Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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May 8, 2026

The back

by David M Willis on November 23, 2020 at 12:01 am
  • 02 - Look Straight Ahead
└ Tags: joyce, lucy, walky

Discussion (138) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    November 23, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    Walky has changed to being Booster’s playback message

    • Paradoxius
      Paradoxius
      November 23, 2020 at 2:27 am | #

      Being around Booster certainly seems to have made Walky feel more powerful.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        November 23, 2020 at 7:44 am | #

        It’s a buff. He’ll be back to normal after it wears off in a few more turns.

        • Taellosse
          Taellosse
          November 23, 2020 at 6:08 pm | #

          Depends what Booster’s cooldown is, and how long the effect lasts. They might be able to refresh it often enough to make it effectively a persistent bonus.

  2. Buttery Commissar
    Buttery Commissar
    November 23, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    Aww. I’m really enjoying Walky’s expression in the first panel.

    • Lumino
      Lumino
      November 23, 2020 at 12:22 am | #

      Reminds me of Asher.

      And makes me want to punch him.

      Those two thought might be related.

      • Rose by Any Other Name
        Rose by Any Other Name
        November 23, 2020 at 12:37 am | #

        I was just thinking that!

        That the expression on Walky’s face makes him look weirdly like Asher, I mean. Not the other part. Although…

      • AnnoyingFixation
        AnnoyingFixation
        November 23, 2020 at 3:19 am | #

        Ah yes This is because the condescending/smug person who claims to use psychology when in reality all Walky is saying that we are changing to reuse the terminology instead of admitting towards the idea that we are frauds and not showing our true selves. This logic is flawed because not everyone is showing their fake self, because not everyone has this general idea/fear of hiding their true selves. A good tl;dr For this is: you’re not a smart person for reciting psychological bullshit

        • Daibhid C
          Daibhid C
          November 23, 2020 at 7:57 am | #

          “This logic is flawed because not everyone is showing their fake self, because not everyone has this general idea/fear of hiding their true selves”

          And yet every time I bring up the fact that I do and I’m worried about it, people tell me that it’s the same for everyone. I always suspected this was bull, but it’s nice to have it confirmed.

          • Deanatay
            Deanatay
            November 23, 2020 at 9:01 am | #

            Everyone wears a mask. EVERYONE. Our ‘true selves’ is just when we wear a slightly more ‘honest’ mask. Even then, it’s our own definition of ‘honest’, so take it with a grain of salt.

            • clif
              clif
              November 23, 2020 at 10:16 am | #

              So there’s no actual true self? It’s just masks all the way down?

              You know what? Change those from questions to statements. The evidence indicates pretty solidly that the self we experience is just a construct that our brain mechanisms create to explain ourselves to ourselves. And furthermore they have learned to cheat pretty heavily to do it.

              • Jhon
                Jhon
                November 23, 2020 at 2:19 pm | #

                Any Buddhist will be happy to confirm this.

              • CorporateDronesDontHaveMissiles
                CorporateDronesDontHaveMissiles
                November 23, 2020 at 7:24 pm | #

                A construct sure, but not necessarily a mask. Who we are is different day to day and situation to situation basis, but its not necessarily ungenuine.

                • clif
                  clif
                  November 23, 2020 at 7:50 pm | #

                  If it’s a construct and not the reality, I’m not sure how much more ungenuine you can get.

                • Alfa/Polaris
                  Alfa/Polaris
                  November 24, 2020 at 2:51 am | #

                  Yeah, people have many facets to how they work. Sometimes they’re contradictory, which doesn’t imply any of the elements being false. With reality being defined by those who live in it, our construct-based psychological makeup is as real as our needs to eat, sleep and breathe.

        • Devin
          Devin
          November 23, 2020 at 10:48 am | #

          What I always want to ask when someone starts talking about this is who they are to start throwing around assessments about which of my selves is any more or less true than any other. Just because they’re different versions doesn’t mean they’re fake. They’re all me.

          • Demoted Oblivious
            Demoted Oblivious
            November 23, 2020 at 2:29 pm | #

            “They’re all me.”

            BOOM! Nailed it. Claiming your expression of you is fake seems more often to be about denigrating a person than somehow protecting the rest of us from them. (See also”Fakey” -Malaya). Not that there aren’t people like that. (My ex perjured herself repeatedly in our last custody battle, fortunately, this time I had the evidence to prove it). But the times I’ve heard people attack others as fake seem to occur more often when the accused is being denigrated by the accuser, more than when the accuser is just warning others to be wary of the accused.

            Alternately put, by Oprah Winfrey, “when people show you who they are, believe them.”

            • Leorale
              Leorale
              November 23, 2020 at 2:49 pm | #

              – Maya Angelou.
              (I’m sure Oprah has quoted Maya Angelou as well, but that’s who said it first.)

            • Joshua Kronengold
              Joshua Kronengold
              November 23, 2020 at 5:17 pm | #

              And they’re all – here – sewn in the lining of me
              In the seam-folds and the small mended corners
              Tucked into collar and sleeves in the lining of me

              — Talis Kimberly “Small Mended Corners” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbv4bnR7K-8)

    • ktbear
      ktbear
      November 23, 2020 at 3:09 am | #

      Meanwhile, Walky’s expression in the last panel makes him look like Faz.

  3. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    November 23, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    Re: Alt Text

    Obvious Booster’s attacks do recurrent psychic damage which continues throughout the day.

    They need someone to cast Esuna.

    • Amy
      Amy
      November 23, 2020 at 2:02 am | #

      Or the old SCH cleanse: Leeches.

  4. Diner Kinetic
    Diner Kinetic
    November 23, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    Part of me wonders if Walky changed their seats for the sole purpose of messing with joyce and delivering that line, or if he just didn’t want to walk too far

    • Jamie
      Jamie
      November 23, 2020 at 12:24 am | #

      Walky’s the kind of person who would definitely prefer the back seats. It’s just that he sat with Sal on the first day and … didn’t like change?

    • Tan
      Tan
      November 23, 2020 at 12:40 am | #

      I’m not sure he was even indicating the back seats specifically so much as all the seats, Lucy just jumped right on approving the most immediate option (lest she indicate a preference that Walky might not share), and from there Walky saw an opportunity to razz Joyce

  5. BBCC
    BBCC
    November 23, 2020 at 12:08 am | #

    Walky and Joyce will never stop being Walky and Joyce.

    Also, Joyce, you sure you don’t need glasses?

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      November 23, 2020 at 12:09 am | #

      Don’t see how they would help, she doesn’t have pupils.

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        November 23, 2020 at 1:36 am | #

        Of course she doesn’t have pupils, she’s still a student!

        • Geneseepaws
          Geneseepaws
          November 23, 2020 at 2:00 am | #

          Thank you. Someone had to do it, and I didn’t want to.

          • clif
            clif
            November 23, 2020 at 10:18 am | #

            Same.

          • Demoted Oblivious
            Demoted Oblivious
            November 23, 2020 at 2:31 pm | #

            I may beneath all of you, but nothing is beneath me! -The Underminer

        • Demoted Oblivious
          Demoted Oblivious
          November 23, 2020 at 2:32 pm | #

          (golf clap). That’s a fine pun, for eagle.

  6. Robbie
    Robbie
    November 23, 2020 at 12:08 am | #

    He’s being mean. 🙁

  7. JiggyJohn
    JiggyJohn
    November 23, 2020 at 12:08 am | #

    just noticed…walky has a yellow stripe on the shirt under his jacket.

    • clif
      clif
      November 23, 2020 at 10:18 am | #

      We all know what that means.

      • David Doty
        David Doty
        November 23, 2020 at 10:46 am | #

        He peed himself in a very strange position?

  8. JenGen
    JenGen
    November 23, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

    Ooof. Gotta feel a bit sorry for Lucy cause I don’t think this is gonna go the way she wants it too…

  9. Pacce
    Pacce
    November 23, 2020 at 12:12 am | #

    Walky is such a great friend. Who needs Mike to attack insecurities when you got Walky?

    • Clif
      Clif
      November 23, 2020 at 4:49 pm | #

      The conservation of Mike principal at work.

  10. Grath
    Grath
    November 23, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

    Er, is the Asher smirk contagious??

    • Stephen Bierce
      Stephen Bierce
      November 23, 2020 at 12:22 am | #

      An outbreak of smirkalepsy?

    • JessWitt
      JessWitt
      November 23, 2020 at 12:39 am | #

      The Booster psychoanalysis is definitely spreading.

  11. cmasta1992
    cmasta1992
    November 23, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

    Yes…give Joyce glasses. The stars must align.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      November 23, 2020 at 12:17 am | #

      Joyce gets glasses, and also a haircut on the same day, and walks into the room looking oddly like Dorothy.

      Becky’s brain would immediately break.

      • Mra
        Mra
        November 23, 2020 at 12:45 am | #

        She would look like a mini Jocelyne

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      November 23, 2020 at 11:37 am | #

      Yes, please…

  12. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    November 23, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

    All made up and nowhere to go
    Welcome to this one man show
    Just take a seat they’re always free
    No surprise, no mystery
    In this theater that I call my soul
    I always play the starring role–So Lonely!

    • Stephen Bierce
      Stephen Bierce
      November 23, 2020 at 12:19 am | #

      I wanted the Bonnaroo version but they don’t have it

  13. Suet
    Suet
    November 23, 2020 at 12:16 am | #

    Don’t be a smartass, Walky.

    *powerwashes with a hose*

  14. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    November 23, 2020 at 12:19 am | #

    We have to learn to accept change. Especially when we’re getting paid in change.

    • Clif
      Clif
      November 23, 2020 at 12:29 am | #

      Your saying we should cash in on change?

      • Demoted Oblivious
        Demoted Oblivious
        November 23, 2020 at 2:33 pm | #

        No, Yoto is saying that change is the currency of life.

        • clif
          clif
          November 23, 2020 at 7:37 pm | #

          I thought it was time we were spending.

          Or wasting as the case may be.

    • Geneseepaws
      Geneseepaws
      November 23, 2020 at 2:02 am | #

      Ask any baby; Change is good!
      Else you get diaper rash….

  15. Kravis
    Kravis
    November 23, 2020 at 12:25 am | #

    You know who used to say “Embrace the Change”, Joyce?

    THE SKRULLS, Joyce!
    THE SKRULLS.

    The ones that tried to invade and coquer Earth because of some bullshit ancient prophecy. So, yeah. The Skrulls, Joyce.

    • Romanticide
      Romanticide
      November 23, 2020 at 12:26 am | #

      that was a an event… that I didn’t like…

  16. T Campbell
    T Campbell
    November 23, 2020 at 12:25 am | #

    That’s probably all we’ll get about Billie/Jennifer for a while, and I do have to wonder if Joyce isn’t right. The sorta-toxic-sorta-beautiful Ruth-Billie relationship was worth cheering for but also worth worrying about, and while getting with Asher does look like the definition of a bad decision, it’s possible that she had entirely justified reasons for leaving Ruth and her old self behind. Maybe she finally found out whatever Ruth was failing to remember here. I can’t point to hard evidence, but it seems like Rachel’s beef with her seems to be motivated by something more profound than just being a surly, terrible roommate.

    • Rabid Rabbit
      Rabid Rabbit
      November 23, 2020 at 1:38 am | #

      It’s possible, but it’s possible that she’s also just leaving her old self behind and Ruth was part of that. Just as she didn’t change hair styles between high school and college, “Billie” was her name as a drunk cheerleader, as well as her drunk-lesbian-suicide-pact name. If she’s decided to make a clean break, Ruth could quite plausibly just be collateral damage. That would tie in with Ruth’s assertion that she “didn’t lose Billie,” which seems to suggest — or, at least, one possible interpretation of which is — that she did not actively do anything that led to the breakup. (Of course, it can just as easily be interpreted as “I didn’t lose her, I fucked up,” or “I didn’t lose her, I kicked her ass to the curb,” though the latter seems less likely given the fact she kept the spare chair in her room.)

      I don’t think there’s any question that Ruth did much worse to Rachel than just be grumpy, but I don’t think it’s necessarily follows that the same thing caused the breakup. Jennifer doesn’t seem the type (to me, at least) to dump someone because she discovers they did something terrible in the past, and whatever Ruth did to Rachel was while her depression was untreated and possibly also while she was drunk (we don’t know when she became an alcoholic; if she already was by then, it might help to explain why she doesn’t remember much of last year, though it’s hard to imagine that Rachel wouldn’t have pulled a Sarah and got her kicked out — unless Gramps pulled some strings then as well, which would give Rachel another reason to be extra cranky). Ruth can have relapses, as we’ve seen, but emotionally she seems to have been on a much more even keel since getting treated, which suggests that her repeating that behavior with Jennifer is less likely.

      From a storytelling perspective, I actually think it would be stronger for Ruth not to have repeated her behavior or anything: just because you’re getting better doesn’t mean you get to keep everything that makes you happy, including “the prettiest girl in the whole damned wing” whom you think you don’t deserve (while perhaps learning that it’s not a question of deserving anyway).

      TL;DR: If Jennifer had entirely justified reasons for leaving Ruth and her old self behind, they might not have actually had anything to do with Ruth, just with herself.

    • CJ
      CJ
      November 23, 2020 at 4:41 am | #

      Well, Rachel does remember something, but as she only drops hints without actually saying out loud „Hey you did XYZ and that was shit/hurt me/ ..l“ she seems to like holding a grudge.
      Especially, as she knows that Ruth might not remember. Shitting on someone this way is crap. „Oh, you did something bad to me but I won‘t tell you what.“
      Ah, yeah, nice to hear that you‘ll ride whatever it was for the rest of my life in your vicinity without telling me want it was.
      I mean, ok, Rachel shouldn’t be held to higher standards then the rest, but her thinking herself morally superior while pulling that is about as annoying as Mary with her whole holier-than-though stick.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        November 23, 2020 at 10:23 am | #

        Or like a normal person, she thinks the “maybe I don’t” remember is just a bullshit excuse. Especially if it was something serious and Rachel isn’t just blowing a triviality out of proportion.

        • Demoted Oblivious
          Demoted Oblivious
          November 23, 2020 at 2:37 pm | #

          Or with all that DID go down, and knowing Ruth is foggy on it all, Rachel is just gas-lighting Ruth to keep fuel in her grudge and to have an excuse to be a raging asshole. Rachel sure doesn’t seem to have any kindness to spare for anyone else.

          • Leorale
            Leorale
            November 23, 2020 at 3:17 pm | #

            As somebody who dated a fellow who is foggy on some of his really angry shitty behaviours from when he was very ill: it is indeed annoying that he can’t remember it. While I know intellectually that his insanity and his meds can cause memory loss, it just appeared so convenient, you know?

            I think he knows that he probably behaved badly when he was angry. But he really seemed like he wanted to shrug it off and act as though he hadn’t done anything at all, instead of acting, accurately, like a guy who probably did shitty things that he couldn’t quite remember. He didn’t present like a guy who would like to know what he did so that he could address it, the things weren’t real to him. There wasn’t much of a way to assess whether he’d engage in those behaviours again.

            There’s really no benefit to dredging up my own fading memories and informing/accusing him about it. I don’t need him to apologize or make amends or anything. I just want him to go continue getting treatment someplace else. He’s on meds now! I wish him well.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              November 23, 2020 at 3:20 pm | #

              It sounds like you have much better reason to believe that he really doesn’t remember anything than Rachel does about Ruth.

              • Sam
                Sam
                November 23, 2020 at 5:45 pm | #

                Especially as most people in fact don’t know that depression can cause memory loss (your sense of time blurs so a lot of similar events blend together and if it wasn’t significant to her as extra bad, but was to Rachel, it would be difficult to pick out or address as an individual thing) and Rachel has no willingness to believe anything other than her own narrative i.e. Ruth is evil and not willing to accept responsibility properly when the reality is more Ruth is actually unable to remember and getting annoyed at the snipes over something she can’t address due to lack of memory!

  17. Sterling
    Sterling
    November 23, 2020 at 12:25 am | #

    Joyce probably DOES need glasses.

    • Rabid Rabbit
      Rabid Rabbit
      November 23, 2020 at 1:39 am | #

      If only she’d learnt that in Roomies! She’d have had no difficulties in seducing Danny then!

      • Minim
        Minim
        November 23, 2020 at 4:15 am | #

        Or they’d help her to see what a cockwomble he is…

  18. Clif
    Clif
    November 23, 2020 at 12:27 am | #

    Your saying we should cash in on change?

    • Clif
      Clif
      November 23, 2020 at 12:28 am | #

      That was supposed to be a reply. Let’s try again.

      • Clif
        Clif
        November 23, 2020 at 12:33 am | #

        Good. Worked better the second time. Now if we could just delete our posts that were embarrassing wrong.

        • He Who Abides
          He Who Abides
          November 23, 2020 at 6:12 am | #

          I’ve noticed this sort of thing happens a lot. Does it happen mpre with phones, or no?

          • clif
            clif
            November 23, 2020 at 10:31 am | #

            I believe it’s happened across devices, but in this case it was on a tablet. Autocorrect is definitely worse on a mobile device, but I have to suspect the occasional comment displacement is a function of how the page logic is coded and the process sometimes gets confused, maybe when multiple comments come in at once. And honestly, part of it is probably user error. But definitely not for the comment that started this thread.

            • Demoted Oblivious
              Demoted Oblivious
              November 23, 2020 at 2:39 pm | #

              This. I’ve also noticed ‘new’ comments occasionally get loaded with my last comment’s content.

  19. Suitora
    Suitora
    November 23, 2020 at 12:32 am | #

    Anyone have a feeling she’s saying this because Jocelyne came out to her?

    “Call people what they want to be called.”

    I feel like Joyce isn’t annoyed because Booster is right, but because of how off the mark they are. Booster never really exactly knew Joyce. It would be odd for them to have this omniscient knowledge of the characters pasts, struggles, and neuroses. I think they literally just hit the ballpark and thought, “eh, good enough”.

    • StClair
      StClair
      November 23, 2020 at 12:38 am | #

      If that occurred during the timeskip, and we don’t get to see it, people will riot.

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        November 23, 2020 at 9:06 am | #

        A new option for the poll? Yeah, it’d win.

        • Clif
          Clif
          November 23, 2020 at 4:20 pm | #

          Wait.

          StClair, you say there is an option for the comment section to riot? I’m always the last to find out these things. How does this work?

          • StClair
            StClair
            November 23, 2020 at 4:24 pm | #

            At this point, the ball is in Willis’ court and/or buffer. The rest of us will just have to see.

    • NinjaMaid
      NinjaMaid
      November 23, 2020 at 12:46 am | #

      Mixture of the Barnum effect and cold reading. It’s very unethical to do snap psych evals in a group setting but very in character for a student.

      • Jhon
        Jhon
        November 23, 2020 at 2:29 pm | #

        Not many people can see how insightful you are.

      • Suitora
        Suitora
        November 24, 2020 at 12:30 am | #

        Yeah, sounds like that. Booster probably heard a few rumors and then extrapolated from that as well. Most of their guesses are kind of vague and don’t really specify a person. We’re sort of expected to fill in the blanks here.

        I’m seriously wondering if Booster guessed not that Joyce was an atheist, but that she was gay. People made jokes about her supposed sexual attraction to Dorothy, but Joyce doesn’t have a sexual attraction to Dorothy, it’s just a joke that sounds differently taken out of context.

    • drs
      drs
      November 23, 2020 at 1:25 am | #

      If Jocelyne had come out I don’t think Joyce would have been so surprised by Booster.

      • Suitora
        Suitora
        November 24, 2020 at 12:33 am | #

        Yeah, but she was surprisingly quick on the uptake. Unless she figured out about Carla at some point or Jocelyne came out to her, she wouldn’t have even known that much about trans people. Yeah, she was probably taught about it in gender studies, but it doesn’t seem like something that would have clicked so easily for her. This is the same girl, who a few months ago, thought that being gay meant you played with Barbies.

  20. timemonkey
    timemonkey
    November 23, 2020 at 12:33 am | #

    I like the idea of Joyce with glasses.

  21. Bagge
    Bagge
    November 23, 2020 at 12:34 am | #

    Walky has been an annoying little shit all along.

  22. NinjaNick
    NinjaNick
    November 23, 2020 at 1:00 am | #

    Bad Walky! No biscuit!

  23. Sporky
    Sporky
    November 23, 2020 at 1:08 am | #

    Walky has a new power! Booster knows not what they have done.

  24. Rabid Rabbit
    Rabid Rabbit
    November 23, 2020 at 1:15 am | #

    Come on, Walky. You’re falling down on the job here. How many times are you going to say that at her without taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by suggesting what else she could swallow?

  25. jeffepp
    jeffepp
    November 23, 2020 at 1:21 am | #

    Do I sense a new dynamic? Walkie’s little harem fantasy here? Careful with that cold water!

  26. BenRG
    BenRG
    November 23, 2020 at 2:13 am | #

    I’m not sure at this point whether Walky is teasing Joyce (and enjoying her reaction) or outright flirting with her!

    • jeffepp
      jeffepp
      November 23, 2020 at 2:43 am | #

      Is there any difference? And, Joyce is the one insisting on sitting with him…

      And Lucy.

      • BenRG
        BenRG
        November 23, 2020 at 4:49 am | #

        Yes, I wonder if Walky is consciously aware that he has somehow become the focus of all the Good Girls’ attention?

        • clif
          clif
          November 23, 2020 at 11:10 am | #

          I’m torn between asking for your definition of Good Girl and proposing that Walky can channel his inner churchmouse.

          Let’s go with the first.

          I mean there are certainly criteria by which both could be considered good, some of them superficial and some not, but you are simultaneously ruling out Dorothy, Becky, AmaziGirl, Mary, Rachel, and Dina as not being good girls, while leaving Lucy and Joyce in. Dorothy, in combination, creates a lot of difficulties, as by most criteria she is a model citizen and a perfect cinnamon roll. She has engaged in premarital hankypanky, but Becky, Dina, and Mary as far as we know, have not. Nor do we know about Lucy. Again Dorothy is an atheist, but Becky and Mary are not, and Joyce is falling somewhere on that spectrum. Mary is easy to eliminate based on her actions, but with Joyce we have the Jacob incident and with Lucy we have the whole stalking Walky pattern. So what possible definition of Good Girl could you be using?

          • BenRG
            BenRG
            November 23, 2020 at 11:40 am | #

            The ones who are so overtly and outwardly nice, innocent and cheerfully wholesome in all their ways (note: whether they are actually like that is another mater and, honestly, one of the whole points of that type of character).

            C.f.: Almost every character ever played by Doris Day or Julie Andrews

            • Clif
              Clif
              November 23, 2020 at 4:24 pm | #

              Is Dina not overtly and outwardly nice, innocent and cheerfully wholesome in all her ways?

  27. GUIGUI
    GUIGUI
    November 23, 2020 at 2:14 am | #

    I wonder what plot will Willis give to Walky, now that their school experiences are branching off.

    • AnnoyingFixation
      AnnoyingFixation
      November 23, 2020 at 3:13 am | #

      Willis will probably just make Walky your typical smart ass douche of a guy who says inflammatory bullshit and then when you tell him to knock it off he will bongo about his rights.

  28. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    November 23, 2020 at 2:54 am | #

    but why would Joyce sit at the back TOO ?

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      November 23, 2020 at 3:20 am | #

      Because a part of Walky kind of likes to sit with her. Who knew?

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        November 23, 2020 at 10:25 am | #

        Everyone?

        • Clif
          Clif
          November 23, 2020 at 4:28 pm | #

          Sure. But shouldn’t that be a part of Joyce likes to sit with Walky? She’s the one braving a headache for the sake of his company. I doubt Lucy is that much of a draw.

      • tsumiki
        tsumiki
        November 23, 2020 at 3:05 pm | #

        “Guy that I’d Kinda Be Into” with Joyce as Christine, Joe as Jeremy, and Jacob as Jake.

  29. BarerMender
    BarerMender
    November 23, 2020 at 3:07 am | #

    Lucy, it’s not a movie theater. The lights will stay on. Everyone will see you.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      November 23, 2020 at 4:26 am | #

      The point is that Walky will be there to comfort her (or be comforted) if the equations get too scary!

  30. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    November 23, 2020 at 3:21 am | #

    Alt-text: I dunno, I think Lucy and Joyce are a bit too be sitting in Booster seats…

    • Demoted Oblivious
      Demoted Oblivious
      November 23, 2020 at 2:47 pm | #

      I don’t know. Even ^that^ comment was too short. Maybe we need Booster seats all around?

  31. foducool
    foducool
    November 23, 2020 at 3:43 am | #

    Joyce : “listen here you little doodoo”

  32. Juanoku
    Juanoku
    November 23, 2020 at 3:43 am | #

    After seeing “””billie””” i don’t think I’m ready for more change

  33. Keulen
    Keulen
    November 23, 2020 at 3:45 am | #

    Walky’s turned the smartassing up to eleven here.

  34. KSClaw
    KSClaw
    November 23, 2020 at 3:46 am | #

    You know what Walky, how about we call you Idiot Mc ShutIt from now on.

  35. Lone Duck
    Lone Duck
    November 23, 2020 at 4:51 am | #

    The problem is, if Joyce gets glasses… Then Danny will start hitting on her. And that will drive a wedge between Danny and Joe.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      November 23, 2020 at 7:03 am | #

      My problem with Joyce with glasses is that she would suddenly become that harder to tell the two of them apart. All that remains is for Lucy to decide that Joyce isn’t that much more bisexual than she is and the two would become close to twins!

  36. bogeywoman
    bogeywoman
    November 23, 2020 at 4:52 am | #

    My immediate reaction to panel one before the strip had finished loading:
    NEVARR!!

  37. Zaxares
    Zaxares
    November 23, 2020 at 6:48 am | #

    I was always the nerd who sat in the front row. Part of it was because I DID wear glasses, and because my myopia is quite high, a side effect of my glasses is that it makes things appear smaller. Part of it was because I genuinely loved going to school and learning new things, and sitting up front gave me a closer view of graphics, charts etc. And part of it was that I was also an antisocial loner and since few people wanted to sit in front, that just meant more room for me! ;P

  38. Sombrero
    Sombrero
    November 23, 2020 at 7:01 am | #

    Someone please switch off the Walky before the power of Rod Booster ignites the whole sky.

  39. Dracke
    Dracke
    November 23, 2020 at 8:22 am | #

    they are married in another timeline

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      November 23, 2020 at 8:25 am | #

      Yeah; sometimes it shows!

  40. Solace
    Solace
    November 23, 2020 at 8:38 am | #

    Wally looks really handsome in panel 1

  41. Deanatay
    Deanatay
    November 23, 2020 at 9:14 am | #

    Plot prediction: Joyce’s grades start to slip because her friends want to sit in the back, and she can’t make out the overhead notes.

    • Agemegos
      Agemegos
      November 23, 2020 at 3:26 pm | #

      It’s not just not being able to read the board, there’s also much less distraction and less social/interpersonal environment of distractedness at the front, more connection with the lecturer. I always sat in the front or second row myself, halfway between the centre and the left wall (a politics joke), and when I was doing remedial coaching I urged my students to sit at the front, pay attention, and don’t write notes. Also, if anyone went to the lecturer to ask questions after the lecture, to go and listen to the Q&A.

  42. KJ
    KJ
    November 23, 2020 at 10:02 am | #

    ok walky, now you’re just being a dick

  43. Megan Rivera
    Megan Rivera
    November 23, 2020 at 10:18 am | #

    Walky is getting on my NERVES.

  44. David Doty
    David Doty
    November 23, 2020 at 10:49 am | #

    Walky’s not even getting it right.

  45. FacelessDeviant
    FacelessDeviant
    November 23, 2020 at 10:49 am | #

    Change is NOT easy to swallow. Anything over a dime is a problem.

  46. Wishwater
    Wishwater
    November 23, 2020 at 12:01 pm | #

    His new hair is very cute

  47. Victor Riley
    Victor Riley
    November 23, 2020 at 12:06 pm | #

    Walky might even be indirectly pointing out that Booster is full of it… with a generic statement that could apply to many people.

    After all, just because they’re a psychology major doesn’t mean they’re good at analyzing people. It just means they WANT to be good at analyzing people, and are still learning.

    (I’ve known many psych majors that can’t read a room even if it had neon signs everywhere)

    • Sam
      Sam
      November 23, 2020 at 5:19 pm | #

      People have pointed out a few times that most of what Booster said was something they could have cold read which is far more general than it would have seemed to the individual or could have been worked out by the direct response said to them.

      Booster isn’t some mind-reading genius, human lives just contain a lot of similar narratives and responses e.g. someone becoming aggressively loud out of guilt isn’t some special response, it’s something you can guess and it isn’t unlikely to be wrong if they are really overdoin’ it.

      Hell I could say that several commenters on this site had a male figure they respected die from something affecting their chest or abdomen (guess where most of your vital organs are so I have covered everything from bronchitis to several types of cancer, men typically die earlier, and it unlikely that you will have respected 0 men in your life total). And it may be right, but it wouldn’t be because of special insight, it’s because with 7 billion people on the planet, of course there will be people that have experienced this same general narrative, I read on wikipedia that this is a commonly used general one that seems specific, and I also recall at least a few of the commenters being 40+ and at least a few mentioning their parents died back when Becky was playing Animal Crossing and got emotional. Even seemingly ‘specific’ statements like this one can still be extremely general when you actually consider every factor, the audience it is aimed at, and that it has zero specific details. Even if you zone in on a few details e.g. ‘at the hospital/at home’ or ‘heart disease’, very common places of death, one of the most common killers of people. Any random stranger can mash together a bunch of common likelihoods and someone will be like ‘I experienced that!’

  48. BlackScarabFilmZ
    BlackScarabFilmZ
    November 23, 2020 at 12:49 pm | #

    Joyce: We used to sit in the middle, what’s wrong with the middle?

    Walky: It’s easier for the artist if he doesn’t have to draw any people behind us.

    • David M Willis
      David M Willis
      November 23, 2020 at 1:20 pm | #

      pointing

      • Demoted Oblivious
        Demoted Oblivious
        November 23, 2020 at 2:55 pm | #

        Meh. Just go for a class full of circles and 5 year-old half-birds and you’ll be fine.

        ⁀ ⁀ ⁀
        ⁀ ⁀ ⁀
        O O O

        • Clif
          Clif
          November 23, 2020 at 4:45 pm | #

          Probably not, but a couple of standard backgrounds that can be traded out should work fine.

          So no Joyce needs glasses but won’t admit it plot line then.

      • Roborat
        Roborat
        November 23, 2020 at 4:40 pm | #

        This made me laugh, nicely done.

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      November 24, 2020 at 12:34 am | #

      I wonder if that is the root of the “seat of doom” in anime.

  49. Mr D
    Mr D
    November 23, 2020 at 2:16 pm | #

    Between the seats and the food and a lot of little things, I’m starting to think Joyce may be on the Spectrum.

    • Delicious Taffy
      Delicious Taffy
      November 23, 2020 at 3:58 pm | #

      What, just now?

    • Icalasari
      Icalasari
      November 23, 2020 at 4:06 pm | #

      …God dammit how did I not notice that I’m usually on the ball at picking out other people on the spectrum, real or fictional =S

    • Sam
      Sam
      November 23, 2020 at 5:23 pm | #

      Welcome to the club. People have been thinking that since at least back when Joyce and Jacob were hanging out so you’re not the only one!

  50. Amelie Wikström
    Amelie Wikström
    November 24, 2020 at 12:10 am | #

    The more that line gets repeated the less it sounds like any kind of burn. Like, yes? If you have to admit you have been a shitty person then committing to changing that is easier than deciding to continue to act the same way? And also probably better for you and the people around you?

    Is it supposed to make Joyce feel bad about trying to change her mind or feel bad about thinking the things that she’s already pointedly feeling bad about thinking? Neither of those make any sense as far as I can see.

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