Fanatical Dabbler
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Correct. Strike "SA", replace with "RF".
Kinda hard to get a read on people in this arc
So far, the only one in this arc right here on the up and up is Harrison. And even then, he's shown to be not mister perfect like Jacob and Raidah made him out to be. He's just a Nice Guy. And he's right in what he said. It's good to have plans, but sometimes, life throws a curve ball and shit happens.
Jacob meanwhile... I'm a little concerned about that first panel. The way he phrased it as "You tell my brother you have a major." makes it seem like he's trying to force her to say something. He's desperate to conform to this "checklist" he made up because he wanted to be like Harrison, and I feel he only went along with this because, well, he's ashamed of Raidah. Raidah he likely thinks doesn't fit the checklist or Harrison wouldn't approve of, so he probably only went along with Joyce's lie for the sake of making Harrison be proud of him. When really, Harrison probably would've only had an issue if Raidah was bad for Jacob, and I mean more like she was emotionally abusive or controlling of him. I fear Jacob will come to see Harrison as a Broken Pedestal after this.
And Joyce... well, I already said my thing on Joyce last strip. Though it is interesting to add on that she averted her crisis and would still want to be a teacher. And then Fridge Brilliance kicks in. She's the way she is because of her upbringing. She still wants to be a teacher so she could make sure no one else turns out like she did.
Edited by RebelFalcon on Oct 3rd 2019 at 3:30:08 PM
Vegeta: I'm back bitches!
Professional Complainer
Building on that I wonder if Jacob's need to have Joyce prove herself to his brother is indicative of him considering her as an actual partner.
My reading here was that Jacob recognised that Joyce was kind of ashamed of her major in this context, and he wanted to push that her studying elementry education d him dating someone studying that isn't something to be ashamed of.
I somehow found Willis's Mastodon account and there's a lot of stuff about sharing Transformers with his kids on it, and it occurs to me that by going back to college based stories, I don't think he's really had the opportunity to do much about the experience of multigenerational fandom.
Fresh-eyed movie blog
C-E-O-3, H-N-I-C
Bring me a bucket, and I'll show you a bucket.
.....what?
I'm Charlie Owens, good night and good luck. PSNID: CEOIII 1117
Yes, please, it's about time for you to call her out on this, Jacob.
If he's gonna read her the Riot Act, then someone needs to read him it too. I know Joyce needs to be called out so she can grow, but he's in no position to take the Moral High Ground. He could've stopped this at any point but went along with it to impress Harrison, and based on last page with him trying to make Joyce say something, he only went along with it for the sake of impressing him. I may hate Raidah, but he still engaged in this behind her back too and was ultimately using Joyce just as much as she was using him.
They both need to be read the riot act.
Vegeta: I'm back bitches!
C-E-O-3, H-N-I-C
Well, there you are, someone read Jacob the riot act.
Kinda.
I'm Charlie Owens, good night and good luck. PSNID: CEOIII 1117This is merely phase 1 for both of them. They have now been confronted with what they've done wrong. The next step is ultimately what will determine that paths from here. Will they acknowledge what they did as wrong and possibly own up to it, or will they deny what they did as wrong and continue to dig their holes further?
Vegeta: I'm back bitches!
I`m stil a bit unsatisfied. Both of them have been called out, but only Jacob is considering it with any seriousness. Joyce just dodged the issue and threw blame at Jacob's feet instead. She's still avoiding her part of blame in this. She hasn't even apologized for the lie.
That's Dr. Title, thank you!
I somewhat like this development, since the "marking off a checklist" talk from Jacob gives my crack Jacob-Joe ship some hope of actually appearing in canon.
(To explain my logic: if Jacob is only dating people to fit a checklist he shares with a brother, then any items on that checklist can be wrong, including Jacob's seeming preference for a heterosexual relationship.)
The Wanderer
I would feel bad, but it's Mary, so I don't
Edited by rmctagg09 on Oct 5th 2019 at 12:58:29 PM
Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.
C-E-O-3, H-N-I-C
On the other hand, it's Malaya.
Also, WELCOME BACK HYDE! Haven't seen you since February, how's things?
I'm Charlie Owens, good night and good luck. PSNID: CEOIII 1117
Professional Complainer
I don't think Joyce throws it at his feet so much as somewhat selfishly trying to crib her way into girlfriend status. She shouldn't be asking him this, but she wants to know why Jacob has talked about her rather than his actual girlfriend because she sees her chance.
As for tonight's strip, look I know I'm supposed to hate Mary with the fiery intensity of a thousand suns, but it's not funny if she gets ripped on when she hasn't done anything yet. Have her say something mean before Malaya pops in like that at least.
Edited by RodimusMinor on Oct 5th 2019 at 2:19:43 PM
Mary apparently goes to art class and always draws in the same style. Malaya pointed this out last time the art teacher appeared too.
Yes! Let them kill each other! Rid us of both simultaneously!
Eh, I'd rather keep Malaya if only for Marcie and Fuckface. But yeah, let Mary die.
Vegeta: I'm back bitches!
Professional Complainer
What a monster.
Now I wonder if Malaya does that to her every art class.
Apropos of nothing, I've been listening to the sixth/last episode of The Last Podcast on the Left series on Mormonism. Where the first four episodes focused on Joseph Smith and the fifth on his successor, Brigham Young, the sixth focused on a pair of more modern day stories of crimes by Fundamentalist LDS and they really put Ross' behavior into a kind of perspective for me. In particular the first story about Ron and Dan Lafferty
. The short version is they were a pair of self-declared "Sovereign Citizens" who planned to kill four people on the orders of God who also just happened to be the people Ron blamed for his life taking a downturn and killed two of them, missed a third because she wasn't home, and never went after the fourth because they decided basically "fuck it" and went to Reno.
What it put into perspective for me was how, just like Ross, they genuinely did not believe society's rules applied to them and only God's wishes mattered, and God's wishes were basically telling them what they wanted to do anyway. If the show is accurate, this seems to be a thing with the FLDS in general. Maybe Fundamentalists in general, come to think of it.
It's a common thing whenever people put all their trust in a higher power. Look at how many people won't question their government telling them to kill Johnny Foreigner, or that ethnic minority in their country.
Time to knock down that pedestal, jacob
Edited by CountofBleck on Oct 1st 2019 at 12:55:37 PM