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Well I know back in the olden days they were a real commitment cause they were a one time thing, but we’ve improved we have the technology to remove.
-takes a step back and looks at what she just wrote- Who are you Meghan??
A: Hugging someone else at butt-height, so either your face is using the cheeks as a pillow, or your hands are pushing on their cheeks to have your face buried against their crotch, or;
B: Hugging someone WITH your butt, which would suggest either a very targeted hug on a sufficiently diminutive appendage, OR a very, very large posterior?
The line was “And this one time, at band camp, I stuck a flute in my pussy!”
And I feel sad for still remembering that line perfectly 16 years on from the original movie it appeared in. xD Although I did have the hots for Alyson Hannigan, so that may explain it…
Fair enough. Although I can’t remember loads of quotes, I *do* have a massive DVD collection. Like, enough to open my own medium-sized high-street rental store. xD
It’s a good thing that those are two of the three instruments I know how to play
I mean I would only be able to really watch and provide the background music in the lesbian hypothetical, given that I myself am of the testicular variety, but that’s ok with me if it’s ok with them
There isn’t enough ice cream in the world for the comments section to comfort itself for an entire month. We may have to spread out to additional flavors of ice cream.
Earlier on, Joyce went to a party, and was drugged and almost raped by someone claiming to be a “preacher’s son”. She’s been shy about having sex since then, for obvious reasons. Becky kissed her without her consent and no warning, although she didn’t know it was wrong.
He originally claimed to be “the son of a pastor” here. Then, after Joyce smashes the glass across his face and accuses him of lying about being a pastor’s son, he states that “that part was true”.
However, even pastors themselves are not immune from engaging in some non-pastoral conduct from time to time. Look at Aimee Semple McPherson back in the early 1900s; Rev. Sun Myung Moon (founder of the ‘Moonies’) in the 1960s and 1970s; Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker in the 1980s and 1990s; and our newest poster child for religious excess, Creflo Dollar, who is currently trying to tell his followers that he needs a $65 million executive jet in order to spread his message
Joyce has been quite adverse to “premarital hanky-panky” anyways. But what changed in that regard is that the rapist has invaded her fantasies, making them traumatic instead. On top of that, Joyce now sees every male stranger as a potential threat, and has been avoiding leaving the dorm or classroom without an escort of some sort. Hell, she even needs an escort to lunch. If there’s no escort, she stays put. And Joyce hates all of this.
In other words, Joyce has PTSD stemming from that one party.
Oh, and it becomes a big reason as to why Joyce began dating a gay man. Before she knew he was gay, she was drawn to him because she felt safe around him. And by ‘safe’, I mean ‘he wasn’t attracted to her’.
Certainly was awfully well prepared if that was his first attempt at it.
Wish Sarah had hit him a little harder. Or Amazi-Girl was a little better at detective work. Or the police had been notified. Finding a guy who had to make an ER visit for a severe facial laceration, some broken ribs, and at least a mild concussion should be easy, especially if that parson’s son thing wasn’t a complete lie.
Yeah, but this is is sadly representative of most people who are raped – the vast majority of our attackers will never the a police interview, a courtroom, or a jail cell.
Too true. Flawed justice system and a societal tendency toward victim shaming combine to make a truly awful situation. OTOH, real life rapists don’t have to worry about being tracked down by a vigilante super-hero, which is a Thing That Could Happen in DoA.
OKAY GOOD. Good Becky. Good. She’s becoming a better human being. Yay character development!
It’s interesting how Joyce and Becky come from such similar backgrounds, and both came into this new environment with some really sticky issues they need to work on – but their issues are very very different, haha.
Practically molesting your friend and constantly making sexual comments to them after they say they’re not comfortable with it is pretty shitty, to be honest. (Joyce turned out to not be super perturbed by it, which is good for Joyce – but speaking from personal experience, that could’ve gone VERY differently; having a friend you only have platonic feelings for abruptly force a kiss on you is, in real life, pretty jarring and not in a good way.)
I’m not saying she was horrible – but she was certainly ignorant and that ignorance manifested in borderline predatory behavior, so I’m really really glad it seems like she’s recognized this and will hopefully be better and more careful from here on out about respecting people’s physical and emotional boundaries.
See, I agree her actions before were terrible (but unless you’re referring to something I don’t recall, I wouldn’t call kissing “practically molesting”), but this isn’t a change in her character. She’s just realizing she behaved badly before because now she has additional context. Realizing one particular behavior was inappropriate doesn’t make you a better person, but recognizing the inappropriateness does signify that she was *always* a good person, at least in that regard (I’m not the biggest fan of Becky because the way she treated Dorothy at first rubbed me the wrong way, but that is neither here nor there).
Maybe kissing your best friend out of nowhere was a bad idea. Even if Joyce was into girls, she already has a hot blonde chick as a friend, and wouldn’t want to leave her.
I think the joke is more about Joyce considering, uh, the insertion of butt plugs to be on par with hugging as a gesture of platonic affection. This would be, y’know, completely insane; thus it is funny.
My comment is now irrelevant, given that he changed it.
I understand why it would be funny, but I feel as though in the past Willis has used sexual assault/harassment as a punchline in the past (mostly in his other comics), so the “butt plugs are fine” joke fell flat with me. Especially given his attempts to show the seriousness of the issue elsewhere in his work
Yeah. It originally said something like “Butt plugs are ok” and now it says “butt hugs are not ok”, which is both funnier and better than the original.
Aw, Becky did good here. The apology is good, as is the realization that she could have inadvertently triggered Joyce and realizing what a big deal that would be.
This is everything i hoped it would be and more. Given that Becky is Joyce’s bestest friend, I really hoped she would be the one she finally opened up to about this so she didn’t have to carry the PTSD alone and I really did think that a lot of Becky’s missteps had to do with her not knowing the full story and she’d react a lot differently if she did know. And I really hoped we would have a moment like this.
And it’s just… powerful and I’m really glad the story went here.
… though the petty part of my brain also wants to shove this moment in the face of all the Becky haters who thought she was a selfish dingbat who wasn’t a worthy and supportive friend.
My mind parses butt hugs as two butts hugging and is now struggling with interpreting the logistics of such a maneuver. Also I didn’t see the old alt text.
I love love love this. Finally they’re talking about this and their friendship comes out intact and stronger in the end. Bless these ladies and their awesome friendship.
I am so happy. Becky wants to be a good friend, and now she knows what she needs to know to be a good friend to Joyce. Joyce isn’t going to let the trauma take away from her stuff that really really matters to her, like hugs.
oooh good job Becky, you are best Becky. Good job Joyce, you are best Joyce. So proud of you both.
That went better than expected. Joyce didn’t blow up at anyone, didn’t break down, and didn’t completely refuse to talk. Becky was compassionate and understanding and didn’t do anything cringeworthy. Progress has been made.
Wow, that’s very self aware of Joyce. And I’m so glad they are talking and to learn that Becky’s kiss was not a trigger. Becky is still Becky, a best friend to confide in and be safe with. Now healing can begin. Hugs are fine
I have waited for this moment since Becky first showed up at IU.
I’m glad the hover text was changed, went from tastless to funny.
Someone said that Becky kissing Joyce wasn’t exactly an awful thing, but…they were in bed together, it was totally unannounced, and Becky plainly was not planning on stopping at kissing-if Joyce was willing.
Joyce wasn’t.
I’m glad it worked out this was in the last 2 days. Fine writing and story telling. Sarah talked to Becky and Becky and Joyce now talking. And both Sahra and Becky are just fine friends.
And bubbling or no bubbling….talking is what Joyce needs to do.
The ‘if Joyce was willing’ part is a big, big, big thing. She didn’t take away Joyce’s ability to consent or not consent. She stopped the moment that that consent was not given. It was hardly a shining example of Enthusiastic Consent, of course, but it was behaviour that would go uncommented in most other contexts.
No a forced kiss is a forced kiss whether the person stopped or not. The only reason we don’t comment on this kind of thing more often is that the media tends to portray it as romantic. I’m actually really glad that Willis is one of the few creators to at least comment on the problem.
I don’t think we disagree on any substantive point, just the way I worded things was bad.
I was really responding to the idea that Becky wanting to bang Joyce if she’d responded positively to the (stupid, not appropriate) kiss and agreed to go further is evidence of anything beyond the stupid inappropriateness being guided by hormones.
It’s nice to be in a place where I’m chided because my ill phrasing tended toward rape apologia, rather than being called a kink shamer for calling a character forcing themself on someone against their protests ‘assault’ just because the victim eventually relented.
I really, really appreciate Joyce’s reactions. Like, all of them, regarding her assault. They remind me so much of me right after. I wouldn’t talk about it, wouldn’t name it, even though it consumed me. And having a friend who knew and cared and hugged me was just…that was huge.
In order to compartmentalize and not be a wreck while reading these past few comics, I have instead focused on something else: This is probably my favorite Joyce outfit.
Ah, that feels better. Were people talking about something?
Loading ...
“so what about, like, backrubs and hairbrushing”
…
“I need to know for reasons”
BUTT PLUGS wait what
Well yeah.
Just as long as they’re not too big.
“BUT HOW DOES POOP COME OUT IF PLUGGED”
Well I know back in the olden days they were a real commitment cause they were a one time thing, but we’ve improved we have the technology to remove.
-takes a step back and looks at what she just wrote- Who are you Meghan??
*crickets*
You have to fart really hard to remove it
Your image makes it awesome,
Espically if you imagine an Excalibur voice to go with it
Ask Walky…
Time for a conversion.
BRING OUT THE BABY JESUS BUTTPLUG AND THE MALLET, MARTHA!
Someone somewhere is not aware of the alt text, and thinks you were just startled by a, actual butt plug.
Which, fair enough, can be a bit startling if it’s unexpected.
That person is me.
Thank goodness we’ve found you. We need you to save the world.
EVERYONE FROM HERE UP GETS A +1 (at least)
HOW DO YOU ACCESS THE ALT TEXT ON MOBILE, I FOUND IT ONCE BUT CAN NO LONGER REMEMBER HOW
TEEEEEEEAAAAACCHH ME
Butt plugs are better than fine.
Okay, so, would a butt hug be:
A: Hugging someone else at butt-height, so either your face is using the cheeks as a pillow, or your hands are pushing on their cheeks to have your face buried against their crotch, or;
B: Hugging someone WITH your butt, which would suggest either a very targeted hug on a sufficiently diminutive appendage, OR a very, very large posterior?
I, too, feel this needs clearing up… we need more speculation on this topic.
Or C: placing your posterior against the posterior of another, and bringing your arms behind your back to give them a reverse hug.
hairbrushing HAS to be fine, else how would she brush Sal’s river of chocolate ?
Still nothing compared to Sal…
Butt plugs and “river of chocolate”… Now that’s an unfortunate juxtaposition.
..nooo.
*Melts into a puddle from the sadness*
~~^~^~~~~~~~~
Alright people, you know the drill :
-chocolate, coffee, strawberry & vanilla ice cream are on the left side
-fruit sorbet on the right side
Unlimited boxes of tissues are available in the middle of the room.
Becky is going to offer these things to Joyce and we’ll be like “Can’t tell if legitimate friend comfort
or Lesbian seduction”
Depends on whether or not the background music is a smoky saxophone solo.
Nope, lesbians use clarinet solos for seductions… :p
There was this one time at band camp, I stuck my flute up my butt.
Did you use that old “I accidently fell on it” line at the hospital?
Repeat after me: “Flutes are not dildos”
Butt kazoos are…
What if it’s a skin flute?
The line was “And this one time, at band camp, I stuck a flute in my pussy!”
And I feel sad for still remembering that line perfectly 16 years on from the original movie it appeared in. xD Although I did have the hots for Alyson Hannigan, so that may explain it…
I wouldn’t worry about it. Compared to the average Monty Python or Rocky Horror fan, you’ve got an extremely mild case of Movie Quote Syndrome.
NI!
Fair enough. Although I can’t remember loads of quotes, I *do* have a massive DVD collection. Like, enough to open my own medium-sized high-street rental store. xD
IT seems we have 1 of the Knights Who Say Ni here. It isn’t everyday you see something like that here…
You mean I picked the instrument that only seduces women who aren’t interested in me? What was my 11-year-old self thinking?
I don’t know about you, but I was thinking “Goddamnit, Mom, if I agree to take lessons on this stupid thing will you just shut up about it already?”
Must admit that Opus’ post makes me rethink the many, many times I called it a “fucking clarinet” though.
It’s a good thing that those are two of the three instruments I know how to play
I mean I would only be able to really watch and provide the background music in the lesbian hypothetical, given that I myself am of the testicular variety, but that’s ok with me if it’s ok with them
*definition of life
She’s smiling in the last panel, sorta, but it’s really breaking my heart ;_;
And Becky’s own crumpling smile. ALL OF THE BREAKING HEARTS.
Who even eats strawberry ice cream? If they have a choice in the matter anyways.
Just watched this movie last night. Best joke.
I was thinking of that scene when I was writing.
I love strawberries. In all forms.
The only pink ice cream I will eat is Musk flavour.
https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/508945152_640.jpg
Oo0 They make Elon Musk-flavored ice cream?? Is it as smart as he is?
I should have said musk as in musk flowers not people. ^_^
That depends. Strawberry-flavored, or made with real strawberries?
Strawberry ice cream eaters be like “Look, strawberry is a fruit. Fruit is good for you. so I’m being…healthy? Yeah.@
Because we all know one healthy ingredient is sufficient to make a product healthy as a whole.
– takes a bu5t ton of chocolate ice cream- (something about that sentence…) I’mma just take this… for reasons… youcanthaveanykthanksbye.
*looks at puddle of Neko, melting ice cream, sorbet, and disintegrating tissue paper*
I don’t think that worked very well. Maybe if we put into a cat-shaped mold, and stuck it in the freezer…
Then we’d have created Ice Cream Kitty.
The new superhero DoA carves, but not the one it needs right now.
Got here on time
The suspense was killin’ me!
Hugs will always find a way
“Butt” hugs. They find their way -sniff-
I wouldn’t sniff too hard if I were you.
Becky: But Joyce, you have such a huggable butt! :3
*Gives Joyce hugz*
GIMME DAT CHRISTIAN BUTT HUG
I wouldn’t recommend Becky use bear hugs let alone bare hugs.
I know it’s hard to see the past and still believe, but hugs will surely find a way.
Amy Grant? Anyone? Just me? Okay.
YES. Hugs would be very very nice right now I think.
Possibly group hugs? Big group hugs?
Big group butt hugs?
Thank goodness we’ll always have hugs.
Is the alt text teasing the next Slipshine?
Because I might have to finally break out the wallet for that one.
This…this was WAY better then I thought I would be. Sooooooooo, when’s the fallout going to hit?
Based on the preview panes probably starting about May 7th continuing until early July.
There isn’t enough ice cream in the world for the comments section to comfort itself for an entire month. We may have to spread out to additional flavors of ice cream.
“it just keep bubbling up to the surface.” -Joyce. More innocence lost.
So I missed some comics or I’m just dumb. What is going on? Anyone have a link to refresh me?
Earlier on, Joyce went to a party, and was drugged and almost raped by someone claiming to be a “preacher’s son”. She’s been shy about having sex since then, for obvious reasons. Becky kissed her without her consent and no warning, although she didn’t know it was wrong.
IIRC Ryan is a pastor’s son.
He originally claimed to be “the son of a pastor” here. Then, after Joyce smashes the glass across his face and accuses him of lying about being a pastor’s son, he states that “that part was true”.
However, even pastors themselves are not immune from engaging in some non-pastoral conduct from time to time. Look at Aimee Semple McPherson back in the early 1900s; Rev. Sun Myung Moon (founder of the ‘Moonies’) in the 1960s and 1970s; Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker in the 1980s and 1990s; and our newest poster child for religious excess, Creflo Dollar, who is currently trying to tell his followers that he needs a $65 million executive jet in order to spread his message
Joyce has been quite adverse to “premarital hanky-panky” anyways. But what changed in that regard is that the rapist has invaded her fantasies, making them traumatic instead. On top of that, Joyce now sees every male stranger as a potential threat, and has been avoiding leaving the dorm or classroom without an escort of some sort. Hell, she even needs an escort to lunch. If there’s no escort, she stays put. And Joyce hates all of this.
In other words, Joyce has PTSD stemming from that one party.
Oh, and it becomes a big reason as to why Joyce began dating a gay man. Before she knew he was gay, she was drawn to him because she felt safe around him. And by ‘safe’, I mean ‘he wasn’t attracted to her’.
Oh yeah I forgot that that was part of the reason she dated Ethan! Makes it somewhat more understandable.
Sarah’s just told Becky about Ryan the almost-rapist.
Let’s be honest, he probably was already a rapist before that.
Certainly was awfully well prepared if that was his first attempt at it.
Wish Sarah had hit him a little harder. Or Amazi-Girl was a little better at detective work. Or the police had been notified. Finding a guy who had to make an ER visit for a severe facial laceration, some broken ribs, and at least a mild concussion should be easy, especially if that parson’s son thing wasn’t a complete lie.
Yeah, but this is is sadly representative of most people who are raped – the vast majority of our attackers will never the a police interview, a courtroom, or a jail cell.
Too true. Flawed justice system and a societal tendency toward victim shaming combine to make a truly awful situation. OTOH, real life rapists don’t have to worry about being tracked down by a vigilante super-hero, which is a Thing That Could Happen in DoA.
OKAY GOOD. Good Becky. Good. She’s becoming a better human being. Yay character development!
It’s interesting how Joyce and Becky come from such similar backgrounds, and both came into this new environment with some really sticky issues they need to work on – but their issues are very very different, haha.
She always was.
Always was what? Good?
Practically molesting your friend and constantly making sexual comments to them after they say they’re not comfortable with it is pretty shitty, to be honest. (Joyce turned out to not be super perturbed by it, which is good for Joyce – but speaking from personal experience, that could’ve gone VERY differently; having a friend you only have platonic feelings for abruptly force a kiss on you is, in real life, pretty jarring and not in a good way.)
I’m not saying she was horrible – but she was certainly ignorant and that ignorance manifested in borderline predatory behavior, so I’m really really glad it seems like she’s recognized this and will hopefully be better and more careful from here on out about respecting people’s physical and emotional boundaries.
See, I agree her actions before were terrible (but unless you’re referring to something I don’t recall, I wouldn’t call kissing “practically molesting”), but this isn’t a change in her character. She’s just realizing she behaved badly before because now she has additional context. Realizing one particular behavior was inappropriate doesn’t make you a better person, but recognizing the inappropriateness does signify that she was *always* a good person, at least in that regard (I’m not the biggest fan of Becky because the way she treated Dorothy at first rubbed me the wrong way, but that is neither here nor there).
Thanks, wouldn’t have formulated that better.
im so sad damn you willis
Maybe kissing your best friend out of nowhere was a bad idea. Even if Joyce was into girls, she already has a hot blonde chick as a friend, and wouldn’t want to leave her.
Making a joke about anal in the hoverover text for a strip about sexual assault and the casualties thereof seems in poor taste, imo.
Glad to see a good side of Becky starting to show. She’s being really sweet here.
I think the joke is more about Joyce considering, uh, the insertion of butt plugs to be on par with hugging as a gesture of platonic affection. This would be, y’know, completely insane; thus it is funny.
My comment is now irrelevant, given that he changed it.
I understand why it would be funny, but I feel as though in the past Willis has used sexual assault/harassment as a punchline in the past (mostly in his other comics), so the “butt plugs are fine” joke fell flat with me. Especially given his attempts to show the seriousness of the issue elsewhere in his work
The alt text got changed now. Evidently there was a misspelling.
Yeah. It originally said something like “Butt plugs are ok” and now it says “butt hugs are not ok”, which is both funnier and better than the original.
Aw, Becky did good here. The apology is good, as is the realization that she could have inadvertently triggered Joyce and realizing what a big deal that would be.
Awwwww~– *reads alt text* –No.
what was the original alt text?
“butt plugs” instead of “butt hugs”
…oh, it was changed.
“I mean, don’t make out with me anymore, but, y’know. It’s okay.” That dialogue is almost as naturalistic as it is hilarious.
I started tearing up as I read this comic.
Then the hovertext happened.
So, next Slipshine – just 12 pages of Joyce and Becky hugging?
Shut up and take my money!
I’m sure it’s *someone’s* fetish. Plus Becky farts on page 8; that’s someone else’s fetish.
That’s where the butt plug comes in ?
Or a patron bonus? I’d buy that
Throw in Becky doing karaoke of Bon Jovi’s “I’ll Be There For You” and it’s a deal.
HUGZ foreverz!!!1!!!
Insert kawaii emoticon here
Take your pick:
d=(´▽｀)=b
٩꒰ ˘ ³˘꒱۶ⒽⓤⒼ♥♡̷♡
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
(>^_^)><(^o^<)
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼ contract ?
(⊙_☉)
Those came out of a pouch on your Plasma Utility Belt (T), right?
This is everything i hoped it would be and more. Given that Becky is Joyce’s bestest friend, I really hoped she would be the one she finally opened up to about this so she didn’t have to carry the PTSD alone and I really did think that a lot of Becky’s missteps had to do with her not knowing the full story and she’d react a lot differently if she did know. And I really hoped we would have a moment like this.
And it’s just… powerful and I’m really glad the story went here.
… though the petty part of my brain also wants to shove this moment in the face of all the Becky haters who thought she was a selfish dingbat who wasn’t a worthy and supportive friend.
thank you for expressing everything I wanted to, especially the rubbing in the face of the Becky haters, better than I could.
There, there.
I have something in my eye…
Hopefully it is not a butt plug.
Methinks it’s a retina.
Vitreous humor?
In Schlemm’ s canal.
This is touching
INB4 everyone notices alt-text change
I was wondering why everyone was going on about butt plugs…
They just like them…
So I’m not the only one who saw that. Thought I was going crazy and imagining things.
Oh…that makes more sense…
My mind parses butt hugs as two butts hugging and is now struggling with interpreting the logistics of such a maneuver. Also I didn’t see the old alt text.
Joyce and Becky will be stronger friends for this, and they both need that.
Best friend strength for the hurdles ahead!
Let there be hugs! Hug-le-luuuu-iah!
AWWWWWWWWWWW *heart S plodes*
I love love love this. Finally they’re talking about this and their friendship comes out intact and stronger in the end. Bless these ladies and their awesome friendship.
Yes! 100% agree!
I am so happy. Becky wants to be a good friend, and now she knows what she needs to know to be a good friend to Joyce. Joyce isn’t going to let the trauma take away from her stuff that really really matters to her, like hugs.
oooh good job Becky, you are best Becky. Good job Joyce, you are best Joyce. So proud of you both.
Usually, I ain’t one for physical displays of affection. But even I have to agree that a hug from a loved one is one of the best feelings ever.
You wouldn’t even need those hugs if you’d gotten the soft serve. I’d like to apologize for the complications.
While the hugs may have helped me cope, that soft serve would’ve decreased the time it took for me to recover. I’ll see you in court.
If you can find me. -evil laugh-
Oh I’ll find you… and when I do, there’ll be no more soft serve for you! Or hugs!!
*ahem* We’ll see.
D’aww. Becky is the best.
That went better than expected. Joyce didn’t blow up at anyone, didn’t break down, and didn’t completely refuse to talk. Becky was compassionate and understanding and didn’t do anything cringeworthy. Progress has been made.
I want to hug Joyce until the pain goes away, even though it probably never will.
Oh d’awwwwwww! What a great scene.
Hugs are always fine, I’m with you there Joyce
Wow, that’s very self aware of Joyce. And I’m so glad they are talking and to learn that Becky’s kiss was not a trigger. Becky is still Becky, a best friend to confide in and be safe with. Now healing can begin. Hugs are fine
I have waited for this moment since Becky first showed up at IU.
Butt hugs are totally fine.
Just bury your face into that soft yet firm warmth and exhale your stress away.
And hope it doesn’t then turn into a fart joke.
Ah, but fart jokes (and the urge to sing the lion sleeps tonight) are always only a whim away, a whim away, a whim away…
IN THE JUNGLE! THE MIGHTY JUNGLE! THE LION SLEEPS TONIIIIGHT!
We’re talkin’ Becky, here. The only way to increase the odds of a fart joke coming up at that point would be to have Walky involved.
Well, he’s bored of studying and may come to that floor any second now~
I searched the page and couldn’t find a single “Secret Butt Fun” joke. C’mon, guys. This is low-hanging fruit.
Speech bubbles are a little wonky in the last panel – looks like Joyce answers a question before Becky asks that question.
Ehh, nevermind. Missed the ‘but’
But butt hugs are fine with me!
I’m glad the hover text was changed, went from tastless to funny.
Someone said that Becky kissing Joyce wasn’t exactly an awful thing, but…they were in bed together, it was totally unannounced, and Becky plainly was not planning on stopping at kissing-if Joyce was willing.
Joyce wasn’t.
I’m glad it worked out this was in the last 2 days. Fine writing and story telling. Sarah talked to Becky and Becky and Joyce now talking. And both Sahra and Becky are just fine friends.
And bubbling or no bubbling….talking is what Joyce needs to do.
The ‘if Joyce was willing’ part is a big, big, big thing. She didn’t take away Joyce’s ability to consent or not consent. She stopped the moment that that consent was not given. It was hardly a shining example of Enthusiastic Consent, of course, but it was behaviour that would go uncommented in most other contexts.
No a forced kiss is a forced kiss whether the person stopped or not. The only reason we don’t comment on this kind of thing more often is that the media tends to portray it as romantic. I’m actually really glad that Willis is one of the few creators to at least comment on the problem.
I don’t think we disagree on any substantive point, just the way I worded things was bad.
I was really responding to the idea that Becky wanting to bang Joyce if she’d responded positively to the (stupid, not appropriate) kiss and agreed to go further is evidence of anything beyond the stupid inappropriateness being guided by hormones.
It’s nice to be in a place where I’m chided because my ill phrasing tended toward rape apologia, rather than being called a kink shamer for calling a character forcing themself on someone against their protests ‘assault’ just because the victim eventually relented.
Ah. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Nah, it’s really on my head. I can see how my original phrasing can be read wrong.
The sparkly eyes are a nice touch. (Also: aaaawwwww.)
Tomorrow’s strip: 4 panels of Joyce and Becky hugging.
Willis, please do whatever it takes to make this happen.
Yes please, we wanted that already when Becky told Joyce about her situation. We are due.
Ok, next page will be 4 panels of Walky burping loudly. Becky hears that and joins the showdown.
Next on Slipshine: Joyce and Becky Platonicly Hug.
Awwwww. Notice how Becky edges closer. “Hugs? … Hugs? …. Hugs? … HUGS!!!” similar to Joyce here and in following strips.
HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGSSS.
I think EVERYONE wants to hug Joyce, then wrap her in a blanket and give her chicken soup.
I also think I might have quoted How I Met Your Mother…
Hugs keep the world turning round.
That’s one bright side, at least, that Ryan didn’t get to touch Joyce in a way that might have made her freak out about casual touches otherwise.
Becky gets it better than people think. She wasn’t told some things. This is why secrets hurt sometimes.
I really, really appreciate Joyce’s reactions. Like, all of them, regarding her assault. They remind me so much of me right after. I wouldn’t talk about it, wouldn’t name it, even though it consumed me. And having a friend who knew and cared and hugged me was just…that was huge.
I’m really tearing up here. So much emotion. I can’t make any jokes about this. It’s just too perfect.
*reads hovertext*
PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF–
In order to compartmentalize and not be a wreck while reading these past few comics, I have instead focused on something else: This is probably my favorite Joyce outfit.
Ah, that feels better. Were people talking about something?
Butt hugs are never fine.
But fine butts deserve hugs.
Well. The first time I read the hover text I read “butt hugs” as “butt plugs.” So.
Joyce actually brought tears to my eyes with that last line.
Thank you, Willis.
Wait wait…
Becky isn’t allowed a phone.
a CELLPHONE
she can have a friggin landline
this needs to be in the faq apparently