Dumbing of Age Book Eleven

Dumbing of Age

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it doesn't get bleeped if it's just 'ass' without the 'hole'
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BUFFER WATCH Comics are currently drawn and uploaded through:

September 18, 2023

Asshole

by David M Willis on August 27, 2022 at 12:01 am
  • 01 – Bring Me to Life Drawing

└ Tags: becky, dorothy, joyce, sarah

Discussion (147) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    August 27, 2022 at 12:02 am | #

    that’s why I keep a towel by my bed

    …

    ok I lied that’s not the reason BUT IT COULD BE

    • Ana Chronistic
      Ana Chronistic
      August 27, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

      real conversation:

      “Back in the day, MTV would always censor it as ‘ass-****’, which didn’t make sense, because isn’t ‘ass’ the bad part?”

      “Yeah, I thought that was weird when ‘goddamn’ would get censored as ‘***-damn’, like, isn’t ‘damn’ the bad word?”

      “We’re just a few years out from ‘******-fucker'”

      • Cholma
        Cholma
        August 27, 2022 at 12:13 am | #

        Yeah, late nite talk shows often talk about how they can say “ass” or “hole”, but if they combine them, it gets bleeped. “Cock” is another weird one they were making fun of the other night because of some school’s mascots: “fighting cocks” or something. Also why “$chitt’s Creek” always has to have the logo appear on screen when they say it. FCC rules are bizarre.

        The hypocritical puritans really fucked up this country.

        • BarerMender
          BarerMender
          August 27, 2022 at 12:28 am | #

          Oops. Flagged by mistake. When city people use country expressions, they always get them wrong. It isn’t “shit’s creek,” regardless of the spelling. It’s “shit crick.”

          • Laura
            Laura
            August 27, 2022 at 1:12 am | #

            *Plays George Carlin on the hacked muzak.*

            • Rayndel
              Rayndel
              August 27, 2022 at 2:24 am | #

              Blink-182’s song based on George Carlin’s list. (It’s pretty much just those words repeated a few times)

              • Schpoonman
                Schpoonman
                August 27, 2022 at 5:15 pm | #

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnYjghF-gBE

                More bands need to run multiple vocalists with harmonies.

          • brionl
            brionl
            August 27, 2022 at 1:16 am | #

            We’re up shit creek in a chicken-wire canoe!

            • BarerMender
              BarerMender
              August 27, 2022 at 1:35 am | #

              Wordy

              • thejeff
                thejeff
                August 27, 2022 at 12:33 pm | #

                Sometimes I like the extra wordiness for emphasis.

            • Ed Rhodes
              Ed Rhodes
              August 27, 2022 at 7:39 am | #

              Without a paddle!

              • Decidedly Orthogonal
                Decidedly Orthogonal
                August 27, 2022 at 3:08 pm | #

                I guess it was assumed since they didn’t mention it. 😉

              • Librain
                Librain
                August 31, 2022 at 3:37 pm | #

                I personally like “Up shit creek without a canoe”

          • Stifyn Baker
            Stifyn Baker
            August 27, 2022 at 11:14 am | #

            The earliest extant reference to the phrase appeared in the transcript of the 1868 Annual report of the US Secretary of War, in a section that included reports from districts of South Carolina:

            “Our men have put old Lincoln up shit creek.”

        • Wizard
          Wizard
          August 28, 2022 at 6:06 am | #

          Schitt’s Creek was originally produced and broadcast in Canada. In the US, it was only ever available via cable or streaming on Netflix. Since it was never broadcast over the air, the FCC had nothing to do with it. I could probably spend hours discussing the stupid crap the FCC actually has done (artificially limiting broadcasting licenses, the Fairness Doctrine, delaying cellular phone service for decades), but you can’t blame them for this one.

      • Wizard
        Wizard
        August 28, 2022 at 6:11 am | #

        Eh, “damn” is considered fairly mild, but I suspect many would object to “goddamn” on the basis that it’s blasphemous. OTOH, I find the idea of people insulting each other as “***holes” hilarious, and I’d love to see it.

      • Ray
        Ray
        August 28, 2022 at 2:24 pm | #

        You didn’t watch the premiere of “Little Demon” this past week, did you??

      • Romanticide
        Romanticide
        August 28, 2022 at 7:16 pm | #

        the mexican dub of drawn together was censored but in a way you could notice what the word censored was, so either it was malicious compliance or they thought the bleeps made the show funnier

    • Freezer
      Freezer
      August 27, 2022 at 3:43 am | #

      I watching some of the original, hour-long episodes of Cheap Seats and some of the words they censored were ludicrous. Even more so, given that the Sklars’ subsequent dialog almost always gave away what word got bleeped.

      One particular example was during (I think) the Mr. Universe episode where they were cracking on some guy’s backne. “That guy’s got a back *bleep* – a ‘bipple!‘”

    • Queezle
      Queezle
      August 27, 2022 at 5:30 am | #

      “Hey, you sass that hoopy Ana Chronisitc? There’s a frood who really knows where their towel is.”

      Sorry I will show myself out.

      • Laura
        Laura
        August 27, 2022 at 11:34 am | #

        Plus 10!

        • Decidedly Orthogonal
          Decidedly Orthogonal
          August 27, 2022 at 3:10 pm | #

          Ten? Naw mate. This here’s a Queezle. It goes up to eleven! That’s one higher innit.

    • Kazuma Taichi
      Kazuma Taichi
      August 27, 2022 at 12:24 pm | #

      Well if you say it like that, now I wanna know the reason you keep a towel by your bed

      • Ana Chronistic
        Ana Chronistic
        August 27, 2022 at 11:58 pm | #

        for after sexy times

    • someone
      someone
      August 28, 2022 at 3:29 am | #

      Always have a towel at the ready. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you — daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

      More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have “lost.” What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

      So be a hoopy frood and know where your towel is at all time!

  2. The Wellerman
    The Wellerman
    August 27, 2022 at 12:02 am | #

    YEAH JOYCE!!!! Stick it to ’em!!!

    • Decidedly Orthogonal
      Decidedly Orthogonal
      August 27, 2022 at 3:12 pm | #

      She should stick it in her underwear. A pad is going to do precious little to shut up the sympathy brigade, and will do nothing for her period if put elsewhere.

    • Pylgrim
      Pylgrim
      August 28, 2022 at 7:04 am | #

      I don’t see why should she? Sarah may be being unhelpful, but both Dorothy and Becky are honestly trying to help in a situation where she’s not even helping herself.

  3. C.T. Phipps
    C.T. Phipps
    August 27, 2022 at 12:03 am | #

    Just get Joyce her birth control, Dotty. Becky knows her birthday.

    • alongcameaspider
      alongcameaspider
      August 27, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

      I dont think that’s a good idea now that she’s specifically said she doesn’t want their help

      • shanunu
        shanunu
        August 27, 2022 at 4:07 am | #

        This is true…. but it also does smack a lot of period hormones and an outburst that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. I have to wonder if her response would be different if she wasnt actively bleeding out her body weight

        • Yoder of Kansas
          Yoder of Kansas
          August 27, 2022 at 4:40 am | #

          See it from her perspective: You’re in pain. Three of your closest friends are being real noisy when you just want to be alone in quiet. They keep talking to you like you’re a child. They keep arguing amongst themselves and to you about how you need to act, just making more chaotic noise after noise and wont listen to you. I’d snap back too.

    • DailyBrad
      DailyBrad
      August 27, 2022 at 12:05 am | #

      Eh, Sarah might have the right idea. Coddling her right now is maybe not the best idea. Certainly doesn’t seem like she’d appreciate it much.

    • John Campbell
      John Campbell
      August 27, 2022 at 12:18 am | #

      It’s a problem because Joyce’s birthday is May 5th, 20??.

      Also, you really gotta move that “Flag” link, Willis.

      • Devin
        Devin
        August 27, 2022 at 12:22 am | #

        He’s said that he can’t. He said he just about maxed out the customizability as is. It’s fine, he’s said he doesn’t get any notification at all unless it hits a threshold that he’s adjusted. It’s not nearly as much of a problem as people who are accidentally clicking consistently think it is.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          August 27, 2022 at 4:18 am | #

          To be fair to them accidentally killing comments with reports was a problem, for the first few hours the feature was up.

          Now it takes flags from something like 10 different users before a comment is disappeared into the moderation queue. Accidental reports look scarier than they actually are.

          • Decidedly Orthogonal
            Decidedly Orthogonal
            August 27, 2022 at 3:16 pm | #

            Maybe reduce the threatening sound of the report page then?

            Like: “Thank you for flagging the comment. It has (or hasn’t yet) been nuked. But if multiple different users all flag it in a [secret algorithm], then it will be seriously considered.”

            • Decidedly Orthogonal
              Decidedly Orthogonal
              August 27, 2022 at 3:17 pm | #

              Ah, it’s not even that bad. Literally just says in standard black in background:

              ” Thank you for your feedback. We will look into it.”

    • Derek
      Derek
      August 27, 2022 at 5:02 am | #

      that’s literally the opposite of what Joyce wants right now

      • Rabisch
        Rabisch
        August 27, 2022 at 8:49 am | #

        But that’s practically what Joyce needs right now.

        • Derek
          Derek
          August 27, 2022 at 5:16 pm | #

          does she? the effects won’t fully kick in for another month at least, and this cycle is already shot
          why the urgency to do it RIGHT THIS INSTANT?

          • Archieve
            Archieve
            August 27, 2022 at 6:21 pm | #

            There is no good reason, Dorothy and Becky didn’t even want to bring the pill up as an option yesterday but now that Jennifer has helped Joyce it’s like their trying to reaffirm their territory as Joyce’s two best friends. Definatly comes off as possessive even if well meaning.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              August 27, 2022 at 7:14 pm | #

              I suspect they think that with crisis over, Joyce will just put off getting the prescription filled because she doesn’t want to buy the “hussy pills”.

              And they might well be right.

              • Archieve
                Archieve
                August 27, 2022 at 7:35 pm | #

                Maybe, maybe not, either way, there’s no real reason to gang up on her into going right this instant like she’s on a tight deadline. She needs some breathing room to come to decisions herself.

  4. BBCC
    BBCC
    August 27, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

    Oh Jesus yeah. And THEN get out of her ass!

    FR though, Joyce DOES need to get her meds or she’s gonna be in a lot more pain then she needs to be. They are right. However, I can definitely see why Joyce just isn’t in the mood for this. *I* can barely muster a giveafuck when I’m in that kinda pain or for about a week after too.

  5. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    August 27, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

    That Zappa-scalated quickly.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      August 27, 2022 at 4:16 am | #

      “I’m the slime”?

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      August 27, 2022 at 6:29 pm | #

      Wrong fluid to get all over the sofa sofa.

  6. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    August 27, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

    Cursed by her own original sin or hubris or whatever that story she used to believe was the reason women have periods as a punishment by god!

    • Leorale
      Leorale
      August 27, 2022 at 1:38 am | #

      I just wrote out the story and it was very amusing but the internet ate it.

      IMO, for thousands of years, patriarchs were mad at Eve for sharing.

      (Not a common interpretation. I’m sticking with it though.)

  7. Johan
    Johan
    August 27, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

    It’s worse when it audibly gurgles out.

    *Sigh*

    • Pinkie
      Pinkie
      August 27, 2022 at 1:10 am | #

      I’d get surprises at work a lot – just standing there trying to act nonchalant about the blood trickling down my leg.

      Then I got vaccinated against babies.

      • Laura
        Laura
        August 27, 2022 at 1:29 am | #

        Yup. That happened on my first day of the internship that later became my job. D-:
        What a mess…

        • Johan
          Johan
          August 27, 2022 at 11:23 am | #

          First day of college orientation I bled through my period panties and filled up 2 pads

          I figured I’d that was the worst day I ever had on campus I’ll be fine for classes.

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        August 27, 2022 at 2:38 am | #

        Vaccinated against babies wtf 😂

        • Opus the Poet
          Opus the Poet
          August 27, 2022 at 2:52 am | #

          The no-flow BC shot. For most women it works several months per shot, and they have a warning period before ovulation so they know they’re fertile. I think it was Depo-Provera or summit like that.

        • bhtooefr
          bhtooefr
          August 27, 2022 at 10:25 am | #

          …I’m reminded that in German, oral contraceptives are literally called antibabypillen.

      • tunasammich
        tunasammich
        August 27, 2022 at 11:08 am | #

        Using menstrual cups + period underwear has been a godsend for stopping this

  8. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    August 27, 2022 at 12:05 am | #

    I love Joyce, I do, but for an ex-Christian, she can’t hop down from her cross fast enough.

    • brute
      brute
      August 27, 2022 at 12:55 am | #

      yes, thank you, you put it into words better than i could

  9. Hazel
    Hazel
    August 27, 2022 at 12:10 am | #

    I am far too familiar with the face made in panel four. Thank science for my own hussy pills.

    • Lexi
      Lexi
      August 27, 2022 at 12:50 am | #

      Yuppp, that is definitely the expression of “A giant clot just fell out of my vagina and I hate everything.”

      • Reaver
        Reaver
        August 27, 2022 at 9:59 am | #

        She put too much force behind those words, the cannon was fired…!

        RIP Her pants.

  10. Suet
    Suet
    August 27, 2022 at 12:11 am | #

    The ebb and flow of Joyce’s situation is a sight to behold.

    Get her birthdate, stat.

    *plays the riff of Marrow by St. Vincent*

  11. Blibdoolpoolp
    Blibdoolpoolp
    August 27, 2022 at 12:11 am | #

    Angry Ass-Joyce, I never thought I’d see the day.

  12. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    August 27, 2022 at 12:12 am | #

    GO JOYCE, IT’S YA BIRTHDAY that they want, so don’t give it to them

    I had been hoping for Dorothy to go with her, but honestly I think I’m leaning towards Joe now.

    • Devin
      Devin
      August 27, 2022 at 12:24 am | #

      That would entirely defeat any desire to avoid her being seen as getting them for sexual reasons. I get the desire for them to make more dramatic decisions, but I can’t see how she actually gets there on that one.

      • Jon
        Jon
        August 27, 2022 at 12:32 am | #

        Granted it would be weird in this specific context. But Joe’s definitely established as someone who treats Joyce like more of an adult, and doesn’t come at her with overbearing concern or condescension. He snipes at her, yeah, but in a much more human way than these three. Even if they’re technically more polite, Joe’s the one treating her like a fellow human.

        • DailyBrad
          DailyBrad
          August 27, 2022 at 2:59 am | #

          I think that’s a bit harsh, but yeah, Joe’s less patronizing, sure, that much is true. Joe and Joyce have I think an innate understanding of where the other one is coming from in terms of guilt, just for very different reasons, obviously, and that lets them meet in the middle more.

  13. newlland(Henryvolt)
    newlland(Henryvolt)
    August 27, 2022 at 12:13 am | #

    Not only cursing but being creatively vulgar about it, she’s come a long way.

    • The Wellerman
      The Wellerman
      August 27, 2022 at 12:16 am | #

      I’m so proud of her 🥲

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      August 27, 2022 at 4:23 am | #

      They grow up so fast…

  14. Taffy
    Taffy
    August 27, 2022 at 12:17 am | #

    Who said the other day that she was gonna snap on everyone?

    • Plain Marie
      Plain Marie
      August 27, 2022 at 8:52 am | #

      That was me. And maybe others. I mean, it was foreseeable!

    • George the Archon
      George the Archon
      August 27, 2022 at 9:53 pm | #

      I was hoping she’d tell them all where to get off, and that her anger at them would give her the bloody-mindedness to actually go and do the damned thing and get the tablets herself.

      The second part of that is still just about possible? I live in hope.

      But yes, I was only one of several, too. 🙂

  15. Grayfinity
    Grayfinity
    August 27, 2022 at 12:19 am | #

    …Okay.

  16. V
    V
    August 27, 2022 at 12:21 am | #

    Joyce is right and she should say it!!

  17. Amós Batista
    Amós Batista
    August 27, 2022 at 12:48 am | #

    Fake date plot is failed.
    But now we got an Assertive Ass Joyce.

    • Imogen
      Imogen
      August 27, 2022 at 4:02 am | #

      I am appeased. for now.

    • chuckroast
      chuckroast
      August 27, 2022 at 3:41 pm | #

      She’s very ass-ertive.

  18. drs
    drs
    August 27, 2022 at 1:02 am | #

    Sarah gets ever less-likable.

    • DailyBrad
      DailyBrad
      August 27, 2022 at 3:03 am | #

      She’s not here to be liked by Joyce. She’s here to be a big sister and to get Joyce to quit feeling sorry for herself and do shit she needs to actually do.

      Is that the right way to handle it? Dunno, but Joyce has kind of demonstrated that she has to be dragged kicking and screaming towards making healthy decisions for herself lately, so that’s just where it’s at, even if dogpiling her is going to be abrasive.

      • Imogen
        Imogen
        August 27, 2022 at 3:59 am | #

        Joyce is telling them to leave her alone and Sarah, Becky and Dorothy are not respecting that boundary. “Coddling her” isn’t great, but neither is talking about her like she’s a spoiled child, and importantly, she never asked for either. Sarah is no better than Dorothy or Becky lately. Honestly, she just channels her lack of respect for Joyce’s autonomy towards acerbicness instead of condescending helpfulness.

        Poor Joyce.

        • Imogen
          Imogen
          August 27, 2022 at 4:05 am | #

          Full disclosure, I am personally triggered by this sort of “person trying to say they’re upset and everyone just not taking them seriously” story (it’s a literal recurring nightmare for me) and it’s definitely making me crankier about it.

          • Icalasari
            Icalasari
            August 27, 2022 at 4:29 pm | #

            I’m in the same boat as you. On the spectrum and it is really demeaning and humiliating to be treated as a child. I’m a grown ass human, I don’t need toddler level admonishments or praise for doing a basic human thing. Hell, I’m still screwed up about it because sometimes I’m all for those basic yays then realize oh right, that’s because that’s something I’m given so often I have a sick pavlovian response to it

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          August 27, 2022 at 4:29 am | #

          Joyce has only told them now to leave her alone. They can’t teleport, but Dorothy, at least, is agreeing to back off. Becky and Sarah don’t say it but I’m pretty sure they’ll back off too.

          • Archieve
            Archieve
            August 27, 2022 at 5:11 am | #

            True but Becky and Sarah are still treating Joyce’s reaction as something silly rather then the realization they are collectively being very overbearing here.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              August 28, 2022 at 12:43 am | #

              You’re not wrong. I think Becky, despite her irreverent phrasing, does realize Joyce is not joking about this. Sarah probably realizes too but what she says isn’t helpful, I agree.

            • Edwin I Callahan
              Edwin I Callahan
              August 28, 2022 at 8:16 am | #

              I read Becky as taking Joyce’s anger seriously after Joyce started swearing.

        • Archieve
          Archieve
          August 27, 2022 at 5:22 am | #

          I think the observation that Joyce is being treated ‘like a spoiled child’ is spot on, even Dorothy’s body language looks like she’s dealing with a cranky toddler and doesn’t really appreciate that she’s been more patronizing then helpful here.

      • Derek
        Derek
        August 27, 2022 at 5:04 am | #

        Joyce is in excruciating pain, she has all the right to feel sorry for herself.

        • DailyBrad
          DailyBrad
          August 28, 2022 at 12:21 am | #

          She does, but unless she can will pills into existence, she also needs to go to the pharmacy.

    • Rabisch
      Rabisch
      August 27, 2022 at 8:54 am | #

      Dunno. I find Sarah expression really cute. She loves angry Joyce♡.

  19. Lingo
    Lingo
    August 27, 2022 at 1:03 am | #

    WOOOOO I’m glad she said it!

  20. darkoneko
    darkoneko
    August 27, 2022 at 1:27 am | #

    Remove yourselves entirely from my arse !

  21. AGV
    AGV
    August 27, 2022 at 1:56 am | #

    “Make yerselves useful or scram, scallywags!”

  22. Laura
    Laura
    August 27, 2022 at 2:45 am | #

    TFW you have no f***s left to give.

    • Opus the Poet
      Opus the Poet
      August 27, 2022 at 2:54 am | #

      Now I want to flag this for being excessively awesome. I didn’t but I want to.

      • Laura
        Laura
        August 27, 2022 at 11:31 am | #

        Thanks, Opus.

        “Behold, the field in which I grow my f***s. Lay thine eyes upon it and thou shall see that it is barren.”

        https://nerdofwar.tumblr.com/image/79211468646

  23. Imogen
    Imogen
    August 27, 2022 at 3:56 am | #

    I think the Three are getting a little repetitive in this behavior. Do they not realize how badly they’re upsetting Joyce by treating hey like a child this way? It’s been going on for, like, a week, you’d think they’d have wised up.

    • Imogen
      Imogen
      August 27, 2022 at 4:01 am | #

      I’m not exactly criticizing the writing, it’s just hard to see them being this… incessantly crappy towards their friend. It feels like it’s being exaggerated to help make a narrative point, which is fine, but if that goes on too long it just starts to feel like they never respected her at all. All I can guess is it seems to have gotten worse over the break for some unknown reason?

      • Imogen
        Imogen
        August 27, 2022 at 4:12 am | #

        Last thing I’ll say: sometimes it’s more respectful to let someone be wrong for a while, to let them figure it out on their own, than to shove an unwanted answer in their face. It’s not just about independence, it’s about respecting their right to wander, their right to make mistakes, their right to write their own story of self-discovery rather than having it dictated to them.

        Joyce has been dragged a lot over the last year. That’s painful for her sense of agency, her confidence, her esteem. Some of it was necessary–like calling her out over her homophobia. Some of it, like the glasses and the autism, was very hard for her.

        Joyce is acting out here because she’s being denied the chance to make this HER decision. It’s her body. She wants to do this because she chose to, not because her friends made her do it.

        • Derek
          Derek
          August 27, 2022 at 5:04 am | #

          fully agreed

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          August 27, 2022 at 8:11 am | #

          She’s definitely been through a lot and it’s been hard for her.

          I’m not sure she does want to do this because she chose to. Without her friends pushing her, I don’t think she does this at all. Much like the glasses, where she was also treated like a child and basically mommed into going to the eye doctor. She might have gotten there eventually, but there would have months of delay.
          She’s been going through periods like this for years. She wouldn’t have gone to the doctor without Jennifer making her. Even now, it’s not at all clear she’d really go fill it on her own. Not just right now, while she’s in pain, but even after she feels better. And then she might still not be able to take the pills on her own.
          She’s getting treated like a child because she’s acting like a child. Not just because of the current pain either, but all along. Her friends aren’t handling this well, but that’s partly because she’s hard to handle and yet she kind of needs to be handled.
          Maybe it would be better for them to back off and do no more than suggest and offer to help every once in awhile, but I’m not at all sure the evidence shows that’ll work.

          • Rabisch
            Rabisch
            August 27, 2022 at 8:58 am | #

            90 minutes of standing ovation.

          • Allandrel
            Allandrel
            August 27, 2022 at 6:43 pm | #

            Thank you. At this point I would just let her stew in her misery since she is so opposed to actually improving her condition.

      • Archieve
        Archieve
        August 27, 2022 at 5:31 am | #

        I think their treatment of Joyce as someone who needs to be taken care of has intensified largely on Dorothy and Becky’s end. Partly because Dorothy’s coping mechanism is to care for others and Joyce has historically needed more support and partly because of Becky’s need to insert herself more into Joyce’s life as she tries to change her self identity.

    • Mark
      Mark
      August 27, 2022 at 7:52 am | #

      No, they don’t yet realize it. This conversation has only been going on for a minute or so. When you’re very concerned for a friend, it takes a while to get out of the emotion and analyze the exchange rationally in the context of months of separate experiences.

      • Imogen
        Imogen
        August 28, 2022 at 12:00 am | #

        This conversation isn’t where the arc started, though. It’s been building for a while.

  24. Bagge
    Bagge
    August 27, 2022 at 4:52 am | #

    No indignity too small four our Joyce 🙁

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      August 27, 2022 at 8:36 am | #

      She used to use “b-hole” but now has raised her grade in cussing to an A.

  25. Eldritchy
    Eldritchy
    August 27, 2022 at 5:02 am | #

    Kazuma under Kotatsu impression is growing stronger

  26. Derek
    Derek
    August 27, 2022 at 5:07 am | #

    Damn, I hate panel two Sarah. Nothing sucks more than trying to curse or show force in an attempt to get someone off your face, only for that person to say “hahaha, I’m out intimidated”.

  27. ninja_jesus
    ninja_jesus
    August 27, 2022 at 5:16 am | #

    First panel: next book title?

  28. Owlmirror
    Owlmirror
    August 27, 2022 at 5:23 am | #

    Is no one else wondering why Sarah is not, in fact, in a state of beatific euphoria while Joyce is miserable, anxious, agonized, and horrified?

    WTF happened to “A balance must be maintained“?

    [It’s almost as if someone had a funny idea and did a bunch of strips about it, then forgot about it a year later]

    • Sporky
      Sporky
      August 27, 2022 at 9:51 am | #

      I mean, that’s not actually real. Dina specifically calls out that it’s superstitious bullshit. The author is absolutely free to throw that gag away if he’s tired of it

    • hazel
      hazel
      August 27, 2022 at 8:52 pm | #

      …that’s called writing a comic strip?

  29. Mark
    Mark
    August 27, 2022 at 8:04 am | #

    So maybe panel 5 is the point at which to say, “you don’t want our help or concern or anything, so get out of bed and get it yourself.” And leave, as requested. That’s the point of this conversation, I think: yes, it’s hard, but you need to help yourself. If you just admire the problem, you’re going to get to admire it again…and again….

    Joyce is not the only one hurting here.

    • Icalasari
      Icalasari
      August 27, 2022 at 4:24 pm | #

      Then maybe they should stop pigeonholing Joyce and being awful to her. She’s had her entire life ripped apart and thrown about and people are treating her like a child and acting as if she isn’t an adult

      I’ve had people treat me like this and it feels awful and degrading and humiliating. Now add all her trauma, her physical pain, her identity being ripped to shreds?

      Yeah, I’m on Joyce’s side here

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        August 27, 2022 at 6:44 pm | #

        It seems like the only people who haven’t been infantilizing her lately are Jennifer and Joe.

        … Someone go get Jason, we have a theory to test.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          August 27, 2022 at 7:12 pm | #

          Not even really.
          Jennifer’s been better to her face, but she started the whole taking her to the doctor thing by talking to Dorothy and Becky: “Why aren’t you solving this?” and between the two of you, you could reasonably take care of her.
          And Joe’s been better in some ways, but he’s also avoided dealing with a lot of it – especially when he went sneaking off to Becky to talk about Joyce looking sad.

          There’s a lot of emotional labor being pushed onto Dorothy and Sarah (and in a different way, Becky). They’re not handling it well, but the basic problem is that everyone agrees it needs to be handled. That Joyce needs to be taken care of.

          And it’s not yet clear from the narrative that they’re wrong.

    • Alex
      Alex
      August 27, 2022 at 7:11 pm | #

      Ordinarily yes but I’d say hygiene takes priority here. Getting up to get it herself is gonna make a bigger mess.

  30. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    August 27, 2022 at 8:47 am | #

    Maybe it’s time for Joyce to accept the help of her friends. Or for Jennifer to make her triumphant entrance with the pills and request to have some alone time with Joyce for talk about that.

    • Cerusee
      Cerusee
      August 27, 2022 at 9:45 am | #

      I think it would be incredibly funny and more than a little satisfying if Jennifer DID make a triumphant entrance with Joyce’s prescription in hand, which she’d agreed to pick up for Joyce off-panel because Joyce confided how uncomfortable she would be doing it herself, and, when questioned by the trio here about why Joyce didn’t just say so in response to all that badgering, tell them it’s because they’re being condescending assholes *thanks and you can go now.*

      I don’t think that’s going to happen. But I sure would enjoy it if it did!

      • Seregiel
        Seregiel
        August 27, 2022 at 11:53 am | #

        Yes please!

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        August 27, 2022 at 12:29 pm | #

        I’d kind of hate I think.
        Partly because it skips over just how to have that conversation with Joyce without it turning into something traumatic.

        I also find this amusing in light of how we’ve collectively spent the last couple months monstering Jennifer.
        Plus Jennifer’s last chat with Joyce about the autism wasn’t exactly a shining example.

        • Cerusee
          Cerusee
          August 27, 2022 at 2:31 pm | #

          Speak for yourself, re: Jennifer. Personally, I think her recent interactions with Joyce have been the right kind of straightforward compassionate support, and before that, they apparently weren’t really interacting at all for a couple of months.

          Absolutely no one who’s heard about it has covered themselves with glory regarding Joyce’s referral for a potential autism diagnosis, including Dina, Dorothy, and Sarah, each of whom managed to manifest a different flavor of reacting unhelpfully to someone else’s psychologically confusing and distressing news.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            August 27, 2022 at 3:34 pm | #

            The bit where Joyce straight up told her she was trying to be helpful and botched it, so Joyce felt better. 🙂 A+ “compassionate support”

            I agree no one’s done well, but the idea that Jennifer’s the exception who’s figured just the right angle to help Joyce with doesn’t hold up.

            • Cerusee
              Cerusee
              August 27, 2022 at 4:31 pm | #

              To each their own read on this, but I was pretty impressed by the low-drama way she persuaded Joyce to go to the doctor and also the honest way she answered Joyce’s questions about the state of their friendship. Whatever her own internal reasons for doing so—we know Jennifer is strongly motivated by a certain kind of self-image, a helper persona—it worked, and Joyce seems to have felt supported by it.

              Contrasted to how she’s reacting to Dorothy, Becky, and Sarah here, and given that everything they’re doing—all the pressure, the expectations, the pre-existing ideas about how Joyce will react to these big things in her life that leave her with no emotional space to just *feel* anything without having to justify or defend herself—is stuff they’ve been doing for awhile…yeah I actually DO think Jennifer is offering a different angle of friendship that Joyce really needs and isn’t getting from her other close female friends right now, and that it’s better suited to help her through this than all the riding on her is. When Jennifer tried to help re: autism and “botched it” it *did* make Joyce feel better! Might not have been the way she intended to help, but the outcome was still that Joyce felt better. As opposed to here, where she is so sick and tired of the way she’s being handled that she actually snaps and tells her friends to leave her alone, in an uncharacteristically vulgar way that suggests to me that she’s actually angry about it. Everybody’s got good intentions; that’s not the question. What matters is how Joyce feels about how she’s being treated, and whether the support she’s being offered actually results in a happier, healthier Joyce.

              • Needfuldoer
                Needfuldoer
                August 27, 2022 at 6:50 pm | #

                Yeah, the key difference is she put an offer on the table, and let Joyce decide whether to take her up on it.

                Dorothy booked the optometrist appointment for her and almost bodily dragged her there.

                Dorothy and Becky both assumed even broaching the subject of a doctor’s visit about her mensural issues would go nowhere and didn’t even try. (At least until Jennifer broke the ice, then Dorothy was eager to swoop in and be the mom friend again.)

                • Needfuldoer
                  Needfuldoer
                  August 27, 2022 at 6:51 pm | #

                  *menstrual issues

                  Jury’s still out on how well Joyce can carry a tune.

  31. Cerusee
    Cerusee
    August 27, 2022 at 9:56 am | #

    Boy that’s relatable. It’s been a while since I stained any bedding, thanks to the menstrual cup and my periods getting more manageable with age, but I still have sense-memories of that full-body lurch of horror when you realize you’re bleeding all over your sheets. It’s embarrassing, it’s uncomfortable, and the worst fucking part is that then you have to deal with cleaning it up when you already feel like shit. (Not to mention the little dance of “get I get to the bathroom to start the process of cleaning *me* up without dripping all over the sheets even more, not to mention the floor”.)

    I love all these characters and I assign the best of motivations to them in terms of genuinely wanting to help Joyce here, but given how much people—including some of these people right here—have been badgering and harassing her about emotionally fraught subjects while they know she’s in a tremendous amount of pain, it is truly impressive that she hasn’t snapped and told them to fuck off before this. (Also, Joyce: please consider “I invite you to crawl out of my asshole” as a response in the future the next time Becky tries her shitty re-conversion tactics on you again. Please. As a personal favor to me.)

    • epitome of incomprehensibility
      epitome of incomprehensibility
      August 27, 2022 at 11:13 am | #

      Ha yes. Also you reminded me of the time I was in the habit of doing stretches in bed in the morning, and one time it was day 2 of my period and I did a stretch that involved lifting my legs up…in retrospect that wasn’t too smart.

  32. Reaver
    Reaver
    August 27, 2022 at 10:01 am | #

    Second to last panel woulda really REALLY been funny with a sound effect like *splorp*

    Or *gooOOSH*

    Poor Joyce XD

  33. Van Jealous
    Van Jealous
    August 27, 2022 at 10:18 am | #

    Why is there an Alice Cooper song floating around in my head right now???

  34. epitome of incomprehensibility
    epitome of incomprehensibility
    August 27, 2022 at 11:02 am | #

    OK, so she’s annoyed at all of them. From the last strip, I thought it was just Sarah. I guess she’s grumpy from pain – that’s the obvious thing – but I wonder if part of her upbringing made her embarrassed about periods as well as all the sex-related stuff? I mean, if she’s in pain AND embarrassed, that’s a double reason to want people to piss off. It might not be the healthiest way to act, but it’s an understandable reaction.

    • The Jighole Man
      The Jighole Man
      August 27, 2022 at 11:42 am | #

      pain, embarrasement, and 3 people squawking at you right when you wake up in pain, trying to give 3 different versions of the same advice/help (do it yourself, we’ll go together, i’ll do it for you).

    • Seregiel
      Seregiel
      August 27, 2022 at 12:06 pm | #

      Maybe, but I’m going with this is the second time she has been badgered while in bed resting (and in pain) by a group of people who have either been told to a) don’t or b) stop and continued to be there or berate her for her reactions to this behavior. This group should have had the common sense to NOT but decided that “right” was more important. Beyond that if she just got the prescription in the past 24 hours that is minimal time to contemplate your deprograming AND drag yourself in while you hurt. The pills are most likely going to do nothing during this period while her body adjusts so I’d see it as completely valid if she just rode this one out. She can drag herself in when her brain recalibrates.

      • Edwin I Callahan
        Edwin I Callahan
        August 28, 2022 at 8:32 am | #

        But it would be consistent with Joyce’s character to be too freaked out by her overall situation to get the pills on her own, or take them, or ever get out of bed again. She needs her friends’ support and help. (Of course, she needs a personal therapist and a whole list of medications. But so does the rest of the cast; it’s the strip’s premise.)

  35. nothri
    nothri
    August 27, 2022 at 12:25 pm | #

    I don’t think that’s how butts work, Joyce.

  36. Icalasari
    Icalasari
    August 27, 2022 at 4:14 pm | #

    Was waiting for the snap

  37. Laura
    Laura
    August 27, 2022 at 4:54 pm | #

    …I don’t know if it helps anyone or anything, but just in case anyone here is feeling fed up and overwhelmed and at their wits’ end, like the characters here feel sometimes, there are people to talk to who care. I just put this list together for a friend, thought perhaps I’d post it here too.

    UK-based free nonjudgmental peer support:

    samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan

    US-based free nonjudgmental peer support and/or crisis intervention, as needed, available by text, online chat, or phone:

    List of peer support phone numbers by state:
    screening.mhanational.org/content/need-talk-someone-warmlines

    List of national US crisis hotlines by topic:
    cnet.com/health/suicide-hotlines-crisis-hotlines-to-call-or-text-when-you-need-help

    Suicide and Crisis intervention lifeline:
    988lifeline.org or call 9-8-8 from any US phone (warning, they will send someone out there to check on you if they are worried)

    Free, multilingual disaster distress helpline: 1-800-985-5990
    samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline

    Tips for dealing with stress, with phone numbers at the end:
    cdc.gov/violenceprevention/about/copingwith-stresstips.html (scroll down)

    Free COVID stress counseling for Californians and everyone else too:
    (833) 317-HOPE (4673)
    calhope.org

    Basic needs support resources for every community: call 2-1-1
    211.org
    findhelp.org
    connectie.org

    COVID and flu help wherever you are:
    covid.gov or call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489 or 7-1-1)

    Free legal help everywhere:
    lawhelp.org

    Free self-support apps:
    selfhelp.samaritans.org
    mobile.va.gov/app/ptsd-coach
    mobile.va.gov/app/covid-coach

    Take good care, everyone!

    • Joy
      Joy
      August 27, 2022 at 6:08 pm | #

      A lot of crisis lines can and will call police, which is very dangerous for marginalized people; remember to do your research beforehand to see if it’s safe and to see what records they might keep on you.

      A safe crisis line should be anonymous and won’t require an address.

      • Laura
        Laura
        August 27, 2022 at 6:40 pm | #

        Very true! Thank you for mentioning that. So important to remember. It’s a big complaint about the 988 hotline.

        The Samaritans does not contact police or emergency services. Warmlines may vary depending on which one.

        The resources listed above from “Basic Needs Support” on downward do not call police or emergency services, but then, they aren’t meant for crisis intervention anyway.

        Also, many of these hotlines are staffed by volunteers, who may have their own agendas, religious or otherwise, or are funded by advertising. So you may have to wait on hold for a long time to get an available counselor, during which time you might have to see ads (for example, if you are using a messaging platform).

        Not to disparage hotlines, of course! Certainly good places to turn if you have nowhere else to turn — good numbers to have on hand for help and support. Just, as Joy said, let the buyer beware and do your own research.

  38. Josh Spicer
    Josh Spicer
    August 27, 2022 at 6:54 pm | #

    I come back three months later to nothing much changing between these four.

    Joyce and Joe aren’t even a thing yet.

    This has been an entirely uneventful 3 months.

    *refuses to look back at the Jennifer/Ruth and Walk/Everyone Else situation*

  39. Needfuldoer
    Needfuldoer
    August 27, 2022 at 7:09 pm | #

    Where is Buckets of Blood Guy when you need him?

    https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-9-comic/01-flyin-to-the-red/capture/

    • The Oracle
      The Oracle
      August 27, 2022 at 10:37 pm | #

      Probably on some sort of registry, and/or in a cell.

Who's that guy over there?

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