pls)

        1. BarerMender

          I sorta like Joe/Joyce, too.

        2. Schpoonman

          Nah, if Joe grew up a lot they would work.

        3. Zee

          Lmao same

        4. Sol Karas

          Joyce and Joe play off each other really well, even in the other universe. I’d like to see their relationship explored more here, but I’m not holding my breath lol

        5. Icalasari

          Joeyce Ship

    2. Deadjolras

      +1

      (Also, bring back Joe, Willis!)

  16. not someone else

    Oh Joyce. One day someone will introduce you to the concept of yandere and you’re going to be in the bathroom all night staring at the mirror and questioning everytbing, aren’t you.

    1. Sazazezer

      It will be at this point, that the stabbings will begin in their earnest.

      1. Jon Rich

        Especially if she dyes her hair pink and puts them in pigtails.

        1. Khyrin

          bonus points if she wears a vest over a yellow tubetop. She doesn’t know where it came from… it just appeared.

  17. background character

    Goddamnit Joyce this would be a GREAT LITTLE ROM-COM TYPE SPEECH to give to Jacob about why you should be together IN PRIVATE when you’re not ACTIVELY TRICKING HIS BROTHER INTO THINKING YOU”RE ALREADY DATING.

    ffs Willis why do you do these things to us

    1. a snow mouse

      To be fair, this little setup here does sound like something out of a romcom…

      1. Opus the Poet

        AFAIK this is the romcom Roomies was supposed to be before DYW added alien abduction and SEMME into the mix.

    2. Newllend(henryvolt)

      Because this comic thrives on hijinks like this?

  18. BigDogLittleCat

    Joyce’s awareness of how neurotic she is is why I love her.
    She might be clueless about most things, but she’s got a good grip on what she is.

  19. Delicious Taffy

    Jacob seems genuinely touched by Joyce’s inappropriate declarations. I think he probably knows exactly how this whole thing got started, though, and I don’t expect him to be especially happy about it later on.

  20. Judas Peckerwood

    Damn, that was pretty smooth, Joyce!

  21. bon

    honestly i know this can only end poorly. i know that i should be mad at joyce

    but im just… not? She’s steadily become my favorite character, and this isnt anything new in terms of ‘character is a dumbass and does something bad’

    probably helps that she punched toedad bc i think deep down, we all want to punch the broken toe man

    1. porthos9438

      Joyce is my favorite too. Maybe because above and beyond all the other characters, she seems to be the one MOST interested in personal improvement and growth. She fought it for awhile, but now seems to be embracing the idea that her world needs to expand.

      1. Icalasari

        Isn’t she based on Willis’ own life somewhat? That might help too – It makes her the most real of the cast in that sense

        1. bon

          yeah, that makes sense.

          also helps that she’s adorable, and has a slew of other good traits we’ve gotten to see over the course of the comic in comparison to some other characters (Amber comes to mind, as does Danny)

          We see her the most, debatably, and I’m not saying Amber and Danny have no good traits, they do. They’re just not as deeply explored as Joyce has been.

  22. Reltzik

    “So, wait, Joyce, are you trying to say that Sarah could actually be interested in me?”

    1. Bagge

      WIN!!!

  23. Keulen

    I’d love for Jacob and Joyce to get together for real, but after Joyce said all this I’m worried that Raidah will show up or something else will happen that will screw up the chances of them becoming an actual couple.

    1. BarerMender

      I see Raidah talking some of her asshole bullshit and Jacob saying, “Raidah, we need to talk. I don’t think I like you.”

  24. BenRG

    Yeah, she’s fallen in love.

    As for Jacob, I think that he finds it a positive that he has impacted on someone’s life in such a positive way. Him as Jacob, not the Harrison mk2 that he is trying to be.

    1. Bagge

      How dit Becky put it? “Cute and kind and with an endearing vulerability”
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/04-the-do-list/vulnerability/

  25. Bagge

    Yup. Jacob in panel 5. He has fallen for her SO MUCH.

  26. Jaime

    I know this is meant to be sweet, and even kind of is. BUT.

    Joyce is continuing to put Jacob in one h3ll of a spot. She lied to his brother, continued to lie when she could have “bowed out” of the situation, and now is confessing her love for Jacob in front of his brother – a situation in which he may feel uncomfortable responding honestly.

    And all this while *knowing* he is still seeing Raidah.

    People in relationships sometimes develop feelings for other people and other people sometimes develop feelings for people in relationships. I get it – something similar happened to me while I was in the end-throes of my relationship with my ex (the person with whom I hooked up during the break-up has been my partner for 10+ years). Maybe Joyce needed to say this to Jacob. I personally think it’s not cool to actively pursue someone who is in a relationship. But she’s cornered Jacob here. To me, it seems manipulative. How can he possibly respond to this in front of his brother? And she’s already gotten his brother’s “approval.” Imagine him having to double back and explain this whole mess – which was instigated by Joyce, not him.

    Joyce has problems with boundaries but this IS getting into creepy territory.

    1. Usayasha

      I think it’s important to recognize that she *did* try to bow out, and Jacob definitely saw her trying that. And he *also* had the opportunity to clear this up, but he hasn’t yet. He’s recognized that there was a miscommunication and that Joyce is uncomfortable, but he’s still using her to be a fake girlfriend to impress his brother. He didn’t plant this lie, but he’s actively reaping it at this point.

      Right here she’s doing what she can to communicate openly, while subtly acknowledging to Jacob that she isn’t his girlfriend and that this whole scenario is probably making him uncomfortable. She’s doing what she can to be honest with him without compromising the lie that he and she actively participating in. It’s fucked up and awkward that Joyce instigated this, but she’s not in a position to stop it. If she did, she would put Jacob into an even more awkward situation than he is currently in, and it looks to me like she recognizes that. If this ruse is going to stop it really has to be on Jacob’s terms, either because he asks her to stop or because he stops it himself.

      1. Jaime

        Okay, I’ll admit that Joyce did run over to the elevator before Harrison asked her to come to lunch. But Joyce made the decision to come with them. If she really wanted to be out of this situation, why didn’t she just say, “I have a class?”. The perfect excuse on a *college campus.*

        And I agree that Jacob has to stop the situation at this point, but that is only because of Joyce’s actions. And I think it’s less her trying to be honest and more her trying to “prove” that she’d make a better girlfriend than Raidah while she has Jacob cornered. She is nervous and awkward, sure, but she is also manipulating the situation for her own benefit.

        1. thejeff

          Nah, I think her thoughts and words sort of ran away with her this strip. No deliberate manipulation. This was honest and more than she was meaning to say.

  27. Nono

    Oh, she’s sweet but a psycho…

  28. SillyGoose

    We all expected Raidah to show up, I think the laws of drama dictate it happen either now or in 30 seconds, just when Jacob is reciprocating and voicing his own feelings.

    1. Shane Wegner

      I am up for a little rom Com subversion. Like maybe Jacob is fed up with Raidah and Joyce accidently shoots from the hip and hits a bullseye.

      “I just kept crawling and it just kept working.” – Jerry

      1. thejeff

        That’s not rom com subversion. That’s the rom com working. That’s just Joyce and Jacob as the romantic leads and Raidah as the obstacle that their love has to overcome so they can live happily ever after. It validates Joyce’s plans to break them up.

    2. Bobcat

      Hang on, the Drama tag hasn’t been pulled in the Dumbiverse yet!

      1. Icalasari

        It was pulled out at the same time Toe Dad was born

        When you look like a toe, the world is drama

    3. David

      No, Jacob will get to finish and then she’ll be slow clapping and nobody knows how long she has been listening.

  29. g127

    So… Real girlfriend is going to show up now, isn’t she?

    1. BenRG

      I’m pretty sure that this is the case and that Harrison is actually going to find Raidah less plausible as “Jacob’s real girlfriend” than Joyce, which is only going to be a cause of even more confusion and trouble.

    2. David

      Yes, and then all is going to fall apart. But it’s my guess that reality is going to fall apart harder than the lie.

  30. missilentmurmur

    Hey, don’t you all forget that if they do get together, that won’t be a joyride either, like, introducing a black man of a different church to her mom?

    1. David

      Well, it would likely end up with a divorce of Hank and Carol, and Carol joining the Injustice League, also known as Dumbiverse — No Next Generation.

    2. jufreire

      Oh my God. I hadn’t even thought about that. Oh hell yes.

    3. BenRG

      Basically the same situation if Joyce started dating Joe (a secular Jew). Let’s face it, Carol is a person with so many hatreds and bigotries that there is literally almost nothing Joyce can do that would not be a moral offence in her mother’s view.

    4. Fuchs Sakemann

      Man, if it pisses of Carol I’m 100% in. If it shows Joyce just how hateful and misguided her parents are, then all the better.

  31. Minotaur

    I keep thinking how David Willis keeps telling us Joyce is autobiographical… I’m wondering if this happened to him…

    1. Adam Black

      But. Isn’t this Joyce self-insertion character #6 ? ( At least ?)

      1. BenRG

        I think that there are several major characters who are aspects of his personality. Joyce is his background and his struggle with is parents’ upbringing of him, Walky is the childhood fantasies of heroism most boys have and so on.

        1. Clif

          And everyone has an inner Mike.

          What?

        2. Adam Black

          I think our Big Cheese generally writes himself in as the central character of each strip: original roomies Danny, then Walky; dhortpacked: Ethan for geekery late bloomer and Transformer s fanaticism &Amber ( for introversion and social anxiety ), Joyces DOA for his personal growth from fundie to toon pornlord.

          Willis has written himself in literally a few times: the Cheese ( Walkys Mother original bf ) is him as Cheese and he’s the God of the strip. ( The Youth pastor powers in DOA ) and he’s literally in as himself as Ethan’s wiki and Toybuying nemesis in dhortpacked.

          I really admire the way Willis writes himself into central characters as self insertions while usually avoiding pitfalls of Marysuedom for them.

          (Who knew, anxiety and crippling self loathing were the secret spices to writing believable flawed characters? )

          I’m not really sure how much of Joyce’s naivete is Willis autobiography or college biography. I might be reading it wrong, but I think he is less Joyce as a character than he uses her as a vessel to pour in direct life stories, and situations.
          But if I ever had him over for Dinner, no foods would touch and probably serve Mac and Cheese.

  32. Newllend(henryvolt)

    Ok but the thing is that I think every character is supposed to hold a relatable trait about himself so it could balance out in a way to where it isn’t just one character who’s a self insert.

    1. Newllend(henryvolt)

      @ Adam black

    2. Adam Black

      See comment above^^

      I think there is 2 issues there, identity and Personality traits. I think he experiences the strip through the central character.
      I agree he divides up certain things.
      But a number of characters are also based off friends, acquaintances, family members.
      I’ve never heard Willis say he writes himself into every character so I wouldn’t assume it. ( Contrast that with Kevin Williamson who said that exact thing about Dawson’s Creek. )

  33. Rabisch

    Sweet dialogue. Joyce’s face in last panel is the best.

  34. Jennifer Bak

    I still have no idea how this is all going to end. o_O Loving the suspense. 😀

  35. Tealjoy Grove

    Nice recovery

  36. WindWalker

    Oh, she’s sweet but a psycho
    A little bit psycho
    At night she screamin’
    “I’m-ma-ma-ma out ma mind”
    Oh, she’s hot but a psycho
    So left but she’s right though
    At night she screamin’
    “I’m-ma-ma-ma out ma mind”

  37. Booker

    Part of me wants Raidah to show up, rage explode, and Jacob to realize how she’s maybe not always so sweet. I don’t really want him to wind up with Joyce either. Let Jacob be free to do his own thing dangit.

    1. David

      Is that even necessary? Let’s have this work out in the best possible way for Raidah. She gets there, Joyce leaves in humiliation, dinner starts over (how much can people eat?). Now she gets her pitch to tell how she and Jacob got together and what they see in each other.

      I mean, this is a train wreck alright, but those coals are so crimson.

      1. Fomalhaut88

        …why should she need to be sweet to her cheating boyfriend and the girl that very purposefully intruded on their relationship?

        1. Jaime

          I’d *love* for Raidah to show up and call everyone out on their terrible behaviour.

          True story: In college I had a crush on a guy who had a girlfriend. I never made any advances towards him and did my best to just push my feelings down and I always kept them to myself. For a long time I thought his girlfriend (they were both part of our general friend group at the time) was a major b!tch. Then, for reasons I can’t remember, I landed up hanging out with her alone. I found out that she was actually very smart and funny and it turned out we had almost identical tastes in music. We became pretty good friends and she confessed that she got very awkward in large groups and also got jealous because her boyfriend had a tendency to get very flirty with other women (like he was with me, as I realized much later).

          We’ve been seeing the “public” Raidah filtered through situations with Joyce and Jacob. We’re judging her based on much less information than we have about the other characters. And why the heck does Jacob need to be “free to do his own thing?” He’s an adult and can do what he wants. If he wants to be with Raidah, he needs to not pretend Joyce is his girlfriend, even if he’s trying to save her from embarrassment. If he wants to be with Joyce, he needs to dump Raidah. If he wants to be with Sarah, or no one, he can do that too. Jacob, on the surface, is coming off like the “chivalrous knight” here who is “putting up” with a mean girlfriend and trying to protect his female friend from her own stupidity. My crush in college was a lot like that. It took me a while to realize that he was purposefully making himself look good by making his own girlfriend look bad for being jealous, and kind of “stringing” me along by being flirty. (I was young and dumb but, again, *never* acted on my crush because I knew it was completely wrong to go after someone in a relationship.) There is the very real possibility that Jacob is going to come out of this looking like the “good guy” to everyone, when he’s definitely not.

          Yeah, I would LOVE for Raidah to show up and just call everyone out.

        2. thejeff

          From my point of view, this is still forgivable for Jacob if he bawls Joyce out for it as soon as he gets the chance. That he’s going along with it at least as much to live up to what he now realizes are Harrison’s hopes for him is nearly as big a black mark as the girlfriend fraud.

          If Raidah shows up before he gets that chance, he’s kind of screwed though.

          I don’t think Jacob’s deliberately doing what your crush was, though I do suspect he’s got some of the same habits – casual flirty friendships. I think he’s kind of oblivious to what’s going on. Everyone else seemed to pick up on Joyce’s interest back at that lunch with Dorothy and Raidah, but he was just thinking about the pizza.

          As for Raidah, I suppose it’s possible, but if she’s really supposed to be a great person when she’s not with Jacob, or with Sarah, or with her friends, then it’s not our fault for missing that, since it’s all we’ve been presented. In reality, that would be a possibility, but in fiction all there is is what is presented.

        3. Sam

          I’m agreeing with you here that yeah, I don’t think Jacob is acting like that guy. I recently saw something on tumblr that I agree with which is that: to be flirting, the person has to be doing it on purpose and be intending to flirt otherwise no, they weren’t flirting, end of story, stop using your misread signs to be jerks. Whereas Jacob is more just feeding off Joyce’s actual flirting into banter usually and is often actually oblivious to what is going on.

          And yeah, no, Raidah is not going to turn out to be a great person suddenly. We have seen her be ableist to Dina, we have seen her say she would let something go to Sarah’s face then bring it up to Jacob to try to make him dislike Sarah, and we have seen her, despite telling Jacob to his face that she does not get jealous and knowing he has had trouble with jealous girlfriends before, getting jealous and choosing not to talk to him about it. Which for me, would be a dealbreaker that they they tried to hide it.

        4. Jaime

          Good points. I’d forgotten about Raidah being ableist, which really isn’t cool. I’m mad at both Joyce and Jacob right now, partially because of my own experiences, but the two of them acting like butts doesn’t mean Raidah is suddenly going to morph into Best Character. However, I’d really like to see a more sympathetic side of her.

        5. BBCC

          Raidah agreed not to press charges against Sarah and to forgive her. That’s not the same as promising never to mention it again, and that’s not really a fair expectation. The rest is more than fair though.

        6. Sam

          I didn’t say she wasn’t allowed to mention it but if you say you’re forgiving someone for something, then you don’t get to bring it up to someone to try to skew their opinion as that isn’t forgiving and letting it go. If you’re still weaponising it, then you are treating it as something unresolved.

        7. thejeff

          Back in my college days, we distinguished between casual flirting and “flirting with intent”.
          Jacob’s style is definitely flirty, especially with Joyce. That’s not just all feeding off Joyce or Joyce misreading it. It’s there and the attraction is there too, even if he’s not conscious of it. There’s no intent, but it’s still dangerous and it’s likely screwed up his relationships in the past, if I’m reading the clues correctly. Not something morally wrong like cheating, but something he needs to get a handle on, so he can stop creating these situations.

          I’m willing to give Raidah a tentative pass on the ableism, since half the cast has treated Dina badly in similar ways – not to the same extreme, but with less excuse, since they knew her better and really should have known better.

        8. Sam

          I however feel like we shouldn’t put the onus on the person to know that everyone is reading them as flirty when they’re just being nice. Much of what Jacob says that comes across as flirty is just him being nice and open about his opinions and being a little bit competitive about powerwalking. Literally anything can be seen as flirty by some people. Including just smiling.

          So I personally feel it is better for everyone if we just go ‘to be actually flirting, you need to be trying to’ so that they can just say ‘sorry, I wasn’t flirting’ and the proper response is just ‘sorry, I misunderstood but I know better now’.

          Because as a woman, I don’t like and don’t want to micromanage my every action so that no one will ever read me as flirty. I like smiling at people. I like being nice to people. I like having banter with people. People should be able to act like themselves and if someone misreads them, then they should be able to just go ‘I wasn’t flirting, I’m just this kind of person’ and the other person can just go ‘sorry, I misread you’ then everyone moves on.

          And just because Raidah isn’t the most ableist, doesn’t mean her ableism can or should be dismissed when she does in fact, still hang around with someone who is more ableist and has been ableist in other ways. The way she judges Joyce’s eating habits as childish/immature is also ableist because it is common for autistic people to have texture and taste sensitivities and dislike food touching – it is actually a complaint I have personally that what is regarded as high class food is really just *complex* food rather than high quality food. And that is something that still impacts Dina too because it revolves around the idea that there are ‘immature’ food choices which, as Amber has pointed out before, some people would regard how much she likes cereal in that way. Even if it is harmless and has nothing to do with them.

    2. Zatar

      Raidah is not a character I’m even remotely rooting for but if she blew up here she would be entirely justified.

      1. Booker

        Oh dont get me wrong. Totally justified. But Harrison clearly likes Joyce and if she explodes at Joyce. Feel like it would be a deal breaker.

  38. Cmd1095

    Aw, very sweet Joyce, but yes the fact that you’re not currently dating is… not great, to put it mildly

  39. Zero

    Honestly, this is a microcosm of Joyce’s character. She’s honestly still a kid, she has good intentions a lot of times and is still transitioning into adulthood. The problem however is that she goes about it in the worst way possible. Whether is be due to her upbringing like her believing she could ”change” Ethan, or her wanting to engage in a bit of wish fulfillment by saying she was Jacob’s girlfriend only for it to spiral out of control.

    Joyce may legally be an adult, but she’s emotionally stunted to the point she’s practically a child, and as Becky put it, Joyce is horny. She’s emotionally stunted and sexually repressed, and as a result, she goes about this in the worst way possible.

    That little confession of hers could even be seen as charming in a way, since she just outlined why she admires Jacob and that she really does like him. It’s just its come about because of her making an extremely boneheaded move.

    It’s stuff like this that honestly makes me pity Joyce. We talk about how her faith and worldview is constantly crushed thanks to seeing things like how Ross and Carol act, or how her upbringing was painful to Becky, but really, everything about Joyce’s life is being broken just by coming to college. It’s been only a month or so since she joined and look at all the crap she’s been through and all her worldview has been broken.

    She’s already on the way, but I wouldn’t be shocked if by time she graduated, she became jaded and cynical. I just pity her now.

  40. oz

    Everyone shaming Joyce but honestly Joyce hardly did anything wrong. The lie she told is nearly harmless. Jacob on the other hand is lying to his brother because impression his brother is more important to him than his girlfriend’s feelings. Can you imagine how pissed Raidah will be when she finds out Jacob had dinner with his awesome brother without her? Jake, just breakup with your girlfriend already.

    1. Fomalhaut88

      Joyce has been purposefully trying to intrude on a consenting relationship for many strips, and is now physically doing it.

      This recent series is making Jacob into a cheating creep, but Joyce was already a huge jerk.

      1. Jaime

        I don’t like either Joyce or Jacob here. Joyce has put Jacob in an incredibly uncomfortable position in front of his brother and, while she has him cornered, takes the opportunity to confess how much she is in love with him, knowing that he won’t reject her in front of his brother. Joyce is the one who lied first and then she doubled-down on that lie.

        Jacob isn’t winning any awards with me either. I’m not sure I’d label his behaviour as “cheating” (although I understand why many other people have), but he IS being a huge jerk, both to his brother and to Raidah. This is probably going to come out eventually, and Harrison will find out that the woman he really liked isn’t really Jacob’s girlfriend and that she and his brother both lied to him. Meanwhile, Raidah’s been completely sidelined. I wouldn’t at all blame HER for breaking up with JACOB.

  41. DailyBrad

    Jacob seems touched, but I wonder a bit about panel 2. Maybe he will end up going for Sarah, which, while a partial victory for Joyce, still would put her in a rather awkward position.

    I say this both because dramatic, and because, while I like Joyce/Jacob, I actually still kinda ship Joyce/Joe more. 😛

    1. BBCC

      Okay, I could live with Jacob breaking up with Raidah and going out with Sarah.

      I don’t think they’d end well together, necessarily, but I like it better than him and Joyce.

    2. Zatar

      I would like that because this plot-line has killed any residual interest I’ve ever had in Joyce Jacob.

  42. Acebender

    jesus I could barely read this strip

    1. fire_daws

      Appropriate Gravatar is appropriate.

  43. Sazazezer

    And Joyce has just accidentally been an utter asshole to Sarah.

    And on her birthday no less.

    1. Heavensrun

      Eeeh, not necessarily. All she really said is that she was trying to fix them up. That doesn’t automatically mean she’s outed how Sarah felt about it.

    2. Heavensrun

      Unless you mean by possibly stealing Jacob, but Sarah pretty conciously decided she wasn’t going to go after him, and is already aware that Joyce has a crush and seems okay with that, (although she didn’t want Joyce to break him up with Raidah through scheming, because that’s just not Joyce)

      Not to say she might not still get sore about it, but I wouldn’t take it as given.

      1. Sazazezer

        She said that she was helping her roommate try to catch his eye. That at least implies that Sarah wanted to catch his eye. The Sarah we know tends to have strong issues about her space being invaded. I imagine someone telling the guy she likes that she likes him is information she doesn’t want shared by others.

  44. mrj

    From the album liner notes of The Mountain Goat’s song “So Desperate”: A love song about people who’re involved with each other when they probably shouldn’t be[.] And about how the head and shame of the whole situation is like a snake eating its own tail, except the tail grows faster than he can eat it. Odds are that somebody reading this knows exactly what I mean and feels a little uncomfortable reading about it.

  45. JBento

    Still team “nobody but the baby.”

    1. seregiel

      Not team Galasso and Becky crashing this with their service and casual usage of the name “Jakes”?

      1. JBento

        No, but I’ll settle for a Sydney Yus yelling “FOOLS! THIS SHALL BE YOUR UNDOING!”, especially if it makes Jaime’s first word “foo’s”.

        1. seregiel

          … that would be adorable. I am okay with this plan.

  46. Hilzabub

    So when does Raidah show up?

    1. BenRG

      At the point where it becomes least plausible in Harrison’s mind that she’s Jacob’s girlfriend.

    2. a snow mouse

      Man, what if she doesn’t…? What a fakeout that would be…

  47. seregiel

    Jacob needs to fess up to Radiah on his own, and I hope “comedic timing” won’t be the reveal and dumpster fire. For Joyce and Jacob’s comeuppance we just need a magic fangirl waitress Becky to have her normal level of cool about the situation. Hopefully by asking “Jakes” when he’s going to get into those glorious pants and asking Joyce how it feels to date “A Dorothy”.

  48. Jim

    Okay then, David – if you’re not to keen on Yang, how about Tulsi Gabard?

  49. Pocky

    its a good thing I’m not being creepy or something!

    . . . does anybody smell babies?

  50. TheWanderingMist

    Irrelevant to the conversation at hand, but I hate how the comment section treats people entirely differently for the same behavior.

    Joyce, overstepping a boundary by accident or because it’s necessary: Unforgivable sin

    Everyone else overstepping Joyce’s boundaries: They’re just bringing her out of her shell.

    Anyway, onto this comic:

    Jacob easily could have brushed Joyce off when they were still at the school by just saying something about how that’s a joke between them or something, so he’s complicit in this now. I doubt Harrison would’ve taken “she has a class” for an excuse, probably would’ve just said skipping one won’t make toy fail. Raidah isn’t part of this but she set herself up for it by undermining Jacob’s confidence in regards to his brother. She’s also kind of terrible in general, given her behavior in regards to Dina. If this situation didn’t involve adultery, it’d be 100% sweet.

    1. Clif

      I kind of believe adultery requires marriage. Maybe the word your looking for is cheating, though that kind of depends on just what kind of agreement Jacob and Radiah have, if any.

    2. thejeff

      “on accident or because it’s necessary”?

      Or just casually because she doesn’t recognize the existence of boundaries? I’m not even sure what you’re thinking of for “accident” or “necessary”.
      Though she’s making some progress – recently she’s learned to knock before going into Sal’s room in the morning instead of looming over her in her sleep.

    3. Deadjolras

      Joyce called herself Jacob’s girlfriend by accident? Joyce introduced herself to Jacob’s brother as his girlfriend because it was necessary? I’m not really seeing it.

      1. TheWanderingMist

        Okay, for some reason, my laptop won’t let me post my comments. But I’ll respond to you all later when I get the chance.

  51. Clif

    It’s possible that Radiah will show up in the restaurant, but I would be really really surprised. I’m reminded of the time when Joyce had Sal and Amber both showing up for her party and everyone was waiting for the explosion. We got the explosion, but much much later down the road. Willis has a deliciously evil way of leaving plot threads hanging the better to wallop you with later when you no longer expect them.

    The most plausible way I see this ending is with Jacob thanking Joyce with her help with his brother and then going back to dating Radiah and low level flirting with Joyce. But really I have no clue.

    1. a snow mouse

      Or Joyce feeling guilty enough to get Jacob to fess up? Or Harrison figuring it out, taking Joyce aside later and telling her he’s figured out Jacob’s lie?

    2. JBento

      I think it’d be weird for Raidah to show up now. She may or may not have classes, but she is DEFINITELY expecting an upscale restaurant lunch in a bit, so there doesn’t seem to be any reason for her to drop by Galasso’s now.

    3. Jhon

      Max Drama requires Raidah to show up. But she’s expecting the time to be later and at a more adult place. If she appears now at Galasso’s, it will because someone (Mike?) helpfully told her about the change in venue.

    4. thejeff

      I doubt this’ll go back to status quo without at least Jacob and Joyce talking about her pretending to be his girlfriend and this strip’s revelations.

      She might run off to delay that, but it’s got to addressed.

  52. Beck

    GOD i ship this so hard.

    1. Lux

      I don’t want to but same.

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