One does not hoist a petard. A petard is an old type of bomb. The hoisting part is you being launched into the air from standing too close to it. It’s a fancy way of saying you blew yourself up.
Actually, it’s ‘hoist _by_ the petard’, which literally means to set off an explosive under something. Or someone, as the historical context would indicate.
It COULD also mean farting forcefully enough to lift one off of one’s feet. ‘Petard’ is derived from the French word for ‘to fart’.
My knee jerk reaction was ‘Walky was in Capitol Critters as a church mouse?’ but then I remembered 1) that show Walky was in and 2) no one remembers Capitol Critters but me.
flight or fight. in academia he hasn’t really had a challenge so he has never had to learn how to fight for his grades and it seems his is more of a flight risk than a combatant.
Also, Walky using potty as a verb has suddenly and vividly brought me back to my high school experience, which was the last time I heard it. A certain type of boy (which Walky would fit in pretty well with) said it.
At least with Joyce we can be 99% sure it’s affectionate (and in her defence, Joyce is both a month younger and acts very very childlike – which isn’t a bad thing, it just definitely makes her seem younger).
Also stems from perspective. Sal having experienced, at least from her view, so much more than most, if not all, of the cast, would then tend to think of them still beings kids.
Yeah. It’s like when you have horrible experiences as a child, and you grow up and meet people who didn’t so their problems can seem really simplistic to you.
Yup, it forces an earlier maturity as a survival mechanism which can also lead to coping strategies for surviving abuse becoming things that get associated with survival in general in a world after one’s escaped.
Both of the people she’s called ”kid” seem to be people she likes, but is not terribly close to.
She definitely means it affectionately, and for Sal that’s no small thing. I could easily imagine her using ”pal” instead, but I don’t think she’s comfortable being so overtly friendly
I don’t think there’s something to really make up. Danny kind of snapped at her after she was adjacent to dismantling his relationship.
He might be a little annoyed that the person who insisted that he was enabling Amazi-Girl and needed to stop her for her own sake is now getting into rad superhero team-ups, though.
Probably less annoyed when he finds out a rapist was about to knock her lights out, but yes, any more conversation on AG is interesting. I’d like to know how perspectives are shifting (if at all).
I mean, it’s not like they were friends. Danny tutored her once and then she made him realize Amber was going to die.
And, like, the motivating incident for Sal telling Danny he’s enabling Amber’s destructive actions was saving Becky’s life. I’m not sure the events really matter when discussing why Amber, absolutely, totally, undeniably needs to stop being Amazi-Girl, or why he wouldn’t be angry finding out that she’s now encouraging Amber to do the thing she was previously adamant that she needed to stop.
No, but they were friendly enough, and I’d like to see that keep going. Sal needs friends, Danny needs non-Joe friends, and they have a pretty descent dynamic.
Sal didn’t encourage her – she told her not to go half cocked without a plan, and stopped AG from getting in ANOTHER car chase that couldn’t possibly end well. Sal stepped in when AG was about to get her teeth knocked in by a rapist who had three people holding her down, and then they went to get her phone. The issue she expressed ‘Stop going off without any kind of plan into bad situations and making them worse via escalating because you have something to prove before you, and a bunch of other people, are going to get hurt/killed.’ Not that she rescued Becky (she was grateful, respectful, and by her own admission, a little impressed by that) but how she did it (which involved getting Toedad to fire off into the air, throwing those little tire busting things freely into the streets, jumping on top of the car, and sending it into a massive spin). In both situations, had Sal not been there, the situation would have gone far worse (Toedad would have ended with Amber as a smear on the ground and this one would have ended with Ryan knocking her lights out, escaping with her phone, getting to his friend, and having full reign to look through it and find her and her friends, and Joyce). In both situation, without AG, the situation probably would not have been worse (Toedad would get his brain blown out by the police instead of arrested, Ryan…….would have kept going about his night, none the wiser, which isn’t GOOD but still far less dangerous to Joyce and the others than an angry and informed Ryan). The issue is not primarily that Amazi-Girl is doing this, it’s the WAY she does that is dangerous and going to end up getting her killed and thus necessitates stopping her. Sal emphatically is not cool with that way of doing things, and she did talk her out of her more reckless ideas.
That’s the way I’ve been seeing it anyways – Sal’s not entirely against the idea of vigilantism, but more that she’s not okay with the way AG does it and thinks that that is what’s going to get her killed. Mind, that doesn’t make getting involved a good decision (this is almost certainly going to bite her in the ass) but I don’t think Sal would object quite so arduously if AG weren’t a) A creepy racism-echoing stalker and b) Recklessly acting with a death wish.
You’re free to disagree and I can respect your way of seeing things, I just have to say the way I’ve seen it.
Whiiiich is probably entirely pointless because Danny will almost certainly (understandably) see things differently, and that’s okay, I guess I just need to ramble. I’m probably making zero sense and please feel free to ignore me if I am, I am both new at this and my head is kinda all over the place wrt this and a couple other things I’m doing. My apologies if I am not making sense!
I want to hug him even more than I did yesterday. He’s running away from class… or perhaps towards something else? Anybody else think he might have dropped his Cal class for a math he could handle and is running to it now as to not be late for class, but is so ashamed that he’s hiding it from everyone?
He may be running off to re-register his schedule because Sarah got through to him. But I agree he’s running off to something else now. And that he’s too ashamed to admit it.
It’s over a month in, though. If it’s like my college, you can’t really do that. You can drop the class, but you can’t get into another class. There is at least one class I would have done that with if I could have–the teacher was just hard to understand.
It really depends on the class and the circumstance. I’ve known students who were able to do it past drop date as long as they agreed to pay for both classes, the new class was an easier difficulty, and the professor signed off on it. I think (if I remember right), the one that did that in a math class had to retake all missed tests and quizzes on retake day and had a month worth of homework she had to finish within an agreed upon timeframe. I’m sure not all colleges do it, but the fact it can happen at all meant it could happen here. Plus, the Dean iis his mother’s ex husband and they are still friends which could help his case.
We couldn’t drop if it was a semester in, but what people would do was take an overload so they had at least the bare minimum credits. For example, you had 4 classes plus a 0.5 credit gym class. Drop one full class, but you still had the bare minimum so you wouldn’t have to worry about having enough or having to change your financial aid status.
Yeah, if he drops it he’ll probably get a Withdraw mark on a class, but that might be good for him nonetheless. I know I ended up having to accept a Withdraw mark on some classes and that was a good thing for me overall (mid-semester emotional breakdowns and suicide attempts are a hell of a trip). And I was still able to get to grad school with those on my record.
Cute moment: Sal looking after Joyce. In the most Sal-like manner, sure, but she’s still looking after Joyce. She will look after Joyce until Joyce no longer needs looking after, and maybe then some.
Hopeful moment: Walky is in fact going off to re-register into basic math and take those classes instead. What Sarah said actually seems to have registered with him.
Stupid moment: Walky will not be honest and tell everyone that he’s going off to re-register into basic math. He may admit to himself that he can do without advanced math, but he’s still waaaay too tied up to being “the wiz kid” to admit that to anyone else.
i kinda picture sal seeing joyce like a kitten who is scared to leave its mom, but will take two steps before running back because it wants to be both safe and on its own but safe is the bigger concern right now.
Man, that sounded so sincere, I’d almost believe you didn’t say it in fear of being thrown into my mime pits dungeons which may or may not have some particularly scary things in them that I will not confirm.
Unless it really is a “to” question as in to register for a basic math class/drop Cal or to basic math class he is now registered in instead of Cal (and hiding his perceived failure from his friends).
If Walky proceeds in a southeast direction at a speed of 12 miles per hour, and collides head-on with his karma, which was traveling north-by-northwest at 67 furlongs per fortnight, will anyone hear him fall?
Linda Walkerton watches on with a stern, neutral, possibly disapproving expression from the observation window. She lifts her head slightly. The glare catches her glasses, making her eyes impossible to see.
Oh, Walky, you delightful mess, this is not going to help. Seek a tutor. Heck, if you won’t ask the TA (I can’t blame you, he’s a terrible teacher), check online. Check tutoring offers. Heck, try asking Sal. She’s doing better. Or at least might point you to a helpful tutor.
Better yet, ask Joyce. She knows your deep dark secret already, she’s doing fine in math, she’s on a make-everything-better trip, and it will make the J+W shipdom happier than they’ve been since Walkyverse.
Good point! As I recall, Joyce mentioned math was her favourite subject, and she seems to have a similar knack for it that her Walkyverse counterpart did (and without even alien tampering, Walkyverse!Joyce you cheater!)
I was going to say ‘hey, he might just be a bad teacher for Sal’ but it doesn’t matter because if he couldn’t explain it to Sal (and could only word it one way) I doubt he’d be able to get Walky, who thinks he should understand it anyway, very far.
We have yet to see Jason teach anyone else, so he might do better with someone who understands his explanations, but tbh he’s a terrible teacher in so many other ways. Possibly more effective at explaining to Walky, but he’s a reeeeaaaaalllllly lousy teacher overall, especially in other aspects.
Jason is an awful teacher and a worse TA. His method of teaching is to regurgitate the exact method that the teacher is using regardless of whether it works and berate the student looking for help for being too stupid to get that one method of learning things (and if they are a girl, hit on them and ask for sex while demeaning their character and blaming them for trying to ruin him if they accept).
And yeah, that’s not gonna work for anyone who would need to seek out a TA, because if they need to seek out a TA for help, clearly the professor’s explanations aren’t making sense and they need a different approach and not to be berated, insulted, or sexually harassed over it.*
*Words cannot describe how much Jason infuriates me as someone whose day job is teacher. Like, he is literally everything that is the worst about bad teachers, including sexually harassing and trying to sleep with students, which is so so many levels of no.
Jason is the epitome of why being good at something doesn’t mean you’re good at teaching it.
A good teacher is one who tries to explain a thing in a way the student understands. A bad teacher is who explains the thing only in the way they understand.
Walky still has the potential to turn this class around (unlike some of the students who hired me as a tutor – those who’d failed everything all semester and then expected two hours with a tutor to be able to make them ace their final… after my first semester tutoring, I refused them as clients because they’d blame me for them failing the class and not the fact that they needed to have gotten help back in October, not the week before the final), so I hope he does get himself some extra help.
What Walky doesn’t get (and what a lot of students struggle with at uni) is that university expects a much more self-directed style of learning from a student. Most uni students are in physical class about half as much as they were in high school – that extra time on task has to be made up somewhere, and where it’s made up is through student-directed homework and studying. Kids like Walky (and first-year me, to be fair) who’ve never had to study don’t have the skill of studying developed, and they tend to flounder until they get the study skills developed unless the subject matter is interesting enough that they study on their own out of interest.
For my first two years of uni, you could tell how interested I was in a class by my grade – interesting classes got As, uninteresting got Cs. Unfortunately for Walky – I don’t think he’s really interested in any of the subject material.
Ugh, this totally. So we have a chem exam on Monday. Our lecture is MWF but because a hurricane was headed this way our uni decided to close for Thurs and Fri, which meant we missed Friday’s lecture. Some girl a few rows behind me was absolutely outraged, being like “BUT WHAT ABOUT FRIDAY’S LECTURE?!” and it took everything I had not to turn around and ask her in my most contempt-riddled voice “… have you never heard of the concept of self-study?”
(At least, not anyone with decision-making authority.)
The math department doesn’t care. They don’t want TAs who are great at teaching. That’s a secondary or tertiary concern behind being sure the grad students will graduate from the program (and thus not hurt their stats) and contribute to the all-important task of acquiring and meeting research grants.
Hell, there’s a certain cynicism that says that repeat business means more revenue for the university. And at lower levels like that (any class number that starts with a digit less than 3), it’s obviously the fault of the novice students who just don’t GET the finer qualities of math, who proudly hate it and rebel against it, or just don’t apply themselves. How are we supposed to stop that? It’s not like we can save them from themselves, is it?
Never mind that practically no one in a research university is hired for teaching ability.
….
Yeah, okay, I’m a bit sarcastically cynical about this, but I was a math grad student and TA myself. Out of a cadre of about 20, I was the ONLY ONE who took coursework in teaching and education on the side. I wowed the professors I was assigned to by putting ANY EFFORT AT ALL beyond grading papers and running the lab into my TAing, and I heard those same sentiments of… well it’s not EXACTLY victim-blaming, but it’s akin to it… in several conversations with other grad students and more than one staff meeting.
Part of the problem genuinely is kids who are not taught how to study effectively in school running into the wall of You Must Study This Much To Pass This Class (speaking as someone who ran headfirst into that wall myself). However, the complete lack of concern for teaching skills in university hiring decisions is definitely part of the problem as well.
Yeah, the lack of studying skills is part of the problem. But FIXING the problem starts with sympathizing with them and putting some effort into teaching them how to study (no matter when or by whom they should have been taught originally), rather than just blaming them for it, washing your hands of it, and walking away while they crash and burn.
To be fair, having sex with him was Sal’s idea and he was kinda O_o at first about it. However, he definitely shouldn’t’ve gone with it, but I wouldn’t call that him sexually harassing her.
He did start it though. When she first approached him about office hours he ogled her and talked about changing office hours to right the fuck now.
She called him on it and he backed down, but he did start with it.
Now, she did initiate the actual sex and without that I doubt he would have done much more than look and comment. Too much of a stick up his butt to try anything worse.
Still creepy though.
Also – condescending, smug, doesn’t acknowledge his shortcomings, only has one explanation (and apparently not a very good one if people don’t already speak math), was willing to dismiss a student as hopeless after – at most – two tutoring sessions (I don’t care how bad the grade is, you’re a TERRIBLE teacher if you give up after only two attempts AT MOST) and most likely only one considering she only mentioned Tuesday, refuses to adapt, belittling, gets super pissy when people point out he doesn’t even fucking try to understand his student’s issues, and, this might be my favourite part, refuses to do his job (IU TA’s are supposed to be available for meeting outside office hours, which he emphatically refused to do – even if he couldn’t have done so that day, he could have offered to meet a different time/day, or in a different location if the problem is sharing the office. Nor did he offer to have her email him her questions if he really could not meet. He did none of these things).
wait what? “hit on them and ask for sex”??? did we read the same comic?
the sex was entirely Sal’s idea, Jason was completely surprised by the turn of events (not that it prevented him from joining in, which he shouldn’t have) and later he was again surprised to learn that Sal had intended it as an exchange for good grades
Jesu, you’re honestly painting Jason as completely sleazy and manipulative, which he’s not. Having sex with a student IS wrong but that was lack of self restraint on his part more than anything, she literally took off her shirt and sat on his lap unpromtpted
That “right the hell now” comment Jason made was completely inappropriate. It’s also what led Sal to think she’d have to sleep with him to improve her grades. Jason’s inability to actually teach no doubt contributed, but that’s hardly a point in his favor.
In my opinion, even if Sal would have initiated it anyway, the possibility of a student getting that impression makes that comment unethical at best, and it makes his acceptance of Sal’s advances absolutely reprehensible. I don’t care how hot or topless she was.
Especially since I would imagine that minority and otherwise disadvantaged students would be disproportionately more affected by this. The more you’re used to the system not treating your talents and hard work as equal to that of your more privileged peers, the more likely you’d be to conclude “oh great, sounds like the only way I’ll get a better grade is if I sleep with this stuffy asshole”.
Also, small note, but even if Jason hadn’t flirted first like a disgusting creeper, I’d still be writing that rant about him, largely because you don’t ever sleep with a student.
Ever.
I don’t care if the student is “hot”. I don’t care if the student makes the moves on you. I don’t care if the student strips naked and begs you to fuck them.
You don’t ever sleep with students.
Like, everything else he’s done fills me with an incandescent rage for all it befouls the very profession of professional educator.
But that piece of it is a line a million miles beyond all that into the lands of just turning into Madeline Khan doing the “flames on the side of my face” rant from Clue.
And any man who will cling to creepy little excuses like “you seduced me” or “if I don’t give you a good grade, it doesn’t count” like Jason did is full of so many red flags he can be legally classified as a bullfighting ring.
Jason is the type of teacher that teachers don’t just hate, but actively loathe, because they befoul the whole profession.
I’d never suggest that having sex with a student is in any way excusable, but I object to you painting Jason as sleazy initiator. He didn’t start tutoring Sal because he’d hoped she would try to have sex with him in exchange for sex. He tried to genuinely help her (and failed completely).
He’s not a predator because he didn’t single out Sal specifically to try to cajole or pressure her into sex.
really, I can’t wrap my head around “if you’re a girl he’ll hit on you and ask for sex” he literally never ASKED for sex! he was offered sex and he said yes, which he shouldn’t have
I think you’re painting Jason as someone who would genuinely pressure a student into giving sexual favours for his own gratification, which isn’t true. He honestly feels terrible that he wasn’t able to teach Sal anything or even keep a relationship with her; his self pity may be unwarranted from our point of view but it’s not an act on his part
The fact that he wouldn’t intentionally pressure a student into sex doesn’t earn him any points in my book.
The fact that one can do so unintentionally is why he was sleazy from the moment he made that comment. He doesn’t solicit sexual favors, he just makes inappropriate sexual comments that could lead an already-vulnerable student to think they’re necessary to get ahead.
And then poof! “I’m not sleazy at all! She came on to me, and my boner dictates my actions! Whoops”
I feel like Mike’s evil is too comedic for him to really have a redemption arc. Walky isn’t actually a bad person, so it would really just be character development.
My school gave that long but you couldn’t get your money back. Something like the second week after start, all fees were do and you couldn’t register or get refunds anymore, on the third or fourth you couldn’t drop without getting a grade (unless you had a legitimate reason and appealed it or whatever)
It might be possible, but I find it unlikely, as most schools seem to put their date in September. It’s approx. Oct 4th today, in universe, so he probably doesn’t have great odds. Indiana U’s website seems like it ends at the end of September. He might have a chance, though.
‘s funny that Walky hides his emotional constipation behind the excuse “I hafta go potty.” Just drop your load, kid! I bet he’s afraid Dorothy & his parents will make a big stink about it.
Yeah…. This is how I failed multi variable calculus and that one class that teaches you exactly how hyper sensitive chemical detecting equipments work including a super confuctor T_T
One day, Emperor Norton II found himself transformed into a hovering butt.
“That’s strange,” the emperor said (through the magical powers of narrative imperative demanding that he could speak). “I really was expecting to wake up as an emperor, not an ass. I wonder if I’ve been assuming too much lately.”
The emperor first wondered if he should hide from the public, since said public could not in good confidence support an ass as emperor. But then he realised that this was a perfect disguise, and he could hover around without people knowing it was in fact their emperor among them.
So out he hovered, enjoying his anonymity. Sure, people pointed and laughed, but they did not know whom they were pointing and laughing at. And he smiled (how a floating ass smiles is a question best left unanswered) to them all, secretly making a point of remembering all their faces (how a floating ass can see is… You know the drill by now) and later, once he had regained his imperial shape, he vowed to have them thrown into his dungeons.
But then, as he hovered around a corner, he butted into another floating ass. Thankfully, both asses were pretty soft, so no harm done.
“Oh, We are terribly sorry,” the emperor said.
“No, it was my fault,” the other ass replied bitterly (butterly?). “I’ve just been rather depressed of having been turned into an ass this morning. I never should have made those comments on that stupid webcomic.”
“Hahaha, indeed you should not”, the emperor said, hoping that butts could not blush with embarrassment. Quickly trying to change the subject, he asked for his subjects name.
“I’m Bluewind, but everybody calls me Godzilla, because of how I look” said the other butt.
“Pleased to meet you, Bluewind. We are… I mean, I am… Norton Johansen.” The Emperor was very pleased with how he had cleverly disguised his name. “So anyway, you seem a bit upset. What is the worst part of being a butt, you would say?”
The other ass looked ashamedly at the Emperor, but eventually said “I miss my friend Bob. He was always there for me, but now I can’t get hold of him anymore.”
“I am terribly sorry to hear that. But you know what? I’m sure two butts think better than one. How about we go to my place and figure out how we can solve this problem.”
“Really?” Bluewind asked. “THat’s awfully nice of you, but-”
“Ah-ah-ah, no buts!” said the emperor, feeling very pleased with himself for timing that reply just right. “You will be my guest and together we will think of something. United we think, divided we have a brain fart!”
Bluewind reluctantly accepted the offer, and off they went to one of Emperor Norton’s secret hiding houses.
Man, this ship was pretty shitty
I mean really nobody assked you to write it
I mean, I guess Orion technically did, butt that’s not the point
Although I suppose I did crack up a bit
I’ll stop now before I make an ass of myself
It goes to show how carefully I look at the strip that I thought at first that those things in the second panel were porta-potties rather than the elaborate gateposts that they obviously are, and was wondering why Walky was running away from them if he needed to go.
Damnit Walky, a fixed mindset is not attractive. You’ve got to learn to take being challenged as an opportunity to learn instead of a risk to fail if you’re going to save Japan grow as a person.
But really, Walky’s problem is so common among children who are ever considered just a little bit more gifted than their peers it’s embarrassing.
Panel 1: Interesting… are those bags under her eyes. I’m wondering if Sal has been doing a thing I did in college and is staying up all night, doing her morning class at the end of it and then crashing afterwards.
And yeah, it would definitely be described as a weird night given that she was stalked, abused with a bunch of racism from an angry conservative mob, semi-befriended her stalker, and helped punch and track down Joyce’s rapist.
And I’m definitely worried about the fallout as Sal doesn’t really have anyone to talk to about the wealth of feelings an evening like that is bound to bring up, not to mention the fact that her actions that night definitely did not sit well with Marcie and Sal knows that because she looked back to see Marcie’s furious face.
Panel 2: I love Sal so much for this moment. It’s the human touch that matters most and shows that she gets shit like sexual assault a lot better than most of the cast minus maybe Billie.
Like, yeah, check the fuck in with Joyce, especially since Ryan’s photo is out there and Ryan went out looking for revenge. And especially since Dorothy or AG might have checked in with her last night about what to do next and thus let her know about them finding her rapist (we know they didn’t, but Sal doesn’t know that).
And the phrasing. “You hangin’ in there?” That is so key. That is what you ask someone who’s potentially going through hell and flashbacks. Because flashbacks are not fun, having to figure out what to do about an abuser isn’t fun, figuring out how to recover isn’t fun. But it matters that you’re holding in there and it matters that you know folks have got your back and are willing to catch you if you slip and fall a little.
It’s a little moment that makes me believe Sal would actually be a fantastic social worker. Because she’s got the exact right attitude to check in on emotional health and genuinely be there for folks.
Panel 3: Walky alone in the quad with all his demons. 2016 David Willis.
We’ve seen Sal stay up super super late before, so I’m thinking her sleep schedule is more ‘a couple hours per day and then binge sleep when I can’ than any actual pattern.
….Yeah, I can see that being weird.
Yeeeeaaaahhhhh, let’s hope Marcie isn’t too angry that they can’t make up, this is gonna need discussion.
I do like your mention of Sal’s skill with stuff like this. She’s got pretty good crisis skills most of the time – I don’t know about social workers (her stint as a juvenile delinquent may have soured her on them as it did on therapists) but i can see her as a decent crisis management worker once the crisis has already happened and people need help.
All of this. I already love it whenever Sal drops her cool detachment to show concern or affection or just otherwise have a slightly more real moment with someone, but there’s something touching about how she drops her own guard for what should seem like a relatively small gesture
Agreed. “Are you all right?” tends to be a crappy question in these situations because really, there’s the “all right” you feel when you’re actually okay and then there’s the “all right” of “Well by typical healthy standards this is terrible, but in the context of this I’m doing great” and trying to explain that to someone who’s not literally inside your mental state with you is difficult at best and draining. But “Hanging in there?” You can feel like absolute CRAP, honestly you probably do, but hey if you’re holding together we’ll count that as a win. (Which, probably not dissimilar to how Sal’s feeling right now. WEIRD night indeed.)
Panels 4-6: Ok, first of all, the line “have fun with every single one of the maths” is just liquid gold. I’m gonna have to start using that when I assign homework.
Second of all, I really like Emperor’s suggestion that he’s gonna drop the class and I think it’s right in the long-term though I’m not sure he’s fully there in realizing that he’s gonna have to drop the class as he’s still got a lot of his sense of self wrapped up in his ability to handle any difficult subject easily.
Cause, yeah, that conversation with Sarah really hammers home that point that not only is Walky suffering in Calculus, but he’s doing so unnecessarily. Calculus is not required for his major and the only reason he is taking it is to support this mythology he’s built up surrounding the idea that his worth is tied to him being smart and that he proves this by tackling any difficult subject without any effort.
Dropping Calculus will be part of his healing, just as much learning to actually study is. And it’s another lesson that a lot of college students slam into. Cause, not every class works out. Life throws a mental health curveball or a major just doesn’t hold the interest that one thought it would or a course is a nightmare and not worth pursuing.
Learning to bail earlier and with less stress is a skill all of them will need, but Walky will especially need because of how much he’s built into this mythology that he proves his super smart know-it-all ways by taking super hard subjects (but only the super hard subjects relating to math, which oh man, there’s so much gendered stuff to unpack there especially since we know from Leslie’s introduction that he’s only in Gender Studies because he presumed it would be an easy A in the humanities).
Like, he also needs to learn how to study and push through things. That’s a skill he’s gonna need in life and he’s gonna have to learn it sometime. But I’m not convinced that him learning it with Calculus will do as much good to break down that central mythology.
And it’s worth noting that removing that central mythology will also make him a better human being. Part of his confrontational method of interacting with people and picking intellectual fights with folks is rooted in this idea that he’s super smart and thus his biases and preconceptions must be rooted in fact and correct and thus someone else’s perspective on the matter or values system must be in error or stupid. It was a key part of his fight with Carla and definitely his interactions with Joyce about her faith.
It will also help his relationship. Like, Dorothy had to couch to an insane degree her disagreement with Walky on the Ultra Car cartoon and he still took it super super personally and that’s tied to the idea that if he’s super smart and right all the time, then people he’s close to disagreeing with him are actually attacking a fundamental core of him.
And well… no, that’s not how it works and he needs to shed that before either Dorothy realizes that putting up with that shit is not a virtue or he ends up in a relationship with someone who won’t give him the softly softly treatment about his tendency to mansplain things.
Overall though, I’m really excited that this moment might be kicking off a moment of genuine growth for him.
Yeah, all that, except it doesn’t apply here. Walky is not rationally breaking down his built-up mythos around math regarding smart-students and dumb-students. Walky isn’t in Sarah’s mindset of “why take hard math if it doesn’t help my major”. He’s in Billie’s mindset of “stick it out even if it gets tough”, except Walky doesn’t do tough.
Look at that face. That’s lizard-brain aversion and phobia. He’s not looking at his situation in a clear-eyed manner and realizing it makes tactical sense to drop calculus. He’s just gtfoing asap. He’s not even dropping Calculus. This isn’t a moment that will help him in his relationship with Dorothy… it’s one more thing he’ll have to hide from her, and thus get defensive about, and thus get aggressive about.
The lesson he takes away from dropping/withdrawing/failing Calculus won’t be “you can be smart and still be bad at math”. The lesson he’s going to take away is “I’m dumb and worthless and must avoid everything that challenges me ever”.
The most concerning part is that he’s isolating himself from his friends and support group and lying to them… and doing it in such a way that he can repeat it at will over the rest of the term. They’ll figure it out eventually… after he uses the same trick to miss three weeks, the midterm, and the withdraw date.
Also, the only ones who would care enough to do something are Dorothy, Joyce, Mike, and Jason. Sal keeps a bit of distance from bro and definitely doesn’t do hand-holding. Billie has other concerns and hates Walky’s guts anyway. Dorothy… might do something, but probably won’t/can’t, since the relationship has boundaries and she knows she’s already pushing them. Joyce WOULD want to help, but she’s so trusting and naive that Walky can actually fool her with the “go potty” story for a while and she won’t notice in time. Jason, for all his faults, has noticed and genuinely wants to help, but isn’t good at it and Walky’s rejected his help in an omg-authority-figure-knows-my-secret panic.
That leaves Mike. Mike will notice, and do something about it. This… isn’t a good thing.
If his major is electronics (communications?) then Calc is integral to his degree … if he fails on this course he may well have to flunk the degree, or “sent down” as they say in Cambridge.
Transferring to Med – as his parents want – then the study ethic hits hard as well.
My betting is on Mike to provide the push – he’s done it once already with Walky’s relationship with Dorothy:
Maybe in the long run he should drop Calc, but I really doubt that’s what he’s doing now. He’s panicking and running away. And hiding it.
More, dropping it doesn’t work narratively. He’s still going to have to do the “learn to study” thing at some point, but there’s nothing set up to build back to that if he drops Calculus. It just dangles until next semester at best – which is decades away.
I agree the mythology has to be broken, but “Give up if you can’t do it effortlessly” isn’t the way to do that. That just pushing him into the I’m a dumb failure fallback, as Reltzik says. “I can do this, if I work at it” is just as much a disruption of his golden man-child thing and leaves him in a much better place.
It could have been set up to handle both – If there was another course he was also established as struggling with, for example. Then it could be more of a pick your battles kind of lesson.
Agreed in the longterm, yeah. In the short term? This is the “if I ignore it long enough it’ll stop being a problem, right? Right?” reaction, maybe mixed with a panic attack, so I’m guessing what it’s going to end up with for this particular class is probably “slow motion trainwreck that hopefully someone notices before things get unsalvageable and wreck him in other classes, but let’s not bet on that one.” If we ever get to spring semester*, that’s where I see him (with help from everyone who saw this collapse and is now Aware There Is A Problem) starting to learn the study skills versus some classes Just Aren’t Worth It distinction, but this one’s probably going to be getting worse well before it gets better.
Walky wins, mainly because Death Battle’s research team forgets to differentiate between Walkyverse Walky and Dumbiverse Walky, and give him his abductee powers.
But what about the Gag Bag? Also, While they’re both cartoons (from our perspective) Walaky can still die, Wacko can’t (so long as people acknowledge his existence).
It’s normal in the sense that many people have that happen.
It’s not normal in the sense that you shouldn’t take it as a potentially serious warning sign.
It might not be depression in a clinical sense. It might just be mental fatigue or wanna-do-anything-else.
But if it recurs persistently, I (who know next to nothing about mental health issues, be warned) suggest you take it to CAPS or whatever your school calls it. As prep for this, introspect a lot about what it feels like in that moment and what thoughts or expectations are associated with it. Put that into words so you can describe it better and make better use of your limited time with your counselor.
As someone who had the “too depressed to go to class” and the “too anxious to go to class” version in this strip (though I didn’t have enough friends or motivation to fake it as far as Walky did here), yeah that’s about how it felt like for me too. Seconding Reltzik’s “it’s normal in the sense that it’s a common depression symptom, it’s not normal in the sense that once you get to that point you’re probably in the Bad Zone if you didn’t know that already, so plan accordingly.” Appropriate gestures of internet support here, hope the counselor’s good.
Hey, I know I don’t really know you, but I’m sorry to hear you aren’t feeling well. I hope your guidance counselling session goes well, you feel better soon, and that you take care of yourself.
Poor Walky. He can’t run forever. His grade in that class IS happening, and eventually people will find out.
I hope this ends up being at least a little bit of a growing up moment for him.
The thing is… he lacks perspective. It’s just one class. In 10 years it’ll just be a story, nobody will really care. But right now… it’s consuming him. He’s afraid.
My undergrad college didn’t show us our grades unless we specifically requested it. I didn’t find out until I requested transcripts for grad school that I had a C+ in psychology. If I’d known I was doing that poorly, I wouldn’t have picked it as my major.I knew I didn’t do great on the final and a few assignments, but I had it in my head that I was great at psych.
(I also thought I was terrible at math, but I got an A in stats, so go figure. Now half my job is data analysis and shit.)
Off topic, but does anybody know how Patreon works? I’ve never done it before, but I’m thinking of starting after Christmas. Also, does the lowest tier cover past bonus comics or just future ones? I’ll still want to do it if it’s for future ones only (this strip means a lot to me and spending $1 a month to support it won’t break my budget), but since I can’t find an answer on his About/FAQ, I thought I would ask. 🙂
Yeah, if this was Walky suffering a full blown panic attack it was certainly sudden-onset as he seemed okay right up to when he said hi to Sal. I’m almost willing to go with the theory that his mind just caught up with his conversation with Sarah and he realized that he *could* take basic math instead. But then, how to explain the alt text.
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Walky wants to crimefight with Amber too
First he has to exercise his superhero walk.
nah its a good hell be awkward man his awkward walk attack will be the thing of legends
I don’t think he actually needs to go to the potty.
I dunno, it sort of looks like a “6 hours after a meal of Taco Bell and the toilet is three hundred yards away” run to me.
But he’s running *away* from the building, which is where the closest bathrooms would be.
Thank you!
You think Walky went to Taco Bell at around 03:00?
So, fourth meal?
Man, that is rarely worth it… but if those Crunchberries things ever come back, I’ll probably fall victim to fourth meal again.
poor walky afraid of the dreaded math that used to be an easy victory that he evolved into runny
Took me a moment, but now I want to give you all the internets.
“Runny” is not a name I want associated with anyone going to the bathroom, even ficticiously.
YOU WILL PILOT IT WALKY!
Ach! Dummkopf!
That was literally the only Asuka – to Shinji quote I could think of that was A) relevant and B) not completely depressing.
Great, now I have that mental image of Jason doing the Gendou pose. This is both hilarious and pretty ridiculous XD
… I’ll be in my bunk.
No, stop, Walky you got this. Don’t runny
Or if you are runny, get to the bathroom!
…. wait, we just hit recursion.
NOT RECURSIVE ENOUGH!
Ehh… I didn’t really do cursive the first time, not really interested in doing it again.
Wait, that’s not what you meant…
It’s fixable. All yu need is the 5th Doctor to show up.
Poor Walky. Done in by his own hubris.
Quick, hoist the petard!
YES, SIR! *Hoists Picard up a flag pole* just like you said sir, I hoisted a Picard!
No, no, he said host! Quick, somebody get some tea! Earl grey! HOT!
And will you please get that man down off the pole!?
Coincidentally, those we’re Robert Scotts exact words upon hearing Amundsen had reached it first.
Great Scott!
FIRE AT WILL!
In Shakespearean England, the petard hoists you.
One does not hoist a petard. A petard is an old type of bomb. The hoisting part is you being launched into the air from standing too close to it. It’s a fancy way of saying you blew yourself up.
Huh. I always thought it was someone being haisted by their pants but in Olde English speech. The more you know….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petard
Which is what is happening to Walky…
Actually, it’s ‘hoist _by_ the petard’, which literally means to set off an explosive under something. Or someone, as the historical context would indicate.
It COULD also mean farting forcefully enough to lift one off of one’s feet. ‘Petard’ is derived from the French word for ‘to fart’.
DARNIT WALKY TIE YOUR SHOES
i would say he should buy a pair that you slip on or has velcro but you know how he feels about guys that have more than one pair of shoes.
Funny, he actually did want velcro as his first choice, but then he was too embarrassed to admit he was serious when Dorothy laughed.
yeah he could get it now though but you know how he is about guys with multiple shoes. i have a velcro shoes that i use for lawn work etc.
I know! Being afraid to admit things to himself and others has gotten him into a lot of trouble over his first few weeks of college.
maybe he needs to go back to being a church mouse?
That never happened! Nobody seen the contents of that video!
i’ve seen it at least in part so i guess i’m nobody which is great because everyone says nobody is perfect.
June 14th, 1987!
My knee jerk reaction was ‘Walky was in Capitol Critters as a church mouse?’ but then I remembered 1) that show Walky was in and 2) no one remembers Capitol Critters but me.
I do! I do! But then, I remember Fish Police and Wait Til Your Father Gets Home!
I pretty much just treat any old shoes as slip-ons, but they do make nice slip-ons and he could get one of those.
Oh Walky, you need a *motorcycle* to outrun your problems!
….. I’m torn between saying that Walky on a motorcycle would cause more problems, and just saying that Walky on a motorcycle would be hilarious.
… wait, I just imagined him trying to do uber-serious-cool on a motorcycle. Hilarious wins.
“Walky on a motorcycle would cause more hilarious problems!”
-some alternate universe’s Reltzik
In the DoA Walky becomes the Ghost Rider.
Bad Walky! No!
RUN FROM THE MATH WALKY RUN SAVE YOURSELF!!!
Wait Walky stop math is your friend no too late there he goes
Because missing math class will definitely help here.
flight or fight. in academia he hasn’t really had a challenge so he has never had to learn how to fight for his grades and it seems his is more of a flight risk than a combatant.
Joyce also wants to fly, and Danny was… airborne… recently. Even Dorothy’s fictional relationship partners take to the skies.
Get in the robot, Shinj- er… Walky.
All of the maths. Every single one of the maths.
Also, Walky using potty as a verb has suddenly and vividly brought me back to my high school experience, which was the last time I heard it. A certain type of boy (which Walky would fit in pretty well with) said it.
Oh, Walky.
Also, here’s another person that Sal calls “kid” despite being the same age, age Joyce almost never runs around in jammies.
She doesn’t? With her teddy bears? 🙂
At least with Joyce we can be 99% sure it’s affectionate (and in her defence, Joyce is both a month younger and acts very very childlike – which isn’t a bad thing, it just definitely makes her seem younger).
Also stems from perspective. Sal having experienced, at least from her view, so much more than most, if not all, of the cast, would then tend to think of them still beings kids.
Yeah. It’s like when you have horrible experiences as a child, and you grow up and meet people who didn’t so their problems can seem really simplistic to you.
Yup, it forces an earlier maturity as a survival mechanism which can also lead to coping strategies for surviving abuse becoming things that get associated with survival in general in a world after one’s escaped.
Both of the people she’s called ”kid” seem to be people she likes, but is not terribly close to.
She definitely means it affectionately, and for Sal that’s no small thing. I could easily imagine her using ”pal” instead, but I don’t think she’s comfortable being so overtly friendly
I wouldn’t say she likes AG. Definitely building grudging respect, but I wouldn’t say she likes her yet (…..yet.)
For some reason I was thinking the other person was Danny, actually.
I think it still fits if she’s using it to sound friendly, while maintaining some level of cool detachment.
Ahhhh, okay! Yes, she definitely likes Danny (speaking of – what’re the odds of them making up soonish? Please?)
I don’t think there’s something to really make up. Danny kind of snapped at her after she was adjacent to dismantling his relationship.
He might be a little annoyed that the person who insisted that he was enabling Amazi-Girl and needed to stop her for her own sake is now getting into rad superhero team-ups, though.
Make up/start talking again, potato, potahto.
Probably less annoyed when he finds out a rapist was about to knock her lights out, but yes, any more conversation on AG is interesting. I’d like to know how perspectives are shifting (if at all).
I mean, it’s not like they were friends. Danny tutored her once and then she made him realize Amber was going to die.
And, like, the motivating incident for Sal telling Danny he’s enabling Amber’s destructive actions was saving Becky’s life. I’m not sure the events really matter when discussing why Amber, absolutely, totally, undeniably needs to stop being Amazi-Girl, or why he wouldn’t be angry finding out that she’s now encouraging Amber to do the thing she was previously adamant that she needed to stop.
No, but they were friendly enough, and I’d like to see that keep going. Sal needs friends, Danny needs non-Joe friends, and they have a pretty descent dynamic.
Sal didn’t encourage her – she told her not to go half cocked without a plan, and stopped AG from getting in ANOTHER car chase that couldn’t possibly end well. Sal stepped in when AG was about to get her teeth knocked in by a rapist who had three people holding her down, and then they went to get her phone. The issue she expressed ‘Stop going off without any kind of plan into bad situations and making them worse via escalating because you have something to prove before you, and a bunch of other people, are going to get hurt/killed.’ Not that she rescued Becky (she was grateful, respectful, and by her own admission, a little impressed by that) but how she did it (which involved getting Toedad to fire off into the air, throwing those little tire busting things freely into the streets, jumping on top of the car, and sending it into a massive spin). In both situations, had Sal not been there, the situation would have gone far worse (Toedad would have ended with Amber as a smear on the ground and this one would have ended with Ryan knocking her lights out, escaping with her phone, getting to his friend, and having full reign to look through it and find her and her friends, and Joyce). In both situation, without AG, the situation probably would not have been worse (Toedad would get his brain blown out by the police instead of arrested, Ryan…….would have kept going about his night, none the wiser, which isn’t GOOD but still far less dangerous to Joyce and the others than an angry and informed Ryan). The issue is not primarily that Amazi-Girl is doing this, it’s the WAY she does that is dangerous and going to end up getting her killed and thus necessitates stopping her. Sal emphatically is not cool with that way of doing things, and she did talk her out of her more reckless ideas.
That’s the way I’ve been seeing it anyways – Sal’s not entirely against the idea of vigilantism, but more that she’s not okay with the way AG does it and thinks that that is what’s going to get her killed. Mind, that doesn’t make getting involved a good decision (this is almost certainly going to bite her in the ass) but I don’t think Sal would object quite so arduously if AG weren’t a) A creepy racism-echoing stalker and b) Recklessly acting with a death wish.
You’re free to disagree and I can respect your way of seeing things, I just have to say the way I’ve seen it.
Whiiiich is probably entirely pointless because Danny will almost certainly (understandably) see things differently, and that’s okay, I guess I just need to ramble. I’m probably making zero sense and please feel free to ignore me if I am, I am both new at this and my head is kinda all over the place wrt this and a couple other things I’m doing. My apologies if I am not making sense!
That’s okay. There’s many other people that don’t make sense on the subject either.
*plays “Big Bad John” on the hacked Muzak*
Perhaps something with a touch of iron?
Haaa, Eva references.
Go to math class, or the kitten gets it.
*reads alt-text*
Willis, you wouldn’t happen to be a weeaboo, would you? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Walky, don’t run with your shoelaces untied! That is a faceplant waiting to happen.
Don’t worry, he probably has done this before.
Dude, even with tied shoes, faceplants happen.
http://xkcd.com/1710/
GET IN THE DAMN ROBOT WALKY
I want to hug him even more than I did yesterday. He’s running away from class… or perhaps towards something else? Anybody else think he might have dropped his Cal class for a math he could handle and is running to it now as to not be late for class, but is so ashamed that he’s hiding it from everyone?
He may be running off to re-register his schedule because Sarah got through to him. But I agree he’s running off to something else now. And that he’s too ashamed to admit it.
It’s over a month in, though. If it’s like my college, you can’t really do that. You can drop the class, but you can’t get into another class. There is at least one class I would have done that with if I could have–the teacher was just hard to understand.
It really depends on the class and the circumstance. I’ve known students who were able to do it past drop date as long as they agreed to pay for both classes, the new class was an easier difficulty, and the professor signed off on it. I think (if I remember right), the one that did that in a math class had to retake all missed tests and quizzes on retake day and had a month worth of homework she had to finish within an agreed upon timeframe. I’m sure not all colleges do it, but the fact it can happen at all meant it could happen here. Plus, the Dean iis his mother’s ex husband and they are still friends which could help his case.
We couldn’t drop if it was a semester in, but what people would do was take an overload so they had at least the bare minimum credits. For example, you had 4 classes plus a 0.5 credit gym class. Drop one full class, but you still had the bare minimum so you wouldn’t have to worry about having enough or having to change your financial aid status.
*more than two weeks in, I meant*
ah so no more than a fortnight.
Yeah, if he drops it he’ll probably get a Withdraw mark on a class, but that might be good for him nonetheless. I know I ended up having to accept a Withdraw mark on some classes and that was a good thing for me overall (mid-semester emotional breakdowns and suicide attempts are a hell of a trip). And I was still able to get to grad school with those on my record.
“I mustn’t run away, I mustn’t run away – I get that. Now, if I were to run away, let’s analyze that – where the hell would I go!?”
Aw hell- does the bus run through here???
Cute moment: Sal looking after Joyce. In the most Sal-like manner, sure, but she’s still looking after Joyce. She will look after Joyce until Joyce no longer needs looking after, and maybe then some.
Hopeful moment: Walky is in fact going off to re-register into basic math and take those classes instead. What Sarah said actually seems to have registered with him.
Stupid moment: Walky will not be honest and tell everyone that he’s going off to re-register into basic math. He may admit to himself that he can do without advanced math, but he’s still waaaay too tied up to being “the wiz kid” to admit that to anyone else.
i kinda picture sal seeing joyce like a kitten who is scared to leave its mom, but will take two steps before running back because it wants to be both safe and on its own but safe is the bigger concern right now.
Your theory makes good sense Emperor! I hadn’t thought of that angle. Bravo. I can’t wait to see which of us had the correct assumption ^_^
One of us will be made an ass out of, I guess. 😉
(Everybody got that one, right?)
Or Willis could have fooled us both and Walky just had bad tacos which gave him the “runs” meaning we really will have assumed our way to ass-hood. 😛
I’ll gladly be an ass if it’s together with you, Bluewind.
i ship it.
I don’t think I’d read it.
That sounds like a challenge for me to write it.
Of course, sir, anything you’d write I’d read.
Man, that sounded so sincere, I’d almost believe you didn’t say it in fear of being thrown into my
mime pits dungeons which may or may not have some particularly scary things in them that I will not confirm.Oh god, Emperor, you made me laugh so hard that should be illegal.
i must have a lack of understanding as it just left me confused.
Then yall should know what I look like! ^_^
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ptLmUPhHVHs/UV4JvtnEK1I/AAAAAAAABU4/xhKB-N8FrTM/s1600/6f0bfaeda9bff855009fd2f8c7768303.jpg
The ship has now been written. I started a new comment further down, since it turned quite long.
Or, in other words:
Challenge accepted!
Oh, poor Walky. I’ve been there before.
Oh so now he’s running away from class? When I skipped a day of class it was because I was lazy not because I was scared of a equation, coward.
Have you ever had to fight an equation? They can really math you up
Freshman calc kicked me right in the GPA
So Sal spoke to Joyce and blew her mind.
And Walky is running full tilt…to where?
Running is not a to question, it’s a from question.
Unless it really is a “to” question as in to register for a basic math class/drop Cal or to basic math class he is now registered in instead of Cal (and hiding his perceived failure from his friends).
But that will probably only lead to further problems which will then also have to be run from, as according to The Great Wizzard.
Him dropping it would also be good. You can take math at any point before graduation, as long as it’s not required of your major.
He can’t run away from Math forever. S=k log(W)
Aah! A math! :: runs away forever ::
√(-1) ♡ Math
If you can read that? *hugs*
If you can’t read that? *hugs*
If you wanna insult that? Go eat a butt taco! 😛
I mean, really? That’s just unreal.
But, if I remember correctly, it is rational.
It’s complicated. Complex, actually, but complicated, too.
there’s a great t-shirt about it: http://2f38d3dbe93a124c485b-2069a4ab5401560c8376a0a7ce74af0b.r19.cf3.rackcdn.com/ND-009_2.jpg
It’s all in your imagination…
So many awesome replies! And I think that shirt is going on my Christmas list ^_^
If Walky proceeds in a southeast direction at a speed of 12 miles per hour, and collides head-on with his karma, which was traveling north-by-northwest at 67 furlongs per fortnight, will anyone hear him fall?
The tree at the end of the sidewalk?
The tree has ears? What an a-maize-ing hybrid!
Does it also stalk?
No, but it gives…
Enough with the corny jokes, people….
Never!
Linda Walkerton watches on with a stern, neutral, possibly disapproving expression from the observation window. She lifts her head slightly. The glare catches her glasses, making her eyes impossible to see.
Goddamnit Walky…
When are you going to learn how to tie your shoe laces?!
2015, when they tie themse… Son of a… *Walks away.*
Oh, Walky, you delightful mess, this is not going to help. Seek a tutor. Heck, if you won’t ask the TA (I can’t blame you, he’s a terrible teacher), check online. Check tutoring offers. Heck, try asking Sal. She’s doing better. Or at least might point you to a helpful tutor.
Better yet, ask Joyce. She knows your deep dark secret already, she’s doing fine in math, she’s on a make-everything-better trip, and it will make the J+W shipdom happier than they’ve been since Walkyverse.
Good point! As I recall, Joyce mentioned math was her favourite subject, and she seems to have a similar knack for it that her Walkyverse counterpart did (and without even alien tampering, Walkyverse!Joyce you cheater!)
I was going to say ‘hey, he might just be a bad teacher for Sal’ but it doesn’t matter because if he couldn’t explain it to Sal (and could only word it one way) I doubt he’d be able to get Walky, who thinks he should understand it anyway, very far.
We have yet to see Jason teach anyone else, so he might do better with someone who understands his explanations, but tbh he’s a terrible teacher in so many other ways. Possibly more effective at explaining to Walky, but he’s a reeeeaaaaalllllly lousy teacher overall, especially in other aspects.
Jason is an awful teacher and a worse TA. His method of teaching is to regurgitate the exact method that the teacher is using regardless of whether it works and berate the student looking for help for being too stupid to get that one method of learning things (and if they are a girl, hit on them and ask for sex while demeaning their character and blaming them for trying to ruin him if they accept).
And yeah, that’s not gonna work for anyone who would need to seek out a TA, because if they need to seek out a TA for help, clearly the professor’s explanations aren’t making sense and they need a different approach and not to be berated, insulted, or sexually harassed over it.*
*Words cannot describe how much Jason infuriates me as someone whose day job is teacher. Like, he is literally everything that is the worst about bad teachers, including sexually harassing and trying to sleep with students, which is so so many levels of no.
Jason is the epitome of why being good at something doesn’t mean you’re good at teaching it.
A good teacher is one who tries to explain a thing in a way the student understands. A bad teacher is who explains the thing only in the way they understand.
Walky still has the potential to turn this class around (unlike some of the students who hired me as a tutor – those who’d failed everything all semester and then expected two hours with a tutor to be able to make them ace their final… after my first semester tutoring, I refused them as clients because they’d blame me for them failing the class and not the fact that they needed to have gotten help back in October, not the week before the final), so I hope he does get himself some extra help.
What Walky doesn’t get (and what a lot of students struggle with at uni) is that university expects a much more self-directed style of learning from a student. Most uni students are in physical class about half as much as they were in high school – that extra time on task has to be made up somewhere, and where it’s made up is through student-directed homework and studying. Kids like Walky (and first-year me, to be fair) who’ve never had to study don’t have the skill of studying developed, and they tend to flounder until they get the study skills developed unless the subject matter is interesting enough that they study on their own out of interest.
For my first two years of uni, you could tell how interested I was in a class by my grade – interesting classes got As, uninteresting got Cs. Unfortunately for Walky – I don’t think he’s really interested in any of the subject material.
Ugh, this totally. So we have a chem exam on Monday. Our lecture is MWF but because a hurricane was headed this way our uni decided to close for Thurs and Fri, which meant we missed Friday’s lecture. Some girl a few rows behind me was absolutely outraged, being like “BUT WHAT ABOUT FRIDAY’S LECTURE?!” and it took everything I had not to turn around and ask her in my most contempt-riddled voice “… have you never heard of the concept of self-study?”
Unfortunately, Penny had it right.
No one sodding cares.
(At least, not anyone with decision-making authority.)
The math department doesn’t care. They don’t want TAs who are great at teaching. That’s a secondary or tertiary concern behind being sure the grad students will graduate from the program (and thus not hurt their stats) and contribute to the all-important task of acquiring and meeting research grants.
Hell, there’s a certain cynicism that says that repeat business means more revenue for the university. And at lower levels like that (any class number that starts with a digit less than 3), it’s obviously the fault of the novice students who just don’t GET the finer qualities of math, who proudly hate it and rebel against it, or just don’t apply themselves. How are we supposed to stop that? It’s not like we can save them from themselves, is it?
Never mind that practically no one in a research university is hired for teaching ability.
….
Yeah, okay, I’m a bit sarcastically cynical about this, but I was a math grad student and TA myself. Out of a cadre of about 20, I was the ONLY ONE who took coursework in teaching and education on the side. I wowed the professors I was assigned to by putting ANY EFFORT AT ALL beyond grading papers and running the lab into my TAing, and I heard those same sentiments of… well it’s not EXACTLY victim-blaming, but it’s akin to it… in several conversations with other grad students and more than one staff meeting.
Part of the problem genuinely is kids who are not taught how to study effectively in school running into the wall of You Must Study This Much To Pass This Class (speaking as someone who ran headfirst into that wall myself). However, the complete lack of concern for teaching skills in university hiring decisions is definitely part of the problem as well.
Yeah, the lack of studying skills is part of the problem. But FIXING the problem starts with sympathizing with them and putting some effort into teaching them how to study (no matter when or by whom they should have been taught originally), rather than just blaming them for it, washing your hands of it, and walking away while they crash and burn.
To be fair, having sex with him was Sal’s idea and he was kinda O_o at first about it. However, he definitely shouldn’t’ve gone with it, but I wouldn’t call that him sexually harassing her.
He did start it though. When she first approached him about office hours he ogled her and talked about changing office hours to right the fuck now.
She called him on it and he backed down, but he did start with it.
Now, she did initiate the actual sex and without that I doubt he would have done much more than look and comment. Too much of a stick up his butt to try anything worse.
Still creepy though.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that part. My bad. He’s a sleazeball either way.
Also – condescending, smug, doesn’t acknowledge his shortcomings, only has one explanation (and apparently not a very good one if people don’t already speak math), was willing to dismiss a student as hopeless after – at most – two tutoring sessions (I don’t care how bad the grade is, you’re a TERRIBLE teacher if you give up after only two attempts AT MOST) and most likely only one considering she only mentioned Tuesday, refuses to adapt, belittling, gets super pissy when people point out he doesn’t even fucking try to understand his student’s issues, and, this might be my favourite part, refuses to do his job (IU TA’s are supposed to be available for meeting outside office hours, which he emphatically refused to do – even if he couldn’t have done so that day, he could have offered to meet a different time/day, or in a different location if the problem is sharing the office. Nor did he offer to have her email him her questions if he really could not meet. He did none of these things).
wait what? “hit on them and ask for sex”??? did we read the same comic?
the sex was entirely Sal’s idea, Jason was completely surprised by the turn of events (not that it prevented him from joining in, which he shouldn’t have) and later he was again surprised to learn that Sal had intended it as an exchange for good grades
Jesu, you’re honestly painting Jason as completely sleazy and manipulative, which he’s not. Having sex with a student IS wrong but that was lack of self restraint on his part more than anything, she literally took off her shirt and sat on his lap unpromtpted
He also hit on her the first time he met her, which is what she’s referring to.
That “right the hell now” comment Jason made was completely inappropriate. It’s also what led Sal to think she’d have to sleep with him to improve her grades. Jason’s inability to actually teach no doubt contributed, but that’s hardly a point in his favor.
In my opinion, even if Sal would have initiated it anyway, the possibility of a student getting that impression makes that comment unethical at best, and it makes his acceptance of Sal’s advances absolutely reprehensible. I don’t care how hot or topless she was.
Especially since I would imagine that minority and otherwise disadvantaged students would be disproportionately more affected by this. The more you’re used to the system not treating your talents and hard work as equal to that of your more privileged peers, the more likely you’d be to conclude “oh great, sounds like the only way I’ll get a better grade is if I sleep with this stuffy asshole”.
You know, exactly like what Sal assumed
What BBCC and Fart Captor said.
Also, small note, but even if Jason hadn’t flirted first like a disgusting creeper, I’d still be writing that rant about him, largely because you don’t ever sleep with a student.
Ever.
I don’t care if the student is “hot”. I don’t care if the student makes the moves on you. I don’t care if the student strips naked and begs you to fuck them.
You don’t ever sleep with students.
Like, everything else he’s done fills me with an incandescent rage for all it befouls the very profession of professional educator.
But that piece of it is a line a million miles beyond all that into the lands of just turning into Madeline Khan doing the “flames on the side of my face” rant from Clue.
And any man who will cling to creepy little excuses like “you seduced me” or “if I don’t give you a good grade, it doesn’t count” like Jason did is full of so many red flags he can be legally classified as a bullfighting ring.
Jason is the type of teacher that teachers don’t just hate, but actively loathe, because they befoul the whole profession.
I’d never suggest that having sex with a student is in any way excusable, but I object to you painting Jason as sleazy initiator. He didn’t start tutoring Sal because he’d hoped she would try to have sex with him in exchange for sex. He tried to genuinely help her (and failed completely).
He’s not a predator because he didn’t single out Sal specifically to try to cajole or pressure her into sex.
really, I can’t wrap my head around “if you’re a girl he’ll hit on you and ask for sex” he literally never ASKED for sex! he was offered sex and he said yes, which he shouldn’t have
I think you’re painting Jason as someone who would genuinely pressure a student into giving sexual favours for his own gratification, which isn’t true. He honestly feels terrible that he wasn’t able to teach Sal anything or even keep a relationship with her; his self pity may be unwarranted from our point of view but it’s not an act on his part
The fact that he wouldn’t intentionally pressure a student into sex doesn’t earn him any points in my book.
The fact that one can do so unintentionally is why he was sleazy from the moment he made that comment. He doesn’t solicit sexual favors, he just makes inappropriate sexual comments that could lead an already-vulnerable student to think they’re necessary to get ahead.
And then poof! “I’m not sleazy at all! She came on to me, and my boner dictates my actions! Whoops”
* correction. It doesn’t earn him many points. Although “doesn’t cost him as many” might be more accurate.
Let Danny tutor Walky. That will be a laugh riot.
Better yet, let Dorothy guilt-trip Danny into it while Danny’s still moping over breakup #2. That will be a hoot.
Jason offered to tutor him. As someone else in the strip pointed out, that’s a rare occurrence. Walky emphatically rejected Jason’s offer.
It may be that Jason’s style is right for Walky … we may never know.
When is Walky’s Redemption Arc (TM)?
I’m hoping the Walky Redemption Arc™ is far off, because I don’t seem him in that great a need of one. Mike, on the other hand…
I feel like Mike’s evil is too comedic for him to really have a redemption arc. Walky isn’t actually a bad person, so it would really just be character development.
For some it’s comedic, others, eh, more traumatizing.
walky the absolute madman
dammit sal
Damn it, Willis, now you’ve got me looking for NGE parallels in both Dumbing of Age and It’s Walky.
That seems dangerous.
Oh no, I really hope he’s not skipping class.
Please get a tutor, Walky!
And if you have a reasonable professor, if you:
1) go to class and LISTEN
2) can do the homework/side work well
you’ll be fine on the exams = passing grade.
He isn’t doing his homework well though, if at all, and he’s failed his last three quizzes.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/admirably/
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/quizzes/
Man, that third panel Walky…
Yeah, so lonesome, so foreboding of his math panic.
Math panic! Rain of factors! Swarm of logarithms! All the sines of the Arithmepocalypse!
He’s gonna trip on the laces…he’s gonna trip on the laces…he’s gonna trip on the laces…
Face your fucking problems, Walky
I guess Sarah’s not going after Billie just yet.
References flying right over my head, over my head, over my head, aw hell with it.
Wally just drop the class it’s been like two weeks
Closer to a month. He probably ain’t getting out of this class now. Not without an academic penalty anyways.
My school gave that long but you couldn’t get your money back. Something like the second week after start, all fees were do and you couldn’t register or get refunds anymore, on the third or fourth you couldn’t drop without getting a grade (unless you had a legitimate reason and appealed it or whatever)
It might be possible, but I find it unlikely, as most schools seem to put their date in September. It’s approx. Oct 4th today, in universe, so he probably doesn’t have great odds. Indiana U’s website seems like it ends at the end of September. He might have a chance, though.
‘s funny that Walky hides his emotional constipation behind the excuse “I hafta go potty.” Just drop your load, kid! I bet he’s afraid Dorothy & his parents will make a big stink about it.
Not just joking about it. These two things are interrelated. It’s terrifying.
The big irony as far as Dorothy is concerned is that she’d actually respect him more for admitting it.
Yeah…. This is how I failed multi variable calculus and that one class that teaches you exactly how hyper sensitive chemical detecting equipments work including a super confuctor T_T
Walky get in the fucking robo… math class….
Robo-math class sounds badass!
WALKY, GET IN THE F*CKING CLASSROOM
Prep Ruth for the class. She’s not dead yet.
NOT DEAD ENOUGH
…what??
Took me waaaay too many people making the Runny pun for me to get it, I feel ashamed of myself.
Wow! This is maybe ten times worse than I thought!
OK, so since the comment tree where this little thing started is too damn nested by now, I’ll write this little story as a new comment instead. Enjoy. Or not.
THE SHIP BETWEEN EMPEROR NORTON II AND BLUEWIND:
One day, Emperor Norton II found himself transformed into a hovering butt.
“That’s strange,” the emperor said (through the magical powers of narrative imperative demanding that he could speak). “I really was expecting to wake up as an emperor, not an ass. I wonder if I’ve been assuming too much lately.”
The emperor first wondered if he should hide from the public, since said public could not in good confidence support an ass as emperor. But then he realised that this was a perfect disguise, and he could hover around without people knowing it was in fact their emperor among them.
So out he hovered, enjoying his anonymity. Sure, people pointed and laughed, but they did not know whom they were pointing and laughing at. And he smiled (how a floating ass smiles is a question best left unanswered) to them all, secretly making a point of remembering all their faces (how a floating ass can see is… You know the drill by now) and later, once he had regained his imperial shape, he vowed to have them thrown into his dungeons.
But then, as he hovered around a corner, he butted into another floating ass. Thankfully, both asses were pretty soft, so no harm done.
“Oh, We are terribly sorry,” the emperor said.
“No, it was my fault,” the other ass replied bitterly (butterly?). “I’ve just been rather depressed of having been turned into an ass this morning. I never should have made those comments on that stupid webcomic.”
“Hahaha, indeed you should not”, the emperor said, hoping that butts could not blush with embarrassment. Quickly trying to change the subject, he asked for his subjects name.
“I’m Bluewind, but everybody calls me Godzilla, because of how I look” said the other butt.
“Pleased to meet you, Bluewind. We are… I mean, I am… Norton Johansen.” The Emperor was very pleased with how he had cleverly disguised his name. “So anyway, you seem a bit upset. What is the worst part of being a butt, you would say?”
The other ass looked ashamedly at the Emperor, but eventually said “I miss my friend Bob. He was always there for me, but now I can’t get hold of him anymore.”
“I am terribly sorry to hear that. But you know what? I’m sure two butts think better than one. How about we go to my place and figure out how we can solve this problem.”
“Really?” Bluewind asked. “THat’s awfully nice of you, but-”
“Ah-ah-ah, no buts!” said the emperor, feeling very pleased with himself for timing that reply just right. “You will be my guest and together we will think of something. United we think, divided we have a brain fart!”
Bluewind reluctantly accepted the offer, and off they went to one of Emperor Norton’s secret hiding houses.
TO BE CONTINUED?
Man, this ship was pretty shitty
I mean really nobody assked you to write it
I mean, I guess Orion technically did, butt that’s not the point
Although I suppose I did crack up a bit
I’ll stop now before I make an ass of myself
Can’t talk.. laughing… too hard… to breathe XD
Mission ass-complished.
lewd
You should’ve read the part I deleted.
I look forward to the continuation of your story sir, it is most enjoyable.
It goes to show how carefully I look at the strip that I thought at first that those things in the second panel were porta-potties rather than the elaborate gateposts that they obviously are, and was wondering why Walky was running away from them if he needed to go.
“When you gotta go to potty you gotta go right away…”
Awwwww, Walky checking in with Sal, Sal checking in with Joyce, Joyce checking in with Walky….
For all their clusterfudge of problems, they do have a good support network. If only any of them would admit they NEED the support of their friends…
I’m kind of surprised Walky hasn’t tripped on his own untied shoelaces even once so far.
Damnit Walky, a fixed mindset is not attractive. You’ve got to learn to take being challenged as an opportunity to learn instead of a risk to fail if you’re going to
save Japangrow as a person.But really, Walky’s problem is so common among children who are ever considered just a little bit more gifted than their peers it’s embarrassing.
Anyone else incapable of reading the phrase “I gotta potty” without hearing it in Wakko’s voice from Animaniacs?
Now I am.
Comic Reactions:
Panel 1: Interesting… are those bags under her eyes. I’m wondering if Sal has been doing a thing I did in college and is staying up all night, doing her morning class at the end of it and then crashing afterwards.
And yeah, it would definitely be described as a weird night given that she was stalked, abused with a bunch of racism from an angry conservative mob, semi-befriended her stalker, and helped punch and track down Joyce’s rapist.
And I’m definitely worried about the fallout as Sal doesn’t really have anyone to talk to about the wealth of feelings an evening like that is bound to bring up, not to mention the fact that her actions that night definitely did not sit well with Marcie and Sal knows that because she looked back to see Marcie’s furious face.
Panel 2: I love Sal so much for this moment. It’s the human touch that matters most and shows that she gets shit like sexual assault a lot better than most of the cast minus maybe Billie.
Like, yeah, check the fuck in with Joyce, especially since Ryan’s photo is out there and Ryan went out looking for revenge. And especially since Dorothy or AG might have checked in with her last night about what to do next and thus let her know about them finding her rapist (we know they didn’t, but Sal doesn’t know that).
And the phrasing. “You hangin’ in there?” That is so key. That is what you ask someone who’s potentially going through hell and flashbacks. Because flashbacks are not fun, having to figure out what to do about an abuser isn’t fun, figuring out how to recover isn’t fun. But it matters that you’re holding in there and it matters that you know folks have got your back and are willing to catch you if you slip and fall a little.
It’s a little moment that makes me believe Sal would actually be a fantastic social worker. Because she’s got the exact right attitude to check in on emotional health and genuinely be there for folks.
Panel 3: Walky alone in the quad with all his demons. 2016 David Willis.
We’ve seen Sal stay up super super late before, so I’m thinking her sleep schedule is more ‘a couple hours per day and then binge sleep when I can’ than any actual pattern.
….Yeah, I can see that being weird.
Yeeeeaaaahhhhh, let’s hope Marcie isn’t too angry that they can’t make up, this is gonna need discussion.
I do like your mention of Sal’s skill with stuff like this. She’s got pretty good crisis skills most of the time – I don’t know about social workers (her stint as a juvenile delinquent may have soured her on them as it did on therapists) but i can see her as a decent crisis management worker once the crisis has already happened and people need help.
All of this. I already love it whenever Sal drops her cool detachment to show concern or affection or just otherwise have a slightly more real moment with someone, but there’s something touching about how she drops her own guard for what should seem like a relatively small gesture
Agreed. “Are you all right?” tends to be a crappy question in these situations because really, there’s the “all right” you feel when you’re actually okay and then there’s the “all right” of “Well by typical healthy standards this is terrible, but in the context of this I’m doing great” and trying to explain that to someone who’s not literally inside your mental state with you is difficult at best and draining. But “Hanging in there?” You can feel like absolute CRAP, honestly you probably do, but hey if you’re holding together we’ll count that as a win. (Which, probably not dissimilar to how Sal’s feeling right now. WEIRD night indeed.)
Walky needs all the hugs.
All of this.
And yes, Walky needs emergency hugs, stat.
Now I am picturing spandexed HugPerson swooping in out of the trees …
(Except that there isn’t really any way to make the idea noncreepy.)
NOT HUGS ENOUGH
Thank you.
Panels 4-6: Ok, first of all, the line “have fun with every single one of the maths” is just liquid gold. I’m gonna have to start using that when I assign homework.
Second of all, I really like Emperor’s suggestion that he’s gonna drop the class and I think it’s right in the long-term though I’m not sure he’s fully there in realizing that he’s gonna have to drop the class as he’s still got a lot of his sense of self wrapped up in his ability to handle any difficult subject easily.
Cause, yeah, that conversation with Sarah really hammers home that point that not only is Walky suffering in Calculus, but he’s doing so unnecessarily. Calculus is not required for his major and the only reason he is taking it is to support this mythology he’s built up surrounding the idea that his worth is tied to him being smart and that he proves this by tackling any difficult subject without any effort.
Dropping Calculus will be part of his healing, just as much learning to actually study is. And it’s another lesson that a lot of college students slam into. Cause, not every class works out. Life throws a mental health curveball or a major just doesn’t hold the interest that one thought it would or a course is a nightmare and not worth pursuing.
Learning to bail earlier and with less stress is a skill all of them will need, but Walky will especially need because of how much he’s built into this mythology that he proves his super smart know-it-all ways by taking super hard subjects (but only the super hard subjects relating to math, which oh man, there’s so much gendered stuff to unpack there especially since we know from Leslie’s introduction that he’s only in Gender Studies because he presumed it would be an easy A in the humanities).
Like, he also needs to learn how to study and push through things. That’s a skill he’s gonna need in life and he’s gonna have to learn it sometime. But I’m not convinced that him learning it with Calculus will do as much good to break down that central mythology.
And it’s worth noting that removing that central mythology will also make him a better human being. Part of his confrontational method of interacting with people and picking intellectual fights with folks is rooted in this idea that he’s super smart and thus his biases and preconceptions must be rooted in fact and correct and thus someone else’s perspective on the matter or values system must be in error or stupid. It was a key part of his fight with Carla and definitely his interactions with Joyce about her faith.
It will also help his relationship. Like, Dorothy had to couch to an insane degree her disagreement with Walky on the Ultra Car cartoon and he still took it super super personally and that’s tied to the idea that if he’s super smart and right all the time, then people he’s close to disagreeing with him are actually attacking a fundamental core of him.
And well… no, that’s not how it works and he needs to shed that before either Dorothy realizes that putting up with that shit is not a virtue or he ends up in a relationship with someone who won’t give him the softly softly treatment about his tendency to mansplain things.
Overall though, I’m really excited that this moment might be kicking off a moment of genuine growth for him.
Yeah, all that, except it doesn’t apply here. Walky is not rationally breaking down his built-up mythos around math regarding smart-students and dumb-students. Walky isn’t in Sarah’s mindset of “why take hard math if it doesn’t help my major”. He’s in Billie’s mindset of “stick it out even if it gets tough”, except Walky doesn’t do tough.
Look at that face. That’s lizard-brain aversion and phobia. He’s not looking at his situation in a clear-eyed manner and realizing it makes tactical sense to drop calculus. He’s just gtfoing asap. He’s not even dropping Calculus. This isn’t a moment that will help him in his relationship with Dorothy… it’s one more thing he’ll have to hide from her, and thus get defensive about, and thus get aggressive about.
The lesson he takes away from dropping/withdrawing/failing Calculus won’t be “you can be smart and still be bad at math”. The lesson he’s going to take away is “I’m dumb and worthless and must avoid everything that challenges me ever”.
The most concerning part is that he’s isolating himself from his friends and support group and lying to them… and doing it in such a way that he can repeat it at will over the rest of the term. They’ll figure it out eventually… after he uses the same trick to miss three weeks, the midterm, and the withdraw date.
Also, the only ones who would care enough to do something are Dorothy, Joyce, Mike, and Jason. Sal keeps a bit of distance from bro and definitely doesn’t do hand-holding. Billie has other concerns and hates Walky’s guts anyway. Dorothy… might do something, but probably won’t/can’t, since the relationship has boundaries and she knows she’s already pushing them. Joyce WOULD want to help, but she’s so trusting and naive that Walky can actually fool her with the “go potty” story for a while and she won’t notice in time. Jason, for all his faults, has noticed and genuinely wants to help, but isn’t good at it and Walky’s rejected his help in an omg-authority-figure-knows-my-secret panic.
That leaves Mike. Mike will notice, and do something about it. This… isn’t a good thing.
Sal might push him, if she realizes. No hand-holding, but a good shove in the right direction.
I don’t think Billie hates Walky, she cares about him im her own messed up way
True, but functionally it works out to the same thing.
If his major is electronics (communications?) then Calc is integral to his degree … if he fails on this course he may well have to flunk the degree, or “sent down” as they say in Cambridge.
Transferring to Med – as his parents want – then the study ethic hits hard as well.
My betting is on Mike to provide the push – he’s done it once already with Walky’s relationship with Dorothy:
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/03-the-first-step-towards-recovery/trespasser/
Maybe in the long run he should drop Calc, but I really doubt that’s what he’s doing now. He’s panicking and running away. And hiding it.
More, dropping it doesn’t work narratively. He’s still going to have to do the “learn to study” thing at some point, but there’s nothing set up to build back to that if he drops Calculus. It just dangles until next semester at best – which is decades away.
I agree the mythology has to be broken, but “Give up if you can’t do it effortlessly” isn’t the way to do that. That just pushing him into the I’m a dumb failure fallback, as Reltzik says. “I can do this, if I work at it” is just as much a disruption of his golden man-child thing and leaves him in a much better place.
It could have been set up to handle both – If there was another course he was also established as struggling with, for example. Then it could be more of a pick your battles kind of lesson.
True, though I think Walky and Joe might be struggling more in Gender Studies than they think they are.
Agreed in the longterm, yeah. In the short term? This is the “if I ignore it long enough it’ll stop being a problem, right? Right?” reaction, maybe mixed with a panic attack, so I’m guessing what it’s going to end up with for this particular class is probably “slow motion trainwreck that hopefully someone notices before things get unsalvageable and wreck him in other classes, but let’s not bet on that one.” If we ever get to spring semester*, that’s where I see him (with help from everyone who saw this collapse and is now Aware There Is A Problem) starting to learn the study skills versus some classes Just Aren’t Worth It distinction, but this one’s probably going to be getting worse well before it gets better.
* In 2037 or so, probably.
It’s a Potty Emergency! Walky and Wakko have a Death Battle over the only available Port-a-Potty.
Walky wins, mainly because Death Battle’s research team forgets to differentiate between Walkyverse Walky and Dumbiverse Walky, and give him his abductee powers.
But what about the Gag Bag? Also, While they’re both cartoons (from our perspective) Walaky can still die, Wacko can’t (so long as people acknowledge his existence).
This reminds me that I felt too depressed to go to my math class on Tuesday.
It felt like I couldn’t move. Is that normal?
It’s normal in the sense that many people have that happen.
It’s not normal in the sense that you shouldn’t take it as a potentially serious warning sign.
It might not be depression in a clinical sense. It might just be mental fatigue or wanna-do-anything-else.
But if it recurs persistently, I (who know next to nothing about mental health issues, be warned) suggest you take it to CAPS or whatever your school calls it. As prep for this, introspect a lot about what it feels like in that moment and what thoughts or expectations are associated with it. Put that into words so you can describe it better and make better use of your limited time with your counselor.
I’ve been in a depressive state for the last few days so IDK. Lotta shutdown time going on which hasn’t happened for years.
Fortunately I am seeing a school counselor soon.
As someone who had the “too depressed to go to class” and the “too anxious to go to class” version in this strip (though I didn’t have enough friends or motivation to fake it as far as Walky did here), yeah that’s about how it felt like for me too. Seconding Reltzik’s “it’s normal in the sense that it’s a common depression symptom, it’s not normal in the sense that once you get to that point you’re probably in the Bad Zone if you didn’t know that already, so plan accordingly.” Appropriate gestures of internet support here, hope the counselor’s good.
*hugs* Take care of your mental health.
Hey, I know I don’t really know you, but I’m sorry to hear you aren’t feeling well. I hope your guidance counselling session goes well, you feel better soon, and that you take care of yourself.
Thank you for the kind words, everyone.
I’m, well, I’m not doing all that good right now, but I’m going to try and make my way through.
Sympathy via light touching.
Yeah, ’cause skipping class is totally going to improve your grade, Walky. 😐
Poor Walky. He can’t run forever. His grade in that class IS happening, and eventually people will find out.
I hope this ends up being at least a little bit of a growing up moment for him.
The thing is… he lacks perspective. It’s just one class. In 10 years it’ll just be a story, nobody will really care. But right now… it’s consuming him. He’s afraid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-eUFMGBtCc
also, I’m sad that it’s an incomplete version 😛
My undergrad college didn’t show us our grades unless we specifically requested it. I didn’t find out until I requested transcripts for grad school that I had a C+ in psychology. If I’d known I was doing that poorly, I wouldn’t have picked it as my major.I knew I didn’t do great on the final and a few assignments, but I had it in my head that I was great at psych.
(I also thought I was terrible at math, but I got an A in stats, so go figure. Now half my job is data analysis and shit.)
You ARE great at math — Now make them show it.
What? The hell is that kind of school?
“Potty”? Seriously? Are you 5 years old, Walky?
Joyce’s purity is subtly influencing him.
Nope. It’s something he has been doing since before Joyce.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/02-guess-whos-coming-to-galassos/potty/
You’re asking Walky that question?
Yes.
Off topic, but does anybody know how Patreon works? I’ve never done it before, but I’m thinking of starting after Christmas. Also, does the lowest tier cover past bonus comics or just future ones? I’ll still want to do it if it’s for future ones only (this strip means a lot to me and spending $1 a month to support it won’t break my budget), but since I can’t find an answer on his About/FAQ, I thought I would ask. 🙂
Also, is the $35 PDF I found online the only way to get to read all of Joyce & Walky or is there another way to purchase it?
The $1 tier allows you access to all of Joyce & Walky! and all previous and future bonus strips.
Holy crap! I had no clue it was that awesome! ^_^
First tier also covers past strips, yes. And his store has the Joyce and Walky strips in it as well.
Is that still in effect? I’ve never figured out where to go on patreon to find it.
NOT FOUND ENOUGH
And in other news — in panel 4 we have Sal as only Sal can be…
Having the longest hair of all the cast?
Yeah, if this was Walky suffering a full blown panic attack it was certainly sudden-onset as he seemed okay right up to when he said hi to Sal. I’m almost willing to go with the theory that his mind just caught up with his conversation with Sarah and he realized that he *could* take basic math instead. But then, how to explain the alt text.
Eh, he seemed nervous talking math and grades on the way too, imo.