Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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well, there was more to the top half, but it got left behind unbought when SOMEBODY punched somebody in the nose, SARAH
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June 14, 2026

Cyrano

by David M Willis on September 3, 2017 at 12:01 am
  • 01 - Face the Strange
└ Tags: joyce, sarah

Discussion (153) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    September 3, 2017 at 12:01 am | #

    the bottom half is your boots, Joyce

    • Aeron
      Aeron
      September 3, 2017 at 2:46 am | #

      Uggs complete the look.

  2. Danni
    Danni
    September 3, 2017 at 12:02 am | #

    put on some leggings and youll be fine!

  3. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    September 3, 2017 at 12:02 am | #

    Ah, the old “Make your friend as appealing as possible to the guy you like so he notices YOU” routine.

    …I’m beginning to understand why Sarah hasn’t had more luck socially.

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      September 3, 2017 at 12:18 am | #

      It does sound like a flawed plan…

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      September 3, 2017 at 12:22 am | #

      Although as pointed out below, she doesn’t really seem to care so long as he isn’t with Raidah.

    • Chris Phoenix
      Chris Phoenix
      September 3, 2017 at 1:14 am | #

      I don’t think Sara wants him. I think she thinks Joyce and Jacob would be a good pair, and is trying to make it happen.

      She just doesn’t want to admit it to Joyce – hence the afterthought in the last panel.

      But she’s certainly conscious of what she’s doing.

      • BenRG
        BenRG
        September 3, 2017 at 2:26 am | #

        I’m not sure that Sarah has got over the “let’s ruin Raidah’s life” thing yet.

        • Khyrin
          Khyrin
          September 4, 2017 at 10:13 am | #

          And why shouldn’t she? Raidah has a vendetta against her. Raidah in her first appearance, at BEST came over to the table to rail against her for having Dana brought home just because she saw her in the dining hall. Sarah left as quick as she could when confronted at the mall… and she took ONE swing at Raidah to make her let go of Joyce, because she can SAVE Joyce. RAIDAH dragged Jacob away from the dorm party that SHE WASN’T INVITED TO ANYWAY! Why shouldn’t Raidah live in fear of Sarah? Raidah is certainly doing her level best to make everyone afraid that one slip up, and Sarah will narc you out and have you removed from college.

    • darkgloomie
      darkgloomie
      September 3, 2017 at 1:57 am | #

      Sarah’s given up on Jacob. Joyce just hasn’t picked up she’s being shipped.

  4. Stu
    Stu
    September 3, 2017 at 12:03 am | #

    I’m genuinely unsure if Sarah’s still going after Jacob herself, or if she’s content to have Joyce take him away from her rival.

    • dn3s
      dn3s
      September 3, 2017 at 12:04 am | #

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/alternative/

      • Keulen
        Keulen
        September 3, 2017 at 12:19 am | #

        Based on that strip, I’m pretty sure Sarah doesn’t care who Jacob ends up dating as long as he’s no longer with Raidah.

        • Arawn
          Arawn
          September 3, 2017 at 12:25 am | #

          Man, even the ‘good’ people in this strip do bad things fairly often. Jacob has a say in this and just outright trying to tempt somebody into infidelity is a scummy thing to do. Albeit, he has to have the final fault to become a cheater but having been the tempted one before I can tell you that it is NOT a good feeling either when you have to tell them they need to take a few steps back or when you have to explain to your SO that you’re not cheating. It actually ruined a relationship for me and I’d done nothing wrong.

          • Thulcandran
            Thulcandran
            September 3, 2017 at 12:56 am | #

            Almost like there’s no such thing as a good person who never does bad things.

          • Miri
            Miri
            September 3, 2017 at 1:22 am | #

            I think they want him to dump Raidah, not cheat on her… but not sure that’s really much better

    • -Sentinel-
      -Sentinel-
      September 3, 2017 at 12:53 am | #

      First time I see an Asma gravatar.

      I’d like Asma to be involved in a story arc. We know so little about her.

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        September 3, 2017 at 2:27 am | #

        Her story arc is watching other people’s fathers (or grandfathers) being horribly abusive. I like the idea someone had in the comments that she regularly calls her own parents just to say that she loves them.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      September 3, 2017 at 2:24 am | #

      She still keeps her goals well in sight.

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/determination/

  5. Opus the Poet
    Opus the Poet
    September 3, 2017 at 12:04 am | #

    Love Joyce’s expression here when she sees the outfit.

    • inqntrol
      inqntrol
      September 3, 2017 at 12:08 am | #

      It’s been a lot since we saw that outfit, last time she wore it when she went on a date with Joe, which didn’t end good for him.

      • Leorale
        Leorale
        September 3, 2017 at 12:12 am | #

        That was a different yellow dress though, it was flowy knee-length or longer.

        • -Sentinel-
          -Sentinel-
          September 3, 2017 at 12:54 am | #

          And that was MUCH earlier in the run of the strip.

          Where’s that yellow dress now, though? It managed to impress even Joe (and a number of readers).

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      September 3, 2017 at 12:20 am | #

      Joyce still has the best reaction faces of all the characters in this comic.

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        September 3, 2017 at 12:22 am | #

        We need a Joyce’s Greatest Faces compilation. They would make such great reaction images.

        • Koms
          Koms
          September 3, 2017 at 1:40 am | #

          Indeed

        • ValdVin
          ValdVin
          September 3, 2017 at 7:28 am | #

          Joyce certainly perked up from panel one to panel two when she remembered that this is “shipping Sunday”.

      • Positron
        Positron
        September 3, 2017 at 12:22 am | #

        Indeed

  6. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    September 3, 2017 at 12:05 am | #

    Requested by nobody, Saucy Mary being saucy. Regardless of my feelings it’s nice to see her finally get to let loose with a like minded gentleman.
    http://imgur.com/a/I3hQg

    • tim gueguen
      tim gueguen
      September 3, 2017 at 12:18 am | #

      It’s a given that someone, somewhere thinks Mary is the best character in DoA, and will love that piece.

      • vlademir1
        vlademir1
        September 3, 2017 at 2:23 am | #

        To be fair I feel fine admitting Mary is attractive physically, and rather enjoyed Yotomoe’s pic in that context. That doesn’t change my opinion on her abhorrent personality and behavior though,

        • ValdVin
          ValdVin
          September 3, 2017 at 7:30 am | #

          The axiom I use* is, “I’d find her attractive if I could put a paper bag over her personality”.

          *I lifted that from a woman describing a man, before the internet. No cite, sorry.

          • UniqueSnowflake2
            UniqueSnowflake2
            September 3, 2017 at 11:18 am | #

            Yeah, but Mary is a two-bagger.

    • OnyxIdol
      OnyxIdol
      September 3, 2017 at 2:06 am | #

      Not gonna lie, I was hoping for something more explicit.

      • Yotomoe
        Yotomoe
        September 3, 2017 at 2:09 am | #

        Maybe if you’re good.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      September 3, 2017 at 2:20 am | #

      “Draw me like one of your french girls”

      • Kamino Neko
        Kamino Neko
        September 3, 2017 at 4:46 pm | #

        ‘Why would I draw you like a papist slut?’

    • WMAuthor
      WMAuthor
      September 3, 2017 at 12:36 pm | #

      I am sincerely uncertain on how to feel about this. But knowing someone in real life who is gorgeous but isn’t the most pleasant to deal with puts it in context. Darn you for reminding me Yotomoe!

  7. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    September 3, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

    *plays The Police’s “Roxanne” on the hacked Muzak*

    • -Sentinel-
      -Sentinel-
      September 3, 2017 at 12:57 am | #

      How long has this running gag been going on? And has a day ever been missed?

      • A Scientist
        A Scientist
        September 3, 2017 at 2:34 am | #

        And has a song ever been re-used?

        • Woobie
          Woobie
          September 3, 2017 at 2:47 am | #

          “Roxanne” should’ve been a never-used.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            September 3, 2017 at 7:04 am | #

            I can think of much worse songs for this crowd.

            At least the narrator in Roxanne is pleading with the title character to stop renting herself out.

          • Cass
            Cass
            September 3, 2017 at 9:30 am | #

            Looks like Stephen doesn’t care if it’s wrong or if it is right.

            • Stephen Bierce
              Stephen Bierce
              September 4, 2017 at 12:11 am | #

              It is wrong AND right. And yes, I’ve missed days and have repeated songs, and it even goes back to BEFORE I became a David Willis fan.

  8. Shiro
    Shiro
    September 3, 2017 at 12:08 am | #

    That was an extremely long Chekov’s gun.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      September 3, 2017 at 12:21 am | #

      I think you mean Chekhov.

      Although…

      • Shiro
        Shiro
        September 3, 2017 at 12:34 am | #

        That’s the one!

        …the first one, not the disturbingly phallic one

      • StClair
        StClair
        September 3, 2017 at 1:30 am | #

        “I varn you, if you don’t lie on the floor… I vill have to stun you.”

        • Doctor_Who
          Doctor_Who
          September 3, 2017 at 1:43 am | #

          Someday TVTropes is going to become so meta that it will go right back around to being 100% serious.

    • Pablo360
      Pablo360
      September 3, 2017 at 1:37 am | #

      Eh, it’s still an order of magnitude less than Problem Sleuth.

      • Shiro
        Shiro
        September 3, 2017 at 1:56 am | #

        Not really, Problem Sleuth only took a tad over a year to write if you count the epilogue.

        Homestuck probably had some longer-timed callbacks, though.

        • Pablo360
          Pablo360
          September 3, 2017 at 2:00 am | #

          I mean in terms of narrative distance, not strict time. It’s the only way to compare such disparate styles of fiction. PS had at least one gun that took 99% of the comic’s runtime to payoff.

          • StClair
            StClair
            September 3, 2017 at 3:29 am | #

            8 Bit Theater. Nuff said.

            • Pablo360
              Pablo360
              September 3, 2017 at 10:16 am | #

              That was a brick joke, not a Chekhov’s gun. The setup was foreshadowing the means of victory, not the means of victory itself.

  9. Passchendaele
    Passchendaele
    September 3, 2017 at 12:09 am | #

    Wow, how many years has it been since we’ve last seen that dress? *always impressed by examples of years-long, tight-knit continuity*

    • John
      John
      September 3, 2017 at 12:20 am | #

      I believe its last appearance was August 8th, 2012.

  10. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    September 3, 2017 at 12:11 am | #

    I guess Sarah’s giving up showing off her brown booty for Jacob’s attention, and instead is showing off Joyce Brown’s booty.

    • newllend(henryvolt)
      newllend(henryvolt)
      September 3, 2017 at 3:41 am | #

      It feels like this has gone from “I just want to get laid” too “I just want to spite my former best friend / arch enemy by getting my room mate all up in that.”

  11. Tacos
    Tacos
    September 3, 2017 at 12:15 am | #

    Just wear some leggings or something Joyce. Then you’ll be alright.

  12. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    September 3, 2017 at 12:17 am | #

    Your bottom is your bottom-half.

  13. Urukak
    Urukak
    September 3, 2017 at 12:20 am | #

    So are Dorothy and Walky still in the bed, or?

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      September 3, 2017 at 12:46 am | #

      Yes.

      They will be forgotten in all the shenangins. When they wake up again, Sarah and Joyce will be gone.

      …. and Willis will get a slipshine out of that after all.

      • nobodybasically
        nobodybasically
        September 3, 2017 at 1:04 am | #

        Joyce won’t let Sarah see her change. There’s no way she’d undress with Walky in the room, regardless of how unconscious he is at present.

      • Marsh Maryrose
        Marsh Maryrose
        September 3, 2017 at 1:55 am | #

        Unintentionally falling asleep together in your mutual best friend’s bed…embarrassing, but innocent and cute. Performing a sex in your mutual best friend’s bed while she’s away at church…Ew. Just. Ew. Joyce would have to burn her sheets and her mattress if she ever found out.

        Which is not to say that there might not be a slipshine opportunity a little later. If Sierra isn’t actually at church, or making out with Grace and/or Mandy, perhaps Joe can stop to once again to lend her a spare sock for the door.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      September 3, 2017 at 9:30 am | #

      Yeah. Forget Raidah and Jacob and Sarah’s plotting. I want more reaction shots of those three waking up.

  14. Emperor Norton II
    Emperor Norton II
    September 3, 2017 at 12:31 am | #

    Man, this reminds me of the first time I met my then-girlfriend face to face. She showed up in the airport wearing a sun-yellow summer dress…

  15. Mr D
    Mr D
    September 3, 2017 at 12:33 am | #

    Oh right, Sarah’s wtrying to setup Jacob with Joyce. Mostly as a “fuck you” to Raidah, but still.

  16. Ivy
    Ivy
    September 3, 2017 at 12:38 am | #

    IS. SARAH. TRYING. TO. SET. UP. JACOB. AND. JOYCE????!!!

    • Emperor Norton II
      Emperor Norton II
      September 3, 2017 at 12:42 am | #

      No, Joyce is still trying to set up Sarah with Jacob, and Sarah is now setting up Joyce to be her wingwoman.

      • Chris Phoenix
        Chris Phoenix
        September 3, 2017 at 1:30 am | #

        Ivy is right. You are half right. Each of the women is trying to set the other up with Jacob.

        Sarah is a lot more sophisticated, and Joyce is a better match, and Joyce and Jacob may well end up together.

    • HeatherJean
      HeatherJean
      September 3, 2017 at 12:43 am | #

      Sarah, apparently, would set up Jacob with anyone else, just to keep Raidah from “getting” him. Called “dog in the manger” by some.

      Not to say that before the term ends Sarah and Raidah get engaged…

    • -Sentinel-
      -Sentinel-
      September 3, 2017 at 1:07 am | #

      I wonder how Joyce’s mother would feel about her daughter having a Black boyfriend. She seems like the sort who’d make all kinds of well-meaning but very cringey comments.

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      September 3, 2017 at 1:19 am | #

      I think that Sarah has motivations she doesn’t necessarily understand consciously.

      At the conscious level: she hates Raidah, and will do almost anything to make sure Raidah doesn’t get Jacob.

      Also at the conscious level: she finds Jacob very, very attractive, sexually.

      At the border between consciousness and unconsciousness: she understands that she and Jacob could only be a short-time thing. Well, I think she understands. After all, Jacob is looking for a long-term relationship and right now she’s not, so….

      tl;dr: Sarah’s willing to use Joyce as bait to get Jacob away from Raidah, and then…she’ll see what happens.

      But if Joyce and Jacob start to realize how perfect they are for one another…I honestly don’t think Sarah will be able to deal with that particularly well.

      • MatthewTheLucky
        MatthewTheLucky
        September 3, 2017 at 5:01 am | #

        Oh, she’s fully aware of what she’s doing:

        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/alternative/

        • Clif
          Clif
          September 3, 2017 at 10:43 am | #

          And Joyce is much more skilled at lying to herself than Sarah is.

  17. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    September 3, 2017 at 12:44 am | #

    10: PRINT “Sarah, no!”
    20: GOTO 10

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      September 3, 2017 at 11:26 pm | #

      I get that reference.

  18. Marsh Maryrose
    Marsh Maryrose
    September 3, 2017 at 12:55 am | #

    How appropriate a Cyrano reference is for Sarah!

    Le Bret:
    Alone, yes! But why stand against the world?
    What devil has possesed you now, to go
    Everywhere making yourself enemies?

    Cyrano:
    Watching you other people making friends
    Everywhere- as a dog makes friends! I mark
    The manner of these canine courtesies
    And think: “My friends are of a cleaner breed;
    Here comes- Thank God! – another enemy!”

    • Khno
      Khno
      September 3, 2017 at 7:54 am | #

      You mean a Rostand reference; as Cyrano was real and a playwriter, we’d better say a Cyrano reference only for the plays Savinien de Cyrano himself wrote. Like you would say a Vergilio reference only for Vergilio’s work, and not for his appearance in Dante’s Inferno.

      • Marsh Maryrose
        Marsh Maryrose
        September 3, 2017 at 1:08 pm | #

        Are we playing the “Frankenstein’s monster” game or the “Well, actually…” game? I’m cool either way, just want to get the rules straight.

        The title of Rostand’s book is literally Cyrano de Bergerac. Any reference to that book is therefore literally a reference to Cyrano de Bergerac, or as most people would understand, a Cyrano reference.

        It’s as though I quoted the St. Crispin’s Day speech (“we happy few, we band of brothers”) and called it a Henry V reference, and you come along and insist that I should call it a Shakespeare reference because Henry V was a real person and he didn’t say those words, Shakespeare did. That is arrant pedantry up with which no one should put.

  19. Emperor Norton II
    Emperor Norton II
    September 3, 2017 at 1:03 am | #

    1: Calling it now that Raidah will actually be with Jacob in church.

    2: No, Sarah is not trying to set up Joyce with Jacob. Joyce saying “I’m supposed to get him to like you” is a pretty big hint of this being about Joyce acting as Sarah’s wingwoman. So is Sarah’s very last line.

    • Wind
      Wind
      September 3, 2017 at 1:08 am | #

      Yeah, JOYCE thinks she’s there to set Jacob up with Sarah. Pretty darn sure Sarah just wants Jacob away from Raidah and is quite happy to set him up with Joyce to get that.

      • Emperor Norton II
        Emperor Norton II
        September 3, 2017 at 1:15 am | #

        Yes… She looks so very happy here with this idea:

        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/corner/

        • RacingTurtle
          RacingTurtle
          September 3, 2017 at 2:07 am | #

          But after she’s had time to think about it…”Sure, whoever.”

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/alternative/

          The more I think about it, the more messed up it is. Joyce likes Jacob, but considers him off-limits because Sarah liked him first. Joyce hasn’t even acknowledged that she likes Jacob, he’s that off-limits to her. Sarah is blowing past Joyce here to try to set up Joyce/Jacob anyway, (and lying to do it, I see that “of course” up there, Sarah) because even though it would make Sarah jealous, she detests the idea of Raidah/Jacob just that much.

          Sarah is super messed up and I love her.

    • Fart Captor
      Fart Captor
      September 3, 2017 at 1:14 am | #

      I take no joy in this, but…
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/episcopalian/

      (jk, I take perverse joy in this)

      • Marsh Maryrose
        Marsh Maryrose
        September 3, 2017 at 1:30 am | #

        As a lapsed UU, I’m like: “Joyce, want to see a real hippie church?

        Seriously, I still remember the day Malvina Reynolds came to sing at our church service — I think she was the church service that Sunday. And yes, she was awesome.

  20. Rukdug
    Rukdug
    September 3, 2017 at 1:15 am | #

    Why not just wear what she wore for the ill-fated date with Joe her first week there? I think that would both work well and probably be more “churchy”, although I personally say a pair of dark leggings or dark yoga pants under that dress with some white boots would be an outfit to kill for.
    …
    I’m serious about that “to kill for” bit. I’ve seen something eerily similar happen over a nearly identical outfit during the one Black Friday sale I worked retail during my college years. There was blood, bile, and pepper spray covering the floor of that JCPENNY’S when we finally closed. And then you got to the men’s side and you’d find teeth that had been knocked straight out of someone’s skull by the belts and ties. The horror. The shear horror. I still can’t walk into a JCPENNY’S to save my life to this day eight years later.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 3, 2017 at 2:33 am | #

      Because Sarah wants Joyce to seduce Jacob. If she has to make her dress out of character then so be it.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      September 3, 2017 at 2:37 am | #

      But it’s Jacob. The first-date dress would probably work better on him.

      …..

      …. though, of course, Sarah doesn’t realize that.

  21. Gaia
    Gaia
    September 3, 2017 at 1:18 am | #

    Calling it right now!

    The Pastor is Ryans father!!!

    • Emperor Norton II
      Emperor Norton II
      September 3, 2017 at 1:27 am | #

      This is one of the times where you’d be extremely happy to be proven wrong, right?

    • Makkabee
      Makkabee
      September 3, 2017 at 2:08 am | #

      I think that’s unlikely because Ryan strikes me as the type to go to school well away from his parents. But we’ll see.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 3, 2017 at 2:32 am | #

      I dunno… This is just my headcanon but I think that Ryan’s dad runs some big mega-church. I can’t see anything like that in a small town; if he’s anywhere it will be Indianapolis.

      • vlademir1
        vlademir1
        September 3, 2017 at 3:36 am | #

        I kinda feel like Richmond would be more on the right line to me. It’s smaller, but it’s still big enough and especially conservative enough to give some significant local power to the kind of parent people like “Ryan” come from.

        • Makkabee
          Makkabee
          September 3, 2017 at 7:14 am | #

          It’s also possible that Ryan’s father is a decent sort from a mainline protestant denomination and Ryan’s douchebaggery is in part a rebellion against that. While plenty of abusive pricks were physically or emotionally abused themselves as children, some are starting brand-new chains of abuse.

        • ValdVin
          ValdVin
          September 3, 2017 at 7:35 am | #

          Richmond: The .

          (…and Ryan…but we don’t advertise that part.)

          • ValdVin
            ValdVin
            September 3, 2017 at 7:35 am | #

            Ugh. Richmond is the “Birthplace of Recorded Jazz”.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennett_Records

    • Abel Undercity
      Abel Undercity
      September 3, 2017 at 6:09 am | #

      (Cues up Dusty Springfield’s Son of a Preacher Man)

      • BenRG
        BenRG
        September 3, 2017 at 9:32 am | #

        FWIW, I’ve long wondered if Ryan was in some way both inspired by and an inversion of that song. Maybe Willis could comment on that?

  22. Deanatay
    Deanatay
    September 3, 2017 at 1:41 am | #

    Bow-chicka-hallelujah!

  23. Bagge
    Bagge
    September 3, 2017 at 2:19 am | #

    Saaaarah…

    • UniqueSnowflake2
      UniqueSnowflake2
      September 3, 2017 at 11:23 am | #

      Storms are brewing in your eyes.

  24. Bagge
    Bagge
    September 3, 2017 at 2:28 am | #

    Don’t worry, Joyce. A well placed Dr Pepper, and God won’t see any part of you you don’t want God to see.

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      September 3, 2017 at 11:27 pm | #

      Except the good Doctor.

  25. BenRG
    BenRG
    September 3, 2017 at 2:31 am | #

    I’m pretty sure that Sarah is serious about getting Joyce and Jacob together but she still has ulterior motives of revenge against Raidah. I don’t think that she’s reconciled her conscience to the notion that hurting Joyce and Jacob is acceptable so long as it also hurts Raidah. I think that’s why she can’t meet Joyce’s eyes in panel 6: She’s ashamed of what she’s doing.

    The thing is…? I don’t think that Jacob is interested in Joyce that way. In fact, I think that he views her as a little sister. If so, today could be painfully funny if Joyce does try anything that she thinks is seductive!

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      September 3, 2017 at 2:38 am | #

      Except Joyce ISN’T going to do anything that she thinks is seductive.

      • ValdVin
        ValdVin
        September 3, 2017 at 7:38 am | #

        Correct; she won’t purposefully do that.

        But I want a betting pool on the number of times Joyce twirls her hair in front of Jacob.

  26. Gesc
    Gesc
    September 3, 2017 at 2:32 am | #

    Even if Sarah is indeed trying to set Joyce and Jacob up, I’m certain she will be pissed he’s not with her anyway.

    That said, Jacob can and probably will decide for himself. He seems like one of the most level headed characters too, so I don’t think shenanigans will ensue. At least not the ones intended

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 3, 2017 at 2:39 am | #

      I’m more worried about whether Sarah will end up putting Joyce in the sights of Raidah and her gang as well as whether Sarah is setting Joyce up for unexpected pain and embarrassment.

      • Gesc
        Gesc
        September 3, 2017 at 3:03 am | #

        Yeah, spite seems to be guiding Sarah and that opens the door for a bunch of things I would rather avoid for Joyce.

        It may be because more often than not I steer away from shipping, but I feel like Joyce is best on her own for now.

    • chris73
      chris73
      September 3, 2017 at 4:12 am | #

      We know Joe has already said about Jacob and Raidah and how hes not cool with the idea (from the pizzeria) so I’m wondering what’ll happen if Joe learns its still going on

      • chris73
        chris73
        September 3, 2017 at 4:20 am | #

        Not cool with trying to split up Jacob and Raidah I mean

  27. Dev Non
    Dev Non
    September 3, 2017 at 2:42 am | #

    THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE UNACCOUNTED FOR IN THAT ROOM AND I NEED ANSWERS

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      September 3, 2017 at 7:33 am | #

      I KNOW, RIGHT!!! BACK TO ADORABLE/HILARIOUS/AWKWARD SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS!!!

  28. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    September 3, 2017 at 2:54 am | #

    Tonight, Grav Roulette, you have given me Daisy.

    ….

    …. sigh.

    She’s a bit part, but at least she’s a bit part that we know something about.

    Specifically, what we know about her is that she’s a raging mass of hormones who uses and abuses her position and authority in search of any hint of a vicariously-lived fantasy, instead of just locking herself in a room with a dirty mag for twenty minutes and then getting on with her job and her life.

    I mean, seriously, I don’t say most people need to get laid when they’ve get stressed or acting out, but Daisy? Daisy needs herself a girlfriend or at least a fuck-buddy STAT. For the good of EVERYONE.

    …..

    ….. noIdon’trelatetothatshutupGravRoulette.

    • Eldritch Gentleman
      Eldritch Gentleman
      September 3, 2017 at 3:50 am | #

      Maybe we could solve some problems if we threw her at Leslie?

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        September 3, 2017 at 4:09 am | #

        Except she’s a student, and Leslie doesn’t date students.

        • Eldritch Gentleman
          Eldritch Gentleman
          September 3, 2017 at 4:30 am | #

          She is a student? Weird, I had the impression that she was part of the faculty… oh well. Too bad.

          • C.
            C.
            September 3, 2017 at 5:00 am | #

            The editor at student newspapers are also students, and since the IDS in independent, they report to a board of journalists and student representatives.

    • timemonkey
      timemonkey
      September 3, 2017 at 9:25 am | #

      You really think Daisy isn’t ‘taking care of herself’ all the time?

      • Jhon
        Jhon
        September 3, 2017 at 10:48 pm | #

        With a Chest Window?

  29. Eldritch Gentleman
    Eldritch Gentleman
    September 3, 2017 at 3:46 am | #

    Sarah trying to unleash some tactical nukes huh…

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      September 3, 2017 at 11:28 pm | #

      Damn it all.

  30. zellgato
    zellgato
    September 3, 2017 at 4:11 am | #

    Yup. Wear some nice shorts and possibly boots with it and it’ll look simple and plain.
    unless you go hard core leather boots and some odd colour pants then it’ll probably be less church happy.

    Also you silly roomie… that won’t help your cause

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      September 3, 2017 at 4:44 am | #

      High socks or tights could work, though.

  31. Zaxares
    Zaxares
    September 3, 2017 at 5:30 am | #

    Ehhh, I’m not sure yellow is your colour, Joyce. Get a red one, now we’re talking! 😀

  32. Darkoneko
    Darkoneko
    September 3, 2017 at 6:36 am | #

    …Sarah is trying to get J x J happen ?

  33. adjudicus
    adjudicus
    September 3, 2017 at 7:22 am | #

    Wait… Sarah’s revenge plan disregards Joyce’s and Jacob’s feelings and reservations, and she’s using them as tools to further her revenge on Raidah. Isn’t what she’s doing a form of objectification?

    • Daibhid C
      Daibhid C
      September 3, 2017 at 8:08 am | #

      I … don’t think so? I mean, it’s a horrible, horrible plan for multiple reasons, and seriously, Sarah, what is the matter with you, but I don’t think that’s one of them.

      • Eldritch Gentleman
        Eldritch Gentleman
        September 3, 2017 at 8:42 am | #

        Now that I think of it… Didn’t Joyce advocate ruining Raidah’s relationship so Sarah could get together with Jacob? I’m almost sure that was a thing…

        • ValdVin
          ValdVin
          September 3, 2017 at 9:04 am | #

          Yes, that’s Joyce being immature and (still the damaging kind of) innocent. Hopefully she learns without destroying anything (in a comic not called “Good decisions made your first semester at college”).

          Sarah supposed to already know this, however she’s maybe blinded by her dislike of Raidah.

          • Eldritch Gentleman
            Eldritch Gentleman
            September 3, 2017 at 9:19 am | #

            Mhm Raidah is indeed the last person I would feel sorry for in this situation considering what a turd she’s been to Sarah and Dina.

            Jacob is the one who’d get most messed up in this situation with Joyce coming in next (assuming she realizes what she is doing is bad)

    • Eldritch Gentleman
      Eldritch Gentleman
      September 3, 2017 at 8:16 am | #

      I’d use stronger words considering she is trying to drop a homewrecker on Raidah’s relationship but objectification might be a good start.

    • Pasqui23
      Pasqui23
      September 3, 2017 at 8:49 am | #

      Well according to Kant whenever you treat persons as a mean to a end you are committing an evil act,even in the service of the greater good.We could argue that objectification is for Kant the essence of all evil.

      • Jhon
        Jhon
        September 3, 2017 at 10:50 pm | #

        Somewhere Granny Weatherwax is nodding approvingly.

  34. Pasqui23
    Pasqui23
    September 3, 2017 at 8:52 am | #

    Both of them should remember how that play ended,with the pair succeeding all too well and the girl falling in love with a person that does not exist

  35. Crumplepunch
    Crumplepunch
    September 3, 2017 at 9:01 am | #

    It’s a good thing her mom is such an intellectual powerhouse.

  36. kingmabel
    kingmabel
    September 3, 2017 at 9:28 am | #

    YAY a Cyrano de Beregerac reference!!

  37. Reed
    Reed
    September 3, 2017 at 10:30 am | #

    here to see what my gravatar changed to don’t mind me

    • Reed
      Reed
      September 3, 2017 at 10:30 am | #

      hMMMMMMMM

      • Clif
        Clif
        September 3, 2017 at 10:50 am | #

        You were better off not knowing.

    • Mr D
      Mr D
      September 3, 2017 at 7:03 pm | #

      I tell you, like I’ve told evertone else, you can re-roll your grav roulette by randomyl capitalizing a letter in your Email

      • Marsh Maryrose
        Marsh Maryrose
        September 3, 2017 at 9:16 pm | #

        Or you can roll your own.

        Or you can get a gravatar.com account and copy and upload any Willis-created gravatar you choose. (I’m assuming Willis would be okay with that as long as you’re posting on this or other Willis-created forums; if you’re thinking of using his artwork in any other context, check with him first.)

        • Marsh Maryrose
          Marsh Maryrose
          September 3, 2017 at 9:51 pm | #

          It didn’t occur to me until I’d posted this that I did not consult with Edward Gorey before “borrowing” his artwork, but then the Wuggly Ump came for him over a decade ago. I think I’m within the bounds of “Fair Use,” though.

  38. ǝ snow ʍousɐ
    ǝ snow ʍousɐ
    September 3, 2017 at 11:37 am | #

    I think at this point Sarah is content to live vicariously through Joyce

    • Sam
      Sam
      September 3, 2017 at 8:31 pm | #

      At this point she is happy as long as Raidah doesn’t get to keep Jacob honestly.

  39. Tommy Fresh
    Tommy Fresh
    September 3, 2017 at 9:16 pm | #

    Has Joyce worn this in-universe before? I feel like I remember it, but maybe I’m just remembering one of the preview images.

  40. Marsh Maryrose
    Marsh Maryrose
    September 3, 2017 at 9:43 pm | #

    I think someone’s already posted this, but the last time we saw this on Joyce, she was trying it on in a mall. (This was after Raidah and her friends had insulted Dina by calling her mentally challenged, and before Sarah punched Raidah.) Not going to put another link in, but one of the earlier strips has Joyce saying it bares more of her legs than she is comfortable with, and Billie tells her she should want to bare her very nice legs.

    Or you may be thinking of the yellow dress she wore on her first date with Joe. But that was ankle-length.

    • Puckish Rogue
      Puckish Rogue
      September 3, 2017 at 10:47 pm | #

      The short dress is quite attractive but the long dress had more class (IMHO)

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      September 3, 2017 at 11:30 pm | #

      But it’s missing a layer.

  41. poofdepoof
    poofdepoof
    September 3, 2017 at 11:42 pm | #

    I thought that there was only one yellow dress…

  42. Passchendaele
    Passchendaele
    October 2, 2017 at 10:57 pm | #

    Mwahaha, I can keep up my last-comment streak. Well, until Willis catches on and goes “what is even the point of this”.

    Joyce’s expressions are never not funny to me, and I seriously need to look up that literary reference, because it’s distantly familiar to me but I don’t know exactly what it is, and that impels my overwhelming curiosity.

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