Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

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May 5, 2026

Fox

by David M Willis on January 25, 2016 at 12:01 am
  • 02 - That Perfect Girl
└ Tags: becky, dina, dorothy, joyce, walky

Discussion (480) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Adam Black
    Adam Black
    January 25, 2016 at 12:01 am | #

    halo

    • DarkVeghetta
      DarkVeghetta
      January 25, 2016 at 5:51 am | #

      [internal screaming] halo or stars and bunnies halo? Or perhaps innocent Dorothy speech-bubble halo.

      • Adam Black
        Adam Black
        January 26, 2016 at 2:25 am | #

        Its: “I-refreshed-the-page2x-and-its still-devoid-of-comments.-Is the site broken-has-nuclear-war-started?-Are-commenters-striking-over-the comments-closing-2x-in-a-week?-Ive-never-ever-been-first-“test”-isnt-allowed-Where-Is-JenAside-OK-lets-see-if-this-works-HALO”

    • Tayo
      Tayo
      January 25, 2016 at 3:07 pm | #

      willis made the meme before I could dammit

  2. AnvilPro
    AnvilPro
    January 25, 2016 at 12:01 am | #

    Walky does not waste his time getting petty revenge

    • StClair
      StClair
      January 25, 2016 at 12:03 am | #

      I’m 99% certain he’s completely unaware.
      For someone so smart, he’s pretty dumb.

      • Meibolite
        Meibolite
        January 25, 2016 at 12:05 am | #

        Walky is so dense, i’m surprised he hasn’t collapsed into a black hole.

        • Yet_One_More_Idiot
          Yet_One_More_Idiot
          January 25, 2016 at 12:09 am | #

          He did, but he was so dense that he didn’t realise it, and then he collapsed back out again. 🙂

          • Deanatay
            Deanatay
            January 25, 2016 at 7:58 am | #

            Walky was a black hole, but he emitted so much stupid that his event horizon collapsed.

            • whispl
              whispl
              January 25, 2016 at 3:00 pm | #

              please stop using the word “collapse” to mean something expanding

              • das-g
                das-g
                January 25, 2016 at 3:59 pm | #

                Well, in case of a black whole emitting something, it’s probably “vaporizing” (losing mass / energy), thus the event horizon would actually get narrower, i.e., collapse, not expand.

              • Shrimpist Christ
                Shrimpist Christ
                January 25, 2016 at 4:03 pm | #

                Actually, that’s the point. It’s so backwards and so ____ that regular physics and english don’t apply correct.

                It’s just so weird that it collapses into a larger state. Like falling away from the center of the Earth.

        • AgentKeen
          AgentKeen
          January 25, 2016 at 1:19 am | #

          He might eat enough for that to be true…

        • Uniqueantique
          Uniqueantique
          January 25, 2016 at 2:10 am | #

          Excellent observation.

        • Amake
          Amake
          January 25, 2016 at 2:54 am | #

          Obviously a mistake. How could a new level of learning challenge me when the level I’m used to doesn’t challenge me? I’m smart!

        • Smiling Cat
          Smiling Cat
          January 25, 2016 at 3:46 am | #

          Dotty’s actually white though…

          (god forgive me)

          • squanchy
            squanchy
            January 25, 2016 at 11:35 am | #

            What a gross thing to think of. It’s even grosser to imagine you holding this gem lovingly in your mind until you typed it out.

      • Leorale
        Leorale
        January 25, 2016 at 12:09 am | #

        Foxes are also not good at noticing unrequited-crush drama.

        • Gangler
          Gangler
          January 25, 2016 at 3:32 am | #

          Foxes are mostly just good at finding discount junk food.

      • Kris
        Kris
        January 25, 2016 at 12:26 am | #

        I think this whole strip proves he’s not actually smart at all.

        • Psychotic Mantis
          Psychotic Mantis
          January 25, 2016 at 12:33 am | #

          Actually, Walky is smart. Incredibly so, actually.

          However, he’s outright terrible at studying, and when he struggles to learn something, it kinda begins sliding backwards.

          On that topic, he also needs to work on APPLYING his knowledge…

          But make no mistake, he’s still dense. He’s smart, not really all that perceptive, and denser than a black-hole two times inverted.

          • Cerberus
            Cerberus
            January 25, 2016 at 12:48 am | #

            He’s a dumbass when it comes to social interactions. Hell, it’s mostly his hot body that is to thank for having a girlfriend at all.

            • trlkly
              trlkly
              January 25, 2016 at 9:53 am | #

              It doesn’t help that he becomes even stupider around pretty girls, and he honestly seemed to be crushing on Becky a bit when they first met.

              • Spencer
                Spencer
                January 25, 2016 at 10:00 am | #

                #wacky forever

          • Kris
            Kris
            January 25, 2016 at 12:59 am | #

            Eh mmmaybeee?? I haven’t seen him act very smart. He seems more like a guy with the potential to be smart but is too lazy to work at it academically, socially, and whatever category street smart is.

            • Cerberus
              Cerberus
              January 25, 2016 at 1:07 am | #

              Oh yeah, very much agree with this.

          • EvilWriter
            EvilWriter
            January 25, 2016 at 1:03 am | #

            If he’s anything like I was around his age, he’s extremely intelligent, but also extremely self-absorbed. He picks up on concepts very quickly, and puts ideas together very quickly, but he assumes his raw intelligence will see him through and so he doesn’t notice a lot of things around him or really pay attention to other people. Anything outside his experience (like Becky’s unrequited love for Joyce, or Calculus) results in a critical data failure and poor conclusions regardless of his innate intellect.

            When I was around Walky’s age I was smacked in the face with my own ignorance, leading to more awareness and eagerness to gather facts, and less reliance on my own raw intelligence. Failing math may create such a moment for Walky.

            Of course that’s assuming our situations are similar. Normally I identify more with Joyce’s childhood than Walky’s.

          • seventhsword2
            seventhsword2
            January 25, 2016 at 1:11 am | #

            Yeah, I have the same problem as Walky, I was able to coast through school, never needing to study. now I can’t study as it instills self-doubt that causes me to second guess myself, which cause me so many problems

          • Gangler
            Gangler
            January 25, 2016 at 3:44 am | #

            Walky’s “Smart” enough to cruise through highschool, which isn’t really all that smart.

            Like it feels like a big deal when you’re in highschool of course, because your whole life is centered around this institution, but Walky’s rapidly discovering it doesn’t mean too much now that he’s graduated.

            • Clay
              Clay
              January 26, 2016 at 8:22 am | #

              Yes this. Especially if you choose a difficult major, you quickly realize when you get to college that everyone there was one of the smartest in their high school class, and you’ll never be the best again.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            January 25, 2016 at 7:45 am | #

            To quote Walky himself

            Dunno. Tuned ’em out. I get in less trouble that way.
            All this emotional feel-feel crap is too complicated for me to navigate. Learned that with my sis’ a buncha years ago”

            He’s shown flashes of perception when he tries, but he usually finds it easier and safer not to. Keeps the expectations low too.

          • Cacturne
            Cacturne
            January 25, 2016 at 10:18 am | #

            I think Walky is totlly aware of the effect his words had on Becky, at least in this situation
            He’s still dense, but I think this one was petty revenge.

        • JoyceParty
          JoyceParty
          January 25, 2016 at 12:34 am | #

          Exactly. Good grades =/= smart. Good grades, especially the way Walky has (preivously) achieved them, means being able to regurgitate and requires very little original thought or critical thinking.

          • Pedantic Peanut
            Pedantic Peanut
            January 25, 2016 at 1:11 am | #

            Good Grades =/= usefully smart but it’s usually a good indicator of the capability to develop smarts. They just don’t do anything to develop them on their own.

        • That Damn Rat
          That Damn Rat
          January 25, 2016 at 12:38 am | #

          There’s a difference between a lack of intelligence, and a lack of f*cks to give

        • Freezer
          Freezer
          January 25, 2016 at 1:10 am | #

          As the old RPGer saying goes “Intelligence and Wisdom are separate rolls.”

          • Anon
            Anon
            January 25, 2016 at 11:30 pm | #

            OMG, I need a like button

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        January 25, 2016 at 1:54 am | #

        I’m not sure. Walky’s pretty egocentric so by defaultn he’d have recounted his&Joe’s experience, not Dorothy’s and Joyce’s.

        • WaytoomanyUIDs
          WaytoomanyUIDs
          January 25, 2016 at 7:53 am | #

          Yeah, I have to agree with you, he was to busy trying to distract attention from himself to consider others feelings. At least if he actually realized how much that might hurt Becky he would be sorry, but be didn’t.

          Walky really has a LOT of growing up and apologizing to do. Dan has actually matured more than him.

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      January 25, 2016 at 12:18 am | #

      This is not petty revenge.  He is absolutely, totally, and completely that clueless.

      • Dara
        Dara
        January 25, 2016 at 12:30 am | #

        Yeah – this isn’t revenge, this is the giant clue void which currently resides in Walky’s head.

      • ninja_jesus
        ninja_jesus
        January 25, 2016 at 12:45 am | #

        I disagree. I think Walky knew it’d implicate Joyce in a weird situation, the exact kind of situation that Becky would be upset about. This is absolutely petty revenge, but it also thoughtless; he’s inadvertently implicated Dorothy in this too, and Becky already was jealous of her in the first place.

        What I hope happens is that Becky laughs it off and keeps a cool head about it. She has Dina now, so Becky should put that relationship first.

        • doubleW
          doubleW
          January 25, 2016 at 1:21 am | #

          Didn’t we start this storyline with Sarah and Dina musing about being the rebound? This isn’t going to go perfectly.

        • podian
          podian
          January 25, 2016 at 1:36 am | #

          Hanlon’s Razor: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”

          Particularly if it’s Walky.

    • Uniqueantique
      Uniqueantique
      January 25, 2016 at 2:12 am | #

      I’m not sure that Walky is aware of Becky’s mad love for Joyce.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      January 25, 2016 at 4:23 am | #

      I find it highly improbable that Walky has any clue what effect that offhand summation of the lesson is having on Becky.

  3. Mr. Random
    Mr. Random
    January 25, 2016 at 12:01 am | #

    (External laughing)

    • JessWitt
      JessWitt
      January 25, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

      [Internal dreading]

      • Plasma Mongoose
        Plasma Mongoose
        January 25, 2016 at 12:07 am | #

        At least it’s not [Internal Bleeding].

        • Yet_One_More_Idiot
          Yet_One_More_Idiot
          January 25, 2016 at 12:09 am | #

          Or [Eternal Bleeding] for that matter…

          • Captain Button
            Captain Button
            January 25, 2016 at 12:26 am | #

            Only if Becky goes Full Yandere.

            • inqntrol
              inqntrol
              January 25, 2016 at 1:44 am | #

              “Maybe if I’ll murder everyone around,Senpai will notice me.”

              • DarkoNeko
                DarkoNeko
                January 25, 2016 at 2:05 am | #

                [screams internally]

              • Spencer
                Spencer
                January 25, 2016 at 6:05 pm | #

                You know, Becky did used to have the exact same hairstyle as Joyce.

                Maybe things are gonna go Single White Female up in here.

        • DarkVeghetta
          DarkVeghetta
          January 25, 2016 at 5:53 am | #

          Well, [Internal Bleeding] isn’t excluded. I mean she is a girl…

    • Cephalo the Pod
      Cephalo the Pod
      January 25, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

      [Ternal hunger]

      • random832
        random832
        January 25, 2016 at 12:21 am | #

        Not [eternal] ?

        • a snow ʍousɐ
          a snow ʍousɐ
          January 25, 2016 at 10:49 am | #

          Maybe Cephalo hungers for terns?

    • NaYa
      NaYa
      January 25, 2016 at 12:09 am | #

      [external groaning]

      • Dana
        Dana
        January 25, 2016 at 12:50 am | #

        [external femurs]

        • Abel Undercity
          Abel Undercity
          January 25, 2016 at 4:33 am | #

          [internal coffee]

          [keep it comin’]

  4. Rachel
    Rachel
    January 25, 2016 at 12:01 am | #

    That’s a great poker face.

    • No Name
      No Name
      January 25, 2016 at 12:37 am | #

      Joyce’s or Becky’s?

  5. Captain Button
    Captain Button
    January 25, 2016 at 12:01 am | #

    Becky – Do not let on that this upsets you, that would upset Dina.

    Dina – Pretend that you don’t notice Becky being upset.

    • Kepod
      Kepod
      January 25, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

      I don’t think Dina would necessarily need to pretend, depending on whether Becky’s reactions are ones Dina knows how to interpret.

      • gkheyf
        gkheyf
        January 25, 2016 at 12:10 am | #

        for example, becky suddenly squeezing her hand into a diamond

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      January 25, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

      I dunno, Becky’s got a crazy good poker face. On the other hand, Dina knows this is Becky’s rebooting panic face:
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/04-walking-with-dina/cuteness/

      • Captain Button
        Captain Button
        January 25, 2016 at 12:19 am | #

        Which of course gets me wondering if her home life gave her very good reasons to develop a poker face.

        • Cerberus
          Cerberus
          January 25, 2016 at 12:26 am | #

          Well, normally I would assume so. Quick, let us consult the paaaa- Yup, I’d say the likelihood of that is at about a 114%.

        • Rutee
          Rutee
          January 25, 2016 at 8:47 am | #

          What’s really good is my family thought I was a /bad/ liar prior to coming out, because I’m the greatest actress.

          • Emily
            Emily
            January 25, 2016 at 8:59 am | #

            I’m a terrible liar but it’s a lot easier to do when you’re so far in denial you think it’s the truth.

      • Zababcd
        Zababcd
        January 25, 2016 at 4:59 am | #

        I’m not sure her face will be the crucial factor, as far as Dina goes. She’s holding Dina’s hand. I’m more worried about her poker-grip.

    • Calmcalamity
      Calmcalamity
      January 25, 2016 at 12:36 am | #

      my thoughts exactly

  6. John
    John
    January 25, 2016 at 12:02 am | #

    Is Walky resentful or just oblivious? I can’t really tell.

    • Cattleprod
      Cattleprod
      January 25, 2016 at 12:05 am | #

      Does Walky even know Becky has an unrequited love thing going on with Joyce?

      (I think 99% of my posts are about forgetting interpersonal relationship stuff that was mentioned in strips from over a year ago.)

      • John
        John
        January 25, 2016 at 12:17 am | #

        If he’s as good at putting two and two together as he pretends not to be, I think he does.

        I don’t think his resentment, if that’s what it is, was targeted at Becky anyway. She’s just collateral damage.

        • Cattleprod
          Cattleprod
          January 25, 2016 at 12:26 am | #

          Your linked strip being over a year old certainly supports my second point.

          • John
            John
            January 25, 2016 at 12:28 am | #

            Gods, Becky has been here for over a year, hasn’t she.

        • Cerberus
          Cerberus
          January 25, 2016 at 12:28 am | #

          I’m really hoping that his “putting two and two together” skills are as overhyped as his ability to learn any subject without studying. Otherwise, that’s an immensely cruel thing to do to someone, especially given it’s been only a week since the most traumatic part of her life (hopefully).

        • Spencer
          Spencer
          January 25, 2016 at 12:46 am | #

          I don’t think so. In that case he was referring to how his feelings for Dorothy had gotten deeper than he expected, and that he didn’t know what to do with them.

          • John
            John
            January 25, 2016 at 2:44 am | #

            Yeah, but that’s not who Becky was talking about.

            With benefit of hindsight and exploded closets, he may have figured out why Becky so easily commiserated with him about loved ones going off to the big-time college and leaving them alone.

            • Spencer
              Spencer
              January 25, 2016 at 8:36 am | #

              That would require perception on Walky’s part.

              I’m pretty sure he was too wrapped up in feeling bad about Dorothy to make any kind of connection.

        • Deanatay
          Deanatay
          January 25, 2016 at 8:43 am | #

          I thought for sure you’d be referencing this example of Walky’s perceptiveness.

          • Spencer
            Spencer
            January 25, 2016 at 8:45 am | #

            I can’t express in words how much I hate that part.

    • Kernanator
      Kernanator
      January 25, 2016 at 12:05 am | #

      Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.

      • JackOfAllTrades
        JackOfAllTrades
        January 25, 2016 at 12:43 am | #

        Oh my god. Can I quote you on that?

        • Dana
          Dana
          January 25, 2016 at 12:48 am | #

          It’s a saying with some amount of currency; I’m heard it before.

        • Deanatay
          Deanatay
          January 25, 2016 at 8:45 am | #

          It’s usual form is “Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity.” Vary to taste.

          • JackOfAllTrades
            JackOfAllTrades
            January 25, 2016 at 10:13 am | #

            Ah, but this is a play on Arthur Clarke’s law of technology and magic!
            Which earns extra nerd points.

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        January 25, 2016 at 12:52 am | #

        I like that. Now I’m going to start thinking about other ways that pairing can be formed.

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        January 25, 2016 at 12:56 am | #

        or to put it another way, friendly fire and the company mess should be easier to distinguish. I forget which number maxim that is.

        • Void
          Void
          January 25, 2016 at 5:50 pm | #

          That’s maxim 23

      • passcod
        passcod
        January 25, 2016 at 1:30 am | #

        Which is nearly but not quite Hanlon’s razor.

        • Tenzhi
          Tenzhi
          January 25, 2016 at 2:06 am | #

          TvTropes’ entry on Hanlon’s Razor calls it Grey’s Corollary. I would’ve posted this a bit sooner, but I was briefly caught in the gravitational pull of a Trope Hole.

      • Uniqueantique
        Uniqueantique
        January 25, 2016 at 2:14 am | #

        Excellent observation.

    • Captain Button
      Captain Button
      January 25, 2016 at 12:07 am | #

      Walky has a history of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, if I recall correctly.

      • Rukduk
        Rukduk
        January 25, 2016 at 1:02 am | #

        Yeah, gun to his head-

    • tim gueguen
      tim gueguen
      January 25, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

      It’s Walky. Clueless should always been assumed.

    • Mandy
      Mandy
      January 25, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

      99.9% of the time, I assume that Walky is just oblivious.

      • John
        John
        January 25, 2016 at 12:22 am | #

        Just as planned.

        Seriously, a lot of that is actually a front so he doesn’t have to engage things he doesn’t want to deal with. But, like Zaphod, it’s hard to tell with Walky when he’s pretending to be dumb because he doesn’t want to deal with something, when he’s being actually dumb, and when he’s pretending to be incredibly dumb to cover up that he really doesn’t know what’s going on.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          January 25, 2016 at 7:50 am | #

          Pretty much this.
          As part of the “pretending to be dumb” he doesn’t put a lot of effort into figuring the social things out, sometimes leaving him actually dumber than he intended.

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      January 25, 2016 at 12:10 am | #

      He looks pissed…BUUUUT I think this is just poking at Joyce with his usual ‘Joyce has the hots for Dorothy’ thing than anything directly related to Becky’s feelings for Joyce.

      • saltchocolate
        saltchocolate
        January 25, 2016 at 8:04 pm | #

        This was my thought. He never passes up an opportunity to make a snarky reference to how much Joyce wants his girlfriend.

    • Cephalo the Pod
      Cephalo the Pod
      January 25, 2016 at 12:10 am | #

      In this specific instance, I believe he’s deliberately intending to get back at Joyce, but he doesn’t know how deep he’s cutting.

      • John
        John
        January 25, 2016 at 12:26 am | #

        Is he trying to get back at Joyce for the math thing, or is he expressing resentment for Dorothy getting pretend-hitched to Joyce instead of him (or Joyce for kicking him out of his pretend marriage and taking over the pretend First Lady slot)? ¿O porque no los dos?

      • Captain Button
        Captain Button
        January 25, 2016 at 12:29 am | #

        We have already had our lesson on disproportionate response this week, thank you very much.

      • Chrissy
        Chrissy
        January 25, 2016 at 5:40 am | #

        He knows that he should be walking on eggshells around both Becky and Joyce, since they both had a pretty rough couple of days. But he’s purposefully saying something to grate at Joyce merely because she said she knows he’s doing poorly, and won’t go far out of her way to maintain his illusion. You’re right, I don’t think he knows quite how triggering his statement is, but he definitely knows not to be giving Joyce any shit that could upset her (and she was clearly upset in class about the exercise). So yeah, Walky is trying to upset Joyce despite knowing better. He’s being a jerk.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      January 25, 2016 at 1:24 am | #

      I’m absolutely sure this is just to be hurtful. Otherwise he wouldn’t have wasted comedy gold in this way, if he told it like a good story he and Becky would laugh about it for an hour.

  7. Mr. Mendo
    Mr. Mendo
    January 25, 2016 at 12:02 am | #

    Oh, Walky got Joyce so good! #PotStirring! ^_^

  8. TooManyMonkeys
    TooManyMonkeys
    January 25, 2016 at 12:02 am | #

    Walky may be beyond the tutoring powers of the bowtie. At least, as we’ve seen it used so far.

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      January 25, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

      Walky cannot handle that level of sexy.

    • pjeseb
      pjeseb
      January 25, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

      If I’m remembering correctly, Jason didn’t actually help Sal at all, it was Danny who did that.

      • Leorale
        Leorale
        January 25, 2016 at 12:11 am | #

        You’re right, but Walky and Joyce don’t know that.

      • gkheyf
        gkheyf
        January 25, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

        yup. but joyce doesn’t know that. and walky would have trouble suddenly hanging out with his supposed arch-foe

        • Cerberus
          Cerberus
          January 25, 2016 at 12:29 am | #

          He-who-hath-more-than-one-pair-of-shoes

      • Willoughby chase
        Willoughby chase
        January 25, 2016 at 3:38 am | #

        What did not work for Sal may work for Walkie.

        But he’s already refused help from Jason.

        Whoever he goes to, acknowledging he needs help is the first step and he’s not there yet.

        At this rate he’ll flunk the unit.

  9. AHR
    AHR
    January 25, 2016 at 12:02 am | #

    And now it is time for Walky to stick it to the man and screw Jason.

    • Dean
      Dean
      January 25, 2016 at 12:42 am | #

      Coming soon on Slipshine, by David ‘College For Two’ Willis.

      • Someone
        Someone
        January 25, 2016 at 12:53 am | #

        I want to see how kinky Willis can get,
        will we get to see Walky screw Dorothy while wearing a head alien costume, only time will tell.

  10. Androiddreams
    Androiddreams
    January 25, 2016 at 12:02 am | #

    Tumblr-o-vision!

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      January 25, 2016 at 12:09 am | #

      Is that anything like Relax-O-Vision?

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        January 25, 2016 at 12:54 am | #

        Scream.

  11. Bladeglory
    Bladeglory
    January 25, 2016 at 12:02 am | #

    [Internal screaming intensifies]

  12. Dave
    Dave
    January 25, 2016 at 12:03 am | #

    “Internal screaming”…that’s cold, savage, and making me laugh inappropriately.

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      January 25, 2016 at 12:54 am | #

      You too?

  13. Walky_Talky
    Walky_Talky
    January 25, 2016 at 12:03 am | #

    It’s not as cool as Becky’s pretend future that she had planned for her and Joyce. Hers had flying ponies and ice cream mountains.

    • gkheyf
      gkheyf
      January 25, 2016 at 12:14 am | #

      and “other jackies” and matching hoodies and absolutely no bony poindexters!

    • random832
      random832
      January 25, 2016 at 12:22 am | #

      Yeah but was Joyce a fighter pilot in it?

      • gkheyf
        gkheyf
        January 25, 2016 at 12:32 am | #

        ya, who was shooting down whose sights?

        • gkheyf
          gkheyf
          January 25, 2016 at 12:32 am | #

          i just remembered the previous story arc immediately after posting this. sorry about that

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      January 25, 2016 at 1:26 am | #

      Becky has spent a LOT OF time planning her pretend future with Joyce.

  14. Ash Ketchup
    Ash Ketchup
    January 25, 2016 at 12:03 am | #

    MY OTP

  15. Shiro
    Shiro
    January 25, 2016 at 12:03 am | #

    Becky no

    • Mr k
      Mr k
      January 25, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

      Becky should be a yandere and kill Dorothy!

      (Just Kidding. I have nothing against the bony poindexter)

      • Shiro
        Shiro
        January 25, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

        Your animes worry me.

        • Mr k
          Mr k
          January 25, 2016 at 12:09 am | #

          Well, I learnt a lot from anime. Like martial arts gives you magic powers!

          • Tacos
            Tacos
            January 25, 2016 at 12:31 am | #

            Don’t forget that if someone asks you to get in the robot, you damn well get in the robot.

            • Scordo
              Scordo
              January 25, 2016 at 1:35 am | #

              and BELIEVE!!!

              • Captain Button
                Captain Button
                January 25, 2016 at 1:45 am | #

                But remember, if you are an anime character in a military or paramilitary organization you are either:

                A) On the the side of Evil.
                B) On the side of Severe Moral Ambiguity.
                or C) Your superiors are lying to you about something very important.

                • inqntrol
                  inqntrol
                  January 25, 2016 at 3:12 am | #

                  Isn’t C) happening in real life as well?

  16. Lia47
    Lia47
    January 25, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

    internal monologue is forbidden but internal screaming is fine

    • John
      John
      January 25, 2016 at 12:30 am | #

      I think Willis feeds off internal screaming.

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        January 25, 2016 at 12:55 am | #

        I think that’s ours, not his characters, though.

    • john
      john
      January 25, 2016 at 8:15 am | #

      Becky has a special one-panel-per-in-setting-week exception to the “no internal monologue” rule.

      • Captain Button
        Captain Button
        January 25, 2016 at 8:47 am | #

        Still want Robin to bring over her “No Monologuing!” THWUMP!! move.

        • Captain Button
          Captain Button
          January 25, 2016 at 8:47 am | #

          Argh, that was for flashbacking, not monologuing. My bad.

          • John
            John
            January 25, 2016 at 9:16 pm | #

            Amber could really use some of that.

  17. Luzahn
    Luzahn
    January 25, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

    So we have, what, some sort of weird love hexagon in this strip? It’ll all getting very convoluted.

    • Yet_One_More_Idiot
      Yet_One_More_Idiot
      January 25, 2016 at 12:11 am | #

      Only a hexagon? Let’s add more sides then! xD

    • Viktoria
      Viktoria
      January 25, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

      Dina dates Becky, Becky crushes on Joyce, Joyce dated Ethan, Joyce has something going for Dorothy, Dorothy dates Walky, Ethan and Danny crush on each other, Ethan dated Amber, Danny is dating Amber…is that all? I feel like that’s everyone who’s connected to this mess without bringing in Sal.

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        January 25, 2016 at 12:17 am | #

        Sal thinks Ethan is hot (and also threatened to stab him)

        Does Ethan have a crush on Danny? I didn’t think that was the case now, even though Danny is probably the ideal boyfriend for him.

      • John
        John
        January 25, 2016 at 12:38 am | #

        … Ethan crushes on Jocelyne, Ethan crushes on Jacob, Sarah crushes on Jacob, Raidah dates Jacob, Roz crushes on Jacob, Roz bangs Joe, Joe bangs Penny, Penny dated Jason, Jason bangs Sal, Billie is totally tsundere for Sal (and Walky too, but that’s just my headcanon), Billie dates Ruth, Billie dated Alice, Billie tried to bang Danny, Marcie crushes on Sal, Marcie crushes on Malaya, Becky made out with Kaitlyn…

        • John
          John
          January 25, 2016 at 12:43 am | #

          I have a suspicion that Joe banged Sierra, too. Also presumably a lot of random nameless chicks.

      • Catullus
        Catullus
        January 25, 2016 at 1:02 am | #

        And don’t forget that Dorothy used to date Danny.

    • Lord Stoneheart
      Lord Stoneheart
      January 25, 2016 at 12:13 am | #

      Becky loves Joyce and Dina. Dina loves Becky. Joyce likes Becky as a friend. Joyce likes Dorothy as a friend. There’s only three people in this love web. It’s just a good old fashioned triangle.

      • Captain Button
        Captain Button
        January 25, 2016 at 12:21 am | #

        Sit-com premise!

      • Scordo
        Scordo
        January 25, 2016 at 1:38 am | #

        A triangle must connect. Dina is a dead end.

        • John
          John
          January 25, 2016 at 2:20 am | #

          Your traditional “love triangle” is a V unconnected on the third side. Which is exactly the Dina-Becky-Joyce situation. The dynamics on that one are a little weird, though, because it’s usually the ends both want the middle, where in this case only one end wants the middle, and the middle wants both ends, the end that doesn’t want her more than the end that does.

          But even if you leave out the Dorothy-Joyce sismance (I guess that’s the lady version of bromance?), it’s not just a triangle, because you can still connect Kaitlyn to Becky and Joe to Joyce. They did date, albeit only briefly, and I’m pretty sure Joe’s still got a crush on Joyce fighting it out with his fear of emotional attachments and desire to stay away from her punchings. And Joe ties in all that other mess I mentioned above.

          • Lord Stoneheart
            Lord Stoneheart
            January 25, 2016 at 9:36 am | #

            Oh it’s all a giant web if you include all the characters in the entire comic. But the OP said strip, and so I interpreted that as this particular strip.

          • Peduncle
            Peduncle
            January 25, 2016 at 2:49 pm | #

            Let’s see. Roz had video sex with Joe, who had manacle sex with Penny, who may or may not have had contempt sex with Jason, who had pedantic sex with Sal, who lost her virginity after Apples to Apples and is the sister of Walky, who’s having doofus sex with Dorothy, who had high-school sex with Danny, who’s having costume sex with Amazi-Girl, who in her alter ego of Amber tried to have prom sex with Ethan, who “dated” Joyce, who played light-sword with Other Jacob, who entertains Sarah, who is conflicted about First Jacob, who could bonk Roz, completing the cycle.

            • Bagge
              Bagge
              January 25, 2016 at 3:32 pm | #

              I kinda want that illustrated…

              • Peduncle
                Peduncle
                January 25, 2016 at 7:42 pm | #

                Me too. Volunteers?

                For references, let’s start at the hypothetical end, with Roz and Jacob.

            • Tenn
              Tenn
              January 25, 2016 at 5:24 pm | #

              “Pedantic sex” needs to be a porn subgenre.

              …It already is, isn’t it?

              • Captain Button
                Captain Button
                January 25, 2016 at 5:40 pm | #

                Well, there is a whole blog devoted to analyzing the stuff written on blackboards in pornos, most of which are from pornos set in school. So many of them must included pedantry.

        • TheGrammarLegionary
          TheGrammarLegionary
          January 25, 2016 at 2:30 pm | #

          Dina got Walky’s drawing of the dinosaur early on, I’ll bet if she found out who, we’d have a a very faint edge to close the loop.

          • John
            John
            January 25, 2016 at 4:29 pm | #

            That was before she discovered that he thinks dinosaurs with feathers are big stupid chickens, though.

    • gkheyf
      gkheyf
      January 25, 2016 at 12:16 am | #

      let’s get a love hyper-dodecagon going up in this mofo!

      • Tacos
        Tacos
        January 25, 2016 at 12:26 am | #

        Yeah! Screw just 3 dimensions. Let’s go 4 dimensional up in this shizzle.

        • Cerberus
          Cerberus
          January 25, 2016 at 12:30 am | #

          When we hit 88 romantic entanglements, you’re gonna see some serious shit!

          • gkheyf
            gkheyf
            January 25, 2016 at 12:33 am | #

            the counter stands at 82…so step back

          • Orion Fury
            Orion Fury
            January 25, 2016 at 12:57 am | #

            This comment.

          • Leorale
            Leorale
            January 25, 2016 at 1:49 am | #

            Where we’re going, we don’t need drama tags.

    • ninja_jesus
      ninja_jesus
      January 25, 2016 at 12:55 am | #

      SOMEONE MAKE A SHIPPING CHART!

      • Captain Button
        Captain Button
        January 25, 2016 at 1:28 am | #

        Here you go.

        • ninja_jesus
          ninja_jesus
          January 25, 2016 at 1:34 am | #

          Smartass. 😛

        • Scordo
          Scordo
          January 25, 2016 at 1:40 am | #

          That was awesome. Good job, click on my name for your cookie.

          • namae
            namae
            January 25, 2016 at 11:41 am | #

            What have you done to me.
            Why must I click cookies.
            Aaaah.
            o_o’

  18. Mydnyt
    Mydnyt
    January 25, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

    What if that creepy ad really was Walky the whole time and it was a tease of the future!!!!

    • Lord Stoneheart
      Lord Stoneheart
      January 25, 2016 at 12:06 am | #

      That was Walky/Jason? I thought it was Walky/Mike!

  19. Pantheon the Mantheon
    Pantheon the Mantheon
    January 25, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

    Thems is some dank memes. I approve.

  20. RJ
    RJ
    January 25, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

    Whoooo’s ready for the hijinx that ensue when Walky walks into Jason’s office and is like “Listen, I don’t normally do this. But I can’t keep lying to myself. I know you and Sal had some kind of arrangement. Whatever you did with her, do it with me.”

    • Cephalo the Pod
      Cephalo the Pod
      January 25, 2016 at 12:06 am | #

      Ehh, Jason’s too boring for too let silly miscommunication go on for too lomg. He’s like a hijinx insulator.

    • brionl
      brionl
      January 25, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

      “Maybe you can do us both at the same time…”

    • Jay Eff
      Jay Eff
      January 25, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

      “I suppose this was bound to happen sooner or later,” said Jason as he shut his office door. “This is Dumbing of Age, after all..”

      • StClair
        StClair
        January 25, 2016 at 12:24 am | #

        “Let’s start by finding out just how similar you are.”

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      January 25, 2016 at 12:14 am | #

      *slow clap*

    • Betty Anne
      Betty Anne
      January 25, 2016 at 12:25 am | #

      I misread your post the first time and thought you were suggesting a Hijinks Ensue crossover.

      Which I would not be opposed to, by the way. 😀

      • Kryss LaBryn
        Kryss LaBryn
        January 25, 2016 at 6:55 am | #

        That would be awesome. If Hijinks Ensue was still a thing.

        *sigh*

        • Adam Black
          Adam Black
          January 26, 2016 at 2:35 am | #

          I was trying not go there
          ( “Dave Willis” was one of my favorite Hijinx Ensue characters. too. What an odd coincidence )

    • Buhzim
      Buhzim
      January 25, 2016 at 1:24 pm | #

      Best worst Slipshine story

  21. Adam Black
    Adam Black
    January 25, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

    Oh no, Walky manages to freak out Joyce, Becky & and make
    Dina even more insecure. What a talent.

    • gkheyf
      gkheyf
      January 25, 2016 at 12:18 am | #

      walky’s mouth opens: dina becomes insecure: all willis comics collapse into a singularity

      • Adam Black
        Adam Black
        January 25, 2016 at 3:25 am | #

        Singularity or Singularkitty?

        • gkheyf
          gkheyf
          January 25, 2016 at 11:46 pm | #

          i must confess, i do not get this. but it does sound incalculably awesome

          • Adam Black
            Adam Black
            January 26, 2016 at 2:29 am | #

            One of the few Walkyverse characters not to show up yet
            http://www.shortpacked.com/index.php?id=1281

  22. Viga
    Viga
    January 25, 2016 at 12:04 am | #

    I’m glad someone finally confronted Walky about his grades. …I sound like a teacher. Ew.

  23. tim gueguen
    tim gueguen
    January 25, 2016 at 12:05 am | #

    A considerably larger version of that last panel is needed.

  24. ObiKemnebi
    ObiKemnebi
    January 25, 2016 at 12:05 am | #

    … *Gibbs-smacks Walky*

    • gkheyf
      gkheyf
      January 25, 2016 at 12:19 am | #

      everyone panics at the old gray-haired man who suddenly appeared in their dorm and is smacking children

      • ObiKemnebi
        ObiKemnebi
        January 25, 2016 at 1:58 pm | #

        Nono, that was me doing the Gibbs-smack. It’s just that that sort of smack upside the head has already been patented by Gibbs, so I can’t call it anything else 😛

      • Wublub
        Wublub
        January 25, 2016 at 10:54 pm | #

        But then he recruits them to solve a murder and they all slowly grow to love him. Oh, and once every book or so a beloved character dies suddenly and unexpectedly.

  25. Romanticide
    Romanticide
    January 25, 2016 at 12:05 am | #

    If Becky thought she couldn’t get even more jelaous of Dorothy now she is…

  26. Spencer
    Spencer
    January 25, 2016 at 12:05 am | #

    Oh hey, Becky isn’t suddenly over her lifelong crush on Joyce that she only recently realized was actually romantic.

    I guess this means her and Dina are doomed. As we know, it is impossible to have any form of attraction for anyone other than your SO without it meaning that your current relationship isn’t valid.

    • AeromechanicalAce
      AeromechanicalAce
      January 25, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

      Society’s rigid notions of monogamy prepare to claim another victim…

      • Plasma Mongoose
        Plasma Mongoose
        January 25, 2016 at 12:11 am | #

        So how should monogamy be like then?

        • LeslieBean4Shizzle
          LeslieBean4Shizzle
          January 25, 2016 at 2:04 am | #

          My wife and I have a semi-open marriage. We sometimes date other couples. Thus we can embrace our crushes outside our marriage together. So… something like that perhaps? Dina and Becky could be together. Joyce and Dorothy could be together (if they actually want to be, obviously). And then the four of them could get together on occasion and work out any built up sexual tension. Good times.

        • Rutee
          Rutee
          January 25, 2016 at 7:59 am | #

          …attraction to people outside the relationship is still a thing because sexual attraction is as physical as it is mental, you just continue to avoid acting on it because your partner’s feelings matter to you? Old, or lifelong, attractions don’t die out the second you find someone else?

      • Peduncle
        Peduncle
        January 25, 2016 at 12:18 am | #

        Walky’s spouse Joe has rigid notions about women.

        • Plasma Mongoose
          Plasma Mongoose
          January 25, 2016 at 1:00 am | #

          It involves his penis.

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      January 25, 2016 at 12:16 am | #

      Duh, everyone knows mono people burst into flames if they experience sexual or romantic attraction to more than one person at the same time. They’ll just be going their own way, and then blam, hot person on the TV and it’s five alarm fire, evacuate the apartment complex.

      Gets a bit frustrating to move residences after every time.

      • Captain Button
        Captain Button
        January 25, 2016 at 12:23 am | #

        Gonna make rental applications a lot trickier.

      • Harvey Janus
        Harvey Janus
        January 25, 2016 at 12:27 am | #

        It was kind of embarrassing embarrassing spontaneously combusting several times during Intro to Theatre last year. There were so many cute guys in that class.

      • StClair
        StClair
        January 25, 2016 at 12:29 am | #

        That explains why Danny has been so flaming lately.
        wait, no.

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        January 25, 2016 at 1:00 am | #

        So that why I can’t get insurance.

    • Sam
      Sam
      January 25, 2016 at 12:19 pm | #

      SO?

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        January 25, 2016 at 12:21 pm | #

        Significant other.

        • Sam
          Sam
          January 25, 2016 at 3:38 pm | #

          Ohh

  27. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    January 25, 2016 at 12:06 am | #

    More doodles I did a while back that are relevant to this strip.
    http://imgur.com/a/awbqb

    One of these is a reference to a Roomies! comic.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      January 25, 2016 at 12:07 am | #

      jfc yotomoe you draw some divine butts

      • Plasma Mongoose
        Plasma Mongoose
        January 25, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

        …and he doesn’t lie…

      • inqntrol
        inqntrol
        January 25, 2016 at 12:15 am | #

        No wonder why pirates are after booty most of the time.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      January 25, 2016 at 1:43 am | #

      Awesome!

    • Kryss LaBryn
      Kryss LaBryn
      January 25, 2016 at 6:58 am | #

      Yay Yotomoe! 😀

  28. brionl
    brionl
    January 25, 2016 at 12:06 am | #

    1 Fox + 1 Henhouse = Dinner.

    Sounds like good math to me.

  29. Inkblot
    Inkblot
    January 25, 2016 at 12:07 am | #

    Jason’s tutoring for Sal wasn’t all that fantastic. It kinda sucked. Sure, it was funny from a joke standpoint, but it wasn’t good tutoring. I’m wondering if it’ll be any better now that Sal’s kinda laid into him.

    oh hey an unintentional pun

    • pjeseb
      pjeseb
      January 25, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

      I imagine Jason will be willing to try harder this time around, but whether it will do any good is anyone’s guess.

    • Shiro
      Shiro
      January 25, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

      Refer Walky to Danny. But first he’ll need to get a new 3DS.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      January 25, 2016 at 12:14 am | #

      Given how almost all of Jason’s panel time is wrapped up in his relationship with Sal, I’m not sure if we’ll see him tutor Walky.

      I actually think it might be more likely that Sal refer him to Danny.

      • gkheyf
        gkheyf
        January 25, 2016 at 12:25 am | #

        that would assume walky admitting to sal that he’s having problems with math. and you know what happens when you assume. you make an ass somewhere in the world die

        …or something, i never really saw that movie

        • Spencer
          Spencer
          January 25, 2016 at 12:27 am | #

          I can see Walky dancing around the issue with Sal, as her grades have improved, rather than going to an actual teacher to say “I am fucking up.”

          Besides, it’d be worth it for when Danny says “Why is this so hard for you? Sal got it so easily!”

      • cesium133
        cesium133
        January 25, 2016 at 12:26 am | #

        That could bring up some interesting conflicts of interest. How much will Walky need to pay Danny to keep Dorothy from finding out?

      • winter
        winter
        January 25, 2016 at 12:35 am | #

        Really? I think Jason tutoring Walky is a go for sure. Jason already extended an offer to tutor Walky, so the setup is there. And from a meta perspective, they play off of each other’s personalities really well. I think Willis even mentioned somewhere he missed writing Jason & Walky interacting as they did in It’s Walky.

        I mean, I don’t think it will become a major plot point. But I think it’s gonna happen.

        • Spencer
          Spencer
          January 25, 2016 at 12:38 am | #

          Well, I don’t think it’s impossible.

          I could go either way hypothesizing whether Walky will swallow his pride and go to a teacher, or take a recommendation from Sal.

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      January 25, 2016 at 12:19 am | #

      Nope, he’ll suck on toast, because he still hasn’t learned any lessons from his time failing Sal. He still thinks his way is the right way, he refuses to do anything but regurgitate what the teacher says, and he refuses to see things from where the student is coming.

      Which might actually be worse for Walky then not seeking out any aid, because then he’ll just go, nope, didn’t help and stonewall another chance.

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        January 25, 2016 at 12:21 am | #

        I’m not sure. When Sal told him off and he talked to Penny, Jason was genuinely concerned that he was bad at his job, that the reason Sal wasn’t improving was because of him.

        • Cerberus
          Cerberus
          January 25, 2016 at 12:34 am | #

          Yeah, but when he last reached out to her for the secret of becoming a better teacher, she flat-out told him that the other teacher listened and he went off on her like she was an idiot because he listens to words that come out of her mouth.

          And he’s got no good models for education around him (as demonstrated by Penny and Dr. Rees), so there’s no reason to believe he’s moved past that central hurdle and isn’t just interpreting “do better” as doing things like reaching out to students like Walky and offering them help.

          • Spencer
            Spencer
            January 25, 2016 at 12:36 am | #

            Probably (I remember now that him and Sal meeting at the bar happened after his talk with Penny).

            Jason wants to be a good teacher, but he has no idea what that means. He’s starting to figure out that he’s not the hot shit he thinks he is, and that maybe his stringent approach to the One Golden Path of education isn’t true.

            • Cerberus
              Cerberus
              January 25, 2016 at 12:51 am | #

              Yup. He wants to be a good teacher, but he’s not willing to humble himself for it yet and drop his myriad of terrible awful no good at all behaviors and actions for it.

              He more just wants to be regarded as a good teacher without going through all the effort required to actually be a good teacher.

              • Bagge
                Bagge
                January 25, 2016 at 1:47 am | #

                Jason and Walky are pretty similar.

                Jason worries that he is a bad teacher, which hurts his self image, but he doesn’t know how to get better.

                Walky worries that he is a bad student, which hurts his self image, but he doesn’t know how to get better.

                And just as you have said they would be TERRIBLE for each other. They both need to learn proper technique before they can take a challenge like that. Jason would do well to take a few hints from… Leslie, I suppose unless there is another not-terrible teacher on campus. Walky from Dorothy, if he just fesses up to her already.

      • ninja_jesus
        ninja_jesus
        January 25, 2016 at 12:53 am | #

        I think Jason’s tutoring will be more effective with Walky than with Sal. They both have different methods of learning things, just as Dan and Jason have different teaching methods.

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          January 25, 2016 at 6:22 am | #

          I’m not sure Walky is a fan of Jason’s teaching methods
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/notes/

          • Rutee
            Rutee
            January 25, 2016 at 8:11 am | #

            I think that’s just him not giving a damn about class.

            • Bagge
              Bagge
              January 25, 2016 at 8:19 am | #

              I don’t see a tutoring session going any differently.

              • Rutee
                Rutee
                January 25, 2016 at 8:42 am | #

                Maybe, but at no point has the implication of Walky’s problem been Jason. Like, there are more people in the class than just Sal, Walky, Dina, and Joyce. If Jason were The Worst and Completely Incapable of Teaching, we’d have a lot more failures than just Sal. Joyce is passing just fine, and I suspect most of the class is doing alright.

                Walky’s problem is Walky. Walky might, in fact, /also/ have a problem iwth Jason, but it’s a hell of an assumption that the lazy berk who lazes has a primary problem with the teacher and not their own damn work ethic.

                • Bagge
                  Bagge
                  January 25, 2016 at 9:00 am | #

                  Oh, I completely agree that Walky is the problem. In fact, we don’t have to wonder what a tutoring session between him and Jason would look like – we have Seen it..

                  What Walky needs is a tutor that can get him to sit down, admit that he needs help, open up to trying to learn the material and THEN try to learn it. And that takes a lot of patience, talent and a gentle touch, none of which are Jason’s best qualities.

                  I thought we discussed if Jason would be a good tutor for Walky, not if he was a good teacher in general. I think we learn more about his qualities as a teacher in his interaction with Sal.

                • Rutee
                  Rutee
                  January 25, 2016 at 9:31 am | #

                  Ehhh, this kind of assumes Walky’s deep denial is a permanent state that is still up to Jason though. Walky may finally have gotten the clue he needs, or he might need til Midterms.

      • Felgraf
        Felgraf
        January 25, 2016 at 9:51 am | #

        Gotta back Cerberus up on this. As a graduate student in physics, my ability to sort of figuring out how people were approaching something has been *invaluable* in my teaching assignments. Being able to feel what the undergrads and non-physics majors will have trouble with, where *they’ll* hit pitfalls, and why they might screw up conceptualizing something makes finding new ways to confer that info much, much easier.

        • ischemgeek
          ischemgeek
          January 27, 2016 at 7:02 am | #

          Yes this.

          See also: I am the best at tutoring/teaching subjects I always had a bit of trouble with. The stuff that comes super easily to me, I am shite at tutoring/teaching. Why? Because I can’t anticipate what material is going to give people trouble and think up different ways of explaining it.

          Organic chem? I spent hours and hours on that course. Got my A, but it took a boatload of work and I actually nearly failed the first quiz in the course because I didn’t know how hard I actually found it until I got the quiz back (I am a feedback-based learner, for this reason I find courses that have no assignments extremely difficult and will pay a tutor to make up assignments for me to do in such a circumstance because I literally have no clue about my level of understanding until I do an assignment and get a grade back. I gave up trying to figure out how to gauge my own level of understanding without feedback long ago and just adapt myself to what works for me now).

          I am great at tutoring organic chem. Because I know all the systems and tricks to make it make sense when you’re having a bit of trouble with it.

          By contrast, most math? I am fucking terrible at teaching or tutoring because I was one of those freak kids who figured out trig at 9 independently derived the fundamental theorem of calculus at 11, both despite the fact that my parents and the school were trying to hold me back so I wouldn’t be so bored – and, therefore, such a disruption – in math class. Math is easy to me. Hell, I’ve self-taught most of a third-year level numerical methods course and a lot of differential equations just to handle stuff I come up against at work (and, please don’t throw shit at me, but the reason I didn’t become a math major in undergrad was that I found math too easy and thought I’d get bored with it). I am really good at math. And really, really terrible at teaching math.

      • anonymsly
        anonymsly
        January 25, 2016 at 8:41 pm | #

        Huh. We haven’t seen Jason teaching since then or in a tutoring situation, so we don’t actually know he hasn’t learned anything. As we know from Sal, not getting something right away and not getting it at all are two completely different things. So yes, he blew up at her right away, but there’s nothing saying that he didn’t end up thinking about it a lot anyway. That kind of stuff festers when you’re already worried if you’re bad at your job/degree-getting.

        There’s nothing saying he did, of course, but Jason’s not an important enough character for development to happen ‘onscreen’.

  30. Wublub
    Wublub
    January 25, 2016 at 12:07 am | #

    Did Walky just pull a Mike?

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      January 25, 2016 at 12:20 am | #

      Something of a Danny/Mike hybrid, methinks. He tried to Mike Joyce and Dannied Becky in the process.

      • Someone
        Someone
        January 25, 2016 at 12:48 am | #

        Danny tries to do good, but bad things end up happening anyway due to circumstances he has little to no control over, but he gets blamed for these things anyway (by the commenters).

        Mike tries to do evil, but good things end up happening anyway due to circumstances he has little to no control over, but he gets credit anyway. (by the commenters)

        At some point Danny and Mike will touch each other, and will both disappear due to canceling each other out

        • Tacos
          Tacos
          January 25, 2016 at 1:05 am | #

          Or they’ll fuse together into some sorta super entity.

          • Someone
            Someone
            January 25, 2016 at 1:18 am | #

            Fu-sion-ha!

            • Chronos
              Chronos
              January 25, 2016 at 2:18 am | #

              Danny/Mike fusion tries to do middle-of-the-road, and so-so things end up happening due to circumstances he has little to no control over. The comments section gives a collective shrug.

        • Rutee
          Rutee
          January 25, 2016 at 9:33 am | #

          They’re more similar than you know. They’re both entertaining because of their failures, and they’re both fairly boring otherwise.

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      January 25, 2016 at 1:03 am | #

      Only if Walky did it on purpose.

  31. LimeSheep
    LimeSheep
    January 25, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

    free reaction images for everyone

  32. Kernanator
    Kernanator
    January 25, 2016 at 12:08 am | #

    Have you ever seen a fox pass math class? No, you haven’t. Case closed.

    • Sam
      Sam
      January 25, 2016 at 1:02 pm | #

      Although, Walky does regularly commit a faux-pass, so maybe he can do this too.

  33. ozaline
    ozaline
    January 25, 2016 at 12:09 am | #

    What does the Fox say? Apparently it doesn’t quote trig formulas

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      January 25, 2016 at 12:13 am | #

      Trigonometry is very triggering.

    • Tacos
      Tacos
      January 25, 2016 at 12:18 am | #

      Dammit, I thought we had finally gotten past that D:

  34. detective boomwolf
    detective boomwolf
    January 25, 2016 at 12:09 am | #

    Y’know, the insanity this notion would cause never occured to me until now. Is this what they call Fride horror… or whatever the comedic equivalent is? Or is there another term for this?

    • Leorale
      Leorale
      January 25, 2016 at 12:23 am | #

      There’s Fridge Logic, Fridge Horror, and Fridge Brilliance. That’s when you watch a show, go about your day, wake up at 2am to get a snack from the fridge, and suddenly realize that a moment is actually makes sense / is actually horrifying / is actually amazing.

      • Leorale
        Leorale
        January 25, 2016 at 12:39 am | #

        (typos: fridge logic = a moment actually makes no sense.)

  35. Nena
    Nena
    January 25, 2016 at 12:11 am | #

    Open mouth, insert foot, Walky. Oh dear!

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      January 25, 2016 at 12:14 am | #

      Heck even just 6 inches will do. 😛

      • Dellaran
        Dellaran
        January 25, 2016 at 1:10 am | #

        That’s not what *she* said…

  36. Stara
    Stara
    January 25, 2016 at 12:11 am | #

    Unrelated to content, I’m not sure if bongo is the censored word, so I’ll submit this and see I guess.

    • Stara
      Stara
      January 25, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

      Hahaha, that’s hilarious and I love it. (bongotastic? Does that retain integrity?)

    • pjeseb
      pjeseb
      January 25, 2016 at 12:14 am | #

      Bongo isn’t censored, no. B*tch, on the other hand…

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      January 25, 2016 at 1:06 am | #

      I remember this being applied awhile back (kinda). Since then, I just self filter and type ‘bongo’ itself. Feels just a smidge more sillier that way.

  37. Tacos
    Tacos
    January 25, 2016 at 12:11 am | #

    I know I shouldn’t laugh but…

  38. Yossarianduck
    Yossarianduck
    January 25, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

    If all the Gravatars were suddenly replaced with that last panel, I wouldn’t even be upset.

    • gkheyf
      gkheyf
      January 25, 2016 at 12:28 am | #

      identification would become trickier

      • Orion Fury
        Orion Fury
        January 25, 2016 at 1:08 am | #

        Still have names, and it would probably best represent most readers feeling about the last scene in the current story arc. Arrivederci indeed.

    • a4lbi
      a4lbi
      January 25, 2016 at 3:18 am | #

      I motion this happens the next time the comments section is [redacted]

  39. chris73
    chris73
    January 25, 2016 at 12:12 am | #

    Well lets see if Becky getting a girlfriend can curb her bongo-ness towards Dorothy who, once again, is blameless in all this

    • Adam Black
      Adam Black
      January 25, 2016 at 12:20 am | #

      I know right?
      Its been a year in real-time since Dorothy did even anything remotely inconsiderate.

      id like an inner monologue from her once in a while

      • chris73
        chris73
        January 25, 2016 at 12:31 am | #

        She wouldn’t of course but I wouldn’t mind seeing Dorothy give some back to Becky, I don’t like seeing her become Beckys punching bag (well anyones punching bag really)

        • Adam Black
          Adam Black
          January 25, 2016 at 3:42 am | #

          I always thought Becky was laying it on a bit thick when she
          ‘gave’ Joyce to Sarah .

          Sarah didnt buy it either

  40. neeks
    neeks
    January 25, 2016 at 12:13 am | #

    i guess it’s becky’s turn for the “if you could fake it with her, why couldn’t you fake it with me?” angst.

    • Shiro
      Shiro
      January 25, 2016 at 12:16 am | #

      “Well, because that was a fake class assignment, while you were asking for a real relationship…”

      • Captain Button
        Captain Button
        January 25, 2016 at 12:33 am | #

        If you can’t get what you really, really want, most people will settle for an illusion.

        • Cerberus
          Cerberus
          January 25, 2016 at 12:53 am | #

          It also serves as a potent reminder of her own fantasies of a future together… hell, possibly of genuinely planning out a fake future together when they were kids (it would be very encouraged for them to plan out future weddings together (between them and their theoretical future husbands) when they were kids).

          As such, it’s just thrusting a hot knife into all those memories and the fantasies she’s still trying to club back into the grave.

  41. Adam Black
    Adam Black
    January 25, 2016 at 12:13 am | #

    The last 2 vertical panes of Becky look perfect with the smiling becky right above it.

    Smile gets wiped off Beckys face —then silent scream.

  42. butts
    butts
    January 25, 2016 at 12:14 am | #

    Um. Did nothing happen after Sarah and Dina? I was expecting some kind of acknowledgement, at least.

    • Tacos
      Tacos
      January 25, 2016 at 12:21 am | #

      Well Dina did say she knew she was probably the rebound.

      • butts
        butts
        January 25, 2016 at 12:26 am | #

        While looking heartbrokenly downward, eyes nearing tears, the panel zoomed in on her face…

    • Adam Black
      Adam Black
      January 25, 2016 at 3:43 am | #

      You’ll have to wait for the retroactive slipshine, like the rest of us heathens

  43. Aziraphale
    Aziraphale
    January 25, 2016 at 12:15 am | #

    What does the fox say? Not much with his foot in his mouth.

  44. Cephalo the Pod
    Cephalo the Pod
    January 25, 2016 at 12:15 am | #

    @AltText Well maybe if we actually fucking bothered to give them proper education they WOULD be.

    Fuckin’ self-fulfilling prophecy is what it is.

    • Adam Black
      Adam Black
      January 25, 2016 at 12:29 am | #

      Whoa. you are a total Forrest Justice Warrior, today.
      Save that fox-fury the English hunt

  45. Saaaam
    Saaaam
    January 25, 2016 at 12:15 am | #

    Oh no, Dina really is the rebound

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      January 25, 2016 at 12:21 am | #

      Well yeah, duh. Doesn’t mean that they are in trouble or won’t have a long healthy relationship, cause rebound relationships are actually healthy normal relationships that aren’t actually something to be afraid of.

      But it does mean that Becky’s also dealing with her unrequited feelings for Joyce in addition to enjoying the warm glow of her NRE with Dina.

      • chris73
        chris73
        January 25, 2016 at 12:25 am | #

        Dinas the one I worry about, as hard as this is for Becky I’m assuming it must be even harder for Dina

        • Cerberus
          Cerberus
          January 25, 2016 at 12:42 am | #

          This part? I’m not so sure.

          I mean, she does struggle with inadequacy and thanks to cultural messaging, I’m sure that this isn’t doing that any favors right now.

          Hell, honestly, as much as Becky’s internally screaming right now, on the list of bad shit that’s happened to Becky this week, this probably doesn’t even break the top 10.

          Honestly, they’ve got good strong fundamentals. They just need to not fuck it up with their insecurities (Dina with feeling inadequate to Joyce, Becky with feeling “replaced” by Dorothy).

          • chris73
            chris73
            January 25, 2016 at 12:46 am | #

            True, I mean its Dumbing Of Age so what could possibly go wrong?

            • Cerberus
              Cerberus
              January 25, 2016 at 12:55 am | #

              Which is sad, I like healthy Dina and Becky dynamics contrasting with the rest of the cast and both face so many external hurdles, that it would make sense for their main conflicts to arise externally rather than internally, but that would also be out of place with all the other relationships.

              • Emily
                Emily
                January 25, 2016 at 9:29 am | #

                It’d be nice if this comic could have at least one relationship that wasn’t horribly dysfunctional.

                • Spencer
                  Spencer
                  January 25, 2016 at 9:34 am | #

                  Relationship problems don’t make a couple dysfunctional, let alone horribly so.

                • Captain Button
                  Captain Button
                  January 25, 2016 at 9:37 am | #

                  Jacob and Raidah, maybe?

                • Emily
                  Emily
                  January 25, 2016 at 10:44 am | #

                  @Spencer I mean they’re all pretty messed up with the exception of Dina and Becky (at least until Willis decides to mess that up too). Like there’s relationship problems and then there’s alcoholic suicide pacts, or bizarre pseudo-DID and rage issues, or utterly incompatible sexuality. Dorothy and Walky are probably the closest to normal relationship problems as they’re just dancing around the elephant in the room paired with Walky’s secretiveness.

                • Spencer
                  Spencer
                  January 25, 2016 at 10:52 am | #

                  People are messed up, though. Most probably don’t struggle with the explosive issues of Ruth/Billie and Amber, but they’re real.

                  Besides, happy, problem free relationships are boring. Dina/Becky was an exception for being stupidly adorable and also genuinely compelling, but that was going to run dry eventually.

                • Emily
                  Emily
                  January 25, 2016 at 8:37 pm | #

                  Nah happy relationships are infinitely enjoyable to watch. Drama is stressful and draining and eventually I just burn out and stop caring about it or the characters involved in it.

                • Spencer
                  Spencer
                  January 25, 2016 at 8:49 pm | #

                  If they’re dramatic and miserable all the time without fail, sure. This is why I was sick of Marten/Dora in QC even before they broke up, because Dora was constantly falling into the same pattern of “MARTEN DOESNT ACTUALLY LIKE ME” without ever trying to deal with it, making the both of them miserable until she called it off. And likewise, it’s why Tai/Dora is pretty meh, because as soon as any problem occurs Dora immediately solves it, and none of it feels like the result of any personal cleaning or development, and feels totally hollow.

                  In fact, to continue the QC theme, Claire/Marten is a good example of a happy relationship that isn’t saccharine and boring. They’re totally exploding with new relationship energy and so much of their panel time is devoted to them just being stupidly cute together, but I don’t resent it because there was basically 4 years of Marten being a miserable git wading through constant failures, so now it feels like he’s earned that happiness.

                  Anyway, the TLDR of it is that there needs to be a balance. At some point in time Dina and Becky are going to argue about something or fall short of an expectation, but that doesn’t mean everything needs to horribly collapse.

            • Orion Fury
              Orion Fury
              January 25, 2016 at 1:11 am | #

              So long as it doesn’t involve dying, that.

  46. Jay Eff
    Jay Eff
    January 25, 2016 at 12:16 am | #

    Joyce doesn’t realize that Walky is actually smart like Slylock Fox!

    Yeah..

    That’s what Walky should have said back then…

  47. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    January 25, 2016 at 12:16 am | #

    Why so surprised, who wouldn’t want to ride that bony pony?

  48. Stephen R. Bierce
    Stephen R. Bierce
    January 25, 2016 at 12:18 am | #

    *plays the Fox’s song from the 1970s musical version of The Little Prince on the hacked Muzak*

    • Stephen R. Bierce
      Stephen R. Bierce
      January 25, 2016 at 12:22 am | #

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZalwjqNHG2A <- This part here.
      Think Becky can tame a fox? Or is taming a Dinosaur enough?

  49. Betty Anne
    Betty Anne
    January 25, 2016 at 12:21 am | #

    Joyce: “Well, I had to be Dorothy’s partner so she wouldn’t be pretend-married to someone who’s for real failing math.”

    • Rukduk
      Rukduk
      January 25, 2016 at 1:12 am | #

      Ooohhhhh!!!!!

    • inqntrol
      inqntrol
      January 25, 2016 at 4:30 am | #

      Not even cold water can treat that burn.

  50. Cerberus
    Cerberus
    January 25, 2016 at 12:22 am | #

    Joyce Panel 4 looks like she’s about to grab Walky by the shoulders and lead him over to the chipper-shredder.

    • inqntrol
      inqntrol
      January 25, 2016 at 12:25 am | #

      Nah, better sent him to Abu Dhabi, maybe he won’t find his way back.

    • Captain Button
      Captain Button
      January 25, 2016 at 12:26 am | #

      The stars on the door behind her give a nice brain-exploding effect.

      But isn’t caramel bad for machinery?

    • Shiro
      Shiro
      January 25, 2016 at 12:47 am | #

      “EEK EEK EEK” horror movie soundtrack and all

  51. Psychotic Mantis
    Psychotic Mantis
    January 25, 2016 at 12:30 am | #

    Oh, boy. I can see the headlines now:

    “Future President found dead, hair dyed orange”

    This can only end in:
    A. Death
    B. Angst
    C. Anger
    D. All Of The Above
    E. Everything But D

    • gkheyf
      gkheyf
      January 25, 2016 at 12:35 am | #

      F. denial and vigorous over-compensation

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      January 25, 2016 at 1:13 am | #

      There’s a bad joke in there, and I don’t know if this comment will even last for anyone to figure it out. Or at least lack enough class to mention it.

  52. Adam Black
    Adam Black
    January 25, 2016 at 12:32 am | #

    I like this new Joyce, in panels 1 and 2: with the cool yet genuine concern, and compassion.

    Im seeing some self-transcendence from her, and I like it a lot.

  53. caesaria82
    caesaria82
    January 25, 2016 at 12:34 am | #

    *starts a Walky x Jason slashfic*

    • Tacos
      Tacos
      January 25, 2016 at 12:43 am | #

      Oh the irony of your statement combined with your grav.

  54. jepmz
    jepmz
    January 25, 2016 at 12:38 am | #

    WALKY!!! That’s Mule’s job! Oh my god!

    LoL

  55. ninja_jesus
    ninja_jesus
    January 25, 2016 at 12:39 am | #

    You’re a piece of shit, Walky. Just because Joyce called you out on your shitty grades, you knowingly said something to hurt Joyce by hurting Becky. I hope Joyce kicks your ass.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      January 25, 2016 at 12:42 am | #

      I don’t think Walky is even remotely aware of Becky still having it bad for Joyce.

      • ninja_jesus
        ninja_jesus
        January 25, 2016 at 12:49 am | #

        But he still said it to annoy Joyce. What he didn’t think of was that he also implicated Dorothy in this, someone Becky’s been feeling jealous of.

        • Spencer
          Spencer
          January 25, 2016 at 12:51 am | #

          Walky says things to annoy Joyce involving her thirst for Dorothy because annoying each other is the entire summation of their relationship.

          • ninja_jesus
            ninja_jesus
            January 25, 2016 at 12:56 am | #

            So what’s your point?

            • Lord Stoneheart
              Lord Stoneheart
              January 25, 2016 at 1:27 am | #

              I think the point is that Walky has no idea that he’s hurting Becky. To him this isn’t any different than the hundred other times he’s did the whole “Joyce is lesbians for Dorothy”.

              If anything this might not even be a joke, he’s just reporting what happened in gender studies.

              • Heavensrun
                Heavensrun
                January 25, 2016 at 3:13 am | #

                Yeah, seriously, we’ve seen absolutely nothing from Walky to imply that he has any kind of social acumen. He regularly demonstrates his absolute lack of awareness of anything going on around him. I seriously doubt he’s even trying to be mean to -Joyce- here, so much as just blurting out an honest answer to Becky’s question.

                • Willoughby Chase
                  Willoughby Chase
                  January 25, 2016 at 4:23 am | #

                  For a smart guy, he’s pretty stupid.

                • Bagge
                  Bagge
                  January 25, 2016 at 8:17 am | #

                  He is actually pretty Observant

                • Cerberus
                  Cerberus
                  January 25, 2016 at 9:23 am | #

                  Yes…

                  Though now I’m wondering how much of that observation of Ethan’s sexuality is because he spends more time checking out other dudes than he’d consciously admit.

                • Lord Stoneheart
                  Lord Stoneheart
                  January 25, 2016 at 9:48 am | #

                  @Bagge

                  For all his, “I can totally tell when someone’s gay” that he implies in that strip, I really doubt that he can guess that Becky has a thing for Joyce. He’s less observant, and more into making assumptions based on what he thinks a relationship should look like.

                  He’s caught off guard by Becky’s original announcement for one thing. http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/02-threes-a-crowd/justbecky/

                  (Though surprisingly less than Mike is. That’s like the most emotion I’ve ever seen from Mike in this universe)

                • Rutee
                  Rutee
                  January 25, 2016 at 4:47 pm | #

                  …He’s the only one who looks bored in that panel. Mike does show more emotion than normal, but Walky doesn’t look surprised, he looks like he wants to ask where the nachos are.

              • Captain Button
                Captain Button
                January 25, 2016 at 9:31 am | #

                Another possibility is that he was eyeing Joyce’s body and got nervous Ethan would see him doing so and get mad. So he was watching Ethan while eyeing Joyce and noticed that Ethan didn’t seem interested in his girlfriend’s body.

        • Tacos
          Tacos
          January 25, 2016 at 12:57 am | #

          Walky doesn’t know about Becky’s jealousy towards Dorothy or her romantic feelings toward Joyce.

          • Someone
            Someone
            January 25, 2016 at 12:58 am | #

            How dare characters not be physic and know exactly what the commenters know!

            • chris73
              chris73
              January 25, 2016 at 1:19 am | #

              Always thought that was Dannys biggest sin

            • tim guegue
              tim guegue
              January 25, 2016 at 9:15 am | #

              Mike probably does. Or Sierra. Or Galasso.

              And speaking of Galasso if you’ve ever wanted a Galasso pizza, go to New Jersey. http://www.galassospizza.com/
              (Please note this is not intended as an endorsement of said restaurant. Or New Jersey.)

          • ninja_jesus
            ninja_jesus
            January 25, 2016 at 1:22 am | #

            I don’t blame that on him, but I will blame him for the ensuing drama.

        • Adam Black
          Adam Black
          January 25, 2016 at 3:50 am | #

          I doint think he would have said it,
          if he realized the full implications to Dina and Becky. And making things more complicated for Dorothy. He might have even thought , based on past reinforcement , that Becky would be in to it.

    • JackOfAllTrades
      JackOfAllTrades
      January 25, 2016 at 12:46 am | #

      At worst, I think Walky’s trying to reference his running gag of Joyce being attracted to Dorothy as a jab, but without meaning harm. The previous times he’s mentioned the ‘attraction’ Joyce reacted with discomfort, but not pain.

      As far as Becky’s feelings are concerned, he probably has no idea. Most likely, he’s just taken Becky’s relationship with Dina for granted and has no idea that there are still lingering feelings.

    • Inkblot
      Inkblot
      January 25, 2016 at 1:04 am | #

      As far as I can tell, he’s just wise-assing as per usual.

  56. Darwin
    Darwin
    January 25, 2016 at 12:43 am | #

    I think the “Internal Screaming” was unnecessary, though hilarious.

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      January 25, 2016 at 1:15 am | #

      I find it help twists the knife. I’ve heard Willis does sustain himself on our tears, perhaps he needs more due to the twins.

  57. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    January 25, 2016 at 12:45 am | #

    Dumbing of age : where everybody suffers.

  58. Well_Played
    Well_Played
    January 25, 2016 at 12:45 am | #

    And…boom goes the dynamite.

  59. Kris
    Kris
    January 25, 2016 at 12:53 am | #

    Y’know I thought this comic was called “Dumbing of Age” but I think a more appropriate title is “Waking Nightmares: The internal Torment of Becky MacIntyre” only on AMC!

  60. CleverTrousers
    CleverTrousers
    January 25, 2016 at 1:02 am | #

    That’s foxist.

    • Dellaran
      Dellaran
      January 25, 2016 at 1:13 am | #

      #NotAllFoxes

      • Kris
        Kris
        January 25, 2016 at 1:22 am | #

        Fox Mcloud. Nuff said. #NotAllFoxes

        • Tenn
          Tenn
          January 25, 2016 at 5:40 pm | #

          No items. Fox only. Final Destination.

    • Orion Fury
      Orion Fury
      January 25, 2016 at 1:16 am | #

      #AllMammalsAreEqual

      • Captain Button
        Captain Button
        January 25, 2016 at 1:21 am | #

        #SomeMammalsAreMoreEqualThanTheOthers

        • Chronos
          Chronos
          January 25, 2016 at 1:28 am | #

          #FourLegsGoodTwoLegsBetter

      • Tacos
        Tacos
        January 25, 2016 at 1:22 am | #

        #MonotremeLivesMatter

  61. captainmangrove
    captainmangrove
    January 25, 2016 at 1:03 am | #

    Did…did Walky just Dan something up?

    • Arianod
      Arianod
      January 25, 2016 at 4:50 pm | #

      More like he walkied straight into it.

  62. Orion Fury
    Orion Fury
    January 25, 2016 at 1:24 am | #

    I wonder if anyone was surprised by the last panel. I also wonder if anyone will get the Freakazoid reference in an earlier comment. Though I don’t wonder how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

    Hope that worked.

  63. Tenzhi
    Tenzhi
    January 25, 2016 at 1:31 am | #

    Best lack-of-expression-change ever.

  64. ninja_jesus
    ninja_jesus
    January 25, 2016 at 1:33 am | #

    Honestly I’m getting some really subtle sibling rivalry vibes here. Walky might actually feel inferior to his sister for once, something he’s never had to experience. For once in his life, the rebellious Sal is doing better than him, the favored brother.

    I don’t feel bad for Walky at all if this is the case. He needs a lesson in humility. And I hope Joyce is the one to teach it.

    As for Walky’s grades, it’s sink or swim, motherfucker, and you’re refusing the life jacket.

  65. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    January 25, 2016 at 1:44 am | #

    …I didn’t expect that meme of all things XD

  66. Bagge
    Bagge
    January 25, 2016 at 1:54 am | #

    I’m so disappointed in Walky. That was COMEDY GOLD and he wasted it being hurtful. If he had saved this story until he and Becky were alone and told it right they would both be in stitches. It would still sting for Becky, but framed as a joke it could be just that, and she would be able to laugh it off.

    So instead of using the story as a bonding moment with Becky, Walky used it just to hurt Joyce, and made both Becky and Dina a collateral.

    NOT your finest moment, Walky.

    • EvolutionistX
      EvolutionistX
      January 25, 2016 at 2:25 am | #

      I suspect he doesn’t even know Becky has a thing for Joyce. He might be pissed at Joyce, but he’s not pissed at Becky.

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      January 25, 2016 at 5:25 am | #

      …Walky has fine moments ?

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        January 25, 2016 at 6:19 am | #

        A lot of them with Becky, even. That’s why I’m so annoyed he missed what COULD have been a great moment for both of them.

    • Buhzim
      Buhzim
      January 25, 2016 at 9:03 am | #

      I think he wasn’t ever told Becky like(d) Joyce thay way, and even if he were she’s walking around holding hands with Dina now so she must have gotten over it. He was just adding to Dorothy’s boring answer with “we played a dumb game and it was dumb”

  67. BenRG
    BenRG
    January 25, 2016 at 2:18 am | #

    Well, it looks like Sarah was right about one thing, if nothing else: That torch has not yet been extinguished or cast aside!

  68. EvolutionistX
    EvolutionistX
    January 25, 2016 at 2:22 am | #

    🙁 Poor Becky. Also, poor Dina. 🙁

  69. Uniqueantique
    Uniqueantique
    January 25, 2016 at 2:30 am | #

    Lets see:
    Dorothy and Walky are a pair. Joyce for fun, Walky for -he has no idea.
    Joyce is infatuated with Sal. and Joyce.
    Becky is madly in love with Joyce.
    Dina is madly in love with Becky.
    I think.

    So walky being the responsibility ducking, and now angry at self person he is: leaves the question.
    Did he just slam bang Becky’s, and Dina’s hearts for no reason?

    That remark should not hurt Joyce I think. It may embarrass her privately but I think she is the only one who knows she has a crush on Dorothy. So Walky would have to know that. I can’t remember it every coming up.

    So he’s either oblivious as usual, or very much more vindictive than I thought.

    • Arianod
      Arianod
      January 25, 2016 at 4:06 am | #

      I’ve tried to make sense of this and I *think* you got a couple of names mixed up. Yes?

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        January 25, 2016 at 7:32 am | #

        I have no idea what you just said.

  70. >:C
    >:C
    January 25, 2016 at 3:04 am | #

    So once again, Sarah’s right about everything, I guess.

    I liked her before the whole pressuring Joyce to give Becky more space thing, because I was in a similar situation to Becky when I was younger, and I had no idea how to be independent and probably would’ve died if I didn’t have supportive people around. I was terrified that Joyce would end up pushing Becky away for her own good, and Becky would end up completely alone, without the skills to take care of herself. Obviously that didn’t happen, because Sarah was right – and I don’t think it would’ve happened in this comic anyway because YEAH THAT’S A LITTLE BIT DARK, but it’s the kind of thing that CAN happen in situations like that, and it felt hugely irresponsible and awful of her to basically tell Joyce, “this is what Becky needs from you” when Becky had never said she needed that, and Becky’s needs could’ve been way more complicated, or completely different.

    And now it’s basically the same thing all over again. Sarah, in the process of pointing out a legitimate issue that people shouldn’t be ignoring, comes up with some interpretation of how Becky REALLY feels, without actually talking to Becky about it, when there’s a range of possibilities for how Becky might feel that AREN’T “too in love with Joyce to begin a relationship with Dina”. Then she expresses that interpretation to someone in a way that kind of demands they take appropriate action – in this case to Dina, who, like Joyce, she already has a very unequal dynamic with. At least the consequences won’t be so dire this time if she’s wrong, but they could still be kinda not great – Dina already worries that other people don’t see her as an adult, so if the one person who does treat her as an equal is only interested in her as a replacement for Joyce…

    And now Becky is acting super in love with Joyce again, so Sarah’s going to be right, and we’re never going to deal with the consequences of her possibly not knowing what’s best for everyone, because as always, she does. I’m so happy. Soooooooooo happy.

    • Greenygal
      Greenygal
      January 25, 2016 at 2:19 pm | #

      I think one reaction shot (all right, two) isn’t sufficient evidence that Sarah is totally right about this. Her facts are fine; the conclusion she is drawing (that Becky will inevitably break with Dina because of it) is not yet in evidence.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      January 25, 2016 at 2:35 pm | #

      Sarah is broadly right, but it’s ultimately irrelevant.

    • RP
      RP
      January 25, 2016 at 2:44 pm | #

      I can’t tell if you’re mad at Sarah for being right or mad at her because the other characters won’t just talk to each other about these things.

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        January 25, 2016 at 2:52 pm | #

        It’s kind of boring that Sarah acts like a jerk but is ultimately vindicated for it.

        At least she won’t get smug like that time she decided to praise herself for being right when Becky admitted she was still in love with Joyce, and sleeping next to her was causing her pain.

  71. Carla Griffin
    Carla Griffin
    January 25, 2016 at 3:06 am | #

    Walky: Smooth as glass (broken glass)

  72. Heavensrun
    Heavensrun
    January 25, 2016 at 3:07 am | #

    (bury face in hands) Walky, Walky, Walky.

  73. Heavensrun
    Heavensrun
    January 25, 2016 at 3:11 am | #

    I’m actually kinda stunned how many people in the comments here think Walky is being vindictive here, when all signs point to him being an absolute social nincompoop who has no grasp of the consequences of any of the words that come out of his mouth.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      January 25, 2016 at 4:18 am | #

      I’m glad that I’m not the only person who thinks this.

    • Gecko
      Gecko
      January 25, 2016 at 5:36 am | #

      I assumed he doesn’t realize the impact of what he’s saying, as usual. He has no reason to know about Becky being in love with Joyce.

    • Trolldrool
      Trolldrool
      January 25, 2016 at 6:16 am | #

      Yeah, Walky is just making a sarcastic remark on impulse. At worst, he’s guilty of not considering how his impulsive actions affect others. We’re talking about the person whose instinctive response to being attracted to someone was throwing a toy at her.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      January 25, 2016 at 6:28 am | #

      THIS is what Walky looks like when he goofs around, and also reminds us that he and Becky share the joke about Dotty and Joyce.

      Look at his expression here. This time he is not joking, he is choosing to say something that he knows is hurtful, just after Joyce shocked him with knowing his Dirty Secret. MAYBE he was going for a joke and missed, but in that case he is really off his game.

      • BenRG
        BenRG
        January 25, 2016 at 8:20 am | #

        FWIW, I’d be ‘off my game’ if I was coming to the realisation that my academic prowess was nowhere near as good as I thought it was and other people knew about it.

      • Rutee
        Rutee
        January 25, 2016 at 8:37 am | #

        …This isn’t Walky being a bastard. For the love of god, we’ve seen him angry – he doesn’t do it this way. See: Sal telling him “Look our parents were racist jerks to me.” Walky is still a sarcastic berk when he’s mad and okay with being hurtful. I’m pretty sure he’s just repeating the events of the class without trying to be a jerk to Joyce or Becky. I mean, I could be wrong, so there’s that.

    • Willoughby Chase
      Willoughby Chase
      January 25, 2016 at 9:33 am | #

      As Leslie pointed out: “We’ve learned you can’t shut yours.”

      I still say he should go for a major in drama.

      • Rutee
        Rutee
        January 25, 2016 at 9:34 am | #

        I’d honestly read that as being to Joe, but you might be right.

    • Kraken
      Kraken
      January 25, 2016 at 11:24 pm | #

      Yeah, it wouldn’t really have crossed my mind. Although, we don’t really know how Walky and Becky feel about each other. They got along great day 1, day 2 started with him crediting her lesbianism for her awesomeness (which I’m assuming she liked) but then she treated Dorothy poorly and they haven’t really interacted directly since.

      If anything, I’d suspect that Walky is operating under the belief that Becky thinks Dorothy stole her best friend and is kinda rubbing that in since she was kind of a jerk. Their first interaction was heavily based on them bonding over teasing Joyce, maybe he thinks this is kinda like that? I find it hard to believe that he knows this is going to hurt her and that it will hurt her deeply.

  74. Torra
    Torra
    January 25, 2016 at 3:22 am | #

    I like how Joyce’s initial reaction is to KEEP THIS SECRET from Dorothy and that Walky should get help elsewhere, that’s just such a typical Joyce way of looking at things as she really hates to disappoint her, and she just assumes that Walky doesn’t want to disappoint her either. Of course, I doubt Dorothy would be even that bothered and would be happy to show him studying techniques and be all “hey “STUDY PARTNER” but I still like that Joyce said this as its just so Joyce.

    Becky on that last panel though. Omg. Hahaa

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      January 25, 2016 at 3:15 pm | #

      Yeah, Joyce keep wanting to keep things hidden from Dorothy when it would save everyone a lot of trouble if they just fessed up to her. Just like her relationship with Ethan.

      It’s sad and adorable.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        January 25, 2016 at 3:45 pm | #

        OTOH, this isn’t her secret. Arguably, she shouldn’t spill Walky’s secrets to Dorothy.
        He should, but it’s really up to him.

        Hiding her relationship with Ethan was much more of a problem. It could be covered as not wanting to out Ethan and thus being a good thing, but that wasn’t her motivation.

    • John
      John
      January 25, 2016 at 9:14 pm | #

      I don’t think that’s Joyce’s impulse so much as that she’s gathered, from his evasiveness on the topic, that Walky doesn’t want Dorothy to find out, and is willing to go along with that for the moment. With a little threat of revealing it thrown in to spur him on.

      Still, it’s interesting contrasting this with Joyce’s approach to getting Sal to get tutoring. This is a very different Joyce than the Joyce of a month ago.

  75. Arianod
    Arianod
    January 25, 2016 at 4:04 am | #

    Next strip: Becky pounces onto Dorothy. With murderous intent.

    • DarkVeghetta
      DarkVeghetta
      January 25, 2016 at 6:19 am | #

      Sexual hilarity ensues.

      • Arianod
        Arianod
        January 25, 2016 at 8:17 am | #

        Hopefully!

  76. Proper Dave
    Proper Dave
    January 25, 2016 at 4:07 am | #

    People are talking about malice and/or cluelessness as an active flaw, but is there any particular reason Walky should know or care that Becky has an unrequited love for Joyce? I can’t think of one offhand.

    • Rutee
      Rutee
      January 25, 2016 at 8:38 am | #

      The sushi diner and the longing looks at Joyce during their first meeting.

  77. HMRC4EVR
    HMRC4EVR
    January 25, 2016 at 4:09 am | #

    So we skipped from Dina being aware she could be Becky’s rebound to them looking blissfully happy w/o a care in the world?

    Viking River Cruises next big thing: See De Nial River!

    • Gecko
      Gecko
      January 25, 2016 at 5:41 am | #

      …or Dina is aware, but bent on enjoying this while it lasts?

  78. BenRG
    BenRG
    January 25, 2016 at 4:17 am | #

    Something that occurs to me: Joyce doesn’t know that most of Sal’s improvement is thanks to Danny rather than Jason. Additionally, if the Walkyverse is any guide, then Walky has an absolutely infallible talent for getting Jason angry and frustrated in every way.

    In other words, Walky going to Jason for help may not end well.

    Of course, Willis might decide to turn things upside-down. Instead, Jason having to work with a student with which he doesn’t have the complication of an emotional connection spurs him to do a better job and, in an inversion of the Walkyverse, Jason ends up with much for which he owes Walky thanks.

    • Apostate
      Apostate
      January 25, 2016 at 5:23 am | #

      Ben, there’s also the bit where Jason was sleeping with his sister. So that’s a thing that might come out in a fit of anger from someone. Probably Sal if anyone.

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      January 25, 2016 at 5:26 am | #

      He’ll gladly try, but I’m not sure Walky has the attention span to try for more than 10 min.

  79. Gecko
    Gecko
    January 25, 2016 at 5:40 am | #

    The way he’s talking here, I wonder if Walky actually is slightly jealous of Joyce / sees her as competition on some level. The whole future plans part of him and Dorothy is moot.
    Most obviously he’s upset over his grades at the moment and looking for an outlet, but it’d be interesting if there’s something to it.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      January 25, 2016 at 5:49 am | #

      Maybe he looked forward to play house with Dorothy for a session and was annoyed that Joyce threw him to Joe instead.

      • Gecko
        Gecko
        January 25, 2016 at 9:18 am | #

        Yeah, he seemed pretty happy about the whole little game.

  80. skdk
    skdk
    January 25, 2016 at 6:07 am | #

    wow people are taking this so seriously

  81. skdk
    skdk
    January 25, 2016 at 6:11 am | #

    shouldnt becky just allow joyce to do whatever she wants with her friends? i dont see why walky would be doing anything bad here

    • DarkVeghetta
      DarkVeghetta
      January 25, 2016 at 6:22 am | #

      Because knowing what we do, it’s like rubbing salt in a still very open wound. Now weather or not Walky knows what we know and what the emotional consequences of opening his big chatterbox could be, is a different matter.

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      January 25, 2016 at 9:26 am | #

      Oh, I think she is. It’s just triggering her heartstrings and her old dreams of what never will be.

  82. G127
    G127
    January 25, 2016 at 6:22 am | #

    Why exactly would Walky know that Becky, holding hands with her girlfriend, is still in love with Joyce. If things where as they appear, (Becky completely over Joyce; now in a comitted relationship) you can imagine her even teasing Joyce with this.

    • DarkVeghetta
      DarkVeghetta
      January 25, 2016 at 6:25 am | #

      Because humans usually don’t get over life-long crushes in two weeks.

      • G127
        G127
        January 25, 2016 at 6:36 am | #

        That’s not what I meant. I don’t think it’s weird that Beckie is upset. But there are lot of commenters that think Walky is doing something either vengefull, or clueless. But Walky is hardly a confidant or a close friend of Becky. How well do you know the people that you saw a couple of times in last couple of weeks? Would you automatically know what are their triggers, even if you hear something about it in passing? He knows Joyce, whom he likes to make fun of a bit, but Becky is mostly a stranger to him, that seems quite happy with her new girlfriend.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      January 25, 2016 at 6:35 am | #

      Because detecting Becky’s oh so subtle feelings for Joyce is trivial for a SUPER GENIUS clever enough to get FREE GAY PIZZA.

      • G127
        G127
        January 25, 2016 at 6:41 am | #

        From the outside view that could have been just a conversation between best friends… In fact it was, for one of them.

    • Cephalo the Pod
      Cephalo the Pod
      January 25, 2016 at 12:03 pm | #

      Who says Walky knows?

  83. DarkVeghetta
    DarkVeghetta
    January 25, 2016 at 6:24 am | #

    Don’t worry Dina, Becky can still love you while also being in love with her lifelong crush. It’s just a bit more difficult emotionally for everyone involved, but entirely manageable.

  84. Volkai
    Volkai
    January 25, 2016 at 7:01 am | #

    Oh dear.
    It’s okay, Becky, nothing will come of it because *sigh* Joyce is quite straight.

    • G127
      G127
      January 25, 2016 at 7:05 am | #

      I don’t know: maybe Dorothy will be the expetion, that proves the rule. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IfItsYouItsOkay

    • trlkly
      trlkly
      January 25, 2016 at 10:06 am | #

      I agree she is straight, but I could see her going through an experimentation phase, especially if she ever drinks.

      But I’m not sure it wouldn’t be worse if she actually did it with Becky. Is it really better to have “[made] love and lost than to have never [made] love at all”?

      • trlkly
        trlkly
        January 25, 2016 at 10:08 am | #

        (I mean, Joyce is going to be questioning a lot of things.)

        • G127
          G127
          January 25, 2016 at 12:41 pm | #

          It probably makes me a horrible person, but I never really liked the idea of Becky and Joyce as a couple anyway: I’m more of a Jocye an Dorothy shipper anyway. So if it’s going to be a one time thing… well, I can dream, can I not.

          • timemonkey
            timemonkey
            January 25, 2016 at 8:34 pm | #

            Yeah, Becky/Joyce is pretty much entirely one sided.

  85. Rabid Rabbit
    Rabid Rabbit
    January 25, 2016 at 7:19 am | #

    Huh. When did Dorothy get so tall?

    • inqntrol
      inqntrol
      January 25, 2016 at 8:33 am | #

      New shoes maybe?

    • John
      John
      January 25, 2016 at 4:38 pm | #

      When she walked into a room with four other people who are all average height or less? Dina’s the shortest member of the main cast, Joyce, Becky, and Dorothy are all about average female height, and Walky’s short for a guy.

  86. Vree
    Vree
    January 25, 2016 at 9:33 am | #

    DoA is filmed before a live studio audience.

  87. Willoughby Chase
    Willoughby Chase
    January 25, 2016 at 9:34 am | #

    “Oh, uneventful”

    You little fibber you. Did you forget the great Joe-Walky Dynasty marry-up?

  88. Willoughby Chase
    Willoughby Chase
    January 25, 2016 at 9:43 am | #

    Forgot this Sweet track:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERMEneOrTkI

    Fox On The Run

  89. trlkly
    trlkly
    January 25, 2016 at 10:04 am | #

    Becky should just be happy this isn’t a TV sitcom where they’d have to do this for a whole week, and having to take the work home with them.

    And possibly take care of an egg or sack of flour, because they’ve never heard of those crying dolls we actually used.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      January 25, 2016 at 10:22 am | #

      If this was a sitcom then every queer lady except for Becky would be erased and she’d spend every waking moment making unsubtle metaphors about tacos.

      The last chapter would also have been about how brave and strong Joyce is for standing up for her.

      • chiscii
        chiscii
        January 25, 2016 at 11:23 am | #

        oh god imma think this through i’m sorry.

        billie would be shown macking on dudes all the time, and ruth would be like her one lez night stand she keeps coming back to offscreen, billie being more of a slutty joke rather than a 3d bi character, and ruth appearing at most a couple of times a season. mandy and grace would be het bros (manny and greg? fuck but there’s already a non-straight redhead named manny in shortpacked’s continuity… so thank soggies this manny would have aqua hair now lmao). all of daisy’s horny jokes would be redirected to heterosexuality. eating bananas every other time she shows up. when she almost kissed billie she would have slipped in a comment about how her ponytail makes her look like a cute asian boy or something no homo like that. marcie would be het too. i don’t even wanna think about what carla would be stuck with.

        the queer diversity quota(tm) would have been filled including more gay dudes instead, or increasing ethan, brian, sayid and danny’s panel time. but mostly ethan and danny’s cos now that i think about it brian and sayid would be increasing non-white characters panel time and we can’t alienate cishet white dudes THAT much holy shit. They would all be no homo jokes 99% of their appearances, ethan and danny focusing on the no and sayid and brian on the homo

        also dina would be the butt of 5000 more jokes, like in the big bang theory just overlaying a laugh track over her every mildly neurodivergent action. i guess she would be becky’s totally hetero best friend, who kissed her to make a point at the party (which would have been played for laughs too) but doesn’t actually swing that way, *sad trombone sound* dumbing on age, everyday at 6/5c

        • Spencer
          Spencer
          January 25, 2016 at 11:43 am | #

          Sorry, Danny would be gone too since bisexual dudes don’t exist on television.

          Ethan would still be around, but only so straight viewers can feel bad for his sad gay angst and take pride in Joyce and Amber feeling sorry for him. Then he’d hook up with a new character off-screen and disappear forever.

        • Psychotic Mantis
          Psychotic Mantis
          January 25, 2016 at 11:51 am | #

          Good God no. If DoA became a sitcom like that, I’d burn my TV.

        • Cerberus
          Cerberus
          January 25, 2016 at 10:44 pm | #

          Carla, if she even existed at all, would be a one-off character who’d show up either in flashbacks for a single episode or a special one-off guest. She’d be played by a cis dude in bad drag and would be super femme and obsessed with makeup, shoes, and the color pink and would be very heterosexual.

          She would have a tryst with a male character or flirt with him so that the male character can have a “proper” disgusted freak-out over almost sleeping with her or wanting to and can be disparaged for being gay by all his friends.

          If it’s a more serious show, she’ll die or turn evil by the end of the episode. No matter what, she’d be gone after the first appearance and never so much as mentioned ever again.

      • Alice Macher
        Alice Macher
        January 25, 2016 at 6:09 pm | #

        If DoA were an HBO drama, more of the gay, lesbian and bi characters would retain their sexual orientations, but Danny would be completely straight (see above). Also, all the women would be completely naked for 80% of their screen time, excluding those whose hairstyles or other characteristics the network assumed would “put off” cishet dudes. But including Joyce and Mary because “screw realism; they’re hot.” Male frontal nudity would be restricted to a token single appearance per season “so those tiresome feminists can’t say we’re sexist.”

  90. Lulu
    Lulu
    January 25, 2016 at 11:28 am | #

    Ups, Walky did it again.

    • Captain Button
      Captain Button
      January 25, 2016 at 11:35 am | #

      Don’t tempt me like that.

  91. TheNinthShader
    TheNinthShader
    January 25, 2016 at 11:40 am | #

    That internal screaming panel is just the right size, begging to be made a gravatar.

  92. Psychotic Mantis
    Psychotic Mantis
    January 25, 2016 at 11:54 am | #

    [Internal Screaming]

    *Cut to Sierra doing something normal and happy*

    • Captain Button
      Captain Button
      January 25, 2016 at 11:56 am | #

      Sierra, the happiness vampire.

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        January 25, 2016 at 2:55 pm | #

        Maybe that’s why she doesn’t wear shoes.

        • tim gueguen
          tim gueguen
          January 25, 2016 at 5:14 pm | #

          Nah, it’s because she’s an Earthbender.

    • Peduncle
      Peduncle
      January 25, 2016 at 2:55 pm | #

      Dude, you realize you have just doomed Sierra.

  93. RP
    RP
    January 25, 2016 at 2:51 pm | #

    I can’t remember anyone even telling Walky that Becky has a crush on Joyce so I am also confused by how many people are reading this as vindictive.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      January 25, 2016 at 2:54 pm | #

      Walky’s such a jerk for not knowing things that he wasn’t present for!

      • Rowen Morland
        Rowen Morland
        January 25, 2016 at 3:14 pm | #

        Just like that jerk Danny was.

        • LimeSheep
          LimeSheep
          January 25, 2016 at 5:14 pm | #

          oh god dont tell me walky is gonna be the comment sections new danny

          • Psychotic Mantis
            Psychotic Mantis
            January 25, 2016 at 5:48 pm | #

            Someone explain to me why Danny is/used to be hated so much? He seems like the kind of guy the comments section would love.

            • Spencer
              Spencer
              January 25, 2016 at 5:53 pm | #

              Over five years ago he said something shitty to Dorothy.

              Then he couldn’t figure out Amazi-Girl’s identity when she wore a disguise and adjusted her hair, voice, posture and mannerisms to deliberately fool him.

              He’s pretty vanilla, and occasionally says and does really dumb shit (“I didn’t want to take advantage of Billie even though she came on to me!”, the whole shoes things with Dorothy, accidentally getting kidnapped). He’s not quite as dynamic as some of the other cast members, but I’m fine with that. He runs a fine line between being one of the more normal cast members while also having some exciting, dramatic stuff happening in his life.

              • timemonkey
                timemonkey
                January 25, 2016 at 8:24 pm | #

                It also carried over from the other comics’ timeline.

                • Spencer
                  Spencer
                  January 25, 2016 at 9:05 pm | #

                  Yes but that Danny wasn’t supposed to be annoying until he took on a life of his own, a life we all wanted to repeatedly punch in the face.

                  Danny’s failures and neuroses are a more intentional and prominent aspect of his character this time, and he’s just not charismatic enough to lead a series the way Walky, Ethan and Robin, and Joyce are.

            • StClair
              StClair
              January 25, 2016 at 7:00 pm | #

              I think he reminds a lot of people too much of ourselves at that age. And we hate that.

              • chris73
                chris73
                January 25, 2016 at 10:13 pm | #

                This.

            • Adam Black
              Adam Black
              January 26, 2016 at 3:31 am | #

              Just my opinions:
              Some of the reasons are in-text and some are out-of-text

              Danny was originally an author avatar in Roomies ,
              much like Walky, then Ethan ( SP ) and now Joyce ( DOA ) is .

              But Roomies was first written when Willis was the Fundie Xtian going to college and as Willis evolved ( eventually into a mature liberal Atheist Cartoonist ) he grew to detest the character as written, and his earlier jokes and plotting. That OG Danny was a lighthearted everyman that got mired in Angst and self-loathing didnt help.

              In the beginning of DOA no one knew what kind of character Danny would be. Most of the fans were familiar with Roomies Danny-loathing and brought it with them. Inheriting the Pathos from Roomies , explains why early DOA Danny is intensely hated while early DOA Ruthless is given a pass and liked.

              Danny seemed to confirm this by being conferred Dumped Clueless Loser Status ASAP. Danny also had passive aggression toward Dorothy’s ambitions ( probably a projection of low esteem based on how is own parents treat him ). He didnt believe in her and told her to he face. It was pretty toxic ( although I missed this first reading ) . I also think people see their past-selves in Danny in a way they dont like.

              Willis secretly planned for DOA Danny to be Bisexual and dropped lots of minor hints. But This showed up as Danny having subtle stereotypical feminine traits. ( Being passive, unable to defend oneself, indecisive, low self-esteem, living for someone else, bedskirts ) .

              I think Danny then acquired extra hate for unconscious sexism. Its not publicly sanctioned to hate a female character with these characteristics. But you can them in a male character.

              When even Joe turned Dannys name into a verb for screwup, the fans embraced it.
              It didnt help that he chased Dorothy to college, Rejected Billie ( and Sarah ) , and Dumped Amber for Amazi-girl.

              Now that his prime-trait: ( loyalty ) has come through,
              and has been shown to be humble, good-willed and bisexual, most of the fans have forgiven him for being a clueless weakwilled occasional jack-ass.

  94. Peduncle
    Peduncle
    January 25, 2016 at 2:57 pm | #

    I notice that the buffer watch has been set on April 20 for a while. I hope Mr. (and Mrs.) Willis are getting some sleep!

    • Psychotic Mantis
      Psychotic Mantis
      January 25, 2016 at 4:33 pm | #

      Er.

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        January 25, 2016 at 4:57 pm | #

        Errrrr.

        • Someone
          Someone
          January 25, 2016 at 5:05 pm | #

          errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

          • Tenn
            Tenn
            January 25, 2016 at 5:15 pm | #

            To errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr is human.

            • Psychotic Mantis
              Psychotic Mantis
              January 25, 2016 at 5:18 pm | #

              To forrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgive divine.

    • Peduncle
      Peduncle
      January 25, 2016 at 6:52 pm | #

      Okay, dudes. The buffer just advanced a day. He’s taking care of business. Um, maybe that wasn’t the best way to say it.

      (One thing occurred to me after the original post. Does anyone know what surname Mr. Willis’s wife uses? I’m too old to be comfortable using given names for people I have never met, unless they’re webcomic characters.)

      • chris73
        chris73
        January 25, 2016 at 10:19 pm | #

        Mrs Willis until otherwise corrected?

      • Joshua Norton II
        Joshua Norton II
        January 25, 2016 at 10:58 pm | #

        The Tumblr comic “It’s Pregnancy” states that it’s made by David and Maggie Willis.

        Link so you can see I’m not just talking out of my rectum: http://itspregnancy.tumblr.com/

  95. Deviant
    Deviant
    January 25, 2016 at 5:09 pm | #

    I don’t think that Walky is even aware that Becky has feelings for Joyce. He’s very rarely included in talks about such things so it would be kind of unfair to judge him for something he does not know, right?

    • Psychotic Mantis
      Psychotic Mantis
      January 25, 2016 at 5:22 pm | #

      Fair point, actually. People are saying that he could figure it out because he’s so perceptive. The thing is, it’s pretty obvious that he very rarely bothers to be even the slightest bit so.

      As such, combined with the fact that he is almost never around when a conversation is regarding a romance outside his own (to my knowledge, at least. Correct me if mistaken.), it is indeed rather unfair to judge him on this matter.

  96. Tenn
    Tenn
    January 25, 2016 at 5:50 pm | #

    Aaah, it feels good to be able to make light jokes and not be sad and not have to yell at douchebags. If we’re really lucky, it might last one more day! 😀

  97. Gamaran Sepudomyn
    Gamaran Sepudomyn
    January 25, 2016 at 5:59 pm | #

    I get the feeling I’m going to need to use my emergency cute picture collection soon.

    • Psychotic Mantis
      Psychotic Mantis
      January 25, 2016 at 6:05 pm | #

      Might wanna start using it NOW.

  98. Charles Phipps
    Charles Phipps
    January 25, 2016 at 6:47 pm | #

    I think Walky did it deliberately out of spite and knows Becky has feelings for Joyce but the thing is, I don’t think he was thinking about how nasty it is. It’s just Walky.does.not.think. I like what Willis is doing here as he’s illustrating Walky’s humorous selfish immaturity is sometimes, well, unfunny selfish immaturity.

    Or he’s the true evil in the school.

    “I, Bane-Walky, could kill you Amazi-Girl but, instead, I will simply break you.”

    • Captain Button
      Captain Button
      January 25, 2016 at 7:48 pm | #

      So his trampoline park will be his Fortress of Ultimate Darkness?

  99. chris73
    chris73
    January 25, 2016 at 7:56 pm | #

    Considering how much time and effort Joyce has spent letting both Dorothy and Walky know she thinks they shouldn’t be together I guess I’m not surprised to see Walky act this way especially since Joyce (though trying to be helpful) is hitting a raw nerve

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      January 25, 2016 at 10:15 pm | #

      But if they don’t break up then Dorothy will never be hers Walky and Billie will never get together like they’re supposed to!

  100. Charles Phipps
    Charles Phipps
    January 25, 2016 at 8:17 pm | #

    I, for one, fully support Walky and Jason to have the same passionate tutoring-based affair as Sal and Jason.

  101. Adam Black
    Adam Black
    January 26, 2016 at 2:40 am | #

    Walky never claimed to be straight.

  102. Wqat
    Wqat
    January 26, 2016 at 6:54 pm | #

    Anyone else think that Joyce is staring at Becky’s and Dina’s hands, bc it seems like it to me-

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