Buses like that do have ways to signal the driver, but those are for emergencies. If you pull those and it’s not an emergency (like my daughter’s friend tricked me onto the wrong bus), there are serious consequences.
In my experience as a frequent patron of the California public transit long trip busses will stop at the next available stop if you pull the string. If you explain that you got on the wrong bus sometimes they’ll even tell you what bus you need to take to get back. If Ross actually ends up all in Indianapolis that’s because of his own ineptitude.
Aww, I thought when Dinah led Becky’s dad to the coach, that maybe she was putting him on a long-haul ride to the other side of the country, like LA or something! 😛
Although apparently according to Googlemaps, it’s a 50 mile ride and would take approximately an hour.
For comparison (for anyone in the UK), a journey from my house to London Zoo (OK, I just picked a random London landmark of appropriate distance), is just under 10 miles. And takes about an hour.
Most people walk at between two and four miles an hour. Not only would it not be faster to walk, it’d take better than twice as long, at a fast walk.
That is, assuming there are no shortcuts unavailable to vehicular traffic. That is possible, but somewhat unlikely. A creek with a footbridge, or a large greenbelt or campus with no through roads but ample walking trails, could make a nine-plus mile road trip into a three, or less, mile walk.
So the thing that no one is explaining here is that there are different kinds of busses. The busses you are thinking of with the pull cord things are public transit busses, usually run or at least partially run by the city. Those busses usually have a specific route in the city with multiple stops. You pull the cord, the bus stops and you get off. The other kind of bus is like a greyhound bus. Those busses are for long trips between cities or even states. They are almost always privately owned. They usually operate more like an airplane, where you pay for a ticket from one city to another, with few or no stops in between. So there’s no need for a pull cord to signal your stop. Some of them do still have a pull cord, but only for emergencies. Unless you have something seriously bad happening, once you get on you’re on until you get to the next city.
Good explanation. I’ve spent more than my share of time on both buses, and intercity bus drivers are extremely reluctant to stop for any reason that doesn’t involve a medical or criminal emergency, the kind that involve calling an ambulance or squad car, since they have tight schedules to keep. And Ross/Toedad seems like the type to not really get that he’s not going to the mall until the bus is on the interstate, at which point they will not let him get off. (It’s also worth noting that Indy is only about an hour or so from IU, so Toedad won’t be going that far out of his way, but even if he gets a bus back to IU immediately, that’s a couple of hours for Becky to go to ground.)
It’s simple. Becky is staying with Sal. Dina tells them about the Toehead. Sal gets Marcie to let Becky crash with her, where ever she stays. Marcie introduces Becky to professional Roller Derby. They, with Sal, Ruth, Billie, and Amber, form a team. The rest of the cast become support staff. They all leave school to go on the circuit. The all travel in a bus, from town to town, for matches, having wacky adventures along the way, while staying just one step ahead of the evil coalition of evil dads.
It’s “The Evil Coalition of Evil Dads”. It’s like “Smashing Pumpkins”, if you get it wrong, they’ll hunt you down and drag you to a homophobic preacher who will explain why you, personally, are going to burn in hell.
Even taking into account, I’m frustrated that no one has apparently put Becky in touch with IU’s LGBT student office, unless they think that they’d only help Becky if she’s actually a student. It’s not clear what their policy is on that, but they also have a list of community (i.e. not-necessarily-IU) resources online.
They don’t. I wish I remembered my experience with the Greyhound more clearly but I feel like I paid when I got off. With trains people come by and check on your tickets, but that happens partway into the ride.
If Toedad has never taken the bus before, though, he might not know $20 is unreasonable. He might get pissed but just grumble about public transit being ridiculous and anti-Christian.
My experiences with Greyhound have required a ticket to be presented before you can board the bus. Or buying a ticket right when the bus is supposed to leave, but that was one time.
I’m going with the theory that Dina somehow paid for the ticket, or Toedad has bothered with public transportation at any point in his life and doesn’t know busses are usually much cheaper.
So it looks like they ask walk-ons to swipe their credit card to pay for the trip. Toedad probably complied automatically without stopping and saying “wait, why are they asking me to swipe a credit card for an ordinary $2 bus fare?”
He’s likely to land in federal prison anyway. For causing a disturbance during interstate transit.
What happens to those guys who go a little nuts after wheels-up…that is, after their fellow passengers tackle them, give them serious concussions just to be on the safe side, and tie them into their seats so they can’t get up?
How do we know she didn’t pick his pocket and we just didn’t see it because she’s that good? It is the sort of thing that comes with the elite ninja skills package.
I… I would find this amusing and terrifying at the same time. Particularly when Faz starts talking about how wonderful lesbian pr0n is. Which you know he would.
He really isn’t, but I wouldn’t call Dina a ‘mistress’ or a ‘prostitute’ for that matter, nor do I think she’s really all that interested in loads of sex. But maybe that last one needs further… testing.
You forget Worldeater, this here be the internet. A veritible breeding ground for ridiculous, and often amusing goings on. You say “cue the 40 people saying that thing and lo and behold there shall be 40 people saying that thing.
You didn’t expect it? Well then, Meghan, I think you have something to say to all the females in the comment….something about their wit and intelligence, maybe?
If this is supposed to be in Danish, it should say “Klog pige”, “Kvik pige” or “Intelligent pige”, as “smart” in Danish means somebody who dresses in a modern fashion etc. and doesn’t describe the level of intelligence or cunning of a person.
“Clever” doesn’t even begin to describe this master manipulator. There’s capacity for immense prowess beneath her social inexperience. I am highly excited for what this new element may bring in future.
ACME = A Company Manufacturing Everything
How else do you explain the coyote being able to order anything from rocket skis to batman suits to instant earthquake pills to dehydrated boulders?
She bought time for a phone call from Joyce to Ross “Mr. MacIntyre? I heard that you were looking for Becky. Is she Okay?” … “Yes, she came to visit and stayed in my room on Friday and Saturday nights, but she has left now. I’m worried, now. She doesn’t have any money of clothes and has no-where to go!”
Ain’t nothing untrue in “Mr. MacIntyre? I heard that you were looking for Becky. Is she Okay?” … “Yes, she came to visit and stayed in my room on Friday and Saturday nights, but she has left now. I’m worried, now. She doesn’t have any money or clothes and has no-where to go!”
Misleading, yes. Evasive, yes. Equivocal even. Figurative at worst. But not untrue.
Yup, and worse she pretty much tipped him off that not only does she know Becky, she’s here. I love what she did, but knowing Willis I’m sure it’ll end up causing more trouble.
Becky nuked the closet, remember? Half the campus knows her name and that SHE’S TOTALLY A LESBIAN. Ross was going to find out from Sarah or someone else if not from Dina. She did the best possible thing, which is buy time to evaluate Becky’s options and form a plan of action.
Yeah, that’s my thought. And Indianapolis is about an hour’s drive from Bloomington, so in theory Ross could be back by the end of the day, and he now basically knows that something is up.
It may be time to get in touch with the authorities, someone who can help the situation. Y’know, Amazi-Girl and/or Ruth.
They might think that this was some heathen girl who let the dark lord in trying to hinder his “Righteous” attempts to “Save Becky from influences of the evil one”.
If she lied about the buss, she probably lied about seeing Becky as well…
Also his word choices (especially escaped) could easily have set off someone who escaped from a cult or some group that was abusive/treated them akin to property, and got them to lie to him because they do not want to support anyone akin to their own past. Willing to bet Sarah could make an argument along those lines, and get it to make sense to them.
Calling it now, bus hits Ruth, Dad comes out and immediately sees Becky and then it turns out the entire comic happened in the mind of an autistic child. This will be the worst day this school has ever seen.
She has warmed her way into our hearts, like an adorable velociraptor tearing our stomachs open with little love claws and feasting upon our guts of adoration.
If Ross is let off at the downtown mall in Indy — a multi-story complex taking up all of a main downtown intersection — it’s possible he could disappear forever, subsisting on discarded Chick-Fil-A and Auntie Anne crumbs. If he escapes to the outside, to the nearby Hooters, it’s all over. Those gals take NO crap.
The first stop is “Duped Ville”, followed by “So Long Sucker City”, which then leads to “GeezWhataWad Junction”, which is in the middle of it’s annual “You’ve Been Tricked Doofus” festival. Truly a spectacular event.
Well, maybe, but what’s more likely? A long-lost twin of whom I knew not, or my future or shadow selves?
Besides, my shadow self is hanging out with Yugi in the Shadow Realm, and my future self is busy dealing with the aftermath of the Apocalypse of 2035. And, just in case you were wondering, it’s bees. It’s the corpses all of the bees that died in the colony collapses of the 2009’s, having been resurrected by scientists in order to fix the extinction of the European honeybee in 2030.
Yeah. In 2035…it’s the zombee apocalypse. We got 20 years, people.
“I will take you to her,” first, yeah, but then yesterday it was “Let me get you to the mall,” which to me didn’t sound like she was planning to go with him at that point. I’m assuming the plan probably evolved between strips.
Examinations of the vocal chambers of Doasaurus saruyamensis have revealed that the relatively diminutive dinosaur was quiet, but probably able to make noise when threatened. Paleoecologists have attempted to apply suitable onomatopoeia to this vocalization, and have universally agreed on “RARR.” Further studies will be conducted.
I hope that the last strip of this arc just has Dina and Becky wondering how long Becky has, then it cuts to the future for a few panels, showing Toe Dad, MONTHS later, still looking for Becky, having become homeless in the process
“Was that the wrong bus? I apologize for my mistake. I was sure that was the bus to the mall, but I see now that I was wrong. This is the bus you want.”
*puts Ross on the nonstop to Albuquerque*
… months later…
“I am afraid I must inform you that the error was yours this time. There is a left turn that you should have taken.”
I mean, most of the comic’s plot is driven by characters making bad decisions and making mistakes or being angry or being oblivious to what’s right in front of them, which is why it’s so entertaining.
Dorothy dumped Danny to save him from being a satellite character. I’d argue that relaxing a little by dating Walky and having a drink at Joyce’s party were decent decisions too.
So I have a back catalog of about a trillion gravs saved up and that one is no joke called “Perverse sexual lust Becky” but when Ross showed up I began wondering if that title had been in error.
Is it weird that I feel kind of bad for Ross? Like, it clearly just didn’t even occur to him that Dina might not be telling the truth. He didn’t even think, “hey, she might have left the mall by now, so I’d better just stick around and find Joyce.” He just thought, “ah yes, this helpful person definitely knows what’s going on.” Like, he probably would have tipped her if it had been appropriate. Maybe I’m reading too much into that little wave? To be fair, he didn’t thank her. Okay, now I don’t feel bad at all. You get what you thank for, dude
I’m not sure if he wants to beat her. Was that said anywhere?
I don’t really hate him (yet), he is wrong for his views, but he doesn’t seem very clever. Probably was just raised like Joyce and Becky, never had a chance to see things differently and now desperately wants to save his daughter from the “evil wrong ways”.
So in his world view, he is being a good parent. Looking for his poor daughter in big danger. It’s a bit sad, actually. He means good but does bad.
I think one of the tactics of anti gay therapy is to try and condition the person into associating any feelings of same sex attraction with pain. Seeing as we know Ross wants to put his daughter through this, it’s probably safe to say that Ross wants his daughter to associate her sexuality with pain.
Which at least heavily implies a physical threat component, especially when combined with the fact that he was dragging her by force from the college.
And also echoing what others have said and speaking as someone whose been through the whole parent wanting to “fix” you thing, reparative therapy is not a neutral action. It’s treated as a neutral action a lot, as an action that is done out of love rather than fear and control, as the misguided actions of caring narrow-minded parents. But it is an action on control, based on forcing one’s child to suffer and become recloseted to make the parents’ lives easier. It is wildly abusive, fucks up the kids, and ends any potential of a healthy relationship between parent and child.
And that’s important to remember. Toedad isn’t being “caring”, he’s being abusive and controlling and preventing his daughter from even having a tiny slit of herself that belongs to her.
He’s being no more “caring” and “loving” than a child molesting father arguing his nocturnal visits are how he shows his love and how he’s just so worried she’s going to grow up on him. And I state that seeming jump in actions to note how abusers rarely state that their actions are intentionally abusive, but always have some nice-sounding justification for their stuff.
Hell, even Blaine had a whole spiel based on Amber being ungrateful and spending his money without even wanting to hang out with him and give the least little back when he made such an effort to visit her:
Point being, terrible people doing terrible things always have a lie to sell, to themselves and others, on why those terrible actions are actually heroic and awesome and justified no matter what.
The lies of “love” surrounding reparative therapy are only seen as different because of who they affect and the high amount of forgiveness we place on any form of bigotry that shrouds itself in “religious belief”.
Toedad is not a good guy, is not a safe man, regardless of his naivety and lack of intelligence. And him being duped does not make him the victim of this piece. He’s still out there, still coming for Becky, and still dangerous to anyone he encounters. At most, Dina has bought everyone a day to make plans (also, out).
Beating isn’t required. He is certainly intending to keep her falsely imprisoned while trying to forcibly re-educate her sexuality. That’s at least one felony and mental abuse right there.
“Evil” is an othering concept. As in “I’m the good guy trying to do thee right thing, therefore anyone trying to stop me in that is evil”. Most of the worst dictators, madmen and mass murderers history has to offer were ultimately convinced that they are doing the right thing. I’ve yet to see anyone (aside of simplistic antagonist characters from cartoons and the like) who actually truly considers themself evil AND is okay with that.
Why he believes is doing is irrelevant. What he actually does is what matters. If you give him a free pass to toedad just because he is too far gone to realise that he wants to do something really fucked up, then by that logic, you might as well give a free pass to Hitler. After all he just wanted to improve humanity by removing the imperfections from our gene pool…
Aaaannnd he’s off to Indianapolis. This certainly buys them some time. I hope they use that time well, maybe come up with solid long term plan. Dina’s move was an excellent short-term solution, but further steps must be taken.
Its….wow. Its still okay to like Ruth and Billie getting together even after proof positive that neither of them are the best girlfriend forever and all time, right?
Right to the end of the comment section this without reading them until I post.
OmG, Dina you are fantastic. Love you and your Rawrr 🙂
Now I will read the comments.
Dina… has just become my favorite DOA character. I was already predisposed in her favor, but this just allowed her to pass Sarah and go straight to the top.
Okay, I have to dissent. I don’t see this so much as clever as, well, “looney tunes” is apt. As of 2010, there was no intercity bus like that, maybe a 1/day Greyhound (which would be obvious as Greyhound) and an every two hour airport shuttle, neither of which could be possibly mistaken for a city bus, and both of which would be pretty expensive compared to such a bus.
Granted this is a comic with Amazi-Girl, a Ruth who still has a job, and Dina who gets swept up onto non-existent buses to lakes. But… a dad who chases after his gay daughter is a real and problem. This is not a real solution.
Funny thing is, there *are* buses to the malls in Bloomington, and they’d take half an hour to get there, and they run every 30 minutes, so this trick could tie him up for a few hours without invoking Indianapolis. Unless he called a cab back, of course. Or drove to the mall in the first place.
I’ve read the FAQ before. 2010 is simply when I personally left Bloomington. I googled before posting, wondering if some amazing new service had started in the last five years; I didn’t see signs of one. AFAICT here’s still barely any intercity service, let alone one you could mistake for a city bus or casually hop on.
AFAIK there’s no bus service to the lake, either; if the comic takes place in a Bloomington with fantasy bus service, maybe *that* should be in the FAQ… (“As the comic takes place in no particular period, I have borrowed the post global warming bus service of 2050”)
I don’t think it’s treated like a real solution. Assuming that Ross doesnt realize he’s been tricked at all for the max amount of time (maybe he ends up at a mall in Indianapolis? And spends the rest of the day looking for his daughter there? I’m not familiar with the state at all), Dina’s maybe bought Joyce and Becky a day of time. (Note: The next storyline is called “To Those Who’d Ground Me.” And the preview panels on the DOA Tumblr show a pretty concerned Joyce. I’m willing to guess this is not the last we will see of people looking for Becky)
If it’s not a real solution, I have trouble going “clever girl”.
Telling him she was in one of the malls at the edge of town, and him driving off to look for her, so she could go warn Becky, that would have been perfectly believable, and still clever quick thinking on Dina’s part. Doesn’t take long to drive out but it would take a while to search a mall, so it would at least buy an hour or two before he came back.
It is a real solution. It’s just not a permanent one. Now, Dina has time to warn Becky, Joyce, and the inner circle about what is going on and give them time to plan with the knowledge that Toedad is definitely here and definitely coming back. Will that be enough? Ungh, hard to say, my optimism says yes, but my pessimism says there will be some hurt along the way and a lot of ugliness to getting there. Joyce especially doesn’t really know what to do in these sorts of situations.
I’d actually disagree with you in it not being a “real” solution. For one, stop clinging to the past. Things change. Second, there is a little room for creative freedom. This entire story is fictional and bizarre (e.g. Amazigirl) and you have a problem with the fact the bus schedules don’t match anything you are used to? Additionally, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that normally uses public transit. In fact it really doesn’t seem like he leaves the whole suburban christian setting at all. So I guess his knowledge on buses is zilch. So some kind, although strange, lady informs him that THIS bus will take him there, who is he to know any different. I sure as hell wouldn’t and I am nowhere near as sheltered as toedad.
Lastly, IT’S A STORY BASED OFF FICTIONAL EVENTS AND CHARACTERS, not everything is going to be as it is in real life. It would make for a very boring story. If bus schedules and characters who don’t understand them irk you, I am surprised you made it this far. Cause Amazigirl is a “real” solution and totally not unbelievable in any way shape or form…
(Also, I’d be really interested in your critique of Gotham, or as it is more commonly known as New York City… Since you expect everything to be the exact same as real life.)
Also, I apologize if I hurt anyone’s feelings with this, but god that comment about this being real just set off my tipping point and I had to say something.
The hospital previews (Nov 10 and 14) have me worried, it looks like someone other then Sarah, Dorothy and Walky gets hospitalized (and Walky’s “face” makes me think it is serious). Coming right after a Dina arc makes me paranoid that she is the one in the hospital…
Crafty, Dina. I just hope she bought enough time. Maybe Becky can get a gig at Galazzo’s or something. She at least already has the haircut, so she has changed her appearance up some. She’s also 18, I think, so she’s not legally beholden to him.
Another reason why Ross is a piece of shit is….. um…. wow… Dina kinda owns him here.
Within moments from meeting him she realizes what he is, she comes up with a plan to get him out of the building and removes him from the equation.
Toedad is removed as quickly as possible for the longest amount of time with the least amount of fuss. And this was the two minute plan. I think Toedad is about to find out what she can to with two hours… At the very least Becky will have an early warning. Dina even has a shred of credibility left in case she need to interact with him further. “Oh no, was it the wrong bus. I am certainly most devastated by this honest mistake.”
As a super hero she has already surpassed her mentor, because her plan contain nothing of the violence or pride of Amaziegirl’s actions. This is pure and logical problem solving and damage control. The Triceratop Victory Snarrrrl (TM) waits until the day is won.
So I think we got our answer to the most perplexing question of this chapter – how could Dina be any more awesome?
Oh, and Ross. You know what, Becky came here alone with two empty hands, but within two days she has gained friends who are willing to stand up for her. Joyce of course, and Billie and Sarah and Dorothy and Walky and I think several of the others as well – and of course this most crafty dinosaur girl. You can make what ever noise you want, but you are outgunned and outwitted and I frankly don’t think you will last much longer in round two.
As Amazi-Girls in-official sidekick i have to call you out on your error! her plan contain nothing of the violence or pride of Amaziegirl’s actions
Which violence of Amazi-Girl are you talking about?
This. All of this. Dina has proven she is incredibly sharp when focused and nothing has gotten her more focused than realizing the full scope of how much danger her new experimental group (labeled girlfriend) is in.
Yea, I don’t hate him. I hate that some religions threaten gullible people into believing love can be wrong.
He seems like he was brought up the same way as Joyce and just never had any contact with “the outside world” and wasn’t clever enough to get his head out of it.
If we think about how Joyce started in this comic … and now she learned a lot. But she wouldn’t have changed, if she had stayed in a christian college.
It’s not really a disability in the classical sense. And anyway, if it’s okay to hate typical youtube commenters for their idiocy, it’s definitely okay to hate Ross for it.
It’s not really a disability. He’s not developmentally challenged in any way and there’s no sign that he has any emotional or mental conditions.
His problem is one that is a lot more common and a lot more toxic. He is ignorant. Deliberately ignorant of the world around him. Deliberately avoiding any knowledge or growth that would challenge him and his feeling of certainty surrounding the world. Hence why he felt comfortable spouting ignorance on teh pokemans last comic.
He refuses to learn. He refuses to grow. And he refuses to change.
This makes him dangerous and toxic because anything that refuses to fit into the box he’s decided the world is must be changed to fit it and no other configuration is allowed.
I’ll take anyone who is ignorant but curious or developmentally disabled any day of the week over this.
Now, we get to see something DoA has yet to tackle: characters actually coming up with an endgame to their strategies. Or at least I bloody well hope we do, because this kind of extra time was a godsend (let the irony sink in) and Dina at the very least should be smart enough to capitalize on this newfound advantage.
I was wrong in my prediction, but this idea was much better. Clever girl.
Now you need to set up for the endgame, Dina. Prepare yourself. Everyone would be more than willing to help you. I’m sure you know the right kind of motivation to get everyone on your side.
Honestly, while this solves the problem a little, it means that he now KNOWS Becky’s there. And that Dina is protecting her.
Good plan short run, but he’ll get a car eventually.
He is an adult.
Also, to anyone who is thinking about it, don’t see Fantastic Four.
It’s… Not, bad. But… The more I think about it, the more I realize that nothing was happening for most of the movie.
And then things happened, and it was cool. And then it was over, And I was sitting there thinking…
“Was that it? Is that all I get?”
Kinda ironic given an earlier line in the movie.
Yeeep. That was my thoughts exactly. Good thinking on Dina’s part, especially while on her feet, but now Ross has got to know that Becky IS there. And if he’s even halfway smart, he’s going to call Joyce’s parents and let them know something’s up.
Realistically, Dina should now go and tell Becky what happened. And Becky, realizing that her dad is very close to finding her, should have little choice but to move on to somewhere else. However, I doubt that will happen since she doesn’t have a good place to move on to…so this will all blow up very soon in comic time– or in the next year or so in our time…
True. It does help greatly that she now has a room separate from Joyce’s that she can hide in. Assuming that no one knowingly or unknowingly rats her out. All it takes is one person who doesn’t know the real story and thinks she’s just a visiting friend to say, “Yeah, I’ve seen her around campus for the past few days!”
Indy is only about 50 miles north of Bloomington, so this is within the realm of possibility. But there’s no way that you can just walk onto a bus — especially a bus that is running between two major metro areas — without a ticket or putting something into a farebox. And I’m sure that even if there was a company that offered one-way non-stop rides between Bloomington and Indianapolis it would cost more than a buck or two in the farebox.
Ha! Good point. I have the most basic bus pass, and Philadelphia’s transit system has special rules on the weekend to let me use even trains into NJ and NY for free. It’d make sense for a college to have something similar going on.
That’s it.
I love this comic, I really do.
That said, I want a Dina spin off. Rest of the cast is nice and interesting.
This version of Dina is in league of her own.
All this is doing is buying Dina enough time for some smoochies and planning with Becky. I mean, he probably drove there, so he’ll need to come back to get his car, right?
Not just agency, but well thought out and effective agency. Probably nothing she could have done (short of the mayhem comments suggest) would have removed Ross permanently, but this gets him out of the way until more permanent options can be implemented. Yes, she will now get to work on warning Becky.
Best part is when he realizes he’s been tricked and returns to find her Dina’s ability not to be noticed will make him to appear like a rambling mad man. Which is wired granted that campus has a super hero.
Toedad McImSoStupid: “It was a pokeman I tell you, a POKEMEN OF THE DEVIL”
Ruth: “…the fuck is he on about?”
Billie: “Dunno. Sounds like a nerd to me.”
Here hoping that Dina actually bothers to tell Becky that a) her dad was looking for her , b) Dina bought her some time, and c) maybe she should either find a better place to hide, or if she wants to stay neat joyce, find a job so she can get an apartment, even if it’s a crappy studio…
Interestingly enough it might be safer for Becky to remain on campus. Yes, more people recognize her, but she also has more friends in close proximity. If Becky moved into an apartment nearby (which where would she find the money for first and last months plus deposit) then nobody would be around to intervene when Toedad found her and started dragging her forcibly to the car.
At least this way there’s a potential of a semi-public intervention.
Is there a hidden depth of meaning to the fact that Becky’s Dad is really stupid? Wouldn’t he have his own car and have driven said car to the School? If so, then why would he allow a stranger he never met, wearing questionable attire that makes her look nearly 10 years younger, to so easily convince him to board a bus he knew nothing about?
He doesn’t know where the mall is. He doesn’t know this town at all. And he’s incurious about anything he doesn’t already know or thinks he knows to actually go around asking for directions to the mall (I unfortunately know this type of “actions” man who views things like asking for directions as emasculating way too well).
And since it’s just a short bus ride, then whatever, get it out of the way, track her down and then drag her home so she can be “healed”.
And of course a pokemans was the one to tell him all this. Secular college campuses are filled with demonic liberal types who do strange and unnatural things, hence why he needs to “save” Becky from their “demonic influences”.
Remember that he comes from a worldview that views secular colleges as literal Satan pits. He’s not going to blink an eye at one of them greeting him in a pokemans outfit. He’s just grateful that this one wasn’t wearing a goat skull.
Sure, he’s now going to assume Dina was an agent of the Devil sent to divert his holy mission and thus open season for whatever form of resistance to the Devil is seen as fit, but yanno, that won’t be for a couple of months in-comic time.
A lot of people seem to be supporting Dina here, and hating on the dad. And I have to wonder, if this was a different but similar situation if it was just that Becky had, say, got kicked out of school for smoking marijuana (not something inexplicably evil or wrong, not something dangerous unless overdone, not even BAD really, but just against the school rules) and then ran away to a friends to continue to smoke pot, would they still hate on her father for trying to bring her home, and keep her from becoming a druggie?
I feel like circumstances are an underrated part of morality. There’s no such thing as an attitude that’s universally appropriate. Forgiveness can encourage worse deeds; mercy can kill.
For instance, treating homosexuality as an illness might have been an improvement in an age where homosexuals were actually considered evil, but in this era we can plainly see it’s just as dehumanizing.
Maybe Swampthing means well, but he’s an instrument of pain and suffering now. I’m totally down with this.
There’s quite a world of difference between Ross trying to drag Becky to a “camp” to try and de-gay her, and an alternate universe Ross trying to get Becky to rehab. (I assume in your scenario Becky would be in a Dana style marijuana abuse downspiral? Or maybe you want to use a different drug in your example? Regardless, the situation is not the same).
While both homosexuality and drug users both suffer from bigotry and miss information problems, one is illegal, and the other just purposefully misunderstood.
Most drugs are physically addictive and have horrible side-effects on a persons physical and mental health. Some are “socially acceptable”, but that is either because there are to ingrained into society (Tobacco and Alchohol) or tend to only have lesser side-effects and a lower addiction rate (Marijuana has not been fully studied, and while there are confirmed side-effects and a low physical addiction rate they tend to be lesser then from smoking or drinking, though one is its known potential side-effects is making depression worse…)
Other then dealing with bigots there are no real negative side-effects of homosexuality, even the lack of progeny is easily manageable with multiple solutions available.
Running away from home because you want to her high/drunk/etc is not the same as because your father does not approve of your romantic interests. No one would support Becky for wanting to be a stoner, especially since this is something that she could easily wait on until graduation, or so dangerous that the addiction needs to be broken now before it gets much worse. However our sexuality is not something we can just turn off or change the setting on, AND trying to do so is just going to cause pain and suffering.
I’m surprised at all the “Oh I feel so bad for toedad” comments.
I get that the guy probably grew up in the same restrictive environment he enforced onto Becky, but eventually you need to take responsibility for your views. The Browns aren’t parents of the year either and they at least had the basic decency to accept they couldn’t dictate their daughter’s life.
Also, guys, for real; he’s going to send her to conversion therapy. No amount of skewed parental affection makes up for that.
To me, all change at sympathy goes out the window based on one simple thing.
The bible states that Christians need to submit themselves to the laws of the land (in more then just the section “Render unto Casear” comes from), and what Ross is planning is highly illegal. which means that according to “his beliefs” he is in the wrong.
This is not a Grey area, it is very black and white. If you claim to live your life by a book, obey what it tells you you have to do, he can try to “Save Becky’s soul” without breaking the law, so this is not even a case of conflicting directions. Actually if he was going to act in a respectful and lawful manner then there would b allot of room for sympathy for him.
I could hold some sympathy for his beliefs, but since what he is claiming to believe says what he is planning to do is wrong, there is not place left for sympathy.
These “paradoxes” where someone justifies their actions with the bible and their actions are actually against its teaching are too common from certain groups, like the christian fundies. and it happens because they cherry pick the bible (including quoting out of context which is a huge mistake) to support their beliefs, rather then choosing their beliefs based on its teachings. Not saying that they would be perfect if they went the other way, but they would be allot better people that way.
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*hoping he doesn’t “know it” after one stop b/c he’s on an airport shuttle or something*
I’m thinking that says “Nonstop Indianapolis”.
There’s probably a mall in Indianapolis.
There is, in fact, a mall in Indianapolis.
Maybe two.
Also, sometimes, GenCon.
Indianaoplis: Gencon and WAL make me want to visit you.
I’m FROM Indianapolis and I don’t know what WAL is.
Ditto.
“I’m FROM Indianapolis and I don’t know what WAL is.”
Me either.
There are, in fact, several malls in Indianapolis.
It’s probably short for Wal*mart.
Showing up unexpectedly at GenCon would be a culture shock for Ross “Toedad” McIntyre.
I am okay with this.
The bus is a non-stop to Indy, so he’ll have to know it’s the only stop.
Don’t they still have the pull cord things, though?
(I’ve ridden like one bus in my adult life idk)
Buses like that do have ways to signal the driver, but those are for emergencies. If you pull those and it’s not an emergency (like my daughter’s friend tricked me onto the wrong bus), there are serious consequences.
… Is there a story there? Did you steal her coffee? Did you catch her jaywalking and she knew she had to get rid of you?
In the comic. “Me” being Becky’s dad and “my daughter’s friend” being Dina.
In my experience as a frequent patron of the California public transit long trip busses will stop at the next available stop if you pull the string. If you explain that you got on the wrong bus sometimes they’ll even tell you what bus you need to take to get back. If Ross actually ends up all in Indianapolis that’s because of his own ineptitude.
The fact that he got on the bus at all with such a flimsy explanation is pretty fair summary of his ineptitude.
Aww, I thought when Dinah led Becky’s dad to the coach, that maybe she was putting him on a long-haul ride to the other side of the country, like LA or something! 😛
Although apparently according to Googlemaps, it’s a 50 mile ride and would take approximately an hour.
For comparison (for anyone in the UK), a journey from my house to London Zoo (OK, I just picked a random London landmark of appropriate distance), is just under 10 miles. And takes about an hour.
Fucking London traffic…. 😛
im gonna resist the urge to with google maps figure out where you live. 😛
It’d be faster to just walk at that point.
Most people walk at between two and four miles an hour. Not only would it not be faster to walk, it’d take better than twice as long, at a fast walk.
That is, assuming there are no shortcuts unavailable to vehicular traffic. That is possible, but somewhat unlikely. A creek with a footbridge, or a large greenbelt or campus with no through roads but ample walking trails, could make a nine-plus mile road trip into a three, or less, mile walk.
Yeah, it’s just punishement for trusting someone I guess.
The question is; how much is the fare to not go to indiniapolis for him? :3
Ahhh, he couldnt afford it!
does that mean they will throw him off? or (hopefully) arrest him…!
There ARE no stops between Bloomington and Indy. He’d be getting off of the bus and walking into a corn field.
Perhaps there will be a crop-duster!
…or a little boy with purple eyes who looks like Will Robinson!
Snrk.
So the thing that no one is explaining here is that there are different kinds of busses. The busses you are thinking of with the pull cord things are public transit busses, usually run or at least partially run by the city. Those busses usually have a specific route in the city with multiple stops. You pull the cord, the bus stops and you get off. The other kind of bus is like a greyhound bus. Those busses are for long trips between cities or even states. They are almost always privately owned. They usually operate more like an airplane, where you pay for a ticket from one city to another, with few or no stops in between. So there’s no need for a pull cord to signal your stop. Some of them do still have a pull cord, but only for emergencies. Unless you have something seriously bad happening, once you get on you’re on until you get to the next city.
Hope that helps haha <3
Good explanation. I’ve spent more than my share of time on both buses, and intercity bus drivers are extremely reluctant to stop for any reason that doesn’t involve a medical or criminal emergency, the kind that involve calling an ambulance or squad car, since they have tight schedules to keep. And Ross/Toedad seems like the type to not really get that he’s not going to the mall until the bus is on the interstate, at which point they will not let him get off. (It’s also worth noting that Indy is only about an hour or so from IU, so Toedad won’t be going that far out of his way, but even if he gets a bus back to IU immediately, that’s a couple of hours for Becky to go to ground.)
Even the time to get to the airport and back would be more than enough time for Dina to warn Becky to hide somewhere.
Such as the mall, which is now the last place he’ll look.
I don’t know, he’s been pretty gullible so far. He might think that this was a genuine mistake.
It’s simple. Becky is staying with Sal. Dina tells them about the Toehead. Sal gets Marcie to let Becky crash with her, where ever she stays. Marcie introduces Becky to professional Roller Derby. They, with Sal, Ruth, Billie, and Amber, form a team. The rest of the cast become support staff. They all leave school to go on the circuit. The all travel in a bus, from town to town, for matches, having wacky adventures along the way, while staying just one step ahead of the evil coalition of evil dads.
Sal and amber on the same team.
*canned laughter*
…I would be ok with that outcome
“The Coalition of Evil Dads” would be a great name for a band.
It’s “The Evil Coalition of Evil Dads”. It’s like “Smashing Pumpkins”, if you get it wrong, they’ll hunt you down and drag you to a homophobic preacher who will explain why you, personally, are going to burn in hell.
They would of course have to solve mysteries. And with all of their mighty kung fu, I expect that any fights would be very theatrical
“And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling girl;s and their dino-girl!”
My favourite part of this theory is that there is probably a universe WHERE THIS HAPPENED.
GENIUS. Jeffepp, you win the internet today. Congratulations!
I’d watch them for a nickel
Is that a branch of the Men’s Axulliry to the Evil Stepmother’s group. (The main part of the men’s axulliry being mostly filled with evil uncles)
Dina bought her as much time as she could – Becky hasn’t exactly been laying low, so getting Ross out of the school was a must.
But… I don’t know if this ends well for Becky. At best, she has a day to figure out her next move. I’d be surprised if we’ve seen the last of Ross.
Or, in Webcomics time, 6 months.
Even taking into account, I’m frustrated that no one has apparently put Becky in touch with IU’s LGBT student office, unless they think that they’d only help Becky if she’s actually a student. It’s not clear what their policy is on that, but they also have a list of community (i.e. not-necessarily-IU) resources online.
“taking into account the time dilation”, that is.
This is a very well executed plan…particularly since Dina is not well practiced at social manipulation or emotional subterfuge. Well done, Dina!
Especially by the standards of “plans” that most of the kids in the story come up with.
Three hours later, he’s inexplicably on a plane to Los Angeles, and only then realizes that he’s been tricked.
That’s where the mall is though.
So we’ll see him again in two years?
I’m fine with that.
In theory, it might be an airport shuttle. To Indianapolis International Airport.
Should there not have been a difference in price to board that should tip toedad off?
Most public bus services charge the same amount for one ride.
Not on busses that go 50 miles nonstop.
This is an intercity bus, he’d be paying like twenty bucks. Maybe they don’t ask for the money right away.
They don’t. I wish I remembered my experience with the Greyhound more clearly but I feel like I paid when I got off. With trains people come by and check on your tickets, but that happens partway into the ride.
If Toedad has never taken the bus before, though, he might not know $20 is unreasonable. He might get pissed but just grumble about public transit being ridiculous and anti-Christian.
My experiences with Greyhound have required a ticket to be presented before you can board the bus. Or buying a ticket right when the bus is supposed to leave, but that was one time.
That… Hasn’t been my experience. Long distance buses like that being a noteworthy exception.
Admit it – you just wanted to write “tip toedad”.
A noble goal in itself.
Actually no, I changed the wording to tip from something more wordy just before posting.
Did not even realize until I saw your comment.
It’s possible that Dina bought the ticket for him, so he doesn’t even know the price. Or that he doesn’t even know what the price of a regular ticket.
Which means he cae by car and would have to come fetch it back anyway
I’m going with the theory that Dina somehow paid for the ticket, or Toedad has bothered with public transportation at any point in his life and doesn’t know busses are usually much cheaper.
Incidentally, if anyone’s curious how much this route would cost, it’s apparently $10 for a one way fare if you’re paying on the bus.
So it looks like they ask walk-ons to swipe their credit card to pay for the trip. Toedad probably complied automatically without stopping and saying “wait, why are they asking me to swipe a credit card for an ordinary $2 bus fare?”
“So long screwy, see you in St. Louie!”
Bugs Bunny FTW!!!
LIKE A BUGS
LIKE A BUS err BOSS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkTw7J-hGmg
The bus ain’t stoppin’ for anything. Toedad is getting to Indianapolis, whether he likes it or not. 😛
I was wondering what the big deal was with that video and then Bus 62 appears!
\(*0*)/
bless you, dina
Just wondering: why is your avatar’s eyes glowing that shade of green? Is she being overshadowed by Danny (or Dani) Phantom??
That’s just her eye color (I forget the character’s name but she’s a Brit).
She’s Penny.
She’s a jerk.
That’s Penny. I would not rule out her being possibly radioactive maybe.
Nah, it’s in their food.
Actually, speaking as a Brit, I’m starting to think we should not rule that out either…
I like it! Direct. Drastic. Decisive.
It would have been beautiful if she’d picked his pocket while she was at it. But of course she hasn’t cultivated the skills and was wise not to try.
Then the next strip we see her looking through a wallet. She finds a membership to the Dinosaurs Are A Trick Made By The Devil club
She proceeds to steal his identity long enough that he is stuck in Federal prison for life
He’s likely to land in federal prison anyway. For causing a disturbance during interstate transit.
What happens to those guys who go a little nuts after wheels-up…that is, after their fellow passengers tackle them, give them serious concussions just to be on the safe side, and tie them into their seats so they can’t get up?
How do we know she didn’t pick his pocket and we just didn’t see it because she’s that good? It is the sort of thing that comes with the elite ninja skills package.
Ross, naturally, gets the seat right next to Aslan. It will end in a mauling.
I checked the comments to see if this was there. Thank you commenter
Also, I feel like Aslan would just roll his eyes and/or teach Ross the true meaning of Christian sacrifice. Donna, on the other hand…
“You see, Son of Adam, when a Daughter of Eve and another Daughter of Eve love each other very much…”
+1
Yes, son of Adam, parental love DOES indeed include daughters who prefer giblets to dingdongs.
“giblets”, eh? xD
I love Becky-speak
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/02-threes-a-crowd/discreet/
I read that in Liam Neeson’s voice. As I should.
Indeed.
Am I showing my age if I say I wrote it in Stephen Thorne’s voice?
I thought this said Asian for the past fourty minutes and I was so damn confused!
I’m sure the result would be the same, as long as someone like Ross is there.
Unless he is sitting next to Faz.
I… I would find this amusing and terrifying at the same time. Particularly when Faz starts talking about how wonderful lesbian pr0n is. Which you know he would.
I’ll just leave this here in case someone hasn’t read it…
http://www.shortpacked.com/blog/comic/book-6/01-seasonal-employee-affective-disorder/byrnison/
Thanks! 🙂
Dina is just so cute here.
Cue 700 people simultaneously saying “Clever girl.”
Clever Girl
Clever girl.
Clever Girl.
Clever girl.
Clever Girl
Clever Girl.
Astute Female!
Bright miss.
Shrewd lass.
Aww, I was gonna use ‘lass.’
Cunning damsel.
Erudite doxy
Okay now you’re just making up words! -_-
Waguluious Ladilocuckulus.
He really isn’t, but I wouldn’t call Dina a ‘mistress’ or a ‘prostitute’ for that matter, nor do I think she’s really all that interested in loads of sex. But maybe that last one needs further… testing.
Sharp Dame.
…isn’t a doxy a prostitute?
I thought doxy was when you posted someone’s contact information online without their permission.
Cunning Cutie.
Slick dame
A young woman of great intelligence and fast wits.
Sounds like an episode of Orphan Black.
Ingenious Ingenue
That’s a good one.
Clever girl.
Huh. I was off by a day. Don’t we get more drama?
RARR
“Clever girl”
Clever girl
…I didn’t expect people to actually do this o.o
And that is why they are.
You do remember where you are, right?
Really.
You forget Worldeater, this here be the internet. A veritible breeding ground for ridiculous, and often amusing goings on. You say “cue the 40 people saying that thing and lo and behold there shall be 40 people saying that thing.
You didn’t expect it? Well then, Meghan, I think you have something to say to all the females in the comment….something about their wit and intelligence, maybe?
I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Not sure if serious….but in case not….
You should tell them how clever they were was what I was going for there.
I did actually know but as slow as I’ve been today I can’t blame you for thinking otherwise.
He’s saying it’s your turn to say “Clever girl”.
NO ONE EXPECTS … oh bugger.
The velociraptor inquisition?
*giggles* lets hope they dont bring a really comfy chair.
Clever girl.
Clever girl.
Молодец! (I hope that I’m not last …or is that good here?.)
As a matter of fact…
Where’s Wonder Wig? I want my prize!
Oh.
สาวฉลาด
The nature of the forum is such that you are always last, until you’re not.
Clever girl.
Clever girl.
Clever girl.
Bandwagon? What bandwagon? I don’t see no bandwagon to jump on!
Just a bus.
Clever Girl
賢い女の子
叻女
Cunning linguist.
smart pige
If this is supposed to be in Danish, it should say “Klog pige”, “Kvik pige” or “Intelligent pige”, as “smart” in Danish means somebody who dresses in a modern fashion etc. and doesn’t describe the level of intelligence or cunning of a person.
Mange tak, my Danish is a bit rusty.
Terävä Tyttö
Cue the 700 Club having a show about the dangers of good Christian fathers being deceived by college girls dressed as Pokemans.
CLEVER GIRL
Clever girl…
Chica Inteligente
Clever girl~
28 so far, 672 to go!
Clever girl.
La dame de la ingenieux.
Did you get this from Google translate?
Nope. That was totally and purely my own rusty-the-point-of-disintegration college French language skills in action.
Ingénieuse demoiselle.
Cailín cliste.
Cunning Troodon
Clever girl.
Clever Girl.
Clever Girl
Clever Girl.
Clever girl.
Clever girl…
Clever oh forget it the joke’s dead now.
Never!
Jokes never die here. FAAACE!
Especially when you consider how Sal is Amazigirl and Ultra Car is real.
Is Ultra Car still Joe’s Daughter/Son in this universe?
ultra car is a cartoon character
Is cartoon character Ultra Car the son or daughter of cartoon character Joe? (Who would, of course, not be the same person as college student Joe.)
I would be very surprised and alarmed if Carla were Joe’s offspring.
I have a sinking feeling that Carla’s parents are not nearly as awesome and supportive as Rachel and Joe were with Ultra Car.
Doasaurus exypnekore
Clever…
And also, girl.
Clever girl…
Clever Girl
“Clever” doesn’t even begin to describe this master manipulator. There’s capacity for immense prowess beneath her social inexperience. I am highly excited for what this new element may bring in future.
Oh yes!
It does however accurately encapsulate the feelings of a man about to be devoured by raptors.
Cover girl.
I mean–
Maybe it’s maybelline
No, she was clearly born with it.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/71/68/7e/71687e56b9a450451eb257d368024677.jpg
Clever Girl
Garota esperta
Slimme meid
Ausgefuchst Mädchen.
How many more do we need to get to 700?
Should this have been German? Because then it should be “Ausgefuchstes Mädchen”.
yup
Augsgefuck what ?
Clever Grill.
…Where mah grills at? Where mah grills at?
Brilliant belle.
(Adjective. Pronoun. Adverb. Run on and on and on…)
All you lurkers, come on!
CG
Raffiniertes Mädel
Fată deşteaptă.
PS: Clever girl. 😛
Glever cirl. I’m drunk.
Pretty girl.
Great, my attempt to link didn’t work. Oh well, might as well leave this here. http://coelasquid.tumblr.com/image/123021600348
Clever girl
I was going to be disappointed if no one had commented that lol.
Clever girl.
Clever Girl
kluges Mädchen
Clever………… Girl
*fashionably late*
Clever girl.
Clever girl.
79 *insert synonym for intelligent* *entity* so far…. No wait, 80.
Savvy ingénue…
Great, now she’s on the Foot Clan’s enemy list, having waylaid Toedad.
Great now we heart to teach her ninjustu
Dina: now if you excuse me I’m off to have sexual relations with your daughter while a Southern woman tries too sleep off a hangover above us.
Damn it not that’s supposed to be here.
I think it’s fine anywhere, really.
As long as she doesn’t learn it by way of “Book of Ninjitsu”!!!
That she finds while adventuring in the sewers
Oh my gosh, someone please do a picture of Ross as the leader of the Footclan. I need that so badly.
I tried I really did but Shredder’s mask blocks too much of the face you can barely tell it’s him.
Just have him hold the helmet in his arm.
Better yet, just make the mask too small and have the toechin squish out from under it.
Leader? Is Ross not more of a Foot Soldier? :p Ross opinion would be Jesus is Shredder in this analogy imo 😉
Better that than the British Ninjas is all I’m saying.
She’d already been penciled in under “possibly some sort of teenage ninja reptile and/or amphibian??” anyway.
Amazi-Girl’s on the list too, because they think she might be Leonardo in a yellow jumpsuit and a cape.
I guess he got… Put On A Bus. (And by ‘guess’, I mean ‘hope and pray’)
So does the hovertext.
Oh god dammit. I didn’t even look.
But at least they have a link now. Hypertext couldn’t do that.
Why on earth hasn’t that page been updated yet?!
This is the second self-consciously TVtropes strip this week. I wonder where Dave has been spending his spare time.
::slow clap::
And Ross never trusted a dinosaur again.
…that sounds weird if you watched “Friends.”
That sounds weird regardless.
Bless her sudden but inevitable betrayal!
I see what you did there…
I like to think he’ll come back and tell the police that Satan in the form of Pikachu led him astray. Then the tazings happen.
Many tazings.
“You know that saying people have, ‘don’t trust anybody over thirty’? On this campus, the number is closer to…68 million.”
Who does?
I don’t think he distrusts dinosaurs. They were the gentle behemoths ridden by ancient man. Those traitorous pokemans, on the other hand…
Well, dinosaurs were okay, since they didn’t do any of that treacherous “evolving” that Pokemon are known for.
“I knew Poceman was of the devil”
That’s some looney toon shit right there.
I could totally see the next strip being Dina sticking her head through that weird circular thing to say “That’s all, folks!”
Dina holds up a sign that says “Am I not a stinker?”
And in her mail on Monday morning, she’ll receive a catalog from Acme Scientific and Military Surplus. Free Anvil with every order!
ACME = A Company Manufacturing Everything
How else do you explain the coyote being able to order anything from rocket skis to batman suits to instant earthquake pills to dehydrated boulders?
And it never occurred to him to order a pizza.
Domino’s wasn’t delivering in 1948.
Ross is gonna be pretty BUZZED when he learns what Dina ELECTED to do.
Oshawatt you did there.
Here’s hoping there’s a giant Big Foot in Indianapolis that is looking for a big toe man to love, and squeeze and name George.
Bigfoot is HQ in the St. Louis area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigfoot_(truck)
but it could be at a race there in one of the stadiums.
Genius move Dina. Although if the bus loops he will end up right back where he started if he stays on for long enough.
She bought herself some time to warn and cunnlingize Becky, though.
She bought time for a phone call from Joyce to Ross “Mr. MacIntyre? I heard that you were looking for Becky. Is she Okay?” … “Yes, she came to visit and stayed in my room on Friday and Saturday nights, but she has left now. I’m worried, now. She doesn’t have any money of clothes and has no-where to go!”
That would indeed be a very good move if only Joyce had any ability to lie. She’s kinda terrible at it, though
Ain’t nothing untrue in “Mr. MacIntyre? I heard that you were looking for Becky. Is she Okay?” … “Yes, she came to visit and stayed in my room on Friday and Saturday nights, but she has left now. I’m worried, now. She doesn’t have any money or clothes and has no-where to go!”
Misleading, yes. Evasive, yes. Equivocal even. Figurative at worst. But not untrue.
Joyce isn’t any good at any of those things, either.
It’s not a matter of the technicality of it. I believe they’re worried that her nervousness will make clear that something’s up.
She’s just a bad liar, not a Aes Sedai
Why is she without clothes or money? What did you do to her over the weekend?
The second part would contradict what she told her mother, though.
I’m half convinced that Ross thinks that Joyce ‘corrupted’ Becky.
Haaaha,
Yeah. Perhaps he found a diary or some poems of something that Becky wrote when she thought Joyce requited her eros.
Alas, he may have made some errors about her eros.
Exactly so.
Yup, and worse she pretty much tipped him off that not only does she know Becky, she’s here. I love what she did, but knowing Willis I’m sure it’ll end up causing more trouble.
I mean, he doesn’t seem all too bright
He may legitimately believe Becky is at a mall at Indianopolis, be unable to find her, come back, and thank Dina anyways
Becky nuked the closet, remember? Half the campus knows her name and that SHE’S TOTALLY A LESBIAN. Ross was going to find out from Sarah or someone else if not from Dina. She did the best possible thing, which is buy time to evaluate Becky’s options and form a plan of action.
Yeah, that’s my thought. And Indianapolis is about an hour’s drive from Bloomington, so in theory Ross could be back by the end of the day, and he now basically knows that something is up.
It may be time to get in touch with the authorities, someone who can help the situation. Y’know, Amazi-Girl and/or Ruth.
Amazi-girl might – might – be able to help the situation, but she isn’t one of the authorities.
Not necessarily.
They might think that this was some heathen girl who let the dark lord in trying to hinder his “Righteous” attempts to “Save Becky from influences of the evil one”.
If she lied about the buss, she probably lied about seeing Becky as well…
Also his word choices (especially escaped) could easily have set off someone who escaped from a cult or some group that was abusive/treated them akin to property, and got them to lie to him because they do not want to support anyone akin to their own past. Willing to bet Sarah could make an argument along those lines, and get it to make sense to them.
the bus is nonstop to indianapolis, so he should be gone for a few hours at least!
It’s a nonstop bus to Indianapolis. He’ll be gone for a while.
And he was never seen again.
Oops wrong bus, I’m he’ll be fine. (Dumbass)
*sure
Calling it now, bus hits Ruth, Dad comes out and immediately sees Becky and then it turns out the entire comic happened in the mind of an autistic child. This will be the worst day this school has ever seen.
Did you finish binge watching St. Elsewhere tonight by chance?
That child is having visions of real parallel worlds via the Fox-Broome Theory. 😛
A Fox-Broome is traditionally used to chase the critters away from your bins
This is why Dina is my favorite.
Rarr.
She has warmed her way into our hearts, like an adorable velociraptor tearing our stomachs open with little love claws and feasting upon our guts of adoration.
I’ve never heard it put quite that way before.
But now you will never be able to experience a heart-warming moment without picturing it ever again
My work here is done.
Dina IS your favorite, Becky. You totes made out with her yesterday.
Well, if we’re treating ppl like their gravatars, then truck you, Deceptiscum! Give me your faaaaace!
Well, that was anticlimactic.
And then there was much shipping of Becky and Dina.
Hopefully there will be more CLIMACTIC between Becky and Dina.
I’m sure he’ll be back soon. this was just to buy Becky some time
Bussing, surely. As in “I’d bus that!”
Yes, Dina fully intends on bussing Becky.
Oh, that is perfect… I’ve never been so glad to make a spelling error
Dina is just the best!
And Dina reminds us all that she is hella smart
And Ross is so dumb.
I laughed at Ross trustingly waving goodbye. Thanks for the help, strange dinosaur girl!
Malls are huge and Dina is being transparently sketchy. Glad Ross is as incompetent as he is vile.
Rawr indeed.
That was rather easier than I expected.
You go , Girl!
Well, nonstop to Indianapolis should be about 2 hours round trip. She’s bought Becky time to become scarce, but he’ll be back.
If Ross is let off at the downtown mall in Indy — a multi-story complex taking up all of a main downtown intersection — it’s possible he could disappear forever, subsisting on discarded Chick-Fil-A and Auntie Anne crumbs. If he escapes to the outside, to the nearby Hooters, it’s all over. Those gals take NO crap.
he gone like the liopleurodon
Sometimes the simple things bring the most joy.
And the Legion of DOAm grows. Blaine, Faz, Mary, Mike (kinda), and now…Toedad.
So apparently I’m even slower than I thought but the hell does the m stand for?
Instead of the Legion of Doom, it’s the Legion of DoA…m.
Ooooh.
Eh. Its cool. If you weren’t slow the world would presumably already be eaten. So take your time. The world is where I keep all my stuff.
That’s very short-sighted of you. I keep the bulk of my stuff elsewhere
It completes the word doom.
Doam(doom). Though Mike is just there because he likes to trick Ross into attacking Blaine and then win Faz’s life savings betting on it.
And to do your mom.
With the nickels he wins from Faz’s life savings, no doubt.
“I’m on a bus”….and
Got you covered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svof6C_kzT0
Dina, smarter than anyone else in the room. Always.
She’s outside at the moment. That’s a big room
dina is my hero
I too find her to be a delicious sandwich
Today’s lesson…Don’t Fuck with Dina!
That could be like one of those WWJD stickers. DFWD!
He got run out of town! Awesome work, Dina.
The first stop is “Duped Ville”, followed by “So Long Sucker City”, which then leads to “GeezWhataWad Junction”, which is in the middle of it’s annual “You’ve Been Tricked Doofus” festival. Truly a spectacular event.
Rarr indeed, Dina. Rarr indeed.
That’s…that’s EXACTLY what I was gonna say. Word-for-word.
Are…are you my twin?
Wonder Twin powers activate?
Seriously, that’s your first conclusion? How dumb are you.
He’s probably you from the future. Or your shadow self. Whatever you do do NOT say he isn’t you. You’ll never get a Persona that way.
Well, maybe, but what’s more likely? A long-lost twin of whom I knew not, or my future or shadow selves?
Besides, my shadow self is hanging out with Yugi in the Shadow Realm, and my future self is busy dealing with the aftermath of the Apocalypse of 2035. And, just in case you were wondering, it’s bees. It’s the corpses all of the bees that died in the colony collapses of the 2009’s, having been resurrected by scientists in order to fix the extinction of the European honeybee in 2030.
Yeah. In 2035…it’s the zombee apocalypse. We got 20 years, people.
There’s only one hope, then….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l0A_knKTlI
I’ll more than likely be dead by then.
But if you’re correct — I’LL BE BACK!!
If that’s the case, don’t drop the iPhone he gives you down the toilet in your school locker.
http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-08-06
I saw your comment and wanted it for my own, so I came back in time to steal it from you.
Yup, this is closer to what I figured her plan was. I was confused by all the people assuming she’d be going to the mall _with_ him.
Well, she said “I will take you there.”
“I will take you to her,” first, yeah, but then yesterday it was “Let me get you to the mall,” which to me didn’t sound like she was planning to go with him at that point. I’m assuming the plan probably evolved between strips.
That seems probable.
If he realizes that her plan evolved, he’ll be doubly pissed
Examinations of the vocal chambers of Doasaurus saruyamensis have revealed that the relatively diminutive dinosaur was quiet, but probably able to make noise when threatened. Paleoecologists have attempted to apply suitable onomatopoeia to this vocalization, and have universally agreed on “RARR.” Further studies will be conducted.
Yes! Yes!
I saw that link, and was immediately hoping to see one specific video.
Thank you for not disappointing me.
It’s in HD now?
…yeah, I’m ok with this.
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eal4fep7pK4
There are malls in Indianapolis. Becky might even have been to one at some point.
I hope that the last strip of this arc just has Dina and Becky wondering how long Becky has, then it cuts to the future for a few panels, showing Toe Dad, MONTHS later, still looking for Becky, having become homeless in the process
He stops
“…Wait I got tricked didn’t I?”
Storms back to confront Dina…
“Was that the wrong bus? I apologize for my mistake. I was sure that was the bus to the mall, but I see now that I was wrong. This is the bus you want.”
*puts Ross on the nonstop to Albuquerque*
… months later…
“I am afraid I must inform you that the error was yours this time. There is a left turn that you should have taken.”
*puts Ross back on the nonstop to Albuquerque*
It would be pretty hilarious if this is the last we see of Ross
Dina may be the first main character in DOA to have a good idea.
I mean, most of the comic’s plot is driven by characters making bad decisions and making mistakes or being angry or being oblivious to what’s right in front of them, which is why it’s so entertaining.
Today’s comic is the best thing ever though.
Fitting avatar is fitting.
Dorothy dumped Danny to save him from being a satellite character. I’d argue that relaxing a little by dating Walky and having a drink at Joyce’s party were decent decisions too.
Well, not so much the drink, that was very bad timing.
Terrible twist ending: Toedad ends up at the mall…where Becky is coincidentally shopping for clothes.
And then Dina finds out and blames herself when things go horribly awry
Obligatory, “DAMN YOU FUTURE WILLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!”
The prophecy of the preview panels however has shown me otherwise.
http://dumbingofage.tumblr.com/post/118118430291/itswalky-august-9
Hmm. Is that alarm because Dina told her about Ross, or is it arousal?
So I have a back catalog of about a trillion gravs saved up and that one is no joke called “Perverse sexual lust Becky” but when Ross showed up I began wondering if that title had been in error.
Yeah, I’ve been saving them up myself, but didn’t wanna seem like I was imitating Mongoose.
Well now you can imitate me instead and since I’m nowhere near as popular nobody’ll call you out on it. It’s the perfect solution 😀
Good job, Dina. Now go tell Joyce and Becky so they know.
The quiet ones can be the most loyal.
And the most fierce.
Is it weird that I feel kind of bad for Ross? Like, it clearly just didn’t even occur to him that Dina might not be telling the truth. He didn’t even think, “hey, she might have left the mall by now, so I’d better just stick around and find Joyce.” He just thought, “ah yes, this helpful person definitely knows what’s going on.” Like, he probably would have tipped her if it had been appropriate. Maybe I’m reading too much into that little wave? To be fair, he didn’t thank her. Okay, now I don’t feel bad at all. You get what you thank for, dude
His wave at Dina was kinda cute, at least in a vacuum.
I too would prefer to see him in a vacuum
Same here. He’s a father that wants to find his runaway daughter. I can’t really see him as a bad person. Close minded? Definitely. Evil? Not really.
You do realize what he plans to do with Becky once he finds her right?
You also have to consider he’s essentially trying to kidnap an adult woman and associate her sexuality with pain.
I’m not sure if he wants to beat her. Was that said anywhere?
I don’t really hate him (yet), he is wrong for his views, but he doesn’t seem very clever. Probably was just raised like Joyce and Becky, never had a chance to see things differently and now desperately wants to save his daughter from the “evil wrong ways”.
So in his world view, he is being a good parent. Looking for his poor daughter in big danger. It’s a bit sad, actually. He means good but does bad.
I think one of the tactics of anti gay therapy is to try and condition the person into associating any feelings of same sex attraction with pain. Seeing as we know Ross wants to put his daughter through this, it’s probably safe to say that Ross wants his daughter to associate her sexuality with pain.
Also he did mention how he needed to “discipline her”: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/fix/
Which at least heavily implies a physical threat component, especially when combined with the fact that he was dragging her by force from the college.
And also echoing what others have said and speaking as someone whose been through the whole parent wanting to “fix” you thing, reparative therapy is not a neutral action. It’s treated as a neutral action a lot, as an action that is done out of love rather than fear and control, as the misguided actions of caring narrow-minded parents. But it is an action on control, based on forcing one’s child to suffer and become recloseted to make the parents’ lives easier. It is wildly abusive, fucks up the kids, and ends any potential of a healthy relationship between parent and child.
And that’s important to remember. Toedad isn’t being “caring”, he’s being abusive and controlling and preventing his daughter from even having a tiny slit of herself that belongs to her.
He’s being no more “caring” and “loving” than a child molesting father arguing his nocturnal visits are how he shows his love and how he’s just so worried she’s going to grow up on him. And I state that seeming jump in actions to note how abusers rarely state that their actions are intentionally abusive, but always have some nice-sounding justification for their stuff.
Hell, even Blaine had a whole spiel based on Amber being ungrateful and spending his money without even wanting to hang out with him and give the least little back when he made such an effort to visit her:
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/paid-2/
Point being, terrible people doing terrible things always have a lie to sell, to themselves and others, on why those terrible actions are actually heroic and awesome and justified no matter what.
The lies of “love” surrounding reparative therapy are only seen as different because of who they affect and the high amount of forgiveness we place on any form of bigotry that shrouds itself in “religious belief”.
Toedad is not a good guy, is not a safe man, regardless of his naivety and lack of intelligence. And him being duped does not make him the victim of this piece. He’s still out there, still coming for Becky, and still dangerous to anyone he encounters. At most, Dina has bought everyone a day to make plans (also, out).
Beating isn’t required. He is certainly intending to keep her falsely imprisoned while trying to forcibly re-educate her sexuality. That’s at least one felony and mental abuse right there.
He’s going to send her to a “De-Gaying” camp. I don’t know what more needs to be said here.
“Evil” is an othering concept. As in “I’m the good guy trying to do thee right thing, therefore anyone trying to stop me in that is evil”. Most of the worst dictators, madmen and mass murderers history has to offer were ultimately convinced that they are doing the right thing. I’ve yet to see anyone (aside of simplistic antagonist characters from cartoons and the like) who actually truly considers themself evil AND is okay with that.
Why he believes is doing is irrelevant. What he actually does is what matters. If you give him a free pass to toedad just because he is too far gone to realise that he wants to do something really fucked up, then by that logic, you might as well give a free pass to Hitler. After all he just wanted to improve humanity by removing the imperfections from our gene pool…
Ross is basically the worst sort of well-intentioned parent.
He messed with the triceratops and he got the horns.
Welp. Good game folks. I’m afraid tonight Timemonkey has won the internet. Better luck next time to everyone else.
Yup.
Honestly, I think this is less Dina being smart than Ross being a few verses short of a full Bible.
He acts like Joyce does: overly trusting even to people he’s just met, blinded by religion, spouting horrific thins like they’re nothing.
The three are like foils to each other – Dina “believes” in science, Joyce believes in her Bible. Both are pretty socially inept
Joyce is getting over her preconceived notions, ToeDad is stuck in them. Both only want to do what they believe is right
ToeDad is loud and there, Dina is quiet and easily missed
All three are inflexible in their own ways and careen either to overly trusting or paranoid, depending on the circumstances
Don’t get between Dina and her (possible) kissy smoochy time.
Aaaannnd he’s off to Indianapolis. This certainly buys them some time. I hope they use that time well, maybe come up with solid long term plan. Dina’s move was an excellent short-term solution, but further steps must be taken.
Dina is now officially my second favorite character
I think we can safely assume that the Triceratop is #1
Sarah is still number one, what she did with the baseball bat and with how much c**p she gets from Joyce shows just what a helluva good person she is
Its just like mom said. Never trust a dame in a Triceratops hoodie. You do, next thing you know, you’ll be on a bus to Indianapolis
And your car will be in Bloomington…
With all the dinosaur stuff I never would have guessed that Dina’s true spirit animal was Bugs Bunny.
YAY!!!! GO DINA!!!!!
Its….wow. Its still okay to like Ruth and Billie getting together even after proof positive that neither of them are the best girlfriend forever and all time, right?
Wait, you thought either of them was that? How? Why?
The answer to that is simple. The thing is tha- OH MY GOD A DISTRACTION!!!!
::runs::
Right to the end of the comment section this without reading them until I post.
OmG, Dina you are fantastic. Love you and your Rawrr 🙂
Now I will read the comments.
You won’t be disappointed.
Dina… has just become my favorite DOA character. I was already predisposed in her favor, but this just allowed her to pass Sarah and go straight to the top.
Now if Dina carried a bat…
She’s looking to be Amazigirl’s sidekick, though. An who’s going to take someone named Batgirl seriously, I ask you?
Words can not express the glee I’m feeling.
…..I think they just did, sir.
Oh, Ross. You have such great shoulders. Why did you skip leg day? WHY?!
Diana is so bad ass!
Clever Girl!
I read the comments.
Better late than never.
Okay, I have to dissent. I don’t see this so much as clever as, well, “looney tunes” is apt. As of 2010, there was no intercity bus like that, maybe a 1/day Greyhound (which would be obvious as Greyhound) and an every two hour airport shuttle, neither of which could be possibly mistaken for a city bus, and both of which would be pretty expensive compared to such a bus.
Granted this is a comic with Amazi-Girl, a Ruth who still has a job, and Dina who gets swept up onto non-existent buses to lakes. But… a dad who chases after his gay daughter is a real and problem. This is not a real solution.
Funny thing is, there *are* buses to the malls in Bloomington, and they’d take half an hour to get there, and they run every 30 minutes, so this trick could tie him up for a few hours without invoking Indianapolis. Unless he called a cab back, of course. Or drove to the mall in the first place.
but now they got like 5 minutes to an hour or two to come up with a GOOD plan.
Bound to be better than what anyone could come up with in the span of a minute.
The comic doesn’t take place in 2010, it takes place “now”. Comic book time.
nobody ever reads the posting faq
If it makes you feel any better, I read it.
Hurray! I’m a nobody!
(This is not news.)
I’ve read the FAQ before. 2010 is simply when I personally left Bloomington. I googled before posting, wondering if some amazing new service had started in the last five years; I didn’t see signs of one. AFAICT here’s still barely any intercity service, let alone one you could mistake for a city bus or casually hop on.
AFAIK there’s no bus service to the lake, either; if the comic takes place in a Bloomington with fantasy bus service, maybe *that* should be in the FAQ… (“As the comic takes place in no particular period, I have borrowed the post global warming bus service of 2050”)
Surely you mean scuba-chariot! Also, above in the comments there is a link to a Bloomington to Indianapolis service that was introduced
You might want to put your blanket back in the dryer for a few minutes.
I don’t think it’s treated like a real solution. Assuming that Ross doesnt realize he’s been tricked at all for the max amount of time (maybe he ends up at a mall in Indianapolis? And spends the rest of the day looking for his daughter there? I’m not familiar with the state at all), Dina’s maybe bought Joyce and Becky a day of time. (Note: The next storyline is called “To Those Who’d Ground Me.” And the preview panels on the DOA Tumblr show a pretty concerned Joyce. I’m willing to guess this is not the last we will see of people looking for Becky)
If it’s not a real solution, I have trouble going “clever girl”.
Telling him she was in one of the malls at the edge of town, and him driving off to look for her, so she could go warn Becky, that would have been perfectly believable, and still clever quick thinking on Dina’s part. Doesn’t take long to drive out but it would take a while to search a mall, so it would at least buy an hour or two before he came back.
It is a real solution. It’s just not a permanent one. Now, Dina has time to warn Becky, Joyce, and the inner circle about what is going on and give them time to plan with the knowledge that Toedad is definitely here and definitely coming back. Will that be enough? Ungh, hard to say, my optimism says yes, but my pessimism says there will be some hurt along the way and a lot of ugliness to getting there. Joyce especially doesn’t really know what to do in these sorts of situations.
I’d actually disagree with you in it not being a “real” solution. For one, stop clinging to the past. Things change. Second, there is a little room for creative freedom. This entire story is fictional and bizarre (e.g. Amazigirl) and you have a problem with the fact the bus schedules don’t match anything you are used to? Additionally, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that normally uses public transit. In fact it really doesn’t seem like he leaves the whole suburban christian setting at all. So I guess his knowledge on buses is zilch. So some kind, although strange, lady informs him that THIS bus will take him there, who is he to know any different. I sure as hell wouldn’t and I am nowhere near as sheltered as toedad.
Lastly, IT’S A STORY BASED OFF FICTIONAL EVENTS AND CHARACTERS, not everything is going to be as it is in real life. It would make for a very boring story. If bus schedules and characters who don’t understand them irk you, I am surprised you made it this far. Cause Amazigirl is a “real” solution and totally not unbelievable in any way shape or form…
(Also, I’d be really interested in your critique of Gotham, or as it is more commonly known as New York City… Since you expect everything to be the exact same as real life.)
Also, I apologize if I hurt anyone’s feelings with this, but god that comment about this being real just set off my tipping point and I had to say something.
The hospital previews (Nov 10 and 14) have me worried, it looks like someone other then Sarah, Dorothy and Walky gets hospitalized (and Walky’s “face” makes me think it is serious). Coming right after a Dina arc makes me paranoid that she is the one in the hospital…
Here’s an important question: Why does it matter?
Crafty, Dina. I just hope she bought enough time. Maybe Becky can get a gig at Galazzo’s or something. She at least already has the haircut, so she has changed her appearance up some. She’s also 18, I think, so she’s not legally beholden to him.
Good riddance to bad parents.
Feel like this won’t be the last we see of him or any other shit parent.
Dina shoots…and scores!
Hush! You’ll jinx it.
That’s, what, like eleventh base? Which sport is this again?
Bye, Felicia! 😛
I love you Dina.
Rarr indeed. 😀
beckys dad looks around on the bus. everyone is wearing matching t-shirts. Jocelyne is there. “whats ‘down with cis’ mean?”
Another reason why Ross is a piece of shit is….. um…. wow… Dina kinda owns him here.
Within moments from meeting him she realizes what he is, she comes up with a plan to get him out of the building and removes him from the equation.
Toedad is removed as quickly as possible for the longest amount of time with the least amount of fuss. And this was the two minute plan. I think Toedad is about to find out what she can to with two hours… At the very least Becky will have an early warning. Dina even has a shred of credibility left in case she need to interact with him further. “Oh no, was it the wrong bus. I am certainly most devastated by this honest mistake.”
As a super hero she has already surpassed her mentor, because her plan contain nothing of the violence or pride of Amaziegirl’s actions. This is pure and logical problem solving and damage control. The Triceratop Victory Snarrrrl (TM) waits until the day is won.
So I think we got our answer to the most perplexing question of this chapter – how could Dina be any more awesome?
Oh, and Ross. You know what, Becky came here alone with two empty hands, but within two days she has gained friends who are willing to stand up for her. Joyce of course, and Billie and Sarah and Dorothy and Walky and I think several of the others as well – and of course this most crafty dinosaur girl. You can make what ever noise you want, but you are outgunned and outwitted and I frankly don’t think you will last much longer in round two.
Fudge you Ross, and YOU GO DINA!!!!
Oh, and everyone together now: Clever Girl.
Clever girl.
As Amazi-Girls in-official sidekick i have to call you out on your error!
her plan contain nothing of the violence or pride of Amaziegirl’s actions
Which violence of Amazi-Girl are you talking about?
It was Amber resorting to violence, not Amazi-Girl!
But to chime in: Amazingly Clever Girl.
That’s true, but even as Amazi-girl there are some less than professional episodes
This. All of this. Dina has proven she is incredibly sharp when focused and nothing has gotten her more focused than realizing the full scope of how much danger her new experimental group (labeled girlfriend) is in.
The Horned One has deceived you Becky’s dad!
A “like” button is needed.
I wish I could “like” your comment.
Much preferred if he was hit by a bus, but this will do.
Nice, if (sadly) temporary solution. Next time he won’t trust you at all, Dina. Still, well done for the moment.
Clever girl…
See, now I don’t hate Becky’s dad any more because he’s obviously not intelligent enough to be liable for his actions.
See, I hate those sort of people more.
You hate people with disabilities?
Wanker
Yea, I don’t hate him. I hate that some religions threaten gullible people into believing love can be wrong.
He seems like he was brought up the same way as Joyce and just never had any contact with “the outside world” and wasn’t clever enough to get his head out of it.
If we think about how Joyce started in this comic … and now she learned a lot. But she wouldn’t have changed, if she had stayed in a christian college.
It’s not really a disability in the classical sense. And anyway, if it’s okay to hate typical youtube commenters for their idiocy, it’s definitely okay to hate Ross for it.
And anyway, what I hate him for is mostly his unwillingness to evaluate his preconceived notions. It’s not exactly idiocy, but his idiocy helps.
It’s not really a disability. He’s not developmentally challenged in any way and there’s no sign that he has any emotional or mental conditions.
His problem is one that is a lot more common and a lot more toxic. He is ignorant. Deliberately ignorant of the world around him. Deliberately avoiding any knowledge or growth that would challenge him and his feeling of certainty surrounding the world. Hence why he felt comfortable spouting ignorance on teh pokemans last comic.
He refuses to learn. He refuses to grow. And he refuses to change.
This makes him dangerous and toxic because anything that refuses to fit into the box he’s decided the world is must be changed to fit it and no other configuration is allowed.
I’ll take anyone who is ignorant but curious or developmentally disabled any day of the week over this.
Crisis averted! For now!
Now, we get to see something DoA has yet to tackle: characters actually coming up with an endgame to their strategies. Or at least I bloody well hope we do, because this kind of extra time was a godsend (let the irony sink in) and Dina at the very least should be smart enough to capitalize on this newfound advantage.
He messes with the dinosaur, he gets the buss.
but now he’ll probably know that Becky IS at that school once he realized what’s up
OK, this is beginning to drive me nuts. Dina didn’t tell him this. He knew she was there to begin with.
He wasn’t just plastering the state with posters, he was going to the only place it made sense for her to go.
Never underestimate the ingenuity of the Triceratops. “Raar” indeed.
Maybe someday Dina will evolve into Triceracop.
Sitcom. Get on it. Now. Plz
I was wrong in my prediction, but this idea was much better. Clever girl.
Now you need to set up for the endgame, Dina. Prepare yourself. Everyone would be more than willing to help you. I’m sure you know the right kind of motivation to get everyone on your side.
Dina is a “divertosaurus”.
Dina, that wasn’t fair! You’ve just had a battle of wits with an unarmed man!
Now, will she think to mention this to Becky and Joyce or will she assume that the matter is resolved?
Honestly, while this solves the problem a little, it means that he now KNOWS Becky’s there. And that Dina is protecting her.
Good plan short run, but he’ll get a car eventually.
He is an adult.
Also, to anyone who is thinking about it, don’t see Fantastic Four.
It’s… Not, bad. But… The more I think about it, the more I realize that nothing was happening for most of the movie.
And then things happened, and it was cool. And then it was over, And I was sitting there thinking…
“Was that it? Is that all I get?”
Kinda ironic given an earlier line in the movie.
Yeeep. That was my thoughts exactly. Good thinking on Dina’s part, especially while on her feet, but now Ross has got to know that Becky IS there. And if he’s even halfway smart, he’s going to call Joyce’s parents and let them know something’s up.
This could get very, very messy. :/
Actually, all he knows is he got pranked.
By a pokemans.
Realistically, Dina should now go and tell Becky what happened. And Becky, realizing that her dad is very close to finding her, should have little choice but to move on to somewhere else. However, I doubt that will happen since she doesn’t have a good place to move on to…so this will all blow up very soon in comic time– or in the next year or so in our time…
All Becky has to do Is stay in Sal’s room while Joyce spreads word not to tell the big man anything.
True. It does help greatly that she now has a room separate from Joyce’s that she can hide in. Assuming that no one knowingly or unknowingly rats her out. All it takes is one person who doesn’t know the real story and thinks she’s just a visiting friend to say, “Yeah, I’ve seen her around campus for the past few days!”
Indy is only about 50 miles north of Bloomington, so this is within the realm of possibility. But there’s no way that you can just walk onto a bus — especially a bus that is running between two major metro areas — without a ticket or putting something into a farebox. And I’m sure that even if there was a company that offered one-way non-stop rides between Bloomington and Indianapolis it would cost more than a buck or two in the farebox.
Some colleges provide free weekend buses to major cities.
Ha! Good point. I have the most basic bus pass, and Philadelphia’s transit system has special rules on the weekend to let me use even trains into NJ and NY for free. It’d make sense for a college to have something similar going on.
He may have just paid it – not being familiar with regular prices for a bus service to the next mall – whose distance he doesn’t know anyway.
Clever girl.
That… That was awesome. Dina is awesome.
Thi went… smoother than expected. For now, anyway.
That’s it.
I love this comic, I really do.
That said, I want a Dina spin off. Rest of the cast is nice and interesting.
This version of Dina is in league of her own.
thanks dina
What’s with the pronated hands? She’s back to raptor mode; shouldn’t her hands be turned inwards rather than downwards?
I spent a lot of time on Bloomington Transit and never realized there was a nonstop to Indy. Is that a thing now?
hes so trusting. this was resolved so succinctly. i cant believe it.
She unleashed the Ve-LOST-I-raptor.
Sorry. 🙂
Never mess with a dina-saur!
All this is doing is buying Dina enough time for some smoochies and planning with Becky. I mean, he probably drove there, so he’ll need to come back to get his car, right?
We will have to recalibrate “Awesome” now when Dina is off the chart.
Dina…. you’re my hero
I’m sure we’ll neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever see him again.
The more agency Dina has, the more I love her.
Not just agency, but well thought out and effective agency. Probably nothing she could have done (short of the mayhem comments suggest) would have removed Ross permanently, but this gets him out of the way until more permanent options can be implemented. Yes, she will now get to work on warning Becky.
Like. A. Boss.
Best part is when he realizes he’s been tricked and returns to find her Dina’s ability not to be noticed will make him to appear like a rambling mad man. Which is wired granted that campus has a super hero.
Toedad McImSoStupid: “It was a pokeman I tell you, a POKEMEN OF THE DEVIL”
Ruth: “…the fuck is he on about?”
Billie: “Dunno. Sounds like a nerd to me.”
Here hoping that Dina actually bothers to tell Becky that a) her dad was looking for her , b) Dina bought her some time, and c) maybe she should either find a better place to hide, or if she wants to stay neat joyce, find a job so she can get an apartment, even if it’s a crappy studio…
Interestingly enough it might be safer for Becky to remain on campus. Yes, more people recognize her, but she also has more friends in close proximity. If Becky moved into an apartment nearby (which where would she find the money for first and last months plus deposit) then nobody would be around to intervene when Toedad found her and started dragging her forcibly to the car.
At least this way there’s a potential of a semi-public intervention.
Option 3, go talk to Leslie and see what she can do to help.
Wait, Willis, why are you drawing me into dumbing of age?
And why am I wearing those horrible puke colored polka dot pants?
And why am I such a douche? Oh my God my head DOES look like a toe!!!
Why?!! Why would you do this Willis!!???
It’s you is it? That’s a relief, I thought it was me. Except for the moustache and hair not yet gone grey.
‘Dina in her Triceratops hoodie’ story arc needs to never end…Ever.
NOW GO WARN BECKY AND JOYCE GO GO GO
Some people are born great. Some have greatness thrust upon them. Some are dinosaurs.
Is there a hidden depth of meaning to the fact that Becky’s Dad is really stupid? Wouldn’t he have his own car and have driven said car to the School? If so, then why would he allow a stranger he never met, wearing questionable attire that makes her look nearly 10 years younger, to so easily convince him to board a bus he knew nothing about?
Are you trying to tell us something, Willis? 😉
He doesn’t know where the mall is. He doesn’t know this town at all. And he’s incurious about anything he doesn’t already know or thinks he knows to actually go around asking for directions to the mall (I unfortunately know this type of “actions” man who views things like asking for directions as emasculating way too well).
And since it’s just a short bus ride, then whatever, get it out of the way, track her down and then drag her home so she can be “healed”.
And of course a pokemans was the one to tell him all this. Secular college campuses are filled with demonic liberal types who do strange and unnatural things, hence why he needs to “save” Becky from their “demonic influences”.
Remember that he comes from a worldview that views secular colleges as literal Satan pits. He’s not going to blink an eye at one of them greeting him in a pokemans outfit. He’s just grateful that this one wasn’t wearing a goat skull.
Sure, he’s now going to assume Dina was an agent of the Devil sent to divert his holy mission and thus open season for whatever form of resistance to the Devil is seen as fit, but yanno, that won’t be for a couple of months in-comic time.
And in a series of unlikely mishaps, Ross finds himself lost and wandering the streets of San Francisco.
I love a happy ending!
He stops a three hundred pound black man in a kilt and eyeliner and asks if he works at the mall.
A lot of people seem to be supporting Dina here, and hating on the dad. And I have to wonder, if this was a different but similar situation if it was just that Becky had, say, got kicked out of school for smoking marijuana (not something inexplicably evil or wrong, not something dangerous unless overdone, not even BAD really, but just against the school rules) and then ran away to a friends to continue to smoke pot, would they still hate on her father for trying to bring her home, and keep her from becoming a druggie?
I feel like circumstances are an underrated part of morality. There’s no such thing as an attitude that’s universally appropriate. Forgiveness can encourage worse deeds; mercy can kill.
For instance, treating homosexuality as an illness might have been an improvement in an age where homosexuals were actually considered evil, but in this era we can plainly see it’s just as dehumanizing.
Maybe Swampthing means well, but he’s an instrument of pain and suffering now. I’m totally down with this.
*down with him being put on a bus to nowhere, that is.
no because being sexually attracted to women isn’t remotely anything like having a drug addiction you incredible jackass
Wow I completely missed s/he was making that implication. Jesus FUCK that’s stupid
There’s quite a world of difference between Ross trying to drag Becky to a “camp” to try and de-gay her, and an alternate universe Ross trying to get Becky to rehab. (I assume in your scenario Becky would be in a Dana style marijuana abuse downspiral? Or maybe you want to use a different drug in your example? Regardless, the situation is not the same).
Aroree what the fuck is wrong with you
Drug use =/= a human’s sexuality. What the hell.
While both homosexuality and drug users both suffer from bigotry and miss information problems, one is illegal, and the other just purposefully misunderstood.
Most drugs are physically addictive and have horrible side-effects on a persons physical and mental health. Some are “socially acceptable”, but that is either because there are to ingrained into society (Tobacco and Alchohol) or tend to only have lesser side-effects and a lower addiction rate (Marijuana has not been fully studied, and while there are confirmed side-effects and a low physical addiction rate they tend to be lesser then from smoking or drinking, though one is its known potential side-effects is making depression worse…)
Other then dealing with bigots there are no real negative side-effects of homosexuality, even the lack of progeny is easily manageable with multiple solutions available.
Running away from home because you want to her high/drunk/etc is not the same as because your father does not approve of your romantic interests. No one would support Becky for wanting to be a stoner, especially since this is something that she could easily wait on until graduation, or so dangerous that the addiction needs to be broken now before it gets much worse. However our sexuality is not something we can just turn off or change the setting on, AND trying to do so is just going to cause pain and suffering.
Wow. Nice analogy. A+ Are you a writer? Will you be coming out with a novel? “Shit I Say That Makes No Sense”? Can I have an autograph?
Hurray Dina!
This is probably the cleverest comments section for this comic yet. This pleases me. :3
I’m surprised at all the “Oh I feel so bad for toedad” comments.
I get that the guy probably grew up in the same restrictive environment he enforced onto Becky, but eventually you need to take responsibility for your views. The Browns aren’t parents of the year either and they at least had the basic decency to accept they couldn’t dictate their daughter’s life.
Also, guys, for real; he’s going to send her to conversion therapy. No amount of skewed parental affection makes up for that.
To me, all change at sympathy goes out the window based on one simple thing.
The bible states that Christians need to submit themselves to the laws of the land (in more then just the section “Render unto Casear” comes from), and what Ross is planning is highly illegal. which means that according to “his beliefs” he is in the wrong.
This is not a Grey area, it is very black and white. If you claim to live your life by a book, obey what it tells you you have to do, he can try to “Save Becky’s soul” without breaking the law, so this is not even a case of conflicting directions. Actually if he was going to act in a respectful and lawful manner then there would b allot of room for sympathy for him.
I could hold some sympathy for his beliefs, but since what he is claiming to believe says what he is planning to do is wrong, there is not place left for sympathy.
These “paradoxes” where someone justifies their actions with the bible and their actions are actually against its teaching are too common from certain groups, like the christian fundies. and it happens because they cherry pick the bible (including quoting out of context which is a huge mistake) to support their beliefs, rather then choosing their beliefs based on its teachings. Not saying that they would be perfect if they went the other way, but they would be allot better people that way.
He’s been put on a bus. We’ll never see him again! HUZZAH!
This is how you get rid of that pesky extended family
So the ignorant jackass got outsmarted by the girl with Aspergers, huh?
Also, really? Nachitos are now in the cast listing?
What, a day on the job, and Dina is already the best girlfriend ever.
I would normally be surprised that he fell for that, but then again.
I wish I could still believe in the nice, waves-at-his-new-friend man I once thought Toedad could possibly be