1153 You’re Never There.

by

The comments for the last page were interesting to read. It’s always neat when people share their experiences by way of opinion. The level of civility is also impressive. It’s almost like we aren’t even on the internet. A few people have even come close to what I think the whole point of this story is. I hate to just spell it out though. Oh, I want to, but I’m using all my determination not to.

I’m thinking about altering one relatively inconsequential point. I haven’t for sure decided, but I feel like maybe Dawn’s husband should be an elementary school teacher or something, rather than a professor. I actually went back and forth on that point a few times while working out their backstory. I settled on the one because I felt like it made him more impressive. The more I think about it though the more it seems like he’d be a regular teacher. Just thought I’d bring it up so no one thinks they are going insane if I do change it. Also I don’t want Jess, or anybody, running in to him as they study.

Anyway, this particular interaction, or bits of it, was originally between Thomas and Dawn. It got edited several times because he had sort of already come to see the end of their relationship from Dawn’s perspective even before talking with Carol. He references it even in the first chapter with a tone of the blame shifting to himself rather than just her. A couple of people picked up on that. Maybe they have long memories too, or just reread the archives. X3 In any event, it seemed like he’d be taking a step backwards that would have been out of character, whereas Nina sees things from a different perspective and perhaps dislikes Dawn a lot more than she let on. It all sounded a lot more right, if not just, coming from her.

I couldn’t leave this interaction out because it’s basically Dawn’s only chance to present her perspective. As much as she hurt Thomas with her actions he absolutely did the same with his inaction. The argument could certainly be made that Thomas forced this outcome, but the reality would likely still be someplace in between.

104 Comments

Ok, long time reader, first time commenter. I was tempted to chime in the last few days thanks to the whole Dawn/Nina confrontation but this last panel had me livid. As well as the middle panel to be frank, but the last line trumps the “give him a chance” part…barely.

I understand what her intentions were, that Thomas and her would have been going to the same school and living out their dreams and all that good shit and the break-up would probably have never happened. Or at best, would have been delayed until much later on.

But that’s not what pisses me off, not exactly.

“He was supposed to come with me”?

It hasn’t been established yet, and maybe we’ll learn in the next few days, but how in the High Holy Hells was that supposed to happen? Did Dawn ever make her plans/intentions apparent to Thomas? Did she ever explicitly state “Hey Thomas let’s go down to Texas together for our education”? Could Thomas even freaking AFFORD TO GO TO AN OUT-OF-STATE SCHOOL?! DID SHE SERIOUSLY THINK THAT IT WOULD ALL BE THAT EASY?!

Maybe Thomas could earn some scholarships, maybe he could have earned grants and financial aid and all that good crap. But from the way she’s acted so far, I doubt these things ever crossed her mind.

People like that really don’t put into their heads the concept of what someone else has to do to get to the same level… honestly the whole idea that life is a marthon and not a race is pretty much lost to them. The thing I find so funny is Thomas is responsible for her recent “success”.

Truth is humility and grace are two things that are shown by those who have seen the world and know how small they really are.

Now all we need is for Carol to show up and insist with her usual charm that Dawn should leave for making too much noise… lol

I can respect a long time reader, first time commenter, as not long ago I was one myself.

:: runs a hand through her hair :: Being a female, I am trying to see where she is coming from, but honestly, I have never understood this kind of reasoning from others of my species (the word species being chosen carefully). I have dated a man whom I loved very much and refused to grow. However I did everything in my power to help him, and in the end it didn’t work because he listened to his parents and agreed with them that I was being overbearing and controlling in suggesting he try to move out and start his own life instead of continue taking their abuse.

Obviously, that situation is much different than Dawn and Thomas. That situation was hard for me. It was very hard when, a few months later, he told me the abuse had gotten worse and if I didn’t take him back he would kill himself, and there was little I could do. I had moved on; I had thought I had little choice. For Dawn here, it seems, the choice was easier. From my standpoint, she played a mind game. She hoped if she “pretended” to move on, to date others, to go to college, that he would see how well she was doing and do the same. I doubt that much like many before her, she never mentioned this glorious plan to him and it backfired. Either she transcended the mask, or she’s been wearing a good cover up for years, but she’s married and pregnant and there’s no getting around that.

Basically what we’re hearing now, I think, is she thought she had a good idea. She did what lots of people do and try to play cards based on what you think they’ll do. However, speed chess like that rarely works in real life. You’re right; she considered none of this. All she considered was what she wanted and, sure it would work, played out her game telling Thomas none of this.

Do we see regret here? I think so. A damn shame too, considering how far she’s gone into this life she’s made for herself. But I also see a failure to admit she’s been wrong, and that carrying over into thinking it must be all his fault.

I also think there’s a chance this conversation with Nina could make her re-evaluate some choices she made in her life, but honestly, having lived and learned the hard way myself… mostly I’m just thinking, “Girl you need to chill before you overstress that baby”

Dawn may have been playing “hard to get”. Going off somewhere far away as a way to induce Thomas to follow.

There’s two ways to play hard to get that I am aware of.

The classic way is like the medieval fantasy tales. The damsel sets challenges for the knight who seeks her interest and communicates them to him. If he feels the challenges are too hard, he can opt out and seek more accepting options.

The passive-aggressive way, on the other hand, is to set challenges for the suitor, not communicate them, and be upset when he fails. More advanced versions have her actually tell him that she’s not interested in him that way, so that she can be certain that the guy she eventually gets doesn’t respect her.

I’m starting to see that there are definitely two sides to this, although I’m still feeling that Thomas was in the right more than her based on her relative attitude, which Nina is expressing in words so well I don’t feel it needs to be repeated.

I’d agree with you. My sympathy lies with Thomas, but I’m gonna play devil’s advocate and argue Dawn’s side.
It sounds to me like their relationship was one of those really intense teenage ones, with the viewpoint of we’ll-be-together-forever, without the responsibility to handle it. Thomas has already said as much, but I think Dawn must have felt that way as well. It’s hard to get to that level of intensity without it being mutually intense and Thomas is cautious and considering with who he dates and who he befriends.
So, a) The relationship was really intense.
b) It suddenly turned to long-distance.
It’s hard to be intense over long distance. Everything is harder long distance. Dawn is in a new place, on her own for the first time, getting new friends, new experiences. As someone who went out of state to college, I can testify that it is a lot of new all at once, and that it’s hard to keep in contact with old friends. I can imagine it would be very difficult to figure out how to integrate a boyfriend who lives back home.
So, c) The new is consuming and isn’t very compatible with the old.
So, Dawn and Thomas can’t be as intense as they were back home.
Therefore d) Dawn feels like her relationship with Thomas is lacking from what it was before.
Then Dawn meets new guy, who fits into new realm of existence.
I’m guessing she didn’t really need to know how to handle the whole thing, so she just stopped handling it.

Not necessarily the best thing to do, but I can understand how it happened. Dawn really could be nicer about it now though. *Quotes Nina.*

actually…crazy thought. What if Dawn actually did ask Thomas. Not even in half-measures, just straight up asked him to go with her to this new life. What if she had made plans with him, set it up so that they both could transition together…then he didn’t. Maybe he got cold feet and just…stayed behind. She wouldn’t be able to “go back” at that point…she’d be basically abandoned.

That would mean that she would have had reason to dislike his lack of action. This would have created a rift in an otherwise strong relationship. That would make Dawn’s attitude understandable, since every time she sees Thomas’s “life” and other such signs of his inaction, it draws back the painful memories of a good relationship turned bad when he abandoned her. It implies that she isn’t looking down on Thomas’s life as much as it is reminding her of a wounding incident.

Aaaand if Dawn never came out and said ‘This is what I want.’ then she was game-playing. Writing the script to her life without giving him a copy and then getting mad because he didn’t know his lines or his cue. Not cool

Not that I agree with or condone game-playing, because I don’t. I hate it, and I hate the fact that girls do it, it’s stupid.

And I hate the fact that I even find myself doing it from time to time.

It’s a girl thing. Particularly a teenage girl thing, but some (okay, many) never grow out of it. Because we (at least I) never realize we’re doing it. I honestly don’t. And then my boyfriend calls me out on it, and I’m like, wow. Yeah, I did just say that, didn’t I? Whoops. I think, to an extent, it’s programmed into our minds, whether by nature or by nurture I haven’t decided, or perhaps both.

All of that said, at this point Dawn should have grown out of it. Or at least figured out the 20/20 hindsight thing. Whereas I’m 20 and still in college and still growing up and whatnot, she’s an adult (at least, supposedly), so before she gets all up in arms about Thomas being the immature one, maybe Nina should hand that lady a mirror.

I dislike this side of Dawn more, I get there is suppose to sides, and heck I stood up for her last time but now..

When I joined the millitary I told my boyfriend I understood if he wanted to break up with me. I tried to get him to understand I was going active and would most likely not be stationed close to home, a place where he grew up. He made the choice to ask me to marry him, and then to follow me. I never expected him to follow, even gave him the chance to stay back in Ohio until my contract was up (geologic bachelor or something.) after we were married.

The fact that she assumes he’d follow is beyond my capability. How can you decide for someone if they should move from their home, their family, and friends? I don’t like Thomad to much but I hate the fact that she thinks this is a wake up.

I get she wanted him to follow and that now after everything she wants to be friends.
Issue is she’s taking none of the blame and saying this is good for him, it’s his wake up.. It seems like she needs one too.

And Nina is just the person to provide that wake up.

Despite the fact that Dawn is pregnant, I sort of want to to see Nina give her a wake-up slap. Never cool to hit a pregnant lady I know, but pregnancy does not excuse how much of a hypocritical brat she’s acting like. Well, maybe she’ll reappear in the story after she has said baby and Nina can give her a good smack after…

Oh Crave, why must you do this to me?

I still stand by my opinion from yesterday (that being Dawn is a child with a grown-up body who thinks that her successes are more important than Thomas’s), however this whole “He was supposed to come with me” thing spins all sorts of other possibilities, ones that could change my previous opinion. We’ve only seen Thomas’s side of the whole “pre-college” part of this. People are going on about how she never asked, but what if she did? What if she had said something to him (keep in mind that before she left she was the one person on the earth besides maybe Nina that knew the true and real Thomas), and expected him to go because she knew what he was potentially capable of? Then it becomes both of their faults, as both of them grow up to have serious personal flaws (she’s a ruthless stuck up bitch, and he’s definitely some kind of asshole).

What I’m trying to say is I’m not too sure how I’m going decide who I agree with, and I may end up calling them both idiots and running into Jo’s arms for comfort. All I can hope for is that you shed just a tiiiiny bit more light on Dawn’s side of this story.

I get what she means. For her, it was time to move on to the next stage and she was fully prepared to move into that stage WITH Thomas, but when Thomas’ lack of motivation kept him from stepping forward into his “potential” she made the decision to move on without him. Maybe there were other reasons why he couldn’t move on, but she still had to do it. You can’t just let life go by, you have to go out and get the things you want.

I’m a lot like Thomas, working retail despite the fact I should have gone on to better things. I know my potential is much more than I’ve achieved and it grates on me to be here. There was a girl that perhaps if I’d been more mature…

Well, yes, but the way she says it, she expected her life to go a certain way, regardless of what the other people involved wanted. Maybe Thomas couldn’t afford an out of state school, or maybe he just wasn’t ready for that. It just seems kind of petulant…

This is may seem unrelated to what others have brought up, but I think that Dawn may want to keep her voice down with Nina, if only to not spur Thomas into further anger and making him call in that assault charge from a few chapters back. I’m sorry, but my opinion of Dawn’s “adulthood” was decided when she hit Thomas hard enough for it to hurt. I don’t care what type of relationship they used to have, doing that to someone you haven’t seen or spoken to for years marks a clear lack of understanding of how the adult world works.

“As much as she hurt Thomas with her actions he absolutely did the same with his inaction.”

Oh for fuck’s sake, I’ve seen a girl using that argument when she left my best friend for two or three months to “rethink things” before she officially broke up with him after a five years relationship. Two or three months where she wanted to keep acting as if nothing was bad was happening and they could act like just friends. The day they officially broke up she protested that during those months “he didn’t fight to gain her back”. Later on I heard her saying she had already decided she would break up with him way before that. In short, I’m not buying that crap.

Just as I thought. Dawn had big plans but didn’t tell Thomas his part in them.

I can help you out on the problem with Dawns Husband. I have a friend who teaches High School political science and is a collage professor as well. I was all impressed with his professorship till I found out it was an online course. He admits it freely cause he’s just not a dick that way, but I could see Dawn introducing her husband as a professor to impress people while leaving off the fact his primary job consists of grading paper done in crayon.

Hopr this helps!!!

A very interesting idea.

Several of my best professors where high-school teachers who did some college teaching on the side.

That totally works because I can definitely see Dawn talking it up to Thomas to impress him with her life, even though maybe she really doesn’t enjoy her life all that much….

A lot of community colleges offer to host any person who wants to teach and is in the applicable field of study.

As long as there are people willing to pay to learn, people willing to teach, and the college gets its cut…

“It’s all supposed to be about me!!!!” I mean, come on; “give him a chance to be part of my life again”? How arrogant and self-centered must you be to consider “being part of your life” as some sort of divine blessing he should be happy to have? And, ultimately, why should he have gone with her, when she winds up back in the same town? So he too could have become an unpopular author with a presumably useless degree in literature or something? And also, she’ll move into this town for her husband, but dumped Thomas for wanting that same thing? It’s pretty clear who she prioritizes. Then again, the fact that she still says, now, that she would have spent the rest of her life with Thomas…I don’t think SHE is over him. Is this new guy just the replacement model, because he’s more malleable? I see alot of people say Thomas is an ass, but by and large, I see him getting jobs for his friends, looking out for people, even shelling out cash to secretely bail out the ex he’s furious at but can’t bring himself to hate (or he does hate her and is still too nice to watch her hope’s sink). No, THIS person is an ass, the person who thinks her presence is a gift from heaven and resents Thomas for not changing his whole life just to continue receiving that gift. The one who acts like she is perfect and peerless and awesome, not the one who routinely critisizes himself and openly discusses his flaws.

Also, Crave, I don’t think you could have written Nina’s lines any better here. It’s exactly what I’m thinking, but far more condensed than I could manage.

That’s just it. Dawn really does consider herself so superior that she thinks it would be a blessing for Thomas to spend his life with her. Everything we’ve seen her do it about her. She wanted Thomas there with no consideration to how he might feel. After all, it’s not hard to send an invitation rather than a demand. She expected him to change to conform to her desires rather than finding a compromise. Thomas would have been happy to wait for her; maybe he would even have moved with her if asked (which, since he didn’t mention it, I’m guessing she didn’t), but it doesn’t look like she would’ve been willing to concede anything to him.

And Dawn? If it was so hard to let him go, why did you? It wouldn’t have anything to do with that bald guy you were smooching a few strips ago, would it?

Those flailing arms just make me think of a little kid having a tantrum.

“You’re supposed to do what I waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant.”

There are almost always three sides to any story, his side, her side, and what actually happened which usually resides somewhere in the middle.

you forgot her husband’s side.

The way this conversation is going and the conversation between the other two makes me wonder if the husband really meant his words literally.

You do have a point, I jumped back and reread the exchange between the three of them and once again Dawn has really made me dislike her. During the conversation she’s chastising her husband for his comment about stealing her from Thomas and says that they “Technically” didn’t start dating till long after she broke up with Thomas. When someone uses the term technically it’s quite often as a qualifier against cheating.

For example if a woman says that “Technically she didn’t start sleeping with a guy till after she broke up with another guy first”, it usually still imply’s that she was seeing the guy, she just didn’t take it to the bedroom till she was broken up.

Some people don’t consider nonsexual interactions to be the same as cheating, but if you are emotionally invested in another person whether or not you are sleeping with them is irrelevant; you ARE already cheating. If you text another person outside of your relationship or email them but feel the need to hide those interactions from your significant other, I’m sorry, but you are most definitely cheating.

So in that context the way she says that they weren’t “Technically dating” till long after the break up… I’m sorry, but she was already throwing Thomas away.

The people in your world are better than the people in my world.

The people I’ve known who claimed to not technically start sleeping with someone until after they broke up with their ex generally were having sex, and frequently in the bedroom, with that someone. They just didn’t *sleep* with them afterwards. Instead, they’d go home and sleep with the person they were officially in a relationship with. Usually right after telling that person, “I’m sorry, I’m really tired, could we later?” or words to that effect.

Also, anyone ever see the movie Van Wilder? The guy that Van calls pre med Dick (because his name was Richard, but also because the guy was an ass) was just like that. He had his entire life planned out including his girlfriends role in it and never bothered to ask her what her feelings or opinion on the matter were. He didn’t care that she had plans and it never even occurred to him that her plans weren’t the one’s that he’d made for himself. He even went so far as to tell all of her friends and family that they were engaged and going to get married before he even asked her, he just assumed that they would get married and she would be happy to be his little housewife.

Another fictional character that her actions remind me of is Gaston (sp) from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. When he comes to propose to Belle and starts telling her how their life together will be and how many children they will have and then is completely shocked that she rejects him.

I don’t know yet whether or not she gave Thomas the opportunity to come with her or if they ever discussed it before she left, but her actions sound far more like pre med Dick and Gaston and look like it ended pretty much the same way.

“I feel like maybe Dawn’s husband should be an elementary school teacher or something, rather than a professor.”

Either works, as the market for both teaching professions in horrid right now.

Though I do like TheHierophant’s idea above is quite fascinating for drama potential and allows for zero edits.

“Also I don’t want Jess, or anybody, running in to him as they study.”

Why not? Is sounds like drama fodder.

And then you all realized, it looks like Nina is biting her tongue. which is ironic considering what she might say if she wasn’t in the workplace.

But now, you’re going to go back, look at the comic, and be distracted by the fact it looke like Nina is biting her tongue.

YOU CAN NEVER UNSEE

I’ve had to end relationships over distance a few times. It’s never fun, and I’m actually doing it right now with someone I would really, really like to be with, but it can’t be that way right now. It’s a really difficult decision to make – do I choose school/work/this opportunity, or do I choose a relationship? And especially a high school relationship? That would have been silly for Dawn to give up her schooling. Even if she has a “useless degree”, many jobs require a bachelor’s at minimum, so she’s more employable already.

Personally, I don’t like either Dawn or Thomas. I find both of them arrogant and downright unpleasant, but I feel like Thomas shoulders more of the blame in this. The reason for this is because Thomas has shown, over the course of the comic, that he really doesn’t listen to anyone very well, and he so often thinks that he’s right that he doesn’t change his behavior (and holds grudges). He sees himself as “above the game” so to speak, and anything anyone else has to say is just filed away for future reference, but he doesn’t really seem to try to understand. Maybe Dawn told him about wanting him to follow her – we haven’t been told how she handled that conversation and the subsequent breakup. We’ve only seen it through Thomas’ eyes, and he sees himself as an absolute victim. I don’t think it’s wrong to try to reconnect with exes. It’s been years since the incident, and maybe Dawn thought Thomas was well over it.

I think that Nina is absolutely in the wrong, here. Adults don’t go off on strangers they don’t know because their friend’s feelings got hurt. What Dawn did was unpleasant, but as breakups go, it sounds pretty run-of-the-mill. So many people experience it, and it’s really not the crime Thomas is making it out to be. It is not Dawn’s fault in any way how Thomas handled the breakup. Thomas was an adult – he has to be responsible for his own behavior. If she cheated, that’s terrible of her and she shouldn’t expect a reunion, but even so, she can’t control his behavior in the interim.

In my own experience, I was with my ex-fiancee for four years. About three years ago, he cheated on me with his boss, left me for her, and ultimately married her. I would certainly not want a reunion. But I would be very angry with a friend for confronting him and making a big scene, especially in public, and even more so at work! The past is the past. Let it go.

Wow, you summed up everything I was thinking. Yes, breaking up is hard to do, but these people are in their mid-twenties arguing over a HIGH SCHOOL relationship. At what point do you chalk things up to teen angst and move on. Also, I think Thomas’s rage has more to do with his ego being bruised than his heart being broken.

and you’re right, Nina is completely in the wrong. The best thing she could have done was stayed out of it.

Ego has nothing to do with it. Thomas’s soul was crushed. His only defense was to turn his love to hate, because it kept him going (as he said). He even admitted that deep down he didn’t hate her.

Humans are fragile yet amazingly resilient. Dealing with the world isn’t always easy. You do what you need to do to keep going.

High School never ends. the whole wide world is just as obsessed with who’s the best dressed and who’s having sex – bowling for soup

Haha, well, thank you! I feel like it’s been enough time that this level of anger is probably inappropriate. It was Thomas’ first breakup (I think), and possibly Dawn’s as well. Breaking up is always unpleasant and difficult, especially that first time. How do you do it? Dawn chose a terrible way, but Thomas chose to stalk her and hold on to feelings instead of letting them go.

Dawn is not a stranger to Nina; they went to high school together (or at least at the same time). Dawn doesn’t remember Nina, both because they moved in different social circles and because she is oblivious to anything that doesn’t concern her directly.

Stranger or not, Dawn did some major damage to one of Nina’s best friends. I’m sure Nina has helped put some of the pieces of Thomas back together over the years. This is a personal matter to her, and the architect of his destruction has just put all the blame on Thomas.

I think Nina is being quite mild.

My mistake! I assumed that they didn’t know each other because Dawn didn’t seem to recognize her and addressed her as “lady”. I take that part back, but I still think that Nina is way out of line here. While she may be Thomas’ friend, and she may care about him, this is the kind of behavior that only works in comic books and movies. In real life, it just stirs up more trouble and doesn’t really do anything.

I mentioned that my ex-fiance cheated on me and left me quite abruptly. I did have a friend confront him, and it was just exhausting and annoying. All it did was bring up old feelings (I had already decided that we were done talking), create bad blood that I had to smooth over (because of course it got back to me and sort of blew up, because he thought I sent her), and of course, hurt our friendship for a while. In real life, this kind of behavior tends to cause a lot more damage than it solves. Of course, this is a comic, and I don’t expect the same behavior from comic book characters than I do real people.

What Thomas is this? The one who is always admitting his flaws? The one who just got finished telling Carol how he did NOT handle things well? I don’t see how he’s to blame for his girlfriend moving away and cheating on him, then throwing that affair in his face, then disappearing, then reappearing and throwing her awesome life in her face. And Nina didn’t pick this fight, Dawn did; she already acknowledged that she knows Nina, and even asked if she and Thomas were together. Then she starts insulting retail work (which is insulting Nina) and acting like Thomas is a loser (Nina’s close friend). What kind of a person would NOT stick up for herself AND for her friend after that? The only thing Thomas did wrong was obsess, and he admitted it, and he just paid some girl to bring all her friends to this book signing to make Dawn happy. I don’t really see what else he could do to be LESS to blame for this, without being a flawless saint.

That’s the thing – he told Carol. Thomas admits flaws as a power play. He seems to be written as the type of person who sees himself as very sincere internally, but pretty insincere externally. I don’t think that if he discussed this with Dawn or even Nina, that he would admit that he did wrong. And stalking someone is pretty horrifying behavior – I’ve also had a stalker, and it’s pretty awful to know that someone is bent on finding out where you are, and trying to hide that information. My stalker, like Thomas, probably wasn’t dangerous, and unlike Thomas, was mostly online (but crossed into the real world once he found my phone number). Dawn may not know about Thomas’ behavior, but I think it marks Thomas as a potentially dangerous person. Stalking your ex is not acceptable breakup grief.

I wouldn’t really say anything in Nina’s situation. What is she doing that’s actually helping? She’s acting out on her own pain and anger, but she’s not helping Thomas or herself. In a situation where I would be talking to an ex and they’re being rude (and absolutely, Dawn is being rude), when you’re at work, just let it go. It really doesn’t matter, and by creating a big scene like this, Nina is sort of making more problems than she’s solving. It seems like winning the battle, but losing the war, so to speak. Sure, she called Dawn out now, but what happens after?

I don’t really dislike either Dawn, Thomas, or goofball with the marriage certificate. I can relate pretty well with Dawn, if I’m being honest.

I pretty much live in the oblivious. I’ve been getting better over the years. In short, I’m grateful that common sense is a teachable skill.

I’m at a point where I realize I need to step outside of myself to relate better to other people, but I still spend a great deal of time considering the person behind the eyelids.

I keep thinking things like, “How can I improve? What can I do to make things better? What will it take for me to do better?” Sometimes I think I need just a little bit of, “What can I do for you?”

There’s a quote I’m trying to find, but I need to start getting ready for class, so I won’t try to force it since can’t find the link.

Dawn has written a published novel. I don’t know the industry or anything about how it works. Perhaps someone can enlighten us. If this is her first novel, a real pen and paper printed novel, with a hard-cover first printing, would she go out to a signing? If it was her first novel, it would have to be sold as hard-cover, then soft cover, but she’s not going to do signings until she’s known, right? So this novel almost certainly has to be a second or third. If so, then she has a following, right?
So, she would, rightly, expect for followers to show up. Except they don’t. No one does. I don’t get that.

So, Dawn and husband/teacher are moving back to her home town, because husband has a teaching job there. She’s an author, with a hard cover novel popular enough to do a signing. This isn’t a book store, it’s a store sort of like Best Buy, right? Mostly electronics, with movies and games thrown in. Why would Dawn go there for a signing? Why would she expect ANYONE to know her that would go to that store as a customer? It’s not a book store.

She went because Thomas works there. Because he still works there. After all these years. So, I get that Thomas is controlling, that he holds grudges, that he is manipulative, perhaps a bit of an ass. None of that matters. To me, it’s simple. Dawn asked for that store for one purpose, and it wasn’t to ‘reconnect a friendship.’ Maaaybe it wasn’t a conscious decision. She should have moved back, and set up a signing at a larger store, or a busier one, or… imagine this… an actuall brick and morter book store (yes, there are still those type of stores around.). Even if there wasn’t one in this town, go a hundred miles and do your signing there.

She could have stopped in to Thomas’ store (I know it’s not HIS store) and just seen him, said hi, how are you, meet my husband, etc. Then extended the fact that she had a signing and invite Thomas to come, or not.

She didn’t do any of that. She chose her signing to be at a non-book store. She chose Thomas’ store. THEN, she demanded he actually be there. How is this not worse, in every way possible, than what anyone (Nina, Carol, or Thomas) can be?

As an aspiring author, I frequent a few writers forums and ask questions about publishing and self promotion. So in answer to your question, no Dawn does not have to have a following or have multiple books in order to do a signing. Book signings are recommended for any author, self published or promoted because they help get the authors face out there and known to the public. Promoted and well known authors are the ones who wind up at actual book stores simply because they are already known, new authors are the ones that wind up doing readings and book signings at libraries and small venue’s that may not actually be considered book stores.

All that having been said though, does not excuse Dawn for the fact that she chose to try and promote her book where Thomas worked and insisted on having him there for it. She could have easily tried to contact him first, which she apparently did not, if she had she would have known that Thomas was NOT over their break up regardless of how long it’s been and was NOT ready to be involved in her life once more.

Someone who thinks of more than just themselves might have chosen to do things much differently. This does seem to be a more deliberate ploy (whether conscious or not on her part) to rub her assumed success in his face and then throw him the crumbs of being a part of her life again. Maybe Dawn was feeling like she hadn’t made as much of her life as she had hoped and decided to move back to a place where she was looked upon as having achieved more than she actually had in comparison.

Much like some chubby women will cultivate obese friends in order to make themselves look thinner.

I really feel it’s hard to blame anybody in a situation like this. It feels like both sides have some wrong, but everybody is so diverse and different, each person thinks a different way. There’s so much context missing in the story, how can I blame Dawn for her actions, or Thomas for his lack of actions. I don’t know the characters NEARLY enough to really make assumptions about anybody.

Except Nina, who is pretty much the best person ever.

As others have said, I think the key problem here is that Dawn had her own agenda, and just assumed that Thomas would fall into his assigned role. It doesn’t seem to have occurred to her that he had an agenda of his own. Even now she’s all about her own wants and needs.

And saying that she’s giving Thomas a chance to re-enter her life? Uh, lady, are you sure he wants that? Did you bother to ask?

I dated a girl like this in college. She had the image of what our relationship should be, and she kept nudging me toward what she thought my part in the play was. The person I was, or rather the person I was becoming, wasn’t what she needed. And I had my own ambitions in life, and didn’t want to be shackled by her “script.” Naturally that romance crashed and burned. I did not handle the situation well at the time; I didn’t yet have the maturity. All I knew what that I needed out.

Mind you I didn’t realize what was really going on until many years later. It was one of those cases where the heart knew what was going on while the mind didn’t. I was pretty messed up though. I didn’t have a serious girlfriend again for almost a decade after that.

As for Dawn and Thomas, well, I think this was a classic case of poor communication. That’s the cause of death for most relationships.

Also a long time reader and a first time commenter. I am so glad that other people are expressing similar frustrations to Dawns fit of self-absorption. I definitely get where she is coming from, but I think everyone has had someone in their life show that same level of disregard. “And give him a chance to be part of my life again” was the real kicker for me. Did she even think for one second that maybe HE didn’t WANT to be part of her life? That he was growing in his own way (uh, hello committed relationship with Carol) and that maybe SHE didn’t have a place in his new life anymore?!

I think that is one of the biggest areas in life that people don’t seem to truly grasp. While you may want to make amends, the people that you have wronged do not owe you anything. They don’t even have to accept your attempts to make up. Whether or not they choose to should have no impact on your ability to still be sorry. What I mean is, that if your apology is based solely on the other parties acceptance of that apology, well…

Thanks so much for this great strip, I have really been enjoying this storyline as I feel it gives Thomas and Carol a real opportunity to rise to the challenge as a couple. It’s all lovely and wonderful with secret dates and what not, but this is substance :D

I kind of understand where she’s comming from, many years ago… Ok like 4 years… My ex grew up without me and we broke up because of it. we were supposed to do alot together, she had plans, a future, and the means to do it… I… Didn’t. She needed someone that did. And someone closer, But that’s a whole other thing. So i kind of understand how dawn feels, but the way she went about it was wrong. Had she talked it out with Thomas, things might have turned out like they did between me and my ex, we’re still friends and still talk all the time, without it being akward with her new boyfriend. so yea…

Wow.

It’s not even 9:00 (EST) and we’re up to 40 comments. And the best thing is, I can see the logic in all of them, even the ones with which I may not agree 100%. Certainly, Thomas is an ass, but it’s as much his reaction to Dawnstance‘s treatment of him years ago as it is his nature. Now we see that the maturity issue was two-sided, and she was at least as much to blame as he was. She led where he could not follow.

I’m glad Nina called Dawn out on this — it’s time for her to grow up a little.

Neither of them is right and they both royally fucked up and made it so much worse then it needed to be. The only reason I’m only Thomas’s side, and only just slightly, is that at least Thomas gets it. He KNOWS his mentality and handling of the situation was, and continues to be, immature and admits it. Dawn seems to think that her shit don’t stink.

Right, and with his latest conversation with Carol, it seems that he is growing out of that immature hatred/grudge and accepting the responsibilities of his actions as well.

Disregard for other people’s needs. Yes, that hits it pretty well.

In my own example (q.v.), she had a certain view of how things were supposed to be, and was determined to make sure everything followed that plan. I was expected to make all kinds of changes in my life to conform to her grand plan. There didn’t seem to be room for my own interests. In fact, she often suggested I drop some of the activities I was involved in because I “didn’t really have time for them any more.”

On the other hand, I was finding my own way and making my own choices, and I didn’t like some of her plans. I attempted to find a path we could both follow, and I remember breaching the subject, but I don’t recall ever making any headway. Anyway (and this is where I didn’t handle things well), when I looked at my own plans, I discovered, to my horror, that ultimately she and I had very little in common, and that I would have to choose between my dreams and hers.

I chose to follow my own plans, so I callously dumped her at the next proverbial train station. I was cutting my losses. I didn’t see any point in putting more energy into a relationship that had no real future. I maintain that rather than accept me for the young man I was, she was trying to convert me in the man she needed. Mind you if she were on this forum she might tell you very differently, so take that under advisement. Ultimately, I can’t speak to that point.

I’m hoping that Dawn and her husband took the time to chart a shared path. Because if they didn’t, there may be some heartache down the road, and they will have a kid caught in the crossfire! Thomas and Carol have already touched on some of that. They’ve only scratched the surface, but hey, it’s a start, and it shouldn’t be rushed. Sadly, perhaps tragically, it looks like Dawn is still somewhat stuck on Thomas, which implies that her husband is Mr. Rebound. It would be ironic if in the final count it’s Thomas who has actually moved on, and not Dawn. Granted, Thomas “moved on” by playing the scorched earth card, but since I used a “Dear Jane” letter, I don’t have room to talk.

I might be the only one who thinks this [having seen none of this in comments I’ve seen] but I believe Nina’s being a bit of a bitch here.this is a big day for Dawn so, yeah, she’s going to be a bit focused on herself. She’s achieved a life-long goal and if she wants to focus on her achievements I say all the power to Dawn.

But Nina’s jumping at her with, apparently, only half [or less] of the story. Dawn seems to want to patch things up with Thomas so she’s got my support from what I’ve seen so far.

Plus Nina has a decent chance of getting fired for this since she’s provoking Dawn.

So, in your view, it’s totally cool for people to come up to you and insult you AND your best friends, based on your line of work? If Nina just leapt in and started throwing punches, so to speak, I would agree with you; that’s picking a fight. But she went over to HELP Dawn, and Dawn’s response is to insult all retail workers in response. Yeah, she deserves this. She’s not being “a bit” focused on herself, she is utterly and completely focused on herself, totally failing to see Thomas’s discomfort or Nina’s repressed (til now) anger. She’s gloating about how awesome her life is while denigrating others, all in front of the boyfriend she cheated on and dumped like an old couch. And as she’s basically admitted, this isn’t even about her “big day”; she’s here, specifically, to reconnect with Thomas and “allow” him to be part of her life. It’s, again, about how awesome she thinks she is, not about her actual accomplishment (which is virtually nothing, apparantly). Nina was there when Thomas was dumped; they were friends back then, Dawn even knows her vaguely. She probably doesn’t have 100% of the story, but she not only has Thomas’s side memorized, but she personally witnessed much of it. What small percentage of details she doesn’t know could, almost, not possibly change her mind one iota. It’d have to be a bombshell.

I know a lot of readers have read Dawn’s last comment as her expecting to trick Thomas to chase her to college and get out of the town, but I have to admit I read it that they might have had a mutual pact or bargain of sorts (for lack of a better term).

I now wounder if Thomas failed to note to his friends that he had agreed/promised to go to college with Dawn.

I wondered that too. Was it set that he would go and then said he wouldn’t because leaving KS for an out of state school can be a bit scary. (and yes, this is my personal experience talking) We haven’t actually heard her side. I’m not condoning everything, just remembering that life is usually shades of gray, (no book pun intended.)

ee-yupp… and it didn’t ‘dawn’ on her to speak these same words to Thomas? And long ago at that? communication is a two-way street.

No matter, Thomas needs to forgive and move on – drop it at the roadside like the ugly baggage it is…

Several people at this point have made comments on Dawn choosing the store, and I feel that a correction needs to be made. Dawn didn’t choose this store to do a signing at Thomas’ store, *Mike* scheduled the signing on the pretext that 1) Dawn used to live in the town where the store is located and 2) That a signing of a local author would bring more revenue to the store (/comics1/181-that-one). In addition, Dawn and her husband are moving back because of his teaching position (/comics1/1114-boomerang) – she can write anywhere. While it’s mentioned that Dawn specifically requested that Thomas be there, I honestly believe that request was not done with malicious intent. It’s understandable that she would want to see someone who was an important part of her life – it’s not a fault of hers that Thomas can’t handle being friends with an ex, and most people would expect that an eight year interim would mellow any negativity (I believe Crave wrote that he sees Thomas as approximately 26, though I may be lying there).

As for other comments on Dawn: yes, she’s stubborn and a bit selfish, and she seems to be oblivious to how others actually feel (she still hasn’t personally managed to read Thomas’ emotions towards her), but those are fairly typical human failings. The store staff that we know and love are equally culpable here; Dawn has had interactions with both Thomas and Nina on camera, and in both cases Dawn did NOT fire the opening volley. Nina is being snide and offensive within her first few sentences of meeting Dawn (/comics1/1086-i-liked-your-book) and Dawn reacts in an understandably defensive manner. Meanwhile, Thomas’ first words spoken to her are jibes at her choice of pen names (/comics1/1095-when-you-say-it), which results in a minor argument. Dawn attempting to talk to Thomas somewhat more seriously results in him firing right back with a fairly low blow (/comics1/1098-dead-in-here), amounting to “we aren’t friends, don’t act like we are” which seems to be at odds with how Dawn felt about the situation.

It all boils down to the basics that Thomas isn’t a saint, and Dawn isn’t the devil. They, like everyone else in this story, are ordinary humans with human flaws and characteristics. It’s a credit to Crave that he can write characters with multiple dimensions and aspects to their personalities, so much so that he has people that feel so passionately about his characters. Honestly, I have loved this series since I started, and I encourage everyone to take a breath, step back, and enjoy an incredibly good story.

(Also, cute redhead with boobs = awesome).

But…she did start the fights. She set off the current argument with snide, insulting comments about Thomas and retail workers in general (which is insulting Nina twice). Thomas’s comment is understandable because, A, this is apparantly one of those old, goofy couple’s arguments they used to have, and B, she’s the one who cheated on him and broke his heart. Yeah, you are probably right about why she asked Thomas to be there; for her own gratification. Please note that she did not ask Thomas to be there, she asked Mike to MAKE Thomas be there. She never tried to contact Thomas, to speak to him, or even come early to touch base with him, she just showed up and expected him to bend knee to her illustrious presence. Also, uh, no, Dawn chose this store, not Mike. Mike doesn’t have the authority to force authors to come for a signing. Being self-published, no publisher could have done it either, meaning Dawn deliberately chose to come down, on her own. It’s not her fault Thomas takes break-ups badly, but it’s her fault she cheated on him and made it a really bad break-up.

Again with the accusations of cheating. HeavyP puts together a thoughtful post, and even cites pages to back up his views, and you respond with unsupported assertions. How do you plan to back up your claim that Dawn cheated on him.

Here’s a crazy idea: suppose that when Dawn went to college, she met new people. Shocking, I know, but hold on to your buts, it’s about to get weird. Suppose that some of those new people she met were male. *gasp* The betrayal! If she has a boyfriend shes not allowed to talk to other guys right? Even making eye contact borders on infidelity. But the scandel continues: one of those guys was more appealing than her loser boyfriend who stayed home because he was too afraid to do anything with his life (1144-the-mind-killer). In fact, Dawn and this other guy might have even hung out a few times (that tramp!) before she broke up with Thomas.

I’m being condescending, but I feel like it’s deserved at this point. We have no evidence that Dawn cheated on Thomas. Make whatever arguments you like about how cruel and unjust it was for her to leave Thomas for another guy, but don’t make baseless assertions.

Well, until we have another explanation of why she threw a guy’s name in Thomas’ face in the middle of an argument, and why Nina states that she had another guy right there to replace Thomas, and why her husband states that he stole Dawn from Thomas and she only replies that they weren’t “technically” dating yet, I’m going to go with the most rational, and statistically likely, one. You may be correct; maybe she didn’t actually sleep with him yet, she was merely dating him (but not technically) while she had a boyfriend at home. I don’t really care which it is, and neither does Thomas; it’s not the sex that matters, it’s the emotional betrayal. If she was already looking at this guy as a partner, and switched over that easily, she was either already done with Thomas, and should have said that kindly instead of spitting at him in anger, because the whole “go to college” argument was already irrelevant, or she was doing it only to try and spur Thomas on, which is also horrible.

And I never said he did NOT make a thoughtful post; it was merely a limited one that didn’t consider all the facts.

I just gave you another explanation for all those things. That’s what I was doing, that’s what the post was all about, it’s entire purpose. Although I was more condescending than thorough, so that’s poor communication on my part.

Here’s the non condescending version: She went to college, she made new friends. One friend really clicked with her, but she didn’t think of him as someone to date yet (she already had a boyfriend). When she went home on Christmas she got in a stupid fight with her boyfriend and mentioned her friend. After the fight she realized that her current relationship was a dead end (maybe she’d been feeling like that for a while and didn’t want to admit it to herself), and she broke up the next day. Then she pursued a relationship with her new friend.

She did leave Thomas for the new guy, in his eyes he ‘stole’ Dawn from Thomas. But there’s no indication that they did anything more than hang out as friends before she broke up with Thomas.

Honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if Dawn had started dating this guy before she broke up with Thomas. The way she says they hadn’t ‘technically’ started dating is very suggestive. But it’s only suggestive, not damning. I disapprove of the witch trial people are holding here.

I have to admit that I seriously enjoy the comments. It has transformed from mere comments on the comic to a forum for people to recount their own histories, stories and personal experiences. I’ve found that it’s almost therapeutic and I keep coming back for the comic as much as the comments.

Yeah. Originally, I came for the comic, and stayed for Crave’s posts. This was about the time Crave was posting regularly about dreams he had been having.

Since I usually dream when something is wrong I haven’t had a dream in a while. The other day I was feeling worried and remembered one, but it couldn’t be repeated in public.

I’ve had some real doozies, too.

The basic premise of the worst nightmare I have had was that I was the monster. I’m leaving out the details.

This one really touched me, as it was very similar to how my Mother broke up with her longtime steady boyfriend before meeting my Father. She had been going with the same guy all through High School and Jr. College, but when Jr. College was done, she wanted to get a full 4 year degree and he just wanted to stay in their little town and settle down. And just like that, a 6+ year relationship ended. He pined for her a bit and she was sad he didn’t want more out of life, but it was over, and they both continued their lives. If either had given in a bit on what they wanted, they’d probably would have gotten married. But lucky for me they didn’t ;)

It would seem from Dawn’s perspective that Thomas left her, not the other way around as Nina is chewing on her for. IMO they we’re destined to part regardless; she was growing and maturing as a person, Thomas was still a lovesick, directionless boy.

To quote Strother Martin in ‘Cool Hand Luke’: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.”

… define maturing…

Having goals, objectives, desire to succeed, plans for the future; that sort of thing.

Thomas was emotionally stunted, lovesick, fixated and immature.

That’s not a very good definition of maturing. I mean, yeah, she is mature by that definition, but being self-centered, arrogant, oblivious to the effects of one’s own actions, and condescending to those you consider beneath you is what most people would call “immature”, and that is her to a T.

I love how Nina has put into words exactly how I have felt since Dawn’s incursion into the series.

I’m definitely not on one side or another right now, mostly due to the lack of information behind that last comment Dawn made, but I’m in the middle, leaning towards Thomas’ side.

While yeah, they are both to blame in this – Thomas has shown that he’s growing from all of this and is taking responsibility for his actions by assuming the blame he rightfully bears for the undue amount of hatred he’s refused to let go of for the past years.

Dawn on the other hand? The only thing clearly obvious at this point is how oblivious, and ignorant she is, and her self-centered elitism is bordering unholy levels. Allow me to explain:

From page ONE her lack of observation is clear: /comics1/1077-red-dawn
– Does she not see that painfully obvious expression of “I’m less than happy to see you?” I mean seriously, she’s looking right at him.

To be fair – one against Thomas: /comics1/1096-one-was-enough
– She is right – a single example would have been enough, if even that.

– Here it shows that Constance clearly cares for/about Thomas while he no longer shares mutual feelings towards her: /comics1/1098-dead-in-here
– This certainly plays into previous peoples’ ideas that Dawn’s new man is nothing more than a replacement for Thomas.

– I can’t blame Thomas here for pointing out the obvious: /comics1/1099-without-trying

– And here we have Dawn trying to change the subject for the better: /comics1/1100-i-cant
– I’m pretty much beyond convincing otherwise that she clearly misses him and wants him in her life again. She’s trying to bring up fond memories to talk about while Thomas is dodging the subjects at all costs.
– Aaaand just to hammer that point in *just a bit harder* – /comics1/102-buh

– And here is where Dawn’s innocent appearance starts to fade – /comics1/1111-willing
– This was pretty much where we started to see the breakup unfold, and where everyone started to point the blame at Dawn; both in what she says, but also what her husband says. Given his comments, how does someone not see that she was seeing this guy before she broke up with Thomas?
– The “Technically” is just added in for convincing herself she wasn’t doing something wrong – she cheated and she knows it but doesn’t want to admit it. Tell yourself a lie enough times and even you will begin to believe it.

– And here we have the epic moment of Dawn’s elitist, self-absorbed attitude showing it’s ugly face. – /comics1/1115-buy-my-book
– “Resign yourself to” huh? Well fuck you too, you smug, stuck-up bitch. Obviously this is where I “Resigned myself” to hating her from here on.

– Here we have for this panel and the next ~8 Thomas admitting to the entire situation as well as admitting his own faults.
– /comics1/1143-rage-quit
– Thomas clearly admits that his excessive hatred is wrong – and Carol is right too – he’s not really wrong for being angry over having his heart broken. Where Thomas is wrong is both in how long he held his grudge for, and how much he hated her during that time.

– I mean I’ve had my heart broken more than once and seen it happen over and over with my friends. These events made me become detached from relationships or never involving myself with people past friends. I haven’t been in a relationship for at least 5 years, and don’t hate my ex at this point, in fact I’ve hung out with her and her numerous boyfriends since then many times.
– It just happened that after a while the hate simply turned into the feeling that relationships are a retarded waste of time due to the number of them that fail before you find something that works, and even then, the chances of that relationship failing are frighteningly high in this day and age.
– Thomas on the other hand held a burning rage like what you feel for your ex when you find out that for the last few months they were avoiding you, only to be spending time sleeping with your best friend instead. He never let that go, which is where he now has to assume his share of the blame – Fortunately he is coming out of this and we’ll see how he takes it from there.

Constance on the other hand doesn’t appear to have matured at all. She still thinks entirely of herself, insults those around her for their employment choice, and unconsciously thinks that her very presence should be considered a blessing. Her personality also reeks of elitism, when in fact, she likely is a complete failure in her field given her low popularity online, and the fact that people had to be paid off to come to her book signing. She has a degree, yes, but her dream is to become an author and she seems to be failing miserably at that.

I’m actually very interested in how Thomas is going to act from here on out; he seems to have hit that moment of enlightenment where a person goes years without changing much, then suddenly they mature years at a time in a matter of moments.

– I’m actually looking forward to seeing if:
– Thomas somehow is going to make amends with Dawn and be friends with her.
– He’s going to simply end the ‘we’ between them once and for all and reduce their relationship to mere acquaintances.
– Or maybe he’ll just continue on with his life with Carol, and Dawn can realize that being a part of her life isn’t as special as she thinks; and that even more so than that, she’s being excluded from the life of someone she cares about.

– I don’t see any chance of a Dawn/Thomas relationship happening at this point(never did actually). She’s pregnant with another guy’s child, there is a lot of bad blood between them, and he is faithfully with Carol who won’t give him up without giving a WWIII equivalent fight.

Crave, you glorious, glorious bastard you. You are illustrating stories I can’t ever get enough of, and can’t help but be addicted to analyzing, discussing, and over-analyzing through every single update. I mean, your post today sucked up a good 2-3 hours of my time writing this post.

I could be running Incursions in EVE right now, making millions of ISK but I was so much more captivated in this story that I didn’t even run a single site today thanks to you. So props to you – your work is bar none my favorite online comic I have come across since my introduction into web-comics years ago. Please do the world a favor and don’t stop; you have something truly great going on here.

Yup. What I think everyone misses too is that what Thomas did, his grudge and hatred, was only bad for Thomas. She screwed him over and broke his heart; he screwed himself over with his anger. There’s no eqivalence here; she got off scott free, suffered no ill effects from Thomas’s actions besides her own frustration at him not following her like a puppy, while he got screwed twice.

More and more she does seem to be getting like my ex…

Next thing you know it’ll turn out that she gained a lot of weight just to say she was preggers for the attention.

Or trying to convince people that Dolly the clone sheep was eaten by other sheep, or that starwars was written in WWII…
Those last two were actual examples of what she tried to have me believe…
Dolly had a heart attack and Starwars was written by a guy who watched a lot of science fiction and enjoyed fantasy so he wrote a story about magic space wizards.

.

“Give him a chance to be part of my life again.” I believe Dawn just proved most of Nina’s points with that one statement. And did Dawn think this was some sort of fairy tail? Last time I checked people don’t go randomly riding into the sunset of Texas; especially if it’s Thomas, who evidently had no idea of Dawn’s actual intentions, so therefore Dawn’s argument is relatively flawed from the ground up.

It wouldn’t be too out of the way. I’ve been in this sort’ve thing before. After the break-up you sometimes beg to still be part of their life in any way you can. She’s possibly remembering some exchange and echoing things Thomas himself said.

Towards your second point, from what I can gather Thomas didn’t even try to do anything with himself after she went off to Texas. I dunno. I still feel people are way to harsh on her.

But he went to college (he only dropped out because of his heartbreak over the split). She went to college. I don’t really see how he was growing up less. Because he didn’t move out of state? Or is it because he didn’t pursue some dream like she did? That’s admirable, but judging by her reception, maybe her dream was unrealistic, or at least, maybe she shouldn’t have jumped in feet first. Maybe he didn’t know what he wanted for the rest of his life when he was 18 and just graduated high school–that’s pretty normal. Like, what, 40% of freshman don’t have a clear career goal, and 80% of those that do never end up doing it? So, he was basically a typical teenager being honest with his girlfriend, and her response is this nonsense.

Well, Dawn, kudos to you for getting out there and trying for your dreams. But that won’t excuse you from dissing other people, or for being inaware about how the people around you see the world and you, for that matter. I know, I know that’s a emotionally investing effort, one some people can’t do for their life. Perhaps because it’s distracting, because they’re steering on their own. But sometimes that type of oversight comes with consecuences, and these come and bit your butt.
Inconsciously, you’re reaching for karma. And karma’s a bitch.

P.D.

Now you’ve gone and done it, Crave. Enjoying this comic since last year, aaand now you made me want to really, really smack some sense into a fictional character.
Lookit, even Reggie knew was he was doing to others ( being a douche, and still is, ) and half-knew that it was his own way of coping with the world. Thomas did see that.
Not to say that Dawn is worse, but perhaps I ache seeing her attitude because her obliviousness to other’s people perspectives it’s less than a redeeming characteristic in the adult world. Well, let’s see where are you leading us, Crave. Dangit.

Cheers, from Tenerife, an island near the west coast of Afrika. ;)

Oh totally. As much as I dislike the vilification of Dawn, she’s a brat. Especially the way she’s shaking her balled up fists, like a child throwing a tantrum.

The way I see it they were both to blame sure Dawn is a brat and doesn’t seem to notice the way others feel. But Thomas was not much better in his vindictiviness.

Thomas might have been the one more immature back durning the breakup (but not by wide margin), but at least the emotional turmoil he subjected himself to after that highschool level drama, forced him into learning to distance himself 9maybe a bit too much) so now he has the perspective she lacks, and as such she didn’t change much.
Hard to tell who to blame more for the breakup (and even more who is better off), but one is definitely acting more insuferable now, and it isn’t the one who is trying hard (even if failing from time to time) to not let petty hate interfere with his everyday life.

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