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July 21, 2023

Risk

by David M Willis on October 17, 2015 at 12:01 am
  • 01 - To Those Who'd Ground Me

└ Tags: becky, joyce, ross, sayid

Discussion (870) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    October 17, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    so with Becky in the car, Toedad gets gunned down by one of those armed civilians the NRA loves so much

    then… she gets back out of the car…

    TOTALLY WORTH IT #winning

    • That Damn Rat
      That Damn Rat
      October 17, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

      As I said last time this was raised, can anyone remember an instance of that actually happening? Because I can’t.

      • Ana Chronistic
        Ana Chronistic
        October 17, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

        yeah, too bad

      • Wasted
        Wasted
        October 17, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

        Shooting in middle of Chicago earlier this year, stopped by an armed Uber driver.

        • Willoughby Chase
          Willoughby Chase
          October 17, 2015 at 2:26 am | #

          Yeah, a couple of armed goons stopped by civilians. So worth the deaths of children at Sandyhook.

          • Michael
            Michael
            October 17, 2015 at 10:21 am | #

            And just this month in Michigan, a legal carrier decided that a fleeing shoplifter was worth pulling out her firearm in a busy parking lot. She failed to shoot out the tires as she had intended, so thank whatever deity you believe in that there wasn’t any collateral damage. This “everyone is a hero if only they’re armed” mentality is DANGEROUS.

            http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2015/10/13/woman–home-depot-shooting-charged/73863544/

          • masterofbones
            masterofbones
            October 17, 2015 at 1:53 pm | #

            That wasn’t what was being discussed. One person asked if it had happened, another person said it had. No discussion of pros and cons was raised.

            • TheEighthShader
              TheEighthShader
              October 19, 2015 at 7:09 am | #

              Dina was in the car the whole time, and they start loving each other in the back seat as soon as Becky gets in.

      • SpacemanSpiff85
        SpacemanSpiff85
        October 17, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

        If you meant someone with a gun preventing a shooting, it happened in April in Chicago.
        http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-uber-driver-shoots-gunman-met-0420-20150419-story.html

        • Ana Chronistic
          Ana Chronistic
          October 17, 2015 at 12:17 am | #

          This is still more impressive any day of the week:
          https://www.facebook.com/NBC4i/videos/10152899878837751/

          • inqntrol
            inqntrol
            October 17, 2015 at 12:20 am | #

            I hope that guy will live for very long time.

          • Darwin
            Darwin
            October 17, 2015 at 12:27 am | #

            I’ve seen that, but the one where wheelchair guy stops a robbery is even cooler. That’s the toughest mofo in his town. I’d hate to run into him in a dark alley. With his upper body strength, he could probably run me down and pummel me to death.
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rFEx-mkXn8

            • Skizz
              Skizz
              October 17, 2015 at 12:44 am | #

              http://youtu.be/nOkwhYX9v_0

              This is easily my favourite, my hero

          • MichaelHaneline
            MichaelHaneline
            October 17, 2015 at 3:15 am | #

            I’m impressed by that man’s courage, and glad he didn’t get stabbed in the process of the grab. If that robber had a gun instead of a knife it could’ve gone much worse. 🙁

          • MrSpkr
            MrSpkr
            October 17, 2015 at 3:45 am | #

            That’s my home town. I know the dude. Stupid robber; had it been most anyone else around here, he would’ve been shot.

            • MrSpkr
              MrSpkr
              October 17, 2015 at 3:46 am | #

              Midlothian, that is. The Texas firefighter.

              • Kryss LaBryn
                Kryss LaBryn
                October 17, 2015 at 8:32 am | #

                There was a robbery at the 7/11 in a small BC town just before we moved there. Only hold-up the place has ever had.

                They cooperated and gave him what he wanted and as soon as he left the first call was to his mum.

                Pro tip: If you’re gonna rob a convenience store, maybe don’t do it in the small town of 2000 people you grew up in, where everyone knows everyone else, and they know you. 😀

                • Screwball
                  Screwball
                  October 17, 2015 at 10:10 pm | #

                  As Daniel the Human has said MANY times…

                  NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF HUMAN STUPIDITY…

      • Tyler B
        Tyler B
        October 17, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

        I can only think of one. There was an Uber driver in Chicago earlier this year who shot a man who was firing into a crowd of people near Logan Square.

        • Wasted
          Wasted
          October 17, 2015 at 1:29 am | #

          Appalachian School of Law shooting. Gunman taken down by armed students in 2002.

          Also the mall shooting either last year or so where the shooter didn’t fire, but the threat of an armed civilian was enough to make the shooter go hide and kill himself.

          There are plenty of other cases where armed civilians stop shootings before they become “mass”. Unfortunately, because they’re not “mass”, anti-gunners use this as an excuse to dismiss legitimate cases of self-defense shootings.

          • Wasted
            Wasted
            October 17, 2015 at 1:30 am | #

            RE: mall shooting – I mean, where the armed civilian didn’t fire. The shooter had opened fire, but the armed civilian was enough for the guy to give up and kill himself.

          • Willoughby Chase
            Willoughby Chase
            October 17, 2015 at 2:29 am | #

            SO, those killings of adults by children … what is it? One a week now?

            Nice open air asylum you got going. Hope you enjoy it.

            • PDV
              PDV
              October 17, 2015 at 2:59 am | #

              Fun fact: Scotland has a significantly higher per capita rate of death by mass shooting than the US. Second fun fact: In the last 20 years, Scotland has had only one mass shooting (1997, 17 dead). The USA is so goddamned huge that we have a lot of everything.

              (Also, since pre-1800, we’ve had elevated levels of murder relative to the rest of the Anglosphere. No one knows why, but it can’t be a matter of policy, because no policy has stayed constant over that period.)

              • Hotsauce
                Hotsauce
                October 17, 2015 at 11:34 am | #

                My I’ve often wondered if it’s related to a rapid increase in population density. We went from “I have all kinds of space and don’t have to deal with anyone I don’t want to,” to “I’m less than 100 yards from other people all the time but still want to act like I don’t have to deal with them.”
                I could be wrong.

                • LordofthePotatoes
                  LordofthePotatoes
                  October 17, 2015 at 3:34 pm | #

                  If that were the case there’d be a spree a week in London.

                • Turkey
                  Turkey
                  October 17, 2015 at 8:13 pm | #

                  A quick google of shooting spree rates didn’t show Scotland at all. I instead saw Norway, Finland and Switzerland, as those are all low population countries with isolated incidents in the period(s) being examined.
                  To make a fairer comparison, you would need to examine a period large enough for a statistically meaningful number of incidents in each country (which makes trends hard to spot), or examine only countries (or collections of countries) with a statistically meaningful number of incidents in the period.

                • LiamKav
                  LiamKav
                  October 19, 2015 at 11:17 am | #

                  Yeah, that fact about Scotland doesn’t seem true at all. I’ve tried to look but I can only find facts about either England or the UK as a whole, so I’m going to have to do a “citiation needed” here.

                  Also, I question your argument based on those statistics. You are saying that Scotland has a higher number of people killed in a mass shooting than the US per capita, even though they’ve only had one shooting in the past 19 years (Dunblane was 1996, not 1997). As a single example makes for poor statistical analysis, the fact that Scotland has only had one compared to the US’s many would seem to agree with the overall statement that you have a much higher chance of being killed in a shooting spree in the US than in Scotland.

              • Crumplepunch
                Crumplepunch
                October 18, 2015 at 4:46 pm | #

                I live in Scotland. You know what we did after that mass shooting (1996, by the way)? We heavily increased regulation on firearms, especially handguns. No more mass shootings!

            • bearpelt
              bearpelt
              October 17, 2015 at 4:00 pm | #

              Alright, I agree with you on the gun control topic, but was it really necessary with the intense amount of ableism you displayed in your comment? Asylums were and are inherently abusive places where disabled people like me are often forced to stay against their will and have no autonomy or way out. Using something that serious as an insult is incredibly offensive. Please stop trying to insult people by comparing them to disabled people.

              • anna
                anna
                October 17, 2015 at 6:14 pm | #

                As a disabled person, please don’t speak for me. It’s insulting to assert that all people who fit into a certain category think and feel and judge things exactly the same. Thanks.

                • bearpelt
                  bearpelt
                  October 17, 2015 at 8:19 pm | #

                  Wow, assuming I’m not disabled either?

                • TheEighthShader
                  TheEighthShader
                  October 19, 2015 at 7:12 am | #

                  As a person on the interweb, he is entitled to say whatever the bloody hell he wants to, I can overuse “bloody” and people can be offensive, And theres nothing you can do to stop them, unless you have something meaningful to add to the nonsense, dont try to throw yourself a pity party, and invite everyone else.

              • random832
                random832
                October 19, 2015 at 1:38 am | #

                Inherently abusive, or abusive in implementation?

                But, no, let’s just close them all and let those who can’t support themselves live on the streets, because reforming is hard.

                • LiamKav
                  LiamKav
                  October 19, 2015 at 11:25 am | #

                  The term itself is outdated. If the comment had been about psychiatric hospitals, I can kinda how you’d get upset, but “asylum” usually refers to a historical “insane asylum” of the type you’d find the Joker and Two-Face in, and is pretty far removed from anything that you’d find today that it makes to pretty obvious the original comment is just engaging in (humorous) hyperbole.

          • SDGlyph
            SDGlyph
            October 17, 2015 at 3:49 am | #

            I thought it was pretty well established that armed civilians do NOT successfully intervene in the great majority of cases. I don’t have the stats to hand, but of course they came out again in the last couple of weeks.

            And that’s not considering the number of accidents or non-public individual homicides, or the fact that lower availability of guns is directly and reliably correlated with lower gun death stats.

          • Mindlink
            Mindlink
            October 17, 2015 at 4:47 am | #

            Just because it works in some cases, doesn’t make it any less crazy or reduce the inherent risks of escalating the situation badly.
            There is no reason to NOT be anti-gun, none, if the only good a gun can do is stop others with guns, cause without guns there’d be no other people with guns to stop in the first place. You don’t need a gun to do hunting, we didn’t need guns to hunt before.

            • SzL
              SzL
              October 17, 2015 at 6:44 am | #

              I hate to be a devil’s advocate, but if you live in a place with polar bears you’re gonna want a gun. I realise that isn’t America, but there are almost always counterexamples, even if they’re tiny.

              • Mindlink
                Mindlink
                October 17, 2015 at 7:23 am | #

                Yeah, I’m from Norway, so I know that on Svalbard you are not even allowed to venture outside of the town borders without a gun, but people lived before guns became usefull against polar bears too, so…

                • Willoughby Chase
                  Willoughby Chase
                  October 17, 2015 at 8:17 am | #

                  European countries and the US are so far apart culturally and politically on this issue, there no useful comparisons.

                  Watch Bowling for Columbine. At core, the US problem is down to racism. White people fear coloureds and to “protect” themselves, they arm themselves.

                  This is in particular after the Civil Rights movements of the 60s came into being. Suddenly, Jim Crow laws were thrown out, the Services were integrated, and the riots and Johnson’s Great Society came into being.

                  It’s during the 70s that the NRA started ramping up, the GOP began it’s Southern Strategy and the Religious right rose to power culminating in the current GOP bifurcated amongst moderates and Tea Party idiots, all them who seem to advocate less gun control.

                  Since then every time guns cause damage in the US, the answer is yet more fucking guns, yet more lax gun laws, and nobody checking up that gun-laws are being enforced. (Congress has legislated that the CDC should not keep track of gun related deaths.) The next step – the banning of all gun-free zones as being unconstitutional – is only a short hop and step away. Dur, because emotionally unstable 18-25 year olds (who can’t afford insurance for motor-cycles in Europe because of the high death rates) will have access to all kinds of guns. Brilliant.

                  No European – or advanced country – has had such a spectacular social history over the same period. There are no useful comparisons.

                • Kryss LaBryn
                  Kryss LaBryn
                  October 17, 2015 at 12:32 pm | #

                  People also used to get killed by them fairly regularly, so.

                • bearpelt
                  bearpelt
                  October 17, 2015 at 4:03 pm | #

                  (I wanted to reply to Willoughby Chase but it wouldn’t let me.)

                  I agree with you on gun control, but Bowling for Columbine REALLY isn’t a good documentary. It’s incredibly biased and, as a filmmaker, I great disapprove of the techniques he uses to make his points. For one thing, he’ll never convince people who disagree with him. For another thing, the techniques are dishonest and immature. It’s not a good documentary.

              • Leila
                Leila
                October 17, 2015 at 9:30 am | #

                Polar bears is extreme. If I have livestock, I’m going to want a hunting rifle to chase the coyotes away from my horses and foxes away from my chickens.

                • Mindlink
                  Mindlink
                  October 17, 2015 at 12:17 pm | #

                  There’s bow and arrows, and noisemakers, for that.

            • Chupicron
              Chupicron
              October 17, 2015 at 8:22 am | #

              Hunting rifles are INCREDIBLY useful and insanely more practical for hunting. They’re also a lot more humane, and led to more humane warfare. Guns are extremely practical and useful, and thank god we’ve got them. It just doesn’t mean every god damned person needs them, and they sure as hell don’t need to have them on their person at all times.

              Guns are more accurate, less painful, and much more instant. And as far as warfare is concerned, the advancement of weapons tech has actually led to much less brutal wars with far fewer civilian casualties. You don’t even wanna know what kind of nightmare world we’d be in if we still fought with spears, swords, bows, and fire. Oh, so very much fire…

              I’m all for gun control but I can not morally support the idea going back to the bow and arrow standard for both humanitarian and animal cruelty reasons.

              • Mindlink
                Mindlink
                October 17, 2015 at 12:20 pm | #

                Based on what, exactly ? There is no way being shot with an arrow is LESS humane than being shot with a bullet.
                A skilled hunter will fell his prey with one arrow, and the prey will not suffer. There’s less chance of an bow accidentally going off than a gun, and arrows are also more socially equalising than guns and ammo, which costs money. A gunshot wound is much harder to treat than an arrow to the knee.

                • Matthew Davis
                  Matthew Davis
                  October 17, 2015 at 5:08 pm | #

                  Tell you what. I’ll get a guy whose never shot a gun, and you get a guy whose never shot a bow, and we’ll put them up against a target at 100 yards. You tell me who is more likely to hit.

                  You’re right that a skilled hunter can take an animal down with one arrow, but the key word there is “skill.” If they don’t kill the animal in that one shot it’s not going to stick around for more of them. So now you’ve essentially sentenced the animal to death by blood loss or infection if you don’t find it.

                  I’m in favor of gun control, but let’s not pretend that guns are evil and bows, swords, etc. are noble.

                • David
                  David
                  October 17, 2015 at 7:11 pm | #

                  Ummm sorry to bear bad news, but barring disintegrating or splashing ammo, both illegal as far as I know…bullet wounds are no worse than the potential trauma caused by an arrowhead..

              • CptNerd
                CptNerd
                October 17, 2015 at 2:51 pm | #

                And the difference between a “hunting rifle” and a “sniper rifle” is what?

              • bearpelt
                bearpelt
                October 17, 2015 at 4:05 pm | #

                That’s ridiculous. Guns make it EASIER to kill people. Guns were designed to kill people. Guns make it impersonal and make it much easier to kill a lot of people faster.

                And arguing what’s the more humane way to kill people with violence seems besides the point to me.

            • Jacknoir
              Jacknoir
              October 17, 2015 at 1:38 pm | #

              the only reason the crazed people intending to cause harm to others are using guns rather than say explosives or chemical/biological weapons is the ease with which guns can be acquired.

              that should end because as we all know guns are far more deadly, I mean it takes time to pull out and aim a bomb, a bomb can only kill one or a handful of people at a time whereas a gun targets everyone with in it’s range. there’s always the possibility that a bomb will miss unlike a gun. the wound a bomb creates might be survivable depending upon where a person is hit. you can run or hide from a crazed bomber and possibly survive or some brave soul can risk their lives to stop the bomber whereas with a gun anyone within range of the gun when the shooter decides to use their weapon is dead and those outside of the kill range might be seriously maimed or injured.
              the right person armed with a bomb can potentially stop the crazed bomber ether by killing them with the bomb or by convincing them to put down the bomb while a gun will kill the person using it as well unless they are out of it’s range when used.

              • Mindlink
                Mindlink
                October 17, 2015 at 2:58 pm | #

                Umm…. I’m not sure what point you are trying to make, but:
                A bomb takes infinitely more time to prepare and use than any gun out there, even the medieval ones, a bomb is more difficult to procure, to conceal. The time spent putting the bomb together is time the maniac has to reconsider the plans, while a gun enables the maniac to have the crazy thought and end a life in just a few seconds!
                Bombs made by amateurs tend to either not work properly, or explode during assembly, in the latter there are some risks of colleratal damage, but less chance than with a gun.
                Explosives actually DO have an important function, and are used daily for peaceful purposes, for demolition, for putting out fires, for mining, etc., while the only peaceful purpose a gun can be put to is basically perfecting the aim.
                (And no, I’m not discounting bad guys stopped by a gun, it’s still not “peaceful” to stop anyone, “good” and “peaceful” are two different words)

                • bearpelt
                  bearpelt
                  October 17, 2015 at 8:20 pm | #

                  @Captain Whatever on the planet of things: Bullshit.

              • bearpelt
                bearpelt
                October 17, 2015 at 4:07 pm | #

                “Crazed people”? What is WITH all of the commenters on this comic hating disabled and neurodivergent people so much?

                I’ll say it again and again: disabled and neurodivergent people ARE NOT INHERENTLY VIOLENT. In fact, non-disabled and neurotypical people are FAR, FAR more likely to commit acts of violence and atrocities and we disabled and/or neurodivergent folks are more likely to be on the receiving end of it.

                PLEASE stop equating mental illness and violence.

                • Captain Whatever on the planet of things
                  Captain Whatever on the planet of things
                  October 17, 2015 at 7:25 pm | #

                  “Crazed” actually just means wild and out of control, and has nothing to do with mental illness.

                • Captain Whatever on the planet of things
                  Captain Whatever on the planet of things
                  October 18, 2015 at 4:29 am | #

                  You seem to have replied to the wrong post, but have a look at a dictionary sometime.

                • Mindlink
                  Mindlink
                  October 19, 2015 at 5:53 am | #

                  No, but violent people often TURN crazy, thereby becoming “crazed”. It’s not being crazy makes you violent, but that violence like this is in itself crazy.

          • Adam Black
            Adam Black
            October 17, 2015 at 7:05 am | #

            Or we could reinstate assault rifle ban,
            put tight controls on all Clip ammunition; and full background checks that weed out terrorisst , felons ad the insane.

            It shouldnt be harder vote , drive and but cold medicine than buy a semiautomatic military assault weapon and ammo.

            There will still be shootings , but It will harder to make it mass slaughter in seconds.

            • Shadlyn Wolfe
              Shadlyn Wolfe
              October 17, 2015 at 8:45 am | #

              I do have qualms on the argument “don’t give crazies guns!” (which I know is not quite what you said, but it reminded me.) Because if you mean people with an established violent behavior in their past, sure, but if you just mean “he had a mental illness, no guns for you” then all you are REALLY saying is “if you want a gun, don’t get help!” Also, most people with disorders – even those that correlate more with violence – aren’t personally dangerous, so it’s kinda equivalent to the idea you shouldn’t give poor people guns because they commit more hold-up-style robberies.

              Also, I’m pretty sure 90% of us would be diagnosable with something if we went to therapy. We just get by without it. So maybe that’s our backdoor gun control!

              “Only people who have never been found to have a psychological disorder with no felony record can have guns. Mandatory mental health visits for all citizens result in massive diagnoses. Make it a felony not to participate fully in the process!”

              Boom, we’re all diagnosed with SOMETHING at some time in our life, OR we all have felonies, and guns are gone!

            • The Biggest Tom
              The Biggest Tom
              October 17, 2015 at 2:24 pm | #

              Mass shootings are pretty much always committed with handguns, not assault weapons.

              • Mindlink
                Mindlink
                October 17, 2015 at 2:59 pm | #

                Any weapon is an assault weapon, isn’t it ? A hammer is an assault weapon if it’s used to smash a person instead of a nail.

              • Captain Whatever on the planet of things
                Captain Whatever on the planet of things
                October 17, 2015 at 3:10 pm | #

                Yeah but “assault rifles” look scary.

                • Mindlink
                  Mindlink
                  October 17, 2015 at 3:57 pm | #

                  How ? The word “rifle” or “weapon” is just as scary as “assault”.

                • Captain Whatever on the planet of things
                  Captain Whatever on the planet of things
                  October 17, 2015 at 7:19 pm | #

                  No, to many people (possible even most people, tbh) rifle is not a scary word. Calling weapons “assault rifles” helps to turn them into a bogeyman that we can all fret over.

                • not yet
                  not yet
                  October 17, 2015 at 9:39 pm | #

                  “Assault rifle” is pretty well-defined as a rifle capable of fully automatic fire built for combat. “Assault weapon” is the “vague” and “scary” term. As far as I know, it comes from the Ban, and if you go with that definition, most mass shootings don’t involve them.

                • Mindlink
                  Mindlink
                  October 19, 2015 at 5:56 am | #

                  I don’t think so, why should “assault” make a word that allready signifies death and destruction more scary ? You can assault someone without a weapon, which to me at least is a lot less scarier than being assaulted WITH a weapon, the weapon is the scary part.

            • bearpelt
              bearpelt
              October 17, 2015 at 4:10 pm | #

              Oh my fucking god “THE INSANE”??? Why do all of you hate mentally ill people so much? Most murders are neurotypical and non-disabled. I’m so disgusted by how many fans of this comic hate people like me.

              • not yet
                not yet
                October 17, 2015 at 9:50 pm | #

                I can’t speak for Adam Black, but to me “insane” and “mentally ill” are not remotely synonymous. “Insane” would refer to a very small minority who are completely irrational and unpredictable.

            • sps48
              sps48
              October 17, 2015 at 4:12 pm | #

              If I understand your 2nd paragraph correctly (voting, driving, buying cold medicine is harder)- I vote, drive, purchase pseudoephedrine, and purchase firearms.

              Buying firearm is by far the most time consuming, costly (not including the sales price), and regulated of your list. And driving and buying cold medicine is NOT specifically allowed by the Constitution of the United States of America.

            • maveric101
              maveric101
              November 24, 2015 at 5:59 pm | #

              “Or we could reinstate assault rifle ban”

              > Assault rifles ARE banned. Assault rifle means fully automatic. Anti-gun people decided to call AR-15 style semi-automatic magazine-fed rifles “assault weapons” so that they would sound worse and people like you would confuse them with military weapons.

              “put tight controls on all Clip ammunition”

              > WTF is “clip ammunition?” You mean magazines? Magazine sizes?

              “full background checks that weed out terrorisst , felons ad the insane.”

              > There are background checks for purchasing new guns, but not for private. Personally, I’m not inherently opposed to requiring private sales to be handled through a FFL-licensed third party (like a gun shop) so that background checks can be done for those, too.

              “It shouldnt be harder vote , drive and but cold medicine than buy a semiautomatic military assault weapon and ammo.”

              > It isn’t. Also, they aren’t military weapons. The M-4 and M-16 are fully automatic, AR-15 rifles are not. You clearly know nothing about the topic.

              “There will still be shootings , but It will harder to make it mass slaughter in seconds.”

              > You mean with smaller magazines? False. Changing a magazine takes very little time.

      • David Fenger
        David Fenger
        October 17, 2015 at 1:31 am | #

        Here’s a list of 22 relatively well documented cases of it:
        http://gunwatch.blogspot.ca/2015/05/mass-killings-stopped-by-armed-citizens.html

        Part of the problem is that shootings stopped by civilians tend to get stopped right at the beginning, so they don’t make it to ‘mass killing’ stage, or to the news.

        • Fred P
          Fred P
          October 17, 2015 at 5:17 am | #

          I’m unimpressed.

          There’s a mass shooting roughly every other week in the U.S. source Assuming that all the ones in your link are accurate, that’s around a 5% stoppage rate.

        • Li
          Li
          October 17, 2015 at 9:15 am | #

          Wow what a reliable source

          HOW ODD THAT MASSACRES MOSTLY HAPPEN IN “GUN-FREE ZONES”! When will the brain-dead Left wake up and draw the obvious conclusion?

          First statement is literally a lie, second is… really unbiased, like, super objective reporting.

          http://www.armedwithreason.com/more-guns-more-crime-yet-another-study-debunking-the-myth/

          There, have an article discussing the results of yet another study proving that guns don’t make us safer or help in preventing mass shootings.

          P.S., 22 incidents is an embarrassingly small percentage of mass shootings, but IIRC even those anemic numbers usually feature some retired cops — i.e., less “civilian” than they appear on the surface.

          • Crumplepunch
            Crumplepunch
            October 17, 2015 at 2:54 pm | #

            Oh man that site. With articles such as “Leftist Racism”, “Leftism is Authoritarian” and my personal favourite, “Hitler a Socialist”.

            • Mindlink
              Mindlink
              October 17, 2015 at 3:00 pm | #

              “and my personal favourite, “Hitler a Socialist”.”

              Well, that WAS the name of his party….

              • LordofthePotatoes
                LordofthePotatoes
                October 17, 2015 at 3:54 pm | #

                And I call myself the Lord of the Potatoes but am neither a spud, nor a lord of any fashion. Look at the policies and pick out the socialist ones. Then tell me if Hitler was a socialist.

                • Mindlink
                  Mindlink
                  October 17, 2015 at 7:32 pm | #

                  Not in action, of course, but still, officially at least.

              • Trolldrool
                Trolldrool
                October 17, 2015 at 6:40 pm | #

                National Socialist Party. Socialism and National Socialism has virtually nothing in common except the name. In fact, the only people Hitler hated more than socialists were the jews.

            • bearpelt
              bearpelt
              October 17, 2015 at 4:13 pm | #

              Ah. Any website that tries to argue that Hitler was anything other than far-right (by current Americans terms) is full of shit.

          • sps48
            sps48
            October 17, 2015 at 4:14 pm | #

            Police ARE civilians. They might not think of themselves as such, but they are.

        • Crumplepunch
          Crumplepunch
          October 17, 2015 at 3:03 pm | #

          It’s telling that a pro-gun site can only scrape together 15 examples by going back to 1915.

          In that time gun violence has killed literally hundreds of thousands of people in your country.

      • Sock_V
        Sock_V
        October 17, 2015 at 1:47 am | #

        Wasn’t there one in Israel just this last week?

        Was reported as a “security guard” but turned out to be joe schmoe with a gun.

        • Daniel Taylor
          Daniel Taylor
          October 17, 2015 at 12:30 pm | #

          Israel’s a pretty bad comparison example.

          Israel doesn’t have a mass shooting problem in the first place, because it doesn’t have the US’s insane “every violent teenage boy has an inherent right to kill people” gun mentality.

          Also, Israel has mandatory armed service, so every ‘joe schmoe’ has in fact had serious, responsible weapons training.

          • Smiling Cat
            Smiling Cat
            October 17, 2015 at 2:04 pm | #

            No, Israel doesn’t have the same problem because Israel has a much smaller population. What is often ignored is that the united states is the third most populous country in the World. It may have the highest total number of mass shootings in the western industrialized world, but it doesn’t have the highest rate of mass shootings relative to population.

            (this in no way is meant to suggest that gun violence isn’t a problem. It very much is, but it isn’t an exclusively american problem, or a simple problem that can be solved with a simple solution).

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              October 17, 2015 at 4:24 pm | #

              Who does have the highest rate of mass shootings to population?

              I assume you’re talking a country with a functioning government and not in the middle of a civil war or something like that.

              • Smiling Cat
                Smiling Cat
                October 17, 2015 at 5:07 pm | #

                It’s annoyingly difficult to provide a decent answer. I can show you an article that gives the top spot to Honduras. I can show you another that gives it to NORWAY. And there’s those countries that are “functional” but can’t provide usable data.

                What the article says, depressingly, seems to depend heavily on what the article writer wants it to say, with the details massaged by carefully defining aspects of the data such as what constitutes a mass shooting or a functioning nation, or a western nation, to get the desired result.

                • thejeff
                  thejeff
                  October 17, 2015 at 5:27 pm | #

                  My suspicion is that a lot of those may win by being small countries with a single bad shooting. Norway certainly does.
                  Averaged over a longer period, it likely wouldn’t.

                • Smiling Cat
                  Smiling Cat
                  October 17, 2015 at 6:16 pm | #

                  Definitely in the case of the list that had Norway. The bias was unmistakable even if you didn’t know it was a conservative site that posted it. It’s all about picking the stats you want to tell the story you want.

                  The whole thing from top to bottom is a mess. I think the only clear thing we can take from it is wherever the US appears on the list, it’s not good enough.

                • Trolldrool
                  Trolldrool
                  October 17, 2015 at 6:50 pm | #

                  As someone living in Norway, I can say that there’s no shortage of reports of violence in the country, but most of them involve domestic abuse and when death is involved, the murder weapon is usually a knife. If any website tries to paint our country as some utopia free of violence because of our gun control, that’s rubbish, but it is true that gun violence is extremely rare here.

          • Mindlink
            Mindlink
            October 17, 2015 at 3:03 pm | #

            “Israel doesn’t have a mass shooting problem in the first place”

            Erm… I think the Palestinians would disagree, and the Israelis would say “Yes, but we do have a mass exploding-people-to-pieces problem, and mass rock throwing problem”

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        October 17, 2015 at 2:14 am | #

        The last time a college shooting was stopped by armed civilians was 1966 at the University of Texas, and the civilians didn’t hit the shooter but kept him pinned down so LEO could shoot him from inside the building he was using as a sniper nest.

        • Mindlink
          Mindlink
          October 17, 2015 at 4:56 am | #

          No, there’s a newer one on the list that was posted, in 1998:
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Middle_School_dance_shooting

          • Agemegos
            Agemegos
            October 17, 2015 at 8:41 pm | #

            That’s not a college shooting. It occurred at an off-campus, after-hours dance for middle-schoolers.

        • Crumplepunch
          Crumplepunch
          October 17, 2015 at 3:26 pm | #

          I was reading about this case a few days ago. Although there are a handful of outliers before this date it is considered the first in the trend of US school shootings.

          In Whitman’s impromptu will he asks that if his life insurance policy is valid it should be used to pay his debts, and to “donate the rest anonymously to a mental health foundation. Maybe research can prevent further tragedies of this type.”

          In retrospect this is pretty chilling.

      • Furie
        Furie
        October 17, 2015 at 4:42 am | #

        Does Die Hard count?

        • ozzi
          ozzi
          October 17, 2015 at 7:05 am | #

          xmas movies do not count.

      • ReverendJ
        ReverendJ
        October 17, 2015 at 6:40 am | #

        Last week at a Waffle House in Charleston, South Carolina.

      • Guairdean Beatha
        Guairdean Beatha
        October 17, 2015 at 8:18 am | #

        People tend to forget that Columbine was a failed bombing. Had the bombs worked, the deaths would have been in the hundreds. http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/trevinwax/2012/10/09/7-myths-about-the-columbine-shooting/

        • Bicycle Bill
          Bicycle Bill
          October 17, 2015 at 2:44 pm | #

          Perhaps, perhaps not.  The bombs worked in Boston; 264 injured, but only three dead.

          • Guairdean Beatha
            Guairdean Beatha
            October 17, 2015 at 4:03 pm | #

            That’s the difference between an open air schrapnel bomb, and an enclosed incendiary device.

      • sps48
        sps48
        October 17, 2015 at 3:50 pm | #

        As posted 2 days ago:

        https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/10/03/do-civilians-with-guns-ever-stop-mass-shootings/

        Of course, prevented deaths do not get the same coverage as actual.

    • Caleb A
      Caleb A
      October 17, 2015 at 4:54 am | #

      except it wont happen because law abiding citizens aren’t allowed to carry guns on most school premises. so that only leaves assholes like toes dad and guys like the sandy hook killers.

      • Mindlink
        Mindlink
        October 17, 2015 at 4:58 am | #

        No, because non-law abiding citizens arren’t allowed to carry either!
        Of course, it won’t be able to stop them fully until we’ve actually DESTROYED all the guns, and why not ? We have no need for guns for ANYTHING, they’re completely useless and too risky to keep around for just a hobby.

        • r_r
          r_r
          October 17, 2015 at 9:32 am | #

          A gunless world is a meaningless dream. You can destroy whatever guns you want, you cannot destroy the knowledge of how to make them, or the ability to conceal the ones that are made.

          • Mindlink
            Mindlink
            October 17, 2015 at 12:21 pm | #

            Actually you can, but it would take a lot of work.

            • demonichate
              demonichate
              October 17, 2015 at 2:41 pm | #

              if anything Fahrenheit451 proved this to be false mindlink.

              You can try to remove something and people who want it
              will still find ways to get it. just as r_r has said

              the knowledge wont be lost unless you are advocating lining
              up people who know how to create guns of any type and kill
              them along with their families and anyone associated with them
              so as not to let the knowledge spread.

              that last paragraph was just an extreme thing, i know you aren’t
              advocating that.

              but yeah knowledge will always come back at some point. you go to burn the details form a book on building and someone will begin to hide those books to be found later on by other generations.

              • Mindlink
                Mindlink
                October 17, 2015 at 3:07 pm | #

                “You can try to remove something and people who want it
                will still find ways to get it.”

                Yeah, but isn’t the main reason people want guns in the first place, that they want to defend themselves against OTHER people with guns ? Therefore, by removing guns from the world, from culture, from knowledge (and yes, it’s hard to think of a “purge” of this scale that wouldn’t be just as horrendus as the mass shootings, I’m talking theoretically here) would there still be anyone left that WANTED to bring the secret of guns back?
                “but yeah knowledge will always come back at some point. ”
                That is true, still there would at least be a period of peace without any gun violence…

                • garbud
                  garbud
                  October 17, 2015 at 3:41 pm | #

                  fact of the matter is that no matter what you do some one is gonna have a gun hell i have a few from WW2 because i collect them as antiques. a gun is a weapon and a tool just like a sword or bow and no matter what you do they will always exist and some one will always know how to use them. also look at it this way swords are completely obsolete and yet i own a few and am actually capable at using them.

                • TheCerpent
                  TheCerpent
                  October 17, 2015 at 11:26 pm | #

                  You are assuming that all people are scrupulous. The problem is that there are violent people who do not care if they harm or injure others to get what they want (and some WANT to harm and injure others). I will agree that the most rational reason to own a gun is to have a way to fight back against other people with guns, but if the only reason we owned guns was to defend against guns, there would be no gun violence.

        • andmangrewproud
          andmangrewproud
          October 17, 2015 at 11:36 am | #

          Can’t put the genie back in the bottle.

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        October 17, 2015 at 6:59 am | #

        Because nothing makes things safer than MORE GUNS.

      • Willoughby Chase
        Willoughby Chase
        October 17, 2015 at 8:26 am | #

        Utter bollocks.

        Reduce the number and kinds of guns available, and even the bad guys can’t get them.

        Enforce the medical checks that most states seem to require and you stop guns falling into the hands of people who patently should not be carrying them. People like the VTEC killer.

        I don’t see the bad guys in Europe – unless they’re terrorists and they source them from abroad – carrying assault weapons as a matter of course.

        Some misguided Englishman tried to assemble a gun from parts sourced on the internet. He was arrested.

        The thing is, I suspect – I know – people in the US send gun parts and ammo via post. I don’t see them arrested.

        It’s about reducing the chances of bad guys getting hold of weapons. It’s not about prying the damn things from your cold dead hands.

        • Akemi
          Akemi
          October 17, 2015 at 10:32 am | #

          so, here’s the thing. Even in “enlightened” countries, it’s not that hard to get your hands on a gun if you really really one one. Pretty damned easy, actually. Interesting thing though country with the absolutely lowest gun crime rate is a little country called Switzerland – a country where military service is mandatory and nearly every single person has a military rifle because of it.
          SO why is this? It’s surprisingly simple. Switzerland -enforces- their gun laws and the US does a shit job about enforcement. All the bans and regulations won’t work if you don’t back it up with proper enforcement, but the cops in the us are so much more worried about a dime bag of weed than they are a legit threat like an illegally carried firearm. if the laws already on the books were actually -enforced- the problem would be a great deal better, as seen here: http://world.time.com/2012/12/20/the-swiss-difference-a-gun-culture-that-works/

          • SDGlyph
            SDGlyph
            October 17, 2015 at 10:38 am | #

            Looks like it’s time to post this again.

          • Crumplepunch
            Crumplepunch
            October 17, 2015 at 3:32 pm | #

            Aside from being misleading this is a complete lie. Switzerland does not have the lowest gun crime rate in the world, not even close. It has an above average rate of firearms murder per capita that is above average in Europe.

            • Crumplepunch
              Crumplepunch
              October 17, 2015 at 3:34 pm | #

              I hate not being able to edit my posts.

              “It has a rate of firearms murder per capita that is above average in Europe.”

        • TheCerpent
          TheCerpent
          October 17, 2015 at 11:37 pm | #

          It’s not about mental illness. It’s about emotional stability and control. Studies show that the most common factor in violence is anger (even in the cases where the person has mental illness). In the US, our culture of masculinity has severely limited the number of “acceptable” emotions a male individual can feel/express. Anger is basically the most “masculine” and thus most acceptable. Partially because of this, we are very bad about controlling anger (and our politicians and news media loves to leverage anger to their benefit). When you have a culture of people who have easy access to gun, are encouraged to feel angry, and then those people have a target to be angry at, you will get gun violence.

          There was a study done that checked instances of gun violence, and found that most of the perpetrators often had records of domestic violence, assault, restraining orders, etc. Interestingly enough, these are things that would show up… on a background check. So, perhaps instead of demonizing mental illness (and opening another avenue to violate the privacy of individuals’ medical records), perhaps we should try to keep guns out of people who have violent tendencies?

  2. Nightsbridge
    Nightsbridge
    October 17, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    i feel empty now

    ___________

    I wrote that first bit yesterday just after I read this strip, and still whenever I think of it, I get . . . like, [i]echoes.[/i] Let’s just say it’s a good thing I had no pressing obligations today, and leave it at that.

    • Nightsbridge
      Nightsbridge
      October 17, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

      Huh, I reverted to bbc code. I am not as recovered as I thought.

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        October 17, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

        There, there.

    • Plaid
      Plaid
      October 17, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

      I just read the news about Totalbiscuit having terminal cancer. After a few minutes of emptiness I try to go back to my normal routine, notice it’s midnight, check DoA.

      Whoops.

      • detective boomwolf
        detective boomwolf
        October 17, 2015 at 12:25 am | #

        I’m sorry, TotalBiscuit has who what now? …. Scuse me, I now need to go be more sad over that way…

        • Foxhack
          Foxhack
          October 17, 2015 at 12:51 am | #

          He had colon cancer, he beat it. But now he has liver cancer, and most people only survive it three years.

          • detective boomwolf
            detective boomwolf
            October 17, 2015 at 1:07 am | #

            When you say most people, do you mean some folks go beyond 3 years, or that some fall short of it? Or are we lookin at a mix of the 2?

            • LeslieBean4Shizzle
              LeslieBean4Shizzle
              October 17, 2015 at 1:32 am | #

              That would mean that three years is the average – some do better, some do worse.

            • Foxhack
              Foxhack
              October 17, 2015 at 1:44 am | #

              Almost nobody lives beyond three years. It usually appears on much older folks.

              He’s still relatively young so his chances of long-term survival are slightly higher.

              • JonRich
                JonRich
                October 17, 2015 at 3:06 am | #

                Who is TotalBiscuit?

                • SDGlyph
                  SDGlyph
                  October 17, 2015 at 3:12 am | #

                  This guy. YouTuber & gaming critic.

          • inqntrol
            inqntrol
            October 17, 2015 at 4:55 am | #

            Beat a type of cancer and gets another. Sheesh,what did the man do that his life decided to be a bongo?

            • inqntrol
              inqntrol
              October 17, 2015 at 4:58 am | #

              Goddamn keyboard,I meant “bongo” not “tit”.!

              • inqntrol
                inqntrol
                October 17, 2015 at 5:29 am | #

                *bongo. Third time’s the charm.

                • inqntrol
                  inqntrol
                  October 17, 2015 at 5:32 am | #

                  Ok,I’m either going crazy or whenever i type the synonim of “horny dog”,it changes it to “tit”.Seriously somebody else try to type…you know.

                • TheGrammarLegionary
                  TheGrammarLegionary
                  October 17, 2015 at 7:52 am | #

                  Yeah, this is a thing that’s been happening for a while. Although, is ‘bongo’ getting changed now too? Because if so, that seems new…

                • Kamino Neko
                  Kamino Neko
                  October 17, 2015 at 8:22 am | #

                  First, you mean female dog. Second, I think somebody’s been messing with your browser, because the word it’s changed to isn’t ‘tit’.

                • Adam Black
                  Adam Black
                  October 17, 2015 at 8:25 am | #

                  “Camaro Cruisin& Losin'”

                  Now, the wrong tree up,
                  Inqn’s towards a bruisin,
                  feeling of your choosin
                  I’d deal you but your losing

                  Nah, you are barking… mad.
                  but not thinking,
                  That isnt what that word … means
                  Sad Is how you sound; I’d Glean,
                  youve been drinking;
                  we’ll not see you round, Lad

                  One is a dam, the other A Drum,
                  youve beat on, too many times,
                  till word-of-God’s patience is now numb,
                  Dammit Willis gave you three tries,
                  With that Misogyny, you dont get free fries

                  If my rhyme makes you “horny”
                  dont you fret -tit,
                  Dont be a sad wanker all forlorn-y
                  im not a cocktease, ill still wet it,
                  Ill take the Top and scratch that Itch,
                  But one thing I wont do,
                  At the risk of Great Kitsch ,
                  is call you my BeYitch
                  But Im still fetching, My rod
                  you can be leching .

                  Get out your bongoes,
                  ‘Your banned , I’d bet it,’

                  thats how the song Goes,
                  Another gamer gets it.

                  / Takes a bow.

                  Im available for wedding, funerals , and whatver holiday it is when the Timelord is on

                • Lord Stoneheart
                  Lord Stoneheart
                  October 17, 2015 at 9:19 am | #

                  For about eight months now a slur against women has been filtered so it now appears to be a word for a type of drum.

                • inqntrol
                  inqntrol
                  October 17, 2015 at 10:09 am | #

                  Alright,I misinterpreted the word,we also have a word in my language that resembles bongo(the drums Stoneheart mentioned) ,,bongau”(accidentaly read it in my language and thought that’s what it means).Sorry people.Btw Adam,nice poetry.

                • Amazistool
                  Amazistool
                  October 17, 2015 at 2:32 pm | #

                  Homework for today:
                  Count the bongos in the comments of this comic.

                  Because that was the day this filter was put in place.

                • Lord Stoneheart
                  Lord Stoneheart
                  October 17, 2015 at 9:46 pm | #

                  @Amazistool

                  Ctrl-F is telling me 75.

            • feli
              feli
              October 17, 2015 at 7:52 am | #

              Surving cancer means you still have a 60% or so chance to get the same or another cancer, cause that sh’t spreads. And the docs can never be sure everything is gone. 🙁
              It’s an evil thing.

              • Amazistool
                Amazistool
                October 17, 2015 at 2:35 pm | #

                Obligatory xkcd.
                (Also read the alt-text).

            • Karen Lynn
              Karen Lynn
              October 17, 2015 at 12:30 pm | #

              Well, early in his career, he wished for a dev to “get cancer and die”. Much as I love him, that’s rather poetic.

              With that in mind, I will most likely die in a fire.

      • Stomato
        Stomato
        October 17, 2015 at 1:47 am | #

        D:

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        October 17, 2015 at 2:19 am | #

        Sorry, I’m drawing a blank on TotalBiscuit. Is that a person who comments here? In that case that sucks. Hell cancer sucks for everybody.

        • PDV
          PDV
          October 17, 2015 at 3:00 am | #

          Well-known gaming personality. I think he does reviews.

        • Solenoid
          Solenoid
          October 17, 2015 at 3:05 am | #

          A youtuber with a degree of notoriety. Anyway, yeah. Cancer sucks. Don’t think you’ll find anyone who disagrees on that one.

      • bearpelt
        bearpelt
        October 17, 2015 at 4:16 pm | #

        Damn. He was kind of an ass, but that’s still sad.

  3. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    October 17, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    Getting all according to plan.

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      October 17, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

      Urgh, feel dirty even saying that.

      • inqntrol
        inqntrol
        October 17, 2015 at 12:24 am | #

        Don’t feel.You felt the urge to say it.

    • lejwocky
      lejwocky
      October 17, 2015 at 12:55 am | #

      http://i.imgur.com/fDSKHvl.png

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        October 17, 2015 at 12:59 am | #

        Oh my gods.

        • lejwocky
          lejwocky
          October 17, 2015 at 1:02 am | #

          I had to.

          • DarkoNeko
            DarkoNeko
            October 17, 2015 at 1:13 am | #

            And NOW I have “get in the robot, Becky” stuck in my head >_<

            • inqntrol
              inqntrol
              October 17, 2015 at 1:47 am | #

              There,there.

      • liahansen
        liahansen
        October 17, 2015 at 1:07 am | #

        oh NO

      • Disloyal Subject
        Disloyal Subject
        October 17, 2015 at 1:18 am | #

        Ahahahaha
        HA HA HA HA HA

      • Solenoid
        Solenoid
        October 17, 2015 at 3:07 am | #

        yOU

  4. Cerberus
    Cerberus
    October 17, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    There’s so much here…

    I mean, panel one, where they’ve fully swapped and now Becky is shielding Joyce as best she can from her murderous rampaging father is just an immense act of badassery. Ditto on being the only one not to hit the pavement when the shot rang out. Similarly badass to keep her cool and still try to reason with him and appeal to whatever vestiges of empathy he may still possess.

    That panel 3 with everyone down on the ground, all scared that they’re about to die. 🙁

    And that panel 4. Joyce is thoroughly traumatized and convinced she is about to die here. And so she makes sure she says the thing she thinks is most important in the world. Showing her love to Becky, giving her that last something before she leaves this mortal coil. Saying what she thinks Becky has most wanted to hear ever, but also reiterating her genuine affection as a friend. It’s so important to her she gets it out that she’s stuck on repeat with it. And those pleading eyes on Becky as she comforts and hugs her. Becky knows Joyce doesn’t need another trauma and is trying in her tiny way to provide some cold comfort in the face of unbelievable danger.

    That panel 5 with Toedad committing such great evil with a look of emotional pain upon his face. So dedicated to hardening his heart against everything to protect against the “demons” that he secures his “win” against his daughter simply because she is not willing to put others in mortal danger just to save herself.

    Which leads to panel 6. Just… :c

    Becky has been unwavering and so strong to risk a great uncertainty. And that little bit of happiness. That little bit of herself has been violently stolen from her by her dad’s unrelenting shitiness. She is broken in that last panel. Unwilling to let further traumas befall a woman she loves so very deeply, unwilling to risk further danger to the other students and with the worry still deep in her heart about the dangerous situation her current deepest love was put in. Literally willing to sacrifice herself, face untold amounts of abuse and awfulness and possibly forever forestalling her ability to escape again and certainly the little bit of space she has carved here.

    Literally willing to betray that which is most core to herself, just to stop this dangerous man and save everyone else.

    It’s heartbreaking. Debilitatingly heart-breaking as I’ve known so many who’ve clung to closet doors far longer than they should because of their fears of just this type of fuckwittedness. Who’ve had to prioritize safety both for themselves and their loved ones over their own selves.

    And the worst bit is that the lesson Toedad learned is these shows of force work. This impending threat works as far as he is concerned. In his twisted outlook, he stared down the Beast that had stolen his daughter and he won. And he now thinks he knows what he’ll need to do next time to ensure that Satan can no longer grasp her soul.

    But all he’s really done is broken his daughter by threatening all her friends with death. Becky is far too good for her own good here and I can only hope that somehow Toedad is waylayed into an accident by that November 10th mark.

    • otusasio451
      otusasio451
      October 17, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

      HOLY GOD, HOW DID YOU DO THAT SO FAST.

      • TheOthin
        TheOthin
        October 17, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

        Probably saw it early via Patreon.

        • otusasio451
          otusasio451
          October 17, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

          Yeah, not gonna lie, I kinda guessed that. But I still didn’t expect that much text THIS early.

      • Nightsbridge
        Nightsbridge
        October 17, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

        Patreon supporters get advance warning.

        It doesn’t help

        • Cerberus
          Cerberus
          October 17, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

          Not even a little, no.

      • Cerberus
        Cerberus
        October 17, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

        I prepared it yesterday because I had a lot of feelings about this one and didn’t trust myself to be coherent when it went live.

      • Mr. Random
        Mr. Random
        October 17, 2015 at 1:22 am | #

        Patreon supporters see the strip early. They pre-write comments, copy and paste after refreshing. The strip updates around 12:02:11, Willis time. It can get pretty competitive for the first comments.

        • bearpelt
          bearpelt
          October 17, 2015 at 4:27 pm | #

          12:02:11 ANY CHANCE YOU HAVE A MORE PRECISE TIME? lolz that is impressive

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      October 17, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

      That gotta have taken a good hour to write 😮

    • liahansen
      liahansen
      October 17, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

      we gotta regular T Campbell over here #fandomreference

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      October 17, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

      This is such a great write-up on what’s happening here. I am so much in awe of Becky. Just look at the third panel when she’s trying to support Joyce. People are hiding, Ross the ChildMurderer stands tall and firm with his gun, Joyce is crumpling but Becky is by her side.

      • Disloyal Subject
        Disloyal Subject
        October 17, 2015 at 1:22 am | #

        He hasn’t murdered anyone.
        Yet.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          October 17, 2015 at 5:09 am | #

          Depends on where that shot eventually comes down.

          • seventhsword2
            seventhsword2
            October 17, 2015 at 8:05 am | #

            he fired straight up, that bullet will tumble on the way down. it
            won’t even break the skin

    • FriendlyNeighborhoodDave
      FriendlyNeighborhoodDave
      October 17, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

      Your analysis of this arc is awesome. Absolutely devastating, but awesome. Hopefully someone or something intervenes before he can take her off campus.

    • David Fenger
      David Fenger
      October 17, 2015 at 12:18 am | #

      Another interpretation of Joyce not diving for cover – she’s gone hunting with her father before. So she might also be aware that the rifle (previously noted as a Ruger v1 Varminter) is a single-shot… and that now is the perfect time to get close and try to take it off of him.

      Not that that would end badly or anything…

      • DSL
        DSL
        October 17, 2015 at 4:25 am | #

        Joyce’s awareness notwithstanding, I figured Willis had a storytelling reason for picking a single-shot rifle (and a visually distinctive rifle that some reader was bound to recognize) as Ross’s weapon.

      • SzL
        SzL
        October 17, 2015 at 6:49 am | #

        If she knew, why would she be agreeing tho?

        • Amazistool
          Amazistool
          October 17, 2015 at 2:43 pm | #

          Already answered by David: “now is the perfect time to get close and try to take it off of him”.

          Because if she doesn’t do that and tries to run away, he will re-load it.
          And then aim for her.

          • Cerberus
            Cerberus
            October 17, 2015 at 4:11 pm | #

            I’m pretty sure he’s already reloading it in Panel 3.

    • My1DigitIQ
      My1DigitIQ
      October 17, 2015 at 12:18 am | #

      Damn dude…..

    • fogel
      fogel
      October 17, 2015 at 12:21 am | #

      +

    • saki
      saki
      October 17, 2015 at 12:42 am | #

      Seconding Bagge and FriendlyNeighbourhoodDave. Also this analysis helped calm me down a little, which is nice.

    • ranthog
      ranthog
      October 17, 2015 at 1:15 am | #

      I don’t know of Becky has been broken or if it is just the finality this brings to losing her family combined with Joyce’s words. This is a whole another level of betrayal of family. Becky is so brave. Joyce is so caring thinking about what Becky needs to hear more than anything right now… And brave despite her terror.

      There issuch a depth of strength in these two.

      Such well played drama… I just wish it didn’t cut quite so cose to real life. Then again so many LGBT youth face this and almost no one is telling their story, especially since things are getting worse lately. (They are too willing to come out when they should not.)

    • Gecko
      Gecko
      October 17, 2015 at 8:30 am | #

      Just want to say I love your comments and insights on the story. I rarely have anything to add or reply (that I can phrase well), but I enjoy reading them very much.

    • bearpelt
      bearpelt
      October 17, 2015 at 4:26 pm | #

      THESE are the types of comments I’m here for, thank you. I also appreciate you saying, “still try to reason with him and appeal to whatever vestiges of EMPATHY he may still possess” instead of sanity, I’m seeing so much ableism from the commenters today.

      I find it interesting to watch Becky grow and change like this. Initially, she was just Joyce’s religious friend from home or something. When she got here and came out, we realized there was more to her. And then she got mildly but understandably annoying with her newfound freedom. (Something I saw a lot of commenters try to be nice about, which I liked.) And then to show us such strength of character and bravery and self-sacrifice. I’m Jewish, so a lot of Christian stuff isn’t really my thing to say the least, but I’m sure she doesn’t even realize that she’s basically martyring herself, which is more in line with her belief system than her father’s actions. (Which also mirrors how Joyce took a lot of the things taught to her about Jesus to heart more than her parents had.)

      Even if Toedad gets away, he has opened fire and threatened people on college campus. (He shot at the air, of course, but still.) I hardly imagine he won’t get arrested for this. Enough people know who he and Becky are in the main cast’s circle that SOMEONE would spill the beans, I think, if questioned.

      • RedFloyd
        RedFloyd
        October 17, 2015 at 10:35 pm | #

        That, and he’s driving a car with licence plates that I’m sure somebody will either remember or take a picture of.

      • Liliet
        Liliet
        October 19, 2015 at 9:55 am | #

        At least the fatphobia seems to have died off. Comments a couple of strips ago were seriously gross to read >_<

  5. otusasio451
    otusasio451
    October 17, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    Ross…just…Ross. Holy shit, man.

    • ranthog
      ranthog
      October 17, 2015 at 1:35 am | #

      If only that made things better. Sadly it would likely only make things worse.

      • ranthog
        ranthog
        October 17, 2015 at 1:37 am | #

        Er it posted under the Wong one. This should be to the kill Ross post.

        • Mindlink
          Mindlink
          October 17, 2015 at 5:05 am | #

          Ah, I thought for a moment you were considering the ramifications of Ross, actually, taking a holy shit!

          • ranthog
            ranthog
            October 17, 2015 at 4:10 pm | #

            I was just in too much shock too see it from the strip, because it would be the best fanfic ever¡!!!!!!

          • Gamaran Sepudomyn
            Gamaran Sepudomyn
            October 17, 2015 at 6:24 pm | #

            Compared to Ross, any shit is holy shit.

    • Undrave
      Undrave
      October 17, 2015 at 3:19 am | #

      He’s clearly going through some sort of mental breakdown… Here is a man who had a strong grip on his life and then his wife died and then he tried to hold on to his daughter and she’s clearly slipping away from him and he’s panicking… it’s really sad and I just want this to be over!

  6. thebatman22
    thebatman22
    October 17, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    SOME ONE KILL ROSS

    • newllend(henryvolt)
      newllend(henryvolt)
      October 17, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

      Easy there

    • Buttlerman
      Buttlerman
      October 17, 2015 at 12:17 am | #

      Kill them when we are at happy times not sad times

      • Hijean
        Hijean
        October 17, 2015 at 12:28 am | #

        But killing Ross is surely what makes it the happy times.

        • Foxhack
          Foxhack
          October 17, 2015 at 1:45 am | #

          Becky seeing her father get shot and killed in front of her? Yeah, happy times.

    • Solenoid
      Solenoid
      October 17, 2015 at 3:13 am | #

      The police will oblige, after that gunshot.

      • Sigurther
        Sigurther
        October 17, 2015 at 7:33 am | #

        Yeah, I dont think Ross is coming out of this on the right side of the ground.

  7. laura
    laura
    October 17, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    fundamentalism, not even once.

  8. Stephen R. Bierce
    Stephen R. Bierce
    October 17, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    *P.A. system sirens go off*

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      October 17, 2015 at 9:15 am | #

      *WOOOOOOO*
      “This is a test of the Emergency Muzak P.A. System. If this –
      Actually, this isn’t a test. Some nutjob Toe-person is actually firing a gun. Lose your shit immediately, and run for the nearest exit.
      I repeat, this is most certainly NOT a test.”

      • DinaWho
        DinaWho
        October 17, 2015 at 10:34 am | #

        Generally the protocol for an active shooter is the opposite of that – remain in the building, lock yourself in a classroom and stay out of sight.

        • fizzywafflezsuperstore
          fizzywafflezsuperstore
          October 17, 2015 at 1:18 pm | #

          Good job in the gravatar, by the way!

          • fizzywafflezsuperstore
            fizzywafflezsuperstore
            October 17, 2015 at 1:18 pm | #

            *on

  9. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    October 17, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    Oh no, Becky.

  10. Mom
    Mom
    October 17, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    No…

  11. Madock345
    Madock345
    October 17, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    The good news is toedad is going to go away forever now!

    I just hope Becky doesn’t get fucked up too bad in the process :/

    • JetstreamGW
      JetstreamGW
      October 17, 2015 at 12:53 am | #

      Naawwww. Probably not forever.

      Depending on his record it’s more likely to be something between 10 and 30 years tho.

      • de Combys
        de Combys
        October 17, 2015 at 1:27 am | #

        And then he gets out, tracks down his daughter who is now married to a woman and gets down to “unfinished business”.

        Somehow this 10 year thing doesn’t feel right.

        • masterofbones
          masterofbones
          October 17, 2015 at 2:00 pm | #

          A lot of things don’t make sense when you focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation

          • bearpelt
            bearpelt
            October 17, 2015 at 4:33 pm | #

            Yeah, pretty much this.

            The first clue that our prison system is fucked up for me was learning that prisons are not owned by government but are actually a business. That blew my mind. The whole system is broken.

            Altho I’m not sure how much rehab would help everyone? But it would probably be better than what we have now. If we switched our punishment-focused system to one that prioritized proactive prevention and rehab, it would probably be a lot better.

      • ANeM
        ANeM
        October 17, 2015 at 2:09 am | #

        Except we’re never getting past freshman year so.. Forever!

  12. detective boomwolf
    detective boomwolf
    October 17, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    I stepped out of the corner… I stepped out of the corner and this is what I walked in on…. why did I step out of the corner, nothing bad was happening there….

    • Ana Chronistic
      Ana Chronistic
      October 17, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

      “All because of that Sierra Mist!”

      • inqntrol
        inqntrol
        October 17, 2015 at 12:15 am | #

        ”I told you to buy Sprite,but NO!”

      • detective boomwolf
        detective boomwolf
        October 17, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

        It wasn’t me I tells ya! It was the Mist! The Mist made me do it! THE MIIIIISSSSSTTTT!!!!

    • FriendlyNeighborhoodDave
      FriendlyNeighborhoodDave
      October 17, 2015 at 12:17 am | #

      *pokes head out of corner* Is it safe now…Nope… *retreats back into corner and loads up another season of Friends*

      • detective boomwolf
        detective boomwolf
        October 17, 2015 at 12:20 am | #

        WAIT, PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU!!! AT LEAST TELL ME WHAT SEASON YOU’RE ON!!!

  13. ailorn
    ailorn
    October 17, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    please someone call an apb and track him down.

  14. Bagge
    Bagge
    October 17, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    No no no no no no no no no no no no no

    • Silvester Crow
      Silvester Crow
      October 17, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

      No no nononono nonononononono! Nooooooooo!

    • SDGlyph
      SDGlyph
      October 17, 2015 at 2:38 am | #

      There’s no limit!

      Sorry not sorry.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      October 17, 2015 at 9:19 am | #

      Is it safe ye-

      NOPE

      NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPENOPENOPE…

  15. Lucina
    Lucina
    October 17, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    Becky… Becky no…

    The worst part is, I am almost certain it doesn’t end here. Becky’s not going back with her dad… Something’s gonna happen, someone’s gonna get hurt… I just hope it’s not her… or her rescuer.

    • Viktoria
      Viktoria
      October 17, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

      Could be anyone. After all, the bullet hasn’t come down yet.

      • de Combys
        de Combys
        October 17, 2015 at 1:28 am | #

        There are a lot of deaths caused by stray bullets…

        • Majere
          Majere
          October 17, 2015 at 5:05 am | #

          A falling bullet won’t really hurt anyone. Like it’ll sting like a motherfucker but unless it hits you smack in the eye it’s basically harmless.

          • Mindlink
            Mindlink
            October 17, 2015 at 5:10 am | #

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebratory_gunfire
            “Bullets fired into the air usually fall back with terminal velocities much lower than their muzzle velocity when they leave the barrel of a firearm. Nevertheless, people can be injured, sometimes fatally, when bullets discharged into the air fall back down to the ground.”
            “In Puerto Rico, about two people die and about 25 more are injured each year from celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve, the CDC says.”

            • Dorje Sylas
              Dorje Sylas
              October 17, 2015 at 7:41 am | #

              Yep, bullets don’t magically vanish into the luminiferous aether. Drop anything out of the sky at its terminal velocity (which is a factor of wind resistance, and bullets are wonderfully aerodynamic), and you could end up with kinetic energy to kill. Even a slight angle off perfect vertical leaves the bullet traveling at terminal velocities sufficient to (at minimum) penetrate human flesh, and worse clear through bone.

              Mythbusters Episode 50, Bullets Fired Up

              If by some “act of god” someone did manage a perfect straight vertical shot (where the bullet stops spinning and starts to tumble, decreasing its terminal velocity) that lands back down on their own head, they would be the one person who won’t be killed by their stupidity. Tragically firing guns in the air will not award the shooter a Darwin Award for removing themselves from the gene pool.

              Ross has called up a non-0 probability that he just wounded or killed someone with that random air shot. And it may not even be someone in close proximity. Could a mile or more away.

              • Mindlink
                Mindlink
                October 17, 2015 at 12:27 pm | #

                “Ross has called up a non-0 probability that he just wounded or killed someone with that random air shot. And it may not even be someone in close proximity. Could a mile or more away.”

                Like, all the way to forest…..?

            • bearpelt
              bearpelt
              October 17, 2015 at 4:35 pm | #

              ….. I really hope that doesn’t happen here. I think it would be hard for me to find it funny if the comic actually had someone die because of that stray bullet later.

              • de Combys
                de Combys
                October 19, 2015 at 3:14 pm | #

                Congratz, you’re not a psychopath!

                • Mindlink
                  Mindlink
                  October 20, 2015 at 9:48 am | #

                  Psycopath ? I think people keep forgetting this is a work of FICTION, and in fiction ANYTHING can be played for laughs, and we certainly have no moral obligation to feel anything for the characters. It makes the story better, more effectful, if we do, but it certainly doesn’t make us psychopaths if we don’t!

    • Someone
      Someone
      October 17, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

      Im hoping she does get in the car and we have an epic car/motorcycle chase

      Joyce finally gets to ride that motorcycle!

      • inqntrol
        inqntrol
        October 17, 2015 at 12:32 am | #

        And while riding it,she finds it not very exciting as she tought.”Dreams crushed”

        • Someone
          Someone
          October 17, 2015 at 12:37 am | #

          It would be exciting if it involves chasing after your kidnapped best friend against a guy with a rifle.

  16. Mr. Mendo
    Mr. Mendo
    October 17, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    And the cavalry rides to the rescue any second, now!

    …right?

    • ailorn
      ailorn
      October 17, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

      Im with you. C’mon Cavalry! (Sal ?)

      • Mr. Mendo
        Mr. Mendo
        October 17, 2015 at 12:38 am | #

        I’m thinking more ALL the characters!

        • Someone
          Someone
          October 17, 2015 at 12:42 am | #

          All the characters…except for Blaine and Ryan and whoever else is that bad
          Note: Faz and Mary don’t even come close to being evil enough
          everyone else though!

          • Mr. Mendo
            Mr. Mendo
            October 17, 2015 at 12:53 am | #

            Or Mike. Mike’d get things done.

            • Someone
              Someone
              October 17, 2015 at 1:03 am | #

              Galasso would be leading them

              “GO MY ARMY, DEFEAT TOE DAD!!!!”

              • Mr. Mendo
                Mr. Mendo
                October 17, 2015 at 1:08 am | #

                (And Subs!)

                • Dragon_Nataku
                  Dragon_Nataku
                  October 17, 2015 at 9:45 am | #

                  Why do you want to defeat the subs? They never did anything to you except be delicious.

                  You monster.

                • Someone
                  Someone
                  October 17, 2015 at 12:11 pm | #

                  Mendo perfers paninis

      • saltchocolate
        saltchocolate
        October 17, 2015 at 12:42 am | #

        I had that thought!

    • begbert
      begbert
      October 17, 2015 at 1:02 am | #

      The bullet will fall back down and kill him dead.

      • Disloyal Subject
        Disloyal Subject
        October 17, 2015 at 1:25 am | #

        Or just ruin his shoulder.

  17. etybolik
    etybolik
    October 17, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    Poor Becky. Her choices, as defined by her shitstain of a “father”, are to either concede defeat and get in the car and be subjected to whatever he has in mind, or refuse and others, including her father, get hurt or die. How anyone could subject someone they claim to love to such a horrible situation is beyond me.

    In short, I hope Ross gets eaten by a surprise T-Rex.

    • Mollyscribbles
      Mollyscribbles
      October 17, 2015 at 2:58 am | #

      Just gonna point out: Given that he fired his gun on campus, in front of witnesses, before ordering his daughter into the car, it is extremely unlikely that Becky will spend more than 15 minutes with him before the police arrive, recognize her as a hostage, and get her away from him. If nothing else, this assures she can gain emancipation from him. He won’t be able to order her around anymore.

      • Chrissy
        Chrissy
        October 17, 2015 at 3:42 am | #

        Except that he does not give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s… This man does not recognize secular law.

        • Majere
          Majere
          October 17, 2015 at 5:07 am | #

          Secular law categorically does not care whether or not you recognize it.

      • Luxlucis
        Luxlucis
        October 17, 2015 at 4:14 am | #

        Maybe psychological emancipation but the legal one is already done, she is 18.

      • CianM1301
        CianM1301
        October 17, 2015 at 8:01 am | #

        My guess is as Becky is approaching Ross, we hear another shot, and Ross falls to the ground as the police move in. And that’s being hopeful.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        October 17, 2015 at 9:12 am | #

        15 minutes is a long time and he can be far away before the police know enough about what’s going on to start looking for that car.

        On the other hand, Becky has Dina’s phone, which Ross isn’t likely to expect. She can be tracked by that.

        On the gripping hand, for dramatic reasons, I expect this to play out here with these characters, not change into a police procedural.

        • Karen Lynn
          Karen Lynn
          October 17, 2015 at 12:37 pm | #

          Not gonna get tracked by the phone. In order for a person to be tracked via mobile phone requires a court order above and beyond that of a warrant. Not is it half as accurate as people think it is when seeing it on tv.

          Most likely to happen: Joyce tells the cops where Becky and Ross live. That is much quicker and far more accurate.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            October 17, 2015 at 2:48 pm | #

            Well, yeah. Assuming they go home.

            But tracking kidnap victims by phone happens fairly often. Especially if it’s a smartphone with location services turned on.
            Mostly it doesn’t work because the kidnappers know it too and ditch the phone.

          • Mollyscribbles
            Mollyscribbles
            October 17, 2015 at 3:51 pm | #

            Though since it’s Dina’s phone, she could track it herself — aren’t there apps or something that allow people to track their own phone, like if they can’t remember where they left it?

            • Agemegos
              Agemegos
              October 17, 2015 at 6:14 pm | #

              There are, and I’ve used mine. Turns out that my phone was under a picnic table in a highway rest stop about eighty kilometres away.

        • Amazistool
          Amazistool
          October 17, 2015 at 2:56 pm | #

          Lots of witnesses here.
          Probability that someone remembers the number on the car plate and has a mobile to inform the police almost 100%.

          Ross does not strike me as the type who has prepared a second car in the surroundings.

  18. Ryan
    Ryan
    October 17, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    Nah, somebody’s got to take this piece of shit out.

  19. OtakuPatriot
    OtakuPatriot
    October 17, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    Holy shit, dude. I see a high-speed chase in his future. If this makes it to trial, the jury won’t even need to deliberate.

  20. Cheshrin
    Cheshrin
    October 17, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    Can someone just. Punch Ross? In the face? With a wrecking ball? With spikes? On fire? Please?

    • Liliet
      Liliet
      October 19, 2015 at 10:00 am | #

      For a nonviolent and kind person like me, this was an unusually satisfactory mental image.

  21. Tacos
    Tacos
    October 17, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    Really hoping the police show up now. Pretty please.

    • MichaelHaneline
      MichaelHaneline
      October 17, 2015 at 3:23 am | #

      They’re definitely on their way at this point. It’s just a matter of how much can go down in the next few minutes.

  22. Kraken
    Kraken
    October 17, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

    Goodbye, one place on campus where Joyce feels safe.

    Surely someone with authority will intervene before Becky gets carted off, right?

    • caesaria82
      caesaria82
      October 17, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

      Your first sentence just completely broke me. Damn. Damnnnnnnnn. Poor Joyce =/

    • bearpelt
      bearpelt
      October 17, 2015 at 4:41 pm | #

      Oh my god I hadn’t even thought of that. That’s heartbreaking.

      As sad as this is, though, I kind of appreciate Willis showing how there isn’t like some sort of balance where you’ll probably only get traumatized ONCE in life. People who get traumatized once seem to get traumatized more than once, in my experience. Can’t catch a break.

  23. Rich
    Rich
    October 17, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

    I’m pretty sure Joyce will be done with college after this semester…

  24. liahansen
    liahansen
    October 17, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

    POSSIBLY THE RIGHT CHOICE BUT FUCK

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      October 17, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

      There is no good choices here

      • Solenoid
        Solenoid
        October 17, 2015 at 3:18 am | #

        Kicking him in the nads while his single-shot rifle is empty, perhaps?

  25. caesaria82
    caesaria82
    October 17, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

    Holy shit. This is so fucking vile and makes me so angry. SOMEONE COME AND TAKE THIS ASSHOLE DOWN. NOW. PLEASE?

  26. ozaline
    ozaline
    October 17, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

    Sometimes bullets fired into the air kill people when coming back down, or at least injure them… I kinda hope he gets taken out (not killed) by his own bullet, I don’t think it’s going to happen, and I hate to wish ill on him but still.

    • Viktoria
      Viktoria
      October 17, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

      Yeah, the instant I saw the second panel I figured someone was going to get hit. That’s the perfect way to rub a bit of salt in.

    • Raen
      Raen
      October 17, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

      Unlikely. Because they have so much energy, they go quite high, so a few arcminutes go a long way. They don’t come down where they were fired.

      • chris73
        chris73
        October 17, 2015 at 12:15 am | #

        This is true unfortunately they do come down though and hopefully no one is under it when it does

      • kelticat
        kelticat
        October 17, 2015 at 2:21 am | #

        Actually Mythbusters did a study and found that bullets lose velocity only when fired at a 90 degree angle. Any other angle, even 90.5 will result in injury if it hits.
        Doubtful if Ross had that gun at a straight 90 degrees. The good news is that he has fired his single bullet and now the gun is unloaded.

        • sps48
          sps48
          October 17, 2015 at 4:25 pm | #

          90.5°?
          I think you mean 89.5°.

          • electromagneticDestroyosaur
            electromagneticDestroyosaur
            October 17, 2015 at 5:48 pm | #

            Same thing (supplementary angles)

      • Cephalo the Pod
        Cephalo the Pod
        October 17, 2015 at 4:03 am | #

        What’s the initial speed of a bullet? Can we estimate 300m/s?

        So what we need is the time it takes to come back down, when it will be at the opposite velocity. If we make “up” positive (and if you accept my shitty high-scholl kinematics):

        -300m/s = 300m/s – 0.5gt^2, g=9.8m/s^2
        -600m/s = -(4.9m/s^2)t^2
        122s^2 ~ t^2
        t ~ 11s.

        And this is assuming it was shot at a perfect 90-degree angle, and it ignores air resistance. Both of these factors should lower the bullet’s maximum height.

        If the bullet is plot important, we’ll find out soon.

        • Cephalo the Pod
          Cephalo the Pod
          October 17, 2015 at 4:08 am | #

          Wait, SHIT, time isn’t squared for this! I’ve mixed up calculating velocity with calculating distance.
          So the time it takes isn’t 11s.
          -600m/s = (-9.8m/s^2)t
          t ~ 60s
          Shit, never mind.

          • Mindlink
            Mindlink
            October 17, 2015 at 5:14 am | #

            Close…
            “Firearms expert Julian Hatcher studied falling bullets in the 1920s and calculated that .30 caliber rounds reach terminal velocities of 90 m/s (300 feet per second or 204 miles per hour).[7] A bullet traveling at only 61 m/s (200 feet per second) to 100 m/s (330 feet per second) can penetrate human skin”
            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebratory_gunfire

    • Hi There
      Hi There
      October 17, 2015 at 12:15 am | #

      I really hope it lands in an open area and doesn’t hit anyone.

    • Ana Chronistic
      Ana Chronistic
      October 17, 2015 at 12:22 am | #

      as linked below: http://mythbustersresults.com/episode50

  27. inqntrol
    inqntrol
    October 17, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

    Ross,stop doing the puppy eyes thing!I have no sympathy for you!

    • jepmz
      jepmz
      October 17, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

      Tomorrow’s strip is naruto-style flash back gratuitous backstory of Ross for the next month

      • Rick B.
        Rick B.
        October 17, 2015 at 3:52 am | #

        please… no…

      • Mindlink
        Mindlink
        October 17, 2015 at 5:16 am | #

        Followed by flashbacks to Ross getting in the car, pulling up at the curb, finding Becky & Dina, then two months of a flashback from Dinas childhood, then flashbacks of the first flashbacks, then four months of filler arcs with Riley goofing around.

        • DarkVeghetta
          DarkVeghetta
          October 17, 2015 at 6:21 am | #

          ^ True story.

  28. Just Me
    Just Me
    October 17, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

    I said, short of everyone dying, this is the worse case scenario. If Becky get’s into that car, she’s as good as dead.

    • Rartorata
      Rartorata
      October 17, 2015 at 12:14 am | #

      Not quite. Someone’ll call the cops, and even if he gets away, there are 20+ eyewitnesses, and they’ve got his plates. He’s racked up 3+ felonies in the last 5 minutes, so he’d be something of a priority suspect.

      • saki
        saki
        October 17, 2015 at 12:50 am | #

        Hm, let’s see. 1) Assault with a deadly weapon? Waving his firearm around like that counts as such, right? 2) Whatever the legal term is for firing a shot into the air 3) Open-carry on campus 4) Terroristic threat 5) Attempted? kidnapping
        I’m sure there’s a whole bunch more that I can’t think of since I have limited legal knowledge. Yeah I’d say he’s in loads of trouble and there’s no way he gets to drive Becky home and put her through whatever conversion hell he’s planning.

        • Disloyal Subject
          Disloyal Subject
          October 17, 2015 at 1:28 am | #

          There’s also battery versus Dina.

          • saki
            saki
            October 17, 2015 at 1:32 am | #

            Right, yes. So that’s at least 6.

            • inqntrol
              inqntrol
              October 17, 2015 at 1:37 am | #

              7.When he will try to get away from the cops that will chase him.

          • Idris
            Idris
            October 17, 2015 at 1:37 am | #

            Doubt that one would count. The only battery he did to her really was just getting her off of him and then leaving.

            • liahansen
              liahansen
              October 17, 2015 at 2:19 am | #

              I doubt that could be defended as self defense though since he started the whole thing

              • espanolbot
                espanolbot
                October 17, 2015 at 3:16 am | #

                Yeah, especially as he’s a whole lot bigger than her AND armed with a rifle.

            • Gecko
              Gecko
              October 17, 2015 at 7:55 am | #

              Dina didn’t catch up with Becky, though. That suggests he did more than just throw her off. I’m still expecting to get to know he broke her leg, or something. :c

          • seventhsword2
            seventhsword2
            October 17, 2015 at 2:47 pm | #

            no that was not battery, that was assault, she could defend herself. battery is physical violence against someone incapable of defending themselves

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              October 17, 2015 at 4:32 pm | #

              In most jurisdictions, assault is the threat of violence, battery is actually doing it.
              Ross has committed both.

              “Incapable of defending themselves” isn’t a distinction I’m aware of.

        • kelticat
          kelticat
          October 17, 2015 at 2:49 am | #

          Coercion is also against the law. Forcing someone to get into a car (or preventing them from getting into a car ) is coercion.

        • Mindlink
          Mindlink
          October 17, 2015 at 5:18 am | #

          But then again, a scenario where a car with Becky, Ross and the rifle is stopped by dozens of armed cops, all apparently “working for the Devil” to Ross, might not be the safest situation to be in either.

        • Karen Lynn
          Karen Lynn
          October 17, 2015 at 12:45 pm | #

          1) nope. Never used the weapon on anyone. Only if a person being hit by a stay bullet gets reported will that happen.
          2) discharging a firearm within city limits is a low class misdemeanor.
          3) felony due to federal gun free school zones
          4) no threat of terrorism. Worst he could get on this front would be inciting a panic
          5) coercion and kidnapping.

          Two felonies, several misdemeanors.

          Assuming he did little more than throw Dina off of him, there is no charge there.

          • Rartorata
            Rartorata
            October 17, 2015 at 1:28 pm | #

            -legalmatch.com

          • Rartorata
            Rartorata
            October 17, 2015 at 1:30 pm | #

            In an assault with a deadly weapon case, the victim doesn’t need to by physically harmed by the deadly weapon. Instead, the victim only needs to experience an “apprehension of imminent harm” in order for an assault to occur. It’s enough if the defendant purposely frightened the victim into thinking that they’d be harmed by the weapon.
            -legalmatch.com

            Ignore the prior post and my fucked-up HTML.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              October 17, 2015 at 4:33 pm | #

              Yeah, actually shooting them gets a “attempted murder” charge.

          • saki
            saki
            October 18, 2015 at 12:14 am | #

            Terroristic threat = / = Threat of terrorism. A terroristic threat is defined as a declaration of intent to commit a crime of violence against another with the intent of threatening a person, building, facility, or public or private habitat (thanks wikipedia for the definition). Ross most definitely threatened violence when he pointed his gun at his fucking daughter.

    • OnyxIdoll
      OnyxIdoll
      October 17, 2015 at 3:56 am | #

      I don’t think he wants to kill her, he could have done that if he wanted to.

      I’m guessing he wants to send her to gay conversion therapy, which is also fucked up but she’d be alive. In a way.

      • Cerberus
        Cerberus
        October 17, 2015 at 1:04 pm | #

        That was always Plan A, but I suspect he left room for potential Plan Bs.

        • nightsbridge
          nightsbridge
          October 17, 2015 at 3:45 pm | #

          I have a sneaking suspicion plan Z is ‘kill her so she cannot be corrupted further.’

          • Cerberus
            Cerberus
            October 17, 2015 at 4:13 pm | #

            Which is going to make it really dangerous for her when the cops come to arrest him.

            “Even the authorities have sided with the Devil, but I love you too much to let him have you when you were so close to getting better. We shall meet again in Heaven”.

    • Just Me
      Just Me
      October 17, 2015 at 5:51 pm | #

      Even if Ross and Becky drive away in the car together without the police getting involved [which isn’t going to happen now that there are witnesses], even if Ross tries to ‘Pressure’ Becky into being Straight [which isn’t going to happen since Becky is out of the closet], even after all that, Ross is going to try and get Becky married off real quick.

      Becky is wearing a Scarlet Letter, the only religious type who would have anything to do with her is an abusive bastard who will beat on her as much as he wants because no one will give a damn. After all, ‘Becky is a sinner and deserves to be abused’ [the abusive husband and religious communities thoughts, not mine].

      So, even if Becky survives til tomorrow, if she get’s into the car with Ross, her life is going to be a living hell until she either tries to run away or eventually get’s killed.

      Ross isn’t thinking this through, obviously.

  29. shadowcell
    shadowcell
    October 17, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

    ugh, that bullet’s gonna come down and hit someone, isn’t it

    • Tandel
      Tandel
      October 17, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

      Possibly, but IIRC a bullet falling via gravity is little more than a painful nuisance and not deadly.

      • etybolik
        etybolik
        October 17, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

        Mythbusters took a look at it, actually. In the end they found out about a couple of cases in which people were legit harmed by falling bullets, and one of ’em was killed.

        http://mythbustersresults.com/episode50

        • Tandel
          Tandel
          October 17, 2015 at 12:44 am | #

          Well shit… this scene just got darker. And my recalling correctly is FALSE!

      • inqntrol
        inqntrol
        October 17, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

        They can be deadly as well.Here.

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          October 17, 2015 at 12:22 am | #

          About as deadly as hail, at this weight.

          • Mindlink
            Mindlink
            October 17, 2015 at 5:19 am | #

            Not according to that link

            • MichaelLanting
              MichaelLanting
              October 17, 2015 at 9:27 am | #

              People get killed by hail too.

              • Mindlink
                Mindlink
                October 17, 2015 at 12:25 pm | #

                Yes, I provided examples of that, but not as many as falling bullets, therefore not as “deadly as hail”.

          • Betty Anne
            Betty Anne
            October 17, 2015 at 11:59 am | #

            Google “child killed celebratory gunfire” and then keep scrolling until “as deadly as hail” sinks in.

      • Tacos
        Tacos
        October 17, 2015 at 12:14 am | #

        They showed this on Mythbusters. Basically it’s very hard to shoot a bullet perfectly straight up in the air. Most fall down in a ballistic trajectory and can still be dangerous.

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          October 17, 2015 at 12:22 am | #

          And even if you shoot it straight up, there is wind.

      • jepmz
        jepmz
        October 17, 2015 at 12:21 am | #

        In some part of the Philippines, corrupt police would shoot the sky at New Years. At least one civilian died two years in the a row 🙁

        • Jason
          Jason
          October 17, 2015 at 12:44 am | #

          That’s one unlucky civilian.

          • DarkoNeko
            DarkoNeko
            October 17, 2015 at 1:01 am | #

            …I didn’t dare say it. Kudos.

          • merbrat
            merbrat
            October 17, 2015 at 1:10 am | #

            *snrk*

          • Opus the Poet
            Opus the Poet
            October 17, 2015 at 2:28 am | #

            Must have been one of my relatives. We be Hard To Kill.

      • Foxhack
        Foxhack
        October 17, 2015 at 12:54 am | #

        Uh. People die here every year during Xmas and New Year because stupid people fire their guns into the air.

    • White Rice
      White Rice
      October 17, 2015 at 12:41 am | #

      Hopeful thought (though highly unlikely): Ross packs/loads his own rounds, and he’s got blanks loaded right now. Big noise/scare, no direct danger (though the panic & danger associated with causing said panic are still very real)

      Again, hopeful, if not likely, possibility.

    • Pinja
      Pinja
      October 17, 2015 at 8:33 am | #

      No, it’s not. Why would it? No in a physics sense, in a “What does this add to the story” sense.

      • Rartorata
        Rartorata
        October 17, 2015 at 6:52 pm | #

        It’s going to come down because if this storyline has one theme, it’s “What can go wrong, will do so. Horribly.”

        Also, because of basic gravity.

  30. Jabberwocky
    Jabberwocky
    October 17, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

    Man it’s too bad Ross is absolutely getting arrested for this isn’t it

    • Thor
      Thor
      October 17, 2015 at 12:31 am | #

      Yeah, dang it. Being in jail will put a big crimp in his plan to get Becky to “Come to Penis” . . . I mean “Jesus”. He’ll just have to pray the old-fashioned way.

  31. jepmz
    jepmz
    October 17, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

    Come on, Amazi-Girl!!! Where are you???!!!

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      October 17, 2015 at 12:22 am | #

      In class, probably.

      • Mom
        Mom
        October 17, 2015 at 2:14 am | #

        Enjoying her new Transformer figurine.

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          October 17, 2015 at 6:34 am | #

          …Kinky

          • electromagneticDestroyosaur
            electromagneticDestroyosaur
            October 17, 2015 at 6:01 pm | #

            She did refer to it as “[her] fucking robot” last we saw her.

    • saki
      saki
      October 17, 2015 at 12:54 am | #

      Safely away from harm, as, I hope, all the other characters that aren’t in this strip. Amazi-girl may be awesome, but I do not want her anywhere near this. In his current state of mind, I’m 99% certain Ross would shoot her without a second thought.

  32. David Herbert
    David Herbert
    October 17, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

    Panel five is probably the scariest part of all this. He genuinely thinks this is what he needs to do to save his daughter.

  33. Tandel
    Tandel
    October 17, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

    I’ve been drinking a lot tonight but… is… is that Walky on the other side of the fountain? The hair makes me think yes, but he’s also not tagged here.

    Oh. Right. And Joyce was also definitively left here alone by Sal earlier. Bah.

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      October 17, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

      I was shortly wondering too, but even if he doesn’t like Joyce particulary, he wouldn’t just go and stand on the *other* side of the fountain from her.

    • MeghanTheDreamCrusher
      MeghanTheDreamCrusher
      October 17, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

      It’s this dude.
      http://dumbingofage.tumblr.com/post/124984014817/anybody-wanna-name-tattoo-skateboard-glasses-guy#notes

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        October 17, 2015 at 12:23 am | #

        You have good eyes.

        • MeghanTheDreamCrusher
          MeghanTheDreamCrusher
          October 17, 2015 at 12:48 am | #

          Actually I objectively do not. I was born with cataracts :p

          • Deanatay
            Deanatay
            October 17, 2015 at 9:30 am | #

            MUTANT cataracts that actually IMPROVE your vision, right?? *nods vigorously*

        • saki
          saki
          October 17, 2015 at 12:55 am | #

          It’s pretty easy to make the connection once you notice the skateboard next to him. :3

          • MeghanTheDreamCrusher
            MeghanTheDreamCrusher
            October 17, 2015 at 12:57 am | #

            Shhh, don’t tell them my secret!

            • saki
              saki
              October 17, 2015 at 1:34 am | #

              Right, of course, what I meant to say is, yes, Meghan has super eyes!

      • inqntrol
        inqntrol
        October 17, 2015 at 12:43 am | #

        Man,if Walky meets that guy,I’m sure his first words to him willl be:”Cool,I’m going to grow a beard!”

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          October 17, 2015 at 1:02 am | #

          “Actually, THIS GUY is my twin. Forget Sal”

          • inqntrol
            inqntrol
            October 17, 2015 at 1:27 am | #

            “Walky,Sal we have to tell you something. This is Thomas(I am not good at naming people,if you have a better one,say it),Walky’s true twin brother. You see,when he was born the doctors didn’t notice Walky and closed my womb.Somehow you managed to survive Walky and were born with Sal a couple of years later.But before you were born we lost Thomas while camping in a forest. We found his backpack covered in blood and thought he was mauled by a bear.”
            Reaction:O_O
            ,,Actually that’s what Linda speculates about the twins part.”

            • inqntrol
              inqntrol
              October 17, 2015 at 1:31 am | #

              When i got nothing better I imagine crazy fanfic.And also the fact that I’ve been laying in bed 16/24 per day since last week due to a cold.”Lucky me.”

      • SDGlyph
        SDGlyph
        October 17, 2015 at 2:45 am | #

        Oh hey, it’s Sayid. Technically his second appearance, I think. Not tagged yet, though.

      • Mindlink
        Mindlink
        October 17, 2015 at 5:26 am | #

        Hmm… what’s he looking at I wonder ? From the angle and shapes, I’d say an ambulance with a paramedic standing next to it in panel two.

    • Viktoria
      Viktoria
      October 17, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

      Too pale, blow up the panel and check out the ski tone.

      • MeghanTheDreamCrusher
        MeghanTheDreamCrusher
        October 17, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

        I dunno what a ski tone is but it sounds awesome! 😀

        • inqntrol
          inqntrol
          October 17, 2015 at 6:34 am | #

          I think he meant “skin tone”,not sure.

    • Fran
      Fran
      October 17, 2015 at 12:14 am | #

      Is the new guy, skater boy

  34. Hippoman
    Hippoman
    October 17, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

    So… I believe Becky mentioned something about the back of her dad’s head exploding?

    Cause that seems pretty likely by this point.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      October 17, 2015 at 9:35 am | #

      KA-SPEW

    • Betty Anne
      Betty Anne
      October 17, 2015 at 12:02 pm | #

      Police rarely take head shots, for good reason. Six to the chest or back seems more likely, in the event they actually fire on him.

  35. epershannd
    epershannd
    October 17, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

    this is shaping up to be one rough first semester

  36. poppaboo2electricboogaloo
    poppaboo2electricboogaloo
    October 17, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

    I don’t feel it. I mean, I feel the emotion in this strip, just not the weight of it. We all know Becky’s not going bye bye or getting killed, she’s too popular of a character.

    It just, I don’t know it’s just gotten to the point that death is kind of a joke at this point. Which bothers me considering how dramatic everything has been the last few strips. But I mean c’mon, her dad ain’t gonna’ kill anybody important, he might off himself or get tazed by the cops but any actual threat to life is just sorta’…meh.

    I’m sorry.

    • Kernanator
      Kernanator
      October 17, 2015 at 12:14 am | #

      Sometimes drama and suspense don’t come from not knowing whether things are going to be okay, but from not knowing how things will be solved.

      • poppaboo2electricboogaloo
        poppaboo2electricboogaloo
        October 17, 2015 at 12:17 am | #

        Thanks Pouty Joyce.

      • Gecko
        Gecko
        October 17, 2015 at 8:00 am | #

        Pretty much this. It’s my big take-away from this comic, anyway. C:

    • caesaria82
      caesaria82
      October 17, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

      And you don’t think him dying is gonna be a terrible, visceral thing for everyone else, Becky, Joyce, everyone involved and not even remotely a joke at all? If he dies (or even just goes to jail), that’s gonna have a devastating effect. Just because Becky is not gonna die doesn’t mean her life can’t get any more ruined than it already is. So you don’t believe the stakes are high? They’re high.

      I find this arc devastating. The man who’s supposed to love you and protect you, coming to get you with a gun and not caring if he hurts anyone? That’s pretty fucking scary.

    • Alice Macher
      Alice Macher
      October 17, 2015 at 12:17 am | #

      The point isn’t whether anyone’s going to be killed. It never has been.

      The point is how this crisis will affect Becky’s, Joyce’s, Dina’s and other characters’ lives going forward. The impact it’ll have on their worldviews and assumptions, on their friendships and relationships, on their personalities as a whole.

      • JetstreamGW
        JetstreamGW
        October 17, 2015 at 1:02 am | #

        Weeeeeellllll, this is the second time in a (month?) that Joyce has been violently threatened in some form or another.

    • Pedantic Jerkass
      Pedantic Jerkass
      October 17, 2015 at 12:45 am | #

      “We all know Becky’s not going bye bye or getting killed, she’s too popular of a character.”

      Right, and I bet people probably thought the same thing about (spoiler) before she got in that car back in Roomies!, too. That’s why all the people making comments about there potentially being a high-speed chase coming up has me rather antsy.

      • JetstreamGW
        JetstreamGW
        October 17, 2015 at 1:03 am | #

        IIRC Willis already said he’s not killing anyone right now.

        • Idris
          Idris
          October 17, 2015 at 1:42 am | #

          Everytime someone says that, all I can think of is the Aladdin sequel.

          Everyone knows one of the rules of genies is that they can’t kill you. Which is why Jafar uses it as this incredibly menacing threat. After all, he can do whatever pops into his head, and everyone knows that his poor target is going to live through it all. Death is not the worst thing that can happen, and a promise that death is off the table is not a promise that there will be a happy ending.

          • Majere
            Majere
            October 17, 2015 at 5:14 am | #

            Except his reasoning was that due to the comics pacing it would result in literally years of watching characters grieve which would be absolutely the most tediously unbearable thing to read and fates worse than death don’t really sidestep that issue at all.

            • Kamino Neko
              Kamino Neko
              October 17, 2015 at 5:31 am | #

              Exactly. Guh. It drives me nuts that people keep trying to work around the ‘no killing’ rule with things that have exactly the same effect.

              • Idris
                Idris
                October 17, 2015 at 4:17 pm | #

                Suppose that’s true. Though even that could be worked around.

                To be fair, the repeated mantra of “No deaths” drives me a little nuts.

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      October 17, 2015 at 3:02 pm | #

      Just because no one is going to die, doesn’t mean that there’s no drama. In fact, there’s much more possibility for long-term impact (more so than killing a character) simply because Willis seems to actually be striving to depict actual PTSD and emotional fallout from crisis points accurately.

      So instead of a lot of blockbuster fiction where X character dies and everyone shrugs before the last battle, near scrapes like this leave their scars for life (like in real life).

    • bearpelt
      bearpelt
      October 17, 2015 at 4:44 pm | #

      I understand what you mean, but for me, the tension comes from knowing how much this will emotionally traumatize both Joyce and Becky. The question is HOW MUCH trauma and what specifically will happen to Toedad to cause that.

  37. detective boomwolf
    detective boomwolf
    October 17, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

    Seriously though, cops? Amazigirl? Sal with an awesome gang of bikers for whatever reason? Friggin Dexter and Monkey Master?! Anyone?! Anyone gonna show up and put an end to the crazy sauce we got goin on here?

    • tim gueguen
      tim gueguen
      October 17, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

      Ruth.

      “Excuse me, sir. Firing guns on campus is not allowed. That will cost you one femur.”

      “AIEEEEEE!!!!!!”

      “Ruth, he needs his femurs to live!”

      “Chill out, Joyce. I left him one. He doesn’t need both.

      • detective boomwolf
        detective boomwolf
        October 17, 2015 at 12:18 am | #

        Aw man, now that will only ever exist in my head.

      • saki
        saki
        October 17, 2015 at 12:59 am | #

        I’ve never understood the “Aieeee” yell. What’s it supposed to sound like? Aye – eeeeeee ? It just sounds weird in my head. Something a Native American might be screaming in an offensive “cowboys vs indians” type old movie when attacking or something.

        • Foxhack
          Foxhack
          October 17, 2015 at 1:47 am | #

          Think of Bumblebee Guy from The Simpsons.

          Ay ay ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

        • liahansen
          liahansen
          October 17, 2015 at 2:23 am | #

          I think that’s where it comes from. Not native american stereotypes specifically, but old movie bad guys in general

        • DinaWho
          DinaWho
          October 17, 2015 at 9:48 am | #

          I was assuming that particular Aiiiiiiieeeeee was supposed to be Toedad’s cry of pain, but no, I don’t get that particular battle cry either.

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        October 17, 2015 at 9:42 am | #

        Unfortunately, we concluded a while back that Ross’ legs are too short to contain actual femurs. This renders him immune to Ruth’s attack.

    • Jason
      Jason
      October 17, 2015 at 12:51 am | #

      Cops, yes. No one else we know should get anywhere near this clusterfuck. Besides, it’s always more interesting when characters stand up and save themselves. I trust that Becky will find a way somehow; she’s shown an incredible amount of courage so far.

      • electromagneticDestroyosaur
        electromagneticDestroyosaur
        October 17, 2015 at 6:07 pm | #

        Since when is Amazi-girl ever guided by what actions are “reasonable?”

  38. Resident SnipeFish
    Resident SnipeFish
    October 17, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

    Great, this is happening now. And I don’t even have QC to provide a distraction till Monday.

    • electromagneticDestroyosaur
      electromagneticDestroyosaur
      October 17, 2015 at 7:03 pm | #

      Since when are the internal struggles of ab ex-death-machine a “distraction?”

  39. EmbraceEvil
    EmbraceEvil
    October 17, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

    no. please no

  40. Kernanator
    Kernanator
    October 17, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

    WELL I GUESS WE HAVE THE ANSWER TO WHETHER OR NOT THE GUN IS LOADED JESUS FUCKING CHRIST ON A CRUTCH.

    • evilmidnightlurker
      evilmidnightlurker
      October 17, 2015 at 12:28 am | #

      How many rounds does a varmint rifle have before reloading?

      • ninja_jesus
        ninja_jesus
        October 17, 2015 at 12:33 am | #

        1

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          October 17, 2015 at 1:03 am | #

          uh, why would you have a double trigger if there is one ammo in the chamber ?

          • Smiling Cat
            Smiling Cat
            October 17, 2015 at 1:43 am | #

            I think it’s a safety feature. The first trigger enables the second, which is more sensitive. A more sensitive trigger improves aim by reducing necessary force and extraneous movement, but is at more risk for accidental discharge.

            (I could be totally wrong though. That sort of thing is second hand knowledge to me.)

            • Smiling Cat
              Smiling Cat
              October 17, 2015 at 1:53 am | #

              It’s also possible the “second trigger” that was seen before is actually just the back end of the trigger guard.

              http://ruger.com/products/no1DE/models.html

              • Agemegos
                Agemegos
                October 17, 2015 at 2:51 am | #

                Yeah. What looks like a big buff trigger guard mysteriously open at the back is actually the lever that opens the breech. The trigger guard is fairly thin: we don’t see the front or bottom parts of it because they are up against the lever, and the curved line that looks like a second trigger is the back of the trigger guard.

          • Kamino Neko
            Kamino Neko
            October 17, 2015 at 4:12 am | #

            It’s not a double trigger. That’s the back of the trigger guard.

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        October 17, 2015 at 12:43 am | #

        This one has only one, but something like a Ruger 10/22 has ten. Probably less powerful cartridges, though: the 10/22 fires .22 Long Rifle cartridges, and this is probably a 5.56mm weapon.

        • Boojum
          Boojum
          October 17, 2015 at 1:08 am | #

          Lever-action hunting rifle? More like 30-30, .308, or something similar. Looks too big for a .22. 5.56mm is about the least likely. Could also be a lever-action shotgun, probably in 12 gauge, but I think it’s more likely a rifle.

          • Agemegos
            Agemegos
            October 17, 2015 at 1:21 am | #

            It has been fairly convincingly identified as a Ruger 1 rifle, and in particular as the “1V” variant that is tapped for a scope and has no built-in sights. The barrel, and in particular the bore, looks a bit big, but we are cutting the artist a bit of slack.

            • Boojum
              Boojum
              October 17, 2015 at 1:41 am | #

              It does look a lot like a Ruger, but hard to tell how precise that is so I was presuming Willis went with “looks like a hunting rifle.” The barrel looks too dark to be the Varminter (which comes with a stainless steel barrel), and that’s the one that would be in .223 Remington, but you wouldn’t want to fire 5.56mm out from that. You can in a pinch, but no shooter would want to if they had a choice. You can do the inverse easily enough though.

              • Agemegos
                Agemegos
                October 17, 2015 at 2:59 am | #

                I turn up this on an image search for “Ruger 1V”

                • Agemegos
                  Agemegos
                  October 17, 2015 at 3:00 am | #

                  And it looks like I botched the coding

                  Try this.

                  It looks a lot like what Toedad has.

                • Agemegos
                  Agemegos
                  October 17, 2015 at 3:02 am | #

                  Bugger! I guess people are going to have to do their own image searches, becasue I’m incompetent

                  Anyway: rifle with a black phosphate finish.

                • Agemegos
                  Agemegos
                  October 17, 2015 at 3:51 am | #

                  This time fer sure!

                  Ruger 1V picture on Wikipedia

                • Boojum
                  Boojum
                  October 18, 2015 at 1:35 am | #

                  Not the standard factory finish, but ToeDad’s could be customized. Would still be chambered for .223, not 5.56mm though.

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      October 17, 2015 at 12:41 am | #

      It looks to me like there is a shell casing being ejected (the cylindrical object above the “BLAM”).  Maybe this isn’t a varmint rifle after all….

      But whatever it is, he sureashell has attracted attention to himself now.

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        October 17, 2015 at 12:44 am | #

        Yeah, that’s odd, unless Toedad worked the action.

        • MichaelHaneline
          MichaelHaneline
          October 17, 2015 at 3:34 am | #

          As much research as I’m sure Willis put into this, I’m sure it’s entirely possible he just missed how the casing ejection works on a varmint rifle.

          • Agemegos
            Agemegos
            October 17, 2015 at 3:46 am | #

            Indeed, especially as it varies. The Ruger 1V is a falling-block single-shot varmint rifle, but other varmint rifles have different actions, including semi-auto.

    • Kernanator
      Kernanator
      October 18, 2015 at 5:48 pm | #

      I like how everyone’s response to my comment was to basically go “Lol, is it really loaded anymore now that he’s fired it?”, and ignore the fact that we have DEFINITIVE PROOF THAT HE WAS POINTING A LOADED GUN AT HIS OWN CHILD.

  41. Fran
    Fran
    October 17, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

    My only hope is that time Mr Willis answered a question in Tumblr with “Becky is staying forever!” Or something like that;_;

    • Mr. Morningstar
      Mr. Morningstar
      October 17, 2015 at 3:38 am | #

      Or willis did that to throw us off guard.

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      October 17, 2015 at 3:49 am | #

      “Becky is staying forever!”

      • fogel
        fogel
        October 17, 2015 at 5:37 am | #

        I thought you had a link to something Willis posted. Why would you do that?

        • Bicycle Bill
          Bicycle Bill
          October 17, 2015 at 1:41 pm | #

          It’s the darker side of my sense of humor.

      • Karen Lynn
        Karen Lynn
        October 17, 2015 at 12:54 pm | #

        That was fucking hilarious.

    • ailorn
      ailorn
      October 17, 2015 at 3:59 am | #

      I keep thinking of that too, but i remember it more that she’s a main character. Doesn’t necessarily mean she’s staying. I hope she stays.

  42. Cerberus
    Cerberus
    October 17, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

    Okay, now attempt at coherent response…

    …

    nooooooooooo… becky… :’c

    • Nightsbridge
      Nightsbridge
      October 17, 2015 at 12:20 am | #

      Too stressed for tears

  43. Aislashu
    Aislashu
    October 17, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

    Jesus Fuck.

    Shots fired on a college campus. People saw him take the gun out of his car previously. Those people around the fountain can NOT be the only ones around. There should have been SEVERAL 911 calls at this point and the police will literally be SWOOPING down en mass. If she gets into that car it becomes a hostage situation because he will NOT let her go when confronted with police, he is BEYOND the point of reason and legality at this point.

    • Thor
      Thor
      October 17, 2015 at 12:45 am | #

      According to the internet–and it is hard to find reputable sources for this–the best average response times to 911 calls from metropolitan police departments is 8-9 minutes (assuming that they don’t happen to be luckily in the area when the call goes out). All the action that has happened since ToeDad first brandished the gun could have easily taken place in 5 minutes.

      • wynne
        wynne
        October 17, 2015 at 1:00 am | #

        It’s on a college campus, though, so they’ve got campus security and blue lights. I know IU is huge, so that would slow down the response time, but it should be faster than your average metropolitan area.

        How much faster, though, I couldn’t tell you. And yeah, it feels like this conversation has taken place over a couple of minutes at most.

      • MichaelHaneline
        MichaelHaneline
        October 17, 2015 at 3:48 am | #

        I know when I attended Cal State Long Beach, which has similar on-campus police force to IU, they were citing emergency response times of 1-4 minutes.

        • wynne
          wynne
          October 18, 2015 at 10:03 am | #

          That’s good to know. My small liberal arts college said that they’re response times were between 30 seconds and a minute, but our campus was tiny.

  44. tim gueguen
    tim gueguen
    October 17, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

    Next strip Becky walks over to her dad, seemingly about to get in the car.

    Unfortunately for Ross he forgot she knows that his gun is a single shot rifle with no magazine. Once she gets close enough she lets him have in the kiwis, and down he goes.

    • Fran
      Fran
      October 17, 2015 at 12:17 am | #

      Omg!

    • chris73
      chris73
      October 17, 2015 at 12:23 am | #

      As someone from NZ thats the first time I’ve ever heard them described as kiwis

      However yes it is a single shot and shes shown quite a degree of calm, quick thinking and making up plans on the go so wrestling with the rifle isn’t that bad an idea as there looks to be at least half a dozen people in the vicinity

      • tim gueguen
        tim gueguen
        October 17, 2015 at 4:28 pm | #

        As far as I can remember the first place I heard kiwis used that way was in an episode of the Canadian cartoon series 6teen.

    • FriendlyNeighborhoodDave
      FriendlyNeighborhoodDave
      October 17, 2015 at 12:23 am | #

      Awesome as that would be, if you look close in panel 3, he reloads the gun.

      • Hi There
        Hi There
        October 17, 2015 at 12:37 am | #

        That’s what I thought. I wonder how much ammo he brought with him? I just want to find out what happens with the bullet he fired up into the air. It’s got to come down and hit something or someone.

    • Boojum
      Boojum
      October 17, 2015 at 1:04 am | #

      Unfortunately, he’s visibly reloading it in panel three.

  45. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    October 17, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

    Ya no this solves nothing, you just fired a gun on campus and a bunch of people saw your face cops are going to be all over you like a Mad wolf eating a rabbit.

    • detective boomwolf
      detective boomwolf
      October 17, 2015 at 12:22 am | #

      Wow… and I’m pretty sure they got a good look at his car too… Ross, not only are you crazy, you were also increadibly sloppy with this plan. Like wow, I don’t think he put any actual thought into what he was gonna do if he pulled the gun out.

      • newllend(henryvolt)
        newllend(henryvolt)
        October 17, 2015 at 12:29 am | #

        And I don’t think it’s going to be hard to find a guy with a toe shaped head and camo pants in the police report even if he gets off campus before they get to him.

        • saki
          saki
          October 17, 2015 at 1:08 am | #

          Especially since several people also saw his car.

          • newllend(henryvolt)
            newllend(henryvolt)
            October 17, 2015 at 1:15 am | #

            And one of the witnesses is someone who KNOWS him and where he LIVES.

            • saki
              saki
              October 17, 2015 at 1:37 am | #

              True, but I wouldn’t count on Joyce’s ability to get coherent words out after all this. I mean it’s perfectly possible that she might, I just wouldn’t count on it.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            October 17, 2015 at 5:28 am | #

            A car he retrieved after it was towed earlier in the day, which means his name, plates, and possibly driver’s license are on file with the Bloomington PD now.

            • merbrat
              merbrat
              October 17, 2015 at 1:49 pm | #

              Booyah!

      • Matthew Davis
        Matthew Davis
        October 17, 2015 at 1:17 am | #

        I don’t think there is a plan. I think there was a plan before Dina put him on the bus, but now I think there’s just animal fear and desperate grasping at control of a situation he never really had control of in the first place.

  46. Clodia
    Clodia
    October 17, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

    Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    • Chaucer59
      Chaucer59
      October 17, 2015 at 6:13 am | #

      Took the word right out of my (gaping, screaming) mouth.

  47. Vi
    Vi
    October 17, 2015 at 12:12 am | #

    Becky, please, no. Don’t do this to yourself. You deserve better.

  48. Edupoet81
    Edupoet81
    October 17, 2015 at 12:12 am | #

    HAS NO ONE CALLED 911 YET?! THERE’S A MAN WITH A GUN ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS, AND A BUNCH OF WITNESSES!

    Wow…. this was soul crushing. It’s noble of Becky to make this sacrifice for the safety of others, but it’s heartbreaking. This is likely to break her. Something needs to happen to stop Toedad from getting Becky in that car — and fast.

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      October 17, 2015 at 12:14 am | #

      This. These words. Even if she’s rescued before going where she’s going, this is going to haunt her. Because this is Becky losing.

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        October 17, 2015 at 1:27 am | #

        …and Joyce, and Dina. There is so much pain here.

    • Jason
      Jason
      October 17, 2015 at 12:55 am | #

      I’m sure lots of people have called 911 by now. But I’m still wondering who, if anybody, Joyce called before Becky got there.

      • saki
        saki
        October 17, 2015 at 1:10 am | #

        Methinks she contacted Dotty to ask her to contact Amazi-girl. Mehopes she didn’t because I don’t want anyone else of the cast getting anywhere near this situation. I really hope she contacted Ruth.

        • Agemegos
          Agemegos
          October 17, 2015 at 1:26 am | #

          She probably won’t have contacted Ruth, because at the time it still seemed important that Becky should avoid Ruth’s notice.

          Becky hadn’t seen and therefore didn’t mention the rifle, so Joyce probably still thought it was a “Hide from Mr. Macintyre” operation. So she will probably have called someone already involved in that, and probably someone who either has a vehicle (d’oh!) or isn’t in class.

          • saki
            saki
            October 17, 2015 at 1:45 am | #

            Hm, good point.

  49. Mada
    Mada
    October 17, 2015 at 12:12 am | #

    S-so even if she starts to get in the car he’s not making it off campus r-right? I mean if he didn’t have attention before he sure as hell has it now, and there’s witnesses to him using deadly force to kidnap a minor…

    • Nightsbridge
      Nightsbridge
      October 17, 2015 at 12:19 am | #

      Just kidnap, Becky’s not a minor.

      • Mada
        Mada
        October 17, 2015 at 8:23 pm | #

        I’m using minor in this case to describe someone who’s not legally allowed to drink/gamble in the us; ie, under 21, Yes I know she’s 18 and legally an adult, but I’m…blegh

        This strip made me sad 🙁

    • m2iCodeJockey
      m2iCodeJockey
      October 17, 2015 at 1:16 am | #

      It wouldn’t matter. There’s a pile of things stacked up against him now.
      -tracking down and brawling with Dina, who was fleeing, is assault
      -demanding Beck leave with him while armed, doesn’t matter whom the threat is against
      -discharged a weapon in view of public

      Ross has publicly demonstrated he’s not just been aggressive, from the perspective of at least 5 of 7 people known in the area, he’s lethal.
      There is no way he’s won’t be pursued for arrest, a hearing then, trial.
      That guy is look at about 10 years.

      How it plays out is about whether Beck can get him back in the car without anyone getting shot and Joyce or Dina (we don’t where she is) remember (and communicate) “Becky has Dina’s phone.”

      • Matthew Davis
        Matthew Davis
        October 17, 2015 at 1:19 am | #

        Did we determine where the Browns and MacIntyres live? Will he cross a state line with his daughter to get her home? That bumps it to a Federal offense.

        • AgentKeen
          AgentKeen
          October 17, 2015 at 1:25 am | #

          I’m pretty sure they live in state.

          • random832
            random832
            October 17, 2015 at 1:36 am | #

            They do. Almost everyone does. Which makes sense because tuition from out of state costs literally three times as much.

        • m2iCodeJockey
          m2iCodeJockey
          October 17, 2015 at 2:35 am | #

          I don’t remember Joyce saying in what town they lived. I only remember her mentioning being not far from Lake Michigan.

          Joyce’s speech is a bit neutral dialect compared to Becky but, Becky cracked a joke that makes me think the two grew up together near Gary.

          • random832
            random832
            October 17, 2015 at 12:28 pm | #

            Her old character profile page (still available from the pulldown menu) says La Porte. Sarah is from Fort Wayne; Walky and Billie, Evansville; Dorothy, Mishawaka.

            I don’t think we know where everyone else is from, except that Howard, and therefore presumably Ruth, are originally from Canada and currently live in Carmel. 29% of IU Bloomington students are from out of state.

            • random832
              random832
              October 17, 2015 at 12:33 pm | #

              And of course Robin (and therefore probably Roz) is from somewhere it would make sense for her to be able to be the congressional representative for the 9th district.

              I don’t think there’s anyone who we know doesn’t live in Indiana.

        • Rartorata
          Rartorata
          October 17, 2015 at 7:02 pm | #

          I’m not 100% sure how the state/federal divide works in US criminal law, but isn’t kidnapping already a felony?

          • random832
            random832
            October 17, 2015 at 7:37 pm | #

            I think the idea is that the FBI doesn’t fuck around, so even for crimes that are the same severity, making it a federal jurisdiction means you’re even more screwed.

          • m2iCodeJockey
            m2iCodeJockey
            October 17, 2015 at 7:40 pm | #

            Yes but, there are multiple organizations that can get involved.
            The higher level can get involved by request or, if he crossed from one state to another, they may take over, altogether.

            He would end up be tried in fed court then, sent to another over the other, more local charges.

      • PinkiePiecrust
        PinkiePiecrust
        October 17, 2015 at 7:12 am | #

        Only 10 years?

        • m2iCodeJockey
          m2iCodeJockey
          October 17, 2015 at 12:02 pm | #

          Apart from a scuffle, he hasn’t injured anyone yet.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      October 17, 2015 at 2:54 am | #

      It depends on how incompetent the police are today.

      • m2iCodeJockey
        m2iCodeJockey
        October 17, 2015 at 3:45 am | #

        “Pale dude with black hair, mustache and no neck” (stands out)
        “Wearing a white T-shirt and camo pants” (meh, Indiana…)
        “driving a baby sh** green [what is that? A Scion?]” (stands out)
        “2-door” (stands out, it’s hard to buy a 2-door car in the US that’s not a sports car)
        “Last seen headed north on Highway 37 toward Indianapolis.”
        That’s easy. They will put it together.

        “Amber-alert issued for Rebecca MacIntyre, age 18, 125lbs, pale, freckles, bright red hair, last seen with…”
        The trick there is: “Will they realize they have to ping the phone BEFORE issuing the alert, which will cause the phone to agitate the suspect.”

        When the alert is transmitted, Becky’s pocket is going ring, too.
        Plus, the possibility is not 0 that Ross has the phone Beck was using at her own school.

        • kelticat
          kelticat
          October 17, 2015 at 12:34 pm | #

          The phone Becky had at her old school was a landline, so it’s not going to ring in his pocket.

  50. 0kami
    0kami
    October 17, 2015 at 12:12 am | #

    Ohdeargodno.

  51. Suzi
    Suzi
    October 17, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

    Firing a gun up is dangerous. Toedad, whether he meant to or not, has now potentially hurt someone. We had a law go through near my home because people were shooting off guns straight up – then one of those bullets came down and instantly killed a small boy.

    This is literally the worst and it hurts.

  52. saki
    saki
    October 17, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

    NOOOooooo someone hug me please ;_;

    • m2iCodeJockey
      m2iCodeJockey
      October 17, 2015 at 12:21 am | #

      *offers hug…*

      • saki
        saki
        October 17, 2015 at 12:52 am | #

        *gratefully accepts*

  53. chefhoag
    chefhoag
    October 17, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

    Real good way to show Christian love, there, Ross.

    Seriously…nothing screwed up had better happen to Becky.

  54. Nym
    Nym
    October 17, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

    D: face forever.

  55. Mandy
    Mandy
    October 17, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

    Becky is going to do anything to protect Joyce. Even potentially sacrifice her own life. 🙁

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      October 17, 2015 at 12:30 am | #

      She loves her too much to let her suffer “because of her”… It’s… yeah.

    • Smiling Cat
      Smiling Cat
      October 17, 2015 at 1:38 am | #

      “no greater love….”

  56. Kelso
    Kelso
    October 17, 2015 at 12:15 am | #

    I really hope that bullet lands somewhere benign. Firing a gun into the air may make a dramatic statement without shooting anyone, but you’ve still launched a bullet, and it’s gonna hit something eventually

  57. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    October 17, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

    Since I’m aware that gravity exists I realize that there’s still a pretty big risk that someone is gonna get fuckin hit by a sky bullet. Go straight to jail, Ross!

    • newllend(henryvolt)
      newllend(henryvolt)
      October 17, 2015 at 12:18 am | #

      So you saw the 1000 ways to die sketch too huh ?

    • Ana Chronistic
      Ana Chronistic
      October 17, 2015 at 12:19 am | #

      http://mythbustersresults.com/episode50

      It DOES look like he did a near-perfect straight-up shot, so whether it’s lethal is up to Willis, I guess

      • Chris
        Chris
        October 17, 2015 at 12:26 am | #

        I was looking for someone to mention this… missed it though, maybe in composing. Posted below: What goes up, must come down. Don’t know the exact muzzle velocity of the bullet he’s just shot pretty much straight up, nor the high altitude wind conditions, but I assume that the muzzle velocity’s in the 1000 – 2000 metres per second range. At 1000m/s it takes about 8 seconds to apex and return… at 2000m/s it takes about 12 seconds… either is just about appropriate to the scene. Does the brick come down next comic? Who does it hurt?

        • David
          David
          October 17, 2015 at 12:44 am | #

          When was the last time you heard of somebody getting killed by hail? Shot is annoying when it’s pelting down on you but not more than that. We are not on the moon. We have an atmosphere.

          • saki
            saki
            October 17, 2015 at 1:18 am | #

            People dying after being hit by hail is not at all unheard of (look it up), and just in this comment section I’ve seen at least two people mentioning instances of people dying after being hit by a bullet falling down. Maybe it’s rare, but it can certainly happen; it depends on winds, how straight up the bullet was shot, air humidity I’m guessing, which part of the body it hits when falling down, … Don’t dismiss this possibility so easily.

          • AgentKeen
            AgentKeen
            October 17, 2015 at 1:23 am | #

            I mean, it’s not common, but there are many reports of someone getting hurt by people shooting into the air
            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebratory_gunfire

            I even remember a news report of a kid around here getting hit by one. He didn’t die, but he was freaking out as he bled everywhere from it.

          • Mindlink
            Mindlink
            October 17, 2015 at 5:39 am | #

            http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2271147/Nine-people-killed-freak-hailstorm-rains-massive-boulders-Indian-villages.html

            http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/orange-sized-hail-reported-in-india

            It happens. Not as often as falling bullets though, which kills plenty of people EVERY YEAR.

  58. Buttlerman
    Buttlerman
    October 17, 2015 at 12:18 am | #

    WHERE ARE THE GOD DAMN COPS!

    • Tacos
      Tacos
      October 17, 2015 at 12:29 am | #

      That is what all of us are asking.

      • Doom Shepherd
        Doom Shepherd
        October 17, 2015 at 12:40 am | #

        The cops/campus security must be busy trying to prove that the NRA argument about long police response times rendering their protection ineffective and costing lives is correct.

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      October 17, 2015 at 1:06 am | #

      They’re starting their teleporting blue phone booth.

      • DinaWho
        DinaWho
        October 17, 2015 at 10:58 am | #

        Which given the wildly unpredictable steering, could mean they get there hundreds of years too early, hundreds of years too late, or end up on another planet entirely.

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      October 17, 2015 at 4:32 am | #

      In a reality that lacks teleportation.

  59. JoyceParty
    JoyceParty
    October 17, 2015 at 12:18 am | #

    Becky guilted into the car, this I predicted.
    Becky getting into the car with a bigoted armed psycho, this is unpleasant.

  60. Leon real
    Leon real
    October 17, 2015 at 12:20 am | #

    Okay, any trace of sympathy is gone! Someone kill this brainwashed idiot!!!

  61. Dragon
    Dragon
    October 17, 2015 at 12:24 am | #

    NO NO NO NO NO NO THIS IS NOT HAPPENING NO NO NO

  62. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    October 17, 2015 at 12:24 am | #

    No really there is absolutely no good ending to this after that for Ross.

  63. winter
    winter
    October 17, 2015 at 12:24 am | #

    This is so manipulative I can’t even…

    What else can Becky do? What else can any of us do?

    And Joyce, who might well be thinking one of them is going to die and the last thing she wants to do is tell Becky she loves her.

    And a softer, yet equally unyielding and horrible, side of Ross showing…

    Just- Okay! Fine! Fuck it. This storyline is finally feeling real and getting to me. I can’t.

    • yoshdrayden
      yoshdrayden
      October 17, 2015 at 8:08 pm | #

      I know, I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to punch a fictional character so much in my life

  64. Chris
    Chris
    October 17, 2015 at 12:24 am | #

    What goes up, must come down. Don’t know the exact muzzle velocity of the bullet he’s just shot pretty much straight up, nor the high altitude wind conditions, but I assume that the muzzle velocity’s in the 1000 – 2000 metres per second range. At 1000m/s it takes about 8 seconds to apex and return… at 2000m/s it takes about 12 seconds… either is just about appropriate to the scene. Does the brick come down next comic? Who does it hurt?

    • DinaWho
      DinaWho
      October 17, 2015 at 12:27 am | #

      I know the odds are incredibly thin, but I feel there would be a fitting justice to the bullet coming down and hitting Ross.

      • saki
        saki
        October 17, 2015 at 1:20 am | #

        Off-topic, but the new gravatar looks awesome! : D

        • Blue
          Blue
          October 17, 2015 at 1:42 am | #

          Thanks! Took 1-1 1/2 hours in Photoshop, I think.

          And now my name change has been approved, so Blue is now the true Blue.

          (I missed the chance to make that pun earlier, so I’m not missing it again.)

          • saki
            saki
            October 17, 2015 at 2:38 am | #

            The result was definitely worth that time IMO. :3 Kinda makes me want a hat like that. Maybe I should take up sowing. XD

            • saki
              saki
              October 17, 2015 at 2:39 am | #

              *sewing. ><"

            • DinaWho
              DinaWho
              October 17, 2015 at 11:02 am | #

              Most of the ones my google search turned up appeared to be knitted, not sewn. That said, I recently took up sewing for cosplay purposes, and I highly recommend it.^^

              • saki
                saki
                October 17, 2015 at 11:42 am | #

                I’ve tried knitting before, it bores me to death. In contrast, I’ve always sorta thought sowing might be fun, for cosplay purposes too, since it’s probably cheaper, more fun, and more customizeable than bought costumes. This might just be the thing that finally gets me to stop thinking and start doing. XD

    • David
      David
      October 17, 2015 at 12:39 am | #

      Uh, it’s shot. When it comes down, it comes down with terminal velocity, a bit faster than small hail pellets. Don’t try this on the moon, though.

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        October 17, 2015 at 12:52 am | #

        It’s probably a .223 Remington or 5.56 NATO bullet. About 55 grains (3.6 grammes). Its muzzle velocity is irrelevant after it reaches its apex: it’ll hit the ground at its terminal velocity, about like hail. A hailstone like the size of a sugar cube.

        They’re much more dangerous fired into the air at a shallow angle, because they come down before air resistance sucks out their energy.

        • random832
          random832
          October 17, 2015 at 1:53 am | #

          Mythbusters tested it – bullets are aerodynamic enough that even a slight angle (which keeps them from tumbling through the air end over end on the way down) is enough to greatly increase their terminal velocity.

          • Agemegos
            Agemegos
            October 17, 2015 at 2:22 am | #

            I watched the episode.

          • Huttj
            Huttj
            October 17, 2015 at 3:12 am | #

            I think the argument being made is bullet vs. shotgun shot.

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        October 17, 2015 at 1:07 am | #

        Wonder if on the moon it’d just reach escape velocity, thanks to the lack of drag.

        • Agemegos
          Agemegos
          October 17, 2015 at 1:41 am | #

          Escape velocity on the Moon is 2.38 km/s. That’s about 7,783 feet per second. A 5.56mm NATO weapons had a muzzle velocity of up to 940 m/s (3,100 feet per second), depending on bullet mass and loading, barrel length, etc..

          • DarkoNeko
            DarkoNeko
            October 17, 2015 at 6:36 am | #

            aw. ah well.

      • Mindlink
        Mindlink
        October 17, 2015 at 5:41 am | #

        People die every year from falling bullets, me and some others have posted links further up the thread, unfortunately not many are aware of this and so continue to fire up in the air without thought.

    • Pinja
      Pinja
      October 17, 2015 at 8:31 am | #

      Narratives only focus on what matters. The comics is pretty unlikely to include “Random falling bullet victim”

      • Mindlink
        Mindlink
        October 17, 2015 at 12:55 pm | #

        Unless the RFBV is someone from the main cast….

        • Pinja
          Pinja
          October 17, 2015 at 4:16 pm | #

          Yes, but there’s only two of them here and again, it’d be weird and even more weird if Joe happened to be walking a nearby street.

  65. chris73
    chris73
    October 17, 2015 at 12:27 am | #

    So Becky probably knows its a single shot rifle so unless Toe Dad uses it as a melee weapon its essentially useless, Becky has shown a degree of thinking on the fly and possessing a calm level head under stress.
    Theres at least half a dozen people in the near vicinity sooooo will Becky attempt to wrestle the rifle off her Father on the basis that while she won’t win she may give enough time for everyone else to jump in?

    • evilmidnightlurker
      evilmidnightlurker
      October 17, 2015 at 12:29 am | #

      I thought that too, but look in the third panel. He reloaded.

      • chris73
        chris73
        October 17, 2015 at 12:33 am | #

        If thats Toe Dad reloading then Beckys best bet is to go along with him, the cops will definitely follow him and hes still on campus so its not likely he’ll be able to lose them

  66. liahansen
    liahansen
    October 17, 2015 at 12:28 am | #

    remember how Joyce was scared to go outside before

    yeah

  67. Darwin
    Darwin
    October 17, 2015 at 12:28 am | #

    Becky’s face breaks my heart.

  68. Dana
    Dana
    October 17, 2015 at 12:30 am | #

    Surely Ross knows that the authorities won’t let him keep his victory here. I’m quite afraid he’s got a murder/suicide planned.

    • doubleW
      doubleW
      October 17, 2015 at 12:40 am | #

      I’ve been suspecting this as well (since yesterday). What’s his plan? Go on the lam and hope that the pray-away-gay camp has rooms on hand for the parents?

      • newllend(henryvolt)
        newllend(henryvolt)
        October 17, 2015 at 1:21 am | #

        There’s probably a curtain cult out there with sucher accommodations.

    • saki
      saki
      October 17, 2015 at 1:22 am | #

      I doubt he’s really thought that far. I’m pretty sure 99% of his mind is focused on chasing away the demons in Becky, and the remaining 1% is just there to remind him where he parked his car and which pocket he put the spare ammo in.

  69. Idon'tcarenomore
    Idon'tcarenomore
    October 17, 2015 at 12:31 am | #

    Becky is not going to break. The only way he will break her, is to kill her.
    She is about the most brave person I’ve seen so far.
    Joyce did what she had to do, she let Becky know that she loves her, that none of this is her fault.
    And where if friggin’ Hell is the cops, or Sal, or the marines???

    • winter
      winter
      October 17, 2015 at 12:52 am | #

      I think if Ross manages to get Becky into a “rehabilitative” camp, it’s entirely possible that Becky will break. To me, Becky seems like someone who puts up a good front to hide profound insecurities. But even if I’m wrong, being a brave or strong person has nothing to do with it – if you’re isolated with people who treat you as inhuman too long, something’s gotta give.

      Mind, I don’t think this story will go there, but I think it’s naive to say Becky’s incapable of breaking. The vast majority of people can be broken.

      • Pinja
        Pinja
        October 17, 2015 at 8:29 am | #

        Dude, Ross just fired a gun into the air in front of a crowd of people and overtly kidnapped Becky. The camp isn’t some sort of Christian black site where they will help Ross hid a kidnapped girl from the police. They ain’t ever going to get there.

        • winter
          winter
          October 17, 2015 at 2:58 pm | #

          …I already said the story wasn’t going to go there o_0

        • winter
          winter
          October 17, 2015 at 3:09 pm | #

          Okay, sorry. I’ll respond for real.
          I’m aware that given this current situation, the chance of Ross getting Becky to a camp is virtually nil. That’s not what my comment was about.
          My comment was about the idea that Becky’s breaking point lies somewhere above the being killed threshold. I don’t think it does.
          A more realistic breaking point for this situation might be Ross dying in front of her, and Becky blaming herself/her sexuality for that. And I don’t think that’s going to happen either. But the idea that it couldn’t happen bc Becky is a strong person and strong people can’t break is bs.

  70. ninja_jesus
    ninja_jesus
    October 17, 2015 at 12:31 am | #

    NO

    FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU

    YOU ARE A MANIPULATIVE PIECE OF SHIT MONSTER

    • newllend(henryvolt)
      newllend(henryvolt)
      October 17, 2015 at 12:43 am | #

      Well tell him to stop your the only one he’ll listen to….or is that regular jesus?

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        October 17, 2015 at 2:44 am | #

        Nope Ross only listens to Supply Side Jesus.

  71. Doom Shepherd
    Doom Shepherd
    October 17, 2015 at 12:32 am | #

    Hell, even the donut-munchers on the campus I work at would have responded by now.

    • doubleW
      doubleW
      October 17, 2015 at 12:43 am | #

      I dunno, time is weird in Willis comics.

    • Marc in MN
      Marc in MN
      October 17, 2015 at 2:15 pm | #

      I doubt that much time has passed. He confronted them on the side of the road and they ran into the trees. Dina probably stalled him for less than a minute before he saw Becky running across the field. Becky then ran the rest of the way to the fountain while he ran back to his car and drove probably a couple of blocks to confront her again.

      The only reason I have to believe that the police might have been called before he fired into the air is the fact that you can see someone on the other side of the street with little “surprise” lines over their head when he pulls the gun out of the car after the first confrontation. But even then, we’re most likely talking about a few minutes.

  72. queenanthai
    queenanthai
    October 17, 2015 at 12:32 am | #

    COPS? ANYTIME NOW? ANYBODY?

  73. Tacos
    Tacos
    October 17, 2015 at 12:33 am | #

    If you will all excuse me. I’m going to try to watch funny Youtube videos to try and distract my mind from this….

    • Agemegos
      Agemegos
      October 17, 2015 at 12:53 am | #

      Watch people trying on Enchroma glasses for the first time. It’s very moving.

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        October 17, 2015 at 1:09 am | #

        Their is blue lava in Indonesia !

        • inqntrol
          inqntrol
          October 17, 2015 at 1:14 am | #

          Wow,for something that destructive the blue colour sure makes it more appealing.

        • Agemegos
          Agemegos
          October 17, 2015 at 1:45 am | #

          Literally fire and brimstone. Very apposite.

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          October 17, 2015 at 6:39 am | #

          wow, “their”, really.
          my apologies. Lack of sleep.

  74. brasca1
    brasca1
    October 17, 2015 at 12:34 am | #

    It’s not over yet folks. The police will be arriving soon enough. Even if Becky gets in the car he will be facing numerous charges so he will not be getting far.

    • Thor
      Thor
      October 17, 2015 at 12:53 am | #

      Do you think that once he gets the car going, he’s going to stop the car willingly?

      • brasca1
        brasca1
        October 17, 2015 at 1:18 am | #

        No. There is still the danger that she may be killed in the crossfire or if he crashes his car trying to evade the police, but he will be stopped before he takes her to one of those religious brainwashing facilities. And by now enough people know he has a gun and since the police are less likely to take anything to chance he could be shot on sight before she even gets in the car.

    • inqntrol
      inqntrol
      October 17, 2015 at 1:11 am | #

      Even if the police blocks the exit routes,he can take the car on the sidewalks and endanger pedestrians. It’s going to be a hell of a chase,’cuz he ain’t going to give up easy.

  75. Alex
    Alex
    October 17, 2015 at 12:34 am | #

    That second to last panel.

    Yup, that is what it feels like, that’s the face.

    I mean, personal experience has less guns and more threats of disowning but that’s the face they say it with.

    Familial love is TERRIBLE.

    • Gwen
      Gwen
      October 17, 2015 at 12:51 am | #

      That comment just makes me want to hug you. I hope you’ve found a family that supports you – biological or otherwise.

      • Alex
        Alex
        October 17, 2015 at 1:05 am | #

        The family still supports me in general, they don’t hate me and I don’t hate them and we still love each other a lot, it’s just, you know, it’s complicated.

        You can’t expect a bunch of people who grew up in a third world country where lgbt activity can get you literally arrested to just accept everything, you know? It’s just not realistic, it’s not a thing that can happen. Like even if they personally accept it, there’s the rest of society and their place in it to consider. God knows they’re stressed out enough by the social upheavals that were already happening for the past few years, at least I got to sit that out by being in American colleges.

        I appreciate your comment, like honestly thank you, it’s just, I don’t want to make it out like I’m fishing for sympathy, I’m honestly fine. Things aren’t perfect as far as that one aspect of myself is considered but as long as the rest of my life stays stable then, who knows, maybe things will work out.

        • Matthew Davis
          Matthew Davis
          October 17, 2015 at 1:24 am | #

          Have got a support structure beyond your family? Sometimes family is what you make it to be until your “real” family can wrap their heads around things, you know?

        • Spencer
          Spencer
          October 17, 2015 at 7:33 am | #

          Regarding the last part of your post, please don’t ever feel scared that you’re “fishing for sympathy”. It’s legitimate pain you’re going through and you have the right to express yourself. The folks here are super open and helpful when discussing these issues so feel free to come by and talk about it whenever you want to. You’re always welcome here.

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      October 17, 2015 at 1:01 am | #

      It really is. *Appropriate gesture of support* from someone who’s been there.

  76. MrZombieScordo
    MrZombieScordo
    October 17, 2015 at 12:34 am | #

    This would be a great time, for the police to arrive, or failing that, a vigilante, or failing that ruth, or failing that staff… SOMEBODY please?! You’ve got like 20 seconds.

    • StClair
      StClair
      October 17, 2015 at 12:45 am | #

      That’s at least four strips.
      Not even kidding.
      Everyone demanding an immediate response/resolution needs to remember how decompressed comic time (especially this comic) is.

      • MrZombieScordo
        MrZombieScordo
        October 27, 2015 at 12:40 am | #

        The window passed between this strip and the next one.

  77. Smiling Cat
    Smiling Cat
    October 17, 2015 at 12:38 am | #

    One part of me is shouting “He spent his one shot, now take him down hard!”

    Another part of me knows full well the myriad of reasons that probably won’t occur to anybody.

    Yet a third part is going to go watch cute cat videos now.

    • Dara
      Dara
      October 17, 2015 at 12:41 am | #

      It looks like he’s reloading in panel 3.

      • Smiling Cat
        Smiling Cat
        October 17, 2015 at 1:12 am | #

        Can’t hear you over the cute cats.

        • Smiling Cat
          Smiling Cat
          October 17, 2015 at 1:27 am | #

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFcMG228AwQ

      • Mindlink
        Mindlink
        October 17, 2015 at 5:46 am | #

        How can you tell the difference between reloading and simply lowering the rifle at this resolution ?

        • anonymsly
          anonymsly
          October 17, 2015 at 6:33 am | #

          His hands are weird for just lowering the gun. The hand that pulled the trigger is now on top of the gun, right about where loading happens, and the other hand is closer to the trigger to brace it.

  78. Zan Thrax
    Zan Thrax
    October 17, 2015 at 12:42 am | #

    I hope that Willis’ “no one dies” rule applies to family members. Because I can’t imagine that Toedad is going to surrender to the cops when they show up; in his current state of mind it seems more likely that he’ll force them to kill him. And Becky doesn’t deserve to be orphaned, especially not like that.

    • Alex
      Alex
      October 17, 2015 at 12:45 am | #

      But being an orphan is how you get to go on magic adventures and awaken as the Chosen One.

      • Twilightomens
        Twilightomens
        October 17, 2015 at 1:06 am | #

        YES why don’t people get this

    • Rikunda
      Rikunda
      October 17, 2015 at 12:47 am | #

      I kinda want him to break that rule… Something big and dramatic has been needed. It is reaching a peak, but I don’t feel like it has tipped yet. A little longer… Maybe a misunderstanding that causes the dad’s death after it has unrivaled a bit.

      • Alex
        Alex
        October 17, 2015 at 12:50 am | #

        Some might consider deaths to be “too easy” as a way to stir up drama.

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        October 17, 2015 at 1:11 am | #

        We should just forget about that rule and stop bringing it up anytime someone looks in danger.

        Seriously, I get where y’all are coming from but it’s annoying.

  79. Bicycle Bill
    Bicycle Bill
    October 17, 2015 at 12:44 am | #

    I humbly request that everyone here just ignore anything I wrote in yesterday’s comments.

    • Thor
      Thor
      October 17, 2015 at 12:51 am | #

      Well, now I want to go look… :-\

    • inqntrol
      inqntrol
      October 17, 2015 at 12:56 am | #

      The fact that you hijacked a muzak to play BeeGees?

      • Bicycle Bill
        Bicycle Bill
        October 17, 2015 at 1:16 am | #

        Thanks …. I needed that.

  80. SDGlyph
    SDGlyph
    October 17, 2015 at 12:45 am | #

    Me, yesterday:
    “Honestly, he’s talking. That’s good. Despite his determination at the end of this strip, I’m expecting the situation to de-escalate either tomorrow or the day after (barring interventions!). I think Becky’s getting through to him.”

    Right, well…. ok. I’m just gonna stop talking now.

  81. White Rice
    White Rice
    October 17, 2015 at 12:52 am | #

    So, random thought that might have been brought up in a previous page: what exactly happened with Becky’s mom? From the “do it for mom” earlier, I can assume mom died a while ago. That “the devil took her” makes me think less that it was due to natural causes. This raises a couple of questions which could go all kinds of crazy places.

    For “fun” let’s go to the craziest place & not look back: it turns out Becky’s mom had a bit of a self discovery & Ross was not a fan of whatever this realization was. He tried similar methods as he’s tried with Becky to “fix” his wife (haven’t seen a name other than mom/your mother) and after some time things went from unbelievably bad to “holy crap what the hell is going on I can’t believe it”. Whatever this was resulted in “the devil taking her” which, worst case scenario, was Ross somehow being responsible for her death (not necessarily that he killed her himself [although that would be absolute worst case scenario, especially if nobody knows] but that his actions lead to that end somehow)

    Or cancer…that’s always a possibility too.

    Right, enough of that for now…

    • Cypherfox
      Cypherfox
      October 17, 2015 at 1:05 am | #

      It’s cancer. It’s always cancer.

      Fuck cancer.

      • Smiling Cat
        Smiling Cat
        October 17, 2015 at 1:34 am | #

        Cancer Cancer.

      • inqntrol
        inqntrol
        October 17, 2015 at 3:22 am | #

        But it tastes good.(Sorry,I’m a horrible person.)

    • Dragon_Nataku
      Dragon_Nataku
      October 17, 2015 at 10:33 am | #

      I was just figuring that with the whole “you commit suicide you go straight to hell do not pass GO do not collect $200” thing that most (or all?) Christian subsets follow that she realised he’s a dick and killed herself.

  82. Josh Spicer
    Josh Spicer
    October 17, 2015 at 12:56 am | #

    Um…no? Like, not even from a standpoint of “this is so bad, Becky, don’t” but like from a standpoint of how or why did we reach this point? Why do we have to worry about this? It took us, what, four, five pages to get to this? Why did he dilute that fast? I mean, what the fuck man?

  83. Agemegos
    Agemegos
    October 17, 2015 at 12:56 am | #

    Someone tell me about American law.

    • Now Toedad has committed kidnapping, right?

    • Kidnapping is a Federal felony, right?

    • FBI taking over in about two hours unless Toedad is dead or in custody, right?

    • inqntrol
      inqntrol
      October 17, 2015 at 12:58 am | #

      Not an expert,but I don’t think the FBI gets involved when there’s only one hostage.

      • Matthew Davis
        Matthew Davis
        October 17, 2015 at 1:26 am | #

        If he crosses state lines with her it becomes a Federal crime and the FBI most definitely will be involved. Otherwise, it stays a state crime.

        • Adam Black
          Adam Black
          October 17, 2015 at 4:31 am | #

          If it wasnt already Federal Crime , when he chased two lesbians on a state University with a shotgun ( one of whom is missing) .
          It became one right now, with a public attempted Kidnapping and shooting up the Indiana U naked mermaid fountain.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            October 17, 2015 at 9:37 am | #

            Not federal, as far as I know.
            Assault. Battery. Attempted kidnapping (possibly about to be just plain kidnapping.) Various weapons charges.
            Nothing federal. “lesbians” is legally irrelevant, federally and in Indiana.

  84. TheDOCTOR
    TheDOCTOR
    October 17, 2015 at 1:00 am | #

    I just think it…..’freakishly coincidental’ that this arc should appear as News reports of Campus Shootings is in the limelight. I hope Joyce was smart and got on her phone to the police as well as anyone else near that fountain and the police gain control of the situation. I just hope our “Caped Crusader” is in class now, which like the rest of the Campus should be in LOCKDOWN.

    • Nightsbridge
      Nightsbridge
      October 17, 2015 at 1:20 am | #

      We average one mass shooting a day in America.

      • saki
        saki
        October 17, 2015 at 1:28 am | #

        And a little over one school shooting a week this year.

    • Matthew Davis
      Matthew Davis
      October 17, 2015 at 1:27 am | #

      I have a friend who works for The Trace. She used to do the legwork for the Gun Report for the New York Times. Ever since we reconnected on Facebook I don’t think a day has gone by that there hasn’t been a shooting on her feed. We just don’t hear about most of them.

    • Idris
      Idris
      October 17, 2015 at 1:56 am | #

      Given the stats, it’s about as coincidental as it taking place on a day that ends in a Y.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      October 17, 2015 at 9:41 am | #

      As others have said, we’ve got plenty of mass and school shootings. It is a little coincidental that this came just as one really hit the mass media though. Not highly surprising though.

      Until Ross actually reached the fountain and pulled out the rifle, Joyce had little reason to call the police and since then she hasn’t had time. Possible the kid who reacted when Ross first took out the rifle called it in, but the police would be reacting to that location, not here. Now that it’s been fired, there’ll be lots of calls.

  85. Twilightomens
    Twilightomens
    October 17, 2015 at 1:04 am | #

    This is NOT CHEERFUL.
    AT ALL.
    WHAT THE heck.

  86. wynne
    wynne
    October 17, 2015 at 1:06 am | #

    JESUS FUCK WILLIS.

    I know that’s not productive, but… fuck fuck fuck fuck.

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      October 17, 2015 at 1:12 am | #

      Someone’s getting added to the “fuck” spreadsheet~

  87. Badgermole
    Badgermole
    October 17, 2015 at 1:12 am | #

    First panel Becky is my favourite Becky.

  88. Tenchan
    Tenchan
    October 17, 2015 at 1:15 am | #

    Toedad, may you please DIE IN ALL THE FIRES?!?! Thanks very much…

  89. 0kami
    0kami
    October 17, 2015 at 1:18 am | #

    I’m trying hard to not shake my hands as I type this.

    When Becky was first introduced as a regular character, there were some dialogues and wavering positions back and forth on her standing as a character, between her brashness, style of humor, her often somewhat jumpy attitude towards some characters like Dorothy or Joe. But from her surprising appearance in Joyce’s room, she’s provided her best friend with love and compassion on almost every aspect one can love another person, and even shared that love with another, Dina. She’s shown that even with her snarky outlook and perkiness, she’s been absolutely nothing but kind and adoring towards others, open and accepting to her new friends and she had the beginning of a new life that she was ready to embrace and pursue with all the gusto as that utterly adorable kiss with our favorite paleontologist. Joyce asked for God to send her an angel, and she was delivered just as asked…

    … and now she’s going.

    Not of her own choice, but by force. From the very person who by all means has to be the one to accept and respect the life of his own daughter. Under threat and in fear for not only her own life, but from fear of her new friends and any potentially unfortunate nearby strangers caught in the crossfire. And she’s not only leaving to be taken to a place where she’ll be instilled to reject the core of her being, the very side of her that caused her to blossom into a person of love and compassion.

    There’s only one demon here in this scenario. And it’s the one holding the gun.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      October 17, 2015 at 1:49 am | #

      I know its… its just so horribly unfair. It took Becky ONE weekend, two empty hands and the limitless love of Joyce to build a new start. Toedad had to resort to a gun to tear that down and he had to go for Becky’s friends and loved ones.

      Demon is a too week word for what he is, but I really don’t know any words that are strong enough.

      • Solenoid
        Solenoid
        October 17, 2015 at 3:30 am | #

        That is because words do not suffice. Dig deep and feel the writhing anger and outrage within. Temper it and let the loathing flow.

      • nightsbridge
        nightsbridge
        October 17, 2015 at 6:57 pm | #

        I have no words.

  90. Mkvenner
    Mkvenner
    October 17, 2015 at 1:19 am | #

    Where the F**K is the god damn campus police!

    • Sock_V
      Sock_V
      October 17, 2015 at 1:40 am | #

      When seconds count the police are only minutes away!

      …then there’s the whole time warp effect during an emergency. Fire department I’m on routinely gets complaints on 45minute-to-an-hour response times when in reality we’re usually there in under 15 (unless it’s way out in the sticks).

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        October 17, 2015 at 2:07 am | #

        Yeah, I had just this experience when I had a home invasion. I ended up writing a letter to the 000 call centre to apologise to the operator for my short temper and rudeness.

        • Matthew Davis
          Matthew Davis
          October 17, 2015 at 2:31 am | #

          Class act doing that, dude. I used to do tech support (which is nowhere near as horrible in terms of situations as real emergency operators) and acknowledgement that you’re a human on the other end of the line is sometimes in short supply.

          • Agemegos
            Agemegos
            October 17, 2015 at 3:11 am | #

            I also bought a case of beer for the welding shop that had made the bars on my downstairs windows.

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      October 17, 2015 at 1:43 am | #

      Lunch break.

    • White Rice
      White Rice
      October 17, 2015 at 2:37 pm | #

      If anyone called in Ross initially brandishing the gun, on the other side of the field & trees (where he currently isn’t) then they’re probably over there, where there was a report of “some toe-looking dude with a gun”

      That’s if it got called in.

      Now, there’s been a shot fired, all of 5-10 seconds have passed while we get to that last panel, and unless there were already cops waiting at the fountain there’s no way they could magically appear at the scene without knowing about it beforehand.

      Best case scenario: there are some cops going through the woods where Ross chased the girls, and they’ve heard the shot & are going in (but, from how freaked out Becky was, I can’t say wether she was short of breath from running so much or just being in shock [maybe it was a large forested area, maybe it’s like 50 feet of trees then the field])

      Anyway, it takes time for things to happen, and we’re looking at less than a minute for this entire page (if even close to that, it could be under 30 seconds even, and no police force has that kind of response time, save for something happening at the station while everybody is present)

      Right…ranty reply done…enjoy your Saturday.

  91. Tenzhi
    Tenzhi
    October 17, 2015 at 1:21 am | #

    I feel like a DYW is called for, but at the same time I think it’s possible that the next strip or two might need one even more…

  92. Jesse
    Jesse
    October 17, 2015 at 1:28 am | #

    NO DON’T GET IN THE FUCKING CAR!!

  93. Androiddreams
    Androiddreams
    October 17, 2015 at 1:28 am | #

    AH OH GOD IT WAS LOADED NO PLZ honestly the fact it was armed during the chase makes it ten times scarier

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      October 17, 2015 at 9:43 am | #

      Guns are always loaded.
      Makes it no scarier for me, because I always thought it was.

  94. zeusdemi
    zeusdemi
    October 17, 2015 at 1:34 am | #

    Oh god, oh god I don’t… I don’t feel good right now, I don’t… stop him. H-he can’t do this

  95. AtomsOrSystems
    AtomsOrSystems
    October 17, 2015 at 1:36 am | #

    He’s literally the worst. Somehow, the sheer depth he’s sunk to, to manipulate his daughter, make him worse than Blaine in my book.

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      October 17, 2015 at 1:45 am | #

      Not necessary worse than Blaine.
      The worst part is toedad loves his daughter. Blaine just despites Amber.

      • SDGlyph
        SDGlyph
        October 17, 2015 at 2:57 am | #

        Yyeah, I’m kinda there. I mean, I don’t feel particularly compelled to name either the lesser of the two evils, but we can say that Blaine abuses Amber because he CAN, while Ross abuses Becky because (in his head at least) he MUST.

        • SDGlyph
          SDGlyph
          October 17, 2015 at 3:04 am | #

          (Which is absolutely not to excuse Ross in any way, to be clear.)

          • DarkoNeko
            DarkoNeko
            October 17, 2015 at 6:41 am | #

            (yup)

    • Idris
      Idris
      October 17, 2015 at 2:04 am | #

      Y’know… I actually disagree that he’s trying to manipulate his daughter. He’s trying to do the reasonable, loving parent thing where you don’t let them cross the street when there’s traffic coming. You don’t let them do all kinds of shit that they’re too young to know better about but you do because you’re older. Except now, it’s not her life on the line, it’s her immortal soul. It’s a few decades vs. eternity. This is pure love, pure trying to make sure that he is taking the best care of Becky that he possibly can be taking of her. And absolutely no thought of manipulation or anything else negative.

      And that is why Ross is worse than Blaine can ever be. It’s why he is so much more of a monster than Blaine can ever be. Blaine is selfish, and he will be limited by what will benefit him and his perception of himself. Ross is selfless, and cares only about Becky and his love for her. And so he will stop at nothing to do whatever it takes to “save” her, regardless of the price either of them has to pay.

      • nightsbridge
        nightsbridge
        October 17, 2015 at 2:58 am | #

        +1

      • Trina
        Trina
        October 17, 2015 at 5:53 am | #

        I actually agree. The look on his face; when Becky tells him about the consequences of his actions, it looks like the face of someone who is accepting for the first time about what must really happen… And he doesn’t care. He’s been too passionate, too upset, to really consider the consequences. Now that he sees Becky is doing it for both of them, it doesn’t matter, because his life is a tiny price compared to her immortal soul. He’s not the douchebag who says, “I’ll die for you” to make you do what he wants… There’s nothing but sincerity. That’s why he looks so hurt. He doesn’t want this, but he’d do the unthinkable, and hurt them both, kill them both, to save her.

        And Becky, though she’s scared and upset, knows her father loves her. She might not really believe he’d hurt her… But it’s not the same for everyone else. She knows everyone will be safer if she goes. It’s not a personal loss for her, her soul isn’t breaking… yet. Right now she just wants everyone to be safe, including her father, who she still loves, and going with him will protect more people and be safer for both of them.

        My big fear is Dina, who, if she isn’t hurt, is running full pelt to continue her battle with Ross. She’d chase that car until she collapsed.

        And I second all the, Joyce is the real broken one here. Poor everyone.

        • Idris
          Idris
          October 17, 2015 at 4:13 pm | #

          Yeah, I agree with a lot of what you’re saying. And it gets me thinking. As a culture, we think of love as this pure thing that makes you better, whole, and is something that is unambiguously good.

          It isn’t, it really isn’t.

          This is the ugly flipside of love. The destructive side of love, where everyone is made worse than they could be. Where you can’t get off the tracks even though you can see that ugly freight train called consequences coming your way.

          Becky and her dad love each other, no good can come of that fact for any foreseeable future, and that is what makes this a tragedy.

      • Gecko
        Gecko
        October 17, 2015 at 8:24 am | #

        I like this analysis.

      • Lena
        Lena
        October 17, 2015 at 9:05 am | #

        Uuuh, it doens’t matter whether he’s intending to manipulate or not, he’s still manipulating and controlling and abusive. No matter how nice his intentions are. And pretty sure Christianity isn’t or shouldn’t be a proponent of forcing people to do things at gunpoint.

        • Idris
          Idris
          October 17, 2015 at 4:08 pm | #

          Oh, I’m not saying he isn’t being abusive. I’m in the camp that not only has he taken the title of worst father in webcomics away from Blaine, but that Blaine is bush league compared to Ross.

          This is more getting into why he’s much more monstrous than Blaine can ever be, because Blaine will always be concerned about himself first. But Ross? His life doesn’t matter. He’s doing this for Becky, and he’s willing to die for her. He can do anything, no matter how horrible, because it’s all for the Greater Good.

  96. Frostwood
    Frostwood
    October 17, 2015 at 1:39 am | #

    I wouldn’t worry so much as Becky breaking as Joyce will.

    So far Joyce’s fear of men has been bad but manageable, in that she can still attend classes and go out with people. Now yet another man who she trusted has turned out bad.

    This might push Joyce into ‘insanity’*, where her fear effects prevents her from functioning.

    *Note I’m describing insanity as it was described from someone from the local mental health unit, as insanity being something that prevents someone from functioning normally.

  97. Foxhack
    Foxhack
    October 17, 2015 at 1:50 am | #

    Looking at the middle panel, is Toedad reloading the rifle? So even if it’s a one shot… it’s loaded.

  98. WingedBeast
    WingedBeast
    October 17, 2015 at 1:58 am | #

    Amazigirl, if you ever wanted to kill somebody both legally and with a clean conscience, now’s your chance.

    Make it hurt.

  99. poofdepoof
    poofdepoof
    October 17, 2015 at 2:05 am | #

    Oh God, the police need to come before she can get in the car.