Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

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anger is how you know something's important, like how you shouldn't try to catch the ark of the covenant if you drop it
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May 5, 2026

Nemeses

by David M Willis on May 25, 2015 at 12:01 am
  • 03 - The Butterflies Won't Fly Away
└ Tags: becky, jennifer, joyce, roz, sarah

Discussion (207) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Jen Aside
    Jen Aside
    May 25, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    Joyce loves everyone!

    some folks she loves to avoid, some folks she loves to punch in the face, some folks she loves to crucifyuse as a bad example

    • Yet_One_More_Idiot
      Yet_One_More_Idiot
      May 25, 2015 at 6:23 am | #

      Nemeses…wasn’t he, like, an Egyptian Pharoah? 😛 😛 😛

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        May 25, 2015 at 1:55 pm | #

        I realize you were making a joke based on a deliberate mis-spelling of the name, but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_%28mythology%29

        • Yet_One_More_Idiot
          Yet_One_More_Idiot
          May 25, 2015 at 5:59 pm | #

          Yeah, I was making a rather loose play on the name of Ramses (I thought it was spelt Rameses, but Google and Wiki corrected me). 🙂

          I did know there was a Nemesis in ancient Greek Mythology though. I think there were plans to name a supposed brown dwarf star at the edge of our solar system after it, back in the 80s and 90s, that’s where I first heard the name in my childhood (they never found such a body in the solar system though). 🙂

          • Nice
            Nice
            June 11, 2015 at 6:15 pm | #

            They didn’t find any planetary body out there, yet.
            But there are reports that they have found a gap in the planetesimals orbiting out beyond Neptune. Like the gaps formed by moons in Saturn’s rings. Just big enough to be made by a substantial sized object.
            Sty tuned.

        • BrokenEye, True False Prophet
          BrokenEye, True False Prophet
          September 30, 2015 at 12:35 am | #

          Actually, “nemeses” is the plural of “nemesis”

      • xKiv
        xKiv
        May 25, 2015 at 6:00 pm | #

        Close. A Nemes is a kind of hat worn by (some) Pharaohs. Nemeses sounds like an english plural of that.

    • begbert2
      begbert2
      May 25, 2015 at 9:27 pm | #

      When somebody loves thinking of you as somebody who will be brutally murdered, the person who “loves” you is a psychopath.

  2. AHR
    AHR
    May 25, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    Roz when someone respects your harsh truths you LOVE THEM you do not PUSH THEM AWAY

    • Safgaftsa
      Safgaftsa
      May 25, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

      Roz refuses to be part of any party that would have her as a guest.

      • Plasma Mongoose
        Plasma Mongoose
        May 25, 2015 at 12:15 am | #

        That and without Jacob, this party has become a clambake.

        • thebombzen
          thebombzen
          May 25, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

          I haven’t heard that one. Just “sausage fest.” I guess I live under a rock.

          • Plasma Mongoose
            Plasma Mongoose
            May 25, 2015 at 12:19 am | #

            A number of months ago, the DoA commenters discussed what the female equivalent to sausage-fest is and clambake was a popular choice.

            • Nono
              Nono
              May 25, 2015 at 12:34 am | #

              I keep reading it like it’s supposed to be pronounced ‘clam-ba-ke’, which is kind of like bukkake.

              Kind of fitting, I guess?

              • DarkoNeko
                DarkoNeko
                May 25, 2015 at 6:31 am | #

                no.

        • Garrett
          Garrett
          May 25, 2015 at 3:12 am | #

          Woah now, the ratio is still currently 3 men to 5 women. Although a clam bake is ideal for Becky.

          • Sterling
            Sterling
            May 25, 2015 at 3:59 am | #

            Yeah, but those men are all gay, taken, or both.

            • Disloyal Subject
              Disloyal Subject
              May 25, 2015 at 5:07 am | #

              I don’t think any are both.

              • Daibhid C
                Daibhid C
                May 25, 2015 at 6:17 am | #

                One is taken and bi.

              • Yet_One_More_Idiot
                Yet_One_More_Idiot
                May 25, 2015 at 6:25 am | #

                I’d like to introduce you to Danny. Both taken and bi. 🙂

                • saltchocolate
                  saltchocolate
                  May 25, 2015 at 8:26 am | #

                  Bi and gay were not the same thing, last time I checked.

                • Rorror
                  Rorror
                  May 25, 2015 at 9:28 am | #

                  Yeah, but sometimes gay is used in a way not prohibiting a gay person to be bi. As in, you’re bi if you’re gay and straight. In this sense, Danny is, among other things, gay. Some people use gay only for primary or exclusive homosexuals. In this sense he wouldn’t be gay.
                  But from the first POV your comment would boil down to: “Dachshunds and dogs were not the same thing, last I checked.” Correct, but if someone would claim a dachshund to be a dog, it wouldn’t be wrong.

                • savvy
                  savvy
                  June 22, 2015 at 2:29 am | #

                  Gay is also used as an umbrella term. Source: Bi girl who calls herself gay on occasion.

          • Willoughby Chase
            Willoughby Chase
            May 25, 2015 at 9:11 am | #

            Clambake with sausage on the side?

            • Someone
              Someone
              May 25, 2015 at 1:00 pm | #

              Thats Danny’s favorite dish!

            • Plasma Mongoose
              Plasma Mongoose
              May 25, 2015 at 10:31 pm | #

              Cocktail weenies seems more apt in this case.

    • That Damn Rat
      That Damn Rat
      May 25, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

      Actually with the kinda talk Joyce is doing in the last panel, standard procedure isn’t pushing away, it’s running away.

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        May 25, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

        …I kinda have to agree there.

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        May 25, 2015 at 12:40 am | #

        Run Forest Roz, run!

        • 169134
          169134
          May 25, 2015 at 8:04 am | #

          See Roz

          See Roz run

          Run Roz run

      • jpic89
        jpic89
        May 25, 2015 at 2:44 am | #

        I…I don’t think it’s the case, given what we know of Joyce’s character, but…I can’t help but feel that, in some small way, that last panel was Joyce just messing with Roz…

      • yomi
        yomi
        May 25, 2015 at 7:59 am | #

        Yep, and in the second-to-last panel, Roz still seems to be fine with Joyce’ explanation. Of course she’s leaving anyway, because Jacob is taken and has left, but till the last panel it’s not running away.

    • Rycan
      Rycan
      May 25, 2015 at 1:47 am | #

      Hey, Roz not snapping at Joyce for using the Bible on her is a drastic improvement!

    • Magus65
      Magus65
      May 25, 2015 at 2:51 am | #

      the reason shes running away is because she thinks Joyce has the hots for her for being MEAN to her… aka S&M fetish so shes weirded out and is leaving to avoid the awkwardness. I thought it was obvious lol…

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        May 25, 2015 at 6:34 am | #

        That would be more the “oh” than the “yeah, i’m outta here”

  3. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    May 25, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    Well tried, Billie, but No.

  4. Dean
    Dean
    May 25, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    Joyce wants someone in her life who she can later point to as a cautionary example.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      May 25, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

      She’s got plenty of choices.

  5. Kris
    Kris
    May 25, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    You’re the other side of the coin Roz.

  6. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    May 25, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    The Arc was more or less a giant capacitor, so…

    • Jen Aside
      Jen Aside
      May 25, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

      wait was this the “of the Covenant” or Noah’s?

      • Plasma Mongoose
        Plasma Mongoose
        May 25, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

        The first, if it was the latter, all the animals would have being electrocuted.

      • Dean
        Dean
        May 25, 2015 at 12:17 am | #

        It was the Arc Reactor of the Covenant. King David was Iron Man.

        • Plasma Mongoose
          Plasma Mongoose
          May 25, 2015 at 12:26 am | #

          He built it in the desert WITH A BOX OF IDOL SCRAPS

          • Leorale
            Leorale
            May 25, 2015 at 12:37 am | #

            This may be my new favourite thing.

    • leadsynth
      leadsynth
      May 25, 2015 at 1:20 am | #

      Ark, not arc. This is Christianity, not Scientology.

      • Adam Black
        Adam Black
        May 25, 2015 at 3:50 am | #

        The Theta is strong in you.
        I am detecting KRC off the graph

        • Harland
          Harland
          May 25, 2015 at 8:50 am | #

          Kentucky Roasted Chicken? I see a great need.

    • Agemegos
      Agemegos
      May 25, 2015 at 6:52 am | #

      Not giants in a way that helps. The capacitance of a capacitor is proportional to the area of the plates and inversely proportional to their separation distance, all times the permittivity of the dielectric between them. Standard electrolytic capacitors have effective plate areas of a few square metres and effective plate separations equal to the thickness of the oxide layer on the surface of aluminium, i.e. nanometres. That’s probably about several million times the capacitance of the Ark of the Covenant, even though such a capacitor might be only a few centimetres long.

  7. Romanticide
    Romanticide
    May 25, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    Joyce managed to disturb Roz… that was interesting.

  8. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    May 25, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    And lightning struck once! And lightning struck twice! And I seen the wrath of God and sure ain’t nice!–The Rainmakers

    • saltchocolate
      saltchocolate
      May 25, 2015 at 8:29 am | #

      God used lightning strike! It was super effective!

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 25, 2015 at 10:43 am | #

        Not since Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod – although Tesla’s design works better.

        • Opus the Poet
          Opus the Poet
          May 25, 2015 at 1:59 pm | #

          Anyone can improve on a design with 100 years of development. Tesla was badass for many other reasons though.

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 25, 2015 at 4:20 pm | #

            True, even if you disallow giving Tesla credit for Atomic Robo on the grounds of him being fictional and all.

            • Plasma Mongoose
              Plasma Mongoose
              May 25, 2015 at 10:32 pm | #

              Tesla is fictional?

  9. caesaria82
    caesaria82
    May 25, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    This was so genuinely sweet and then lololol last panel is so funny, I love it.

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 25, 2015 at 1:32 am | #

      I’ve heard the “bow your head to wrath” BS in too many negative contexts for it to be truly funny. Awful lot of the time it’s used as justification for human wrath, not divine.

      • John Small Berries
        John Small Berries
        May 25, 2015 at 11:56 am | #

        Is that an actual phrase? What’s the context in which it’s used? Google turns up only this comment thread.

        • Rich
          Rich
          May 25, 2015 at 1:04 pm | #

          If it’s an actual Biblical quote I don’t know what version or book it’s from. I’ve run into several vehement religious types who used it to imply that a given behavior was inherently deserving of punishment and you should simply accept it for being dirty rotten sinner. Since those behaviors included “getting an abortion” “drinking any alcohol at all” and “being gay” the phrase is linked to some pretty offensive mindsets for me.

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 25, 2015 at 1:13 pm | #

            Oh, and my google search turns up someplace called “Spiritual Forces Ministry” as the first hit. To quote:

            “It may be a lot easier to bow and bend now then it will be when you are facing an angry God. I know, because I have upset Him with lesser things and have felt a lesser wrath. It was not the head bowing and knee bending wrath, but it was terrible. The only way to not be a receiving part of His wrath is to not cause it. Bowing your head and bending your knees now, while He is giving you the chance to do it His way will be a lot less painful. It will be done His way whether you like it or not. His command will prevail…”

            Typical “grovel before our god because he’ll get you in the end one way or the other” thing, really. The problem I have with it is when people decide that they’re the ones to enact the his wrath, rather than letting him do it.

  10. chris73
    chris73
    May 25, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

    Great intentions Joyce and then you just have to push it that little bit too far…

    • saltchocolate
      saltchocolate
      May 25, 2015 at 12:30 am | #

      Omigod, Joyce . . . just when I’d forgotten that truly frightening things could come out of your mouth . . .

      • timemonkey
        timemonkey
        May 25, 2015 at 12:50 am | #

        A good predator lulls you into dropping your guard before striking!

    • JessWitt
      JessWitt
      May 25, 2015 at 12:49 am | #

      I expect no less from Joyce.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 25, 2015 at 1:28 am | #

        Contrariwise, I was starting to expect more from her, but she’s obviously not there yet.

        • Rycan
          Rycan
          May 25, 2015 at 1:50 am | #

          She’s learning bit by bit what non-fundie people dislike.

    • Smiling Cat
      Smiling Cat
      May 25, 2015 at 2:54 am | #

      Honestly, I probably would have said the same thing as Joyce in the last panel.

      But I’m kinda a troll in those situations.

  11. alicemacher
    alicemacher
    May 25, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

    For reference… II Samuel 6:6-8 (NRSV translation):

    “When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God.
    David was angry because the Lord had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day.”

    • LiaHansen
      LiaHansen
      May 25, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

      further reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2ZpsbGr7s8

      • alicemacher
        alicemacher
        May 25, 2015 at 12:24 am | #

        An awesome and classic moment in cinematic history to be sure, but I’d be willing to bet Joyce hasn’t seen that. 🙂

    • Captain Batson
      Captain Batson
      May 25, 2015 at 12:31 am | #

      Wow. I had forgotten about that. MAN, does it suck to be that guy. Not only did he drop the Ark of the Covenant, but his butt got smote for trying to catch it so it didn’t fall.

      • KKoro
        KKoro
        May 25, 2015 at 1:04 am | #

        The point is kind of that the guy had massively disrespected the Ark already, and putting it in a situation where it could be dropped was the last straw. It wasn’t really that he tried to “save” it.

    • Jen Aside
      Jen Aside
      May 25, 2015 at 1:14 am | #

      I thought God didn’t like idols anyway, what is the point of…

      you know what, n/m I should just hit up Google if I wanna know so bad (not really)

    • Drakkin the Alien
      Drakkin the Alien
      May 25, 2015 at 1:29 am | #

      so… Uzzah disrespected the ark and somehow end up dead.
      Otherwise anybody would think that touching the ark was nothing.
      What is a godstrike? a snake bite? a thunderstrike? a knife in the ribs? the hands of the sacred priests? a knife in the hands of sacred priests?
      this is a god that send his faithful to kill men, women and children… just saying.

      • Sam
        Sam
        May 25, 2015 at 6:42 am | #

        Don’t forget when he takes away from the faithful just to show Satan (who at the time was his follower still and was genuinely concerned that the faithful just followed because he gave them good things) that the faithful still have faith even when you completely destroy their lives!

        Or when he personally murders the entire town of Sodom (wasn’t one of the commandments ‘Thou shalt not kill’? Not setting a good example there) just because he doesn’t like how the people were greedy and uncharitable (wasn’t he supposed to love everyone regardless because they were all his children in his mind?).

    • SDGlyph
      SDGlyph
      May 25, 2015 at 2:45 am | #

      One of my favourite biblical WTF moments.

    • Smiling Cat
      Smiling Cat
      May 25, 2015 at 2:56 am | #

      Well if you wanted your worshipers to build you a gold covered box to hold your rules in, would you want them leaving hand prints all over your bling?

    • Trooth
      Trooth
      May 25, 2015 at 3:51 am | #

      If they’d just put the bars through the rings and carried it on their shoulders, like they were supposed to, there wouldn’t have been a cart for the ark to fall off of, and no smiting would have taken place. The lesson? RTFM!

    • Rycan
      Rycan
      May 25, 2015 at 2:03 pm | #

      You have failed me for the last time, Uzzah.

  12. timemonkey
    timemonkey
    May 25, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

    I hope there’s a universe out there where Joyce has divinely given smiting powers. It’d be funny.

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      May 25, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

      I wonder if EGS’ Suzan (or Ted) could arrange something about this.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 25, 2015 at 1:35 am | #

        More likely Pandora or one of her relatives. Closest things the setting has shown us to godlike power so far.

        Tedd’s good, but not quite in that league yet.

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          May 25, 2015 at 6:40 am | #

          I’m sure he’d love a good Challenge 🙂

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 25, 2015 at 10:38 am | #

            He’s currently obsessed with shrinking people, at least according to EGS: NP. I blame Nanase’s fairy dolls for getting the idea stuck in his head.

    • Someone
      Someone
      May 25, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

      Well there is the cheese, although Joyce never becomes the cheese.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 25, 2015 at 1:17 am | #

        That is probably for the best all around.

        • Rycan
          Rycan
          May 25, 2015 at 1:52 am | #

          Everybody couldn’t stop smiling. By the end of the first day, their faces hurt like hell, and yet they were still smiling.

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      May 25, 2015 at 12:12 am | #

      HAMMERTIME!

    • podian
      podian
      May 25, 2015 at 4:59 am | #

      In Walkyverse! she has a jetpack and a gun bigger than herself, isn’t that enough?

    • Disloyal Subject
      Disloyal Subject
      May 25, 2015 at 5:25 am | #

      Hmm. I wonder what domain she’d use as a cleric in 5th Edition. Light, or Life?

  13. Lord Stoneheart
    Lord Stoneheart
    May 25, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

    Roz, take a clue from Sarah, and embrace your status as someone sent by the Old Testament God. (Side note, I don’t know every story in the Old Testament. Do I want to know the story the hover text is referring to? I just know that God liked striking people dead over that thing).

    • Dave
      Dave
      May 25, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

      I thiiiiink it may be a reference to the facemeltings in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

      • Lord Stoneheart
        Lord Stoneheart
        May 25, 2015 at 12:30 am | #

        The face meltings were in Raiders of the Lost Ark. And it’s because the Nazis opened the thing. (What exactly were they expecting to do with it?)

        • ridtom
          ridtom
          May 25, 2015 at 12:37 am | #

          They clearly didn’t do their homework in any case.

          Typical Nazi’s and their wacky hijinx!

    • Boomwolf
      Boomwolf
      May 25, 2015 at 12:25 am | #

      I don’t remember the details, but I remember that some shmuck grabbed the Ark because he thought it was going to fall. But because it was too Holy for humans, or because God said people weren’t supposed to touch it (like I said, I don’t remember the details), that poor shmuck got struck dead.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 25, 2015 at 2:01 am | #

        That would be Uzzah, whose name is probably also an onomatopoeia for his last words as OT God electrocuted him. Someone quoted the relevant text in the comments above.

        • Rycan
          Rycan
          May 25, 2015 at 2:05 pm | #

          I wonder if nobody knew what his name was, and so they referred to him by the last sound he made.

    • Rycan
      Rycan
      May 25, 2015 at 1:55 am | #

      In the Old Testament, God had a bit of a hair trigger. Make one little mistake, and BOOM! What a flattering comparison for Roz.

  14. Dave
    Dave
    May 25, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

    I can’t tell if Joyce is being serious or having a little fun at Roz’s expense. XD

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      May 25, 2015 at 12:37 am | #

      Hey Dave! I haven’t seen you comment over here before (though I don’t usually read through all of them… your icon jumped out at me though). Side note, I tried to open up Selkie and the site doesn’t seem to be working?

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        May 25, 2015 at 6:41 am | #

        it’s working, albeit pretyt slowly, for me.

  15. LiaHansen
    LiaHansen
    May 25, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

    this party’s draw did not last long at all

  16. Kris
    Kris
    May 25, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

    You know leading your nemesis into a false sense of security by saying you’re not their nemesis is exactly what a nemesis would do……Well played Joyce.

  17. Keroshino
    Keroshino
    May 25, 2015 at 12:18 am | #

    Joyce Wins.
    BIBLE-ITY!

  18. Boomwolf
    Boomwolf
    May 25, 2015 at 12:22 am | #

    Wow…. she totally just went there.

  19. Zagreus
    Zagreus
    May 25, 2015 at 12:25 am | #

    “But sometimes maybe I need someone to be mean.”

    Yes! YES! She finally admits it! Oh, Willis, you have no idea how happy this makes me! 😀

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 25, 2015 at 1:37 am | #

      Somewhere, Mike sneezes.

      • Adam Black
        Adam Black
        May 25, 2015 at 4:02 am | #

        This is definitely Mikes cue to walk in

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      May 25, 2015 at 6:42 am | #

      That she’s into S&M ?

  20. Zaidyer
    Zaidyer
    May 25, 2015 at 12:26 am | #

    I’m not sure if that’s a last-minute fumble on Joyce’s part or if she is actually trying to be self-aware and even playful with how crazy her belief system is.

    I mean, it’s a pretty big blow when you find out your best friend and boyfriend are both gay and nothing’s wrong with them. Maybe there are other holes the boat, like how fond god seems to be of just straight-up killing people in order to solve problems!

    • brumagem
      brumagem
      May 25, 2015 at 12:45 am | #

      To be fair, straight up killing people can be a super efficient way to solve certain problems if you have all the absolute facts *cough*KimJongUn*cough*.

      Seems pretty arbitrary whenever God does it in the Bible though.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 25, 2015 at 1:25 am | #

        Outright slaughter is easier to justify when you’re defined as omniscient, but you run into problems when that’s a self-definition and people disagree with you. It’s also easier to carry out when you’re omnipotent, of course. At that point disagreement becomes irrelevant except in terms of giving you more opportunities for smiting.

      • Adam Black
        Adam Black
        May 25, 2015 at 4:00 am | #

        Give this Amazi-girl a deathnote.

        what could possibly go wrong?

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          May 25, 2015 at 6:44 am | #

          Nah, give it to Dorothy instead. She’ll use it appropriately.

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 25, 2015 at 10:50 am | #

            Now we need a week’s worth of strips focused on Walky eating chips in as epic a fashion as possible.

            • MichaelHaneline
              MichaelHaneline
              May 25, 2015 at 9:38 pm | #

              He will take a potato chip…

              AND EAT IT!

          • Someone
            Someone
            May 25, 2015 at 10:04 pm | #

            Pretty sure the only way to use a Death Note appropriately is to burn it.

      • timemonkey
        timemonkey
        May 25, 2015 at 9:27 am | #

        Hey, God can send you to eternal paradise, who dares what he does with your flesh?

  21. brumagem
    brumagem
    May 25, 2015 at 12:41 am | #

    No Billie you’re here to narc, not to nip off somewhere else.

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 25, 2015 at 1:44 am | #

      Agreed. Billie getting drunk and possibly laid at an off-campus party would be a drama nightmare for the relationship with Ruth. Rather not see the Sexy Lesbian Suicide Pact derail.

      • Rycan
        Rycan
        May 25, 2015 at 1:57 am | #

        It was on rails to begin with?

        • Rich
          Rich
          May 25, 2015 at 2:10 am | #

          Well, yeah. They lead directly to a washed-out bridge over a bottomless ravine, but they’re still rails.

          • Rycan
            Rycan
            May 25, 2015 at 2:13 am | #

            Then let’s go off the rails NOW!

            • Rich
              Rich
              May 25, 2015 at 9:32 am | #

              The rails are called depression and alcoholism. If there’s a quick and reliable way to get off them that doesn’t involve a fatal crash, let me know. I’ve got friends who haven’t managed it in 40 years of trying.

  22. TrueVCU
    TrueVCU
    May 25, 2015 at 12:44 am | #

    “Bow your head to wrath, Roz. Bow your head to wrath” is what I’d expect Joyce to say as she exacts terrible vengeance on her

  23. Charles Phipps
    Charles Phipps
    May 25, 2015 at 12:47 am | #

    It her wrath since Joyce has removed her power over her!

  24. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    May 25, 2015 at 12:48 am | #

    Lesson of the day: Opposites don’t really attract, but they can co-mingle together in each other’s company.

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 25, 2015 at 1:20 am | #

      Briefly at best. And more often, it leads to conflict.

  25. David Alexander McDonald
    David Alexander McDonald
    May 25, 2015 at 12:50 am | #

    Welp, third panel seems to have Billie’s request of the second panel answered with a spot of damn fast rapturing. POOF.

    That, or Roz has a teleporter.

    • Jen Aside
      Jen Aside
      May 25, 2015 at 1:15 am | #

      God loves Him some GTFOing?

    • Kennerly
      Kennerly
      May 25, 2015 at 1:20 am | #

      If you thought she was talking to Roz, you are mistaken. She was literally talking to god.

    • oldFart
      oldFart
      May 25, 2015 at 2:12 am | #

      Wow, you’re right, Billie’s just…gone.

    • TrueVCU
      TrueVCU
      May 25, 2015 at 10:06 am | #

      That wasn’t god that was Ruth dragging her away to make out

    • Rycan
      Rycan
      May 25, 2015 at 1:37 pm | #

      Joyce then proceeds to freak out, because she hasn’t been raptured too.

  26. Bagge
    Bagge
    May 25, 2015 at 12:56 am | #

    I’m with roz – humble, apologizing Joyce is terrifying

    • TrueVCU
      TrueVCU
      May 25, 2015 at 10:08 am | #

      She’s evangelical, outward statements of humility are the source of her power

      • Gordon
        Gordon
        May 25, 2015 at 1:08 pm | #

        But since they are completely sincere, it’s terrifying.

        This is Joyce saying “This isn’t even my final form!”

  27. Kennerly
    Kennerly
    May 25, 2015 at 1:13 am | #

    What.

    • Kennerly
      Kennerly
      May 25, 2015 at 1:18 am | #

      Ah yes, ark care, that holy thing that’s been missing for 2000 years, and is probably in a church in Ethiopia, but nobody wants to check it out because then we’ll all know its just a stupid old box and not a big deal.

      • Dean
        Dean
        May 25, 2015 at 2:18 am | #

        The Israelites didn’t pay extra for Ark Care, if they had they would have been able to use their Ark cloud account to locate it remotely.

  28. a person
    a person
    May 25, 2015 at 1:30 am | #

    Wow… joyce got really creapy there…

  29. Idon'tcarenomore
    Idon'tcarenomore
    May 25, 2015 at 1:58 am | #

    Funniest hover-text I’ve seen yet.

    Tone it down Joyce …way down.

    • oldFart
      oldFart
      May 25, 2015 at 2:17 am | #

      re hover-text: also a good policy for dropping something while driving. Maybe the laws of physics will make the Wrath of God unnecessary if you try to catch it. This was actually discussed at a recent company meeting I was at. Seems obvious, but it takes some forethought to control the reflex.

  30. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership
    DudeMyDadOwnsADealership
    May 25, 2015 at 2:52 am | #

    “Nemeses,” Roz? Seriously? Someone seems to see a bit more epic-ness in her like than is actually there….Unsurprisingly.

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 25, 2015 at 10:30 am | #

      Yeah, the only nemeses in that room are Becky and Dorothy. 🙂

    • Cephalo the Pod
      Cephalo the Pod
      May 25, 2015 at 2:37 pm | #

      I’m pretty sure she’s trying to channel what she perceives as Joyce’s view of their relationship.

      She thinks that Joyce thinks they’re “nemeses”.

  31. Smiling Cat
    Smiling Cat
    May 25, 2015 at 2:59 am | #

    “You need me, you wouldn’t be much of a hero without a villain, and you love been a hero don’t you? The cheering children, the swooning women; you love it so much it’s made you my most reliable accomplice.” ~If Joyce were secretly evil.

    • Tacos
      Tacos
      May 25, 2015 at 3:14 am | #

      How do we know she isn’t evil? I mean, it’s secretly evil so…..

      • Someone
        Someone
        May 25, 2015 at 3:35 am | #

        Now I’m imagining Joyce sitting with her hands crossed over her mouth. Resting the bottom of her nose on her fingers. Really hope people get what I mean here.

        • Disloyal Subject
          Disloyal Subject
          May 25, 2015 at 5:31 am | #

          I think most people who’d read a Willis comic will get that reference. It’s not exactly obscure.

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          May 25, 2015 at 6:48 am | #

          Well

          • Someone
            Someone
            May 25, 2015 at 12:30 pm | #

            Yep, that’s the one

        • Rycan
          Rycan
          May 25, 2015 at 1:40 pm | #

          Thoughtfully stroking a white cat, then chasing the cat all around the room trying to pick it back up. Kinda ruins the effect, but to be expected from Joyce (at least Walkyverse Joyce).

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 25, 2015 at 4:14 pm | #

            White longhair cat + sweater vest = fashion disaster

    • anonymsly
      anonymsly
      May 26, 2015 at 2:10 pm | #

      Oh man, I want to watch that story again! Mmmmm Justice Lords.

  32. Zan Thrax
    Zan Thrax
    May 25, 2015 at 3:27 am | #

    I understand almost nothing about today’s strip past the fifth panel. (And I’m not entirely certain about the fourth.) I don’t understand Joyce’s ark-care reference, if the “bow your head to wrath” thing is yet another bible reference, the alt-text, or the bible quote in the comments. I think I’m simply missing too much basic Christianity 201 to follow this one.

    • Sterling
      Sterling
      May 25, 2015 at 3:56 am | #

      If I’m understanding correctly, she’s referencing the fact that God killed all but like 5 human beings in a massive flood, just cause he wanted to. This story is known as “Noah’s Ark” and some dude named Noah built a boat to save all the animals because God didn’t want EVERYTHING to die, just most things.

      • Sterling
        Sterling
        May 25, 2015 at 3:58 am | #

        Or it’s a reference to the ark of the covenant, which ISN’T a boat and also was in Indiana Jones?

        • Stranger
          Stranger
          May 25, 2015 at 7:05 am | #

          I think its a reference to a guy dropping the Ark of the Covenant and getting struck dead for it.

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 25, 2015 at 9:27 am | #

            Just scroll up through the comments. Guy’s name was Uzzah, OT God killed him for touching the ark of the covenant, ie that box in Raiders.

            • Doom Shepherd
              Doom Shepherd
              May 25, 2015 at 4:29 pm | #

              Even more, he was killed for touching the Ark while TRYING to keep it from CRASHING TO THE GROUND.

  33. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    May 25, 2015 at 3:52 am | #

    Having acquaintances who are nothing but yes men are the worst.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      May 25, 2015 at 12:16 pm | #

      Yes, you are completely right.

      #ImSoClever

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 25, 2015 at 12:52 pm | #

      Depends on what they’re saying “yes” to.

  34. Zaxares
    Zaxares
    May 25, 2015 at 3:57 am | #

    … Joyce, I’m pretty sure that Roz is now under the assumption that you’re a secret submissive who has a fetish for humiliation. XD

    • Agemegos
      Agemegos
      May 25, 2015 at 6:09 am | #

      Yep. Who wouldn’t be?

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 25, 2015 at 10:28 am | #

      And now I’m waiting for Joyce to make a guest appearance in Sunstone…

  35. davidbreslin101
    davidbreslin101
    May 25, 2015 at 7:47 am | #

    …is Joyce deliberately trolling Roz here? I’m getting a distinct flash of self-parody in that last panel.

  36. ninja_jesus
    ninja_jesus
    May 25, 2015 at 9:04 am | #

    Wait, when did someone drop a huge wooden ship? How did they lift it in the first place?

    • Willoughby Chase
      Willoughby Chase
      May 25, 2015 at 9:08 am | #

      My thoughts entirely.

  37. hof1991
    hof1991
    May 25, 2015 at 9:06 am | #

    Yes. God ends up a loving father and vengeful destroyer and everything in between. That happens when you have two different origin stories and go through a bunch of different writers. The individual story arcs make sense, but they get real inconsistent.

    Jesus has it even worse, since he has four origin stories and people are always retroconning strange things into their fanfic and personal head canons.

    You have to approach the Bible like a long running comic series. Sometimes the writers just screwed the main character up.

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 25, 2015 at 10:25 am | #

      You forgot to mention them using the hackneyed trope of killing a main character and him not staying dead.

      • Gordon
        Gordon
        May 25, 2015 at 1:13 pm | #

        Well, to be fair, when this particular piece was written, it hadn’t really become a trope. People hadn’t gotten tired of it yet.

        At least Jesus’ family history didn’t get as complicated as the Summers-Grey family lines.

        • Rich
          Rich
          May 25, 2015 at 1:28 pm | #

          Hardly. Pre-Christian mythology is chock full of “back from the dead” stories. Cyclical resurrection is a theme for some deities, and mythic heroes often return from death or bring others back as a part of their stories.

          Like I said, hackneyed and derivative.

    • Rycan
      Rycan
      May 25, 2015 at 1:45 pm | #

      That, and all the pieces were assembled long after they were written. It’s more like raiding the attics of various comic artists throughout history, and attempting to make a coherent story out of their combined work.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 25, 2015 at 4:13 pm | #

        Or making Robotech out of three different unrelated anime series.

    • Marc in MN
      Marc in MN
      May 25, 2015 at 2:29 pm | #

      One more reboot and Spider-Man will be tied with Jesus. (I know that the next movie isn’t an origin story.)

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 25, 2015 at 4:11 pm | #

        Pete didn’t do quite as well with the whole “temptation by the Devil” thing, though. Stupid Mephisto.

        • Zatar
          Zatar
          May 25, 2015 at 6:52 pm | #

          Jesus greatest miracle was undoing One More Day.

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 25, 2015 at 7:11 pm | #

            Personally, I was holding out hope that Herbie Popnecker would show up in a crossover and fix the whole mess. Wouldn’t be the first time he beat the Devil. That kid makes the Saint of Killers look like a wimp.

  38. Crumplepunch
    Crumplepunch
    May 25, 2015 at 9:06 am | #

    I think Joyce might be trolling.

  39. Willoughby Chase
    Willoughby Chase
    May 25, 2015 at 9:07 am | #

    When she said ark care, I thought she meant ropes, caulking, oiling, sea shanties, that kind of stuff.

    They weren’t big on the whole arc of whatsitname when I went to sunday school. Or maybe I never paid attention.

  40. Willoughby Chase
    Willoughby Chase
    May 25, 2015 at 9:09 am | #

    I get it. It’s the wrath of Khan! YEah!

  41. Lan Mikoto
    Lan Mikoto
    May 25, 2015 at 9:22 am | #

    That sounds like the name of a decent action movie. “THIS SUMMER… BATMAN IS IS BOW YOUR HEAD TO WRATH!”

  42. JBento
    JBento
    May 25, 2015 at 9:27 am | #

    Blast, I thought this was going to be one of the very rare strips where I actually liked Joyce, but nope – last panel denial!

  43. Marvelman
    Marvelman
    May 25, 2015 at 9:50 am | #

    I’m a little confused about what “ark care” refers to? The ark of the covenant? Noah’s ark?

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 25, 2015 at 10:23 am | #

      Scroll up through the comments, it’s already been covered. Covenenant, dead guy named Uzzah, OT God being a dick.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      May 25, 2015 at 12:25 pm | #

      The ark reactor. It was built in a cave

  44. Marc in MN
    Marc in MN
    May 25, 2015 at 10:21 am | #

    I choose to believe that Joyce is deliberately using such an extreme example just to antagonize Roz. 😉

  45. Spencer
    Spencer
    May 25, 2015 at 10:21 am | #

    So I hope I’m wrong in my interpretation of this strip, but I hate the idea that Roz was right to flip out on Joyce, and it was something she needed to grow as a person. I agree with Roz’s politics but I sure don’t approve of acting like a total jackass to people like that, let alone Joyce and her unique circumstances.

    • 3oranges
      3oranges
      May 25, 2015 at 10:31 am | #

      Personally I’d say that if you take everything together, Roz has gotten the right reaction. A thanks from Joyce, who cares that she grew as a person because of Roz; and a censure from Leslie, who cares that it was not at all an appropriate way for Roz to treat someone.

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        May 25, 2015 at 10:34 am | #

        I suppose.

        Like, I’m glad Joyce learned, but I hate the idea of “I’m right, you’re wrong, therefore I get to say anything I want to you and it’s perfectly okay!”

        • 3oranges
          3oranges
          May 25, 2015 at 11:23 am | #

          Me too, but Leslie said she was over the line more meaningfully than Joyce could; it would be too easy to ignore from a presumed nemesis. The message she needs and might be able to from Joyce is that they aren’t opposed forces of nature, but people who can learn and change.

          This strip may confirm that Joyce has learned from Roz, but it doesn’t mean the outburst was okay. If Joyce excuses it, well, that’s who she is; I doubt Roz will really take comparison to a murdering god as real vindication.

    • timemonkey
      timemonkey
      May 25, 2015 at 4:11 pm | #

      It’s in Joyce’s nature to focus on the best of what someone was doing, even if they did it wrong. Unless it involves sex.

    • bunivasal
      bunivasal
      May 25, 2015 at 4:43 pm | #

      It’s never right for someone to hurt you. But sometimes being hurt can coincidentally be something valuable for you.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 25, 2015 at 6:58 pm | #

        I’m not sure I’d say “never” there. Certainly been in situations where all the options were going to hurt. The best you can do there is choose the one that gets the best ratio between help and harm.

  46. Just Me
    Just Me
    May 25, 2015 at 11:04 am | #

    I think Job would have been a better example, and Roz is just another test of Joyce’s faith. Either that or Joyce is either crazy or brilliant or both. Take your pick.

  47. Willoughby Chase
    Willoughby Chase
    May 25, 2015 at 12:58 pm | #

    Bow your head to wrath. David Lee Wrath:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKWiKNMKhgQ

    I can see Joyce wearing sensible shoes:)

  48. RavenRyy
    RavenRyy
    May 25, 2015 at 5:07 pm | #

    Well, it is important to know and socialise with folks who have views different from your own. Keeps the brain healthy.

    Just what I think, I know of no science tae back this up.

    As you read this words, I may or may not be sneaking up behind you.

  49. ColoradoSean
    ColoradoSean
    May 25, 2015 at 5:25 pm | #

    I–I think Joyce is fucking with Roz?…

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      May 25, 2015 at 6:10 pm | #

      Only in Becky’s headcanon

  50. Bagge
    Bagge
    May 25, 2015 at 6:12 pm | #

    Becky and Roz – united in their inability to get their nemesis to recognize their feud.

  51. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    May 25, 2015 at 8:04 pm | #

    “You are my nemesis”
    “we are nemeses”
    …it gotta be right, but I can’t shake that feeling 😐

  52. vlubbucks
    vlubbucks
    May 25, 2015 at 9:20 pm | #

    Why doesn’t Bobby just leave? Parties aren’t hard to find in college.

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 25, 2015 at 10:49 pm | #

      You mean Billie, I’m guessing? Ruth sent her to keep an eye Joyce’s party. She’d rather not be there, but if/when she does manage to make an exit without raising suspicion, she’ll probably wind up back at Ruth’s, not at a random party.

  53. Rheios
    Rheios
    May 26, 2015 at 12:15 am | #

    “Bow your head to Wrath” is something I’ve had a campaign villain say before. He was speaking in third person but definitely villain monologuing

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