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ok city ok @krogerfoot.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
$8 for 10 
$30 for 40 🫡 have a great Memorial Day weekend
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Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
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Someone FINALLY thinking of Daisy!!
I fully expect Daisy to reject her unless Jennifer gets Ruth to dress as Wonder Woman first.
Ruth’s a redhead, maybe Jean Grey or Batgirl would be better.
…Neither has a chest window, though.
We can use obscure Mary Jane Watson lookalike “Jackpot”
You COULD just go with a Mary Jane outfit, even though there’s no chest window.
I betcha fifteen seconds into any fight she gets caught up in, one’ll magically appear, though.
No version of the cannon Wonder Woman costume that I am aware of has a chest window, you’re probably thinking of Power Girl. Wonder Woman’s iconic costume does have lots of cleavage, but not because of a window, but rather because the costume just kinda stops half-way up her boobs, I forget what it’s called, but it’s that thing that’s basically a corset but isn’t intended to be worn under or over another top the way corsets are (in my experience).
Bodice
Maybe she could settle for Black Widow with her top unzipped to the sternum. It’s not really a chest window, but I don’t think Daisy has high standards at this point.
Maybe Daisy would go for the whole business suit Lois Lane reporter look? Ruth is too reserved for a lot of superheroine wardrobe tropes, but she would rock a blazer.
Ruth could go as Poison Ivy, covered in Tornonto Maple Leafs.
I think Daisy’s desperate enough she’ll take anything at this point
Jennifer: There’s no way this plan could possibly go wro-
(Smash cut to Jennifer, Ruth, and Daisy all in bed together)
Jennifer: Dammit!
Slipshine cut, you mean.
Ha! That sounds like something that would happen one of my novels.
Polyamory – the solution to all – er, most – love polygons.
“Why don’t we do the sophisticated thing and all sleep together?”
You have quotation marks around that which makes me think you are referencing something, but I don’t recognize what. Citation please. ^^
It’s the line old Ben Kenobi said to Darth Vader right before that fateful chop.
Google suggests it came from this pasta-themed David Bowie movie.
Why does a ship made of matches sound EXTREMELY flamable?
Meh, just another person trying to describe something hot.
bah dum tish… I’ll leave now
This is, like, Billie’s take on Joyce’s “Parent Trap” schemes.
Okay Jennifer hasn’t really changed at all. Daisy does need to get laid though.
Jennifer is now thinking of others as well as herself.
Pretty sure it’s only herself. It’s just convenient that it kind of works out as long as she completely disregards any opinion Ruth might have on this.
And this still goes back to Jennifer equating being in a new relationship with moving on. Clearly, neither of them is good with what happened and no amount of bonning will change that.
Not really? Sure getting Ruth and Daisy together might work out well for them, but she’s framing that as a way to get both of them off her back with their happiness as a side bonus.
Of course getting your boss together with your ex can’t possibly go wrong in any way.
Jennifer, you never HAD a regular beat, what’s this again crap? You had the AG story for four days and Daisy took it away from you after one article because Dorothy was a better writer, handed in her work in a timely manner, didn’t insert herself in her stories and because she thought you were a spoiled brat. That’s hardly a beat.
Uh…that was “Billie”. Jennifer has probably had plenty of beats over the time skip. We just weren’t there to see it but I bet they were really cool, and relevant!
It is possible that Jennifer had other pieces after the AG event. But even if she did, getting Daisy laid is not going to get her a job.
It might. Daisy has made it clear she actually thinks the newspaper is a joke and is using Amazi-Girl for her porn stash.
Given that she plays off JJ Jameson, this makes me heavily question just why exactly JJ kept ardently insisiting on new pictures of Spider-Man. Especially since we were shown several times in the comics that the photos used for front pagers were generic skyline shots that weren’t specific to any individual event and, thereby, could easily have been pulled from the thousands of photos that Peter Parker- and, strangely enough, only Peter Parker- managed to deliver over the previous months, years, and then decades.
Honestly, looking at it straightforwardly like that, JJ having a Spider-Man fetish is really the only way to explain his near-addiction of purchasing endless amounts of dubiously acquired photos off of the rather disliked part-timer. >.>
Scratch the “near” in “near-addiction”. I had momentarily forgot- or, rather, erased from mind- that time I walked in on JJ huffing his photo stash like it was a mountain of crack. And you don’t even wanna know the usage he was putting symbiote to, at the time..
There’s a parody out there somewhere of J. Jonah Jameson tacking pictures of Spider-Man to his bedroom wall and then staring at them while dreamily kicking his feet in the air like a teenage girl looking at boy band posters, but damned if I can’t find the thing right now. (I want to say it was drawn by Meredith Gran, Kate Beaton, or someone who could ape their styles, but I could be misremembering that. It’s been a while since I last stumbled across it.)
Wait wait, so JJ is tsundre
If you Japanisize (is that a word?) western comics, then you’re basically stuck either turning tsundere or turning into an ikemen [ie, pretty boy]. Not sure I’ve ever seen one where that wasn’t true.. other’n maybe that weird one where the Ninja Turtles become Power Rangers..
[ I can’t find it anymore, but there used to be a whole meme about the ikemen thing. It wasn’t just western conversions, either- even eastern ones like Mario Bros saw them (and even Koopa) turned into completely prettified versions of themselves. Also, for the Ninja Turtles reference, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutant_Turtles:_Superman_Legend ]
3J being spider-sexual makes too much sense.
And Spider-Man being gay is the only way to explain his chast, near platonic love for MJ while wrestling scantily clad, muscly bad boys, who mostly are good inside and just need someone to save them.
After Gwen Stacy died, Peter just never could find it in himself to love another woman. However, Peter felt regret over what he had lost out on, and was overcome by the loneliness of his loss. Hence his grabbing on to Mary Jane, in an attempt to claim what he could have.
However, as time went on, Peter just.. couldn’t deny the truth of things anymore. His time with Mary Jane was only emphasizing how his relationship was a superficial substitute for what he actually wanted and, further, he had come to find a.. satisifaction in his more.. physical crimefighting activities that his life with Mary Jane just couldn’t provide him.
Oh, there were females there, but that just felt awkward, for the reasons noted before. No, it was only with other males that Peter felt reassured. As time went on, that reassurance turned into something.. more pleasurable.
However, Peter was trapped in his marriage, and- coward that he is- couldn’t bring himself to break up with Mary Jane. After all, MJ did love him, even if he couldn’t properly reciprocate. I mean, why else would she have stuck through his misogynist phase, repeated monster attacks and abductions, and all the other bullshit that came from his poor personality and troubled lifestyle? No, Peter just couldn’t bring himself to do it. However, at the same time, his marriage was going nowhere.
In fact, as the lack of children after years of marriage showed, he had come to actively avoid intimacy with MJ, instead spending his time fully on the streets looking for other distractions. And then, he came on to an idea.. what if MJ just.. didn’t remember him?
A quick ring-up of his old frenemy Mephisto and wam, bam: Peter had everything he ever wanted. Well, except Gwen Stacy? Whoops, guess he coulda just wished her back. Or maybe even old Uncle Ben..
But shit, we knew our buddy Peter was going to fuck something up. I mean, this the same guy who sent a murder after his Uncle, and that before a rather historied series of similar “whoopsies”. Oh, well..
So true love was still off the table but, hey- no guarantees Gwen would still love him now anyway. Nah, being able to commit himself fully to his newfound homosexuality was a much safer option.
Besides, have you seen the ass on Deadpool or Wolverine? And with both of them hanging around the Avengers, which Spider-man was now a part of..
Mmm, yeah. No, this life is good. Let’s just throw his obligations to his female romantic partners and his uncle and his parents to the wayside, and just enjoy the freedom of sexual exploration that this wish with Mephisto earned him.
I mean… doesn’t Spider-Man deserve to enjoy a little bit of friendly neighborhood “recreation”? Think of all the people he has saved over the years. Yeah, this is EARNED. Let’s focus on taking care of ME for a change. I mean.. not really a change but, whatever. Sexy male on male times, let’s go!
#HeadCanon
#SomehowFanInterpretationsAlwaysEndUpInGayHijinks
#StillMakesMoreSenseThanTheOfficialExplanationLetsBeHonest
Ew. Font-fixed version:
After Gwen Stacy died, Peter just never could find it in himself to love another woman. However, Peter felt regret over what he had lost out on, and was overcome by the loneliness of his loss. Hence his grabbing on to Mary Jane, in an attempt to claim what he could have.
However, as time went on, Peter just.. couldn’t deny the truth of things anymore. His time with Mary Jane was only emphasizing how his relationship was a superficial substitute for what he actually wanted and, further, he had come to find a.. satisifaction in his more.. physical crimefighting activities that his life with Mary Jane just couldn’t provide him.
Oh, there were females there, but that just felt awkward, for the reasons noted before. No, it was only with other males that Peter felt reassured. As time went on, that reassurance turned into something.. more pleasurable.
However, Peter was trapped in his marriage, and- coward that he is- couldn’t bring himself to break up with Mary Jane. After all, MJ did love him, even if he couldn’t properly reciprocate. I mean, why else would she have stuck through his misogynist phase, repeated monster attacks and abductions, and all the other bullshit that came from his poor personality and troubled lifestyle? No, Peter just couldn’t bring himself to do it. However, at the same time, his marriage was going nowhere.
In fact, as the lack of children after years of marriage showed, he had come to actively avoid intimacy with MJ, instead spending his time fully on the streets looking for other distractions. And then, he came on to an idea.. what if MJ just.. didn’t remember him?
A quick ring-up of his old frenemy Mephisto and wam, bam: Peter had everything he ever wanted. Well, except Gwen Stacy? Whoops, guess he coulda just wished her back. Or maybe even old Uncle Ben..
But shit, we knew our buddy Peter was going to fuck something up. I mean, this the same guy who sent a murder after his Uncle, and that before a rather historied series of similar “whoopsies”. Oh, well..
So true love was still off the table but, hey- no guarantees Gwen would still love him now anyway. Nah, being able to commit himself fully to his newfound homosexuality was a much safer option.
Besides, have you seen the ass on Deadpool or Wolverine? And with both of them hanging around the Avengers, which Spider-man was now a part of..
Mmm, yeah. No, this life is good. Let’s just throw his obligations to his female romantic partners and his uncle and his parents to the wayside, and just enjoy the freedom of sexual exploration that this wish with Mephisto earned him.
I mean… doesn’t Spider-Man deserve to enjoy a little bit of friendly neighborhood “recreation”? Think of all the people he has saved over the years. Yeah, this is EARNED. Let’s focus on taking care of ME for a change. I mean.. not really a change but, whatever. Sexy male on male times, let’s go!
#HeadCanon
#SomehowFanInterpretationsAlwaysEndUpInGayHijinks
#StillMakesMoreSenseThanTheOfficialExplanationLetsBeHonest
Also, in case that’s cutting off for any of you as well:
#..AlwaysEndUpInGayHijinks
#..lExplanationLetsBeHonest
She covered Becky and the Kidnapping, and I’m pretty sure got the Amazi-Girl beat back after Dorothy gave it up
I think Jen took over for Dorothy after her grades started slipping.
They both worked for the paper at the same time. I think Dorothy probably signed on first, but we get to see Jennifer’s interview with Daisy early on in the comic.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/05-media-rumble/chestwindow/
I know, but around Book 7 Dorothy dropped her Amazi-Girl reporting to focus on her studies, and I’m pretty sure Jen took over for her
I remember she did a story on Becky but that iirc that was a submitted story, not a regular beat. I remember Dorothy talking to AG about the possibility of a new reporter but I don’t think we ever actually saw Billie do any AG reporting.
Regardless, Dorothy giving the beat back because she can’t do it anymore isn’t really the same as Billie being (re)hired and assigned the beat by Daisy, which is what she wants here.
Jennifer, guard your femurs.
“Straight Pimpin’: The Jennifer Billingsworth Story.
Tonight on FOX!
aaaaaaaaalpha boooooongo
Alpha Bongo, problem solver. Goody! The maximum hijinks solution.
Did you type “alpha bongo”, or that word that gets bongoed-out, but with extra vowels for emphasis? If the latter, its neat that it replaced it with a similarly lengthened “bongo”. If the former, please carry on
I don’t think the ‘bongo to bongo’ filter covers spelling alterations. I think saying ‘biiiiiiiiiitch’ will sneak past
Don’t know why I didn’t think of that. You’re so smart
#LifeHack
I always write “the word that means drums” rather than “the word that is a slur”, to the extent that I was really surprised at one point when I actually was trying to write the slur and saw it replaced with drums.
I had forgotten the entire joke about alpha bongo and just took the term as the proper description of Jennifer-in-highschool
Slur that means drums…?? Wow i’m feeling extra dumb today =D and/or US cultural reference whizzing me by on account of not being from the US?
No, it’s much dumber than that.
If you try to write the word (which is a slur) ‘biitch’ (but with one ‘i”) in this comment section it’s replaced by the word ‘bongo’.
The reason for that is that we pissed Willis of too much the at one point and the slur was overused, so he added a filter.
That pretty much immediately became an internal meme, especially since Jennifer refers to herself as ‘alpha biitch’, which then turned into ‘alpha bongo’.
and finally, one glorious day, Joyce brought it all full circle
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-9-comic/02-but-the-sun-still-shines/infectious/
Great callback. I’d forgotten that one!
And that’s why I literally use the word boingo when I would use the other one.
oh oh sorry yes i was being thick then smh
i read your comment and thought you were referring to another substitution for some slur that was homonymous with a word for drums or something convoluted like…
anyway, i was aware that bongo was getting substituted for b*tch around here but i really appreciate the historical digest, thanks! =D
anyway, KING OF THE BONGO
No problem
Things got convoluted fast and it was fun to do a recap
Now I really want to know how king of the bongo rank vs alpha bongo.
Guess they need to POGOOOO
JENNIFER NO!
Becky: Jennifer Yes
Jennifer no
Jennifer, don’t be surprised if this blows back hard in your femurs.
At this point it’s safe to say that any danger her femurs might be in due to her present and future actions is incapable of increasing the danger they’re already in due to her past actions.
Nothing says that you are over completely than when your ex wants to pimp you to another woman. Not speaking from experience. Probably.
I have surprisingly relevant experience that says otherwise.
You wot, mate?
Sometimes people have complicated behaviour. I feel like Jennifer is projecting and is the one still interested in them being together but obviously if you are in denial and projecting those feelings on the other person, it makes perfect sense to try to push this someone to be with someone else. You know, so they get over you. Based on your actual feelings, it makes 0 sense to do that, but it makes perfect sense to if you are trying to force yourself to be over them/make them unavailable to yourself.
@Taffy – back when we were in high school, my now-wife encouraged me to date a mutual friend who thought she still had a crush on me from back when we were in grade school, while not-yet-Mrs. Abides and I were dating.
Ive had a friend try to pimp me out to /her/ ex to get her off her back…. twice… *grumblelesbiansgrumble*
I also have such experience. It’s possible your ex fixes you up with another woman to keep you around.
That sounds incredibly creepy to me.
That shoe fits. The people that I have been with have been incredibly toxic and creepy. And yes, I know the common element is me. Thanks be to the parent that role modelled that gender for me.
Nothing says you’re completely over your ex like getting personally invested in their sex life out of nowhere /s
Ruth and Daisy would be a bad couple too. Now the question is: is Jennifer better at getting people together than Becky is at breaking them up? My money’s on Becky.
No one said anything about “couple”.
Couple minutes, more like.
What’s with the albino-looking Ruth avatar?
I’m a big fan of Kingdom Hearts.
It kinda makes her look like a cool aunt who casually swears and easily beats you at Mario Kart.
That is a gorgeous avatar. But I don’t know Kingdom Hearts. Who is she?
Kingdom Hearts is a console game series, combining elements of prior works by Square/Enix (the makers) and Disney.
Without delving too deep into the lore, the modified character design indicates that this is a “Nobody” of Ruth, a sort of doppleganger made from elements of the original.
As I understand it Yellow Eyes + Silver Hair is Kingdom Hearts shorthand for corruption by the darkness
Ah, makes sense
The really funny thing about it that Jennifer isn’t considering at all, is that even if it WORKED, it would then mean that if Ruth said she was uncomfy being near Jennifer, that Daisy would instantly fire her without question. Like, it absolutely could backfire very very quickly.
Jennifer, even if the breakup with Ruth was her fault, throwing her attempt to be civil back in her face makes you look like the jackass here. Then to go on and suggest she needs to get laid to fix herself is magnitudes more insensitive than anything Ruth has said thus far.
No, no, it’s a favor.
You see, she wants to prostitute Ruth out for her career!
Win. Win.
*win win win
If she’s been this hard up for six months, I’m guessing her bar is a bit higher than Ruth can hurdle.
Nah, I think this is linked to Billie’s thoughts on gender relationships.
This would be a disaster couple. But Daisy does need laid, so hey, let’s go for it!
I. Well. Um.
How exactly does she manage to make “I know two lonely people who would be great together, and it would get them out of my hair!” sound so sleazy.
(Assuming she actually meant it that way, and not… Well, the other, much worse way.)
No, no, Jennifer totally wants to prostitute Ruth out.
It sounds sleazy because her evidence for Ruth’s loneliness is projected, we have no evidence they would get along to any degree, and Jennifer only wants it to happen for her own benefit despite the fact she is in no position to ask Ruth for favours.
Ruth should just do what Jennifer suggests. It’ll be better for all.
I don’t think the fact that she only wants it for her own benefit is necessarily an issue, so long as she sincerely believes it would help the other two – doing a good deed for others is still a good thing.
That said, I was only reflecting on how bad she made it sound – it’s a bad idea in practice for other reasons (like the first two you named), but if she’d gone with, say, “Hey, why not date my editor? She’s just as lonely, and she’s cute – you’d like her” instead of, well, what she actually said… It’d have been “just” a bad, tone-deaf idea instead of sounding like she’s trying to bribe her editor with sexual favors from a party who would take great offense at that proposal.
What I’m saying is, she definitely rolled a Dramatic Failure on her Charm+Diplomacy roll here.
I get what you mean now. Yeah, it takes some extra talent to say it in the exact worst way possible like this.
I’m sensing that Jennifer’s femurs are in danger.
Femur sense is tingling…
“I’ve boned you, and goddammit, now I’m going to debone you!”
good job, jennifer
two thumbs up and a slow nod
I feel like pimping out your ex to your current boss is kinda fucked up.
Either Jennifer is a fan of polygamy or is officially over Ruth.
Or Jennifer’s in denial about being over Ruth.
And I have a hard time imagining her NOT being in denial about anything factual.
Yeah like five minutes ago she was in denial about the moon having cyclical phases!! Unbelievable.
It’s better to be fucking up instead of fucking down, as it were.
Words to live by.
What about fucking laterally?
Or fucking off?
When I fuck up, I end up fucking down, and my worst fuck ups were fucking some nasty fuckers, so I am well and truly fucked and just need to fuck off or gtfo.
Probably violates HR regulations too.
How? Ruth and Daisy work for completely different departments of IU, they’re not under each other’s chain of command at all.
Ruth and Jennifer’s relationship overstepped boundaries far more than Ruth and Daisy hypothetically would.
I think more in the sense that an employee pimping their ex out to their boss probably violates some hr thing somewhere
I know throwing some ass Dasiy’s way is a Joke we’ve thrown around that would probably work if we’re being serous, but this is a bold as hell favor to ask your ex of all people to do. Also Ruth isn’t Walky she will leave if agitated enough.
Gross, Jennifer.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ba/b6/e0/bab6e0945340d5aed419ce043c2f378e.gif
Welp glad to see that not everything’s changed about Billie/Jennifer. She still gives AWFUL life advice.
Listen I’m lonely as fuck but also I don’t necessarily wanna get laid. Ok so I like REALLY wanna get laid but not because I’m lonely. God y’know what’s better than getting laid? Fucking headpats and cuddling. Criminally underrated. Goddamn.
Now you’re speakin’ my language.
Oh thank god. Honestly I’ve just been hitting random keys on this thing and hoping the words on the screen are portraying coherent thoughts.
I prefer the LITERAL sleeping together to the headpats, but hey, personal tastes. Yours are valid.
I never really understood the appeal of headpats, to be honest. Scritches behind the ear, though…
Cuddles are fantastic. I really need cuddles. I don’t know if I need them because I’m lonely or if I’m lonely because I need them.
I didn’t either until I made out with a gal and then she pet my head and like. I fucking GOT it. I’m still thinking about it 2 years later.
best take of the year
Consider: back scratches. It might just be me but back scratches feel really good to me and make me very happy.
That sounds pretty great to me as well.
Ok so it’s been six years since I’ve shared deep physical romantic affection, and I’ve been going slightly mad but coping. And god damn your writing almost broke me Yo!
nothing could possibly go wrong
Aaaand I was right. Jennifer thinks that the only way to “move on” is to date or bone someone else, and she’ll dismiss and undermine any of Ruth’s attempts at actually being moved on to keep shoving “youre totally not over me” in her face.
Which just…screams of insecurity? Insisting over and over again that there’s no way your ex is over YOU but you’re TOTALLY over THEM is just….uh….whelp, sounds like projecting, lol.
Yup. It’s worth remembering that Ruth is the only person Jennifer ever dated (before Asher, if she considers that dating). Like she said once, historically, when she went to a party, she was looking for someone to bone her; or went for messy makeouts under the seats with other cheerleaders; or whatever. It’s all just sex, nothing serious, she thinks — even with Alice, she didn’t realize that it was serious for her.
All of which is actually really fascinating, because you can kind of compare her to Joe: avoiding relationships if possible and so on. And in both cases, they have promiscuous parental figures: there’s Richard, who Joe emulates even while avoiding what he sees as the problems with his behavior (i.e., Joe never pretends he’s going to be more than a man-slut, and is open about it because that way he’s not lying to anyone), and there’s Jennifer’s mother, who she dismisses as being busy “doing business on every man known to her,” which sounds more than a little disapproving, and yet, clearly, there are similarities… It’s that weird thing, where Jennifer’s aware, for instance, of how her father buys her love because that’s all he knows how to do, and how she seems to be unaware that she reproduces the behavior herself.
Yeah. Jennifer really needs to spend some time with a mirror. Well, a metaphorical mirror: I imagine her actual one gets enough of a workout as it is.
oh, but she did. she went to therapy and she’s all better now, she’s moved on and doesn’t need it any more.
:p
If someone offered to help me get laid, I’d be super cool with. Though, if they did it like Jennifer… Let’s say I’d share Ruth’s eagerness for ripping femurs. But truth be told, I wouldn’t be able to pull off Ruth’s terrifying presence, nor would I be be able to pull a femur off, but hey, what counts is intention, right?
Start small, like with an ear collection!
That’s just plain disturbing!
…
Should I keep them in jars, or maybe fashion them in necklaces?
The moment when the conversation went from “nasty acrimony” to “mistakes were made.”
BOOOOONE? I-AM-YOUR-SUPERIOR-OFFICER DETECTIVE-DIAZ.
Thosea re two best characters of B99.
I came here to say this XD
Ngl Jen is looking kinda antisocial rn.
I don’t mean Amber antisocial.
I mean Blaine antisocial.
You mean sociopathic?
A display of the difference between asocial (amber) and antisocial
I mean look, we know Daisy’d be into it.
Dangit, my link got taken out. Go check the February 18, 2013 strip.
Eight… whole… years...
And entirely coincidentally, only right after Willis discovered he could add alt text commentary. This was like the third strip that the alt text wasn’t just the title of that strip.
She’d only be into it if Ruth were secretly a superhero.
“My heart only pours out to you and you alone.”
But alas, college matchmaking ain’t uncommon while Ruth’s new semester resolution will become a farce
So… thumbs up 7 up?
I see a few ways this could go wrong.
I stopped counting at twenty-three.
BooOOOOOONE?!?!?
I understood that reference
As did I.
Brilliant.
Ruth: Is nice for two whole seconds. Then is sarcastic when Jennifer gets defensive.
Jennifer: GOD. STOP TRYING TO GET BACK WITH ME. GO GET LAID. IN FACT, GET LAID FOR MY BENEFIT SPECIFICALLY.
Jennifer, this isn’t things working out in your favour, you don’t get to defensively shut down someone’s trying to be nice and then expect them to willingly do a favour for you. I have literally seen someone do this before in real life too and it is like, you can’t admonish people then expect them to willingly do stuff for you.
I’m not sure why Ruth looks so horrified in that last panel, but it makes me uncomfy that her reaction is that instead of anger.
She’s so horrified because Jennifer’s train of thought is so psychotically narcissistic that she can’t believe that is the same person who was her girlfriend and the thing that made her want to live for a while last semester.
I mean in this circumstance I’d be wondering if that exchange was contextualizing the entire relationship with the ex in question as being nothing more than being used for sex, but that is entirely speculation on my part.
Why does she look so horrified? Well, y’know… Why did Sal look so horrified when Jennifer was trying to find out what happened to all the homeless people? Her utter inability to hear how she sounds to other people. https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/nina/
That is a fair point. My brain instantly jumped to ‘did something like what happened to Joyce, happen to Ruth and this is freaking her out?’ but it is possible that she is horrified that this is just a thing Jennifer has said with words at all as if she would go along with it. I just would have expected anger.
She’s been working on her meds for a long while now, and we know she feels other emotions. My guess is we haven’t seen how Ruth behaves when she has more than “rage” and “despair”
Fair, but this is a situation that seems perfectly reasonable to get mad about to me as well.
Part of that was Sal being shocked at Billie’s naivety I think… I mean, it’s obvious that Billie assumes that “somewhere else” is “better than being homeless in our area” and could rise to the standards of “nice enough that you’d happily recommend it to a friend”…
I mean i dunno about you but I’d be pretty horrified If my ex thought it was totally reasonable to try pimp me out to their boss
I would be too but I know my overarching feeling would be anger. Someone did the ‘admonish someone then expect a favour 0.2 seconds afterwards’ to a friend of mine and I was LIVID. It was not as awful an ask, but, the gall of it was unbelievable on its own. My anger would be more noticeable than my horror.
This works on people with low self-esteem. The person is saying “you’ve made me angry, but you can get back in my good graces by doing this thing for me.” It is abuser behaviour, but it works often enough that it is quite common. It exploits people’s social anxiety.
Jennifer… don’t pimp your ex.
Unless, you know, your boss is a total creep who’ll definitely reward you for it, and your ex is making you nervous with how unguarded she is with her grief over your relationship and you wanna gross her way out, so whichever way this plays out you win.
…oh wait, you meant because it’s unethical.
That look on Ruth’s face in the last panel…. it looks like total pain mixed with “I ant believe thats what you think of me”. thats not “Im gonna break your bones” anger, thats true pain…. Jennifer just punched her in the kidneys with wolverine’s claws.
Yeah, that’s some gen-yoo-wine hurt in that face.
Yeah, that’s how I interpreted it, too. Not anger, but pain. (Well, maybe a little anger, but mostly pain.)
Ruth looks like she’s about to explode towards the end.
From yesterday it sounded like Ruth dumped Jennifer and Jen Jen took heavy offense to it and decided Ruth was a phase to help her ego but idk
And now I’m thinking Jennifer is communicating that to Ruth.
I don’t think that Ruth isn’t about to explode. Mostly because the whole conversation has turned to surreal to be able to get angry about it.
I see someone has fallen back into old habits. Alpha bongo mode is not needed here, Jennifer.
…. I don’t know what’s worse. That Jennifer suggested this or that my second thought was “wait maybe she’s onto something”.
Maybe she’s on something.
…. no, this is her baseline level of dumbing.
…. wait, her baseline dumbing level is drunk. Maybe she’s on booze.
I mean, hmm. This is probably a bad decision, but wilder stuff as somehow worked before.
Welcome to Dumbing of Age, where it’s honestly laughable that people still expect any given character to behave like a well-adjusted individual
Hey now, I’m pretty sure Fuckface is well-adjusted given his circumstances
And Blowjob Cat seems to have his life together.
Eh, tha (blowjob) cat’s prob’ly fine
For an Iguana he is exceptionally well adjusted and chill
The title of the comic might have been a tell now that I think really hard about it
It ain’t called Smarting of Age.
The joke that keeps on giving, because it’s relevant every 2 strips or so.
Y’know I’ve been trying to be on Jen’s side with all of her supposed therapy and reinventing herself stuff, but this is the first time I’ve come to think Jennifer is worse than Billie was. Billie had her issues but I don’t think she ever thought of pimping out people for personal gain. I don’t know if I’m taking this too seriously or misinterpreting Jennifer’s motivation on this but like many have said already this is pretty gross.
Nah, I could totally see last semester Jennifer doing this.
“If I hook you and Dorothy up maybe you’ll bother me less”
sounds real weird coming out of Danny’s mouth
Did she actually ever say that? Oh well, I feel like Billie trying to set up Walky and Dorothy was her just being nice since I don’t think there was anything she actually was going to gain from that.
The theory was that it would keep Walky away from her.
Yeah, directly to his face. And more apparently.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/01-pajama-jeans/facetime/
I wonder if the last panel in that strip was actual foreshadowing or if it just totally reads that way in retrospect xD
it absolutely was
Yeah, so despite now wanting to be called Jennifer, her behavior really hasn’t improved much.
or at all.
This recent one still feels way creepier in context. Trying to hook your friend up with a girl they cbviously have a crush on at least has more of an illusion of trying to help. Jennifer here is proposing pimping out her ex to her boss, who have never met each other, so she can gain a better work assignment.
Man, I am SERIOUSLY hoping that’s a one-off joke that gets dropped in the next strip, because…GROSS, Jennifer.
Yesterday I said Ruth deserves better.
I’m not sure Daisy qualifies, but Jennifer is doing a fantastic job of proving my point regardless.
Well, Daisy is in a position of at least mild authority, which gives her much healthier shared experience with Ruth than Bilcifer ever had. Daisy also doesn’t seem like she’d go out of her way to hide the fact that she’s extremely gay for her partner.
You both make eloquent-ass points
In which Ruth remembers why she didn’t like Billie in the first place and why she should consider herself better off that the whole thing blew up and sank far out to sea.
Can rage fueled makeouts be far behind?
I find it very strange that so many commenters are taking Jennifer’s comments as a deathly serious suggestion, and not a joke. She even says ha!
Even if one were to take it as entirely in jest (which I don’t think is accurate, not everything that’s laughed at isn’t said in earnest), it’s in incredibly poor taste.
Yeah, even if it’s a joke, it just ain’t that funny to the recipient.
Every night, someone finds something strange about the general early reaction to the most recent strip. Different reads are fine, and we’re all from different upbringings, some of which resonate more than others do with the events in these stories. If you follow me.
That wasn’t ‘Ha! This s funny’, it was ‘Ha! I’m brilliant! This is the perfect solution!’
I don’t think she meant it as a joke, but nor is she expecting Ruth to take her suggestion at face value. The convo just got uncomfortably heartfelt and Jennifer is killing that shit in the egg. The hope is Ruth gets mad and they go back to being nice and hostile to each other.
…is my take anyway
Exactly.
like, “Why didn’t I see it before?”
Apart or not these two are my favorite, their dialogues never fail to make me smile
Damn Willis pls don’t let Miss Newspaper Editor hopes go up like that, she can’t handle Ruth.
“You can’t handle the Ruth!”
You want the Ruth? You can’t handle the Ruth!
Punch ‘er, Ruth! Get ‘er in the kidneys! Poke ‘er with a fork! Crisp-fry ‘er in homemade cornmeal breading! Dip ‘er in chipotle barbecue sauce! Serve ‘er with some mashed potatoes and coleslaw! Put ‘er on a plate right next to a cold glass of- Wait, this is getting into weird territory.
What beverage do you usually serve with barbecue? Lemonade? Beer? I lost my train of thought.
You lost me when you jumped from the drink to the organs and then to cooking
And… I believe that’s my fount of sympathy for Jennifer all dried up.
Jennifer, it’s cool that you’re into the hotwife scene all of a sudden, but you probably should’ve brought this up when you and Ruth were still together and asked if she was into it, rather than assuming now in the wake of insane bad emotions
“Hotwife scene”?
Oh no
Uh, so, there’s this kink and
No, you know what, I’m not gonna
Urban Dictionary has a straightforward answer.
Hey if everyone involved can legally give consent and they’re all cool with it who am I to judge?
BONE!?
BOOONE??!?
not sure if trying to prostitute Ruth is a smart choice…
Aaah so that’s what taking the high road looks like
Getting told what your feelings are by your ex, and then having your ex try to set you up with their boss for personal gain? Oof. What a class act.
Daisy definitely needs to get laid, but this seems like entirely the wrong way to accomplish that. Unless Ruth is ok with it, and judging by the last two panels she doesn’t seem to approve.
It would be funny if they hooked up after Jenny gives up on the nespaper
And only after that do they figure out the connection.
One interesting difference between Jennifer and Billie: Jennifer’s ideas are better (less worse, at least).
Alt-text got that song stuck in my head now.
ah, i read that as “fucking loVely” and oh boy getting the real word just after bummed me.
Jennifer want to put a stop at the whole story putting Ruth together with a (crazy/annoying)girl she meet probably every day? Yep! This is absolutely not a bad idea. Jennifer just need to convince Ruth…. I don’t think (actually I really hope) that will happen.
Jennifer shoving her foot so far down her throat she’s choking on her femur…which really annoys Ruth because she wanted to do that.
Choke on Jennifer’s femur?
Ruth walks back into Leslie’s class holding the femur like it’s one of those giant cartoon lollipops, gnawing on the epiphysis. She growls at anyone who tries to take away her treat.
Just turn back around, re-enter the class saying “it’s better for me to be in here” and you can put off whatever the heck just happened for another hour plus, Ruth.
I actually really hope that’s the punchline tomorrow
I approve of this plan.
Grav checks out
I’m up for anything that develops Daisy into more than a running gag.
+1 (The pretend upvote)
Agreed. At least she had something to do in the old universe…
*raises hand*
Can we get back to Joe and Joyce?
And BOY is that a sentence I never thought I’d agree with.
Some people don’t wanna get laid, Jennifer.
Is “bone” really the right verb here?
Pelvic bone?
Well they’ll be hitting their femurs together. That ought to make Ruth all excited.
Punch her in the face, Ruth!
She does have a very punchable face. She has that… Umbridge-like fake sweetness to her.
Jennifer: This plan cannot fail!!
Narrator: This was, in fact, true, since the plan had already failed. It came pre-failed, right out of her mouth, so there was no way it could fail again.
Ron Howard: “It did.”
According to what I’ve been told recently, the worst thing about Jennifer here is that she outed Daisy to Ruth. (Well, “my newspaper editor”, but it’s easy enough to figure out who that is.)
To be fair, Daisy asked Jennifer to give her Ruth’s phone number back in a 2013 strip.
Glad to see Jennifer didn’t change at all…
Any more projecting and Billie will become a living home theater system.
All her internal conflict, but in IMAX 3D.
Welp, I hope someone’s there to clean up the blood, because I think there’s about to be a murder. Wouldn’t be our first, though it might be the saddest so far (sorry Mike).
surprisingly appropriate grav.
You should have kept that thought to yourself, Jennifer.
Eh, could work. Ruth and Daisy going on a date. They might be good for each other, and if it doesn’t work out, it was just a date
I know that’s not what Billie means but dammit it’s better than what she ACTUALLY means
Title of this book:
YOU NEED TO BONE MY NEWSPAPER EDITOR! HA!
I can see it
Man, I think that might’ve really hurt Ruth. Not only did her attempt at some genuine friendliness backfire, but now Jennifer’s a) boiling the connection down to sex and b) trying to offload that connection onto an acquaintance for personal gain.
Well, for better and worse, Ruth is definitely well-acquainted with being hurt by others and herself. I’m rooting for her, though. At her heart, she’s not a villain, just a terrifying person.
Huh, I guess Jen’s finally getting around to giving Daisy her RA’s phone number after 8 years
as much as I love these two, I feel like a conversation between Ruth and her brother indicated she wasn’t typically into women?
Like, I never personally want Ruth in a het relationship, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if she were demisexual – doubt Daisy is going to have the spite and aloof/cocky that enticed her to Jennifer in the first instance.
Eh, I don’t think bi erasure really helps the comic. There’s enough lesbians in the comic we can ship every compatible orientation around!
Dating people of the same and other genders is, generally speaking, how bisexuality works.
More like she hadn’t realized she was into women before. What plumbing catches my eye doesn’t feel important.
Of course, being into women doesn’t mean she’s into every woman she comes across. Daisy may still not interest her.
All of my empathy for these characters has temporarily gone out the window because I am too in love with this trainwreck scheme.
High five Jennifer; let’s do this thing
How does this manage to be both a terrible idea AND one of the best the entire cast has come up with all semester? It’s pretty much seccond in quality only to Dorothy’s “Joyce should get glasses”.
Y’know, for someone who was just complaining that Ruth is getting in her business… Jennifer sure is getting in Ruth’s business for Ruth asking… two questions of her?
Like, I’m all for Jennifer reinventing herself. Sometimes it’s healthy to let a bunch of stuff go, cut your hair, and get out of a bunch of messes and restart. Hell, even if it meant not interacting with the main cast ever again. If she’s healthier away from them, so be it.
…But it looks like not much internally has actually changed. And if she keeps insisting that things definitely have and that she’s so much better now, well, it’s not gonna help her actually improve much.
Oh, something has changed; she’s had a massive regression in personal growth.
Nothing has made me want to slap the shit out of someone as much as what Billie has said in todays comic.