Okay but consider: If a dimension-invading alien had possessed Dorothy and punching her was the only way to get him out, would Joyce be able to do it then for the sake of Dorothy? Or would she have to delegate this task to Sal or AmbG or someone?
I think so. The thing about possessing someone -about making them a prisoner in their own mind while you puppeteer their body for sinister purposes- is that it’s likely to make people who care about that person a little pissed at you
So I think Joyce would absolutely be able to pummel the monster wearing her friend’s skin until it gave back her friend
(Presuming that we’re talking about the DoA versions here)
I think the only thing that could potentially hold her back in that scenario is the fear of killing Dorothy in the process.
Otherwise– well, when people she cares about are in danger there’s basically nothing Joyce wouldn’t do. Becky had to physically restrain her from beating Ross into a bloody pulp while he was down. And even after that, she thought about trying to hire a guard to assassinate him in his cell, so that Becky would never have to worry about him again. Or the fact that she reacted to Amber taking a knife to Ryan’s face by telling her that she didn’t go far enough and should have killed him.
Since the commentary said ‘Joyce would never’ without any prefix, yeah, DoA versions. Walkyverse Dorothy’s the less important one anyway.
The issue with both cases, of course, is that neither Ross nor Ryan was inhabiting the body of someone she loved dearly. They were both themselves, and while Joyce did care about Ross, picking Becky over him wasn’t even a contest, he’s Becky’s Dad to her. So I can see her being willing to punch a Head Alien out of Dorothy, but I suspect she’d be holding back A LOT because she wouldn’t want to hurt Dorothy more than absolutely necessary. Under which circumstances, someone who’s not AS close to Dorothy but still obviously cares about minimizing harm to her and wants her un-bodyjacked might be the better choice. (Also, AmbG is a trained martial artist and Sal clearly knows way more about the physics and tactics of fighting than Joyce does, possible formal training or no.)
I had kinda hoped that, once Head Alien was in full control, the inevitable rematch between Joyce and posessed-Dorothy would seem less wrong. For all intents and purposes, Head Alien is the villain here. Dorothy’s a helpless prisoner.
…but no, despite the fact that she’s fighting her long-term arch-nemesis, the asshole who’s been traumatizing her since childhood, all of Joyce’s barbs are directed at Dorothy in this scene. Dorothy, who is as much a victim as anyone else here is, whose life Head Alien II tore to shreds to manipulate her. There’s really no other way to interpret the line about “beating the crap out of the other potential suitors.”
And… I kinda hate it. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’m fully aware that starting with Dumbing of Age has biased me in that regard, but… well, I can’t help that. The way that Walkyverse Joyce treats virtually every other woman she knows as a romantic threat is one of my least favorite things about her, and jettisoning that was one of the single best changes that DoA made. All this strip is doing is making me wish for a version of this story that takes place in a universe where Joyce and Dorothy are actually friends, since at least then having to fight someone possessing Dorothy would actually be a source of emotional turmoil for her.
To be fairer, Walkyverse Joyce has been the punch-bag of emotional manipulation by HA so many times that she’s learned to overcome it by just channeling rage to her fists and tongue.
Honestly, considering how much I liked Joyce in “It’s Walky”, I was shocked by how utterly unlikable I found her at pretty much every single stage of Joyce&Walky. Not just for how she treats Dorothy, but also for how she treats Sal, Walky, everyone.
I read the Walkyverse (except these paid strips) before DoA, but I agree that Joyce, Dorothy, and a lot of other characters are kinda better people in the DoA universe than in this one. There’s a few characters who I think are actually better in the Walkyverse though.
While I see your point Joyce does not have the reader’s semi-omniscient point of view, which means you are judging her actions based in information she does not have. Joyce has no knowledge of Dorothy’s backstory or motivations. Joyce has no reason to believe Dorothy is a real person given the recent revelation of fake Rachel. Joyce also has every reason to view Dorothy as just another threat deserving a punch in the face even if Head Alien hadn’t revealed himself.
This is a really good point. For all Joyce knows Dorothy was secretly HA the whole time they’ve know her, or she willingly gave up her body to HA for the purpose of killing Joyce. On top of that, she’s not just viewing every female as a romantic rival, Dorothy has actively positioned herself as a romantic rival at every opportunity. Dorothy is nowhere near blameless in this situation. Yes she was manipulated, but she also did things that were actively immoral because she wanted to be with Walky.
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better than beating HERSELF up amirite??
It’s just the one Suitor actually
Gee, I would have thought Billie would do the dealing…
Take that, NERD
Joyce, Ranma is fiction. You do know that, right?
Well she has changed sex a couple of times.
Odysseus SMASH
That’s brutal, jeez
But she did kill herself once, so i think this is within reasonable standards
Okay but consider: If a dimension-invading alien had possessed Dorothy and punching her was the only way to get him out, would Joyce be able to do it then for the sake of Dorothy? Or would she have to delegate this task to Sal or AmbG or someone?
I think so. The thing about possessing someone -about making them a prisoner in their own mind while you puppeteer their body for sinister purposes- is that it’s likely to make people who care about that person a little pissed at you
So I think Joyce would absolutely be able to pummel the monster wearing her friend’s skin until it gave back her friend
(Presuming that we’re talking about the DoA versions here)
I think the only thing that could potentially hold her back in that scenario is the fear of killing Dorothy in the process.
Otherwise– well, when people she cares about are in danger there’s basically nothing Joyce wouldn’t do. Becky had to physically restrain her from beating Ross into a bloody pulp while he was down. And even after that, she thought about trying to hire a guard to assassinate him in his cell, so that Becky would never have to worry about him again. Or the fact that she reacted to Amber taking a knife to Ryan’s face by telling her that she didn’t go far enough and should have killed him.
Since the commentary said ‘Joyce would never’ without any prefix, yeah, DoA versions. Walkyverse Dorothy’s the less important one anyway.
The issue with both cases, of course, is that neither Ross nor Ryan was inhabiting the body of someone she loved dearly. They were both themselves, and while Joyce did care about Ross, picking Becky over him wasn’t even a contest, he’s Becky’s Dad to her. So I can see her being willing to punch a Head Alien out of Dorothy, but I suspect she’d be holding back A LOT because she wouldn’t want to hurt Dorothy more than absolutely necessary. Under which circumstances, someone who’s not AS close to Dorothy but still obviously cares about minimizing harm to her and wants her un-bodyjacked might be the better choice. (Also, AmbG is a trained martial artist and Sal clearly knows way more about the physics and tactics of fighting than Joyce does, possible formal training or no.)
…yeah, I’m still not a fan of this.
I had kinda hoped that, once Head Alien was in full control, the inevitable rematch between Joyce and posessed-Dorothy would seem less wrong. For all intents and purposes, Head Alien is the villain here. Dorothy’s a helpless prisoner.
…but no, despite the fact that she’s fighting her long-term arch-nemesis, the asshole who’s been traumatizing her since childhood, all of Joyce’s barbs are directed at Dorothy in this scene. Dorothy, who is as much a victim as anyone else here is, whose life Head Alien II tore to shreds to manipulate her. There’s really no other way to interpret the line about “beating the crap out of the other potential suitors.”
And… I kinda hate it. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’m fully aware that starting with Dumbing of Age has biased me in that regard, but… well, I can’t help that. The way that Walkyverse Joyce treats virtually every other woman she knows as a romantic threat is one of my least favorite things about her, and jettisoning that was one of the single best changes that DoA made. All this strip is doing is making me wish for a version of this story that takes place in a universe where Joyce and Dorothy are actually friends, since at least then having to fight someone possessing Dorothy would actually be a source of emotional turmoil for her.
To be fair Dorothy did seem like she attempted to kidnap Walky earlier.
To be fairer, Walkyverse Joyce has been the punch-bag of emotional manipulation by HA so many times that she’s learned to overcome it by just channeling rage to her fists and tongue.
Honestly, considering how much I liked Joyce in “It’s Walky”, I was shocked by how utterly unlikable I found her at pretty much every single stage of Joyce&Walky. Not just for how she treats Dorothy, but also for how she treats Sal, Walky, everyone.
I read the Walkyverse (except these paid strips) before DoA, but I agree that Joyce, Dorothy, and a lot of other characters are kinda better people in the DoA universe than in this one. There’s a few characters who I think are actually better in the Walkyverse though.
While I see your point Joyce does not have the reader’s semi-omniscient point of view, which means you are judging her actions based in information she does not have. Joyce has no knowledge of Dorothy’s backstory or motivations. Joyce has no reason to believe Dorothy is a real person given the recent revelation of fake Rachel. Joyce also has every reason to view Dorothy as just another threat deserving a punch in the face even if Head Alien hadn’t revealed himself.
This is a really good point. For all Joyce knows Dorothy was secretly HA the whole time they’ve know her, or she willingly gave up her body to HA for the purpose of killing Joyce. On top of that, she’s not just viewing every female as a romantic rival, Dorothy has actively positioned herself as a romantic rival at every opportunity. Dorothy is nowhere near blameless in this situation. Yes she was manipulated, but she also did things that were actively immoral because she wanted to be with Walky.
That’s her
dadHead-Alien-Dorothy punchin’ arm.I still wouldn’t think HA knows how to fight.
The aliens are both suitors and helmetors.