#924 – this great sense of calm

I remember bringing this one to a friend's house to ink, and with one glance he asked if Will was hung over. Felt good.

I know birth order is sometimes considered pseudoscience, but I've found it helpful in clarifying my role in the family and how it affects my relationships. My husband and I are both middle children, and we both deal with an overwhelming need for Fairness in a household, to the point of obsessively doling out (and arguing over) responsibilities, food portions, who picks the movie, etc. Acknowledging this has allowed us to work on it productively over the years, custom-tailor our roles, and really let shit go. It wasn't a conscious choice to give Eve and Will common familial roles, but it did seem like a jumping point for the kind of commitment Will is looking for. Assuming Eve, from a safe and idealized distance, wants to talk about this shit at all.

13 thoughts on “#924 – this great sense of calm

  1. When this strip originally ran, someone pointed out that the phrase “just a touch of the Consequences” reminded them of Achewood. That prompted me to finally read Achewood. Very grateful to that person.

    1. God, I miss Achewood.

  2. TheAntiHumorEquation

    I can't help but think of how all this random coughing would play now.

  3. Panel three is one of the greatest panels of all time.

    I may have used it in my personal life.

    1. I may have used panel 6.

      Really good strip for panels, this one.

      1. Spousal Ms ValdVin is an MSW psychotherapist, so she's been on that side of the panel six convo.

    2. It’s the panel I most often think about when I think about this storyline.

  4. I love how much is going on in panel five and I love it. The therapist nudging at the possibility that Will is idealizing Eve while unwittingly signaling to long-time readers that there's a good bit working in Eve and Will's favor is a cool thing I don't have a great word for. Narrative pun? Hopeful dramatic irony? I don't know what to call it but it's dope as shit.

    1. Please enjoy my expert editorial style in the first sentence there.

  5. Alfred Adler was onto something when he championed birth order. There's truth to the idea that there are insecurities, expectations, and psychodramas that are inherent to where you are in the family roster.

  6. My younger brother and I are the exact opposite of all the expected birth-order stuff. But then, I'm autistic and he's not.

  7. My girlfriend and I use a "touch of the consequences" when one of us (usually me) has had a bit too much the previous night.

  8. I have a touch of the consequences today.
    The consequences are acting up.
    Sorry can't make it, I've got the deep consequences.

    Almost sorry I gave up drinking cause I'd use the heck out of that gag.

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