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[JoeCovenant]

Really, that's a hell of a long time to keep that storyline hanging...

Especially with NO apparent impact on the other major players in the strip.
(That said... we've only seen Joe, Danny and Becky so far - But even so...)

[BenRG]

It occurs to me that maybe (just maybe) Dorothy helped hush it up. She dragged Amber away and had Dina and maybe Joyce guard her until she came out of her psychotic episode. She then simply told the campus authorities that she found Ryan beaten to a pulp and cut to pieces with no idea who had done it. So, beyond Dorothy, Amber and Ryan, no-one knows what really happened on the steps that night.

[Neko_Ali]

Even still, there should be some mention that a student was found slashed up in front of one of the dorms. That's kind of the sort of thing that travels fast and isn't forgotten about after a few days.

[JoeCovenant]

Even still, there should be some mention that a student was found slashed up in front of one of the dorms. That's kind of the sort of thing that travels fast and isn't forgotten about after a few days.

  ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Whereas, I understand BenRG looking for explanations for this... personally, I can't see anything that smacks as realistically explaining the utter lack of reaction whatsoever.

I really hope I'm not disappointed with another "with one leap, spiderman was free!" resolution.

[sitnspin]

Or, we could reach the logical conclusion that Amber didn't kill him or leave him unable to extricate himself from the area.

[A Duck]

One scenario that I've thought of is that Joe may end up dating Joyce for a while and it will be an odd thing for him because he'll be in a relationship with a girl that, whilst he finds her attractive, he doesn't really desire. It will be a really weird relationship for him that will slowly just metamorphose into a serious platonic friendship and force him to re-evaluate how he sees women in general.

(click to show/hide)

I think that would be way too close to what happened with Walkyverse Joe for Willis to do it.
On the other hand Joe and Joyce do already seem to be friends, so who knows

[Kugai]

So, full or half Windsor ya think?

[JoeCovenant]

Or, we could reach the logical conclusion that Amber didn't kill him or leave him unable to extricate himself from the area.

I can't say I've really thought she *has* killed him.

But she wouldn't need to have done so for it to be MASSIVE, impacting news on campus, surely?

[sitnspin]

Refer to the section after the "or".

[JoeCovenant]

Refer to the section after the "or".

Hey! There's TWO 'or's there! Don't confuse an already confused bloke!! 

But either way, the outcome for Ryan is not the main issue.
The main issue is the psycho they've all been looking for for (however long) has shown up and attacked Amber and Dorothy.
And something BAD has happened.

But no-one seems to give a monkey's.

[sitnspin]

As I implied, that would require other people to know about it. There are any number of scenarios where that does happen. One example being Dorothy manages to stop Amber, thus allowing Douche MsScarface to get away.

[A Duck]

Given the blood we've seen and the fact she was holding his arm, I don't see him running away in any capacity.

That and Dorothy was mortified at what was happening, I don't think she would be able to react in time.

[JoeCovenant]

As I implied, that would require other people to know about it. There are any number of scenarios where that does happen. One example being Dorothy manages to stop Amber, thus allowing Douche MsScarface to get away.

Then who's blood was spraying into the air while Dorothy watched on horrified??


E.T.A: Auugh Ninja'd by A Duck! 

[sitnspin]

A little blood spray doesn't mean he can't walk away. I've walked away from plenty of fights where bleeding was involved.

[A Duck]

It probably wasn't just a bit of blood, he was being held by an almost supernaturally strong girl with severe PTSD, years worth of repressed anger AND a knife.

Oh well, we shall see eventually. If Willis allows us.

[Kugai]

As much as I'm enjoying this little storyline, especially with Becky and Leslie (Becky looks neat in a tie) Willis is really starting to frak me off

[Method of Madness]

Or, we could reach the logical conclusion that Amber didn't kill him or leave him unable to extricate himself from the area.

Or that she quickly and effectively hid the body.

[BenRG]

Joe's defensive anger is quite instructive. Remember that he more or less likes Joyce as a person yet he can't help but objectify her and react as if it is her wrongdoing to feel aggrieved. He either literally does not understand what he has done wrong or he thinks that the real wrong is to say that he has done wrong.

That said: If Joe has angered Joyce, then he's on thin ice indeed. She's a lot more forgiving than most. If she is angry with him then most other women probably want his head mounted on a pike in the middle of the reception hall!

[JoeCovenant]

A little blood spray doesn't mean he can't walk away. I've walked away from plenty of fights where bleeding was involved.

Still doesn't alter the fact that this is a major deal...
And of course, that's not even including the fact that there was a lot of distressed shouting going on...

The lack of reaction in any form to these apparent events simply makes my suspension of disbelief a little harder to keep to the fore.

In other words... it seems like a *building of tension* which has backfired.
People aren't being held in suspense here. They're getting miffed at the utter lack of relation in the current strips to the well paced arc immediately before it.

But nah.. lets just have more Ukeleles and flat caps humour...
Or what about some "Joe likes to have sex" humour.. that'll keep the forum busy... (Oh boy, doesn't it just!)

As a reader... I think Willis has misjudged the timing of this, and indeed even the content of strips, detailing what happened "three days later" after the event which (it seems) the entire strip has spent time leading up to.

[A Duck]

I just noticed Joyce's current outfit seems to be her original "It's Walky" outfit. Neat!

It's nice to see Joe's crap finally hitting the fan, but this whole thing would be much better if we didn't have that gigantic cliffhanger. I mean, not even hinting at what happened? Really?

[cesium133]

Speculation: what if it was Amber/Amazi-Girl that released the list? 

[sitnspin]

A little blood spray doesn't mean he can't walk away. I've walked away from plenty of fights where bleeding was involved.

Still doesn't alter the fact that this is a major deal...

Again, it's only a "major deal" if anyone other than the three of them even know it happened. No one can react to events they don't know occurred.

[Kugai]

Joe, you really can be an utter prick sometimes.

[Welu]

Out there no sleep speculation: Maybe Dorothy leaked the list to give everyone a distraction. If the knife is known about, the list would be a distraction from the trauma. More likely if it's not known about, the distraction could buy some time and space to deal with the situation.

I doubt this is it but it popped into my brain.

[BenRG]

Okay, I'm taking today's strip as meaning that Joe has real feelings for Joyce. Not necessarily romantic feelings but feelings; likely growing friendship. Joe realised that he is growing closer emotionally with a woman whom he once found sexually desirable enough to date (he rarely goes to such lengths to trap his prey). Given his aversion to romantic relationships, I can imagine that lead to a very strong fear reaction.

As always seems to happen, fear led to anger and resentment. Lacking emotional maturity, Joe's reaction was to lash out at Joyce in a passive-aggressive way by editing his 'review' of her into a flaming put-down.

However, Joyce has ripped off his mask just by way of asking the right question. Joe once again proves just how young he is emotionally by running away from something that he desperately does not want to confront.

To further elaborate: I suspect that Joe’s laptop has a three- or four-page draft ‘in-depth review’ of Joyce that he wrote but never posted on the feed because it horrified him. It began to lapse into sappy poetry about her beauty (inner and outer) and rated her as "10+ Snap this up and keep it before someone else does!"

When he realised what he’d done, he had a panic attack and responded by publishing a flame about her instead. He’s still got the review, though. He’s been elaborating on it by adding photos of her in candid moments and even a sound-track of some sort. It’s become his guilty addiction to just sit there at night and once again read through the review.

Yes, I’m saying that the ‘Zero-minus’ thing represents a fear reaction and a wall of denial.

[JoeCovenant]

Joe, you really can be an utter prick sometimes.

HEY!!!!!!!!!

... Oh... Wait...

 

[JoeCovenant]

Okay, I'm taking today's strip as meaning that Joe has real feelings for Joyce. Not necessarily romantic feelings but feelings; likely growing friendship. Joe realised that he is growing closer emotionally with a woman whom he once found sexually desirable enough to date (he rarely goes to such lengths to trap his prey). Given his aversion to romantic relationships, I can imagine that lead to a very strong fear reaction.

As always seems to happen, fear led to anger and resentment. Lacking emotional maturity, Joe's reaction was to lash out at Joyce in a passive-aggressive way by editing his 'review' of her into a flaming put-down.

However, Joyce has ripped off his mask just by way of asking the right question. Joe once again proves just how young he is emotionally by running away from something that he desperately does not want to confront.

To further elaborate: I suspect that Joe’s laptop has a three- or four-page draft ‘in-depth review’ of Joyce that he wrote but never posted on the feed because it horrified him. It began to lapse into sappy poetry about her beauty (inner and outer) and rated her as "10+ Snap this up and keep it before someone else does!"

When he realised what he’d done, he had a panic attack and responded by publishing a flame about her instead. He’s still got the review, though. He’s been elaborating on it by adding photos of her in candid moments and even a sound-track of some sort. It’s become his guilty addiction to just sit there at night and once again read through the review.

Yes, I’m saying that the ‘Zero-minus’ thing represents a fear reaction and a wall of denial.

I've thought this for a while.
Posted as such on the DoA boards, but few seem to go with it.

Joe *likes* Dorothy. Like... he *really* likes her.
And it's possible he may have Zero minus'ed her to shift the focus of all the horn dogs, whom he apparently keeps this list for, away from her.
("Yeah... sure... Zero minus... don't even THINK about this one... pointless... move along... "swipe right" (or whatever you young 'uns say these days!)

At heart, he's an immature horn-dog himself... but I think Joyce has made him see girls (or - at least HER), maybe for the first time, as something else other than receptacles.

[JoeCovenant]

A little blood spray doesn't mean he can't walk away. I've walked away from plenty of fights where bleeding was involved.

Still doesn't alter the fact that this is a major deal...

Again, it's only a "major deal" if anyone other than the three of them even know it happened. No one can react to events they don't know occurred.

Yes... precisely.

And it's *that* that I find unbelievable - given where it happened.
And if it proves that this *is* the case...well... that'll be another "Damn you , Willis!" moment... but for different reasons than usual.
(One similar to the "Deus Ex Machina of Spookybot" arc, here... an easy 'out' for an otherwise very dramatic scenario.)

Although none of this explains Joyce's sudden "out on her own"-ness. Which again, if no-one knows what's happened, is a bit too synchronicitous for comfort.  (That's a word, yeah??    )

[A Duck]

"It's Walky" spoilers

(click to show/hide)

Ok, I changed my mind, Willis seems to be doing something similar to what happened with Walkyverse Joe. In that case, Joyce was also the first one for who he had real feelings for

Joyce seems to be acting strangely...calm about the whole thing? I wonder if something happened. Regardless, I'm sure Joyce was the only "10" in Joe's list before he caught feelings for her.

[bhtooefr]

Regardless, I'm sure Joyce was the only "10" in Joe's list before he caught feelings for her.

Canonically, she was a four, but Joe "breaking her in" would upgrade her to a ten: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/03-men-are-from-beck-women-are-from-clark/corrupt/

[cesium133]

A little blood spray doesn't mean he can't walk away. I've walked away from plenty of fights where bleeding was involved.

Still doesn't alter the fact that this is a major deal...

Again, it's only a "major deal" if anyone other than the three of them even know it happened. No one can react to events they don't know occurred.

Yes... precisely.

And it's *that* that I find unbelievable - given where it happened.
And if it proves that this *is* the case...well... that'll be another "Damn you , Willis!" moment... but for different reasons than usual.
(One similar to the "Deus Ex Machina of Spookybot" arc, here... an easy 'out' for an otherwise very dramatic scenario.)

Although none of this explains Joyce's sudden "out on her own"-ness. Which again, if no-one knows what's happened, is a bit too synchronicitous for comfort.  (That's a word, yeah??    )

It does seem to be a hint at what happened. It's the first time that Joyce has been outside by herself without a panic attack since the incident with Ryan. It suggests she knows what happened, and that whatever happened put Ryan out of commission for good (not necessarily dead, but at least bad enough that he's not coming back for revenge).

[A Duck]

It does seem to be a hint at what happened. It's the first time that Joyce has been outside by herself without a panic attack since the incident with Ryan. It suggests she knows what happened, and that whatever happened put Ryan out of commission for good (not necessarily dead, but at least bad enough that he's not coming back for revenge).

Holy crap, I hadn't thought of that. Considering how she was before, I think you might be right and Ryan might be out for good.

Dunno,something about how Joyce is carrying herself seems very different.

[BenRG]

Yeah, Joyce's behaviour is subtly different from her normal character, isn't it? Maybe because Joe is her friend, she feels that it is her responsibility to find out what is going on, what he thinks he's doing and what he really thinks of her. I've noticed that she can switch to 'mature adult', someone jarringly different from the usual happy-go-lucky triangular-smiled Joyce we usually see, when she thinks that the chips are really down.

I just want to add that I love the dramatic way Willis draws the wind catching Joyce's hair in panels 3 & 4. She's very much the romantic and heroic protagonist in that moment, isn't she?

Completely Out-of-the-Park Mock-Speculation:

(click to show/hide)

That isn't DoA Joyce at all but Walkyverse!Joyce, the adult woman who has lived through a secret war against aliens and extra-dimensional meddlers, seen dozens of her friends mown down in battle, has been married to Walky for years and is the mother to a growing son. That's why she's wearing clothes so similar to her superhero costume. Joyce desperately needed someone stronger to handle this situation for her and her alternate-timeline self picked up on her call. She then arranged with Walky (who happens to be at least one version of The Big Cheese) to do a psyche-swap for the day.

Literally a deus ex machina... Although you can't help but shudder at the thought of one dimension's deus being David Walkerton.

[JoeCovenant]

A little blood spray doesn't mean he can't walk away. I've walked away from plenty of fights where bleeding was involved.

Still doesn't alter the fact that this is a major deal...

Again, it's only a "major deal" if anyone other than the three of them even know it happened. No one can react to events they don't know occurred.

Yes... precisely.

And it's *that* that I find unbelievable - given where it happened.
And if it proves that this *is* the case...well... that'll be another "Damn you , Willis!" moment... but for different reasons than usual.
(One similar to the "Deus Ex Machina of Spookybot" arc, here... an easy 'out' for an otherwise very dramatic scenario.)

Although none of this explains Joyce's sudden "out on her own"-ness. Which again, if no-one knows what's happened, is a bit too synchronicitous for comfort.  (That's a word, yeah??    )

It does seem to be a hint at what happened. It's the first time that Joyce has been outside by herself without a panic attack since the incident with Ryan. It suggests she knows what happened, and that whatever happened put Ryan out of commission for good (not necessarily dead, but at least bad enough that he's not coming back for revenge).

I knew I wasn't alone in this !!! 

[Kugai]

*Sings*   South  of the boarder, down Mexico way .........

[Kugai]

Our first hint of the aftermath

[A Duck]

Well, now we know something happened.

From what Joyce said, I'm betting Amber was taken in by the police. I'm gonna guess she's in care for her trauma by now. This also explains why Danny is acting off.

[Kugai]

Becky, the youngest Congresswoman in history??!

[BenRG]

Becky, the youngest Congresswoman in history??!

Only through deception and largely by accident... Which, when you think about it is more-or-less how any politician gets their start.

[Kugai]

So, the big question is  is whose Mindy

And is she destined to be important to Becky




Or not

[JoeCovenant]

So, the big question is  is whose Mindy
And is she destined to be important to Becky
Or not

I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say Becky will suddenly realise this woman might actually be being a little flirty... and then remember her *quest* to get a date for Leslie...

(Lesbians seem to be coming out of the woodwork in DoA recently!)   

[A Duck]

After Shortpacked and this far into DoA, I'm pretty sure everything Willis does is Lesbians. Even the male characters.

[Method of Madness]

Especially the male characters. No, that wasn't supposed to make sense.

[Kugai]

So,  Willis is a Closet Lesbian???!

[Method of Madness]

Booo, the nice one is dating the terrible one.

[bhtooefr]

Oh god, that pun.

[BenRG]

Booo, the nice one is dating the terrible one.

I've got the feeling that Anna and Mindy's role in the strip will be to give Becky a lesson in how hetrosexual and homosexual relationships can both turn out to be bad in very similar ways (something that I bet she hadn't realised yet).

At this point, I'm thinking that there's about a 20% chance of Mindy having a brief and ill-advised affair with Leslie (for which Becky would have at least some responsibility). It just feels like Willis is going in that direction to me.

[A Duck]

What did I say? Everything is lesbians.

Every. Thing.

Also, is this "Anna" Renee's cross dimensional counterpart? They look similar and seem to have similar attitudes.

[Kugai]

Three strips in and I already wanna shove Anna out the nearest Airlock without a suit.

[BenRG]

Also, is this "Anna" Renee's cross dimensional counterpart? They look similar and seem to have similar attitudes.

Willis and Jeph are friends; they may have collaborated on character design. I'm serious.