DTWOF 498. Foley à deux.

November 2nd, 2006 | Uncategorized

Here’s th’latest. Sorry it’s late. I had some strange problems with Flickr–they seem to have reduced the file size I can upload. And hey, in case it’s not obvious, I just thought I’d mention that you can select the “strip archive” link in the sidebar to pull up just the posts containing DTWOF episodes. Like, if you want to catch up and read a bunch at once. That archive starts with episode 484. If you look down the sidebar under “links,” you can find episodes 303-480 on the PlanetOut archive. Eventually I’ll fill in that little gap, and get 481-483 up here.DTWOF episode 498

79 Responses to “DTWOF 498. Foley à deux.”

  1. Alex the Bold says:

    They’re separating!? When did that happen? (I know it’s been on the way, but …)

  2. PKintheUK says:

    I guess they’re gone beyond hope, then. Will Toni and Gloria get together? That might be weird for the kids. Will Clarice realize what she’s missing and try to be more attentive and beg for reconciliation? Or will they all just sadly, gradually adjust?

    Love the details, as always. Stella’s shoes, refrigerator magnets, Raffi’s sleeves bunching up as he goes up the stairs.

  3. PKintheUK says:

    Or on the other hand will Raf and Stella’s angling for attention and information do the trick? Could that be the arc?

  4. BamfChyck says:

    I LOVE that little extra wrinkle in Stella’s eyebrow. She’s got something wicked going on in that head of hers. I’m not sure the grown-ups are going to like this at all, but it’s probably something that needs to happen….

  5. C. Resmer says:

    Why do they have to break up? Rediscover the magic, people! What happened to the gleam in Clarice’s eye when she said, “I’m going to marry that woman?” Remember Toni’s clever ploy to get Clarice to notice her, the old hankie falling out of the backpack trick?

    I don’t accept their breakup. I think they’re still in love. They just need something to happen to make them realize it.

  6. Alex the Bold says:

    Maybe that something will be the 2006 elections? Aw, who am I kidding. Two more years of uncontrollable Bush. Maybe he should be renamed Kudzu for the last two years of his office term…

  7. shadocat says:

    Ya know, Ithink this is true for every generation; we always think we know all there is to know about our kids, but we don’t. I gave my girls all the speeches about the dangers of the internet, they swore up and down they were smart and responsible, and yet they still managed to get into trouble-big trouble. For those of you that have kids, all I can suggest is get the damn things out of the bedrooms, and put ’em smack in the middle of the living you. It really helps to keep everyone honest. If that doesn’t work, i don’t know-throw it out the window I guess…

    Oh, and if your relationship is in trouble and you think your kids don’t know-believe me they know. They probably knew before YOU knew…

  8. shadocat says:

    Sorry that was meant to be “living room”. And I think Toni and Clarice are done-at the vvery least, they need to separate for awhile. And they need to talk about it- and they need to talk to their kids.

  9. Jaibe says:

    Separating isn’t the same as breaking up! I guess it’s too late for Clarice to run as a Rep and spend half her time in DC 🙂 But I don’t think Toni will stay faithful to her given how much she loves Gloria. Unless they try that out and she realizes she misses Clarice. If *that* happens, poor Gloria!!

  10. Jaibe says:

    Hey — sorry to post twice in a row, but what if Toni & Clarice decide they have to tell Raf the facts of life?

  11. VL says:

    It seems to me that Toni has done everything else necessary – but Clarice cannot give up talking politics for a minute…

  12. a different Emma says:

    Ok, so the kids aren’t just ‘looking for attention.’ They’re angry and are seeking revenge for the pain their families are dragging them through. The ferocity with which children feel is often underestimated–as is their ability to lash out.

    I’m pretty sure Raffi knows the facts of life–it would probably be pretty hard for him not to.

  13. a different Emma says:

    woof … that sounded mean. I meant that oh, well.. There’s lots of comic potential there really. hmm…

  14. Deb says:

    The adults in the strip look exhausted and just plain worn out. The kids look energized and like they are on a misson. Of course the kids know what’s going on. Even grown kids can watch interactions and know there are problems. A separation can be a very healthy thing. The distance can either show how much you love each other and want to work things out to be together again or it can just deepen the gulf between people and push the divorce through faster. I think Clarice and Toni need some down time from each other to see what they both really want. If being apart makes them better friends and parents, then I am all for that!

  15. L says:

    I agree with Deb. Toni looks like she’s in actual physical pain whenever she and Clarice are talking, and has looked this way for several episodes. Clarice is absent, tuned-out, can’t notice what’s in front of her face. I love the little * star above her head in the fifth panel when Toni brings her back to the here and now–coinciding exactly with the *rinng* of the phone. Wake up call, shift in the action, reality check.

    Raffi and Stella know exactly what’s going on and they’re blaring it into cyberspace. Pretty intense stuff.

  16. Tera says:

    okay I’m confused. I knew they were heading toward a separation but when did this become finalized? I feel like we missed something….

  17. chicklet says:

    I think Stella’s going to somehow insert a link to the Youtube video in the Freedom to Marry newsletter that’s gonna be sent to everyone on the listserv.

  18. Xanthe says:

    I think chicklet’s onto something here … still, Freedom to Marry, Freedom to Stray, Freedom to Divorce. Just like everyone else.

    I’d like to see Toni and Clarice happy again – but I think they’ve gone beyond the point of finding that happiness together. They’ve had different priorities since as long as I can remember.

  19. Foggy says:

    I like what the newscaster says in the last panel:
    “…there are very serious dangers when children go online…”
    I’m petty sure that is meant to cut both ways. I really hope Clarice and Toni do not break up.

    While I’m here, I like to say I have been reading DTWOF for twenty years and I really enjoy it. I now have all the books.

    Any chance that DTWOF will be made into a movie, now that ‘they’ turned _Ethan Green_ into one? (I never cared for that strip like I do for DTWOF.)

    Thanks!

  20. Em says:

    Anyone else think the line “Since when does he conduct his conversations privately?” is a meta-joke on the fact that these past couple of strips were indeed the first times we’ve seen Raffi interact with others while not in the presence of his parents?

    I can’t remember, was La Cage Au Foley was used as a Daily Show graphic? Not that I’m accusing of AB of stealing anything, cause it seems like something different people could come up with independent of each other. I just love when the Daily Show graphics reference musicals (remember Delay Miserables?:)

  21. shadocat says:

    Clarice is doing what she always does-avoiding dealing with the problems in her own life, by diving back into politics.
    Sure, the election is important,s but priorities, girl,PRIORITIES!I used to do the same thing with work, and yes politics, because I hate personal confrontations. But it ended up causing me too many relationships. I had to figure out, if I wanted any peace and happiness in life. home problems had to come first. Then work.Then the nation.

  22. Amy says:

    I agree with Xanthe… a separation between Toni and Clarice would be most in character and realistic for both. Their relationship has progressed to the point where it’s hard to remember what they had in common in the first place. They seem to want totally different things now.

    I love the dynamics between Rafael and Stella – very well done!

    Also, it’s heartwrenching to watch them discussing their separation within presumable earshot of Rafael, with no evidence that they’ve actually sat him down and talked to him about it. Again, very well done.

  23. The Cat Herder says:

    I’m appreciating that the characters are showing their age. Those lines under their eyes are not just being “worn out”. They’re in their mid 40’s when stuff like that shows up. Pretty soon the chins and boobies start to travel south.

    I totally love how Raphael has grown as a character and think his long friendship with “Stelociraptor” is very sweet.

  24. Silvio Soprani says:

    What is drawing Toni to look out the window in consternation in the very last panel? Something out that window is causing little drops of surprise to bounce off her, plus her posture is leaning outward. Guess I will have to wait two weeks!

  25. leslie says:

    “Foggy Says:
    November 2nd, 2006 at 5:30 pm
    While I’m here, I like to say I have been reading DTWOF for twenty years and I really enjoy it.”

    20 years!? * r-i-n-n-g

  26. cml says:

    Silvio, I think Toni is just doing dishes. She’s leaning over the sink and drops of water and soap bubbles are flying out.

  27. oh. yeah. she’s just doing dishes. Thanks, cml.

  28. ready2agitate says:

    Yes, Clarice is obsessed with politics, and it’s affecting her long-troubled dynamic with Toni, but I get such catharsis out of the strip’s ability to connect me to what is going on in the world. Mo used to do this all the time, and it was particulary helpful during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. I mean, 600,000 Iraqis dead (while Raffi plays video blow-up games) – it just helps to remember the connections….

    PS 2nd time seeing Slip Knot referenced – the other one by my friend’s 13-year old boy. I get it now.

  29. Pope Snarky Goodfella of the Undulating Cable, JM, CK, POEE, KOTHASK, DSOCPL, EOTHIDITP, HCNB, GGGHD, BCB, MU says:

    Hail Eris!

    I was just merrily reading along, thinking it was only a week until the next ep, and *BOOM*, someone says it’s two weeks — that’ll teach me about not checking /first/. Argh.

    Anyway. Brilliant sequence of eps, these past two months, and I particularly enjoy the Bush-bashing, but watch out for hit squads…BTW — Alex: Kudzu! YES!!

    Snarky

  30. Danyell says:

    I’m just glad SOMEONE is talking about Habeas Corpus!!

  31. ready2agitate says:

    A-yup!

  32. D. F. says:

    the title — another gem.

  33. Alex K says:

    No cellphones for either Raff or Stella! Now THAT is good parenting.

  34. Pope Snarky Goodfella of the Undulating Cable, JM, CK, POEE, KOTHASK, DSOCPL, EOTHIDITP, HCNB, GGGHD, BCB, MU says:

    Hail Eris!

    Where’s Habeas Corpus?

    Snarky

  35. AK says:

    I dread seeing what happens when this YouTube embed gets sent along with the “Freedom to Marry” newsletter. I once accidentally queued about 30 love letters from an ex to every printer in my father’s five-story office building at his university over Memorial Day weekend. The horror, the horror. You know, they don’t even eat together as a family, they just seem to share the same house. With the TV. God, I could just grab Clarice by the shoulders and shake her.

  36. little mouse says:

    Maybe Clarice needs a good shaking, but so do the rest of them. At least she’s passionate about something. Toni just seems to drudge along, as if every detail of her life-even the things she’s supposedly energized by–like ‘freedom to marry’–she seems to take more as duties and chores than as activities she approaches with any sort of genuine enthusiasm. There’s plenty of blame to spread around in this relationship if that’s what you want to do, and it goes out to both partners. From my perspective, Toni has been dismissive of Clarice’s concerns just as much as the other way around. Neither one of them is really present and listening to either each other or their son, but Toni seems to see herself as the family martyr, which really doesn’t seem fair–or completely honest.

  37. Tim T. says:

    If the raffi-and-stella hijinks continue could they eventually wind up in their own strip? How about
    “Tykes to Watch Out For”? Sorry…

  38. Maggie Jochild says:

    I woke up thinking about this particular strip. Extremely meaty.

    What does desire look like when it grows up? What does an identity based (in part) on desire evolve into? “Freedom to Marry” just isn’t the main issue for so many of us, who are single by choice or disillusion, who never ever wanted to be married to any gender, who are unreconstructedly lesbian-feminist, and who are at the stages in our lives where we want enduring, passionate relationships that engage our girl hearts and the girl hearts of our beloveds.

    Toni may well wind up with Gloria because, supposedly, they have “things in common” and are hot for each other at the moment. But what is that heat based on?

    Parenting tends to drain you dry. I think this is in part because the love you have with a child is consuming, based on desire (although not erotic), and from the child’s point of view, the great love of their life. Yet in this strip I have not seen this kind of one-on-one passion between Raffi and his mothers. I think he must be very frightened right now. And if your parents won’t communicate with you in a direct form…

  39. mlk says:

    Clarice really *is* missing what’s going on right under her nose! ya know, if the dems get the house and the senate — and/or she has a change in meds — she may notice enough of what’s going on at home to change her priorities.

    these two have been together for a long time, and I think Clarice is devoted to Toni. yes, it isn’t evident . . . I’m basing that statement on past actions when Toni manages to get Clarice’s attention.

    if Toni can get her attention — or Stella does it for her — maybe Clarice will do something about the real problems in her life. the Toni/Gloria affair is just a cover, a distraction.

    Stella’s got something big in mind. Alison just doesn’t want us to know what it is — yet.

  40. JJFLAP says:

    La Cage au Foley—–I Love it!!!!!!

  41. tylik says:

    “The adults in the strip look exhausted and just plain worn out. The kids look energized and like they are on a misson.”

    Yes, but to me in that awful jittery teenage sense of trying to exert some kind of power but knowing that you don’t have power over a lot of the important things, and that you don’t really know yet what you can do. Volatile.

    (I’m so glad I moved out on my own when I was fifteen. Nothing calmed me down like having to pay my own rent…)

  42. Melly says:

    I re-read all of my DTWOF books recently, and I feel like Clarice and Toni have never been quite right. Did Clarice ever get over Ginger 100%? She had the thing with Ginger, and then pretty soon after that decided she wanted to marry Toni – maybe trying to convince herself of something? Out of guilt? She wasn’t sure about having a kid, she wasn’t sure about buying the house…Somehow it seems like she’s never quite given herself to the relationship completely. It really seemed like there was more of a true connection between Toni and Gloria, or was that just a forbidden fruit/lusty kind of thing?

  43. Duncan says:

    Silvio Soprani, I’m not sure that Toni is looking out the window — it looks to me as if she’s washing the dishes in the sink, angry because Clarice is dodging their personal problems by obsessing about the elections. But I could be wrong; we’ll see in the next episode, I hope I hope I hope.

  44. mlk says:

    I don’t think there’s that much between Toni and Gloria. their one instance of opportunistic sex seems to have dispelled their heat. both seem more anxious about their families right now than finding a way to be together.

    it’s been said before — and it’s true — that Clarice keeps withholding something from the relationship. but she *does* keep stepping up. hmmmmmm . . . I’m not sure what to make of the emotional response she had to the Vermont marriage. and there’s the discrepancy in their account of how they met and whether they were both single at the time.

    a separation may be just what they need, because if this relationship’s gonna work Clarice has got to reprioritize her priorities. guess Toni will also have to allow mistakes as Clarice learns to be a different kind of partner.

    just my thoughts . . .

  45. dbd says:

    I know these characters aren’t meant to be “role models,” but their callousness toward Raffi through all this is really making it hard for me to like them much.

  46. mysticriver says:

    I love the way little mouse sums up the Toni-Clarice relationship – I was beginning to think I was the only one on “Team Clarice”! Sure, she had that fling with Ginger, but that was one night, pre-marriage, pre-baby, pre-mortgage, and during the Reagan (!) Administration. Meanwhile, Toni’s had a fire burning for Gloria since Raffi was one, and – despite her responsibilities to her family – finally chose to act on those desires. Her focus has always been on the next goal – the baby, the house, and now Freedom to Marry – without stopping and appreciating things as they are or particularly appreciating Clarice for who she is.

    The marriage issue is the most striking example – Toni & Clarice have been married already four times by my count (Backyard committment ceremony, DC March, Vermont civil union, and on the steps of City Hall), but somehow this still isn’t enough for Toni, she still is looking for some larger Capital C Committment, without recognizing what she has, a loving spouse who – although she obsesses about politics – is devoted to her and to their son. For the past few years it seems like Clarice has been doing most of the hands-on parenting and developing a relationship with Raffi. Toni does seem to be just trudging through, fixated on errands and schedules and goals rather than the casual interaction that builds relationships. I feel the only time in the past decade that I’ve seen Toni not look looking or acting crabby was when she was having sex with Gloria.

    I guess we’ll have to see what happens – and I’m particularly interested where this leads if the marriage split-up is an allegory for a U.S.-Iraqi withdrawal.

    And if they do split up…does this mean Clarice can get a new do?

  47. Mosme says:

    Interesting how Clarice always escapes: politics, old memories of fling with ginger, even into Raffi’s video game!

    What will Calrice’s new job be? Where will she live? Clarice never liked the suburbs.

    I also worry about how this breakup will affect Mo. Clarice and Tony have ALWAYS been her role models. Maybe this will be the catalyst to leave Sydney. Mo is so private about her s*x life, yet SYdney published it in Panthouse.

    We’ll see in two weeks!

  48. Yossi says:

    Clarice has never been completely committed to Toni. Toni deserves PASSION and EXCITEMENT. Things that she hasn’t received from Clarice in a LONG time. Perhaps Toni and Gloria DO belong together.

    On another note, what about Lois? We haven’t hear from her in a LONG time. Jamsine is not right for her. I miss Harriet and I would really like to find out what the heck happened to Emma.

    I apologize for rambling but I am in my next-to-last semester in Graduate school (Library and Information Science) and my nerves are on edge.

    Shalom!!!

  49. Silvio Soprani says:

    Well, perhaps you (CML) and Alison THINK Toni is just washing the dishes, but (even though you are the author, A.,) it just seemed dramatically possibly that she sees something shocking out the window. Like, I was trying to imagine what Stella could have electronically engineered that quickly that Toni could see out the window. A mobile billboard? A laser projection in the sky? A plane trailing a sign? What can I say, the episode was THAT suspenseful.

    Sometimes my eyesight is not as good as my imagination. (I always read the details people note on the blog and go back to the strip and think “how did I miss that?”)

  50. Lily says:

    Youtube…Crocs, Alison, you’re more with it than I am!

  51. --MC says:

    I’m guessing that since Toni is washing dishes with enough energy to send drops flying, she’s pissed. Clarice’s expression as she puts the leftovers in the fridge makes me sad. Another dinner ruined by the sorrow of losing love. Clearly, something has to happen. I hope Stella’s crazy plan works.

  52. LWD in Madison says:

    Jeepers…I feel JUST like Clarice; I am totally obsessed with this election tomorrow and I hope every single progressive in this country gets to the polls …and I bet Alison does too! There are HUGE issues at stake and even though I sympathize with Toni, my heart is with Clarice.

  53. Yossi says:

    I think that Toni and Stella should get together and Clarice and Ginger should get together or would that be too weird for the kids?

  54. April says:

    What does freedom to marry mean if there’s no-one to marry? What satisfaction is there in a Dem victory without someone to share it? Fight girls, fight!! oh and someone give Raffi a big, validating hug for Goddess sake…

  55. shadocat says:

    I too feel very Clarice-like right now. This senatorial election is soooo close here in Missouri, I just about to pee my pants in anticipation! McCaskill (the Dem.) looks to have the urban areas sewed up, but the pundits are all saying this will be decided in the rural areas- places like, oh-Marshall, Mo., for instance…

    No, no,no–must think positive thoughts-must not let the negative waves start rolling in…..

  56. Suzanonymous says:

    Another point of view: the kids could be in that “let’s see what happens if we flaunt an unwritten rule” mode. Rebellion, anger, fear, who knows what feelings are behind it. Things are changing and it’s unhappy and they have no say and that’s frustrating. They don’t want to be tossed about by the waves of change like kids and don’t want to be grownup about the changes either (and they are kids).

    rambling a bit.

  57. Eliyanna says:

    I can’t handle this. I need Clarice and Toni to stay together. If they can’t make it work I feel doomed.

    Anyone seen the ads for “Stranger Than Fiction”? Where the guy realizes that someone is narrating his life and is planning to kill him off in the final chapter of her book – so he goes on a mission to convince his “author” to let him live?

    Clarice and Toni should really have a talk with our friend Ms. Bechdel about letting their lives fall apart like this…

  58. Maggie Jochild says:

    Eliyanna, two weekends ago in the novel I’m writing, I killed off a major character, a lesbian I adored. Now I’m stricken with guilt.

  59. shadocat says:

    Okay, if I can stay away from CNN for a few moments, I have some thoughts on Toni and Clarice…

    I was always behind the “Clarice and Toni Forever Movement”.
    Then I started thumbing through some of my old books..

    1.The very first night thet made love, Clarice ran off early to keep a date with her then current girlfriend that she had just used Toni to cheat on…

    2. Toni was focused on baby-making from the get-go, more focused on that than on her new relationship with Clarice.

    3. Clarice finally agrees to marraige and baby-making. Then Toni goes to Puerto Rico, and Clarice cheats with Ginger;Toni cries.

    4. Toni and Clarice reconcile, and make a baby, for awhile,Raffi preoccupates them.

    5. Clarice concentrates on her new career; Toni gets bored and kisses Gloria.

    6. Over the years the crushes give revolving betwen these four. Meanwhile, with a couple of exceptions, Clarice and Toni just look ezhausted with each other, Then of course there was the whole election funk…

    7. Maybe they should’ve NEVER gotten married in the first place, let alone four times! Maybe Clarice should try her luck with Ginger; maybe Toni should just go for it with Gloria.

    8. Maybe once their parents are happy, the kids will be happier too,

    Just a thought.

  60. elisgem says:

    i have also reread all dtwof-books just a while ago. i do that once a year when i need to have some family around me 😉
    and i have to agree with shadocat – tony and clarice have had a bad time as long as the strip goes. in this way they remind me (sorry folks, i know this must sound like some kind of insult to some) like the uber-couple in the l-word, tina & bette, who from the start were “the” couple without ever emotionally convincing me. it was a bit like: somebody has to make it. and they’ve become an institution that helps all of us (the romantics, anyway) believe.
    yet another sad but wonderful strip. and if i may add a wish here: i do hope that sydney and mo will not separate. for some odd reason i like sydney, and i think that mo and her are not the worst match, in this world at least, which is less than ideal.

  61. eleusimae says:

    If your child is aware that you should split up, maybe the time has come to end the relationship or transition it into something more livable. I agree with shadocat that kids are usually aware of imminent breakup before their parents, and I think that awareness may not be all negative. Remember that Raffi has already told his moms – “I wish you would get divorced. Then I could be normal”, which is in itself an adept comment first on Toni and Clarice’s troubled relationship, but second on the fact that divorce is, in many ways, the norm for modern couples.

    For all of them, but especially for Raffi, who saw it coming a mile away, the breakup may have positive, as well as negative elements.

  62. Alex the Bold says:

    And just a pause, at 3:18 p.m., to collectively hold hands with Mo, Clarice, Toni, Jezanna, and all the rest, on the most important election in years.

    Please, let it be fair. Please, let it advance something besides just greed, greed, greed.

    Please, let the Democrats win, and let them miraculously discover they’ve grown some ova in the night.

  63. shadocat says:

    Ya know, I miss Lois too- and I do think Jasmine is all wrong for her; she just seems focused on this “mothering” thing with Janis.

    And I also miss Harriet; So here’s my idea- what about Lois and Harriet?

    Ok, I know it sounds a little odd; but really, they’re both basically down to earth people. Lois could indulge her mothering urge with little Emma. And Harriet could indulge a bit in the wilder side of life for a change. Then we’d all get to see them more often.

    Plus it would make Mo CRAZY!

  64. shadocat says:

    Oh, and Alex, I’ve had my fingers and toes crossed all day for the Dems…I’ve been looking over my shoulder for the past couple of days, trying to post and watch CNN at the same time (at least that’s my newest excuse for all my typos in my recent posts!)

  65. Nif says:

    I like the Lois and Jasmine combo. Lois seems to have inadvertently settled down! I’d love to see that explored more.

    I hate the whole serial monogamy leap from one partner to the next thing. I think that a separation would be good for Clarice and Toni. I’m of two minds about whether they should get back together, but I definitely don’t think they need to be sleeping with anyone else until they get their heads screwed on straight.

  66. sweeter_the_juice says:

    I didn’t take the time to read through all of the responses, so I apologize in advance if this has already been suggested, but maybe the separation between Clarice and Toni will lead to the “open” relationship that Alison hinted at several books ago. I dunno, what do you think?

  67. Amy says:

    Seems like Clarice is so (understandably) caught up in politics that she has no time for one relationship, much less two.

    It would be interesting to see whether Clarice is happier being truly single, which she pretty much hasn’t been during her adult life. She was never happy moving away to the ‘burbs, and it was something Toni seemed to force on her for Rafi’s sake. At the time, I sympathized with Toni, but in retrospect it seems pretty controlling, and it also seems unrealistic that they couldn’t have found a compromise in the ‘old neighborhood’ – something not next to a crack house, but not in Stepford either. But it was a great way to move DTWOF beyond its constained universe.

    It’s easy to take Toni’s side and I think I’ve been doing that for a long time. But when I look at the pressure put on Clarice to have a baby, move away from the neighborhood, and then having Toni cheat on her in their own house when she was supposed to be on vacation with her partner and her son… seems like these two have done so much to hurt one another over the years, with so little in the way of constructive relationship building. And for nearly their entire relationship, they seem to have wanted quite different things.

  68. Rai says:

    I agree with eleusimae, that if your child feels that it’s time to to end the relationship or to have a break then some real change has to happen for the health (in a holistic sense) of all involved.

    I also agree with Nif, I also like the Lois and Jasmine combo. Her support for Hermione’s transitioning is a great development for the series. I also agree with Nif that its interesting that Lois has seemed to settle down and would like to see this explored further. The evolution of characters is true to life and maintains reader interest.

    Re: the idea of Gloria and Toni – yes, I can see this happening, but I think any suggestions of Ginger and Clarice are barking up the wrong tree. Clarice really needs to address her anxiety levels. It seems to me that she has anxiety that is affecting her ability to be there for Toni. Fear makes it difficult to be present.

    I would love for Ginger to move past her commitment issues or at least resolve these a bit more. It’s like her character is stuck in time, like a needle caught on a scratch in a record.

    I just would like to see one healthy long term lesbian relationship depicted somewhere out in the community. Yes, change and challenges are healthy for long term relationships – but does everyone really have to cheat on their partners?

  69. Rai says:

    Sorry, Hermione…I mean Janis (I didn’t even like the last Harry Potter!)

    P.s. I’m voting for Samia and Ginger to move in together…

  70. dbd says:

    …and the positive thing about beating your children is that it relieves a lot of that pent-up frustration, afterwards leaving you feeling refreshed and able to be a more caring parent.

  71. Rai says:

    um, I guess that’s sarcasm…

  72. JenK says:

    I like the Lois and Harriet idea…maybe Lois could see Harriet along with Jasmine?

  73. RiotGrrl613 says:

    La cage au Foley?!?
    You kill me!
    Rock on in brilliance!
    Riot out.

  74. HLM says:

    Wow, peeps. I see Clarice and Toni having the real kinds of crises that most people have in their relationships, with or without kids, but especially with kids, mortgages, and all those other “grown up” pressures. They have lived through so much together, including Toni’s parents’ massive homophobic freak-out and they do love each other, but (sorry to paraphrase a stupid song) sometimes love just is not enough. I don’t know if they will make it, that’s up to Alison and the characters in her head. Not everyone does make it. And maybe making it last forever isn’t always the point. We do *not* have to buy into the heterosexist patriarchal Hollywood fantasies just b/c straight people have them and we don’t. Much aloha to all, HLM

  75. Mosme says:

    There are some good, strong healthy relationships. They are not in the central cast of characters, however.

    1) Thea and Maxine
    2) Jezana and Audrey

    who else?

    Dysfunctional:
    Hariette is a single mom. Jasmine is, too.

    The main characters are all in hard times in their relationship, it seems. The mind wonders…what are we missing between strips?

  76. Aneilie says:

    why is being a single mom dysfunctional?

    I don’t get it!

  77. Mosme says:

    There are no main relationship has stayed together long-term.

    The point was no two-parent families in the strip. Harriette chose to be a single mom. Not sure what happened with Jasmine.

  78. Suzanonymous says:

    I agree single moms are not dysfunctional: some of them are very inspiring to me. I don’t find Harriet inspiring, but that’s not because she’s a single mom.

  79. ewee says:

    brilliant, as usual. cheering myself up with a little dtwof fix…

    and posted this earlier on flickr page (ok, so i’m getting a *big* dtwof fix…i need it today…), but it looks like the planet out archive goes to #483:
    http://www.planetout.com/entertainment/comics/dtwof/archive/483….

    not sure why the interface doesn’t work, but you should be able to replace “483” in the url above with 482 and 481…and voila!

    🙂

    (happily blissfully catching up on my dtwof. i’m a long time reader, so it’s a thrill to read and reread it. and yes, i own the books too…)