Oh cheese, this storyline… I really, really hope Becky learns ways to cope with her dickbag family, because I’m sort of in the market for examples/advice.
I mean, when you’ve thought panels 2.5-3 pretty much verbatim, multiple times over the course of a year…yeah. Becky has both my sympathy and my envy–she may have gotten caught, but at least she made it out of the house to a friend she can trust her life with.
I have to say, though, it is moments like these where I enjoy Willis’ work most–the “holy shit this is exactly how it actually feels” moments where he perfectly captures an experience that would be otherwise impossible to explain for yourself. In spite of the painful reminder of reality, there’s also a lot of comfort in knowing I’m not the only person who’s had experience with some of these things. So…thank you, Willis. 🙂
Where do you live? You might want to call a crisis line, they might be able to connect you with basic resources in your area, depending on what your exact demographic/situation is.
Whatever the details are (dunno if you're comfortable sharing) you are definitely not alone. Willis is writing this because this is how it feels for many people. Love to you.
Sympathy via HEAVY internet contact. Lots of sympathy here, but by its nature, we can only be a secondary support system. Here’s hoping you have (or can find) your primary.
I can’t offer much more than sympathies, but you can have those! Leorale looks like she’s got a reasonable person to answer questions. If you’re looking for resources, then you might be able to find something by submitting a question to some librarians. It is their job to research things and find things out, and they may be able to help uncover resources that you might not be able to find out on your own. I don’t know how your local libraries operate, but where I am you can submit anonymous questions online whose answers will be sent to an email address you provide.
Having been through the same pattern, I can say there is an end to the cycle. At a certain point, all the process of rebuilding and finding stability and cutting out the toxic people from one’s life actually end and you get your life back in a new and pretty cool configuration. It might take a while and you might lose a bit in the process and it might feel never-ending while it’s happening, but I can at least confirm that there is an end to that tunnel.
Stability, real genuine stability is a thing you can actually have and do actually deserve and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Also, community can help a ton, especially for the rebuilding social nets phase of it all. Finding groups or organization that cater to a community you belong to can help get you in contact with cool people who can keep you going and also get you in contact with resources and opportunities and most of all can help in retaining hope during that ugly middle step.
Also, emotionally, forgiving yourself for slip-ups in building oneself is important. It can feel a lot like you have to be perfect in everything all the time to not fully slip off the edge and there’s a lot about the situation that seems to confirm that, but you can afford to be forgiving of yourself if you fuck up on something or just need a mental health break. It’s a lot easier to be your peak self in rebuilding stability if you schedule time to just check out into whatever your escapism method is and refresh yourself.
As for a lot of the practical sides of things, never be too proud to accept help when offered and to ask for help when needed and a lot of the breaks that finally dissipate the storm are the result of random chance, so keep throwing yourself out there so that random chance can occur, but not to the point where you’re working against your own mental health.
And additionally, it is not worth it to try to sacrifice yourself and your sanity to “repair” bridges with a toxic person who refuses to see you as a person or who regularly undermines your recovery. Even if there is a risk and loss of security in the short term, it pays off a lot in the long term. Don’t put yourself in physical or mental danger of course, but don’t fall into the trap of constantly hoping that a toxic person will somehow get better and stop hurting you.
Hey, I really hope you’re ok (well, as much as you can be?). No one else is mentioning, but I’m worried you’re under 18 and thus feel legally trapped, might have another dependency on your family that is legal and harder to transfer, or that regardless of age you’re in an area where you think people might notice if you tried to find information or seek help, or perhaps you have some worry about whether your family would be supported over you by local… people. (Not an exhaustive list!)
Stuff people have already said is still entirely relevant! If you’re stuck in what feels like a catch 22 situation, well, I’m going to add some voice in for “time helps.” If you fear significant consequences of leaving… most of us know when its time to leave, and its not something you can call for someone else. Don’t stay too long, don’t take too many risks, but do what you need to do to be the right decisions for you.
If you’re capable of making a plan ahead of time for emergencies, it can be very helpful. You’re more likely to remember money, clothes, or other important bits and pieces if you have, even in your head, the ideas of what you need (if you have time to get things – Becky didn’t – some people do but forget in the stress.)
I don’t know how much you feel safe sharing here – its quite public – but there are I think quite a lot of people who would be helpful and supportive (myself included.)
Lacking much else in the way of specific advice, but an agreement that I know Becky’s thoughts well, I’m going to wish you luck, and offer a listening ear such as I can. I’ve tried really hard to think of something I’ve got that’s heavily publicly associated with this name with a DM function and haven’t got there yet, but if it would be helpful then leave me a message here saying that and I *will* think of something. I’ve had a lot of help over the years and now I’m in a position to help others nothing is going to stop me from at least offering.
Good point about the anonymity while you’re living at home. If it helps, the crisis line that I know is sensitive to this, they’re free and they won’t show up on your phone bill at all. You can call them any time 24/7, whether it’s to get resources, to vent to a calm listener, to hang out on the phone while you catch your breath, whatever else. 775-784-8090 .
Hey, Willis, this seems to come up frequently in the comments. Maybe there could be a FAQ of “hey if you REALLY relate to these characters’ situations, go here for a list of resources”. Kinda unusual for a webcomic FAQ, but it’s kind of an unusual webcomic, and this does come up a lot.
Aaaaand there you just slipped up with informing us that this will be the last chapter of the book which mean the walking with dina arc will come to a end soon and will most likely start focus on others with the new book:-P
Um… well, you could’ve already seen that this would be the last chapter of the book by clicking on the archive link (unless that was just updated), but aside from that, his comment doesn’t really tell us how soon this chapter will end.
Also, if we look at the Dumbing of Age tumblr, you can see a preview of something labeled as the second to last panel of the book. It even has a date attached to it when the comic will go on site. It’s not like Willis makes it a giant secret as to when chapters/books will end. It’s not slipping up when he does so repeatedly and intentionally.
No idea, you have to ask my past self about that as it make no sense when i read it…. Sadly….he’s kinda busy with the…….well….past so i think it will be challenging to initiate contact to ask >_<
Ha ha, gross. XD (Sorry, never been a jizz – of any sort – on my face kind of person.) I don’t know whether to give you all the Internets for making me laugh or just all of 4chan for the mental image. O.o;;
Well, by her rule set, she hasn’t been seen in comic doing first base and she did third base before this, so I’m pretty sure she’s running her home run lap backwards.
Now I just imagined my self squealing with Joyce… Which in turn makes me anticipate seeing how Joyce is going to react to this if they become a couple.
Just put the text you want between the “a” tags. I’d demonstrate, but if I type actual tags, they will not be visible. Use the first example on this page as a guide.
Hm, from panel 3 to 4, the “camera” moves through the window – which conveys going from “outward-looking” to “intimate” and also changes the shading from gloomy to brighter. Nicely done!
It’s nice to finally see a little inside Becky’s head for once. The lighting of the first three panels is perfect, showing that her position is dark indeed, yet light refuses to stop breaking in. Eventually, the filter disappears, and the power of Dinadorableness drags her out of her hopeless abyss of despair.
Dina is the best Dina. ;;;;;;;;;;;; (I know I want to read the other comics out there, but the idea of the other Dina out there in the multiverse fills me with dread. Since. I know that one spoilerly fact D: )
Hehe! I can’t read shortpacked! after trying many many times. I’ve read, I think, roomies – I know the early Joyce illustrations. Maybe some of Its Walky! But I no longer remember any of it, so I can as a latecomer enjoy the heck out of this version of the universe. I kinda accept spoilers from elsewhere a little, but from everything I get told (I have quite a few friends who are massive fans) I’m happiest living in this corner.
Oh, and cos I live in this corner, and am weird, I really *like* Danny.
I’m liking Becky more now that we’re getting to see inside Beckys mind or the real Becky (not quite show how to say it properly), makes me warm to her more
That feeling may be the worst, when every desperate grasp at stability is repeatedly undercut by one more little twist of the knife of everything. When every single point where you think you can catch your breath is just the brief lag before the next crisis to manage.
And the worst part is when it’s all over. When you really have ridden it through and found stability. Cause it’s almost impossible to believe that that lack of crisis is real and that just means it’s finally time to process all that accumulated trauma from the times when you were just surviving.
Seeing this glimpse into that for Becky just wants me to give her all the hugs-
So much this, this, this. I lived with a scary, stressful situation for months while a family member’s life fell apart. An event finally forced me to leave home to stay with a relative. I was and am still very lucky–I had tons of support from family and friends.
But my behavior AFTER moving out, compared to before? I flipped out. I cried almost daily for weeks, I was a hair trigger from screaming at people (and several times I did and over little, little things). It was like I had been a spring coiling tighter and tighter over months. Then the pressure released and I had no idea what to do with myself. I wasn’t dealing with bad news, worse news on a daily basis anymore, but I still felt all this stress with nowhere to go so it all radiated outward.
At a certain point, the problem that’s destroying you is the only thing keeping you from falling apart. At least when you’re dealing with it, it’s consuming. When it leaves, even partway, you have a vacuum filled with how much that all HURT.
Basically, that was a bad time and I just want that last panel to go forever until a mass of corgi puppies floods the scene and cuddles Becky in a big fluffy pile. Ideal ratio would be 1:1 puppy-freckle.
So, uh, quick questions. Does Becky not want to attend college? Is financial aid not a possibility? I know she’s homeless, but I imagine someone (that someone being Joyce is most likely) would help her pay for a P.O. Box to get her mail. Is she too young to do it without parental consent? I guess it might be that it’s unreasonable for her to think of this stuff on her own, but how has no one else aware of her situation not thought of it? Is Dina about to suggest it?
It would definitely be difficult without any parental support, but even with that aside, it’d have to be at least the next semester before she could do that. She kind of has to work on surviving that long.
That’s probably the next thing on her list. Becky did say she was getting clothes from the Goodwill and looking for a job. She can’t do everything at once.
First off, I don’t assume that Ross would corporate. She’d get them from ” a
runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program”or “an emergency shelter or transitional living program.”
The drama tag puller in me would like for Becky to turn out to be independently quite wealthy due to a legacy from her mother; once Sarah and Jacob turn it into their sophomore year project to legally establish her access to the money now she’s a legal adult, Ross transforms into The Hooded Claw.
So if you’re over 18 but under 24 and want to apply for aid on your own, its possible but problematic. Their may be some variation by university for some of the aid, but for the federal loans (Stafford subsidised/unsubsidised) you at minimum need a statement from a psychiatrist stating that its not in your best interests to ever have contact with your parents again. Sometimes they want more than one statement, and that type of certification doesn’t tend to be easy in coming. I think she would get it, but its going to take some time and effort, and possibly expose her to some aspects of the mental health system she might be scared of owing to her current association (through father and upbringing) of it with correction “therapy.”
Also, she’s left her other university and probably doesn’t want to go back / wouldn’t be safe there. So she’s going to need to apply to a new university as well. She would at best be able to start mid-year, and in general I think would have better luck for next year. She’d also probably wind up in a better social situation if she starts at the beginning of a year with her mind more sorted out, if she does want to go back.
Meanwhile, she still needs to earn some money and keep a roof over her head.
Even if she were to start the process tomorrow it would take awhile. And unfortunately, the help you need to get that sort of certification usually only comes from inside the universities financial aid department. So she would actually need to apply elsewhere, get accepted, and then start the psychiatrist process. It makes some sense – after all your financial aid is anyway specific to the university you’re attending.
I think she might have some advantages in this case. Reparative therapy is rejected by the APA and APS, and I don’t doubt that any number of highly qualified people in the Dept. of Psychology at, say, Indiana University (which has one of the best departments in the world), who would have been More Than Happy (TM) to testify on her behalf that her father intended to have her assaulted. Hell, when I was a postdoc there, I’d have been happy to appear in support of such a case.
It’s a lot easier to be emancipated if your parents are planning to subject you to abuse.
If you can’t get a parent signature on the FAFSA I think you have to jump through a lot of hoops. Besides, I think we are far enough in the semester that she’ll have to wait until next semester anyway.
Financial aid is already going to be difficult to get, as many other people have pointed out. But what you’re talking about in Becky’s circumstances would be FULL tuition payment, not just like FAFSA, which is difficult to get even in the best circumstances.
It’s not often Becky drops her happy face and let’s people see how much her situation bother’s her. Poor Becky. She has hardly anything and a man who has way too much power over her (Fudge you, Ross) works hard for her to lose it.
I love Dina in panel five. “Did it work? No? Let’s escalate.”
Whilst I kind of agree, the hovertext does give a bit of an in for it – its not completely random.
(I’m mostly trying to be nice, and after having abandoned one of the recent days comment sections about a fifth of the way through the comics to hide and rant, I realise it might not be warranted.)
Like, the last few pages of Becky having a cuteness hemorrhage over Dina is one thing, but this is Becky lamenting how any sense of stability she’s had is in immediate danger.
We dwell in the craggy shame-pits of the lustwolves. There is goodness here, obviously, as evidenced by today’s first thread, but it’s still the internet.
Seriously, I do think that this sequence will end with Dina and Becky having a cry together. Who could blame them? No eighteen-year-old should be in the situation that she’s in.
That’s not really that weird? I kinda get what you mean, but its a thing I’ve probably done as well, and a lot of guys I know wind up doing it with one hand in various situations.
And Becky, yep, sympathise a lot. I’m really really glad you’re over 18, and I hope things work out for you (anyway Willis promised he wouldn’t kill any characters, so hopefully he won’t go in for worse.)
Also, I’m really glad I rotated this away from the end of my daily list into the penultimate place, because it is wonderful but seriously seriously emotionally insane (and awesome! But I need a reset to go from this to productive.)
If it weren’t for Dina, this would look like Becky’s Sympathetic Supervillain Origin Story.
Maybe Becky can stay with Marcie? She has to have a place somewhere, and she’s not studying, so it wouldn’t be dependent on her being a student, and it might be more permanent.
So, why can’t Becky just get money from her bank? Teenagers usually have at least a savings account their parents set up for them, and the capability to withdraw money from it. On top of that, why can’t she return home with a local cop to retrieve her clothes and belongings, seeing as she’s 18 and her dad can’t force her to stay there?
It seems to me that she’s being very short-sighted and really hasn’t planned anything for her future, just reacted to her situation.
Teenagers sometimes not always have bank accounts and your parents can freeze them. Especially if it was in a joint name, which they semi often are. Controlling parents are even more likely to set it up that way.
And here I thought confirmation of job-hunting would put a stop to the accusations of irresponsibility.
Look, you’re making a lot of assumptions about what is and is not available to Becky. SzL addressed the bank account thing, I’m going to question the cop thing.
Leaving aside any potentially-paranoid thoughts about how cops often don’t do as they should, Becky still has reason not to get any authorities involved since she’s absolutely not supposed to be living where she’s living. If she gets her clothes and so on but loses what shelter she has, getting Joyce and probably also Sarah and Billie and, though she doesn’t know this, Ruth in trouble in the process, that’s a big loss.
Now, once she finds some kind of legitimate accommodations, she’ll be in a much better position to press the issue of her belongings. If she even still wants them. It’ll take time, she’ll have accumulated a bit more stuff, and if her old stuff is still anything more to her than a reminder of bad times, it still might not be worth the cost of having to see Toedad again.
Finally: Of course she didn’t have a long-term plan in place for “what if I get caught making out with my roommate and am threatened with degaying camp?” She’s friggin’ eighteen and homeless and in hiding. It’s incredibly difficult to plan for the future when nothing about the present is fixed.
That was optimistic of you! People are going to be backseat “homeless gay teen”-ing for Becky even after she has a job and a place to live. There will still be things she could be doing better or differently.
But no, I actually had a similar thought when I first read the comic, and so now I am disappointed on both our behalves.
What bank? Does it seem even remotely likely that her father would have allowed her a bank account of her own, or, if he did, that he left her with the bank card when he decided that she needed to be brainwashed into a form more acceptable to him?
Seriously? What parent sends a kid to away to college without giving them some means of emergency financial support, like a local bank account or credit card or something?
And before you say “parents like Toedad”, remember that just a month or two ago (strip time) he was a “loving father” sending his daughter to a bible college (or whatever) with no clue she’d ‘turn gay’ on him.
Also, I understood it to mean that Toedad pulled Becky out of Anderson and took her home, which she ran away from, not that she ran away from him at Anderson. If that’s the case, then she should have access to money in her home bank account.
At this point I give up. Maybe I just can’t fathom a parent acting like that because mine didn’t and I haven’t been like that to my kids. So can we please just get it over with and have AG kick the living snot out of Toedad when he returns, then get back to some other minor plotline, like:
1. Sarah taking Jacon away from Raidah
2. Ethan & Danny & Amber’s weird triangle
3. Dorothy & Walky being carnal so more
4. Sal improving at math while Walky struggles
5. Dina eating anything besides cereal
6. Ruth and Billie struggling not to lush it up
7. Finding out the name of the hijab wearing mail lady
Wait what? Why are we assuming Becky even has a bank account in her own name? Her dad didn’t even let her have her own phone. This alone tells me there’s a pretty good chance he has complete control over her finances.
Moochers, Willis. Hateful greedy moochers. Honestly, Becky just needs to pull herself up by her bootstraps and make the choice to not be a homeless queer youth with an abusive dad. I mean, after all let us NEVAR FORGET how she once wasted the $20 of salvation on haircut handouts. (/sarcasm)
I don’t think it’s at all a universal thing that teenagers have bank accounts in their name. Especially not ones that their parents don’t also have access to or that is flush with the thousands of dollars Becky would need (certainly that’s not a life experience the majority of previously homeless youth I’ve known have had).
I think in Becky’s situation, it’s even less likely that she would have her own independent bank account seeing as how her dad is so controlling he doesn’t even let her have a phone: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/sarcasm/
As far as cops and getting one’s stuff goes… yeah, that’s not so much a thing in situations of abuse. Abusers have a tendency of exploiting points of need for anything and so anything you didn’t bring with you when you escaped can pretty much be written off as gone as the psychological cost of getting it is often WAY too high.
And cops don’t get involved for shit in those types of situations and not because of any cops are shit type of sentiment (but seriously cops are shit and dangerous if you are any flavor of minority), but because they hate getting involved in what they see as domestic dispute issues.
As such, the most likely response to any attempt to seek aid in this matter would be them telling her to just get it herself and the added scrutiny could get her in further trouble with the school she is illegally living at as of today and could tip off the cops if Toedad goes to them with his Missing Persons petition. (Fun fact: reparative therapy is 100% legal in Indiana, so while Toedad would still run afoul of other laws if he forced her, legal entities would also be unlikely to view such an event as abusive enough to involve legal intervention even though it very much is: http://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/conversion_therapy )
And it is rather predictable, I mean astounding, yes totally out of place and not at all painfully expected, how Becky still gets dumped on for not “victiming” right even though it is little over a weekend later and she is doing everything right that she can (seeking employment, finding a temporary housing solution beyond Joyce’s bed, securing more than one pair of clothes from cheap locations so she doesn’t have to borrow anymore, being a super standup friend to Joyce).
It’s almost as if there’s a strong culture of victim blaming homeless queer youth and the overall poor or something… but that would be unpossible.
Oh gods. This one made me cry. I feel so strongly for Becky here, and I’m so glad she has Dina there to give her the hug that I can’t give her. Your work just keeps getting better, dude.
I like this…. in this moment, we really get to see how vulnerable and afraid Becy is. She masks it with bravado at times, but here we see how much this is hurting her.
I have plenty of experience with life setbacks, and failures over the years. I know how afraid I can feel, how agonizingly uncomfortable and anxious I become in the face of uncertainty. Even so, I’ve been fortunate in that my immediate family has always been in my corner through the darkest and scariest of times. I recognize that this makes a huge difference.
Becky really needs some substantive guidance and support if she is to start establishing a real life for herself. As others have suggested, Leslie Bean would be an excellent resource for a situation such as this one. I wonder if it will ever occur to anyone to speak to her about this. She would most likely be able to point Becky in the right direction in terms of long term solutions.
In the meantime, this is a really sweet moment between Becky and Dina. I would definitely like to see more interaction between them, at least as friends, and possibly more.
also it is ridiculous how important this ship is to me. Even if it never goes anywhere other than this. Even if they never speak to each other again. I’ve had this happen once, in my life. One time before this time, where I shipped two ladies and it turned out I was supposed to, not just imagining things.
(It’s not that bi/gay ladies have never existed in the media I’ve watched! But going from subtext to text is very rare, with such ships. Usually it’s more like “here is the lesbian, and here is her future girlfriend, they will kiss next episode and that will be the end of their romantic tension.” So there’s nothing to ship, per se. No “will they or won’t they”.)
My god, if the previous ones caused slipshine subscriptions to jump, imagine what a Becky/Dina one would do.
And yet as much as I’d like that, at the same time…I feel somehow like Dina’s not ready for that?
Or maybe she is; she knows what goes on and even if she’s thought it’s weird before, she’s never been in a situation where she might actually be one of the involved parties.
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“Will escalating physical contact provide further comfort?
“Oh good. That was kind of a stab in the dark.”
Stepping back from the joke, it is difficult to articulate exactly how many ways this strip destroyed me. Poor Becky!
Congrats you are the second person to beat Jen ^w^
Not really.
second in a row, at least.
Second even though Jen is trying?
not that anyone cares, but I legit didn’t try yesterday, and today I was juggling TWO midnight posts =p
and when I don’t try at all, people think I died
can’t win!
Oh cheese, this storyline… I really, really hope Becky learns ways to cope with her dickbag family, because I’m sort of in the market for examples/advice.
I mean, when you’ve thought panels 2.5-3 pretty much verbatim, multiple times over the course of a year…yeah. Becky has both my sympathy and my envy–she may have gotten caught, but at least she made it out of the house to a friend she can trust her life with.
I have to say, though, it is moments like these where I enjoy Willis’ work most–the “holy shit this is exactly how it actually feels” moments where he perfectly captures an experience that would be otherwise impossible to explain for yourself. In spite of the painful reminder of reality, there’s also a lot of comfort in knowing I’m not the only person who’s had experience with some of these things. So…thank you, Willis. 🙂
Sympathy via internet contact. <3
Where do you live? You might want to call a crisis line, they might be able to connect you with basic resources in your area, depending on what your exact demographic/situation is.
Whatever the details are (dunno if you're comfortable sharing) you are definitely not alone. Willis is writing this because this is how it feels for many people. Love to you.
oh hey, also, regarding advice and scripts for dealing with really difficult family: you might like http://www.captainawkward.com
Sympathy via HEAVY internet contact. Lots of sympathy here, but by its nature, we can only be a secondary support system. Here’s hoping you have (or can find) your primary.
I can’t offer much more than sympathies, but you can have those! Leorale looks like she’s got a reasonable person to answer questions. If you’re looking for resources, then you might be able to find something by submitting a question to some librarians. It is their job to research things and find things out, and they may be able to help uncover resources that you might not be able to find out on your own. I don’t know how your local libraries operate, but where I am you can submit anonymous questions online whose answers will be sent to an email address you provide.
Stay safe and stay strong!
Sympathy through internet commenting. Hang in there.
Having been through the same pattern, I can say there is an end to the cycle. At a certain point, all the process of rebuilding and finding stability and cutting out the toxic people from one’s life actually end and you get your life back in a new and pretty cool configuration. It might take a while and you might lose a bit in the process and it might feel never-ending while it’s happening, but I can at least confirm that there is an end to that tunnel.
Stability, real genuine stability is a thing you can actually have and do actually deserve and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Also *appropriate gesture of support* for it all.
Also, community can help a ton, especially for the rebuilding social nets phase of it all. Finding groups or organization that cater to a community you belong to can help get you in contact with cool people who can keep you going and also get you in contact with resources and opportunities and most of all can help in retaining hope during that ugly middle step.
Also, emotionally, forgiving yourself for slip-ups in building oneself is important. It can feel a lot like you have to be perfect in everything all the time to not fully slip off the edge and there’s a lot about the situation that seems to confirm that, but you can afford to be forgiving of yourself if you fuck up on something or just need a mental health break. It’s a lot easier to be your peak self in rebuilding stability if you schedule time to just check out into whatever your escapism method is and refresh yourself.
As for a lot of the practical sides of things, never be too proud to accept help when offered and to ask for help when needed and a lot of the breaks that finally dissipate the storm are the result of random chance, so keep throwing yourself out there so that random chance can occur, but not to the point where you’re working against your own mental health.
And additionally, it is not worth it to try to sacrifice yourself and your sanity to “repair” bridges with a toxic person who refuses to see you as a person or who regularly undermines your recovery. Even if there is a risk and loss of security in the short term, it pays off a lot in the long term. Don’t put yourself in physical or mental danger of course, but don’t fall into the trap of constantly hoping that a toxic person will somehow get better and stop hurting you.
Hopefully some of this helps.
Hey, I really hope you’re ok (well, as much as you can be?). No one else is mentioning, but I’m worried you’re under 18 and thus feel legally trapped, might have another dependency on your family that is legal and harder to transfer, or that regardless of age you’re in an area where you think people might notice if you tried to find information or seek help, or perhaps you have some worry about whether your family would be supported over you by local… people. (Not an exhaustive list!)
Stuff people have already said is still entirely relevant! If you’re stuck in what feels like a catch 22 situation, well, I’m going to add some voice in for “time helps.” If you fear significant consequences of leaving… most of us know when its time to leave, and its not something you can call for someone else. Don’t stay too long, don’t take too many risks, but do what you need to do to be the right decisions for you.
If you’re capable of making a plan ahead of time for emergencies, it can be very helpful. You’re more likely to remember money, clothes, or other important bits and pieces if you have, even in your head, the ideas of what you need (if you have time to get things – Becky didn’t – some people do but forget in the stress.)
I don’t know how much you feel safe sharing here – its quite public – but there are I think quite a lot of people who would be helpful and supportive (myself included.)
Lacking much else in the way of specific advice, but an agreement that I know Becky’s thoughts well, I’m going to wish you luck, and offer a listening ear such as I can. I’ve tried really hard to think of something I’ve got that’s heavily publicly associated with this name with a DM function and haven’t got there yet, but if it would be helpful then leave me a message here saying that and I *will* think of something. I’ve had a lot of help over the years and now I’m in a position to help others nothing is going to stop me from at least offering.
If this is in fact the situation you are in, http://www.scarleteen.com/need_help_now_a_guide_to_scarleteens_direct_services is probably a good resource for you
Good point about the anonymity while you’re living at home. If it helps, the crisis line that I know is sensitive to this, they’re free and they won’t show up on your phone bill at all. You can call them any time 24/7, whether it’s to get resources, to vent to a calm listener, to hang out on the phone while you catch your breath, whatever else. 775-784-8090 .
Hey, Willis, this seems to come up frequently in the comments. Maybe there could be a FAQ of “hey if you REALLY relate to these characters’ situations, go here for a list of resources”. Kinda unusual for a webcomic FAQ, but it’s kind of an unusual webcomic, and this does come up a lot.
That’s a really good idea.
dang, that’d be pretty cool
here, lemme start:
National Domestic Violence Hotline (USA): 1-800-799-7233
That’s an amazing idea! I know you’re already working hard but ifyou do get the chance that would be great.
Cuuuute
D’awwww… huggles received from a triceratops are best huggles. 😛
awwwwwwwwwww
I wasn’t sure what Dina’s approach to contact would be, beside the “hand on shoulder” her roomate taught her.
And, well.
<3
“Sympathy via INTENSE physical contact?”
“I don’t think that’s quite sympathy anymore, but YES PLEASE”
(awww)
Sympathy via Slipshine.
That was my first thought
“also I made you this”
“…aww, how sweet??”
Hahaha what 😀
“Ouch!”
‘That’s how the ‘strait’ boys do it…’
“Hang on, lemme lock the door.”
The feels. 🙁
Of the copping variety no less.
Nice callback.
Also poor Becky.
Sympathy via heavy physical contact = the name of the next Slipshine.
Or book volume ?
no, he tends to call his shot in the alt-text on book titles
Well, the url promptly state straight up that this will be “book 5” called “walking with dina” soooo:-P
Actually, the URL states “04 Walking With Dina.” That 4 is for the chapter. It’s the fourth (and last) chapter of book 5.
Dawwww, and here I was hoping that it was a typo for “Waking with Dina”
Aaaaand there you just slipped up with informing us that this will be the last chapter of the book which mean the walking with dina arc will come to a end soon and will most likely start focus on others with the new book:-P
Um… well, you could’ve already seen that this would be the last chapter of the book by clicking on the archive link (unless that was just updated), but aside from that, his comment doesn’t really tell us how soon this chapter will end.
Also, if we look at the Dumbing of Age tumblr, you can see a preview of something labeled as the second to last panel of the book. It even has a date attached to it when the comic will go on site. It’s not like Willis makes it a giant secret as to when chapters/books will end. It’s not slipping up when he does so repeatedly and intentionally.
is it like wile coyote walking off the cliff across the sky and looking down, does the chapter only end if you mention it’s a chapter
how is mentioning it’s a chapter “slipping up”
No idea, you have to ask my past self about that as it make no sense when i read it…. Sadly….he’s kinda busy with the…….well….past so i think it will be challenging to initiate contact to ask >_<
yes. it will be the saddest research/copulation slipshine has ever seen. we will go through twice as many tissues
Just make sure y’all don’t mix up which tissue is which >.>
Ha ha, gross. XD (Sorry, never been a jizz – of any sort – on my face kind of person.) I don’t know whether to give you all the Internets for making me laugh or just all of 4chan for the mental image. O.o;;
Sympathy is nice.
The feeling of boobies against your back is NICER!
“while they may appear to be mammary glands, the triceratops actually–”
{jumped by a becky}
Your Daisy grav fits your comment so well.
Have to second that!
Why choose when you are offered both ?
SECOND BASE!
Who’s on Second?
No, that’s What. Who’s on First.
I don’t know! Third Base!
Then what’s Fourth? Or Fifth for that matter.
I always preferred base 16, myself. 0XFTW!
You don’t even know what you’re talking about!
A good time as any to relink the relevant XKCD
is it bad that I thought the relevant XKCD would be: https://xkcd.com/383/
(I don;t know how to hyper-link or w/e you call it :P)
Wow, this XKCD is heart-breaking. I imagine what situation it is refering to 😐
Haha, yeah it was pretty good!
Dina’s base system was uber cute as she tried to think it through 🙂
Man, now I’m confused. I was sure Willis was saying “in her head” she got to first base, but does he mean in our understanding of the words?
I don’t give a darn!!!!!
Oh that’s or shortstop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg
Yup.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/04-walking-with-dina/evilutionist/
By Dina’s ruleset, she has already 3rd based. By xkcd ruleset… I think this would be “The Boring Zone”?
…Man, if this is “boring” I really don’t wanna see “The Interesting Zone”
Well, by her rule set, she hasn’t been seen in comic doing first base and she did third base before this, so I’m pretty sure she’s running her home run lap backwards.
sympathy via crushing physical contact
*SYMPATHY INTENSIFIES*
Everything Dina does make me squeal with joy
I don’t think that I have ever squealed, but Dina makes me want to squeal with joy as well.
Now I just imagined my self squealing with Joyce… Which in turn makes me anticipate seeing how Joyce is going to react to this if they become a couple.
So, Becky is supposed to look like Ted from Bill & Ted, right?
Whoa!
I know, right?
How do you make links overlap text. I wanna know how to do that for later.
Give we wisdom, oh great time lord.
Just put the text you want between the “a” tags. I’d demonstrate, but if I type actual tags, they will not be visible. Use the first example on this page as a guide.
Alright, how about… THIS!?!?
THIS SITE IS RACIST AGAINST VIDEO LINKS
Alright, one last try. This had better work. Or else my internet reputation will be destroyed.
… I am victorious
How needlessly convoluted that was. The forum I go to is just as confusing when it comes to putting links in stuff, as well as Reddit at first.
Ah well, here’s a test link of the song that’s been stuck in my head for a while. Hope it works, or I’ll look like an idiot to the whole internet.
Shoot. I’m a fraud
I was thinking Han Solo, but that works too. WYLD STALLYNS!!! AIR GUITAR!
“SIXTY-NINE!”
“WHOA!”
I think I kept seeing Whoopi Goldberg.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/16/14/video-undefined-29AA9A5C00000578-360_636x358.jpg
Dina…you’re…you’re adorable. And the best.
OK fine, NOW I’ll ship them.
jump on the gravy band-wagon…train. next stop: slipshine! or therapy. depends.
THIS TRAIN HAS NOW SAILED!
I don’t think that’s how trains work.
What about bandwagons?
Bandwagons launch. It’s dirigibles that sail.
Forever
So whens that next slipshine?
Never.
awwwwwwwwwwwwww
Becky should go back to Goodwill and see if she can find the rest of that Han Solo costume.
I’m sure that Roz would be able to persuade her sister to lend Dina her old ‘slave Leia’ costume… Whoops! Sorry, wrong reality!
I choose to believe that Representative Desantos also owns a slave Leia costume.
In Leslie’s size???
Well, I’m dying.
Panel 3 hits too close to home for comfort.
Panel 5.
She is completely Old Spock there.
Feel you there.
Amazi-Girl does NOT cuddle. Dina, however…
*plays The Rolling Stones’ “Girl With The Faraway Eyes” on the Muzak*
Yes!
Now re-enact August 17, 2002!
Yeah…. we’re gonna need a link, for clarity.
is what Cephalo is referring to.
If I don’t get one of these links right eventually I’m going to shame myself out of existence.
It worked. J&W’s first kiss, I’m guessing?
(Also, the animated DoA banner with Dina – SO ADORBS)
Huh, I was thinking it was going to be the “EXTREME CUDDLING” one.
Hm, from panel 3 to 4, the “camera” moves through the window – which conveys going from “outward-looking” to “intimate” and also changes the shading from gloomy to brighter. Nicely done!
It’s nice to finally see a little inside Becky’s head for once. The lighting of the first three panels is perfect, showing that her position is dark indeed, yet light refuses to stop breaking in. Eventually, the filter disappears, and the power of Dinadorableness drags her out of her hopeless abyss of despair.
Craig Pelton: She’s DEEEEEEEENDORABLE!
No, wait!
ADORADEEN!
This is too much, I’m dying here! AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
There there Becky, don’t let the man keep you down.
that is almost the exact opposite of what she is intending
I.. I have something in my eye.
Liquid pride?
But that’s not for sad occasions. Only happy ones, like weddings or coronations.
I dunno, I think we can be proud of Dina here.
Sympathy expired.
Commencing househunt procedures.
Dina’s good people.
Dina is the best Dina. ;;;;;;;;;;;; (I know I want to read the other comics out there, but the idea of the other Dina out there in the multiverse fills me with dread. Since. I know that one spoilerly fact D: )
Hehe! I can’t read shortpacked! after trying many many times. I’ve read, I think, roomies – I know the early Joyce illustrations. Maybe some of Its Walky! But I no longer remember any of it, so I can as a latecomer enjoy the heck out of this version of the universe. I kinda accept spoilers from elsewhere a little, but from everything I get told (I have quite a few friends who are massive fans) I’m happiest living in this corner.
Oh, and cos I live in this corner, and am weird, I really *like* Danny.
Not as much as Dina tho 😉
Yeah, Danny’s my favorite character, though Dina’s definitely a close second now. I don’t get all the Danny hate.
I’m liking Becky more now that we’re getting to see inside Beckys mind or the real Becky (not quite show how to say it properly), makes me warm to her more
oops wrong email addy
You’re a good human being, Dina.
Hopefully both of you end up on the same page – whatever that page may be.
HOW CAN I HOLD ALL THESE FEELS
(alternately : I’M NOT CRYING WHY ARE YOU SAYING I’M CRYING YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S CRYING)
(Seriously, not QUITE on the edge of tears, but damn close.)
HOLD THOSE FEELS VIA HEAVY PHYSICAL CONTACT!
You have these feelings too?!
Oh Becky… I understand
Now reciprocate the heavy sympathy, Becky. You’ve got friends and good people around you who can help 🙂
Awww. Dang.
Great lighting, viewpoint out window and back into room.
Becky is warming up as a person.
Dina is just too good…at everything.
That Panel 2 and 3.
That feeling may be the worst, when every desperate grasp at stability is repeatedly undercut by one more little twist of the knife of everything. When every single point where you think you can catch your breath is just the brief lag before the next crisis to manage.
And the worst part is when it’s all over. When you really have ridden it through and found stability. Cause it’s almost impossible to believe that that lack of crisis is real and that just means it’s finally time to process all that accumulated trauma from the times when you were just surviving.
Seeing this glimpse into that for Becky just wants me to give her all the hugs-
… Ah, well played, Dina. Well played.
So much this, this, this. I lived with a scary, stressful situation for months while a family member’s life fell apart. An event finally forced me to leave home to stay with a relative. I was and am still very lucky–I had tons of support from family and friends.
But my behavior AFTER moving out, compared to before? I flipped out. I cried almost daily for weeks, I was a hair trigger from screaming at people (and several times I did and over little, little things). It was like I had been a spring coiling tighter and tighter over months. Then the pressure released and I had no idea what to do with myself. I wasn’t dealing with bad news, worse news on a daily basis anymore, but I still felt all this stress with nowhere to go so it all radiated outward.
At a certain point, the problem that’s destroying you is the only thing keeping you from falling apart. At least when you’re dealing with it, it’s consuming. When it leaves, even partway, you have a vacuum filled with how much that all HURT.
Basically, that was a bad time and I just want that last panel to go forever until a mass of corgi puppies floods the scene and cuddles Becky in a big fluffy pile. Ideal ratio would be 1:1 puppy-freckle.
Amber has trained her well. The student has become the master.
So, uh, quick questions. Does Becky not want to attend college? Is financial aid not a possibility? I know she’s homeless, but I imagine someone (that someone being Joyce is most likely) would help her pay for a P.O. Box to get her mail. Is she too young to do it without parental consent? I guess it might be that it’s unreasonable for her to think of this stuff on her own, but how has no one else aware of her situation not thought of it? Is Dina about to suggest it?
It would definitely be difficult without any parental support, but even with that aside, it’d have to be at least the next semester before she could do that. She kind of has to work on surviving that long.
That’s probably the next thing on her list. Becky did say she was getting clothes from the Goodwill and looking for a job. She can’t do everything at once.
If you don’t have emancipation papers or some other legal documentation, it’s next to impossible to get aid on your own when you’re 18.
But legal documents confirming her homeless status would work. Hopefully she knows other information she’d need, like her social security number.
What kind of legal documents? How would they get them? Why do you assume Ross would cooperate with her obtaining them? etc, etc.
First off, I don’t assume that Ross would corporate. She’d get them from ” a
runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program”or “an emergency shelter or transitional living program.”
http://studentcentral.indiana.edu/doc/financial-aid/hd/16AY-Confirmation-of-Homelessness.pdf
It’s really, really hard to get financial aid if your parents aren’t paying part of the way.
The drama tag puller in me would like for Becky to turn out to be independently quite wealthy due to a legacy from her mother; once Sarah and Jacob turn it into their sophomore year project to legally establish her access to the money now she’s a legal adult, Ross transforms into The Hooded Claw.
So if you’re over 18 but under 24 and want to apply for aid on your own, its possible but problematic. Their may be some variation by university for some of the aid, but for the federal loans (Stafford subsidised/unsubsidised) you at minimum need a statement from a psychiatrist stating that its not in your best interests to ever have contact with your parents again. Sometimes they want more than one statement, and that type of certification doesn’t tend to be easy in coming. I think she would get it, but its going to take some time and effort, and possibly expose her to some aspects of the mental health system she might be scared of owing to her current association (through father and upbringing) of it with correction “therapy.”
Also, she’s left her other university and probably doesn’t want to go back / wouldn’t be safe there. So she’s going to need to apply to a new university as well. She would at best be able to start mid-year, and in general I think would have better luck for next year. She’d also probably wind up in a better social situation if she starts at the beginning of a year with her mind more sorted out, if she does want to go back.
Meanwhile, she still needs to earn some money and keep a roof over her head.
Even if she were to start the process tomorrow it would take awhile. And unfortunately, the help you need to get that sort of certification usually only comes from inside the universities financial aid department. So she would actually need to apply elsewhere, get accepted, and then start the psychiatrist process. It makes some sense – after all your financial aid is anyway specific to the university you’re attending.
I think she might have some advantages in this case. Reparative therapy is rejected by the APA and APS, and I don’t doubt that any number of highly qualified people in the Dept. of Psychology at, say, Indiana University (which has one of the best departments in the world), who would have been More Than Happy (TM) to testify on her behalf that her father intended to have her assaulted. Hell, when I was a postdoc there, I’d have been happy to appear in support of such a case.
It’s a lot easier to be emancipated if your parents are planning to subject you to abuse.
But is it easy to prove your parents are planning to subject you to abuse?
If you can’t get a parent signature on the FAFSA I think you have to jump through a lot of hoops. Besides, I think we are far enough in the semester that she’ll have to wait until next semester anyway.
Financial aid is already going to be difficult to get, as many other people have pointed out. But what you’re talking about in Becky’s circumstances would be FULL tuition payment, not just like FAFSA, which is difficult to get even in the best circumstances.
It’s very anime of Dina to call her comforting attempts the same way anime characters often call their attacks.
I like it.
My immediate thought was “fire dragon hug attack!”
“Terrible Lizard Sympathy Touch, go!”
It’s not often Becky drops her happy face and let’s people see how much her situation bother’s her. Poor Becky. She has hardly anything and a man who has way too much power over her (Fudge you, Ross) works hard for her to lose it.
I love Dina in panel five. “Did it work? No? Let’s escalate.”
I’ll go join Patreon, then.
Welcome to the clubhouse.
Becky looks ready to cry in the last panel. Or maybe it’s me.
I have the same impression.
The comic itself: Oh, the feels. Well done, Dina.
Slightly undercut by the first page or so of comments predictably being calls for the next Slipshine. Point #9 on the FAQ, people.
Whilst I kind of agree, the hovertext does give a bit of an in for it – its not completely random.
(I’m mostly trying to be nice, and after having abandoned one of the recent days comment sections about a fifth of the way through the comics to hide and rant, I realise it might not be warranted.)
comics = comments gah. And I don’t know how to edit if editing is possible.
I know, right?
Like, the last few pages of Becky having a cuteness hemorrhage over Dina is one thing, but this is Becky lamenting how any sense of stability she’s had is in immediate danger.
y u do dis comments section
We dwell in the craggy shame-pits of the lustwolves. There is goodness here, obviously, as evidenced by today’s first thread, but it’s still the internet.
Mhm. I wanted to jump on a locked door joke but I think I maybe shouldn’t have, in retrospect? Regrets.
Fitting avatar…
Great punchline for such a sad comic. 🙁
Woah, when did Dina become awesome. I was never fond of her in the old Walky comics. She’s totes my jam now.
Dino-sized hug! Aww…
You would not believe the sound that was emitted by my throat when I first saw the last panel.
D’aaawww! +1 Sweet!
Seriously, I do think that this sequence will end with Dina and Becky having a cry together. Who could blame them? No eighteen-year-old should be in the situation that she’s in.
why would dina be crying? ,’:-|
doesn’t seem to me like she’s be all that empathic.
Right. Time to cry. Forever.
I must admit it still kinda bothers me that Dina’s right hand is clenched.
That’s not really that weird? I kinda get what you mean, but its a thing I’ve probably done as well, and a lot of guys I know wind up doing it with one hand in various situations.
I dare you to draw something more adorable.
http://www.projectwonderful.com/img/uploads/pics/924-1365318971.gif
oh my.
Dina is so adorable in this universe.
teh feels…
Gezz David Willis Slow down I cant feel that fast!
You’re doing good, Dina. Keep it up. 🙂
All of the adorbs.
There is SO much Dina backstory I want. SO much.
And Becky, yep, sympathise a lot. I’m really really glad you’re over 18, and I hope things work out for you (anyway Willis promised he wouldn’t kill any characters, so hopefully he won’t go in for worse.)
Also, I’m really glad I rotated this away from the end of my daily list into the penultimate place, because it is wonderful but seriously seriously emotionally insane (and awesome! But I need a reset to go from this to productive.)
I’m wondering if Becky will receive some help from Leslie?
I was thinking the same thing. She’s been pretty much through the same thing, so that would be interesting.
I was going to say something here but awwwwww.
Oh, Dina is just so sweet. I like her a lot.
OH MY GOD I NEED THAT IN MY LIFE
(I’m a little drunk shhhhh)
What, being homeless and hunted by an abusive dad ? <_<;
The last three panel will most certainly become part of my useful everyday images library.
If it weren’t for Dina, this would look like Becky’s Sympathetic Supervillain Origin Story.
Maybe Becky can stay with Marcie? She has to have a place somewhere, and she’s not studying, so it wouldn’t be dependent on her being a student, and it might be more permanent.
Awwwww!!!! 😀
Dina stop being so friggin cute, I already adore you! ~<3
So, why can’t Becky just get money from her bank? Teenagers usually have at least a savings account their parents set up for them, and the capability to withdraw money from it. On top of that, why can’t she return home with a local cop to retrieve her clothes and belongings, seeing as she’s 18 and her dad can’t force her to stay there?
It seems to me that she’s being very short-sighted and really hasn’t planned anything for her future, just reacted to her situation.
Teenagers sometimes not always have bank accounts and your parents can freeze them. Especially if it was in a joint name, which they semi often are. Controlling parents are even more likely to set it up that way.
And here I thought confirmation of job-hunting would put a stop to the accusations of irresponsibility.
Look, you’re making a lot of assumptions about what is and is not available to Becky. SzL addressed the bank account thing, I’m going to question the cop thing.
Leaving aside any potentially-paranoid thoughts about how cops often don’t do as they should, Becky still has reason not to get any authorities involved since she’s absolutely not supposed to be living where she’s living. If she gets her clothes and so on but loses what shelter she has, getting Joyce and probably also Sarah and Billie and, though she doesn’t know this, Ruth in trouble in the process, that’s a big loss.
Now, once she finds some kind of legitimate accommodations, she’ll be in a much better position to press the issue of her belongings. If she even still wants them. It’ll take time, she’ll have accumulated a bit more stuff, and if her old stuff is still anything more to her than a reminder of bad times, it still might not be worth the cost of having to see Toedad again.
Finally: Of course she didn’t have a long-term plan in place for “what if I get caught making out with my roommate and am threatened with degaying camp?” She’s friggin’ eighteen and homeless and in hiding. It’s incredibly difficult to plan for the future when nothing about the present is fixed.
“It’s incredibly difficult to plan for the future when nothing about the present is fixed.”
Which, ironically, is the exact point of this comic.
That was optimistic of you! People are going to be backseat “homeless gay teen”-ing for Becky even after she has a job and a place to live. There will still be things she could be doing better or differently.
But no, I actually had a similar thought when I first read the comic, and so now I am disappointed on both our behalves.
What bank? Does it seem even remotely likely that her father would have allowed her a bank account of her own, or, if he did, that he left her with the bank card when he decided that she needed to be brainwashed into a form more acceptable to him?
Seriously? What parent sends a kid to away to college without giving them some means of emergency financial support, like a local bank account or credit card or something?
And before you say “parents like Toedad”, remember that just a month or two ago (strip time) he was a “loving father” sending his daughter to a bible college (or whatever) with no clue she’d ‘turn gay’ on him.
Also, I understood it to mean that Toedad pulled Becky out of Anderson and took her home, which she ran away from, not that she ran away from him at Anderson. If that’s the case, then she should have access to money in her home bank account.
doubling down, huh
At this point I give up. Maybe I just can’t fathom a parent acting like that because mine didn’t and I haven’t been like that to my kids. So can we please just get it over with and have AG kick the living snot out of Toedad when he returns, then get back to some other minor plotline, like:
1. Sarah taking Jacon away from Raidah
2. Ethan & Danny & Amber’s weird triangle
3. Dorothy & Walky being carnal so more
4. Sal improving at math while Walky struggles
5. Dina eating anything besides cereal
6. Ruth and Billie struggling not to lush it up
7. Finding out the name of the hijab wearing mail lady
Wait what? Why are we assuming Becky even has a bank account in her own name? Her dad didn’t even let her have her own phone. This alone tells me there’s a pretty good chance he has complete control over her finances.
At her age I had maybe twelve dollars to my name and no bank account.
“Why doesn’t the girl who is sad that she has no money just go and get her money?”
people just have money, right
what kind of people don’t have money????
Moochers, Willis. Hateful greedy moochers. Honestly, Becky just needs to pull herself up by her bootstraps and make the choice to not be a homeless queer youth with an abusive dad. I mean, after all let us NEVAR FORGET how she once wasted the $20 of salvation on haircut handouts. (/sarcasm)
“Poor people? What are those??”
I don’t think it’s at all a universal thing that teenagers have bank accounts in their name. Especially not ones that their parents don’t also have access to or that is flush with the thousands of dollars Becky would need (certainly that’s not a life experience the majority of previously homeless youth I’ve known have had).
I think in Becky’s situation, it’s even less likely that she would have her own independent bank account seeing as how her dad is so controlling he doesn’t even let her have a phone: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/sarcasm/
As far as cops and getting one’s stuff goes… yeah, that’s not so much a thing in situations of abuse. Abusers have a tendency of exploiting points of need for anything and so anything you didn’t bring with you when you escaped can pretty much be written off as gone as the psychological cost of getting it is often WAY too high.
And cops don’t get involved for shit in those types of situations and not because of any cops are shit type of sentiment (but seriously cops are shit and dangerous if you are any flavor of minority), but because they hate getting involved in what they see as domestic dispute issues.
As such, the most likely response to any attempt to seek aid in this matter would be them telling her to just get it herself and the added scrutiny could get her in further trouble with the school she is illegally living at as of today and could tip off the cops if Toedad goes to them with his Missing Persons petition. (Fun fact: reparative therapy is 100% legal in Indiana, so while Toedad would still run afoul of other laws if he forced her, legal entities would also be unlikely to view such an event as abusive enough to involve legal intervention even though it very much is: http://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/conversion_therapy )
And it is rather predictable, I mean astounding, yes totally out of place and not at all painfully expected, how Becky still gets dumped on for not “victiming” right even though it is little over a weekend later and she is doing everything right that she can (seeking employment, finding a temporary housing solution beyond Joyce’s bed, securing more than one pair of clothes from cheap locations so she doesn’t have to borrow anymore, being a super standup friend to Joyce).
It’s almost as if there’s a strong culture of victim blaming homeless queer youth and the overall poor or something… but that would be unpossible.
I appreciate the shot of Becky from outside through the window; it is very cinematic.
dina reminds me of me in this one except I would ask first due to over paranoid.
“could you use some heavy physical sympathy?”
Cuteness… overload… ack!
Oh gods. This one made me cry. I feel so strongly for Becky here, and I’m so glad she has Dina there to give her the hug that I can’t give her. Your work just keeps getting better, dude.
I like this…. in this moment, we really get to see how vulnerable and afraid Becy is. She masks it with bravado at times, but here we see how much this is hurting her.
I have plenty of experience with life setbacks, and failures over the years. I know how afraid I can feel, how agonizingly uncomfortable and anxious I become in the face of uncertainty. Even so, I’ve been fortunate in that my immediate family has always been in my corner through the darkest and scariest of times. I recognize that this makes a huge difference.
Becky really needs some substantive guidance and support if she is to start establishing a real life for herself. As others have suggested, Leslie Bean would be an excellent resource for a situation such as this one. I wonder if it will ever occur to anyone to speak to her about this. She would most likely be able to point Becky in the right direction in terms of long term solutions.
In the meantime, this is a really sweet moment between Becky and Dina. I would definitely like to see more interaction between them, at least as friends, and possibly more.
Dina already met the parent, so she got to third base.
That last panel is so adorable! owo
And then the oral sex.
I really those two end up together, I feel Dina would be really good for Becky. Love this comic! I’m such an addict.
Okay, now my brain is hemorrhaging.
Mr. Willis I will be sending you my dental bill because these cavities have nothing to do with my eating habits
also it is ridiculous how important this ship is to me. Even if it never goes anywhere other than this. Even if they never speak to each other again. I’ve had this happen once, in my life. One time before this time, where I shipped two ladies and it turned out I was supposed to, not just imagining things.
(It’s not that bi/gay ladies have never existed in the media I’ve watched! But going from subtext to text is very rare, with such ships. Usually it’s more like “here is the lesbian, and here is her future girlfriend, they will kiss next episode and that will be the end of their romantic tension.” So there’s nothing to ship, per se. No “will they or won’t they”.)
In the words of Joe, “Make out, now. Make out.”
If I could just feel the feels that panels 4-6 make me feel forever?
Yeah, that’d be nice.
On a related note, I am deeply, deeply conflicted on if I think this should lead into a Slipshine or not.
My god, if the previous ones caused slipshine subscriptions to jump, imagine what a Becky/Dina one would do.
And yet as much as I’d like that, at the same time…I feel somehow like Dina’s not ready for that?
Or maybe she is; she knows what goes on and even if she’s thought it’s weird before, she’s never been in a situation where she might actually be one of the involved parties.
Part of me thinks it would be . . . Too intimate? But I do not know if that is just me channeling Sarah and her ‘definitely weird.’
Emotionally intimate, I mean.
Mada, Nightsbridge: Like I said, deeply conflicted.
awww!