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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com ⋅ 1d
Pavel
@spavel.bsky.social ⋅ 10d
The New York Times @nytimes.com ⋅ 5d
preternia @preternia.com ⋅ 3d
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GDI Joyce you made MY lady times show up
…ya know, Jakes, not being mystified or intimidated by it doesn’t magically make it NOT A TERRIBLE MESS
I’d be more sympathetic to that if it wasn’t obviously a transparent ploy by Joyce to avoid the conversation that she needs to have now
(thought I should make it clear that yes I know it’s an obvious bluff but the retort just makes it sound like “JUST BLEED IN YOUR SEAT”)
One can only assume that she said it with the least convincing possible tone, and that behind that last panel she’s making one of her unbelievably, cartoonishly guilty faces.
At the very least, I think Jacob’s spent enough time around her to pick up on some of her tells.
I s’pect she’s hoping that just mentioning menstruation to Jacob, a guy, will get him so flustered and squicked that he’ll be too scrambled to see through her ruse.
And kudos to him for seeing through it, but my God, how I wish that real, inarguably grown men, let alone 17-19-year-old boys, didn’t have that weird superstitious aversion Joyce was counting on. Jacob is more the exception that proves the rule here, in my experience.
^^^ this comment is how i feel but with better wording than i could muster
My father, who is in his fifties, has three daughters, squicks out like hell if i just mention being on my period. He absolutely panics and dont want any details and gets upset with me if i try to continue on the topic. Even if it just was that he was asking me how im doing and i try to explain to him why the hell im anemic or exhausted.
Massive kudos to Jacob
men are weak
before someone gets pissy, I’m a men
second disclaimer, this isn’t an excuse for men to act badly. it’s just an insult.
that’s the best and worst disclaimer i have heard ;D
Every single time I’ve bought a bra at a department store from a male cashier, something has gone wrong. I’ve accidentally shoplifted bras twice because the man didn’t want to touch it enough to ring it up. Just last week, I got charged but he didn’t take the anti-theft chip off. If these men are attracted to women, I shudder to think what their sex lives must be like.
You would think that working in such a store would mean you come up against this sort of requirement far too often to still be weird about it.
I mean, if it was someone you know then maybe it might be weird seeing them buy underwear, but otherwise just handle it like any other clothing and move on.
As for their sex life though – it’s completely different when they know they are allowed to touch it. At work they don’t want to come off creepy so are extra cautious about it (which I’m guessing usually works exactly how they don’t intend it to).
To be entirely fair to your weak father, you’re talking about copious bleeding from a body part. You’re not squicked out because you’re (by necessity) used to it. I don’t even like watching them put in the needle to draw my blood. The notion of having my body up and deciding to playact being a trauma victim is reason #85 I’m glad I’m not a woman. (Most of the others being how women get treated like shit.)
No, it really is just that men need to grow the heck up about a natural but gross bodily function.
(hi, also a mens)
Dunno, I’ve never seen a guy willing to act squicked out at a broken bone or an action movie. There’s definitely some grossness about any bodily function, but the level of preciousness some guys have is a bit much.
What? Who isn’t squicked out by broken bones? I’m squicked out by broken bones! Things aren’t supposed to bend there, man!
To be fair, different things squick people out differently. Needles freak me out, but more serious injuries with far more blood don’t.
The thing about menstruation is different though. Those are visceral reactions to actually seeing blood or shots or something. The reaction to menstruation is to even casual reference to it.
No one gets that for other injuries. Nothing like “I cut myself yesterday.” “Oh god don’t talk about that, it’s disgusting.”
Not having a period is one of the few things I like about being trans. It doesn’t bother me as much as it used to, but it smells different to me, and the smell triggers a nausea response in me.
Which is really weird to me, as I like the smell of regular blood.
Menstrual blood isn’t just blood. It’s mixed with cervical mucus and other dead tissues sloughing off. I seem to have extra thick cervical gunk so my periods look like a long string of red slime that occasionally has chunks in it. Ain’t nobody gonna think that’s regular blood.
Menstrual blood smells like road kill to me. I used to collect and clean bones from it so that’s a genuine comparison.
If you ever have to deal with bleeding again- I strongly encourage you to look into a menstrual cup. For real. They last for years, and are safe to use in any mens’ restroom because you just dump out the blood and wipe it off- you don’t have to worry about discreetly disposing of anything. Plus you can forget that it’s in.
Yea actually this is completely valid. I knew someone I high school that had to go on birth control so she wouldn’t pass out at the sight of her own blood.
People get squicked out by different things and aren’t all used to the same things, but if you change the period mention to an expression of pain from a wound and realize that as a father he should get over his shit and show some sympathy for his daughter, that’s a sign that he should get over his shit and show some sympathy to his daughter.
My dad grew up in a place where they show you how to butcher a sheep in kindergarden (and get some blood home to make black pudding!), and you still kill whales on the beach where blood just spreads, unlike how it can go in a drain at a slaughterhouse. He knows how to gut and clean an animal. My dad is not the squeamish type when it comes to gore.
But uteruses? They can’t be frickin mentioned. My stepmom had to slap his arm because he did the whole show when my older sister went into surgery for a myoma, and the whole thing was extremely stressful for her because of said myoma made it impossible for her to concieve.
He’s weak. At least when it comes to that.
Heck, my dad gets uncomfortable when my sister and I talk about shaving our freaking legs, never mind actually talking about menstruation!
And that shows a lot. It’s not a matter of being squicked out by blood. It’s a matter of discomfort with anything that interferes with the idealization of femininity.
Taken to extremes, this is the mindset that accuses women of being deceitful manipulators for wearing makeup.
I remember when I was about 15, travelling with my family on vacation to another country where the language was different, but many people spoke English – and I needed menstrual supplies. My dad came with me into the store, and I asked the guy behind the counter where they were, and what the difference was between the types (since I couldn’t read the packaging). After we left, my dad let out the laughter he’d been suppressing over how uncomfortable the clerk was – I hadn’t even noticed!
For real, I have a lot more respect for Jacob’s upbringing right now that he didn’t bat an eye at this. He’s young enough that he may not have had many longterm girlfriends and I know grown ass adults who’ve been dating women for decades and still get squeamish about the thought of lady times.
If she bleeds, she leaves.
Mind telling me where you got that image of Lapis?
I don’t have a problem until I’m asked to pick up supplies without a photo of the right one’s packaging. I will get it wrong!
Yeah but we’re still better off with the wrong kind than with nothing at all.
Really? Because I got the box thrown at me for getting “the wrong ones”.
Seriously, either have a picture ready, or write down your exact requirements IN EXACT DETAILS. Do not blame me for not knowing exactly what you need when I’ve never had to get them before.
Don’t be the guy getting the box thrown at him. Go to the recycle-bin, get the old box out and tear the boxtop off, to take with you. Beware the arm of the box-thrower.
That will work until the packaging is changed on the product. Sometimes this even pisses off my wife because then *she* can’t find the right ones!
Always cut off the end of the box with the UPC code. Even if the package changes shape, colors, or illustrations (or all three!), the UPC code will remain the same.
I hope you didn’t stay with the person blaming you for not mind reading?
You haven’t had a lot of romantic partners have you? Best scenario is that they understand that you couldn’t possibly have read their mind but are still pissed off. Humans, you know?
Thrown objects are still a big damn red flag, no matter how many partners you’ve had. It still shows poor self-control and at best and an impulse to inflict physical and/or emotional harm. And, speaking from my own experience, neither you or they really have any idea if it’ll escalate from small stuff to things that might actually hurt you until afterwards.
“poor self-control at best”*
To add to that perspective:
It’s like trying to justify jealousy. It just can’t be done. Sure, some people find it appealing (as it satisfies their own insecurities, in a bizarre situation reminiscent of codependency), but inherently it’s entirely negative and toxic with no redeeming factors. Underlying possessiveness could perhaps be excused, as that could be considered the foundation for positive elements such as protectiveness, but jealousy itself is based entirely in insecurities and a severely immature emotional and psychological state. It’s as bad a trait as, say, overindulging in alcohol. In small doses and with minor levels of presentation, it’s a minor character flaw, but at a certain point of severity it becomes a disorder which needs to be addressed.
In short, if you’re excusing a behavior of that sort, regardless of the form that behavior takes, you’re still in a relationship with toxic elements.
Flip side, that toxicity may never cross certain critical boundaries, and it may be overshadowed completely by positive elements. We can’t say a relationship is “bad” solely off such a minor representation of it. That is to say, the trait itself is worrisome, because it’s indicative of someone with a poor mental state, but it doesn’t outright prove that such a mental state actually is pervasive within the individual’s other interactions.
In other words, Mopey and Seregiel, you’re correct that it’s a red flag and that He Who Abides needs to take an honest, outside-of-the-box look at his relationship to see if the behavior is indicative of a trend. Conversely, it’s not our place to “hope [He Who Abides] didn’t stay with the person blaming you for not mind reading”, since we can’t see the full picture, and the element in question is INDICATIVE of toxicity, rather than being much of a problem to deal with in and of itself. Heck, for all we know, He Who Abides may have an S&M fetish for the interaction, or the interaction may be a lot more charming than the impression we were given.
If there’s ever a pervasive trend or signs of escalation or signs of deliberate willingness to harm [without explicit consent] or so forth, then that’s a sign that the relationship (romantic or otherwise) is one that needs to be escaped from asap. This, as Mopey noted, is something we all learn, growing up (though, perhaps some people have been blessed with only positive, supportive, nurturing relationships. Such fortunes seem to be rather the priviledged rarities, however.)
Someone who takes the opposite approach, of repeatedly excusing abusive behaviors, has developed a self-destructive personality archetype and should seek immediate counseling, the same as anyone else engaging in self-destructive behaviors.
On the other hand, yes, there’s almost always going to be one or two (or more) annoying behaviors within any relationship. Since most people “settle” [in the sense that they don’t hold out for a “perfect” partner, not in the sense that their current partner is significantly lacking] for their romantic relationships, making them about as high in compatability as a typical intimate friendship, the “in sync” nature of “lifelong best friends”, “life partners”, or “close siblings” isn’t necessarily there. And, of course, even in those relationships, the rare argument or disagreement or mistake or whatnot is still to be expected.
So, yeah. While it’s important to keep an eye out for red flags, and to do so with honest eyes, it’s also reasonable to excuse the occasional flaw in a romantic partner (the same way you would with a close friend). Generally, you’re not going to have a romantic partner who is perfectly in-sync with you. Even if you’re that lucky, you can’t guarantee that you’ll never be in a situation where there’s something you’re not in-sync about. Moreover, when it comes to something like periods, there’s generally a bit of grace to be given (as far as the behaviors being self-contained and excusable by the context).
In conclusion, if this behavior isn’t severe, isn’t escalating, and isn’t a symptom of a trend, then it’s not actually a basis for breaking up the relationship. Conversely, if it’s any of those things, it very much is.
That all said, if He Who Abides isn’t “into it”, he should very much say as much to his partner, and then, if she doesn’t take his feelings into consideration, very much reconsider how much respect he’s actually receiving from her.
That just doesn’t seem like the kind of behavior a healthy relationship would let sit idle without discussion and resolution.
Guess i hate to cut off my sister now because shes thrown a box and a shoe at me before. Also my niece. One time my friend got annoyed I got the wrong spice brand so I guess I should cut him off too.
Shit I threw my cats small stuffed animal at her before I should cut myself out of her life, time to isolate and cut all ties at any signs of anything negative because thats healthy and happy way to live because I am perfect and never do anything remotely “toxic” or have any “red flags”.
Yeah that seems very unfair. I just can’t imagine doing that, in the context described and without a lot of other parameters going into it.
I buy them once every two years
Of COURSE they will be the “wrong ones” bc what company keeps it exactly the same that long (and also, I get the wrong ones but can’t bring myself to throw them out)
yea, you weren’t the one at fault, there
if you do a favor for her and she throws the box at you for getting the wrong one you need to kick her ass to the curb.
I remember calling her “okay so this green package with white letters saying… The font is also green? Okay lookibg for that one now”. We do communication quite well. She was amazed by the fact that I would be willing to get her anything related to periods.
Okay, so I see that there were a lot of responses to this comment, and after reading some of them I feel like I need to clarify the situation I referenced in my original post. The thrower I mentioned was one of my sisters (I have three), and after I’d given her some time to cool off, she ended up explaining what had set her off (tl;dr, romantic encounter gone terribly wrong due to horrific food poisoning). I accepted the answer and forgave her, and still do when she apologizes to this day (some 15-ish years after the fact). As for not checking the old packages, they had been recycled and I was young and slightly more stupid than I am now.
That said, I’m touched that people were concerned about whether or not I might have been in an abusive relationship. It’s the fact that you guys care about things like that which make this a great community to belong to, and I’m glad that y’all think of me as one of you. Thanks.
galasso’s face in that first panel reminds me a bit of roadblock
“Little man Harrison, give me dough, all shall tremble before Galasso”
Jacob you’re 17/18, I don’t consider you grown yet.
That sounds like a you problem
Sometimes being grown is all about attitude than actual physical maturity. In this case? He’s definitely far more of a grown man than many older guys.
I believe that Word of God is everyone in the dorm is at least 18, and Dina is 19.
I knew someone who had reached adult maturity by about 11. I know others who haven’t reached it by their 70s and 80s.
If all you’re focusing on is numbers- or worse, unintended nuances to phrases with clear intentions (in this case, “adult” clearly means “of basic levels of maturity and experience”, rather than “not youthful”)- then you’re just avoiding approaching things in a straightforward and honest manner.
*plays Klymaxx’s “Meeting In The Ladies’ Room” on the jukebox*
Joyce, you’ve never tried that move to escape anyone, have you?
I expect that either she has used it before successfully or has seen others do so.
There are exactly zero males in her hometown whom that would not work on.
*Waves my zippo in the air from side to side*
Rock on, Jacob. Rock on!
(Totally not hearkening back to a ‘discussion’ I had with a lady friend recently!)
Jamie!!!!
Not related to today’s comic, but found an article Dina would like
https://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2018/05/why-we-think-giant-pterosaurs-could-fly.html?m=1
Read it a while back
It’s a very interesting article
And while we’re into off-topic, I recomend The Paleoartist’s Handbook by Mark Witton himself, specially if you’re into drawing dinosaurs and other prehistoric critters
Yeah, there is something that has been bothering me about how the pterosaurs are depicted in media. They really need more visible muscle mass in the chest region to flap those huge wings, most artist’s depictions show even less muscle mass in that area than bats.
Paleoartist have a tendency to put too little soft tissue in general (it’s referred to as shrink wrapping)… IMO, the worst consistent cases are the heads of carnivores, which frequently show no sign of jaw muscles whatever.
I wish I wasn’t impressed by that, but I know men older than Jacob who act like squeamish weenies about periods, so good job, Jacob.
Joyce, don’t try to weasel out of this. I am hoping for catharsis here.
I’m hearing the voice of Willis here. Growing up in a fundie community – and then getting out of it – and learning that portion of the facts of life must have felt revelatory.
The bar is set pretty low, isn’t it
I never understood men who claim to enjoy sex with women, yet know nothing about a woman’s anatomy and/or gets grossed out by their body parts and functions. Ooh, or those men who think every woman who gets ticked off at them is on their period.
Better stop before I get into a rant
The best way for guys to not think like that, honestly, is to grow up with women. I have never thought like that, and I suspect having 3 sisters around my age has a lot to do with it.
I remember having a shouted conversation through a bathroom door in a hotel with my younger sister over which hole to put the tampon in when I was in high school. “Not the one where you pee from or poop from!” covered the gist of it.
As i mentioned in a comment above, my dad is one of those squeamish ones. He can ask me how im doing, i say anemic and tired, he asks why, i say im on my period, and i can’t even finish the sentence before he talks over me about that i dont need to go into details and lets just leave it.
I once got scolded by an groupchat moderator because me and another woman started talking about periods. We did so to try and derail a discussion some guys had about using your own feces as lubrication.
I don’t think the guys got chewed out. The groupchat moderator turned out later to be a MRA though. And was the owner of the swedish brony group
I’m scared of googling “Swedish brony” yet intrigued.
Eh, haven’t been in that community for years. Might be less of a trashfire by now
… so many questions that I very much do NOT want answered…
“Sorry Jacob, but I’m going to be very busy never being alone with you again.”
That’s a good basis for a relationship, right?
Still an improvement on the current basis.
Having this conversation isn’t going to be fun, no, but gotta pull that band-aid, and doing it when you have a moment alone is going to be a lot easier than having to do this later.
And time for the inevitable conversation we all knew was coming. Jacob, please tear her a new one, metaphorically. She 100% has this coming and I am looking forward to it. Shame Sarah isn’t here to hear this.
No tearing is required is required or even appropriate. He’s involved and even culpable, since he could have shut this down gently from the very start by saying “Ha ha good one Joyce, she’s such a kidder, my girlfriend is named Raidah.”
If anything, now is the time to discus ground rules, clarify his position on this, and if they are serious about going through with this at least as long as Harrison is here, comparing notes and getting their story straight.
Jacob has no responsibility to be managing Joyce’s shitty behaviour for her. He had no idea how much or how little a string of lies she’d been weaving by the time he got there, so no he didn’t have an easy way to shut this down gently. And if he did? Still not his responsibility to debunk her lies.
Joyce has acted like a psycho and this is 100% on her.
yea no, he went along with the lie. he wouldn’t be babysitting her by saying “she’s not my girlfriend”, he’d just be telling the truth, and he chose not to.
Agreed, he went to full on enabling and participating in it. He’s not a helpless observer in his own life subject to Joyce’s whims, unless he chooses to be.
Yes, he could’ve said something, but this is still on Joyce. Maybe he didn’t want to embarrass her.
Jacob went along because his brother seemed impressed by Joyce, and he worships his brother. He wasn’t thinking of Joyce’s feelings on the matter.
Both probably factored in, but that it wasn’t just worrying about Joyce’s feelings really doesn’t help his case.
Jacob has issues with thinking he’ll let Harrison down, and Joyce knew this. The second Jacob found out that she had his brother’s approval, he was trapped. You can’t say that Joyce wasn’t planning on breaking Jacob and Raidah either, due to her reaction to finding out that Sarah thought there could be a chance.
Whether or not this turned out even close to what Joyce expected doesn’t matter, as, from the second she lied, she knew she was causing trouble.
It’s impressive how much convoluted bullshit people will come up with to justify villifying only ONE person in a mess. Joyce is absolutely to blame for starting this, but she tried to leave, remember? Joyce is trapped in this situation, too, because she likes Jacob and wants him to have his brother’s approval.
But Jacob has done something fairly shitty to Raidah at this point, and he’s absolutely to blame for caving into his own need for approval. Joyce isn’t this genius manipulator you’re painting her as.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. Joyce did wrong by Jacob, Jacob did wrong by Raidah.
…Raidah did wrong by Sarah, Sarah likes to think she does wrong by everyone, everyone does wrong by someone else at some point.
Going out of your way to shit on people like Raidah does is a different dimension of shitty than making a bad choice and being swept up in the dynamic of the situation.
Raidah is a bully.
Joyce just wants to hide from the consequences of one seemingly small lie followed by far too many truths.
The moment to gracefully exit has been lost long ago.
And in Jacob’s position, I’d try to keep the the situation rolling till Harrison leave, making it a story to tell in the family years later.
The moral of said story depending on how live moves on from here.
Joyce and Sarah are going out of their way to be shity to raidah too
This isn’t a small lie. Possibly it was an impulsive lie that she wished she could get out of pretty much once she said it, but it was still a big one. With all of the consequences basically predictable from the start.
Jacob’s screwed up too, though it’s a little more excusable since he’s just running with the situation Joyce caused. This whole mess is on Joyce.
And her previous plans to break up Jacob and Raidah make it all look a whole lot worse than it would have done otherwise.
I do think it was impulsive, not any deep manipulative plan, but that doesn’t really excuse it. Nor does trying to leave, since that was just more of what she’s doing now – running from the consequences. When she tried to leave before she had no idea Jacob would play along. She wouldn’t have helped, just left Jacob dealing with the mess she’d made.
I don’t have time for archive binging at the moment, but didn’t Joyce and Jacob do almost exactly the same thing? In both cases, Harrison assumed Joyce was the girlfriend and both of them responded “uh, yeah!” instead of correcting him. Joyce clearly felt awkward about whatever conversation was happening when Jacob showed up. For all he knows, she just awkwardly didn’t know how to respond from the beginning. Obviously she’s dug in deeper since but so has he.
His expression doesn’t really say angry so maybe not.
Dat eyebrow, though!
YOU GOT SOME SPLAININ TO DO
YOU STOLE MY COMMENT!
ITYM “Grown-Ass Man!” Jacob.
ITYM?
ITYM= I think you mean.
Dunno, maybe he is an ‘ass-man’.
And he sure grown
How do you grow ass-men, though? And why would you want to?
:scratches head:
Ass-men are just donkey centaurs.
Lunges. Lots of lunges.
Joyce herself is probably still mystified and intimidated by it.
I dunno Jacob, lots of grown men are idiots.
Some of these kids are very mature for their age. Although it might have to do with his upbringing. With how sheltered from anything even remotely related to sex the kids are in Joyce’s hometown, I bet there are some that leave for college without really knowing what it is.
I recently read an “a friend…” anecdote about a woman who had been trying to conceive with her husband for years and they weren’t sure what was going on. Both members of this relationship had grown up in a hyper religious “sex is taboo” community so had entered the relationship knowing very little about reproductive anatomy etc… Turns out the problem is that a man ejaculating in a woman’s belly button isn’t *quite* how it’s done…
“rub it on my tummy”, eh? :p
I think Amber’s LITERATURE may have been *very* educational for Joyce
Also, he’s a little baby.
I can’t imagine myself referring to myself as a “grown man” at his age; I can barely imagine it now, and it’s undeniably true.
100 points to Jacob’s house for that closing line alone, haha
“And if I refuse to be squicked out, periods stop being real, so Joyce definitely doesn’t need to go to the bathroom!”
(I mean, Joyce definitely doesn’t need to go to the bathroom, but still)
I think he’s just saying “You can’t bullshit me with that.”
That’s the dream, Jakes.
Is the Alt-Text referencing two different cartoon characters? The first part is Snagglepus, but while the second part sounds familiar, I can’t place it.
It’s Jabberjaw, borrowing it from Curly Howard.
Also Doctor Zoidberg
Ah, yes, Jabberjaw & Zoidberg!
Curly was a woo-woo-woo-woo with a soupçon of nyah-nyah-nyah!
The 30s, 70s, and aughts? Wow; each generation really does get the whoopwhoopwhoopwhoop it deserves.
So Joyce became Zoidberg? Now she needs to spray ink over Jacob’s face to run away.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought of that when I read the alt-text.
Would it be too pedantic to point out that Joyce is trying to exit stage left?
David split the quote. The whole thing would normally be: “Exit, Stage Right…. Stage Left, even!”
Thanks! You saved me from replying myself.
Uh…
Someone looks awfully cheery for one needing a new diaper.
Baby Jaime is already familiar with the concept of a satisfying poop. It’s the one thing almost all DoA characters can seemingly agree on.
Okay, here’s my guess: Joyce is going to take this opportunity to explain to Harrison and try to make a graceful exit. Meanwhile, Raidah is going to turn up and something aggravating will happen between her and Jacob whilst neither Joyce nor Harrison are around to mitigate events.
Raidah shows up, Joyce slips away, and when Harrison returns Jacob tries to pretend nothing has changed and that any perceived differences are all in Harrison’s imagination.
JACOB: “Joyce… No, Harrison, I don’t recall anyone called Joyce!”
JAMIE: “Joy-sis! Joy-sis!”
I’d heard of gaslighting, but girlfriendlighting?
Joyce is trying to run, not explain anything or make a graceful exit.
“if i gotta suffer, YOU DO TOO”
This comments section makes me want to defend Raidah even though I don’t like her at all and there’s nothing I can actually use as a defence for her.
Everyone involved in this situation really sucks.
Well, she IS treated really badly by her boyfriend right now.
But yeah. Right now, they all kind of suck.
Pretty much.
I’ve said before that the worst thing about this whole plotline for me is that I really do like the Joyce/Jacob dynamic and I think they’d be a great couple, but this whole arc pretty much torpedoes that ship.
Why? I can see this as a catalyst for their relationship to expand. We’ve seen this trope in other content plenty of times. It’s a little rom-com-y but that’s on-brand for these two as far as I can tell. Heck, I’ve been in this situation in real life and it worked out that the Joyce and Jacob roles ended up together. Sometimes speaking a thing can bring it into the world.
Because some people, like me, aren’t okay with situations like this, whether they’re fictional or real. This is probably going to work out in favour of Joyce and I hate it.
In the real world and in fiction, people find new people to have relationships with. They fall out of love and infatuation, and fall into new loves and infatuations. Especially when they are young and the relationships aren’t long-lived or based on anything except proximity. That’s the way people are. You probably should stay away from all media if this triggers you.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Dude, have you considered chilling a little? “I don’t like this situation” =/= “I am triggered by a much broader topic.”
Because this fiction, not reality and in fiction things happen for reasons.
This whole pursuit of Jacob has explicitly been set up as part of Joyce’s growth. Another step in seeing that her rom-com ideas are not a good and moral approach to romance. That meet-cutes and wacky misunderstandings aren’t how to go about it. The point’s been hammered home by various characters, enough that it even seemed to have gotten through to Joyce that she was just lusting after someone who already had a girlfriend rather than it being divinely inspired true love.
She’s not going to be rewarded for this. That’s not how character growth works. This isn’t that kind of story.
Ditto. Like, if Raidah just revealed herself to be a classist ass and the relationship fell apart, I’d be all in for Joycob. (Similarly Amber/Walky hooking up before the Sal reveal and still lacking the ‘I committed fraud on your behalf’ reveal.)
Tomorrow: “Joyce, I think you want to be my girlfriend. If you do, I meant what I said, when I said you were my girlfriend – I’m a grown man after all. I know this is sudden, and you didn’t know we were about to be a couple, but you don’t need to run away. In fact, I’d really rather you didn’t.”
Or alternatively, “Haven’t you seen any cheesy christmas-themed rom-coms? When you go in pretending to be somebody’s girlfriend and meet their family, you stay the course. Those are the rules. Now get back here and put on this santa hat.”
“Those were the terms when the pact was struck. So it was written, so it is, and so shall it ever be.”
Another possibility?
RAIDAH: “You want Jacob, Joyce? Well it wil cost you!”
*Dramatic silent panel as the two women square up*
RAIDAH: “$120.99”
JOYCE: “What?”
“RAIDAH: “Yeah, he’s second hand but I have expenses to cover.”
No single combat or dance-off?
8-({
I’m just baffled by Willis passing up the opportunity to draw a comic strip showing baby pooping-face (so funny – they suddenly go red, their eyes bug out a bit and water, and their mouth makes a slightly wobbly smile)
I mean, maybe it’s not ubiquitous? But my big one used to do it and the toddler still does (my big one is almost 5 and now generally goes to the toilet independently; I can’t guarantee she’s stopped doing it but she has stopped doing it at the dinner table etc 
)
I think it would be hilarious if the strip came full circle, and Jacob told Joyce he liked her, but then tried to shoo her away for her own good, like in “Harry and the Hendersons”.
Thought this was a new post, not a reply. Kinda random, sorry.
You may be a grown ass man, but according to your actual girlfriend Joyce is just a child… and her friends poke that bubble and throw you under that bus too. :D. Go clean up nice! Maybe it will distract!
This is going to be a VERY interesting conversation between Joyce & Jacob. I’ve always wondered what Jacob might feel about Joyce.
He’s not trying to catch her arm.
There’s no reason to make a physical show when the strength of words is enough and I think it’s quite possible that they’ll be enough for Joyce!
He doesn’t need to. He’s utilizing tone of voice.
If this were a Jeph guest comic, we’d be making lots of Dune jokes here.
Joyce will run away from Jacob. Jacob will run after Joyce. Harrison will run after Jacob and Joyce. Then all the people in the pizzeria will run after them.
big fan of the ghost of galasso past in that first panel
Becky: He wants a diet? I’m gonna need more specifics – lowfat, low-sugar, low-carb, keto, or is he fasting, and I should just bring a glass of water?
No, he is an international power broker, and he wants to bribe the Japanese parliament.
No, not those lady times. She’s referring to the times when ladies spontaneously explode. It’s very messy; gore gets everywhere. You really don’t want her doing it next to you, so let her go miraculously die in peace.
Nice Girls Don’t Explode
German punk rock song incoming:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5VwgOIEhH8
Is Jacob the most mature part of the cast except for his brother? Because I kind of think so, especially now.
NOW I GET IT! Willis has put up a pedestal, named it Jacob and adds his insensitivity for “lady times” to it to show that a male role model should act like Jacob does! I agree completely and am happy to admit that the periods of my partner don’t faze me (even though she’s still weirded out by that fact).
I mean sure, bloody fluids are gross and I’m not going to touch, see or smell any of that more than necessary, but I’m not afraid of talking about it or going out of my way to deny the existence of periods like some “men” do.
His reaction to Joyce’s attempt to flee is perfect.
There’s a part of me that is expecting a big reveal that Harrison knew what was up all along, and started out just trying to see how far Jacob was willing to take things, but now honestly thinks them a good fit.
I like it. It opens up a whole new area for commenters to argue about, i.e. how bad a person Harrison is.
And then Jaime will stick smile and coo and we’ll all discuss the reasons that they’re a terrible baby.
oops, accidentally added a word
y’know, I had never found a voice for Jacob in all the times he’s appeared until today.
That last panel, for some reason, I read in Wasabi’s voice from Big Hero Six, & I can’t shake it now.